Dear Reader,
Thank you for picking up the seventh issue of The Brownson Record! Many things have changed over the past year here at our mountain home. We have had cause for great joy in the arrival of our new president, Gerard J. Joyce, Ph.D.; our new chaplain, Rev. Justin Gough; and a number of new professors and students to Our Lady’s Mountain. We have also had moments for reflection and sorrow in the passing of Professor Emerita of English Carol Hinds, Ph.D., and the resignations of Msgr. Andrew R. Baker, S.T.D. as Rector of the Seminary and Boyd Creasman, Ph.D. as Provost.
Amongst the myriad of changes and events of the last year, the Church in particular mourns the passing of our Supreme Pontiff, Francis. For many of my colleagues and I, this is the first time a reigning pope has passed onto his eternal reward in living memory. I can still recall sitting in my second-grade religion class, eyes glued to the projector screen, watching Pope Francis walk onto the balcony of the apostolic palace for the first time, blessing the jubilant crowd both with his Urbi et Orbi and his beaming smile, as described by Jack Daly in this issue. My friends, colleagues, fellow students, and I would all mature both in our age and our faith as he ruddered the barque of St. Peter. Dr. John-Paul Heil recounts in this issue a particularly close encounter with the Holy Father, and the humanity of a man who seemed above the world rather than in it. His passing cast the Church, and in particular the young people, into mourning. We who had been so used to praying for the health of Pope Francis, now donned black and prayed for his soul. Yet these days of sorrow for the Church have been beautifully mixed with the joy that is Eastertide. We both mourn he who is “a priest forever, in the order of Melchisedek” and celebrate the High Priest, who by His death destroyed death itself. Let us hope, and more importantly pray, that just as Pope Francis, St. Peter, and Our Lord did not keep the world at arm’s length while they were in the world, they may continue to do so in the realm of eternal bliss.
Following in this spirit of joy and sorrow surrounding the Holy Father, Gavin Hamrick discusses the nature of Christian mercy, a virtue which Pope Francis lived out both before and during his Pontificate. Emma Edwards reminds us of the beauty in dolorous artwork in her reflection on Michelangelo’s Pietà. And Zach DeCarlo reflects on the production of Cabrini, a film centered around the work of a saint who dedicated her life to serving the poor and outcast that our late Pontiff so often ministered to.
In this Eastertime, where through the ignominious death of the Cross, Our Lord has wrought for us so joyful a season, let us reflect on the life of Pope Francis, keeping first in mind the words of Sirach the Prophet:
Behold, a great priest, who in his days pleased God, and was found just; and in the time of wrath he was made a reconciliation. There was not found the like to him, who kept the law of the Most High. Therefore, by an oath, the Lord made him to increase among his people. He gave him the blessing of all nations, and confirmed His covenant upon his head. He acknowledged him in His blessings; He preserved for him His mercy; and he found grace before the eyes of the Lord. He glorified him in the sight of kings, and gave him a crown of glory. He made an everlasting covenant with him, and gave him a great priesthood; and made him blessed in glory. To execute the office of the priesthood, and to have praise in His name, and to offer Him a worthy incense for an odor of sweetness. (Sirach 44:16- 27; 45:3-20)
Nolan Williams, Editor-in-Chief
