Faith Today SupplemenL The Message, Catholic Diocese of Evansville, November 27, 1987
Page 4 * Faith Today
"The greatest proof
of God's love is.
shown in the fact that
he loves us in our hu-
man condition, with our
weaknesses and our
needs." (Pope John Paul II
in San Francisco, Sep-
tember 1987)
How do you describe an
<-egotist?
Building up the capacity to
esteem oneself ought to be part of
the process of true self-discovery.
But there is a difference between
self-esteem and egotism. And it
makes a difference for anyone's
spirituality.
) The spiritual life aims to
ON PILGRIMAGE
develop a relationship with God.
And one of the best ways to do
this "is to develop happy, healthy
relationships" with others who
are made in God's image, said
Father Robert Sherry, director of
the U.S. bishops' priestly forma-
tion secretariat. A strong sense of
self I self-esteem m frees a per-
son to enter into such rela-
tionships.
But the egotist is more likely
"to destroy relationships," Father
Sherry said. "Egotists work out of
their own agenda" and are so
preoccupied with themselves that
they cannot take "an active, lov-
ing interest in their neighbors."
Egotists see themselves as the
"center of the universe." As the
word "egocentric" indicates, such
a person thinks "the whole world
revolves around me," Father
Sherry continued.
He told of a TV show which il-
lustrates the point for him. A
woman planning to attend a
costume party explained that she
would dress as a princess so "all
would know I'm the most impor-
tant person there."
"But," she added, "even
without the costume everyone
knows I'm the most important."
When Father Sherry encounters
egocentric people in a counseling
situation he searches for a way to
turn their attention toward others
beyond themselves, in line with
the great Gospel commandment to
love one's neighbor as oneself.
Usually he starts with an easy-to-
accomplish activity.
*He suggests the person per-
form a service activity to help
someone else on a regular basis.
This can be as simple as holding a
door open for someone twice
daily.
*Or he asks the person to pray
for someone else in need or in
pain, for someone they consider
an enemy or for one of the
priest's special intentions.
The goal, Father Sherry explain-
ed, is "to turn the focus off the
self...and to build an awareness
that someone else is in need and
has a pain."
Over time, he believes, such
simple activities should lead a per-
son to recognize the difference
between self-esteem and egotism.
A woman who risked everything
By Janaan Manternach
NC News Service
M argaret Clitherow
grew up about 400
years ago in a lovely
home in Davygate,
near York, England.
Her parents were wealthy citizens.
Her father's health was very poor
and he died when Margaret was
still young.
Her mother soon remarried.
Margaret's new father became
mayor of York. In 1571 he arrang-
ed a marriage between his step-
daughter and John Clitherow, a
rich butcher who also held public
office.
After the wedding she moved to
her husband's home in the butch-
ers' quarter of York. They came
to love each other deeply. They
enjoyed a comfortable life.
Margaret loved parties and
receptions.
At first neither Margaret nor her
husband, who was from a Catholic
family, were very religious. But
something happened during the
first two or three years of her
marriage that led Margaret to
become a Catholic. It may have
been the example of Catholics dy-
ing for their faith.
It was dangerous to be a
Catholic in England at that time.
Catholics were forbidden to take
part in a Mass. The police hunted
down priests. Fines were heavy.
Hiding priests or participating in a
Mass risked the death penalty.
Margaret decided to take the
risk. She invited priests to her
home to celebrate Mass for her
family and other Catholics. She
became part of the large C:ttholic
underground. Her husl:)and did not
participate, but he paid Margaret's
weekly fine for not attending
Anglican services. He helped his
wife in every way lie could. Their
children took part in the secret
Masses and helped hide and pro-
tect the priests.
Margaret was arrested several
times. One time she was kept in
prison for two years. Afterward
she set up a Catholic school at
home and continued hiding priests
and having Mass there.
The situation became more and
more dangerous. Then in 1586 the
police raided the Clitherow home.
A hidden priest and the children's
teacher narrowly escaped.
Margaret, her husband and
children were arrested and put in
prison.
The judge condemned Margaret
to a slow, painful death for
treason but freed her husband and
children. From prison she sent
them each a last gift of her
clothing.
On March 25, 1586, Margaret
wa: executed. Her faith and
\\;
courage lived on in her children.
Henry and William bccamq priests.
Anne became a nun. And Thomas
died after years in prison for his
Roman Catholic belief.
Margaret Clitherow, loving wife,
devoted mother, brave martyr, was
canonized by Pope Paul VI in
1970. Her feast is March 25.
(Ms. Manternach is the author
of catechetical works, Scripture
stories and original stories for
children.)
A gift of
yourself
this time, people start to think about Christmas
iffs. Sometimes they decide to give gifts of themselves I
their time or service -- to family members or fdends. You can
tool With crayons or paints, make a holiday card for the peo-
ple to whom you would like to give a gift. On the inside write
what your gift is -- for example, reading a story to a younger
brother or sister, helping a parent with a chore, baking cookies
for an elderly neighbor, etc. Remember the best gifts come
from the heartl
What do you think?
[] Draw a picture of Margaret Clitherow's home as you imagine it, show-
ing the place she might have hidden priests.
[] Margaret CIItherow lived at a time when divisions between Christians
involved great hostilities. Today's ecumenical movement has greatly im-
proved these relations. What is the ecumenical movement?
From the bookshelf
In A Gift for Mama, by Esther Hautzig, Sara Is tired of her family's
traditlon of making presents and decides not to follow it for Mother's
Day. Instead, she works long and hard darning socks and mending the
worn clothing of her sister's friends In order to earn money for a gift.
But mother doesn't seem happy when Sara gives her a pair of shiny
black slippers. It is only when she learns how hard Sara worked to buy
them that mother realizes how special the gift is and how significant
Sara's decision was. (Puffin Books, division of Viking Penguin Inc., 40
W. 23 St., New York, N.Y. 10010. lg87. Paperback, $3.g5.)
