Author: Capital Catholic Happenings

 When I first arrived in Rome to do my doctoral studies, I would test how my Italian was coming along by seeing how long it would take me to recognize the Gospel that was being proclaimed at Mass. Because the Scripture is so familiar, even my rudimentary Italian was god enough to help me place the passage. I clearly remember the day the Gospel was the Beatitudes, three or four sentences into that and I was on board!

The practice of Lectio Divina is another way to come to Scripture with fresh eyes and ears. Last week the Gospel was John’s discourse on the vine and the branches and it is one of those passages that makes it so easy to stop listening because we know how it goes. I used this passage in my Lectioand I heard verse 5 in a way I had never heard before. It reads”by this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit AND(emphasis mine) become my disciples.”  It implies that discipleship is dependent on bearing fruit or in more contemporary language:discipleship is dependent on doing something by way of building the kingdom of God!

Baptized into the priestly, prophetic and kingly mission

We speak of entering into Jesus’ life though baptism. It is here that we are claimed for Christ and become disciples. Jesus suggestshowever that though the seed of discipleship may have been planted, it needs to bear fruit in order to really claim discipleship. My prayer led me to ask the question where am I bearing the fruit of my discipleship? A second question– given my job as Executive Director of Evangelization and Family Life– is how are the disciples of the Archdiocese of Washington bearing fruit. I saw some evidence this in action in a really powerful way in Prince Georges County.

On a Mission in Prince George’s County

Throughout the archdiocese we have Justice and Advocacy Councils that are made up of  lay Catholics who bring the Gospel to bear on issues affecting the counties in which they live. I was invited to speak at the monthly meeting of the advocacy council that serves Prince Georges County. Fifteen of its members gathered for Mass, working groups and reflection. The working groups are determined by issues the group feels are critical to the county and represent an opportunity to give witness and testimony to the Gospel and the church’s concern for the world.

Pornography, Housing and Domestic Violence

At present the three working groups are addressing issues related to pornography, affordable housing in the Langley Park area and awareness on resources and funding to help victims of domestic violence. I can’t tell you how impressed I was with the commitment, seriousness and breadth of knowledge with which they are working. The group working on pornography is focused on an adult book store that is open 24/7 and certainly not making a positive contribution to community life. The group has coordinated a prayer vigil in front of the store and it is researching commercial codes to see if it may be in violation of local law. At the same time it is building support for federal funding for an Internet safety program for local schools(both public and private). Each of the other groups are also working a number of different angles related to their issues.  I think this is what Jesus has in mind when he speaks about glorifying his Father by bearing fruit and becoming disciples.

Gaudium et Spes

The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World begins “the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the men of our time, especially those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the believers of Christ as well.” The Justice and Advocacy Councils make this real. Members of our councils testify locally and in front of the state legislature.  Another action item at the meeting was the preparation of a list of questions for an upcoming candidates forum. The coucnils and with them, the archdiocese carry  alot of weight with local and state officials and leaders, certainly not because they always find themselves on the same side of an  issue but rather that the officials recognize in many cases these lay people are advocating on issues that don’t directly affect them. In many, many cases they are advocating on behalf of people who have no voice.  This is a powerful witness and testimony. Though I was asked to educate, inspire and inform, I think I was the one who left the meeting most inspired. 

Spotlight on the Parish

I have been wanting to start a regular series on parish life and what great work is being done in our parishes and this is the perfect place to start. Please let me know what kinds of things you might like to learn about our parishes and don’t hesitate to send me good ideas and leads.  

My sister was telling me that a few weeks ago she was at Mass with her 4 year old, Nora. When they began to sing the Holy, Holy, Holy Nora said “This is my favorite song!”

My sister said, “Why?”

Nora replied, “It about my favorite food! The one that I eat aaaaall up whenever you make it!”

My sister was confused and asked her to clarify.

“Lasagna in the Highest!!”

🙂

What is your favorite [Catholic] kids say the darndest things moment?

I imagine that for parents one of the most difficult teaching moments is helping a young child understand death, particularly the death of someone they love. Singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant (if you are of a certain age, you may remember her from her 10,000 Maniacs days) found herself in just this position with her young daughter. Natalie’s closest friend who spent a lot of time with the Merchant family died and in the midst of her own pain she was looking for ways to talk about death with her daughter. She used Spring and Fall, a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins and her music to create a hauntingly beautiful song. Take a listen. *

 Márgarét, are you grieving

Over Goldengrove unleaving?

Leáves like the things of man, you

With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?

Áh! Ás the heart grows older

It will come to such sights colder

By and by, nor spare a sigh

Through worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;

And yet you will weep and know why.

Now no matter, child the name:

Sórrow’s springs áre all the same.

Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed

What heart heard of, ghost guessed:

It ís the blight man was born for,

It is Márgarét your mourn for.

 Priest and Poet

Gerard Manley Hopkins, a 19^th century Welsh poet “discovered” Catholicism through the writings of John Henry Newman and it was Newman who received him into the Church. He then entered the Society of Jesus and was ordained a Jesuit in 1877. Hopkins the priest and poet wrote what some call the best poetry of the Victorian era. Hopkins believed “that the world is charged with the grandeur of God” and has gift for looking at life through the eyes of God.

Merchant has produced an album called Leave Your Sleep that uses children’s poetry to help youngsters make sense of life’s most vexing challenges. In Hopkins’s poem she finds both the right feeling and the right images to guide a child through the loss of someone they love.

The Timelessness of the Catholic Tradition

I don’t know how Natalie found her way to Hopkins or whether she is a person of faith. I do know that the wisdom of the Catholic tradition is a wisdom for the ages. Catholic poetry of the Victorian era can find a home in religious books and in the music of a rocker turned Mom. Stories like this remind me of the evangelizing power of our faith which has always used art, music, poetry and drama as tools for evangelization. We need to take every advantage through preaching, teaching, faith sharing, storytelling, book groups and personal reading to acquaint ourselves with Catholic artists and be proud about pointing out when they or their work comes up in conversation that it is the work of the Catholic mind and spirit.

*(unfortunately, I can’t find a complete copy of the recording on-line.)

Do bloggers promote other people’s blogs? Given we consider our blog a form of ministry, I’m going to work on the premise that the more people blogging for Jesus the better! So, check out Encourage and Teach.   It is  the new blog from our neighbors in the Diocese of Arlington. Like us they have created a blogging team that posts on a variety of issues. Bishop Loverede reflected on teaching and Holy Week in the digital age, another contributor wrote on the experience of praying at an abortion clinic and there was a post on Divine Mercy Sunday.

The More the Better

We know that one of the great challenges we face in sharing the Good News is getting our voices heard so I welcome another blog and a team of people who will bring a additional perspectives on faith and life in and around the Beltway.  The more space we can devote to God and the Good News in the blogosphere the better it will be for the world. So, take a look,  write a comment, bookmark it, send the link to a friend and then come back and keep reading our blog.

I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling a little down about what I’m hearing from the media about our Church, the Body of Christ. Don’t worry, I’m not about to go on another rant about the sc…in fact, I’m not even going to mention the word.

Instead, what I’d like to do today is give everyone an opportunity to share some good news! Post what you are thankful for today! Do you have a story about your church you’d like to share? Has someone inspired you in the last week? Is there something you’d like to share about your family?

Let’s Thank God It’s Friday!

Did you see Maureen Dowd’s column on Sunday  She wrote about having had tea with a group of intelligent and sophisticated Muslim women.  Walking away from the conversation she found herself wondering “how could such spirited women, smart and successful on every other level, acquiesce in their own subordination?”  She came to this stunning conclusion.  “As a Catholic woman, I was doing the same thing.” “I remained part of an autocratic society that repressed women and ignored their progress in the secular world.”

Women who have changed the church and world

There are so many ways in which I could respond to such a startling statement.  I did a double take because anyone familiar with Maureen Dowd’s writing should be really surprised that she described herself as subordinating herself to the church.  There are not many of the Church’s fundamental teachings that she has not held in contempt. If she has subordinated herself to anything, it would be a false feminism that celebrates abortion, artificial birth control and no-fault divorce which ultimately contribute to the objectification of women.

It made me wonder if Catherine of Siena who, when faced with the reality of a scandal within the church in her day, would call her letter-writing and meetings with the Pope to call him to task acquiescing to her own subordination? I wonder if Teresa of Avila who petitioned priests and bishops to work with her in deepening the formation and prayer life of her sisters acquiescing to her own subordination. I wonder if the American religious sisters who are being celebrated in an exhibit at the Smithsonian that looks at the 300 years of outstanding contributions of religious sisters to church and society would describe themselves as acquiescing to their own subordination?

Celebrating the Feminine Genius

In 1987 Pope John Paul II wrote a letter to women in which he rightly acknowledged that the Church has not always recognized celebrated and taken advantage of the gifts of women to church and society but unlike so many secular institutions, it had some history of which it can be quite proud. For centuries the church was the only place that many women were educated, could live an independent life and make enormous contributions to society. The music that Hildegard of Bingen wrote for her sisters is still sung today. The herbal remedies she and her sisters developed in their care for the sick at the convent infirmary are still used today.  From the time of  Saint Scholastica in the 5th century, women’s religious orders were founded, developed and administered by women long before secular society offered any leadership roles for women. From those communities of religious sisters grew many outstanding Catholic women’s college’s grade schools, secondary schools, hospitals and social service agencies.

In 1995 as preparations were being made for the United Nation’s Fourth Conference on Women, a group petitioned that the Vatican not be allowed to send participants because of its pattern of oppression and sexism. The petition failed to gain ground when a group of leaders (from organizations other than the Catholic Church) pointed out that the largest single provider of education and healthcare to girls and women in developing countries is the Roman Catholic Church.

Ignoring the New Narrative 

In 2008 during the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Washington I and a number of other women were asked to be available to speak to the media on the role of women in the Church. Before the Mass at National’s Park when many of the media outlets were doing live programming the spokespersons were to be available to be called upon if requested. I saw a radio journalist who I have heard do a number of stories on sexism in the church, on the refusal of the church to ordain women, etc., etc., and so in my mind I thought this will be a great opportunity for her to take advantage of  hearing the voice of women. When she was presented with the choice of two women with PhD’s in positions of leadership, she responded, “I think I will wait for a priest.”  So, presented with the opportunity to highlight the role of women in the church, she opted not to change the narrative that works so well for the media– that of the church as the last bastion of sexism, an “old boys club” – – well, the church and Augusta National Golf Club, but you get the idea.

Sophisticated, Smart and Faithful

I think Maureen’s real issue is that she doesn’t know what to make of smart sophisticated women of faith! I think it scares her and people like her to see women for whom faith and love of the church is the starting point for how they look at the rest of their lives. Most of the positive stories that have been done on women and the church by the mainstream media speak of women’s success in spite of the church and its leadership. While that is sometimes one way that God’s grace works (for men as well as women) it has certainly not been the norm.

Part of the Solution

The smart, educated, spirited women with whom I did doctoral studies at the Pontifical Universities in Rome and with whom I work at Archdiocese of Washington and in our parishes would say it is because of the church that we are who we are. We have found in the church and her sacramental life a place to become the women God calls us to be. We have found in the church a place where our gifts are welcomed and nurtured. We have found in the church a seat at the table where some of the most critical decisions affecting our parishes and parishioners are made. We have found in the church an organization that when faced with the evil of sin, has at its disposal the only tools that can ever bring real healing; God’s healing grace and reconciliation. We have found in the church not just a few outstanding women on whom to model our lives, but rather outstanding women in every age whose lives and legacy still have something to teach us.