You can find everything in Rome!

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Rome is like a Catholic Walmart. Maybe we can call Rome Catholimart. There are beautiful churches, you can see every kind of religious habit as you walk Rome’s streets and of course you have the Holy Father. But, there is a place that I like to visit on the same street as the American Embassy. If you get there, don’t miss the church. It’s beautiful and a few saints were assigned here.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnZ9wkKcqt8

The Principle Movie

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earthEvery child eventually asks the questions of being. Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? What is my place in the universe? Of course, a person of faith has a much different way of responding to these questions than someone who doesn’t have faith.

The Church has always taught that faith and reason go hand in hand. You can come to know there is an independent being, who exists in himself through reason. We believe this being is God. There is a great documentary coming out that looks at the world and it’s place in the universe. The documentary ask good scientists the right questions. It seems that cosmologists are once again asking the question about earth. Do we move around the universe, or are we the center and everything else move around us?

I just watched Michael Voris interview the producers, Bob Sungenis and Rick DeLano. It was a well done show and now, I can’t wait to see the movie! Here is the preview.

You can follow them on Facebook here and receive updates by signing up on the official website http://www.theprinciplemovie.com.

Happy New Year!

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To all my listeners, readers of the blog and those who stumble upon this page!Happy New Year 2014

May our Lord fill you with His riches blessings and our Blessed Mother intercede for your a multitude of graces!

 

New Evangelization at it’s best?

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I received the following eMail from a friend. His point is well taken. And I suggest that all of us, bishops, priests, religious and laity take a serious look at who we are and what we are about. Does the way we “practice” our faith convent the truth that we believe, or are we in the entertainment business? Are we conveying our sacred tradition, our Lord Jesus Christ, or are we preaching ourselves? Our Pope Emeritus wrote that there is a danger “we become a circle closed in on itself.” I changed the name(s) to protect the anonymity of my friend, but I left most of the story intact. My highlights in bold, my comments in red.

At Christmas Eve dinner we invited our neighbor friends (a beautiful act of kindness in a family celebration) to share in our Christmas Eve celebration. Our invited family included the mother and two daughters (all practicing Catholics) and the father (a born and raised non-believer). As we engaged in our conversation, we learned that Tom (the non-believer) attended Mass once a year at Christmas, to demonstrate some family unity and to show some outward support for his wife and children as they practice their faith and celebrate this great feast of the Nativity ( a very kind and generous man). Tom has been consistently attending the Christmas Mass for numerous years. (A great opportunity to evangelize and show what we Catholics are all about!)
 
Despite some openness and willingness to learn more about the Catholic Church, he informed us that he was “consistently disappointed” in the preaching and the manner in which the liturgy was conducted (As Fr. Z says, the how we worship is essential to the New Evangelization). Invariably, the homily would commence with a series of jokes, eliciting guffaws (probably contrived) from the “audience.” This confused Tom because he though this was a special and solemn feast (Is our Liturgy “special”, something sacred or isn’t it?). Tom commented that the priest seemed to enjoy his role as a standup comedian (and a poor one at that, he noted). Additionally, he added that the uninspired music (Sacred Music MAKES A DIFFERENCE), slovenly servers (albs and sneakers), poor preaching seemed so dreadfully “banal.” (This man came to Mass with high expectations and left with the feeling that we are not serious about our worship!) He also noted that it seemed to be the priest’s “tradition” (If that priest only gave the Church’s Tradition such an important place) to mention how full the church was on Christmas and not so the rest of the year. This comment alone seemed to irritate Tom.
 
His wife also commented that this Mass was especially distracting because of the periods of applause (“Whenever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment.” Benedict XVI) for the respective  “performing” children’s and adult choirs. She noted the interruption of prayer and the focus on the performers…not God. It all ended with the traditional rush to the cars parked in the lot to avoid the “mass exodus.” Obligation fulfilled…time to leave.
 
What is truly sad is that Tom was there and was at least receptive to learning a bit more about his family’s faith. (Another lost opportunity at!) This did not happen. Because of the priest’s need to “innovate” and add “flavor” to the Mass, the whole point of the Mass was missing to Tom. The Holy Mass can be our greatest tool for evangelization. However, if we turn it into something it is not, this opportunity will be lost. Mass is not a standup comedy routine or a concert performance. As Tom noted, if it was, he would rather pay the price of an admission and see the “real thing done by real professionals.” How sad that the church has at its highest form of prayer the “most beautiful thing this side of heaven” and it is squandered by mundane and profane antics;lost in large part to the worldly “innovations” and frivolities of this priest. How sad indeed…
 
My friend did a good job making the point. We priests can shape the Mass with  innovation, or we can get out of the way and let Mass shape us.

Merry Christmas

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To all of you who listen to my podcast, read the blog or just happen upon this page a very Merry Christmas, filled with an abundance of His grace. You were all remembered in my Christmas Masses.christmas-2013-Gerard_van_Honthorst_001

iPadre #312 – Mary, Ever Virgin

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Advent is almost over and the celebration of Our Lord’s birth is near at hand. In this episode, we are going to talk about the Virginity of Mary, because it’s so important to know who He is and what He is really about. We have some feedback and a Mary Moment with Sarah Reinhard.

– “Ave Verum Corpus Natum”
– Walk for Life, West Coast
– Juventutem events

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– Feedback line: (267) 31-Padre (267) 317-2373

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