Denver Catholic

4 I OPINION SEPTEMBER 4, 2013 I DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER Many symbols are given for the Church. The next three questions are about some of these symbols. 2. Two agrarian symbols for the Church are common in the New Testament. They are: THE CATHOLIC DIFFERENCE A chapel of consequence KRACOW—The chapel in the archbishop's residence in Kracow—which everyone calls by its street name, "Franciszkanska 3"—has witnessed a lot of modern Church history. Here, clandestine seminarians watched the city's heroic archbishop, Adam Stefan Sapieha, put the terrible problems of the long, dark night of Occupation before the Lord, every night during World War II. Here, the worker-student-poet-playwright who would become pope, Karol Wojtyla, was ordained by Cardinal Sapieha on Nov. 1, 1946, beginning a priestly ministry that would bend history in a more humane direction by transforming consciences. Here, in his own years as archbishop of Kracow, Wojtyla began his days with prayer and Mass. And here he returned after breakfast for two hours of intellectual work—preparing sermons, articles, books—at a desk set up so that he could think and write before the Blessed Sacrament. Here, Wojtyla celebrated the baptisms of his friends' children. Here, he prayed with his collaborators in running one of the world's most impressive diocesan implementations of Vatican II. Here, he thought out new pastoral initiatives for a society stifled by totalitarianism. Here, the man who would shortly be elected John Paul II came, immediately after receiving the shocking telephone call announcing the death of John Paul I—and here he prayed, we might imagine, that he would come home from the impending conclave. Thanks to the courtesy of Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, John Paul II's longtime secretary and the current metropolitan of Kracow, my students and colleagues in the annual "Tertio Millennio Seminar on the Free Society" celebrate one of our daily Masses in the chapel of Franciszkanska 3, which now includes a beautifully displayed relic of Blessed John Paul II. It's an emotional moment during our three weeks together, an hour in which my faculty colleagues and I can sense serious vocational wrestling and discernment happening within our students. It's a place where sanctity seems, not something ephemeral, but a quality of real people, living lives not unlike our own in their challenges, and meeting those challenges through the grace that makes heroic virtue possible. Cardinal Dziwisz has enhanced this historic chapel with a new silver reredos that imaginatively displays eight churches that played key roles in the itinerary of sanctity that Karol Wojtyla, Pope John Paul II, followed on his earthly pilgrimage: the church of his baptism in Wadowice, now the basilica of Our Lady of the Presentation; Wawel cathedral, where he said his first Masses on Nov. 2, 1946, and from which he exercised his ministry as archbishop of Kracow; the Jasna Gora monastery church in Czestochowa, home of the Black Madonna and Poland's greatest pilgrimage destination; the patriarchal Vatican basilica in Rome, St. Peter's, from whose front porch the Polish pope challenged the world to live beyond its fears by opening its door to Christ; the Mariacki basilica in Kracow's central market square, where hundreds of thousands, dressed in white, gathered to pray for John Paul's life after the assassination attempt of May 13, 1981; the basilica at the Portuguese Marian shrine of Fatima, where John Paul went on May 13, 1982, to give thanks for his life having been spared a year before; the basilica of Divine Mercy in the Kracow suburb of Lagiewniki, near the convent of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, apostle of the devotion John Paul thought especially apt for the post-modern world; and the basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, to which, in a symbolic way, John Paul carried the entire Church during his epic Holy Land pilgrimage of 2000, so that the Church might experience again the Risen Lord's call to the Great Commission. The tabernacle, an integral part of the reredos, displays the triumphant Lamb of the Book of Revelation (flanked by the Alpha and Omega). And from the tabernacle "grows" a medieval-style polychromed crucifix, a reminder of the sacrificial dimension of the Eucharist—and of the truth that all history is, finally, cruciform. A chapel of consequence: in it, a spirit of consequence was formed by being conformed to the liberating power of the Cross. George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. Weigel's column is distributed by the Denver Catholic Register, the official newspaper of the Denver Archdiocese. Phone: 303-715-3215. B. the recreation of the human heart BY JOS Sherr vice for 6. The Catechism of the Catholic book, "F A. granary and silo Church says that "the gathering Path to B. haystack and corncrib together of the Church is, as it (Our Su were, God's reaction" to this: C. irrigation well and fallow land I've rea A. the chaos provoked ter job BY PETER WESTHOFF YEAR by sin Church 3. A building is a OF FAITH B. man's yearning for toms of common symbol of SCRIPTURE reunification with and the the Church. What did Allow God "Day after day the Jesus say became of to sum the stone that repre- churches grew stronger C. his own sense of intervie sented himself, which in faith and increased justice and Fatherly ioners, a in number."—Acts the builders rejected? nature parish l 16:5 A. It became the "Wha cornerstone. 7. Following the remote prepa- that the A quiz on Catholic things under Canyon B. It was transformed into a holy ration of the call of Abraham, the patronage of the "Doctor of what was the immediate prepa- cated th Prayer," St. Teresa of Avila. For each temple. ration for this future gathering the live C. It became a precious stone of question there is one right answer, of all nations as the People of jority of great price. but the answer for one question is God? a name "None of the Above." The following majorit A. the election of Israel as the quiz covers Catechism of the Cath4. Family life and marriage olics ar Chosen People olic Church Nos. 748-762. also provide symbols for the sive sta B. the sacrifice of Isaac Church. The Church is said to be: learned C. the law as proclaimed by the level isn 1. The word "church" designates A. the father of the faithful prophets three inseparable things: the mental B. a brother and confidant liturgical assembly, the local ple are n community and this: C. our mother apostles Jesus Ch A. the interior life and private After devotion of each individual 5. Complete this passage: Just ers thro B. the whole universal community as God's will is creation and is how ma of believers called "the world," so his intenNext quiz covers catechism Nos. mitted d 763-769. tion is ___________, and is called C. heretics, apostates and adherat the n "the Church." ents of paganism numbe The growth of the early Church 1. B, 2. None of the Above sheepfold and field, 3. A, 4. C, 5. C, 6. A, 7. A GEORGE WEIGEL C. the salvation of men If yo A. the expression of his generous love LETTER TO THE EDITOR Kudos and a caution After reading the Aug. 14 issue and the guest column on "Lumen Fidei," I felt the need to respond. On one hand, I was very happy to read about the writer's encounter with Pope Francis' new encyclical despite her past hesitancies around the Church's theological literature. On the other hand, I have not found a disappointing reduction of the faith by intellectual study. It is true that one can become a skilled theologian while remaining detached from an interpersonal encounter with the object of the faith, Jesus Christ. However, in my seven years of priestly formation for the archdiocese I've found only the potential for theology to assist and nourish my spiritual growth. I hope that this is the beginning of the same for the guest columnist as well because by Pope Francis' own admission, this encyclical was written by "four hands." "Lumen Fidei" is known to be largely the work of Benedict XVI, one of the greatest theological scholars of the past 100 years with few peers. Deacon Joseph LaJoie St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Aurora LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters should be no more than 250 words and should include the writer's name, address and telephone number. We rely on our readers to recognize that the opinions expressed in letters to the editor are those of the author and are not necessarily those of the Archdiocese of Denver. Letters containing plainly misstated facts, misinformation or libelous statements will not be printed. Unsigned letters will not be printed. Letters may be edited. Send letters to: Editor, Denver Catholic Register, 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 or fax to 303-715-2045. E-mail us at: editor@archden.org. ARCHBISHOP AQUILA'S SCHEDULE Sept. 7: Mass and institution of lectors for deacon program, JPII Center (10 a.m.); Blue Mass, Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (4:30 p.m.) Sept. 10: Annual Mass for the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher, St. Thomas More Parish, Centennial (6 p.m.) OFFICIAL APPOINTMENTS Deacon Keith Kenny, Diocese of Phoenix, granted diaconal faculties of the Archdiocese of Denver, effective immediately, until May 2014, and assigned transitional deacon, Spirit of Christ Parish, Arvada, Colo. Deacon Brian Hess, Diocese of Cheyenne, granted diaconal faculties of the Archdiocese of Denver, effective immediately, until May 2014, and assigned transitional deacon, St. Augustine Parish, Brighton, Colo. Deacon Bryan Ketterer, Diocese of Cheyenne, granted diaconal faculties of the Archdiocese of Denver, effective immediately, until May 2014, and assigned transitional deacon, St. Joseph Parish, Fort Collins, Colo. Deacon Carson Krittenbrink, Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, granted diaconal faculties of the Archdiocese of Denver, effective immediately, until May 2014, and assigned transitional deacon, Holy Trinity Parish, Westminster, Colo. Deacon Scott Sperry, Diocese of Phoenix, granted diaconal faculties of the Archdiocese of Denver, effective immediately, until May 2014, and assigned transitional deacon, St. Pius X Parish, Aurora, Colo.

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