Saints of the New Millennium

Today is the Feast of Bl. John Paul II!!! In his memory, a little tribute...

Rather than surrender to the finality of goodbye, our natural tendency is to grasp and hold on, to fight against the separation from those we love. Many of us felt a gigantic loss on the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday, April 2, 2005, when our beloved Pope John Paul II entered eternity. As champion of hope, spiritual father, intellectual colossus, and remarkably influential pontiff, Pope John Paul unconsciously created an entire generation of Catholics: the JPII Generation. Born, nurtured, and matured in faith under his watch, this generation of Catholics mourned his passing from a unique vantage point, that of having never experienced life in the Church under another pope. Yet, his influence reached even further. Entire nations, sovereigns, Catholics and non-Catholics alike took notice of this disciple of Christ and are better today for what his life offered us in deed and word. The Beatification of Blessed John Paul II on May 1, 2011 again brought into focus the phenomenal effect this man had on the world. The very fact that his death was the catalyst for such a genuine outpouring of grief from believers and nonbelievers alike is indicative of his enormous human impact. The personal connection he made with millions of people generated an individual sense of loss in each of them. It is this one-on-one encounter with living and vital Christianity through the person of the Vicar of Christ that changed the face of modern Catholicism. The Pope who raised to the altar numerous saints for the third millennium, thus showing us the many and varied faces of Christian holiness, now joins the ranks of the blessed himself. Blessed John Paul II, newest blessed of our generation, pray for us!

“Young people of the every continent, do not be afraid to be the saints of the new millennium! Be contemplatives, love prayer; be coherent with your faith and generous in the service of your brothers and sisters, be active members of the Church and builders of peace”

Blessed John Paul II

Mission

Pope Benedict XVI’s recent announcement of the Year of Faith, to begin just one year from now, is a fresh exhortation to share with others, one’s ‘Credo’. It’s a great chance now in preparation, to look to the North American Martyrs – today’s Saints! These men who planted the cross in the soil of this continent and in the hearts of the natives back in the 1600s, lived and died in the faith. As in the film The Mission, which follows Jesuit missionaries in their endeavors to build a strong village – a new civilization steeped in faith – for the people of South America, the Cross takes a central focus. At the beginning of the narrative, the native Brazilians send a Jesuit Father over a massive and thundering waterfall – affixed to a cross. This apparent, futile ‘failure’ becomes the impetus for another zealous priest to follow after his martyred confrere and give himself entirely to serving, educating and ministering to the very same tribe. Certainly the circumstances surrounding the North American martyrs had their own set of struggles. Yet the love of Christ burning in their actions and sacrifices gave the same incredible brilliance to their proclamation of the Faith. Pope Benedict XVI (as Cardinal Ratzinger) in his book Introduction to Christianity speaks of this mystery of the Cross embodied in the martyrs: “Anyone who has stretched his existence so wide that he is simultaneously immersed in God and in the depths of the God-forsaken creature is bound to be torn asunder, as it were; such a one is truly ‘crucified’. But this process of being torn apart is identical with love; it is its realization to the extreme (Jn 13:1) and the concrete expression of the breadth it creates.” The Pope goes on to elaborate that Christ’s love which led Him to reconcile us with the Father through the Cross is stronger than death. This is the greatest proclamation of the martyrs: “Jesus’ total love for men, which leads him to the Cross… becomes stronger than death, because in this it is at the same time total ‘being held’ by [the Father]” (Cardinal Ratzinger).

Into Glory

Yesterday evening during the celebration of the Transitus of our holy Father, St. Francis of Assisi, a passage from St. Bonaventure’s account of his death was read. His final words, like his whole life, run in the same vein as those of Christ. Francis’ exhortation, “I have done what was mine to do. May Christ teach you what is yours”, seem to image the words of Jesus, “It is finished” - and the exclamation of St. Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7). The entry of St. Francis into eternal glory is a verification of the supreme beauty of the Christian life! His passage into the life of heaven is the ultimate affirmation that living the Gospel is THE way of being conformed to Christ, to experiencing in one’s person “the love which is God.” In his letter to the entire order, Francis cries: “hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves, that He Who gives Himself totally to you may receive you totally!” What a great exhortation for all who desire to enter into the joy of the Lord! A Happy Feast Day to ALL!

Suds & Sanctity

Here at the monastery above the large kitchen sink, where piles of pots, measuring cups, serving spoons, & sometimes-burnt pans are washed day after day, is perched a little holy card of today’s Saint, Therese of Lisieux. Maybe you’ve seen this photo of her, bending over the wash pool in Carmel, next to her sister Celine. The caption is a saying of the Saint: “To ecstasy, I prefer the monotony of sacrifice.” Sounds rather heroic. And yet, it is a prime characteristic of what distinguishes her in all her extraordinary ‘humanness.’ Her Little Way is a sure path to holiness and is accessible to all who desire the sanctity of the beatitudes. It is a road for those despoiled (or being despoiled!) of self-sufficiency and growing in an ever-deepening experience of the Lord's words: "without me you can do nothing" (Jn 15:5). Therese didn’t rely on her own gumption when facing hours in a stuffy laundry with Sisters possessing a spectrum of personalities, but she continually sought wisdom and assistance from above. Next to her exceptional poverty of spirit, her ‘mourning’ for the sins and failings of herself and others often took the form of self-sacrifice. Desiring to console Jesus by quenching his thirst for souls, she embarked on the path of self-denial. By curbing petty curiosity or offering to help a demanding Sister, she entered into the joy that is a fruit of the Cross. Although these are thoughts on just two of the beatitudes, meekness, mercy, purity of heart and genuine peacemaking were all Christian attributes St. Therese pursued with a courageous boldness! She has paved this Little Way to such an extraordinary degree, that we really have no excuses, no reasons why we can’t start, or start again, or continue on our way to complete and eternal Beatitude – all with grace from above!