Point and Match.

The personal debate we've all gone through, which I talked about a little a while ago, has been settled, at least for me.  All my doubts and hesitation are addressed here, and I find the matter quite firmly settled.

While you're at The Crescat, read a little more.  She's hil-a-ri-ous, and very often quite poignant, one of my "always read this" category.

THAT'S What I've Been Trying to Say!

I just love when someone articulates something I've been thinking forever! 

It's so exciting.

I knew this much: those who say the Catholic Church makes women subjects and/or renders us irreleant are utterly wrong.  Women, not only by virtue of their status as human beings and God's children but by virtue of their particular status as women, have a critical, vital role in Christ's salvific work.

Sadly, while I have always intuitively understood that -- so much so that I am always somewhat baffled by such arguments -- I have never been able to explain well why.

Which is why I was excited about this article, which begins with three false premises:

 

1. It is commonly believed, even among those who are not feminist, that power and authority is something intrinsically tied solely to formal public office.
   
   
2. In order for women to have religious power and authority they somehow must be identified with divinity. It seems that men have more status because God is called "Father" and not "Mother."
   
   
3. It is believed, again even among those who are not feminist, that authentic authority is a legal-juridical category. Here authority is confused with power -- essentially the power to set policies and order other people around.

And continues with all sorts of sound, logical, brilliance.  Read it.

"Pope silent following Kennedy's Death"

My first thought on seeing this headline: This is ridiculous. He's the pope, for crying out loud, does anyone honestly think he has time to send a personal response to passing of every prominent Roman Catholic in the world?

After reading the whole article: Fr. James Martin comments that Ted Kennedy was a complicated man. Well, of course he was, I tend to think most people are complicated in some facet or another. And I don't believe that those Catholics who take a stance on some issue in opposition to that consistent with Church teaching automatically sever all their ties to Her, least of all the emotional ones. Is it inconsistent, usually intellectually dishonest? Yeah, usually. But we're fallen humans. We all do that.

I'm the last to defend some of Kennedy's actions in life, and I agree the choices of politicians have moral consequences (which for Catholic politicians can include receiving Communion or not), but I don't think it's odd that he apparently stayed connected to the faith of his youth (especially since, you know, it's True and all, and it's hard to remove yourself from that once you're in it, though you may turn a blind eye to it sometimes, as he did). Nor do I believe Pope Benedict's silence is some indication of his take on Kennedy's life.

I'm also the last to make any judgment as to the state of his soul -- that's strictly between him and God. I always hope the deceased make it home. If they do, then there's hope for me.

Found in one of my class readings

"To be a believer today it so live a certain moral loneliness. To sustain faith today is not to vote with the majority, but rather to be what sociologist call a cognitive minority, that is, to stand outside the dominant consciousness”.
-Ronald Rolheiser

A *Wonderful* Quote from Our Holy Father

Found at Happy Catholic:

When I abandon myself, let go of myself, then I see, yes, life is right at last, because otherwise I am far too narrow for myself. When I go outside, then it truly begins; then life attains its greatness.

Pope Benedict XVI

"Here Comes Everybody"

Blessed Easter, everyone.

One of my favorite things about Easter is the Vigil Mass, at which newcomers to the faith are baptized and confirmed. I've heard in several places that this year, that's about 150,000 people, among them my Uncle Richard. Pray for him and all our new Catholics.

Read Deacon Greg's homily. It moved me to tears -- not just welling up, which diaper comercials do, but actual rolling tears, which is not at all a common occurrence.

I hope to write more about Missions at some point, but you all know how I am.

And God bless you all.

My Boy Matt Maher and a Great Example of Ecumanism

Matt Maher is a Catholic singer/songwriter whose music I've had a substantial crush on for years (the music, not the guy, I swear). Last year, he finally released an album (Empty and Beautiful, his 4th) on a "mainstream" Christian label, a pretty big deal when we're talking about a guy who wrote a song that starts with the word "transubstantiation".

I stumbled on this interview he did for The Christophers. The whole thing is great and I recommend it, but I was particularly impressed by his explanation of the difference between Catholicism and Protestant denominations, the truth of the Church, and what Catholics and Protestants can offer each other. It's right after the halfway point, if you'd like to skip ahead.

"We are ritual, habit oriented people [. . .] If we do that so much,
doesn't it make sense that God would make that sacred?"

"Words mean something, and the problem with pop culture is it keeps
devaluing that meaning."

I've seen and heard Matt "perform" five or six times. Actually, perform is totally the wrong word. I usually cringe at terms like "worship leader", but in the contexts I've seen him, he's been exactly that, and excellently so. It's never the Matt Maher Show, it's always a genuine expression of praise that pulls the attention of all present right where it's supposed to be. As the kids say, this guy is legit.

Stuff, Meet Fan.

I have barely posted lately, I know, and this is not exclusive news by any stretch. Most people who read this site probably already know about it, but just in case:

Notre Dame invited President Obama to speak at this year's commencement, and he accepted.

The president, Fr. John Jenkins, defended the choice.

And now the bishop has announced he will not attend the ceremonies. As my friend and ND alum Ginna said, "Bishop D'Arcy lays the SMACK DOWN."

Hand Motions in Heaven

If you've ever been to a youth conference...



It's funny 'cause it's true. Thanks to my dear Bookworm for reminding me of this.

I'm Torn / I Lied

Just a couple days ago, I suggested Christ Be Beside Me was my favorite church song. I think I meant to say Morning Has Broken is my favorite. Of course, a little while ago, I said How Can I Keep from Singing was my favorite. Then yesterday, at mass, the communion song was How Can I Keep from Singing, which I have checked the missal for almost every week even though I know it's not in there. And, of course, I pretty well burst into tears the moment I heard the first strains.

What I'm saying is, I retract any previous statments that any of the above three songs are, apart from the others, my one favorite. I can't decide. I just can't.

Life

I don't think anything else in our nation is going to function as it ought or could until we, collectively, get our heads right about abortion and the value of the individual human life.



This ad aired on BET. It's especially pointed since the vast majority of babies killed by abortions are African American (Margret Sanger, founder of what is now Planned Parenthood, was buddy buddy with high Ku Klux Klan big wigs, and is on record saying abortion is a great tool for reducing minority populations. Tell me that's not seriously %*^&@$ up).

Catholic Schools Matter, Folks

I don't believe I ever set foot in a Catholic school before I arrived at Saint John Bosco in August 2008 to teach there, but I very quickly realized that it was a very different environment from anything I had experienced before. ACE's very existence is predicated on the idea that Catholic schools are vital to the welfare of the country, never mind the well-fare of Catholic children. It was often said that our objective was not to take over public schools, but to fill a need public schools could not -- we aren't necessarily better, we're different.

Deacon Greg posted snippet of a New York Times article taking a look at the current crisis Catholic schools are facing and the measures being taken to stem this particular tide. Not surprisingly, Notre Dame's expansive work in this field came up, as did ACE's legendary founder, mentioned here before, Fr. Scully.

The Archdiocese of Washington was so desperate to save seven struggling parochial schools last year that it opted for a solution that shook Catholic educators to the core. It took down the crucifixes, hauled away the statues of the Virgin Mary, and — in its own word — “converted” the schools in the nation’s capital into city charter schools.

The Washington choice seemed to limn in its most extreme form the predicament facing Catholic education: How to maintain a Catholic school tradition of no-frills educational rigor, religious teaching and character-building — a system that has helped shape generations of America’s striving classes since the turn of the last century — when Catholics are no longer signing up their children.

“It was taken for granted for a long time that Catholic schools would always be there,” said Dr. Karen M. Ristau, president of the National Catholic Educational Association, a lobbying group. “People are beginning to realize that this is a false assumption.”

The Rev. Timothy R. Scully, who led the Notre Dame task force study widely credited with igniting the current self-examination, was more blunt.

“There is a window open, and we may have a chance to reverse the trend of decline,” he said. “But I’m not sure how long it will remain open.”

The rest.

A Look Back, a Little Early

Just like last year, here's a photographic, slightly epileptic, look back at this year for me. Highlights:

• My 2nd VIDES formation camp, this time having a clue
• My 2nd semester teaching, still without a clue
• The St. Vitus Fools, our drama club, and our production of "Looking Glass Land, which was a sucess largely because no one could tell none of us had a clue.
• More nuns, all indescribably wonderful.
• Leaving the nuns, with a full heart and some tears...
• ...and arriving at Notre Dame to start ACE...
• ...where I met some of the most incredible people ever, and certainly the heaviest concentration of awesome I've encountered yet
• My second convent full of community mates, this time unconsecrated my own age
• My second year of teaching, with a little bit of a clue
• And meanwhile, my family continued to be awesome and weird

Please note: There are two people who were as important in my life this year as anyone else, and more important than most, even though I only saw them once in April for a few hours each (hence the painful dearth of pictures and sinful under representation). You know who you are. This year would not have been nearly as wonderful without your constant long-distance support, laughter, and presence. Thank you. I love you more than I know how to say.



All the pictures in the movie are available here, should you be inclined to take a more leisurely look.

I Hear the Truth; It Liveth!

This song has been in my head all week. They sing it pretty often at the basilica at Notre Dame, which is where I first heard it. There's one line where the choir director always stomps his foot so loud it sounds through the whole church. That's my favorite part, and I confess I miss it sometimes.

Merry Christmas, Dear Readers!


My life flows on in endless song
above earth's lamentation.
I hear the real, though far-off hymn
that hails a new creation.

(chorus)
No storm can shake my inmost calm
while to that rock I'm clinging.
Since Love is Lord of heaven and earth,
how can I keep from singing?

Through all the tumult and the strife
I hear that music ringing.
It sounds an echo in my soul!
How can I keep from singing?

What though the tempest loudly roars,
I hear the truth; it liveth.
What though the darkness round me close,
songs in the night it giveth

While tyrants tremble, sick with fear,
and hear their death knells ringing;
When friends rejoice both far and near,
how can I keep from singing?

Missed Merton

I missed this, what with my floundering attempts to be responsible, but evidently yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the passing of Thomas Merton.

His most well-knwon prayer, and a favorite of mine:

My Lord God,I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think that I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear,for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Saints in Space!

And I'm not kidding even a little bit. (Emphasis mine)

NEW CANEY, Texas, NOV. 20, 2008 (Zenit.org).- St. Thérèse wrote that she wanted to be a missionary on every continent simultaneously and reach the most remote islands -- now her dream has extended to space flight.

The Carmelite community of New Caney, Texas, enjoys the friendship of Colonel Ron Garan, who was on the May 31-June 14 Discovery shuttle mission.

Before heading into space, Garan had called the women religious to request their prayer for the voyage, and he told them he could take some small item into space on behalf of the community.

The sisters reported that the words of St. Thérèse came to mind: "I have the vocation of an apostle. I would like to travel over the whole earth to preach your name and to plant your glorious cross on infidel soil. But oh, my beloved, one mission would not be enough for me, I would want to preach the Gospel on all five continents simultaneously and even to the most remote isles. I would be a missionary, not for a few years but from the beginning of creation until the consummation of the ages."

The Carmelites gave the astronaut a relic of St. Thérèse for his flight.

Now, they report, she has traveled 5,735,643 miles around the earth for 14 days at 17,057 miles an hour. Meanwhile, the sisters commended the world to her intercession.

I wonder if any other saint's relic has been brought into the cold black beyond our atmosphere. Is Therese our first extraterrestrial saint?

Duh, or "How St. Thomas More Pointed Out That I've Overlooked the Point"

As I have mentioned once or twice, I have grown to really loath politics, the political machine, the entire election process, and especially the exceedingly large piles, buckets, and repositories of pretentious, irrational, "me-against-you" horse manure that get stacked up, stirred up, ad paraded about. I find it frustrating, frightening, and nauseating.

So I removed myself from the entire thing. I just don't talk politics. When it comes up in conversation, I quietly leave the room.

Recently, the Catholic blogosphere has been passing around the Litany of St. Thomas More, and after seeing it on at least three different sites, it suddenly dawned on me.

Duh, Andrea. You should be praying.

Rather than simply refuse to play, I ought to be praying about this unfortunate state of affairs, and for more people like Thomas More, who was martyred for the faith and refused to compromise his integrity, to get into the game.

Litany of St. Thomas More, Martyr and Patron Saint of Statesmen, Politicians and Lawyers

V. Lord, have mercy
R. Lord have mercy
V. Christ, have mercy
R. Christ have mercy
V. Lord, have mercy
R. Lord have mercy
V. Christ hear us
R. Christ, graciously hear us

V. St. Thomas More, Saint and Martyr,
R. Pray for us (Repeat after each invocation)
St. Thomas More, Patron of Statesmen, Politicians and Lawyers
St. Thomas More, Patron of Justices, Judges and Magistrates
St. Thomas More, Model of Integrity and Virtue in Public and Private Life
St. Thomas More, Servant of the Word of God and the Body and Blood of Christ
St. Thomas More, Model of Holiness in the Sacrament of Marriage
St. Thomas More, Teacher of his Children in the Catholic Faith
St. Thomas More, Defender of the Weak and the Poor
St. Thomas More, Promoter of Human Life and Dignity

V.Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world
R.Spare us O Lord
V.Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world
R.Graciously hear us O Lord
V.Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world
R.Have mercy on us

Let us pray:

O Glorious St. Thomas More, Patron of Statesmen, Politicians, Judges and Lawyers, your life of prayer and penance and your zeal for justice, integrity and firm principle in public and family life led you to the path of martyrdom and sainthood. Intercede for our Statesmen, Politicians, Judges and Lawyers, that they may be courageous and effective in their defense and promotion of the sanctity of human life - the foundation of all other human rights. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

Yup, Still Alive

You know that saying, life intervenes? I might be making that up, but even in such case, you're clever enough to get what I mean. Anyway, that's my excuse. The last couple months of school and getting ready to leave the convent and go to Notre Dame sucked up most of my time in April and May, and ACE sucked up every waking moment in June and July.

A brief summary of my first ACE summer:

ACE has articulated the philosphy of education I've been dancing around for years: education is a social justice issue, because education is a right to all people because of their God-given dignity. Moreover, education is about the whole kid and not just their little brains. These were things I knew, but I don't think I'd articulated it, and ceetainly hadn't met so many people who agree.

My fellow ACErs are the greatest "quantity of quality" of people I've ever encountered. I have always been blessed with remarkable, incredible, astounding friends, make no mistake, but the sheer number of "wow" people I met was awesome. One rarely encounters this caliber of people, and never in such numbers.

The Church I fawn over so much is more than the mystical, mysterious body I usually focus on. It's a living, breathing institution, and I'm trying to shift my perspective to see that better, day to day.

More will come out in the wash, I'm sure.

I'll be in Brownsville with my community Tuesday night. Teaching starts August 22.

Mantra

Non nobis, Domine, Domine,
non nobis, Domine
Sed nomini, sed nomini,
tuo da gloriam.


(The video happens to be pretty sweet -- Henry V rocks -- but it's really about the beautiful arrangement of Non Nobis)

God in the Streets of New York

I first saw this short film a while ago on some other blog. It's deeply moving, and well worth four minutes of your time.



My first day here at Notre Dame, I went and sat by the tabernacle in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart for a while. There was a priest across the aisle from me. Suddenly, he dropped to his knees on the ground. A sister had come in with the Blessed Sacrament to repose in the tabernacle. I followed his lead, thinking "I'm in a totally different place than I've ever been before."

Appreciation and love for the Eucharist are increasingly paramount in my mind.