An Actual Man for Others

I’m a storyteller. I love to tell stories. Sometimes they’re about real things that have happened to me— like that time I (accidentally) bought a hotdog from a homeless man. Other times, I hear a story somewhere else, and because it made me laugh, or cry, or inspired me, I become convinced that other people need to hear it. That’s the case with the story I’m going to tell now: the story of Pier Giorgio Frassati. When I heard Pier Giorgio’s story, I became convinced that it needed to be heard by everyone I knew, especially college students. I can’t promise that it’ll be better than the hotdog story, but I still think it’s worth telling.

Pier Giorgio Frassati was born in the Italian city of Turin in 1901. I’m tempted to say he was born in the summer, but in all honesty, I’m not entirely sure, and it’s really not that important. His father, Alfredo, was the founder of a prominent newspaper, and would become a senator and ambassador. His mother, Adelaide, was a relatively successful painter. The family was wealthy, popular, and relatively normal. Despite being Italian, the Frassati’s weren’t especially religious. Alfredo was an agnostic, and Adelaide was a lukewarm Catholic. Which is what made Pier Giorgio such a mystery. 

From a young age, Alfredo and Adelaide’s son was oddly and inexplicably religious. He liked praying and going to church, and he would often give food, money, and even his own shoes to the beggars who’d come to the Frassati mansion. Realizing that his parents looked on his religiosity with an air of confusion bordering on concern, Pier Giorgio decided to take his charitable activities underground. He gave to beggars, joined prayer groups, and bought medicine for children in the slums. Alfredo and Adelaide, resigning themselves to the fact that they’d never quite understand their son, didn’t ask questions about how Pier Giorgio spent his free time— or his allowance. Pier Giorgio was okay with that. In fact, after giving his bus money away, he’d run several miles home so he’d be on time for dinner. 

But Pier Giorgio wasn’t just a little religious zealot. He was handsome, popular, and rambunctious. He was a skilled mountain climber, a terrible musician, and a mediocre student. His friends called themselves the Tipi Loschi, or shady characters, and got kicked out of a Catholic youth group for being too rowdy. People adored Pier Giorgio, and when he walked through the slums, children ran into the street and hugged him. He joked with everyone, sang lines from Dante, and constantly smiled. He also financially supported countless families in Turin by convincing the people he encountered to give him money. 

One day, a family friend informed Pier Giorgio’s mother that the priests had been preaching about her son. He, of course, denied it. And so life went on, with Pier Giorgio serving dozens of families. When the time came to go to school, Pier Giorgio decided that, instead of taking over his father’s newspaper, he would become a mining engineer so that he could evangelize the miners. His family was, understandably, flabbergasted.

When he was twenty-four years old and two weeks away from graduating from college, Pier Giorgio caught an aggressive strain of polio, likely from someone in the slums. Within three days, Pier Giorgio’s legs were totally paralyzed. Unfortunately, his grandmother was dying in the room next to him. Unwilling to distract his family from her, he said nothing about the paralysis quickly taking hold of his body. When he couldn’t make it to his grandmother’s funeral, his parents complained that he was just being selfish. They had no idea that he only had a couple of days left to live.

On the fourth day of Pier Giorgio’s illness, his family finally realized how sick he was. They called in teams of doctors, but to no avail. Meanwhile, Pier Giorgio was frantically writing notes to his friends. His notes were instruction sheets, telling them where they could find food or medicine, and to whom they should bring it. Even in his last days, his primary concern was others. On the fifth day of Pier Giorgio’s illness, the Cardinal of Turin showed up to visit him. Confused, his parents sent the prelate away. 

Finally, after six days of illness, on July 4th, 1925, Pier Giorgio Frassati died. Within hours, the Frassati manor was surrounded by people—homeless, the destitute, the abandoned—trying to get in. Pier Giorgio’s sister, Luciana, urged her parents to let the strangers in.

People poured in silently, and the crowds streamed into Pier Giorgio’s bedroom. They began to kneel in front of his body, venerating this amazing young man. “And that,” recalls Luciana, “was when Mama and Poppa realized that their son was a saint.”

Pier Giorgio’s story yields several crucial lessons, especially for students on a college campus. First, Pier Giorgio’s story speaks to a question that lies in the heart of almost everyone: how do I live a meaningful life? We often fall into the trap of thinking that if we just network enough, take a fifth class, pull more all-nighters, and commit to more extracurriculars, then we can live a good life. Pier Giorgio reminds us that that isn’t true: greatness is achieved by leading from behind, by serving the least among us, and not by seeking a reward or constant validation. People fell in love with Pier Giorgio because he loved them first, regardless of whether or not it benefitted him. Pier Giorgio exemplifies the paradox of greatness: by lowering himself down, by spending his time among the rejected and the destitute, he became great.

His story is also a story of sacrifice, and it points to something that our society seems to be forgetting: the necessity and value of suffering. So often, we run away from discomfort. I’m no different: I hate being cold, hungry, tired, or sore. Society as a whole seems obsessed with making suffering disappear, a crusade that manifests itself in the quest for immortality, the emergence of safe spaces, and a push for universal healthcare. Pier Giorgio’s life was marked by suffering. Not only did his family misunderstand him, but his mother prevented him from marrying a young woman he had fallen in love with. He bore it patiently. He also routinely stayed up all night in prayer, woke up early for Mass, fasted, and endured long, arduous mountain climbs. His last six days were marked by excruciating suffering which he bore patiently. His willingness to suffer wasn’t masochistic. It was a sign of authentic love. Pier Giorgio understood that love demands suffering. Love isn’t just a fuzzy feeling, a warm emotion, or something we do when we feel like it. It’s hard. It’s gritty. Love is what gets a dad out of bed at three in the morning to clean up his daughter’s vomit. It’s what drives a mom to take on more shifts to support her family. It’s what pushes a husband to persevere for his bride, and vice versa. It’s no wonder that, in a world driven by a desire to eliminate suffering, the divorce rate is skyrocketing, relationships are falling apart, and love seems hard to find. Pier Giorgio is a testament to the enduring value of suffering.

In some ways, Pier Giorgio’s life may seem remote, unrelatable, or unattainable. But he wasn’t so different from all of us. Not really. And his life is a testament to what our lives have the potential to be: full, vibrant, loving, and glorious. There’s so much talk about toxic masculinity, or what it means to be a “woman or a man for and with others.” Pier Giorgio reminds us what a man for others really is: a man consumed by love.

Meatfree Monday in Kimball: Proof of Actual Demonic Activity on Campus

People don’t like to talk about demons. They think it’ll make them sound crazy, or worse, religious. And yet Holy Cross has some rather odd ties to the demonic. For one, there’s the rampant rumor that an exorcism happened on campus. This claim would seem absurd if it weren’t for the locked room in O’Kane that everyone calls “The Exorcism Room”, and the Jesuits’ historic ties to exorcisms. To thicken the plot, Dinand Archives set up a special Halloween display with a crucifix and a book in Latin—sure signs that something suspicious is afoot—while implying that there may or may not be a section of the archives devoted entirely to exorcisms. Spooky. Nonetheless, since no one seems willing to confirm or deny whether or not an exorcism actually took place, it all seems like a dead end. But now, for better or worse, students can divert their attention away from the Exorcism Room because there is new evidence of demonic activity on campus: Meatfree Monday in Kimball.

In response to a rather unsurprising U.N. statement warning the world about imminent environmental catastrophes, the Student Government Association (SGA) teamed up with Dining Services to try to help the environment by reducing meat consumption. The result was the decision to create Meatfree Monday; on Monday, October 29th, they removed all the meat from Kimball and served only vegetarian options. To give more weight to the whole thing, SGA also referenced Laudato Si, Pope Francis’ encyclical that warns about the dangers of climate change. (As a side note, I’m still waiting for SGA to send an email about the dangers of Pelagianism, which Pope Francis warns about extensively in his newest encyclical, Gaudete et Exultate.)

At the same time, it isn’t initially clear how not eating meat will prevent the world from lighting on fire. After all, signs in Kimball pointed out that animal waste was creating a serious environmental impact. But logically, it seems like the best way to get a cow to stop defecating is to eat the cow. Vegetarianism, on the other hand, would just mean that the cows would live longer, poop more, and make more cow babies, and as a result, the world would burn faster. Meatfree Monday, then, makes no sense. But is it going too far to call it demonic? Perhaps not.  

Recognizing that real demonology was above my paygrade, I reached out to James Dooley, a junior at the College, who once took a class on demons. (In all honesty, James wasn’t my first choice, but since no exorcist would return my emails, he’ll have to do.) When asked whether demonic influence was involved in the Meatfree Monday incident, James nodded. “I’m really of the opinion that most carbs are a gateway to pure evil,” said Dooley. “Meatfree Monday just means more carbs.” James also pointed out rather astutely that salt is often used to scare demons away, and meat is often salty. “It really could just be a ploy to limit the amount of salt so more demons can get in,” James said, noting that with less salt and more demons, the school could be exposed to even more horror, like entire weeks of vegetarianism. Extra spooky. To James’s first point, Kimball’s vegetarian substitutes were a little odd, albeit sometimes delicious. One student, who commented anonymously, said, “Meatfree Monday? More like Cheese Monday?” The student noted that almost all the meat was replaced by dairy products, like grilled cheese, cheese quesadillas, and cheese lasagna. Given the high percentage of adults who cannot process dairy, this seems problematic, both for students and for the maintenance people who clean bathrooms on campus.

Seth Sullivan, a sophomore, also thought that demons were somehow involved. “I’m not entirely sure how,” he said, pointing out that he was actually an atheist. “But hey, you don’t have to believe in God to know when something really messed up is going on. I think demons may be a logical explanation.”  

That makes me uneasy. Now, once again, it may not be air-tight proof that actual demons are lurking in Kimball, but if even an atheist can recognize that the devil is involved… that isn’t good. Looking for more evidence, I turned to God. It makes sense: if God is somehow supportive of Meatfree Monday, then it can’t be demonic. Now, it was hard to find a definite statement for God. At least Biblically, God was pro-meat. St. Paul told the Romans that, “One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables” (Romans 14:2). That’s not looking so hot for Meatfree Monday. But if that wasn’t enough, I started to think logically. God gave us opposable thumbs (which are somehow part of hunting). He also gave us teeth, and He made bacon delicious. Now I’m not a math major, but this seems simple: thumbs + teeth + delicious bacon = God wants us to eat meat. In fact, one could go so far as to say that not eating meat is a form of ingratitude, since we are not using the meat-eating skills God gave us. And since St. Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits, considered ingratitude the root of all sin, vegetarianism could properly be viewed as a gateway sin. “First you’re not eating meat,” said a Jesuit who asked to remain anonymous. “Next thing you know, you’re blowing up orphanages.”

Definitely demonic.

All of this points to something super spooky. Hopefully, administration will take the right steps, contact the proper authorities, and end this nonsense once and for all.

To Honor Christmas and Keep It All the Year

Amidst the whirlwind of the holiday season, it may be a bit of a cliché to say that “we’ve lost the true spirit of Christmas.” This concept of “the true spirit of Christmas” requires some reflection. While Christmas has mostly become a secular holiday season from an outsider’s perspective, it is impossible to have Christmas without Christ. It is not worn-out to say that Jesus is the reason for the season, because all of the good that comes from Christmas time originates with the birth of Christ. It is crucial to define that the Son of God was brought into this world to save us from ourselves. This Spirit of Christmas is the theme of redemption in which humanity was saved from its ways through the sacrifice of Christ. With this in mind, the purpose of this piece is not to gush over the Nativity. It is to look at one staple of the Christmas season that reflects the redemption of Christ in the holiday season: A Christmas Carol.

These two stories (i.e. Christ’s birth and A Christmas Carol) have been associated with the Christmas season for good reason. They are appealing stories that pull at the heartstrings, and their pull comes from the arc of redemption that is at their core. The redeemed individual from A Christmas Carol is Ebenezer Scrooge. With Scrooge being a, “a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner” he isn’t exactly the most attractive character, and history has thus associated his name with a hatred for the season. I would argue that the title of being a Scrooge should be reclaimed, for he is an example of the spirit of Christmas, redemption through love, which is ultimately a result of Christ’s birth.

How is Ebenezer Scrooge a role model in any way? Wasn’t he the miser that tried to ruin Christmas for everyone? The importance in the role of Scrooge is to show the worst in humanity. Scrooge was not a murderer, a thief, or a monster. He was a man whose heart was hardened by greed, loneliness, and apathy. Scrooge was so miserable that no one, not a beggar nor a child, would reach out to him for any favors or kindness. There is a lesson to be seen in Stave One of A Christmas Carol: we are most alone when we close ourselves off from others. Scrooge demonstrates the sentiments of his inhumanity by seeing the poor as useless, a burden on the population, unless they are put to work. He seems like a lost cause, so what did he do to deserve the intervention of Marley and the Three Ghosts?

It is in this question that we find the Spirit of Christmas through the birth of Christ the Redeemer. We are sinful people. While not inherently monsters, we can become hardened to the suffering of the poor or become deaf to well-wishes of others. Scrooge wasn’t a monster, but he was certainly a difficult case. We must realize that Christ came to save even the hard of heart and the lost causes. Throughout the rest of A Christmas Carol we can see that Scrooge was never a lost cause; he just needed to be guided. This guidance comes with doubts, with a ‘humbug’ and all, as Scrooge doubts his senses by likening Marley to food poisoning and the wails of London’s lost souls to the product of sleep deprivation.

It is in the Ghost of Christmas Past that Scrooge begins to seek his redemption and the audience begins to see why Scrooge became such a jaded wretch. We begin to glimpse his humanity when we see, during a vision of his childhood, how, “Scrooge sat down upon a form, and wept to see his poor forgotten self as he used to be.” We see Scrooge become saddened when recalling the death of his sister, the joy he experiences with his former employer Fezziwig, and his heartbreak when the love of his life leaves him after prioritizing his wealth out of fear of poverty. When we reflect on our lives and we look at our shortcomings and failures, it is easy to look at God and echo Scrooge in saying, “Why do you delight to torture me?” We beg these feelings to go away, but we will not be able to save ourselves from our misery unless we can process our hardships.

In the Ghost of Christmas Present, we can see a Scrooge that has accepted his lot and is much more willing to take part in his redemption. It is in the first few moments of meeting that Scrooge submits to this Spirit, saying, “conduct me where you will…to-night if you have aught to teach me, let me profit by it.” There is no more humbug; instead, a willingness to go along in his soul’s redemption is present. Scrooge ends up at Bob Cratchit’s house because the Ghost of Christmas Present is the spirit of sympathy and kindness to the poorest of society. When Scrooge is able to watch the Cratchit family, he is able to see that the poor faces and they have their own lives. Scrooge becomes an active participant in the lives of the poor by being concerned with the fate of Tiny Tim. I believe that the turning point of A Christmas Carol and Scrooge’s redemption comes when the Ghost of Christmas Present responds with Scrooge’s own dismissal of the poor, after which “Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the Spirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief.” We see the mercy and love of Christ in Bob Cratchit, who raises a toast to honor Scrooge as the one who founded the joy of their Christmas dinner. Cratchit does not care to see the evil in men, and rather delights in the good and the joy that exist in every human being. This spirit is still present when Scrooge and the Ghost visit Scrooge’s nephew, Fred, who will not speak ill of his uncle despite their disagreements. Fred believes that he can help to save Scrooge by showing him kindness, visiting every year around Christmas to wish him well and share in the joy of the season. Finally, Scrooge sees the children of Man – Ignorance and Want – with the former being the most dangerous, for ignorance will bring doom to humanity unless it is erased through recognition and care. After these events, we see a penitent Scrooge ready for the final ghost.

In the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, we see a Scrooge that reflects upon his mortality and his legacy. Scrooge witnesses a man very similar to him having his garments stolen and being, essentially, grave-robbed. These individuals aren’t mourners; rather, they take advantage of no one caring about his estate. The only ones who care about Scrooge’s death, shown by the Spirit, are people who are going through a debt crisis because of him. Scrooge needs to witness kindness through death, and sees the grief of the Cratchit family after the death of Tiny Tim. The reminder of death, the memento mori, is an important detail to this Stave because Scrooge is shown his own grave, prompting the realization that all of the malice shown towards the other man was really meant for him. It is in this part that we see the redemption of Christ in Scrooge’s vow to live out the ideals of Christmas for the rest of his life. With Christ as the foundation of the Christmas season, Scrooge is essentially vowing to become like Christ. We are called to honor Christmas and to live in the Past, Present, and the Future. Ultimately, this calling is to be a Scrooge.

In the End of It, we can see that Scrooge is good on his word. Scrooge awakens with a new approach of life in which he states, “I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy. I am as giddy as a drunken man.” Scrooge is certain that it was all real and is certain in the fact that his soul was saved that night. He buys the prize turkey for the Cratchit family, he donates significant amounts of money to the poor, he becomes a better uncle to Fred, he increases Bob’s salary while providing benefits, and he becomes like a second father to Tiny Tim. Perhaps the most important part of A Christmas Carol is the statement that “Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more” which is reassuring to an audience that may question the effectiveness of this journey. The ending to A Christmas Carol is extremely powerful because we see Scrooge embodying the Christmas Spirit in the rest of his days, and this means that Scrooge is living an actively Christian lifestyle, emulating the work of Christ. As it is observed in the end, “he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed that knowledge” and, as such, to keep Christmas well would be to show the mercy, love, and charity of Christ.

What can be learned from A Christmas Carol? It is a story of redemption, which is a theme of Christmas, but we can actively see a man go from cruelty to compassion. To be a Scrooge is to be someone who recognizes his own faults and is able to be redeemed by emulating the Christmas season, which means emulating Christ. It is more than just a Christmas tale; it is a message of redemption that encapsulates the true meaning of Christmas without ever overtly stating it. The reader is left to interpret the redemption of Scrooge. We can wonder, “am I worth redeeming? Am I able to change? How can I live Christmas in my heart and keep it all the year?” While we may not have the love of these Christmas ghosts to reach out directly to us, we do have Christ and His Church doing that already and always welcoming us to join them. Will we call this life a “humbug” or will we let ourselves profit from Christ’s mercy? May we be like Scrooge every day of our life, and as is fitting for any commentary on A Christmas Carol, God bless Us, Every One.

An Open Letter on the Church and Abuse

By Jack Rosenwinkel '21, Representing the Review's Staff

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

In the beginning of St. John’s Gospel, it is written: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (1:5). In these months of darkness following widespread revelations of abuse within the Catholic Church and on our campus, John’s words gain a deep relevance. Darkness, pain and confusion are everywhere. It seems, at times, as if John was wrong, as if the darkness has finally overwhelmed the light.

At the Fenwick Review, we felt that we had to say something. At the same time, we grew sick of hearing scripted apologies, cagey legal defenses, and words that seemed shallow, insincere, and ill-equipped to affect actual change. We wondered how we could possibly respond to the crisis in an adequate, thoughtful and loving way. How could we condemn systemic abuse and its coverup without sounding redundant or obvious? How could we verbalize our love, admiration and support for victims without sounding hollow? And how could mere words do anything to bring healing, justice or hope?

Confronted with these questions, we at the Fenwick Review have come to the conclusion that, even though this letter will likely fall short, silence is no longer an option. It was the silence of bystanders, bishops and other Church authorities that perpetuated abuse and made victims feel isolated. As a publication, we feel responsible to help break the silence surrounding abuse. Speaking out is the first step toward real reform, change and justice. We at the Fenwick Review are committed to using our voice to call bishops to accountability, to cry for justice, and to speak up for the silenced. More than anything, we are committed to voicing our support for all victims of abuse. We also want to acknowledge that courageous victims were the first to break the silence and expose the evil that has slowly been infecting the Church.

We want all victims of abuse to know that they possess an inherent, inalienable human dignity. We affirm this dignity, and wish to remind all victims, and those they love, of the numerous resources on campus that can aid in the healing process. Anyone who wishes to discuss sexual abuse can reach out to the chaplain’s office, the counseling center, or in the case of an emergency, to Public Safety. SGA, Fr. Boroughs and the College Chaplains sent out school-wide emails with resources for victims, as well as opportunities for dialogue and healing. More information can be found in these emails and on the Holy Cross website.

We also want to express our frustration with every Catholic Bishop who participated in abuse or its cover-up, through action or inaction. The Fenwick Review is a Catholic publication that often defends the Church and her teachings. Our founder, Fr. Paul Scalia, is now a Catholic priest. It is because of, not despite, our Catholic identity that we call our Bishops to reform. In any other institution, child abuse and coverup would never be tolerated. So why is such evil permitted in Christ’s Church? Why are some of our bishops– the very shepherds tasked with risking their lives to protect their flock– complacent in the face of horror? We demand justice, reform, and authentic sanctification. We demand more than apologies; we demand sympathy and understanding. And now, more than ever, we need leaders: real leaders willing to imitate Christ and die in order to protect their people.

Finally, we have a message for our peers on the Hill. First, we want to express a message of hope. Healing is possible. Justice will come. Reforms are on the way. Abuse is like a cancer or an infection within the Church. The first step to effectively rooting out the cancer or infection is a diagnosis. Without a diagnosis, treatment is impossible. The Grand Jury diagnosed a cancer within the Church, which is a tremendous step in the right direction, even though it has been tremendously painful and confusing. In Luke 8:17 we are told, “Whatever is hidden away will be brought out into the open, and whatever is covered up will be found and brought to light.” The Grand Jury report effectively brought what was hidden out into the open, giving victims a voice, naming abusers, and forcing the Church to take action. Through the courage of the members of the Grand Jury and victims of abuse, evil has finally been exposed.

Second, we wish to remind our fellow students that they are not powerless. Here are three practical steps that lay Catholics can take to shift the Church in the right direction:

Support victims. It is likely that we all know victims of abuse, whether we are aware of their abuse or not. It is imperative that we love and support one another, especially because we do not know if someone or someone they love has been abused. We also caution you to not let your anger– though justified– distract you from loving the people God puts in your life.

Contact your Bishop. Bishops are not mythical creatures or far-off men hidden away in magical towers. They are priests whose entire job is to guide the people living in their diocese. They want to hear from you. Write letters, call their office, encourage them, and remind them that even after the media storm blows over, you will not ignore or forget the crime of clerical abuse.

Finally, pray. Too many people write off prayer as an excuse for inaction. Prayer and action are not mutually exclusive. So work, advocate, and love, but also pray: for victims, for their loved ones, for the Church, and for all abusers. After all, we all need Jesus.

Allegedly, Napoleon once captured the pope and promised to destroy the Catholic Church. The pope responded, “We’ve been trying to destroy the Church for 1,800 years and we haven’t succeeded, what makes you think you can do it now?” Amusing as it is, this anecdote is a powerful reminder of the way that Christ is at work: after 2,000 years of scandal, abuse, corruption and sin, the Catholic Church is still standing. St. John was right: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (1:5). There is still hope, even in this time of darkness.

Brothers and sisters, hold tightly to Christ. It’s the only way to get through this storm.

Sincerely,

The Staff of The Fenwick Review

A Cause for Celebration

In the beginning of chapter 3 of the Book of Ecclesiastes, the prophet states: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven”. As we move through a multitude of crises – on our campus, in our Church, in our government – it is only fitting that we discern what “time” envelops us and our actions. Most, I suppose, would reply with “a time to speak” from Ecclesiastes 3:7. “We have to vote. We have to be heard. We have to muster up the courage to say what hasn’t been said before, and we need to stand our ground.”

That, of course, is unequivocally true. Whether regarding sexual abuse, scandals within the Church, or dissatisfaction with the government, we ought to voice our concerns. Silence lets open wounds fester. And thus, many discontented voices flutter about in the air like bats on the wing: those of mourning, those of loss, those of hatred, those of warrishness and weeping and gnashing of teeth. On either side of the aisle – Democrat or Republican, atheistic or theistic, women or men, destitute or swimming in money, you name the divisions – finding someone who doesn’t admire speech is rather difficult.

Yet I must raise a question. Since when must speaking only entertain the wrongness in the world? Why must there be so much denigration and bitterness? To those of you speaking and fighting for your convictions: by all means, continue to do so! I have no desire to dissuade you, and I encourage you to continue debating. But in Ecclesiastes the verse’s juxtaposition is “a time to be silent, and a time to speak” (3:7). The prophet does not specify the qualifications for speech and silence, only that each has its time. I think that, in this time of speech, what we are desperately, wretchedly missing is a voice of joy and celebration.

Celebration, in our current climes, might seem out of place. Take James Christie’s resignation from the College, for example. You must wonder: how can we celebrate after the revelation that a man, who was much-admired by many of our students, sexually abused others? Can we celebrate knowing that some of our loved ones have been harmed by someone we trusted? Consider also that, in the wake of Christie’s departure, Holy Cross has met with its 175thanniversary. At a celebratory Mass with His Eminence Sean Cardinal O’Malley, belting out hymns in St. Joseph Chapel, I am sure that many of us could not help but let the darkness of scandal simmer in the back of our minds. At the picnic outside of Kimball afterwards, many of us must have wondered who will teach the choir in Christie’s absence.

The same goes for the recent resignation of Cardinal Donald Wuerl from his position in the clerical hierarchy. Can we celebrate the Church, knowing that a vast web of abuse and sly coverups have been hidden inside the chapel woodwork for years on end? When we enter our own parishes, can we look up at the kindly faces of our priests with the same reverence and respect? During October’s Synod on the Youth, Faith, and Vocational Discernment, we youth – and the families and friends who support us – cannot help but let our perceptions be colored by the pain of the Church.

Even in the wake of such scandals (and the wake of Kavanaugh’s confirmation, but for more on that subject, please refer to Mr. Smith’s article), I believe that there is space for joy and celebration. We can, first, be joyful that justice is finally being served in places where there was once a drought. We can also celebrate our College’s 175th anniversary. Even with its stains, Holy Cross has given us grand opportunities and grander futures. Charging our voices with bitterness in lieu of appreciation will keep us from seeing the picture in full. Having magnificent professors is worth our joy. Having a beautiful chapel and the capacity for daily Mass is worth our joy. Having a student body with many intelligent young men and women who strive for the good of society is worth our joy. We ought to do our best to recognize what has been uncharacteristically unjust or foolish, but we should not let those problems make us cynical pessimists.

Christ did not put us into the world to be harbingers of doom and prophets of horrible things to come. He granted us our lives so that we might love like He did, sacrifice like He did, and bring other people to the Lord. That may, sometimes, require us to use our speech for fraternal correction. But it might be more fitting for us, before correcting each other, to recognize that we are first brothers and sisters. Our sheer existence within the will of God is cause for celebration, as are our relationships to one another. All our present scandals, in fact, can be traced to misconstrued relationships among God’s people, a lack of respect for each other, and capitalization on weakness and strife. I do not wish that our voices be used to propagate that strife.

Instead, I call you to look at the world, your community, your family, with unclouded eyes. There is much that we can give thanks for. To you fathers and mothers: the children you have raised with devotion, the dinners together and the laughs shared over their first steps – these are cause for celebration. To you students here: the multitude of classes you can choose from, the status of Holy Cross as a top-tier liberal arts college, even your ability to receive higher education – these are cause for celebration. To you alumni: Holy Cross, in its days of glory and darkling hours, has granted you wonderful futures, and it soon shall do the same for us – so this is a cause for celebration.

Our world, unfortunately, has quite enough toil and trouble in it. While those voices of discontent can fill the sky with a cacophony as tremendous as a roosting flock of sparrows in autumn, remember that fresh air does good for one’s constitution. Taking a moment to appreciate our blessings and celebrate them would benefit each and every one of us.

The Triumph of the Holy Rosary

Pope Leo XIII said that “the rosary is the most excellent form of prayer and the most efficacious means of attaining eternal life”. Popes throughout the centuries and the greatest of saints have spoken of the marvels of this prayer in bringing souls to Christ through His Mother. Leo XIII promoted October as the month of the rosary; as October is the prime month for farmers’ harvests, so too may the rosary be the way in which souls are harvested.

In attestation to the power of the holy rosary, God has shown us great miracles throughout the ages. Many have heard of the tremendous miracles attributed to the Blessed Virgin Mary’s intercession at Fatima, Lourdes, and Lepanto (but if you have not, look them up!). Such events to this day astound historians and scientists, leaving no explanation except for the miraculous. There are also many lesser-known miracles that are just as astounding. Here, I will tell of two.

The Battle of Muret

The Albigensians were a neo-Manichean sect of heretics that were prominent in southern France during the 12th and 13th centuries. They were a violent opposition that denied the Incarnation of Christ, and their ideas were growing rapidly.

A man named Dominic Guzman of Spain (St. Dominic) was a great opponent to the Albigensians and would preach from village to village about the errors of their heresy, while simultaneously proclaiming the truth of incarnational Christianity. His efforts, however, were a failure. Despite the fact that he was well-educated and a great orator, he could do nothing to rid France of the Albigensian poison. He needed help.

In 1208, when Dominic went into a forest in France, that help he needed came: not from Earth, but from Heaven. After three days of prayer and fasting, tradition holds that Our Blessed Mother appeared to Dominic and gave him the prayer which we now call the rosary, instructing him to use it as a preaching tool to win souls back to Christ and his Church. From that point on, as he resumed his campaign - but now with this new method of prayer and preaching - he found miraculous success and brought back countless souls from the heresy of Albigensianism. Such apologetic victories began to reunite France in orthodoxy, but the Catholics were triumphant on the battlefield as well.

In 1213, Pope Innocent III sought to put an end to Albigensianism, so he called for a Crusader force to go fight in southern France in the city of Muret. Only 1,500 men led by Simon de Montfort showed up for the battle. The Albigensian forces, however, had over 30,000 men ready to fight, and all were ambitious to wipe out the Catholics. Such a lopsided matchup stirred great confidence in the Albigensians. As they had 20 soldiers for every one Catholic soldier, an absolute rout was inevitable. Providence, however, had other plans.

Cemented with the conviction that they were invincible, the Albigensians drank and relaxed the night before the battle. All of the Catholics, on the other hand, spent the night praying the rosary and the morning celebrating Holy Mass. As the Catholic militia knew well, they needed divine help if they were to come out of this battle alive.

When the time to fight arrived, Dominic retreated into a church. He spent his time in the church praying the rosary with the intention that the Catholic forces might be victorious against the Albigensians who had caused so much havoc among Christians in France. Miraculously, by the time he finished praying his rosary, Simon de Montfort and the Catholic troops had already obliterated the Albigensians. Confused and hungover from the night before, the 30,000 Albigensians barely made a dent against the 1,500 Catholics. In fact, the Catholic force killed a staggering 20,000 Albigensians while sparing only 8 of their own men. This was truly one of the greatest military upsets in world history.  

Following the Battle, as Fr. Donald Calloway writes in Champions of the Rosary, “the territorial expansion of the Albigensian heresy ended” and “every Catholic in the area attributed the victory to the rosary.”

Our Lady of Las Lajas

Just as the Battle of Muret astounds historians, so too does a little-known event, which occurred in Colombia some 500 years later, leave even contemporary scientists and geologists at a loss for words.

In 1754 a woman named Maria Mueses de Quinones was walking with her deaf and mute daughter, Rosa, when a great storm came down upon them. Underneath cliffs in a grotto at the Guaitara Canyon, they

sought shelter until the storm passed. Maria had heard rumors that this area of the Canyon, Las Lajas, was haunted. Distressed, she began invoking the Virgin of the Rosary. At that moment she felt someone tapping her on the back. Terrified, she fled back into the storm and walked back home with Rosa.

Several days later they were walking along the same path when Maria sat down near the grotto to gather her breath, as the area was rocky and steep. Suddenly, her deaf and previously mute daughter spoke out saying that she saw a beautiful woman who held a little child in her hand and had “two little mestizos” next to her. Maria was astonished that her daughter miraculously spoke for the first time, but she did not see the woman.

Several days later, Rosa disappeared from home. Maria looked all over town, but Rosa was nowhere to be found. She then went to check the grotto at Las Lajas to see if Rosa had gone to look for the woman. Sure enough, it was here that Maria found Rosa playing with a little boy whose mother stood before them. Knowing that it was Christ and His mother who were in her presence, Maria fell to her knees in awe. After this, Maria returned to the grotto frequently with Rosa to pray for the Blessed Virgin’s intercession.

Several months later, a great miracle occurred that spread the news of this apparition throughout the lands. Out of the blue, Rosa became very sick and died. Everyone in the village had heard of her tragic death. Her mother was devastated, and at a loss of what to do, she panicked and brought her dead child to the grotto to pray that Our Lady might ask her Son to bring little Rosa back to life. As an answer to her prayers, the child was miraculously returned to life. The people of the town had heard of her resurrection at Las Lajas and went to explore this area where such a great miracle had occurred. What they found imprinted upon the cliffs, however, provoked even more attention than the resurrection of Rosa.

Upon the rocks was a magnificent image of the Blessed Mother with the Child Jesus in one hand and, in the other, a rosary that she was handing to St. Dominic. The Child Jesus in this image is handing a friar’s cord to St. Francis of Assisi at His side. Maria had not seen this painting before, nor had anyone else. No one knew who made this spectacular piece of art.

Over time, when no one was looking, some people began to chip away at this image on the rock; it could have been worth a grand sum of money. Even after they chipped away over three feet into the rock, the image remained. Geologists and civil authorities concluded that the image was not a painting at all. Rather, the image was a part of the rock itself! It penetrates several feet through, as the colors of the image are quite literally the colors of the rock itself. The only artificial parts of the image are the crowns upon the heads of Christ and Mary, which were added in later years.

The image still exists today in near-perfect clarity at the shrine of Our Lady of Las Lajas in southern Colombia. It has been a site of devotion that brought forth many pilgrims, each desiring to see this miraculous image. In 1951, the site achieved Vatican approval as a miraculous site worthy of pilgrimage.

These two miracles attest to the power of the holy rosary. In fact, Our Lady, in her 15 promises to those who pray the rosary, said to St. Dominic and Bl. Alan de la Roche that “you shall obtain all you ask of me by recitation of the Rosary”. Yet these are just two of the thousands of miracles attributed to the rosary. We truly do not understand what great power every rosary prayed has in our world. We may not feel it and we may not see it, but the holy rosary delights our Lady and terrifies demons beyond our imagination. As St. Padre Pio said, “the rosary is a weapon in our hands with which we can overcome the devil’s attacks.” Now, when evil is present everywhere, even in our own Church, let us turn to the Blessed Mother and her rosary so that she may lead us all to her Son.  

Catholic Rite of Catholic Lite

In a shocking turn of events, the Vatican has released a new encyclical that will “fit our modern times.” As the Church faces a time of crisis, it seems as if more and more people are turning away from Catholicism in response to unanswered questions from their clerical leadership. In order to address these questions, the Vatican has decided to avoid controversy by refusing to initiate any dedicated discussions on the topic. Instead, the minds of the Holy See have released Tempus Boomerorum, a brand-new, full-length document that confronts the current trends of modernity.

 Many proponents of the encyclical are lovingly referring to the document as “Catholicism Lite.” One Vatican official added, “We call this Catholicism Lite because sometimes tradition is hard to uphold. We’re in a very fast-paced time, and it’s up to us to meet that pace. At the same time, through Tempus Boomerorum, we can appeal to many of the lost sheep and be the “lite” to bring them back. It’s a very fitting name.” Inside the encyclical, we find encouragements from papal authority to reduce all the difficult aspects of Mass, such as kneeling, being silent, and paying attention. The specifics are clear: the Church wants to work with us and base itself on our example rather than thousands of years of tradition.

The press release indicated that Tempus Boomerorum will address several Mass-related issues. Mass attendants will be encouraged to keep their phones on and with them at all times. One congregant stated, “I’m glad I can finally feel guiltless about when my phone rings during Mass. Sure, it’s usually just my friends inviting me over to watch football, but it could be something serious.” As we can see through the above example, sometimes we have to give people the benefit of the doubt; they might be attending to important matters rather than mindlessly browsing social media. The encyclical also encourages congregants to wear shorts and sandals into Mass. The Vatican wants to encourage comfort – not a hot, unfocused congregation – when commemorating Jesus Christ’s suffering and dying for our sins. A parishioner at St. Thomas Aquinas Church told reporters, “I mean, I never saw the problem with wearing sandals at Mass. Jesus wore them, right?” The encouragement to bear more skin seems like a net-positive for Church attendance. Dress codes are, after all, the most significant factor in most people’s Mass attendance.

Tempus Boomerorum is a groundbreaking encyclical because it adds another optional Mass that the celebrant may offer. The “Lite Mass” is one that can fit the pace of society. Each Mass has a maximum run time of 30 minutes; while God only asks for one day a week, that time can always be repaid later on in the future. The celebrant is also encouraged to offer Mass from the pews with the laity as a way to involve everyone in the proceedings. While ad orientem Masses may seem “hip,” they exclude the people in attendance, who are the backbone of the Mass itself. At the same time, versus populum may seem like a happy medium, but for the Lite Mass, it just isn’t enough. The rest of the Mass remains the same, but the attendees are also encouraged to join in holding hands for the music. The music will also feature the “instruments of the people,” the guitar and piano, rather than the exclusionary organ and choir. At St. Cecilia’s in New York City, a parishioner added, “Well, the organ is nice and all, but if I can’t see the person playing the instrument, what’s the point? I want to feel involved rather than excluded.” The proponents of this encyclical are willing to abandon outdated, traditional liturgical music for a more relatable soft-rock atmosphere.

 Perhaps the most lauded piece of Tempus Boomerorum is the 100 page warning against global warming: an absolute must for this update to the Church. Vatican officials wanted global warming to be the focus of the encyclical, despite commotion from detractors that “wanted to focus on Church-based issues rather than political debates.” The response to these detractions was to include another 50 pages that were loosely related to Church issues, but were sure to mention the importance of separating trash and recyclables. “Our Earth is ours for future generations, and we are called to be stewards of creation”, stated one Vatican official. While it seems like no one was criticizing the statements about respecting our environment, the inclusion came at an interesting time of deflection (or, rather, reflection) in the Church.

The greatness of this document will shine for generations. Each Youth Synod will be allowed to make alterations to the document, which is a novel idea to the eternal Church. As the youth are the next to take charge of the Church, officials felt that their input on the encyclical will begin a new bridge between two out-of-touch generations. One staple of each Youth Synod is the inclusion of a suggestions box for how the Church may improve. The youth in attendance are encouraged to write down their suggestion on a notecard or tweet with #MyModernChurch to @Pontifex. The very nature of this document being open for changes is a sign that the Church is going in the right direction. In such open-ended and free responses, there had to be some restrictions. For example, the Minister for the Youth noted, “The youth think they’re humorous in writing their responses in Latin, but frankly, the Latin language isn’t very inclusive for most of the world. Please write your response in the vernacular. The Minister of Vernacular Languages added, “I’m glad to announce that our Catholic Church has received suggestions in over 60 languages, and am looking forward to appointing a committee to go through each response in their native tongue.” Truly the Church can say to its critics, “we’re keeping up with the world, so how about that?”

Tempus Boomerorum is sure to be the stepping stone for a Third Vatican Council. One can only hope that the Church can better fit with the world governments today and make the necessary changes to exist in the 21st century. As we await the positive outcomes of this encyclical, rather than addressing the negatives, we hope to be able to stay in touch with Vatican officials in order to see a new, tolerant, and truly universal Catholic Church. 

An Urban Legend of Holy Cross

A conversation overheard at Crossroads, 9/15/2018, 11:47 P.M.

Student 1: “Last time, I’m pretty sure they trapped a Dominican friar and then released him inside Campion house. I’m pretty sure it’s true, too.”

Student 2: “I’d believe it. Kind of like the Exorcism Room.”

S1: “Yeah, initially it was like a ghost story. Everyone heard sounds in the walls as the Dominican scurried about, but they dismissed that as the pipes or the house settling. The chaplains thought it might’ve even been a squirrel on the roof collecting acorns or a mouse chewing on wires. The building’s pretty old – early 1900s, I think, and it actually used to house Jesuit priests for a while. Mice wouldn’t be out of place, right? But anyway, next they noticed additional St. Thomas Aquinas icons lying about, and the cookies kept disappearing.”

S2: “A shame. Those are good cookies.”

S1: “Oh, but that’s just where it started. There were reports of a figure in all-white – a ghost, perhaps – talking about existence and essence, synthesizing faith and reason so well that it terrified the students greatly.”

S2: “That really does sound terrifying. I thought faith and reason were completely separate entities.”

S1: “That’s what most people seemed to think, so the students reported their fears to the chaplains. The chaplains, hearing that report, assembled and came clean to each other about some of their own paranormal experiences. One mentioned that he went back to his office and found that his decorative Summa Theologica was open, while another chaplain explained that when he was having lunch, his Twitter had been used to correct James Martin.”

S2: “James Martin, S.J.? Bold move.”

S1: “Eventually they mustered up the courage and headed into the attic to investigate. As the story goes, they saw the form of a man in all-white speaking in some demonic tongues (and I took Latin 101 last semester – looks like those were actually prayers). They all screamed ‘ghost!’, but then they remembered that the supernatural doesn’t exist. They thought back on all their experiences: the Aquinas icons, the open Summa, Jesuit fights on Twitter, synthesis of faith and reason so well that students were converting at a rate much higher than the 15-person RCIA cap, the Salve Regina being sung from the ceiling, and they realized that it must be a Dominican.”

S2: *visibly shudders.* “I’m glad I wasn’t there. Anything that serious would’ve freaked me out.”

S1: “It got even spookier, though. At every theological error, the Dominican would pop out of the floorboards or descend from the ceiling to make a correction. The chaplains tried to catch him with bear traps and theological books from Dinand, but they weren’t in the original Latin, so he wasn’t interested. Apparently, they even tried to lure him out of the attic with a prostitute.”

S2: “That doesn’t sound very Jesuitical.”

S1: “Well, this is all hearsay anyway. He chased her away with a fire poker, as the story goes, although I’m not sure where he got the hot poker. He then collapsed on his knees, receiving a chord from an angel and growing in power.”

S2: “But I’ve been in Campion – how come I haven’t seen him? After all that, did the chaplains finally manage to get him out?”

S1: “I’m not sure. He got pretty heavy from the cookies, at least, so that might’ve been his undoing. Maybe he headed up to Ciampi, the new Jesuit residence. I’ve never been up there, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s been sneaking in and out of their hallways. In fact, I don’t even know if Ciampi has hallways. I’ve never gotten so close as to see in a window.”

S2: “That friar is probably still creeping around here somewhere. I get the feeling, somehow, that he hasn’t left – that he watches, disapprovingly, from afar.”

S1: “Who knows. Let’s get our pizza, though, before Croads closes. At least that isn’t a theological error.”