FATHER LEONARD FOLEY O.F.M., DIED EASTER SUNDAY MORNING, 1994, IN HIS sixty-second year as a Franciscan and his fifty-fourth as a priest. He was very conscious of his sharing in the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus, the paschal mystery.
The previous October he had spent his eightieth birthday in the hospital recovering from surgery to remove a tumor from his spine. Before and after that hospitalization, one of his main projects was revising Believing in Jesus. He wanted it to be completely consistent with the new Catechism of the Catholic Church. He wanted to study the new Catechism personally and revise Believing in Jesus accordingly. When I brought him an early English translation of the Catechism, he was as excited as if I had given him a new car.
The passion of Leonard's life was telling people about God, Jesus, the church, God's love for them. He was distressed by the misshapen images some people had of God and their false ideas of what God expected of them. From years of preaching parish missions, hearing confessions and doing spiritual direction, he knew the faulty ideas, unfounded guilt, fears and scruples that tortured people. "Poor people!" was one of Leonard's frequent exclamations.
The driving desire of his life was to communicate the gospel to "ordinary people," "real people," like his Aunt Mamie. Especially after Vatican II, he frequently spoke at adult education programs and enjoyed the give and take with people. As editor of St. Anthony Messenger he gave new direcLion to the magazine. He was the founding editor of Homily Helps and Weekday Homily Helps. He wrote, edited or contributed to fifteen books for St. Anthony Messenger Press, and wrote many articles and homilies. The many Catholic Updates and Youth Updates he wrote sold literally millions of copies.
He wrote Believing in Jesus in 1981 and revised it in 1985, as he put it, to help "born Catholics" come to a "deeper understanding of the beliefs and practices they have held all their lives" and to help "those who approach the Catholic Church for the first time. " He added, "I hope this book will help some scared and scarred people and challenge some others. "
In 1993 we asked an expert involved in reviewing the various drafts of the new Catechism, and who had studied the final edition in French, to critique Believing in Jesus to see if anything should be changed. He found no inconsistencies; Believing in Jesus was true to the new Catechism. He noted that the order of presenting the material was different, but that the universal catechism does not dictate that local catechisms follow the same structure.
The new Catechism starts with the Creed, then treats the Sacraments, Commandments and Prayer. Believing in Jesus begins with the Bible Jesus knew, the Old Testament, and then moves to the Gospels and New Testament. As the chapter titles indicate, all the teaching is related to Jesus. Jesus tells us about the Father and the Spirit (the Trinity). The church and the sacraments continue the ministry of Jesus. By his example and word Jesus teaches us how to pray and how to live. He explains the Ten Commandments and his way of life. Jesus is our way to the future.
In his last months Leonard completed his study of the new Catechism, added material to Believing in Jesus and many cross-references to the Catechism. After Leonard's death Carol Luebering, who understands his mind and methods from editing his earlier works, took all of his notes and prepared this final version. In the Foreword to the earlier editions Leonard wrote: "I must extend immense gratitude to Carol Luebering and Karen Hurley of St. Anthony Messenger Press, who patiently deciphered, organized, streamlined, sanitized and biblicized the hieroglyphics that came from my typewriter. May their eyesight be restored." I add my personal thanks to Carol for her work on this edition.
Leonard read extensively the best and deepest theologians and Scripture scholars. After Vatican Il he did graduate study in theology the University of Detroit. Hee knew about Jesus. But more, as a man offaith and prayer, he knew Jesus. In his last days he spoke of greater realization of his utter dependence on Jesus and his complete trust.
We catch a glimpse of Leonard's personal relationship with Jesus in an article he was working on a few weeks before his death. He speaks of Jesus emptying himself and coming to us with "no threats, no show of power." He has Jesus saying to the reader (and surely to himself): "You have your cross. It's with you every day. Let me help you carry it. And above all, believe that I'm leading you to where I am. All your life is a period of preparation and testing, purification and growth. Some day your cross will be set aside and I will lead you through the veil of death to happiness that even I cannot describe to you. "
Leonard wants that happiness for each of his readers. In this revised book, he shares his knowledge and his faith with you.
Jeremy Harrington O.F.M.
Publisher; St. Anthony Messenger Press
(1975-1981 and 1991-2007)