St. Anthony Messenger March 2018

Sharing the spirit of St. Francis with the world V O L . 1 2 5 / N O . 1 0 • MARCH 2018

COURTSIDE WITH

SISTER

JEAN IN THIS ISSUE:

Insight and advice on enriching your family’s faith

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‘I WAS IN PRISON AND YOU WROTE TO ME’ JESUS’ AGONY IN THE GARDEN THE LITURGY OF EVERYDAY LIFE

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“Because I am the servant of all, I am obliged to serve all and to administer the fragrant words of the Lord to them.”

—St. Francis of Assisi

42 Courtside with Sister Jean

VOL. 125 NO. 10

MARCH

2018

COVER STORY

Photos by Karen Callaway; text by Joyce Duriga

When the Loyola Chicago men’s basketball team is looking for guidance both on and off the court, this 98-year-old sister provides it.

18 ‘I Was in Prison and You Wrote to Me’

By Jim Auer

Developing a friendship with an inmate through a pen-pal ministry could provide the seed for change and growth—for both parties.

24 Lessons from Jesus’ Agony in the Garden

By Martin Pable, OFM Cap

Like us, Jesus could be besieged by his emotions. But his example shows us that God is there to comfort and support us.

COVER: Sister Jean Schmidt may be diminutive in size—at 5 feet tall—but not in faith. Players and fans alike look to her spiritual leadership and prayerful presence at Loyola Chicago men’s basketball games.

32 The Liturgy of Everyday Life

By Judy Schueneman

Weekly Mass nourishes our spiritual lives. But what about the other six days of the week?

36 ‘You Have Cancer’

By Ann Turner

Shaken by the words none of us wants to hear, this writer finds peace and strength in the life of St. Francis.

StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2018 • 1

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VOL. 125 NO. 10

2018 MARCH

SPIRIT OF ST. FRANCIS

14

14 Ask a Franciscan

POINTS OF VIEW 7

Why Continue with the Catholic Church?

Your Voice

Letters from Readers

16 Franciscan World

12 Editorial

16 St. Anthony Stories

30 At Home on Earth

17 Followers of St. Francis

56 Faith & Family

Order of Friars Minor Conventual

Lent: A Reminder to Hope in Trial

As Good as Gold

Home Economics

Sister Charlene Smith, FSPA

Hey, Kids, It’s OK to Fail

50

MEDIA MATTERS 50 Reel Time

All the Money in the World

52 Channel

Surfing

Body Bizarre

56

53 Audio File U2: Songs of Experience

59

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 5 Dear Reader

58 In the Kitchen

53 Pete & Repeat

60 Reflection

8 Church in the News

59 Lenten Blues

54 Bookshelf

Miracle in Motion

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dear reader Living Life Fully

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n one way or another, this month’s articles address the temptation to “sell ourselves short,” to settle for less than the rich life of grace and freedom that God wants us to enjoy.

At the age of 98, Sister Jean Schmidt, BVM, has more energy than many people half her age. For 24 years, she has been the iconic chaplain of the men’s basketball team at Chicago’s Loyola University. She lives on campus in a dorm with 400 undergraduates.

This month ends with Holy Week. Father Martin Pable’s “Agony in the Garden” can help us place ourselves within that event and benefit from it. The author reflects on three powerful emotions that Jesus might have felt during those painful hours. Most of us have experienced similar emotions in other situations.

According to Jim Auer, corresponding with men or women in jail is one way of visiting those in prison, helping them to feel part of the larger society most of them will eventually rejoin.

Ann Turner found intersections between her experience of cancer and the multiple renunciations that St. Francis of Assisi made during his life. Judy Schueneman describes how the seemingly ordinary events of family life extend in various ways to everything that we celebrate at Mass.

Don’t miss our other good offerings this month!

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JIM AUER writer

Prison Pen Pals PAGE 18

Since 1972, Jim Auer has been a freelance writer of articles, short stories, and homilies. He and Rose have been married for 49 years.

They are the parents of two grown children and six grandchildren. His article describes corresponding with Isaiah, a prisoner whom he has never met, and with other inmates.

JOYCE DURIGA writer

MARTIN PABLE, OFM CAP writer

Courtside with Sister Jean

Agony in the Garden

PAGE 42

PAGE 24

Since 2007, Joyce Duriga has served as editor of Chicago Catholic, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Chicago. She is the author of Helen Prejean: Death Row’s Nun (Liturgical Press).

Father Martin, a Capuchin Franciscan, earned a doctorate in counseling psychology. The author of 10 books, he has taught seminarians and served as spiritual director for priests, religious, and laypeople. He has written several articles for us over the years.

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POINTSOFVIEW | YOUR VOICE Warm Welcome for New Design “Wow, they really did redesign the magazine.

I love the cover.” These were the words that came out of my mouth as I pulled the January issue of St. Anthony Messenger (SAM) out of my mailbox. Here are a few things I like about SAM’s revitalization: The cover is clear and simple, and the white banner at the top stating the title is bold. The mission statement posted on the front cover is an excellent idea. The two detailed pages in the table of contents make it easier to find articles. You kept “Pete and Repeat” and the “Reflection” page. The blue, detailed banners at the top of sections make it easy to locate articles. As a subscriber for 30 years, I thank you.

campaign. He has a record of bullying and disparaging the characters of persons he considers enemies. He has publicly admitted to past improper sexual activity with women.

Our Church need not support this kind of behavior, as the writer recommends it should.

Additionally, the Church teaches that morality is not measured or judged on a scale compared to the behavior of other persons (or organizations). We are each responsible for developing our individual moral conscience.

While some politicians claim that there is no place for morality in politics, Jesus, St. Francis, and the pope teach us that the sacred is present in all things, and not only to love our neighbors but also to care for creation.

Ruth Hubbard Florence, Kentucky

James Beck Sr., OFS Sarasota, Florida

The Value of Human Life

Deafening Silence

I commend you for publishing Ann M. Augherton’s article in the January issue, “A Pro-Life State of the Union.” While abortions have decreased nationwide, it is true that advocates for abortion continue to push for taxpayer funding—even though polls show the vast majority of Americans oppose such funding. While Roe v. Wade was decided 45 years ago, the inherent right to life of unborn children never went away—a truth recognized by our bishops. For the sake of babies and their mothers, we must pray and work toward a society that values each human life for the miracle it is.

Regarding Susan Hines-Brigger’s editorial in the January issue (“It’s Time to Speak Up”), I share her puzzlement over the bishops’ silence in the face of the recent high-profile accusations of sexual harassment across the United States. Back in the ’50s and ’60s in America, it was the nuns and priests who embraced the civil rights movement. Later, it was a nun who spoke out against capital punishment. Men and women religious have been imprisoned for picketing in front of abortion clinics.

Historically, the American hierarchy has always lagged behind the Church’s stance on social issues. Bishops and cardinals now look to the Vatican for approval on most issues.

It is unfortunate that the Holy Spirit has not touched the hearts of bishops and cardinals to the extent that priests, nuns, and laity have been encouraged to fight against societal problems. Father James Martin, SJ, is now challenging the Church hierarchy to embrace the Catholic homosexual community, but bishops and cardinals remain mute on the issue. Sadly, it was bishops and cardinals who transferred pedophile priests from parish to parish. Somewhere along the line, they have forgotten that their red zucchettos are symbols of their willingness to be martyrs for the faith.

Maria V. Gallagher Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Disconnect between Teachings of Christ, President’s Behavior I’m writing in response to Bill Kane’s letter in the January “Your Voice” column (“False Witness”). The writer defends President Trump in his critique of Christopher Heffron’s August editorial, “Inconvenient Truths.” Mr. Kane states that the president and his family are good people and that the editorial’s comments about Mr. Trump are false.

In defense of the editorial and the teachings of Jesus Christ, it should be noted that it is a fact that the president has lied hundreds of times to the country since initiating his

Don Bruce Suffern, New York

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church IN THE NEWS

people | events | trends

By Susan Hines-Br ig ger

THOUSANDS ATTEND ANNUAL MARCH FOR LIFE planning in other countries.

President Trump spoke to the crowds via a broadcast from the White House Rose Garden. He said that his administration “will always defend the very first right in the Declaration of Independence, and that is the right to life.”

President Trump told the crowd, “You’re living witnesses of this year’s March for Life theme.”

Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life, told CNS that she believes the abortion issue is “the single most significant social-justice cause of our time.”

Prior to the march, thousands of youth gathered at Washington, DC’s, Capital One Arena for the annual Youth Rally and Mass for Life.

Washington Cardinal Donald M. Wuerl told those in attendance that the gathering was “a very dramatic manifestation of the new evangelization,” which is “the call to be confident in our faith and invite others to join us.”

Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, read a message from Pope Francis, which offered a warm greeting to attendees and assured them of his closeness in prayer.

People walk up Constitution Avenue, headed toward the US Supreme Court, while participating in the 45th March for Life January 19 in Washington, DC. 8 • March 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

CNS PHOTOS, LEFT: GILBERT TOURTE, REUTERS; RIGHT: ISABELLE BALDWIN

n January 19, an estimated 100,000 people gathered on the National Mall in Washington, DC, for the annual March for Life, according to Catholic News Service (CNS). The theme of this year’s event was “Love Saves Lives.”

Vice President Mike Pence introduced President Donald Trump to the crowd as the “most pro-life president in American history,” citing his Mexico City policy, among other pro-life actions. That policy bans all foreign nongovernmental organizations receiving US funds from performing or promoting abortion as a method of family

CNS PHOTO: MICHAEL REYNOLDS, EPA

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AN UNEXPECTED PASSING

POPE FRANCIS ADDRESSES FAKE NEWS

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olores O’Riordan, the 46-year-old lead singer for the popular band the Cranberries, passed away suddenly on January 15 in London. The Catholic singer was remembered by Bishop Brendan Leahy of Limerick, who said O’Riordan “often spoke about her spirituality and how important that was to her and, of course, she met Pope John Paul II. She spoke of taking a lot of influence for her music from her spirituality.”

n his message for this year’s World Communications Day, which will be celebrated on May 13, Pope Francis wrote about the topic of fake news and the dangers of spreading it, reported CNS. The theme for this year’s day is “‘The truth will set you free.’ Fake news and journalism for peace.”

Fake news, the pope wrote, grabs people’s attention “by appealing to stereotypes and common social prejudices, and exploiting instantaneous emotions like anxiety, contempt, anger, and frustration.” He said that it is the responsibility of each individual to discern what is real news and what is helpful to share on social media.

At the end of his message, Pope Francis included a prayer that he wrote—based on St. Francis’ peace prayer—as a guide for both those who report the news and those who read or watch it.

Pope Francis’ Prayer for Countering ‘Fake News’

CARDINAL RETURNS HOME

CNS PHOTOS, LEFT: GILBERT TOURTE, REUTERS; RIGHT: ISABELLE BALDWIN

CNS PHOTO: MICHAEL REYNOLDS, EPA

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fter almost 50 years, the late Cardinal Josef Beran will finally be returning to the Czech Republic (formerly Czechoslovakia). Pope Francis approved a request by the cardinal’s relatives and the current archbishop of Prague, Cardinal Dominik Duka, to remove and permanently transfer Cardinal Beran’s casket from the grottoes under St. Peter’s Basilica.

The cardinal, who survived the Nazis’ Dachau prison camp and 17 years of Communist persecution, was exiled to Rome in 1965. Following his death in 1969, he was buried in a sacred space normally reserved just for popes, close to the tomb of St. Peter.

He is just one of three cardinals to have been given that honor.

Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the basilica’s archpriest, said that while relics or mortal remains have been moved within the basilica, this is the first time they will see a permanent removal.

Lord, make us instruments of your peace.

Help us to recognize the evil latent in a communication that does not build communion.

Help us to remove the venom from our judgments.

Help us to speak about others as our brothers and sisters.

You are faithful and trustworthy; may your words be seeds of goodness for the world: Where there is shouting, let us practice listening; Where there is confusion, let us inspire harmony; Where there is ambiguity, let us bring clarity; Where there is exclusion, let us offer solidarity; Where there is sensationalism, let us use sobriety; Where there is superficiality, let us raise real questions; Where there is prejudice, let us awaken trust; Where there is hostility, let us bring respect; Where there is falsehood, let us bring truth.

Amen.

—Pope Francis, message for World Communications Day 2018

StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2018 • 9

church IN THE NEWS

BISHOP RESPONDS TO HAWAII’S MISSILE SCARE

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CATHOLICS REACT TO PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS

ollowing reports that President Donald Trump made disparaging remarks about Haitians and people in some African countries during a meeting on immigration on January 11, a number of Catholic officials spoke out, with some denouncing the comments as “racist” and “hateful,” reported CNS. Senator Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, said the president used profanity to refer to people from certain countries, and other “things which were hate-filled, vile, and racist” during a meeting while trying to hash out a deal on immigration. Senator Durbin said the president questioned why the United States would accept more immigrants from Haiti and “(expletive) countries.”

10 • March 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

WANT MORE? Visit our newspage:

FranciscanMedia.org/catholic-news

CNS PHOTOS: PAUL HARING (2)

“As people of faith, concerned with the dignity of all of God’s people, we deplore such racist and hateful speech,” said a statement from the National Black Catholic Congress.

Other Catholic officials echoed that sentiment. The day after the president’s remarks, Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich took to Twitter, posting, “Grateful for Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable, ‘Founder of Chicago’—and Haitian immigrant. We are a nation of immigrants, who have made America great.

We continue to be enriched by the gifts they bring to our shores.”

James Rogers, chief communications officer for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, also responded, issuing a statement saying: “Reports of recent disparaging remarks about African countries and Haiti have aroused great concern. As our brothers and sisters from these countries are primarily people of color, these alleged remarks are especially disturbing. All human beings are made in the image and likeness of God, and comments that denigrate nations and peoples violate that fundamental truth and cause real pain to our neighbors.”

CNS PHOTOS, LEFT: INSTAGRAM/@SIGHPOUTSHRUG VIA REUTERS; RIGHT: EDUARDO MUNOZ, REUTERS

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n response to an alert on January 13 about an imminent ballistic missile attack on Hawaii—which turned out to be a false alarm—Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva gave general absolution to about 45 people in a deacon formation program, according to CNS. After receiving the message from the Hawaii Emergency Management Center saying: “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL,” Bishop Silva proceeded from his residence to the chapel at St. Stephen Diocesan Center in Kaneohe.

At the time, nine deacon candidates and their wives, there for the weekend with their formation team, were celebrating Mass. Diocesan judicial vicar Father Mark Gantley continued the Mass, and afterward, Bishop Silva explained what he was doing and said the words of absolution.

“I am not in favor of general absolution in general, but that was an appropriate use,” the bishop told the Hawaii Catholic Herald, Honolulu’s diocesan newspaper, three days after the incident.

“If there ever was an occasion, that was it,” he said. “It was scary.”

The absolution of sins given to a group of people at one time is allowed only in grave circumstances, such as situations of great danger or imminent death, or for soldiers going into battle, when private confessions are logistically impossible.

Eva Andrade, one of the deacon formation staff, said that the experience was a powerful one. “In that moment, everything changed and was made right,” she said. “You could feel the presence of God in that room.”

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Bishop Juan Barros of Osorno, Chile, has been accused of covering up sexual abuse by a priest.

A protest banner reads in Spanish, “Yes, Francis, here there is proof.”

CNS PHOTOS: PAUL HARING (2)

CNS PHOTOS, LEFT: INSTAGRAM/@SIGHPOUTSHRUG VIA REUTERS; RIGHT: EDUARDO MUNOZ, REUTERS

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uring his trip to Chile, Pope Francis sparked a controversy when he addressed questions about his defense of Bishop Juan Barros of Osorno, reported CNS. Accusations have been made that Bishop Barros may have been aware of abuse perpetrated by his former mentor, Father Fernando Karadima. The priest was sentenced to a life of prayer and penance by the Vatican after he was found guilty of sexually abusing boys.

When asked about the situation by reporters in Iquique, the pope responded, “The day they bring me proof against Bishop Barros, I will speak. There is not one piece of evidence against him. It is calumny. Is that clear?”

The comments came in stark contrast to the pope’s actions two days earlier, while in Chile, when he met privately with sex-abuse survivors and asked forgiveness from the victims of sexual abuse during an address to government authorities and members of Chile’s diplomatic corps, expressing his “pain and shame at the irreparable damage caused to children by some ministers of the Church.”

On the flight home after his three-day trip, the pope said he only realized later that his words erroneously implied that victims’ accusations are credible only with concrete proof.

“To hear that the pope says to their face, ‘Bring me a letter with proof,’ is a slap in the face,” the pope said.

He also said, though, that he still stood firmly behind his defense of Bishop Barros, because he was “personally convinced” of the bishop’s innocence after the case was investigated twice with no evidence emerging.

Boston Cardinal Seán O’Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, said he understood the hurt caused by the pope’s initial comments.

“It is understandable that Pope Francis’ statements yesterday [January 18] in Santiago, Chile, were a source of great pain for survivors of sexual abuse by clergy or any other perpetrator. Words that convey the message If you cannot prove your claims, then you will not be believed abandon those who have suffered reprehensible criminal violations of their human dignity and relegate survivors to discredited exile,” the cardinal wrote.

On January 30, the pope sent to Chile Archbishop Charles Scicluna, who handled such inquires in the past for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, to collect further information.

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POINTSOFVIEW | EDITORIAL

Lent: A Reminder to Hope in Trial or many, Lent is an arduous journey of faith. For 40 days, we pray, fast, and give alms with greater fervor than in other times, purifying our minds and souls to be prepared for the exuberant celebration of Easter. Like a backpacker hiking a mountain range or a marathon runner setting out for a race, Lent is often seen as a test of perseverance, enduring hardship and pain with discipline to reach the final destination. We strip ourselves of all that is unessential—all that slows us down and gets in the way—and keep our sights set on the prize at the end: If we can only survive the journey of Lent, the glory of Easter awaits us.

And in one sense, this is certainly true. Having endurance will make Lent a more fruitful experience by the end. But Lent is not fundamentally something to be endured. We go on this journey not just because we want to get to the end, but because there is something amazing to be found along the way: hope.

A DEEPER DEFINITION

Hope is an interesting word in our day. Like its counterparts in the theological virtues—faith and love—hope is used (and overused) in our world in so many vast and varied ways that we can hardly find meaning in it anymore. We hope for good weather and the health of our families, for peace and medical miracles, for victory in sporting events and lottery numbers.

More often than not, what we mean by hope is nothing more than emotional optimism, an expression of our wishes and a sense of defiance in the face of long odds to accept what is inevitable. We know that what we want is not very likely, but we refuse to give up. We hope that our future will hold something greater than our present.

As Christians, we can admire this steadfast conviction and honor those who refuse to give up in the face of adversity.

Especially in our world today—stricken by fear and unending violence—such an attitude is always welcome to see.

And yet, we know as Christians that the true answer to these troubles cannot be found in our own personal optimism. No, when we have hope as Christians, we mean something quite different. Rather than looking to the future for what we desire, we as Christians begin by looking to the 12 • March 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

past, finding our identity in what has already come to be: the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In these actions, completed and undisputed, our sin was taken away. In this moment of history, real and complete, our relationship with God was restored, and our future was assured.

Unlike the hope of the world that deals with possibility, the hope of Christianity deals with reality. Our hope is not in wishful thinking, but in the promise of Jesus Christ to fulfill what has already been started. The truly remarkable statement of our faith is that we already possess what we hope for.

AN EASTER PEOPLE

With this profound realization at the center of who we are, we see that Lent is not something to be endured to receive the prize at the end. We already possess that prize! In a very strange but real sense, we have already completed the race, even though we are still along the way. Even in times of trouble and when all seems lost in our world, when we feel as if all we are doing is barely enduring an arduous journey of perseverance, we forever remain an Easter people. We have already received the gift of the Holy Spirit, living within us.

Looking to the past, to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are already filled with the future joy of our own resurrection.

How could we forget what has already taken place? How could we believe that the present is our ultimate reality?

With profound hope, we live and grow in this season as an assured and empowered people. We do not lie awake at night worried about our ultimate future; we do not question our place in God. More than in anything else, we know our place in salvation history. And this drives us forth. We fast, pray, and give alms, not as punishment for our sins, but as a redeemed and hopeful people who can do nothing else but reveal our joyful anticipation for the fulfillment of God’s promise to a world that only hopes in possibilities.

What we do in this season is not something to be endured to get to the real glory. It is a taste of the very glory itself: Through these acts of sacrifice, love, and conversion, we become what God promises in us and begin to build the kingdom to which we belong.

—Casey Cole, OFM

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—JAMES MARTIN, SJ, author, The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything

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SPIRITOFST.FRANCIS | ASK A FRANCISCAN

By Pat McCloskey, OFM

Why Continue with the Catholic Church?

Do you have any good reading material for my son who is doubting the need for the Church in his life? He specifically mentioned the seeming randomness of being born into a Catholic family instead of one of a different faith.

He asked, “How can it be that I am able to be saved because I was born here, but if I were born in Egypt (or any number of other places), I would not really have the same chance?”

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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WANT MORE? Visit our website: StAnthonyMessenger.org

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!

D

oes he read St. Anthony Messenger? Each month, we present articles, columns, and short stories about people growing in their faith. He might find our book Believing in Jesus helpful as well.

As you describe his question, it sounds as though he assumes something that the Catholic Church neither believes nor teaches: that only baptized Catholics can be saved. If that were true, the vast majority of people who have ever lived would be excluded from salvation.

Also, there are Christians in Egypt, mostly members of the Coptic Orthodox or Coptic Catholic Churches. If he had been born there, he would be facing many of the same opportunities to grow in his faith—and many of the same challenges.

Perhaps he should read Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament. It offers many stories about how the first Christians grew in their faith amid many of the world’s cultures.

The author does not shy away from stories about sin among the Church’s members, but ultimately most people described there found faith in Jesus more attractive and life-giving

than its alternatives (sin’s empty promises).

In Eucharistic Prayer 2, the celebrant prays for “our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection and all who have died in your mercy.” Does that apply only to Catholics? In Eucharistic Prayer 3, the celebrant prays, “To our brothers and sisters and to all who were pleasing to you at their passing from this life, give kind admittance into your kingdom.” Again, that challenges the idea that only Catholics can be saved.

In Eucharistic Prayer 4, the celebrant prays “for those who take part in this offering, those gathered here before you, your entire people, and all who seek you with a sincere heart.

Remember also those who have died in the peace of Christ and all the dead whose faith you alone have known.”

God’s desire to save all people is hardly random; human responses to that desire, however, are clearly mixed. You didn’t mention your son’s age, but he may be growing toward a faith that can do greater justice to God’s self-revelation in the Bible and your son’s evolving personal experience.

Why Add Water to Wine at Mass?

Why does the priest add water to the wine at Mass? What does this represent?

T

he prayer the priest says at that moment may be the best explanation: “By the mystery of this water and wine, may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.”

14 • March 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

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Father Pat welcomes your questions!

In addition, the Church’s credibility is in doubt for him (and a lot of people) because of the seemingly never-ending pedophile issues and the way they have been handled.

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Pat McCloskey, OFM

What Happened to Purgatory?

In homilies at funerals, priests often refer to the deceased person as already being in heaven. What happened to purgatory? I know the priest is probably saying this to bring comfort to the family.

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BREAD s

FRANK JASPER, OFM

he Catholic Church still believes in purgatory as a time of cleansing for those who need it. Deceased people are not ready for heaven until they have no objection to the persons sitting across from them or next to them at the eternal banquet—or where they sit at the eternal banquet!

Purgatory is the cleansing process that they may still need. Without it, they could easily enter into arguments that have no place there.

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ST. ANTHONY

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.

Purgatory addresses any blind spots that could undermine the joy heaven offers.

Could She Be Saved?

If people are excommunicated from the Catholic Church, is there any way they can become unexcommunicated? I am wondering because my aunt was excommunicated from the Church back in the ’70s because she got divorced after she learned her husband was a high priest in a satanic church. I was shocked when I found out years ago that is why she started going to another church.

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:

xcommunication is a statement about someone’s relationship with the faith community now. It is not an instruction to God about who should be admitted or refused entrance into heaven. Speaking about Martin Luther, Pope Francis has pointed out that excommunication ends at a person’s death.

God knows the heart of each person, living or deceased. Judgments about salvation are based on that divine knowledge, not on human judgments.

Necessity of the Eucharist What is the true meaning of “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you” (Jn 6:53b)?

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his saying occurs within Jesus’ most extensive teaching about the Eucharist (Jn 6:22–71). The Gospel of John was written to strengthen the faith of those who already believed in Jesus. Sharing in the Eucharist is one way that people abide or remain in Jesus. The last paragraph of the Q & A above applies here as well.

StAnthony.org

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mAil poStAl communicAtionS to:

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

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StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2018 • 15

SPIRITOFST.FRANCIS The Friars Minor Conventual and the Friars Minor are the two oldest male religious communities that date back to the time of St. Francis of Assisi.

FRANCISCAN WORLD

By Pat McCloskey, OFM

Order of Friars Minor Conventual

IT SEEMED TO be very simple: If Francis and the friars could live on donations for their work and begging, Clare and her sisters could do the same.

Enter a male-dominated culture that feared that noblewomen who followed Clare might go hungry. Even more shocking, the baker’s daughter might become an abbess! Papal approval of her “privilege of poverty” took 41 years and came only two days before she died.

—Pat McCloskey, OFM

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Last year was the 500th anniversary of the papal bull “Ite Vos” that juridically separated the Conventual friars and the Observant friars, giving each group its own general minister (worldwide leader) and general chapter (meeting to elect worldwide leadership and make major decisions). Before 1517, the Observant friars saw themselves as reform groups within the Conventuals.

There are Conventual provinces headquartered in Maryland, Indiana, Illinois, and California.

Their Roman headquarters is attached to the Church of the Twelve Apostles, close to the Gregorian University.

ST. ANTHONY STORIES

As Good as Gold

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prayed to St. Anthony to help me find a gold medal and a gold cross. These items fell off my chain back in October 2017. I thought I had lost them in a wooded area near the local senior citizens center. I prayed to St. Anthony to help me find them, if it was God’s will. I was so surprised and delighted to find the cross in my front yard, among the short, brown grass.

This happy discovery happened on Saturday, December 16. I praised St. Anthony, and I found the gold medal on December 18. I am sending a donation as I had promised St. Anthony.

—Eileen Harris, Crawfordville, Florida

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

16 • March 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

PHOTO COURTESY OF FSPA COMMUNICATIONS

Clare called herself “the little plant of St. Francis,” but she had a will of iron.

hese friars and members of the Order of Friars Minor began as a single group in 1209 when Pope Innocent III gave verbal approval to their Rule of Life.

In Assisi, the Conventuals minister at the Basilica of St. Francis, where he is buried.

They also minister at Padua’s Basilica of St. Anthony, where he is buried. They are the confessors at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

Conventual friars also serve in foreign missions, in parishes, as chaplains, and in other ministries.

Historically, the Conventuals have tended to live in larger houses and have been more involved in the education apostolate.

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ST. CLARE of ASSISI

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JUST FOR YOU!

FOLLOWERS OF ST. FRANCIS

Sister Charlene Shares Her Spirit Her goal is to improve life everywhere.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FSPA COMMUNICATIONS

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ister Charlene Smith’s claim to fame is that she was friend, classmate, and now biographer of fellow Franciscan Sister Thea Bowman, whose sainthood cause is being promoted by her community, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. But Sister Charlene lived well beyond Sister Thea’s beautiful shadow.

When Sister Charlene entered the convent, she set out to be a teacher and has excelled at teaching, university administration, and organizational planning to improve schools over a long career. She credits that to the forward-looking women whose community she joined. “By the time I got into high school,” in her hometown of Harper, Iowa, she recounts, “they sent two young nuns who are outstanding teachers in the fields of literature, Latin, chemistry, and mathematics.” She excelled in her studies and eventually decided to join the Franciscans.

Her first 15 years were spent teaching English and serving as drama coach in various schools, including Kuemper High School in Carroll, Iowa. “I told the students that I danced all the way to Iowa because I was so happy to teach in my home state!” she recalls. That’s a far cry from her later ministry.

After teaching awhile in Seattle, Washington, she relocated to La Crosse, Wisconsin, to serve as dean of students at Viterbo College (now university) in the 1970s. “While I was there, the student body increased from 500 to 1,000.

Wow. And I never figured out why!”

There might have been some effort on her part: “I was so tired,” she says with a touch of humor.

Along the way she picked up graduate degrees in English (University of Wisconsin), then in psychology at Catholic University of America in

Charlene Smith, FSPA

Washington, DC. For the most part, she stayed in Washington, eventually working with the national Religious Formation Conference. “I’m very interested in working to improve organizations,” she says. In Washington, she joined with High Performance Learning, an international firm that helps schools reimagine educational methods around empowerment.

One of the gifts of her community is perpetual adoration of the Eucharist.

“I think the discipline has given us all kinds of graces and blessings,” she says, noting that her community “is the oldest in the country to have continuous adoration, since 1878.” That sacred duty now is shared with affiliates as the numbers of professed sisters decline.

“I think that’s a very Franciscan thing,” she observes of adoration, recognizing “God consciousness,” the loving presence of God throughout creation. To her, perpetual adoration, in the sense of adoring the presence of a loving God, can happen anywhere.

It calls to mind the broader Franciscan charism, “because we enjoy nature. We like the sun, the moon, the stars and the animals, the poor and the sick. We reach out to everybody.”

You can’t do that without joy, she says, which brings her back to Sister Thea, who died in 1990. “[Sister Thea] had an infectious joy,” she recalls, one that Sister Charlene wanted to share with the world. “I remember standing in my Washington apartment and saying, ‘Well, I guess I’m going to write your biography.’ So that’s what I did.”

That biography won the prestigious Christopher Award in 2011. Someday, perhaps, her subject will be recognized as a saint.

—John Feister

On our blog you will find: • • • •

Thoughtful reflections Prayers and inspiration Recommended reading Messages from Franciscan friars

Blog.FranciscanMedia.org

StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2018 • 17

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Developing a friendship with an inmate through a pen-pal ministry could provide the seed for change and growth—for both parties.

By Jim Auer

M

y grandson Isaiah e-mailed me yesterday. He said he was sorry he hadn’t written lately and promised to write me over the weekend. But he concluded, as always, with, “I love you, Grandpa.” The words are gold.

I understand. He’s 22 and busy learning HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning) and cabinetmaking. He’s also taking college courses in religious studies, currently a course in systematic theology. Did I mention he plays basketball and saxophone? And loves gospel music? And sings it with a voice like velvet? I’m really proud of him.

We’ve never met in person. Probably never will. We’re related by love, letters, e-mails, and a phone call. He’s in prison several states away. I already had six grandkids. How Isaiah became the seventh is a great story—well, bittersweetgreat—which I’ll tell a little later.

OVERCOMING CONCERNS

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When I first looked into writing to prisoners (often called prison pen-pal ministry), I wasn’t certain what to expect or what might be expected of me. In an indirect way, it was a journey into foreign territory. But missionaries and volunteers who venture into foreign lands often say, “I received more than I gave.” I can say the same.

My words, however, don’t stem from a bleeding-heart mentality that views most prisoners as merely misunderstood victims of their poor choices who could be thoroughly

rehabilitated by a warm smile and a big hug. People who write to prisoners know better than that. We also know that, just as Jesus said, it’s the sick who need a physician; it’s the embittered and despondent who most need a ray of sunshine, support, encouragement, and friendship—everyone has those things to give.

While good intentions abound, it’s understandable to have reservations about writing to a prisoner at first.

However, those hesitancies disappear when you think through your fears. They’ll know where I live—when they get out, they’ll come here and murder us all or steal my valuables!

Is that truly likely—for being a caring person and reaching out to them? For giving no indication you have any valuables or a fat bank account? If you’re reluctant nonetheless, you can write to someone who is doing life, on death row, serving a 40-year sentence, or incarcerated a thousand miles away.

It’s easy to stereotype prisoners, but they’re as individual as people outside the walls, fences, and barbed wire. More inmates than you realize are quite educated, accomplished, well-read, and gifted. Others may not have graduated from high school. That, however, can be deceptive. One of my correspondents never finished high school but writes paragraphs that make me envious—all the more impressive because everything he writes, necessarily in longhand, is a first draft.

StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2018 • 19

The easiest way to access prisoners who would like to receive mail is through Internet prison pen-pal sites. Google prison pen pals, and over a dozen sites will appear. Each one is a bit different (see p. 23 for a few that I would recommend). One site, FriendsBeyondtheWall.com, offers the most services to both inmates and pen pals. It was established by families and friends of prisoners and ex-offenders and has been operating for 18 years. (If you lack Internet access, see p. 23.)

Prisoners’ addresses on the sites are free to anyone. Each prisoner’s listing will give the inmate’s name, prison number, age or date of birth, date of earliest expected release or life sentence, and usually a photo. Other information varies but may include race, religion, sexual orientation, and whom the inmate would like letters from—men, women, or anyone.

Each listing will also feature a personal introduction written by the inmate, which usually includes where the inmate grew up, his or her background, interests, and achievements both before and during incarceration, and often hopes and dreams. Many will ask that they not be judged solely by their past mistakes.

Most sites will have separate listings for newly incarcerated prisoners, prisoners serving life, prisoners on death row, and (my favorite) prisoners not receiving any mail.

FriendsBeyondtheWall.com and WriteaPrisoner.com have filters that search lists by your personal criteria to narrow the choices.

BE A FRIEND

Once you choose an inmate, you may be thinking, I wouldn’t know what to write about. Simply consider the normal topics of daily life: children, grandchildren—and how bright and adorable they are—pets, your dog’s silliest habits, your career or job, where you live, your faith and favorite prayers, your interests or hobbies. You could focus on a current activity, like describing your flower beds or vegetable garden and how

the growing season is going for you. Alternatively, you could delve into your memories and detail what it was like growing up, maybe mentioning the toys you got for Christmas. Tell the story about the time your child tried to climb into the dishwasher or discuss why you do or do not believe in aliens.

It’s all good. A few sentences about nearly any subject will be like an ice-cold drink on a sultry summer day.

Additionally, include questions about what interests or hobbies the prisoner has and ask about certain aspects of his or her life. Once you have established a relationship, you can connect with the prisoner by following up with experiences he or she has mentioned.

When writing to an inmate, you also need to consider some things you should not say. For example, don’t make unrealistic promises or write a scathing condemnation of the prison (letters are read or skimmed before being delivered).

Also, don’t use a condescending tone that could demean a prisoner (“I know you’ve done some bad things, but I’m just going to look past that.”).

If a prisoner doesn’t respond right away to correspondence, it’s possible he or she has already received many letters from an Internet listing and does not have time to take on another pen pal. However, more likely reasons include not having enough money in his or her prison account to buy envelopes and stamps, injury from a violent encounter, serious depression, or getting a new or more time-consuming prison job. It takes a while to build up money in a prison account since jobs can pay as little as 15 cents an hour, depending on the state and the facility. The average maximum wage is $4.73 per day, or 59 cents an hour.

Prison facilities monitor all mail, so there are specific guidelines to follow to keep your letters and packages flowing smoothly. Don’t use stickers on envelopes, stationery, or any enclosure with glued parts—the mail room will suspect the glue is laced with drugs. Also, don’t enclose more than three photos (no matter how cute your grandkids are).

“Anything that lets them know somebody cares makes all the difference in the world. Many of them have been abandoned by family.

They’re not accustomed to anybody caring.”

—Deacon Bill

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FOTOSEARCH: LEFT: ONEWORD; RIGHT: CNS PHOTO/L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO

FINDING A PRISON PEN PAL

FREE to SUBSCRIBERS The following excerpts were taken from prisoners’ letters. The mercy and care shown to prisoners can provide hope, resulting in transformation.

“I’m thankful every day that you decided to write me. You are loved and appreciated more than I can say!”

—Andrew

“Thank you for continuing to stay in my life and be such a good friend and mentor.”

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St. Anthony Messenger has a digital edition that is available to all print subscribers.

—Lenny

“The best part of any day is mail call when they call your name and you have a letter. When they skip your name because you don’t, it’s the saddest part.”

—Michael

“I sit and ponder our friendship. You are a special person who is very special to me.

I love you, brother.

Peace and blessing.”

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—Brandon

FOTOSEARCH: LEFT: ONEWORD; RIGHT: CNS PHOTO/L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO

Pope Francis kisses the foot of an inmate at Paliano prison outside of Rome. The pontiff washed the feet of 12 inmates at the maximum security prison.

“When we hear we have mail, it’s a bright light in a dark place. It’s something you wait for all day just to find out if something came in the mail. Knowing that someone out there cares and having someone to share my learning and growth with—that keeps me going and striving to be better. The hope that they can learn and grow from what I say is rewarding in its own right. You brighten my day with your positivity. You’re one of the most important people in my life. Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of yours.”

—Isaiah

Want more inspiration?

Visit the website FranciscanMedia.org for: • Saint of the Day • Minute Meditations • Family resources • Prayer downloads • Information on the seven sacraments

FranciscanMedia.org StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2018 • 21

discovered that belief in God does make a difference in your life. Another prisoner had been a leader of an Aryan Brotherhood gang, but he disavowed the gang and now leads others in a Narcotics Anonymous group. The third individual was a 65-year-old inmate whose family had turned their backs on him. Once he changed, however, Roach was able to facilitate reconciliation.

In all such stories, she says, “It took an outsider to encourage them in their value and worth in God. It’s all done through the Holy Spirit and someone taking the time to write a letter. Let’s show others the grace and love that we have been shown. Let us be about our Father’s business and be the body we are called to be.”

MY NEW GRANDSON

Looking back at the beginning of my own story with my prison pen pal Isaiah, I was witness to his transformation, which led to his becoming my seventh grandson. From an early age, he was raised by grandparents who did not want him around. As years went on, their treatment of him became increasingly harsh. He experienced verbal, physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. His grandfather repeatedly told him he should never have been born. That man was the principal reason for the explosive actions that put Isaiah behind bars at 17. During police interrogations, he sobbed, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

When I had learned all the facts, I wrote him: “I don’t think there was or is something wrong with you. The wrong was elsewhere. I wish I could have been your grandfather instead of the one you had.”

His next letter began, “Dear Grandpa.”

Jim Auer has written numerous books for young Catholics, including Handbook for Today’s Catholic Teen (Liguori Publications), as well as articles for this publication. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with his wife of 49 years.

PHOTO CREDIT HERE

Deacon Bill Theis has served on the prison ministry team for the Diocese of Covington, Kentucky, for some time. He can tell story after story of prisoners’ reactions to even the smallest acts of kindness. “Last Christmas, an apple, a candy cane, and a bag of hardtack candy brought a man to tears,” he told me. “Anything that lets them know somebody cares makes all the difference in the world. Many of them have been abandoned by family. They’re not accustomed to anybody caring.”

“What would you say to someone who’s thinking about writing to a prisoner?” I asked him.

“Do it,” he said. “Trust me—it’ll make all the difference in the world.”

Father Frank DeSiano, CSP, president of Paulist Evangelization Ministries, which includes Paulist Prison Ministry, agrees: “Writing to prisoners is a great ministry to care for these all-too-forgotten people. I think any contact we can have with prisoners, giving them a glimpse of a world beyond the terrible one in which they are put, is part of God’s grace in the world.”

Another person inspiring others to reach out to prisoners is Lisa Roach, manager of Inside Out Letter Ministry (see p. 23 for contact information). She’s also the mother of a prisoner; in fact, her son founded the ministry. She personally matches inmates with volunteers and speaks of pen-pal ministry with a delightful North Carolina drawl, unconquerable faith, and boundless enthusiasm.

“Once a pen-pal volunteer steps up, acting as the body of Christ,” Roach writes, “the inmate can learn to handle struggles through encouragement and looking at life through a new set of eyes. With the power of the Holy Spirit, there will be a change resulting in a new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17).”

She relayed three particularly dramatic transformations she witnessed in prisoners who were part of the pen-pal ministry. One inmate had been a jaundiced skeptic who

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Companions for your Lenten journey from the Center for Action and Contemplation

There are many excellent reasons for writing to prisoners. Review the following questions; each “yes” answer constitutes an excellent reason.

Lent is intended to lead us into an always hidden future and an always greater opportunity . . . but still unknown to us. We enter with a new and open horizon, ready to both expect and work for God’s ever new springtime.

—Richard Rohr, God For Us

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Do you enjoy cheering someone up, especially if you know he or she is lonely? Would you appreciate being able to do so for only 50 cents?

Would you like knowing for certain that you did cheer someone up, probably far more than you’re aware?

Do you enjoy meeting new people?

Have you ever read an article or heard a homily about reaching out to the lonely, the neglected, the forgotten, the “marginalized”? Many—perhaps most—prisoners are all of those.

Do you remember hearing or reading, “I was in prison and you visited me” (Mt 25:36, one of the corporal works of mercy)?

To get started, visit one of the prison pen-pal websites below: FriendsBeyondtheWall.com WriteaPrisoner.com PrisonInmates.com PrisonPenPals.com

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PHOTO CREDIT HERE

Don’t have a computer? Write to Lisa Roach, manager of Inside Out Letter Ministry, who can refer you to many prisoners asking for letters.

Inside Out Letter Ministry P.O. Box 11 Cherryville, NC 28021 (704) 747-2796

Visit store.cac.org to order these and other titles by Richard Rohr.

Sharing the spirit of St. Francis with the world

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This price includes a digital edition you can access on your phone, tablet, or computer.

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To order a subscription online: FranciscanMedia.org/subscribe

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StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2018 • 23

LESSONS FROM JESUS’ AGONY IN THE GARDEN Like us, Jesus could be besieged by his emotions. But his example shows us that God is there to comfort and support us.

By Martin Pable, OFM Cap ately, as I’ve been praying the rosary, I’ve been reflecting specifically on Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before he died. It struck me that he must have been feeling weighed down by three strong emotions that all of us experience at various times in our lives: fear, loneliness, and a sense of failure.

So powerful were those feelings that, as the Gospel of Luke tells us, “his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground” (Lk 22:44). This is not hyperbole but a medical phenomenon: Under severe emotional stress, the small capillaries can become so engorged with blood that they burst, allowing blood to seep through the sweat glands. Knowing what was ahead of him, it is understandable that Jesus would be overwhelmed by his emotions. Luke’s description of this dramatic scene invites us to engage in deeper reflection and consider times when we, too, have succumbed to our feelings.

FOLLOWING CHRIST’S EXAMPLE AS WE FACE OUR FEARS

When Matthew describes this scene, he says that Jesus “began to feel sorrow and distress” (26:37). But I believe that his primary emotion would have been fear. Like all Jews at that time, Jesus would have been familiar with the Roman manner of execution: death by crucifixion.

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It was an incredibly cruel and brutal manner of putting someone to death. First, there was the scourging of the body with whips that tore the flesh, then forcing the criminal to carry his own cross through the streets of the city, despite being weakened from the loss of blood. Finally, the criminal was fastened to a cross and forced to hang there until his legs could no longer support him. Unable to

breathe, he would die of asphyxiation. The soul of Jesus must have been shrinking with fear as he thought of facing those terrible physical tortures.

We have all experienced fear and anxiety: taking a wrong road at night and losing our way; worrying when we or our loved ones have a serious illness or accident; feeling anxious about losing our job; fearing not being

BELOW: In his agony in the garden, Jesus’ sweat became “like drops of blood” (Lk 22:44).

When his disciples fell asleep, he turned to his heavenly Father for comfort and support.

When we feel abandoned and afraid, we can draw strength from Jesus’ response.

StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2018 • 25

accepted by our peers. Yet the word of God constantly urges us to put aside fear and anxiety. I once heard a Scripture scholar say that the words fear not or do not be afraid appear in the Bible 365 times—one for each day of the year!

A word of caution: Because of our human fragility and the many dangers in the world around us, it is impossible to be free of all fear and anxiety. Both are normal physiological responses to threats or danger.

Instead, I understand do not be afraid to mean “do not let fear determine your choices.”

Many sins, I believe, are driven more by fear than by evil intent. For example, people often tell lies because of the fear of looking bad or being criticized rather than with the intent to harm others. Or they insult or ridicule other people out of fear of not being accepted by

26 • March 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

their peers. Even sexual sins are often driven by the fear of not being loved rather than by lust.

Returning to Jesus’ agony in the garden, the Gospels describe a man overcome with fear to the extent that it manifests in a bloody sweat. Yet, despite that, Jesus did not allow his fears to turn him away from his passion and death. Instead, he made the decision with seven simple words: “Not my will, but yours be done!”

TURNING TO GOD TO DEAL WITH LONELINESS

The second strong emotion Jesus experienced in his agony was a profound loneliness. All three synoptic Gospels state that Jesus asked Peter, James, and John to accompany him into the garden and to keep watch and pray with

IBOGDAN/FOTOSEARCH

When we experience anxiety and loneliness, it can seem as if we are hopelessly adrift.

Jesus, both human and divine, felt the same emotions.

With Jesus by our side, and relying on God to be our anchor in the storm, we can face our distress with courage, trust, and a calm heart.

IBOGDAN/FOTOSEARCH

It can be helpful for any of us who experience failure to recall that Jesus our savior truly understands what we are going through.

him. But each time he rose from his prayer and went to them, he found them sleeping.

His disappointment was evident in his gentle rebuke: “So you could not keep watch with me for one hour?” Then, in a note of compassion, he added, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mt 26:40–41).

But the realization was unmistakable: Jesus could not count on the emotional and spiritual support of even his best friends. He would have to face his sufferings alone.

Social-science surveys have revealed the large numbers of people in our nation who experience strong feelings of loneliness—this at a time when communication via social media, opportunities for travel, or connecting with people on the Internet are more abundant than ever. I once heard someone put it like this: “We have an abundance of connec-

tions, but a scarcity of relationships.”

Adult children leave their birthplace to find jobs in places far from home. Friendships formed in high school or college often do not survive the many geographic moves.

Romantic relationships can be strained or broken when new jobs require cross-country transfers. And hearts are broken when those dreaded words are spoken: “I just don’t think we are a good fit.”

Add to this the huge numbers of people whose marriages have been broken by separation or divorce.

So it can be spiritually helpful to reflect on the loneliness of Jesus, especially during his agony in the garden, and how he dealt with feelings. As he became aware that he could not rely on human support, he turned to his Father in heaven. Undoubtedly, he recalled those two powerful moments in his life—his baptism and his transfiguration on the mountain—when he heard the voice of his Father: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Mt 3:17). He was strengthened by the comforting message: “I love you. I am with you. I will never abandon you.”

The Church teaches us that God has spoken the same words and made the same promise to each of us at our own Baptism: You are my beloved son/daughter. In you I take delight. “I will never forsake you or abandon you” (Heb 13:5). Loneliness is not a disease or a disorder. It is a painful situation that simply has to be endured. Sometimes it can be ended by our efforts to reach out and make connections with others. In the meantime, we find comfort in the fact that Jesus, our savior, has shared—and understands—our pain.

FINDING COMFORT IN JESUS WHEN WE EXPERIENCE FAILURE

The third source of suffering for Jesus in his agony, I believe, was a sense of failure. With a few exceptions, he had been unable to convince the Jewish religious leaders that he was StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2018 • 27

the long-awaited Messiah in whom God’s promises were being fulfilled. Moreover, he knew that even the ordinary people who welcomed his teachings and were thrilled at his healings and other miracles would soon join the crowd calling for his death.

And perhaps worst of all, even his chosen apostles and friends would abandon him in the end.

Again, is this not often our own experience? We work so hard and put our best efforts into some worthwhile project, only to see it fail or be rejected. Or we aspire to reach a certain goal or dream in our lives, only to see ourselves fall short. Parents may

Jesus faced his fears in a human way, and found his path to acceptance through the love of the Father. His simple words on the cross—“Not my will, but yours be done” (Lk 22:42)—gave him strength.

Jesus’ steadfast faith can calm our fears when we encounter trouble and uncertainty.

28 • March 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

feel a deep sense of failure when one or more of their children get into trouble with the law, become addicted to drugs or alcohol, or get divorced. Most of the time, parents have no reason to blame themselves for these problems, yet they may feel responsible—along with a deep sadness and a sense of helplessness. So it can be helpful for any of us who experience failure to recall that Jesus, our savior, truly understands what we are going through.

In the midst of his feelings of self-doubt and failure, Jesus is given consolation: “To strengthen [Jesus], an angel from heaven appeared to him” (Lk 22:43). What com-

those times can be sources of spiritual growth for ourselves and for the people the Lord brings into our lives. Moreover, our prayerful meditation on this mystery will inspire us to act as comforting angels to people around us who are hurting or bearing heavy burdens in their own lives.

DRAWING STRENGTH FROM OUR LORD’S SUFFERINGS

Martin Pable, OFM Cap, entered the Capuchin Order and was ordained to the priesthood in 1958. He received his doctorate in counseling psychology from the Catholic University of America in 1965. He taught courses in pastoral counseling at St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee and at Sacred Heart Seminary in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. He has done extensive counseling with priests, religious, and laity.

During this Lenten season, we can draw spiritual strength and inspiration from our meditation on Jesus’ agony in the garden.

Perhaps we can learn to embrace our own times of agony in union with him, so that

KIYYAH/FOTOSEARCH

fort did this envoy from heaven provide? I would like to think the angel revealed to Jesus the millions of people who would come to believe in him, receive Baptism and the other sacraments, and live faithful lives of love and service, often to the point of sharing in his sufferings through their own martyrdom.

StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2018 • 29

POINTSOFVIEW | AT HOME ON EARTH

By Kyle Kramer

Home Economics

T

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

?

WANT MORE? Visit our website: StAnthonyMessenger.org

30 • March 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

different economy by tending to our home economy: simplifying our material lives, relearning practical skills, investing ourselves in our communities, and, in short, worrying less about gross domestic product than about activities that make this world more of a home. Given our scriptural stories of down-to-earth fishermen, a tentmaker, and a carpenter, I think we’d be in fine company.

HELPFUL

TIPS

1

As a Lenten practice, consider fasting from spending money one day a week.

2

Learn—or pick back up—a household skill that will connect you to your basic needs—cooking, baking, home repair, sewing, or the like.

3

Think about nonmonetary activities you might foster in your life that bring you joy: spending time with family and friends, making music, volunteering, taking walks.

Then make an effort to go do that.

LEFT: PHOTO COURTESY OF KYLE KRAMER; TOP RIGHT: LIGHTKEEPER/FOTOSEARCH; LOWER RIGHT: PHOTOGRAPHY33/FOTOSEARCH

Kyle Kramer

his semester, I’m teaching a new course on how to bring spiritual intentionality to our relationship with money. I’ve found it amazing that I have used money for decades without any real understanding of what it actually is and how it works. I’ll spare you the deep-in-the-weeds details of fractional reserve banking and other arcane economic terms, but here’s one clear takeaway: Our current money system depends on continual economic growth to keep functioning. Why? Money is loaned into existence (by commercial banks or the Federal Reserve), and that debt must be repaid with interest.

Here’s the problem: We can’t keep producing more goods and services with the earth’s limited raw materials, energy, and ability to absorb waste products. Even if we could sidestep those ecological challenges, we’d still face the social problems that our current growth model has created: widening income inequality and dependence on exploitative cheap labor.

One of the great tasks of our time is to create an economy that doesn’t have to grow to be healthy. Fortunately, this can happen without the doomsday scenarios of global financial crashes and restive masses of hungry, unemployed people. In fact, popes, from Leo XIII to Francis, and other Catholic thinkers, from G.K. Chesterton to Dorothy Day to the US bishops, have all put forth visions of a kinder, gentler, more human-centered economy. They envision a world where work helps us realize our full creative potential rather than imprisoning us in the boredom of a factory or a cubicle. They imagine us becoming less intent on consumption and more on cultivating our spiritual, creative, and civic lives.

I’d much rather focus on creating a durable, resilient economy than on my fears of some ecological or economic collapse that knocks us back to the pre-broadband Stone Age. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait for politicians and federal officials to craft better laws and monetary policies—though that would certainly help matters. We can start now to prepare for and bring about a

Light a candle

M AY W E

F O R YO U AT T H E

NATIONAL SHRINE OF ST. ANTHONY? Br. Norbert lights the candles for your intentions.

Each burns for five days, a reminder of St. Anthony’s attention to your prayer.

Candles dispel the darkness and offer hope. In lighting a candle, you are asking St. Anthony to intercede with the Lord for your intention.

Can we light a candle for you? Visit us at www.stanthony.org.

Visit us at www.stanthony.org

LEFT: PHOTO COURTESY OF KYLE KRAMER; TOP RIGHT: LIGHTKEEPER/FOTOSEARCH; LOWER RIGHT: PHOTOGRAPHY33/FOTOSEARCH

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

StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2018 • 31

The Liturgy

Everyday of

32 • March 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

FOTOSEARCH: LEFT: VYSKOCZILOVA; RIGHT: KEIFER

PHOTO CREDIT HERE

Life

Weekly Mass nourishes our spiritual lives. But what about the other six days of the week?

By Judy Schueneman

FOTOSEARCH: LEFT: VYSKOCZILOVA; RIGHT: KEIFER

PHOTO CREDIT HERE

I

t has been said that “too late we come to wisdom,” and I’ll agree. My husband, Joe, and I married in 1960, shortly before Vatican II. By the time the changes in the Mass were being explained, we were in the throes of raising our six children, born in a 10-year span. The days were full, sometimes frantic, and often harried. If the concept of the “domestic church” was introduced, I was too busy to have the message penetrate my consciousness to see how intimately connected God was with us on a daily basis. If only I had known then what I know now!

Oh, we went to church every Sunday, the six kids in tow, and they went to Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) classes. We said the blessing before meals and heard bedtime prayers. I knew intrinsically that family life was holy, but I didn’t really make the connection that, as we left after Mass, we were celebrating what I’ve come to think of as “the liturgy of everyday life” in our domestic church the six days until the following Sunday.

Several years ago, after our kids were grown and had kids of their own, I looked back and was amazed to see the connection between the components of the Mass the priest celebrates on Sunday and what, in a very real way, we lived out every day.

THE LITURGY OF THE WORD: FAMILY STORIES

The realization happened while sitting in my prayer chair early one morning. I had been thinking about our family as the domestic church, and how it is “the church of the

home.” In the stillness, snippets of times and places, people and events came into focus. In no particular order, memories simply bubbled to the surface of my mind. I heard my husband say, “Good morning, dear! Is the coffee ready?” and then one of the girls say, “I’m sorry I didn’t ask if I could borrow your blouse; I know I should have.”

Noticing the tin trunk my maternal grandmother brought from Scotland, I was reminded of how dear she was to me. In my mind’s eye I saw the relish dish—the one with the handpainted violets—that had been on my paternal grandmother’s table, and then my mother’s wedding dress that hangs in the bathroom. A lush brown velvet, it is too pretty to be kept in a trunk. I feel her presence when I see it.

At some point, it occurred to me that I had heard a “greeting” and a “penitential rite,” as well as having been in touch with my family’s “Old Testament.” It was then that I began to see a connection between what is celebrated in our parish church and what takes place in our domestic church, the church of the home.

Now I recalled “Gloria” moments: the wonder Joe and I experienced when we looked into the face of each of our newborn babies, my delight in smelling lilacs in May, and our fascination with the hummingbirds outside our windows. Then I remembered that I hadn’t written our six children their monthly letter updating them on what is going on in our lives—and how I cling to this tradition of letter writing. Letters and texts, I realized, are the “New Testament” of the domestic church.

StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2018 • 33

Christ Child, and all food and drink become a sacrament.”

So there it was. In a very real way, parents, by virtue of the sacraments they have received, are the presiders in their church of the home. Our daily lives are laced with holiness and, when Sunday comes, we return to our parish, where we celebrate with other families all that has transpired during the week. As the priest presides, collectively we ask forgiveness; we listen to the readings from Scripture; we hear a homily; we celebrate what we did in our church of the home the six days until Sunday. It came to me that, as presiders in the domestic church, our vestments are an apron or a chef ’s hat; our vessels are mixing bowls and platters.

Family mealtimes can nourish both body and soul.

I remembered how the good news of the day was shared at the dinner table; in actuality it was our “Gospel.” But it wasn’t always good news. Jesus had more than a few painful moments; and so it was with us. But it was in sharing the good that joy was experienced, in sharing the difficult that the load was lightened.

I recalled, too, the number of times we’d done our best to make clear to our kids the difference between right and wrong. Although they hadn’t always gotten the message, we’d tried to instill in their minds that with every choice—good or bad—comes a consequence. Better the choice be good!

Homilies, that’s what those lessons were, and there were a good many, often dredged up from the archives as each child reached the age of reason.

Later, words I’d read in Father Ronald Rolheiser’s book The Holy Longing came to mind: “God takes on flesh so that every home becomes a church, every child becomes the

THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST: MEALTIME

My thoughts then moved from the Liturgy of the Word to the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Like greetings and penitential rites, “prayers of petition” can happen anytime, anyplace.

When an ambulance siren is heard or another act of violence occurs or a friend is diagnosed with cancer, what do we do but ask God to be present?

In my mind’s eye, I saw our family one long-ago Sunday, bringing the gifts to the altar during the offertory. Our teenagers had been a bit embarrassed, but it had given me pleasure. It hadn’t occurred to me at the time how many times the “offertory” occurred during the six days till Sunday.

Wasn’t Joe’s paycheck that provided for our family an offering? Wasn’t driving the carpool offering my services? And what about teaching CCD or being a Scout leader? Hadn’t those been offerings to invest in our kids’ futures? And when we reached out to the needy, weren’t we offering our hands as Christ had? The kids had made offerings, too, when they set the table, walked the dog, or made their beds.

More memories surfaced. Now I saw myself standing at

Pope Francis on the Domestic Church

Everyday life provides countless opportunities to celebrate God’s blessings.

34 • March 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

“Like the warm supper we look forward to at night, the early lunch awaiting someone who gets up early to go to work. Homely gestures. Like a blessing before we go to bed, or a hug after we return from a hard day’s work. Love is shown by little things, by attention to small, daily signs, which make us feel at home.”

FOTOSEARCH: TOP: DAKOTAPHOTO; BOTTOM: ZATLETIC

“These little gestures [of love] are those we learn at home, in the family. They get lost amid all the other things we do, yet they do make each day different. They are the quiet things done by mothers and grandmothers, by fathers and grandfathers, by children.

They are little signs of tenderness, affection, and compassion.

FOTOSEARCH: TOP: NEJRON; BOTTOM: GOODLUZ

“Our families, our homes, are true domestic churches. They are the right place for faith to become life, and life to become faith.

More Voices Two former directors of family life in the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky, weigh in on their experiences of the domestic church: Kitty Noe, the mother of seven, said, “Jere and I always considered our kids a blessing and that family life was sacred, but did we leave church after Mass on Sunday and think, Now it’s our turn to preside? Why, no! But that’s what we did, isn’t it?”

FOTOSEARCH: TOP: DAKOTAPHOTO; BOTTOM: ZATLETIC

FOTOSEARCH: TOP: NEJRON; BOTTOM: GOODLUZ

The domestic church can be, quite literally, child’s play.

the kitchen sink. Without realizing it, I had entered into the “eucharistic prayer” of the domestic church. Apron on, I was peeling potatoes for dinner.

Through the window over the sink, I watched as the kids played a game of Wiffle ball in the backyard. Joe drove in from work, and they ran to greet him. I couldn’t hear what they said, but watched as he put his briefcase down, took off his suit coat, and went over to pitch to the next batter. I had no idea at what point the peeler paused, but when I returned to the potato in hand, there were tears running down my face, tears that had welled up from deep within without my knowing. My heart was full of gratitude. That’s what Eucharist means: thanksgiving.

I didn’t see if there was a need for a “sign of peace” in the ball game, but it wasn’t uncommon! I remember calling them all in for dinner, but before coming to the table, hands needed to be washed—an “Oh, Lord, I am not worthy” act, if you will. Joining hands, we said the blessing and then took “communion”: We ate the meat, the potatoes and gravy, and the salad that nourished our bodies in the same way the Eucharist nourishes our spirits.

What about the “final blessing”? I remember listening to their bedtime prayers. “Now I lay me . . .” when they were little, and as they grew older, the Our Father and Hail Mary. And for us, for all married couples, what greater blessing at day’s end than becoming one with Christ in the act of love?

Kathie Tomazic, who followed in Kitty’s position, agreed: “I don’t recall family life being mentioned, except maybe on Holy Family Sunday, and then the emphasis was on Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, not how we are their faces in the world today. Nor do I remember being made to understand our family life is holy. It’s sad, really.”

EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK IS SACRED

All of these thoughts happened long ago. I reflect on them today and wonder: Why was it that I didn’t make the connection during our child-rearing years? Why did this all come to me after the fact? And why, all these years later, isn’t more attention given to the beauty of the church of the home—the family?

I now see how sacred family life is and that parents are the presiders in their church of the home; that there truly is a liturgy of everyday life that is lived out during the six days till Sunday.

It doesn’t happen in a prescribed order, yet, if you look closely, you’ll see that your everyday lives are a prayer.

Judy Schueneman is a retired teacher and pastoral director who resides in Omaha, Nebraska. She has been married for more than 50 years and is the mother of six and grandmother of 12.

StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2018 • 35

‘YOU HAVE

CANCER’ Shaken by the words none of us wants to hear, this writer finds peace and strength in the life of St. Francis.

By Ann Turner

36 • March 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

I

n a brisk voice, the doctor informed me over the phone that I had stage 1 endometrial cancer. I collapsed on a chair and shakily began to take notes, laboring to form letters like someone newly arrived to language, afraid the words would fly away if I were not careful. If I could not pin down this disease that had suddenly invaded my life, I suspected I would not be able to conquer it. In the space of perhaps 10 seconds, I lost whatever fantasy I had about being invulnerable and in control.

I think of St. Francis when young, not yet a saint, possibly thin and wiry, a bon vivant and leader of a bunch of rowdy, wealthy aristocrats in Assisi. Did they gallop around town at night, waking the good citizens asleep in their beds? Did they drink too much, tipping leather wineskins up to their mouths as they rode their horses? I wonder if they felt invulnerable, armored by their wealth. Class and money can do that for you; perhaps riding a horse with a cape flying out served the same purpose.

To say that my life changed with that phone call would be an understatement. Until then I had bustled through my days—not avoiding tragedy or loss, of course—but still feeling that I wore a cloak of protection, a bright flying cape like St. Francis’. I had a future, a plan, a family, a writing life, friends, church, a loving husband—heck, even a dog.

Now the air felt cold and empty. The pen fell from my hand as I sat like a balloon with all its air squeezed out. What came next? How would I tell my husband, who was away on errands? I didn’t cry. That would imply effort. I put a hand to my chest to make sure it was still rising and falling; I might have forgotten how to breathe.

FRED GOLDSTEIN/FOTOSEARCH

WAGING WAR

St. Francis went off to war because it was one of the few paths open to the nobility during his time. He could have entered a monastery, but it doesn’t seem to have appealed to him. He could have entered his father’s business, but didn’t. He loved troubadours and tales of brave knights and gentle ladies.

Perhaps they motivated him to get that expensive suit of new armor, dress himself, and mount his horse to head for war in Perugia. Off he went, arms clanking at his side, a metal helmet strapped to the saddle of his horse—a sturdy destrier of uncertain color, somewhere between mud and dust. And when he reached the battle, something inside leapt up—the sounds, the cries, swords clashing, the sudden thrust of a blade into another’s body—it fed him at the same time that it dulled him.

Taking a deep breath, I sat up, straightened the desk, and made myself a cup of hot tea. Pouring in thick cream, I ladled in two teaspoons of sugar. My life needed sweetening.

I did not want to phone anyone, not until my husband knew.

This was too new, like a piece of stiff clothing that would not fit no matter how I tugged on it. Surely it belonged to someone else, this cancer label. It couldn’t apply to me. I felt a falling away inside.

StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2018 • 37

What tools did I have at my disposal? How could I repair this sense of damage within, of internal crumbling? I went on the Internet to research stage 1 endometrial cancer. The medical sites gave me information, occasionally in a chirpy way, about the good prognosis for this stage, and how a hysterectomy would usually “cure” the cancer. I thought they threw the word cure around a bit carelessly. I stared at optimism, but couldn’t yet embrace it.

NO ILLUSIONS

Francis’ father, Pietro Bernadone—a man used to power, dignity, and obedience—confronted 38 • March 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

CREATISTA/FOTOSEARCH

Francis, depicted as a young knight astride a horse in this statue outside the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, left the battlefield when God told him to “repair my church.” Like Francis, the author writes, “I was being baptized into a new way of life, a different way of thinking.”

his son with the theft of the expensive bolts of cloth. Eyes flashing, his voice rose in outrage— that his son, who had been given every advantage, should steal from him! Francis didn’t hesitate. In the public square he stripped off his clothes, laid them at the feet of Pietro, and said, “From now on, I only call God my father.” A nearby bishop threw a cloak around the naked Francis, but I suspect the young man did not care, that he knew we are already naked before God. Fast-forward a few months into my cancer journey to the beginning of chemo.

My brother informed me it would be “rugged,” and I all but threw the phone across the room. “I know it will be rugged!” When I sat in the oncology center at the hospital with toxic chemicals dripping into my body, I saw the naked Francis standing before his earthly father declaring God was his only father. I saw all the illusions I had about myself ripped off like St. Francis’ clothes heaped on the cobblestones of Assisi: • my vanity about my appearance; • my luscious hair, which I had spent so much money on for so long; • my physical fitness, able to walk 35 miles per week, full of energy; • my being the helper, never the one who needed help.

When my hair began to fall out, I was sad but also a bit hopeful: The chemicals are doing their job! I wondered if I could put my shorn hair to good use—lining for birds’ nests? I wanted my suffering to be of use to someone.

After leaving his family behind with all of their expectations, I wonder what this freedom was like for St. Francis. Was it a deep breath inhaled from the crisp wind? Now he did not need to please anyone except God. He had thrown away his old life along with his old beliefs. Did he see beauty differently? When he leapt off his horse to embrace the leper by the side of the road—a man he once would have shunned with disgust—he tasted sweetness on his lips, a baptism into the Gospel where he saw beauty in brokenness and the most vulnerable.

He was utterly changed.

I was being baptized into a new way of life, a different way of thinking. In the morning, I no longer woke with a list in mind: Shop for groceries, call my friend with heart problems, drive to Mass, walk the dog, then make dinner. I woke with one idea—what’s in store for me today, God? After I’d been on chemo

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What was it that changed the not-yet-saint?

He was imprisoned for a year after being captured and held for ransom; perhaps his father didn’t want him to return yet or the money asked was too much. Some claim Francis had visions of God while in the dank cell. Once freed, he returned to Assisi, still carousing with his friends and playing the role of a young aristocrat. But it was his second attempt at being a knight that began the conversion; on his way to fight, he heard a voice telling him to return to Assisi, which he did. Then he began to pray in churches and stare out over the hills. One day in the church of San Damiano, he heard God say: “Francis, repair my church.” Now he had something worthy to do—a goal, a purpose.

He took some expensive bolts of cloth from his father’s warehouse, sold them, and used the money to buy bricks and mortar to repair San Damiano. A new war had started, and he was one of its soldiers.

Snapshots from Ann This is my mission—how I am called to serve. I have thrown off the useless cloak of my vanity and ambition to wear the patched cloak of humility.

—Ann Turner

Hairless but full of cou

rage

hirt: Front of sweats ill triumph” ew “In this sign w

CREATISTA/FOTOSEARCH

FRANK11/FOTOSEARCH

I couldn’t get to servic es on Holy Thursday due to chemo nausea , but the dog blessed my head by licking the top.

s nurse found out it wa Before my surgery, the blew up a latex glove, she my 60th birthday. So ay” on it! thd Bir py ap “H g itin wr

Inspired by Francis, Ann has found a new way to serve others. She writes about cancer and her faith journey in a new blog: FaithIsMyOS.blogspot.com.

StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2018 • 39

13 10 ⁄8 103⁄4 10 ⁄16 7

101⁄2

for some weeks, my legs grew weaker with neuropathy. One night I was dizzy and fell hard on the living room rug, my legs useless and wobbly beneath. Nausea was a familiar companion, coming and going depending on the day. But I was determined not to lose all fitness and, when able, seized my cane and stumped around our flat-house deck. Sometimes all I could manage in a day was walking a few laps around my study listening to morning prayer on my iPhone.

Who am I, I wondered, now that the person I was has so changed? Where did she go? How can I serve God in this diminished form? I held to St. Paul’s dictum: “My strength is made perfect in weakness.” I had to give myself the freedom to be weak, and that was one of the hardest things I have ever been called to do.

ONE MISSION: TO SERVE GOD

St. Francis was ready, called, and on a mission, his only lover Lady Poverty. He began to preach in the streets, and his followers gathered, drawn by his words and the joy of a man so close to God. Among the brothers were Leo, Ruffino, and Juniper, then more and more until Francis applied to Pope Innocent III to have an official order, the Friars Minor. The women came too: Clare of Assisi, cutting off her hair and running away from her father to become a nun, helped by her friend Francis. The women’s order became the Poor Clares. As he walked about Assisi and then the surrounding countryside, was he like a sun to these people? Did they hold out their hands to him, absorbing God’s holy rays?

I didn’t need St. Francis to cut off my hair—the chemo had done that. I didn’t have the ambition or freedom to become a nun, but I could draw closer to God and try to repair the church of my heart. But how? I began by writing about my cancer and faith journey in a new blog. Sometimes I heard from people that my posts had struck a nerve or strengthened their hearts; sometimes I got e-mails telling me that they better understood the cancer journey and knew more about what to say and how to help. If I can provide a small container for people’s compassion and helping energy for people with cancer, I will have served God. This is my mission—how I am called to serve. I have thrown off the useless cloak of my vanity and ambition to wear the patched cloak of humility. I am not in control here, God; I am in the shelter of your hands. I don’t know if I will survive for many years or not; that is not for me to know. But at the end, I hope to lay myself down on the bare earth—as St. Francis asked to be—apologize to “Brother Ass” (our body) for all the pain it’s been through—and open my arms to the companion who has walked this entire journey with me, who will provide me with a cloak far better and more beautiful than anything seen on this earth.

Ann Turner is a freelance writer from Williamsburg, Massachusetts. The author of more than 50 children’s books, she has written articles and short fiction for St. Anthony Messenger, including, most recently, “My Reluctant Husband and the Church” (August 2017). Her blog on her experience with cancer can be found at FaithIsMyOS.blogspot.com.

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LEOKS/FOTOSEARCH

The top of the Rocca Maggiore (center, background), a 12thcentury fortress, provides a panoramic view of the streets of Assisi once walked by St. Francis.

The author draws strength from the example of Francis, walking alongside him as she faces cancer.

Plays the melody of “Always In My Heart”

Shown smaller than actual size of about 6” H

Messenger From Heaven Musical Glitter Globe Love, Hope, Encouragement • All within your reach • www.bradfordexchange.com/23823

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LEOKS/FOTOSEARCH

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Crafted with love, this Heirloom Porcelain® musical exclusive celebrates the meaningful sighting of a cardinal. Ours is spotted poised upon a silvery branch and surrounded by a swirl of glitter. Masterfully sculpted and hand-painted a glorious red, he’s an everlasting reminder that we’re never alone and loving encouragement will always, always arrive when we need it most. This musical keepsake also comes with a heartfelt poem card.

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By Joyce Duriga • Photography by Karen Callaway

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ock star. Icon. Living legend. These are just some of the words used to describe Sister Jean Schmidt, the 98-yearold chaplain of Loyola University Chicago’s men’s basketball team and a member of the university’s sports hall of fame.

The 5-foot nun can be seen at every home game for the men’s team. She’s most often decked out in Loyola gear and wearing her trademark maroon Nike tennis shoes with gold laces that have “Sister” stitched onto the heel of her left shoe and “Jean” stitched on the right one.

Everyone on campus knows Sister Jean. The door to her office in the Student Center is always open. She lives in a dorm with 400 undergraduate students and serves as their

42 • March 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

chaplain. When she comes onto the court to lead an opening prayer at games, students often cheer, “Sis-ter Jean! Sis-ter Jean!”

Born in San Francisco in 1919, Sister Jean played basketball growing up and was on her high school team from 1933 to 1936. In 1937, at age 18, she joined the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Iowa. She taught in elementary schools and also volunteered as a coach in Los Angeles public schools when she was teaching in that city.

In 1961, Sister Jean took a teaching job at Mundelein College, a women’s college that would merge with Loyola University Chicago in 1991. Just a few years later, in 1994,

th

SISTER JEAN

Sister Jean became chaplain of the men’s basketball team.

She takes her job seriously. After games, she e-mails each player, pointing out what they did well and what they can work on. When Loyola Coach Porter Moser took the job in 2011, one of the first people he heard from was Sister Jean, who gave him a scouting report of all the players.

Before home games, Sister Jean waits for the team and sits on a bench near the entrance to the court, where the players come in. Students stop by to say hello. Referees come over to hug her. During games, she sits up behind the home bench, intently watching the action.

Before their final warm-up, Sister Jean gathers the young men in a circle, all of their arms linked together, and prays

with the whole team.

“I love every one of them,” she says. “I talk about the game to them, and then they go out and play.”

In addition to the team, Sister Jean also leads the entire crowd in a prayer before tipoff.

Prayer is important, she says.

“I always pray that we don’t get injured, that we play with great sportsmanship, and that we be respectful toward each other. I think that’s very important.”

Should we pray to win?

“Sure. We pray to win because we’re in competition.

When you’re in competition, you want to win,” she says. “If that’s the way God wants it, it’s fine.”

StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2018 • 43

Ever since she became Loyola’s men’s basketball chaplain in 1994, Sister Jean has gathered the team for prayer right before the game. The diminutive nun is easy to spot in the circle of tall young men. “When I pray with the team, I give them a little insight as to my diagnosis of what the game will be,” Sister Jean says. Having done her own scouting prior to the game, she tells the team which

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players on the opposing side to watch out for and points out weaknesses they can capitalize upon. Her prayers always include petitions that each team will play well and be free of injuries. They finish the same way every time: “Amen. Go Ramblers!” Hip surgery after a fall had Sister Jean sitting out the early part of the 2017– 2018 season. That didn’t stop her prayers at the games, though.

For the games that Sister Jean misses, someone reads prayers she wrote for the games. Later, the university records her prayers and plays them at the game, to cheers from the fans.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LOYOLA UNIVERSITY

Sister Jean greets each player before each game and keeps in touch with them between games by e-mail. “This is the best team we’ve had in years,” she says of the 2017–2018 Loyola Ramblers.

Basketball has always been a love of hers. Recalling her days as a player, she says: “In those days, the court was divided in three [instead of two half courts], so the two forwards and two guards were at either end. The center and sides were in the middle. I was a short girl, so I was side.”

Each year during March Madness, Chicago news media outlets reach out to Sister Jean for her predictions on who will win the championship.

Her advice isn’t limited to the Ramblers, however. She has been known to offer to do the lineups for opposing coaches. Some even let her. “I just have a lot of fun,” she says.

StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2018 • 45

In 2017, Loyola University Chicago inducted Sister Jean into its athletic hall of fame. It is just one of many honors she has received. “One of my big thrills was to get the Spirit of the Valley Award from the Missouri Valley Conference last year,” she says.

When there isn’t action on the court, Sister Jean is talking to students in the stands, to referees, and to opposing team members. She is quick with a smile and a hug. Watching her amble around the gymnasium, it’s not easy to tell she is in her late 90s. “People ask me how I’m living so long. I say, ‘Well, I eat well, I sleep well, and, hopefully, I pray well.’”

Having good genes helps too. “The genes actually come from my father’s side of the family. His siblings and he lived into the greater part of their 90s.”

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StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2018 • 47

POP CULTURE ICON

In the early 2000s, Loyola University Chicago unveiled the Sister Jean Schmidt bobblehead, giving them away at a game.

She recalls a member of the athletic department asking her if she minded if they made a bobblehead of her.

“I thought he was fooling me. The next day, he came in with the drawing that the artist had done. He asked if I approved. I said, ‘Sure. If it’s good for Loyola, it’s good for me.’”

Her whole family has bobbleheads, and she autographs the back of them. The university sells the bobbleheads for $13.95 each.

Karen Callaway is the photo editor of Chicago Catholic, the newspaper for the Archdiocese of Chicago. Joyce Duriga is its editor.

48 • March 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

You Can Help Spread the Gospel in the Spirit of St. Francis!

Did you know that at Franciscan Media, publishers of St. Anthony Messenger, we are touching the lives of millions with our online and print resources—many of them free to anyone who wants them? Your support helps touch people’s hearts, like Rubina, “Franciscan Media has been helping me find peace and comfort through the word of God, and they help me to pray and meditate on its wisdom. They help me to grow my faith in Christ. Thank you!”

Did you also know that everything Franciscan Media does greatly depends on your generosity?

Your gift brings the friars at Franciscan Media that much closer to their overarching goal—to fill the world with Franciscan spirit.

To join in the mission, send your gift* today to: Franciscan Media, 28 West Liberty Street, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45202-6498 Please mark SAM18 on your check OR go online: donate.FranciscanMedia.org/SAM0118 *Your gift is tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

media MATTERS

reel TiMe | channel surfing | audio file | bookshelf

By Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP

Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP

DVD The Man Who Invented Christmas Red Dog Wonder Coco Wonder Wheel

I

n July 1973, Abigail “Gail” Getty (Michelle Williams), the divorced mother of 16year-old John Paul “Paul” Getty III (Charlie Plummer), receives a call that her son has been kidnapped in Rome. The ransom is $17 million. She thinks it’s a joke because it’s the kind of thing her son would talk about doing.

This is no stunt, however.

Gail asks Paul’s grandfather, oil tycoon J.P. Getty (Christopher Plummer) to pay the ransom to a group of Italian criminals. Their leader, Cinquanta (Romain Duris), tells Gail that the grandfather should pay because he has “all the money in the world.” Although he professes to love his eldest grandchild, Getty refuses to pay the ransom for fear that his other grandchildren would be kidnapped too.

In reality, he is a mean, crafty miser. He even does his own laundry by hand so he doesn’t have to pay to have it done.

The thugs eventually “sell” Paul to the Mafia. Cinquanta is enlisted to renegotiate the ransom with the help of Getty’s head of security, ex-CIA officer Fletcher Chase (Mark Wahlberg). Getty finally agrees to pay the ransom, but only after the kidnappers cut off the teen’s ear and send it to a newspaper. Further,

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he does it as a loan to his son, Paul’s father, so it will be tax deductible.

For those of us who remember this saga that lasted six months, the retelling is harrowing, though screenwriter David Scarpa made character and event sequencing changes to speed up the pace. He based the script on John Pearson’s 1995 book, Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortune and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty.

Ridley Scott directs this crime thriller to nail-biting effect. When actor Kevin Spacey, originally cast as the elder Getty, was accused of sexual abuse, Scott reshot Spacey’s scenes, replacing him with the very convincing Plummer. The film deserves awards for editing. Wahlberg is credible as the negotiator, while Williams is superb and a worthy foil to her former father-in-law.

All the Money in the World is a cautionary tale that great wealth will not necessarily make you happy.

A-3, R • Graphic violence, greed, language, peril.

PHANTOM THREAD: FOCUS FEATURES; I CAN ONLY IMAGINE: ERWIN BROTHERS ENTERTAINMENT

New On

ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD

LEFT: SISTER NANCY USSELMANN; ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD: EPK.TV

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.

I CAN ONLY IMAGINE

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PHANTOM THREAD

PHANTOM THREAD: FOCUS FEATURES; I CAN ONLY IMAGINE: ERWIN BROTHERS ENTERTAINMENT

LEFT: SISTER NANCY USSELMANN; ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD: EPK.TV

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riter-director Paul Thomas Anderson’s original script tells the story of Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis, in reportedly his final film role), a London fashion designer in the 1950s. With his sister, Cyril (Lesley Manville), they dress the rich and famous. Young women pass through Reynolds’ life and shop as models and muses, but he is a confirmed bachelor who uses them until he tells them to leave. He learned his trade from his mother, who haunts his weirdly obsessed memory. The designer embroiders names on labels that he sews in hidden places of the garments he makes—just as his mother did.

While eating at a hotel in the country, he meets an awkward, beautiful young waitress, Alma (Vicky Krieps).

Reynolds is much older than Alma, but asks her out to dinner and she follows him to London. Though unsure of her status at the shop, she learns from and falls in love with Reynolds, and becomes a model for his designs. Cyril is suspicious until Reynolds becomes ill

and Alma connives to assert her claim by caring for him. In gratitude, he admits his love for her and they marry.

But this is no ordinary love story.

Phantom Thread is either about two people with serious mental health problems whose lives elegantly collide or about the externalization of interior love so profound that they are willing to go to unfathomable lengths to finally admit it. It’s a unique film with strong performances and one that deserves further reflection.

L, R • Adult 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

Source: USCCB.ORG/movies

hen Bart Millard (J. Michael Finley) wrote this title song in 1999, he had no way of knowing it would become the most played Christian song of all time when his group MercyMe released it as a lead single of their Almost There album in 2001. Bart grew up with his abusive, alcoholic dad, Arthur (Dennis Quaid), in Greenville, Texas. His mother left one day, leaving Bart alone to suffer from his father’s incessant negativity and beatings. After injuring his ankle playing football in high school, Bart takes choir where he discovers his musical talent.

When he leaves home for college, he turns his back on his dad, though he stays in touch with his supportive grandmother, Memaw (Oscar-winner Cloris Leachman). He connects with Shannon (Madeline Carroll) from high school and they grow close. On an impulse, he returns home to visit his dad to discover that something incredible has happened.

I Can Only Imagine is probably the best film of the Christian genre that I have seen so far and certainly the best from brothers Jon and Andrew Erwin (October Baby).

Not yet rated • Implied physical violence, adult themes.

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StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2018 • 51

media MATTERS

reel time | channel surfing | audio file | bookshelf

By Christopher Heffron IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Rat Film

Independent Lens on PBS, PBS.org

TLC, check local listings

I

n 1988, author Doris Lessing published what is perhaps her greatest work of fiction, The Fifth Child. It is a story about a picture-perfect family in 1960s London whose lives are upended by the birth of their fifth child, Ben. The child is monstrous in appearance, violent, and voraciously hungry, and the book is as much a portrait of a boy in crisis as it is of a society who cannot—or will not—help him.

Elements of Lessing’s haunting novel shade TLC’s peculiar but powerful documentary series Body Bizarre.

Each episode juggles different stories, but they all follow a similar recipe: People suffering from mysterious medical conditions try to find their place in an often cold world. Subjects include a man born with four legs; a young girl who lives with wolf-like hair on her face; and a woman who struggles with an 11-pound tumor that’s crushing her skull. Most of the subjects live in poor countries where access to proper medical help is sometimes impossible. Surgeons from more developed nations assist in trying to help alleviate these individuals’ suffering.

Can Body Bizarre be shocking viewing? Yes—and parents of young viewers should be on hand if their children watch it. But channel surfers should take a closer look to unveil its deeper meaning. In our cushy, sanitized lives, it’s easy to overlook or turn away from “the other.” But our faith demands more from us.

St. Francis of Assisi embraced the leper because in his decaying face, Francis saw the face of Christ. Thanks to the miracle of television, we needn’t travel far for a glimpse into lives that are not as predictable or safe as our own.

TLC misses the mark far too often with shows that all but celebrate the degradation of the human person, but occasionally the network rises above its own programming to give viewers a deeper understanding of our human family. Body Bizarre isn’t groundbreaking television, but at its heart is a lesson we shouldn’t forget: God doesn’t make mistakes.

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LEFT: ATLANTIC RECORDING CORPORATION/VOLT/STAX; RIGHT: ©2018U2; PETE & REPEAT: TOM GREENE

Body Bizarre

ats. We see them in garbage cans, in alleys, and scurrying out of gutters. Some scientists opine that urban dwellers are never more than 10 feet away from a rat at any given time. We’ve studied, trapped, exterminated, or trained them for almost a century, but are we any closer to understanding them? Filmmaker Theo Anthony’s startling documentary, Rat Film, fearlessly plunges into Baltimore’s ever-growing rat problem. But it’s about much more.

Rats frame the film—and the faint of heart should ready themselves—but what makes it such a powerhouse experience is its unflinching thoroughness. Looking deep into Baltimore’s history, we learn as much about its lineage of poverty and how the local government took care of (read: didn’t take care of) its poorest residents.

Unsanitary living conditions were ignored. Unsafe chemicals were employed. But root problems were never addressed. The city was left with growing poverty rates, and the rats made life even harder.

Be on the lookout for Harold Edmond, the philosopherexterminator who waxes poetic about the city he loves and the pests that simply won’t go away.

FOTOSEARCH: LEFT: IA 64; RIGHT: DONYANEDOMAM

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reel time | channel surfing | auDio file | bookshelf

By Daniel Imwalle

Editor’s Pick Retro-spective OTIS REDDING | (SITTIN’ ON) THE DOCK OF THE BAY

R

rish rockers U2 have returned with their 14th studio album, Songs of Experience. A companion piece to Songs of Innocence (2014), their latest offering is full of catchy guitar hooks—courtesy of the legendary Edge—and thoughtprovoking lyrics on themes of social strife and time-tested love. Though hard to stack up against classics like The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby, it’s still an engaging album by a group that is unafraid to try new things.

Whereas its predecessor drew from the energy of the band’s youthful days in late-’70s Dublin—when it seemed as if they had all the time in the world—Songs of Experience acknowledges mortality and the limitations of being human. Both world events (such as the global refugee crisis and caustic racial divisions in the United States) and personal traumas (lead singer Bono’s near-death experience after a bicycle accident) play a part in this ambitious effort.

Despite the heavy subject matter, U2 manages to deliver a high-energy set of songs, driven by an acute pop sensibility. “Summer of Love,” for example, refers to those who are “sick of living in the shadows”—in this case, refugees who are flooding into Europe to escape violence and persecution in their homelands.

Shimmering guitar riffs and a surprise bridge at the end of the song balance the weight of the lyrics. The final song, “13 (There Is a Light),” is a gentle love note from Bono to his wife, Ali. He urges her—and us—to hold on to and protect the “light” despite the encroaching darkness in the world. Without being heavyhanded, Bono seems to be pointing us to nurture love in our wounded world, a notion that should resonate among Catholic listeners and beyond.

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)

ANSWERS to PETE & REPEAT: 1. The kite has two colors. 2. One of Pete’s friends is holding a balloon. 3. There is another opening in the clouds. 4. Two strings are com-

LEFT: ATLANTIC RECORDING CORPORATION/VOLT/STAX; RIGHT: ©2018U2; PETE & REPEAT: TOM GREENE

I

ing from the holder in Pete’s hand. 5. The kite has a longer tail. 6. Birds are in the sky. 7. A bush has appeared . 8. Pete’s friend in the orange jumpsuit is now closer.

FOTOSEARCH: LEFT: IA 64; RIGHT: DONYANEDOMAM

eleased 50 years ago, Otis Redding’s classic “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay” is still chill-inducing after all these years. He had just wrapped up recording a few days prior when he boarded a plane bound for Madison, Wisconsin. Tragically, Redding and four others perished when, on December 10, 1967, the plane crashed into the icy waters of Lake Monona— just 4 miles from their destination. “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay” was released in January 1968 and became the first posthumous numberone single in US chart history. The song signaled a departure both musically and lyrically for Redding. “Dock of the Bay” transcends the confines of genre with its almost folksy sound and bluesy lyrics on themes of loneliness and displacement. Yet the song isn’t depressing. The horn section that was so prominent before is still there, but more subdued, and Redding made an improvisational decision to end the song whimsically whistling a version of the melody as the song fades out.

U2 | SONGS OF EXPERIENCE

StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2018 • 53

media MATTERS

reel time | channel surfing | audio file | bookshelf

By Carol Ann Morrow

Lasting Legacy

“I want the Cristo Rey family to know me better, to help you work through school and life issues, and to share this final journey with you.”

—Father Martinez

MIRACLE IN MOTION

BY ANTONIO MARTINEZ JR., SJ WITH DAVID WARDEN Paulist Press

F

ather Antonio “T. J.” Martinez is the late founder, president, and driving force behind Jesuit College Preparatory High School in Houston, Texas. What sets this story apart is that the book is both an overview of the Cristo Rey model of learning and the last will and testament of a 44-year-old’s eight-

month battle with cancer.

Cristo Rey schools are found throughout the country, primarily serving as a gateway for connecting the realities of those living in poverty with those working in the corporate and business world. The students mix four 8- to 10-hour school days with one day of entry-level work in a professional setting. This work helps pay for their tuition and connects them to inspiring mentors and role models.

The praise and testimonies throughout the book indicate that both the Houston elite and the school’s graduates learned faith and life realities from Father Martinez’s six years in that city.

In 12 short essays, the book conveys the lessons Father Martinez learned in his own journey, the importance of a faithbased purposeful life, and the tools

the students will need to overcome the obstacles they will face. This is his legacy that will likely endure.

When one reads that the author was a charismatic, boot-wearing Texan and Harvard grad who used hair gel, generally the reader is expecting a memoir of self-aggrandizement and puffery, though that was not the case. While this reviewer has read other books about Cristo Rey schools, this book stands out because it made the reality and spark of this learning model come alive. Although Father Martinez died three years ago, his vision and legacy live on. These are lessons in a purposeful life. Create your own!

Reviewed by Mark Wilkins, a religion teacher at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Digging Deeper into Our Lives “Attachment is when I cling to my possessions rather than to God, trusting them to take care of me, to provide everything.”

T

hose of us who have been cooped in during winter think of spring as a time for housecleaning; Mary Elizabeth Sperry sees a deeper problem.

For her, clutter that has built up in our lives represents a spiritual challenge: how we not only clean our houses, but also clear out clutter from our spiritual lives. The two are related.

The book itself is uncluttered in a warm, first-person, conversational style, drawing conclusions from personal experience. This call to change is most persuasive when it shows examples. In some sense, the author is preaching, telling us about universal

54 • March 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

human shortcomings to be avoided.

Yet none of us wants to be preached at about the junk in our houses!

The book is sprinkled with Sperry’s dry humor—she cries out with the psalmist, prays for house-clearing brimstone, and more.

Sperry’s theme is scarcity versus overabundance—the possessioninfused spiritual sickness of our time.

The trendy questions for reflection at chapters’ ends help if you want to reflect further, whether alone or in a reading group.

That’s her point: Reflect. Clear the clutter-filled path through our living

MAKING ROOM FOR GOD

BY MARY ELIZABETH SPERRY Ave Maria Press

spaces, along with digital clutter, and all their related spiritual clutter. On the way, you’ll find time—and space—for your inner life to flourish. This nifty little guide is a helpful GPS. Reviewed by John Feister, clutter-infested editor at large of this publication.

SP

u.”

tinez

THE LAST CHRISTIANS

FORCE FOR GOOD

BY ANDREAS KNAPP

BY BRIAN ENGELLAND

MIGRANTS AND CITIZENS

BY TISHA M. RAJENDRA

Plough Publishing House

Sophia Institute Press

William B. Eerdmans Publishing

“The young man quotes a Latin proverb: ‘He who says nothing implies consent.’”

“Your talents are a gift from God, valuable only when used to help others.”

“Regardless of their citizenship . . . every person bears the image of Christ.”

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T

T

his book, translated from German, is from Andreas Knapp: a priest, factory worker, poet and author, and member of the Charles Focauldinspired Little Brothers of the Gospel.

For this book, Knapp took a trip in a land of genocide, Syria, among the millions of persecuted Christians in the Middle East. He documents heartbreaking tales of people dispossessed.

It’s a combination of storytelling, set in the context of the jihadist campaign against Christians in the Middle East, and this thoughtful, prayerful writer’s spiritual reflections. Written in first person, it is a gripping account.

his book’s subtitle says it best: “The Catholic Guide to Business Integrity.” Dr. Engelland, distinguished professor at Catholic University of America’s Busch School of Business, brings his experience in the business world to teaching business students how to be virtuous at work.

With discussion questions at each chapter’s end, this could seem a textbook, but it’s good reading, fluidly written, for anyone who wants to promote goodness. “There’s a great need for integrity in business these days,” he writes. Then he shows how to achieve it, first by understanding the values that underlie its practice.

KIDS’

SPOT

SIMON OF CYRENE AND THE LEGEND OF THE EASTER EGG WRITTEN BY TERRI DEGEZELLE ILLUSTRATED BY GABHOR UTOMO

H

ere’s a nice Easter gift, or anytime gift, for a young one’s family. The legend is one of many explaining our Easter eggs. More important, this beautifully illustrated tale offers a way to talk about biblical themes surrounding Easter.

here is hardly a more controversial topic in the United States than immigration. But the ethics of immigration go back to the philosophical and historical roots of Christianity.

In this book, Rajendra, an associate professor of theological ethics at Loyola University, Chicago, lays out our responsibilities toward immigrants and immigrants’ responsibilities toward us.

Publisher’s Weekly lauds the author’s ability to popularize. Readers should be prepared for a careful, detailed exposition on immigration, comprising both the context of our current situation and the philosophical foundations for a healthier approach.

Top Catholic Books from Goodreads A History of Loneliness, by John Boyne The Fifth Gospel, by Ian Caldwell Last Testament: In His Own Words, by Pope Benedict XVI Emotional Virtue: A Guide to Drama-Free Relationships, by Sarah Swafford Augustine: Conversions to Confessions, by Robin Lane Fox Books featured in this section can be ordered from:

St. Mary’s Bookstore & Church Supply

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

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

StAnthonyMessenger.org | March 2018 • 55

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POINTSOFVIEW | FAITH & FAMILY

By Susan Hines-Brigger

Hey, Kids, It’s OK to Fail

Susan has worked at St. Anthony Messenger for 23 years and is an associate 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.

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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A

s a parent, there is nothing better than watching your child succeed at something. What mom or dad doesn’t relish the look of pure joy and accomplishment on the face of their child when they tell you that they nailed that exam, made the team, or got the job? Unfortunately, the harsh reality is that there will also be a lot of times when those things might not happen.

Take sports, for instance. Think of how many kids play sports in grade school. Now, funnel that down to when they go to high school and jump into the pool with all the other schools. Then there’s college, where even more people enter the top of the funnel from various high schools. Now, count up how many professional sports teams there are and the number of players on those teams and figure out the odds of a kid succeeding at making it to the highest level. According to the NCAA, those odds are very low.

ACCEPTING A DIFFERENT PATH

Speaking of sports, let me tell you a story from my own experience of failure. When I was a freshman in high school, I tried out for my high school’s soccer team. I worked my butt off—conditioning, training, practicing, anything I could do to try to make the team.

But guess what? I didn’t. I was devastated.

What my parents did afterward, though, was what made a big impact on me and formed my outlook moving forward—even to this day. Sure, they comforted me and allowed me to wallow in my self-pity for a while. But then they asked me what I was going to do

LETTING OUR KIDS FAIL

As a parent, that message is one I have been very deliberate in trying to instill in my kids.

When my son came to me last year discouraged because he got a C on a test, I asked him two questions: “Do you feel that you worked hard to prepare yourself?” and “Did you try your best?” When he answered yes to both, I told him that was all I cared about. In fact, I was silently pleased with that C. School has always come easy for him, with very little effort. It was good for him to finally have to work hard, even if that meant getting a C. Our kids need to know that they’re not always going to win or get straight As. That’s OK. It’s what they do with those experiences that matters. I know that might not be the most popular thing a mom can say, but I firmly believe that it’s true. We all want our kids to succeed at everything. But the chances are really great that they won’t. What they do when they fall short of the goal line is where we parents need to step up. In a time when everyone gets a trophy or ribbon despite the outcome, we need to let our kids fail sometimes. At some point, there won’t be any more participation ribbons. Our job as parents is to help our kids be OK with that.

56 • March 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org 101⁄2 103⁄4 1013⁄16 107⁄8

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Susan Hines-Brigger

now that I wasn’t going to be playing soccer.

Was I going to let my defeat define me, or was I going to regroup and rise above this slight detour in my plans? I, of course, bristled at the parental advice—I was, after all, a teenager—but then decided to pick myself up and make the best of the situation. I signed up to be the team manager and it was a great experience. I was a part of the team, even though it wasn’t in the way that I originally had hoped.

In fact, members of the team and I talk about my antics as manager to this day. So, no, I didn’t succeed at my original goal, but I did succeed.

I suspect you would be hard-pressed to find someone without a story of having to pick himself or herself back up after failing at something. It’s part of life. And hard as it is, we need to find a way to accept it, pick ourselves up from it, and move forward.

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in the kitchen

with Amy Heyd

St. Martha’s No Worries Pizza

Lent Friendly

yield: 6–8 servings • prep time: 1½ hours (including rising time) cook time: 15–30 minutes, depending on oven space • preheat oven: 500 degrees

Pizza Sauce

Ingredients:

Ingredients:

1¾ cups warm water (110–115 degrees)

2 tbls.

tomato paste

¼ tsp.

sugar

1 tsp.

olive oil

1½ tsp.

salt

½ tsp.

dried oregano flakes

3 tbls.

honey

¼ tsp.

garlic salt

3 tbls.

warm milk

1 tbls.

honey

1.5 tbls. active dry yeast (2 packages)

1½ tbls. olive oil 5–6 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp.

olive oil

5 tbls.

melted butter

¼ tsp.

garlic salt

Instructions: In a large bowl dissolve the yeast into the warm water. Add sugar and stir well. Let the yeast proof for about five to 10 minutes until it looks foamy.

Add salt, honey, milk, and oil and stir briefly.

Add flour one cup at a time until it forms a ball. Keep adding flour until the dough is only slightly sticky. You may not need to use all the flour.

On a well-floured surface, knead the dough for five minutes. Place a teaspoon of olive oil in a large bowl. Place the dough into the bowl, and move the dough around until it and the bowl are covered with oil. Place a warm, wet dish towel over the bowl of dough. Set aside for an hour so the dough will rise to double its size.

1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

Instructions: Stir all ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.

The sauce can be prepared ahead and stored in the refrigerator.

Place the pizza sauce into its own bowl and set it next to the pizza dough rounds. Place all of the topping ingredients into separate small bowls and line them up, or place the ingredients in separate piles on a large serving platter. Place a large bowl of shredded mozzarella at the end of all the ingredients.

Once you have set up the assembly line, bring the family in and create your own Lent-friendly pizzas together.

Bake the pizzas for 10–15 minutes until the cheese begins to bubble.

Lent-Friendly Toppings

onions • red and green peppers • mushrooms tomatoes • olives • roasted garlic • feta cheese goat cheese • mozzarella • basil • pine nuts Parmesan cheese • pineapples • pine nuts • pesto jalapeños • sun-dried tomatoes • artichoke hearts

I

n order to make a single loaf of bread, Martha had to start her day before dawn to trek to the granary to purchase grain. After the long walk there and back home again, Martha ground the grain into coarse flour. This task alone required patience, strength, and stamina. The repetitive motion of turning the stones made her arms burn in pain. Once the grain was ready, Martha added the remaining ingredients and prepared the dough.

Already sore from grinding the grain into flour, Martha then began the process of kneading the dough into a ball. Then, in the heat of midday (around 90 degrees Fahrenheit), Martha prepared a fire outside to bake the bread. Once she was finished tending to the bread over the hot fire, she moved to her garden to gather the ingredients to assemble the rest of the meal.

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After the dough has risen, remove it from the bowl and knead it for 1–2 minutes. Cut the dough into 6 to 8 equal parts. Roll each dough segment into a 7- to 8-inch round.

Place the rounds on greased baking sheets.

Mix the garlic salt into the melted butter and brush this onto the pizza crusts.

58 • March 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

Go online to order the book: Shop.FranciscanMedia.org For 20% OFF Use Code: SAMDINNER

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Pizza Dough

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Lenten Blues

ST. JOSEPH BIBLE HANDBOOK

By Jeremy Harrington, OFM

With over 100 full-color artistic renderings, this introductory text offers readers a multitude of facts in each of the Bibles’ 73 books. Frequently Asked Questions, Study Questions, and Look out for give added information for use in schools, study groups and personal use.

256 pages.

No. 649/04 $14.95

877-228-2665 www.catholicbookpublishing.com HAND-CRAFTED WITH

In the fourth Station of the Cross, Jesus meets his mother.

LOVE AND WISDOM

ZATLETIC/FOTOSEARCH

parishioner stopped by my office the other day. During our chat, she asked, “What is the real meaning of Lent?” Not an easy question! In our spiritual Bible Handbook lives, Christ brought us the joy of eternal life. In many respects, Lent isJoseph a time to remember what Christ did—dying and rising from the dead—and why he did it.

Since Ash Wednesday, we’ve heard the call to conversion. We are urged to do penance, give alms, abstain from meat on Fridays, fast, and give more time to prayer. How do you feel about it? Is Lent a downer for you?

To me, Lent is serious but joyful. I’m not saying that Lent is meant to be fun.

Rather, it is a time of joy in the deepest sense—the joy Pope Francis refers to “in the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus.” The person sharing the good news “must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral.”

What gives us this deep sense of joy? Knowing and believing we as a people, and individually, are loved. Lent helps focus on that reality. In the Sunday and weekday Scripture readings, we relive how God created us out of love and remains faithful to that love in spite of our willfulness and going our own way.

He rescued us by sending his own son to become one of us.

When you feel down, look at Psalm 136, which names specific ways God has blessed the human family, and after each item repeats the simple refrain, “for his mercy endures forever.”

[God made] the sun to rule the day, for his mercy endures forever.

The moon and stars to rule the night, for his mercy endures forever.

Who led the people through the desert, for his mercy endures forever.

During Lent, we give special attention to the suffering and death of Jesus.

Many Catholics relive Christ’s life by attending the Stations of the Cross. I believe it’s a great cure for the blues or self-pity.

Jesus conquers death and rises to new, everlasting life. He will die no more.

What a proof of his love for us!

Jeremy Harrington, OFM, is the associate pastor of Transfiguration Parish in Southfield, Michigan. He is the former publisher of Franciscan Media and editor of this publication.

The Sarah Center offers unique pieces of jewelry that are handcrafted with love, woven with understanding, forged in wisdom, and filled with hope.

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Lenten Blues

FROM THE CROSS TO THE EMPTY TOMB

By Jeremy Harrington, OFM

Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli Bishop Serratelli invites you to journey with those who were with Jesus in His last hours. You may be like Peter one day, and like Judas, Simon, Mary Magdalene, or Our Lady on another.

This Lenten book provides a deeper appreciation for God’s eternal saving love. 96 pages.

No. 928/04 $5.95

877-228-2665 www.catholicbookpublishing.com HAND-CRAFTED WITH

In the fourth Station of the Cross, Jesus meets his mother.

ZATLETIC/FOTOSEARCH

Cross to the tomb ad.indd 1

parishioner stopped by my office the other day. During our chat, she asked, “What is the real meaning of Lent?” Not an easy question! In our spiritual lives, Christ brought us the joy of eternal life. In many respects, Lent is a time to remember what Christ did—dying and rising from the dead—and why he did it.

Since Ash Wednesday, we’ve heard the call to conversion. We are urged to do penance, give alms, abstain from meat on Fridays, fast, and give more time to prayer. How do you feel about it? Is Lent a downer for you?

To me, Lent is serious but joyful. I’m not saying that Lent is meant to be fun.

Rather, it is a time of joy in the deepest sense—the joy Pope Francis refers to “in the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus.” The person sharing the good news “must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral.”

What gives us this deep sense of joy? Knowing and believing we as a people, and individually, are loved. Lent helps focus on that reality. In the Sunday and weekday Scripture readings, we relive how God created us out of love and remains faithful to that love in spite of our willfulness and going our own way.

He rescued us by sending his own son to become one of us.

When you feel down, look at Psalm 136, which names specific ways God has blessed the human family, and after each item repeats the simple refrain, “for his mercy endures forever.”

[God made] the sun to rule the day, for his mercy endures forever.

The moon and stars to rule the night, for his mercy endures forever.

Who led the people through the desert, for his mercy endures forever.

During Lent, we give special attention to the suffering and death of Jesus.

Many Catholics relive Christ’s life by attending the Stations of the Cross. I believe it’s a great cure for the blues or self-pity.

Jesus conquers death and rises to new, everlasting life. He will die no more.

What a proof of his love for us!

Jeremy Harrington, OFM, is the associate pastor of Transfiguration Parish in Southfield, Michigan. He is the former publisher of Franciscan Media and editor of this publication.

ARTIST: ARLENE CANDELARESI (NECKLACE SHOWN)

A

LOVE AND WISDOM The Sarah Center offers unique pieces of jewelry that are handcrafted with love, woven with understanding, forged in wisdom, and filled with hope.

12/14/17 12:27 PM

Find your special item today!

NOW AVAILABLE

Custom & Special Orders NECKLACES | EARRINGS | BRACELETS QUILTS | POUFS | PURSES AND MORE! VIEW ITEMS ONLINE

•

CALL TO PLACE ORDER

SFSMINISTRIES.ORG | (513) 549-0542 ST. JOSEPH BIBLE HANDBOOK With over 100 full-color artistic renderings, this introductory text offers readers a multitude of facts in each of the Bibles’ 73 books. Frequently Asked Questions, Study Questions, and Look out for give added information for use in schools, study groups and personal use.

256 pages.

No. 649/04 $14.95

877-228-2665 www.catholicbookpublishing.com

Joseph Bible Handbook ad.indd 1

1/24/18 10:56 AM

MARKETPLACE

Lenten Blues

ST. JOSEPH BIBLE HANDBOOK

By Jeremy Harrington, OFM

With over 100 full-color artistic renderings, this introductory text offers readers a multitude of facts in each of the Bibles’ 73 books. Frequently Asked Questions, Study Questions, and Look out for give added information for use in schools, study groups and personal use.

256 pages.

No. 649/04 $14.95

877-228-2665 www.catholicbookpublishing.com HAND-CRAFTED WITH

In the fourth Station of the Cross, Jesus meets his mother.

LOVE AND WISDOM

ZATLETIC/FOTOSEARCH

parishioner stopped by my office the other day. During our chat, she asked, “What is the real meaning of Lent?” Not an easy question! In our spiritual Bible Handbook lives, Christ brought us the joy of eternal life. In many respects, Lent isJoseph a time to remember what Christ did—dying and rising from the dead—and why he did it.

Since Ash Wednesday, we’ve heard the call to conversion. We are urged to do penance, give alms, abstain from meat on Fridays, fast, and give more time to prayer. How do you feel about it? Is Lent a downer for you?

To me, Lent is serious but joyful. I’m not saying that Lent is meant to be fun.

Rather, it is a time of joy in the deepest sense—the joy Pope Francis refers to “in the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus.” The person sharing the good news “must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral.”

What gives us this deep sense of joy? Knowing and believing we as a people, and individually, are loved. Lent helps focus on that reality. In the Sunday and weekday Scripture readings, we relive how God created us out of love and remains faithful to that love in spite of our willfulness and going our own way.

He rescued us by sending his own son to become one of us.

When you feel down, look at Psalm 136, which names specific ways God has blessed the human family, and after each item repeats the simple refrain, “for his mercy endures forever.”

[God made] the sun to rule the day, for his mercy endures forever.

The moon and stars to rule the night, for his mercy endures forever.

Who led the people through the desert, for his mercy endures forever.

During Lent, we give special attention to the suffering and death of Jesus.

Many Catholics relive Christ’s life by attending the Stations of the Cross. I believe it’s a great cure for the blues or self-pity.

Jesus conquers death and rises to new, everlasting life. He will die no more.

What a proof of his love for us!

Jeremy Harrington, OFM, is the associate pastor of Transfiguration Parish in Southfield, Michigan. He is the former publisher of Franciscan Media and editor of this publication.

The Sarah Center offers unique pieces of jewelry that are handcrafted with love, woven with understanding, forged in wisdom, and filled with hope.

ad.indd 1

ARTIST: ARLENE CANDELARESI (NECKLACE SHOWN)

A

1/24/18 1

Find your special item today!

NOW AVAILABLE

Custom & Special Orders NECKLACES | EARRINGS | BRACELETS QUILTS | POUFS | PURSES AND MORE! VIEW ITEMS ONLINE

•

CALL TO PLACE ORDER

SFSMINISTRIES.ORG | (513) 549-0542

FROM THE CROSS TO THE EMPTY TOMB Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli Bishop Serratelli invites you to journey with those who were with Jesus in His last hours. You may be like Peter one day, and like Judas, Simon, Mary Magdalene, or Our Lady on another.

This Lenten book provides a deeper appreciation for God’s eternal saving love. 96 pages.

No. 928/04 $5.95

877-228-2665 www.catholicbookpublishing.com

Cross to the tomb ad.indd 1

12/14/17 12:27 PM

reflection “Springtime is the land awakening.

The March winds are the morning yawn.”

PHOTO CREDIT HERE LUSHPIX/FOTOSEARCH

—William Wilberforce

60 • March 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

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