WHO IS GOING TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR ME TO RETIRE?

“The Church is not doing enough about vocations.” Across the blog-o-sphere, in editorials, some Catholic publications, and in response to the Diocese of Cleveland’s clustering of parishes this anthem is being sung on high. And it is absolutely true. But what is often misunderstood is the “who” that makes up “the Church.”

Recently there has been a modest influx of solid men of faith into the seminaries of the Diocese of Cleveland. Wanting to know why these men are entering, the seminary asked them. (What a brilliant thing to do.) Not one of the men sighted a person in an office working for the diocese as a reason. The two biggest factors: a solid youth group and the attention that John Paul II received at his death.

Often I ask men who have made other choices in life if they had ever considered the priesthood and I am shocked at how many say they had. The number one reason they offer for not taking the call more seriously is that they say no one ever suggested it to them or encouraged them.

In my own life, I know that it was the old ladies after daily mass who would slip me a dollar and say that I did a good job serving and should think about being a priest, Fr. Ozimek who told me from time to time to think about it, and my college friends who mentioned it that kept the thought alive in my heart. Thank God for them!

If we want more priests (and religious) we have to foster a community that encourages them. Promote vocations among your children or your sisters and brothers, cousins, and friends. Recommend a vocation to someone at church that you see something in. Join a group that promotes vocations. Volunteer and bolster the youth group at your parish. Set the example of joyful Christian living in your own life. Pray for vocations. Pray for you bishop whose example can go a long way in sparking vocations. Pray for you seminary! Pray for your director of vocations. Fr. Mike Gurnik who has just recently taken over the job for this diocese is doing a great job but could use your prayers (as well as referrals.) Don’t wait for downtown to do it.

This is not an overnight fix. But overnight fixes do not last. Cures take longer and are more difficult than fixes. The west needs a cure. And we can be part of it.

SUNDAY VIDEO ON TAP IV - & OTHER VARIOUS AND SUNDRY

This seems appropriate considering that confirmation with Bishop Gries is just two weeks away here at Saint Clare:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8UOgnL0Knc&mode=related&search=

And a couple of news bites sent out via the Diocese of Cleveland Weekly E-Newsletter:

Some insight into the drama that is "the discovery of the Body of Jesus." (Remind me to get excited later.)

If you have been following the Federal case against former employees of the Diocese of Cleveland, you know that those accused are now pointing fingers at our former bishop. This has not made it in the paper so I thought you might like to see the response from Bishop Emeritus Anthony M. Pilla.

PRAYER REQUEST: Apparently MTV will be doing some sort of story on the Sisters of Life in New York this Monday. One of our parishioners, Bridget, who was accepted into the order about six months ago, has been selected to be interviewed and has asked for prayers. That is her elbow at the right of the picture in a Time Magazine article.

THE PRIEST AND THE BIRD

Walking out of the store yesterday I saw a pleasant enough looking young lady riding in a car. She had the window rolled down, her hand extended and her middle finger pointing toward God. At first I thought the thoughtful gesture was aimed in my direction, but then she caught sight of me in my Roman collar and her finger wilted like a wet, hot noodle in boiling water. Simultaneously there was apparently something that she wanted to look at intently in the exact opposite direction from whence I was standing.

Sometimes people wonder if religious garb is passé or unnecessary. Hollywood clearly thinks otherwise. If you need religious symbolism to get a point across, out come the habits and the collars (and the candles and the statues . . .).

I find it patently unfair that when some organizations (who shall remain anonymous) want to raise money all of a sudden out come pictures of nuns in habits that they have not worn for years. But that is because they know the symbolism does something. (That is not to say that there are not perfectly good nuns who do good work who do not wear habits.)

Think of a pan of a crowd in a news segment that catches a priest or sister in religious garb. For that instant, thoughts of Church, God, and Catholicism pop into mind.

When I was a baby priest, occasionally I would be walking down the street and catch a glimpse of myself with my collar on in a store window. It would jolt me into remembering that I was living a very public Catholic life involving powerful symbols and that my actions meant something to other people. It is not about me, a humbling lesson to learn, but about that collar and what it is supposed to represent.

For good or bad, symbols play a huge role in our lives. What a blessing to use this gift to remind people that even in a parking lot of a strip mall on a Thursday God is still present and that we should live our lives accordingly.

THE ONE, THE TRUE, THE GOOD, AND THE BEAUTIFUL

“The poor of the world need more than the crude fundamentals of food and shelter, they also need beauty.” This is not the exact quote as I could not find the reference this morning, but it does explain why I will never apologize for the Church commissioning works of art. (Okay, I take that back, there are a few works of art for which I apologize, but at least they tried.)

“The One, the True, the Good, and the Beautiful: they come together and they go together. When all is said and done, we will be saved by the Beautiful (and) one of the things we are in danger of losing today is the Beautiful.” (Fr. Benedict Groeshel giving a retreat for priests.)

Having this in mind the Church has always been a Patroness of the Arts. Yet today, in the most affluent society ever to exist in all of history, we relegate our purchases of “art” to mass-produced pieces ordered from catalogues. Now, like being able to find a McDonald’s hamburger in any city or hamlet in the world, you can find a Catholic Church with the exact same crucifix as the one in your hometown. This, in turn, means artists do not find a market for nor hone their skills on religious art. The chain effect is that it then becomes more and more difficult to commission works of art from artisans who understand Christian symbolism and the difference between art for art's sake and liturgical art.

Find a way to be part of the cure. There are many ways in which this might be done depending on your resources and level of influence (of which you have more than you realize.) Seminarians from the seminary of the Diocese of Cleveland have a “John Paul II Night of the Arts” each year in which they celebrate prayer and art. Poetry, music, improvisational comedy, artwork, photography, and the theatrical arts are presented for the community.

Occasionally money is donated to a parish for a “work of art.” When this happened at my last parish we decided to ditch the catalogues and hire a local artist to create a piece for us that would be unique to the parish. We had the parish crest made in stained glass for the school. And for my Aunt’s eightieth birthday my cousin had a piece commissioned from the same company as her gift (see below).

Find ways in which you can support the work of artist. Clevelanders will have a unique opportunity to do so on March 25th. The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus will be performing Rachmaninoff’s “All-Night Vigil (Vespers – all of it) at Severance Hall (a great opportunity for Lenten reflection) to raise money for the Chorus.

Even if you have no monetary resources, go to that concert in the park and take young ones with you so that they can learn what it is to enjoy the arts. When they grow older they will appreciate art and be promoters of it. Rob, who visits Adam’s Ale from time to time has a website on which he posts his short stories. The first one is a heart-wrenching story of what happens when the Theology of the Body is forgotten or ignored and persons sexually use each other as a means to an end. (WARNING: SEXUAL CONTENT) But venues such as this allow you to give encouragement to artists in our midst.

Here are just a few more suggestions of ways in which Catholics can promote the arts in general:

* Become a member of a local arts organization. It does not have to be great. Even the local community theater forms budding artists and trains youth how to attend the theater.
* Attend live performances.
* Donate to worthy arts organizations.
* Promote the use of primary source artists in your home, school, business, parish, and community.
* As much as possible, influence arts toward the promotion of the dignity of the human person and the glory of God.
* Develop your artistic skills.
* When possible, employ live musicians in lieu if recorded music.
* When purchasing souvenirs, look for original or hand-made works of art or arts and crafts. (Why go to Italy and bring something home made in China?)
* Consider sponsoring a performance or art show in your home, community, or parish.
* Try to purchase recordings or pieces directly from the artist when possible.
* Consider donating to a scholarship for artists.
* When enjoying a street or park performance, donate as well as you can when the plate is passed.

ALL OF ME, WHY NOT TAKE ALL OF ME

The good news is that I was still able to genuflect today, though just barely.

A guy at the gym yesterday who knows that I am a priest asked what disciplines he might take on for lent. So we talked about it a little bit. Then he asked me what I was doing. “Partly,” I said, “is in being here.” Being a disciple of Christ is not a solely spiritual endeavor. Christ’s teaching and Church law are about making us become the best persons we can possibly be spiritually, mentally, and physically. Sin is anything that works against this.

We are a people of the incarnation. We are our bodies. They are tabernacles of the Eucharist and temples of the Holy Spirit. (A classmate of mine from the seminary used to promote this theme a lot but smoked like a chimney. When confronted with, “If the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, what’s with the smoking?” he replied, “I’m just incensing the temple.”) Part of being Christian is to take care of yourself as far as possible.

In the confessional when someone asks for assistance in confessing I always add, “Are you taking care of yourself? Eating right? Exercising? Getting enough sleep? Adorning the body modestly?”

The same goes for that in which we engage mentally. Saint Ignatius talks about reading profane things and how, though they may excite at the moment, there is a certain let down afterwards. And while the reading of spiritual things may be more challenging, the positive effect lasts and we have absorbed those things that will aid us in life rather than distracted us from it.

A report form the The University of California, Berkley states that Americans spend NINE TIMES as many minutes watching television than all leisure time physical activities combined! Is “American Idol” really that good of a show? In the time that it would take to watch two back-to-back episodes of “Law and Order” TWO HOLY HOURS of prayer, reading, and exercise could be accomplished. Most of lent is still ahead of us! Think where you could be spiritually because of your extra prayer, what you will have to talk about because of what you read, and how much better shape you’ll be in to mow the lawn and wash the winter salt off the car come spring. Glorify God in your body. Step away from the potato chips and pump iron for glory of God.

THE END OF CHRISTIANITY (AGAIN)

Wednesday mornings I go visit parishioners at the hospital. One of my favorite people to stop and say hi to is a Jewish man who volunteers for the valet parking service for those visiting the cancer center. Walking in to the hospital today he calls out, “So Father, I hear they found the body of Jesus!” (Isn’t it strange how these great discoveries always seem to occur during lent? Why don’t they ever come to light in a perfectly good month like August?)

“Yes,” I replied, “Apparently I am going to be out of a job by Easter.”

“Don’t worry,” he called back, “I’ll save you a seat at the synagogue.”

Once, when I was in Austria taking a tour through a museum, a docent announced that a beautiful reliquary contained the relics of Jesus. Rather awe struck I asked her if she was sure of that for if true, Christianity had just been struck down to nothing more than a nice but false therapeutic method. (You will be glad to know that she checked her notes and discovered that it was actually a relic of the True Cross.)

But now, we are confronted with the actual bodies of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and their son! What a yard sale we are going to have! Everything here will be about as useful as smoking paraphernalia, which has come on its own hard times.

“What do you think about them finding Jesus’ body?” is the greeting that has replaced “Hello” with many people as of late. I think we owe this movie producer an incredible amount of gratitude for doing what two thousand years of doubting Thomas’ could not: exposing the truth.

Forget the witness of the Apostles. Forget what the greatest minds in the history of humanity have contemplated and found true, forget the witness of the saints and the marvels that have been worked through their intercession as testimony to Christ and His mission. Forget that not even a credible whisper of this has been heard in all of history. Our only hope now is that the great Vatican conspiracy, which has all Catholics under its direct power and has mind control over all world leaders and scientist, will find a way to once again conceal this truth and allow the whore of Babylon to continue ministering to those who are hurting and lost in sin, caring for the sick, lonely, and disenfranchised, calling the rich and powerful to repentance and accountability, making education available, standing as a voice for peace in the world, and continue being the greatest contributor to the poor (including any nation) along with promoting art and science (with accountability and ethics). Our evil plan is hanging in the brink!

Or perhaps this is just a really insipid way to promote a movie.

QUOTE TUESDAY III

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: "Of course 'academic freedom' is the final refuge in which professors hide when confronted with the absurdity and arragance of their decisions. It is a waisteland totally unmoored from standards, where activity can be justified if it exceeds our 'comfort level' by 'challenging' our preconceptions." - Charlie Crist, Florida Commissioner of Education

About ten years ago, I was riding out to go cross country skiing with my father, not a believer in God or an afterlife, when he turned to me with tears in his eyes and said, "Do you know why I take on life with such vigour? It is because this is all there is and I have to get it in before it is all over." I thought of him, now in a nursing home, when my eye caught this poem. I pray it for him.

HEAVEN

Think of-

Stepping on shore and finding it Heaven!

Of taking hold of a hand, and finding it God's hand.

Of breathing a new air, and finding it celestial air.

Of feeling invigorated, and finding it immortality.

Of passing from storm to tempest to an unbroken calm.

Of waking up, and finding it Home.

-unknown

MASCULINISM

Does this word bother you? There is something about it that at best feels clumsy and maybe even a bit disturbing. Going out for coffee last night after the great presentation by Colleen Caroll Cambell as mentioned as up and coming below (Feminism, Rising from the Ashes) one of my compatriots posed the question, “Does a new understanding of feminism require a new understanding of . . .” And he had to stop for lack of a corresponding word.

But what the conversation was trying to surface was, “Does a new understanding of what it is to be woman in the modern age require a new understanding of what if is to be man?” Obviously it does. Though the preponderance of the discussion must focus on what it is to be authentically human, for God made all of us in His likeness and image (Genesis 1:26), He also made us male and female (Gen, 1:27). Though equal in all things, we are not the same. Our mere physical make-up radically influences how we experience and relate to the world and to each other.

Adam knew what it was to be human in relation to the animals. But he only knew what it was to be a man in relation to Eve. Certainly, the reverse is also true. But for a man, who comes from a woman’s body, who is largely raised and educated by women, yet whose body sets him apart, the cycle seems to begin with man defining who he is compared to woman. So when the feminine is undervalued he becomes domineering. When the feminine is over valued and a man’s role is seen as minimal or unnecessary, he becomes ineffectual and weak. Neither is healthy for either of the sexes. Accordingly, any reevaluation of what it is to be female will have an equal and opposite thrust in the understanding of what it is to be male. So all considerations must bear in mind not only how it will effect women, but how it will form our men.

A sign that used to hang in my parents room read, “The best gift a father can give his children is to love their mother.” It is also, I believe, the best recipe for raising noble sons. For only then will he see his proper relation to woman and this will naturally lead him to the most healthy understanding what it is to be confidently and authentically a man.

IN OTHER NEWS

Yesterday, in the Diocese of Cleveland, thousands of persons entering the church gathered at the Cleveland Convention Center for the Rite of Election with Bishop Lennon, an event far too large for the cathedral. Seventeen of these people were from Saint Clare. Pictured here are many of the catechumens and candidates with their godparents and sponsors from all parts of the diocese. These are all the adults who will be brought into full communion with Catholic Church this Easter Vigil. Please say a prayer for them and the people of your own diocese as they continue the final leg of their journey to the Eucharist this Easter!

SUNDAY VIDEO ON TAP (or) POPPY HAVE YOU SEEN DASH?

Yes, I know, you've seen this a hundred times. But it had to make at least one showing on Sunday Video On Tap. Besides, it celebrates two of the four marks of the Church: catholicity (universality) and oness (unity). Oh! Just enjoy it. You know you want to. Happy Sunday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RMzA82H-Qo

JUST ANOTHER HAPPY AND PRODUCTIVE DAY IN CATHOLIC LAND

When I come down to join the other priests for breakfast in the morning the first question asked is no longer, “Did the Church make the paper?” It is now, “What are they saying about us today?” The Church makes the news so often that I’ve thought of writing to the paper suggesting that they have a Catholic section to make finding the Catholic Church stories easier.

Of course the stories are almost invariably negative. “Another Happy and Productive Day in Catholic Land,” does not sell. And quite honestly, we deserve some of it and some of it helps keep us honest. And I don’t have a problem if someone wants to debate a Catholic issue. At least they are talking about it. But what really gets my shorts in a bunch is the constant stream of misinformation, exaggerations, and the tendency to only find persons who are opposed to the Church or her teachings to give any kind of comment. How is that fare and unbiased reporting? Answer: It isn’t.

I thought of venting about each of the misleading stories that were printed or aired locally in just the past week but why give the stories any more exposure? In a way, it is a back-handed compliment that the Church is so constantly maligned. If we were unimportant, there would be no reports or people acting so vehemently. So thank you I suppose.

And even if there are some people doing stupid things in the name of the Church, the vast majority of us keep moving along, quietly doing what Christ has called us to do. So instead of hashing the poor reporting over again, here is a nice story about your Church from the last week that you will not have heard about:

An elderly lady died in a nursing home. She was penniless. Her family moved and left no forwarding address. (Did I mention that she was penniless?) Calling hours were held and a notice was placed in the paper, but nobody came. Her funeral, however, was one of the nicest ever held here. Cecil B. DeMille would have been proud.

The pastor had the mass. A member of Gabriel’s Harp, a Christian band that has performed all over the world including various World Youth Days, provided music. A local boy’s Catholic high school Saint Ignatius has a ministry called the Saint Joseph of Arimathea Pallbearer Ministry which provides pallbearers for families that do not have members or friends that can act as such. They made themselves available at both the church and at the graveyard. Classes from our grade school came to pray for her and to act in ministries such as reader, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, and gift bearer. And the members of the local Jesuit community will offer another mass in her name.

That’s cool. The daily, quiet acts of corporal and spiritual acts of charity that go largely unnoticed. Thank you to all of you who do these things too, quietly, unrecognized, maybe even feeling alone in your endeavors. You are not. You are part of a much greater goodness. What you do is important even if no one sees it. God bless you for your ministry.

EVERYBODY CALLS ME FATHER

Today's post is the result of two ideas. The first comes from the notion that you are far more interesting that you think you are. The reason people's lives in books and movies seem so interesting is that they have writers who who cut out all the mundane and unnecessary stuff to a particular storyline (except the sex of course - *sigh* - Okay, I've got it! They're having sex. Can we move along?) I thoroughly believe that something happens to you everyday or nearly everyday that would make a good story if the time were taken to contemplate it or if it could be seen it from the outside. Your life is foreign and interesting to somebody.

The second notion comes from people always asking, "So what do you do as a priest?" The response usually begins with, "What day?" because there isn't an average day in the life of . . .

So last January I tried a little experiment. Every day I would write a short story about what happened the previous day. One to show that something story-worthy happens in average people's lives and two to give an answer to the question, "What a day in the life of a priest like?" What follows is from the first day, January 12th.

Incidentally, the title of this blog entry, "Everybody Calls Me Father" is the title of a best selling book that my first pastor, Fr. Hilkert (RIP) wrote when he was a young priest.

JANUARY 12TH

When the phone in the common room rings, it is not good news. This is the emergency line. Someone is dead or someone thinks someone will soon be dead. It only rings when nobody is around. It is the last chance to catch a priest and it rang just in time. I was on my way out to hear first confessions at a neighboring parish.
“Hello Father,” came the voice on the other end of the line, “This is Dunley Funeral home.”
Someone was dead.

There was to be a funeral the next day for a man who had suffered with leukemia for many years. A couple days before I had anointed him while his wife cried. He was barely able to speak or move and she was as sad as if he had already gone and died. “I can’t live without him,” she said. And she didn’t. The family had gone to pick her up for the evening calling hours and found her dead on the floor. She couldn’t live without him.

“Father, could you go to the hospital and comfort the family?” asked the funeral director. I replied “Of course,” as if it was the most natural and comfortable thing to do, but deep down I was sick to think of it. The neighboring parish was called and warned that I would either be late or perhaps absent all together. I put on my coat, and headed for the hospital.

I suppose people expect priests to be brave in these situations, to know what to say and what to do, and indeed I’ve known Godly men who were just so, but that is not the case with me. It was with great trepidation that the emergency room door was opened. What will they expect? How emotional will they be? Will I say or do the right thing?

The hospital staff is exceptionally kind and helpful and show the way to the waiting room with apologetic smiles and concerned brows. Nobody in the room looks familiar and there are a couple of uneasy moments while everyone tries to figure out if we are there for each other. Finally a lady stands and introduces herself as the sister to the person who died. She is crying. Her arms move in such a fashion that I can’t tell if she is simply frustrated or looking for a hug. I put my arm around her shoulder and let her determine if she wants more of a hug or not.

After a few words of condolences we “go to see her.” There is finally someone whom I recognize. She is also the only person not breathing. Great sobs are let out and tears fall like rain. “Why don’t we say some prayers?” That seems to bring some amount of comfort.

“Would anyone like to talk?” I ask thinking that maybe someone would like to speak privately. This is the hardest. This is when questions like “Why?” come up. Even if this question were answerable, it is not answerable here and now. Though theologically convincing and understandable, it makes no sense standing in an emergency room looking at the dead body of the one you love if you’ve not thought about it, prayed about it, believed it, and were ready for it.

“There is someone else you should see Father.” The dead lady’s daughter was in yet another emergency room bed with heart problems. She was given the anointing of the sick. We talked for a bit and then it was time for me to go; the family was turning in on itself to begin communal mourning and while welcome, I was no longer necessary.
A five-minute drive brought me to the neighboring parish where I was originally headed. There were still lines of second graders making their first confessions. Sitting down, a young person came over to me dressed in the finest of clothes and with an excited look. “Bless me father for I have sinned, this is my first confession.” I smiled back and was genuinely happy to be there on this person’s joyous day. Thus was I yanked from despair to joy, from death to new life, and the hand stretched out over the young penitent’s head offering absolution still had the oil from the blessing of the sick on its finger tips.

WOULD YOU LIKE A NEW FATHER EVERY 6 TO 12 YEARS?

Should there be a term limit on the assignment of your pastor to your parish? That is the question put to a little diocesan advisory committee of which I happen to be a member. We will be gathering soon to discuss term limits (six years renewable for another six) and were told to "gather information and opinions," though not exactly told how to go about it. So I turn to you. If you have a thought or an experience concerning this, it would help hearing about it. Feel free to Email it to me. Here is an ARTICLE debating stability and term limits. While an excellent article, it is rather one-sided on the issue so you may want to begin forming an idea before you read it. Thanks!

SO WHOSE SIDE IS GOD ON?

The chicken says to the sad horse, “Say, why the long face?”

So I walk in to the second grade classroom this past Thursday. Usually they are a lively group to put it mildly. But that day it was absolutely silent. Their little heads were bent over their workbooks and pencils deliberately traced across the pages at a snails pace. I gave my usual chipper, “Good morning second graders!” Slowly they lifted their heads. I was struck at the lack of coloring in their faces and the pools of water in their big eyes. They responded with a mournful, “Good morning Father Valencheck.” *sniff*

“What happened?” I asked the teacher and she motioned me over to the window. “Remember that project we doing for that college study?” she asked, “The one we were written up for in the paper?” “Sure,” I said remembering, “the one where you feed the birds and count how many show up and what kinds they are.” “Yes,” she replied, “and one of their favorites was Mr. Hawk. Unfortunately Mr. Hawk is eating Mr. Sparrow right now.”

Sure enough, it looked as though it were snowing outside. But the flakes were dark. Mr. hawk was vivisecting a sparrow in the tree just outside the window (and you would never imagine how many feathers a tiny little sparrow has!) and worse, when I asked what kind of sparrow it was (for they had been ever so excited to know the proper names of the birds,) they said, “Charlie!”

And that is how they learned at an early age, “Even predator/prey relationships that are destructive for the immediate prey are generally beneficial for both species. (Capra) Thus does God hunt with the hound and run with the hare.” – Gabriel Daly

“And how many chances to learn from the Master you have wasted by not knowing how to supernaturalize them?" – St. Josemaria Escriva

FEMINISM - RISING FROM THE ASHES

fem'i-nism, 1 fem'i-nizm; 2 fem'i-nism, n. 1.

Beyond that I do not feel confident to write. Just as we watch the ground break open between factions within the Anglican Church threatening to cause the two movements to part company and go in their respective directions, so does it seem that there will be inevitable breaks in the common ground in feminism.

A woman was telling me of a conversation that she was having with her grandmother earlier this week (if you are reading this, I hope this is a fair reporting of that conversation) in which she stated her rejection of the modern feminist movement. The grandmother was aghast and emphasized how much life was better for women and indeed people in general now because of the work of the feminist movement. But that was countered with the notion that the feminist movement of today bears little resemblance to the movement of her grandmother's day which also focused on and protected the family.

Indeed there has been a shift. For example, consider what an early pioneer of the feminist movement, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, had to say about abortion, "When you consider that women have been treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit." Compare that to NOW's (the National Organization of Women) statement. "NOW affirms that reproductive rights are issues of life and death for women, not mere matters of choice. NOW fully supports access to safe and legal abortion, to effective birth control and emergency contraception, to reproductive health services and education for all women. We oppose attempts to restrict these rights through legislation, regulation or Constitutional amendment."

So where does that leave the faithful Catholic who also believes in the advocacy of the political and socioeconomic equality of men and women, the hallmark of the feminist movement? It causes a deepening abyss within feminism leaving many to redefine for themselves what feminism is. Whatever this new definition is, it will grow out of the ashes that we wear today. It begins, to borrow from Sheldon Vanauken, with the realization that this God who made the universe came to live in the world and was killed by the world and the proof of this is His resurrection. And that if this is true, this is simply the only really important truth. For all other supposed truths will come to an end. This one lasts for eternity. And we need to conform our lives to it. In the end what is truly good about feminism will reflect what is good about faith and the meaning of the human person in relation to and relationship with God.

I still will not pretend to know how to finish the above dictionary entry, but Colleen Caroll Cambell is willing to start the ball rolling. She is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a former White House speechwriter, and author of The New Faithful: Why Young Adults Are Embracing Christian Orthodoxy. (Perhaps next time she could get Dawn Eden to help her with a snazzier title.) She has an international television talk show, "Faith and Culture," on EWTN, writes for a number of publications and speaks to audiences across the Unites States.

This Sunday, February 25th, she will be speaking at St. Mary Church in Hudson at 7:15 on The New Feminism: An Authentic Catholic Vision of Woman. I hope to get there myself if parish duties permit. Perhaps a tectonic shift is taking place and instead of feeling left apart, here will be discovered a new place to stand with feminism.

QUOTE TUESDAY II

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds. Lilies that fester smell worse than weeds. - Shakespeare, Sonnet 94

One more poem, this one by Walter Romig, more clever than good but worth a gander:

TEMPTATION

Nature's daughter, comely miss

Leaned her lips for me to kiss

But refused me, proven weak,

And in scorn she slapped my cheek.

Nature's daughter, not just cruel

Taunt the weakling and the fool

Prove yourself our lover when

we resist you and are men.