No sack for the journey

Today’s Gospel is the  familiar story of  Jesus sending his apostles out on one of their early preaching missions. http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/matthew/matthew10.htm#v7

He tells them not to take a sack for the journey or any gold or silver.  I’ve been thinking about this Gospel in light of the start of our new fiscal year. One the one hand, the budgets look full and are full of promise, on the other hand, I’ve not forgotten the projects that could not be funded given budget constraints.  But, if I asked the popular question of a few years back-”What would Jesus do”, it opens us endless possibilities. He might suggest, that as the Executive Director of the Office of Evangelization, I leave my desk, walk out the door and just start talking about Jesus. This would require neither money nor a sack!  On such a gorgeous day, it is also very tempting.

As Catholics…

However, as a good Catholic, I know that we don’t always interpret the Gospel literally–love your neighbor–that’s to be understood literally— take no sack or money for the journey–down right silly in this day and age!

The timeless message and truth of today’s reading is to be faithful to our responsibility to share the good news and be careful about the “stuff” that can weigh us down and keep us from getting the job done.

I began to think about about how I could evangelize more widely and at little cost. Quite to my surprise , it was suggested by a friend that I Twitter. I am not a likely candidate for Twittering; I don’t have a facebook page, I send maybe two or three texts a week and someone has to send me a link to YouTube or another video for me to notice it.  But, I am serious about evangelizing and I am serious about reaching people who may spend more time twittering than reading the parish bulletin or checking out the ADW blog.

Follow me on Twitter

To be honest, I was a bit thrown by the question “what are you doing ?” Really, how much of what we do(in 140 characters) is really worth sharing? But, to answer the question in the context of  spreading the Gospel is so much more intriguing.  So, I am casting the net into the deep, needing no money or sack for the journey and going to Twitter about the Good News. Follow me at 30viadellanima.

30viadellanima

It was my address when I was living and studying in Rome. I lived in a beautiful palazzo on Piazza Navona and I use to sit in a window that overlooked the piazza and watch people from all over the world gather in the square.  I often wondered how much of  Catholic Rome was seeping into their minds and hearts. It is in this spirit that I move into the world of Twitter.

Let’s Tweet.

Fr. Barron on PBS Ban of Religion

I remember back in seminary my Philosophy teacher said, “You can’t avoid having a philosophy. Even if you say you don’t have a philosophy, that is, in fact, a philosophy.” I think the same is true of religion. Those who claim to have no religion are in fact taking a religious position. To deny God or to say He should have no role is just as religious a perspective as to say God is my everything. The truth is that if God is not on the throne some one or something else is. Maybe it is the Government, maybe it is man, maybe it is me. But some one has that place in my life. I cannot escape having a religious perspective. If God does not explain this world then I must be advocating the fact that some one or something else does explain it.

Why then does the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) simply exclude one of the positions on this discussion? It appears that it is OK for secular humanists, atheists, advocates of the “new morality” etc all to air their positions, but religious advocates are banned? If the public airways are a kind of forum to field discussions to ban one side is kind of a show stopper. It’s almost like promising to air a basketball game and then only allowing on team on the court. A rather absurd and boring game actually. You might notice that in its logo above PBS is starting to portray its viewers as blockheads. Is that how they see us???

Here is what Fr. Barron thinks:  (Incidentally there is a lot of discussion of this video at the youtube page if you click through you can read it).


Are You Beautiful Enough?

I would like to re-post a blog entry that I did some months ago. Given Our recent and robust discussion of marriage and dating I thought re-posting this might be good for those of you who missed it:

We live today with very high expectations of many things. Culturally we have very demanding standards for beauty, especially in regard to women. We expect them to have appealing “curves” but be slender etc. Even ordinary weight is considered by many as unattractive. All this obsession with perfection leads to low self esteem among women and men too. Further, these high expectations of zero body fat and perfect shape, hair color, skin tone etc. leads to hypercritical and hurtful remarks. There is an old saying that “Unrealistic expectations are premeditated resentments.” Hence this attitude also may have to do with marriage difficulties as the near perfect bodies of youth give way to the more “settled” bodies of middle age and beyond (gravity and age do have their effects and even if you weighed what you did in High School it doesn’t look the same!) Plastic surgery is a miracle for those with a truly catastrophic injury or deformities but today it is too often the refuge of those who have become obsessed with how they look and how they think others regard them. Oh to be free of such obsessions! The picture to the right depicts a woman but men have the problem too.

Help me Lord to be little more comfortable in my own skin. Help me to accept that you like both tall and short people because you made them both. Both the blond and the brunette are from your hand, wavy hair, straight hair, wirey hair are all from you and apparently to your liking. Thin and hefty, black, white and all between are from your artistic hand. Help me to love me as you made me. If I should lose weight for health’s sake help me, but if its only about what others might think of me, free me.

Watch this video and see how a very lovely young woman is not lovely enough. She has to be altered, “perfected.” And when simple natural enhancements are not enough her image must be furthered altered on a computer. Message: the perfect beauty does not exist in the world of media. She must be invented. Then everyone can pine after and spend large amounts of money and time trying look like someone who doesn’t even exist.

Marriage-Minded

mm-logo_rgb3003This summer, the Archdiocese of Washington is marriage-minded! Check out these resources as well as events sponsored by the Office of Young Adult Ministry.

Marriage Matters Webpage: www.marriagemattersdc.org

Join the conversation at the Blog
http://blog.adw.org/2009/07/marriage-can-wait/

Attend a Series of Talks
Sundays July 12, July 19, and July 26 at 6:30pm
Relationship Speaker and Discussion Series
Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle North Conference Room
6:30pm (after the 5:30pm Mass) Light Dinner Included

July 12 Dr. Andre Leyva

“Dating and Mating from a Catholic Perspective”

Dr. Andre Leyva is the President and founder of the Psychology Center in Montgomery County, Maryland and a member of National Association of Hispanic Psychologists. He is a nationally and internationally recognized trainer, consultant, and key note speaker. His doctoral dissertation on Conflict Resolution was published and requested by mental health professionals in Europe and South America. He has written for two family magazines and has authored articles and workbooks. He is a frequent speaker at the Archdiocese of Washington’s Theology on Tap and Marriage Preparation program. Dr. Leyva has been married for 25 years and has six children.

July 19 Dr. Catherine Yohe
“The Essential Groundwork of Friendship”

Dr. Catherine Yohe received her Ph.D. in Historical Theology with a focus on spirituality from Catholic University of America. Her dissertation was on human friendship as a means to grow in union with God, and most of her publications and lectures have centered on the lay vocation or friendship. She has taught at Catholic University and LaSalle University and is presently teaching Scripture and Catholic Doctrine at Trinity School at Meadow View. She has been married for fifteen years and has a thirteen year-old son.

July 26 Deacon Al Turner
“While I’m Single: Living Life to the Fullest”

Deacon Al Douglas Turner is the Director of the Office of Black Catholics of the Archdiocese of Washington. He is assigned to the Church of the Nativity in Washington, DC. and was recently appointed to the Maryland Catholic Conference Respect Life Committee by Archbishop Donald Wuerl. Deacon Turner received a Graduate Certificate in Spiritual Direction in 2006 and a Master of Theological Studies degree in 2007 from the Washington Theological Union in Washington, D.C. Before his retirement from ABC News in 2007, Deacon Turner was employed for more than 28 years as a broadcast technician/ cameraman covering the White House, Capitol Hill, and news events around the world.

The Best Answers to the Biggest Questions

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“Development needs Christians with their arms raised toward God in prayer.”

 

In a book called How Do You Spell God, the authors say one gift of religion is that is offers the best answers to life’s biggest questions. Today, Pope Benedict XVI is calling on the world to consider how theology can help shape the best answers to some of the world’s most pressing challenges and the questions that come with them; globalization, the growing divide between the rich and poor, care of the environment; protection of freedoms.

 

The Teaching Mission of the Church

 

The encyclical letter is a great example of the teaching mission of the Church. In Caritas in Veritate( Charity in Truth), Pope Benedict writes “Development needs Christians with their arms raised toward God in prayer.” He goes on to say that development requires attention to the spiritual life because it involves the individual and society. As pope, it is Pope Benedict’s responsibility to bring the light of the Gospel to the issues of the day. This encyclical looks at the changes that globalization is bringing to the way the world does business and asking what impact are they having on society and on people. You might be asking what authority the church has in the field of economics and global development. The area of expertise is people! In this field the Church has expertise unlike any other organization or government!

 

Pope Benedict boldly preaches that the world has lost a sense that the meaning of charity is at the core of one’s personal relationships and the core of societal life. He thinks that the world is losing sight of the fact that charity is the driving force behind authentic development (Caritas in Veritate, #1). The reason he gives for losing the meaning of charity is the devaluing of the existence of truth and the meaning of truth and so the title, Charity in Truth refers to his desire to remind the world that “truth is the light that gives meaning and value to charity.” (CV, 2)

 

Learn More

 

More will be shared about this encyclical in this space, I want to encourage you to follow the news stories and pick up the document. In the Catholic Standard, http://cathstan.org. you’ll find background, summaries and reflections on the letter. The Gospel and the intellectual tradition of the Church can help Catholics and all people think deeply about the most serious challenges facing our world and about the big picture. The big picture, as the authors of How Do You Spell God point out, is one of the great gifts of religion—it keeps the big picture in mind—to look at the present through the wisdom of experience and with an eye to the future and the ultimate meaning of life.

Dance Time

Every now and then I hear the Old Latin Mass described as a somber affair. Many think only dirges are sung and that everything is quite subdued. Granted a low Mass can be rather quiet as the Priest whispers much of the Mass. But a sung Mass in the Old Rite (Extraordinary Form) can be quite elaborate, especially if the Choir sings in polyphony (harmony). Some of the greatest music in history was composed during the Renaissance in a form known as Renaissance Polyphony. It is a kind of harmonic singing that features four or more independent melodies sung simultaneously in rich harmony. Much of this Church music was written in Dance Time such that you can almost dance to it!

Enjoy this brief video of the Angus Dei (try not to tap your toe) and perhaps you’ll see what I mean. The song was recorded at the Oratory of St. Francis De Sales in St. Louis – one of the most beautiful Churches in the Country. (See photo above). The text is Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis, dona nobis pacem (Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us…grant us peace). Enjoy a beautiful sample of Renaissance Polyphony.