| Oct 3, 2002 | A Hymn of Praise to other's words |
| Oct 14, 2004 | The Simple Life of Sister Evelyn |
| Oct 21, 2002 | Cancer can bring many gifts |
| Oct 27, 2004 | Pray and Vote! |
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I'm always touched, and humbled, when people approach me at parish missions or retreats, with copies or clippings of various columns from the Catholic Review. I'm touched that people are reading this column, humbled by the fact, that almost every time, the clipping is something someone else wrote! What a revoltin' development.
Here are two clips that helped some people:
"There's so much good in the worst of us, and so much wrong with the best of us, that it keeps any of us from judging the rest of us."
I quoted that.
Next is a Survival Kit for Life.
- Toothpick -- to remind you to pick out the good qualities in others.
- Rubber band -- to remind you to be flexible. Things might not always go the way you want, but it will work out.
- Band-Aid -- to remind you to heal hurt feelings, yours or someone else's
- Pencil -- to remind you to list your blessings every day
- Eraser -- to remind you that everyone makes mistakes, and it's OK
- Chewing gum -- to remind you to stick with it, and you can accomplish anything.
- Mint -- to remind you that you are worth a mint
- Candy Kiss -- to remind you that everyone needs a kiss or a hug every day
- Tea bag -- to remind you to relax daily and to relfect on the positive things in your life.
St. Bartholomew parish in Manchester packaged those items in a little plastic bag, attached the list explaining the items, and has sold these bags as a fund raiser. If you're looking for cheap gifts for Christmas, why not do the same? That way, you give someone a meaningful gift, and the money you save, you can give to the parish poor box or to Catholic Relief Services.
Since people like things that other people say, I thought I'd include these thoughts from Vernon Howard. They were in the Friends of Mercy Newsletter. (Friends of Mercy is a support group that helps people adjust to the crisis of being separated, widowed, or divorced. This group meets at Mercy High school.)
"Happiness follows a sincere effort at self-discovery.
Self-understanding is the door to quietude.
Change yourself, rather than working to change others.
Place the inner in control of the outer.
Abandon the false before seeking the true.
Be loving and you will be loved.
Attend to the reason you felt hurt, not those who hurt you.
Set inner integrity before good works.
Place thinking before speaking.
Be a real person, then a social person.
Understand yourself, then try to know others.
Change negative attitudes, not negative conditions.
Place small efforts before great determinations."
And now, just for fun, here are some favorite song titles for various professions:
The Dentist's Hymn -- Crown Him with Many Crowns
The Weatherman's Hymn -- There Shall be Showers of Blessings
The Tailor's Hymn -- Holy, Holy, Holy
The Golfer's Hymn -- There is a Green Hill Far Away
The Politician's Hymn -- Standing on the Promises
The Optometreist's Hymn -- Open My Eyes that I May See
The IRS Agent's Hymn -- I Surrender All
The Gossip's Hymn -- Pass It On
The Electrician's Hymn -- Send the Light
The Shopper's Hymn -- Sweet Bye and Bye
Finally, there was an amazing study conducted on cholesterol. Scientists fed a group of rabbits a diet high in fat. Predictably, the rabbits developed high cholesterol levels, which resulted in hardening of the arteries and other cardiovascular diseases. Curiously, one group of rabbits in the study, fed the exact same diet, did not develop high cholesterol levels.
When the scientists took a closer look at this particular group, they discovered that the lab assistants in charge of these rabbits would take the rabbits out of their cage, pet them, kiss them, and play with them. These rabbits that were touched with love and loving attention did not develop heart disease.
Catholic Review, October 14, 2004
One of the most extraordinary women who have ever lived will be celebrating her 50th anniversary as a nun in a few weeks. Sister Evelyn Grudza, O.S.F. has had more ministries than cats have lives. At various times in her religious life, she has been a Teacher, a Principal, a Director of Religious Education, a Pastoral Associate, the Coordinator of Evangelization for the Archdiocese, and, currently, Chaplain at St. Joseph’s Hospital. Each area has required separate training, different Degrees, and different certification. Sister Evelyn has been in more schools than most fish!
Through it all she has remained ageless, tireless, and unswerving in her dedication. In honoring Sister Evelyn we honor all women, religious and lay, who have been a critical part of building the American Church. They have labored heroically, and, often, anonymously. A Bishop’s name may be on a plaque for consecrating a Church, but it was women Religious who filled that Church day after day with school children for daily Mass. A Priest’s name may be on a school, but women Religious labored in that school day after day. A donor’s name may be on a hospital wing, but so often women Religious were the nurses patrolling that wing. All of this is said not to devalue any of the work of hierarchy or clergy, nor to demean the generosity of donors. It is simply to note how rarely women Religious have been memorialized. As one commentator on the American Church put it: “They (nuns) lived anonymous lives, and are buried in anonymous graves.”
Sister Evelyn would be the last person on earth to want or seek any kind of honor. She knows for Whom she works and for Whom she lives. The words of St. Paul: “It is now no longer that I live, but Christ who lives in me.” – those words are a biography of Sister Evelyn. She reflects the very best of her Franciscan Community and the very best that the Church can produce.
No, Evelyn has not been able to do this alone. She has had her Franciscan Community and her Franciscan charism of serving others in joy. And just as The Lone Ranger had Tonto, and Batman had Robin, so Sr. Evelyn has had her erstwhile friend, Sister Michelle. In living in the presence of Saint Evelyn, no doubt Sister Michelle could echo the words of Cardinal Cushing: “The Saints are great to live with in heaven, and hell to live with on earth!”
Recently, on a radio talk-show, I heard a gentlemen railing against the Catholic Church! I wish he could spend a day with the good Sister Evelyn. In fact, without her consent, I will extend that invitation! “Sir, you rage at the power and the wealth of the Catholic Church. Come meet a lady who doesn’t have a penny of that wealth, and loves the Church dearly. You rage against the Church leading Crusades to the Holy Land, come meet a wonderful Sister who has made holy every land she had served by her dedication and simplicity of life. You rage about the Inquisition, come meet a woman Religious who has taught inquisitive children about life and about God. She may even have taught you, or someone you know! You rage at the scandal of people flying in private jets to Rome and staying in posh, Vatican apartments. Sister Evelyn flies tourist! And she doesn’t fly to Rome to be part of its power. She travels beyond Rome to Assisi, where St. Francis of Assisi taught us all that poverty was true power. To be empty of everything but the power of Christ’s love is to have all that you could want or need. Perhaps, Sir, you find it easier to rage against what is bad in the church rather than imitate what is best in the Church. Perhaps we all find it easier to point out someone else’s sins rather than imitate someone else’s virtues! Come meet Sister Evelyn and you will know what is best in the Church!”
Years ago, I recall seeing the title of a book: “Men To Match My Mountains.” I believe it was a tribute to the pioneers who settled this land. If God were to write a book about women Religious, I think God might entitle it: “Women To Reach My Heavens”. Such a book title would describe Sister Evelyn and so many other Religious women. And while Sister Evelyn might be touched if you sent a card or extended a greeting to her at St. Joseph’s Hospital, I think she would be most deeply touched if you would take the time to recall all the wonderful nuns who have touched your life – those Sisters who taught you or your children in Parochial School or Religious Education classes; who nursed your loved ones in the hospital; who brought communion to family and friends in their homes. Say a prayer for them now. Thank God for the ‘Good Sisters’ who changed our lives and changed our world. Thank God for the gift of Sister Evelyn.
What would you do if you got a diagnosis of cancer? It happened to Charlene Costanzo, the author of “the Twelve Gifts of Birth.” She had written that book, and she and her husband were traveling the country in a motor home promoting the book. I’ll let Charlene tell what happened next:
“Then one day in Alaska, at the last stop of our tour, I stroked my throat, touched a lump, and felt a chill. I was diagnosed with two forms of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, one for which present day medicine says there is no cure. Although death was not imminent, it seemed close. For several days, I felt frozen with fear, betrayed. I wondered if I would experience peace and joy again.
“The disease let me to examine my life, my lifestyle and my convictions.
“Prior to starting chemotherapy, my oncologist said: ‘This is a time to call upon strength. Do what makes you strong.’
“His words caused me to consider what I had written in the “Twelve Gifts of Birth.” About strength I had written: ‘May you remember to call upon it whenever you need it.” I had offered that advice to others. Could I heed it now?
“About hope I had written: ‘Through each passage and season may you trust the goodness of life.’ Could I trust in the midst of this crisis?
Inspired by her first book, Charlene prayed. Wisdom then led her to write her now book, “the Twelve Gifts of Healing.”
Here is what Charlene says: “I understood that, besides releasing cancer cells, I needed to heal on other levels. Using love, I needed to release hatred of the aberrant cells. Using compassion, I needed to release regrets and resentments. Using hope I needed to release fear. I needed to open my heart to all that I was experiencing. Every day, the gift of imagination helped me to visualize harmony being restored among the trillions of cells in my body.”
Today she is cancer free.
What are the “Twelve Gifts of Healing?” In a short book, with few words and many beautiful pictures and illustrations, Charlene offers 12 pieces of advice from a wounded healer. I’ll just comment on four of the gifts she offers.
“May you allow fear to soften and melt away.” Fear can be like ice that hardens and makes passage through water ways nearly impossible. We need to make a conscious choice to surrender to love, and not to fear. Fear presumes we are all alone. Love presumes God is intimately involved with us, surrounding us with unconditional love and healing energy.
“May you release all regrets and resentments.”
As I have so often said before, “Resentment is drinking poison, hoping my enemy will get sick.” We need to let go of thinking about past hurts. We need to give those t God ad ask God for the poser to forgive others, and to forgive ourselves.
“May you see the world with wonder.” What a wonderful thought! Life is a constant miracle. We didn’t have to exist. The world didn’t have to be created. The universe didn’t have to come to be. But God though that we, and all the wonders of life, were worth bringing into existence. To see every moment of life as a miracle that we have been graced to be a part of is to look at life with wonder.
“May you imagine only good thins.” Only someone who has faced life’s tragedies can write those words with credibility. But suppose we did that. Suppose we anticipated good things instead of bad? Suppose we expected the best? Suppose we believed in the best about life and people and didn’t focus on th worst in life and people?”
Then we might e able to understand Charlene’s concluding words: “It was not an easy time. I would not have consciously chosen cancer as a teacher, but not I understand the valuable lessons it offered. Cancer led me to look deeper and to understand that our inherent gifts do indeed have healing poser, They can help us heal ourselves, on another, and the world. Accessing them begins with willingness. Gratitude increases their flow.”
As the election approaches, we need to offer fervent and constant prayers, not only that God will guide our choices, but that God will guide whomever we choose as our next president. The campaign has been bitter and brutal, and we will need to heal as a nation from that as well. God can heal those kinds of divisions if we invite God into our national soul.
As Catholics, we need to vote for the candidate who best reflects the Church’s teaching of a consistent ethic of life – defending the sacredness of life from womb to tomb. I’ve already written about the importance of being pro-life in reference to the abortion issue. The war in Iraq, however, has really ‘muddied the waters’. Given all the reports of violence, and conflicted data about the purpose of the war, how can we get perspective on Iraq? For me, an article in the New York Times (Oct. 9, 2004) by David Brooks gave me some clarity about Saddam Hussein, if not about the war. Allow me to quote David Brook’s article at length.
“Saddam Hussein saw his life as an unfolding epic narrative, with retreats and advances, but always the same ending. He would go down in history as the glorious Arab leader, as the Saladin of his day. One thousand years from now, schoolchildren would look back and marvel at the life of The Struggler, the great leader whose life was one of incessant strife, but who restored the greatness of the Arab nation.
They would look back and see the man who lived by the saying: ‘We will never lower our heads as long as we live, even if we have to destroy everybody’. Charles Duelfer opened his report on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction with those words. For a humiliated people, Saddam would restore pride by any means.
Saddam knew the tools he would need to reshape history and establish his glory: weapons of mass destruction. These weapons had what Duelfer and his team called a “totemic” importance to him. With these weapons, Saddam had defeated the evil Persians. With these weapons he had crushed his internal opponents. With these weapons he would deter what he called the “Zionist octopus” in both Israel and America.
But in the 1990’s the world was arrayed against him to deprive him of these weapons. So Saddam, the clever one, The Struggler, undertook a tactical retreat. He would destroy the weapons while preserving his capacity to make them later. He would foil the inspectors and divide the international community. He would induce it to end the sanctions it had imposed to pen him in. Then, when the sanctions were lifted, he would reconstitute his weapons and emerge greater and mightier than before.
The world lacked what Saddam had: the long perspective. Saddam understood what others see as a defeat or a setback can really be a glorious victory if it is seen in the context of the longer epic.
Saddam worked patiently to undermine the sanctions. He stored the corpses of babies in great piles, and then unveiled them all at once in great processions to illustrate the great humanitarian horrors of the sanctions.
Saddam personally made up a list of officials at the U.N., in France, in Russia, and elsewhere who would be bribed. He sent his oil ministers to curry favor with China, France, Turkey, and Russia. He established illicit trading relations with Ukraine, Syria, North Korea, and other nations to rebuild his arsenal.
It was all working. He acquired about 11 billion through illicit trading. He used the oil-for-food billions to build palaces. His oil minister was treated as a ‘rock star’ as the report puts it, at international events, so thick was the lust to trade with Iraq.
France, Russia, China, and other nations lobbied to lift sanctions. Saddam was, as the Duelfer report noted, “palpable close” to endig sanctions.
With sanctions weakening and money flowing, he rebuilt his strength. He contacted W.M.D. scientists in Russia, Belarus, Bulgaria, and elsewhere to enhance his technical base. He increased the funds for his nuclear scientists. He increased his military-industrial-complex’s budget 40-fold between 1996 and 2002. He increased the number of technical research projects to 3,200 from 40. As Duelfer reports: “Prohibited goods and weapons were being shipped into Iraq with virtually no problem.”
And that is where Duelfer’s story ends. Duelfer makes clear on the very first page of his report that it is a story. It is a mistake and a distortion, he writes, to pick out a single frame of the movie and isolate it from the rest of the tale.
But that is exactly what has happened. I have never in my life seen a government report so distorted by partisan passions. The fact that Saddam had no W.M.D. in 2001 has been amply reported, but its been isolated from the more important and complicated fact of Saddam’s nature and intent.
But we know where things were headed. Sanctions would have been lifted. Saddam, rich, triumphant, and unbalanced, would have reconstituted his W.M.D. Perhaps he would have joined a nuclear arms race with Iran. Perhaps he would have left it all to his pathological heir, Qusay.
We can argue about what would have been the best way to depose Saddam, but this report makes crystal clear that this insatiable tyrant needed to be deposed. He was the menace, and, as the world dithered, he was winning his struggle. He was on the verge of greatness. We would all now be living in his nightmare.”