My Mother, My Confidence!
May 1, 2002
“In a word, the Lord wants you to be saints!”
…an invitation to daily holiness as an answer to the sufferings of today.
Enduring message…
Saints. Saints. Saints! Lately, the Holy Father has been repeating himself, but I don’t think it is because he does not know what to say. I believe, in the light of today’s war, tragedy and the current controversies in the Church, he is inviting us to the only adequate answer, "In a word, the Lord wants you to be saints," he says. "Holiness is the perspective toward which the whole pastoral care of the Church must be directed." He addressed this to the priests, but he has continually made the same statement to all of us in every "walk of life" since the beginning of this new millennium! The Founder of the Pro Sanctity Movement, during his lifetime said the same thing. It is the basis of our Movement. We can only change the world by changing ourselves individually, collectively and globally. In a word, the Lord wants us to be saints! Archbishop Curtiss, Episcopal Moderator of the Pro Sanctity Movement, reminded the Pro Sanctity members of the SAME THING. They gathered with him in the Archdiocese of Omaha, on Monday, April 29, and he said, “holiness, is the only adequate response to the immense and overwhelming love of the Lord, and that it all begins with prayer! We must be Christ to the others, it is our answer.” The Archbishop's words were loud and clear, "To be saints you must be men and women of prayer!"
Ok, friends and members of Pro Sanctity, our task is clear and so important in the light of the heart rendering suffering that our Church, our priests, families and children are going through at this time in the USA and around the world. What is to be our response? Need we wonder? The Pope said it, our Founder said it and now our Episcopal Moderator has said it, “in a word, the Lord wants us to be saints!” And what must be our first step? Prayer! It is clear to me what we must do and I would like to propose a plan that Archbishop Curtiss has approved for the Archdiocese of Omaha. It was proposed by two dear friends of the Pro Sanctity Movement, Fr. Daniel Kampschneider, pastor of St. Philip Neri in Omaha and Fr. Richard Reiser, Servant Minister to the Priests of the Archdiocese of Omaha. They suggest that we take the month of May (or begin at whatever point you can) and make a month of prayer, fasting and increased understanding to the current controversies in the Church. Fr. Richard Reiser was quoted in the Omaha Catholic Voice Newspaper saying, “Whenever we are confronted with struggles or sickness; we look to our faith tools rather than other places for nurturing. We are trying to see it and view it not only with the eyes of faith but also with a response of faith. Prayer is what connects us to the Lord in our suffering. He’s there for the perpetrators. He’s there for all of us on our journey….” Fr. Kampschneider, who personally knew our Founder, Bishop Giaquinta, went on to say that the petition, for this period of prayer is that “the Holy Spirit of God will heal the wounds of the people involved so our strength can be renewed as God’s people and we all can continue to do his work.”
Begin today!
Let us follow their exhortation to respond as the saints would, with prayer and action. “Saints”, says Pope John Paul II, “respond with faith, wholeheartedly and with total self-giving to Christ.” Bishop Giaquinta said the same, “As Christ spent all his life for others, so Christians must assume self-giving and service for their brethren as their norm of life.” I invite all the readers to offer a month of prayer, fasting and deepening of our understanding of the issues, of our call to holiness and commit to a greater generosity in living our call. It does not matter when we begin – just begin NOW. We cannot tell others to be holy and change their ways, we must in the words of Bishop Giaquinta, “be the first one to start your inner conversion, be the one to start, if I want to transform this world.”
For your encouragement, inspiration and sharing there will be a short daily reflection, occasional meditated rosaries, holy hours, and points for personal understanding and action posted via our WEB SITE: www. prosanctity.org and through a daily Pro Sanctity E-Mail letter. Write psm@prosanctity.org and let us know if you wish to be included on the list.
Teresa Monaghen, National Director of the Pro Sanctity Movement.