Father Glenn J. Comandini

Whoever thought that when we were saving our coins to help the missionaries in far-off lands, 30 or 40 or 50 years later, these missionaries would be working in our parishes? Yes, we, the wealthiest, most powerful country in the world, have become one of those “missions” that we envisioned only in third world nations of Africa, Asia and South America. How did this happen?

She never went on missions, never founded a religious order, never performed great works. Marie-Françoise Thérèse Martin was only 15 when she entered the Carmelite Monastery and was given the religious name of Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face.The only book of hers, published after her death is a brief edited version of her autobiographical journal called “Story of a Soul.” Within 28 years after her death, however, the public demand was so great that she be made a saint that Pius XI canonized her on Oct. 3, 1923.

Some of the early fathers of the Church were labeled “Apologists” because the focus of their work was on a defense of the faith or, more specifically, a defense of the teaching of the Church on a particular tenet of faith or morals. If we take a look at the work of the apologists, they were not against Greek philosophy but desired to show that Christianity and philosophy were not mutually exclusive. In addition to Origen and Tertullian, early Christian apologists include Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria. St. Athanasius and St. Augustine.

Lately, there has been a lot of talk about the “New Evangelization.” To what does this phrase refer? It is an effort by priests, deacons, religious and laity to renew Catholics whose faith is stagnant. Many of these are practicing Catholics who do the minimum. They attend Mass regularly but their faith turns off when the liturgy ends. Once their faith is awakened and dynamic, these same individuals, in turn, go out and share their faith with non-practicing Catholics who feel marginalized, estranged from or hurt by the Church.

In 1980, I made my first retreat at Loyola House in Morristown. This period of recollection was entitled a “silent directed retreat” because the entire experience was to take place in a setting of silence, with periodic conferences with a retreat director. I decided on Loyola House because discerning a vocation to the priesthood, in my mind, required silence. I needed to remove all the distractions of daily life that could prevent me from hearing God’s “voice,” such as radio, TV and phones.

On Thursday, August 1, a pall was cast over the state of New Jersey as Governor Phil Murphy signed “Death with dignity” legislation into law. This made physician-assisted suicide legal. Should one who is “terminal” get the okay from a psychologist, who will assure that the person is of sound mind and right judgment, he or she can then request from a physician, a prescription of a death-inducing drug. Advocates for the law believe that those who are suffering from a terminal illness or condition can then choose when they end their lives “with dignity.”