Together on the Journey: A Weekly Word from Archbishop Hebda
With the celebration of Mother’s Day just yesterday, I spent a good bit of the weekend thinking about my mother (and father). My siblings texted some wonderful photos of my mom and dad, bringing back great memories. I know that we were really blessed to have parents who had a solid relationship with Jesus and who were intentional about introducing us to him. Their holiness was mostly quiet, seeped in the ordinary tasks and responsibilities of family life, but their teaching—and especially their example—spoke volumes. It was through their lived devotion to Jesus that my parents showed us that Jesus had to be a priority in life.
My mom’s quiet faith was communicated through her outreach and hospitality. She loved Dorothy Day and really worked to see Christ in those most in need. Seeing others as Christ, she was always welcoming all kinds of folks into our kitchen. My dad, on the other hand, communicated his faith to us through his attachment to the interior life. Wild horses couldn’t keep him away from his Monday evening Miraculous Medal novena at our parish, and his well-worn copies of the monthly Magnificat were never more than an arm’s length away from his bed or chair. I always considered it heroic that he would give up his lunch hour on the night shift to go to the 2:30 a.m. Printers Mass celebrated each Sunday at Epiphany in Uptown Pittsburgh. Both of my parents faithfully demonstrated that Mass was a non-negotiable for them…and the source of their strength.
In the pastoral letter to families that I’m releasing this week, entitled Only One Thing Is Necessary, I mention three other couples whose holiness was best exemplified in the ordinary. I mentioned one of those couples, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, in a recent video. They experienced great trials in their marriage—including the loss of four of their nine children—yet their witness was so influential that all five of their surviving daughters had the courage to enter religious life.
The other two couples—Blesseds Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi and Blesseds Józef and Wiktoria Ulma—provided different but equally beautiful examples of what it means for a couple to strive toward holiness together, thereby offering a powerful example for their families. Some of their daily acts might not seem heroic, such as Maria Quattrocchi’s simple gesture of including little notes as she packed Luigi’s lunches. But those small acts of love—those opportunities in the ordinariness of everyday life to say “yes” to God and to one’s vocation—can indeed prepare one’s heart for greater and more difficult “yeses” that may follow.
Such was the case for the Ulmas. Józef and Wiktoria Ulma lived in southeastern Poland in the first decades of the 20th century and did nothing to call attention to themselves. They lived very ordinary lives…but with great love. As a biographer of Wiktoria Ulma wrote, “They lived in the sacraments, prayed often, cultivated many interests and showed each other and others sincere kindness and respect.”* In this ordinary living and consistent devotion to Christ and his Church, the Ulma parents showed their children authentic love and sacrifice. This daily habit helped prepare them for the horrific trial they’d eventually undergo at the time of the Nazi occupation of Poland. Józef and Wiktoria knew the risks that would come with giving shelter to Jews but felt compelled to put into practice Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. For their Christ-like charity, the Ulmas, as well as their children and the eight Jews hiding in their home, were put to death.
Pope Francis beatified Jozef and Wiktoria and all of their children. It’s significant that all their children will now forever stand with them as witnesses because of the courage and love of neighbor that they learned from their parents.
Reading this story you may be thinking, “How can any parent live up to this example?” In the simplicity of their lives, their love for Christ and devotion to the sacraments, they were fueled to make these radical sacrifices. I am confident that all of us, by God’s grace, can look to their example and strive to imitate it, praying that we might have the same courage that they found in their ordinary relationship with Jesus.
At the height of our Confirmation season, I’m once again seeing lots of our young Catholics choosing Sebastian (athletes), Cecilia (musicians) and even Genesius (actors). I look forward to the day when our young people will be more commonly seeking heavenly help from the Martins, the Quattrocchis and the Ulmas as amazing patrons of heroic family life. We desperately need more couples like them and more families like theirs.
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* Taken from Wiktoria Ulma: A Love Story Maria Elżbieta Szulikowska
