John Janaro's Blog, page 9

Roses are Blooming

June is almost here, and the roses are blooming.🌹

Non-violence: A Method and a Style of "Peace-building"

May 2025 on this Blog has been all about "Popes" - not surprisingly. I'm finding it difficult to write lately, but perhaps that's just as well. It's hard to know what to say in these disturbing times. Pope Leo has encouraged us to listen, and he has already said much that is worthy of hearing. In a talk given the Italian group initiative "Arena for Peace," Leo gave a concise yet rich articulation of the importance of non-violence as a Christian and human witness which is rooted in hearts that renounce vengeance, and branches out into works of mercy, fraternity, solidarity, and peace. Here are some of his words:

"Dear brothers and sisters, all too much violence exists in the world and our societies. Amid wars, terrorism, human trafficking and widespread aggression, our children and young people need to be able to experience the culture of life, dialogue, and mutual respect. Above all, they need the witness of men and women who embody a different and non-violent way of living. From local and everyday situations up to the international order, whenever those who have suffered injustice and violence resist the temptation to seek revenge, they become the most credible agents of non-violent peacebuilding processes. Non-violence, as a method and a style, must distinguish our decisions, our relationships and our actions.

"The Gospel and the Church’s social doctrine are a constant source of support for Christians in this effort. They can also act as a compass for everyone, since the fostering of a culture of peace is a task entrusted to all, believers and non-believers alike, who must advance it through reflection and a praxis inspired by the dignity of the person and the common good.

"If you want peace, prepare institutions of peace. Increasingly we realize that this cannot simply involve political institutions, whether national or international, but requires all institutions – educational, economic and social. The Encyclical Fratelli Tutti frequently spoke of the need to pass from 'I' to 'we', in a spirit of solidarity that needs to find institutional expression. For this reason, I encourage you to remain committed and present: present within history as a leaven of unity, communion and fraternity. Fraternity needs to be recovered, loved, experienced, proclaimed and witnessed, in the confident hope that it is indeed possible, thanks to the love of God 'poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit' (Romans 5:5)."

“Christ’s Ascension…Sustains Our Journey on Earth”

This year, Thursday’s worldwide observance of the Feast of the Ascension is on May 29, which is also the memorial of Saint Paul VI, the Pope of my childhood (who served from 1963-1978).

Personhood, the "Heart," and Friendship with Jesus

I continue to meditate on the late Pope Francis’s last Encyclical on the Sacred Heart, published this past October 24. Here are some beautiful excerpts from sections 25-28.

“Where the thinking of the philosopher halts, there the heart of the believer presses on in love and adoration, in pleading for forgiveness and in willingness to serve in whatever place the Lord allows us to choose, in order to follow in his footsteps. At that point, we realize that in God’s eyes we are a ‘Thou’, and for that very reason we can be an ‘I’. Indeed, only the Lord offers to treat each one of us as a ‘Thou’, always and forever. Accepting his friendship is a matter of the heart; it is what constitutes us as persons in the fullest sense of that word.

“Saint Bonaventure tells us that in the end we should not pray for light, but for ‘raging fire’. [Itinerarium Mentis in Deum VII:6] He teaches that, ‘faith is in the intellect, in such a way as to provoke affection. In this sense, for example, the knowledge that Christ died for us does not remain knowledge, but necessarily becomes affection, love’. [Proemium in I Sent., q.3] Along the same lines, Saint John Henry Newman took as his motto the phrase Cor ad cor loquitur, since, beyond all our thoughts and ideas, the Lord saves us by speaking to our hearts from his Sacred Heart. This realization led him, the distinguished intellectual, to recognize that his deepest encounter with himself and with the Lord came not from his reading or reflection, but from his prayerful dialogue, heart to heart, with Christ, alive and present. It was in the Eucharist that Newman encountered the living heart of Jesus, capable of setting us free, giving meaning to each moment of our lives, and bestowing true peace: ‘O most Sacred, most loving Heart of Jesus, Thou art concealed in the Holy Eucharist, and Thou beatest for us still… I worship Thee then with all my best love and awe, with my fervent affection, with my most subdued, most resolved will. O my God, when Thou dost condescend to suffer me to receive Thee, to eat and drink Thee, and Thou for a while takest up Thy abode within me, O make my heart beat with Thy Heart. Purify it of all that is earthly, all that is proud and sensual, all that is hard and cruel, of all perversity, of all disorder, of all deadness. So fill it with Thee, that neither the events of the day nor the circumstances of the time may have power to ruffle it, but that in Thy love and Thy fear it may have peace’.

“Before the heart of Jesus, living and present, our mind, enlightened by the Spirit, grows in the understanding of his words and our will is moved to put them into practice. This could easily remain on the level of a kind of self-reliant moralism. Hearing and tasting the Lord, and paying him due honour, however, is a matter of the heart. Only the heart is capable of setting our other powers and passions, and our entire person, in a stance of reverence and loving obedience before the Lord.

“It is only by starting from the heart that our communities will succeed in uniting and reconciling differing minds and wills, so that the Spirit can guide us in unity as brothers and sisters. Reconciliation and peace are also born of the heart. The heart of Christ is “ecstasy”, openness, gift and encounter. In that heart, we learn to relate to one another in wholesome and happy ways, and to build up in this world God’s kingdom of love and justice. Our hearts, united with the heart of Christ, are capable of working this social miracle.”

"May Flowers" and Green Scenes in 2025

This month has been more cool than usual, overall, with plenty of rain. Flowers have bloomed, followed by fresh lush greenery and long days with plenty of evening sunshine. Here are some examples of Springtime as seen 'through the eyes of JJ."

Another “Janaro Graduation”

Last weekend, Teresa Janaro became the fourth of the “Janaro children” to graduate from University! She now joins the Christendom College alumni along with her brother John Paul and sisters Agnese and Lucia. Remember those “kids” in the earliest days of this Blog? (They really do grow up…)

Congratulations, Teresa!!⭐️ We love you and we’re proud of you.

It was a hot day so we all look a bit wilted, but the whole family got together. We got to cool off later.

I was also proud to be there in my professional duds (as “emeritus” member of the faculty). I also posted a silly Instagram video while I waiting for the graduation to begin (I hope you can access it below the picture).

Authority: "Loving as Jesus Did"

Here are some excerpts from Pope Leo XIV's homily at his installation Mass on May 18. He helps us to understand the meaning of the authority bestowed upon him when he was chosen to be the 267th Successor of Saint Peter.

"Jesus asks Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ (Jn 21:16), he is referring to the love of the Father. It is as if Jesus said to him, ‘Only if you have known and experienced this love of God, which never fails, will you be able to feed my lambs. Only in the love of God the Father will you be able to love your brothers and sisters with that same ‘more’, that is, by offering your life for your brothers and sisters.’

“Peter is thus entrusted with the task of ‘loving more’ and giving his life for the flock. The ministry of Peter is distinguished precisely by this self-sacrificing love, because the Church of Rome presides in charity and its true authority is the charity of Christ. It is never a question of capturing others by force, by religious propaganda or by means of power. Instead, it is always and only a question of loving as Jesus did.

“The Apostle Peter himself tells us that Jesus ‘is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, and has become the cornerstone’ (Acts 4:11). Moreover, if the rock is Christ, Peter must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat, lording it over those entrusted to him (cf. 1 Pet 5:3). On the contrary, he is called to serve the faith eof his brothers and sisters, and to walk alongside them, for all of us are 'living stones' (1 Pet 2:5), called through our baptism to build God’s house in fraternal communion, in the harmony of the Spirit, in the coexistence of diversity. In the words of Saint Augustine: 'The Church consists of all those who are in harmony with their brothers and sisters and who love their neighbour' (Serm. 359,9).

"Brothers and sisters, I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.

"In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalises the poorest. For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: in the one Christ, we are one. This is the path to follow together, among ourselves but also with our sister Christian churches, with those who follow other religious paths, with those who are searching for God, with all women and men of good will, in order to build a new world where peace reigns!

'This is the missionary spirit that must animate us; not closing ourselves off in our small groups, nor feeling superior to the world. We are called to offer God’s love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people.

"Brothers and sisters, this is the hour for love! The heart of the Gospel is the love of God that makes us brothers and sisters. With my predecessor Leo XIII, we can ask ourselves today: If this criterion 'were to prevail in the world, would not every conflict cease and peace return?' (Rerum Novarem, 20).

"With the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit, let us build a Church founded on God’s love, a sign of unity, a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word, allows itself to be made 'restless' by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity.

"Together, as one people, as brothers and sisters, let us walk towards God and love one another.

Pope Leo XIV: Learning to Listen, to Dialogue, to Build Bridges

“How important it is to listen! Jesus says, ‘My sheep listen to my voice’. And I think it is important for all of us to learn how to listen more, to enter into dialogue. First and foremost, with the Lord: always listen to the Word of God. Then also listen to others, to know how to build bridges, to know how to listen without judging, not closing the doors thinking that we have all the truth and no-one else can tell us anything. 

“It is very important to listen to the voice of the Lord, to listen to it, in this dialogue, and to see where the Lord is calling us.”

~Pope Leo XIV (homily of 5/11/25)

“The Miracle of Peace”

Pope Leo prays for “the miracle of peace.”

Missing My Mother on Mother's Day...

Mother's Day has just ended, but I can still squeeze in a few words in the minutes past midnight.

I miss my Mom on Mother's Day. This picture is from Spring 1963, with baby me and big brother Walter. Our Mom is 24 years old in this picture (younger than two of my own daughters today). Dad is 28 (my son turns 28 next month). This is the fourth Mother's Day since Mom passed away.  I often miss her, yet she seems "not far from us." I pray for her and my Dad, that God will receive them into His embrace of Infinite Love forever. This is the fulfillment for which they were created.

Jesus has conquered death through His Cross and Resurrection, but this was not to eliminate sorrow and grief from the human journey; rather, the hope of eternal life gives ultimate meaning and value to sorrow and grief and the whole range of human experience. Our pain and struggles with the mystery of life and death have a value that makes us willing to endure them when we remember in faith that suffering and loss are not "the last word" on human existence. Christ is Risen, Alleluia! God works everything towards the good, and God loves us immensely. He is worthy of our trust, day by day, step by step.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom. I love you!