'The God Who Gives Joy to My Youth'
The Catholic Thing
By Rev. Peter M.J. Stravinskas I am writing within the octave of the beatification of Fulton J. Sheen, and find myself still basking in the glow of that blessed and long-awaited event, which had many personal associations for me. As a schoolboy, I was quizzed every Wednesday morning by Sister, who routinely would ask the class, "What did 'The Bishop' say last night?" (In those days "The Bishop" didn't mean the local Ordinary, but Sheen!). In third grade, he autographed my First Holy Communion prayer book, declaring to my father, "Sir, someday this young man is going to be a priest." On the brink of priestly ordination, I wrote him a note confirming his "prophecy" of nearly two decades earlier, to which he graciously responded with a promise of prayers and best wishes for my priestly life and ministry. I concelebrated his Funeral Mass. The recent event in St. Louis was a veritable tour de force, worthy of the man who was a first-order clerical showman, in the best sense of the word. What impressed me most was the youthfulness of it all. One thousand priests (95 percent of whom were not even born when Sheen died) and 850 seminarians in cassock and surplice, along with many young families. Meanwhile, out of nearly 450 bishops in our country, only 89 deigned to attend (of course, Sheen was envied by the bishops in his own day). That element of "youthfulness" led me to connect some dots from recent personal observations and musings. The Mass of the Holy Spirit to open the academic year at The Catholic University of America in Washington was most impressive: All sung parts of the Mass in Latin; an outstanding homily by our new papal nuncio; the profession of faith and oath of fidelity by new faculty members; the palpable reverence of the more than a thousand students. All of this from an institution that wallowed in heresy from 1968 through the 1980s! The Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame was the site of the final profession of vows of four young members of the Congregation of the Holy Cross. Once more, the liturgy was inspiring, as well as the demeanor of the students who filled that beautiful worship space. And recently, the University was consecrated to the Sacred Heart – an act of piety that came about through the initiative of the students themselves. The Diocese of Wichita opened a new college seminary (yes, "opened," not "closed") owing to the vocations glut they have been experiencing over the long haul. Can this be explained because it is the only diocese in the country with a totally free Catholic school system? Youthful American Catholicism has even crossed The Pond. Ave Maria University has established a beachhead in the Irish Diocese of Waterford on the land of the once-legendary Cistercian Abbey of Mount Melleray. Yet again, the inaugural liturgy was characterized by beautiful music and reverent participation, topped off by a stirring homily by the diocesan bishop on the importance and meaning of Catholic education. We know that Ireland's faith has been in the doldrums for a long time now. Will this spark of American Catholicism reignite the flame of faith in what once was known as the "Isle of Saints and Scholars"? In all these liturgies, certain commonalities were apparent: Traditional forms, accompanied by generous servings of Latin, Gregorian chant, and Renaissance polyphony; the young people attired to encounter the King of Kings; and, especially, reception of Holy Communion with great devotion – the vast majority receiving Holy Communion on the tongue, and many kneeling. The ecclesiastical Cassandras in our midst, I thought, should recall Mark Twain's quip: "Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated." It also made me wonder how the "Lefebvrists" can behold such phenomena and conclude that the Faith is dead? Admittedly, we still have a lot to work on, but that's why we have the mantra, Ecclesia semper reformanda ("The Church is always in need of reform"). Which was also in ful...