Two Anniversaries
Last Sunday was the eleventh anniversary of the announcement by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of the Catholic Common Ground Initiative.
And this Sunday is the fourth anniversary of the death of Monsignor Philip Murnion, his close collaborator in conceiving and implementing the Initiative.
Those whose lives were enriched by these two fine priests remember them with gratitude.
I think these reflections by Hans Urs von Balthasar in his book, My Work in Retrospect, are apposite:
All charisms of Christians are inextricably interwoven; everyone owes himself not only to God but to the whole Church; everyone is borne by invisible prayers and sacrifices, has been nourished by countless gifts of love, is continually strengthened and preserved by the affection of others. Who is able to say thanks? To repay the immeasurable realm of deceased and surviving individuals with the homage they deserve for the graces they have mediated?
Only in the light of God will one really know what he has to be thankful for.
For information on the Catholic Common Ground Initiative and its annual Bernardin Conference and Murnion Lecture, see: www.nplc.org/commonground.htm
Fr. Imbelli’s quote from Hans Urs von Balthasar reminded me of the author’s note that begins Peter Steinfels’ book “A People Adrift: The Crisis of the Roman Catholic Church in America,” in which the author relates his return to Chicago, his hometown, to cover the funeral of Cardinal Bernardin. He writes movingly about the Cardinal, whom he knew, and the Cardinal’s influence on the Church and beyond:
“For millions of people in Chicago and elsewhere in the nation, the Cardinal had done his part. Some he touched deeply and decisively, particularly in his last years’ struggle with cancer, but for many it was a nudge, a fleeting word on television, a phrase or concept like ‘seamless garment’ or ‘consistent ethic of life,’ a message delivered indirectly through parish pulpits and or parochial schools, or even through his management and consolidation (of which most Chicago Catholics would never be aware) of the institutions that helped their faith survive and flourish.”
Mr. Steinfels relates that people lined the streets as the funeral cortege traveled the 17 miles from the cathedral to the cemetery. “Construction workers doffed their hard hats. A purple-clad Rollerblader paused, bowed, and folded his hands in prayer. A man in a blood-smeared apron came out from his job at a meatpacker’s….The cortege to the cemetery passed elderly women sprinkling themselves with holy water as well as kids holding up signs saying, BYE JOE.”
I love the signs. How many prelates could prompt such an informal but deeply felt response?
Thank you, Bob, for the post.
Good reminders of civil men, and bridge builders.
I only met Msgr. Murnion once: we had a long talk after a Common Ground lecture. He kept trying to change my mind, and I wouldn’t change, and we both kept laughing.
Shared laughter is one of God’s great gifts. :)
von Balthasar’s quote what in the early Church came under the idea of the Church as Mother–with the whole Church enacting the maternal role towards others. In one place, St. Augustine says that all of us individually are children of Mother Church, but all of us together are Mother Church.
I echo William Collier’s comments. And I too thank Fr. Imbelli for starting this set of comments.
How can one not be sad that it’s so hard to find the likes today of these two thoughtful leaders.
tell me why god takes those from us whom we so desperately need?