Faith and Liturgy

Sophia’s baptism and Isabella’s birthday

Sophia’s baptism was on Sunday and since we had almost the whole of my family there, we decided to celebrate Isabella’s second birthday a week early. Add to it the fact that it was both Pentecost and Mother’s Day and we had a real party.

The selection of Pentecost/Mother’s Day was just a happy accident. We needed a Sunday that Melanie’s sister Theresa could fly up from Dallas to be the godmother and in which the majority of my family could be there. (My dad couldn’t come and Melanie’s family had been up for the birth and couldn’t come back again so quickly.)

We’d spent the previous few days cleaning and cooking. Melanie made a whole mess of great food, including mango salsa, pasta salad, and pulled-pork barbecue. Not to mention the cake for Isabella.

Everything went without a hitch, it was a beautiful day, and the nice weather encouraged the kids to spend most of their time running around outside.

Okay there may have been one hitch, but it was easily fixed: my pastor forgot about the baptism. When we arrived at the church especially early, I saw nothing had been set up. I know how prepared he usually is, so I went over to the rectory and when he opened the door, I asked him, “Are you ready for the baptism?” He got a shocked look and said, “Oh, is that today?” Not to worry. He’s been doing this long enough that he was able to get everything together in short order. Plus Melanie and I are so laid back, we don’t worry about everything being perfect.

In addition to Melanie’s sister being godmother, we asked my 15-year-old nephew to be godfather. I know it’s unusual, especially since he’s not yet confirmed, but Father made a special exception, knowing my nephew is a sober young man who takes his faith seriously. As evidence, he took a few days to think about it when we asked him to be godfather, just to be sure he was prepared for the responsibility.

Of course, I am my nephew’s godfather, so does that make me Sophia’s god-grandfather?

Isabella’s birthday party was fun too. She blew out her candle and opened much-too-generous presents and marveled at all these kids running around in her house, playing with her toys. She was generally fine with it most of the time, but you could tell a few times she was uneasy.

It was lots of fun and I wish we could have the whole family over more often. Maybe when we get a house we will.

Prayers for Dale

I’ve been away from blogging for a few days and he may already be home, but I’d still like to send out my prayers and you for your prayers for Dale Price who’s having a bit of a health scare. Obviously, we include in our prayers his wife Heather and their kids. I’ve seen my dad have heart attacks and my brother too, and I’m paranoid about it, so kudos to Dale and Heather for taking no chances and going to the doctor at the first sign of trouble. Better to be “embarrassed” (although there’s no shame in it) than to ignore it.

They’re doing regular blood draws to check things; those keep coming back with good results. His spirits are good despite being on bedrest—I remember that from last year!

The kids and I saw him and they’re okay. Madeleine told him she’d rather he be in the hospital and get better than home sick, so she’s a smart girl. He encouraged us to go to dance class, even.

The cardiologist has said he expects Dale to get released by 5 PM Tuesday. Not a moment too soon.

On a related note: it’s a LOT easier for me to blog about it than talk about it, so if I don’t return your call, don’t take it personally. It’s a blogging disconnect, you know? These are just words I type on the screen. I completely forget that other people actually read them. People like my sister-in-law, my parents-in-law, other members of our homeschool support group, neighbors, friends…

God bless and Godspeed, Dale. We entrust you to the loving intercession of the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph.

Cardinal Pell on exciting technology in use at World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney, Australia

It’s a bit of a commercial for Telstra, the Australian government communications monopoly, but it’s still good information on the cool mobile phone and Web 2.0 social networking plans that the World Youth Day organizers in Sydney have planned for this July.

Prayer request and Novena to Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati

I recently reconnected with a friend from college, Peter Braam, on Facebook and he sent a message today asking for prayers. His doctors found a lump on his neck and think it might be cancerous. He has a biopsy this week and he’s asking for prayers, not just for himself, but also for some others who are suffering. He’s especially for folks to take part in a novena for Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati. Since his memorial is April 6, tomorrow would be the first day of the novena! Here is the novena as sent by Peter:

NOVENA TO BLESSED PIER GIORGIO FRASSATI

We offer this Novena prayer for the healing of:

Micheal Murphy, the brother of my friend Megan fighting melanoma

Macey King, the daughter of my friend Scott who has relapsed with another tumor in her head

Paul Furey, a college friend with lymphoma recently given only a couple of months to live

Peter J. Braam, with a lump on his neck that is likely to be lymphoma

1st Day

Jesus says:  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Pier Giorgio responds:  The faith given to me in Baptism surely suggests to me that of yourself you will do nothing; but if you have God as the center of all your actions, then you will reach the goal. 

We pray:  Blessed Pier Giorgio, teach me true poverty of spirit.  Help me understand that God cares for me; and that He asks me, in return, to care for others, especially those in need.  Guide me to make choices in my life which will show a preference for service of God and neighbor, rather than accumulating financial wealth and social advantage for myself.  Give me a special love for the poor and the sick.  Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for your intercession in obtaining from God, Who is the Lover of the poor, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare.  I confidently turn to you for help in my present need:  (mention your request). 

2nd Day

Jesus says:  “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

Pier Giorgio responds:  Our life in order to be Christian, has to be a continual renunciation, a continual sacrifice.  But this is not difficult, if one thinks what these few years passed in suffering are, compared with eternal happiness where joy will have no measure or end, and where we shall have unimaginable peace. 

We pray:  Blessed Pier Giorgio, teach me that I must be able to mourn if I will be able to rejoice.  Show me how to face my sorrow, and not avoid it or pretend that it does not exist.  Help me to enter into any present sorrow, so that my soul can empty itself and be filled with God’s peace.  Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for your intercession in obtaining from God, Who is our Consoler, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare.  I confidently turn to you for help in my present need:  (mention your request). 

3rd Day

Jesus says:  “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Pier Giorgio responds:  With violence you sow hatred, and you harvest its bad fruits.  With charity, you sow peace among men - not the peace that the world gives, but the true peace that only faith in Jesus Christ can give us in common brotherhood. 

We pray:  Blessed Pier Giorgio, guide me in claiming my rightful inheritance as a child of God and heir of His kingdom.  Show me, by your own example, how to be slow to anger, and gentle in my dealings with others.  Help me to show forth the peace of Christ by speaking words of peace, and by living a life of peace.  Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for your intercession from God, Who is meek and humble of heart, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare.  I confidently turn to you for help in my present need: (mention your request).

4th Day

Jesus says:  “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

Pier Giorgio responds:  What wealth it is to be in good health, as we are!  But we have the duty of putting our health at the service of those who do not have it.  To act otherwise would be to betray that gift of God. 

We pray:  Blessed Giorgio, help me to seek God’s righteousness, His plan for my life and for the salvation of the world.  Show me the way to self-surrender, so that I may desire nothing more than to be of service to the Lord and His Kingdom.  Lead me to the table of love, where I will be satisfied.  Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for your intercession in obtaining from God, Who is righteous and just, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare.> I confidently turn to you for help in my present need:  (mention you request). 

5th Day

Jesus says:  “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall they obtain mercy.”

Pier Giorgio responds: St. Paul says that “the charity of Christ urges us.” Without this flame, which should burn out our personality little by little and blaze only for other people’s grief, we would not be Christian, let along Catholic.

We pray:  Blessed Pier Giorgio, teach me by your example of your mercy to open my heart more widely to those in need, especially the poor and the sick.  Guide me in extending that mercy to friends and strangers, to those who love me and those who do not.  Help me to reflect God’s own mercy, especially in words and deeds of forgiveness.  Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for your intercession in obtaining from God, Who is gracious and merciful and just, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare.  I confidently turn to you for help in my present need (mention your request). 

6th Day

Jesus says: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Pier Giorgio responds:  I beg you to pray for me a little, so that God may give me an iron will that does not bend and does not fail in His projects.

We pray:  Blessed Pier Giorgio, lead me in the path of purity, for only those who are clean of heart can behold God’s face.  Help me to be faithful to the covenant I have made with God in Baptism, that I may always be loyal to His commands and thus offer Him sincere worship.  Show me by your life how to be single hearted and completely, unswervingly, dedicated to proclaiming the kingdom of God here on earth.  Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for you intercession in obtaining from God, Who is pure love and holiness, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare.  I confidently turn to you for help in my present need:  (mention your request). 

7th Day

Jesus says:  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. 

Pier Giorgio responds:  I offer you my best wishes - or rather, only one wish, but the only wish that a true friend can express for a dear friend:  may the peace of the Lord be with you always!  For if you possess peace every day, you will be truly rich. 

We pray:  Blessed Pier Giorgio, despite your daily struggles, you found peace by fostering your own well being in work, study, and play; in prayer alone and with others; in silence and in song, in laughter and in serious conversation with friends.  Guide me to that inner peace which will enable me to share peace with others.  Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for your intercession in obtaining from God, Who is our peace, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare.  I confidently turn to you for help in my present need:  (mention your request). 

8th Day

Jesus says:  Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Pier Giorgio responds:  To live without faith, with a patrimony to defend, without a steady struggle for truth, that is not living, but existing. 

We pray:  Blessed Pier Giorgio, teach me silence in the face of personal humiliation and unjust criticism.  But guide me to be courageous like you in standing on the side of God’s truth.  Help me to be faithful to Him in all things, so that His Will may be done in and through my life.  Show me how to persevere in the struggle for those things which are holy and honorable.  Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for you intercession in obtaining from God, Who is the source of grace and truth, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare.  I confidently turn to you for help in my present need:  (mention your request). 

9th Day

Jesus says:  Blessed are you when then revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account.> Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. 

Pier Giorgio responds:  We who by the grace of God are Catholics must steel ourselves for the battle we shall certainly have to fight to fulfill our program and to give our county, in the not too distant future, happier days and a morally healthy society.  But to achieve this we need constant prayer to obtain from God that grace without which all our powers are useless. 

We pray:  Blessed Pier Giorgio, show me how to bear all wrongs patiently.  Help me to accept the sufferings which others inflict on me because of my desire to be faithful to Jesus.  Blessed Pier Giorgio, I ask for your intercession in obtaining from God, Who protects the innocent, all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare.  I confidently turn to you for help in my present need:  (mention your request).

No Easter, no Good Friday for this Sunday school

Let’s not disturb the kiddies by telling them about the crucifixion. And if you can’t tell them about the crucifixion, you can’t tell them about Easter. One North Carolina Protestant church got basically that response from the publisher of their Sunday school curriculum.

“Easter is a special time in churches,” the letter from the publisher says. “It’s a time of celebration and thankfulness. But because of the graphic nature of the Easter story and the crucifixion specifically, we need to be careful as we choose what we tell preschoolers about Easter.”

But can children be presented with the fact of death and not scar them? Can we tell them about Jesus’ sacrifice without going into the gory details? And is it worth tossing out the resurrection to avoid the cross?

Yet the cross is at the heart of our faith, as St. Paul tells us: “But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Gal 6:14) Yet, even in Paul’s time there were those who thought the cross was just too gruesome to consider, but he rejected the attempt to expunge it from Christianity: “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor 1:18)

“The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor 1:18)

This is the wisdom of the Catholic crucifix, a cross with a representation of Christ crucified upon it. Isabella has grown up seeing these crucifixes in our home and in our church and they do not startle her. She sees the cross, points, and says “Jesus Christ” and begs to kiss the cross. The last is not at our prompting, mind you, as she is a child who has learned to kiss that which she loves and she loves Christ. When she is 5 or 6 years old and we tell the story of Good Friday with no more gore than the Stations of the Cross in our parish church, will she be able to hear it without being scarred for life? I think so.

Perhaps our children—and ourselves— have become too citified, too far removed from the messy reality of life. Children raised on farms usually learn early on the lessons of life and death and suffering and sacrifice, not to mention children who grow up in much less civilized surroundings. Heck, there are plenty of kids in inner-city neighborhoods who know plenty of those topics.

Apparently, the publisher of this Sunday school lesson is connected to some of those suburban mega-church evangelical places in the Midwest, those places of the happy-clappy health-and-wealth Gospel. I suppose it’s not surprising it would be hard to find the hard teaching of the cross there. And they have so well illustrated for us that when the cross is removed, Easter is not far behind.

Triduum and small children, redux

I can tell I’m getting older. I was thinking of writing a post on how some parents of very small children just can’t participate in the Easter Triduum because the kids can’t suffer the missed bedtimes, missed naptimes, and very long Masses and services. But then, I had the sneaking suspicion, I’d written something about it before.

Um, I guess I did. Last year. Oh well. I guess I’ll just say “Ditto”.

Eucharistic Congress in Boston

The Archdiocese of Boston’s Office for Vocations is sponsoring a Eucharistic Congress for College Students and Young Adults on Friday, March 28, and Saturday, March 29. In addition to some excellent speakers and, of course, prayer and adoration and the sacraments, they’ve also planned service projects in the city—putting faith into action— as well as a dinner on Saturday night in the North End, catered by some of the finest Italian restaurants.

And for those who volunteer to help with Congress or participate in the service projects the dinner is free. Adoration of the Lord and a free meal? How can you beat it?

The speakers include Father Matt Williams, Director of the Office for the New Evangelization of Youth and Young Adults for the Archdiocese of Boston, on the topic of “Eucharist and Confession, Reconciliation, conversion and change in our lives”; Father Peter Cameron O.P., Editor-in-Chief of Magnificat Magazine; Paul George, Co-Founder of Adore Ministries on the Topic of “Eucharist and Evangelization and Vocation”; Kerri Marmol, a member of the Community of Sant’Egidio, an international lay association, and founder of the School of Peace in Jamaica Plain, a Saturday program to help students with their schoolwork, and the School of the Gospel in Allston, a Bible discussion for adults; and, of course, Cardinal Sean O’Malley.

Go to the web site for a schedule, locations, registration, tickets, and more information. Sounds like a great time and an awesome way to kick off the Easter season.

Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati news

Big news for devotees of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. According to Christine Wohar of FrassatiUSA, the body of the young Italian role model for youth will be going to World Youth Day in Sydney. In addition, his tomb was recently re-opened and his body was again confirmed as incorrupt.

Pier Giorgio’s tomb was opened this past Monday in Turin where he was again confirmed incorrupt.  Plans are now underway for him to make the trip to Australia and be among the youth of the world who will gather there.  I am not aware of something like this being done before for World Youth Day.  I do know for certain that Pier Giorgio’s remains have never left Turin since being placed there following his beatification in 1990.

She also mentions that the official Frassati association in Italy, headed by his niece Wanda Gawronska, is preparing a special medal to be made available for sale, including in the US. It will be based on the original medal designed by Pier Giorgio’s mother upon his death in 1925.

They are also editing together a book of Pier Giorgio’s letters, which they hope to have published this summer.

Catholic News Service has a story with more details on the World Youth Day plans.

Mom update

My mom is out of surgery. Her knee replacement has been removed and a spacer has been put in for the next two months. The doctor said she has very strong bones and that sometimes with weak bones a bit of bone comes with the implant and they have to do reconstructive surgery. Happily, they did not have to do that.

Her knee was indeed filled with an infection, so it’s very good they caught it when they did. Now we wait 2 months before they can put a new knee in.

Dehydrated baby

Thank you everyone for the prayers and congratulations. You’ll see I posted some new photos over there on the right sidebar. Melanie has written an update on her day. Short version is that Sophia was running a little temp so they wanted to do some bloodwork and check for infection. The results came back with no infection, which is good, but she has elevated sodium, which means she’s a bit dehydrated, even though she’s nursing well with Melanie.

So they’re going to put her in the neonatal ICU overnight for an IV of fluids. Melanie will have to go up and down during the night to nurse her. Since she doesn’t need me to bring the baby to her or change diapers, I think I’ll go home and get a good night’s sleep in a bed and then bring Bella and my mom-in-law over.

Update on my mom, too: She wasn’t admitted to the hospital tonight, but will be admitted in the morning and then have her surgery immediately at noon. I talked to her tonight and she sounded in good spirits. All she asked was that I send her a photo of Isabella and Sophia to keep by her bed along with the photos of all her other grandkids.

Your prayers, as always, are a source of grace and encouragement, and I thank God that I have come to know you all and have been able to share my life with you.

More news, updates, and photos as they become available.

Family prayer update

I mentioned yesterday that my mom needed prayers because of problems with her knee replacement. It turns out she needs to have the worst-case scenario: The doctors will have to remove her most recent artificial knee, let the leg sit without a knee for 6 to 8 weeks and then put a new replacement in. You can imagine that she is very discouraged.

She’s hoping that the doctor will give her clearance to drive down tonight to see her new granddaughter before the surgery scheduled for Friday. I don’t know when we’ll be able to go up and visit her otherwise; probably not for a couple of weeks.

Also, I’ve received news that my father’s eldest surviving sister, who is now in her 90s, is in the end stages of life. It doesn’t matter how old or young a person is, it still comes as a shock and is a burden of grief.

If you could mention my mom, Virginia, and my aunt, Jenny, in your prayers, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

And more baby pictures soon, I promise.

Prayers for my mom and Melanie’s progress

Hoping not to overtax the wells of prayer that we’ve requested, but if could fit in a prayer for my mom, we’d appreciate it. We just heard that she’s developed another fever which could be another infection of her artificial knee replacement, since she just came off the previous regime of antibiotics. We won’t know for sure until Thursday, but if it is infected they’ll have to take out the knee, let it rest for 6-8 weeks (with no knee!) and then put a new one in.

This is obviously very discouraging for my whole family and so we’re praying that it is just the flu or something and not the knee. (Imagine praying for the flu!)

Meanwhile, Melanie is doing very well, they’ve got her on a pitocin drip and the contractions are getting stronger and closer together. We may have this baby today.

Oh by the way, her latest blog entry was written from the labor room in between contractions. I think that deserves some kind of blog award. Or therapy, not sure which yet.

Religious faith in America fading over the past generation

While the Catholic Church is losing members slower than Protestant churches, that’s only because so many immigrants are themselves Catholic already. That’s one of the conclusions of the “U.S. Religious Landscape Survey,” from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, as reported in the New York Times.

What’s sad is that self-identified former Catholics make up one of the largest religious groups in the US.

According to their research, over the past generation, 44 percent of Americans have switched religious affiliations, either to another religion or denomination or to nothing at all. Of Catholics it says:

To no one’s surprise, “unaffiliated” was the biggest gainer. That the United States is becoming ever more secular and/or hostile to religious faith is fairly evident to anyone living in or near a big city or on the coasts. But it’s a spreading phenomenon.

Of course, the surveyors see it in the context of politics and similar matters. Plus, I’m not sure whether they even understand the categories they’re studying.

The rise of the unaffiliated does not mean that Americans are becoming less religious, however. Contrary to assumptions that most of the unaffiliated are atheists or agnostics, most described their religion “as nothing in particular.”

Which is, you know, what agnostic means. According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, whose definition is as good as any, it means: “A person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena; a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God.” That’s pretty much someone who believes in “nothing in particular.”

They also claim that people are abandoning large, impersonal churches for more personal, intimate venues. Supposedly, mega-churches succeed not because they are large but because “they have smaller ministries inside.” Or because they offer an experience that is not hostile to the experience that many people seek, which is a religion that doesn’t require too much counter-cultural changing of their lives.

Catholics coming in the front door and out the back

Continue reading...

Catholics Come Home

There’s a new advertising campaign originating out of Phoenix called Catholics Come Home. Using slick commercials and a high-tech web site, the campaign seeks to goad the conscience of lapsed Catholics to re-discover (or discover for the first time) why their Catholic faith is important to their lives, their families, and their eternity.

They have three commercials at the moment: “Epic 120”, which is a two-minute tour through the impact the Catholic Church has had on history and still does today; “Movie” which reminds us that after our lives end we will review our lives (like a movie) and will get to evaluate what we have done; and “Mix”, which shows individual Catholics explaining how they left the Church, why they came back, and what a difference it’s made.

These are high-quality productions, as good as anything out there. Kind of reminds me of those Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints commercials the Mormons used to do, including the offer of a free book.

The local Phoenix Catholic newspaper, The Catholic Sun, did a story on the start of the campaign in that diocese recently. They say the average Phoenix household will see the commercials 13 times between now and Easter.

And if it’s successful—and they have the money for it—they’ll expand into other dioceses. Looks promising.

The Getting It gap

I was reading this post by a Mac software developer on the challenges of creating new products that you know will fit into people’s lives even though they don’t know it. He calls it “The Getting It Gap.” He uses the iPod as an example where many people didn’t understand the appeal of yet another expensive music device back in 2001 and were quite happy with their low-capacity, easily scratched CDs. Yet Apple saw what people would want if only they knew why they would want it.

While the obvious lessons about hyper-consumerism can be drawn even as we acknowledge that its questionable if anyone actually needs a digital music player, I think the “Getting Gap” idea offers something for those of us who have something else to offer: the Gospel.

What’s interesting to me about this nostalgic trip down memory lane is not so much that I was dense about the iPod and what it could do for me, but that Apple went right ahead and developed the thing anyway. I imagine that most people suffer from this same habitual resistance to new ideas, especially when the new ideas are trying to replace habits that people believe are already optimal. The density I describe here represents serious marketplace inertia for any company that develops game-changing products. How does an innovator convince ordinary people that they’d be happier on the other side of this mental gap?

And most interestingly of all, how does an innovator convince themselves there’s a gap, and that getting people over it will change the world? I only got over the iPod gap with the benefit of a physical object I could hold in my hand, a set of headphones, and some seriously rocking tunes. Apple got over it considerably sooner than that.

Many of us consider ourselves innovators, albeit on a smaller scale than a company such as Apple. So try to imagine a product, a philosophy, or a way of life. Hold it in your hands and examine it carefully. I know you’re sure you don’t need it, and you can’t imagine what you would ever use it for. Neither can anybody else. But in a few years we’ll wonder how we ever lived without it.

Don’t we Christians and Catholics suffer a “getting it” gap with the rest of the world? We can’t imagine our lives without our faith, without God, without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, yet it’s sometimes hard to understand why other people can’t “get” why that’s such a good thing.

Perhaps what we should be doing is standing in their shoes for a moment and see with their eyes. Then figure out how to convey what we have in a manner that not only makes senses, but makes a compelling argument. Why hasn’t your life been complete until now? How will this fulfill you in ways you never thought possible?

It’s not exactly a new approach to evangelization, but it’s important to step back once in a while and re-examine our own approach to ensure that we’re not pushing people away by our ham-handedness or obstinacy or arrogance or plain impenetrability. In other words, we don’t want to be Microsoft’s Zune.