Palm Sunday?

I was preparing for the Sunday liturgy by reading the Gospel we will hear before Mass. (You know, for the procession with palm branches.) But it's year "C" for the Gospel readings, and that means Luke's Gospel. And Luke doesn't say anything about palm branches--or any branches, for that matter. And not even a "Hosanna"! (Luke wrote for Gentiles who wouldn't know what "Hosanna" meant any more than most of us do.)
Luke depicts the crowds covering the road with their own cloaks, while shouting loud praise of God and of "the King who comes" and calling out "peace in heaven and glory in the highest" (sounding very much like the angels at the nativity). So maybe in year C we should have "cloak" Sunday?
There was another point in that processional Gospel that struck me. You know, how some Pharisees told Jesus he ought to rebuke his disciples for their blasphemous chanting. Jesus said that if they kept silent and didn't "praise God with joy for all the mighty deeds they had seen," the "stones would cry out" in a thundering avalanche of judgment that would rebuke everyone. That kind of got me thinking about how easy it is to skip over the real obligation we have to (first of all) notice the "mighty deeds" of the Lord, and then to actually "praise God with joy" for them.
Joyful praise should, in fact, be the hallmark of Christian prayer.

Movie (uh, that is, "film") Retreat

The Eighth National Film Retreat will be held again this year at our Pauline Center for Media Studies in Culver City, on July 6th to July 8th, 2007. The theme is "The City: A State of Mind and Sacred Space." This is an opportunity for educators, pastoral ministers, actors, media personnel, film buffs--anyone eager to discover the Gospel message in movies and to share conversation about it.

Please encourage anyone you know who might be interested in the film retreat, i.e., anyone interested in media, culture, ministry, spirituality, to sign up soon. Space is limited. Information and the registration form can be found at http://www.nationalfilmretreat.org.

Pssst...Looking for a nice, used RV?

My sister has a fine mobile-home-sized RV for sale, and one with historic significance, too: if Hurricane Katrina had not flooded her house, she would not have had to live in the trailer, and so would not have met the trailer repairman who is now her husband.
Unfortunately, the used RV market in New Orleans is pretty much swamped (pun intended), so much so that my sister's neighborhood appeared on the front page of the paper! That's the "For Sale" RV, on the left side of the photo. (St. Joseph is standing his post inside.)

Chicago Event

Nunblog reader Cody from Minnesota tells me that his high school chorus will be performing at noon on Holy Thursday at the Daley Center. If you are in the Chicago area, come enjoy some music and show support for a fellow reader!

Sr. Caroline's lectionary guide

Today's first reading (the three young men in the fiery furnace) always reminds me of Sr. Mary Caroline, one of our senior sisters. When it was her turn to do the Mass readings, she inevitably got one with names like today's Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (not to mention Nebuchadnezzer). A shy person to begin with, Sr. Caroline was evidently intimidated by the prospect of actually attempting those names out loud. So on days like today we would hear about "the young men" and "the king", over and over. I know others who take a page from the same book when it comes to "that" reading from Ezekiel...

Catching up--with Confession!

This seems to be the last of the lost articles from cyberspace.
Father Spencer, pastor at St. Peter's in the Loop, has a very witty and informative article in this week's bulletin. As he puts it, "any time there's an announcement of a communal celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, you can bet that the telephones are going to ring." Some of those calls are inquiries ("what does that mean?") and some appear to be challenges ("how dare you? it's forbidden!"); typically, the calls come from people who simply don't have as clear an understanding of the Sacrament of Penance as they may think...
Father's article could be helpful in responding to questions you hear, too. And there's interesting history about the Sacrament, as well. You might learn something! Go here: http://www.stpetersloop.org/libraries/bulletins/2007_12.pdf

Old rules leave seniors hungry

I was quite disturbed to read in the Clarion Herald that proposed federal budget cuts mean many low-income New Orleans senior citizens run the risk of losing the monthly box of staple foods they receive from Second Harvest. The wholesale value of this food aid is a mere $15 per person, but many elderly people make that last all month. Sad to say, because so many of these seniors lost their homes in Katrina and are living with extended family, rules about food stamps mean they do not qualify for this help, either.
Congress needs to pay attention to this situation. Post-Katrina, poor families in New Orleans are not living in single homes or apartments to save money or stockpile benefits: there is no where else for them to go. So the restrictions need to be lifted as long as the emergency lasts, at least on a case by case basis. Enough people have died as a result of that hurricane; there's no point in further weakening the elderly survivors.
Read more at http://catholic.org/clarionherald/issue/20070317/issue_3_17_07.pdf

Bi-lingual help needed

Still retrieving and re-posting what I thought I had already communicated...
This, too, from the Clarion Herald: a pregnancy care network in New Orleans needs bi-lingual "client advocates" who "provide direct intervention services." The Spanish-speaking population in New Orleans has something like quintupled since Katrina, and many of the young women are facing pregnancy crisis situations. If you know someone in the New Orleans area who is fluent in Spanish and has some kind of social service or medical background, please encourage them to contact Access Pregnancy and Referral Center sjuarez@archdiocese-no.org

Theology of the Body Seminar

If you have only heard "about" Pope John Paul's Theology of the Body, but have never had a down-to-earth explanation of what is so extraordinary and life-changing and culture-challenging and spiritually renewing about it,
AND you are the Chicago/Rockford area,
Christopher West will be giving his introductory seminar, "Created and Redeemed," in Batavia, IL on April 13-14. The cost is a measly $15 if you register by March 31 (and only $20 after that) and it even includes lunch!
Contact cindyaugustine@comcast.net for details and registration. Space is limited.

Sr. Helena will be offering a two-part "Introduction to the Theology of the Body" during lunch hour here on Michigan Ave; details coming.

Pray the Angelus! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-8sBS1cP_w.
Best Catholic Books for Lent: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiBj2XlTF74
Best Books for the Way of the Cross: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWAb4vI7Se8
Share the Pauline mission! Add these links to your e-mail.

Reserve your copy!

I've taken my time to read this wonderful document, but it is awkward going through 65 pages of printed sheets from the Internet. I can't wait until Sacramentum Caritatis comes out in the more convenient booklet form that fits right in my chapel kneeler bookshelf! Here's the latest info from our publishing house:

Sacrament of Charity
Sacramentum Caritatis
By Pope Benedict XVI
Available soon—The new document from Pope Benedict XVI
Reserve your copy now ! ($6.95)

What's it about?
Why the Eucharist is so important in the Church
How it is related to the other sacraments
How it brings us the hope of eternal life
The beauty of the liturgy
How the liturgy should be celebrated
The role of liturgical art and music
What it means to participate at Mass
Reverence for the Eucharist
Forms of Eucharistic devotion
The meaning of Sunday worship
How the Eucharist makes us holy

Recovered post #1: Women's crisis centers under microscope

I posted this (or tried to) on Sunday night:
The Tribune had a half-page article today about "crisis pregnancy centers," noting that they now outnumber abortion clinics in the US by almost two to one. This great news for women and children, of course, has the abortion industry in a panic. I strongly suggest that you go to the Tribune site and read the article, and then use the Tribune's e-mail service to send the article to others. (The most-forwarded article of the week is featured again in a future issue.)
I will be responding to this one, especially noting that the writer was lazy enough to depend on a "report" by the National Abortion Federation for three paragraphs' worth of content--and while stating that "anti-abortion pregnancy centers have received more than $30 million in federal funding since 2001" (a drop in the budget bucket over 6 years), gave no financial information concerning abortion providers who wrap themselves in a non-profit blanket (never mind the financial picture of the for-profit providers). (Not to mention that the phrase "anti-abortion" used to be, and may still be, a violation of the Tribune's own editorial policy.)
So much of the article, in fact (even the declarations of one women who claimed to have been "tricked" into going to a pro-life center she thought was an abortion clinic), was the usual rhetoric of the abortion industry and its well-funded backers: "intrusive questions about religious belief", forced to "watch a video while she waited", "meant to scare and manipulate", "centers that are licensed as medical facilities do not provide a complete range of reproductive services...since they do not refer clients for abortions or offer birth control." You get the picture.
Maybe you'll be inspired to respond, too.

missing posts

I sent about four posts since Saturday and they all seem to be vacationing in cyberspace! I will send a tracer and try to post them in the afternoon. What a disappointment to think I had been communicating rather abundantly, and find that I had...said nothing at all. (I hope that doesn't happen when my posts appear, too!)

From a manger to a milking can

I was catching up on the New Orleans' archdiocesan paper and saw an article about a priest from the archdiocese who is spending his "retirement" ministering to farming communities in Mexico (Mission San Miguel in Saltillo, Caoahuila). Apparently, there are tiny chapels throughout the district that are so poor, the founding pastor outiftted them with tabernacles made out of old metal milking cans. He just cut a little door in them and painted them gold. The "new" pastor, Father Benjamin Piovan, dreams of providing those 40 chapels with secure and dignified tabernacles for the Bread of Eternal Life, but he needs help to do that and help feed the people the bread of this life at the same time. (The last corn crop failed, due to a freeze.)
Customs laws make it prohibitively expensive to ship new or used tabernacles into Mexico, so his old parish is maintaining a fund for donations for food or tabernacles.
Please get the word out. Contributions can be made to Ascension of Our Lord Parish, Att: "Father Benny's Mission," 799 Fairway Drive, LaPlace, LA 70068. You can also e-mail Father Piovan at bennyinmex (at) yahoo.com

Life Worth LIving in Sheen House for 7.5 million?

I noticed that the WSJ's featured House of the Week was built in 1941 for none other than Fulton J. Sheen who lived there for nine years. It's on a little more than a half-acre in Washington DC, and when it was built it had the unusual amenity of air conditioning that cost almost as much as the house itself (at the time, the house ran $35k), plus a recording studio and (of course) chapel. Lately the home has been rennovated, so there's no more chapel, but you can enjoy the pool with sauna, five gas fireplaces, two kitchens and four-story spiral staircase. If you have somewhere around the $7.5 million asking price.

Catholicspeak: A User's Guide

Working in a Catholic bookstore, you hear a unique dialect. I call it "Catholicspeak." This is, I stress, a dialect, not Catholic language properly so called. I am not making any of this up. We hear this on a daily basis. And so I offer a modest translation service:

The User's Guide to Catholic Speak

Common expressions:
The beautification vision: when seeing God face to face gives you that special glow
Beautification: official ceremony marking a holy person as "Blessed" (and, by extension, "beautiful" in our sight)
Aluminum Gentium: a Vatican II document (use shiny side out)
Catholism: all-encompassing term for the doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church
Fundalism: all-encompassing term for the doctrines and practices of certain evangelical denominations
Recipitation of the rosary: praying a common prayer vocally (perhaps with a receipt or certificate of accomplishment?)
Chastity sets: Christening sets (start 'em out early on the right path)

Popular Catholic speak saints (seriously):
St. Thomas A-queasy (rhymes with "Assisi")
Sts. Cereal and Methodus

Religious Orders:
The San Friscans
The Jay Suits
The Dis-calloused Carmelites

I can't even list the Biblical selections in Catholicspeak; suffice it to say that the translators should have been more careful.

I hope this User's Guide to Common Catholicspeak has been helpful to you. Please list any emendations or additions in the Comments box!

Share the Pauline mission! Add these links to your e-mail.
Pray the Angelus! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQse864GuN8.Best Catholic Books for Lent: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiBj2XlTF74 Best Books for the Way of the Cross: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWAb4vI7Se8

Angelus: Success!

We rightly admire Muslim neighbors and co-workers who
put everything on hold five times a day in answer to the "call to prayer." But
Christians have a "call to prayer," too! It is the Angelus. Three times a day
(at 6:00 a.m., noon and 6:00 p.m), we pause to reaffirm our faith in the
Incarnation: that "God so loved the world he sent his only Son" (Jn 3:16), who
"worked with human hands, thought with a human mind and loved with a human
heart." And so "it is right to give God thanks and praise" for "not sparing
his Son, but delivering him up for us."

This video was prepared to help you learn
and pray the Angelus. Once you have made this practice part of your daily prayer
life, you can use the video to invite others to renew their faith in this "pivot
point" of the Christian creed, in which the mysteries of the Trinity and of our
Redemption in Christ come together. If we are Christians, we need to "know him
whom we have believed"! The Angelus can help.

(If the square is black, the video may still be processing.)

Fellow Bloggers, would you be so kind as to feature this link on the Feast of the Annunciation, in case your readers would like to share in the Angelus mission project? (Angelus video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQse864GuN8.)

Kind of Creepy

Last night I finished work on a 3½ minute "YouTube" video on the Angelus. My purpose is to promote the praying of the Angelus as the "Catholic call to prayer," the way the Muslims have their "call to prayer" five times a day. For the Muslims, it is a moment of reaffirming their belief in Allah; for Catholics (and, I would hope, for other Christians), the Angelus is the reaffirmation of our belief in the stunning mystery of the Incarnation. Since this is the pivot point of the Creed (in the sense of being a declaration of faith in both the Trinity and the Redemption), I think the Angelus is the evangelizer's primary prayer.
So today I have been trying to upload it. My intention had been to post this for the feast of the Annunciation (which is Mar. 26 this year, since the 25th falls on Sunday). But I heard that YouTube is going to have a kind of "award" for best inspirational video, and I thought it would be nice to present a candidate and get some votes before the deadline (Friday!) as a way of promoting my message.
Well.
I have been trying over and over to get the file to upload, and numerous funny glitches have been getting in the way. I had to type in the description and keywords four times. (They kept getting lost.) And I am on my fifth upload attempt.
Clearly, "somebody" doesn't want to see the Angelus revived as a widespread Catholic practice.
I will keep trying, however, and will give you a progress report later--along with instructions on voting for it in the YouTube contest (if I succeed by Friday!).

Jesus and the Ingrate

Today's Gospel features one of the most unattractive people in the whole Bible. Never, not even once in the story, does he take responsibility for himself. When Jesus comes upon him around the healing waters of Bethesda, and asks if he wants to be well, the man doesn't answer. He just complains: "There's no one here for me, to help me get into the waters." Jesus takes that as a "yes," and tells him to get up, take his mat and walk. Cured of a chronic illness, the man walks away without so much as a "thanks a lot." Reproached for carrying the mat in violation of the Sabbath rules, he blames "the one who made me well." (He couldn't point him out, because Jesus had slipped away; the man hadn't even asked his name.) And when Jesus comes up to him in the Temple with a prophetic and brotherly warning about avoiding sin so nothing worse befalls him, the man gets revenge on his healer by reporting him to the patently hostile authorities.
Why on earth would John give us a story like that? Clearly, it is possible even to receive a miracle from heaven and still close your heart to grace. Scary (but salutary!) thought. But even more importantly, I think it shows the importance of gratitude in our life of faith. The man in today's Gospel seemed to have such a sense of entitlement, he could not rejoice even over a miracle done for him. And God longs for us to rejoice in his gifts of grace. That rejoicing is a kind of communion with God.

Great St. Joseph!

There's a hymn called "Great St. Joseph" and it has become, for me, "the" St. Joseph hymn, simply because its melody is so histrionic you can't forget it! St. Joseph himself, of course, was anything but histrionic. And yet we remember him and honor him extravagently. As is only appropriate. (Didn't the Lord say, "If anyone serves me, my Father will honor him"?)

Today waiting for an appointment, I had a chance to read a few more pages of the massive biography of Dorothy Day by William Miller. Providentially, the pages I read specifically mentioned the role of St. Joseph in the Catholic Worker house in the early 1930's. I don't tend to associate Catholic piety with the movement; I suppose Ms. Day's political approach seems so characteristic that her life of faith and genuine devotion gets left in the shadows. (I was surprised to read, for instance, that at the farm commune, they used to gather before bedtime to pray the Rosary and the Litany.) Anyway, about St. Joseph, Miller writes, "When [financial] matters appraoched the point that the entire enterprise...would founder within days, someone would write out a petition and place it under the statue of St. Joseph. 'We need money, St. Joseph! Make haste!' Once this lowly sweat-begrimed carpenter, the foster father of God, seemed to be taking the petitions too matter-of-factly. So, according to Julia Procelli...she, Dorothy and some of the otehrs took turns going over to the church to 'picket' St. Joseph. Each one spent 'perhaps an hour praying and begging for money. We were so behind with the butcher, the banker and eerone that we just didn't have a cent in the house.'

" 'It was a peaceful and lovig picketing,' wrote Dorothy, 'the crowd of us taking turns to go to the church and there in the presence of Christ our Leader, contemplate St. Joseph...' Dorothy observed that the picketing was announced at the breakfast table, after which one of the young women sitting there looked startled and asked if she would be required to carry a sign."

And that very day, someone walked into the Catholic Worker office and left $100 in an envelope.

Reminds me of the Little Sisters of the Poor, when they needed a gardener. One of the sisters found a picture in a magazine of a man with a hoe. She cut the picture out to put by the statue of St. Joseph, but in her hurry, she trimmed the man's arm right out of the image. And shortly after, a one-armed gardener came to the door, volunteering his services.

Well, I've entrusted a few things to St. Joseph, but he's taking his time about it, to be sure! Maybe we need to take a page from the Catholic Workers and start a picket line...

Video Archives

I am trying to create a little sidebar of video archive links. This is stage one. (Remember, you can always add links to the bottom of your e-mails!)

Great thought for Laetare Sunday

It's past 5:00 on Saturday, and so it's Sunday (liturgically, anyway) and not too early for a Laetare post. I found a wonderful insight from Julian of Norwich to share with you on this "Rejoice" Sunday in Lent:
"It is God's will that we take true delight with him in our salvation. In it, he wills that we be greatly comforted and strengthened."
Share that message with someone today!

New Meeting Space for Evangelizers

Ideas! Encouragement! Links! All for evangelizers, which means all of us who have been baptized...

A word from the site coordinator (an evangelizing lawyer!):

This site is designed for Catholics who want to live their faith more fully and share it with others, purposefully, intentionally, and joyfully. It will be a simple site for the everyday Catholic who wants to learn about the New Evangelization- what it is, how to do it, and why you should want to do it! It is not hard or scarey. Trust me. It is soooo easy. This is about "practical evangelization."

http://www.spiritnetworking.com/

Ya Gotta Love Chicago!

They've just turned the Chicago River green
in honor of St. Patrick. The fountain in Daley Plaza (see pic) has been gurgling green water all week.

I hope that a few people in that vast crowd that keeps pouring past our door going from the (boring) parade to the Mag Mile give a thought today to the heroic saint who occasioned all these festivities. Patrick is a true Father of the Church, the St. Paul of Ireland.

By the way, in the Daley Plaza picture, you can see two new high-rises going up in the Loop. The one on the right will take up the whole block next across from the former Marshall Fields', and will house a TV studio (CBS affiliate, I think, probably with one of those open-to-the-street newsrooms) and a super commuter train/CTA station with non-stop service to both airports. The other building, to the left of the picture, will be office/condos. The Joffrey Ballet will be headquartered there.

a thought for a lenten friday

Back in the 80's, we published two very detailed studies on the Shroud of Turin. One of these was a version of the Way of the Cross, using the Shroud to gain insights into the various stations. The paper gave us so much trouble in the pressroom and bindery that we ended up with a few hundred defective copies, so any of the sisters who wanted one could have it. And so a copy, without the "real" cover, came into my possession, and yesterday I was re-reading it.

The "study" part of the book especially focuses on the "geometry" of the wounds revealed on the Shroud--the angle of the blood flow, stuff like that. But it also interlaces that with the Gospel accounts. And for the 12th Station, the death of Jesus, the book studies what the Shroud shows as a narrow wound in the side, about an inch and a half long, with a wide bloodstain emerging from it, and a surrounding patch of pale discoloration. In other words, the mark of the spear and the "blood and water" John spoke of as coming from the side of Christ, dead on the cross.

The author cites several medical experts who say that John's account of Jesus' death corresponds to death by cardiac rupture--more specifically, a myocardial infarction. Patients who have undergone life-threatening stress may die this way--often with a loud cry, followed by death in one or two minutes. It is typical of this death that the fluid in the pericardium separates from the other components of the blood, which filter down, so that an hour or so after death, if the area is cut, the two elements flow out distinctly. Evidently, there is no other medical condition that would cause that to happen. Under ordinary circumstances, you would simply see a flow of blood. One doctor who was consulted about this denied that Jesus could have died of myocardial infarction, because such patients die within a few hours of the onset of the problem. He must not have realized that Jesus' death did come more quickly than was typical in crucifixion--as evidenced by Pilate's surprise. It is also significant that Jesus was fully conscious, whereas generally people who are crucified black out (due to asphyxiation) and then die after a period of unconsiousness.

But, as they say in the infomercials, "that's not all!" The diagnosis of "myocardial infarction" reminded me of the Eucharistic miracle of Lanciano, in which the consecrated host visibly (but only partially) began to reveal itself as flesh. In 1975, Pope Paul VI allowed doctors to do an analysis of a bit of the miraculous Eucharist reserved there for centuries. And the results indicated that the "flesh" of the Eucharist at Lanciano was the myocardium, the muscular tissue of the heart.

This would mean that Jesus died, literally, of a broken heart. And then, at Lanciano, he gave us a sign of that "love unto death."

Best Books for the Way of the Cross: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWAb4vI7Se8
Share the Pauline mission! Add these links to your e-mail.

Mid-Lent reflection

We are coming up to Laetare Sunday, the mid-point of Lent. If your parish has catechumens preparing for Baptism, you are probably going to hear the "A" cycle readings, even though we are in cycle "C". The "A" readings are a condensed baptismal preparation, with each Sunday (from the 3rd Sunday of Lent to the 5th Sunday) offering a different angle. There is a kind of increasing intensity to the themes as we get closer to Easter when the Church's "elect" will actually be baptized.

Last Sunday, the Third Sunday of Lent, with the woman at the well, the theme was water—clearly a baptismal motif. The elect, like the woman, are thirsty for "living water," to have the Spirit flowing in them like a fountain.

This coming Sunday, the Gospel of the man born blind (cured when he "washed" at the pool of "the one sent") tells us of the enlightenment that comes through Baptism. In the very early Church, Baptism was actually referred to as "enlightenment."

Finally, a week before Palm Sunday, the Gospel is the raising of Lazarus. Through baptism, we die with Christ and rise from the water as new people. "It is no longer I who live; it is Christ who lives in me!"

Best Catholic Books for Lent! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiBj2XlTF74 Don't have much time? Here's the three-minute version: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2535165461305184750
Best Books for the Way of the Cross: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWAb4vI7Se8
Share the Pauline mission! Add these links to your e-mail.

Head to Head for cancer research

New Orleans columnist Chris Rose writes today about his plans to get his head shaved--if he can raise $10,000 in pledges for kids' cancer research through the "St. Baldrick's Foundation." It's an annual fund-raiser (coincides with St. Patrick's Day) and you can sponsor Chris (or anyone else, for that matter) through their website. As Chris says, "The last local St. Baldrick's event before Katrina raised $70,000. Last year they made $14,000. So I'm trying to help." (He's also challenged Mayor Nagin to a "head to head" on this.)

Pope on Children and Eucharistic Adoration

In the new Papal Document on the Eucharist, Pope Benedict writes, "I also recommend that, in their catechetical training, and especially in their preparation for First Holy Communion, children be taught the meaning and the beauty of spending time with Jesus, and helped to cultivate a sense of awe before his presence in the Eucharist."
That makes my little book, "Come to Jesus! A Kids' Book for Eucharistic Adoration," the perfect answer to the Pope's recommendation!

Best Catholic Books for Lent! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiBj2XlTF74 Don't have much time? Here's the three-minute version: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2535165461305184750
Best Books for the Way of the Cross: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWAb4vI7Se8
Share the Pauline mission! Add these links to your e-mail.

New document

Here it is:

Must-see TV for vocations

Sr. Helena, who multitasks as a screenwriter, has dipped her finger into the pen of production, making a fast-paced and inevitably funny little vocation video for YouTube:

New Church Document coming!

A new Church document on the way, and it should be highly significant:

VATICAN CITY, MAR 6, 2007 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office at 11.30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 13, the presentation will take place of the post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Sacramentum Caritatis" on the Eucharist, source and summit of the life and mission of the Church.

There's a remote possibility that you could find the press conference televised on Vatican TV (try the link to the St. Peter's Webcam on the sidebar at 11:30 a.m. ROME TIME). You'll be able to get a handy, printed version of the document itself from Pauline Books & Media--but we don't have a release date yet.

 

Best Catholic Books for Lent!   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiBj2XlTF74 Don't have much time? Here's the three-minute version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQkuWjgiDYo
Best Books for the Way of the Cross: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWAb4vI7Se8
Share the Pauline mission! Add these links to your e-mail.

---

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What's in a word? "Commit"

I get intrigued by words. Today the word was "commit."
When people marry, we say they made a "commitment" to each other (and indeed they did).
Ditto when people make religious vows. Or even when someone decides once and for all to quit smoking! (And so there's an appropriately named product for that very purpose.)
So the word "commit" conveys something of the fullness of the act of will behind a deed or promise. It means that the person is invested in it.
But people also "commit" crimes.
People "commit" sins.
In second grade, I learned that for a sin to be "mortal" (spiritually deadly), there were three conditions, two of which relate to "commitment": knowledge and consent. To the degree that these are present, the whole person is present in the act.
So when we confess our sins, for confession to be valid (never mind spiritually fruitful!), we have to have a "firm purpose of amendment." We have to be just as committed to avoiding the sin (and whatever leads to it) as we were in knowingly choosing to "commit" it. Only this way can we really expect to grow in virtue as a "whole" person.

Cain and Abel

It's not exactly a Lenten meditation, but I was facilitating a Bible class this morning (I'm writing this on Saturday). The "class" is on DVD, and I give an introduction and then about twenty minutes of content afterwards, also attempting to answer any questions. We were looking at Genesis, and last week the matter of Cain and Abel came up.

"Why didn't God accept Cain's sacrifice?"

None of the commentaries really give a decent answer, mostly because the Bible itself doesn't. But I noted last week that it could just be one of those situations in the Bible where God deliberately reverses society's expected notions of order, rank, seniority, and so on. It happens again with Jacob (the younger brother) who "wrests" the birthright from his older twin, Esau (the one with the mess of pottage), and with Jacob's twin grandsons, Perez (who became Jesus' ancestor) and Zerah. And, of course, the people Israel themselves. According to Moses, "It was not because you are the greatest of peoples that the Lord has chosen you, because you are the least of peoples." God "chooses those who are nothing...to bring to nothing those who are something, so that no human being may boast before God."

So it is all of a piece with God's ways throughout the Bible for God to "look with favor on Abel and his offering" and not on Cain and his.

The question came up again today, and the questioner had a book that indicated that some Jewish tradition saw the problem as Cain (the farmer) having brought a sacrifice of poor quality, the worst of his harvest, while shepherd "Abel brought one of the finest firstlings of the flock." That could be, but it is almost too "neat" to be that trustworthy. I mean, we desperately want there to be something wrong with Cain and his offering. That way, we can blame Cain, and feel like we know how to get on God's good side. For Cain's offering, though, to have been something good that was still not looked upon favorably--that leaves us not knowing the "rules," not knowing how to placate God, not knowing how to keep things under control.

In other words, it leaves us at God's mercy.

And until we have really heard the Gospel of Jesus, we tend to think that being left "at God's mercy" is a frightful matter.

Best Catholic Books for Lent! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiBj2XlTF74 Don't have much time? Here's the three-minute version: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2535165461305184750
Best Books for the Way of the Cross: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWAb4vI7Se8
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Best "Stations of the Cross" books

In my own humble opinion...

(I'm posting this while YouTube is still processing the video, so if you don't get anything after clicking, you know why. Please check back! It can take a bit of time.)

DST and Easter?

An article in the Clarion Herald (New Orleans' archdiocesan paper) caught my attention. It brought out the impact that the earlier "spring forward" to DST impacts the scheduling of parish Easter Vigil services. In fact, the article noted, recourse was made to the National Weather Service to find out when sunset would be on Holy Saturday and when it would be full nightfall, because the Easter Vigil cannot begin until it is night. Complete darkness will come, we are informed, at 7:47, so it's a "whew!" moment for parishes that scheduled the service at 8:00 or later. For the rest of you, well....

Vows and Demons

I know, it sounds like the title of a Dan Brown novel, or maybe a chapter in the life of the devil-harrassed St. John Vianney (whose biographies I could never read alone in my room!). But it's neither. In fact, it's not an "it," but a sort of "they." My TV-writer friend, Karen Hall, and her sister, Barbara (also a television professional) both have upcoming shows in the works. Karen's is called "Vows" and Barbara's is called "Demons." Both have clerical protagonists. It should be an interesting season when they come out, but for now they aren't even written! Read more on Karen's blog.

Prayers for Karen, Barbara, and for all Catholic media professionals, please.

Best Catholic Books for Lent! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiBj2XlTF74 Don't have much time? Here's the two-minute version: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2535165461305184750
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major prayers needed

Big prayers for a young teen in New Orleans whose mom committed suicide today. She was divorced, so the child (age 14) has already been through a lot.

Theology of the Body

Our new edition of the complete talks of JP2 on the Theology of the Body is still generating interest. Here is a review and a related opinion piece from Women for Faith and Family.

Best Catholic Books for Lent! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiBj2XlTF74 Don't have much time? Here's the two-minute version: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2535165461305184750
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The Cardinal's Sense

Last night we spent an hour and a half in rush-hour traffic, heading for St. Xavier's University on the South Side to hear Cardinal George. We had understood that the theme of his lecture would be "What does it mean to be a Catholic in good standing?" Well, that was not entirely accurate. The theme was on Catholic Universities and moral teaching. (Which certainly can be the basis for many people's understanding of "being a good Catholic"!) The address was directed primarily to professionals in higher education, but I took quite a few notes, and intend to post some of the Cardinal's insights and remarks, though not right away. (The notebook is on the 2nd floor; I am on the 4th floor.)

What struck me the most was the Cardinal's concern about the move in higher education from "moral philosophy" (in which there are principles--truths--that indicate the "right thing to do") to "ethics" that is based, not on truth or on principles, but on an adapted form of "case law" in the legal system.

Without truth, the only "value" ethics can recognize, ultimately, is individual freedom. And this freedom turns into a power that subjugates the "right" to proclaim any truth at all. Truth becomes a threat to freedom, and freedom moves to suppress it, on the claim that "truth" is a strictly private matter that must never be "imposed" on anyone else, at the risk of limiting their freedom.

More later!

Best Catholic Books for Lent! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiBj2XlTF74 Don't have much time? Here's the two-minute version: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2535165461305184750
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Blessing or Curse?

Today's first reading presents one of those "it's your choice" passages of the Old Testament. It's a common enough rhetorical device: Blessing or curse, life or death, God or iniquity, it's up to you. Only it's not always what it seems. Today, for example, it is "Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings..." That doesn't mean you are doomed "if" you trust in human beings, but you are doomed if you do because human beings are bound to fail you! You are simply foolish to put your trust in other people, no matter how powerful they seem, because ultimately you are staking your life on the wrong thing.

Jesus makes the same point in the Beatitudes. In other words, in the words of the first reading, "Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose hope is in the Lord."

Best Catholic Books for Lent! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiBj2XlTF74 Don't have much time? Here's the two-minute version: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2535165461305184750
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Elijah and the Mountain

I had lots of computer woes yesterday and couldn't post my reflections on Elijah's "contribution" at the Transfiguration, but from what I remember, here goes:

Elijah made his way to Mount Horeb (Sinai) while being pursued by Ahab, the evil King (husband of the even more evilly infamous Jezebel). The last of the true prophets of God (all the others had been killed off), Elijah was tired of running and had prayed for death. Instead, God sent a messenger and provided mysteriously for him to eat in the desert, so that he had strength enough for mountain climbing. And there Elijah had the most marvelous experience of God: not in the earthquake, not in the powerful wind of a tornado or hurricane, not in raging fire, but in a tiny whisper. The mighty God.

So on the mount of the Transfiguration, God is revealed in human form. Nothing special. The mighty God.

And there on the mountain, God prepared Elijah for the last stage of his prophetic ministry, ordering him to anoint Elisha as his successor. Jesus, too, had brought his "successors," including his future "vicar," to the mountain of revelation. And as Elijah then looked forward to being "taken to his ancestors" (as the saying went in Biblical times), he spoke with Jesus about his "exodus" from this life. In all three synoptic Gospels, the Transfiguration marks a turning point in the ministry of Jesus. Before that, he went around teaching and healing. But coming up to the Transfiguration, he is getting his affairs in order and warning the Twelve about what is coming upon him. After the mountain, he has only one destination: Jerusalem.

Best Catholic Books for Lent! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiBj2XlTF74 Don't have much time? Here's the two-minute version: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2535165461305184750
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Transfiguration: Moses on the Mountain

St. Ignatius said that you should stick with the theme of a meditation that continues to engage you. I'm actually more into a "thinking and analysis" mode on yesterday's Gospel of the Transfiguation, but as a person who tends to live in her head, that can sometimes be as close to "meditation" as I get, so I am still thinking about yesterday's Gospel.
As the Gospel was proclaimed at Mass yesterday, I was struck by the "mountain theophany" scene, remembering that it was precisely Moses and Elijah who had significant God-experiences "on the mountain". (In fact, it was the same mountain, called Sinai in the Moses account and Horeb in the Elijah story.) So at the Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah do not just represent the "Law" and the "Prophets," but two men who got as close as you can to seeing the face of God. Already, then, we have a clue about Jesus' divinity being revealed "on the mountain."
In Moses' case, he was praying "Show me your glory." (Moses came to be pretty daring in his prayer!) And God told him, "I will show you all my goodness." So, glory=goodness. But God warned him, "You cannot see my face and live, so I will shield you with my hand and let you see my back as I pass by." When Moses later came down the mountain, his face was glowing with the reflected light of God's glory. He had to hide his face so the radiance would not frighten the people. And shortly after that, at God's command, the people began building the Tent of the Dwelling, the "Tabernacle." (Again, no wonder Peter offered to "build three tents"! He knew that this is what came next in the "God on the Mountain" story pattern!)
Of course, St. Paul said that now we see the light of God's glory shining (and never fading) from the face of Jesus Christ, "the icon of God" (St. Paul's words, not mine). And so, "all of us, gazing on the Lord's glory with unveiled faces, are being transformed from glory to glory into his very icon by the Lord who is the Spirit."
So the Lenten theme of transformation continues.
And I think I will continue with this theme myself. Tomorrow: Elijah!

Looking for Spanish materials?

The sisters in Miami have some information on new Spanish-language titles. Enhance your ministry (or brush up on your Spanish)!

New Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiXwufEH4Js

New LENT Books! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpXYeYYEna4

New DVDs! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIVM49QqalE

And, as before:

Best Catholic Books for Lent! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiBj2XlTF74

Don't have much time? Here's the two-minute version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQkuWjgiDYo

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Second Sunday of Lent

It seems odd to have the Gospel of the Transfiguration during Lent; maybe counterintuitive. But Luke's Gospel has the clue: Moses and Elijah, appearing in glory on the mountain, conversed with Jesus precisely about his own upcoming "exodus." (That's also Luke's way of interpreting the Passion and Death of Jesus as the fulfillment of the ancient covenant.) Church tradition reads the Transfiguration as the foretelling of the Resurrection. Peter, of course, wanted to stay put there on the mountain. Who can blame him?

The discipline that characterizes Lent can help train our wills to keep taking those steps, down the mountain and into a life of discipleship, even when that means the cross. The Transfiguration promises that darkness does not have the last word.

Today that much-hyped "graveside discovery" will be on TV, attempting to turn a big profit. I was saddened to learn that the accompanying book was #5 on Amazon yesterday. How can we proclaim the real Jesus to people who are obviously so interested in the truth about him?

Best Catholic Books for Lent! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiBj2XlTF74 Don't have much time? Here's the two-minute version: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2535165461305184750
Share the Pauline mission! Add these links to your e-mail.

Vocation Stories

I am starting a new YouTube series,"Vocation Stories," as occasional and unplanned as the "Best Catholic Books" series. This new series will be featuring not the younger sisters, but sisters who have persevered through thick and thin for twenty or more years. I figure they have more "story" under their belt to communicate. The first in this series introduces Sr. Paulamarie Splaine, a native of Boston (as you will hear in her accent!). Little by little, I will post others...

Lenten First Friday

Prayer for a Lenten First Friday: With love our hearts inflame! (from the Veni Creator)
Thought for a Lenten First Friday: "Jesus is all about love!" (from the street preacher in front of Old Navy).

Extreme disconnect: Pimps, Hos and ... Adoration?

Continuing to think about the situation of young adult Catholics strongly identifying as Catholics, but with no depth of commitment or consistency... I just learned today of a Catholic college group (which shall go unnamed, but it is under the auspices of a recognizably orthodox organization) here in Chicago. The young men of the "house" are sponsoring a "Pimps and Hos" theme party, meaning that guests come attired accordingly. These same young men who were indignant that the Catholic chaplain refused to allow Eucharistic adoration in their group home. They intimated that the priest was "liberal" and maybe even not orthodox. They just couldn't fathom that their "Pimps and Hos" theme (and the kegs that would presumably flow for the occasion) was in direct contradiction to the pursuit of holiness and the following of Jesus that Eucharistic Adoration is meant to support. For these young people, their social activities and their religious experiences are simply two different "tracks" (and ne'er the twain shall meet).
Hearing this affirmed me in the conviction that Father Alberione was right: it is necessary to evangelize the "whole" person, to bring mind, will, heart and daily life into conformity with Jesus.
Where do we start?

ask, seek, knock

The Gospel today is that most encouraging of exhortations: "ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened." I tend to focus on the "asking" part (it's something I'm sort of good at!), but today it was the "knocking" that intrigued me. Because we knock precisely in order to enter. What we are "asking" and "seeking" when we knock is communion.