A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE
ST. ANTHONY DECEMBER 2014 • $3.95 • FRANCISCANMEDIA.ORG
Our Lady of Guadalupe St. John of the Cross Born in a Barn Letting God’s Love Heal Us Homeless Jesus
Messenger
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Š 2014
CONTENTS
ST. ANTHONY
❘ DECEMBER 2014 ❘ VOLUME 122/NUMBER 7
Messenger ON THE COVER
28 Our Lady of Guadalupe
Multitudes of pilgrims make the journey each year to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe in both Mexico and the United States.
This month, millions in Mexico and the United States celebrate their spiritual mother. By María de Lourdes Ruiz Scaperlanda
Illustration by Shelly Hehenberger/das grüp
F E AT U R E S
D E PA R T M E N T S
14 St. John of the Cross
2 Dear Reader
He shows us how to be reflective in our distracting world. By John P. Moore
3 From Our Readers 4 Followers of St. Francis Sister Maureen Colleary, FSP
22 A Christmas Miracle for a Jewish Woman His mother escaped from death in Nazioccupied Poland on Christmas Eve. By John Feister and Rabbi Abie Ingber
6 Reel Time Fury
14
8 Channel Surfing The Mysteries of Laura
34 Homeless Jesus
10 Church in the News
This sculpture presents Our Lord in the distressing disguise of the poor. By Joyce Duriga
20 Live Well Refocus on Faith
33 Editorial
36 Healing, Wholeness, and Love
The Road to Peace
Jesus extends God’s compassion to each of us. By Barbara Hosbach
43 The Spirit of Francis ‘Child of Bethlehem’
40 Born in a Barn She learned the true meaning of Christmas on her family’s farm. By Rita Waters Mailander
22
49 At Home on Earth The Promised Land
50 Ask a Franciscan Respecting Life at All Stages
44 Fiction: Quieting Lambent Her pocket held the answer. By Marie Anderson
52 Book Corner Joy to the World
54 A Catholic Mom Speaks The Message of a Christmas Meltdown
36
56 Backstory
ST. ANTHONY M
DEAR READER
essenger
A Living Church The Friars Minor staff 50 shrines in Israel, the Palestinian Territory, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, and Egypt. They staff or help sponsor 16 schools with approximately 10,000 students of various religions. Friar parishes are in Akko, Beit Hanina, Bethany, Bethlehem, Cana, Jaffa, Jericho, Jerusalem (St. Saviour’s and Terra Sancta College), Migdal Haemeq, Nazareth, Ramleh, and Tiberias. They also serve as chaplains and sponsor clinics and other pastoral initiatives. The Custody has one house each in Argentina and the United Click the button on the left for more on States, plus several houses the Middle East visit in Italy. by Pope Francis, the Friar-led pilgrimages to Holy Land shrines, the Holy Land often offer a and pilgrimages. chance to meet local Catholics. Most friars belong to the Latin (Western) rite, but some belong to Eastern Catholic Churches. During Mass in Bethlehem on May 25, Pope Francis said: “Wherever children are accepted, loved, cared for, and protected, the family is healthy, society is more healthy, and the world is more human.” May all of us welcome the child Jesus again this year!
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 Fred Limke
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ST. ANTHONY MESSENGER (ISSN #0036276X) (U.S.P.S. PUBLICATION #007956 CANADA PUBLICATION #PM40036350) Volume 122, Number 7, 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 ©2014. All rights reserved.
2 ❘ Dec ember 2014
St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
FROM OUR READERS
Let the Bishops Do Their Jobs We were rather dismayed after reading the article, “We’d Like To Say: Bishops, Listen Up!” by Jim and Susan Vogt, in the October issue of St. Anthony Messenger. It is indeed unfortunate that 98 percent of Catholic women have used some method of artificial birth control at some point in their lives. Although the Vogts state that they know the Church is not a democracy, their tone belies that. They speak of the bishops “trusting the sense of the faithful,” even if that sense is misguided by the secular view on sexuality and birth control. The answer lies in lovingly guiding people to their true calling as children of God—not in saying that if it feels right to you, it must be so. The view on divorce in this article is also disturbing. While the Church
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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does indeed need to respond pastorally to divorced members, let us not forget that it was Jesus himself who said, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery.” If, as the authors rather flippantly suggest, the issue of whether the first marriage was a “valid marriage” is done away with, what are to be the criteria for determining if an annulment is warranted? If the question of validity is no longer pertinent, the covenantal nature of Catholic marriage is undermined and annulment simply becomes Catholic divorce. The entire thrust of the article seemed to be what the bishops “need” to do. What about what we as faithful Catholics need to do? The bishops’ job is not to make our lives easier, but to guide us to the ultimate prize with Our Lord in heaven. Tom and Nancy Gruber Harrison, Ohio
Pope Francis’ Caring Embrace I just wanted to comment on the October issue’s “Spirit of Francis” column. I think it is wonderful that the pope showed God’s love and care by embracing and kissing a man, Vinicio Riva, with neurofibromatosis. I am sure that Vinicio felt Christ’s allembracing and consuming love in that moment. It is definitely what life should be all about: loving, embracing, and caring for each other. Pope Francis is truly a pope of the people and is a healer to a hurting and lonely world. Rosella Myles Wheeling, West Virginia
History, Misinterpreted A letter of correction shouldn’t be more confused than the error it tries to correct, but I am afraid that is the case with the letter in the October issue taking Father Pat McCloskey to task over the US Constitution as it
applied to slaves. The writer is correct when he says the Constitution does not mention the international slave trade. However, neither did the Constitution say the slave trade would be “prohibited” in 20 years. It said Congress could not touch slavery before 1808, but could tax the trade. It didn’t say Congress had to do anything in 1808, and the South hoped Congress would do nothing. The Three-Fifths Compromise provided that slaves were counted as three-fifths of a white person so as to designate how many persons resided in a state—with the ultimate goal of determining how many seats the state was entitled to in the House of Representatives. It didn’t give the slaves three-fifths of a vote; the fivefifths males cast those. Considering that the South insisted on it solely to protect slavery, it is disingenuous— and a bit odd—for the critic to say it “had nothing to do with the question of slavery itself.” Father Pat is owed an apology. Tom Blackburn Haverhill, Florida
Channeling St. Francis The photo of Pope Francis in the “Backstory” column of the September issue is awesome! The pope looks absolutely delighted to have a dove landing on his hand. He looks like a modern-day St. Francis of Assisi, loving all of God’s creatures. Thank you for your new column, “The Spirit of Francis.” I love reading about Pope Francis and certainly love seeing photos of how he interacts with the people he encounters, much as Jesus did—always with love and compassion, always inspirational. John Feister is so right when he says, “No one seems to get enough of this guy!” God bless you for this new column in St. Anthony Messenger. Carrie Gleason St. Louis, Missouri December 2014 ❘ 3
F O L L O W E R S O F S T. F R A N C I S
Program Energizes Catholics
W
hy Catholic? No, really—Why Catholic? That’s the name of a popular parish program offered by RENEW International, a Catholic ministry organization that has worked under the Archdiocese of Newark since 1976. RENEW now promotes spiritual renewal programs in over 160 dioceses across the United States, as well as internationally. At the forefront of the Why Catholic? program is Sister Maureen Colleary, a Franciscan Sister of Peace, who has been involved in RENEW International for 17 years as a pastoral staff member. “Intrepid Sister Maureen,” as some of her associates call her, has traveled all over the country (even by prop plane in Alaska) and to Europe, Asia, and Africa in her work energizing Why Catholic? Originally from New Rochelle, New York, Sister Maureen has a rich history and connection with Franciscan spirituality, starting with 12 years of Franciscan education. After graduating from college in 1975, Sister Maureen joined the Franciscan Sisters of Peace, attracted to both the warm hospitality of the sisters and the Franciscan values of conversion, contemplation, poverty, and minority.
Sister Maureen Colleary, FSP
These core values “spoke to my spirit and continue to be a source of inspiration for me,” says Sister Maureen. For some, evangelization might seem like a distant memory from our Catholic past or something only missionaries do in faraway lands. However, allowing our faith to radiate outwardly to the people in our daily lives is fundamental to being Catholic. “We are called by our Baptism to be disciples and evangelizers,” says Sister Maureen. A key goal of Why Catholic? is to solidify and deepen Catholics’ knowledge of their faith, both for their own benefit and for the purpose of building their evangelizing skills. “Many Catholics have had the experience of having their beliefs questioned or even challenged by friends, family, or work associates. That scenario can shake their own confidence if they don’t have a solid understanding of why the Catholic faith holds certain teachings,” Sister Maureen says. Covering Catholic beliefs, sacraments, morality, and prayer over 48 sessions, the Why Catholic? program takes place in small groups in the homes of parishioners—a nod to communities in the early Church. In this
STORIES FROM OUR READERS Silver in the Stream
© JENNIFERPHOTOGRAPHYIMAGING/ISTOCKPHOTO
Learn more about St. Anthony and share your story of how he helped you at AmericanCatholic.org/ Features/Anthony.
4 ❘ Dec ember 2014
Over a July 4 weekend a couple of years ago, our daughter, Mary, and her family went for a nice boat ride on a nearby river. They stopped to go swimming off of a sandbar so the kids could cool off. Playing with her young children, Mary noticed her wedding ring had fallen off! She noted the location and planned to return the next day to look—without much hope, though, given all the boat traffic. The following morning, Mary and her husband, with the help of our son, went out to search the area where the ring was lost, while my husband and I prayed to St. Anthony at home. As our son sifted through the shallow water, he felt what he thought was a bottle cap or a quarter. Scooping the ring up, he asked Mary if her ring was silver or gold. “Silver!” she exclaimed. With St. Anthony’s help, he found it! —Susan Ashauer, Greenville, Wisconsin
St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
Click here to learn more about Sister Maureen Colleary and the Why Catholic? program. Click the button on the left for an interview with her.
intimate setting, participants gather to reflect on each faith theme and connect it to Scripture, Catholic tradition, and their own lives. After soaking in the subtleties and wisdom our faith has to offer, parishioners often feel refreshed about their beliefs and more confident to share them with others. Bolstered by deepened knowledge, participants of Why Catholic? can answer the very question posed by the name of the program—to themselves and those around them. Not everyone is open to talking about the subject of faith, and it takes a discerning person to recognize the opportunity. “[Some] are wary of others preaching to them. At the same time, many are hungry for meaning, purpose, and spiritual healing and don’t even recognize it. Interestingly, these ‘seekers’ can be quite open to hearing stories of personal faith and witness,” says Sister Maureen. “Intrepid Sister Maureen” is glad she took the plunge with RENEW International back in 1997. “My years at RENEW have literally flown by as I have logged over 1.7 million air miles since then.” —Daniel Imwalle
tal Digi as Extr
ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA
Jesus’ Emptying As a Scripture scholar, Anthony knew that one of St. Paul’s key affirmations about Jesus occurs in Philippians 2:5-7: “Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance.” Through the incarnation, the Son of God emptied himself for the sake of sinners. Following Jesus will always require a similar emptying. –P.M. To learn more about Franciscan saints, visit AmericanCatholic.org/Features/Saintofday.
S T. A N T H O N Y B R E A D
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December 2014 ❘ 5
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The National Shrine of St. Anthony is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Consecrated in 1889, it includes a first-class relic of St. Anthony and serves as a center for daily prayer and contemplation. The Franciscan friars minister from the shrine. To help them in their work among the poor, you may send a monetary offering called St. Anthony Bread. Make checks or money orders payable to “Franciscans” and mail to the address below. Every Tuesday, a Mass is offered for benefactors and petitioners at the shrine. To seek St. Anthony’s intercession, mail your petition to the address below. Petitions are taken to the shrine each week. To post your petition online, please visit stanthony.org, where you can also request to have a candle lit or a Mass offered; or you may make a donation to the Franciscans or sign up to receive a novena booklet.
REEL TIME
W I T H S I S T E R R O S E PA C AT T E , F S P
Fury
CNS PHOTO/COLUMBIA PICTURES
SISTER ROSE’S
Favorite
Crime
Mysteries Crash (2004) Rebecca (1940) The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) In Bruges (2008)
6 ❘ December 2014
Brad Pitt is a tank commander who leads a crew of dedicated soldiers in the World War II drama Fury. It is 1945. The Allies are pushing deep into Germany after the invasion at Normandy. In the opening scene, Army Sgt. Don “Wardaddy” Collier (Brad Pitt) commands a tank crew of four soldiers. When they arrive at an Army rendezvous, the very young Norman (Logan Lerman) is assigned to the unit. He has been in the Army for two months, and is unprepared for the horrors he will face. Wardaddy and his men lead a battalion to take over a town and then head to a crossroads that they are to hold. They quote Scripture to one another and talk about religion. It becomes obvious that they believe in God because they are rightfully afraid. Norman loses his innocence when Wardaddy forces him to kill a German soldier instead of taking the man captive. Little by little, Wardaddy breaks down the young man and reshapes him in his own likeness. The soldiers form a close-knit bond of friendship and respect in the tank. Wardaddy is tough, but not without honor, and at this point in the war, he is tired and hard-
ened. Pitt’s performance—as well as that of Shia LaBeouf, Michael Peña, Jon Bernthal, and Lerman—are entirely believable. It is hard to know why writer/director David Ayer even wanted to make the film. It celebrates war as if it were a video game, while showing the moral injury to the soldiers who go against their consciences and kill. If you’ve seen Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers, it is probably enough. L, R ■ Graphic violence.
Gone Girl Director David Fincher has taken Gillian Flynn’s 2012 best-selling novel and delivers a chilling, self-destructive, and ambiguous moral tale that is much better than the book. I hated reading the tortuous tale about two unlikable people. The difference between the book and the movie is simple: the film moves faster. Nick (Ben Affleck) returns home midmorning on his fifth wedding anniversary, St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
© 2014 TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX AND REGENCY ENTERPRISES
Ben Affleck is a man who falls under suspicion when his wife disappears in director David Fincher’s Gone Girl.
CNS PHOTO/WARNER BROS.
and he discovers that his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), is missing. The living room shows signs of struggle. The police arrive and Nick is the prime suspect. Through flashbacks, we learn how Nick and Amy met, and how they ended up back in his Missouri hometown after losing their jobs. Eventually, Amy’s parents borrow most of the money in her trust fund. When she was growing up, her parents wrote and published a series of children’s books called Amazing Amy, using their daughter as the protagonist. She secretly resents her parents because of this. A search—and the accompanying media circus—begins. Nick seeks solace from his twin sister, Margo (Carrie Coon). Amy bought them a bar that Margo runs, mostly by herself, while Nick teaches at a local community college. Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) discovers lots of unsavory things about Nick that point to a motive and the means to murder Amy. But is she really dead? Did Nick have something to do with her disappearance? The acting is is excellent, but I suspect many viewers will dislike the ending, which is the same as the one in the book. O, R ■ Explicit sexuality and graphic violence.
When his mother dies, Hank heads home to Indiana for the funeral. His older brother, Glen (Vincent D’Onofrio), runs a tire store, while their younger brother, Dale (Jeremy Strong), who’s mentally challenged, uses an old 8mm camera to film everything around him. He is the only one happy to see Hank, who’s been gone for almost 20 years. Hank and his father, Joseph (Robert Duvall), cannot stand each other. Complications ensue when “the judge,” as everyone calls Joseph, goes out to buy eggs. The next day, he is accused of deliberately hitting and killing a man he had let off with an easy sentence decades before. He refuses to let Hank represent him at first. But during the trial, Hank discovers a secret about his father that could save him. The Judge is at its best when Hank becomes aware of his father’s fragility and vulnerability, and the bond between father and son is gracefully restored. I liked the film, and enjoyed Downey Jr.’s performance. Duvall, as usual, is a master. L, R ■ Sexuality, language, and mature themes.
Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall play a father and son at odds in the critically acclaimed film The Judge.
Catholic Cl assifications A-1 A-2 A-3 L O
The Judge Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.) is a criminal defense lawyer in Chicago who doesn’t care whom he defends as long as they can pay. He and his wife, Lisa (Sarah Lancaster), are on the verge of a divorce, but Hank wants custody of their young daughter, Lauren (Emma Tremblay). Fr anciscanMedia.org
General patronage Adults and adolescents Adults Limited adult audience Morally offensive
■
The Catholic News Service Media Review Office gives these ratings. See usccb.org/movies.
■
Find reviews by Sister Rose and others at CatholicMovieReviews.org.
December 2014 ❘ 7
CHANNEL SURFING
WITH CHRISTOPHER HEFFRON
UP CLOSE
Wednesdays, 8 p.m., NBC Finding fair and authentic portrayals of women on television can be a fruitless exercise. Too often they’re sexualized to the point of absurdity or caricatured beyond reason. Who could forget Mary Tyler Moore, who showed that a woman can thrive in a male-dominated industry? Or the formidable Clair Huxtable, who proved that a woman can have a thriving career and a bustling home life—all without losing herself? NBC’s The Mysteries of Laura, while lighthearted and entertaining at times, stumbles as a series because it doesn’t know how to use its heroine effectively. Emmy winner Debra Messing stars as Laura, a funny, frazzled woman trying to strike a balance with her two young sons, an estranged husband, and a successful career as a New York City homicide detective. While Laura might be a skilled policewoman, she’s hanging by a thread at home—a contrast that could be explored more intelligently. Instead, what channel surfers are left with is a surface-level glimpse into Laura’s life, rather than a thoughtful character study. Messing is a terrific talent, able to juggle humor and heart with equal ease. That’s why she deserves better than this project. American audiences—particularly young women—deserve a Mary Tyler Moore for their generation. They won’t find her here.
Constantine Fridays, 10 p.m., NBC A supernatural thriller that isn’t the least bit super, Constantine, based on the popular comic-book series Hellblazer, is about a demon hunter and occult enthusiast named John Constantine. He battles demons—including his own—as he works to rid the world of evil. Parents and sensitive viewers should be aware that this series dabbles liberally in the dark arts. Additionally, violence, sexual references, and disturbing imagery make this freshman series a dud. Matt Ryan, in the title role, chews the scenery with relish, but even his energy and charisma can’t save it.
Red Band Society
PHOTO BY WILL HART/NBC
Wednesdays, 9 p.m., FOX Sexual references—as well as drug and alcohol consumption by minors—hinder what is otherwise an intriguing premise. Red Band Society is about a ragtag crew of teenage patients in a Los Angeles hospital who form their own junior support group as they wrestle with their various illnesses—some of which are terminal. Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, always compelling to watch, anchors the drama as Nurse Jackson, a no-nonsense den mother who dishes out tough love to her boundary-pushing patients. But the real standouts are the cast of relative unknowns, who effectively play a Breakfast Club for the 21st century.
Debra Messing shines in the sometimes uneven drama The Mysteries of Laura, about a New York City homicide detective. 8 ❘ December 2014
St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
PHOTO BY QUANTRELL COLBERT/NBC
The Mysteries of Laura
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CHURCH IN THE NEWS
❘ BY DANIEL IMWALLE
Part One of the Synod on the Family Ends animated discussions, if everybody had agreed or remained silent in a false and quietistic peace,” the pope said.
CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING
Pope Francis Brings Pope Paul VI Closer to Sainthood
Ron and Mavis Pirola of Sydney, Australia, auditors at the synod, told Pope Francis and the synod members that Catholic parishes should welcome same-sex couples, following the example of friends who invite their son and his male partner to their home for Christmas.
1 0 ❘ D ecember 2014
documents are approved. One paragraph, which focused on homosexuality and had failed to attain a supermajority, was considerably reworded from its companion section in the midterm report. The changes reflected the response of conservative clergy. The other two paragraphs that did not achieve a supermajority explored ways to simplify the process of receiving Communion for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics. Although all three had only a simple majority, Pope Francis requested that they be included in the presentation of the final report, ensuring that those topics will be discussed at the next synod in October 2015. Pope Francis reacted positively to the way that the synod transpired in a speech given on October 18, the day of its last working session. “Personally, I would have been very worried and saddened if there hadn’t been these temptations and these
CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING
From October 5 to 19, Church leaders and laypeople from around the world convened to discuss the questions and difficult issues facing Catholic families in the 21st century. Lively debate between the various participants characterized the synod, which had its last working session on October 18, reported Catholic News Service (CNS). Much of the discussion among members of the synod was sparked by the official midterm report—controversial due to its sympathetic language toward homosexuals, cohabitating couples, and divorced and civilly remarried Catholics. The October 13 midterm report, presented by Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdö, was discussed over three days, with the summaries of those talks published on October 16. When the final report, or relatio, was voted on, three paragraphs did not achieve the two-thirds supermajority usually needed when synodal
Pope Francis beatified Blessed Paul VI in front of a crowd of over 30,000 people during the final Mass of the bishops’ Synod on the Family, reported CNS. Among the many thousands present at the October 19 Mass in St. Peter’s Square was Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Blessed Paul VI had named Pope Benedict a cardinal in 1977. At the beginning of the Mass, Pope Francis formally announced Blessed Paul’s beatification. Sister Giacomina Pedrini, the only remaining nun present at the 1970 assassination attempt on Blessed Paul VI in the
A tapestry of Blessed Paul VI hangs from the facade of St. Peter’s Basilica during his beatification Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican October 19. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
Cardinal Raymond Burke confirmed that he will leave his position as prefect of the Church’s Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura to take on a new role as patron to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, reported BuzzFeed News in an interview with the cardinal on October 17. Cardinal Burke served as archbishop of St. Louis prior to his appointment as chief justice of the Vatican’s Supreme Court in 2008.
Dallas nurse Nina Pham was declared free of Ebola on October 24 by the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. The 26-year-old Pham, a Catholic, is a parishioner at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Fort Worth, Texas. At a press conference in Bethesda, Maryland, Pham said,
Phillipines, brought a relic up to the altar. During his homily, Pope Francis emphasized the importance of Blessed Paul, the “great helmsman” of the Second Vatican Council. “When we look to this great pope, this courageous Christian, this tireless apostle, we cannot but say in the sight of God a word as simple as it is heartfelt and important: thanks,” said the pope. Though Pope Paul VI is known by many Catholics for authoring “Humanae Vitae,” a 1968 encyclical which reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s stance against the use of artificial birth control, Pope Francis made no remarks about the document during his homily. Rather, the pope spoke about Blessed Paul VI’s Fr ancisca n Media .org
A priest from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia was arrested for owning and distributing child pornography, reported CNS. The 55-year-old parish priest, Father Mark J. Haynes, was quickly put on administrative leave and is prohibited from engaging in public ministry or appearing in public as a member of the clergy. A statement from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia read, “The archdiocese is cooperating fully with law enforcement regarding this matter and remains fervently committed to preventing child abuse as well as protecting the children and young people to its care. Child pornography is a scourge that must be eradicated.”
CNS/COURTESY ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA
A video of two American priests dancing has gone viral, with over 1.5 million views on YouTube, reported The Huffington Post. Fathers David Rider (tap dancer) and John Gibson (Irish step dancer) were filmed doing their routine at a fund-raiser earlier this year. “Some people don’t think it’s appropriate for priests to dance. But we would just refer them to the Bible—where David dances before the Ark of the Covenant, and where the Lord tells us to live with joy. Dance is a great way to express joy,” said Father Rider.
“I feel fortunate and blessed to be standing here today. I would first and foremost like to thank God, my family, and friends. Throughout this ordeal, I have put my trust in God and my medical team.” Pham later met with President Barack Obama at the White House, where the president embraced the Ebola victim.
CNS/LARRY DOWNING, REUTERS
CNS/CATHOLIC PRESS PHOTO
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For more Catholic news, visit AmericanCatholic.org.
establishment of the Synod of Bishops in 1965, and of his time and energy devoted to the Second Vatican Council, which he concluded the same year. “Facing the advent of a secularized and hostile society, [Blessed Paul VI] could hold fast, with farsightedness and wisdom—and at times alone—to the helm of the barque of Peter,” said Pope Francis.
Nuncio Raises Awareness about Violence against Children Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Vatican nuncio to the United Nations, issued a statement on October 17 to the UN Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee detailing the
increase in violence against children throughout the world today, according to CNS. The archbishop’s report follows a similar account given in September by Ambassador Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF, which speaks to mounting concern over the safety and health of children in a world where humanitarian crises occur frequently. Examining the problem broadly, Archbishop Auza considered the wide spectrum of ways violence affects children—including war, sex trafficking, and prenatal selection. “It is an unfortunate reality that every conflict, every outbreak of an epidemic, every natural disaster, has the potential to roll back the steady progress the world has made in recent decades in reducing child December 2014 ❘ 11
Liberian Bishop Asks for Help with Ebola Outbreak
A man hands out educational material on preventing the spread of the Ebola virus to villagers in Liberia, the West African country most affected by the deadly outbreak. According to Bishop Borwah, bishops and other Catholic leaders across the globe have the power to connect with politicians and other influ-
mortality and improving access to nutrition, safe water, and education,” the archbishop said. The UN nuncio cited staggering numbers related to the impact of armed conflict on children. “In recent years, almost 3 million children have been killed in armed conflicts; 6 million have been left disabled; tens of thousands mutilated by antipersonnel mines,” said Archbishop Auza. The archbishop’s report was delivered as the 20th anniversary of the International Year of the Family neared, an international observance first recognized by the United Nations in October 1994. The Catholic Archbishop Bernardito Auza Church, Archbishop Auza said, will carry on its mission to bring sustenance and education to children across the globe, especially those in areas affected by war and economic collapse.
President of US Bishops Reacts to Synod Speaking with CNS on October 19, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, said the final document that came out of the Synod on the Family was clear and 1 2 ❘ Dec ember 2014
ential figures to rally their support. “The key to survival is to restore our humanity, our natural human kindness,” Bishop Borwah said.
in tune with Church doctrine, reported CNS. Archbishop Kurtz, who is president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), said, “The initial document left people with many questions. We didn’t want to leave the synod with that lack of clarity.” Regarding the place homosexuals have in the Church, the archbishop took on a welcoming attitude. “People of At the Synod on the Family, same-sex attraction are Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of welcome in the Church; Louisville helped author a final we all together seek to report “grounded in sacred live chaste and good Scripture.” lives and to help each other in that process,” Archbishop Kurtz said. The archbishop pointed out that the final report from last October’s synod should be an integral reference point for the October 2015 synod. Next year’s synod will focus on the “vocation and mission of the family in the Church and the modern world.” A St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING
CNS PHOTO/BOB ROLLER
CNS PHOTO/AHMED JALLANZO, EPA
As the Ebola epidemic continues to worsen in West Africa, Liberian Bishop Anthony Fallah Borwah is calling for a stronger response from the international community, particularly his fellow Catholic bishops, reported CNS. Bishop Borwah had been invited to participate in the bishops’ Synod on the Family in Rome, but, due to travel restrictions from nations affected by the outbreak, was forced to decline. Ebola has completely destabilized Liberia, a country still recovering from the horrific civil war that ended 10 years ago. “Whole families are being decimated. It is the poor who have been most harmed. During the war, you were still able to bury your dead. With Ebola, you can’t even be with your sick; you can’t say goodbye to your loved ones,” said the bishop.
The Joyful Spirit of Padre Pio Stories, Letters, and Prayers
Peace and Good Through the Year with Francis of Assisi
Patricia Treece
Pat McCloskey, O.F.M.
One of the most popular and beloved saints of the twentieth century, Padre Pio was a man with supernatural joy alongside periods of spiritual desolation. This collection of inspirational stories includes excerpts from his letters to his spiritual directors, notes to those who wrote seeking his guidance, some of his own prayers, and some new prayers to help you understand and imitate the joyful spirit of Padre Pio.
This wonderful introduction to the life and teachings of St. Francis offers daily inspiration and a dose of “peace and good”—a phrase often associated with Francis and his followers. Each month celebrates a Franciscan theme—such as peace, conversion, prayer, Mary, charity, and service to the poor. For each day, you will find a quote from Francis’s teachings, a suggestion for living as Francis did, and a challenge for growing in faith and practice.
“You will be fascinated by the spiritual nuggets contained in Patricia Treece’s latest work on the saint. It is always a joy to read about Padre Pio, and one always comes away a better person.” —FRANK M. REGA, O.F.S., author of Padre Pio and America
“A practical and appealing daily guide to the Poor Man of Assisi.” p , , /Ê , 9]Ê "°-° °Ê«Àià `i Ì]Ê-Ì°Ê >Ûi ÌÕÀiÊ1 ÛiÀà ÌÞ Ìi Ê ÎÈÇÎäÊÊUÊÊ - Ê Çn £ È£ÈÎÈ ÇÎä xÊÊUÊÊf£ °
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Bambinelli Sunday A Christmas Blessing Each Advent families bring their Christ
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St. John O F T H E C RO S S He shows us how to be reflective in our distracting world. B Y J O H N P. M O O R E
14 ❘ December 2014
After his death, John’s reputation grew even larger, when his spiritual writings were distributed beyond his order. In 1926, the diminutive monk—John was less than 5 feet tall—was named a Doctor of the Church. St. John Paul II considered St. John of the Cross to be an essential spiritual guide.
Carmelite Reformer The Carmelite Order, or the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, was founded on that mountain in Palestine in the 12th century by a group of hermits. The order, which adopted an extremely strict “rule”—imposing rigorous fasting and forbidding its members to wear shoes—spread to Europe and grew throughout the Middle Ages. However, by the time John joined the order, the observance of the rule had grown lax. In fact, after ordination, John was considering leaving the Carmelites to join a stricter order— until he had an encounter that had a profound impact both on his life and on the history of the Carmelites. He met a member of the female branch of the order, the nun known as Teresa of Jesus. Teresa, older by 27 years and more experienced, told the young priest about the reforms that she was pursuing. John decided to stay. From that day forward, Teresa—known to history as St. Teresa of Avila—and John toiled as kindred spirits in the 16th-century reform of the Carmelite Order. Inspired to witness their view of the Gospel by adopting a radically St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
PHOTO BY EUGENE PLAISTED, OSC
W
HEN I FIRST encountered St. John of the Cross—in a theology course on the Carmelites—I found him rather unappealing. St. John is a true Christian radical, calling us all to live lives of ascetic simplicity and deep prayer. His words are stark and make no allowance for human weakness. I found John out of step with our times and wrote him off as interesting but irrelevant. However, recently I took another look at John, both his writings and his life story. I have now come around to the opinion—shared by many Catholics over the past 400 years— that St. John of the Cross is an authentic witness to the Gospel. Juan de Yepes was born in Spain in 1542. His father died when John was 2 years of age and the family fell into extreme poverty, which eased slightly when his mother found work as a weaver. Nevertheless, because John impressed his religious educators, he had a few options upon reaching maturity (including joining the Jesuits). John chose to join the Carmelite Order and was ordained a priest. None of this is unusual—poverty was widespread at this time, as were religious vocations. What is unusual is John’s subsequent rise to fame. By the time of his death in 1591, after an adult life completely consumed with the affairs of the Carmelites, he was widely known as a religious reformer and spiritual guide.
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December 2014 â?˜ 15
PHOTOS BY EUGENE PLAISTED, OSC
The Paradox of Two Saints Teresa and John loved the calm and silence of contemplative prayer, yet they traveled frequently and took on leadership positions within their religious communities. simple way of life, Teresa (as foundress) and John (her lieutenant) shepherded the breakaway Discalced Carmelites. Derived from Latin, the term discalced literally means “barefoot.” While the Carmelite reformers did not interpret this regulation in its strictest sense—their followers substituted sandals for shoes—the decision to observe the original practice showed their commitment to return to a strict interpretation of the order’s rule. The lives of these two saints are truly a paradox. Teresa and John loved the calm and silence of contemplative prayer, yet they traveled frequently and took on leadership positions within their religious communities. They combined the stillness of a carefully observed regimen of prayer with the frenetic organizational activity required to manage a religious order through a tumultuous transition. The transition was indeed tumultuous, and John found himself in physical danger more than once. In 1577, he was kidnapped and imprisoned by opponents of reform—until he escaped nine months later using bed linens twisted into a rope.
Spiritual Guide and Writer The prayer lives of Teresa and John resulted in extensive writings—intended as guidebooks for their followers—in which they set out in considerable detail the painstaking course of a believer’s journey toward God. John’s writings, such as The Ascent of Mount Carmel, The Dark Night of the Soul, and The Living Flame of Love, comprise a rigorous and systematic approach to Christian life. For John, every movement of hand, heart, and mind must be directed toward God. Therefore, we 16 ❘ December 2014
must detach ourselves from everything that does not lead us toward that goal. Conveying his perspective in a passage from The Ascent of Mount Carmel, John writes, “Some are content with a certain degree of virtue, perseverance in prayer, and mortification, but never achieve the nakedness, poverty, selflessness, or spiritual purity (which are all the same) about which the Lord counsels us here.”
Christian Mystic Yet John combined such stern instructions with the imaginative flair of a mystic. In his poetry, John expressed a passionate yearning for God. In the following stanza from The Dark Night of the Soul, he explores the delight that awaits the believer who perseveres in prayer and spiritual discipline: “I abandoned and forgot myself, laying my face on my Beloved; all things ceased; I went out from myself, leaving my cares forgotten among the lilies.” At times, there is even a suggestion of mystical eroticism, as in the following passage from The Living Flame of Love: “O you, then, delicate touch, the Word, the Son of God, through the delicacy of your divine being, you subtly penetrate the substance of my soul and, lightly touching it all, absorb it entirely in yourself in divine modes of delight and sweetnesses unheard of in the land of Canaan and never before seen in Teman!” For John, this experience of the intimate presence of a living, loving God is the goal of our spiritual life. He believes that the love of God is not simply a fact that needs to be acknowledged; it is a reality that the Christian can and should experience in prayer. John not St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
only calls God “my Beloved,” he also seeks an experience of loving tenderness with God. In fact, John fervently believes that it is possible to attain a spiritual union with God in prayer. He calls this union “spiritual marriage.” “This spiritual marriage is . . . a total transformation in the Beloved, in which each surrenders the entire possession of self to the other with a certain consummation of the union of love. The soul therefore becomes divine, God through participation, insofar as is possible in this life.”
John’s Message for the Modern Catholic At first glance, there is little in the life or writings of St. John of the Cross to attract the interest of contemporary Catholics. As a reformer within a religious order, he advocated a form of asceticism that is far from the lifestyles—or the aspirations—of today’s lay Catholics. Which of us would choose to steadfastly avoid all the nonessential foods we enjoy—such as ice cream, cake, and chocolate—or choose to wear only the plainest clothes? As a spiritual writer, John recommended a rigorous pursuit of contemplative prayer with
the experience he called “spiritual marriage” as its ultimate goal. Now, this is certainly not my own approach to prayer—nor do I know anyone else who prays this way! So why should we look to John for guidance? Let’s consider the “signs of the times” that relate to spiritual life in today’s world. We live busy lives—balancing competing priorities (like work and family), commuting longer and longer distances, and dealing with a myriad of Click here for more on distractions. Those distractions St. John of the Cross. now include forms of electronic communication—such as smartphones and computers—that our grandparents never dreamed of. Not only do we have many demands on our time and energy, but, increasingly, those demands operate on a 24/7 schedule, making no allowance for the normal rhythms of human life. The result is that many of us race through the day at a speed that allows little opportunity for conscious reflection. Then, when we find time for prayer or spiritual reflection, it can be difficult to change gears and become attuned to spiritual rhythms. The key message of St. John of the Cross is
tal Digi as Extr
World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015 Get involved in your parish’s discussion surrounding the World Meeting of Families, with Love Is Our Mission as your guide. The essential resource for the 2015 World Meeting of Families, Love Is Our Mission helps Catholics renew their appreciation of the Church’s teaching on the family and learn how it fits into God’s plan. Better understand how the Church can serve your family, and how you can serve the Church! Ordering Information: Softcover ID# T1651, English $9.95 ID# T1652, Spanish $9.95 Quantity discounts available Digital/e-reader versions also available
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December 2014 ❘ 17
Living with Conscious Purpose
Living this way is even more challenging in the 21st century than it was in the 16th! Life was simpler then, and distractions were fewer. Nevertheless, there are things we can do to apply John’s message to our lives. ■ If we cannot choose to be less busy, we can sometimes choose how to spend our busy time. Instead of listening to the radio or reading a magazine while commuting, I can listen to or read spiritual material. ■ Rather than using break times at work or school to check my e-mail, I can say a silent prayer or go for a walk and collect my thoughts. ■ While embracing the opportunities for sharing offered by new technologies, I can steer clear of elements that are spiritually destructive, such as pornography.
© ELENATHEWISE/FOTOLIA
■ When considering whether to adopt a new pastime, I can calculate the effects: What must I cut out to allow time for the new activity, and how will that affect my prayer life and my relationships? ■ I can choose to turn off my cell phone, computer, and television for an hour or two and experience silence.
that the spiritual life consists not only of our prayer and worship times, but all of our time. John insists that how we live every moment of the day is somehow connected with how we relate to God. It follows that our prayer and reflection opportunities can only be rich and satisfying if the rest of our day is lived with a sense of conscious purpose.
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leg and a fever in September of 1591, John knew that he needed to travel to a monastery that could provide medical assistance. However, he did not want the special treatment that might be provided by monks who knew him, so he chose to go to the Carmelite monastery at Ubeda (where he was not known). Alas, there John encountered a hostile prior who provided no treatment at all. The Ascetic and the Poet Over the next few months John’s condition The contrasts in John’s life of faith—between worsened, until, on December 13, he was the ascetic and the poet—were evident until approaching the end. As John lay on his the very end. When he fell ill with an ulcerated deathbed that evening, the Carmelites began to recite the somber prayers for the dying. But the afflicted man spoke up, pleading with his brothers to instead recite words from the Old Testament book that describes the communion of humans with God in vividly sensual imagery—the Song of Songs. Hearing the words, St. John of the Cross is said • Free to our print to have cried out, “Oh, what precious subscribers pearls,” celebrating the beauty of the • Does not change your biblical poetry even as he lay dying. A print subscription • Many digital extras • Register at StAnthony Messenger.org
John P. Moore is a writer, editor, and playwright from Ottawa, Ontario. He has had articles published in numerous Catholic publications. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
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LIVE WELL
❘ BY COLLEEN MONTGOMERY AND JIM BRENNAN
Refocus on Faith one another is strengthened when we refocus on our spirituality. Additionally, we find inner peace and purpose in our lives. When we are spiritually sound, we tend to be more content and better able to handle hardships, both mentally and physically. Conversely, if we are filled with negative emotions, it often leads to physical fatigue and lack of sleep, which can affect us spiritually. As Catholics, we express spirituality through prayer, reading Scripture, the sacraments, and meditation. But spirituality can also be found in nature. That is reason enough to be outside and exercise, relax, and breathe the fresh air!
Cultivating Spirituality
CNS PHOTO/TOM TRACY
• Pray, meditate, reflect, and receive the sacraments. • Seek a mentor or someone in the faith community who inspires you. • Nurture friendships with people whose spirituality you admire. • Read stories about the saints. • Listen to religious music or hymns. • Visit holy places such as churches, chapels, or shrines.
tal Digi as Extr Click here for more ways to reconnect with your faith.
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ave you ever caught yourself daydreaming during a homily at Mass, realizing you haven’t heard a word? Perhaps you were thinking about company layoffs, a sick relative, or even the football game later that afternoon. Before you go on a guilt trip, remember that you are human and sometimes it takes a conscious effort to be present—to stay tuned in to spirituality. The three aspects of our whole being— body, mind, and spirit—are as distinct as they are intertwined. Spirituality can be expressed in many ways, including relationships with the Lord, our family and friends, and with God’s creations. Spirituality can also be expressed through the arts: literature, painting, sculpture, and music. Tending to our spiritual needs brings all the facets of our being into harmony. Our connection with God, ourselves, and
Following Christ’s Example • Always seek the good in other people. • Don’t judge others. • Give more than you receive. • Treat others the way you would like to be treated. Refocusing on our spirituality deepens our understanding of God, ourselves, and our role in the world. In a holistic sense, we cultivate inner peace and harmony when we take care of ourselves spiritually. By leading a holistic lifestyle, we can break from the external and appreciate what lies within. Jim Brennan writes about health and fitness from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Colleen Montgomery is a registered clinical exercise physiologist and certified wellness coach. This is their final column in this yearlong series. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
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When you look for me,
you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart,
I will let you find me. CNS PHOTO/NANCY WIECHEC
—Jeremiah 29:13-14
Other Ways to Nurture Spirituality Do breathing exercises.
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Meditate.
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Spend time surrounded by nature.
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Spend quality time with those you love.
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Volunteer.
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Take up painting or drawing, or visit a museum.
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Explore new types of music.
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Be thankful.
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December 2014 ❘ 21
A Christmas
Miracle for a Jewish Woman His mother escaped from death in Nazi-occupied Poland on Christmas Eve. BY JOHN FEISTER AND RABBI ABIE INGBER
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ATHOLIC AND JEWISH people are kindred spirits. We worship the same God, and honor God as the creator and sustainer of all life—especially that of our own human family. We both celebrate endless years of God’s saving actions among us. As Pope St. John XXIII famously said upon welcoming Jewish leaders to a meeting, recalling the Genesis story, “I am your brother, Joseph.” Of course, we all know that this brotherhood and sisterhood has not been observed for most of Christian history. Ours has been a long and horrible story of distrust and finger-pointing, of jealousy, discrimination, and violence against Judaism. The low point of this sad history, we all know, is the Nazi attempt to eliminate Jews completely. When we two writers first met, we were well aware both of our desire for unity between our traditions, and of all of the obstacles. The rabbi has a story to tell, and a desire to share; the journalist, like many St. Anthony Messenger readers, has goodwill, but barely knows where to start. So we’ll start with sharing. We’ll hear the story of Rabbi Ingber’s mother’s harrowing Christmas escape from the Nazis. Then we’ll hear about St. Anthony Messenger’s visit earlier this year, the day after Pope Francis’, to Yad Vashem, Jerusalem’s memorial museum to the
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Jewish victims of the Nazi slaughter. Here our stories, in a sense, intersect.
Running from Nazis Rabbi Ingber: In August of 1942, my mother was one of the last survivors of the Lutsk ghetto in Poland. A young girl, not yet 20 years old, her life was saved by the miraculous appearance of one righteous Christian after another. No one could ever know why she was spared and her parents, her brothers, and other family members were so brutally murdered. Catholics and evangelical Christians, farmers and peasants, each arriving at a precise lifesaving moment, hid her in attics, cellars, chicken coops, and the flue of a country oven. But on December 24, 1942, Fania Paszt’s luck seemed to run out. The Ukrainian peasant who had saved her life understood the risk to his own by continuing to harbor her, and threw her out of his house. This time there was no savior. She wandered the dirt roads of the Polish countryside, freezing cold in her tattered dress. As night descended, she knew her life was at its end. She recognized the home of the county warden and began to walk up its path. The warden’s dogs jumped on her, ripped her dress, and bit her. The warden, alerted by the barking, came out with a gun in hand. “Please shoot me,” my mother begged. “Let me share the fate of my family.” St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
PHOTO COURTESY RABBI ABIE INGBER; BACKGROUND: CNS PHOTO/PETER ANDREWS, REUTERS
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Fania Ingber, after fleeing Nazis for years, began her life again in 1945, here in a displaced persons camp in Germany.
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Yad Vashem, 2014
CNS PHOTO/ L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO HANDOUT, EPA
PHOTO COURTESY YAD VASHEM
John: Before hearing what happened next, let us pause for a moment and consider, from a Christian point of view, “What are we to think of her shared fate?” The fate of her people had been rejection for centuries. Indeed, the fate of her family was death. Yet we both, Christians and Jews, are people of life. That life is what we Christians celebrate at Christmas. I had the privilege of being in Jerusalem when Pope Francis visited there in May. He had several missions, one of which was outreach to the Jewish community, as he had done so effectively as archbishop of Buenos Aires. He prayed at Jerusalem’s Western Wall, where thousands and thousands have left their prayers over the centuries. Later that day, he met with the two chief rabbis of Israel and issued a plea that all of us take the next step toward friendship. Get beyond just being nice and respectful to each other, he implored. We are also called, as Christians and Jews, he said, “to reflect deeply on the spiritual significance of the bond existing between us.” Those bonds are made in heaven, he added, and ought not to be treated lightly. Then he went on to Yad Vashem, laid a wreath of remembrance, and concluded a very brief reflection on the Fall with God’s question, “Adam, where are you?” and our response: “Here we are, Lord, shamed by what man, created in your own image and likeness, was capable of doing.” I visited Yad Vashem the next day and was
(Above) Fania survived a holocaust led by highly educated professionals, as this exhibit at Yad Vashem demonstrates, beyond doubt. set reeling by the breadth of what I saw. There, in the Hall of Names, were thousands of books holding millions of hand-gathered personal memories from those who knew the Holocaust victims. I held my camera out over a vast, dark pool and photographed a honeycomb of family photos that towered above for several stories. I was struck most, though, by the detailed museum exhibit of how the Nazis had tricked
(Above) Pope Francis visited Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in May of this year. Here he prays before the Eternal Flame in the Hall of Remembrance, in the presence of religious leaders.
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© EVANTRAVELS/DREAMSTIME.COM - HOLOCAUST HISTORY PHOTO
(Right) Memories help build futures. Towering above millions of testimonials is a honeycomb of family photos of Jews murdered by Nazis.
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Jewish people into boarding trains, with roundtrip tickets, luggage, and the rest, to go to places where there would be work. How many waves of immigration have we seen in our own land, past and present, of people looking for work? These people were taken instead to isolated regions and slaughtered in a deathcamp system that we all know about. What was really news to me, though, was the wall that contained biographical descriptions of the leaders of the Nazi extermination program, the Holocaust. Many of these men had PhDs and law and medical degrees. All were highly educated. They weren’t a bunch of dumb guys who found a crazy leader to help them execute a plan. No, these were people a lot like me. College educated. Smart. Maybe even thoughtful. I still get a chill thinking of that. These well-educated men determined the woeful fate of my friend Rabbi Abie’s family.
A Fearful Escape Rabbi Ingber: You will recall that we left my mother fleeing the Nazis but run out of chances for safety, now on Christmas Eve 1942, near Lutsk, Poland. She stood in despair, freezing, in tattered clothes, before the gun-wielding county warden. “Please shoot me,” my mother
begged. “Let me share the fate of my family.” “I cannot kill you tonight,” responded the official. He took her inside, fed her, and gave her a new dress and a place to sleep. The next morning, fearful that he could be killed for saving a Jew, he took her into town and gave her over to a Christian family. Three more righteous Christians were to appear magically in her life until she descended from an attic during Click here for more on the Russian liberation of Lutsk Catholic-Jewish relations. in 1944. Click the button below for Only decades later did I learn an interview about this topic. of the Polish expression, “On Christmas Eve, even a stray cat is allowed to live.” Though a series of six righteous Christians had appeared miraculously to try to save my mother’s life, on the evening of December 24, my mother was abandoned like a stray cat in the Polish countryside. At that precise moment, God had to invoke Christmas Eve to save her life.
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‘Remember Me’ John: The Hall of Names at Yad Vashem, with the dark pool, the honeycomb of photos, the books of memories, is there so that we all will remember. But what good is memory, beyond
Sisters Elizabeth Mary (left), 79, Carolyn (center), 99, and Bridget, 96, have together devoted more than 200 years to religious life. They and some 35,000 senior Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests benefit from the Retirement Fund for Religious. Your gift helps furnish medications, nursing care, and more.
Please give to those who have given a lifetime.
Retirement Fund for Religious www.retiredreligious.org Over 93 percent of donations aid senior religious.
To donate: National Religious Retirement Office/STAM 3211 Fourth Street NE Washington DC 20017-1194 Make check payable to Retirement Fund for Religious.
Photo (left to right): Sister Elizabeth Mary Knight, ASCJ; Sister Carolyn Capobianco, ASCJ; Sister Bridget Esposito, ASCJ.
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Or give at your local parish.
December 2014 ❘ 25
PHOTOS COURTESY RABBI ABIE INGBER
honor their dead—6 million slaughtered over the course of a few years. These were parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends of people like Rabbi Abie, or my former neighbors, or some of my son’s soccer teammates. The Jewish community wants everyone to remember what our world allowed to happen so that it can never happen again. Hard to forget, we might say, but with today’s Holocaust deniers one might see where a lie actually could spread again. The written testimony of eyewitnesses in the Hall of Names puts an end to that. But the active remembrance of these people, too, is a way to affirm everything they stood for, to move beyond injustice, death, and grief into a blessed future.
(Above) In the wake of murder beyond proportion, Fania Paszt and Wolfe Ingber (front) exchanged wedding vows, at the Hofgeismar, Germany, displaced persons camp. Fania had no family present; Wolfe’s cousin Mendel is immediately behind him.
To Life!
(Right) The Ingber family settled in Montreal, Quebec, soon after the war. Their son, Abraham (Abie), pictured here, would one day become a rabbi.
grieving? An answer lies in both Abie’s and my traditions. Memory of things past can be a foundation for good in the present. We Catholics reenact the ritual of the Lord’s Supper, following his command, “Do this in memory of me.” We are brought present to the reality of love—to real presence of Jesus—in our remembrance at Eucharist. At Christmas, for another example, we remember the stories of Jesus’ birth, again and again, as a way to be present to the story of Christ present in our lives. That remembrance empowers us to bring God’s love into the world. Our Jewish sisters and brothers have built a place like Yad Vashem, and other Holocaust memorials, for remembrance, first as a way to 26 ❘ December 2014
Rabbi Ingber: One of my formative teachers taught me that if you don’t believe in miracles, they will never happen to you. If a miracle saved my mother’s life from certain death, and a miracle saved my father in his journey through the night of the Holocaust, how much the more so was it a miracle when they came together in a displaced persons camp after the war to meet and marry. If ever there was a confirmation of humanity’s belief in God, of humanity’s belief in redemption, of humanity’s hope, it was my parents’ desire to bring Jewish children into the world. The smell of destruction was around them and they gambled on life—my birth and that of my sister. In the aftermath of the Holocaust, a Jewish wedding in a refugee camp must have made even the heavens rejoice. That note of rejoicing continues to resound in my life today. Belief in hope, faith, redemption: these are themes for both Jews and Christians. When the Children of Abraham live together in common purpose, even the heavens rejoice! That joy brings us to a fitting end for this act of remembrance, inspired by the tragic truth of history and our common call, nonetheless, to look toward the future in hope. The two of us have met on the same road, in the pursuit of brotherhood and in the search for miracles in our lives. As Christmas nears this year, we pray for peace on earth, for goodwill to all. “Merry Christmas!” from a rabbi and his Christian friend. A John Feister is editor in chief of this publication. Rabbi Abie Ingber is executive director of the Center for Interfaith Community Engagement at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
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Our OFLady Guadalupe This month, millions in Mexico and the United States celebrate their spiritual mother. BY
CNS PHOTO/IMELDA MEDINA, REUTERS
MARÍA DE LOURDES RUIZ SCAPERLANDA
CNS PHOTO/EDGARD GARRIDO, REUTERS
E With a patriotic sombrero hanging at her side, a pilgrim dressed as Our Lady of Guadalupe grasps an image of the Virgin in Mexico City’s Basilica Square—the site of feast day celebrations on December 12.
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VEN BEFORE the sun breaks through the horizon on December 12, the burst of firecrackers rings throughout Mexico to announce the greatest national fiesta of the year—the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. At la Villa de Guadalupe, the National Sanctuary near Tepeyac Hill, pilgrims begin to arrive days earlier to camp out on the plaza surrounding the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. Many travel for days to get there, entering la Villa on their knees as a sign of their devotion and gratitude for la Virgen Morenita’s protection. By nighttime on December 11, millions have already gathered and the monSt A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
umental atrium leading to the basilica is standing room only. Much like a family member holding a beloved’s picture close to the heart, pilgrims carry images of their Mother Guadalupe on their backs, banners, and bodies. For these faithful pilgrims, the chants, ballads, and traditional dances that are part of Guadalupe’s liturgical celebrations are well known. During the annual dance at Guadalupe Plaza, detailed ballads chanted by elder Indians have chronicled for hundreds of years every aspect of the Guadalupe story: the miracle of the roses, Juan Diego’s account, and the progression and care for the sacred image. Initially communicated only orally, the story of Fr anciscanMedia.org
Guadalupe was first recorded through Aztec pictographic chronicles called mapas. The first authored document, “el Nican Mopohua,” was written in 1556 in the official language of the Aztec empire, Náhuatl. Beyond Mexico, church and home altars honoring the dark-skinned Lady can be found throughout North and South America every December. A traditional Guadalupe celebration begins with las Mañanitas, a special serenade in her honor that takes place at the break of dawn on December 12. Traditional commemorations include a festive Mass and fiesta, and a procession with children dressed in traditional costumes. The
Every year, thousands make the pilgrimage by foot to the basilica—a testament to the firm belief inspired by Our Lady. A pair of pilgrims, en route to Mexico City, make the 55-mile trek through the Paso de Cortés.
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CNS PHOTO/DAVID MAUNG
Following the miraculous appearance of the Blessed Virgin on Juan Diego’s shawl in 1531, many believe she continues to let her presence become visible in everyday objects—such as this tiremark-laced traffic cone in Tijuana, Mexico.
Click here to learn more about the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
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boys typically dress as Juan Diego with a painted mustache and wearing a shawl. The girls dress in multicolored embroidered blouses and flowered skirts—and carry baskets of roses that are placed before the Guadalupe image. Celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe always culminates with the reenactment of the familiar story. In 1531, just a few decades after Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World, the Mother of God appeared three times to a humble Chichimeca Aztec baptized as Juan Diego. Our Lady asked him to be her special messenger and provided proof of their encounters for a skeptical bishop in the form of two signs: a cloak full of fresh roses in December and a miraculous image of herself on Juan Diego’s tilma, or shawl. Yet the 483-year-old Guadalupe apparition is not only one of the earliest Marian apparitions. It is also the only time in history that Our Lady has shared her portrait.
CNS PHOTO/ELIANA APONTE, REUTERS
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In a 30-year-old annual pilgrimage, los payasos, or clowns, travel to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico’s capital to thank Mary for helping them find work throughout the year and to ask for her continued intercession.
Fueled by their profound beliefs and almost 500 years of Catholic tradition, Marian devotees camp in the plaza outside the basilica in December 2013. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
(Above) Decorated by the vivid plumage of an Aztec warrior’s headdress and dressed in traditional garb, a young man takes part in the annual celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Los Angeles. More than 20,000 people from the area participated in this December 2013 procession and Mass.
The Heart of the Guadalupe Message
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CNS PHOTOS/VICTOR ALEMAN, VIDA NUEVA
It is not an exaggeration to say that the Guadalupe apparition is the greatest historical moment in the development of Christianity in America. A mere eight years after the apparition, 8,000,000 people had embraced the Catholic faith in the New World. Not only did Our Lady appear as an indigenous woman, but she also recruited an indigenous native from Cuautitlán to proclaim her message. “The Blessed Mother has an interesting way of empowering the poor like Juan Diego,” explains Mark Zwick, founder and director of Casa Juan Diego Catholic Worker House in Houston. “You can’t speak that kind of empowerment. She chooses an indigenous person— and that’s revolutionary!” Throughout history, Our Lady “chooses to appear almost exclusively to those who wouldn’t have a respectable place in society.” St. John Paul II, who in 1979 became the first
(Left) In Los Angeles’ 82nd annual procession and Mass honoring the Blessed Mother, a young woman embraces her role as Mary with grace and reverence. December 2014 ❘ 31
(Right) St. John Paul II reminded us, “The mestiza face of the Virgin of Guadalupe was from the start a symbol of the enculturation of the Gospel.” Carrying her banner on horseback, Jesús Arias rides along with 100 others to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, Illinois. The annual pilgrimage draws over 100,000 people.
CNS PHOTOS/SAM LUCERO, THE COMPASS
CNS PHOTOS: KAREN CALLAWAY, CATHOLIC NEW WORLD (ADJACENT); RICK MUSACCHIO, TENNESSEE REGISTER (BELOW)
(Right) Generational dedication to Mary is exhibited by Lucia Hernandez and her daughter, Marele, during a Mass at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Newton, Wisconsin. Snow blankets parishioners during a three-mile procession honoring Mary (below).
(Right) Flickering candles in Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Nashville, adorned with images of the patroness of the Americas, speak to the solemnity of her devotees.
pope to visit the shrine in Mexico City, described the Guadalupe event as “the beginning of evangelization with a vitality that surpassed all expectations. Christ’s message, through his Mother, took up the central elements of the indigenous culture, purified them, and gave them the definitive sense of salvation.” Together, Our Lady of Guadalupe and Juan Diego have a “deep ecclesial and missionary meaning and are a model of perfectly inculturated evangelization,” said the pope in his homily for Juan Diego’s canonization in 2002.
Our Lady of Guadalupe patroness of the Americas. He knew that both continents North and South, in many ways, share a common heritage—and future. In the words Our Lady spoke to Juan Diego: “I am your Compassionate Mother, yours, for you yourself, for everybody here in the land, for each and all together, for all others too, for all folk of every kind . . . here I shall listen to their groanings, to their saddenings; here shall I make well and heal up their each and every kind of disappointment, of exhausting pangs, of bitter pain.” A
Patroness of the Americas
María de Lourdes Ruiz Scaperlanda is an award-winning journalist, blogger, and retreat facilitator living in Oklahoma with her husband of 31 years. Learn more about her at mymaria.net and daybydaywithmaria.blogspot.com.
It is hardly a coincidence that in 1945, the year that World War II ended, Pope Pius XII looked at the suffering, fragmented world and declared 32 ❘ December 2014
St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
EDITORIAL
The Road to Peace How do we counter violence? The answer to that question lies within each of us. Follow me back a few thousand years to the birth of Jesus. It was a joyful event that brought the Prince of Peace into this world. But, shortly after, that joy was met with violence with the massacre of the innocents, ordered by King Herod. Yes, violence has long infiltrated our lives, and it continues to this day. We are surrounded by it daily, both worldwide and closer to home. News of it creeps into our lives via television, radio, and the Internet. It seems we are becoming more and more unfazed by it. People watched the graphic video of James Foley’s beheading and of Ray Rice abusing his then-fiancée. We spend money on ultraviolent films and video games. The 24-hour news cycle stays true to the “if it bleeds, it leads” mentality. But rather than continuing that trend, what is our role in stopping it?
to and reflect on her message: we can choose not to become part of the culture of violence. It is a message that is timeless and knows no boundaries. And one that needs to be said over and over again. This year, after his visit to the Middle East, Pope Francis welcomed Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the Vatican to implore from God the gift of peace. The pope said it was his hope that the meeting would “mark the beginning of a new journey where we seek the things that unite, so as to overcome the things that divide. Peacemaking calls for courage, “War does not begin much more so than warin the battlefield. fare. “Stop, please! I ask you Wars begin in the with all my heart. It is time heart.” to stop!” Pope Francis —Pope Francis pleaded. He is certainly not the first pope to implore for peace. He most certainly will not be the last. Shortly after the meeting, fighting in the Middle East resumed. So did the pope’s call for peace.
The First Step Recently, I attended a talk by Immaculée Ilibagiza. Immaculée is a survivor of the Rwandan genocide, which killed an estimated 2 million people. She hid in a small bathroom for Click here for ways to three months with eight work for peace to read other people. Her whole fammore about Immaculee’s ily, except one brother, was story. killed. During her talk, Immaculée recalled her struggle to make peace with the horrible atrocities taking place around her. After much struggling, anger, and prayer, she says she realized that she had the power to not be pulled into the culture of violence surrounding her. She made a decision to rise above those atrocities. We all can do the same thing in our own lives, she said. We have not experienced the horror through which she lived, yet we can listen
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What Can We Do? We certainly can’t stop the fighting in the Middle East. We don’t personally have the power to stop ISIS or other terrorist groups. But there is something we can do. That is to look inward and reflect on whether our actions are contributing to the culture of violence. That culture has to begin somewhere. Picture a snowball rolling down a hill. The farther it rolls, the more snow it collects until it eventually becomes a deadly force. Violence is like that. One action can be the beginning of an avalanche of violence, or one action can prevent it. It’s time for us to choose the latter option. Look for programs in your city or parish that counter violence and then get involved. Change the channel. Change your words. Change your attitude. The road toward peace begins with us. —Susan Hines-Brigger December 2014 ❘ 33
ADJACENT AND DETAIL PHOTOS BY KAREN CALLAWAY/CATHOLIC NEW WORLD
Homeless Jesus
This sculpture presents Our Lord in the distressing disguise of the poor. BY JOYCE DURIGA
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hen Canadian sculptor Timothy P. Schmalz saw a homeless man wrapped in a blanket and sleeping on a street in downtown Toronto, Ontario, he thought of Matthew 25:37: “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?” “The city was his bedroom at two in the afternoon. It stopped me spiritually,” Schmalz recalls. “When I first saw the figure, I just saw Jesus.” The Catholic sculptor was so moved by the experience that he created Jesus the Homeless, a life-sized bronze sculpture featuring Jesus
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wrapped in a cloak, lying on a bench. Only the feet, which bear the wounds of his crucifixion, are exposed. There is also some space on the bench for someone to sit next to the figure and rest or meditate.
Statue Strikes a Chord That was three years ago. The first statue was installed at Regis College in Toronto, and others have since been installed around North America. An Episcopalian donor recently offered to finance the sculpture’s installation in the 12 biggest cities outside of North America. This past spring, the sculpture was installed in front of the headquarters of Catholic CharSt A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
Identifiable only by the wounds of the crucifixion on his feet, Jesus the Homeless lies in front of Catholic Charities Headquarters in Chicago.
Sculptor Timothy P. Schmalz had the honor of presenting his work of art to Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square in 2013.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF TIM SCHMALZ
and help—just as Jesus cared for the least among us.”
A Fan in Pope Francis
ities of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Several times a week, people line up by the sculpture to gain entry to the agency’s free evening suppers. Since those who attend Catholic Charities’ dinners are in some state of need, some of them homeless themselves, it’s a fitting place for the sculpture, Schmalz says. “When the Son of Man looks a lot like themselves, they themselves will understand they have a sacred worth just like anybody else,” he adds. Msgr. Michael Boland, president and CEO of Catholic Charities, calls the sculpture “thoughtprovoking. At first, you may think it is an actual person on a bench and as you get closer you realize, by the nail holes in the feet, that it is Jesus. It can be an uncomfortable realization,” he says. “It’s a reminder that those whom we often view as on the margins of society are among us, and deserve our care Fr anciscanMedia.org
Pope Francis was moved to pray before and bless the bronze sculpture of Our Lord in Rome, a city that is home to about 8,000 homeless individuals.
Last fall, Schmalz presented the sculpture to Pope Francis, who in turn stopped and prayed before it, prior to blessing it. People in Rome were so moved by the statue that they want to install a copy of it in an open piazza near the Castle Sant’Angelo, just a two-minute walk from St. Peter’s Basilica. Schmalz says it’s a symbolic spot because many homeless people live in that area, and a homeless woman who was well-known in the community died in that piazza not too long Click here for more on this ago. sculpture. Click the button Schmalz likes that his sculpbelow for an interview ture is thought-provoking and about homelessness. edgy. Christianity has a lot more challenges now than faith did 100 years ago, he says, so the visual ambassadors of our faith have to be just as powerful as the Gospel. “It’s no cookie-and-cream religion,” Schmalz says. “It’s a serious religion. It’s just as bold and only as bold as Jesus was himself when he was asked, ‘When did we help you?’” A
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Joyce Duriga is the editor of Catholic New World, the newspaper for the Archdiocese of Chicago. December 2014 ❘ 35
Healing, Wholeness,
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St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
and Love Jesus extends God’s compassion to each of us. BY BARBARA HOSBACH
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Moving Past Our Shame
© JUBILIST/DREAMSTIME
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A woman who had been menstruating for 12 years made her way through the crowd gathered around Jesus. In that culture she was considered unfit to come into contact with others, but she risked it anyway. Once she touched the hem of Jesus’ cloak, the woman felt herself cured. She tried to slip away, but Jesus stopped in his tracks to find the one who touched him. Only after reassuring the woman with kind words did he send her on her way in peace. Instead of slinking away in shame, she walked through the crowd with dignity. Another woman, whose sins were well known to the community, dared to approach Jesus and anoint his feet with expensive perfume. Jesus received her lavish gift graciously and gave her the gift of acceptance in return. Shame can keep us in self-imposed isolation. How often do we long for the reassurance
PHOTO BY BILL WITTMAN
AST YEAR, photos of Pope Francis kissing the disfigured face of Vinicio Riva flooded the media. Riva’s body, ravaged by neurofibromatosis, was not miraculously healed by the pope’s touch. Nevertheless, images of the warm, welcoming embrace touched hearts around the world. Describing that moment, Riva told reporters, “I felt only love.” Love’s power to heal goes deeper than physical recovery. God sees the real source of our pain, which is often isolation. That’s what God seeks to heal. Gospel stories of Jesus’ encounters with suffering and marginalized people demonstrate love’s healing power. Contact with Jesus restored many to wholeness whether or not their isolation had a physical cause. Their stories are our stories, too.
The woman who anointed Jesus’ feet is a good example of not allowing shame to overtake our lives. that we are worthy of respect in spite of our defects? We all have flaws—flaws we probably learned at an early age to cover up to avoid rejection. Even if we keep our shameful secrets locked within our hearts, however, we know they’re there. We may succeed in hiding them from others, but suspect that if others knew the truth, they’d abandon us. Our relationships can’t heal our isolation if a sense of unworthiness tells us our true selves are unlovable. While we don’t need to—and shouldn’t—broadcast our secrets to the world, a safe, encouraging atmosphere can help us move beyond our shame. It is life-enhancing to share our defects confidentially with at least one trusted person who will accept us as we are. We can then begin to accept ourselves.
Let Go of Crippling Guilt Guilt can cripple our efforts to move forward or to connect with others. The paralytic December 2014 ❘ 37
abandoned Jesus in his hour of need by denying him. Who knows what depth of guilt gnawed at Peter’s heart? The resurrected Christ first invited Peter to affirm his love three times. He then recommissioned Peter to feed his “sheep.” Peter could strengthen others because he faced his own flaws and had been loved through the process. What keeps us from standing up for ourselves in an abusive relationship or when we find ourselves in unacceptable circumstances? Might we suspect—on some level—that our past transgressions make us unworthy of something better? In an atmosphere of love, we can face ourselves honestly and deal with our guilt feelings. It’s safe to acknowledge our shortcomings when we know we won’t be devastated by rejection. We can begin to identify and let go of the false guilt we sometimes feel when we fail to live up to unrealistic expectations—our own or those of others. We also can take stock of our legitimate guilt. Like Peter, we can begin the healing process by taking steps to make amends. We are then free to move on, strengthened with compassion for ourselves and others.
PHOTO BY BILL WITTMAN
How Fear Holds Us Back
Even with all of our imperfections, Jesus is always ready to greet us with open arms.
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brought to Jesus on a mat was in obvious need of physical healing, but the first thing Jesus said to the man was that his sins were forgiven. Only after empowering the man through forgiveness did Jesus tell him to get up and walk. What burden of guilt might have weighed the man down or made him suspect he deserved his plight? Peter, in spite of boasting undying loyalty,
Jesus enabled a mute man to speak by casting out whatever demon imprisoned him behind a wall of silence. We aren’t told much about the man. We can only wonder how his life changed once he was able to communicate with others. How many relationships developed or were deepened once he could share what was in his mind and heart? Are we like him? What holds us back from speaking what is in our minds and hearts? Little children who’d been turned away by Jesus’ disciples received a warm welcome from Jesus himself. This preemptive move offered the vulnerable little ones healing from the exclusion that can threaten healthy self-esteem. Fear can cut us off from the flow of healing love we all need. It might be the biggest block to connecting with others. Fear of rejection, failure, or looking foolish can prevent us from reaching out. We’re afraid that what we have to say will be criticized or that what we have to offer isn’t good enough. So we hold back. Fear leaves us—and those we fail to connect with as a result—separate and alone.
Unconditional Love We all have imperfections—physical or otherwise. A fear-based sense of inadequacy can prevent honest and loving connections with St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
© MICHELLEDRY/ISTOCKPHOTO
those around us. Loneliness is a soul-sickness. Modern research even suggests that the brain’s neural responses to social exclusion are similar to those caused by physical pain. Maybe that’s why Jesus gave his followers a new commandment: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you” (Jn 15:12). What the world needs now is what it’s always needed: love. But what kind of love? Romance doesn’t last forever. Feelings come and go. Loving those who are kind, attractive, or admirable is easy. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it doesn’t go far enough. Jesus challenged us to love one another as he loves us. How does Jesus love us? Unconditionally. God’s message of unconditional love is as important for us today as it was in biblical times. Jesus wants to embrace our totality in his love—not because we are lovely, but because he is love. As an old hymn describes it, “Love to the loveless shown, that they might lovely be.” Examples from Scripture like those above invite us to face the truth about ourselves. Jesus’ unconditional love empowers us to do this. The good news is that Jesus welcomes and loves us, warts and all. But because he loves us, he will not leave us as we are. He invites us to wellness, to wholeness, if we will follow. Secure in his love—even at our most unlovely moments—we begin to grow. We taste unconditional love. This watershed of healing power dissolves the narrowness and fear within our hearts. We become more accepting of ourselves with our flaws, and we begin to accept others with theirs. As we love others in spite of their imperfections, we are loving ourselves, too. Nourished by the love we receive, we can risk reaching out. When we see people embarrassed, exposed, or vulnerable, we can give them some sign they are not alone: a hug, a smile, or an “I’ve been there, too.” A few kind words can go a long way. We’re empowered to love others as Jesus loves us when we’re united to the source of never-ending love. After the embrace that rippled through the world between Vinicio Riva and Pope Francis, Riva told the Italian magazine Panorama, “It all lasted not more than a minute, but it seemed an eternity.” Such is the power of love to catapult us out of isolation and into a fellowship that enables us to glimpse the Eternal. A
Loving without Limits “We love because [God] first loved us.” —1 Jn 4:19 We can’t give what we don’t have. How do we develop a sense of being loved without limit? ■ Read Scripture: God lavished love on those who didn’t deserve it. When we reflect on God’s choice of Jacob the cheater or David the adulterer, or on Jesus’ forgiveness of those who crucified him, we begin to see that if God’s love extended to the likes of them, it surely extends to us. ■ Pray and meditate: Formal prayers can help us entrust ourselves to God’s care. Moreover, the psalmists praised God but also shared their hearts and bared their souls in the most gutwrenching emotions. We can do the same. ■ Count your blessings: Writing a gratitude list leads to a sense of being cared for. When we list what we have to be grateful for—beginning with the things we take for granted— we get a sense of God’s goodness operating in our lives. ■ Partake in the sacraments: Who couldn’t use more grace in journeying toward love? The Sacrament of Reconciliation is particularly helpful in healing our wounds and helping us experience God’s love, which goes deeper than our worst regrets. ■ Connect with others: Healthy relationships nourish us and teach us how to love. Whether these relationships come through family, friends, or a faith-based group, if we seek, we will find. God will always lead us to what we need. Our job is to be open and willing to follow.
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Barbara Hosbach is a freelance writer from Jackson, New Jersey. Her book Your Faith Has Made You Well: Jesus Heals in the New Testament was recently published by Paulist Press. Fr anciscanMedia.org
December 2014 ❘ 39
Born in a Barn She learned the true meaning of Christmas on her family’s farm. B Y R I TA WAT E R S M A I L A N D E R
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HIS ADVENT I am a grandmother for the first time. The Christmas story is at the very top of the list of things I look forward to sharing with my grandchildren, and I know just the props I will use to tell the tale. I will introduce my grandchildren to God with a 70-year-old, flimsy piece of cardboard and some salvaged lumber. The cardboard, painted in pastoral splendor, is the backdrop of the Nativity set my parents bought at Woolworth’s for two dollars when they were married. The boards were rescued from the barn built by our ancestors on the Iowa family farm where I was raised. As St. Francis instructs us, a barn is a fitting symbol for our earthly connection to
40 ❘ December 2014
the divine. I want my descendants to share the connection to God that can only be born in a barn. I will tell my grandchildren about the rescued planks from our barn, where I helped my dad deliver a calf and watched my pony, Bucky, birth her gawky filly. In that barn, more than once I discovered a litter of brand-new kittens nestled in the straw, and watched piglets line up to nurse as their mother stretched heavily on the floor. A cozy barn in winter to house the birth of our savior? It made perfect sense to a girl growing up on a farm, where a barn was part maternity ward. I will ask my grandchildren to help me unpack and display the Woolworth crèche. I St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o r g
hope they will enjoy playing with the figurines and admiring the backdrop as much as I once did. Everything I knew about life as a child was represented in the manger scene. In the barn, in the bleak of winter, the beasts we loved and who sustained us lay content alongside the tools of our labor. In the barn, we knew God’s presence, as accessible as the animals who selflessly provided our food and sustenance. Our livestock was our livelihood; our beasts of burden helped us shoulder the weight of the world. Of course the baby Jesus was welcomed to life by the animals! They shared their home with Jesus and warmed him with their breath. It was a form of hospitality I recognized. In gratitude to the animals for their warm welcome of the Christ Child, my family honored them on Christmas Eve. My dad and brother gifted our cattle with an extra load of hay, while Mom and I fed our chickens and geese a double portion of mash. Mom’s beloved dog enjoyed the meat locker’s finest bones. Even the barn cats got extra milk and dinnertable scraps. When I was quite young, this yuletide tradition of kindness to the animals garnered me a little bit of fame. When our local radio station held a “Best-Letter-to-Santa” contest, I listed my heart’s desires and promised to leave some grain for Santa’s reindeer. My consider-
ation for the creatures clinched my prize. Every child leaves a treat for Santa, but my reindeer snacks landed me a set of toy dishes and the thrill of hearing my name on the airwaves. The experience of Christmas alive in our barn served me well in many ways!
Worn Out with Love As befits my family’s understanding of the divine, the grandest feature of our crèche was the barn in the background. The thin cardboard scrim is printed with golden piles of hay and compassionate cow-eyes gazing at the holy scene. I suppose I knew the artwork was only a mass-produced copy, but I stared into it hour after hour, enchanted by its lyrical beauty. The effect was enhanced by a star cut out at the peak, through which a small electric bulb illuminated the manger. The figurines in our crèche (handpainted in Italy, proclaims the bottom of each form!) generally follow the natural laws of size and perspective, with one notable exception. At some point, my mother plopped a too-large porcelain collie dog right alongside the sheep and ass, in accordance with her own personal theology. She understood the goal is to make heaven on Earth, and Bethlehem gives us a glimpse of that possibility. My mother could not fathom a vision of eternal paradise that didn’t include her faithful canine companion.
PHOTOS FROM PHOTOXPRESS: BARN © SREEDHAR YEDLAPATI; SHEEP © ALIX MARINA
Life on a farm, surrounded by the same animals as those present at Jesus’ birth, gave this author a down-to-earth perspective on the Christmas story.
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December 2014 ❘ 41
© JUANRVELASCO/DREAMSTIME
In this busy season so crowded with commercialism, I hope all grandparents will find ways to bring the manger scene to life.
Our Magi sported pointy beards, bright tunics, and fantastic turbans. Their faces were painted various shades of brown, indicating a racial diversity that was most exotic in the 1960s Midwest. The Blessed Mother, of course, is forever resplendent in robes of blue. (My mother considered images of Our Lady in anything other than blue purely heretical.) The figures have been admired, touched, wrapped in Click here for more on newspaper, and unpacked for tal Digi as Christmas customs. Click decades. The cow is missing a Extr the button above for an horn; the donkey has a chipped interview about crèches. ear; Joseph’s hand forever grips a missing staff; the adorably ragged shepherds are even more tattered than when they began their watch; even the infant Jesus is shiny in spots, polished by generations of children acting out the familiar rustic story. Like every family—like the human family— all of them are a little wounded. We are a little chipped or cracked, held together and shored up by those who care ANSWERS TO PETE AND REPEAT for us, but we all journey to 1. Pete’s hair is covering his ear. Bethlehem hoping for healing. 2. There is an extra tree stump. 3. A rabbit is hopping across the field. The Tradition Continues 4. Sis’ mouth is closed. As we assemble the ancient 5. Pete is holding a hatchet, not a saw. crèche each year, I will tell my 6. Sis has moved her arm. grandchildren the story of the 7. There is snow on the top of the trees. first altar: a bed of straw. Straw 8. A tree is missing. is the leftover stalks of cultivated grasses, stripped of the grain that feeds animals and 42 ❘ December 2014
people alike. This humble stubble serves to the last (not unlike the Prince of Peace), taking its final form as a source of comfort and nourishment. Baby Jesus was warmed in the straw by the breath and bodies of animals, who give their bodies in service to us. Yes, the mysteries of our faith—our most human relationship with our God—are visible in stunning focus there at the manger. Our old barn no longer serves as a shelter for the animals. Time and weather have taken their toll on its stability; it stands like a proud but aging sentry on our land. The few decrepit boards and door I have rescued now grace our urban home with a reminder of our past, our roots, and the singular miracle at Bethlehem. In this age when upcycling is fashionable and repurposing is hip, my husband and I are staying on trend and using the panels to build small pieces of furniture. A bookcase, a chest, and a couple of tables—one for each of our children—just the right size to display a crèche at Advent. In this busy season so crowded with commercialism, I hope all grandparents will find ways to bring the manger scene to life. Even if we cannot spend time among actual livestock, we can experience the sounds and smells of Bethlehem. Pull up some barnyard videos on the Internet and listen to the cacophony— the bleating and bellowing of the Christ Child’s first lullabies. Books about animals, hikes in the woods, planting an amaryllis bulb indoors— even simple connections with the natural world help us contemplate the astonishing idea that God was born to us one night among the lowly livestock. A thrill of hope in the weary winter of the world. When our grandchildren make this earthly connection to the divine, the gifts of Christmas can sustain them for a lifetime. A Rita Waters Mailander is the director of faith formation at Most Precious Blood Parish in Denver, Colorado. Mailander’s longtime friend and author, Lisa Lane Filholm, assisted her with this article. The two previously collaborated on the children’s book Sneddley Snowflake Hates to Wait. 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
‘Child of Bethlehem’
CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING
on without this precious woman, constantly remembering her in prayer. A few days later, during our Christmas celebration at Greccio, the two dynamics of the Word made flesh, who knew human suffering intimately, melded in my mind. St. Francis had preached there about the “babe of Bethlehem” as a sign of God’s immense love for us. The goodness of the people who helped us and ministered to this sister, the loving concern of her sisters incarnated in new ways from a distance, and the Greccio visit took on a powerfully new meaning for me. As we voiced the names of children in need during our group’s Christmas Eucharist, a gentle snow fell, as if confirming for us that the Incarnate God blankets us with the grace to live out Pope Francis’ challenge to see in all children, indeed in everyone, a sign of the living God. A
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Click here for more on Pope Francis and St. Francis.
Greccio Shortly before Christmas in 1224, Francis asked John to prepare a live manger to celebrate Christmas. Francis preached very effectively about “the babe of Bethlehem,” and one man reportedly saw a live infant in the manger that was previously empty. Thomas of Celano, Francis’ first biographer, noted that the saint had rekindled the faith of many people. —P.M.
December 2014 ❘ 43
ILLUSTRATION BY JULIE LONNEMAN
n his homily in Bethlehem on May 25, 2014, Pope Francis referred to Jesus as the “child of Bethlehem.” The pope described children today as “signs.” In their own way, they call forth the same love from us as Francis showed in Greccio for the infant Jesus, born in a manger, frail and dependent on us. This was Pope Francis’ way of inviting us to continue living out the Incarnation today—compassionately and with respect for the most vulnerable members of the human family. All of this had become real for me several years earlier when an 80-year-old Franciscan sister fell and broke her hip at LaVerna, the hermitage where St. Francis received the stigmata, the wounds of Jesus’ crucifixion. This happened in March, and after we arranged for her care and eventual return to her community, we were forced to continue
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 and Assisi for many years.
Pope Francis carries a figurine of the baby Jesus after celebrating Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.
Quieting
Lambent Her pocket held the answer. FICTION BY MARIE ANDERSON
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his was supposed to be my birthday dinner at my favorite restaurant, but Brat was ruining it. She was whining because my dad wouldn’t let her have a sip of his wine. “My mama lets me!” she shouted. Brat is only 7. Dad wouldn’t even let me have a sip, and today was my 16th. Brat lunged for Dad’s wine, but he lifted it beyond her reach. “Oops!” she yelled as her arm knocked her bowl of soup off the table. She insisted on “helping” our waiter clean up the mess, but made a bigger mess, flinging soggy croutons from the soup back onto our table. Later, Brat complained loudly while we ate our porterhouse steaks and grilled asparagus. “I’m bored! I’m not hungry! This food stinks like puke! I want to watch TV at the bar!” “Sweetheart,” Dad said in his usual calm voice, “the bar’s only for adults.” “Mama lets me!” she yelled. Now she was screeching because she wanted more soup, even though we had all finished our main course and were waiting for my birthday cheesecake. Diners at nearby tables gave us scorching looks. Dad promised to make soup for her when we got home, but she cried that she wanted soup now. “Hey!” I stood and patted the big side pocket on my new pink sweater. “If you can guess what I have in my pocket, you can have it.” Brat stopped crying. She stared at my pocket. Dad’s drooping mouth flipped into a spectacular smile. For one blissfully quiet moment, I could pretend that it was just me and Dad again. No ferocious, foulmouthed 7-year-old girl who was burning down
4 4 ❘ Dec ember 2014
the peaceful life Dad and I had enjoyed. That ended four weeks ago when Brat erupted like a volcano into our lives.
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rat’s actual name is Lambent. “What kind of name is Lambent?” I asked her the day she arrived. “I don’t know,” she said. Then she kicked my leg. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
ILLUSTRATION BY VINCENT ZAWADA
“It means glowing,” Dad said as he dragged an air mattress for her into my bedroom. Now I forced a smile at Brat. She kept staring at the pocket on my sweater. I buttoned the pocket. “Don’t want it to fall out,” I said, and sat back down. Dad patted Brat’s hand. “Lambent, what do you think Marianne has in her pocket?” he asked. Fr ancisca n Media .org
Brat frowned. “Do you know?” she asked him. “Not a clue.” He looked at me and asked, “If I guess right, can I have it?” I nodded. “Whoever guesses right gets it. Here are the rules. You can ask questions about it before you make your guess, but my only answers are going to be yes, no, or sometimes. You can say what you think it is whenever you want. But you only get one guess!”
Brat’s eyes glittered. They were the color of topaz, not blue like Dad’s and mine, but yellow-green like her mom’s. Her mom was Drina, Dad’s adopted sister. So Brat wasn’t a blood relative. She’d been dumped on us when her mom was arrested and put in jail for selling look-alike drugs to an undercover officer. I’d never met Brat until she invaded us. She and her mom lived in a trailer December 2014 ❘ 45
park near Los Angeles, over 2,000 miles from our high-rise Chicago condo. “Just until your Aunt Drina’s problems get resolved,” Dad had promised me. “We can’t let Lambent go into the foster system. She’s family.” She’s not, I thought. My mom wouldn’t have let this happen. But Mom was gone. She died of cancer when I was 9. “So how long will Aunt Drina be in jail?” I asked Dad the day we got the phone call about Brat needing a home. He sighed. “I wish I knew.” I soon knew it would be a long time. I’d listened on the extension later that night when Dad was talking to some lawyer. Aunt Drina’s bail had been set too high for Dad to pay this time. This
was Aunt Drina’s third arrest. She’d stay in jail, awaiting hearings and trial. I’d met her only once, when I was 8. She’d come to spend Thanksgiving week with us, skinny as a straw, sniffing and rubbing her nose except when she was crocheting. She’d taught Mom to crochet rosaries. I remember snuggling between them on the sofa, watching their golden crochet hooks loop through soft yarn. Mom’s plan was to sell the rosaries at my school’s annual fund-raising craft fair in the spring. By Thanksgiving morning, they’d crocheted enough rosaries to fill the crystal bowl on Mom’s dresser. “I like the bead rosaries better,” I
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said to Mom as I fingered the yarn rosaries on Thanksgiving night. “These are too quiet.” Mom laughed. “A quiet set of beads to quiet the mind.”
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wo days after Thanksgiving, Aunt Drina left. After she left, Mom couldn’t find her emerald necklace, her pearl and sapphire earrings, or the gold wedding ring that had belonged to her mom. But all the rosaries were there. The cheap yarn rosaries made from the scraps Mom had left over from her knitting projects. Mom never did sell them at my school’s craft fair. She got sick after Christmas. All the long weeks when she was too weak to leave her bed, my parents and I would each select a yarn rosary from the crystal bowl on Mom’s dresser. We’d pray, taking turns leading each decade. It was true. The quiet beads quieted my mind. After Mom died, I got out of the rosary habit. Though Dad never moved the crystal bowl off Mom’s dresser, I hadn’t grabbed one out of there in a long time. Years. Our life was quiet and peaceful enough. Until Brat. In the four weeks she had been with us, we’d gone through three nannies. Brat had bitten, scratched, and kicked all three. She’d stolen money from one, car keys from another, and poured syrup over the third’s laptop. She’d flushed our goldfish down the toilet, unraveled my half-knitted scarf, and thrown my parents’ framed wedding photo down the garbage chute. And this was despite her twice-weekly sessions with a therapist.
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hen, a trio of waiters appeared at our table. One carried 16 helium-filled balloons in different pastel colors. Another set a cheesecake in front of me with 16 candles blazing on top. The third played a guitar and sang “Happy Birthday” to me in a beautiful tenor voice. Before I could blow out the candles, Brat lunged and blew them all out. “Lambent!” Dad exclaimed. Brat, I thought. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
“I’ll light them again,” the waiter offered. I shook my head. “It’s OK.” I just wanted to get out of the restaurant before Brat caused another scene. The waiter set slices of cheesecake in front of us. Dad and I dug in. Brat ignored hers. She looked from the balloons to me, then leaned close, trying to see the pocket on my sweater. “Is it alive?” she asked. I shook my head. “Is it something you can eat?” Dad asked. I shook my head. “Is it soft?” Brat asked. I nodded. “And pretty.” Brat coughed. “Is it something from my mama?” I hesitated. “Yes.” Dad shot me a worried look. Brat gasped. “Oh!” she murmured. She covered her mouth with her hands. “Oh!” she murmured again. My heart squirmed. By the time we paid the check, we were still playing the game, but fortunately for my empty pocket, neither Brat nor Dad felt confident enough to risk their one guess.
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e stood to leave the restaurant. Dad took Brat’s hand, but she pulled away from him and moved close to me. “I want to hold Marianne’s hand,” she said. She looked up at me, smiling. She glowed. Lambent, I thought. I handed the balloons to Dad. I let Lambent wrap her hand into mine. I was surprised at how it felt—like I was holding a little bird. We walked down the street to our car. Lambent’s hand gripped mine. The balloons held by Dad swayed and bounced over us. But I was feeling guilty. I’d tricked her, but I’d just wanted to quiet her down. And now I’d have to trick her again. I’d have to find something soft and pretty when we got home and sneak it into my pocket. The balloons filled our car’s backseat, so the three of us sat in front. Lambent snuggled between us. As we drove home, it hit me. Of course! I knew the perfect thing to put in my
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pocket. I’d just have to do it without Lambent seeing me. Fortunately, by the time we got home, Lambent needed the bathroom. That gave me a chance to grab a rosary from the bowl on Mom’s dresser. Dad was at his desk in the den, reading work e-mails on his computer. “Can you keep Lambent quiet a little while longer?” he asked me. “I’ve got a few things to do for work, then maybe we can all go to the park and tire her out.” I held up the rosary. “We’ll keep playing the guessing game. Aunt Drina made this one. This is what I’ll put in my pocket.” Dad smiled. “Thank you, sweetheart. That’s a beautiful idea.” Lambent found me in the kitchen. “Is it something I can wear?” she asked. “Hmm,” I said.
M
y plan was to drag this out as long as possible. She stared at the pocket, frowning. Then suddenly she rushed at me. It all
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happened so fast. She yanked at my pocket. The button flew off. She thrust her fist into the pocket. “What?” She held the rosary up. “This isn’t from Mama! You lied! I’ve seen these stupid necklaces in the bowl on the dresser!” She kicked my leg and flung the rosary to the floor. I crouched and picked it up. I should have been furious. But my leg didn’t hurt, and the button could be sewn back on. I cupped the rosary in my palm. So soft, so light—like holding a little bird. I stood and looked at Lambent. Her hands were clenched. Her face was twisted like a gargoyle. “It is from your mama,” I said. “She crocheted it with my mom a long time ago. Before you were born. I know it’s hers because she was using this different-colored yarn. And it’s not a necklace, but I suppose you could wear it around your neck.” I placed it around her neck. “Mama made this?” She fingered the beads—blues, greens, purples, yellows, pinks. Then she rubbed the white yarn cross between her thumb and forefinger. “It’s called a rosary,” I said. “People use it to pray. These are quiet beads to quiet the mind. When my mom was sick, we’d say special prayers on these rosaries. And it worked. I was sad and scared because my mom was going away soon, but when we prayed the rosary together, my mind got quiet.” Lambent gripped the rosary around her neck with both hands. “So maybe,” I said, “there are sad and scary feelings being loud in your mind like there were in mine.” Lambent looked at the floor. She shuddered. “I could teach you how to pray the rosary, Lambent. If you want. We could say it together.” She said nothing. All I could hear was the clock ticking on top of the refrigerator and Dad’s low voice murmuring into the phone in the den. Lambent nodded. A Marie Anderson is a widely traveled and widely published freelance writer who lives in La Grange, Illinois. She is married with three children. 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
The Promised Land
T
I believe that, at our moment in history, we’re in an “ecological Advent.” On the one hand, the multitude of environmental concerns can make for some very dark thoughts about the state of the planet. Yet at the same Simplify time, deep in the heart of this the Holidays darkness, a light shines. Many are awakening to the This year, replace your old sacredness of God’s good Christmas lights with LED Earth. Many are rediscovering versions. They pay for the classic Catholic incarnathemselves quickly in saved tional teaching that God’s energy. spirit dwells in creation. Many are experiencing the As you do your Christmas joy that comes from connectshopping, remember that ing with and caring for the giving experiences and rest of the natural world. memories is generally betSuch a change of minds ter—environmentally and and hearts and habits may otherwise—than giving seem like a small and humble things. beginning in the face of so many pressing environmenIf you do want to give tal challenges. And we have things, consider gifts that no earthly (or heavenly) idea keep on giving—efficiency how things will turn out on items like LED lightbulbs, our planet; we’re only given reusable coffee filters, or an invitation to hope in low-flow showerheads. Scripture’s promise that God is faithful and merciful. That kind of hope depends on daily spiritual practice. As a friend reminded me during my family’s tumultuous relocation to new land, it’s also a great gift: sensing keenly that amidst darkness, change, and uncertainty, the only firm ground we can stand on is God. The God we meet in Advent calls us into a future greater than we can even imagine. A
1
2
3
Kyle Kramer, an organic farmer, is author of A Time to Plant: Life Lessons in Work, Prayer, and Dirt (Sorin Books).
Just as the sun breaks the darkness of winter, Advent brings us the light of Christ. Fr ancisca n Media .org
tal Digi as Extr
Click here for more on this topic. Click the button to the right to hear an interview with Kyle Kramer. December 2014 ❘ 49
© FRANCKREPORTER/ISTOCKPHOTO
© WITSON/DREAMSTIME
his Advent has been full of the unexpected for my family and me. We recently left our farm, which we built up from scratch over the last 15 years and thought we’d live on until we died. Leaving has felt like a death and a divorce rolled into one, and the grief of it still throbs in me. But like Abraham and Sarah called from their homeland into a new and unknown future, my family and I felt led to a new location, which provided new work for me and many new opportunities for my wife and our children. Our new “promised land” will mean starting over, on a smaller scale and with a whole new set of agricultural challenges and possibilities. It’s been a comfort to know that Advent is a time of new beginnings, even if they often come shrouded in the darkness of mystery and doubt. When they do arrive, they rarely make a grand entrance. Jesus was born in a stable, not a king’s palace, and it would take centuries before the significance of his incarnation became clear to the world.
ASK A FRANCISCAN
❘ BY FATHER PAT McCLOSKEY, OFM
Respecting Life at All Stages I am a religious education director, retired, and am anxious to keep in touch with Church beliefs, which I realize may change from time to time. What is the Church's feeling regarding hospice? I have taken the training and am thinking of volunteering in Spokane, where I will be moving. I am hearing pro and con in this regard and would like to know what our Church teaches. Hospice is a network of caregivers in special facilities or in hospital units or private homes. The Catholic Church has made no formal statement about this organization, which does, in fact, reflect the Church’s teaching about the right to discontinue extraordinary medical care.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate; it is the refusal of ‘over-zealous’ treatment. “Here one does not will to cause death; one’s inability to impede it is merely accepted. The decisions should be made by the patient if he is competent and able or, if not, by those legally entitled to act for the patient, whose reasonable will and legitimate interests must always be respected” (2278). The Catechism continues: “Even if death is thought imminent, the ordinary care owed to a sick person cannot be legitimately interrupted. The use of painkillers to alleviate the suf-
ferings of the dying, even at the risk of shortening their days, can be morally in conformity with human dignity if death is not willed as either an end or a means, but only foreseen and tolerated as inevitable. Palliative care is a special form of disinterested charity. As such it should be encouraged” (2279). If you go to usccb.org and search for “Ethical and Medical Directives,” you will find a link to the November 2009 edition, which addresses care for terminally ill people. More information about hospice is available through mayoclinic.org. Hospice often sponsors support groups for caregivers and survivors. Chapter 29 of the 2006 United States Catholic Catechism for Adults encourages people to “use advanced
Widowed Deacons
CNS PHOTO/GREGORY A. SHEMITZ
A Catholic neighbor recently told me her parish priest said that if a deacon’s wife dies, the Church forbids him from marrying again. What is the reasoning behind this Church ruling?
Deacon John Solarte smiles as he holds his daughter Mariana following his ordination to the permanent diaconate.
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Deacon David Profitt, head of the diaconate office for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, writes: “When a married man is ordained to the permanent diaconate, he receives the Sacrament of Holy Orders and the canonical conditions that go with it—with the exception of celibacy. Once the marriage bond is dissolved at the death of the spouse, those canonical conditions continue, at which point the deacon is now under the vow of celibacy. “There are, however, cases where the Church has allowed a deacon to remarry. This typically would occur if there are young children involved and the lack of a mother would be detrimental to their growth.” When the Catholic Church restored the permanent diaconate after Vatican II, it chose to follow the practice in the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches to allow for the ordination of married men—on the condition that they remain celibate should they become widowers. This condition reflects a Church practice that can be dispensed.
St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
medical directives to make sure that medical treatment is both humane and in conformity with the moral teaching of Christ and the Church. The personal presence, prayer, and love of relatives and friends, supporting their loved ones through the final stages of life’s journey, are also essential parts of the Christian dying process.”
(the absolute bedrock of Judaism). Because the Gospels make no reference to St. Joseph after Jesus turned 12, Christians have assumed that Joseph died before Jesus began his public ministry around the age of 30. Thus, many Christians have considered Joseph as the patron of a happy death, presumably surrounded at his death by Mary and Jesus.
Uniqueness of Jesus
Altar Questions
Didn’t Christians simply borrow the man-god idea from the Romans?
Do all altars in Catholic churches point from the faithful praying in the pews toward the East to symbolize the “dawning of the new covenant”? Muslims pray toward Mecca, and Jews pray toward the temple in Jerusalem. Also, why does the priest kiss the altar at the start of Mass?
No. The Romans and other cultures had stories about gods and goddesses disguising themselves as human beings, but these cultures never came close to affirming the Christian belief that the Son of God truly became a human being while remaining completely divine. The Incarnation is such a revolutionary teaching that many people over the centuries have rejected Christianity on this teaching alone. When you add in what Christians believe about the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the challenge becomes even greater. St. Paul was making some progress in preaching to the Athenians until he told them about the Paschal mystery. Acts 17:32-33 tells us: “When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, ‘We should like to hear you on this some other time.’ And so Paul left them.” The New Testament contains no letter from Paul to Christians in Athens. What he preached about Jesus was simply too radical for them.
Two Questions When Jesus died, did he die as a Jew or as a Christian? Also, where was St. Joseph when Jesus was condemned by Pontius Pilate and then executed? Jesus never rejected his Jewish roots, though most Jews saw his teaching about equality with God the Father as a betrayal of belief in one God Fr ancisca n Media .org
Click the button on the right for more on an “Ask” question.
the celebrant (behind the icon screen) face east. Some Jewish people may face east when praying, but not all synagogues or Jewish temples are constructed to face east. Muslims do face east when praying. Kissing the altar at the start and then at the end of Mass is a sign of respect. A
Father Pat welcomes your questions! Send them to: Ask a Franciscan, 28 W. Liberty Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498, or Ask@FranciscanMedia.org. All questions sent by mail need to include a selfaddressed stamped envelope. This column’s answers can be searched back to April 1996 at StAnthonyMessenger.org.
Altars in most Roman Catholic churches faced east (the rising sun) when the priest had his back to the people; the people are still facing east in many churches. In Eastern Catholic churches, the people and
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December 2014 ❘ 51
BOOK CORNER
❘ BY CAROL ANN MORROW
Joy to the World How Christ’s Coming Changed Everything (and Still Does) By Scott Hahn Image Books 175 pages • $23 Hardcover/Kindle Reviewed by ANTHONY J. GITTINS, CSSP, Emeritus Professor of Theology and Culture at the Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, and author of 14 books on scriptural, biblical, missiological, and anthropological themes. Scott Hahn has written some 20 books on a range of religious topics—including works
WHAT I’M READING ■ The
Legend of Saint Nicholas, by Anselm Grün
■ The
Legend of Saint Nicholas, by Demi
■ 24
Christmas Stories to Welcome Jesus, by various authors
■ The
Bible for Young Children, by Marie-Hélène Delval
■ Children
of God Storybook Bible, by Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Carol Myers created the St. Nicholas Center (www.stnicholascenter. org), an online resource that helps people discover the person of faith behind Santa Claus. It provides free resources for families, churches, and schools—including recipes, crafts, information about St. Nicholas and related customs around the world, activities online and available to print, and more. Launched in 2002, the site has over a million visitors each year.
5 2 ❘ Dec ember 2014
on angels, families, Mary, the priesthood, the Eucharist, and Bible study. His style is fresh and approachable, and he chooses his topics with care, allowing himself freedom to operate within a restricted field rather than attempt a comprehensive or exhaustive treatment. The central thread running through this book is the story of Jesus from the Annunciation to his birth, but in 14 short chapters Hahn incorporates pertinent reflections on other dramatis personae—including Mary, Herod, Simeon, Anna, the angels, the shepherds, and the Magi. Hahn concludes Joy to the World with chapters on the Holy Trinity and the relevance of the Christmas story for today and always. The book has many strengths. Written in nontechnical, nonacademic language, the narrative includes a range of references and quotes from priests, historians, and popes. Some of the vignettes—especially of the shepherds and the Magi as strangers, outcasts, and nobodies—offer memorable and poignant insights. Although written in a popular style, it is not overly simplified. But neither is it the kind of exceedingly careful and scholarly exegesis that might have made this book dry and unpalatable. Because there is a good deal of imagined history and generalization in these pages— and even what might be considered interesting trivia useful for quiz shows or general knowledge—it is not easy to specify the precise genre of this book. It is not the kind of publication that would naturally find its way into an academic theological library, and yet it contains much of interest to any student of the Bible or practitioner of the Christian faith. I would think that high school students under the guidance of a good teacher might find it particularly congenial. As this reviewer read more deeply into the heart of this book, I was increasingly impressed by Scott Hahn’s intentions and decisions. Hahn wants to offer an accessible, informative book to the average Christian or agnostic adult reader that might stimulate faith and further inquiry; this, he has done well. St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
BOOK BRIEFS
Joyful Reflections on Christmas People of the Nativity Living the Christmas Story Then and Now By Marci Alborghetti Twenty-Third Publications 128 pages • $12.95 Paperback
Jesus Was a Migrant By Deirdre Cornell Orbis Books 133 pages • $20 Paperback Reviewed by BISHOP GERALD F. KICANAS, head of the Diocese of Tucson, Arizona, which is at the epicenter of migrant attempts to enter the United States. He has advocated for immigration policy reform and testified before the US Congress on this subject. Immigration is deep in the bones of our nation. Author Deirdre Cornell describes human mobility from a wealth of personal experiences, especially living in Mexico. She has a depth of knowledge of the sacred Scriptures and the Catholic Church’s social doctrine, which she personally lives out as a member of the Catholic Worker Movement. The author holds up Christ as one who has lived the plight of the migrant. She identifies with the migrant’s feelings from her own family’s flight. She makes her own the quote of a coworker, “In the people we serve, I see the faces of my own father and mother.” Cornell’s personal stories make real the names and faces of migrants whom she has met and who have inspired her. These stories are especially important in changing attitudes and raising consciousness about the issues they face. She has a masterful way of weaving the account of migrants with the Scriptures—especially the life of Mary—and drawing from the Bible insights into a migrant’s journey. Her use of the traditional Advent devotion of the Posada captures the feelings of those on the move as both guest and host. Cornell’s view of the Communion line at Mass as a migration gives much to meditate on. Fr ancisca n Media .org
Marci Alborghetti takes us on a trip back in time in this creative, yet faithful, retelling of the Christmas story. Each chapter, opening with a relevant Scripture passage, imaginatively explores the diverse group of people who were key figures in the first Advent—including Mary, Anna, Balthasar, and Herod.
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christ’s Mass By Marci Alborghetti Liturgical Press 53 pages • $1.99 e-book In another wonderful offering from Marci Alborghetti, this digital-only book provides readers with succinct daily reflections for Advent. From sleigh bells to Jack Frost, Alborghetti connects what seem to be secular traditions to Christ’s birth, and—in doing so— enriches them.
Manger Text by Lee Bennett Hopkins Eerdmans Books for Young Readers 34 pages • $16 Hardcover Parents and children alike will truly enjoy this heartwarming collection of poems where animals are given a voice to welcome Christ into the world. The poems, selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, are coupled vividly with illustrations by Helen Cann. Readers young and old will be inspired to join in the joyful chorus celebrating Jesus’ birth. —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 December 2014 ❘ 53
A CATHOLIC MOM SPEAKS
❘ BY SUSAN HINES-BRIGGER
The Message of a Christmas Meltdown
W
hen I started thinking about what I wanted to write this column about, I struggled with a way to address the holiday season in a way that I haven’t done before. I’ve been doing this column for 14 years. What could I possibly offer that was new and different? I thought about addressing the commercialism of the season. Or maybe I could offer tips for ways to scale back on gift giving? But as I tried to write about each of those ideas, something kept nagging at me: How can I hand out advice and pontificate on how we need to focus on the true meaning of the season when 5 4 ❘ Dec ember 2014
I so often fail to do just that myself? And then I suddenly remembered something I had written a while ago. It was a letter to myself following a not-so-stellar mom moment concerning the holiday season and my behavior. I’m sharing it with you so maybe you can take something from my experience.
A Christmas Letter to Myself “Hey you. Yeah, you. I saw you last night when you were trying to wrap those presents and you lost it because Riley ripped the paper. I saw your expression and the way you snatched the present back. Not cool. I also saw the look in Riley’s eyes.
The one that said, ‘I didn’t try to rip it. It was an accident.’ But you probably didn’t see that because you were too busy huffing and cutting a new piece of wrapping paper. “Well, now that you’ve calmed down, I want to tell you something. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter how your presents are wrapped. In fact, I would venture to say it doesn’t even matter if they are wrapped at all. It doesn’t matter that you didn’t make any cookies, or get your Christmas cards out before Christmas. I know you think it does, but it really doesn’t. “Christmas will still come. You will still be surrounded by the people St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARY KURNICK MAASS
KEEP THE SEASON GOING In keeping with the idea that the message of Christmas is far greater than what it has become, why not try to extend the love of Christ’s birth beyond the season? Every year during the holiday season, people seem to have a heightened awareness of those in need. Charities and organizations see an increase in donors and volunteers. And, while that’s wonderful, so often, after the tree is down and the Nativity set is wrapped up and put away, we tend to revert to our business-as-usual mindset. That often translates into many organizations seeing a decline in volunteers and donations once the holidays are over. But here’s the problem with that. Just because Christmas is over, the needs of those being helped by those organizations do not disappear. You can help by making a decision that you and your family will continue to extend the goodwill of the season to others. Find somewhere to volunteer, or make a donation to a worthy cause. Charitable acts extend far beyond Christmas. Giving of yourself for the sake of others is the gift that keeps on giving.
you love and who matter the most to you. You will be able to hug them and tell them how much they mean to you—regardless of whether or not you gave them cookies or a gift. “So, please, slow down, quit freaking out, and take a breath. You’ll be fine. Everything will be fine and just as it should be—whether you believe that or not. But I hope you
do. And I hope you have a very Merry Christmas.”
The Reason for the Season I think we can all agree that the whole purpose of the Christmas season is the birth of Christ. All of the other stuff—the boxes, bows, decorations, presents, parties, and on and on—does not make the season.
Click the button to the left to listen to Susan’s “Marriage Moments.”
Christ makes the season. Unfortunately, we often lose sight of that. In fact, we lose sight of that way too often. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We can redirect ourselves back thousands of years ago to a tiny manger in the city of Bethlehem. We can refocus on what December 25 truly means. We just have to try. So let’s do it. Let’s find a way to remind ourselves that this holiday is about more than the trappings of the season. Write a letter to remind yourself. Or put a message on a piece of paper and carry it with you. Hang a reminder somewhere you will see it to help you focus on the true reason for Christmas. However you decide to remind yourself, please do it. The amazing gift of Christ’s birth is too important for us to bury underneath wrapping paper and all the things we think are really important at Christmas—but really aren’t. A
Do you have comments or suggestions for topics you’d like to see addressed in this column? Send them to me at “A Catholic Mom Speaks,” 28 W. Liberty St., Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498, or e-mail them to CatholicMom@FranciscanMedia.org.
PETE AND REPEAT These scenes may seem alike to you, But there are changes in the two. So look and see if you can name ILLUSTRATION BY TOM GREENE
Eight ways in which they’re not the same. (Answers on page 42)
Fr ancisca n Media .org
December 2014 ❘ 55
BACKSTORY
The Spirit of Vatican II
T
he Church is rounding third base and heading for home on the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council. That is, come January, we’re entering the anniversary’s fourth and final year. Vatican
II fundamentally reshaped the Church in recent decades. Was it responsible for the exodus of many, many Catholics, young and old, the clergy sexual abuse crisis, some sort of weakening of the faith? Not a chance! Saint Pope John XXIII recognized when he convened the council that
PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER HEFFRON
society was undergoing a major shift, driven more by the communications revolution and globalization than by anything else. The council, from 1962-1965, was an attempt to rethink how we practice our unchanging faith in response to that. That rethinking has continued to this day. Think Twitter. We editors are already planning some sort of special issue or special section for late next year to consider how the council impacts our Church today. Admittedly, it’s become more like the air we breathe these days, rather than any big change. People on staff younger than, say, 50, never knew any different. But Vatican II changed us. The rethinking directed by the council guides so many decisions in how we publish this magazine.
CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING
No one at Vatican II could have imagined how much the world would shrink by 2014. In the photo (right), from last April, Pope John XXIII’s former secretary speaks to a news conference via video link as “Good Pope John” looks on.
There is a fundamental openness to the world, and to the variety of experiences of the human family seeking God, that the Franciscans, this staff, and this magazine, carry into our service to you. When we evaluate manuscripts, write stories and columns, find the correct visual approach to communicate the good news, we keep that openness, that engagement with the world that was such a new idea at Vatican II, in mind. We also seek to inspire you. We are proud to challenge you from time to time to reconsider things. That works in from lots of viewpoints, which keeps your magazine from being neatly tucked into one camp or another. We’re happy to hear from you, too, challenging us. That’s the spirit of the Franciscan movement, which we’re proud to express.
Editor in Chief
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St A n t h o n y M e s s e n g e r . o rg
REFLECTION
And this will be a sign for you:
you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Luke 2:12
CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING; BACKGROUND PHOTO © CLEARVIEWSTOCK/FOTOLIA
ST. ANTHONY M 28 W. Liberty Street Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498
essenger
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