“True peace is born of doing the will of God, and bearing with patience the sufferings of this life, and does not come from following one’s own whim or selfish desire, for this always brings, not peace and serenity, but disorder and discontent.”
— Blessed John XIII
The month of January affords me the opportunity to hit the pause button and read all the Christmas cards, messages and letters. It is good to spend quiet time in thanksgiving for the wonderful people who have graced my journey of faith through the years. One can never take for granted all the lives that touch and grace our life.
As a child growing up in a family of seven children where Mom and Dad struggled to make ends meet, my youngest brother Dan and I always received the same gift at Christmas: to go to three Penguins games per year accompanied by Dad. We sat in the rafters of the Civic Arena in Section D, but that didn’t matter; we were together. This Christmas I received the ultimate family gift: eight tickets in a box at center ice to enjoy the Penguins-Canadiens game on Friday, January 20 at the Consol Energy Center. I immediately called my family to mark their calendars for this date. They were thrilled and made immediate plans to head north to Pittsburgh. Coincidentally, two of my nephews will be celebrating their birthdays this same weekend. This is a particular gift we will all cherish, sharing this precious time together.
My brother Dan, his wife Kelly, and their three children -- Daniel Patrick (8), Alex (6) and Samantha (5) -- will drive 430 miles from Greensboro, NC. My sister Karen will fly in with her son, John Michael, from Charleston, SC (650 miles), for the game as well. And my brother Dave will fly with his daughter Lexi (13) 743 miles from Minneapolis, MN. Friday is Alex’s 6th birthday and Sunday is John Michael’s 14th. They are on cloud nine to come in the wintry month of January to Pittsburgh to be together as a family. There is plenty of room in the “St. Joseph’s Inn” with inflatable beds for the children. They look forward to visiting Grandma at the Little Sisters of the Poor, ice skating on the South Side, taking in the Penguins game and enjoying family time together.
I am always struck that my nephew, John Michael, was born on the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade (1973), a day now reserved by all U.S. dioceses as a day of prayer for the legal protection of unborn children. It is also the day on which hundreds of thousands travel to Washington DC to “March for Life.” 2012 marks the 39th anniversary of the tragic decision to legalize abortion in our nation. This decision precipitated the development in our country of what Pope John Paul II called “the culture of death.” On March 25, 1995, Pope John Paul II wrote his 11th encyclical entitled Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life). This encyclical was the single most authoritative pronouncement of the inviolability of human life, condemning abortion, murder, euthanasia and capital punishment. We are called to be “champions of life” and to serve the least, the lost and the little. The Church must always give attention to a pastoral plan for life in four major areas:
1) Public Information and Education — to deepen the understanding of the sanctity of all human life, whether at its beginning or end, witnessing to and serving all human life.
2) Pastoral Care — to reach out to those women who have problems related to pregnancy or have been involved in an abortion, or those who are disabled, sick and dying, their families and caregivers and those who have lost loved ones due to violent crimes and those in prisons, sentenced to death.
3) Public Policy — to restore legal protection to the lives of unborn children and those vulnerable to the pressures to end their lives by assisted suicide.
4) Prayer and Worship — to encourage people’s participation in the sacramental life of the Church, especially through Mass, sacrament of Reconciliation and programs that promote communal and individual prayer that foster life.
I am presently reading the book, A People of Hope, by Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan of New York, in conversation with John L. Allen, Jr. Cardinal-designate Dolan will celebrate his 62nd birthday on February 6. He is the oldest of five children. His parents were Irish Catholic. His dad, Robert, was a factory foreman and his mom, Shirley, was a stay-at home mom. I like what Cardinal-desginate Dolan says of his family in talking about his childhood. He says, “Faith is the greatest supernatural gift you can have, but the second natural gift anyone can have, is a happy, loving family. I was lucky enough to have both.” I concur with those sentiments.
This week I celebrated a funeral for a still-born baby who was to be born on Monday, and a day later, I had a funeral of an 88 year-old woman. Life is certainly a series of contrasts: birth and death, suffering and salvation, cold hands and warm hearts, aridity and rain, snow and sunshine. Life is a mystery and despite all human knowledge, learning and good intentions, we must humbly accept the fact that we are finite, limited, mortal human beings and God knows what is best!
In this week's Gospel, Jesus calls the first disciples to follow him whole and single-heartedly, rejecting other options with their joys and sorrows. There is a price tag on following this call — they are to leave behind their families, jobs, town and country and finally, life itself. They understood the choice was worth the cost, and so must we. Repentance means realigning our priorities toward spiritual transformation so that our lives will be directed to God completely.
In Difficult Times
Consoling God, be a source of serenity for me when struggles and difficulties threaten to overwhelm me. God of hope, assure me of your unconditional love when I doubt myself or question the worth of my life. Truth-bringing God, encourage me to embrace you during those times when I get lost in the lies of my weakness. Compassionate God, hold me to your heart when I feel helpless in the face of the world’s pain. Light-filled God, keep me ever close to you during those moments when bleakness surrounds my life. Comforting God, shelter me under your wings when I am engulfed in sadness and overcome with distress. God of peace, you are the center of my life, a strong refuge of peace in the whirlwind of my pain. I look to you for strength and a constant assurance of hope.
- Joyce Rupp
