LETTERS.

THANK YOU FOR THE MARVELOUS ARTICLE CENTERING ON Mary the God bearer ("There's something about Mary" by Lawrence Cunningham, October). There is something about Mary for all persons whose lifestyle is faith, hope, love, and fidelity. Little wonder she is model for all, men as well as women.

God bearer does sum up the meaning of Mary and gives meaning to us who follow her example. I believe God asks each of us what was asked of Mary: Will you give birth to my Son? It's such a heart-lifting question. If we take it seriously, saying "yes" will not be simple or easy; this yes will make demands. The fidelity of Mary to her yes is why we honor her and find her to be our companion, friend, and mother as we continue our earthly journey participating in the building of the kingdom.

Her yes did not lead to a life of pomp, complacency, security, or ease. The words of the Magnificat, as powerful and sacred as they are, led her to be pregnant before marriage, to experience the fear of escaping from those who sought her baby's death, to be a refugee, to be widowed young and alone and unsupported, to be mother of a criminal and witness to her child's cruel, barbaric death. In all of this, and more, she remained faithful to her yes.

She is a model beyond reproach or imitation, yet one we draw strength from and rely on. There's plenty about Mary for each and all of us.

Father Mark Franceschini, O.S.M. Hillside, III.

Can we have a change of mind?

The implications of James Philipps' Testaments ("Jesus gets out of line," October) are both challenging and provocative. It is not only exciting to think of Jesus changing his mind and redefining his entire ministry at the invitation of a foreigner (and a woman), but this passage can also be seen in the context of the church today. Are we, the enduring presence of Jesus in the world, willing to change our minds when the "signs of the times" engage us in conversation about the role of women in ministry, the exclusion of our brothers and sisters from the Communion table, the reinstatement of married celebrants of the Eucharist?

Jesus changed his mind. Wouldn't it be wonderful if this image of Jesus grounded our churches, rather than the image of Jesus as the protector of the status quo?

Father Anthony S. Ercolano Bayside, N. Y.

It takes a village to make a liturgy

Wow! The interview with Bishop Kenneth Untener ("Do this in memory of me, but do it well," September) was a wonderful article; you get an idea what it's like from the front looking out.

It would be great for us laypeople to encourage our priests and to fully cooperate with them in making a great liturgy. The article reinforces the humanity of priests and acknowledges that their struggles are similar to those we have out here in the pews.

Name withheld Eagle River, Alaska 

The interview with Bishop Untener was very insightful and should be read by clergy and laity alike. It might improve the quality of our liturgy.

Brother Patrick Hart, O.C.S.O. Trappist, Ky.

No easy job

It is fairly likely that Jesus spent the major part of his life as a worker. And yet we have a feast of Christ the King but none of Jesus the Worker. Jesus never was a monk, but yet, as Greg Pierce points out in the September Sounding Board ("Let's create a spirituality of work that works"), the contemplative tradition has convinced us that to be "spiritual," flight from the world is essential.

Since most of us--like Jesus--spend most of our lives as workers, surely we do need a spirituality of work as well as opportunities for contemplation. Pierce has opened up a subject that has been for too long overlooked. His thoughtful article raises many questions: "Does it have to be either/or-work or contemplation?" It is the experience of many who engage in truly creative work that they sometimes enter a zone, a flow, another state of timeless energy where they seem to be one with the creative source. Might this be called "working contemplatively"?

William John Fitzgerald Scottsdale, Ariz.

It is important to realize, when reading Pierce's inspiring and creative challenge, that sometimes one can't integrate spirituality with what certain jobs require. Last Christmas, a part of our family celebration was honoring five of our 10 grown children for leaving toxic workplaces in prior months. Maintaining a hopeful spirituality "between successes" (Mom's term for being unemployed and looking) is a vital component of today's spirituality of work.

Many contemporary workplaces involve drugs, corrupt practices, even violence. In a world in which CEOs at the 1,000 largest firms receive compensation equal to 336 times that of the average employee, workers can no longer assume their loyalty and good performance will be rewarded.

It's a jungle out there, and the jungle can be beautiful or deadly. If your firm's culture is one of integrity, cherish it and contribute fully.

Our five eventually found better positions in 1999. I'm thankful they had the courage to change.

Carol DeChant Chicago, Ill.

The bane of bingo

In regard to the July Margin Notes ("We're gambling with the future" by Kevin Clarke), isn't it time for the Catholic Church to take a hard look at bingo? It came as a shock to me when one local paper published the incomes of various organizations from bingo. The Catholic Church gained the most, some parishes in excess of $150,000 per year.

When I expressed my concerns, the response was: "Oh, but we must not take away the one social pleasure of our senior citizens." Well, this is one senior citizen who thinks bingo on this scale is gambling and is sending the wrong message--not only to our youth but to ourselves.

Can it be that we have come to depend on bingo to support our parish budget? If so, then shame on us.

Name withheld Twinsburg, Ohio 

The dying fields

I very much enjoyed the interview with Wendell Berry ("Care for the earth is a local call," June). I am a farm woman, homemaker, and mother of six children. I married my husband, John, a dairy farmer, born and raised on the family homestead up the road.

It only took me about a year into my marriage and new life to realize--and then become engulfed in justifiable anger at--the horrible plight of the American farm family. My faith has been shaken to the core these last 30 years. I have felt lonely and isolated among my fellow Catholics and other non-farmers of other faiths.

I have been in every House and Senate office in Washington, D.C. lobbying on behalf of the farm family. I have tried every possible way I could think of to bring out what I consider to be the planned systematic destruction of American agriculture in this country.

After all these years, the truth of the matter is: Nobody really cares. I have asked--no, begged--our church leaders to educate the people in the pews. But we can't--too political. No one seems to be able to speak for the loss of the family farm, and the farm family. I highly recommend Berry's essay "Discipline and Hope" as an insight into why this country has gone so far off the path set forth by its founders.

Where is the leadership? Where are the Romeros? It's not just me, because virtually every warning that shook me out of my apathy concerning agricultural issues has come to pass. We are coming ever closer to complete corporate multinational food and land control.

These are questions I have asked myself over the years: Will they who control the land control the people? Is there really a difference between communist control of people and multinational corporate capitalistic control of people? Why don't our church leaders speak out in greater numbers against what is happening to the land?

Finally, as I see it, feel it, and experience it, every ounce of our Catholic belief centers around the table of the Lord. The Bible, the holy word for all generations, brings to us vivid descriptions of the land and its bounty. In our Eucharist, bread and wine is transformed into the Body and Blood of our Lord. And in the words of Amos 9:11-15, "We will be planted back on our land, and our ruined little cities will be restored, and we will not be uprooted again." Alleluia!

Jeanne Rohl Prescott, Wis.

Gifted message

I really appreciated Kevin Axe's article ("Five ways to stay awake at Mass," June). His reference to Father Richard Fragomeni's book Come to the Feast: An Invitation to Eucharistic Transformation (Continuum, 1997) was very helpful.

Fragomeni's comments about learning to receive the gift of the Eucharist and the transformation of this gift impressed me. I especially appreciated Axe's explanation of five ways to "stay awake to the gift."

The different approaches that particular parishes take in these five areas were interesting and encouraging. I felt Axe did an excellent job of exploring a complicated and difficult subject.

Maureen Carroll Wilmette, Ill.