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Myeongdong
Cathedral—the clock works
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TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SAINT
The
“Tomb of the Unknown Soldier” is a memorial tradition that begins in post-World War I
United Kingdom and France, when leaders of the two allied victors decided to
establish national monuments honoring their soldiers who had died in service to
the nation but whose remains were missing or could not be identified. In the
United Kingdom the memorial was christened the “Tomb of the Unknown Warrior,”
while in France it was “La Tombe du
Soldat Inconnu.”
In the U.S. the “Tomb of the Unknown Soldier” was built in 1921, while many countries have raised their own memorials in this spirit. Chile and the Ukraine, for example, have constructed memorials to the “Unknown Sailor.”
In the U.S. the “Tomb of the Unknown Soldier” was built in 1921, while many countries have raised their own memorials in this spirit. Chile and the Ukraine, for example, have constructed memorials to the “Unknown Sailor.”
Because
we are morally certain that millions of the deceased have entered into eternal
life and are now with God in heaven—we don’t know who they are and we probably
never will, at least not with theological or scientific certainty—we think it is appropriate in
the spirit of the “Tomb of the Unknown Soldier” to set up a “Tomb of the
Unknown Saint” honoring the saints in heaven presently unknown and who will possibly
remain so until the end of time, inspiring the many Christian witnesses today who conduct
their lives dedicated to the service and love of God and to humanity. They are
indeed “unknown saints.”
Earlier
I had calculated that the proportion of canonized saints in the Roman Catholic
Church in 2015 is 0.0000000001%. This figure is obtained by dividing 921, the number
of saints canonized by popes beginning in the year 993, not including the
luminaries canonized by Papa Francesco, by the estimated total Roman Catholic
population in 2015 of 1.2 billion. See:
We
are morally certain that far more than 921 persons are saints in heaven, saints
who have not been publicly recognized by the Roman Catholic Church.
Difficulties arise in recovering the remains to be memorialized in the “Tomb of the Unknown Saint,” not only because the remains of some unknown saints are lost to the world—consider, for example, the Christian martyrs under Emperor Nero, who are memorialized on June 30—but also because some relics of some saints are of dubious provenance—at least four claimants, for instance, insist they possess the head of Saint John the Baptist.
“According
to different traditions, no fewer than four locations lay claim to the murdered
saint’s head. In Damascus, Syria, the Umayyad Mosque was built in the eighth
century A.D. on the site of a Christian church named for John the Baptist; his
head is said to be buried in a shrine there. A skull identified as the head of
John the Baptist is on display at the Church of San Silvestro in Capite in
Rome, built to house artifacts from the Roman catacombs. The 13th-century
cathedral in Amiens, France was built specifically to house the head of John
the Baptist, which a Crusader supposedly brought back from Constantinople in
1206. And in Munich, Germany, the Residenz Museum includes John’s skull among a
number of relics collected by Duke Wilhelm V of Bavaria with the Pope’s permission
in the mid-16th century.”
—“Where
Is the Head of Saint John the Baptist?” History.com by Sarah Pruitt
During
my 2013 trip to Seoul, South Korea, however, I was pleasantly
surprised…delighted…to come across the remains of two unknown saints.
The crypt of Myeongdong Cathedral, Seoul houses the remains of nine Korean
martyrs of the 1839 and 1866 persecutions, including two lay persons (it is
believed) who are not named or in other respects identified.
I
spent some time praying at the crypt.
We might say that the “Tomb of the Unknown Saint” is for current practical purposes now located at the crypt of Myeongdong Cathedral.
Today the Roman Catholic Church has in its possession the essential constituent piece…“pieces”…of a “Tomb of the Unknown Saint.”
Today the Roman Catholic Church has in its possession the essential constituent piece…“pieces”…of a “Tomb of the Unknown Saint.”
DON’T CALL ME A SAINT
ReplyDeleteIf anyone deserves to be a saint it’s Dorothy Day, not only because of her decades of direct service to the poor, her critique of the systems that kept people in poverty, her heartfelt invitation of thousands of people to participate in the corporal works of mercy, and her moving writings; but also for her personal piety and generosity. The publication of her journals and letters over the last few years, which detailed her compassionate approach to everyone in her life—from her daughter Tamar to a homeless man just turned up on her doorstep--only added to her luster. Canonization will bring more millions more people to her provocative writings, raise interest in the Catholic Worker movement, and challenge believers to meditate on her simplicity of life and her lifelong advocacy for the poor and marginalized.
But there is a problem. And that problem is a quote attributed to, of all people, Dorothy Day. “Don’t call me a saint,” she is often said to have said. "I don’t want to be dismissed that easily." That quote is probably the biggest barrier to her canonization. Not that it would deter the Vatican, since the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints is used to dealing with the humility of prospective saints. But the quote sets up a kind of spiritual roadblock for many of her admirers. Many believe she is a saint, but balk at supporting her canonization. Given that quote, would Dorothy really want to be canonized? Oddly, supporting her feels almost like a betrayal.
…What Dorothy certainly opposed—and what saint wouldn’t?—was being put on a pedestal, fitted to some pre-fab conception of holiness that would strip her of her humanity and, at the same time, dismiss the radical challenge of the gospel. “Dorothy Day could do such things (live in poverty, feed the hungry, go to jail for the cause of peace). She’s a saint.” For those who said this sort of thing, the implication was that such actions—which would be out of reach for ordinary folk—must have come easily for her. She had no patience for that kind of cop-out.
She also knew that if you live long enough, eventually you come to be regarded as a “venerable survivor.” She certainly lived long enough to experience some of this. I once heard her say, “Too much praise makes you feel that you must be doing something terribly wrong.”
…The process of naming saints is not some kind of posthumously bestowed honor. It is more of a gift that the church bestows on itself. There is always the danger in celebrating such a gift that the church will simply congratulate itself on including such a heroic figure, name a church after her, and be done with her.
But I trust that this is a gift that will continue to trouble our consciences, that will not let us rest while war, hunger, poverty, and injustice are so pervasive in our world. Dorothy believed we needed a new kind of saint. As she remarked as a child, “Where were the saints to try to change the social order, not just to minister to the slaves, but to do away with slavery?” I believe the possible canonization of Dorothy Day is an answer to that question. There are those who might try to fit her into a conventional mold. But I don’t think she will allow herself to be dismissed that easily.
https://www.americamagazine.org/content/all-things/dont-call-me-saint
—James Martin, S.J., “Don’t Call Me a Saint?” America (November 14, 2012)
She didn’t play to the institution and was an exemplary Roman Catholic. After her conversion, she grew in holiness over the course of her long and full life.
Gonzalinho
“Don't call me a saint. I don't want to be dismissed that easily.”—Dorothy Day
ReplyDeleteOur purpose in life is to love God and neighbor and in doing so to attain our final destination in heaven. It's not to become a saint, that is to say, to play to the institution, with all its idiosyncrasies, foibles, and faults.
“To thine own self be true” (Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3)—if you are true to yourself and it happens that the institution sees fit to canonize you, well and good, I suppose.
However, if you sacrifice your integrity to play to the institution, it's your loss, with ramifications in eternity.
Doubtlessly, playing to the institution jeopardizes our personal and moral integrity. Our most basic guiding principle should be to follow our conscience, understanding that ultimately we are accountable to God and his perfect judgment—not to the institution, which is to say, to the Roman Catholic Church.
Gonzalinho
“Don’t call me a saint. I don’t want to be dismissed that easily.” This line comes up all too frequently in discussions of Day’s canonization, with the usual implication being: Can’t you let the poor woman rest in peace?
DeleteI bear a burden of responsibility for publicizing that line, which I quoted in the introduction to an anthology of her writings almost thirty years ago. Where did it come from? I can’t honestly say. I do remember one time sitting at the kitchen table with her at St. Joseph’s house, looking at an issue of Time magazine in which she was included in a list of “living saints.” “When they call you a saint,” she said, “it means basically that you are not to be taken seriously.”
https://www.americamagazine.org/content/all-things/dont-call-me-saint
—James Martin, S.J., “Don’t Call Me a Saint?” America (November 14, 2012)
Gonzalinho
We should try our best to be holy according to God’s command, but we should not sacrifice our integrity by playing to the institution.
ReplyDeleteGonzalinho