WORDS OF HOPE AND REDEMPTION - IN CANADA

 

Yesterday in the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in Québec, Pope Francis preached on hope and redemption.

 “On the path of life and faith, as we seek to achieve the dreams, plans, hopes and expectations deep in our hearts, we also come up against our own frailties and weaknesses; we experience setbacks and disappointments, and often we can remain imprisoned by a paralyzing sense of failure. Yet the Gospel tells us that at those very moments we are not alone, for the Lord comes to meet us and stands at our side.

Journey with Jesus- Dr. He Qi

He accompanies us on our way with the discretion of a gentle fellow traveler who wants to open our eyes and make our hearts once more burn within us. Whenever our failures lead to an encounter with the Lord, life and hope are reborn and we are able to be reconciled: with ourselves, with our brothers and sisters, and with God.”

The Gospel shows us…that it is in precisely such situations of disappointment and grief – when we are appalled by the violence of evil and shame for our sins, when the living waters of our lives are dried up by sin and failure, when we are stripped of everything and seem to have nothing left – that the Lord comes to meet us and walks at our side.

On the way to Emmaus, Jesus gently drew near and accompanied the disconsolate footsteps of those sad disciples. And what does he do? He does not offer generic words of encouragement, simplistic and facile words of consolation but instead, by revealing the mystery of his death and resurrection foretold in the Scriptures, he sheds new light on their lives and the events they experienced. In this way, he opens their eyes to see everything anew.

                                                Walk to Emmaus- Greg Joens -USA

                                    Let us make his word central to everything we do, for it sheds light on all that happens and restores our vision. It enables us to see the operative presence of God’s love and the potential for good even in apparently hopeless situations. Let us put at the center the Bread of the Eucharist, which Jesus today once again breaks for us, so that he can share his life with us, embrace our weakness, sustain our weary steps and heal our hearts. Reconciled with God, with others and with ourselves, may we ourselves become instruments of reconciliation and peace within our societies.”

ANOTHER NUN POET- A BENEDICTINE

 

I recently came across another nun writer and this one was a Benedictine.  MARIELLA GABLE, OSB was an American academic, writer, poet, and literary critic.

She was born Mary Margaret Gable in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin in 1898, the second of three children. After attending public schoo, she came to St. Benedict's Academy and entered the convent in her senior year. She made first vows on in 1917, and celebrated her Golden Jubilee in 1967.

In 1934 she received her PhD from Cornell University, and took a position as chair of the Department of English at the College of Saint Benedict, where she remained until 1958. The years from 1958 to 1962 were spent teaching at colleges in Oregon and Missouri.

She was the editor of several anthologies of short stories, including Great Modern Catholic Short Stories (1942), Our Father's House (1945), and Many-Colored Fleece (1950), and wrote numerous essays.

At one point in her career she was banished from the campus for four years by the local bishop for allowing the inclusion of  "A Catcher in the Rye" on a suggested reading list for S. Kristin Malloy's course in contemporary American literature. 

She played a large role in shaping mid-century opinions of Catholic fiction in the United States and in Europe. She felt that fiction about religious and moral subjects should possess literary value, not merely serve as sentiment.

She loved teaching Teilhard de Chardin and Dante's "Divine Comedy" and was still being asked to give courses on them in St. Cloud at age 80. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and other national honor societies and listed in many directories of eminent educators and writers including "Outstanding Educators of America in 1972" and the first edition of "The World's Who's Who of Women in Education."

Among authors whose work she respected were J. F. Powers and Flannery O'Connor.  She also introduced such writers as Frank O'Connor, Sean O'Faolain, Mary Lavin, and Bryan MacMahon to American audiences.

She remained on the faculty of the College of Saint Benedict until 1973 and is honored on campus with a residence hall and a literary prize, both named in her honor.

Sister Mariella was faithful to these words of Jesus that she quoted to an alumnae group in 1975, "The gift you have received, give as a gift."

ELDERLY IN THE CHURCH AND WORLD

Almost 25 years ago the Pontifical Council for the Laity put out "The Dignity of Older People and their Mission in the Church and in the World".  As we today celebrate the feast of STS. JOACHIM AND ANNE, the parents of the Blessed Virgin, Jesus' grandparents, I thought it appropriate to present parts of the document- so relevant today.

People today live longer and enjoy better health than in the past.  They are also able to cultivate interests made possible by higher levels of education.  No longer is old age synonymous with dependence on others or a diminished quality of life. 

But all this seems not enough to dislodge a negative image of old age or encourage a positive acceptance of a period of life in which many of our contemporaries see  nothing but an unavoidable and burdensome decline.

The perception of old age as a period of decline, in which human and social inadequacy is taken for granted, is in fact very widespread today.  But this is a stereotype.  It does not take account of a condition that is in practice far more diversified, because older people are not a homogeneous human group and old age is experienced in very different ways. 

There are those older people who are capable of grasping the significance that old age has in the context of human existence, and who confront it not only with serenity and dignity, but as a time of life which offers them new opportunities for growth and commitment.  But there are others – more numerous in our own day – to whom old age is a traumatic experience, and who react to their own ageing with attitudes ranging from passive resignation to rebellion, rejection, and despair.  They are persons who become locked into themselves and self-marginalized, thus accelerating the process of their own physical and mental deterioration.

It may thus be affirmed that the aspects of the third and fourth ages are as manifold and varied as older people themselves, and that each of us prepares for old age, and the way we experience it, in the course of our own life.  In this sense, old age grows with us.  And the quality of our old age will especially depend on our capacity to grasp its meaning and appreciate its value both at the purely human level and at the level of faith.  We therefore need to situate old age in the context of a precise providential scheme of God who is love.  We need to accept it as a stage in the journey by which Christ leads us to the Father’s house (cf. John 14:2).  Only in the light of the faith, strengthened by the hope which does not deceive (cf. Romans 5:5), shall we be able to accept old age in a truly Christian way both as a gift and a task. 

That is the secret of the youthfulness of spirit, which we can continue to cultivate in spite of the passing of years.  Linda, a woman who lived to the age of 106, left us a magnificent testimony of this.  On her 101st birthday, she confided to a friend: “I’m now 102 years old, but I’m strong, you know.  Physically I have some disabilities, but spiritually there is nothing I can’t do.  I don’t let physical impediments stand in the way, I pay no attention to them.  I don’t suffer old age, because I ignore it: it goes ahead on its own, but I pay no heed to it.  The only way to live well in old age is to live it in God.”

To correct the current, largely negative image of old age is therefore a cultural and educational task which ought to involve all generations.  We have a responsibility towards older people today: we need to help them to grasp the sense of their age, to appreciate its resources, and to overcome the temptation to reject it, and so succumb to self-isolation, resignation, and a feeling of uselessness and despair.  We also have a responsibility towards future generations: that of preparing a human, social, and spiritual context in which each person may live this period of life with dignity and fullness.

In his message to the UN’s World Assembly on Ageing, Pope John Paul II affirmed: “Life is a gift of God to man who is created out of love in the image and likeness of God.  This understanding of the sacred dignity of the human person leads to the appreciation of every stage of life.  It is a question of consistency and justice.  It is impossible to truly value the life of an older person if the life of a child is not valued from the moment of its conception.  No one knows where we might arrive, if life is no longer respected as something inalienable and sacred.”

The multi-generational society we aspire to shall only become an enduring reality if it be based on respect for life in all its phases.  The presence of so many older persons in the modern world needs to be recognized as a gift, a new human and spiritual potential for enrichment.  It is a sign of the times which, if fully accepted and understood, may help contemporary men and women to rediscover the fundamental meaning of life, which far transcends the purely contingent meanings attributed to it by market forces, by the State, and by the prevailing mentality.

The contribution that older people, by their experience, can make to the process of making our society and culture more human is particularly valuable.  It needs to be encouraged by fostering what might be termed the charisms proper to old age, namely:

Disinterestedness.  The prevailing culture of our time measures the value of our actions according to criteria of efficiency and material success, which ignore the dimension of disinterestedness: of giving something, or giving ourselves, without any thought of a return.  Older people, who have time on their hands, may recall the attention of an over-busy society to the need to break down the barriers of an indifference that debases, discourages and stifles altruistic impulses.

Memory.  The younger generations are losing a sense of history and consequently the sense of their own identity.  A society that minimizes the sense of history fails in its responsibility to educate young people.  A society that ignores the past more easily runs the risk of repeating its errors.  The loss of an historical sense is also attributable to a system of life that has marginalized and isolated older people, and that hampers dialogue between the generations.

Experience.  Today we live in a world in which the responses of science and technology seem to have supplanted the value of the experience accumulated by older people in the course of their whole lives.  This kind of cultural barrier should not discourage people of the third and fourth ages, since they still have a lot to say to the young generations and to share with them.

Interdependence.  No man is an island.  But growing individualism and self-seeking are obscuring this truth.  Older people, in their search for companionship, challenge a society in which the weaker are often abandoned; they draw attention to the social nature of man and to the need to repair the fabric of interpersonal and social relationships.

A more complete vision of life.  Our life is dominated by haste, by agitation, and frequently by neurosis.  It is a distracted life, a life in which the fundamental questions about the vocation, dignity, and destiny of man are forgotten.  The third age is also the age of simplicity and contemplation.  The affective, moral, and religious values embodied by older people are an indispensable resource for fostering the harmony of society, of the family, and of the individual.  These values include a sense of responsibility, faith in God, friendship, disinterest in power, prudence, patience, wisdom, and a deep inner conviction of the need to respect the creation and foster peace.  Older people understand the superiority of “being” over “having".  Human societies would be better if they learned to benefit from the charisms of old age.

 

REVIVAL IN OUR CHURCH

 

There is an emphasis today in our church on the Eucharist and many are calling it a “revival”.

Our Catholic Bishops are concerned (and it certainly is my experience of the many people who come to visit us) that many Catholics do not understand what the church teaches about the Eucharist. According to a poll by the Pew Research Center in 2019, only one third of U.S. Catholics believed in transubstantiation.

This shows that the central doctrine of sacramental theology is widely misunderstood. And I wonder in many cases if it is just  a lack of faith?  "How many of you say: I should like to see His face, His garments, His shoes. You do see Him, you touch Him, you eat Him. He gives Himself to you, not only that you may see Him, but also to be your food and nourishment."  (St. John Chrysostom)

I am appalled at what is so often taught in RCIA  programs.  We all know that for decades the emphasis has been on more social reforms and outreach. Yet 25 years ago the Holy Father urged for better education of our Catholic youth.

"I urge priests, religious and lay people to continue and redouble their efforts to teach the younger generations the meaning and value of Eucharistic adoration and devotion. How will young people be able to know the Lord if they are not introduced to the mystery of his presence? Like the young Samuel, by learning the words of the prayer of the heart, they will be closer to the Lord who will accompany them in their spiritual and human growth, and in the missionary witness which they must give throughout their life".  (Pope St. John Paul II's 1996 letter to the Bishop of Liege on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the first celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi)

So, the Catholic bishops have inaugurated a three-year program to foster a nationwide “movement of Catholics across the United States which is meant to heal, convert, reform, and unify the Church and the world by an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist.

And rather than criticize what has gone on in the past, they  will stress the rich, life-giving gift of the Body of Christ. In the words of Pope Francis in “The Joy of the Gospel,” the Eucharist is “not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.”

" Our world is hurting and we  all need healing, yet many of us are separated from the very source of our strength. Our church, too, is hurting and in need of healing and hope. Can’t we all seek it in the very gift Jesus gave to the people of God?" (From the website for the National Eucharistic Revival)

I recommend that all go to the website as they offer very good meditations. https://www.eucharisticrevival.org/

TO LOVE A MOTH

 

Why is it that we all love a butterfly, but its closest relative, the moth, is often sent packing?  Last year at this time I did a short Blog for National Moth Week- always the last week of July. This year the dates are the  23rd to 31st.

Moths are so often overlooked in our natural world yet do more good than harm.  There are an estimated 11,000 species of moths in the U.S. alone.

Scientists estimate there are 150,000 to more than 500,000 moth species in the world.  They are among the most diverse and successful organisms on earth. 

The furthest distance from which a male moth can smell a female moth is seven miles and the speed of one of the world’s fastest flying insects -the hawkmoth is 33.7 mph.

 Moths  are great pollinators.  Everyone knows bees help keep the circle of life going, but moths do, too! They have long tube-like tongues that are ideal for sipping nectar, and their hairy bodies, evolved to keep them warm in flight, are perfect for picking up pollen grains and moving them around the garden!

 They are also an important food source for many animals: lizards, birds, and even some bears eat moths! Moths are a good indicator of how our environment is doing!  Moth health and their numbers can give important signals about the effects of farming practices, pesticides, air pollution, and climate change on the Earth.

Unlike butterflies, most moths are nocturnal. One species, which is fascinating to watch is the hummingbird moth, which is found in the day, sipping nectar. It gets its name due to its appearance and behavior with a hummingbird or bumblebee.

It is found in a large portion of North America, with a range extending from Alaska to Oregon in the west and from Newfoundland to Florida in the east. 

So next time you want to give a moth the boot (literally). Remember they may be doing more good than harm.  And while their cousins, the butterflies, may for the most part display dazzling colors and cryptic patterns, if you look closely, you can see some pretty amazing  designs in the moth.

ON-GOING COURAGE

Like all tragedies in our modern world, when they go on and on, we tend to forget, or become hardened to the death toll.  This is the case of the on-going destruction of the Ukraine and her people. Now it seems no area is safe in this country anymore. Russian missile attacks can hit anywhere at anytime, with terrible results.

The Ukrainian Madonna-  Vladyslav Shereshevsky, Kyiv

Two days ago Russian Armed Forces  launched several rocket attacks on the city of Vinnytsia, killing at least 24 people (including three children), and injuring over 200. The strike has been labeled as a war crime by officials from multiple countries. When one looks at the map, this city is far from the front-lines of the east.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy  said: " Every day, Russia destroys the civilian population, kills Ukrainian children, directs rockets at civilian objects. Where there is nothing military. What is this if not an open terrorist attack? Inhuman. Country of killers. A country of terrorists".

It is unbearably painful to see the death of innocent civilians and the destruction of civil infrastructure in the central streets of peaceful Vinnytsia” said Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk.

It is painful to see a generation of children who will grow up in lands not their own and one wonders when and if they will ever be able to return to their homeland.

We daily pray for the Ukrainian people who continue to show the world their courage and resilience.

TODAY'S MARTYRS - PRIESTS

 

As I wash the veggies we just got from the mainland, I am aware that much of our produce, even in our farm rich state, comes from Mexico.  As I prepare these vegetables I think of the  many priests who have been murdered in this supposed Catholic country. No Latin American country is more dangerous for Catholic priests than Mexico.

In the last 15 years, between 45 and 50 priests  and one cardinal have been killed in Mexican narcotics-related violence. Some died because they were caught in the crossfire and others died because they spoke out against the on-going corruption of their country. The murder of priests has become part of daily life in Mexico.

 This certainly is not the first time that anti-Catholic violence has plagued Mexico. Anti-Catholic and anticlerical oppression took place in the savage Cristero War of 1926-29, in which approximately 90 priests were killed in an attempt to purge priests as well as religious.

Just a few weeks ago (June 20), two Jesuits, Javier Campos Morales and Joaquin Cesar Mora Salazar, were murdered in Cerocahui, Chihuahua, while attempting to defend a man who was seeking refuge in their church. The priests were 79 and 80 years of age and were noted for their care of indigenous people.

In the three and a half years of the López Obrador administration, more than 121,000 homicides have been recorded in the country.  In the years of the past president, Enrique Peña Nieto, there were more than 156,000 murders committed during the six-year term.

One wonders how many of these were innocent bystanders?  We can only pray to our Lady of Guadalupe that the  respect for life, will once again prevail- in Mexico, as well as our own country!

Artwork: Elizabeth Wang (d. 2016)  UK

SAINT FROM NORTH DAKOTA?

 

Will we soon have another American saint? In June Bishop David Kagan of the Diocese of Bismarck, N.D., announced the opening of the investigation which could lead to the beatification and canonization of North Dakota native MICHELLE CHRISTINE DUPPONG.

At the age of 31, on Christmas Day, Michelle died from cancer while serving as the Director of Adult Faith Formation for the Diocese of Bismarck. Before that, she had served as a FOCUS missionary.  

 Bishop Kagan said:  “Michelle’s holiness of life and love for God certainly touched us here in the Diocese of Bismarck, at the University of Mary, and throughout FOCUS, but hers is a witness which should also be shared with the Universal Church.”

 Born in 1985, Michelle grew up in Haymarsh, N.D. She earned a degree in horticulture at North Dakota State University in 2006. While there, she encountered FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) and was so inspired by the apostolate that after graduation she served as a FOCUS missionary.

 For six years, Michelle mentored hundreds of students at the college campuses, with her final assignment on the inaugural FOCUS team at the University of Mary.

The University of Mary was founded in 1959 by the Benedictine Sisters of Annunciation Monastery.  It is one of only 15 Recommended Cardinal Newman Society Residential Colleges and Universities in the US, which means it is Catholic in more than just name

In 2012, Michelle became the Director of Adult Faith Formation for the Diocese of Bismarck, using her missionary zeal to bring others closer to Christ.

In late December, 2014, she was unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer.  She battled the disease with perseverance, patience and a cheerful spirit, dying a year later on Christmas Day. 

 “Michelle was a radiant, joyful woman with the heart of a true servant,” said Monsignor James Shea, president of the University of Mary. “For the students on our campus, she was an inspiration and a treasured mentor, teaching them by her example the transformative power of friendship with God.”

 A documentary, “Thirst for Souls: the Michelle Duppong Story”  is set for its worldwide premiere at SEEK23, FOCUS’ national conference, being held in St. Louis January 2-6, 2023.

 

FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) is a Catholic apostolate whose mission is to share the hope and joy of the Gospel. FOCUS missionaries encounter people in friendship, inviting them into a personal relationship with Christ and accompanying them as they pursue lives of virtue and excellence. Through Bible studies, outreach events, mission trips and discipleship, missionaries inspire and build up others in the faith, sending them out to live out lifelong Catholic mission wherever they are. For the 2021 – 2022 academic year, nearly 800 FOCUS missionaries are serving at 205 locations, which includes 22 parish venues across the U.S. and seven international campuses. FOCUS alumni, now nearly 40,000 strong, are living and serving in parishes and communities across the country. By 2026, FOCUS expects to have more than 70,000 alumni. An important blessing of a fruitful partnership between the local campus ministry and FOCUS has been the pursuit of religious vocations. Since 1998, more than 1,000 people have entered the seminary or a religious house of formation after involvement with FOCUS on college campuses. FOCUS expects to nearly double that number in the next five years. FOCUS missionaries are typically recent college graduates who devote two or more years of their post-collegiate lives to reach out to peers on campus. 

LIBERTY- A POPE PAYS HOMAGE TO OUR COUNTRY

 

My visit to your City would not have been complete without coming to Battery Park, without seeing Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty in the distance. Every nation has its historical symbols. They may be shrines or statues or documents; but their significance lies in the truths they represent to the citizens of a nation and in the image they convey to other nations.

Such a symbol in the United States is the Statue of Liberty. This is an impressive symbol of what the United States has stood for from the very beginning of its history; this is a symbol of freedom. It reflects the immigrant history of the United States, for it was freedom that millions of human beings were looking for on these shores. And it was freedom that the young Republic offered in compassion.

On this spot, I wish to pay homage to this noble trait of America and its people : its desire to be free, its determination to preserve freedom, and its willingness to share this freedom with others. May the ideal of liberty, of freedom remain a moving force for your nation and for all the nations in the world today !

It greatly honors your country and its citizens that on this foundation of liberty you have built a nation where the dignity of every human person is to be respected, where a religious sense and a strong family structure are fostered, where duty and honest work are held in high esteem, where generosity and hospitality are no idle words, and where the right to religious liberty is deeply rooted in your history.

Yesterday, before the General Assembly of the United Nations, I made a plea for peace and justice based on the full respect of all the fundamental rights of the human person. I also spoke of religious freedom because it regards a person's relationship to God, and because it is related in a special way to other human rights. It is closely allied with the right to freedom of conscience. If conscience is not secure in society, then the security of all others rights is threatened.

Liberty, in all its aspects, must be based on truth. I want to repeat here the words of Jesus "the truth will make you free" (Jn 8 :32). It is then my wish that your sense of freedom may always go hand in hand with a profound sense of truth and honesty about yourselves and about the realities of your society.

Past achievements can never be an acceptable substitute for present responsibilities toward the common good of the society you live in and towards your fellow-citizens. Just as the desire for freedom is a universal aspiration in the world today, so is the quest for justice. No institution or organization can credibly stand for freedom today if it does not also support the quest for justice, for both are essential demands of the human spirit.

It will always remain one of the glorious achievements of this nation that, when people looked towards America, they received together with freedom also a chance for their own advancement. This tradition must be honored also today. The freedom that was gained must be ratified each day by the firm rejection of whatever wounds, weakens or dishonors human life. And so I appeal to all who love freedom and justice to give a chance to all in need, to the poor and the powerless.

Break open the hopeless cycles of poverty and ignorance that are still the lot of too many of our brothers and sisters; the hopeless cycles of prejudices that linger on despite enormous progress toward effective equality in education and employment; the cycles of despair in which are imprisoned all those that lack decent food, shelter or employment ; the cycles of underdevelopment that are the consequence of international mechanisms that subordinate human existence to the domination of partially conceived economic progress; and finally the inhuman cycles of war that springs from the violation of man's fundamental rights and produces still graver violations of them.

Freedom in justice will bring a new dawn of hope for the present generation as it has done before: for the homeless, for the unemployed, for the aging, for the sick and the handicapped, for the migrants and the undocumented workers, for all who hunger for human dignity in this land and in the world.

With sentiments of admiration and with confidence in your potential for true human greatness, I wish to greet in you the rich variety of your nation, where people of different ethnic origins and creeds can live, work and prosper together in freedom and mutual respect.

Pope (St.) John Paul II, Manhattan, NY  1979

LeRoy Neiman- Painting