DIE HARD

If you think living a good Catholic life is challenging you haven’t seen anything yet. Try dying Catholic. The whole concept of what it is to be dead or when it is time to die is becoming rather nebulous. Technology is taking off more quickly than ethicists can follow, healthcare protocols morph right before our very eyes, and – this is very important – health care professionals are less and less trained in what Catholics need to know about life and death and in some cases don’t care as we have seen with certain institutions in our area.

There are some very good places – outstanding places. There are also those that do the bare minimum and even less but none-the-less claim that they have “Catholic services” so that they can check the little box off on their list of services.

I said Mass at one place recently in a room divided by a fabric screen. We have to constantly send people to the other side of the screen to try to kindly ask staff persons to stop talking at the top of their lungs. The room is a major highway for foot traffic. It opens onto the kitchen, a stairwell, as well as two major hallways. As people burst out of the kitchen or the stairway clamping their hands on their mouths once they saw what was going on we tried to carry on with the Mass. I kept telling myself, “John Paul could deal with such distractions so can I. Just pray.” But every time I told myself that it would be Okay it seems the interruptions stepped up a notch. It was all I could do to hold my temper when sheets of drywall were carted through the back of the room.

But what are you going to do? Stop having Mass and punish the residents?

But I digress.

Back to dying: All of a sudden you as a family member are faced with a decision about the life of a loved one. The doctor has given you the diagnosis and has asked you to make a decision. The suggestions that he supplies may or may not be not be in keeping with Catholic beliefs. It may be more in keeping with hospital administration wishes. So what do you do? Call a priest? I hate to tell you that priests are not always that well informed in this rapidly changing field. Take a class? Well, it’s too late now. And to be honest Catholics are not great about wanting to learn about such things until they are actually facing them – and then it is often too late.

Or there is the case of one institution not too about a half hour from here where the chaplains were told to practice Raiki on their patients even if they did not desire it. It was for their own good of course. But Catholics avoid this because we are becoming involved in something and dealing with powers we want nothing to do with. (But because a person is dying it’s Okay to force it one them for their own good?!?!)

I’m a little hot today.

We are contemplating trying to find a way to help alleviate this problem at least at this parish. Thoughts are bubbling about having a seminar about Catholic bioethics for health care workers in the parish. It would also be swell to start a help line of trained bioethicists but there is the problem of funding. Who will pay for the staff, the phone, and the materials? We can’t pay by the answer like some websites. “For the answer to this problem log on and send us your credit card number.” Meanwhile grandma needs your help.

This is a bit scattered I know but there is a lot going on out there and not a lot of people on which to rely. Hopefully you will deal with a good and sympathetic institution – but just as likely you won’t. You simply have to know your stuff. But how do you prepare for any possible event? If you have suggestions they would be appreciated.

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CLXVI

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: ". . . man seems to mistrust everything that is effortless; he can only enjoy, with good conscience, what he has acquired with toil and trouble; he refuses to have anything as gift." from Josef Piper's "Leisure"

QUOTE II: "If you rush a miracle worker maybe you get a rotten miracle." from "The Princess Bride"

IN OTHER NEWS:

My cousin sent in this "cool weather website."

Russ did some touch ups on the "Street Church" picture from last Friday and I thought I would share it with you. Thanks Russ. But the trash cans still don't look like Stations of the Cross.

The Diocese of Cleveland Enewsletter reports, "In a world that boasts continual technological change, the iPhone by Apple has gained near-iconic status. Even Apple boasts there are more than 140,000 applications -- or "apps," in Apple-speak -- that users can obtain for their phones. It only follows that there would be some clever Catholics who have devised apps to bolster people's faith." Read more here.

From the same source: Unsure of exactly what "Easter Duty" is? Read more here.

The pastor emeritus Fr. Karg wrote an article that was published in America Magazine. Read more here. Thanks to Matt for pointing it out.

This is the video I meant to post last week. I can't seem to embed it so here is the link. Like I said last week it redeems itself at the end.

MONDAY DIARY: OH ROB!

It’s the Dick Van Dyke show and the entire episode is devoted to the boss coming over for dinner. Nerves fray and comedy ensues. That is what last Friday was like around here. It is confirmation day and our ordinary Bishop Richard Lennon is coming for dinner. I turn into Laura Petrie trying to make everything right for the boss’s arrival.

Confirmation – even confirmation day – doesn’t just happen. There are hours of preparation that goes into the whole event by many people and it still seems like you cannot get everything done. There is of course everything that needs to be done in the church, all the paper work that needs to be finalized, the hall that needs to be set up, but there are things that need to be done in the rectory also. All of the sacramental books need to be up to date and available to the bishop upon his request. It is his duty to make sure that the baptismal, first communion, confirmation, marriage, and funeral books are all up to date and that all proper dispensations have been sought and recorded.

Dinner is of course prepared with the help of kindly parishioners. Everything needs to be timed just so. We need to have dinner on time and finish so that we still have time make the fast before Mass. If dinner is late we don’t eat. This list was posted on the wall by one of our ever vigilant parishioners to make sure that everything goes well.

The bishop is easy to please food wise but it is a Friday in Lent (so no meat) and we hate fish. That kind of limits the menu. But the chief comes through with flying colors with pierogi! We also make sure that there is plenty of lemonade this year. Last year we had only one serving and the bishop, unknowingly, requested it. When the second person at the table ordered the same thing the cook leaned behind the bishop drawing a finger across her neck, shaking her head from side to side and mouthing, “NO!”

This year we had gallons.

It’s time to start getting ready for Mass. The bishop, guarantor of education in the diocese wishes to speak to the kids beforehand. Alone. Without anyone over his shoulder giving clues to answers of his questions.

One relies on one’s guardian angel in times like this.

The kids are lined up in the narthex dressed up so maturely it is difficult to think of them as kids – they are young adults. The organ music starts and they march down the aisle and we follow close behind. After the Sign of the Cross I make the introduction of the bishop:

“Today we are honored to have with us The Most Reverend Richard Lennon, Bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland. In union with the pope and his fellow bishops he is our authentic teacher of the faith, the center of our unity, and the steward of the mysteries of God for the faithful under his care. Therefore on this confirmation day it is our particular joy to have him with us here today and on behalf of myself, Fr. Pfeiffer, Deacon Terry, Fr. Swirski, the confirmandi and their sponsors and family and all the people of the parish of Saint Sebastian, we greet and welcome you Bishop Lennon.”

One of the students stands to read the first reading. We can see him taking deep breathes and clenching his fists as he approaches the sanctuary. He’s as nervous as we are! But he does very well.

The actual right goes well. There are some good names that the students pick. Every once in a while Fr. Pf. or I give a discreet thumbs up to each other on some particularly cool names.

Finally there is the picture at the end. We decided to take the picture in the church. Big mistake. Things get a little out of hand. Note to self: Next year march everyone straight out the front doors and down to the hall for a picture.

Finally everyone packs up and is gone and the house is quiet. I am sore for having been so tense through the day although everything went well and the day was pleasurable. I think the bishop enjoyed himself and students understood the meaning and value of the day.

What more can you ask for?

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: OUT ON A LIMB

Today is confirmation day here at Saint Sebastian and we are preparing for the arrival of our bishop. So it is a busy day and not a lot of time for such things as blogging. However this has been on my mind a lot as of late - so here is a quick post.

This is a picture of a church that I took while I was in Prague.

This is a picture that I took of the road that dead ends into the back of St. Sebastian Parish. It did not turn out as well in the picture as I had hoped but perhaps you will be struck by the similarities between the two pictures. Above, the tall stately columns branch out high above the floor of the nave to support the ceiling. Below the might oaks soar up from the devil strip (that an anAKRONism) and their branches arch over the avenue far below creating a canopy.

Granted, perhaps I should not have taken this picture on trash day - but pretend those are the Stations of the Cross and the speed limit sign is the song board.

I want to say something witty and insightful about this but I am too scatterbrained today. Perhaps the pictures will say something to you themselves.

FINDING JESUS ON SOMEONE'S FRONT LAWN

“Nan” as we will call her was baptized Catholic and was nominally instructed in the faith. Like so many of her (our) generation she slipped away from the practice of the faith and went in search of spiritualities and faiths that were more relevant (or so she thought) to her and what she valued in the world. There was quite a bit of dabbling here and there with much interested in Eastern religions. In her circle of friends there was great openness in this search and much support. The only place they were sure truth did not roost was in Catholicism. It was at these great gates that openness and acceptance ended because they were all pretty much in agreement that searching there was a waste of time. Which was fine.

Until it wasn’t.

An avid bargain shopper, a person after my own heart who likes to see what other people put out on their lawn to sell, one day she came across a Jesus night light. It looks like any other statue of the sacred heart you might see but there is a cord sticking out of the back of his heal. If you plug him in an internal bulb brightens and the statue of Jesus becomes, if not the light of the world, a light for the bedroom.

This got her daughter asking questions and before you know it she and her daughter (father and son are still dubious) coming to Mass. The marriage was recognized in the Church, the girl made her first communion, and Nan started going to confession.

A bit of a free spirit she found rediscovering her roots in a whole new “light” quite “cool.” She has also become quite the missionary returning to her friends and proclaiming what path she was following and that if they truly wanted to be considered tolerant and open in the search for truth that they needed to at least look into the true teachings of Catholicism.

Wow.

If all Catholics were so confident and bold I could take a lot of naps.

This past weekend she approached me at Donut Sunday in a heightened level of excitement. She was at a friend’s house scrounging for a book to read and happened upon “The Rule of Saint Benedict.” (I mean, come on, WHO has the rule of Saint Benedict just sitting on their shelf?” “I can’t stop reading it!” she exclaimed, “it is like exactly what I have been looking for!”

She told how one of her friends (also a former Catholic) embraced much of Buddhism also looking for much of what she is finding in the rule. “I told her she has to read this! These are her roots after all. She has to at least be open to it.”

I think the spirit of Saint Paul got into Nan.

Anyway – that got me to thinking that it was not until I was much older that I realized that there were different spiritualities within the Church. The only thing that I was exposed to was a very generic Sunday going to Mass Catholic spirituality. Fortunately that really works for me. But it does not for everyone. That all the different orders in their (at the time anyway) habits were having different paths to the One True God and reaching Him through these different paths within the Church Jesus founded had never even occurred to me.

For example think about the spirituality of Saint Francis. Today we hear about the rise of all kinds of semi-pagan (if not full blown pagan) spiritualities sprouting up with people on a spiritual search. If they are not out and out worshipping nature itself they wish to be joined more closely to nature, to live a simpler life, to make less of a damaging impact on the world, to be better connected in peace and love with one another and God. Who would be more in agreement than St. Francis? Expect with St. Francis one does not have to worship nature which is a creation, but while holding it in extreme respect as a cherished gift from God do then in turn worship the one true God that is the Creator of the nature they so respect. I know this is way too simplistic but you get the idea. (This post is already getting quite long.)

But if something seems lacking to you it may be that you just have not yet plugged into a very legitimate spirituality within the Church that can help nourish you. Unfortunately we do not do a very good job of advertising them (and without religious around us who are recognizable or to give an example their spiritualities become even more obscure.) So search. I hope you do not have to wait to accidently come across a book on somebody’s shelf.

TOO OLD AND SICK TO SIN?

“Father, I am 75 years old. I can’t go out. I sit around the house all day. What can I do?”

This is heard more often than I like to think in the confessional. In essence a person is saying that they are sin free because they are incapable of doing anything anyway. But none of us is sin free. “Anyone who says he is without sin calls God a liar.”

Sin may take on a drastically new and unfamiliar face however. A person may no longer be able to be (or have the desire to be) unchaste or steal a car or fly an airplane into a building. When one is capable of such terrible sins not saying grace before meals may seem so trivial as to not be worth mentioning. We have bigger fish to fry. But when you sin capacity is reduced, things that once seemed picayune are now greater in proportion because to be honest, if we are physically and situationally less capable of sinning, we are also have less opportunities to be loving. So our focus on our examination of conscience must become recalibrated, more refined, and more thoughtful.

Here are some things to consider. This is not an exhaustive check off list of sins for shut-ins, but a springboard for further thought.

With more time on your hands have you developed an exponentially greater relationship with God? Has your prayer time greatly increased? Have you developed a habit of contemplation and meditation? Have you gotten to be old friends with God? Have you taken time to read Scripture? Have you shared your friendship with God with others?

Have you carelessly used God’s name Who we are to love above all else? Is His name reverenced by you? As an elder have you attempted to gently correct those around you who take His name so?

Have you made an effort to attend Mass and other services that are available to you? Have you made arrangements to receive Holy Communion and confession if you are unable to get to Mass? Do you do something special to mark Sundays and Holy Days of obligation? Are the people around you aware that you are Catholic and what services you desire should you become very ill?

Have you become that elder in the Church through your example and love and have so lead others to Christ? Have you actively worked and bringing peace and forgiveness to your family? Do you pray for your deceased relatives and friends? Do you support and assist your children in their roles as spouse and parent? Have you supported your grandchildren in the faith?

Do you speak about others in gossip? Do you harbor ill or unkind thoughts of others? Are you always kind to your caretakers? Are you always patient when you are in the role as caretaker? Are you honest with your doctor about your health? Do you take care of yourself, eat well and get enough sleep? Do you follow the directions of your doctor? Do you fulfill what your therapist asks you to do? Are you faithful about your medication? When the burdens of taking care of someone else becomes more than you can do well, are you able to admit it and seek help?

Have you given in to despair or grief? Have you given up on hope? Do you have joy? Can you accept the afterlife? Have you focused your suffering so as to make it redemptive for those you love and the world?

Is your estate in order? Do you have a will? Do you have a Catholic living will? Is the executor of either of these documents been properly informed as to their location and what is contained in them? Are they willing to uphold your Catholic wishes?

If you cannot give to charity or do works of charity have you carried forth charitable prayers? How do you fill your day? Is it in keeping with all virtue? What do you spend your time watching on T.V. or on the computer? Have you wasted too much money of gambling and other forms of entertainment?

Have you envied someone else’s good health or mobility or family? Have you reached out to others or have you become self centered? Do you write off poor behavior to some excuse? As an elder have you taken care to set an exemplary example of Catholic living?

Do you harbor ill feelings? Have you ever done a lifelong examination of conscience expressing repentance of things now realized sinful though you may have not paid it much thought in the past?

Is there good you could have done but not taken the effort? Is there a letter that should be written? An apology that should be extended? A phone call that should be made? A complaint about family that should be reserved? A prayer that should be prayed? Any restitution that should be offered? Any love withheld?

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK: CLXV

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: “Envy is the religion of the mediocre.” from Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s, “The Angel’s Game”

QUOTE II: “Chaos is dull because in chaos the train might indeed go anywhere, to Baker Street, or to Bagdad. But man is a magician, and his whole magic is in this, that he does say, ‘Victoria,’ and lo! It is Victoria!” G. K. Chesterton

IN OTHER NEWS:

Does anybody else have a problem with this sign posted at a local gas station?























Is it just me or does this mean that I have to pay in advance before I even arrive at the pump?

Fr. F sent this in: "Here's a nice article that speaks to the relationship between contraception and vocations." Thanks brother.

Fr. B sent this site in from the Diocese of Washington.

Dale Alquist writes, "I am pleased to let you know that the upcoming issue of the Saint Austin Review (also known as StAR), edited by Joseph Pearce, is completely devoted to G.K. Chesterton. Below please find a good word from the editor himself. I highly recommend this fine magazine, and this is the time to subscribe. What better way to begin than with Chesterton?"

This is a link to the Chesterton Society.

Adam's Ale was interviews by "Blog Interviewer." You can check it out (and rate this blog) here.

M & D sent this site in. I might have posted it before but I don't remember. It is a 360 degree view of the Shrine of the Holy Sepulcher in Jeruselem.

Six minute laugh (it redeems itself at the end): Oops! Glad you enjoyed this video but I MEANT to post another!

MONDAY DIARY: TIME MANAGEMENT AND THE FUTURE

A letter or a phone call comes in asking for confession help in six months. You look at your calendar. There is nothing there yet. So you pencil in some confession dates. The local Catholic radio station calls a little while later. They are looking for someone to give Scriptural reflections for an entire week. Still, there is not much on your calendar and besides it’s weeks and weeks away. There is plenty of time to write. Why not?

It turns out that the only weekend that the parish is able to do the confirmation retreat is the same exact weekend at which you are going to give a number of talks, hear confessions, Mass, and other services. Things are getting edgy but hey – that’s what you are ordained for right?

As the week approaches a local nursing home calls. Their priest is going away could you please fill in saying Masses there? Of course. How could we say no?

The week begins. Phone calls come in of people who need to have an appointment immediately. I am a complete push over. I say yes.

Gads! What is this written in my book? “Have taxes ready for your tax preparer!” A funeral that you are to attend comes up on Monday. How rude of that person to not check first and see if it was a good week. Arg! I forgot about the Vibrant Parish Life meeting.

Unfortunately when you started adding things to your calendar you had not yet written in the extra Lenten services the parish was having; extra confessions, two Stations of the Cross, Night Prayer . . . What moron made up this calendar anyway?

Things start slipping. Phone calls will just have to wait. Ask the deacon to preach for you this weekend. There just is not physically any extra time to do anything. I feel guilty for taking 15 minutes to blog. (Was I really going to start exercising in earnest this week?)

But the disaster of the week passes. It was great but tiring. I pressed the boys on retreat, “Think about the priesthood men! You have no idea how badly you are needed, wanted, and appreciated.” They nod and hopefully seriously consider it. The taxes made it in though late, we said Masses at the nursing home, the blog was posted, phone calls will begin again today, and I don’t have to write a homily until the weekend because I wrote them all last week for the radio spots.

Now about that mound on my desk.

(If you are local and interested you can hear the radio spots on AM 1060 from March 7th through the 13th. They are played in spots throughout the day.)

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: HIDDEN CHAPELS

In many rectories the bishop has given permission for chapels to be erected for adoration, prayer, and private Mass. It may seem odd to some that this is done being that rectories are often so closely connected to parish churches but no priest would think it odd. Assuming that you can find time that the church is not in use it almost never happens that you can go there and be unmolested by people who just happen to need to talk to you at that moment or a maintenance problem for which your advice is sought or that you feel you have to be well dressed in case someone is there. So you (read: I) stop going. You are not going to be able to pray or meditate in your homily anyway.

But the poverty of praying the Liturgy of the Hours or preparing a homily without the presence of the Lord is deemed by many priests (myself included) sad. So recently I petitioned the bishop to establish a chapel in the St. Sebastian Rectory.

In order to give permission for such a thing a bishop needs to visit the location. So one day Bishop Lennon and his liturgist stopped by the parish for a visit. They toured the possible rooms for use, the bishop listened to some ideas from his aid and then decreed that a chapel could indeed be established for the priests of the parish in the parish house. Until the bishop gave his permission, the room was used as an office. It was originally a guest suite that had been converted to an office and had a desk, chair, computer, bookcase, and all the other necessary items one finds in an office.
This is the decree signed by Bishop Lennon giving permission for the establishment of the chapel. Note that because of the limited space he does not give permission for Mass to be said there.

I think the space is wonderful and the best part about it is it cost next to nothing. Many of the items were stored away in the parish and simply brought out for use. All the material was on sale for next to nothing. The paint on the walls was left over paint from other projects around the parish. We use the space regularly for prayer, praying the Breviary together, or contemplating homilies. As you can see from the tail and the bone, the dog likes to pray in there with us.

Though it is not permissible to have the Blessed Sacrament in reserve it is not a bad idea to establish a prayer room, a prayer corner, or even a prayer shelf in your home or apartment as a place to help focus your prayers, be a visual reminder, a place to keep prayer intentions, or just be a witness to others.

BISHOP SHOPPING

What do you do when you do not like your bishop?

When still a seminarian there was a student/friend of mine who left to go to another diocese where there was a bishop that he liked more. He was there for a while and then as things go they changed bishops and he was once again unhappy.

Liking or disliking a bishop is more than just having a preference for a boss or even a politician. Bishops are more to us than that. We all belong (hopefully) to a parish and the parish is just part of a larger entity known as the local Church of which our bishop is the head. This is not a company with a CEO, it is more like a large family with a patriarch. And it is a hard job. Terribly hard. Especially in this difficult times.

Did you know that it is difficult even to find priests willing to become bishop? I think no sane man would do it unless he was an upper level saint. As one person once said, “Anybody who wants to be a bishop deserves to be one.” The glory days are way over.

And so we have a consecrated man as our see, a combination of administrator, politician, father, teacher, chief priest, healer, and at times, because it is necessary, CEO. Is there any other job requiring so many hats? And he is expected to be good at all of them plus be a saint if possible.

“It’s lonely at the top” is an understatement. A bishop makes decisions and they are wildly popular with some (these people remain quiet) and condemned as damnable by others (and these are quite vocal.) This past week I made a decision on socks for our uniforms in the school. You would have thought that I required each student to be flogged. I can’t imagine making decisions on whether a school or parish remains open.

Hopefully you like your bishop. But perhaps you do not. It may be that your bishop, in your eyes, is making terrible mistakes. You don’t have to like him but love him. Pray for him. Or this whole thing falls apart. I know some are facing terrible things in their lives because of how a decision of a bishop is effecting them but do not let hate enter your soul – do not become what you hate – do not, in trying to “save the Church” lose your soul.

WEATHERVANES

It is a curious thing how people have such strong emotional attachments concerning what they believe about global warming. There are very angry debates about it. Yet I have not met one person who has ever done any personal research. The most research I have ever done was sticking my head out the window and seeing what the weather is like. In a very hot August I completely buy global warming. In this cold winter with more snow than average not so much.

But you have to believe somebody if we do not do the research ourselves right? So who has researched the scientist they choose to stand by? Do we let the newspapers or a blog or a man in a suit research them for us and tell us who to believe more? How does one decide?

I remember my dad stopping smoking when I was very young. “There is no conclusive proof that there is a direct link between smoking and cancer” was the slogan at the time. But people knew. We did our own experiments then by way of seeing relatives and friends die terrible deaths. Some chose to live the fantasy because they wanted to keep smoking. Now everybody knows that smoking is bad for everyone. Except that it is not. Well, it is for most people. There are those, a very, very small percentage, who can smoke like chimneys and never know cancer. But who wants to risk it? But some people want to believe.

This is not an article on whether global warming is true or not or if I should be able to enjoy my once a week pipe, just interesting how we come to throw our hats into certain, “I believe THIS” rings.

Last week I met with a young lady who was thinking about leaving the Church. (BTW – Good for her for doing some research and taking the bold step of going to see a priest.) When asked why she said that she had problems with certain teachings. “Which ones?” I of course asked. At the top of the list was confession. “What about it?”

“I don’t believe that you should go to a man (priest) and tell him your sins so that God can forgive you.”

For once I kept my big mouth shut. I was too curious to see why she believed as she did. So rather than beginning with a defense of Church teaching I simply asked, “Why?” It was more of an emotional response than anything; a vague notion of it not “seeming right. So we explored some passages in Scripture upon which the Catholic teaching is based. I asked her to interpret them in a way that would support her belief which was unfair somewhat since she was not presented with enough time in advance to work things out.

But such is the case with so many people who disagree with the Church. A lone preacher, a friend with a Bible, an anti-Catholic blog, a television show, or even a feeling will trump 2000+ years of consistent Catholic teaching from Christ to the Apostles, to your local Catholic pulpit with little in depth analysis. This is why it is so important for you to be well versed in your faith. If someone comes to you and says, “I don’t believe that you should go to a priest to confess your sins,” so you have a response? Do you have at least a vague understanding about where it comes from in Scripture? Will you be able to say how that is a break with the first 1,500 years of Christianity or even a break with the pattern going back to Genesis? Do you know that Luther himself practiced confession? Can you say that both Freud and Jung have said that Catholics do not need their services because they have the sacrament of confession? If we do not know our stuff, people will throw their hat into anyone’s ring that sounds plausible and that is better suited to the way in which they wish to live their lives rather than search for truth.

There are a couple of opportunities for us here in the Cleveland Diocese to equip ourselves with knowledge. On March 22nd at 7PM in Zwisler Hall here at St. Sebastian the Emmaus Round Table will be presenting a “Reasons for Belief” study. If it is successful we will have more so please come.

The Diocese of Cleveland Right to Life will be hosting a fantastic conference to help us in matters of the dignity of all life. The lineup of speakers is tremendous. Consider coming – even if from out of state!

“BRINGING AMERICA BACK TO LIFE”
March 8th & 9th 2010. Renaissance Hotel, Cleveland.
Tickets: 216 661 3000 x24
See The Full Program : http://www.clevelandrighttolife.org/
25% Ticket Discounts for Church & School groups
Bring Your Friends & Parish Groups! Our Speakers include…

Archbishop Chaput: Inspiring words on Faith, Life Issues & Speaking Catholic Truth in the Public Square.( Introduced by Bishop Richard Lennon.)



Raymond Arroyo: EWTN News Director & Author. How the media promotes the Catholic Faith, from the author of Mother Angelica’s biography.



Immaculee Ilibagiza: A Catholic Woman’s life and faith survive genocide in Africa. How she came to forgive those who killed her family in Rwanda.



Dinesh D’Souza: Former White House Policy Adviser and author of ‘What’s so Great about Christianity’ is heralded as ‘ the CS Lewis of the 21st Century.’ He talks on Faith ,Public Policy and American Values.



Paul Wright, MD: An Ohio cardiologist worked with Mother Teresa for many years. He tells how her ‘prescription’ of faith, love and service can add extra strength and meaning to our daily lives, and reinforce our Catholic Faith.



Call 216 661 3000 x.24. Be involved in‘Bringing America Back to Life’

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK: CLXIV

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: “If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – Hat tip to CK for the quote.

QUOTE II: “In an age before technology, where there were no cameras, photographs, or camcorders, the way in which events were remembered and passed on were through the celebration of ritualized reminders that formed the history, frame of reference, and calendar for a people, in this case, God’s people.” Archbishop Donald Wuerl

IN OTHER NEWS:

CK sent this site in. Catholic Edition is where she prefers to get her Catholic news.

Fr. B. sent this site in. It is Musica Sacra. It is not strictly Catholic but heavily so. It is a good read. Thanks.

From that site is a link to HERE where they have images for use in liturgical programs.

The Congregation for the Clergy has come out with this set of 10 minute videos. Thanks to Fr. K and W. for calling them to our attention:




The full DVD set can be purchased here.

The Diocese of Cleveland Enewsletter asks, "Did you know, the National Catholic College Admission Association is a non-profit organization of Catholic colleges and universities committed to promoting the value of Catholic higher education and serving students in the transition to college?" More here.

MONDAY DIARY: SO LONG GOOD MAN

It is an interesting thing to die as a priest. This past weekend we had the reading where Abraham was asked to look up into the sky and count the number of the stars if he can and this would be the number of his descendants. Elsewhere in the Gospel we are told that nobody gives up wife and family for the sake of the kingdom without it being returned hundreds of times over. Both seem to be the lot of the priest. Even if the priest was just your typical guy, not over talented or good looking, or even particularly liked, he is still respected as a priest and his spiritual family turns out for him.

The Rev. James Schleicher (ordination class of 1954) was buried today. The three priests from Saint Sebastian arrived at St. Francis about forty minutes early and snagged one of the few remaining parking places. In general priests haul their own gear with them and so need a place to prepare themselves. We were ushered to the school refectory where we dumped all of our winter coverings and put on our albs and stoles. As we were ready we walked across the parking lot in bunches to the church albs and stoles blowing in the wind. One of the nice things about being a priest in this situation is that you have a seat saved for you. We were directed first down the aisle to view Father Schleicher, say a prayer for him, and then over to the designated area for priests.

A priest is generally buried in full dress for Mass. It used to be a tradition that a priest would come to help vest at the funeral home but I think today that is usually just handled by the funeral people. I’ll have to find out from classmate what was the case in this situation. The casket in which he was laid is known in some circles as the priest casket. The lid opens full length and is removable for calling hours.



The Mass was beautiful and it is our tradition that the priests sing for their deceased brother. At the end of the Mass we sing, “In Paradisum.” It galvanizes us together and the rafters ring with the sound of priests voices singing at full volume. We then are the first out in procession but we line the way like a victory tunnel from the church to the hearse. After our brother is safely in the vehicle we break ranks to talk, tell stories, and catch up heading back over to the school to change and perhaps have a little something to eat.

It may be true that a priest dies alone but he is waked by his large family.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI - AVE MARIA

While I was a away recently I had the particular joy of visiting the oratory at Ave Maria University. Its location itself is quite a thing to experience. One drives for quite awhile past nothing but tomato farms before coming across a grand stone sign with a water fall about it that proclaims in an astonishing new and clean sign, "Ave Maria University."

But the drive is not done yet. One crosses a bridge and drives a bit down fine streets with manicured flora before hitting the first bit of real town life sprouting up out of the tomato fields. Like any town first you hit fine modest homes, then passing out of strictly neighborhoods one starts to see the university buildings and then a lively but small downtown. At the heart of all of it is the Ave Maria Oratory. It stands majestic and proudly surrounded by what some day is hoped to be a thriving metropolis.

Long time readers no I have little tolerance for so called modern architecture which accomplishes little but making our churches look like airport terminals or modern art museums on the outside and living rooms on the inside. Every once in a while though something new and interesting will appear on the Catholic radar screen however.

Ave Maria takes the best elements of traditional church architecture and combines them with new ideas and materials. One of the most exciting, I believe, is the use of steel beams something that I always have thought of doing. Instead of hiding them they are displayed in an artistic way - they are celebrated! They are not used simply to support a building that is had a thin facade of another style of architecture.

Amazingly there are no stained glass windows and one does not miss them. The oratory is lit by somewhat obscured windows that allow light to filter in and give a warm glow to the structure. Because the building is supported by exterior beams (another idea I always had a dream of trying) there are no pillars to obstruct the view (and I like pillars but this is cool.)

Much of the ornamentation is not yet completed. The apse looks striking bare behind the ornately carved crucifix. Future plans are to greatly enhance this area. There are other elements still missing such as the rose window, the pipe organ, the carving over the front doors and various other projects for which they are currently collecting donations.

The time afforded to be spent looking around the building was short so many advantages and disadvantages of the architecture were probably overlooked. If I were to offer any critique the first would probably be the lack of any real space in the narthax. Then again, the building is in Naples Florida and not north east Ohio and it does have a generous plaza area. Here one approaches the building across a vast paved area the accentuates the building and presents it like a piece of art making it inviting to enter (another thing I find lacking in many "new" churches.) And while the pews are stunningly beautiful, the artwork on the ends are art for art sake rather than having any liturgical decoration. An argument could be made that not every piece of art and architecture needs be religious in a church - it is just my opinion.

The great thing about the building is that it works for where it is. The sunny weather in Naples allows for much light coming in through the slim windows, the warm weather allowing for an outdoor gathering space, and the massive use of steel will contrast well with the landscaping planned. For all of these reasons it probably would not work well in the north where we are cold and lightless much of the year. And the great use of exterior steel in an over developed part of town would not be unique and interesting but an addition to the coldness and drabness of the area.

Not only do you need a good building you need it in the right place. In Akron we have a couple of examples of great architecture in the wrong place. E. J. Thomas Hall is a stunning building (though lacking a grand entrance that is actually used.) But it and its environs are built entirely of cement. It in turn is surrounded by railroad tracks and industrial like buildings and parking lots (though its lot has more recently improved) and instead of rising like the monument it should it gives a cold (or in the summer hot) continuation of the drabness around it. The new museum is the same. It is a great building made entirely of glass. But inside what do you have to look at? A parking deck.

I hope you get the chance to see this building - but nobody will accidentally find themselves there. Unless you purposefully decide to go to Ave Maria there is little chance you might inadvertantly stumble upon it some day. But if you are looking for a school or happen to be in Naples for some reason (or if you are planning on building a church) pop by.

HARD KNOCKS

There are few things on the minds of pastors of parishes with schools like the state of Catholic education. Increasing costs, dramatic cuts in state funding coupled with (ever) increasing mandated services by the same state, the demand for increasing technology and parents resources becoming tighter has us all tense to say the least.

In the United States 1,429 Catholics schools closed since 2000 (increasing the cost to educate the children by the state dramatically.) The good news is that 405 new schools opened.

The population of the United States grew 9% last year but the population in the eight counties of the Diocese of Cleveland dropped 2.1%. This means that there are also fewer children in need of education.

Saint Sebastian School is fortunate in that it, for one reason or another, is in a situation that allows it to remain stronger than most of our other Catholic schools. But in these times that edge must be nurtured and protected vigilantly.

The Diocese of Cleveland is the 6th largest Catholic school system in the nation though the diocese itself is the 11th largest diocese. There are 131 schools, 109 of them being elementary schools and 22 being high schools. Enrollment for this year is 50,681. This marks a 4.2% drop from the previous year. In the entire Great Lakes region there has been a 27% drop in enrollment over the past 10 years. Because of this the diocese has closed 41 schools and opened 9 new ones. Some of the new schools are merged schools or schools that have opened where young Catholics are moving.

Gone are the days when you opened your doors and people flocked to your school. We have to work harder, wiser, and not be afraid (or negligent) in promoting ourselves and that is what we are doing. These are rough times and rough times require a strong, creative, and bold response. May the case be that in 50 years people will look back upon these days and wonder at our fortitude and innovation in difficult times which saved Catholic education and preserved it for their children.