It will likely come as no surprise that I am an enthusiastic fan of Doctor Who. I was introduced to the series after its 2005 reboot with Christopher Eccleston. I’ve enjoyed every iteration of the Doctor, but Peter Capaldi’s portrayal is widely agreed to be a stand-out – most especially when he is given license to chew the scenery. And boy howdy, does he know how to put forward a convincing character who has not only known heartache but carries the weight of his own terrible sin & sorrow – and somehow rises above it. His speech at the end of The Zygon Inversion is counted by most as a prime example of this – most especially the line about doing what everyone involved in any conflict was always going to have to do from the very beginning: sit down and talk.
Conflict has been on my mind a lot this last week, most especially in the conclusion of voting. In a way it is a relief; far from elevating the discourse and inviting voters to do the same, this election season has brought out some of the worst tendencies in everyone involved. But the cessation of campaigning by no means an end to conflict – if anything, we seem to be sitting in the eye of the storm. In this moody calm in-between time, the whirlwinds of what has been said & done and whatever might come next storm around us. Accusation, denigration, condemnation, division – it’s all emotionally charged and though there are not literal bodies on the ground, it seems to me that none of us is unscathed. We’ve all been wounded by each other…..and perhaps we too feel the weight of our own sin & sorrow in this mess.
A couple of episodes after The Zygon Inversion, there is a line from Doctor Who that has the power to choke me up every time I hear it. The context of the Doctor’s words – though not explicitly shown here – are clear enough: Clara violated their friendship knowingly & willingly. He is deeply hurt, yet he explains his willingness to stick with her with a staggering statement: “do think I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference?”
If I’m frankly honest, I can’t deny that it makes a difference for me. Despite knowing my own desperate need for forgiveness – whether for words said & actions done or the inner ugliness of my heart – I regularly struggle to offer forgiveness to those who have betrayed me, my trust & friendship, or otherwise let me down. I want to forgive, but both I’m angry and afraid – most especially of being betrayed and hurt again.
When Jesus rose from the dead – after having been abandoned by those to whom He had entrusted everything of Himself – He wasted no time in going straight to them. Not only that, He found the Apostle who had most publicly declared his obstinacy and perhaps, albeit inadvertently, revealed the depths of his need for Jesus. Caravaggio’s painting of Saint Thomas and Jesus seems to depict not just Thomas placing his finger in the side of the Lord, but Jesus guiding a – perhaps even pulling! – his hand inwards. I’d bet anything that the great pain the Lord felt at this moment was not physical but relational: He saw His friend suffering from doubt, shame, and sorrow – and He came to lift that burden as quickly and effectively as possible, no matter what discomfort it might cost Him.
The path forward for our world is murky at best, but the Lord leaves no doubt as to what it will involve: seeking out those we might otherwise name as enemies and rebuilding right relationship. It will involve vulnerability, probably right where we are most tender. But it can be done – not just by imaginary characters in a story but in our communities and families. Jesus does the double-duty of offering us forgiveness and empowering us to do the same for each other. Though His offering was once for all, He tirelessly renews His mercy as often as we need it. May we do the same ourselves – perhaps first revisiting the fount of His love in the sacrament of confession – asking Him to help us to relearn to talk to and care for each other, as He does for us.
November 10 – Though superceded by the Sunday solemnity, today’s celebration of Saint Leo the Great should get at least brief mention! Saint Leo stood against not one but two invasions of Rome. The first – committed by no less than Attila the Hun – was turned away when Attila had a vision of both Saint Peter and Saint Paul holding swords out threatening him if he attacked. The second – Genseric, a Vandal – did not turn away, but Saint Leo convinced him not to harm the archbasilica of Saint John Lateran (which we celebrated last week) and the basilicas of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. He was also instrumental in the Council of Chalcedon, affirming the union of the human and divine natures in Christ. He was also the first pope to be remembered as ‘the great’. Read more about him at Word on Fire.
November 11 – Today’s saint – Saint Martin of Tours – has an extraordinary vocation story. Though drawn to the faith at a young age (12!), he was forced to enlist and become a soldier. Later, as an Imperial guard, he came across a beggar – to whom he gave half his military cloak. Martin later had a dream of Jesus appearing to him, inviting the angels present to see the unbaptized man who had clothed him. As you might imagine, this left quite an impression on Martin, who was baptized that Easter! He served in the army for twenty more years, but after leaving founded a monastery near Tours. He was eventually chosen (by popular acclaim!) as bishop of Tours. Read about him at OSV News (and pray for our bishops, who today begin their fall general assembly).
November 12 – Today we celebrate the memorial of Saint Josaphat. Born in Vladimir (a village of the Lithuanian Province of Volhynia), he belonged to the Eastern Rite Church of Kyiv (Ukraine), which was not in union with Rome. When the Union of Brest was signed – which united the bishops with the Pope – he made a profession of faith, joined the monastery and took the name Josaphat. After his ordination, he was eventually made superior and was a force for reform first there and later in his diocese. His efforts to unite those still separated from Rome eventually resulted in his martyrdom at 45. Read about him at Franciscan Media.
November 13 – Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, among other things, is celebrated as the first United States citizen to be canonized! Born in Italy, she was not allowed to join a religious community because of her health. Undeterred, she founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. She and her sisters wanted to be missionionaries, but when she visited the pope, he told her to go west rather than east, sending her to New York. There she and her community worked to establish orphanages, schools, & hospitals there and around the world. Read about her at the Cabrini National Shrine website.
November 15 – Finally we come to Saint Albert the Great (another great!). At a very young age (17), he joined the Dominicans. It is said that he had a vision of Mary, who told him that he would be blessed with great intelligence but that it would be taken away from him towards the end of his life. Over his lifetime, he taught at various Dominican houses and then at the University of Paris – even teaching Thomas Aquinas! He was also an extensive writer. At the end of his life, he began to lose his memory – Mary’s words coming true for him. He was declared a saint and a doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI in 1931. Read Pope Benedict XVI’s reflection on him at the Vatican website.
Priests celebrating their anniversaries this week
Remembering our deceased priests
- Fr. Michael J. Schmitt (November 10, 1987)
- Bp. Thomas E. Gill (November 11, 1973)
- Fr. George McLean (November 11, 1995)
- Fr. Edward McCallion (November 12, 1989)
- Msgr. Michael Murtagh (November 12, 1965)
- Fr. Michael Stosek (November 14, 1973)
- Fr. Joseph Vogel (November 14, 1974)
- Fr. Joseph A. Kramis (November 14, 2019)
Thank you, Father, for your wisdom. I have been engaging in conversations on X responding to those who are devastated by election loss as well as those who demand retribution for all the lies inflicted upon them before victory was declared. My plea to both sides is to withdraw to a peaceful place & read Lincoln “with malice toward none.” Read about post-WWII Marshall Plan & the Berlin Airlift. Wounds do not heal when your tools are a hammer and salt. We desperately need God’s truth to be revealed.