You’ve perhaps heard the phrase “beauty will save the world”. Written by Dostoevsky in his book The Idiot and repeated by Pope Saint John Paul II, the sentiment immediately rings true. Back in 2021, Word On Fire did a four-part series well worth your time – you can read each part (1, 2, 3, 4). The topic came up recently among us priests – albeit without any reference to Dostoevsky! – in a lively conversation this week. The short version is that we are often most able to encounter Christ when we focus on what is good, true, and beautiful in the world – and in the Church’s life of prayer & ministry.
Last week ended with a particular ugliness: the attempted assassination of our former president, Donald Trump. This side of heaven, we may never know what motivated the 20-year-old man who tried – and thankfully failed – to kill him. May we take a moment, by the way, to pray for the repose of the soul of Corey Comperatore, who the shooter did kill and for the consolation of his family. And as uncomfortable as it may be, may we also pray for the shooter, that the Lord may have mercy on his soul and console his family, who are undoubtedly suffering greatly too.
There is an ugliness living in our hearts, in the hearts of us all. Born in disobedience and distrust of God by Adam & Eve, we each face a choice to allow it to be fed – perhaps even offering our own bitterness, resentment, hurts, and sorrows. Though seemingly satisfying in the moment, the only result is more ugliness – often reaching far beyond the bounds of our own lives, into the lives of others.
We could spend the rest of our days meditating on ugliness – despairingly declaring our own ugly sins, uncharitably highlighting that of others, or even simply bemoaning the ugliness of the world. As any newspaper will attest, it certainly sells!
On the flip side, we could focus on beauty. A favorite song we heard recently, the colors this week’s sunshine added to our day as the light splashed across the terrain, the simple moments of gentle teasing between friends & family as we went about our day, the joy of meeting new friends or catching up with with the old ones, and the pleasure of sitting down at the end of the day in a favorite recliner.
Imagine if we invited Christ to accentuate or even feature in that beauty! The simple delight of prayers together in Mass and alone in private, the joy of discussing plans for the future of our parish community, the surprise of hearing new (wild!) stories of adventures in ministry from fellow priests, the peace of praying the Liturgy of the Hours in community.
As you may have guessed, these were some of the moments of beauty that I have experienced this week – perhaps in simply reading them here you will share even a little in the blessing they have been to me. How, I wonder, has God revealed Himself to you in beautiful moments big & small this week? I encourage you to spend some time meditating on where you have felt blessed this week – and to share those blessings with those around you, that we might together reveal the Lord in all the good, true, and beautiful things He does for us every day.
July 14 – Today is the memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha. For those of us here in the Archdiocese of Seattle, there is a special connection to her – not only for the many Native American tribes (though none from the same as her) – but because the final miracle needed for her canonization happened here! Read about it at the Northwest Catholic.
July 15 – A bishop and doctor of the Church, Saint Bonaventure is something of a hero of mine. As readers here have noticed – and my staff has heard several times already! – I’m a big fan of good policy & practices. Today’s saint helped structure the Franciscan order through legislation and (re)set them on a path based on Saint Francis’ own vision and wisdom Read about him at Word on Fire.
July 18 – If you didn’t know about today’s saint, Saint Marcellina, welcome to the club! Perhaps more well known is her brother, Saint Ambrose of Milan. Read about her at the Sisters of Saint Marcellina website.
July 20 – Today we celebrate Saint Elijah. If you’re wondering, the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that “The patriarchs, prophets and certain other Old Testament figures have been and always will be honored as saints in all the Church’s liturgical traditions” (CCC 61). Read about him at Aleteia.
Priests celebrating their anniversaries this week
- Most Rev. J. Peter Sartain (July 15, 1978)
- Rev. Gregory S. Celio, S.J. (July 15, 2020)
- Rev. Aloysius Ssensamba (July 16, 1994)
- Rev. Peter Tynan, O.S.B. (July 16, 2011)
- Rev. Joseph Akor (July 19, 2008)
- Rev. Peter Adoko-Enchill (July 20, 1986)
Remembering our deceased priests
- Fr. John R. O’Brien (July 14, 1954)
- Fr. Jon Frankovic (July 19, 1992)
Wecome to St. Joseph’s, Father. As I was passing out the bulletins after the Saturday 5 PM Mass, many people who were sitting in the back half of the church mentioned that they could not hear your comments that you gave I think that regarded some future plans you have for our parish. I know as I was one of them! We are a very elderly congregation so using the microphone on the lecturne and speaking more slowly would really help. Everyone is really interested in the changes you will be making so I suggested going to your website that they would find a repeat of your message. Unfortunately, you did not address your message here. As a lector, I can attest that the microphone on the Sacred Heart side is inadequate whereas the one on the lecturne is better. It’s really a shame that your very important notices are missed by so many. I hope this helps.