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he hottest Christmas gift of1969, for many people, wasn’tthe Slinky, the Nerf Ball or

even Avon’s cameo soap on a rope; itwas “Abbey Road,” the last albumrecorded by The Beatles. Released inthe United States the previousOctober, the album had spent 11weeks at number one before being dis-placed by “Let It Bleed,” by TheRolling Stones. By the third week inDecember, though, Christmas shop-pers had once again made “AbbeyRoad” the top-selling album inAmerica. The album’s cover, a photo-graph of the group at a zebra crossingin London, has become a nearly univer-sally recognized icon of the Fab Fourand their era.

I can assure you that “Abbey Road”was not on my mind when I picked thephotograph for this week’s cover. Infact, it was a couple of days before Ieven noticed the similarity; I was justlooking for something unconventional.You should know that the cover photois not intentionally evocative of theBeatles’ album cover, nor has it beenstaged in any way. The shepherds andthe Magi are actors, part of a live-human nativity scene that was orga-nized outside the U.S. Supreme Courtbuilding this month. A Christian grouphad organized the event to demonstratethat such displays are protected by theFirst Amendment.

That said, you won’t find anything inthis issue of America about that impor-tant yet impossibly tedious constitution-al debate. Strangely enough, the contentsof this Christmas issue have more incommon with “Abbey Road.” Like many,Richie Unterberger, the pop music criticand historian, regards “Abbey Road” asone of the greatest albums of all time.The work was actually a miracle of sorts.By 1969 Lennon, McCartney, Harrisonand Starr were barely on speaking termsand rarely worked together. At times,they were even recording their musicalparts separately. Yet “Abbey Road,” says

Unterberger, is the group’s “most tightlyconstructed” work and contains “some oftheir most intricate melodies, harmonies,and instrumental arrangements.”

So a group, one plagued by scandal,internal conflict, divergent personali-ties, some mutual contempt and even abit of greed, managed in “one of theirmost unified efforts” to effect a greatartistic triumph. Sound familiar? Itshould; it could describe the experienceof the American church in 2012. Inspite of everything—the partisanfeuds, the lingering effects of scandal,the crisis of belief—the church got onwith her work; the work of evangeliz-ing, the work of healing, the work ofjustice. Amid all the in-fighting and theacrimony, new hearts were won forChrist, souls were nourished, the hun-gry were fed, the naked were clothed,the sick were cared for. It was beautiful.

Still, the Lord calls us to more thanunified action; he calls us to a union ofhearts and minds as well. As our edito-rial puts it this week, “The one whosebirth is celebrated at Christmas makesspecific pleas for unity.” It is notenough simply to work together, torespect one another; we must forgive;we must love one another. Please don’twrite the editors of America if thatlast bit strikes you as naïve; take it upwith the Lord. He’s the one who said itfirst. He’s also the only one who canultimately make it happen; the unitywe seek begins and ends with the onewho united himself to us. The unity weseek is unity in truth, the babe inMary’s arms, that tiny, fragile humanbody in which truth became incarnate.

As everyone knows, The Beatlesbroke up just a year after “AbbeyRoad.” The church in the United Statesfaces no such fate. Apart from the factthat there is much more hope thanthere is despair, we have the promise ofthe Incarnate One: “I will be with youalways to the end of the age.” Countthat as our greatest gift this Christmas.

MATT MALONE, S.J.

PUBLISHED BY JESUITS OF THE UNITED STATES

TOF MANY THINGS

Cover: Actors dressed as shep-herds and Wise Men walk pastthe U.S. Capitol after demon-strating outside the nearbySupreme Court in Washington,Dec. 5, 2012. Reuters/JasonReed

PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHERJohn P. Schlegel, S.J.

EDITOR IN CHIEFMatt Malone, S.J.

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www.americamagazine.org Vol. 207 No. 19, WholE No. 4995 DECEmbEr 24-31, 2012

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CONTENTS

A R T I C L E S

11 ONE STEP FORWARD?“Deferred Action” yields cautious hope for undocumented youth.Robert McCreanor

C O L U M N S & D E P A R T M E N T S

4 Current Comment

5 Editorial A God Who Unites

6 Signs of the Times

9 Column City Limits Kyle T. Kramer

15 Faith in Focus Carrying On Kerry Weber

21 Poem Un Sogno d’Oro a NataleJohn P. McNamee

27 Letters

31 The Word Family Business; Christ ManifestPeter Feldmeier

B O O K S & C U LT U R E

18 FILM Wonderful lessons from the Capra masterpiece BOOKS Character Studies

John Anderson reviews the film “Amour.” Plus, a podcastconversation with editor in chief Matt Malone, S.J., andChristmas video reflections from the editors. All at americamagazine.org.

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4 America December 24-31, 2012

CURRENT COMMENT

Clothing the NakedThe story of the good Samaritan played out recently inNew York City, a Bible story familiar to anyone who workswith the indigent. A New York City police officer saw ahomeless man without shoes on a cold night. He boughthim a pair of boots, a simple act of charity that was caughton camera. The police officer became a folk hero while thehomeless man disappeared into the night. A week later hewas found again, but without shoes. “Those shoes are hid-den. They are worth a lot of money,” he explained to TheNew York Times. “I could lose my life.”Acts of charity, however well meant, sometimes are not

enough to help people in need. This is not a reason toabandon good works this Christmas season, but areminder that charity is a demanding virtue, one thatChristians should seek to practice every day. Charity callsus to establish bonds of solidarity with the needy and toaddress the causes of their need. Given the large number ofhomeless men and women, many of them afflicted withmental illness, the call of charity can seem like an impossi-ble obligation. Yet if the journey begins with a personalencounter, it can grow into something deeper, and realchange can ensue.Here is the hard truth: It is not enough for a Christian

to give a man of pair of shoes. He must also walk in them.

Fiscal Cliff NotesAs the nation tiptoes an inch or two closer to its much-hyped “fiscal cliff,” it is hard to tell how seriously to takemuch of the performances from the Boehner and Obamacamps as the final session of the 112th Congress windsdown. All the fiscal Kabuki theater in Washington may not

lead, this year, to the long-sought grand compromise onsustainable federal spending, but it may get the nation toan agreement that could provide the foundation for alonger, presumably more sensible discussion on tax andspending reform and budget priorities in 2013. Then, as aprimary signatory in the Circle of Protection, a social ser-vices advocacy coalition, the U.S. Conference of CatholicBishops will continue its defense of domestic and interna-tional programs that support the poorest and most vulner-able among us.Another development worth following is the viability of

a plan to put the semiannual debt-ceiling follies out of ourcollective miseries. Periodically, after passing one of its gar-gantuan budgets, Congress, in a bout of politically expedi-

ent buyer’s remorse, attempts to thwart itself by refusing toapprove a hike in the national debt ceiling, a fungible limiton borrowing. This is political performance art that merelyempowers a small group of deficit dead-enders in Congresswhile it offers the potential to gravely wound the credibili-ty of the United States and throw global bond marketsinto turmoil. After Congress has ordered the meal, it can-not refuse to accept the check.

A Rockne Start?An upset football victory by the University of NotreDame over Army once led the famed sportswriterGrantland Rice to conjure up an image of the apocalypseto describe Notre Dame’s backfield: “Outlined against ablue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again. Indramatic lore their names are Famine, Pestilence,Destruction and Death. These are only aliases. Their realnames are Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley and Layden.”Named were Notre Dame’s quarterback, right halfback,left halfback and fullback, respectively; and none of thefour weighed more than 170 pounds. Nevertheless, theyand the legendary coach Knute Rockne led Notre Dameto an undefeated season and a victory over Stanford in the1925 Rose Bowl to win the national championship.Dare one wonder if the harbingers of the Last Judgment

ride for real this time around? As signs of the apocalypsego, recent weeks have ranked pretty high for Notre Damefans. Notre Dame’s football team is once again undefeatedand is ranked No. 1 in the country going into January’sBowl Championship Series national championship game.Notre Dame has won its fair share of national champi-onships in the past, of course (eight in all, or 11, or 13,depending on your point of view and how long you’ve beentailgating outside the stadium), but it’s been 24 years sincethe Fighting Irish last finished on top; they went undefeat-ed to win the 1988 crown.That near quarter-century has been marked by periodic

bursts of optimism amid a lot of embarrassment and dis-appointment, both on and off the field. No more! On Jan. 7, 2013, the Fighting Irish will

have a chance to go 13-0 and bring a title home to SouthBend. One caveat: Notre Dame’s opponent, Alabama,has won more national championships and is a nine- orten-point favorite to win this year’s title game. Whichleads one to wonder if there is another biblical figurewho might be more apt than the Four Horsemen thistime around: David with his slingshot against themighty Goliath.

hristmas celebrates God’s overwhelming longing tobe united with us. So much did God desire this thathe became one of us, “pitching his tent among us,” as

the Gospel of John puts it (1:14). Yet unity seems a far-offgoal not only in our country, but in our church.

Some could even argue that disunity is what Godwants. “Do you think I have come to bring peace on earth?”asked Jesus. “No, I tell you, but division” (Lk 12:51). Thatprovocative line seems to indicate that Jesus’ message was notone of uniting but dividing. It could be used as an excuse formanifold divisions evident today. Jesus intended divisions, sois it worth working for unity?

If our answer to that last question is no, then we havemisunderstood Christ’s heartfelt desire for unity, which isexpressed several times in the New Testament. In a fine newbook, Jesus of Nazareth: What He Wanted, Who He Was, theGerman Scripture scholar Gerhard Lohfink unpacks thatcomplicated utterance. “Jesus has come to unite the peopleunder God’s rule, and he has indeed brought many peopletogether in this new condition,” writes Father Lohfink. “Hehas bridged chasms. He has assembled tax collectors andZealots, sinners and saints, poor and rich at one table. Hiscolorfully mixed band of disciples is a sign of this gatheringmovement.” The inevitable division, the author points out,comes only from opposition to Jesus’ message, an oppositionthat may even break families apart. The time for decision, saysJesus, is now; and he expects division only inasmuch as somewill fail to make the decision to join him in his mission. Butin the end, it is unity with the Father and with one anotherthat Jesus desires.

Heady stuff for Christmas time. But the theme of unityruns like a bright thread through the Advent and Christmasreadings. John the Baptist sets aside his personal goals tounite himself with the one whose coming he has foretold. “Hemust increase and I must decrease” ( Jn 3:30) is not only anexpression of the Baptist’s humility, but a call for his followersto join together and follow the Messiah.

At the annunciation, God unites in the most intimateway possible with humanity, divinizing our nature andhumanizing his divinity. In the wake of the annunciation,Joseph, facing his initial doubts and what must have beenfierce social pressure, cleaves to Mary, with whom he has beenunited by their betrothal. God does not desire Mary andJoseph to separate, but to cling together as one.

The infant Jesus himself is a physical sign of the union

of human and the divine. At hisbirth, revelation is united with therevealer; the Word is united withthe flesh; and a divine desire—theindwelling of God—is unitedwith a most earthly occurrence—a woman giving birth.

During his years of public ministry, Jesus will gatherpeople together. His work with the disciples is as a group. Weare so familiar with the call of the first disciples that we for-get that Jesus could just as easily have called only one person,say Peter, to help him with his ministry. But he does not. Jesuscalls a group, for a variety of reasons.

First, he might have understood the unique talentsthat each person brought to the table. The tax collectorMatthew brought a different set of gifts than the fishermanPeter or Mary, the woman of Magdala. Then, as now, thechurch needs everyone’s skills, man and woman alike.Second, Jesus most likely grasped the need for humanbeings to be with one another; faith is not a solitary propo-sition. Third, Jesus may have recognized that he himselfneeded people; he craved friendship. And in what wouldhave been an obvious sign, he selects 12 apostles. “WhatJesus says now is that he is gathering Israel,” writes FatherLohfink, “he is claiming to do precisely what God will do atthe end of time: gather, sanctify and unite Israel.”

The one whose birth is celebrated at Christmas makesspecific pleas for unity during his lifetime, seeking to “gathertogether” people as, in one of the Bible’s tenderest images, “ahen gathers her chicks” (Mt 23:37). “That they all may beone,” Jesus says in John’s Gospel (17:21), expressing the wish-es of his Father, with whom he is united as one.

God the Father desires all to be drawn to him. ThePrince of Peace desires an end to discord and violence. And theSpirit desires unity so ardently that at Pentecost he enlivensthe disciples with the gift of tongues so that the Gospel will beheard not simply by one group of people but by all.

At the first Christmas, God became radically one withhumanity. God continues to inflame the human heart with adeep desire for unity. Who does not wish for this? In ourdesires we hear echoes of God’s longing for the world. TheChristmas spirit, then, is more than the giving of gifts orbeing kind. It is a desire to do the hard work of reconciliation,a willingness to strive for concord, a readiness to cease parti-sanship and a fervent hope for union with one another, in thename of the one who united his life with our own.

A God Who Unites

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December 24-31, 2012 America 5

EDITORIAL


ore than 200 children and adults gathered on a street corner on Chicago’sSouth Side on Nov. 30 to pray for peace on their streets. Earlier thatweek, shots rang out at nearby St. Columbanus Church following the

funeral of a reputed gang member. One man was killed and another injured in theshooting. Catholic and other Christian pastors organized the prayer service, marchand concert because the man whose funeral the mourners were attending was amember of their community and was himself struck down violently.Eleven more shootings occurred on the evening of Dec. 3 and into the next

morning. So far in 2012, homicides in Chicago have risen to 480, a 21 percentincrease from 2011’s 398 homicides. If the trend continues, this year the city willlikely exceed 500 homicides for the first time since 2008. In a metropolitan area

SIGNS OF THE TIMESU R B A N V I O L E N C E

Chicago Catholics Challenged toBecome ‘Lobbyists for Peace’

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rocked by crime, Chicago-areaCatholics are being challenged torespond.The metro area’s streak of violence,

however, encompasses far more thanthe headline-grabbing homicide totals.From armed robberies and home inva-sions to child abuse and domesticassaults, violence in Chicago touchesall races, ethnicities, socioeconomicgroups and faiths, affecting all facets ofcommunity and family life. Catholics,many local faith leaders contend,should have a leading role in combat-ing the grim realities of urban violence.Earlier this year, the Rev. Michael

Pfleger, pastor of St. Sabina Parish,was named the archdiocesan represen-tative for newly developing anti-vio-lence initiatives. He has consistentlyurged Chicago-area Catholics to be“lobbyists against violence.”“Among all the great gifts Jesus gave

us, he chose to give us the gift of peace,”Father Pfleger said. “Our responsibilityis to share peace and lift it up.”Last October, in a steady rain, Carl

Quebedeaux, C.M.F., marched agroup of more than 200 people downthe streets of Chicago’s SoutheastSide. Together, the group—predomi-nantly parishioners from four SouthSide parishes—prayed for a morepeaceful community, lit candles inmemory of neighbors who had died asa result of violent acts and reflected onthe individual and collective roles theymight play in constructing peace.The traveling group stopped at an

intersection dubbed “Death Corner.”There Father Quebedeaux, pastor ofOur Lady of Guadalupe Church,blessed the intersection and, borrowinga Native American tradition, offeredprayers in four directions. The marchthen carried on, concluding with aMass at the Church of Our Lady ofGuadalupe, where participants made a

CHICAGO: Growingup under the gun


public pledge to create peaceful envi-ronments and protect the gift of life.“It was an effort to join in prayer, to

build community and to awaken thecourage to resist violence in our com-munities and our homes,” FatherQuebedeaux said. “There’s a tendencyto grow numb and say, ‘Violence isn’tmy problem,’ but this is somethingwe’re all involved in.”Father Pfleger, meanwhile, contin-

ues pushing for solutions that willcurb violence and promote toleranceand respect. He has called for church-led workshops teaching conflict reso-lution, sponsored a petition calling forthe banning of assault weapons andurged his fellow priests to preachabout the need for Catholics to fillpeacemaking roles.“There’s an unraveling of society

and we need to counteract this,” FatherPfleger said. “Peace has to be creat-ed—that’s our job as Catholics andChristians.”

R O M A N M I S S A L

New TranslationReceives WideAcceptance

hile it may do little to enddisagreements amongliturgists over recent

changes to the Roman Missal, a surveyconducted in September, nearly a yearafter controversial revisions of theEnglish language Mass took effect,found that seven in 10 Catholics agreethat the new translation of the Mass “isa good thing” (20 percent agree “strong-ly”). Nearly a quarter of the Catholicssurveyed (23 percent) disagreed, how-ever, and an additional 7 percent“strongly” disagree with the view thatthe changes were for the better.

Catholics who attend Mass weeklywere the most likely to be satisfied withthe new translation, according to areport prepared for the CatholicUniversity of America by GeorgetownUniversity’s Center for AppliedResearch in the Apostolate. Eighty-four percent said that the revised Masswas a “good thing.” Just over 60 percentof self-identified Catholicswho rarely or never attendMass, however, were not pos-itive about the changes. Thenew survey also found thatregular Mass attendance lev-els remained the same, com-pared with a similar studyconducted in 2011. Bothpolls estimated that about aquarter of adult Catholicsattend Mass weekly or moreoften. Last year’s surveyreported that only one infour adult Catholics wereaware of the then-impendingchanges to the English-lan-guage liturgy, which began to be usedduring Advent 2011. This is part of thereason why this year’s apparent level ofgeneral satisfaction is of interest.“As far as I am aware this is the only

‘pre- and post-’ national data examin-ing Catholic reactions to changes inthe liturgy,” noted Mark M. Gray,research associate at CARA and direc-tor of CARA Catholic Polls in a post-ing on CARA’s blog 1964 (nineteen-sixty-four.blogspot.com). CARAfound no statistically significantchanges in the numbers of Americanswho self-identify as Catholic in thelast year that might indicate an identi-fiable exodus from the church thatcould be related to the changes in theliturgy.Anthony Ruff, O.S.B., an associate

professor of theology at Saint John’sUniversity and School of Theology-

Seminary in Collegeville, Minn.,reviewed the findings and said theysuggested that “many people get usedto ritual language and probably don’tpay real close attention to it.“Most, not all, people accept the

new texts,” he said, “but that doesn’tmean they’re any good; look at howwell they accepted the bland texts we

used to have.” He added, “Liturgistsare glad the transition went well, butthey still know mediocre English whenthey see it, and they’ll continue to callfor a better revision with a better con-sultative process.”Four in 10 respondents said they

had noticed the language of liturgicalprayer had changed “to a small extent,”and 23 percent noticed changes to amoderate extent. Only 6 percent saidthey noticed changes to a great extent.Thirty-one percent said they did notnotice any changes. Those who per-ceived less change were most likely toagree that the new translation is agood thing. Among those who felt thelanguage was greatly changed, a major-ity disagree that the new translation isa good thing (65 percent). This group,however, made up only a small numberof respondents (6 percent).

OUT WITH THE OLD: St. Ann's in Fair Lawn, N.J.

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From CNS and other sources.

the 2011 general election not to intro-duce such legislation. The protestcame a week after Kenny promised“swift action” on study group recom-mendations that the governmentintroduce legislation to provide forabortion in limited circumstances. Inpractice, abortion is illegal in Ireland;but a 1992 Supreme Court judg-ment—known as the X case—foundthat there is a constitutional right toabortion where there is a substantialrisk to the life of the mother, includingthe risk of suicide, up to birth. Theissue has been much debated inIreland following the death of SavitaHalappanavar, a 31-year old dentist,on Oct. 28, after she was denied anabortion in an Irish hospital while suf-fering a miscarriage.

added. Typhoon Bopha made landfallon the east coast of Mindanao on Dec.4, lashing the island with 120-mphwinds and torrential rains. Curry saidthat a C.R.S. team reached NewBataan, a city of about 80,000 in theCompostela Valley, on Dec. 6 andfound much of the community undermud and without electricity. At presstime the death toll was more than 700and expected to climb higher.

Irish Abortion FightAn estimated crowd of 8,000 pro-lifedemonstrators braved bitterly coldweather to hold a candlelight vigil out-side the Irish parliament on Dec. 4,calling on the government not to intro-duce abortion legislation. Speakersfrom a coalition of pro-life organiza-tions asked Prime Minister EndaKenny to keep a pledge made before

The U.S. Catholic Church will celebrateNational Vocation Awareness Week from Jan.13 through Jan. 19. • Starting on Dec. 12, thefeast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, PopeBenedict XVI will be tweeting in eight lan-guages, including Arabic, from eight twitteraccounts, including one for English speakers,@Pontifex. • Louisiana’s Gov. Bobby Jindalcalled it “wrong-headed” and a “travesty,” but aLouisiana judge ruled on Nov. 30 that a school voucher programpassed by the state legislature last spring is unconstitutional. • TheVatican is offering a “Pope app,” which will provide alerts and linksto top stories from Vatican news outlets, including live streaming ofpapal events and video feeds from the Vatican’s six webcams. • TheBritish government on Dec. 3 called the Israeli government’s decisionto build 3,000 illegal new homes on Palestinian land a threat to “theviability of the two-state solution.” • DePaul University in Chicagohas joined a consortium of more than 30 higher education institu-tions and organizations offering emergency support to Syrian stu-dents and scholars affected by the crisis in their country.

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

N E W S B R I E F SProtect Those Most at RiskRepresentatives of faith-based devel-opment networks participating in aU.N. climate change conference inDoha, the capital of Qatar, urged gov-ernments to put aside national inter-ests and protect the common good andespecially people around the worldwho are most vulnerable to climatechange. Emilie Johann of the interna-tional alliance of Catholic develop-ment agencies, Cidse, said the arrivalof government ministers on Dec. 4should add some political leadershipto the negotiations. “So far, we haveneither seen commitments to deeperemission cuts, nor money on the tableto support communities which aremost affected by increasingly extremeweather,” she said. Government offi-cials should solidify agreements basedon the outcomes of last year’s climatesummit in Durban, South Africa. Thisyear’s round of global climate talks,organized by the U.N. FrameworkConvention on Climate Change, ispart of preparations for a new globalclimate deal by 2015.

Typhoon RecoveryThe destruction from Typhoon Bophain portions of Mindanao, in the south-ern Philippines, is worse than feared asrescue workers continued to discoverbodies under knee-deep mud, said aCatholic Relief Services official whocoordinates the agency’s stormresponse in early December. “It lookslike a tsunami hit. It’s just completeand total destruction. Whole hillsideswere washed away in flash floods,” saidJoe Curry, the C.R.S. country repre-sentative. “The staff there have beenthrough a half dozen typhoons andfloods in the Philippines, and they saythis is probably the worst,” Curry

Tweet the Pope!

by the city that was supposed to pro-tect them. When Jesus wept over Jerusalem, I

suspect it was because he understoodthe goodness and beauty ofhumankind that the city represented,but he also saw how Jerusalem’sinhabitants did not know “whatmakes for peace” (Lk 19:42). Creatingcities has become part and parcel ofhuman culture, but cities are a very

recent development inour evolutionary histo-ry, and we have yet tofigure out how to buildthem in socially andecologically sustainableways. If the comingdecades will bring bothbigger cities and biggerstorms, learning “whatmakes for peace” in thecity seems especiallycrucial.

Peace won’t come simply by Babel-like efforts to wall off our cities andelevate their real estate against nature’sthreats. Peaceful cities also depend onhealthy partnerships with the sur-rounding countryside, from whichcome nature’s gifts. City dwellers,please don’t just guzzle the energy,food, water and raw materials fromrural areas and then send us back aconvoy of garbage trucks. We countryfolks do not live on Nascar and PabstBlue Ribbon alone, so please use ourresources wisely and well, and thengive us something of value in return,like compost, telecommuter jobs, easi-er access to your cultural and intellec-tual resources and even the occasionalvisit. With such harmony, we could allthrive. And in times of stormy trouble,we will have your back.

am a stranger in the city. A fewyears in Atlanta were the extentof my city-dwelling, and the

entire time I always felt a vague senseof claustrophobia at being surroundedby the concrete moat of the I-285 belt-way. Living since then on a farm in therural Midwest, I am little used to theheavy traffic, crowds and sensory stim-ulation of urban centers. It was with some trepidation, then,

that I traveled recently to New YorkCity to deliver a lecture. To my sur-prise, I was enthralled. I marveled atthe amazing diversity of people andlanguages. I was dazzled by the city’sarchitecture. I partook of its rich cul-tural offerings. I felt tangibly the pulseof vibrant energy for which New Yorkis famous. Experiencing New York made me

reexamine my prejudices againsturban life. The tide of history isclearly toward cities; the WorldHealth Organization reports thathalf of the world’s people alreadydwell in urban areas, and by mid-cen-tury that figure will be seven in 10.Beyond the lights and glitter, whyhave cities exerted such a gravitation-al pull on the human race, and withwhat costs and benefits? Cities arose around 12,000 years

ago in the Neolithic period. Theadvent of agriculture created a popula-tion boom and freed many from foodproduction to become tradespeopleand merchants, who could then buildand occupy cities. More recently, therise of mechanized agriculture andurban-centered industrial manufactur-

ing turned the tide of urban immigra-tion into a torrent. Beyond mere economics, I believe

cities are born of two profoundhuman needs: for the safety andsecurity of human belonging and theequally powerful need to feel that wematter, that we have some signifi-cance in the vast cosmos. The storyof the tower of Babel in Genesis 11seems to indicate this: Underneaththe builders’ hubris, themore fundamental driverof tower-building and city-making was the fear ofbeing “scattered all overthe earth” into insecurealoneness and meaning-lessness. The irony for the inhab-

itants of Babel is that in theend, Yahweh “scatteredthem all over the earth” (v.8) anyway. They broughtupon themselves the very thing theybuilt the city to avoid.The same irony may be at play in

modern cities as well. We hope forthem to help us “dwell together as one”(Ps 133:1), but many city dwellerscontend with alienation, isolation andcrime. The high culture and intellectu-al life of cities are admirable pinnaclesof human achievement, yet manyurban residents struggle with cynicismand despair ( just like rural people, Ishould note). I returned from New York just two

days before Superstorm Sandy turnedit into a diluvian nightmare, sharpen-ing this irony all the more and remind-ing New Yorkers of their vulnerablecity’s limits. As in the Babel story,many residents were scattered fromtheir ruined homes and felt abandoned

City LimitsI

Why havecities exerted such a

gravitationalpull on thehuman race?


KYLE T. KRAMER is the author of A Time toPlant: Life Lessons in Work, Prayer, andDirt (Sorin Books, 2010).

KYLE T. KRAMER

n a Saturday morning in autumn, as rare tornado warnings and sheets ofpouring rain spread through New York City, hundreds of families lined upto enter the gymnasium of St. Joan of Arc Parish in the Jackson Heightssection of Queens. They filed through a series of workstations fashionedfrom folding chairs and tables where lawyers and Spanish language inter-

preters asked them a litany of questions: How did you enter the United States? Were youdetained at the U.S.-Mexico border? Have you ever been arrested? Are you enrolled inschool? Hardly distracted by their dripping wet clothing and the roar of wind and rainwhipping around outside, the participants answered dutifully and produced bundles ofpapers, including school transcripts, passports and family photos, laid out on tables as proofthat they have lived in this country since childhood.

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ROBERT MCCREANOR is director of legal services for Catholic Migration Services in Sunnyside, N.Y.

LEGAL OR LIMBO? Filling out paperwork for deferred status in Los Angeles

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One Step Forward?‘Deferred Action’ yields cautious hope for undocumented youth.

BY ROBERT MCCREANOR

The purpose of these interactions was to determine eachperson’s eligibility for relief under an Obama administrationprogram formally known as Deferred Action for ChildhoodArrivals. If granted deferred action status, a person whoentered the United States before the age of 16, either bycrossing the border without documents or with a visa thathas since expired, and meets certain other basic require-ments, would receive a two-year guarantee of reprieve fromdeportation as well as authorization to work legally in theUnited States. In other words, for thehundreds of young people patiently butintently working their way through theconcourse of this Catholic school gym inQueens, this might be their first steptoward the possibility of a normalcyenjoyed by many of their peers but painfully denied to themfor as long as they could remember. As I observed theirprogress through our makeshift legal clinic, however, I won-dered uneasily where this path would really lead them.

The Church RespondsOn June 15, 2012, Homeland Security Secretary JanetNapolitano announced that her agency would carry outadministratively what Congress apparently could notaccomplish legislatively. The deferred action policy is wide-ly regarded as the most significant development in immigra-

tion law in the past 25 years. Nearly one million individualsnationally are believed to be eligible for relief.As news of President Obama’s plan for granting a form of

immigration relief to undocumented immigrant youthflashed across our Twitter feeds, I was immediately pulledinto a frenzy of speculation about the number of potentialdeferred action applicants and planning for the anticipatedflood of phone calls and requests for legal assistance. Mystaff of fellow attorneys and I opened our calendars and the

diocesan directory, looking for gymnasi-ums, cafeterias and other large spaces inwhich to schedule workshops and legalclinics, and I sent an e-mail message toour roster of volunteer attorneys, formerinterns and friends who might consider

helping us to process what we believed (and slightly feared)would be thousands of deferred action applications. The geographic boundaries of the Diocese of Brooklyn,

encompassing the New York City boroughs of Brooklynand Queens, mark the center of the past 50 years of immi-gration in the northeastern United States. Queens alone isone of the most ethnically diverse urban areas in the nation:48 percent of its 2.2 million residents are foreign born. Ouroffice banners read “Diocese of Immigrants,” and Mass iscelebrated in 29 different languages each Sunday. Althoughlarger shares of the estimated 11.5 million undocumentedimmigrants in this country reside in California and Texas,New York City is believed to be home to more than a half-million individuals who lack legal immigration status. The community of nonprofit immigration legal services

providers to which we belong and which includes more than200 diocesan immigration programs nationwide was givenadditional time to prepare for the flood of applicants as wewaited for the Department of Homeland Security to releaseits application guidelines and forms. On Aug. 15 the wait-ing ended and the floodgates were opened. We are now infull-service provision mode for undocumented immigrantyouth, screening for eligibility, preparing applications andassembling evidence to support claims for relief under thisnew administrative policy.

Finding Temporary ReliefStanding in the gymnasium in Queens as we welcomed andassisted hundreds of applicants, I experienced conflictingemotions. I have conducted scores of similarly structuredcommunity-based legal clinics over the past 10 years—someat St. Joan of Arc and others in surrounding neighborhoods,where the concentration of undocumented immigrants isalso substantial. Typically, these exercises in lawyering werefrustratingly simple as I quickly concluded that one personafter another was ineligible for any form of immigrationrelief. Explaining the sad reality of our broken immigration


ON THE WEBFred Kammer, S.J., talks about

immigration reform. americamagazine.org/podcast

system to each person who waited to speak with me in thehopes of finding a path to legalization, I felt drained anduseless. Many years of doing this work takes a toll on a pub-lic interest lawyer. But now the situation has changed. It isespecially meaningful for me to present—at long last—anopportunity in the law to the familiar parishioners whostand in line. But how much will these young people benefit if their

applications are approved? That question weighed on me asI explained the parameters of deferred action to groups offamilies waiting their turn at the screening station. It hasbeen widely noted that the new policy is not a means ofobtaining lawful status or a path to citizenship. The pro-gram merely guarantees that an approved applicant will notbe subject to removal or deportation for two years and pro-vides for employment authorization. It is a sort of limbo—albeit one that is preferable to their current situation—thatcould change if the program expires and no further reformof the system occurs. Since the illegal presence in the UnitedStates of each applicant becomes known to the government,some fear that applicants may be subjected to deportationproceedings when the program expires.My sense that this is only a minor and politically pre-

carious improvement upon our miserable immigrationpolicy is heightened by the visual appearance of the appli-cants listening to me while surrounded by their grandpar-ents, mothers, fathers and siblings. Each of these familyportraits causes me to reflect upon the very narrow scopeof eligibility for relief. I see the faces of family membersexcluded from this opportunity. They dream of gettingtheir own papers, but they are not “dreamers” as the termis defined by this policy. Amid the exhilaration of process-ing these applications, it is sobering to observe those left inthe shadows. I imagine these ambiguous feelings are shared by the

many attorneys, immigration counselors and volunteersworking long hours to assist in the submission of hundredsof thousands of deferred action applications. In the first fewweeks more than 72,000 applications were submitted. Ouroffice continues to assist dozens of eligible youth weekly. Inaddition to the substantial volume of applicants, what elsemight indicate that this development is a positive one in theworld of immigration law? I hope that the many youngimmigrant adults who received some sense of protectionwill be further emboldened as a force for political change.This significant but limited victory for justice may havebeen prompted by a pressured political calculation, but themany beneficiaries braving the storm and filling the gymna-sium at St. Joan of Arc and their peers throughout the coun-try may also persevere through the political tempest of theimmigration issue and help generate more executive and leg-islative actions like this one.


A

ore than 25 years ago, Icame home from pre-school and presented my

mother with a cleaned-out baby foodjar decorated to look like theface of Santa Claus. The jarcontained three red and greenstarlight mints and bore a lop-sided felt hat, vacuous felt eyesand a felt moustache and bowtie, but, inexplicably, no signa-ture beard. It looked more likethe old mascot for the PapaGino’s pizza chain than it didPère Noël. Still, my motherproudly placed it on display inour home. Every year since, shehas done the same.Given its age, the creation

has held up remarkably well,save for the starlight mints,which have turned a sickly,sticky brown. Yes, the mints arestill there. This is partlybecause we are afraid to open the jarand partly because of: Tradition!The Weber family takes our tradi-

tions seriously, and occasionally to thepoint of absurdity, especially whereChristmas is involved. Consider, forinstance, our dedication to watchingthe 1978 classic “Christmas Eve onSesame Street” every Christmas Eve. Idon’t recall which year, exactly, westarted watching it, but I also can’trecall one when we didn’t. The tradi-tion began sometime before “SesameStreet” acquired a kind of retro cooland has continued long after my sib-

Carrying On One family’s Christmas tradition BY KERRY WEBER

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lings and I passed the drinking age.The early viewings involved a ver-

sion of the film we recorded ourselveswith a Beta videotape recorder from a

fuzzy PBS channel by way of anantenna. Sometime in the 1990s webroke down and purchased a legiti-mate copy on VHS. This is the ver-sion we currently watch because, oncewe pull out the old VCR and find thecords and figure out how to hook it upto the TV and rewind the tape, it stillworks. Like I said: Tradition!The film’s main plotline revolves

around Big Bird’s efforts to discoverhow Santa Claus gets down chimneys.Wackiness ensues. But the film’s bestparts are in the secondary plots andsmaller moments: Kermit the Froginterviewing children of the ’70s; Bertand Ernie living out their own versionof O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi”;

Cookie Monster’s efforts to write a let-ter to Santa, but instead eating everywriting implement he gets his handson.

Of course, like most films,there are a few flaws. My dad,an engineer, complains whenOscar the Grouch fallsthrough a load-bearing wallthat appears to be made ofnothing more than a sheet ofdrywall. As a frequent rideron New York City publictransit, I marvel at the widthof the suspiciously spacioussubway car onto which theSesame Street residents man-age to carry a full-sizedChristmas tree without com-plaint. And we all grin at eachother and mumble along withPatty, a friend of Big Bird, asthe young actress snifflesthrough her saddest lines:

“Big Bird’s gone.” (Spoiler alert: He’son the roof of an apartment building,looking for Santa.) Despite our sym-pathy, we can’t help but be distractedby the fact that Patty’s lips barely movewhen she delivers the news. Still, for the most part, our family

watches the film without irony. Sowhen the characters walk along thesidewalks of “Sesame Street’s” NewYork and onto the subway whilesinging about Christmas miracles, weWebers join in the song. (Once, on arelatively empty A train, my sister andI tried to recreate our own version ofthis scene, but it wasn’t quite the samewithout the Muppets or the ability tosing on key.) And when a crowd of

FAITH IN FOCUS

KERRY WEBER is an associate editor ofAmerica.

“Sesame Street” kids launches into“Keep Christmas With You”—a songabout maintaining the spirit ofChristmas throughout the year—wejoin in both the sung lyrics and theaccompanying gestures in AmericanSign Language. The film isn’t religiousby any means, but its message of loveand of belief in things we can’t quiteexplain is not lost on a Catholic imag-ination. Despite the Weber family endorse-

ment, I seldom come across an individ-ual who is familiar with “ChristmasEve on Sesame Street,” and it rarelypops up on television. Which is why Iwas so thrilled last year when a friendtold me about a showing of the film ata local museum. I immediately markedit on my calendar and began day-dreaming of the theater as an enor-mous version of the Weber family liv-ing room (but with the luxury of aclearer, larger screen) filled with peo-ple who also have memorized everymagical moment.

But, of the eight million people inNew York City, only about 50—most-ly hipsters and, appropriately, parentswith young children—showed up tothis Saturday afternoon screening. Wesettled in, scattered throughout thetheater. The collective enthusiasm inthe crowd barely matched that of anysingle member of my family. Andwhen “Keep Christmas With You”blasted through the speakers, I startedto sing along in American SignLanguage, but no one joined in. Thisprobably should have been less sur-prising to me than it was.It wouldn’t be hard to criticize my

family’s routine—five full-grownadults watching puppets—as childish.But I see it as a time when we simplycome together, let go of the stresses ofthe season and allow ourselves to bepresent. We forget about the cynicismsand the blame, our faults and our fears.We aren’t children anymore, but once ayear, for just an hour, each of us feelschildlike.

In the end I know that as entertain-ing as the “Sesame Street” gang can be,it’s not the film itself that prompts thischange so much as it is the desire to sitdown and remember the importanceof those things that we believe but can-not see. And in this sense, strange as itmay sound, this family movie timeechoes an hour we always spendtogether earlier in the evening, theChristmas Eve Mass—another Weberfamily favorite.Sitting in a pew at the cathedral, we

are reminded not only of the transfor-mative power of one child, but also ofthe need to trust in the value of thechildlike humility we are all called toembody. It is a time when we areasked, once again, not simply toremember Christ’s love, but to take upour place in the long line of those whohave come after him—proclaiming amessage of joy, peace and redemp-tion—and to continue every day, inone voice, as one family in Christ, tocarry on that tradition.


A

with Potter otherwise!” Go toYouTube and watch the moment whenCapra zooms in on George’s anguishedface (35 minutes into the film).Four years later, George is still run-

ning the business with his daffy UncleBilly, when Harry, his talented kidbrother, graduates from college. Harry,it turns out, has just married and hisfather-in-law has offered him a job. “Inever said I’d take it,” Harry tellsGeorge. “You’ve been holding the baghere for four years, and I won’t let youdown.” Look again at George’s face (atthe 37-minute mark). See the changethat comes over a determined mouth,how a smile emerges, eyes brightenand the body moves forward almostunintended. Capra has us watchinghuman virtue in action. George urgeshis brother to take that job in Buffalo.Back home at a party for Harry and

Ruth, George’s mother urges him tocall on Mary Hatch (Donna Reed),also just home from college. She has acrush on George, but it is only whenher beau, Sam Wainwright, calls herfrom New York that a cloud of tensionturns to steam; George and Mary endthe scene in a passionate kiss. This isnot the last time Sam will promptGeorge to see himself truly.George and Mary wed on a gloomy

day a few years after the great crash of1929. As they announce to a cab driv-er their honeymoon plans, people runto the bank teller windows. The bankhas locked its doors. So has theBuilding & Loan, where Uncle Billy isalready drinking himself under thetable. At day’s end, George and Mary

e’ve all had thosemoments in Decemberwhen we clicked through

the channels and found It’s aWonderful Life nearly everywhere.Yet it would be tragic if the past over-exposure of Frank Capra’s 1946 filmfooled us into seeing it as anything lessthan a masterpiece. What’s more, thefilm offers a profound understandingof the Gospels.Is George Bailey a saint? Not exact-

ly. He might just be lucky or unluckyor human.Anxious to leave bucolic Bedford

Falls, George ( Jimmy Stewart) tells hisfather, “I want to do something big,something important!” He doesn’t yetsee how his father’s work fits that goalprecisely. Then there’s Mr. Potter, astwisted as Eden’s serpent, brought tolife by the Shakespearean-trainedLionel Barrymore. Good and evil arepresented as “opposed but almostequal” forces through these two char-acters. Potter wants nothing but to seegoodness fail.When George’s father dies, Potter

makes a motion at the first boardmeeting to dissolve Peter Bailey’sBuilding & Loan and turn its assetsover to the receiver, which is the bankPotter owns. Capra liked to center hisdramas on pivotal moments in a char-acter’s life, and with an actor likeStewart, he had all he needed. AsGeorge rushes out the door, the chair-man catches him to say that the boardhas just appointed George to replacehis dad. No way, George says, “I’mleaving.” “But, George! They’ll vote

have given away all they’d saved for ahoneymoon, and Mary has arrangedfor them to spend the night in anabandoned house in Bedford Falls.She has decorated the walls withposters of the places abroad Georgehas longed to see, but never will. IfMary and George are saints, they gotthat way through marriage.George and Mary consistently turn

negative situations into positive ones.They find their calling in the world, tohelp people find affordable homes.The Building & Loan does not simplylend money; George advocates for hiscustomers and risks his own family’sfinancial security. We watch them helpthe local barkeep and his family moveaway from Potter’s Field, which iswhat the townspeople call Potter’srented shacks. The name is biblical:Judas hanged himself in “potter’sfield…a burying place for strangers”(Mt 27:3-8).

Potter’s InvitationWith Bailey-financed homes pokingup all over, a fed-up Potter invites thenow 28-year-old George for a chat.His attempt to lure George to the darkside almost works. The old man offersGeorge a job managing his propertiesfor $20,000 a year (about $300,000today), with an opportunity to travel.George looks like a cat spying tunauntil he remembers who he is. Andwho Potter is. For a split secondGeorge nearly lets down his guard.George and Mary have four chil-

dren. She transforms the old ghosthouse into a home; George, frustratedby Potter at every turn, returns fromwork exhausted most days. Thencomes World War II. Everyone is offto fight the enemy, something Georgewould dearly want to do, as well. Butthe deaf ear he acquired as a kid while


BOOKS & CULTURE

W

F I L M | JON M. SWEENEY

SIGNS OF ‘LIFE’Wonderful lessons from the Capra masterpiece

never existed.Guided by Clarence, George sees

the effects of his hopelessness, his wishagainst life. The kingdom of God can-not be found in Bedford Falls withoutGeorge. In fact, it isn’t even BedfordFalls anymore, but Pottersville. Ahaunting vision of desperation, pettycrime and death rears up everywhere.It is like much of what we see in ourworld, perhaps also because one per-son has given up. Clarence showsGeorge what the world would be like ifGeorge hadn’t done what he did at keymoments. “Strange, isn’t it?” Clarencesays. “Each man’s life touches so manyother lives, and when he isn’t aroundhe leaves an awful hole.”

Back From the DeadA few more minutes of this andGeorge prays, “I want to live again!” Atthat George stands where he wasbefore, on the bridge, missing $8,000and half-drunk but no longer desper-ate. Realizing that his life has comeback to him, George sprints home,yelling, “Merry Christmas!” to everypasserby. His jubilation comes acrossto others as courage, a willingness tosee the hopeful side of a desperate sit-uation. Little do they know: Georgehas just come back from the dead.Detectives arrive at George’s home

with a warrant for his arrest. ThenMary bursts in. She’s been out lookingfor George, and in the process telling

saving Harry’s life in icy water, keepshim home. And Harry becomes agreat war hero, shooting down 15German planes and receiving theCongressional Medal of Honor. Thencomes the long, final day.It is Christmas Eve when a bank

examiner arrives at the office to reviewthe books. Uncle Billy has misplacedthe deposit, however, losing every centthe Building & Loan had. Facing scan-dal and ruin, George stops by thehouse. Mary has never seen her hus-band with this look of desperation. Sheought to be scared—George has goneto Potter to beg him for the $8,000 heneeds. But Potter, who found the lostdeposit, almost chokes on his evilchortling at George’s misfortune.When Potter spits out, “You are worthmore dead than alive!” George’s eyeslight up (at 1 hr. 34 min.).In Capra’s next turnkey moment,

George contemplates ending his life.Alone at a bar he prays. Until thispoint, we have not heard George, a sec-ular saint, pray. “Dear Father in heav-en…if you’re up there…and you canhear me, show me the way.” When hehears no response, George drives hiscar as close to the river as he can in hisdrunken state, stumbles to the bridgeand looks down at the swirling waters.He climbs up on the railing.This famous scene (at 1:38)

reminds me of the parable of the richman and Lazarus, but turned on itshead. In Capra’s vision, Lazarus getsone more chance, in the form of a mancome back from the dead, and it saveshim. George’s guardian angel, Clarence(Henry Travers), suddenly present,jumps into the river. George’s habitualvirtue sends him over the side, as heleaps into the waters to help a personin need.“I’m the answer to your prayer,”

Clarence tells George as they dry off.“I wish I’d never been born!” Georgeconfides. So Clarence nods to heaven—and poof!—the world becomes aplace in which George Bailey had


ON THE ROAD TO SALVATION: Henry Travers and James Stewart

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everyone in town what has happened.“Come downstairs,” Mary says; “they’reon their way!” Uncle Billy arrives first,carrying a basket of bills people havethrown in upon hearing that George isin trouble. Then everyone in townleaves some money with a smile and a“Merry Christmas, George.” BedfordFalls turns out to be George’s salvation.In the Hebrew Bible and in the

teachings of Jesus, salvation is not aboutwhere you go when you die. To be savedis to be lifted up and set on your feet,stopping the forces that want to catchus by the heels or pull us under.There is one problem, however, in

the generosity of salvation in the film.Ernie the cab driver reads a telegramreceived from London: “My officeinstructed to advance you up to$25,000!” writes Sam Wainwright.Though everyone cheers, the look onGeorge’s face suggests something is off.The uneasiness of Sam’s offer has

been lost on millions of viewers overthe decades. Sam, though a bit goofy, isconniving and selfish. His headlongpursuit of money permeates every keymoment of the movie. He made mil-lions betting on the ground floor ofplastics and on properties in Florida.Sam is the man that George is not.And when the meek are supposed toinherit the earth, it’s Sam who tries tomake it possible. Don’t believe it.George clearly doesn’t. Those peoplewalking through the door of Georgeand Mary’s house bring enough to sat-isfy the couple’s every need. That is themessage of “It’s a Wonderful Life”:there is power in community.At the film’s denouement, Harry

steps into the living room, someonehands him a glass and he raises a toast:“To my big brother, George. The rich-est man in town!” Indeed, George isthat, and the riches are the sort thatthe likes of Sam Wainwright willnever comprehend.

JON M. SWEENEY is the author of The PopeWho Quit: A True Medieval Tale ofMystery, Death and Salvation (Image, 2012).


The John Courtney MurrayLecture for 2012-13

An Invitation from America Magazine

The John Courtney Murray Lecture is beingre-established this year to commemorate theFiftieth Anniversary of the opening of the SecondVatican Council and to celebrate this renownedtheologian whose lifework culminated in the“Declaration on Religious Liberty” in 1965.

Rev. Bryan HehirParker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of thePractice of Religion and Public LifeHarvard Kennedy School

Postconciliar Catholicism What John Courtney Murray Did Say,

Did Not Say and Might Have Said

January 14, 2013Reception at 5:00 Lecture at 6:00

Pope AuditoriumFordham Universityat Lincoln Center

W. 60th St. and Columbus Ave.This lecture is made possible by a gift from Donald R Keough. The lecture isalso sponsored in part by a bequest by John J. Riordan, late of McLean, Va.,in memory of his parents, Martin and Julia Riordan, late of Roxbury, Mass.

Free and Open to the Public

Please e-mail your response to [email protected]

or call 212-581-4640. Also indicate the number attending.

John Courtney

Murray


Un Sogno d’Oro a Natale

Were I a friar of Convento San Marco

In Florence of the Quattrocento

With Fra Angelico and students

Working on some fifty frescos

And every tiny cell a shrine

I would ask for myself

“An Annunciation or Nativity please!”

An image luminous enough to brighten

The darkness of the pre-dawn call

From grand silence to matins

Greeting me from the foot of my cot

The serene figures the muted colors

Catching the early eastern glow

Would make every morning Christmas

J O H N P . M C N A M E E

JOHN P. MCNAMEE, Pastor emeritus of Saint Malachy Churchin Philadelphia, is the author of five books, including Diary of aCity Priest (made into a film) and a book of poems, Derrybegand Back.

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Not just because it is Christmas, butbecause we love to encourage reading, weinvited some friends to recommend to ourreaders in very few words a favorite bookand author—specifically a book thatwould help a younger person in highschool or college develop his or her owncharacter.

Raymond A. Schroth, S.J.Literary Editor

THE PLUNGEGiving a book is an occasion to tell astory. I’d give a young person JamesJoyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a YoungMan saying that I was assigned it byMr. Pontrelli, my Saint Peter’s College1957 freshman English teacher. Before

Pontrelli I thought people read booksfor entertainment. But Pontrellitaught us that literature is not escapebut a plunge into our depth. So I’dwrite on the gift card, “Time to takethe post-adolescent plunge withStephen Dedalus?”

JAMES R. KELLY is a professor emeritus ofsociology at Fordham University.

WOLFF BOYLiving in Washington’s hill country,Tobias Wolff, in his This Boy’s Life, AMemoir, grows up in the 1950s withhis quirky mother and sadistic stepfa-ther. Wolff survives by acting out andputting on a tough-guy exterior. Heescapes his troubled youth through his

talent for writing, which shows onevery page of this eloquent memoir.

DIANE SCHARPER is a frequent reviewer forAmerica and a poet.

NO R IVALI suggest Team of Rivals: The PoliticalGenius of Abraham Lincoln, by DorisKearns Goodwin, in conjunction withthe great new film “Lincoln,” directed byStephen Spielberg, which is based on it.The book shows, of course, one of thegreat heroes of American political life atwork, but also demonstrates for ourpolitically fractured age how rivals canwork together for the common good.

JEFFREY VON ARX, S.J., is president ofFairfield University.

BEFORE T WIL IGHTBram Stoker’s Dracula is a grotesque-ly horrifying tale of a supernatural evilamong Victorian England’s unsuspect-ing people of privilege, creating fittingparallels for our times. The sheer vol-ume of sex, violence, greed, madnessand carnage handily challenges anycaricature of Victorian prudery.

LAURA CHMIELEWSKI teaches history atState University of New York—Purchase.

ESCAP ISMUnbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, isthe story of a juvenile delinquent whoescaped a life of crime by becoming anOlympic gold medalist. Endurancelater enabled WWII airman LouisZamperini to survive 47 days afloat inthe Pacific, followed by two years onExecution Island, where a psychopath-ic guard excelled in tormenting him.He escaped his past and saved hismarriage by forgiving his enemy.

CAMILLE D’ARIENZO, R.S.M., is a frequentcommentator on New York News Radio WINS.

PRE -EMPT IVE PARENTWhy ask an ancient to recommend abook for the "young"? Since I can’timagine bridging the gap, I recom-


B O O K S

CHARACTER STUDIES

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The Catholic Imagination, Practical Theology for the Liturgical Year, is a journeythrough the liturgical year by way of weekly reflections on the life of thechurch. Through reading, thinking, and discussion, the religious imaginationis stimulated and structured so the reader can reflect on and act upon therichness of our faith to enter into a relationship with God. Reflections on thelives of the saints, their writings, their meaning for our times, the importanceand value of creation and the natural world, the significance of the sacraments, sacramental devotions, and the timelessnesss of the gospel message encourage the reader to coordinate their actions with the weeklytopic. The book offers big ideas in a small package, a weekly lesson to learnas part of on-going catechesis on one’s own time.

ISBN: 978-1-62032-051-8 /$21 / 182 pp. / paperwww.wipfandstock.com

The Catholic ImaginationPractical Theology for the Liturgical Year

by SSkkyyaa AAbbbbaattee

Inspirational, practical theology that captures the faith, richly grounded in Scripture and compassionate reflection.

Orders available on Amazon.com and as a Kindle edition, from your favorite book seller or order directly from the publisher via phone (541) 344-1528, fax (541) 344-1506, or e-mail us at [email protected]

Media, Examination, and Review Copies: Contact: James Stock (541) 344-1528 ext 103 or [email protected]

mend a book about the gap:Marilynne Robinson’s 2005 PulitzerPrize-winning novel, Gilead. JohnAmes, a rural pastor who has becomea father in his old age, is dying. Hewrites daily reflections for his youngchild to read later in life, blendingfamily history with poignant justifi-cation for his own life and theology.

GEORGE DENNIS O’BRIEN, a philosopher, isthe former president of the University ofRochester.

LET TERS CARRIEREliza Peabody is the central characterof Jane Gardam’s The Queen of theTambourine. The story developsthrough letters Eliza writes to Joan,who may or may not exist. Humorousand poignant, with a conclusion youwon’t learn here. I predict you will thenmove to other Gardam novels. Thereare many.

WILLIAM NEENAN, S.J., is well known atBoston College for his reading lists.

PLA IN JANEStudents find Charlotte Bronte’s JaneEyre stirring. I think this is because ofJane’s honesty, beginning in Chapter 4,when she confronts that pious fraudBrocklehurst and her mean old aunt,who gives way before the force of thathonesty with startling timidity, andlater refuses to surrender to Rochester(who is married) her independenceand integrity.

ROBERT MCCARTHY, S.J., teaches English atSaint Peter’s University, Jersey City, N.J.

HEROIC L IVESI recommend Lest Innocent Blood BeShed, Phillip Hallie’s warmly toldaccount of Le Chambon, theProtestant village in Vichy-con-trolled France that harbored thou-sands of Jews, saving them from cer-tain death. Stories of the strongcrushing the weak abound. Here is ahistory of goodness filled with every-day heroes who possess an aggressive

conviction of the preciousness of life.

CLAIRE SCHAEFFER-DUFFY lives and worksat the Saints Francis and Therese CatholicWorker of Worcester, Mass.

L IFE -CHANGINGMy first exposure to the theory of evo-lution in sophomore biology class trig-gered my interest in Charles Darwinand compelled me to read his seminalbook, On the Origin of Species. Fromhis keen observation of unique endem-ic species on the Galapagos Islandscame the theory of evolution by natu-ral selection—the foundation of mod-ern biology.

MARK AITA, S.J., M.D., teaches medical ethicsat St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Pa.

UNENDING WITNESSWho says that Republicans andDemocrats can’t agree on anything?Not one but two administrations havesanctioned an unending global waressentially fought in secret. There is no


accountability, even for torture. In suchperilous times, Daniel Berrigan, S.J.’sEssential Writings (ed. John Dear)bears witness to a lifetime of disciple-ship and advocacy for peace.

LUKE HANSEN, S.J., is an associate editor ofAmerica.

RADICAL CATHOLICDorothy Day: Selected Writings (ed.Robert Ellsberg) is a wonderful entreeinto the world of the radical journalistwho embraced Catholicism even as shechallenged the church and “the system.”This collection allows the story ofDay’s life to unfold through her writ-ings. I own many books about Day, butI return to this one again and again tobe inspired and held accountable.

JULIE HANLON RUBIO is associate professorof Christian ethics at Saint Louis University.

MOUNTAIN CL IMBERAsk me to recommend a book and Iwill instinctively reach back for a clas-sic before pointing to something new.In that spirit, I believe every college-bound reader could do no better thanspend a couple of days poring overThomas Merton’s autobiography, TheSeven Storey Mountain, a bestseller inthe years after WWII, when it waspublished. When he gave up the worldto become a Trappist monk, Mertonbecame rich; and he writes about it fer-vently in ways I don’t think any writercould do today.

JON M. SWEENEY is author of The PopeWho Quit.

PAT IENT TRAVELERI recommend Daniel Defoe’s Robin-son Crusoe not for the adventure butfor its silence and solitude. Crusoe isalone. He spends nine years hollowingout a tree trunk to make a canoe—nine years! In our age of distraction,his days and years are a revelation.

EILEEN MARKEY is a freelance writer in TheBronx, N.Y..


a practicing Catholic, hold a master’s degree, doc-toral degree preferred, demonstrate a minimum offive years successful experience in secondary schooladministration, preferably in a Catholic school,and present a proven track record of accomplish-ment. Position is available July 1, 2013. Salary iscompetitive and commensurate with experience.Interested and qualified candidates are asked tosubmit electronically a letter of introduction; arésumé; a statement describing “The Role ofToday’s Catholic Secondary School Administratorin Sustaining Catholic Values and EducationalExcellence”; as well as the names, addresses, tele-phone numbers and e-mail addresses of five pro-fessional references to: Chaminade CollegePreparatory High School—Principal Search,Catholic School Management, Inc., Attn: Lois K.Draina, at [email protected] of applications will begin immediately andcontinue until the position is filled.

RetreatsBETHANY RETREAT HOUSE, East Chicago, Ind.,offers private and individually directed silent retreats,including dreamwork and Ignatian 30 days, year-round in a prayerful home setting. ContactJoyce Diltz, P.H.J.C.; Ph: (219) 398-5047;[email protected]; bethanyretreathouse.org.

TranslatorI WILL TRANSLATE INTO SPANISH any book,article, essay, blog, Web site, newsletter. LuisBaudry-Simon, [email protected]; Ph.(815) 694-0713.

WillsPlease remember America in your will. Our legal titleis: America Press Inc., 106 West 56th Street, NewYork, NY 10019.

Christian ListeningI was delighted to read your editorial“The Work Ahead” (11/26), on theresults of the election. It was the mostnonpartisan, nonjudgmental Christianapproach to a political scene that Ihave ever read. I have a hard time deal-ing with the “opposition,” but the fol-lowing sentence in your editorial reallyhelped: “Only when one holds to theprinciple that the ‘other side’ mighthave something meaningful to saydoes genuine listening become possi-ble.” Thank you for helping me to bemore tolerant. America serves us well.

MARY RIORDAN, R.S.M.Gulfport, Miss.

TouchéIs your Jesuitical slip showing? “OfMany Things,” by Matt Malone, S.J.(11/26), defends the stance of JosephMcShane, S.J., president of FordhamUniversity, regarding the CollegeRepublicans’ invitation to AnnCoulter.Yet America’s editorial in the issue

of Oct. 15, 2007, “‘Jaw, Jaw,’ Not ‘War,War,’” applauded Columbia Universityfor inviting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,the president of Iran, to address itsSchool of International and PublicAffairs, as “in the best tradition of uni-versity life....”Surely, Ms. Coulter, no matter how

“mean” she might be in communicatingher ideas (some of which I find offen-sive), deserves the same protectionextended to Ahmadinejad. It wouldhave been in the best tradition of what aliberal arts university should stand for.

JIM TOLANNew York, N.Y.

Editor's Note: Mr. Ahmadinejad is thehead of government of a sovereign statewith which the United States is in ideolog-ical and potentially literal conflict. Ms.Coulter is a popular commentator.Different standards and expectationsapply. Suffice it to say, America does not


CLASS IF IED LETTERS

BooksADULT FAITH STUDY. Faith and reason togeth-er: www.WordUnlimited.com.

PositionsCOVENANT HEALTH in Lubbock, Tex., is seek-ing a dynamic leader as VICE PRESIDENT,MISSION INTEGRATION. The VicePresident supports and assists thePresident/C.E.O. in enabling the healing ministryof Jesus to be vital and operational in the regionand local health care setting. This provides leader-ship, direction, consultation and coaching in defin-ing and integrating Catholic and Methodist identi-ty and mission into policies, procedures, programsand growth strategies affecting the character andpractice of governance and management ofCovenant Health. The Vice President serves as amember of the Executive Management Team andoversees the planning, administration, coordina-tion and evaluation of assigned business units andservices (i.e., Mission Services, CommunityOutreach and Community Benefit, Advocacy andSpiritual Care, including Clinical PastoralEducation program).

Requirements: Roman Catholic faith with amaster’s degree in health care, spirituality, businessor related field. Must have 3 to 5 years in an exec-utive or leadership role. For more information call:Tom Reid, Search Consultant, The Reid Group(800) 916-3472. Application deadline: Jan. 15,2013.

PRINCIPAL, CHAMINADE COLLEGE PEPARA-TORY HIGH SCHOOL, West Hills, Calif.Chaminade College Preparatory High School(www.chaminade.org), providing with distinctionmore than 60 years of quality Catholic/Marianisteducation for students in grades 9-12 in the beau-tiful San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, issearching for a dynamic, collaborative and mission-driven Principal. Building on a culture of “Settingthe Standard” in all areas of the school, Chaminadeattracts over 2,000 young men and women ingrades 6-12 to its exciting campuses. The vibranthigh school, recognized as one of the best in thishighly competitive area, enjoys an enrollment atfull capacity of 1,300. The new Principal ofChaminade High School will be a strong, princi-pled, energetic and committed instructional leaderwho exemplifies and promotes its rich Catholicand Marianist traditions. The successful applicantwill be a relationship builder, being attentive to andpartnering with all constituent groups, willembrace Chaminade’s “family spirit,” which is atthe core of the Chaminade experience, and be pas-sionate about deepening the school’s commitmentto continuous innovation. The new Principal willbe comfortable working within aPresident/Principal model of administration, willappreciate being part of one school serving grades6-12 on two distinct campuses, will embracechange and will be prepared to participate fully inthe life of the school. A qualified applicant must be

America classified. Classified advertisements areaccepted for publication in either the print version ofAmerica or on our Web site, www.americam-agazine.org. Ten-word minimum. Rates are per wordper issue. 1-5 times: $1.50; 6-11 times: $1.28; 12-23times: $1.23; 24-41 times: $1.17; 42 times or more:$1.12. For an additional $30, your print ad will beposted on America’s Web site for one week. The flatrate for a Web-only classified ad is $150 for 30 days.Ads may be submitted by e-mail to: [email protected]; by fax to (928) 222-2107; by postal mailto: Classified Department, America, 106 West 56thSt., New York, NY 10019. To post a classified adonline, go to our home page and click on “Advertising”at the top of the page. We do not accept ad copy overthe phone. MasterCard and Visa accepted. For moreinformation call: (212) 515-0102.

categorically oppose providing a publicplatform for those with whom we disagree.For an example, see the letter above.

Needing Verification?Re “Great Expectations,” by JamesMartin, S.J. (11/26): Father Martin’sexploration and analysis of the annun-ciation story and subsequent visitationcarefully avoids consideration of analternative reason for Mary’s “settingout in haste for a Judean town in thehill country”—namely, that she need-ed to know whether her cousin wasreally pregnant; only then would sheaccede to the angel’s request.Some years ago, having read an arti-

cle by the late and greatly missed SallyCunneen (“The Mary We NeverKnew,” Commonweal, 12/21/07), Idecided to take a second look at anaspect of the story as reported by theEvangelist Luke that had troubled mesince I was a late teenager: Mary’s readyacquiescence to a situation that could

have put her in mortal danger. I amaware that this version of events is notquite in keeping with current teaching,but to my mind, it makes a much morebelievable and human story.

SEÁN O’CONNORWallingford, Conn.

Musical AppreciationI read John Anderson’s appraisal ofSteven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” withenthusiasm (“Abe, Honestly,” 11/26).His praise for the performances ofDaniel Day-Lewis and Sally Fieldechoes my sentiments exactly. But Ifeel he has unfairly accused Spielbergof relying too heavily on JohnWilliams’s music. To call this score “intrusive” is, in

my opinion, a slam at the very idea ofmusic in film. Certainly, the music inearlier Spielberg films like “Jaws” is fre-quently quite dramatic, but the subtleuse of strings and piano in “Lincoln”does not qualify for the word “intru-sive.” Nor does the trumpet themehave the blasting “Gabriel” sound towhich Mr. Anderson alludes. Perhapsthe theater volume was set higher forMr. Anderson’s screening than for mytwo viewings (thus far).It is unfortunate that many film crit-

ics complain about music in films—when it is noticed at all. As I tell thestudents in my college film-music class,the actors supply the motion in themotion picture, but the composers pro-vide the emotion. Music may some-times be manipulative, but it oftenhelps to convey the story behind thescreen images.

LAURENCE E. MACDONALDFlint, Mich.

Stupid Human TricksThe editorial “Changing the Climate”(11/19) sadly overlooks a main causeof a lot of the “trail of destruction andmisery” caused by Hurricanes Katrinaand Sandy.Stupid humans have defied nature

by building cities below river level(New Orleans) and atop moving

oceanside sand bars (New Jersey).This ludicrous practice is encouragedby money-mad land developers and ismade possible by dice-throwing insur-ers and coddling government agenciesthat waste “bailout” tax dollars torebuild such insanity.If I should crazily erect my home in

the caldera of a rumbling volcano orthe truck lane of a heavily-traveledsuperhighway, I should eventuallyexpect my house to be destroyed,while possibly suffering death myselfin the course of the destruction.Let’s not blame the climate for

thoughtless human actions in city-building.

WILLIAM F. KLOSTERMANMiddletown, Ohio

The writer is a retired city engineer andcity manager.

‘Reverend’ RestoredThe diaconate for women continues tobe a fascinating topic. Having beenordained a deacon on my path to priest-hood and having served in that capaci-ty, I believe that as an EcumenicalCatholic priest and a woman, my expe-rience holds some insight. Therefore Iresponded to “Why Not Women?”, byBishop Emil A. Wcela (10/1), identify-ing my full name, as required: Rev.Sheila Durkin Dierks.When my letter was published in

the “State of the Question” (10/22), itis interesting that the “Rev.” somehowdisappeared from my name, though itdoes appear before the name of a maledeacon and male priest who also hadletters published. I wonder what hap-pened at the editing desk at America?Is there a “Reverend” on the cuttingroom floor?

(REV.) SHEILA DURKIN DIERKSBoulder, Colo.

America (ISSN 0002-7049) is published weekly (except for 14combined issues: Jan. 2–9, 16–23, Jan. 30–Feb. 6, April 16-23,June 4–11, 18–25, July 2–9, 16–23, July 30–Aug. 6, Aug. 13–20,Aug. 27–Sept. 3, Sept. 10–17, Nov. 26–Dec. 3, Dec. 24–31) byAmerica Press, Inc., 106 West 56th Street, New York, NY 10019.Periodical postage is paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mailingoffices. Business Manager: Lisa Pope. Circulation: (800) 627–9533.Subscriptions: United States, $56 per year; add U.S. $30 postageand GST (#131870719) for Canada; or add U.S. $56 per year forinternational priority airmail. Postmaster: Send address changes to:America, P.O. Box 293159, Kettering, OH 45429.


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THE WORD

t would not be surprising formany Catholics to hear in ser-mons this weekend that the Holy

Family is a perfect model for our ownfamilies. It is rather hard to believe,isn’t it? Whose mother was immacu-lately conceived? Whose son is the Sonof God? And whose father would bewilling to accept that his pregnantfiancée was still a virgin? For models towork, there have to be some actualparallels. It turns out that there areextraordinary ones.In our Gospel reading, we find the

Holy Family going to the temple tocelebrate Passover. They joined otherpious Jews who went on pilgrimage toJerusalem, as the Lord commanded(Dt 16:6). On the return trip, Maryand Joseph assumed Jesus was travel-ing among their friends and relatives,but to their alarm they could notlocate him after the first day.Returning, they found him in theTemple in dialogue with the eldersthere. Mary admonishes him, “Son,why have you done this to us? Yourfather and I have been looking for youwith great anxiety.” Jesus replies, “Didyou not know that I must be in myFather’s house?” (More literally: in thethings of my Father.) Mary ponderedall this in her heart, just as she didwhen the shepherds came to the stable(Lk 2:19).The first reading aligns with this

narrative as it involves Hannah, anoth-er mother who made a pilgrimage tothe temple. There she dedicated herson, Samuel, to the Lord. Samuel willbecome the last andgreatest judge inIsrael. Though notin our reading,Hannah evensoffers a hymn ofpraise to God(2:1–10) that soundsstrikingly like Mary’sMagnificat (Lk 1:46–55).The first reading clearly parallels

the Gospel, but how do we? And inwhat way can the Holy Family be amodel for us? One of the more obvi-ous ways is that they lived a life ded-icated to their faith. That the HolyFamily, along with their friends,neighbors and relatives, werereported as making their pilgrimageto Jerusalem shows that Jesus grew upin a normal, devout home, where theyembraced the duties of their faith.Even Mary and Joseph’s assumptionthat he was among the members of thecaravan suggests the regularity of theevent. It was not until the end of thefirst day of their return trip that theystarted to be concerned.More penetrating, we see here the

witness of ordinary family virtues, likepatience and forgiveness, and an ongo-ing awareness of the wonder of thepresence of grace within and aroundthem. When we take seriously the pro-found lives around us, including thoseof our family members, friends and

neighbors, we cannot help but ponderGod’s mysterious presence and thegifts God brings daily. Our readingends with Luke telling us that “Jesusadvanced in wisdom and age and favorbefore God and man.” Shouldn’t westrive to recognize this dynamic inthose we know? And isn’t it a wonder?Even Jesus’ explanation to his par-

ents that he had to be about the thingsof his Father, which seems like arebuke, ought to ring true in our ownlives. Like Hannah, we must ultimate-ly dedicate our children to God.They are ours only in one sense.

In the end, they are God’s, andare indeed children of God.This is the message of our

second reading, from the FirstLetter of John: “Beloved: Seewhat love the father has

bestowed on us that we may be

Family BusinessHOLY FAMILY (C), DEC. 30, 2012

Readings: 1 Sm 1:20–28; Ps 128:1–5; 1 Jn 3:1–2, 21–24; Lk 2:41–52

“I prayed for this child.... Now I give him to the Lord” (1 Sm 1:27–28)

I

PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE

• Consecrate yourself to God.

• Consecrate your spouse to God.

• Consecrate your children to God.

PETER FELDMEIER is the Murray/BacikProfessor of Catholic Studies at the Universityof Toledo.

ar

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called children of God. And so we are.”Perhaps this can be our third parallel.By baptism, we really do know God asour very own Father. Of course, dedi-cating our children to God is not los-ing them to God. Rather, we find themall the more, as they embrace theirdeepest truth, their fullest flourishing. Jesus’ response to his mother

should be the response we all make: Itis necessary to be about the things ofour Father. Only in this wholeheartedresponse do we realize our divineadoption. Together as a family wegrow in wisdom and age and gracebefore God and one another.

piphanymeans “manifestation.”In today’s Scriptures, this canrefer to many different things,

all interrelated. During this Christmasseason, we continue to celebrate thevery presence of our God manifested inthe Incarnation. Christ is the “image ofthe invisible God” (Col 1:15), “therefulgence of his glory, the very imprintof his being” (Heb 1:3). What is trulyamazing and unique in Christianity isthat God has manifested himself insuch weakness. God has taken humanhistory as his own, with all its vulnera-bilities and weaknesses. One of themore interesting research insights I’veencountered lately is that of Dr. BrenéBrown, whose books and public inter-views have inspired so many. Brownhas discovered that vulnerability is thevery key to courage, love and intimacy.Christians have known this for twomillennia. We only need to look at ourglorious savior, who came into theworld poor and weak and ultimatelysubmitted to suffering and death. Thisis the cost of love.Christ himself was manifested by

the star, which guided the wise menfrom the East. Our tradition has seenthis as the fulfillment of a prophecy bythe diviner Balaam, who announced amessianic figure: “A star shall advance

from Jacob, and a scepter shall rise fromIsrael” (Nm 24:17). Identifying celestialactivity as a divine sign would not havebeen unusual in the ancient world.Many even believed stars were spiritualbeings ( Jb 38:7). The Jewish traditionunderstood the Gentile Balaam to be amagus (the singular of magi), and wecan see him anticipating the wise men’svisitation. Our Gospel reading todaybegins, “When Jesus was born inBethlehem of Judea, in the days of KingHerod, behold, magi from the eastarrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where isthe newborn king of the Jews? Wesaw his star at its rising and havecome to do him homage.’” Their giftsto the newborn messiah manifest agreat deal. Traditionally, gold signifieshis kingship, frankincense his priest-hood, and myrrh is an anticipation ofhis death and burial ( Jn 19:39).The magi themselves manifest the

Gentile world’s often unknowinganticipation of the messiah. This is cen-tral to the first reading from Isaiah, inwhich “thick clouds cover the peoples;but upon you the Lord shines, and overyou his glory. Nations shall walk byyour light.” God’s salvation is notintended for Israel alone. Rather, Israelwill act as “a light to the nations” (Is42:6), and God will offer salvation to

“all the ends of the earth” (Is 25:22).The magi manifest something else as

well. They shed light on our own lives.How different are we, really, from themagi? Like them we are pilgrims on ajourney. Instead of Arabian deserts, wewalk through our own deserts in a lifewith thousands of smiles and thou-sands of tears. We encounter oases oflove and the dry, lifeless sands of disillu-sionment. Human life is a kind of exile.The First Letter of Peter describes us as“aliens and sojourners” (2:11).Where is our star? Where do we

find our own epiphanies? One of thegreatest gifts of St. Ignatius Loyola isthat he teaches us how to look closelyinto our own experience in life. Therewe find God manifesting himself regu-larly. When I struggle with sin andspiritual sloth, I recognize the pangs oftruth drawing me back. And upon

coming back, I know his overwhelm-ing mercy. Who cannot realize God’sundying forgiveness and not know thatthe messiah is among us? Just lastweek, I saw a homeless woman and herbeautiful son smile in gratitude for thesimple gift of a meal. The child wasradiant. Is this not the gift of the faceof Christ shining on me? When I sitwith a friend and we confide our strug-gles—vulnerability again—I experi-ence an acceptance that not onlyreflects God’s favor, but also becomes asacrament of God’s grace. If we lookclosely, epiphanies are everywhere.

PETER FELDMEIER


Christ ManifestEPIPHANY (C), JAN. 6, 2013

Readings: Is 60:1–6; Ps 72:1–13; Eph 3:2–6; Mt 2:1–12

“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?” (Mt 2:2)

E

PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE

• Consider where this week you acted withthe greatest love.

• Ask Christ to reveal how his Spirit wasmoving you.

• Thank the Lord.

THE WORD

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