5 Observations on Les Miserables

1)  It was such a relief to see Catholicism portrayed in a positive light!  A merciful monsignor in the film's opening scenes, the compassion of a group of nuns throughout, and characters spending time in front of, and putting into action, the crucifix. 

2) I went to the movie with a bunch of young adults, mostly it looked like boyfriends dragged their by their girlfriends, the point being it wasn't like I was at the film with a bunch of people who you would expect to see at a movie like this. 

I bring this up to note that for nearly three hours you could have heard a pin drop in the theater.  I've been to a lot of movies, and I have NEVER seen anything like that.  It was almost like people recognized they were in the presence of beauty, and that they were being silent out of respect.

3)  This same theater of mostly young adults actually APPLAUDED when the film was over.  I've been to the midnight showings of Star Wars movies, Lord of the Rings movies, and Harry Potter movies - despite the rabidity of those fan bases, when those movies ended, no one applauded, but there was something about Les Mis that elicited the applause of most of the audience.

4) The movie is long, but I think it seems longer because there is so much tension in the film.  My only request would have been more humor or more relief from the tension.  That being said, I was shocked in a good way by the two comedic performances by Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter. 

5) One of my favorite books, A River Runs Through It, has the following dialogue between a father and son about a dead son/brother who was had turned fishing into an art form:


"I’ve told you all I know. If you push me far enough, all I really know is that he was a fine fisherman.”

“You know more than that,” my father said. “He was beautiful.”


The film had amazing acting, music, etc., but it was more than just a film, it was beautiful.

My Family Messed Me Up!

Many People Missed Christ's First Coming...and Many Miss Him Today As Well

Concerning Hobbits and Bethlehem

Bishops Want Gun Control

So the USCCB has issued a statement through several of its committees, reiterating a call both from the USCCB in the past, and also the Pontifical Council for Peace affirming the need for gun control.  Specifically, the statement asks for:

"3. Call for sensible regulations of handguns
4. Support legislative efforts that seek to protect society from the violence associated with easy access to deadly weapons including assault weapons"


I'm not getting into the issue of gun control here - what I want to do is wonder aloud whether or not we will hear from the liberal media (and liberal catholics) a call to "stay out of politics." 

This issue of gun control is clearly one favored by the left, and so the media is painted into a corner
1) tell the Church to be quiet on this issue because it is a political one, or
2) say the Church has a right to speak up on this particular issue since it is such an important issue it actually transcends politics.

If it is 2), the irony would be that the "libs" would be admitting something exists that, to date, they have said does not exist - namely an issue that transcends politics and thus is something the Church can comment on.

A Review of Hobbit Reviews

I saw the Hobbit last Friday, and I must start by saying I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

I must also say that I've found most of the reviews of the Hobbit done by Catholics that I typically trust to give good reviews of films have been, in my estimation, guilty of missing the boat entirely.

I've heard many Catholic reviewers talk about how the Hobbit is too long.  Really?  I thought there were a few points where the movie could have ended, but I certainly was glad that it DIDN'T end at those points and instead kept going.  The whole point about Tolkien's world is that it is a world that you don't want to leave, and I certainly found that to be the case with the Hobbit.

I was THRILLED that it continued on and on.  I would get the critique if it were coming from someone who didn't understand Tolkien, but Catholic reviewers ought to know better. 

I still remember when the Return of the King came out, and everyone was bashing the fact that it took several minutes to end.  Tolkien's (and Jackson's directing of Tolkien's) world is like a big pint of delicious ale that you are GLAD to see that it doesn't end right away. 

I also thought that the acting was fantastic, the cinematography spot on, and everything about Middle Earth has stayed the same while somehow also improving.  I must admit that the commercials gave the appearance that perhaps the Hobbit was going to be a bit more cartoonish in the special effects department and in the story telling, but that fear was put to bed. 

The Hobbit is a great movie, and it is very effective in bringing to the screen the world that Tolkien first dreamed up so many years ago. 

I can't wait for the next installment of the Hobbit!

Well Said, Mr. President!

Gaudete Homily - Time to Rejoice??? No Thanks!

Here is the text for anyone interested in that:

If you’ve ever been outside for a sunrise, you’ll notice something fascinating about the hour or so before sunrise.  Of course the sky starts out black, and then it fairly quickly gets light – usually a bright blue.  Then, as sunrise gets nearer, but still before you can actually see the Sun, the sky explodes into a symphony of rose colors…the same color as my vestment for today

The Church calls this Sunday Gaudete Sunday.  Gaudete is a command to have joy. …the color Rose denoting the fact that the sunrise is getting nearer, the Son of God stands on the edge of storming the beaches of this world as a fellow human person two thousand years ago, the celebration of which we will celebrate in a few days.

The first reading tells us to shout for joy with an exclamation point.  The psalm says “Cry out with joy”… St Paul says in the second reading not once but TWICE to Rejoice…again with an exclamation point.

And yet, especially today, there is a temptation to say “No Thanks”.  Priests are people, and so like you, I’ve spent a lot of time the past 24 hours thinking about and praying for the people in Connecticut, trying somehow to make sense of something that can’t ever make sense. 

The Catechism has an absolutely beautiful passage I came across yesterday: “Our experiences of evil and suffering, injustice and death, seem to contradict the Good News; they can shake our faith and become a temptation against it.”

How true!  How easily such events can shake and test our faith.  So many begin to ask questions in times like these “how can an all-loving God let this happen?”  

But even when people start asking that question, we already start to see the sky turning rose – because people who, hours earlier, would have said they didn’t believe in God, who hours earlier would have said that science can’t prove there is a God so there’s no such thing, such people begin asking questions about the God that they hated just hours ago.  

“Rejoice!  I say it again, Rejoice”  This weekend is Gaudete Sunday, and St. Paul and the Church urge us to be people who REJOICE.  St. Paul, in saying REJOICE, was not writing from a cruise ship in the Bahamas, he was writing in a society that was equally accustomed to barbarous atrocities and evils with our own time – St. Paul cries out for us to rejoice not because things are always perfect, in fact that is why it is a command – REJOICE! It is a command because sometimes we can’t summon the energy to do it on our own, and so we must be told.  

And the call to rejoice is especially important IN THE MIDST of atrocities, like the one we face now, because it is at times like this that people are looking for answers from us.

I saw a picture on the news last night of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Newton, CT, and not only could you not get in the Church for Mass, you could hardly find a place on the front lawn of the Church.

So precisely when the demons in Hell are celebrating what they perceive to be yet another victory of senseless violence, people are flocking to God, even if they are angry, even if they are confused, they are flocking to him.

And what do those who flock to him find?  What do all the people standing on tiptoes last night to catch a glimpse of the Eucharist SEE when they flock back to God???  John Paul II says it best in his AMAZING letter on suffering…He says: “They see a God on  the cross who is himself suffering, and who wishes to answer the question “why is there suffering” from the Cross, from the heart of his own suffering”  That is why I think it is completely ridiculous and a lie to pretend that the cross without Christ’s body on it means anything.  Some churches would have us act like suffering is over, the cross is over, but Catholicism says NO – Christ suffered, God suffered, and still suffers, and that MEANS SOMETHING FOR US WHO ARE SUFFERING TODAY.  I have a crucifix in every room and every hallway and everywhere I can to remind myself of this fact when I am suffering – I remember that HE suffered to, and suffers still through our pain, and so although I don’t walk away with every answer, I know I’m united to God during difficult times.

What did the tiptoeing Mass attendees see and hear last night, they saw Christ on a cross, and they heard Christ’s words acknowledging his suffering.  To know that Christ suffers and shares in our suffering is a game changer and it is the good news –

The Gospel could possibly be summed up in these words: “Christ changed suffering from meaningless to holy” even if suffering still doesn’t make sense to us

And that is why the Church says REJOICE, not because violence has ended, but because God has taken evil and brought good out of it

"Rejoice in the Lord always!  I say it again, rejoice."  Today is Gaudete Sunday around the world, it is Gaudete Sunday in countries where Churches are routinely bombed, it is Gaudete Sunday in Rwanda, it is Gaudete Sunday in Churches where young and old are starving and are victims of extreme poverty, it is Gaudete Sunday in Newton Connecticut, and it is Gaudete Sunday in Indiana.

I was running at the Y this afternoon, and I saw where some residents of Newtown have decided to take their Christmas decorations down because they feel guilty celebrating anything.  I certainly understand what they’re saying, but I think the Church’s solution is better.  The Church tells people all over the world, those in areas of famine, war, violence, poverty, sin, death, and despair to Rejoice.

We suffer in this valley of tears, but so does Christ, and suffering, despite its pain, is no longer meaningless, it is holy and sacred.”

And so we pray for the grace to be able to do what St. Paul urges, we pray for the grace to “Rejoice in the Lord always, I say it again, rejoice”

 

Reflections on Connecticut

Some have asked for my thoughts on the tragedies of today, and so I share them for what they are worth.

It seems like a line was crossed today that, in our country at least, has never been crossed to date.  Columbine was horrendous and was a paradigm shift for the nation, but given our collective experiences as teenagers growing up, and given the fact that most everyone still carries scars from teenage hazing and bullying in some form or another, I think most people at least could fathom the source of the hatred, the evil, and the revenge that we saw in Columbine.  From Stephen King's "Carrie" to Ralphie in "A Christmas Story", we've grown up knowing that bullying does real harm and pushes people to the breaking point.

But a classroom of little children...it doesn't register on any level, nor should it.

So now the carousel of blame starts spinning - people pointing at things external to fix..."better gun laws", "better mental health care", "better health insurance"...give me a break!  I could care less, one way or the other, on gun control, but anyone who thinks that these types of measures would have prevented today is really hoping to avoid the issue that really matters.

The dignity of the person.

In our culture, the dignity of the human person has been spat upon, mocked, and destroyed.  There is no "dignity of the human person" to speak of anymore.  Anytime someone stands up to speak about "the dignity of the human person" they are shouted down in the public square and mocked for using words from an archaic culture that we have, so we're told, moved beyond and surpassed.

A human person today only has dignity if others will it to be so - a child grasping for breath on the abortionist's table is granted dignity solely based on the wishes of the mother.  The abortionist, and our President, like the emperors in the Colosseum of Rome, wait for the thumb up or down of the mother to decide whether the child lives or dies.

Embryos sit in freezers across the country, parents have their reproductive systems mangled in order to have pleasure without the burden of children, wars are now fought, like video games, through the lenses of drones, we tell third world countries that "children are the problem" and so if you want any of our food to eat, you are going to have to stop having children...

Today, in Connecticut, a big fat mirror was held up to our nation, and a monster from the depths of Hell illustrated and showed us exactly what we don't want to see in ourselves...we hate children, we hate life, and human dignity is on life support in this country.

The Joker in "The Dark Knight" utters a seriously frightening, and seriously prophetic line about us:

"Nobody panics when things go "according to plan." Even if the plan is horrifying! If, tomorrow, I tell the press that, like, a gang banger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics, because it's all "part of the plan". But when I say that one little old mayor will die, well then everyone loses their minds!"

We're accustomed to the plan of 4,000 abortions a day, it has become part of our character as a nation, and it has faded away into being simply "a part of the plan."

The dignity of the children lost today did not come simply from the fact that their parents happened to want them!!  Their dignity came from the fact that God wanted them, and willed them into existence...that is the sole source of human dignity, and we are meant to marvel at the dignity of such miraculous creation, the miraculous nature of it all only amplified by the fact that all of us have been blessed with a role to play in nurturing and bringing into existence the miracles that are human persons!

We have been anti-life and anti-child and anti-human dignity for a long time in this country, and it is time to stand up and say ENOUGH!!!

We must rise up and demand a return to respect for the dignity of the human person!!!!  We must rise up and say that a child is not a choice, a child does not derive his/her dignity from the choice of another human person, a child does not derive his/her dignity based on whether they are born into poverty or not...we must rise up and say every human person has an unassailable dignity, and that dignity is given to each human person by God, with a capital G,...and if we refuse to do that, if we refuse to acknowledge how utterly evil and depraved this nation is becoming, and if we fail to acknowledge how putrid "the plan" has become that we call every day life in America, and we keep blaming guns and health care insurance, then we should never expect a return to sanity.

Please hit your knees for the families and the loved ones left behind in Connecticut and say a lot of prayers for our country.  Today, a new line was crossed; what remains to be seen is whether we will wake up because of it, or if we will continue to bury our heads in the sand and act like we don't know what is going on.

All Holy Innocents, pray for us!

Lesson From My Young Priesthood: The 99 Will Be Okay

"If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray?" (Matthew 18:12-13)

My quick answer to Jesus' question - "no, not always."

When I was assigned to my first role as pastor this Summer, I asked my Dad (a president of a Catholic high school) if he had any advice for me.  He only had one thing to say: "Neither a parish nor a school is a nuclear sub - you have lots of people who know how to help."

It was an interesting way of phrasing the age-old axiom "be sure to avoid micromanagement."

No matter how many times people tell you in the seminary or in business school or in dental school or leadership school that "thou shalt avoid micromanagement" it is still scary as "H-E-double-hockey-sticks" when you are thrust into a role of being responsible for something (a company, church, office, school, etc.) 

In my extremely young priesthood, however, one of the things that brings me great joy is that my Dad was right (per usual) - being a pastor is busy and always new, but it isn't impossible, and a lot of people know how to help.

That has been important, especially as I've continued to be aware of the other call I have as a pastor - to go seek the lost (and to empower parishioners to go seek the lost). 

There is a temptation to look at the 99 sheep and think "wow, 99 sheep, that's a lot of work to do, I don't have time for the 1, and it's the 1's fault for leaving anyway, plus if I leave the 99, things might go terribly wrong, and then I might come back with 1 sheep on my shoulders, only to find that the 99 have scattered too."

What I've learned is that if you walk out of the office and go look for the lost sheep from time to time, the 99 are going to be just fine.  People know, often way better than I do, how to balance budgets, fix leaks, answer questions, help with RCIA, etc. etc.

Who are the "99" that you (as priest or lay person) are tempted to obsess about, but whom God is sometimes nudging you away from, telling you "I've got the 99, they'll be fine, go look for the 1 who is lost"?

Was St. John the Baptist a Raving Lunatic?

God is a Fondue Fountain of Grace...How Big is Your Cup?

Immaculate Conception Homily

AMAZING Advent Music

Sick of Christmas on the radio yet?  Choosing to try to keep some semblance of a vigil as opposed to rushing into Christmas?

Here is a BEAUTIFUL piece from the Latin Mass for this weekend (2nd Sunday of Advent)  Here is the English translation:

Behold the miracle of the mother of the Lord:
a virgin has conceived though she knows not a man,
Mary, who stands laden with her noble burden;
knowing not that she is a wife,
she rejoices to be a mother.
She has conceived in her chaste womb
one who is beautiful beyond the sons of men,
and blessed for ever,
she has brought forth God and man for us.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. 

Here is Stile Antico's amazing rendition:


If they only played this on the radio!!!

Thoughts on My Retreat with Cardinal Burke

Canon Law mandates that a priest take 5 days of retreat every year.  I just returned today from my retreat in Bloomington, IN, where Cardinal Burke was the retreat master for a retreat where that drew 30 or so priests.  It was AWESOME!

Some thoughts from the experience:

1) Mass celebrated "ad orientem" is more prayerful.  I'm not watching the priest's face when we're all facing the same direction, I'm thinking about what the priest is doing

2) Cardinal Burke is the head of the "Supreme Court" of the Church on matters of Canon Law.  He noted something that I've come to realize in my life as well - the law guides us towards happiness and fulfillment...it is not a burden.

3) Cardinal Burke mentioned "social justice" Catholics who think we need to jettison the laws of the Church, with the imagined end result being a world where people just do social justice projects.  He noted that this is completely backwards, because the laws of the Church are the precursor and guide for justice.  Without the laws of the Church, we don't get a more just world, we get a less just and more confused world.

4) A priest that doesn't pray is a priest that is on his way out of the priesthood.  Archbishop Buechlein used to say that all the time as well!

5) Spending silent time with our Lord in prayer is highly transformative.  Can I get an "Amen!"?

6) A priest that thinks of himself as an MC at Mass, needing to make the Mass more tolerable and entertaining, is not doing a service for Christ, he is getting in the way of Christ.  Such a priest is "increasing while Christ is decreasing"

7) It is a mystery to Cardinal Burke why Canon 915 is not imposed against Catholic politicians who vote in favor of abortion/embryonic stem cell research/euthanasia

8) The Church will likely get smaller before She becomes more faithful again

Did the CIA Stalk Archbishop Tobin?

The Criterion had a great edition this week previewing our next shepherd, Archbishop Joseph Tobin.

Reading the edition this week, I thought to myself that the CIA probably couldn't have put together a more thorough file on Archbishop Tobin!

Click here to see all the stories that the Criterion put together.

Also, click here if you would like to watch Archbishop Tobin's installation Mass that begins at 2 pm Eastern Time.

Finally, here is a video of Archbishop Tobin knocking on the door of the Cathedral and taking possession of the Cathedral.

I'm Dreading the Christmas Season?

"I Can't Wait to Watch It All Burn!"

Let's get our Book of Revelation on!  From today's first reading:

"With such force will Babylon the great city be thrown down,
and will never be found again.
No melodies of harpists and musicians,
flutists and trumpeters,
will ever be heard in you again.
No craftsmen in any trade
will ever be found in you again.
No sound of the millstone
will ever be heard in you again.
No light from a lamp
will ever be seen in you again.
No voices of bride and groom
will ever be heard in you again.
Because your merchants were the great ones of the world,
all nations were led astray by your magic potion." (Rev. 18:21-23)


Of course the Gospel for today talks about the end times, destruction, persecution, the end of the world, flames, etc.

I think there is a temptation for Catholics who try their best to follow Christ and live out the Catholic Faith to get excited when we hear about "Babylon the great city" the country whose "merchants were the great ones of the world" being razed and burned to the ground.

The temptation: "finally, all the wicked people will see I was right, all the people who hated me, who spat on me, who lied about me, who slandered me, who cursed me, they'll all finally see I was right!!!"  There is a temptation to see ourselves as above this fray, above Sodom and Gomorrah, to hold our noses at the stench and filth that exists in our world and say "well, I told you so."

...But neither the saints nor the Church have ever taken that stance.  We don't live in the first society that morally speaking is going down the toilet.  The Church was just coming online as Rome was plummeting towards its glorious destruction and pillaging by the "barbarians" (which side were the "barbarians" is open to interpretation), and the Church has seen lots of other civilizations and nations rise to the top before gloriously and triumphantly imploding into a dung heap.

The saints and the Church call us not to aloofness but to do something radical...to try to call out to people EVEN as they spit on you, even as they mock you, just as they did with Jesus.  The saints before us and the Church both ask us to not disengage, but to redouble our efforts in fasting, penance, almsgiving, etc.both for our own continuing conversion and for the conversion of those we live with.

We may live in Babylon the Great, and it may tire us, and we may be tempted to throw our hands up and say, "LATER!  I'm out of here, I'm going to go get a good book to read as I watch this country burn from a safe distance."

but disengaging and waiting for the sky to fall isn't an option for any true Catholic.  Until the sands of time expire, we are asked to see every person as a member of the Body of Christ, and to work like heck to help every last person attain salvation, ourselves included. 

Wednesday's Gospel...How Appropriate!

Jesus said to the crowd:
"They will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents,
brothers, relatives, and friends,
and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives."
- Luke 21:12-19


I always want to ask Catholics who merely view the Catholic Faith as a handy dandy coping mechanism that just happens to suit them but isn't right for everyone:

"You seem to believe that the only virtue in the world is "to be nice."  Do you think anyone, in the history of the world, has ever or will ever be thrown in jail or persecuted for being nice?"

I'm Back on the Gay Blogosphere!

Anyone think that there isn't a move from the liberal left to SILENCE the Catholic Church on this issue should click here.  I'd encourage you to go there and try to leave a comment and evangelize if you have the time..."to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death." 

Why I Donated $3,000 to "Unnatural Law?"

Donate by clicking here: http://www.unnaturallawthefilm.com

King "Now or Later"...or both?

New Wine in Old Wineskins???

What we're doing right now isn't working...the window is closing on our opportunity to actually explain our key teachings to people compassionately and beautifully.  Join us and contribute to our project by clicking HERE.

I'll Be on a National Program on 11/28 at 9 p.m. EST

Courageous Priest, a fantastic website, is hosting and interviewing me for a call-in show/presentation on how to help reevangelize the culture, and help the world understand what the Church ACTUALLY teaches on the subject of homosexuality. 

To participate in the show next Wed., and to ask questions and join the discussion, click here to find out how to join us.  Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

I Changed the Blog Background to White!

Many people have requested this - I finally got around to changing the background today.  People have said that it is hard to read with a black background so I hope that this helps! 

Let me know what you think, whether you love it or hate it!

Questions on the Title "Unnatural Law?"

There is only so much you can explain in a six minute video.  Given the fact that the average YouTube viewer leaves a video after 87 seconds of viewing, we already knew our video was pushing it.  I wanted to take some time to answer a few questions that have arisen.

1) "The title "Unnatural Law?" is off-putting and/or offensive"

The title was chosen so as to attempt to DRAW people in who might be hostile to the Church on this topic.  Please note that the question mark is a VERY important piece of the title.  The term "Natural Law" is one that offends many people living with same sex attraction, so when people see the title who are in that camp, we're hoping they might say..."hmm, this is interesting, is this a film that is saying the Natural Law argument is wrong...is it saying the laws in the 47 U.S. states are wrong?  Is it saying that the laws in the states that just redefined marriage are unnatural???  What's going on here?"  Then, when the documentary starts with people who LIVE WITH same sex attraction talking about that AND their Catholic Faith, we're hoping they'll watch some more.

If you don't like the title though, leave a comment on the blog here or on our Facebook page and let us know what it SHOULD be called, and we'll take a new title into consideration if it does a better job of drawing people in than our current one.


2)  "Is the film going to be compassionate or judgmental and harsh?"

This is the question that frankly upsets me a bit.  The whole point of this project is to explain to people what we ACTUALLY believe as Catholics; that our teachings are NOT the same as the religious right, that our teachings are true, but also compassionate, backed up by sound science, inviting and that they speak to LOTS of people who live with same sex attraction.

The whole point of the documentary is to stand up and say "we don't teach that a person living with same sex attraction ought to be sent off to a reeducation camp."

The point of this film is to put something out there that will hopefully correct the faulty stereotype that is put out there by people who THINK they understand the Church's teachings (but don't), and who are out there telling everyone else what we believe, and are doing so quite effectively with little clarification from Catholics - a problem arising because most Catholics don't know what we believe either!  

We are hopeful that some prominent Church leaders in the U.S. will grant us an interview for the film.  In fact we are in the early dialogue process already (we don't want to put too much in place if the film doesn't get funded).  Does anyone think that ANY bishop would let us put something out there with their name on it that was angry, demeaning, intimidating, off-putting, offensive?  Would any bishop approve of a project that was going to be anything other than attempt to reach out to people and speak to their situation and life, hoping to show them compassionately what the Church has to offer?


3) "Fr. Hollowell is a rigid and angry conservative, and he sometimes wears a cassock...I hope the documentary doesn't have him in it."

No, the documentary will not have me in it.  I am simply working with Blackstone as a consultant on the project, frankly more on the artistic end and answering basic questions for the producers/crew as they arise.  The film is being released by the Studio.  I will not be interviewed for the project, so if you find me angry or offensive, you can donate and rest easy.

Notre Dame is #1, No More Twinkies...the World is Ending!

The end of the world should worry us some, but we should be more worried about the people who AREN'T in Church.  How do we go on the (non-violent) offensive during this Year of Faith...by "Twitterifying" our Faith!

"Unnatural Law?" Promo is Now on YouTube

I'm Involved in Something Crazy, and I NEED Your HELP!!!

A film company and I are trying to make a movie.  I need your help.  Check out the film's website, spread the word via Facebook and Twitter and email, do whatever you can to help us make this awesome project a reality!  Please visit our website by clicking here, and please help us do anything you can to see this project through!  Thank you so much for partnering with us!!!!

The Latin Mass comes to Brazil

At Annunciation Catholic Church in Brazil, Indiana, we have begun celebrating the Mass in Latin once a week on Tuesday evenings at 5:30.

That sentence sets off more ecclesiastical alarms and earthquakes than just about anything else a priest could say.

I want to first of all address all the fears and concerns people not from our parish have about this


Also, lots of people are intimidated by the prayers that are recited because most people obviously have never used any Latin before.  This is a practice video that allows for an easy way for people to practice the prayers and responses from the comfort and security of their own home.  It's embarrassment-free!  Besides, people are welcome at the Mass even if you simply want to observe for a while and pray with us.  You are still MOST welcome to come to Mass even if you plan to silently observe at Mass!



Finally, here is our second Latin Mass that was celebrated just last evening.  Some had requested that we videotape the Mass so that parishioners and family and friends who are currently out of town could still take part in some way.




We've had a great turnout so far - we probably have two or three times the number of regular daily Mass attendees who come out for the Mass in Latin.  We'd love to have you join us if you are able.

God bless!
Fr. John Hollowell

FORWARD.

"Progress by its very name indicates a direction; and the moment we are in the least doubtful about the direction, we become in the same degree doubtful about the progress." - G.K. Chesterton

In the final days of the campaign, the slogan of President Obama caught my attention, and it has provided much food for thought because I think it is emblematic of where we are as a country.

FORWARD.

Purely from an advertising/branding standpoint it is brilliant.  The period says so much.  The period also is the only way to answer all of the concerns that undecided voters surely had about the President.  The slogan is liberalism summed up in a word and a punctuation mark.  Don't ask questions about how we got to this point, don't ask questions about whether or not someone is to blame, don't ask questions if we've learned lessons from the past, don't ask about Benghazi or the economy, don't ask questions about whether or not Obamacare is a good idea, don't ask questions about the HHS Mandate, don't ask questions about contraception and its effects on women.

In short - don't ask questions about where we've come from and don't ask questions about where we ought to go.  The only thing we can do is go FORWARD.

FORWARD.

An exclamation point doesn't work - it sounds aggressive, like the cry of a general to troops at the front of a war.  A question mark surely also sends the wrong message - "Should we go forward?" - who would answer "no" to that question? 

FORWARD (PERIOD!)

People who are overly-nervous and anxious are always moving; they can't sit still.  People who don't want to do the tough work and acknowledge that some things are actually good and some things are actually bad choose to be jittery as well - "JUST KEEP MOVING FORWARD!" they yell at us who stop to ask a question about where exactly it is that we are going. 

FORWARD.  Just go forward, no matter where forward is, even if it is over a moral or fiscal cliff, today the only thing that we think is good anymore is moving somewhere, even though we can no longer talk about right/wrong/good/evil - the words that, in the past, have always been used to gauge whether a destination was worthy of our traveling there.   

Of course history screams out to us and reminds us that from 1940 to 1945 the German people moved forward chronologically.  In the 1920's, the Communist Party moved forward in Russia.  We are all in agreement that those were bad "forwards"; a fourth grader can point to lots of examples in history where things did NOT get better simply by watching the calendar move "forward", but at the same time we convince ourselves that we must move "forward" no matter where that is, because apparently today if we just move forward and don't ask questions, it will all work out.

Pastor Chesterton...brings us home:

"Every one of the popular modern phrases and ideals is a dodge in order to shirk the problem of what is good...the modern man says "Away with your old moral formulae; I am for progress." This, logically stated, means, "Let us not settle what is good; but let us settle whether we are getting more of it." He says, "Neither in religion nor morality, my friend, lie the hopes of the race, but in education." This, clearly expressed, means, "We cannot decide what is good, but let us give it to our children."

Just Give Them Bread and Circuses

"the People have abdicated our duties;
for the People who once upon a time handed out military command,
high civil office, legions —
everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things:
bread and circuses"

Roman poet Juvenal, 100 AD

Robert the Bruce and Obama Catholics

First, click here to watch a classic scene from the movie Braveheart

Braveheart is obviously a classic.  In the film, Robert the Bruce, the dashing young man from the video above, betrays William Wallace for money, lands, and titles.  He regrets it after looking into Wallace's eyes and seeing the wreckage that his decision has on his country.

I firmly believe that when Catholic hospitals are closing, when priests are being arrested for not marrying Adam and Steve, when our country starts aborting children with tax money, when the Catholic Church is completely turned on and the movement by secular atheists to annihilate the Church begins in full force, then the utterly horrendous, morally bankrupt nature of the voting practices of the cafeteria Catholics will finally be realized, and a lot of Catholics who voted for Obama will say the same thing Robert Bruce said above:

"Money, lands, titles, power..nothing...those pro-life Catholics fight for something that I've never had, and I took it from them when I betrayed them and I saw it in their faces on the battlefield, and it's tearing me apart."

Today's Tolkien Quotes

I turn to the Lord today...and also to J.R.R. Tolkien.  Three of my favorite quotes from him seem apropos this morning.

1)  "All that is gold does not glitter, not all who wander are lost, the old that are strong do not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring, renewed shall be blade that is broken, the crownless again shall be king."

      indeed, preaching in a few weeks on Christ the King Sunday will certainly be much easier given the election results


2)  Frodo: "I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened."
     Gandalf: "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us"


3)  (from the film) "I'm glad to be with you Samwise Gamgee, here at the end of all things!"

I love this one because it shows that even as the world is crashing down around folks, as it has many times in the past, what really matters is love and friendship - the things that no one can beat out of you or kill from without.  "Faith Hope and Love remain, and the greatest of these is love!"  I still likely have Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family and friends, I still have great friends and I still have the Lord, and I think it is those realizations that have given strength to the persecuted of our glorious past.

 

Election Reflection for Warrior Catholics

I became a priest because God was calling me to it.  I can promise you...it wasn't my idea.  At the time of my calling, and indeed throughout seminary, I imagined being a priest in a medium-sized parish, baptizing babies, marrying couples, growing old, and eventually dying and going to heaven.

Perhaps to keep me from running away, I was spared viewing the type of priesthood that God has since let me know that I would ACTUALLY be called to.  Practically from my ordination day, I've felt (and been shown) that the priesthood God is raising up in me and my fellow priests of my generation is a priesthood of warriors who will fight and die for the faith.  I've also realized, from pretty early on, that this generation of warrior priests would be, in an earthly sense, too late.  It is tempting to ask, "why didn't God raise up priests like this 40 years ago?"  I don't have the answer, but I know enough to know that God has his reasons.

It began with homilies...when people would come up and complain about them I would sit there and have a kind of out of body experience and think "I should be really affected by this, but I could care less that this person is yelling at me right now."  Of course it continued with videos spreading out across the country to friends and foes alike...I remember thinking "I should be really sad that people are attacking me" but I remember in those moments being overcome with the urge to chuckle at how little it actually DID affect me.  You, as a faithful Catholic, have likely had similar experiences...and that is God working in you and preparing you for what is to come as well. 

And so it begins...

I'm a bigger fan of authentic peace, but I'd rather have a battle than surface level passive-aggressive "peace" that simply masks evil.  I've seen, in 3.5 years of priesthood, that perhaps a battle would do us all some good.  If the stats hold true, 40% of Catholics who go to Mass every week just stood in open defiance of their bishops and the Church in voting in the affirmative for a candidate who
1) supports redefining marriage
2) supports forcing the Church to do something it will never do
3) is for abortion through all 9+ months of pregnancy
4) is for the government helping people procure abortions if they can't afford one
5) provides for the destruction of human embryos for research

Please draw me up a candidate who could more completely embody the opposite of Catholicism.

The Catholic Church in the United States is a cage that needs rattling, and the coming battle will provide just such a shake-up.  The days of bishops and cardinals yucking it up with anti-Catholic politicians will soon be at an end.  The days of bishops and cardinals wagging fingers at anti-Catholic "catholic" politicians and telling them not to cross this line again...and then redrawing the line further back...those days will soon be at an end.

And I guess what I'm saying is that there is a lazy part of me that prefers comfort and wishes it never had to come to blows like this surely will...but there is another part of me that realizes God is doing something in the hearts of faithful priests and Catholics and I think we're on the edge of something that will be unlike anything we've seen in our lifetimes.

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace.  I've come not to bring peace but rather the sword."  - Jesus Christ.  He brings the sword because the sword wakes people up, and it is better to be awakened at the last moment so that one can still repent than it is for a person to gain the whole world but lose his soul.

.............

My favorite scene from the Dark Knight Rises movie is at the beginning.  Commissioner Jim Gordon is at a podium and a couple of fatcat politicians are talking about him from afar:
fatcat 1: "He's going to have plenty of free time, the mayor's dumping him."
fatcat 2: "But he's a hero!"
fatcat 1: "He's a wartime hero, this is peacetime."

"Wartime Heroes" always seem clumsy, brutish, unpolished, unrefined etc. when things are going swell and dandy and everyone has enough food to eat.  Wartime heroes don't know how to make a martini and don't have a room full of stogies, but when peacetime evaporates, no one gives a dang about priests and bishops and leaders that are "refined" and "dignified", people turn to warrior priests and warrior Catholics...they will turn to us soon...and we will be ready.

Homosexuality Talk at ICYC

A Video and a Prayer

The only way to end it all!



And now, a prayer from our bishops:

Lord God, as the election approaches,
we seek to better understand the issues and concerns that confront our city/state/country,
and how the Gospel compels us to respond as faithful citizens in our community.
We ask for eyes that are free from blindness
so that we might see each other as brothers and sisters,
one and equal in dignity,
especially those who are victims of abuse and violence, deceit and poverty.
We ask for ears that will hear the cries of children unborn and those abandoned,
Men and women oppressed because of race or creed, religion or gender.
We ask for minds and hearts that are open to hearing the voice of leaders who will bring us closer to your Kingdom.

We pray for discernment
so that we may choose leaders who hear your Word,
live your love,
and keep in the ways of your truth
as they follow in the steps of Jesus and his Apostles
and guide us to your Kingdom of justice and peace.
We ask this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Things the HHS does NOT mandate

1)  From the HHS website: "HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is joining with the Ad Council to launch a new nationwide public service advertising (PSA) campaign called “Together We Can All Fight the Flu.” “Getting vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself and your family against the H1N1 flu virus,” said Secretary Sebelius.  “Fighting the flu is a shared responsibility, and it is up to all of us to help prevent the spread of the flu in your community.  Right now, Americans have a window of opportunity to get vaccinated.  These new PSAs will encourage pregnant women, children, young adults, and other priority groups to protect themselves by getting the H1N1 vaccine.”

The HHS has not mandated that the shot be covered


2)  Mammorgams.  From the HHS website: "In October, during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we remember those who have lost their lives to breast cancer, and those who are battling it now, by recommitting ourselves to their fight and spreading the word of the importance of prevention and early detection.  Because of the Affordable Care Act, it’s a new day for women’s health and the fight against breast cancer.  Budgets are tight, and even moderate copays can deter many women from getting those important screenings.  Because of the Affordable Care Act – the health care law signed by President Obama two years ago – many private health plans and Medicare now cover mammograms and certain other preventive services with no copays or other out-of-pocket costs."

sidebar question here - what does Obamacare do to move the needle from many insurers covering it before Obamacare to still having many cover it now? Many covered it before Obamacare, and many cover it now! 

Regardless...the HHS has not mandated that mammograms be covered


3)  From the HHS website: "Nearly 26 million Americans are affected by Asthma, including 7 million children, especially minority children and children with family incomes below the poverty level. Asthma rates of African American children are currently at 16 percent, while 16.5 percent of Puerto Rican children suffer from the chronic respiratory disease, more than double the rate of Caucasian children in the United States. The annual economic cost of asthma, including direct medical costs from hospital stays and indirect costs such as lost school and work days, amounts to approximately $56 billion."

The HHS has not mandated that asthma meds be covered


4)  From the HHS website: "Last year, 45.9 million adult Americans had a mental illness, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Survey on Drug Use and Health. These conditions affect individuals, their families and loved ones, and communities.  Unfortunately, many individuals do not receive needed services and treatment."

The HHS has not mandated that mental health medicine be covered


5)  From the HHS website: "Right now, half of those Americans with high blood pressure still don’t have it adequately controlled. African Americans are at particular risk—often having more severe hypertension, and developing it at younger ages.  Each year, more than 795,000 Americans have a stroke and more than 130,000 people in the United States die every year after a stroke—an average of one stroke-related death every 4 minutes.  Together, the financial costs of high blood pressure and stroke are staggering.

The HHS has not mandated that blood pressure medicine be covered



But...contraceptives/sterilizations/abortion causing drugs...we got you covered here in the USA.

Are all issues of equal weight in Catholic Social Teaching?

Are abortions and tax discussions of equal weight in Catholic Social Teaching?

"It is Our Duty and Our Salvation"

The audio of my talk to the Indiana Men's Conference.  How come if something is our salvation the Church also has to tell us it is our duty?

Report: "Church Should Focus More on Social Justice" (sigh!)

The Catholic Review reports that Catholics across the country noted in a recent survey that they want the Church to focus more on "social justice."  They note:

In interviews during September, a majority of Catholics told pollsters that they would prefer it if the church would focus its public policy statements "more on social justice and the obligation to help the poor, even if it means focusing less on issues like abortion and the right to life."  Sixty percent of Catholics concurred with that statement.

It is hard to put into words how frustrating it is to read such a statement.  I've been putting together a series of presentations on the Church's Social Teaching (social justice) trying to correct such misconceptions, and so to read these results from a national survey is just another reminder of how far we have to go.  I guess the Titanic, when going in the wrong direction, takes a long time to turn around.

This survey further illustrates that for most Catholics "social justice" is JUST care for the sick and the poor.  The Church's ACTUAL teaching on the subject is that "issues like abortion and the right to life" ARE social justice too!!  Care for the poor, care for the vulnerable and elderly and homeless is inextricably and intrinsically tied to the right to life, abortion, contraception, religious freedom, etc.  Not only are they linked,but the Church's teaching on "social justice" is CRYSTAL CLEAR on the idea that "abortion and the right to life" is MORE important than any other issue, INCLUDING care for the poor.  Is the Church saying care for the poor is not important?  NO!!!  What the Church is saying is that when the right to life is not respected, it is WRONG to place more emphasis on some other issue.  Listening to Catholics say "we need less preaching on abortion and right to life stuff, and more preaching on (fill in the blank)" is like watching people standing in the middle of a room that is on fire talking about how they need to vacuum the room more.

No one, looking back on it, would say "I wish the German bishops during the Third Reich would have preached more about the poor and less about the dignity of the person."  There is a hierarchy to the values that we ought to have as Catholics and we must shout this from the mountaintop because it doesn't seem to be sinking in!

I  think what people mean when they say they want the Church to "focus more on social justice" is that they want a neutered, non-political, toothless hippy Church of Jesus Christ that ONLY cares for the poor and doesn't speak up about any injustice besides economic injustice.  Well, folks, that wasn't who Jesus was, that isn't who authentic Catholics were in the past, and that is not what authentic Catholics will EVER be.  A person who actually has read the Church's social teaching will know that a Catholic fights against ALL injustice - economic injustice, religious persecution, the stripping of religious freedom, the ripping apart of embryos, abortion, infanticide, etc.

The other revolting part of that statement is that people would decide for themselves what they ought to be hearing from the pulpit.  That sounds a lot like a lot of the people in the Old Testament who, when a prophet showed up, had already determined for themselves what the prophet OUGHT to be saying before he arrived.  That's a completely backward understanding of what a prophet is.  What kind of prophet would a bishop be if he said, "let's take a survey of the people and find out what they would like me to teach and preach about"?

Given most people's understanding of Catholic Social Teaching, in order to help Catholics realize what the Church ACTUALLY says on social teaching, we have "miles to go before we sleep."

Catholic Voting 101 - Religious Freedom

Will people really vote for a person who is working to take away their religious freedom? What does the Church teach on religious freedom?

A Prayer for America

+Chaput: Democrats Getting Worse and Worse on Abortion Because Catholics Don't Leave the Party

"I think in the earliest days of the abortion debate in the United States, if people had to guess which party would’ve embraced abortion and which one wouldn’t have, people would’ve thought the Republicans would’ve easily embraced that and the Democrats never would."

"Many of the Democrats have [taken] Democrat Catholic votes for granted because they’ll go with them no matter what the Party position might be on abortion. That’s why the position of the Democrat Party has gotten worse, and worse, and worse as time goes on because Catholics haven’t abandoned them as they’ve moved in that direction. So we just have to be insistent on that Catholic identity takes precedence over everything.”

Catholic Voting 101 - The REAL Story on Welfare

Let's Be Honest...We're Not Terribly Impressed With Jesus' Sinlessness

Bishop Tobin Press Conference

This morning I was able to attend Bishop Tobin's press conference. 

You can do all the research online that you want, but, despite technology, there will never be a replacement for shaking another person's hand and looking in their eyes. 

I came away EXTREMELY impressed with Bishop Tobin - not that Pope Benedict was waiting for me to weigh in before stamping it or anything.

I wanted to share some reflections on the day

1) A few days ago I was doing some internet "stalking" just to read up on Archbishop Tobin and I cam across an article that described him as a whirlwind who blows into the room and is a big person, a big personality, etc.  He is a big guy, but he struck me as a very prayerful man, a very reflective man, and so, in that way, he reminded a lot of Archbishop Buechlein.  Being a prayerful person seems to me to be one of the few things you can't fake.

2)  He began by saying what we needed to know about him is that he was baptized in May of 52 (I think).  He spoke about the gift his Faith has been, and how God is a God who continues to surprise us!

3)  Bishop Tobin talked about Catholic education and how he was a product of Catholic school.  He praised the Archdiocese for its Catholic school system and praised Indiana for its voucher system.

4)  He's the oldest of 13 and he made a couple of great points about that.  He first of all mentioned how being from a big family you learn pretty quickly that you aren't the center of the universe (can I get an AMEN!).  He said you also have to learn how to share when you have 8 people using a bathroom!  The other point that he made about his family, though, was that his father died when his youngest sibling was only 5 and so he also learned what it is like to be in a struggling, single-parent family.

5)  When I and a couple of other priests had an opportunity to just briefly greet Archbishop Tobin a half hour or so after the press conference, he somehow brought up the idea that he would never have imagined any of this, never imagined getting sent to Rome, never imagined working for the Vatican, and never imagined getting sent to be an Archbishop, but he said that he has always said "yes" to what he's been asked, and he just seemed very genuine and humble and kind when talking about all of it and seemed very interested in where we were all serving. 

Again, those were my main impressions, and for what it is worth, I'm very excited for the future!

Catholic Voting 101 Series - Part 1: Human Rights

A video series looking at Catholic Social Teaching and Voting

Bishops Call Biden a Liar

Okay, so they said Biden said things that weren't factual, which is what a liar does.

VP Biden repeated the same song and dance that the Obama administration has continued to put out since getting hammered on religious liberty.  In his debate with VP Candidate Paul Ryan, Biden reiterated that "no Catholic institution "has to pay for contraception, none has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any insurance policy they provide. That is a fact. That is a fact."

Within hours of the debate, the USCCB responded by posting a clarifying statement on the lie.  Click here to read the USCCB's concise and matter-of-fact statement.

We need more of this from the Bishops of the U.S., and I hope we see more things like this in the future!

AWESOME Subsidiarity Video

I've blogged before (here and here) about subsidiarity and how it is the best kept secret Catholic Social Teaching and about how if we applied it in our country, we'd be a heck of a lot better off.  Here's a great video from Catholic Vote on "subsidiarity"

To Chant, to Sing, or to Do Nothing at All

These are some awesome excerpts from Jeffrey Tucker's essay on chanting versus singing.  He writes about it from the priests perspective, but his comments apply to the whole community being asked to chant.

"Our culture treats the notion of "singing" as something done by specialists, entertainers, recording artists, pop superstars, and all for the sake of delighting the audience.  American Idol.  That is what singing is...  The priest notes "I'm not a singe.  Believe me, you don't want to hear my voice.  I can't carry so much as a simple tune.  Therefore I will not sing the liturgy.  I'm sparing you the pain."

"You know what is awful?  This whole mistaken view of what singing is tends to be reinforced by pop music at Mass.  Pop music encourages the performance ethos.  Music with a beat reminds us of recording stars.  Jazzy chords and head-swaying sensibilities push the idea that singing is only for those who want to be loved and admired for their great talents."

"There ought to be a different word for what the priest [and the congregation] is actually asked to do.  He is not being asked to become a star or to entertain anyone.  He is not seeking a channel on Pandora or looking to sell downloads on iTunes.  He is not trying to win a competition.  In the church's conception of the singing a priest [and the congregation] does, there is not a very great distance in physics between speaking and singing.  His singing really amounts to speaking with a slightly different kind of voice, one with a pitch that takes it off the ground and out of the realm of conversation and puts the words to flight.  It is a simple shift that makes a gigantic difference in how the words come across."

Faith is a Verb and a Noun

Today's Office of Readings and the Debate

This morning, a priest friend, Fr. Meyer, called me and asked "Have you read the Office of Readings yet?"  I told him no, and he told me that when I did, I would be surprised given the debate last night.  About an hour later, I got to it, and here is the passage:

"Anyone who teaches anything different, and does not keep to the sound teaching which is that of our Lord Jesus Christ, the doctrine which is in accordance with true religion, is simply ignorant and must be full of self-conceit – with a craze for questioning everything and arguing about words. All that can come of this is jealousy, contention, abuse and wicked mistrust of one another; and unending disputes by people who are neither rational nor informed and imagine that religion is a way of making a profit." 1 Timothy 6: 3-5

Essay By Bishop Coyne on Christ and the Digital Culture

Jesus Christ and the Digital Culture

As the Year of Faith begins, a plugged-in Catholic bishop explains how and why New Media assists in the New Evangelization.

By Bishop Christopher J. Coyne, October 09, 2012

Jesus said to Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will ever die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world." (John 11:25-27) 

More than anything else, I am utterly convinced that the primary purpose of the Year of Faith and the new evangelization is the proclamation of the Good News that Jesus Christ is Lord and that in Him and through Him each and every person is offered the possibility of salvation. Whatever we do in preparation for and carrying out both the Year of Faith and the new evangelization, this truth must be our primary focus. We can talk about the Church, we can talk about the Catechism. We can talk about the Liturgy, and the Sacraments, the Holy Father, the Rosary, the Saints, and all those other truths that are so much a part of our Catholic life, but faith in these must first be predicated on the individual's faith in the person of Jesus Christ.

"I pray not only for them, but for also those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world might believe that you sent me." (John 17:20-21)

I have been blessed in coming to know the Lord Jesus. I have heard the Good News in so many ways and from so many people. I fully believe that the paschal mystery—Christ's life, death, and resurrection—is not meant for a few but for all. I also believe that anyone who has read the Scriptures, especially the gospels, cannot escape the fact that Jesus did not come to call us into isolation in a kind of one-to-one relationship with Him, but that He called us into communion with Him and with each other and that this communion finds its fullest validation in the Church which He Himself founded as the means of continuing His presence in the world.

"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20) 

So, why do I use the new digital media in the way that I do? I use it as a means of spreading the "Good News," to make disciples and to teach disciples. I see my use of tweeting, texting, posting, blogging, and podcasting as a way of talking about Jesus Christ about His love for each and everyone of us and how He has called us to communion with Him and with each other. This is evangelization in its purest form—to "go out" and testify, witness, and speak the truth.

"What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops." (Matthew 10:27) 

There are times when what I do in the digital media is not specifically "religious," times when I use humor, poetry, music, art, irreverence, banter, etc., as part of my presence within the digital world. I do this as a means to an end. I am trying to serve as a "bridge" between God and the human person. I want my message to be "attractive" both in the sense of being "pleasing" to others as well as "attracting" or "enticing" others to "follow" me. I want people to hear the incredibly important, life-altering message of Jesus Christ and His Church.

In order to "speak in the light" and "proclaim on the housetops," I need to go where the proclamation will be heard. Today, the digital culture is one of those places. I desire to both evangelize through and evangelize the new media digital itself. Right now, there is too much "darkness" in the new media and not enough light. By bringing the name and person of Jesus Christ to the new digital media, by proclaiming the Good News, and by being a presence of Christ and His Church in the new media, I hope to bring others to either know Him for the first time or to know Him more deeply in His Church.
Does it take a lot time and energy? Yes. Do I have to be careful about what I say and how I say it? Yes. Do I sometimes make mistakes or take things too far or offend and upset some people? Yes. Does this mean I will stop doing what I do? No, for all of us are called to . . .

. . . proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching. (2 Timothy 4:2)

"The Church Should Stay Out of Politics!!!" ???

Cardinal Dolan on the State of the Union

I am concerned about a culture that has become increasingly callous about the radical abortion license, and a legal system that affords more protection to endangered species of plants and animals than to unborn babies; that considers pregnancy a disease; that interprets “comprehensive health care” in such a way that it may be used to threaten the life of the baby in the womb (and, it should be noted, to exclude the undocumented immigrant as well). I am concerned as well for the infirm and elderly who are nearing the end of life, that they will not be treated with the respect, dignity and compassion that is their due, but instead be encouraged to seek a hasty death before they can become, according to some, “a burden to society.”

I am worried that we may be reducing religious freedom to a kind of privacy right to recreational activities, reducing the practice of religion to a Sabbath hobby, instead of a force that should guide our public actions, as Michelle Obama recently noted, Monday through Friday.

I am bothered by the prospect of this generation leaving a mountain of unpayable debt to its children and grandchildren, whose economic futures will be blighted by the amounts of the federal budget absorbed by debt service.

I am anxious that calls for a fiscally responsible society are met with claims that those calls come from men and women who don’t care about the poor; that we may be tempted to write off the underprivileged as problems to be solved, or as budget woes, rather than treating them with respect and dignity as people with potential and creativity; that we’re at times more willing to cut programs to help the sick, our elders, the hungry and homeless, than expenditures on Drone missiles.

I am concerned that our elections increasingly resemble reality TV shows rather than exercises in serious democratic conversation.

I am bothered that we are losing sight of voting as an exercise in moral judgment, in which certain priority issues—especially the life issues, with the protection of unborn life being the premier civil rights issue of the day—must weigh heavily on our consciences as we make our political decisions.

I am worried by attempts to redefine marriage, and to label as “bigots” those who uphold the traditional, God-given definition of marriage.

I am anxious that we cannot seem to have a rational debate over immigration policy, and that we cannot find a way to combine America’s splendid tradition of hospitality to the stranger with respect for the rule of law, always treating the immigrant as a child of God, and never purposefully dividing a family.

I am worried about the persecution of people of faith around the world, especially with the hatred of Christians on a perilous incline; and the preference for violent attacks upon innocents instead of dialogue as the path to world peace.

Fr. Chris Kappes, ArchIndy Priest, Missing in Greece, Feared Dead

Prayers for Fr. Kappes and his family!

NFL Replacement Refs and the Psalms

Tim Staples on Voting for the Lesser of Two Evils

Very nicely done!

Who is Bishop Tobin? Possible Next Archbishop?

A highly respected Vatican news site, "The Vatican Insider", today ran a story talking about shake-ups in some key posts in the Vatican.  One of the changes mentioned the current head of the Congregation for the Religious, Bishop Joseph Tobin.  The story reads:

"The current secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Joseph William Tobin, should - as always, when speaking about decisions of this kind it is essential to use the conditional because neither Benedict XVI nor the Secretary of State appear Napoleonic in this field – return to the U.S. He will probably be sent to an important diocese; possibly Indianapolis.

Is this a promotion? Possibly, but it seems he was recalled by the U.S. Catholic Church who did not appreciate Tobin’s role in clearing up misunderstandings with the LCWR’S “rebel” nuns. American bishops did not find his conciliatory statements very helpful as they were hard at work trying to resolve a difficult problem. Indeed, they saw his attitude as a break with the position taken by the previous Prefect, Franc Rodé, who was concerned about the “new age” drift of many U.S. nuns."  Click here to read the whole story.

I am about as low on the totem pole as a priest can be in a diocese (which is fine by me!) but even I have heard Bishop Tobin mentioned as a serious candidate to be our next Archbishop.  I thought it would be helpful to include some facts since it seems his chances of being our next Archbishop are becoming much higher.  If he ends up not receiving the official nod, then we'll all know a lot more about one of the Bishops in the U.S.  

Bishop Tobin is 60 years old.  He is the oldest of 13 children!  He was ordained a priest in 1978 for the Redemptorist order.  The Redemptorists have as their charism the preaching of the Gospel, especially to the poor.  Having an Archbishop who can preach well and articulate the Gospel to all people is a very important and necessary skill in my opinion, and so Bishop Tobin's background as a Redemptorist would be put to good use if he were to be assigned to Indy.  

Following his ordination, Bishop Tobin was a parish priest in Detroit, leading Holy Redeemer until 1990.  In 1991, Bishop Tobin was elected to serve in a leadership role for his order, and that led to him working with the Vatican's Congregation for Religious.  Bishop Tobin was ordained a bishop in 2010 and was then appointed to oversee the Congregation for Religious.

There are articles on Bishop Tobin by the Catholic Herald (click here to read) and two with the National Catholic Reporter (click here and here to read) 

More as word breaks.