Editor’s note: This is the first in a new periodic column in the Catholic Herald for young adults.
Hello to all! My name is Jon Leonetti. For this first column I have decided to give you a short biography of who I am, allowing readers to know a little bit more about me.
So here it goes . . .
The United States spans some 3,500 miles from coast to coast, and by August 2009, I will have walked it.
 |
|
Dear Friends,
As I complete my time of rest and recuperation, I found myself unpredictably (at least had I been able to predict six months ago) with time available to me to watch on the television most of the events surrounding the funeral and burial of Senator Edward Moore Kennedy. For myself, the time was prayerful and well spent because I knew a lot about Senator Kennedy when he was still fairly young and, of course, I was younger still.
Senator Kennedy and I, many years ago, were, according to the common understanding, not quite ready to get in line to go and meet our Judge. There was plenty of time available, we presumed, to prepare ourselves to take our place in that line, and to welcome that part of our humanity which is experiencing the mystery of suffering and death.
Dear Friends,
Bishop Walker Nickless of Sioux City, Iowa, has expressed very clearly our Church’s teaching on health care reform — his observations are offered below. It is urgent that you read this, remembering that no single proposed Bill from the U.S. Congress exists as yet.
Human beings naturally recoil at the prospect of pain and suffering. When a sharp object pokes us, we instinctively pull away. When the unpleasant neighbor comes up on caller ID, we recoil from answering the phone. Our initial response is to avoid noxious stimuli and pain, similar to most animals.
Yet when dealing with painful or unpleasant situations, we can also respond deliberately and in ways that radically differentiate us from the rest of the animal kingdom.
In my 81 years as a Catholic, I have been warned to “Pray for a Happy Death.” Suddenly I seem to be in charge of one and I don’t even know what it means. What is a “Happy Death”?
It is said that St. Joseph had one because he died in the arms of Jesus and Mary. I think that would be a hard one to pull off for the head of our family. We’d need a lot of space for me with our 10 kids: Rob, Tom, Tim, Elizabeth, Kathi, Kris, Gretchen, Patty, John, Mark, and their spouses. And the 18 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. That’s a lot of arms!
This column is taken from Bishop Morlino’s homily at the Diocesan 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration Mass on August 16.
Dear Friends,
I have three points from the readings (Ex 16:2-4, 12-15; Ps 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54; Eph 4:17, 20-24; Jn 6:24-35) and then a few closing observations. We heard a lot in the first two readings of this Sunday, about wisdom and foolishness.
It’s very interesting that the Scriptural author indicates that foolishness is the opposite of wisdom. He could have said ignorance is the opposite of wisdom or he could have said stupidity is the opposite of wisdom. Why did he say that it is foolishness that is the opposite of wisdom?
Many of us are ignorant of many things and many of us are stupid about a few things. But, it’s rare that we choose to be ignorant or choose to be stupid. We don’t usually say something like, “I know that’s stupid, but I want to stand by it anyway.” When people are unaware, or when people are stupid in some areas, they usually don’t choose it. But, you have to choose to be foolish. That’s why foolishness is the opposite of wisdom — you have to choose it and you have to take responsibility for it. For example, the Scriptures remind us, “the fool says in his heart, ‘there is no God’” (Psalm 14:1).
Dear Friends,
As I write this column we are preparing for the celebration of the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, when the Blessed Mother, “having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory,” as was written by Pope Pius XII in his Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus.
The Solemnity of the Assumption is a testament not only to the tremendous love which God has for the Blessed Mother, but also a powerful reminder of the love which Jesus Christ has demonstrated for all of us, in conquering death through His death.
When Pope Benedict XVI visited the United States in April of 2008, I had the chance to attend the opening ceremony at the White House South Lawn.
As I listened to President Bush’s welcoming remarks to the pope, I was caught off guard by one line in particular, a powerful statement that seemed almost too philosophical to be spoken by a United States president: “In a world where some no longer believe that we can distinguish between simple right and wrong, we need your message to reject this dictatorship of relativism and embrace a culture of justice and truth.”
Dear Friends,
Thank God and thank you, my brother priests, deacons, our Sisters, and our whole diocesan family, for your prayerful support during these days. My period of rest and recovery from heart arrhythmia is almost complete.
I do expect to ordain our three new priests, from the Society of Jesus Christ the Priest, for our diocese this coming Friday. As with all ordinations, that day will be a great joy for me and, please God, it will do my heart good. But I must say, I am especially happy to be back in this occasional form of communication, my column.
Summer time in Wisconsin is beautiful. Extra time, hopefully, to relax, renew, and recreate in body, mind, and spirit. Possibly, it allows for a little extra prayer time.
Our understanding of prayer is meant to evolve as we grow in our relationship with God over the years. As children we might find ourselves asking God for very specific things: a new toy, a special prize, not to be punished for doing something wrong, and so forth.
