Admitting Our Need

There is often talk about the way "modern" Catholics believe, picking and choosing what they believe and bypassing what they don't. It has been termed cafeteria Catholicism -- what it is in reality is intellectual sin. We accept Christ's teachings only so far as it agrees with what we already think. When it challenges us, we ignore it.

Jesus didn't accept this from his disciples. When he announced the doctrine of the Eucharist in John 6 many disciples ceased to follow him because they found the teaching too difficult (see John 6:66). Did Jesus yell out, "Oh, that's okay -- take what you like, ignore the rest?" No, instead he turned to those who had not left him and asked, "Do you want to leave me too?"

Our reluctance to accept the Lord's teaching, "in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and what I have failed to do," may be our most persistent sin, one that we constantly need to confess openly, as we do at the beginning of every celebration of the Eucharist.

How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist
by Michael Dubruiel

Confess Your Belief in God

Jesus revealed the love of God to us by dying for us and leaving us a memorial of his death in the Eucharist. The word memorial had a special meaning for the Jewish people of Jesus' time. It didn't mean recalling the past, as it does for us today, but rather it meant making present a past event. Thus, when we come together at the Eucharist, we are present as Calvary and witness once again what God is like through Jesus.

How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist
by Michael Dubruiel

An Atheist and An Agnostic Look for the Virgin Mary

The Miracle Detective by Randall Sullivan
Virgin Trails by Robert Ward

My lastest Spero news article is a review of two different books whose authors search for the Blessed Virgin. The surprising thing about them is that one author is an atheist and one an agnostic. What do they find? That would be telling.

Horrendous "Head Count" But a Lot of Fun

SLEEPY HOLLOW
In the spirit of Halloween we rented this movie. Dan mentioned in the comments boxes that he had such a slow workday that he wound up reading a story about a headless chicken who lived for 18 months ... he would have loved the number of headless bodies in this movie. Though, unlike Dan's chicken, they didn't live for any appreciable time once decapitated.

It is loosely based on the classic story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. It is set in upstate New York. There is a headless horseman. Johnny Depp plays Ichabod Crane (most adorably, of course) and there are a lot of people with Dutch last names. There ends any resemblance.

Nevertheless it was fun to watch and certainly better than Tim Burton's last movie, The Corpse Bride, if for not other reason than the large amount of gore everywhere at every opportunity. It is as if about halfway through the movie, Burton said, "Oh, to hell with it. This isn't the real story anyway. Let's have some FUN!" Witches, gore, a massive explosion, old West style stagecoach fighting with the headless horseman ... he threw in everything but the kitchen sink.

And for some reason that was ok. We laughed at the whole thing because so much of it was so over the top and had a great time. Certainly it was a wonderful way to forget about all the stress of the work day (which, sadly, had no time at all for headless chicken stories).

Recommended only if you like lots of bodiless heads, blood, Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci ... and won't hold it against them for not really making a movie about The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

HC Rating: *** Liked it despite absence of flubber (flubber in this case being any sort of resemblance to the original story).

Savage Chickens and Halloween

Next week is Halloween Week at Savage Chickens. Looks like they're getting a head start today. Check it out.

Hannah's Field Trip and Our "Assignment"

Hannah's government class took a field trip to the criminal courthouse yesterday. The kids were all free to go to whichever trials they chose, switch trials, etc. as long as they obeyed courthouse rules and were quiet and respectful.

Hannah became fascinated by a murder trial and stayed in it the entire time although other classmates came and went. A doctor was giving testimony about his client, Paul, who suffers from disassociation and also being bipolar. Without going into all the details, the "voices" took over at one point about two years ago and Paul murdered his girlfriend.

Listening to Hannah tell about this, my heart was breaking for Paul, his family, his murdered girlfriend, and her family. Most poignant was when the doctor said that Paul wanted to be good and would try to read the Bible and pray. All the while the voices would be roaring in his head, telling him that he was a murderer, that it is impossible for him to be good or pray to God.

I was haunted by this last night and, of course, feel that I have been given a prayer "assignment" for all the people involved. Hannah told me the same thing.

Her field trip had been planned for a couple of weeks ago but the water pipes at the school burst and the trip was postponed. So not only did the kids get a couple of days off (though I know that the teachers and administration had a royal headache because of it) but Hannah saw this trial which brought Paul to our attention. God uses all for His good I think.

( By the way, I am not posting this to start a lot of questions about Paul's condition or any other details of the situation. There is no way we know enough about it to comment on that in any constructive fashion.)

Adoring God With Praise and Thanksgiving

One of my favorite quotes is from the journals of Father Alexander Schmemann: "God, when creating the world, did not solve problems or pose them. He created what He would call 'very good.' God created the world, but the devil transformed the world and man and life into a 'problem.'" If we want to adore God with praise and thanksgiving we are going to have to learn to stop seeing everything as a "problem" or "interruption" and begin to be open to seeing God's goodness and interventions even in the most unlikely of places.

Many of the most horrific sins ever committed by human beings happen because people see problems where they should see blessings. If we do not adore God above all, we risk doing horrible things as we serve whatever else we put in God's place.

How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist
by Michael Dubruiel

Oh brother, does this quote fit my very busy day today. Thanks be to God for the employment that is making me so very busy!

Blagueur* Spotlight

CATHOLICNEWS.ORG
This blog is definitely not what the name looks like. Instead of real Catholic news, Maureen Martin writes pointed and lively satires of news articles that parody absurdities in Catholic culture and life all around us. She was on hiatus to celebrate when her husband returned from Iraq. However, Maureen's extended absence showed how she has made her presence felt in her short time in the Catholic blogosphere as lplaintive requests for more stories began appearing in her comments boxes.

Some of my favorite stories include: " NBC to Air New Reality Show Featuring 'Ex-Priest' This Fall," " Baton Rouge Residents Secretly Pleased Over New Orleans' Demise," " Parishes Report Extraordinary Minister Shortage," and what has to be her best so far, Man Gets Birthday Wish, Church Ceases to Exist.

"That afternoon,I was reading the last page of the Aeneid when all the words vanished off the pages, and the book just crumbled to pieces," said Holland, a general medical practitioner. Words weren't the only thing to disappear. Apparently, the letter "J" was also a casualty of the birthday wish gone awry. "I'm known as Ohn now," he said.

Drop by and welcome Maureen back ... and check out some of those stories.

* joker (en Francais) = blagueur
(pronounced blogger, of course!)

Cure for the Liturgical Blues

HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THE EUCHARIST by Michael Dubruiel

Philothea Rose writes about not wanting to participate in liturgical discussions any more because they take her focus off of worshipping Jesus when she is at Mass (read the post, it's a good one). Many others have posted their bravas to this post.

I haven't run into this particular discussion problem (perhaps because I seem to constantly get sucked into predestination versus free will conversations at Protestant sites ... so I'm looking in another direction).

At any rate, I thoroughly understand Philothea's desire. The best book I have found that has helped me move further toward "reaching Jesus" in the Mass is a small and easy to read. It puts the Mass focus strictly where we should have it ... on the Eucharist and our response to it.

Dubruiel shows how to balance the Mass both as a holy banquet and as a holy sacrifice. Too often these days the sacrificial aspect is left out.

Participation in the Eucharist requires that we die to ourselves and live in Christ. If we want to get the most out of the Eucharist, then sacrifice is the key. This is what has been lost on many of us and if we want to reclaim all the spiritual riches that are available to us we must relearn what it means not only to "offer it up" but indeed to offer ourselves up.

Dubruiel uses an acronym to help remember the steps we can take to join ourselves in sacrifice to the sacrifice of Jesus.

Serve (obey the command that Jesus gave to his disciples at the first Eucharist)
Adore (put aside anything that seems to rival God in importance)
Confess (believe in God's power to make up for your weaknesses)
Respond (answer in gesture, word, and song in unity with the body of Christ)
Incline (listen with your whole being to the Word of God)
Fast (bring your appetites and desires to the Eucharist)
Invite (open yourself to an encounter with Jesus)
Commune (accept the gift of Christ in the Eucharist)
Evangelize (take him and share the Lord with others)

Each step is explored in a different chapter and every single one had "aha" moments for me, sometimes from Church Father quotes, sometimes from the Further Helps at the end of each chapter, and quite often from Dubruiel's own insights. Each chapter also includes "Lessons from a Three Year Old" to highlight points. This sounds corny but it didn't come off that way. In many cases, that three year old was much wiser his single mindedness than an adult.

I do not have time to write the review that this book deserves but did want to get mention of it out there for anyone who would benefit from it. Now that I think of it, I don't know any Catholic who would not benefit from it.

I will let the book speak for itself by posting a series of quotes in the days to come.

Serve the Lord

If you want to get the most out of the Eucharist you have to check your "I" at the door. The "I" that wants things, that endlessly critiques the way things are done, and that demands things be done in exactly a certain way (meaning "my way," not God's way). I think it was Peter Kreeft who once said that the famous song, "I Did It My Way," sung by such great artists as Frank Sinatra and Elvis, is the national anthem of hell. The way of the world may be to do things "our way" but the way of Christ is to do things his Way. We therefore consciously have to leave "my way" at the door and in exchange take up an attitude that asks "how may we be of service to you, Lord, in this celebration of the Eucharist?"

FUMA Reports Pittsburgh Unprepared for Zombies

"When it comes to defending ourselves against an army of reanimated human corpses, the officials in charge have fallen asleep at the wheel," Murphy said. "Who's in charge of sweep-and-burn missions to clear out infected areas? Who's going to guard the cemeteries at night? If zombies were to arrive in the city tomorrow, we'd all be roaming the earth in search of human brains by Friday."

Government-conducted zombie-attack scenarios described on the State Department's website indicate that a successful, citywide zombie takeover would take 10 days, but according to ZPI statistician Dr. Milton Cornelius, the government's models fail to incorporate such factors as the zombies' rudimentary reasoning skills and basic tool use.

"Today's zombies quickly learn to open doors, break windows, and stage ambushes," Cornelius said. "In one 1985 incident in Louisville, a band of zombies was able to lure four paramedics and countless law-enforcement officials to their deaths by commandeering an ambulance radio and calling for backup."

Read the whole story at The Onion who is doing their darndest to keep up with current Halloween news.

I'm Not a Baseball Fan Usually

But when the Astros are so close to getting into the World Series for the first time ever, my Texan pride overcomes all other prejudices!

And I am not alone in this sudden passion.

Halloween Countdown

For the ultimate superhero costume, I don't think you could improve on these.

Thanks to Tim for the heads up on this great site.

So, Mom, If I Wanted to Get a Job...

Isn't that every parent's dream? To have those words come from their child without a lot of prompting?

Hannah said she was interested in working at Boston Market. Having put in a stint during college at Pizza Hut my conviction is that every person should do time (and, yes, I meant do time) at a restaurant chain. It is how you become quite convinced that you must go to college and get a different sort of job.

Actually, any job involving service with the public will do in that capacity.

Later Tom said, "I wonder why she suddenly wants to get a job?"

I blithely replied, "Oh, she's been saying for a long time that when she gets her driver's license she'll need to work to help pay for insurance." We never have made that stipulation but she has many friends who have to do so. (That's Saint Hannah, right? Oh a mother's naivete.)

Yesterday on the way home from school, Hannah looked at me sidelong and said, tentatively, "So, if I got that job ... could I go to Europe this summer?"

AHA!

So much for those noble, lofty reasons I had. I told her about our conversation and she quickly said, "Oh ... of course ... that too!"

Right.

We were just happy to see that she thought she'd be comfortable spending three weeks with another family in Greece, Italy, France, and Ireland.

Hey, if I get an extra job do you think they'd take me?

The Anchoress Comes Out Swinging in Defense of Halloween

The Anchoress is standing up for the holiday people love to bash. Fantastic writing, as always, and you've got to go see the Invisible Monk costumes her boys had one year. Those may be the best costumes I've ever seen. EVER!

C'mon, Everybody, Sing Along!

What better fate,
To populate...

(clap clap clap clap)

Deep in the heart of Texas?

Get in the groove,
It’s time to move...

(clap clap clap clap)

Deep in the heart of Texas!

Screw doom and gloom,
There’s always room...

(clap clap clap clap)

Deep in the heart of Texas!

No need to toil,
(there’s so much oil...)

(clap clap clap clap)

Deep in the heart of Texas!

The numbers show,
There’s room to grow...

(clap clap clap clap)

Deep in the heart of Texas!

With much aplomb,
I thank you, Dom,

(clap clap clap clap)

Here in the heart of...Boston.

Kelly Clark
(in response to Dom's post about overpopulation)

St. Luke

MEMORIAL

St. Luke is Tom's patron saint. He says that he chose him because he was the only apostle who never saw Jesus. I like that sign of faith from Tom to identify with Luke that way. Certainly if we remember that detail then St. Luke's accomplishments become those that we can admire even more as a Christian who fully lives his faith.

St. Luke wrote the gospel that shows us so clearly divine mercy, gives us many details about Mary and the birth of Jesus, tells stories of women that no one else mentions, and gives us some unique parables such as my favorite The Prodigal Son. His medical training let him include many small details that otherwise might have gone unnoticed, such as in the story of the woman whose bleeding stopped after she touched the tassel of Jesus' robe.

His gospel and the book of Acts were written to someone who had converted. Luke wrote them not for himself but to help others and, in so doing, was used by God to leave a legacy of faith that helps us all today.

They say that he also was an artist who painted portraits of Mary. I like to think of him painting Mary while she perhaps told him stories of Jesus, of how she pondered things in her heart.

Most of all today, I am struck by the thing that was pointed out when I was reading Word Among Us' reflection for the day about today's Mass readings.

Only Luke is with me.
2 Timothy 4:11

Everyone left Paul except Luke. Luke was a devoted friend who knew how to show it when the chips were down, even if it meant danger to himself.

Surely Luke has left us much to admire but also much to attempt to emulate. Complete faithfulness to God, keeping our commitments, going the extra mile even when it wasn't easy, using every bit of ourselves in service.

St. Luke, pray for us.

(For more information about St. Luke look here.)

A Good Definition of Faith

For the pastor at the Byzantium Catholic Church who said he didn't know what faith was and if anyone had a good definition to let him know (as reported by TSO).

Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.

Saint Augustine

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…

St. Paul, Hebrews 11:1

If our priest said this I'd start worrying about everything else he said. It seems to me that someone who doesn't have at least an inkling of how they define faith is living an unexamined life. Way too unexamined on a very basic level to be giving the homily and telling everyone else how to live. At the very least, such a person is living a life without having read (every very cursorily) the classic Church Fathers...or certain parts of the Bible. Scary.

Weekend Reflection

Sin is the executioner of the good God, and the assassin of the soul. It snatches us away from Heaven to precipitate us into Hell. And we love it!
St. John Vianney

How is it, Lord, that we are cowards in everything save in opposing Thee?

St. Teresa of Avila

All In God's Time

Last night we toasted to Ed's life, circled 'round the bed. His wife put a drop of his favorite single malt scotch (The Macallan) on his lips. At that, he raised the corner of his mouth in the way he always did when he grinned mischievously, then moved his tongue side-to-side to indicate he was there with us, enjoying the moment - and the whisky. That was a huge effort on his part, but there was no ambiguity. He was still there - a small, low pilot light.

Kobayashi Maru shares the three day vigil held with his brother, Ed, as he departed this world. It is a quietly powerful and moving story, one that I am not ashamed to say moved me to tears.

Ed was granted the gift of the "good death" that the old prayers to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph ask for. Surrounded by his loving family, allowed to go in God's time, while his family was blessed with the knowledge of God's love. As KM says, "God's purpose. God's plan. Goodness through hardship. Purpose through broken things." We know he wanted to stay, oh so badly. But since he had to go, what a way to do it. May we all be as blessed as Ed when our time comes.

Eternal peace grant to Ed, O Lord, and peace to his family.

I Had No Idea

I have heard about the Middle Eastern Christian martyrs and the Chinese Catholic Underground, but I am one of those who Crisis publisher Brian Saint-Paul mentions ... I had no idea about this situation. With that in mind, I am reprinting his entire email letter below.

A Religious Upheaval In India... And What It Means For Catholicism

Crisis Magazine e-Letter
October 13, 2005

Dear Friend,
Devidas Sabane was a diligent farmer, working the land of a former member of the Indian parliament. When his son fell ill, the impoverished Sabane went to the landowner's brother to request money for his treatment. The brother wasn't in a giving mood. He beat Sabane viciously and forced poison down his throat. The farmer died later that day. When his bereaved wife reported the murder to the police and the State Human Rights Commission, they brushed her off. She later committed suicide.

This is India today. The account -- one among many -- comes from the testimony of Indira Athwale, given last week before the United States Committee on International Relations. You see, the Sabanes weren't just Indians, they were Untouchable.

India is made up of a caste system, a construct of its Hindu heritage. At the top are the Brahmins -- the priestly class. Below them are the Kshatriyas, then the Vaisyas, and finally the Sudras.

There's another group that hasn't even merited a place on the Indian social ladder: the Dalit, otherwise known as the Untouchables. Life as an Untouchable is devastating. They're held in contempt by other members of society, are relegated to the most menial of jobs, and even physical contact with them is thought to bring contamination (requiring special purification rituals to cleanse the higher caste member). Their women are raped without retribution, and their men beaten and killed without justice.

While discrimination against the 250 million Dalit is officially prohibited in the Indian constitution, it continues unabated. That they make up almost 1/3 of the country's population is irrelevant. They're Untouchable and have no voice.

But now, something is happening among the Dalit... and it may have effects on the religious future of the country.

You see, after centuries of shameful oppression by their fellow Hindus, the Untouchables are starting to move away from the religion. Initially, there were large Dalit conversions to Buddhism. But the attractions of that faith are proving limited.

And so now, two religions are receiving attention and a growing number of Dalit converts: Christianity and Islam. The possibilities here are striking.

I spoke Friday with Betsy Vigneri, a media consultant with the Dalit Freedom Network, and she told me the shift began in the late 1990s. "It was a culmination of things," she said. "The world moved toward globalization, technology, and communication. Suddenly, some of the educated Dalits were able to see what was happening in the outside world. They realized they could tell their story to a global audience. That's when they organized and began to look for ways to help themselves. They also realized that the best way to find relief from this victimization -- from this slavery -- is to quit Hinduism and embrace another religion."

The transition wasn't easy at first. "Originally, the Christian churches were also practicing the caste system. But now, they're working for freedom of conscience in religion. They're there to serve -- the same approach Mother Teresa took. In their service, they're trying to demonstrate the love of Christ."

While the Muslims are making every effort to convert the Untouchables, the Christian churches have an advantage: the person of Christ. "I've found that when Dalits hear about Jesus, they're deeply moved to learn that He loves them," Vigneri said. "All their lives, they've been told how horrible they are. But they hear that Jesus not only loves them but died for them. In their minds, He reached out to the Untouchables of His day. Touched them... talked to them... ate with them... These are all forbidden for a higher caste person to do with the Dalits."

But Islam itself is not without its own attractions. When an Untouchable becomes Muslim, the female converts are protected by the Muslim men from the harassment of the Hindus. This is no small thing, since Dalit women are in frequent danger of assault and rape.

On the other hand, there are aspects of Islam that some Untouchables find disconcerting. Vigneri noted that "there are Dalit men who have seen how some Muslim men treat their wives or view women. They don't want that for their wives and daughters."

While Muslim and Christian leaders in India have had fairly cordial relations thus far, there is real concern that if India turns Islamic, they could impose Sharia law on everyone. Given the experience of non-Muslims in other such states, that could mean an entirely new form of oppression.

Vigneri told me that there are a few things Christians in the West can do to help the Untouchables -- both in their fight against their horrific living conditions and in their spiritual journey:

1. Spread the word about what's going on in India. "So many Christians tell us, 'I had no idea this was happening.' The Dalits want us to tell the world what they're going through. This is very humbling. We tend to think people want creature comforts. But the Dalits want their stories told."


2. Pray. "The first thing Christian Dalits ask for is prayer. These people have nothing, but they know the power of prayer."


3. Stay informed. One of the best ways to keep yourself up-to-date on the struggles of the Untouchables is to visit the Dalit Freedom Network.

India is at a religious crossroads. Within one generation, we'll see some kind of radical shift in the spiritual makeup of that rising nation. Will it become the next bright light for Christianity, or might it join other jihadist states in violence and oppression? Time will tell.

We in the United States tend to live in a self-enclosed world. That's the stereotype of Americans, and that stereotype is too often true (and I'm as guilty as anyone). But as Catholics, we have a spiritual obligation to care for all the world's suffering. By adding the plight of the Dalits to your own prayer intentions and by telling their story, you'll help them in this world and the next.

All the best,

Brian