And the winner is ...

Everyone is leaving the red carpet. The 2011 Oscars are over and the winner for best picture is ...

One late Saturday afternoon my wife and I decided to go to the movies. With so many movies to choose from we relied on the advice of a friend who had mentioned they were deeply touched by The King's Speech. It was our good fortune that the advice was good. Knowing that there is nothing worse than a movie spoiler I will refrain from discussing the plot. Instead I want to focus on a life lesson that  was demonstrated through the characters of this story.

Each of us experiences trials and difficulties, sometimes these problems are obvious but sometimes  noone knows what they are but us. The struggles are real in both situations. Trying to deal with these difficulties by ourselves can become overwhelming. What we need are people who will stand with us - not judging, not blaming, not putting us down, but people who will love us for who we are and who will be ready to help us in whatever way is necessary. Sometimes they will stand with us in silence, but there are other times that they will need to speak a strong word to help us get back on track. This is true friendship, a willingness to suffer with another - compassion.

When you see this movie perhaps you will agree that one very important reason for this movie being an award winner is the vivid illustration of true compassion for another person and how such a concern can be a life changing experience.

Thank You, Mr. Presidents!

When I was a young boy we didn’t have a Presidents’ Weekend we celebrated the actual birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. By far my favorite of the two celebrations was George Washington’s because on that day we would have sugar cookies shaped like hatchets and lots of cherry pie. But my parents seized the moment to tell me about George when he was about my age. Remember the story. George received a brand new hatchet and immediately went out and about trying out his new gift. However, one victim of his hatchet was his father’s favorite cherry tree. When his father saw the tree he was very angry and asked George if he knew what happened to the tree. George, surprised at first, then replied, “I cannot tell a lie, father, I cannot tell a lie. I cut it down.” My parents would emphasize that if I wanted to grow up and be someone special – even to be the president – it was important for me to be good, to be honest, to always tell the truth. So they set before me a new goal.

Reflecting on Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount. you will see Jesus seizing the moment and setting before us a new goal. Jesus is replacing the old rules with new ones. He is raising the bar on what it means to be a disciple. Jesus is challenging us to go beyond what is expected, beyond what we might think is reasonable or even achievable. He is calling us to love our enemies, turn the other cheek, and pray for those who persecute you.

The question is how can we respond to the goal of Jesus. Think of times someone has hurt you, where you have been betrayed or a relationship has been destroyed. All that seems to come to mind is revenge, striking back, certainly not loving them, nor praying for them. But here is how President Lincoln responded:

During the Civil War, President Lincoln made a speech in which he referred to the Southern Confederates as “erring human beings,’ rather than as enemies of the United States. An elderly lady complained to him, “Mr. President, how can you refer to such slave-holding rebels as ‘erring human beings’; they are actually sworn enemies of the Union and of freedom.” Lincoln replied calmly, “Why, madam, do I not destroy my enemies when I make them friends?’ Lincoln was putting the new goal of Jesus into practice.

The Spirit of the living God will do it! The Holy Spirit can make the impossible  - possible; can empower us to pray and love our enemies. The Holy Spirit can help us strive to become more like Jesus. The spirit of the living God can help us to always tell the truth or to destroy our enemies by making them friends.

We need to say Yes. We need to daily pray Come Holy Spirit!

A SUPER CITY

Did you survive Super Bowl Sunday? It always amazes me that unless your favorite team is playing, the game becomes secondary. There are hours and hours of programming - musical performances both good and not so good, interviews with all sorts of people, and of course the commercials. With all of this TV coverage the only thing I learned about the Green Bay area was they have a championship football team, that the weather is very cold, and a lot of their fans like to wear cheese shaped hats.

But if I could can I mention one other important fact about the Green Bay area.

In 1855 at the age of twenty-four and the oldest of four children of Belgian immigrants, Adele Brise came with her family to the Green Bay area. Adele had intended to join a religious community when she came to America, but her first days in Wisconsin were taken up with the hard work of farming and pioneer life.

Adele’s life changed in early October 1859. While carrying grain to a mill about four miles from her home, Mary appeared to her. A few days later, on October 9, while walking to Sunday Mass in Bay Settlement, about eleven miles from home, Mary appeared to her again. After Mass, Adele told the pastor about what she had seen. He said to her, “Ask in God’s name who it was and what it desired of her.” On the way, home, Mary appeared a third time and Adele asked the question as the pastor had suggested. Mary responded:

"I am the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners and I wish you to do the same. Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation. Teach them their catechism, how to sign themselves with the Sign of the Cross and how to approach the sacraments."

Adele Brise dedicated the rest of her life to doing what Mary instructed. She gathered the children near her home and taught them the faith. She also traveled to other farms, sometimes as far as fifty miles away, to do the same. She faced challenges of the forest and weather that were often easier to handle than ridicule that came from those who didn’t believe that Mary had appeared to her.

Eventually, a school and chapel were built at the site of the appearances. Adele gathered a lay community known as the Sisters of Good Help.

December 8, 2010, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, was a momentous day for the Church and for the United States of America. It was on that day that Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay issued a decree that authenticated the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Adele Brise. The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, is now worthy of belief as a site where Mary really appeared along the level of Guadalupe in Mexico, Lourdes in France, and Fatima in Portugal. Mary’s appearances to Adele Brise are the first Marian apparitions approved by the Church for the United States.

So Green Bay is not only the home of the Super Bowl Champions but also the home of a SUPER natural appearance of the Blessed Mother.