Blog of the Archdiocese of Washington
Michael Gerson has some interesting reflections on the inconsistency and selective application of governing principles at PBS here: PBS New Ban on Religious Broadcasting
Meanwhile, the local broadcast of the TV Mass for Shut-ins is moving to a new Channel and time: WDCW @ 10:30 am beginning July 5.
More on that Here: Mass for Shut-ins Moves to New Channel and Time
The Archdiocese of Washington is working very hard to preserve Catholic Education. We are organizing finances and people to ensure a future for Catholic Education in the Archdiocese. The challenges are significant but our commitment is real. Before sharing some of the details of the plan I would like to reflect on some of the background issues that have put Catholic Schools in jeopardy.
With all this in mind I would like to refer you to the following communique issued by the Archdiocese of Washington:
Looking to the Future with Confidence – New Policies for Catholic Schools
If Catholic schools are going to survive they must become the shared responsibility of the entire Archdiocese. Until now parishes have shared the financial burden of Catholic Schools unevenly. That is beginning to change with this policy. Parishes that do not currently have or contribute to a Catholic School will asked to contribute more. The Archdiocese is also committed to finding further tuition assistance. The Archdiocese of Washington remains committed to providing schools with strong Catholic Identity, academic excellence. Schools that are accessible and affordable. Please pray and work with you r parish to ensure the future of Catholic Education.
The following video was filmed by the archdiocese of Chicago but it provides some reminiscences of Catholic education from the past along with images from the present.
Last Wednesday, I attended ‘Breaking Open the Word’ at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. (Visiting parish young adult community events is part of my new commitment to stay in tune with the young adults with which I minister. Many of my upcoming posts will illustrate these visits.) This is a weekly study group of young adults who get together each week to read the upcoming Mass readings and discuss how they relate to our lives today.
As I entered the room cautiously and asked “Is this Breaking Open the Word?” I was warmly greeted by a young woman who sympathized, “This is my first time too!” Beside the two of us, there were four others who seemed to have known each other for a while. They shared the latest news (an engagement, a trip abroad, and a rehabilitation from an injury), and then we focused our hearts and minds by reading the Prayer to the Holy Spirit.
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray.O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
The upcoming Sunday was Pentecost which made recitation this prayer a meaningful. The name Pentecost is taken the Hebrew tradition marking the 50th day after Passover when the harvest was brought to the temple (the feast of First Fruits) and is celebrated as the day that Moses was given of the Torah at Mount Sinai.
In the Christian tradition, Pentecost is celebrated as the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles.
When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. (Acts 2)
This reading sparked a conversation about speaking in tongues, called glossolalia. While we had heard of people speaking in tongues and some of us had been present at charismatic prayer services where participants spoke in tongues, we were unsure of Catholic teaching on glossolalia.
To answer our question, one of the young adults whipped out the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Though glossolalia was not specifically mentioned in the index, this was as close as we got:
799 Whether extraordinary or simple and humble, charisms are graces of the Holy Spirit which directly or indirectly benefit the Church, ordered as they are to her building up, to the good of men, and to the needs of the world.
800 Charisms are to be accepted with gratitude by the person who receives them and by all members of the Church as well. They are a wonderfully rich grace for the apostolic vitality and for the holiness of the entire Body of Christ, provided they really are genuine gifts of the Holy Spirit and are used in full conformity with authentic promptings of this same Spirit, that is, in keeping with charity, the true measure of all charisms.
801 It is in this sense that discernment of charisms is always necessary. No charism is exempt from being referred and submitted to the Church’s shepherds. “Their office [is] not indeed to extinguish the Spirit, but to test all things and hold fast to what is good,” so that all the diverse and complementary charisms work together “for the common good.”
This seemed to be a sufficient answer for the young adults in the room, that an authentic gift of glossolalia will work together in charity for the common good. We ended the evening by praying together the Psalm for the upcoming Sunday: Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth!
All in all, it was a rich evening of prayer, scripture, questions, and answers that reminded me that even in this simple setting, on a Wednesday evening in this church basement, Christ keeps His promise: For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20)
The Following Video shows a choir of Young Adults Singing a song by Thomas Tallis called Loquebantur Variis Linguis The translation of the text is from Acts: The Apostles were speaking in Various tongues of the great works of God. Alleluia The frenetic quality of the song tries to capture the ecstatic moment when the apostles received the Holy Spirit! It is written in dance time.
To Love is to Serve
Discovering our Catholic Hearts
When Catherine of Siena, an Italian Lay Woman and Doctor of the Church was a young adult she decided she wanted to love God with her whole soul, mind and heart. She thought she could best do that by spending her days in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in a small room (she called it her cell) in her house. She left the house only to attend daily Mass. After a short time of this practice, she heard God’s voice. She records in The Dialogue(the story of her life) a conversation with God. God says to Catherine, “if you want to love me as much as I love you, than you need to serve your sisters and brothers.” God, in a sense, pushed Catherine out of her cell and into the world. Catherine discovered the face of Christ in those who were dying of the plague and Catherine preached peace to her sisters and brothers who were at war with one another. Catherine learned that to love God is to serve the world.
The Archdiocese of Washington is taking up the theme of service and love in a one day Social Ministry Conference on Saturday June 13. See www.adw.org/service for more information.
The day features keynote presentations and break-out sessions on the Church’s mission to proclaim the Good News of Christ’s love for the poor and how the Church carries out this mission, locally, nationally, and internationally. There are workshops for teens, young adults and adults. Participants will have a chance to gather with Catholics from all over the Archdiocese of Washington and to explore the relationship of theology, prayer and service. The day will conclude with a prayer service with Archbishop Wuerl.
Catherine’s experience of taking her love for the Lord to the streets taught her that her “cell” was within her, that she could stay close to the Lord in midst of the noise and distractions of daily life. Most of all Catherine discovered a heart as large as the world. She discovered a Catholic Heart!
A second Statement has come from the Archdiocese of Washington today welcoming legisaltion introduced in Congress today to save the Opportunity Scholarship Program (School Vouchers). Here is the statement followed by some comments in red from very truly yours.
Archdiocese Welcomes Introduction of Congressional Legislation to Continue Opportunity Scholarship Program
The Archdiocese of Washington welcomes legislation introduced today in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Preserving D.C. Student Scholarships Act of 2009. This bill would continue the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program and permit low-income students in the District of Columbia to continue to receive a quality education at the school of their choice. Without swift action by Congress, this federally-funded program will end in 2010, putting the children’s education at risk.
This program is a lifesaver for children in the city. Not only has a Congressionally-mandated study found the Opportunity Scholarship Program to be successful in increasing student achievement, but we have seen its positive impact first-hand with students transformed into enthusiastic young scholars,” said Patricia Weitzel-O’Neill, Ph.D., superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Washington.
Opportunity Scholarship students who graduated from Archbishop Carroll High School this year, for example, have been accepted at 30 colleges and universities, including St. John’s University, Syracuse University, Norfolk State and others. This follows the success of the two prior years, when 100 percent of the scholarship students graduated from this competitive high school and were accepted into college.
Of the more than 1,700 students who received Opportunity Scholarships this year, 879 attended Catholic schools in the District. The federally-funded scholarships provide low-income families with up to $7,500 towards tuition and some fees at participating non-public schools. The program was established five years ago as part of the three-sector initiative to strengthen education across the city that also has brought millions of new federal funds to the District’s public and charter schools.
The Archdiocese of Washington supports full and permanent funding of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program as part of comprehensive support for education in the District of Columbia. Visit www.dcopportunityscholarship.org for more information.
This issue isn’t that hard to understand. If the focus is on the children of Washington DC and what is best for them then Opportunity Scholarships (School Vouchers) should continue to be offered. If the focus is on politics and what union leaders and some bureaucrats want then it is the children who will suffer. The DC Public schools are broken and far from being fixed. Some reforms may have begun but things are still terrible. DC Children and their families need options. This is CLEARLY what is best for them. Why don’t we just keep it this simple: do what is best for DC children. Keep the opportunity scholarship program available for DC children and their families.
The following video indicates that the President has not yet taken a position on the matter. Since it was made he has taken a stand against continuing the program. He has proposed that the students currently in the system can continue until they graduate. But no new students will be allowed to enter. Thus he and others want the program to die. We need to continue to work with the President and Congress to change their minds on this matter.
Calling all marathoners, runners, walkers, and wanna-be runners. Are you looking for a better reason to get out of bed and go for that morning run? Are you looking for any reason to take your work-out more seriously? How about running for the building up of the kingdom of God? The Archdiocese of Washington’s Vocation Office is sponsoring a run for vocations to assist in the spiritual and financial support of our seminarians—and that is a great cause.
I am not a serious runner these days and so when a couple of people with whom I eat lunch said they were going to sign on, I thought, well, why not? It might make me more disciplined about my running if I have to “confess” my progress to Msgr. Panke and my colleagues. Not the most spiritual of reasons but it got me to an informational meeting.
Spiritual Motivation
At the meeting I heard some really beautiful stories about how much this run means to people. One woman spoke of how a serious accident confined her to home for a long period. Her pastor was so great about bringing Communion to her, that she volunteered to run and raise funds as a way to thank God for the gift of her pastor. A man spoke of how his running was sporadic and grinding but he couldn’t say “no” to Msgr. Panke when Msgr. Panke asked if he would run the marathon. He talked about how much more meaningful his running became when he began offering it up for the cause. Some people spoke of the new friends they have made and how much it has meant to them to get to know the archdiocesan seminarians.
It’s not too late to sign-on. We are looking for as many people as possible to run or walk the Marine Corps Marathon and 10k on October 25, 2009. Our Young Adult Ministry is putting together a team and groups for practice runs are forming in Upper Montgomery County and in the city.
The Promise of Prayers
Now, you can join a lot of running groups and even fundraising running programs but none of those programs through in the promise and power of prayer with training tips. If you are interested, please contact the Vocations Office at 301-853-4580 or www.adw.org/vocations.
As of this posting you have 157 days and 16 hours to train. Surely, you can find the time. See you at the finish line.
Archdiocese of Washington on D.C. City Council Vote to Recognize Same-Sex Relationships from Other States:
The Archdiocese of Washington is gravely concerned that the District of Columbia City Council has voted to recognize same-sex “marriages” from other states. This vote shows a lack of understanding of the true meaning of marriage.
Furthermore, considering the importance of this issue for families throughout the city, the archdiocese is dismayed that the Council chose to push this measure through as an amendment without hearings or giving their constituents the opportunity to voice their concerns to their elected officials.
Marriage is a natural institution established by God and written in the very nature of man and woman and is therefore endowed with its own proper laws. The equality of men and women and the dignity of their coming together as husband and wife is not merely a fact of religious faith or a institution established by civil authorities, but a fundamental reality rooted in human nature and experience. Civil marriage is not simply a union of two people who love each other and are committed to each other, but it is reserved to the union of one man and one woman because of their unique ability to bring children into the world, which forms a stable and secure foundation for our society.
By bestowing unmarried couples the same status as those who are married, this measure dismisses the true meaning of marriage. We urge our elected officials to respect the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman as understood throughout all time.
Archbishop Donald Wuerl, our own Archbishop here in Washington DC gave an interview to ECDQ.tv in reference to the 49th Eucharistic Congress in Canada. Here he expreses his resolve and concern to preach the Gospel to all, especially the young and reminds us that we are incomplete and impoverished without the Good News of Jesus Christ.