Denver Catholic

18 FEBRUARY 11-24, 2017 | DENVER CATHOLIC Perspectives Synod-talk, again How we face death reveals our love for life O n January 13, the General Sec- retariat of the Synod of Bish- ops published a "preparatory document" for the 2018 Synod on Young People, Faith, and Vocational Discern- ment. The document begins well enough, with a brief meditation on St. John the Beloved as the model of a young person who answers the call to follow the Lord and makes a gift of himself in evangelical witness. Sadly, things go downhill from there. Rather than pursuing that Johannine bibli- cal imagery to explore the dynamics of youthful faith in the twenty-fi rst century world, the Synod general secretariat reverts to the sociologese that marred the Instrumentum Labo- ris [Working Document] of the 2015 Synod, wandering rather aimlessly through prolix discussions of "A Rap- idly Changing World," "New Genera- tions," "Young People and Choices," etc., etc. It's also noteworthy, if strange, that the preparatory document compre- hensively ignores the contemporary saint who was a powerful magnet for young people during his twenty- six-year pontifi cate, John Paul II. But surely there is something for the world Church of the twenty-fi rst cen- tury to learn from that experience. I've been asked dozens of times why John Paul was such a Pied Piper for the young, especially when, in his latter years, he didn't look like what youth culture imagines to be a "celeb- rity." Two reasons strike me. The fi rst is that John Paul II trans- parently believed and lived what he proposed. He didn't ask young people to bear any burden he hadn't borne, risk anything he hadn't risked, stretch themselves as he hadn't been stretched. Young people have a good nose for fakery and there was nothing false about John Paul II's catechesis and way of life: he transparently walked the walk, living out the talk. Then there was his refusal to play the Pander Bear with a gen- eration long accustomed to being told how amazing it was. He held up a higher standard, summoning the young to risk the lifelong adventure of heroic virtue. He knew they would fail from time to time, just as he had. But that was no excuse for lowering the bar of expectation. Rather, it was a reason to seek out the divine mercy and re-encounter God's truth: to repent, confess, be forgiven, and then try again, with the help of grace, to grow into the sanctity that is every- one's baptismal vocation. Never, ever settle for anything less than the spiritual and moral grandeur that the grace of God makes possible in your life: that was John Paul II's chal- lenge. A lot of young people found it irresistible, at a historical moment when youth ministry in the Church seemed moribund and perhaps even impossible. The Synod preparatory document ends with a proposed global survey of the Catholic youth scene, full of generic (and, alas, dull) questions. As the Church prepares for Synod 2018, there are at least two more urgent lines of inquiry for our refl ection. The fi rst involves All-In Cathol- icism vs. Catholic Lite. Why are the growing youth movements in the Church those that have embraced the symphony of Catholic truth in full? How do those movements create vibrant microcultures in which young people grow in their relationship to Jesus Christ and are formed as missionary disciples, o• ering healing to the battlefi eld casualties of the post-modern world? How does the Church summon young people to be countercultural Catholics, precisely for the sake of converting the cultures in which they fi nd themselves? The second set of questions touches the Synod's theme of voca- tional discernment and accompa- niment. Here, the Church should ponder why Catholic Lite religious orders are dying, while religious orders that try to live the evangelical counsels and the consecrated life in a distinctive way are growing. The same seems true for seminaries. In their case, how can rediscovering the sacred character of the priesthood as a unique participation in the priest- hood of Jesus Christ be disentangled from temptations to clericalism, understood as a kind of ecclesiastical caste system? And as most young people will live their Christian vocations as married couples, not as priests or consecrated religious, might Synod 2018 take the opportunity to lift up the vocation to marriage, not as an impossible ideal, but as a holy challenge that can be met through the power of the grace that Christ never denies his people? "E ven the weakest and most vulnerable, the sick, the old, the unborn and the poor, are masterpieces of God's creation, made in his own image, destined to live forever, and deserving of the utmost reverence and respect" – Pope Francis, Day for Life Greeting, July 17. As the executive director for the Archdiocese Mortuary and Ceme- teries, I have a unique vantage point from which I reverently watch people struggle with some of life's most pro- found questions, including, "What happens when we die?" On almost a daily basis, I see people dealing with the impact of losing a loved one, won- dering what happens next. As though life were an ocean, death seems to propel many people into deeper waters. What strikes me as obvious after watching these families grapple with the death of a loved one is the depth of loss that is felt by all families, regard- less of their loved one's age. Our Cath- olic faith teaches us about the dignity a• orded each and every life. From the widow who has lost her beloved spouse after 50 years of marriage to the young parents dealing with the loss of their baby only months after conception, we see real loss and real grieving. We are reminded in each of these circumstances that neither the size, condition, nor age of one's body impacts the reality of their soul. One day every month, we bury babies who have died in utero. As sad an event as this is, watching the rever- ence for the lives of these young souls makes me deeply proud of my Cath- olic faith. Many families participate in this service, which we provide at no cost. It is clear that all present are impacted and that not one of those young souls will be forgotten. It is also clear that the depth of loss is hard to understand for someone who has not experienced it — an observation gleaned from watching the empa- thetic embraces between mothers who are going through these services at the same time. Although di® cult in so many ways, it is also moving to hear the stories of those who have accompanied a loved one at the end of a long life through the su• ering that so often accompa- nies death. Much more often than not, we see how these di® cult trials draw families together in ways that were never anticipated. Frankly, we see pure, self-sacrifi cing love on dis- play in ways that words can only par- tially describe. Observing the sacred moments surrounding the deaths of the faithful departed has only strengthened my faith in our Church and our collective mission to protect the lives of all who are living, from the moment of con- ception through natural death. Although I never anticipated my job at a Catholic cemetery would so signifi cantly impact my perspective on life, I feel privileged to have wit- nessed people of faith handle with grace and courage the reality of death, and further privileged to share those observations. The Catholic Di² erence George Weigel is a distinguished senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. GEORGE WEIGEL Guest Column Gary Schaaf is the executive director for the Archdiocese Mortuary and Cemeteries. GARY SCHAAF PHOTO BY ANDREW WRIGHT

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