St. Anthony Messenger November 2018

Sharing the spirit of St. Francis with the world V O L . 1 2 6 / N O . 6 • NOVEMBER 2018

IN THIS ISSUE:

Follower of St. Francis, Father Michael Higgins, TOR PAGE 13

COOKING WITH

CHEF LIDIA

ST. FRANCIS AND OUR VETERANS NOVEMBER 2018 • $4.99 StAnthonyMessenger.org

THE CHURCH AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE GOD IS NOT FAIR— AND THAT’S OK

Brilliant Works of Wisdom, Truth & Beauty ◆ DOORS IN THE WALLS OF THE WORLD

Signs of Transcendence in the Human Story Peter Kreeft

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ith razor-sharp reasoning and irrepressible joy, Philosopher Kreeft helps us to find the doors in the walls of our world. Drawing on history, religion, physical science, psychology, philosophy, literature, and art, he invites us to welcome what lies on the other side of these doors, and to begin living the life of Heaven in the here and now.

DWWP . . . Sewn Softcover, $15.95

“Kreeft is ready always to give reasons for the wonder that is in him. The proper philosophy does not reduce my thoughts about God to atoms, but splits the atom and sees in it the fire of God's power and love.”

— Anthony Esolen, Ph.D., Author, Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture “Kreeft fits his reader with the lens of story to see clearly the deeper meanings of life, death, love, sex, poetry, human longing—for starters.”

—Patrick Coffin, Host, The Patrick Coffin Show

◆ CALM IN CHAOS Catholic Wisdom for Anxious Times Fr. George Rutler

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ith brilliant insight and wit, Fr. Rutler comments on the confusion in the Church and the chaos in Western societies, and our ever-new reasons for hope. His writings on today’s issues are neither pessimistic nor optimistic, because they are infused with the confidence that God grants us his grace and peace that no earthly circumstance can take it away.

CALCP . . . Sewn Softcover, $17.95

“Fr. Rutler’s ability to mingle the wit and wisdom of philosophers and frauds with the triumphs and tragedies of politicians, popes, and poets makes reading this book an invigorating and entertaining delight.”

— Fr Dwight Longenecker, Author, The Romance of Religion “Fr. Rutler, linguist, painter, and preacher extraordinaire, is that clerical rarity—an accomplished man of letters who writes as gracefully as he speaks.”

— George Weigel, Author, The Fragility of Order

◆ THE CRUCIFIX ON MECCA’S FRONT PORCH David Pinault

A

unique book on Islam which argues that a critically minded examination of Islam can help Christians achieve a deeper appreciation of the unique truths of their own faith.

Timely and urgently needed, it invites us to reflect on the stark differences between Christianity and Islam and appreciate the uniqueness of the Christian faith.

CMFPP . . . Sewn Softcover, $21.95

“Seldom has a scholar of Islam spoken so clearly about the profound matters that divide Christianity and Islam. He never flinches from the real nature of the differences, especially concerning who Jesus is.”

—Robert Reilly, Author, The Closing of the Muslim Mind “Pinault is the perfect guide, clearly explaining concepts and events on Islam that may be foreign to modern Christians. All seasoned with his own experiences in the Muslim world, making this book a true rarity.”

—Thomas Madden, Ph.D., Professor of History, Saint Louis University

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

(800) 651-1531

VOL. 126 NO. 6

2018 NOVEMBER

28 Cooking with Chef Lidia

COVER STORY

By Peter Feuerherd

“Food is my connection,” says Lidia Bastianich, a cooking show star and restaurant owner. But it was her faith that spurred her on her journey.

16 St. Francis and US Veterans

By Nancy Wiechec

At the Franciscan Renewal Center in Arizona, veterans find a place to work through traumas that damaged their minds—and their souls.

22 Saints Next Door COVER: COURTESY OF CHEF LIDIA/KERRY PARKER

By Diane M. Houdek

It’s easy to view saints as distant, historical figures that we can only try to imitate. Pope Francis encourages us to consider as examples the quietly holy people in our lives who inspire us to a deeper spiritual life.

ABOVE: Chef Lidia Bastianich, shown here with some of her kitchen staff, has prepared dishes for a number of famous people, including Pope Francis.

38 The Church and Domestic Violence

By Susan Hines-Brigger

Father Charles Dahm was unaware of the scope of the domestic violence issue until it showed up in his parish office. Now he speaks about it every chance he gets.

44 God Is Not Fair— In the Best Possible Way

By Daniel P. Horan, OFM

God’s sense of what is just does not always align with our own. And for that we should be grateful.

34 Polarization in the Pews

By Dan Morris-Young

Division and discord are nothing new in the Church.

Three experts offer ways to find common ground.

StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 1

VOL. 126 NO. 6

“Alms are a legacy and a justice due to the poor that our Lord Jesus Christ has acquired for us.”

2018 NOVEMBER

—St. Francis of Assisi

SPIRIT OF ST. FRANCIS 10 Ask a Franciscan

10 POINTS OF VIEW 5

Can Laypeople Give Blessings?

Your Voice

Letters from Readers

12 Franciscan World

15 Editorial

12 St. Anthony Stories

26 At Home on Earth

13 Followers of St. Francis

54 Faith & Family

St. Barbara Province

Looking Back, Moving Forward

The Treasure Chest

Finding Our Way Safely Home

Father Michael Higgins, TOR

50

MEDIA MATTERS 48 Reel Time

The Hate U Give

50 Channel Surfing The Judge

26

51 Audio File

Father John Misty | God’s Favorite Customer

Cupcakes Broken and Shared

55

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 4 6

Dear Reader

Church in the News

14 Notes from a Friar

51 Pete & Repeat 55 In the Kitchen 56 Reflection

52 Bookshelf

Listen with the Ear of the Heart

StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 3

dear reader

ST. ANTHONY

MESSENGER

Food and Faith

PUBLISHER

Daniel Kroger, OFM

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his month, many of us will be gathering with our family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving. A key part of the celebration is food. That is why this month you will find a little more food-focused content than usual. Our cover story on Chef Lidia Bastianich certainly addresses the joys of cooking, but more important, it looks at the chef ’s deep-rooted Catholic faith. We offer a perfect marriage of the two in our “In the Kitchen” column on page 55, where we feature a recipe that Chef Lidia prepared for Pope Francis during his visit to New York in 2015.

And while the holidays can be a wonderful time of togetherness, they can also be fertile ground for misunderstandings and quarrels. Unfortunately, these days it seems as if nowhere is safe from conflict over opposing viewpoints. In his article “Polarization in the Pews,” author Dan Morris-Young addresses how this is going on specifically in our Church.

But while differences will always exist, let us instead take this opportunity to thank God and celebrate the many blessings that we have been given.

From our family to yours, may you have a very blessed—and peaceful— Thanksgiving!

PRESIDENT

Kelly McCracken EXECUTIVE EDITORS

Christopher Heffron Susan Hines-Brigger

FRANCISCAN EDITOR

Pat McCloskey, OFM ART DIRECTOR

Mary Catherine Kozusko MANAGING EDITOR

Daniel Imwalle

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Sandy Howison

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Sharon Lape

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE ADVERTISING

Susan Hines-Brigger, Executive Editor

Graham Galloway PRINTING

Kingery Printing Co. Effingham, IL

DANIEL P. HORAN, OFM

DIANE M. HOUDEK

God Is Not Fair

Saints Next Door

St. Francis and US Veterans

PAGE 44

PAGE 22

PAGE 16

Diane M. Houdek is the author of numerous books, including Advent with St. Francis. She is a professed Secular Franciscan with bachelor’s degrees in English and history from Marquette University and a master’s degree in English literature from Northwestern University. She is the content director for Franciscan Media.

Nancy Wiechec is a journalist and photographer with extensive experience in Catholic media. She has also worked as a contributing photographer to Reuters and currently works as a managing editor with the Arizona Daily Sun in northern Arizona. Her Twitter handle is @NancyWiechec.

Daniel P. Horan, OFM, is a Franciscan friar of Holy Name Province (New York), assistant professor of systematic theology at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and the author of several books, including The Last Words of Jesus and God Is Not Fair, and Other Reasons for Gratitude, published by Franciscan Media.

writer

4 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

NANCY WIECHEC

writer & photographer

DANIEL P. HORAN: PRINTED WITH PERMISSION BY MARIE MISCHEL

writer

ST. ANTHONY MESSENGER (ISSN #0036276X) (U.S.P.S. PUBLICATION #007956 CANADA PUBLICATION #PM40036350) Volume 126, Number 6, is published monthly for $39.00 a year by the Franciscan Friars of St. John the Baptist Province, 28 W. Liberty Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-6498. Phone 513-241-5615. Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, Ohio, and additional entry offices.

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POINTSOFVIEW | YOUR VOICE Greetings from Greenwood

Like Minds

Wow! How blessed we are! Thank you to the editors of St. Anthony Messenger, author John Feister, and local photographer Andy Lo for the remarkable article featuring St. Francis of Assisi Mission in Greenwood, Mississippi, in the August 2018 issue—“‘I (Still) Have a Dream’: St. Francis of Assisi School.”

Greetings to you and to all the readership from the Mississippi Delta!

We are grateful to you and to all those who generously responded to our needs here, especially at St. Francis School. Looking at our mission through the critical lens of the past (segregation and the civil rights movement), the present (the education of children who may otherwise be at-risk), and the future (how we can go forward with renewed vision) gives a healthy and uplifting perspective to the work that is being done here.

We are commemorating the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the first Franciscan friars to Greenwood this year, and the article happily coincided with that event.

May God bless all at St. Anthony Messenger, the Franciscan friars of St. John the Baptist Province who sponsor the magazine—and who have kindly provided us with Brother Mark Gehret, OFM—as well as the readership of this magazine.

I found a like thinker in Mary Gail Lau’s letter “Homilists, Take Note,” which appeared in the “Your Voice” column in the August issue of St. Anthony Messenger. The writer is concerned— and rightly so, I believe—that we don’t hear from the pulpit about the plight of suffering animals. In the petitions, we often pray for a respect for the sanctity and dignity of human life alone. Why don’t we pray for a respect for the sanctity of all life?

William Sloan Coffin wrote, “Unless nature is ‘re-sanctified,’ we will never see nature as worthy of ethical considerations similar to those that presently govern human relations.” Caring for people and caring for the rest of creation is not a zero-sum game. God’s compassion is limitless, encompassing all that he created. Would that we would all live in the spirit of Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si’.”

St. Francis of Assisi School and Parish Greenwood, Mississippi

Question Sparks a Vivid Memory I’m writing in regard to the first question in Father Pat McCloskey’s “Ask a Franciscan” column from the September issue of St. Anthony Messenger (“Marking the Spot Where Jesus Died”). This question reminded me of a deeply meaningful event in our parish. We had the honor of hosting relics of Christ’s crucifixion—a thorn, a nail, and a splinter of wood. One by one, we filed before them, able to see these relics in person, to touch them, and to venerate them, which filled everyone with deep and silent awe. Then I looked up, and there, just a few yards behind them, was the tabernacle, where Jesus himself waits every single moment, every single day, to come to us with his whole being so that we may embrace him.

Ann Macke St. Louis, Missouri

Kim McDaniel Louisville, Kentucky

An Open Letter to Pope Francis Eliminate the vow of celibacy as a requirement for the priesthood, and thereby, minimize pedophiles in the priesthood. In Matthew 8:14–15, Jesus “entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and waited on him.”

If a married Simon Peter could be our first pope, a married man could be a priest. Let he who can be celibate, but do not require such an unnatural state for all priests. I suspect this required vow had more to do with the Church’s guilt manipulation and control of priests than with freeing our priests from the burden of family duties.

Further, abuse and cover-up are systemic problems requiring systemic solutions.

Eliminating the vow of celibacy would so expand the pool of candidates to the priesthood that pedophiles would be a minuscule portion of this larger group.

John F. Scanlon San Diego, California

CORRECTION: Brother Mark Gehret, OFM, was misidentified as “Father Mark Gehret, OFM,” in the August cover story, “‘I (Still) Have a Dream’: St. Francis of Assisi School,” by John Feister.

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StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 5

church IN THE NEWS

people | events | trends

By Susan Hines-Br ig ger

US CHURCH LEADERS MEET WITH POPE ABOUT SEX-ABUSE SCANDAL

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6 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

IN RELATED NEWS: • Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Bishop Michael J. Bransfield of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, on September 13 and instructed Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore to conduct an investigation into allegations that Bishop Bransfield sexually harassed adults.

• Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend was cleared of wrongdoing after an allegation of misconduct was made against him. District Attorney Fran Chardo of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, announced September 13 that “a full investigation” by his office found no evidence that Bishop Rhoades ever engaged in “a criminal or otherwise improper relationship” with a now-deceased man.

Chardo said that he believed the original report was the result of an honest, mistaken recollection, the news website PennLive reported. But the DA also said the claim has brought “significant” harm to the bishop.

• A class-action lawsuit was filed in the Court of Common Pleas for Allegheny County on September 17 against eight Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania, demanding the dioceses provide proof that they submitted the names of all suspected predators.

• New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan has named Judge Barbara S. Jones, a former federal judge, to study archdiocesan policies and procedures with respect to sexual abuse by clergy and recommend enhancements directly to the cardinal.

TOP: CNS/GREGORY A. SHEMITZ; MIDDLE: CNS/BOBBY YIP, REUTERS; RIGHT: CNS/PAUL HARING

On September 13, Pope Francis met with leaders of the US bishops’ conference to discuss the sex-abuse scandal and cover-up. Participants were (left to right) Msgr. J. Brian Bransfield, Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, and Archbishop José H. Gómez.

CNS/VATICAN MEDIA

eaders of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) met with Pope Francis on September 13 to discuss the sex-abuse crisis in the United States, reported Catholic News Service (CNS). A statement released by the bishops’ conference after the meeting said that the pope “listened very deeply from the heart.”

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, president of the USCCB, requested the meeting in August—following the release of the Pennsylvania grand jury report on the mishandling of sex-abuse cases.

In an August 16 letter, Cardinal DiNardo said the USCCB Executive Committee had established three goals: “an investigation into the questions surrounding Archbishop McCarrick, an opening of new and confidential channels for reporting complaints against bishops, and advocacy for more effective resolution of future complaints.”

Achieving the goals, Cardinal DiNardo had said, would involve “consultation with experts, laity, and clergy, as well as the Vatican. We will present this plan to the full body of bishops in our November meeting. In addition, I will travel to Rome to present these goals and criteria to the Holy See, and to urge further concrete steps based on them.

“The overarching goal in all of this,” he had said, “is stronger protections against predators in the Church and anyone who would conceal them, protections that will hold bishops to the highest standards of transparency and accountability.”

Cardinal DiNardo was joined in the meeting with the pope by Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley of Boston, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors; Archbishop José H. Gómez of Los Angeles, vice president of the USCCB; and Msgr. J. Brian Bransfield, general secretary of the conference.

The USCCB statement described the encounter as “a lengthy, fruitful, and good exchange,” but did not enter into details about what was discussed or whether any concrete measures were taken or promised.

“We look forward to actively continuing our discernment together, identifying the most effective next steps,” the statement said.

After the meeting, Cardinal DiNardo said he was filled with hope. When asked about the three priorities after the meeting with the pope, the cardinal said: “I think we can make movement on those things. I think we have to do it step by step.”

POPE TO CONVENE WORLD MEETING ON ABUSE PREVENTION WITH BISHOPS’ LEADERS

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n the wake of the ongoing sexabuse crisis, Pope Francis is gathering the presidents of every Catholic bishops’ conference in the world to Rome next February 21–24 to discuss the prevention of the abuse of minors and vulnerable adults, reported CNS. The announcement was made following three days of meetings with members of the pope’s international Council of Cardinals.

According to a statement released Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò after the first day of the meeting, the council “expressed full solidarity with Pope Francis in the face of what has happened in the last few weeks, aware that in the current debate the Holy See is formulating possible and necessary clarifications” regarding allegations made against him by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, former papal nuncio to the United States.

CATHOLIC EXTENSION LAUNCHES

#WHYIMCATHOLIC CAMPAIGN

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ecognizing that it is a difficult time to be Catholic, Catholic Extension has launched a new social media campaign called #WhyImCatholic. The hopes are that Catholics will share their positive stories about faith and community “during this difficult chapter in the Church.”

In a September 20 news release, the Chicago-based national organization said: “We must face hard truths together in order to change and grow stronger in love. It will hurt. It will be hard. And we will endure as a family of faith.”

Stories will be gathered and shared on the group’s Facebook page, Twitter account (@CathExtension), and website (CatholicExtension.org) to illustrate “what makes people proud to be Catholic and gives them hope for the future.”

POPE MEETS WITH ROCK STAR BONO

VATICAN AND CHINA SIGN AGREEMENT

TOP: CNS/GREGORY A. SHEMITZ; MIDDLE: CNS/BOBBY YIP, REUTERS; RIGHT: CNS/PAUL HARING

CNS/VATICAN MEDIA

Bono (right) talks about his recent meeting with Pope Francis. Jose Maria del Corral, president of the educational charity Scholas Occurentes, looks on.

B O

n September 22, the Vatican and the government of China signed a provisional agreement regarding the appointment of bishops, the Vatican announced. A few hours later, Pope Francis lifted the excommunications or irregular status of seven bishops who had been ordained with government approval, but not the Vatican’s consent.

Now, for the first time in decades, all Catholic bishops in China are in full communion with the pope.

The Vatican said Pope Francis hoped “a new process may begin that will allow the wounds of the past to be overcome, leading to the full communion of all Chinese Catholics.”

ono, lead singer of the rock group U2, met with Pope Francis on September 19 to sign an agreement between the rock star’s charity, ONE, and the Scholas Occurentes educational charity supported by Pope Francis, reported CNS. During the half-hour meeting, Bono said the two discussed the pope’s recent trip to Ireland and the sex-abuse crisis affecting the Church in that country. The singer said he told the pope that “it looks as though the abusers are being more protected than the victims. And you could see the pain in his face. . . . I thought he was sincere.”

Bono called the pope “an extraordinary man for extraordinary times.”

As for what the two charities will collaborate on, Bono said, “We haven’t figured out what we are going to do together, but we sort of have a crush on each other.”

StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 7

church IN THE NEWS

people | events | trends

PLANS FOR EXPANSION AT MEDJUGORJE SHRINE

THOUSANDS GATHER FOR ENCUENTRO CELEBRATION

Pedro Rubalcava, director of music development and outreach at Oregon Catholic Press in Portland, leads delegates in song during the Fifth National Encuentro, which took place September 20–23 in Grapevine, Texas.

8 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

his past September, more than 3,000 Hispanic Church leaders gathered in Grapevine, Texas, to celebrate the National Fifth Encuentro gathering, also known as V Encuentro. During the September 20–23 event, participants attended listening and dialogue sessions to discuss a wide range of issues they consider to be priorities in Hispanic Catholic ministry for the Church in the United States, reported CNS. The goal of the Encuentro process is to develop a national pastoral plan for Hispanic ministry for the present and for years to come. Hispanics represent about 40 percent of US Catholics and nearly 60 percent of millennial Catholics, according to research from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate.

At the opening celebration, participants watched a video from Pope Francis, who said, “I see that the Fifth Encuentro is a concrete way for the Church in the United States to respond to the challenge of going beyond what is comfortable, business as usual, and to become a leaven of communion for all those who seek a future of hope, especially young people and families that live in the peripheries of society.”

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the US bishops’ conference, spoke about the ongoing clergy sex-abuse crisis, saying, “As bishops, we have fallen short of what God expects of his shepherds.” The Encuentro, he said, “is a light that shines and illuminates the way forward. The enthusiasm, compassion, the love, and the joy of the Encuentro process is a means of grace—a gift to us as we rebuild the Church.”

Throughout the four-day gathering, participants took part in plenary sessions, where they discussed issues such as supporting Hispanic women in leadership roles; the need to continue the role of a missionary Church that reaches out to

CREATIVE COMMONS/KING OF HEARTS

T

LEFT: CNS/PAUL HARING; RIGHT: CNS PHOTO/TYLER ORSBURN

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he Polish archbishop who oversees the Medjugorje shrine in Bosnia-Herzegovina has outlined plans for expansion at the site, including more Masses in different languages and facilities for young pilgrims, reported CNS. In 1981, six young people claimed that Mary had appeared to them at the site.

Archbishop Henryk Hoser, retired archbishop of Warsaw-Praga, is the apostolic visitor to Medjugorje. He said that “Medjugorje represents Europe’s spiritual lungs, a place where millions discover God and the beauties of the Church,” adding, “We now have to recreate its infrastructure, firstly by securing its liturgical space. We also need to expand its areas for retreats and provide new places for celebrating the Eucharist, especially for pilgrims.”

With rising numbers of mostly young pilgrims and visitors, people wait in very long lines and, in summer, temperatures of over 100 degrees at the shrine’s 50 confessionals, said Archbishop Hoser. He added that roofing is also needed for Medjugorje’s main esplanade, as well as better facilities for conferences and charitable work.

Over 40,000 apparitions have been claimed since the original apparitions in 1981. Various commissions have studied the apparitions, and all concluded that they could not affirm that a supernatural event was occurring in the town.

The report of a papal commission set up in 2010 to study the alleged apparitions has not been made public, but some of its points were revealed after Pope Francis spoke about the commission’s work. He acknowledged that pilgrims to the Marian site deserve spiritual care and support, but he also expressed doubts about claims of the continuing apparitions of Mary in Medjugorje.

others; more access to leadership positions at all levels; and to reach out to, mentor, and guide young adults as ministry leaders.

In one afternoon plenary session, regional representatives highlighted the contributions of “Dreamers,” or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients. They were part of the Encuentro process but were unable to be present at this gathering in Texas for fear of being detained and deported due to the state’s harsh immigration laws. It was a moving moment in which the audience cheered in solidarity with them.

At the closing Mass, Archbishop José H. Gómez of Los Angeles reminded participants that they are missionary disciples on a journey, much like those who walked with Jesus and others like St. Juan Diego.

“Jesus entrusted the mission of his Church in the New World to a layperson. Not to a priest or a bishop. Nor to a member of a religious order,” Archbishop Gómez said. “You are the children of Our Lady of Guadalupe in our present times; you are the spiritual heirs of Juan Diego.

“The mission that was entrusted to him is now entrusted to you.”

The results of the gathering will be compiled into a final document that will be shared with all dioceses, so parishes and dioceses can utilize it to reinforce and strengthen their Hispanic ministry groups.

STANFORD UNIVERSITY TO REMOVE SERRA’S NAME FROM SOME PROPERTIES

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CREATIVE COMMONS/KING OF HEARTS

LEFT: CNS/PAUL HARING; RIGHT: CNS PHOTO/TYLER ORSBURN

S

tanford University in California announced on September 13 that it will remove St. Junipero Serra’s name from some of the school’s properties, reported CNS. The move was based on the recommendations of a university committee of faculty, students, staff, and alumni.

A number of buildings on the campus were named for the saint, who had no actual connection with the school. The saint’s establishment of the mission system is a central part of California history, the university pointed out, but noted, “The historical record confirms that the mission system inflicted great harm and violence on Native Americans.”

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StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 9

SPIRITOFST.FRANCIS | ASK A FRANCISCAN

By Pat McCloskey, OFM

Can Laypeople Give Blessings?

Can someone give a blessing to a sick friend, or a birthday blessing, a blessing at a meal, or on other occasions? Does the person need the permission of the local bishop?

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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.

?

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!

God the Warrior?

Our faith teaches that peace overrides force. In the Old Testament, however, there are passages that describe how God cleared a path for the Hebrew people through war and displacement of other people and cultures. Isn’t that a contradiction?

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es, some passages speak in those terms, especially the Book of Joshua and some of the psalms. The Scriptures forbid any physical representations of God, but they are full of mental images applied to God (king, father, mother, warrior, builder, etc.). Any one of those images can be mistakenly absolutized to the exclusion of all the other mental images. The Bible as a whole takes a both/and approach where some people would prefer an either/or style.

When the Hebrew people crossed the Jordan River into the land God had promised, they did not find the land empty. By war and other means, they established themselves among several gentile groups. The Book of Joshua may give the impression that the Hebrews wiped everyone else out.

If that were true, the Book of Judges would make no sense because God sent the Hebrews judges as temporary leaders to free them from oppressive pagan neighbors.

The Bible needs to be accepted as a whole, as God’s best self-revelation except for the person of Jesus Christ. We cannot enlarge whatever suits our preferences and minimize the parts that challenge us.

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REALMOFHISTORY.COM

Father Pat welcomes your questions!

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Pat McCloskey, OFM

es, laypeople may give the types of blessings that you describe. Extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, for example, can bless people who come up at Mass with arms crossed over the chest, usually indicating that they are not Roman Catholics. Anyone can offer a blessing at the start of a meal or at its conclusion. The same is true for visiting the sick or celebrating someone’s birthday.

I once visited an Irish American household where each person was blessed with holy water before leaving that house. Such blessings remind everyone that God is the author of all life.

Because some blessings are more public, they are normally reserved for priests, deacons, or bishops. Ordinarily, one of them is the Church’s official witness at a wedding or presides at a funeral outside Mass, but the local bishop can designate a properly trained layperson to be the Church’s witness in either of those situations. The blessing of churches, altars, chalices, and patens is normally done by a bishop.

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Quick Questions and Answers

ST. ANTHONY

BREAD s

How can I fully convince myself and others that “Jesus is the only way to God”?

FRANK JASPER, OFM

The integrity of your life is the best way. Cardinal Emmanuel Suhard of Paris (d. 1949) once wrote: “To be a witness does not consist in engaging in propaganda nor even in stirring people up, but in being a living mystery. It means to live in such a way that one’s life would not make sense if God did not exist.”

Unfortunately, the lives of some Christians might make perfect sense if God did not exist because God is more an ornament in their lives rather than the central focus.

Does the Catholic faith believe that for the end of time (or the world) to occur the Holy Land must be in the control of the Jews?

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.

It does not believe that. The Holy See officially recognizes the State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, but it does not regard control of that territory by either of them as crucial to the end of time.

The term Holy Land once included parts of what is now Jordan and reached its greatest expansion under King Solomon almost 10 centuries before Jesus was born.

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.

Several catacombs in Rome, such as the one pictured here, have paintings of biblical scenes, some from the Old Testament and others from the New Testament. In the Eastern Empire, we have written references to icons of Mary and other saints already in the fourth century. In general, statues came later, probably because pagans so often had statues of their gods and goddesses.

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:

Recently a priest refused to give me Communion on the tongue. Does he have a right to do that? What about priests who discourage people from kneeling when they receive the Eucharist?

No, the priest does not have the right to insist that anyone receive Communion in the hand. In a line of people waiting to receive Communion, the person who insists on kneeling down may create a safety hazard for someone who doesn’t realize that the person previously standing in line has now decided to kneel down. I have seen people almost fall under these circumstances.

Can a good person who doesn’t attend Mass regularly go to heaven?

REALMOFHISTORY.COM

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Where and when did the custom of having statues of Mary and the other saints begin?

Only God knows a person’s heart perfectly and decides that. Attending Mass regularly has a great value in itself; it does not, however, guarantee that this person has allowed God’s ways to permeate his or her life.

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 | November 2018 • 11

SPIRITOFST.FRANCIS “In meditation we find the strength to bring Christ to birth in ourselves and others.”

—St. Charles Borromeo

FRANCISCAN WORLD

St. Barbara Province

By Pat McCloskey, OFM

ST. CHARLES BORROMEO

His uncle, Pope Pius IV, later named him secretary of state. Only at the age of 27 was Charles able to become Milan’s full-time archbishop.

He zealously implemented the reforms of the recently concluded Council of Trent, especially making pastoral visits, encouraging religious education, and founding many charitable works. He was also a a member of the Secular Franciscan Order.

Charles Borromeo was canonized 26 years after he died.

His feast day is November 4.

—Pat McCloskey, OFM

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

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f the 21 missions established by St. Junipero Serra and his confreres between 1769 and 1823, only Mission Santa Barbara has been in the hands of the friars continuously. Two of the other original missions are staffed by the Order of Friars Minor (OFM).

The missions were secularized in 1834 and in most cases sold off before the United States acquired California in 1850. Mission Santa Barbara became an apostolic college to train missionaries and was the residence of Francisco Garcia Diego y Moreno, the first Franciscan bishop of Baja and Alta California.

The California friars joined Sacred Heart Province in 1885 and continued to work in parishes while serving Native Americans and Spanish-speaking Catholics in California and Arizona. They later founded Franciscan Communications, the first major OFM presence on radio, TV, and film. It later became part of Franciscan Media in Cincinnati.

In 1896, the friars became a Commissariate of Sacred Heart Province and were established as St. Barbara Province in 1915, headquartered in Oakland.

This province’s friars established missions in China and in the Philippines. The Franciscan School of Theology at Mission San Luis Rey is affiliated with the University of San Diego.

John Vaughn, general minister between 1979 and 1991, has perhaps been the most wellknown friar of this province.

ST. ANTHONY STORIES

The Treasure Chest

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t. Anthony found me through the intercessions of my mother. Many of her days were spent in prayer to him for a child, a friend, a sick person—even finding a four-leaf clover. I was so grieved and angry by her death at an early age that, in despair, I turned from my faith.

In 2014, I was drawn to a chest that hadn’t been opened in years. When I lifted the lid, her St. Anthony prayer book, tattered and worn, was on the top. I shed tears for the first time in 24 years. Her prayers for me had never stopped. I returned to my faith, my family, and my childhood parish, and now I have a growing Franciscan spirituality. Thank you, Mom. And thank you, St. Anthony, for finding me.

—Sylvia Talkington

12 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

PHOTO COURTESY OF FATHER MICHAEL HIGGINS, TOR

AS A SEMINARIAN at the age of 22, Charles Borromeo was appointed cardinal deacon and administrator of the Archdiocese of Milan.

Graduation day at the Franciscan School of Theology, located at Mission San Luis Rey, is always a very happy occasion.

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He was one of the Archdiocese of Milan’s greatest shepherds.

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“This is a tradition based on the absolute love of God.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF FATHER MICHAEL HIGGINS, TOR

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he words of St. Francis of Assisi in his 19th Admonition serve as a guiding light in Father Michael Higgins’ life: “What a person is before God, that he is and nothing else.”

Between his time serving in the US Army in Vietnam and his current position as the president of the Franciscan School of Theology (FST), the path Christ has taken him on has been curvy and challenging.

Father Mike was born in Boston, Massachusetts—the second of five boys. His dad was in the Navy, so he and his brothers grew up either on or near naval bases. When he was 3, they moved to Naples, Italy, for six months and then to Norfolk, Virginia; San Diego, California; Athens, Georgia; Abington, Massachusetts; and finally to Framingham, also in Massachusetts.

It was there that he graduated from high school in June of 1969 and then entered the US Army two weeks later.

During his time in the Army, he served for 13 months as a radar repairman. As for many Vietnam vets, the homecoming experience was rather difficult. For Father Mike, it was a time to reassess everything he had ever been taught about God and the Catholic faith. With the guidance of a spiritual director, he answered the call to enter the religious life as a member of the Third Order Regular (TOR).

This wasn’t something completely out of the blue for him, though, as he says he had “considered the priesthood and religious life since I was very young. The final decision came when I was 27 years old and after many years of prayer and discernment.” He finds the vowed religious life to be life-giving and fulfilling.

Since becoming a priest, he has been enriched by a wide variety of

Father Michael Higgins, TOR

opportunities, including teaching at the Franciscan University of Steubenville and St. Francis University, serving as director of novices for eight years, working with the Secular Franciscan Order for over 20 years, and holding positions as vicar general and minister general of the order.

“My 12 years in Rome—serving first as vicar general of my order and then as minister general—were the most challenging and most rewarding,” he remembers. In Rome, Father Mike was able to work with fellow TOR friars from around the world and get to know their ministries up close.

“It is an honor to play even a little part in FST’s commitment to celebrate the Franciscan intellectual tradition and to pass it on to a new generation of scholars and ministers,” he relates.

“This is a tradition that is based on the absolute love of God and the interrelatedness of all of creation.” It is a spirituality that best expresses his own walk with God, he adds.

Today, he is playing his part in keeping the commitment by serving as the president of FST on the grounds of the Old Mission San Luis Rey de Francia in Oceanside, California. The school is a part of the long-standing Franciscan presence in southern California and encourages students to participate in the great work of the mission and the adjacent parish.

In the likeness of Francis, Father Mike says: “Be who you are before God. Recognize that you are made in the image and likeness of Jesus. This is where true satisfaction comes—and not in how many degrees you have, how you look, or how successful the world thinks you are.”

—Erika Glover

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StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 13

SPIRITOFST.FRANCIS | NOTES FROM A FRIAR

by Friar Jeremy Harrington, OFM

A Spirit of Gratitude f your family comes together to share good food and happy memories, you are blessed.

Unfortunately, some family gatherings are stressful because of long-held grudges and a lack of forgiveness. But I don’t want to focus on only Thanksgiving Day itself but on being thankful every day as a basic virtue that can brighten our lives.

I tend to be a pretty happy guy. People tell me that I smile a lot. That comes as second nature to me because I count among my blessings a loving family and my fulfilling life as a Franciscan. I know that others carry many crosses, and I listen to their stories with compassion. But I’m convinced that being thankful can brighten a dark day.

Scientists have done research that shows grateful people sleep better and are healthier, happier, less depressed, less stressed, and have more positive ways of coping with difficulties.

Benedictine David Steindl-Rast writes about the practice of gratitude as a way of healing oneself and society. He takes an active role in “Network for Grateful Living” at Gratefulness.org, an interactive, online forum in which thousands from many countries participate. He sees gratitude as a remedy for the exploitation, oppression, and violence that plague our society. Thankfulness, he says, is also the heart of prayer.

THE LOVE OF GOD

Faith provides us with powerful reasons to be grateful. We recognize the Giver of all good things and trust in God, who loves us.

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“To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything he has given us—and he has given us everything,” Thomas Merton writes.

“Every breath we draw is a gift of his love; every moment of existence is a grace. Gratitude, therefore, takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.”

When we are mired in crisis, a spirit of gratitude can help us. It can prompt us to go deeper to the foundation on which we can stand.

Toward the end of his life, St. Francis was in pain from the wounds on his body. He was going blind. But his faith in God’s presence was real, and from his heart he sang a hymn of thanks: “Praise be my Lord for Brother Sun, Sister Moon and the stars, Sister Water, Brother Fire, our Sister Mother Earth. . . . Praise and bless my Lord and give him thanks.”

A final thought from Meister Eckhart: “If the only prayer you said was thank you—that would be enough.”

I pray that you will have a great Thanksgiving!

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

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POINTSOFVIEW | EDITORIAL

Looking Back, Moving Forward As the new year draws closer, let us be a light in the darkness for others.

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his year didn’t start off well. On January 3, US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un Twitter-taunted each other over their respective nuclear capabilities. The world braced itself as the Doomsday Clock inched closer to “midnight.” Humanity hadn’t been so close to collapse since the Cold War. Cooler heads prevailed, thank God, but 2018 was just getting started.

In February, we faced the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed, becoming the deadliest high school shooting in US history. In April, it was discovered that some 87 million Facebook users were hacked by Cambridge Analytica. In May, the country faced a humanitarian crisis (and worldwide scorn) when more than 2,300 children were separated from their families after crossing the US southern border. The images of crying children in detention camps are emblazoned on our hearts still.

The rest of the year brought us no shortage of the unfortunate, from plane crashes to sex scandals to Roseanne Barr. But we’re still grateful. We have to be. In this season of gratitude, as a staff looking back at a tumultuous year, the following events gave our hearts a lift. #MeToo at 1. It would be inaccurate to say that sexual misconduct in Hollywood started (or ended) with Harvey Weinstein. The vulnerable have been targeted in Tinseltown since silent films. But in 2017, a band of brave and righteously angry female actors took a simple hashtag and elevated it to a global movement and a rallying cry for equality. Male executives in the industry and beyond were put on alert. The rest of us are still in awe.

Survivors of Clergy Abuse. When US Catholics learned in August of a Pennsylvania grand jury’s report documenting priestly abuse of over 1,000 minors, it was like Boston revisited. Only a few shards of light could be found at that time: among them, the survivors who came forward and the angry religious who spoke out against the sins of the Church they love. As Jesuit Father Patrick Gilger wrote in a Vox article after the scandal broke, “I actually don’t feel that the bishops betrayed my trust, because they’ve never had it,” a sentiment shared by many.

First Responders. From the mass shooting at Texas’ Santa Fe High School in May to Hurricane Florence in September, our first line of defense has always been the brave women and men who face these unimaginable disasters head-on.

Such bravery can only be described as God-given. Let us give thanks to the first responders who run into a crisis, fighting the very human instinct to run from it.

Young Activists. School shootings have become a political land mine, but this is so much deeper than a constitutional amendment. At its heart, it’s a right-to-life issue. The young people who survived the Parkland shooting, in particular Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg, helped to organize the March for Our Lives rally in Washington, DC, for gun control earlier this year, and dared our elected officials to do more than pray. Although they were crudely labeled “crisis actors” by conspiracy theorists, the indignation of these young people is no act. They breathe life into 1 Timothy 4:12: “Let no one have contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe.”

Catholic Charities. The Rio Grande branch of Catholic Charities started Humanitarian Crisis Relief to address the influx of immigrants crossing our borders. Located at Sacred Heart Church in McAllen, Texas, the center provides, according to its website, “a place for the countless men, women, children, and infant refugees to rest, have a warm meal, a shower, and change into clean clothing, as well as receive medicine and other supplies, before continuing onto their journey.” At a time when the immigration crisis has divided our nation, we are humbled by the work of Catholic Charities. Their numbers are stunning: As of 2015, they have assisted over 23,000 individuals.

Our Audience. Where would we be without the readers of our printed products, such as Franciscan Media books and this magazine? Even beyond our print family, those who engage with our social channels, our websites, and our e-newsletters, such as Minute Meditations and Saint of the Day, make up a vast, rich tapestry for which we are proud and grateful. From the smallest tweet to the most robust of web features, we have you in mind as we share the spirit of our founder.

The Franciscan Family. In this opulent and often grotesque century, living a life devoted to poverty and caring for the “least of us” must be a challenge. But the men and women who have given their lives to this calling still inspire us. Sts. Francis and Clare were revolutionaries—and they started a fire. It burns still. Their charism has become our charism.

A quote often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi is, “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” There’s no evidence he wrote those words, but they are so integrally Franciscan that it doesn’t matter. As we look back on the year—and as we move closer to the next—let us be a light in the darkness for others.

—Christopher Heffron StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 15

St. Francis and US Veterans

At the Franciscan Renewal Center in Arizona, veterans find a place to work through traumas that damaged their minds—and their souls.

Story and photography by Nancy Wiechec

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n Assisi, there’s a statue of St. Francis like no other. There’s DESERT OASIS no tonsure, no brown robe, no birds, no halo. Many Located in metro Phoenix on the site of a former dude visitors and pilgrims don’t at first recognize this bronze of an ranch, the Franciscan Renewal Center has long served as an armored soldier on his horse as the saint at all. oasis, a place to reflect, heal, and learn. It was established by The statue depicts a turning point Franciscan friars in 1951 under the in the year 1204. Francis was on his name Casa de Paz y Bien (Home of way to fight in the Crusades. He was Peace and Good). To many, it is simply young, about 23. Two years earlier, known as the Casa (TheCasa.org), an he had fought in a battle between his integral part of the local community hometown of Assisi and neighboring attracting members and support from Perugia and was captured and impristhe surrounding area. oned for a year until his father paid One of those drawn to the center’s a hefty ransom. Afterward, Francis charisms—spiritual growth, healsuffered a long illness. Scholars believe ing, transformation, and service to he was left hurt and broken, possibly others—is Dean Pedrotti, a 30-year suffering physical ailments as well as veteran of the Phoenix fire departwhat we know today as post-traumatic ment. Now both retired, Araman and stress disorder (PTSD). By joining the Pedrotti are part of a small group that Crusades, Francis might have wanted facilitates the Casa’s outreach ministry to prove he was a worthy soldier, but to veterans as well as to the families of on his ride there, he received a divine veterans. message and came to realize that his “I learned when I was a paramedic aspirations as a knight were not to be that one out of every four homeless accomplished by the sword. He turned men was a Vietnam War veteran,” around and headed back to Assisi.

Pedrotti says. “At about the same time, Today, military veterans are finding I was a member of the Franciscan a compelling and relatable figure in St. A mural of St. Francis welcomes veterans in need of Renewal Center, and I came to realFrancis. The story of the soldier who ize there’s a spirituality piece to the healing at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Arizona. became the eminent figure for peace veteran’s experience that was not being and humility has been especially transformative for those addressed.” involved with veterans programs at the Franciscan Renewal The Casa’s own study on the subject showed a “lack of Center in Arizona. available spiritual programs in the Valley [metropolitan “I consider him my 800-year-old friend,” says Terry Phoenix] to meet the needs of service members, veterans, Araman, a combat medic in the Vietnam War and a leading and their families.” The study said that one aspect that is advocate for veterans in Arizona. “He’s still very much alive typically “overlooked or conflated” in a veteran’s experience to me.” is that of moral injury.

16 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

Following a letter bomb attack in his native country of South Africa, Anglican priest Father Michael Lapsley founded Healing of Memories workshops as a way to restore dignity and foster reconciliation among those damaged by violence.

StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 17

The Franciscan Renewal Center, also called the Casa, exudes a sense of peace and calm. With its starkly beautiful desert surroundings, statues of St. Francis of Assisi, and architecture that resembles a mission, the center has an immediate and powerful visual impact on visitors. When veterans set foot in this holy and restorative place, they find refuge and camaraderie with others who know all too well that war shatters bodies and souls.

MORAL INJURY

Hampshire College humanities professor Robert Meagher, who studies and writes about the moral injuries of war, released a compendium of essays on the topic earlier this year. War and Moral Injury: A Reader calls moral injury the “signature wound” of today’s wars, but also says it’s as old as the human record of war. Meagher defines moral injury as “the transgression, the violation, of what is right, what one has long held to be sacred—a core belief or moral code— and thus wounding or, in the extreme, mortally wounding the psyche, soul, or one’s humanity.”

Other scholars and Christian counselors say war experiences can lead to spiritual injury, especially for those who have been taught that human beings are made in God’s image to serve and love God. Attacking a person in war means attacking the divine within that person, a moral transgression that can lead to spiritual brokenness.

Unabated feelings of guilt and shame are among the signs of moral or spiritual injury.

In 2010, Pedrotti and others from the Casa met with veterans’ groups and began to ponder how faith communities could respond to the lack of programs addressing these issues. They eventually connected with Father Michael Lapsley, an Anglican priest from South Africa, and his Institute for Healing of Memories.

18 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

SHARING STORIES

Father Lapsley was gravely disfigured in 1990 by a letter bomb during his work against apartheid. Battling his own demons and those of a country fractured by racial division, he went on to found Healing of Memories workshops in South Africa.

The workshops invited people to share their personal battle stories with others who had similar experiences, promoting healing and the restoration of human dignity. The aim was national reconciliation in a country divided by race, social class, and ethnicity.

With success in South Africa, the workshops moved into other countries including the United States, where they have been offered to veterans at the Franciscan Renewal Center, as well as other places in Arizona, California, Hawaii, New York, and Minnesota.

“Whether a war has been a totally unjust war or a justified war, war damages human beings,” Father Lapsley says. “And the fact that people get ill because of what they’ve been part of is not a sign that they’re crazy; it’s a sign of the fullness of their humanity.”

Father Lapsley discovered tremendous potential for healing when people with similar experiences are able to relate their painful stories to each other in an environment that is safe and nonjudgmental.

FINDING HEALING

US Army veteran David Campbell suffered a traumatic brain injury in an explosion during Operation Desert Storm, the 1991 coalition forces’ attack on Iraq. The combat engineer also endured PTSD and problems with his bones and joints.

One of his legs had to be amputated. The US government told him he had been exposed to a mustard agent and depleted uranium in Iraq.

Campbell recounted his story to Catholic News Service a few years ago. He said he “spent 20 years drinking and drugging” to get by, to avoid nightmares and thoughts about the war. “My way of coping was [using] alcohol and drugs.”

In 2010, Campbell made a decision not to continue on a destructive path. He began Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy to help with his PTSD symptoms and through his therapist came into contact with the Casa’s Pedrotti and Michael Wold—a Navy veteran who coordinates the Healing of Memories workshops in Arizona.

In 2013, Campbell attended one of the first workshops given at the Casa. Now he is a Healing of Memories facilitator, and he and his service dog, Caleb, work with the Mesa Police Department helping officers identify signs of PTSD and the best ways to approach veterans in crisis situations.

One figure Campbell was introduced to at the Casa was St. Francis.

“I love to hear his story,” Campbell says. “He was an

injured soldier. He was a combat vet. He also was a prisoner of war. He dealt with his own demons, the same demons we [veterans] all deal with. . . . I like that guy. . . . I like what he’s been through; I like what he’s come through.”

Campbell’s number-one message to hurting veterans is: “Healing is possible.”

UNKNOWN INJURY

Sharyn Conway served in the Navy for nine years and was at the forward operating base in Kuwait in March 2003 when US Marines began their march toward Baghdad at the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She suffered a head injury, but to this day does not know how it happened. The injury revealed no external damage, only internal bleeding. The trauma left her with memory loss and problems speaking and standing. PTSD took its toll as well. She had horrifying flashbacks, which she says have diminished with therapy.

“I’ve been suffering for a long time,” says the veteran, now a middle school educator who teaches English to sixth graders in Goodyear, Arizona.

“Those of us who have been to war, we all suffer from survivor’s guilt,” Conway says. “We suffer from doing things that our parents and others taught us were wrong. . . . Most of us have committed the unforgivable sin. . . . We know forgiveness is out there, but we feel unworthy to accept it, to receive it.”

David Campbell, a US Army veteran, pets his trusty service dog, Caleb. The pair help Mesa police officers when dealing with veterans in crisis situations.

StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 19

LEFT: Terry Araman, a Vietnam War veteran, stands behind an image of a statue of a dejected St. Francis that captures the saint’s profound sense of failure after his aspirations of becoming a knight fell apart. RIGHT: Many veterans who found healing at the Casa have gone on to help others mend.

Conway says she has never been a particularly religious person, but a few years ago, she got an unusual call. Someone offered to pay her way to Italy for a pilgrimage. “I remember thinking, This sounds like a scam.”

The call was from the Franciscan Renewal Center, where Conway once gave a presentation with her service dog.

There was a donation available to pay her way and half her husband’s way to go to Assisi with other veterans.

Like many who travel to Assisi, Conway saw that equestrian statue of St. Francis with his head hung low for the first time. “I could feel those emotions he’s expressing, those emotions of coming home and not quite fitting in. I understood that,” she recalls.

The veteran, who knew little of St. Francis in the past— “He’s that guy you see with all the animals, right?”—says she now firmly believes that because St. Francis overcame his anguish, she will too. “I just need to keep working at it.”

CHAPLAIN CONRAD

In Assisi, Conway also found an understanding friend and confessor in Franciscan Father Conrad Targonski, the pilgrimage host, who had served 22 years as a chaplain for the Marines. Father Conrad retired from the Marine Corps Combat Center in California in 2010 and now works as a university chaplain. He leads Assisi pilgrimages for veterans and holds St. Francis retreats at the Casa and elsewhere for veterans unable to travel there.

Father Conrad was a supervisory chaplain during Operation Iraqi Freedom and served soldiers on the front lines in the “very bloody and long-standing” battles in Fallujah, Iraq.

When he looks at the statue of St. Francis on his horse, he also knows well what Francis’ “dazed look” is about. “That’s how I was when I got back from Iraq,” he says.

“When I came back, my superior asked me what I wanted to do next. I said that I wanted to be a greeter at Walmart—I wasn’t kidding. I wanted to do something to process this whole idea of war and to see people as people once again.”

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ANOTHER FIGHTER

Maria Gastelum is a fighter—a rather quiet and reflective person, but very much determined.

In 2003, while serving as an Army medic in a Baghdad military clinic, Gastelum fell ill from a preexisting condition and was set to be sent back to the United States for treatment. Before returning, however, she attended a party with other members of her unit where she was sexually assaulted and raped by a serviceman. Gastelum received an honorable discharge for medical reasons in 2005 and moved to Phoenix, where much of her family lives. PTSD stemming from the assault weighed heavy on her, and in 2009, she sought help from the Veterans Administration. A few years later, she heard about the Healing of Memories retreat for veterans, and she immediately called for information.

Gastelum attended two Healing of Memories workshops and two Walking with St. Francis retreats at the Franciscan Renewal Center. She says counseling had helped her with her interpersonal relationships and with her behavior, but at the retreats, she discovered healing for her spirit.

“They provided a genuine and safe place for [veterans] to tell our stories,” she says. “That’s so important. To heal you have to feel understood and safe. I realized that my spirit was damaged. We have a physical body we have to take care of, but also our spirit, our soul, needs care.” After attending Healing of Memories, she says she “felt like I had left something behind. I felt more grounded.”

Gastelum is now a certified chaplain pursuing a master’s degree in divinity. Her goal is to form a nonprofit organization that helps veterans with healing from an evangelical perspective.

VETERANS KNOW

Araman knows well the struggles veterans face coming home. When he returned from Vietnam, he didn’t have friends or family to go to. With discord in the United States over the Vietnam War, he says many people looked at servicemen returning from the war with anger and cynicism.

“It got down to the point where I had 37 cents in my pocket,” he remembers.

Homeless for a time, Araman eventually got back to school and worked in the medical field. After college, he worked in the corporate world. When he retired, he went to work with homeless veterans. He helped establish MANA House in central Phoenix eight years ago. The residential facility—its acronym standing for Marines, Army, Navy, and Air Force—at first took in five veterans. MANA House now is a full-fledged transitional living program and outreach center that falls under the umbrella of Catholic Charities.

This year, MANA House relocated to a new facility with 76 spaces for veterans, getting them off the streets and helping them back into mainstream life.

Araman works with many veterans’ groups and organizations, including the Casa’s veterans ministry.

In 2016, he was inducted into the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society for his dedication to “making homeless veterans whole again.”

He says part of the inspiration for his work comes from St. Francis.

“He’s one of my lifetime heroes,” he says. “I really need to make sure I’m doing something positive with the time I have left here on earth.”

Nancy Wiechec is a journalist and photographer who focuses on news and religion. Based in Arizona, she has written for numerous national Catholic publications, including this one.

RIGHT: Serving as an Army medic in Iraq, Maria Gastelum treated many soldiers’ physical wounds at a Baghdad military clinic. The wounds she suffered were of a different, invisible sort. After being sexually assaulted by a serviceman, she returned to the United States and eventually sought healing at the Casa.

‘Just Listen’ Although healing workshops and St. Francis retreats are at the core of the Franciscan Renewal Center’s veterans ministry, it is a multifaceted program. The Casa ministry also provides household goods and support to homeless veterans as they are placed into permanent housing, moral injury education for those who are not veterans, and community engagement events, such as an annual Veterans Day picnic and social gatherings for veterans who have attended Casa programs. There are new spiritual companionship groups for male and female veterans, and Dean Pedrotti and others continue to speak to first responders about moral injury and reach out to other faith communities to share the Casa’s veterans ministry story. They also work to bring in funding so that veterans can attend programs without cost to them. Catholic Charities is funding two Healing of Memories workshops at the Casa in the spring.

When people approach Pedrotti and ask how they can help, he tells them, “Engage and just listen.”

He says civilians need to ask veterans: “What was it like? We welcome you home. Please tell us what you did on our behalf. Don’t hold back.” Then, he says, we need only to listen.

“When veterans speak, that is a sacred moment,” Pedrotti relates. “Part of our responsibility as civilians is to become good listeners. There is grace and healing each time a veteran speaks.”

StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 21

Saints Next Door

BROOKEBECKER/FOTOSEARCH

By Diane M. Houdek

22 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

It’s easy to view saints as distant, historical figures that we can only try to imitate.

Pope Francis encourages us to consider as examples the quietly holy people in our lives who inspire us to a deeper spiritual life.

BROOKEBECKER/FOTOSEARCH

D

o you live next door to a saint? Pope Francis thinks you do. And he thinks maybe your neighbor does too. Could your grandmother be a saint? What about your college adviser who encouraged you to follow your creative interests? Or your first boss who persuaded you that you had the skills necessary to apply for a new position in the company?

Then there’s the person working two offices down the hall from you. Did it ever occur to you that he or she might be a saint?

Pope Francis takes the “cloud of witnesses” from Hebrews 12:10 far beyond what we normally think of as the “communion of saints.” In his latest exhortation, “Rejoice and Be Glad” (“Gaudete et Exsultate”), he writes: “These witnesses may include our own mothers, grandmothers, or other loved ones [cf. 2 Tm 1:5]. Their lives may not always have been perfect, yet even amid their faults and failings they kept moving forward and proved pleasing to the Lord” (3).

Notice he doesn’t say we need to be perfect to have a shot at sainthood. Nor does he give a list of rules and guidelines to follow. For Pope Francis, as it was for Jesus, it’s about continually moving toward our place in the kingdom of God. We are the living stones that make up that kingdom.

It is through small steps and faithful love that we fulfill our destiny.

The title “Rejoice and Be Glad,” taken from the beatitudes, refers to the Gospel call to recognize the often unexpected and surprising ways that our lives help build up the kingdom. The beatitudes are as revolutionary today as they were at the time of Jesus. It’s not the movers and shakers of society who are blessed by God, but those who quietly and humbly seek out God’s will and put it into practice. The pope reminds us that this doesn’t mean we’re all called to be superheroes. We’re called to become saints in the very ordinariness of our human lives.

The pope writes: “I like to contemplate the holiness present in the patience of God’s people: in those parents who raise their children with immense love, in those men and women who work hard to support their families, in the sick, in elderly religious who never lose their smile. In their daily perseverance I see the holiness of the Church militant. Very often it is a holiness found in our next-door neighbors, those who, living in our midst, reflect God’s presence. We might call them ‘the middle class of holiness’” (7).

MEETING AT THE CROSSROADS OF LIFE

We can all think of people who have made a significant difference in the major decisions and directions of our lives.

It may or may not have seemed dramatic at the time, but looking back we can see that words of encouragement or admonition changed the path we were on and set us toward a new life.

Pope Francis suggests that these people, too, are part of our personal communion of saints: “Certainly the most decisive turning points in world history are substantially codetermined by souls whom no history book ever mentions. And we will only find out about those souls to whom we owe the decisive turning points in our personal lives on the day when all that is hidden is revealed” (8).

Sometimes we don’t have to wait until that final day. It’s good to take a few moments from time to time to look back at our lives and reflect on those turning points and the people who helped them happen. I think of the English professor I had during my freshman year of college who pushed me to realize I couldn’t coast through college the way I had in high school. I think of Molly, my roommate in graduate school, who told me that my singing voice was timid, not flat. This led to several delightful years singing in my parish choir. I think of the many people who listened with compassion through years of working through the ordinary problems of growing into independent adulthood.

For some people it might be advice about marriage and a family. For others it could be a daring change of career or the decision to enter religious life.

INSPIRATION, NOT IMITATION

One obstacle many people encounter when they hear this challenge to become holy is thinking they have to imitate the lives of the canonized saints. They mistake the particulars of another person’s life for those traits essential to holiness.

Martin Buber recounts this Hasidic tale: “A rabbi named Zusya died and went to stand before the judgment seat of God. As he waited for God to appear, he grew nervous thinking about his life and how little he had done. He began to imagine that God was going to ask him, ‘Why weren’t you Moses, or why weren’t you Solomon, or why weren’t you David?’ But when God appeared, the rabbi was surprised.

God simply asked, ‘Why weren’t you Zusya?’”

StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 23

“This should excite and encourage us to give our all and to embrace that unique plan that God willed for each of us from eternity: ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.’”

–Jeremiah 1:5, quoted in section 13

Mother Teresa told her admirers that instead of coming to Calcutta they should stay in their own homes and towns and do small things with great love. And St. Francis said to his brothers at the end of his life: “I have done what is mine to do. May Christ show you the work that is yours.”

While we all know people who are doing extraordinary things, Pope Francis reminds us that we can grow in holiness by living our daily lives well: “We are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves. Are you called to the consecrated life? Be holy by living out your commitment with joy. Are you married?

Be holy by loving and caring for your husband or wife, as Christ does for the Church. Do you work for a living? Be holy by laboring with integrity and skill in the service of your brothers and sisters. Are you a parent or grandparent?

Be holy by patiently teaching the little ones how to follow Jesus. Are you in a position of authority? Be holy by working for the common good and renouncing personal gain” (14).

24 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

THE MOST ORDINARY PATH TO HOLINESS

Few popes have been better than Pope Francis at putting his advice into concrete, ordinary examples. He continues to do this, writing: “This holiness to which the Lord calls you will grow through small gestures. Here is an example: A woman goes shopping, she meets a neighbor and they begin to speak, and the gossip starts. But she says in her heart: ‘No, I will not speak badly of anyone.’ This is a step forward in holiness. Later, at home, one of her children wants to talk to her about his hopes and dreams. And even though she is tired, she sits down and listens with patience and love. That is another sacrifice that brings holiness. Later she experiences some anxiety, but recalling the love of the Virgin Mary, she takes her rosary and prays with faith—yet another path of holiness. Later still, she goes out onto the street, encounters a poor person, and stops to say a kind word to him. One more step” (16).

When we get impatient with what seems like one step forward and two steps back in our spiritual lives, Pope Francis is there to remind us that small steps can carry us forward on our journey just as far as great leaps. It might take a little longer, but we’ll reach our destination all the same. And he reminds us that we’re never alone on this journey, no matter how far we have to go or how long it takes.

“Do not be afraid of holiness. It will take away none of your energy, vitality, or joy.

On the contrary, you will become what the Father had in mind when he created you, and you will be faithful to your deepest self. To depend on God sets us free from every form of enslavement and leads us to recognize our great dignity” (32).

TOP: BRADCALKINS/FOTOSEARCH; BOTTOM: CNS

It is in this spirit that Pope Francis reminds us God has a plan for each of us. He writes: “We should not grow discouraged before examples of holiness that appear unattainable.

There are some testimonies that may prove helpful and inspiring, but that we are not meant to copy, for that could even lead us astray from the one specific path that the Lord has in mind for us. The important thing is that each believer discern his or her own path, that they bring out the very best of themselves, the most personal gifts that God has placed in their hearts [cf. 1 Cor 12:7], rather than hopelessly trying to imitate something not meant for them” (11).

Carry these words of Pope Francis with you as you reflect on where you’ve been and where you’re going: “May you come to realize what that word is, the message of Jesus that God wants to speak to the world by your life. Let yourself be transformed. Let yourself be renewed by the Spirit, so that this can happen, lest you fail in your precious mission. The Lord will bring it to fulfillment despite your mistakes and missteps, provided that you do not abandon the path of love but remain ever open to his supernatural grace, which purifies and enlightens” (24).

We may not be officially recognized by the Church through beatification or canonization. But the feasts we celebrate this month remind us of the many saints who have devoted their lives to God but have no special feast day on the Church calendar. All Saints’ Day on November 1 celebrates all those who have lived according to the beatitudes. All Souls’ Day on November 2 reminds us to pray for those who continue their journey after death.

But the pope assures us that the quest for sainthood is a worthy venture for us all: “Do not be afraid to set your sights higher, to allow yourself to be loved and liberated by God. Do not be afraid to let yourself be guided by the Holy Spirit.

Holiness does not make you less human, since it is an encounter between your weakness and the power of God’s grace. For, in the words of León Bloy, when all is said and done, ‘the only great tragedy in life is not to become a saint’” (34).

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Diane M. Houdek is the director of content at Franciscan Media. She is the author of Lent with St. Francis, Advent with St. Francis, and the upcoming Simple Gifts: Daily Reflections for Advent.

Who Are the Saints in Your Life?

When I think of saints in my life, it’s ordinary people who are doing amazing things to help others. John drives to several stores every day picking up food that would have otherwise been thrown out, and he keeps several food pantries supplied. Sue and Bill own a rental house that they lease well below market value to tenants who need a break. They’re setting aside some money from the rent their current tenant pays because they’re planning to sell the house, and they want to give him a deposit for his next place.

Amy lost her son two weeks after his graduation from college and set up two scholarships at his alma mater for students in sociology and photography. She also volunteers once a week at the mental health unit of a local hospital because of the care they gave her son during his struggles with depression. Steve and Becca lost a baby to a heart defect and went on to foster two at-risk children to give them a chance at a better life.

TOP: BRADCALKINS/FOTOSEARCH; BOTTOM: CNS

Katie spent several weeks in South Sudan with the Comboni Missionaries helping deliver equipment for simple hand-drilled wells and water purification to the sprawling refugee camps there. Paula crochets sleeping mats for homeless individuals out of plastic grocery bags. John owns an electric company and believes it’s important to donate a percentage of professional services to various groups and individuals. These are only the first examples that come to mind. I’m sure you could come up with a similar list.

None of these people would think that they were doing anything out of the ordinary or anything that anyone else wouldn’t do if they saw the same need. And all of them think that they could be doing more. They understand the words of St. Francis, when he said to his brothers at the end of his life, “Let us begin to do good, for until now we have done nothing.”

For more inspiration from Pope Francis’ “Gaudete et Exsultate,” read it in its entirety at Vatican.va under the section “Apostolic Exhortations.”

• Does not change your print subscription • Easy to register at: StAnthonyMessenger.org

Want more inspiration?

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

FranciscanMedia.org StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 25

POINTSOFVIEW | AT HOME ON EARTH

By Kyle Kramer

Finding Our Way Safely Home

Kyle Kramer

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

Safe home” is a wonderful Irish blessing. We say it to our departing guests, in hopes that they may navigate the perils of the journey and arrive back home, the place where they will be sheltered and safe. What if, however, you discover that your home isn’t the safe haven you thought it was?

That has certainly happened for us Catholics, learning once more that for the victims of sexual abuse by predator priests and enabling ecclesial hierarchs, the Church has not been the safe home they deserved. Lately, our political rhetoric and policies have made immigrants and other vulnerable groups feel that this country is not a safe home. Even our rock-solid, reliable earth is becoming less easily habitable. Our human activities are intensifying natural disasters and reducing the resilience of the planet’s biological systems.

It may seem a stretch to lump together clergy sexual abuse, politics, and environmental concerns. But if you pull on any thread in God’s creation, you’ll find it inseparably attached to every other thread. Some of the same pathologies at work in sexual abuse are also present in the abuse of those “not like us” and even abuse of the earth.

The Church must be a safe place for all its members. It continues to face a reckoning in terms of clergy sexual abuse, not only to examine our policies and procedures, but also to take a long, hard look at the ecclesial culture and attitudes that have perpetuated such abuse. Honest, humble self-reflection coupled with real, tangible changes are the only things that will help the institutional Church to become worthy of the trust we place in it as a safe home for us pilgrims.

Likewise, our country and our planet must be safe homes for all people and other crea-

26 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

tures—now and in the future.

We’re at a similar reckoning point in these arenas as well.

We face difficult introspection and the need for radical change to our systems, attitudes, and behaviors.

Some movers and shakers among us may take on entire systems. Others of us may cultivate safe spaces on a much smaller scale. But all of us are called to take the sometimes perilous inward journey to the depths of our own hearts, from where all change stems.

There, in both our sinfulness and our belovedness, whispers the still, small voice of the One in whom we are always and forever safely at home.

HELPFUL

TIPS Time for a Checkup 1

Your Catholic diocese or archdiocese should sponsor a program that provides sexual abuse prevention training for parish staff and volunteers. Whatever your level of parish involvement, consider taking the training. It can be eye-opening.

2

Conduct a soul-searching review of your social media activity. Do you post or repost, tweet or retweet disparaging messages that may make other groups feel unsafe or unwelcome? Do you follow people who do?

3

What are your basic underlying attitudes toward the natural world around you— fear, curiosity, ignorance, apathy, wonder?

Take stock of how your attitudes shape your behaviors and choices that affect the health of our planet.

LEFT: COURTESY OF KYLE KRAMER; MIDDLE: LIGHTKEEPER/FOTOSEARCH

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For years our friars in Jamaica have worked to combat hunger and get kids to school.

Help the friars continue to serve the Jamaican people with our

new medical clinic!

LEFT: COURTESY OF KYLE KRAMER; MIDDLE: LIGHTKEEPER/FOTOSEARCH

Visit stanthony.org/clinic to learn more.

Fr. Colin King with the first delivery of supplies to the medical clinic!

Fr. Colin after a school graduation.

The Franciscan Friars, Province of St. John the Baptist 1615 Vine St., Cincinnati, OH 45202 • (513) 721-4700 StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 27

COOKING

WITH

CHEF LIDIA “Food is my connection,” says Lidia Bastianich, a cooking show star and restaurant owner. But it was her faith that spurred her on her journey.

TOP LEFT TO RIGHT: Lidia’s restaurant Felidia is famous for its authentic northern Italian fare. Behind the scenes, staff members prepare for the influx of evening diners. Lidia (left) shares the set of her cooking show with her grandchildren Lorenzo and Julia and her mother, Erminia. OPPOSITE PAGE: Lidia smiles proudly on the set of her PBS show, Lidia’s Kitchen. Her passion for cooking was born from her childhood in Europe and brought to fruition in the United States.

ake a stroll into Felidia on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and you will find a tasteful décor.

What strikes the visitor is how small the place is: just a few tables, like a space for a family get-together.

It’s 3 p.m. and the only patrons are European tourists occupying a table, engaged in a long repast complete with loud discussions. The Americans will be here for dinner later. The staff is getting ready behind the scenes.

Unlike many other Manhattan restaurants, there are no photos on the wall featuring celebrity patrons. But at the cash register are copies of My American Dream, the autobiography of cofounder Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, known to television viewers as Chef Lidia. The quiet restaurant, a place for well-off New Yorkers and visitors to enjoy exquisite, authentic northern Italian fare since 1981, is the product of a sometimes turbulent past, born out of sweat, tears, and near-bankruptcy.

But today those troubles seem to be in the distant past. Chef Lidia owns this restaurant, hosts her own PBS cooking show (Lidia’s Kitchen), and is the author of a series of popular cookbooks. And now her autobiography, released in April, describes her story, from Cold War refugee immigrant to successful food entrepreneur and philanthropist.

TASTING FREEDOM IN AMERICA

At a table for two, Chef Lidia, 71, describes why she decided to write her autobiography.

“I want to put it down for my children,” she says (she has two, Joseph and Tanya, both

28 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

PHOTO CREDIT COURTESY OF CHEF HERELIDIA/KERRY PARKER

T

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FELIDIA/CHEF LIDIA: LEFT: ANGELO TRANI; MIDDLE: FRONT OF HOUSE; RIGHT: MICHAEL HEINTZ

By Peter Feuerherd

StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 29

PHOTO CREDIT COURTESY OF CHEF HERELIDIA/KERRY PARKER

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FELIDIA/CHEF LIDIA: LEFT: ANGELO TRANI; MIDDLE: FRONT OF HOUSE; RIGHT: MICHAEL HEINTZ

Lidia’s love for cooking began with her family in Europe.

30 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

As a child, Lidia lived in what is now Croatia.

Lidia attended La Scuola Canossiana Catholic school in Trieste, Italy.

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHEF LIDIA/FAMILY ARCHIVES

Chef Lidia’s American Dream

PHOTO COURTESY OF FELIDIA/FRONT OF HOUSE

PHOTO COURTESY OF FELIDIA/FRONT OF HOUSE

contributors to the family business). of it,” she recalls while sipping She also wanted leave a record for mineral water at her restaurant more her five grandchildren as a way for than six decades later. them to relate to her struggles and While she marveled at the abununderstand that her success came dance of her new country, she still with much heavy lifting. longed for home. Remembering The autobiography developed her grandmother’s kitchen helped from her popular cookbooks. While her cope with the separation. In her it contains a wealth of personal cooking, she tried to recreate that details and a compelling narrative, it home-and-hearth experience. is itself a kind of cookbook. For Chef Lidia, no recipe is simply a collection FOOD MEANS FAMILY of ingredients. Each one has a story Food is more than a soundtrack behind it. for her life or a way to connect Food permeates nearly every with memories. It is also a spiritual scene of the book. She recounts the experience for Lidia that echoes her meals she smelled and ate at her Catholic roots. “Getting together at grandmother’s farmhouse in the for- Kale and Spaghetti Squash Carbonara (from the menu at the table with the family, it is a very mer Yugoslavia, a country wracked special place, not unlike the Last Felidia)

by World War II and the imposiSupper,” she says. It is a eucharistic tion of a Communist regime. Her book covers the politics image consistent with a Catholic worldview. that affected her family, but the details are of the ricotta and As recounted in her autobiography, Lidia prays regularly. other fresh cheeses, and warm milk from the family goat, She writes that, every night, “I spend a few minutes reflecting complete with the foam it created. And there was the sausage on my day and have a conversation with God. I thank him from a freshly slaughtered pig, as well as olive oil. for all the good things that happened on this day.” Included Lidia describes her wide-eyed New York arrival in 1958, are prayers of thanksgiving for her survival through a harwhen she was 11. The Empire State Building towered over rowing refugee experience and for the gift of her 97-year-old the skyline, well beyond anything she had ever seen in mother.

Europe. The food in 1950s America fascinated the newly Born in 1947 in what is now Croatia, Lidia was buffeted by the currents permeating postwar Europe. Her family arrived refugee. She marveled at Horn & Hardart’s, where the Automat produced food in abundance, seemingly out was ethnically Italian. Her father, Vittorio, owned a small business fixing trucks and cars. Erminia, her mother, was a of nowhere, for a bedazzled Lidia and her younger brother. teacher, uncomfortable with the allegiance she was expected Put a few coins in a slot, and out popped Jell-O, a phenomto show to the new government. That combination proved enon she could never have imagined in Europe. The young a target in the new Yugoslavia, intent on settling scores from Lidia grew to love baking cakes with Duncan Hines mixes the war and instituting Communism. and, later, eating 1960s-style TV dinners. Like a composer There was no room for her family in that new scheme. recognizing soundtracks, Lidia recounts food as the accomWith her father, mother, and brother, Lidia left for Italy, paniment of her life.

“The freedom of America kicked in. I couldn’t get enough residing for a few years in a makeshift refugee facility. “When

language and often longed for home.

They relocated again, to Queens, New York, settling in next to the rumblings of the subway tracks in the Astoria neighborhood. There, Lidia attended public school, and upon high school graduation, enrolled in Hunter College. To earn her way, she took jobs in restaurants, carefully taking mental notes of how food was prepared and the way the challenges of small businesses were met. One of her early jobs was with a bakery owned by the family of film star Christopher Walken, which employed both Lidia and her mother.

you have to flee, you have to for a reason,” she says.

The relocations proved difficult on them all. The adversity and dependency created strains. Her parents weren’t happy attempting to fight back against a regime that marginalized ethnic Italians. For a short time, her father was imprisoned by the Yugoslav regime.

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHEF LIDIA/FAMILY ARCHIVES

PHOTO COURTESY OF FELIDIA/FRONT OF HOUSE

PHOTO COURTESY OF FELIDIA/FRONT OF HOUSE

HELP FROM THE CHURCH

Once relocated to Italy, Lidia attended a Catholic school in Trieste.

She had the support of a teaching nun, Sister Lidia de Grandis, who befriended the 9-year-old. With her guidance, the young Lidia grew in Burrata Cheesecake (from the menu at Felidia) confidence and spiritual strength.

She learned about her Catholic faith, MARRIAGE PARTNERS, BUSINESS PARTNERS Then she met Felice, also an Italian immigrant who came a subject not available back in Yugoslavia. from Yugoslavia, who undertook an intense courtship. Her “We persevered because of the goodness of others,” she mother disapproved of the match with the older man, but recalls, noting how the family relied on agencies such as they were married in 1966, when she was 18 and he was in the Red Cross, Catholic Relief Services, and, when they his 30s. arrived in the United States, Catholic Charities. Her mother They honeymooned in Yugoslavia, as their old country kept track of the money the family received from Catholic Charities, and, after working and saving $1,500, she offered at the time was gradually becoming more open to the West.

After reconnecting with family, the couple returned to New to pay it back. Their social worker would have none of it.

York intent on establishing an American life for themselves.

Just keep reporting back about your progress in your new country, the family was told.

As a new bride, and while raising two children, Lidia continued to explore a restaurant business career. She and And there was much progress to report. The family relied on the informal Italian immigrant network when they setFelice opened a restaurant in Queens, with herself as the chef tled in northern New Jersey. Lidia’s mother and father were and her husband as the food supplier and front-of-the-store presence. The neighborhood restaurant became a hit, and able to land jobs, often with the help of their children, who learned English and were able to interpret for job interviews. soon they opened another establishment nearby. At the time, Americans associated Italian food with heavy sauces from Her mother eventually learned the language and began to thrive in her new country. It was a different story with her southern Italy combined with American ingredients. The father. Beaten down by the lower-status work he was forced northern Italian fare from their new restaurants was initially to do in the United States, he was never comfortable with the unfamiliar to American palates, but it quickly took off.

Erminia, Franco, Lidia, and Vittorio lived in the Astoria neighborhood in Queens, New York.

In 1958, Lidia and her family gathered for a photo in New Jersey.

Erminia (right) worked in a bakery owned by the family of actor Christopher Walken.

The building that became Felidia needed extensive renovation.

32 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

Lidia stands in front of her restaurant Felidia.

Lidia, Chuck Williams, and Julia Child (foreground) attend a book signing.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FELIDIA/ROSLAN & CAMPION

PHOTO COURTESY OF FELIDIA/KELLY CAMPBELL ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHEF LIDIA/FAMILY ARCHIVES

came to the city in 2008. She was After a few years of neighborasked to oversee dinner for the visithood success, the couple took a ing pontiff and many bishops and gamble. They sold the two Queens cardinals. restaurants to create a new establishThe accent was German for Pope ment in Manhattan. It was a jump Benedict, whose own mother had of only about 6 miles, but it meant worked as a chef. On the menu were breaking into the potentially lucrasauerkraut, goulash, and strudel. It tive yet highly competitive world was the pope’s birthday, and Lidia of Manhattan eateries. The move helped him with the American cusalmost bankrupted the couple, as tom of cutting the cake, guiding the they discovered that their new respope’s hand and carving out a slice. taurant, Felidia (named for the two She also cooked for Pope Francis of them), required extensive strucon his visit to New York in 2015. tural repairs. When they opened, Pope Francis is from Argentina, months later than planned, the first but Lidia focused on his culinary night included old neighbors from connections to his ancestral home Queens and the immigrant community they both relied on.

The main dining room of Felidia is an elegant setting for an in northern Italy. On the menu was fresh fish. She was told the pope was The restaurant took off, helped by exquisite dining experience. being careful about his diet, so the a favorable review in the New York fare was lean. What she remembers most about the meal was Times. Without intending to break through barriers, Lidia that Pope Francis spent 20 minutes of his visit in the kitchen became known as a prominent female chef in what had been talking to the staff. At the end of his visit, he blessed a rosary a male-dominated field. and asked the workers to pray for him.

Cooking for two popes caused her to see food once again FAMOUS CLIENTELE as a great equalizer. By sharing her special gift of food, she Through it all, food remained more than a business comsensed a closeness of spirit with the two men. modity. Lidia sees it as a connection, both to her family ties in Europe and to her television audiences. The television show, now taped in Connecticut, began after she appeared HARDSHIP SOFTENED BY CHARITY with Julia Child on a show in 1993. Chef Lidia soon began While her life has many such highlights, Lidia notes in her taping her own program out of the family home in Queens. autobiography some low points as well, such as her father’s Although nervous at first, she honed her television persona difficulty to establish connections in a new land, the strugby looking into the camera as if it were a friend coming over gle to open her Manhattan restaurant, and the intensity and to watch her pull together recipes. long hours of the restaurant business that often prevented Besides Julia Child, she became friendly with James Beard, her from participating in her children’s school activities. the late food writer. But the most famous people she has met After 31 years of marriage, she and her husband divorced are Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. in 1997. She briefly describes a marriage falling apart Through her charity work, Lidia connected with the papal because of the pressures of the food and restaurant business, ambassador to the United Nations before Pope Benedict something that consumed her at the time, and something

PHOTO COURTESY OF FELIDIA/ROSLAN & CAMPION

PHOTO COURTESY OF FELIDIA/KELLY CAMPBELL ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHEF LIDIA/FAMILY ARCHIVES

her older husband wanted to leave behind.

After the divorce, Lidia focused on forgiveness, which she describes as a potent medicine. “In forgiving, you liberate yourself, and I was ready to be liberated,” she writes. Felice died three years after the divorce at the age of 70.

Since then, Lidia has devoted much of her time to charity work and her family, including watching the development of her grandchildren. All, except one who opted for Harvard, graduated from Jesuit colleges, including Boston College and Georgetown. Lidia has connected with Jesuit charities that reflect her own interests, including Jesuit Refugee Services, which works with migrants around the world.

Jesuit Father Stephen Katsouros, president of Arrupe College in Chicago, befriended Lidia when he was president of Loyola High School in Manhattan, at a time when her granddaughter was a student. “You are the most entrepreneurial person I know; you need to be on our board,” Father Katsouros pleaded with his friend. After praying to Mary for guidance, she accepted.

Arrupe College is a two-year school, focused on serving the poor and immigrants. Lidia was attracted by the mission, particularly in educating immigrants like herself. At school events in Chicago, Lidia has raised money through her cooking, helping to pay for reduced-price meals for students, and has shared her immigrant experience.

“She talks about how her family was uprooted,” says Father Katsouros, noting that the chef makes a connection with a new generation of immigrants. He says Lidia feels a need to give back in gratitude for the help her family received from the Church in both Italy and the United States.

“The Catholic Church came to the rescue. They found shelter and support. That became fundamental and life-giving for her family,” he says.

celebrity status might appear to be simply riding this crest of culinary interest. But that apparently overnight success was decades in coming, beginning with an immigrant’s tale of postwar America, when the country opened itself to newcomers fleeing the horrors of World War II Europe and the Cold War strife that followed.

“The reality is that my story parallels what is going on today,” says Lidia, noting the headlines about immigrants and refugees still struggling to make their way in what is arguably a less-welcoming America. She points out that, while she is a Catholic, she affirms the beliefs of others.

Everyone, she says, needs to discover God where they are. For her, that includes an approach to cooking and eating.

She sees both her world and the realm of spirituality through the prism of food. Whether it’s in her Upper East Side Manhattan restaurant, at parties with her family, or via her autobiography, Lidia wants the world to know that “faith and spirituality took me through the hard times.”

As a refugee whose family struggled to find a home, Chef Lidia Bastianich wants to create a world where food is appreciated and, more importantly, so are people of all backgrounds. If life is a feast, she wants everyone to partake.

It is a vision that animates her charitable work and a message that she hopes can be helpful to others going through similar experiences.

“Food was my connection,” she says. “God calls everyone to the table.”

Peter Feuerherd writes from Queens, New York, where he is a professor of communications and journalism at St. John’s University.

Concord Grape Sorbetto with Angel Food Cake Enjoy making the same dessert Chef Lidia Bastianich created for Pope Francis. For the recipe, turn to “In the Kitchen” on page 55.

ROOM FOR ALL AT THE TABLE

These days, there’s an increased fascination with celebrity chefs such as Gordon Ramsay, not to mention the massive increase in television shows devoted to cooking contests and behind-the-scenes looks at restaurant kitchens. Chef Lidia’s

Lidia’s TV appearance with Julia Child led to her own show (Lidia, Julia, Erminia, and friend Giovanni).

The menu for Pope Benedict XVI was authentically German.

In 2015, Lidia cooked for Pope Francis.

StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 33

POLARI

P

Division and discord are nothing new Three experts offe

By Dan Morris-Young

T

he increasingly uncivil polarization of public discourse in the United States and elsewhere has been generating concern in many spheres: political, academic, business, social, media, and religious. The Catholic Church has hardly been immune. Strident and extremist self-proclaimed Catholic organizations, blogs, and websites on both the far right and left often demonize anyone—including the pope—who does not meet their one-sided definition of Catholic.

The spillover affects all levels of Church life—from the Vatican and bishops’ conferences to chanceries and parishes. Catholic communities can find themselves at odds on myriad issues, from celibacy to holding hands during the Our Father. More often than a worshipping community might like, the resulting tensions can generate ad hominem invectives or denigration of those who are not like-minded.

What can be done? What should be done?

Three experts—Father Joseph Chinnici, OFM, a historian; Father Dan Lackie, OFM, an author/retreat master; and Maureen Day, PhD, an assistant professor specializing in Catholicism in American public life—shared their insights with St. Anthony Messenger.

Father Chinnici suggests that Catholics seek a 2,000-year perspective along with a studied acceptance of pluralism and work to “love our enemies” even where a middle ground seems impossible. Division and discord have been 34 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

TBARRAT/FOTOSEARCH

‘LOVE OUR ENEMIES’

RI

PEWS

TBARRAT/FOTOSEARCH

ing new in the Church. erts offer ways to find common ground.

part of Church life since its infancy, says Father Chinnici, president emeritus and professor at the Franciscan School of Theology in Oceanside, California.

“The history of the early Church is one of great conflict, as the Church came to understand itself, its connection to and separation from Judaism, its confrontation with the Roman Empire. The diversity was very pronounced and the divisions and violence at the early councils evident,” observes Father Chinnici.

“History depends on how you look at it, and the history of the Church to some extent has been sanitized. The struggle for communion has been constant,” says the scholar, who addressed similar themes in his 2010 book, When Values Collide: The Catholic Church, Sexual Abuse, and the Challenges of Leadership.

He cites several examples of deep Church divisions throughout its history, including the Reformation, theological battles over grace, and struggles over “control internal to the Church among the religious orders: Dominicans, Jesuits, and Franciscans. All of these battles had political, jurisdictional, legal, and theological dimensions,” the historian explains, drawing a parallel with Church life today.

An appreciation of the faith, struggles, and triumphs of those who came before us can provide needed perspective, he says. Catholics today could take great hope from historical figures “who struggled with faith, who endured their enemies, who saw in a fellow disagreeable member of the body of Christ not an enemy but a brother or sister,” says Father Chinnici.

StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 35

BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS

Given those realities, it can be easy to lose sight of what’s at the heart of our faith, says Father Dan Lackie, a popular retreat master who is also editor of The Way magazine and a member of the Franciscan St. Barbara Province leadership team. He advises Catholics to be on guard against “the wider societal dynamics that can get inside us, and move us in some subtle ways to adopt language and perspective that is counter to our own Gospel vision.”

Like Father Chinnici, Father Lackie is troubled by what he terms “fragmentation that might result from disconnecting from our roots, our history as American Catholics and as a Franciscan family. Even at the parish level, stories and memories can get lost in the rush of time and change and activity.”

Factors contributing to discord, the priest observes, include “the desire to place ‘the perfect’ over ‘the good’ and the desire to be ‘right’ trampling over the desire for unity and beauty,” which can be exacerbated by a lack of historical grounding. Declaring that common ground can be found in the “dynamic tradition” of the Church, Father Lackie says historical models can light a path. He points to St. Francis de Sales, St. Francis of Assisi, Cardinal John H. Newman, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, St. Clare of Assisi, St. Catherine of Siena, and Julian of Norwich. He points specifically to the example of St. Francis of Assisi, who “counsels patience and a radical acceptance of life and others as it is, as they are.

“We have spiritualities that speak to the development of a virtuous life, of holiness,” he says. “This is an artful endeavor, aimed at making the world more beautiful.”

FINDING COMMON GROUND

Maureen Day advocates strategies similar to those described

by Fathers Chinnici and Lackie to address divergent stances within the Church. All three underscore patience and a sincere desire to understand others’ views based on “a commitment to the deeper realities identified in the Scriptures, the Creed, the sensus fidei [sense of the faith], and the magisterium of the Church,” in Father Chinnici’s words.

Day also throws trust, hope, desire, courage, and humil36 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

ity onto the table. She argues that dialogue underpinned by “a willingness to be uncomfortable” and sincere listening are key to approaching any kind of real communion. A process toward mutual understanding, if not agreement, starts with “authentically encountering individuals,” says Day, who teaches pastoral theology at Franciscan School of Theology and has written about the intersection of Catholicism and public life.

“For a moment, bracket differences and find common ground in your communities,” Day advises. “It’s there. We just have to put in the effort to find it. Once you have established shared values, then move to the differences, but as friends, as fellow Catholics.”

Are there situations where a middle ground is impossible? “I don’t think there are situations in which there is no middle ground,” Day responds, “but I think there are many individuals who are more concerned with concrete, immediate results than with the hard work of listening, consensus building, and thinking of ‘third ways.’

“We live in a world where everything happens so quickly,” she continues. “But just because you can get a product shipped to your door in two days does not mean that the most intimate and relational aspects of human life fall into similar time frames. I think we should take a moment to rest in the process and contemplate the dignity and faith we share before we take next steps.”

Day’s advice: “Get to know the person. Once your first questions become, ‘How’s work? How’s your dad doing? The kids?’, then you can ask questions about beliefs. But only ask with sincerity, with a desire to learn their perspective, not to win a debate. If you’ve created a friendship, the other person will return the questions, and you’ll both be better people and closer friends when you’ve listened well to the other.

“I have relationships with people who have very different beliefs from mine, and I’d like to think that I’m enriched by it. Homogeneity isn’t Church; it’s an echo chamber.”

Day knows firsthand about “the dirty work of dialogue,” having served as a theological adviser to the diocese’s October 2016 synod on Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation on marriage and family, “Amoris Laetitia.” The synod convened a cross section of the diocese—by age, culture, language, education, geography, socioeconomics—who participated in a months-long, grassroots process leading to the synod.

BRADCALKINS/FOTOSEARCH

What is different now, he says, “is the intensity of the battles, the money involved in pressure groups, the political advocacy, and the prevalence of social media sites.”

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“I think the seriousness with which Catholics took this task offers a promising model for healing and bridge-building . . . and the American Church needs this desperately,” Dr. Day said at the time. “I have no doubt that these same people, who waded through muddy waters, would have been able to do this on many ‘hot-button’ issues that are especially prominent.”

The San Diego synod “worked because everyone knew why he or she was there,” Day says. “We put differences aside for the sake of a common goal. If parish leadership wants to bring communities together, it cannot just be, ‘Let’s throw a picnic at it!’ It has to involve handpicking patient, humble leaders who are willing to pour time and energy into the cause. And, as for facilitation, contrary to the democratic impulse, it needs to be fueled by both the ‘top’ and the ‘bottom.’” While the Church can lead with pastoral letters, councils, and synods, “Catholics on the ground” will be instrumental in bringing about a culture of dialogue and mutual respect. “Catholicism is experiencing many changes right now, especially ethnically and politically. These shifts are real and serious,” observes Day. “If Church leaders and Catholics in the pews ignore fissures, they could become irreparable lacunas,” Day says. “If we build bridges rather than walls, we can address the fears and even emerge a stronger, more vibrant Church.”

Dan Morris-Young is a correspondent for National Catholic Reporter and has previously written feature articles for St. Anthony Messenger and many other Catholic publications.

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GOD made us to KNOW HIM, to LOVE HIM, and to SERVE HIM. God Most High, St. Michael the Archangel, and the Blessed Virgin Mary dictated their words to Venerable Sister Mary of Agreda in 1622. Later, in 1657, it was published under the title Ciudad de Dios and then translated into English. It has been blessed by 12 popes.

God Reveals His Decrees has been carefully derived from the original 2,676 pages of Ciudad de Dios and helps readers understand its complexities through a contemporary lens.

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ONLY $12 God Reveals His Decrees has been: Available NOW on Amazon • Condensed for brevity • Paraphrased for easy reading, and • Edited to share the details of marvelous wonders from creation to the early Church. ISBN-13: 978-1723014147 “It greatly enhanced my rosary meditations.”—Readers StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 37

The Church and Domestic Violence

By Susan Hines-Brigger | Photography by Karen Callaway

F

act: In just a little more time than it takes to read this sentence, an average of 20 people in the United States will be victims of domestic violence. The number of US troops killed in Afghanistan and Iraq between 2001 and 2012 was 6,488. The number of American women who were murdered by current or former male partners during that time was 11,766. Father Charles Dahm, OP, knows those statistics all too well, and for over 20 years, he has been working tirelessly to change it. It has not, however, been an easy road, he says.

Father Dahm’s involvement with the issue of domestic violence began in 1996 when he was pastor at St. Pius V Parish in Chicago. The parish provided social services to people, ranging from immigration assistance to parenting classes. Dolores Tapia, one of the parish’s pastoral counselors, came to Father Dahm and asked him if he realized that most of her clients were victims of domestic violence.

“I didn’t see it,” recalls Father Dahm. “I said, ‘You’ve got to show me how to recognize it and then how to respond.’ It took me a while, and she had to continue to instruct me how to see it. I had a lot to learn.”

Domestic violence is defined as a behavioral pattern based on the use of power and control of one person who perceives himself or herself as stronger than another who is perceived as weaker. It takes on many different forms: physical, verbal (emotional and psychological), economic, and sexual.

As Father Dahm began to see what a major issue domestic violence is, he became determined to do something about it.

He also discovered that programs and resources for domestic

38 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

violence were almost nonexistent in the Catholic Church.

That, too, he realized, needed to change.

Father Dahm and Tapia developed HOPE Family Services, the largest parish-based domestic violence program in the country. Over the years, the program has grown, adding counseling and support groups for victims’ children and even perpetrators. It is funded through donations and city, state, and federal grant money. HOPE was the impetus for the Archdiocese of Chicago Domestic Violence Outreach (ACDVO) program.

“One of the things that I emphasize is that Jesus would have reached out to a woman who was beaten. He would not have told her, ‘Go back and work it out.’ He would have said, ‘Come with me, and I will make you safe.’ And that’s what we as the Catholic Church need to do,” says Father Dahm.

EXPANDING THE MESSAGE

In 2007, when he moved to the role of associate pastor at St. Pius, Father Dahm began traveling to parishes throughout the archdiocese—and sometimes beyond—to talk about an issue that very rarely gets mentioned in church. When he visits parishes, he often opens his homilies with a simple request: “Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard a sermon about domestic violence.” The response is usually underwhelming, he says. But the reality, he knows, is that someone sitting in the pews is a victim of domestic violence.

“I’m the only one doing this in the United States. There are only a handful of dioceses that have anything about

COMPOSITE: MURALS: KAREN CALLAWAY (4), FOTOSEARCH IMAGES: ROLFFIMAGES, SANADESIGN, LUCIDWATERS, YDUR, ONDROOO

Father Charles Dahm was unaware of the scope of the domestic violence issue until it showed up in his parish office. Now he speaks about it every chance he gets.

StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 39

COMPOSITE: MURALS: KAREN CALLAWAY (4), FOTOSEARCH IMAGES: ROLFFIMAGES, SANADESIGN, LUCIDWATERS, YDUR, ONDROOO

On a typical day, there are more than 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide.

—National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

One in seven women and one in 25 men have been injured by an intimate partner.

—National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

“No person is expected to stay in an abusive marriage.“

—”When I Call for Help”

Father Charles Dahm, OP, believes that Jesus would have told abused women, “Come with me, and I will make you safe.” He says the Church has made progress in addressing the issue of domestic violence, but it still has a long way to go. Only a few dioceses in the United States have domestic violence programs.

40 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

domestic violence,” Father Dahm says.

“There are some priests who are good about it, but they are not on the road doing this full-time like I am. No diocese has a position.”

Sometimes, he says, he runs into resistance from both pastors and parishioners because they think the topic of domestic violence is too heavy for kids in church.

“I told them that our children are exposed to violence all over in songs, cartoons, TV, movies, video games, bullies at school. We can’t shield our kids from violence. We have to prepare them to deal with this. It’s a reasonable thing,” said Father Dahm in a 2016 Chicago Sun-Times article.

In 2011, Father Dahm moved into his current position as director of domestic violence outreach for the archdiocese. “The late Cardinal George saw me doing this work and told his family ministries chief to hire somebody to do this work. They asked, ‘Who should we hire?’ and he said, ‘Go get Chuck Dahm.’”

When he took the position, he says that he asked three simple questions: “What’s the salary? What’s the job description? and What’s the job title?

The answers were: There’s no money; just keep doing what you’re doing; and, as for a job description, well, you make it up.”

Father Dahm established an executive committee and a steering committee to help him run ACDVO. When he wonders how the program will continue after him, he says he takes comfort in the work of those committees and the efforts they are making to help the organization grow.

ave

e

Children who were exposed to violence in the home are 15 times more likely to be physically and/or sexually assaulted than the national average.

—The National Domestic Violence Hotline

Intimate partner violence accounts for 15% of all violent crime.

— National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

MOVING FORWARD

In 2002, the US bishops issued the letter “When I Call for Help: A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence Against Women,” addressing the issue of domestic violence. They reissued it this past January, but “with almost no major changes,” according to Father Dahm. It’s a great letter, though, he says.

In the document, the bishops state clearly that “no person is expected to stay in an abusive marriage. Some abused women believe that Church teaching on the permanence of marriage requires them to stay in an abusive relationship. They may hesitate to seek a separation or divorce. They may fear that they cannot remarry in the Church. Violence and abuse, not divorce, break up a marriage.”

“There are victims of domestic violence in every single Catholic parish in the United States, and the vast majority of parishes are unaware and unresponsive to people who are suffering in their congregations.”

—Father Charles Dahm

Father Dahm says the Church is making progress in setting up programs to address the domestic violence issue, but it’s very slow. He says he has struggled to get into seminaries to teach about the issue. In fact, the first time he taught at Mundelein Seminary was in 2011 after three and a half years of trying to get something in the curriculum. The response was positive, he says, but due to faculty changes, the next time he was able to get in was November 2017. Again, the response from the seminarians was positive, to which Father Dahm says he told faculty, “Let’s not make this five more years before I come back.”

Pre-Cana programs have also still not figured out how to incorporate domestic violence into their preparation of couples for marriage, at least in Chicago, he points out.

And he has reached out to various dioceses about setting up programs but with no luck.

He says he’s “still getting resistance from priests who say, ‘This doesn’t happen here’ or ‘I’ll get back to you,’ and they never do.”

Regardless, he says he’ll keep trying. “This coming year, I’m going to be more aggressive going after dioceses.” And he will keep speaking out about domestic violence because he wants people to understand that “there are victims of domestic violence in every single Catholic parish in the United States, and the vast majority of parishes are unaware and unresponsive to people who are suffering in their congregations. These victims,” he says, “would love to hear a word of support from their pastoral ministers, their priests. We are missing a great opportunity to minister

TOP: Representatives from Chicago parishes with domestic violence programs hold up signs during a Mass for Domestic Violence Awareness and Outreach in 2017. BOTTOM LEFT: A purple ribbon hangs on a pew during the Mass. For survivors of domestic violence, purple symbolizes peace, courage, survival, honor, and dedication to ending violence. BOTTOM RIGHT: A woman takes part in an art class offered as part of a domestic violence program within the archdiocese.

StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 41

Intimate partner violence is estimated to cost the US economy between $5.8 billion and $12.6 billion annually.

—National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Denise Murray often shares her story of being in an abusive marriage in the hopes that it might help someone else in a similar situation. She says that one of the stumbling blocks to her leaving the abusive relationship was the thought of not honoring the sacramental promise she made when she got married.

to people who are oppressed in every single community, no matter what the ethnicity or economic class.”

A SURVIVOR’S STORY

“I’m sorry; I can’t help you.”

That’s what Denise Murray’s pastor said when she went to him for help leaving her abusive marriage of more than 20 years. “I walked out of the office with someone who I revered as Jesus on earth saying, ‘I can’t help you,’” she recalls. “I was devastated. I didn’t know what to do.”

42 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

Approximately 63% of homeless women have experienced domestic violence in their adult lives.

—National Network to End Domestic Violence

A friend told Denise to go hear Father Dahm speak. After her experience with her own parish priest, she says, “I was like, ‘Sure, I’m going to go listen to another priest now.’”

Denise went but sat in the very last pew.

“I heard him tell my life story from the pulpit and I’d never met him. And I heard him tell exactly who my abuser is. And then I even heard him say all the realities and the truth. I heard Father Dahm say all these things and I thought, This is a man who gets it.

And this is a priest of the Catholic Church who gets it? Wow, there’s hope yet.”

ce

30% to 60% of perpetrators of domestic violence also abuse children in the household.

Only 34% of people who are injured by intimate partners receive medical care for their injuries.

—National Domestic Violence Hotline

A TALE OF ABUSE

From the outside, Denise’s marriage and family looked solid.

She and her ex-husband were active in church and were even presenters on the Marriage Encounter team. But beneath the surface was a marriage and family in turmoil.

Denise says that over the course of her marriage, she was abused in every way by her husband. Her children were also abused by him, though not sexually. “You learn the triggers, you learn the phrase, you learn the twisted-eye side glance.

You know what that means, if you don’t toe the line. My children learned that too. You just don’t want to have any more of the hurt that comes from someone who’s supposed to be your partner. It was a long, hard journey.”

But Denise still tried to make her marriage work, going to counseling, Marriage Encounter, and couple’s therapy, which her husband often made her attend while he stayed home.

BREAKING THE CYCLE

The wake-up call came, she says, when her daughter and son reached dating age and both picked abusive people. As a result, her son became suicidal.

“That’s when I said to myself, What am I doing? What am I role-modeling for these kids? I’ve got to find a way for us to get out.” At that same point, she recalls, someone who had known the family for years came to her and asked, “Do you understand you’re the victims of abuse?” Denise says she was shocked that someone who knew her family so well and was watching it from the outside saw it.

She went to see her parish priest, who told her he couldn’t help her. Denise says: “I felt myself in the boat with the storm raging around me and Jesus asleep in the boat next to me.

And I was like, ‘God, it’s time to wake up. Jesus, wake up.’ He was asleep. But I knew he was there with me.”

Still, she struggled with what to do next. A major stumbling block for Denise was the thought of breaking the sac-

—National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

ramental promise of marriage. “I promised God I would stay with this man forever. This is a sacrament to me,” she says.

THE ROAD AHEAD

As a result of being introduced to Father Dahm, Denise has found a new church with a pastor who has received all of Father Dahm’s training. When she sat down and shared her story with her new pastor, she told him about her struggle with breaking her marriage vows.

“That priest looked at me, thanks to the training he received, and said, ‘Let’s not worry about that right now. Let’s worry about repairing your soul and saving your children,’” Denise recalls. She reports that now she is very active in this parish—probably even more so than in her previous one.

She says that because of her divorce, she was afraid that she would have to give up the Sacrament of the Eucharist, which is very important to her. “Not only did I not have to give it up,” Denise says, “[but] I’m the trainer and coordinator of the eucharistic ministers for my new church. I know I’m not walking alone anymore. It’s a long, hard journey, but getting people to understand it and just say, ‘I’m sorry you’ve been through this and I believe you,’ is an amazing thing.”

Denise says she will tell her story to anyone who will listen because she knows that it takes a lot for someone to get to the point of saying, “I’m a victim of abuse.” It’s hard, she says, because “the shame is there, the guilt is there, and the fear is there that my abuser’s going to do something worse to me now. It takes a lot for us to ask for help.”

Her hope is to go from being a survivor to a thriver. “I’m trying to get there. Some days it’s a backslide, but then there are great people out there, like Father Dahm, who want to keep spreading the message that there’s hope; you’re not alone.”

Susan Hines-Brigger is an executive editor of this magazine.

Resources on Domestic Violence* Archdiocese of Chicago Domestic Violence Outreach: www.FamilyMinistries.org US Bishops on Domestic Violence: www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/marriage/domestic-violence/index.cfm “When I Call for Help”: www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/marriage/domestic-violence/when-i-call-for-help.cfm National Domestic Violence Hotline: www.TheHotline.org, 800-799-SAFE (7233) National Coalition Against Domestic Violence: www.ncadv.org *The statistics in this article have been compiled from various sources.

StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 43

GOD IS NOT FAIR

LEFT: JGROUP/FOTOSEARCH; RIGHT: PAHA L /FOTOSEARCH

—In the Best Possible Way

44 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

God’s sense of what is just does not always align with our own. And for that we should be grateful.

Daniel P. Horan, OFM

LEFT: JGROUP/FOTOSEARCH; RIGHT: PAHA L /FOTOSEARCH

G

od is not fair.

This statement may strike some as disrespectful, but it’s nonetheless correct. It is an uncomfortable fact, a reality that is made clear by Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

Christians profess belief in the reality that what we see and know in Christ we see and know of God. John’s Gospel begins with this affirmation in the prologue (1:18), the opening lines of the Letter to the Hebrews restates this truth (1:1–4), and yet, so often, we ignore the fullness of God’s revelation in Christ. We do our own thing, see our own perspective, and demand that others follow our way of being—all the while calling these things “God’s will.”

That God is not fair is actually one among many reasons for gratitude. The simple premise here is that God’s way is not our way, God’s love is not conditioned like our love, God’s mercy is not bound as ours is, and God does not discriminate or reward a person according to the standards of a given society.

God’s lack of fairness by human standards should challenge us to reconsider not how unpredictable or malicious God is, but rather how inappropriate, unchristian, and inhumane we are. Too much of our faith is governed by our own insecurities, self-interests, and fears. And yet we often project what we see of our world, justified through the lens of worldly logic, onto others and into our religion as if it were not our way, but God’s way.

GOSPEL PRECEDENTS

I’m always struck by the zealous insistence of fairness as a rule that first appears in childhood when parents pronounce a decision that a child renders unjust: “That’s not fair!” I grew up with three younger brothers, so this experience was all too common throughout my early life. Sometimes it was an older brother like me who was given extra leeway, which upset the younger siblings who wanted the same freedom.

Other times it was the younger brothers who were permitted to do something or stay up later than the older siblings were at that age, which seemed unfair in retrospect. In both cases, the feeling was one of personal slight.

Though this sort of declaration arrives on the scene during childhood, the socialization that led to this way of viewing the world surely began a very long time ago. Sometimes one is, in fact, not treated fairly—and that is an injustice.

One only has to take a close look at the disturbing realities of racism, sexism, and the like to recognize the real unfairness in our societies. However, fairness as a rule tends to be more subjective than most of us would like to admit—and it’s almost always a cover for selfishness. We see this sort of cloaked selfishness in the way financially secure and socially privileged individuals and groups rail against political institutions that aid the poor and disabled, calling such acts of solidarity and charity “handouts.”

The Gospels are replete with illustrations that uncover StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 45

That God is not fair is actually one among many reasons for gratitude.

The simple premise here is that God’s way is not our way, God’s love is not conditioned like our love, and God’s mercy is not bound as ours is.

46 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

human impulses disguised as fairness.

The gratuitous father is entirely unfair by worldly standards and welcomes the son back without punishment or shame. Like the vineyard workers who began early in the day in Matthew’s narrative, the older son in Luke’s parable seethes with anger at the spectacle of his father’s blatant unfairness. What is to be learned here? What does this say to us?

GOD’S MERCY REACHES EVERYBODY

Let me suggest a few things. First, God’s sense of what is fair and what is not fair does not align with our human sense of fairness, which again is typically a thin veil covering our own self-centeredness.

The reign of God is marked by everybody having what is necessary. In both parables, God does not withhold anything from anyone. All parties are accounted for and given what is necessary for human flourishing.

Yet it is a sense of selfishness and entitlement that drives those who have what is from the outset fair (an agreed-

STYF22/FOTOSEARCH

The fairness rule rears its ugly head in the contestation of the workers who labored all day. Surely, they insist, we deserve more than those who worked but a few hours. But why? As Jesus’ narration makes abundantly clear, the landowner has cheated absolutely nobody. “‘My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? [Or] am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?

Are you envious because I am generous?’” (Mt 20:13–15).

Consider another Gospel illustration, this time from Luke 15:11–32.

One of the most famous parables of Jesus again reveals what’s really at play in our own self-righteous thinking.

This is, of course, the narrative of the prodigal son. After the younger child wishes his father dead and demands his inheritance, which he squanders, what would be fair is for that son to be dismissed or left for dead.

However, what happens in the kingdom of God is the opposite of our base

LEFT: MONSTERSPARROW/FOTOSEARCH; RIGHT: SOUPSTOCK/FOTOSEARCH

our selfish impulses—those impulses that are so often and so easily masked by the ruse of fairness. Here is an example from the Gospel of Matthew that does exactly this sort of thing.

You will recall the story of how Jesus announces: “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard” (Mt 20:1–2).

This fictive landowner, the usual stand-in for God, then goes out periodically throughout the day to hire more laborers. He orders that all the workers be paid the same wage, which provokes the ire of those who were first hired in the morning.

This is how it goes: “So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat’” (Mt 20:10–12).

1/6 V

The University of San Diego sets the standard for an engaged, contemporary Catholic university where innovative Changemakers confront humanity’s urgent challenges. www.sandiego.edu

STYF22/FOTOSEARCH

LEFT: MONSTERSPARROW/FOTOSEARCH; RIGHT: SOUPSTOCK/FOTOSEARCH

“Balance and scales belong to the Lord; all the weights used with them are his concern” (Prv 16:11).

upon daily wage or all that already belongs to the father) to feel they deserve so much more. Perhaps this impulse goes all the way back to our mythical parents in Genesis, who were not content with their humanity and desired to have more and be more.

Second, these parables spawn other narratives that tend to justify real injustice in our world. The wealthy, comfortable, and powerful spin tales of fairness that are supposed to then accommodate their grandiosity in the shadow of poverty and injustice around them. Like the vineyard workers hired in the morning, many people seem to justify their greed and desire for more as a comparable reward for their hard work. But unlike the parables, the landowners and father (or mother) figures are usually not prodigal in their generosity or love. Most landowners operate according to the logic of those first-hired workers. The rules then get set to benefit a few, while

the system and the rhetoric of society explain inequality, abuse, poverty, and injustice as merely a real-world reflection of fairness.

It is difficult for us to accept the gratuitous love, generosity, and mercy of God. We hold one another accountable to rules of fairness, sometimes even baptized in the water of religion, but it is not the radical unfairness of God; it is not the radical justice that is equivalent to God’s infinite mercy.

Let us, again, look to sacred Scripture. Proverbs 16:11 simply states, “Balance and scales belong to the Lord; all the weights used with them are his concern.”

Daniel P. Horan, OFM, is a Franciscan friar of Holy Name Province in New York, an assistant professor of systematic theology and spirituality at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and the author of more than a dozen books, including God Is Not Fair, and Other Reasons for Gratitude, from which this article is adapted.

Why is God’s love foolish?

Is paradise really lost? What does it mean to follow Christ today?

Daniel P. Horan, OFM, considers these and other questions in God is Not Fair, and Other Reasons for Gratitude.

Save 30% with code FAIR30 at

shop.franciscanmedia.org

StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 47

media MATTERS

REEL TIME | CHANNEL SURFING | AUDIO FILE | BOOKSHELF

By Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP

Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP

FAVORITE

ABOUT

FILMS RACE IN AMERICA Get Out (2017) The Blind Side (2009) 13th (2016) American History X (1998) The Big Sick (2017)

M

averick (Russell Hornsby), an ex-con who now owns a convenience store, lines up his three kids, 16-year-old Starr (Amandla Stenberg), her older half brother, Seven (Lamar Johnson), and their little brother, Sekani (TJ Wright), to give them “the talk” about how to stay alive if they are ever stopped by the police. Their mom, Lisa (Regina Hall), is a nurse who sends them to a mostly white prep school several miles from their poor neighborhood. Starr struggles to live in two worlds: the one at home with her family, friends, and church—and her life at school where they listen to different music and speak differently.

One night, Starr is at a party when shots ring out. She leaves right away with Khalil (Algee Smith), her childhood friend. A white policeman pulls them over and orders Khalil out of the car. When the young man reaches back into the car to grab his hairbrush, the cop shoots and kills him. Starr is traumatized by Khalil’s death. She decides to keep it a secret from her school friends, especially her boyfriend, Chris (KJ Apa). But the story soon goes national. The media blames Khalil because of his connections to drugs and

48 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

gangs, though no drugs were found in the car.

Starr’s secret weighs on her as she searches for her own identity as a young, black teen torn between two worlds.

Starr is the secret witness who is to testify at the trial of the cop. When the gang finds out, they threaten the family with violence.

Lisa, Starr, and Sekani go to stay with their Uncle Carlos (Common), a black cop who tries to explain the officer’s point of view.

The Hate U Give is based on the 2017 young adult novel of the same title by Angie Thomas. Director George Tillman Jr. evokes powerful performances from the actors.

The film should be credited for presenting a strong father image through Hornsby’s compelling performance, while Stenberg is convincing and vulnerable. This is an honest film that explores what it is like to be black in a world where white people have the power.

Not yet rated, PG-13 • Strong language, violence, peril.

SMALLFOOT: WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC.; ON HER SHOULDERS: OSCILLOSCOPE LABORATORIES

Sister Rose’s

THE HATE U GIVE

LEFT: SISTER NANCY USSELMANN; THE HATE U GIVE: ERIKA DOSS

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.

ON HER SHOULDERS

SMALLFOOT

N

SMALLFOOT: WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC.; ON HER SHOULDERS: OSCILLOSCOPE LABORATORIES

LEFT: SISTER NANCY USSELMANN; THE HATE U GIVE: ERIKA DOSS

H

igh up in the Himalayan Mountains, a powerful Yeti, Stonekeeper (Common), maintains power over his community. His strongest message is that when they have questions, they should “push them down” so that they will go away. Migo (Channing Tatum), however, comes across evidence that Smallfoot (human beings) really exist. Migo has a scientific mind and is determined to find out the truth. Stonekeeper casts him out of the community for this. Soon he encounters his Yeti friends Meechee, Stonekeeper’s daughter (Zendaya), and three others gathered as a secret society, the Smallfoot Evidentiary Society, or SES. To his delight, just below the clouds, Migo discovers a beautiful snowcovered valley with lots of Smallfoot creatures. At the same time, Percy (James Corden), a TV wildlife host down on his luck, comes upon him.

Migo is thrilled to meet Percy, who is terrified at first. Migo wraps him up in a sleeping bag and takes him back up the mountain to show the others.

With evidence in hand, Migo confronts Stonekeeper with the truth and shows the Smallfoot to the enthralled community. But Stonekeeper reveals

the truth behind their isolated existence to Migo: It is the only way to keep them safe from the violent and aggressive Smallfoot creatures, who want to destroy them. The SES members take matters into their own hands and decide to meet the humans once and for all.

This 3-D animated film is about racism in its most basic form: Two different groups of creatures are unable to communicate and therefore fear one another. The film is very entertaining, yet it is a complex story that offers hope to teens and adults.

A-2, PG • Peril.

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

adia Murad is a 23-year-old Yazidi woman from Iraq. During the Yazidi genocide in 2014, she was captured by ISIS and held as a sex slave until her escape months later. Most of her family died in the genocide. This new documentary by filmmaker Alexandria Bombach follows Nadia as she gives speeches to human rights groups around the world. Her goal is to motivate countries to help free the thousands of women and children who remain captives of ISIS. The Yazidi are a Kurdish religious minority that ISIS is determined to exterminate. Killing the male population puts the future of the Yazidis at stake.

Even though different countries take in small groups of the people as refugees, they are separated from one another, and their culture is in danger of disappearing.

Nadia, through relentless advocacy for her people, hopes to reunite them. Even with human rights activist Amal Clooney as Nadia’s attorney, who accompanies her to speak at the United Nations Security Council, it is hard to interest governments and politicians in their cause.

The audience walks with Nadia. We feel her loneliness and fatigue. Yet she is hopeful and unstoppable. On Her Shoulders shows that it is not enough to be polite in the face of genocide. We must care and act.

Not yet rated • Mature themes, descriptions of war crimes.

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StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 49

media MATTERS

REEL TIME | CHANNEL SURFING | AUDIO FILE | BOOKSHELF

By Christopher Heffron UP CLOSE

Southern and Hungry

E

very nation boasts its share of trailblazing women. Wu Zetian rose from concubine to the first empress of China in the seventh century. Polish-born Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize for her work with radium in 1903. And Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1928. Palestine can add a name to that list: Kholoud Al-Faqih. As the first female judge appointed to the Middle East’s Sharia courts (Islamic law) in her country, she is both a pioneer and a pariah; an innovator and a figure of virulent controversy. Independent Lens’ documentary The Judge, which peers into Al-Faqih’s life and career, is a fitting tribute to a bold woman.

In 1999, Al-Faqih graduated with a law degree from Al-Quds University, and from there she worked at the Women’s Center for Legal Aid and Counseling.

Al-Faqih obtained her master’s in 2005 and was appointed a judge in the Sharia Court in Ramallah four years later, all while being a wife and mother. The film, produced and directed by Erika Cohn, documents Al-Faqih’s trials—in her culture, in her community, in her courtroom. And it’s a big job: In Palestine, the civil courts hear criminal and administrative law. Sharia courts hear family cases, which can be trickier. Al-Faqih manages her courtroom with resolve and a steely intellect, often rendering the men dumbfounded. It’s stunning to watch. This barrier breaker, who has devoted her professional and personal life to protecting and upholding the rights of women, has etched her name into history. In 2012, she was ranked as one of the most powerful women in the Arab world, as chosen by CEO Middle East.

The Judge avoids manipulative ploys to tug at the hearts of its viewers because, frankly, it doesn’t need them. This film—which should be shown in schools for its nuanced examination of Middle Eastern customs and the often-stifling roles of women therein—seeks to tell the story of Al-Faqih candidly, without fluff.

The result is a quietly powerful glimpse into the life of a trailblazer, hijab and all.

Channel surfers should tune in.

As Al-Faqih herself says, “I think that God helped me pursue justice in the community—and open a closed door.”

50 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

A

ccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 40 percent of Americans are classified as obese.

The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in this country is close to 150 billion dollars. Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain forms of cancer. Now put that data aside for a moment and enjoy the pure caloric escapism of Southern and Hungry, the Cooking Channel series that celebrates the best of southern grub.

Hosts Damaris Philips and Rutledge Wood—a chef and auto racing analyst, respectively—take viewers down countless southern backroads to absorb the culture that surrounds them: the customs, the people, but especially the food.

No chain restaurant will be found here. Rather, hidden gems are the focus: family restaurants’ recipes that have spanned generations are prepared, explained, and, best of all, eaten. Southern and Hungry is worth your time for two reasons.

First, it reminds us of the value of travel. The world is bigger than our backyards. Also, food celebrates and fortifies community, especially when it is prepared with love.

FATHER JOHN MISTY: SUB POP AND BELLA UNION; MASSIVE ATTACK: CIRCA RECORDS; PETE & REPEAT: TOM GREENE

Premieres November 19, Independent Lens on PBS

THE JUDGE: COURTESY OF THE JUDGE/AMBER FARES; SOUTHERN AND HUNGRY: SONYAKAMOZ/FOTOSEARCH

The Judge

The Cooking Channel, check local listings

REEL TIME | CHANNEL SURFING | AUDIO FILE | BOOKSHELF

Editor’s Pick Retro-spective MASSIVE ATTACK | BLUE LINES

FATHER JOHN MISTY: SUB POP AND BELLA UNION; MASSIVE ATTACK: CIRCA RECORDS; PETE & REPEAT: TOM GREENE

n the late ’80s, the lines between hip-hop, reggae, and electronic music were clear. This all changed with Massive Attack’s 1991 album, Blue Lines. Critics weren’t really sure how to categorize the music, with some calling it soul music while others called it dance music. The reality is that the debut album from the Bristol-based band is both of those and more.

The production talent of the core members (Robert “3D” Del Naja, Grant “Daddy G” Marshal, and Andrew “Mushroom” Vowles) provides the musical canvas for a host of vocal contributors. Perhaps the best combination, though, is Massive Attack’s hypnotic, downtempo music with female vocalists. “Unfinished Sympathy,” one of the most beautiful songs on the album, starts off with a hip-hop beat and some record scratching. Then a string section recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios sweeps in, followed by Shara Nelson’s soulful vocals.

An ambitious and sonically sprawling record, Blue Lines paved the way for others in the emerging genre of trip hop, including Portishead and DJ Shadow, to name a few.

PETE&REPEAT

FATHER JOHN MISTY | GOD’S FAVORITE CUSTOMER

U

nder the moniker Father John Misty, folkrock musician Josh Tillman lets us in on his struggles with the world and himself, all told with a playful, knowing wink. Each Father John Misty album is a step deeper into Tillman’s mind and soul—a place that is sometimes dark, sometimes funny, and usually both at the same time. Tillman continues in this vein with his latest album, God’s Favorite Customer, which was written about a time when he said his life “blew up,” though he wouldn’t elaborate further.

God’s Favorite Customer starts off with the tongue-in-cheek-titled “Hangout at the Gallows,” where Tillman points out how quickly people reduce themselves and others to labels and political or religious affiliations: “What’s your politics/What’s your religion/What’s your intake?/Your reason for living?” These are deep questions, but in today’s environment of rapid communication, it seems there’s not nearly enough time to reflect and provide any answers of substance. Life’s great questions remain for Tillman and all of us despite our desire for easy answers.

Now on the other side of a particularly difficult time in his life, Tillman seems able to look back and laugh—mostly at himself. In “The Palace,” he seems to chuckle at his overblown artistic ego: “Last night I wrote a poem/Man, I must have been in the poem zone.” Tillman’s wit and self-deprecating humor help save the album from wallowing in self-pity.

In the title track, Tillman wanders the streets after a night of drinking, and he’s clearly not well: “All bug-eyed and babbling/Out on the corner of 7th and A.” As he continues to stumble down the sidewalk, he realizes that it’s so late that it’s almost time for a nearby church to open its doors: “The bar closes at five/But the big man is just opening shop.” And though Tillman doesn’t believe in God, in his desperation he still reaches out to him and asks for help. This song—and the whole album—serves as a reminder to hold on to and be grateful for all the goodness and light in life. God’s Favorite Customer is a tragicomedy of sorts, one worth its weight in both tears and laughter.

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

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

(Answers below)

GET THE BOOK

Great fun for puzzlers of all ages!

Go online to order: Shop.FranciscanMedia.org For ONLY $3.99 Use Code: SAMPETE ANSWERS to PETE & REPEAT: 1) There is a stripe missing on Pete’s sleeve. 2) You can see a tree through the window. 3) The spoon has a loop in the handle. 4) The pie pan now has a scalloped edge. 5) The handle of the rolling pin is longer. 6) The whisk is closer to the spoon. 7) The dough has been rolled out more. 8) The cup now has a handle.

THE JUDGE: COURTESY OF THE JUDGE/AMBER FARES; SOUTHERN AND HUNGRY: SONYAKAMOZ/FOTOSEARCH

I

By Daniel Imwalle

StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 51

media MATTERS

reel time | channel surfing | audio file | bookshelf

By Julie Traubert

My Time with the Monks “My work had become a true dialogue, an experience of the Benedictine profession: conversation, obedience, and stability. Or: talking, listening, and fidelity to the process.”

F

LISTEN WITH THE EAR OF THE HEART

BY MARIA S. GUARINO

University of Rochester Press

rom 2010 to 2011, ethnomusicologist Maria S. Guarino spent a lengthy period of time living with and writing about the music and lives of the monks of Weston Priory, a small Benedictine monastery nestled in the Green Mountains of southern Vermont. Undertaking what she thought would be a purely academic and anthropological study, the author quickly found that there were limits to her academic plans and was pleasantly surprised by the life and rhythm of this Benedictine community best known for their liturgical music and albums.

Guarino takes the reader on a tour of her experiences using a comfortable first-person narrative. Whether it is baking bread with Brother Mark or cleaning muck from the sheep pen with Brother Daniel, she shows the simplicity of the monks’ daily lives, which are filled with both work and gathering for prayer that is mainly sung five times a day.

While their music, which became popular in the 1970s in the wake of the liturgical changes of the Second Vatican Council, is the focus of her work, it is clear that her experiences cover the full range of monastic life: prayer, holy readings, times of silence and meditation, quiet conversation, and getting in touch with her interior life as a reflection of who she is and how she connects with God. The author does a fine job in outlining the history of Weston Priory, which dates back to the 1950s, and examines how the community has changed over time within the ebb and

52 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

flow of the changes in Catholicism.

Guarino analyzes how their music, too, has changed, particularly in recent years going from producing successive albums of songs to a more open and playful rendering of recorded music and Scripture readings while still retaining the monks’ unique interpretation of the Rule of St. Benedict.

Anyone who has been moved by the music of Weston Priory will enjoy this book, even though at times it lapses into academic jargon. The real treats of Guarino’s reporting are the accounts of her time learning and listening to the monks, no matter the time of day or night, be it in the kitchen or the chapel, speaking with the various brothers about their duties beyond singing and writing music, or gazing reflectively at Terrible Mountain just across from the pond that greets visitors when they arrive at the priory.

As the book concludes, we witness Guarino playing the flute alongside the brothers and participating in the recording sessions for their album Wisdom at Play. In the end, the author has fully embraced the tenets of the first rule of St. Benedict, “To pay attention and listen with the ear of the heart.”

Reviewed by James A. Percoco, a nationally recognized history educator with over 35 years of teaching experience. The author of several books on making the teaching of history more engaging, Percoco is a member of the National Teachers Hall of Fame and serves as a eucharistic minister at Nativity Parish in Burke, Virginia.

IN GOD’S HANDS

WINTER OF THE HEART

BEYOND SUNDAY

BY MAUREEN A. CUMMINGS

BY PAULA D’ARCY

BY TERESA TOMEO

“Somewhere between recognizing your diagnosis and accepting it, there is a space where God can enter.”

“Grief is not something that can be ‘fixed.’ Grief is something that must be lived.”

“For many of us, God is more like a casual acquaintance.”

E

T

I

Our Sunday Visitor

ven the thought of a serious medical diagnosis is daunting. Maureen Cummings, a stage III cancer survivor, knows this all too well. Having faced the fear, pain, suffering, and loneliness of a life-threatening disease, Cummings shows how her journey through illness was sustained by her faith.

Using a first-person narrative of her cancer story, Cummings lays bare her sorrow and anger and provides encouraging and supportive guidance.

She urges patients to talk with God, not at him, to bring his presence closer, to seek things that bring you peace, and to say thank you to medical staff. This is a helpful read for patients and their loved ones.

Ave Maria Press

Our Sunday Visitor

he subtitle of this short but impactful book by popular author Paula D’Arcy is Finding Your Way through the Mystery of Grief. She expertly guides readers through the emotions accompanying the grief process, having lost her husband and toddler 40 years ago in a car accident.

D’Arcy is quick to point out that loss can come from many circumstances, including death of a loved one, a divorce, or other major life changes.

She stresses that the greatest love you can give yourself or others who are grieving is accepting the pace and manner of grieving. This book could be a lifeline to those experiencing loss.

What Our Readers Recommend Recovering Faith: Stories of Catholics Who Came Home,

by Lorene Hanley Duquin The End: A Study on the Book of Revelation,

by Scott Hahn

s your faith mostly defined by Mass attendance? Radio host and author Teresa Tomeo passionately encourages you to step beyond your once-a-week Sunday obligation and to live and grow your faith every day of the week.

Tomeo suffered her own loss of faith and connection to the Church, and she shares her journey back with wisdom and candor. Filled with insight and tips for you to deepen your relationship with Jesus, she emphasizes that God wants us to have purposeful and joyfilled lives. At 121 pages, this is an easy and inspiring read for those looking to reignite their faith.

RHYMES FOR KIDS’ SAINTLY MODERN TIMES

SPOT F

WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED

BY MEGHAN BAUSCH

or the younger set, here’s a wonderful introduction to 19 more recent holy men, women, and children, including St. Mother Teresa, St. Josephine Bakhita, and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. Each is introduced through a two-stanza rhyme highlighting how each represented Christ in his or her life.

Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence,

by Sarah Young

Books featured in this section can be ordered from:

The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis

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

Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God,

by Henry Blackaby, Richard Blackaby, and Claude King

St. Mary’s Bookstore & Church Supply web: www.stmarysbookstore.com e-mail: stmarysbookstore@gmail.com

StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 53

POINTSOFVIEW | FAITH & FAMILY

By Susan Hines-Brigger

Cupcakes Broken and Shared

Susan has worked at St. Anthony Messenger for 24 years and is an executive editor. She and her husband, Mark, are the proud parents of four kids—Maddie, Alex, Riley, and Kacey. Aside from her family, her loves are Disney, traveling, and sports.

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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54 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

On the day of the competition, I helped Riley load up what seemed like most of my kitchen and delivered her and the laundry basket of baking materials to her friend Hailey’s house. Before leaving, I reviewed the plan for that evening with Hailey’s mom, assured her of my prayers, and ran for the car as fast as I could.

Throughout the afternoon, I fielded questions from Riley via text about various baking issues. The more I answered, the more I became worried about eating these cupcakes.

THE BONDING OF BAKING

When we arrived at our friend’s house that evening, the girls were still feverishly cooking, running around as if this truly was a competition with big stakes—and perhaps money—on the line. There were ingredients and frosting bags strewn all over the tables and counters. The kitchen sink was filled with dirty mixing bowls, spatulas, and cupcake pans.

My immediate reaction was: God bless our friends for allowing these girls to make such a mess of their kitchen. My second thought was of how wonderful it was to see such joy and laughter throughout the kitchen as the girls were baking. We parents had a great excuse to get together and enjoy each other’s company as well as revel in the friendship of our daughters.

After dinner, we sampled each of the eight cupcakes and judiciously marked our scorecards. The girls went on and on about their creations and the entire process—a blessing in itself, if you ask any parents of teenagers.

In the end, Riley and her friend won for creativity thanks to their pineapple cupcake topped with a beach scene of crushed graham crackers and a Teddy Graham inside a gummy Life Saver. But I really think we kind of all won. Cupcakes and camaraderie—what’s not to love about that?

PHOTO COURTESY CHEF LIDIA BASTIANICH

Susan Hines-Brigger

his month, we are entering a time of year that is very focused on food and togetherness—first Thanksgiving, then Christmas. It is in that spirit that I am writing this column.

But this gathering of food and friends wasn’t tied to any big holiday. No, it happened on a random Saturday night. The result, though, was the same.

You see, my daughter Riley is a huge fan of all types of cooking shows, but especially ones about baking. She loves to bake and so do her friends. It’s not unusual for me to come home from work to find a fresh batch of cookies or brownies on the table. There are also times when I come home to find a group of girls in my kitchen experimenting with different recipes.

That is why my husband, Mark, and I weren’t the least bit surprised when Riley told us that she and four of her friends were going to have their own version of the popular Food Network show Cupcake Wars. On the show, four of the country’s top cupcake bakers face off in three elimination challenges until only one decorator remains. That baker wins the monetary prize and a chance to showcase his or her cupcakes at a designated event.

Within a day or so, the date was set as well as the location. Luckily, it was not at our house. The plan was that each girl would make two different cupcakes, each one based on a theme—seasons and vacation. The parents would gather that evening to serve as the judges and determine a winner in each of the categories: taste, appearance, creativity, and overall best.

In the days leading up to the competition, Riley feverishly scoured Pinterest for unique recipes to fit the themes. I emphasize the word unique because unique recipes often require unique ingredients. Because of that, it quickly became clear that these would be some pretty expensive cupcakes and that a simple run to the grocery store was not going to cut it. What is castor sugar?

LEFT: MC KOZUSKO/SAM; RIGHT: SUSAN HINES-BRIGGER

T

in the kitchen

with Chef Lidia Bastianich

Concord Grape Sorbetto with Angel Food Cake Yield: 8 servings

Angel Food Cake

Cooking with Chef Lidia PAGES 28-33

Ingredients: 1 cup

READ OUR COVER STORY:

cake flour

1½ cups confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting the cake Pinch

kosher salt

12 large egg whites, at room temperature 1 tsp.

cream of tartar

1 cup

granulated sugar

2 tsps.

vanilla extract

Zest

1 lemon, grated

Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the flour, confectioners’ sugar, and salt onto a piece of parchment paper.

In a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. While beating on medium-high, gradually add in the granulated sugar and beat until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and lemon zest, and mix in.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in about a third of the flour mixture. Gently fold in the remaining flour in two more additions.

Scrape the batter into a 10-inch ungreased tube pan. Do not grease the angel food cake baking pan; since this is basically a meringue cake, it needs to climb the sides of the pan while baking. This will not happen properly if the pan is greased.

Bake until the top is lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

PHOTO COURTESY CHEF LIDIA BASTIANICH

Cool upside down on the counter (if your pan has “legs”) or invert and cool on the neck of a glass bottle. Let cool completely. Run the edge of a knife around the pan to loosen and unmold. Cut into wedges with a serrated knife and serve with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar and grape sorbet.

Concord Grape Sorbet Ingredients: 2 lbs.

Concord grapes (about 5 cups)

1 cup

sugar

1 cup

water

2 tbls.

lemon juice

Instructions: Wash and dry the Concord grapes, then cut grapes in half; remove any seeds and stems.

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring gently. Then add the grapes and lemon juice and cook for 10 minutes, squashing the fruit as it cooks. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

When the mixture is cooled, strain it through a fine-mesh strainer to remove the solids. Gently stir with a spoon as you strain, but don’t force the solids through the strainer.

Cover the sorbet base and refrigerate until very cold, at least one hour or overnight.

Pour the chilled base into the ice cream machine and churn.

Continue churning until the sorbet is the consistency of a thick smoothie. This typically takes between 10 and 15 minutes in most machines.

Transfer the sorbet to pint containers or other freezable containers and cover. Freeze for at least four hours, until the sorbet has hardened.

Before serving, let the sorbet soften for a few minutes on the counter.

This is a simple and light dessert that you will make over and over again in many different ways. It is great by itself, with some chocolate or fruit syrup poured over it, or topped with ice cream and berries. In the winter, I like it with poached or baked winter fruits such as pears, apples, or quince.

FIND THIS AND OTHER RECIPES AT: FranciscanMedia.org/source/recipes

StAnthonyMessenger.org | November 2018 • 55

reflection “If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him. The people who give you their food give you their heart.”

ANNAPUSTYNNIKOVA/FOTOSEARCH

—Cesar Chavez

56 • November 2018 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

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