Thank you, Lord, for opportunities for Lenten retreats and days of recollection, whether done in person or virtually.
21 February 2021
Thank You, Lord
Msgr. Pope on the Battle Theme of Lent
"A brief observation of the first two days in Lent reveals militaristic, even violent imagery in the battle against sin and the unruly passions of the flesh. The Collect (opening prayer) of Ash Wednesday provides an image of troops mustering for battle. . . .
"'Battle,' 'weapons,' and 'armed' all clearly have military connotations, but so does the phrase 'campaign of Christian service' if we look at the Latin text: praesidia miltiae Christianae. The service or action (praesidia) is one of Christian battle or militancy (militiae). This refers to the Church Militant - the Church here on earth - waging war against sin and the kingdom of darkness."
In a recent commentary, Monsignor Charles Pope (pastor of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Parish,
Washington, DC) reflected on how we are summoned to a battle that is engaged by the Church with special intensity during Lent.
To access Msgr. Pope's complete post, please visit:
Community in Mission: On The Battle Theme of Lent (18 FEB 21)
Reflection Starter from Pope Francis
"Lent is precisely the season of hope when we turn our gaze back to the God who is patient. Saint Paul passionately urges us to place our hope in reconciliation: 'Be reconciled to God' (2 Cor 5:20)." - Pope Francis
20 February 2021
Pete Seeger: "Hard Times in the Mill"
As this blessed week draws to a close, I offer this version of Pete Seeger presenting "Hard Times in the Mill":
On a 'Mystery Man' at Prayer in a New Orleans Church
"Joe Delery is a lifelong Catholic and has spent a career with the New Orleans Police Department using his 6-foot-3 frame to protect and serve with the best of them, intuitively knowing how to defuse a tense standoff with a disarming gift of gab.
"When he was a lanky freshman at De La Salle High School in 1972, he went out for the Cavaliers' JV football team, in part because of a backhanded comment he had received from a teacher at Christian Brothers School, Don Rowan, an old football coach from New Iberia, Louisiana. . . .
"Still, years later, Delery made a connection to football - in perhaps the most unlikely of places: St. Rita Church in New Orleans."
A recent Catholic News Services article reported on Mr. Delery's connection with New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.
To access the complete CNS report, please visit:
Reflection Starer from Isaiah 58
"Thus says the LORD:
If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech; If you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted;
Then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday;
Then the LORD will guide you always and give you plenty even on the parched land.
He will renew your strength, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails." - Book of Isaiah 58:9B-11 (from today's First Reading [Saturday after Ash Wednesday])
19 February 2021
On Restaurants Collaborating for Random Act of Kindness, Thank You Popcorn, and Other New England-related Topics
A number of articles/posts have recently been published on a variety of New England-related subjects worth considering.
To access some of these, please visit:
Warwick (RI) Beacon: Cop kindness (28 JAN 21)
Rutland (VT) Herald: Stafford students top video contest (15 FEB 21)
WFSB-TV: Three shoreline restaurants team up for random act of kindness (10 FEB 21)
Rhode Island Monthly: 2021 Common Good Awards (January 2021)
National Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month
February is being observed as Teen Dating Violence Prevention and Awareness Month, a national effort designed to raise awareness about abuse in teen and 20-something relationships and to promote programs that prevent it.
Background information:
Teen Dating Violence Awareness: Teen Dating Violence Month
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Preventing Teen Dating Violence
Francois Devienne: Flute Concerto No. 2 in D Major
It's time for some classical music. This is a presentation of François Devienne's Flute Concerto No. 2 in D Major (Op. 11), as presented by the Orquestra Simfònica de Sant Cugat del Vallès, conducted by Josep Ferrer:
Olympian’s Road to Success
Scott Hamilton is known for winning the gold medal in figure skating at the 1984 Winter Olympics. But getting to that point? Well, that took a lot of stumbles and falls. In fact, Scott estimates that he has fallen down on the ice a minimum of 41,600 times. The life lesson he took from those falls is that you always have to get up again if you want to succeed. While that attitude was important in his skating career, it became more vital during his battles with cancer and three brain tumors. In order to help others adopt a spirit of optimism in the face of hardship, and encourage a sense of faith in their lives, Scott has created a website and podcast called Live Your Days. We discussed it recently on Christopher Closeup.
As a child, Scott suffered from low self-esteem because he was shorter than all his classmates; he endured numerous hospital stays due to a mystery illness that left him feeling sick much of the time; and he was bullied because he was adopted. After four years of trying to determine his illness, one doctor told Scott's parents, "We can't figure this thing out, but I can give you some solid advice: go home and live a normal life."
Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton were exhausted from the nonstop caretaking, so they took the advice of their family physician, who recommended they send Scott to ice skating lessons at a new facility nearby. Not only did it give the couple some necessary downtime, it exposed Scott to a talent he didn't know he had. Scott said, "I realized that I could skate as well as the best athletes in my grade. For the first time, I had self-esteem, this incredible sense of identity and power. . . . My health started to improve miraculously, and I was able to go on a huge adventure with my skating."
Scott’s mother was his greatest champion throughout his childhood and teen years. She also served as a model of optimism after she was diagnosed with cancer when Scott was a sophomore in high school. He recalled her breaking the news to the family and trying to put a positive spin on everything, like saying that chemo was allowing her to lose the weight she wanted.
Scott recalled, "She fought [cancer] for two years and then succumbed. [I asked], how do I live without her? It just hit me in the face. . . . [But] I was able to mourn her in the best way possible: by trying to become the person that she always thought I could be. It was 43 years ago that I lost her, and every single day, I think about her." And Scott looked to his mother for inspiration when he was fighting cancer himself.
He hopes that the children's book he wrote, Fritzy Finds a Hat, helps kids in similar situations focus on better days because the story was inspired by his experience with his mom. Fritzy is a boy whose mother is undergoing chemo and needs a hat to wear after she loses her hair. He embarks on a quest to find her the perfect one to make her feel better. The simple story presents "the idea that children have an identity in the family structure, doing something profound to help their parents when they're facing a struggle."
Though Scott relies on his Christian faith in good times and bad, that wasn't always the case. That part of his story next time.
This essay is a recent "Light One Candle" column written by Tony
Rossi, Director of Communications, The Christophers; it is one of a
series of weekly columns that deal with a variety of topics and current
events.
Background information:
The Christophers
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