On a mission from God

On a mission from God, and way cooler than the Blues Brothers:

"Ask yourselves, young people, about the love of Christ. Acknowledge His voice resounding in the temple of your heart. Return His bright and penetrating glance which opens the paths of your life to the horizons of the Church’s mission. It is a taxing mission, today more than ever, to teach men the truth about themselves, about their end, their destiny, and to show faithful souls the unspeakable riches of the love of Christ. Do not be afraid of the radicalness of His demands, because Jesus, who loved us first, is prepared to give Himself to you, as well as asking of you. If He asks much of you, it is because He knows you can give much."

— Pope John Paul II (The Meaning of Vocation)

A Poster Woman for the 40 Days for Life

40 Days for Life kicked off yesterday ago. If you haven't already, think about fasting, praying and getting involved with community outreach for this worthwhile pro-life movement.

In particular, think about adding certain politicians to your prayer list. Like U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who was publicly admonished by her bishop to refrain from communion because of her support for abortion. Sebelius has called the bishop's order "one of the most painful things I have ever experienced," according to a recent interview.

Hmm. Is that kind of like the pain an unborn child feels when she's ripped limb from limb, Kathleen?

(In that same interview, she also dodged the question of whether she has received the Eucharist in spite of that order. Kyrie eleison.)

Sebelius, should the health care reform bill pass, will have incredible power to determine what is health care. Barring an amendment, she will be the one to decide if American tax dollars fund abortion.

As Fr. Corapi likes to say, "You can't be Catholic and pro-choice. Get it right, once and for all!"

Pray for her change of heart.

Article: Is Catholic-Orthodox Unity in Sight?

From the National Catholic Register:

The Catholic Archbishop of Moscow has given a remarkably upbeat assessment of relations with the Orthodox Church, saying unity between Catholics and Orthodox could be achieved “within a few months.”

In an interview today in Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper, Archbishop Paolo Pezzi said the miracle of reunification “is possible, indeed it has never been so close.” The archbishop added that Catholic-Orthodox reunification, the end of the historic schism that has divided them for a millennium, and spiritual communion between the two churches “could happen soon, also within a few months.” [more]

If unification happens, there better be one heck of a party, complete with borscht, pierogis, pasta and dancing in the streets.

All you holy saints and angels, pray for us.

Call Me a Poorly-Educated Catholic, Then

From Fr. Richard McBrien (Kyrie eleison) in a recent National Catholic Reporter column:

The practice of eucharistic adoration began in the 12th century, when the Real Presence of Christ was widely rejected by heretics or misunderstood by poorly educated Catholics. The church saw eucharistic adoration as a way of reaffirming its faith in the Real Presence and of promoting renewed devotion to it.

However, as time went on, eucharistic devotions, including adoration, drifted further and further away from their liturgical grounding in the Mass itself.

Notwithstanding Pope Benedict XVI's personal endorsement of eucharistic adoration and the sporadic restoration of the practice in the archdiocese of Boston and elsewhere, it is difficult to speak favorably about the devotion today.

Now that most Catholics are literate and even well-educated, the Mass is in the language of the people (i.e, the vernacular), and its rituals are relatively easy to understand and follow, there is little or no need for extraneous eucharistic devotions. The Mass itself provides all that a Catholic needs sacramentally and spiritually.

Eucharistic adoration, perpetual or not, is a doctrinal, theological, and spiritual step backward, not forward.

Hmm. I guess I must be one of those "poorly educated Catholics." I used to have a weekly Adoration hour at my old parish. Oddly enough, those people who spent that time with the Lord were also the ones who always showed up for Mass on Sunday. Wonder if there's a connection there.

This line of thinking also reminds me of Bishop Kate Schori's infamous answers in a New York Times article:

How many members of the Episcopal Church are there in this country?

About 2.2 million. It used to be larger percentage wise, but Episcopalians tend to be better-educated and tend to reproduce at lower rates than some other denominations. Roman Catholics and Mormons both have theological reasons for producing lots of children.

Episcopalians aren’t interested in replenishing their ranks by having children?

No. It’s probably the opposite. We encourage people to pay attention to the stewardship of the earth and not use more than their portion.

I guess the good news is that us "poorly educated Catholics" will eventually have enough babies, take over the world and institute perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in every parish.

A Sesame Street Mass?

About a week ago, I blogged about the divisiveness of competing spiritualities at Mass (LifeTeen vs. Charismatic vs. Folk vs. Traditional Latin). Read it here.

Apparently, I missed one: Puppet Masses. I wish I was making this up.

From the bulletin at St. Agatha Parish, Milton, MA:

"Fr. Charlie and his friends from Puppetville have returned from their summer vacation! They are preparing for a Puppet Parable which will be on Sunday,September 20th at the 9:00am Family Mass. Join us for a special message as we begin our 6th season together!"

Yes, because the Mass is really about entertainment and having fun and not about falling on your knees in front of the God who died on the cross and loved us so much that He gives us His own Body and Blood in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.

*rolls eyes*

Maranantha!

A Prayer from a True Contemplative

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

- Thomas Merton

Catholics, Come Home!

The apostolate, Catholics Come Home, Inc. has teamed up with the Archdiocese of Chicago to run 6 weeks of these type of commercials starting December 10, as noted in a recent article.



Thank God for this apostolate. May it bear much fruit.

Ordination 2009 in New York City

Because this is nothing short of beautiful. Archbishop Dolan rocks.



Thank God for the gift of holy priests.

Check out this website for more information.