Happy Feast Day!

To Karen and all Ignaciophiles online, a Happy Feast of St. Ignatius.

And here's a little description of him by one of his sons and confreres (da Camara): "He seemed to be all love.... I know no one in the Society who does not have a great love for him and does not think that he is very greatly loved by the Father." (Hmmm, sounds a lot like Paul to me.)

The statue depicts the convalescent Inigo at the moment of his conversion. It is found...in the very place that grace encountered him.

Quite a weekend

We hosted a discernment retreat this weekend. Nine young women shared prayer, discussions, instruction and fun. A few received the grace to come much closer to recognizing God's call, some to married life, some to religious life. Sr. Margaret Michael, our national vocation director, is still in town with us. It's always nice to have a "new" sister around for a few days! She's heading off to Boston tomorrow, and I'll follow on Wednesday for our community gathering and retreat. Meanwhile, tomorrow is the feast of St. Ignatius, so I have a full day available to celebrate!
Please continue to pray for the retreat participants. It is so edifying to see how many young people are willing to give serious consideration to a life of consecration.

Adventures in Reading

This afternoon I went to Border's to look up a book by my grief ministry professor. (It's always a good idea to include the professor's titles in one's bibliography for a final paper.) The in-store computer told me that the book was "likely" in stock in the PSYCHOLOGY: FAMILY: DEATH AND DYING section on the 2nd floor, so up I went. Well, I found DEATH AND DYING in PSYCHOLOGY, all right: one shelf above EROTICA, where a man was bending over, his nose in a book. I got the distinct impression he was not huddled over a grief book, and wondered if the Lord had sent me there on his behalf. I fingered a few grief books, giving the gentleman ample opportunity to notice that he was not alone in the aisle, but then I hurried off. Actually, I was looking for a salesperson. I hoped to point out to a staff member how unfortunate the shelf arrangements were, and to ask that the book I sought be retrieved for me, since I had no desire to return to that section.
The store was crowded with browsers, but the only staff members I could find were the three or four souls manning the checkout.
Maybe Barnes and Noble has a different shelving system.

Planned Parenthood's stealth operation

Today's Tribune reveals that Planned Parenthood has been building a $7.5 million abortion clinic in Aurora (roughly 30 miles from Chicago), all the while disguising it under a false name. A contractor figured out what it was and leaked the information to the press, blowing PP's cover. The clinic will be one of the largest PP facilities in the nation, offering the usual gamut of "services," so many of them compromising to women's integral well-being.

I added two very cute vocation videos to the VodPod (see sidebar); they are from the Sisters of the Divine Master, also founded by Bl. James Alberione.
And I received this prayer request, which I entrust to all of you (the sender needs prayers herself; they are losing their home): I'm just sending you a quick note to say hi and ask for prayers for my little brother. He is serving in Iraq right now on a bomb disposal team. He feels that he is doing his part saving lives, but it is very nerve-wracking for those of us at home. Pleas pray for his safety...

Sr. Tracey (from our Miami community) was on a video podcast while I was home with Mom. Enjoy some lively conversation!

Harry Potter, Evangelizer?

Well, maybe not quite "evangelizer," but definitely "Catechist's assistant." That's my judgment after completing "Deathly Hallows."
I was first alerted to the catechetical potential of this volume (and by extension, the whole series) when I read something (which I can't find just now, but it was in the final paragraphs of a page on the left hand side somewhere in the first 250 pages of the book) that could easily be used to illustrate the concept of "perfect" and "imperfect" contrition. Then there is a burial scene (no spoilers, don't worry!) involving a cross--not exactly a Christian confession of faith, since for many a cross has lost its true meaning and only stands for death, but still it's something. Then there is a Christmas Eve setting, in which people are in a church--as far as I remember, Christmases past in Harry Potter were only of the "jolly olde England" sort, with plum puddings and the like. At another burial (there's a lot of death in "Deathly Hallows"), the graveside words include the hope that the deceased is "happy now." There's even a little teasing over the blindness of fundamentalism contrasted with the clearsightedness of faithfulness. And if that were not enough, there is actual Scripture in the book, with one of the phrases being a rather central message. Most kids won't know it, but "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be" is from the Bible. And so is "the last enemy to be destroyed is death."
That's really not why I would say that Harry could be a Catechist's Helper, though.
There are also the examples of the Cardinal and moral virtues, and of the capital sins, especially pride, covetousness and anger.
But that's not all!
The central theme of the book turns out to be entirely consistent with the Gospel: "The one who seeks to save his life will lose it, and the one who loses his life will find it"; "no one has greater love than he who gives his life for his friends." (And no, that is not a spoiler; it's a tantalizer.)
To put it in terms of the Theology of the Body, "Deathly Hallows" is something of an illustration of the central theme of John Paul the Great, when he cites Vatican II: "Man can only find himself through a sincere gift of self."

So all those people out there who were afraid that Harry meant nothing but big demonic trouble, perhaps your fears helped the author to be even more boldly Christian than she knew. It's safe to come out, now. Harry Potter is on our side.

Breakfast on the Fly

My last day in New Orleans; I just had to have beignets!
3:30 flight to Chicago. (Angels on wings, as we pray in my family.)

Out for a stroll

The neighbor called to alert me to a visitor...on another neighbor's lawn. (Usually the egrets stay near the canals, but this one spent all day in the neighborhood.)

On the Scene with Sr. Helene

Well, Helena, not Helene (I liked the rhyme scheme...). And the "scene" is in Chicago, where they are still filming Batman. Sr. Helena said that she and other gawkers got escorted from the area when the star showed up. (I'm still in New Orleans until tomorrow.)

Potteropolis

Though I wasn't there for it(not the partying type), there was a Harry Potter party in the French Quarter last night. According to this morning's paper, a few blocks of the Quarter were turned into a Diagon Alley for the book launch. One of my oldest friends went to Border's for the event. (She works in the French Quarter, so there was no real draw there for her!) This friend of mine takes fantasy seriously. Very seriously. She has probably finished the book by now. My sister Mary ordered two copies, since her teenaged daughter wasn't too keen on sharing with her mother. And Mary said I can have it after she finishes. Which may be...tomorrow, if I know my sister!
I've really enjoyed the Harry Potter series, even though many serious minded people tend to think the worst of the world of Hogwarts and all that. There just doesn't seem to be anything in that magical world that supports all the fear, though. Magic is simply the "technology" of that fictional world. But I suppose it is right to have a healthy fear for what we can do with technology, whether in fact or in fiction.
Any thoughts?
Has anybody out there finished the book yet? (NO SPOILERS!)

Sydney, 2008

Registrations are OPEN for World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney! The full "day" is really a week (July 15-20), and this time individuals can register on their own, rather than through a group. Anybody out there planning to go?

In Memory of Me

Today's first reading (Exodus) gives all the elaborate instructions for the first Passover. It reminded me of the beautiful account I read last night of Sr. Margaret's recently deceased dad: as he was dying, he called for all his children and grandchildren to come over for a picnic, and then he instructed them to do this every year. For the devout family, it was a Last Supper, and their father was instituting a "memorial." But today I understood it in a different light: their father was ensuring a continuing family unity through this annual gathering. Year by year, their family identity will be more and more anchored by this reunion.
How can I not think of the Eucharist, which St. Augustine called "the sacrament of unity and bond of charity"? But in recent decades the one celebration by which Jesus wished to anchor his Church in unity around himself has been greatly damaged because of arguments over rites. The Papal document liberalizing the permission to celebrate the Eucharist with the Tridentine rite restores not just a ritual, but a greater sense of unity in the Church.

Today's first reading is the revelation of God's mysterious name "I AM." Scripture scholars today often interpret this as "I am who I am with you"--putting the stress on the relationship between God and his people. The Gospel is one that riveted Blessed James Alberione's attention 100 years ago: "Come to me, all of you." There's a marvelous connection here. "Come to Me, I am with you!" The Exodus story also sheds light on the Gospel invitation, "Come, Follow me."

Call ended

Dad's subscriptions are still coming in, among them Business Week. The current issue looked at the minute-eating "fees" on long-distance phone cards marketed especially to the immigrant community. As someone who depended on phone cards while living in Italy, I felt a special kind of nausea on learning about fees added when a call begins; fees charged weekly or monthly after activation; fees charged when a call ends; fees for calls that last more than 20 minutes... Had I been cheated, too?
There are plenty of reputable phone cards that do not have these hidden charges, but "caveat emptor."

Today's liturgy has a wonderful combination of readings. The first reading is the story of the Burning Bush: God's self-revelation to the most unlikely person, Moses, a banished adopted Egyptian Hebrew shepherd in the desert. Then the responsorial psalm (Psalm 103): the Lord is kind and merciful. (These will be the words with which God will later fully reveal himself to Moses, after the Exodus, but on the same mountain of revelation.) And the Gospel? "Blessed are you, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, for what you have hidden from the wise and learned, you have revealed to the lowly!"
After reading these, I found another line of Scripture running through my mind:

Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.

Sins that cry out

I was only a few steps from the adoration chapel, on my way back to Mom's, when a workman called out to me over the buzz of a lawn-edging tool. "That's pretty bad what was on the news about the Catholic Church." At first I didn't know what he was referring to. "You, know," he said, "in the news about that $600 million settlement."
Oh, yeah. That news.
"That's the sort of thing that turns people away from Christ," the man said.
Indeed.
Way back, they used to talk about the "sins that cry out to God for vengeance." These are drawn from the Bible (remember the blood of Abel "crying to me from the ground"?); you'll find one of them in the Letter of James. The New Testament sage depicted a judgement in which the wages withheld from a day laborer would be "crying out" against an exploiter. (For a contemporary example of this, click here.) In later years, another such sin was quaintly termed the "corruption of little boys" (now in the Catechism (#1867) phrased in more biblical language as "the sin of the Sodomites").
It's a good thing to clean out that corruption by whatever means necessary, the way St. Paul speaks of cleaning out the "old leaven" in order to bake a new, unleavened loaf to become the Body of Christ.
The yardworker thought the abuse was recent, and he was scandalized by what was, to him, "new" bad news. Would to God this would be the last such news we get, but that's probably not the case. And yet we are still expected and called to evangelize! Perhaps St. Paul's words to the Corinthians will be verified in us again: God chooses the things that are not to put to shame the things that are. At the most unlikely time for the Church, we are still called upon to share the good news of Jesus. In the face of betrayal and abuse and sin, we are not exempt from this mission.

Quick Hi from Texas

Mom and I traveled to Austin yesterday to visit my sister's family. At Mass this morning (St. Theresa's), we found one cousin as an usher, another cousin's husband as the other usher, that cousin as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and their daughter handing out bulletins after Mass. So we had a little reunion. The Mass was impressive for the participation of the assembly, and the new associate, a priest from Nigeria, gave an excellent homily that left my brother-in-law anticipating great preaching for years to come. At any rate, you'll know why my blogging will be a bit sporadic. Pray for us!

But is it just hypocrisy?

Here in New Orleans, the papers are full of front-page stuff about Senator Vitter's extracurricular activities. Porn publisher Flynt says there's more to come: he's on a mission to out the hypocrites who talk about family values while running a tab at houses of ill repute. Naturally, what Flynt (and most of us) call hypocrisy is very close to what psychologists call "compensation." And compensatory behavior is an acknowledgement, even if in an unhealthy way, that what one is doing is bad and that reparation needs to be made. I tend to think that hypocrisy comes in when all that reparation and bold, virtuous speachifying is done for the purpose of deception; somethign else is going on when it is a case of semi-conscious compensation.
It's easy enough to condemn hypocrisy. Especially when you can point to such blatantly hypocritical behavior. Besides, blaming has the convenient side effect of distracting an audience from other matters.
One thing that really strikes me in the current case is that Vitter made a pretty straightforward statement about having committed "serious sins" (that's certainly telling it like it is--most other people who have been similarly outed resort to self-defensive language). Vitter also mentioned "confession." If Vitter's confession was genuine, then we are not so much looking at hypocrisy as at conversion. And conversion should be allowed, even in our political system, because if we disallow conversion we will have...hypocrisy instead. In fact, what we need to do is foster a culture that permits conversion, transformation and personal renewal. We all need this, and we need it constantly. The tendency to consistently accuse others of hypocrisy could very well be a sign that one is failing to live in an attitude of awareness and continual conversion.

More than Trust

Today's Gospel is a continuation of Jesus' instructions to the Twelve. It's not totally encouraging: "I'm sending you like lambs among wolves... They will haul you before judges..." And then he tells them not to try to come up with good arguments in their own defense. Leave that to the Holy Spirit when the time comes.
It's consistent with the Sermon on the Mount: do not trouble yourself about tomorrow. Live in the present moment, with profound confidence in God.

The Wine Burgler

I wonder if Karen saw this yet. (She's always looking for a good wine.) A midnight break-in brought the would-be thief face-to-face with his victims--at a dinner party. He put a gun to a teenaged guest's head and demanded money. The guests were frozen in their places, until one made an unusual invitation: "We were just finishing dinner. Why don't you have a glass of wine with us?" It was really good wine. And there was Camembert cheese to go with it. The intruder left with a group hug and a glass of that really good wine.
Some things you just can't make up.

Helping New Orleans

Well, it looks as though M.M. was right: Burger King "donation contest" participation is limited to Louisiana residents. Here is the fine print: "Some restrictions apply. Voters must be a resident of the state of Louisiana, age 13 or older as of 4/3/07." I guess it doesn't count if you are a New Orleanian by birth and culture and only happen to dwell outside of the state... So much of my effort to encourage votes for the Harry Thompson Center will prove to be less than directly effective. In God's providence, though, some good will surely have come from all my appeals! (If nothing else, people who happened upon my blog during this time will have been alerted that New Orleans still needs lots of help and elbow grease.) (Oh, and I got many more hits than usual due to people having googled "Harry Thompson Center." Maybe I will have picked up a few new readers!)
Thanks for all of you out-of-state voters who gave this your support. The Lord counts every click as a prayer, even if Burger King doesn't count it as a vote!
For those of you in Louisiana, go and vote for the rest of us! (Except I can vote myself right now because I'm home with Mom.) You can also send the text message HARRY to 287437.
And for the rest, visit the center's homepage to see their own appeal; send this to anyone you know in Louisiana with a cell phone or computer!

We need all the help we can get because we are competing against agencies and organizations that have mailing lists and membership rolls that run into the thousands. We definitely have our work cut out for us. So please do what you can to help the Harry Tompson Center provide even more services to more people.

Memorandum

Today's first reading is the high point of the wonderful story of Joseph and his brothers, and the responsorial psalm tells us "remember the marvels the Lord has done." That response goes equally well with the Gospel, in which Jesus is giving the Twelve their mission instructions: what they received as a free gift, they are to give as a free gift. (The Greek has this kind of pun in it with the root word for "gift" that our translations don't manage to express.) What "free gift" did they receive? Well, if they "remember the marvels the Lord has done," they will be in touch with the message they are to share. There is a rabbinical proverb, "to remember is to live." It's a good "reminder" for us!

Your prayers needed

We just received sad news from the family of one of our sisters. It seems that a nephew was killed in a car accident a week ago, and the extended family just learned of it today. This young man was one of two siblings; his sister died two years ago. The family is devastated, and very much in need of prayer.

Countdown

It's coming down to the wire in the donation contest to help New Orleans' under-construction Father Harry Thompson Center for the homeless. Contest closes Friday, so get your friends and blog readers to go and don't forget to vote for the Harry Thompson Center yourself!
Remember, you can vote every day!

Do not touch!

Came across two caterpillars today, one a larger version of the other. Cute, bright green with little tufts of neon green hair...or spines. As I lifted one onto a leaf to get it into the garden (which, on second thought, I probably should not have done), I saw it had a thin but vivid red strip, with a white one below that, on one side. That was a clue that perhaps this caterpillar was not the nicest of the bunch. So I googled "bright green caterpillar red stripe" and came up with this.

Feast Day

Today's saint is Benedict, patron of Europe and of our still-new Pope. Benedict is looked upon in some ways as a preserver of culture, because the monasteries that quickly spread across Europe became centers of education and culture after the fall of Rome. Today's Gospel (for the weekday Mass) can be seen as underlining this expansion: Jesus sent the Twelve and told them, "As you go, make this proclamation: the Kingdom of Heaven is near!"
Today it was the "as you go" that struck me. It is much easier to stay put and make various proclamations, but Jesus did not give us that option. Besides, proclamations from a still point of security may devolve into "declamations." No, we are to "go out to all the world," according to the possibilities we have.

Prayers Needed

A young couple in Melbourne, FL has just learned that their unborn child has spinal bifida. The parents are very devout, and counting on everyone's prayers to get their little one through the surgeries she will need.

Greetings from NOLA

I'm home in New Orleans for two weeks of family, starting with my sister's 49th birthday tonight. Coming in over Kenner, I noticed the blue of swimming pools and the blue of (still!) tarp-covered rooftops. (Why did that surprise me?)
Don't forget to "vote" today for the New Orleans homeless shelter (Harry Thompson Center) in the Burger King "contest" (link in a post below).

Down to the finish line

The "donation contest" is in the home stretch--voting closes Friday--and when we last left, the Father Thompson Center (New Orleans homeless shelter) was in fourth place, eligible only for a consolation prize and not a powerhouse donation. Now, our founder did say that the works of God are not accomplished with money, but even he appreciated a substantial donation for building projects...
Now is the time for you to alert all your friends and relatives, and place multiple posts on your blog. But first: go to the "polling place" and vote for the Harry Thompson Center yourself!
Remember, you can vote every day (up to midnight Friday). Winnerw will be announced on August 1.

More on the Motu

Yesterday's news of permission for the Tridentine Mass brought some complaints from an unexpected source. According to an article in today's Tribune, "The Anti-Defamation League condemned the change Saturday, calling it a 'body blow to Catholic-Jewish relations.' While an earlier reference to 'perfidious Jews' was removed officially from the Tridentine mass just before the Second Vatican Council, the group condemned a remaining prayer on Good Friday that calls for Jews' conversion."
There is something in the Pope's document that the Anti-Defamation League probably didn't notice, but should:

"Art. 2. In Masses celebrated without the people, each Catholic priest of the Latin rite, whether secular or regular, may use the Roman Missal published by Bl. Pope John XXIII in 1962, or the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970, and may do so on any day with the exception of the Easter Triduum. " (My emphasis.)

In other words, the Triduum is not part of the general permission granted in Article 2. The prayer the Anti-Defamation League finds offensive is used only once a year, during the Triduum and hence, it falls within the restriction of Article 2. Perhaps the Pope set this restriction in part out of respect for Jewish sensibilities, though it is more likely that concern for the integrity of parish celebrations of Easter was more decisive. (It would be contrary to the spirit of the liturgy for a parish to have two Easter vigils!) At any rate, it seems worth bringing to the attention of anyone who might comment negatively on the Motu Proprio in that vein.

Coming Soon--another document!

We just got the Motu Proprio on the Mass, and now there's a new document coming this way, not from the Pope himself, but from his old office at the CDF:
Vatican, Jul. 7, 2007 (CWNews.com) - The Vatican will soon release a new doctrinal document, addressing the unique role of the Catholic Church in God's plan for salvation, according to informed sources in Rome.
The Vatican press office confirmed on July 7 that the document, providing "answers to questions regarding some aspects of doctrine on the Church," will appear on July 10.
The new document, to be released from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will address questions about the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, in Lumen Gentium (doc), that the Church founded by Christ "subsists in the Catholic Church."
Questions about how the true Church "subsists" in the Catholic Church have drawn a series of answers from the Vatican-- most recently the declaration Dominus Iesus (doc), which was released in 2000 with the approval of Pope John Paul II (bio - news) and signed by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
The document to be released on July 10 will repeat and reinforce the fundamental message of Dominus Iesus that the Church founded by Jesus Christ exists fully in the Catholic Church alone. The document will critique the notion that other religious bodies may also represent the Church founded by Christ, and caution against the "ecclesial relativism" that Pope Benedict has criticized in the past.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will release the document on July 10, reports indicate. The plan for release of the document has not yet been confirmed by the Vatican.

Motu Proprio

Well, the much-heralded document opening the way to a broader use of the Tridentine Liturgy has been released. So far the Vatican has linked only the Latin document from its front page, leaving me to scramble for the English translation. To tell you the truth, I read through it (in unofficial translation) and found that it is primarily a juridical document. The accompanying letter to the bishops by Pope Benedict is much more helpful in understanding the Pope's mind. I would recommend skipping the document, unless you really need to know the mechanics of the liturgy, and focus on the letter.
Something that popped right out at me in the letter was its extremely up-front tone. Right at the beginning the Pope comments on the media's role in stirring up interest and debate about the document: "News reports and judgments made without sufficient information have created no little confusion. There have been very divergent reactions ranging from joyful acceptance to harsh opposition, about a plan whose contents were in reality unknown." (The italics are mine; I thought this expression hinted at a bit of wry humor on the Pope's part.) He was also very forthright about reasons that may have led some people to a sometimes-overwrought attachment to the Tridentine rite: the first, one that sheds a good bit of light on the situation, is that the traditionalist movement is strongest in those areas where the liturgical movement of the late 19th and mid-20th centuries was strongest. In other words, the people in those areas had a very well-formed liturgical "sense." They may have been the exception, but in a way they didn't need the reformed liturgy of Vatican II. The Pope's other observation was the frank admission that too many silly experiments in liturgy " led to deformations of the liturgy which were hard to bear. I am speaking from experience, since I too lived through that period with all its hopes and its confusion. And I have seen how arbitrary deformations of the liturgy caused deep pain to individuals totally rooted in the faith of the Church." You can hear the voice of a pastor in those words.
The Pope doesn't expect the Tridentine usage to sweep through the entire Church, though he does recognize its appeal for many young adults (a point made in the letter, but not in the document). So now we have it. One rite with two "usages": the earlier 1962 Missal as the "extraordinary" form, and the 1970 Missal as the ordinary form. And the Pope's primary positive motivation? In his own words:

It is a matter of coming to an interior reconciliation in the heart of the Church. Looking back over the past, to the divisions which in the course of the centuries have rent the Body of Christ, one continually has the impression that, at critical moments when divisions were coming about, not enough was done by the Church's leaders to maintain or regain reconciliation and unity. One has the impression that omissions on the part of the Church have had their share of blame for the fact that these divisions were able to harden. This glance at the past imposes an obligation on us today: to make every effort to enable for all those who truly desire unity to remain in that unity or to attain it anew. . . . Let us generously open our hearts and make room for everything that the faith itself allows.

Father Thompson Sinks to 4th

In a stunning reversal of direction, the Father Thompson Center has dropped from 1st place to 4th in a single day in the Burger King donation contest. Only the top three get a significant contribution from this promotion; the other six get a token $2K (which is nice, but not as nice as the $50K the top winner gets). There is still a week to go (I was wrong in earlier posts about this; the contest extends to July 13), so there is time for you to alert all your friends and relatives, and place multiple posts on your blog. But first: go to the "polling place" and vote for the Harry Thompson Center yourself!
Remember, you can vote every day!

Did you vote today?

Add Keep the Father Harry Thompson Center at the top in Burger King's "donation contest." There's only a 3% difference between the current top two. (New Orleans' City Park has lots of "friends"!) Do your part to support the work Father Thompson began at the "Jesuit Church." (Katrina washed the original shelter away.)
Here's a link to the Center, but don't go there until you've voted (link at top of post).

A Problem Like Maria (Goretti)

Today's saint has turned out to be surprisingly contoversial for a twelve-year-old. It seemed an open and shut case, akin to the stories of the Roman virgin martyrs. Virtuous girl spurns propositions, faces threats without giving in, dies for Christ. That's how Maria's story was understood for almost a century, too: the fatherless child of a poor farm family, Maria withstood the attempts by teenaged Alessandro to seduce her, even when he brandished a knife. She was held up as a martyr of purity, a role model for a sex-saturated culture.
Then about twenty years ago, Maria's story became politically incorrect. We were told that she was sending the wrong message to young women about rape (better dead than deflowered). They noted (and correctly, I'm afraid) that in a way Maria's whole cause for canonization hinged on the fact that, in the end, Alessandro had not raped her. (If he had had his way, even though it had clearly been a matter of force, the popular assumption in those days would have been that somehow Maria was at fault.) Even Pope Pius XII was accused of "engineering" the cause of canonization in order to have a youth rally to restore Catholic morale.
So Maria's story and witness were related to pious books and websites.
I think Maria's story should be trumpeted from the housetops: she was a young woman who, inspired by her Catholic upbringing and faith, boldly insisted on her right to refuse a man's advances, even when he threatened her. Maria fought for that right, too: she was covered in bruises that testified to her struggle. Maria was not a passive victim. She even tried to convince Alessandro that he was endangering his own soul. (Later, Alessandro wept over that memory.) Then there is another angle that is often skipped over: Alessandro had made numerous attempts to seduce Maria. And Alessandro had a porn habit. This porn connection makes Maria's story even more relevant today, when internet porn is, according to many confessors, a growing problem even among practicing Catholics.
So "the problem with Maria" today isn't "Maria's problem." It is our problem. How are you going to solve it?

Mighty Macs

An article in yesterday's paper announced a movie currently in production that will be of special interest to anyone educated by the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Immaculata, PA: "Our Lady of Victory" is the story of the Immaculata College women's basketball team, first ever to win the championship for that title (1972). According to the article, the movie is "part 'Sister Act,' part 'Hoosiers' and part 'A League of Their Own'."
Knowing a good many of the "Macs" (as the sisters themselves--not just the team--are often referred to), I am looking forward to the movie about a moment in their history.

Abraham's test

Today's first reading is that dramatic story often referred to as "the sacrifice of Abraham." It has attracted scores of learned commentaries along the centuries, as you might expect for a narrative like that. Recent scholarship has pointed out that the word "seeing" is very important in the account: Abraham "sees" from afar the mountain that God was telling him about (it could mean that Abraham "recognizes" the mountain spot); God will "see" to the lamb for the sacrifice; Abraham "sees" the ram caught in the brambles, and at the end, a proverb is coined, "On the mountain, God will see" (or on the mountain, you will see God). With all those references to "seeing," it is almost surprising that Abraham is called our father in "faith" (especially after Tuesday's Gospel for the feast of St. Thomas: "Blessed are those who have not seen but still believe").

Happy 4th!

Sr. Susan and I went to the Park way in advance of the concert and fireworks to get a good place. We did! More fireworks tonight!
Today we are reminded that our nation is built on the conviction that "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" are unalienable rights given to us by God. When the Bible asks, "What can bring us happiness?" It doesn't answer the question with something we can do. It answers with a prayer, which you could say is the Bible's prayer for happiness (and a good one for our nation today): "Let the light of your face shine on us, Lord."

Father Thompson needs you!

Add your vote to keep the Father Harry Thompson Center at the top in Burger King's "donation contest." Tell your friends! Tell your mother! Vote every day--there's less than a week left until the deciding tallies are in, and there's only a 3% difference between the current top two. (city Park has lots of "friends"!) After all the people of New Orleans have been through, this is a simple way to participate in something constructive for the city's most vulnerable citizens, continuing the work Father Thompson began at the "Jesuit Church." (The original shelter was flooded out of existence.)
Here's a link to the Center, but don't go there until you've voted (link at top of post).

Vow Day + 29

July 2, 1978