Denver Catholic

4 I OPINION MARCH 5, 2014 I DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER ARCHBISHOP AQUILA'S SCHEDULE March 5: Mass and distribution of ashes, Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (12:10 p.m.) March 8: Rite of Election, Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (10:30 a.m.); Mass, Church of the Risen Christ (4 p.m.); A Beacon of Hope Gala to benefit Lighthouse and Women's Services of Catholic Charities, Wings Over the Rockies, Denver (5:30 p.m.) March 9: Rite of Election (2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.), Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception March 11: Candidacy Mass, Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary chapel, JPII Center (5:30 p.m.) THE CATHOLIC DIFFERENCE GEORGE WEIGEL Half an hour before sunrise on Ash Wednesday, hundreds of English-speakers from all over Rome will begin walking to the ancient basilica of St. Sabina on the Aventine Hill. They'll start from student residences, from embassies to Italy and the Holy See, and from the Vatican. The Schwerpunkt, or focal point, for all this activity is the Pontifical North American College: more than 250 seminarians, student-priests, priest-faculty, and staff, having walked from the Janiculum Hill to the Aventine, will form the largest single contingent at St. Sabina on Ash Wednesday. That is as it should be. For St. Sabina is the first "station" in the Roman station church pilgrimage of Lent, a tradition dating back to the middle centuries of the first Christian millennium. And the station church pilgrimage, which extends throughout Lent and involves some 40 churches, has become, today, a predominantly Anglophone—indeed, a predominantly Ameri- can—phenomenon, having been revived for the third millenni- um by the North American College. I got a sense of just how American this venerable custom has become when I spent all of Lent 2011 in Rome, making the station church pilgrimage in full with my son Stephen and my friend Elizabeth Lev, as we prepared our book on this unique spiritual, historical, and aesthetic journey, "Roman Pilgrimage: The Station Churches" (Basic Books). On the Thursday after Ash Wednesday 2011, at 7 a.m., per- haps 250 English-speakers crowded into the small basilica of St. George in Velabro for the second Mass of Lent. Forty-five minutes later, a brave group of Germans came to honor the station church tradition by celebrating a beautifully chanted Mass together; there were seven of them. The next day, the same large English-speaking congregation climbed the Caelian Hill at dawn, to the station church of Sts. John and Paul. Stephen and I came back to the basilica later that afternoon to do some more photography and accidentally found ourselves in the midst of the stational Mass sponsored by the Vicariate of Rome, the local diocese: there were about 12 concelebrants, and perhaps anoth- er dozen people. All of which explained the answer I got when I asked my friend Hanna Suchocka, the Polish ambassador to the Vatican, why she regularly attended the 7 a.m. English-language station church Mass rather than the more convenient 5:30 p.m. Vicar- iate of Rome Mass at the station church of the day: "Because I found a living Church here [i.e., at the American-sponsored Mass]." St. Sabina is a splendid place to begin the station church pil- grimage. As Liz Lev puts it in Roman Pilgrimage, "The Basilica of St. Sabina crystallized Roman Christianity's vision of the perfect church" with its remarkable "synergy of light, space, and deco- ration." St. Sabina is also home to the oldest known depiction of the crucifixion, on the cypress doors of its porch: an image caught beautifully in one of Stephen's "Roman Pilgrimage" pho- tographs and a reminder that Lent is a journey with the Lord "up to Jerusalem," where Jesus will meet his messianic destiny in the Paschal Mystery. Liz's, Stephen's, and my intention in "Roman Pilgrimage" was to put readers "inside" the station church pilgrimage experi- ence. Liz's brilliant descriptions of each church's architecture and decoration give the reader a sense of "being there" and understanding what, in fact, is "there." Stephen's striking photo- graphs are not modeled on high-end architectural magazines, where places lack people; the photos in "Roman Pilgrimage," either in the hardback or the e-book (where all the photos are in color and can be "zoomed" out by tapping on them), literally put you "inside" the stational basilica of the day, with the "living Church" of which Hanna Suchocka spoke. My meditations on the daily Mass and Divine Office texts suggest something of what that "living Church" is pondering, day by day, as it walks through Rome while, imaginatively, walking up to Calvary and the Empty Tomb. Americans in Rome have revived an ancient Catholic tradi- tion that had lain dormant for centuries. That's the happy fact to which "Roman Pilgrimage: The Station Churches" bears witness; that's an experience readers can now share. Ash Wednesday in Rome Poustinia tribute deserved Your tribute to Lucille Du- puis was a joy to read ("Our Lady of Tenderness closes with poustinik's death," Feb. 12 DCR). I met Lucille in Lent 1975 when she stayed with my family in Newport, R.I. She had a presence and enthusi- asm that belied her disposition as an ascetic, and as children we were in awe of her. Making banners, washing clay pots to make Easter breads and chees- es, and praying, playing and preparing (for Easter) -- in Lu- cille's presence it almost made sense to take a leave of absence from the fifth grade in order to properly get ready for Easter. Lucille discerned for ma- ny years what Our Lady of Tenderness (above Estes Park, Colo.) was to become and nev- er seemed to force her own will on it; rather, she spoke only of God's will for the poustinia. In the silence of this moun- tain, there is often a loud voice that is both comforting and demanding. My family now makes regular sojourns to the Denver area to visit my wife's family, and there have been times when I wanted to avoid the mountain because the wonderful silence of the pous- tinia also challenges us in ways that can be uncomfortable. However, it is not a place to be avoided, and it has inspired me in my work as an architect, designing churches, to strive to capture in wood and stone the sense of awe that emanates effortlessly from the mountain at Our Lady of Tenderness. It is an awesomeness that found a voice in Lucille's stewardship and I sincerely hope it finds a way to continue. Gerry Sullivan Boston, MA 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. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR BY TERRY POLAKOVIC My life was transformed by the feminism of John Paul II. I am a woman, a daughter of God the Father, and a sister of Jesus Christ. I am made to contribute something mean- ingful, beautiful and lasting to the kingdom of God. I'm made, precisely as a woman, to reflect the creative and loving genius of the Blessed Trinity. But I didn't always know this. In fact, for most of my life, I didn't think much about my femininity. I certainly never perceived that I have a femi- nine genius: a unique way of thinking and seeing and loving, as a woman. Like a lot of peo- ple, I had a tepid relationship with secular feminism: I was aware that cultural and histor- ical advances benefitted me as a woman, and while grateful, I also was uncomfortable with the aggressive excesses of radi- cal feminists. But I became a feminist—a true feminist—when I read John Paul II's 1995 "Letter to Women." John Paul's femi- nism is rooted in the idea that women and men are creative and active complements—to- gether mirroring the active, creative love of God. John Paul told me—and all women—that we have a unique and vital role to play in the family, in the Church, and in the world. "Thank you, every wom- an," said John Paul II, "for the simple fact of being a woman! Through the insight which is so much a part of your wom- anhood you enrich the world's understanding and help to make human relations more honest and authentic." I became a feminist when John Paul II told me that wom- en can bring grace and virtue and goodness to the world in a unique way. The "Letter to Women" was written to precede the United Nations' Fourth World Con- ference on Women. John Paul wrote to express hope that the U.N. would recognize that "in giving themselves to others each day women fulfill their deepest vocation." Sadly, the United Nations has failed to recognize that women fulfill their deepest vo- cation in the service of others. The U.N. has adopted policies that harm women, especially in developing nations and bro- ken families. United Nations' programs endorse aggressive forms of population control, sanctioning heavy-hand- ed tactics to persuade poor women to abandon the cen- turies-old traditions that come with large families, in favor of economic incentives for birth control. The United Nations talks a great deal about human trafficking and forced prostitu- tion, but does very little even to stop its own paramilitary forces from sexually exploiting women and children. Most recently, the United Nations lambasted the Catho- lic Church for its pro-life con- victions, which are decidedly in favor of protecting the lives and health of women. In short, the United Nations has succumbed to a danger- ous secularist agenda—min- imizing the unique dignity of women, endangering their health and safety, and failing to grasp that nurturing, en- abling and protecting—bio- logical, spiritual or cultural Complementarity and feminine genius OFFICIAL APPOINTMENTS Deacon Gregory Lesher, granted diaconal faculties of the Archdiocese of Denver, and assigned deacon, Im- maculate Heart of Mary Parish, Northglenn, Colo., effective March 1, 2014, until May 16, 2015. Deacon Joseph McLagan, granted diaconal faculties of the Archdiocese of Denver, and assigned Deacon, Good Shepherd Parish, Denver, Colo., effective March 1, 2014, until May 16, 2015. Deacon Franklin Sequeira, granted diaconal faculties of the Archdiocese of Denver, and assigned Deacon, Queen of Peace Parish, Aurora, Colo., effective March 1, 2014, until May 16, 2015. See Polakovic, Page 6

• Cover