2024-11-29-eEdition

PAGE 4 THE CATHOLIC WEEK NOVEMBER 29, 2024 he Venerable Andrei Sheptytsky, who died eighty years ago on Nov. 1, 1944, was one of 20th cen- tury Catholicism’s outstanding figures, whose remarkable life and heroic ministry as leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church spanned 43 years, two world wars, five pontificates, Stalin’s terror-famine (the “Holodomor,” in which at least 6 million Ukrainians were deliberately starved to death), and a half-dozen changes of government in the territories in which he served. Amidst that turmoil, Sheptytsky became a crucial figure in refining mod- ern Ukraine’s national identity, while his cultural, ecumeni- cal, interreligious and pastoral initiatives anticipated the teaching of the Second Vatican Council and the Church of the New Evangelization. So, on this 80th anniversary of Metropoli- tan Andrew’s passover to his present, exalted position in the Communion of Saints, atten- tion should be paid. Count Roman Aleksandr Maria Szeptycki was born in 1865 in a village near L’viv in then-Austrian Galicia to a fam- ily descended from Ruthenian and Polish nobility. Over a de- cade and a half, his studies took him to L’viv, Krakow, and Bre- slau (today’s Wrocław); he also traveled to Kyiv, Moscow, and Rome, where, in 1888, he met Pope Leo XIII. A few months after that encounter, Sheptytsky, who had adopted the Ukrainian spelling of his surname, joined the Greek Catholic Basilian Order of St. Josaphat, taking the religious name Andrew — St. Peter’s brother and the great patron of Eastern Catholicism. Ordained priest in 1892, he earned a doctorate in theol- ogy and, in 1898, founded a religious community based on the rule of St.Theodore the Studite, with the aim of reform- ing Ukrainian Greek Catholic monasticism. A year later, he was named a bishop, and in late 1900, Leo XIII concurred in his appointment as Metropolitan of Halych, Archbishop of L’viv, and Bishop of Kamianets- Podilskyi, positions he assumed in January 1901 at age 36. Metropolitan Andrew car- ried out a lengthy and vigorous episcopate under extraordinarily challenging circumstances, as Ukraine struggled to refine and defend its national identity: first, in the face of Russian and Polish pressures; then, amidst a Soviet-era genocide; and finally, during a brutal Nazi occupa- tion. Against the opposition of the czars and often traveling in disguise, he worked to build up the Eastern Catholic Churches in the Russian Empire before 1917. Concurrently, he tried to temper Polish and Ukrai- nian nationalist rivalries in the turbulent latter years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire while invigorating the Greek Catholic Church in Emperor Franz Joseph’s domains. In all cases, and to all parties in the faction-ridden Ukrainian lands, he urged a spirit of fraternal charity and ecumenical sen- sitivity, as previously imperial territories like today’s Poland and Ukraine — long carved up by Russia and Austria-Hungary — struggled to establish their independence in the aftermath of World War I. As modern Ukrainian national identity was be- ing formed in the early 20th century, Metropolitan Andrew built institutions of culture to shape a future Ukraine in con- tinuity with the nation’s origins in the baptism of the eastern Slavs at Kyiv in 988 A.D.: a seminary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions, and a national museum to preserve and support Ukraine’s artistic heritage. As a pastor, he strove to deepen the faith of his peo- ple through effective catechesis, encouraged youth ministry, and made a lasting contribution to Ukraine’s religious life by sup- porting Studite monasticism and inviting the Byzantine-rite Redemptorists into his dioceses. The flails of Soviet and Nazi German brutality hit Sheptytsky and his people with unmitigated fury, and while Metropolitan Andrew at first welcomed the 1941 German invasion of Ukrainian lands as a means of crushing Stalinism, he soon recognized the monstrous evils being perpetrated by the invaders, writing Reichsführer- SS Heinrich Himmler in February 1942 to protest the slaughter of Jews. In coopera- tion with his brother Klymentiy, a Studite monk beatified in 2001, he saved hundreds of Jewish children, hiding them in Greek Catholic institutions, while he personally gave shelter in his residence to the son of a leading L’viv rabbi. In August 1942, he wrote Pope Pius XII, describing the Nazis’ mass murders and admitting that he had originally misread Hitler’s intentions in Ukraine; three months later, he issued a pasto- ral letter,Thou Shalt Not Kill, publicly protesting the German reign of terror and excommuni- cating its perpetrators. One of those he saved, David Kahane, later became chief rabbi of the Israeli air force. Metropolitan Andrew’s legacy — deep piety, intellectual depth, cultural sophistication, mature patriotism, ecumeni- cal and interreligious charity — lives on in the vitality of today’s Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine, led by Sheptytsky’s worthy successor, Major-Arch- bishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk. As Ukraine fights for its life and the freedom of the West, we should honor the memory of this great Christian witness and pray for his intercession. — George Weigel’s column ‘The Catholic Difference’ is syndi- cated by the Denver Catholic, the official publication of the Archdio- cese of Denver. played football, coached football and have also spent about a decade as a broadcaster for McGill-Toolen Catholic High School football games on Archangel Radio. There are a lot of differences in each of those roles, but what they all have in common is the need to prepare for the game. In fact, the band, the cheerleaders, the referees, the stadium manager and many others all have the common thread of preparation. It is amazing how many hours of labor go into the execution of a football game. Can you imagine what would happen if nobody prepared in advance, but rather just showed up at kickoff? It would be total chaos and I am sure the event would be cancelled or at the least, be rescheduled. It takes many people, over many hours, to prepare for such an event — but we seem to think the labor of preparation is worth it. What about Christmas? We are just a few weeks away from the most significant birth that has ever occurred.We will gather as the people of God and celebrate the fact that Jesus was born, so that He could die for our sins and open the gates of heaven to us. I have heard a nice summary of our salvation, “Jesus paid a price He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay.”The rejection of God by our first parents, Adam and Eve, had a cataclysmic impact on humanity. We chose to not be in relationship with God. He honored our choice and then began to build the bridge that someday, humanity could use to be reconciled to Him. So, we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we have gatherings with our family and friends, we buy gifts for many people and we have meals together. Really, it is an awesome time, but I realize that sometimes I let the trap- pings of Christmas become the main events instead of focusing and preparing to celebrate the fact that God loved me enough to die for me. Let us spend the next few weeks attempting to unite our- selves to the Lord. I strongly recommend Advent wreaths. I found this link that you might find helpful for incorporating an Advent wreath into your prayerful preparation: www. usccb.org/prayers/blessing- advent-wreath — Pat Arensberg is the Direc- tor of the Office for Evangeliza- tion and Family Life. Email him at parensberg@mobarch.org. For more information concern- ing the events of this office, visit us at mobilefaithformation.org BEST OF THE BLOG Pat Arensberg Let us spend the Advent season uniting ourselves to the Lord THE CATHOLIC DIFFERENCE A great Christian witness, too little known T I Custom designed jewelry DESIGN IN JEWELRY 4503 Old Shell Road Mobile, Alabama Hours 9:30 - 5:00, Mon. - Sat. PAT, DANNYAND TONY CLARKE PH. (251)342-6303 Gold Art George Weigel