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The cross is the measure of the love of Jesus Christ…
My eyes unexpectedly became a waterfall at a Saturday morning “feminine genius” breakfast. The night before, I had read on Twitter about the investigation that yielded credible testimonies that Jean Vanier, founder of the L’Arche movement of homes for men and women with developmental disabilities, had abused women under the guise of spiritual direction, using some kind of mystic cover for his predation. Shock, horror, devastation — these all would describe some of my reactions to the news. I wondered what more we would learn, and I thought about those women who had to put up with the world being convinced that Vanier was a living saint! I was ashamed of myself. I had written about him, quoted him, even made the case that he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. And I was furious, too. S...
Making the Impossible possible: Can Catholics eat fake ‘meat’ during Lent?
The Vatican has had no public position on the issue. Pope Francis, who hails from Argentina where beef is a major part of the national diet, has never addressed it publicly or through any writings or statements. A spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops did not respond to an email seeking comment. USCCB has issued guidelines, but they offer little clarity on this debate. In 1966, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops produced what’s known as the Pastoral Statement on Penance and Abstinence. In it, the bishops, who are appointed by the pope, declared that “the age of fasting is from the completion of the 18th year to the beginning of the 60th.” The document reiterates Canon Law, which states that every person 14 years or older “must abstain from meat (and items made with mea...
Math problems aside, a bit of Roman seasoning can be good for priests…
ROME – One of the great Lenten traditions in Rome is the daily trek for Mass to one of the station churches, meaning churches marking spots where early Christians would commemorate the martyrs and celebrate the Eucharist, and where popes used to make the rounds themselves during Lent. For English-speakers, the 7:00 a.m. daily liturgy is organized by the Pontifical North American College, the residence for American seminarians studying in the Eternal City. One of the things that can’t help but strike a visitor is the strong turnout of clergy every morning; while the ratio of priests to lay faithful in the US and Europe overall is about 1-1,300, at the station churches it’s usually more like 1-2 or 1-3. It’s a reminder of an inescapable truth about Rome: There may be a priest shortage in the...
Flee to the truth when you’re tempted…
The Gospel today says that Jesus was tempted by the devil in the desert. Hebrews 4:15 also affirms, For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. How exactly a divine person, with a sinless human nature, experiences temptation is somewhat mysterious, and yet the text affirms that He does. A Lenten antiphon from the Breviary teaches that He did this, or allowed this, for our sake: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering (Invitatory Antiphon for Lent). Hence, even without pondering too deeply the mystery of how He was tempted or experienced it, we can still learn what Jesus teaches us about how to endure temptation and be victorious over it. (Mo...
Betelgeuse is getting brighter and it’s not ready to explode after all. Darn…..
Rumors of Betelgeuse’s impending death have been greatly exaggerated. The red supergiant star appears to be in no danger of imminently exploding, even though a recent, dramatic dip in brightness hinted that it could be on its last legs. The latest observations reveal instead that the star is starting to regain its former light. “Betelgeuse has definitely stopped dimming and has started to slowly brighten,” a team reported on February 22 in the Astronomer’s Telegram. “Observations of all kinds continue to be needed to understand the nature of this unprecedented dimming episode and what this surprising star will do next.” With Betelgeuse’s light on the rise, astronomers are now hoping to figure out what caused such a precipitous drop in brightness at the end of 2019—while simultaneously deal...
How long would it take to fall through the Earth?
No, you can’t really “dig to China.” But what if you could ride the so-called gravity train through the center of the Earth to the opposite side? How long would it take? By Sabrina Stierwalt, PhD February 25, 2020 5-minute read Episode #364 How Long Would It Take to Fall Through the Earth? Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. Hide player As children growing up in the US, we often made attempts to “dig to China.” If we could just have a little more time on the playground or out in the backyard, maybe, just maybe, we could dig a hole deep enough that it would take us all the way to the other side of the Earth. We always hoped there were Chinese children on the other side digging to get...
Lent is a battle with Satan…
By Tom Hoopes, February 27, 2020 This Sunday’s readings tell the story of two different temptations: Adam and Eve’s on the one hand and Christ’s on the other. The temptations have remarkable similarities to each other — and to what you and I face this Lent. The Church chose readings for the First Sunday of Lent, Year A, to prepare us to face an enemy who is relentless and cunning. First, the devil tempts our appetites. We win by fasting with Christ. The devil’s first instinct in both the Garden of Eden and the desert of Judea is to tempt with food. With Adam and Eve, he tempts people in a land of plenty with a forbidden fruit; with Jesus, he uses simple loaves of bread to tempt someone in extreme hunger. In both cases, the devil hopes that his victims will choose with their stomachs i...
Pope to miss Lenten retreat due to cold; makes appearance for Sunday Angelus message, preaching, “Never dialogue with the devil” …
Vatican City, Mar 1, 2020 / 07:08 am (CNA).- Pope Francis said Sunday to follow Christ’s example when dealing with the temptation to sin: send the devil away or answer with the Word of God, but never engage in debate. When being tempted by the devil in the desert, “Jesus does not talk with the devil. Jesus responds to the devil with the Word of God, not with his word,” the pope said March 1. Francis noted that in times of temptation one may start to debate with the devil about sin. “Never talk to the devil,” he advised. “Jesus does two things with the devil: he chases him away or, as in this case [in the desert], he answers with the Word of God. Be careful: never dialogue with temptation, never dialogue with the devil.” Pope Francis’ address before the Angelus Sunday was on Jesus’ 40 days ...
Repent and take responsibility…
Every year in Lent I’m reminded of how healthy repentance is. The default setting for the human being is to blame someone else. “He did it first!” or “She did it too!” or “Everybody does it” or when we’re unhappy to blame somebody else for our problems. “It’s my wife, my husband, my kids, my parents, the president, the republicans, the democrats, the whites, the blacks” whoever, but it’s never me. It’s not my fault. I’m not to blame. This is the basic kink in human nature. It’s the twist of pride and it was there from the beginning. Adam blames Eve. Eve blames the serpent. It’s worse than that. Adam actually blames God. “It was the woman you gave me who made me do it!” Repentance turns that on it’s head. We’re required to stop and put up our hand and own up. It’s my fau...
Let them have Lent…
(Image: CNS photo/Carlo Allegri, Reuters) The title — “Don’t use Lent to try to impress God” — headlined the newsletter from a good Catholic site. The article was as dispiritingly earnest as you’d guess, and a bit passive-aggressive too. Like so many of its companions in the genre, the article rolled out the clichés as if they were revelations. You can’t impress God, can’t bribe him, can’t make him like you by working harder, can’t earn grace, he wants your heart, he wants your love more than he wants your sacrifices, it’s not about giving things up but taking things on, and don’t think you’re a better Catholic for doing it. These articles appear every year before Lent. Still, undaunted, as also happens every year, people will share what they’re giving up. They’re serious, but many are als...
Finding Jesus in Lent — and the Vanier scandal…
For anyone who had paid attention to his writing and ministry with people with intellectual disabilities, the recent revelations that well-respected philosopher and founder of the L’Arche movement Jean Vanier had used his position to manipulate and abuse women who went to him for spiritual direction is heart-piercing. I, for one, felt an immediate guilt. I had written about him, even encouraged that he be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. And I was not alone. People called him a living saint and one of the great lay Catholics of the 20th century. It’s clear now that we weren’t seeing the whole picture. It’s a devastating news story for so many who lived with him and followed him, who were inspired by him. There’s a point after taking in so much of this kind of scandal and betrayal, that...
Non-verbal autistic child denied Holy Communion: Some lessons…..
St. Aloysius in Jackson, NJ where the incident happened (Google Maps) Earlier this week a non-verbal autistic child was denied registration for First Communion at a parish in New Jersey. Now the story has exploded in the media. I saw the post early & decided to post a general prayer petition on my page, while messaging the family offering to be a kind of mediator. At that point, the post only had a few hundred shares compared to 10,000+ now, and I hoped we could work through a solution. Now that opportunity is lost and media attention has made the Church look bad. I want to go over the situation briefly then draw two sets of lessons. The first lesson relates to the actual norms. The second lesson how this case gives both the Church and the media pause regarding our relationship. T...
