20 • THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
JUNE 8, 2023
COMMENTARY TWENTY SOMETHING | CHRISTINA CAPECCHI
‘Find the heart of the work’
The U.S. Postal Service just released a stamp that bursts with nostalgia: an homage to the beloved author and illustrator Tomie dePaola. It depicts his best-known character, Strega Nona, who earned him a Caldecott Medal in 1976, clutching her pasta pot and smiling at her peacock. The stamp inspired me to sift through my dePaola collection — his saint books, his condensed histories, his quirky stories and spooky tales. So much of dePaola’s Catholic upbringing appears in his richly colored folk art — the nuns and friars, the churches and baptisms — and the depiction of family life often mirrors his own Irish-Italian rituals. DePaola treated young readers with intelligence, addressing their natural questions about life and death with books like “Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs” and the hauntingly beautiful “The Clown of God.” Painting in his New Hampshire studio in a 200-yearold barn, dePaola worked out his own aging. Books like “Now One Foot, Now the Other” and “Quiet” celebrate a gentler, slower pace. The very titles of some later books capture his philosophy of life: “Angels, Angels Everywhere,” “Let the Whole Earth Sing Praise” and “Look and Be Grateful.” DePaola was once asked to offer guidance for creators of children’s books. Advice for artists often doubles as advice for living. His response did not disappoint. “If I look at my early things, it’s not there yet,” dePaola said. “I’m too full of myself, too full of showing off, showing how well I could crosshatch, for instance. I think that’s the progression of a young artist. You show off and then you — or I — suddenly find the heart of the work. I suddenly began to be faithful to the heart: the humor, the pathos, whatever is there.”
SIMPLE HOLINESS | KATE SOUCHERAY
Strengthening the family in faith When our now-adult children were young, I found manners videos at the library, which we watched together and talked about how we would use them while we were on a special vacation that summer. Whether it was how to look at the waitress when we placed our order at the restaurants we were visiting, why we needed to keep our room clean at the hotel or our commitment to not littering when we were visiting the parks on our itinerary, we all benefited from the reminders provided by the videos. I said, “Good manners never take a vacation.” In the same way, our faith never takes a vacation. During the summer months, whether we are on vacation or at home and just don’t feel like attending Sunday Mass, our faith still needs to be fed. We may want to take a break from the sacrament of reconciliation or our commitment to the adoration chapel, and yet we know a laxness in these commitments opens us to sin. During the summer months when we have longer days and warmer weather, it’s not uncommon to relax our determination to do the right and good thing in every situation we face. Our faith helps us remain
In the age of Instagram, not showing off can feel counter-cultural. We view other people’s lives as highlight reels filmed at golden hour and put to acoustic music. We are tempted to play along. All ages are guilty. We show off on playgrounds and in boardrooms. We brag, we fake it, we one-up each other. Overcoming the desire to show off is a turning point in the spiritual life. It is the beginning. It’s a launching pad for all worthy endeavors — be it the development of a craft or a relationship. It enables us to say important things. “I don’t know.” “I don’t like that.” “I’m scared. “I need help.” “I was wrong.” We can confess fear and remorse, and we can express delight and affection. “I’m excited!” “I’m amazed!” “Wow!” “I love you!” “I want to be with you.” (My kindergartner says this to me, and it feels like the ultimate compliment.) There is freedom in reaching this point and also responsibility. We are free to simply embrace what is, rather than force what we want it to be. But this doesn’t come easy. We must pay attention long enough and open our hearts wide enough to recognize the heart of the matter. And then, as dePaola instructs, we must be faithful to it. What is the heart of your work? What is the crux of your vocation when you step back and consider the big picture? It’s not the to-do list, the meeting agenda or the meal plan. It’s not our commitments — that stuffy space between calendar and clock. It’s none of the day-to-day shuffle. It’s how we make people feel. It’s how we spend our precious time, how often we laugh and pray and play, whether we notice the sunset and the birdsong and utter “how great Thou art.” It’s not what we do but why we do it and who we are — our identity rooted in Christ, his beloved sons and daughters. Find the heart and cling to it. Everything else will fall into place. Capecchi is a freelance writer from Inver Grove Heights.
consistent and committed to being the kind of person we can be proud of. The kind of person we want to be proud of. So how can we maintain our faith commitments during these vital summer months? We can begin by explaining to our family that at the bare minimum, we will always attend Sunday Mass, no matter where we are. If we are on vacation, we will look ahead and find the closest Catholic church and make sure we attend Mass either Saturday evening or Sunday morning. We can also say the rosary together as a family, whether we are at home, in the car or on a walk enjoying a beautiful summer day. We can offer prayers for the good of others and those who have asked us to pray for them. We can read books about the lives of saints and work to emulate their sacred qualities in our everyday lives. Msgr. Gerald Philips reminds us, “Religion is more than a coat which a citizen dons each Sunday morning, doffs as soon as possible and puts away for another week. To believe means to abandon oneself with reverence and confidence to the living and true God, Father and Creator, in whose hands we are held.” Rather than forgetting about our faith in the summer, it can become a time to set aside the demands of the busier months and open ourselves more fully to God. It can become a fruitful season of spiritual growth, one that enhances the months that require so much of our mortal attention and effort. The summer, with its more relaxed schedule, is a perfect time to respond to the grace of the Holy Spirit as he moves in our hearts, minds and souls, encouraging us to grow in PLEASE TURN TO SIMPLE HOLINESS ON PAGE 23
BRIDGING FAITH | DEACON MICKEY FRIESEN
Confirmed in faith
“I’m not supposed to be here!” Those were the opening words of a university commencement address I heard this spring. The keynote speaker went on to say that he should not have been able to go to college, let alone graduate, based on the challenges of his growing up years. He spoke about his mother who gave birth to him while still a teenager and unprepared to be a parent, and how they struggled to make it. She embraced her life and encouraged him to grow beyond his circumstances. He also said he didn’t plan to be a basketball coach, but he did agree to be a “Big Brother” to a 12-year-old boy while in college. Unbeknownst to the speaker, his “little brother” volunteered him to be his junior high coach. This unplanned, sneaky predicament changed the speaker’s life. He went on to be one of the most successful high school basketball coaches in Minnesota history. He said, “I was not supposed to be here, but I am here. I stand here on the shoulders of my mother, my mentors, my little brother and all those who confirmed me on a path that I had not planned for. I am here by the grace of God. Whether we planned it or not … WE ARE HERE!” Pentecost marks the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and sending them into mission. The early Apostles moved beyond Jerusalem in ways they had not planned for. I think of St. Phillip the deacon being forced to flee Jerusalem to escape persecution and finding himself unexpectedly in Samaria. Or, St. Peter being sent to the home of Cornelius, a gentile and Roman soldier. I can imagine them thinking, “I am not supposed to be here!” And yet their unplanned departures became part of God’s bigger plan to bring the Gospel to new places and faces. The Spirit went with St. Phillip and St. Peter and confirmed them in faith for the journey. The Spirit also went ahead of them preparing the hearts of those they would encounter. They were confirmed in the Spirit to embrace their predicament and give witness to Christ. It has been said that life is what happens while we are busy making other plans. We can face trials in life we did not plan for. It can make us think, “I’m not supposed to be here.” We can have dreams and goals that turn out differently. The good news is that the Spirit of God accompanies us and confirms us in faith no matter our plans. God’s plan is big enough to give meaning to our life circumstances and transform them for God’s purpose. In fact, it may be where our plans end that God’s plan is able to begin and grow. Our faith is an apostolic faith. Our faith sends us forth into the world as witnesses of Christ. It is a faith born in and confirmed by the Spirit of God. We may not be able to plan the time and place for when we are called upon to give witness, but the Spirit of God accompanies us and leads us into the truth of the meaning of our lives. We cannot plan for everything that life has in store for us, but we are here now. We can live with a faith ready to give the reason for our hope. God’s plan gives meaning to our situation and the Spirit accompanies us to comfort and encourage, to direct and confirm us in Christ. Let us be confirmed in faith, confirmed in the Spirit, confirmed in communion and ready to give the reason for our hope in Christ. We are the ones God has been waiting for to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. Deacon Friesen is director of the Center for Mission, which supports missionary outreach of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He can be reached at friesenm@archspm.org.