13 September 2015
Thank You, Lord
Thank you, Lord, for the ways in which You touch our hearts and work within us as we reverently make the Sign of the Cross.
Msgr. Pope on Remnant Theology and Today's Church
"Recently on the blog we examined a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center that reported a decrease in the number of Catholics in America. The good news is that as many as 45% of Americans indicated some affiliation with Catholicism. That does not mean that they are all Catholics. Sometimes it means that they have a Catholic spouse or were once Catholic themselves but have fallen away, etc. What does remain sadly and soberly true is that only 20-25% of Catholics attend Mass weekly (as we are required to do).
"Frankly, as a Catholic and a priest, I am stunned at the decline in Mass attendance that has occurred during my lifetime. When I was a young child, I remember jam-packed Masses: if you didn't get there early you'd have to stand. In those days (the sixties) if you put up four walls, Catholics would fill them. There were waiting lists for the local parochial school. There were lots of religious sisters. There was not just one associate pastor or curate, there were two, or three, or even four. . . .
"There is no way to describe this decline other than 'stunning.' And I can hear all the usual arguments about why swimming around in my brain: We abandoned tradition! No, say others, we're not progressive enough! There are too many rules! No, say others, our problem is that we abandoned all the rules! I could go on and on. Everyone has an explanation and there are lots of disagreements about them.
"But what might God be doing? What might He be allowing? Now I know that I am walking on thin ice in attempting to consider this question, but please be assured that I am merely pondering it, not proposing a complete, definitive answer. I have often asked the Lord, 'What’s up with the Church? What has happened, Lord?' Now I don't claim that I received a bolt from Heaven in answer, rather I just came to a gradual and increasing awareness that what we are experiencing is really not new. There does seem to be a biblical precedent that God has frequently seen fit to thin His ranks, to prune and purify His people. Theologians call this 'remnant theology,' since a remnant refers to a smaller portion of a much larger thing.
"Remnant theology is seen in both the Old and New Testaments. The phrase refers to the fact that, of the many followers of God, many (if not most) fell away at critical periods, such that only a small remnant remained to begin again. . . ."
In a recent commentary, Monsignor Charles Pope (pastor of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Parish, Washington, DC) reflected on the mysterious pruning going on in the Church and some of its effects.
To access Msgr. Pope’s complete post, please visit:
Community in Mission: What Does Remnant Theology Have to Teach us About the Church Today? (9 SEP 15)
"Frankly, as a Catholic and a priest, I am stunned at the decline in Mass attendance that has occurred during my lifetime. When I was a young child, I remember jam-packed Masses: if you didn't get there early you'd have to stand. In those days (the sixties) if you put up four walls, Catholics would fill them. There were waiting lists for the local parochial school. There were lots of religious sisters. There was not just one associate pastor or curate, there were two, or three, or even four. . . .
"There is no way to describe this decline other than 'stunning.' And I can hear all the usual arguments about why swimming around in my brain: We abandoned tradition! No, say others, we're not progressive enough! There are too many rules! No, say others, our problem is that we abandoned all the rules! I could go on and on. Everyone has an explanation and there are lots of disagreements about them.
"But what might God be doing? What might He be allowing? Now I know that I am walking on thin ice in attempting to consider this question, but please be assured that I am merely pondering it, not proposing a complete, definitive answer. I have often asked the Lord, 'What’s up with the Church? What has happened, Lord?' Now I don't claim that I received a bolt from Heaven in answer, rather I just came to a gradual and increasing awareness that what we are experiencing is really not new. There does seem to be a biblical precedent that God has frequently seen fit to thin His ranks, to prune and purify His people. Theologians call this 'remnant theology,' since a remnant refers to a smaller portion of a much larger thing.
"Remnant theology is seen in both the Old and New Testaments. The phrase refers to the fact that, of the many followers of God, many (if not most) fell away at critical periods, such that only a small remnant remained to begin again. . . ."
In a recent commentary, Monsignor Charles Pope (pastor of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Parish, Washington, DC) reflected on the mysterious pruning going on in the Church and some of its effects.
To access Msgr. Pope’s complete post, please visit:
Community in Mission: What Does Remnant Theology Have to Teach us About the Church Today? (9 SEP 15)
Reflection Starter from Pope Francis
"Every time that we make the sign of the cross, we draw closer to the great mystery of the Trinity." - Pope Francis
12 September 2015
Roomful of Blues: Jambalaya
As this blessed week draws to a close, I offer this video of Roomful of Blues performing "Jambalaya":
Thank You, Lord
Thank you, Lord, for the many opportunities You provide to enjoy and ponder Your creation.
Drone Encounters Monk
"A late-August encounter between a camera-armed drone and a man sunbathing on a towering wind turbine drew millions of viewers to the YouTube video and stirred debate about the privacy issues raised by the cool but intrusive flying gadgets.
"In the video, the drone's camera pans a portion of Rhode Island's glorious coastline before it moves in to examine the turbine tower, and then draws near to the peaceful figure gazing at the verdant landscape bordered by the sea.
"Strikingly, the sunbather seems unbothered by the intrusion and happy to share the experience of a peaceful Sunday afternoon.
"What's the secret to his generous spirit and equanimity? Maybe the fact that he's a Benedictine by the name of Brother Joseph Byron, who has been formed to balance work and prayer, and schooled to appreciate God's gift of creation.
"A Benedictine brother, he resides with 12 other members of the order at Portsmouth Abbey School in Rhode Island . . . ."
In a recent commentary, National Catholic Register senior editor Joan Desmond reflected on Brother Joseph's encounter with the drone.
To access her complete post (including her interview with Brother Joseph), please visit:
National Catholic Register: Blogs: Joan Desmond: Catholic Monk Meets Drone on a Sunday Afternoon (6 SEP 15)
"In the video, the drone's camera pans a portion of Rhode Island's glorious coastline before it moves in to examine the turbine tower, and then draws near to the peaceful figure gazing at the verdant landscape bordered by the sea.
"Strikingly, the sunbather seems unbothered by the intrusion and happy to share the experience of a peaceful Sunday afternoon.
"What's the secret to his generous spirit and equanimity? Maybe the fact that he's a Benedictine by the name of Brother Joseph Byron, who has been formed to balance work and prayer, and schooled to appreciate God's gift of creation.
"A Benedictine brother, he resides with 12 other members of the order at Portsmouth Abbey School in Rhode Island . . . ."
In a recent commentary, National Catholic Register senior editor Joan Desmond reflected on Brother Joseph's encounter with the drone.
To access her complete post (including her interview with Brother Joseph), please visit:
National Catholic Register: Blogs: Joan Desmond: Catholic Monk Meets Drone on a Sunday Afternoon (6 SEP 15)
Reflection Starter from William Arthur Ward
"Celebrate your life joyfully;
Celebrate yourself humbly;
Celebrate your blessings gratefully." - William Arthur Ward
Celebrate yourself humbly;
Celebrate your blessings gratefully." - William Arthur Ward
10 September 2015
Thank You, Lord
Thank you, Lord, for the many ways You encourage us to "light one candle" and for the many ways in which You work through these "candles."
From The People’s Grocery to Christ the Healer
For young Frank Incaprera, growing up in New Orleans, there was always the store. The People's Grocery, it was called; a tiny old-fashioned place in the heart of the French Quarter. It would have been your typical mom-and-pop store - but in this case "pop" was absent from the scene. Young Frank's father, who had founded the store, passed away when Frank was seven. It was the height of the Great Depression, and it left his widow with a key decision: return to Sicily, as her family wanted, or stay to keep the store and raise her children here.
"It was a crisis," now-Dr. Incaprera recalled for Peter Finney Jr., of the New Orleans Clarion Herald. "She tossed and turned about going back to Italy, but she made the decision to stick it out here to give us a chance at a better life."
For the next few years, the store - and the Teresian Sisters who staffed St. Louis Cathedral School - formed young Frank. He learned how to deliver bagged groceries, to wait on customers, to restock the shelves. "Everything had to be straight and face the right way," he told Finney. "That stayed with me my whole life."
Nor was he neglecting his courses at the Cathedral School; far from it. He won top honors at graduation; finished Jesuit High at 15; completed Loyola University in two and a half years, and entered LSU Medical School at 17. He received his medical degree when he was just 20 - all the while waiting on customers at the store.
"People talk about multi-tasking," he said. "That was routine. You had to do those things in order to survive."
Over the years, a number of important changes took place in his life. He met and married a nursing student named Ruth, and eventually they became the parents of six children (she died in 2013 after 61 years of marriage). He went into private practice and launched an internal medicine group, which started with four doctors and in time grew to 44.
And a new element entered his medical practice in 1980, when a friend introduced him to Christ the Healer, a medical mission group that makes regular trips to Nicaragua. Dr. Incaprera made his first visit (of 12) and was hooked, so much so that he became known for recruiting other physicians to join the team. One thing bothered him, though: the inability to see more patients when the need to treat the poor was so great.
"It was depressing," he recalled. "I just felt like I was wasting my time." Then a friend, a nun, remembered the old Christopher motto and said, "It’s better to light one candle."
"It really hit home for me," Dr. Incaprera said, "that we were doing good for at least one person. That gave me the boost I needed."
Now 86, he’s reached the award-receiving stage of life - including a prestigious one from the American College of Physicians, which honored his lifetime of exemplary service to medicine. He was also honored by Christ the Healer for his devotion to medical mission work.
And he thinks back often to the store that gave him his start (it lasted until the mid-1980s, when the property was sold) and to his mother, who died in 2006 at 98. The lessons that he learned he learned well - and they motivate him still, in one way or another, to this day.
This essay is this week's "Light One Candle" column, written by Jerry Costello, of The Christophers; it is one of a series of weekly columns that deal with a variety of topics and current events.)
Background information:
Christ the Healer Ministries
The Christophers
"It was a crisis," now-Dr. Incaprera recalled for Peter Finney Jr., of the New Orleans Clarion Herald. "She tossed and turned about going back to Italy, but she made the decision to stick it out here to give us a chance at a better life."
For the next few years, the store - and the Teresian Sisters who staffed St. Louis Cathedral School - formed young Frank. He learned how to deliver bagged groceries, to wait on customers, to restock the shelves. "Everything had to be straight and face the right way," he told Finney. "That stayed with me my whole life."
Nor was he neglecting his courses at the Cathedral School; far from it. He won top honors at graduation; finished Jesuit High at 15; completed Loyola University in two and a half years, and entered LSU Medical School at 17. He received his medical degree when he was just 20 - all the while waiting on customers at the store.
"People talk about multi-tasking," he said. "That was routine. You had to do those things in order to survive."
Over the years, a number of important changes took place in his life. He met and married a nursing student named Ruth, and eventually they became the parents of six children (she died in 2013 after 61 years of marriage). He went into private practice and launched an internal medicine group, which started with four doctors and in time grew to 44.
And a new element entered his medical practice in 1980, when a friend introduced him to Christ the Healer, a medical mission group that makes regular trips to Nicaragua. Dr. Incaprera made his first visit (of 12) and was hooked, so much so that he became known for recruiting other physicians to join the team. One thing bothered him, though: the inability to see more patients when the need to treat the poor was so great.
"It was depressing," he recalled. "I just felt like I was wasting my time." Then a friend, a nun, remembered the old Christopher motto and said, "It’s better to light one candle."
"It really hit home for me," Dr. Incaprera said, "that we were doing good for at least one person. That gave me the boost I needed."
Now 86, he’s reached the award-receiving stage of life - including a prestigious one from the American College of Physicians, which honored his lifetime of exemplary service to medicine. He was also honored by Christ the Healer for his devotion to medical mission work.
And he thinks back often to the store that gave him his start (it lasted until the mid-1980s, when the property was sold) and to his mother, who died in 2006 at 98. The lessons that he learned he learned well - and they motivate him still, in one way or another, to this day.
This essay is this week's "Light One Candle" column, written by Jerry Costello, of The Christophers; it is one of a series of weekly columns that deal with a variety of topics and current events.)
Background information:
Christ the Healer Ministries
The Christophers
Reflection Starter from St. Thomas of Villanova
"Charity is not just giving, rather removing the need of those who receive charity and liberating them from it when possible." - Saint Thomas of Villanova
09 September 2015
Thank You, Lord
Thank you, Lord, for the examples given to us by Your saints as they reach out to minister to Your people in need.
Br. Pier Giorgio Dengler, O.P., on St. Peter Claver
"Though St. Peter Claver, SJ (1581-1654), was a very holy and remarkable man, he was 'forgotten' during his earthly life in the very city in which he toiled: Cartagena, Colombia. How is it possible to overlook someone who worked tirelessly for four decades - baptizing an estimated 300,000 slaves, visiting them frequently on their various plantations, and hearing perhaps 200,000 of their confessions in his lifetime? The explanation of both his pastoral success and his being forgotten is in large part the virtue of humility.
"He showed the slaves how to take their humiliation and convert it to true humility. He did not so much fight slavery in itself. Rather, he helped its victims transcend it, just as the Lord Jesus redeemed us by entering into slavery and conquering it with humble obedience to the Father. As St. Paul says, '[Jesus Christ], though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped at; rather he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God highly exalted him. . .' (Philippians 2:5-9)."
In a recent commentary, Brother Pier Giorgio Dengler, O.P., reflected on Saint Peter Claver (whose memory the Church celebrates today, 9 September) and his ministry.
To access Br. Pier Giorgio's complete post, please visit:
Dominicana: The Humility of St. Peter (9 SEP 15)
"He showed the slaves how to take their humiliation and convert it to true humility. He did not so much fight slavery in itself. Rather, he helped its victims transcend it, just as the Lord Jesus redeemed us by entering into slavery and conquering it with humble obedience to the Father. As St. Paul says, '[Jesus Christ], though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped at; rather he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God highly exalted him. . .' (Philippians 2:5-9)."
In a recent commentary, Brother Pier Giorgio Dengler, O.P., reflected on Saint Peter Claver (whose memory the Church celebrates today, 9 September) and his ministry.
To access Br. Pier Giorgio's complete post, please visit:
Dominicana: The Humility of St. Peter (9 SEP 15)
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