2nd SUNDAY OF LENT

Through prayer, reflection, and acts of love, we are invited to bring our personal burdens, as well as the brokenness of our world, to God. As we do so, we open our hearts to the transformative power of Easter, where death gives way to life, despair to joy, and sorrow to HOPE.

In all my many years, I have not known a world so broken, so burdened with discord, and so lacking faith, and HOPE. Yet it is Hope that reminds us that even in the darkest moments, God’s presence shines as a beacon of light and renewal.

It is a hope that sustains, heals, and restores us, and as Christians (followers of Jesus Christ) we are called to embody and extend this hope to others, especially to those who wander aimlessly or those who have given up. We must journey with Jesus, knowing that hope empowers us to face life’s challenges with courage, faith, and above all, love.

Continuation of message from Pope Francis for Lent 2025.

Second, to journey together. The Church is called to walk together, to be synoda Christians are called to walk at the side of others, and never as lone travellers. The Holy Spirit impels us not to remain self-absorbed, but to leave ourselves behind and keep walking towards God and our brothers and sisters. Journeying together means consolidating the unity grounded in our common dignity as children of God (cf.Gal3:26-28). It means walking side-by-side, without shoving or stepping on others, without envy or hypocrisy, without letting anyone be left behind or excluded. Let us all walk in the same direction, tending towards the same goal, attentive to one another in love and patience.

This Lent, God is asking us to examine whether in our lives, in our families, in the places where we work and spend our time, we are capable of walking together with others, listening to them, resisting the temptation to become self-absorbed and to think only of our own needs. Let us ask ourselves in the presence of the Lord whether, as bishops, priests, consecrated persons and laity in the service of the Kingdom of God, we cooperate with others. Whether we show ourselves welcoming, with concrete gestures, to those both near and far. Whether we make others feel a part of the community or keep them at a distance. This, then, is a second call to conversion: a summons to synodality.”

 

SAINTLY PHYSICIST

 

In the previous Blog ( 3/8), we mentioned a man who worked with Venerable Luigina Sinapi. Another layman, whose work and prayer fits our lenten theme of Hope, is  VENERABLE ENRICO MEDI, who was born in 1911 in Porto Recanati.  He was a well-known physicist with a degree in theology as well.  He was a man of culture and science, of hope and faith with a great love for the Eucharist, as well as his family. He married Enrica Zanini, also a scientist, with whom he had six daughters.

He studied physics under Nobel Prize winner Enrico Fermi, graduating in Terrestrial Physics in 1932. He then began a career as a university professor, while at the same time embracing politics. 

Supporting Pope Pius XII's efforts to help the poor in the post-war period, he joined the Christian Democratic Party, and was elected to the Constituent Assembly in 1946, then as a deputy in 1948. He then resumed his scientific career, teaching at the University of Rome before becoming vice-president of Euratom, the European nuclear organization.

He also received prestigious positions from the world of science such as President of the National Institute of Geophysics (1949), holder of the Chair of Terrestrial Physics at the University of Rome (1952), and was Vice-President of Euratom in Brussels (1958-1965), where he counseled the peaceful use of nuclear energy. He did scientific commentary on TV, dealing with creation, nature and its laws, discreetly, but effectively, incorporating the thee of faith. 

 His heroism and charity was exemplified in 1943 during World War II when he offered his own life to save two men condemned to be shot. They were spared and his life was not taken.

With a very intense life of prayer and daily communion, he was a true witness to the Gospel of Christ.  A brilliant and cultured orator, he held spiritual conferences throughout Italy, invited by many Bishops.

In 1966 he was appointed by the Holy See as a member of the Council of the Laity. Very important was his meeting with St. Pio of Pietrelcina, of whom he was a spiritual son, and to whom he gave advice to improve the services in the House for the Relief of Suffering.

 In 1970 he also fought against divorce that had been introduced in Italy and in 1971 he agreed to run for Mayor in the Municipality of Rome. In 1972 he was elected again as a Member of Parliament. He took part in a program for the popularization of science for many years, took part in the government of Vatican City at the request of Pope St.Paul VI, then returned to the Chamber of Deputies, taking a strong stand against the law allowing divorce. Pope St.John Paul II often cited him as "a model politician and Christian scientist".

He died of cancer in May of 1974 in Rome, with a great reputation for holiness.

FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT

 

As we journey into Lent, the theme of HOPE invites us to reflect deeply on the dependence we have in Christ, facing the challenges and complexities of life which at times all but knock us over. Jesus alone can walk us along the difficult road that leads to the cross marked out for us, specific to our call in salvation history. We must reflect at this time on the road marked by sacrifice, pain, and sorrow which ultimately leads to redemption.

“We begin our annual pilgrimage of Lent in faith and HOPE (as) the Church, our mother and teacher, invites us to open our hearts to God’s grace, so that we can celebrate with great joy the paschal victory of Christ the Lord over sin and death, which led Saint Paul to exclaim: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Cor15:54-55). Indeed, Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, is the heart of our faith and the pledge of our hope in the Father’s great promise, already fulfilled in his beloved Son: life eternal (cf.Jn10:28; 17:3).

 This Lent, as we share in the grace of the Jubilee Year, I would like to propose a few reflections on what it means to journey together in hope, and on the summons to conversion that God in his mercy addresses to all of us, as individuals and as a community.

First of all, to journey. The Jubilee motto, “Pilgrims of Hope”, evokes the lengthy journey of the people of Israel to the Promised Land, as recounted in the Book of Exodus. This arduous path from slavery to freedom was willed and guided by the Lord, who loves his people and remains ever faithful to them. It is hard to think of the biblical exodus without also thinking of those of our brothers and sisters who in our own day are fleeing situations of misery and violence in search of a better life for themselves and their loved ones.

 A first call to conversion thus comes from the realization that all of us are pilgrims in this life; each of us is invited to stop and ask how our lives reflect this fact. Am I really on a journey, or am I standing still, not moving, either immobilized by fear and hopelessness or reluctant to move out of my comfort zone? Am I seeking ways to leave behind the occasions of sin and situations that degrade my dignity? It would be a good Lenten exercise for us to compare our daily life with that of some migrant or foreigner, to learn how to sympathize with their experiences and in this way discover what God is asking of us so that we can better advance on our journey to the house of the Father. This would be a good “examination of conscience” for all of us wayfarers.” Message of Pope Francis for Lent  2025, February 3.

PADRE PIO'S FRIEND

 

Today is International Women's Day and what better way to celebrate, than showcasing a lay woman who better needs to be known in our country.

A friend of St. Padre Pio is now venerable.  LUIGINA SINAPI was born in Itri in 1916 of a wealthy Italian family. She was the first of five children. From early childhood Luigina had what are presumed to be visions of Our Lady, Our Lord and the angels. Because her mother was disturbed by this, she took the child to see Padre Pio at San Giovanni Rotondo in the 1920s.

It was the beginning of a close relationship between Luigina and the Saint from Pietralcina. In November 1931 Luigina’s mother died, necessitating Luigina to take on the role of mother for her younger siblings.

A few years later it was discovered that Luigina had a tumor. She seemed close to death and was anointed. But on August 15, 1935, Jesus and Mary appeared and healed her miraculously. From then on, Luigina offered herself for all the evil in the world, all the while carrying on normal activities. 

During the Second World War she took refuge in her hometown and, upon returning to Rome, she lived in dire straits due to the hardships of the postwar period. From 1956 to 1970 she worked at the National Institute of Geophysics as secretary to the Venerable Servant of God Enrico Medi (a spiritual son of Padre Pio).

 In April 1937 in a cave not far from Tre Fontane Basilica in Rome, Luigina had a vision of Our Lady who told her that Pius XII would be elected Pope. She also told her that in ten years she would appear again to Bruno Cornacchiola, an Adventist who wrote an article against Marian dogmas and wanted to assassinate Pope Pius XII. (This happened on April 12, 1947). After the vision Luigina followed Our Lady’s instructions and sought a meeting with Cardinal Pacelli’s sister. She told the sister about Our Lady’s prediction. From that time forward Cardinal Pacelli, later Pope Pius XII,  was a friend of Luigina.

 She often met with the Pope in private audience and there were frequent telephone calls between the Pontiff and the Mystic. In 1940 Luigina established a charitable work for the most vulnerable at the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Civita in Itri.

 In 1950 before proclaiming the dogma of the Assumption, the Pope and Luigina met. She told him that Our Lady had expressed her approval of the dogma in a vision. Luigina moved to Rome and became a Franciscan Tertiary.

 In 1954 she became a Servite Tertiary as well. Later she became the secretary of the scholar, Professor Enrico Medi – a position she held for fifteen years.The last years of her life were spent in hospitality, listening, offering advice and spiritual consolation to all who came to her. Her spirituality, which was centered on the Eucharist and Mary, led her to help those in need, even in the midst of her own poverty.

She died in Rome on April 17, 1978 of gastric cancer. Her attending medical doctor, Dr. Mark Grassi testified that the last days were of great suffering for Luigina. Yet she was very peaceful, loving and happy. On one occasion, smiling she was overheard murmuring, "I am waiting!"

 At the moment she died she was completely alone, just as Jesus had foretold her many years earlier. She was found with her face toward the tabernacle. The funeral was celebrated in the Basilica of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem in Rome, and she is buried in the cemetery Verano in Rome.

The Dicastery for the Causes of Saints states that Luigina's  journey “was accompanied by numerous supernatural gifts such as precognition of events and situations, bilocation, discernment of spirits and, above all, mystical union with the Lord Jesus, lived in an atmosphere of modesty, humility, and service.” 

HOPE IN LENT

In 2019, before the pandemic, before the invasion of Ukraine and the Gaza conflict, before the crises in our own country, when the world looked a bit rosier, the Holy Father in a homily had these words:

Why do you think that everything is hopeless, that no one can take away your own tombstones? Why do you give in to resignation and failure? Easter is the feast of tombstones taken away, rocks rolled aside. God takes away even the hardest stones against which our hopes and expectations crash: death, sin, fear, worldliness.

The theme of Jubilee 2025, a special year of remission of sins, debts and universal pardon which began on Christmas Eve 2024 and ends on Jan. 6, 2026, is “Pilgrims in Hope,” This Lent we are encouraged to put down deep roots of HOPE by connecting with God who is with us at all times. As we deepen our hope in God, we can better be part of what God is doing to bring hope in the world.

 May our Lenten journey reflect the peace that Pope Francis prayed for as he introduced this Jubilee Year:

 May 2025 be a year in which peace flourishes! A true and lasting peace that goes beyond quibbling over the details of agreements and human compromises. May we seek the true peace that is granted by God to hearts disarmed: hearts not set on calculating what is mine and what is yours; hearts that turn selfishness into readiness to reach out to others; hearts that see themselves as indebted to God and thus prepared to forgive the debts that oppress others; hearts that replace anxiety about the future with the hope that every individual can be a resource for the building of a better world.

 Disarming hearts is a job for everyone, great and small, rich and poor alike. At times, something quite simple will do, such as “a smile, a small gesture of friendship, a kind look, a ready ear, a good deed”.  With such gestures, we progress towards the goal of peace. We will arrive all the more quickly if, in the course of journeying alongside our brothers and sisters, we discover that we have changed from the time we first set out. Peace does not only come with the end of wars but with the dawn of a new world, a world in which we realize that we are different, closer and more fraternal than we ever thought possible."

PEACE FOR LENT

 

Noting that “every past occupation of Ukraine has resulted in various degrees of repression of the Catholic Church” there, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a message of solidarity with Ukraine.

 

“As we begin the holy Season of Lent, a time of prayer, penance, and charity, we join our Holy Father, Pope Francis, in his solidarity with the ‘martyred people of Ukraine,’“ said Archbishop Timothy Broglio. “We pray and hope that the United States, in concert with the wider international community, works with perseverance for a just peace and an end to aggression.”

Citing a 2024 statement by Pope Francis, Archbishop Broglio said that “courageous negotiations require ‘boldness’ to ‘open the door’ for dialogue.”

 Without criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin or Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by name, Archbishop Broglio took issue with the persecution ofthe Cathoic Church in Russian-occupied territories, as well as the Ukrainian government’s suppression of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate):

 As Catholics, we are acutely aware that every past occupation of Ukraine has resulted in various degrees of repression of the Catholic Church in the country; we must not tolerate the forcing of our brothers and sisters underground again. I echo Pope Francis’ plea for respecting the religious freedom of all Ukrainians, ‘Please, let no Christian church be abolished directly or indirectly. Churches are not to be touched!’

Recalling that the annual Ash Wednesday collection benefits the Church in formerly Communist nations, including Ukraine, Archbishop Broglio invited “America’s Catholics, in union with all men and women of good will, to pray for the peace of Ukraine, and to contribute generously to assisting that suffering and courageous nation.”

A statement issued on March 4 by the Presidency of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union stresses that Ukraine’s struggle for peace “will also be decisive for the fate of Europe and the world.”

The message reaffirms the European Union Bishops’ continued support of Ukraine and its people, “who have been suffering from Russia’s unjustifiable full-scale invasion for more than three years.”

As Christians prepare for Lent to begin on March 5, the bishops entrust Ukraine and Europe to Jesus through the intercession of Mary, the Queen of Peace.

Art:   Stop War Everywhere: Berlin-based Colombian street artist Arte Vilu works on a mural featuring a Ukrainian woman in traditional dress in Berlin, Germany, Feb. 28, 2022. | Hannibal Hanschke / AP

A SAINT FROM KANSAS

 

FATHER EMIL KAPAUN a heroic U.S. military chaplain from Kansas, was declared venerable by Pope Francis on Feb. 25 – putting him one step closer to canonization. He could be the first saint to be a Medal of Honor recipient. The Holy Father recognized Father Kapaun’s “offering of life,” a new cause for beatification distinct from martyrdom that recognizes Christians who have freely offered their lives for others until death.

Father Kapaun served as a U.S. Army chaplain during World War II and the Korean War. He was captured by the North Korean military and died ministering to fellow prisoners in 1951. Widely recognized for his bravery and holiness, he was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2013 and in 1993 Pope St John Paul II declared Father Kapaun a Servant of God. 

After serving in the Chinese-Burma-India theater in World War II, long after many had returned to the United States, Father Kapaun earned a master’s in education from The Catholic University of America before voluntarily returning to service as a military chaplain in Japan and then Korea. 

He logged thousands of miles by jeep to visit troops on the front lines. He was promoted to captain in 1946. Four years later, he found himself among the first troops responding to communist North Korea's invasion of democratic South Korea. He shared the hardships of combat while offering Mass, often using the hood of his jeep as an altar. Father Kapaun also administered the sacraments to the dying at the risk of his life, while retrieving wounded soldiers. In 1950, one such rescue, conducted under intense enemy fire near Kumchon, South Korea, earned him a Bronze Star Medal for bravery in action.

The priest also wrote to the families of troops, assuring them that their fallen soldiers had received last rites from him.

Father Kapaun and his fellow troops were surrounded in November 1950 after Chinese forces entered the war. He initially escaped capture, but then chose to remain and tend the wounded with an Army medic. As a result, he was taken prisoner but still managed to intervene to prevent the execution of a wounded soldier.

He encouraged his fellow captives along the arduous march to the Pyoktong prison camp. Once there, he continued to sustain them through his ministry, which was forbidden by the communist guards, for whom he prayed, leading the prisoners to do the same.

Father Kapaun also refuted the guards' attempts at communist indoctrination, responding to one taunt with, "God is as real as the air you breathe but cannot see; as the sounds you hear but cannot see; as the thoughts and ideas you have but cannot see or feel."

In 1951, Father Kapaun fell ill, and was forcibly moved to the camp's hospital, where patients were left to die. He stilled the protests of his fellow POWs, saying, "Don't worry about me. I'm going where I always wanted to go, and when I get there, I'll say a prayer for all of you."

At the age of 35, Father Kapaun died on May 23, 1951. His body was buried by a fellow prisoner near the Pyoktong prison camp infirmary, and repatriated to the U.S., along with the remains of some 560 Americans from the camp, in 1954 at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

For years he lay under an "Unknown" marker with about 70 soldiers and was not identified until a fellow prisoner saw a picture of Father Kapaun in a Knights of Columbus magazine at a Veteran Affairs clinic in Florida in 2003. In 2021, DNA testing confirmed that the remains were those of Father Kapaun, and in September 2021, he was reinterred in Wichita's cathedral.

Painting top: The Class of 2012 of the Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO, commissioned this painting of Father Emil Kapaun from artist Cynthia Hitschler. The painting was presented to the seminary as a gift upon their graduation.