Author: Capital Catholic Happenings

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“Make room for all within you that is not Christ”

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The Season of Advent

On Sunday, we begin the season of Advent. It is a season rich in imagery, symbol, music and prayer.  Our readings from Scripture are filled with hope and longing as the Israelite people wait and watch for their long-awaited savior. I am always struck that the longing is not passive.  The prophets preach “prepare the way of the Lord,” and “make straight a path.” This is not the longing of a lover waiting patiently for the return of the beloved but rather an action-oriented preparation that has us watching, waiting, searching for signs of the Lord’s arrival.

Be Counter-Cultural: Celebrate Advent

Unfortunately, all of this richness is lost on a world that started celebrating Christmas before we finished our Halloween candy and if the GAP has its way—suggesting we “liberate” ourselves from Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa and just party. See. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVMPWlWDvsI.

Give yourself an early Christmas present and celebrate Advent in a meaningful way. Set time aside to make a bigger space in your life for Jesus. The quote in my title comes from a reflection by Thomas Merton on Advent. Just as Mary and Joseph found no room at the inn, Merton suggests that the spiritual preparation of the Advent season is to ask ourselves where in our own lives there is no room for Jesus.

Here our a few suggestions for celebrating Advent:

1. Buy or make an Advent wreath. It can be as simple as a circle of three purple and one pink votives, or it can be greenery, wreaths and bows. Light the candle for daily prayer or during meals

2. Relish the Readings. Read and reflect on the readings for the day, practice the prayer of Lectio Divina to experience their richness and promise. See http://www.valyermo.com/ld-art.html.

3. WAIT for Christmas. In many cultures, it is not until the third Sunday of Advent that people begin to decorate for Christmas. In both my and my husband’s families, we do not put the tree up until Christmas Eve morning, to mark the end of Advent and the beginning of Christmas (my mother also admits it kept the excitement level of me and my eight siblings more manageable!). Why not wait to decorate or decorate a little each week as a practice or both waiting and preparing.

4. “Be on Guard!”  The prophets teach that we must be ready and recognize the Messiah when he comes. Consider adding daily Mass (if you don’t already) to your Christmas preparation. I think the four-week season is perfect for deciding to pray in a new way—it’s not such a long commitment, so take up the Liturgy of the Hours, or Lectio Divina or Centering Prayer and see how you like it. Make room for Confession before Christmas.

5. Read something spiritual. Set aside some quiet time to read something spiritual or listen to some of the great Advent music that is part of the Church’s tradition (helps not being sick of Christmas carols when Christmas finally comes!).

Feel free to share other ideas with us.  Happy Advent

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A General Confession

St. Farancis

 

Recently, I’ve been making my way through “Introduction to the Devout Life”. It’s a brilliant book by the brilliant spiritual director St. Francis de Sales!

Chapter 6 begins the process of purifying ourselves from sin and the attachment to sin. St. Francis makes these remarks about how many of us approach confession:

“It often happens that the usual confessions of those who live a common and ordinary life are full of great defects. Generally they make little or no preparation, and they do not have sufficient contrition. In fact, it frequently happens that they go to confession with the implicit determination of returning to sin, since they are not willing to avoid the occasions of sin or to make use of the measures required to amend their life.”

Yikes! For this reason, he suggests a general confession. A general confession is a confession during which you confess all the sins you have committed from the age of reason to the present. (This is not to be confused with a general absolution.) General confessions are recommended for anyone entering a new phase in life or as recommended by a spiritual director.

A few weeks ago, I made my first general confession. The priest with whom I had schedule the confession told me to prepare by recalling the first few times I had ever sinned and by doing a thorough examination of conscience. I found an examination guide online which went through each of the ten commandments in detail.

The confession lasted about forty-five minutes…and then it was over. I think I was expecting something a little more dramatic: perhaps a little psychoanalysis, maybe some fireworks, gongs, or euphoric shouts of joy. But after the confession, I realized that what had happened was that I had quietly and contritely laid my sins at the feet of Jesus. Beautifully simple.

Has it made a difference? Yes! First, there is the freedom of knowing, with certainty, that all those sins are forgiven. Secondly, I realized again the importance of a true commitment to amend my life in my decisions and actions. Finally, after this process I certainly think about each confession I make more prayerfully.

“If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing.” 1 John 1:8

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Defense of the Faith

A friend asked me if I had seen a comment in the Washington Post’s On Faith section about  the recent announcement by the Vatican of its Anglican Provision. The comment is by Richard Dawkins, the author of The God Delusion.  The title of the commentary is “Give us your misogynists and bigots”.  I’m sorry to say it only gets worse.  It can be found here.

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/richard_dawkins

/2009/10/give_us_your_misogynists_and_bigots.html

Catholic Bigotry

My friend asked if there was an official response to this blatant bigotry that seemed to pass through all of the editorial pens at the Washington Post and deemed suitable for its newspaper and Web forum. I don’t know of any official response, but I wondered how many people were concerned enough to question the Post’s decision to run the commentary.

My immediate reaction to something like this is to say, “look on the bright side, it shows that the Church still matters.” If someone, who has publicly professed his atheism, feels the need to take on the Church, it can only be because he thinks it has power.” However, I have to ask myself if this attitude is a bit of a cop-out. I think it is more accurate to say that I am typical of the Catholic who lets these things slide.  Does this make me an accomplice in allowing anti-Catholic bias to flourish in a way that the media and the public would never accept (and rightly so) for Judaism or Islam?  Look how justifiably careful the media is being in covering the shooting at Fort Hood. In looking over some of the comments in the On Faith section, there are the usual range of opinions that reflect ignorance or poor judgement or bias, but none that come close to the bigotry expressed in Mr. Dawkins’ column. I can’t imagine that the Post did not receive some hateful mail about the suspected shooter at Fort Hood and made choices about which to accept and not to accept.

Defending the Church

As Catholics we have to be better at standing up and saying that Catholic bigotry is not acceptable. We have a responsibility to defend the faith. Opposing bigotry seems to be a good example of when one is called to defend the faith. To be sure, the question of the Anglican Provision is an interesting one and opens many avenues for debate and discussion related to ecumenical dialogue, evangelization, and ecclesiology. No doubt, many people have quite strong opinions and they make for interesting conversation and thought. In the case of this commentary, it is a conversation non-starter because it has no fact or reasonable opinion to which one can respond. 

The Courage of Martyrs

Karl Rahner, the great 20th century theologian, wrote as essay in 1981 called “The Christian of the Future.” He said that in a world that was becoming increasingly hostile to Judeo-Christian principles, Christians of the future would have to have the courage of the martyrs in giving public witness to their faith. For a church built on the witness of those killed for the faith, opposing this kind of bigotry does not seem to be too much for the Lord to ask of his followers.

Defense of the Faith as Evangelization

Some people don’t like the tone of “defending the faith” for fear that it sounds triumphalist, it need not be. We are also called to be evangelizers and to find ways to tell the story of Christianity and the church in a way that people see it is the most wonderful story of life and love. The church is first and foremost an instrument of God’s love to draw others to life and love. 

 

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Time to Act

benedict_before_un

Faithful Citizenship

As you probably know from the news, the House has begun debate on a health care bill. Now is the time to weigh in. If you are having trouble wading through the material, I call your attention to the latest newsletter from the Maryland Catholic Conference. http://capwiz.com/mdcath/issues/alert/?alertid=14280056

Both in the health care debate and the same-sex marriage debate, many people wonder why the church is “getting into politics.”  In both cases, one could say that the church has always been a partner with the state. We are the single largest private provider of health care in the U.S.. When a priest witnesses the marriage of a couple, he represents both the church and the state. Unlike, many European, Central and South American countries in which couples must have a civil ceremony before a church wedding, in the U.S. this is not the case, the priest (or any minister) is given authority from the state to solemnize the marriage in the name of the state.

The Mission of the Laity

Perhaps, more importantly, it is the vocation of the lay person, by virtue of the prophetic charism of our  Baptism, that we bear Christ and the Good News to the world. It is the laity whom the church assumes will take the lead in building the reign of God by bringing the Gospel to bear on the issues of the day. This does not mean making the state Catholic, but rather taking seriously our responsibility to assess decisions, legislation, and law in light of our conscience and the teaching of the Church.

Religious Liberty

Both of these issues also raise serious questions about the Constitution’s protection of religious liberty and the practice of religion. Pope Benedict spoke to this issue in his address to the United Nations during his 2008 visit to the United States. To the U. N. General Assembly he said “It is inconceivable, then, that believers should have to suppress a part of themselves–their faith–in order to be active citizens. It should never be necessary to deny God in order to enjoy one’s rights….The full guarantee of religious liberty cannot be limited to the free exercise of worship, but has to give due consideration to the public dimension of religion, and hence to the possibility of believers playing their part in building social order” (General Assembly of the United Nations, 4/18/08).

The proposed legislation on both topics involve serious threats to both individuals and Catholic(and other religious) organizations to both meet the mandate to serve all of God’s people and to be able to preserve our freedom to live and teach the faith. It is unimaginable that the Church would limit the services of our schools, hospitals, social service agencies and other programs to Catholics only.  This, in and of itself,  is against the teaching of the Church. However, it is also unimaginable that we would place ourselves in a compromising position with regard to the Gospel.

The partnership of Church and State in the U.S has been enormously successful in building a school system and health care system that has educated and cared for millions of Americans.  It would be a tremendous loss to our communities to lose this partnership.

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Mustard Seeds


Today I said to God in exasperation, “Life is so complicated! So many virtues to gain, so many vices to avoid!”

It does seem that way sometimes, but then during my prayer time this afternoon, I reread today’s gospel.

Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.”

Again he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”

Mustard seeds? Yeast granules? Pretty small stuff. Not very complicated. But their effects are large bushes and whole batches of dough!

This got me thinking about an experience I had with my friend this weekend. We were at a baptism, and as we were getting ready to leave the reception, he said he was going to go say good-bye to everyone. By “everyone” he meant everyone with whom he had had a meaningful conversation.

Wow! This was such a small gesture, yet the effect was quite large! Another opportunity for “nice meeting you”, “thank you”, “good luck”, and “God bless”. Another opportunity for a hug, a handshake, and a kiss on the cheek.

I was so impressed by this practice that I tried it out last night at a reception at my parish. As I was leaving, I went back to a older gentleman who was sitting at my table and asked his name again, shook his hand, and said goodbye so that if I see him around the parish I’ll be able to say “Hello Mario!”

What if building Christian community were that easy? What if we all planted little mustard seeds like this each chance we got?

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Marriage Matters in DC–Lift Up Your Voice

Marr_JamWr09_webMonday, October 26 is a critical day for all those concerned about the legalization of same-sex marriage. If you are a resident of the District of Columbia and you are looking for opportunities to give voice to your concerns, there are a number of ways to lift up your voice.

Same-Sex Marriage legislation

The DC City Council will hear public testimony on Bill B18-482. This legislation would redefine marriage so it no longer is the union of one man and one woman. Please tell the Council “no” on B18-482.

Marriage Initiative Act of 2009

On the same day, the DC Board of Elections & Ethics will hear public testimony on the Marriage Initiative Act of 2009 that would uphold the definition of marriage as the union between a man and a woman. Please tell the Board “yes” on this initiative, which would give residents a vote on this significant issue.

 Here’s what you can do:

  • Attend the DC Board of Election & Ethics’ hearing, Monday, October 26, 10:30 a.m., 441 4th St. NW, Suite 250N (202-727-2525)
  • Attend the hearing of the City Council Committee on the Public Safety and Judiciary, Monday, October 26, starting at 3:30 p.m., John A. Wilson Building (Council Chamber), 1350 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
  • Submit written statements on B18-482 for the official record through November 9, 2009 to Ms. Deborah Kelly, Legislative Clerk, John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Room 5, Washington, DC 20004, or by email to [email protected]. Text of the bill is online at www.MarriageMattersDC.org.

Attend a Rally

In addition, on Sunday, October 25, Stand4MarriageDC is sponsoring a “People’s Rally,” 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. at Freedom Plaza –14th St. and Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

And always we can call on the power of prayer, whether  we are residents or not  for we are all residents of the city of God! Please take some time on Monday, to offer a rosary, or pray before the Blessed Sacrament or attend Mass and ask the Holy Spirit’s guidance for all of the citizens and leaders involved in the proceedings.

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Connecting Young Adults with Jesus Christ

On Saturday, I gave a presentation on Sons and Daughters of Light: A Pastoral Plan for Ministry with Young Adults at the Archdiocese of Washington’s annual Catechetical Day. Goal One of this pastoral plan is to connect young adults with Jesus Christ.

After watching this video, I realized that my prayer  is that every young adult would have such a personal experience with Jesus Christ. It’s powerful.