New Roman Missal, Day 1

Well, I managed a four out of five "and with you spirit" (and one really emphatic "and also with you") at my first Mass with the new missal.
How did you do?

Novena of Bl. James, Day 8

Reading:
Synod of Bishops 2012 document (Lineamenta), nn. 6, 13:

Through migration “our societies are experiencing an unprecedented encounter and mixing of cultures….In such a situation, the new evangelization can provide the opportunity no longer to perceive the Church's mission as a north-south or west-east dynamic but one which transcends the geographic confines of past missionary activity. Today, all five continents are fields of missionary activity. We must also seek to understand the sectors and places in life where faith is absent, not simply as a result of drifting from the faith but from never having encountered it. Transcending the geographic confines of former missionary activity means having the capacity to raise the question of God at every moment in the encounters created by the mixing and rebuilding of the fabric of society….”

“Migrants must not simply be evangelized but be trained themselves to be evangelizing agents.”

Bl. James writes:

"Today there is a greater and greater sense of confusion: the ills of scientism and pure technique. Each and every science, invention and discovery is a chapter in the great book of creation; each is a body of knowledge of God’s creative work; each must serve as a means for humans to reach God, as the eye, the tongue and the will are an aid to them. But just as it often happens that some fail to ask themselves: 'Where do I come from? Where am I going? Why am I alive?' so, too, with knowledge, inventions and discoveries. Delighting only in possessing them, they do not ask 'Who made them? Why do I have them? What are they for?'All things must serve human beings, with a view to Jesus Christ, to God, in accord with [the words of] Saint Paul: 'Omnia vestra sunt, vos autem Christi, Christus autem Dei' (Everything is yours and you are Christ's and Christ is God's).
Studied in depth, the sciences lead to Jesus Christ, who is the way to God; that is, they prepare [the way] to receive the revelation of Jesus Christ; who, as God, while creating things enlightened humans to know them, willed to reveal other truths not impressed in nature, in order to uplift humans; [and] thus prepare them to see God, welcomed and believed through revelation, if they have used their reason properly."

Prayer: O God, who raised up in  your Church Blessed James Alberione, priest, to proclaim your Son as the Way, the Truth and the Life through the many forms of communication, grant, we beseech you, that we may follow his example and devote ourselves to preaching the Gospel to all nations. Through Christ our Lord.

Changes in the Mass: Spread the Word!

Thanksgiving offers a great opportunity to casually mention to your extended family (all of whom may not be especially frequent Mass-goers) that the words of the Mass will be changing this weekend. It would be sad if the Christmas-and-Easter Catholics are so caught off-guard that they feel alienated for good from the Church.

Right-click to download a copy of the business card
or just click it to go to the download site.

And to help you in this endeavor, the sisters at the motherhouse have created a Mass app that doesn't just offer the new words: it offers basic explanations of key words throughout the new translation. Not to mention the inspirational quotes from spiritual authors like Blessed John Paul II.

iTunes provides a way for you to actually gift someone with an app, making it even easier to share the new translation with your wired relatives for only 99 cents a pop.

That's one thing you can do.

You could also download the Mass app poster, print it on sturdy paper (photo paper works best) and ask your pastor if it can be posted on a the parish bulletin boards. Or download the business card size to print and distribute freely!

Right-click to download a copy of the business card
or just click it to go to the download site.

Thanksgiving grace

Here's a printable Thanksgiving table grace in case you don't have anything particular planned...

Novena of Bl. James, Day 7

Reading:
Synod of Bishops 2012 document  (Lineamenta), n. 11:

“St. Paul the Apostle presents himself as an ‘apostle set apart for the Gospel of God’ (Rom 1:1; 1 Cor 1:17)…. In referring to the Gospel, we must not think of it only as a book or a set of teachings. The Gospel is much more; it is a living and efficacious Word, which accomplishes what it says. It is not so much a system of articles of faith and moral precepts, much less a political programme, but a person: Jesus Christ, the definitive Word of God, who became man. The Gospel is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, not only does the Gospel have Jesus Christ as its content; but even more, through the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ is also the promoter and the centre of its proclamation and transmission. Consequently, the goal of the transmission of the faith is the realization of a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, in the Spirit, thereby leading to an experiencing of his Father and our Father.”

Bl. James writes:

"Saint Paul: the saint of universality. [My] admiration and devotion began chiefly with the study of the Letter to the Romans and meditation on it. From then on, [Paul’s] personality, his holiness, his heart, his intimacy with Jesus, his contribution to dogmatic and moral teaching, his impact on Church organization and his zeal for all peoples – all became topics for meditation. [Paul] came across indeed as the Apostle, and thus every apostle and every apostolate could draw from him."

Prayer: O God, who raised up in  your Church Blessed James Alberione, priest, to proclaim your Son as the Way, the Truth and the Life through the many forms of communication, grant, we beseech you, that we may follow his example and devote ourselves to preaching the Gospel to all nations. Through Christ our Lord.

Novena of Bl. James, Day 6

Reading:

Synod of Bishops 2012 document (Lineamenta), n. 7:

“Reread the present moment in light of the Christian gift of hope. Relearning the meaning of hope leads Christians to discover what they can offer in their world of encounters, experiences and dialoguing with others, what they can share in the process and how they can better express this hope which leads to perseverance. The new sectors which call us into dialogue require turning a critical eye towards our manner of life, our thinking, our values and our means of communication. At the same time, the occasion must also serve as a self-evaluation of Christianity today, which must repeatedly learn to understand itself, beginning from its roots.”

Bl. James writes:

"Mary received a twofold communication: [a message] from the Angel Gabriel, who told her of her divine Motherhood as regards Jesus Christ, and the message of the crucified Jesus Christ, who told her of her universal motherhood as regards his mystical Body which is the Church.

We can give no greater wealth to this poor and proud world than Jesus Christ. Mary gave the world grace in Jesus Christ; she goes on offering him down the ages: in this role [as] universal Mediatrix of grace she is our mother.

The world needs Jesus Christ Way, Truth and Life. [Mary] gives him through apostles and their apostolates. She raises them up, trains them, assists them, and crowns them with good results and glory in heaven.

Everything must conclude on Sunday in one great 'Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus' in honor of the Blessed Trinity, [words] sung by the angels, as Jesus Christ’s program of life, apostolate and redemption; the Pauline lives in Christ."

Prayer: O God, who raised up in  your Church Blessed James Alberione, priest, to proclaim your Son as the Way, the Truth and the Life through the many forms of communication, grant, we beseech you, that we may follow his example and devote ourselves to preaching the Gospel to all nations. Through Christ our Lord.

Novena of Bl. James, Day 5

Reading:
Synod of Bishops 2012 document (Lineamenta), n. 13, 23:

“The synod fathers gave particular attention to proclaiming the Word of God to future generations. ‘Often we encounter in them a spontaneous openness to hearing the Word of God and a sincere desire to know Jesus....Concern for young people calls for courage and clarity in the message we proclaim…witnesses and teachers who can walk with them,.…[and] approaches to Christian initiation which, through listening to the Word, celebrating the Eucharist and the communal living of love and fellowship, will lead to a growth in faith.’”
“The first evangelization began on the day of Pentecost, when the Apostles, gathered together in prayer with the Mother of Christ, received the Holy Spirit. In this way, Mary, who according to the words of the Archangel is "full of grace", was present during apostolic evangelization and continues to be present in those places where the successors of the Apostles strive to proclaim the Gospel.”

Bl. James writes:

"In August 1907, he organized three Bible Sundays. He explained [the Bible] in a catechetical fashion and with catechetical applications. In those days the Gospel was rarely read and only by a few people, just as few people received Communion. There was a peculiar kind of conviction that the Gospel could not be given to the people, much less the Bible. The reading of the Gospel was almost the exclusive right of non-Catholics who gave it a private interpretation.

There was a threefold need:

• For the Gospel to enter every household together with the Catechism. The Gospel had to be interpreted according to the mind of the Church: thus [supplemented] with notes of the complete Catechism: faith, morals, worship. – Since people no longer attended Sunday Vespers there was a need to explain the Gospel every Sunday during Mass. This is what he did in the Cathedral of Alba, as soon as he was ordained. Many parishes then took up this custom. Out of this came the Gospel with catechetical notes.
• For the book of the Gospel to become the model and inspiration of every Catholic publication.
• For the Gospel to be honored and properly venerated. Preaching must be more Gospel-centered and Gospel-modeled: above all, [one must] live the Gospel in one’s mind, heart and actions."

Prayer: O God, who raised up in  your Church Blessed James Alberione, priest, to proclaim your Son as the Way, the Truth and the Life through the many forms of communication, grant, we beseech you, that we may follow his example and devote ourselves to preaching the Gospel to all nations. Through Christ our Lord.

Novena of Bl. James, Day 9

Reading (Pope Benedict's letter "Porta Fidei" announcing the "Year of Faith" that will open next October):

Through his love, Jesus Christ attracts to himself the people of every generation: in every age he convokes the Church, entrusting her with the proclamation of the Gospel by a mandate that is ever new. Today too, there is a need for stronger ecclesial commitment to new evangelization in order to rediscover the joy of believing and the enthusiasm for communicating the faith. In rediscovering his love day by day, the missionary commitment of believers attains force and vigour that can never fade away. Faith grows when it is lived as an experience of love received and when it is communicated as an experience of grace and joy. It makes us fruitful, because it expands our hearts in hope and enables us to bear life-giving witness: indeed, it opens the hearts and minds of those who listen to respond to the Lord’s invitation to adhere to his word and become his disciples. Believers, so Saint Augustine tells us, “strengthen themselves by believing”.

Bl. James writes (in the third person!)

His prayer lasted four hours after the High Mass: [it was] for the century to be born in Christ, in the Eucharist; for new apostles to reform the law, education, literature, the press, morals; for the Church to give fresh impetus to mission; for good use to be made of the new means of apostolate; for society to welcome the great teachings of Leo XIII’s encyclicals.... His mind and heart became so fixed on the Eucharist, the Gospel, the Pope, the new century, the new means, ... and the need for a new band of apostles, that from then on these things always dominated his thoughts, his prayer, his spiritual work and his yearnings. He felt an obligation to serve the Church, the women and men of the new age, and to work with others in an organized way.

Prayer: O God, who raised up in  your Church Blessed James Alberione, priest, to proclaim your Son as the Way, the Truth and the Life through the many forms of communication, grant, we beseech you, that we may follow his example and devote ourselves to preaching the Gospel to all nations. Through Christ our Lord.

Novena of Bl. James, Day 4

Reading:

Synod of Bishops 2012 document (Lineamenta), n. 15, 22:

“The agent for transmitting the faith is the entire Church which manifests itself in the local Churches, where proclamation, transmission and the lived experience of the Gospel are realized…. The Spirit gathers believers into communities that fervently live their faith, a faith which is nourished through listening to the teaching of the apostles, through the Eucharist and through the communities’ life of unselfish service to proclaiming the Kingdom of God…. In these communities, the faithful are gathered together by the preaching of the Gospel of Christ, and the celebration of the mystery of the Lord's Supper, so that ‘by the food and blood of the Lord's body the whole brotherhood may be joined together’.”

“The new evangelization, then, which is primarily a task to be done and a spiritual challenge, is the responsibility of all Christians who are in serious pursuit of holiness.”

Bl. James writes:
"A secret of success is to model oneself on God by living in Christ. Thus the notion of living and working in the Church and for the Church; of being wild olives grafted onto the living olive, the eucharistic Lord; of reflecting on and nourishing oneself with every word of the Gospel, in accord with the spirit of Saint Paul – [is] always to be crystal-clear."

Prayer: O God, who raised up in  your Church Blessed James Alberione, priest, to proclaim your Son as the Way, the Truth and the Life through the many forms of communication, grant, we beseech you, that we may follow his example and devote ourselves to preaching the Gospel to all nations. Through Christ our Lord.

Mother Cabrini National Shrine

The Tribune had an article yesterday (should have been on Nov. 13!) about the work being done on the National Shrine of St. Frances Cabrini, right here in Chicago. Not only have I never been there (from what I understand, it's been closed all these years), I have lived an entire decade in Chicago without knowing that there even was a National Shrine in the city. But next fall if all goes well, the shrine will be reopened.  That's something to look forward to! (Readers of this blog may recall my family boast that the French Quarter home of my great-great-grandfather was sold to Mother Cabrini and remained in the Sisters' community until about eight or nine years ago.)

Novena of Bl. James, Day 3

Reading:
“The first sector calling for the new evangelization is culture. In our times we find ourselves in an era of a profound secularism….in which God is completely or partially left out of life and human consciousness…. [This] can be seen in the daily lives of many Christians, who are oftentimes influenced, if not completely conditioned, by the culture of images with its models and opposing forces. Temptations to superficiality and self-centredness, arising from a predominating hedonistic and consumer-oriented mentality, are not easily overcome. The “death of God” announced decades ago by so many intellectuals has given way to an unproductive cult of the individual….
“At the same time, some regions of the world are showing signs of a promising religious reawakening.”

Bl. James writes: “You are salt, you are light, you are a city set on a hill...” with respect to the world. This is the thought of the Divine Master [cf. Mt 5:13-14]. First of all, give the teaching that saves. Imbue all thought and human knowledge with the Gospel. Don’t talk only about religion but talk about everything in a Christian way; in a way similar to a Catholic university which, if it is complete, has Theology, Philosophy, Arts, Medicine, Political Science, Economics, Natural Sciences, and so on, but everything given in a Christian way and in view of Catholicism. 

Prayer: O God, who raised up in  your Church Blessed James Alberione, priest, to proclaim your Son as the Way, the Truth and the Life through the many forms of communication, grant, we beseech you, that we may follow his example and devote ourselves to preaching the Gospel to all nations. Through Christ our Lord.

Novena of Bl. James, Day 2

Reading from the "Lineamenta" of the upcoming Synod of Bishops: The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith, n. 6:

“The new evangelization is a frame of mind, a courageous manner of acting and Christianity’s capacity to know how to read and interpret the new situations in human history which, in recent decades, have become the places to proclaim and witness to the Gospel….These sectors concern society, cultures, economics, civic life, and religion….

“…Our third great sector…[is] the means of social communications, which, while today providing great possibilities for the Church, also represents one of her greatest challenges….In this sector, the new evangelization means that Christians need to show boldness in these ‘new aeropaghi,’ where they live everyday, and find the means and approaches to ensure that the Church’s patrimony in education and knowledge, safeguarded by the Christian tradition, has a part to play in these ultra-modern places.”

From Bl. James:

"Publications for all categories of people, as well as all matters and events [are to be] judged in the light of the Gospel; its aspirations are those of the Heart of Jesus in the Mass; [all this] in the one apostolate “to make Jesus Christ known” [cf. Jn 17:3], to enlighten and to support every apostolate and good work, to take all peoples to its heart; to make the Church’s presence felt in every issue: a spirit of adaptation and understanding for all public and private needs, [for] the whole of worship, [for] law and the intermarriage of justice and charity."

Prayer: O God, who raised up in  your Church Blessed James Alberione, priest, to proclaim your Son as the Way, the Truth and the Life through the many forms of communication, grant, we beseech you, that we may follow his example and devote ourselves to preaching the Gospel to all nations. Through Christ our Lord.

Novena to Bl. James

Today begins the novena before the Feast of Bl. James Alberione (this year it falls on the 40th anniversary of his death). Sr Kathryn just sent us a prepared novena text that connects this media apostle's life with the work of the upcoming Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization: a great idea! Since I don't know if the novena appears on the "official" web site where I can link to it, I will just cut-and-paste it here for you day by day:

Day 1:
In John Paul II’s words, Blessed James Alberione is “the first apostle of the new evangelization.” Not only because he used modern media to proclaim the Gospel, but because, like Paul at the dawn of Christianity, he heralded in his person and his message the central call of the Gospel: total configuration with Christ the Master, a personal, life-changing, lifelong encounter with Christ. His reference was always the Gospel and he insisted that everyone of us read it in order to live it—a novelty at the turn of the last century. His lodestar was the primacy of Christ. His journey was a personal relationship with Christ and a burning desire that the whole world would join him on that journey.

This is the meaning of the new evangelization, outlined in the lineamenta for next year’s Synod of Bishops. We entrust to Bl. James our own desire to witness to the saving love and truth of Jesus Christ with what the lineamenta calls new “ardour, methods, and expression.”
In the words of Bl. James Alberione “The love for the Gospel is the sign and characteristic of persons whom God designates for great enterprises.”


Prayer: O God, who raised up in  your Church Blessed James Alberione, priest, to proclaim your Son as the Way, the Truth and the Life through the many forms of communication, grant, we beseech you, that we may follow his example and devote ourselves to preaching the Gospel to all nations. Through Christ our Lord.




Have you watched the Alberione film trailer yet? See the sidebar!

Faith that takes a stand

I noticed an interesting connection between the first reading (1 Maccabees) and the Gospel (Luke 19) today, even though on first glance, the characters in each story couldn't have seemed more different.
Back in the days of the Maccabees, history's first-ever religious persecution was unfolding. Naturally, the Jewish people (with their distinctive religious practices and their unwillingness to let the "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" be added to the local pantheon) were the targets. The goal of the persecution wasn't so much punishing the Jews, but getting each person to make some kind of concession to the local religion. A merely external act of conformity, that's all. Eat a little pork, burn a little incense. Nothing really drastic.
And in the case of old Eleazar, the officials bent the rules even more. They were so eager to have Eleazar's name on the roster, they were going to let him bring his own "pork" (no matter what animal it came from), so he could eat it publicly without actually breaking the kosher laws. It was a win-win situation!
In the Gospels, the story unfolds in a very different manner. The key character is not a law-abiding elder in the community, but a despised public sinner: the ignoble tax collector, Zacchaeus. He is not being called on to compromise his faith, but to claim it. And, just as in Eleazar's case, there is a crowd there, watching everything.
When Eleazar rejected the compromise he was offered, the crowd turned against him.
When Zacchaeus rejected the compromise he had been living with (for how long?), the crowd turned against Jesus!
In both cases, the protagonist did what no one expected. They acted on their faith at a great cost, proving themselves "children of Abraham," the "man of faith."
Isn't that manly faith just what our culture needs most?


Here's a contemporary call to men to take a stand in a crucial situation.

Another (Free!) Roman Missal Resource

The Diocese of Duluth, MN is offering a free e-book, entitled "Praying the Mass Anew." It gives an overview of the Mass in general as well as explaining the new translation. You can download it and print it as-is, or save it to your favorite e-reader! I have only scanned it so far, but it looks like a fine presentation of the Mass for adults; if you haven't really had any instruction on the Mass since your First Communion, you'd probably do well to download this one.
On the website, you'll also find the individual parts of the book, so you can read it online if you prefer. The Director of the diocesan Office of Worship even shared his PowerPoint presentations and notes, so you can study on your own--and a printable version of a "pew card" with the people's parts that you can take with you to Mass.
What a service! (Thanks, Father Hastings!)

Converted by Beauty

Today's magnificent first reading could almost be a prologue for the New Evangelization (in a way, it actually was the prologue to the first evangelization, the one conducted by Jesus himself, since the book of Wisdom was written within a century or so of the Incarnation).
The wise author sees that all creation is practically a self-portrait of God (God being a rather impressionistic artist, offering for the most part broad strokes of suggestion and only for the most exceptional cases giving a true image and likeness of himself). So all those people who say they find God in nature? They're absolutely right. God is "the original source of beauty," writes the Wise Man, and so admiration of nature's beauty should, by all counts, lead one rapidly to a personal knowledge of God. Ditto for experiences of nature's power and vastness.
How can we, like the author of Wisdom, regain the "way of beauty" as a valid approach to evangelization?

More on the Mass

I continue my lunchtime presentations on the new translation of the Mass today (12:15-12:45)... meanwhile, here is the incomparable Fr Barron's overview in less than 15 minutes:

Missal or Missalette, what will it be?

With the new translation of the Mass about to go into effect, daily Mass goers and others who let the Mass readings and prayers guide their daily meditation might be wondering if they should subscribe to a monthly missalette or invest in what used to be called a "hand missal" (as distinguished from the massive and ornate "altar missal"). Which way should you go?

Naturally, it depends on you. As someone who got my first "hand missal" as a gift when I entered the convent, I have found that using a hand missal has a distinct advantage over the subscriber model when it comes to actually learning how the liturgy works. When you are the one placing the ribbons in the particular "Week in Ordinary Time" and finding the special prayers for a Virgin Martyr (or, as we see today, for the Dedication of a Church), you get a detailed, hands-on awareness of the way the Church's prayer is put together, and how the feasts and seasons weave through the year. A hand missal is like a self-guided course in Liturgy, and one that you will continue to refresh year after year. It is a one-time investment that costs less than a one-year subscription missal.

But it's not very portable. As someone who travels frequently enough for it to matter, I keep my hand missal on my bedside stand, so I can prepare for Mass the evening before. But I also use a missalette. AND I have missal apps (the free ones) on the electronic devices I use.

There are excellent subscriber-style missalettes. Not simply the basic newsprint kind we have gotten so used to seeing in our pews, but magazine-format missalettes printed on missal paper, with the same red and black lettering you find in an altar missal. Until this summer, if you wanted something this elegant, you had only one choice, Magnificat. Originally published in France, it offers morning and evening prayer for each day, modeled on the Liturgy of the Hours, a daily meditation with some connection to the day's readings or feast, daily story of a saint, and (best of all among the "extras") a full-color reproduction of Christian art, with a detailed analysis. In all the years I have been using the Magnificat missalette for travel, my only beef has been with the lives of the saints: too many of the stories are extravagant tales built around an undated legend of dubious historical value. (But the art section more than made up for that.)

As of June, a new subscription missalette came on the scene. Give Us This Day is published by The Liturgical Press, so it has a Benedictine pedigree. It is also printed on missal paper (though not as fine as Magnificat's ultra-thin paper), and features the "liturgical" red and black type. Like Magnificat (and no doubt inspired by it--and ultimately by Vatican II's call that the faithful return to the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church), it offers Liturgy of the Hours' style morning and evening prayers. You will likewise find a daily meditation inspired by the readings and a daily inspirational biography. This is where this new kid on the block distinguishes itself from its predecessor: the biographical sketches are not only of saints and blesseds, but of outstanding 20th century and other more contemporary Christian witnesses. Overall, Give Us This Day is more up to date in its reflections (by authors like James Martin, SJ). Instead of offering an analysis of an art reproduction, Give Us This Day provides a weekly two-page commentary on a theme or person the liturgy presents. It also includes a calendar-style spread showing the distribution of feasts for the month.

And then there are the digital missals. Both Magnificat and Give Us This Day offer a digital-only subscription option with the cost of $14.99 for six months (Magnificat) or $14.95 for one year (Give Us This Day). Both appear to be offering web-access for a subscription fee. (It's not very clear on their websites.) Magnificat has an iPhone app which can be accessed by registered subscribers, or purchased month by month for $1.99.

Other virtual missals include iMissal Catholic (an app for iPod, iPad and Android devices), which offers the possibility of listening to the day's readings in audio, not just reading them on a screen. (The basic app includes standard Catholic prayers and daily meditations. You can also buy the add-in "Saint a Day" app.) The basic iMissal app is $4.99. The iBreviary app (free) is not only an electronic Breviary, but a complete liturgical prayerbook (er, app) which includes the Mass readings. And then the priest who brought you the iBreviary promised an iPad Altar Missal (which would include the prayers and antiphons, but not the readings for Mass).

Not all priests and professional liturgists are happy about missals. They fear that some people will keep their noses in the missal pages and not really listen fully as the readings are proclaimed and the Mass prayers are actually offered. (Faith, after all, "comes from hearing.") Unless you are hearing-impaired, you don't need to follow along in a book to participate in the liturgy. But having a missal (or missalette) of your own can be a great way to learn the liturgy and to grow in a genuinely liturgical spirituality.

Choir News

We just got the latest album, the one we were recording in August.

"Our Christmas Hope" is also the title/theme of this year's Christmas concert series. We'll be singing mostly in familiar territory, but there are some new places, too.

And just in time for all of this, Google opened the new "Google+" for organization and event pages, so I hurried to get a virtual foot in that door for our choir. The Facebook page is still where all the interactivity happens (after all, there are almost 8,000 fans of the choir on Facebook), but it's important, I think, to at least have a presence in the new arenas, too.  (If you're on G+, please follow the choir, and share the link!)

Speaking of following and sharing, a few more of my presentations on the changes in the Mass have been posted on the official Pauline website. (Just don't trust the one that says it's the "Introduction" yet...I went to check on that, and it's really the conclusion!)
Feel free to embed a video now and then on your blog, or to include a link in your email. After all, a majority of people who think of themselves as Catholic are completely unaware that these changes are coming. When, God willing, they go to Mass at Christmas, they may be unsettled enough to lose their tenuous connection with the Church on a permanent basis.(You'd be doing me and the Daughters a favor if you recommend me to your parish staff as a presenter on the Mass, especially after the changes are introduced and people have had a chance to take some of it in.)

The End is Near!

Well, the end of the liturgical year is near. I noticed that when the first reading at Mass shifted the other day--from the letter to the Romans to the book of Wisdom, which we will be hearing from for a little while before we shift to Maccabees. Wisdom and Maccabees just happen to be among the latest-written books of the Old Testament; from the time closest to the actual coming of Christ in his first Advent.
So as Advent draws near, the liturgical year (in this "Year 1" set of readings) mimics or reproduces for us the time in salvation history that led directly to the Incarnation!
That means that now is also the time to begin preparing your spiritual "program" for Advent. How will you make this a season of real expectation of the coming of Jesus into your life in a new and more meaningful way? Is there something cluttering the entrance of your heart that might impede Jesus' moving in fully and making himself quite at home? Or an unanswered invitation from the Lord?
Don't let Advent sneak up on you: the liturgical year itself is telling you that's it's coming soon!


Shameless reminder: The Daughters of St. Paul published a book of Advent reflections on the Gospel for each day; I contributed a couple of the meditations. You're still on time to order a copy!

Retreat update

It's rather refreshing to be here in the New England countryside in late autumn. (I had forgotten what the autumn trees smelled like!) The retreat house only got power restored the day before yesterday (power outages being a big part of the snowstorm), and the elevator was only repaired an hour or so before we arrived with an elderly retreatant who never would have managed the stairs. Talk about Providence!
The first conference today was on the theme of gratitude as an essential characteristic of ongoing conversion. The reading from Romans today offered such a fitting picture of Paul's grateful heart: at the close of that massive missive, he begins sending personal greetings to people he has met and worked with, beginning with the power couple, Prisca (Priscilla) and Aquila. Not only does he express his personal thanks to them for risking their necks (that's what the Greek really says!) for him; Paul says that "all the churches of the Gentiles owe them thanks." He goes down the long list, acknowledging various people and their contributions to the spread of the Gospel. Paul didn't take people for granted.
Then others in the room get in on the act, starting with Tertius, the scribe. You can almost hear them pipe in: the voice of the wealthy Gaius, whose house was large enough to host the community when it gathered to celebrate "the Lord's Supper"; Erastus, the aedile (treasurer)--who may have been at that very time involved in creating a public monument that archaeologists would dig up millennia later (finding his name and title inscribed on one of the stones); a man named "Quartus" (fourth), who--at least by Roman naming conventions--may very well have been Tertius' own brother (a firstborn Roman son receiving his father's formal name, and the subsequent sons simply being given numbers: Secundus, Tertius, Quartus, Quintus, Sixtus...).
Aren't they doing what Jesus urges in this morning's Gospel? Making friends by their use of this world's goods of skill (Tertius) or treasure (Gaius) or influence (Erastus) so that when they leave this world's goods, they won't be homeless, but welcomed "into eternal dwellings"?

That Wiley Steward--an Example?!

As I flew in to Boston today, I reflected on the (again) amazing connections between the first reading and the Gospel. In the Gospel for the day, Jesus gives us the scandalous example of the dishonest servant--and hints that we are falling short in not being more like this crafty fellow.
The servant had gotten a hint of his impending dismissal. So what did he do? Not look for another job. Instead, he found a way to kill the two proverbial birds in one clever move. By calling in the Master's debtors and letting them rewrite their IOU's, he was able to both "stick it to the man" and create a network of "friends" (Chicago style) who would reciprocate as needed.
Jesus presents this rather unsavory fellow to motivate his followers to show a little more creative gumption in seeking the Kingdom of God!
And that surpassing example of seeking the Kingdom of God demonstrates in the first reading just how that is done. But if you don't know the back story to this passage in Romans, you won't realize just how crafty Paul really is...
Paul's declarations can pass right by, just sounding like some kind of apostolic curriculum vitae: "I have completed the task of preaching the Gospel from Jerusalem to Illyrium... preaching only where the Name of Christ has never been heard before, and not building on a foundation established beforehand by someone else..."
That should sound familiar to readers of Paul's other letters, especially his first letter to the Corinthians. Because in that letter, Paul has to defend his ministry when other preachers followed in his tracks and insinuated that he wasn't all that much of an Apostle. Paul had to remind the Corinthians, just as he had the Galatians, that he had been the very first one to publicly preach the Gospel among them. Those others, those self-vaunting "super-apostles" were building on his work! And, he hinted ominously, "each one will have to answer for how he builds" on that one foundation, which he (wise architect that he was) made sure was Christ and Christ alone.
Okay, you say, so Paul is echoing something in an earlier letter. What's so clever about that?
Here's what's so clever: he was dictating that letter to the Romans in Corinth!! If they didn't hear it the first time, when he wrote it, they were going to hear it now viva voce as his secretary, Tertius, strove to keep up.
And up in heaven, Jesus was saying, "Attaboy, Paul! Don't let the children of darkness surpass my disciples in energy or initiative when it comes to the Kingdom!"

Alberione's Media Prayer for the Poor Souls

Since the whole month of November is dedicated, in the Church's devotional tradition, to the faithful departed (and since it was All Souls' Day just yesterday), I thought to share with you Bl. James Alberione's prayer for those who find themselves "on the other side" with some burden of sin related to their use of the media. Since this was written around 1950 (I'm guessing), his list of media technologies is rather incomplete by our standards, but you get the point.

Jesus, Divine Master,
I thank  you for having come down from heaven
to free us from so many evils
by your teachings, holiness and death.
I plead with you on behalf of the souls who are in Purgatory
on account of the press, films, radio and television.
I am confident that these souls, once freed from their suffering
and admitted into eternal glory,
will intercede with you on behalf of the modern world,
so that the many means you have granted us
for elevating this earthly life
may also be used as means of apostolate
and life everlasting.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace. Amen.

Purgatorial! (But what does that mean?)

Back in January, Pope Benedict gave one of his Wednesday talks (continuing his theme of significant women in the history of spirituality) on St. Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510), author of two books: "Treatise on Purgatory" and "Dialogues on the Soul and the Body". Her teachings on Purgatory make this Vatican Information Service summary appropriate for posting on All Souls' Day. Here's what the VIS posted on January 12:

Catherine received a good Christian education in the home before marrying at the age of sixteen, although her married life was not an easy one. At first she led a worldly existence which caused her a profound sense of emptiness and bitterness however, following a unique spiritual experience which made her aware of her own misery and defects and, at the same time, of the goodness of God, she decided to change her life and to begin a journey of purification and mystical communion with the Lord. "The place of her ascent to the mystical heights was the hospital of Pammatone, the largest in Genoa, of which she was director", said the Pope.

  "The period between her conversion and her death was not marked by extraordinary events", said the Holy Father, "but two elements characterised her entire life: on the one hand, mystical experience, profound union with God and, ... on the other, service to others, especially the most needy and abandoned".

  "We must never forget", he went on, "that the more we love God and remain constant in our prayers, the more we will truly manage to love those around us, because in each individual we will see the face of the Lord, Who loves without limit or distinction".

  Benedict XVI then went on to refer to the works of the saint, recalling how, "in her mystical experiences, Catherine never received specific revelations on Purgatory or on the souls being purified there". She did not see Purgatory "as a place of transit in the depths of the earth: it is not an exterior fire, but an interior fire". She did not use the hereafter as a basis "to recount the torments of purgatory and then show the way to purification and conversion; rather, she began from the interior experience of man on his journey towards eternity".

  Thus, for Catherine, "the soul is aware of God's immense love and perfect justice; as a consequence, it suffers for not having responded to that love perfectly, and it is precisely the love of God Himself which purifies the soul from the ravages of sin".

  This mystical saint from Genoa used an image typical of Dionysus the Areopagite: the thread of gold linking the human heart to God, said the Pope. "In this way the heart of man is inundated with the love of God, which becomes his only guide, the only driving force in his life. This situation of elevation towards God and abandonment to His will, as expressed in the image of the thread, is used by Catherine to express the action of divine light on the souls in Purgatory, a light which purifies and raises them towards the splendour of the dazzling rays of God".

  "In their experience of union with God, saints achieve so profound an 'understanding' of the divine mysteries, in which love and knowledge almost become one, that they can even help theologians in their studies", said the Pope.

  "St. Catherine's life teaches us that the more we love God and enter into intimate contact with Him through prayer, the more He makes Himself known and enflames our hearts with His love. By writing about Purgatory, the saint reminds us of a fundamental truth of the faith which becomes an invitation for us to pray for the dead, that they may achieve the blessed vision of God in the communion of the saints".

  And Benedict XVI concluded: "The saint's lifelong humble, faithful and generous service in the hospital of Pammatone is a shining example of charity towards everyone, and a special encouragement for women who make a fundamental contribution to society and the Church with their precious efforts, enriched by their sensitivity and the care they show towards the poorest and those most in need".

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A Blast from the Past about a Saintly Past

When I first came back from Italy in 2001, my superiors asked me to put my Pauline spirituality studies to work and prepare some material for the sisters about Father Alberione (he wasn't "Blessed" yet) and the history of the Pauline Family.
For your edification (and amazement at my ten-year-younger self), here is the first of the three classes I gave back in March 2001. The first sets the historic stage by presenting the Church, the Pope and the Centennial Jubilee..of 1900, that were so important in the life of the then-sixteen-year-old James Alberione: