Remembrance

This is the time of year for remembrance. It is the end of another year; it is the beginning of the holiday season, and we revisit what we have, what we love and what we've learned.

Growing up, my family drove 8 hours to Pennsylvania to see my Grandma every Christmas. No matter how late we arrived, she would be awake, warm us up something to eat and then tuck us into bed. It is hard to remember the specifics of those weeks - a lot of cooking at her side as she patiently taught us to make pie crust and other goodies; writing and acting out comedy shows with the cousins to the great amusement of the rest of the family; watching Uncle Buck (Grandma would laugh until she cried); going to Mass at St. Vincent, the giant church on the hill; eating Jioio's pizza and playing bingo. These are such small things. Yet they are as real to me now as the fact I go to work every day. 

Did those days really ever end? Is there not some parallel universe where we are all still celebrating Christmas together? Where the drive-in movie theater is still open, the bingo numbers are still being called, the pizzelles just finished baking? Where everyone we loved is still alive?

 A very long time ago my dad and I were in the front yard, and I was lamenting the fact that our beautifully blooming irises would not last long. The irises were my pride, as I selected and planted them - great, glowing purple and white beauties positively reigning over the other plants. And while we cut them and put them in water to enjoy their beauty and scent, it was ultimately to watch them fade.

His response was something to the effect of: if they lasted forever, you wouldn't appreciate them. This answer didn't satisfy my teenage self then, but now that I am older, I begin to see his meaning: these temporary things we have - sunsets, flowers, vacations, a whole pan of brownies, glimpses of Heaven - simply cannot last, because it is not in their nature, and it is not what God designed them, or us, for. You remember them, and you hold on to their memory, and in doing so you learn their value. If you have that good thing, whatever it is, all the time whenever you want it - well, it's not special. Then the scent of irises is no more special than a bottled perfume waiting on the shelf.

We can take this further and say, too, that not only is life not meant to be all sweetness and beauty at all moments, but that the sorrowful times critically necessary. As Bishop Fulton Sheen wrote, "Unless there is a Good Friday in your life, there can be no Easter Sunday."

How much I would love to see my family again as I did when I was eight; to peel chestnuts for stuffing, listen to oldies on New Year's Eve, see my grandfather play accordion and sing Christmas songs.

But no matter; I remember. And it is in this remembrance that I can still find meaning and value, even when the real thing is long gone. Thank God for memories, even when they pull us back.  

You are the Body of Christ

Below is the allocutio I will deliver during the Legion of Mary meeting tomorrow evening. The allocutio is given by the spiritual director, or in his absence, the President, and is a reflection on that week's spiritual reading.

Ch. 28: Government of the Legion: Parts 2, The Curia and the Comitium, Sections 10-11

Tonight’s reading focuses on the annual visitation of a curia to a praesidium. There were a few phrases that stood out to me.

One was, “It is important that this duty…be fulfilled in a spirit of affection and humility which will presume that there will be as much to be learned from as taught to the praesidium visited.”

Also, regarding the idea that such visits are interference, Duff disagrees, writing: “Shall the hand say to the head, ‘I need not your help?’”

We are so focused in the Legion on rule, order and structure, and have discussed at length the reasons for observing the Legion guidelines, and benefits of doing so. Earlier this year when I was at the training to volunteer at the jail, I met another volunteer who said her mother had been in the Legion when she was alive, many years ago. “I imagine the Legion is very different now than then, though,” she commented.

“No,” I answered. “I would think it is very much the same.”

The surprises we receive in the Legion are not due to unpreparedness or lack of protocol, but the surprise that comes from performing the work. I don’t mean solely in the sense of the surprising people we meet or the situations we find ourselves in, but the surprising grace that is always present, always carrying us in our task, always ready to see us through. The real surprise is in seeing how strong you are, and what you’re capable of, when you allow God to use you as He intends. I think this, and not how many rules we have, is the biggest surprise of the Legion.

And too, that sense of learning Duff mentions is constant in the Legion. I learn from your experiences, I learn from the readings, I learn from the way other groups run their meetings and the creative ways people come together to help each other. Humility, patience, greater love, acceptance – this is what we learn. These are the Marian virtues we seek to emulate and which Duff tells are us crucial for that universal call to sainthood.

The imagery of a head and body are familiar as they are a reminder of the idea that the Church is the body of Christ. All people make up this body, and we are connected. We are especially focused on the idea of familial relationships now, as the Synod of Bishops continues in Rome. And just on Sunday, Louis and Zelie Martin, parent of St. Therese of Lisieux, were canonized. They are the first married couple in modern times to be canonized, and were canonized because of their marriage – because of the way they loved one another but God more, how they  served others, raised their children to love God, and how their family home reflected the mystical home of Nazareth.  This tells you all you need to know about how family, marriage and relationships are central in Catholic teaching. We learn that it is in relationships with others that we grow, when we connect with others, as a hand works with a head, as a mother to a child, as a friend to a friend. The Legion provides us an abundance of opportunities to connect with others in our work, our meetings and as we take the spirit of the Legion into our daily lives.

A visit from the Curia is not a cause for concern; it is simply another opportunity to learn. St. Paul said, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a member of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27) Brothers and sisters, let us continue to learn from the relationships we build and the strength we find as part of the body of the Legion and the body of Christ.

A visit from Pope Francis

Last month I had the extreme honor of getting to see Pope Francis during his visit to DC. I arrived at 6:30 in the morning and didn't leave until 12 hours later, volunteering all day with CUA and the John Carroll Society, helping to seat the thousands of people that arrived. I saw some old friends, made some new, and most importantly, witnessed this incredible moment in the history of the nation, the Church and the world.

Pope Francis is as real as you'd imagine. As his caravan passed (complete with Popemobile and stern looking Secret Service dudes), he smiled and waved and I felt such a sense of genuine love and care. He is what you'd expect - small, bright, fearless.

It was also extra special that the Mass wasn't just a regular Mass, but a canonization for (now Saint) Juniperro Serra. Not only that, but it is the first canonization to ever take place on American soil. And I was there - and I saw it!

Most of all, though, what I will remember is the faith of all those around me. The day could have felt like a celebrity sighting, but it didn't. Everyone was happy, smiling, enjoying the incredible weather, waiting with joy for the Holy Father. And then to be in the middle of the crowd as the songs were sung and the prayers were prayed, all together, in many languages - it was otherworldly. For a moment, it was true peace.

I have done my best to upload photos, without knowing if I have done it correctly. If not, I will go back and fix it at some point. But I wanted to share just a bit of what it was like there that very special day.