Nada te turbe

Happy feast of St. Teresa of Ávila!

The Habit of the Heralds of the Gospel: An exposition

Speaking of the habit of the Heralds of the Gospel...

375 Years and Counting

The first month of this academic year passed by in a blur. October is now here, the summer which we never had is gone, and classes are already in full swing. This semester's coursework, is exciting and includes lots of great reading. I'm particularly enjoying a course on Mariology and the New Feminism, as well as a course in Theological Anthropology. Between these two courses I'll be reading many good books, though thankfully I've already done much of the reading for the Mariology course during the course of my exploration of books on Mary during this past year.

In addition to academics, the calendar is chock-full of events and conferences. Last weekend St. John's hosted an international conference on Priestly Celibacy. It brought together great Catholic figures from various countries. I was most pleased by the prospect of meeting one of my heroes, Catholic psychologist, Dr. Paul Vitz. He has written many books, exploring the themes of Atheism, and psychology. One of his most intriguing books is on Freud's Christian subconscious. I was also happy to be able to spend some time with the Heralds of the Gospel. The habits they were are certainly a bold statement of their faith, and I think there is much to be learned from their way of life and ministry. In particular I think their method of holistic evangelization, evangelizing entire families rather than simply catechizing children, is very wise. As the Heralds say, their approach is to prevent problems before they occur, rather than to deal with them once they do occur. Overall the weekend was a phenomenal time. I hope that the seeds planted during those three days will continue to bear fruit for a long time to come.

The title of this post comes from last night's event. I attended a gathering at the Copley Library to celebrate the 375th anniversary of my alma mater, Boston Latin School. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the gathering, but it was great. The McKim Building is a beautiful and historic venue. The crush of people there was rather oppressive at times. I heard that there were over a thousand people present, and some people were even turned away. It was nice to reconnect with former teachers, peers, and with alums whom I have met in other walks of life, including a good number of priests. Since I only kept in touch with a few people from higschool through the years, many people didn't know I had gone to seminary, and so this led to a number of good conversations. It was good to reconnect with this part of my life, and I'm looking forward to other anniversary events throughout this year.

Welcome Home Sisters!

Many of my friends joke about the fact that I know many nuns. A brother seminarian jokes that I know at least one in each of the fifty states, which is not true by the way. I concede that I know many women religious, and that I greatly appreciate their varied charisms. Their presence is truly an important part of the Church.

Thus it was with great joy that I came across this news. I had heard about it a few months ago, but now it is final. There was a community of Episcopalian nuns within the boundaries of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, which has been received (almost as a whole) along with their chaplain, into the Roman Catholic Church.

I thought the article as a whole was pretty good. However, I found the quotes from various Episcopalian leaders to be rather frustrating. They either answered questions that weren't being asked, or seemed to entirely miss the significance of this event.

May God bless these women for their faithfulness, and may their community flourish with vocations!

It begins again

The summer ended with lightning speed, and now I enter third theology, the fifth year of my seminary formation. I'm excited about this year, particularly about the coursework. In particular there's a Mariology course that I am taking, for which I helped select much of the reading, and it seems it will be a great class! There's a bit of an odd feeling about this year. While priestly ordination, please God, is still far in the future, if all goes according to the current path, that's really only about 20 months away! My pastor has a way of making my ordination date seem much sooner than it is when he introduces me to people, but the reality is, that it is approaching. It's an exciting and humbling realization.

As always, I ask for your prayers for all of us here at St. John's, that we may have a fruitful and grace-filled year.

Book Thoughts: Saints Behaving Badly by Thomas J. Craughwell

When I first saw this book, I thought it sounded a bit gimmicky, and I passed it by. A few months later I was looking for jarring saint stories, the kind that will grab the attention of distracted students in religious education, such as the story of Maximilian Kolbe's sacrifice. I really think someone should write a book titled "101 Gory Stories of the Saints" or "Blood, Guts, and Glory: Tales of Catholic martyrs." Until something is written more along the lines of the titles I suggested, Saints Behaving Badly nicely fills the niche. I admit that when I picked it up I had resigned myself to the fact that it would be unbelievably cheesy, but thankfully I was disappointed!

Craughwell's writing style is so engaging that I kept finding excuses to keep reading, and I finished the book over the course of just a few days. The saints featured in this book range from those that are well known such as St. Matthew and St. Francis, to those that are somewhat more obscure such as St. Genesius and St. Fabiola. The profiles are arranged chronologically. The stories vary widely, sometimes the saint's life was indeed very sinful and colorful, other times it was more a matter of small but persistent flaws which needed to be overcome. In many cases, Craughwell couched placed the saint in his or her historical context, and this really helps the reader to gain a fuller picture of the saint's life. Craughwell makes these men and women come alive, and he makes them easy to relate to. Oftentimes people think that saints are rarefied individuals which are scarcely human, and that sanctity is something only a select few can aspire to. This book shows just how human the saints are and gives us hope that we can all aspire to follow in their footsteps towards the life of grace.

I'm still looking for a book with a little more blood, guts and glory, any recommendations would be welcome. However, I'm also very happy I took the chance with this book, and gained a number of great saints' stories to share with my students.

Pixar's Partly Cloudy: Updated

Partly Cloudy is a new movie short from pixar. Like much of Pixar's work, it's really well done. I found it to be quite a touching story to watch. [ I've just found out that it was the short which was shown before Pixar's movie Up. Now I feel a little deprived. I went to see Up, which was an excellent movie, but apart from an appallingly long slew of previews, Partly Cloudy was not shown!]



On her blog, the Anchoress relates it to Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict's new encyclical. I haven't read the encyclical yet, but given everything I'm reading about it, I'm really looking forward to sitting down with it.

Angels and Demons

Last night I had the opportunity to see Angels and Demons. I hadn't planned on seeing it. I haven't seen the DaVinci code and apart from 50 pages of the DaVinci code that I forced myself to read (I couldn't muscle through more. Dan Brown's writing is horrendous and intellectually insulting.) I haven't read either book. I didn't want to like the movie. I've heard mixed reviews on both sides. However, I really enjoyed it. I didn't care for the seeming omniscience of Robert Langdon's character. He reminded me of the character from Law and Order: CI who knew everything and had all the answers and always annoyed me! I also found that sometimes the storyline asked for just too big a leap of imagination. However, the plot held together nicely and moved at a good pace.

The camerawork was interesting and impressive, particularly their CGI reconstruction of many churches and other scenes inside the Vatican since they were not allowed to film openly there. I was in Rome last summer when they were doing some of the filming and remember seeing helicopters and other equipment capturing footage of Castel Sant'Angelo. I'm not sure if this was included among the structures they were not allowed to film inside of, because the crew seemed to be all over it. Most of the interiors of the Churches in the movie seemed to compare somewhat favorably with what I recall from visiting them. The one that did not was Santa Maria della Vittoria. The Church interior was passable, but Bernini's statue was not. The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Bernini is one of my favorite pieces of art, and you could tell that what they had in the movie was a CGI reconstruction. It was poorly done.

Overall it was a good film.

Lost in Translation

Last night I attended the Mass for the Brazilian community. It was a great experience. I had planned to simply sit in the congregation, since in my mind I'm still working on my Portuguese and am not that fluent yet, however the priest invited me to sit up in the sanctuary with the rest of the servers. I was able to follow the whole Mass, though I still needed to use a worship aid for the creed and other responses. The Society of St. Paul puts out great worship aids that have every single part of the Mass on them, the parish uses these in lieu of missals, and it certainly came in handy.

Last night's Mass was also special because the Heralds of the Gospel were visiting with a statue of our Lady of Fatima which is making a pilgrimage around the US. What little I know about the Heralds I learned last night. From their website, "Comprised mainly of young people, this Association is established in 57 countries. Its members practice celibacy, and are entirely dedicated to apostolate, living in separate houses designated for young men and young women.Their life of recollection, study and prayer alternates with evangelizing activities in dioceses and parishes, with special emphasis placed on the formation of youth...Three essential pillars: The spirituality of the Heralds is based on three essential points: The Eucharist, Mary and the Pope.
Their habits look very much like the dress of a medieval herald, quite appropriately. Apart from their Marian focus, they serve in a wide array of ministries. Their participation at Mass was quite awesome. They processed in with a statue at the begin, and during the elevations of the host and the chalice, two of them flanked the altar and blew trumpets. Albeit unusual, it was a good reminder of the fact that we were in the presence of our King. At the end of Mass they led the congregation in honoring Mary and the statue which they had brought in procession was crowned.

After Mass, the priest introduced me to the community. Once outside the Church there was the usual greeting of parishioners, and that's where the title of this post comes from. The parishioners spoke mostly Portuguese, some were Spanish speakers and a few spoke English. At one point I was chatting back and forth in Portuguese, Spanish and English, when all of a sudden my brain just froze. I was trying to respond to someone that had just said something simple in Portuguese, and nothing was coming out. My confusion only lasted a split second, but it was both a little embarrassing and extremely funny as I had thoughts of the gears in my mind jamming as they were trying to switch between dictionaries. People were kindly complimentary on my Portuguese, and one woman even asked me what part of Brazil I was from!

After Mass a few of the parishioners invited me out to dinner. It was a great ending to my first full Sunday in the parish.

Summer Assignment

Yesterday I moved into my summer assignment. I'll be living and working at Immaculate Conception in Marlborough for the next eight weeks. I'm very excited about this assignment for several reasons. First of all, it's one of the great parishes of the archdiocese, I've been told this many times by many people, and I'm definitely beginning to see it for myself. The pastor is great. He's been very welcoming, and has helped to settle me into the parish. The rectory is also very full and lively. In addition to the pastor there are three other priests in residence (rather unusual these days), one is one of the newly ordained. The parish has communities that worship in English, Spanish and Portuguese. I speak all three languages, so there will be all sorts of thins I can get involved in. I've been in parishes that have 2-3 Masses on a Sunday, so to be at one that has 6 on a Sunday is a big change! All the people have been very welcoming, and I'm finally beginning to get some of their names down! This will be my first experience of living and working in a parish for a long stretch of time, so I'm excited. Stay tuned!

Book Thoughts: Madonna, Mary in the Catholic Tradition by Frederick M. Jelly, O.P.

This book stands out among various books on Mariology. It is fairly standard in its makeup, offering a tour of the development of the Marian dogmas and other traditions from the Old Testament through the present time. However, for such a brief book, he also managed to add reflections on many other things such as Marian devotions, apparitions, and Mary's role in the ecumenical movement. I appreciated the long quotations from scripture, papal encyclicals, and the documents of various councils, which Fr. Jelly provided throughout the book. They helped to illustrate how Marian belief has been elucidated throughout the centuries. The discussion questions in the back as well as the thorough bibliography also make this book very useful for group study.

By now I've read many books on Our Lady, but I'm happy at how fresh and new it all remains, how much more there is to read and to learn.

Fr. Alberto Cutie Renounces his Catholic Faith and becomes an Episcopalian - Catholic Online

I've been reluctant to blog about this story as it unfolded, but now that the first act of this drama has reached an end, I think it's important to make a few remarks.

First of all, it's important to pray for Fr. Alberto, for Bishop Favalora and for the Archdiocese of Miami. Fr. Alberto has done much good. Countless millions have been touched through the various media by which he has ministered. The good he has done should not be forgotten, but the error of his current decisions cannot be overlooked. Sadly, what's done is done, but there's always room for repentance and some form of reconciliation.

We must also pray for Fr. Alberto's mistress, and for the many people that may be led astray by his actions. He is making some distinctions that can't be made. For instance, if he says that the Catholic Church has the truth, he cannot equally say that it's not true for him. Yes, I know many people think like this, but it's flawed reasoning.

I don't think we've seen the end of this affair. I just hope we won't be seeing a new show on Telemundo, "Padre Alberto, Edición Episcopal."

Book Thoughts: Saint Paul by Pope Benedict XVI

This book, Ignatius Press' latest compilation of Pope Benedict's Wednesday Catecheses, is a great volume. Not only is it a nice looking book, Ignatius really does a good job of putting out high quality products, it is also a great read.

As the year of St. Paul draws to a close, it is good to spend some time with Pope Benedict's reflections. I'm amazed at how much Pope Benedict manages to cram into each reflection. He helps to flesh out the person of St. Paul, his mission, his theology, and his importance for us today.

I enjoyed the Pope's reflections on St. Paul, and I'm very eager to see what he will choose as his points for reflection during the Year of the Priest.

Another year ends

A few days have passed since my last final exam, and the end of the academic year. In the past these two events occurred on the same day, but this year I was blessed with few finals, which allowed me to get some rest even before vacation officially began. It's nice to realize that every now and then the finals schedule does work in my favor.

Second theology is now officially over. It was a good year, a long year, but definitely a fruitful one. Summer's already begun, but as usual, it's been a bit of a whirlwind. Since the end of the year I've already served as one of the emcees at two confirmations for one of our auxiliaries, I've taken a quick trip to Philadelphia to attend the graduation of some of our college seminarians, and I've generally been trying to catch up with everything that got put on the back burner during the busy end to the semester.

Tomorrow I have a meeting with the Pastor of my summer assignment. It's particularly exciting, because this will be the parish where I will serve during the rest of my seminary career. The end is still far away, but it's swiftly drawing closer.

I haven't planned any major adventures for this summer, certainly no Euro-trip Part II. However, life is rarely dull, so we'll just see what happens this summer.

Book Thoughts on Islam

Islam is an important and timely topic to consider. There is much furor on both the side of those that are amenable to its presence and those who see it as a hostile and deadly belief system. In the midst of such a heated discussion, it's often difficult to find a balanced and honest perspective. However it is a subject with which one should be well versed since it's impact on today's world is great, not only in Muslim countries, but increasingly also in the West.

It was for this reason that I picked up two books,Inside Islam: A Guide for Catholics and 111 Questions on Islam, an interview with Samir Khalil Samir, SJ





I think this book brings a good collection of facts to the table, but I also think its delivery has some major flaws. The biggest problem is that the way they approached the Q&A format did not work. There didn't seem to be much thought as to how the questions were arranged, and the development of certain issues was inadequate. Some questions were far too obvious to develop, and others were far too complex to treat fairly in a paragraph or two. While much of the book was fair and balanced, there was a stridency to some of the writing which was distracting.




This book was a real joy to read. As with the previous title, it was done in a question and answer format, but the end result is vastly different. This book is the fruit of an extended interview with an Egyptian Jesuit, who is very well versed on Islam and the question of its relation to the West. The themes in the book are historically and topically developed, from biographical notes on Muhammad's life, to the theological underpinnings of Islam, to the way Islam exists today. I appreciated the fact that even though they were transliterated into English, frequent reference was made to the Arabic terms and their understanding, which form the underpinnings of Islam. The book also provided a great deal of statistics, and other information which is essential to developing a proper understanding of the topic. This book is not merely a collection of talking points on Islam, but rather it is a rich and reflective work on the subject.

Book Thoughts: The Mystery of Mary by Fr. Paul Haffner

The next step of my Marian journey, brought me into my first contact with Fr. Paul Haffner. Suffice it to say that after reading this book, I've already put a number of his other books on my Amazon wishlist. I find Fr. Haffner's style to be engaging, thorough, and very satisfying. I hesitate to gush, but this is probably the best book I have encountered so far on the topic of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Each chapter focuses on a particular theme: pre-figurements of Mary in the Old Testament, Marian dogmas, Mary as a model of the Church, etc. In each chapter, Fr. Haffner explains a topic, and then gives a thorough presentation of where the teaching on that topic comes from, in scripture, and in the writings from the earliest Christian times right to the present. If I were to fault this book for anything, it would be that it feels at times like Fr. Haffner is giving too many quotes in support of the teachings of the Church, but at the same time it is quite beautiful to see how Church teaching has unfolded and remained constant right from the beginning.

Book Thoughts: Mary in Her Own Words by Fr. Gary Caster

In this book Fr. Gary Caster takes the words of Mary in scriptures and meditates on their meaning in the light of salvation history. Our Lady Queen of Victories, is the Marian title and vantage point from which Fr. Caster writes his book. It is certainly an effective point from which to see how all of the events in Mary's life, even the painful ones, lead to the greatest event of all, Christ's death and resurrection. I particularly appreciated one bridge that Fr. Caster drew, which I hadn't previously meditated upon. He linked Mary's statement "Do whatever He tells you" at the wedding at Cana to Christ's "Do this in remembrance of me" at the Last Supper.

These are the writings of a priest reflecting on his relationship with Mary, which he provides for the nourishment of others. Each chapter surely could be drawn out into a much lengthier homily. In these reflections he illustrates how Mary's words serve as a guide for the life of every Christian, in their relationship with Mary and ultimately their relationship with God. Mary serves as our ultimate example in following God, in being open to doing His will. Fr. Caster effectively paraphrases the greatest commandment to illustrate the goal of the Christian life, he writes "Christianity is not simply living without sin it is an active and engaged love of God that must express itself as an active, attentive and engaged love of others."

Book Thoughts: Mary the Church at the Source

One of the greatest blessings on this literary Marian journey which I’ve undertaken is that the more I read, the more tangible Mary has become; the more real. The more I get to know her, the more I learn about what the Church has taught about her and why, the more I want to continue learning. There are an infinite number of ways of speaking of our lady, and when she connects to the infinite mystery of God, the number of ways draws broader. We can speak both of a concrete finite person, but speaking of her role in the Church opens up a great and infinite vista to ponder of our role in relation to Mary, and of our role in relation to Christ and His Church.
This next installment in my Marian journey was certainly a rich one. In one book we are given a series of reflections by two brilliant minds in our Church. One series was written by then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and the other by Hans Urs von Balthasar. Many of the common Marian themes are woven into the two sections of this book such as Mary’s place in scripture and her place in the life of the Church. However, in the midst of these, the two authors dive in much deeper, and it is here that the meat of the book lies. In the chapters by Ratzinger, I found most enriching how he articulates how the Church must follow Mary’s example, in becoming more fruitful in relationship to the Lord. He draws out the importance of Mariology in the documents of Vatican II, and throughout the history of the Church. He draws out the tension between rationality and affecting, and writes on how Mary represents the heart within the body.
Von Balthasar strikes many similar chords. The theme he stressed, which I found most powerful, was that of understanding ourselves not in a vacuum but in relation.
There is no question that Mary is important in the life of the Christian. So many of our protestant brothers and sisters miss out on this because of a fear of putting Mary in the wrong place. However, rightly understood, Mary gives us an example to follow, and rather than drawing us away from Christ, she brings us ever nearer.

Book Thoughts: THe World's First Love by Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Archbishop Sheen’s book on Mary was the next point in my journey of Marian reading. This book was a good read, and also a good stepping stone, particularly the last few chapters, for entering into Lent. The book has a little bit of everything. First there are various chapters looking at Mary’s major actions in scripture, annunciation, visitation, Cana etc. Then there are reflections on other points, the importance of how Mary lives out love and her example for others, Mary’s relationship with Joseph and Mary’s relationship with us. As many other authors have done when writing about Mary, Archbishop Sheen discusses objections to Marian devotion. Among his commentary one of the most poignant lines of his reasoning was, If you had the opportunity to create your mother, how would you make her?” He argues that we would want a perfect mother if we could make her so, and that God did exactly this in creating Mary. He places her squarely in salvation history, as a real woman whom we can emulate, and who intercedes for us.
I think that the most poignant chapters are those where Archbishop Sheen focuses on Mary’s suffering, on the sword that pierces her heart. I was moved in particular by how he paralleled Mary’s responses in the gospel, to Jesus’ responses during his passion and death.

May our lady of sorrows intercede for us as we continue to journey through Lent.

Trust in God - Thursday after Ash Wednesday

It may be tempting at times to think that the power to solve all our problems is in our hands or in the hands of one individual. Even if we don't think we have that power, we may feel tempted at times to want to usurp it. "If I were in control, X wouldn't have happened" might cross our minds. Yet ultimately putting our trust fully in ourselves or in another human being is doomed to disappointment. As much as we'd like to fill God's sandals, even for a day, we wouldn't even be able to walk a step in them. Our trust belongs fully in the Lord. He is our God, who has provided everything we have even when we don't realize it. He is our Savior. Surrendering control, trusting when things seem bleak, when it seems that the game is over and the end credits are about to start rolling over a sad tragedy, is difficult, but it is necessary. Trusting in God is difficult, but trusting solely in ourselves is pointless.