The Holy Spirit "will take from what is mine and declare it to you." Whatever that means, it has to be important, because it is repeated in the next sentence, with the explanation, "Everything that the Father has is mine."
Now, God doesn't have "possessions." God IS. So if the Holy Spirit "takes from what is mine" (as Jesus said), he is drawing from "everything that the Father has" and "declaring it" to us: revealing, offering, giving away "the life that was before the beginning" so that we can be, as St. Peter wrote, "sharers in the divine nature."

Theology of the Body

I found thirty "Theology of the Body" events listed on Facebook!

Paul in chains

Today's first reading starts with Paul and his missionary companion Silas jailed in Philippi. Luke specifies that they had not only been thrown into prison, but put in the innermost cell with their feet chained to a stake. There, Luke says, they sat "praying and singing hymns to God as the prisoners listened."
I find it interesting that Luke didn't say "as the other prisoners listened." It is as if Paul and Silas were the only free men in Philippi, chains or no chains. Today's Gospel tells us of the source of their freedom: "the ruler of this world has been condemned."

Holy, Holy, Holy?

A funny thing happened at Mass, and in some vague way, I sense there is a parable in it.
The celebrant murdered the Alleluia, and then went on to attack, I mean, "intone," the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy). The melody was somewhat familiar, so as soon as I perceived which version he was aiming at, I turned on the volume, in order to support the assembly in singing it acappella. Unfortunately, Father had changed key three times by the fourth word, and he had the mike. I kept bravely trying, wincing at the resulting chord (it was an augmented, demented--oops, diminished--something, for sure), until Father shot out the same kind of "evil eye" that my esteemed choir director has been known, on rare occasion, to send as a warning to an errant member of the group. I relinquished my effort, figured out what key he had landed on, and joined him there. All was again well.

Year of St. Paul

The official "Pauline Year" website from the Basilica of St. Paul-outside-the-walls is finally available in English!

Sr. Thecla and I had a full day at the First Communion. Our little friend was one of 150 at the parish today; another 150 children received their First Communion there last week. Given Chicago's traffic, we didn't get home until 5:30. It was when setting the ribbons in my Liturgy of the Hours that I realized we were already at the sixth Sunday of Easter! Good Heavens, that means we are in Ascension week! And just two weeks from Pentecost! I'm hoping to prepare a kind of Pentecost novena for the blog, even though I have several other things in the works. It's just too significant a day in the Church to let pass; not even the first Pentecost happened without a novena, after all.
In just a few days we also begin the month of May. I have another idea I'd like to do for May, but I really "may" have to put that one on hold until next year. (I wish these things wouldn't keep happening!) The upcoming month is more than full already: I am commmited to giving three talks on St. Paul, to singing for a wedding, preparing a video "lecture" on our Founder for a meeting of the sisters this summer, and... we have our official every-six-years visit from Mother General in May, as well.
One day at a time, as they say!

St. Mark

For today's feast, I scoured my hard drive for a symbol of the Evangelist Mark. Somehow, I came up with nothing. (Jesus, how about a little picture-taking trip to ... Venice? There are plenty of Markan lions there!) The symbols of the four Evangelists can be confusing, all the more so in Mark's case. What's with the lion? From what I have been told, the primary connection of this one of Ezekiel's "four living creatures" is with the Judean desert, the abode of jackals and, yes, lions. Mark's Gospel opens with John the Baptizer "in the wilderness." Then Jesus goes there (for forty days of fasting and prayer), and Mark specifies "he was with the wild beasts, and angels ministered to him." Wild beasts, lions... The lion was also invoked in the blessing of Jacob over his son Judah. Judah, the patriarch said, was like the offspring of a lion, and as the lion was the "king of beasts," so Judah would enjoy the kingship. Not coincidentally, Jesus was born of the tribe of...Judah.
There is also a legendary connection of Mark with a lion: the Evangelist and his father were threatened by a lioness with her young (in, where else? the Judean wilderness). Mark promised his father that Christ would save them. He prayed and the lioness dropped dead and Mark's father came to faith!
The Markan lion is usually depicted with wings, since Ezekiel's vision was of cherubim around God's throne in heaven.

This was fun!

Thanks to Barb in Nebraska for pointing out this interesting device for Twitter afficionados.

In the mind of God

I realized today that sometimes when I am reading the day's Scriptures, if they include an obscure reference to another book of the Bible, I just read and keep going. I rarely give the cited passage any extra attention, unless it is one of those particularly striking passages from Isaiah.
Well, today there was just a little something in the reading from Acts that caught my notice (interestingly, it was not from Isaiah, but from Amos). In the passage from Acts, St. James was addressing the Jerusalem community, gathered with the leaders of the early Church to consider what to do about all the Gentiles who were coming to faith in Jesus. James reminded them that the prophet had written, "so that the rest of humanity may seek out the Lord, even all the Gentiles on whom my name is invoked....says the Lord."
And I marveled that someone, somewhere, had "invoked the name of the Lord" upon my ancestors and me, calling down the blessing that we who were "no people" would be able then to "call on the name of the Lord," the very name that had been "called down" upon us in an anonymous blessing.

We're still talking here in community about last night's Theology of the Body session. About 16 people joined the 18 or so here through the Internet. Father Loya covered the first three or so of John Paul's talks, the very first ones that broached the idea of a "theology of the body." I think some of the Internet participants, especially the young men, were trying to fit what John Paul was saying into the classical models they were more familiar with. You could see them there, in the chat room text box, kind of grappling with the wrong things, concepts that are too abstract or romantic or just particular to one state in life rather than another to allow the Theology of the Body to have its real impact. Ultimately, it seems to me (as someone who has been profoundly influenced by the Theology of the Body!) that the core concepts of the male-female relationship as the image of God come down to "gift" and "receptivity." These are lived and expressed differently by men and by women, but unless both live these "virtues," the image of God risks compromise and even the distortion of violence.
We meet again May 14 at the same URL; if you'd like to join us, read John Paul's first 7 or so talks by then! (We're using the critical edition of the talks: Man and Woman He Created Them.)

Vine and branches

Today's Gospel takes us back to the Last Supper.
I find it rather consoling that it is the "fruitful" branches that get pruned.
I'm going to try to keep that in mind next time I see the Lord with his pruning gear in hand...

TOB tonight

You'd think I was excited about this new venture; I even dreamed about setting up the computer and camera in our conference room for tonight's first-ever, live streaming of the Theology of the Body study. Meet us online at 6:30 Central Time!

Theology of the Body

Just right to coincide with tomorrow's Internet "webcast" of the Theology of the Body study group (tomorrow 6:30 central time), here are some more TOB-connected events:

1. Fr. Thomas Loya's new internet radio program: "A Body of Truth." It is a no-holds-bar treatment of contemporary issues using the principles of the Theology of the Body. The program accepts call-ins and emails.

2. A men's retreat aimed at helping men move beyond lust and pornography. The retreat is called, "The Gift of the Interior Gaze." May 16-17, 2008 at Annunciation Church, 14610 Will-Cook Rd. in Homer Glen, IL. Directed by Fr. Thomas J. Loya and the Tabor Life Institute. For information call 708-645-0762 or email: taborlife@earthlink.net

Awaiting Atlanta

I just got permission to attend the "Catholic New Media Celebration" in Atlanta this June. While I'm there, I was hoping to stay a few extra days, perhaps giving my "Life and Legends of Paul in Art" talk in view of the Pauline Year (which opens a week after the media event). If you are in the Atlanta region and can think of a parish or group that might be interested in a multi-media presentation on Paul, get in touch with me!

God's Green Earth

This year, plastic bags are out, out, out. Even illegal in some places, but definitely out of favor. Even at PBM. Not entirely for environmental reasons (we really can't afford the good quality ones we had been stocking for several years), but it's all for the best. Even better, we recently added cloth shopping bags to our inventory, the lightweight scrunchable kind you can get for one environmentally conscious dollar. And ours even come with a nice Papal quote about care for creation. I would include a picture of them, but we ran out, just in time for Earth Day.
I guess that's actually a good thing, but I hope we get some more in soon!

Making a difference

I just learned of an interesting event scheduled for May 3: the idea is to create waves of prayer totaling a million rosaries for the protection of unborn human life. But not just through a generic promise! Instead, the program asks that the rosaries be prayed in rotation. We here in the Central Time zone are asked to pray a rosary sometime between 8 and 9 in the morning on May 3. It's a good thing to pray a rosary any time, but to join with others on the first Saturday of May (Mary's month) for such a critical intention and in a concerted way is an even better thing. And you can "register" your promise as a way of confirming your good will and giving moral support to others. (So far, there are 6,000 registered participants, so there's quite a ways to go to reach the goal!)

Pope Benedict's Last Day

The Holy Father is going to be mighty glad to reboard "Shepherd 1" tomorrow evening after an intense week here. I'm just glad I'll be able to join the Yankee Stadium Mass by TV! His talks all week have been rich, deserving of repeated review and reflection, and his private sessions with abuse victims as well as with the Jewish leaders at the JP2 Cultural Center prove that this trip was not crafted as a series of spectacles, but was really a pastoral visit. I hope it will go far in healing relationships and allowing for a new reality to begin to grow.
What aspect of the Pope's visit made the strongest impression on you?
What aspect of his message do you find yourself reflecting on the most?

Asking anything

The Gospel for Sunday will sound particularly familiar to daily Mass-goers. That's because we heard it on Friday (first part) and Saturday (second part). In the first part, Jesus affirms, very solemnly, that he is "the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me." (Notice that he uses the verb "comes": that's a hint that he sees that movement from the Father's perspective.) In the second half of the passage, Jesus goes on to affirm, "whoever sees me, sees the Father."
And then he says those perplexing words, "if you ask the Father anything in my name, I will do it, so that the Father will be glorified in the Son."
St. Theresa capitalized on that promise as part of her "little way" of confidence. but I suspect many of us, with less complete confidence (and almost certainly less personal holiness) wonder why the many things we ask the Father in the name of Jesus don't seem to happen at all. Does Jesus, like Popeye, mean what he says, and says what he means? Is it really just too good to be true? Or does St. James have it right when he says that "we ask and do not obtain because we ask amiss"?
We surely don't "ask amiss" when we plead for healing, or pray for a loved one in danger or on a wrong path in life. Perhaps we could tweak our prayer a little, though, by trying to bring our desires more and more into conformity with Jesus' ultimate goal, as stated in the Gospel, "that the Father will be glorified in the Son"--or, as it says in the Sermon on the Mount, "see first God's kingdom and holiness," so that "all other things will be given in addition."

The papal visit is bringing our sisters in New York and even Boston a little extra (and much-needed) publicity.

Yesterday's post seems to have been swallowed up in cyberspace. Oh, well! In it, I attempted to draw your attention to the Twitter posts ("tweets") of Patti Hanley, who is in the Press Corps for the Papal Visit. The tweets let you follow the events minute-by-minute.
Today's Gospel is particularly appropriate: "After Jesus washed their feet, he said, '...No slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it...whoever receives the one I send receives me'."
Even though in the lectionary, the words "after Jesus washed their feet" are in parenthesis, as if just to situate the "real" lesson, I think the preface is critical. Only after we, like Jesus, have "taken the form of a servant" can the rest of the passage apply to us as followers of Jesus--and even more in the case of those called to leadership in the Church. Pope, bishop, priest, sister, baptized disciple: only after we have washed the feet of those among us are we credible messengers of the one who sends us.

Yet more "Papal Welcome" videos

They keep coming!
From Fargo, Rochester, , http://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif Los Angeles...

Coming soon...

If you haven't read up on the Pope's visit, here's a good place to start.
I was just marveling that the last Papal visit to the US was 13 years ago: before the Internet entered just about every home in the country. Now we can all follow the streaming video if we want to, and share our insights in real time with others. Amazing.



On a personal note, happy birthday, Thomas More!

Upcoming Events

Chicagoans, the Lumen Christi Institute is offering two events this week that you might want to pencil in on your calendar; both are being held at the University of Chicago:
Thursday, "The Christian Identity of Europe" lecture by Louis Dupre (Professor Emeritus, Yale): Kent, Room 120 at 4:30
Friday, in the Bond Chapel at 7:30, the Schola Antiqua of Chicago will present a concert of late medieval liturgical music, including the "Missa Quem malignus spiritus."
Then, next month, I'm going to try to make it to "Faith, Reason & the Eucharist: Music as a Model for their Harmony" by Denys Turner. That will be May 14.
For more info, call 773-955-5887

Does the Papal Visit Matter?

Yesterday's New York Times featured a lengthy op-ed piece entitled "The View from My Pew" by Dan Barry. Barry is, thanks be to God, not one of those 10% of the US population who are fallen-away Catholics, but his Catholicism is emotionally and perhaps intellectually indifferent to the papacy. Barry looks on the upcoming Papal visit as something that has very little to do with him. Barry defines his Catholicism almost exclusively in terms of his parish, his family, his "pew" in what one Chicagoan (a Knight of Malta) identified (rightly, I think) as a form of incipient Congregationalism that is not altogether rare among American Catholics. Barry doesn't project his perspective on others, but he is rather firmly ensconced in it, in an attitude that has become typical of our relativistic culture: "This is MY truth; your truth is just fine for you. And ne'er the twain shall meet."
The problem is, he is writing about Catholicism, and even etymologically that precludes "mine" and "yours": the word itself means "universal" or "according to the whole." That isn't something I can claim for "my" pew. The view from "my" pew is too restricted to be Catholic. In fact, that is one of the gifts the papacy offers Catholics: the bigger picture of Christianity and of its claims on us.
Too often, I suspect, the "view from my pew" turns into a perch from which I can look with detachment upon the madding crowd. It allows me to forget what St. John Chrysostom wrote in the 4th century: "He who lives in Rome knows that those in the Indies are his members." It may be quite comfortable in "my pew", but if I stay there, I am missing out on an essential feature, the essential feature, of Catholicism: its universality, which is served, maintained and symbolized in the papacy (which is also our visible link to the apostolic Church and its origins in Jesus).
If a practicing Catholic finds that the papal visit doesn't seem to matter one way or the other, it's time for a self-examination: how "catholic" is my Catholicism?

More Papal Visit Videos

I found the beginnings of a whole genre of videos on YouTube: the Papal Visit Welcome video genre.

Hard to Swallow

Today's Gospel is the conclusion of the Bread of Life discourse (John, chapter 10). After all Jesus said, drawing on the ancient story of the manna in the desert to illustrate his promise to give us "the real bread from heaven" which is "my flesh for the life of the world," Jesus sees a considerable number of disciples walk away. It was too much for them to bear listening to, much less look forward to. At Mass today, the homilist said that years ago, while doing his ministry studies, he interviewed the head of Chicago's rabbinical association. "What was it," he asked the rabbi, "that led to the definitive split between Jewish believers in Jesus and the rest of the Jewish community? Was it the indifference of the Jesus-group to the desecration of the Temple by the Romans in 70 AD?" "No," the rabbi said. "It was the Eucharist: the thought of 'eating the flesh and drinking the blood' of the divinity is too abhorrent."
Perhaps those Jews, ancient and modern, who were scandalized by Jesus' words took them more seriously than many Catholics do today.

Welcoming Pope Benedict

Even though he's not coming to Chicago (this time)!

Purity: the New Cool?

Someone noticed that there's a movement afoot by young adults: a purity movement that is both brilliant and bold. And located in some of our nation's leading universities... The Princeton group says of itself: "This group also aims to provide a support network for a minority group of students - those with commitments to living a chaste life and with commitments to a pro-woman, pro-motherhood feminism."
Here's the article from New York Times Magazine, courtesy of Sr. Helena, and here are the groups' sites:
True Love Revolution (Harvard)
The Anscombe Society (Princeton)
The Anscombe Society (MIT)

Eric from "Outside da Box" is coming over for coffee and conversation about video ministry. Sr. Helena and I are looking forward to meeting with him and seeing how outsidedabox and the Daughters of St. Paul might be able to collaborate. The possibilities are so enormous, it is almost intimidating! If you are involved in youth ministry in any capacity, Eric's non-profit can provide you with DVDs; they also have a clever membership program that is worth looking into.

Speaking of video ministry, I just learned that SQPN will be hosting a Catholic New Media gathering in Atlanta this June. I'd love to participate, but I'm not sure my community commitments will permit it. Still, I'm putting it in St. Paul's hands. He'd have to arrange several things: (a) time, (b) travel (not easy with the rising costs of airfare) and (c) accommodations! (Okay, Paul, let's see what you can do...)

Looking for stem cells in all the wrong places

An article in today's Wall Street Journal noted that the FDA is beginning the approval process for medicines derived from embryonic stem cells. Interestingly enough, I just read online that researchers in Australia have found stem cells in breast milk.

The other Philip

Usually in the context of the Bible, a mention of "Philip" brings the Apostle Philip to mind. He's the one who said to Jesus at the Last Supper, "Show us the Father and that will be enough for us" (!!), provoking from Jesus a slightly exasperated, "Have I been with you all this time and you still don't know me? Whoever sees me sees the Father!"
But that's not the Philip we read about in today's liturgy. This is "Philip the Evangelist," and from the way Luke writes about him in Acts, he seems to have been one of the most likable people in the whole Bible. We first encountered Philip in Acts 6, where he was one of the Greek-speaking members of the Jerusalem community chosen to administer the food pantry. Named right after Stephen, Philip was considered "of good reputation, filled with the Spirit and wisdom." Next, we see him in Samaria, preaching with great enthusiasm and winning a whole town to the gospel. And in today's first reading, he overhears the royal treasurer of Ethiopia reading the prophecies of Isaiah and offers him a Christological interpretation of the Suffering Servant passage.
That's not the last we see of Philip. Toward the end of Acts, we find him settled in Caesarea, where he gives hospitality to Paul, Luke and their entourage right before Paul's arrest in Jerusalem. Luke adds that Philip has four virgin daughters who are prophets. Clearly, Luke is not highlighting the women's marital status, which would be irrelevant to the Christian reader. Instead, this is the first evidence we have of Christian chastity being adopted as a lifestyle; the first witnesses of what we now call religious consecration.

Little things

Years ago, the bumper sticker wisdom was "don't sweat the small stuff." But in today's liturgy, I would say, "don't skip the small stuff!" In particular, I mean the little antiphons you find at the beginning of the Mass and at Communion. Generally, these are tidbits of psalms with some connection to the spirit of the liturgical celebration. Today's entrance antiphon (in the Easter spirit, of course) is "Fill me with your praise, and I will sing your glory..." I like to turn it around a bit, and ask the Lord to fill me with the very praise that is in his own heart.

An interesting observation on the first reading: Luke notes (in Acts) that when a fierce persecution started, "all but the apostles" fled to the outlying districts. What a difference Pentecost makes! In Gethsemane, those same apostles had fled to safety, and only John was anywhere near the cross. Now, the entire community is endangered, and it is the apostles who are able to stay put. Providentially, though, the persecution led to the first wave of Christian mission!

Nightly news

The Daughters in New York were interviewed about the upcoming Papal Visit. Watch Fox News (New York only?) tonight to see if they made it to the finished version.

Bread of Life

It certainly is interesting how the evangelist John covers so many of the selfsame teachings as the synoptics, but with a distinctive twist. Between yesterday's passage and today's from the Bread of Life discourse (John 6: the whole long chapter!), we are reminded that "man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God"--and the Johannine twist is that Jesus himself is that "Word" who becomes real, living bread, so vital for us that (as we'll hear in a later passage) unless we eat this bread, we have no life at all! For John, man does live on bread alone: it's only a question of "which" bread you are talking about.

Somehow it always escaped me how close a connection there is between the Sermon on the Mount and John's "Bread of Life" discourse, but there it is in today's Gospel: "do not work for perishable food, but for food that remains unto life eternal, food which the Son of Man will give you..." ("Do not be anxious about food, what you are to eat or drink, or about clothing... Seek first God's kingship and righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.")

Disciples on the road

It is becoming more common lately to depict the two disciples leaving Jerusalem on Easter morning as a husband-wife team, rather than just two men. There are even some contemporary icons of the supper at Emmaus showing Jesus seated between a man and a woman as he breaks the bread that will reveal his true identity.
We really have no way of knowing who the two were, except that one of them was (according to Luke) named Cleophas. But before going gung-ho to put Mrs. Cleophas on the road, leaving the community on Easter morning, we do well to notice how Jesus speaks to them before launching into his "opening of the Scriptures." "Oh foolish ones, slow of heart to believe!" In all of the Gospels, Jesus never berated a woman for lack of faith. In fact, one of the points the Gospel writers are at pains to show is that the women consistently believed and proclaimed the resurrection, while the apostles themselves were "slow of heart to believe." Luke's story of the two discouraged disciples may very well be underlining this point.

Priorities

Today's first reading, from Acts, might surprise people a bit. In it, the apostles look for assistants (those whom we now call "deacons") to take care of the practical matters of the community. They appoint deacons especially to see to running the apostolic food bank, saying "It is not right for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables.... We will dedicate ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word."
What was most important for the Church was that the apostles continue to witness to the Lord's resurrection. The care of the poor could not be neglected, but neither was it reserved especially to the apostles.
Some might find fault with the apostles' reasoning. Clearly, though, the apostles are not denigrating the social dimension of Church life: they were running it! But when it began to take over the foundational matters of prayer and preaching, priorities had to be established.

Update on Prayer Intention

The family mentioned a few posts ago has been keeping their blog updated. The baby is doing well, and the CF mom who just gave birth to her is recovering from a lung transplant. These days remain critical for both patients; continued prayer for them, and for all people in need of special mercy, will not go wasted!

Speaking of New Orleans...

While I was in San Antonio, I found myself with two fellow Louisianians (Sr. Tracey and Sr. Margaret Charles), a sister currently stationed in New Orleans (Sr. Lupe) and at least one sister with vivid recollections of the years she spent in my fair city. All of which led to joking reminiscences of some peculiarly local turns of phrase. Where else would people come in for a copy of the Viaticum II documents? Or pray the Litany of the Hours? Or give a "chastity set" as a Baptism gift? (Hint: "Christening set.") Someone there once commented about a prosperous friend who ran a "ludicrous business." (It may have been "lucrative," too.) And one newcomer from the East Coast remarked joyfully, "I just love living in Louisiana! It's close enough to the U.S. that I can visit any time!"

I was awakened during the night by a deep rocking sensation. I didn't think it could possibly be an earthquake, and according to the sisters here, all of whom (except me!) have experienced earthquakes in Alaska and southern California, what we felt this morning was just a tremor... but it was good enough to count as my first earthquake. I still do not know any specifics, so I prayed for the people who may have been deeply affected near the epicenter (wherever that was). I hear that the many high rises under construction here will all have to have their cranes checked to make sure they are still secure...
Did anyone else get awakened by the earthquake? Where do you live?

Why are you reading my blog when you can be listening to the Holy Father addressing so many important issues?! Or following Patti Hanley's tweets minute by minute from the press corps?

Adios, Juan!

Today, Bl. James Alberione's birthday, is also the last day at work for our Chicago sales associate, Juan Villegas. After two years with Pauline, Juan is leaving us. Tomorrow he will enter the religious life of the Missionaries of the Word of God, a community founded in his native Mexico. A-Dios, Juan! We are delighted to have been part of your discernment as you shared our Pauline mission of evangelization. May you live a fully consecrated life in mission!

From Deb S.:
When you read this, can you please say a prayer for Tricia Lawrensen? Her story is here http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/2008/04/its-go.html ; She's a young Christian mother with cystic fibrosis who refused to abort her child even at the risk to her life. Her daughter's a micropreemie but doing great, and Tricia is being prepped RIGHT NOW for the double-lung transplant that will save her life. Please pass it on!

San Antonio Scenes

(I sure hope this works!) Back to Chicago tomorrow; meanwhile basking in sunshine (at least as much as comes through the windows while we work) and in a few escapes to the delightful Riverwalk and historic sites. I was fascinated to see a spot in the apse of the Cathedral has been named the "official center of San Antonio": all highway mile markers indicate the distance to this point, just yards from the tabernacle.