From the Wall Street Journal:

Catholic young adults place great importance on marriage but have turned away from church-based ideas of how to make it work, according to a study released last week by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.

For Catholic members of the "millennial generation," men and women born between 1982 and 1989, marriage is not to be undertaken lightly. Some 82% of these teens and 20-somethings report that they believe marriage is a lifelong commitment, compared with only 56% of Catholics age 47 to 64 -- approximately their parents' generation. Moreover, 84% of these young Catholic adults report concern that "couples don't take marriage seriously enough when divorce is easily available." By comparison, only 67% of their parents' generation agree with this statement.

At the same time, only a quarter of these young adults report that their views about marriage have been formed in significant part by their faith. Indeed, a minority think of marriage as a "vocation" or a "calling from God," and nearly half of singles say it's not important that their future spouse be Catholic. Rather, the vast majority of 18- to 25-year-olds report that their spouse must be their "soul mate," and that falling out of love is an acceptable reason for divorce.

On questions about the importance of lifelong commitment in marriage, millennials are more in step with their pre-Vatican II-generation grandparents, but on questions about the influence of Catholic teachings on their views about marriage, young adults agree with their boomer parents.

...

The Georgetown study shows that some 69% of Catholics age 18 to 25 believe "marriage is whatever two people want it to be," while just over half of their parents' and grandparents' generation agreed with that statement. This comes as no surprise to researchers following American family trends. With looser social norms dictating appropriate behaviors for husbands and wives, each couple -- regardless of religious affiliation -- must settle on their own rules of conduct, argues Stephanie Coontz, author of "Marriage, a History." But when more issues must be negotiated, she notes, there are more points where negotiations can break down.

While research on other Christian denominations shows similar individualized attitudes about the role of faith in everyday life, the generational differences are more pronounced among Catholics. "Catholic teenagers are the most distanced from the church authorities," reports Mr. Smith, a fact he attributes to "largely ineffective" modern Catholic religious education.

Vocation education... educators: when was the last time you taught it? Well, here's a brand-new place to get ideas. I'll post some of my own ideas soon.

This is really sad, but I see it everyday both at school and in the Confirmation program. Via Curt Jester:

My daughter came tumbling out of her religious education class recently, shouting, "Mom, I want to go to Washington; they're killing babies!"

Next to her my 5-year-old chimed in, jumping up and down: "I want to go, I want to go!"

Dread flooded my stomach and chest; the abortion debate had reached my doorstop.

I knew it was coming. Years before when it came time to enroll our oldest daughter in CCD - Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, religious education for Catholics -- I thought of the conflicts that lay ahead.

In CCD she'd be taught things my husband and I didn't believe and, quite frankly, things we didn't want her to believe.

We don't believe that homosexuality is a disorder, we don't believe the use of contraception is wrong and we don't believe that having an abortion is a sin, or evil.

But the Catholic Church is home for me, and it is more than the sum of the doctrine I ignore, more than the sum of its scandals and newspaper headlines.

It has something important to teach its members - and my children -- about right and wrong, about love and commitment, about social justice and compassion.

And I pledged at my wedding and their baptism that any children would be raised Catholic.
" Have faith," I said to myself when I signed our oldest daughter up for CCD four years ago.

"You'll hear a lot more about it in the coming years, and you'll have to make your own decision about what you believe," I said, "but what's important is that you know people have different opinions. The Church believes one thing; Mom and Dad believe another."

...A few days after that CCD lesson my husband and I sat down with our daughter and her science book and turned to the chapter on cells and cell division. We talked about when life begins according to science, and according to the church and talked some more about what this means in terms of an abortion.

She got bored after a while and squirmed away.

But she'll be back and we'll continue the discussion adding more of the missing pieces as she grows old enough to hear them.

And then, it's her choice.

There's more at the source, including a miscarriage that the author experienced. What a way to confuse a fourth grader though.

From the Eminent Blog:

This year St. Patrick’s Day falls during Holy Week, and we are not allowed to have the liturgical celebration of during that week. An option would have been to move the feast; however, the official calendar of the Church has already moved St. Joseph’s Day to Saturday, and I was loath to move St. Patrick’s Day to a Friday in Lent.

So, what we are going to do in the archdiocese is have a Mass on Monday, March 17, the civil holiday. We will celebrate the liturgical Mass, with its readings and prayers, of the Monday of Holy Week, but at the Mass we will reflect on the life and ministry of St. Patrick. As usual, we will bless and distribute the shamrocks, which St. Patrick used so effectively — as a symbol of the cross and as a symbol for the Trinity.

In Massachusetts, where we have the largest percentage of Irish-Americans of any state in the country, St. Patrick’s Day is always a very important celebration — both religiously and civically. As a matter of fact, we are probably the only place in the United States where St. Patrick’s Day is a civil holiday. Of course, this is done by a certain subterfuge. They call it Evacuation Day, but they were looking for an excuse to have St. Patrick’s Day as a civil holiday.

Just like every year, we hope to have a nice group of priests and laity joining with us as we honor St. Patrick. We expect people to come to the cathedral wearing green in honor of the patron saint of the archdiocese. And I always remind people that they should celebrate his feast day whether they are Irish or not. After all, St. Patrick was not Irish.

We want to remember St. Patrick as a great missionary. Unfortunately, for the secular world the celebration and the drinking are what people associate with the feast, but we who are believers and are Catholics, need to be reminded of the missionary nature of the Church.

Boston has contributed much to the Mission Ad Gentes, and not just through the 300 priests who have gone to South America with the Missionary Society of St. James. There have been a countless number of men and women religious who have served all over the world, and right now many are still serving all over the world. Even the founders of Maryknoll came out of Boston. We have in our midst a retired Maryknoll bishop from Korea, Bishop William McNaughton. His presence in the archdiocese is just another reminder of this great connection.

Additionally, at one of our recent Presbyteral Council meetings our new head of the Propagation of the Faith, Father Thomas Kopp, announced that Boston is one of the dioceses that give the most to the propagation in the world. He said that we give more than the entire country of England. So I said to him as an Irishman who lives in Boston, “I hope you were not surprised by that.” Also, the archdiocese is one of the largest contributors to the Latin American collection the U.S. Bishops organize every year.

I know that Father Kopp is anxious to promote the materials from the Holy Childhood Association for elementary school children. When I was growing up, we would get little mite boxes during Lent to “buy pagan babies with.” We laugh about it now, but the money was used to save orphans. Now the Holy Childhood’s efforts are much more sophisticated and put children in touch with children in the third world. This helps our children to be aware of the situation, the needs and the gifts of those children in mission countries. Just as that was part of my generation’s mission formation, I would like to see the Holy Childhood be more of a force in the religious formation of our Catholic children today.

The emphasis that Cardinal Richard Cushing gave to the Mission Ad Gentes and the mission appeals that are done, by many of our St. James Society men and others has kept people’s mission conscience very much alive.

Sometimes we can become parochial in our pew, but our mission is part of the universal Church, and St. Patrick was the great missionary. We joyfully and gratefully honor his memory and invoke his blessing and intercession for the Archdiocese of Boston as we celebrate our 200th anniversary here as a local church.

I'm getting so sick of these stories. My morbid curiosity compels me to read them. I'm not going to link to them or quote them. I just want to make a general comment.

Saint Patrick's Day has turned into something truly unfortunate. It is not a celebration but an excuse for people to get drunk. It has become a secular holiday to celebrate Irish heritage (or those who are adopted Irish for the day) and has lost its connection to Saint Patrick.

I have no problem with the reasonable drinking, the celebration, the ethnic pride, and those sorts of things. But it's become a little ridiculous. For many, it's an excuse to relegate their faith to a spot behind this "saint day." I love the dispensation given when the 17th falls on a Friday of Lent. Why do you have to have corned beef and cabbage on the 17th? Why not just have it on the 18th? What's the difference? People will often use tradition as an excuse, but they're the first to ridicule tradition in many other areas of their lives (it's tradition not to live together before marriage, you know).

It's the same thing with this year. It will only happen once in our lifetime. Why not just have everything a couple days early? What's the big deal? I think Holy Week is far more important than wearing green and getting drunk. One person was quoted in a news report saying, "I was born Irish first, then I was baptized Catholic." That says a lot. I think Our Lord will be more interested in how we have lived out our Baptism than in our ethnicity!

Of course, these are the same people who get a day off on Good Friday, the day Our Lord died for us and spend the day shopping, eating, sleeping in, and hanging out. The sacredness of time means nothing to them. Holy Week should be a time set apart from the year. A time to focus on the great mysteries of our faith, the same mysteries that have redeemed us. I think it's terribly short-sighted to put a mere celebration of culture ahead of the Paschal Mystery.

What is the one complaint you hear from average Joe/Jane Catholics? Homilies suck. As a lay Catholic I must agree. Now, of course, you'll never please everybody, but frankly, the preaching is so bad right now, most people just don't even bother to pay attention, choosing instead to read the bulletin, read the missalette, or think about something else.

If it was up to me, I would require every priest to take a course in basic education. Frankly, it's opened my eyes to so many things. If they did take the course, they would learn that people retain about 5-10% of things they hear in a lecture (that's if they're even listening). Now I'm not advocating the "tell a story/entertain/make them roll in the aisles" sort of preaching. But there are simple techniques to make homilies more interesting. These ideas are merely off the top of my head and are not an exhaustive list.

First of all, command our attention. This doesn't mean loud necessarily, but it does mean that homilists should speak in a way that says, "I'm here and I'm saying something you want to know about." Going really fast says, "I've gotta rush to get this over with." Going too slow just puts people to sleep. You need to find a balance in both speed and volume.

Second, tell me something I've never heard before. Tell me that God loves me but don't say "God loves you." Be a little creative here.

Third, you can be funny without being entertaining. For example, when I'm teaching something technical to the kids I always say that they can bring this little theological tid-bit out the next time they're on a date. Now that, of course, is preposterous. They always say something like, "Oh yeah she'll love that." To which I respond, "Well, if she's not willing to talk serious theology she's not the girl for you." It doesn't get a laugh, but it gets a chuckle and it gets their attention. They usually come in the next day saying that they went out on a date last night and brought up the Greek word "sphragis." Now didn't I just get them to memorize a Greek word without them knowing it? Yes. Yes, I did.

Fourth, be choosy. I don't need fourteen quotes (I know Father keeps up with his reading). I don't need every possible theological and spiritual insight that these readings have to offer. Frankly, I'm busy so I really only need one! Why do homilists insist on speaking for fifteen minutes offering a dozen different interpretations and ideas?? Here's a clue: no one cares! Pick one thing or maybe two, explain them, review them, then SIT DOWN. Those two things are all I'm going to remember anyway so why not just say them then finish?

Fifth, it's nice to know that you're "like me" but it's also nice to know you're holy and that you pray. Your homily should come from within. People recognize sincerity, but they can spot insincerity from a mile away. Preach like you mean it. Don't preach simplicity of life as you drive around in a brand new car and park at the rectory which could double as the Four Seasons. Don't preach about good works then sit at the coffee and donuts social and gossip and curse like an old lady. You want me to believe it then live it and preach about it with some conviction. In my home diocese, the priests fight against casino gambling, but you'd be hard-pressed to walk into one of the out-of-state casinos without seeing at least one priest from the diocese in a T-shirt and jeans sitting at a slot machine. Hey, remember the saints? Peter converted 3,000 in one homily to say nothing of John Chrysostom, John Vianney, and Padre Pio. I cried when I heard John Paul II preach. I cry at my local parishes now but for a totally different reason!

Last, be organized. I love listening to the beginning of a homily then catching up at the end and having no clue how we got there or what the middle was about. I'm fairly educated and sharp. If I can't make the connection, chances are the others can't either.

In closing, the clergy need to be there for their people. But honestly, how often do we need you? When we really see you and have to deal with you is at Sunday Mass. Think back over the week of the average parish priest. How many individuals does he personally minister to compared to the number of registered parishioners he has? At Mass you see hundreds all in one shot and you proceed to bore them to tears.

The sad thing is that most homilists think they're good. Just because you hear from a few people that they enjoyed it doesn't mean they learned anything. Remember that education course I mentioned? When you write your homily, think about objectives like teachers do. What do I want the people to remember? What do I want them to learn? Once you know the answers to these questions, write your homily accordingly. Then to test, ask people what they liked best and if you have any friends in the congregation, ask them about what you wanted people to learn and remember. If they didn't learn it or remember it, go back to the drawing board. It's not a bad idea to invite friends and family to Mass to test yourself!

Homilists: If you say that preaching is important to you, aren't these steps worth it? Fellow lay Catholics: Don't you want better homilies? I'm sorry if this post is a bit harsh, but even when I was sitting in a homiletics course in the seminary, the homilies were dreadfully boring and the professor thought they were just fantastic. I would always think of the people I knew as "average Catholics" and I would reflect on what they might remember from the homily or if they would even listen to it. I'm sick of homilists saying that the feedback was good. That's nice. So did they learn something? Did they grow? Did they take something that they can pray about during the week? No? Then to hell with the positive feedback.

Bottom line: pick an objective and work toward it. Then, please sit down.

What precipitated this post? From Rocco:

Levada noted that the trend to eliminate catechetical homilies after Vatican II was not really in the spirit of "Dei Verbum," the council document on divine revelation.

He said the Scripture commentary aspect of the homily was emphasized because it had been so lacking prior to the council.

The cardinal, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said the church should now seek to integrate these two aspects.

...


The seminar looked at the problem faced by priests who feel they must choose between preaching on the Scriptures or preaching on the church's doctrines and moral teachings.

"Dei Verbum," as noted at the seminar, does not see the two as mutually exclusive, but rather as two components that can work well together.

"We have to find ways to improve homilies so that they are at one and the same time genuinely exegetical -- genuinely interpretative of Scripture -- and genuinely catechetical," said another speaker, John Cavadini, chair of the theology department at Notre Dame.

He gave a talk on how the Catechism of the Catholic Church can be a resource to priests by helping to identify Scripture passages related to certain doctrinal or catechetical themes.

According to Cavadini, this integration of Scripture and doctrine should not be so difficult.

"All of the major doctrines of the Catholic faith were articulated in defense of Scripture and with scriptural language, while the canon of Scripture itself -- what books were chosen and what books preserved -- was a function of doctrinal considerations," he said.

In other words, "Scripture itself has a doctrinal shape, and doctrine has a scriptural context," Cavadini said.

Preaching his homily on the final afternoon of the seminar, Cardinal Levada recalled how God called upon Jonah to save the people of Nineveh by preaching his word.

"If Jonah could be eloquent under those circumstances," said Cardinal Levada of the reluctant prophet, "how much more eloquent, brother bishops, can you and I be? An eloquence not from our own skills, but from the Spirit teaching us."

He continued, "Only Jesus can lead us in the Spirit and make us sharers in the Holy Trinity. It's not what we say or do, but the person of the risen Christ, present in the word and the sacrament. This is how we are drawn into communion with God."

Diogenes has a column by George Weigel calling on the Jesuits to account for their fidelity to the Church. I'm not normally so reactionary, but I think he makes a good point. If you want to say that you are thinking with the Church and that you are obedient to the Holy Father (according to the "Fourth Vow"), it's either put up or shut up.

From Catholic News Service:

In the simplest of the rites associated with becoming a "prince of the church," Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston took possession of his titular church in Rome.

The cardinal was met at the door of Rome's St. Eusebius Church Feb. 20 by the pastor carrying a crucifix, an altar girl carrying holy water and a priest from the Vatican's office for liturgical ceremonies.

Although the ceremony was simple, it began with a bit of fluttering because the cardinal arrived early. He apologized, explaining that the driver assigned to him was just too good at dealing with Rome's traffic.

After kissing the crucifix, Cardinal DiNardo entered the church, sprinkling with holy water the 150 people who completely filled the little 13th-century building.

The parish youth choir, accompanied by guitars, led the singing as parishioners welcomed the cardinal. Seminarians from the Pontifical North American College in Rome, students from the Rome campus of the University of Dallas and employees of the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See were also in attendance. Bishop Kevin W. Vann of Fort Worth and several U.S. priests working or studying in Rome concelebrated the evening Mass with the cardinal.

...

In brief remarks in English during the Mass he celebrated in Italian, the cardinal said, "Isn't it a real punch for a cardinal to have a Gospel text where the two disciples ask for power and the others then get angry because they hadn't thought of it first?"

The Gospel speaks to all Christians, not just cardinals, he said, and reminds them that following Jesus means being the servant of all.

In his Italian-language homily, the cardinal told parishioners that by taking possession of the church "I celebrate Mass this evening as a member of the clergy of Rome," invoking the ancient tradition whereby the cardinals were priests of the city.

"With all my heart I renew my fidelity to the Catholic Church and my full union with the Petrine see as a member of the sacred college," he told them.

I was browsing my Facebook just now and saw a friend of mine had joined a Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince group so I clicked and realized that the movie's release date is set for November 21, 2008. The group incidentally has over 108,000 members!

So I went over to the Internet Movie Database's page and found some more information. One thing I did not like:

J.K. Rowling read through the script for this film, and found a line where Dumbledore mentions a girl he had a crush on when he was younger. After reading it, she informed the filmmakers that Dumbledore is in fact gay, and that his only romantic infatuation was with the wizard Grindelwald, whom he later had to defeat in a wizard duel. She later made this information public while promoting the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2010).

Other trivia items here

So Night Two of the Mission went off without a hitch.

As far as the music goes, I tried to get a better look tonight. The religious sister who was playing, was playing an electronic organ with synthesizer-type sounds. Very stringy! When I play for musical theater performances on a keyboard sometimes the music director asks for those very same sounds to substitute for the lack of string players. Well, let's just say it sounds a lot better in a performance hall than it does in church! She once again played right through the Benediction and Divine Praises. Selections weren't any better. Father is playing the guitar while Sister's on the "organ" and it was all Taize again. I don't mind Taize, I really don't, but for this crowd, of which I am easily one of the five youngest people in the room, why can't we just do something everyone knows? It seems like the perfect situation for the old standards.

Father's talk was very good. It was on the theological virtue of hope. While it wasn't as good as last night's talk on the reasonableness of faith (a la Aquinas), it was well done.

Brian made a comment in the other post about the music (he is the former music director at Holy Ghost). I hope this information sheds more light on what is actually being played.

My students would get such a kick out of this... I will be sure to share it with them after vacation. They are fascinated by Cardinals in the Church, especially checking my cardinal countdown and commenting on it pretty regularly.

As for me, I'm heading to Holy Ghost for tonight's installment.

Last night I went to the first night of a Lenten Mission at Holy Ghost Church in Tiverton, RI. I'm home visiting my parents for a few days and I timed my visit to coincide with this mission. It is being preached by Father Peter John Cameron, O.P., the editor-in-chief of Magnificat. It is three nights, each night's talk is on a different theological virtue.

So the crowd was pretty light last night and Father spoke on faith. It ended with Exposition and Benediction. The talk was good, though it was about an hour long. The only thing I didn't like is that I had several good insights, but he spoke so long, I forgot about the ones toward the beginning!

Now lest it be a perfect night: when he exposed the Blessed Sacrament, there was no O Salutaris, but Taize's Adoramus Te, Domine, which I do like, but here's the rub: synthesizer!! You should have heard it! Not only did they play these disgusting sounds, but they did it straight through the actual Benediction and Divine Praises!! It was awful. Instead of Holy God at the end, we got a Magnificat. It was distracting and it was truly unfortunate. What a way to ruin the night. I can only hope tonight is better.

Aren't these two inspiring!?! If I read these two morons to my classes they would be horrified. They are so full of pride! Do these two need a savior? I think not because they're too smart to need one. Thank God they can save me from my ignorance!

First, Father Greeley on the Transfiguration:

The story of the Transfiguration of Jesus in today's gospel in one of the stranger stories in any of the Gospels. Evidently Jesus had a powerful "religious experience" at some point in his public life, an experience which had a profound effect on him and on the apostles who were with him. As the story of this experience was related among the early Christians it took on a heavy overlay of theological symbolism. In the context of St. Matthew's Gospel it becomes a turning point in Jesus' life, an experience in which he saw that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer and die while he was there. Since Jesus was human he was fated to die just as all of us are fated to die. In his death, however, there would be something more. Since God was present in Jesus in a special way, God would also go down into the valley of death to show us how great was his love for us, to assure us that He would be with us at the time of our own deaths, and how all of us should face death. The manner of Jesus' death was not fated. He could have declined to go to Jerusalem without sin. Yet he came to see that he had to go there and so he did.

Strange stories, powerful religious experiences, God present in Jesus in a special way... wow! That just makes me want to change my life! What an inspiration!

The second is James Carroll, the disgruntled former priest who likes to conveniently forget facts when he writes about the Church. You should read this gem from yesterday's Boston Globe:

The Latin Mass is at issue again, with the Vatican having last week formally reauthorized the so-called Tridentine Mass, a Latin ritual the rubrics of which were set by the Council of Trent in the 16th century. Any open-minded person can affirm a diversity of practices in a worldwide organization like the Catholic Church, and, as the classic musical compositions show, there was a stark beauty to the ancient liturgy. But more is at stake in this return of Latin than mere aesthetics. Those pushing for a reauthorization of the Tridentine Mass want to roll back the whole Catholic reform, from nascent democracy to the theological affirmation of Judaism.

The first significant vote that the fathers of the reforming Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) took concerned the use of Latin. The Council of Trent had emphasized Latin precisely because the Protestants had repudiated it, especially in biblical texts. The Reformation was defined by nothing so much as the capture of sacred texts and worship by the vernacular - Luther's German, Tyndale's English. So conservatives at Vatican II knew what was at stake in the proposal to abandon Latin. But when the document on the liturgy was put before the council, including approval of the use of the vernacular, the vote in favor was 1,922 to 11. One theologian said, "This day will go down in history as the end of the Counter-Reformation." Pope John XXIII, watching the proceedings in his apartment on closed-circuit television, said simply, "Now begins my council."

And so it did. The Eucharist was no longer understood only as a "sacrifice," enacted on an altar by the priest, with the laity present as mere spectators. It was a meal, like the Last Supper, to be shared in by all. The altar was refashioned as a banquet table and moved away from the far wall of the church, into the center of the community - "facing the people."

...

The most important change in Catholic belief involved recovering the memory that Jesus was a Jew, and that his preaching was an affirmation, not a repudiation, of Jewish belief. Vatican II's high point was the declaration "Nostra Aetate," which condemned the idea that Jews could be blamed for the murder of Jesus, and affirmed the permanence of God's Covenant with Israel. The "replacement" theology by which the church was understood as "superseding" Judaism was no more. Corollary to this was a rejection of the traditional Christian goal of converting Jews to Jesus. The new liturgy of Vatican II dropped all such prayers.

But the Latin Mass published by the Vatican last year resuscitated the conversion insult, praying on Good Friday that God "lift the veil" from "Jewish blindness." Catholics and Jews both objected. In last week's formal promulgation of the Latin Mass, the Vatican stepped back from that extreme language, but Catholics are still to pray that God "enlighten" the hearts of Jews "so that they recognize Jesus Christ, Savior of all mankind." This is a drastic retreat from the most important theological development of the modern era. Something is wrong with that development, now say Vatican reactionaries. To which the people reply, "No. What's wrong is you."

If you want a wonderful analysis of this extremely poor article, see Fr. Z. How can a man write such lies? My students would have no trouble seeing the holes in this story, they're so damn big! To whom is he accountable in this life? The Globe? The readers?

Well, this looks promising... not! From CWNews:

The newly elected president of the German bishops' conference has called for reconsideration of clerical celibacy and distanced himself from a Vatican pronouncement that Protestant communities cannot be regarded as churches.

In an interview with Der Spiegel, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of Freiburg observed that priestly celibacy is "not necessary, theologically." He said that a shift away from that discipline would lead to "a revolution, in which a part of the Church might not join." But he said the option should be considered.

Questioned about relations with Protestant groups in Germany, the archbishop said that he hoped to improve ecumenical ties. He said that a statement released last year by the Vatican-- saying that Protestant groups do not quality as "churches" in the full sense of that word, since they have not preserved the apostolic priesthood and the Eucharist-- was harmful to ecumenical relations. The Protestant community, Archbishop Zollitsch announced, "is a church; I cannot deny it."

Although he does call this pretty honestly:

He said that the Christian Democrats were too heavily influenced by "neoliberal" economic theories, and suggested that Church leaders are becoming more sympathetic toward the economic views of the Socialist and Green parties in Germany.

Liberal Catholics in the U.S. are often socialists in disguise if you ask me.

In April when I teach the four last things to the seniors, you can bet I'll be using this video to break the ice. Man, does Colbert know his theology! (h/t Ironic Catholic)

From this week's America:

Eight months after entering the novitiate in St. Paul, Minn., each novice preparing to take vows in the Society of Jesus is sent out on pilgrimage with $35 in cash. The destination is selected by the novice and his director, and he is given a one-way bus ticket, that will get him there. Where the pilgrimage takes the novice after that is left up to God’s providence and the novice’s prayer. The novices are told to fend for themselves until they return a month later.

...

“While the challenge of the pilgrimage experiment—venturing into the unknown with $35 and a bus ticket—is what grabs most people’s attention, the real drama of the journey is to be found in the relationship between the pilgrim and God,” wrote a novice whose pilgrimage in 2007 took him to Mexico City and the nearby shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Worries and anxieties about money, logistics and the details of travel plagued him throughout, but just as constant were hospitality and generosity wherever he went. By the time he wended his way back to St. Paul, by way of El Paso, Los Angeles and Denver, he wrote: “I had no reason to worry and faced only the slightest hardships. In many ways the very gentleness of my path was a rebuke to my anxiety, for God is always watching, always leading and, perhaps, always testing. And the only sure path to true safety and comfort is to rise and follow and leave the rest to his providence.”

Another novice, who slept outside several nights during his trek, recalled his first night without a place to stay: “As I was sitting disappointed on a wall at an industrial mall next door, reading and waiting for it to get dark, I saw on a wall, written in graffiti, ‘Trust God.’ Staring at this I received new energy. It was the reassurance I needed.” He went on to spend other nights sleeping outdoors, but he also experienced the warm welcomes of many who invited him into their homes. After leaving the ramshackle farmhouse of a father and four children, whose generosity in the midst of hard times especially touched him, he recalled, “I was filled with all kinds of emotions, which I could sort out as I walked through a lot of deserted area.” He recognized himself many times in very generous people, but also in those who were suspicious and less generous: “Sitting in church waiting for Mass, it was very noticeable how people would sit away from me, at a ‘safe’ distance. How I feel regret for the many times I have judged people by outside appearance.”

I give them a lot of credit!

As this Second Sunday of Lent winds down, I'd like to make two observations. The first is from the Mass I attended this evening back in my hometown. The pastor of the parish said in his homily that good people don't go to heaven, but holy people do. And he illustrated this in several ways, one of which was to describe the regimen of prayer in his parish school (pre-K to eighth grade). Each morning they say a decade of the Rosary and pray for an increase in the theological virtues (led daily by the pastor himself). They recite the Angelus every day at noon. They have Mass each Wednesday morning, confessions every Thursday, and Adoration on First Fridays. He instituted these things with resistance from some parents. With all the talk of the culture of Catholic schools these days, at least in terms of externals, this is a step in the right direction!

Finally, reading a homily online this afternoon, I came across this story which put the Transfiguration in perspective for me:

“Twins, a sister and brother were talking to each other in the womb. The little sister said to the little brother, ‘I believe that there is life after birth!’ Her brother protested: ‘No, no, this is all there is. This is a dark and cozy place, and we have nothing else to do but to cling on to the cord that feeds us.’ But the little girl insisted: ‘There must be something more than this dark place, there must be something else where there is light and freedom to move.’ Still she could not convince her twin brother. Then...after some silence, she said hesitantly: ‘I have something else to say, and I am afraid you won’t believe that either, but I think there is a mother!’ Her little brother now became furious: ‘A mother, a mother, what are you talking about? I have never seen a mother and neither have you. Who put that idea in your head? As I told you, this place is all we have so let’s be content.’ The little sister finally said: ‘Don’t you feel this pressure sometimes? Its really unpleasant and sometimes even painful.’ ‘Yes,’ he answered, ‘what’s special about that?’ ‘Well,’ the sister said, ‘I think this pressure is there to get us ready for another place, much more beautiful than this, where we will see our mother face to face! Don’t you think that’s exciting!”

Looking forward with all of you toward the future glory...

It was a slow news day in Providence on Friday. The front page above-the-fold headline of the Providence Journal was "Pastor drops ban on white dresses at First Communion." The story referred to Christ the King Parish in North Kingstown, RI where the pastor had dropped the usual white dress for girls, blue blazer for boys dress code in favor of simpler attire.

It seems Father had two concerns: one, that some of the outfits were extravagant and scandalous and the parents who could not afford them were being unduly burdened. The second is that white connotes innocence, purity, and worthiness and no one is worthy of the Sacrament. It seems that Father wanted to get "back to basics."

Well, some parents disagreed, this year, one in particular. Instead of speaking to Father, she went straight to the diocese who agreed with her that the dress code was unfair and could not be justified in terms of canon law.

Well, emails were exchanged, all obtained by the paper. They include the diocese's number two Monsignor D'arcy.

What I hate about this story: First, it's a difficult lesson about emailing, so always be careful what you put in writing. You can be quoted out of context or your meaning could be misunderstood or misconstrued. Or it could just simply be something you wanted to keep private that is suddenly in print!

Second, I hate when the diocese gets too involved with things (I hate the opposite as well). This pastoral decision may not have been fantastic, but he was trying to teach a very valuable lesson to his flock. This lesson was not learned either because Father did not communicate his objective well enough or because one parent was able to make enough noise to ruin it. Beyond that, Father's authority has been undermined. Whether or not you agree with his decision or the diocese's, you have to admit, Father's policies are no longer as strong as they were since he's been overruled in a very public manner.

My third issue is the lack of depth to the news story. This is one parent and child out of dozens no doubt. What do the other parents think? Wouldn't it be funny if this one girl was the only one who showed up in a white dress because the others support the pastor?

Fourth, as someone who witnesses the reception of sacraments on a regular basis, I agree with Father about the misplaced priorities of parents. He's portrayed in a negative light in the article but I'm convinced he had the best motives. Get over the white dress, the almost manic need for pictures and remember that Jesus is present in the Eucharist and that your child is receiving him. So many parents are so superficial. Trust me when I say that I see it in the parents of the Confirmation students I teach. Frankly, I don't blame them because the Church allowed the problem to continue for so long. It's our own fault we're in the mess we're in.

So in the end, was this front page, above-the-fold news?

From the Mount's website:

Mount St. Mary’s University President Thomas H. Powell is shocked and saddened at the vandalism at the National Shrine Grotto of Lourdes early Sunday morning, February 10, 2008. Two men were caught trying to set a fire on the altar after damaging a crucifix at the Grotto. The Shrine still held a public Mass today, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the apparitions at Our Lady of Lourdes in France.

“People who come here know the Grotto is a peaceful, prayerful place and to have it desecrated by these individuals is horrific,” said President Powell. “Young men who would willfully choose to destroy sacred artifacts in such a dishonorable way certainly need our prayers. Thankfully, our public safety officers stopped them before they could do anymore damage.”

The Mount Public Safety office was alerted by an alarm at 3:00 a.m. from the Grotto; officers responded and captured two men in their twenties. The pair was found smashing candles and glass after apparently trying to set fire to papers on the altar. The officers also found a crucifix in the nearby creek allegedly torn from its standard near the altar. The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office has the men in custody on trespassing, malicious destruction and defacing religious property charges. The two men have no known affiliation with the University.

The damaged crucifix was donated by a priest, Fr. William B. Cavanaugh and a plaque asks those who come to the chapel to pray for his mother, Mary Elizabeth Cavanaugh. The Shrine is surrounded by statuary, altars, religious objects and adornments donated in memory of loved ones.

The National Shrine Grotto, originally built in the 1800’s, is known as a sacred place where St. Elizabeth Ann Seton worshipped when she first moved to Emmitsburg and has been an active chapel ever since. Today, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims come each year to pay homage to Our Lady of Lourdes and walk the trails made by Mount St. Mary’s founder, Fr. John DuBois in 1808.

I played at the Grotto for Sunday Mass for two years and it's a wonderful place. I still have many friends there. Hopefully this will never happen again and thank God they caught them before they could do any more damage.

The Hermeneutic of Continuity has a wonderful post that links to two great resources for early Church documents. The post is meant to highlight the work of Migne, of the two Patrologias fame. But there's much more to see!

The first is Apologetic Desktop. A quick perusal shows that it's devoted to apologetics (obviously), but it has tons of stuff that can be used for reference and research outside of that field.

The second is Documenta Catholica Omnia. For this one, there are just plain no words, you really have to just see it for yourself.

If another person tells me we have to make Mass more meaningful for people, I'm gonna barf. Being a Catholic school teacher, I hear it often, thankfully though, not from the people at my school! I am truly blessed to work for and with the people I do.

Ironic Catholic pointed to a post at Locusts and Honey of some new ideas for liturgical innovations. Of course, the first thing I thought of is, "Why not?" If we want to make Mass more meaningful, why not try some of these? For some reason, though, these Catholics draw a line at some point. Pretty arbitrary, no? Well, of course, it is. But priests and people who "innovate" the liturgy are pretty arbitrary people and they subject the liturgy to their own whims and fancies. They are the final arbiters of what is appropriate.

When someone is arguing with me over planning a Mass, I always ask to read the Gospel. They look at me like I'm crazy because I'm not a member of the clergy. Then I always ask them why that rubric has to be followed but the others don't.

So why isn't poledancing appropriate for the liturgy, then?

I have to say that I've sent in my absentee ballot for Super Tuesday already. But I thought this joke from Julie's really hit the mark:

While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies.

His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance. 'Welcome to heaven,' says St. Peter. 'Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you.'

'No problem, just let me in,' says the man.

'Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.'

'Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,' says the senator.

'I'm sorry, but we have our rules.'

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people. They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne.

Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go. Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises...

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him. 'Now it's time to visit heaven.'

So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

'Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.'

The senator reflects for a minute, then he answers: 'Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell.'

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage. He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.

The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. 'I don't understand,' stammers the senator. 'Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?'

The devil looks at him, smiles and says, 'Yesterday we were campaigning... Today you voted.'

I had never really thought of this as copyright infringement before. From the Washington Post:

For years, as many as 200 members of Immanuel Bible Church and their friends have gathered in the church's fellowship hall to watch the Super Bowl on its six-foot screen. The party featured hard hitting on the TV, plenty of food -- and prayer.

But this year, Immanuel's Super Bowl party is no more. After a crackdown by the National Football League on big-screen Super Bowl gatherings by churches, the Springfield church has sacked its event. Instead, church members will host parties in their homes.

Immanuel is among a number of churches in the Washington area and elsewhere that have been forced to use a new playbook to satisfy the NFL, which said that airing games at churches on large-screen TV sets violates the NFL copyright.

Ministers are not happy.

"There is a part of me that says, 'Gee, doesn't the NFL have enough money already?'" said Steve Holley, Immanuel's executive pastor. He pointed out that bars are still allowed to air the game on big-screens TV sets. "It just doesn't make sense."

The Super Bowl, the most secular of American holidays, has long been popular among churches. With parties, prayer and Christian DVDs replacing the occasionally racy halftime shows, churches use the event as a way to reach members, and potential new members, in a non-churchlike atmosphere.

...

The league bans public exhibitions of its games on TV sets or screens larger than 55 inches because smaller sets limit the audience size. The section of federal copyright law giving the NFL protection over the content of its programming exempts sports bars, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said.

...

On the legal flip side, the NFL's big-screen ban could end up landing the league in trouble.

John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, a Charlottesville civil liberties group that focuses on religious freedom issues, is threatening to sue the NFL on behalf of an Alabama church that wants to host a big-screen Super Bowl party. He is also seeking sponsors for federal legislation to exempt churches from the ban.

"It's ridiculous," Whitehead said. "You can go into these stores now and buy 100-inch screens. The law is just outdated."