My Brother, The Pope-A Book Review

It's hard to believe that our Holy Father is now 85 years old having celebrated his birthday just yesterday! God bless him! It seems that those who are related to our famous religious leaders have been drawn to share their stories of what it was like to grow up with such saintly siblings. Recently Bob Dolan wrote a charming book, Life Lessons, about his brother Timothy Cardinal Dolan and now Georg Ratzinger has come out with My Brother, The Pope which is an equally enchanting and sweet book filled with his tender memories about growing up with Pope Benedict.

The book of memoirs written by the older brother of Pope Benedict opens our eyes to what it was like to grow up in the holy and faith-filled family that produced our current fabulous pope. It is filled with family photos that add vibrancy to the author's words.

I was most impressed to read about how the Ratzinger family suffered through World War II and about the rapid rise of the young priest, Fr. Joseph Ratzinger, into the world of academics and faith. But what touched my heart most deeply were the references to Pope Benedict's love for bears beginning with his early childhood love for a toy teddy bear. It's the type of information that the world just would never learn about if there weren't a sibling willing to share those little life details.

I was deeply struck by Georg Ratzinger's recollections of meals that he personally ate that fondly remained in his heart so much so that he had to include the details in this book of memoirs. It seemed to me to be an unusual sharing of something that was personally significant to the author and it made me smile to think of how food and the sharing of a meal can have such an important place in all of our memories. Nearly every chapter contained a description of a memorable meal which the author enjoyed, such as this passage where he recounted a trip to attend his uncle's funeral after the family had been mistakenly led to believe that their father had died:

"...I accompanied him on that trip to Rickering, his birthplace. That same day, the clergy of the deanery met at the parish in Schwanenkirchen, and I was also invited to attend. "You sit here", they said, and then a wonderful Bavarian snack was served, which I ate with great relish: smoked meat (bacon), bread and butter, and a beer with it. Things like that leave an impression, you do not forget them for the rest of your life! But it all tasted twice as good because I was so relieved that our father was still alive."

I couldn't help but notice the similarities between Georg Ratzinger's frequent recollections of memorable meals and Bob Dolan's oft-mentioned stories of memorable drinks that he shared with his brother, Cardinal Dolan. And this was not the only part of Pope Benedict's and Cardinal Dolan's stories written by their brothers that seemed quite similar...

Throughout Life Lessons, Bob Dolan insists that his brother will never be Pope despite the fact that rumors are nearly always swirling about stating that Cardinal Dolan would make very good Pope material. Could that be because he harbors a fear that if his brother were to become Pope someday, he would lose the close relationship that he has always valued with his brother, that as Pope, Cardinal Dolan would have fewer opportunities to spend time with his family? That certainly seemed to be the concern of Georg Ratzinger when Pope John Paul II had become seriously ill during his final days of life:

"...I was repeatedly asked by people and by journalists too, whether my brother would become pope. My answer was always the same: "No, he certainly will not!"...

And his story about how he finally heard the news about his brother actually being chosen to be the successor to St. Peter was deeply touching:

"I even experienced the "Habemus Papem" live. At the time I was called by a journalist who said she had just heard that white smoke had gone up in Rome and wanted to hear from me whether I knew anything more specific. "No," I answered truthfully, "I know nothing." Then I turned on the television and heard it there, like everybody else....I must quite honestly say that at that moment I was rather disheartened. It was a great challenge, an enormous task for him, I thought, and I was seriously worried. I saw neither the pomp nor the beauty of it, but only the challenge of this office, which now demanded everything of him, and the burden it meant for him. And I was sad that now he would probably have no more time for me. So that evening I went to bed rather depressed."

I can't imagine what it must be like to have such a famous and well-loved brother, one you'd like to keep for yourself but instead must share with the world. But now through the words of Georg Ratzinger, I have a little better idea of who our beloved Pope Benedict really is and of how much he and his older brother and fellow priest value their close family relationship which from every aspect seemed to be formed through a normal family life filled with love and prayer.

I heartily enjoyed My Brother, The Pope, and read through it quickly and eagerly. I am confident that all those who open the pages of this book will be deeply drawn into the loving story of two brothers whose only life desire has been to serve the Lord through the use of their talents and to draw others closer to Him and to His wondrous love.

(If you are in the Milwaukee area, you may be interested in attending a book signing and discussion with Bob Dolan about his book Life Lessons at St. Francis de Sales Seminary on April 23rd. You can view the event details at the Vocations Office Website "Think Priest" which can be found at this link.)

Magic in Rome

Like many of you, I lead a very ordinary life. I work an ordinary job, fight the ordinary traffic, and come home to an ordinary family. This morning I awoke in my ordinary way, poured myself an ordinary cup of coffee, kissed my ordinary husband good-bye as he left for work, threw an ordinary load of laundry in the washer and greeted my ordinary children as they arrived downstairs for their ordinary breakfast. I went to Mass, (which of course, is never ordinary and therefore is always a highlight of my day) and afterward my ordinary son asked me to please bring his ordinary gym clothes to school because he forgot them at home. So, I skipped my ordinary workout at the YMCA and returned to my ordinary home for the gym clothes. While there, I had a few minutes to check my email and facebook messages and I found a message which was far from ordinary, and suddenly, upon reading it and feeling the joy and love it contained, to know that there is so much beauty in the Catholic Church, made everything feel different, beautiful, holy-quite extraordinary.


















You see, my dear friend, Bishop Hying, has been living in Rome for the past two weeks attending what he calls "Bishop School" with his fellow newly ordained bishops from around the world. Although he is an experienced world traveler and has been to Rome many times, this experience is so different and new because he has never been to Rome as a bishop before. He has been generously posting notes to his facebook page about his Roman experiences so that his 400+ facebook friends may vicariously travel along with him. He has shared stories about the people he has met, the discussions he has encountered, including whether or not bishops should be on facebook (to which I give a resounding "yes!" and they should write blogs, too!) and about the weather and the beautiful Roman moon.

Bishop Hying would probably say that his life is usually very ordinary as well, but the words that he posted today were about an experience that is far beyond extraordinary, in fact, he called this day "Magic." His words made me feel as if I had been sitting right by his side in the Castel Gandolfo Courtyard. Reading about the bishop's day has lit a magic fire within my own heart and I am so grateful that he has agreed to my request to re-post his words here on this ordinary blog so that you, dear reader, may feel the magic as well! Our lives may seem to be very ordinary, it's true, but when God grants us the opportunities to become keenly aware of His goodness through the blessings of a loving family, beautiful friends and the gift of faith found in the Catholic Church, ordinary is really quite outstanding, and through the sharing of our life experiences we all join into an extraordinary community united in His tender care for all of us as siblings in faith, the children of God.

"Today, all 110 bishops got on two buses, drove out to Castel Gondolfo, the pope's summer residence, for an audience with the Holy Father. I sat in expectation, listening to the babble of German, Spanish, Italian, French,Portuguese, Arabic and English around me, as I conversed with Auxiliary Bishop Arthur Kennedy of Boston, who was part of the Apostolic Visitation of St. Francis Seminary back in 2005. We got to the beautiful little town in the hills outside of Rome and entered the papal residence. There we all were, in our bishop's cassocks, sitting on chairs in the heat of the inner courtyard, watching the Swiss Guard as they silently stood at their posts by the big wooden doors. I felt like a child at Disneyland for the first time! Suddenly, the pope came down the stairs and we found ourselves on our feet applauding loudly. He gave us a talk in Italian about the role of a bishop in the Church today (I didn't grasp most of it--I guess I need to study Italian!) and then we each went up to meet him, for all of 10 seconds. What an honor and blessing to kiss his ring, say hello and assure him that the great Catholics of Milwaukee love him and are praying for him daily. How human and holy he is, our Holy Father! He was genuinely happy to be with us! Coming back, we had a great lunch and the seminarians at the place we are staying put on a live concert. Amazingly beautiful!! I will never forget this day. All of you were with me in spirit and I offered my Mass today for your intentions! My heart is overflowing. Love and prayers to all!"

Quotes That Move My Soul

Here are some quotes that speak of beauty, of love and of prayer...that make me proud to be a Catholic!

"Yet how many pictures or frescos, fruits of the artist’s faith, in their form, in their colour, in their light, urge us to think of God and foster within us the desire to draw from the source of all beauty. What Marc Chagall, a great artist, wrote, remains profoundly true: that for centuries painters have dipped their paintbrush in that coloured alphabet which is the Bible. Thus how often artistic expression can bring us to remember God, to help us to pray or even to convert our heart! "

~Pope Benedict XVI on art and prayer from his August 31st, 2011 general audience at Castel Gandolfo

"And just as God foreknew and predestined Mary’s birth, God foreknew and predestined us to be conformed to the image of his Son so that Jesus might be the firstborn of many brothers. Saint Jose Maria Escriva said this about the struggle with fear and anxiety that all of us sooner or later face: “Have you forgotten that God is your father? Or [that God is] powerful, infinitely wise, full of mercy? [God] would never send you anything evil. The thing that is worrying you is good for you even though those earthbound eyes of yours may not be able to see it now.”

and...

"So, what we embark on today is a marriage, where someone who loves you, the Holy Father, is also someone who loves me. And the Holy Father knows in his wisdom that we will make a good family together. So we should see each other as gifts. I receive you as a gift from the Holy Father; and this requires that you receive me and my service as a gift from him, too. This requires that we make a commitment, an act of the will, to deepen our hearts, to love one another, to be patient with one another and, ultimately, to lay down our lives for one another."

~Archbishop Charles Chaput from hisSeptember 8th, 2011 installation homily as Archbishop of Philadelphia

"But you know when you step back and see how my friend Mychal died, I’m sure that when we finish grieving, when all this is over and we can put things in perspective, look how that man died. He was right where the action was, where he always wanted to be. He was praying, because in the ritual for anointing, we’re always saying, Jesus come, Jesus forgive, Jesus save. He was talking to God, and he was helping someone. Can you honestly think of a better way to die? I think it was beautiful.

The firemen took his body and because they respected and loved him so much, they didn’t want to leave it in the street. So, they quickly carried it into a church and not just left it in the vestibule, they went up the center aisle. They put the body in front of the altar. They covered it with a sheet. And on the sheet, they placed his stole and his fire badge. And then they knelt down and they thanked God. And then they rushed back to continue their work."

~Fr. Michael Duffy, OFM from the homily for Fr. Mychal Judge, the first casualty of the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center

God Wins!

“God has made me laugh; every one who hears will laugh with me” (Gen 21:6).

Before he became Pope, Joseph Ratzinger quoted these words, spoken by Sarah when she was told she would conceive and bear a child, as he shared the custom of Risus Paschalis-The Easter Laugh. Risus Paschalis is a custom from the Baroque period when the Easter homily always contained a joke to make people laugh so the entire church would ring with joy. He said,“On Easter, we imagine Jesus' laughter of redemption. We who share an Easter faith can say, like Sarah, 'God has made me laugh.'”

For the past three years our parish had the great honor of hosting Bishop William Callahan as presider at our Easter Vigil, so this year the Vigil Mass, although beautiful in every way, felt just a bit lonelier without him, as Bishop Callahan is now Bishop of La Crosse, WI and is no longer able to join us.

But every time I think back to the first year that he had joined us, I just have to smile, remembering his homily about the Easter Laugh. It was the year that I was sponsoring my friend Amanda as she joined the Catholic Church through the RCIA Program. For me, everything about that particular Easter Vigil was electric with excitement and joy. I sat in the first row with Amanda on one side and my daughter, who was six at the time, on the other side, and during his homily, Bishop Callahan stood right in front of us with his hand on the edge of the pew as if the entire homily was meant for us alone, and he spoke of Risus Paschalis, the Easter Laugh.

And at this year's Easter Vigil, in fact, even before we left the house, the Easter Laugh kept bubbling up inside of me. My daughter, always the helpful nine year old, wanted me to practice my reading with her. (I lector at my parish and tonight I read the haunting words of Ezekial (36:16-17a, 18-28.) Although thankfully, I didn't blunder during Mass, I couldn't get through practicing it with Mary with a straight face. Just knowing that she was watching me made me burst into laughter, and when she joined in the laughter, the two of us were out of control with happiness.

At the vigil, sitting in the dark around the altar, I noticed the associate pastor practically dancing in his chair during the toe-tapping "Horse and Chariot", (Exodus 14:15-15:1) and that put a smile on my face that would not disappear for the remainder of the evening. Sitting next to the lead lector who had the responsibility of making the announcement to the pastor, "Reverend Father, tonight I bring you great news. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead." I just had to whisper to her, "That is so great!" as if it were the first time I had ever heard that news.

My son Jack's best friend and his brother and parents were all received into the Catholic Church at the Vigil, and the sight of an entire family giving themselves to God deepened my smile with the emotion of pride. Later, as I was sitting in the pew with my family once again, I was overjoyed to see that my daughter and youngest son noticed every single detail of the Mass including the joy of every person present, and Mary whispered that she never wants to miss a single Easter Vigil for the rest of her life, and all of this made me laugh.

After the Vigil, during the celebration welcoming our newest members of the Church, I was joined by one of my dearest and long-time friends, Katherine. The first thing she said to me was "You look happy." I realized that after four long years of leaning on the strength of God to beat back the devil of depression, I could clearly say that with God, I have won; yes, I am happy!

Bishop Callahan had said that there is nothing the devil despises more than the laughter and joy of God's people, it sends him running fast and far! On Easter we celebrate the fact that there is no despair, no loss, no death that the love and glory of God cannot overcome. In God we have life everlasting. The devil always loses and God wins! And I want to be on His side forever, singing a song of freedom! God has won the victory! Hallelujah!

"We are the Easter people, and hallelujah is our song!" Pope John Paul II

Vigil for all Nascent Human Life

What a blessing it was to honor the request of Pope Benedict XVI by joining in a worldwide vigil of prayer for all nascent human life! In the Archdiocese of Milwaukee the gorgeous St. Anthony Parish had graciously hosted the Evening Prayer, Rosary and Benediction with Archbishop Listecki. I was so pleased to see that the large church was packed with those who wished to join their voices with their brothers and sisters in Christ in one united prayer for those who are unable to speak for themselves.

In Archbishop Listecki's homily, the following words resounded in my heart and I will forever remember them. He asked: "Why do we do this? We are people of love. We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us and we share that love with our unborn brothers and sisters."

He closed the service with these words: "Our Lord Jesus Christ has won the victory, and now we must engage the battle!" How strange it seems that the victory is already won, yet we continue to fight. Yet, how right it is! For until everyone accepts the victory of Christ, until everyone defends the innocent lives just waiting to born like Christ waited to be born from the womb of the Virgin after her resounding "yes!" we must continue the efforts without tiring, to bring the justice of life to those sweet beginnings of new life. What better time to unite our efforts for those who wait to be born from the wombs of their mothers than during this season of Advent while we wait for Christ to be born once again in the hearts of all the world.

Guest Post on the Papal Visit in the UK

My young English friend, John H., the founder of "A Vocation to be a Priest" has gathered his thoughts about the recent visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Great Britain and kindly shares them here...












During and after the visit of Pope Benedict to Britain, I am so proud to be a Catholic, but especially an English Catholic! There has been a Christian presence in these isles for 1500 years and our land has probably produced more saints and martyrs than any other country on earth. At long last I know what Blessed John Henry Newman understood when he wrote "I am a link in a chain".

Pope Benedict made a State visit to the UK rather than a pastoral visit - that means he was invited by Queen Elizabeth and Her Government. While I was only able to be physically present at one event (Hyde Park in London), I followed every single event on BBC TV which was truly outstanding. The warmth of welcome by the Queen was commented by all, and the Holy Father managed to win many hearts and souls by his humility and warmth and by his message. He addressed many political leaders in Westminster Hall (including four former Prime Ministers) and told them to be aware of rampant secularism which denies the voice of the Church and the Gospel in the affairs of State. This was especially significant because Westminster Hall was the place where St Thomas More was tried for putting his conscience before Government.

Talking about secularism - it was a washout - a total and abject failure. The protests against the Holy Father amounted to a pathetic 5000. At the same time 240,000 people lined the streets of London to greet him, wave flags, while 80,000 joined the Vigil in Hyde Park. This was outstanding - in the middle of a great and huge city, there was total silence as we adored Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Even the skeptical secular press was won round, who had predicted that the Papal visit would be a disaster, with nobody turning out.

The Holy Father had a punishing schedule, which included a visit to a retirement home, and a meeting with victims of clerical abuse. But for me, he won the hearts of everyone in his interaction with young people - they simply loved him! He told us that we were created for love and that is where we should seek our vocation.

It is reported by our Bishops that the visit was highly successful - the Pope has encouraged us, but he has been amazed at the vibrancy of Catholics in the UK.

You may know that we have a special link to the USA - the miracle from Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman was via a Deacon in Boston.

As our Bishops have indicated - we now need to think about keeping alive the momentum of the Papal visit.

Ministry of Stewardship-Manning the Barque of Peter

Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. Mark 4:36-39

The Catholic Church is often referred to as the “Barque of Peter” in reference to St. Peter’s first career as a fisherman before he became Pope. Every barque or boat, requires a leader or steward to maintain balance during rough seas, to keep the boat floating and to prevent capsizing. But no steward can manage this difficult task alone, he requires the assistance of a faithful crew to successfully sail the ship.

As Pope Benedict is the current leader of this Barque,the Church,all faithful Catholics are called upon to assist him at the helm by witnessing to others and by living our faith. We can best do this attending Sunday Mass and sharing in the life of our parish as active members, freely volunteering our time and giving of our treasure for the common good of all. It is the through the work of volunteer parishioners joyfully rowing the oars that the boat will stay its course when the storms of life become threatening. We are called to prayerfully discern the individual gifts that God has blessed us with, and then offer these gifts back to God in the service of our parish and church. It is especially during times of trial and suffering, when our church needs us the most, that we must fall on our knees in prayer and open our hearts to the generous giving of our time, talent and treasure so that our boat will remain afloat. In the words of St. Anselm,

“The Barque of the Church may be swept by the waves, but it can never sink, because Christ is there. When the church is in greatest need, Christ comes to its help with miracles or by raising up saintly men and women to purify it. It is the Barque of Peter, and when the storms threaten to sink it, the Lord awakens from his sleep and commands the winds and waters into calm.”

No matter how turbulent the waters may become, Jesus is always at the ready to protect us, provide for us and defend us. And the bishops, priests, deacons, religious and lay men and women of the church are all in this together, each fulfilling our functions and providing for those who need our gifts. We work as a team, pulling together under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.