August 2015 by St. Anthony Messenger

MAKEUP ARTIST TO THE SAINTS

ST. ANTHONY AUGUST 2015 • $3.95 • FRANCISCANMEDIA.ORG

Messenger

Junipero Serra Saint or Scoundrel? Her Mission Is More than Money 5 Tips for Rising above Illness The Injustice of Fracking James Martin on the Bay of Parables

O Sa tis 125 ver fie ,0 d C 00 us tom ers

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CONTENTS

ST. ANTHONY Messenger

❘ AUGUST 2015 ❘ VOLUME 123/NUMBER 3

ON THE COVE R

28 Junipero Serra: Saint or Scoundrel?

This September, during his visit to the United States, Pope Francis will canonize Junipero Serra. Some people still have questions, though, about this soon-to-be saint, founder of nine of the California missions.

Pope Francis is poised to canonize the first American Hispanic saint, a Franciscan, whom some suggest was destroying Native American culture. What’s the truth? By Maureen Pratt

Painting by Sister Kay Francis Berger, OSF

F E AT U R E S

D E PA R T M E N T S

14 The Injustice of Fracking

2 Dear Reader

Yes, we need gas. But at what cost? By Dennis Sadowski

3 From Our Readers 4 Followers of St. Francis

22 Her Mission Is More than Money You probably wouldn’t expect a religious sister to be on The Nonprofit Times’ “Power and Influence Top 50” list. Well, then, meet Sister Georgette Lehmuth. By Carol Ann Morrow

Mary Lou Carlson, OSF

6 Reel Time Batkid Begins

The Best Thing I Ever Ate

10 Church in the News

36 Makeup Artist to the Saints

13 At Home on Earth

Catholic art connects us to our beliefs and tradition. Lou McClung makes sure that art isn’t forgotten. Text by Jerri Donohue, photos by William Rieter

‘Praised Be!’

20 Editorial This Encyclical Is Very Franciscan

42 Finding the Bay of Parables We don’t have to travel far to hear God’s message. By James Martin, SJ

8 Channel Surfing

49 The Spirit of Francis

Nursing Mothers

50 Ask a Franciscan Old Testament Fulfilled by Jesus?

46 Don’t Let Illness Get You Down

52 Book Corner The Archaeology of Faith

Sickness damages more than our bodies. Here are five ways to help you cope. By Rita E. Piro

54 A Catholic Mom Speaks Expanding Our Worldview

56 Backstory

DEAR READER

ST. ANTHONY M essenger

Letter to a Minister Between 1221 and 1223, a provincial minister who was having troubles with his friars wrote to St. Francis. The minister apparently thought the best solution was to go to a hermitage and let a new minister sort out the problems. Francis wrote back with a very different solution. The minister should consider a grace everything that challenges him to love God more. The minister should love sinful friars and deal with them as their servant. No friar, however much he has sinned, should look into the minister’s eyes and be unsure whether he has received mercy. In fact, if that friar does not request mercy, the minister should offer it anyway. “And if he would sin a thousand times before your eyes, love him more than me so that you may draw him to the Lord; and always be merciful with brothers such as these” (New City Press translation, 1999). We can easily think that another person’s sins justify our anger. Francis would have none of that. He advised the minister to use love and the other friars to draw the sinner to repentance.

Publisher/CEO Daniel Kroger, OFM 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 Assistant Editor Daniel Imwalle Editorial Assistant Sharon Lape Advertising tammy monjaras

Click the button on the left for more of Father Pat’s reflections on Francis.

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(U.S.P.S. PUBLICATION #007956 CANADA PUBLICATION #PM40036350) Volume 123, Number 3, 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 109200189. 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. See St AnthonyMessenger.org for information on your digital edition. Writer’s guidelines can be found at StAnthony Messenger.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 ©2015. All rights reserved.

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

FROM OUR READERS

Blessings in Challenges The June issue of St. Anthony Messenger was wonderful. There were so many inspiring articles, but I want to make special mention of Heather King’s article, “Spiritual Stumbles.” It really touched my heart. I’d also like to respond to Susan Hines-Brigger’s writing about caregiving in “A Catholic Mom Speaks.” I, too, got frustrated, upset, and often cried, “God help me,” as I cared for my disabled brother for 10 years. But when God called my dear brother home in September 2014, I began to look back on those years as the greatest blessing of my life. God bless you all. Anne Schraff Spring Valley, California

Every Moment Counts I just read Fay Yoder’s fiction piece, “Country Angels,” in the June issue

What’s on Your Mind? Letters that are published do not necessarily represent the views of the Franciscan friars or the editors. We do not publish slander or libel. Please include your name and postal address. Letters may be edited for clarity and space. Mail Letters, St. Anthony Messenger 28 W. Liberty St. Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498 Fax 513-241-0399

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of St. Anthony Messenger. It brought tears to my eyes immediately. Even though it was fiction, it reminded me to treat each moment and each individual with the best effort I can offer. This story moved me—thank you! Mary DiVincenzo Beverly, Massachusetts

Recalling a Humble Professor When I read Father Pat McCloskey, OFM’s, response to “Ash Wednesday Questions” in the June issue’s “Ask a Franciscan” column, I was thrilled that you cited Father Francis Weiser, SJ, from his Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs. Father Weiser was my professor at Boston College and provided some important background on the book. Though he had been put in a Nazi concentration camp, he never gave himself accolades for saving souls and lives. He never mentioned his own suffering, fear, or disgust, but instead focused on how he could give greater honor and glory to God. He wrote the book in his head; it kept him sane and focused on God’s love, and allowed him to share that faith, hope, and love with others. Not only was he an excellent scholar, writer, and professor; he was a good priest. One way to pass such an experience forward is to say a prayer for all those priests who lived the faith and to share that knowledge with other Catholics. Dorothy Deedy Delray Beach, Florida

Carter: Abortion an ‘Unplanned Tragedy’ I’m writing in response to Edward A. Hara’s letter, “Oppose All Forms of Violence against Women,” from the June issue’s “From Our Readers” column. While I am simpatico with Mr.

There’s still time to take our Catholic family survey! Share with St. Anthony Messenger readers where you stand on issues facing Catholic families today. Results will be published in our October issue in time for the synod on the family.

Please take our survey at the following link: survey.AmericanCatholic.org

Hara’s pro-life position, he is seriously misinformed when he contends that Jimmy Carter supports abortion. In his 2006 book, Our Endangered Values, Carter wrote, “I am convinced that every abortion is an unplanned tragedy, brought about by a combination of human errors, and this has been one of the most difficult moral and political issues I have had to face. “As president, I accepted my obligation to enforce the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling, and at the same time attempted in every way possible to minimize the number of abortions.” (In his effort to limit abortions, Carter consistently supported the Hyde Amendment, which barred spending tax dollars for abortions.) More recently, during a guest appearance on a radio talk show hosted by conservative Laura Ingraham on March 29, 2012, Carter repeated his stance on abortion. He also mentioned how, in the 1970s, he had initiated the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, which provides health services, food, and nutrition counseling to low-income families. Louis H. Pumphrey Shaker Heights, Ohio Au gu s t 2 0 15 ❘ 3

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

A Franciscan for 50 Years

“

o one seemed to smile as much as the Franciscans,” says Sister Mary Lou Carlson, OSF, when she remembers discerning her call to religious life back in the 1960s. The warm sense of welcome that Franciscan spirituality exudes drew Sister Mary Lou into entering a religious life in community in 1964, but her vocation to serve was nothing new. “My ministry over the past 50 years has been to spread the Gospel of Jesus. I work hard to help people get to know Jesus and the unconditional love God has for everyone,” she remarks. Originally from Fremont, Nebraska, Sister Mary Lou was taught by Franciscans throughout grade school, which left a lasting impression on her during those formative years. As a teenager, Sister Mary Lou’s awareness of her vocation deepened. “Every time we had our yearly high school retreat, I felt God’s call to serve,” she recalls. Following high school, Sister Mary Lou visited five religious communities, going on retreats at each to gain a well-rounded sense of the culture, spirituality, and camaraderie present. In Clinton, Iowa, she found her

Mary Lou Carlson, OSF

spiritual home. “I visited the Franciscans at Mount St. Clare in Clinton and felt right at home, because they were all so friendly and welcoming. I signed up the next day.” The immediate impact and magnetism of the Franciscan charism have not faded for Sister Mary Lou. She started out teaching in elementary schools across the Midwest, but also developed an interest in pastoral ministry—eventually obtaining a master’s degree in human and religious studies. Her decades of work as a grade school teacher, RCIA educator, and retreat director point to her skills as a communicator and spiritual guide. “I have lots of energy to assist in helping people grow spiritually. I believe Franciscan spirituality can benefit anyone who is looking for God in their life.” Sister Mary Lou’s boundless energy seems to have carried over into her current role as director of outreach at the Church of the Resurrection in Escondido, California, where she has served since 2006. Under the umbrella term outreach, Sister Mary Lou’s ministry includes bereavement follow-up, CPR training, and parish health ministry. “Part of outreach includes eucharistic minis-

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

All Part of the Plan

4 ❘ Augus t 2015

As a mom, having a central place to store all of the information I need for my kids is really important. That is why my planner is my lifeline. So, when it went missing, I was panicked. I immediately started praying to St. Anthony, and told my kids to do the same. After about a half hour of searching the house high and low, my youngest found my planner. It had fallen behind the desk. Thanks to St. Anthony, this mom was able to keep her life in order for another day! —Ann Tierney, Boston, Massachusetts

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

Click here for more on Sister Mary Lou and the Church of the Resurrection’s outreach ministry.

ST. CLARE OF ASSISI

Clean Linens We take it for granted that the insides of churches need to be swept and dusted, that altar linens be kept clean, and that sacred vessels be treated with respect. Christians in Clare’s day did not always act that way. Clare became famous for embroidering corporals, purificators, and other altar linens—and then giving them to nearby churches. An alb that she made for St. Francis can be seen in the Chapel of the Relics at the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. Clare’s concern for clean churches eventually became the norm. –P.M.

PAINTING BY SIMONE MARTINI FROM THE YORCK PROJECT

ters who take Communion to the homebound,” she adds. The Church of the Resurrection’s outreach work is also connected to a large organization called Interfaith. Interfaith is made up of a diverse group of faith congregations, with a mission of assisting those in need in the North San Diego area. Sister Mary Lou helps collect food every weekend, which she later takes to Interfaith’s nearby facility. Even basic food items are welcome. “Last year [in 2014], we collected 1,304 jars of peanut butter and jelly,” she says. From helping to feed the hungry to making follow-up calls to parishioners who have recently lost loved ones, Sister Mary Lou does not compartmentalize her vocation to serve. “The ‘poor’ for me includes all people in need,” she explains. “As God shows no partiality, I must be ready to listen and assist people to know, love, and serve our creator.” Outreach ministry, for Sister Mary Lou, turns out to be fairly simple at its foundation. “Most of all, people need to know others respect them. A listening ear is always an instrument of peace.” —Daniel Imwalle

tal Digi as Extr

To learn more about Franciscan saints, visit SaintoftheDay.org.

S T. A N T H O N Y B R E A D

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

Au gu s t 2 0 15 ❘ 5

PHOTO BY FRANK JASPER, OFM

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

Batkid Begins

SISTER ROSE’S

Documentary Picks The Cove (2009) Food, Inc. (2008)

Eric Johnston, as Batman, and Miles Scott, as Batkid, are featured in the acclaimed documentary Batkid Begins.

Last Call at the Oasis (2011)

Miles Scott, from Northern California, was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 18 months. Although he was eligible for a request from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, his parents decided to wait, pending good results from treatment. By the time Miles was 5, he was a veteran superhero fan. He loved to dress up in their costumes, but none more than Batman. As the successful treatments were coming to an end, the Scotts applied for Miles’ wish. After a thorough interview, all Miles wanted was a chance to dress up like Batman. The foundation in San Francisco, however, thought it would be nice to stage a rescue and create a little drama. This idea, from Patricia Wilson, executive director of the Bay Area chapter, grew into a full day of rescue scenarios that brought downtown San Francisco to a standstill in 2013—all so that a little boy could get back some of the childhood he lost in hospitals. Stuntman Eric Johnston was Batman to Miles’ Batkid, and even arranged an evening

Virunga (2014) Last Days in Vietnam (2014)

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at a circus training school so that Miles would know what to do. All the acrobats who came in that night to practice came dressed as superheroes. Miles joined them with enthusiasm and awe. Batkid Begins, a beautiful documentary, is a testament to a strong little boy, his parents, and the generosity of an estimated 12,000 strangers—some of whom came from across the country to be part of the event. In the days afterward, social media spread the word like a wildfire. The audience at the premiere I attended cheered, laughed, and shouted as if we were there, too. Batkid rejects cynicism and will restore your faith in humanity. Not yet rated, PG ■ Pretend violence and brief language.

Inside Out Riley (voice of Kaitlyn Dias), 11, moves from Minnesota to Los Angeles for her father’s job. As Riley responds to the challenges of St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

CNS PHOTO/COURTESY DISNEY-PIXAR

Disney-Pixar’s new animated film, Inside Out, boasts the vocal talents of Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, and Mindy Kaling.

Samba Samba (Omar Sy), a migrant from Senegal, works in a restaurant in Paris. He lives with his uncle and hopes the police will not discover that he has no identity card. Alas, he ends up in a holding center and waits to Fr anciscanMedia.org

missing her friends, living in a house without furniture, and going to a new school, her emotions try to keep her balanced and happy. Those emotions are Joy (voice of Amy Poehler), Fear (voiced by Bill Hader), Anger (voiced by Lewis Black), Disgust (voiced by Mindy Kaling), and Sadness (voiced by Phyllis Smith). Sadness seems to have the most power because when she touches a long-term memory, it is forever tainted. According to the writers of the film, emotions make up Riley’s personality. But what really makes up the human person is not quite so simple. Inside Out is a very ambitious and complex animated film from Disney-Pixar, and I don’t think it is directed at children under the age of 10. Once children can feel loss of any kind—such as when they move from place to place and leave behind friends, loved ones, or even a beloved toy—then Inside Out can begin to make sense. Riley undergoes a kind of inner fragmenting because of all the changes in her life. But when something of significance happens, she becomes integrated again and takes a step forward in maturity. This is really a movie for teens and grown-ups. Be sure to stay at the end for a hilarious look at the inner lives of a dog and a cat. A-2, PG ■ Mature themes.

speak to lawyers who will try to get him residency. Alice (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is a burnedout business professional who volunteers at the center as part of her recovery from a meltdown at work. Although her friend warns her not to get personal with any of the men, she and Samba are drawn to each other. These two souls have different histories and life experiences, but they become friends. And though there is a spark of romantic interest, events and the people in their lives prevent a relationship—at least for a while. Samba is a lovely film that explores the plight of France’s undocumented workers, and treats the possibility for romance with intelligence and delicacy. Omar Sy, who first gained attention for his award-winning performance in The Intouchables, gives a sensitive, nuanced performance. And this is one of Gainsbourg’s most subtle. The film is in French with English subtitles. Not yet rated, R ■ Language.

Charlotte Gainsbourg and Omar Sy are two people from different worlds who find connection in the French film Samba.

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

General patronage Adults and adolescents Adults Limited adult audience Morally offensive

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

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

Augus t 2015 ❘

CHANNEL SURFING

WITH CHRISTOPHER HEFFRON

UP CLOSE

Saturdays, Food Network, check local listings One afternoon in Tuscany, I had a pasta dish that single-handedly made me rethink how I look at the preparation and consumption of food. Everything about the dish was local— the pasta was handmade, the cream used in the white sauce was harvested from dairy cows one village over, and the basil was grown in a garden an earshot away. I ate slowly, which is not my custom. We Americans rush our meals. The fastfood industry rakes in almost $200 billion annually. Microwaves cook our overprocessed frozen dishes beyond any semblance of nutrition. We eat quickly, tactlessly, and, often, badly. What makes The Best Thing I Ever Ate such a novelty—even by Food Network standards—is that it challenges viewers to consider what they’re eating. The premise is admirably simple: host Ted Allen, one of the smartest personalities on the channel, guides viewers into one-on-one interviews with notable Food Network chefs. Each person regales a meal they had that changed their lives in a small way. Bobby Flay raved about an omelet he couldn’t forget at a Hoboken diner; Anne Burrell’s love letter to a Pittsburgh greasy spoon for the best hamburger she’d ever had was another charming moment. And there are plenty of those to savor on the show.

Running Wild with Bear Grylls

Mondays, 10 pm, NBC Adventurer Bear Grylls might be the reason Ritalin was invented—and that’s what has made him one of the most watchable hosts in recent television. The Brit first became known to channel surfers with his hit Discovery Channel series Man vs. Wild, where he conquered some of the most dangerous terrain around the world. The show’s cult following soon ballooned into a cottage industry. Now the host is back for a second season of his exciting NBC show Running Wild. And while the thrust of the show rivals his previous one, the ante is upped by bringing A-listers along for the experience. Grylls brings a guest for two days of adventure: from the jungles of Panama to the Red Rocks of Utah. This season, Oscar-winner Kate Winslet, quarterback Drew Brees, and television star Jesse Tyler Ferguson are some of the few who join Grylls for 48 hours of exploration and excitement. The thrill of the series is twofold: the scenery is stunning; also, the sheer pleasure of watching some of Hollywood’s most pampered stars roughing it for 48 hours is a trip. This show is impossible to watch without smiling. The key ingredient is Grylls, himself. Modest, relatable, and always high-energy, he has an innate respect and love for the natural world, and he wants to bring us into it. It’s a thrilling ride.

Emmy-winner Ted Allen is the smart, amiable host of Food Network’s long-running series The Best Thing I Ever Ate. 8 ❘

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PHOTO BY MARK CHALLENDER/NBC

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CHURCH IN THE NEWS

❘ BY SUSAN HINES-BRIGGER

CNS PHOTOS/LISSETTE LEMUS

Encyclical on Environment Released ecology lived out joyfully all of us now. What does it mean? It’s and authentically.” marching orders for advocacy.” In the encyclical, Pope Father Michael Perry, minister Francis points out, “Everygeneral of the Order of Friars Minor, thing is connected. Concern said that in the encyclical he sees for the environment thus that “Pope Francis is trying to be the needs to be joined to a sinbearer of that white flag” to promote cere love for our fellow dialogue and help everyone reclaim human beings and an unwatheir dignity as God’s children, called vering commitment to to care for creation. resolving the problems of society.” He adds that “we Synod Working human beings are united as Document Released brothers and sisters on a wonderful pilgrimage, The working document for the Octowoven together by the love ber World Synod of Bishops on the God has for each of his creafamily was released on June 23, tures, and which also unites reported CNS. The document is In his encyclical on the environment, Pope Francis says us in fond affection with intended to help guide discussions brother sun, sister moon, a lack of respect for creation is a lack of respect for during the synod. brother river, and mother God, who created all that exists. The current 77-page working docearth.” ument—called an instrumentum On June 18, the Vatican released Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of laboris—contains a much wider focus Pope Francis’ long-awaited encyclical Louisville, Kentucky, president of the of topics than what was in the final on the environment—“Laudato Si’, US Conference of Catholic Bishops, document of the previous session of On Care for Our Common Home.” said the encyclical is a wonderful the synod. Some of the topics adThe 180-page letter, which draws teaching tool. The pope, Kurtz said, dressed in the current document are both its name and many themes is “painfully aware of what’s happen- ones from the previous synod that from St. Francis’ “Canticle of the ing to our world and that we need to have been expanded upon. But more Creatures,” was unveiled during a grow in solidarity, responsibility, and than a dozen others are entirely new news conference attended by foreign compassionate care. He’s speaking to and also based on the lived experiambassadors to the Holy See, Vatican officials, religious, and scores of media outlets, reported Catholic News Service (CNS). During his presentation of the document, Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, president of the More than 200 works of art—including Pontifical Council for Justice and paintings, sculptures, and rare artifacts Peace, said, “The reference to St. from the Vatican—will be displayed as Francis also indicates the attitude part of the “Vatican Splendors” exhibit upon which the entire encyclical is opening September 19 at Philadelbased, that of prayerful contemplaphia’s Franklin Institute. The art exhibit, tion, which invites us to look which features many works that have towards the ‘poor one of Assisi’ as a never been shown publicly, will run source of inspiration” and as the through February 2016. quintessential example of “care for the vulnerable and of an integral

“Vatican Splendors” Exhibit Set to Open

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

CNS PHOTO/VATICAN PRESS KIT

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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

Amid a corruption scandal within the worldwide soccer federation, FIFA, the Vatican announced that it has suspended a donations agreement with the South American soccer federation CONMEBOL. That federation had pledged to donate $10,000 to the Vatican charity Scholas Occurrentes for every goal scored during the America Cup. Scholas Occurrentes was founded to promote social integration of youth through sport and operates under the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Venezuelan Rafael Esquivel, who sat on the CONMEBOL executive committee and was among those signing the Vatican agreement, was among the seven FIFA officials arrested May 27 to face corruption charges in the United States. Two former presidents of CONMEBOL, Nicolas Leoz and Eugenio Figueredo, are also among those being investigated by the FBI in the corruption scandal. The sainthood cause for Father Edward Flanagan, founder of Boys Town, was advanced to Rome on June 18 by the Archdiocese of Omaha. The 4,600 pages of documents detailing the archdiocese’s three-year investigation were sent to the Congregation for Saints’ Causes at the Vatican. If the findings are accepted, recognizing Father Flanagan’s heroic virtues, he will be declared “venerable.” The Benedictine Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha on the Sea of Galilee was the site of an early morning arson attack on June 18. The fire destroyed the roof and damaged a storage room, church offices, and a

ences of families, such as poverty, infertility, ecological degradation, bioethics, the role of women, the role of grandparents, aging, loss, disability, migration, prayer, and fear of commitment. Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, general secretary of the World Synod of Bishops, told reporters at a Vatican news conference that each week of the synod will treat the three different sections of the working docuFr ancisca n Media .org

prayer room. Wadie Abunasser, a church spokesman, said the blaze caused millions of dollars in damage. Graffiti scrawled in red paint in Hebrew also was found at the site. It read, “False idols will be smashed,” which is part of the “Aleinu,” a prayer said three times a day by religious Jews. The church, which is one of the highly visited pilgrimage sites along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, is located on the site where Christian tradition holds that Jesus miraculously multiplied five loaves and two fishes to feed 5,000 people, who had come to hear him preach. Pope Francis met with Russian President Vladamir Putin at the Vatican on June 10. After Putin arrived over an hour late, the two spoke privately for 50 minutes. Vatican spokesman Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi said the meeting “was dedicated principally to the conflict in Ukraine and to the situation in the Middle East.”

CNS/L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO VIA REUTERS

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Sister Nirmala Joshi, the successor to Blessed Mother Teresa as superior general of the Missionaries of Charity, died June 23 in Kolkota at age 81, reported Religion News Service (RNS). Sister Nirmala led the order for 12 years, until retiring in 2009.

The number of abortions in the United States has decreased by 12 percent since 2010, according to a recent survey by the Associated Press (AP). One factor the AP cited was the continuing decline in the rate of teen pregnancy. The results showed that some states had reductions as high as 15 percent, some of whom were among the 31 states that had passed laws this decade restricting access to abortion. Some states that maintained unrestricted access to abortion also experienced 15-percent reductions, among them New York, Washington, and Oregon. Only two states—Michigan and Louisiana—saw an increase in the number of abortions. For more Catholic news, visit AmericanCatholic.org.

ment respectively: listening to the challenges families face, discerning the vocation of the family, and the mission of the family today. The final week will include time to prepare a final text that will be submitted to the pope, he said. “Often the Holy Father has recalled that the synod is a place in which the Holy Spirit can act. It is not a parliament. The Synod Fathers are invited to express themselves

with parresia, [with boldness and courage], said Cardinal Baldisseri.

Faith Communities Respond to Charleston Shooting In the aftermath of the fatal shootings of nine people in a historic black church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, members of various faith communities expressed Au gu s t 2 0 15 ❘ 1 1

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said. “My leadership has unfortunately drawn away from the good works of his Church and those who perform them. Thus, my decision to step down.” Bishop Piche issued a similar message, saying, “The people of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis needed healing and hope. I was getting in the way of that, so I had to resign.” Until a successor is named, Coadjutor Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of Newark, New Jersey, will serve as apostolic administrator of the St. Paul Archdiocese.

Members of the Manna Life Center pray June 19 in Charleston, South Carolina, for victims of the shootings at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Pope Approves Procedures Regarding Sex-Abuse Claims

both their condemnation and sadness over the event, reported CNS. Catholic Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone of Charleston released a statement after the shooting saying, “The inside of any church is a sanctuary. When a person enters, he or she has the right to worship, pray, and learn in a safe and secure environment. For anyone to murder nine individuals is upsetting, but to kill them inside of a church during a Bible study class is devastating to any faith community.” Twenty-one-year-old Dylann Storm Roof is accused of the murders. Witnesses said Roof joined a prayer meeting the evening of June 17 at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. They said he sat with church members for about an hour, then stood up, yelled racist remarks, and opened fire. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime. The Jewish Council for Public Affairs addressed the incident, saying that “hate crimes attack both individual victims and entire communities. They are meant to isolate and terrorize. We stand in direct contrast: for an inclusive and pluralistic community, one that cherishes life and recognizes that every person is created in the divine image.” The statement went on to say that

After meeting with his Council of Cardinals, also called the C-9 Group, June 8-10, Pope Francis approved new procedures for the Vatican to investigate and judge claims of “abuse of office” by bishops who allegedly failed to protect minors and vulnerable adults from sex abuse, reported CNS. A statement from the Vatican said the procedures will include a new “judicial section” within the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that has a papal mandate to “judge bishops with regard to crimes of the abuse of office when connected to the abuse of minors.” It also states that the three Curia offices that have oversight of the world’s bishops—the congregations for Bishops, for the Evangelization of Peoples and for Eastern Churches— are now authorized “to receive and investigate complaints of the episcopal abuse of office,” and that there is a “duty to report all complaints to the appropriate congregation.” Just days later, the Vatican set a July trial date for Jozef Wesolowski, a Polish ex-archbishop who stands accused on charges of the sexual abuse of minors and possession of child pornography while he served as nuncio to the Dominican Republic. He will be tried in a Vatican criminal court. A

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the attack “highlights that there is still racism in our society and that there is urgent need to address the issue directly. We must clearly and unequivocally demonstrate that hate violence has no place in our society.”

Pope Francis Accepts Resignations of Two US Bishops On June 15, Pope Francis accepted the resignations of Archbishop John C. Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee A. Piche of St. Paul and Minneapolis, according to CNS. The move came 10 days after the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office filed criminal and civil charges against the archdiocese, alleging it failed to protect three boys who were sexually abused between 2008 and 2010 by Curtis Wehmeyer, a former priest of the archdiocese. Wehmeyer was convicted of the abuse and is serving a five-year prison sentence. He was dismissed from the priesthood in March. Archbishop Nienstedt said he submitted his resignation in order “to give the archdiocese a new beginning amidst the many challenges we face. “The Catholic Church is not our church, but Christ’s Church, and we are merely stewards for a time,” he

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

AT HOME ON EARTH

❘ BY KYLE KRAMER

‘Praised Be!’

“

PHOTO © PTAXA/ISTOCKPHOTO

both invite us to praise and care for the interconnected and beautiful world that is our home, our sin has ruptured our original harmony with the rest of creation. In its place has arisen a selfish, dangerous, and ultimately empty fascination with material consumption and the power of unbridled technology and financial markets. What one thing As bad as things are, Pope can you do? Francis has great hope for our Here are some suggestions future. Echoing previous from Pope Francis himself: Church teaching, he calls for an “integral ecology” that • Find ways to reduce our use sees the holistic development of plastic and paper. of human beings as being • Reduce water consumption. inseparable from a healthy • Recycle. planet. The fates of all creatures are wonderfully inter• Don’t waste food. connected in “the common • Show care for other creatures. good” of our shared world. • Use public transport or With God’s help, we can carpool. achieve this “integral ecology” by dialoging with • Plant trees. science, the business commu• Turn off unnecessary lights. nity, politicians, and those of other faiths. We can—and must—forge “enforceable international agreements” to safeguard natural resources and rapidly phase out the use of nonrenewable fuels. Each one of us can help, too, by following St. Thérèse’s “little way” and moderating our personal environmental impact. Care for our common home, writes our pope, is not only a Christian moral duty and spiritual practice, but also part and parcel of a rich and full life. Praised be! A Kyle Kramer is the executive director of the Passionist Earth and Spirit Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

A healthy relationship between creatures—human and nonhuman–is an essential part of our environment. Fr ancisca n Media .org

tal Digi as Extr

Click here for an interview with Kyle about Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment.

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raised be to you, my Lord!” With this quote from the patron saint of ecology himself, St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis sets the tone of his encyclical on the environment—“Laudato Si’: on Care for Our Common Home”—which was released to worldwide anticipation earlier this summer. While it deals with many difficult, heartbreaking, and technical challenges posed by environmental destruction, its core message is the joy and wonder of contemplating our place in God’s marvelous creation. In this encyclical, as in general, Pope Francis tells it like it is. He relates a catalog of woes plaguing “our common home”: pollution and human-caused climate change, unfair distribution of the world’s essential resources (especially water), and a loss of the biodiversity so necessary for environmental health. He laments the effects such damage has on creation as a whole, and especially on the human family: the suffering of the poor and vulnerable, a breakdown of culture and social fabric, and overall “decline in the quality of human life” for rich and poor alike. Pope Francis is quick to diagnose the root cause of these problems. Although the witness of Scripture and the “book of nature”

The

Injustice of Fracking Yes, we need gas. But at what cost? BY DENNIS SADOWSKI

HE TRAFFIC ON THE CB RADIO is sporadic as Bill Hughes drives along North Fork Road, not far from his home near New Martinsville, West Virginia. It’s a sign on this bright late fall afternoon that few truckers are running drill cuttings to a landfill, or carrying water to and from the myriad of natural gas wells that span Wetzel County. Truck traffic usually is heavier on the narrow, curvy roads because of the natural gas mining boom that came to the state in 2007. Hughes knows the lull won’t last long, though. Near Mobley, he pulls his burgundy 2002 Blazer to the side of the road, opposite the object of his attention—a towering natural gas drilling rig, operated by Pittsburgh-based EQT Corporation. From this vantage point, Hughes has a clear view to watch the work going on a couple hundred feet away. Hughes notices new activity at the rig’s base. An excavator operator is filling an industrial-size dump truck with inky black drill cuttings. Hughes believes the cuttings are destined for a nearby landfill under a permit. He’s not 100 percent certain, but he suspects the cuttings are from a horizontal shaft, and may even be radioactive. He takes several photos. They eventually will find their way into a presentation about natural gas mining and the industrial process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. People, he says, need to know what’s going on in their backyards and the potential dangers fracking poses. The retired industrial electrician and former Trappist monk has spent the last six years documenting the activity of the burgeoning natural gas industry that has turned quiet, rural communities across northern West Virginia into noisy and potentially toxic multiacre industrial zones. While Hughes, 70, works part-time for the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and FracTracker Alliance, it’s his commitment to his grandchildren’s future and unwavering belief that God’s creation must be protected that fuel his actions.

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“All of this work is in an attempt to educate folks, and sort of harass the gas guys enough so that we might slow them down. As the Quakers say, ‘See the God in everyone,’” he explains. “I’ve done nothing but this for essentially six years, for my grandchildren. What are we going to leave for them? In 40 years, they’re going to look back and say, ‘How could you people have been so stupid to have allowed this?’ We just need to keep that long-term view,” says Hughes. “If I don’t care about my St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

PHOTO BY TIM BISHOP

grandchildren’s future, nobody does. If I don’t take responsibility, no one else will.”

At What Cost? Hughes understands that most residents of Wetzel County welcome the jobs, the taxes, and the royalties fracking generates for landowners in an area struggling economically. “The flash of cash for most of these folks with mineral resources, it’s hard to say no,” he says, climbing into his SUV. Americans have become too comfortable to Fr anciscanMedia.org

question how the low-cost gas that heats their home, cooks their food, and, increasingly, provides their electricity, is obtained, Hughes continues. He fears people do not understand the looming environmental dangers fracking poses: contamination of surface water and groundwater sources; polluted air from diesel exhaust; leakage of methane, a greenhouse gas that drives climate change; and earthquakes. Technological advances in horizontal drilling since the 1990s have made it easier to access billions of cubic feet of natural gas in deep

Bill Hughes has spent the last six years documenting the process of fracking in rural communities in northern West Virginia. Here he takes photos of a fracking operation near his own home.

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photos—lots of photos—some taken from the single-seat airplane he occasionally flies over fracking sites. An official for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, however, says there is little to fear from fracking. Jason Harmon, deputy chief of the state’s Office of Oil and Gas, says regulation of the natural gas industry was strengthened in 2011 when state legislators passed the Horizontal Well Control Act. “Before that, we didn’t have a lot,” he says. “It was a brave new world.”

Too Close to Home

Hughes, seen here with his wife, Marianne, and two of their grandsons, says the work he does is for the sake of his grandchildren’s future. Fracking can contaminate both surface water and groundwater, such as this creek by the Hugheses’ house.

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formations like the Marcellus Shale under West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Fracking requires millions of gallons of water, tons of sand, and a proprietary mix of chemicals. The mixture is pumped under tremendous pressure through a cement-encased borehole drilled a mile or more downward, and then horizontally as much as two miles, to fracture the shale. The sand holds open the fractures so the gas— and in some cases high-in-demand hydrocarbons like benzene, ethane, propane, and toluene—can flow to the surface. Hughes, chairman of the Wetzel County Solid Waste Authority, often shares what he has learned from hours of research and visits to wells with local and state government officials to press them to limit natural gas extraction. He documents his findings with

Such assurances do little to comfort Hughes and his wife of 45 years, Marianne. The Pittsburgh natives deeply love the land entrusted to their care since arriving in Wetzel County in 1981. Their property rests in a small valley along Scheidler Run, a shallow creek with crystal-clear water. Hughes calls it a “holy water supply.” Marianne, who plays the organ at Mass at tiny Mater Dolorosa Parish in Paden City, five miles south of New Martinsville, considers herself her husband’s “support system.” She works to keep him healthy so he can continue monitoring the wells, especially after liver cancer nearly claimed his life in 2011. “I came to the conclusion he’s doing God’s work, and that’s the only reason he’s alive. He doesn’t quite go there with me, but I firmly believe that,” she says. The couple’s home is not far from fracking operations. At times, the Hugheses can hear the jet engine-like roar of a well being flared, a process that burns off methane for days at a time to test gas quality. Hughes has documented chemical spills from wells that have reached some nearby waterways, but Scheidler Run has been spared. “It’s so important that we keep it that way,” he says. “That’s the challenge for the whole watershed.” According to an article published this past May in The New York Times, a study of drinking water from three homes in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, revealed traces of a compound commonly found in Marcellus Shale drilling fluids. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, addresses a long-standing question about potential risks to underground drinking water from fracking. In the study, the researchers note that the contamination may have stemmed from a lack St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

PHOTOS BY TIM BISHOP

of integrity in the drill wells and not from the actual fracking process far below.

A Justice Issue The Hugheses are part of a growing nationwide movement opposed to fracking. In Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, North Dakota, and elsewhere, Catholics have been inspired by the words of Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI—the “green pope”—and the Church’s social teaching to bear prophetic witness to environmental action on fracking. The movement includes people like Kate Marshall, a member of St. Joseph Cathedral in Wheeling, West Virginia, who opened House of Hagar Catholic Worker in August. She is a leader in Wheeling Water Warriors, which formed in 2013 to stop Texas-based GreenHunter Resources from opening a fracking wastewater recycling facility near the Ohio River, in the city’s Warwood neighborhood. After processing the water, the company planned to discharge it into the river at a point 1.5 miles from the city’s water treatment intake pipes. The solid waste recovered would be barged down the river to landfills in Ohio. Marshall and dozens of Warwood residents, including members of Corpus Christi Church there, objected. They maintained that they did not believe water used in fracking could be adequately treated and safely returned to the environment. “From a Catholic position, and being Fr anciscanMedia.org

invested in Catholic social teaching, we were seeing so many rights violated. There was concern about care for creation and even rights for the workers,” says Marshall, 40, the mother of three teenagers: Gabby, 13, and twins Noah and Sam, 16. Although GreenHunter’s plan is on hold, Marshall and Wheeling Water Warriors have mobilized to protect the Ohio River from another danger, as West Virginia officials in December approved a plan to allow fracking under the river. They fear that chemically laden fracking fluids will migrate into the river. On another front, two communities of women religious have acted to prohibit fracking on their land holdings. Through months of prayer and reflection, the Humility of Mary Sisters in Villa Maria, Pennsylvania, and the

(Top) The Ohio River could be affected by fracking, but not if Kate Marshall and the Wheeling Water Warriors have anything to say about it. (Bottom) Sister Kathleen Durkin’s Congregation of St. Joseph in Wheeling decided in 2010 that fracking would not be allowed on its 100-acre Mount St. Joseph site. The decision, she says, was based in the congregation’s mission statement. Augus t 2015 ❘

PHOTO FROM INGIMAGE

Fracking and the

CNS PHOTO/ L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO

Ecology Encyclical Opponents to fracking will be encouraged by the words of Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical, “Laudato Si”: On Care for Our Common Home,” published June 18. It opens with words from St. Francis of Assisi’s “Canticle of the Creatures”: “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us. . . .” Then the pope lays out, in 180 pages, the Catholic understanding of creation, proclaimed by Church teaching over the centuries. The encyclical, a teaching of the highest authority, is a clarion call for all people to live responsibly on earth. Its overarching theme is "integral ecology," an acknowledgment that care for creation is connected to issues of justice, linking care for the environment and respect for all human beings. Pope Francis speaks of “symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water,” and says that “the earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor.” Our sister, the earth, he says, “now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her.” His radical call is that we move beyond “highly polluting fossil fuels . . . without delay.” Calling the postindustrial period as perhaps “the most irresponsible in history,” he at the same time offers hope that humanity today might be remembered for “having generously shouldered its grave responsibilities.”

Congregation of St. Joseph in Wheeling, decided that their properties would be offlimits to fracking, even though they sit atop rich natural gas deposits. St. Joseph Sister Kathleen Durkin says it took her congregation several months to learn about fracking before deciding, in 2010, to disallow it on its 100-acre Mount St. Joseph 18 ❘

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site. The congregation’s decision was rooted in the “generous promises” spelled out in its mission statement. There are four promises, and one specifically cites the environment. It invites members to “recognize the reality that Earth is dying, to claim our oneness with Earth, and to take steps now to strengthen, heal, and renew the face of the Earth.” “If you look at those generous promises, it’s all about inclusion and systemic change,” Sister Kathleen says. “So how could we not take seriously the implications? As far as we could see at that time, the implications are the use of the water, the chemicals, the air, our neighbors. “It’s sort of like we decide to drill, but what about our neighbors down the street? It’s that mission context, how our own vision of what it means that all may be one, that whole sense of the oneness that we all share in God, in creation, and how those choices affect now and the future.”

Faith-Based Activism Other concerns related to fracking have emerged elsewhere. In eastern Pennsylvania, Tom Lyons has focused his efforts on preventing an expansion of Williams Corporation’s Transco pipeline, known as the Atlantic Sunrise Project. As proposed, the 178-mile pipeline would bring natural gas from Marcellus Shale formations in northeastern Pennsylvania to markets in the mid-Atlantic and southeastern United States. At first, Lyons, a member of St. Columba Parish in Bloomsburg, knew little about fracking or the project. Before long, he knew enough that he wanted to stop the project. He acted, he says, because of his renewed Catholic faith and the inspiration of his uncle, the late Father John Hugo, a well-known retreat leader in Pittsburgh. “I believe this is the biggest rape of humanity ever perpetuated by humankind,” Lyons says of fracking. “It’s a tsunami. It’s real. We have pictures of a tsunami. The water’s backing out to the sea right now and it’s coming. I felt I have a responsibility as a Christian to do what I can. That’s all I can do, is just as much as I can.” Lyons, 66, who retired as financial aid director at Bloomsburg University in 2010 after 34 years with the school, has spent hours going door-to-door talking to residents along the pipeline route and inviting them to community meetings to learn more. His 62-acre propSt A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

erty is not in the project’s path, but he says to the state capital in Madison to push for he wants to alert others about the environ- standards on frac sand exposure stresses family mental dangers of pipelines and compressor life. But he also does not want to let the indusstations, primarily, because of leaks. try go about business without taking responNearly 1,000 miles away in Bloomer, Wis- sibility. consin, Ken Schmitt, a farmer who raises grass“Society doesn’t work unless fed cattle for beef, followed a similar path to people take a more proactive Click here for more on faith-based environmental activism. The mem- role sometimes, and move tal Digi as fracking. Click the button ber of St. John the Baptist Church, north of beyond your sphere of influExtr below to learn about the Eau Claire, has spent seven years raising aware- ence,” he says. “People tend Catholic Climate Covenant. ness about the serious health problems posed not to take a stance. They’re by frac sand mining. Hydraulic fracturing busy and what have you. They requires the fine quartz sand that is readily tend not to take a look at found in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and what’s right and what’s wrong, when they Missouri. should be weighing in.” Like fracking, frac sand mining introduces Then he asks: “What are we leaving for an industrial process to rural communities. future generations? It’s not going to be a real What’s more, sand particles—crystalline sil- good end production in reclamation. I think ica—can be carried by the wind to nearby res- they can get some grass to grow, but it’s not idences, schools, and farms. It is the silica that going to be what it was, and it will leave an concerns Schmitt most. impact on the land. I always believed as a Specifically, the tiniest particles—those less farmer it should be better when you leave it than 10 microns (10 millionths of a meter) in than when you started working on it.” A size—pose the greatest concern, because size determines where in the respiratory tract the Dennis Sadowski is a staff writer for Catholic News Service. silica is deposited. Larger particles usually end He enjoys exploring the work of people of faith in the pursuit up in upper parts of the respiratory system of social justice. and can be more easily pushed out of the body. Tinier particles can be inhaled deep Secular Institute of the Missionaries of the Kingship of into the lungs and cannot be expelled. Christ…living consecrated life in the Secular World! The American Lung Association says prolonged silica exposure can cause breathing and respiratory problems, irritation, and inflammation, and can lead to silicosis, a lung disease. It can take years for symptoms to develop. Franciscan Spirituality… There is no cure. serving God and others. “Silicosis is about exposure over time. Exposure over time is what gets Contact Us: you,” Schmitt says. Vocations Director, www.simkc.org Schmitt, 49, and his family—wife, Laura, and children Allison, 10; Amy, 8; Elizabeth, 6; and Timmy, 4—live about a half mile from one mine and Your Digital two miles from another. Moving is not Edition an option, he says. • Free to print “I’ve said many times, if me or my subscribers wife get sick in 20 or 30 years, we’ll be • Does not change 70 or 80 years old, and at the end of your print subscription our lives. But if my kids get it, they Consider will be in their 30s or 40s. That’s a • Many digital extras a Gift tragedy. It’s incurable, and there’s not Subscription • Register at much you can do for it.” StAnthony Schmitt admits that the time spent Messenger.org circulating petitions, attending local health board meetings, and traveling Fr anciscanMedia.org

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EDITORIAL

This Encyclical Is Very Franciscan Like Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis sees all creation as God’s gift to be treated respectfully. On June 18, “Laudato Si’” (“Praise be to you, my Lord”), Pope Francis’ encyclical on ecology, was published. The title adapts the opening line of the “Canticle of the Creatures” by St. Francis of Assisi. The encyclical’s subtitle (“On Care for Our Common Home”) sets the clear and conversational tone of the entire text. The pope writes that our planet protests our irresponsible use and abuse of God’s creation. Pope Francis explains, “I wish to address every person living on this planet.” Although many people immediately welcomed this text, some commentators complained that the pope is blindly endorsing discredited science. In fact, the pope is quick to acknowledge that there are disagreements among scientists about some matters, but he insists that tal ecological challenges are both technical and Digi as Extr human. Pope Francis is solidly within Catholic social teaching. Click here to read the Readers who reject the term pope’s encyclical on the common good will be irrienvironment. tated by most of this encyclical. Pope Francis writes: “There are certain environmental issues where it is not easy to achieve a broad consensus. Here I would state once more that the Church does not presume to settle scientific questions or to replace politics. But I am concerned to encourage an honest and open debate so that particular interests or ideologies will not prejudice the common good.” St. Francis originally thanked God for the sun, moon, stars, wind, water, fire, and Earth. Francis later added verses about forgiving one another and welcoming Sister Bodily Death. “Human ecology,” as Pope Francis calls it, appears here. In 1979, when St. John Paul II designated Francis of Assisi as patron of the environment, that choice was universally praised. 2 0 ❘ Augus t 2015

Ladder of Creation Thomas of Celano, the first biographer of St. Francis of Assisi, wrote: “In art he praises the Artist; whatever he discovers in creatures he guides to the Creator. . . . Following the footprints imprinted on creatures, he [Francis] follows his Beloved everywhere; out of them all he makes for himself a ladder by which he might reach the Throne [of God]” (2 Celano 124). Pope Francis notes that St. Francis’ approach to creation cannot be written off as naïve romanticism. “If we approach nature and the environment without this openness to awe and wonder, if we no longer speak the language of fraternity and beauty in our relationship with the world, our attitude will be that of masters, consumers, ruthless exploiters, unable to set limits on their immediate needs.”

Hard Choices Ahead Francis of Assisi is very easy to admire from afar—as long as he does not challenge any of our most deeply held values. For example, some people are more sure that their property rights are absolute than that God exists. Owning private property is a natural right but also a relative one. I do not have a right to charge a starving person $1,000 for a loaf of bread. Indeed, I have an obligation to help that person avoid starvation. Many people are attracted by cute stories about St. Francis of Assisi. “Cute,” however, tends to excuse an admirer from concrete choices. Francis of Assisi encourages us to examine our consciences and make any needed changes. For example: • asking more often, “How much do I truly need?” • making sure that I never treat anyone as an object; and • allowing the Sabbath to be a day “which heals our relationships with God, with ourselves, with others, and with the world” (237). May all of us treat God’s whole creation (natural and human) respectfully. —P.M. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

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Franciscan Sister Georgette Lehmuth is widely recognized for her work in fundraising, but she says that work is actually a mission to spread the Gospel message.

Her Mission Is

More than Money You probably wouldn’t expect a religious sister to be on The Nonprofit Times’ “Power and Influence Top 50” list. Well, then, meet Sister Georgette Lehmuth. BY CAROL ANN MORROW EET A GO-GETTER whose credentials say development, and you automatically reach for your wallet. Your instinct is either to protect that latest paycheck or prepare yourself—and your fortune— to surrender to a cause. Development is, after all, code-speak for fund-raising. Enter Franciscan Sister Georgette Lehmuth, president and CEO of the National Catholic Development Conference (NCDC). Prepare for a change of mind and heart. Sister Georgette may appear deceptively unassuming, even motherly, but she shapes and encourages challenging, visionary views on the mission of development. “Money is a building block of the kingdom,” she says. Read on and you’ll see what she means. And her optimism on religious life in the years to come is also compelling. It’s not about numbers; it’s about mission, she says. “I love my ministry because it allows me to fulfill the mission of my sisters.” What is that mission? “To witness, proclaim, invite, and engage. That is how people are transformed by the Gospel.” To Sister Georgette, this is obviously no easy one-liner, but a way of life and an approach to ministry. First, take a look at the CEO side of a Franciscan fund-raiser.

PHOTO BY PATRICK DELAHANTY

The Force Is with Her The Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH) of St. Louis, Missouri, gained a leader in Sister Georgette Lehmuth. In 2014, Fr anciscanMedia.org

The NonProfit Times (NPT), the leading business publication for nonprofit management, named her to its “Power and Influence Top 50” list for the eighth consecutive year. This list, which places the Franciscan and NCDC in the company of Bill and Melinda Gates, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and AARP, recognizes executives for the “impact they have now and for the innovative plans they are putting in place to evolve the charitable sector.” What did Sister Georgette do to gain such recognition? She took a “religion-focused association and turned it into a force for member education and legislative issues such as postage rates, the charitable deduction, and the extension of the IRA charitable rollover. Because she’s an easy and skilled collaborator, Sister Georgette’s opinions hold weight in the religious and secular fund-raising sectors,” according to NPT. At a Leadership Summit in Louisville, Kentucky, last spring, Sister Georgette’s ease, skill, and valued opinions were all in evidence. Hugs and mini-confabs with participants in the hotel corridors, and the periodic buzz of a silenced cell phone, reveal a rapport with NCDC members and high regard for her gifts by its 300 members. Asked how she earned and learned her role, Sister Georgette laughs in a self-deprecating way, then sketches the trajectory which led her to executive status. The Lilly Foundation in Indianapolis, Indiana, saw a need and began a three-year program to educate religious women and men in resource development. The minister general and treasurer of the FranAugus t 2015 ❘

“Fund-raising is, first and foremost, a form of ministry. It is a way of announcing our vision and inviting other people into our mission.” —Henri Nouwen, A Spirituality of Fundraising

ciscan sisters OLPH registered, attended one day of the five, and hurried home to buttonhole Georgette, who was also on the council. “You’re the only extrovert on our team, so you’re going to do it,” she was told. “That was my qualification!” By virtue of her outgoing personality, Sister Georgette became her community’s director of development, completed the Lilly training, and joined the National Catholic Development Conference. She became a board member and, in 2000, the CEO post became vacant. While the board sought a successor, Georgette became interim director. When the number of candidates was whittled to four, the organization asked every NCDC member to affirm the choice of Sister Georgette Lehmuth, not wanting her appointment to appear “fixed” in any way. There were no complaints. On July 1, 2001, she became the first woman and the first religious to wear the NCDC mantle. During this yearlong process, the Franciscan was scrutinized by many. She says, “Every time I started an interview, the first thing I would say is, ‘You have to understand who I am. I’m a Franciscan Sister of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. “OSF” are the only initials that are important to me, and the understanding that our mission is to be a transforming presence in our world by preaching the Gospel in hope and joy. That is what you’re going to get— someone who’s going to help this organization be a transforming presence.’”

Contract and Expand A conversation with Sister Georgette Lehmuth is transformative. She presents a convincing 24 ❘

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case for a new lens through which to view gathering or giving money. “The purpose of philanthropy is to expand mission, not to raise money! We’re inviting people to invest in our mission, to engage in our mission. It’s building a relationship with the mission of an institute, which is a slice of the mission of Jesus. As a result of the relationship between the mission and the donor, money is a byproduct, not the end. The end is the relationship. If you help people understand and engage in your mission, money will follow.” In this Year of Consecrated Life, that takes on a new meaning. The numbers of religious are dwindling. Institutions founded by and once run by religious are now corporations with laity at the helm. Others have shrunk, closed, or merged. Nevertheless, Sister Georgette exudes optimism. “Diminishment has nothing to do with sustainability! It’s not about how we keep the lights on until the last person dies. It’s about when the last guy dies, where’s the new light? Fund-raising efforts are for the future. Let’s give the folks who believe in our mission all the tools and resources and money set aside so that the mission can go on.”

Constant, yet Changing Sister Georgette is not naive. Her own Franciscan community once boasted 300 members. Now she is one among 91. She herself has been a religious for 47 years. (Overall in the United States, sisters’ numbers have declined since 2000 from 80,000 to 50,000.) Yet, at their most important decision-making meeting, called a chapter, Sister Georgette says that her own Franciscan community recently St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE FRANCISCAN SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP

“chose to expand our mission.” She goes on to explain, saying, “Expanding our mission is about engaging others as partners. We invite people to be part of our mission. Some may join us and choose to live our life. Others may decide to be part of our mission, but not live our life. . . . The lay folks who are with us in mission carry that mission [forward] just as much as we do. We want to empower them to empower others. And that’s how the mission will expand. “When we look at resources, it can’t be just about making sure there’s enough money for retirement. It’s making sure there’s money for the future mission.” She’s hammering one of her essential messages for religious communities. Sister Georgette consults with communities who have decided not to accept new members, or to consolidate with another community. If she’s asked to help them create the cushion they need to see them through, she says, “You’ve got the wrong lady here!” She explains that she believes that religious need to garner financial support, but she insists, “You have to work just as hard to create a legacy. . . . Prayer doesn’t die because you die. I talk all the time about a legacy for mission. And that’s what the larger community [the entire Church] wants to support.”

Each One, Reach One Mission is a partnership that engages both parties. In this Year of Consecrated Life, many religious communities are inviting their neighbors, their supporters—the curious, the Catholic, their graduates, their patients—to visit their homes. Many religious still live in Fr anciscanMedia.org

large, imposing buildings which may inspire awe, but do not necessarily invite company. Sister Georgette’s religious community was forced to reconsider this traditional style of living when their motherhouse buildings and 44 acres of land were purchased under the umbrella of eminent domain for the St. Louis airport expansion. They had already been considering divesting themselves of these assets, she explains, when this happened. The sisters decided to build an administrative center, with offices, archives, and a gathering space, but no bedrooms. “We would go in twos, threes, and fours, and move into local neighborhoods, because that’s what the early friars did—live among the people.” Further, the elder sisters moved to an archdiocesan residence. “I cannot tell you what a blessing they are there. When someone is dying, it’s our sisters who keep watch. One of them plays the organ for Mass. At the motherhouse, they were so isolated,” she says. So her sisters have moved into neighborhoods. She hopes more neighbors will be as hospitable as they are in the Hempstead, New York, community where she lives. “My neighbors all know I’m a sister and often say, ‘Won’t you join us for dinner tonight?’ How nice! I tell people, ‘Don’t be afraid to invite us and get to know us,’” she says. Through social media, Sister Georgette keeps in touch with students she taught over the years. When a former pupil knew she would be in the area, he invited her to come to the home of his wife and family. His daughter actually interviewed her about religious life and about Sts. Francis and Clare. When the two were finished, Georgette took

(Left to right) Sister Rebecca talks with parents at a catechetical class in Grand Junction, Colorado. Sister Renita Brummer has served as director of Chiara Center since 2006. The center is one of the healing ministries of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis. Reading to students in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is one of the many things Sister Jacqueline Svellinger does as an elementary school teacher. Sister Janice Alfoldy uses her background of elementary and high school education to teach students in an English as a Second Language course at St. Louis Community College in St. Louis, Missouri.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE FRANCISCAN SISTERS OF OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP

After their motherhouse buildings (right) and 44 acres of land were purchased for the St. Louis airport expansion, the Franciscan sisters built an administrative center with offices, archives, and a gathering space. In order to be closer to the people who they minister to, many of the sisters relocated to local neighborhoods. The elder sisters moved to an archdiocesan residence.

off her Franciscan pin and gave it to the girl. ”That little girl cried! Her father says that pin sits on her dresser next to her boyfriend’s picture. It is always there.” That was a profound moment for both daughter and guest. And Sister Georgette reflects, “He just wanted his children to know a sister.” She reiterates that allowing oneself to be known is vital to the future of religious life. She says, “Our challenge to the next generation is to introduce them to our mission.” This can happen through being partners in a mission project or engaging in ministries that sisters have begun and in which they serve. Georgette says it can also happen through podcasts. “When young people are running or exercising, they can listen to inspirational thoughts or music or the rosary.” She knows of many sisters who have invited parishioners to their convent homes to pray with them, to eat with them, to have fun with them. Clearly, this sister covers all her bases!

Millions and Millions Served

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The mission of the National Catholic Development Conference—and thus of Sister Georgette Lehmuth—“is to be the fund-raising resource for Catholic organizations and Click here for more on the their sponsored ministries prowork of Sister Georgette viding education, advocacy, and the NCDC. and leadership.” The Franciscan sister shares this handwritten mission statement with this writer on a folded piece of a notepad, from the Louisville, Kentucky, hotel where this interview took place. “We just revised it,” she explains, adding, “in other words, we are an Augus t 2015

intentional community of learning and support who find their foundation in the Gospel as experienced in the Catholic tradition.” Does it work? “If you put together all the funds that we raise, we raise about two-anda-half billion dollars a year.” She adds, “and reach 2.2 million people,” but decides that number is probably too low: “just say millions of people.” When Sister Georgette is advocating with public officials like Senator Paul Ryan, chairman of the US Senate Ways and Means Committee, or US Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan, staff members have been known to quip, “Did you bring your ruler, sister?” “No, I bring the Gospel,” she answers. That’s the bottom line in both the ledger and the life of Franciscan Sister Georgette Lehmuth. A Carol Ann Morrow is an associate of the Sisters of St. Francis, Oldenburg, Indiana, and a longtime contributor and former staff member of St. Anthony Messenger. She currently is editor of “Book Corner” (p. 52). St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

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JUNIPERO SERRA,

Saint or Scoundrel?

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

Pope Francis is poised to canonize the first American Hispanic saint, a Franciscan, who some suggest was destroying Native American culture. What’s the truth? B Y M A U R E E N P R AT T

Junipero Serra’s Mission “Blessed Junipero Serra was a man of heroic virtue and holiness who had only one burning ambition—to bring the good news to the people of the New World,” writes Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez in an editorial in the diocesan newspaper, The Tidings. Long before Serra was born on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca on November 24, 1713, waves of Spanish military forces and

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CNS PHOTO/MIKE NELSON

N 1778, when Junipero Serra visited the Mission San Gabriel Arcangel, the ringing of mission bells would signal that Mass was about to start. But on a warm, sunny, 21st-century Sunday, there is instead a great rattle, then several deafening blasts as a train rushes along tracks not far from the thick-walled church. The pianist, the presider, and the congregation pause, still as the ornately carved statues of Gabriel the Archangel and St. Francis behind the altar. Finally, the last earth-shaking train tremor fades, and Mass begins. The train is one of many changes in California’s landscape since Fray Junipero Serra established the first mission in Alta California (now the State of California) at San Diego de Alcala in 1769. But then, as now, tremors and even earthquakes continue to make their mark in physical, emotional, and spiritual ways. The most recent of them happened this year, with the announcement by Pope Francis in January that he hoped to canonize Blessed Junipero Serra. Immediately, reactions were strong. Some people were delighted. Others protested. Still others wondered, “Junipero who?” As the months unfolded between the pope’s announcement and the canonization in Washington, DC, coming in September 2015, it became clear that Serra would be no ordinary saint, and the conversations about the Franciscan priest’s life, faith, and legacy would have an effect on generations to come.

political leaders worked to control areas now known as the southwestern United States and South and Central America. Religious orders, including the Franciscans, established missions where native peoples were converted to Christianity and learned the European way of life. By the time Miguel Joseph Serra joined the Franciscans, taking the name Junipero, and was ordained a priest in 1730, there was already a compelling connection between Serra’s Mallorcan roots and evangelization. Two Franciscan theologians had tremendous influence over Serra: Blessed John Duns Scotus, who championed the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, and Ramon Llull, a Mallorcan and convert to Catholicism who devoted his life to evangelism, particularly among Muslims. “You can’t understand Serra unless you have some grasp of John Duns Scotus and his spirituality and theology,” Father Ken Lavarone, OFM, co-vice postulator for the Serra cause for canonization, tells St. Anthony Messenger. “Serra was also a scholar of Llull, and brought that sense of spirituality with him.” Serra did not immediately follow the call

(Above) Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala was founded by soon-to-be St. Junipero Serra on July 16, 1769. It was the first mission to be established by Serra in what is now the state of California, and was designated as a minor basilica in 1976 by Pope Paul VI. (Left) Visitors to the Santa Barbara Mission are greeted by this sculpture of Junipero Serra. Santa Barbara is the only mission continuously operated by the Franciscans since its founding in 1786.

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PHOTO BY MAUREEN PRATT

John Macias, PhD, and his mother, Grace, stand on the grounds of San Gabriel Arcangel Mission—the fourth mission established by Junipero Serra. John is a historian, parishioner, and board member at the mission, and says acknowledging Serra “is a way to reach out to Latino Catholics.”

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to become a missionary. Rather, for almost 20 years, he remained among the vibrant Franciscan community on his island home of Mallorca, rising to prominence as a preacher, teacher, and scholar. But despite his prestige and achievements, he became restless. No longer content to preach to the alreadyconverted, the bespectacled, dark-haired priest volunteered to join the Franciscan missionary efforts in the New World. He sailed out of Cadiz, Spain, in 1749, never to return home. For the next 20 years, Serra worked at missions in Mexico, particularly Sierra Gorda and Baja California, and spent long stretches of time traveling the countryside, preaching. From the time he arrived on Mexico’s shore, he preferred walking to riding, a practice which resulted in a leg injury that plagued him throughout his life, and which earned him great respect among many along the way. Serra’s years in Mexico have not stirred the same kind of controversy as his activity in

Alta California. Auxiliary Bishop Edward Clark of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is involved with ongoing activities to more accurately tell the mission story. He tells St. Anthony Messenger, “There’s a historical reason; in Mexico, the Church had been established for a long time, and the natives had been Christians for a long time.” In Alta California, the military was combined with ecclesial authority as the new territory was settled and developed. “When Serra went to California,” says Bishop Clark, “he had a mandate to establish missions and to colonize.” In 1768, the Spanish government was concerned that Russians seeking new trapping territory might try to stake claims in Alta California, so the king decided it would be better for Spain to settle the area. Serra was charged with establishing missions that would bring the Church and European civilization to the new territory. John Macias, PhD, historian, parishioner, and board member at San Gabriel Arcangel Mission, says, “The purpose of the missions was really to build a frontier society so that the Spanish empire could say to the British or the Russians, ‘We have citizens of the empire that speak Spanish and go to Mass. We’re here.’” By the standards of the day, at 55, Serra was an old man when he arrived in Alta California. His health was not robust; he suffered such pain that, sometimes, it was doubtful if he could continue walking. But his desire to convert souls overrode any physical disability. On July 16, 1769, he founded the first mission at San Diego de Alcala. Over the next 14 years Serra founded eight more California missions, the backbone of a network that served to bring Christianity to the native peoples and gather them “under the bell” of the missions. He baptized, confirmed, married, and buried thousands of Indians, and his position as “Father-President” in Alta California put him at the forefront of all mission activities and in constant, and sometimes contentious, interactions with Spanish military and Crown officials, as well as his own Franciscan superiors. It is for this role that Serra has, in recent years, become a lightning rod for protest from native peoples and others who feel that the colonization process destroyed the native people’s habitat and way of life, beginning a centuries-long infliction of pain that has not healed. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

Canonization and Colonization

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In spite of the pain, “acknowledging Serra is a way to reach out to Latino Catholics,” Macias says. “The Church has been a big part of the Latino culture since the colonial period, and the missions are a part of that. For Latino Catholics, visiting the structure, the art, is a way of connecting with their Catholic faith. But this cannot overshadow or marginalize the sacrifices and the turmoil of the indigenous culture. The most important thing is that we work with it, acknowledge it.” Andrew Galvan is an Ohlone Indian who traces his ancestors back to the late 18th century in Mission San Francisco de Asís (now Mission Dolores), where he is curator. Galvan acknowledges the devastation of colonization and its negative effects on native peoples and the landscape. “The Spanish come, and they bring with them the horse, cow, pig, goat, lamb—and none of them existed in California then,” Galvan says. “Those animals loved our native grasses. They ate up everything—the habitat for the deer, venison, and other game my ancestors would hunt. The things the Spanish brought destroyed the native grocery store. “As their way of life became increasingly threatened, the native peoples saw how the missions were developing. They saw the corn in the fields, the cattle that would be slaughtered. They reached a time of little choice. Every tribal group comes to this moment. They moved to the missions for survival.” In the missions, the Indians experienced more loss from diseases and imposition of non-native customs that were often diametrically opposed to the way tribes had been living for centuries. Galvan says, “The anthropologists tell us, the California native was probably the cleanest person in the world. We were living in unison with nature. In the missions, people were densely crowded, religion and language were changed, and in unsanitary and unhealthy conditions, they’re going to get sick. It was a disastrous choice.” But Serra himself, Galvan says, “was in love with the Indians,” and points to recent archaeological and historical research, including translations of Serra’s own letters and papers, that reveal that the Franciscan from Mallorca worked very hard to maintain his focus of converting people to Christ, and to do so with love and respect for those whom he wanted to bring to Christ. “Mercy was important to Serra,” says Father

Andrew Galvan, an Ohlone Indian, is curator at Mission Dolores in San Francisco. Galvan has been one of the main campaigners for Serra’s sainthood cause, and says recent archaeological and historical research illustrates Serra’s love for the Indians.

Lavarone. In one incident, Indians attacked the mission at San Diego and killed one of the Franciscan missionaries there. According to Father Lavarone, “The Spanish government wanted to get the men who did it, but Serra told them, ‘No, we must show mercy.’” Several times, Serra decried the sexual promiscuity of the Spanish military toward native women. He traveled throughout the mission chain at great physical cost, administering the sacraments and advising the other missionaries, some of whom had difficulty with the extreme isolation of missionary life in California. He regularly took ink to paper to call for more support and supplies, which often were lost at sea or diverted by other people along the supply chain. Bishop Clark tells St. Anthony Messenger, “Serra was a self-sacrificing missionary at a very difficult time.” “I’ve been the happiest Click here for more on Indian in California,” Galvan Junipero Serra’s road to says. “The journey for me and canonization. the reason why I am so devoted to Junipero Serra is that I see him as the individual who first brought the Gospel to my ancestors. You have to pull that out from all the other things. This does not make apologies. But [colonization] would have happened—the Russians, the French, someone would have come.” Serra died at the mission in Carmel in 1784,

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PAINTING BY KAY FRANCIS BERGER, OSF

During his time in California, Junipero Serra established nine missions, and also baptized, confirmed, married, and buried thousands of Indians. He was on the forefront of all mission activities, which often resulted in tensions between him and others— including his own Franciscan superiors.

and is buried there. After his death, another 12 missions were founded, along with Mexican rule, secularization of the missions, the Gold Rush, and California statehood, each of which inflicted more pain to native peoples, causing a kind of cumulative historic trauma. But Serra’s personal example of sacrifice and devotion to evangelism and his Franciscan vocation are some of the reasons why he is greatly admired today. These qualities do not remove long-festering pain, but they help lay the groundwork for the future, post-Serra canonization.

‘Always Go Forward, Never Go Back’ Junipero Serra’s motto describes perfectly his commitment to persevere—from Mallorca to Mexico, from mission to mission. It also underpins today’s activity of many people in the Church, especially those with mission connections. Yve Chavez is completing her doctorate in art history at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a Tongva Indian and board 32 ❘

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member at the San Gabriel Arcangel Mission, working with the materials collection at the mission. “The mission is a sacred space in a Catholic context and in an indigenous context,” she says. “I am Catholic and Tongva. My maternal grandmother’s ancestors built the mission, and my mother and her siblings were baptized here. One of our main goals is to ensure that the native experience and perspective are incorporated in the museum narrative. Not just from the past, but also from the present day.” Dr. Macias, who is of Mexican descent and was baptized at Mission San Gabriel, says, “For me as a parishioner and even as a historian, there’s more to the mission than an old church, a garden, and a museum. There is a legacy that is pretty painful. The canonization is going to force us as a Church to really listen to the indigenous community. But, in a way, too, it will help the Church grow.” Bishop Clark, Father Lavarone, and several others, including four other bishops and representatives from the mission tribes, have formed a committee in California to develop ways that the Church might respond to native people’s concerns. Bishop Clark tells St. Anthony Messenger, “In California, in state and Catholic schools, third graders learn about the native peoples, and fourth graders learn about the missions. But the curriculum is really a whitewash. We have a God-sent opportunity to tell the true story. One of our subcommittees is dedicated to developing a new curriculum for our Catholic schools that will get the story right.” Another subcommittee will look at the displays at the missions, making sure the history, particularly native history, is accurate and complete. “They will ask leaders of each of the tribes to tell us what can be done to improve them,” says Bishop Clark. “It’s important that the displays and information be authentic.” “That’s one of the things we want to do here,” says Macias, “to be able to really sit down with the members of the Gabrielino community to assure them that their heritage and history will not be forgotten.” Opening the church grounds and ceremonies to native peoples is another area to be addressed. The Indians built the missions, but, says Bishop Clark, “At some of them, natives come to pray at the cemetery and they’re told to pay admission at the museum. Many places, they have not been allowed to introduce some St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

of their native customs at a funeral ceremony. If it’s complementary, then it should be allowed. We want to formalize that.”

The Serra Effect

Maureen Pratt is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, California, and the author of six books, including Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness. Her website is maureenpratt.com. Fr anciscanMedia.org

This past May, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles helped sponsor a conference on Junipero Serra at the North American College in Rome. Pope Francis came to celebrate Mass, and, in his homily, suggested some key points about Serra. “First,” said the pontiff, “he was a tireless missionary. What made Friar Junipero . . . go to the end of the earth? Certainly it was the desire to proclaim the Gospel ad gentes [to the nations], that heartfelt impulse that seeks to share with those the farthest away the gift of encountering Christ.” Second, noted the pope, Serra “entrusted his missionary activity to the Blessed Virgin Mary.” The pope mentioned the significance of Serra’s devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, who now “represents the shared roots in this land, the shared roots of this continent.” Third is Serra’s great personal holiness, “a saintly example of the Church’s universality and special patron of the Hispanic people of the country.” The pope anticipated his own September visit to the United States, asking Our Lady of Guadalupe, Friar Junipero, and all the American saints to “lead me and guide me” during the approaching apostolic journey. And he didn’t miss a chance to look ahead to the year which starts this December, praying, “May a powerful gust of holiness sweep through all the Americas during the coming Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy!” —J.F.

CNS PHOTO/ TONY GENTILE, REUTERS

The effect of Serra’s canonization will undoubtedly be felt beyond the borders of California and Mexico. John Liston, executive director of Serra International, an organization dedicated to supporting the growth of vocations, sees it as a tremendous opportunity to promote the organization’s efforts for vocations and to support those who are already ordained. “I think this has energized our membership and given them a renewed sense of purpose,” Liston says. “Father Serra personally embodies the kind of put-out-into-the-deep missionary spirit that all members of the faith should have. He did that by leaving his net behind and following Christ.” Still another effect is the development of individual spirituality that can flow from reflection on Serra’s devotion to the Immaculate Conception of Mary and evangelism. Father Tom Elewaut, pastor at Mission San Buenaventura, the ninth and last mission founded by Serra, says, “Fray Serra’s life will continue to encourage us to evangelize and witness to the Gospel, and to go forth to have an influence on our culture in mercy, love, and forgiveness.” Dan Lackie, OFM, development director for the Province of Santa Barbara, sees the canonization as a way to deepen our understanding of the Church, particularly in the Americas. “There are a lot of possibilities with connecting with our Catholic history,” says Father Lackie. “And it’s a call to look deeper at the question of intercultural convergence.” But for Father Lackie there is a profoundly personal effect, too. “It’s a real call to look at myself as an evangelizer, what it means to make a sacrifice.” Pope Francis’ announcement that he would canonize Junipero Serra jolted many—some with surprise and delight, others with anger. But this upheaval, however painful, also began a dialogue that some feel is long overdue and, in keeping with Serra’s motto, will move ahead. “Dialogue with [Native Americans] will continue,” says Bishop Clark. “It’s a time for healing, and we hope that healing will come.” A

Francis on Serra

This past May, Pope Francis extolled the virtues of Junipero Serra in his homily at a Mass celebrated as part of a conference on Junipero Serra at the North American College in Rome. Augus t 2015 ❘

POETRY

Prelude: an August Afternoon Turning

The Gift

Watching the compost heap in all its glory sloppily, brazenly, blindly

On a sweltering August day, my legs thin and straight as a stork’s, I perch on the railing, a book propped on a bent knee.

spilling life like a child’s lunch, abundance a simple afterthought, glistening with scavengers scattering and scuttling back as I turn mulch and mire, steam rising, melting in the August heat . . . Do you see? Do you see it here in my words or there in the thing itself, how much it is how much it wants to be . . . How much like us drunk with what we want pressing forth our fingers of desire . . .

—Herman Sutter

Snow White and Rose Red keep me company, create dreams of a castle as I await Prince Charming to whisk me away one day. Far below, the Mississippi splashes her skirts against sleepy beaches. The air calms, clouds compete and rumble. Streaks of silver shoot skyward for the river’s ripples it seems. Thunder surrounds and rain spreads a blanket as I look for miles into Illinois across the Mississippi Valley. The storm surrounds, enfolds and I am one with it. Fear fades and somehow I know the storm is a gift.

—Mary L. Zachmeyer

Veils of Heaven Some give testimony without a sound, And bear mocking as if a cross Some carry the weight of others’ folly, Until the weight Is removed in quiet glory. This our ministry, unspoken, unknown Testified to by prayer ascending, The veils of heaven, Our passion rending.

—Paul Flodquist

The Meadow Amid a plentitude of sunshine, or after dark, the meadow. Not only its ready-made green, but also mottled patches, withered and wan, render a bestirred testimony. Wind, rain, and years attempt sanctions, cannot compromise its decorous touch, nature’s inherent manifesto yielded by splendor at God’s behest. Genteel, relevant, the meadow. Mirror of grace as fount of all.

—Herman Bush

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Makeup Artist to the

Saints Catholic art connects us to our beliefs and tradition. Lou McClung makes sure that art isn’t forgotten. TEXT BY JERRI DONOHUE ■ PHOTOS BY WILLIAM RIETER

URLY, BEARDED, and tattooed, Lou McClung doesn’t seem like the sort of guy who would lavish hours carefully stenciling the veil on a statue of the Blessed Mother, repairing the crushed wings of an angel, or steaming and pressing the miniature habits of nun dolls. The restoration artist has tackled all these tasks and more, spending several hours each night in his workroom at the Museum of Divine Statues in Lakewood, Ohio. While his 15-year-old Chihuahua snoozes nearby, McClung repairs or paints a statue of Jesus, Mary, or one of the saints. As he works, he speculates about the faithful who brought desperate intercessions or prayers of thanksgiving before them. “I think about every person who went in front of that statue and said a prayer,” McClung says. “Can you imagine what those prayers were?”

Art Appreciation McClung’s fascination with religious art originated in his childhood—in the homes of his mother’s extended Italian family, where shrines to Mary and the saints occupied doily-draped furniture. Statues and holy pictures dominated his great-grandmother’s five-foot dresser. McClung thinks his path to restoration work began with a passion for photography. He worked in studios during his teenage years. Fr anciscanMedia.org

After he became a photographer’s assistant, he began to take side jobs shooting portraits. “People would say to me, ‘We don’t need a makeup artist; I’ll do my own makeup,’” McClung recalls. “The reality is when you prepare a face for a photograph, it’s very different from slapping on some makeup and going out.” Seizing an opportunity to better serve his clients, McClung bought a makeup kit and talked friends into letting him practice on them. This soon led to a new career as a makeup artist, and eventually to manufacturing his own line of cosmetics. On one of his days off, McClung spotted a battered statue of St. Clare in a cluttered antique store. As he recalls, the shop’s disagreeable proprietor had “no knowledge or appreciation” for the statue or the saint it depicted. McClung immediately decided to restore it. “I couldn’t wait to get that statue out of there,” he says. After patching up a huge hole in the head, he shifted his focus to replacing the statue’s chipped and peeling paint. He applied the same techniques to the St. Clare statue’s face that he employs to help real women enhance their appearance. “By working with the human face, you understand that there are rules,” he explains. “There are highlighting and contouring. You

(Above) As restoration artist Lou McClung touches up statues—such as this one of the Christ Child—he sometimes wonders how many intercessory prayers were said in their presence. (Left) Don’t let the tattoos and earrings fool you! McClung is fully invested in preserving Catholic art at the Museum of Divine Statues and brings a delicate touch to his restoration work.

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Not limited to working on statues, McClung also features a collection of nun dolls, whose habits have all received a steam press by the artist.

follow the bone structure.” He also cites similarities in the materials he uses. “The paint that I make in my cosmetics laboratory isn’t that different from the paint that I mix for my statues,” he says. For that first effort, McClung combed the Internet for photographs of old, but unblemished, statues of St. Clare in churches around the world. Still in original condition, they showed him the colors and shading to use. He completed St. Clare’s makeover many hours later, now hooked on restoration.

Rescue Missions

Click the button above to hear an interview with another Catholic restoration artist.

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McClung sought out abandoned statues in thrift stores, and he found several online, too. He discovered that some religious art had been lost forever. “I think, with Vatican II, a lot of people misunderstood,” McClung says. “They started throwing out statues and painting over murals. I talked to priests in other dioceses who said they witnessed it firsthand.” Discarded stained-glass windows, Communion rails, and other religious articles resurfaced in bars and restaurants. McClung is grateful that the Diocese of Cleveland avoided this. “Our diocese was very protective of everything,” he says.

McClung frequently works on statues that were repainted in garish colors decades after they were made. To ensure he uses the correct colors, he checks catalogs printed in the early 1900s by manufacturers of religious statues. As with St. Clare’s statue, he also consults photos of statues in pristine condition. If those sources fail him, the restoration artist turns to paintings from the 16th century. “The artists sculpting these statues took their cues from those paintings,” McClung says. “This artwork comes from a time when so much more was expected of us. When you made art for a church [then], it was called ‘church quality.’ It was near perfect.” He thinks that sort of attention to detail is gone forever. “Now [production] is about how fast and how cheap,” he says. McClung uses an airbrush and compressor to paint a statue’s clothing, but he meticulously paints each face by hand. He has worked on dozens of statues since he rescued the one of St. Clare. He notices certain saints turn up frequently. “St. Anthony and St. Thérèse and St. Francis—everybody had them,” McClung says. “Those were like the three go-to saints!” Statues of other saints, such as St. Michael the Archangel and St. Joan of Arc, are harder to locate. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

McClung refuses to restore any statue without first researching the holy man or woman it represents. Having attended Catholic grade and high schools, he was already familiar with famous saints. Now, he also easily relates the stories of lesser-known saints, such as St. John Nepomucene and St. Alphonsus Liguori. In addition, McClung studies the symbolism of lilies, palm fronds, or other items appearing with a given saint. “If you’re passionate, you’ll find out everything you need [to know],” McClung says.

An Urgent Calling As McClung’s collection of statues grew, he considered giving it a lasting home in a museum. Five months later, while watching the news on television, he learned that the Cleveland Diocese had decided to reconfigure parishes. Like many other dioceses throughout the country, it was coping with shifts in Catholic population and fewer priests to serve the faithful. In the end, dozens of parishes would close. McClung says the announcement pushed him to ramp up efforts to establish a museum, which he hoped to populate with quality, locally connected art. To finance his dream, Fr anciscanMedia.org

McClung saved money by living in his store. As dozens of parishes While continuing to make and distribute cos- closed in the Cleveland metics, he launched a second business, restor- area in recent times, ing statues. He took commissions from area McClung found himself on churches and convents, and clients around a faith-fueled mission to the country found him through the Internet. save and restore as much He raised additional funds by painting repro- religious art as possible. duced statues of angels, which were popular pieces that sold quickly. Between his business and the museum, McClung often worked more than 80 hours a week, a sacrifice he sometimes still makes today. “If I don’t have enough money, I will work as I can, do as much as I’m skilled to do, to make something happen,” he says. In time, the Cleveland Diocese shuttered 50 churches, and eventually began selling some of their contents to religious institutions nationwide. McClung contacted the dioClick here to learn more tal Digi as cese, outlining his plan to open about Lou McClung and t Ex r a nonprofit museum of tradihis restoration art. tional Catholic art. “I wrote one single, simple letter, and they replied,” he recalls. Not only did the diocese give him permission to purchase art, but it also sold him the property of a closed parish in Augus t 2015 ❘

(Clockwise from top) The closed parish of St. Hedwig has new life as the Museum of Divine Statues, a bastion for Catholic art that might have otherwise been discarded and forgotten. McClung appreciates how Catholic art can transcend language barriers, allowing viewers to identify their favorite saints and celebrate their faith. This fully restored Pietà demonstrates both the original beauty of the artwork and the incredible precision McClung brings to his work.

which to house it. McClung moved into the former rectory of St. Hedwig, in the suburb of Lakewood, and began operating his business in the parish’s one-time school. For months, he poured every free moment into converting the decommissioned church into a showcase for religious art. His project gained momentum as word spread and he received support from unexpected sources. A businessman realized the expense entailed in preparing the physical space, so he donated money for refinishing the building’s hardwood floors and other interior modifications. The anonymous donor saw sacred art as a way to reach another generation. “He wanted us to share this as much as possible with young people,” McClung says. Other benefactors were motivated for different reasons. Some contributed funds for specific purchases to honor deceased loved ones. For example, McClung restored a statue of St. Christopher that retired baseball player 40 ❘

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Travis Hafner sponsored in memory of his late father, Terry Hafner. Like St. Hedwig, a predominantly Polish parish, many of the closed churches originally had served ethnic communities. As he learned their parish histories, McClung gained a deep respect for the immigrants who founded them. He acknowledges that these men and women often arrived in the United States “with absolutely nothing.” But they had faith, and they sacrificed for their parishes. “They made sure the church had a chalice and windows,” McClung says. “And many of them physically built those churches.” McClung resolved to acquire art from most of the closed parishes to pay tribute to those foreign-born earlier generations. Whether they came from Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, or Lithuania, their art was important to them. Art posed no language barrier; they recognized their beloved saints. “You could look at a stained-glass window, you could look at a statue, and you would St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

know who that was,” McClung says. He also wanted visitors from the closed parishes to discover some of their treasures in the museum. “When people feel their history is preserved, it makes it a little easier to move on,” McClung says. “It’s a basic human need to know that we matter, that our contributions matter.” McClung’s goal to include as many parishes as possible lent new urgency to his project. He realized the selection of available art could decrease rapidly, so he made frequent purchases for the museum—ultimately charging more than $30,000 to his credit card.

An Ongoing Project By April 2011, McClung was ready to open the Museum of Divine Statues, a nonprofit organization with a board of directors that includes a priest. Its carefully organized 3,000-square-foot interior presents eye-pleasing arrangements of stained-glass windows, Stations of the Cross, and other examples of traditional Catholic art. Above all, visitors come face-to-face with 60 statues that previously adorned church walls or elaborate altars. While he honors the past, McClung recognizes the museum’s need to grow and to offer fresh exhibits. He continues to accept restoration jobs in order to fund future museum projects, and he aims to fill a particular gap in its collection. “[Sculptors] made life-size guardian angel statues, and to find that is like the Holy Grail,” McClung says. “We have so many kids who come to the museum, so that is something I want for them. We’re patiently waiting.” Meanwhile, McClung shares his enthusiasm for sacred art, interrupting his business day to conduct tours for religion classes, parish organizations, and other groups. Sometimes they pause to pray the rosary before one of the exquisite statues of the Blessed Mother. Moments like that please McClung. He is delighted when visitors connect with a particular piece of art. He proudly recalls a girl preparing for Confirmation who enthusiastically announced her choice of patron saint after reading saints’ biographies featured in the museum. “The museum should educate and Fr anciscanMedia.org

inspire,” its founder says. McClung calls the public’s response “gratifying.” He doesn’t begrudge the hundreds of hours he devoted to creating the museum, nor the thousands of dollars of debt he’s still repaying. “It’s been a tough road,” he admits. “But I’m really glad I did it.” A Jerri Donohue is a freelance writer from Brecksville, Ohio. A happily married mother of two, she holds an MA in French from Ohio University and has written for numerous Catholic and secular publications. See the museum’s website at museumofdivinestatues.com.

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Finding the Bay We don’t have to travel far to hear God’s message. BY JAMES MARTIN, SJ

was a Jesuit novice. Twenty-five years ago, during the first month in the novitiate, I read about a place called the “Bay of Parables.” While I can’t remember what book this was, I remember the vivid impression it made. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus finds himself so hemmed in by crowds that he climbs aboard a boat and asks Peter to row out into the Sea of Galilee so that he can preach from the shore. The Gospels of Mark and Matthew also report incidents of Jesus’ preaching from a boat. In Galilee, said this book, there is still a place known as the Bay of Parables, where that Gospel passage most likely happened. Near the shoreline is a naturally occurring amphitheater, where people would have been able to sit comfortably to listen to Jesus; moreover, the unique acoustics of the site made it easier for the large crowd to hear Jesus. The notion that people could identify exactly where a particular Scripture story happened captivated me. I remember thinking: Cool! But the explanation baffled: Why would

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Jesus get into a boat to address a crowd? Why wouldn’t he stand on the shoreline? Because of its oddness, the tale of the Bay of Parables stuck with me.

Powerful Message I was on a summer vacation at a Jesuit house outside Boston, in a town on a bay that empties into the Atlantic Ocean. After breakfast, a few Jesuits would sit on the broad lawn that overlooks a harbor and spend a relaxing morning reading books or chatting. One morning we heard a commotion in the harbor, which turned out to be the ruckus from a sailing school for some boisterous kids. The distance between us and the group of miniature sailboats was about a mile. To my surprise, we could easily hear the kids talking (or whining) as if they were only a few feet away: “I don’t know how to fix my rudder!” “My sail isn’t working!” You could also hear the frazzled instructor encouraging her students: “No, do it this way!” I remarked how amazing it was that we could hear their voices so clearly. One older St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

of Parables

PHOTO BY BERTHOLD WERNER; INSET COURTESY OF JAMES MARTIN, SJ

Jesuit said, “Well, of course. Sound travels over water very easily. You remember that story of Jesus preaching from the boat, right? That’s one reason he did it that way. It was probably easier for the crowds to hear him.” His casual insight delighted me. It reminded me that some of what we may not “get” in the Gospel often turns out to have a real-life explanation—once we think about the context of the story. Perhaps because I felt that I’d been let in on a kind of secret, I had a renewed desire to learn more about that story and about the Gospels.

A Pilgrim’s Problem My friend, George Williams, SJ, and I arrived in Jerusalem about a decade after my encounter with the noisy sailing school. We were spending two weeks on a pilgrimage in the Holy Land. At dinner on the first night, Father Doan, the superior of the Jesuit community where we were staying in Jerusalem, asked me what we’d most like to visit. The first place I want to see, I told him, is Fr anciscanMedia.org

the Bay of Parables. Doan replied, “The what?” Now, here was a Jesuit priest who has lived in the Holy Land for many years. “I’ve never heard of it.” OK, I thought, maybe it’s the one place he hasn’t heard of. George looked doubtful. A few days later, we made a four-hour drive to Galilee, and found our way to the Franciscan hostel on the Mount of Beatitudes, located right on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. After we settled ourselves in our rooms, the sister who ran the hostel asked us, “So, Fathers, what would you most want to see?” “The Bay of Parables!” I said. “The what?” When I described it, Sister shook her head and furrowed her brow, as if I were deluded. Or insane. George rolled his eyes and said afterward, “It’s like you were asking about Santa’s workshop at the North Pole.” A few hours later, we made our way to Tabgha, the traditional site of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes, and we prayed briefly in the small chapel

The author of this article, James Martin, SJ, above, had one desire when he traveled to Galilee: to see the Bay of Parables, the place many scholars believe to be where Jesus preached the word of God to a gathering crowd.

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his map and, sure enough, almost tripped over several boulders marked with violet bars. “Wie-o-let,” said George dryly.

Fertile Ground

Some of the seeds find fertile soil, while others do not. This brings us into the parable itself. Do we listen to Jesus or choose to ignore him?

there. Afterward, in the gift shop, I noticed one of the Benedictine monks and asked, “Do you know where the Bay of Parables is?” I fully expected him to say, “The what?” Instead, he said in a heavy German accent, “Ja, ja! Zee Bay of Pah-rables!” He stumbled in English, so I called over George, who speaks German. “It’s very close to here,” he said. The monk grabbed a small map from beside the cash register and scribbled some directions. Then George translated his German. “Just walk along the road and you’ll see . . . an opening in the bushes. Then go down into the bush and you’ll see . . . .” George paused, ANSWERS TO PETE AND REPEAT looked at the man, looked at me, and then asked him to 1. Pete’s socks have stripes. repeat a word. George said to 2. A fish is on the ground next to Pete. me, querulously, “I think he 3. Sis is now wearing a V-neck shirt. said to follow the stones . . . 4. The sun is setting behind the tree. painted purple?” 5. Sis has on a white sock. “Ja, ja!” he said, excitedly, 6. Ripples have appeared in the water. “Wie-o-let. Wie-o-let paint on 7. Pete’s sideburn is thicker. zee rocks.” 8. There is an opening in the leaves So under the blistering hot on the tree. sun—it must have been 110 degrees—George and I followed

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As we walked further into the dry grass, a handful of wood hyraxes, squirrel-sized rodents, scurried around our feet and zoomed up the low trees. Immediately the ground dropped away from us, and we found ourselves on the rim of a natural amphitheater. People had likely stood here and listened to Jesus preaching from the boat. Or, as is often said in the Holy Land, “If it didn’t happen here, then it happened a few hundred yards from here.” As I gazed on the blue-green water sparkling under the sun, I could easily picture Jesus sitting in a boat just a few hundred feet from where we were standing. I couldn’t stop smiling when I realized what we had found. “Zee Bay of Pah-rables,” said George. Then I saw something that amazed me even more. All around us was this: rocky ground, fertile ground, stony ground, and even a huge thorn bush. Does that sound familiar? In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus tells the story of a farmer who goes out to sow, and whose seed falls on different kinds of ground. Told in all the Synoptic Gospels, the parable illustrates (among other things) the way that Jesus’ message is received, both in his day and in our own. Jesus even explains the parable at length in the synoptic Gospels: the rocky ground represents those who hear the word but do not allow it to take root; when trials come they “wither away.” The thorny ground is an image for those who hear the word but the “cares of the world” and “lure of wealth” choke it off, and the seed produces no yield. But the fertile ground represents those who hear the word and accept it, and who bear great fruit. As I stood under the broiling sun, I was gobsmacked to see rocks, thorns, and fertile ground. No one planted the thorn bushes, carted in topsoil, or arranged the stones to make the locale look as it did in Jesus’ time, as if we were in a theme park called Jesus Land. They were just there. It dawned on me that when Jesus used objects from nature to convey his message— seeds, rocks, birds, clouds, water—he may not have been talking in generalities but about these things right here. Not “Think about rocky ground,” but “Look St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

at that rocky ground.” Not “Those people are like thorns,” but “Those people are like those thorns.” It grounded the Gospels and Jesus in a way that I never could have imagined. It made me think more about the way Jesus drew on nature in his parables.

New Parables Then I remembered another insight I once heard about this passage. The Parable of the Sower may refer not only to which individuals are open, or not open, to receiving the Gospel message. It may also refer to those parts of ourselves that are open and not open. Can you see your whole self as the field, and consider what parts are fertile, what parts are rocky, what parts are choked with weeds? Where, for example, are you open to God’s word in your life? Perhaps you are easily able to find God in your family. That may be your good soil. Where is your rocky soil? Perhaps you are compassionate at home, but less so at work, stubbornly clinging to grudges. That aspect of your life may be unyielding, and God’s word cannot penetrate the soil of your soul. What part of your life is choked with weeds? Perhaps you desire to follow God, but are

obsessed with wealth, which chokes off the fruitful growth that God might wish. To continue the metaphor, God may want to dislodge a few rocks and pull out some weeds in order to clear a space for his word to take root. This may take the form of a friend confronting you on some selfish behavior, a sudden recognition of your own stubbornness, or a period Click here for more on of suffering that opens you to James Martin, SJ, and his God in a new way. God plows, book Jesus: A Pilgrimage. unearthing the good soil where

tal Digi as t Ex r

God’s word can be planted, take root, grow, and flourish. Facing the Sea of Galilee, I wondered about the people who, in Jesus’ day, sat where I was standing now. What did they think when they heard these parables for the first time? I thought about how glad I was that I had listened to my friends and come to the Holy Land. I thought of all of these things as I stood by the Bay of Parables. A James Martin, SJ, is the editor at large of America magazine. This article is excerpted from The New York Times best-seller Jesus: A Pilgrimage (HarperOne). This title is available at St. Mary’s Bookstore: stmarysbookstore.com.

LIGHTEN UP

“Mine doesn’t need a name.”

Fr anciscanMedia.org

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Don’t Let Illness Sickness damages more than our bodies. Here are five ways to help you cope. B Y R I TA E . P I R O

It’s easy to become frustrated when we’re not well, but it’s important to remember that God is in our corner. 46 ❘

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

Get You Down

Turn to God.

PHOTO FROM INGIMAGE

No matter the nature of the health issue facing us, shock and disbelief at our diagnosis are often our first reactions. We might ask ourselves, How did this happen? Could it have been found sooner? And, of course, the ubiquitous, Why me? When coming face-to-face with your diagnosis, resist the common reaction of turning away from God, especially in anger. God is also saddened by your illness. God already knows that the road ahead of you will, at Fr anciscanMedia.org

PHOTO FROM 17215/INGIMAGE

OOD HEALTH is undeniably one of our greatest blessings from God. Be it minor aches and pains, an annoying chronic condition, or a debilitating illness, health issues are welcomed by no one. How we deal with our bodily ills—whether with a joyful heart or a crushed spirit—can be far more an important factor in the successful management of our health than any medicine, therapy, or physician could ever be. This was all brought home to me one night last year when I was whisked away to a hospital after suddenly becoming seriously ill. During the next several months of treatment for a previously undetected health issue, I found great support in my faith, secure in the knowledge that no matter what course my health would take, Jesus would be at my side through it all. So often when we pray during poor health, we ask only to be made well again. During the course of my treatment, I encountered numerous opportunities, both positive and negative, that actually served to strengthen my relationship with God and God’s people. Here are five ways that can help you maintain a joyful heart in the midst of medical challenges.

times, be a difficult one. Realize, however, that God is ready to carry you along this journey. Be open to God’s comforting embrace. As I lay in the emergency room that night, tethered to a host of machines that beeped and buzzed with my every breath, my prayer was not “Jesus, I know that you will save me,” but “Jesus, I know that you will stay with me.” Thankfully, he did both.

Watching a loved one battle an illness can make us feel helpless, but our company can help. Matthew 25:36 speaks of the power of presence: “I was ill . . . and you cared for me.”

Give yourself a break.

We are often quick to blame ourselves for our health problems. Some thoughts that might race through our minds: I should have stopped smoking. Did I really need to drink so much? Why didn’t I exercise like the doctor told me? While we may speak of the importance of forgiving others, we often forget to forgive ourselves. Give yourself the gift of reconciliaAugus t 2015 ❘

tion. Recognize your past mistakes, wipe the slate clean, and ask for God’s help in adopting whatever measures are necessary to improve or control your health situation. By showing yourself the same amount of compassion that Jesus shows us, you will be honoring both the life and the body that God has given you.

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Always be thankful.

Step up your faith.

Though appointments, tests, and procedures may seem annoying at best, offer prayers of gratitude for the incredible knowledge and abilities with which God has gifted our physicians, nurses, technicians, and all other health-care workers. Click here for ways to cope The nurse who makes certain with illness and the button you are comfortable, the doctor above to hear about one who successfully completes man’s road to healing. your surgery, the pharmacist who puts your prescriptions in order, the receptionist who works you into the doctor’s busy schedule: they are today’s co-ministers of Jesus.

Frequent attendance at Mass, reception of the Eucharist, and prayer are triedand-true ways to find solace through our faith. But do not hesitate to seek out new ways of increasing your faith experience. A powerful way of maintaining a joyful

heart through illness is to involve yourself with a local community of consecrated religious, be they male or female. As a teacher for 25 years at a Catholic high school for young women, sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood, New York, I have been fortunate to be able to share in the mission and charism of this particular community of women religious. There are numerous communities that you might contact, such as the Franciscans, the Benedictines, the Mercies, the Jesuits, and many others. Most have programs for lay associates and co-ministers that allow you to take part in their sponsored ministries, special events, prayer groups, or meetings. If you cannot physically connect with a community, you probably can electronically. Nearly all religious communities maintain interactive websites that allow followers to join in prayer, petition, readings, videos, live chats, streaming liturgies and prayer services, commentaries, and more. By involving yourself with a community, you will not only add a new dimension to your own faith experience, but also draw continual comfort and support. You might even find that your presence and contributions are providing the same comfort and support to others whom you are touching with your life. Don’t forget that you may also connect electronically with all the major Catholic shrines around the world. Can’t get to Lourdes, Lisieux, Assisi, or the Vatican? Simply go online to find their live services, presentations, prayers, and soothing images.

Always pray.

Prayer should be at the center of our existence, no matter where we are on our life’s journey. A favorite of many in need is the beloved Serenity Prayer, which may provide just the right combination of acceptance, strength, and hope needed during any trial: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference. A

Being sick can take a toll on more than our bodies, but it’s important to offer it up. God hears our prayers. We are never alone. 48 ❘

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Rita E. Piro is the author of many articles and books. She is on the faculty at The Mary Louis Academy in Jamaica Estates, New York. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g

THE SPIRIT OF FRANCIS

❘ BY JOANNE SCHATZLEIN, OSF

CNS PHOTO/ L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO VIA REUTERS

Nursing Mothers

Fr ancisca n Media .org

Sister Joanne Schatzlein, OSF, directs the office of corporate ministries for the Sisters of St. Francis (St. Francis, Wisconsin). She also has led pilgrimages to Rome, Assisi, Greccio, and other Franciscan sites for many years.

On January 12, 2014, Pope Francis baptized several infants in the Sistine Chapel, celebrating the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

tal Digi as t Ex r

Click here for more on Pope Francis’ encouragement for mothers.

St. Clare’s Help Clare of Assisi had every reason to despise Francesco Bernardone. His political group once forced Assisi’s nobles into a two-year exile in Perugia. Yet she later yearned to live a gospel life of poverty. Francis helped her establish at San Damiano a monastery open to women from all levels of society, assisting her nuns through his preaching and the ministry of his friars. —P.M.

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ILLUSTRATION BY JULIE LONNEMAN

n my way to board a plane in Milwaukee’s airport, I recently noticed a “Lactation Station.” Although this enclosed “container” had a happy face painted on the outside, it seemed a most uninviting place to nurse a baby. I was reminded that when Pope Francis baptized 33 infants in the Sistine Chapel last January, he departed from his homily to speak directly to the mothers of crying babies: “You mothers give your children milk and even now, if they cry because they are hungry, breastfeed them; don't worry.” He asked them to remember poor mothers around the world who can’t give food to their children. In a later homily, given on the feast of Sts. Titus and Timothy, he reflected on how mothers and grandmothers nurtured the faith in these saints. Today, women remain the primary nurturers of faith in us all. Why women? As did Sts. Francis and Clare, Pope Francis acknowledged the extraordinary role of Mary, an ordinary woman who said yes to an angel, gave birth to Jesus, and nurtured this infant at her breast in the lowliest of places where farm animals feed—in a manger.

I recalled the unease some people experience when viewing a 14thcentury fresco in Greccio of Mary nursing baby Jesus. It is one of the earliest depictions of God’s humanity, an infant dependent on his mother’s milk. Anatomically incorrect, the breast is located on the side of Mary’s neck, allowing her to remain fully dressed. Looking at the “Lactation Station” in Milwaukee’s airport, I wondered how far we have progressed in the 21st century. Are we not all called to be “mothers” in passing on the faith? Indeed, we are called to nurture faith in each other, especially the poor, not in uninviting “containers,” but openly and without shame. A

ASK A FRANCISCAN

❘ BY FATHER PAT McCLOSKEY, OFM

Old Testament Fulfilled by Jesus? I know that the Christian faith says that Jesus is the fulfillment of salvation history as depicted in the Old Testament. I am trying not to be too skeptical, but how do we know the Gospel writers didn’t simply look back and make what happened to Jesus “fit”? For example, Psalm 69:22 says, “Instead they put gall in my food; for my thirst they gave me vinegar.” When Jesus called out from the cross, Matthew 27:48 says, “Immedi-

ately one of them ran to get a sponge; he soaked it in wine, and putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink.” How do we know if Jesus was really given such a drink, or if the Gospel writers simply included that to make sure the puzzle pieces fit? Are the Gospels faith documents or the written form of what you might have captured on a video—if that technology had existed then?

Why No Eulogies?

CNS PHOTO/RICHARD DREW, REUTERS

Families are bewildered and upset when they find that no family members or friends are allowed to say words of tribute or condolence during Mass. This fairly recent change is strictly enforced by some priests. Catholics are unhappy about the practice, and many Protestants attending Catholic funerals are appalled. Is this a national policy or a diocesan policy? A eulogy that emphasizes the golf, business, or cooking skills of the deceased person may be absolutely true, and yet totally inappropriate during the Mass of Christian Burial. The emphasis there is on that person’s sharing in Christ’s Paschal mystery. The Catholic Church’s Order of Christian Funerals states: “A brief homily based on the readings is always given after the Gospel reading at the funeral liturgy and may also be given after the readings at the vigil service; but there is never to be a eulogy. Attentive to the grief of those present, the homilist should dwell on God’s compassionate love and on the Paschal mystery of the Lord, as proclaimed in the Scripture readings” (27). In some places, a family member gives a short eulogy in the family’s name immediately before the Mass of Christian Burial starts. Dioceses make policies about eulogies at funeral Masses. The wake or another gathering may be the better venue for other eulogies.

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If the Gospels were such a transcription, how would we account for Matthew 27:44’s statement that the revolutionaries crucified with Jesus verbally abused him and Luke 23:42’s statement that one of the revolutionaries asked, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”? For the example that you cited, wine and vinegar are not the same thing, though wine can turn into vinegar over time. Matthew had earlier written (27:34) that Jesus refused the offer of wine mixed with gall and does not indicate that Jesus accepted it the second time it was offered. Each Gospel writer had a distinct personality, a different audience, and access to different sources. Matthew and Luke share much with Mark, but both have stories and details that he does not include. The Gospel of John has still different sources. Because Matthew wrote for Jewish Christians around AD 85, his Gospel stresses the continuity between the Old Testament and the good news of Jesus. Matthew explicitly references the Old Testament more than any other Gospel writer. The Gospel-as-transcript approach led Tatian in the mid-second century to write the Diatessaron, an attempt to harmonize the four Gospels into a single, authoritative source. The Church chose not to give up the four Gospels in favor of Tatian’s work. The Gospel-as-faith-document approach is the one that the Church has accepted. In fact, in 1964, the Pontifical Biblical Commission issued its “Instruction on the Historical Truth of the Gospels,” which describes three stages leading to our Gospel texts: 1) life and ministry of Jesus, 2) preaching of the apostles, and 3) final composition. Scholars tend to regard Mark as the first one St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

completed (perhaps AD 65), John last (maybe 95), and Luke and Matthew in between. Wherever the Gospel writers cite the Old Testament, they believed that the link was valid. They could probably have made even more references if they felt those were needed.

Is She in Good Standing? A friend of mine and her husband divorced a few years ago. He plans to remarry and is seeking an annulment. She wants to know if she refuses to participate in this process “on a combination of principle, time, and money” whether he can still do this. He says that he can. She is uncertain whether she will remain a Catholic in good standing if she chooses not to participate “as long as I don’t remarry.” She is in good standing whether she responds or not. The Church uses the term “declaration of nullity” if a marriage tribunal determines that this couple never had a valid, sacramental marriage. They certainly had a valid civil marriage. Your friend may not realize that she as the “respondent” and her exhusband as the “petitioner” give their testimony separately in writing. Neither sees what the other has submitted or is present when the judges discuss the petition. The article “Understanding Annulments” in our September 1998 issue is available at StAnthony Messenger.org. Your friend may be especially interested in the sidebar entitled “What About the Rights of the Respondent?”

Attending Sunday Mass Our Catholic parish can easily pass around the collection basket, but it does not help seniors make it to Mass to receive the Eucharist. We are all people of God. Why do we neglect the needs of the elderly as they age and may find it difficult to attend Mass? Fr ancisca n Media .org

Because the Catholic Church is officially in favor of subsidiarity (addressing needs on the level closest to that need), a parish is most likely to rely on the generosity of parishioners who live close to the senior needing a ride to Mass. Setting up a committee for transporting seniors to Sunday Mass may not be necessary. If the senior was an usher, lector, or Communion distributor, or was active in any parish organization, for example, that peson may know someone still in that group who also lives nearby. The parish might be willing to use its bulletin to facilitate contact between the person needing a ride and someone able to give that ride. A city or county office on aging or assistance to persons with disabilities might help in locating such transportation assistance. In parishes where I celebrate Sunday Mass, I regularly see neighbors or family members helping seniors get to Mass. A

Click the button above to hear Father Pat’s insights on Catholic topics.

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.

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BOOK CORNER

❘ BY CAROL ANN MORROW

The Archaeology of Faith A Personal Exploration of How We Come to Believe

What Our

Facebook Fans Recommend To Know Christ Jesus F.J. Sheed Surrender! The LifeChanging Power of Doing God’s Will Father Larry Richards All the Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World: Finding Intimacy with God in the Busyness of Life Joanna Weaver The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality Ronald Rolheiser

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By Louis J. Cameli Ave Maria Press 224 pages • $15.95 Paperback/E-book Reviewed by TERRANCE CALLAN, professor of biblical studies at the Athenaeum of Ohio/Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio. In The Archaeology of Faith, author and priest Louis J. Cameli presents a very engaging and readable exploration of faith from three different perspectives. He takes up each angle in one of the three parts into which the book is divided. The first and longest is subtitled “A Personal Exploration.” It describes the history of the Italian province of Ascoli-Piceno from the sixth century BC to the present. This is the region where Cameli’s grandparents lived. Cameli concludes this part of the book by describing his grandparents’ immigration to the United States, and his own life. The history of the province is very interesting in itself and at many points gives rise to reflections on the nature of faith. For instance, a Catholic church now occupies the spot where a temple dedicated to Cupra—a Picene goddess of fertility—once stood during pre-Christian times. This leads Cameli to consider the human foundations of faith, specifically the human desire not to be subject to arbitrary forces. In addition to offering his own reflections

on faith, Cameli also raises brief questions that invite the reader to meditate on his or her own faith. For example, after discussing multiple aspects of faith that come to light when he considers his grandparents’ immigration, Cameli suggests that the reader ask, “When has faith enabled me to take risks and move forward? When has faith summoned me to hold fast to what I believe?” Such questions are scattered throughout the book. This “archaeology of faith” is personal, in the sense that it concerns the Cameli family history and the author’s own life story. But it is not an account of the psycho-spiritual path by which the author has become a believer himself. If the title of the book leads readers to expect such an account of the author’s own faith or that of others, they will be disappointed. The second part of the book is called “A Theological Account of Faith: Organizing and Understanding Our Experience.” Here, the author briefly describes the foundations and process of faith, and then helpfully describes faith as lying between various sets of things that stand in tension with one another. For instance, faith involves relating both to doctrinal formulations and to a divine mystery that lies beyond them. The third part of the book, “Biblical Accounts of Faith: Expanding Our Experience,” discusses four faith stories from the Gospel of John: Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, Martha, and the apostle Thomas. Similar to the first part of the book, these stories provide occasions for Cameli to reflect on various aspects of faith. In the story of Nicodemus, the author understands Nicodemus’ participation in Jesus’ burial as expressing a more fully developed faith than is explicitly indicated by the Gospel of John itself. Cameli, who has a doctorate in spirituality, is a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago. He spent many years on the faculty of the Mundelein Seminary in Chicago and has written other books on spirituality. His strong academic background informs the depth of his understanding of religious belief. This book will interest anyone who wants to gain a deeper knowledge about faith. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

BOOK BRIEFS

Reconciliation Reading The Book of Forgiving The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Our World By Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu HarperOne 240 pages • $15.99 Paperback/E-book

Wearing God Clothing, Laughter, Fire, and Other Overlooked Ways of Meeting God By Lauren F. Winner HarperCollins Publishers 304 pages • $24.99 Hardcover/E-book

Along with his daughter Mpho Tutu, Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu presents a poignant and practical guide to growing forgiveness in our lives. The prayers, guided meditations, and journal exercises aid in shattering the notion that forgiveness is a sign of weakness.

The Gift of Repentance Reviewed by BISHOP ROBERT MORNEAU, auxiliary bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Green Bay, pastor, poet, and author of A Splash of Sunshine and Other Glimpses of Grace (Orbis Books). Toward the end of this provocative and well-written book, Lauren Winner writes of Moses: “Attentiveness, apparently, was the key attribute God needed in his chief prophet, deliverer, and friend.” If Winner has one quality, it is attentiveness. In her search to encounter the great mystery of God, she turns to fire, clothing, laughter, and women in labor to articulate attributes of God revealed to us in Scripture. In Wearing God, Winner extracts from the Bible multiple images of God, but her central one is friendship. She writes, “What images and metaphors does the Bible give us for who God is, and what ways of being with God might those pictures invite?” This meditative work invites us to address a number of fascinating and unusual questions such as “Is God undone by grief?” and “Does God laugh?” In contrast to more abstract theological works about God, we have in Winner’s book a call to use our imagination and poetic sense to encounter the divine. She correctly states, “The Bible gives us this surfeit of images in order to ‘rule out literalism.’” Be assured that this encounter will be fruitful and enriching. Winner fulfills her mission “to provoke your curiosity, to inspire your imagination, and to invite you farther into your friendship with God.” Fr ancisca n Media .org

God’s Call for a Change of Heart By Kevin Perrotta The Word Among Us Press 128 pages • $11.95 Paperback/E-book In The Gift of Repentance, Kevin Perrotta offers an insightful Scripture study that helps readers move past the initial discomfort of repentance and to embrace it as the gift from God that it is. Bible passages, scriptural commentary, questions for reflection, and more make this a great study for faith groups and individuals alike.

Freedom and Forgiveness A Fresh Look at the Sacrament of Reconciliation By Father Paul Farren Paraclete Press 112 pages • $8.99 Paperback/Kindle In his foreword to Father Paul Farren’s Freedom and Forgiveness, recent Templeton Prize winner Jean Vanier aptly points out, “This book flows from an understanding of Confession as a meeting of love and as a renewal of friendship.” —D.I. Books featured in Book Corner and Book Briefs 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 Au gu s t 2 0 15 ❘ 5 3

A CATHOLIC MOM SPEAKS

❘ BY SUSAN HINES-BRIGGER

Expanding Our Worldview

he other day, I had a conversation with my 4-yearold daughter, Kacey, about who was the better artist: Vincent van Gogh or Edvard Munch. It was quite an interesting conversation and, honestly, one that brought great joy to my heart. At her preschool, Kacey had been learning not only about various artists and types of art, but also various countries, authors, and composers. I revel in the broad range of information she is soaking up. But then I remember that I used to have discussions like those with my three older kids, too, when they were Kacey’s age. Over time, though, their

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sense of the world seems to have continually shrunk. Nowadays, in their eyes the world tends to skew toward them and their lives. My husband, Mark, and I try our best to keep our children’s minds focused outward. But, as most parents know, it’s not easy. Never does their lack of worldly attention seem more apparent than when I attempt to engage them in a conversation about current events or philosophical questions. “What do you think about the death penalty in the Boston Marathon bomber case?” I might ask. “Do you understand what’s going

on in Syria?” I inquire. More often than not, I am met with blank stares, or the standard answer, “We’re not studying that in school.” It is in those moments that I feel both equally deflated and challenged.

Hey, Mom and Dad But before I throw our kids under the bus, I have to admit that a lot of times adults aren’t much better. It can be a struggle to keep engaged in the world around us. After all, we’ve got work, kids’ schedules and activities, elderly parents to care for, and all the other day-to-day responsibiliSt A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg

WHAT DO WE DO?

ties. But does that excuse us? No. It is even more disappointing that we let world events fall off our radar when, thanks to the nonstop barrage of news and our Internet capabilities, it’s so easy to stay informed. It seems we are all connected to some form of electronic device most of the time. So there really is no excuse for being uninformed. How do we reverse this problem and expand not only our view, but also that of our kids? This is not one of those “do as I say, not as I do” things. We can start by not accepting that this is just the way things are. Schools can’t teach our kids everything, nor should we expect them to. Therefore, the rest of the education

ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARY KURNICK MAASS

How do we expand both our own and our children’s views? For starters, let’s get some conversations and experiences going. Try out some food from a different part of the world for dinner. Bring various news topics to the table. Start talking about them. Start to ask questions, such as, “What do you think?” or “Why?” Sometimes you’ll be surprised—or not— how opinionated kids can be, especially the older ones. Try to just listen as your daughter or son tells you why you are absolutely wrong about something. We know how much they love to do that. Perhaps next time, though, he or she will jump into the discussion without prompting. If not, keep trying. The payoff is worth it.

lands on us parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles—all of those involved in our children’s lives.

We Are One We may think we have no immediate connection with the people in Nepal who recently experienced devastating earthquakes, or those in Syria who struggle daily under the terror of war, but we do. They may not be members of our immediate families, friends, or social circles, but they are our brothers and sisters in a much broader sense. Remember the quote from the Gospel of Matthew— “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (25:40). A

Click the button to the left to listen to Susan’s “Marriage Moments.”

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 44)

Fr ancisca n Media .org

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BACKSTORY

Getting the Story Straight

his summer—in fact, for most of this year—a controversy has roiled around Blessed Junipero Serra, OFM, the subject of this month’s cover story. If you don’t know already, Serra is the Spanish friar

who pioneered nine California missions that grew into the modern cities we still know as San Diego, Santa Barbara, and seven others. Pope Francis, during his US visit next month, will name Serra a saint at a liturgy in Washington, DC. Junipero Serra becomes the first

PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER HEFFRON

US saint of Hispanic origin. The controversy, as most have heard, is his treatment of Native Americans. There is a vocal contingent opposing his canonization, whose protests will increase in the coming weeks. All of us here at St. Anthony Messenger had to grapple, some months back, with how best to tell the story of this Franciscan saint. While at a religious education conference in Anaheim, California, back in February, I talked with my 1970s college-friendturned-Franciscan, Dan Lackey, OFM, of the Santa Barbara Province. At “ground zero” in some ways, friars of his province are caught between their advocacy for the poor in their region, including many Native Americans, and the awesome Blessed Serra. His statue PHOTO FROM ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL

This statue of Junipero Serra at the US Capitol was donated by California in 1931. Protestors have suggested replacing it with another Californian, astronaut Sally Ride.

(Serra’s, that is), after all, is California’s representative at the US Capitol. (A movement has been afoot to remove it.) Father Dan helped me to understand some of the complexities, and offered to help connect us with his friar-brothers directly involved with the canonization. I asked our talented Los Angeles freelancer, Maureen Pratt, to pursue a story, one that didn’t whitewash the difficult history, but also did not downplay the heroic significance of Serra’s legacy. You can be the judge of how well she did. Let me know what you think. We ran this story in August, rather than September, by the way, because there is so much happening in the next three issues concerning the pope’s visit, the upcoming synod, and the Vatican II anniversary. Stay tuned.

Editor in Chief @jfeister

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

NASA IMAGES BY RETO STÖCKLI, BASED ON DATA FROM NASA AND NOAA.

REFLECTION

The world is a gift which we have freely received and must share with others. —Pope Francis, “Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home”

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

essenger