Bridging the Gap: SHE LIVES!

By Bishop David Zubik

	Bishop David Zubik

At the Mass of Installation on Dec. 12, 2003, when I began my cherished responsibilities as Bishop of Green Bay, I talked about five important heroes in my life:

(1) My grandmother, Porchy, who as a woman of great faith, immigrated to the United States from Czechoslovakia in 1919 to join her husband;

(2) Pope John Paul II, who courageously led the Catholic Church as Pope for more than a quarter of a century;

(3) Fr. Claude Allouez, who was instrumental in bringing the Catholic faith to northeastern Wisconsin;

(4) Juan Diego, a saintly man who with conviction carried God's message as he received it from the Blessed Mother; and

(5) Mary, the Mother of Jesus, who taught us how to say "yes" to God.

Now I have a sixth hero! As many of you are aware, my mother died last week after a courageous battle with cancer. She was not only my mother and best friend, but she also became my hero.

	Related articles: from Jan. 27, 2006 issue: • Bishop's mother dies Jan. 16 • Sidebar: Bishop expresses gratitude in letter from Jan. 13, 2006 issue: • Bishop Zubik's mother dies (posted Jan. 18   as "New since the print edition" article)   Sidebar: Funeral plans from June 25, 2004 issue: • Bridging the Gap by Bishop David Zubik --   Welcoming God in Eucharist

As I remember, at my Installation Mass I defined a hero as: "a person of great faith who reflects the love of Christ and with a great deal of courage."

As a person of great faith, my mother tried to see God's hand everywhere. Especially so, did she recognize the presence of God within herself and tried to do so in every person whom she met. My mother learned the lesson well that God created each of us in his image and likeness. She recalled that lesson she learned well from the Franciscan Sisters of Mount Assisi when she was a student in the first grade. Like the psalmist of Psalm 139, through her life, my mother sang the melody that she was "fearfully and wonderfully made" by God.

Over the course of the last several years, she began a friendship with St. Therese of the Little Flower who reflected that particular truth in her own life. My mother fervently prayed that, like St. Therese, she would remain steadfast in looking for and in recognizing the presence of God in herself and in others. Each day, she would pray the Novena to St. Therese: "St. Therese, the Little Flower, please pick me a rose from the heavenly garden and send it to me with a message of love. Ask God to grant me the favor I thee implore and tell Him that I will love Him each day more and more."

Secondly, as a woman of faith, my mother sought to reflect the love of Christ and sought to do so as a woman of the Church. My mother saw her journey through life not as a solitary endeavor, but as one that was intimately connected with other people in and through the Church. Her commitment to the Church was especially evident through her quiet dedication in praying for so many people. Whenever anyone asked her to pray for them, their name would remain on her prayer list until those who requested such told her that the prayer was answered.

Faithfully, each day, she remembered those who asked to be remembered in her careful praying. Moreover, my mother especially remembered those people who held grudges against her or who misunderstood her or whose views of life were foreign to her own.

Finally, as a hero, as a woman of faith reflecting the love of Christ, my mother did so with a great deal of courage. In one of the most touching scenes at the Last Supper and as is reflected in the sixteenth chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus shares with his apostles the upcoming fearsome reality of his own death. Great teacher that He was, Jesus used the image of a woman in labor: "A woman in childbirth suffers, because her time has come; but when she has given birth to the child she forgets the suffering in her joy that a man has been born into the world" (Jn 16:21). In that teaching, Jesus prepared the apostles so that they could look beyond His suffering and be ready to receive His resurrection on Easter day.

Since Christmas Day, my mother endured severe suffering and unquenchable pain which baffled and frustrated the team of doctors who cared for her. They all marveled at her courage in the face of a very aggressive cancer that was literally eating up her bones. Rather than turn in on herself, my mother focused her feelings of gratitude on all who sought to give her comfort and care. She was able to do so because, like the apostles, she learned the important lesson that beyond her cross was the joy of sharing in the Resurrection of Jesus.

Each night for the last year, and especially during her illness, it was my privilege to tuck my mother into bed. Each night, she would give me a special blessing and I would give her a blessing in return. My prayer of blessing went like this: "May the Lord bless you and keep you from all ailments of mind, body and spirit; may He heal you quickly and completely; may He guide your recovery so that you may be free of all disease and free of all pain."

God has answered my prayer!

SHE LIVES!

To you, my mother, my best friend, my hero, rest now in the arms of God who has made you in His image and likeness. By His love for you, God has drawn you close to His heart forever.