June 2014 by St. Anthony Messenger

ST. JOSEPH: A FATHER FOR THE AGES

ST. ANTHONY JUNE 2014 • $3.95 FRANCISCANMEDIA.ORG

Dr. Carolyn Woo’s

Mission of Charity A Lesson from Dad Prayer 101 Pittsburgh Volunteers Change Hearts

Messenger

REFLECTION

I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within.

—Lillian Smith

CONTENTS

ST. ANTHONY

❘ JUNE 2014 ❘ VOLUME 122/NUMBER 1

Messenger ON THE COVER

COVER STORY

Dr. Carolyn Woo rose from humble origins in China to award-winning leadership at Notre Dame. Today she heads Catholic Relief Services, serving millions.

28 Dr. Carolyn Woo’s Mission of Charity “We’re about action,” says the head of CRS. Its worldwide success proves her point. By Rafael Alvarez

Photo by Philip Laubner/ Catholic Relief Services

F E AT U R E S

16 St. Joseph: A Father for the Ages

2 Dear Reader 3 From Our Readers

The husband of Mary was a portrait of humility and wisdom. Dads today can take a lesson. By Fr. Gary Caster

6 Followers of St. Francis Harout Simonin, OFM

8 Reel Time

22 Getting Comfortable with Prayer

Million Dollar Arm

10 Channel Surfing

How well do you communicate with God? By Sue Erschen

34 Young People in Service

20 Live Well Be Present

27 Editorial The Slave Next Door

40 ‘Be Still and Know that I Am God’

44 Fiction: The Final Details She went to the hairdresser with one thing in mind. By Ann Turner

Our America with Lisa Ling

12 Church in the News

Simplicity, community, and spirituality are the hallmarks of this Franciscan volunteer program in Pittsburgh. Text by Janice Lane Palko, photos by Alisa Milnthorp

My father taught me this valuable lesson. By Robert I. Craig

D E PA R T M E N T S

50 Ask a Franciscan Did Those Bishops Sin?

52 Book Corner

Jesus: A Pilgrimage

54 A Catholic Mom Speaks Living Water

56 At Home on Earth Love Thy Neighbor 2.0

57 Backstory To Everybody, Right?

ST. ANTHONY M

DEAR READER

essenger

Capernaum: Peter’s House

Publisher/CEO Daniel Kroger, OFM

Since 1990, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul (June 29) has been celebrated with special devotion in the modern church built over Peter’s house in Capernaum, by the Sea of Galilee. Peter’s mother-in-law was healed there (Mt 8:14-15, Mk 1:29-31, and Lk 4:38-39). Jesus’ “Bread of Life” discourse (Jn 6:22-59) was given in the city’s synagogue. The current synagogue ruins, the oldest and best-preserved ones in Israel, date to the fifth century AD, but they rest atop an earlier synagogue. In 1894, Franciscan friars bought the unused land containing the synagogue, which was excavated by Friars Wendelin von Menden and Gaudenzio Orfali. Over the course of 19 summers, Friars Virgilio Corbo and Stanislao Loffreda of Jerusalem’s Studium Biblicum Franciscanum excavated the “house of Peter.” That structure is under a fifth-century octagonal church built over an earlier church incorporating a firstcentury octagonal house—obviously an important spot for early Christians. The modern octagonal church contains a central open area allowing visitors to see the fifth-century church and earlier nearby buildings. Maps, documentation, and a virtual tour can be accessed through the “Sanctuaries” link at custodia.org. Pope Paul VI visited Capernaum in 1964; St. John Paul II went there in 2000.

Chief Operating Officer Thomas A. Shumate, CPA

Editor in Chief John Feister

Art Director Jeanne Kortekamp

Franciscan Editor Pat McCloskey, OFM

Managing Editor Susan Hines-Brigger

Associate Editor Christopher Heffron

Editorial Assistant Sharon Lape

Director of Marketing, Sales, and Internet Barbara K. Baker

Advertising Fred Limke

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ST. ANTHONY MESSENGER (ISSN #0036276X) (U.S.P.S. PUBLICATION #007956 CANADA PUBLICATION #PM40036350) Volume 122, Number 1, is published monthly for $39.00 a year by the Franciscan Friars of St. John the Baptist Province, 28 W. Liberty Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-6498. Phone (513) 241-5615. Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, Ohio, and additional entry offices. U.S. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: St. Anthony Messenger, P.O. Box 189, Congers, NY 10920-0189. CANADA RETURN ADDRESS: c/o AIM, 7289 Torbram Rd., Mississauga, ON, Canada L4T 1G8. To subscribe, write to the above address or call (866) 543-6870. Yearly subscription price: $39.00 in the United States; $69.00 in Canada and other countries. Single copy price: $3.95. For change of address, four weeks’ notice is necessary. Writer’s guidelines can be found at Franciscan Media.org. The publishers are not responsible for manuscripts or photos lost or damaged in transit. Names in fiction do not refer to living or dead persons. Member of the Catholic Press Association Published with ecclesiastical approval Copyright ©2014. All rights reserved.

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FROM OUR READERS

Spring Awakening

What’s on Your Mind?

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Separate but Equal?

It’s April 1. I’m sitting outside on my I am responding to the letter in back porch for the first time since a April’s “From Our Readers” entitled harsh New England winter set in. I’m “Women’s Roles in the Church,” thanking God for spring and for St. where the writer made the claim Anthony Messenger: nature and nurthat, originally, the Eucharist was ture for my soul! celebrated by everyone equally withAs a cradle Catholic entering my out the use of priests. 60th year, I can attest to the fact that The writer is correct on some it has been a long and winding road. points—namely that Christ sent out I get a comforting perboth men and women to spective from St. Anthony preach the Gospel. HowMessenger at times. Other ever, other statements to times, I am challenged by the effect that Jesus did thought-provoking articles not appoint priests are which force me to dig deep. incorrect. The Gospels I feel connected to other state that the Twelve Catholics in a way that I Apostles—not all the discidon’t at Mass. ples—were given the Thank you for being a authority to forgive sins. It © MCDONOJJ/FOTOLIA beacon of light! Shine on! was only the Twelve AposLaurie Valle tles who were told at the Last Supper Franklin, Massachusetts to “do this in memory of me,” although we are called to join in the act of worship. I strongly suspect the letter writer, though well-intentioned, is probably Letters that are published do not necessarrelying on liberal Catholic sources ily represent the views of the Franciscan rather than official Church teaching. friars or the editors. We do not publish Most Catholics today are apparently slander or libel. Please include your name unaware that, several years ago, the and postal address. Letters may be edited pope stated that women as priests is for clarity and space. something not open to interpretation, and that the matter of the menMail only priesthood is to be definitively Letters, St. Anthony Messenger held by the faithful. 28 W. Liberty St. What I find the most troubling, Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498 however, is that you chose to print Fax the letter in question without offer513-241-0399 ing a rebuttal stating official Church teaching. As a Catholic publication, E-mail it is your duty to charitably exercise MagazineEditors@ fraternal correction and shepherd FranciscanMedia.org the faithful in accordance with our Facebook Like us! Catholic beliefs. Go to: Facebook.com/ To print that letter without comStAnthonyMessengerMagazine ment is to imply that anyone’s views of the Church are of equal weight Twitter Follow us! Go to: with that of the Holy Father and the Twitter.com/StAnthonyMag bishops. As Catholics, we believe otherwise. Fr ancisca n Media .org

By doing this, in my opinion, you neglected your duty to the body of Christ. Your readers deserve better. Philip Kerler Eagan, Minnesota

Let’s Be Reasonable I am writing in response to Carmelita Bullinger’s letter, “Family Norms,” in April’s “From Our Readers.” My husband and I have practiced Natural Family Planning for many years, and we are training to be a teaching couple. Therefore, I appreciate the writer’s good intentions that large families are gifts and blessings from God. I take issue, however, with her assertion that the “perfect Catholic family” must be depicted as having at least four children. Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae and supporting documents I have studied to aid in my own discernment with the number of children I should have do not prescribe a certain number of children as the correct family size. Each couple must discern what God is calling them to in their own circumstances. The typical Catholic family is probably smaller than it was several generations ago. However, I believe the current age presents many moral dangers to our young people. I believe many Catholic parents have discerned a smaller family size so that they can devote the proper time, attention, and emotional energy to their children’s moral formation and spiritual well-being in the times we live in. I would recommend that we approach this issue with sensitivity to those who may wish for a larger family, but are unable to do so due to infertility, miscarriage, and other medical circumstances beyond their control. Tracey Hoelzle Fremont, Ohio Ju n e 2 0 1 4 ❘ 3

One Size Doesn’t Fit All It isn’t often I am compelled to respond to a reader’s opinion, but I am driven to do so this time. The reader who believes you can’t have a “perfect family” with only two children insults those of us who were not fortunate to have four or more. Families with fewer than four children may not be practicing artificial birth control. Did she think about this? What about the husband and wife who can’t have children? What about those who are blessed only once or twice? I don’t believe for one moment that families with fewer than four children—or no children—are less than perfect in God’s eyes or create less than a perfect family. I do understand how St. Anthony Messenger can show all types of families. And I applaud you for it. God bless us all. Karen Williams Redford, Michigan

On a recent survey, we asked a portion of our subscribers what the most pressing issue for their family is. Here are some of their responses. ■ I’m concerned about grown children who have left the Catholic Church and the faith. ■ We’re thinking ahead to retirement. Will there be enough money to live comfortably? What kind of a world will it be? ■ I’m single. There’s too much focus on families, and I would like to see some focus on the single person. ■ Mostly I’m concerned with aging, illness, loneliness, and finding meaning and purpose. ■ I am an 82-year-old widow, so my issue is keeping busy, healthy, and grounded in my faith. ■ Keeping communications open with adult children, respecting their own values, dreams, and goals. Knowing when to keep my wisdom to myself and let them live their own lives.

What issues are challenging your family? Let us know at MagazineEditors@FranciscanMedia.org.

Let God Decide

Digital Edition

Different Strokes I would like to ask the writer of the “Family Norms” letter how she was designated as the one to determine that anything printed from a Catholic company should have no fewer than four children as the perfect family. How did she decide that four children was the ideal? We have the “perfect family”: four darling daughters—as I always call them—and I consider myself blessed to have had them. Lee Beck Libertyville, Illinois 4 ❘ J un e 2014

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I completely disagree with the letter writer who stated that St. Anthony Messenger shouldn’t print photos of families with only two children. My husband and I have one child. After several miscarriages, we got the message that one child would have to be our “perfect family.” I am sure there are plenty of couples who would love to have children, but can’t conceive at all. Let God decide what the “perfect family” is going to be. Lisa Garner Lancaster, Pennsylvania

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F O L L O W E R S O F S T. F R A N C I S

Longing for His Syrian Home

or many people, the situation in Syria is no more than a story on the nightly news. But for Franciscan Brother Harout Simonin, it’s personal. He was raised there. During an interview with St. Anthony Messenger at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress this past March, Brother Harout spoke of his call to the Franciscans, his ministry, and the situation in his homeland. Growing up, he says, “everything was good. We used to live together peacefully.” Unfortunately, that’s not the case now. “It’s very hard to see how the country is divided, suffering. A lot of people are dying. There is a lot of hunger. People don’t see each other anymore. Families are divided,” he says. For Brother Harout, it’s difficult to watch the turmoil in Syria from the outside. “We suffer with the people that are there because we know these places. We know these people. It touches your heart, touches your personal life,” he says.

Harout Simonin, OFM

maintaining the Franciscan shrine in Bethlehem’s Shepherds’ Field. There he cares for the shrine, the gardens, the trees, and, most important, he says, “the pilgrims and the visitors.” Ministering in the Holy Land was always a desire of his. “For Syrians, it’s impossible to go to the Holy Land because of the political situation,” he says. Even if he wanted to return to Syria, it would certainly present its own problems. “I would love to go back and help the people who are living there. But it’s really difficult to get in the country or to get out,” he says. There are ways, though, that people can assist the Syrian people, he says. “People can help by praying and by helping people there—sending medicines, food, supplies. Do not support violence. Do not support war. We are about peace, about building bridges.”

Thank You, St. Anthony Many Ways of Ministering And while he longs to return to Syria, Brother Harout is currently responsible for

Brother Harout says he was drawn to the Franciscans from a young age—and not by St. Francis, but rather by St. Anthony. It was

STORIES FROM OUR READERS Learn more about St. Anthony and share your story of how he helped you at AmericanCatholic.org/ Features/Anthony.

Where, Oh, Where Are My Keys?

6 ❘ J un e 2014

We had bought a used car with just one set of keys. It seemed fine since I didn’t plan to use that car. But one Sunday we had both cars at church, and I had little gas left. My husband offered to fill the tank, and I drove the recently purchased car home. Some days later, my husband needed that car and asked for the keys. They were nowhere to be found. We hunted in all the predictable places—and others as well. We called a dealer who said the car was older than his database, so he had no access to vital numbers needed for making a new key. We were out of simple options since the car was locked. We asked for St. Anthony’s assistance. Shortly after, I was looking into a tote bag totally unrelated to my travels in that car—and found the missing keys. St. Anthony was our money-saving locksmith! —Jeanne Franz, Gulf Shores, Alabama

St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA

Rising above Factions Medieval cities did not use red and blue to designate different political parties, but those parties were very real, sometimes engaging in bloodshed to advance their agenda. Anthony of Padua preached the peace that Jesus Christ brings to everyone willing to accept peace on God’s terms. People often tend to emphasize differences while minimizing what they hold in common. Anthony’s preaching led people to repent for how they had treated their political opponents. –P.M.

PHOTO BY FRANK JASPER, OFM

the image of St. Anthony that spoke to him about the life of the Franciscans. He recalls going to church with his father and mother, and “the first thing to do was to light a candle in front of the statue of St. Anthony. I always wanted to be like him, like St. Anthony.” Brother Harout says during those visits, he was moved by the way the friars “talked, the way they behaved, the poverty they lived.” It was that impact that caused Brother Harout—from the age of 14—to want to join the Franciscans. Asked if there is a particular story of St. Francis he likes, Brother Harout says the story of St. Francis and Brother Leo knocking on the door of a Franciscan house and being rejected resonates with him. “It was perfect joy when he wasn’t accepted by his own friars,” he says. The concept of perfect joy can often get lost amid the responsibilites of living in community, which places you on the inside of the door. “I wish to be more on Francis’ side,” he says. —Susan Hines-Brigger

To learn more about Franciscan saints, visit AmericanCatholic.org/Features/Saintofday.

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Send all postal communication to: St. Anthony Bread 1615 Vine St. Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498

Ju n e 2 0 1 4 ❘ 7

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The National Shrine of St. Anthony is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Consecrated in 1889, it includes a first-class relic of St. Anthony and serves as a center for daily prayer and contemplation. The Franciscan friars minister from the shrine. To help them in their work among the poor, you may send a monetary offering called St. Anthony Bread. Make checks or money orders payable to “Franciscans” and mail to the address below. Every Tuesday, a Mass is offered for benefactors and petitioners at the shrine. To seek St. Anthony’s intercession, mail your petition to the address below. Petitions are taken to the shrine each week. To post your petition online, please visit stanthony.org, where you can also request to have a candle lit or a Mass offered; or you may make a donation to the Franciscans or sign up to receive a novena booklet.

REEL TIME

W I T H S I S T E R R O S E PA C AT T E , F S P

Million Dollar Arm

PHOTO BY RON PHILLIPS/DISNEY ENTERPRISES

SISTER ROSE’S

Favorite

Sports Movies Hoosiers (1986) Rudy (1993) Remember the Titans (2000) The Mighty Macs (2009) 42 (2013)

8 ❘ June 2014

Jon Hamm leads an international cast as a sports agent searching for the next big athlete in Million Dollar Arm. J.B. Bernstein (Jon Hamm) is a Los Angelesbased sports agent who has branched out on his own with his business partner, Ash (Aasif Mandvi), but things have not been going well. When they fail to sign a big-name athlete, J.B. is inspired to go to India to look for the next baseball star. He convinces Chang (Tzi Ma) to finance a reality show in India where young men compete for the chance to come to the United States to try out for a contract in Major League Baseball. After a few months, J.B. and Ray (Alan Arkin), an aging, narcoleptic scout, bring back the winners: Rinku (Suraj Sharma) and Dinesh (Madhur Mittal). Both young men won because they were able to throw baseballs at more than 84 mph, though it was their first time. Amit (Pitobash), an assistant J.B. hired in India, comes with them to make sure everything goes all right. But, of course, it doesn’t. The two athletes are lost in the big city and they miss their families. J.B. finally brings them to his house where the young woman who rents the guest house, Brenda (Lake Bell), becomes a surrogate mother to them.

Million Dollar Arm is based on a most improbable true story. The theme of family is very strong and transcends many levels, beginning with the humanizing of J.B., a man who lives only to work. I enjoyed the film very much, and Thomas McCarthy’s script, which shows humor in the complexities of human relationships, creates warmth and optimism as the story unfolds. Million Dollar Arm is about baseball, yes, but it’s more about people—as most sports movies are. I wish J.B. and Disney would create a foundation in India to promote sports for the underprivileged, so it doesn’t seem like all this effort is just to create more profits for US enterprises. Not yet rated, PG ■ Coarse language and suggestive content.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 It’s graduation day for Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) and Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), but Peter is late because, as Spider-Man, he is St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

Andrew Garfield reprises his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in director Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

CNS PHOTO/FOX

saving the city from thieves who have stolen plutonium. Gwen is the high school valedictorian, and she speaks movingly about hope. Our hero arrives just in time to get his diploma after saving Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx), who works for Oscorp Industries, where Peter’s dad, Richard (Campbell Scott), used to work. Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), Peter’s old friend and son of Norman Osborn (Chris Cooper), returns as his father is dying from a genetic disease. Oscorp Industries was created to find a cure for him, but failed. Max, a man no one notices, is SpiderMan’s greatest fan, but he becomes resentful and turns into Electro. He manages to explode Times Square and plunge the city into darkness. Harry teams up with Electro to get some of Spider-Man’s blood in the hopes that it will save him because he, too, is dying. Harry turns into the self-centered and vindictive Green Goblin. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a showcase for amazing special effects, but it also tells several stories about love, abandonment, broken human relationships, and hope. It’s a huge production that will entertain, and it offers many substantial ideas to talk about. A-2, PG-13 ■ Comic-book violence.

(Rodrigo Santoro), an ornithologist. They are traveling to the Amazon rain forest searching for more blue macaws to save them from destruction. Blu and Jewel decide to take the kids and help Linda and Tulio. Blu is reluctant because he likes the safety of home, but he loads a fanny pack with a GPS and they take off with some of their animal friends in tow. Tulio and Linda run into illegal loggers who are destroying the rain forest. Jewel finds her father, and many blue macaws, in a secluded part of the forest. The kids settle in, but Blu and Jewel’s dad, Eduardo (Andy Garcia), don’t get along. Meanwhile, Linda and Tulio try to stop the loggers. Rio 2 is a beautifully animated musical. While the themes of family and community are predictable, the focus on the destruction of the environment through illegal logging drives the story to a positive finale. Rio 2, especially in 3-D, is one of the most beautiful movies I’ve ever seen: the colors leap off the screen. That it tells a story that matters and entertains at the same time makes it an almost perfect film that appeals to all ages. A-1, G ■ No objectionable content.

Rio 2 features the vocal talents of Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, and Bruno Mars.

Catholic Cl assifications A-1 A-2 A-3 L O

Rio 2 Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (Anne Hathaway), rare blue macaws, have settled down in Rio de Janeiro with their three kids, Carla (Rachel Crow), Bia (Amandla Stenberg), and Tiago (Pierce Gagnon). They perch on the extended arms of the statue of Christ that overlooks the bay. Blu’s former owner, Linda (Leslie Mann), is now married to Tulio Fr anciscanMedia.org

General patronage Adults and adolescents Adults Limited adult audience Morally offensive

■

The Catholic News Service Media Review Office gives these ratings. See usccb.org/movies.

■

Find reviews by Sister Rose and others at CatholicMovieReviews.org.

June 2014 ❘ 9

CHANNEL SURFING

WITH CHRISTOPHER HEFFRON

UP CLOSE

OWN, check local listings Each episode of this award-winning documentary series opens with the same haunting, thoughtful declaration by host Lisa Ling: “America. It can be inspiring and beautiful. It can also be dark and ugly. It’s so many things, but it’s ours.” And each episode defends that theory. Our America, which just launched its fifth and final season on OWN, stands apart from other investigative series largely because of Ling herself. While it can be risky business for a documentarian to be featured so prominently in the foreground (Michael Moore, anyone?), Ling knows her place in the process—she doesn’t distract from the topic at hand. Rather, she’s the careful guide who leads viewers through each story. Full disclosure: Ling isn’t afraid to tackle subjects that might be taboo to some and offensive to others. In past episodes, the series cast a light on homosexuality and Christianity, human trafficking, PTSD among veterans, and polygamous families. Does it challenge channel surfers? Without a doubt, but that’s the point. The human condition isn’t always pretty, and Ling, unbiased but deeply invested, captures it all. It can be grueling television, but it’s a stark look at the sometimes tattered threads of our nation’s tapestry. From the redwood forest, to the Gulf Stream waters, this land— despite its flaws—is still our America.

My Cat from Hell Saturdays, 8 p.m., Animal Planet According to the Humane Society, Americans own over 95 millions cats. That’s a lot of cat lovers. Ever since a stray bit me as a child, I remain distrustful. And that’s what makes Animal Planet’s My Cat from Hell such a kick: host and animal behaviorist Jackson Galaxy is a cat whisperer on a mission. In each episode, Galaxy visits the home of an unhinged feline, but his work is twofold: he enters the mind of the cat to find the root cause of its aggression; but he also works with the owners as well. Funny and informative, My Cat from Hell is suitable for all viewers and reminds us that our furry friends—even the moody ones—are members of God’s extended family. Somewhere, St. Francis is beaming.

Surviving Jack

PHOTO COURTESY OF OWN

Thursdays, 9:30 p.m., FOX Despite some tactless dialogue, Surviving Jack is still a deeply funny family sitcom. Christopher Meloni stars as Jack, an oncologist with an extensive military background, who scales back on his practice to be a more hands-on father while his wife attends law school. While the family dynamic can strain believability, the series works because of the chemistry of its actors. Meloni shines as the formidable patriarch, while Rachel Harris, as Jack’s wife, is one of the funniest people in the business. Surviving Jack celebrates families and fathers. And on the current television landscape, that’s hard to come by.

Don’t miss the final season of the critically acclaimed documentary series Our America with Lisa Ling. 10 ❘ June 2014

St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

Our America with Lisa Ling

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CHURCH IN THE NEWS

❘ BY SUSAN HINES-BRIGGER

Popes John XXIII and John Paul II Canonized

CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING

John XXIII for his most noted accomplishment, calling the Second Vatican Council. And in his remarks on St. John Paul II, he characterized the saint as the “pope of the family.” Citing the upcoming October Synod on Families, Pope Francis prayed for the intercession of the two new saints, saying, “May both of them teach us not to be scandalized by the wounds of Christ and to enter ever more deeply into the mystery of divine mercy, which always hopes and always forgives, because it always loves.”

Pope’s Easter Message Challenges Christians Floribeth Mora Diaz, accompanied by her husband, Edwin, carries the relic of St. John Paul II, after presenting it to Pope Francis during the canonization Mass for Sts. John XXIII and John Paul at the Vatican April 27. Mora Diaz’s cure from an aneurysm in 2011 was the second miracle in the sainthood cause of St. John Paul.

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taining some of the saint’s blood, taken from him for medical testing shortly before his death in 2005. During his homily, Pope Francis said the two new saints “were priests, bishops, and popes of the 20th century. They lived through the tragic events of that century, but they were not overwhelmed by them. For them, God was more powerful.” Pope Francis went on to say, “John XXIII and John Paul cooperated with the Holy Spirit in renewing and updating the Church in keeping with her original features, those features which the saints have given her throughout the Pope Francis walks past flowers as he leaves after celebratcenturies.” ing Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican April 20. The pope praised St. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING

Before a crowd of half a million people—as well as Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI—Pope Francis canonized Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II on April 27, reported Catholic News Service (CNS). The ceremony was also attended by some 150 cardinals and 700 bishops, as well as official delegations from 93 countries. During the canonization ceremony, which took place at the beginning of the Mass, devotees carried up relics of the new saints in matching silver reliquaries. St. John’s relic was a piece of the late pope’s skin, removed when his body was transferred to its present tomb in the main sanctuary of St. Peter’s Basilica. Floribeth Mora Diaz, a Costa Rican woman whose recovery from a brain aneurysm was recognized by the church as a miracle attributable to the intercession of St. John Paul, brought up a silver reliquary con-

During his Easter Mass homily, Pope Francis spoke of the women in Matthew’s Gospel being told by the angel at Jesus’ tomb to go to Galilee, along with the disciples. Returning to Galilee, said the pope, means rereading everything—”Jesus’ preaching, his miracles, the new community, the excitement and the defections, even the betrayal—to re-

N E W S B R I E F S N AT I O N A L A N D I N T E R N AT I O N A L

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Kenneth Copeland Ministries, a Pentecostal group that sponsors large prayer gatherings around the world, received a special message from Pope Francis at a recent gathering. The video message was filmed by Bishop Tony Palmer, a South African bishop with the Anglican Episcopal Church of the CEEC (Celtic Anglican Tradition). Bishop Palmer and Pope Francis are friends. In the video, the pope spoke on the need for Christian unity.

The Commission for the Protection of Minors held its first meeting May 1-3 at the Vatican. During the meeting, members reflected on the nature and scope of its tasks, as well as its integration with members representing different geographical areas worldwide. A 100-foot curved wooden crucifix built in honor of St. John Paul II in northern Italy suddenly collapsed during an April 25 ceremony, killing 21-year-old Marco Gusmini, reported UK’s The Daily Mail. The cross was built in honor of John Paul II in 1998. Gusmini, who was on a visit with

read everything starting from the end, which is a new beginning,” one that begins with Jesus’ “supreme act of love” in dying for humanity’s sin. The pope then encouraged people to ask themselves, “Where is my Galilee? Have I forgotten it? Have I gone off on roads and paths which made me forget it?” Later in the day, the pope delivered his “urbi et orbi” (“to the city Fr ancisca n Media .org

The first of six weekly 55-minute DVD documentaries, entitled “Alla Scoperta del Vaticano” (“Discovering the Vatican”), was released in Italy April 16. Popular Italian broadcaster Angelo Angeli, host of the series, says, “The access offered in the series is unique. We were able to show places that have never been filmed [before].” The documentaries were produced by CTV, the Vatican’s own television-production studio, together with the Italian national network RAI, and is being distributed by La Repubblica, a Rome daily newspaper. CTV spokesmen said plans are under way for an English-language version of the DVDs, though a release date has not been set. A Catholic priest in New Hampshire was sentenced to four years in prison on April 23, after he pleaded guilty to three felony charges for stealing tens of thousands of dollars from his diocese, a Catholic hospital, and the estate of a dead priest. Msgr. Edward J. Arsenault, who was once a top official in the Manchester Diocese, has been ordered to repay the $185,000 he stole and to pay restitution, for a total of about $300,000.

CNS/COURTESY OF FR. EDWARD ARSENAULT

“Irreplaceable,” the first in a series of documentaries by Focus on the Family, was screened at theaters across the country on May 6. The film is part of the organization’s “The Family Project,” which will include 12 documentaries and study guides. Host Tim Sisarich travels the globe to answer the question: “What is Family?” The film explores the desire to belong that each person has and how that longing is fulfilled in the family.

other young Catholics to the Alpine village of Cevo, was killed instantly. Mayor Silvio Citroni said, “This is a place for pilgrimages and family visits. We never imagined that something like this could happen.”

British sociologist and professor, Margaret Archer has been appointed by Pope Francis as president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, according to the Vatican. Archer succeeds US law professor and former US ambassador to the Holy See Mary Ann Glendon, who served two five-year terms as head of the academy from 2004 to 2014. For more Catholic news, visit AmericanCatholic.org.

and the world”) message to at least 150,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square and on adjacent streets. He told them that Jesus’ victory over sin and death demonstrates that “love is more powerful, love gives life, love makes hope blossom in the wilderness.” He went on to say that evangelization “is about leaving ourselves behind and encountering others,

being close to those crushed by life’s troubles, sharing with the needy, standing at the side of the sick, elderly, and the outcast.”

Papal Phone Call Did Not Change Church Teaching In response to reports about a phone call Pope Francis made to an Argentine woman, Vatican spokesman Ju n e 2 0 1 4 ❘ 1 3

Father Lombardi said, “Consequences relating to the teaching of the Church are not to be inferred” from anything that the pope may have said to Lisbona.

Queen Elizabeth II Pays Visit to the Vatican

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Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, who is serving as an assistant to Father Lombardi, told reporters April 23 that Pope Francis had phoned Lisbona, but said that the content of the conversation was private. And

Boston Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley joined a dozen other bishops from three countries to celebrate Mass on the border between the United States and Mexico on April 1, reported CNS. During the Mass, which was held at the intersection of International and Nelson streets, Cardinal O’Malley prayed for compassion and for a return to ideals that welcome immigrants. “The system is broken and is causing untold suffering and an untenable waste of resources— human and material,” he said. The cardinal went on to quote Pope Francis: “The culture of comfort, which makes us think only of ourselves, makes us insensitive to the cries of other people.” More than 300 people formed the outdoor congregation on the US side of the border, and hundreds more participated on the Mexico side, receiving Communion into hands that were extended through the fence slats. A

CNS PHOTO/NANCY WIECHEC

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi said, “That which has been communicated in relation to this matter” and its “consequent media amplification cannot be confirmed as reliable and is a source of misunderstanding and confusion.” Jacquelina Lisbona wrote a letter to Pope Francis last September about not being able to receive Communion because Sabetta was divorced. Lisbona’s husband, Julio Sabetta, wrote on his Facebook page that Pope Francis phoned his wife on April 20 at their home in Argentina, identifying himself as “Father Bergoglio,” and that he said he was calling in regard to her letter. Media throughout the world picked up the story, based on Sabetta’s claim that his wife told him Pope Francis said she could receive Communion, although her parish priest had told her that was not possible unless Sabetta received an annulment and the two married in the Church.

Bishops Celebrate Mass at US Border

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Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, had an informal meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican on April 3. The royal visit took place as the Holy See and the United Kingdom were marking the 100th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations. Formal ties were broken in the 1570s after Pope Pius V excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I, who had reasserted the Church of England’s independence from papal authority. Amidst the gifts exchanged was a cross mounted on a lapis lazuli orb that the pope gave to the queen’s great-grandson, 8-month-old Prince George of Cambridge. “He will be thrilled by that,” the queen said, adding, “when he’s a little older.”

A group of US bishops, led by Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley of Boston, celebrates Mass at the border fence in Nogales, Arizona, on April 1. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

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The husband of Mary was a portrait of humility and wisdom. Dads today can take a lesson. BY FR. GARY CASTER

St. Joseph RA FatherR

for the Ages

PAINTING BY SR. MARIE CELESTE, OCD/CARMEL OF RENO

NE OF THE MOST important lessons fathers must teach their sons is proper conduct toward women. In this regard, Jesus was extremely fortunate. The person most responsible for his growth to manhood exhibited love, respect, and concern for Mary. Joseph’s devotion to his wife was not predicated on the revelation in his dream, but upon the woman he had come to know and had betrothed to himself. Learning the truth of Mary’s condition only strengthened Joseph’s love for her and gave that love a decisively new direction. Jesus’ respect for women was noteworthy. He welcomed women as valued friends, accepted them into the company of his followers, praised their faith, made himself available to them, and responded in mercy to their sinfulness. A principal example of Jesus’ friendships with women is that with Martha and Mary. In Luke’s account, we learn that each sister had a distinctive bond with Jesus. Mary recognized Jesus to be a holy man. His words resonated with such genuineness that she was content to sit at his feet and listen. Jesus’ words were comforting, and Mary would, in turn, comfort Jesus by anointing his feet with aromatic nard and drying them with her hair. Mary was at ease in Jesus’ presence, readily putting aside household chores to learn from her friend, who knew the deepest desires of her heart.

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Jesus loved to have Mary spend time with him in this way. Perhaps the home at Bethany mirrored that at Nazareth, where he, Mary, and Joseph would sit and listen to one another. Surely they reflected on the amazing events of Jesus’ life. By the time he was able to ask questions, his mother already held in her heart a precious treasury of memories.

A Friend to Women As parents are fond of recounting the story of their child’s life, Joseph and Mary would have done the same. Perhaps Jesus shared some of this story with his friends Mary, Martha, and their brother, Lazarus. Certainly he could insightfully and confidently share the great goodness of the Lord with the family in Bethany. Martha, although initially “anxious and worried about many things” (Lk 10:41), eventually came to see her friend Jesus from the same perspective as did St. Peter. She was able to look beyond the responsibilities and cares of the home to the truth that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world” (Jn 11:27). Martha moved from being comfortable enough to ask Jesus for Mary’s help to being comfortable with his absence at the death of her brother. She was confident that God would give Jesus whatever he asked. While Mary remained at home grieving, Martha went out to meet Jesus. Martha and Jesus meet just outside of town, June 2014 ❘ 17

CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING

Pope Francis on St. Joseph There are many dimensions to Joseph. Speaking in St. Peter’s Square on March 19, 2014, Pope Francis talked about three dimensions of St. Joseph’s influence on Jesus.

and there we learn how Martha has come to choose “the better part” (Lk 10:42). This is reflected in her faith-filled words to a man who has become more than a friend: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. [But] even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you” (Jn 11:21–22). Martha knows that her brother will rise at the resurrection on the last day. Her testimony 18 ❘ June 2014

PAINTING BY FR. PETER WM. GRAY, SS

oday I would like to take up the theme of guardianship under a particular aspect: the educational aspect. We look to Joseph as the model educator, who watches over and accompanies Jesus as he grows “in wisdom, age, and grace,” as the Gospel says. He was not Jesus’ father— the father of Jesus was God—but he was a father to Jesus, he was a father to Jesus in order to help him grow. And how did he help him grow? In wisdom, age, and grace. Let us begin with age, which is the most natural dimension, physical and psychological growth. Joseph, together with Mary, cared for Jesus above all from this point of view—that is, he raised him, taking care that he lacked nothing he needed for healthy development. Let us not forget that guarding faithfully over the child’s life also entailed the flight to Egypt, the harsh experience of living as refugees—Joseph was a refugee with Mary and Jesus—so as to escape the threat of Herod. Then, once they had returned home and were settled in Nazareth, there was a long period in Jesus’ life spent with his family. In those years, Joseph instructed Jesus in his work, and Jesus learned to be a carpenter with his father Joseph. Thus, Joseph raised Jesus. Let us move to the second dimension of his education: wisdom. Joseph was for Jesus the example and the teacher of the wisdom that is nourished by the word of God. We could ponder how Joseph formed the

little Jesus to listen to the sacred Scriptures, above all by accompanying him on Saturday to the synagogue in Nazareth. Joseph accompanied Jesus so that he would listen to the word of God in the synagogue. And, lastly, the dimension of grace. St. Luke always says of Jesus: “the favor of God was upon him” (2:40). Here, of course, the role reserved to St. Joseph is more limited than it was in the area of age and wisdom. But it would be a grave error to think that a father and mother can do nothing to form their child to grow in the grace of God. To grow in age, to grow in wisdom, and to grow in grace: this is the work Joseph did with Jesus, to help him grow in these three ways, to aid his growth.

allows Jesus to openly share the truth of his being the resurrection and the life. These words prepare his disciples for the work Jesus has come to accomplish, that they, too, might believe. Martha is not content to keep Jesus for herself. She goes home in order to bring Mary to their friend. Mary falls at Jesus’ feet, lamenting the fact that he was not with them when Lazarus died. Jesus asks to be taken to Lazarus’ St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

tomb. As we move with them toward the place where Lazarus has been buried, we learn just how much Jesus loves them. He openly weeps at the loss of his friend.

Grateful Followers Martha and Mary were not the only women to whom Jesus opened his life. Accompanying him and the Twelve were “Mary, called Magdalene, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources” (Lk 8:2–3). Some of these had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities. They were not sent back to their homes, as were many men whom Jesus healed. Perhaps the women would have been exposed to scrutiny, judgment, and shame. Jesus showed the same loving discretion that Joseph had shown toward Mary when he discovered her pregnancy. Such discretion is assuredly the case with the woman caught in adultery. Rather than become entangled in a discussion about the accusations being made, Jesus quietly traces his finger in the sand, and then challenges the righteousness of the accusers: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (Jn 8:7). The men leave “one by one, beginning with the eldest.” There is now no one there to condemn her, and neither will Jesus. Jesus’ actions not only save the woman’s life but also reorient it. Alone with her now, he is able to speak to her directly: “Do not sin anymore” (Jn 8:11). This woman and many like her find their true place only within the company of Jesus’ followers. A growing number of them travel from village to village with Jesus as he proclaims the Good News of God’s kingdom. All four Gospels make it abundantly clear that Jesus’ message is for women as well as men. His words and actions perfectly reveal the truth that “God shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34). Jesus came to call all sinners to repentance, whoever they might be and wherever they might be found. He moves throughout Galilee and Judea, including places not inhabited by the children of the house of Israel. He ventures to places like Samaria, where a Jew was not expected to go. There, in a town called Sychar, Jesus sits down at Jacob’s well, while his disciples go into town to buy food. In the middle of the day, a Samaritan woman comes to the well, and this intriguing Jewish man engages her in a spirited conversation. Fr anciscanMedia.org

What begins with a simple request for a drink of water will forever change this woman’s life and the lives of the people in her village. Jesus shows once again that his righteousness is not revealed in condemning others but in offering Click here for more them the chance of eternal life. resources on St. Joseph, At the end of their conversathe father of Jesus. tion, the woman hurries back to town, unafraid of what others may think of her. Like Martha, she cannot keep Jesus to herself, but is compelled to invite others to come and meet Jesus.

tal Digi as t Ex r

Living Witness As Jesus went about healing the sick, raising the dead, and casting out demons, he regularly encountered men and women of remarkable faith. He singled out one woman as a daughter of Abraham. He commended a Canaanite: “O woman, great is your faith!” and healed her daughter from the torments of a demon. The way in which Jesus interacted with women is a profound testimony to the love of the Father and the example of his earthly father. St. Joseph was a model of masculinity, and his strength was rooted in thoughtful care and genuine respect. His unwillingness to expose Mary to shame reveals the depth of his character, as does his attentive care of Mary at the time of Christ’s birth. Joseph is, with Mary, a living witness to the light that will reveal to the nations God’s saving power. Jesus taught that the measure with which we measure will be the measure used toward us. Joseph poured out his life for God, and that life overflowed with God’s goodness. The word that was with the Father in the beginning needed a human voice to speak the truth of God’s love to a world disordered by sin. Therefore, God chose and prepared the most fitting vessel by which his son might be born of flesh and blood. He also chose with great care the man perfectly suited for the rearing of his son. Joseph showed through his care of Jesus what being a father truly means. Jesus, in turn, would show the world the Father. A

Joseph showed through his care of Jesus what being a father truly means.

This text is excerpted from Fr. Gary Caster’s book Joseph: The Man Who Raised Jesus (Servant Books). Fr. Gary Caster is the author of several books, including The Little Way of Lent and The Little Way of Advent. He has also written and produced shows for EWTN, and is the Catholic chaplain at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. June 2014 ❘ 19

LIVE WELL

❘ BY COLLEEN MONTGOMERY AND JIM BRENNAN

Be Present

ave you ever had a conversation with someone and suddenly noticed a look in their eyes as if they were circling the moon? Now you know what it’s like talking to my dad and coauthor, Jim Brennan. But, wait, he’s not alone. The pace of today’s hectic society—with all of its competing priorities, multimedia blitz, and information overload—is full of distractions that pull us out of the present. Tuning in to our breathing can be a way out.

The Art of Being Present Being present is to be mindful, live in the moment, and awaken to experience. It is active and open attention to what is happening in the now with a completely nonjudgmental mind. Placing yourself in the moment is to 2 0 ❘ Jun e 2014

live unburdened by the past and unfettered by the future. Being present requires a conscious pause and active listening. Such qualities are hard to practice in the midst of family and work life—and all the commitments that come with them. Nevertheless, they are skills that can be learned.

Think about It What are you thinking about right now as you read this column? Are you thinking about what you will do next? Are you thinking about bills, your job, or vacation? Thinking of a response during a con© IOFOTO/FOTOLIA versation pulls you out of the present. Being truly present in a conversation requires full concentration on every word, expression, gesture, and feeling conveyed by the other person. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

To hear Colleen Montgomery’s tips on ways to be present, click the button on the left.

A Page from Scripture When Christ fell asleep crossing the Sea of Galilee and a storm blew in, the apostles woke him, fearing for their lives. Jesus rose, scolded the wind, and said to the sea, “‘Quiet! Be still!’ The wind ceased and there was great calm” (Mk 4:39). When life’s storm rages, stop, take a deep breath, exhale slowly, and repeat Christ’s words to yourself, “Quiet! Be still!”

The Lord himself will fight for you; you have only to keep still. —Exodus 14:14

Catch Your Breath Breathing helps bring focus back to the present. It releases stressors—burdens from the past and anxieties about the future. Breathing is essential to meditation, which is also an effective means of stress reduction. Both breathing and meditation sharpen focus, which nurtures being mindful and present.

Return to the NOW ■

Take slow, deep breaths.

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Close your eyes for a moment.

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Be thankful for the moment—who you are, what you are experiencing.

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Notice sensations: sights, sounds, smells, textures, body positions.

Ask yourself, “Where am I now?” Are you thinking about something that happened this morning or last week? Are you planning what you will do tonight or tomorrow? Simply asking the question will return your consciousness to the present. God is as close as your next breath. By paying attention to your breathing, you return to the present. Mouth breathing triggers a sudden anxiety response. Releasing your breath through the nose draws a relaxation response. Be attentive to what you see and hear—the sensations in your body. Listen to the silence; feel the stillness. Close your eyes and feel your physical presence—your body’s weight. Remove “next” from your vocabulary: next task, next appointment, next person, next week. There is nothing else to get to but the here and now. Be a witness to what you are doing in the moment and let it go. Clinging to what you have done traps you in the past. Experience each moment, and then let it go.

Practice

Jim Brennan writes about health and fitness from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Colleen Montgomery is a registered clinical exercise physiologist and certified wellness coach. They alternate this column monthly. Fr ancisca n Media .org

Ju n e 2 0 1 4 ❘ 2 1

Getting Comfortable with

Prayer How well do you communicate with God? BY SUE ERSCHEN

HEN YOU PRAY, what do you say? Are you comfortable talking to God in your own words? Are you able to offer a spontaneous prayer before a meal, at the beginning of a parish meeting, or while visiting with a friend in need? Or do you primarily use prayers written by others? As powerful as the words of others may be, they are not our own words to our God. If we only use prayers written by other people, then our communication with God is like the individual who communicates with us only by sending an endless stream of forwarded e-mails.

been written by saints or highly educated and profoundly holy people. These wise words can calm us in times of stress, quiet our busy minds, or give us a sense of connection to God. How could we possibly write prayers better than these? Of course, in a childlike way, we do know how to compose our own “whining” prayers. The Church officially calls these petitionary or intercessory prayers. These are our “Please, please, please, God!” prayers. These are the prayers we might have learned to say before we went to bed each night.

Childlike Prayer

PHOTOS: WOMAN © YURI/ISTOCK, BOY © CARLUSH/FOTOLIA

We may be somewhat uncomfortable writing or speaking our own prayers to God because, as children, we primarily learned to recite rote prayers—the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, and Apostles’ Creed. As we grew older, we may have learned to rely on other popular prayers or psalms. Many people regularly pray Saint Francis’ Peace Prayer, Saint Ignatius’ Suscipe—“Take, Lord”— prayer, the Prayer for Serenity, or Psalm 23—“The Lord Is My Shepherd.” The words of the Our Father, of course, were given to us by Jesus. The other prayers we regularly say have Fr anciscanMedia.org

For some reason, when we want something, we are not shy or uncomfortable in our pleading. We know how to deliver our laundry list of demands to God. We want God to cure our sick parent, help us with a test, and take care of those in need. We want God to let our team win its game, find a job for our friend, and give us the strength to resist temptation. We want God to guide us in a tough decision, inspire our plans, and bless our family with abundant gifts. In short, we may spend a lot of our private prayer time praying as we did when we were children—either rattling off memorized words or telling God what we expect. Yet there should be so much more to mature prayer. As we develop a deeper relationship with God, we must expand the ways we carry on the dialogue that is good prayer. We must learn to get comfortable with God, communicating with God in our own words. A good way to start is by writing letters to God in a prayer journal.

Writing to God

While most of us are well versed in the prayers of our youth, learning to pray in a more mature way can boost our prayer lives.

It is helpful to set aside quiet time each day for this wonderfully healing and empowering spiritual practice. I prefer the morning. Each day, before the sun even rises, I slip downstairs, grab a cup June 2014 ❘ 23

Writing prayers to God can become a two-way conversation that includes emptying our soul to God and then listening carefully to what God might say to us. of hot tea, wrap myself in a soft afghan, and settle into my favorite chair to begin my daily letter to God. Often, while my tea water is heating, I am already rehearsing in my mind what I want to write to God. I might want to tell God about a dream I had, or ask for advice for the upcoming day, or offer thanks for the blessings of yesterday. But other mornings I feel empty. What will I say to God on this day? For this reason, I begin each writing session with spiritual reading—either from the Bible or from some other inspiring book. It’s like letting God start the conversation. Once I have read for a few minutes, I feel I am ready to write. I grab my pen and my prayer journal—a special book of blank pages hidden under my chair 24 ❘ June 2014

and reserved for these private letters to God. “Good morning, dear and wonderful God—my amazing Father, Jesus, and Spirit,” I begin. My daily letters to God include my inspirations, my gratitude, my frustrations, and my needs. Sometimes I am surprised by the words that flow from my pen, and I wonder whether it is me or God doing the writing. Writing our thoughts to God may feel more natural and comfortable than just talking to the air because we are accustomed to sending texts, e-mails, and letters to friends whom we cannot see or hear. We are not as accustomed to simply talking to friends whom we can neither see nor hear. Some people would call us crazy if we did that. Thus, we may initially have trouble

talking naturally to God, which is why we often fall back on the memorized prayers written by someone else. As we begin writing our own daily letters to God, we will soon find that our prayer life becomes more vibrant and fulfilling. Think of these journal entries as e-mails to a very dear friend. We learn to talk to God from our heart. We can thank God for his blessings. Ask for God’s encouragement and guidance. Confide to God our worries and our fears. Share our joys and our sorrows. Tell God how great we think he is. St. Francis de Sales once said, “Every Christian needs a half hour of prayer each day, except when he is busy; then he needs an hour.” Until we learn to talk to God from our heart, the thought of giving up an hour on a busy day to simply recite a bunch of memorized prayers seems like a waste of time. I can quickly rattle off the Our Father while I am stuck in traffic or rocking my grandson to sleep. I can deliver my whining prayers to God whenever the need for something strikes me. Why would St. Francis think a busy person needs to spend an hour each day just talking with God? Yet when we begin to write our own prayers, we discover that an hour of simply opening our lives to God can fly by very quickly because it is so comforting and peaceful. Mature prayer, just like a good conversation with a close friend, can cause us to lose track of all time. I have to set a timer to make sure I do not get lost in this special time with God. Writing prayers to God can become a two-way conversation that includes emptying our soul to God, explaining exactly how we feel or what bothers us, and then listening carefully to what God might say to us. Surprisingly, when we begin to write to God, we will often discover that many of the answers to our questions and our worries flow into our writing, as if God is writing back to us through the words that appear on the page.

Crafting Daily Prayers Once I began to write my own prayers in a prayer journal, I would sometimes St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

y a z a

y y y

Tips for Writing Your Own Prayers When writing my own prayers to God, I like to include: ■

Notes from my prayer journal that I want to repeat regularly.

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Scripture quotes that speak most profoundly to my life.

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Goals I have set for myself, such as for greater joy, peace, or compassion.

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Fill-in-the-blank lines which allow me to reflect on the needs, gifts, and realities of my day.

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Inspirational thoughts from spiritual reading, daily meditations, homilies, or liturgical songs. It is not uncommon for me to come home after Mass and edit a part of one of my prayers to include something that inspired me in the readings, hymns, or homily.

example, several years ago a very frustrating situation would often cause me to get angry throughout the day. My morning prayer included the line,

PHOTO © ADISA/FOTOLIA

find that a message I had written to God seemed so perfect and comforting that I wanted to repeat it over and over again. Rather than leaving it buried in my prayer journal, I would copy it onto a sticky note and place it on my desk, so I could repeat it throughout the day. If words from a liturgical song, sacred Scripture, homily, online daily meditation, or inspirational book inspired me, I would jot them on a sticky note too. Before I knew it, my collection of inspirational sticky notes grew to be an unmanageable mess. It was time to consolidate all of these messages to God and reminders to myself into organized prayers that I could use on a regular basis. I sorted my sticky notes into morning prayers, evening prayers, prayers for the sacred hours of the Church, prayers for healing, prayers for the seasons, and prayers for special intentions. These personal prayers are stored in my computer so it is easy for me to edit them as I feel the need to change my regular conversations with God. For

“Lord, help me to let go of my anger and frustration.” After months of sending this plea to God each morning, one day I suddenly

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realized I no longer was angry or frustrated about a situation beyond my control. With joy, I knew God had heard and answered my prayer—not by changing the situation but by changing me. I no longer needed to send this repeated plea to God. I quickly rewrote my prayer to say, “Thank you, God, for helping me to let go of frustrations and judgments which are beyond my control.”

Five Ways to Pray

Finding the Right Blend Once I began to write my own prayers to God—both as spontaneous letters in a prayer journal and as formal prayers, which I use on a regular basis—I found talking to God in my own words to be

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Click here for more on prayer.

amazingly easy, comforting, and inspiring. I no longer cringe if someone asks me to offer a spontaneous prayer. Sometimes ancient prayers say it 26 ❘ June 2014

Fill-in-the-blank prayers help us examine our day—recalling the gifts God has given, the special intentions we want to lift up, the ways we have failed, and the goals we have for improving our lives. Some of my favorite fill-in-the-blank lines include: If it be your will, please listen to my prayers for _______________________. Where did I fail you today, my Lord? ________________________. I thank you for all you have given me today, especially _______________________. I felt your grace today, Lord, when __________________________. I am feeling ______________________ today, Lord. Please help me to ________________________. Fill my heart with compassion, especially for _________________. Please give me the virtue of __________________________ , which I need to do your will this day. What amazes me when I use fill-in-the-blank prayers is how, even after I have determined my own response for these prayers, I will sometimes hear a different answer whispered in my heart. For example, I may say I felt God’s grace when I watched the glory of the sunrise, but then, in my heart, I will hear that I felt God’s grace when I ignored a hurtful remark a friend made to me, or when I impulsively stopped to help a stranger. I know it is then that God is talking to me, just as I am talking to God. It is a beautiful, wonderful, and comfortable dialogue.

best. Sometimes the words of the wise and blessed who have gone before us on this faith journey are perfect. However, on a day-to-day basis, I usually find that no prayer written by a stranger or a long-deceased saint can adequately express exactly the worry, the gratitude, the frustration, or the joy I want to whisper into the loving ear of my awesome God. We can compare prayer to sending a greeting card to a dear friend. The words and the pictures the professionals at Hallmark craft may be a perfect beginning for our message to a loved one. Yet, I do not feel good about sending a store-bought card unless I also add my own personal note. In the same way, the prayers written by others may start us on our prayer

journey. However, we need to add our own personal notes to God. My 86-year-old father recently begged all of his children and grandchildren to stop wasting money on expensive store-bought cards for Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or his birthday. He told us just to write our own words to him on a piece of paper because those words meant so much more to him than the fancy cards. I cannot help but think our Father in heaven might often feel the same way as we rattle off other people’s words. A Sue Erschen is a freelance author from St. Louis, Missouri. Her work has appeared in many Catholic venues, including Our Sunday Visitor Newsweekly, Priest Magazine, and Today’s Catholic Teacher. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

PAPER TEXTURE © BIRGIT HERBST/FOTOLIA

To make sure our personally written prayers are not completely selfcentered, it might be helpful to keep in mind the five basic forms of prayer as outlined in the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults. While the differences between these five forms might seem fuzzy at times, we should strive to include the following in our daily prayer: Adoration—Where we profess our love for God, acknowledging all the glory and wonder of our great God. Petition—Where we ask for help and support for ourselves on our faith journey. Intercession—Where we raise up the needs of others and our world. Thanksgiving—Where we express our gratitude for God’s endless gifts in our lives. Praise—Where we recognize all the greatness of God. We may name God as our Creator, our Savior, our Inspiration, our Rock, our Healer, our Light, our Lord, our Companion, our Guide.

Fill in the Blanks

EDITORIAL

The Slave Next Door Forced labor, coerced prostitution—how can we be so blind to a growing problem? This month, slaves will be marketed at soccer’s World Cup in Brazil, in April it was the shocking nighttime abduction of more than 100 schoolgirls by heavily armed Boko Haram militants in Nigeria. Every day, girls and boys, men and women, worldwide, kidnapped in all manner of ways, are being used as commodities in the prostitution business, or possibly for domestic help, or maybe for free agricultural labor—almost any duty you can imagine. It seems unbelievable. There are 27 million slaves worldwide today. That’s more than three times the population of New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles combined. We have a widely shared myth in this country that slavery ended with the Civil War. But, believe it or not, this is widespread in the United States. Today, not only are there still agricultural slaves—and all of the abuses that come with it; there is an even more widespread and bustling business of forced prostitution, primarily of women, including teens and very young girls. Remember the deeply disturbing 2013 story of the Cleveland women kept chained in a house? There are other situations like this, and more commonly, many, many vulnerable girls who are forced into prostitution. These are not poor castoffs only; there are many girls from all corners of society.

This Is Huge Human trafficking—taking people, against their will, from one place to another, for exploitation—is the most widespread of several types of slavery today. Bad as it would be, in the United States we’re not talking about only a few hundred desperate souls being held. There are somewhere between 14,000 and 50,000 persons trafficked in the United States annually. It’s more widespread elsewhere—India, China, Pakistan, and Nigeria lead the unhappy list. Fr ancisca n Media .org

Unfortunately, there is more than human trafficking. There is bonded labor (where people are forced to work to pay off debts that grow faster than the pay), there is forced migrant labor (of illegal immigrants trapped along the way). In war-torn lands there are children forced to be soldiers, people who are kidnapped and robbed of organs (for example, kidneys) sold for transplant, and more. Illegal immigration, in which people willingly undergo all manner of danger and hardship to come into the United States, by the way, is not included here. We are talking about coercion.

Where Is Our Outrage? Slavery, human trafficking, forced labor, exploitation—it’s not exactly a risky editorial position to oppose it. But how can we oppose something that we know almost nothing about? Maybe that’s our challenge: to pay attention more closely, maybe spend some time learning about these exploitative acts. For starters, you might go to usccb.org, and search for “human trafficking.” Our own Pope Francis has made this a priority during his papacy, attacking our indifference now on the Click here to learn global stage after tal Digi as how you can fight doing the same when Extr slavery today. he was a cardinal in Argentina. “Cry out full-throated” against human trafficking, he pleaded in a 2009 homily in Buenos Aires. This past March he cofounded, along with Anglican and Muslim leaders, the Global Freedom Network, whose purpose is to mobilize the world community, immediately, against slavery. From the statistics in the 2009 book of the same title as this editorial (University of California Press), and from a newer book, The Slave Across the Street (Ampelon Publishing), it seems many of us have had direct contact with somebody directly affected by modern slavery—and we never even knew it. It’s time to wake up, to learn, to act. —John Feister Ju n e 2 0 1 4 ❘ 2 7

Dr. Carolyn Woo’s

Mission of Charity “We’re about action,” says the head of CRS. Its worldwide success proves her point. B Y R A F A E L A LVA R E Z

T HAS BEEN a fantastic journey, these past six decades in the life of Carolyn Woo. It is a tale—as much Ian Fleming as Thomas Merton, two parts nose-to-thegrindstone for each part prayer—of international intrigue, hard work, excellence in all attempted, and faith beyond understanding. Her father was a purchased child, bought by a middle-class family from a poor one at a young age and educated in the West. Her livein nanny, a Buddhist, was procured at age nine to be a servant. “It was an investment,” Woo says of her father’s move from one set of parents to another. “But it was also charity because children [were] starving to death.” Both of her grandfathers subscribed to the tradition of multiple wives and thus, young Carolyn grew up with eight grandmothers. And her parents were pursued—her mother for betrothal, her father for conscription—by the Japanese military during the Imperial Army’s World War II occupation of China. Her father, Peter Woo, was a naval architect schooled in Germany and Scotland. A manabout-town, he enjoyed cards, especially

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bridge, and discotheques, while making sure his brood made it to Mass every Sunday. “My father was a baptized, nonpracticing Catholic,” says Woo. “Every Sunday he would drive us to church and wait outside for us to come out.” Perhaps because his own life had been so dramatic, or perhaps because he was just an old-fashioned patriarch, he wanted Carolyn and her three sisters to finish high school, settle down, and stay close to the family in Hong Kong. (Peter Woo’s sons were encouraged to pursue every opportunity that a good education in the world had to offer.) From an early age, the fifth of his six chilSt A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

PHOTO BY JENNIFER HARDY/CRS

dren desired something more, much more. Very simply, says Woo, the only daughter to attend college: “I had other plans.” Those ideas have taken Woo far in 58 years— from a little kid in Hong Kong who spoke no English to the top job at one of the world’s most influential humanitarian organizations. Referencing Pope Benedict XVI’s 2009 encyclical, “Charity in Truth,” Woo wrote: “Such potential [to better the lives of others] and responsibility exist, but that these can only be brought forth through the moral energies of leaders.” This is the philosophy on which she runs Catholic Relief Services (CRS), one of the largest Fr anciscanMedia.org

charities in the United States, with reported revenue of $715 million last year and a strong, influential presence around the world. CRS currently assists more than 100 million people in some 91 countries.

Example of Joy “Humans are smart because God made us to be smart,” says Woo, who moved to Baltimore to run CRS in January 2012. “We have the will to take ownership for problems.” Founded by US bishops in New York in 1943 as a response to World War II, CRS has grown beyond the distribution of basic necessities in the wake of disasters—both natural and man-

Occasionally Carolyn Woo heads to the field to see firsthand the good work that CRS is doing. Here, in 2012, she visits a parish far into the countryside in Myanmar (Burma) to see a parish-run boarding school. CRS supports projects that help people learn to help themselves.

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PHOTO BY LAURA ELIZABETH POHL FOR CRS

made—toward programs with an emphasis on health, education, agriculture, and economic development. CRS remains a program of the bishops’ conference today. In the essential skill of farming, Woo has increased the emphasis on women, often the majority voice in groups with which CRS works. She notes that many farmers around the world are female and that literacy and their access to education are imperative to bumper crops.

Survivors in the path of last year’s Philippines typhoon will be rebuilding for years. Here Dr. Woo visits a neighborhood in Tacloban, where Typhoon Haiyan wreaked destruction.

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Women have also been at the forefront of savings and lending programs established by CRS in poor nations—a new twist on the early 20th-century immigrant savings and loans that helped build neighborhoods in many American cities. As in everything she does, Woo notes the paramount influence of the Maryknoll Sisters, who spent 12 years preparing Woo to achieve anything she set her mind to. She keeps a display of Maryknoll schoolgirls in their various uniforms over the years (for Woo it was blue in winter and white in summer) and tells the story of the sisters—credit where credit is due— in every interview. “My religious identity absolutely came from the Maryknoll Sisters,” says Woo. “They were full of joy and very able—a very tight fraternity of sisters.” And they were American, which fascinated Woo and her classmates. Young Carolyn responded strongly to the sisters’ sense of adventure but not the call—“well, maybe a little,” she says—of convent life. “Their example was so much joy and so much excellence. I push people pretty hard— I have a very high standard.” She is not shy about telling people when they have fallen

short of that bar, as many of Woo’s staff, about 300 people in Baltimore, will testify. Like Woo’s family, the Maryknolls fled China for Hong Kong during the Communist Revolution and there set up schools—establishing one academy, Woo says, with money saved by walking everywhere instead of taking public transportation. They were also the founders of hospitals and clinics and active in campaigns for social justice. “Very few of the sisters spoke Chinese so we were taught in English from the second grade on,” says Woo. “By the 10th grade, our debating team did well enough to challenge the private [British] schools, and we did well. A few times we beat them.” For those dozen, crucial years of childhood, she says, the Maryknoll “impact on me was unbelievable. They were the first ones to make God real to me.” God the Father became real to Woo, she says, because he was real to the sisters. With a logic honed on the debate team, she reckoned that if the Creator weren’t real, giving up everything to serve others as the Maryknolls did, all while subjected to hardship, violence, and disease, would not make sense. “I’m very strong-willed and analytical,” says Woo. “Once I figure something out, you have to go through the logic to undo my thinking.” If it doesn’t make sense, Carolyn Woo is not going to put the considerable influence of Catholic Relief Services at stake.

Equipping the Poor for Success Woo is especially fond of the philosophy embedded in FAR—Faith, Action, Results—a strategy she’d lived by long before learning the acronym. It served her well at Purdue University, the beginning of her life in the United States. She landed in West Lafayette, Indiana, in the fall of 1972, the height of hippie culture and the Vietnam antiwar protests, “in the equivalent of my Catholic-school uniform.” Well aware that she didn’t fit in and had neither time nor money to waste, Woo found solace in the campus’ St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center and buckled down. In a breakneck seven years, she earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, as well as her career. “I never quite slept,” she says of her steady, methodical march toward a PhD in strategic St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

management. “I’d brush my teeth, put on my nightgown, and go back to studying.” After serving as an associate executive vice president for academic affairs at Purdue University, and directing the professional master’s program at their Krannert School of Management, Woo moved from one fabled Hoosier institution to another. At the University of Notre Dame, she became dean of the Mendoza College of Business, which under her leadership was ranked first in the nation in 2010 and 2011 by Bloomberg/Businessweek. Along the way, Woo was asked to join the board of CRS, a position that introduced her to the field of development. From there, she was named to lead the organization. “We’re about action,” she says of CRS. “When Pope Francis talks about the social gospel [it] means you can’t turn a blind eye on the poor. What greater thing can you do than bring God’s results to people?”

Developing Capacity

Fr anciscanMedia.org

Delivering Hope CRS was profoundly involved in relief efforts in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan killed

The headdress is traditional in Afghanistan, where Dr. Woo visits with CRS staffperson Fazl Ahmad while visiting projects—roads, irrigation canals, schools, emergency food, and more—in Ghor Province.

PHOTO BY LAURA SHEAHEN/CRS

In July 2012, about half a year after taking over for longtime president Ken Hackett as the president and chief executive officer of CRS, Woo began a monthly column, “Our Global Family,” for Catholic News Service. In her introductory dispatch, she used memories of her homeland as a testament to her faith in God and belief in sound business practices: “Hong Kong had no natural resources—no arable land, no water, no minerals or oil. Growing up there, I saw people empowered by business. They moved from poverty to wealth and brought many along with them. And I know that they also left many behind. “So much of development work is harnessing the power of business to help the poor. It is crucial not only to link the poor to markets, but also to equip them for success, with access to knowledge, appropriate technology, and capital, as well as good education, health, and nutrition. . . . This is the kind of development that will generate sustainable improvements.” Woo’s office at CRS world headquarters is on the third floor of a late 19th-century downtown department store—the long-gone Stewart’s— now on the National Register of Historic Places. She and her husband, David Bartkus (whom she married in 1979 after meeting on a parish council while both were at Purdue), chose an

apartment close enough for Woo to walk to work and the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They have two sons, one a physician and the other a theology teacher at a Catholic high school. During our interview at her office, Woo elaborates on the concept of sustainability. “We work to eliminate problems,” she says with customary certainty. “We don’t want to be working with the same people over and over again.” Again, she returns to the fundamentals of agriculture as an answer. “We want to move people out of high vulnerability. We can have a mitigating action on geography—teaching people to grow a specific crop, working with irrigation,” says Woo, noting that the staple of rice is a water crop adaptable to areas of India where flooding is a problem. “We have seen poor farmers growing maize for generations even though there is an oversupply of maize in the world. So they now grow papaya and passion fruit,” she says. All the while, as the organization lays the foundation for new approaches to old problems, Mother Nature and man’s inhumanity to man demand attention, money, and resources.

more than 6,000 people early last November and displaced many more. Less than a week after the disaster, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops convened their annual meeting in Baltimore, and Woo told the clergy that CRS had plans to assist more than 100,000 families, about half a million people. In a recovery expected to take up to five years—debris removal alone has been colossal, June 2014 ❘ 31

PHOTO BY LAURA ELIZABETH POHL FOR CRS

“Humans are smart because God made us smart,” observes this professor. “We have the will to take ownership for our problems.” Here she takes a moment for worship at Santo Nino Parish in Tacloban, Philippines.

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a pay-to-haul program that has removed some 400,000 cubic feet of trash so far—CRS has committed to raising $50 million. More recently, CRS has responded to the crises arising from war and violence in the Central African Republic and South Sudan. Many who have been displaced by the fighting have taken refuge at Catholic churches. Folks watching the daily horror on television—the challenges of CRS and other nongovernmental organizations at work around the world—are familiar with scenes of food and medicine distribution in vast refugee camps. Rarely, though, do they see the displaced receiving startingClick here for more on CRS over-from-nothing necessities and its work. such as wheelbarrows, slabs for latrines, buckets, and pickaxes with handles. On January 16, Woo tweeted: “395,000 people have been displaced by the recent violence in South Sudan. CRS is on the ground and responding to their needs.” That January, CRS gave supplies to some of the estimated 400,000 displaced victims of the Sudanese civil war. Carolyn Woo, the kid who knew there was a world bigger than her family’s kitchen table

32 ❘ June 2014

in Hong Kong—who saw that women in Chinese culture took a backseat and she was destined to be at the wheel—was listed last year by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the 500 most powerful people on the planet. That’s a long way from her upbringing. Woo tells the story of how she and her beloved nanny, still alive in Hong Kong, took part in an informal adoption ceremony after Woo’s mother’s death in 2000. Woo became the nanny’s “goddaughter.” The lifetime relationship—so intimate that Carolyn grew up emotionally closer to her caretaker than to her birthmother—was no longer one of servant and served. They had become family. Storytelling, says Woo, especially personal stories with lessons to be learned, “help bring to life the social gospel . . . [and] CRS really acts on faith. We do what we do because we believe in God.” She makes a quip that tells something about both her joyful attitude and her determination to live her faith here and now: “Christ promises hope, but we deliver.” A Rafael Alvarez is a film writer and fiction writer based in Baltimore. His most recent collection of short stories is Tales from the Holy Land. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

Silent Compassion Finding God in Contemplation Richard Rohr

Skirting Heresy The Life and Times of Margery Kempe Elizabeth MacDonald

In Silent Compassion: Finding God in Contemplation, Richard Rohr focuses on finding God in the depths of silence and shares that divine silence is more than the absence of noise. Silence has a life of its own, in which we are invited into its living presence, wholeness of being, and the peace it brings. Rohr adds that while different faiths use different languages and different words, all major religions have come at the mystery of God as a dynamic flow—God as communion, God as relationships. Silence then becomes that common place for all.

Visionary, rebel, mystic, pilgrim: prior to this book, Margery Kempe has been best known for dictating what is recognized as the first Englishlanguage autobiography. This polarizing, illiterate mother of fourteen was repeatedly arrested for heresy at the behest of the Catholic Church but somehow had the pluck and determination to escape being burnt alive at the stake by the very same men who had Joan of Arc put to death.

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CONNECT WITH US

Young People in Simplicity, community, and spirituality are the hallmarks of this Franciscan volunteer program in Pittsburgh. T E X T B Y J A N I C E L A N E PA L K O

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PHOTOS BY ALISA MILNTHORP

OU MAY HAVE NOTICED those paw-shaped magnets on cars that say “Who Rescued Who?” They’re displayed by pet lovers who’ve been so deeply affected by the adoption of a shelter animal that they—and not their pets— are the ones who’ve been saved. If the Change A Heart volunteer program, operating in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, ever developed such a magnet, it would have to ask “Who Changed Who?” because both the volunteers and those whom they serve are being transformed by this ministry. Founded in 1999 by the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities in Millvale, a suburb north of Pittsburgh, Change A Heart is a 12-month Franciscan volunteer service experience that empowers young adults to live simply in community, while serving a vulnerable population. Sister Donna Stephenson, a member of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities, had the vision to develop a ministry that would engage young laypeople in caring for those in need in a prayerful way. Change A Heart’s focus is to inspire and mentor young adults in the Franciscan spirit so they develop skills to intentionally live out lifelong Gospel values of modeling justice, peacemaking, hospitality, and caring for the earth and all creation by providing direct essential services among those who are marginalized in western Pennsylvania.

(Left to right) Change A Heart’s current director, Kelly Caddy; founder, Sister Donna Stephenson, OSF; and program coordinator, Galen Osby, work hard to inspire and mentor young adults in the Franciscan spirit.

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Legacy Program, Franciscan Heart “The sisters realized that their community was growing smaller and aging, and that it was time to heed the call from Vatican Council II, which stated that we are all called to holiness, that it was time to encourage lay leadership,” says Kelly T. Caddy, director of Change A Heart. Caddy, who along with Galen Osby, program coordinator, oversees the program, says, “The sisters view this program as their legacy.”

St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

Service

Wesley Davis, Sean Cooksey, Amy Skroch, and Chris Mertens prepare a schoolroom at Holy Trinity Baptist Church in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood, as part of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. AmeriCorps Day of Service. Fr anciscanMedia.org

June 2014 ❘ 35

Change A Heart was not designed as a way to increase vocations, but rather as an invitation for members to live in similar ways as the sisters—in community, praying together, serving others, while living simply in solidarity with those they serve. Embracing the values that St. Francis espoused—service, simplicity, community, and

(Left to right) Sarah Brinkman, Wesley Davis, Rachel Hanks, and Sean Cooksey join together in prayer. Once a week members gather for reflection and prayer, so as to root their actions of service in faith.

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spirituality—members of Change A Heart are matched with a nonprofit organization in a full-time position that directly serves a vulnerable population in the areas of education, health care, and social services. Members receive a small stipend of $90 per month and live in an urban setting among the people they serve. They also support one another in the Franciscan spirit of mutuality and simplicity by dining together several times a week, sharing an activity once a week, and praying regularly. “We like to describe Change A Heart as a Christian program with a Catholic foundation and a Franciscan identity,” Caddy says. As such, spirituality and living the Gospel are the bedrock of the program and are nurtured through personal reflection, group sharing and prayer, retreats, and the opportunity Click here for more for spiritual direction. information on Change “Retreats are held every seaA Heart and the Catholic son [during which] each memVolunteer Network. ber is matched with a ‘prayer sister’ from the Sisters of St. Francis, who prays for that member. They also join with their prayer sister and the other sisters for dinner several times throughout their year to share experiences and stories,” she adds. While there are similar volunteer programs

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throughout the United States, Change A Heart is the only Catholic, yearlong service program in Pittsburgh. Since it’s also part of the Catholic Volunteer Network (CVN) and an AmeriCorps program, participants are eligible to receive, when applicable, the AmeriCorps Education Award. Single men and women between the ages of 21 and 30 from all work experiences, educational backgrounds, ethnicities, and residential locations are encouraged to apply. While most of the members are people of faith, that is not a requirement for participation. When the program started, the volunteer group numbered only five or fewer members. Today, it has blossomed to 11 participants. Change A Heart starts in mid-August, beginning with a weeklong orientation, and concludes the following July. In keeping with the Franciscan virtue of simplicity, the application process is straightforward. Those interested in the program register online, upload a résumé and goal statement, and submit a transcript and three references. Optional visits are also encouraged. If selected for an interview, applicants meet with program staff and complete paperwork. Within 48 hours of their interview, they’re informed whether they’ve been accepted. Once an applicant is accepted into the program, she or he meets with one to three nonprofit agencies for suitable placement.

Talents Put to Use Change A Heart works with applicants to determine their talents and goals and seeks to place them with nonprofit organizations where those attributes would be most valued. These are not “busywork” placements such as stuffing envelopes, making coffee, or running errands. Members work full-time, 40 hours per week, in positions of responsibility where their efforts make a significant impact. Member Rachel Hanks, for instance, from Lafayette, Louisiana, was looking for a way to serve when she graduated in 2013 from Louisiana Tech University with a bachelor of science degree in biomedical engineering. “I chose to do a volunteer program after I graduated because I have some strange calling to serve—not just here and there—but fulltime, for a long time,” says Hanks. She chose Change A Heart because of its Franciscan values. With her biomedical background, Hanks was a natural fit with CLASS (Community Living and Support Services), a nonprofit organization located in Pittsburgh’s north Oakland St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

neighborhood that fosters community inclusion for people with disabilities. “We offer classes on a variety of topics in order to support individuals with disabilities as they accomplish their goals. My role is to teach classes, such as reading, cultural awareness, problem solving, and health and wellness, and to take participants to volunteer in the community,” she adds. “I also serve as an assistant in some classes.” “Careerwise, the Change A Heart program provides a great opportunity for our members. It enables them to discern the direction of their professional life, gaining hands-on experience, while at the same time living an intentional, purposeful life,” says Caddy. Eighty-three percent of Change A Heart’s members rated personal and professional growth as the area in which they grew the most during their experience.

Programs Provide an Awakening Hanks knows her time at CLASS has given her more new insight into where she wants to serve than any other program Change A Heart could have offered. “Eventually,” she says, “I wish to work as an engineer designing assistive technologies for people with disabilities, using insight from my time in Pittsburgh to better meet their needs.” The 11 members live in two houses in PittsFr anciscanMedia.org

burgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood—five in one house and six in the other. For many, because this is their first encounter with poverty and people in need, it can be an awakening. That proved true for Kelly Durkin, who graduated in May 2013 from the University of Virginia with a degree in kinesiology. She’s serving at Bethlehem Haven, an organization that provides shelter, housing programs, and a variety of services to homeless women. “I think that participating in a program like this will leave a lasting impression on one’s outlook, on anyone’s life,” observes Durkin. “Through my service at Bethlehem Haven and living in community, I am realizing what it means to truly recognize the dignity of each person.” Most members come from outside the Pittsburgh area, but one of this year’s group, Wesley Davis, grew up in suburban Pittsburgh, in the South Hills area, attended the University of Pittsburgh, and graduated with a degree in history and English literature. Davis works at the Eastside Neighborhood Employment Center (ENEC). Through his participation in ENEC, he became aware of an aspect of the city he never knew and is eager to help. “A client at ENEC named Emily had a successful career as a payroll processor. Then she encountered health and legal problems and ended up living on the street. The ENEC was able to help her gain

Change A Heart members eat dinner together several times a week, and take turns cooking. Guests are always welcome and are quite frequent.

June 2014 ❘ 37

Rachel Hanks and Martha Ligas whistle while they work! Many young people in the Change A Heart program are motivated by faith and the opportunity to help others.

Christina Cavanaro helps clean at a Habitat for Humanity project. The opportunity to serve as a full-time AmeriCorps member allows members to gain valuable, hands-on, professional experience.

38 ❘ June 2014

full-time employment at Children’s Hospital,” Davis says.

Community Life an Asset Seeing so much need can sometimes be overwhelming, but that’s where the Franciscan value of living in community becomes an essential part of the experience. “I live in Bloomfield with five other women in a house with two bathrooms, one shower, and a lot of love,” says Amy Skroch, a native of Rice, Minnesota, and a graduate of the College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, Minnesota. “Living together as a community differs so much from just having roommates. We care about one another on a level that is hard to describe. We don’t only want to know about how [your] day was, but what about your day made it good or bad.”

With a bachelor of science in nursing, Skroch serves with Pittsburgh Mercy Behavioral Health’s New Lease on Life Program. As a registered nurse on an interdisciplinary team working with chronically homeless individuals to place them in housing, and help them stay in housing, Skroch plays a number of roles. She offers medical assistance, manages consumer medical appointments, educates on various health issues and medications, schedules home visits to answer medical concerns, and advocates for medical care. It is also through living in community that the members learn to practice simplicity. “We live simply in community to mirror the lifestyle and values of St. Francis,” Wesley Davis notes. “Community living is about exploring the triumphs and pitfalls of working against America’s culture of individualism. It is also a spiritual exercise in caring genuinely for others and divorcing oneself from iPods, cable television, and other contemporary creature comforts.”

Nonprofits Profit, Too The marginalized and the volunteers aren’t the only ones benefiting from Change A Heart—nonprofits benefit as well. “For a nominal fee, nonprofit organizations gain the services of highly educated, highly motivated individuals, many of whom continue to work at nonprofit agencies after the program is finished,” reports Change A Heart director Caddy. “In fact, 80 percent of our alumni continue to work at nonprofit agencies or in volunteer positions serving those in need.” St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

Organizations partnering with Change A Heart receive training, and members receive individualized instruction after placement with the nonprofit. “We train their supervisors, who in turn train them,” says Caddy. “For instance, we had one member interested in diabetes research who was working in a clinic at an agency’s health center. Obviously, we don’t know how to test blood sugar; we leave that type of specific training to the nonprofit.” During the last 14 years, Change A Heart’s 53 program members have served the needs of more than 61,735 vulnerable individuals in collaboration with 29 social service agencies. In the past five years alone, 31 members have served 31,727 hours in direct service to those in need. Of interest too, 15 of the 19 members from outside Pittsburgh chose to stay in the Pittsburgh area after their year of service.

fessionally and spiritually, they’re also working at something worthwhile and purposeful. The impact of the program’s growth has been heartening. “Change A Heart has been a program of the Sisters of St. Francis since its inception,” says director Caddy, “but the administration has been developing a strategic plan and has been exploring incorporating and becoming an independent nonprofit.” In addition to support from the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities, Change A Heart receives funding from foundations, businesses, and the generosity of many individuals.

Catholic Volunteer Network The Catholic Volunteer Network, established in 1963, is a nonprofit

Vision Being Realized

membership organization made up

When the sisters established Change A Heart, it was with the hope that it would create lay leaders for tomorrow. Their vision is being realized. In 2012, the Catholic Volunteer Network (CVN) commissioned the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University to conduct a survey of former volunteers of CVN member organizations. The study found that 82 percent of responding former volunteers said that in the past 12 months, they had volunteered time, donated money or property, or both, and 88 percent cited their volunteer experience as a factor in the decision to volunteer time or contribute money or property. In addition to the yearlong program, Change A Heart hosts college student groups at a weeklong, spring break service-learning experience for young people searching for a way to put their faith into action. During that time, students live with the Sisters of St. Francis on their campus in Millvale, and share their meals with them in the main dining room, in the Franciscan spirit of mutuality and simplicity. The experience includes daily service projects planned by Change A Heart staff and involves indirect and direct service with an urban social service agency. A generation or two ago, young adults talked about taking time off “to find themselves.” To a certain extent, Change A Heart provides that type of experience for members, but it’s different in that, while the members explore how they want to create their future both pro-

of more than 200 national and

Fr anciscanMedia.org

international volunteer and lay mission programs. The Network provides volunteers with placement opportunities across the United States and around the world. Potential volunteers are able to search the organization’s RESPONSE directory (catholicvolunteernetwork.org) to find a program that fits their interests. In addition, prospective volunteers can post their volunteer profiles on the site that member programs can review when searching for and recruiting volunteers.

The message of the Gospel is transformative, and by living that Gospel through Change A Heart, the members, nonprofit organizations, the marginalized, and the greater Pittsburgh community are being transformed as well—a fitting legacy for the Sisters of St. Francis and for their patron and namesake and his timeless virtues. A Janice Lane Palko is a freelance author from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who has written Catholic-influenced novels. She can be reached at her website, janicelanepalko.com, or at her blog, thewritinglane.blogspot.com. Palko, a regular in the Pittsburgh literary scene, is currently a creative writer for the Popular Pittsburgh website. Alisa Milnthorp is a professional photographer from Pittsburgh. You can view her work at www.alisagarinphotography.com. June 2014 ❘ 39

Be Still and Know that

‘

I Am God’

My father taught me this valuable lesson. BY ROBERT I. CRAIG

Y FAMILY and I survived a hurricane— twice. It was back in the ’90s. We weren’t hurt, but big weather spooks me. When Superstorm Sandy hit the US coast in 2012 and photos started coming in over my computer, I couldn’t help seeing myself in all that misery, especially in one photo. It showed four men in a pickup truck. The truck had stalled while the storm raged all around them. The driver, gritting his teeth, was turning the key with one hand and squeezing the wheel with the other. The other three men were behind him in the bed, and they looked desperate to get out of there. One looked ready for takeoff. Another was on his knees as if in

40 ❘ June 2014

prayer. The last man sat alone, wedged in the corner, his back against the wall. Rain was falling like gunfire. Each man was as wet as if he’d just emerged from the deep end of a swimming pool, fully clothed. And none of them were talking. In their misery, they were silent. What struck me the most was the man in the corner—specifically his posture. He sat with his knees up, hugging them like a child. In his arms he hid his face. Staring at the photo, I imagined my own face superimposed over his. Decades before the arrival of Sandy, I, too, once felt my back against the wall while everywhere around me a storm raged. I was sopping St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

The hell to be paid wasn’t just by me, toiling in dangerous places, but by my mother who, after I’d get home, always met me with a smile. But I could not be social—at least for a couple of hours after I got home. And not once over the course of four miserable summers did she ever ask me how my day was. It was obvious just by looking at me! But rather than ask something she already knew, for the sake of idle conversation, she chose to love me by granting me what I needed more than anything else: silence. Yes, she would greet me. Yes, she would talk if I happened to ask her something. But other than that, there was no chitchat until later on. She loved and respected me enough to give me space.

Darkening Skies

wet and shivering cold. I was ashamed for being reckless and arrogant, and hid my face in my arms. I did not know help was on the way, let alone from an unlikely source. He brought with him the gift of knowledge and the silence we all need to understand.

Inner Storms When I was a kid in Gary, Indiana, my first impression of hell was inspired by the steel mills located downtown. Molten steel would reflect off steam and low-lying clouds and turn the sky a satanic red. Years later, I would work in the mills to pay for college. I never knew little kids could be so prophetic. Fr anciscanMedia.org

Technically, I was an ironworker. I say “technically” because I was just a summer hire. And when a project was done, there were usually layoffs. The first to go was always me. The next morning, the day after layoffs were announced, I’d show up at the union hall, hoping to get called out on another job. But if I didn’t get hired, I’d go off looking for any kind of work. One summer, about 30 years ago, I got a job cutting grass. It was at a suburban Burger King, the kind with an outdoor playground and a couple acres of grass beside it. The owner, a friend of my dad’s, kept an office that overlooked the playground. He could see the entire grounds clearly. My dad said I could use our mower, but it was an antique Lawn-Boy that Dad had bought at a yard sale. It worked well enough for the grass at home, so I decided to give it a try. Before my first day, however, bad weather blew in. It ended up being a monsoon. When the rain finally paused, I tried to get started, but the grass hadn’t dried out. Then more rain came. It would not stop. It fell longer and harder than ever. Soon the grass grew so tall it fell over on itself, and I despaired at the thought of that antique Lawn-Boy choking on grass that now required a machete. Waiting for dry weather, I’d stew at home and stare out the window in search of blue skies. In the mornings I’d drive down to the union hall and, not getting a call for work that day, would drift over to church in time for noon Mass. One day the readings included Psalm 46, in which God advises us to be still and “know that June 2014 ❘ 41

Maybe I couldn’t hear whatever God was saying so I could not know God’s will for me.

I am God.” On and off for the rest of that day, I contemplated that message. Slowly I began wondering if my noise was pride, and that maybe I couldn’t hear whatever God was saying so I could not know God’s will for me. That night when my dad came home from work, I noticed that whenever he walked through the door, he was always cheerful and happy to see us. After I’d spent about a week treading water, Dad came home, cheerful as

tal Digi as Extr

Click here for more resources on fatherhood.

usual, and we all sat down to dinner. I barely said a word. After dinner, he asked me nonchalantly to help him get something out of the trunk of his Chevy. He opened the trunk. I let out a yell. There sat a new Toro mower! It was black and red and aggressive-looking. When I pulled on the cord, it roared to life like an angry carnivore.

“There you go, Robby-boy!” He always called me this when he was happy or wanted to encourage me. “Call me when you’re done!” He sped off for work. I sped off into the grass. Feeling free, I veered off the columns that I had been carving up and down in the grass: zigzags, ovals, figure eights, crop circles that only ancient astronauts could appreciate fully—until there was a clang. I had hit something hard—and it was not organic. It sounded like blade against metal. Instinctively, I grabbed the cord to pull and hoped it would start again, but the mower was frozen. What have you done? I thought. I rolled back the mower. I dropped to my knees and rifled the grass for whatever it was. Then I found it—a water pipe. How poetic! I thought, glancing up at the sky. New black clouds had since blown in. It was many years ago, but I can still hear that clang as if it had just happened. In my mind, I’m still kneeling beside the mower, staring down at it and repeating to myself, What have you done? What will you do now?

At My Lowest Major Mishap The next day, the rain finally took a breather. Dad drove me quickly to Burger King. We parked beside the grass which now resembled a rain forest. We pulled out the Toro, and I yanked the cord. It started. Over the roar I heard my dad say, 42 ❘ June 2014

Slowly I slid my hand across the pipe and stopped at the midway point. I could feel the gash. That’s when the rain began again. Inside the restaurant, there was a phone for employees behind the counter. When I asked the owner if I could use the phone, he stood there for

a long moment just looking at me. Then he nodded silently. Right then a cook approached the phone. He, too, wanted to make a call. The owner shooed him away. My dad was of the Korean War generation: strong and silent. He was not an angry man, but you didn’t mess with these guys. And you did not break their tools! Twice I started dialing him. Twice I stopped and, turning from the phone, found myself standing face-toface with the owner. In one hand he held a plate of food. In the other he held a towel. I didn’t realize until then that I’d been shivering. The towel looked better than the food, but I accepted both, told him thanks, and carried it all to an empty employee lunchroom. I sat at a table. I tried to eat, but couldn’t. Across from me, just beyond the table’s edge, was a rain-streaked window overlooking the parking lot. Through the streaks, I noticed a car that looked a lot like my dad’s Chevy, but the rain was coming down so hard that I couldn’t tell for sure. You’re reckless, I thought, looking out the window, staring at my face in the reflection. You’re reckless and arrogant. That mower cost a fortune! A few cars entered and exited the lot, their headlights creating light beams that poked through the rain, as if in search of something. Watching them, I realized that the Chevy in the lot had been sitting there all this time. Who do you think you are? I thought St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

to myself. You get laid off from the mills and assume it’s because you’re just a college hire. But you know the truth. You’re moody and proud because you think you deserve more. Then you skulk around the house, making life miserable for Mom. That’s why Dad bought that mower for you—he wanted you out of the house! Folding my arms in front of me, I hid my face and wept.

Lesson Learned When I cry, I lose all concept of time. I could have been hiding my face for one minute or 30. Finally lifting my head, I grabbed a napkin to wipe my eyes and blow my nose. In doing so, I noticed a figure in the doorway. It was my dad. “Dad!” I said, leaping to my feet. “Dad! I’m sorry! I should have seen it! I’ll pay for repairs! It’s all my fault! I’m so careless. And I’ve been cruel to Mom. She puts up with me while I wait on this rain and brood and worry about getting back to work.” He held up his hand—a signal to stop. Then he smiled and said, “No worries, Robby-boy! Help me get the mower back into the Chevy.” “What?” “I took a look. The shaft is bent. I got a buddy who can fix that right now,” he said. “You looked at the mower?” “Yes.” “How long did that take?” “Seconds.” “How long have you been here?” Fr anciscanMedia.org

“Oh,” he said, seeming in no hurry, “maybe a half hour, I suppose.” Pointing outside, I said to him, “That’s the Chevy out there, isn’t it?” He strolled toward the window, took a glance, and said, “Hmmm, what do you know?” “Where have you been all this time?” “Checking the mower.” “But that took seconds.” “So?” “So where’ve you been since then?” He looked at the floor and said, “I’ve been waiting.” “For what?” “For you.” “Where?” I asked. “At that door.” “The whole time?” “No, not the whole time.” “Where then?” “I stood in the hallway, too.” My voice was trembling when I asked him, “So you were hiding in the hallway?” His expression turned suddenly serious. “Absolutely not.” “Then what were you doing out there?” He looked me in the eye and said, “I was giving you space. You needed time alone in silence. You needed to work it out.” I tried to respond, but nothing came out. He stepped up and put his arm around me. Softly, he said, “Hey, it’s not your fault. Grass covered that pipe like a blanket.”

I wiped my eyes and blew again, sounding like a wet trumpet. We both laughed. He said, “Your mom. Think I’ll go give her a call.” Still in tears, I nodded. A Robert I. Craig was a stay-at-home dad for 20 years. He and his wife, Ellen, have been married for 30. Their daughters attend Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. Quality, Affordable Travel since 1967!

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The

Final

Details She went to the hairdresser with one thing in mind. FICTION BY ANN TURNER ama always told her how important it was to look your best, even if what you had to work with was “pawky.” Elaine peered in the mirror of her motel room. It had cracks and strange brown spots, which made her look even plainer than usual. She’d rented this place because she didn’t want to do what she’d decided on doing, right after coming from the home she shared with Mama. She would find out soon enough. Now it was time to shunt plainness aside and get ready. As if this were a date, except, of course, it was nothing like a date. Elaine pulled her eyelids out to the side to make them firm and tense, slid the black eyeliner pencil along the top lid, then carefully along the lower one, just beneath the lashes. She’d stopped at a CVS on the way to buy waterproof mascara and eyeliner. Everything had to be new and faultless for this occasion. It was surprising how expensive it was to look good. Higher up on the eyelid Elaine dabbed green eye shadow—Hazel Mist it was called. Mama said this brought out the green of her eyes, and that was her best feature. “Eyes are important, honey. They signal to the guys that you are interested.” Well, that had never exactly worked for her, had it? She’d signaled and signaled, but no one had responded. Being in conversation with the world had been one enormous disappointment, the way she felt when she thought the big package under the tree contained an American Girl doll, Samantha, and it turned out to be a quilt for her bed . . . from WalMart . . . pink. She still had it on her bed as an emblem of things not working out. And now she’d lost her job in retail. That was an even stronger reminder that things did not work out for her. Ever.

M ILLUSTRATION BY VINCENT ZAWADA

Ju n e 2 0 1 4 ❘ 4 5

She shrugged her shoulders, feeling the drops of water from the shower sliding down her neck. That would have to be fixed. Picking up the hair dryer, Elaine flipped her blonde hair over and blew hot air from front to back, then side to side. Tossing it back again, she noticed the ends were split. Crap! Elaine paused, looking at herself in the mirror, hating the wispy bangs across her forehead. Was it too late for a hair appointment? There might be a place still open that would give her a quick trim, and then she could have her hair straightened with the ceramic iron the way she always liked it. Except the straightened hair would not hold up—it never did. She turned her face away from the mirror for a moment. She felt her resolve weakening. She would look awful. No doubt about it. Not even “peaky,” as Mama had said when Elaine was pale and listless after a fever. This time her hair would be worse than it had ever been before, and what about her lips? Elaine pursed them, looking in the mirror again. They were narrower than she would like, thinner, not at all like that luscious Marilyn Monroe who just had to purse her lips, whistle, and men would come running. If she put on enough lipstick—a dark red this time—would that last? What would last in the end? If she put some liner around the edges to make her lips seem bigger, fuller, would that make her look more like an ordinary girl who worked in a bank, saved money for a wedding in the future, and somewhere in the wings had a

ANSWERS TO PETE AND REPEAT 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Pete is wearing a grilling mitt. Sis’ dress is sleeveless. A flame is shooting from the grill. There is a pocket on Pete’s shorts. The grill has one fewer leg. Pete has burned part of the burger. A bar on the grill grate is missing. Sis now has earrings.

4 6 ❘ Jun e 2014

boyfriend who loved her for herself? Could lip liner do that? She pressed her forehead against the stained mirror. She’d have to find a hairdresser. These things must be done right, nothing “havey-cavey,” as Mama would say. She pulled on her fleece coat in the muddy yellow she loathed but that had been on sale, the way she thought of her life—bought off a sale rack, not quite fitting, and never in a color she wanted. She would leave the jacket on the bridge at the end.

he climbed into her old Honda, a strange eggplant purple with the sides dented from her last unfortunate accident. Once, back in college, she’d had a roommate who drove a fancy German car that had a little vase on the dashboard to put a flower in. She thought that if she’d had a car with a vase and a flower, perhaps things would have turned out differently. The car shuddered into gear and bumped down the street. It was a barren, ill-lit way, with one Latino grocery store still open on the corner and a couple walking slowly past. In this part of town where the money never did trickle down, the street was worn and full of potholes. Somewhere around here she thought she’d seen a salon that stayed open late. She drove for another 10 minutes, circling the block, until she saw it, lit up with little white lights around the door. Funny that the final place she would see should look so festive. The car rattled to a stop by the curb, and there Elaine worried it wouldn’t get her where she needed to go. Pushing open the glass door, she walked into a surprisingly light and cheerful room, painted an electric orange, with black vinyl seats (only a tiny bit ripped) for the customers. The hairdresser, a solid black woman with cornrowed hair and beads, looked at her and smiled.

“

oney, I’m just about to close up.” Elaine deflated inside. “But I need—I need . . .” The woman took a good look at

Elaine and said, “All right, what d’you want, honey?” Her brilliant red nails gestured toward her. “A cut? A wash? A perm? You white girls—sorry about the no-curl thing. It was not my decision.” “Whose was it then?” Elaine paused in shrugging off her coat. “God’s. His.” The hairdresser pointed upward. “He decides about them follicles—twisty ones or straight ones. You got the straight ones, baby.” “I know,” Elaine said in a despairing voice. “Come on, sit down. Tell me what you want.” The woman came and swung a black cape over her, fastening it behind her neck. I want a new life. Not a sales-rack one. The hairdresser put her fingers in Elaine’s flat blonde hair and lifted it up, then let it fall. She came around in front and looked at her, pushing back the straggly bangs on Elaine’s forehead “Uhhh, unnhhh. Not bangs. Who’d you get them from, honey? What were they thinking of?” Could the whole problem be her bangs? “Some guy.” “Of course some guy! Huh.” The woman stood in back of Elaine again and massaged her scalp, softly, from the crown of her head down to her neck. Elaine bent her head forward and sighed. “That’s good.” “That’s a word we like to hear. Come on, let’s get your hair washed and then I’ll give you the best cut you ever had in your life.” “That wouldn’t be too hard,” Elaine said, following the hairdresser over to the washing station. The woman laughed, and that set Elaine off too, so that when she leaned back on the cold ceramic surface, her head bounced on it. “That hurts.” “Yeah, laughing’ll do that to you.” The laughter made Elaine’s chest feel strange—she was so unused to it— expanded, as if she could breathe better.

ater ran over the woman’s hand as she waited until it was the right temperature, then she wet Elaine’s hair in soothing, deft motions. Elaine realized that when St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

she got her hair cut before, the man always treated her as if he had to be done with her quickly, dragging his hands over her scalp until it hurt and using water that was either far too hot or too cold. It felt as if his draggy hands were signaling, “You are not important, girl. I got someone waiting for me who is way more important than you.” “That’s good,” Elaine whispered. “Good,” the woman whispered back, squeezing out some shampoo that smelled of rosemary and coconut. “A good wash—” the woman gently rubbed Elaine’s temples—“will set you right. That’s what my mama told me.” “Huh. My mama said my only good feature was my eyes.” The hairdresser rinsed out Elaine’s hair, put in conditioner, and came around to look at her eyes. “Eyes fine, but not the only fine thing about you. How come mamas do that, criticizing their kids until we feel like we’re carrying around a trash can for a face?” Elaine’s head snapped up. That was it—beginning with “pawky,” then the hushed explanation that only her eyes redeemed her plainness, as if the rest of her body didn’t matter. No wonder she didn’t care about it either. The hairdresser rinsed off the conditioner, toweled Elaine’s hair gently, and led her back to the vinyl seat. Elaine saw it was 11:00 on the wall clock. “You work awful late, don’t you?” she said. “Mmmm, have to. This city don’t sleep. I get lots of people at night, but they came earlier than you.” She combed through Elaine’s hair and gently pulled the ends out. “What do you think? What you want to look like?” “How about Marilyn Monroe? Or Madonna?” “Oh, honey, you don’t want to be like them! They gotta work all the time to be that fine, and Marilyn killed herself when she was only 36. Lookin’ good didn’t work for her! You got more ahead of you than that.” How can you possibly know that? thought Elaine. “Why did she do it?” The words slipped out. After the woman clipped one side of Fr ancisca n Media .org

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WHO AMONG US HAS NOT ASKED ST. ANTHONY’S HELP?

Join us as we celebrate the feast of St. Anthony of Padua on June 13. St. Anthony, saint of miracles and patron saint of lost and stolen articles, is one of the most well known disciples of St. Francis of Assisi.

www.stanthony.org Visit www.stanthony.org to learn more about the National Shrine of St. Anthony or to post your prayer requests or light a candle. Ju n e 2 0 1 4 ❘ 4 7

Elaine’s hair away from her face, she started cutting on the other. “Depression, not loved, she was an orphan y’know—only God knows.” “That’s sad.”

he cut hair fell from the side of Elaine’s head onto the floor— hair confetti, almost festive. Or it would be festive if she got her hair dyed orange. But there wasn’t time enough for that, and besides, you had to wait 24 hours after a dye job before wetting your hair again. “When I’m done with you, you won’t know yourself, honey. You come in here with bad luck slung over your shoulders like a frayed shawl. I’m gonna send you out looking like a million dollars!” Maybe then someone would answer when she signaled with her green eyes. Maybe her life wouldn’t feel like a muddy garment from the sales rack. “Really?” Why did hope feel so breathless? “Really, ’cause I’m good, I’m good, and I’m gonna fix you good.” Hum-

ming softly, the hairdresser pulled up sections of Elaine’s hair, scissored the ends, and went on to the next part. The notes from the woman’s song seemed to weave into the blonde strands, raising them, letting them down softly, and making them more beautiful than they’d ever been before. When she was done, the hairdresser took up the dryer and blew hot air every which way, fluffing the strands out with her strong, gentle fingers. “I’ll look like Mama’s tiny dog!” Elaine protested. “No, you won’t. Trust me, honey. You gonna look way better than any old dog!” She kept blowing and fluffing Elaine’s thin hair until, when she was done, Elaine looked at herself in the mirror and saw—not the pale, listless child. Not the woman whose eyes failed in their invitation. But someone with a delicate neck and head set right atop it, hair layered perfectly. Someone who might have a life. “It’s a miracle!” She raised her hands to her hair and touched it softly. The woman laid one hand on top of

Elaine’s. “Yes, girl, that’s what it is. You the miracle. Nobody like you on this earth before, and nobody like you ever gonna come again. You are one of a kind.”

ne of a kind. Maybe a body who was one of a kind didn’t need to make a final decision. Elaine paid the woman, tipped her outrageously, and gave her a quick hug before pushing the door open. She cupped her hands in the cold air, holding in them the words “one of a kind.” They seemed to have a warmth to them, a weight. The car started—thank God—and Elaine put it into gear, the palms of her hands still warm. She would take those words home, not to the motel, and lay them on top of her pink, historical spread, next to her pink bear, and think about what came next. Maybe living came next. A

Ann Turner is a children’s book author and inspirational speaker. She also writes on her blog at itsthegodthing.blogspot.com.

LIGHTEN UP

“Don’t worry, Goliath. You’re too big to fail.”

4 8 ❘ Jun e 2014

“Nice thought, but Disneyland is not a foreign mission.” St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

POETRY

Praise and Worship

Violets: First Bruise

Through praise and worship . . . Liberating, leading us: To the Heart of God!

Fragile, purple faces upturned like martyrs’ faces in Butler’s book

—Jeanette Martino Land

Prelude: arising from what remains The compost heap bursts with life. Spontaneous tendrils of green push through the mulch, eggshells, tea leaves, coffee grounds, grass, banana peels, pine needles, a cracked coconut shell,

sensing the crushing foot or mower and pleading silent before the blade.

—Judith Robbins

Smiles Wherever the sun Smiles, it is Smiling back at God.

—Kathy Coffey

fling themselves into the air then fall like streams down the chicken wire

Monk with Rosary, an Engraving

to the earth below where heart-shaped leaves spread across the glistening dirt.

Smooth black beads running round, down through his fingers

—Herman Sutter

Flowers Flowers push Through the brown sediment, Their green emerges, And they stretch to the light, Exploding with pink, And fanning out In staggered chorus lines, They tap dance To wind songs And bird bursts.

—Eileen M. Sullivan

Fr ancisca n Media .org

like seeds sown in the deep ground of being, repetitions, row on row, in long furrows of wakefulness and murmuring time, will in darkness and moisture, stir, reach for light, and bloom in bright fields of Love.

—Jim Littwin

Ju n e 2 0 1 4 ❘ 4 9

ASK A FRANCISCAN

❘ BY FATHER PAT McCLOSKEY, OFM

Did Those Bishops Sin? If a bishop has transferred pedophile priests within his diocese so that the priests’ crimes would remain hidden, did that bishop sin? Big sin? Little sin? What if a bishop allowed a priest to transfer to another diocese without informing that bishop of the allegations against that priest? Also, Pope Francis has asked the bishops of the world to consult laypeople regarding family-life issues in preparation for a synod of bishops on that topic this October. Some bishops did not ask the people in their dioceses. Was that a big sin?

Finally, can a priest or bishop who is not in the state of grace perform the functions of his office? If no, this surely seems to leave many of the laity “hanging out to dry.” Only God knows whether those bishops had the full knowledge and full consent to sin when they decided either to transfer pedophile priests or not to consult laypeople about the upcoming synod. The first issue is certainly “serious matter” (one of three conditions for a mortal sin), and the second issue might be.

What Is the Source of These Stories?

PHOTO FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/PAINTING BY I. N. KRAMSKOI

Several events in the Gospel have only one witness: for example, Satan’s tempting of Jesus in the desert, the angel Gabriel’s appearance to Mary at her annunciation, and the dreams that St. Joseph experienced before and after the birth of Jesus. How do biblical scholars explain how the Gospel writers learned about these? It is, of course, possible that Jesus, Mary, or Joseph spoke of these events to other people who informed the Gospel writers. The Gospels, however, do not present themselves as the firstcentury equivalent of a court transcript, an exact record of what someone might have captured with a tape recorder, a camera, or a cell phone if any those had existed then. The Gospels contain God’s self-revelation in the language of their human authors. Some people may conclude that this fact makes all the Gospels highly questionable. The faith community that identified these writings—and not others—as God’s special self-revelation has long known that the Gospel stories you mentioned (and others that could be cited) may have only one human witness. Is God bound by our rules of legal evidence or scientific cross-examination?

5 0 ❘ Jun e 2014

Dioceses are certainly doing extensive background checks on diocesan priests or religious-order priests seeking to transfer permanently or work temporarily in a diocese. Even so, it is a matter of public record that officials in the Archdiocese of Boston during Cardinal Bernard Law’s time as archbishop deceived officials in the Diocese of San Bernardino, California, regarding Father Paul Shanley’s history of sexual abuse allegations. That is almost certainly not the only time that has happened. Some people have suggested that no US bishops carried out this consultation last November or December. That is simply not true. In its April 11-24 edition, National Catholic Reporter listed 87 (arch)dioceses that responded to these 63 questions. Others may have responded also but without noting that on their website. Consultation was carried on through diocesan newspapers and websites, pastoral councils, and parish initiatives, for example. The synod of bishops Rome office reported on February 21 that approximately 80 percent of the world’s dioceses had sent responses, plus about 700 Catholic individuals or organizations. The synod office is preparing the working document for the October 5-19 synod, “Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of the New Evangelization.” That meeting will help prepare for a longer and larger October 2015 synod on the same topic. Finally, regarding the validity of sacraments that may have been celebrated while a deacon, priest, or bishop was in the state of mortal sin, the Church addressed this issue already in the fourth century during the Donatist crisis, which was espeSt A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

cially strong in North Africa. The cause was the allegation that one bishop had been ordained during a time of peace by another bishop who had denied the faith during an earlier persecution. The Church concluded then, and continues to maintain, that all sacraments are presumed valid unless proven otherwise. It is certainly desirable that the minister of the sacrament—or ministers, in the case of the husband and wife in matrimony—be in the state of grace at that time, but it is not required for validity. The key question is, “Did those involved intend to do what the Church intends to do in that sacrament?” If so, the sacrament is valid. Any other response would render uncertain the validity of every celebration of a sacrament. That, however, does not remove the bitter taste that someone who has been leading a double life celebrated a sacrament. Only God knows enough to sort this out completely. In the meantime, civil society has become much more vigilant about who must report the suspected abuse of children or vulnerable adults.

Why No St. Sarah? Why don’t we refer to the holy people of the Old Testament with the title “saint”? For example, Sarah, Hannah, or Abraham? I once asked my parish priest, and he did not know. In fact, the Antiochian Orthodox Church commemorates the feast of St. Sarah (mother of Isaac) on December 17. The 2001 Roman Martyrology lists St. Abraham (patriarch, husband of Sarah, and father of Isaac) on October 9, Moses (prophet) on September 4, and his brother Aaron on July 1. The Irish Dominican friars have staffed St. Abraham’s Church in Tehran, Iran, since the 1960s. There is a St. Elias (Elijah the prophet) Maronite Church in Birmingham, Alabama. And there are other Fr ancisca n Media .org

parishes, monasteries, and convents named for Old Testament saints. The Catholic Church’s canonization process does not affirm that the formally recognized people are the only ones in heaven. Also, the Catholic Church does not teach that only baptized people can be saved. We may be surprised at who else is at the heavenly banquet!

‘Did I Do Enough?’ At the age of 85 and after 57 happy years of marriage, I have been thinking a great deal about all these years, especially my sins of omission. I keep remembering Matthew 25:40, “And the king will answer them, ‘Truly, I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (NRSV). Have I done enough for others? If I haven’t, what must I do now?

done as much as you could when you could. Except in the movies, time moves only in one direction: forward. We cannot go back and change past decisions, but each day offers all of us the chance to make some of our past decisions more typical of us and others less so. Speak up when you see someone’s human dignity not being properly respected. Support some organization that is addressing that particular need. Satan preys on our fears that we could have done more. In this case, do what you can; leave the rest to God. A

Father Pat welcomes your questions! Send them to: Ask a Franciscan, 28 W. Liberty Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498, or Ask@FranciscanMedia.org. All questions sent by mail need to include a selfaddressed stamped envelope. This column’s answers can be searched back to April 1996 at StAnthonyMessenger.org.

The very fact that you ask this question suggests that you have probably

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BOOK CORNER

❘ BY CAROL ANN MORROW

Jesus: A Pilgrimage What Our

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Recommend Pope Francis: Untying the Knots Paul Vallely Falling into Place: A Memoir of Overcoming Hattie Kauffman The Sun and Moon over Assisi: A Personal Encounter with Francis and Clare Gerard Thomas Straub Open Mind, Faithful Heart: Reflections on Following Jesus Pope Francis Flight Behavior Barbara Kingsolver

5 2 ❘ Jun e 2014

By James Martin, SJ HarperOne 510 pages • $27.99 Hardcover, softcover, Kindle, audiobook Reviewed by ELIZABETH PILGRIM, a Catholic book reviewer with a longtime interest in visiting the Holy Land. Father James Martin’s latest book, Jesus: A Pilgrimage, was released during Lent, a perfect time because Catholics are already focused on Jesus, wanting to know him better and deepen their relationship with him. Naturally, Martin included the Resurrection story, his favorite, and admits his original intention was to include all the Gospel stories—I’m kind of glad he didn’t go there. This is a long book, and the title is appropriate, because the dictionary definition of a pilgrimage is a journey, especially a long one, made to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion. Martin took his first journey to the Holy Land after the editor in chief of America suggested it would help Martin with the book he was planning to write about Jesus. He recounts his journey with his friend and fellow Jesuit, George, as he set out to understand the Gospels in a way he never had before. The men decided their pilgrimage should be as close as possible to a spiritual retreat, praying every morning before they began their travels, saying daily Mass, even if things were hectic, “not dashing from place to place but lingering at sites that invited meditation, and bringing along not

just our guidebooks, but our Bibles.” Martin uses up-to-date biblical study to understand more clearly what Jesus said and did. Despite scaling back his original intention, Martin still discusses 26 Gospel stories, and includes each Gospel passage in the book, so that readers don’t have to constantly flip between the book and the Bible. This thoughtfulness on Martin’s part enables readers to have a next-best-thing-tobeing-there experience visiting holy sites which were the settings of the Gospel stories. Although a serious book, moments of humor shine through in the stories about the people they meet along the way, and the places they visit, exploring the land where Jesus lived. Today’s readers might find a 510-page book challenging to get through, especially in the middle section, but I applaud this countercultural approach, and the way it works to include readers on the journey. Martin writes in an open and inviting reader-friendly style, sharing his thoughts and feelings. Although Martin wears a collar, he doesn’t set himself apart or above his readers. Just as we learn Jesus met people where they were, Martin meets us where we are by sharing his humanity with us—his own questions and doubts about things both religious and secular. The pilgrimage, the biblical study, and the spiritual reflections, which make the Gospel relevant to our own daily lives, are the three threads from which the book is woven, making it such a fine one for the New Evangelization. With a structure more organic than rigid, the book should appeal to a wide audience. I can’t think of a single better way than this book to make a visit to the Holy Land accessible to more Catholics. For those Catholics who can get to the Holy Land, it makes a fine guidebook for those wanting to approach the journey as a spiritual retreat. As such, I highly recommend Catholic readers give themselves both the gift of this book and the time to enjoy it. It’s a great selection for Lent and also for upcoming summer reading lists and those lazy, hazy days at the beach. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

BOOK BRIEFS

Religious Poetry Far from Pious Out of the Shadows Prose-poem sketches of prisoners and others we rarely see By Patricia Schnapp, RSM Published by the author 127 pages • $10 Paperback

Man to Man, Dad to Dad Catholic Faith and Fatherhood Edited by Brian Caulfield Pauline Books and Media 119 pages • $12.95 Paperback/Kindle Reviewed by DAVE PROFITT, a deacon in the Diocese of Covington, Kentucky. Dave has been married to his wife, Lynn, for 32 years and they have two sons, Nick and Alex. They are also proud grandparents to their granddaughter, Kinley. Finding good practical advice on how to raise your kids in the Catholic faith can be a challenge. This is especially true if you’re a dad. Man to Man, Dad to Dad, by Brian Caulfield, offers sound advice in an easy-touse format. It contains 13 chapters with different and impressive authors, dealing with a wide variety of topics such as discipline, placing sports in proper context, and even advice on sex and theology of the body. The chapters are short and easy to read. It’s the kind of book you can keep handy and refer to often. Perhaps the best thing I can say about this book is that I gave it to my son as he begins his journey into fatherhood. I wish I would have had it when I was raising my kids. It would have come in handy. There is real need for a revitalization of the role of fathers in the lives of their children. If you’re ready to assume your proper role in the spiritual formation of your children, this book is a great guide. Bringing your children up in the faith may be a challenge, but it is one in which we are called to give our best. New dads and experienced dads alike will benefit from this terrific work. Fr ancisca n Media .org

Mercy Sister Patricia Schnapp’s poems expose a loving familiarity with members of God’s family—thus of our family—who don’t get to the reunions. If your world doesn’t yet include the marginalized members she describes, you can order this book from her at 614 Oakwood, Adrian, MI 49221.

St. Peter’s B-List Contemporary Poems Inspired by the Saints Edited by Mary Ann B. Miller Ave Maria Press 258 pages • $14.95 Paperback Surely, subjects such as Edith Stein, Teresa of Avila, and Faustina Kowalska are A-list subjects for a great collection. But wise editor Mary Ann Miller has gone beyond the collection of the canonized to include tired mothers, lonely men, and the multitudes of the great unwashed with whom we can all feel comfy.

Holy Luck by Eugene H. Peterson Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 84 pages • $12 Softcover Pastor, professor, and poet Eugene Peterson reads and writes poetry to relish and refine the power of words. This small yet beautiful collection lifts language to the dimension of holiness inspired by Scripture and by the extraordinary hidden in the everyday. Books featured in this column can be ordered from

St. Mary’s Bookstore & Church Supply 1909 West End Avenue • Nashville, TN 37203 800-233-3604 www.stmarysbookstore.com • stmarysbookstore@gmail.com Ju n e 2 0 1 4 ❘ 5 3

A CATHOLIC MOM SPEAKS

❘ BY SUSAN HINES-BRIGGER

Living Water reflect on the importance of water. For example, about 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water in various shapes and forms. Our own bodies are made up of anywhere from 50 to 75 percent water. But, as with many things, water has both its positives and negatives. The same waters that can bring life can cause death, as we have seen through catastrophes like last year’s Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, and closer to home in New Orleans, following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. And while much of the world has the luxury of taking water availability for granted—my family included—others long for any water at all. In fact, according to Catholic Relief Services, an organization that works tirelessly to provide clean water for those without, 783 million people in the world do not have access to safe water. This is roughly 11 percent of the world’s population. And 2.5 billion people in the world do not have access to adequate sanitation. This is about 35 percent of the world’s population. As if that’s not upsetting enough, around 700,000 children die every year from diarrhea caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation—that’s almost 2,000 children a day. As a mom, I’m not OK with that.

y three-year-old daughter, Kacey, loves water. In fact, this past February she started asking about the date our local swim club opened. Almost nightly, she would tell my husband, Mark, and me to pack her bathing suit for the babysitter’s house because she was sure they were going to the pool. Apparently the snow blanketing our lawn and 5 4 ❘ Jun e 2014

driveway for most of the winter months meant nothing to her. Now that it’s June and warm enough to actually go to the pool, her requests have become even more frequent and much harder to put off.

Double-Edged Sword Most of us probably are not as obsessed with water as Kacey is. But her preoccupation has caused me to

Waters of Our Faith “I was thirsty and you gave me drink. . . . Amen, I say to you, whatever you did

Click here to listen to Susan’s “Marriage Moments.”

St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

in Cana, Jesus transformed water into wine? Perhaps most important to our faith, though, is that water provides the basis for our sacramental lives. When we are bathed in the waters of Baptism, we are bathed in Christ’s love and welcomed into our Church family.

LET’S DANCE

ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARY KURNICK MAASS

Let’s Get Moving

When we were at Disney World two years ago, we came across a metal umbrella attached to one of the streetlights in the area representing a New York City street. The umbrella is reminiscent of Gene Kelly’s famous Singing in the Rain scene. It welcomes guests to step on a black square at the base of the streetlight—which triggers a small rain shower—grab the umbrella, and channel their inner Gene Kelly. I thought of that last summer when, during an afternoon rain shower, I saw Kacey staring out the front door. Quickly, I did what any responsible and rational parent would do. I grabbed her and went outside—sans umbrella. For the next half hour, the two of us ran in the rain and splashed in puddles. Before long, we were joined by Kacey’s brother and sisters. Not only was it fun for the kids, but I have to say it was an invigorating experience for me as well, something I hadn’t done for years. And, let’s just say, Gene Kelly had nothing on us.

for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Mt 25:35, 40). For Catholics, water also plays a profound role in our faith. According to the Bible, it was through the

waters encountered by Noah that the earth was washed clean. Moses parted the Red Sea to lead the Israelites to the promised land. And who can forget when, at the wedding

There are a lot of ways we can become more aware of how we use water in our own lives. I know I’m going to encourage my family to heed these frequently. For instance, are you drinking the suggested eight glasses of water a day? Are you turning the faucet off while brushing your teeth? Do you use bottled water when you could use tap water? Those may seem as if they won’t have much of an impact, but every movement starts somewhere. So get in on the ground level. Start at home. Pay attention. And then expand your horizons. There are many opportunities. We just need to look. Maybe Kacey’s on to something here with her preoccupation with water. Maybe we should all pay a little more attention to the connection between water and our lives. A

Do you have comments or suggestions for topics you’d like to see addressed in this column? Send them to me at “A Catholic Mom Speaks,” 28 W. Liberty St., Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498, or e-mail them to CatholicMom@FranciscanMedia.org.

PETE AND REPEAT These scenes may seem alike to you, But there are changes in the two. So look and see if you can name ILLUSTRATION BY TOM GREENE

Eight ways in which they’re not the same. (Answers on page 46)

Fr ancisca n Media .org

Ju n e 2 0 1 4 ❘ 5 5

AT HOME ON EARTH

❘ BY KYLE KRAMER

Love Thy Neighbor 2.0

not just with our family or tribe, but with all of humanity and with the rest of creation, across the whole sweep of time. Our Godgiven, made-for-belonging instincts show up in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Paul’s mission to gentiles, and St. Francis’ “CantiBroader Vision cle of the Sun.” Get involved! Join a neighI would call our developing borhood civic group. this more universal vision, Or connect with your especially in a global age, neighbors online at Love Thy Neighbor 2.0. Most https://nextdoor.com. of us won’t rewire our less

helpful inclinations simply Help neighbors across by reading a column like this the globe through Catholic or through some dramatic Relief Services (crs.org). mystical conversion experience like Paul’s or Francis’. Animals are our neighbors Most of us will have to practoo. Learn more about tice our way toward radical endangered wildlife at inclusiveness with God’s World Wildlife Fund grace, one daily step at a (worldwildlife.org) or time. Defenders of Wildlife We can start with the (defenders.org). largely lost art of Love Thy Neighbor 1.0, building peaceable relationships with those who are close by, even if they aren’t in our group. I’ve been struggling to do this with a neighbor whose dogs sometimes kill our chickens and whose cattle get out and trample our fruit orchards. Your neighbor may be the fellow parishioner who annoys you, or the homeless person you pass every day. Small, local acts of neighborliness can move us toward Love Thy Neighbor 2.0. As that happens, we’ll widen the scope of our care until we finally begin to love as God loves: all creatures, all places, always. A

Kyle Kramer, an organic farmer, is author of A Time to Plant: Life Lessons in Work, Prayer, and Dirt (Sorin Books).

God created us for relationship and community with all of humanity and the rest of creation. 5 6 ❘ Jun e 2014

tal Digi as Extr

Click here for more ways to connect with nature.

St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

utside of our jobs, most of us spend our time with members of our family or members of our tribe. In other words, we generally keep company (in person or online) with people related to us by blood or marriage, or people who share similar backgrounds and opinions. Beyond these, we often tend to divide everyone else into two groups, either demonizing them as enemies, or just not thinking or caring much about them at all. Such tendencies aren’t new inventions of our current, polarized age. They have deep roots in human evolution, back to the time when our ancestors lived in small social groups and were wary of other bands or weren’t even aware of their existence. These instincts may have served us in an earlier era, but they don’t work as well in today’s world, where our global economy, electronic communication, and planet-scale environmental challenges tie us all together, for better and worse, as never before in human history. This bit of our mental software needs an upgrade. Fortunately, we have another set of instincts, even more deeply rooted. God created us for relationship and community—

BACKSTORY

To Everybody, Right? o you like what you’re reading? Your answer, whether by postal

mail, e-mail, or Facebook, may wind up in the “From Our Readers” column on pages 3 and 4.

Of course, this magazine has published all manner of reader feedback

over its 121 years—the prayers to St. Anthony from the beginning, the “Corry Club” matchmaker service 50-plus years ago, advice columns, and more. But publishing Letters to the Editor started back in 1964 with newly PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER HEFFRON

appointed editor, Leonard Foley, OFM. Vatican II was near completion, and the winds of change were blowing through the Church, including the rediscovery that lay faithful have something to say. Father Leonard had the nerve to publish a fully blank half-page to introduce the Letters column. Below the empty space, on the lower half of the page, under the headline, “The above space is for you” and the opening text, “. . . and lots more besides, if you need it” (you did), he laid out ground rules for what would become FRANCISCAN ARCHIVES

Father Leonard (right) had a way of reaching out to people. He was committed to hearing from our readers.

one of the magazine’s most popular columns. One observation he made: “You know, Letters to the Editor aren’t really to the editors at all—they’re letters to everybody who reads the magazine. Right?” Of course he was right. Over the years we changed the name to “From Our Readers” to reflect that. It’s always been a chance for you to express your opinions to the rest of St. Anthony Messenger readers about what you’re reading. Editorial Assistant Sharon Lape keeps an eye on the mailbox and inbox (letters@stanthonymessenger.org) and gets the letters to all of us. Associate Editor Christopher Heffron sifts through them all and chooses the strongest, most representative of the bunch to publish. Usually readers with an ax to grind write these letters, and that’s fine. The next month other readers disagree with them, and everyone gets their say. We publish letters only with your permission, and only about the past few issues—we don’t want to tax anyone’s memory, including our own! In the beginning, Father Leonard had suggested a few ground rules: Give reasons and facts. Don’t offer dumb advice that bishops can’t follow, and don’t say “that everybody should join the Jesuits.” And keep it constructive. That’s still very good advice.

Editor in Chief

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ST. ANTHONY M 28 W. Liberty Street Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498

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