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Liturgy
This link will keep 'parishioners-at-large' in touch with current creative liturgy sources and resources that respect a variety of 'traditions' within the Church.

COMMONWEAL Magazine
A 'lay' Catholic weekly publication with an accent on an intelligent analysis and commentary on curent issues, trends and concerns of interest to Catholics.

National Catholic Reporter
A national Catholic lay newspaper covering events not usually covered or presented with a clerical bias in the local diocesan press or but of concern and interest to Catholics.

Survivos' Network for those Abused by Priests or Religious
A National Network of self-help support groups for people abused by clergy or religious.

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Vital information about the disclosure of sexual abuse and related issues affecting Catholics in the pew and the manner in which Bishops continue to exempt themselves from accountability

Voice of the Faithful
A 'movement' of lay Catholics 'inspired' by the abuse scandal calling for greater accountability of bishops to 'Catholics in the Pew.'

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Daily Scripture

+ 3rd Week in Lent

Integrity demands honesty and yields forgiveness.

Readings: Hosea 14:2-10 Psalm 81:6-11, 14, 17 Mark 12:28-34

Thus says the Lord: Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God; Say to God, “Forgive all iniquity, and receive what is good, hat we may render as offering the bullocks from our stalls.” [Hosea 14:1, 3]

One of the scribes and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear O Israel! The Lord our god is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The scribe said to him, “Well said…, there is no greater commandment greater than these. [They] are worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifice. [Mark 12:28-33]

“I’m sorry if I have offended you,” or words similar to these are what I would call a shallow political apology; empty words without substance. The offender is distancing him/herself from the offense. There is a hidden question in the apology, e.g., ‘why are you offended… ‘ worse, ‘I am sorry that you took offense’ putting the burden on the other person to apologize for being offended. Yipes!

A personal or institutional apology is an admission of wrongdoing and can be used for fodder in an indictment and subsequent trial so attorneys are very careful to caution their clients against any admission of guilt that could be used against them in court.

Sadly even our Church has masterfully avoided admission of wrongdoing in multi-million dollar settlements with those who were abused by priests and religious. Spokespersons for church, political or commercial institutions are careful to point out that such a settlement “is not an admission of guilt or wrongdoing and is actually a compromise of a disputed claim.” More ‘yipes!’

Lent is a time to confess our wrongdoing, personal and institutional, hands down! In the words of the psalmist, “my sins are before me always.” [Ps 51] But the Lord is our refuge and our strength. “Let the wise understand and speak these words without equivocation or prevarication.

Integrity has its rewards in this life and in the next.

Feast of the Assumption

Friday August 15, 2008

She made it; so can we!

It’s a happy coincidence this is the patronal feast for our parish. It is also significant because Mary seems to be attracting the attention of many Catholics from the left and from the right. I suppose that puts Mary right in the center of the parish and in the center of the Church where she ought to be.

The feast is not about the technology of her passage into heaven but about the completion of her mission on this earth. From the very first moment of her conception it was her destiny to partner with God and to live with God forever. Her acceptance of that call to mother the Christ and to adopt humanity as a spiritual mother was her unique vocation. She embraced her calling without hesitation or equivocation. To the Angel Gabriel, she replied, “Let it be done to me according to your word.”

Mary’s destiny is our destiny too. Although never as exalted as her call, we too were destined from the very first moment of our conception to become partners with God—to allow the seed of God’s Word to take root in our hearts in Christ. In that sense, we all ‘mother’ Christ into our world through our words and deeds. That’s what discipleship is all about. In another sense, as spiritual daughters and sons of Mary, we became in baptism, adopted sons and daughters of God, sisters and brothers of Christ. Of course this is a spiritual reality that is solidly based on traditional Catholic theology. It is our destiny to live with God in Christ forever.

This is not to suggest in any way that we are worthy of the call or that we will ever be able to achieve our destiny on our own. In truth life is a precious gift. Nothing we can achieve on our own is accomplished without grace. We are no different from Mary in this regard.

The other insight that came to me as I reflected on the feast is the fact that as Christians, we are totally absorbed—mind, body and spirit—into the life of Christ. We are spiritual but not spiritualists. The Olympics amply demonstrate for me the magnificent blend of body and spirit. Even the opening ceremonies that exalted the human body could not detract from the subtle spiritual context of the event even in a city that does not recognize its life in God. In fact, the human body exalts the soul of God as much as it does humanity. Mary’s response to her cousin Elizabeth in the ‘Magnificat’ celebrates the enfleshment of the divine Spirit: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my Spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

In the light of current events at home and abroad and in the face of attempts to distort or destroy what God has created as good, we do well to celebrate the gift of our humanity and the beauty of human life. As Christians we are challenged to give witness to human potential as empowered by divine grace. It’s a good combination and brings to mind once more the sentiments of the Late Cardinal Bernardin in his now classic pastoral letter on life, “The Seamless Garment.”

In his deep respect for human life, he challenged not only Catholics in his own Archdiocese of Chicago, but believers everywhere to put an end to the culture of death that stifles human hope and accept instead the empowering gift of God’s enobling spirit which energizes human potential for good.

As partners with God, children of Mary, brothers and sisters in Christ, we are committed to life in all its forms—in the womb and on death row; the quality of life in ghettoes and back streets of our cities or in poverty pockets in Appalachia; on the battle front among warring nations and in the care of the environment and ecosystems that constitute our legacy to our children and grandchildren.

The greatest testimony we can give to one another and to our world it the testimony of a life lived in complete harmony with the human spirit at one with God.