Confession of a Throw-Out-Aholic

Simplicity has been a central part of who I am for as long as I can remember. Since having less didn’t seem to fully satisfy me, however, somewhere in my 30s I began to wonder if I wasn’t looking for more than just being a minimalist.

Being an interior, reflective person, I have spent decades thinking about simplicity: about what it is, about why it’s so important to me. Then, finally, when I was 67 (2017), in the midst of working on a 6’-by-12’ painting (I’m an abstract artist), I had a major breakthrough!

The insight that changed everything for me came down to this: Simplicity in my life is a metaphor! It’s not less stuff I’m after; it’s less of me (interior simplicity, kenosis/self-emptying) and more of Christ! This huge insight has taken me years to unpack and process.

Now 75, I have come to understand that this self-emptying idea is much more than a new insight. It is a distinct calling for me, yes, a vocation, requiring action on my part! So how on earth do I decrease and allow more of Christ to live in me? The answer that jumped into my head just a few months ago completely surprised me: Pray! As a Byzantine Catholic, I right away took this to mean pray the “Jesus Prayer.”

Every time I pray the Jesus Prayer I now understand that I am in truth “practicing” full-on radical self-emptying. How so? By self-empting, detaching from everything around me and coming to God as an empty vessel.

In praying the Jesus Prayer (the form of the prayer I use is “Lord, have mercy.”), I am by no means just mindlessly begging for mercy over and over. I am surrendering my entire life to Christ in a spirit of deep repentance and giving Him full freedom to act in me.

My fervent hope is that praying the Jesus Prayer throughout the day, the practice of self-emptying will become my daily habit, leading me to living out the true interior simplicity I have always desired. O the joy!

Carolyn Ellis

Dallas, Texas

Praying the News

Related to “Marking 80th Anniversary of D-Day in France: 100 Catholic Nuns Remembered,” (June 6, NCRegister.com):

I watched part of the BBC coverage of the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy.

When Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy met with the last few veterans and spoke with them, you could see something pass between them. The old veterans had once stood where Zelenskyy and his countrymen now stand, in the heat of battle, against terrible odds, determined and resilient, but facing an uncertain future and outcome. The veterans have tasted the victory after a long struggle and great losses; Ukraine longs for a time of peace after victory that they can commemorate.

Wars are not always won by might or strength of numbers, though, as the allies can testify to. Two very beautiful miracles in World War II; one was the Dunkirk evacuation, where the weather conditions were absolutely perfect (extremely rare for that area), with calm seas to assist the small boats, and total cloud cover which hindered the Luftwaffe from bombing the vessels and forcing them above the clouds where the RAF were waiting for them.

The other was the Battle of Britain; outnumbered 4:1 by German fighters, even with the best aircraft and more motivated pilots, the odds were really too much to expect victory — unless, of course, there is an unseen factor at play, which there was: intercession. For the entire duration of the air battle, groups of intercessors prayed day and night for the RAF for some heavenly air cover, and they got it!

I recall at the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, as the Russian tanks approached Kyiv, many people of different denominations across the globe, as they watched things unfold on the news, were also consistently in prayer to stop their progress and push them back into Belarus. We prayed every night as a family here. [The Pope also joined in prayer, and he offers ongoing prayers for peace.]

And this has always been the key: to seek God’s intervention at key moments, from the Old Testament days to our own.

Many of Our Lady’s apparitions point us to this. In Fatima, we were told to pray to prevent World War II; alas, that went unheeded. In our day, we see conditions similar to previous times: Russia invading Ukraine and also the Chinese sabre rattling near Taiwan and swamping the West Philippine Sea with uninvited militia vessels. With consistent prayer we can disrupt whatever plans and schemes are being cooked up by evil men and watch as the Lord’s plans are fulfilled. Best to begin now, though, and not wait until it’s too late!

Stephen Clark

Manila, Philippines

Timely Analysis

“Turkey’s Christians Dwindle” (World, June 16 issue) was a timely analysis of the effects felt from a 60-year legacy of ethnic cleansing by Turkey. Of course, this legacy is only an ugly continuation of the policies of hate perpetrated by various Turkish governments over the years.

An excellent account of the genocide against the Armenian people that took place prior to this most recent 60-year period is given in the book entitled Armenian Golgotha: A Memoir of the Armenian Genocide, 1915-1918, by Grigoris Balakian. Balakian was an Orthodox priest who personally witnessed the genocide imposed on Armenians during the World War I era. His book is seen as one of the most dramatic and comprehensive eyewitness accounts.

To this very day, this crime of crimes is denied by Turkey in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Knowing this sordid history of the Turks, I believe that it was a huge mistake for NATO members to have allowed Turkey to join the organization as some kind of award for Turkish support and help during the Korean War. No doubt the naive thinking at the time was that Turkey had changed from engaging in policies of hate and NATO very much needed a changed Turkey on its side during that critical time period.

William Brown

Arlington, Texas

Traditional Massgoer

Larry Chapp’s column in the July 14 edition, “Latin Mass … Not Unity” (Vatican, page 7) deserves a point-by-point reflective reading. One point, the characterization of the “typical Latin Mass participant” as vocally anti-Vatican, Pope, etc., does not square with my experience.

My wife and I drive 80 miles to our Sunday Latin Mass. This is not unusual. We have the opportunity to travel, and in the last years, we have attended traditional Masses in a half-dozen parishes. We have not encountered any angry “pitchfork heresy-hunting” attendees.

What we do experience are fellow parishioners wanting to worship God in a quiet, dignified and loving manner. Seems contrary comments are made to divide and justify attacks on historical tradition.

Ed Korleski

Bayfield, Wisconsin

I Agree: Remove Rupnik Art

Thank you for the article about the decision of the bishop of Lourdes stating he feels this art should be removed (“Lourdes Bishop Wants to Tear Down Shrine’s Mosaics by Disgraced Priest — But Not Yet,” July 14, page 6).

There will be a lot of controversy, but whatever it takes for people to come to an understanding will be well worth it. I went on pilgrimage to Lourdes in 2013, and saw this art for the first time. It struck me as out of place, and even cartoonish. It was only later that I learned of its background and today’s problem. I am praying it will be removed. It was on this pilgrimage

Our Lady cured me of the horrible, lifelong effects of child abuse. I have had peace and a closer relationship with Our Lady, and I know by experience how important Lourdes is.

The art should be to honor Mary and give glory to God. This art does not. It certainly does not!

Teresa Connor

Orange Park, Florida

Reducing Homicides

I can appreciate Deacon Keith Kondrich’s concern about firearm deaths and injuries (Letters to the Editor, July 14 edition). Anyone who has suffered from such a trauma will look for a solution.

My concerns with his argument, however, are: the use of emotion (e.g., “idols of cold steel”; a straw-man argument: I’m unaware of anyone claiming that the Second Amendment is part of the Ten Commandments. The Second Amendment is part of the fundamental rule of law. If the people of the U.S. no longer consider this important, a mechanism of Constitution edit is available; use of statistics to show that removal of a given type of weapon would reduce injury or death: Of course statistics are important to help make policy decisions, but statistics can also be misleading.

One could also cite the statistic that a low percentage of homicides (approximately 2.8% in 2021) occur due to mass shootings; thus, elimination of a high-capacity weapon is unlikely to have a significant impact.

While all reasonable people are concerned with all aspects of the life issue, another significant statistic is that abortion accounts for the vast majority (approximately 97%) of homicides in the country. I suggest that if we eliminate this form of attack on human life, the overall respect for human life will increase and maybe, just maybe, the prevalence of homicides will decrease.

Michael Kerner

Lisle, Illinois

Don’t Be Deceived

Related to “On Abortion, Put Not Your Faith in Judges” (June 30 editorial):

Humans are easily deceived. Consider Adam and Eve. We just celebrated the two-year anniversary of the fall of Roe v. Wade and our nation’s freedom on the Fourth of July.

One way to make sin appealing is to use deceptive language. “Reproductive freedom” is a phrase many politicians use as a selling point to gain votes. They know people are easily deceived by slick slogans.

There is no “freedom” involved when ending the life of the child you are carrying or helped to create. Regret from that decision is like wearing an ankle monitor after being released from prison. No “reproduction” occurs in an abortion. It is a reduction. Whether you’re Catholic, Baptist or Presbyterian, you cannot vote for someone who supports “reproductive freedom.”

Ann Redding

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Protecting Life

Relevant to recent Supreme Court coverage: The Supreme Court’s recent ruling overturning the national ban on rapid-fire rifle bump stocks is a blatant betrayal of any “pro-life” ethic the court claims to champion.

In their June 3, 2022, letter to Congress on gun violence, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops explicitly calls for a “total ban on assault weapons and limitations on civilian access to high-capacity weapons and ammunition magazines ... including a ban on bump stocks.” Data show that restrictions on high-capacity magazines and accessories like bump stocks can reduce the number of people killed in mass shootings by as much at 38% and those injured by as much as 77%.

And yet, America continues to worship at the feet of idols wrought of cold steel. Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, reminds us, “The Second Amendment did not come down from Sinai; the right to bear arms will never be more important than human life.”

Thanks to the Supreme Court, the number of innocent people wounded, maimed and killed by gun violence will grow exponentially. Until we confront and condemn our “culture of guns,” pleas from politicians and preachers advocating a “culture of life” ring hollow.

Deacon Keith G. Kondrich

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania