St. Anthony Messenger October 2019

Sharing the spirit of St. Francis with the world V O L . 1 2 7 / N O . 5 • OCTOBER 2019

CHECK IT OUT:

Sunflower short fiction PAGE 44

MARTIN SCORSESE AND HIS

TRILOGY OF FAITH

WHY AM I STILL CATHOLIC? AN UNLIKELY PATRON SAINT BECOMING A WORLD CHURCH

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“No other work addresses with such clarity the profound moral crisis engulfing the world, and the solutions. A monumental book! ”

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NY Times Best-Selling Author Host, The World Over

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Cardinal Robert Sarah with Nicolas Diat n what he calls his “most important book”, the best-selling author and brilliant Churchman analyzes the spiritual, moral, and political collapse of the Western world, concluding that “the decadence of our time has all the faces of mortal peril.”

A cultural identity crisis is at the root of the problems facing Western societies. Cardinal Sarah says, “The West no longer knows who it is, because it no longer knows and does not want to know who made it, who established it, as it was and as it is. This self-suffocation naturally leads to a decadence that opens the path to new, barbaric civilizations.” While making clear the gravity of our situation, he calls us to a renewal of devotion to Jesus Christ through prayer and the practice of virtue.

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VOL. 127 NO. 5

2019 OCTOBER

COVER STORY

26 Martin Scorsese’s Trilogy of Faith

CNS PHOTO/L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO, HANDOUT; COVER: DPA PICTURE ALLIANCE/ALAMY LIVE NEWS

By Daniel Imwalle

He’s known for his Mafia epics and dark character studies, but this legendary filmmaker has a profound spiritual side, as witnessed by a trio of challenging movies about faith.

18 Declutter Your Spiritual Life

By Mary Ann Steutermann

Marie Kondo has helped people declutter their possessions.

How can we apply her tactics to our spiritual lives?

22 Why Am I Still Catholic?

By Richard B. Patterson, PhD

It’s not a new question, but it has become more personal and pointed in light of the clergy sex-abuse scandal.

34 An Unlikely Patron Saint

ABOVE: Martin Scorsese’s films have taken him all over the world, whether in production or at premieres. His movie Silence brought him to the Vatican and an audience with Pope Francis.

38 Becoming a World Church

By Pat McCloskey, OFM

Jesus respected the diverse backgrounds of his listeners. Today the Catholic Church is embracing a much wider range of cultures.

44 Fiction: Sunflower

Story by Terry Sanville; illustration by David Fridlund

A friendship blooms from patience and compassion.

By Shannon Evans

I searched long and hard for the patron saint I wanted. In the end, my heart chose the one I needed.

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Prepare your family for Sunday Mass with our weekly email.

Get to know your favorite saints and blesseds.

minute meditations A daily feature that provides a quiet spot in your busy day.

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Celebrate special occasions with messages of faith.

“Lord God, you are patience. You are beauty. You are meekness.”

—St. Francis of Assisi

12 SPIRIT OF ST. FRANCIS

VOL. 127 NO. 5

2019 OCTOBER

54 POINTS OF VIEW

10 Ask a Franciscan

5

What did the Eucharist mean to St. Francis?

Your Voice

Letters from Readers

12 Franciscan World

15 Editorial

12 St. Anthony Stories

16 Faith Unpacked

13 Followers of St. Francis

17 At Home on Earth

Implementing “Laudato Si’”

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Avoiding a Trip to the DMV

Facing Life’s Monsters

Sister Christiana Maria, PC

Look for the Helpers

54 Faith & Family

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Blessings in Our Brokenness

48 CULTURE

48 Media Reviews

TV | The Family Video | “Why We Can’t Have a Civil Conversation about Guns” Podcast | Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations Music | Bon Iver

Front Pages 1019.indd 3

52ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

50 Film Reviews Parasite Spider in the Web Don’t Be Nice

4 6 14 52

Dear Reader Church in the News Notes from a Friar Saint Who?

55 Pete & Repeat 55 Lighten Up! 56 Reflection

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dear reader

ST. ANTHONY

MESSENGER PUBLISHER

Reconsidering Culture

Daniel Kroger, OFM

“

Doing the crossword,” my dad texted me recently. “Who is an eight-time Oscar nominee who never won?” “Peter O’Toole,” I responded—within seconds.

“Thanks,” he said. “You’re right.”

I don’t have a keen understanding of much. I am useless with numbers, geography, history, or anything that can be construed as valuable. But I do know pop culture. And I understand how it affects the culture at large. Television, film, music, podcasts, and YouTube color (and in some cases discolor) our faith lives significantly.

As a magazine, we want to address that in ways that better serve you, our readers.

Head to page 48 and you’ll see a few significant changes. “Media Matters” is now called “Culture,” and the content therein looks a bit different. We still have Sister Rose Pacatte’s film column, “Reel Time,” which will appear every month, but the rest of the content will rotate. Some months we’ll feature television and music; other months we’ll evaluate podcasts and TED talks and best-selling books. The aim of this new section is to inspire you to stretch your legs and explore the world of culture.

Many of us spend more time listening to audiobooks and podcasts, or watching YouTube or television, than we do in church. We feel it is our responsibility to help you navigate some of those waters. We are, after all, in this together.

PRESIDENT

Kelly McCracken EXECUTIVE EDITORS

Christopher Heffron Susan Hines-Brigger

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DANIEL IMWALLE

Sunflower

Martin Scorsese’s Trilogy of Faith

illustrator PAGE 44

David sees his drawings as a way to document the diverse surroundings of special places he comes across.

He was born and raised in Sweden and currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife, Sara, and their four-legged kids. Learn more about his work at JDFridlundArt.com.

writer

MARY ANN STEUTERMANN

PAGE 26

Declutter Your Spiritual Life

writer

PAGE 18

The managing editor of St. Anthony Messenger, Daniel has long been an admirer of Martin Scorsese’s films. A musician and avid music lover, Daniel lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with his wife, Belinda, and pets—two cats and a dog.

Mary Ann is a career educator who has served as a Catholic high school English teacher, administrator, and campus minister where she currently plans liturgies and develops Christian leaders. She’s also a freelance writer, ESL writing instructor, lover of great books, and Green Bay Packers fan.

To subscribe, write to the above address or call 866-543-6870. Yearly subscription price: $39.00 in the United States; $69.00 in Canada and other countries. Single copy price: $4.99. For change of address, four weeks’ notice is necessary. See FranciscanMedia.org/subscriptionservices for information on your digital edition.

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POINTSOFVIEW | YOUR VOICE A Personal Connection I greatly enjoyed the article on St. Maximilian Kolbe in the August issue (“Martyr of Auschwitz,” by Michelle Martin). I enjoyed it because the story of St. Maximilian is so compelling, but also because I have a personal connection to St. Ita Parish in Chicago.

My parents were members of that parish. I was baptized and went to school there, at least for first grade. After my father died, we moved to Nebraska, which was the home state of my mother. So for me, the article was doubly significant, and I thank you.

Mary M. Roeser, Omaha, Nebraska

Fossil Fuels Aren’t Bad

.S.P.S. TION lished of St. nnati, postffices. thony 0189. bram

call n the Single notice ption-

a.org/ manun fic-

I was very surprised to read Kyle Kramer’s viewpoint on climate change in the August 2019 issue (“Changing the Climate Change Narrative”). Why would God create the earth with fossil fuels beneath the earth’s surface if fossil fuels are not to be used wisely by humanity?

I am all for renewable energy that is economically justified, but the wind does not always blow and the sun does not always shine. I know the Lord did not put fossil fuels beneath the earth to cause the earth to warm so much that humanity would die. I worked as a chemical engineer and have studied climate change. If the Catholic Church supports the theory of climate change, the Church has bought into a lie.

Fossil fuels are critical in America’s agricultural industry to power equipment. Farm crops grow better with more carbon dioxide.

Fossil fuels have helped increase life span via better medical care, high-quality housing, heating and air-conditioning, and clean water, which are all by-products of the modern industrial age. Attacking fossil fuels because of the theory about climate change will hurt Americans’ health and prosperity.

Let’s develop alternate energy sources, but let’s not cripple America by attacking the use of fossil fuels.

Dan Reuter, Broomfield, Colorado

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Moved to Action Presently, the country is focused on immigration issues occurring at the border. While significant, there are also other pieces of our immigration policy that deserve our atten-

tion. That is why I appreciated the August editorial (“Dream On,” by Daniel Imwalle), which highlighted the precarious position of the 800,000 immigrants who entered this country as minors and who are now called Dreamers.

The editorial provided a series of welldocumented reasons why we Catholics need the moral courage to support the inclusion of these Dreamers in their struggle to someday become US citizens. It’s articles such as this that influenced my decision to renew my subscription. It also motivated me to write my congressman to support legislation providing the Dreamers a pathway to citizenship.

I love the variety of articles—religious, environmental, current national problems, reader questions, book and media reviews, etc. I look forward to receiving future issues.

Mary Anne Phalen, Cincinnati, Ohio

Unreasonable Reaction Despite the storm of criticism that Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin received for warning Catholics against embracing gay pride celebrations (“Rhode Island Bishop Faces Backlash over Controversial Tweet”), I thought his response, as quoted in your magazine, hewed very closely to what we have heard the pope say on the issue. That is, Bishop Tobin affirmed that members of the LGBTQ community are beloved children of God but, as bishop, his responsibility is to teach the faith and protect children from potential harm.

It is unfortunate that the reaction of the LGBTQ community to this eminently fair response was deemed doubling down on his homophobic comments. From their response, it would appear that anything short of an endorsement and celebration of the LGBTQ culture, regardless of one’s religious views, is considered homophobic and bigoted.

I found it particularly troubling that some in the LGBTQ movement went so far as to suggest that children would be safer at an LGBTQ event than they would be inside a Catholic church. This ungracious and intolerant response to Bishop Tobin’s outreach sounds a troubling note for greater understanding of how to go forward with mutual respect.

Bob Miller, Washington, DC

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church IN THE NEWS

people | events | trends

By Susan Hines-Br ig ger

An Amazon rain forest advocate wears a gas mask to raise awareness.

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plight of the indigenous people living in the area as well as the deforestation of the region. Sixty percent of the Amazon rain forest is in Brazil.

“To the brethren indigenous peoples who inhabit this beloved territory, we express all our closeness and join our voices with yours to shout to the world for solidarity and pay attention to end this devastation,” the bishops said.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro tried to address global concerns about the fires, saying that previously deforested areas had burned and that intact rain forest was spared.

Defense Minister Fernando Azevedo said some 44,000 troops will be available for “unprecedented” operations to put out the fires, and forces are heading to six Brazilian states that asked for federal help.

The military operations came after widespread criticism of Bolsonaro’s handling of the situation.

FRANCISCAN MINISTER GENERAL INJURED IN BIKE ACCIDENT

rother Michael Perry, OFM, minister general of the Order of Friars Minor, was seriously injured in a bike accident on August 15 while riding along the Chicago lakefront, according to the order’s website (ofm.org).

In a letter to the friars, Father Perry said that he “did not see a place in the road where there was a hole.

I entered the hole but then ran into another slab of concrete, which prevented me from moving forward. As a result, I fell from the bike onto my left side.”

The fall, he continued, “resulted in the breakage of part of the pelvic

bone that holds in place the femur and controls leg movement. As a consequence, I will undergo surgery to reconstruct the affected areas. I thank God that no other parts of my body were injured.”

Father Perry underwent surgery on August 19. According to Vicar General Brother Julio César Bunader, OFM, because of his injuries, Father Perry “will need to withdraw from all activities for a considerable period” while he is rehabilitating.

Per the order’s constitution, Brother Bunader will serve in Father Perry’s place during his absence.

CNS PHOTOS: TOP LEFT: SERGIO MORAES; RIGHT: SERGIO MORAES, REUTERS; BOTTOM: PAUL HARING

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aying, “If the Amazon suffers, the world suffers,” leaders of the Latin American Bishops’ Council issued a statement on August 22 calling for “prompt attention” to the fires that have been raging in the region. Pope Francis echoed that call and expressed his concern, saying, “Let us pray that with the commitment of all they will be brought under control quickly. That forest lung is vital for our planet,” reported Vatican News.

In their statement, the bishops urged the governments of the Amazon countries, especially Brazil and Bolivia, the United Nations, and the international community to take action, saying, “What happens to the Amazon is not just a local issue, but of global reach.”

In their statement, the bishops noted that the upcoming October Synod of Bishops for the Amazon will discuss the

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CNS PHOTOS: TOP LEFT: COURTESY OF THE DIOCESE OF GALLUP, NEW MEXICO; LOWER LEFT: COURTESY OF THE FOOD NETWORK; LOWER RIGHT: COURTESY OF THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS COUNCIL 4844

LATIN AMERICAN BISHOPS ISSUE STATEMENT ON FIRES IN THE AMAZON

TEEN WHO DIED SAVING CLASSMATES MADE A KNIGHT

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CNS PHOTOS: TOP LEFT: COURTESY OF THE DIOCESE OF GALLUP, NEW MEXICO; LOWER LEFT: COURTESY OF THE FOOD NETWORK; LOWER RIGHT: COURTESY OF THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS COUNCIL 4844

CNS PHOTOS: TOP LEFT: SERGIO MORAES; RIGHT: SERGIO MORAES, REUTERS; BOTTOM: PAUL HARING

GROUND BROKEN FOR ST. KATERI TEKAKWITHA SHRINE

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his past August, the Diocese of Gallup, New Mexico, broke ground for a shrine honoring St. Kateri Tekakwitha. The ceremony featured drumming as well as the Butterfly and Eagle dances by members of the Laguna tribe, reported Catholic News Service (CNS).

At the ceremony, Gallup Bishop James S. Wall said, “This shrine will be a special place for everyone, but especially to the indigenous people of this land, the Native American peoples of this land.”

The shrine is being built through a new partnership of the diocese, the Knights of Columbus, and the Southwest Indian Foundation. It will include a chapel, museum, and 30 outdoor rosary stations. Each station will be marked by a niche, and each niche will be designed by a Catholic artist from a distinct Native American nation.

“Today in the United States, as many as one in four Native Americans are Catholic. And yet, in many ways, these brothers and sisters in the faith have been forgotten,” said Carl A. Anderson, supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus. “It is our hope that in the years to come, this St. Kateri Shrine will become a national spiritual home for Native Americans and for all Catholics.”

PASTOR GUEST ON WORST COOKS IN AMERICA

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ather Adam Young, pastor of St. Paul Church in Cranston, Rhode Island, recently competed on the latest season of the popular Food Network show Worst Cooks in America, reported Rhode Island Catholic, the newspaper for the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island.

The show features 14 contestants with extremely poor cooking skills who take part in a culinary boot camp led by celebrity chefs Bobby Flay and Anne Burrell to earn a cash prize of $25,000.

Father Adam Young Father Young said learning the basics of cooking on national television provides an opportunity to share the faith in a unique way.

“The Church needs good PR. When some people think of the Catholic Church in the last few months, recently it’s an automatically negative idea, and we deserve it.

But there are so many good priests, religious, and laypeople out there. It was good that this could be a positive presence,” he said.

Father Young couldn’t reveal the outcome of the show, but said that if he won, he was planning to share the $25,000 prize with his inner-city parish school.

endrick Castillo, the 18-year-old student who was killed when he charged a school shooter at his suburban Denver high school last May, was posthumously named a Knight of Columbus at the organization’s convention this past August. John and Maria Castillo accepted the Caritas Medal on behalf of their son. The award is the second highest honor of the Knights of Columbus. Kendrick is only the fourth recipient of the award, created in 2013 to recognize extraordinary acts of charity and service.

Castillo was the only student to die in the shooting that day at STEM School Highlands Ranch. Eight other students were injured. Two suspects, both teens, were arrested and charged with first-degree murder and other charges.

Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson told the more than 2,000 convention attendees: “Kendrick wanted to be a Knight of Columbus because he wanted to help not only people, but his community. And in his last moments, Kendrick Castillo did both.”

Kendrick’s father is an active member of the Knights, the world’s largest Catholic fraternal organization, and Kendrick planned to join the Knights following his high school graduation.

Castillo had taken part in 2,600 hours of service with the Knights, along with his father.

Kendrick Castillo (right) and his father, John, often volunteered together.

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church IN THE NEWS

PENNSYLVANIA AUTHORITIES ARREST PRIEST ACCUSED OF STEALING MORE THAN $98,000

56-year-old priest from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia was arrested on August 21 for the alleged theft of $98,405.50 from St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, where he served as pastor. According to a press release from the Chester County District Attorney’s Office, they believe Msgr. Joseph Msgr. Joseph McLoone McLoone accomplished the theft by diverting parish funds into a secret account, misappropriating fees charged to parishioners, and other fraudulent activity.

The district attorney’s office alleges that Msgr. McLoone “took full advantage of the lack of control over the activity account and used it to fund his personal lifestyle. His lifestyle included a beach house, travel, dining, and spending on adult men with whom he maintained sexual relationships.

The defendant additionally supplemented his income by doubling the stipend he collected for saying each Mass and performing weddings and funerals.”

According to a statement by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, they became aware of the account in early 2018 and immediately froze it. A review of parish financial records was then undertaken by personnel from the archdiocese’s Office for Parish Services and Support.

In the spring of 2018, the archdiocese questioned Msgr.

McLoone directly about these matters. He acknowledged that the existence of the account was in violation of established archdiocesan financial controls and procedures and further acknowledged that some expenditures were for personal expenses of an inappropriate nature.

At that time, Msgr. McLoone was placed on administrative leave. He tendered his resignation as pastor of St. Joseph’s Parish, which was accepted by Archbishop Charles Chaput.

COVINGTON CATHOLIC STUDENT’S SUIT AGAINST NEWSPAPER DISMISSED

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n July 26, a federal judge dismissed the $250 million lawsuit brought by a Kentucky Catholic high school student against the Washington Post, reported CNS. The judge ruled that the newspaper’s articles and tweets about the student’s actions after the annual March for Life in January were protected by the First Amendment.

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Nick Sandmann (left) and Nathan Phillips at a rally in January 2019

Nick Sandmann, a student at Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills, Kentucky, sued the newspaper, claiming its coverage of what transpired at the Lincoln Memorial January 18 was biased. Video footage showed a smiling Sandmann, wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat, just inches away from Nathan Phillips, a Native American leader, as he chanted and beat a drum.

Sandmann’s suit claimed there were “no less than six false and defamatory articles” in the newspaper about the encounter, which had gone viral almost immediately. In his 36-page ruling, US District Judge William Bertelsman examined each of the 33 statements in question and found none of them to be defamatory and the vast majority to be quoting opinion, which is protected free speech.

He said that by quoting Phillips’ account of what occurred that day, the newspaper may have been inaccurate, but to be sued for libel, the Post’s reporting had to be both false and defamatory. Sandmann’s parents have said they will appeal.

‘WINDOW’ IN NEW YORK STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ON ABUSE SUITS OPENS

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n August 14, the state of New York opened a yearlong “window” in the statute of limitations that will allow suits to be filed by victims alleging abuse by priests, Church workers, employees of public schools, hospitals, and other institutions, regardless of how long ago the alleged abuse occurred, reported Catholic New York.

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Child Victims Act into law February 14, opening this window in the state’s statute of limitations and making it easier for abuse survivors to sue over the next year. The state’s Catholic bishops supported the final measure because it was drafted to include both private and public institutions. Earlier versions only targeted the Catholic Church.

In a video message on Twitter, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said: “It is a tough time, it’s a dark time. It’s especially difficult for our beloved victims and their families to see all this drug up again, to have these wounds reopened. It’s a tough time for our victims, survivors, and families, and I’d ask you to pray for them.”

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TOP LEFT: CHESTER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE; TOP RIGHT: CNS PHOTO/KAYA TAITANO, SOCIAL MEDIA VIA REUTERS

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He also asked “for the overwhelming majority of our great priests who’ve been extraordinarily faithful, virtuous, and hardworking in the midst of all this. They suffer.”

That same day, a lawsuit was filed

“It’s a tough time for our victims, survivors, and families, and I’d ask you to pray for them.”

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TOP LEFT: CHESTER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE; TOP RIGHT: CNS PHOTO/KAYA TAITANO, SOCIAL MEDIA VIA REUTERS

—Cardinal Timothy Dolan

accusing retired Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old in the late 1990s. Bishop Hubbard issued a statement saying: “With full and complete confidence, I can say this allegation is false. I have never sexually abused anyone in my life. I have trust in the canonical and civil legal processes and believe my name will be cleared in due course.”

Bishop Hubbard advised Albany Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger that he will take a voluntary leave of absence “until this matter is resolved.”

In related news, in August, Bishop Christopher J. Coyne of Burlington, Vermont, released the names of 40 priests who served in Vermont and were credibly accused of sexually abusing minors or vulnerable individuals since 1950.

He said he “asked that this report be compiled and published” because “the whole sordid tale of what happened in decades leading up to the US bishops’ 2002 Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People has not been fully aired.” The Church in Vermont and in the United States, he said, has taken “significant action” to address the sexual abuse of minors by clergy and the cover-up of those crimes “by those in authority,” but there is more to be done.

The diocese’s list was compiled by an independent volunteer committee of four laymen and three laywomen assembled in November 2018.

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SPIRITOFST.FRANCIS | ASK A FRANCISCAN

By Pat McCloskey, OFM

Francis of Assisi and the Eucharist

What did the Eucharist mean to St. Francis? How did he express his devotion to it?

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Father Pat welcomes your questions!

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

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

Pro-life or Pro-choice?

Can a Catholic be pro-choice? I am a practicing Catholic who is very pro-life. I know several Catholic women who are pro-choice. I’m an old man who thinks this is a contradiction.

?

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WE HAVE A DIGITAL archive of 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!

I

n common usage, the term pro-life for most people today means anti-abortion. The protection of unborn life is fundamental for all Members of the working group for the “Faithful Citizenship” other human rights. Many people, Catholics document attend the fall general assembly of the 2015 US included, see no connection between being pro- Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore. life and opposing the death penalty. The late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin advocated for a “seamless garment” of life issues, but he was severely criticized by many Catholics (including several US cardinals) who felt he was betraying the prolife cause.

The fact that more girl babies are carried to full term than boy babies in the United States suggests that more girls are being aborted in countries where most abortions are not chosen because of an unborn child’s gender.

Every year since 1976, Catholic bishops have issued a “Faithful Citizenship” document a year before a presidential election. They have always affirmed the rights of the unborn, but they have never taught that all Catholics must consider only abortion in choosing for whom or what to vote.

TOP LEFT: MC KOZUSKO/SAM; TOP RIGHT: PMM/FOTOSEARCH; BOTTOM: CNS PHOTO/BOB ROLLER

Pat McCloskey, OFM

he Eucharist is the closest connection that any follower of Jesus (Francis included) can get to Jesus. It flows out of our belief in the Incarnation. Francis defended the Eucharist against the Albigensians, the Catholic Church’s strongest critics in his day. Because they taught that everything material is bad and everything spiritual is good, the Albigensians rejected the Eucharist and all the other sacraments. The feast of Corpus Christi, which had begun in Belgium, was extended to the worldwide Church about 30 years after Francis died.

In 1215, Pope Innocent III held the Fourth Lateran Council, which lasted only a month but had a major impact, especially on the celebration and reception of the Eucharist. That council legitimated the term transubstantiation and introduced the Easter duty (confession of mortal sins at least once a year), encouraging at least yearly reception of the Eucharist. Many people were so convinced about their unworthiness that they were content simply to look at the consecrated host during Mass or at Benediction.

Francis wrote several letters to encourage greater reverence for the Eucharist. Eucharistic devotion was the subject of several of his Admonitions to the friars. Francis was particularly concerned about the cleanliness of churches, especially altar linens and liturgical vessels. St. Clare, who shared this concern, embroidered many corporals and purificators for use at Mass.

Members of the Franciscan family, especially Secular Franciscans, eventually received holy Communion on specified liturgical feasts. In some ways, they were ahead of the frequent Communion promoted by St. Pius X more than 100 years ago for people properly prepared and disposed.

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No Rides to Weekday Masses

I have a very rare and painful illness that has left me handicapped. I have trouble finding rides to doctors’ offices and to church.

Consequently, I feel very disconnected from my parish in which I once served as a catechist and director of religious education. I do some adult education from my home. My chemo schedule makes attending weekend Masses problematic, but I could go to some weekday Masses if I had a ride. Any suggestions?

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erhaps someone from your adult education group could give you a ride on Tuesdays—or whatever day works best for you and that person. If you select a day of the week, your parish might be able to connect you to someone who usually goes to Mass on that day of the week, leaving you and that person to work out all further details.

Quick Questions and Answers

If I go to heaven when I die (hopefully), how can I be truly happy if someone whom I have loved does not go to heaven but instead is in everlasting torment?

All those in heaven are in God’s presence forever. Could they really complain that someone else isn’t? I can understand your disappointment, but Jesus’ teaching that in heaven people neither marry nor are given in marriage (Mt 22:30) warns us against making heaven a larger version of a happy life on earth. In heaven, God’s “normal” will indeed be our new normal.

Are we supposed to pray to angels the way we pray to Mary and the other saints?

Mary, saints, and angels have no power independent of God. Our prayers “to” them are, in effect, prayers asking their help that we may be as open to God’s grace as they were. All of them used their freedom wisely. We ask their help to do the same.

TOP LEFT: MC KOZUSKO/SAM; TOP RIGHT: PMM/FOTOSEARCH; BOTTOM: CNS PHOTO/BOB ROLLER

Is it true that the Catholic Church has always regarded virginity as a higher calling than marriage? Does lifelong virginity guarantee that this person has reserved his or her heart completely for God? Can’t sanctity be found in any calling?

Life is too complex to establish a pecking order of holiness. Very generous married people can be more holy than selfish female or male virgins. St. Paul is often cited by those promoting virginity as a higher calling. His Second Letter to the Corinthians rejects the idea that virginity is a higher calling.

The highest calling is the one for which a specific person is best suited.

Why does the Catholic Church insist that Mary was forever a virgin? Is this a biblical or a Catholic tradition? Why is this teaching seen as important?

Many people would say this teaching reinforces the uniqueness of Jesus. All teachings about Mary are first related to the Church’s belief about Jesus.

When Bishop Nestorius taught that Christians should call Mary “the mother of Jesus” but not “the mother of God,” the majority of bishops at the Council of Ephesus (AD 431) disagreed. The first major challenge to the teaching about Mary’s perpetual virginity came during the Protestant Reformation (the 1500s). For centuries, Catholics in the East and the West disagreed about many things, but the virginity of Mary was not one of them.

Visit

stanthony.org/retired to help our senior and infirm friars live with the peace and joy they so richly deserve.

During October, your gift will be matched by the Jasper Challenge dollar for dollar up to $10,000.

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

www.stanthony.org 513-721-4700 ext. 3219

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SPIRITOFST.FRANCIS “One ‘Glory Be’ said in adversity is worth more than a thousand thanksgivings in times of success.”

—Blessed Angela Truszkowska

FRANCISCAN WORLD

Implementing “Laudato Si’”

By Pat McCloskey, OFM

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AFTER THE SICKLY Sophia Truszkowska (1825–1899) regained her health, she and a cousin decided to care for Warsaw’s most needy children.

Sophia (now Angela) founded the Felician Sisters, so named because they often prayed in front of a statue of St. Felix of Cantalice, a Capuchin saint.

Several of these sisters arrived in Polonia, Wisconsin, in 1874 and soon taught in schools and served orphans, seniors, and homeless women and men.

She was beatified in 1993; her feast is celebrated on October 11.

—Pat McCloskey, OFM

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

ST. ANTHONY STORIES

Avoiding a Trip to the DMV

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was born on June 13—the feast of St. Anthony—and have always been devoted to this special saint. Years ago, I lost my driver’s license on a day when I needed to take it out while at home. I searched my house diligently for hours, then gave up in exhaustion. My godmother called and reminded me to say the prayer to St. Anthony: “Dear St. Anthony, look around. Something’s lost and can’t be found.”

I left the matter in his loving hands and went to deal with the day’s mail. One item was a letter I had opened hours earlier from a Jesuit friend of mine. I took the letter out of the envelope to read it more carefully than I had earlier, and my license fell out of the letter as I unfolded it! I am sure it is no accident that it reappeared in a letter from a priest. How it got there is a mystery—or a miracle from dear St. Anthony. I believe it’s the latter, for he has never failed me since the day I was born.

—Lorraine Bourgeois

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PHOTO COURTESY OF SISTER CHRISTIANA

Her private mission to care for those in need grew into a worldwide sisterhood of compassion.

LEFT: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;TOP RIGHT: CNS PHOTO/SAM LUCERO/THE COMPASS; BOTTOM RIGHT: DAVEALLEN/FOTOSEARCH

BLESSED ANGELA TRUSZKOWSKA

ast June 27–29 in Omaha, Nebraska, Creighton University and the Catholic Climate Covenant cosponsored a conference entitled “Laudato Si’ and the US Catholic Church: A Conference Series on Our Common Home.”

Approximately 250 people heard four plenary talks, each followed by breakout sessions. Kenneth Himes, OFM, a moral theologian from Boston College, used the good Samaritan parable to explain four ways to love one’s neighbor: 1) doing no harm, 2) preventing harmful evils, 3) removing a threatening evil, and 4) pro- Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical, “Laudato Si’: On Care for Our moting a person’s good while limiting any Common Home,” was widely praised for its moral and ethical harm threatened. The first three options response to protecting earth’s environment, such as Alaska’s Byron show charity; the fourth reflects the virtue Glacier (pictured here), for future generations to enjoy. of justice.

Himes noted that authentic development for Pope Francis requires justice. The Church, explained Himes, “has a right and duty to speak in public, but its influence will only be as great as the wisdom of its message.” The encyclical “needs to be part of any conversation by American Catholics of how we are to be obedient to the Lord’s commandment of love.”

Franciscan sisters and Secular Franciscans were among the conference’s participants.

s

FOLLOWERS OF ST. FRANCIS

ST. ANTHONY

Spiritual Freedom in a Cloistered Community “Enclosure is actually what gives us the freedom to live our vocation.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF SISTER CHRISTIANA

LEFT: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS;TOP RIGHT: CNS PHOTO/SAM LUCERO/THE COMPASS; BOTTOM RIGHT: DAVEALLEN/FOTOSEARCH

hen you can call, text, e-mail, or send photos instantaneously, living as a cloistered sister seems to be more of a sacrifice than ever before.

But Sister Christiana Maria of Merciful Love, a Poor Clare at the Maria Regina Mater Monastery in Kokomo, Indiana, sees it differently. As cloistered contemplatives and followers of the reform of St. Colette of Corbie, the sisters profess four vows: poverty, chastity, obedience, and enclosure.

“Our vow of enclosure is perhaps the most difficult part of our vocation for people to grasp. Bars, grilles, gates, walls—it sounds like a prison! We do acknowledge ourselves to be ‘prisoners of love,’ so convicted of God’s love for us and for all humanity that we wish to give him everything: our time, our wills, our hearts and bodies, our entire lives. Enclosure is actually what gives us the freedom to live our vocation,” says Sister Christiana.

Sister Christiana was born in 1983 in Battle Creek, Michigan, the third of 10 children in a faith-filled family, and although she had never met a woman religious until she was a teen, she felt a calling to the religious life.

“As a child, I was definitely attracted to the religious life—at least, what I knew of it from books and movies. I have always loved going to church and praying, as well as silence and solitude, especially outside. But I didn’t know that I would be a [religious] sister until I was 15 or 16,” she says.

When she was 17, she entered an active religious community, the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Felix of Cantalice, or Felician Sisters, and spent nearly 13 years with them before sensing that God was calling her elsewhere.

“One day, I was on a home visit and

was trying to convince my younger sister that she should at least consider entering a cloistered community. She finally consented, so the two of us were looking up communities within a reasonable distance from my parents,” says Sister Christiana. “We came across our Kokomo website, and I kept saying, ‘Oh, look at this!’ and ‘Oh, isn’t that beautiful?’ Her comment was, ‘If you like it so much, you join!’ I chuckled and replied, ‘Maybe I will!’”

Over the next several months, Sister Christiana felt tugs on her heart to join a cloistered community. “During that time I clearly, without a doubt, heard God’s invitation to the contemplative life,” she says.

She entered the monastery in 2013 and professed solemn vows in 2017.

Although Sister Christiana found peace with her decision, it was difficult for her family.

“Honestly, they were horrified. It meant that they would rarely see me, and only behind a screen. No phone calls, limited writing, no e-mail, etc.,” she recalls. “They did, however, want to understand and support me if this was God’s will. Now they are very supportive, and I have grown to love them even more.”

In addition to her four vows, Sister Christiana loves all the pillars of the order. “I love our Franciscan spirituality, particularly the way in which we strive to live the Rule of Holy Mother St. Clare, as approved in 1253, and the subsequent reform of our Holy Mother St. Colette. I love our devotion to the Mass, Liturgy of the Hours, the Eucharist and the sacraments, Our Lady, St. Joseph, and all the saints.

What is there not to enjoy?” asks Sister Christiana.

—Janice Lane Palko

FRANK JASPER, OFM

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Sister Christiana Maria

BREAD s

The National Shrine of St. Anthony is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Consecrated in 1889, it includes a first-class relic of St. Anthony and serves as a center for daily prayer and contemplation.

The Franciscan friars minister from the shrine. To help them in their work among the poor, you may send a monetary offering called St. Anthony Bread. Make checks or money orders payable to “Franciscans” and mail to the address below.

Every Tuesday, a Mass is offered for benefactors and petitioners at the shrine. To seek St. Anthony’s intercession, mail your petition to the address below. Petitions are taken to the shrine each week. viSit our webSite to:

StAnthony.org

s

mAil poStAl communicAtionS to:

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

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NOTES FROM A FRIAR Friar Jack Wintz, OFM

St. Francis and the Leper S

t. Francis had a fear and abhorrence of lepers.

One day, however, he met a man afflicted with leprosy while riding his horse near Assisi. Though the sight of the leper filled him with horror and disgust, Francis got off his horse and kissed the leper.

Then the leper put out his hand, hoping to receive something. Out of compassion, Francis gave money to the leper.

But when Francis mounted his horse again and looked all around, he could not see the leper anywhere. It dawned on him that it was Jesus whom he had just kissed.

WHAT ST. FRANCIS LEARNED

In his Testament, Francis wrote, “When I was in sin, the sight of lepers nauseated me beyond measure; but then God himself led me into their company, and I had pity on them. When I became acquainted with them, what had previously nauseated me became the source of spiritual and physical consolation for me.”

Francis’ embrace of the leper was not an isolated instance. No, his ministry to lepers would only expand. Francis would go down to the colony of lepers two miles below Assisi, outside the city walls.

Francis and other friars continued to minister to the lepers, feeding them while also caring for and kissing their wounds. This became an ongoing ministry for Francis and the friars.

REACHING OUT TO OTHERS

There are many ways today that we can assist those whom society rejects—those with mental illness or those who just don’t fit in because of lifestyle, orientation, or religion. In the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, we can kiss and wash their wounds. We can offer them comfort or compassion. Or we can add to this list people who are seriously ill at home or in a hospital.

Jack Wintz, OFM, is a retired editor of St. Anthony Messenger. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

SPIRAL NOTEBOOK: NU1983/FOTOSEARCH; ST. FRANCIS MOSAIC: OFM GENERAL CURIA/JIM McINTOSH

FRANCIS DID MORE THAN MEET THE LEPER

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POINTSOFVIEW | EDITORIAL

Blessed Are the Peacemakers “Mankind must remember that peace is not God’s gift to his people; peace is our gift to each other.”

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hese words, from Holocaust survivor and peace activist THE LEAST AMONG US Elie Wiesel, are my go-to on Franciscan Media’s social Who qualifies as 21st-century lepers? What individuals or groups have we neatly categorized as dangerous, unsavory, channels whenever a mass shooting befouls our country.

Needless to say, I’ve tweeted these words far too often. The suspect? Asylum seekers, those who have fled persecution in their home country but who are without legal status as message speaks to our own potential as peacebuilders—and they are so inherently Franciscan they could have flowed refugees, are a good place to start. Tens of thousands are still from the pen of Francis himself. But it seems that, culturally, being held in detention camps in the United States, many of which can best be described as human kennels. How would we have devalued the art of peacemaking.

Two months have passed, but the Francis of Assisi treat them if he were alive today? Would he favor their indefination is still reeling—and healing— nite internment? Or would he embrace from the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. There have them as brothers and sisters? The love God’s message to Francis had for Christ burned like fire been countless instances of gun violence St. Francis should be in his heart, and he would surely see before and since the tragedies, but they our own: Do not destroy, haven’t always registered on the national parallels between asylum seekers behind repair; build bridges, chain-link fences in McAllen, Texas, and consciousness because gun violence is not walls. so commonplace in America anymore the plight of the Holy Family, asylum that it isn’t always news. seekers in their own day.

Those who are targeted because of But this editorial isn’t about the Second Amendment: neither our their race, religion, or sexual orientation country’s silly gun lust, nor the destruction that guns in the could qualify as 21st-century lepers, absolutely. According to a 2017 report by the Department of Justice, over 50 percent wrong hands can bring. This isn’t a rant about 21st-century of hate crimes in the last year were committed by white social problems, but a 13th-century remedy to them.

Americans. But the relentless narrative among many is that MEDIEVAL AND TIMELESS the real threat is beyond our borders, not within.

Francis of Assisi was medieval to his core, but his struggles Would Francis of Assisi help in building the wall promwere surprisingly contemporary. Born into privilege, a young ised by the current administration? Would he fan the flames Francis was wooed by earthly trappings and dreams of glory of fear and suspicion? A singular moment in Francis’ life may on the battlefield. But that was not to be. During his time as give us an answer. When he was praying in the fallen-down a soldier, he was captured and taken as a prisoner of war for chapel of San Damiano, Francis heard God’s simple message: a year, eventually returning home, sick and broken. But heal- Do not destroy, repair; build bridges, not walls. That should ing through spiritual conversion was underway. be our directive as well.

One chapter in that conversion story happened when Francis approached a leper outside the walled city of Assisi.

ENDURE IN PEACE Once repelled by the sight of them, he suddenly saw the face It’s easy to classify Francis’ message as too dated to be of Christ in the leper, kissed his cheek, and embraced him as relevant in this complex century, but that’s a shortsighted a brother. What could have been a sweet-but-insignificant position. His life mirrored the Gospels. And their core mesmoment became a hallmark of Franciscan spirituality: sage—love God, love your neighbor—goes away whenever a embracing “the other.” human life is endangered, compromised, or cut short.

It isn’t always comfortable embracing those who differ Living lives devoted to peace is like a stone thrown from us—and rarely is it convenient. Shedding our worldly into still waters: The ripple effects of those acts register selves for such a higher purpose almost doesn’t count unless outward—and inward as well. Francis of Assisi knew that it challenges and changes us. Francis of Assisi understood Christ’s message is our reward. He told us as much in his this lesson of rising above prejudice and scorn, but it is one “Canticle of Brother Sun”: “Happy those who endure in seldom practiced today. peace; by you, Most High, they will be crowned.”

—Christopher Heffron StAnthonyMessenger.org | October 2019 • 15

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POINTSOFVIEW | FAITH UNPACKED Facing Life’s Monsters

By David Dault, PhD

David hosts the weekly radio show Things Not Seen: Conversations about Culture and Faith. He also cohosts the Francis Effect podcast with Father Dan Horan, OFM. He lives with his family on the South Side of Chicago.

Want a certain topic covered? Send us your request.

E-MAIL:

FaithUnpacked@ FranciscanMedia.org MAIL:

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

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

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t’s October, and the long sunlight in the afternoons and the coming chill in the air sing the approach of autumn. Fall has always been my favorite season, with hayrides and visits to the apple orchards south of Chicago with my family. It brings me deep joy.

One evening a few years ago, before we had kids, my wife, Kira, and I went to visit a haunted corn maze. I have a vivid memory of rounding a corner and suddenly standing face-to-face with a teenage kid in a werewolf mask, looming out at us from a hiding place in the cornstalks. I jumped a bit and then laughed out loud. Good spooky tingles.

What I said then to Kira, I will repeat to you now: I enjoy haunted houses in all their varieties. In fact, despite the scares, I find that a haunted house is one of the few places where I actually feel safe.

The reason is simple. For all their moans and frights, and even with all the fake blood, a haunted house is entertainment. It is designed to give the appearance of danger; but if it ever crossed the line into actually hurting people, it would quickly be shut down.

A haunted house has rules, and I trust the rules will be followed.

So I walk into the corn maze with the assurance that the kid in the werewolf mask cannot hurt me and, as weird as it may sound, I relax.

MONSTERS IN OUR CHURCH

When I look at our Church today, I see too many times when the leadership and the laity have gone on a holy crusade against werewolf masks and corn mazes. We have gone after the harmless things among us that have the appearance of danger but have no real fangs.

The wrong sort of God-talk or the wrong sort of love is chased from our midst, and we feel momentarily safer—though we are not safe.

Meanwhile, for decades, as we have preened and polished the reputations of our parishes, we have harbored and protected monsters—real monsters.

As my kids get older, I wish I could tell you that I feel safer taking them to my parish than I do a haunted house, but I don’t. Until we get honest and truly face our monsters in the Church, I will stick with the haunted house.

At least there, I have confidence we’ll come out the other side unharmed.

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LEFT: SUBBOTINA/FOTOSEARCH; RIGHT: COURTESY OF KYLE KRAMER

David Dault, PhD

I wish I could have felt the same assurance about the house I grew up in. It was a place that looked safe from the outside, but a whole lot of scary moments happened there.

Nobody wore a werewolf mask, and that meant you never really knew when you were going to come face-to-face with a monster.

And, unlike the corn maze, there were no rules that kept us safe. Walking in, there was always the chance somebody would get hurt.

Houses like the one I grew up in are ruled by demons, and they are haunted by secrets.

Violence, substance abuse, and sometimes worse loom out at you from the shadows.

The worst part of it is that—because they look safe and normal from the outside— everyone expects you to keep up the appearance that everything is fine.

After a dozen years of marriage, my patient wife understands why I feel so at home in a corn maze with the werewolves while a quiet Sunday afternoon at home can leave me spooked and paranoid. She understands that my weary soul appreciates the straightforward honesty of someone who is simply there to scare me. It is preferable to constantly looking over my shoulder, chased by fears and memories that those who are supposed to love me will hurt me.

TOP LEFT: PHOTO COURTESY OF CHICAGO SUNDAY EVENING CLUB/KHIEM TRAN; TOP RIGHT: FLASHPACKERSPHOTOS/FOTOSEARCH

REALITY-BASED FEAR

POINTSOFVIEW | AT HOME ON EARTH

By Kyle Kramer

Look for the Helpers

n recent years, I often find myself getting discouraged at the level of divisiveness and just plain meanness I see in the public arena and in up-close human relationships. I get frustrated because I know we have many difficult social and environmental challenges to address, but we just can’t seem to get traction.

Though I probably shouldn’t be surprised at human foibles and sinfulness, I keep believing that we can do better than this; we’re made for more than this.

In such dark moments, I try to remember the sage advice of Fred Rogers to “look for the helpers”—the ones who try to unite and heal rather than divide and destroy. Such people are the sacraments of a different way of being.

They remind us that a better world is indeed possible.

Sometimes, the helpers aren’t even human.

In October, here among the deciduous forests

HELPFUL

TIPS1 LEFT: SUBBOTINA/FOTOSEARCH; RIGHT: COURTESY OF KYLE KRAMER

TOP LEFT: PHOTO COURTESY OF CHICAGO SUNDAY EVENING CLUB/KHIEM TRAN; TOP RIGHT: FLASHPACKERSPHOTOS/FOTOSEARCH

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Lessons from the Trees

To learn about the “wood wide web” and the astounding communal nature of trees, watch forest ecologist Dr. Suzanne Simard’s TED talk, available at ted.com.

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A great resource to learn more about trees and forests is German forester Peter Wohlleben’s wise, sometimes whimsical, always Zen-like book, The Hidden Life of Trees.

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Almost all of us can get involved in planting trees, whether on our own property or in public spaces. The Arbor Day Foundation (arborday.org) is a good place to start.

of the Midwest, the leaves are turning with a kaleidoscopic beauty that rivals the finery of Solomon. It’s hard not to notice the trees. As one who, for many years, has managed woodlots, tended orchards, hunted, and made firewood, I’ve come to appreciate all I’ve learned about the ecological generosity of trees.

In their quiet, unobtrusive way, they help contribute to biodiversity, soil health, climate stability, rainfall, erosion control, temperature moderation, and air quality.

I’m most moved and fascinated, however, by recent research about the “wood wide web,” a term scientists use to describe the intricate, collaborative communication network that exists in thriving, intact forests. Trees warn each other of danger from pests and other predators.

Remarkably, they share nutrients and carbon—even with rival species—through vast, intertwined root systems and underground mycorrhizal networks, which are symbiotic relationships that form between fungi and plants. They are, in the words of Canadian forest ecologist Suzanne Simard, “supercooperators” —so much so, that it is far more accurate to think of a forest as a single organism rather than a collection of individual trees. This mutuality is how forests remain healthy and resilient amid many challenges.

Thomas Merton once wrote that “a tree gives glory to God by being a tree.” In being what they are, trees and forests not only give praise to the Creator but also offer us an important lesson about human community.

If trees, which many would not even consider to be sentient creatures (though I would disagree), are able to model such a beautiful and elegant belonging, how much more might be possible for the human community? Aren’t we made in the image of our triune, relationship God? Can’t we, as Paul invited, put on the mind of Christ?

At any and every moment, with God’s grace, I believe we can rediscover and return to our true, cooperative nature. Like God calling to Elijah, trees speak to us in a still, soft voice, showing us how to do just that. I believe that deep within us we still know how to listen to these helpers. For their sake, and ours, I pray we do.

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

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WANT MORE? Visit our website: StAnthonyMessenger.org

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s anyone who has ever tried to tame the chaos in the garage or sort through last season’s clothing knows, imposing order on our lives is no easy task.

And evidently, it’s not one we do well. A quick Google search for “home organization” suggests a disturbing conclusion—that people across the globe suffer from an epidemic of disorder and are awash in endless clutter.

The roughly 3.5 billion results include everything from quick and easy tidying tips for the home and self-storage rental facilities to bins, baskets, shelving, and professional organization services.

Clearly, our interest in decluttering has become more than just a passing fancy during our spring-cleaning routines. It’s become a revolutionary way of life. And much of this is thanks to Marie Kondo.

Organizing consultant, author, and one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” in 2015, Marie Kondo has become to the organizing industry what the Beatles are to music. Her book The LifeChanging Magic of Tidying Up was an instant best seller, she has her own TV series on Netflix, and her method of organization is now named for her: “KonMari.”

But why this obsession with tidying up? I believe the real reason the KonMari Method has resonated with so many people is that underneath all the modern tips for clutter combat is the ancient wisdom that people of faith have celebrated for millennia. A closer look at Kondo’s advice can be a great reminder of several essential spiritual truths.

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Remember your purpose.

Let it go.

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he now-famous question Kondo says we should ask ourselves about every item we own is, “Does it spark joy?” At first glance, it can seem silly to question whether a pair of socks or a baseball cap or a can opener brings me joy, but there is a hidden genius to it. It’s another way of asking ourselves, “Why?” Why do I have three can openers, one of which doesn’t even work? Are the two I don’t use fulfilling their intended purpose by sitting idly in the drawer?

Remembering our purpose is exactly what Catholics do every time we go to Mass. Celebrating the Eucharist reminds us of our purpose as members of the body of Christ. And reminders are important. It’s easy to get caught up in believing our purpose in life is a function of the things we do: earning a living, raising a family, pursuing an interest. While our real purpose may involve those things, there’s something deeper at the heart of it all. Jesus was crystal clear about “remembering our purpose” when asked about the greatest commandment:

“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself ” (Mt 22:37–39).

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PRACTICAL AND SPIRITUAL ADVICE

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f any item we own doesn’t bring us joy, then Kondo believes we need to give it to someone who can find joy in its use or throw it away. We should not keep things simply because they used to fulfill their purpose or might do so one day in the future. And those of us who have ever donated a big load of used clothing to charity or pitched tons of useless items out on junk day know that it feels so good. Any time we get rid of things that no longer serve their purpose, we feel freer and lighter in a nearly physical sense.

Catholics have a beautiful way of getting rid of spiritual clutter: the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We don’t need to tell our sins to a priest to be forgiven or for God to love us again. God never stopped loving us, and divine forgiveness is always available. We do it because it helps us let go of the internal junk that weighs us down—otherwise known as sin. By “throwing away” our selfishness and lack of compassion, we create space for love. In the parable of the prodigal son, Jesus draws a powerful image of how we can “let it go” through God’s forgiveness:

“While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him” (Lk 15:20).

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Deal with it.

Make it right.

B

efore Marie Kondo, most of us had never thought about what inanimate objects might “feel.” After all, it seems strange to wonder how my sweater feels about being balled up in the corner of my closet. Frustrated? Hurt? Or how my photo albums feel about being covered in dust. Neglected?

Depressed? But Kondo believes that we should consider such things because in a very real sense we have a relationship with each item that we own.

German theologian Martin Buber wrote that there are two types of relationships, and this is true of both people and things. The “I–it” relationship is transactional and views the other as an object. In contrast, the “I–thou” relationship is transformational because it involves a connection between subjects. Jesus was all about “right relationship.” In fact, he frustrated many of the religious leaders of the time because he didn’t care much about the inflexible rituals and restrictive purity codes that were so important to them. Instead, he preached a Gospel of love and compassion. When the Pharisees criticized him because his disciples were eating without engaging in the usual cleanliness rituals, he mocked them about their inability to “make it right”:

“How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition!”

(Mk 7:9).

K

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BIALASIEWICZ/FOTOSEARCH

“If you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Mt 5:23–24).

FOTOSEARCH IMAGES: ANDREY POPOV (2)

ondo says that the typical way we tidy up the house— room by room—is all wrong. Instead, she believes that it’s best to tackle the task by category. If I start by organizing all the books in my study, then I need to keep working on the books in the rest of my house: the cookbooks in the kitchen, my nighttime reading in the bedroom, the joke books in the bathroom. Why? When we clean by room, it’s too easy to push things we find there into another room that’s not yet organized. The books from my study that really should be given away end up on an untidy shelf in the living room.

The same tendency is true in our spiritual lives. The easiest way to deal with the parts of ourselves that aren’t strong and beautiful is to avoid dealing with them at all. It’s easy to push them into some other corner of my soul or psyche where I don’t have to acknowledge them. But like other untreated wounds, they can become infected and cause greater damage down the road. Jesus advised his disciples to “deal with it” when it comes to our sins and suffering:

Give it space.

Thanks to Better Memory, my age won’t steal my

Mental Edge.*

P

erhaps the most quoted line from Kondo’s work next to her question about “joy” is her advice to “fold, don’t hang.” She says that folding clothes and placing them front to back in drawers is far superior to hanging them in a closet. It makes it easier to see each item when selecting what to wear, and it gives our clothing space to breathe. After all, the whole purpose of tidying up is to create space.

Folding rather than hanging our clothes is a lot like praying rather than worrying about our lives. Worrying crowds our minds with endless, fretful chatter and our hearts with resentment and anxiety. But prayer creates space. It makes room for our hearts to grow in love and compassion. Taking time apart from our daily routines to simply be in God’s presence helps us to see ourselves, others, and our life circumstances in a clearer light. It’s no coincidence that Jesus had to “give it space” just before he made his critical choice of the Twelve Apostles:

“He departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God” (Lk 6:12).

Marie Kondo’s books have sold over 10 million copies, so without a doubt, she is onto something. There truly is “magic” in tidying up. But perhaps the greater magic in her decluttering strategies is not so much what they can do for our closets but what Jesus’ own similar advice can do for our souls.

Maybe that’s why the Bible has sold the most copies of any book in history—approximately 5 billion! The Gospel of Jesus is the greatest “life-changing magic” of all.

BIALASIEWICZ/FOTOSEARCH

FOTOSEARCH IMAGES: ANDREY POPOV (2)

LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC INDEED

Mary Ann Steutermann is the director of campus ministry at Assumption High School, an all-girls Catholic high school in Louisville, Kentucky. She’s also a freelance writer whose articles have been published on the popular Catholic website BustedHalo.com. Mary Ann lives in Louisville with her husband and son.

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NIKONTIGER/STOCK

WHY

Am I

By Richard B. Patterson, PhD

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D

uring a discussion about spiritual matters, a good friend, a devout Jew who had read most of what I have written about psychology and spirituality, asked me, “Why are you still Catholic?” She noted that my writings suggest not only that I have a lot of questions, but also that I struggle mightily with the failings of the Catholic Church as an organization.

In light of the clerical sex-abuse scandal, that question of why I remain Catholic is again before me. The Pennsylvania grand jury report released in August 2018 raised the question in a new, more personal manner.

I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, one of the dioceses examined in the grand jury report. In my business, the rule of thumb is: “Don’t ask a question if you’re not prepared to deal with the answer.” I thought of that as I prepared to examine the list of priests for whom there was credible evidence of abusive behavior toward children. I expected two names to be on the list since my Catholic high school had already approached alumni about these men. But then I saw one name I hadn’t expected.

When I was in seventh and eighth grade, a priest in our parish, Father G, took me under his wing. He appointed me as instructor for the new altar boys (a great honor!) and helped me find a summer job. He was one of the inspirations for my desire to become a priest. Father G’s name is on that list.

This man never laid a hand on me, but he was later found to be a pedophile who had abused numerous boys. When I saw his name and the things he had done, all his kindness to me became suspect. Pedophiles are known for “grooming,” in which they build a relationship with a child based on kindness and nurturance that they then use as the foundation for sexualizing the relationship. Was Father G grooming me?

I don’t know, but seeing his name on that list undermined what had been a positive experience for me. It gave me a different level of insight into the betrayal felt by victims of clergy abuse.

This, in turn, stirred up an experience I’d had while visiting a seminary in my teens. I was to room with a seminarian.

During the night, I woke up to him trying to molest me. My aggressive response put a quick end to that, and I dismissed the experience. The Pennsylvania report brought it back to me.

These events have not been the only source of my struggles as to why I am still Catholic. I have at times been outspoken, challenging the Church to be more transparent and responsive in dealing with survivors of clergy abuse. This was not always received well. Once I was labeled an enemy of the Church. Another time I learned from a client that a wellplaced priest whom I had never met “really dislikes you,” apparently in part because of an article I had written for America magazine and a later television interview in which I stated my fear that the Church is dying.

What I have been confronted with is the utter humanness of the Church. Flawed leaders who manage out of fear.

Church officials caught up in power. Manipulative individuals interested in using others. Overworked priests making bad decisions in the face of stress and depression.

HOW LEAVING BROUGHT ME BACK

As I wrestle with the question, I must ask myself: Are you still Catholic merely out of habit? Are you afraid to pursue another path? Thankfully, I was able to lay this issue to rest some years ago when I took a sabbatical from Catholicism.

I stopped attending Sunday Mass and participating in Catholicism in any way. I hoped to get some perspective.

m I Still Catholic?

It’s not a new question, but it has become more personal and pointed in light of the clergy sex-abuse scandal.

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that film, I again struggled with why I remain Catholic as I saw just how massive that crisis had been both in the United States and internationally.

After the Pennsylvania report, I had some hope for a new, more honest response from the Church. But I also have a fear based on something a victim had told me. Although as a boy he had been abused by a priest, this man served the Church in many meaningful ways. One evening he sat in a committee meeting in his parish. When the topic of the clergy abuse crisis came up, one woman said: “This crisis is only a small blip in the Church’s history. The Church will survive.”

My fear is that many in the Catholic Church will proceed under the assumption—the evil assumption— that the crisis will pass and nothing really major needs to change.

And yet I am still Catholic. Why? I am still Catholic because I still believe in Jesus’ message. His way is a path to live out the message that love can overcome all and that we are here to take care of one another. But I also agree with Wendell Berry when he writes, in Blessed Are the Peacemakers, that Christianity has become fashionable in the United States but in fact “seems to have remarkably little to do with things that Jesus Christ actually taught.”

Do you remember the fad of wearing WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?)

A PATH TO REDEMPTION

I am still Catholic because I believe in redemption as most recovering addicts do. A redemptive experience heals us and sets a new direction for us. In many ways, the Church has lost its way. Leaders have lost credibility. The demand from survivors of clergy abuse that bishops also be held accountable has received a mixed response. Yes, many dioceses (including El Paso) have reached out to survivors of clergy abuse, offering help. Yet the system of governance that gave rise to secrecy and deception remains unchanged.

Who knows what a redemptive experience within the Catholic Church will look like? Perhaps trust will be rebuilt. Perhaps the relationship between laity and clergy will be reshaped into something more coequal, with laity sharing in the responsibility of governance. Perhaps the roles and responsibilities of deacons will be expanded. Perhaps the role of women will expand in meaningful ways. All I know is that grace and redemption are real and can redirect our lives in dramatic ways. I pray for grace and redemption for the Church.

I am still Catholic because I believe persons in authority can face the dark side of power and grow from it. It is this dark side of power—not lust—that has almost destroyed the Church. Yet I know many, many priests and nuns who are aware of this dark side and

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PHOTO CREDIT HERE

I read the works of great Christians not afraid to question: C.S. Lewis, Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, and writers of other faiths such as Rabbi Lawrence Kushner and Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh.

Over the course of those months, I came to see that there was much about Catholicism that I missed. I found that I missed Mass. Granted, there is much that I don’t understand (e.g., transubstantiation), but I found myself yearning for the mysticism of Mass as well as the comfort I found in the Eucharist.

I missed connecting with the saints, especially the down-to-earth saints like Damien of Molokai and Dismas, who struggled yet were able to rise above their own humanness. And so I went back.

I continued to treat victims of clergy abuse and came to see that the real tragedy was the damage that had been done to their spirits. Some rejected Catholicism in favor of another path.

Others rejected formal religion altogether. Still others rejected God. When the movie Spotlight came out, I was overwhelmed with emotion when I saw my two homes— Scranton, Pennsylvania, and El Paso, Texas—listed at the end as cities with confirmed incidents of clergy abuse. I thought of survivors I had evaluated and counseled, especially one young man who had been molested by a priest mentioned in the movie. After

ISTOCK IMAGES: TOP LEFT: MROD; LOWER RIGHT: KAVUNCHIK

I found myself yearning for the mysticism of Mass as well as the comfort I found in the Eucharist.

bracelets? As I try to live out Jesus’ message, it helps to consider that question.

What would Jesus do? I am fairly certain he would be at the migrant youth camp in nearby Tornillo, Texas, handing out clothes and plates of food. I am sure he would be stroking the forehead of someone dying of AIDS. I’m sure he would be sitting with the teenager afraid to tell his/her parents that he/ she is gay. Jesus might very well be in a protest at the local abortion clinic, but he would also sit listening to the teenage mother who leaves that clinic after her abortion. Those are some reasons why I’m still Catholic. My Catholicism informs WWJD.

work hard to use their power in life-affirming ways.

I am still Catholic because I am inspired by the example of several who got it right, embraced Christ’s message, and lived it in ways that expressed their gifts. I find hope and inspiration during these dark times from the likes of Dorothy Day, Teilhard de Chardin, Daniel Berrigan, and St. John XXIII. All faced criticism, even from other Catholics. All suffered from their efforts to live a Christlike life. Dorothy Day and Daniel Berrigan were incarcerated.

Teilhard was silenced for his efforts to unite science and theology. St. John XXIII was dismissed as temporary when first elected pope and to this day is criticized in some Catholic circles for his efforts to help his Church find a fresh path in the 20th century.

These heroes remind me that the call as a Catholic to live out Jesus’ message can be met, but it often exacts a price.

A NEW QUESTION AND A NEW CHALLENGE

Richard B. Patterson, PhD, is a clinical psychologist who lives in El Paso, Texas.

He has had a number of articles published in this magazine, including “The Death Penalty and the Myth of Closure” (January 2019).

We laity are the Church. Yes, its survival depends upon the hierarchy making wise, humble decisions.

But more so it depends on my exploring and pursuing how I as a layman can help the Church find redemption.

PHOTO CREDIT HERE

ISTOCK IMAGES: TOP LEFT: MROD; LOWER RIGHT: KAVUNCHIK

As I try to answer the question, though, I must also hold myself accountable. What kind of Catholic am I today?

In what way do I need to challenge myself to be a better Catholic?

To share that answer with you, I need to share a story.

Some years ago I was having a conversation with a wonderful man who had served many years as a missionary in South America. He had been on a retreat and was preparing to walk in the desert for prayer and meditation. As part of this walk, he asked God to provide him with something that would focus his meditation. He then looked to one side and there in the desert sand was a cross!

This inspired me to take my own meditative walk. On Good Friday I decided to walk home from my office—a distance of some 12 miles. I also prayed for a sign to guide my meditation. As I walked along I saw all kinds of things that could be the sign—a piece of paper blowing by, a telephone pole, etc. I then began to panic that I would miss seeing it.

Finally, I gave up. At that very moment, I looked across the street and saw a friend, a woman whom I greatly admire for her service to the displaced. I stopped to greet her and went on my way. Then it hit me. “Delia was the sign!” I was called to reflect on how introverted my spiritual world is and how I needed to be more open to extroverted spirituality.

Extroverted Catholicism remains a challenge. I am not drawn to community of any sort. I am not drawn to spiritual practices that involve interaction with others. So I have work to do as far as Catholic community is concerned, especially during these challenging times.

There are many other themes that I must address as part of my answer—humility, anger, healing old hurts, forgiveness. All these themes affect my attitude toward the Church, and my Catholicism calls me to address them.

We laity are the Church. Yes, its survival depends upon the hierarchy making wise, humble decisions. But more so it depends on my exploring and pursuing how I as a layman can help the Church find redemption.

Why are you still Catholic?

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MARTIN SCORSESE’S T

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THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST: UNIVERSAL PICTURES; KUNDUN: BUENA VISTA PICTURES; SILENCE: PARAMOUNT

With a career spanning more than 50 years, filmmaker Martin Scorsese has never shied away from tough topics in his movies. In movies such as Mean Streets, Raging Bull, and Bringing Out the Dead, the Italian American director has consistently chosen to shine a light on the dark corners of our world. His so-called faith trilogy continues in that same fearless spirit of exploration, but with an eye to the spiritual side of humanity.

GETTY IMAGES/TIM P. WHITBY

By Daniel Imwalle

S TRILOGY OF FAITH He’s known for his Mafia epics and dark character studies, but this legendary filmmaker has a profound spiritual side, as witnessed by a trio of challenging movies about faith.

By Daniel Imwalle

THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST: UNIVERSAL PICTURES; KUNDUN: BUENA VISTA PICTURES; SILENCE: PARAMOUNT

GETTY IMAGES/TIM P. WHITBY

W

hen you think of the phrase Catholic art, images of Renaissance paintings or marble statues might come to mind. But when you hear or see the name Martin Scorsese, Catholic art is probably not the first association you would make. Famous for his Mafia movies (such as Goodfellas, Casino, and The Irishman, which premiered at the New York Film Festival this past September), you might be surprised to learn that one of his lifelong ambitions was to complete what’s been dubbed his “faith trilogy” of films: The Last Temptation of Christ, Kundun, and Silence. All three films are deeply rooted in a particularly Catholic sensibility and perception of the world. There’s even a term for this uniquely Catholic approach to the arts: “the Catholic imagination” (see sidebar on page 33).

To understand Scorsese’s distinct take on the Catholic imagination, though, you don’t need to read volumes on Catholic aesthetics or scholarly articles on his work in film journals. A look at his upbringing in an Italian American, working-class, Catholic family in New York City sheds more light on the roots of his artistic development than any academic research could provide.

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At the 2017 Catholic Media Conference (CMC) in Québec City, Canada, Scorsese sat down for a Q&A session with Paul Elie, director of the American Pilgrimage Project and frequent contributor to the New York Times, following a screening of Silence. Members of the Catholic press, including St. Anthony Messenger, were treated to an hour-long conversation between the two, as they discussed Silence, spirituality, and his decades in the film industry.

The conversation kicked off with the director talking about his upbringing in New York City. Born in 1942, Scorsese lived his first seven years in a comfortable house in Queens—“the suburbs,” as he called it. After falling on hard economic times, the Scorsese family had to relocate to a cramped tenement apartment in Little Italy. “I was thrown into this world, which was a street world, butcher shops— two on each block—grocery stores, almost like a thriving medieval village,” Scorsese recalled. “The block we lived on was mainly Sicilian, and one block away was skid row,” a frightening place where the criminal element loomed large.

His parents, Charles and Catherine, were devout Catholics who worked hard as a clothes presser and seamstress to provide for their family.

Set in stark contrast to the hustle and bustle was Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral (now a basilica). “The mood in the church itself is something very peaceful,” Scorsese said. “The power of the church was as a sort of balm,” an oasis from the dangerous world outside. At Old St. Patrick’s, Scorsese was an altar boy and often served at the Saturday morning Mass for the Dead. In the ritual movements, colorful stained glass

Martin Scorsese speaks with New York Times journalist Paul Elie in front of an audience at the Catholic Media Conference in Québec City following a screening of his movie Silence, a harrowing story about Jesuit missionaries in Japan.

windows, and incense rising heavenward, a young Scorsese observed the theater-like production quality of weekly Mass.

A young parish priest with a love of the cinema, Father Frank Principe (see sidebar on page 31), encouraged Scorsese and his classmates to engage with art as part of their intellectual and spiritual development. This certainly took root in the young Scorsese, who would later attend New York University to study film. Scorsese quickly rose in the ranks of the film industry, making short student films, working as an assistant director and editor on the documentary Woodstock, and finally making feature films such as 1973’s Mean Streets, set in the Little Italy he knew so well.

After making arguably one of the best films of the 1980s (Raging Bull), Scorsese’s reputation as an auteur was seemingly solidified. But the clarity of Scorsese’s moral vision and even his worth as a filmmaker would be called into question when he made a film that challenged audiences with some considerably weighty subject matter: the humanity of Jesus.

A FILM AND A FIRESTORM

When a film studio executive asked Scorsese why he wanted to make The Last Temptation of Christ, he responded, “So I can get to know Jesus better.” The idea of making the film goes all the way back to 1972, when Scorsese read Nikos Kazantzakis’ fictional retelling of Jesus’ life, ministry, and crucifixion. After a long gestation and a canceled production in 1983, The Last Temptation of Christ was finally released in August 1988. Much controversy had already been simmering for the months leading up to its release after a leaked—and unfinished—script came to the attention of Christian leaders who were outraged at the film’s premise.

In The Last Temptation, Jesus (Willem Dafoe) is shown to be a man who is occasionally unsure of himself and besieged by temptations. The title refers to Satan’s final attempt to lure Jesus in while he is dying on the cross. In a lengthy sequence near the end of the film, Satan—under the guise of a little girl who says that she’s Jesus’ guardian angel—shows Jesus what his life could be like if he simply came down from the cross and submitted to his will. Jesus is promised a long, happy life where he is married to Mary Magdalene (Barbara Hershey) and raises a family. Ultimately, and in keeping with Scripture, Jesus refuses the temptation and dies on the cross, fulfilling his sacrifice for humanity.

In Scorsese on Scorsese (Faber and Faber), a compilation of interview transcripts edited by Ian Christie and David Thompson, the director says, “I believe that Jesus is fully divine, but the teaching at Catholic schools placed such an emphasis on the divine side that if Jesus walked into a room, you’d know he was God . . . instead of being just another person.” Indeed, two of Jesus’ own disciples failed to recognize him on the road to Emmaus (Lk 24:13–35).

The pushback to the film was strong, including protests and several movie theaters that refused to show it. Evangelist and founder of the Campus Crusade for Christ, Bill Bright, even offered to buy the negative of the film from Universal

LEFT: CNS PHOTO/CHAZ MUTH; RIGHT: PHOTO 12/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

LIFE ON THE MEAN STREETS

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“Over the past 25 years I’ve realized that, whether I like it or not, I actually am the movies I make.”

LEFT: CNS PHOTO/CHAZ MUTH; RIGHT: PHOTO 12/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

—Martin Scorsese, in his 1997 acceptance speech for the AFI Life Achievement Award

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Pictures for $10 million, with the intention of destroying it so that it would never see the light of day. Ironically, as Scorsese pointed out during his Q&A with Elie, many of the film’s harshest critics hadn’t actually seen it. “I had done The Last Temptation of Christ, and we had to screen it for all the people who were complaining about it who hadn’t seen it yet,” he recalled. Among those at the screening were various evangelical leaders, Catholic clergy, and Bishop Paul Moore, head of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. Bishop Moore approached Scorsese after the screening and told him, “The film is Christologically correct,” referring to the Council of Chalcedon in 451, when Church leaders affirmed the idea that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine.

Despite all the controversy, Scorsese was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for his work on the film. Years after the film’s release, a priest friend of his told him that some seminaries even include Kazantzakis’ book as a supplemental text and conversation starter. No matter what one’s feelings are about The Last Temptation of Christ, Scorsese succeeded in opening up a discussion about Jesus in a world that was—and still is—becoming more secular. But his interest in making films about faith didn’t end there, and his next project would take him far from his comfort zone as a storyteller rooted in Western culture.

PARALLELS IN FAITH

One year after the release of The Last Temptation of Christ, Scorsese read a script written by Melissa Mathieson about the early life of the Dalai Lama and was instantly committed to making the film. He spent two days with the Dalai Lama at Mathieson’s Wyoming ranch in 1993, getting to know him and the plight of the Tibetan people better. By the time Kundun was released in 1997, “a lot was changing in my life,” Scorsese recalls. Filming wrapped up just before Christmas 1996, and he went to spend time with his dying mother.

“She died on January 6 [1997], almost as if she had been waiting until I got back,” Scorsese says. “I dedicated the film [Kundun] to my mother, because the unconditional love that she represented to me in my own life somehow connected with the idea of the Dalai Lama having a compassionate love for all sentient beings.”

Kundun traces the Dalai Lama’s life from 1937 (when he was discovered by monks to be a promising candidate at the age of 2) to 1959 (when he escaped to exile in India).

Lending a sense of realism, many Tibetan cast members were untrained actors who knew intimately their people’s stuggle against Communist China. The film depicts the steady encroachment of China—under the harsh regime of Chairman Mao Zedong—and its eventual hostile takeover of Tibet in the 1950s. One of the most chilling scenes occurs when the Dalai Lama (played as a young adult by Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong) meets with Chairman Mao (Robert Lin) to discuss Tibet’s future. Though seemingly polite and pleasant, Mao lectures the Dalai Lama that “religion is poison” and that Tibetans are “poisoned and inferior” because of their beliefs. A stoic and compassionate Dalai Lama refuses to return the vitriol and instead, as our own faith calls us to do, turns the other cheek.

There are some striking parallels between Kundun and The Last Temptation of Christ. Both Jesus and the Dalai Lama speak truth to power nonviolently and with hearts full of compassion. The two also have been charged with an awesome responsibility—Jesus must embrace his role as the Messiah, and the Dalai Lama takes on the mantle of the incarnation of the Buddha of compassion and leader of the Tibetan people.

Kundun also met with controversy, this time from a nation of over a billion people—China. The Chinese government pressured the Walt Disney Company by threatening the company’s future access into their lucrative market. When Disney pushed back and went on with the scheduled release in December 1997, China pulled Disney cartoons from their airwaves and banned all Disney movies from being shown.

They even issued lifelong bans on both Scorsese and screenwriter Mathieson.

Despite this hostility to the film on the part of the Chinese government, Kundun garnered critical acclaim and four Oscar nominations. It’s a film that warrants repeat viewings, as there is much for Westerners and Christians to absorb. “As a Christian, I really believe that the future of being human is love and compassion. . . . And I see these people [Tibetan Buddhists] practicing this belief,” the direc-

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/DICK THOMAS JOHNSON

(From left to right) Kase Ryo, Tsukamoto Shinya, Kubozuka Yosuke, Martin Scorsese, Asano Tadanobu, and Komatsu Nana greet the press at the Japanese premiere of Silence in January 2017.

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LENTEN

FATHER PRINCIPE AND THE SANCTUARY OF THE CINEMA

PILGRIMAGES

DIAGNOSED WITH SEVERE asthma at the age of 3, Martin Scorsese couldn’t play sports with the other neighborhood kids or even laugh too hard, as that could trigger an attack and a hospital visit. This, along with the criminal element on the streets, limited what Scorsese could do with his time as a child. With his natural curiosity, proclivity to observe things closely, and burgeoning creative spirit, Scorsese found the movie theater to be a logical place to pass the time. It, like Old St. Patrick’s, was also a refuge.

Most of the older priests focused their outreach on the older parishioners, especially those who had emigrated from the Old World. “Nobody was talking to the kids growing up on the mean streets,” Scorsese remembers. But a young, energetic priest named Father Frank Principe did. He played records of classical music for the seventh- and eighth-grade students, encouraged them to read authors such as Graham Greene, and even took them to the cinema, engaging students afterward in conversation and critique about the movie they just saw.

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The priest was such a strong influence on Scorsese that he even briefly considered the priesthood before realizing that his vocation was to be found in the arts. Scorsese and his priest mentor didn’t always see eye to eye on art, and Father Principe once leveled this famous critique of the filmmaker’s work: “Too much Good Friday, not enough Easter Sunday.” But Father Principe left a lasting impression on his protégé: the importance of looking at film through a moral lens.

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tor reflects in Scorsese on Scorsese. “Ultimately, [Kundun] is about religious experience. . . . For me, it was about giving a gift back to their culture, putting together the beauty and compassion that they represent.”

Scorsese could have stopped his exploration of faith through the medium of film with the powerful duo of Last Temptation and Kundun. But a chance book recommendation from 30 years ago planted the seed for the third film of his faith trilogy.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/DICK THOMAS JOHNSON

GETTING TO THE HEART OF FAITH

In 1988, after the screening of The Last Temptation of Christ for various Christian leaders, Scorsese got together with Bishop Moore and a priest friend for dinner and a three-hour conversation on Christianity and faith. The bishop gave Scorsese a book, telling him to read it and then “define what faith is.” That book was Silence,

by Shusako Endo, a Catholic author who has been called “the Graham Greene of Japan.” After finishing it, the director knew right away that he needed to make a film adaptation.

Finally released in December 2016, Silence follows two fictional 17th-century Jesuit missionaries, Father Sebastião Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Father Francisco Garupe (Adam Driver), on their journey to Japan. Training for the film was rigorous—both physically and spiritually—for the two actors. Both lost significant weight for their roles and were also given a crash course in Ignatian spirituality by the film’s Jesuit adviser, Father James Martin.

The priests’ mission is to spread the Catholic faith and track down their mentor, Father Cristóvão Ferreira (Liam Neeson), who is suspected of renouncing his faith after being tortured. When they arrive in Japan, the two priests are horrified by what they see. The small Christian community is heavily repressed and forced to practice its faith in secret. Father Ferreira has not only apostatized (rejected the Christian faith) but has also taken a Japanese name and is now married.

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“How does one live a life that is, in my case, [according to] a Christian ideal in a world where there is a lot of evil?”

—Martin Scorsese

Pope Francis gives a warm welcome to Martin Scorsese at the Vatican in November 2016 following a screening of Silence for an audience of about 300 Jesuits.

fundamental questions of what it means to be a Christian and how to live like Christ in a hostile world. In his conversation with Elie, the director framed the struggle this way: “How does one live a life that is, in my case, [according to] a Christian ideal in a world where there is a lot of evil?”

How we answer this question points to the very core of our Christian identity.

At 76, Scorsese is showing no signs of slowing down, as witnessed by his two releases this year: a documentary on Bob Dylan (Rolling Thunder Review) and The Irishman. As he told Elie in their interview, “The constant [in my life] is this crazy desire to tell stories with pictures that move.” The Irishman, which features an all-star cast including Robert De Niro, Anna Paquin, and Al Pacino, is a return to the criminal underworld for the director and revolves around the story of labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa. But based on the passion and energy he brought to his faith trilogy, one can’t rule out the possibility of Scorsese revisiting religious themes and spiritual questions on-screen.

Faith is often a struggle, even or especially for the most devout. By engaging art that challenges our notions of religious truth and moral tenets, we’re given the opportunity to either solidify our stances or adopt new ones that help us grow along our path to understanding and deeper belief. If we allow ourselves to be challenged by movies such as the ones that make up Scorsese’s faith trilogy, we might find ourselves contemplating some pretty deep questions—and ones that will lead to an even deeper faith.

Daniel Imwalle is the managing editor of this publication and a lover of the arts, especially music and film. He has a degree in philosophy from Xavier University and a degree in electronic media from the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, with his wife, Belinda.

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CNS PHOTO/CHAZ MUTH

FOR THE LOVE OF THE STORY

CNS PHOTO/L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO, HANDOUT

Eventually, both priests are captured by Japanese authorities and suffer two very different fates. Father Garupe is executed by drowning, while Father Rodrigues is imprisoned, repeatedly tortured, and asked to reject his faith by stepping on an image of Christ, called a fumi-e. Father Rodrigues finds out that his resistance to apostasy is actually prolonging the suffering and causing the deaths of the Japanese Christians he came to serve. When Father Rodrigues is brought once more before the fumi-e, he hears an inner voice of Christ tell him: “Come ahead now. It’s all right. Step on me. I understand your pain. I was born into this world to share men’s pain. I carried this cross for your pain. Your life is with me now. Step.” Father Rodrigues apostatizes and later, like Father Ferreira, marries a Japanese woman.

At the end of the film, it’s revealed that Father Rodrigues never actually gave up his faith. After he dies, he is shown in a traditional round Japanese casket, a small wooden crucifix given to him by a Japanese Christian many years earlier clutched in his hand. The implication is that his wife or some other loved one placed it there. Although Silence was only nominated for one Academy Award (Best Cinematography), it received the most critical acclaim of his trilogy of movies on faith. Scorsese even got to show the film to about 300 Jesuits at the Vatican and had a private audience with Pope Francis afterward.

In his homily during morning Mass on January 29, 2018, Pope Francis said, “There is no humility without humiliation.” In his Q&A with Scorsese, Elie connected this very quote to the character of Father Rodrigues and how the priest’s idea of martyrdom is slowly dismantled. All that remains is the question of what faith really is. In his response, Scorsese pointed out: “[Father Rodrigues] keeps equating his journey to Christ’s. It’s his own Calvary, the whole story. And that’s got to be knocked down.”

For Scorsese, making Silence forced him to reflect on the

CATHOLICISM AND THE EXPERIENCE OF THE ARTS IN HIS BOOK The Catholic Imagination, Catholic priest, author, and sociologist Andrew Greeley helped popularize the notion that there is a faith-based creative sensibility that “sees created reality as a ‘sacrament,’ that is, a revelation of the presence of God.” Indeed, the seven sacraments are often depicted or referred to in the arts, whether in paintings or in motion pictures. Examples abound in the medium of film—from Baptism in The Godfather, to the Eucharist in Romero, to Reconciliation in The Exorcist. “[The] statues and holy water, stained glass and votive candles, saints and religious medals, rosary beads and holy pictures” we encounter in the Catholic world hint at “a deeper and more pervasive religious sensibility which inclines Catholics to see the Holy lurking in creation,” Greeley writes. He provides numerous examples of it in the arts—from Michelangelo to Flannery O’Connor. But he also points to Martin Scorsese, whose films “are the quintessential illustrations of the use of the Catholic sense of community and Catholic symbols in American filmmaking.”

CNS PHOTO/CHAZ MUTH

CNS PHOTO/L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO, HANDOUT

Greeley points out that a strong sense of community, especially for immigrant Catholics and their families, is a crucial element of the Catholic imagination. “The neighborhood, with its often intense and sometimes limiting relationships, was the place where many Catholic immigrants worked out their adjustment to urban life in America, the space in which their Catholic view of human networks found an appropriate social form,” he writes.

Scorsese, with his upbringing in a tight-knit Sicilian family in New York’s Little Italy, would likely agree.

Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix passes by Martin Scorsese during a June 2017 Mass in Québec City’s Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame.

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An Unlikely “

We are still on the road to which you have called us, but whose name you have not given us. We are carrying the poverty of not knowing where you are leading us.”

I had intended to change the world when my husband and I left Texas to serve indefinitely as nondenominational missionaries in Southeast Asia. Two years later when we returned home, the world hadn’t changed, but I had.

Disillusioned and confused, I tried to make sense out of what had happened. I had made myself available to God; why hadn’t he used me for something extraordinary? I had been ready to pour my life out, ready to do radical things, ready to be a martyr! But it was all so . . . ordinary. I was turning out to be awfully small, when all I had ever wanted was to be great.

I became a mother. All my childhood dreams of adopting a child were realized, only to find that I am an utterly broken and weak human being. Each day that dawned brought new opportunities to see how very

much I lacked. Parenting strips you of hubris, and I had plenty to spare.

While the winds of change swept through our family, my husband and I began searching for a faith expression that felt more true to what was being stirred in our hearts. We began inching our toes into the waters of Catholicism: filling our shelves with books on suffering and social teaching, going to the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, ordering a copy of the Catechism on Amazon. As the months rolled by, we knew we would be confirmed at Easter, and Lent brought with it the realization that we needed to each choose a patron saint.

Awesome! I thought eagerly. Let’s see what kind of brazen woman I can find to identify with. And all of heaven laughed.

WHO CHOSE WHOM?

“Although our hearts are poor and empty, they are available: We make them a place of welcome for our brothers.”

They say our patron saints choose us more

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By Shannon Evans

Patron S

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n Saint

I searched long and hard for the patron saint I wanted. In the end, my heart chose the one I needed.

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than we choose them. I was immediately put off by St. Thérèse of Lisieux. She was just another one of those frail, holy people who never did anything wrong; she was just so saintly in her preciousness. Even her nickname made me roll my eyes: the Little Flower?

I mean, really. Give me a St. Perpetua or a Dorothy Day, please. Give me a woman of faith with some chutzpah.

But for some reason I started reading Story of a Soul anyway, although now I can’t for the life of me remember why. What I found shocked me. Past the first impression of a spirit so pure and naturally pious I wanted to throw the book across the room, I soon found the voice of a woman who sounded a lot like me: a woman who longed to do great and important things in the kingdom (who even wanted to be a missionary) but was making her peace with her own limitations and weaknesses. Unlike me, however, she had an incredible revelation of her identity in Christ just as she was, in all her littleness.

St. Thérèse wrote that there is more power

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May it be done to me according to your word.”

I had found my patron saint.

THE LITTLE WAY

“Although our hearts are poor and empty, they are wounded: We let the cry of our thirst rise to you. And we thank you, Lord, for the road of fecundity you chose for us.”

The life my husband and I currently lead in small-town Iowa looks nothing like the enthralling missionary life we pictured 10 years ago. Here in the mundane of motherhood, parish service, and community involvement, littleness is ever before me—my own poverty still surprising and embarrassing me after all these years.

But St. Thérèse of Lisieux reminds me that my story doesn’t end there. My poor and empty heart is available; there is room for my brothers and sisters inside it. My poor and empty heart is wounded; my own thirst is the greatest gift I can offer him. And with my patron saint, Thérèse, I can look at the smallness of my life and, with faith-filled confidence, join her in thanksgiving for the road of fecundity that was chosen for us.

Shannon Evans is an author and speaker who has written for this and other Catholic publications. To learn more about her work, visit ShannonKEvans.com.

“I understood that every flower created

by Him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. . . . And so it is in the world of souls, our Lord’s living garden.”

—St. Thérèse of Lisieux

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in one little act done with all the love one possesses than in the most impressive spiritual displays or works of service if they are not rooted in pure love for God. She wrote of how one moment of sincere worship brings more joy to Christ than anything we could ever “do” for him.

In fact, the Little Flower got her name from the following simple yet theologically profound revelation: “I understood that every flower created by Him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy.

I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would no longer be enameled with lovely hues. And so it is in the world of souls, our Lord’s living garden.”

This saint and doctor of the Church understood that it is not the size of the mission one is given, but the amount of love with which it is undertaken that determines its heavenly value. She recognized her inner poverty more than anyone else, but she also recognized that was the very reason God was able to use her. Pride keeps us from loving our neighbor; poverty of spirit is the well from which love is drawn.

Here was a woman who was willing to release her own idea of impact or accomplishment. Here was a woman willing to let go of her ego, her false self, and look her Savior in the eye to say, “I trust that your plan is better than my own.

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Becoming a

WORLD C

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Jesus respected the diverse backgrounds of his listeners.

Today the Catholic Church is embracing a much wider range of cultures.

By Pat McCloskey, OFM

D CHURCH StAnthonyMessenger.org | October 2019 • 39

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Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature,” Jesus told his apostles (Mk 16:15).

Christianity has been doing that ever since, always with a widening sense of how to bring the Gospel to people of different cultures—all created and loved by a God who wishes to share divine life with us.

Unfortunately, Catholic and other Christian missionaries have sometimes been more influenced by their cultural assumptions than by the Gospel they have been commissioned to preach— to evangelize first and then perhaps “civilize.” They have failed to appreciate how much a new culture could teach them about the Gospel they thought they completely understood.

This month the Catholic Church is celebrating Extraordinary Missionary Month on a theme chosen by Pope Francis: “Baptized and Sent: The Church of Christ on Mission in the World.”

November marks the 100th anniversary of “Maximum Illud” (“That Momentous Task”), Pope Benedict XV’s apostolic exhortation refocusing the Catholic Church’s missionary evangelization.

Although addressed to the Catholic Church, this document has many implications for all Christian denominations facing similar challenges in helping the Gospel take root in a wide variety of cultures. “Maximum Illud” occurred after World War I and the Treaty of Versailles (June 28, 1919); both events profoundly affected the world in which the good news was to be shared.

In varying degrees, all the mainline Christian denominations are much more a “world Church” now than they were in November 1919. Ecumenical and interfaith relations are also generally more positive than they were in 1919.

CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS

In 1900, only 25 percent of the world’s Catholics lived outside Europe and North America. By 2000, 65.5 percent of the world’s Catholics lived in Africa, Asia, and Latin America (John Allen, The Future Church).

Elsewhere, Allen notes that 392 million of the world’s 459 million Catholics lived in Europe or North America in 1900. A hundred years later, Europe and North America had 12 mil-

During his January 2018 visit to Peru, Pope Francis encouraged young people to defend life, their land, and their culture.

lion fewer Catholics, while 720 million of the world’s 1.1 billion Catholics lived in the global South.

In the 20th century, Africa’s Catholic population has experienced a growth rate of 7,000 percent. More detailed national, regional, and continental statistics are available in Global Catholicism: Portrait of a World Church (Bryan T. Froehle and Mary Gautier, 2003).

Many dioceses were created after 1962. Most of the missionary bishops at Vatican II were from the global North; their successors are almost universally from the global South. The College of Cardinals has experienced changing demographics but far behind those for Catholics worldwide.

Pope Francis is the first pope from Latin America; his predecessors were from Poland and Germany, respectively. The changing face of Catholicism worldwide has become more obvious since 1964 because of extensive papal trips outside Italy and the ability of popes to record video messages in advance of key Church events around the world.

THREE ERAS OF CHRISTIANITY

In 1979, Karl Rahner, SJ, wrote that Christian history broadly falls into three eras: 1) Jewish-Christian era (AD 30 to AD 70), from the death of Jesus to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem; 2) European/North American era (AD 70 to AD 1962), when European and North American cultures were the main drivers for missionary evangelization, closely cooperating with colonial powers; and 3) World Church era (1962 to present), for the Catholic Church, at least, a recognition that the Gospel is not spread by reproducing whichever culture brought it to new peoples.

At the end of each era, the Church needed to rethink its cultural assumptions in order to be faithful to its universal mission.

The Church at Vatican II tried to embrace each of the many cultures of

CNS PHOTOS/PAUL HARING (2)

“

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its members. Each public session began with a Mass celebrated in one of the Church’s main liturgical traditions, using different vestments, music, and gestures. Some celebrations included dances. Many observers mistakenly considered all this “interesting” but not to be confused with the “real thing” (the Roman rite, soon to be radically revised).

At the start of Era 1, most Christians had been raised Jewish; by AD 70, most Christians were coming from a gentile background. In Era 2, the concern for unity was so strong that many people in the early 1960s thought of the Catholic Church almost as a franchise, whose headquarters is in Rome and whose local bishops act as branch managers lacking any genuine responsibility for the Church beyond their assigned territory. “Synodality” was regarded by many Westerners as a quaint custom very much alive among the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches.

On October 17, 2015, however, Pope Francis said: “The journey of synodality is the journey that God wants from his Church in the third millennium. A synodal Church is a listening Church, aware that listening is more than hearing.

It is a reciprocal listening in which each one has something to learn.” (A synod on evangelizing Amazonia will be held at the Vatican between October 6 and 27, 2019.)

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tim@timtime.me | 513-378-4994 In Era 3, Vatican II’s teaching about collegiality (how the successor of St. Peter and local bishops relate to one another) created a profound sense that any superficial accommodation to local culture would betray Jesus’ command “to proclaim the good news to the whole creation.”

2000

1900 North America and Europe

Africa, Asia, and Latin America

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A young woman from the Amazon region in Peru listens to Pope Francis in 2018. This month, a special Synod of Bishops will focus on Amazonia.

‘MAXIMUM ILLUD’ IN CONTEXT

After Pope Benedict XV noted the good work done by missionaries over the centuries, he identified several urgent needs for Catholic missionary evangelization: • involving the entire Church (not simply religious communities of women and men) in missionary evangelization, especially through prayer; • reminding missionaries that their first loyalty must be to the Gospel and not to the colonial power from which they came or who provided part of their funding; • seriously promoting the setting up of regional seminaries and the training of priests born in the country where they will minister; • fostering financial support through missionary organizations; the Society for the Propagation of the Faith (founded in Lyon by Venerable Pauline Jaricot in 1822) was not mentioned by name but was the largest such Catholic organization; • recognizing the contribution that women religious make to evangelization through running schools, orphanages, hospitals, and other charitable institutions; StAnthonyMessenger.org | October 2019 • 41

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Korea’s 2014 Sixth Asian Youth Day attracted many enthusiastic Catholics.

People from the Central African Republic greet Pope Francis in November 2015.

• reminding everyone, “The Catholic Church is not an intruder in any country; nor is she alien to any people”; • denying that those who receive Baptism are abandoning loyalty to their own people “and submitting to the pretensions and domination of a foreign power.”

Pope Pius XI brought six Chinese priests to Rome in 1926 so that he could ordain them as bishops; he also established many more ecclesiastical jurisdictions staffed by newly recruited mission groups. Subsequent popes have stressed how Baptism makes all Catholics missionaries in some way.

By the end of 1945, the United Nations had 51 member states. By the end of 1962, it had 59 more member states, most of them former colonies that became independent countries after World War II. The world in which the Gospel must be preached was changing profoundly.

First Opium War (fought so the British could bring opium into China) resulted in the first of several “unequal treaties” that guaranteed foreigners broad economic and legal rights at the expense of the Chinese people. Later treaties eventually put Christian missionaries under the protection of France. Some people objected strenuously to this link (see box below).

During World War I, many missionaries from Allied countries returned to Europe. The spectacle of Christians fighting Christians in Europe discredited Christianity greatly.

“Return China to the Chinese, and the Chinese will go to Christ,” he urged insistently. Lebbe advocated passionately for the appointment of Chinese priests as bishops; this was resisted by many people inside and outside his Lazarist congregation—and by many Catholics inside and outside China.

Between 1920 and 1928, Lebbe lived in Europe. Granted Chinese citizenship in 1927, he returned to China the following year, helping to establish a religious community of brothers and one of sisters. When the Sino-Japanese War began in 1937, he was active in nursing wounded soldiers and providing assistance to people displaced by that war. He was captured in 1940 by the Chinese Communists. Imprisoned for six weeks, he was released and died a month later. His cause for beatification was opened in 1988.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR

The move toward a world Church profoundly affected the growth of Catholicism in America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania.

I offer China’s experience here because the topic of inculturation is key to a book that I coauthored in 1995 with the late Arnulf Camps, OFM: The Friars Minor in China 1294–1955, Especially the years 1925–55. Our work was based on research by Friars Bernward Willeke and Domenico Gandolfi, using information supplied by OFM provinces that

by World War II were staffing 28 mission territories in what is now the People’s Republic of China.

Christianity came to China when Alopen, a monk from Syria, arrived in Xian in 635. Influenced by hostile relations with the West, Christianity there practically disappeared two centuries later. The Franciscan John of Monte Corvino arrived in modern-day Beijing in 1294 and was eventually joined by other friars. The fiercely anti-Western Ming dynasty began in 1368. Jesuit missionaries arrived in the 16th century; Franciscans and members of other Catholic religious communities worked in secret.

Depending on political events within and outside China, Christianity prospered or languished until 1842 when the

Vincent Lebbe, CM (1877–1940), was born in Belgium, joined the Congregation of the Mission (Lazarists) in Paris, and was ordained in Beijing in 1901, a year after the conclusion of the Boxer Rebellion.

He quickly learned Chinese and carefully Father Vincent Lebbe studied his new country’s culture, dressing in the local fashion and interacting mostly with Chinese Catholics. They helped him found a Chinese Catholic newspaper in 1915.

CNS PHOTOS: TOP LEFT: LEE JIN-MAN/POOL VIA REUTERS; RIGHT: PAUL HARING; MIDDLE RIGHT: WIKIMEDIA/PUBLIC DOMAIN

A CASE STUDY IN INCULTURATION

A Prophetic Voice

Many Chinese people were bitterly disappointed by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, the slight shuffling of colonial territories, and especially the awarding of German territories in China to Japan. Many Chinese people saw the new Communist Party (founded on July 1, 1921) as their best chance to end Western colonial domination.

Foreign missionaries were interned during World War II, depending on their country of origin and who controlled the part of China where they worked. After Mao Zedong proclaimed the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949, foreign missionaries were expelled and separate “patriotic associations” were set up to guarantee self-government, self-financing, and self-propagation among Chinese Muslims, Protestants, and Catholics.

The Catholic Church formed Chinese dioceses and archdioceses in 1946, but only three of these 20 new archbishops had been born in China.

Regarding the 2019 Extraordinary Missionary Month, Pope Francis has written: “I am a mission, always; you are a mission, always; every baptized man and woman is a mission. People in love never stand still: they are drawn out of themselves. . . .

Each of us is a mission to the world, for each of us is the fruit of God’s love.”

Pope Francis noted that Pope Benedict XV had reaffirmed that the Church’s universal mission “requires setting aside exclusivist ideas of membership in one’s own country and ethnic group. The opening of the culture and the community to the salvific newness of Jesus Christ requires leaving behind every kind of undue ethnic and ecclesial introversion. . . . No one ought to remain closed in selfabsorption, in the self-referentiality of his or her own ethnic and religious affiliation.”

John Kiesler, OFM, who teaches missiology at the Franciscan School of Theology at the University of San Diego, recently wrote: “Just as in 1919 with “Maximum Illud,” the Church is striving to understand, witness, and be converted to Christ in a deeper way through dialogue/mission/life with our brothers and sisters in each culture. The test for us in facing world Christianity is: How do we love and express love in action as well as concrete ecclesial structures to more clearly witness the kingdom of God?” At the end of every Mass, we are sent out to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Would he approve the cultural baggage we are trying to carry as we seek to fulfill his Great Commission?

Father Pat McCloskey, OFM, is Franciscan editor of this publication. Between 1986 and 1992, he served as communications director at the international headquarters of the Order of Friars Minor. He has been fortunate to see the world Church firsthand in several countries.

Missionary Month Resources PHOTO COURTESY OF SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR

CNS PHOTOS: TOP LEFT: LEE JIN-MAN/POOL VIA REUTERS; RIGHT: PAUL HARING; MIDDLE RIGHT: WIKIMEDIA/PUBLIC DOMAIN

TOWARD THE FUTURE

“BAPTIZED AND SENT” is the theme of the website of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith (www. missio.org). It offers a wide range of resources to help children and adults recognize and act on their missionary vocation received at Baptism.

Modern-day missionaries such as Sister Dorothy Stang, SNDdeN (a 2005 martyr in Brazil), are profiled.

Sister Dorothy Stang

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Sunflower

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fiction A friendship blooms from patience and compassion.

Story by Terry Sanville Illustration by David Fridlund

M

y new neighbor arrived just after 2 a.m. A car’s motor roared to a stop, sputtered, then died. Footfalls on the front steps of the mobile home next door made me curious. I got up from bed, irritating my two cats that liked sleeping on my chest, and parted the blinds of a side window. A shadowy figure unloaded a tiny U-Haul trailer, carrying boxes of household stuff into the furnished double-wide that had sat vacant for six months. The person wore a hoodie and I couldn’t make out details.

The next morning, an ancient Plymouth Duster leaked oil onto the concrete pad in front of the neighbor’s trailer.

Lights glowed from behind closed curtains. Sugary country music barely moved the airwaves, but enough to annoy. I made breakfast, touched the photo of my wife like I always did, and retired to my computer cave to read the news and begin my daily work as a fact-checker for a national magazine.

From my studio I had a pretty good view of the neighbor’s front steps. I worked steadily and ate lunch. Nothing happened next door except the music stopped. I left home for my afternoon walk, picking from one of several 5-mile circuits around San Luis Obispo with a stop at Linnaea’s Café for a mocha and an almond croissant. Nearing my house, I caught a glimpse of my neighbor getting out of her car. She still wore a hoodie, sported tight jeans and gold sandals, and walked with a feminine swagger. I couldn’t see her face, but a fall of long red hair had escaped her hood.

“Hello, welcome to—” She opened her front door and disappeared inside without turning. The door clicked shut and a security chain rattled into place. Figuring she wasn’t ready to meet the bearded geezer next door, I left her alone.

A

s the days passed, her routine seemed simple: lights and music in the morning, outings in the afternoon when I was away, and a grumbling TV at night. But I began to pick up subtleties. After midnight, I’d sometimes hear muffled cries and curses from her trailer that stopped after a few seconds, leaving me to wonder if what I’d heard was a dream.

After a couple of weeks, the sobbing started, in late mornings with the music off and the autumn stillness settling into our mobile home park. I heard it when I let my cats out to roam and to do their business in my back garden—or somebody StAnthonyMessenger.org | October 2019 • 45

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fiction

A profile of my neighbor began to firm up in my mind: a paranoid unemployed recluse, a chronic depressive who hated cats, jazz, and maybe old guys.

else’s garden.

She cried low and steady, sometimes muttering things unintelligible. One morning, to lighten the mood, I played a CD of Dizzy Gillespie performing “Night in Tunisia.” But her weeping continued uninterrupted, even after the music stopped.

The next day I received a note in my streetside mailbox: “Will you keep that crappy music down? Who plays jazz in the morning anyway?”

I wrote back: “If you don’t like jazz, let’s talk about what we both like. I’m not crazy about country either.”

I received no response.

I wrote her again. “Maybe a little live guitar music might be better?”

She responded, “Unless you’re Chet Atkins, forget it.”

At least she’d written back.

Days passed until I got another love note.

“Your cats crapped all over my backyard. Keep them away.”

I answered: “Sorry, but cats will be cats.

Why don’t you text me or send e-mails? I’m running out of scratch paper.”

“I have no computer or cell phone. Can’t be hacked this way.”

A profile of my neighbor began to firm up in my mind: a paranoid unemployed recluse, a chronic depressive who hated cats, jazz, and maybe old guys. I wasn’t sure of the last one but decided to test my theory. I picked a dozen oranges from my tree, cleaned them, and placed them in a wicker basket along with a bouquet of yellow roses from my garden.

Donning a clean pair of slacks and a shirt, with beard neatly trimmed, I approached her front door and knocked. The country music died. A curtain in the window near the door swayed for a moment then stilled.

I knocked again. The chain slipped off its latch but the door remained shut. I again tapped, to the rhythm of shave and a haircut, two bits. But the door didn’t budge. I set the basket on the porch and left a note: “There are loads more where these came from. Let me know if you like them.”

I waited two hours then checked. The oranges and flowers had vanished. The next morning I received a note in my mailbox.

“Thanks for the gifts. But I’m not ready to thank you in person. Not very nice of me, I know. Maybe in the spring.”

W

eeks passed and nothing changed.

Christmas came and went, along with a dry winter. In early spring, I purchased several bags of wild birdseed and sprinkled generous helpings along the top rail of the fence that separated my mobile home space from hers.

The birds loved the seed. Flocks of whitecrowned sparrows, goldfinches, and the inevitable jays, mockingbirds, and ring-necked doves enjoyed a feeding frenzy.

As expected, I got a note from my neighbor. “Will you cool it with the birdseed? I’ve got poop all over my windows and car.”

I wrote back: “I’ll wash your car and windows off next time I water the garden. Sorry, but my cats and I enjoy watching the birds too much to quit.”

Spring came on wet. Most days I puttered in my garden of roses, various flowering shrubs that others had thrown out, an apple and an orange tree, and a row of potted plants along my side-yard fence. Scraggly weed-like plants with huge serrated leaves began popping up along the fence line. They had thick, prickly stalks and seemed to grow inches each day. Finally, a gnarly-looking bud began to form at the top of each plant; some had more than one bud. I peered over the side fence and saw an ever-denser collection of mystery plants growing in my reclusive neighbor’s yard.

I waited for her note complaining about the weed problem and had decided to pull all of the invaders when one bud began to open and bloom. Within a few days, a tall forest of sunflowers swayed in the wind between our two trailers. The feeding birds had cracked open the seeds and provided the fertilizer without any help from me. The flowers grew huge and heavy, and I hurried to tie the plant stalks to the fence so they wouldn’t break under the flowers’ weight when the wind gusted.

I was so employed late one afternoon when someone tapped my shoulder. I turned and stared open-mouthed at my mystery neighbor still in her hoodie: middle-aged, small, rail thin, and white-sheet pale. She swayed unsteadily in the wind, in time with the bending sunflowers.

“I’m . . . I’m Susan. I’m sorry for being such a terrible neighbor.”

“I’m Paul. Glad to meet you.”

“Yeah, I finally couldn’t wait. Orange and

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I waited for her note complaining about the weed problem and had decided to pull all of the invaders when one bud began to open and bloom. yellow are my favorite colors and these sunflowers just make me, ya know, smile.”

“Me too.”

“But look.” She pointed to a particular flower that bowed its head, its golden petals having turned brown. “Even in dying, they look like they’ve lived well. They look content.”

I removed my gloves and climbed the steps to my side porch. “Come, sit with me and enjoy the garden.”

She grinned and used the railing to pull herself up the steps, then lowered herself into the chair I offered. As she leaned back, her hoodie slipped from her head, exposing a nearly bald scalp speckled with tiny tufts of reddish hair. Her face flushed and she quickly repositioned the hood.

I pretended not to notice, hustled inside, and returned with a tray with glasses, sweetener, sliced lemons, ice, and a pitcher of herbal tea that I kept chilling in my refrigerator.

“I’m . . . I’m sorry I look so ugly,” she said.

“I’ve just finished a second round of chemo.”

“You’re not ugly. And I hope the chemo works.”

“One more round to go. That tea looks wonderful. Let’s just enjoy the flowers and the sunset.”

“Fine with me, Susan. I love sharing my garden. Please come over any time.”

She did, all that summer and autumn. But by the next spring only her memory sat with me on the porch, smiling, taking in the new crop of sunflowers, glowing in all their sunset glory.

Terry Sanville lives in San Luis Obispo, California, with his artist-poet wife (and in-house editor) and their cat. An accomplished jazz and blues guitarist, he writes full-time, producing short stories, essays, poems, and novels. His short fiction story “A Greater Peace” appeared in the July issue of St. Anthony Messenger.

art_Sanville_1019.indd 47

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CULTURE

TV

The Family NETFLIX

Writer and professor Jeff Sharlet narrates much of Netflix’s The Family, a five-part series, which is based on his reporting.

Started by Abraham Vereide, the National Prayer Breakfast is an annual event for the Washington elite to gather for networking and prayer.

music

CULTURE 1019.indd 48

books

TV

podcast

film

video

THE FAMILY: NETFLIX (2)

ICONS

8/29/19 11:42 AM

BON IVER: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/SIMON.APPELBLAD; PODCAST: CNS PHOTO/COURTESY GEORGE BURNS, HARPO INC.

T

he phrase separation of Church and State is often credited to President Thomas Jefferson, but its roots go deeper. Roger Williams, a 17th-century minister and founder of the first Baptist church in the United States, once wrote about a “hedge or wall of separation between the garden of the church and the wilderness of the world.” Regardless of the authorship, it is a principle in place to keep the wheels of democracy turning. The Family, Netflix’s five-part documentary series, is a blistering look at a covert religious group that has sought to cut down that hedge between Church and State since 1935.

Jeff Sharlet was a budding writer in New York City when he met a resident of Ivanwald, a mansion in Arlington, Virginia, where Christ-centered young men live and practice their faith.

Fascinated by religion and spiritual practices, Sharlet joined the group of “brothers” and moved into the mansion, despite a nagging current of suspicion. As the following episodes illustrate, The Family, also called The Fellowship, isn’t an innocuous Christian group for young men searching for truth, but a secret organization with tendrils that reach into the most powerful corners of American politics. Past Family members guide viewers through their experiences— and they are at once chilling and deeply troubling.

The Family is both unique and uniquely frustrating for viewers. At times, it’s flat-out stunning: tightly edited, brisk, and punchy. But the series relies too heavily on scripted reenactments—from a cast that includes actor James Cromwell in a wig so bad it elicits unintentional laughs—which muddy the narrative waters. When the series focuses squarely on the members who survived the group, however, it soars. The Family takes a look at the dark side of religion, overt or covert, and boldly questions its true relevance in today’s political process.

Netflix’s previous foray into the underbelly of religion, The Keepers, about the 1969 murder of a Baltimore nun and the systemic physical and sexual abuse within that archdiocese, is as powerful a documentary as you’ll ever see. The Family doesn’t reach the heights of its predecessor, but it’s still worthy viewing.

—Christopher Heffron

VIDEO

MUSIC

I, I

“Why We Can’t Have a Civil Conversation about Guns”

BON IVER

RETRO REPORT | YOUTUBE

“

I don’t question the rights of responsible gun owners. That’s not the issue.

The issue is whether the John Hinckleys of the world should be able to walk into a gun store and purchase a handgun instantly,” James Brady said before a Senate subcommittee on gun control in 1989. Brady, who died in 2014, was perhaps the most vocal victim of gun violence in America, and his Brady Bill, signed into law in 1994, mandated federal background checks for gun purchasers. But has it made Americans safer?

Retro Report, an award-winning news program on YouTube, asks that question in its micro-documentary, “Why We Can’t Have a Civil Conversation about Guns.” In a brisk, tightly edited 11 minutes, Retro Report looks back at the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan and the war (there’s no better term to describe it) between the NRA and gun safety groups that followed—and continues today.

But back to the question: Are we safer now than we were in the ’80s? Retro Report takes no position and provides no clear answer. Surely the residents of Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, would love to weigh in.

—Christopher Heffron

PODCAST

Richard Rohr: The Universal Christ

OPRAH’S SUPERSOUL CONVERSATIONS

BON IVER: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/SIMON.APPELBLAD; PODCAST: CNS PHOTO/COURTESY GEORGE BURNS, HARPO INC.

THE FAMILY: NETFLIX (2)

F

or years, Oprah Winfrey has introduced the world to a wide range of ideas and people Father Richard Rohr with Oprah Winfrey through her television show, magazine, website, and now her podcast. Her SuperSoul Conversations podcast features discussions with thought leaders, best-selling authors, and spiritual luminaries, as well as health and wellness experts. According to Winfrey’s website, Oprah.com, the podcast is “designed to light you up, guide you through life’s big questions and help bring you one step closer to your best self.”

This past June, Winfrey spoke with Franciscan Father Richard Rohr about his latest book, The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope for, and Believe. During the almost 40-minute conversation, the two discuss topics such as why Rohr believes the essential function of religion is to radically connect humanity with the world around us and why he felt he needed to write this book at this point in his life. The discussion raises interesting questions and provides some profound insights from this leading Franciscan voice. Winfrey even asks Rohr if he considers himself a mystic.

Check out the podcast for his answer.

—Susan Hines Brigger

CULTURE 1019.indd 49

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LEFT: Justin Vernon, Bon Iver; INSET: I, I album cover

O

ften referred to as an “indie folk band,” Bon Iver is much more than that label suggests. Their debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago— famously recorded in a hunting cabin in northwestern Wisconsin—might fit that descriptor. But ever since, the group has incorporated a wide range of influences from modern electronic music to psychedelic rock from the ’60s. Their latest effort, I, I, deftly synthesizes those varying influences cohesively without sacrificing their musical identity along the way.

At its core, I, I is an autumnal album, with numerous direct references to fall and a sonic mood throughout that draws from the restlessness of the season, nestled as it is between the seemingly endless days of summer and the dead of winter. The song “Salem” mentions burning leaves, and, in “Jelmore,” vocalist Justin Vernon sings, “We’ll all be gone by the fall/We’ll all be gone by the falling light.” There’s a strong sense in these and other songs on the album that the band is warning listeners about the precarious time we live in, one characterized by a rapidly warming planet and deepening political divides.

Light breaks through, however, on I, I with songs of affirmation and belief, such as the aptly named “Faith” and the beautiful feel-good sound of the closer, “RABi.” —Daniel Imwalle

StAnthonyMessenger.org | October 2019 • 49

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CULTURE

FILMS

By Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP

Sister Rose’s

MUST SEE MOVIES ABOUT

RACISM American History X (1998) Skin (2018) Hidden Figures (2016) Gran Torino (2008) Schindler’s List (1993)

?

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PARASITE

I

t is present-day in Seoul, Korea. Kim Ki-woo (Choi Woo-sik), a would-be college student, lives with his unemployed chauffeur father, Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho), his mother, Chung-sook (Jang Hye-jin), and his sister, Ki-jung (Park So-dam). They try various schemes to support themselves in their grungy basement flat. But it is not until Ki-woo’s friend, an English tutor for the wellto-do Park family, asks him to take over while he goes abroad to study, that things begin to look up for the family.

Ki-woo shows up for work at the family’s elegant villa and meets the indecisive Mrs. Park (Cho Yeo-jeong) and his adolescent student. He makes a good impression on his first day. As he leaves the home, he sees a painting done by the little brother, Da-song. When Mrs. Park mentions that she has not been able to find an art teacher for the hyperactive child, Ki-woo says he knows of such a teacher, Jessica. Jessica is really his own sister, Ki-jung, who knows nothing about art, but like the rest of her family, is a master at faking it.

Ki-jung manages to convince Mrs. Park to replace the family’s driver with her father, Ki-taek. The young lady also convinces her to replace the wily housekeeper, who has been with the family for years, with her mother, Chung-sook. Now with the Kim family fully

entrenched in the home, the unknowing Parks go on a camping trip. The Kim family relaxes and celebrates their employment by having a feast and making a mess.

In the midst of a severe storm, the former housekeeper begs to be allowed in, revealing that her husband has been living for years in an underground cave accessible only through the basement of the house. The Park family returns and things spin out of control.

Parasite, which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival this year, is a clever, dark comedy and social commentary about the invisible working poor who will do anything to survive, as well as the often-thoughtless rich who live off of them. Everyone is shown to be a parasite in one way or another. The acting and direction are superb. The story sheds a glaring light on the growing gap between the rich and the poor in South Korean society, not unlike our own.

Not yet rated • Violence, social injustice.

LEFT: COURTESY SISTER ROSE PACATTE, FSP/MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS; PARASITE: PHOTOS COURTESY OF NEON (2)

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

50 • October 2019 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

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SPIDER IN THE WEB: PHOTOS COURTESY OF VERTICAL ENTERTAINMENT (2); DON’T BE NICE: PHOTO COURTESY OF NIKHIL MELNECHUK PRODUCTION/RADIO DRAMA NETWORK/JUNO FILMS

Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP

DON’T BE NICE

SPIDER IN THE WEB: PHOTOS COURTESY OF VERTICAL ENTERTAINMENT (2); DON’T BE NICE: PHOTO COURTESY OF NIKHIL MELNECHUK PRODUCTION/RADIO DRAMA NETWORK/JUNO FILMS

LEFT: COURTESY SISTER ROSE PACATTE, FSP/MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS; PARASITE: PHOTOS COURTESY OF NEON (2)

T SPIDER IN THE WEB

I

n modern-day Belgium, Adereth (Ben Kingsley), an aging Israeli spy who fronts as an antique dealer, is having lunch with his old friend, Syrian officer Col. Khadir (Makram Khoury). Adereth gives him an antique ring for his wife, Anne-Marie (Hilde Van Mieghem), as a show of gratitude for their friendship.

Adereth senses that all is not well when his Mossad boss, Samuel (Itzik Cohen), wants him to return to Israel because they believe he is manufacturing intelligence to make himself appear relevant. They give him a task to confirm that Belgium is supplying Syria with chemical weapons and, thus, prove he is still useful. Samuel also appoints a young, up-and-coming spy, Daniel (Itay Tiran), to shadow him and make sure he gets the job done. Meanwhile, Col. Khadir and his wife are murdered, leaving Adereth shocked and emotionally bereft. Yet he soldiers on.

Adereth meets and falls in love with a doctor, Angela (Monica Bellucci). They begin an affair, and she helps him to get information from the chemical manufacturing company. Meanwhile, the head of Belgian Intelligence makes contact with the Mossad and Adereth. They appear to be working together.

Oscar-winner Kingsley is very good as the crafty old spy. The film, directed by Eran Riklis, is in the mode of a John le Carré novel. It is not altogether satisfying as a story, but it works well enough as a smoke-and-mirrors spy caper. It shows that the world is a dangerous place with countries acting in their own self-interest.

Not yet rated • Violence, sexuality, chemical weapons.

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

his enthusiastic and soul-searing film documents the journey of New York City’s Bowery Slam Poetry Team as its five members and coaches prepare for the finals in Atlanta, Georgia. Slam poetry features a broad range of genres and styles. In Don’t Be Nice, most of the poetry reflects the influence of hip-hop, but with the added element of performance. I found the poems “Google Black” (that is, if you don’t understand a black reference, Google it!) and Noel Quiñones’ multigenerational piece about life in a Puerto Rican family to be particularly effective.

The poets are African American, Afro-Hispanic, and gay. Their poems speak truth to power from the margins, refusing “to stay nice” and maintain the status quo. The pain of so many killings of unarmed black men resonates strongly. One poet featured in the film wonders what she will do with her “three minutes and 10 seconds” on stage—and the audience wonders, too, as we watch these passionate artists bare their souls for the audience.

The importance of participating in the Poetry Slam competition and winning cannot be underestimated: It can lead to book deals and teaching gigs. For these poets, writing is a form of activism; poetry is their song. I found the film to be inspiring and moving.

Not yet rated • Strong language.

Source: USCCB.org/movies

StAnthonyMessenger.org | October 2019 • 51

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saint who?

St. Faith of Conques

Humor beyond the Grave

by Brian O’Neel

circa late third to early fourth century Memorial: October 6

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52 • October 2019 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

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LILIBOAS /ISTOCK

When she was put on trial, Faith gave a brave, remarkable defense of Christianity. Fine, Dacian told her, keep your beliefs. Just sacrifice to the goddess Diana in the town temple. Faith refused, and Dacian lost patience with the girl. He ordered her bound to a brazen bed and roasted.

Pitch was thrown on the fire to make its flames flare and burn her legs.

This happened in public so that the crowds could witness the fate awaiting Christians.

The problem for Dacian was that little Faith refused to cooperate. She cried, yes, but she didn’t scream or beg for mercy. After a miraculous rainstorm extinguished the flames, Dacian had her beheaded. Seeing all this, the mob was moved not to contempt for Christianity but to pity for Faith. Their only contempt was for Dacian, her executioner. They wondered what god of theirs could give a mere maiden such strength. Realizing the answer was “none,” many converted on the spot. In turn, most of these received martyrdom 20 days later.

After her death, St. Faith developed a reputation as something of a practical joker. If someone was stingy with a donation left for her shrine’s upkeep, small misfortunes might befall them. For instance, a dying woman promised St. Faith of Conques she would will her most precious ring to the abbey. Afterward her husband—possibly for its sentimental value, or maybe the thing had cost him a good deal of money—thought better of his wife’s last pledge. He instead used the ring as his second wife’s wedding band.

Shortly the ring finger of the new missus swelled so much that it became unbearably painful. The couple beat a hasty path to the shrine. There, when the lady blew her nose, the ring flew off her hand with such force that it left a crack in the pavement.

WIKIPEDIA/ICONOGRAPHIC COLLECTIONS

R

ead the accounts of the early Christian martyrs, and one type of story comes up again and again: A 12- to 14-year-old girl gets arrested during a persecution, is told to renounce her faith, refuses, and is tortured but refuses to apostatize. One thinks of Sts. Lucy, Eulalia, Agatha, Agnes, and too many others to count. It seems every region Rome ruled during this time has its own martyr whose tale follows this basic path. Some stand out, however.

Consider Lucy and her eyes or Agnes and her miraculously growing hair.

Or even the more obscure St. Faith of Conques.

She was a beautiful 12-year-old girl living in Agen, Aquitaine, France, during the co-reign of Diocletian and Maximian. Her parents, wealthy pagans, left her rearing to a nurse, who happened to be Christian. Growing up in a beautiful, mosaic-encrusted villa, Faith had everything the world could offer, and her future looked bright, except for one thing: She had accepted her nurse’s Christian faith.

To understand why this was a problem, we must understand Emperor Diocletian. He had announced on assuming office his intention to revive morality within the realm, since immorality was sapping Roman virtue and therefore the empire’s viability and strength. He also believed a revival of the traditional Roman gods was key because an empire united in its religious praxis would be stronger. This was not a problem for most pagans in most places because gods were gods, even if their names varied by region. This was obviously not the case for Christians, however.

Diocletian launched a persecution designed to force everyone to the same cult. Dacian, prefect of the province in which Faith lived, came to Agen to observe his subjects’ loyalty—that is, to see if they were being good pagans and, if not, kill them. While many Christians panicked, Faith voluntarily surrendered to the authorities. Imagine how frightened she must have been. She likely prayed for strength and for the words to convert her persecutors. Dacian probably had some nervousness too. After all, putting a 12-year-old girl on trial would be a touchy situation, especially for a capital crime.

Why St. Faith Deserves Our Attention and Devotion EXCEPT FOR WHAT she said in court, St. Faith never preached. She never wrote an epistle. Her preaching and writing were her actions. The bravery and resolve of this young maiden astounded the crowds. Perceiving something special about the God she worshipped, they converted. And she was just a child. God makes up for what we lack.

Holy Spirit, through your ineffable gifts, draw us to

preach eloquent sermons that draw people to Christ far better than our poor words can. Help us to love you, God, to do everything for you, and to remain firm LILIBOAS /ISTOCK

WIKIPEDIA/ICONOGRAPHIC COLLECTIONS

constant conversion. Renew our hearts. Let our actions

in that love come what may, so that, with St. Faith, we may wear an eternal crown.

StAnthonyMessenger.org | October 2019 • 53

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POINTSOFVIEW | FAITH & FAMILY

By Susan Hines-Brigger

W

Blessings in Our Brokenness

Q X A

O

Susan welcomes your comments and suggestions!

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

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A E P E R D N A E

PICKING UP THE PIECES

For some reason, on that day I must have put the toad in a bag­—or maybe it was a purse— and left it lying on the floor. When my mom told my sisters and me to clean up, my sister Karen grabbed the bag and threw it down the basement stairs in an attempt to clean up as quickly as possible. When it landed on the tile floor, there was a crash and the sound of something breaking. I immediately remembered putting my toad in that bag.

We ran down the steps and opened it up.

I saw the broken pieces inside and started to cry. Karen quickly apologized, saying she didn’t know there was anything in the bag.

My oldest sister, Beth, ran downstairs and gathered the pieces. She carried them upstairs to the table, where she promised me that she would reassemble my toad. She laid out the pieces and began carefully and painstakingly gluing the ceramic pieces back together. The result is the piece that has been sitting on a shelf in my bedroom ever since.

The fact that I can recall that story over 40 years later says a lot about its impact, especially since I often can’t even remember why I walked into a room. I can remember that story, though, because I have learned so much from it.

BROKEN, BUT BEAUTIFUL

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D T

Whenever I look at that toad, I’m reminded of the ancient Japanese art of kintsugi, which highlights or emphasizes imperfections by fixing broken pottery with a special lacquer dusted with powdered gold, silver, or plati-

T E P W J F

num. In highlighting the cracks or broken pieces, they suddenly become something to celebrate or focus on, rather than flaws.

I also remember that we, too, are all flawed and broken in so many ways—just like my ceramic piece. Each of us bears cracks and missing pieces from difficult life experiences—mistakes, failures, broken relationships, deaths. The physical marks serve as reminders for us to turn to God for healing.

That is the message I see in the yellowed cracks of my ceramic piece.

I am also, however, reminded of the power of stepping up and helping someone when he or she is broken. The memory of my sister gluing the toad back together taught me a powerful lesson about reaching out and helping others—even when the situation may seem unimportant or small.

I think it’s those underlying messages of the story that have made it stick with me. And so that toad has traveled with me to four different houses, always finding a place where I can be reminded that in our brokenness, there is still beauty.

ASK ASK CAN CUL AUT ELIJ FRA BLE MAX MOV CAN PEA STO CAT THE

COR

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DEC

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54 • October 2019 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

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TOP RIGHT: DGWILDLIFE/FOTOSEARCH; PETE & REPEAT: TOM GREENE

Susan has worked at St. Anthony Messenger for 25 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.

X

MC KOZUSKO/SAM (2)

Susan Hines-Brigger

n the bookshelf in the corner of my bedroom sits a ceramic toad. Yes, a toad.

It is nothing great to look at. In fact, it’s dull, dusty, and covered in cracks and globs of yellowed glue. It didn’t start out that way, though. It once was shiny and pristine.

If you asked me when or where I got that toad, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. Nor would I be able to tell you why I seemed to like it so much, other than that I was a quirky kid.

What I do remember clearly, though, is the day it got broken.

B

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LEPER

PEACEMAKERS

MISSIONARY

SCORSESE

PETE AND REPEAT STORY OF A SOUL

PETE&REPEAT

TRIVIA QUESTIONS 1) Who is the author of the book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up?

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SEND US YOUR best caption for this photo. The winner will get his or her caption published in an upcoming issue, a special gift, and, of course, bragging rights!

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2) What is the title of St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s autobiography?

3) In which Gospel did Jesus tell his apostles to “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature”?

4) After her death, which saint developed a reputation of being something of a practical joker?

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

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

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

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

(Answers below)

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Go online to order: Shop.FranciscanMedia.org For ONLY $3.99 Use Code: SAMPETE ANSWERS to PETE & REPEAT: 1) There are more lines on the uncarved pumpkin. 2) Sis’ hair is in front of her shoulder. 3) The pumpkin’s nose is now right side up. 4) The marker is sideways. 5) The space between the branches is wider. 6) More yellow leaves have appeared on the tree. 7) The inside rim of the pumpkin is black. 8) The scooper’s handle is longer.

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ATTENTION, WORDSMITHS:

Name: Name:

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brainteasers | games | challenges

StAnthonyMessenger.org | October 2019 • 55

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reflection

“Anyone who thinks fallen leaves are dead has never watched them dancing on a windy day.”

BGFOTO/ISTOCK

—Shira Tamir

56 • October 2019 | StAnthonyMessenger.org

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