Prayer before dawn November 21, 2018

Today, orthodox catholics Roman rite celebrate Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Icon of St. Ann in prayer shawl holding the baby Virgin by Fr. Louis Massanet - Shrine at St. Ann Catholic Church, Naples

Our brethren thru Abraham, the Muslims, love her dearly:  

today, they celebrate the birthday of the prophet.

"Hear, O Israel"... The SHEMA

• The Pentateuch
  • Deuteronomy
    • Chapter 11

"Love the LORD, your God, therefore, and always heed his charge: his statutes, decrees and commandments.

2

It is not your children, who have not known it from experience, but you yourselves who must now understand the discipline of the LORD, your God; his majesty, his strong hand and outstretched arm;

3

the signs and deeds he wrought among the Egyptians, on Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and on all his land;

4

what he did to the Egyptian army and to their horses and chariots, engulfing them in the water of the Red Sea as they pursued you, and bringing ruin upon them even to this day;

5

what he did for you in the desert until you arrived in this place;

6

and what he did to the Reubenites Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, when the ground opened its mouth and swallowed them up out of the midst of Israel, with their families and tents and every living thing that belonged to them.

7

With your own eyes you have seen all these great deeds that the LORD has done.

8

Keep all the commandments, then, which I enjoin on you today, that you may be strong enough to enter in and take possession of the land into which you are crossing,

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and that you may have long life on the land which the LORD swore to your fathers he would give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.

10

"For the land which you are to enter and occupy is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you would sow your seed and then water it by hand, as in a vegetable garden.

11

No, the land into which you are crossing for conquest is a land of hills and valleys that drinks in rain from the heavens,

12

a land which the LORD, your God, looks after; his eyes are upon it continually from the beginning of the year to the end.

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¹ If, then, you truly heed my commandments which I enjoin on you today, loving and serving the LORD, your God, with all your heart and all your soul,

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² I will give the seasonal rain to your land, the early rain and the late rain, that you may have your grain, wine and oil to gather in;

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and I will bring forth grass in your fields for your animals. Thus you may eat your fill.

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But be careful lest your heart be so lured away that you serve other gods and worship them.

17

For then the wrath of the LORD will flare up against you and he will close up the heavens, so that no rain will fall, and the soil will not yield its crops, and you will soon perish from the good land he is giving you.

18

"Therefore, take these words of mine into your heart and soul. Bind them at your wrist as a sign, and let them be a pendant on your forehead.

19

Teach them to your children, speaking of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest.

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And write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates,

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so that, as long as the heavens are above the earth, you and your children may live on in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers he would give them.

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"For if you are careful to observe all these commandments I enjoin on you, loving the LORD, your God, and following his ways exactly, and holding fast to him,

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the LORD will drive all these nations out of your way, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves.

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³ Every place where you set foot shall be yours: from the desert and from Lebanon, from the Euphrates River to the Western Sea, shall be your territory.

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None shall stand up against you; the LORD, your God, will spread the fear and dread of you through any land where you set foot, as he promised you.

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"I set before you here, this day, a blessing and a curse:

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a blessing for obeying the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today;

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a curse if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, but turn aside from the way I ordain for you today, to follow other gods, whom you have not known.

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⁴ When the LORD, your God, brings you into the land which you are to enter and occupy, then you shall pronounce the blessing on Mount Gerizim, the curse on Mount Ebal.

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(Are they not beyond the Jordan, on the other side of the western road in the country of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite the Gilgal beside the terebinth of Moreh?)

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For you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and occupy the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you. When, therefore, you take possession of it and settle there,

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be careful to observe all the statutes and decrees that I set before you today.

Through Him... With Him...In Him...in the Unity of the Holy Spirit

Almighty Father, please forgive me!!  I have been using the Holy Name of Jesus, Your Most Beloved Son, and that of your Truth-giving Holy Spirit as formulaic magic charms when I compose formal prayers.  I did not see what I was doing.

There is only one Commandment, known throughout all of the Judeo-Christian tradition, and that is the Shema "Hear O Israel" prayed daily by Jesus and all practicing Jews of his time down to this day (Deuteronomy 6)

After returning to Naples from the internment of my children's grandmother, my thoughts had been flooded with memories of my marriage and the blessings that our sister Faustina brought into our home with her vision of The Divine Mercy in1995-96 as my husband lived his last days.  This 2018 Divine Mercy weekend was the first that I had celebrated away from Naples since moving here in 2002.  Because of scheduling of my family obligations, I neither went to the sacrament of reconciliation on Saturday nor did I attend a special service for the devotion on Sunday, which saddened me for sentimental reasons.  I guess that I could have jumped through hoops to do both; but the point of any devotional practice is to foster and nourish our love of God, not to get brownie points for completing a checklist. 

Last Saturday, some things said to me by a friend and unexpected places that I found myself when trying to get to reconciliation led me to ponder whether my understanding of Providence and trust in Jesus had crossed a line into a sin of excess.  So I asked a priest (our 'little' Fr Bob) whose opinion I respect about where the line might be between trusting God and the sin against the Holy Spirit that we call 'presumption'.  (Had I listened to him more carefully, I would have realized that I really didn't know what that term means:  

Presumption : glory without merit, that is, hope of salvation without keeping the Commandments, or expectation of pardon for sin without repentance).  

What really concerned me was that I thought that my confidence in God's loving kindness built on my own experiences may have crossed into an overconfidence, that instead of asking, begging, imploring I might be telling the Holy Spirit what to do!  

Thankfully, I attended the Providence House Prayer Luncheon, where sweet, kind Father set me straight:  No, you can never presume that the Mercy of Our Lord is bounded.  

No.  

Not ever.

You may also enjoy this wonderful talk from Cardinal DiNardo...

On Becoming a φιλότιμο Person

While revisiting some video lectures and links from our catholic friends at the St. Katharine Greek Orthodox Church, I spent a fruitful morning at prayer contemplating the greek word: 

φιλότιμο (philotimo) 

from their page Philotimo: Love of things honorable and the sources to which it links.  My understanding of the 'constellation of ideas' that the word entails is that it is the grateful response of the soul to God's Love blossoming into love for our fellow human beings and all God's creation.  This is not a passive feeling, but rather an exuberant outpouring of the whole being into personal sacrifice for the sake of others in response to Christ's self-sacrifice for our own salvation.

Here is an introduction to the word from the video they quote on their website:






From a marvelous article in Psychology Today by Dr. Jack Shafer:

...Elder Paisiou aptly defined philotimo as “that deep-seated awareness in the heart that motivates the good that a person does. A philotimos person is one who conceives and enacts eagerly those things good."  

...Become a philotimo person. Be aware that your behaviors are not only a reflection of yourself but a reflection of your family, your community, and your country. Take pride in what you do simply because you have taken the time and effort to do it. Help others simply because they need help. Do the right thing because you have a duty to do the right thing. Even though the lines between right and wrong are blurred, we know in our hearts what is the right thing to do...

True gratitude is an acknowledgement of a debt that can never be repaid.  As Catholic Christians, this is the attitude from which we should participate in the mass.  In fact, our very name for the sacrament, εὐχαριστία or Eucharist, literally means an offering of grateful thanksgiving to Almighty God. Never could we feeble human beings make any offering that could discharge our indebtedness save to join ourselves in gratitude and self-sacrifice through the graces of The Holy Spirit to the offering that Jesus Himself makes to The Father.

Emotions just are.  They are a juxtaposition of who we are with our response to where we are, i.e. to our environment.  An attitude of φιλότιμο is at the very center of our being, our bodies' response to our awareness of the Presence of Almighty God.

Faith is not just a belief that God exists and that He helps us. Faith is also a willingness to respond to the call of God and live as God has commanded us. We will cultivate an active faith in ourselves and ask that the Lord multiply faith in us every day. We will turn to Him with the prayer with which the father of the demon-possessed youth turned to Him: "I believe, Lord! Help my unbelief. " Amen. ~ homily March 18, 2018 by Hierarch Hillarion of Volokolmsk

How can my hands... my feet... my lips be still when swept up by such a wave of gratefullness?  How can I not be moved to prayer, to fasting in solidarity, to giving alms to relieve suffering of others when I have been granted even a glimpse of the love God pours out upon them?

"Peter, do you love Me?.....Feed my sheep."

The Year of Faith Ends: A Theological Reflection

I wanted to share the lovely reflection that Father John, the pastor of St. John the Evangelist, offered at the November luncheon for the Ave Maria Founders Club:

(The introduction video is at a normal volume level, but unfortunately, I recorded the video from my seat rather than sitting close to a speaker. For better listening, you may want to use headphones during the actual talk for better listening...)

I love being Catholic in Naples!

Evangelii Gaudium: Prayer of Pope Francis to the Mother of the living Gospel

This beautiful prayer is at the conclusion of the exhortation:

Mary,

Virgin and Mother,

you who, moved by the Holy Spirit,

welcomed the word of life in the depths

of your humble faith:

as you gave yourself completely to the Eternal One,

help us to say our own “yes”

to the urgent call, as pressing as ever,

to proclaim the good news of Jesus.

Filled with Christ’s presence,

you brought joy to John the Baptist,

making him exult in the womb of his mother.

Brimming over with joy,

you sang of the great things done by God.

Standing at the foot of the cross with unyielding faith,

you received the joyful comfort of the resurrection,

and joined the disciples in awaiting the Spirit

so that the evangelizing Church might be born.

Obtain for us now a new ardour born of the resurrection,

that we may bring to all the Gospel of life

which triumphs over death.

Give us a holy courage to seek new paths,

that the gift of unfading beauty

may reach every man and woman.

Virgin of listening and contemplation,

Mother of love, Bride of the eternal wedding feast,

pray for the Church, whose pure icon you are,

that she may never be closed in on herself

or lose her passion for establishing God’s kingdom.

Star of the new evangelisation,

help us to bear radiant witness to communion,

service, ardent and generous faith,

justice and love of the poor,

that the joy of the Gospel

may reach to the ends of the earth,

illuminating even the fringes of our world.

Mother of the living Gospel,

wellspring of happiness for God’s little ones,

pray for us.

Amen. Alleluia!

~ Prayer of Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, Nov 2013

Evangelii Gaudium: Decalogue for the New Evangelization

The new Apostolic Exhortation from St. Francis had an interesting feature that I discovered quite by accident.  There are ten yes/no statements in the headings of the table of contents.  So, of course I just had to make a graphic!

There also was a nice word cloud from the exhortation 

"Evangelii Gaudium - Joy of the Gospel"

Lest We Forget: memorial to veterans

Well, several weeks late, but I finally finished putting together some of the video and pictures from events here in Naples, FL.

Here are some video highlights from the statue dedication: 

My favorite of the shots of the statue that I took:

St. Joseph, pray for us!

CAPITAL cannot do without LABOR

LABOR cannot do without CAPITAL

Side altar at the National Shrine of the Little Flower

Royal Oaks, Michigan, U.S.A.

Today we remember those bloodied, beaten, and murdered for defending  human life over profits.

Joe Hill's "There is Power in a Union"
Would you have freedom from Wage slavery,

Then join in the grand Industrial band;

Would you from mis'ry and hunger be free,

Then come, do your share, like a man.

(Chorus)

There is pow'r there is pow'r in a band of workingmen,

When they stand hand in hand,

That's a pow'r, that's a pow'r

That must rule in every land—

One Industrial Union Grand.

Would you have mansions of gold in the sky,

and live in a shack, way in the back?

Would you have wings up in heaven to fly,

And starve here with rags on your back?

(Repeat chorus)

If you've had `nuff of the "blood of the lamb"

Then join in the grand industrial band;

If, for a change, you would have eggs and ham,

Then come, do your share, like a man.

(Repeat chorus)

If you like sluggers to beat off your head,

Then don't organize, all unions despise.

If you want nothing before you are dead,

Shake hands with your boss and look Wise.

(Repeat chorus)

Come, all ye workers, from every land,

Come, join in the grand industrial band;

Then we our share of this earth shall demand.

Come on! Do your share, like a man.

(Repeat chorus)

May they rest in peace, and may the perpetual light shine upon them. 

LET US NEVER FORGET!l  

Do not let others spit on their graves, this day or any other.

A Dollar At A Time

"Sunday Paper?  Paper today, Jim?" 
"Can you spare a dollar for Habitat today?"

Time and time again, I heard people say how very friendly people were at St. John the Evangelist Church.  It wasn't the city that so impressed them:  it was one man.  I know who they meant.  His name was Leonard Sbrocco.  He was the first person many people met when they first came to Naples.  His friendliness and kindness spilled over to all he met like a wave.  We will remember his warm welcomes tomorrow afternoon, as we commend him to Our Lord.

Every Sunday morning without fail, Leonard's smile greeted them as people filed in and out of mass.  He always had a wave, a handshake, a friendly remark, and a big "Thank you!" for those who bought the Sunday paper.  If you were a snowbird away for months, Leonard remembered your name.  He'd always ask after the family.  He remembered to ask how your surgery had gone.  Leonard cared about people, one person at time.

From the break of dawn until well past noon, his little army collected for the homeless.  Sometimes it was oppressively hot.  When the wind was ferocious, he'd just weigh down the papers with a few extra rocks. There were days when the skies poured.   Leonard was always there.

There were faster ways to raise money.  The parish could raise thousands with just a few calls, and often did.   Many pooh-poohed all the fuss and bother for such a small donation each week.  But, what Leonard held in those baskets was a weekly wage for many of those who donated.  If you could never go to this charity gala or that, you could still be a part of something much bigger.  He gave from the heart without fail, week after week after week.  He was constant.  He was faithful.  A dollar at a time, Leonard built a treasure that would last.

And he inspired others by his example.  Some were so dedicated that they would make a special trip to drive by Leonard's tables for a paper if they had gone to the Saturday vigil mass.  When Leonard became more frail and Alzheimer's gripped him, his friends continued his legacy. My younger son gave up his Saturday nights all through high school so that he could be there at dawn to set up their tables.  I can never express how grateful I am to this sweet, kind man for the lessons that only faithful service can provide.

And WOW.... could that man dance!!!!

Gloria!

Nothing says "Christ's Mass" for me like watching one of our dear priests blessing all the little ones whose parents have brought to the Lord's Supper...!

Vocations: Expect a Miracle

What a marvelous idea to inspire vocations!




I found this clip on one of the Youtube channels for the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, the sisters sponsored by my grandfather's family in the Congregation of the Precious Blood, who ironically also sponsor St. Joseph's College, to whose care I've entrusted my youngest son.  He starts classes today, and I pray that he may prosper and grow in his first year, and find a new home and nurturing environment.

< "Expect a Miracle" was the theme of the Cleveland FEST 2010 . The FEST is held on the first Sunday of August on the Borromeo Seminary grounds in Wickliffe, Ohio. The FEST is sponsored by the Office of Vocations and the Diocesan Office of Cleveland. It is day dedicated to all Vocations. >

On names and naming - for Zac & Barb

My baby brother and his beautiful bride infanticipated this past July. The baby boy is my seventh nephew, and he comes a year after my parent's first great-grandson. I was very curious to see how the child will be named. I'll never forget how much my brother helped me (he even stayed in my house to care for my toddler on Thanksgiving night when I went into labor with his brother, poor kid!) for all those years when Curt was sick, how he cared for my boys the night they lost their dad, and then all that he did to help my two fatherless boys for so many years afterwards. How very wonderful that he'll finally get to play Santa for his very own baby boy, after all of the years he spent Christmas morning with my little ones! 

My baby brother's name is James John (Paul), but that isn't the name anyone calls him.  

First picture of nephew

I nicknamed him 'Zac' when he was a toddler, since he was my mom's last baby.  My mother had screwed up, you see when she named him.  He wasn't in alphabetical order with the rest of us:

Cindy - David - Janet - Karen - Robert - Ronald.....  
AND ... ZAC!!!

Names are important.  We have many Davids (David Todd, David Scott, David Joseph, Joseph David) and a lot of Josephs (Joseph David, Joseph, Jeffrey Joseph, Kevin Joseph, Ronald Joseph, Stephen Joseph) in both my family and my late husband's family. My mother Antoinette is named for her grandmother Antonia, and we have variations of Anthony (Anton, Antonio, Antonia, Antoinette) on both sides of my family.  

Most of the folks where I live now, especially those I know through church, get mail from the email address based on my nickname.  My family email, however, is the 'Spudzmom', based on a different family nickname. Who is the Spud, you ask?  Well, it's a good story and I know my bro' has probably forgotten most of it, so it's worth remembering. 

When I was pregnant with our first child, we didn't find out the sex of the baby in advance, but my husband and I referred to the unborn child as 'Boris' because we were sure he'd be 'good enough' (remember Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons?) and his dad's family was from the Ukraine. We agreed on 'Stephen' (my godson brother's confirmation name) but we fought like the dickens about a middle name. I wanted 'Joseph' to name him for three of his grandfathers:  his dad's first name, my dad's middle name, and my mom's father. My clueless husband, however, was adamant that he wanted to name his firstborn son after the kid in the ET movie, and would brook no argument on the point.  When Stephen was born by C-section, I'd ripped my IVs out, thrashing on the table when they unexpectedly hit me with nitrous oxide.  As my husband stood beside me with his pants totally soaked in my blood, I told him, "your son's name is Stephen Joseph".  At that point, I could have actually named him 'Boris' and would have gotten no argument!

When I got pregnant the second time, my husband jumped thru hoops because he wanted to name the baby 'William'.  So, he made up one rule after another to force me to bring that name up.  First, he insisted the child's first name couldn't be the same as anyone else in the family.  Then, the name could not start with the letter J (do you have any idea how many great boys' names that rules out!)  As a last resort, he trained our toddler to pat my belly and refer to the unborn child as "my brother, Billy".  Unfortunately for him, he didn't know about my Uncle Bill.  I told him that it was OK for the baby to call the baby 'William' but that it had to be his middle name.  All of the stupid rules he'd stuck us with really limited us in choosing his actual first name.  We both really liked 'Ricky', but that's the name of our brother-in-law.  So we chose 'Patrick' so that we could call him 'Ricky' if 'Billy' didn't stick. 

So, we named him 'Patrick William', but everyone called him 'Billy'. The hospital nurses got really upset, because my records said my name was 'Cynthia' but they had to remember to call me only 'Chrys' and my baby's name said 'Patrick' but they had to call him 'Billy'.  Good thing I didn't introduce them to my brother Robert that we all call 'Shawn' or my baby brother 'James' that we all call 'Zac' or the poor girls would have probably quit.

Anyway, my husband always called the older boy 'Chief' because he let him be the boss of the house. Our second baby was very blonde like his daddy, so he looked like a bald little Mr. Potato Head.  He promptly became 'The Spud'.  When we joined AOL, we were SpudzMom and SpudzDad and I have kept that screen name ever since.

Birthday picture, July 2011

Dominus Vobiscum

“The time has come to renew that spirit which inspired the Church at the moment when the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium was promulgated. The seed was sown … the seed has sprouted…” In a word, the acceptance of the new Missal is “a moment to sink our roots deeper into the soil of tradition handed on in the Roman Rite” ~ Pope John Paul II, Vicesimus Quintus Annus, #23

I had a lot of sympathy for those who joined the 'Why don't we just say wait' movement about the upcoming change in translation philosophy affecting English-speaking  Catholics. I think that I even signed the petition, since in a time when the Church here in the U.S.A. is so fragmented, the very LAST thing that we need is something new to fight about!  One thing that is absolutely driving me batty is charges that the current mass propers are 'wrong' somehow, that they were not translated properly or that the devil hijacked the translation or some other such nonsense.  The following video does an excellent job of dispelling these rumors being spread in some circles.

A New Translation: Why and How?

In this video, Monsignor James P. Moroney explains the whys and the hows of the new missal. He is a faculty member of Saint John's Seminary and serves as Executive Secretary to the Vox Clara Commission. A consultant to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Monsignor Moroney is a Priest of the Diocese of Worcester and Rector of Saint Paul’s Cathedral.

 


http://www.catholictv.com/shows/default.aspx?seriesID=114&videoID=1511

Consistency, sincerity, and honesty are very important to me.  I will find it very difficult to let the words they bid me to say flow from my lips:  so difficult, in fact, that I am seriously considering switching to a Spanish-language mass on Sundays during Advent this year.  My main problem is that the way that we modern speakers of English now use only one 'you' instead of the two forms that the Romance languages use.  Further, what we hear today when someone uses the intimate, familiar 'you' has exactly the opposite connotation of the original prayers.  The words "Thee" and "Thou" are rarely heard, and then usually only addressed to heaven.  The connotation of the archaic language is that of a great gulf between us and those we address.  That's not what the meaning is at all in the Missal.  The relationship we hear is that of a country peon on his knees prostrate as the emperor's procession passes, and that has absolutely NOTHING to do with our relationship to the Christ. Our union with Our Lord isn't one of bowing and scraping, but that of the most intimate embrace between Bride and Bridegroom; through Jesus, we share in His intimate relationship with Our Father and the Holy Spirit.

My opinion is that the long clauses, flowery phrases, and use of words never heard at all in daily discourse in the new translation will bring us FARTHER from the sense of the Roman missal, not closer.  In the long run, the change will most probably decrease mass attendance and result in even more disaffected youth than we have today.  If it is true, as many believe, that our catechesis has been deficient over the past twenty years when the Ordinary has been intelligible, when even more schooling will be required for active participation at mass, is it reasonable to expect a better outcome?

One change that I think might be fruitful would be to leave the traditional greeting "Dominus vobiscum" between the priest and the congregation untranslated in the latin rite, and to also revert to the original Greek in the Kyrie.  Requiring the Latin the Agnus Dei during Advent and Lent also would preserve the echoes from the past that are important in handing on our faith traditions and inspiring feelings of continuity with the whole communion of saints.  Only a tiny minority within our ranks have any family tradition of praying in the Latin language, however, so most of the suggestions I've heard seem very counter-productive.

Latin scholars are very rare.  Many of our worldwide vernacular translations of the Roman Missal are no longer made directly, but through an intermediate language.  In most cases, that language is English. While I recognize this need of the universal Church to have an "authoritative English translation" from which the mass propers can be faithfully translated, the Pope and his bishops ask too great a sacrifice of everyone in the English-speaking world in adopting that translation as the words we pray at mass.  Those who speak English as a native language in Nigeria, the Philippines, Australia, Canada, etc. shouldn't be treated as if they share only one cultural heritage, and enforcing only one language translation for the propers has that effect.

Sacred Heart

Tucked away in a peaceful and pastoral compound in the middle of a working class neighborhood is a gem of the Catholic Church. The Sacred Heart Major Seminary in the Archdiocese of Detroit has trained generations of priests, & now houses an undergraduate and graduate school in addition to the seminary (information about their pastoral ministry and other programs can be found at their website . The school was founded in 1919 as a minor seminary, and the Detroit Archbishops have taken care to carefully preserve the school and grounds. They're in the middle of a restoration project, and the building is starting to gleam again.

While on a trip with my sons to see my late husband's cousins, a friend kindly took time out from her schedule to share the beauties of their school with me. Scenes in this video are from their rare books library and exquisite church building, which has been recently restored. I wish that the photographs showing the altars that lined the sanctuary weren't too dim to see, but we didn't turn on the interior lights as we had just popped in for Eucharistic Adoration after our lunch together.

ENJOY!

Psalm 6:4

What is man that You are mindful of him?

I'd like to share with you a beautiful video inspired by Psalm 6:4 that I recently stumbled across on YouTube:




Isn't that just stunning?

Prayer for acceptance

This nonsense about the media picking on us for the sex abuse cases within the Catholic Church really has to stop. Of course we're being persecuted. That's part of the job, so stop muttering already!

We are the one Church of Jesus Christ.

Like the flock of Israel before us, we are meant to be a sign to the nations. What is happening is supposed to be happening, because we are called to lead by example and the abuse of children by their fathers kills their souls as surely as an abortion by their mothers kills their bodies.

Martyrdom for the sake of Christ is a duty, a privilege, and a blessing.

Let it be done to us according to His will so that we may lead the rest of the world closer to him. This I ask through Our Lord, Jesus Christ, through who and with whom and in whom we all find our life and our true salvation. Amen.

Honor thy father and thy mother

The more that I think about it, the more upset I become. Before I lose patience with those among my sons' generation who act in disregard to our duties to my own elders, I think it wise to express my discomfort with what I hear and see, so as to think about it more clearly, and to then address the underlying conflicts more directly.

The first time that I was aware of this societal problem was at our Diocesan Women's Conference almost exactly a year ago. While generally quite excellent, some of the remarks of the ultra-conservative professor Helen Alvarez upset many of the elderly women in the audience by completely denigrating their many years of effort and ascribing to them attitudes and motives that no Catholic at that time held or expressed despite the great fortitude required to be faithful in their times. I approached her privately after she spoke, but we did not have time to discuss it and she asked me to communicate my concerns by email. I started to do so, but the Spirit stopped me. In the intervening year, I have listened to more people of conservative political bent and I hope that I hear them better as a result. I'm indebted especially to my FB forum friend Peggy, who is immersed in conservative media and so has indirectly helped me track some of these ideas closer to their sources so that I can better discern what is being said and why. Right now, I'm in the middle of watching a conference in which Dr Alvarez participated, and I trust that I will be soon be able to write coherently on why her speech last year was so hurtful.

A few days ago, there was what purported to be an historical account of the reign of Joseph Cardinal Bernadin on the First Things blog by George Weigel. Upon my first read, recognizing that Mr. Weigel is one of those conservatives whose love for the Church above all has led him to whitewash events (for example the way our late Pope shielded Fr Maciel from his crimes of abuse), I understand some of his motive in painting the acts of a political moderate living in a time of overwhelming progressive sentiments as if he reflected his times instead of reacted to them. Today's political sentiments are overwhelmingly conservative and just as dangerous to Catholics; however, since he shares in extreme views, must he drag all Catholics on the other end of the political spectrum and our leaders in those difficult days through the mud in order to justify his own as the only orthodox position? I think not.


I posted the following comment on this blog this morning:

My take on this account is that Joseph Cardinal Bernadin exemplified the four cardinal virtues in quite a heroic way.

Mr. Weigel objects to the Cardinal's thirst for JUSTICE, denigrating it as 'Alinskyite fire'. He pooh-poohs and minimizes his FORTITUDE -- insistence that bishops speak with a clear Catholic voice, unified in their preaching on the application of Catholic principles in the public sphere ("the Machine was quite rigorous"). The TEMPERANCE exemplified -- a labor of many years' duration -- in reconciling those who did not receive Humanae Vitae as they should Weigel slams as 'an ill-fated attempt to settle the disciplinary situation' (as if coercion would actually address the catechetical problem the encyclical presented to so many of the faithful!)

But Mr. Weigel saves his strongest criticism for Cardinal Bernadin's paradigm example of PRUDENCE, one that is all but absent today in many a see. Borrowing from catholicism.about.com: "as Fr. John A. Hardon notes in his Modern Catholic Dictionary, [PRUDENCE] is 'Correct knowledge about things to be done or, more broadly, the knowledge of things that ought to be done and of thing that ought to be avoided.' Prudence, I agree, is not pragmatism; however pragmatism is an important part of its virtuous discipline. The good bishop points, but the EXCELLENT vicar leads by the hand, step by step, keeping the flock together by reining in those who see the goal and would run and encouraging those who are tempted to stray.

This column violates many of our Catholic moral standards about public speech. Such mis-characterizations are a form of defamation. From CCC:
"2477 Respect for the reputation of persons forbids every attitude and word likely to cause them unjust injury. He becomes guilty:
- of rash judgment who, even tacitly, assumes as true, without sufficient foundation, the moral fault of a neighbor;
- of detraction who, without objectively valid reason, discloses another's faults and failings to persons who did not know them;
- of calumny who, by remarks contrary to the truth, harms the reputation of others and gives occasion for false judgments concerning them."

Joseph Cardinal Bernadin lived and worked in a different generation, and his ministry bore much fruit. We should not take the man out of the context to score political points any more than we should cherry-pick Scripture to do so. The work of the bishops in his time and that of the Catholic laity of that time are the fruits of the generation that came of age in American society after many generations struggling as the poorest of the poor. We should not deny the validity of their experience and their Catholic witness to the time in which they lived. We are commanded to Honor them, to celebrate what they were able to accomplish. If they fell short, that is the job of this next generation, and I pray that they may enjoy the blessing of the Holy Spirit as they do as the generation that is passing did. If these younger prelates show only a tenth measure of the virtuous service of their predecessors, how blessed all of us would be!

I echo in closing the comment above - AMEN I SAY!

To: Joseph.Carpenter@gmail.com

A little something in a lighter vein to start out your Christmas Eve. Here is one of the most imaginative Christmas videos this year... The Nativity told by email, Twitter, Facebook...with access to GPS and Mapquest tools. ENJOY!


The Digital Story of the Nativity

Gaude! Gaude!

Emmanuel nascetur pro te Israel!

Veni, veni, Emmanuel captivum solve Israel, qui gemit in exsilio, privatus Dei Filio. Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel Nascetur pro te, Israel. Veni, O Sapientia, quae hic disponis omnia, veni, viam prudentiae ut doceas et gloriae. Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel Nascetur pro te, Israel. Veni, veni, Adonai, qui populo in Sinai legem dedisti vertice in maiestate gloriae. Gaude, gaude Emmanuel Nascetur pro te, Israel. Veni, O Iesse virgula, ex hostis tuos ungula, de spectu tuos tartari educ et antro barathri. Gaude, gaude Emmanuel Nascetur pro te, Israel. Veni, Clavis Davidica, regna reclude caelica, fac iter tutum superum, et claude vias inferum. Gaude, gaude Emmanuel Nascetur pro te Israel. Veni, veni O Oriens, solare nos adveniens, noctis depelle nebulas, dirasque mortis tenebras. Gaude, gaude Emmanuel Nascetur pro te Israel. Veni, veni, Rex Gentium, veni, Redemptor omnium, ut salvas tuos famulos peccati sibi conscios. Gaude, gaude Emmanuel Nascetur pro te Israel.		Come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel! O come, Thou Wisdom, from on high, and order all things far and nigh; to us the path of knowledge show, and teach us in her ways to go. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel! O come, o come, Thou Lord of might, who to thy tribes on Sinai's height in ancient times did give the law, in cloud, and majesty, and awe. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel! O come, Thou Rod of Jesse's stem, form ev'ry foe deliver them that trust Thy mighty power to save, and give them vict'ry o'er the grave. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel! O come, Thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heav'nly home, make safe the way that leads on high, that we no more have cause to sigh. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel! O come, Thou Dayspring from on high, and cheer us by thy drawing nigh; disperse the gloomy clouds of night and death's dark shadow put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel! O come, Desire of the nations, bind in one the hearts of all mankind; bid every strife and quarrel cease and fill the world with heaven's peace. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

O Antiphons (Octave before Christmas)

O Come....
O Come....
Emmanuel

The well known carol Veni, Veni Emmanuel is a synthesis of the great "O Antiphons" that are used for Vespers during the octave before Christmas (Dec. 17-23). These antiphons are of ancient origin, dating back to at least the ninth century.

Here is Veni Veni Emmanuel (O Come O Come Emmanuel) sung by Ensemble vocal Fribourg

Each “O Antiphon” highlights a title for the Messiah & a prophecy of Isaiah of his coming. Here is my album that has pictures and verses for each antiphon.

The titles, read from last to first, form an acrostic:

                        E   mmanuel,
                      R   ex Gentium,
                      O   riens,

                        C   lavis,
                      R   adix,
                      A   donai,
                      S    apientia =

The first letters
spell out "ERO CRAS" (Latin for “I'll be there.”)

Here are each of the antiphons & the dudes from Oxford singing the vesper for you:

December 17 - O Sapientia (O Wisdom)
O Wisdom, you came forth from the mouth of the Most High and,
reaching from beginning to end, you ordered all things mightily and sweetly.
Come, and teach us the way of prudence.

O Sapientia, quæ ex ore Altissimi prodiisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem,
fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiæ.

(Isaiah 11:2-3)“The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom
and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge
and fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.”

or (Isaiah 28:29) “Wonderful is His counsel and great is His wisdom.”

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December 18 - O Adonai (O Lord)
O Adonai and Ruler of the House of Israel,
you appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush
and on Mount Sinai gave him your law.
Come, and with outstretched arm redeem us.

O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel, qui Moysi in igne flammæ rubi apparuisti,
et ei in Sina legem dedisti:
veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.

(Isaiah 11:4-5)“But He shall judge the poor with justice,
and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.
He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Justice shall be the band around his waist,
and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.” 

or (Isaiah 33:22) “Indeed the Lord will be there with us, majestic;
yes the Lord our judge, the Lord our lawgiver, the Lord our king,
he it is who will save us.”

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December 19 - O Radix Jesse
O Root of Jesse’s stem,
sign of God’s love for all his people:
come to save us without delay!

O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt rege
s os suum, quem Gentes deprecabuntur:
veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.

(Isaiah 11:1) “But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.”
or
(Isaiah 11:10) "On that day, the root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations,
the Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious.”

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December 20 - O Clavis David (O Key of David)
O Key of David and Scepter of the House of Israel,
opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom:
come and free the prisoners of darkness!

O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum,
quem Gentes deprecabuntur:
veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.

(Isaiah 22:22) "I will place the Key of the House of David on His shoulder;
when he opens, no one will shut, when he shuts, no one will open.”
or
(Isaiah 9:6) “His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, from David’s throne,
and over His kingdom, which he confirms and sustains by judgment and justice,
both now and forever.”

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December 21 - O Oriens (O Rising Sun)
O Radiant Dawn,
splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:
come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the
shadow of death.

O Oriens, splendor lucis æternæ, et sol justitiæ:
veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

(Isaiah 9:1) “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shown.”

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December 22 - O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations)
O King of all nations and keystone of the Church:
come and save man, whom you formed from the dust!

O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum, lapisque angularis,
qui facis utraque unum:
veni, et salva hominem, quem de limo formasti.

(Isaiah 9:5)  “For a child is born to us, a son is given us;
upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor,
God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.”
or
(Isaiah 2:4) “He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks;
one nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again.”

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December 23 -  O Emmanuel (O God who dwells with us)
O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law:
come to save us, Lord our God!

O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster, exspectatio gentium, et Salvator earum:
veni ad salvandum nos Domine Deus noster.

(Isaiah 7:14)  “The Lord himself will give you this sign:
the Virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.”

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