A Holy Week Reading List

There are very few things better in life than books and very few things better to do during Holy Week than spiritual reading on the Paschal Mystery of the Lord.

To this end, might I offer a few suggestions for your reading (if you don't already have something to read)?  In no particular order:

1. The Sadness of Christ and Final Prayers and Benedictions by Saint Thomas More
2. Love is Stronger than Death by Peter Kreeft
3. Saint Francis & the Cross: Reflections on Suffering, Weakness, and Joy by Raniero Cantalamessa and Carlo Maria Martini
4. Simon, Called Peter: In the Company of a Man in Search of God by Mauro-Giuseppe Lepori
5. Calvary and the Mass by Fulton J. Sheen
6. The Week of Salvation: History and Traditions of Holy Week by James Monti
7. Death on a Friday Afternoon: Meditations on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross by Richard John Neuhaus
8. On the Passion of Christ According to the Four Evangelists by Thomas a Kempis
9. Making Sense Out of Suffering by Peter Kreeft
10. Open Wide the Door to Christ by S. C. Biela
11. The Fulfillment of All Desire: A Guidebook for the Journey to God Based on the Wisdom of the Saints by Ralph Martin
12. Suffering of Love: Christ's Descent into the Hell of Human Hopelessness by Regis Martin
13. The Art of Dying Well (or, How to be a Saint, Now and Forever) by Saint Robert Bellarmine
14. Behold the Pierced One: An Approach to a Spiritual Christology by Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI
15. Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration by Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI
16. Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem to the Resurrection by Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI
17. Come Be My Light: The Private Writings of the "Saint of Calcutta" by Mother Teresa, edited by Brian Kolodiejchuk
18. Mysterium Paschale: The Mystery of Easter by Hans Urs von Balthasar
19. Characters of the Passion: Lessons on Faith and Trust by Fulton J. Sheen
20. The True Icon: From the Shroud of Turin to the Veil of Manopello by Paul Badde

That should keep you busy for a few days, and your local bookstore or library should have at least one of those titles.

What books have I forgotten?

All this because of a donkey?

A very curious thing happens today when Jesus says a few words to two of his disciples.  “Go into the village opposite you,” he tells them, “and immediately on entering it, you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat.  Untie it and bring it here” (Mark 11:2).

They do as they are instructed and place garments upon the mount.  Jesus rides the colt into the city of Jerusalem and is welcomed with great exultation from the people who spread their cloaks before him, wave branches around him, and cry out to him with words of both praise and hope.  Why should such a scene be caused by one simple donkey?

The people of Jerusalem recognized the beginning of the fulfillment of their Messianic hopes in that donkey and remembered the prophecy spoken by Zechariah: "Exult greatly, O daughter Zion! / Shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! / Behold: your king is coming to you, / a just savior is he, / Humble, and riding on a donkey, / on a colt, the foal of a donkey" (Zechariah 9:9).

Such a humble beast to cause such excitement.

But whereas in our day the donkey is an animal of little account, in the ancient Near East the donkey was the animal of kings.  In the Book of Genesis the donkey is connected with the promise of the Davidic dynasty: "The scepter shall never depart from Judah, / Or the mace from between his feet, / Until tribute comes to him, / And he receives the people’s obedience. / He tethers his donkey to the vine, / His donkey’s foal to the choicest stem" (Genesis 49:10-11).

And in the Book of Judges, the leaders of Israel are “those who ride on white donkeys” (Judges 5:10).

Even so, there is something peculiar about this donkey, which the disciples are told they will find “immediately” on entering the city.  This donkey is has been prepared for this purpose and is ready to be put to use.  What is more, “no one has ever sat” on this animal; it is intended for Jesus alone.

When Jesus arrived outside the gate of Jerusalem, the people must have also recalled the words of the Prophet Isaiah who instructed the watchman to look for “someone riding on a donkey” and when such a one should come to “pay heed, very close heed” (Isaiah 21:7).  The one who rode on the donkey would be calling out, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon” (Isaiah 21:9)!  During the lifetime of Isaiah, Babylon was the greatest of Israel’s enemies.

Some time before, after Jesus had multiplied a few loaves of bread and a few fish to feed a crowd of several thousand, the people wanted “to carry him off to make him king” (John 6:15).  Earlier they wanted to make him king because they saw him the figure of the Prophet Elisha, who also multiplied bread for a crowd; this memory is not lost on them today (see II Kings 4:42).

They also saw in Jesus the fulfillment of the prophecy of Moses: “A prophet like me will the Lord, your God, raise up for you from among your own kindred; that is the one to whom you shall listen” (Deuteronomy 18:15).  They had already heard the voice of the Father when he was baptized by John in the river Jordan (see Luke 3:22).  He had already imitated Moses through his sermon on the mount (see Matthew 5).  They heard him speak with authority (see Luke 4:32) and saw the many signs he performed.

Could there, then, be any doubt that this Jesus was the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies, that he was indeed the Messiah, the one who came to them today in so kingly a fashion?  It all seemed so clear.  When Jesus sent for his donkey, they knew what he was getting at and so did he.

Everything seemed so clear: Rome soon would fall and the people would have their physical needs met by the Prophet, the new Moses, the King of Judah and Israel.  So it was that the people threw their garments before him, just as the people had done centuries ago to declare Jehu king (see II Kings 9:13).  In this gesture steeped in symbolism, the people accepted Jesus as their king.

Because they welcomed Jesus as their king, the people waved branches all around him, as they did during the time of the Maccabees.  When the stronghold of Jerusalem was reclaimed, “the Jews entered the citadel with shouts of praise, the waving of palm branches, the playing of harps and cymbals and lyres, and the singing of hymns and canticles, because a great enemy of Israel had been crushed” (I Maccabees 13:51).  Soon, the people though, Rome, too, would be crushed.

Just a short time later, to celebrate the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, the people carried “rods entwined with leaves, beautiful branches and palms, [and] sang hymns of grateful praise” (II Maccabees 10:7).  Today the people sang hymns of grateful praise to Jesus, to him “who comes in the name of the Lord” (Mark 11:9).  With these words, the crowd quoted the same Psalm that sings, “The joyful shout of deliverance is heard in the tents of the righteous” (118: 26, 15).

The waving of branches also called to mind the Feast of Booths (or of Tents or of Tabernacles) which the Lord gave to Moses to remember the time the Israelites lived in tents after the Lord delivered them from Egypt.  The Lord instructed Moses, “On the first day you shall gather fruit of majestic trees, branches of palms, and boughs of leafy trees and valley willows” (Leviticus 23:40).  So it is that on the first of the day week the peopled waved branches to welcome the king whose victory would deliver them from Roman occupation.

Yes, all this because of one donkey.

In their great hopes for and expectations of Jesus, the people were both correct and incorrect.  He was indeed their Messiah and their King and he would indeed deliver them.  But he would deliver them not from the empire of Rome, but from the kingdom of sin and death.  He would achieve his victory not through insurrection and physical force, but through the humble force of his sacrificial love.

Today, dear brothers and sisters, “we gather together to herald with the whole Church the beginning of the celebration of the Paschal Mystery, that is to say, of his Passion and Resurrection,” the means through which the Lord will achieve his victory and show himself to be both Messiah and King (Roman Missal, Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, 5).

Let us pray, then, this day, “that we, who follow Christ the King in exultation, may reach the eternal Jerusalem through him” (Roman Missal, Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, 6).

Palms in Cathedrals

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Springfield, Illinois

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace
Honolulu, Hawai'i

I particularly like the palms at the top of the pillars.  Alas, we have no palm trees readily available in central Illinois.

Growing older

This past Monday I celebrated my 34th birthday, which led me to wonder why we speak of "birthdays" and "wedding/ordination anniversaries."  Why don't we speak instead of "birth anniversaries" or "weddingdays" or "ordinationdays"?  I don't have an answer for this question.

At any rate, among the many greetings I received for my birthday - for which I am deeply grateful - came these words from a brother-priest that he borrowed from William Shakespeare:

Have you not a moist eye, a dry hand, a yellow cheek, a white beard, a decreasing leg, an increasing belly?  Is not your voice broken, your mind short, your chin double, your wit single, and every part about you blasted with antiquity?

Some days it certainly does feel that every part about me is indeed blasted with antiquity, but not today (probably because I slept for more than 10 hours last night, which was nice).  I'm not quite there yet, but it won't be long until I am..

The vengeance of the Lord

The Christian singer and songwriter Rich Mullins once quipped,

I know, "'vengeance is mine,' says the Lord."  I just want to be about the Lord's business.

How many times in our own lives do we, too, just want to be about the Lord's business?  How often do we say with Jeremiah, in one way or another, "Let me witness the vengeance you take on them [my enemies], for to you [O Lord] I have entrusted my cause" (Jeremiah 20:12).

Today, as on every Friday and at every celebration of the Eucharist, and especially as we draw near to Holy Week, we can indeed witness the vengeance God takes upon his enemies.

As Jesus ascended Mount Calvary to perform the Father's work, the work of reconciliation, God's vengeance was made known (cf. John 10:37-38).  As he hung upon the Cross, Jesus could well say, "the cords of the nether world enmeshed me, the snares of death overtook me," though only for a moment (Psalm 18:6).

From the Cross, the Lord Jesus cried out in his distress to his Father and his "cry to him reached his ears" who then raised him from the dead on the third day (Psalm 18:7).  Through his death and resurrection, Jesus "has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked" (Jeremiah 20:13)!

What is more, the Lord calls each of us to participate in his vengeance as he says, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23).  Whenever we unite ourselves to the Lord's Cross, we witness his vengeance, though it is very much not what we would expect it to be.

Let each of us, then, gather at the foot of the Cross, at the stronghold of the Savior, and there call upon the Lord who will indeed hear us (cf. Psalm 18:3).

The mastering odor of the lilac holds me

The olfactory senses are rather intriguing and baffling sometimes.  Isn't it amazing how one simple smell can trigger so many memories?  Often enough such scents waft by our noses quite unexpectedly, sometimes to our delight and sometimes to our sadness.

In his poem, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," Walt Whitman movingly remembers a fallen comrade.  He begins, saying,

When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd,
And the great star early droop'd in the western sky in the night,
I mourn'd, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.

Ever-returning spring, trinity sure to me you bring,
lilac blossoming perennial and drooping star in the west,
And thought of him I love.

After several stanzas wondering how he shall mourn his fallen friend, Whitman says, "Yet the lilac with mastering odor holds me."  The mastering odor of the lilac holds me, too, though with much more pleasant memories.

Growing up in Quincy, we had three lilac bushes planted at three corners of our house.  Every spring when we opened the windows the mastering odor of the lilac wafted through the house.  For me, the scent of the lilac always recalls the beauty of spring and arrival of my favorite season.

The scent of the lilac reminds me of more peaceful and relaxing times, of simple soccer games outside, of video games and books and Legos.  It reminds me of hours spent in the fields building forts and playing to be knights and kings.  It reminds me of lemonade and lawn chairs, thunderstorms and family (we spent hours on the front porch watching the storms roll in across the Mississippi River).  (It also makes me think of the hilarious musical, Nunsense.)  In short, the scent of the lilac reminds of childhood and happiness and simple times.

This morning as I went for a walk, I thought twice I smelled the scent of lilacs, though I could not find the bushes.  I know it seems early yet for lilacs, but this has been a strange winter and spring.  The mastering odor of the lilac always lifts my spirit and fills me with gratitude.

What memories do lilacs bring to you?

Helping children pray

Some time ago reader Steve asked, "Would you be willing to maybe post sometime on how adults can encourage a real prayer life in children?"  I was very willing to do so at the time, but time then was tight.

This is not an easy question to answer and every situation will be different given the personalities involved.  Even so, it is possible to provide a few suggestions that can likely be utilized in many circumstances.

In his book-length interview My Brother, The Pope, the Reverend Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, after remembering the Christmas traditions of his family, said (with my emphases):

In our family, though, it was not only Christmas that was marked by the deep faith of our parents and the religious customs of our homeland.  From our parents we learned what it means to have a firm grasp of faith in God.  Every day we prayed together, and in fact before and after each meal (we ate our breakfast, dinner, and supper together).  The main prayer time was after the midday dinner, when the particular concerns of the family were expressed.  Part of it was the prayer to Saint Dismas, the "good theif", a former criminal who was crucified together with Jesus on Mount Calvary, repented on the cross, and begged the Lord for mercy.  We prayed to him, the patron of repentant thieves, to protect Father [a policeman] from professional troubles.

....When we were children, our parents also put us to bed and prayed our evening prayers with us.  They used a special form of blessing and repeated it three times....

This piety, which was lived and put into practice, defined our whole life...  [I]t was imparted to us children in the cradle, so to speak, and we remained faithful to it throughout our lives.

I am convinced that the lack of this traditional piety in many families is the reason why there are too few priestly vocations today.  Many people in our time practice a form of atheism rather than the Christian faith.  In some respects, they may maintain a vestigial religiosity; perhaps they still go to Mass on the major feast days, but this rudimentary faith long ago ceased to permeate their lives, and it has no bearing on their everyday routine.  It starts with sitting down at table and beginning a meal without even thinking about prayer, and it ends with no longer coming to church regularly on Sundays.  Thus, an almost pagan way of life has taken root.  If there are no religious practies even in family life, then this has an effect on all the rest of human life (45-47).

If we think Monsignor Ratzinger is a bit harsh in his assessment or old fashioned, we simply deceive ourselves.   Now, then, to Steve's excellent question.  I don't quite know the best way to go about it, so I'll simply make a list of suggestions, in no particular order:

1. Children must see in their parents an authentic love of the faith and a desire to be faithful in every aspect of their lives, and in such a discipleship the children must sense the joy that comes from following Christ.
2. Children should see their parents in prayer, both before the tabernacle and at home.  Children learn from imitation.  If they see their parents pray, they, too, will learn to pray.  This means that parents must pray; this has to come first.
3. Set up a family altar, a special table covered with a cloth in a prominent place in the home.  On the table, place a Bible, a book of the saints, a book of prayers, a candle, a statue of a patron saint, a rosary, etc.  On the wall above the table hang a crucifix.  I always like the San Damiano crucifix because it also tells the story of the Lord's Passion and can be used throughout the year as a teaching device.  Use this family altar each day and try to do so at the same time of day.  Build it into the family schedule.  Everything else is secondary; God must come first.  Always.
4. Never water down the faith or the teachings of the Church, especially if they are in high school.  Despite the temptation, never pander the faith to your children.  They can handle it and they can wrestle with it.  Young people today simply want to know the truth; speak it to them plainly.
5. If you have to give a simplistic answer to a question when your child is young (for good reason) be certain to expound that answer as your child grows up.  Do not leave them with a second grade understanding of, say, Holy Communion or Confession when they're 16.
6. If you do not know the answer to your child's question about the faith, do not say, "I don't know; it's a mystery" (unless it genuinely is a mystery, but even then say something about it.  Remember: the Holy Trinity is the only part of Christian faith that cannot be known by reason; in the end, it truly is a mystery.  Everything else can be explained reasonably, even if only in part).  If you don't know the answer, simply say, "That's a great question and I don't know the answer to it, but I'll be glad to find the answer for you."  Consult your catechism, your pastor, a knowledgable friend, and scour the Internet if you have to.  Just find the answer.  And do so as quickly as you can.
7. Always to seek to show not only the beauty and simplicity of the faith, but also the reasonableness of the faith.
8. Study the history of the Church - especially if your children are in high school - to be able to explain what really happened with the Crusades, the Inquisition, Galileo, etc.  Common myths should be debunked.
9. Pray the rosary together at least once a week.
10. Go to confession at least once a month (more often if you need it) and bring with your children with you (to the church, anyway).  Let them see you enter the confessional and return to the pew to offer a prayer of thanksgiving.  Encourage them to go to confession, too.
11. Help your chilren examine their consciences from time to time, and provide them with age-appropriate guides.
12. Give your children a religious book at Christmas, Easter and other major celebrations.
13. Celebrate the day of your children's baptism with more festivity than their birthday.
14. Have a special dinner each year on their "name day," the feast day of the patron saint.
15. Name your children after saints and teach them their stories.
16. Talk about the saint of the day and the daily Mass readings at supper.
17. Talk about the Pope's travels or his Angelus addresses together.
18. Pray the Stations of the Cross together each Friday.
19. Go to Eucharistic adoration together as a family.
20. We running your daily errands, purposefully drive by your church and stop in for a moment of prayer together.  You know, just to say "Hi" to Jesus.
21. Share your faith struggles and questions with your children.  It's good for them to know that you wrestle with the same struggles and questions as they do, but be sure to reinforce your faith in the midst of doubts.  Teach the beauty of the words, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief."
22. Be sure to show your concern for your children's faith and eternal salvation.
23. Never answer the question, "Why do we have to go to Mass today" saying, "Because I said so."

What additional advice would you, dear readers, like to add?

Wear black on Fridays to end abortions.

Abortion Blackout is calling upon the faithful in the United States of America to wear black every Friday as a public witness to the horror of abortion and as a call for it's end in this country:

It's an easy thing for me and my brother priests to do, but since we wear black every day such a witness from us is not likely to be noticeable, but from the laity it would certainly be noticeable.

Capello tip to A Catholic Mom in Hawaii.

It's just a walking cane

Earlier today the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI departed for his Apostolic Journey to Cuba and the Republic of Mexico.  Regrettably, I won't be able to watch much of the visits over the next several days due to other commitments.

The big news thus far of the Apostolic journey is that, for the first time in public, Pope Benedict XVI walked with a cane on his way to the airport.  The use of the cane undoubtedly lead to speculations about the Pope's health and what not, but if you look at this picture from the Associated Press you'll see such speculation will be rather unfounded:

In years past, I had used a cane many times because of my arthritis and often found it necessary not only in walking but also in rising and sitting.  Looking at the Holy Father, he clearly does not need the cane.

Look at his right hand.  He is simply carrying the cane.  It may touch the ground from time to time, but he certainly isn't dependent upon it.  An anonymous source in the Vatican told the Associated Press the Pope started using the cane in private a couple of months because it made him feel more secure.

I, for one, commend the Holy Father for using the cane.  I can testify from my own experience that they do may walking much easier.  Without even being aware of it, using a cane not only evens your pace, but also takes pressure of our joints, even without relying on the cane.

There was once a time when gentlemen routinely carried a walking cane with him.  I wouldn't mind seeing such a custom return.

I often made use of a walking cane when I was in Effingham simply to speed my walk from the rectory to the high school.  It quickly became a hit at the high school:

I also used this one from time to time:

A good walking cane can be both practical and fashionable.
Walking canes, after all, come in handy.  You can press the button for the elevator before reaching the doors.  You can give someone you want to speak with a gentle tap if he has just walked out of arm's length.  It becomes something to play with when waiting pointlessly at a crosswalk.

At any rate, if you hear someone speak of the Pope's waning strength evidenced by the use of the cane, don't pay much attention to them.

More on the Grand Mufti's words

Over at his online Coffeehouse, Brian - a friend who is more knowledgeable in things of the Middles East than I - cautions against an over-reaction to the recent calls of Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia to "destroy all the churches".

Among other things, Brian notes that the Grand Mufti's call would violate Article 2 of the Kuwaiti Constitution, as Yousef Al-Shayeji, Secretary General of Democratic Platform, said.  Even so, I don't think we such simply dismiss his words.

In an effort to correct the Grand Mufti's words, Dr. Bader Al-Dehani, Deputy Chairman of Kuwait Graduates Society, said:

It is inimical to democratic principles that revolve around values, tolerance, mutual respect and preservation of freedom to demolish any mosque, church or other places of worship.

If this is true, why are Christians not already to freely and publicly practice their faith in Kuwait and in other Muslim countries?  Why are they only allowed to practice their faith - in his own words - according to the permissions provided in the Constitution?

I am grateful for the many denouncements of the Grand Mufti's words, but where are the calls for the full, public, and authentic legal extension of the freedom of religion to Christians?

While it is true that in some places in the Muslim world Christians are granted some freedom.  The government of Qatar recently approved the building of a Maronite Catholic church in Abu Hammour.  Even so, this very permission demonstrates a lack of full and public freedom of religion for Christians in Muslim countries.

As another example, if we look at the Grand Mufti's Saudi Arabia, his words simply could not be followed because of one simple fact: there are no churches in Saudi Arabia, despite there being many Christians.  As Father Alexander Lucie-Smith writes in the Catholic Herald:

The Grand Mufti and all who think like him need to be challenged. Religious freedom is something we claim of right, not of privilege. The freedom of Christians to pray, to meet, to organise, to own buildings – these are non-negotiable.

His Eminence Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, in speaking of common misunderstandings of Christians about Muslims and of Muslims about Christians, recently said of Christians in the Middle East, "You cannot deny that they are the target of a kind of opposition. I have been in the Middle East for many years and what I felt was that Christians feel they are second-class citizens in countries where Muslims are the majority."

The Prince of Jordan, Hassan Ibn Talal, recently spoke at a conference that focused on the theme, "Christianity in the East: To Where?" He said, in part, "The Arab Christians are Arabs, and are the pioneers of thought and Arab revival."

Summarizing the Prince's remarks, Father Samir Khalil Samir, S.J. said, "Prince Hassan asked for the meeting to stop this exodus [of Christians] and to ask Christians very clearly to remain."  But if this is to happen, if Christians are to remain, Father Samir said, "The conditions to remain is to be recognised by the constitutions as true citizens, having the same rights of citizenship and true equalities as everybody."

I hope and pray that these conditions are being recognized for Christians in Muslim countries, but at the moment I don't see it happening.

The Grand Mufti's words come several months after Salem Abu Al-Futouh, an Egyptian Muslim cleric said that Islam will conquer Rome:

The Prophet Muhammad told us that Islam would spread. He told us about the Islamic conquest of Constantinople - Turkey of today - and indeed, it was conquered. He also told us about the conquest of Rome, which is Italy. People find this strange. "How can we conquer Italy?" they say. "We are too weak." You should consider the number of Muslims in that great Christian center - another person converts to Islam every day. Check on the Internet how many people want to convert to Islam in the very heart of that papal center of Christianity, on their own turf.  

Brothers and sisters, Islam spread by means of the power of Allah, because it is the religion of Truth. When a Westerner whose heart is not filled with the hatred of Islam, someone who has not been raised on the hatred of Islam, begins to contemplate all the religions, he finds no other religion that respects human rights, and is in keeping with equality, justice, freedom, and democracy.

How he can claim that Islam respects human rights (despite the numerous restrictions placed on women in Muslim countries) and is in keeing with equality and justice (while treating Christians, at best, as second class citizens and refusing to allow them the free practice of their faith) is beyond me.

Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia: "Destroy all the churches"

You won't likely learn about this in the main stream media, but this past Thursday the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, called on Muslims in Kuwait to do whatever is "necessary to destroy all the churches of the region."

Not only is the Grand Mufti the supreme Islamic leader in Saudi Arabia, he is also the head of the Supreme Council of Ulema (an Islamic scholarly association) and of the Standing Committee for Scientific Research and Issuing of Fatwas.

The situation in Kuwait where only Islam can legally be practiced will soon likely grow much more serious, especially since a Kuwaiti Parliamentarian, Osama Al-Munawer, has already called " to ban the construction of churches and non-Islamic places of worship in the Gulf state," according to Arabian Business.  Another member of the Kuwaiti Parliament, Mohammed Hayef, said his country "already has an excessive number of churches compared to the country’s Christian minority."

The Washington Times ran an editorial on Friday in which the editorial staff wrote:

If the pope called for the destruction of all the mosques in Europe, the uproar would be cataclysmic. Pundits would lambaste the church, the White House would rush out a statement of deep concern, and rioters in the Middle East would kill each other in their grief. But when the most influential leader in the Muslim world issues a fatwa to destroy Christian churches, the silence is deafening.

Get Religionist Mollie asks the same question:

Can you imagine the coverage if, say, the Pope or some other major religious leader called for similar destruction? Even if it were a minor Christian or Jewish figure using such rhetoric, one imagines it would receive tremendous coverage.

Lest anyone think the Grand Mufti's words should not be troubling, it should be noted as The Washington Times goes on to say,

This is not a small-time radical imam trying to stir up his followers with fiery hate speech. This was a considered, deliberate and specific ruling from one of the most important leaders in the Muslim world. It does not just create a religious obligation for those over whom the mufti has direct authority; it is also a signal to others in the Muslim world that destroying churches is not only permitted but mandatory. 

The anniversary of Damien's arrival

On this day in 1864 a young Brother Damien de Vuester arrived in Hawai'i to take the place of his brother, Pamphille, to labor in the missions of what were then called the Sandwhich Islands.

To commemorate the arrival of the one who would soon become the Hero of Moloka'i, Rorate Caeli has a good post with excerpts from the famous letter of Robert Louis Stevenson in defense of Father Damien.

On the proper order of initiation

His Excellency the Most Reverend Samuel J. Aquila, Bishop of Fargo, has been a leading adovocate for the restoration of the proper order of the Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist.

Speaking at Mundelein Seminary last July, he spoke against treating the Sacrament of Confirmation as "a reward, or worse, as something earned or deserved for attendance and work in a parish catechetical program."  This Sacrament is often treated this way because are under the false impression that Confirmation is about the candidate's choosing on his/her own to follow Christ.  Bishop Aquila corrected this widespread misunderstanding, saying, "Confirmation is not marked by a choice to believe or not believe in the Catholic faith. Rather as disciples we are chosen by God to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit."

As one who received the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation together on the day of my birth - as a Roman Catholic (I was not expected to survive) - I am in full agreement with Bishop Aquila on this matter.  And, it turns out, so is the Pope.

After meeting Pope Benedict XVI on March 8, 2012, Bishop Aquila said:

I was very surprised in what the Pope said to me, in terms of how happy he was that the sacraments of initiation have been restored to their proper order of baptism, confirmation then first Eucharist.

Pope: Venerating Mary means learning from her how to pray

Last week the Holy Father Benedict XVI began a new catechetical series as the theme for his Wednesday General Audiences on the topic of prayer in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Letters of Saint Paul.

He began this series reflecting on the "praying presence of the Virgin in the midst of the disciples who would become the first nascent Church."  Mary, he said, "quietly followed her Son’s entire journey during His public life, even to the foot of the Cross; and now she continues in silent prayer to follow along the Church’s path."

His Holiness sees this praying presence throughout Mary's life:

The stages in Mary’s journey -- from the home of Nazareth to that in Jerusalem, through the Cross where her Son entrusts to her the Apostle John -- are marked by her ability to maintain a persevering atmosphere of recollection, so that she might ponder each event in the silence of her heart before God (cf. Luke 2:19-51) and in meditation before God, also see the will of God therein and be able to accept it interiorly. 

The presence of the Mother of God with the Eleven following the Ascension is not, then, a simple historical annotation regarding a thing of the past; rather, it assumes a meaning of great value, for she shares with them what is most precious: the living memory of Jesus, in prayer; and she shares this mission of Jesus: to preserve the memory of Jesus and thereby to preserve His presence.

Noting that often times "prayer is dictated by difficult situations, by personal problems that lead us to turn to the Lord for light, comfort and help," Pope Benedict said venerating Mary within the Church "means learning from her to become a community that prays."

Concluding his reflections, the Supreme Pontiff invited the faithful to entrust themsleves to the Blessed Virgin Mary:

As Mother of God and Mother of the Church, Mary exercises her maternity until the end of history. Let us entrust every phase of our personal and ecclesial lives to her, not the least of which is our final passing. Mary teaches us the necessity of prayer, and she shows us that it is only through a constant, intimate, loving bond with her Son that we may courageously leave “our home,” ourselves, in order to reach the ends of the earth and everywhere announce the Lord Jesus, the Savior of the world.

An atheistic unblessing?

There are many people today - mostly loud atheists - who tell us that atheists are more intelligent than people of faith.

I will not deny that there are some atheists who are more intellent than some theists, but the atheists associated with this bizarre event in Lakeland, Florida are not among them:

Armed with brooms, mops and "unholy water," the atheists gathered Saturday to symbolically clean up holy oil that Polk Under Prayer put down on Highway 98 near the Pasco-Polk county line last year, Bay News 9 reported. 

"We come in peace," Humanists of Florida director Mark Palmer announced before he and members of other atheist organizations launched their cleanup. "Now that's normally what aliens say when they visit a new planet, but we're not aliens, we're atheists" [more]!

Be sure to read the entire article and you are bound to feel more intelligent than before, simply from the illogical of these atheists words and actions.

Update:

Father Longenecker, commenting on the above story, rightly said: "If they really wanted to counter a Christian blessing they should have got some shaman or witch in to curse the place, and it is only a matter of time before they do so."  Be sure to read his post.

On religion and secularity, or why the middle ages were better

I'm presently reading through Professor Eamon Duffy's concise book, Ten Popes Who Shook the World.  This afternoon I found these words in his chapter on Pope Gregory VII particularly apt:

For a hundred years or more, most western countries have worked on the axiom that our common life together ought to be deliberately secular.  Religion in a free society may be acceptable as a private activity, like knitting or going to the gym, but it has no proper place in the spheres of politics, economics or citizenship.

The rise of militant Islam, like the influence of the Christian Right on American foreign policy and, perhaps more encouragingly, the role of the Catholic Church in the overthrow of Polish communism, might suggest that in the real world things are not necessarily quite so simple.

That much at any rate was understood in the Middle Ages, where everyone accepted that religion - the fundamental understanding of life, death, the Universe and everything - was liable to have an impact on the way that society was organized (60).

This is a helpful book that offers short synopses of the most important activities of a few of the Popes.  There is, though, one error in the book.  Duffy, in his chapter on Saint Peter, says: "...the long line of bishops of Rome, the popes - all 262 of them - are Peter's successors" (30).  Pope Benedict XVI is the 265th Successor of Peter, making him the 266th Pope.

R.I.P.

His Most Blessed Beatitude Pope Shenouda III, Patriarch of Alexandria and the spiritual leader of Egypt's Coptic Christians, died today at the age of 88.

May he rest in peace, and my the Lord guard his flock.

To know Saint Patrick

Today, as Catholics and non-Catholics alike enjoy this Memorial of the man who is perhaps the most celebrated man from the English isle, His Eminence Sean Cardinal Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, has issued a message inviting everyone to know the real Saint Patrick:

Copies have survived of two writings of St Patrick.  They tell us the kind of man Patrick was, of his faith and of his understanding of God.  They tell us that Patrick was a man who knew how to turn adversity into opportunity.  He successfully turned the adversity of six years of slavery on Slemish into an opportunity to grow in his knowledge and love of the God who, in Patrick’s words, “protected and comforted me as a father would his son.”  That knowledge and love of the Triune God are the basis of Patrick’s greatness.  

Adversity also taught him the folly of relying exclusively on himself and the necessity of relying on others and especially on the God who created him. 

My hope on this St Patrick’s day is that more and more Irish people will come to know the kind of person St Patrick really was, that they will come to know the faith that inspired him and carried him through the adversities of his life [more].

Let us not celebrate this day with drunken revelry, but with deep gratitude to Almighty God for the gift of so generous a man as Patrick, who dedicated his life to the spread of the Gospel in a foreign land.

On judging judgers

Yesterday, Father James Martin, S.J. - the author of several recent popular books, none of which I have read and whom I do not know - changed his Facebook status to read:

I'm tired of Catholics telling other Catholics they're bad Catholics. The only exceptions: (a) you possess the miraculous gift of being able to see within someone else's soul or (b) you're Jesus. If you don't satisfy (a) or (b) please stop the judging, especially on this page.

If one thinks this through logically, isn't Father Martin himself telling certain Catholics they are "bad Catholics"?  Isn't he doing the very thing he condemns?

I'm not writing these words to judge Father Martin, but only to out the illogic of such a statement, which no small number of people generally tend to agree.  It's nothing more than the silly notion of tolerance run rampant.

Consider this: in order to make such a statement, Father Martin is already claiming to be able see within someone else's soul and he has, by virtue of this statement, himself already judged other Catholics and determined them - because of their judgments or judgmental attitude - to be bad.

Certainly I will not disagree that there are many Catholics who simply look for trouble and stir it up whenever and wherever they can and always presume the worst intentions in other people, other Catholics in particular.  Certainly these Catholics need to take a deep breath and speak the truth with gentleness and love and not presume the worst in everyone.

It must be noted, however, that there is a great difference between judging another person and juding another person's actions.  If we are to help one another grow in holiness - because we are, after all, one another's keepers - then we must make a judgment about one another's actions.  Are these actions in keeping with the teachings of Christ and his Church?  If they are, we should encourage them.  If they are not, then our brothers and sisters need to be corrected and shown the truth of the Gospel.  Doing so requires that we make a judgment.

A Sign of Spring

As seen in a sacristy in a local church: