The 21 Year Journey of the World Youth Day Cross

Follow the journey of the World Youth Day Cross and Icon Across Australia.

The World Youth Day Cross has been traveling the world with young Catholics for the past 21 years.

The Shanghai Connection: Dangerous Drugs From Chinese Manufacturer of US Supply of RU 486

I'm feeling secure. Sure 'nuf. Per the New York Times

The manufacturer of bad leukemia drugs that have paralyzed over 200 patients is also the sole manufacturer of the US supply of RU 486 - the abortion drug. The plants are only a hour apart.

The investigation of the contaminated cancer drugs comes as China is trying to restore confidence in its tattered regulatory system. In the last two years, scores of people around the world have died after ingesting contaminated drugs and drug ingredients produced in China. Last year, China executed its top drug safety official for accepting bribes to approve drugs.



Snip.

On at least two occasions in 2002, Shanghai Hualian had shipments of drugs stopped at the United States border, F.D.A. records show. One shipment was an unapproved antibiotic and the other a diuretic that had “false or misleading labeling.” Records also show that another unit of Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group has filed papers declaring its intention to sell at least five active pharmaceutical ingredients to manufacturers for sale in the United States.

Snip.

Because of opposition from the anti-abortion movement, the F.D.A. has never publicly identified the maker of the abortion pill for the American market. The pill was first manufactured in France, and since its approval by the F.D.A. in 2000 it has been distributed in the United States by Danco Laboratories. Danco, which does not list a street address on its Web site, did not return two telephone calls seeking comment.

In Mission Together

There is an interesting conference underway in Rome on "The Parish and the New Evangelization". It is sponsored in part by the Emmanuel Community which sponsors some wonderful evangelization events - such as the open house/Adoration/welcome initiative that my pastor stumbled across at the Parthenon in Rome a few years ago.

Although the Emmanuel Community was founded by a layman, it now has priestly vocations that have sprung up from within.
Father Yves le Saux, general delegate for ordained ministry of the Emmanuel Community was interviewed by Zenit:

" . . . the model of the parish in which the pastor is there, in the midst of its community, available for all the people to go to, is no longer sufficient today. If a pastor wishes to still have sheep, he should go to find them. Today, the parish should be understood as “mission territory.” It seems to me that perhaps the term “mission territory” has to be added to the term parish so that the priest and Christians who live in a determined place can enter into a dynamic of announcing the Gospel. From an interview with the head of the Emm

Said in another way, does the parish have a future? Yes, on the condition that it is missionary.

Q: What advice could you give to a pastor who has a deep consciousness of the evangelizing role of his parish but who feels alone facing this challenge?

Father Le Saux: It is clear that the responsibility for the mission should not fall on only one man. I think that today the parochial function should not be entrusted to only one man, but to a team of priests who have a demanding community life and who are prepared for working together in the mission.

But this is insufficient. Today a parish priest has to be surrounded by the baptized who share with him the same missionary drive. The priest who feels alone should, in principle, have the objective of surrounding himself with people who not only evangelize with him, but who also pray with him, reflect with him, have a Christian life with him.

That being said, I think that there is also a responsibility of the bishops themselves, who should be on guard to not leave a priest alone. A man alone, even with a lot of help and talents, remains limited in his fruitfulness."

Few diocesan priests that I've met have the alternative of working with a team of priests - certainly in large parts of the US and elsewhere. But they certainly can seek to be surrounded by the baptized who "share the same missionary drive." who evangelize with him, pray with him, have a Christian life with him.

Of course, that would require that both pastor and people were intentional disciples who were convinced that the Church's primary mission is outward, not inward and busy engaged in that mission.

Excellent grist for the conversational mill in Houston!

As Paul Tournier put it:

"There are two things a person can not do alone. One is to be married and the other is to be a Christian."

They've Got Gospel in the Air

Houston here we come.

More specifically, St. Mary's Seminary, here we come.

Fly down Thursday. teach a modified C & G Thursday night and Friday morning for the student body and some faculty, optional interviews for those interested on Friday afternoon and evening, then back to CS on Saturday morning.

Marc Cohn (who is Jewish) captured the feeling I get returning to the south so well in his classic, Walking in Memphis



They've got catfish on the table
They've got gospel in the air
And Reverend Green be glad to see you
When you haven't got a prayer
But boy you've got a prayer in Memphis

Now Muriel plays piano
Every Friday at the Hollywood
And they brought me down to see her
And they asked me if I would --
Do a little number
And I sang with all my might
And she said --
"Tell me are you a Christian child?"
And I said "Ma'am I am tonight"

Then to re-focus on those missions looming so large on the horizon.

Blogging will probably recommence on Saturday - or possibly Sunday. Home for 5 days so I'll be able to get up
some blogging steam.

Herding Cats: Someone's Gotta Do It

LOL! Too true.

Especially when you work with Dominicans.

hat tip: Mark Shea and Cow Shea

ASSET: Creative Solution to a Tragic Problem

More than ever, Information technology has become an important economic engine for urban communities in India. Private and public enterprises, large and small are experiencing its benefits, and large investments are being made in the development and implementation of IT. However, the specific community that ASSET is focusing on, namely the Children of sex workers and the sex workers themselves have been left out.

Even where computer access is available, children of sex workers (Csw) are denied access because of who they are and also it is costly, and the children lack the basic skills to make it a useful resource. Computer literacy among Csw is envisioned as a means of improving employment prospects than a tool for improving community life. ASSET aims to demystify technology by helping Csw to seek it out and embrace all its potential.

Available and accessible information technology can play an important role in promoting social change. ASSET hopes to empower local communities to collect their own data on unemployment, health, or other issues and use the data make their voices heard. Computers are an important means of accessing information to connect small communities with the larger society and economy. IT efforts in many communities are adopted as a top-down, private enterprise approach that treats local communities as consumers of a service. They do not integrate small communities by giving them a stake in technology development, and these initiatives tend to deepen the divide. And since social issues are not the priority of the large multinationals and private companies that so far dominate IT development, there has been little effort to promote the use of IT tools for social good and poverty alleviation.

ASSET offers locally-driven computer literacy training, and plans to work with parents to set up community-owned IT cooperatives to ensure democratic access.

Working with the parents, ASSET provides the community members with training in simple IT processes like the use of the computer in collecting and storing data followed by methods of analyzing the information.

Participants will their new skills to collect and sort data on the frequency and prevalence of diseases in their area, and then present the information to the authorities in support of their demand for better health services. After the successful completion of the pilot project in Chennai, ASSET plans to implement similar programs in Bangalore and Hyderabad.

ASSET is very focused on finding and developing special software to meet specific local needs. Access to hardware is just as crucial as skills and software in these communities where computers are expensive and scarce. ASSET has found generous partners who have donated desktop PCs and laptops. Volunteer organizations have been tapped to assist with outreach to support training and education programs. ASSET is also working with local colleges and institutes to invite socially oriented youth with special skills in software and web development, media, fundraising and other relevant areas to get involved as volunteers. To ensure the democratic dissemination of information technology, ASSET plans computer service centers that are run on a cooperative model training community members in hardware, hardware repair, and organizing social networks around computers to further integrate IT into community life.

The belief of the founders of ASSET, Inc. is that every child, irrespective of parentage counts. Their mission is to give children access to education which is not available to them through traditional means and to emphasize on structural intervention aspects of using technology to enable sex workers to dream of a better future for their children. This gives them something to live for and so adopt healthy behaviors.

Australian OPs Have a WYD blogspot

The Dominicans of Australia and New Zealand have a blog dedicated to the preparations for World Youth Day. You might check it out from time to time at this address.

Are Pentecostals the Ecumenical Future?

John Allen posted an intriguing and important piece yesterday:

If Demography is Destiny, Pentecostals are the Ecumenical Future.

It is encouraging to see that the Church is starting to recognize this newly emerging reality and take some action.

According to Allen:

Fr. Juan Usma Gomez of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the Vatican official responsible for Catholic/Pentecostal relations, published a piece in the January 27 edition of L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, reporting two new developments that have not as yet garnered wide attention:

• The Joint International Commission for Catholic–Pentecostal Dialogue will shortly publish a new document: On Becoming A Christian: Insights from Scripture and the Patristic Writings. With Some Contemporary Reflections. Usma Gomez called the document a “true novelty,” because it’s the first time Catholics and Pentecostals have jointly studied the Fathers of the Church.

Fantastic. The Fathers are filled with references to charisms, the miraculous, and the work of the Holy Spirit. If any readers would like to learn more on the subject, be sure and check out this excellent, scholarly but accessible work: Christian Initiation and Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

And

After several years of preparation, for the first time the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity will hold “preliminary conversations” this April with leaders of various non-denominational Pentecostal movements, which could lead to the creation of a formal dialogue. Given that the majority of Pentecostals are now thought to belong to independent and unaffiliated grassroots movements, this means that for the first time the Vatican is opening a channel of communication with that sector of the Christian world where, in many respects, “the action is.”

Again, an extremely timely move. The dilemma is how to do ecumenical dialogue with Christians who are not centrally organized and many of whom consciously reject the classic denominational structures? This will not be dialogue as we have been used to it: scholarly and focused around historic creeds and theological debates.

For those of you who would like to know more about post-denominational pentecostalized Christianity, check out my 11 part post: The Challenge of Independent Christianity. As I noted then:

Dr. David Barrett is the foremost expert in the world on the status of global Christianity and editor of the massive 2001 edition of the World Christian Encyclopedia published by Oxford University Press. He divides the contemporary Christian world into six ecclesial traditions or what he calls “Christian megablocs”. Five of these blocs are familiar historic groups: Anglicanism, Roman Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Protestantism, and what Barrett calls “Marginal Christians”; a bloc that would include groups like the Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The sixth bloc is a 20th century phenomena that goes by the name of “post-denominationalist Independent”. This new kid on the block is already a major player. As of mid-2007, Barrett estimates that Independent Christians number 437.7 million, or roughly 20% of all the Christians in the world. (The updated mid-2007 figures that I will be quoting are available online at Status of Global Mission, 2007 in the Context of the 20th and 21st Centuries (hereafter SGM), http://www.gordonconwell.edu/ockenga/globalchristianity/resources.php.) If Barrett’s figures are close enough for government work, Independent Christianity is second in size only to Roman Catholicism. It is larger than all historic Protestant groups (excluding Anglicanism) combined, twice the size of Orthodoxy, and over five times larger than the entire Anglican communion.

Independent Christianity is growing faster than Islam. Independents constituted only 1.4% of world Christianity in 1900. By 2050, Barrett estimates they will make up nearly 25% of all Christians and 8.5% of the world’s population. In 2007, the Catholic Church showed a minimal growth rate of 1.14%, while Islam’s annual growth was 1.81%. Independent Christianity led the way with an annual growth rate of 2.12 % - nearly double that of Catholicism. (SGM)

None of this is surprising in light of Independent Christians’ passionate commitment to proclaiming Christ – to the baptized and non-baptized alike. As a group, Independents are what Barrett calls “Great Commission” Christians. That is, they hold that mandate of Christ to evangelize, baptize, and disciple all nations is still valid and is the central mission of the Church. (According to the SGM, 703 million or 32% of all Christians in 2007 were “Great Commission Christians”.). The five nations with the largest numbers of Independents in 2005 are China, the United States, India, Nigeria, and Brazil. According to Barrett, 52% of Asian Christians, 30% of North American Christians, 22% of African Christians, and 7.3% of Latin Christians are part of the Independent movement.

In light of its global size and dynamism, you would think that “Independent” Christianity would register on the Catholic ecclesial radar. One reason it does not is that this post-denominational Christianity has only been recognized as a unique movement in the past 20 years. It is so new that it can be easily dismissed by the historically-minded as yet another fly-by-night “sect”. Granted that the word “church” has a very specific meaning in Catholic thought, this does not mean that “sect” is an adequate label for Christian communities who do not qualify as churches. This word tells the listener nothing and gives the strong impression that the group in question is too marginal to be taken seriously. In any case, the term “sect” is manifestly inadequate to describe a movement that is 437 million strong.

A second reason we may overlook Independent Christianity is that it is a development from within evangelicalism that intentionally leaves historic Protestant practice far behind. They are therefore not an obvious partner for the sort of ecumenical dialogue we are familiar with that engages traditional Protestant denominations.

A third reason is that the Independent movement is not structured in standard ways. Most Independent Christians are part of loosely affiliated “apostolic networks” held together by personal relationships, a common charismatic spirituality, and a joint commitment to proclaiming Christ. Barrett estimates that there were about 22,000 such networks or para-denominations in existence in 2000 involving 1.7 million congregations.

The fourth and most critical reason is that Independent Christianity is nearly devoid of and completely uninterested in the marks of the Church that are so central to Catholic ecclesiology: historic, apostolic, creedal, and sacramental. The movement is almost a perfect antitype; it is a-historical, anti-hierarchical, anti-intellectual, and non-sacramental. It is also massively “pentecostalized” in spirituality and ecclesiology.

The Vatican is focusing on the positive per John Allen:

"Usma Gomez also lists several contributions which he believes the rise of Pentecostalism has bestowed upon contemporary Christianity:
• Rediscovery of the central role of the Holy Spirit;
• The fact that personal conversion to Jesus Christ is requested in an explicit and continuing manner throughout the life of every single Christian;
• The emphasis placed upon prayer, and the power of prayer;
• Rediscovery of charisms and spiritual gifts as realities, effective and necessary, in the life of every believer.

At the same time, Usma Gomez also cites some negatives associated with Pentecostalism, above all that some Pentecostals “underline their experience and their spirituality as the only one directly produced by God himself,” and thus “they’re not disposed to recognize the same importance or the same role to other Christian experiences.”

Of course, intentional discipleship, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the importance of charisms in the life of every believer is not new to Catholicism at all. Just read St. Paul or St. Cyril of Jerusalem's last two Catechetical Lectures or search for the word "charism" in the Vatican II documents and recent magisterial teaching. Even more intriguing is the insistence in papal teaching that recognizing, calling forth, honoring, discerning, and and coordinating the charisms of the baptized is an essential part of the priestly office, of governance.

Yet, almost no clergy are formed to do so. Indeed, practically none of the clergy that I have worked with so far have even heard that they are supposed to although the documents lay it out very clearly:

As both Fr. Mike and I have pointed out before on this blog:

Priests are also called to “recognize”, uncover with faith, acknowledge with joy, foster with diligence, know, appreciate, judge and discern, coordinate, put to good use, and have heartfelt esteem for the charisms of the laity (Lumen Gentium, 30; Presbyterorum Ordinis, 9; Pastores Dabo Vobis 40, 74, Christifideles Laici, 32)

Which makes our jaunt to St. Mary's seminary in Houston this week all the more timely and significant.

What I Did on My Weekend.

Fun workshop in Riverside and some very fun and interesting interviews. Ate fresh oranges off the tree, reveled in hummingbirds, and the rare clear vista of snow capped mountains in southern Cal.

Home, finally - for two days.

Fr. Mike and I lost our Monday. But today, we managed to slip out of Salt Lake City nearly 24 hours late and reach Colorado Springs. The storm that covered Salt Lake this morning is supposed to cruise over us tonight.

Must work on upcoming parish missions (3 for me, eight for Fr. Mike!)

Then off to St. Mary's seminary in Houston on Thursday. Back Saturday. The luxury of 5 days at home.

Then a long, multi-stage trip.

I will try to get some blogging in. Fr. Mike is too buried to blog right now.

But first some sleep.

See you all tomorrow!

Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas

I don't have time to write much about St. Thomas, the great Dominican scholar, saint, and doctor of the Church. Others will do a much better job today than I could. He is a phenomenal example of a Catholic with the charism of knowledge, which empowered him to diligently study scripture, philosophy, theology, and natural science. He once gave thanks to God that he never read a page he did not understand! His far-reaching thought searched out priniciples and was able to synthesize the thoughts of the ancient Greeks, Muslim and Jewish scholars, and the Fathers of the Church, and rejoice in the truths that they had discovered. And then he generously shared what he had discovered in his teaching and writing.

He is a model for Catholics today, especially in that "universal" approach to the search for truth. He was not afraid to study the thought of non-Christians and was confident that God would reveal truths to those that earnestly sought them, whether they were Christian or not. Too often today I run across Catholics who have a "ghetto mentality." They are unwilling to admit that anything useful can be learned from non-Catholics. That certainly was not Thomas's understanding. Not surprisingly, some Catholics in his own day, including a few bishops, condemned him for searching for truth amid the works of Plato, Aristotle, Averroes (Ibn Rushd), Avicenna (Ibn Sina) and Moses Maimonedes. I suggest that Aquinas was able to discern the truth in aspects of their writings because of his own intense life of prayer in addition to his brilliance.

The following is taken from a short biography of St. Thomas found on the EWTN website. It underscores Thomas's own focus on Jesus as the source and summit of his life and study.

One night, in the chapel of the Dominican priory in Naples where St.
Thomas was then living, the sacristan concealed himself to watch the
saint at prayer. He saw him lifted into the air, and heard Christ speaking
to him from the crucifix on the chapel wall:

"Thomas, you have written well of me. What reward will you have?"

"Lord, nothing but yourself."

His request was soon answered. On December 6, 1273, St. Thomas
Aquinas was saying Mass for the feast of St. Nicholas in the chapel where
the crucifix had spoken to him. Some profound experience - spiritual,
mental, and physical suddenly overwhelmed him. He showed few
external signs of the change at first; but he declared to his long- time
secretary that he could write no more. "All that I have written," he said,
"seems like straw to me."

This quote is a reminder to all of us who are concerned with good catechesis in the Church. While such catechesis is important, it stands on the foundation of the relationship with Christ, in Whom we live, and move and have our being. And just as reading about someone may give us an idea of who that person is, meeting them, getting to know them, and loving them is such a deeper experience of them that all we could write about them will inevitably seem - and be - inadequate.

Sleepless in Salt Lake

Sherry and I missed our connection from Salt Lake City to Colorado Springs last night, and may spend most of the day here until we're able to catch a flight back to Colorado.

It's a significant time to be in Salt Lake City. Last night Gordon Hinckley, the president of the LDS church died. I imagine the airport will become more crowded as Mormons come to Salt Lake to pay their respects and perhaps attend his funeral.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) claims a worldwide membership of 13 million people, but fewer than half of them actually live in the United States.
Thirty-six percent of church members reside in Latin America and 17 percent outside of the Western Hemisphere. A significant LDS community exists in Canada.
Mormons recognize Jesus Christ as the head of their church, but they accuse the leading Christian denominations of a Great Apostasy, or loss of the original authority to lead the Christian movement.
In its formative years, the church and its members were subjected to intense religious persecution, which caused many members to flee to the interior West and settle in what is now the US state of Utah.
The church encourages its young members to serve for up to two years on full-time proselytizing missions around the world.
As a result, nearly 53,000 Mormon missionaries are working currently in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and other parts of the planet.
In addition, more than 3,500 special church envoys work worldwide as health care specialists, teachers, construction supervisors, agricultural experts and leadership trainers.

The LDS president is considered a prophet through whom God gives ongoing revelation. Last week I had a long conversation with a Mormon young man on a flight from a workshop. He explained that the Mormons believe the early Church erred in not choosing more apostles to replace the twelve as they died or were martyred. He wasn't convinced that the Catholic bishops continue the ministry of the apostles.

You may know that many fervent young Mormon men (and now some women) leave their homes at the age of 19 for a two year mission assignment (made by the president/apostle) somewhere in the world. This is a tremendous commitment to evangelization, for sure!

Saul's Conversion

Tom Shanahan, SJ, comments on the readings for today at Creighton University's Daily Reflection. Among other things he notes,

The drama of the entrance to Damascus is all about conversion. In Saul/Paul’s case the conversion was immediate and historically decisive. He was baptized; he preached in the Synagogue at Damascus; he recognized and proclaimed vigorously that Jesus was the Son of God. What an incredible turnabout!

For most of us the conversion, the turnabout, is more gradual and much less dramatic. Conversion is a process and a process takes time and effort to be properly effected; it is not a once and for all situation.

Actually conversion is a lifetime project. A dramatic conversion story like Paul’s invites each of us to reflect on where we are along the line of that process, and how we might enhance or open ourselves to enhancement of that most important project of our lives. Ultimately our conversion has to do with relationship: the relationship with Jesus the Christ, the object of our Christian faith.

Absolutely, correct, Fr. Shanahan!

However, I would like to point out something; a basic presumption that I have heard many Catholics say over and over again - myself included. "Conversion is a lifetime project." So true. But what is the length of my lifetime - ahh, that's the rub! My parents are 85, and up until a few years ago were in remarkable health. My aunt is 90, and as spry as can be. But am I guaranteed so much time to ripen?

Saying "conversion is a lifetime project" has been for me an excuse to not take conversion very seriously; to presume that it'll just happen so long as I don't do anything extremely bad, or stop going to Mass, or quit being nice. Slowly and gradually I'll become like St. Paul - willing to travel the world and speak fearlessly of my relationship of love with Jesus of whom I will be able to say, "I no longer live; Christ is living within me." Unfortunately, I might be 80 by that time, and somewhat limited in my mobility. Unlike my parents, I might have some dementia. "I no longer live; someone else is living in me... oh, what's his name again?"

Saul's conversion was so dramatic, I believe, because he was so zealous for God and his Jewish faith. There were plenty of Pharisees in his day, but not all of them were willing to take their life in their hands and travel cross country to apprehend heretics (i.e., Jewish converts to Christianity). No, perhaps Saul's conversion was so profound and so rapid, and perhaps the Lord Jesus spoke to him in a blinding light because He knew He could put that zeal to good use. He could "convert it" to His own plans.

Am I really undergoing conversion day-by-day if I'm not passionate about a relationship with God? Fr. Shanahan correctly points out that conversion has to do with my relationship with Jesus, but as I look back on my life, my closest friendships and deepest loves have been - and are - with people with whom I have consciously pursued a relationship. They didn't "just happen." I wasn't content to let them grow untended, haphazardly, or without conscious effort on my part. I had to spend time with them, learn about them, grow in trust, take occasional risks and be vulnerable. Isn't it much the same with our relationship with Jesus?

Conversion means a turning away from direction we were heading. It means turning from ourself towards Jesus and our neighbor. Considered that way, no wonder we're content to let conversion be a life-long project. But is that what God wants for us? If my behavior is selfish, self-destructive, detrimental to loving human relationships, and contributes to the injustice found in the world, should I be content with a slow, inexorable turn like that of the Titanic from the iceberg? (I find it kind of ironic that the pain and suffering so many people endure is considered an argument against the existence of God. Often, pain is one of the clearest signs of God trying to wake us up and turn toward him.)

Yeah, perhaps dramatic conversions like Saul's are rare in our day. Maybe that's a problem.

Unit of Measure

Weight an evangelist carries with God = 1 billigram

(Shortest distance between two jokes = A straight line)

Francis de Sales - and Friends

In honor of the Feast of St. Francis de Sales today, I thought I'd repost something I wrote last summer about the network of friends that gathered around Francis and, together, changed an entire nation. This is also related to Fr. Mike's intriguing post below on Vocations Work in which he describes the remarkable initiative of John Jacques Olier, who was a spiritual heir of Francis in many ways.


I've been working on the Building Intentional Community Day that will be held in Colorado Springs this August 31 and, in the process, was inspired to attempt to diagram the relationships between the major players in the 17th century Catholic revival in France.

In their case, it truly was the pursuit of God in the company of friends - and their friendship changed the spiritual atmosphere of an entire nation. This interlinked network of 11 people known as the "generation of saints" (and here I am only acknowledging the most visible personalities - there were many hundreds and thousands of fellow travelers with which only specialists in the period are familiar)were:

"all intimately acquainted with, and more important, were inspired to become holy and zealous from personal contact with each other. They visited each other frequently or kept up active correspondence about their visions, prayers, sense of sin, and missionary activities. In a way, they set out as a group to remake the Church . . .”
Paris in the Age of Absolutism, Orest Ranum

They were remarkable for their diversity:

A Cardinal, a Bishop, three priests including one who had grown up a peasant, two young widows with children, a Parisian housewife, a single woman, a soldier. Today, the same group is recognized for including four canonized saints, one blessed, one Doctor of the Church, and six founders of religious congregations.

Among the many fruits of their collaboration:

1) Re-evangelized large areas of France, especially the countryside, parts of which were being evangelized for the first time in history
2) Fostered a distinctly lay spirituality for the first time and inventions like the "retreat" to nourish the personal spiritual lives of lay and ordained>
3) Renewal of the diocesan priesthood
4) Successful establishment of the "new" seminary system for forming priests
5) New, more systematic and effective methods of compassion for the poor
6) Establishment of the first "active" non-enclosed women's religious communities
7) A vibrant new missionary outreach around the world
8) Four new religious communities
8) The founding of one of the world's great cities: Montreal

Anyway, here's the Powerpoint slide I came up with:

The green lines represent personal friendships, the orange lines spiritual direction or mentoring; and the blue lines founders. Many times, such relationships overlapped as between Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal who were dear friends as well co-founders.

As you study the network of relationships, what difference would it have made if they had not had each other?



“In fact, even cursory glances through the Gospels confirm that the work Jesus did in the lives of his disciples occurred because the disciples were in relationship, not simply with him, but with each other.

That manner of growth in spiritual depth – in the context of community – is not accidental. It is part of how people are built.

We were created to seek God and we were created to find him with others.”
- Richard Lamb

On the Road Again

Me and Willy are about to hit that open highway (well, open skyway) again. . .

The CSI gang has been very busy this month. So far, 1,000 Catholics have gone through the Called & Gifted workshop this month alone and we have 11 more workshops scheduled before the end of February. No wonder I needed that 4 hour nap yesterday!

Here's what is happening over the next two weeks.

Fr. Mike and I are in Riverside, CA at the Newman Center this weekend. So blogging will be slim Friday - Sunday.

Next week, we'll be doing a specially modified seminarian's version of the Called & Gifted workshop for the student body and some of the faculty at St. Mary's seminary, Houston. Sorry, but this one isn't open to the public.

Feb 1/2 Called & Gifted in Lewiston, ID

Feb 8/9
Called & Gifted in Ripon, CA
Called & Gifted in Olympia, Washington
Called & Gifted interviewer/facilitator training in
Greenville, SC(note: there are pre-reqs for this, read the link,
call our office if you have more questions or to arrange for a phone interview.)

Also, on the weekend of February 9/10, Fr. Mike will be preaching all the Masses at the Newman Center at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. He and I (after I jet in from South Carolina) will be offering a Lenten parish mission there. But I'll post more details on that next week.

If you read ID, be sure and come up and chat with our teachers. We'd love to meet you!

The Stealth Catholic Charism

Take a look at this thoughtful post over at Gashwin Gome's place on the reluctance of most Catholic mission groups to proclaim Christ. As a native Indian and Hindu turned Catholic as a young adult, Gomes's comments are particularly interesting.

Gashwin and I had dinner and a chance to talk at the Paulist house in DC in November and it was pretty clear, even after a short conversation, that here was a man with a charism of evangelism. Gashwin burns with the desire to proclaim Christ and yet is not fundamentalist at all in either theology or approach. My experience in the past is that Catholics with a charism of evangelism feel extremely isolated. Because Gashwin, (like myself) was not born and raised Catholic, he hasn't absorbed the wide-spread Catholic cultural norm that evangelism is not Catholic and simply isn't done. So he talks about it openly. Quell horror!

Among most Anglo cradle Catholics, it is culturally so unacceptable that we gradually noticed that the charism of evangelism literally goes underground and is most commonly exercised under other, more acceptable labels like education or catechesis or administration. I"ve taken to calling evangelism the "stealth Catholic charism" because Catholics almost always want to call it something else and pretend that they aren't doing the "E" thing.

A couple of examples:

I was interviewing a Catholic school principal who scored high in administration on her Catholic Spiritual Gifts Inventory (the inventory that we give everyone who goes through the Called & Gifted process as a quick and dirty way to sort through their life experience and indentify areas that show evidence of a charism at work). So I asked her to talk about her experience with administration. Three times I asked her to talk about administration and three times she told me stories of bringing parents of her students into the Church.

Finally I had to point out to her that she consistently talked about evangelism every time I asked her about administration. The principal gasped in horror. "I couldn't be evangelizing! I'm an administrator!" Yes, she was. An administrator who spent a good deal of her office time evangelizing and whose charism of evangelism is coloring and shaping her administration as all charisms do.

I had another memorable experience in a different southern diocese. I was training a group to do "gifts interviews" - the one-on-one sessions in which we help individuals do another level of discernment by listening to their stories of using their charisms and pointing out patterns that they may not yet recognize. In the course of the training, one brave soul gets up and tells their stories in front of the rest so they can practice listening for patterns. On that day, the hardy volunteer was a young black woman who was an unapologetic disciple. (I'll call her Carol)

Again Carol's high score was in administration so I asked her about her experience in that area. She crossed her arms, crouched down in her chair, and a scowl on her face, talked about administration like it was a battlefield. Although I approached it from several different perspectives, Carol's experience of administration was clearly negative. But when I asked her about evangelism, her face lit up, her whole body relaxed, and she became absolutely lyrical. The other trainees were beside themselves with delight as they pointed out to her the dramatic difference in her body language. I finally had to point out that the evidence strongly suggested that the gift in question was not administration but evangelism.

Carol was thunderstruck. The next day, Carol told me (and I quote)

"I couldn't sleep. I've been up all night thinking about this. Damn, that's powerful!

There is no single gift I've ever helped someone discern that causes as much astonishment or initial discomfort, that turns a cozy little interview into a life-defining moment as the recognition that a Catholic was evangelizing all along under another, more respectable label.

The primary mission of the Church is the very activity many of us can't bear to think about or name as Catholic. No one seems to know exactly how this cultural norm became so firmly rooted among Catholics. But young Catholics like Gashwin (who feels strongly called to the priesthood) are a wonderful sign that the norm may be changing.

Can We Re-Imagine Vocation Work?

The following quote comes from an interview by the diocesan newspaper with the vocation director of a the diocese. It is interesting and somewhat worrisome in the assumptions that are proposed. It's also a bit different from the approach taken by my own Dominican Province.

While striving for quality candidates, the vocations office still has "wide open arms" to young men on fire for Christ who believe they may have a vocation to the priesthood, but given their age, may not be as certain as older candidates often are. "The place to test a vocation is in the seminary, not in a culture where you're not supported. If there are seeds of a vocation, it's going to be stifled in the world."

As a young man discerning whether I was called to priesthood and religious life, my intuition was a little different. Having grown up seeing posters encouraging priestly vocations, and as an active member in a local parish, I was concerned that if I let it be known that I was considering priesthood, I would be subtly - and not so subtly - pressured into entering the seminary. My intuition may have been all wrong, I suppose, but when I did enter the Dominican seminary, my former university advisors - both geophysicists and non-Catholics - told me that if anyone had suggested to them that one of their students would enter ministry, they would have assumed it would be me.

I would presume that a young man entering seminary is going to be doing so from a parish, and that he would be engaged in the life of that parish. I would hope that that environment wouldn't stifle a vocation. In fact, one of the great religious reformers of seventeenth-century France, Jean-Jacque Olier, established a seminary that was attached to his parish of St. Sulpice in Paris. At the time, it served the roughest, most irreligious sections of Paris. His seminarians, who came from all over France, were engaged in parochial work, and the priests who served in the parish were meant to become models for diocesan clergy throughout France.

The parish was divided into eight districts, each under the charge of a head priest and associates, whose duty it was to know individually all the souls under their care, with their spiritual and corporal needs, especially the poor, the uninstructed, the vicious, and those bound in irregular unions. Thirteen catechetical centres were established, for the instruction not only of children but of many adults who were almost equally ignorant of religion. Special instructions were provided for every class of persons, for the beggars, the poor, domestic servants, lackeys, midwives, workingmen, the aged etc. Instructions and debates on Catholic doctrine were organized for the benefit of Calvinists, hundreds of whom were converted...The poor were cared for according to methods of relief inspired by the practical genius of St. Vincent de Paul. During the five or six years of the Fronde, the terrible civil war that reduced Paris to widespread misery, and often to the verge of famine, M. Olier supported hundreds of families and provided many with clothing and shelter. None were refused. His rules of relief, adapted in other parishes, became the accepted methods... [Catholic Encyclopedia]

Part of the genius of Olier's seminary was the insertion of those preparing for ministry into the life of the parish. I was walking the halls of an archdiocesan seminary last year and noticed that nearly all the pictures on the walls were of cathedrals and historic churches, mostly from Europe. The only pictures of people were those of the graduates from past classes of seminarians. It could be easy to forget that seminary is the place for cultivating a life of service to God's people, since there were no reminders of them on the walls!

The Western Dominican Province encountered the phenomenon back in the 50's, 60's and early 70's that recently ordained friars, who had spent seven years in formation within the safe confines of our house of studies, were leaving the Order and priesthood. These men complained that the life they had lived and enjoyed in seminary was not what they experienced when thrust into ministry.

In response, my Province established what is called a "residency" year, in which a friar in formation works in one of our parishes or campus ministries after their first year of theology (which is their fifth year of formation, since that year of theology is preceded by a year of novitiate and two years of philosophy, typically). It's an important part of the discernment process, as it gives the seminarian a better sense of religious life in the context of full-time ministry and its demands. It also serves to remind the friar that all of his academic work is directed towards a purpose - the salvation of souls.

The interview with the vocation director continued,

Planting seeds must start young and involve the whole community, including the bishop, priests, parents, schools and other church ministries. In dioceses where there is a strong culture of vocations, "it's a totally normal part of the culture that if you're a Catholic man you should seriously consider priesthood at some point."

Other ministries involved in building up that culture include ministry to young adults. "The diocese has invested heavily in young adult ministry. We wanted to build up a lot of places where we could go fishing for these guys."

Having young priests and seminarians involved in activities like the Young Adult Mass, Catholic Challenge Sport and Theology on Tap. Young men can see that "they talk, they breathe, just like me. But they're in the seminary. Success builds on success," he said, "The more seminarians we have and the more visible they are, the more other young men can see themselves doing it.

I agree that the planting of the seeds of priestly and religious vocations is the work of the whole Christian community. But so is the work of planting the seeds of all vocations. Until we fully accept the truth that God is calling each and every one of us to some work of love and service of others that is unique to us, we will not be doing our best to foster priestly and religious vocations. The way the vocation director describes a culture of vocation is precisely the way we should be thinking about a culture of discipleship. We need to talk about discipleship as normative. Too often disciples are seen as unusual - on fire in a way other Catholics aren't - and thus automatically candidates for priesthood or religious life. We need to be able to witness discipleship in our parishes, celebrate it, preach about it, and make it the goal of all of our ministerial efforts.

Currently, with our vocational language centered almost entirely around priesthood and religious life, we give the impression that those are the only vocations. We seldom even speak of marriage as a vocation, much less dedicated single life. We don't speak of vocations beyond state-of-life, so the implication is once you've settled on that, you're finished. You can go ahead and live your life as our non-Christian culture proposes, and pursue a lifestyle of individually oriented personal consumption.

The well-intentioned vocation director I'm quoting sees young adult activities as a potential source for priestly vocations (and, I presume, religious vocations for young women). I would rather see them as schools of discipleship, just as our Catholic schools and parishes should be. The call to any vocation, state-of-life or otherwise, comes from Jesus. How can I expect to hear that call if I am not consciously following him? Discipleship - the intentional, conscious, daily following of Jesus - is the ultimate root of every vocation. Our approach to vocations seems to be one of short-cuts.

Merriment: The Cure for Politically Correct Outrage

A great little essay by my friend Mark Shea in today's Inside Catholic.

The topic: Divine hatred, Divine Love

The reality is not that we are more forgiving: It's that we are more excusing. We have created, for better or worse, a culture that excuses acts that our ancestors would have seen as appalling sin. We have figured out stratagems for avoiding feeling the sinfulness of sin. But when something does break through our comfortable numbness and cosmopolitan relativism, we are as ready to shout curses to the heavens as they were.

As Christians, of course, we cannot give our voice to such cursing. Jesus has very clearly told us that we must love our enemies and bless, not curse, those who despitefully use us. But that does not mean the Old Testament curses are bad or without value. In them, if we know what we are looking for, we see outrage at evil in chemical purity and know it as a gift of God. For righteous anger is not sin if we use it as God intended: as fuel for the engine of moral action. Anger only becomes a sin when we do not put it in the gas tank of action, but instead pour it on ourselves and others and set it on fire. Then it consumes us. The use of anger, like the use of gasoline, is not to bathe in it and drink it, but to turn it toward pursuing the redemptive, active love of God.

The one caveat I would have is that for many of us, our outrage is carefully political. We do get outraged but only at the things our people get outraged about. So many liberals are "outraged" at environment issues and simultaneously "outraged" at the sort of pro-life essay that Dr. Blazek wrote.

And many conservatives get "outraged" over life issues like abortion but sing a very different tune about torture which is also an intrinsic evil and can never be otherwise, no matter what the circumstances. How many of us find ourselves pulling back when "tempted" to be outraged over something that doesn't toe our particular party line? How many of us realize that our outrage is fueled not by genuine moral judgement but by the group energy of our crowd and our desire not to be isolated from them? Political correct outrage is just as operative on the right as on the left.

And that it is fear of loss of our crowd's esteem that makes it so difficult to think of truly loving the politically correct enemy and forgiving the politically correct evil.

Thank God that being open to revelation and attempting to think with the Church can help liberate us from fear of the crowd and enable us to think seriously about moral issues.

Can, I say, because it is obvious as I travel around the Church that Catholic versions of liberal and conservative political correctness have mighty strongholds in parishes and dioceses everywhere. I remember acutely one instance when I was asked to be part of a Catholic university consultation on the formation of disciples. I quickly sensed as soon as I walked into the room that political correctness of a very particular stripe was the order of the day and I was an outsider.

I struggled to grasp the exact nature of the powerful unspoken consensus about me as the day wore on and to determine how I might actually contribute something meaningful to the conversation despite my "deviancy". The most revealing moment occurred in the afternoon when, in some desperation, I finally said:

"But what unites us beyond our differences is the following of Christ."

Complete, horrified silence. I actually heard a stifled gasp from a corner of the room.

Guess not.

If we are women and men of Christ, intentional disciples, we will seek to love what and who he loves - all of it - regardless of where it falls on our political spectrum and our outrage will be the result of seeing those whom he loves being violated. And because we love what he loves, we will also seek to return good for evil, to forgive those who outrage us and others while simultaneously doing all we can to ensure that the justice and love of Christ pervades our particular bit of time and space.

There is a saying that I have heard attributed to St. Francis (that wonderfully iconic character to whom we like to attribute many things, with or without historical foundation). Whether it is genuinely Franciscan or not, it certainly is of his spirit.

"I want what God wants. That's why I am so merry."

Merriment, not politically correct outrage, is the sign of God's saving presence in our lives.

Feelin' Puny

The cat has thrown up three times this morning and I'm feeling what my grandmother used to call "puny". (She also used to look at my brother and I and say we looked "peaked". Just how she arrived at this conclusion looking up at our respective 6'0" and 6'8" heights always eluded me, but it doesn't do to argue with your grandmother.)

So I'm going to bed with Raymond de Capua. (To which Fr. Mike responds:"You do know that he's dead?") Dominican humor. Sigh.

More explicitly, I'm going to rest my puny frame while trying to plow through Raymond de Capua's life of St. Catherine of Siena in preparation for planning our April, 2009 tour of Rome, Siena, Florence, and Tuscany: In the Footsteps of Catherine of Siena. More about that adventure later.

This way I can still be working on some higher, spiritual plane while my body gets a break before we blast off to Riverside this weekend.

All shall be well and all manner of things shall be well - if only the cat doesn't puke on the bedspread again.

I watched Shakespeare in Love again recently and was struck by the similarity of the Elizabethan theatre business and the
small time 21st Century Catholic non-profit ministry business;

Philip Henslowe: Mr. Fennyman, allow me to explain about the theatre business. The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster.
Hugh Fennyman: So what do we do?
Philip Henslowe: Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well.
Hugh Fennyman: How?
Philip Henslowe: I don't know. It's a mystery.

Bill Endangers Catholic Charities of Denver

Archbishop Chaput is not pulling his punches: (via Catholic News Service)

If proposed Colorado House Bill 1080(HB 1080) passes: lt “limits the applicability of the exception from compliance with employment nondiscrimination laws for religious corporations, associations, educational institutions, or societies when employing persons to provide services that are funded with government funds.”

The bill itself is short, taking up only twenty three lines. It amends the present blanket religious exemption by requiring every religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society that “accepts government funds to provide services” to comply with anti-discrimination laws. As listed in the Colorado Revised Statutes, characteristics protected by the anti-discrimination regulations include “disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, national origin, or ancestry.”

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver, criticized HB 1080 in a January 23rd column titled “How to write a really bad bill.” He said the proposed law would attack the religious identity of non-profits and compromise Catholic organizations that co-operate with government agencies in providing necessary social services.

Snip.

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Denver, the archbishop notes, is the largest non-governmental human services provider in the Rocky Mountain West.

HB 1080, the archbishop believes, would hinder Catholic non-profits from hiring or firing employees based on the religious beliefs of the Catholic Church. Though recognizing that many non-Catholics work at Catholic Charities, Archbishop Chaput said the bill would remove the ability of the non-profit to maintain a Catholic leadership.

“…the key leadership positions in Catholic Charities obviously do require a practicing and faithful Catholic, and for very good reasons. Catholic Charities is exactly what the name implies: a service to the public offered by the Catholic community as part of the religious mission of the Catholic Church,” the archbishop wrote.

The need to preserve Catholic Charities’ Christian identity was so important that the archbishop warned that the non-profit’s cooperation with the government would cease if regulations impeded its Catholic mission. Speaking of Catholic Charities, he wrote, “When it can no longer have the freedom it needs to be ‘Catholic,’ it will end its services. This is not idle talk. I am very serious.”

Denying the Possibility of Conversion is Denying the Possibility of Grace

And from the Washington Post, this brave essay by physician and Jesuit scholastic, Dr. William Blazek:

His topic? "the mechanisms whereby we kill ourselves, other people, and the Church. We kill ourselves in turning away from the God-given purpose of our existence. We kill others in our destructive ruminations, violent words and physical attacks. We kill the Church in dismissing her officials and publicly dissenting from her teachings without carefully examining her arguments."

Snip.

Note well: when discussing abortion, one sometimes hears, “You will never change anyone’s mind about this. People think what they think.” If the abolitionists and suffragettes had denied the possibility of change in their fellow citizens’ opinions, this country would still have slavery and women without the vote. Denying the possibility of conversion is to deny the possibility of grace: it plays into the hands of the enemy of our human nature.

Snip.

Last Spring, I asked several medical students in a seminar whether they rejected Catholic teachings regarding reproduction and artificial contraception. Several raised their hands. I prompted them to articulate the position and to give their critique of it. Conversation languished for some while. None in that group of graduating physicians had an answer, yet these well-educated role models were willing to publicly disagree with an argument they could not explain.

Note: Dr. Blazek teaches at the Georgetown School of Medicine.

The hat tip goes to Gashwin Gomes As Gashwin points out, most of the comment responses to his essay so far have been overwhelmingly negative. Why not go over and add your voice to the discussion?

The Lamb's War: Fighting for Peace

I came across a really interesting conference and resource a few days ago but haven't had the time to blog about it until now:

This April, the Catholic Peacemaking Network (headquartered at Notre Dame) will be holding an international conference:
Conference on the Future of Catholic Peacebuilding. (April 13- 15) at, naturally, Notre Dame.

Peace and conflict on an incredibly complex variety of levels is a distinctly lay responsibility - our "turf" -if you will. Bishops and clergy can give homilies and write papers on the Church's teaching on peace but they don't have the primary responsibility for it that we do.

So often, we associate peace-making with marches and protests but just as the thousands who marched for life yesterday in Washington DC were only the tip of a vast iceberg of organizations, clinics, religious communities, legal and political efforts, and small local initiatives around the country working all year round to save lives, so "peace" marches are only the surface.

In the long run, it is lay apostles who are competent insiders and have earned respect, have credibility, and decision-making power, who will shape our nation's decisions and institutions that foster peace or make war. There is so much more to actually changing the course of conflict and fostering peace than "hell, no, we won't go" as one Vietnam era anti-war slogan put it.

The CPN seems to be one intelligent effort to build upon the wisdom and synergy of many. From their website:

Why a Catholic Peacebuilding Network?

The Catholic Church is blessed with many "artisans of peace", or peacebuilders, working at all levels to prevent conflicts from breaking out, resolve conflicts once started, and reconcile and rebuild divided societies after conflicts have ended. The CPN aims to serve and complement, not supplant or duplicate, these peacebuilding efforts by responding to four needs:

Deepening Solidarity. Too often, the Church's artisans of peace feel alone. The CPN convenes and connects peacebuilders from around the world in order to build and deepen relationships of solidarity with and among peacebuilders.

Sharing Best Practices. Much of the Church's work for peace, especially at the local level, is not well known or well understood. The CPN stimulates a more systematic sharing, mapping and analysis of the "best practices" of Catholic peacebuilding around the world.

Building Capacity. Catholic peacebuilders in conflict areas too often lack skills and resources. The CPN links peacebuilders to those who can provide the training, strategic planning, or other resources that might be necessary for the Catholic community to be a more effective force for peace in conflicted areas.

Developing a Theology of a Just Peace. Church leaders and others have called for further development of a theology of a just peace that is comparable in scope and sophistication to the Church's long tradition of moral reflection on the use of military force. Building upon this rich tradition, the CPN stimulates further development of peacebuilding as a conceptually coherent, theologically accurate, spiritually enlivening and practically effective contribution to the Church's broader reflection on and action for justice and peace.

While the CPN addresses the public policy dimensions of Catholic peacebuilding, this is not its principal focus, nor does it engage in advocacy on policy issues.

Notre Dame is a big player in this network through the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies which is going to be offering a first in 2008: a PhD in Peacestudies.

Actually, Notre Dame is running a series of clever marketing videos for the University building upon her traditional nickname: "the Fighting Irish" But now her students are portrayed as fighting against the odds, for security, human dignity, and the environment. One such video features the work of a Professor of Peacebuilding, John Paul Lederach in Columbia and ends like this:

The University of Notre Dame asks "What would you fight for?"

Fighting for Peace. We are the fighting Irish.

Fighting for peace is an old image. One of the terms used by 17th century Quaker to describe both their evangelistic efforts and their commitment to non-violence was "the Lamb's War". There are many Lamb's Wars in our world. The fight for life and the fight to stop violence and resolve conflicts are too sides of the same Catholic coin although it can be hard to recognize in the midst of the polarization of our culture.

Because the Lamb Who was slain is also the Prince of Peace.

Why is Kenya Bleeding?

The following reflection is from Bert Ebben, OP (Southern U.S. Dominican Province) who is the coordinator of community development projects for the Order in Africa. He wrote from Ongata-Rongai, Kenya, five days ago.

His observation is important for us in America, too. What is happening in Kenya could conceivably happen one day in our own country, if we do not reverse the widening gap between rich and poor, including the disappearance of the middle class.

After months of drought the parched land of Kenya thirsts for life-giving water. After years of oppression and exploitation the weary people of Kenya long for justice and peace. After four decades of independence the nation bleeds from a nearly mortal wound, while it reverberates with threatening accusations of tribalism, ethnic cleansing and genocide. This very morning yet another school and orphanage were torched in Mathare, Africa’s largest slum just a few kilometers from the Kware slums of Ongata-Rongai where I continue to facilitate various programs at VICODEC, a center dedicated to the promotion of human development.

Prompted by my Dominican Brothers in Raleigh I am writing this reflection, an attempt to respond to repeated questions from around the world. Why have 600+ Kenyans been so brutally massacred? Why have 250,000 people been driven from their homes and villages? Why are thousands more fleeing across the borders into Uganda and Tanzania? Why, this very day, are masses of Kenyans threatening to demonstrate in thirty cities and towns across the country? Because of an election, alleged by the opposition (Raila Odinga and his ODM Party) to have been fraudulent yet subsequently declared to have been free and fair by the Kenyan Electoral Commission, thus giving the incumbent president, Mwai Kibaki of the PNU Party another five years in office? I don’t think so!

However controversial this decision is itself, it does not radically explain how the normally tolerant, long-suffering and peace-loving citizens of Kenya were driven to perpetrate such horrific death and destruction upon their beautiful country, once thought to be the most united and democratic nation in sub-Saharan Africa. While the failed electoral process is, without doubt, the catalyst that continues to spark such devastating reactions, fear and violence, it cannot account for the ensuing explosive situation. The root cause can be found only in the poverty, inequality and injustice that have plagued this country since independence and that have been systematically incorporated into the structures of its society, ever widening the great divide separating the powerfully rich minority from the masses who languish in poverty and hopelessness. Bridging that divide seems to be so far beyond the reach of ordinary poor Kenyans that they regrettably resort to anger, bitterness, acrimony and despair.

In such an anti-gospel milieu, it appears almost impossible for the everyday Kenyan to accept that God’s reign does not reach down from the presidential State House, nor from the Parliament, nor from the heights of power and wealth, but that the God of peace only breaks through in real acts of compassion, healing and justice, only in the nonviolent liberation of the poor and oppressed.

Sharing the pain and anguish of my Kenyan brothers and sisters, I am pushed and pulled into the confrontation and indignation of their experience. But even more I am emboldened to pursue God’s promise of peace on earth. I am compelled to continue to confront my own country’s “wars on earth”. I am driven to resist the present U.S. administration’s militaristic and arrogant imperialistic ambitions around the world. I am persuaded to oppose handguns, the death penalty, abortion, racism, sexism, poverty, corporate greed and the environmental devastation of our spectacular planet Earth.

Even as I conclude this reflection, the skies suddenly break open to release a soft, gentle rain. I am reminded of Isaiah’s “Rorate coeli desuper et nubes pluant justum”(45:8) in which the prophet expresses the world’s longing for the coming of the just one. I pray that the refreshing rain, now at last gently falling on the parched earth of Kenya, is a prophetic sign of the coming of God’s “Just One”, showing all of us the way to that New World without war, without poverty, without injustice – peace in Kenya, peace in the world, peace at last!

Please say a prayer for Kenya, and for Br. Daniel Thomas, OP, a member of the Western Dominican Province who works there.

A Day of Penance

People at the 6:30 a.m. Mass were a bit surprised when I appeared wearing violet vestments today. I quickly explained that the U.S. Bishops have declared today to be a day of penance in commemoration of Roe v. Wade and the millions of children killed by abortion since. The following paragraph is from the Ordo for today's Mass.

In all the dioceses of the United States of America, January 22 (or January 23, when January 22 falls on a Sunday) shall be observed as a particular day of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion, and of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life. The Mass “For Peace and Justice” (no. 22 of the “Masses for Various Needs”) should be celebrated with violet vestments as an appropriate liturgical observance for this day.
General Instruction of the Roman Missal, no. 373

Our penance might be fasting and/or abstinence, and certainly additional prayer on behalf of those who have died, those women who have had abortions and the fathers of their children, and those who perform or assist in the performance of abortions. But it might also be an opportune moment to take time from our busy schedules and discover what are the local resources for pregnant women. What do they do? What assistance might they need, financial or otherwise.

Another possibility might be to locate your nearest branch of Project Rachel, the Catholic Church's outreach to women who have had abortions, or find out when and where the next Rachel's Vineyard retreat for women suffering from post-abortion grief might be held and offering support. There may be opportunities to help them out in their ministries.

I mentioned in my homily that abortion is a sin that is also a symptom. While it is important to work to overturn Roe v. Wade, simply making abortion illegal does not deal with the complex issues and environments that make abortion desirable. This means understanding and acknowledging the effects of the sexual revolution (including our complicity as we and our children absorb the values found on Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives, and the innumerable spinoffs of The Bachelor), dealing with the poverty that so many women face, and, in general, our refusal to evangelize our neighbor and to shape the institutions of our culture. All of this requires the cooperation of the clergy in teaching with the Church and really understanding Her position, and the laity bringing their expertise and understanding of the complex issues that underlie and promote abortion. This is a necessary and potentially fruitful area of collaboration between the laity and their priests and bishops.

While today is rightfully a day of penance and lamentation, for all those 35 and younger, it might also be a day of thanksgiving. Your mothers and fathers chose to give you birth.

Sherry's Addendum:

In light of Fr. Mike's post above, you might want to check out this post about the marvelous Nurturing Network which offers women a choice that is good for both mother and baby. NN has saved 28,000 lives. Check em out.

When Children Become People

Amy Welborn recommends this remarkable book:

When Children Became People: The Birth Of Childhood In Early Christianity

It looks great and would be especially appropriate reading for this 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Written by a Norwegian scholar of early Christianity, this is a fascinating look at how ant