Fr. Barron: "I want Catholicism to be disturbing, unnerving..."

Another gem from Fr. Robert Barron, discussing his book, "The Strangest Way":

How not to report about the Pope

From the AP, as published in the New York Times:

Pope Keeps Spanish Steps Tradition in Rome

ROME (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday lamented what he described as a steady diet of news about evil in the world, saying it hardens hearts, as he prayed at the Spanish Steps in a Christmas season tradition. [Ok, so one would expect, from the headline and this lead, that we're going to learn about what this tradition means.]

Shoppers who jammed the narrow streets, including Via Condotti with its posh shops, paused from buying Christmas gifts to catch a glimpse of Benedict as he was driven in a glass-sided popemobile to the square below the Spanish Steps. [What are the Spanish Steps and why are they a Christmas season tradition?]

''Every day, through the newspapers, television, radio, evil is reported, repeated, amplified, making us used to horrible things, making us become insensitive, and, in some way, poisoning us,'' the pope said after kneeling in prayer before a statue of the Virgin Mary to mark the Dec. 8 Catholic feast day in her honor. [Which is...? Surely what feast day is pertinent information.]

''Hearts harden and thoughts darken,'' Benedict said.

He also complained that the mass media ''tend to make us feel like spectators, as if evil regards only others and certain things could never happen to us.''

Instead, Benedict said, ''we are all actors, and for better or worse, our behavior has an influence on others.''

An aide held a white umbrella over the 82-year-old pontiff in a drizzle at dusk. Benedict wore an ermine-trimmed, crimson cape to guard against the chill. [Ok, so let me get the straight: what the Pope wore is more of a story than what he was doing and why?]

Benedict's next major public holiday appointment is Christmas Eve Mass, which he will celebrate at 10 p.m. instead of the traditional starting hour of midnight in St. Peter's Basilica.

The announcement by the Vatican that the pope had agreed with his aides to move up the appointment by two hours raised some concern about the pontiff's health.

But Vatican officials have insisted his health is fine, and that Benedict had agreed with aides to have more time to rest before a noon appearance to crowds in St. Peter's Square on Christmas Day.

Although Benedict at the start of his papacy ventured that he would travel far less than his globe-trotting predecessor, John Paul II, did in his 26-year-long pontificate, the German-born theologian has been making several international and domestic trips each year.

On Tuesday, church officials announced that Benedict would make several Italian pilgrimages in 2010, including a visit in October to Sicily, where the local church has been speaking out against organized crime. Other trips include a visit in May to Turin to see the famed Shroud and a journey in July to the central town of Sulmona, the spiritual home of the 13th-century hermit pope, Celestine V, the only pontiff to have resigned. [I wonder how many journalists hope Pope Benedict also resigns. ;-) ]

At least two foreign trips have been announced for next year: separate pilgrimages to the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Cyprus. Britain and Fatima, Portugal, are possibilities for other trips.

So, the reporter failed to include:

1. What the Spanish Steps are
2. Why the Spanish Steps are a Christmas tradition and
3. What feast day is December 8th (the Immaculate Conception, just FYI, AP).

But he/she did remember to include a description of the pope's hat. Gee, thanks.

Either the writer is a frustrated fashionista, stuck reporting real news when he/she would rather be covering the catwalk or some editor seriously forgot everything she learned in journalism school when she approved this for publication.

Regardless, this is a case of serious religion reporter FAIL.

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 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

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.

Quote of the Day

"Every Consecrated Host is made to burn Itself up with love in a human heart."

- St. John Vianney, the Cure of Ars (and today's patron saint AND the inspiration for the Year of the Priest , which make him pretty awesome.)

A good thought to ponder

Few souls understand what God would accomplish in them if they were to abandon themselves unreservedly to Him and if they were to allow His grace to mold them accordingly.
-- St. Ignatius Loyola