“The road the righteous travel is like the sunrise, getting brighter and brighter until the daylight has come. The road of the wicked, however is dark as night. They fall, but cannot see what they have stumbled over.” ~Proverbs 4:18-19
On November 27, 2012 I attended the 4th Annual St. Benedict Education Foundation Lecture at the Fred M. Rogers Center at St. Vincent College and Seminary in Latrobe, PA. The title of the lecture was “Liturgy and the New Evangelization.” There were priests invited from the outlying dioceses of Altoona-Johnstown and Greensburg, as well as Pittsburgh. It was hosted by Bishop Lawrence Brandt, (4th Bishop of the Diocese of Greensburg, PA). The featured speaker was Archbishop Wilton J. Gregory, (6th Archbishop of Atlanta, GA). The discussion moderator was Bishop Emeritus of Erie, Donald W. Trautman.
We owe a huge debt of gratitude to two Dominican sisters, who, in the 1950’s went door-to-door, asking families to send children to St. Carthage Grammar School in Chicago. They knocked at the door of the non-Catholic ‘Gregory family.’ These house - to - house visitors were the “first evangelizers”. God works in humble and hidden ways.
That ‘tap on the door’ resulted in Wilton Gregory, Jr. converting to Catholicism in 8th grade, going on to attend Quigley Preparatory Seminary South, Niles College, (now St. Joseph College Seminary) of Loyola University, and subsequently, St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, IL. He went on to be ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago on May 9, 1973. While attending St. Mary of the Lake, he served on the faculty there. He also served as Master of Ceremonies to Cardinals John Cody and Joseph Bernardin, and was ordained Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago, IL on December 13, 1983. On Feb 10, 1994 Wilton Gregory was installed as the 7th Bishop of the Diocese of Bellfield, IL where he served for 11 years.
I fondly remember the introductory remarks that Bishop Trautman noted in giving the curricula vitae of Archbishop Wilton Gregory who, in November of 2001, was elected the President of the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops). He earned a doctorate in Sacred Liturgy at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of Saint’ Anselmo University in Rome. He offered strong, wise and decisive leadership during the crisis of the sex abuse scandal of Catholic clergy, when the bishops implemented the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.”
On December 9, 2004, Pope John Paul II ordained Bishop Gregory as the 6th Archbishop of Atlanta. He has had a leading role in the US Church and particularly in African-American communities. Archbishop Gregory noted in his talk that he cannot thank his priests enough for their service, faithfulness and dedication to the Church. And there is no single thing he prays harder about than the proper placement of his priests in their pastoral assignments. He joyfully commented to his priests, “Don’t over function when the bishop comes, because nothing on earth is perfect.” He also noted that people “parish shop”, for effective preaching, good liturgical music, a sense of belonging and hospitality, encountering and contemplating God.
The conference made me think of the first evangelizers in my own life, who shared and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ; namely, my parents, Mary Jane Divita and David William Jones. Dad, who was Presbyterian, would often comment that their marriage was “two faiths, but one love.” Parents are not only primary educators of their children, but the “first teachers” in the ways of faith. One cannot underestimate the power of parents as practicing believers, nor the energy, enthusiasm and witness their lives can offer.
I am the 6th of 7 children – 4 boys and 3 girls. My first 3 siblings were adopted, the first naturally born child was born with Down Syndrome. The last three were naturally born. My father was a computer analyst for U.S. Steel for over 30 years and mom was a homemaker. Dad had us read the Bible together each night at 7:00 PM. He attended the First Presbyterian Church in Downtown Pittsburgh. The sermon, by Dr. John Huffman, which he heard in the morning, was the one he had his family listen to on Sunday evening. Mom took us to Mass at SS Simon and Jude Church in Scott Twp. where we sat in the 2nd pew every week. She had us dressed and ready 30 minutes early. After Mass we would remain in church to pray while the “Indianapolis 500’ flew out of the parking lot! Mom believed there were still more important things to give thanks for.
My brothers and I slept in bunk beds in one bedroom and my sisters, in another. I will never forget the impression of mom climbing the steps to pray, first with my sisters, then the boys. She would come into our rooms to lead us in our nightly prayers, which were both formal and spontaneous, but nonetheless, coming from a mother’s loving heart. Even on the occasions when we pretended to be asleep, she would say, “I know you’re tired but that’s ok. I’ll pray for you.” No matter how many errands that needed to be run, clothes that required washing or chores that had to be finished, praying with her children took first place, along with attendance at daily Mass.
The liturgy was a staple of mom’s life, so she chose daily engagement opportunities for prayer seeing that her Catholic children would have their ‘daily bread.’ Prayer was not optional or occasional, but normative, regular and daily. Even Jesus’ disciples begged him, “Lord, teach us to pray...”
-Luke 11:1.
At the age of 12, I began serving at Marian Manor Nursing home in nearby Greentree, PA. It was run by the Sisters of the Holy Spirit. Between the ages of 14-25, I worked at the home as a porter, in the greenhouse, waxing floors or cutting grass on the tractor. The administrator, Sr. Mary Berchmans, was a powerful evangelist in my life. Invariably and inevitably, she would check on me. She wasn’t so much concerned about my performance, but the depth of my formation and my prayer-life. She would ask daily, “Richard, how is your prayer-life going?” I responded each time, not really understanding the scope of her inquiry. Sr. Berchmans planted the seed early.
Time spent in prayer is time well spent. After 8 years of seminary formation, prayer, studies and apostolic works, when ordained to the Diaconate, I took on the sacred obligation and duty of the Universal Prayer of the Church, by praying the Breviary, the Divine Office. Living mindfully, through the hours of the day, Matins or Vigils - “The Night Watch” - The Midnight Hour, an hour to keep watch at night, vigilantly; Lauds or Morning Prayer - “The Awakening Hour”, prayed at sunrise, early morning or first hour of the day, the hour of joy; Terce or The Third Hour of the Day - “The Blessing Hour”, mid-morning hour, a mid-day pause; Sext—or Sixth Hour - “The Hour of Illumination”, mid-day hour when everything is illumined by the sun’s brightness; None or the Ninth Hour - “The Wisdom Hour”, mid-afternoon, the hour when day moves toward evening; Vespers, or Evensong - “The Twilight Hour”, time to move from the tumult of the day into the quiet of evening - a song of praise; Compline or Night Prayer - “The Great Silence” , the last hour of the day, to review the day by means of gentle evaluation of faithfulness. The single greatest request I get is for prayer. It’s no wonder it is my primary obligation and responsibility.
“We ought to praise God as much as possible in this life, for this activity will be our occupation for all eternity. If a person does not praise God in this way he will not be able to join the heavenly chorus. Let us sing the ‘Alleluia!’ by saying to one another: ‘Give praise to the Lord’. Prepare yourselves for giving praise to God in the glorified state and so, with all the choirs of angels in heaven we proclaim your glory and join in their unending hymn of praise.” ~St. Augustine
