St. Anthony Messenger August 2020

Sharing the spirit of St. Francis with the world VOL. 128/NO. 2 • AUGUST 2020 • PUBLISHED BY FRANCISCAN MEDIA

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

Editorial: Healing the Wounds of Racism

page 19

THE COURAGE TO CHANGE

WISDOM FROM ASSISI

AUGUST 2020 • $4.99

A THREE-DAY PRAYER RETREAT

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VOL. 128 NO. 2

2020 AUGUST

26 26 The Courage to Change:

Wisdom from Assisi

COVER STORY

ABOVE and COVER: Committed to goodness and empowered

by God, Sts. Francis and Clare exemplified a special brand of holy courage in their time. Their spiritual boldness resonates 800 years later.

Text by Gillian T.W. Ahlgren; artwork by Holly Schapker

Metanoia is a process of change, of deepening conversion. Francis and Clare can be models for us today as we try to live out the Gospel in our own challenging times.

20 A Three-Day Prayer Retreat COVER AND ABOVE: ARTWORK BY HOLLY SCHAPKER

By Colleen Arnold, MD

Use the Liturgy of the Hours to build a supportive structure of prayer, finding God and a sense of peace in your busy day.

32 Forgotten No More

By Peter Feuerherd

Housed in a nondescript building in the shadow of gleaming skyscrapers and high-end boutiques in Manhattan, Covenant House is a place of refuge and hope for teens and young adults left behind.

38 Fiction: The Black Hills

By Michael T. Best

The threat of a wildfire forces a family to evacuate their home.

COMING NEXT

ISSUE

An interview with world-famous tenor Andrea Bocelli on the importance of music and faith in his life StAnthonyMessenger.org | August 2020 • 1

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Saint Day

of the

T

he saints were real people with real stories—just like us! Their surrender to God’s love was so gen-

erous that the Church recognizes them as heroes and heroines worthy to be held up for our inspiration. Join Franciscan Media in our daily celebration of these holy men and women of God. Sign up for Saint of the Day, a free resource delivered right to your inbox.

Go to SaintoftheDay.org to start your journey.

Saints featured in the month of August include . . .

St. Maximilian Kolbe

Queenship of Mary

August 11 The first woman to write a Rule of Life for her sisters, Clare of Assisi insisted on the privilege of poverty until her dying breath, getting papal approval of her Rule days before she died. A model of humility, Clare cared for her sisters even through her own years of illness.

August 14 A Conventual Franciscan, Maximilian Kolbe is best known for volunteering to take the place of a condemned prisoner in Auschwitz. But he also worked tirelessly for the spiritual welfare of people through a devotion to the Blessed Mother. His whole life seemed to revolve around Mary as the path to God.

August 22 This feast of Mary recognizes her role in the kingdom of her son, Jesus. If Jesus is king, Mary is certainly queen. And the title—or its surrogate—goes back centuries in the Church, as Mary has been praised for her position in the Church and among the people of God.

www.FranciscanMedia.org Go to www.FranciscanMedia.org/Alexa to learn how to add Saint of the Day to your Alexa-enabled device.

Martyrdom of John the Baptist August 29 The martyrdom of John the Baptist is a gruesome story. Yet it is a story about the victory of faith and loyalty over cowardice and hate. A king makes a careless promise and does not have the courage or integrity to do the right thing when his jealous wife takes advantage.

LEFT TO RIGHT: MC KOZUSKO/SAM; COURTESY KOLBE SHRINE; ZATLETIC/FOTOSEARCH; SALOME WITH THE HEAD OF JOHN THE BAPTIST BY CARAVAGGIO CIRCA 1610, NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON

St. Clare of Assisi

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VOL. 128 NO. 2

“The saints did but one thing—the will of God. But they did it with all their might.”

2020 AUGUST

—Blessed Miriam Therese Demjanovich

10 SPIRIT OF ST. FRANCIS

14 POINTS OF VIEW

10 Ask a Franciscan

14 I’d Like to Say | Patrick Carolan

Confronting Racism

Racism Is a Sin with Deep Roots

12 Franciscan World

16 At Home on Earth | Kyle Kramer

12 St. Anthony Stories

18 Faith Unpacked | David Dault, PhD

13 Followers of St. Francis

19 Editorial | Daniel Imwalle

Bastia

It’s a Wild World

St. Anthony Delivers—Literally

Experiencing Christianity at Its Best—and Worst

Brother David Buer, OFM

Standing in Solidarity against Systemic Racism

46 Faith & Family | Susan Hines-Brigger

LEFT TO RIGHT: MC KOZUSKO/SAM; COURTESY KOLBE SHRINE; ZATLETIC/FOTOSEARCH; SALOME WITH THE HEAD OF JOHN THE BAPTIST BY CARAVAGGIO CIRCA 1610, NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON

Time to Stop Talking and Start Listening

44

CULTURE

42 Media Reviews

Book Briefs E-Learning | MasterClass: Jane Goodall

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ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

44 Film Reviews 4 Dear Reader Screened Out The Stand at Paxton County Judy & Punch

5 Your Voice 6 Church in the News

47 Lighten Up 47 Pete & Repeat 48 Reflection

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dear reader The Courage of St. Clare

PUBLISHER

C

“

ourage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’” That quote by author Mary Anne Radmacher is one of my favorites because it takes the conventional view of courage and turns it on its head. Sometimes I think that we get stuck on that forceful view of courage—the one that has us charging into battle—and fail to see the many acts of courage that look more like determination and tenacity.

Take St. Clare, whom we celebrate this month, for instance. She was fiercely courageous, but in her own quiet way. She left behind the life she knew—and all its comforts and certainties—to follow Francis. That took courage. Francis also had his ways of showing courage, which took the forms of fighting in war, denouncing his father, and embracing the leper. You can read how Clare and Francis’ courage can inspire us in “The Courage to Change: Wisdom from Assisi” on page 26.

You will also find other calls for courage in this issue, which was put together during the civil unrest following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in Minnesota. The editorial on page 19 reminds us—once again—that we all have a role in fighting racism, and my Faith and Family column addresses the anger of a mom, who acknowledges the privilege of her family.

Right now, we all need to find a way—whatever it looks like—to be courageous and speak up for what is right. Even if we stumble or get it wrong, we must channel the tenacity of St. Clare and promise, “I will try again tomorrow.”

Daniel Kroger, OFM PRESIDENT

Kelly McCracken EXECUTIVE EDITORS

Christopher Heffron Susan Hines-Brigger

FRANCISCAN EDITOR

Pat McCloskey, OFM ART DIRECTOR

Mary Catherine Kozusko MANAGING EDITOR

Daniel Imwalle

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Sandy Howison

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Sharon Lape

DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING

Susan Hines-Brigger, Executive Editor

Ray Taylor

PRINTING

Kingery Printing Co. Effingham, IL

PAGE 26

Gillian T.W. Ahlgren is a professor of theology at Xavier University, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

An expert in the fields of history of Christianity and Christian spirituality, she has dedicated her life to making insights from the Christian mystical tradition and contemplative practices accessible to people today.

Internationally known for her work on Teresa of Avila, she is the author of seven books.

COLLEEN ARNOLD, MD

MICHAEL T. BEST

PAGE 20

PAGE 38

Colleen Arnold is a physician and writer in Lexington, Virginia. She is well acquainted with the modern struggle to balance prayer and activity. After a series of days that weighed too heavy on busyness and too light on prayer, she rekindled her love of the Liturgy of the Hours and designed the mini retreat you’ll find in her article in this issue.

The inspiration for Michael T. Best’s fiction story “The Black Hills” came from his own family’s experience in the Woolsey Fire of November 2018 in California. “We had never been evacuated before,” he says. When his family returned five days later, they found their home safe and sound. Sadly, a neighboring family was not as fortunate, and their home burned to the ground.

writer A Three-Day Prayer Retreat

writer The Black Hills

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: $4.99. For change of address, four weeks’ notice is necessary. See FranciscanMedia.org/subscriptionservices for information on your digital edition.

Writer’s guidelines can be found at FranciscanMedia.org/ writers-guide. 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 ©2020. All rights reserved.

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GILLIAN T.W. AHLGREN

ST. ANTHONY MESSENGER (ISSN #0036276X) (U.S.P.S. PUBLICATION #007956 CANADA PUBLICATION #PM40036350) Volume 128, Number 2, is published 10 times per year 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.

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POINTSOFVIEW | YOUR VOICE Feedback from Our Online Readers

“Confronting Teen Suicide,” by Christopher Heffron and Rory Shelton (June/July 2020) Years ago, I served as the Confirmation director of my parish. I was also a teacher at our local high school. It was in developing a relationship with students in and out of the classroom that I was able to help one very special young lady. After her graduation, she told me that I saved her from the three “Ds”: death, drugs, and destruction. She spent a lot of time in my classroom at school. I never realized she was suicidal, had taken drugs, and was cutting herself to escape her life. She let me know that I helped her to see that through faith, hope in Jesus would be found, along with the promise of a better life.

Catherine

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“A New Encounter with the Psalms,” by Maureen O’Brien (May 2020) I made the decision 25 years ago to read the Psalms every day. My spiritual life was shallow. Every morning, before leaving for work, I read from the Psalms and the New Testament, followed by a prayer—more like an honest conversation with God. Running a successful business with all the pressures involved, I realized, required more of God in my inner life. The Psalms have given me a peace that surpasses all our understanding. As we read in Philippians 4:13: “I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me.”

Josef

What a beautiful, touching article by Maureen O’Brien. I also have been comforted over the years reading from the Book of Psalms—often through tears! I look forward to your book— thank you for writing so beautifully.

Karen

‘Straight from the Heart’

The June/July issue of St. Anthony Messenger truly was a “special issue,” as the medallion on the cover states. “Confronting Teen Suicide,”

by Christopher Heffron and Rory Shelton, was so powerful. You can tell it was written straight from the heart. Every article drew me to the next one. I don’t think I’ve ever read a magazine cover to cover in one sitting, but I did with this one. Thank you!

Patti Normile, Terrace Park, Ohio

Additional Info on Newsletter

Thanks to writer Sister Patricia Schnapp, RSM, for a knothole view of prisoners on death row (“Keeping Hope Alive on Death Row,” from the May issue). I’d like to share the Compassion newsletter’s mailing address for those interested in subscribing or making a donation to ensure its coming issues: Compassion, 140 W. South Boundary St., Perrysburg, OH 43551.

Sister Virginia Ann Froehle, RSM, Cincinnati, Ohio

A Question Worth Asking

I am always delighted to receive St. Anthony Messenger in my mailbox. There’s always something that grabs my spirit and shakes me up. In the May issue, it was Kyle Kramer’s At Home on Earth column, titled “Seeing the World as Kin.” It was beautifully written. I particularly liked the section titled “What If?” Wouldn’t the world be better off if we asked that question more often?

Nick Martin, Indianapolis, Indiana

Reminders of a Troubled Past

I’m writing in regard to Christopher Heffron’s review of the documentary White Savior: Racism in the American Church, which appeared in the May issue. The enslavement of human beings was a horrific period in American history. Sadly, cultural, social, and economic discrimination toward minorities is still pervasive throughout our nation.

We will never forget our country’s fall from grace. Remnants of the Confederacy, broken treaties with Native American tribes, and statues and memorabilia related to these parts of American history should be placed in a special archive and dedicated to the memory of those who suffered and perished because of these human rights abuses.

Francis J. Manduca, Ocean Park, Maine

Grateful for the Digital Edition

I am sight impaired and must tell you how much I appreciate that I can digitally access your magazine. On days when my sight isn’t doing well, I can read or listen to my tablet. I enjoy your informative writings. My faith has been strengthened and increased along with my joy of learning. God bless you all and your most precious work.

Karen Van Buskirk, Boone, Iowa

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church IN THE NEWS

people | events | trends

By Susan Hines-Brigger

POPE, CATHOLIC LEADERS SPEAK OUT AGAINST RACISM

Washington Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell walks with others toward the National Museum of African American History and Culture during a peaceful protest on June 8, 2020.

Dominican Sister Quincy Howard holds a sign during a protest on June 2, 2020.

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CNS PHOTOS: TOP LEFT: JONATHAN ERNST, REUTERS; TOP RIGHT: PAUL HARING

alling the death of George Floyd “senseless and brutal,” demonstrations across the country in their statements and the president of the US bishops’ conference spoke out actions since the death of Floyd. about racism along with Pope Francis and other Catholic At his weekly audience, the pope told those in attendance, leaders.

“We cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racIn a statement issued on May 31, ism and exclusion in any form and yet claim Archbishop José H. Gómez of Los Angeles, to defend the sacredness of every human life.”

“We cannot president of the US Conference of Catholic Seven USCCB committee chairmen issued tolerate or turn Bishops (USCCB), called Floyd’s death “a sin a joint statement about the situation, saying, a blind eye that cries out to heaven for justice. How is it “As bishops, we unequivocally state that racto racism and possible that in America, a black man’s life ism is a life issue. exclusion in any can be taken from him while calls for help “As we said 18 months ago in our most are not answered, and his killing is recorded recent pastoral letter against racism, ‘Open form and yet as it happens?”

Wide Our Hearts,’ for people of color some claim to defend He added: “We should all understand that interactions with police can be fraught with the sacredness the protests we are seeing in our cities reflect fear and even danger. People of good conof every the justified frustration and anger of milscience must never turn a blind eye when human life.” lions of our brothers and sisters who even citizens are being deprived of their human —Pope Francis today experience humiliation, indignity, and dignity and even their lives. Indifference is not unequal opportunity only because of their an option,” they wrote. race or the color of their skin. It should not Later in the statement, the bishops be this way in America. Racism has been tolerated for far too acknowledged: “While it is expected that we will plead for long in our way of life.” peaceful nonviolent protests, and we certainly do, we also Days later, according to a statement from the bishops’ stand in passionate support of communities that are underconference, Archbishop Gómez received a phone call from standably outraged. Too many communities around this Pope Francis, assuring the archbishop of the pope’s prayers country feel their voices are not being heard, their comand closeness to the Church and people of the United States. plaints about racist treatment are unheeded, and we are In the call, the pope also expressed his gratitude to the bishnot doing enough to point out that this deadly treatment is ops for their pastoral tone in the Church’s response to the antithetical to the Gospel of Life.”

CNS PHOTOS: TOP LEFT: BOB ROLLER; TOP RIGHT: TYLER ORSBURN

C

SUPREME COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF DACA PROGRAM

WASHINGTON, DC, ARCHBISHOP COMES UNDER ATTACK

Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington (left) is pictured with Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, retired archbishop of Washington.

Gabrielle Betances and her husband, Luis Aguilar, a DACA recipient from Mexico, pose for a picture near the US Supreme Court in Washington.

CNS PHOTOS: TOP LEFT: JONATHAN ERNST, REUTERS; TOP RIGHT: PAUL HARING

CNS PHOTOS: TOP LEFT: BOB ROLLER; TOP RIGHT: TYLER ORSBURN

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n June 18, the Supreme Court ruled to prevent the Trump administration from terminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, a move praised by Catholic leaders.

Last November, the court heard the challenge to the administration’s repeal efforts. The USCCB submitted an amicus curiae brief for the hearing in support of maintaining the program.

The DACA program, which was implemented in 2012, has enabled approximately 800,000 young people, who paid a fee and submitted to a background check, the opportunity to work legally, access educational opportunities, and not fear deportation. DACA recipients on average contribute over $42 billion annually to the US economy.

USCCB president Archbishop José H. Gómez of Los Angeles and Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, auxiliary bishop of Washington and chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, issued a statement following the ruling, saying: “We welcome the US Supreme Court’s decision noting that the Trump administration did not follow proper administrative procedures required to repeal the DACA program. To DACA youth, through today’s decision and beyond, we will continue to accompany you and your families. You are a vital part of our Church and our community of faith. We are with you.”

The bishops also encouraged US senators “to immediately pass legislation that provides a path to citizenship for Dreamers. Permanent legislative protection that overcomes partisanship and puts the human dignity and future of Dreamers first is long overdue.”

T

his past June, a Michigan group that presents itself as Catholic released a video titled that included racist and derogatory language about Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, DC, reported Catholic News Service (CNS).

The video, which was put out by the organization Church Militant/St. Michael’s Media in Ferndale, Michigan, refers to Archbishop Gregory as an “African Queen” and says he is an “accused homosexual.” The Southern Poverty Law Center has listed the organization as an “anti-LGBT hate group.”

Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron issued a June 11 statement condemning the video and stating that the organization is in no way affiliated with the archdiocese. “Racist and derogatory speech wrongfully diminishes the Godgiven dignity of others,” he said. “It is not in accord with the teachings of Christ. As our nation continues its important conversation on racism, it is my hope that the faithful will turn from this and all other acts or attitudes which deny the inherent dignity shared by all people.”

The video appears to have come in response to a statement Archbishop Gregory made following President Donald Trump’s visit to the John Paul II National Shrine on June 2.

The president had been invited by the Knights of Columbus, who sponsor the shrine. The archbishop said, “I find it baffling and reprehensible that any Catholic facility would allow itself to be so egregiously misused and manipulated in a fashion that violates our religious principles, which call us to defend the rights of all people, even those with whom we might disagree.”

After the events of June 1, when protestors were forcefully dispersed prior to the president walking to St. John Episcopal Church, the archbishop said: “St. Pope John Paul II was an ardent defender of the rights and dignity of human beings.

He certainly would not condone the use of tear gas and other deterrents to silence, scatter, or intimidate them for a photo opportunity in front of a place of worship and peace.”

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church IN THE NEWS

people | events | trends

ANNIVERSARY OF ‘LAUDATO SI’’ KICKS OFF YEARLONG INITIATIVE

O

n the fifth anniversary of the encyclical “Laudato Si’,” Pope Francis invited people to take part in a yearlong series of initiatives dedicated to putting the encyclical’s teachings into action, reported CNS. The pope announced the “Special ‘Laudato Si’’ Anniversary Year,” which is being promoted by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, on May 24, saying it will run until May 24, 2021.

“I invite all people of goodwill to join, to take care of our common home and of our most fragile brothers and sisters,” the pope said. He also announced a special prayer dedicated to the year, which is available at Vatican.va. Further information about plans for the upcoming year and beyond is available on the dicastery’s website (HumanDevelopment.va).

In conjunction with the announcement, the Vatican released the document “Journeying for the Care of the Common Home,” which offers a guide to Catholics, and all Christians, about our relationship with God’s creation.

The document was drafted by the “Holy See Interdicastery Table on Integral Ecology,” which was created in 2015 to evaluate ways to best promote and implement integral ecology.

n late May, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis accepted a miracle attributed to Father Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, clearing the way for the priest’s beatification, reported CNS. Beatification is the last step before a person is canonized.

According to a statement from the Knights of Columbus, the miracle attrib- Father Michael McGivney, founder uted to Father McGivney’s of the Knights of Columbus intercession “involved an unborn child in the United States who in 2015 was healed in utero of a life-threatening condition after prayers by his family to Father McGivney.” No date for the beatification Mass is set, but it will take place in Connecticut.

Father McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus in 1882 with a small group of Catholic laymen as a way to strengthen religious faith and help families overwhelmed by the illness or death of their breadwinner. The organization has 1.9 million members throughout the world.

Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson said: “Father McGivney has inspired generations of Catholic men to roll up their sleeves and put their faith into action. He was decades ahead of his time in giving the laity an important role within the Church. Today, his spirit continues to shape the extraordinary charitable work of Knights as they continue to serve those on the margins of society as he served widows and orphans in the 1880s.”

A

EX-SALVADORAN COLONEL ON TRIAL FOR 1989 JESUIT MURDERS

former military commander who has been accused of killing six Jesuits and two women working with the Society of Jesus during El Salvador’s civil war went on trial June 8 in Spain, reported CNS. Inocente Orlando Montano faces charges of murder and a sentence of up to 150 years in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors allege that the former colonel in the Salvadoran army and former deputy defense minister took part in “the decision, design, or execution of the killings” in 1989. The priests were pulled from their residence on the campus of the Jesuit-run Central American University in San Salvador and murdered by soldiers. It is believed the attack was carried out to disrupt possible peace talks between the US-backed government forces and the leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front.

Father Ignacio Ellacuria, rector of the Central American University and an important figure in the peace talks, was killed, along with Fathers Ignacio Martín-Baró, Juan Ramón Moreno, Amando López, Segundo Montes, and Joaquín López. Julia Elba Ramos, a housekeeper, and her teenage daughter, Celina, also were killed.

Spain pursued the case of the slain Jesuits because five of the victims were Spanish citizens.

CNS PHOTOS: TOP RIGHT: DICASTERY FOR PROMOTING INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT; MIDDLE: CNS FILE PHOTO; LOWER RIGHT: LUIS GALDAMEZ/REUTERS

I

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS FOUNDER TO BE BEATIFIED

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Leave a Legacy that

CNS PHOTOS: TOP RIGHT: DICASTERY FOR PROMOTING INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT; MIDDLE: CNS FILE PHOTO; LOWER RIGHT: LUIS GALDAMEZ/REUTERS

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SPIRITOFST.FRANCIS | ASK A FRANCISCAN

By Pat McCloskey, OFM

Confronting Racism

I have a family member who seems to harbor a racist attitude. How do I respond when I hear this person make thinly veiled racist statements? hese comments probably reflect what this family member considers “normal,” “what everyone knows,” or wishes were true. At some level, this family member is protecting how he or she sees the world—what he or she needs to be true.

Otherwise, this person may have to ask life-changing questions and make equally radical changes.

Does this person make these statements during one-on-one conversations? If so, that’s the time to challenge this vicious distortion of Christ’s message and common decency. If the setting is more public, you need to decide: Is it more painful for me to challenge such statements or to appear to endorse them by not saying anything? In extreme cases, silence implies consent. At Mass, we ask pardon for our sins “in what I have done or in what I have failed to do.”

Be prepared: Your first private or public challenge will probably not result in this relative taking back the offensive statement. You, however, have to live with your silence or challenge; you don’t have to live with racist statements constantly. Coraggio (courage)—as Italians say!

T

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Material is grouped thematically under headings such as forgiveness, Jesus, moral issues, prayer, saints, redemption, sacraments, Scripture—and many more!

One of Life’s Greatest Losses

How do I understand and find peace in the death of a parent? lease accept my condolences on the death of your father or mother. Allow yourself to grieve properly but without being absolutely consumed or paralyzed by this death. Joining a support group for people who have recently lost a loved one may be helpful. If not, consider seeking individual grief counseling.

At some point, I think you may want to ask: How can I best honor the memory of this parent? How can I best honor what was most important to that person and to me? Was this parent active in the St. Vincent de Paul Society or some other charity? Could you be also? Was this parent an active supporter of some art, civic, or humanitarian organization? Could you be? Which of this parent’s interests would you like to continue promoting?

It’s important to select something that you truly enjoy. Doing something simply from a sense of sheer obligation will eventually wear very thin and can become counterproductive.

None of this will bring your parent back, but it will move you toward greater compassion and solidarity than if you allow your grief to lock you into isolation and bitterness.

As I write this, many people are grieving friends or relatives who died during the COVID-19 pandemic, sometimes alone in a hospital or nursing home.

If a deceased person could observe how you are grieving his or her death, would that person affirm your choices or perhaps suggest more healthy alternatives? Be as honest about this with yourself as you can. Know that God always loved that person and continues to love you. Your sense of loss can shrink your heart or enlarge it metaphorically. Which will it be?

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MC KOZUSKO/SAM

Father Pat welcomes your questions!

TOP LEFT: MC KOZUSKO/SAM; BOTTOM RIGHT: ALDOMURILLO/ISTOCK; TOP RIGHT: ANTONIOGUILLEM/FOTOSEARCH

Pat McCloskey, OFM

Missing Mass on Sunday

As an 80-year-old Catholic, I was taught that missing Mass through your own fault is a mortal sin that, if unconfessed and unabsolved, could send you to hell forever. I know friends and other Catholics who are good people but no longer go to Mass. How could a merciful God condemn them to hell forever? he obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation is serious but must be understood in relation to other serious obligations. Caring for a terminally ill spouse or child is a greater obligation than attending Sunday Mass. It’s wonderful if healthy people have time and energy to do both, but that may not be possible.

What kind of God would fail to understand that? Does that accurately describe the God you have adored throughout your life?

God wants no one to be lost forever, but some people seem so full of themselves that there is no room for God in that person’s life. Being in God’s presence forever but unwillingly might well be a greater suffering than being apart from God forever.

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With all the church closings, does watching Sunday Mass on TV or the Internet fulfill one’s obligation?

It’s better than nothing, but it is not the same as being there in person.

When COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were in place, watching on TV or the Internet was both prudent and morally good. Those restrictions, however, will not last forever. Would a virtual date with one’s beloved be as good as the real thing? A virtual hug may be the best someone can do now, but it will never equal or eliminate the need for a flesh-and-blood hug as soon as that is possible. Receiving Communion is not possible at a virtual Mass.

What are your thoughts on a pastor sitting in his confessional throughout Mass in order to administer the Sacrament of Reconciliation?

The 1974 Order of Penance says this should not be done.

Why did St. Peter condemn and kill Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:5–11) when they claimed they were donating all the proceeds from the sale of some property but actually had not?

Peter didn’t kill either of them. Each fell dead when he or she lied.

MC KOZUSKO/SAM

TOP LEFT: MC KOZUSKO/SAM; BOTTOM RIGHT: ALDOMURILLO/ISTOCK; TOP RIGHT: ANTONIOGUILLEM/FOTOSEARCH

Quick Questions and Answers

My mother died alone of a massive heart attack in late February. Is her soul in heaven? She did not receive the last rites.

I think you should presume her soul made it to heaven—or at least to purgatory. The sacrament once known as Extreme Unction is now called the Sacrament of the Sick. Ideally, it should be celebrated while the sick person, relatives, and friends can participate. That is not always possible.

Light a candle in memory of a loved one, or for your special intention.

When you light a candle on StAnthony.org, it will burn for three days at the National Shrine of St. Anthony in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Franciscan friars are ready to light a candle for you!

Visit StAnthony.org.

The Franciscan Friars, Province of St. John the Baptist 1615 Vine St, Ste 1 Cincinnati, OH 45202-6492

www.stanthony.org

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SPIRITOFST.FRANCIS “If we pray and love, that is where our happiness lies.”

—St. John Vianney

FRANCISCAN WORLD

Bastia

By Pat McCloskey, OFM

O

STUDIES WERE never easy for John (1786–1859), and he was lucky to be ordained a priest in 1815.

Three years later he was made pastor in Ars. He became a Secular Franciscan, probably in the seminary.

After several years he was hearing confessions up to 16 hours a day in the summer.

People came great distances to confess their sins. A very ascetic man, John once said, “I have been privileged to give great gifts from my empty hands.”

He was canonized in 1925; his feast is August 4.

—Pat McCloskey, OFM

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WANT MORE? Learn about your favorite saints and blesseds by going to: SaintoftheDay.org

When St. Clare joined Francis and the other friars, she had her hair shorn and received a habit and veil in this chapel, St. Mary of the Angels. Then she went to Bastia to stay for a short time as a guest with the cloistered Benedictine sisters there.

ST. ANTHONY STORIES

St. Anthony Delivers—Literally

E

ach year, my wife and I contribute sneakers, underwear, and a toy to needy schoolkids through a program called Back to Basics. We always add a book to the mix.

Last year, I ordered books for two children from an independent bookstore. A package arrived on November 29. It looked like the two books, and we didn’t open it right away.

On December 9, when we began to wrap the other items to turn in the next day, we opened the package and only one book was in it. I checked my e-mail and saw that the books were mailed separately. Two weeks later, we had only one book, and it looked as if one child wouldn’t get one.

Our only hope was that St. Anthony could find it in the seasonal mail. So we asked him for help. As my wife wrapped the last item, the mail came, and the second book was in it. Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night can stop St. Anthony when he answers prayers.

—Tom Blackburn, Haverhill, Florida

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PHOTO COURTESY OF FRANCISCAN PROVINCE OF ST. BARBARA/PETER JORDAN/PETERJORDANPHOTO.COM

His gifts were not immediately obvious until he became a renowned confessor.

LEFT: CREATIVE COMMONS 2.0/SHARON MOLLERUS; TOP RIGHT: MC KOZUSKO/SAM; BOTTOM RIGHT: FOTOSEARCH IMAGES: KATYAU (LILY), QINGWA (ENVELOPE)

ST. JOHN VIANNEY

n Palm Sunday evening in 1212, Clare of Assisi snuck out of her ancestral home in Assisi and went to the Santa Maria degli Angeli chapel where Francis cut off her hair and gave her much more simple clothes, the start of her living the Gospel life in a new way.

Because Clare could not stay there, she moved to San Paolo delle Abbadesse, a Benedictine monastery in nearby Bastia.

After a few days there and several weeks at Sant’Angelo in Panzo, Clare moved to San Damiano to establish a unique type of monastery. The nuns there did not live on income generated through lands rented out to others.

Clare’s uncle Monaldo and seven knights from his family came to Bastia to remove Clare forcibly. They gave up when she clung to the altar and pulled back her veil to show her shaven head.

Although Clare and Francis are now recognized as saints, many of their contemporaries initially thought their way of following the Gospel was crazy.

s

FOLLOWERS OF ST. FRANCIS

ST. ANTHONY

Dedicated to Dignity

“Having grown up in a loving extended family, I learned about the importance of human dignity that each person has.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF FRANCISCAN PROVINCE OF ST. BARBARA/PETER JORDAN/PETERJORDANPHOTO.COM

LEFT: CREATIVE COMMONS 2.0/SHARON MOLLERUS; TOP RIGHT: MC KOZUSKO/SAM; BOTTOM RIGHT: FOTOSEARCH IMAGES: KATYAU (LILY), QINGWA (ENVELOPE)

Brother David Buer, OFM

in Nevada—the first in Las Vegas in 1997 and the second in the nearby city of Henderson in 2002.

The two houses in Nevada both dedicated their services specifically to homeless men in need of food and shelter. Unfortunately, the Las Vegas Poverello House had to close its doors in 2014, but the Henderson location continues on, and now has services for homeless women as well.

When Brother David was reassigned to Tucson, Arizona, in 2008, one of the first things he did was start a Poverello House there. It’s not always easy to keep operations going, especially since both are completely funded by private donations, with no reliance on government or diocesan assistance. For more about the services these two ministries provide or to make a donation, visit their websites, PoverelloHouseNV.com and TucsonPoverello.com.

Brother David has also spent time ministering to and, at times, saving the lives of immigrants along the US-Mexico border. “Seeing how human beings were suffering, exposed to the elements, and even dying in the desert attracted me to assist existing volunteer organizations that place water bottles in remote areas for the people passing through,” he says.

In 2010, in honor of his many humanitarian efforts, Brother David received the Peace Award from the Secular Franciscan Order USA. “Awards come and go, and so many other people who work quietly—but with heart and commitment—deserve awards,” he says. “Bless all those with the courage to do their little part to make our nation a compassionate one, who are ready to see human suffering and, through love, do something about it.”

—Daniel Imwalle

FRANK JASPER, OFM

L

ong associated as a symbol of respite, shelter, and nourishment, an oasis serves as a spiritual metaphor as well as a place of spiritual rejuvenation. With that symbol in mind and energized with the Franciscan spirit, Brother David Buer, OFM, has spent decades working to provide refuge and resources to those in need in the American Southwest. His path to becoming a Franciscan and living a life of service has roots in a clear understanding of what it means to be an outsider in our society.

Brother David was born in San Antonio, Texas, but raised first in Granite City, Illinois, followed by Ballwin, Missouri. His family’s immigrant past is not as distant as it is for some in our nation.

“All my grandparents were immigrants who came to the United States in the early 20th century,” he says.

“Having grown up in a loving extended family, I learned about the importance of human dignity.”

As a young man, Brother David made a journey that would prove to be pivotal for him. “When I was 21, I made a pilgrimage, hitchhiking across the country,” he says. “It was the beginning of my ‘return’ to the Catholic Church. Around the same time, I also learned about St. Francis of Assisi and was smitten.” In 1989, he made the leap to religious life and entered the novitiate with the Franciscan Friars of St. Barbara Province.

A friar for over 25 years now, Brother David has engaged in everything from feeding the hungry to protesting the production of nuclear weapons to standing up for immigrants’ rights. Upon witnessing the work of the Poverello House in San Francisco during the early ’90s, Brother David founded two similar ministries

BREAD s

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. viSit our webSite to:

StAnthony.org

s

mAil poStAl communicAtionS to:

St. Anthony Bread 1615 Vine St. Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498

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POINTSOFVIEW | I’D LIKE TO SAY

By Patrick Carolan

Racism Is a Sin with Deep Roots “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.”

—Albert Einstein

Patrick Carolan

CatholicClimateMovement.global

The entrance to the train depot in Macon, Georgia, still reads “Colored Waiting Room.” The inscription was obscured from view until 1999, when Macon’s first black mayor, C. Jack Ellis, had it uncovered to serve as a reminder of the struggle for civil rights.

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he killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, forced Americans to look at our ugly lineage of systemic racism. But America’s original sin isn’t relegated to history. It’s alive and well. We feel that if we could only pass the right piece of legislation or enact the correct regulation, we could end racism.

Yet the Emancipation Proclamation— which freed slaves—while necessary and critical, did little to end racism. Robin DiAngelo wrote in her book White Fragility, “Race is an evolving social idea that was created to legitimize racial inequality and protect white advantage.” We first created an economic system based on slavery and inequalities and then developed the science and theology to justify the system.

In his book Stamped from the Beginning, Ibram X. Kendi wrote, “The beneficiaries of slavery, segregation, and mass incarceration have produced racist ideas of black people being best suited for or deserving of the confines of slavery, segregation, or the jail cell.”

In other words, we didn’t start with race; we created race to justify our system.

A LONG AND BUMPY ROAD

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In 1967, President Lyndon Johnson created a commission to investigate the race riots that had been going on in Watts, Newark, Detroit, and elsewhere across the country. The Kerner Commission was tasked with answering the question of what happened. After all, we were only a few years removed from the passage of

the Civil Rights Act. The commission consisted of eight white men, one white woman, and two black men.

This was around the same time that Eldridge Cleaver released his book Soul on Ice, which became the manifesto of the Black Power movement. It was also the time that candidates started running on a new status quo motto of law and order. All 11 members of the commission, including the two black members, had been openly hostile to the Black Power movement and openly embraced the law-and-order motto. Very little was expected from the commission.

But when the report was issued in February 1968, it shocked America by stating that “our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white—separate and unequal.” Martin Luther King Jr. called the report a “physician’s warning of approaching death, with a prescription for life.”

Richard Nixon used the report to create the Republican Southern Strategy. Johnson used it to create more police intelligence units to spy on Black Power movements. Both Democratic and Republican members of Congress used the report to support increased federal spending on police weapons, training, and riot preparations. Most in power on both sides of the aisle used it to promote fear.

WHAT’S IN A WORD?

These days, many of our political and religious leaders claim to not be racist. But in his

UPPER LEFT: COURTESY PATRICK CAROLAN; TOP: XDWALKER44/ISTOCK

Patrick previously served as executive director of the Franciscan Action Network. He is also a cofounder of the Global Catholic Climate Movement.

He currently serves as director of Catholic outreach for Vote Common Good. He is a recipient of the 2015 White House Champions of Change Award and is personally dedicated to social justice through individual and societal transformation.

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2019 book, How to Be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi wrote: “What is the problem with being not racist? It is a claim that signifies neutrality. . . . But there is no neutrality in the racism struggle. The opposite of ‘racist’ isn’t ‘not racist.’ It is ‘antiracist.’” In other words, you are either part of the problem or part of the solution. Kendi adds that “there is no in-between safe space of ‘not racist.’”

Many white people believe that because they have a black friend or coworker, they cannot be racist. They believe that if black people were more like white people, then everything would be OK. This idea was embraced by folks as diverse as Cotton Mather and Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and many in the antislavery movement, and even black leaders like W.E.B. Du Bois and Frederick Douglass.

It is an idea that is alive and well today. Just look at the reaction to the Black Lives Matter movement.

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THE MISSTEPS OF THE CHURCH

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UPPER LEFT: COURTESY PATRICK CAROLAN; TOP: XDWALKER44/ISTOCK

How did we get to this point? How, as people of faith, did our belief system become so convoluted that we would accept slavery and today racism? In 1840, the US Catholic bishops issued a statement on slavery. While some argued that the slave trade was immoral and wrong, others argued in favor of the institution of slavery. Bishop John England of South Carolina, in a letter to the secretary of state, argued that to do away with slavery would be a violation of religious freedom: a term we hear a great deal about today to justify discrimination against certain groups of people.

Over 100 years later, in 1958, the US bishops issued a statement calling racism a sin, “a moral evil that denies human persons their dignity as children of God.” But a few years later, when the civil rights movement was in full force, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was planning demonstrations and marches in St. Augustine, Florida.

Andrew Young and Martin Luther King Jr. reached out to Archbishop Joseph Hurley, the bishop there. He not only refused to help, but instead had all the parishes read a letter from the pulpit urging Catholics not to participate.

Bishop Hurley likely would never have thought of himself as a racist. German philosopher Dietrich Bonhoeffer said: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” Bishop Hurley chose not to act in the face of evil.

CHALLENGING THE SYSTEM

We as Christians often claim to be outraged by racism. We talk about laws and regulations. We even occasionally reflect on our role in promoting the belief that one group of people is superior to another. But are we willing to challenge the system that promotes ingrained racism?

God became flesh not because the world is full of sin, but in order to transform the world into a communion of love centered in Christ. But as Albert Einstein warned, “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.”

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POINTSOFVIEW | AT HOME ON EARTH

By Kyle Kramer

It’s a Wild World

EarthandSpiritCenter.org

M

ost of us want to believe that the world is fundamentally predictable and safe.

I know that I don’t do especially well with uncertainty and risk. Even when I’m doing something adventurous like rock climbing, I don’t want dramatic surprises; I want to know that I’m on route and that my gear will prevent disaster.

COVID-19, however, threw certainty and safety out the window. Every week has brought new reminders of what uncharted territory we are in and how no one really knows what exactly lies ahead.

It shouldn’t have taken a pandemic to dismantle the illusion that there is such a thing as certainty and safety in this world. Disasters and upheavals of various kinds are always waiting around the next bend. Economic turmoil is inevitable; it’s not a question of if, but when. Natural disasters—including those brought about or exacerbated by climate change—are always waiting in the wings.

Most of us can also count on at least a few personal catastrophes as well: a lost job, a health crisis, a broken relationship. Being alive is a risky business; we never know what’s going to hit us.

MOVING FORWARD

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By the time you read this, more will surely have become clear about how the gradual reopening of society has affected coronavirus infection and death rates. Regardless, the false

veil of certainty and safety has forever been torn in two. How do we live with that epiphany both now, in the midst of the pandemic, and once we are beyond it?

One of our great temptations is to double down on what hasn’t worked: trying to force our unruly world to conform to our knowledge grids, management strategies, and desire for security and control—much like addicts return again and again to the substance or activity that they mistakenly think will make them whole, even as it destroys their lives.

Maybe this takes the form of giving our blind allegiance to large institutions—government, corporations, even the institutional Church— in the hopes that they will give us solid answers and guarantee our safety. Or maybe we do the opposite: Hole up in bunkers, load up on food and ammo, and try to fend for ourselves.

We have another option, though. Even though our Christian Scriptures, creeds, catechisms, and hymns are filled with proclamations of certainty and safety, the Christian mystics have always claimed that God, life, and our faith are deep, inscrutable mysteries.

Neither God nor our world is tame; there is wildness and unpredictability woven into the very fabric of reality itself. Facing this truth, the only appropriate response is humility, which is always and everywhere the cure for human hubris.

Part of humility is intellectual, which is

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JUANMONINO/ISTOCK

Kyle is the executive director of the Passionist Earth & Spirit Center, which offers interfaith educational programming in meditation, ecology, and social compassion.

He serves as a Catholic climate ambassador for the US Conference of Catholic Bishopssponsored Catholic Climate Covenant and is the author of A Time to Plant: Life Lessons in Work, Prayer, and Dirt (Ave Maria Press, 2010).

He speaks across the country on issues of ecology and spirituality.

He and his family spent 15 years as organic farmers and homesteaders in Spencer County, Indiana.

LEFT: COURTESY OF KYLE KRAMER; RIGHT: FILADENDRON/ISTOCK

Kyle Kramer

the proper stance of good science and good scholarship: recognizing that the vast storehouse of accumulated human knowledge is just a drop in the ocean compared to all that we don’t comprehend. This kind of humility leads to prudence and self-restraint. Recognizing the limitations of our understanding and the risks we can never accurately predict, we make less grandiose, more thoughtful moves as individuals and as a society, erring on the side of caution rather than fooling ourselves into thinking we have more control than we do.

For example, had its crew understood that the Titanic was not actually unsinkable, perhaps they would have piloted more carefully among icebergs. Intellectual humility would stop trying to figure out how to live on Mars or the moon until we’ve figured out how to live sustainably on Earth.

JUANMONINO/ISTOCK

LEFT: COURTESY OF KYLE KRAMER; RIGHT: FILADENDRON/ISTOCK

A HUMBLE HEART

An even deeper form of humility can grow in the heart, if we slow down, get quiet, and let it take root. If we are to have a better post-pandemic world, I believe it will come about mainly because we cultivate this heart-centered humility.

With humility of the heart, we move through the world more gracefully, as individuals and as a society. We know that with the world being as wild and crazy as it is, with so many of us struggling, it’s always better to err on the side of kindness and gentleness. It’s this kind of humility, to quote the poet and environmental activist Wendell Berry, that asks: “Will this disturb the sleep of a woman near to giving birth?”

When humility grows in our heart, it becomes easier to satisfy ourselves with simpler pleasures and practices. We can notice and give thanks for our breath and the miracle that is our incarnate, creaturely body—no matter our age, appearance, or health. Isn’t it all a gift from God? We can become more present, more authentic, more intentional, and less rushed in our relationships. We can enjoy simply being outside, cultivate creative pursuits, and savor the domestic arts like cooking, gardening, and the tending of hearth and home. After all, aren’t these the things that ultimately matter—far more than economic growth, military superiority, and ever-increasing consumption of goods and services?

Finally, this kind of deep spiritual humility helps us know that we are, indeed, our brother’s and sister’s keeper. It’s never enough to cultivate a meaningful and satisfying life for ourselves without also working to ensure that it is possible for others, too, especially people who are poor, people who are overlooked and disadvantaged, and people whose “essential services” work makes everyone’s lives possible.

It’s hard to be in the cloud of unknowing. It’s hard to let go of the illusion of certainty and safety. But my hope is that this present darkness, which feels so much like an unraveling and breakdown, is actually a birthing process in which God our midwife is bringing us into a new, more beautiful, more blessed way of being.

HELPFUL

TIPS1PRAYER IN ACTION The Psalms are a wonderful way to pray in the midst of uncertainty and danger. Try praying Psalms 25, 56, and 71.

2

Gratitude is always one of the best prayers. At least once a week, try to give thanks for all of the workers who have kept our food, health care, utilities, and other essential services going in the midst of the pandemic. If you can, do something kind to show your appreciation—a card, a tip, a small gift, or just a heartfelt thank-you.

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POINTSOFVIEW | FAITH UNPACKED

By David Dault, PhD

Experiencing Christianity at Its Best—and Worst

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David hosts the weekly radio show Things Not Seen: Conversations about Culture and Faith.

He also cohosts The Francis Effect podcast with Father Dan Horan, OFM. He lives with his family on the South Side of Chicago.

Want a certain topic covered? Send us your request.

E-MAIL:

FaithUnpacked@ FranciscanMedia.org MAIL:

Faith Unpacked 28 W. Liberty St. Cincinnati, OH 45202 PODCAST:

The Francis Effect podcast can be streamed live at FrancisFXPod.com.

THESE ARE CHRISTIANS?

I’ve mentioned before in this column that I was not raised in the Christian faith. My mother was a strident atheist, and she was clear that she wanted nothing to do with any church. Even though we were living in the Deep South—in the heart of the Bible Belt— all I really knew about Jesus was that he was a guy with a beard and sandals and that his followers were often mean to me.

I recall the first day of fourth grade. I was at a new school and I mentioned to another kid on the swings that my family didn’t believe in God. By the end of recess, it seemed

to be all over the playground. By the end of the day, it seemed to be all over the school.

For the next two years, I had kids from all different grades coming up to me in various situations and harassing me about my atheism. I was teased, I was insulted, and I was told I was going to hell.

If those were the Christians, I thought, give me the atheists.

A POWERFUL EXAMPLE

It wasn’t until many years later, when I was in college, that I met a different sort of Christian.

These were folks who helped the poor and who bound up the broken. When they would quote from the Bible, it was to bring comfort and good news, rather than to use words as weapons.

The witness of these Christ followers had a profound effect on me and helped put me on the path toward my eventual conversion to the Catholic faith.

I’d like to think that Mr. Roberts might have similarly encountered some welcoming and tender-hearted Christians along his journey as an atheist, and, instead of mocking him, they gave him examples of welcome and care. I cannot think of any other reason he would have asked so ardently to be lowered into that swimming pool.

I don’t know any other detail about the faith of Mr. Roberts than this: He was baptized. And I realize that some days, when the world seems dark and my head is foggy with fear or anger, that’s pretty much the only detail about my own faith that I can know for sure, as well.

But as one baptized former atheist to another, his story gives me hope.

TOP LEFT: PHOTO COURTESY OF CHICAGO SUNDAY EVENING CLUB/KHIEM TRAN; TOP RIGHT: AMPHOTORA/ISTOCK

David Dault, PhD

hey say you’ll never meet an atheist in a foxhole. But what about in a swimming pool?

About a year ago, I heard a story about a man named Thomas Roberts. He was dying of lung cancer and was so sick he couldn’t breathe on his own. He needed constant care and the support of an oxygen tank.

According to the news reports, Mr. Roberts had been an atheist all his life. But as he neared death, he made a request to be baptized. The staff at the hospital—the chaplains, the doctors, and the nurses—all worked together with Mr. Roberts’ family to make his request happen. Six days before his death, he was baptized with full immersion, as he requested, in a nearby university swimming pool.

I read several different stories about the baptism of Mr. Roberts, and what surprised me was that not one of them gave any details about his faith. We heard about the beliefs of his family and the beliefs of the pastor who performed the baptism, but I could not find one detail about the inner life of Mr. Roberts.

What made him change his mind about God? And even more than this change of heart, I wondered, What made him wish to go to such extraordinary lengths to make a public expression of his newfound faith?

If there were answers to these challenging questions, I could not find them in the news reports. But I think I am all right with that being the case.

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POINTSOFVIEW | EDITORIAL

By Daniel Imwalle

Standing in Solidarity against Systemic Racism

I

TOP LEFT: PHOTO COURTESY OF CHICAGO SUNDAY EVENING CLUB/KHIEM TRAN; TOP RIGHT: AMPHOTORA/ISTOCK

am a white American male with a college degree and a career, and I was blessed to be raised in a loving, Catholic home by parents who valued education, hard work, and faith. Apart from a few speeding tickets, I’ve had very little interaction with the police and have never felt a chill run up my spine due to being singled out by an officer based on my appearance.

I suppose I should feel grateful for being born into the world with so many factors stacked in my favor. And though I do maintain a deep and abiding sense of gratitude toward my family and faith for providing such a strong foundation, I can’t shake this nagging and uncomfortable thought: I have white privilege.

I’m not a racist, I don’t wish to use my position of privilege to “win at life” at the expense of others closer to society’s margins, and it is my hope to see our world become a more equitable one in my lifetime. But what can I do? Where do I even begin? There seems to be a Gordian knot of injustice before me, a tangle of a broken justice system, cutthroat capitalism, fevered nationalism, inadequate access to education and health care for minorities, the subtle seduction of being apathetic to social ills. The list of systemic problems goes on, and racism is tied up in most of them.

Fortunately, like many of the most difficult challenges we as a people and as individuals face, we can turn to faith and each other for strength, wisdom, and courage to guide us in our small steps toward a better world—a place we can rightly call the kingdom of God. Sometimes, events happen that urge us all to step a little bit farther than we thought we could, stretching us beyond our comfort zones.

‘I’M THROUGH’

On May 25—Memorial Day—George Floyd was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis. We can use phrases such as “died in police custody” to rationalize and sanitize what happened, but we’re lying to ourselves and tacitly continuing systemic racism if we do. Two separate autopsies ruled his death a homicide caused by “cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained,” according to the Hennepin County medical examiner’s report.

The arresting officer, Derek Chauvin, was originally charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, with the charges later upgraded to include seconddegree murder. These are simply the cold hard facts. What we make of them and how we comprehend this event against the backdrop of systemic racism will reveal how advanced or primitive we are as a civilization.

Floyd uttered these words as Chauvin’s knee pressed down upon his neck: “I can’t breathe.” These words—the same spoken by Eric Garner in 2014—both literally point

out the brutality of police violence and symbolically characterize the feeling of an entire oppressed people. “I can’t breathe” wasn’t the only thing Floyd said. Among other words and phrases, he cried out “Mama!” and “I’m through.”

When I found out that he said those words, my mind went to the scene of Jesus on the cross, his mother weeping below, his voice raised up in anguish to his Father, and these words from John 19:30: “It is finished.”

But we now know that it wasn’t finished, really. It had just begun. Three days later, Jesus rose, and the spark of Christianity would not be extinguished. Two thousand years later, we are called to see the face of Jesus in George Floyd and carry on our work to build up the kingdom of God. ‘NOT BEING RACIST’ ISN’T ENOUGH

As helpless as we may feel during these chaotic times of social unrest piled on top of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are things we can do. As Susan Hines-Brigger points out in her Faith and Family column this month, listening is generally a good first step. And white Americans should listen for as long as they can to hear what their brothers and sisters from minority communities are saying.

The marginalized are often called the voiceless, and those fortunate enough to be born into the power position of being in the social majority have the responsibility to find ways to help them speak out. Sometimes this is done by being quiet and letting their voices be heard. Other times, we may find ourselves in the uncomfortable but crucial position of standing up for the voiceless when no one else will.

Like many people, I would answer no to the question, “Are you racist?” But to effect any lasting change, we need to be more and do more. We need to be actively anti-racist.

This means challenging friends, family members, coworkers, and others when we hear something that supports systemic racism. Someone might make an insensitive remark and follow up with, “It’s just a joke.” Others might claim that they’re color-blind and that we’re all just one human family. Or, as I recently experienced, a person might respond to “Black lives matter” with “All lives matter,” a semantic trick that shifts the conversation away from the very real problems of police violence and systemic racism. These moments can seem insignificant, but they’re all drops of water in an ocean of injustice.

During a general audience at the Vatican on June 3, Pope Francis spoke about the civil unrest in the United States. “My friends, we cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life,” he said. Indeed, our faith insists that every life is sacred and worthy of protection—yours, mine, and George Floyd’s.

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a

3 -day

prayer retreat

Use the Liturgy of the Hours to build a supportive structure of prayer, finding God and a sense of peace in your busy day.

he idea of mindfulness is not a new one. In fact, the Church has practiced a version of it since ancient times in the Liturgy of the Hours, which marks the hours of the day and fills them with prayer. For many people, the term conjures up images of monks in religious communities waking in the middle of the night to chant in chapel. But in truth, it is the prayer of the whole Church, and the Second Vatican Council encouraged us all to take up the practice.

This article presents a three-day structure for prayer in the style of the Liturgy of the Hours. It is intended to be prayed amid weekday life during the main hours of morning, evening, and night.

Also called the Divine Office, the Liturgy of the Hours in its fullest form includes morning prayer on first awakening (lauds); daytime prayer at midmorning, noon, and midafternoon; evening prayer at the end of the workday (vespers); night prayer right before going to sleep (compline); and the Office of Readings (formerly called matins), which can be done at the most convenient time of day. Many priests and deacons pray them all, but for most of us, an abbreviated version is more accessible.

When you first look at the breviary, which is the book of instruction and rubrics for the Liturgy of the Hours, it can seem overwhelming. Each of the hours includes psalms, prayers, Scripture readings, and writings from Church fathers. The daily format is the same, but the readings and Scriptures change every day and for every hour that is prayed. The readings are available in print as both full and abbreviated versions, online, and even on apps for smartphones and tablets.

This mini retreat will introduce you to the ritual, giving you a better sense of how the Liturgy of the Hours is prayed.

I have opted to do three weekdays so you can see how the prayers will fit into your own unique workday schedule, but you can choose any three days that are convenient for you. Although we will follow the basic format, it is not an exact replica since I have chosen the prayers and readings. It is meant to whet your appetite for this peaceful rhythm of prayer.

By the end of your three days, you will have a deeper understanding of the process and a new hunger to learn and practice this ancient devotion.

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INSET AND ABOVE: PHEELINGS MEDIA/ISTOCK (2)

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RIBBON: SEREZNIYISTOCK

By Colleen Arnold, MD

INSET AND ABOVE: PHEELINGS MEDIA/ISTOCK (2)

RIBBON: SEREZNIYISTOCK

SETTING THE SCENE

Although you can pray the Liturgy of the Hours without much advance preparation, there are several things that will make these three days more retreat-like.

• A candle that is as simple or extravagant as you like— a simple white candle, a fragranced candle, or even a colored candle to match the setting cloth.

• A bell or wind chime that will signal the start and finish of each prayer session.

• Anything else that may increase the spiritual sense of your time. I often add a seashell or a piece of greenery from the yard.

• A printout or a photo on your cell phone of the prayers and readings for each day of the retreat. You will also need your Bible to look up the words to each psalm.

• Assemble your supplies ahead of time and keep them in a bag that is convenient to carry throughout the day. Remember, though, only your Bible and printout of prayers and readings are required. You can pray the Liturgy of the Hours on a park bench or in your living room if that works best for you.

A few other caveats: Each of the Hours includes a hymn.

In private prayer these are optional, so I left them out, but feel free to sing your own favorites if you feel so inclined.

Also, for both morning and evening prayer, there are two psalms, separated by a canticle from the Old Testament in the morning and the New Testament in the evening. For purposes of our retreat, I have omitted the second psalm.

The scriptural sources for all readings are listed in parentheses, but you don’t have to recite them as part of the prayers.

Finally, start and end each Hour with the Sign of the Cross.

Now let’s get started!

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STRUCTURING YOUR RETREAT morning prayer (lauds)

evening prayer (vespers)

Begin each morning of your retreat with the following: • Invitatory: Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

• Recite the Glory Be. • For each day, recite the antiphon before and after the psalm, and read and reflect on the Scripture reading.

Begin each evening of your retreat with the following: • Versicle: Lord, come to my assistance, make haste to help me.

• Recite the Glory Be. • For each day, recite the antiphon before and after the psalm, and read and reflect on the Scripture reading.

After each morning’s readings, continue with the following: • Responsory (recite twice): “Blessed is the name of God forever” (Dn 2:20).

• Canticle of Zechariah (also known as the Benedictus): “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and brought redemption to his people. He has raised up a horn for our salvation within the house of David his servant, even as he promised through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old: salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to show mercy to our fathers and to be mindful of his holy covenant and of the oath he swore to Abraham our father, and to grant us that, rescued from the hand of enemies, without fear we might worship him in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God by which the daybreak from on high will visit us to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow, to guide our feet into the path of peace” (Lk 1:68–79).

• Intercessions: Present your petitions to God; ask him to bless your day and keep you close to him.

• Recite the Lord’s Prayer.

• Closing blessing: May the Lord bless us, keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

After each evening’s readings, continue with the following: • Responsory (recite twice): “In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thes 5:18).

• Canticle of Mary (also known as the Magnificat): “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him. He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.

The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever” (Lk 1:46–55).

• Intercessions: Present your petitions to God; ask him to bless your evening and keep you close to him.

• Recite the Lord’s Prayer.

• Closing blessing: May the Lord bless us, keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

Begin each night of your retreat with the following: • Versicle: Lord, come to my assistance, make haste to help me.

• Recite the Glory Be. • Do an examination of conscience, then recite an act of contrition. For example: O my God, I am so sorry for having offended you, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of your grace to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life.

Amen.

• For each day, recite the antiphon before and after the psalm, and read and reflect on the Scripture reading.

After each night’s readings, continue with the following: • Responsory (recite twice): “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Lk 23:46).

• Canticle of Simeon: “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the gentiles, and glory for your people Israel” (Lk 2:29–32).

• Final prayer: Lord, give our bodies restful sleep, a perfect end, and let the work we’ve done today be for your glory, through Christ our lord. Amen.

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CHARDAY PENN/ISTOCK

night prayer (compline)

CHARDAY PENN/ISTOCK

day 1

MORNING

EVENING

NIGHT

† Psalm 96—antiphon: Great is the Lord and highly to be praised! † Canticle: “The beauty of the celestial height and the pure firmament, heaven itself manifests its glory. The sun at its rising shines at its fullest, a wonderful instrument, the work of the Most High!” (Sir 43:1–2). † Scripture: “Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy? Heed me and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare” (Is 55:2).

† Psalm 138—antiphon: O Lord, our Lord, how awesome is your name through all the earth! † Canticle: “So submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (Jas 4:7–8). † Scripture: “Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, ‘In an acceptable time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you.’ Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor 6:1–2).

† Psalm 16—antiphon: Keep me safe, O God; in you I take refuge. † Scripture: “Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God. For he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting in punishment” (Jl 2:13).

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EVENING

NIGHT

† Psalm 46—antiphon: Be still and know that I am God. † Canticle: “God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:9–11). † Scripture: “Do not conform yourself to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect” (Rom 12:2).

† Psalm 23—antiphon: The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I lack. † Scripture: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you” (Jer 1:5).

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IRISHBLUE/ISTOCK

MORNING † Psalm 8—antiphon: O Lord, our Lord, how awesome is your name through all the earth! † Canticle: “God indeed is my salvation; I am confident and unafraid.

For the Lord is my strength and my might, and he has been my salvation” (Is 12:2). † Scripture: “Know, then, that the Lord, your God, is God: the faithful God who keeps covenant mercy to the thousandth generation toward those who love him and keep his commandments” (Dt 7:9).

ALDOMURILLO/ISTOCK

day 2

IRISHBLUE/ISTOCK

ALDOMURILLO/ISTOCK

day 3

MORNING

EVENING

NIGHT

† Psalm 146—antiphon: I shall praise the Lord all my life, sing praise to my God while I live. † Canticle: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and power are his. He causes the changes of the times and seasons, establishes kings and deposes them.

He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who understand” (Dn 2:20–21). † Scripture: “Today is holy to the Lord your God. Do not lament, do not weep! . . . Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the Lord is your strength” (Neh 8:9–10).

† Psalm 103—antiphon: Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless his holy name! † Canticle: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth” (Eph 5:8–9). † Scripture: “Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to the Father through him” (Col 3:17).

† Psalm 91—antiphon: My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. † Scripture: “We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him” (1 Jn 4:16).

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A REST STOP

The Liturgy of the Hours provides a strong and soothing backdrop for the struggles of daily responsibilities, grounding us in the confidence of God’s presence.

Sometimes, in our busy world, we get so caught up in doing, we forget about being, and we forget about the One who brought us into being.

Colleen Arnold, MD, is a physician and writer residing in Lexington, Virginia. She also holds a master’s degree in pastoral ministry. Learn more about her at her website, ColleenArnold.org.

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the

Courage to

WISDOM Metanoia is a process of change, of deepening conversion. Francis and Clare can be models for us today as we try to live out the Gospel in our own challenging times.

T

his year has been all about courage and change. Facing a new coronavirus with no vaccine or cure, we now see its ripples spreading unemployment and economic insecurity for millions and upending the education of a whole generation. The uncertainties, stress, and suffering try our souls.

COVID-19 has exposed some uncomfortable human truths: We need each other more than we acknowledge; and our radical commitment to one another and our willingness to collaborate are critical to our survival.

The devastating impact of this virus should steer us toward hard questions: How will I commit myself to what really matters? Where should I devote my time, energy, and talents to make a lasting, positive impact on the world? How can I work with others to create greater stability and see the fruits of wisdom, goodness, and love? What systemic change is this time calling forth from us? Now is the time to ask these questions together in a process that draws out our capacity for goodness and empowers us to engage the profound changes that our world requires—a process called metanoia.

Metanoia is a thorough, holistic process of change, rooted in a deepening commitment to goodness. Empowered by God, we place our whole selves in the service of something beyond the mere self. We grow into a coherent, compelling process of change as we see that we are part of a larger picture. Metanoia is the change in our hearts, choices, and actions as we see ourselves as part of a rich and diverse human family.

Courageous change is set in motion as we seek to honor God and one another, taking our place as stewards in the web of creation—trying to love it as God loves it, caring for it and for one another, attending deeply to the well-being of

Text by Gillian T.W. Ahlgren 26 • August 2020 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

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FR

e toChange

M

e

ASSISI

FROM

all. If Sts. Francis and Clare were here with us, they would be modeling metanoia just as they inspired it in their contemporaries nearly eight centuries ago.

Clearly, the world has changed a great deal since they lived, but some of our deep human needs have not. In helping us see what is possible when we collaborate with God and one another, Francis and Clare can sensitize us to what matters so that we invest ourselves in a process of growth that leaves no space untouched. Three steps of the metanoia in their lives can help us envision a courageous and hopefilled way forward.

UNEXPECTED INVITATION

This stage of metanoia speaks to moments when life hands us something that causes us to question everything. Often this invitation is bewildering; it can be sudden, tragic, and life-changing. Francis of Assisi’s unexpected invitation came in the form of an entire year spent as a prisoner of war.

When Francis was only 16, his father helped fund a revolt of the merchant class, prompting a tragic cycle of violence.

The merchants, who could not own land, rose up against the landowning nobles, who fled to neighboring Perugia. Four years later, aligned with the Perugian army, members of the noble class mounted an attack to take back their homes and property.

Poised to inherit his father’s luxury cloth business, 20-year-old Francis rode out with the other young men of Assisi in 1202 to intercept the attacking forces. He was struck down and taken hostage. Facing the possibility of dying in Francis and Clare; mixed media on canvas (14” x 28”) Artist’s statement: These two paintings of Francis and Clare are a combination of ancient icons and a contemporary approach. They were created on a rough surface because the lives of Francis and Clare were not smooth. Not only was pain inflicted upon them unexpectedly, but they also chose poverty rather than enjoying the comforts of wealth.

Francis holds a Bible with a tau cross. His expression is one of wanting to engage with the viewer as he begins to speak. Clare has healing herbs throughout her portrait to honor her talents of serving others, including Francis.

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Both Sts. Francis and Clare saw the disruption of war as an unexpected invitation to question “business as usual” and to place integrity and care at the center of the social, economic, and religious norms of their day. Will we today let COVID-19 invite us to a similar set of changes? Can we focus our energy on doing what truly helps people thrive? Can we begin the process of honestly identifying all that is not working in our world so that we can creatively orient ourselves toward a better way?

EYES TO SEE

a prison cell in Perugia, Francis began to ask himself what was really worth fighting and dying for. He worried that nothing in his life had been meaningful, lasting, or significant. Confinement and solitude helped him appreciate what was at stake in the values that communities embody.

Clare, only 5 years old during the initial uprising in Assisi, fled with the nobility to Perugia. She spent seven years exiled there, learning to read, write, sew, and manage a household. Clare was being prepared for marriage into another noble family, even as she observed the devastating impact of conflict over property. Although Clare and Francis did not yet know one another, seeds of new life were germinating in two of Christianity’s greatest saints, both displaced from Assisi by war and wondering if there was a better way.

“Only a faithful soul is the Creator’s dwelling place and throne, and this only through the charity that the wicked lack.”

—St. Clare, Third Letter to Agnes of Bohemia

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PHOTO CREDIT HERE

Young Clare; oil on canvas (20” x 24”) Artist’s statement: This painting is of Clare as she is about to enter the age to be considered for marriage negotiations. Her expression of confidence and even defiance shows her intention of owning her own life.

The hair breaking the border shows her determination not to be contained by the constrictions of a dysfunctional society.

Emphasis is on her hair because later she cuts it to show her full commitment in marriage to Christ.

How will we know what makes a better way? The second stage in this process of courageous change involves genuine, caring relationships that awaken us to the beauty, fragility, and goodness of life, helping us to experience God in those spaces of encounter.

For Francis, this second stage of metanoia occurred in one of the most frightening spaces of the medieval world: a leper colony.

Medieval lepers were forced to live outside the city walls and forbidden human contact.

They were prohibited from common water sources—streams, fountains, or wells. As the disease progressed, they lost physical function and wasted away, condemned to a slow, anonymous death in the colonies that set them apart. Like most of his contemporaries, Francis deliberately avoided contact with their misery.

In his Testament, Francis tells us that a singular grace of God led him into a nearby leper colony where, to his surprise, he experienced a surge of tenderness toward them—an outpouring of love and solidarity that he knew was beyond his own capacity to generate. The lepers’ intense need triggered in Francis an equally intense desire to alleviate the suffering of people who had always horrified him. All of this showed Francis who God was and who God called him to be.

This experience was not simply a moment of pity, charity, or kindness; it was a threshold space, drawing Francis into relationships that invited him to change. In addition to gaining eyes to see lepers as his sisters and brothers, the relationships Francis cultivated with them gave him eyes to see the world from their van-

tage point, highlighting the deep-seated inequities, indifference, and contempt that held its exclusionary structures firmly in place. The coldness and superficiality of his lifestyle were laid bare as Francis now saw the hollowness of his choices, his goals, and his investment of time and energy.

The faces of his sisters and brothers in the leper colony remained with him, permeating his life and keeping Francis from “business as usual” within the city walls. Francis’ growing empathy and solidarity led him to ask himself: Do I really have the right to pursue my own interests when others suffer so greatly?

What does my connection with those who suffer mean in my daily life—what I eat or wear, whom I work for, and what I do or refuse to do?

These questions gnawed at Francis, who came to see them as a profound grace and a rich invitation to change.

RADICAL DEPARTURE: BEYOND BARRIERS

PHOTO CREDIT HERE

The third stage of metanoia is a space of decisive action, stemming from all that has been stirring within. Francis’ departure began with an act of tremendous courage, solidarity, and love that shocked his family and friends.

Stripping himself naked before the bishop of Assisi, Francis offered his father back his clothing, inheritance, and the status and privilege they represented.

In the valley below Assisi, Francis set about rebuilding churches, laboring with the poor, begging for food and sustenance, and slowly gathering a community of people ready to live out the Gospel in poverty, simplicity, humility, and radical love. Francis and his followers called themselves Lesser Brothers, and it did not take long for Clare’s cousin Rufino to join the community.

When Clare returned to Assisi after the war, this movement was still in its infancy. She helped sustain it with money taken from her dowry, deepening her commitment through conversation with Francis, who clearly admired her determination and singleness of heart. Clare was, from the beginning, more than a patron of the fledgling community.

In them, she saw the embodiment of what she, too, wanted: the Gospel way of radical simplicity, solidarity, and care.

Slipping out of her family’s palace late one night, Clare headed to the Chapel of St. Mary of the Angels, recently rebuilt by the Lesser Brothers. Kneeling, she consecrated herself to God as Francis cut her hair and received her vows with the tonsure of religious life.

Knowing that rejecting her arranged marriage would stir anger from her male relatives, Francis took Clare to a Benedictine convent protected by a papal privilege of sanctuary for women.

Shortly afterward, men from her family stormed into the church and tried to carry her away by force. Pulling off her veil, Clare joyfully showed them the tonsure that made her at once unmarriageable and fully free to stand as one with the poor. Stunned and perplexed by this turn of events, the men returned to their palace.

Leper Embrace; mixed media on canvas (60” x 40”) Artist’s statement: The embrace of Francis and the leper has a lot of energy and movement because it was a powerful moment that still affects us today. We learn how God is indeed living in all people, and that when we embrace the equivalent of leprosy in our own lives, we find love is hidden within it.

“When I once became acquainted with lepers, what had previously nauseated me became a source of spiritual and physical consolation for me.”

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CHALLENGING QUESTIONS

metanoia in our day

SMALL STEPS TO PROPHETIC WITNESS

We can start by choosing love rather than Most of us today stand somewhere fear, remembering that we are not alone but between the radical commitment of Sts. are reaching toward God and one another.

Francis and Clare and the perplexity of In the darkness of our fears of the virus, may those they left behind. In our awareness we have the courage to allow our connection of the suffering of the poor and marginalTHE THREE STEPS of metanoia with God and one another to show us that ized people everywhere, can we allow the described in this article are three love is still alive in our world.

COVID-19 virus—the vulnerability it of five steps vividly brought to Both honesty and angst emerge from the generates and the intensity of human need life in a collaborative project that simple words of Francis’ own Testament as that it exposes—to give us eyes to see? Will immerses people into the vision he describes his first steps toward courawe turn our backs on the inequities of our of Francis and Clare for today. geous change: “No one told me what I should social structures, or can we contemplate The exhibit, featuring art by Holly do.” This aloneness taught Francis to turn them deeply, letting that insight give us Schapker and narrative by Gillian constantly to God for refuge, strength, and courage to change?

T.W. Ahlgren, is designed to counsel.

This can be our prayer as we look to allow individuals and communiWe can follow this example by giving our common future: “Give us eyes to ties to reflect on the dynamics of ourselves wholeheartedly to the process of see and courage to change.” This simple change; the role of encounter; change ignited by a genuine, healthy relamantra can lead us into the very heart of the perspectives gained in tionship with God. Let us allow the darkness what it means to be human, to be a people, engaged dialogue with others of this pandemic to winnow us of lesser a single human community. and accompaniment of those at things—so that nothing displaces the invitaUltimately our relationships with oththe margins; and the community tion to newness in God that each day offers. ers will give us the courage, motivation, practices that create safe space Let us not delay! and discipline to make a real break with for honesty, accountability, and What is more consoling and empowerpast patterns and forge something new. genuine transformation of self ing than knowing that we are loved, that we When, like Francis and Clare, we allow and society. are not alone, that we can risk ourselves on connection and compassion to deepen new endeavors and challenges? We become into solidarity and kinship, we can choose For more information, go to stronger, more creative, and more resourceful a new way of being connected to others— ResourcesforRenewal.org. in that space of shared energy that we create one that, Pope Francis assures us, will help with God and one another. us discover “what it is to be a people, to be Our character—as individuals, as communities, even as part of a people.” a species, a human family—is at stake. This pandemic gives It will take courage to acknowledge the inequities in our us new eyes to see the patterns, habits, and systems that have world and to change the forces that diminish our dignity. not supported human wholeness or the well-being of our How will we begin?

francis finds his Purpose FORLORNLY, HE LOOKS back up the hillside to the city that has been home for him all of his life, that he has given his life and health to defend. Slowly he realizes that he is, in reality, just as homeless as the lepers who have just shown him his own heart and given him access to the very heart of God. Although it is still a deep and shocking mystery to him, Francis senses that down in the exposed plain of the valley, amid those with nowhere else to go, he has finally found the ultimate meaning and purpose of his life: to work with others to make the world a home for all.

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PHOTO CREDIT HERE

PHOTO CREDIT HERE

Young Francis; mixed media on canvas (24” x 36”) Artist’s statement: There are many ways to relate to the young Francis with his fiery energy of love for Christ during tumultuous times. The abstract marks on the painting represent mystery and ineffable space for the holiness of our individual lives. Francis did what he could for Christ, and we should do what is ours with our own experiences and talents.

often lacks both eyes to see and the habit of thinking collaboratively about the common good. As we learn these habits once more, we can forge together a new path toward human flourishing.

Gillian T.W. Ahlgren is a Church historian and specialist in the Christian mystical tradition who teaches in the theology department at Xavier University (Cincinnati, Ohio). She holds a PhD in the history of Christianity from the University of Chicago and is the author of seven books, including The Tenderness of God: Reclaiming Our Humanity (Fortress Press).

Stigmata; mixed media on canvas (48” x 48”) Artist’s statement: Clare nurses Francis after he has received the stigmata. He also suffered from a serious eye disease. Francis looks at the viewer with invitation and shows his consolation in the knowledge that Clare will keep his spirituality alive after his nearing death.

Holly Schapker has been painting for over 30 years with installations and commissioned pieces in universities, galleries, churches, and residences across the world. She has a passion for spirituality and the creative process.

Her quest for truth, goodness, and beauty is found in every one of her paintings. You can learn more about Holly and her work at HollySchapker.com.

PHOTO CREDIT HERE

PHOTO CREDIT HERE

earth. Now is the time to ask the hardest questions about what truly matters. We cannot be satisfied with superficial questions or with inadequate or ideological answers. Thomas Merton once said that the first step of the interior life is to “unlearn our wrong ways of seeing, in order to acquire a few of the right ones.” Let us allow God and those in need to show us the pressing questions of our day.

There are no easy answers to those questions, but one thing we know: In us, with God, there is a capacity to change—a capacity that deepens as we learn the love that is God. May we, like Francis and Clare, have the courage to build together a world that is truly home for all. In our common vulnerability, may we each share the best of ourselves, for, as Anne Frank wisely observed, “No one has ever become poor by giving.”

Courage and generosity, the fruits of love, are a prophetic witness in a world that so

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BUILDINGS: KYLA MILBERGER (2); COURTESY OF THE COVENANT HOUSE INTERNATIONAL (2)

FORGOTTEN N

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N NO MORE Housed in a nondescript building in the shadow of gleaming skyscrapers and high-end boutiques in Manhattan, Covenant House is a place of refuge and hope for teens and young adults left behind.

By Peter Feuerherd

BUILDINGS: KYLA MILBERGER (2); COURTESY OF THE COVENANT HOUSE INTERNATIONAL (2)

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he main center for Covenant House, the largest youth shelter in the world, is housed in a timeworn building in Midtown Manhattan. It’s hardly noticeable near the hubbub of the Port Authority, New York City’s bus station. Nearby are the gleaming towers of the newly constructed Hudson Yards, a testimony to the city’s privilege, where the landscape is overwhelmed by shopping centers dedicated to boutiques of every stripe.

Covenant House began in 1972. It grew out of what was dubbed the Minnesota Strip, a garish neighborhood filled with porn palaces and prostitutes who brazenly promoted their trade. The Minnesota Strip was named for those kids, both boys and girls, who landed on the streets after arriving via bus from the Midwest and quickly falling into prostitution, their Gotham dreams turned into nightmares.

Covenant House offered respite, a place where street kids could get their acts together.

New York is now a different place, seemingly more benign while still bustling. Natives, instead of complaining about porn palaces, gripe about the onslaught of tourists who crowd the sidewalks around Broadway’s theaters. The area, like most of Manhattan, reeks of money and privilege in many places.

Notre Dame Sister Nancy Downing, executive director

of Covenant House New York, agrees that the bad old days of the city’s brazen urban tawdriness are largely past. But that doesn’t mean young people are not still being exploited.

She estimates that about a quarter of the young people who come to Covenant House are victims of the sex trade, now largely conducted in the shadows and via the Internet.

New York, she says, “has changed on a visual level. But we are still seeing young people being trafficked.” On this July day, the streets are steamy. And, in a city where newspaper tabloids still have influence, the newsstand headlines shout about a Manhattan billionaire, with friends in very high places, being charged with sex trafficking of minors.

“People know about it [trafficking], but they don’t say anything,” says Sister Nancy. In many ways, the issues remain similar beneath a different veneer.

There’s a quiet outrage in her voice. Injustice against children was a galvanizing force in Sister Nancy’s vocation.

She used to work in the insurance industry but found herself drawn, as an attorney, to assisting troubled youth through legal tangles of foster care, immigration, and other issues.

“I wanted to feel like I was making a difference in the world,” she says. Sister Nancy, now in her late 50s, described her calling as a late one, forged in large part by her interest in helping troubled youth.

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Jason has been the recipient of an intensive process—it helps Covenant House, she emphasizes, offers more than an that he’s available during the day—which includes art, music, institutional cot and a hot meal. It is intended as a warm and life skills such as housekeeping and finances. embrace, a religious commitment to the most desperate of “We have to give them basic life skills,” says Sister Nancy. young people. It offers a comprehensive approach, a chance There is a kind of social work jargon ring to the phrase. But for young people to find not only a place for the night but she quickly offers some perspective to those without a degree also a way out of their family issues. in social work. Many of the Covenant House kids never The center features a health clinic, mental health faciliexperienced the basics of a loving family life that many take ties, counseling rooms, and a makeshift chapel. The aim is for granted. to enhance the physical, emotional, and spiritual health of a One young woman came to Covenant House and was population often forgotten in today’s New York. offered a bed. She opted to sleep on the floor. The luxury of The approach is intended to help troubled youth navigate a bed was unknown to her. She was comfortable on the floor. the difficult bridge to adulthood.

“They are not used to having people That process can be difficult enough, take care of them,” Sister Nancy says of even for those from prosperous and many of those who come to Covenant caring homes. But for children born House’s doors. to the twin plagues of poverty and abuse, the obstacles can seem dauntA NEW LEADER AND A NEW VISION ing.

The history of Covenant House has had its ups and downs. It began through Jason, an 18-year-old Covenant House resident, is in many ways typithe work of Franciscan Father Bruce cal. But, like all residents, he has his Ritter, who left a tenured professorship own story. He’s from the borough of at Manhattan College to work on the Queens and found himself threatened streets of New York. with homelessness after his landlord Father Ritter began Covenant House, evicted him. He’s been at Covenant promoting its reputation as a haven House for two weeks. for the scandal of a decadent Times Jason is not without resources.

Square, which continued to shock the He works as a mechanic at a huge city’s conscience. In stirring fundraising letters, he focused on vulnerable box store in Queens and travels the youngsters coming from out of town subway every night to get there, startwho fell prey to the city’s sex industry. ing work at 6 p.m. and not leaving He expanded the work of the agency until 6 a.m. His job involves 50–60 to other US cities and overseas and hours a week at $18 an hour, what would speak passionately in more might seem like a reasonable wage affluent suburban parishes around the Executive director Sister Nancy Downing has kept yet is hard to live on in New York’s rental market. He retains a modest Covenant House open during the COVID-19 pandemic. city, pointing out the horrors of sexual exploitation of young people just a demeanor.

“I don’t like asking anyone for anything,” he keeps repeat- railroad commute away.

But Father Ritter himself, while a master fundraiser and ing, seemingly emphasizing the point that his goal in life is evangelist for the cause of troubled children, was a flawed not to be a burden on anyone. He is working on getting his figure. At a time when the topic of priest sex abuse was high school equivalency. taboo, Father Ritter made headlines. He had been a cruBut circumstances have not been kind to him. He notes sader against child exploitation but was credibly accused of that his mother and sister live in a homeless shelter in sexual misconduct and financial irregularities. Some thought Queens, so even at his young age there is no real home to Covenant House would not survive the human weakness of go to. He just got a $100 ticket for not paying for a subway its founder exposed for the world to see. There were predicride. Now he’s discovered that Covenant House will provide tions that the agency would fold. residents with Metrocards, something he promises himself Father Ritter was dismissed by the Covenant House board he will take advantage of. and lived out his life in obscurity until his death in 1999.

Shakeema North, director of youth development and While Father Ritter needed to be jettisoned, the concept interfaith pastoral services for Covenant House, notes that of Covenant House remained, and the board worked to the agency tries to fit in as much self-improvement and supsalvage the operation. port as possible for the typical 60-day stay.

A Daughter of Charity sister came to the rescue in 1990.

“Many are trying to make their own way,” she says. Much Her name was Sister Mary Rose McGeady. The new director of her work is spent on one-on-one counseling sessions.

THIS PAGE: COURTESY OF THE COVENANT HOUSE INTERNATIONAL/ROB RICH; OPPOSITE PAGE: COURTESY OF THE COVENANT HOUSE INTERNATIONAL/CHERYL GERBER (2)

A LIFELINE FOR THE FORGOTTEN

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THIS PAGE: COURTESY OF THE COVENANT HOUSE INTERNATIONAL/ROB RICH; OPPOSITE PAGE: COURTESY OF THE COVENANT HOUSE INTERNATIONAL/CHERYL GERBER (2)

It is estimated that homeless youth in the United States alone could increase by as much as 45 percent due to the coronavirus pandemic.

—From a study by Dr. Brendan O’Flaherty, an economics professor at Columbia University

Covenant House New York adopted safety measures for protection during the coronavirus pandemic.

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COURTESY OF COVENANT HOUSE INTERNATIONAL

COVENANT HOUSE INTERNATIONAL ARCHIVES

CHANGING LIVES IN reworked the fundraising letters, making 60 DAYS Residents range from them closer to the real16 to 21 years of age. ity of most Covenant (Those under 16, by House clients. They law, can stay for only rarely came from the 72 hours.) Curfew is Midwest, and most 9:30 every night, with were not white; they the exception made were largely young for those who have minorities from the night jobs. city’s five boroughs, Wake-up time is 6 living through the a.m.; breakfast is at 7. chaos of crime and Residents then go off family dislocation for schooling or jobs. created by the crack The structure itself epidemic of the era. is a vital life skill for The stories of kids youngsters who often being lured into the grow up with little sex industries of the guidance.

Sister Mary Rose McGeady, known for her grit and concern for youth, helped revive Covenant city after arriving at According to the Port Authority Bus House when she became director in 1990.

Sister Nancy, the faith Terminal were toned dimension of Covenant House remains. No one is proselydown, better reflecting the actual work of the agency. tized, and those who are served come from all faith backThe more accurate approach worked. Covenant House grounds, or none. was rebuilt on a more solid foundation.

“We recognize God’s providence,” she says. The religious Sister Mary Rose, who radiated both toughness and a dimension is a quiet one, appreciated by many clients, concern for youth honed by years in social services, spearshe adds. The chapel is often a haven for troubled youth. headed the Covenant House comeback, leading the agency Donations include rosaries, which are often clutched by for 13 years. She died in 2012. young residents, even if they don’t understand or profess the Fortunately, the crack epidemic abated. Now drug abuse prayers associated with the beads. is seen more as a widespread societal issue, not just an urban While New York is its birthplace and hub, Covenant problem. But Covenant House in Manhattan continues House now extends across the globe. The agency tries to to focus on troubled young people from the city, many of meet needs in other places as well. whom exist in the shadows, quietly remaining in all-night Covenant House now has shelters in more than 30 locavenues to deal with the reality of homelessness. About 85 tions, in large and small American cities from Anchorage, percent of Covenant House clients are from the city, often Alaska, to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Asbury Park, New finding the facility through on-street referrals from other Jersey, as well as Houston, New Orleans, and Philadelphia. young people in trouble. Or they are referred by police officIt has expanded internationally as well, with centers in ers and outreach workers who locate the young people on Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Canada. The New the streets.

York model has been replicated in cities and towns both In a city that offers so much wealth, power, and opportularge and small, wherever young people find themselves on nity, why do they remain homeless? the streets instead of with concerned families.

The reasons vary, Sister Nancy says.

Wherever they are, and wherever they come from, the Some come from homes plagued by alcohol and drug young people who come to Covenant House are worth abuse. Others are from families, cramped into small apartthe effort, emphasizes Sister Nancy, who tries to educate ments with stratospheric rents, who no longer have room potential supporters and benefactors about the hard world for them. Others come out as gay or transgender to their of young adult homelessness. families and are kicked out as a result. Whatever the reason, Youth homelessness remains an issue with serious misthrough four floors of the Manhattan facility, 120 young conceptions abounding, she says. One of the most common people are sheltered each evening. Their time is limited to 60 is that runaways can always go home. But, she says, they days at the main shelter. A transitional housing facility run usually are not fleeing temporary family squabbles that can by the agency in the Bronx, New York, allows young people be easily patched up. It’s about more than normal family to stay for up to two years. dysfunction.

Sixty percent of funding comes from government agen“If they run away, they have run from abusive situations. cies, the rest from private donations.

They can’t go back. They have been told House. She is now in New Orleans, they are trash,” Sister Nancy says. entering young adulthood, and working From these challenging backwith the Covenant House facility there. grounds, she sees how the 60-day stays She is determined to help those, like her, at Covenant House can have a longwho are growing up without supportive term impact. families.

Just a week ago, a young man, a new “She didn’t believe she would be alive Covenant House resident, visited her at 21,” says Sister Nancy. Hannah is not office. He had told his adoptive parthe only one. Some former Covenant ents he was gay. He was kicked out and House residents have become doctors, began to feel that no one really cared lawyers, and musicians, and are truly about him. His talk with Sister Nancy gifted, waiting for an opportunity to offered a ray of hope. shine.

“I am feeling a little better today,” he Many others have been able to build told her at a Covenant House barbeque stable lives for themselves as they navithe next day. She sees the young man as gate through adulthood. slowly working past anger and explorWhatever the outcomes, Sister Nancy A former attorney, Sister Nancy provides couning the deep hurt of his life. These are says the Covenant House youth represent seling, life skills, and hope to homeless youth. the minor triumphs that make the a simple truth: “These are young people work worthwhile. who have experienced homelessness. But homelessness is not Sometimes the stories make rags-to-riches sagas. Hannah what they are.” had been living on her own since she was 13. She came to Covenant House at 18 and was the resident who preferred to Peter Feuerherd writes from Queens, New York, where he is a professor of sleep on the floor because she was not used to a bed. communications and journalism at St. John’s University and a news editor for Hannah earned a 3.96 grade point average at Mount St. the National Catholic Reporter. For more information, visit Covenant House’s Vincent College, through a program sponsored by Covenant website, NY.CovenantHouse.org.

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PHOTO CREDIT HERE

Story by Michael T. Best Illustration by Katherine Schwettman

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The threat of a wildfire forces a family to evacuate their home.

PHOTO CREDIT HERE

T

en minutes before Rose had to pick up her son at school, her phone offered a reminder ding. Still in her gym clothes from her early morning workout, she strolled out of her home with her younger son, Jack, in tow.

Behind the school rose a series of rolling hills, dusted brown by months of dry weather. There had been no rain since last winter, and none was in the forecast.

It was early November, and the Santa Ana winds of Southern California blew through a nearby palm tree. Several palm fronds had already fallen into the street. The air was dry and wild, tousling Rose’s hair as she walked up the hill to the school.

Something was wrong with the wind today: It smelled faintly of smoke.

Rose reached the pickup area a few minutes early and waited with a small group of other parents. She asked, “Do any of you smell that smoke?”

“Yeah, there’s a fire over in Oakbrook, and with these winds, it’s really carrying,” one of the other mothers answered.

Oakbrook was 15 miles away, closer to where her parents lived.

Another mother added, “I heard there’s another fire in Greendale too. It just started a few minutes ago.”

Before Rose had any more time to worry, Kobe rushed from his classroom. Jack met him in a bear hug that turned into a boisterous wrestling match of brotherly love.

Rose snapped, “Come on, boys!

Let’s get home. The air is lousy, and I want to check the news and call your grandparents.”

“Why?” asked Jack.

“Just some fires. They are really . . . really far away,” Rose added.

“So there’s nothing to worry about?” asked Kobe.

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“Right, guys. Everything is fine.”

Rose had faith in the firefighters and in the 10 miles of open space between the small fire and her home.

W

ithin the hour, Rose had checked the news on television and online several times. Her parents called to say they were coming over due to a mandatory evacuation in their neighborhood. The first fire was moving fast and was just three miles from their home. The fire closer to Rose’s home was reportedly very small and under control.

At dinnertime, Rose’s husband arrived and got caught up on all the news. Rose’s parents were in the living room playing Simon Says with the two boys.

“What should we do?” Sam asked.

“Better prepare an emergency bag just in case,” Rose said.

Rose spent the next half hour packing clothes for the boys and herself. Sam checked outside. The wind blew even harder now. The sun was setting, and the sky was the color of a tangerine. He felt like some medieval lookout searching for an enemy attack.

The family ate a quick dinner, watched the news, and tried to keep the boys from seeing the flames rushing toward their grandparents’ neighborhood.

Rose and Sam paced for the next hour as the boys played together. Just before putting the boys to bed, Rose called the emergency fire line.

She asked the fire operator, “The smoke’s getting closer. Is the fire headed our way? Do we need to evacuate?”

The operator answered, “Right now, there are no evacuations in your area. We will update the emergency website within the hour—if not sooner.”

After they put their sons to bed, Sam went outside again and looked to the north, wondering if the fire would travel over the hills to their house. Across the street a couple of the neighbors packed their cars. One of them yelled across, “My friend says the Deer Valley neighborhood has been told to be ready to evacuate.” That neighborhood, about two miles away, was in the foothills between acres of open space and the origin of the fire.

Sam went inside. “What do we do?” he asked Rose.

“We’re ready. If we have to leave, then we have to leave.”

“What about a shelter?”

“I don’t know where they are. I’m trying to get information.”

“Maybe we should try a hotel in the valley.”

Rose’s mother offered, “Sandy, my friend from Hilldale, says there’s a shelter opening up in the valley at Howard High School.”

Rose called her brother who lived 12 miles away. He said,

“I just lost power, and I think the fire is headed my way, but I can’t get any good information.” Rose felt as if a lurching and unpredictable avalanche was squeezing in on them, ready to destroy anything in its path.

Rose and Sam paced inside their home. Finally they went outside and loaded the car with three suitcases, birth certificates, Social Security cards, extra cash, and some photographs. They went inside and paced again.

A moment later a police car, sirens wailing, drove through the neighborhood. Rose and Sam rushed to the street, waving to flag down the officer. Sam asked, “Is this a mandatory evacuation?”

“Yes, get out. Get out now!”

The police car barreled down the street as they rushed back inside. Rose hurried down the hallway and turned into the only bedroom her young sons had ever known. When Rose picked up Jack, he didn’t even blink. He twisted his body and rolled into her arms.

Sam got Kobe, carrying him in his arms as if he were once again a newborn. The boy opened his eyes. “Is this because of the fire?”

“Yes, but it’s OK,” Sam answered. “We’re getting out.”

Rose’s parents hurried out with them. They all packed into the car and left their home. The fire was behind them.

As they turned onto the main road out of town, in the rearview mirror they saw a blazing crush of headlights. From every side street, dozens of cars poured onto the main road out of town, fleeing like ants. Rose felt as though they were getting away just in time. She pictured the fire engulfing them with orange and red flames 20 feet high.

T

hey reached the freeway shortly before midnight and drove another 15 minutes until they arrived at a hotel. It was already full, as was the second hotel a few blocks away.

Finally, they made it to the shelter at the local high school, where they found a line of other evacuees waiting outside the gym. Inside, volunteers had just begun to put up long rows of cots. Once at the front of the line, Rose and her family were each given a small bag filled with a new toothbrush, toothpaste, a comb, and a bar of soap. They made their way to the back of the gym and positioned six open cots close together.

“We should have taken both cars,” Sam sighed. “We should have taken more things like their baseball gloves and tennis racquets.”

“We did our best.”

“But what if—our house is gone?”

“We got out. That’s what matters.”

“I know, but why didn’t I take the second car? Why didn’t

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I stay and fight that thing? Why didn’t I keep the house safe?”

“We’re all safe. All of us are together. That’s the important thing,” Rose said.

Evacuees kept arriving, and the lights in the gym remained on into the wee hours of the next morning.

Everyone tried to sleep, but the adrenaline of the evacuation and the jarring dislocation of being a refugee led to a restless night.

At daybreak, Sam asked the volunteers at the shelter if it was safe to go home. One of them said, “Last I heard the freeway was closed.”

“Closed? Why?” “Because the fire has jumped the freeway.”

“Oh, maybe it’ll reopen by the time—” “Sir,” the volunteer cut in firmly, “it’s not safe for you to go home.”

He walked back into the gym, which was now at full capacity. Dozens more people without a place to go waited outside.

He returned to Rose. She complained, “The lights didn’t go out until at least three in the morning.”

“We had to sleep somewhere. There was nowhere else to go.”

Later in the morning, Rose called to find a hotel room.

It took her five calls, each one to a hotel farther from home.

Around lunchtime, she finally found one. They packed up their belongings and drove away.

Once in the hotel, they finally got a glimpse of the fire on television. Every image was of homes ablaze. Homes in their town. Homes in the town five miles away. Everywhere, homes were under attack.

The images were a blur of a firestorm, and Rose had no way of knowing if her house was still standing or when they would be allowed to return.

While Rose and her family were cramped in their hotel room, they tried to forget the fire. To take their mind off the fire, she and her parents visited a native-plants center Rose had always wanted to see. She wondered if she would need to replace all the native poppies she had planted just three years ago. Each spring, they bloomed into a gorgeous slope of orange beauties.

On the way back to the hotel, they stopped for a few groceries: bananas, a loaf of bread, peanut butter, jelly. Eating out had already gotten old.

In the motel room, as the boys played a new robot battle game from the dollar store, Rose checked the news on her phone and texted her friends. They were all safe and scattered in shelters or hotels, and some were with friends who lived 30 or more miles away from the fire.

A

fter one night in the shelter and three in the hotel, the mandatory evacuation was lifted.

Rose and her family packed up their car, checked out of the hotel, and drove home.

Three miles from home, they saw the first signs of the devastation. One house was an enormous hollow shell. Dead trees, as black as the night, lay fallen and twisted along every canyon and side slope. Closer to home, four firefighters with a long water hose in tow walked up from a slope that led to the local creek.

“They’re still fighting hot spots,” Rose said.

“I can’t believe this is our town,” Sam added.

From the back seat, Jack asked, “Mommy, what’s a hot spot?”

“There might be embers still burning, but don’t worry, guys. The firefighters are here. They’re putting them out.”

When they reached their street, six pairs of eyes peered anxiously out the car windows. Amazingly, the houses were still standing. When they pulled into their driveway, the only evidence of the fire was some heaps of ash covering the front doorstep and the driveway. Inside, the house reeked of smoke. For an entire week Rose ran portable air filters to get rid of the smell.

F

or three weeks, the schools stayed closed. Inside their home, the kids played board games and ran around the house as Rose tried to get the scent of smoke from their clothes. Outside, charred black trees dotted the landscape.

The buzz of limb crews chopped through the debris, reducing the limbs to wood chips.

Less than a month after the fire, some of the black hills started to turn green. A springlike hum and buzz returned to the air. Birds and squirrels, displaced from their homes, sought food in their backyard. Life, on the surface, got back to some kind of normal.

When the schools reopened, Rose dropped Jack off at preschool. The parking lot was next to a church saved from the fire, the fire line etched right up to the curb. A metal sign rested on the ground, damaged and bent by the flames. Its steel pole was twisted and folded like a distorted origami paper crane.

Rose could not keep some tears away. Next to the damaged sign, a long row of bushes was charred to the ground, left to wither, left to crack, left to remind.

Michael T. Best is a Catholic writer from Oak Park, California. His short fiction has appeared in Liguorian and other publications, including this one. A married father of two sons, he has volunteered in youth ministry and coached Little League and youth soccer.

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By Daniel Imwalle

SURVIVING DEPRESSION: A CATHOLIC APPROACH

THE KID’S BOOK OF PRAYERS ABOUT ALL SORTS OF THINGS

BY KATHRYN J. HERMES, FSP Pauline Books and Media

BY ELIZABETH HELLER AND DAVID HELLER, PHD Pauline Books and Media

S

ister Kathryn Hermes, FSP, wrote the first edition of Surviving Depression: A Catholic Approach back in 1993, when the taboo of mental illness was only beginning to be replaced with the acceptance of the importance of mental health. Now in its third edition, this book is even more important as the number of individuals grappling with depression—many of whom are practicing Catholics—continues to grow.

In Surviving Depression, Sister Kathryn acknowledges the profound benefits of seeking medical help and advocates for counseling and medication, but she also ties in Catholic teaching and Scripture that readers will find both helpful and comforting.

M

any of us have kids or grandkids who are cooped up at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Though prayer might not be the first thing on their list of things they’d like to do in their free time, The Kid’s Book of Prayers about All Sorts of Things shows how praying can be (gasp!) fun and easy—not to mention rewarding.

Geared toward children in middle school, this book is interactive, with spots to write and even draw, and includes prayers about different emotions, being grateful, and problems the world is facing. The prayers on health and feeling lonely might be of particular value for kids struggling with isolation due to the quarantine.

STAY CONNECTED: SEEKING PEACE

BLESS MY GRANDCHILD: A CATHOLIC PRAYER BOOK FOR GRANDPARENTS

BY ALLISON GINGRAS Our Sunday Visitor

BY JULIE CRAGON Ave Maria Press

his timely journal for Catholic women seeks to help readers move from a place of worry to one of trust and deepened faith.

Author Allison Gingras offers seven ways for women to discover how to build and nurture trust in God. Scripture passages and prayers bolster each chapter, and space to journal is interspersed throughout so that readers can pause, reflect, and put their thoughts and feelings to paper.

S

ometimes grandparents worry as much as parents do about passing on the Catholic faith—maybe even more. But their worry is also often outweighed by a deep and abiding joy in having a role in their grandchildren’s lives. Julie Cragon’s book covers both the anxieties and delights of grandparenting, including prayers for the wise use of technology, gender identity, and a marriage blessing for adult grandchildren.

ICONS

music

CULTURE 0820.indd 42

books

podcast tv & streaming

film

video

e-learning & online 6/25/20 11:29 AM

US DEPARTMENT OF STATE/PUBLIC DOMAIN

T

Dr. Jane Goodall Teaches Conservation MasterClass (MasterClass.com)

I

US DEPARTMENT OF STATE/PUBLIC DOMAIN

g&

By Christopher Heffron

’ve always wondered how Jane tives. Chimpanzees mourn the deaths Goodall can live so boldly and talk so of family members, engage in vicious quietly. Her soothing voice, with that power struggles, and use tools. Her gorgeous English lilt, should be used decades-long research shook primatolin meditation apps. But don’t let the ogy to its foundation. Her legendary calm delivery soften the power of her mentor, Dr. Louis Leakey, once wrote, message: Goodall, 86, is a powerhouse “We must now redefine man, redefine primatologist with decades of lessons tool, or accept chimpanzees as human!” to share.

For this First, a lesson in MasterClass, MasterClass. When Goodall channels it launched in 2015, those lived experithis online learning ences into a singular platform set the tone focus: conservafor how e-learning tion. But this is should be rendered. no starchy lecture.

And people took Goodall teaches notice, with one through storytelling. report stating that Her blackboard is 30,000 people signed her memory. And up for courses when her work in this it went live. Now, field is unmatched: luminaries from In 1977, she Simone Biles to founded the Jane Annie Leibovitz to Goodall Institute, a Wolfgang Puck have worldwide leader in signed on to share protecting primates “Only if we undertheir experiences and their habitats. and wisdom in their And because we, too, stand, will we care. various crafts. As a are primates, part of Only if we care, will learning platform, her institute’s efforts we help. Only if we MasterClass is peergoes toward betterhelp, shall all be less. ing the lives of girls saved.”

Now, a crash in Africa.

—Dr. Jane Goodall course in Dr. Jane It isn’t often that Goodall. When this spirituality and brilliant, curious, seemingly benign science can coexist so peacefully, but young woman entered the Tanzanian there’s something inherently spiritual jungles of Gombe Stream National about Goodall. In a past interview, Park in 1960 to study chimpanzees, she alluded to a higher power guidthe world was not prepared for what ing her work, and it’s impossible not her field research would unearth—and to believe it. Without saying it in this the scientific community scoffed at class, Goodall’s life seems touched by her analysis. But she didn’t let gender the divine. Her sole focus is protectdiscrimination deter her. Goodall ing imperiled primates—members of discovered stunning similarities God’s creation. Somewhere, St. Francis between humans and our closest relais smiling.

Class Is in Session

A

t MasterClass, there is no shortage of classes, themes, and instructors to choose from. Here are three to check out.

Jodie Foster Teaches Filmmaking

While filmmaking is perhaps too lofty a career goal for most of us, that shouldn’t deter the curious from taking Foster’s class. As an instructor, you could do worse: With two Academy Awards on her mantel and some 50 years in the film industry, Foster knows her way around a film set. Brilliant yet wholly relatable, in this setting, Foster soars—and her enthusiasm for a story told well is infectious.

Gordon Ramsay Teaches Cooking

I’ve never been fond of the celebrated English chef. And after taking his MasterClass on cooking, I’m still not a fan. But even Ramsay’s naysayers must yield to his understanding of the culinary arts and his (overcooked?) enthusiasm for food. Ramsay demystifies cooking and breaks it down into tasty morsels. Dig in!

Anna Wintour Teaches Creativity and Leadership

As the longtime editor-in-chief of Vogue, Wintour is a polarizing figure (read: The Devil Wears Prada). But you won’t find an editor in the industry today with more grit, stamina, and steely intelligence than Wintour. In this class, she teaches that, in leadership, data is useful, but instincts and experience are fundamental.

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HAVE A FAVORITE CULTURE ITEM YOU WANT TO SHARE? Let us know about it: MagazineEditors@Franciscan Media.org

StAnthonyMessenger.org | August 2020 • 43

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CULTURE

By Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP

Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP

FILMS

the Digital World The Social Network (2010) The Net (1995) Her (2013) Catfish (2010) I Am Jane Doe (2017)

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WANT MORE? Visit our website: StAnthonyMessenger.org

D

irector Jon Hyatt’s new documentary asks a very big question: Are we addicted to our screens? He starts out by turning off his devices and traveling across Canada and the United States to discover the answer. This can be a touchy question in this day and age, as parents manage their children’s schooling via computers, tablets, and other devices throughout the stay-at-home mandates.

Screened Out’s focus is on how social media and online gaming industries know how to get us hooked on our screens, which they build into their software. Once they have us, they sell our information to advertisers.

According to Sean Parker, Facebook’s original president, when the social media giant launched, they knew that the dopamine loop, or “a social validation feedback loop,” is what ultimately sells the users to advertisers.

This loop is the pleasure reward our brains experience when someone responds to something we post.

Do we have the strength to turn off notifications? Do we have the courage to limit our screen time? Knowing that Facebook and others sell our information to advertisers—and that these advertisers pay for every click we make online—should make us think.

Social media and gaming platforms create deep psychological needs for us that, when fulfilled, make us feel good. And lurking behind these social platforms and video

games are consumer advertising and political ads from unknown sources. This is now an established science that the film adequately explores. The next big question is: What is the long-term effect of “screen addiction by design” on the developing brains of children?

We simply do not know.

The downside is, of course, when users get negative feedback. The film shows one young teen girl who was saved from suicide because her father rescued her just in time.

She got help through a screen rehab program.

South Korea has 400 Internet and gaming rehabilitation centers, and these are a growing reality in this country, too, such as reSTART (NetAddictionRecovery.com). The ethics of what these technology companies are doing have yet to be explored in any meaningful way. But this film is a start.

Screened Out offers ideas for parents and adults to change how they model their relationships with their devices and give their children the attention they deserve. The film’s scope is focused on Canada and the United States. It does not address the screen time issues of other ethnic groups or low-income families. This is for the next film. Once I started watching Screened Out, I couldn’t stop.

It is available on most streaming services.

Not yet rated • Suicide, bullying, addiction references.

44 • August 2020 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

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THE STAND AT PAXTON COUNTY: COURTESY ESX ENTERTAINMENT/SEAN GUNN (2); JUDY & PUNCH: SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS

about

Sister Rose’s FAVORITE

SCREENED OUT

LEFT: COURTESY SISTER ROSE PACATTE, FSP/MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS; SCREENED OUT: DARK STAR PICTURES (2)

Sister Rose is a Daughter of St. Paul and the founding director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies. She has been the award-winning film columnist for St. Anthony Messenger since 2003 and is the author of several books on Scripture and film, as well as media literacy education.

JUDY & PUNCH

W

THE STAND AT PAXTON COUNTY

THE STAND AT PAXTON COUNTY: COURTESY ESX ENTERTAINMENT/SEAN GUNN (2); JUDY & PUNCH: SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS

LEFT: COURTESY SISTER ROSE PACATTE, FSP/MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS; SCREENED OUT: DARK STAR PICTURES (2)

J

anna Connelly (Jacqueline Toboni) is a medic on active duty in Afghanistan when she receives news that her father, Dell (Michael O’Neill), has heart problems. She must return to their North Dakota ranch to care for him. She soon discovers that he and other ranchers are being harassed by the local sheriff, Roger (Christopher McDonald), who cites the farmers for animal cruelty based on a new law pushed through by an animal rights organization. A reporter for the local newspaper, Vin (Sean O’Bryan), reports on this, but only goes deeper when Janna confronts him.

When the ranch hand, Brock (Greg Parrow), disappears, Janna hires Matt (Tyler Jacob Moore) as the new foreman. Little by little, they discover that Brock had been giving information to the sheriff, who was working with a stateappointed veterinarian to sabotage the fencing and feed so that the horses and livestock would be confiscated for their own safety. This would eventually force the Connelly’s ranch into bankruptcy. When Vin reveals to Janna that he witnessed wrongdoing by the sheriff, she and her father are able to defend themselves legally.

The Stand at Paxton County is based on a true story that took place in Gladstone, North Dakota, in 2017. Both the case and the dramatized film have convoluted plots. Toboni’s solid performance carries this very watchable drama.

Brett Hedlund creates a film that touches on drama and romance, but with a social justice edge. It is available on Netflix.

Not yet rated, R • Violence, lying, greed, language, some sexuality, brief nudity.

Catholic News Service Media Review Office gives these ratings.

A-1 General patronage

A-2 Adults and adolescents

A-3 Adults

L Limited adult audience

O Morally offensive

hat I like about Australian cinema is that it is always just a little quirky. In writer/director Mirrah Foulkes’ dramatic comedy, we find the husband and wife puppeteer team of Judy (Mia Wasikowska) and Punch (Damon Herriman), a deliberate inversion of the original “Punch and Judy” traveling puppet shows of 17th-century England. Here the couple returns home to Seaside because they are broke. At first it seems that they, with their baby, are happy. But Punch is an alcoholic, while Judy is the brains and talent of their act. The town is entertained by Judy and Punch, but executions of suspected witches and sorcerers draw a big crowd as well.

Punch cannot be trusted. He accidently tosses the baby out the window, beats Judy, and buries her in the forest where a motley crew of female heretics live. They save Judy, and together they all save the lives of a newly accused couple while our heroine gets her revenge.

The film’s production qualities are high, and Wasikowska is always good.

There is an obvious theme of respect for women running through the narrative, but despite a few chuckles, I am not sure that is enough to save the film from itself.

Not yet rated • Violence, language, alcoholism.

Source: USCCB.org/movies

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POINTSOFVIEW | FAITH & FAMILY

By Susan Hines-Brigger

Time to Stop Talking and Start Listening

Susan welcomes your comments and suggestions!

E-MAIL: CatholicFamily@ FranciscanMedia.org MAIL: Faith & Family 28 W. Liberty St. Cincinnati, OH 45202

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PAY ATTENTION

Every parent knows that when a child wants to get your attention, he or she will repeat your name over and over again—“Mom, Mom, Mom”—in the hopes that you’ll respond. If you don’t, the child might pull on your pant leg. Finally, when he or she remains unnoticed, the child will often act out in any way that will make you stop whatever you are doing and pay attention. And, guess what? It usually works.

Sometimes it’s just to tell you something they think is important and that you need to know. Other times they want to show you something. But what they really want is just for you to pay attention.

I thought about this as I read and watched reports about the protests and, in some cases, riots that were taking place across the country following Floyd’s death. It occurred to me that, for far too long, our African American brothers and sisters have been calling our names, pulling on our country’s pant leg—or taking a knee—in an attempt to get our attention about the suffering and pain they endure on a daily basis. We haven’t paid attention.

Oh, we pay attention for a minute or two, express our outrage and post our support on social media—until the news cycle changes.

Then we move on, leaving the hurt and anger in the rearview mirror. We can do that. We have that luxury. In fact, we’ve done it so many times that I’m not sure we are even aware of it or how much a part of the problem we are.

And when I say “we,” I mean me. I mean my family, because we are fortunate to not have to worry about being mistaken for a criminal when we walk on the street. We can go to the park to have a picnic or go birdwatching and not have the cops called on us for doing normal, everyday activities. My son has the good fortune to worry more about what his parents will do when he tells them he got pulled over than what the cop will do when he or she pulls him over.

But this also goes much deeper than those issues. Racism has become ingrained in so many facets of our country—education, jobs, health care, housing, and the list goes on—that I can see why many have reached a boiling point, yelling “Listen to me” with their actions. We shouldn’t be surprised.

A TEACHING MOMENT

In one of my previous columns, I wrote about how I needed to learn to stop talking sometimes and just listen to what my kids have to say—not give them answers, not try to explain things, just keep quiet and let them lead the conversation. I continually have to remind myself that they have a voice that needs to be heard and things that they can teach me. So I’m going to stop talking now.

Growing up, one of the lessons my parents taught my sisters and me was that we shouldn’t comment on anything until we knew what we were talking about. I don’t know what it’s like to be an African American or the struggles that come with it. I never will.

That’s exactly why I’m going to remember that lesson right now and keep my mouth shut but my ears open, ready to listen and learn. I suggest we all do the same thing.

46 • August 2020 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

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TOP RIGHT: WILDPIXEL/ISTOCK; PETE & REPEAT: TOM GREENE

Susan has worked at St. Anthony Messenger for 26 years and is an executive editor. She and her husband, Mark, are the proud parents of four kids—Maddie, Alex, Riley, and Kacey. Aside from her family, her loves are Disney, traveling, and sports.

TOP LEFT: MC KOZUSKO/SAM; TOP RIGHT: IKOPHOTOS/FOTOSEARCH

Susan Hines-Brigger

sat with this column for quite a while before I started writing. I thought about it. I prayed about it. I even started to take the easy way out and pick a different topic. But I knew in my heart that I needed to say something.

And what I have to say something about is the topic of racial issues and injustice that have been on full display because of the horrific death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Created with TheTeachersCorner.net Word Search Maker

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TOP RIGHT: WILDPIXEL/ISTOCK; PETE & REPEAT: TOM GREENE

NEVADA ORDER POPE

PRAYER

QUEENSHIP RETREAT

SKYSCRAPER TEACHING TRINITY

UNITED

VESPERS

WILDFIRE XAVIER

“It’s what’s on the inside that counts.”

TRIVIA QUESTIONS 1: How old was Francis of Assisi when he was taken prisoner by the Perugian army?

2: What is the name of the morning prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours?

3: When is St. John Vianney’s feast day?

4: Who is the editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine?

HINT: All answers can be found in the pages of this issue.

ANSWERS AND CAPTIONS: E-mail your answers and captions to: MagazineEditors@FranciscanMedia.org, or mail to: St. Anthony Messenger, 28 W. Liberty St., Cincinnati, OH 45202

These scenes may seem alike to you, But there are changes in the two.

So look and see if you can name Eight ways in which they’re not the same.

(Answers below)

GET THE FUN FOR BOOK

ALL AGES!

Go online to order: Shop.FranciscanMedia.org For ONLY $3.99 Use Code: SAMPETE ANSWERS to PETE & REPEAT: 1) The top of one fence post is higher. 2) There are two holes on the bird feeder. 3) Sis’ shirt has red stripes on the sleeves. 4) The flowerpot has more greenery. 5) The bird feeder has a base. 6) Pete’s shirt sleeve is shorter. 7) Another leaf has sprouted from the plant by the fence. 8) Two small fence posts have become one large one.

TOP LEFT: MC KOZUSKO/SAM; TOP RIGHT: IKOPHOTOS/FOTOSEARCH

PETE&REPEAT

MASTERCLASS

SISTER PAULYN VANDEN HOGEN, OSF, OF MANITOWOC, WISCONSIN, wrote the winning caption for the image below from our June/July issue.

Keep an eye out for the next Wordsmith Contest and send in your idea.

You could be the next winner!

back pages 0820.indd 47

StAnthonyMessenger.org | August 2020 • 47

6/25/20 11:25 AM

reflection

“I would rather walk with a friend in the dark than alone in the light.”

Friendship Day is August 2.

OLEH SLOBODENIUK/ISTOCK

—Helen Keller

48 • August 2020 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

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28 W. Liberty Street Cincinnati, OH 45202-6498

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