Outrage in Connecticut

Anthony Esolen discusses the unconstitutional bill in Connecticut which threatened to infringe upon the freedom of Catholic citizens. It has since been tossed out but the fact that such a bill was ever introduced is not a good thing. To quote:

I'd heard about this bill from chatter on the Internet, but it was so outrageous I thought I'd give it a few days to die of shame before I bothered to comment on it....The bill would, essentially, remove from the jurisdiction of the pope and the bishops of Connecticut all authority to establish and to manage Catholic organizations, including parishes themselves, which would instead be directed by state-mandated councils of thirteen laymen. The bill contemptuously declares that the clergy would in no way be prohibited from the free exercise or teaching of their faith -- when in fact that is precisely what the bill is designed to do; indeed it serves no other purpose at all than to make the laity the paymasters and the directors. Sneaking in the corner we find that relegation of religion to the private and sentimental and ultimately ineffectual and irrelevant that our juridical and legislative betters devoutly wish to be the case....

In any case, the battle is here. And it is not a battle for my Catholic Church alone. It is a battle for all the churches, and for the soul of this republic: we will either have the free exercise of our faith, without being pecked to death by courts and bureaucrats and addled lawmakers, or we will be wards of the state, like old ladies allowed to hug our stuffed animals in a nursing home. And here I have a vision. Bishop Martino of Scranton shows me the path of our counterattack. If the Freedom of Choice Act passes, he has recently said, and if it means that Catholic hospitals will have to provide abortions or contraception, then he will shut down the three Catholic hospitals in Lackawanna County immediately and board them up. The county -- no, the commonwealth itself could not sustain the loss of those hospitals. It would be an instant crisis; and it would have to be done, or freedom of religion would die....

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Novena to St. Joseph

Today begins the nine-days of intensive prayer to Saint Joseph, the foster-father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the patron and protector of fathers and of families, and of the dying. The month of March is dedicated to Saint Joseph. With the bleak economic forecast, it might be a good idea to seek the intercession of the man who provided for the material needs of Jesus and Mary. His intercession is powerful; all those who have experienced his intervention know what I am talking about. Really, he will help in any dire situation. I love Saint Joseph. Don Marco offers some beautiful prayers in honor of this most compassionate of saints. Here is another little prayer as well:

Dear Saint Joseph, you who have the power to render possible that which seems impossible, come to our aid in our present trouble and distress. Take this important and difficult affair under your particular protection that it may end happily.

Dear Saint Joseph, all our confidence is in you. Let it not be said we have invoked you in vain. Since you are so powerful with Jesus and Mary, show that your goodness equals your power.

Divine Providence did provide.
Divine Providence can provide.
Divine Providence will provide. Amen.

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The Plight of the Emos

Charles Coulombe muses about the weirdness of pop culture. I am not "with it," either. I never was, and don't regret it. Share

Journey to Carmel

Several people have asked me about my spiritual journey and how I got involved in Carmel. In 1986 I had just received my Master's degree from SUNY Albany when I visited the cloistered Carmelite nuns in Schenectady, NY. I was fascinated with their austere, radical way of living the Gospel. I began reading the works of the Carmelite saints and going to daily Mass. However, there was also someone I wanted to marry, but I was not sure about him. So I prayed for guidance.

Every day after 8 am Mass at St. John's in Frederick, Maryland I would stay after and pray and I noticed one other lady who did the same. One day, the lady came up to me and introduced herself. Her name was Mrs. Quinn and she had eight children. I told her about my interest in Carmel and my discernment struggles. She told me that she and her husband were both "Third Order Carmelites" and she invited me to attend a meeting with them in Baltimore some Sunday. I loved the community and joined it.

The Third Order or Secular Discalced Carmelites are composed of lay people who make promises of poverty, chastity and obedience according to their state in life. They can be married but try to live the Carmelite charism of prayer in the world, in the spirit of the Holy Mother St. Teresa of Jesus. They commit themselves to saying parts of the Divine Office, including Morning and Evening prayer, as well as spiritual reading and at least a half an hour of mental prayer a day. Daily Mass is also encouraged, and devotion to Our Lady. Monthly meetings are required and an intensive formation period, too. There are certain days of fast, such as the vigils of some Carmelite feasts. The "habit" of Teresian Carmelites is the small brown scapular which symbolizes consecration to the Mother of God. Carmel is "Mary's order."

Being a tertiary has been a great mercy to me, for it has given a discipline and compass to my spiritual life. I have received much help, guidance and support over the years from my brothers and sisters in Carmel. It is a challenging but joyful vocation, of which no one is worthy, for like any vocation it is a gift from God. Share

Sacred Images

Arturo Vasquez discusses the mystery and meaning of the ancient tradition.

Here then we see a more foundational and human approach to religious imagery in the Catholic Church, one that takes the sacramental principle a step further. Catholicism in the end is a religion of the concrete: a religion filled with ceremony, trinkets, and daily things used for extraordinary purposes. Bread and wine, rosaries, cloth, incense, and old, worn pages come together to create a religion that you can touch, taste, and smell. At times, these things can compel us to be better than what we are now; they often lead us to repentance and to a life committed to a God who is above all human sense and thought. It can appear to be magic to the casual observer, but the real magic here is not in the plaster or the paint, but rather in faith....

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Witness (1985)

When I first watched Witness in a movie theater in Albany in 1985, I never imagined that someday I would be living in Pennsylvania with an Amish market around the corner from my house. The Amish are usually present at local fairs and festivals; they stand out as a witness to another way of life, one which places a high value upon modesty, simplicity, peace, and most of all, upon family ties. I hear that they still preserve the old custom of shunning those who break the moral code. (In our world it is the other way around; the quickest way to get oneself shunned is to try to take a stand in favor of morality or decency.) This custom is alluded to in the film, when it becomes known that Rachel and John are quite taken with each other, although they themselves have not yet acknowledged the attraction. However, the chemistry between them is so intense that, although confined to the realm of looks and gestures, the entire community is disturbed.

Witness weaves the intrigue of high adventure with a subtle yet powerful love story. Two people are thrown together when their very different worlds collide. Harrison Ford is the Philadelphia policeman John Book to whom violence is a way of life. He is forced to hide among the Amish in Lancaster county in the home of the widow Rachel Lapp (Kelly McGillis) and her father-in-law and little son. The boy Samuel is the only witness of the slaying of one policeman by another. The Philadelphia police are searching for both John and Samuel; the romance between John and Rachel unfolds as menace draws always nearer.

One of the best reviews of Witness is by Steven Greydanus, who says:

Witness is about looking, not talking, and some of its best moments are wordless. A brief exchange of looks between young Samuel and a Hasidic Jewish gentleman in the train station, Samuel smiling up hopefully at this familiar-looking bearded, black-garbed, brim-hatted man, and the Jewish man not quite frowning down at the little Christian boy. The powerful scene in the police station in which Book, on the phone, looks across the room at Samuel’s face and knows that he has somehow found the missing piece of the puzzle. And of course the moment that Book and Rachel will never forget, a moment of standing, motionless and silent, looking at one another through a door that ought to have been shut, neither willing for that moment to walk away or to move toward the other.

Ultimately, the peaceful way of the Amish triumphs over the way of brute force. For all the shooting and fighting and moments of passion, Witness shows the ascendancy of the spiritual over the material, for in the end Rachel and John, in spite of their ecstatic feelings for each other, return to their own realities, letting each other go.

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Madame Louise de France

Catherine Delors concludes her wonderful series of articles on the daughters of Louis XV by exploring the life of the youngest daughter who became a nun and a Blessed of the Church.

She added that moralists were right when they said happiness does not dwell in palaces; that she had proved it; and that, if I wanted to be happy, she advised me to come and enjoy a retreat in which the liveliest imagination might find full exercise in the contemplation of a better world.

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Grace Café

I started reading Grace Café by Donna-Marie Cooper-O'Boyle in Cool Beans Coffee Shop in Bellefonte on one frozen February morning. My husband and I can often be found there on Sundays while CCD classes are in progress. Cool Beans has comfortable arm chairs and a gas fireplace; it is the perfect place to curl up with a cup of coffee and read a wonderful book. It was especially suited for reading Grace Café, which further develops many of the themes put forth in The Domestic Church, but in a more personal and conversational style.

Once again, Donna-Marie shows us the meaning in the meaningless. That is, we have been convinced by the world that everything we women do in order to run a home is meaningless, since we are not bringing in a pay check to do what we do. Here are some lines that I highlighted in my copy of the book:

We live in a society where, sadly, a woman's value is most times measured by the size of her paycheck or lack of one. If a mom decides to devote her time to her family's care without pursuing outside employment, she may be considered to be less significant or inferior....

I have experienced jabs of jealousy and criticism from others at times because I was committed to raising my children full time....Others would say, 'Oh, it's nice you have the luxury to stay at home.'

Yet I believe that it is not a luxury~ it is a choice and a decision to do without some material things and comforts to be there for our little ones; it also requires putting aside our own aspirations for achievement in a particular field or direction. We have brought children into the world or accepted children through adoption, we should care for them assiduously. (pp.24-25)

While Grace Café is an immensely charming book, it takes a searing look at the attacks upon the family and upon women which masquerade as liberation.

A woman is given a role to care for others, specifically because she is a woman, because she is feminine. Femininity is a beautiful thing! Radical feminism is ugly. Woman have to realize that from their femininity will blossom many graces and blessings for society and for their families. Attempting to change a woman into a man does nothing but confuse matters and destroys families in the process....(p.96)

Since not all women are called to be mothers in the physical sense, Grace Café explores the different ways of "mothering:"

Obviously, not all women are mothers; however, they can be mothers to others in their midst because women are given motherly hearts. I know many women who are not mothers but who are mothers to so many around them. (pp.96-97)

Rich in quotations from Scripture, saints, and pontiffs, Grace Café combines simplicity and profundity in an amazing manner. With Our Lady and St. Joseph as companions, we can find holiness in the fulfillment of the everyday duties of our states of life. Even when Donna-Marie is pointing out the flaws in our society, her tone is always one of hope and encouragement; it is a book which uplifts and energizes, not just in a sentimental way, but in a manner that inspires transformation in behavior as well as in attitude.

(*Grace Café was sent to me as a gift from the author.)

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Economic Survival

Some words of wisdom from Chuck Norris' grandma, because grandmas are almost always right.

Here's her advice, in her words:

-- "Get back to the basics. Simplify your life. Live within your means. People have got to be willing to downsize and be OK with it. We must quit borrowing and cut spending. Be grateful for what you have, especially your health and loved ones. Be content with what you have, and remember the stuff will never make you happy. Never. Back then, we didn't have one-hundredth of what people do today, and yet we seemed happier than most today, even during the Great Depression.

-- "Be humble and willing to work. Back then, any work was good work. We picked cotton, picked up cans, scrap metal, whatever it took to get by. Where's that work ethic today? If someone's not being paid $10 an hour today, they're whining and unwilling to work, even if they don't have a job. The message from yesteryear is don't be too proud to do whatever it takes to meet the financial needs of your family.

-- "Be rich in love. We didn't have much. In fact, we had nothing at all, compared to people today, but we had each other. We were poor, but rich in love. We've lost the value of family and friends today, and we've got to gain it back if we're ever to get back on track. If we lose all our stuff and still have one another and our health, what have we really lost?

-- "Be a part of a community. Today people are much more alone, much more isolated. We used to be close with our neighbors. If one person had a bigger or better garden or orchard, they shared the vegetables and fruits with others in need. Society has shifted from caring for one another to being dependent upon government aid and welfare. That is why so many today trust in government to deliver them. They've forgotten an America that used to rally around one another in smaller clusters, called neighborhoods and communities. We must rekindle those local communal fires and relearn the power of that age-old commandment, 'Love thy neighbor.'

-- "Help someone else. We never quit helping others back then. Today too many people are consumed with their own problems and only helping themselves. 'What's in it for me?' is the question most are asking. But back then, it was, 'What can I do to help my neighbor, too?'....Most of all, helping others gets our minds off of our problems and puts things into better perspective.

-- "Lean upon God for help and strength. We didn't just have each other to lean on, but we had God, too. We all attended church and belonged to a faith community. Church was the hub of society, the community core and rallying point. Today people turn to government the way we used to turn to churches. It's been that way ever since Herbert Hoover's alleged promise of a 'chicken in every pot' and President Roosevelt's New Deal. Too many have abandoned faith and community. We trust in money more than God. And maybe that's a reason why we're in this economic pickle."

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