What Pope Leo XIII had to say —Part1 of a 4-part series

/in

Rev. Msgr. Gerald E. Twaddell, D.Phil., KCHS

Contributor

Since the election of Pope Leo XIV, we have heard many observations about his admiration for the teachings of Pope Leo XIII. Frequent comments have referred to the encyclical “Rerum Novarum” that brought Catholic Social Teaching (CST) into the spotlight in 1891. That was not really something new, since CST is simply the application of long-established moral principles to situations that develop in the relationships of people in their social interactions. Moral theology extends to more than just the choices of individual persons.

We should first recall the turmoil that marked the end of the 18th and the whole of the 19th centuries, the “new concerns” that the title of the encyclical refers to. Intellectually, there was the rise the Enlightenment which sought, in the name of progress and reason, to sweep aside all religion as nothing more than sentimental, superstitious  nonsense. It was an era of rising individualism and liberation from all forms of authority, whether of Church, or King, or any other.

Politically, Enlightenment ideals were embodied in the American Revolution, the French Revolution, the War of 1812, the various European revolutions in 1848,  the FrancoPrussian War, etc., all of which disrupted the stability of monarchies, introduced republics (condemned by Blessed Pope Pius IX) and wrenched the Papal States out of the control of the Catholic Church.

Economically, there was the rise of industrial capitalism which shifted the control of productive forces from traditional artisans and small family shopkeepers into the hands of wealthy individuals pursuing ever greater concentration of political and economic power. The Popes were dismayed, and did their best to dampen such destructive forces, and advance the alternative of the teachings of the Gospel to the people being trampled and oppressed in these circumstances. Pope Leo XIII had addressed several of the issues in a suite of documents. “Rerum Novarum” must be read against the backdrop of the many disturbing trends that surrounded the life of the Church in his  day. This is why it is important for people, Catholic or not, to know what he had to say. The purpose here is to get a sense of the teaching of Pope Leo XIII in just this one encyclical.

The pope’s concern was the condition of workers in a time marked by conflict brought about by the factors shifting the landscape. The first he lists is the expansion of industrial pursuits and scientific discoveries in the 19th century. Second were the changing relations between owners and workers. Third, he noted the enormous fortunes of a few and the utter poverty of the vast majority. Next were the increasing self reliance and mutual organizations among workers. Finally, the pope pointed to the “prevailing moral degeneracy.” (§ 1) Each of these factors receives attention in the encyclical.

In this first part of this series of articles, we will focus on how Pope Leo XIII presented the underlying problem.

Property and Society

In the first portion of the encyclical, the pope reflects extensively on the economic conditions that had emerged with the rise of industrialism in the 19th century.

Leo XIII wanted to bring the principles dictated by truth and justice to bear in confronting those taking advantage of these changes to pervert people’s judgment and stir up revolts. (§ 2) He saw a need to find a remedy quickly for “the misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the working class.” (§ 3)

As a result of the elimination of ancient protections by public institutions and laws, “working men have been surrendered, isolated and helpless, to the hardheartedness of employers and the greed of unchecked competition.” In addition, usury, long condemned by the Church, was being practiced under new guises “by covetous and grasping men.” The pope’s judgment was that “a small number of very rich men have been able to lay upon the teeming masses of the laboring poor a yoke little better than that of slavery itself.” (§ 3) After this critique of the workings of industrial capitalism, Pope Leo XIII turns his attention to another morally unacceptable proposal.

One answer being put forward came from socialists who sought to eliminate private ownership of the means of production, seen as the root of the problem. The pope did not state specifically whose theory of socialism he had in mind. There were several, and not all agreed on every point. In any case, the false solution of eliminating all private property long ago introduced by Plato in his “Republic” would have had the effect of taking away from workers themselves what little they had.

Laborers have a right both to be paid for their efforts, and to use that pay as they see fit. The socialist plan to transfer people’s possessions to the community at large would deprive the laborer of all hope for improved living conditions. (§5) These practical problems call for a deeper consideration of the implications of human nature itself.

A distinctive feature of human beings, flowing from the capacity for rational thought, is the right of every person to possess property not just for immediate use as in other animals, but also to hold it on a stable basis to meet future needs. (§6) Reason links the future with the present, enabling humans to make choices about what might be advantageous at a later date. All this is grounded in humanity itself, so before any State ever comes into existence, possession of property already provides for the needs of the body. (§7)

The pope explains that the fact that God gives the earth for the use and enjoyment of the whole hu-man race can in no way exclude the owning of private property. (§8) For in giving the earth to all in general, “no part of it was assigned to anyone in particular,” thereby leaving the limits of private ownership to be worked out by people themselves. So private ownership “is in accordance with the law of nature.” (§9) An important means by which people come to own things is by their own labor. Thus, the pope asks, “Is it just that the fruit of a man’s own sweat and labor should be possessed by and enjoyed by anyone else?” (§10)

Civil laws affirm this provision. Given that such laws are just, the law of nature gives them their binding force, and the divine law against covetousness adds further sanction. (§11) These rights are also affected by the right of each person to choose a state of life, single or married, so that provision for whatever is necessary for the preservation and just freedom of the family is also a right. No state can hinder or control the life of the family. (§13)

Indeed, “if a family finds itself in exceeding distress, utterly deprived of the counsel of friends, and without any prospect of extricating itself, it is right that extreme necessity be met by public aid, since each family is a part of the commonwealth.” Likewise, when, within the family, mutual rights are not respected, the public authority must intervene to safeguard and strengthen those rights. Still, parental rights cannot be abolished or absorbed by the State as the socialists would have it. (§ 14) Since the result of applying the idea of communal holding of all goods would upset all relations among people, leaving them in a situation worse than slavery, the socialist “solution” must be rejected. (§15)

A true solution to the challenge of industrialism must be found by involving State leaders, employers of labor, the wealthy, and the working classes as well. But their efforts will fail if the Church is not permitted to contribute her services in endeavoring to uplift the working classes. (§16) The variety of capacities, skills, strength, etc. that people possess need to be recognized. Each person should be able to choose what best suits their own situation. (§17) In making such choices, people need to see the world as it truly is, with all its ills and troubles. It is a mistake to deceive oneself about some simplistic solution that will supposedly make them disappear. (§18)

In the next article in the series we will discover the mutual duties and responsibilities of employees and employers that Pope Leo XIII identified.

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

/in

Father Stephen Bankemper

Contributor

We have from Scripture many images of God that are comforting — Jesus as the Good Shepherd (John, chapter 10), who leads us safely through death and darkness (Psalm 23); Jesus, come not as judge but savior (the famous John 3:17); and many more. There are also many passages in Scripture that show a different side, so to speak, of God, with which we are not so comfortable, for example, God who destroys the wicked (Psalms 101 and 92), raining down brimstone and fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19). The image we hear in the Gospel for this weekend — the image of fire — is hard to put in one or the other category, but it is worthwhile to contemplate both its “positive” and “negative” aspects.

“I have come to set the earth on fire,” Jesus says to his disciples, “and how I wish it were already blazing!” What is this fire our Lord desired to set?

In his book God and the World, Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, wrote, “When Jesus talks about fire, he means in the first place his own Passion, which was a Passion of love and was therefore a fire; the new burning bush, which burns and is not consumed . . .” (p. 222) This is a fire with which we can feel comfortable, the fire of God’s love that saves and frees us. And yet, it is a fire, as Benedict continues, “that is to be handed on. Jesus does not come to make us comfortable; rather he sets fire to the earth; he brings the great living fire of divine love, which is what the Holy Spirit is, a fire that burns.” (ibid.)

This is a fire that, as Jesus says in today’s Gospel, brings, not peace but division. This is a fire that makes us uncomfortable because it divides, not just “three against two and two against three,” but even divides us from ourselves. When we accept God as our God, we allow into ourselves and our lives a “consuming fire,” (Hebrews 12:29) a “devouring fire, a jealous God,” (Deuteronomy 4:24), a God who desires all of us, who wants to be our first love (“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength . . . ”) a God who consumes anything in us that is not of God, because in his presence no evil can abide. Do we want this fire?

We tend to think and talk of heaven, hell, and purgatory as three different “places,” but in the last few years I have found myself thinking of them as one place: the presence of God. (I am not claiming this to be Church teaching; it is only an idea, an image.) God, who is all Love, burns eternally with this love. Those who resolutely refuse to let themselves be changed by this love and cling to their sin and selfishness and other loves, are only made miserable by this flaming love, and are thus in eternal hell. Those who desire to be transformed but struggle to abandon themselves to love, who still hold on to some of their own will and other loves, experience God’s love and presence as consuming flames, as purgatory, until they are able to let go of all in themselves that is not God. But those who have given themselves over to God, seeking only His will, and who have let themselves be purified and love God with all their hearts, souls, and strength, rejoice in the Fire, because they themselves are on fire, burning joyfully with God, and are, as Benedict puts it, made “bright and pure and free and grand.”

Many of the saints not only knew about this consuming and purifying fire but experienced it and desired it. Read, for example, St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s experience of God’s fire of love. In her Act of Oblation to Merciful Love she expresses her desire for this love, even as she knows it will destroy her. It is telling that she uses the word “martyr” in her prayer, and “holocaust” — not “sacrifice”: in a sacrifice, part of the animal was consumed by fire, while as a holocaust the entire animal was consumed. The following is a short excerpt:

“In order to live in one single act of perfect love, I offer myself as a victim of Holocaust to your merciful love, asking you to consume me incessantly, allowing the waves of infinite tenderness shut up within You to over- flow into my soul, and that thus I may become a martyr of Your Love, O my God!”

Another saint worth consulting in this context is St. Gemma Galgani, a 20th-century Italian mystic, who described her heart as “all on fire with the love of Jesus.” In a letter to her spiritual director, St. Gemma describes her experience of God’s love as an actual physical burning: “For the last eight days I have felt something mysterious in the area of my heart that I cannot understand. . . this fire has increased, oh so much, as to be almost unbearable. I should need ice to put it out, and it hinders my eating and sleeping. It is a mysterious fire that comes from within, then goes to the outside. It is, however, a fire that does not torment me, rather it delights me, but it also exhausts and consumes me . . . Great God, how I love You! Oh, how I love You!”

Her spiritual director related that “When I questioned her about it, Gemma herself had to acknowledge that the suffering that she felt from this mysterious fire, although it was a joy to her, was really very painful. She said to me: ‘In order to get some idea of it, imagine a red-hot iron, kept constantly heated in a furnace, has been placed into the very center of this poor heart. Thus I feel myself burning’. And yet she would not have exchanged this excruciating torture for all the delights of the world. For while she thus suffered in her body, the sweetness it caused in the depths of her soul was truly beyond all description. Thus in ecstasy she exclaimed, “Come then, Oh Jesus! Your heart is a flame and you wish mine to be turned into a flame as well … Jesus, I feel I must die when you are throbbing so in my heart.”

Jesus expressed the desire that the fire of his Passion and love was already blazing. It will blaze if we surrender to His love and allow ourselves to burn  with it. One of the invocations in the chaplet of St. Michael is, “By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial choir of Seraphim, may the Lord make us worthy to burn with the fire of perfect charity.” May we be willing to let that love consume us, so that we may spread that fire to others.

Father Stephen Bankemper is pastor, St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Ft. Thomas, Ky.

The Deanery Pastoral Council serves as one facet of the body of the Church said Bishop Iffert at DPC orientation

/in

Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

The annual Deanery Pastoral Council orientation took place August 9, in Bishop Howard Memorial Auditorium, Covington, where new members of the Deanery Pastoral Council learned more about their role as members of the council.

Each parish in the Diocese of Covington is organized into one of five deaneries based on their geographical area: The Cambell County Deanery, The Covington Deanery, The Northern Kenton County Deanery, The Southeast Deanery and The Southwest Deanery. Leading each of these deaneries is a dean, a member of the clergy from within that region appointed by Bishop John Iffert.

The Deanery Pastoral Council is a quarterly meeting of two representatives from each parish within a deanery. Members of the council serve three-year, renewable terms. From each Deanery Pastoral Council, two people are selected by their council peers to represent their deanery at the Diocesan Pastoral Council, which meets quarterly with Bishop Iffert.

The goal of the Deanery Pastoral Council is to discuss and advise Bishop Iffert on issues via their representatives to the Diocesan Pastoral Council. Bishop Iffert likened the hierarchical structure of these councils to that of the body. With the head, in this case himself as the head of the church of the Diocese of Covington, needing to listen to the lungs and heart in order to function properly.

“The head has to listen to the body. The head has to be responsive to the needs of the body. That’s what these councils are all about, to make sure that we are listening to one another and, even more importantly that we are discerning the Spirit of God together,” said Bishop Iffert.

Bishop Iffert recalled a story from his time as a parish pastor, when he provided counseling to married couples. It became to clear him, he said, that these couples did not want to be counseled, rather, the men wanted him to take their side.

“It happened over and over again,” said Bishop Iffert, “and usually they would throw out this thing about the man is the head of the household. They would say the man is to be the head of the household.”

To which Bishop Iffert would respond to them saying, “yes, that works to exactly the degree to which you are a saint,” he said.

“If we’re not saints and we insist on that kind of tight control, we have the potential of giving into our manipulative selves,” he said. Which is why the Deanery Pastoral Council and Diocesan Pastoral Council are structured in such a way, so that the head can easily listen to the heart and lungs.

“All authority in the church is to be exercised as servant leadership. All authority in the church is to be exercised as foot washing, with a gentleness to it, with a servant’s heart. That means we have to take the time to listen. We have to take the time to check our motivations. We have to make sure that we’re considering the good of others in as complete and full way we can,” said Bishop Iffert.

The meetings of the Deanery Pastoral Council are open to the public so that parishioners can voice their concerns and opinions, which will then be taken under advisement by the council. This pipeline from those in the pews to Bishop Iffert through the Deanery and Diocesan Pastoral Councils, allows him to listen to the body of the church of Covington.

“That’s my vision,” said Bishop Iffert, “that we are a family of faith together, our pastors are clearly the heads of those parish families, but none of us are saints, and so we need to be listening to one another and being gentle with one another and being about the work, not listening to my opinions about what things are, but for me, listening to the way the Spirit is speaking to me through the people of God.”

Divine Mercy/St. Bernard Parish Young Adult Group sets an example

/in

Macie Becker

Media Intern

As part of the Diocesan pastoral plan, the diocese has partnered with the Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI). CLI has been working with the parishes in the diocese on long-term pastoral plans for each parish. Divine Mercy and St. Bernard Parishes, Bellevue and Dayton, are a part of Next Generation Parish, a program in which the parish is paired with a CLI consultant to help not only develop but also to implement their plan.

One of the goals for the Divine Mercy/St. Bernard (DMSB) pastoral plan is to increase parishioner involvement in social and service groups within the parishes. DMSB has a thriving young adult community, drawing in people from in and out of the parishes to their events. Father Martin Pitstick, Pastor, refers to it as one of their parish’s “charisms.” Having events almost every day, the DMSB young adults have been an influence on the parish community, setting an example for the pastoral plan.

The young adults within the parish have continued to set this example by getting involved with other aspects of parish life, such as serving Masses and planning after-Mass brunches for the parishioners. Mr. Nienaber says the reason for starting integrated events is for the parishes to be “living and breathing and really healthy going into the next 20, 30, or 40 years.”

They combine the religious and recreational, planning events like Masses and Bible studies, as well as fun events like bonfires and swing dances. That dynamic has drawn in many people, both Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Oftentimes, non-Catholic participants in these recreational events end up being drawn to the Catholic faith by it.

“We always try to find that balance,” says Colin Nienaber, DMSB Young Adult Minister, who continued to say, “we’re having a lot of fun, but we also want to integrate the rest of the parish so that it’s not like two different parishes being made.”

“The young adults are taking on the service role for the life of the rest of the parish to leverage and to be the yeast for helping the rest of the parish,” said Father Pitstick. He continued, saying “no program is perfect, but you take valuable resources from the program, and we’ve done that and it has been very helpful.”

To learn more or get involved with DMSB or their young adult ministry, visit https://dmsbcatholic.com/.

Diocese and intercommunity sisters continue dialogue on immigration with upcoming presentation, continuation of June efforts

/in

Maura Bailey

Staff Writer

This past June, the Intercommunity Sisters Peace and Justice Committee, in a collaboration with the Diocese of Covington, held a presentation attended by near 200 participants on the topic of immigration — the Catholic perspective.

On August 18, the sisters aim to continue this dialogue with the second part of the immigration series, once again to be held in the diocesan Curia, Covington, from 6:30–8:30 p.m.

The August presentation will begin with a “deeper look at Catholic social teaching as it pertains to immigration,” said Divine Providence Sister Kay Kremer, one of the hosts and speakers of the event. “At the first session, Hannah Keegan,” of Thomas More University, “gave more of an overview of those parts of Catholic social teaching … but, this time, she’ll delve deeper into what it means specifically in regards to how we are called to treat migrants, and how we are called to live in contrast to what’s happened to migrants in the country right now.”

Immigration lawyer Jessica Ramos will also be participating in the upcoming presentation. She will be speaking on the “pathways to legal immigration and citizenship in our country,” said Sister Kay, “and how those things have drastically changed in the last six months.”

Attendees will also be supplied with a resource sheet of discussing immigration in the Catholic context, as well as local ways to help migrant populations.

“We want everyone who attends to feel welcome,” Sister Kay continued, “And we want this to be an opportunity for all of us to continue to learn about what the Church teaches about immigration.”

These conversations are important, she explained, as “people are really suffering right now,” Sister Kay said. “The majority of migrants are good, hard-working people who simply want to live their lives in a place where they’re safe and where they can provide for their families, and where their children have an opportunity for a good education. Their hopes and dreams for their lives are the same hopes and dreams that probably all of our ancestors had when they came to the United States.”

Bishop Iffert travels to Ghana to visit family, Church and culture of African priests serving in Covington

/in

Laura Keener

Editor

A little piece of the hearts of parishioners from Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish (IHM), Burlington, now beats in Tepa, Ghana, in the form of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Technology Center. The Center, which is in the hometown of Msgr. Dominic Fosu, pastor, IHM, was made possible through donations and support from IHM parishioners. Bishop John Iffert dedicated the Center on a recent trip Ghana. The Center blessing was part of a larger trip, July 7–23, to the Archdiocese of Kumasi.

Bishop Iffert was accompanied by Msgr. Fosu, four other Ghanian priests ministering in the Diocese of Covington — Father Augustine Aidoo, pastor, St. Patrick Parish, Maysville; Father John Opoku, parochial vicar, St. Agnes Parish, Ft. Wright; and Father Samuel Owusu, parochial vicar, Mary, Queen of Heaven Parish, Erlanger — Msgr. Daniel Vogelpohl, Deacon Jim Fortner and Julie Fortner and nine IHM parishioners. All four of the Ghanian priests are from the Archdiocese of Kumasi, three of the four — Msgr. Fosu, Father Opoku and Father Owusu are from the city of Tepa.

“It was a wonderful, amazing trip. Instructive at every level,” said Bishop John Iffert.

The idea for the trip came from Bishop William Medley of the Diocese of Owensboro, Ky. In a conversation with Bishop Medley during one of the bishop’s meetings several years ago, Bishop Iffert learned that Bishop Medley had made a point of visiting the home dioceses of missionary priests ministering in Owensboro.

“He talked about what a joy it was to meet their families and have Masses in their home parishes. As soon as I heard him talk about that, I just thought, well, that is a good and right thing to do,” said Bishop Iffert in an interview with <<Messenger>> after returning from the trip.

Msgr. Fosu worked out the details of the visit with Archbishop Gabriel Justice Yaw Anokye, who proved to be eager for Bishop Iffert’s visit. Archbishop Anokye even invited Bishop Iffert to ordain five priests during the visit — four priests for the Archdiocese of Kumasi and a Redemptorist priest.

“That became the centerpiece of going there, to preside at the ordination and to visit the Archbishop, and then I also got out to visit the home parishes of these men, and to visit with their families, and to see the kinds of ministries they had done at home, and to learn about where they came from, and just to see them interact with their families and with the Church that they’re most familiar with,” said Bishop Iffert.

The Church in Ghana is “very lively and growing” Bishop Iffert said. The Archdiocese of Kumasi has 212 priests for its 72 parishes, with about another 75 priests serving outside of the country, like the four who serve in Covington.

Bishop Iffert said that the Archbishops of Ghana have taken seriously the call of Pope John Paul II who, on in his 1995 visit to Cameroon, exhorted the young Church in Africa to, “set yourselves on the path of holiness. Only thus can you be a sign of God in the world and relive in your own countries the missionary epic of the early Church. You will also be a leaven of missionary spirit … (Ecclesia in Africa 260) In the Kamasi, with the permission of Rome, priests are assigned secular jobs — professors and teachers at public universities and schools, architects, engineers, lawyers and government workers.

“The whole idea is that they will work in these offices, in these schools, and that they will never take a bribe; never ask for anything … To show up on time, work full days, and, to kind of set the example in ethics, to try to raise the bar for the whole culture,” Bishop Iffert said.

Their efforts are having a positive effect on priestly vocations. “There’s a lot of excitement, a lot of young men in seminary,” Bishop Iffert said, noting that he celebrated Mass for a high school seminary class of first- and final-year young men because the church would not hold all the students. It was estimated that 40 of the senior students would go on to college seminary and that 15 would be ordained priests. “Very lively vocational situation there,” he said.

The liturgies are equally lively. The ordination lasted over 5 hours with Sunday Masses in Tepa typically lasting 2.5 hours, with lots of singing, dancing and drumming.

“They did not just receive the Roman Catholic liturgy as an imported product,” said Bishop Iffert. “It really, at least in the central part of Ghana, they have made it their own.”

Also typical of a Ghana Mass, are several processions. During the offertory, worshipers are called by the day of their birth to dance up the aisle and present their gifts. In another procession, parish groups of women bring food, toiletries, cleaning products and anything they have that the Church would need. The items were brought to Bishop Iffert as he sat in the chair, and he touched each item in blessing. Afterward, the priests and seminarians would place the items under the altar.

“So that when you’re celebrating the Eucharist, you’re literally celebrating all the gifts that everyone had brought forward,” said Bishop Iffert. “Those gifts are used later, some help provide support for the priests and the rectory. Some of it goes out to the seminary. Some of it goes to the high schools to provide for their needs there, and others is kept by the parish to distribute to people in need. Just incredible.”

“If we brought all of that into our liturgy, it would be an import; it would not speak to us, it would be a distraction from the Consecration,” Bishop Iffert said. “But for them, it’s not. For them, it’s an expression of who they are and how they come to recognize Jesus. It’s really quite beautiful. That inculturation is part of what is encouraging the growth of the Church, is encouraging the growth in vocations, is encouraging young men and women to consider consecrated life as a real option. It’s, it’s amazing.”

A highlight was visiting the families of the priests in Tepa and Father Augustine’s family in Kumasi. “It was just a joy to visit them in their home… it was really a lovely, lovely gathering and to get to know their parents,” Bishop Iffert said.

The group also took time for some cultural experiences enjoying the local food, crossing a rope bridge, visiting art and cultural centers, the palace of the Ashanti King and meeting local artisans — weavers, printers and carvers. An especially haunting and moving was a tour of Elmina Castle — the first European slave trading post in sub-Saharan Africa.

“It was a slave dungeon, and it was where millions of people from that West African area were held captive and eventually shipped off on that middle passage. Probably half of the people who went through there died. Others were enslaved and became the beginnings of generations of chattel slavery in our country and others,” said Bishop Iffert. “It was just, it was very eye opening, and this made us aware of the other half of that equation. That was very, very moving.”

In the next year or two, Bishop Iffert plans to visit the home dioceses of the priests from India ministering in our diocese.

“I hope to make those visits and to meet their religious superiors and to meet the local churches that they’re from, and meet their families,” said Bishop Iffert. “It was well worthwhile.”

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

/in

Father Joshua Whitfield

Contributor

Last Sunday’s Gospel reading and this Sunday’s Gospel reading are really one reading. You should read them together. The teaching Jesus offers is layered and rich and radical. He is trying to liberate his disciples, liberate us. You would do well to dive deep here to hear what Jesus has to say. Chances are it will make you uncomfortable. Chances are it will be good for you, especially eternally.

Jesus has been preaching against what causes fear, about what we should really fear instead. We shouldn’t fear what can kill the body, for instance, but instead fear him who can cast the soul into hell (Lk 12:5). We shouldn’t worry about things like inheritance, money, food or possessions, for “your Father knows that you need them” (Lk 12:30).

Jesus is not telling his disciples to shun possessions or money or food completely; he is not saying that each Christian should become a beggar like St. Francis. Rather, he is talking about the proper perspective believers should have and how such perspective should order their lives. That is, unlike the birds of the air or the lilies of the field, human beings have an eternal destiny to account for and prepare for.

What Jesus is trying to do is to get his listeners to focus on one treasure rather than another. That is, he is saying that when we fail to account for eternity, for the kingdom of God, our fear will too likely cause us to store up treasures for ourselves to hedge against the future. Which is plainly foolish, Jesus says; for once you’re dead, he asks, “the things you have prepared, whose will they be” (Lk 12:20-21)?

Instead, Jesus tells his disciples to focus on “a treasure in the heavens that does not fail” (Lk 12:33). And you do that, Jesus says, by selling your possessions and giving alms (Lk 12:32).

Here Jesus is simply underlining good rabbinic wisdom, wisdom almost completely forgotten today. It is the wisdom found in Proverbs 10:2 and 11:4, the idea that wealth “does not profit in the day of wrath” but that only “almsgiving delivers from death.” The notion of a treasury in heaven is thoroughly Jewish; Jesus didn’t pull it out of thin air. “Store up almsgiving in your treasury, and it will rescue you from all affliction” (Sir 29:12).

This, simply and radically, is what Jesus teaches, but with an emphasis and urgency befitting the advent of the Messiah: “it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom,” he says (Lk 12:32). These words have the same punch to them as those he spoke at Nazareth at the beginning of his ministry, that “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk 4:21).

What Jesus is saying is that his disciples are to enact the ethics of the kingdom now, to sell possessions now and to give alms now. “I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon,” Jesus will later say, “so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal habitations” (Lk 16:9).

This is not something to put off, Jesus clearly teaches, for that’s the warning of the parable of the rich fool (Lk 12:20). Disciples are meant to begin heaven now not simply by believing in Jesus but also by living as he taught us to live as sharers with one another and as friends with the poor.

Now we may understand better the strange ethics found in Acts, why the first Christians “had all things in common,” selling their possessions and distributing goods “as any had need” (Acts 2:44-45). Now we know why Luke said of that community, “There was not any one needy among them” (Acts 4:34).

These first Christians were simply being faithful to Jesus’ rabbinic teaching made real and contemporary by his continued Messianic presence in the community, the same Messianic presence we believe is present in the church today. The kingdom has been given in Christ today too, so what are we waiting for? Why aren’t we sharing our possessions now?

Which is the question, I said at the beginning, would make you uncomfortable. But I also said it may just save you, eternally at least. And please know how serious the question is: Why aren’t you sharing your possessions now?

Please don’t make the mistake of thinking this is not a question immediately connected to your salvation. Please don’t think you can get into heaven while ignoring this question, passing it off with excuse after excuse.

The whole wisdom of the Scripture, the clear teaching of Jesus, can’t be set aside. The matter is urgent. As St. Basil the Great preached once, “Think reasonably about that which is and that which shall come, and what you might lose through shameful profit.”

Really, I can’t say anything more chilling or truer than that. Just that maybe it harrows the soul to think of so many Christians who ignore such teaching, so weighed down by their possessions, unaware how eternally weighed down they really are.

Father Joshua J. Whitfield is pastor of St. Rita Catholic Community in Dallas.

The new chimeras have arrived ready to take their spots atop the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption

/in

Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

Two years ago, the twenty-six chimera which lined the top of the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, were removed as part of the Cathedral restoration initiative. Now, their new and improved counterparts have arrived, ready to reclaim their spots atop the Cathedral.

The new chimera, perfect replicas of the ones removed, were made by Boston Valley Terra Cota, New York, and arrived in late July. In order to perfectly replicate the ones removed, 3D scans were taken, and from those scans foam molds were made, which were cast to make a hollow mold, from which they created the new chimera.

“There’s a lot of hard work,” said Don Knochelmann, director, Buildings and Properties Office for the Diocese of Covington, “there’s a team of artists that put all the really fine detail; the wrinkles in the elephant’s skin and all the different things, that’s all done by hand.”

Father Ryan Maher, rector, Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption said about seeing the new chimera, “I was excited to see them up close, to see the incredible level of detail that the artist put into replicating the former chimera.”

Previously, each chimera weighed approximately 270 pounds, having at one point been filled with concrete. Each new chimera weighs only 170 pounds and are hollow. Mr. Knochelmann, suspects the old chimera, which were originally hollow as well, were filled in an attempt to elongate their life.

“Our understanding from the design team is that doing that actually shortens their life,” said Mr. Knochelmann, “because the concrete and terracotta didn’t expand at the same rate.”

While the talented team at Boston Valley Terra Cotta created the chimera, Trisco Construction will be the ones installing them.

“The workmen, to see day by day the details that they pay attention to do this restoration, every millimeter matters, every inch matters. Being here every day and being able to see them exercise the care, the diligence, the hard work, using their expertise, their God given talents, to do these small, very important restoration pieces, I’ve really enjoyed seeing that unfold,” said Father Maher.

He continued saying, “we’re doing something for the Lord, for all the Catholics in the area, all of the non-Catholics in the area, anybody who comes. We’re doing a great work of service in the Lord with his help to make sure this cathedral is here for generations, and that this type of work doesn’t have to be done for a long time.”

The replacement of the twenty-six chimera is one piece of the larger Restored in Christ Campaign, which seeks to restore the Cathedral façade and architectural structure. To learn more, go to covcathedral.com/restored-in-christ/.

Bishop Foys says thank you

/in

My dear Friends in Christ,

Although there are no words adequate enough to express the gratitude I have for the celebration of my 80th birthday, I nonetheless want to attempt to express my profound gratitude. I am especially grateful to our Bishop John Iffert for proposing this celebration and for the many other kindnesses he has shown to me since his arrival in the Diocese. I am likewise grateful to the committee that oversaw the festivities, to all those who were instrumental in preparing for the celebration in any way as well as to all those who attended, to those who sent cards, gifts. and expressions of support.

The celebration was overwhelming for me, and I will never forget it. As I grow older, I appreciate more and more the many gifts the Lord has bestowed on me throughout my lifetime. I thank Him for the gift of life, for a wonderful loving family, for parents who passed the faith on to me by their example, for the gift of the priesthood and the episcopacy, for the gift of good friends, for the priests and faithful with whom I have ministered and served to be best of my ability.

So, although it is inadequate, please accept my gratitude. Thank you! Let us pray for one another. God bless you!

​​​​​Yours devotedly and gratefully in the Lord,

​​​​​Most Rev. Roger Joseph Foys, D.D.

​​​​​Bishop Emeritus of Covington

Concert at St. Mary’s Park honors Bishop Foys 80th birthday

/in

Laura Keener

Editor

On a hot and humid evening, over 200 people gathered, July 25, at St. Mary’s Park, Covington, to celebrate the 80th birthday of Bishop Emeritus Roger Foys. The concert celebration was hosted by Bishop John Iffert and included live music by the Pete Wagner Band with Nancy James.

“It is my pleasure to be able to welcome you,” said Bishop Iffert as the concert began. Quoting from Psalm 90, Bishop Iffert said, “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures.” (10)

“There is no surprise to us that Bishop Roger Foys is strong,” Bishop Iffert said. “He led us here in the Diocese of Covington for 20 years, a quarter of his life. Before those 20 years, he spent another 20 years as vicar general at the Diocese of Steubenville. For half of his life Bishop Foys has been carrying the weight of leadership at a diocesan level in the life of the Church. We pray that we will have many more birthdays to celebrate with you, Bishop Foys.”

A highlight of the evening was the presentation of the birthday cake accompanied by six Margaret Mary Foys Ciesla scholarship recipients. The Margaret Mary Foys Ciesla ACUE Scholarship Fund was established by Bishop Foys and is named in honor of his sister, who died from pancreatic cancer not long after his installation as Bishop of Covington. Another highlight was a musical tribute by the Bishop’s Choir, a parody on the Andy Griffith Show’s “Welcome Sweet Springtime,” led by Greg Schaffer.

Speakers included Dale Henson, the diocese’s former Chief Financial Officer who worked with Bishop Foys for over a decade and Father Joey Shelton, former secretary to Bishop Foys.

Mr. Henson praised Bishop Foys for his commitment to Catholic education, especially in formalizing and centralizing the Alliance for Catholic Urban Education Consortium.

“This new model introduced elements of consistency and operational efficiency that allowed for the realization of significant cost savings,” Mr. Henson said. “His forethought in the formation and support of ACUE absolutely saved our inner-city schools and has allowed them to continue serving our community and transmitting the faith to hundreds of students over the years.”

Mr. Henson also commended Bishop Foys for his commitment to vocations by, early on, making the vocations promoter a full-time position.

“Bishop Foys himself was active in the diocese’s pursuit of good men for the priesthood. That increased focus had a profound impact on the number of men discerning for the priesthood in our diocese,” he said mentioning that at one time during his tenure, 28 men were studying for the priesthood and Bishop Foys ordained 42 men to the priesthood. “Today over 60 percent of our active diocesan priests were ordained by Bishop Foys. That’s a true testament to his love of the Church, the priesthood and our diocese.”

Father Shelton also affirmed Bishop Foys commitment to his priests. “Bishop Foys is a priest’s bishop,” Father Shelton said. “If a priest needed something – anything at all – Bishop Foys would do everything in his power to get that priest what he needed … He was always there to provide support and encouragement to those priests whose vocations he fostered … Bishop Foys loves the priesthood and during his time as our chief shepherd we knew and felt his love for us.”

In his remarks, Bishop Iffert recalled his first conversation with Bishop Foys just minutes after speaking with the nuncio calling him to Covington.

“From the very first moments he was supportive, encouraging, reassuring … from the very first moments he expressed his happiness to welcome me and to support me in this transition. That’s the graciousness of this man. That is who Bishop Foys is and has been to so many. It is why we are all so eager to be here tonight to wish him a happy birthday and to celebrate these 80 years of life,” Bishop Iffert said.

Bishop Foys ended the presentation in deep gratitude.

“To all of you who came I am very, very grateful,” said Bishop Foys. “I am grateful for all the outpouring of support, and encouragement and love that came from you these past 23 years. Know that I love you and pray for you every day and will continue to do so. I ask, please, that you pray for me. My sincere gratitude to Bishop Iffert who spearheaded this gathering — this is the kind and wonderful person that he is.”

For a related article go to https://covdio.org/foysbirthdaythankyou/.