100 Years Ago Today...

Happy Birthday to Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

Worthy Quote...

[Have we] really done the work of trying to imagine our way into the ideal put on the table by Ex Corde. The good news is -- the ideal is there! Let's start using the language in which the ideal is stated, and learn, little by little, to grow into it. Let's be patient, for we are talking about cultural change, but let's go forward. Let's use our ideal to try to teach the secular academy something it could not come up with on its own, saving it from its own peculiar brand of anti-intellectualism in its refusal to consider faith a dialogue partner, and let's use our ideal, too, to offer an alternative in the life of the mind and heart to fundamentalism. In other words, let's have enough confidence in our ideals to lead! We can do it. - Professor John Cavadini, Theology Dept., Univ. of Notre Dame

The full post can be found on NCR.

On Retreat....

I will be on retreat for the next few days.

Thank you for your prayers and may God bless.

'Neath this, love's symbol, suffering twice,
Things mystical and bloody both
Christ, as a priest, in sacrifice
To Heaven uplifted, nothing loth.

Who would not love for love repay?
What man, redeemed, could love refuse
To this Heart, or herein, for aye,
His tabernacle fail to choose?

Jesu, to Thee be glory given,
Who from Thy Heart dost grace outpour;
To Father and to Paraclete
Be endless praise for ever more. Amen.

Happy 40th

Happy 40th Anniversary of Marriage to my parents, Ron and Judy! Thank you for your love and example.

Lord God and Creator, we bless and praise your name. In the beginning you made man and woman, so that they might enter a communion of life and love. You likewise blessed the union of Ronald and Judy so that they might reflect the union of Christ with his Church: like with kindness on them. Amid the joys and struggles of their life you have preserved the union between them; renew their marriage covenant, increase your love in them, and strengthen their bond of peace, so that surrounded by their children they may always rejoice in the gift of your blessing. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. --- Book of Blessings

Back to Basics...

A priest of the Archdiocese of Washington D.C., Msgr. Peter Vaghi has completed the first two of four books laying out the four pillars of the Catechism: The Profession of Faith, the Celebration of the Christian Mysteries, Life in Christ, and Christian Prayer.

The Sacraments We Celebrate, published by Ave Maria Press, touches upon each of the seven sacraments followed by reflection questions and a prayer. This is certainly a "meat 'n potatoes" type of book suitable for RCIA sessions, parish study groups or for the individual wanting to understand better the sacramental mysteries she celebrates.

The Fatherly Life...

Common to all twelve chapters of Scott Hahn's Many Are Called is a strong comparison between spiritual fatherhood of the priest and biological fatherhood. Rooted in well-known (though maybe not well-understood) traditional understandings of the ministerial priesthood, the book is, as are all of Hahn's books, infused with scriptural warrants.

Likewise, this book is also an easier read and the 150 page work would be accessible to high school or college students who wish to understand better the life, purpose, and ministry of priests.

Humility: It Matters...

Last summer I enjoyed reading Sr. Mary Margaret Funk's Thoughts Matter. Humility Matters is the third part of a trilogy of "matter" books and it made my summer 2010 reading list. The book touches upon the four great renunciations handed down to us from the monastic tradition: renunciation of our former way of life, of the thoughts/desires of that former life, of self-made thoughts of God, and finally of our self-made thoughts of the self.

Mingled into these sections are various dialogues with saints such as St. Teresa of Jesus, St. Therese of Lisieux, and John Cassian, whose spiritual lessons are valuable for the act of renunciation.

The common thread, of course, is the virtue of humility. "When self no longer dominates and we feel a desire to sacrifice, we know it, and this renunciation is 'full of grace'; our humility becomes a way of life, like that of Mary who hastened to visit and assist her pregnant cousin Elizabeth" pg 12.

Now to just put it into practice!