Marian Helper Summer 2013

Q. How did your Marian Renovator, Blessed George Matulaitis, demonstrate heroic virtue and holiness? A. Blessed George (1871-1927) suffered from various physical ailments, such as tuberculosis of the bone. He had to wear a leg brace and was often in pain, but those who knew him said that he didn’t complain. In spite of the pain, he had a pleasant personality and would often smile. He was approachable, patient, and warm with all whom he met. Blessed George would rise early in the morning to start his day with prayer. He sought to use his time well and not to waste any of it. He showed great concern for the poor, workers, and orphans — going out of his way to help them and to serve them. He once had to patiently endure insults and disparaging remarks while waiting in a bread line to get food for some orphans. Before Blessed George renovated the Marian community in 1909-10, he spent many hours in prayer and meditation as he formulated his plan. He also had to secure the permission of the Vatican before proceeding with his plan. Blessed George served as the Bishop of Vilnius, Lithuania, from 1918-1925, which was a very difficult time because of ethnic and political fighting in his country. Many of his diocesan priests favored one political or ethnic group over another and were sometimes forced to flee when a new regime took over. He sought to remain neutral, so he could minister to all sides. Once, when a former bishop of the diocese returned from exile, he accused Blessed George in front of a large gathering of clergy of stir- ring up nationalistic movements in Vilnius and thus dividing the people. This was exactly the opposite of what Blessed George was seeking to do. Everyone in the room froze when they heard this. Blessed George’s face flushed, but he maintained his composure and didn’t defend himself. Instead, he asked the priests present to join him in kneeling to receive the blessing of His Excellency. I’m not sure that I could have done the same thing! We can all learn from the example of Blessed George. Q. Since you’re stationed in Rome, what was it like to be there for the election of Pope Francis? A. Living in Rome at the time of the election of Pope Francis was amazing! The day of the election, March 13, one of the priests in our house encouraged us to go to the Vatican that afternoon to pray, to watch for the white smoke, and to experience the atmosphere. It must have been an inspiration of the Holy Spirit because eight Marian priests and brothers ended up in St. Peter’s Square that night. Some of us arrived around 4:30 p.m., and after wait- ing for more than two-and-a-half hours in the cold and the rain, we were hoping for black smoke! But then the white smoke emerged around 7:10 p.m. We couldn’t believe it at first, but when the bells of the Basilica began pealing, we realized that a new Pope had been elected. Then, we began moving forward to be closer to the Basilica, while thousands of people came running into the Square and quickly filled it. The atmosphere was electric, and the rain stopped so we were able to close our umbrellas. When Pope Francis finally emerged, he didn’t move at first, and he seemed rather shocked and shy. But as he began to speak, he quickly won over the crowd. When he said, “Good evening,” we all roared our approval, with the emotions of fans at a sporting event. But then we were immediately quiet again, because we didn’t want to miss what he had to say. It was extremely moving to pray with him for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. I was almost in tears when the crowd went completely silent in an instant as the Pope bowed his head and asked us to pray for him. It was a thrilling, unfor- gettable experience to be there that night. I have felt that same excitement at subsequent Masses and gatherings with the new Holy Father. Let’s keep him in our prayers. with Fr. Joe Roesch, MIC Marian Ask a How was Blessed George virtuous? Fr. Joe Roesch, MIC, welcomes your questions. Send them to: Ask a Marian, Editorial, Eden Hill, Stockbridge, MA 01263, or e-mail [email protected] . M ARIAN H ELPER • S UMMER 2013 • www.marian.org 7 Back to Index