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» In Light of Faith
 
Pentecost Sunday Cycle A, May 11, 2008
by Richard Linneberger
How can so many good things happen in our world?
Think of all the good things you have experienced in your life. Remember the goodness of those who have surrounded you since birth.
How can this be?
Beginning this reflection with the theme of goodness is possibly quite contrary to our usual experience.
Watching the evening news seems to focus on what is negative, evil and mean-spirited in our world.
Reading the morning newspaper is much the same.
Talking with our friends and neighbors is often like what Pope Benedict reflected upon with the youth in New York: “You do not need me to tell you that there are also difficulties: activities and mind-sets which stifle hope, pathways which seem to lead to happiness and fulfillment but in fact end only in confusion and fear… here, the dreams and longings that young people pursue can so easily be shattered or destroyed. I am thinking of those affected by drug and substance abuse, homelessness and poverty, racism, violence, and degradation — especially of girls and women.”
Yet, there is goodness in our world! How can this be?
Today’s celebration of Pentecost reminds us that “no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (I Cor 12:3) Paul continues his reflection on the Spirit reminding us that there are different gifts, different forms of service, and different workings “but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.” (I Cor 12:6)
It is the Holy Spirit working in our midst!
How can those who are hungry be fed and those thirsty among us be given something to drink? It is the Spirit working through our sisters and brothers!
How can those who are strangers be welcomed, the naked clothed and those ill or in prison be visited? It is the Spirit working through our sisters and brothers!
How can there be kindness in a mean-spirited world? It is the Spirit working through our sisters and brothers!
Recall that in Matthew 25:31–46 Jesus tells the story of the Last Judgment. The surprise for those being judged is that they did not know that they were doing (or for others not doing) the work of Jesus.
It is the Spirit working through our sisters and brothers!
The Spirit works in so many ways and through so many persons. We can give the Holy Spirit credit for the goodness of actions in our world. We can give the Holy Spirit the glory for creating a world of positive relationships, goodness and a spirit of holiness.
Take a few moments now to thank the Holy Spirit for giving your world, our world, the gifts of “the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, and the spirit of wonder and awe in God’s presence.” (Rite of Confirmation).
The Holy Spirit is alive and active in our world through so many whenever these gifts are present!
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Family stories remind us of who we are
by Mary Hood Hart
The other day, while talking on the phone with my son, Charlie, 19, he mentioned the beautiful azaleas and dogwoods blooming in Raleigh, NC, where he’s finishing his freshman year of college.
“Do you remember that spring, when you were little,” I started, “and...”
“I ran inside, so excited, to get you to come and see the first blossom on our azalea bush,” he finished.
Yes, that was the story I was referring to.
The azalea blossom story, when Charlie rushed inside shouting, “Mom, Mom, come quick! Spring is here!” is part of our collection of Charlie stories.
Some of the other stories aren’t so charming (for example, the time he poked his older brother in the forehead with a dinner fork). Yet, they are all good stories, unique to Charlie.
Charlie’s siblings have their stories, too, and, in our collective family memory, we hold these stories dear.
Sometimes something like azaleas blooming jogs our memory to evoke a story. Other times, especially on holidays or when all six of us are gathered around the dinner table, we retell the stories, for the pleasure we take in them and for the closeness we feel when telling them.
Not all the family stories are pleasant or entertaining, but we tell them because we find, in doing so, we discover who we are.
Over time, the facts of the event and the memory of the event become blurred. Told and re-told, the stories no longer depend on the event itself, but have developed a life of their own.
Did it happen that way? Or do I think it happened that way because of the way the story was told?
Do I remember it? Or do I think I remember it because the story feels so real?
What matters more than accurate details of the event is the effect of the story. It unites us. It transports us in time and place. It reminds us of who we were and what has formed us. It reveals to us who we are now and what we value.
Upon reflection, our stories help us to discover patterns of God’s activity in our lives that we may not have noticed at the time.
Individually, our stories give glimpses into the personalities of each of us. Collectively, they become our family history, a history which doesn’t consist of facts as much as of truth.
Truth is, in the long run, more valuable than historical accuracy. Nobel Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel has said, “Some stories are true that never happened.”
To benefit most from our family stories, we must make time for them. In our daily lives we can become so distracted by someone else’s stories (television, movies, Internet, news) that we often fail to make and tell our own.
The good news is that when we make time for stories, our children love them. Human beings seem hard-wired to care about one another’s stories.
My daughter, Katie, a public high school English teacher, shares with me her frustration when a class assignment on a good novel fails to elicit interest from her students. Yet, she says, her students are riveted when she tells them a story about herself.
The author Frank McCourt shares in his memoir “Teacher Man” that he spent years as an English teacher telling stories from his childhood in Ireland because that was the only way he could generate interest from his vocational students who saw no value in studying grammar and composition.
Recently in my local paper I saw an ad for a story-telling festival to be held in a nearby town. Photographs of some of the storytellers in the midst of telling their stories revealed such vitality and passion.
Though these were accomplished storytellers, I believe their faces reflect a universal truth: we are most alive when we are telling stories.
Some of our stories are painful, anguished, but they, too, must be told and heard. On his recent visit to the U.S., Pope Benedict XVI met with victims of clergy sexual abuse and listened to their stories.
The meeting was described as “unscripted”and the victims were permitted to tell the pope anything they wanted. One victim said that after he shared his story with the Holy Father, the pope showed sincere regret and offered him hope.
By listening compassionately to another’s story, no matter how difficult doing so may be, we honor the person, we acknowledge his or her pain, and we allow ourselves to be changed by the story.
In the domestic church and in the universal Church, our stories, whether in the form of personal narratives or Sacred Scripture, bring healing, unity, transformation, and hope.
May we always honor them.
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PA visit of hope and healing
by Barbara Hughes
It’s been said confession is good for the soul and so I’m admitting that I was among those who were skeptical about Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the United States.
I didn’t enter my name in the lottery to attend the Mass in Washington, D.C. because I decided I’d just as soon watch it on television.
This is the sixth pope that has reigned during my lifetime and each pope has been distinctively different. Before getting too excited over what might be little more than a nod to the U.S. and a photo op, I decided to wait and see what this pope had to say.
Consequently, I watched with reservation as Shepherd I touched down at Andrew’s Air Force Base. Though duly impressed by the welcome he received from President and Laura Bush, I was more interested in Pope Benedict’s manner as he proceeded along the red carpet.
Later when the limousine and the popemobile made their way through the crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of the Pontiff, I wondered about their adulation.
“We’re a nation of idol makers,” I thought to myself. From the sport heroes and movie stars to “American Idol,” we flock to see people who intrigue us.
I found myself wondering, “Is this just one more example of people who are fascinated with those in high places?”
Again and again, the media noted that Americans don’t know much about this Pope. We were warned not to expect the flare that Pope John Paul II exhibited when addressing the crowds.
A scholar by profession, this pope was not as comfortable on the world stage as his predecessor had been. Still, everyone was waiting to see how this shy and much older pope would perform in front of the American public.
Instinctively, when the Holy Father spoke, I took notes, paying close attention to his demeanor. Vatican correspondent John Allen described Pope Benedict XVI as “shy, humble, holy, and a brilliant guardian of orthodoxy.”
Having observed, albeit from afar, Pope Benedict XVI during his visit, I would add that Pope Benedict XVI is also a candid yet warmly compassionate pastor.
In almost every major talk, he referred to the sexual abuse crisis but his meeting with five of the victims was more than rhetoric.
Pope Benedict not only acknowledged their pain, he was present to it. The meeting was done secretly away from the media and only afterwards, when the victims came forth, did the world know what had transpired.
Despite the pope’s pressing schedule, the victims said they didn’t feel rushed. They were allowed the time they needed. This was not about public relations, it was about healing.
His words during his homilies were those of a caring pastor speaking to his flock.
He reminded us of the importance of prayer, community and the Sacraments and he challenged us to witness to the importance of moral values in a world that is easily swayed by secularism.
He equated democracy with the freedom to conform our lives to the will of God, which he reassured us was the road to authentic happiness.
He offered us hope amid a climate of confusion, violence and the breakdown of the family. But his hope was not based on a Pollyanna type of denial. His vision was rooted in God’s love for us, a love that is greater than any evil that can befall us.
He pointed to the immense promise that faith offers when grounded in prayer and supported by ongoing catechesis.
Pope Benedict referred to what he called his “spiritual poverty” and told the clergy and the religious men and women who gathered at St. Patrick’s Cathedral that, like St. Peter, he was a man of faults and he expressed his deepest appreciation for their prayers and their love.
He told the 25,000 young people who gathered in Yonkers to have courage. He reminded them there is no perfect community but that Jesus is calling them and if they are not afraid of silence, they will hear his voice.
His demeanor was relaxed; his smile a genuine embrace. He seemed to absorb the love they gave him and in return he radiated the love of the Good Shepherd.
On Sunday, Pope Benedict blessed Ground Zero and consecrated the memory of the victims by reaching out to the families of those who perished.
Later in his homily, he invited Catholics to take the Lord at His word and believe in Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life and then to take our faith to the public square. He called us a chosen people, a royal priesthood and a holy nation.
As he boarded the plane to leave, Pope Benedict XVI seemed almost reluctant to leave. The media was duly enamored; the analysts deemed it a success.
Our Holy Father is a man whose love for his flock flows from his obvious love for God. And as he reminded us “Truth is not a set of rules, it is the discovery of the One who never fails us.”
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Copyright © 2008 The Catholic Virginian Press. Articles from Catholic News Services, including Fr. Dietzen’s column, may not be reproduced due to copyright considerations.
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