Roman Catholic Blog

Suggestions for Lent

 

From an old priest who acted as my spiritual advisor at UCLA twenty five years ago.....

(No this is not him)

Suggestions for Lent: prayer, sacrifice and generous deeds.

 

1. Basic plan: “DPC”

D: Carry out the little duty of each moment, with faith (God sees and knows even our smallest acts) and love (because Love is the measure of all things).

“Do you really want to be a saint? Carry out the little duty of each moment: do what you ought and concentrate on what you are doing.” (St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way, n. 815)

 

P: Patience! With yourself, with others, with things and traffic, with work and delays; early in the morning and late at night and in all the moments in between!

“Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing frighten you.

All things pass. God never changes.

Patience wills all that it strives for.

He who has God finds that he lacks nothing.

God alone suffices!” (St. Teresa of Avila)

 

C: Do not complain: in the morning or in the afternoon or at night; to yourself or to others or about others; out loud or on the inside. One exception: you may complain to the Lord if you love him enough.

 

“You complain? And you tell me you have reason to complain: One pinprick after another!... But do you not realize that it is silly to be surprised at finding thorns among roses?

(St. Josemaria, Furrow 237)

“What a contrast between Our Lady's hope and our own impatience! So often we call upon God to reward us at once for any little good we have done. No sooner does the first difficulty appear than we start to complain. Often we are incapable of sustaining our efforts, of keeping our hope alive. Why? Because we lack faith.”

(St. Josemaria, Friends of God 286b)2.

 

2. Added points for Lent: DP DC

P: Pray better: concentrate on prayer. Pray your usual daily prayers but with greater attention and greater fervor. After all, prayer is talking to God! And listening to God!

Pray more during Lent: add what you will and, in any case, make sure you try to pray well!

 

DPC (as above)

 

3. More for Lent: MCM

M3: Make a mortification at mealtimes. We all enjoy our meals and snacks in between. During Lent: make some sacrifice in terms of food and drink. Best to give up something throughout the weeks of Lent… and then give thanks to Our Lord for all the good things you eat and drink.

 

C: Charity. We should never leave Charity in the last place. It should take the first place. Love God with your whole being. Show love for the others God has placed around you. Love is creative; you will find the way.

 

M: Me! I have to add something very personal to my Lenten sacrifices. Each of us should ask Our Lord, as St. Paul did: “What would you have me do, Lord?” (Acts 9:6)

  

"Sister" Carol Keehan - Grade 3 Cancer on the body politic of Holy Mother Church

Cancer can be classified into three different grades, per www.differencebetween.com.

Grade 1 is when cancer cells look alike like normal cells. In other words these are a slow growing cell which doesn’t show much symptoms of a cancer infection. A cancer infection if identified in this stage can be cured. This is also termed as early stage.

Grade 2 is when cancer cells start to appear different from normal cells. These are fast growing cells and are in the growing stage. If proper treatment is given at this stage, the disease can be cured. A cancer if unidentified in grade 2 could be termed as a stage where hope of curing is less or rare. A complete cure if guaranteed is only during the initial stages.

Grade 3 is when cancer cells are found to be immensely growing and is in the final stages of growth. This is when, the patient feels the pain in the parts of the body where cancer cell are grown. The pain will be severe and uncontrollable.

I see Sister Keehan as a Grade 3 cancer on the body politic of Holy Mother Church.

          "What Did CHA's Carol Keehan Know and When Did She Know It?

Register news analysis: As threats to religious liberty escalate, critics say it’s time to establish who truly speaks for the Church in the United States.

BY JOAN FRAWLEY DESMOND, National Catholic Register

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Feb. 10 confirmed that his administration was offering an “accommodation” to religious groups opposed to a controversial federal rule requiring private health plans to provide contraception and abortion services.

As reported in the media, church-affiliated employers would not have to directly cover those services; instead, their insurance plans would cover them.

The announcement prompted an expression of gratitude from Daughter of Charity Sister Carol Keehan, the president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association, and a polite, but wary response from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which said they needed to study the proposed modification.

That evening, the bishops’ conference formally rejected the president’s “accommodation” as essentially meaningless.

For the rest of the weekend, amid a blur of news headlines and talking heads that offered conflicting judgments, the faithful in the pews struggled to determine what, if anything, had changed regarding the administration’s policy.

The contrasting responses from the CHA leader and the USCCB have left Catholics and the general public confused about who speaks for the Church on a matter of grave institutional concern and whether the Obama administration exploited a lack of clarity about that matter.

The dueling positions have fueled questions about the basis of Sister Carol’s endorsement: USCCB officials and health-care experts have since confirmed that the government has not issued any binding regulations that legally override the controversial contraception mandate finalized by the Department of Health and Human Services on Jan. 20.

Subsequent media coverage and interviews suggest that while the White House cleared its talking points with Sister Carol in advance of the president’s public address, the USCCB had been excluded from the administration’s deliberations.

..................................................

Who Speaks for the Church?

The confusion and possible institutional damage generated by Sister Carol’s public endorsement have led some Catholic experts in the health-care field to demand an accounting.

“On the basis of what information and what authority did she issue this endorsement? It’s embarrassing from a policy standpoint,” noted Paul Danello, an expert on civil and canon law issues in Catholic health care, who has received calls from Catholic hospitals worried about the implications of the HHS final rule.

“If the CHA board hasn’t authorized this, if she has no mandate from the USCCB, and if there are no legally binding documents, she is operating without any legal, governance or regulatory basis. That is a hell of a situation for a Roman Catholic nun that heads the Catholic Health Association to be in.”

.....

“It’s the right hand fighting against the left hand,” he said. “Who is speaking for the Church here? The Church needs to get its house in order.”"

For the full story please see:http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/what-did-catholic-health-associations-sister-carol-know-and-when-did-she-kn/

 _______________________

 

Archbishop Nienstedt Holds the Line

Archbishop Nienstedt tells priests not to voice dissent

• Article by: ROSE FRENCH
• Star Tribune
• January 18, 2012 - 9:36 AM

Archbishop John Nienstedt is warning Catholic clergy across Minnesota that there should be no "open dissension" of the church's strong backing of a proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would define marriage as a union only between a man and woman.

In other early signs of the fervent campaign the church intends to wage for the amendment, which will be on every ballot in the state this fall, Nienstedt is appointing priests and married couples to visit archdiocesan high schools to talk about marriage. He has directed parishes to form committees to work for passage of the amendment. He also has warned a priest that he may be stripped of his ministry if he continues to disagree "with the church's teaching on marriage."

In a recent letter to priests and deacons, Nienstedt laid out why he believes it's important that the marriage amendment pass: "The endgame of those who oppose the marriage amendment that we support is not just to secure certain benefits for a particular minority, but, I believe, to eliminate the need for marriage altogether."

"As I see it, we have this one chance as Minnesotans to make things right," he said. "The stakes could not be higher."

With nearly 1.1 million Catholics in Minnesota, the church and its political arm, the Minnesota Catholic Conference, are likely to play a crucial role in whether the marriage amendment wins passage in November.

At the same time, other organizations such as Minnesotans United for All Families, a coalition that includes faith-based groups, are joining forces to defeat the amendment -- making it certain that Minnesota will be thrust into the growing national debate over whether states should sanction gay marriage.

Standoff emerging

Besides urging parish priests to form church committees to support the amendment, Nienstedt also wants Catholics to recite a special "marriage prayer" during mass that endorses marriage between a man and woman.

In the coming months, teams of a priest and a married couple are also set to talk to high school students in the archdiocese about why marriage should be a union between a man and woman.

David Meyer, principal of Hill-Murray School in Maplewood, said juniors and seniors are scheduled to hear a presentation by a team in April.

"We don't have a lot of details other than they're obviously going to be presenting the benefits of marriage," Meyer said. "I certainly support that."

But there is opposition to the church's strategy. One vocal critic of Nienstedt is the Rev. Mike Tegeder, who spoke against the amendment at a priests' meeting with Nienstedt in October.

In November, Tegeder received a letter stating that if he did not end his public opposition, Nienstedt would suspend his "faculties to exercise ministry" and remove him from his "ministerial assignments."

Marking the first clear standoff over the church's role in the amendment, Tegeder is not backing down.

He said he believes the church is being too political and contends that it's inappropriate for its leaders to campaign in support of the amendment.

"That's not the way to support marriage," said Tegeder, pastor at both St. Frances Cabrini and Gichitwaa Kateri churches in Minneapolis. "If we want to support marriage, there are wonderful things we can do as Catholic churches and ministers. We should not be focused on beating up a small number of people who have this desire to have committed relationships."

Some parishes are divided

Other priests in the Twin Cities metro area say many in their flocks believe the state's bishops are being too political.

One priest, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he fears censure by the archbishop, said he is not reciting the "marriage prayer" during mass. He also said that he has struggled to find volunteers to participate with the pro-amendment committee.

"Too many of us have a relative, a good friend, someone we know who's gay," he said. "A lot of churches are not doing the prayer. They're also appointing shell committees. Churches are creating them ... but there's really no true endorsement of the amendment."

Archdiocesan officials did not respond to a request for comment.

Jason Adkins, executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, defends the campaign.

"We don't believe we're imposing anything on anybody in terms of ideas," he said. "We're simply training ... and working in educating and informing our citizens to go out and be good citizens in the public arena and explain to others why we think this is an important issue.

"People are free to object to that ... but we like everybody else have a responsibility and the freedom to participate in public debates."

Church more active here

The emerging campaign by Minnesota bishops is "very unusual,'' said John Green, a political science professor at the University of Akron who studies politics and religion.

"Churches are about spiritual things, and it's not that churches can't take positions on human behavior or sexuality,'' he said. "But the common complaint I've heard in many contexts is if the institution becomes politicized ... it can detract from the spiritual mission of the church because you'll have people having trouble praying with each other, who are going to feel uncomfortable coming to church."

It is also uncommon for bishops to suspend priests for failing to abide by Catholic teaching. Still, religious scholars say that priests have been suspended in recent decades for supporting the ordination of women and having differing views about church doctrine on birth control.

Rose French

The Return of Real Rubrics?

Something interesting is going on in the Diocese of Belleville in Illinois.

For the geographically challenged it's just East of St. Louis Missouri.

They've got a bishop in Belleville, Bishop Edward Braxton, who actually acts like Catholic Bishops used to act!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bishop Braxton actually expects his priests to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as it is written in the Roman Missal.

So much so that he just removed a priest (or rather accepted his resignation), Rev. William Rowe (pic below), for constantly changing the words of the Mass.

Here's the full story from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Illinois priest loses job after refusing to use new Catholic prayers

BY TIM TOWNSEND [email protected] > 314-340-8221 | Posted: Friday, February 3, 2012 12:05 am

For 18 years, the Rev. William Rowe has done a little improvising while celebrating Mass on Sunday mornings at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Mount Carmel, Ill.

Now those deviations have led to his resignation in an incident that may be tied to global changes to the Catholic liturgy.

Last Sunday, instead of saying "Lord our God that we may honor you with all our mind and love everyone in truth of heart," during the opening prayer, he altered the phrasing to better reflect the day's Gospel message, in which Jesus heals a man with a troubled spirit.

"We thank you, God, for giving us Jesus who helped us to be healed in mind and heart and proclaim his love to others," the 72-year-old priest prayed instead.

Three days later, Rowe received a letter from Bishop Edward Braxton accepting his resignation.

"The problem is that when I pray at Mass, I tend to change the words that are written in the book to match what I was talking about, or what a song is about," Rowe said in an interview.

The book in question is the Roman Missal, a book of prayers, chants and responses used during the Mass. Rowe has been saying some of those prayers in his own words for years.

But in December the Vatican-mandated adoption of a new English-language translation of the Missal may have given bishops an opportunity to rein in freewheeling priests who have been praying in their own words for decades.

"Since December when the new translation came out, no one has said what would happen to you if you changed stuff," said the Rev. John Foley, director of the Center for Liturgy at St. Louis University. "But I find it hard to believe a priest in Illinois would be forced to resign because he wasn't using the exact words from the translation. It's not a strong-enough offense for that."

In the wake of sweeping changes in the church as a result of the Second Vatican Council, some priests in the 1970s began using their own words and phrasing in place of the verbatim translations of the original Latin liturgy in the Missal, Foley said. He said there has never been an established penalty for improvising nonalterable prayers, and bishops have traditionally looked past an individual priest's extemporizing.

Monsignor Kevin Irwin, professor of liturgical studies at the Catholic University of America, said there are some prayers said by a priest at Mass in which he is "beholden to the structure not to the words."

But there are also prayers that priests are "duty bound to say," said the Rev. John Baldovin, professor of historical and liturgical theology at Boston College. Most of the prayers in the Missal, in fact, are not optional, he said.

Rowe said Belleville's previous bishop, Wilton Gregory, had discussed his off-the-cuff prayer habit with him, referring to the practice as "pushing the envelope." He said five years ago, Braxton also discussed the matter with him, and asked him to read directly from the Missal.

"I told him I couldn't do that," Rowe said. "That's how I pray."

Last summer, Rowe said, Braxton made it clear to his priests that "no priest may deviate from any wording in the official Missal."

In October, two months ahead of the introduction of the new Missal translation, Braxton said he couldn't permit Rowe to continue improvising, according to Rowe. The priest offered his resignation but didn't receive a response.

Braxton did not respond to a request for an interview with the Post-Dispatch.

On Monday, Braxton wrote Rowe a letter informing him that he'd accepted his resignation.

The action did not sit well with the nearly 500 families at St. Mary's, some of whom are contemplating a letter writing campaign to Braxton. "They're devastated," said Alice Worth, principal at St. Mary's School. "Father Bill is the backbone of our parish."

"The ways Father changed the Mass ritual with his words have only made it more meaningful to us as opposed to distancing us from the church," Worth said. "Everything he does is based on our faith, it's not just a whim. There's a reason for every word he prays."