While I'm not blogging...

As the liturgical year winds down (or maybe gears up) for Advent, there's so much I'd love to be writing, but we are now in full-bore concert mode, with practices squeezed into the morning and mic checks and the like taking up a lot of the afternoon. So for the next two weeks, expect only sporadic posts from the Nunblogger!
To keep up with the choir (through pictures and posts), be sure to "like" us on Facebook! As one of the page admins, I am giving priority to the choir in the time I do have online (and I bless the Lord for smartphones!).

TOB Tuesday: When you just can't get what the documents are saying

I had an interesting conversation on Google Plus a few weeks ago. I had posted a link to one of Father Samuel Medley's "Love and Responsibility" videos, the one on contraception.

"Stephen" replied: "I read Humanae Vitae three times and did not find it persuasive. Pope Paul VI may be right, but he speaks in a language and in concepts that fail to resonate with modern man."

Here's what I posted:
Humanae Vitae was published in 1968; Love and Responsibility in 1960. They may be "true," but the philosophical approach just doesn't resonate, unless you are a philosopher (or very, very dedicated). Try reading some of Christopher West's books for an approach that is more directed to the contemporary situation. Start with "Good News for Love and Marriage."

Pope John Paul spent 5 years presenting his Theology of the Body, which is an extremely rich "worldview" approach that integrates human experience and the Bible (from Genesis to Revelation, with special attention to the Song of Songs and the Letter to the Ephesians). Clearly, it's not a quick read! Still, I highly recommend it as a resource you would be unlikely to exhaust in a lifetime.

Just some topics JP2 covers: "Naked without shame"; Adam's "original solitude"; my favorite--the "law of the Gift"--that no human being can find fulfillment outside of a sincere and complete gift of self.

JP2's most original contribution was, I think, seeing the fact of human sexual differentiation as a sign/sacrament of the Trinitarian life; that the image God is most fully expressed in the created, material world, in the "unity of the two."

He also spent a few months, at the end of it all, in parsing out Humanae Vitae in the light of his own biblical teachings, taking HV to a different level than was possible in 1968.



For more TOB reading, and some great testimonials, visit the Theology of the Body Institute! Then, when you're ready, take one of their courses--it will be a real retreat experience, believe me!

Feast Day today!

Father Alberione.
It's the feast (technically, a memorial) of Blessed James Alberione! "Who?" You might ask? Only  the priest Blessed John Paul II called "the first apostle of the New Evangelization." And as the first apostle of the New Evangelization, he spent his life raising up more apostles of a missionary movement that would prove "new in its ardor, new in its methods and new in its expression" (as JP2 put it in Haiti in 1983 when he introduced the phrase).

When I was first introduced to Alberione in postulancy, I really connected with what  he wrote in 1954, when he was telling the story of that New Year's Eve of 1900 when the Holy Spirit had so powerfully moved him to understand as if from within the cry of Jesus, "Come to me, all of you!" Writing in the third person, he said "It seemed to him that in the new century, generous souls would feel what he had felt, and that when united they would accomplish what [Blessed Joseph] Toniolo had said [at a conference

Alberione just attended]: 'Unite! If the enemy finds us alone, he will defeat us one by one'." I suppose that in the 1970's I, too, felt that our Catholic efforts in media were too weak, too isolated to be effective. Even Fulton Sheen was getting feeble! And here was this whole community (and, as I later learned, a whole family of congregations and associations) who existed to do just what I wanted to do: put the media at the service of the Church! (In the words of Pope Paul VI to Father Alberione, "You have given the Church new means with which to express herself.")
What a great day to watch the trailer for the upcoming documentary on Blessed James! (written by Sr. Helena!)

Our Pauline Cooperators' blog features this nifty interactive timeline of the life and works of Blessed James:

The Princess of Pinterest

One of the great things about "choir season" is spending two weeks catching up with my convent friends who are stationed in other parts of the country. One of these is Sister Julia. We have been friends since we met at a discernment retreat the summer I graduated from high school.

Not only did we end up in postulancy and novitiate together, we have a lot in common: we are both singers (Sr Julia's dad was a singer in the Metropolitan  Opera); both love to read; both love to cook. (And we even have New Orleans in common, now that Sr Julia has been stationed in my hometown for 12 years!)

But Sister Julia has artistic talents that range from making exquisite rosaries to illustrating children's books. And Sister Julia is a lot more "frilly" than I am. (Making the nickname "Princess," which her Dad gave his firstborn,more than appropriate.)


Well, Sister Julia's range of talents makes her the perfect person for you to follow on Pinterest. She has collected a mass of visual treasures, curated with her own excellent taste.

Here are some of the titles of her boards:

• Favorite People (saints and heroes like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Etty Hillesum and Flannery O'Connor)
• Puppies and other cuties
• Favorite Quotes (this is Sr Julia's specialty; she's been collecting quotes since novitiate, and now people are offering them curated on the Internet, complete with graphic design!)
• Feed me.
• Sister Julia's Bookshelf (the books she has)
• Books (the ones she wants to read)
• If I had a house...
• The One whom my heart loves (Jesus pictures!)
• Beautiful religious Art
• Places to go (in spirit if not in the flesh!)
• Great photos

So if you are already on Pinterest, take my recommendation and follow Sister Julia's pins. You can thank me later!

Greetings from New York!

The choir has gathered, and our first practice is tomorrow! (Our first concert will be Tuesday, I believe, so we have a lot ahead of us!)

Meanwhile, some scenes from our community Thanksgiving. We had five guests for the day. Two of them were named Patrick, and one Pat (Patricia). Since being named after St Patrick seemed to be a qualifier, we had to grant Juan a pass because he is a seminarian, and little Levant got an age exemption.

I had some real adventures with the turkey, starting from misreading the directions for the oven. (I was doing this without my glasses.) So I preheated the oven and went upstairs for something else. Sister Frances was completing the last touches on the table decor; I needed to remember to check in for today's flight.

Naturally, I wanted to catch at least some of the State Street Parade on the way to Mass, so I left a few minutes early. It was only after kneeling at Assumption Church for a decade of the rosary that I realized I had forgotten to ever put the turkey in the oven.

Never mind that once I finally got home and put the bird in place, the heat was too low to do much of anything to it. (I didn't realize that part until an hour and a half later, when I thought it was strange that there was no wonderful turkey aroma wafting through the house.)

Oh, and in the evening, putting the carefully made turkey soup in the freezer, I knocked over a quart of hot broth--all over the freezer, the pantry floor and my shoes.

The apple-stuffed pumpkin was more of a success than anything having to do with the turkey.



Give Thanks.

Missing Child at Christkindlmarket

Chicago's German Christmas market is one of the highlights of the "holiday" season. Vendors come from Germany, Austria and other nations (European and South American, mostly) with incredibly beautiful items: Hand-carved figurines, blown glass, lacework, candles, nesting dolls, marzipan treats... If the Alpine-style booths whet your appetite for something in keeping with the theme, you can order a plate of weiner schnitzel in the "food court." It is, after all, a German Christmas market (Christkindlmarket: Christ-Child Market).

Only this year, the Christ-Child appears to have gone missing.

Santa's not missing.

The tree's not missing.

It's only the Christ-Child who can't be found in the Christ-Child Market. Consider this a missing-child alert!

For years, a private organization sponsored an almost-life-sized nativity scene in Daley Plaza, along the border of the market. I walked all around Daley Plaza this afternoon, and the only nativity scenes I saw were the beautiful images for sale in the German and Austrian booths. 

What happened? Was the Nativity scene sponsor priced out of participation? Or were all religious groups politely excluded from this public forum? In previous years, a giant menorah and a kind of five-sided obelisk with descriptions of the Islamic "pillars" also appeared in the plaza around Christkindlmarket time.

It could very well be that Jesus has been disinvited to his own birthday party, perhaps under the banner of inclusivity. Rather than fight City Hall, maybe we need to recognize that this is the direction our society is moving in. That doesn't mean surrendering, though! It just means acknowledging that in the future, the only image of Christ will be us--or he will really not be present at all.

TOB Tuesday: What's new in Austin

Over the summer I shared an airport shuttle ride with a woman from the a special kind of pro-life center. The John Paul II Life Center is a kind of all-round women's health center, focusing not only on helping women through and beyond crisis pregnancies with a full range of obstetric care, but also treating infertility (with NaPro TECHNOLOGY, which is completely consistent with the Catholic Church's values). Women from adolescence to menopause come for routine gyn screenings. You know, women's health the way it is meant to be.

But wait, there's more! The center offers NFP training, birthing classes, even an infertility support group.

If you're in the Austin area, you probably already know about the fundraiser on December 5; if not, you might want to support what is hopefully only the first full-service center of its kind.

Thanksgiving Grace

A few years ago I prepared a Thanksgiving table grace for my community and decided to share it online. If you are looking for something to use for your feast, please feel free to download and copy freely!

Confounding! Trying to find the political box to put the Catholic Church in

We are a Church that is seemingly backwards thinking on social issues and far too forward thinking on issues of justice. We are seen as conservative fuddy-duddies on the one hand and are accused of being Marxist radicals on the other. ... As much as people try to wedge us in with the Republicans (or the Marxists), we aren’t going to be wearing elephant or hammer and sickle pins anytime soon. 

The above, from Sr Theresa Noble, one of our novices. You simply must read the whole piece about naming our Catholic political ideology.

Coming Soon: the Pope's newest book!

Mary's title as "Ark of the Covenant"
seems a fitting symbol for the
Feast of the Presentation.

It is touching that the Pope's book on the Infancy Narratives (the first chapters of Matthew and Luke, which give us our array of Christmas images) will be released on November 21, the feast of the Presentation of the child Mary.  Mary was the "dawn" announcing the rising Sun, so on a feast celebrating Mary's joyful consecration to God, we can begin to savor some new insights about the coming of her Son.

I preordered the Kindle edition of the book (even though I really prefer "real" books); I'll be reading it by the evening of the 21st. I'm delighted to have this on time for our Christmas concert trip! You can also preorder a real one. I'm sure delivery will be expeditious. Naturally, if you are near one of our Pauline centers, you can come in on release day and pick up a copy!

This book, even though it is the "prequel" to the other two Jesus of Nazareth books by Pope Benedict, is Volume 3.
Volume 1 covers the public ministry ("From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration")
Volume 2 looks at Holy Week ("From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection")

Shortcut thinking and the life of Savita Halappanavar (updated)

Yesterday there were a number of really valuable reflections from Catholic writers on the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar, the expectant mother from India who died of a raging infection while suffering a miscarriage. Could there be a more patent case for the liberalization of abortion laws in Ireland? Wouldn't her life have been spared if the medical staff in the Irish hospital had not been prevented by law from performing an abortion?

Unfortunately, it is just this pattern of thinking that sealed the young woman's fate. By now it is conventional wisdom that when a pregnant woman has a health crisis, it will be resolved quickly, easily and infallibly by terminating the pregnancy.  Of course, Catholics don't allow that.

This is "shortcut thinking" at its most tragic.

So now it is not the medical personnel who are on trial in the court of public opinion, it is the Catholic Church. Because, as one of the hospital staff is said to have explained, "This is a Catholic country."

But Catholic thought is a lot more nuanced than people assume. That is why Church documents on life issues use specific, almost indecipherably legalistic jargon like "procured abortion" or "direct abortion" when referring to an unspeakable evil that is willed and chosen.  Some 35 years ago, though, I learned (from an unimpeachably orthodox theology professor by the name of John Hardon, SJ) about the principle of double effect. In cases where this principle applies, even something as serious as the death of an unborn child can be tolerated, but never deliberately sought. (Explanations  here, here, and an application here in a specific case of conjoined twins.) Of course, there is a risk that shortcut thinking will enter in and attempt to place in the category of "double effect" circumstances that simply don't fit. But, as seen from the link above, double effect touches more than crises in pregnancy.

I have to admit to areas of short-cut thinking that abound in my own mind and heart. It's convenient, it's pithy, but it's not always adequate. How many people are left bewildered and betrayed, even cut off from the sacraments, not by Church teaching, but by shortcut thinking that is "more Catholic than the Pope"? Pope Benedict himself raised a lot of eyebrows (including my own) when he refused to repeat short-cut thinking about the use of condoms for limiting the spread of AIDS; the Church--despite assertions to the contrary in editorial pages--does not require politicians to vote against the "rape, incest and medical necessity" exceptions in abortion legislation; divorced or gay people are not ipso facto cut off from the life of the Church or unwelcome at Mass. The list could go on.  All examples of short-cut thinking brought up short by Church teaching.

Do you find yourself falling into shortcut thinking? How do you recognize it?


For a great deal of nuance from Catholic writers on this sad story, see:

• Fr. Dwight Longnecker: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/standingonmyhead/2012/11/savita-halappanavars-death.html
• The Anchoress: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/theanchoress/2012/11/15/savitas-tragic-death-could-have-been-avoided/ Elizabeth Scalia writes from personal experience, and raises really valid questions about gross medical negligence. In other words, the abortion laws are being scapegoated (another case of shortcut thinking!)
• Sam Rocha: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/samrocha/2012/11/the-scandalous-abortion-of-savita-halappanavar/#comment-360 
• Calah Alexander also hints at medical negligence and wonders what happened to the double effect: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/barefootandpregnant/2012/11/savitas-death-and-common-sense.html and in the comments, acknowledges: "The doctors’ misunderstanding of Catholic teaching is no one’s fault but the Church and it’s failure to catechize. And by extension, those who belong to her ranks." (Let's not continue that trend.)

The Kingdom in our midst

Today's Gospel is just two short paragraphs, but what a message! In the first paragraph, the Pharisees want a timeframe for the coming of God's Kingdom. Jesus has to break it to them (and to us): it's not a matter of "when" or "where."

Also not a matter of "here" or "there" will be the coming of the Son of Man--that coming that we might think of as the culmination of history, but could arguably be interpreted as the Resurrection itself. It happened in a specific "place" and "time," but transcended time and space and is still the reality in which "we live and more and have our being."

In other words, Jesus seems to be telling us not to think of the Kingdom of God as the pot of gold at the end of a theological rainbow: it is the atmosphere itself, shimmering with the presence of God!

Catholic Reality (on TV!)

For "Support a Catholic Speaker Month," I interviewed Jennifer Fulwiler, wife, mother, convert, author and now...reality TV subject. And we're not talking just some local cable access TV, or a Catholics-only limited audience special edition, but a show that even the Verizon network chose to make available for streaming to its customers.

God bless the folks at NET-NY Catholic TV for putting together this 3-part miniseries from the Fulwiler home. The series title reflects Jennifer's work on her current book project. Get more from Jennifer at her blog (which you should already be subscribed to)

Stay tuned for the premier on December 13 (and watch out for those scorpions)!

Year of Faith Resources (more!)

I just got back from the second session of a monthly downtown Scripture program organized by Chicago attorney Linda Weaver. (The first session was so successful that Linda got a grateful phone call from the Cardinal!) This evening's program was on the Gospel of Mark, with a presentation by the most enthusiastic Scripture scholar you ever will meet, Father James McIlhone. I filled my handout sheet with notes in all the blank space and even in between the lines of type on the page.

If you're in the Chicago area, it behooves you to schedule in a monthly trip to the Loop for this ongoing series that combines networking, nibbles and solid food for reflection. All the more since the December 11 presenter (on the Gospel of Matthew) will be Father Donald Senior,  a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission. As the date gets closer, you'll find the details and registration info here. (I was delighted to learn that one of the people who attended this evening learned about it from my radio broadcast on Friday!)

If you can't make it to Chicago, you can still follow an online program by Father McIlhone; in fact, you can follow more than one. I suggest his current series, "The Biblical Roots of the Mass," which just started in October. (It is the Archdiocesan "Year of Sunday Mass," which when you think about it, is another way of saying "Year of Faith.") Once you catch up on the first talks, you can just keep up as the nine-part series continues.  (He also offers a program on the Gospel of Luke and one on the Gospel of Mark--of which we got the tantalizing one-hour summary this evening.)

What other helpful online adult faith resources have you found worth recommending?

Chicago's saint

Stained glass window of Mother Cabrini
From St Josaphat Basilica, Milwaukee.

Today is the feast of Chicago's very own Mother Cabrini. Her story, from over 100 years ago, can seem a bit outdated, but it is more relevant than ever in our current American Catholic situation. Why? Because in the mid-1800's (just as today), a great percentage of Catholics in America were immigrants or the children of immigrants, and they were not exactly the darlings of the populace. Prejudice was acceptable when it had to do with recognized undesirables like Indians, Jews and Catholics ("Irish need not apply" for jobs in Boston). Even worse was the situation of those who came to the US from non-English speaking countries like Italy. From the "open door" policy that let in most of our ancestors without any restriction, quota systems were put in place to keep the numbers down from unfavored nations. (Those quotas still have a prominent place in US immigration law!)

It was the Pope himself who recognized the need for special pastoral concern for immigrants in the Americas, and who personally commissioned St. Frances Cabrini as a "missionary" to the Catholic immigrants, rather than to the unbaptized in China (where she had intended to go).

We need the spirit of Mother Cabrini perhaps more than ever today in this U.S. Catholic community which will only survive (demographically speaking) because of Hispanic immigrants--and even then, only if we help them to keep the faith: something which may involve, as it did in Mother Cabrini's time, offering material and social support to keep their families intact, and support for their spiritual life in the language those families speak. It would seem a no-brainer, except for something I heard Sunday at the Bishops/Bloggers meeting: Uber-blogger Rocco Palmo (who has more connections to the Vatican than most bishops) commented that he never gets such vitriolic comments and e-mail as when he posts in Spanish for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Accusations of being "un-American"; of being a "bad American" can only come from Catholics who prioritize their citizenship over their faith, or who practice the faith as a particular kind of ornament on their patriotism. They seem not to realize that the Catholic Church in the U.S. will be again a Church of immigrant families, or it will not exist at all within a generation, and they have forgotten what Paul said about the Body of Christ: that there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, Parthian, Sythian, slave or free, but all are one in Christ Jesus.

St. Frances Cabrini, pray for us and for the Catholic Church in the United States, your adopted homeland!

Sr Helena and "Imagine Sisters"

In case you missed the broadcast last week, our very own Sister Helena Burns and seminarian Dan Rogers were on EWTN's "Life on the Rock" Thursday, talking about the "Imagine Sisters" movement. Dan is one of the "founders" of this social media vocational promotion fellowship. Since the broadcast, they've gotten hundreds and hundreds of new Facebook "likes" and one lucky individual even won a copy of Sister Helena's book (which is ideal for discerners)!

I watched it live, and live-tweeted about it, too. Other than the terrible make-up job on Sr Helena ("Malibu Barbie meets Sister Act"), I am bursting with pride over how well she did. Hopefully, that's not the last time Sister Helena will be called to Irondale, AL

Bishops/Bloggers Update

CNS put out a video report of yesterday's assembly, too:

And here are reflections from some of the participants from the blogging end of things:

Kathy Schiffer: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/kathyschiffer/2012/11/look-out-catholic-bloggers-take-baltimore-by-storm/

Lisa Hendey: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/lisahendey/2012/11/usccb12-usccb-general-assembly-from-a-bloggers-perspective/

The Liturgical Catechist (wasn't there, but reflects on attendees' posts): http://liturgycatechesisshallkiss.blogspot.com/2012/11/finding-authentic-catholic-voice-on.html?m=1

Back from Baltimore!

I just got back from Chicago after spending the weekend with our sisters in Alexandria, VA. They graciously provided a car for me to get to Baltimore. (Little did I realize that entailed getting past the thousands of purple-clad fans who were streaming to the stadium!)  I went to take part in a conversation between bishops and bloggers, and many of the leading lights of Catholic blogdom were present.

The meeting was a prelude to the bishop's semi-annual meeting (which begins today, and which you can follow live on EWTN), and was meant to give the bishops a chance to get the first results of a study they had commissioned on Catholics and social media, and to meet with some enthusiastic, informed and dedicated Catholics who are involved in social media as Catholics, and to allow those same enthusiastic, informed and dedicated Catholics to meet the bishops.

Here's an interesting fact from the study: 31% of Catholics who use social media wish their pastor or bishop would blog. (Are you one of those? What kind of content would you actually follow, read and share?)

Here's another interesting bit of info: The two most trusted sources of information on church matters are (in this order) parish bulletins and diocesan newspapers. Even though print is losing "market share" to digital media every day, it still carries more weight, even with young adults. You know what else carries weight with young adults? Word of mouth. (I am guessing text messages and other personal digital messages are in that category, but I haven't read that part of the study yet.)

I think the most beautiful thing I heard all day was in answer to Brandon Vogt's question (the bishops had their "Questions for Bloggers" session, and then the bloggers had their "Questions for Bishops"). Vogt's question to the bishops was "What is it you fear the most about social media?" And a response came from someone on the USCCB staff (I was in the back and couldn't always understand who was speaking). Anyway, that person said, "The bishops want to respond to every single communication, and they can't figure out how to do that in a timely manner, so they get overwhelmed." I was moved by that: that the bishops want to be engaged with the people, but--as one bishop commented--it won't just be people in their diocese who respond to their blog posts or tweets. (That would be overwhelming.)

I was also reminded by bishops in rural areas that their parishes and parishioners don't have the high speed Internet access that seems so ubiquitous. Nope. In parts of Missouri (never mind Alaska!), the parishes don't even want images sent with email: it takes too long to download.

The whole meeting was live tweeted (although that got off to a rocky start when the hotel wifi kept fading away; the USCCB had to set up its own router!); the idea was that we would live tweet, and our tweets would be scrolling in real time on the smaller screen you can see in the front of the room. (I stayed in the back because my own back is still acting up and I kept squirming.) Finally, the USCCB set up its own router and we were on our way!

You can follow the action by going to twitter.com/search/%23bspblog  (as I type this, their assembly is in fully swing, and Bishop Sample of Marquette MI is live tweeting, using #usccb12 !) In fact, here you can follow my growing list of Catholic bishops on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nunblogger/catholic-bishops

Or you can read the Catholic News Service write-up (which even mentions yours truly): http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1204754.htm

New Mexico: Culinary Discoveries

 I think nothing of it when I see a restaurant supplying each table with the essential condiments of salt, pepper, maybe those sugar/sweetener packets and Tabasco sauce. It was at "Abuelita's" (Grandma's) in Bernalillo that I first encountered an interesting custom. In New Mexico they switch out the Tabasco for a big squeeze bottle of honey, which they use on their giant, flattish beignet (sopaipillas). One word: mmmmmm.

Another difference from New Orleans in matters culinary is the customary question a waitress will ask a casual diner. Back home it's "You want that dressed?" (Translation: "Do you want lettuce and tomato on your po' boy?")  In New Mexico they ask "Red or green?" And it is not about Christmas, but about the standard complement to any meal, chili (which is a thick sauce and not a hearty stew). The locals use "Christmas" as an adjective meaning "red and green chili, both."

I also learned a new word: calabacita. It is a vegetable enchilada (with diced squash, zucchini and onion) with the thinnest tortilla ever (practically a crepe). A great idea!

Times of contradiction

It's an exciting time to be a Catholic. I'm not sure that when I first really got into my faith (in high school) I knew that I was signing up for an adventure--I might have backed down, being more of a homebody. But here it is. 

36 years ago, a very reliable source told us what to look for:

"We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has gone through. I do not think that wide circles of the American society or wide circles of the Christian community realize this fully. We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, of the Gospel and the anti-Gospel. This confrontation lies within the plans of divine providence. It is a trial which the whole Church… must take up" (Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (Bl. JOHN PAUL II) to the American bishops in 1976, quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Nov. 9, 1978 (three weeks after his election as Pope).

1976 was the year Karol Wojtyla was invited by Pope Paul VI to preach the Lenten retreat for the Pope and his "community" (the "Papal household"). The retreat talks were published in book form under the title Sign of Contradiction, during the very time when Wojtyla would have been finishing up his "Theology of the Body" manuscript--the one that he would turn into papal talks when it seemed he could not publish it in book form ("Popes do not publish books," he was told). Theology of the Body, too, has its mention of spiritual warfare, even if not in the stark language Wojtyla used in speaking to the bishops of the US.

For over 1,000 years Christ has hardly been a "sign of contradiction" (Lk. 2) in the western world. The time is coming, Wojtyla seemed to say, when that "sign will be opposed" again by "the principalities and powers" (Eph. 6). Look again at those incredibly strong statements: the greatest confrontation in human history; the final confrontation; Church:anti-Church; Gospel: anti-Gospel.  Later Wojtyla, as Pope John Paul II, spoke of this confrontation in the language of the "Gospel of Life" and the "culture of death." It's hard to avoid the conclusion that the "confrontation" of which Wojtyla spoke has at its center the human person as the Image of the Trinitarian God. 

It's no good trying to salvage institutions or restore the order of the past to defend the living Image of God in each human being. The time for that has passed.  We have no lasting city here, so our concerns will never be fully addressed by political action, no matter how beneficent. Now it is time to "repent and believe the Gospel"; to make a decisive turn in our lives; to place ourselves and everything we have at God's disposition for the full working out of his "eternal plan in Christ" (Eph.1). John Paul the Great would repeat what he said the first time he appeared on the loggia at St. Peter's: "Do not be afraid!" Or, in the word of Julian of Norwich, "The worst has already happened, and it is already remedied." Jesus has already won the victory.


In case all this makes you really feel the need for a heavenly protector and guide, I had some of the St Michael bumper stickers printed up. You can pick them up here in the Chicago Pauline bookstore, or call (312) 346-4228 for a mail order. You can also order bumper stickers and car magnets online, but the bumper stickers are pretty expensive.

Post Election Reflections

I will say it up front. I am not happy at finding myself in a minority situation here in the United States. But this week's events made very clear that I am not in sync with most of my fellow citizens. Not that I was happy with the paltry choices I was given in the voting booth! I knew when I placed my vote that the best I could hope for was to buy just a little more time for what was left of the status quo.  Instead, people of faith who are pro-life, pro-natural marriage are put on notice: the civic order will not support our efforts; will not bless our institutions; will eventually not even respect our right to dissent.

Okay. At least we know where we stand, and can't pretend or procrastinate any more.

But there are some things we can and must do--since we cannot abdicate our call to evangelize the culture. Among the responses to the election results was a very wise observation on how the U.S. Bishop's document "Faithful Citizenship" has yet to be implemented. Not that many people haven't tried to apply the teachings of the document in this and previous elections. That's not the issue. In our haste to fix the system, we skipped over the principles the bishops laid down: the foundations for the formation of conscience, without which we are doomed to a cycle of short-term, inconclusive goals:

1. Desire to Embrace Goodness and Truth
2. The Study of Sacred Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church
3. Examine the Facts;  Background Information
4. Prayerful Reflection – trying to discern God’s Will

Even in our secularized and mildly hostile context, people are still open to the values embedded in those principles. They can really be principles; that is, the "first" things we establish, rather than the part we skip over in our haste to accomplish something.


Here are some other Catholic responses to the election results:

• Thomas McDonald acknowledges the many Catholics who won't get what the fuss is about: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/godandthemachine/2012/11/be-content-to-trust-in-the-lord/
• Lisa Hendey reminds us to "be the change" you wish to see--nobody's stopping you!: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/lisahendey/2012/11/after-the-election-be-the-change-you-desire/
• The Christophers point out that politics isn't the be-all and end-all; the culture itself is still open to conversion: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/christophers/2012/11/change-the-culture-change-the-world/
• A perspective from a Catholic "Conservative Leftist": it's hard-hitting and not entirely polite, but there are some valuable insights there. Somebody has to say these things! http://www.patheos.com/blogs/samrocha/2012/11/whats-left-of-the-left-did-the-grand-old-party-just-get-old/
• The Anchoress welcomes us all to "interesting times" (wait, wasn't that some kind of ancient curse?): http://www.patheos.com/blogs/theanchoress/2012/11/07/post-election-12-welcome-to-interesting-times/

Finally, here is the official letter from Cardinal Dolan as President of the US Bishops' Conference to President Obama.

Back in Chicago

Yes, there was a reason for my recent blog silence. Given the momentous week this has been for our country, you might think I would wax eloquent on civic matters. I will post some links tomorrow (God willing) to comments I think offer food for faithful thought, but for now, here's what was up with me:

I was in New Mexico for a few much anticipated days of vacation. The only technology I brought was my phone and a camera. Although I tried on day 2 to post something via the phone, it's just too cumbersome for more than tweeting (at least for my clumsy thumbs!). Besides, now I have stories (and pictures) galore to share. All I need now is...time!

Coronado ruins: site of a pueblo (Native village)
along the Rio Grande.

The trip was a treat from a friend who needed a companion for a trip she had long hoped to make. I was delighted that my superiors let me take this opportunity, especially because it meant spending a weekend in Albuquerque, where my good Ursuline friend Sr Sheila lives and works. I met Sister in 1991 when, as editor of My Friend magazine, I received a letter from her suggesting that I publish something in view of the 500th anniversary of the evangelization of the Americas, which was the Catholic take on the Columbus event. I had planned for something along those lines, and took advantage of Sr Sheila's letter to invite her to write the piece she had in mind. She wrote that and many other features for the magazine (which has now morphed into a component of the J-club Catholic bookfair program).

There are two towers the tram cars have to pass
through to complete the three mile trip to the peak.

Sister Sheila proved to be the consummate tour guide, picking us up from the airport and delivering us to the downtown hotel where our rooms had views of the Sandia Mountains. We visited the mountains the next day, taking the 3-mile aerial tram to get to the top. That was after the visit to the Coronado ruins, my introduction to American archaeology. We just approached the reconstructed "kiva" (underground ritual space) when the docent was giving a talk, so I climbed down the wood-and-rope ladder to learn more. The recreated space included wall paintings of the community's mythology of the four seasons combined with the four directions and the people's own history as a migratory tribe who settled into agriculture. You could tell which season was represented by the condition of the corn plant. And the all-important rain was easy to identify. (While we were there, in every Mass there was a prayer for rain to "quench the thirst of the ground.")

Tram workers at shift change have the option
of riding on top of the car 

Toward evening, we went to Old Town, the original city center of Albuquerque, with its plaza facing the Church of San Felipe. (We ducked into Church just as Mass was starting just to take a peek.) Since it was a Saturday and the day after the "Day of the Dead," there was an informal parade of people dressed in skeleton costumes.

It was something like an
encounter with the Addams Family

Some people went all out. The lady (on the left!) carried a
mask that had a mantilla that completely covered her head.

Guest posting

I got a request for a guest post for a Catholic web ministry site; the post was published today. It covers "social media guidelines" and Catholic organizations. What would you add, subtract, or emphasize?

Here you go! http://blog.ecatholicwebsites.com/social-media-guidelines/

News from Staten Island

"It was like living through Titanic, but on ground," said one survivor.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, there has been a lot of news about New Jersey, but only now is the news coming in from Staten Island. Maybe that's because President Obama hasn't been there yet. Or because it is still without power in so many areas. Today I found news in three different sources:

The Chicago Tribune had an online piece yesterday, and today another piece in the front section, highlighting some of the tragic deaths on the Island (like the ex-Marine dad, whose body was found embracing that of his 20-year-old son under the remains of their house).

Our sisters wrote us an e-mail update, letting us know which of our friends and collaborators they had been able to contact (and which they haven't), along with news of their soup-and-blanket ministry. (Two of the sisters in our Staten Island community grew up in New Orleans, so our convent was well prepared to meet the storm, with ice and water and "Sterno" stocked up.)

Finally, I found a link on Facebook telling the story of our great friends, Rich and Lois Nicotra. Our annual Christmas concert (the big one) is held in the ballroom of their hotel. That hotel is now in the news, with the Nicotras refusing to evict storm refugees from the hotel to make room for the marathon runners and tourists. (Seems the New York Marathon, which begins on Staten Island, will go on as scheduled this weekend.) Oh, and there's a big winter storm on the way.

I spent about three years on Staten Island, when our convent was in the "St George" district by the ferry terminal, and I get back there every Christmas for the concerts, so the place holds a lot of memories. God willing, I will be there again at Thanksgiving time, helping to raise people's spirits with the gift of music and the message of a child, born in the shelter of a stable when there was "no room in the inn." At least today for the people of Staten Island, there is room in the Inn!

A Thought for All Saints Day in the Year of Faith

St. _________________
(Your Name Here)

Each evening, we read a little snippet of our Founder's writings, a custom that originated, actually, with St. John Bosco, founder of the Salesians. For All Hallows Eve, we read:

By means of faith,
the light with which God knows himself becomes our light;
the wisdom of God becomes our wisdom;
his mind becomes our mind, and his life becomes our life.

If that's not sanctity, nothing is!
Happy Feast of All Saints; our own future feast day!