St. Anthony Messenger February 2019

Sharing the spirit of St. Francis with the world V O L . 1 2 6 / N O . 9 • FEBRUARY 2019

THE REMARKABLE SISTER ROSEMARY

IN THIS ISSUE:

Race Relations in the United States page 15

NYIRUMBE

WELCOME HOME: LIFE AFTER PRISON FEBRUARY 2019 • $4.99 StAnthonyMessenger.org

THE TOP FIVE ISSUES FACING HEALTH CARE THOMAS MERTON’S PAINTINGS AND PROSE

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HE ROI C STOR I E S O F

Modern Jesuit Martyrs F r a n c i s X . Ta l b o t, S . J .

JEAN DE BRÉBEUF

Saint Saint Among Among The The Hurons Hurons

IGNATIUS

◆ FATHER MIGUEL PRO A Modern Mexican Martyr

◆ JEAN DE BREBEUF Saint Among the Hurons

Gerard Muller r. Pro worked courageously to bring bread to the poor and the Holy Eucharist to the faithful during the brutal persecution of the Church in Mexico in the 1920s. Being a Jesuit priest he was viciously hunted by the secret police of the anti-clerical government of Mexico. His life was full of high drama as he eluded them many times with secret disguises and hiding places, and when finally captured, Father Pro was executed without a trial. Standing in front of the firing squad, his famous last words were, “Viva Cristo Rey!” Illustrated with photos.

Francis Talbot, S.J. his swift-paced book, more than a powerful biography of a great saint and Jesuit missionary, is a vital chapter in the tragic history of New France in North America three centuries ago, a story of the failure of colonization partially redeemed by the blood of the martyrs of the Church. Be deeply inspired by the strong faith and courage of this brave priest who was killed by those he brought the Gospel to.

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“Read this story of this holy man and gain the strength that he had to live and die for Jesus!”

— Fr. Larry Richards, Author, Be a Man! “An inspirational read for our time! Fr. Pro shows us the joy of committing our life to Christ no matter the cost!”

— Terry Barber, Author, How to Share Your Faith with Anyone

◆ TO RAISE THE FALLEN The Story of Fr. Willie Doyle, S.J. Patrick Kenny rish military chaplain, Fr. Willie Doyle, died in action in WWI when hit by a German shell while bravely rushing to the aid of wounded soldiers.

He had often taken great risks amidst enemy fire to aid those wounded on the battle fields, and became a legend among his men. This book introduces this remarkable figure from Irish Catholicism whose faith, courage and generosity in the face of untold devastation continues to inspire Christians and non-Christians alike.

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“Fr. Doyle is one of the unsung heroes of the First World War. This book reveals how he cheerfully endured the horrors of trench warfare to bring spiritual solace to his comrades in uniform.”

— George Marlin, Author, The Sons of St. Patrick: A History of the Archbishops of New York

www.ignatius.com P.O. Box 1339, Ft. Collins, CO 80522

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(800) 651-1531

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VOL. 126 NO. 9

2019 FEBRUARY

30 The Remarkable Life of

Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe

COVER STORY

TOP AND COVER: COURTESY SISTER ROSEMARY NYIRUMBE/NATIVE EXPLORERS/JEFF HARGRAVE

By María Ruiz Scaperlanda

She’s been featured in Time magazine and on CNN for her humanitarian work, but her faith, not fame, is what fuels her efforts to rescue abducted girls in South Sudan and Uganda.

18 Welcome Home: Life after Prison

By John Feister; photography by Amadu S. Haruna

Among released murder convicts, Francisco Homes’ Sister Teresa Groth sees the face of Christ.

24 The Top Five Issues Facing Health Care

By Ann M. Augherton

A Franciscan friar and medical ethicist, Father Thomas Nairn helps us understand these hot-button issues and how to address them.

38 The Paintings and Prose

of Thomas Merton

COVER: Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe is on a faith-driven mission to save the lives and restore the souls of girls rescued from child trafficking in east-central Africa.

42 ‘Let Him Who Is without Sin . . .’

By Mark P. Shea

This familiar story in Scripture illuminates the merciful nature of Jesus, even when we are sinners.

46 Accepting the Invitation to Lent

By Richard Rohr, OFM

In Lent, we find both the challenge and the opportunity to look inward, acknowledge our shortcomings, and ask for God’s pardon so that we may more fully embrace our loving Creator.

By John Moses

This celebrated Trappist monk lived quietly but loved loudly. Here are samples of his faith in word and vision.

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The union of matter and spirit, of human and divine is revealed in the cosmos as Christ and in human history as Jesus. Richard Rohr’s long-

Pre-order now

universalchrist.org Front Pages 0219.indd 2

awaited book paints a portrait of God’s infinite love, offering a healing vision of wholeness at the heart of the universe. Releases March 5, 2019.

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9.

VOL. 126 NO. 9

“We become what we love, and who we love shapes what we become.”

2019 FEBRUARY

—St. Clare of Assisi

14 SPIRIT OF ST. FRANCIS

54 POINTS OF VIEW

10 Ask a Franciscan

What Happens to Good People Who Died before Jesus?

12 Franciscan World & St. Anthony Stories Immaculate Conception Province The Missing Birthstone Ring

5

Your Voice

Letters from Readers

15 Editorial

Keeping the Civil Rights Movement in Motion

16 At Home on Earth

13 Followers of St. Francis

Never Waste a Good Crisis

Andy Tretow

54 Faith & Family

14 Faith Unpacked

‘I Like You’

My God, My Rock of Refugee

48 ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

MEDIA MATTERS 48 Reel Time

51 Audio File

50 Channel Surfing

52 Bookshelf

Bird Box

Hale County This Morning, This Evening

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Low | Double Negative

4 Dear Reader

6 Church in the News 44 Poetry

56

51 Pete & Repeat 56 Reflection

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dear reader

ST. ANTHONY

MESSENGER

True Faith Is Color-Blind

PUBLISHER

Daniel Kroger, OFM

S

pike Lee reached the pinnacle of his filmmaking career with last year’s BlacKkKlansman—the true story of an African American detective who infiltrated the Colorado Springs chapter of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s. The film is a grueling but powerful look at how the disease of racism corrodes whatever it touches. But Lee upped the emotional ante even more by segueing at the end of the film to Charlottesville 2017 as convicted murderer and alleged white supremacist James Alex Fields Jr. drove his car into a crowd of peaceful protesters. Lee’s message? Racism is not relegated to history.

Now is a good time to reflect on our faith and civic lives. This month, the NAACP will celebrate its 110th anniversary. And to commemorate Black History Month, also in February, Managing Editor Daniel Imwalle looks at the role we Christians play in race relations in his editorial “Keeping the Civil Rights Movement in Motion.”

To get where we’re going, we have to remember where we’ve been. We’re glad you’re with us on the journey.

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

Christopher Heffron, Executive Editor

Sharon Lape

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MARÍA RUIZ SCAPERLANDA

PAGE 18

Top Five Health-Care Issues

Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe

Life after Prison

interview subject PAGE 24

Amadu Haruna is a filmmaker and graduate of ArtCenter College of Design. He is currently in Los Angeles, working on projects alongside cinematographer Ibrahim Abdulai concerning the African diaspora. Haruna uses the framework of documentaries and experimental films to investigate the institution of rehabilitation through photography.

Father Thomas Nairn, OFM, PhD, earned his doctorate from the University of Chicago Divinity School and has taught at Catholic Theological Union and other places of higher learning. He has published articles about medical ethics in a variety of publications, including The Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics and the American Medical Association’s online journal, Virtual Mentor.

writer

PAGE 30

Born in Cuba and raised in Puerto Rico, María Ruiz Scaperlanda has an MA in English from the University of Oklahoma and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. She has received the St. Francis de Sales Award, the highest honor one can receive for Catholic journalism.

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.

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ST. ANTHONY MESSENGER (ISSN #0036276X) (U.S.P.S. PUBLICATION #007956 CANADA PUBLICATION #PM40036350) Volume 126, Number 9, is published monthly for $39.00 a year by the Franciscan Friars of St. John the Baptist Province, 28 W. Liberty Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-6498. Phone 513-241-5615. Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, Ohio, and additional entry offices.

US POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: St. Anthony Messenger, PO Box 189, Congers, NY 10920-0189.

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POINTSOFVIEW | YOUR VOICE Feedback from Our Online Readers

Chef Lidia Story a Real Treat

“St. Francis and the Gift of Greccio” (by Murray Bodo, OFM), December 2018 “Few know that St. Francis created the first crèche, which included live animals! From Francis came the most precious Christmas reflection of Christ incarnate as one of us, born in a humble manger with ‘no crib for a bed.’ The history of how it came about gave me much to dwell on as we prepared room for him—as well as those in need who we encountered­—in our hearts this past Christmas. Pax et Bonum!”

I look forward to receiving St. Anthony Messenger magazine every month.

I was very much delighted to see Lidia Bastianich on the November cover and eagerly read Peter Feuerherd’s article, titled “Cooking with Chef Lidia.” Lidia’s Kitchen is my favorite TV show. I enjoyed reading about her faith journey and learning more about her philosophy: There is room for all at the table.

—Ken

“At Home on Earth: Nature Does Not Hurry” (by Kyle Kramer), December 2018 “Beautiful column! Thank you. This was just right for me this past Advent. Much gratitude.”

—Curt

“St. Francis and US Veterans” (by Nancy Wiechec), November 2018 “I pray that all veterans receive acknowledgment of their great sacrifice and peace from Our Father.”

—Mary

“God bless all veterans. There is so much we can learn from them.”

—Lawrence

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call n the Single notice ption-

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“A prayerful thank-you for sharing this most enlightening article.”

—Carol Jean

“Saints Next Door” (by Diane M. Houdek), November 2018 “Thank you, Pope Francis, for your example. This article is so inspiring. It’s such a gift to know and acknowledge the everyday saints in our daily lives.”

—Ceci

‘Pete’ a Welcome Mental Exercise I just wanted to share a brief note about how much I enjoy the “Pete & Repeat” cartoons, by Tom Greene. They’re a mental workout, but I almost always identify all eight differences!

It’s a real challenge, fun, and very mind-stimulating. I hope you continue this beloved column.

On a general note, I love St. Anthony Messenger magazine. It’s a great Catholic periodical.

Casi Fisher Warner Robbins, Georgia

Sister Mary Ann McCarron, CSJ Fenton, Michigan

A Crucial Ministry Thank you for publishing “The Church and Domestic Violence,” by Susan Hines-Brigger, in the November issue. Sadly, it’s a human rights issue that’s only recently been getting the attention in the media it deserves. God bless Father Charles Dahm for his important outreach work!

Terri Griffin Boston, Massachusetts

New Saint for the Collection A copy of the October 2018 issue of St. Anthony Messenger showed up on our table the other day, and I was delighted as I’ve been wanting a photo of St. Oscar Romero to add to my saint collection. St. Anthony helps me find not only lost items, but even ones I hope to own. Blessed be God. Marcia Beveridge Escondido, California

Salvadoran Government Not at Fault I’m writing in regard to the October 2018 cover story, “Oscar Romero: Pastor, Peacemaker, Saint,” by Brother Octavio Duran, OFM. Let’s be clear about one thing: It was not the Salvadoran government that obstructed the path to sainthood for Archbishop Romero. It was the opposition of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, who disapproved of Romero’s embrace of liberation theology and the option for the poor.

It took Pope Francis, who understood the reality in Latin America, to immediately set Archbishop Romero on the path to canonization, which for so long and so unjustly had been denied to him.

Ruth Lox Lidderdale, Iowa

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church IN THE NEWS

people | events | trends

By Susan Hines-Br ig ger

ARCHBISHOP’S MINISTRY RESTRICTED IN MINNESOTA ARCHDIOCESE

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Former Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis John C. Nienstedt, right, is no longer free to exercise public ministry in the archdiocese following allegations of sexual misconduct made against him.

CDC: ABORTION RATE CONTINUES TO DECLINE IN THE UNITED STATES ccording to a report issued last November by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the abortion rate in the United States continues to shrink, as does the number of abortions overall, reported Catholic News Service (CNS).

According to the report, both abortions overall and the abortion rate have declined each year for a decade. The CDC said the abortion rate in 2015—the last year for which statistics are available—is at 11.8 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15–44. The rate has dropped eight of the past nine years since 2006’s rate of 15.9; the rate of 15.6 held steady in 2008.

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, responded to the report, saying: “The reduction in the number of abortions is due to many factors, from declining rates of sexual activity, especially among teens, to pro-life legislative gains. The efforts of the staff and volunteers at crisis pregnancy centers, as well as pro-life educational efforts, are to be commended.” He added that “at the same time, we cannot be content with hundreds of thousands of abortions occurring annually in our nation.”

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TOP LEFT: SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH/FACEBOOK; TOP RIGHT: CNS PHOTO/RICARDO LIMA, REUTERS

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CNS PHOTO/BOB ROLLER

n a letter to the people of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda announced that until “all open allegations are resolved,” his predecessor, Archbishop John C. Nienstedt, is not free to exercise public ministry in the archdiocese. Archbishop Nienstedt, who resigned from his position as leader of the archdiocese in June 2015, has maintained that he is innocent of the allegations of sexual misconduct.

Archbishop Hebda said he released the letter in order to clarify Archbishop Nienstedt’s status.

“I have been asked repeatedly whether there are any restrictions on Archbishop Nienstedt’s ministry. My answer has always been that, although I do not know of any, I am the wrong person to ask: Bishops report to the Holy Father, not to each other. I have no general juridical authority over Archbishop Nienstedt or any other bishop outside the archdiocese.

“I can, however, exercise some control over the types of public ministry permitted in this archdiocese.”

The clarification refers to a 2014 investigation into allegations that Archbishop Nienstedt had engaged in sexual misconduct with adults as a priest in Detroit and Rome, and as the bishop of New Ulm, Minnesota. Archdiocesan leaders engaged two separate law firms in the investigation.

The investigation was forwarded to the US nunciature but has not been made public.

“As far as I know, any effort by the Vatican to further address the allegations was suspended in June 2015, when Archbishop Nienstedt resigned [from] his office,” wrote Archbishop Hebda. “Thus, the matter remains unresolved for the accusers, for Archbishop Nienstedt, and for the public. I share the frustration that is felt by them and believe this situation highlights the need for a betterdefined process and independent mechanism to resolve allegations made against bishops.” He also noted that an allegation against Archbishop Nienstedt involving minors surfaced after his resignation.

“In 2016, Ramsey County shared with us and made public an allegation it received that, in 2005, then-Bishop Nienstedt, while at a World Youth Day event in Germany, had invited two unaccompanied minors to his hotel room to get out of the rain and wet clothing. It is alleged that he then proceeded to undress in front of them and invited them to do the same. Archbishop Nienstedt denies this ever happened.” Documentation of the allegation was forwarded to the nuncio in Washington, DC, in 2016, said Archbishop Hebda.

ARCHDIOCESE TO SEEK CHARGES AGAINST NUNS FOR EMBEZZLEMENT

SHOOTING IN CATHEDRAL LEAVES FIVE DEAD, FOUR INJURED

Sisters Mary Margaret Kreuper, left, and Lana Chang

TOP LEFT: SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH/FACEBOOK; TOP RIGHT: CNS PHOTO/RICARDO LIMA, REUTERS

CNS PHOTO/BOB ROLLER

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fter originally saying it would not seek charges, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced in December that it will press charges against two women religious found to have “misappropriated” a “substantial amount” of money from one of its Catholic schools, reported CNS. The decision came following a December 3 meeting with parents from St. James Catholic School in Torrance. They were told that Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang had embezzled as much as $500,000 and that the archdiocese had said it agreed to a “full restitution” of money used for personal matters by the two women, but it would not seek criminal charges. After officials at the meeting revealed that the sisters may have used the money for gambling and also disclosed the amount, parents began speaking out against the decision.

As a result, the archdiocese said it would no longer only seek restitution from the nuns’ religious order, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, but it would cooperate with authorities in an investigation against the women religious that could result in leveling charges against them.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet posted a statement on their website, saying: “As a religious community, we will not defend the actions of our sisters. What happened is wrong. Our sisters take full responsibility for the choices they made and are subject to the law.”

The statement said the order is cooperating with the archdiocese to discover how much was taken and will make full restitution once the exact amount is known.

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Forensic workers carry a body at the scene of the December 11 shooting at the metropolitan cathedral in Campinas, Brazil. Police said Euler Fernando Grandolpho opened fire in the cathedral, killing at least four people and injuring several others before turning the gun on himself.

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n December 11, a gunman opened fire inside Our Lady of the Conception Cathedral in Campinas, near São Paulo, leaving five dead—including the gunman—and four others injured, according to CNS. The shooting occurred just as parishioners were leaving a midday Mass.

Footage from security cameras showed that the shooter, Euler Fernando Grandolpho, entered the church alone and sat at a pew near the back for several minutes before turning around and firing at people behind him.

According to police, Grandolpho fired more than 20 shots before being cornered by officers near the altar and killing himself. They said the motive for the shooting was unclear and continued to investigate the gunman’s background.

On December 12, 2018, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, sent a telegram to Father Jose Eduardo Meschiatti, administrator of the Archdiocese of Campinas, in which Pope Francis expressed his sadness after hearing news of the attack.

“The Holy Father invites everyone, in front of this moment of sorrow, to find comfort and strength in the risen Jesus, asking God that hope may not be lost in this hour of trial and that forgiveness and love may prevail over hatred and vengeance,” Cardinal Parolin said.

SAN FRANCISCO ARCHDIOCESE CELEBRATES MASS OF THE AMERICAS

ast December, in honor of the feasts of the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Archdiocese of San Francisco celebrated the recently commissioned “Mass of the Americas” at the archdiocese’s Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, reported CNS. The Mass was written by San Francisco composer Frank La Rocca. It included music in Spanish, Latin, English, and Nahuatl, the Aztec language Mary used when she spoke with St. Juan Diego in Mexico in the 16th century.

It was the first new Mass commissioned for the cathedral since it was dedicated in 1971.

San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone said, “The Mass embodies the way Mary, our mother, unites all of us as God’s children.”

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church IN THE NEWS

people | events | trends

POPE, CLERGY REMEMBER PRESIDENT BUSH

he president of the US bishops and Pope Francis expressed condolences following the death of President George H.W. Bush on November 30 at the age of 94.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, released a statement on behalf of the bishops, saying: “We remember with gratitude this great man who spent his life selflessly in service of his country. With an unwavering commitment to building bridges of peace and ensuring our nation’s freedoms, he also inspired many as a devoted husband, father, and family patriarch.”

Pope Francis expressed his “heartfelt condolences and the assurance of his prayers to all the Bush family,” in a telegram sent to Cardinal DiNardo that was published by the Vatican on December 5.

Cardinal DiNardo, head of the Galveston-Houston Archdiocese, attended the funeral for Bush, held December 6 at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston, where Bush and his late wife, Barbara, attended for over 50 years.

Cardinal DiNardo was joined in the front row of the church by retired Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza, his predecessor.

“His strong faith in God, devotion to his wife of 73 years, the late First Lady Barbara Bush, and his boundless love for the covenant of family served as a model for all to follow,” the cardinal said. “The city of Houston was very proud to call him one of our own and one of our brightest points of light.

We will forever be grateful for his presence and commitment to our community and to the people of Houston. May the glory of the risen Lord transform our sorrow into serenity.”

CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES MARKS 75 YEARS OF SERVICE

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A musician plays at the 75th anniversary celebration of Catholic Relief Services on December 5 in Baltimore.

n December 5, staff and supporters of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) celebrated the organization’s 75th anniversary of service throughout the world, reported CNS. In his homily at a special Mass in St. Stephen’s Chapel at CRS’ Baltimore headquarters, Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas said the organization is “trying to bring the world that is to the world that God intends.” In most cases, this means “giving some sense of dignity to people robbed of their dignity,” he said. Bishop Kicanas chaired the CRS board of directors from 2010 to 2013.

After Mass, hundreds of people had a chance to visit three CRS mission experiences, including a 360-degree exhibit on the work CRS does around the world. The agency works with organizations around the world “to help poor and vulnerable people overcome emergencies, earn a living through agriculture, and access affordable health care.”

Sean Callahan, president and CEO of CRS, told attendees: “Our work doesn’t just help people through a tough time—it transforms lives, not temporarily, but permanently; and not just one person, but their families and their communities. That is the kind of transformational change we always strive for.”

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CNS/CATHOLIC CHURCH OF ENGLAND AND WALES

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CNS PHOTOS: TOP LEFT: DAVID J. PHILLIP POOL/REUTERS; INSET: ALEX BRANDON/REUTERS; BOTTOM: BOB ROLLER

ABOVE: A member of the military honor guard stands near the casket of former US President George H.W. Bush. Outside, people pay their respects as the train carrying his casket passes by December 6 along the route to his burial site in College Station, Texas. INSET: Former President George W. Bush touches the flag-draped casket of his father after speaking at his state funeral December 5 at the Episcopal Church’s Washington National Cathedral.

ARCHDIOCESE OF SANTA FE FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION

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n the face of up to 40 active claims from alleged victims of clergy sex abuse, Archbishop John C. Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, announced late last November that the archdiocese will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, following the recommendation of several consultative groups.

“We could see where this was all heading, and the trajectory wasn’t changing,” the archbishop told reporters. “We just don’t have any money. If we’re not here, we can’t help anybody.”

He added: “I want to make clear that our first and foremost concern is the victims of sexual abuse and our desire to do all we can to provide for their just compensation.

Reorganization helps us to provide in an equitable manner, especially for those who could come forward in the future as well as those who have already taken the courageous step of making a claim.”

The day before the announcement, agents from the office of New Mexico’s attorney general executed a search warrant to obtain records from the archdiocese regarding at least two former priests credibly accused of child sexual abuse.

MIRACLE OF US WOMAN COULD LEAD TO NEWMAN’S SAINTHOOD

CNS/CATHOLIC CHURCH OF ENGLAND AND WALES

CNS PHOTOS: TOP LEFT: DAVID J. PHILLIP POOL/REUTERS; INSET: ALEX BRANDON/REUTERS; BOTTOM: BOB ROLLER

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atholic bishops in England have said they hope Pope Francis will canonize John Henry Newman this year, following the inexplicable healing of a US mother attributed to Newman’s intercession, reported CNS. Newman was beatified in 2010

by Pope Benedict XVI in Birmingham, England, after the miraculous healing of Boston Deacon Jack Sullivan.

Archbishop Bernard Longley of Blessed John Henry Newman Birmingham said the English and Welsh bishops were informed of the second healing miracle during their ad limina visit to Rome last September. The miracle involved a young law graduate from the Archdiocese of Chicago who faced life-threatening complications during her pregnancy but suddenly recovered when she prayed to Blessed Newman to help.

In an e-mail to CNS last November, Archbishop Longley said members of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints will meet early next year “to consider the medical board’s assessment and to make its own recommendation” to Pope Francis, who will make the final decision and possibly set a date for the canonization ceremony.

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SPIRITOFST.FRANCIS | ASK A FRANCISCAN

By Pat McCloskey, OFM

Good People Who Died before Jesus I was taught that prior to Christ’s dying and rising, people (especially in the Old Testament) could not enter heaven and see God. What about Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and the many holy women in the Old Testament?

Y Father Pat welcomes your questions!

ONLINE: StAnthonyMessenger.org E-MAIL: Ask@FranciscanMedia.org MAIL: Ask a Franciscan 28 W. Liberty St. Cincinnati, OH 45202

All questions sent by mail need to include a self-addressed stamped envelope.

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WE HAVE A DIGITAL archive of “Ask” Q & As, going back to March 2013.

Just click: • the Ask link and then • the Archive link.

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

Staying in God’s Grace I am gay. What can I do to stay in God’s grace and live a full, happy life as a gay man?

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here is only one type of salvation: generously cooperating according to the circumstances of a person’s life with God’s unique gift of salvation through Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection.

Many people mistakenly think that deep-seated homosexuality is a genuinely free choice on a person’s part. According to article 2357 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained.” Speaking of baptized homosexuals, the Catechism goes on to teach, “By prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should . . . approach Christian perfection” (2359).

In his 2016 apostolic exhortation, Joy of Love, Pope Francis writes: “The Church makes her own the attitude of the Lord Jesus, who offers his boundless love to each person without exception. During the Synod [on the family], we discussed the situation of families whose members include persons who experience samesex attraction, a situation not easy either for parents or for children. We would like before all else to reaffirm that every person, regardless of sexual orientation, ought to be respected in his or her dignity and treated with consideration, while every sign of unjust discrimination is to be carefully avoided, particularly any form of aggression and violence. Such families should be given respectful pastoral guidance, so that those who manifest a homosexual orientation can receive the assistance they need to understand and fully carry out God’s will in their lives”

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Pat McCloskey, OFM

ou have identified a theological dilemma: how to speak about people who lived before Jesus as being saved without slighting the unique role of his passion, death, and resurrection. The concept of limbo was developed to cover this group of people, plus babies who die before Baptism—and ultimately good adults who were never baptized. Limbo was never official Catholic doctrine, although some people have treated it as though it were. Jesus’ descent “into hell” (Apostles’ Creed) is really his going to the underworld to lead the souls of the people you referenced into heaven. The chora (“in the fields”) church in Istanbul, Turkey, has an impressive fresco (above) of that scene.

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(250). This quote incorporates three quotes from earlier Church documents.

According to “Always Our Children,” the 1997 pastoral message from the US bishops’ committee on marriage and family: “Generally, a homosexual orientation is experienced as a given, not as something freely chosen. By itself, therefore, a homosexual orientation cannot be considered sinful, for morality presumes the freedom to choose.”

In the US bishops’ 2006 “Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Orientation: Guidelines for Pastoral Care,” we read: “The Church actively asserts and promotes the intrinsic dignity of every person. As human persons, persons with a homosexual inclination have the same basic rights as all people, including the right to be treated with dignity.”

How can you live a full, happy life as a gay man? Participate in the life of the Church, especially through prayer, service, and the sacraments. Same-sex friendships do not require genital expression. Many people have found groups such as Courage International (couragerc.org) helpful.

May the Lord bless your faith journey.

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Reflects Your Values

Quick Questions and Answers A number of my Protestant friends who have studied Greek use grape juice at their communion service. Why does the Catholic Church use wine?

The Catholic and Orthodox Churches use wine because the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke indicate that Jesus used “the fruit of the vine” at the Last Supper. That probably meant wine—at least, that is how these Churches understood those texts for almost 1,500 years before the religious ancestors of your friends started to use grape juice.

Is there a saint to whom someone addicted to alcohol can pray for help?

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The person who immediately comes to my mind is Venerable Matt Talbot (1856–1925). He worked in Dublin as a builder’s laborer and between the ages of 15 and 30 was a very active alcoholic.

He took “the pledge” for three months and later made it permanent.

Attending daily Mass helped him reach 40 years of sobriety. In 1973, St. Paul VI declared him Venerable.

Can a Mass be offered for a couple when one spouse is deceased and the other is still living—for example, on their wedding anniversary?

Yes. In order to avoid any confusion, it might be listed in the parish bulletin as “wedding anniversary remembrance.” One of the prayers of commendation at the conclusion of a funeral Mass says of the deceased, “One day we shall joyfully greet him/her again when the love of Christ, which conquers all things, destroys even death itself.” In a way, every Mass reaffirms that prayer.

What is the difference between wearing a scapular or a Miraculous Medal? My skin always breaks out when I wear a scapular.

Medals linked to the various types of scapulars are an acceptable substitute.

The Miraculous Medal is a very good but different devotion. A medal can always be worn as a reminder of God’s providence and care for each person.

Leave a legacy of mercy, compassion, and care for the poor through a bequest to our friars.

For more information about including a gift in your will, call 513-721-4700 ext. 3219.

You are the heart of our ministry.

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

www.franciscan.org www.stanthony.org

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SPIRITOFST.FRANCIS “By means of a holy penance, we must give our attention to leading a good life.”

—St. Colette of Corbie

FRANCISCAN WORLD

By Pat McCloskey, OFM

Immaculate Conception Province

Born in Corbie, France, in 1381, she became a Secular Franciscan at the age of 21 and later lived four years as an anchoress in a cell with one window into a church and another to the outside world.

After joining the Poor Clares, she founded monasteries of nuns who had no fixed income and observed a perpetual fast.

Colette died in 1447 and was canonized in 1807. Her feast is February 7. There are 12 monasteries of Colettine Poor Clares in the United States.

—Pat McCloskey, OFM

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ST. ANTHONY STORIES

The Missing Birthstone Ring

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

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t. Anthony has recently helped me find two pieces of jewelry that were both valuable and sentimental. First, I lost my birthstone ring, which my parents gave me when I was a teenager. (I lost it twice in eight months!)

Then, a very small diamond stud earring that belonged to a pair from a deceased aunt went missing. Each time, I thought for sure that the pieces were gone, but eventually St. Anthony came around!

—Mary Anne Vandivort

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She reintroduced the Primitive Rule of St. Clare in the 17 monasteries she founded.

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ST. COLETTE OF CORBIE

amfilo da Magliano and three other Italian friars from different provinces arrived in Allegany, New York, in 1855 to establish a college for young men and serve Catholics in nearby towns.

Pamfilo had taught theology at St. Isidore College (Irish province) in Rome and there learned of an offer from Nicholas Devereux for land and cash to any men’s religious community to St. Bonaventure University is now sponsored by Holy Name Province. begin ministry in Allegany.

St. Bonaventure College (now University) was founded in 1858. Political turmoil and the seizing of friaries in parts of Italy caused more friars to join the foundation in western New York, which accepted parishes in New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

Friars began at St. Anthony Church in Greenwich Village and other parishes. Holy Name Province was established in 1901 with Irish-born friars or American-born friars. Some German refugee friars were also part of that group.

Most friars in the Custody of the Immaculate Conception, created in 1861, became the first friars of Holy Name Province in 1901. The other friars established Immaculate Conception Province in 1910. Today, the province’s 96 friars live in six states (mostly along the East Coast), in the Toronto area, and in Rome, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

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FOLLOWERS OF ST. FRANCIS

ST. ANTHONY

The Gift of Unanswered Prayers

“Life is about reframing disappointments and seeing them as opportunities.”

—Andy Tretow

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more inspired in his vocation the more he was impacted by the hearts and minds of the friars whom he served.

Then, in June 2018, he got married.

One month later, he and his new bride made a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi.

“I got to visit all the places that are so important to the friars’ religious journeys, and it was just breathtaking,” Tretow recalls. “It was a breath of fresh air in my own faith life. One day, our pilgrimage leader stressed to us the Franciscan charism, ‘Where there is good, there is God.’ That night, my wife and I walked through Vatican City and just had a conversation about that charism. It was kind of like hearing everything for the first time. That was something that reawakened our faith lives on that journey, and it just so happened to be in a city that is one of the building blocks of our faith.”

Something about the charism pieced together for Tretow what had been missing in his spirituality. True to the ways of St. Francis, the charism bridged the chasm between tradition and lived experience. It made spirituality incarnational. And today, that charism inspires not only his own faith and marriage but also his vocation through the content he creates for the Franciscan Friars Assumption BVM Province and its pilgrimage programs.

“Life is about reframing disappointments and seeing them as opportunities. I see now that all the failure and disappointment in 2017 was just a buildup for better things. Being receptive to that is very powerful,” Tretow says. “The charism pushed me to want to be a good person—to do God’s work by helping make the world a better place. I really try to live that way.”

—Stephen Copeland

FRANK JASPER, OFM

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ndy Tretow found himself at a vocational crossroads. Having set out to become a sports broadcaster upon graduating from college, five years later he began to wonder if he was meant to try something new. He was growing weary of the lifestyle that radio demanded. He targeted several jobs in communications he felt that he would enjoy and began the strenuous application and interview process.

Three straight times, Tretow advanced all the way to the final two people being considered for the position; and three straight times, he fell short, as the runner-up candidate.

Tretow found himself in the proverbial desert, his future uncertain. “That was really hard to take,” Tretow admits.

“My mom always told me while I was looking for jobs, ‘You have to ask God, “Where can I best serve you?”’ I put that off for a long time. I was thinking that it was all up to me.”

As is often the case when ambition fails, the more he was emptied, the more Tretow began to open himself up to new possibilities. That was when an opportunity that he least expected arose: serving as the director of communications for the Franciscan Friars Assumption BVM (Blessed Virgin Mary) Province in Franklin, Wisconsin.

The friars took a chance on him with the communications position, hiring him in May 2017. But for Tretow, this sense of settling into himself—of being filled after having been emptied that year—was just beginning.

Whereas Tretow labels 2017 as a “teardown year,” 2018 was a year marked by building. Upon getting hired, he spent the next year learning the ropes of his new job, “making plenty of mistakes,” and becoming

Andy Tretow

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

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mAil poStAl communicAtionS to:

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

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SPIRITOFST.FRANCIS | FAITH UNPACKED My God, My Rock of Refugee

By David Dault, PhD

David Dault, PhD

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.

ne Sunday each month, our parish sets aside the early service as a family Mass, which is hosted and led by groups of children from the parish elementary school.

Throughout the school year, children from a variety of grades bring their voices to the Lectionary readings and the prayers of the people.

It is always a delightful process, especially when the very young grades are featured.

Some are shy and struggle with the words, while others surprise us with their precocious boldness.

We are especially blessed when the Holy Spirit works through these children to bring the congregation a special kind of message.

We had a moment like that a few weeks ago.

A girl from the second grade stepped to the lectern and began to read from Psalm 18. She read it in a clear and confident voice—and got it wrong in the most magnificent and insightful way possible.

If you know the psalm, you may recall it sings praises of God’s deliverance: “My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, my saving horn, my stronghold! Praised be the Lord, I exclaim!

I have been delivered from my enemies.”

However, on the lips of this young lady, the line became instead, “My God, my rock of refugee, my shield.”

My God, my rock of refugee.

When I think about coming to God, I imagine a warm and cozy place, set aside just for me. My vision of the promise in this psalm is very self-centered. It is about my comfort, because I live a life that is comfortable.

The words of the young woman put a different image in my head. I come to the rock, and it is already occupied, like a lifeboat is occupied. There are bodies all around, and they are shouting with joy because they are finally safe from the violence and the attacks that drove them here. God is not just a rock for my refuge; God is literally a rock of refugees.

That is to say, if we go seeking God, we will find God among a crowd of asylum seekers.

When this young lady spoke those words, we were in the midst of a sort of national panic about a migrant caravan, made up of

thousands of South and Central Americans, on the road to our country’s southern borders.

The migrants were coming for many reasons. Some said they wanted to apply for jobs, but many said they were coming to apply for asylum.

In the national conversations leading up to last November’s election, all manner of fearsome intentions were attributed to this caravan by some members of our media and our government. They were called freeloaders, terrorists, or worse.

But the young second grader named them best: They are refugees. They are seeking what all refugees want. They are seeking a shield, a stronghold, salvation. They want to know they are safe from their enemies.

In our zeal for comfort, we might mistake the rock as something intended only for us and for our comfort. It is not. The rock is for them.

Jesus told us as much in the Gospel of Matthew: “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?

When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?

“And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’”

If we come to the rock and find it crowded, that is not an occasion for us to weep or bar the gates. Rather, let us sing and rejoice, as the psalmist did, to the God of refugees.

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POINTSOFVIEW | EDITORIAL

Keeping the Civil Rights Movement in Motion “Being Christian is a call to go against the current [and] to recognize, welcome, and serve Christ himself, abandoned in our brothers and sisters.”

—Pope Francis

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ike holidays or holy seasons, commemorative months such as Black History Month can fall into the trap of becoming purely symbolic, routine, and thus stripped of their power to transform us. We may even find ourselves a bit fatigued by the repetitive cycles of the calendar year. But by remembering the myriad contributions to society made

by African Americans and the immense challenges they have overcome, we may also find new energy and joy by responding to God’s call for us to love and respect one another.

Though the word history is in its name, Black History Month is as much about our nation’s present and perhaps even more about its future—one strengthened by both the rich cultural diversity and the principled unity of its citizens.

It’s a time to look back and learn, but it’s also a time to take stock of our society’s health with regard to race relations. As a historical era, the civil rights movement is over, with many historians giving it a date range of 1954 to 1968. But in no way does that mean that the struggle for equality by African Americans and other minorities has ended. In that sense, this movement is a living, breathing one that can continually challenge us.

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WHERE ARE WE NOW?

The first national observance of Black History Month in the United States occurred in 1976. So there’s been quite a bit of time for the month to settle in as an American tradition. Yet a 2017 Gallup poll reported that 42 percent of Americans worry a “great deal” about race relations in the United States.

That number was 14 percent when the same poll ran in 2014.

Could the cause be the resurgence and higher visibility of white nationalist groups, their numbers and energy unchecked by apathetic members of the white majority? The footage of a car driven by James Fields Jr. ripping through a crowd of people protesting a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, was terrifying, graphic, and unforgettable. Yet that story, like so many others, faded from the headlines after the news cycle moved on.

The excessive use of force by police on black citizens and other minorities could be a part of the problem as well.

One morning last December, while getting ready for work, I saw a story on the news about New York City police officers who forcefully pried a 1-year-old from his mother’s arms at a social services office. The mother, a 23-year-old African American woman named Jazmine Headley, was at the office to renew a childcare benefit. There were no chairs available, so she sat in the corner, holding her son. After an exchange with a security guard, who requested that she move, despite

the fact that there was nowhere to sit, police were called, and the incident ensued.

A bystander armed with a cell phone recorded video of the situation and posted it to Facebook, where the story quickly went viral. What’s more disturbing is that we’ve almost come to expect to see these stories in the news. Still, there must be some way to work through these problems as citizens and children of God. WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

This may all sound like doom and gloom, but God puts things in our paths as individuals and as a society to help us out of this mess. We have all the tools we need to rectify the broken places in our hearts and in our world. The beauty of the Gospel call to build the kingdom of God lies greatly in its simplicity and directness. We need not look much further than the Golden Rule and the beatitudes to guide us and to help cultivate tolerance and compassion in our diverse nations.

We can also look to the words of Pope Francis on racism for inspiration. In a September 2018 speech he gave at the Vatican during a conference called “Xenophobia, Racism, and Populist Nationalism in the Context of Global Migration,” the pope commented on the recent worldwide uptick of racism. “We live in times in which feelings that to many had seemed to be outdated appear to be reemerging and spreading—feelings of suspicion, fear, contempt, and even hatred toward other individuals or groups judged to be different on the basis of their ethnicity, nationality, or religion,” he said. “In Christ, tolerance is transformed into fraternal love, into tenderness, and active solidarity. . . . Indeed, being Christian is a call to go against the current [and] to recognize, welcome, and serve Christ himself, abandoned in our brothers and sisters.”

With the message of the Gospel and the words of Pope Francis resonating in our hearts and minds, we can welcome this year’s Black History Month with a newfound hope for a world healing, not hurting, from the evil of racism. This year, let’s look back, look around, and look forward with spirits ablaze with compassion.

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POINTSOFVIEW | AT HOME ON EARTH

By Kyle Kramer

Never Waste a Good Crisis

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.

EarthandSpiritCenter.org

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technology but always staying rooted in, and taking our cues from, the God-given abundance of natural systems. In this story, human beings and all of creation thrive together as a single, sacred community—which is, of course, the only way we will survive.

The crumbling of our institutions offers us a wonderful, if challenging, opportunity to adopt this new story of integration—of human self-understanding, of social and economic systems, of the ecological integrity of our planet.

Or, as Winston Churchill said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.”

But how do we go about navigating the dissolution of one era and adopting a worldview that is truer and more helpful? How do we avoid fearful paralysis, head-in-the-sand denial, or just settling for minor tweaks but no fundamental change? How do we not set up a war between worldviews that would have us throw out even what is good in our current situation? And how do we Catholics take on this challenge faithfully, especially when one of the institutions in crisis is the hierarchy of our very own Church, whose leaders struggle for credibility and continued relevance in the face of ongoing scandals?

Fortunately, despite its many ambiguities past and present, Catholic tradition actually offers a trove of resources that can help us believers do our part to heal the world—and even the institutional Church itself.

One is our belief that we human beings are made in the image of God. Like God, our very nature is communion, creativity, and loving care for the dignity of all living things— qualities we’re definitely going to need in the decades ahead. The great work to which we’re called may be daunting, but with God’s grace,

HE

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Kyle Kramer

think it’s fair to say that our modern institutions are in crisis. Our level of trust in our political system is at a record low, with many politicians so polarized and power-hungry that social justice and good governance seem largely impossible. It’s becoming clear that our economic system tends to enrich some but impoverish many, including the earth itself.

As we lose faith in our institutions, I think we’re also beginning to lose faith in the cultural story that undergirds them: the story that drove the Industrial Revolution, a story that celebrates individualism, reason, competition, perpetual economic growth, advanced technology, and control over nature and our bodies. This story tells us that we are fundamentally separate from each other, from the rest of creation, and from a God who seems distant and disinterested. It’s no wonder that many of our institutions are failing us, for they were largely built on sand: wrong assumptions about human beings, the nature of reality, and what makes for a good and fulfilling life.

If the dominant cultural narrative is one of separateness, there is another story, one of integration, that is struggling to be born.

This story, which Pope Francis holds up in his encyclical “Laudato Si’,” tells us we belong intimately to each other and to all of creation.

This story doesn’t aim us in a straight line of progress and economic growth, but instead it helps us embrace the circular, Trinitarian dance of communion and connection, in which we grow in an exquisite spiral toward a more loving, gentle, inclusive, and cooperative society.

It’s a story of grace and mutual generosity and simple pleasures, of not eschewing

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we’re up for it. As Clarissa Pinkola Estes puts it, “We were made for these times.”

Another gift of our tradition is our Mother Mary. In a culture (and, let’s be honest, a Church hierarchy) so formed by masculine assumptions, Mary invites us to discover and integrate archetypal feminine energy as a necessary complement and corrective. And the Madonna is not only a model; she intercedes for us and strengthens us along the way.

Finally, Catholic tradition is (at its best) one of inclusion and synthesis: both/and, not either/or. Building a better world will mean jettisoning much that has been unhelpful up to now, but there’s much we need to keep, even when that means holding together many truths that seem paradoxical.

It’s true that we face unprecedented challenges right now.

If it’s also true that we are indeed made for such times, let’s not allow this crisis to go to waste.

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TIPS Search for Beauty 1

For encouragement and to learn about the many organizations that are helping to bring about a more beautiful world, read Paul Hawken’s Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Social Movement in History Is Restoring Grace, Justice, and Beauty to the World (Penguin Books).

2

For an in-depth engagement and formation around world-changing issues from a faith perspective, explore the following organizations’ websites: • Franciscan Action Network: FranciscanAction.org • Ignatian Solidarity Network: IgnatianSolidarity.net • Just Faith Ministries: JustFaith.org

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LIFE AFTER PRISON

By John Feister | Photography by Amadu S. Haruna

Among released murder convicts, Francisco Homes’ Sister Teresa Groth sees the face of Christ.

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ometimes you just walk into a situation that’s screaming for help, size things up, and decide to be that help. That’s how it happened with Sister Teresa Groth, DMJ. She’s director of Los Angeles’ Francisco Homes, a transitional program for men released from prison.

The men in Francisco Homes, though, are a little more complicated than most newly released inmates. Each was convicted of murder.

“I was so new,” Sister Teresa recalls of an early encounter, driving with three Francisco Homes men to a gathering of fellow residents. “I’m having three very scary-looking guys in my car. I’m thinking, Oh no, what did I get myself into?”

Thankfully, what happened next was reassuring. She arrived and saw “a yard full of really scary-looking men—tattoos and whatever—yet I’ve been having a lovely conversation with the three guys who I have in my car. By the time I get to where we’re going, I think: I’m safe. I have three bodyguards.”

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Each of the men she was about to meet, like the three she fashioned to be her bodyguards, had once killed someone. Each has demonstrated to his prison staff and the state parole board that, over decades of prison life, he is rehabilitated.

Not many would welcome any of these men as neighbors, but Sister Teresa, so aware of God’s mercy in her own life, does exactly that. “Grasping God’s forgiveness has somehow been a sense that I’ve had for years,” she says. She inspires the staff of these homes and scrambles to hold them together.

Some of the staff are former inmates themselves. Together, with the support of professionals and volunteers, they make the difference for their brothers, the residents, between prison and freedom.

Sister Teresa credits her presence among them to a trick

by God. CALLING WITHIN A CALLING

Sister Teresa was once a young Mexican widow with a 2-yearold son, a woman who, like her parents, was a chemist. Her American husband died, and she moved to San Marcos, California, near San Diego, to raise their son near his father’s family. While struggling to find work flexible enough for a single mom, she says she experienced mercy after mercy.

That was in the late 1980s through the 1990s. In 2005, her son grown, she took a leap.

“I said, ‘You duped me, Lord. How can I run away from this? You cornered me into this!’” Sister Teresa tells St. Anthony Messenger, laughing lightly. She knows that the biblical prophet Jeremiah said the same (Jer 20:7). She sits in a crowded makeshift office, once a small bedroom, in a quiet South Los Angeles neighborhood not far from the University of Southern California.

God’s trick happened to her during an encounter with the Daughters of Mary and Joseph. Teresa, at that time a lay parish catechist, had driven a group of girls to a daylong discernment program at the Mary and Joseph Retreat Center, about 100 miles away. As this driver-chaperone listened from

the back of the room, she says, “It totally touched my heart.

I asked myself, You, what’s your excuse?” It was an experience of grace, awakening a sense of deep forgiveness and an urge to share that with the world.

That sense has colored her life ever since. Within a few months, she had joined the Daughters of Mary and Joseph.

“I moved, left everything, and went to LA.” Before long, she found a calling within her calling. During her formative training, she had been assigned to volunteer with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Office of Restorative Justice. That ministry is a response to the massive number of people incarcerated in California (see box on p. 23). Within that program, she was sent to Francisco Homes, brainchild of two other sisters, Suzanne Jabro, CSJ, director of the archdiocese’s outreach to prisoners, and Mary Sean Hodges, OP, who also works with inmates. Within a few years Sister Teresa was tapped to be Francisco Homes’ director.

JUSTICE OR VENGEANCE?

This onetime parish educator sees a link among parishioners and prisoners. “I was struck [by] how sometimes similar, yet sometimes even more profound, thoughtful, insightful the inmates were,” she says. She knew from experience: “When you’re in desperate times, either you believe in God or you don’t believe at all. Half-baked faith doesn’t work.”

Their stories moved her. “‘I was in an armed robbery,’ said one. Or, ‘I killed my wife.’ ‘I stabbed my sister’ or ‘I stabbed my mother.’ I mean, awful things. Sometimes they’re the really scary gang members that were involved in murdering each other on the streets.” Yet she learned to look beyond the tattoos. She compassionately listened to the men’s stories.

Then, she says, “Like a little lamb with tears rolling down their eyes,” they would tell her, “‘I hope you don’t tell anyone that you’re seeing me cry, but I have no support. I have no one out there. I need help. I’m alone in this world.’” These men, who had served their time, who had demonstrated years of rehabilitation, had little hope of being released.

California is one of three states that have indeterminate

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sentencing, for example, “25 years to life.” That means that prisoners can be released on parole after the minimum time (in this example, 25 years) if they have demonstrated that they are reformed and if they have a home to return to in the community. No home, no release. Inmates otherwise eligible for parole are in prison sometimes for decades after they might have been released. (Those whose behavior does not show rehabilitation are never eligible for parole.)

To further complicate things, in California, each inmate convicted of murder must have the express, signed permission of the governor to be released. What politician is going to stake his or her political career on the possibility that someone might offend again? Time and again, inmates otherwise eligible have been denied release.

Their problem is not only the governor, says Sister Teresa; it’s all of us, and it’s not only fear of someone returning to crime. “It’s also unforgiveness,” she says, our own lack of mercy. “‘Let him rot in prison!’ are the words that I hear, especially up front in the news or as people are being convicted.” That’s not Christian, she observes. Forgiveness is not only for friends and family, she says. And forgiveness is not saying a horrible act was not committed. “Our forgiveness is not judgment; we’re just passing on the grace that we have received.

“There’s a difference between reconciliation and putting someone in a safe place to keep society safe.” There’s a difference between passing on the judgment and delivering the punishment. “Forgiveness is letting go of punishing.”

Those are difficult words for many of us to hear.

The state has a mechanism for determining who is ready to return to society on the outside. “I’ve been very impressed with the current California board of parole commissioners,” says Sister Teresa. That’s the body who assesses the recommendations of local parole boards. “They have this very simple phrase that they use as a standard. They say, ‘If I can—after doing all the actual objective looking at their psych report, their disciplinary history, whether they’ve developed marketable skills, and whether they have put their mind to develop educational achievements—if I can look at you and say, “I would feel safe with you as a neighbor,” then you can come out of prison.’”

Is that a good standard? “It’s a beautiful standard! It’s a real, heartfelt standard. They use it most of the time.”

Would the men in Francisco Homes meet that standard? She answers without hesitation: “Every single one.”

“I never realized a candle of hope was not intended to overpower the darkness, but rather be a sign the darkness would not overpower me.”

—Richard Mejico, a former inmate who was sentenced to life in prison

A NEW WORLD

We’ve visited two of the seven Francisco Homes this day, moving among men living their dream—life on the outside.

These are transitional homes, with facilities for men who might stay for a few months, maybe up to two years, as they get accustomed to freedom, to a world much different from the one they left decades ago. At any time there are about 80

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men living in the homes, each preparing for what’s next— spending weeks or months getting paperwork in order (driver’s licenses, Social Security, maybe Medicare and the like), lining up independent living arrangements, looking for work, and learning to adjust to a new world.

Some of these men were last outside prison in the 1970s or ’80s. There were no computers everywhere, no cell phones, no iPads, no ever-present Internet, no Amazon, no Google, no Uber. The prison might have had very limited access to computers, but that was it. We take it for granted that the digital revolution of the past 30 years has changed everything for almost everybody. These men are taking it all in.

In the kitchen, Ed, now 75, shares with me a conciliatory letter he had written to someone he had a disagreement with.

“That’s not the way I would have settled it years ago,” he says with a note of pride. Another, Adolfo, has come home from a shift on a construction site with Local 300 of the laborers’ union, an apprentice job found with the help of Francisco Homes.

Frankie, now 55, did over 30 years in prison on a 15-years-to-life conviction for second-degree murder. He gleefully shows me his driver’s license, proclaiming, “I’m legitimate!” Frankie adds, “I made one wrong decision back then. It was terrible. There are thousands like me in the prisons.”

Three others sit on the front porch, feet up, looking out

on the peaceful neighborhood this sunny day. One wears earbuds, listening to music. Another, Robert, has his cell phone earpiece, waiting for anyone to call. The 68-year-old spent 36 years inside, talking only to fellow inmates and only when he had permission.

Three other guys, best friends, tell me they grew up together in prison.

WARM WELCOME

There’s always more to write than space permits, like Sister Teresa’s background in real estate—one of her several pre-Sister careers—and how that has helped her manage properties at Francisco Homes. Or how her chemistry background helps her steer the residents away from over-thecounter cold remedies that will falsely trigger random drug checks. But life is moving fast for Sister Teresa.

As she descends the stairs after our interview, the first floor is bustling with activity. This evening there is a welcoming ceremony, conducted each month by Sister Teresa and the men of Francisco Homes for those newly released.

This very day, a newcomer is supposed to be in transit from one of the prisons upstate.

Someone will need to meet him at the bus station. Was he released? Will his bus arrive in time for him to come to the welcoming event? Our interview had been interrupted from time to time with phone calls and updates. Soon Sister Teresa rushes out the door.

Meanwhile, over in the kitchen, a Loyola Marymount student volunteer has her laptop open on the table, poring through criminal justice data for her “Seeking Faith and Promoting Justice” course. Men are rushing about, finding things they’ll bring to the ceremony.

Smitty has his ceremonial drum; others are coordinating supplies for the program: some candles, a microphone, a ceremonial wood piece that the newest arrivals will cross over as a sign of their new life.

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Incarceration in California 129,635 The number of felons housed in California state prisons as of January 2018

5,187 The number of women who are felons in the state prisons 130.9 Percent of prisoners compared to overall capacity 746 Number of inmates on death row 4,284 California prisoners housed in Arizona and Mississippi Source: “Weekly Report of Population as of Midnight, January 17, 2018,” California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Catholic Church in South Los Angeles, amid rows of men once convicted of murder. Present are some of the volunteers and professionals who accompany them, and, scurrying in the background, Sister Teresa. As tonight’s Welcome Home program begins, about 15 students from nearby University of Southern California clamber in and find chairs.

We first listen to four men—three of them formerly incarcerated and one an actor—present a drama of four lives, all damaged early in some way, all of whom ultimately took another life in murder, all of whom are now emerged from decades of life in prison. Partway into the evening, a few guys who had been scurrying earlier arrive with the man who had been released that day, a man who looks a bit amazed at his newfound freedom.

As the evening progresses, all move their chairs into a large circle. Candles are placed to create a walkway. Two men, one on either side, hold the ceremonial crossing-over wood. Smitty beats the drum as the newest freed men, standing in the circle’s center, are welcomed into the family. “Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow,” a speaker intones. “We acknowledge you as someone who has faced death and has chosen life.”

A man steps across the wood piece, to the cheers and applause of those in the circle. On the other side, he receives a reminder of freedom and responsibility: a leather keyholder, with a feather and symbolic key, embossed with the word Freedom.

Sister Teresa is among those forming the circle, and afterward stands to make a few announcements before the group heads for the cake and soft drinks. This night, at the center of a joyous crowd, she is a far cry from her first fearful trip across town among three “scary guys.” Maybe she wasn’t duped, after all.

John Feister is the assistant editor of Glenmary Challenge, the former editor at large of St. Anthony Messenger, and a frequent contributor to this and other Catholic publications.

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ISSUES FACING HEALTH CARE

THE TOP

A Franciscan friar and medical ethicist, Father Thomas Nairn helps us understand these hot-button issues and how to address them.

By Ann M. Augherton

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COURTESY OF FRANCISCAN PROVINCE OF THE SACRED HEART

o what does a Franciscan friar know about the top five issues facing the healthcare system in the United States? Plenty, if he’s Franciscan Father Thomas Nairn, minister provincial of the Sacred Heart Province of the Order of Friars Minor. He spent 25 years as a consultant to a Catholic health system in Chicago and a decade as the senior director for theology and ethics at the Catholic Health Association before being elected provincial in the summer of 2017.

With a doctorate from the University of Chicago’s Divinity School, four books on medical ethics along with countless essays in scholarly and secular journals, numerous teaching positions throughout the United States, and as a Vatican-appointed assistant to the International Catholic Committee for Nurses and Medical Workers, Father Nairn can speak on health care—and does.

He calls the Catholic Health Association—the largest group of nonprofit healthcare providers in the United States—“the best of corporate America and the best of Catholicism.” His work as an ethics consultant has taken him around the world and into hospital boardrooms where the nitty-gritty decisions are made, such as whether to treat an immigrant without insurance who needs a bone marrow transplant and how that decision would affect the institution.

The depth and breadth of his experience as a Franciscan ethicist make him uniquely qualified to identify the top five health-care issues facing the Catholic Church.

FOTOTSEARCH IMAGES: CLIPBOARD: EVERYTHING POSSIBLE; NUMBERS: AROAS

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“Sadly, this country has not been very good in respecting its elders. We are sort of a youth-oriented culture. We need to be very respectful of elders; we need to have meaningful lives as we get older.”

—Father Thomas Nairn

ELDERCARE Father Thomas Nairn, OFM, PhD

COURTESY OF FRANCISCAN PROVINCE OF THE SACRED HEART

FOTOTSEARCH IMAGES: CLIPBOARD: EVERYTHING POSSIBLE; NUMBERS: AROAS

THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT Dubbed “Obamacare,” the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) became law in March 2010 and the major parts were implemented in 2014. Within Catholic health care, there have been objections to the ACA, especially by many US Catholic bishops.

First, the positives. “The ACA did bring health-care insurance to the poor,” says Father Nairn. “One of the things the Catholic Health Association was very concerned about is that a significant number of bankruptcies were because of unexpected health-care needs, especially with poor families.

It was devastating.

“What the ACA was able to do was stabilize that situation; create a situation where more people in this country were insured than ever before,” he says. “That had some very positive effects.” The bishops, however, took issue with other aspects of the ACA, particularly concerning abortion and birth control. “The first one was how the ACA was structured. It didn’t change anything regarding abortion. While the government would not pay for abortion and while the government said that in every state there had to be at least one insurer that would not offer abortion, abortion was still offered within insurance companies as part of the ACA,” says Father Nairn.

“Second was the so-called ‘contraceptive mandate’ for Catholic health care, Catholic universities, everything other than actual churches,” he says. Third, the ACA failed to provide access to health care to immigrants. For these reasons, the US bishops could not embrace the ACA. At the same time, under President Donald Trump, “The bishops have been against his trying to destroy the ACA without having something in its place,” he observes. “So interestingly, although they were not in favor of ACA, they are also nervous, because of the number of people insured, that it will simply go back to where it used to be.”

According to a May 2018 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, the US birth rate fell to a 30-year low in 2017. “This country is aging because fewer and fewer Americans are being born, and more and more Americans are living longer,” says Father Nairn. Those 90 and older are the fastest-growing demographic in the United States, he adds.

“This affects all sorts of things ethically,” says Father Nairn. “Sadly, this country has not been very good in respecting its elders. We are sort of a youth-oriented culture.

We need to be very respectful of elders; we need to have meaningful lives as we get older.”

Nursing homes have become the way to deal with elderly people, but “sadly, many become abandoned in nursing homes,” he says. “We need to keep people at home as much as possible.” In the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ document “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services,” of which the sixth edition was made available last June at usccb.org, Father Nairn says the bishops “try to tell us eldercare is a joint effort between patients, family, physicians, and nursing care staff. We need to dialogue about what is truly best for a patient at every stage of life, including the end of life.”

End-of-life issues can be complex and, at times, the Church’s teaching can be misunderstood. “The Catholic tradition has been very clear that life is a valuable gift, and we take reasonable care with it, acknowledging the needs of others,” he says. “And so our whole tradition of so-called extraordinary means has to be understood by people, and sadly I don’t think it is. Many people honestly believe that [we’ve] got to do everything we can to keep a person’s heart beating. That’s never been the Catholic Church’s tradition.”

Father Nairn tells the story of a member of his community who was terrified of dialysis, so much so that he would shake as he walked into the unit. The friar asked if he could stop doing dialysis. “Now for most people, it would be considered ordinary and beneficial, not burdensome, but for him, he was so terrified it became burdensome to the extent that he stopped.” He says there’s no way to make a general rule on ordinary versus extraordinary measures because it differs for each patient. In making these decisions, it is important to acknowledge the “disease is killing the patient, not our decision to treat or not treat,” he adds.

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In March 2016, women religious protest the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate outside the US Supreme Court in Washington. A brief filed by Catholic theologians could impact the court’s efforts to seek a compromise.

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CNS PHOTO/JOE NAJERA, COURTESY DIOCESE OF EL PASO

Conscience protection means health-care providers may not be discriminated against for refusing to be involved in or provide coverage for procedures or treatments that go against their religious beliefs, such as abortion or contraception. Father Nairn believes this will be a major issue within the next five years for both health-care professionals and health-care facilities.

“On the one hand is conscience protection for health-care workers—physicians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, etc.,” he says. “The second is whether we can talk about conscience protection for an institution such as a Catholic hospital.

“Historically, there are about three or four pieces of legislation that helped deal with the issue of conscience, and basically it dealt with the issue of abortion and contraception, wherein physicians and nurses have legal protection if they, in conscience, felt they could not help with abortion or prescribe contraceptives,” he says. Although this began with physicians and nurses, new questions were raised about what a pharmacist or pharmacy would do if the pharmacist does not want to dispense these things. “That has never been resolved,” he says.

Furthermore, he says, “Over the past five years, and it came from the medical heath-care industry itself, people began raising the questions whether that personal conscience conflicted with a physician’s professional duty to give the patient what the patient wanted, and again especially regarding reproductive issues, contraception, abortion.” Father Nairn adds: “Several philosophical health-care ethicists began raising the question of when professional duty trumps one’s personal conscience. That has not been resolved either.

“So you have a group of ethicists who are saying we have to respect individual consciences, including the conscience of an institution; [and] another group of health-care ethicists, philosophical usually, not theological, are saying we have to acknowledge professional duty and that is the important thing,” he says. “We’re right now in sort of an uneasy truce, but I think it’s going to erupt again soon.”

Pope Francis addressed a delegation from the World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations in May 2018. He urged them to defend the right of conscientious objection for health-care workers. “It is not acceptable that your role be reduced to that of being a simple executor of the will of those who are ill or of the demands of the health-care system in which you work,” he said.

CNS PHOTO/JIM LO SCALZO, EPA

CONSCIENCE PROTECTION

Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, greets immigrants who arrived in his diocese last fall.

Most immigrants have to wait five years before being eligible for government health-care assistance.

IMMIGRATION

“[It would be in the best interest of the United States to] be much more generous and, in the long run, we would save money. Sadly, immigrants are being vilified.”

CNS PHOTO/JOE NAJERA, COURTESY DIOCESE OF EL PASO

CNS PHOTO/JIM LO SCALZO, EPA

—Father Thomas Nairn

“Immigration and health care—this is, to me, a sad issue,” Father Nairn says. “Most immigrants coming to this country, especially those from Latin America, are healthier than most Americans,” he says. “The difficulty is that we have this law—it’s been on the books since 1996— that the government will not help them with their health care for five years. By the time the five years [go by], they are sicker than most Americans. Why? Because they have not had access to health care.”

Father Nairn says it would be in the best interest of the

United States to “be much more generous and, in the long run, we would save money.” He acknowledged the difficulty for that to happen in the current political climate. “Sadly, immigrants are being vilified.

“Our own Catholic tradition says we need to welcome the stranger and the alien,” he says. “I think religiously, ethically, and—interestingly—practically and financially, to have a more compassionate attitude toward immigrants would be in the best interest of all, not only the immigrants but the rest of us as well.”

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PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE Physician-assisted suicide is legal in Washington, DC, and seven states: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.

Father Nairn says an attempt to legalize it was done much the way that abortion was legalized in the 1970s, by taking it to the US Supreme Court. “The argument was that to prohibit assisted suicide was against the 14th Amendment, the equal protection clause,” he says. Proponents of physicianassisted suicide argued that if patients have a disease that, left untreated, would kill them, they have the right not to be treated and, therefore, die. Under the 14th Amendment argument, then why wouldn’t patients with a terminal disease— that is not killing them at the present time—have the right to proactively end their life by use of technology, injection, or pills?

“The Supreme Court rejected this argument but did allow states to decide,” says Father Nairn. He points out that many proponents of physician-assisted suicide prefer to call it “medical aid in dying,” a more neutral term because the word suicide makes them “nervous.”

“The Catholic Church obviously has opposed assisted suicide, acknowledging that we simply don’t have the right to kill ourselves,” he says. He believes there has been limited success in Catholics trying to oppose it. In Massachusetts, for example, an attempt was made to get a referendum on assisted suicide. Polls showed two-thirds of people supported it. “That law was not well-written,” says Father Nairn. “And what the Church was able to do was show the flaws in that particular law, and it was narrowly defeated.”

He says the Church did not couch it as a Catholic issue, but instead found allies in other communities. “The coalition

“I think we’ve shown well [through] palliative care that the pain issue does not have to be an issue. Secondly, that people in their old age or in illness are not a burden to family, or perhaps even better, that as Christians we bear one another’s burdens.”

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MELPOMENE/FOTOSEARCH

OBENCEM/FOTOSEARCH

—Father Thomas Nairn

MELPOMENE/FOTOSEARCH

OBENCEM/FOTOSEARCH

building became a way that this was stopped,” he says, adding that he believes that is the “only way this can work.” During its 2017 session, the Maryland General Assembly considered a bill allowing physician-assisted suicide—the “Death with Dignity Act.” Disability-rights advocates joined the coalition against the measure, including former NFL linebacker O.J. Brigance, who has ALS and relies on a computerized voice to communicate. He gave powerful testimony against it in 2015.

It was never brought to a vote in 2017.

However, Father Nairn isn’t optimistic about stemming the tide in favor of assisted suicide, and he expects more states to pass legislation allowing it. “What Catholic health care needs to do and has done is ultimately show that it is not necessary,” he says. “If we are against assisted suicide, we need to show that we will not abandon patients at the end of life. We need to show that patients will be kept as pain-free as possible.”

Ten or 15 years ago, the physician-assisted suicide movement focused on intractable pain. Today, fewer than 25 percent of patients who want physician-assisted suicide give pain as a reason, Father Nairn says. “Pain management is much better today than it was even eight to 10 years ago,” he says. “So to keep a patient pain-free is possible.”

He says the two major reasons proponents give are “autonomy—‘It’s my right and I should be able to choose it if I want to’—and secondly, ‘I don’t want to be a burden to my family.’ If we as Catholics want to show people that assisted suicide is not the answer, those are the questions we have to answer.

“I think we’ve shown well [through] palliative care that the pain issue does not have to be an issue. Secondly, that people in their old age or in illness are not a burden to family, or perhaps even better, that as Christians we bear one another’s burdens. Thirdly, that while people might have a right under the law to assisted suicide, is that really the best way to end one’s life? Are there things that other people might need to learn from us even as we approach death, that we are basically robbing them [of], by short-circuiting the process?”

As individuals, health-care institutions, and governments continue to wrestle with these issues, the Catholic Church offers much-needed perspective and values. As provincial, Father Nairn will continue to add his voice, bringing his expertise as a medical ethicist and his Franciscan values to the discussion.

“Our mission is to permeate our society with Gospel values,” Father Nairn says. “We are to be instruments of change and heralds of peace in a broken world, serving all people, especially the poor and marginalized, through reconciliation and healing.”

Ann M. Augherton is managing editor of the Arlington Catholic Herald, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia. Her article “A Pro-Life State of the Union” appeared in the January 2018 issue of St. Anthony Messenger.

For Catholic Health-Care Systems, the Prognosis Looks Good WHEN LOOKING AT THE FUTURE of Catholic health care, Father Nairn believes Catholic hospitals might fare better than their secular counterparts by drawing on the mission and values that have anchored them throughout their history.

“When Catholic hospitals began, they were places for the poor, Mother [Frances Xavier] Cabrini being one of the major ones behind that,” says Father Nairn. “It was a place where immigrants could feel comfortable going.” Now a saint, the Italian-born nun began her ministry in the United States when she founded two hospitals in New York City in the late 1800s.

At that time, hospitals were smaller and more personal. “There was no high tech, so they were places of care,” he says. “With the 20th century, you had the burgeoning of high tech — X-rays, MRIs, and more costly medicine. As that occurred, Catholic hospitals and their secular counterparts changed their business models and became, in a lot of ways, big business. Some even lost their understanding of the need to take care of the poor, and they became almost indistinguishable from their secular counterparts.

“What has happened in the past 40 years is we have kept the business model of giving the best care possible, but the mission imperative has become very strong again. I’ve been very impressed working with Catholic hospitals. They are very concerned about the poor and Catholic values.”

He believes that the corporate model must include the Catholic model where management and staff both know and live Catholic values. He foresees less need for hospitals in the future as more is being done on an outpatient basis. Health systems must confront the competing values of responding to the needs of the community and doing it as leanly as possible.

Catholic hospitals can draw on their history and values in meeting the challenges that lie ahead. “I think Catholic hospitals might be in a better place than for-profits to deal with these issues,” Father Nairn says.

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THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF

SISTER ROSEMARY

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PHOTOS COURTESY SISTER ROSEMARY NYIRUMBE/NATIVE EXPLORERS/JEFF HARGRAVE (2)

PHOTO CREDIT HERE

NYIRUMBE

She’s been featured in Time magazine and on CNN for her humanitarian work, but her faith, not fame, is what fuels her efforts to rescue abducted girls in South Sudan and Uganda.

By María Ruiz Scaperlanda

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PHOTOS COURTESY SISTER ROSEMARY NYIRUMBE/NATIVE EXPLORERS/JEFF HARGRAVE (2)

PHOTO CREDIT HERE

he stops to chat with a barefoot teenage girl and her friend, each stitching away on a black manual Singer sewing machine. The girls are sewing on a small porch outside their classroom, hoping to take advantage of the cool Ugandan afternoon breeze.

Something she says makes the student smile. The girl toys with the measuring tape hanging around her neck, then hands Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe the piece of material that she’ll be assembling into a shirt. It is clear as she looks over the student’s fabric that Sister Rosemary is checking every detail with the utmost attention. She is blunt but kind in her remarks to the teenager, who responds with a serious, “Yes, Sister, I understand, Sister,” before once again smiling at Sister Rosemary’s final words.

A MISSION TO RESCUE LIVES, HEAL SOULS

Best known as the driving force who saved hundreds of children from abduction during the bloody war that devastated northern Uganda and South Sudan for over 20 years, Sister Rosemary knows very well how essential it is for her girls to have pride in their work and in themselves because of the obstacles and suffering they’ve endured.

“We want these girls to know they are worth something.

They are not begging or asking for money. They are learning a trade,” she emphasizes. “It is very important to have girls

educated in order for them to be able to meet the challenges of the world tomorrow.”

In 2002, when then-46-year-old Sister Rosemary was first assigned to St. Monica’s Girls’ Tailoring Centre in the northern Ugandan city of Gulu, her homeland was immersed in a violent and destructive tribal civil war. Throughout northern Uganda, warlord Joseph Rao Kony and his militia, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), battled government forces to rule over the region.

They regularly abducted children, forcing boys into becoming child soldiers and girls into becoming sex slaves for the militia. The LRA killed those who didn’t comply.

Most estimates document over 30,000 children stolen by the LRA over the course of the war, although some list the number as high as 60,000.

Walking with a sense of purpose and always with joy, Sister Rosemary remains faithful to the mission of St. Monica’s to provide a safe home and education for victims of war and violence and, in particular, to orphans and young women.

“People may forget that people here continue to suffer,” notes the 62-year-old Ugandan sister. “Part of my effort is to tell the world not to forget, to try to stop this evil from happening again, and to let the girls know that the world cares about them.”

LEFT: Wherever she goes, Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe is the ultimate kid magnet. They inevitably run to her, smiling, as this little girl did at the orphanage in Moyo, West Nile. TOP: At the campus run by the Sacred Heart Sisters in Atiak, a girl in secondary school smiles after showing off her project to Sister Rosemary, who notes the importance of having the students learn a useful trade, as well as experiencing pride from doing quality work.

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LEFT: In a culture where children take care of one another, even young children often carry babies by wrapping the younger child on their back with a traditional kitenge cloth. RIGHT: As a young teenager, Sister Rosemary felt a call to join a community dedicated to taking care of children and orphans, a ministry that remains central to her calling today.

“That was a difficult time,” Sister Rosemary remembers.

Terrified of being taken from their villages, children would walk the dirt roads to Gulu every evening, looking for protection. Sister Rosemary and the sisters took in every child, hiding them at St. Monica’s in any possible space, from storage closets to furniture—housing 300 to 500 children every night.

“During the war, I was struggling so much. We had nothing to feed these children we were hiding. I went to Rome, to the Community of Sant’Egidio, and begged them, ‘Please help me to feed these children.’ They immediately gave me money for food and to buy them mattresses, blankets, and other needs.”

Over time, it became evident to Sister Rosemary that the children—especially the girls—needed more than shelter and food. Boys who escaped the LRA militia were able to return home and go to school. But in Uganda’s tribal culture, girls who escaped—often arriving with their own children born of rape—were rejected by their families and unwanted by the community.

So Sister Rosemary started a day care for the little ones.

And she started a literacy program for the girls. Then she began to teach them a trade, to empower their hearts and their will with vocations as seamstresses, cooks, or hairdressers.

When she first began, Sister Rosemary acknowledges, she felt helpless, not knowing what to do. “Then you find out, the only thing you have which you can bring out is the little love you have in the heart—and then compassion is given.

That opened my eyes, to accept them beyond what even they expected me to do.

“When we open our arms and embrace these girls, they feel accepted. They become stronger and stand up straight!”

She stops to smile. “You can see it in their faces when they feel broken. They don’t trust anybody. And so you have to be playful, show them a place of happiness, accept them back as they are.”

Ultimately, emphasizes Sister Rosemary, the temptation of asking people about their past is what kills all of us. “I remember thinking, Rosemary, close your lips. The father of the prodigal son did not ask where his boy had been. Instead, he threw his arms around him, embraced him, gave him new clothes, new rings. For me, that is a sign of life-giving. He gave life back to his boy.”

AN ONGOING CRISIS

According to the United Nations, child abductions in Africa continue. The United Nations’ child protection team notes, for example, that intertribal abductions are on the rise in South Sudan, Uganda’s northern neighbor, where a child is worth 20 cows or about $7,000. In Nigeria, western Africa, Boko Haram’s abductions of schoolgirls led to the international battle cry #BringBackOurGirls. Yet, four years later, over 100 of those girls are still missing.

The situation is different in northern Uganda, where the active abductions of children ended in 2006. Yet girls continue to escape from captivity in the bush. “Just last year, we had girls who came to us from captivity. This year, we have two girls who were born in captivity!” Sister Rosemary exclaims. “There was one who stayed with the rebels for nine years, then came to us at our school in Atiak. It was so hard to even connect with the feelings of this girl. She had no emotion. She kept saying, ‘No one cares about me.’ And we

PHOTOS COURTESY SISTER ROSEMARY NYIRUMBE/NATIVE EXPLORERS/JEFF HARGRAVE (5)

LIVING IN THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER

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PHOTOS COURTESY SISTER ROSEMARY NYIRUMBE/NATIVE EXPLORERS/JEFF HARGRAVE (5)

LEFT: A student works on her sewing project at St. Monica’s Girls’ Tailoring Centre in Gulu. RIGHT: A group of St. Monica’s students smile proudly after being paid for purses they made by hand. BELOW: Sister Rosemary stands in front of the grammar school she attended in her hometown of Paidha, on the West Nile.

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LEFT: Pros for Africa volunteers, including former NFL players Roy Williams (left) and Mark Clayton (center), dig a well by hand at one of the campuses run by the Sacred Heart Sisters. RIGHT: Former Denver Bronco Quinton Carter lets himself be led by one of the day-care children at St. Monica’s.

Rosemary Nyirumbe, the youngest of eight children, was born and raised in a small village of huts with grass roofs within Paidha, West Nile, located so close to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that children cross the border to attend school in the neighboring country. It is 122 miles and over three hours away on dirt roads from Gulu, where Sister Rosemary now lives.

She laughs often, and heartily, as she explains how most members of her tribe, the Alur, are like her—short and robust—while their neighbors in Gulu, the Acholi, are lean and tall. Yet the same woman who jokes about her 5-foot stature has also shaken hands with foreign presidents, kings, and NBA stars. Rome Reports described her last year as “the Mother Teresa of Africa.”

She was one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” in 2014. She is the subject of the book Sewing Hope and a 2013 documentary by the same name, narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker.

She received the United Nations Impact Award and has been named a CNN Hero. She even had a song written in her honor, “Touched by a Rose,” by JAIA. But for “baby sister,” as her brothers, sisters, and family still call her, speaking engagements and awards are simply platforms to tell her story: “I have the great opportunity to speak on behalf of people who cannot speak for themselves.”

The truth is that “I am not strong,” she adds, “so that keeps me dependent on God, praying to have energy, strength, and the right words to speak to each audience.”

She prays the same four-word supplication every day of her life, “Rwoth para, Mungu para [My Lord and my

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SISTER ROSEMARY NYIRUMBE ARCHIVES

LOVE IS THE KEY

PHOTOS COURTESY SISTER ROSEMARY NYIRUMBE/PROS FOR AFRICA FOUNDATION (2)

said over and over, ‘Estella, we care about you.’ You can still see the line of pain in her face, the line of suffering.”

St. Monica’s Girls’ Tailoring Centre in Gulu, home to 400 girls and young women, has enrolled more than 2,000 girls in the past 16 years. Sister Rosemary and her community, the Sacred Heart of Jesus Congregation, have expanded their work in the region, opening schools and centers in Moyo, Adjumani, and a 100-acre farm in Atiak, where they also serve women, children, and orphans fleeing from the current violence in South Sudan.

At the Sewing Hope Orphan Village in Atiak, located on the primary trade route between Uganda and South Sudan (only 22 miles south of the border), the teenage girls serve as models, even mentors, to the 50-plus younger students, most of them orphans, who live and attend school on the other side of the compound. A newly installed well provides them with fresh water, thanks to Father Jim Chamberlain and the University of Oklahoma’s WaTER (Water Technologies for Emerging Regions) Center project. As is true in most of Uganda, small solar panels outside every building and hut serve as a limited source of electricity.

Paradoxically, the school is near the location of the infamous Atiak massacre. In April 1995, soldiers in Joseph Kony’s LRA executed by gunfire approximately 300 civilians, kidnapping hundreds of young children from the village.

While the actual number of LRA members has varied over the years to as many as 3,000 soldiers, Kony’s militia is believed to have slaughtered over 100,000 people. Kony himself was indicted in 2005 for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court in The Hague—but has never been captured.

Taking Down Trafficking IN A MARCH 2014 MESSAGE TO Brazilian Catholics during that country’s annual Lenten Campaign for Fraternity, Pope Francis said, “It is not possible to remain indifferent before the knowledge that human beings are bought and sold like goods!” The continuing and pernicious practice of human trafficking often involves forcing children to become sex slaves or child soldiers, such as in South Sudan and Uganda. Children forced into sexual slavery is a global problem that reaches well beyond developing nations. Some estimates have the number of child sex slaves around the world at 10 million.

But there are ways to get informed, donate, or help by other means to combat child sex slavery and trafficking, as well as other humanitarian issues. To learn more about and contribute directly to Sister Rosemary’s organization, visit SewingHope.com. The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund’s website contains information on a plethora of issues facing children worldwide and includes a donate button on every page within their site (unicef.org).

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website (usccb.org) has a page titled “Anti-Trafficking Program,” which provides a Catholic perspective on the issue of human trafficking, ways to make financial contributions to the Catholic Fund Against Human Trafficking, and a link to sign up for its monthly anti-trafficking newsletter, Amistad. Find out more about the University of Oklahoma’s clean-water initiative, the WaTER Center, at ou.edu/coe/centers/water.

SISTER ROSEMARY NYIRUMBE ARCHIVES

PHOTOS COURTESY SISTER ROSEMARY NYIRUMBE/PROS FOR AFRICA FOUNDATION (2)

—Daniel Imwalle

When Sister Rosemary met Pope Francis in person in September 2016, she was moved to tears by his kindness. She handed him a copy of Sewing Hope, but “could not say anything but hold his hands.”

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Loving those who have never known love required Sister Rosemary and her sisters to become spiritual mothers for the girls at St. Monica’s.

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PHOTO COURTESY SISTER ROSEMARY NYIRUMBE/NATIVE EXPLORERS/JEFF HARGRAVE

God]”—always spoken in her soullanguage of Alur. “Love is the key for doing all the work we can do,” she clarifies, adding that Mother Teresa has joined the group of saints that she relies on because Mother Teresa’s calling was to do small things with great love. “Real love will always make you different.”

Sister Rosemary credits her love of children and the Italian Comboni sisters for her vocation, a call she answered at the young age of 15. Her community of over 325 sisters, in fact, grew out of the Combonis in 1976, when the Comboni missionaries encouraged them to form their own African community and elect the first African superior general.

With their motherhouse in Yuba, South Sudan, the sisters also live out their motto, “Live Love in Truth,” in Kenya and Uganda, where most Sacred Heart vocations come from. “I think the girls look at what we are doing, and they are attracted to it; they want to be a part of it. Every year, St. Monica’s sends girls to the convent.”

Prayer fuels Sister Rosemary’s every effort, seeking the Eucharist everywhere she travels. “I am dedicated to my rosary, even if I don’t complete it!” she laughs. “I’ve got a lot of devotion to Our Lady, which is strange because [as a Sacred Heart of Jesus sister] I should have more devotion to the Sacred Heart! Our Lady gives me answers very fast,” she says with a smile. “It’s good for me to be close to the Mother—it’s all among women!”

Her prayer before the Blessed Sacrament is simple, explains Sister Rosemary. Always with thanksgiving, “My prayer is, ‘Lord, you are with me, so if I go out in your name, let everyone I meet know that you are with me.

I am thankful that you come to me, who is unworthy.’”

María Ruiz Scaperlanda is a retreat director and award-winning journalist and author. Her articles have appeared in numerous Catholic publications, including Our Sunday Visitor, US Catholic, and this magazine. She resides in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

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the paintings and prose of This celebrated Trappist monk lived quietly but loved loudly. Here are samples of his faith in word and vision.

T

he genius of Thomas Merton (1915–1968) is to be found in his passion for God. It dominated the story of his life and enabled him to speak to people all over the world. His several vocations, which inform our perception of the man, must not be allowed, however, to obscure the fact that he brought to his life and work the instincts and the characteristics of a true artist.

Merton knew what it meant to enter the depths of our experience, to penetrate the bland certainties with which we console ourselves, to hold up a mirror to the face and to the pain of our world, to be in touch with life’s deepest rhythms.

In his writings and in his drawings, he spoke of the Divine Passion that alone can give some sense of identity and purpose. In common with every great artist, he made it possible to set our immediate concerns within the context of the universal human drama. He continues to speak with a voice

that is insightful, compelling, and prophetic.

His extensive writings provide ample scope into his thoughts, his questions, his concerns, and his passions.

Words mattered: They were Merton’s stock-in-trade, his first and most characteristic art form.

Merton’s art encompassed over the years a wide variety of styles and techniques. Simple line drawings gave place to brush and ink drawings, and these in turn gave place to the creation of images through a unique printmaking technique.

Merton was seeking new visual experiences—what he called “summonses to awareness”—set free from the predictable categories of “religious” art. He wanted to press forward, to explore, to make new connections.

And it is precisely here that the drawings might have a part to play as they invite us to stop, reflect, and surprise ourselves by new depths of awareness and understanding.

REPRINTED BY PERMISSIONS GRANTED TO FRANCISCAN MEDIA

By John Moses

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In Merton’s Own Words OUR DISCOVERY OF GOD is, in a way, God’s discovery of us.

The only One who can teach us to find God is God, Himself, alone.

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It is not we who choose to awaken ourselves, but God who chooses to awaken us. Our encounter with God should be . . . the discovery of our own deepest freedom.

Whether we are good or bad, wise or foolish, there is always this sudden irruption, this breakthrough of God’s freedom into our life, turning the whole thing upside down so that it comes out, contrary to all expectation, right side up. This is grace, this is salvation, this is Christianity.

h .

It is no longer I, but You who work and grow: It is your life, not mine that makes these new green blades in the transforming of my soul.

REPRINTED BY PERMISSIONS GRANTED TO FRANCISCAN MEDIA

Encountering God Thomas Merton was a man of contradictions. He was a deeply human man—down-to-earth, direct, and spontaneous. Those who knew him best recall the gaiety, the infectious humor, the belly laughter. But he could also be a restless spirit, questioning, provoking, pushing at the boundaries. His art reflects that dichotomy.

Many of Merton’s drawings are inspired by a rich heritage of religious art. The circle—which has been employed by many traditions of faith to represent the totality, the unity, of the Godhead—is pressed into service here, but the interconnected circles speak also of a dynamic Trinitarian faith in which ideas of movement, of perpetual motion, are also captured and conveyed.

God, who is everywhere, never leaves us. Yet, He seems sometimes to be present, sometimes absent. If we do not know Him well, we do not realize that He may be more present to us when He is absent than when He is present.

Whether you understand or not, God loves you, is present in you, lives in you, dwells in you, calls you, saves you, and offers you an understanding and light, which are like nothing you ever found in books or heard in sermons.

Only when we are able to let go of everything within us, all desire to see, to know, to taste, and to experience the presence of God, do we truly become able to experience that presence.

Every man at some point in his life encounters God, and many who are not Christians have responded to God better than Christians.

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The Paradox of Hope Living the Gospel No other sign or symbol could represent the challenge of living the Gospel as the cross can. It speaks of the central drama, the central mystery, of Christian faith and life. But Thomas Merton’s drawing has two great merits: First, in depicting a Celtic cross with its many resonances—ancient as well as contemporary—he captures something of the simplicity and the austerity of missionary endeavor in a far earlier age; secondly, because there is something incomplete, unfinished, about the drawing, it is impossible for anyone to say in advance what living the Gospel might actually entail.

Life and faith and love are gloriously open.

In Merton’s Own Words WE COULD NOT SEEK GOD unless He were seeking us. We may begin to seek Him in desolation, feeling nothing but His absence.

But the mere fact that we seek Him proves that we have already found Him. In the end, no one can seek God unless he has already begun to find Him. No one can find God without having first been found by Him. What Jesus speaks of is an entirely new kind of birth. It is a birth which gives definitive meaning to life. To be born again is not to become somebody else, but to become ourselves.

Christianity is first of all a way of life, rather than a way of thought.

It is only by living the Christian life that we come to understand the full meaning of the Christian message.

I say I want to give up everything for God. With His grace, perhaps my whole life will be devoted to nothing more than finding out what those words mean.

Is it possible that the face of the Man of Sorrows can speak of the paradox of hope? Thomas Merton’s reply would almost certainly have been that only such a man—one who has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows—is able to speak to the torments of our world. Merton demands time and again that we return to the central mystery of Christian faith—life through death to life—because it is there and only there that we touch the ground of Christian hope.

In Merton’s Own Words CHRISTIAN HOPE BEGINS where every other hope stands frozen stiff.

That’s the meaning of hope . . . to trust in the ultimate goodness of creation. Hope doesn’t mean an anticipation or expectation of a deliverance from an intolerable or oppressive situation or condition. . . . That’s what most of us are doing most of the time: wanting something other than what is. As I said, true hope is trusting that what we have, where we are, and who we are is more than enough for us as creatures of God. If you exist, you exist in hope. To cease hoping is to cease existing.

To hope, and to exist, is to have roots in God. We are saved by hope for that which we do not see, and we wait for it with patience.

On the surface, I have my confusion. On a deeper level, desire and conflict. In the greatest depths, like a spring of pure water rising up in the flames of hell, is the smallness, the frailty of a hope that is, yet, never overwhelmed but continues strangely and inexplicably to nourish in the midst of apparent despair.

The real hope, then, is not in something we think we can do, but in God, who is making something good out of it in some way we cannot see. If we can do His will, we will be helping this process. But we will not necessarily know about it beforehand.

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The Present Moment The Experience of Prayer Our experience of prayer is invariably tentative and uncertain. We bring the preoccupations of our daily lives, but all too often, we are left with a jumble of words and pictures, of hopes and fears, of petitions that flash by as they lose themselves in the busyness of living.

Sister Wendy Beckett speaks of entering God’s energy when we pray, and something of what those words might mean is captured for me by the drawings of Thomas Merton. Could it be that the God who is all in all moves within the nerve endings of our fractured and disconnected prayers, enabling us to touch the rays we cannot see, to feel the light that seems to sing?

In Merton’s Own Words IN PRAYER WE DISCOVER what we already have. You start where you are and you deepen what you already have, and you realize that you are already there. We already have everything, but we don’t know it and we don’t experience it. Everything has been given to us in Christ. All we need is to experience what we already possess.

There is no such thing as a kind of prayer in which you do absolutely nothing. If you are doing nothing, you are not praying.

My own personal task is . . . basically to praise God out of an inner center of silence, gratitude, and “awareness.” This can be realized in a life which apparently accomplishes nothing. Without centering on accomplishment or non-accomplishment, my task is simply the breathing of this gratitude from day to day, in simplicity, and for the rest turning my hand to whatever comes.

In our dealings with God, He is free and so are we. It’s simply a need for me to express my love by praying for my friends; it’s like embracing them. If you love another person, it’s God’s love being realized. One and the same love is reaching your friend through you, and you through your friend.

It is the sharp edges that first capture our attention in this drawing, and this might so easily have been the way in which Merton would choose to convey the urgency that he felt about the present moment and all that it requires.

The drawing—whatever might have prompted it—speaks to me immediately of the porcupine whose coat of sharp spines or quills protects it against predators.

In Merton’s Own Words WHAT IS VALUABLE is what is real, here and now. The present reality is the reflection of an eternal reality, and through the present we enter into eternity.

God was not for me a working hypothesis, to fill in gaps left open by a scientific worldview. Nor was He a God enthroned somewhere in outer space. Nor did I ever feel any particular “need” for superficial religious routines merely to keep myself happy. I would even say that, like most modern men, I have not been much moved by the concept of “getting into heaven” after muddling through this present life.

On the contrary, my conversion to Catholicism began with the realization of the presence of God in this present life, in the world, and in myself, and that my task as a Christian is to live in full and vital awareness of this ground of my being and of the world’s being.

John Moses is an Anglican priest and the dean emeritus of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, United Kingdom. This article was adapted from his book The Art of Thomas Merton: A Divine Passion in Word and Vision (Franciscan Media).

Visit our online store to order: Shop.FranciscanMedia.org

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‘LET HIM WHO IS WITHOUT SIN . . .’

This familiar story in Scripture illuminates the merciful nature of Jesus, even when we are sinners.

By Mark P. Shea

T

he story of the woman taken in adultery stands out in Scripture for a number of reasons. First and foremost, that it is considered Scripture at all makes it stand out. The story doesn’t have a fixed home in the Gospels. There is a lot of back-and-forth in the manuscripts of the New Testament about whether and where to include the story but, in the end, the Church simply could not bear to let it go.

So the story settles down to its place in John 7:53—8:11.

Church officials seem to have never quite made up their minds about who the human author was (just as they never made up their minds about who wrote the Letter to the Hebrews). But they were quite fixed in their conviction that the Holy Spirit is the divine author and that it preserves a real memory of something Jesus did and said.

I can’t say for certain that John wrote the story, but I can say for certain that, if he did not, whoever did definitely has John’s talent for economy of words and his ability to cram a ton of meaning into a few terse sentences. Moreover, what interests me is what John shows us about the judgment of God and its unexpected paradoxes—and what that tells us about the judgment we may expect on the Last Day.

JESUS IS THE TARGET

JESUS ADDRESSES THE MOB

So, what does Jesus do? He kneels and writes in the dirt with his finger. It’s a curious detail, and it’s worth noting.

The evangelists are not like modern novelists. They are not interested in realism. So they do not, for instance, ever

SHOWFACE/FOTOSEARCH (2)

We know the story well—and for that reason we may be blind to it. Jesus’ enemies bring to him a woman taken in flagrante delicto (in the act of adultery). There is, in short, no question about her guilt. Nor do the ones bringing her to Jesus have the slightest question of what is to be done with her according to the Law of Moses.

But here is where things become interesting and, by turns, horrifying, astonishing, and beautiful. The men bringing this woman to Jesus have not the slightest interest in her.

Indeed, in a certain sense they are not even interested in her guilt—only in her utility in entrapping Jesus. Notably, they have not brought the man with whom she was committing adultery. It is not clear if she has been cheating on her husband or he on his wife. But the law to which the mob are appealing is clear: “If a man commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death” (Lv 20:10).

That they have not bothered to bring the man makes clear that this kangaroo court is not really interested in pressing the demands of the Mosaic law but in finding some pretext to condemn Jesus. The woman was weak and easy to grab (and quite possibly not as fleet-foot as her paramour, or simply not as rich or well-connected in the good ol’ boys’ club that now gathers stones and awaits their chance for a kill). At any rate, they have nabbed her and let her lover go.

And now they are here, not to see justice done but to put this up-country Messiah in a bind from which he cannot escape.

The bind is this: If Jesus affirms the Law of Moses and its command for death, then he usurps Roman authority, which alone can inflict the death penalty in occupied Judea. He becomes the leader of a lynch mob and can be handed over to the Roman authorities as a rebel. On the other hand, if he does not affirm the Law of Moses, then he is no Messiah since he rebels against the word of God. It’s a pretty puzzle, and it looks as if they have him dead to rights either way.

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’

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POETRY Prelude: My Love I Saw the moon this early morning resting in the bare branches of an oak—three stars pinning night aloft.

The tree, distinct; the stars a dipper—perhaps.

Yet in the fading black I stopped and watched to see if they’d become something more than a remark I would later make to the stranger (almost) who sleeps beside me; who wakes to sit in silence near the window, in her chair or at the table, —wherever she is pushed— right hand trembling in her lap, she waits —always waits.

I pour the coffee and try to make her smile raising the cup

give us a description of Jesus’ appearance. When they do include details, it is usually because something about the scene has a theological meaning. So, for instance, Luke carefully mentions Jesus being placed in a manger because he wants us to see the eucharistic significance of Jesus’ birth. A manger is a feedbox and the Bread of Life has just been born in Bethlehem, which means “house of bread” in Hebrew.

Why then does the sacred author mention Jesus writing on the ground with his finger? Because God has done that before: When he “had finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the commandments, the stone tablets inscribed

by God’s own finger” (Ex 31:18). The finger of God wrote, “You shall not commit adultery.” Now God is writing with his finger again as he is asked to render judgment against an adulteress condemned by that very law.

When we think of God judging, we typically imagine him looking down on us and pronouncing our doom as we look up at him in supplication, pleading for mercy and dreading damnation. But this passage, in fact, shows us what the judgment of God looks like. God incarnate kneels before the woman taken in adultery. He places himself in a position where he must look up into her face.

Then he stands up, having written with the finger of God, and pronounces his first verdict, directed not to the woman, but to those eager to kill her, the image of God: “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” (Jn 8:7). They back away and drop their stones, the eldest first, and finally the youngest.

So much for the clever trap. But judgment of the woman still awaits.

—Herman Sutter

Jesus kneels again, forcing himself to again look up into the woman’s face.

If you are looking for a foreshadow of what Judgment Day will be like, this is virtually the only one we have in the New Testament where Jesus actually gives us, not a parable or an image, but

PICCIA/FOTOSEARCH

JESUS ADDRESSES THE WOMAN

to her lips whispering: my love, I saw the moon . . .

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himself rendering judgment against a sinner.

He addresses her as “Woman” (gynai in Greek). This sounds cold to the English-speaking ear, but we have to hear it in the context of Jesus’ own habits of speech, which are formed by the Old Testament. It is, in fact, an allusion to the woman Eve. It is also an allusion to Jesus’ habitual term of address to the woman of the New Testament, Mary, the new Eve. In short, it is not brusque, reductive, or dismissive but is something freighted with connotation that will, in later languages, amount to “My Lady.”

He is, in fact, exalting her. That is what the gesture of kneeling means.

And so he asks her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

(Jn 8:10) and she replies, “No one, sir.”

So he sends her away, free, with the words, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, [and] from now on do not sin anymore” (Jn 8:11).

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

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Jesus’ accusers have their minds filled with webs and stratagems. They see diagrams, not human beings. They do not see the woman except as a tool.

They do not see the law except as a puzzle piece. They most especially do not see Jesus except as a thing they seek to destroy.

And Jesus? He appears to see nothing but the human being in front of him: the imago Dei (image of God). His answer to the mob is a prelude to the main goal—the liberation and healing of the woman. He sees her as he sees us, as beloved people, not as tools in a power struggle. The law he wrote with his finger was made for her, not she for the law.

Jesus is there completely for her, as he is for each of us. His judgment is his mercy.

Mark P. Shea is a popular writer and speaker. He is coauthor of the best seller A Guide to the Passion: 100 Questions about the Passion of the Christ. He is also a regular guest on Catholic radio and writes for the blog Catholic and Enjoying It! at Patheos.com.

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Accepting the Invitation to In Lent, we find both the challenge and the opportunity to look inward, acknowledge our shortcomings, and ask for God’s pardon so that we may more fully embrace our loving Creator.

By Richard Rohr, OFM s we enter Lent, we are reminded that we are “dust to dust” and “ashes to ashes.” After a year full of sorrows such as the separation of families at the US border, destructive wildfires, mass shootings, war and famine in Yemen, refugees fleeing Syria, and much of the world’s suffering that frequently goes without notice if it is not in our own backyard, I am ready for a season of somber humility. Lent offers an invitation, as is our faith’s custom, to pray, to say I am sorry, and to go hungry once in a while knowing that others do so often. And I do so with genuine grief—but not without hope.

Coming on the heels of a season of joyous festivity, from Christmas and New Year’s to Mardi Gras, Lent is an opportunity to cleanse the palate so that we can taste all—the bitter and the sweet. This season calls us to witness the good and the bad—and to own our own responsibility and potential for being agents of both.

Whether we contribute to suffering through our human capacity for making mistakes and selfishness or experience pain and loss as one of earth’s vulnerable creatures, we must also see the other side of things, the yes/and of living this life.

While we are capable of doing so much harm, we also are gifted with the power to be and act in ways of compassion and to receive the abundant blessings of a benevolent God. Lent is about looking deeply within and simultaneously experiencing gravity and wonder. In my book Wondrous Encounters: Scripture for Lent, I describe the invitation to

know ourselves and God more fully: There are two moments that matter. One is when you know that your one and only life is absolutely valuable and alive. The other is when you know your life, as presently lived, is entirely pointless and empty.

You need both of them to keep you going in the right direction. Lent is about both. The first such moment gives you energy and joy by connecting you with your ultimate Source and Ground. The second gives you limits and boundaries, and a proper humility, so you keep seeking the Source and Ground and not just your small self.

HUMAN AND DIVINE

St. Teresa of Avila said that we find God in ourselves, and we find ourselves in God. Authentic spirituality seeks to facilitate this knowing of self and God. I believe that only when humans realize and embrace their wholeness—their smallness and their greatness at the same time—will there be any in-depth transformation.

Lent is about being human and divine. Though we are made of dust, we are called to participate in the divine creative dance.

Jesus showed us how to walk the human-divine path through self-emptying. It is the journey of death and resurrection, with life taking ever new shapes and forms. Even as we face our little ego deaths, we trust that resurrection inevitably follows if we walk through fall and winter. New begin-

LIGHTFIELDSTUDIOS/FOTOSEARCH

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Len nings invariably come from old falsities that are allowed to die. We know that the story ends in resurrection. After Lent, Easter! Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning (Ps 30:6).

Author Cynthia Bourgeault wrote in her book The Holy Trinity and the Law of Three: “Don’t be afraid of darkness, of the things that look like they’re going in the wrong direction.

The soul has to go through this overwhelm. So often I realize the difficulty was exactly the thing that needed to happen in order for there to be clarity.” Trust that even when it seems our world is moving backward—away from justice and peace—this friction can help us discover a new way forward.

LIGHTFIELDSTUDIOS/FOTOSEARCH

DESIRE TO BE TRANSFORMED

The word Lent comes from the Old English lencten, or springtime. Resurrection is not a one-time anomaly in the body of Jesus, but the pattern of reality. The Trinitarian flow is mirrored in every atom and circulatory system, the change of seasons and substances, and all the orbits and cycles of the stars, planets, and galaxies. We are a dynamic universe echoing a very dynamic God. Most of us were taught that God would love us if and when we change. In fact, God loves us so that we can change.

Loved people have the courage and the energy to imagine new things. The experience of being loved creates in us the desire to be transformed. Yes, even the desire is a gift.

Even as I rub ashes on parishioners’ foreheads and do my

own deep shadow work, I am also grateful, remembering and anticipating transformation. I celebrate the moments and undergirding constancy of Grace. I give thanks for the people and things that have touched me with love, that have nurtured my True Self. I pray you, too, may know how absolutely valuable you are within the context of the bigger Life and Love.

This Ash Wednesday, we will hear again that we are “dust to dust” and “ashes to ashes.” Each moment is precious. How will you spend these 40 days? The rest of your life? We must not stop the flow, but we must give mercy away as freely as it comes to us—so that it multiplies and spreads to many others. How might you be a conduit for mercy in this season of Lent? What practices could help you clear the channels of heart, mind, and body, to let love flow more freely through you and from you?

Thank you for being part of this journey, for not losing heart or giving up, but choosing hope. Thank you for doing the hard task of facing shadows, both within and without, and bringing them to Love’s light. Thank you for being dust and ashes whose DNA holds Divine Presence—you can’t help it; it’s who you are!—and carrying this responsibility with humility and joy.

Richard Rohr, OFM, is a Franciscan priest of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation (cac.org) in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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media MATTERS

reel time | channel surfing | audio file | bookshelf

By Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP

Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP

OSCAR

HOPEFULS Leave No Trace Bohemian Rhapsody Green Book Mary Poppins Returns On Her Shoulders

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alorie (Sandra Bullock), a pregnant artist, is shocked when her sister, Jessica (Sarah Paulson), comes home with news of terrible happenings in Europe and Siberia.

People are going crazy and spontaneously committing suicide or killing others, resulting in chaos and mass hysteria everywhere. Soon the mysterious force, or “presence,” attacks the United States and then inhabits their town and terrorizes its citizens. Malorie flees and takes refuge with several others in the home of Douglas (John Malkovich) and Greg (BD Wong). They cover the windows because this unseen “presence” takes possession of them through their eyes. Malorie and Tom (Trevante Rhodes) are drawn to each other.

When food runs low, they make a blindfolded foray to an abandoned supermarket, leaving the pregnant Olympia (Danielle Macdonald) behind. Most of the group wants to stay in the store with its food supply but decide to return to be with those they left behind. Olympia allows a desperate and creepy man named Gary (Tom Hollander) to enter the house, despite the rules Douglas has laid down for their safety. Both Malorie and Olympia go into labor.

Tom, Malorie, and the two children survive and live in the house for five years. Malorie

promised to care for Olympia’s daughter just before the young mom died, but Malorie has never given either child a name. Malorie has little hope for the future, so the children are named Boy (Julian Edwards) and Girl (Vivien Lyra Blair) because she thinks names are superfluous. Malorie blindfolds the children and they escape by boat down the river, headed for what they hope is a safe place.

This dystopian thriller, directed by Susanne Bier, is based on a 2014 novel by Josh Malerman. Screenwriter Eric Heisserer creates genuine fear and terror that dwells within the characters and compels them to commit acts of violence. It’s never really clear why the “presence” shows up in the first place. Still, Bullock is excellent as a mother who teaches the children the rules of survival with steely anguish. Though Bird Box is not a religious film per se, Malorie leads by faith and not by sight. This film prompts a deep conversation exploring the meaning of interior, spiritual, and physical freedom.

Not yet rated, R • Pervasive violence, peril.

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A DOG’S WAY HOME: EPK.TV/SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT/JAMES DITTIGER; VICE: ANNAPURNA PICTURES, LLC

Sister Rose’s

BIRD BOX

LEFT: SISTER NANCY USSELMANN; BIRD BOX: NETFLIX MEDIA

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.

A DOG’S WAY HOME

VICE

A DOG’S WAY HOME: EPK.TV/SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT/JAMES DITTIGER; VICE: ANNAPURNA PICTURES, LLC

LEFT: SISTER NANCY USSELMANN; BIRD BOX: NETFLIX MEDIA

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edical student Lucas (Barry Watson) and his girlfriend, Molly (Alexandra Shipp), work at the local veterans’ hospital. After work, they rescue stray cats who live under an abandoned house that is about to be razed.

It is across the street from where Lucas and his mom (Ashley Judd), a veteran with PTSD, live. They call animal control to retrieve the cats, but some are left behind.

Among them is an orphaned pit bull puppy that the mother cat nursed with her kittens. Lucas takes the puppy home and names her Bella. But the owner of the house dislikes Lucas for stalling his construction work and calls animal control because he has a pit bull within Denver city limits—a clear violation of the city’s breed-specific ordinance. It only takes three employees to profile a dog by its features and agree that it is a pit bull to put down.

Meanwhile, to save Bella from the dogcatcher, Lucas sneaks her into work where the veterans in therapy fall in love with her and she with them. To

I be safe, Molly’s aunt and uncle in New Mexico agree to house Bella until Lucas and his mom can move outside city limits. But Bella escapes when she hears someone say, “Go home,” a command that Lucas taught her. Off she goes on a 400-mile journey from New Mexico to Denver that will take two years.

This heartwarming film is based on the novel by W. Bruce Cameron; he and Cathryn Michon cowrote the script.

Charles Martin Smith ably directs, creating a touching story about the unconditional love of dogs for people, especially with those healing from the injuries of war. This is a disarmingly relevant film below the surface. But to appreciate it, one must suspend disbelief.

Not yet rated, PG • Peril, some mature themes.

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

n the run-up to George W. Bush’s (Sam Rockwell) campaign for the White House in 2000, he taps Dick Cheney (Christian Bale) for vice president. Lynne Cheney (Amy Adams) agrees with her husband that the office of vice president is a job with nothing to do but sit around and wait for something to happen to the president.

But Cheney, by this time, has gone from a troublemaking young man, to the White House chief of staff under President Gerald Ford, to a member of Congress, to a successful businessman.

He accepts Bush’s invitation as long as he can be in charge of several things, including foreign policy. Cheney, as vice president, also discovers loopholes in how the three branches of government work together and exploits and manipulates them to fulfill his powerful position.

This brilliant film explores what writer and director Adam McKay was able to uncover about Cheney’s life through drama and considerable satire.

Christian Bale is sure to win awards for his comprehensive and sometimes chilling impersonation of the vice president.

L, R • Some language and graphic images.

Source: USCCB.org/movies

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By Christopher Heffron

February 11, Independent Lens on PBS

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he mark of a gifted documentarian, in this reviewer’s humble opinion, is the wherewithal to get out of the way of the story. By contrast, filmmakers Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock have achieved commercial success and moments of stylistic greatness with their cameras, but too often they blur the lines between story and storyteller. RaMell Ross (pictured above in the inset photo), in his first feature documentary, is too clever to fall into that trap. He lets the story unfold slowly, carefully. What blossoms is a thing of beauty.

Hale County This Morning, This Evening is a documentary with no real equivalent because, on the surface, there appears to be no central narrative. Free of narration or navigation from the director, the film takes a minimalist approach, sharing with the audience snapshots of daily life among African Americans in this Alabama community: A cherubic toddler runs amok throughout his lowincome apartment; a promising Selma University basketball player practices his free throws; mourners gather to bury a casualty of sudden infant death syndrome.

Other realities of urban life are explored quietly yet probingly. The black experience isn’t lamented, questioned, or even celebrated—it’s simply captured. And that is what sets the film apart.

It’s a risky endeavor as a filmmaker, in this era of social media and shortening attention spans, to present something that so boldy defies conventional storytelling. As consumers, we’ve grown accustomed to having our stories spoon-fed to us like hungry babies. But Hale County This Morning, This Evening is richer because it is less formulaic. It takes its time. It evolves gradually. And Ross, who did his own camerawork in the film, weaves and glides around his subjects like a cunning poltergeist. What’s rendered is something like magic: a plunge into the lives of people living on the periphery. The director, without ever saying it, reminds his audience that we are all, regardless of skin tone or social background, members of one human family—in all its bruised glory.

Absentia Amazon Prime

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erfect for late-winter binging, Amazon Prime’s thrilling series about crime, family, trauma, and memory has been renewed for a second season—thankfully. For channel surfers who missed the first season, the show is about a skilled FBI agent (played by Stana Katic) held captive by a serial killer for six years and declared dead in absentia.

She is discovered by agents, including her ex-husband, a fellow agent now remarried; she must piece her life back together, while aiding in the hunt for the man who held her hostage.

In truth, not everything about Absentia works. The story lines border on the absurd, and violence is a regular distraction. However, there is still much to admire about this streaming series, not the least of which is a star-making performance by Katic as the wife, mother, and agent who becomes a stranger to her own life.

The way Katic oscillates between madness and reason, rage and calm, is electrifying. And a thrilling component to the series—the serial killer who was never found—is a boogeyman to savor.

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ANIMAL COLLECTIVE: DOMINO RECORDING COMPANY; LOW: SUB POP; PETE & REPEAT: TOM GREENE

Hale County This Morning, This Evening

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING: IDIOM FILM, COURTESY RAMELL ROSS (2); ABSENTIA: AMAZON STUDIOS

media MATTERS

reel time | channel surfing | audio file | bookshelf

Editor’s Pick Retro-spective ANIMAL COLLECTIVE | MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE: DOMINO RECORDING COMPANY; LOW: SUB POP; PETE & REPEAT: TOM GREENE

LOW | DOUBLE NEGATIVE

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obert Plant, lead singer of Led Zeppelin, once said of Low: “It’s great music; it’s always been in the house playing away beside Jerry Lee Lewis and Howlin’ Wolf, you know. There’s room for everything.” Indeed, the music of this band from Duluth, Minnesota, is spacious.

Never rushing through a song, this band nonetheless captivates listeners with a hushed urgency, almost like an important secret whispered into listeners’ ears.

In their latest album, Double Negative, the trio—which includes the husband-and-wife team of guitarist/vocalist Alan Sparhawk and drummer/vocalist Mimi Parker—places its trademark lo-fi sound over a bed of static and noise.

Instruments flicker like distant stars, and voices fade in and out like ghostly radio transmissions. The sound of the album is dark but not depressing, for the band seems to be channeling the angst that many of us feel regarding the current state of the world. In the second song, “Dancing and Blood,” a slow, pulsing rhythm snakes along as a clean guitar part punctuates layers of synthesizers. With his voice heavily distorted, Sparhawk sings with a touch of melancholy: “What could I say?/ Taken aback/All that you gave/Wasn’t enough.”

Each song flows seamlessly into the next, creating a dreamy atmosphere, but Double Negative is by no means background music. The quietness and subtlety of the music actually draw the listener in to its meditative realm, and once there, little surprises begin to emerge. After “Dancing and Blood,” for example, comes the song “Fly.” The tension of Sparhawk’s vocal part in the previous song is broken by the soft voice of his wife and longtime musical collaborator, Parker. With the minimal approach to lyrics, Parker sings: “But I don’t know/And I don’t mind/Take my weary bones/And fly.”

Parker and Sparhawk, both lifelong members of the Mormon faith, don’t shy away from projecting their music through a moral lens. Sparhawk once said, “Our spiritual beliefs encompass our whole life and understanding of who we are and what we do.” If you listen closely to Low’s hushed sound, you just might hear the whisper of God’s voice too.

PETE&REPEAT

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 Great fun for BOOK puzzlers of all ages!

Go online to order: Shop.FranciscanMedia.org For ONLY $3.99 Use Code: SAMPETE ANSWERS to PETE & REPEAT: 1) One of the cookies has sprinkles. 2) Pete is now wearing a belt. 3) There is a cloud outside the window. 4) A cookie is missing.

5) Pete’s collar has buttons on the back. 6) A wood piece is missing from the table. 7) Pete is holding a cookie. 8) There is now a stripe in Pete’s shirt.

HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING: IDIOM FILM, COURTESY RAMELL ROSS (2); ABSENTIA: AMAZON STUDIOS

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hen Animal Collective released Merriweather Post Pavilion in early 2009, the band perfected its neopsychedelic pop sound and reached a larger audience in the process. The album was met with immediate and universal acclaim by music press around the world and, only one year after its release, was included in the 2010 edition of 1,001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The first single, “My Girls,” was an instant hit among critics and fans, both new and old. The heartfelt lyrics, sung

by Noah Lennox (under his moniker, Panda Bear), speak to the satisfaction that comes from providing for a family: “There isn’t much that I feel I need/A solid soul and the blood I bleed/But with a little girl, and by my spouse/I only want a proper house.” Lennox’s choirlike voice is reminiscent of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.

Other highlights include the ecstatic “Summertime Clothes,” the beautifully romantic “Bluish,” and the soulnourishing finale, “Brother Sport.”

By Daniel Imwalle

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media MATTERS

reel time | channel surfing | audio file | bookshelf

By Julie Traubert

Bringing Hope to the Bowels of Hell “The reason I often refer to the chapel as a refuge in hell was because prison is the closest thing to hell on earth.”

REFUGE IN HELL

BY RONALD D. LEMMERT Orbis Books

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ather Ronald Lemmert has captured the essence of the broken American prison system as well as any writer has done. This work explores how one man, a priest, takes his ministry to heart and tries to bring dignity to men who have been largely cast aside by society. What truly stands out is how inefficient and uncaring the current

prison system is for helping those who truly need it.

For example, he points out that well over half of the prisoners in New York have substance abuse or addiction problems, yet they cannot be treated until they are within two years of release. It is this very mind-set that has led to countless cases of recidivism to a system unfit for rehabilitating people. He says: “You cannot cure the disease by locking up people in prison, by shunning them as outcasts. People need treatment in a healthy, therapeutic environment.”

The spiritual aspect he brings to the ministry gives some of the prisoners a sense of purpose and hope. Even in this effort, he endures countless cases of incompetency and outright corruption in trying to rebuild his chapel for

prison worship. It’s a broken system that needs fixing, and he doesn’t hesitate to bring this point home.

This really impacted me since I’ve had the privilege of doing prison ministry. I haven’t faced what Father Lemmert has, but I learned how hard it is to minister to Catholics in the justice system. So often, Catholics are deprived of the sacraments that are needed to help bring a sense of hope. We’ve been given that mission to visit the sick and imprisoned, and too often we’ve neglected this critical ministry. I highly recommend this book. It certainly confirmed what I’ve experienced: We need reform now.

Reviewed by Deacon Dave Profitt, director of St. Anne Retreat Center in the Diocese of Covington, Kentucky.

Make Love Visible

Jesus is saying: “Act not on what you think you can do but on what I can do for you. Keep your focus on me, and trust.”

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efying Gravity emerges from the mind and heart of an actor/ stuntman/cop/therapist and his wife when their young sons are diagnosed with a rare, terminal illness. Joe and Lori Sikorra’s lives crash head-on into Batten disease, a neurological disorder that affects sight, motor skills, and cognitive abilities.

Their initial response was as anticipated. Fear, anger, brokenness, and crippling pain gripped the spouses— one who challenged life in many ways, such as stretching movie stunts to the brink; and the other who entered nursing to provide stability for their family.

The diagnoses, first of gentle John, then of rambunctious Ben, compelled the Sikorras to live with death as

their family lived life. Joe’s honesty in describing relinquishing his ego, his fear of being a cop, and his regret at not being a better provider reveal how the Sikorras were given grace to grow in love and devotion through suffering.

Parenthetical phrases become an art form as Joe sprinkles bits of wit into life’s most trying moments. Humor reverently punctuates the seriousness of their life situation, which is possible due to the depth of their Catholic faith. Jesus’ words—such as “Do not be afraid”—sustain them. As the boys’ health diminishes, faith grows.

Prepare for a few tears as the Sikorras defy forces of gravity that could take their family down and erase joy from their lives. While the integ-

DEFYING GRAVITY

BY JOE SIKORRA Ignatius Press

rity of the global adoptive family is in crisis—including fractured biological families at the US border with Mexico—the healing effect of adoption becomes particularly cogent.

Reviewed by Patti Normile, author, retired teacher, retreat director, and pediatric hospital chaplain.

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THE MINDFUL CATHOLIC

LENTEN HEALING

THE PRAYER LIST

BY DR. GREGORY BOTTARO

BY KEN KNIEPMANN

BY JANE KNUTH

“Most people are, in many ways, walking around asleep in their lives.”

“Some of our wounds . . . are so deeply ingrained in us that we can hardly see them.”

“Giving our concerns to God is meant to be a daily release from troubles.”

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Beacon Publishing

o you ever lie awake at night, incessantly worrying? Franciscan friar turned psychologist Dr. Gregory Bottaro calls you to quiet your mind through the transformational power of mindfulness. He describes mindfulness as living in the present moment, observing both the positive and negative, but not allowing the negative to overwhelm you.

The book is divided into eight chapters that correspond with an eight-week program called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and includes exercises for you to practice this way of thought.

An important emphasis is zeroing in on negative patterns of thinking, especially self-criticism and judgment, and freeing yourself to be your best self.

Ave Maria Press

Loyola Press

ather than giving up sweets or a favorite food for Lent, what if you focused on giving up sin? Sin emerges from our own internal hurts and wounds, explains author Ken Kniepmann, and through examining our negative thoughts and beliefs, we can heal and grow closer to God. Designed as a daily devotional, the book takes you through the 40 days of Lent and asks you to truly look inward at how you feel about yourself and your relationships with others. As you sort through your emotional habits, you may find a more positive path guiding you to see yourself as God sees you.

KIDS’

SPOT Religious Best Sellers T from Amazon.com Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence, by Sarah Young I’ve Been Thinking . . .: Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life, by Maria Shriver 365 Bible Verses-a-Year: Page-a-Day Calendar 2019,

by Workman Publishing

his is an inviting, inspirational book that explores the many ways families pray together. Author Jane Knuth begins with her own story of becoming the keeper of her extended family’s prayer list after her aunt dies.

Growing through this experience, she wonders how other families come together in prayer and decides to gather family prayer stories from not only Christian homes but also those of other faiths and cultures. The stories shared are personal and rich, offering numerous ideas, including praying in your car, praying with dead family members, incorporating statues and icons in family prayer, and the power of tradition.

PRAYERS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN WRITTEN BY MARTINA STEINKÜHLER

ILLUSTRATED BY BARBARA NASCIMBENI

hese prayers were inspired by Bible stories and the Psalms, and they address emotions and feelings younger children may experience: fear of the dark, loneliness at school, or mourning for a grandparent. A handy reference page in the back details the Bible passage that corresponds to each prayer.

Books featured in this section can be ordered from:

Drinking with the Saints: The Sinner’s Guide to a Holy Happy Hour, by Michael P. Foley

St. Mary’s Bookstore & Church Supply

How Catholic Art Saved the Faith: The Triumph of Beauty and Truth in Counter-Reformation Art, by Elizabeth Lev

web: www.stmarysbookstore.com e-mail: stmarysbookstore@gmail.com

1909 West End Avenue • Nashville, TN 37203 • 800-233-3604

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POINTSOFVIEW | FAITH & FAMILY ‘I Like You’

By Susan Hines-Brigger

Susan Hines-Brigger

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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o you remember when you were younger, and friends used to ask if you “liked” someone? I mean “liked” in the sense that you thought that person was cute and more than just a friend. At that stage, liking someone seemed to be the starting point from which loving relationships blossomed.

Then, at some point, the concept of liking someone quit being the go-to emotion anymore. Suddenly, it was all about love and all the warm, fuzzy feelings that entailed. Liking someone wasn’t enough. Love was what it was all about.

Sometimes, though, I think that the first part—the “liking” part—is the more important key to a relationship. In fact, I was thinking of that the other day when my husband, Mark, and I were out running errands.

“It’s a good thing we still like each other,” I told him. Mark looked at me a little confused and said, “I sure hope we do. We’re married.”

Then he asked, “Where did that come from?”

I explained to him how I’d been thinking about it since earlier in the day, when we asked our kids if any of them wanted to go with us. They all said no—even our 8-yearold, Kacey.

It struck me that there was a time not so long ago when the kids would have jumped at the chance to go somewhere with Mark and me. But lately, the two of us have been finding ourselves alone more and more. I’m enjoying it, but have to admit that it also feels a little bit weird.

BACK TO THE BEGINNING

For the past 20 years, Mark and I have been busy with our four kids, their school, sports, and other various activities. He has owned his

role as good cop, and I have resigned myself to being the bad cop. Date nights have been few and far between, and, even then, our conversations often revolved around the kids and their schedules. “Divide and conquer” has been our m.o. for so long, it feels odd to be coming back together as a team.

As most parents will probably admit, once you have children, your relationship with your spouse often takes a back seat. But as always happens, the children grow and become more independent, and couples find themselves reconnecting—for better or worse.

Suddenly, Mom and Dad are morphing back into Susan and Mark.

A TIME OF REDISCOVERY

During our parenting journey, I have never doubted that I love Mark. But I can’t say that I continually took the time to see all the little things about him that first made me like him. But now, as we spend more time alone together, I’m suddenly remembering many of those things. For instance, he makes me laugh and has a wicked, childlike sense of humor.

He is great at lovingly giving me a push outside of my comfort zone. And he always picks me up when life gets tough—physically and mentally.

Lest anyone accuse me of being too starryeyed about our relationship, though, I am also well aware of all the things that I also dislike about him: He puts the peanut butter in the refrigerator, where it doesn’t belong, and puts the toilet paper on the roll the wrong way.

In the end, though, the point is this: Not only do I love Mark, I like him. In terms of our relationship moving forward, that counts for a lot.

LEFT: MC KOZUSKO/SAM; RIGHT: ENLIGHTENEDMEDIA/FOTOSEARCH

Susan has worked at St. Anthony Messenger for 24 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.

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minute meditations

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reflection

“I am definitely loved and whatever happens to me—I am awaited by this love.

And so, my life is good.”

February 8 is the feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita.

PHOTO CREDIT HERE GRACE1221/FOTOSEARCH

—St. Josephine Bakhita

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$12

$20

$25

$30

$45

$____

Check/Money Order Credit Card # _____ _______ _______ _______ Exp. Date ___ /___ Please send ___Pastel Pearl Rosary(ies). #204635 ($12 suggested donation each)

Available from the Missionary Oblates

Pastel Pearl Rosary

Remember Christ’s love for you while praying this gorgeous rosary. Large pastel pearls of various colors on a gold-plated chain make up the length of the rosary.

The special crucifix and centerpiece feature dogwood blooms that symbolize the Resurrection. The centerpiece shows a traditional shrouded, or Resurrection, cross symbolizing Jesus’ victory over death.

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Name ________________________________________ Address ______________________________________ City ____________________ State _____ ZIP ________ E-mail ________________________________________

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Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows 9480 N. De Mazenod Drive • Belleville, IL 62223-1160

Donate Now – Toll Free At: 1-888-330-6264 Mon. – Thurs. 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Central

Or Visit: oblatesusa.org/ads 12/27/18 10:42 AMAM 11/21/18 9:46