Reading Catholic

Reading Catholic and catholic

Nancy Piccione

More Stories About Father Mychal Judge

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There are so many good news articles about the 10th anniversary of 9/11, but two that Twitter friends have shared are particularly good, and they both relate to Father Mychal Judge, the first official fatality on 9/11 and the main subject of my column this month for the Catholic Post.

They are both NPR stories, and wonderful to read, but even better to listen to:

Religion correspondent Barbara Bradley Hagerty, who always produces thoughtful stories, had an excellent profile of Father Judge.

Another story, titled “Bury His Heart, But Not His Love,” is beautiful, and includes long excerpts from the funeral homily given by his friend and fellow Franciscan, Father Michael Duffy.

A Facebook friend mentioned that she felt the 9/11 coverage seemed excessive.  Perhaps I haven’t been too tied into media the last few days to be overwhelmed by it, but I find it cathartic and helpful to remember.  What about you?

Helping Children Make Sense of 9/11, 10 Years Later

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The primary book that I reviewed this month was a children’s book about the events of 9/11, He Said Yes:  The Story of Father Mychal Judge, by author Kelly Ann Lynch.   It wasn’t entirely intentional to focus on a children’s book, but as I argue, sometimes “just a kid’s book” can be more insightful and meaningful than books for adults.

Earlier today, I listened to a radio interview with a American studies professor discussing the “art of 9/11,” focusing exclusively on novels, movies and songs for adults that have come out of the tragedy, and their meaning, and how they have helped us heal (or not) after 9/11.  It was a fascinating interview; yet I found myself thinking about how much more do children need help in processing and understanding difficult events like what happened on 9/11.
I am a volunteer in the library of our children’s grade school, and I’m fortunate to get the chance to read to the students.  Earlier this week, I read through He Said Yes with different grades of kids, and we talked about what happened that day.  This book ended up being a great way for kids who were unaware of 9/11 to learn about it gently, as 9/11 images are all over the news, and the students are bound to be confronted with it.  Learning about the heroism of Father Judge and others will give, I hope, some framework for understanding beyond the images.
Some of the kids asked me, “Is that a true story?” so we talked about how Father Judge is the listed as the first official fatality on that day.  I was surprised that every single time I read it, I choked up on the last pages of the book, when author Lynch quotes John 15:13, “When Father Mychal ran to the towers, he was following in the footsteps of Jesus, who told his disciples, “No one has grater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Here are several other children’s books to help children to learn about and understand 9/11 as we remember 10 years later:
The Little Chapel That Stood by A.B. Curtis is a beautifully illustrated and lyrical poem-book about Old St. Paul’s Church, which survived the attacks at Ground Zero, and became a place of refuge for firefighters and others.
If you can, reading an actual copy of The Little Chapel That Stood makes for great reading with small children; the book itself is handsome and a nice size.  Unfortunately, it looks like it is difficult to order quickly; for instance, I see Amazon lists it as a one- to three-month delivery time.  Fortunately, I discovered an online version of the story on the author’s website.  Do read it, and be prepared to choke up a little if you do read it out loud, when you read many lines, especially about how the firefighters hung up their shoes on the fence of the church: “Oh what gallant men we did lose, who never came back to get their shoes!”
[The interesting Catholic trivia connection to Old St. Paul’s, an Episcopal Church, is that St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American-born canonized saint, was married to her husband, William Seton, in St. Paul’s, on January 25, 1774.]
Also, blog commenter Marie jogged my memory about The Little Chapel That Stood, that I hadn’t picked up in years. Thanks, Marie!
Fireboat:  The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey by Maira Kalman, is another great book about the great and small heroism around 9/11.  This book, too, shows how ordinary people worked to stop the fires at the Twin Towers with a previously retired and restored 1930s-era fireboat.  The illustrations are a kind of modern folk-art, and the text is delightful in conveying such difficult themes.
Do you know of any other 9/11 books for children?  How are you discussing 9/11 with your children?

A Prayer at Ground Zero

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As we reflect this month at the Catholic Post Book Group on 9/11 10 years later, I wanted to share some good links and content out there.  Here is a great short reflection by Father James Martin, SJ, of his memories of the days after 9/11.

Meet a Reader: Corey Krengiel

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I’m delighted to feature another seminarian as a “Meet a Reader.”  Our family met Corey this summer as he was one of the four energetic team members of our parish’s summer “sort-of, but much better than a VBS” program, called Totus Tuus.  Quick ad here:  if you are not aware of the fantastic Totus Tuus program, you can read a little more about it from its home diocese, Wichita.  I cannot stress enough how amazing Totus Tuus program is.  We feel extremely fortunate that our pastor brought the program here and it will continue in future years.  Thanks, Corey!

 

How you know me: 

I am Corey Krengiel, a seminarian for the Diocese of Peoria, and I’m originally from Lemont, IL.  I attend Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD.  If God wills it, I will be ordained in 2014.  I invite your prayers for me.
Why I love reading: 

I love reading because learning new things gets me very excited about life, and we should be excited about life.  I love reading books, and making them my own.
What I’m reading now: 

I’m reading Three to Get Married by Servant of God Fulton Sheen.  Archbishop Sheen’s wisdom seems bottomless, and he writes is such a clear and dlever way.  Hacing a good understanding of how God intended marriage to work provides an important part of a Catholic sacramental worldview.
My favorite book: 

My favorite book is In the School of the Holy Spirit by Father Jacques Philippe.  I am reading it now for the third time because each time I read it, I gain deeper insight into how to live a life rooted in God.  I also like it because it is broken into many short sections, making it easy to pray with.

Remembering 9/11

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It’s been 10 years since 9/11, but I can still recall exactly where I was and every tiny detail of how I learned what had happened. It was an almost too-sunny Tuesday morning as I drove over the McCluggage Bridge on my way to a Scripture study.  Our two little daughters were in their carseats, sweetly singing along with a CD about the three little kittens who lost their mittens….  Then one of my sisters called my cell phone to tell me about the attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, where her husband worked at that time, and life changed for everyone.
That kind of total recall is probably true of most Catholic Post readers, but what do we do with those memories?  As we approach the 10-year anniversary of the attacks, remembrance is not just important, but healthy, especially when we do so prayerfully in light of our Catholic faith.

He Said Yes:  The Story of Father Mychal Judge
In his writings and talks, Pope Benedict XVI returns again and again to the theme of saying “yes” to God.  The Holy Father ended one of his addresses to World Youth Day pilgrims in Madrid by saying, “(L)et us pray that, like (the Blessed Mother), our “Yes” to Christ today may also be an unconditional “Yes” to his friendship, both at the end of this day and throughout our entire lives.”
Saying yes to a life of faith is not a one-time event, but a daily, often moment-by-moment, decision.  This is captured beautifully in the children’s picture book, He Said Yes:  The Story of Father Mychal Judge by Kelly Ann Lynch. 
Father Mychal Judge was the NYC fire department chaplain, and is listed as the first official casualty of 9/11 at Ground Zero.  The photo of his body being carried out of the North Tower by NYFD members remains one of the iconic images of the destruction that day.
In the years after Father Mychal’s death, there have been several well-written biographies written about him. These books recount how Father Mychal prevailed through numerous obstacles–such as family dysfunction and his own alcoholism–to be and to bring Christ to so many hurting people.
Yet in its simplicity, He Said Yes captures the central message of Father Mychal’s life more successfully.  The picture book does this by distilling Father Mychal’s essential work: how he continued to say yes to Christ, to his vocation, and to the people he served, until the very end.  A bonus is that proceeds from the book He Said Yes benefit Mychal’s Message, a non-profit started by author Lynch to help the homeless and poor.
Franciscan Voices on 9/11

Franciscan Voices On 9/11 by St. Anthony Messenger Press, is a collection of reflections on the attack and its meaning 10 years later.    Since St. Francis was known so much for his emphasis on peace and reconciliation, having a Franciscan perspective to mark the decade is enriching.
Essays range from the deeply personal, such as “Looking Back, Moving Forward”–  those whose lives have been dramatically changed after 9/11; to several political analyses; to a beautiful essay, “Prayer Out of Pain,” by Franciscan Scripture scholar Michael Guinan, who uses Lamentations as a way to help people respond to the memory of 9/11.
Easily the most interesting and informative section is “Franciscans and Muslims:  Eight Centuries of Seeking God,” by Franciscans Jack Wintz and Pat McCloskey.  Here is history about St. Francis’ trip to the Holy Land in 1219 to preach the gospel to the Sultan (the Muslim leader) during the time of the Crusades, and how Franciscans still maintain a considerable presence there to this day.   
As Wintz and McCloskey recount, because St. Francis approached in peace and love, and disregarded the gifts offered to him, the Sultan showed greater respect for him and did not kill him outright.  St. Francis bravely “proclaimed the triune God and Jesus Christ, with steadfastness, courage and spirit,” and the Sultan told him, “Pray to God for me, that God may reveal to me the law and the faith that is more pleasing to him.”  Franciscans still serve in the Holy Land as guardians of many shrines.
Franciscan Voices on 9/11 is available in only as a Kindle book, which can be read on a wide variety of devices.

First, What Are Reading? Volume 13, September 2011

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Here are my answers to the four questions I ask on the first of each month:
first, what are you reading?
what do you like best about it?
what do you like least?
what’s next on your list to read? 
As always, I hope you’ll consider your current reads on your blog and/or sharing here in the comments or on Facebook.  Happy reading!

What are you reading?  
Get Real: What Kind of World Are You Buying? By Mara Rockliff.  This book is about responsible buying and consumerism. 
Good Calories/Bad Calories by Gary Taubes.
What do you like best about them?
Getting Real is very eye-opening in its discussion of where things come from. I like best that it challenges kids to not think as consumers but as people.  The book helps kids realize that they hold enormous power in their buying power, and also that they are influenced by the ads they see, regardless of what they think.   I gave it to my 13-year-old daughter after I read it, and told her that I didn’t agree with everything in the book.  She agreed that she didn’t like everything about it, but especially thought that she was more immune to advertisements than others.  I had to laugh at that, and we had a good discussion about trying to remain conscious about the lure of consumerism.
I think that’s one of the best take-away points.  You are influenced by the culture around you.  Realizing it and accepting it will help you be a savvier consumer, and overall a better person.  That’s not just true about consumerism, but also media we consume.  If you think you can watch or read whatever is around and think it has no effect on you, you’re wrong.
I’m not sure what I like about Good Calories/Bad Calories.  He is good and award-winning science writer, but it’s a science and nutrition book I found hard to get through.
What do you like least about them?
Getting Real is a little, no, a lot, on the frankly polemic side against any sort of non-local business, whether it’s Wal-Mart, Starbucks  or McDonalds. I find those kind of attacks that shed more heat than light, and disregard the strides these companies have made.  I will admit, of course, that it’s because of the strident protests by people like Rockliff.   What I find annoying about Rockliff’s approach is that it’s kind of an either/or, rather than a both.
For instance, I can find much more, and better quality, organic produce, at our closest Wal-Mart than I can at our local grocery store.  I also can find that at our local farmer’s market, which I do in the summer, but I am so grateful to have the source of great healthful produce (and inexpensive other groceries) year-round from Wal-Mart.    And while my kids dislike McDonald’s in general (except for the breakfasts), I enjoy the oatmeal and the salads and enjoy having those healthful options when traveling or needing a drive-through.
I just don’t buy the notion that all big business is bad, just like I don’t buy the notion that big government is bad.  I’m glad that there are McDonalds, Starbucks and Wal-Marts, and I’m glad there are national parks, the military, and lots of other things in federal government.  I know both those “biggies” can improve, but Getting Real seems to think we’d be better off without big business, instead of trying to improve them, in the same way some more radical libertarians want to do away with the federal government.   Both those are too extreme for me.
Good Calories, Bad Calories is frustrating because there’s essentially no conclusion, other than the argument it makes that a low-fat, high carbohydrate diet is not good fit for human consumption.  More troubling, I find, is Taubes apparent claim that the only way to live healthy, long and trim, is with essentially a no-carbohydrate diet.  He claims that people who eat only meat suffer no ill effects.  Some of the arguments in the book just made my head spin.  So if eating only meat and high-protein, high-fat foods is the only way to go, what do you do when it’s your birthday?  No birthday cake?  No vegetables?  Strange.
Reading this gave me a kind of reverse of déjà vu from reading The China Study several years back, a book that makes an equally dense and impassioned, well-documented argument that the only way to live healthy, trim and long is through a vegan diet.   I’d like to get these two authors in a room to duke it out.
My problem with both of those nutrition exposes (not sure how to get the accent there, I mean the noun, not the verb) is a tendency to over-dramatize.   Yes, clearly, the low-fat, refined carbohydrate diet is not healthy, but I thought we all know that by now.  By the same token, few people will be able to stay on either a no-carbohydrate or completely vegan diet forever, regardless of how healthy.
Much more interesting, but only occasionally referenced, was the notion that overweight and obese people do not necessarily overeat, but may have a barely perceptible hormone imbalance.  That would be interesting to explore or solve.
Finally, I just found it ridiculous that Taubes dismisses exercise as a way to manage weight and stay healthy.   I’m not going to even start on that.
What’s next on your list to read?

I’ve actually just finished The Wilder Life:  My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie by Wendy McClure, and I LOVED it, but I want to wait to next month to write about it.  It’s that good.  Stay tuned.
I’ve also downloaded for the Kindle App some Georgette Heyer books, written in the mid-20th century.  They’re kind of romance/mystery/madcap books for people who love Jane Austen.  I learned from Austenblog earlier this month that there was an e-book sale, so I grabbed a couple of titles I have not yet read.    Unfortunately, I have not had much free “fun reading” time, but having these great Heyer books makes me want to find some time.
So, what are you reading?  Any books to add to my growing stacks?