Fenway

Fenway turned 11 today, but I'm taking him to the vet in a few hours...we think his lungs and heart are failing...it's not looking too good at the moment.

I sat him on our bed last night and curled up with him, petting him and talking to him. I can tell he's just getting old and weaker...I can't imagine our house without him.

Funny how I can still see him bounding across my in-laws tall grass when he was 6-weeks old, being released from my parents car (who drove down to deliver him to us) and seeing him make a bee-line STRAIGHT towards me...and getting halfway there before getting high-centered in the grass....lol.

Sigh.....

What Are Your Priorities?

I got this from our Diocesan Stewardship Newsletter this month. - Jeff

What Are Your Priorities?

Jesus said to his disciples, “No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Luke 16: 9-15)

When Jesus spoke of “serving mammon” he was teaching of priorities. “Mammon” means “assets”- cash, savings, investments, property – any and all possessions. So mammon is not a negative thing. Mammon becomes negative when we make our assets God.

There is an old adage that says “Tell me how you spend your time, your money and your thoughts, and I’ll tell you what is most important in your life.” What is the priority in your life? Are your priorities in the right place?

Take a personal inventory right now. This past week…. How did I spend my time, my money and my thoughts?

How Do You Use Your Gift of Time?

14,880 minutes make up a week. Studies show that the average American uses their minutes as follows:

• Sleeping: 3,115 minutes
• Working: 1,288 minutes
• Watching TV: 1,078 minutes
• Household Chores: 462 minutes
• Eating: 371 minutes
• Commuting: 357 minutes
• Grooming: 343 minutes
• Reading: 301 minutes
• Meal prep: 238 minutes
• Child/pet care: 175 minutes
• Hobbies: 126 minutes
• Grocery Shopping:112 minutes
• Exercising: 110 minutes
• Worship: 105 minutes

Are you giving ENOUGH back to God?

(A portion of this article taken from The Little Burgundy Book 2003).

Persecution?

Reading Sparki's post from last Friday regarding Abdul Rahman and his fate in the hands of the Afghan government for his conversion to Christianity, got me to thinking along with her in regards to the "persecution" we Americans, particularly the religious, perceive ourselves to be under at times. This subject is especially in the forefront of my mind as I began reading Four Witnesses by Rod Bennet over the weekend. The trials, tribulations and the persecutions that the early Church were under on a daily basis make our supposed troubles look pathetic. True, we must always be vigilant to assure that our rights are not taken away by the secular politicians, press, etc., but come on...we have it easy. The last time I checked there were no Coliseums serving Christians to the lions daily; no Nero's, etc. I finished reading Forgotten Catholic Heroes on Thursday night, so perhaps I've just got martyrdom on the brain. Yet I cannot help but muse at how quickly those of us who benefitted from the trials and struggles of our ancestors so quickly resort to hyperbole whenever a perceived injustice is thrown at us. One only need to look at the constant cries of "It's Selma all over again" by those "civil" rights leaders who profit mightily from it, or "It's Florida 2000 all over again!" by disgruntled Democrat voters in New Orleans, etc., etc., etc.

Again...we must all be vigilant so that we do not revert back to those eras of injustice as history does repeat itself if left unchecked. But Sparki makes a good point in the end: does suffering a paint scratch on our pro-life bumper sticker, or does getting a sneer from a co-worker, or (my personal favorite) does getting screamed at by a hysterically unbalanced person in his car at 11:30pm while praying a rosary outside of Planned Parenthood add up to being persecuted? In today's overly-litigious and touchy-feely society I suppose it does. But I suspect that Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch or Justin Martyr and there fellow Christians of the first and second century would beg to differ.

O welche Lust!

A column I try to never miss is Jay Nordlinger's Impromptu's. Here are a few items from his latest...

Friend of mine sent me the below item. I’m afraid conservative satire, today, is impossible. Indeed, conservative comment is almost impossible!

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Easter Bunny has been sent packing at St. Paul City Hall.

A toy rabbit, pastel-colored eggs, and a sign with the words “Happy Easter” were removed from the lobby of the City Council offices, because of concerns they might offend non-Christians.

A council secretary had put up the decorations. They were not bought with city money.

St. Paul’s human-rights director, Tyrone Terrill, asked that the decorations be removed, saying they could be offensive to non-Christians.

But City Council member Dave Thune says removing the decorations went too far, and he wonders why they can’t celebrate spring with “bunnies and fake grass.”

Just one comment: human-rights director? This is what Tyrone Terrill is, the human-rights director? Odd — I thought I wrote about human rights when I wrote about the torture of innocents in dungeons and so on. Little did I know that the real human-rights action is . . . in City Hall, where a secretary displays pastel-colored eggs.

I’m sorry, friends — I’m as patriotic as the day is long, but this is a screwy country.

Let’s have a little music criticism, from the New York Sun. For a review of Beethoven’s Fidelio at the Metropolitan Opera, please go here. For a review of the pianist Richard Goode, in concert with others, please go here. For a review of the mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe and the bass-baritone John Relyea, in joint recital, and a review of the bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff, singing Schubert’s Schöne Müllerin, please go here. And for a review of the pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, in recital, please go here.

Thanks.

Seeing Fidelio the other night reminded me of something a reader sent in, back in April 2003. This was shortly after the Allied invasion of Iraq. I wrote an item about the reader’s note on 4/23/03. Let me share it, if I may:

. . . I am just back from the Easter Festival at Salzburg, which I covered for The New Criterion (account to appear in the June issue). (Bear with me — this has to do with Iraq.) The opera that concluded the festival was Beethoven’s Fidelio.

A few days before leaving for Salzburg, I received a letter from a reader who had been following the news out of Iraq. It seems that Allied forces discovered an underground prison. The poor devils in there hadn’t seen the light in years. As they stumbled out in their rags — shielding their eyes — their families gathered around them, to greet and embrace them.

My correspondent, of course, thought of Fidelio, whose own prisoners emerge into the light. “O welche Lust!” he quoted. “O welche Lust! In freier Luft den Atem leicht zu heben!” Yes, what joy — what joy it is to breathe free air. Anywhere, and always.

And, later, Don Fernando sings that he has “uncovered the night of crime, which black and heavy encompassed all. No longer kneel down like slaves! Tyranny, be gone! A brother seeks his brothers, and gladly helps, if he can.”

Look, I’m all for Realpolitik (speaking of German). No fuzzy-headed, willy-nilly liberator, I. But: A brother should seek his brothers, and gladly help, if he can.

O welche Lust!

Signs of the times

Over at WuzzaDem, a very lively debate is going on. And be sure to check out the new web toy that helped stir it.

Altar Servers, part tres

Sparki has a few postings on the subject as well as this sweet article she recently wrote on the oldest altar boy in our diocese.

Altar servers, part deux

Our local paper ran an article on this as well, and provides a little more depth to the background behind our bishop's decision. Amazingly, Mr. Krejci is not quoted in this article, which I can honestly say is the first time I've ever seen this happen.

 

Perhaps he was busy doing whatever "activists" do...

 

“The Diocese of Lincoln has chosen to follow the centuries-old liturgical custom of having men and boys serve at the altar,” said Father Mark Huber, Lincoln diocesan chancellor. “Pope John Paul II gave the individual bishops of diocese the right to decide about the use of men or women as altar servers or to continue with the traditional use of men and boys only, which continues to be the rule and order of the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church throughout the world.” 

In upholding the traditional practice, Lincoln Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz is in agreement with a 2004 Vatican instruction that praised the use of only males as altar servers. According to that instruction, “it is altogether laudable to maintain the noble custom” of altar-serving duties being limited to males. “Nor should it be forgotten that a great number of sacred ministers over the course of centuries have come from among boys such as these.”

While denying altar-server duties to girls, the diocese offers “an abundance of (other) activities and undertakings for girls to help them in their spiritual and apostolic lives,” Huber said. “The diocese has been blessed with an exceptional number of vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and these vocations appear not only to be unaffected by maintaining ancient liturgical custom, but to be enhanced thereby.”

The Vatican gave bishops the authority to allow altar girls to serve at Mass in 1994, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops permitted the practice later that year. Nearly all dioceses quickly decided to allow altar girls. Bishops who resisted the change said they wanted to preserve altar service as a pathway for boys to become priests.

And then there was one...

I see that USA Today received the memo that any article having to do with our diocese MUST include comment from our local heretic John Krejci. Ah America....home of the free and land of the activist...church activist, that is. No mention in this article of Mr. Krejci's own special brand of "activism" which included following a priest to the altar after being refused communion last year and physically removing one from the paten on the altar, or the time he says he "communicated myself from the few drops (of wine) that remained in the chalice." Communicated himself??? Sounds like a form of schizophrenia to me. Seek help now, Mr. Krejci. You, too, John. Both of you.

The diocese of Lincoln: where we bind our women, keep them barefoot and pregnant, and give them no voice in the church. I guess that's why we have so many vibrant religious women as well as lead the country in vocations to the priesthood. Why don't they ever interview the vast majority of women in this diocese who do NOT subscribe to the CTA brand of "activism"? I happen to live with one of them who would be more than happy to share her views...I guess USA Today didn't get THAT memo. So who really isn't giving voice to female Catholics? Bishop Bruskewitz? Or the media that only talks to the likes of Krejci?

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lincoln, Neb., is the only one in America that prohibits altar girls in church after a Northern Virginia diocese dropped its ban this week.

In Arlington, Va., Bishop Paul Loverde of the 67-parish diocese ended the restriction Tuesday, almost 12 years after Pope John Paul II granted bishops permission for altar girls. Only Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of the Lincoln Diocese still forbids girls from serving at Mass.

The 193 other Catholic dioceses and archdioceses in the USA already allowed the practice. The use of altar girls since 1994 ended a centuries-old custom of male-only participation in the church's most sacred ritual.

Loverde said his decision, which could result in altar girls at some churches by Sunday, may help young women hear "the Lord's call to religious life" as nuns.

Bruskewitz, whose diocese includes 136 churches and 89,412 members around Nebraska's state capital, believes having only boys at the altar helps recruit them to become priests, said the Rev. Mark Huber, chancellor of the diocese.

"It's pretty obvious that Rome is allowing each bishop to make (his own) decision," Huber said. He said Bruskewitz's practice has helped boost Lincoln's "exceptional number of vocations to the priesthood."

John Krejci, a church activist and former priest in Lincoln, doesn't expect the bishop to change his mind. "He's very much anti-female," said Krejci, who attended seminary with Bruskewitz. Krejci co-founded the Nebraska branch of Call to Action, a Catholic group at odds with Bruskewitz and the church on priestly celibacy and women priests.

Books, books, books

I picked up the following books today, in keeping with my Lenten theme of reading about the early Church and especially of the saints. But I also picked up another of the recently reissued books within the Loyola Classics series, Catholics by Brian Moore, as well as Four Witnesses by Rod Bennett and Forgotten Catholic Heroes by Michael Genin. I'll read it after finishing up Viper's Tangle later next week. If you haven't already, I would highly recommend you look into the Loyola Classics series of books, whether it be for yourself and wanting to read good fiction, or as a gift for your teenage son or daughter. They are quite good and tackle subjects that never really go out of style for any of us. They are very affordable at anywhere from $10.95 to $14.95.

Other books in the Loyola Classics Series

Catholics by Brian Moore
On a harsh, barren island off the coast of Ireland stands Muck Abbey, the last spot on earth where the traditional Latin Mass is still celebrated after the reforms of the Fourth Vatican Council. A television special has brought new attention and large crowds to the activities on the island, to the displeasure of church officials. Father James Kinsella is sent to put a stop to things, but his confrontation with the monks, especially the blunt Abbot O’Malley, will reveal unexpected, challenging truths about all of them in this spare, evocative novel of faith—and doubt.

The Devil's Advocate by Morris L. West
In a desolated village in southern Italy, the life and death of Giacamo Nerone has inspired talk of saint­hood. Father Blaise Meredith, a dying English priest, is sent from the Vatican to investigate. Morris West deftly explores the meaning of faith in this intriguing tale of secrets, lies, and sanctity.

Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? By John R. Powers
John Powers' classic comic novel of the 1960s Catholic subculture stars Eddie Ryan, a Chicago boy who learns about the important questions in life in his years at an all-boys Catholic school on Chicago’s South Side. He views it all through the prism of his Catholic mentality, which often deepens the mystery but sometimes clarifies it.

The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O'Connor
Awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1962, this haunting novel shattered reigning cultural stereotypes of priests and parish life when it was first published. Father Hugh Kennedy is a recovering alcoholic, com­mitted to his vocation yet struggling with the demands of it. The Edge of Sadness is a sensitive portrait of both one man’s inner life and the mid-20th century trans-for­mation of ethnic Catholicism.

Helena by Evelyn Waugh
Helena is the intelligent, horse-mad daughter of a British chieftan who is suddenly betrothed to the warrior who becomes the Roman emperor Constantius. She spends her life seeking truth in the religions, mythologies, and philosophies of the declining ancient world. This she eventually finds in Christianity and literally in the Cross of Christ.

In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden
This extraordinarily sensitive and insightful portrait of religious life centers on Philippa Talbot, a highly successful professional woman who leaves her life among the London elite to join a cloistered Benedictine community. In This House of Brede was the basis of a 1975 made-for-television film starring Diana Rigg.

The Last Catholic in America by John R. Powers
This is Eddie Ryan's world—the intensely Catholic world of Chicago’s Seven Holy Tombs neighborhood and St. Bastion’s parish in the 1950s. In this classic coming-of-age novel, John Powers draws readers into Eddie Ryan’s world with bittersweet humor and deep affection.

Mr. Blue by Myles Connolly
The mysterious and magnetic J. Blue spends his inherited wealth as soon as he gets it and lives in a packing box on a New York City rooftop. This beloved novel about a contemporary St. Francis figure, first published in 1928, has intrigued countless readers for decades.

North of Hope by Jon Hassler
Father Frank Healy unexpectedly encounters his former high school girlfriend, Libby, at a time of crisis in his vocation. He is drawn into the lives of Libby, her criminal husband, her troubled daughter, and other characters living in and around an Ojibway reservation in northern Minnesota where Frank pastors a mission. This absorbing, realistic and faith-filled novel explores the territory all of us find ourselves in when we believe ourselves to be “north of hope.”

Saint Francis by Nikos Kazantzakis
Kazantzakis infuses this tale with a fervent vision that is uniquely his own, highlighting the saint's heroic single-mindedness in the face of extreme physical and spiritual suffering. He portrays the saint as a great lover and inspiring leader, who embraced radical poverty in the face of many obstacles and temptations.

The Silver Chalice by Thomas Costain
The Silver Chalice recounts the story of Basil, a young silversmith, who is commissioned by the apostle Luke to fashion a holder for the cup Jesus used at the Last Supper. The Silver Chalice was the best-selling fiction title of 1953 in the United States and was made into a film starring Paul Newman.

Things as They Are by Paul Horgan
The acclaimed American writer Paul Horgan tells a classic coming-of-age-tale in this poignant story of a young Catholic boy growing up in early twentieth century New York. Young Richard lives in a comforting world of dreams and illusions. He travels the painful journey all of us have traveled—from the unavoidable, innocent illusions of childhood to the harsh beauty of loss, forgiveness, and hope. It’s a journey to understanding things as they are.

Vipers' Tangle by Francois Mauriac
One of the greatest Catholic novels of the twentieth century, Vipers’ Tangle is the story of Louis, an elderly man filled with bitterness who keeps a journal in which he records the vipers’ tangle of his own heart. With subtlety and wisdom, Mauriac traces the transfor­ma­tion of this tortured soul by the light of God’s grace

Letter to an Inquirer

Pontifications is a blog I've read off and on for over a year and am a better person for it. Its author, Alvin Kimel, is a man who was an Episcopalian priest for over 25 years, and last Easter left all of that behind to join the Catholic Church. Indeed the posts last year at this time for filled with the full range of emotions as he made ready to 'cross the Tiber'.

 

In Letter to an Inquirer, he offers a wonderful apologetics lesson on the Church, relativism, and on searching to a young Catholic who is thinking of joining the Episcopal Church. It is worth reading the whole thing, but here's a snippet. Be sure to read it all, especially the last paragraph where he recommends some wonderful books worth reading.

 

I am seeking to learn more about the Episcopalian Church. I am currently taking RCIA classes at my local Catholic church and want badly to convert but am assailed with doubts for the following reasons: the Church’s stance on divorce, birth control, abortion, homosexuality and women as priests. I am a liberal and cannot and will not betray my conscience by accepting the teachings of the Church hierarchy that I view to be implicitly wrong. I love Christ will all my heart and long to serve him, but don’t know if I can reconcile my personal belief system with these teachings, not to mention the overall alarmingly conservative outlook of many Catholics. I know that many former Catholics have become members of the Episcopalian Church. Do you know of any yourself? Is it true that many have become members since Pope Benedict took his place in the Holy See?

I have encountered some Catholics online who are progressive and share my views but they seem to be the minority, alas. I’m feeling pretty lost right now and I don’t know where I can find a home, so to speak, a church that will accept and embrace my views. I love so many aspects of Catholicism, the dignity of Mass, the sacraments, the emphasis on social justice, but don’t want to feel as if I’m living a lie but rejecting other teachings. Does the Episcopalian Church offer the sacrament of Reconciliation? I don’t know if I could stand to leave this behind. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

* * * * *

Dear Inquirer,

I applaud your commitment not to betray your conscience “by accepting the teachings of the Church hierarchy” that you believe to be wrong. The Catholic Church teaches that the conscience is the voice of God and therefore a person should and must obey his conscience, even though it is possible that he may have misheard the divine voice. “It is never lawful,” Cardinal Newman writes, “to go against our conscience.” However, we also have a moral obligation to inform and train our conscience. How are we to do so?

You write that you disagree with the Catholic Church’s positions on divorce and remarriage, birth control, abortion, homosexuality, and the male priesthood. May I suggest that you bracket these convictions for a moment and consider a more fundamental question: Is the Catholic Church who she claims to be? This question must be asked and answered before you can reasonably address the specific teachings of the Catholic Church, for if the Catholic claim is true, then you will be forced to reconsider your present beliefs. Let’s be honest. Given the beliefs and values of our culture, you would be a remarkable person indeed who did not disagree with the Catholic Church on the issues you mention. Since your birth you have breathed in a spirit of inclusivity, relativism, and anti-authoritarianism. You are a grandchild of the sexual revolution. You have been indoctrinated in a worldview that is hostile to the Catholic faith. The teaching of the Catholic Church on sexual morality is especially offensive to secular culture. The Catholic Church now exists in the United States as a counter-cultural community. I propose that this counter-cultural stance be considered as one piece of evidence in favor of the claim that the Catholic Church speaks to the world with divine authority and truth. How easy it would be for her to conform to contemporary sensibilities. How the cultural elites would applaud if she would just affirm the permissibility of abortion or gay marriages. Yet the Catholic Church will not accommodate. She knows she is entrusted with a solemn responsibility—to guard the faith once delivered to the saints and to pass it on intact to future generations.

For the Catholic, the decision to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and the decision to accept the authority of the Church is one decision. They cannot be separated, for the risen Christ will not be separated from his mystical body. We love to manufacture religions that express our own ideological and religious preferences. As Luther once remarked, “Every man is born with a Pope in his belly.” The grace of the Catholic Church, with all her weaknesses, sins, and failures, is that she confronts me as other. She is not, and refuses to be, a projection of my ego. She simply is. She speaks with a voice that is not my own. She challenges me with the authority of God. Here is one meaning of the ancient Christian dictum extra ecclesiam nulla salus: outside the Church there is no salvation. The Church saves me. She saves me from the sin of self because she cannot be assimilated into my self; I must be assimilated into her. I am the one who must change. I am the one who must be willing to submit my intellect to her wisdom and knowledge. Incorporated into the Catholic Church I am simultaneously incorporated into the glorified and risen Christ and brought into the ecstatic life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

[snip]

When I became Catholic just under a year ago, I made this profession: “I believe and profess all that the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God.” Believe me when I tell you that this was one of the hardest moments in my life. I had been an Episcopal priest for twenty-five years. As my friends will tell you, I have strong convictions about a great many things and especially about matters theological. If nothing else, I am opinionated. Yet with that surrender to the magisterial authority of the Church came true intellectual liberation. Finally, for the first time, I had a knowledgeable and faithful guide. As Chesterton wrote, “To become a Catholic is not to leave off thinking, but to learn how to think.”

Is the Catholic Church who she claims to be? Is she the Church of Jesus Christ? This is the question that you must answer.

The Wonder that is Katie

This is satire of course, but with CBS seriously considering the inane Ms. Couric for the chair formerly occupied by Dan Rather, I suspect that this isn't far from the type of things we'd see (if we watched CBS, that is) during that time slot. Fortunately, I'm usually watching Pardon The Interruption on ESPN at that time.

Mr. Taheri-azar was recently charged with nine counts of attempted murder after driving his Jeep through a crowd at the University of North Carolina, hitting multiple people. He subsequently told police that he rented a four-wheel drive vehicle for the attack on purpose so that he could "run over things and keep going." He went on to say that his actions represented "an eye for an eye" as he wished to "avenge the deaths or murders (by the American government) in the Muslim world."

The New York Times report of the incident was curiously absent any reference to Taheri-azar's statement regarding his Islamism, not an unimportant factor as it was his stated motivation for the assault.

Is the mainstream media purposely giving a pass to Muslims committing acts of terror? Are they willfully ignorant of the dangers posed by Islamofascism? The following jailhouse interview (that has yet to air) of Mr. Taheri-azar by Katie Couric of The Today Show offers yet another glimpse of the MSM's perspective:

KC: Good afternoon Mr. Taheri-azar.

MT: Were I not shackled I would kill you with my bare hands right now you vapid cur.

KC: What a kidder!

MT: I am most serious.

KC: I do so adore that very dry Middle Eastern sense of humor. Let's begin shall we? I know that you have been wrongly accused of "running people over" with a Ford Explorer and that...

MT: It was a Jeep Grand Cherokee and I am guilty of all charges.

KC: Excuse me?

MT: The vehicle that I rented. It was a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Six-cylinder. 4-wheel drive. Surprisingly smooth ride. Even when caroming through huge piles of human flesh.

KC: There you go again! You almost had me. Anyhow...

MT: I am not joking. I purposely rented an SUV so that I could run over a multitude of infidels while inflicting the maximum possible damage.

KC: Okay. You and I both know that this was a set-up by the Bush administration but I'll play along with your wacky little game. What were you trying to achieve by "running those people over"?

MT: It is not a game. I wanted to punish the American government for harming my Muslim brethren throughout the world. That is why I ran them over... on purpose... with that Jeep.

KC: I see. So you are saying that the evil, blood-thirsty SUV went out of control and lunged towards the crowd of students?

MT: No. Listen carefully now. I rented the vehicle with the express purpose of harming or killing as many Americans as possible. I knew what I was doing. I planned this out. I even neglected to take the extra insurance coverage although I knew that there would be extreme damage to the vehicle. 

KC: Wow. Bush really has done a a number on you hasn't he? Is there a message that you would like to give to the American people before we wrap up today?

MT: Convert to Islam or die.

KC: Hey, that is catchy. Sort of like Puffy's "Vote Or Die" campaign, huh? Which, by the way, was wildly successful in no small part because of the segments I did. So are you thinking a massive media blitz to get it started? If it was me, I'd get MTV involved. They'd back this in a heartbeat.

MT: I am telling you. Unless every infidel in America and the rest of the world renounces their religion and accepts Allah as their God then they will suffer untold cruelties before they are eliminated from this earth. By eliminated I mean "killed". It is as the Koran says.

KC: Or maybe an Internet campaign. You know, a grassroots movement. I bet President Gore would help you with that. What with all of his expertise in that area.

MT: Are you hearing me?

KC: Wow. Fascinating. Thanks again to Mr. Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar for joining us. If you would like to contribute to the Mainstream Media For Mohammed Defense Fund, please send your donations to the address on the screen.

MT: Arrrggghhh!!!!

        End of transcript. 

'Nativity' set for filming

It will be interesting to see what direction they go with this movie. What exactly does "strong female perspective" mean?

Keisha Castle-Hughes has been cast as Mary in "Nativity," New Line Cinema's look at the life of the Virgin Mary before the birth of Christ. Catherine Hardwicke is directing the movie, which is being produced by Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey.

 

The story, to be told with a strong female perspective, will follow Mary and Joseph's life before the birth of Christ as their love, faith and beliefs are tested. The script incorporates their departure from Nazareth and travel to Bethlehem and includes such biblical figures as King Herod, John the Baptist and the three kings from the Orient, among others. Mike Rich wrote the script.

Toby Emmerich, Cale Boyter and Michael Disco are overseeing the project, which will begin shooting on May 1 in Morocco and Italy. The studio is eyeing a Dec. 1 release.

Lenten reading material

Some good reading material to peruse prior to the 2nd Sunday of Lent from The Crossroads Initiative:

 

40 Ways to get the most out of Lent

 

The Meaning behind Lent

 

The Sacrifice of Isaac

The Parable of the Twins

Once upon a time, twins were conceived in the same womb. Weeks passed, and the twins developed. As their awareness grew, they laughed for joy: "Isn't it great that we were conceived? Isn't it great to be alive?"

Together, the twins explored their world. When they found their Mother's cord that gave them life, they sang for joy: "How great is our mother's love, that she shared her own life with us."

As weeks stretched into months, the twins noticed how much each was changing. "What does it mean?" asked the one. "It means that our stay in this world is drawing to an end," said the other. "But maybe there is life after birth!" "But how can there be?" responded the other one. "We will shed our life cord and how is life possible without it? Besides we have seen evidence that others were here before us, and none of them have  returned to tell us that there is life after birth. No, this is the end."

And so the one fell into deep despair saying, "If conception ends in birth, what is the purpose of life in the womb? It's meaningless! Maybe there is no mother after all?" "But there has to be, " protested the other. "How else did we get here? How do we remain alive?"

"Have you ever seen our mother?" said the one. "Maybe she lives only in our minds. Maybe we made her up because the idea made us feel good?"

And so the last days in the womb were filled with deep questioning and fear. Finally the moment of birth arrived.

When the twins had passed from their world, they opened their eyes and cried for joy. For what they saw exceeded their fondest dreams...

Embarrassing the Angels

The Anchoress wrote a wonderful item the other day that I wish I had written. Taking her inspiration from Peggy Noonan's March 2 column, she tells of her endeavor to remind herself of this phrase during Lent:

When I see teenage suburban girls talking like 7th Avenue streetwalkers while they flick their cigarettes, I will say it.

When I hear my feminist friend railing at the unfairness of a biology that forces women to menstruate, but not men, I will say it.

When I hear a priest change the liturgy to suit his ego or his ideology, I will say it.

When I see teenage boys wearing pants with the crotches at the knees and their underwear exposed, I will say it.

When I hear parents and children speaking to each other disrespectfully, particularly if they’re flinging the eff word around like sailors, I will say it.

When I see people call presidents and former presidents by tawdry nicknames I will say it.

When “I” am cursing like a sailor-wannabee, I will say it.

When I find myself walking away from my husband or kids with an intemperate mutter and shake of the head, I will say it.

When I imagine myself flipping off another driver while in traffic, I will say it.

When I find my mind wandering during Holy Mass, and realize I was thinking about really stupid, superficial or judgemental stuff while the rest of the congregation praying to the Holy Spirit, I will say it.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton once wrote a book called What’s Wrong With the World. He meant to tell us. It took him many hundreds of pages, just to begin.

But the seed for his task had been planted years earlier; a newspaper had contacted him, asking him to contribute to a sort of symposium of prominent men responding to the same question: “What’s Wrong With the World?”

He replied, Dear Sirs; I am.

Big bonus points to her for mentioning GKC. I wanted to add a few to her list for myself, but she took most of mine. Still, here are a few more:

When I find myself doing anything to dishonor my wife or my kids, I will say it.

When I lose my patience in a long line at the store and hold it against the store clerk, I will say it.

When I have the urge to roll off a stream of obscenities because of something I'm doing while renovating the basement isn't going "just right", I will say it.

When I use the easy and simple way out in regards to humor, and utter sarcasm and disparagement towards someone or something, I will say it.

Temptation Sunday

Before the rest of the house woke up I sat down this morning with some coffee and some early morning readings and it wasn't long before I became aware of the overriding "theme" of this day. Temptation. In Mark's Gospel today Jesus is led by the Spirit "out into the desert" to be tempted by satan. And in this morning's Divine Office readings, St. Augustine writes

Our pilgrimage on earth cannot be exempt from trial. We progress by means of trial. No one knows himself except through trial, or receives a crown except after victory, or strives except against an enemy or tempations.

And so it is. We are tempted constanly by satan. He always seems to find our weakness and exploit it. However I'm come to learn that the weakness is always where we least expect it. Why? In a word: pride. Our pride gives us false confidence that surely satan would never attempt to get me to do that. After all, I've never done it before and have no intention of it.

My 1903 book Sermons of the Cure de Ars, has St. John Vianney stating

...temptation is necessary to convince our mind of our unworthiness, and to prevent pride from becoming master over us.

Exactly.

And that's precisely what has happened to me over the past few years that has led me into a spiritual wilderness the likes of which I've never thought possible. And today, for the first time, I see it plainly for what it is, and what the solution is as well. My solution is to give a gift to God at the end of Lent this year. I got the idea from my pastor's homily this morning at Mass. And what is my gift? To break free of this sin once and for all and reconcile myself to Christ and His Church. To leave the snare of mortal sin and approach the confessional not only ready to confess my sins and to do penance as I have countless times before, but this time to approach first with a contrite heart...one humbled and determined and ready to approach the Lord in humility. To swallow my acursed pride.

I'm ready to do this. I have to do this.

St. Vianney further writes

If in Christ you have been tempted, in him we overcome the devil. Do you think only of Christ's temptations and fail to think of his victory? See yourself as tempted in him, and see yourself as victorious in him. He could have kept the devil from himself; but if he were not tempted he could not teach you how to triumph over temptation.

In Him. With Him. Through Him. Learning from Him I will triumph over these temptations. I have made half-hearted attempts several times, but I see now that I've been leaving a key (THE key) component out of the equation: Christ himself. How foolish of me. And how simple an answer. Jesus himself.

In order to be able to present this gift to Jesus I will need to do several things, not the least of which is devote myself to some prayer and study. This means that my already tight schedule will have to make room, and therefore the obvious thing to go will be time spent online. I have already decided to discontinue my half-hearted attempt at another blog and stay with this one. I like it. It's grown on me. I will still post now and then during Lent as I've discovered how to do so without actually logging into Blogger, but I doubt it will be very much.

I'm ready to do this. I have to do this.

Today's first two reading saw God making his covenant with Noah after the flood, and in the 1st letter of Peter, he ties both Christ's being tempted and the covenant with Noah together in the significance of baptism. He writes of the eight human survivors of the ark being saved through water

This prefigured baptism, which saves you now.
It is not a removal of dirt from the body
but an appeal to God for a clear conscience,
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ...

I have focused too often on the trappings of sin and of being tempted, and not enough on Christ's victory over sin, and of the lessons He taught us. In order to give my gift to God at the end of Lent I must stop squandering the graces I was given at baptism.

I'm ready to do this. I have to do this.

Pray for me, as I pray for all of you.

Today's Readings

Related Catechism texts:
1440-1449 The Sacrament of Penance: God’s deed in and through the Church.
538-540 Temptations of Jesus.
845-848 Church as ark. No salvation apart from that that is manifest in the Church.
1078-1082 The Father: source of the covenant of blessing.
1219-1220 Noah’s ark: baptismal image.
1226-1228 Baptism in the Church.