Caption: St. Pope John Paul II embracing Sheen
On Saturday, us seminarians of St. Pius X seminary in Dubuque, along with our two priest formators traveled down for a small pilgrimage to Peoria, Illinois to celebrate mass on the tomb of Blessed Fulton Sheen. The trip served as a ‘Fraternity Weekend’ to join our intentions and time together while asking for his intercession. Several of us seminarians also attended his recent Beatification in St. Louis on September 24th. As the world erupts with clips of his biography and preaching, I wish to enumerate just three reasons he has been of particular interest to me:
Firstly, Sheen seemed to possess a delicate balance of head and heart knowledge that made his ministry so effective and prolific. In an age where some are ruled by emotions and others by rigid and uncharitable intellectualism, Sheen seems to ride the radical middle. I perceive in him a heart so madly in love with Jesus that there is no limit to what his mind will intake to understand Him and preach His love more fully. He notably calls things ‘as they are’ but does so in a way that condemns the sin, not the sinner. There is a great charity in his reproving, and I perceive great need of this in today’s age of subjectivism.
Secondly, Sheen was truly gifted at re-presenting complex philosophical and theological concepts to people using relatable analogy. His thorough education allowed him to spontaneously use these concepts in any conversation. Because of this, he is regarded as a great ‘diagnoser of the times.’ In every age, cultures present challenges to preserving personhood and relationship with God. While living only 84 years, he saw the rise and fall of many trends that left people empty and yearning for more. His diagnoses of these trends revealed where they came from and how to remedy them. Who knows, maybe ‘doctor’ of the Church could be in his future.
Finally, I see in Sheen a clear choice to live from his will, not (only) from his emotion. This hits home for me as someone who has lived most of life deciding through emotions. Sheen arose each morning and chose holiness and virtue for the sake of Christ; for this, thousands are inspired to sanctity by this Peoria farm boy’s story. The mornings where he actually ‘felt’ like doing this, I would gamble amounts to less than 10%. However, through willing daily to be what the Lord had ordained him to be, God granted him that notable energy and undying perseverance that made his virtue ‘heroic’.
Blessed Fulton Sheen, pray for us to God that we might make our bodies living sacrifices for the sake of His son and to witness to others such an unfathomable love that is found in relationship with Jesus Christ.
Image: Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation
