The Cardinal's Column

Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I.

The strength of weakness:
Pope John II’s death, a year later

Cardinal George's Schedule

1. April 2: 10 a.m., Sunday Mass, St. Thomas the Apostle Parish; 5 p.m., Racial Unity Mass, Holy Family Parish, South May Street
2. April 3: 7 a.m., Department Directors Mass, Residence; 1 p.m., Seminary Rectors’ meeting, St. Joseph Seminary; 3 p.m., Board of Advisors, St. Joseph Seminary; 7:30 p.m., Presentation, Ss. Faith, Hope and Charity Parish, Winnetka
3. April 4: 10 a.m., Episcopal Council meeting, Residence
4. April 5: 7 p.m., Address, Liturgical Institute Conference, Mundelein Seminary
5. April 6: 12 p.m., City Club of Chicago Public Policy Forum Series, Maggiano’s
6. April 7: 9 a.m., Management meeting, Pastoral Center
7. April 8: 8:15 a.m., Mass, the Lumen Christi Institute Philosophy Conference, University of Chicago
8. April 9: 11 a.m., Palm Sunday Mass, Holy Name Cathedral; 7:30 p.m., Mission Chicago, Holy Name Cathedral
9. April 11: 10:30 a.m., Day of Reflection for Priests, Holy Name Cathedral; 2:30 p.m., Chrism Mass, Holy Name Cathedral
10. April 12: 7:30 p.m., Tenebrae Service, Holy Name Cathedral
11. April 13: 5:15 p.m., Mass of Our Lord’s Supper, Holy Name Cathedral
12. April 14: 11:30 a.m., Stations of the Cross, Pilsen; 5:15 p.m., Good Friday Liturgy, Holy Name Cathedral
13. April 15: 11 a.m., Blessing of Easter Baskets, Nativity of Our Lord Parish, 1 p.m., Blessing of Easter Baskets, St. Simon the Apostle Parish; 8 p.m., Easter Vigil, Holy Name Cathedral

Cardinal's Appointments

His Eminence, Francis Cardinal George announces the following appointments:

Associate pastors

Rev. Samson Mukindi, from associate pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Homewood, to be the associate pastor of St. Benedict the African East Parish, West 66th Street, effective immediately.

Transition Deacons

Rev. Mr. Thomas G. Belanger to serve as a transitional deacon at St. Philip Neri Parish, East 72nd Street, effective immediately.

Rev. Mr. Arek Falana to serve as a transitional deacon at Queen of All Saints Parish, North Sauganash, effective immediately.

Rev. Mr. Pawel Komperda to serve as a transitional deacon at Prince of Peace Parish, Lake Villa, effective immediately.

Rev. Mr. Jose De Jesus Medina to serve as a transitional deacon at St. Bede the Venerable Parish, South Kostner, effective immediately.

Rev. Mr. Bolivar Guillermo Molina-Ramirez to serve as a transitional deacon at Good Shepherd Parish, South Kolin, effective immediately.

Rev. Mr. Hugo Morales to serve as a transitional deacon at Mary, Queen of Heaven Parish, Cicero, effective immediately.

Rev. Mr. Phi Nguyen to serve as a transitional deacon at St. Damian Parish, Oak Forest, effective immediately.

Rev. Mr. Benedykt M. Pazdan to serve as a transitional deacon at St. John the Evangelist Parish, Streamwood, effective immediately.

Rev. Mr. Adan Sandoval to serve as a transitional deacon at St. Michael Parish, Orland Park, effective immediately.

Rev. Mr. Artur Sowa to serve as a transitional deacon at St. Julie Billiart, Tinley Park, effective immediately.

Rev. Mr. Fernando Zuleta to serve as a transitional deacon at Resurrection Parish, North Francisco, effective immediately.

Rector

Very Rev. Dennis J. Lyle, from faculty member of Mundelein Seminary, University of St. Mary of the Lake, to be rector of the same, effective immediately.

Vice President, Ministry Development

Rev. Michael Place, from sabbatical, to be the vice president of ministry development for Resurrection Health Care, DesPlaines, effective immediately.

Last week I prayed at the tomb of Pope John Paul II. He is buried in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica, in the grave where Blessed Pope John XXIII’s body lay until it was brought up to the basilica when he was beatified. Recent Popes have asked to be buried not in elaborate tombs but in the rock under the church that guards St. Peter’s tomb, with a marble slab on top of their grave. Long lines of pilgrims pass the grave and pray each day. I went early in the morning, before the business of the day that brought the Cardinals to Rome.

April 2 is the first anniversary of Pope John Paul’s death. (See story, Page 12.) Many parishes in the Archdiocese, along with the Cathedral, are planning special Masses; and I hope that the late Holy Father will be remembered during the Prayers of the Faithful at all Masses the weekend of April 1-2. Pope John Paul loved us in life, and we should pray for him now and count on his continued concern and intercession for us.

The last couple of years of the late Holy Father’s life were publicly marked by sufferings which had earlier gone unnoticed, especially physical suffering. Some even suggested he should step down because he was becoming so incapacitated and, for some, he was becoming an embarrassment. We live here largely according to the rhythms of business cycles and financial demands, of legal processes and political campaigns; one must be up and about, acute and accomplished to deserve attention in life. The Church, by contrast and at her essential best, is about life and death and life eternal. In the end, that is all that counts. Since God is the author of life, our job is less to initiate big plans than to cooperate with God in his. Pope John Paul II, who accomplished great things in life, suffered much and submitted everything to the Lord through the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom he dedicated himself entirely (Totus tuus). A man of profound and constant prayer amidst enormous hardships, he lived with a sense of God’s loving providence.

At a session for the candidates and catechumens preparing for the Easter Vigil at Holy Name Cathedral, I was asked why Jesus had to suffer a horrible death in order to redeem us. God could have just declared us saved. God, of course, is sovereign. But God sent his Son to become like us in all things but sin. Having taken on our human nature in its fallen condition, Jesus became weak and underwent suffering and death. He shared everything human, including the consequences of sin, in order to conquer sin itself. Christ, for our sake, “became obedient unto death, even unto death on a cross.” (Phil 2: 8). Suffering, if it is freely accepted as Jesus accepted it, brings healing and spiritual strength. St. Paul frequently insisted that, when he was weak personally, then he was all the stronger in Christ Jesus.

Those who have eyes of faith saw this clearly in the last days of Pope John Paul II, as he himself saw it clearly in his innumerable visits to the poor, the sick, the suffering during his pilgrimages as Pope. His last journey outside of Italy just months before he died was to Lourdes, which is a shrine frequented by the sick from the entire world. John Paul went to pray there, a sick man among the sick and suffering. Looking back at his life now, we see the pattern of our salvation, the pattern of this Lenten season.

Of course, most of my few days in Rome were not spent praying at Pope John Paul’s tomb. When Pope Benedict XVI called us to come for the consistory in which he created 15 new Cardinals on March 24 and 25, he added that he wanted to have a day together on March 23 to pray and discuss about the life of the Church. (Related story, Page 12.) Any Cardinal was free to bring up any topic for discussion, but the Pope himself brought up three: the reconciliation of traditionalists who are not in full communion with the Church; the place of retired bishops in the episcopal college, where they share fully in the sacrament of Holy Orders but are no longer active in governing the Church; and the relation between the Catholic Church and Islam. The last topic occasioned a very lively discussion, because the Church’s relation to Islam differs greatly, depending on local situations. Islam as a religion, however, brings challenges different from those brought by a certain type of Islamic political re-vindication; and it was Islam as religion that was primarily discussed.

This Lent in the Archdiocese is marked by controversy and soul-searching. I pray daily that we will come to Easter strengthened spiritually and with a deeper sense of what the Church’s mission is at its heart. That was part of my prayer as I remembered the Archdiocese at Pope John Paul’s tomb. I recalled there the conversations I had with him about Chicago and asked him to guide us now. Three days with his successor were a help to me, both spiritually and in understanding the Church’s mission today. Whether in Rome or here, you are in my prayers; please keep me in yours.

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