Catholic Sensibility

2006-11-05T06:37:00.000-06:00

Making the Switch I'll leave this old site up for awhile, but please visit the new site. Remember to bookmark, and all. I have a long day at the parish ahead, but I hope to have Neil on board with WordPress very soon.

2006-11-04T19:45:00.000-06:00

Whatever Next? This post, despite its title, will not be about the blog, although I'm delighted that Todd is planning to switch to Wordpress if it means that we can better archive our posts, although the move will probably make my disturbing level of computer illiteracy more evident during the next several weeks. This post is about the afterlife. For this Sunday's "Credo" column, the editors of

2006-11-04T09:24:00.000-06:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 24 Vatican II's emphasis on the importance of the Liturgy of the Word: Sacred scripture is of the greatest importance in the celebration of the liturgy. For it is from scripture that lessons are read and explained in the homily, and psalms are sung; the prayers, collects, and liturgical songs are scriptural in their inspiration and their force, and it is from the

2006-11-03T23:10:00.000-06:00

My Liturgical Habitat Just for the heck of it, I thought I'd show you a few images of my parish church. Here's the exterior with Tudor theme: And the interior from the choir loft. The clutter in front of the altar is from last week's diocesan jubilee event at a school Mass: 50 cans of food from every classroom on the 50th day of school in the 50th year of the merged dioceses. Here's an

2006-11-03T14:00:00.000-06:00

Like My Oak Trees ... I have the software downloaded and the new Catholic Sensibility site up, but I can't figure out how to make WordPress do what I want it to do. Ack. Maybe another day. Blogger seems to be regurgitating all the pretty pictures I posted this morning, so the Big Switch will likely be put off till after next Monday's neighborhood leaf collection. And I still have to confer with

2006-11-03T13:42:00.000-06:00

All Souls: Good, Bad, Ugly, Etc. We had a good experience with a parish novelty last night: an evening Mass on All Souls with a reception following. We've always invited next-of-kin to our morning Mass and had coffee and rolls afterward. Our new pastor Father Don was receptive to adding an extra Mass. A handful of the fifty families attended, plus a larger handful of parishioners. We had more

2006-11-03T13:23:00.000-06:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 23 More on general norms to be used in liturgical reform That sound tradition may be retained, and yet the way remain open to legitimate progress careful investigation is always to be made into each part of the liturgy which is to be revised. This investigation should be theological, historical, and pastoral. Hindsight might tell us that liturgical investigation was

2006-11-03T12:30:00.000-06:00

How to Read the Story of Adam and Eve In his current "Life in Christ" column - which is always worth reading, the Orthodox priest and exegete John Breck responds to a question that is unfortunately more often brushed aside with a smile than actually answered: How do we take the first chapters of Genesis seriously without taking them literally and having to commit ourselves to some form of

2006-11-03T10:35:00.000-06:00

How To Improve Church Music III: What's A Pastor To Do A pastor has to hire a competent professional he can trust, who is close to agreement with him in pastoral and theological philosophy. Then let go. Aside from that, priests can do a lot of familiarize themselves with music, even if their seminary training was deficient. I would suggest some of these: - Attend choral concerts in your area.

2006-11-03T10:32:00.000-06:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 22 Vatican II details "general norms" mentioned in the last section: 1. Regulation of the sacred liturgy depends solely on the authority of the Church, that is, on the Apostolic See and, as laws may determine, on the bishop. 2. In virtue of power conceded by the law, the regulation of the liturgy within certain defined limits belongs also to various kinds of

2006-11-03T09:06:00.000-06:00

Antarctic Chaplaincy I've often wondered about ministry in Antarctica. Do the various bases have chaplains? How are they staffed? Who's responsible? Nancy Frazier O'Brien's CNS feature story profiles Father John Harrison of the New Zealand diocese of Dunedin, who recently flew to McMurdo Station for his fifth tour as chaplain. The outpost on Ross Island, seen here on the left, houses more than

2006-11-03T08:50:00.000-06:00

Multicultural Liturgy in Georgia From the Catholic News Hub, this Georgia Bulletin story about an annual archdicoesan multicultural Mass. Archbishop Gregory: “(W)e here gather around the table where we know the giving of peace is to be found and where food we serve here nourishes not only the body but our heart. We gather in knowing there is a Balm in Gilead that will, if we but accept it, heal

2006-11-03T08:40:00.000-06:00

Flying Rings Around a Planet A good amount of ring posts on this week's Cassini site, including this image showing those ghostly "spokes" aligned ad siderum. Voyager 1 first spotted the spokes on its 1980 flyby of Saturn. Scientists were completely clueless, as the spokes appeared to violate the laws of physics. Today we suspect they are some interaction between Saturn's magnetic field and

2006-11-02T20:12:00.000-06:00

St Seraphim of Sarov I meant to write something for All Saints' Day. Then, since time was short, I intended to post an excerpt (here, in any case, is an excerpt from a Theological Studies article on the saints and intercession that I put up last year). But, of course, I didn't have the time to do anything at all. I only have a few minutes today, so I would like to draw your attention to a 2002

2006-11-02T17:01:00.000-06:00

Finn in Star Our bishop gets a prominent editorial in today's Star. It's an appeal to the thinking voter. After a rough campaign season, I don't know how many citizens are thinking as opposed to reacting, but it's a game try, nonetheless.

2006-11-02T15:40:00.000-06:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 21 Now we get to some of the principles laid down for actual liturgical reform in this subsection of chapter 1, entitled, "The Reform of the Sacred Liturgy." In order that the Christian people may more certainly derive an abundance of graces from the sacred liturgy, holy Mother Church desires to undertake with great care a general restoration of the liturgy itself. This

2006-11-01T21:30:00.000-06:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 20 Reading about the emerging media in Vatican II is always interesting. Here, the council bishops acknowledge television as a media force, but they acknowledge the bishop may not be the most competent to make judgments. Transmissions of the sacred rites by radio and television shall be done with discretion and dignity, under the leadership and direction of a suitable

2006-11-01T21:15:00.000-06:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 19 Tonight's post describes the role of the pastor, including yet another mention of active participation: With zeal and patience, pastors of souls must promote the liturgical instruction of the faithful, and also their active participation in the liturgy both internally and externally, taking into account their age and condition, their way of life, and standard of

2006-11-01T16:15:00.000-06:00

For All The Saints, Not Just Some Rock passes on a bit of Jesuit James Martin's New York Times editorial on "Saints That Weren't." Sometimes saints weren't the GLB's and GLG's that conservatives make sainthood out to be: All Saints’ Day is a good time to remember that while most saints led lives of quiet service, some led the life of the noisy prophet, speaking the truth to power — even when

2006-11-01T15:37:00.000-06:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 18 Read it, then discuss the two things priests are called to do. Priests, both secular and religious, who are already working in the Lord's vineyard are to be helped by every suitable means to understand ever more fully what it is that they are doing when they perform sacred rites; they are to be aided to live the liturgical life and to share it with the faithful

2006-10-31T17:13:00.000-06:00

The Annual Check-Up I've avoided it in a lot more places than I did it, but I still think it's a good idea: an annual check-up with each choir member. A director should track the ranges of the singers, getting a sense of where they can sing and how well. You can talk to your chorister about voice care: keeping hydrated, warming up on the way to Mass, things like that. I'd recommend talking

2006-10-31T16:36:00.000-06:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 17 More on liturgical formation: In seminaries and houses of religious, clerics shall be given a liturgical formation in their spiritual life. For this they will need proper direction, so that they may be able to understand the sacred rites and take part in them wholeheartedly; and they will also need personally to celebrate the sacred mysteries, as well as popular

2006-10-31T08:57:00.000-06:00

Discipline and Spontaneity I learned from Whispers in the Loggia that, yesterday, the Trappist community of Mepkin Abbey elected Dom Stanislaus Gomula as the new abbot. Keep him in your prayers. The community's previous abbot, Dom Francis Kline, passed away in August. I posted a couple times from Francis Kline's writings after his death - here and here - and perhaps I should do so once more. In

2006-10-30T21:43:00.000-06:00

On the Bookshelf After some heavy European history earlier this month, I had some fun this past weekend with Chris Roberson's Paragaea, reviewed here. I was reading the history mainly to get a sense of the Church's role in the Great War. I learned that the French almost pitched away victory because of their cultural anti-Catholicism. I read of how military leaders were snail-slow to take

2006-10-30T21:06:00.000-06:00

Liturgical Rumblings Talking with some colleagues over the past several days. You know: real world colleagues who have to deal with liturgy in parishes, some of whom are even priests. One friend had an interesting take on the end of the lay purification indult: it's not the pope; it's Arinze. On the Kansas City front, there's nothing afoot on implementation yet. But I did hear from a friend

2006-10-30T21:03:00.000-06:00

The Armchair Liturgist: Auditions for Choir Members What do you think, liebchens? Good idea? Necessary idea? Pastoral disaster? I'll weigh in tomorrow with my opinion.

2006-10-30T20:35:00.000-06:00

Dark Rings and Smooth Operators Here's the latest full color image from Saturn, looking down on the dark side of the rings. The bright sliver on the lower left is the crescent of the day side of the planet. Looks like Blogger has its act together today. Let's see if I can replicate some of last Friday's lost post on moons. Blogosphere, meet Janus: Janus is one of Saturn's relatively small

2006-10-30T17:36:00.000-06:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 16 More on the study of liturgy: The study of sacred liturgy is to be ranked among the compulsory and major courses in seminaries and religions houses of studies; in theological faculties it is to rank among the principal courses. It is to be taught under its theological, historical, spiritual, pastoral, and juridical aspects. In other words, everything. Let me ask

2006-10-30T17:30:00.000-06:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 15 Short and sweet. Enjoy it; we don't get too many in the Vatican II department: Professors who are appointed to teach liturgy in seminaries, religious houses of study, and theological faculties must be properly trained for their work in institutes which specialize in this subject. In other words, a Roman collar is insufficient.

2006-10-29T23:24:00.000-06:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 14 Chapter 1 continues with a new sub-section entitled, "The Promotion of Liturgical Instruction and Active Participation." Let's keep in mind the context of this: we've just completed a nine-part portion outlining the nature of the liturgy and its importance in the life of the Church. Continuing under "General Principles," we read:

2006-10-29T21:03:00.000-06:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 13 What did Vatican II say about devotions? Read it: Popular devotions of the Christian people are to be highly commended, provided they accord with the laws and norms of the Church, above all when they are ordered by the Apostolic See.Devotions proper to individual Churches also have a special dignity if they are undertaken by mandate of the

2006-10-27T14:13:00.000-05:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 12 This section gives a good perspective on external and internal participation. The council, while acknowledging the importance of participation in liturgy, also recognizes the aspect of the spiritual life which is internal: The spiritual life, however, is not limited solely to participation in the liturgy. The Christian is indeed called to pray with (other believers),

2006-10-27T11:28:00.000-05:00

"From Everlasting to Everlasting": Marilynne Robinson on Richard Dawkins You have probably come across reviews of Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion, but the best and most comprehensive review that I have read was contributed by Marilynne Robinson to Harper's. Robinson is best known as the author of the excellent Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Gilead. She is also a Reformed Christian who carefully

2006-10-26T22:45:00.000-05:00

From the Archives of the Catholic World: Nostra Aetate, 1965 I hope that you've noticed that the Paulist Fathers have decided to continue the interrupted second century of publication of the Catholic World in an online format. One of their sections involves reprinting articles from the long past of the magazine. Currently, they feature an older article by Fr John Basil Sheerin, CSP, about Nostra

2006-10-26T15:59:00.000-05:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 11 The council bishops recognized that the old legalistic/minimalist approach was a millstone around our necks. But in order that the liturgy may be able to produce its full effects, it is necessary that the faithful come to it with proper dispositions, that their minds should be attuned to their voices, and that they should cooperate with divine grace lest they receive

2006-10-26T15:34:00.000-05:00

How To Improve Church Music II: What the Diocese Can Do Sacrosanctum Concilium 44 gives some direction here, if you'll pardon our getting ahead of our Vatican II study, and recommends an actual institute "consisting of persons who are eminent in these matters, and including laymen as circumstances suggest. Under the direction of the above-mentioned territorial ecclesiastical authority the

2006-10-26T15:25:00.000-05:00

More Early Music IU's great program, Harmonia, is a weekly listen for me. I often browse the archives and listen to some of the programs from the past several years. Here's last week's program on early funeral music. Be warned: those of you who think that early sacred music is all about organ and voice might be alarmed to know music for lute is included. Consider that a twist on conventional

2006-10-25T19:11:00.000-05:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 10 Here's where we get "source and summit" in Vatican II, one of the most-quoted sections of the whole constitution: Nevertheless the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows. For the aim and object of apostolic works is that all who are made (daughters and) sons of God by

2006-10-25T17:42:00.000-05:00

The Wisdom by which the World was Made I assume that we will continue to reflect on liturgy and music (and various astronomical phenomena) in the coming weeks and months, but we might also find ourselves considering the relationship of faith and reason, the real subject of the Pope's unexpectedly controversial lecture at Regensburg. Our subject is, as the Anglican Bishop of Durham, NT Wright,

2006-10-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 9 Is there more to life than liturgy? Vatican II suggests we also have evangelization: The sacred liturgy does not exhaust the entire activity of the Church. Before (people) can come to the liturgy they must be called to faith and to conversion: "How then are they to call upon him in whom they have not yet believed? But how are they to believe him whom they have not

2006-10-24T20:30:00.000-05:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 8 This is a pretty straightforward piece. Liturgy binds us with the community of heaven: the saints and angels in their worship of God in glory. In the earthly liturgy we take part in a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy which is celebrated in the holy city of Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgrims, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God, a minister of

2006-10-24T18:25:00.000-05:00

Dishwashing Duty If it's not already, the Catholic blogotariat will be atwitter about this one fairly soon: At the direction of Pope Benedict XVI, extraordinary ministers of holy Communion will no longer be permitted to assist in the purification of the sacred vessels at Masses in the United States.The one thing it has going for it is to restore a stronger sense of service in the clergy. In

2006-10-24T18:03:00.000-05:00

How To Improve Church Music I This is a bit of a chicken and egg thing. Without leadership and commitment from the bishops and pastors, good musicians won't be attracted to Roman Catholic parishes, at least not in the numbers we need. And if we lack top shelf musicians, the people will rarely, if ever, experience what good music ministry is all about. And if the people don't get it, they won't

2006-10-24T08:04:00.000-05:00

Mission as Telling the Story of Jesus The blog looks a little strange today. Someone seems to have absconded with our left-hand column. (I can't do anything about it, but I trust that Todd soon will.) As many of you might have noticed, the 2006 Asian Mission Congress, meeting in Thailand from October 19-22, has just concluded. The theme of the congress was "Telling The Story Of Jesus In Asia: A

2006-10-23T16:20:00.000-05:00

What Lies Beneath? The remains of two Perth archbishops were exhumed from under the floorboards of St Mary's cathedral in the Western Australia capital. (R)ecords from 1943 suggested the tombs had been moved to a newer section of St Mary’s, but did not provide the exact location. The puzzle began to take shape about three years ago when archdiocese archivist Sister Frances Stibi discovered one

2006-10-23T16:06:00.000-05:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 7 This section is much-quoted since the council. A reading of SC 5 & 6 is helpful in giving it a wider perspective than traditionalist critics are willing to offer it. You'll remember that SC immediately began chapter 1 "General Principles ..." with a section entitled, "The Nature of the Sacred Liturgy and Its Importance in the Church's Life." Catholics see liturgy as

2006-10-23T15:12:00.000-05:00

Remembering Assisi The Most Rev. William F. Murphy, bishop of Rockville Centre, has an article in the October 23 issue of America on this theme. The twentieth anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace, when Pope John Paul II gathered various Christian and other religious leaders to Assisi "to be together to pray" for peace, will occur this October 26th (Thursday). Since Bishop Murphy's

2006-10-22T21:59:00.000-05:00

WMS MIA and other Weekend Adventures We missed World Mission Sunday at my parish. There was the 9.6 minute video presentation, "The Truth About Cloning" after Communion at all Masses. Homilies were shortened to get the folks out in an hour. I'm also the closest thing to a tech guy at the parish on Sundays, so it was left to me to make sure the hook-ups were in place for Bishop Finn and the

2006-10-22T21:27:00.000-05:00

Ad Orientem It's the former name of the spiffy Irish Elk blog (see sidebar). Oh yes; it's all the rage in the liturgy section of St Blog's this year, too. I was having a pleasant discussion with cantor on Cantate Deo about it this past weekend. It's been a topic here before on Catholic Sensibility. I think those who advocate it was the "best" or "only" proper orientation have a harder case to

2006-10-22T05:10:00.000-05:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 6 The two-fold aspect of liturgy is contained in this section. First, we are reminded of the salvific nature of preaching and evangelization: Just as Christ was sent by the Father, so also He sent the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit. This He did that, by preaching the gospel to every creature (Cf. Mark 16:15.), they might proclaim that the Son of God, by His death

2006-10-21T16:17:00.000-05:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 5 Now we start to get to the meat of what Vatican II said about liturgy. Chaprter I is entitled: "General Principles for the Restoration and Promotion of the Sacred Liturgy" Section 5 begins under a chapter subheading, "The Nature of the Sacred Liturgy and Its Importance in the Church's Life" God who "wills that all ... be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth" (1

2006-10-21T11:18:00.000-05:00

More Mission and Dialogue One of my faults as a blogger so far has been my negligence in linking to others. Let me begin to make amends. You should definitely look at our frequent commentor Crystal's blog. A fellow who goes by Gashwin Gomes, who is in formation with the Paulists, has been kind in linking to us. Regarding the theme of mission and dialogue, he has reminded me that this Sunday

2006-10-21T10:12:00.000-05:00

"Judge not and you will not be judged" Lisa Simpson: "Doesn't the Bible say, 'Judge not, lest ye be judged,' Reverend?" Rev. Lovejoy: "Uh, I suppose that's somewhere near the back..." What could Jesus ever have meant by saying this (Lk 6:37)? The Taizé website has a helpful section on questions on the Bible and the Christian Faith that has a response to

2006-10-21T09:56:00.000-05:00

Episcopal Carmelites and Spiritual Ecumenism I usually don't post news articles, because I figure that others have already done so. And sometimes news articles are just too brief to do justice to the complexity of a particular situation. However, the Catholic Blogs search engine tells me that this very interesting Baltimore Sun story from October 15, written by Liz F. McKay, has been

2006-10-20T20:48:00.000-05:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 4 The introduction ends with this short paragraph, which first acknowledges various rites: Lastly, in faithful obedience to tradition, the sacred Council declares that holy Mother Church holds all lawfully acknowledged rites to be of equal right and dignity; that she wishes to preserve them in the future and to foster them in every way. The Council also desires that,

2006-10-20T18:38:00.000-05:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 3 Jumping right in: Wherefore the sacred Council judges that the following principles concerning the promotion and reform of the liturgy should be called to mind, and that practical norms should be established. These practical norms will come up in the bulk of the document; be patient.Among these principles and norms there are some which can and

2006-10-19T17:02:00.000-05:00

Norms! The liturgical blogosphere is all atwitter over the announcement that the US bishops will vote on norms for hymns at Mass next month. The usual heavyweights (I mean amy and Rock, not OCP and GIA) and my various internet musical colleagues are all over this like piranha on bleeding sardines. Three specific norms are listed on the USCCB site, and I have comments on all of them,

2006-10-19T16:54:00.000-05:00

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter The MRO is sending back some spectacular images, like this one from Terra Sirenum. Go to the web site and check them out. A few days ago they released a shot taken from 150 miles up of the Opportunity Rover on the lip of Victoria Crater. The hi-res image shows tire tracks from the probe and the shadow of the camera boom on the Martian sand.

2006-10-19T16:13:00.000-05:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 2 This section is worth digesting in pieces: For the liturgy, "through which the work of our redemption is accomplished," (Secret of the ninth Sunday after Pentecost.) most of all in the divine sacrifice of the eucharist, is the outstanding means whereby the faithful may express in their lives, and manifest to others, the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the

2006-10-19T13:33:00.000-05:00

Love Without Limits (IV) In his current "Life in Christ" column, Fr John Breck provides us with another excerpt from Archimandrite Lev Gillet's Love Without Limits (Amour Sans Limites), originally published in French in 1971 under the authorship of "A Monk of the Eastern Church." Here is part of it for your meditation: “My child,” God calls, “expand your vision to the dimensions of universal

2006-10-18T18:25:00.000-05:00

Sacrosanctum Concilium 1 Well, friends: here we are. Today begins our look at the last of the Big Four documents of Vatican II, the constitution on the sacred liturgy. They say that Dei Verbum is in its ascendancy and Gaudium et Spes is fading, but we St Bloggers know that liturgy always lights a fire under the discussion. So let's not kid ourselves about which document has "pride of place" in

2006-10-18T15:31:00.000-05:00

Mission as Prophetic Dialogue An article in the most recent Australian E-Journal of Theology, written by the Divine Word Missionaries Stephen Bevans and Roger Schroeder of the Catholic Theological Union, is a reflection on mission as dialogue. What could this possibly mean? Is it merely rhetorical sleight-of-hand? Frs Bevans and Schroeder begin by recalling that missionary activity was once

2006-10-17T17:00:00.000-05:00

Uncovering a Sense of the Cross It was intentional that I did not offer a commentary on Cardinals Egan and Mahony other than that they were having a bad week. I'm not too familiar with New York's archbishop, other than his emphasis on fiscal responsibility. And St Bloggers have struggled for years with my dislike of LA's archbishop. It just doesn't compute for them. One person once suggested I

2006-10-16T16:23:00.000-05:00

Bishops Over Troubled Waters Our two "bookend" prelates in the US are not having a good week. NPR looks at a documentary that casts St Blog's favorite whipping bish in a very bad light. And Rock has been all over Cardinal Edward "No Confidence" Egan's mutiny in New York. Lots of posts, lots of news there from the past few days. They have so much work to do on restoring confidence in their

2006-10-16T15:23:00.000-05:00

Chocolate Soufflé and Other Sporting Concoctions I think today's number of posts has been close to a Catholic Sensibility record. I haven't finished writing my magazine column yet (don't tell my editor!) but there have been so many fascinating stories to catch up on. I was catching a bit of espn this morning, getting my dislike of major college athletics, especially football and men's

2006-10-16T14:42:00.000-05:00

Restoration in Arkansas Church The Arkansas Catholic reports on a 1935 mural's restoration in a Helena, Arkansas church. It's hard to tell definitively from this image, but this art seems to be a definite cut above the plaster mold look of preconciliar (and some post-conciliar) churches. Naturally, most parishioners hated it. So they covered it up with a curtain in 1940. In the 70's, people

2006-10-16T14:30:00.000-05:00

Lumen Gentium 69 We're so close to the finish line on Lumen Gentium, so let's wrap it up a bit early. It gives great joy and comfort to this holy and general Synod that even among the separated (believers) there are some who give due honor to the Mother of our Lord and Saviour, especially among the Orientals, who with devout mind and fervent impulse give honor to the Mother of God, ever virgin.(

2006-10-16T14:17:00.000-05:00

Aussie Song Contest If you're an Australian songwriter, they're looking for a good song for WYD 2008. Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity on it: I invite all musically inclined Australian songwriters to turn their talents to this creative and holy cause, which will help us discover and reveal the spiritual and pastoral content of the WYD experience for

2006-10-16T14:01:00.000-05:00

Benedict XVI on Ars Celebrandi Scanning the Zenit archives, catching up on news of the past month, I found this translation of the pope's response to an Albano priest's question" As priests, we are called to celebrate a "serious, simple and beautiful liturgy," to use a beautiful formula contained in the document "Communicating the Gospel in a Changing World" by the Italian bishops. Holy Father,

2006-10-16T12:50:00.000-05:00

First LifeTeen Now Priest Band Are Kansas-siders wondering what happened to their nice, buttoned-down archdiocese? This from CNS: If that pulsing beat and those screaming guitars are driving you crazy at night, think twice before calling the cops on those rock-star wannabes jammin' out down the street. You might just find your pastor singing lead. That's right. Four priests of the Archdiocese

2006-10-16T12:32:00.000-05:00

New Saints Pope Benedict has largely delegated saint-making liturgies to others, but his second canonization ceremony included two New World saints, including Mother Theodore Guerin of Indiana. Felicitations to the Sisters of Providence and the students under Mother Guerin's patronage. These four saints, holy and heroic figures, are two priests and two women religious. Wouldn't it be nice to

2006-10-16T12:05:00.000-05:00

Lumen Gentium 68 Some final reflections on Mary from the council in today's and tomorrow's last sections from Lumen Gentium: V. Mary the sign of created hope and solace to the wandering people of God In the interim just as the Mother of Jesus, glorified in body and soul in heaven, is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected is the world to come, so too does she shine forth

2006-10-16T11:52:00.000-05:00

"Neither Saccharine Nor Sour" An e-mail from a friend passed on to y'all for more jazz consideration. Perhaps the best (and most enjoyable) way to explore whether jazz is by its nature gloomy, or whether it expresses a range of emotions, is to listen. I can name a number of jazz pieces reflecting the darker nature, but here are a few listening ideas for the brighter: - Almost anything by

2006-10-16T06:27:00.000-05:00

Closure After my daughter's procedure, I'm feeling better about looking at all the web sites on it. You can look, too: the diagram here shows the closure device they send to the heart via the leg veins. The video they took was pretty impressive: that patch exits the catheter quite fast and goes perfectly into place. I wasn't paying too much scientific attention at the time because I was

2006-10-16T04:44:00.000-05:00

Lumen Gentium 67 Vatican II on Marian devotion, first the good: This most Holy Synod deliberately teaches this Catholic doctrine and at the same time admonishes all the sons of the Church that the cult, especially the liturgical cult, of the Blessed Virgin, be generously fostered, and the practices and exercises of piety, recommended by the magisterium of the Church toward her in the course of

2006-10-15T10:30:00.000-05:00

Lumen Gentium 66 Part IV of Vatican II's look at Mary is titled, "The Cult of the Blessed Virgin in the Church." We're clear that "cult" is understood as something other than the current main definition, right? You know we're talking spiritual devotion, right? Placed by the grace of God, as God's Mother, next to her Son, and exalted above all angels and (human

2006-10-14T08:51:00.000-05:00

The Spirituality of the Desert is Still a Living Reality ... Please remember to keep Todd and his family in your prayers. Some time ago, drawing on the Episcopalian priest and scholar Tim Vivian, I wrote that Egyptian monasticism has had two golden ages. The first began in the fourth century when, as the Life of Macarius recounts, Macarius the "Spiritbearer" came to Scetis to become another

2006-10-13T19:30:00.000-05:00

Lumen Gentium 65 While I'm home tonight for a bit, let's post on Vatican II, especially since I wrote it weeks ago and just put in this bitty preamble to finish it off for posting. Mary as model for holy believers:But while in the most holy Virgin the Church has already reached that perfection whereby she is without spot or wrinkle, the followers of Christ still strive to increase in holiness

2006-10-13T19:19:00.000-05:00

Home From The Hospital Just me. Just for a hour or so to take care of the zoo and check a few house things. Brittany follows tomorrow. Thanks for the prayers, those who knew and those who prayed. Everything went fine and the doctors seemed pleased that she was strong and healthy: the procedure went along without any hint of problem, or even really, delay. I'll post a bit more on it next week.

2006-10-13T05:45:00.000-05:00

Lumen Gentium 64 The council bishops reflect briefly on Church as mother:The Church indeed, contemplating her hidden sanctity, imitating her charity and faithfully fulfilling the Father's will, by receiving the word of God in faith becomes herself a mother. By her preaching she brings forth to a new and immortal life the (daughters and) sons who are born to her in baptism, conceived of the Holy

2006-10-12T18:56:00.000-05:00

On the Menu in Nebraska I was up in Omaha yesterday giving a breakout session for these folks. A colleague wished I had been there for the previous evening's liturgy. He said something along the lines of putting to task my "usual blend of acidity and charity" to work on my assessment of that Mass. "That sounds something like a liturgical vinaigrette," I said.

2006-10-12T18:43:00.000-05:00

Is It Love or Voluntary Poverty? Hopefully both. There's a nifty little drama in this Sunday's Gospel. I've had the rare chance to break this open twice this week. It will be interesting to see how our parish's homilists treat it: As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered him, "

2006-10-12T18:36:00.000-05:00

Sixth Planet, Glory Thanks to some orbital tweaking, Cassini recently spent twelve hours in Saturn's shadow investigating back-lit rings, discovering a thing or two. They posted a very beautiful composite of 165 images here, enhanced somewhat to bring out details.

2006-10-12T18:34:00.000-05:00

Lumen Gentium 63 Mary as a "type of the Church." Anybody want to tackle that?By reason of the gift and role of divine maternity, by which she is united with her Son, the Redeemer, and with His singular graces and functions, the Blessed Virgin is also intimately united with the Church. As St. Ambrose taught, the Mother of God is a type of the Church in the order of faith, charity and perfect

2006-10-12T07:30:00.000-05:00

Lumen Gentium 62 In our site's 2,000th post today we continue reading the relationship of Mary with believers: This maternity of Mary in the order of grace began with the consent which she gave in faith at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, and lasts until The eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this salvific

2006-10-12T00:36:00.000-05:00

Christianity and the Urban Future There has been a great deal of speculation over what Christianity will look like in the coming years, much of it focusing on the likely movement of the church’s center of gravity to the Southern hemisphere. But we can also say that the Christianity of the future will most likely be much more urban. In the current Pastoral Review, Philip Sheldrake tells us that a

2006-10-11T13:37:00.000-05:00

The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Rosary, and Ecumenism To help begin to explicate what Lumen Gentium 62 might mean by the "subordinate role of Mary" (see Todd's post below), I thought that I'd post the following from my disorganized notebook. It concerns Pope John Paul II's apostolic letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae and ecumenism. I think that I posted some version of it in the comments sections of

2006-10-10T17:30:00.000-05:00

Lumen Gentium 61 A bit more today on Mary's role in the Church and amongst other believers. Notably, that she is our Mother not only because of the image of Jesus as the Brother of the believers, but because her first witness to Christ was an extraordinary example for us to follow: Predestined from eternity by that decree of divine providence which determined the incarnation of the Word to be

2006-10-10T08:46:00.000-05:00

Jazz and the Greater Glory of God I read Todd's post on "Jazz" with interest. He expressed his disagreement - a disagreement with which I share - with the opinion that jazz is, "generally speaking, a music of despair, of trying to draw late-night, dark-lit pleasure out of the blues, instead of just letting the blues be the blues." I don't know as much about jazz as I should, but I would like to

2006-10-09T23:03:00.000-05:00

Bending, Rigidity, and Politeness Applied to musicians--church musicians. Rock reports on it. You know: that consistory of musicians gathered in Chicago to take a look at MCW2. Good thing they didn't conduct it in the blogosphere. What was remarkable was the restraint and respect shown by participants who had undoubtedly never been, and in some cases had never wished to be, in the same room

2006-10-09T22:30:00.000-05:00

Lumen Gentium 60 Part three of Lumen Gentium's epilogue, "On the Blessed Virgin and the Church" leads off with a reminder that Christ is the "one Mediator." There is but one Mediator as we know from the words of the apostle, "for there is one God and one mediator of God and (people), the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a redemption for all".(1 Tim. 2, 5-6.) The

2006-10-09T22:02:00.000-05:00

Jazz Misunderstood. Decadent. Spiritual. Acquired taste. American. Lots more and all of the above. Three short episodes of awareness over the past thirty-six hours have got me thinking on this. Hopefully you too might have something to add. Yesterday was our parish's annual Jazz & Barbecue event with our sister parish, St Louis, a predominantly black parish in our city. I asked my friend Joe,

2006-10-09T11:53:00.000-05:00

"Peace is born in our heart through the presence of someone who loves us ..." This was the Saturday midday meditation delivered by Brother Alois at the Taizé meeting at Kolkata: All of us gathered here together would like to prepare ways of peace. But many people across the world experience situations of conflict or injustice. How can we respond to violence with peace? How can we prepare a

2006-10-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

Lumen Gentium 59 Readers today are reminded of the infalliable Marian doctrines. Remember that Christians have long held in faith the witness of grace in the Immaculate Conception and the Dormition/Assumption of Mary. These were not theological insights dropped from heaven in 1854 and 1950. But since it has pleased God not to manifest solemnly the mystery cf the salvation of the human race

2006-10-08T07:30:00.000-05:00

Lumen Gentium 58 The seed of John Paul II's luminous mysteries are described, in addition to Mary's participation in the Passion of her Son. In the public life of Jesus, Mary makes significant appearances. This is so even at the very beginning, when at the marriage feast of Cana, moved with pity, she brought about by her intercession the beginning of miracles of

2006-10-07T18:49:00.000-05:00

Peacemaking in the Caucasus? Perhaps Dietrich Bonhoeffer's life poses a question to us about nonviolence from one direction. As John De Gruchy recently wrote in a review of a book on Bonhoeffer, "Should we not be engaged in peacemaking as our Christian vocation? Should not the church be a visible alternative to the world and its ways? On this we must surely agree. But there remains the nagging

2006-10-07T11:30:00.000-05:00

Lumen Gentium 57 The evangelist Luke presents Mary in a unique way and this tradition is recounted by the council:This union of the Mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to His death it is shown first of all when Mary, arising in haste to go to visit Elizabeth, is greeted by her as blessed because of her belief in the

2006-10-07T10:27:00.000-05:00

Anointing and Healing Last week in church, we Roman Catholics heard and meditated on the first part of the fifth chapter of the Letter of James. Other Christians quite possibly heard James 5:13-20 proclaimed from the pulpit. Needless to say, it might serve us well to consider the entire chapter, perhaps even the entire letter. Here is part of a sermon preached last week at Wesminster Abbey by

2006-10-06T12:35:00.000-05:00

Dietrich Bonhoeffer This year marks the 100th anniversary of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's birth. Before its end, I'll try to post more substantially about this impressive, difficult, and often misinterpreted pastor and theologian, hung by the Nazis for high treason. (I posted an excerpt from a short article from Sojourners magazine on "The Steep Price of Grace" in January here). Here, for now, is part

2006-10-06T10:22:00.000-05:00

"But what is a pilgrimage?" Some of the brothers of the Taizé community are on a "pilgrimage of trust" meeting in Kolkata, India. Brother Alois will publish meditations from October 5th to the 9th. Here is a short part of the first meditation. And here is an interesting question: Since a pilgrimage does not necessarily mean "going far from home," can blogging be a sort of a pilgrimage? In