 |
|
| Sr. Constance Veit, LSP |
In the past few weeks I’ve been asked to speak about loneliness in the elderly on numerous occasions.
I was even quoted in a recent article by Catholic journalist Mary Rezac, entitled “Our Elders Are Lonely — Do We Care?” As we look forward to Christmas, let’s hope we can all say, “Of course we do!”
|
|
| Fr. Bart Timmerman |
One of the hallmarks of the Catholic Church in the United States is ministry to immigrants.
Some of the first saints of our American Church served Catholic immigrants to the United States. Most notably is St. Frances Cabrini, who was the first American citizen who was canonized. She founded hospitals, schools, and institutions for the poor that served immigrants in large cities like New York and Chicago. She is the Patron Saint of Immigrants because of her devotion and care for them.
So it has always been the Catholic Church through the centuries that has welcomed immigrants to the United States. Still in our day, we as Catholics, have a duty to continue ministering to our brothers and sisters who come to the United States in search of a better life for themselves and their families.
“I can’t do it!” my four-year-old son cries out in frustration as he suddenly scrunches up his artwork to his chest.
His masterpiece, a brightly colored partially crayoned alphabet, is now a ball of crumpled paper, mashed beyond redemption.
“It’s okay,” I say, trying to calm his tears. “I can help you.”
Slowly I coax the ruined masterpiece from my son’s angry fingers, smooth the jagged creases, place my hand over his to guide the creation of the letters he’d wanted to be just so.
“You are still learning,” I tell him. “It doesn’t have to be perfect.”
 |
|
On the final morning of the November meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, we were treated to a fine sermon by Archbishop J. Peter Sartain. The leader of the Church in Seattle spent a good deal of time discussing Pier Giorgio Frassati, a saint from the early 20th century to whom he and I both have a strong devotion.
But what particularly struck me in his homily was a reference to the great St. Catherine of Siena. One of the most remarkable things about that remarkable woman was the intimacy which she regularly experienced with Mary, the saints, and the Lord Jesus himself.
 |
|
Next month marks the 50th anniversary of the film, A Man for All Seasons.
And if it’s impossible to imagine such a picture on such a theme winning Oscars today, then let’s be grateful that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences got it right by giving Fred Zinnemann’s splendid movie six of its awards in 1967 — when, reputedly, Audrey Hepburn lifted her eyes to heaven before announcing with obvious pleasure that this cinematic celebration of the witness and martyrdom of Sir Thomas More had beaten The Sand Pebbles, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Alfie, and The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming for Best Picture.
 |
|
On July 4, 1939, the New York Yankees sponsored a memorable Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day. Though he was dying at age 36, Gehrig told the surprised crowd, “I’m the luckiest guy on the face of the earth.”
Gehrig was thankful because he had a Hall of Fame baseball career, a wonderful wife, family, friends, fans, teammates, and much more. He and Babe Ruth were teammates on one of the greatest teams in baseball history.
On Thanksgiving Day we gather with family and friends to share a meal and thank God for our cornucopia of blessings as Lou Gehrig did.
|
|
| Veronica Arntz |
What about Amoris Laetitia? Up until this point in my article series, I have said very little about the new post-synodal apostolic exhortation.
Although the document begins with Psalm 128, which beautifully describes building a family like building a strong house, many have been confused and concerned about the document’s overall approach to the issue of Communion for the divorced and remarried.
It is good that Pope Francis reaffirms the importance of the indissoluble bond: “The indissolubility of marriage — ‘what God has joined together, let no man put asunder’– should not be viewed as a ‘yoke’ imposed on humanity, but as a ‘gift’ granted to those who are joined in marriage” (AL, art. 62).
|
|
I’m in the process of re-reading a spiritual classic from the Russian Orthodox tradition: The Way of a Pilgrim. This little text, whose author is unknown to us, concerns a man from mid-19th century Russia who found himself deeply puzzled by St. Paul’s comment in first Thessalonians that we should “pray unceasingly.”
How, he wondered, amidst all of the demands of life, is this even possible? How could the Apostle command something so patently absurd?
 |
|
Some humanitarian tragedies occur quietly and “in the background,” only gradually coming to light years or decades after serious harm has already occurred, like nerve damage in infants exposed to lead paint or cancers in patients who were exposed to asbestos.
More recently, the humanitarian tragedy of hundreds of thousands of embryonic human beings frozen and abandoned in fertility clinics has come to light — “orphans in ice” arising from the decades-long practice of in vitro fertilization (IVF).
|
|
Scott Derickson’s new film, Doctor Strange, has received rave reviews for its special-effects, its compelling story-telling, and the quality of its actors, but I would like to focus on the spirituality implicit in it. Doctor Strange is far from a satisfying presentation of the spiritual order, but it represents a significant step in the right direction, which proves especially helpful for our time.
Played by the always splendid Benedict Cumberbatch, Dr. Strange is dashing, handsome, ultra-cool, a brilliant neurosurgeon, called upon to handle only the most delicate and complex surgeries. He is also unbearably arrogant, pathologically self-absorbed, utterly dismissive of his colleagues, something of a first-class jerk.
