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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

+ 22nd Week in Ordinary Time

Don’t be a ‘party pooper!’

Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridge groom is with them? But the days will come when the bridge groom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days. [Luke 5:34-35]

Do you remember the little ditty, “Every party has a pooper that’s why we’ve invited you – party pooper, party pooper?” My mom used to anticipate the song by announcing that she indeed was the party pooper – the first to arrive and the first to leave. As she got older, my mom didn’t like late nights. As I age, neither do I. When I leave for an evening engagement, I always look at the clock to determine my estimated time of departure. It’s not that I don’t enjoy a good time, but I tend to get ‘antsy’ at a certain period. I’m pretty certain it has something to do with my ADHD.

But there are other kinds of ‘party poopers.’ They are the folks who wake up in the morning and say, “I thought sure I would have a headache today.” They tend to feel guilty about having a good day and tend to see only the negative in every situation. It’s all bad news.

There surely is enough bad news every day to make us feel down and so we need to rely on our faith to hold us up so that we can look beyond the news to the horizon of a new day with new possibilities and new opportunities. Easier said than done, I know. Even Jesus’ words seem to engender a certain tentativeness about the good times. “The days will come when the bride groom is taken away…”

Perhaps the key is to live in the now moment. Also easier said than done, but it’s the only time that real. If we invest in today to make it the best, we can be sure that God’s grace will be sufficient to bring it off and then tomorrow may be even better than today.

Still a feudal system

Tuesday May 5, 2009

DONALD COZZENS, Renowned Priest and Author, Speaks in Naples Submitted by Peg Bisgrove, VOTF, Naples, Florida “Come back to me with…Read full entry

We need a better butterfly

Monday October 20, 2008

By Joan Chittister National Catholic Reporter, Kansas City, Mo., Oct 20 2008 Sometimes it isn’t just one thing, sometimes it takes a…Read full entry

Computation of Easter

Saturday February 23, 2008

Info supplied courtesy of Jack Fetrow. It IS early this year. Easter is always the first Sunday after the first full moon…Read full entry

Of Interest...

Thursday December 6, 2007

from the New York Post December 4, 2007—A new coloring book being distributed by the Archdiocese of New York teaches…Read full entry

In the interest of truth, justice, balance and fair play.

Saturday September 15, 2007

In his commentary on my involvement in the sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church in general and in…Read full entry

From where Joan stands

Wednesday May 30, 2007

Joan Chittister is a Benedictine from Eire PA who has been known to ruffle the feathers of more than one…Read full entry

Respect for truth, a rare commodity...

Friday March 30, 2007

On Tuesday, March 20th, I attended a lecture by noted investigative reporter and author, David France, at Rutgers University Student…Read full entry

Dancing With Wolves

Saturday February 10, 2007

The mind wanders through strange times, as on a foggy road winding through the mountain in a ‘97 Altima completing a 79…Read full entry

The Passing of Two Men of Integrity

Wednesday February 7, 2007

A Priest of Integrity Msgr. Dennis Hayes was definitely of the old school. He grew up in a world and a…Read full entry

Sidebar Comments - Extra

Wednesday January 10, 2007

Reflecdtions on Clergy Abuse, Where We Are Today A revised version of an address given on July 22, 2006 SNAP National Conference Jersey…Read full entry

Nuevo Catholics

Tuesday January 9, 2007

New York TImes December 24, 2006 By DAVID RIEFF Like the three services celebrated earlier in the morning and the four…Read full entry

Spiritual Abuse

Saturday January 6, 2007

I came upon this article on the Web recently. It hits the nail on the head. Spiritual Abuse by Chaplain Larry…Read full entry

A Time for Tribute

Monday January 1, 2007

Gerald R Ford The death of Gerald R. Ford brought civilized people to their knees in prayerful tribute not to…Read full entry

A Chrstmas Meditation

Monday December 25, 2006

As I write this reflection we are fast approaching the winter solstice with its premonition of the end times. But searchers and…Read full entry

Second Sunday of Advent 'C'

Sunday December 10, 2006

Let’s connect all the dots. The word ‘glory’ is mentioned six times in the scripture readings assigned for this weekend. “Glory”…Read full entry

Still a feudal system

Tuesday May 5, 2009

DONALD COZZENS, Renowned Priest and Author, Speaks in Naples

Submitted by Peg Bisgrove, VOTF, Naples, Florida

The singing of these words from “Hosea” filled St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in East Naples, Florida Feb. 28th during Mass. Immediately after, at VOTF of SWFL’s National Speakers’ Forum, Fr. Donald Cozzens told us, “Small treasons are wounding the Body of Christ. We are not quite at home in church. We are feeling exiled=2 0in place; alienated. We have been disillusioned. But that is turning into wisdom”.
0A

The great treason is the sexual abuse of children. And the small treasons are daily ways the truth gets chipped away along with integrity. Examples are plentiful in the spin that’s put on words along with denial, deflection and exaggerated deference.

How did this mess happen? Father Cozzens said two factors contribute. The first is that people are not in touch with what it means to be church. If we don’t know, groups like Voice of the Faithful will be seen as traitors. The primary reality of church is Christ in the assembly as people of God.

Secondly, we are witnessing the unraveling of the last feudal system in the west; a system based on unquestioned loyalty, with no power and no voice. The system originally thrived largely because the people were uneducated. Vestiges of the feudal system remain today such as kissing rings of hierarchy, and titles of Excellency and Monsignor. Excommunication and censure are still practiced today. Said Cozzens, “Loyalty, obedience and respect are necessary for the life of the church in an ordered structure, but a healthy church is authoritative, not authoritarian.”

What can we do? “Join Voice of the Faithful!,” said Fr. Cozzens. “This is the laity’s moment.” The laity has been called out of exile. Very often their education exceeds that of their priests. The feudal system of superiors and inferiors keeps the church stuck in adolescence. We have an obligation to move away from that system. We need a Consciousness of Discipleship to change the system. This raised consciousness shows in simples ways – like being fully present as a baptized, responsible person who insists on being treated as an adult; like the perception to know when priests and pastors live in truth and integrity. Without living Redemptive Honesty, silence, denial and frustration will thrive.

How can change happen? Fr. Cozzens insists that he does not know the particulars in the local churches, but what he does know is that, “The Holy Spirit is loose in the world!” We need to move closer to Pentecost than to Canon Law. We need people in authority who ring true as having lived experience of God’s love. We need less parenting and more partnership between laity and the ordained. Be brave. Act in love. Know the difference between strategy and tactics. Go to the www.votf.org website and sign the petition demanding constructive action!

Prophets with courage to speak will shake the foundation. If we fail to listen to peoples’ experiences of discipleship, we tend to muzzle the voice of God. In the last fifty years there has been much corruption. The church does not need fixing. It needs a new system that yearns to be invented: a system that will gather her people in partnership to celebrate the homecoming. We’re on the road.
“Long have I waited for your coming home to me and living deeply our new life.”

…………………….
Fr. Donald Cozzens is a priest of the Cleveland Diocese. He is visiting
professor of Religious Studies at John Carroll University and past
President-Rector of St. Mary Seminary. His most recent book is “Sacred
Silence; Denial and the Crisis in the Church”.