Sometimes things are hidden in the liturgy that offer a kind of interpretive key to the feast. I think today's celebration of the Visitation has one of those hidden keys in the entrance antiphon. It is taken from Psalm 38, "Come and hear the great things the Lord has done for me." It is echoed in the Gospel, where Mary says, "The Almighty has done great things for me." So that theme of "the Lord doing great things" for "me" is part of the meaning of the Visitation. It is meant for us. I think it is pivotal to the spiritual life to consciously pause to call to mind, on a regular basis, just what "great things" the Lord has done in our individual lives. God is involved with us; he is not a spectator in our lives! Every day, the Lord does "great things," but most of the time we may not even notice them. Mary was a person who noticed not only the extraordinary grace that was given her, but the Lord working in small things--something like Elijah recognizing the Lord in the "still, small voice."
The Almighty has done great things for me.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Can you beat this?
I was running errands this afternoon and combined that with my need to get to Lakeview for choir practice. Since there wasn't enough time to return to the convent in between, I did us all a favor by filling up the gas tank. 
At least, I think I did us a favor. At $3.79 a gallon for regular, I'm not sure. But as I approached Mt. Carmel Church for choir, I saw that I really had done the right thing. The BP station on Belmont had premium for $4.16.
Angelus Project
Dolores Madlener, "benevolant gossip" of the Catholic New World (Archdiocese of Chicago's newspaper, put a plug for the Angelus Project in her latest column!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
[freedom] of speech
Years ago, I remember hearing about a situation involving our sisters in another Latin American country. They ran a small radio station in a remote area, and the station provided a certain amount of time on a regular basis for the local people, indigenous substistence farmers, to go on the air with whatever message they had at heart. At the time, there was a lot of discontent (no doubt very well founded), and some of the peasant farmers had messages that demonstrated leftist influence. The government was so threatened by these poor people, marginalized and barely surviving, that they came in, shut down the station and put the nuns in jail for a day or two before sending them away.
There's something of a rerun going on now in Venezuela. The people got a new socialist TV station this week, after Hugo Chavez's media henchmen refused to allow the nation's oldest station to renew its license. The "reason" was that children were being corrupted by the telenovelas. According to Chavez and Company, the airwaves are really being given back to the people.
They just can't use them.
There's something of a rerun going on now in Venezuela. The people got a new socialist TV station this week, after Hugo Chavez's media henchmen refused to allow the nation's oldest station to renew its license. The "reason" was that children were being corrupted by the telenovelas. According to Chavez and Company, the airwaves are really being given back to the people.
They just can't use them.
All faux nun and nun for all
Which nun is the real movie nun? (Hint: it's not me.)
Monday, May 28, 2007
Summer Reading
It's not exactly beach material, but Sr. Julia has some books to recommend for your summertime spiritual reading. Add a link to your blog or e-mail signature to help spread the word!
Friday, May 25, 2007
Theology of the body for teens
The National Catholic Register published a review of our book for teens on the Theology of the Body. There is such a need for this message, and kids really deserve to hear it in a timely way! You can also visit the author's website.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Special Blessing
It's a little thing, but my special blessing of the day goes to the person who let me make a left turn onto Belmont after choir practice this evening. Sometimes I can be waiting there for several traffic turns, watching the lane I want remain tantalizingly open, while I can't creep out of the parking lot. So, whoever you were in the black SUV, God bless you!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Shavu'ot
When walking to St. Peter's for Mass, I let two things determine my route: walk signals and sunlight. So I was following the sunshine down Madison when I noticed a little group at the corner of Madison and State, selectively approaching passers-by, offering them leaflets. This happens a lot on State Street. What distinguished this little group was that all the menfolk wore wide-brimmed black hats, black suits with tassles. Not that there were so many of them; they seemed to be a Lubavitcher family (Hassidic Jews). We get Pentecostal preachers at State and Madison all the time. Jews for Jesus some of the time. This was exceptional. But I do remember last year at Palm Sunday, when a Jewish family was offering Passover "kits" and information to passers-by who said they were Jewish. Perhaps it was the same family.
Well, I can understand Passover kits, but what was their motive today? As I waited for the walk signal (standing in the sunshine, of course), I saw a teenaged boy, maybe 14, and got his attention I hesitated to engage him in conversation, because as a gentile woman, I didn't want to put the poor kid into some kind of ritual purity crisis, but I figured that if they were standing on State and Madison, they had to take for granted that there would be some gentile women in the neighborhood. So I asked, "Is there a holiday coming up?"
He nodded, and the broad-brimmed hat gave the nod even more emphasis. "Tomorrow." Really? I was confused. "Which one?" "Shavu'ot," he said, "the feast of the giving of the Bible, the Torah." "Oh, well have a happy holiday!" He gave a big smile and off I went across State, puzzling over this for about ten steps, at which point I could have slapped my palm against my forehead. Of course! It's 50 days after Passover! It's Pentecost! And just as in the time of Jesus and the Apostles, Pentecost is the feast of the giving of the Law, the Torah! That's why our Christian celebration of Pentecost, coming (guess when?) 50 days after Christ our Passover lamb was sacrificed and raised from the dead, has even more meaning than we generally give it.
"Shavu'ot" is the feast of the giving of the Law; "the New Law is the grace of the Holy Spirit given to the faithful through faith in Christ" (CCC 1966). This is what we celebrate at Pentecost, too. The giving of the law in our hearts.
Well, I can understand Passover kits, but what was their motive today? As I waited for the walk signal (standing in the sunshine, of course), I saw a teenaged boy, maybe 14, and got his attention I hesitated to engage him in conversation, because as a gentile woman, I didn't want to put the poor kid into some kind of ritual purity crisis, but I figured that if they were standing on State and Madison, they had to take for granted that there would be some gentile women in the neighborhood. So I asked, "Is there a holiday coming up?"
He nodded, and the broad-brimmed hat gave the nod even more emphasis. "Tomorrow." Really? I was confused. "Which one?" "Shavu'ot," he said, "the feast of the giving of the Bible, the Torah." "Oh, well have a happy holiday!" He gave a big smile and off I went across State, puzzling over this for about ten steps, at which point I could have slapped my palm against my forehead. Of course! It's 50 days after Passover! It's Pentecost! And just as in the time of Jesus and the Apostles, Pentecost is the feast of the giving of the Law, the Torah! That's why our Christian celebration of Pentecost, coming (guess when?) 50 days after Christ our Passover lamb was sacrificed and raised from the dead, has even more meaning than we generally give it.
"Shavu'ot" is the feast of the giving of the Law; "the New Law is the grace of the Holy Spirit given to the faithful through faith in Christ" (CCC 1966). This is what we celebrate at Pentecost, too. The giving of the law in our hearts.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Latin Mass
According to a recent interview with Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos, the anticipated permission for a wider use of the Tridentine liturgy is not going to be limited to the Mass, but will include "the former Latin liturgy in the celebration of the
Eucharist and the other sacraments."
Because the Mass is the most outstanding act of worship, I guess speaking of the "Latin Mass" is a kind of verbal shortcut. Or maybe most people forgot that all the sacraments were celebrated in Latin!
For me, I am not too enthusiastic about this. I am one of those people who actually remembers the Tridentine Mass, even if I was only a little kid. Besides, just the thought that the Mass readings would be so limited to a single set, year in and year out, makes me wonder if people will be getting enough of the Word of God to sustain them. Of course, if we actually took to heart even a single passage of the Gospel, the world would be transformed in short order!
Eucharist and the other sacraments."
Because the Mass is the most outstanding act of worship, I guess speaking of the "Latin Mass" is a kind of verbal shortcut. Or maybe most people forgot that all the sacraments were celebrated in Latin!
For me, I am not too enthusiastic about this. I am one of those people who actually remembers the Tridentine Mass, even if I was only a little kid. Besides, just the thought that the Mass readings would be so limited to a single set, year in and year out, makes me wonder if people will be getting enough of the Word of God to sustain them. Of course, if we actually took to heart even a single passage of the Gospel, the world would be transformed in short order!
And now a word from Nola...
Deacon Fred in Georgia sent me this link; it's an interview with his brother, a French Quarter photographer! Couldn't resist.
The Will of God
Today's opening prayer (the gist of it, anyway) is: "Lord, send the power of your Holy Spirit upon us that we may remain faithful and do your will in our daily lives."
But what exactly does "the will of God" mean? According to one line of thought, God has everything worked out already, and we pray to know "the will of God" so that we might follow the pre-established plan inso far as it relates to us (and therefore not mess up our own lives). This approach has its plus sidees, but it can also provoke real anxiety: how do I know I got it right? Depending on my personality, I might assume an attitude of fatalism ("It was the will of God" risks meaning much the same as "It was meant to be" or "It was karma"); or I might try to avoid making decisions; or I could even think about making a vow of obedience so that someone else can worry about discerning the will of God, relieving me of all responsibility (what a diminished understanding of obedience that is!). I might even reject God tout court for giving me a freedom that has no meaning, since my path ois more like a maze than a relationship.
All of these spiritual dangers are related to the notion of "the will of God" as something apart from the God who wills. It is as if the "will" of God were a document or a rule, and not the living presence of God with us in every situation, willing that we grow in love and grace.
It might be to our spiritual advantage to change our language a bit. Instead of talking about "the will of God" as an objective monolity, we can focus on what God wants in a particular set of circumstances: what God wants for, from and of each of the persons directly involved and each of the persons who will be indirectly touched by the situation.
The prophet Micah gives us a good sense of what it is that God wants; of what "the will of God" is:
Only to do what is right,
to love loyalty,
and to walk humbly with your God.
"Lord, send the power of your Holy Spirit upon us that we may remain faithful and do your will in our daily lives."
Since the Holy Spirit is love, we are not so much asking to know the route of a pre-set maze as we are asking how we might make our life and activity a free and complete gift in love to God, whatever the circumstances that arise "in our daily lives."
But what exactly does "the will of God" mean? According to one line of thought, God has everything worked out already, and we pray to know "the will of God" so that we might follow the pre-established plan inso far as it relates to us (and therefore not mess up our own lives). This approach has its plus sidees, but it can also provoke real anxiety: how do I know I got it right? Depending on my personality, I might assume an attitude of fatalism ("It was the will of God" risks meaning much the same as "It was meant to be" or "It was karma"); or I might try to avoid making decisions; or I could even think about making a vow of obedience so that someone else can worry about discerning the will of God, relieving me of all responsibility (what a diminished understanding of obedience that is!). I might even reject God tout court for giving me a freedom that has no meaning, since my path ois more like a maze than a relationship.
All of these spiritual dangers are related to the notion of "the will of God" as something apart from the God who wills. It is as if the "will" of God were a document or a rule, and not the living presence of God with us in every situation, willing that we grow in love and grace.
It might be to our spiritual advantage to change our language a bit. Instead of talking about "the will of God" as an objective monolity, we can focus on what God wants in a particular set of circumstances: what God wants for, from and of each of the persons directly involved and each of the persons who will be indirectly touched by the situation.
The prophet Micah gives us a good sense of what it is that God wants; of what "the will of God" is:
Only to do what is right,
to love loyalty,
and to walk humbly with your God.
"Lord, send the power of your Holy Spirit upon us that we may remain faithful and do your will in our daily lives."
Since the Holy Spirit is love, we are not so much asking to know the route of a pre-set maze as we are asking how we might make our life and activity a free and complete gift in love to God, whatever the circumstances that arise "in our daily lives."
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Little things
I had kind of hoped to prepare a Pentecost Novena, but other priorities are calling. So I invite you to pay attention to the "little things" that often go unnoticed at Mass, especially the opening prayers this week. And all of next week. My favorite week of opening prayers, with each one calling confidently for the Gift of the Spirit. I like these prayers so much, I incorporated them into a Confirmation program I worked on ("Be Sealed").
Here in Chicago, we observe the Feast of the Ascension tomorrow. Moving this observance from its 40-days-past-Easter location on Thursday had to have been one of the least pastoral decisions ever made. Far from drawing more attention to the mystery this feast commemorates, it diminishes its significance in the popular mind! That is something I would love to see reversed, especially since there are still a number of very large dioceses that did not make the move. (Two years in a row I ended up missing the feast entirely because I was traveling between Chicago and Boston or New York during the Sixth Week of Easter.) Oh, well. May the grace of the Ascension be ours in superabundance!
Here in Chicago, we observe the Feast of the Ascension tomorrow. Moving this observance from its 40-days-past-Easter location on Thursday had to have been one of the least pastoral decisions ever made. Far from drawing more attention to the mystery this feast commemorates, it diminishes its significance in the popular mind! That is something I would love to see reversed, especially since there are still a number of very large dioceses that did not make the move. (Two years in a row I ended up missing the feast entirely because I was traveling between Chicago and Boston or New York during the Sixth Week of Easter.) Oh, well. May the grace of the Ascension be ours in superabundance!
Friday, May 18, 2007
Ouch
Since a backpack incident around Thanksgiving, I have been challenged by fairly constant (and fairly severe) back pain. That's going on six months, so I guess it counts as chronic, even though I keep working to "fix" anything that might be contributing to it. I am starting to wonder if I need to learn to live with it (without giving up hope that it will eventually go away somehow). Meanwhile, good Catholic that I am, I am trying to "offer it up" in reparation for sins against life, especially embryonic human life. Which may be why the pain is not going away. But that is another question.
Today I was reflecting on this concept of "offering up" pain, discomfort, disappointments, that sort of thing. Catholic spirituality has come under some heavy criticism as being somehow masochistic. Those who speak or write in this way usually present the Catholic tradition as saying that pain and suffering are good. That's not what the tradition actually says, but there are enough mixed signals to confuse people looking in from the outside. We have saints who went overboard in the sacrifice department; we have such things in our history as "taking the discipline"; there is talk of "victim souls" and we tell each other to "offer it up." There very well could be some unhealthy psychological stuff mixed into some people's practice when it comes to sacrifice, but that shouldn't define it universally. It seems to me that our spiritual tradition takes healthy account of the reality of suffering in life, whereas our culture obsesses over every boo-boo (except in the sports world, where really big boo-boos are dismissed casually). In fact, it is only in our culture with its high standard of living that we presume life can be lived without pain. I don't know what I'd have done all this time without Tylenol--but there are millions of people in the world who do not have access to any pain relievers at all. The pain I can't avoid, the pain that slips through the cracks the Tylenol leaves, is only a tiny bit of solidarity with those others who are coping with chronic pain and have no relief, not even momentary.
So the Catholic tradition is realistic. People suffer. There is pain in this life. That's real. And our spirituality tells us that we can find a spiritual benefit to this unavoidable aspect of real life. It is giving a positive spin on something that nobody in their right mind desires for its own sake. If some of the saints seemed to have an excessive familiarity with self-inflicted suffering, I suspect that for most of them, the love of Jesus Crucified was so overwhelming that it was solidarity with him that they sought, more than anything else. This isn't as weird as it sounds. I remember when I was getting ready for Kindergarten and got a battery of vaccines, the measures taken to protect my health caused a rapid and drastic reaction. I was put to rest on the bed in the back room of my grandmother's house, and my dear godmother came in. "I don't know what you have," she said, "but whatever it is, I want it." In the lives of the missionary saints, their sufferings were a direct result of their love for God and for the people they evangelized, and like Paul, they seemed to rejoice in the sufferings they bore on their behalf. Suffering is not seen as a good in itself; it is a sign of love.
So I think we are onto something very important here. I think it is a message for all the suffering people in the world. It is good news, even if it is not the news we were looking for.
Today I was reflecting on this concept of "offering up" pain, discomfort, disappointments, that sort of thing. Catholic spirituality has come under some heavy criticism as being somehow masochistic. Those who speak or write in this way usually present the Catholic tradition as saying that pain and suffering are good. That's not what the tradition actually says, but there are enough mixed signals to confuse people looking in from the outside. We have saints who went overboard in the sacrifice department; we have such things in our history as "taking the discipline"; there is talk of "victim souls" and we tell each other to "offer it up." There very well could be some unhealthy psychological stuff mixed into some people's practice when it comes to sacrifice, but that shouldn't define it universally. It seems to me that our spiritual tradition takes healthy account of the reality of suffering in life, whereas our culture obsesses over every boo-boo (except in the sports world, where really big boo-boos are dismissed casually). In fact, it is only in our culture with its high standard of living that we presume life can be lived without pain. I don't know what I'd have done all this time without Tylenol--but there are millions of people in the world who do not have access to any pain relievers at all. The pain I can't avoid, the pain that slips through the cracks the Tylenol leaves, is only a tiny bit of solidarity with those others who are coping with chronic pain and have no relief, not even momentary.
So the Catholic tradition is realistic. People suffer. There is pain in this life. That's real. And our spirituality tells us that we can find a spiritual benefit to this unavoidable aspect of real life. It is giving a positive spin on something that nobody in their right mind desires for its own sake. If some of the saints seemed to have an excessive familiarity with self-inflicted suffering, I suspect that for most of them, the love of Jesus Crucified was so overwhelming that it was solidarity with him that they sought, more than anything else. This isn't as weird as it sounds. I remember when I was getting ready for Kindergarten and got a battery of vaccines, the measures taken to protect my health caused a rapid and drastic reaction. I was put to rest on the bed in the back room of my grandmother's house, and my dear godmother came in. "I don't know what you have," she said, "but whatever it is, I want it." In the lives of the missionary saints, their sufferings were a direct result of their love for God and for the people they evangelized, and like Paul, they seemed to rejoice in the sufferings they bore on their behalf. Suffering is not seen as a good in itself; it is a sign of love.
So I think we are onto something very important here. I think it is a message for all the suffering people in the world. It is good news, even if it is not the news we were looking for.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
The Angelus Project
I just started a new blog--it's not exactly a blog, but I'm using the blog format for it. It is The Angelus Project, dedicated to promoting the praying of the Angelus as a way to renew people's faith in the Incarnation. Comments are to be limited to ideas for promoting the Angelus. (Success stories are also welcome!) Please promote this blog as a way of kick-starting a grassroots reneweal of this fine Catholic tradition. (And who says it has to be limited to Catholics?)
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Creole Houses
My cousin's new book on Creole architecture is available now. Its "claim" is that Creole architecture is the only uniquely American style. The book combines all three areas of John's experience and expertise: John is a program director for the Historic New Orleans Collection, and himself an art photographer. His dad was dean of architecture at Tulane. You can get his book from Amazon.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Generic Me Me
Karen tagged me for a generic meme (or "me me," which I understand is technically more correct). I also got tagged with a music meme by Charity Therese. Here in Chicago, our house got "tagged" but not in such a fun way. We got a whole raft of new grafitti after last weekend's Looptopia. That, in addition to what had already begun in our back alley. "Tagging" indeed. I hereby tag Coffee Wife and Sr. Lorraine for the generic meme, and Lisa for the music meme.
Generic Me Me
1. Male or Female: Female
2. Married or Single (or religious): Religious. (Why is it in parentheses?)
3. Dream vacation: Ravenna
4. Birthplace: Hotel Dieu, New Orleans
5. Area I live in currently: C H I C A G O
6. Someone you wish you could meet: Pope Benedict XVI
7.Biggest "pet-peeve": pedestrians with burning cigarettes held at arms length from their lips. (I always end up in their wake!)
8.Favorite Religious devotion: The Angelus
9. Favorite Saint (besides the Blessed Mother): St. Ignatius of Loyola
10. Favorite sport that you play: ping-pong That you watch:
11. Favorite food: salad
12. Tridentine or Novus Ordo: Definitely the Novus Ordo. I remember the Tridentine from before Vatican II. I need all the help I can get when it comes to actuoso participatio.
13. Would you (or are you) home school or public school: What happened to Catholic school? 14. How many kids do you have: roughly 250,000 spiritual children, judging by the quantity of my writings in print and the number of subscribers to My Friend while I was editor.
15.Ever been in an auto accident: No.
16.Ever seen a pope in person: Lived in Rome; worked two blocks from St. Peter's. Take a guess.
17.Languages that you know fluently: English, Italian (sort of)
18.Last movie you saw in theatres: Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe
19. Next one you are planning on seeing: Shrek the Third
20.Favorite Blog: Some Have Hats.
21.Your thoughts on Barney, the Easter bunny, and Santa Claus: Never met them.
Music Me Me
(invented by Charity Therese)
1. Five favorite songs: "How Beautiful are the Feet of Them..." (Messiah); O Esca Viatorem (I don't know the composer of the version I like best); Ave Verum Corpus (Mozart, of course); Christ the Lord is Ris'n Today; "He Shall Feed His Flock/Come Unto Him" (Messiah)
2. Three favorite music artists: Libera, Anonymous 4, Adiemus
3. Three favorite composers: Bach, Mozart, Handel
4. Favorite song when you were a little kid: "The Ten Commandments Song" ("These are God's TEN COM-MAND-MENTS; these I must o-bey! These are God's TEN COM-MAND-MENTS; these I must o-bey!")
5. Favorite song you wish you could sing: Rejoice Greatly (Handel)
6. Favorite type of music: Classical, especially Renaissance and Baroque
7. Least favorite song: "Eucharistic Hymn" by Jerome Cotter; close second, "O Thou, the Central Orb" by Charles Wood (Actually, I have a list! Ask Paul at Mt. Carmel.)
8. Least favorite type of music: 20th century dissonance (especially clashing and grinding chords in liturgical music)
9. Favorite music instrument: Pipe organ
10. Music instrument you wish you could play: violin
Generic Me Me
1. Male or Female: Female
2. Married or Single (or religious): Religious. (Why is it in parentheses?)
3. Dream vacation: Ravenna
4. Birthplace: Hotel Dieu, New Orleans
5. Area I live in currently: C H I C A G O
6. Someone you wish you could meet: Pope Benedict XVI
7.Biggest "pet-peeve": pedestrians with burning cigarettes held at arms length from their lips. (I always end up in their wake!)
8.Favorite Religious devotion: The Angelus
9. Favorite Saint (besides the Blessed Mother): St. Ignatius of Loyola
10. Favorite sport that you play: ping-pong That you watch:
11. Favorite food: salad
12. Tridentine or Novus Ordo: Definitely the Novus Ordo. I remember the Tridentine from before Vatican II. I need all the help I can get when it comes to actuoso participatio.
13. Would you (or are you) home school or public school: What happened to Catholic school? 14. How many kids do you have: roughly 250,000 spiritual children, judging by the quantity of my writings in print and the number of subscribers to My Friend while I was editor.
15.Ever been in an auto accident: No.
16.Ever seen a pope in person: Lived in Rome; worked two blocks from St. Peter's. Take a guess.
17.Languages that you know fluently: English, Italian (sort of)
18.Last movie you saw in theatres: Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe
19. Next one you are planning on seeing: Shrek the Third
20.Favorite Blog: Some Have Hats.
21.Your thoughts on Barney, the Easter bunny, and Santa Claus: Never met them.
Music Me Me
(invented by Charity Therese)
1. Five favorite songs: "How Beautiful are the Feet of Them..." (Messiah); O Esca Viatorem (I don't know the composer of the version I like best); Ave Verum Corpus (Mozart, of course); Christ the Lord is Ris'n Today; "He Shall Feed His Flock/Come Unto Him" (Messiah)
2. Three favorite music artists: Libera, Anonymous 4, Adiemus
3. Three favorite composers: Bach, Mozart, Handel
4. Favorite song when you were a little kid: "The Ten Commandments Song" ("These are God's TEN COM-MAND-MENTS; these I must o-bey! These are God's TEN COM-MAND-MENTS; these I must o-bey!")
5. Favorite song you wish you could sing: Rejoice Greatly (Handel)
6. Favorite type of music: Classical, especially Renaissance and Baroque
7. Least favorite song: "Eucharistic Hymn" by Jerome Cotter; close second, "O Thou, the Central Orb" by Charles Wood (Actually, I have a list! Ask Paul at Mt. Carmel.)
8. Least favorite type of music: 20th century dissonance (especially clashing and grinding chords in liturgical music)
9. Favorite music instrument: Pipe organ
10. Music instrument you wish you could play: violin
Monday, May 14, 2007
Christians in Holy Land
Chicagoans, alert! The Melkite Catholic Archbishop of Galilee will be giving a talk at CTU (5401 S. Cornell in Hyde Park) this Wednesday at 7:30 on the situation of Christians in the Holy Land. This is the famous Father Elias (now Archbishop) who founded a number of schools, saying that the way to peace is over a desk--preferably one shared with a Jewish or Muslim student. I have a commitment (choir practice) on Wednesday, or I'd be there to learn and blog. Please try to make it. Our Palestinian brothers and sisters in the faith deserve to have their story known.
Abortion: all or nothing
Sunday's New York Times had a piece on the ethical quandary people who are pro-abortion face when it comes to screening unborn babies for things like deafness, Down Syndrome, sex... It's an odd situation. Such persons end up supporting abortion when it is simply a woman's choice and the baby is healthy, but they start to feel uncomfortable when the woman is unwilling to bring the pregnancy to term because of a mild genetic problem. Since abortion advocates are not allowed to make exceptions, there have even been whistle-blowers in organizations like Planned Parenthood, who notify reporters when things are being done to promote eugenic abortion.
As one woman said, the right-to-life people have ethical guidelines; that is what we need.
Oh, my.
Planned Parenthood actually has it right (if you can be "right" about something so wrong): either all abortions are okay, or none are. Ethical guidelines can't be allowed to get in the way.
As one woman said, the right-to-life people have ethical guidelines; that is what we need.
Oh, my.
Planned Parenthood actually has it right (if you can be "right" about something so wrong): either all abortions are okay, or none are. Ethical guidelines can't be allowed to get in the way.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
"Questioning" leads to more questions
My earlier post led to some very good observations. James asked for some examples about what I was talking about in saying that our American Catholicism is more Irish than we realize.
I don't have all my sources on hand, but just off the top of my head--
One really big way the Celts influenced Christianity (in the West, that is), is that their New Year's observances, with a look to the deceased and debts owed the dead, led the Church of Rome to move the "Feast of All Saints" from May to November 1, coinciding precisely with the Celtic New Year. Irish Christianity also impacted the whole Church in the practice of "confessions of devotion" for venial sin. This was part of the practice of spiritual direction in Irish monasteries, and when the missionary monks brought it to the continent, it was initially considered quite suspect! They even had little penance manuals indicating what sort of atonement matched which faults (and the penances were, by our standards, huge!). This eventually had a twofold impact. One, we know: the practice of private devotional confession was adopted and recommended by the universal Church as a valid use of the Sacrament of Penance. The other effect is less obvious, but the practice led to a greater "interiorization" of the spiritual life. The focus on virtues and vices and sins moved to the interior realm of thoughts and impulses. Prior to the Irish innovation, the "canonical penance" of the Church Fathers was generally used for sins that were of a public nature and haad a demonstrable effect on the community. This "new" practice had the unintended side-effect of spawning scrupulosity as a spiritual disease. Thus in a general way for the universal Church.
One surprising source of examples of Irish influences in American Catholicism would be the book "Why Catholics Can't Sing" by Thomas Day. Besides music, he covers some of the history of American Catholicism (since for 200 years, the majority of our bishops were, in fact, Irish). But the musical part is impressive!
Some general characteristics of Irish-American Catholicism include the "privacy" of our piety (a kind of spiritual reticence, perhaps a relic of centuries of persecution); a leaning towards Jansenistic tendencies (I can't remember if it was the Irish priests getting their training in Jansenist-era France, or the persecuted French priests escaping the Revolution and bringing Jansenism to Ireland)--at any rate, the Irish picked up on the rather gloomy Jansenist spirituality much more heartily than the French seemed to have; and, according to Fr. Benedict Groeschel, a repression with regard to sexuality that is entirely foreign to the Catholicism of southern Europe.
Now that the US Church is 30% Hispanic, we have to expect some cultural shifts--it would be quite misguided for us to force Latino Catholics to become Irish, thinking that this is "real" Catholicism. It's a challenge for all of us!
I don't have all my sources on hand, but just off the top of my head--
One really big way the Celts influenced Christianity (in the West, that is), is that their New Year's observances, with a look to the deceased and debts owed the dead, led the Church of Rome to move the "Feast of All Saints" from May to November 1, coinciding precisely with the Celtic New Year. Irish Christianity also impacted the whole Church in the practice of "confessions of devotion" for venial sin. This was part of the practice of spiritual direction in Irish monasteries, and when the missionary monks brought it to the continent, it was initially considered quite suspect! They even had little penance manuals indicating what sort of atonement matched which faults (and the penances were, by our standards, huge!). This eventually had a twofold impact. One, we know: the practice of private devotional confession was adopted and recommended by the universal Church as a valid use of the Sacrament of Penance. The other effect is less obvious, but the practice led to a greater "interiorization" of the spiritual life. The focus on virtues and vices and sins moved to the interior realm of thoughts and impulses. Prior to the Irish innovation, the "canonical penance" of the Church Fathers was generally used for sins that were of a public nature and haad a demonstrable effect on the community. This "new" practice had the unintended side-effect of spawning scrupulosity as a spiritual disease. Thus in a general way for the universal Church.
One surprising source of examples of Irish influences in American Catholicism would be the book "Why Catholics Can't Sing" by Thomas Day. Besides music, he covers some of the history of American Catholicism (since for 200 years, the majority of our bishops were, in fact, Irish). But the musical part is impressive!
Some general characteristics of Irish-American Catholicism include the "privacy" of our piety (a kind of spiritual reticence, perhaps a relic of centuries of persecution); a leaning towards Jansenistic tendencies (I can't remember if it was the Irish priests getting their training in Jansenist-era France, or the persecuted French priests escaping the Revolution and bringing Jansenism to Ireland)--at any rate, the Irish picked up on the rather gloomy Jansenist spirituality much more heartily than the French seemed to have; and, according to Fr. Benedict Groeschel, a repression with regard to sexuality that is entirely foreign to the Catholicism of southern Europe.
Now that the US Church is 30% Hispanic, we have to expect some cultural shifts--it would be quite misguided for us to force Latino Catholics to become Irish, thinking that this is "real" Catholicism. It's a challenge for all of us!
Friday, May 11, 2007
Ya gotta love Chicago: Looptopia
It's an insomniac's dream come true: entertainment and interactivity all night long. It started at Daley Plaza by 5:30, perhaps earlier, and will continue with concerts, performance art, knitting circles, chess games, movie marathons and other activities. The last one opens at 4:00 tomorrow morning.
(You can count me out.)
Double-tagged
Charity Therese tagged me with two memes: one is the "favorite saints and would-be saint" meme, and the other involves favorite movies. Since the movie meme calls for TEN favorite movies, and I really am not much of a movie person, I graciously decline that particular invitation. But I am always into saints.
My favorite four (as of today) are:
My favorite not-yet-saint... for now, that would have to be Dorothy Day. I just read a massive biography, and it convinced me that she was a person who truly lived the Gospel, loving God above all things, and certainly loving her neighbor as herself (and possibly even more than self).
Oh! I forgot to tag anyone with this meme! Let's see who Karen, Lisa and Sr. Lorraine have to add.
My favorite four (as of today) are:
 St. Paul (here he is, caught up to the "third heaven") |
 St. Ignatius |
 St. Teresa of Avila (featured here on a new book from Pauline Books & Media) |
 St. Patrick (the St. Paul of Ireland) |
My favorite not-yet-saint... for now, that would have to be Dorothy Day. I just read a massive biography, and it convinced me that she was a person who truly lived the Gospel, loving God above all things, and certainly loving her neighbor as herself (and possibly even more than self).
Oh! I forgot to tag anyone with this meme! Let's see who Karen, Lisa and Sr. Lorraine have to add.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Stamp out Hunger
You are probably already aware of what I just learned from an article in the "Good Eating" section of the Tribune: The National Association of Letter Carriers is sponsoring a "Stamp Out Hunger!" drive for Second Harvest. Non-perishables will be picked up, along with your mail, on Saturday. (You can also drop off donated goods at the Post Office.) For more info: nalc.org (click on "Community Service").
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Questioning
I had the radio on while heading off to choir practice this evening. Sr. Helena or Sr. Susan had left it on a Catholic station, so I listened to a pre-recorded call-in show--one of those shows with a different guest behind the mike each time. The topic was "the New Age," something that of its very nature is pretty vague, but this presenter seemed to see New Age philosophy (is there such a thing?) or spirituality behind anything that did not originate with explicit Divine Revelation. Not only did she dismiss these things as inappropriate for Christian believers (which they may well be), she indicated that they were all the work of the devil, and if you didn't agree, then maybe you were "bound" by the powers of darkness. And if you didn't like that, well, she would cite the Catechism or a Church document which did not say that, exactly, but which she interpreted to say that, and so you would just have to resign yourself to what she was saying.
She applied this not only to the syncretistic religious practices that clearly are New Age, but even to ancient religions and their various expressions, not admitting that there was anything redeemable in them that could be Christianized or adapted harmlessly by Christians. (She explicitly ruled out any possibility of elements of the Hindu culture being Christianized, and she had her doubts about accupuncture, too, since it is inspired by a non-Christian understanding of human life and destiny.)
I'm certainly glad that the missionaries to my Celtic ancestors didn't have that understanding of evangelization. They didn't seem to have a problem with recognizing the "seeds of the Gospel" in the pagan culture of Ireland, and capitalizing on them to allow the Gospel to take root in a new culture. That new culture became so strongly committed to the Gospel that its land was called the Isle of Saints, and much of what we Americans assume is "Catholic culture" pure and simple is really the Celtic-flavored version.
It's a simple matter of the Incarnation. God became man in a specific culture and people. The Gospel, too, can become "incarnate" in different cultures without compromising its divine integrity.
The document "Ad Gentes" (on the Missionary Activity of the Church) makes it very clear that in evangeling cultures, we cannot expect to purge all elements of a native culture and then train the people to take on a new culture (no matter how venerable). No, their own culture is to be "redeemed" by the Gospel: "Whatever truth and grace are to be found among the nations, as a sort of secret presence of God....whatever good is found to be sown in the hearts and minds of men, or in the rites and cultures peculiar to various peoples, not only is not lost, but is healed, uplifted, and perfected for the glory of God, the shame of the demon, and the bliss of men."
It would be easier the other way around, but it's not the way God has chosen.
At least, that's what the Church teaches.
She applied this not only to the syncretistic religious practices that clearly are New Age, but even to ancient religions and their various expressions, not admitting that there was anything redeemable in them that could be Christianized or adapted harmlessly by Christians. (She explicitly ruled out any possibility of elements of the Hindu culture being Christianized, and she had her doubts about accupuncture, too, since it is inspired by a non-Christian understanding of human life and destiny.)
I'm certainly glad that the missionaries to my Celtic ancestors didn't have that understanding of evangelization. They didn't seem to have a problem with recognizing the "seeds of the Gospel" in the pagan culture of Ireland, and capitalizing on them to allow the Gospel to take root in a new culture. That new culture became so strongly committed to the Gospel that its land was called the Isle of Saints, and much of what we Americans assume is "Catholic culture" pure and simple is really the Celtic-flavored version.
It's a simple matter of the Incarnation. God became man in a specific culture and people. The Gospel, too, can become "incarnate" in different cultures without compromising its divine integrity.
The document "Ad Gentes" (on the Missionary Activity of the Church) makes it very clear that in evangeling cultures, we cannot expect to purge all elements of a native culture and then train the people to take on a new culture (no matter how venerable). No, their own culture is to be "redeemed" by the Gospel: "Whatever truth and grace are to be found among the nations, as a sort of secret presence of God....whatever good is found to be sown in the hearts and minds of men, or in the rites and cultures peculiar to various peoples, not only is not lost, but is healed, uplifted, and perfected for the glory of God, the shame of the demon, and the bliss of men."
It would be easier the other way around, but it's not the way God has chosen.
At least, that's what the Church teaches.
The Play's the Thing
Good news from Clarence Gilyard, in town for his re-entry into the world of theater with the play, "My Children, My Africa." The opening performance was sold out! We haven't seen any reviews yet (Clarence said that he ran into one reviewer at another theater, and the reviewer said, "Oh, I haven't turned my review in yet!"). (So much for deadlines.)
Again, if you are in the Chicago area, this is a worthwhile piece of theater to plan an evening out around.
Again, if you are in the Chicago area, this is a worthwhile piece of theater to plan an evening out around.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
In Memoriam
It was six months ago today that Jesus came to the house and brought Dad back with him. I just wanted to commemorate that with this picture which I had never even seen until the day Dad died. It is now my favorite picture of him.May he, and all the faithful departed, rest in peace.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Best Catholic Books for the Month of May
I'm sorry to be late with this, but at least it's only May 7th!
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Water: the movie
Today our women's book club added a movie to the book of the month: Water. I wasn't able to watch it with the ladies, but the community watched it this evening. Quite impressive, this representation of the earthly fate of widows in certain levels of Hindu society where child marriage was the norm. (The movie is set in the late 1930's.) Next time you hear someone complaining about the way women are treated in the Church, I suggest you encourage them to watch "Water." And then give thanks to God for western civilization. (Especially if you are a woman!)
Friday, May 04, 2007
Sister meets Spidey
Sr. Rose wrote a parent/teacher study guide to coincide with the release of Spiderman 3, which as of midnight had already enjoyed the biggest movie opening ever. Find it here.
A flood of prayer requests
These are just the two latest requests from the dozen or so received in the past two days. In a way, these painful experiences are reminders that what we are living now is, in Paul's words, "transitory," but we look forward to a life that is eternal.
From my sister: A cardiac surgeon (and father of three) I have worked closely with over the past 18 years has just been diagnosed with a particularly aggressive form of leukemia. His doctors have painted a very dismal picture. Can we show them what the power of prayer can do? Lets try!
From Eric's stepmom: Yesterday the doctor went back into Eric’s surgery site. He hasn’t closed his incision yet. The leak still isn’t closed yet. He will go back in again on Monday. Another development is that there is a blood clot in Eric’s right knee and his lungs. Now we know why Eric has had to remain on oxygen so much. They have put Eric on more blood thinning drugs. Today, we are discusssing the possibility of going into the line in his neck and putting an umbrella type device into his veins to stop the clots from going into his heart, brain and lungs. It has been so heartwarming to get your e-mails. So far three people have donated blood in Eric’s name and sent us their unit numbers. We are so incredibly grateful for your outpouring of generosity. We are all truly blessed with so many friends and relatives. Please also pray for Eric’s grandfather who is having a biopsy for liver cancer. These are worrisome times for us. We are cheered by your prayers and support.
From my sister: A cardiac surgeon (and father of three) I have worked closely with over the past 18 years has just been diagnosed with a particularly aggressive form of leukemia. His doctors have painted a very dismal picture. Can we show them what the power of prayer can do? Lets try!
From Eric's stepmom: Yesterday the doctor went back into Eric’s surgery site. He hasn’t closed his incision yet. The leak still isn’t closed yet. He will go back in again on Monday. Another development is that there is a blood clot in Eric’s right knee and his lungs. Now we know why Eric has had to remain on oxygen so much. They have put Eric on more blood thinning drugs. Today, we are discusssing the possibility of going into the line in his neck and putting an umbrella type device into his veins to stop the clots from going into his heart, brain and lungs. It has been so heartwarming to get your e-mails. So far three people have donated blood in Eric’s name and sent us their unit numbers. We are so incredibly grateful for your outpouring of generosity. We are all truly blessed with so many friends and relatives. Please also pray for Eric’s grandfather who is having a biopsy for liver cancer. These are worrisome times for us. We are cheered by your prayers and support.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Sr. Mary Gabriella
I've mentioned Sr. M. Gabriella before: she's our community's "prayer partner" at the Boston motherhouse. When I was in Boston, I asked a few questions about her vocation story. The workings of grace in each person are so interesting--and I think that reflections like this are especially helpful for people who are discerning a religious vocation themselves (particularly when the storyteller has persevered for so many years). So, without further ado, I give you our very own Sr. Mary Gabriella:
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Topsy-Turvy
Today's first reading (from Acts) doesn't give the slightest hint of it, but in Luke's narrative, something is about to explode. Amazingly, it is a continuation of a theme of the entire Bible: that God "chooses the things that are not"; that God tends to turn our expectations upside down, not respecting our priorities or our established order. Where we expect the first-born to take precedence, God chooses the youngest; where we expect nobility, God chooses poverty.
In the Acts of the Apostles, we see Barnabas, the "Son of Consolation," the chosen envoy of the Twelve, the one named first (three times in a row) among the prophets and teachers in the Church of Antioch. It is only natural to expect that Barnabas will be the anointed leader... And we would have places around the world named for him: St. Barnabas, MN; São Barnabé, Brazil; the Basilica of St. Barnabas-Outside-the-Walls, Rome... and I'd be a Daughter of St. Barnabas. But that's not the way it works. God turns our expectations upside down. And it happens in Acts 13, just a few verses after today's reading ends. "Saul, who was called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit..."
It is Paul's Pentecost. From now on, Luke will write about "Paul and Barnabas," not the other way around. Barnabas had been the one to recognize the sincerity of Saul's conversion, and had vouched for him in the Christian assemblies. Barnabas had even gone to look for Saul (who had retreated to Tarsus), and brought him to Antioch as a helper. Now Saul, Paul, became the apostolic powerhouse, the "chosen vessel to bring My name to the gentiles."
Barnabas could not have done it. There would never have been a St. Barnabas, MN or São Barnabé, Brazil because Barnabas seems not to have been able to tolerate conflict. Paul (who not only tolerated conflict, but seemed to foment it!) wrote about the beginning split between Jew and Gentile in the apostolic Church, that "even Barnabas" began to pull away from "eating with" the Gentile believers--in other words, conflict had gotten so out of controle that even Barnabas, the first missionary to the Gentiles, began consenting to a segregated Eucharist. With Barnabas at the helm of the mission to the Gentiles, the whole course of western history would have been different. Barnabas' vocation, it turns out, had been at the service of Paul's.
God doesn't do things our way.
In the Acts of the Apostles, we see Barnabas, the "Son of Consolation," the chosen envoy of the Twelve, the one named first (three times in a row) among the prophets and teachers in the Church of Antioch. It is only natural to expect that Barnabas will be the anointed leader... And we would have places around the world named for him: St. Barnabas, MN; São Barnabé, Brazil; the Basilica of St. Barnabas-Outside-the-Walls, Rome... and I'd be a Daughter of St. Barnabas. But that's not the way it works. God turns our expectations upside down. And it happens in Acts 13, just a few verses after today's reading ends. "Saul, who was called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit..."
It is Paul's Pentecost. From now on, Luke will write about "Paul and Barnabas," not the other way around. Barnabas had been the one to recognize the sincerity of Saul's conversion, and had vouched for him in the Christian assemblies. Barnabas had even gone to look for Saul (who had retreated to Tarsus), and brought him to Antioch as a helper. Now Saul, Paul, became the apostolic powerhouse, the "chosen vessel to bring My name to the gentiles."
Barnabas could not have done it. There would never have been a St. Barnabas, MN or São Barnabé, Brazil because Barnabas seems not to have been able to tolerate conflict. Paul (who not only tolerated conflict, but seemed to foment it!) wrote about the beginning split between Jew and Gentile in the apostolic Church, that "even Barnabas" began to pull away from "eating with" the Gentile believers--in other words, conflict had gotten so out of controle that even Barnabas, the first missionary to the Gentiles, began consenting to a segregated Eucharist. With Barnabas at the helm of the mission to the Gentiles, the whole course of western history would have been different. Barnabas' vocation, it turns out, had been at the service of Paul's.
God doesn't do things our way.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
The Envelope, Please
It's so hard establishing criteria for an award-meme like this... There are so many highly qualified blogs, by brilliant and profound writers! (Their turn will come, surely.) I can only point to these five as models for blogging with a mission, blogging with a vision, blogging with a brain--with the further criterion of not currently appearing among the links in my sidebar. (After all, they get my "thinking blog award" all the time!)
And the winners are:
Evangelical Catholicism, informed insights with depth and breadth from a young pair of writers. They bring reliable research to the blogosphere in matters that are often highly charged.
Crossed the Tiber, A couple (as in married) of converts/reverts to the Church, offer faith reflections with a solid approach to apologetics and a quirky sense of humor.
Catholicism, Holiness and Spirituality: A family man living his Catholic faith with depth. We need this kind of witness!
You Duped Me, O Lord: A Jesuit living his Catholic faith with depth. We need this kind of witness!!!!
la Nouvelle Theologie: An old-fashioned style blog in many respects, it refers you to many "thinking blogs" and theological resources.
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