Some web browsing........

A few bits and pieces from around the web for your to browse through..........

“Break your mirrors!  Yes, indeed — shatter the glass.  In our society that is so self-absorbed, begin to look less at yourself and more at each other. Learn more about the face of your neighbor, and less about your own. I suggest this: when you get to be 30, 40, 50, or even 70 years old, you’ll get more happiness and contentment out of counting your friends than counting your dollars.  You’ll get more satisfaction from having improved your neighborhood, your town, your state, your country and your fellow human beings than you’ll ever get from your muscles, your figure, your automobile, your house, or your credit ratings. You’ll get more from being a peacemaker than a warrior. I’ve been both, so I speak from experience.  Break the mirrors! Be peacemakers of the community, and you and your family will be happy.”  -- A quote from Sargent Shriver - American peace builder, political leader and activist. He was the first leader of the Peace Corps under President John F. Kennedy. The husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was also a beloved father.

• A Reflection on the Beatitudes - - To be Blessed: An Attitude
• Rediscovering the meaning of sacramentals, for those that are married, did you ever consider that your wedding bank is one? And for those who can't remember what a sacramental is as opposed to a Sacrament!
• A reminder that when we look at refugees and migrants that we Christians have to be very careful in our care and repect for them, after all, our Messiah was a refugee too!
• A permenant Deacon ministers where he didn't expect to be and reminds us of the importance of chaplains in a culture of cutbacks in our public health services!
• Ever wonder what the impact is when one partner converts?
• The need for contemplation and action in our every day lives. Another reflection on how a daily life can be interrupted by God
• Have we become too protective of our children and not allowed them to play and act as children? Are parents too anxious?
• We all have doubts about faith, Jennifer over at Conversion Diary reminds us that we should Explore your doubts but do so in peace.

Ethiopian Christ icon found 500 years on

Pondering the idea of praying through time

The New York Times had an interesting piece on How meditation can change the brain

I would safely say that the editors had a serious case of tongue in cheek when they were looking at this story - Vatican has the highest rate of misdemeanor crime

The Pope's strong message for World Communications Day was summed up by America magazine as "Pope says join Facebook, but love is offline"

The Irish Times religious affairs correspondant Patsy McGarry reminds us all that "Churches have duty to give hope"

Further insights to a modern saint - Dorothy Day's letters show heartache, faith

Elizabeth Scalia reminds us that qualifications do not define a person and their worth.

As we count down the days to the beginning of the Lenten season, a short piece about the Compelling Spiritual Discipline of Ascetisism

A moving Carmelite tribute to a Bishop's final benediction

Would be interested to hear what people think of this new version of the Gloria. It is a new musical arrangement to the prayer using the new translation which we will be using in the English speaking churches around the world from Advent 2011 so the words are a little different to what we use at the minute. The new setting is written by Jeff Ostrowski.

Continuing another story from the Trappist monks killed in Algeria, one of the survivors speaks about how he continues to pray for for the conversion of his attackers.

Irelands only Benedictine Abbot reflects on how during the Celtic Tiger, it was a really crazy fantasyland we were in

Some web browsing.........

Our weekly round up of items from across the blogosphere in the last few days!
First off of course is the news that Pope Benedict is to raise John Paul II to the honour of the alters and beatify him on May 1st 2011. One hostelry of my acquaintance in Rome was booked out in half an hour of the news being released!

• The full text of the decree signed by Pope Benedict XVI
• Rocco has a couple of posts over at Whispers in the Loggia
• Is the Vatican rushing the process for JPII? Some views here and here
• The Catholic Herald has a number of links and articles here and some other details including - where despite his final wishes in his will to remain in the earth - the new blessed's remains will be moved up into St Peters Basilica to the Chapel of St Sebastian.
• Other reports from the New York Times and National Catholic Reporter.

A quick summary of the records of John Paul II from RomeReports

Continuing with the annual important speeches and talks that the Pope gives at this time of the year on January 10th we had the annual address of the Pope to the diplomats who are accredited to the Holy See (the Vatican City State does not accredit ambassadors despite the incorrect usage of terminology by the media). The annual address is like a "State of the World" address seen from the vantage point of the Chair of St Peter and this year it was a very precise address setting out the concerns of the Holy See about the safety of our fellow Christians of all denominations around the world both in countries such as Pakistan (which was directly named) where you can be put to death for converting to Christianity to Europe and the western world where despite the claims to free speech and openness and tolerance there is an increasing effort to drive the role of religion from the public square. Pope Benedict reminded his listeners that "Christians are original and authentic citizens” in the Middle East, Benedict said, quoting the concluding message from the recent Synod of Bishops for the Middle East, who should “enjoy all the rights of freedom of conscience, freedom of worship and freedom of education, teaching and the use of the mass media.”



The full text of the address can be read here. Some reaction and analysis to the Pope's address can be read at NCR, Inside Catholic. Sandro Magister has the text of the speech but also links to other important addresses of the Pope which can you some context to the whole debate.

Although there was various reactions to the Pope's support for Copts in Egypt after the attack on them while praying in church - some disapproving Muslims and some showing that we can't tar all followers of the Prophet with the same brush.


Of course during the week, we had some more movements on the creation of the Anglican Ordinature which is to provide a structure of Anglicans who wish to enter into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church and still maintain some of their Anglican traditions and patrimony. Some of the best coverage is from the Catholic Herald in the UK which has a whole page dedicated to it on their website. Take a visit over and have a look, an interesting piece to look at is the statement from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the establishment of the Ordinature which is dedicated under the patronage of Our Lady of Walsingham.

There was an interesting talk from Pope Benedict on how purgatory is a process, not a place.


The last week has been Vocations Awareness week in the USA where there is a strong effort on promoting vocations to the priesthood and religious life. The Anchoress has a list of uplifting and encouraging stories about people who have followed the call, inspiring and hope giving especially for us in Ireland. Also a reminder that all Christians are called to take part in helping to grow vocations to the priesthood - when was the last time you prayed for vocations personally or encouraged someone you know to consider a call?


This week saw the beginning of the Visitation in the archdiocese of Armagh with public meetings with Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor - coverage here, here and here.


Ever wonder what the Church thinks of meditation and yoga and other practises from Eastern Religions?

"In 1989 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith delivered a Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation. In Section V of that document, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) wrote: "Just as ‘the Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in [the great religions]' neither should these ways be rejected out of hand simply because they are not Christian. On the contrary, one can take from them what is useful so long as the Christian conception of prayer, its logic and requirements are never obscured."

Over at Patheos they are beginning a series of reflections starting with "Pose by Pose: Amen and Om" by Mary DeTurris Poust.


Across Europe there is an increasing level of people choosing de-baptism, but can you really become de-baptised? Pat Gohn reflects on the meaning of baptism. 


The blog called The New Liturgical Movement has an interesting article focusing on a reflection from Dom Columba Marmion OSBInterior and Exterior Dimensions of Divine Worship; a topic which is going to come more and more to the fore as we move towards Advent 2011 and the introduction of a new missal in English speaking countries to replace the one we currently use to say Mass with.

What a blind monk sees - a reflection to cause you to pause.


A couple of interesting articles and reflections which you might like to ponder and read over:

• When atheists are angry at God
• God isn't big enough for some people
• Children need more meditation and less stimulation - A remote diocese in Australia is leading the way by allowing regular periods of silent meditation in the classroom

"Does the fact that we can no longer see the stars have anything to do with our loss of wonder? These things, the stars, and all creation – they are more splendid, perfect, beautiful and lasting than anything man can create or even conceive. It seems like when we were more aware of milky ways and horizons, it was easier to believe.........We have obliterated the stars with our artificial light – but perhaps we’ve blinded ourselves, too. Without the wonder, the greatness of the galaxies in our sight, we’ve lost the ability to believe in, or expect, miracles."

Continue reading here.

"Back in the 1970s, when there was a lot of liturgical innovation going on, Dorothy Day invited a young priest to celebrate mass at the Catholic Worker. He decided to do something that he thought was relevant and hip. He asked Dorothy if she had a coffee cup he could borrow. She found one in the kitchen and brought it to him. And, he took that cup and used it as the chalice to celebrate mass. When it was over, Dorothy picked up the cup, found a small gardening tool, and went to the backyard. She knelt down, dug a hole, kissed the coffee cup, and buried it in the earth. With that simple gesture, Dorothy Day showed that she understood something that so many of us today don’t: she knew that Christ was truly present in something as ordinary as a ceramic cup. And that it could never be just a coffee cup again".

Continue reading here.

UPDATED - 28th November 2010 - First Sunday of Advent Year A

 O Come O Come Emmanuel

Happy New Year!!

No we haven't lost our minds! This weeks show falls on the First Sunday of Advent which is the beginning of a new liturgical year which we commemorate with the blessing of our Advent Wreath. Fr Frank Duhig gives us a small reflection on Advent and its meaning which is followed by our regular Sunday morning discussion on the weekly Gospel, Saints of the Week, a review of interesting pieces in this weeks Irish Catholic and a preview of up coming programmes on EWTN.

Blessing of the Advent Wreath in the Home

All make the Sign of the Cross. A member of the family recites the following blessing while another lights the first candle on the Advent Wreath:

Lord God

Let your blessing come upon us as we light the candle(s) of this wreath.

May the wreath and its light be a sign of Christ's promise to bring us salvation.

May he come quickly and not delay.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Advent

Fr Frank Duhig (PP of Newcastle West) is a welcome visitor back in studio this week and gives an introduction and reflection to Advent and the beginning of a new liturgical year. We discuss some of the traditions of Advent including the Advent Wreath and the way that Advent is a time to individually prepare penitently to welcome the Lord. 

We also discuss Advent in terms of the period of preparation for the celebration of Christmas celebrating the coming of the Lord as the Word Incarnate to fulfill the desires and promises made to the Chosen People but also the season of preparation for the second coming of the Lord and also a season for us to prepare for the coming of the Lord into our lives and hearts. 

UPDATED: Some short daily reflections for Advent and Christmas with Pope Bendict XVI compiled by the USCCB.


Gospel

This week we move into a new liturgical cycle and with it we begin the reading of the Gospel of St Matthew opening with a reading of Mttw 24:37 - 44. Each Sunday gospel during Advent has a distinctive theme and this Sunday's focus is on the Lord's coming at the end of time.

The gospel can sound frightening but actually is a reminder to us all that time is transient and we do not know the time when the Lord is going to come, either for each of us individually or at the end of time. It is not a condemnation of the daily busy-ness of life but rather a call to remember to always have God as the ultimate destination on our journey through life, to be alive to  the sacrament (sacredness) of the present moment. The past is gone never to return, the future may never happen, we only have this present moment.

It is also a reminder to us that as followers of Christ, we are called to rouse a slumbering world which is in danger of loosing its soul and at the same time that while sometimes we try to reach God but our hands are too short, we should let Him reach out for us.

Some more reflections here, here, here and here. 

Saints of the Week

November 29th - St Brendan of Birr
November 30th - St Andrew, Apostle
December 1st - St Edmund Campion SJ
December 2nd - Blessed John of Ruysbroek
December 3rd - St Francis Xavier SJ
December 4th - St John Damascene

And finally another musical number for the Advent season

Thanks for listening

John, Lorraine, Michael and Shane

Some web browsing for you...........

One of the great photos of the uplifting event of the week! And following on from last Sunday's gospel about the need to remember to give thanks to God the whole world seemed to give thanks for the rescue of the 32 Chilean and 1 Bolivian miner. Interesting views and stories on the story during the week were how it was surely praying at their "makeshift shrine" that kept the Chilean miners sane. and how the first thing asked for by the miners when contact was made with them was a crucifix so that they could set up a small shrine down in the mine with many other makeshift shrines near the mine shaft.

David Quinn gives his opinion about the impact of faith during the crisis in his column in the Irish Independent - Why there were no athetists in the mine. And Nuala O Loan reminds us that despite what some people think, Religion is not a Problem.


And one of the great quotes of the week had to be:

"There are actually 34 of us, because God has never left us down here."

 - 19-year-old Chilean miner Jimmy Sanchez, in a letter sent up from the mine Tuesday. You can read more about Jimmy here.

At the same time, it also reminded us in Ireland that the element of folk religion, where it is part of the everyday fabric of our lives is something we need to rediscover with the example of the miners as they remembered to invoke their patron saint - St Lawrence (see pic)

And the Anchoress gives a quick reflection on the example of Mario Sepúlveda Espinace who returned from the depths bearing gifts....for others.

"[He]crested the top of a hole from which he thought he might never escape, and his first instinct was to give. That’s a thing worth writing about, and thinking about and praying about. I wish I had a picture of that moment! How huge and resilient is the human spirit?"

Back to the Synod about the Church in the Middle East, John Allen gives some interesting coverage and insight into the issues being raised by the Patriarchs and Bishops at the NCR blog with discussions about the role of the Eastern Churches in the universal church, the need to allow them to ordain their serving priests in Europe and North America as is their tradition and right, and interesting perspectives from Muslims and Jews about the relationship between the three Abrahamic faiths.


If you want to read more about the different Eastern Catholic Churches, CNEWA has a special magazine out this month with various articles about our Christian brethren in the Middle East.


The issue of tolerance and the role of Christianity in a secular society was sort of summed up during the week by Madeline L'Engle

"We do not draw people to Christ by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it."

In her regular Tuesday column, Elizabeth Scalia (aka The Anchoress) discusses how although we live in a tolerant society, for many of the social "lepers" around us, there is still a vast amount of intolerance.

Bishop Paul D Etienne reminds us on his weekly blog how we need to rediscover a centre or a Core of Life to our everyday existence.

Of course, Sunday 17th is the Canonisation of Mary MacKillop and in case you missed me, Sacred Space 102fm has had a series of bits and pieces about Mary during the week which you can find here. And make sure you tune in on Sunday morning for our interview with Sr Margaret O Sullivan about this great Australian Saint.

During the week we nearly forgot the memorial of Blessed John XXIII - Good Pope John and you can catch up on some reflections and favourite speeches of this beloved Pope here. with a quick biography of him here and one his most famous impromptu speeches.

"When you head home, find your children. Hug and kiss your children and tell them: 'This is the hug and kiss of the Pope.' And when you find them with tears to dry, give them a good word. Give anyone who suffers a word of comfort. Tell them 'The Pope is with us especially in our times of sadness and bitterness.' And then, all together, may we always come alive -- whether to sing, to breathe, or to cry, but always full of trust in Christ, who helps us and hears us, let us continue along our path.”

In a challenge to the world, former Czech president and Nobel prize winner Vaclav Havel gave a speech in which he challenge the prevailing culture and predicted that the "First ‘atheistic civilisation’ is heading for catastrophe".

Holding onto faith can be difficult at times, but sometimes people of faith should be thankful for doubt. And Pope Benedict XVI speaking in Rome during the week noted that "It is the faith of the simple that knocks down false gods"

An unusual journalistic endeavour this week on the Pat Kenny radio show, a journalists take on a pilgrimage to Knock.

Given our spiralling unemployment rate, the Anchoress gives us some inspiration in the form of a Rosary for Jobseekers.

And through out it all, perhaps we need to remember that we need to live in the now, struggle to live in the present moment and that sometimes it is important not to do anything,

From Knockpatrick to Kiyinda - Part 4 - Solidarity

Solidarity

“Africa wants a hand up, not a hand out”.

Brother Roger of Taize said in one of his talks to pilgrims, “Today more than ever before, a call is arising to open paths of trust even in humanity’s darkest hours…More and more people throughout the world are becoming aware of how urgent it is to come to the aid of the victims of poverty, a poverty that is constantly on the rise. This is a basic necessity to make peace on earth possible”.

Letting ourselves be penetrated by the thirst for God does not detach us from the concerns of the world....St Ambrose said, "It is not your property that you distribute to the poor, you are simply giving back to them what is theirs" .

A consistent theme in Catholic Social Teaching is option or love of preference for the poor. Today this preference has to be expressed in worldwide dimensions, embracing the immense numbers of the hungry, the needy, the homeless, those without medical care, and those without hope . Solidarity is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all .

 

The promotion of justice is at the heart of a true culture of solidarity. It is not just a question of “giving one’s surplus” to those in need but of helping entire people presently excluded and marginalised to enter the sphere of economic and human development. For this to happen, it is not enough to draw on the surplus goods which in fact our world abundantly produces; it requires above all a change of lifestyles, of models of production and consumption, and of the established structures of power which govern societies. The development we speak of here cannot be restricted to economic growth alone. To be authentic, it must be well rounded; it must foster the development of each man and of the whole man. As an eminent specialist on this question has rightly said: "We cannot allow economics to be separated from human realities, nor development from the civilization in which it takes place. What counts for us is man—each individual man, each human group, and humanity as a whole.'' Each man is also a member of society; hence he belongs to the community of man. It is not just certain individuals but all men who are called to further the development of human society as a whole. Civilizations spring up, flourish and die. As the waves of the sea gradually creep farther and farther in along the shoreline, so the human race inches its way forward through history. We are the heirs of earlier generations, and we reap benefits from the efforts of our contemporaries; we are under obligation to all men. Therefore we cannot disregard the welfare of those who will come after us to increase the human family. The reality of human solidarity brings us not only benefits but also obligations . Now in this matter one standard should hold true for all. What applies to national economies and to highly developed nations must also apply to trade relations between rich and poor nations. Indeed, competition should not be eliminated from trade transactions; but it must be kept within limits so that it operates justly and fairly, and thus becomes a truly human endeavour.

Solicitudo Rei Socialis §42
Solicitudo Rei Socialis §38
Centesimus Annus §58
Populorum Progressio §14
Populorum Progressio §17


Part 1 - Introduction
Part 2 - Presence
Part 3 - Suffering
Part 5 - Friendships and Goodbye

Some web browsing for you............

Some reaction to the Pope's visit to the UK with his call for an empowered and faith-educated laity, and John Allen provides his analysis of the pro's and con's from the Popes visit and the coverage of the Church in the press in the last week and how every cloud has a silver lining. The Catholic Herald editorial in the UK has an interesting view on the Pope's visit where the "Pope exposed the very heart of the Catholic faith for all to see".

Did you realise just how historic Pope Benedicts visit to the UK really was? I hadn't until I read this from Deacon Greg.

Following on from the beatification of Cardinal Newman, today we had the beatification of a young woman who died aged 18 years old and who was very much of this century.Also here and here.

CatholicIreland.net has some interesting articles this week with a Limerick connection to Blessed John Henry Newman, an interesting sentence with a penitential twist from a judge for a man who abused a Garda, and Trocaire has called for the introduction of a tax on financial institutions that it says would generate hundreds of billions of euro every year, which would help eradicate global poverty.

No more hiding from God - or from ourselves - A reflection by Rabbi Or Rose about the Jewish High Holy days which have just come to a close with the feast of Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement.

Some good news from the Irish Church with the the first profession of eleven Dominican novices on 15th September last and the reception of two men into the novitiate in Cork on 14th September.

An inspiring story from the USA about young christians seeking intentional community among the poor.

Recently on the programme Lorraine mentioned an article that Sacred Space 102fm's own Shane Ambrose wrote for the Irish Catholic about his time in Uganda.

Continuing an African theme, this article about when a Catholic priest said Mass in a Muslim home is an interesting insight to inter-religious dialogue among neighbours but also poses questions for us in Ireland about our extremely poor liturgies.

Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI poses the question this week, how large is your heaven?

And finally this week we thought you might find this reflection from Googling God interesting especially in the context of the debate about our older citizens and how we need to face up to the need for caring for an aging population:

This past Sunday I attended the 8:30 AM mass at my parish and one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen was at communion.


There was a middle aged woman who was the eucharistic minister nearest me. I happened to look up at one point and saw her hands. They were shaking, presumably from some kind of tremor, usually brought on by Parkinson’s or some other neurological disorder. The tremors are brought about when the dopamine producing nerve cells begin to die that send messages to the parts of the brian that produce movement.

She held the tiny ciboria in her open palm shaking ever so slightly, relishing in giving what she could, while she still could. She held Jesus as best she could and handed the body broken of Christ to us with a broken body herself.

Talk about a thanksgiving moment. It was a moment so beautiful and so simple and yet it comes from such a place of dis-ease, for her presumably and for those who can visibly see her tremor.

Continue reading here

What is the point of being a Christian? - Timothy Radcliffe OP - An extended book review

Veritas – truth – is the motto of the Dominican Order, and the truth of Christianity is the challenge posed to and by the Dominican author of this extremely enjoyable, and thought provoking book.

When challenged about the point of Christianity, Radcliffe realises that if “the point of religion is to point to God who is the point of everything…it makes no sense to ask whether belief in God is relevant, because God is the measure of all relevance,”[1] and “if Christianity is true, then it does not have a point other than to point to God who is the point of everything”[2]. In our post-modern, even post-Christian world, in which the appeal to authority and tradition is no longer sufficient to convince people of the validity of ones belief and the appropriateness of religion in general, the rediscovery of the phenomenon that is the message of Christianity is presented as the way to re-introduce the truth of Christianity to the modern world.