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Pope Benedict XVI has approved the beatification of John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801–1890), which is scheduled to take place on September 19, 2010, at an open-air Mass in Birmingham, England. This ceremony will continue Newman’s journey toward admittance to the ranks of such convert-saints as Elizabeth Ann Seton, Martin of Tours, Edith Stein, and the Apostle Paul.
Early each Thursday morning for more than a decade, I’ve parked my car in a sprawling lot, mounted concrete steps, and passed through a revolving glass door to enter a world where illness, pain, and disease preside. This is my local hospital. I am an extraordinary minister of holy Communion, although I am hardly a “minister” at all, having had no more theological schooling than a few college classes and no seminary training. In fact, I have a very checkered past—wretched sinner, fallen-away Catholic, once divorced, and for too much of my life a venal, proud, arrogant man.
The Mexican-Catholic community has a tradition of offering condolences to the Sorrowful Mother after the celebration of the Lord’s passion on the night of Good Friday. This tradition can take different forms, but usually includes a procession, songs to the Blessed Mother, the rosary of the seven sorrows of Mary, and prayers. It is called a pésame, which means condolence, to the Virgin. More than just a quaint ritual, pésame offers valuable insights to better enter our celebration of the September 15 memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows as well as how to live as Christians.
“All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Death, from whose embrace no one living can escape!” With these words from the last verse of “The Canticle of the Creatures,” Saint Francis of Assisi presented his vision of death and dying to people living in the early Middle Ages. By means of these words, he showed his contemporaries that death was not something to be feared but rather a member of the family that embraces us during our final journey to God.
Yesterday’s newspaper carried an obituary of Daniel O’Keefe. I hadn’t seen or thought about Danny O’Keefe since we’d graduated from eighth grade at St. Phillip Neri more than fifty years ago. The paper said O’Keefe had suffered a heart attack while working at one of the four charities he was active in. It said he was a retired partner from a downtown law firm, where he had spent many hours doing pro-bono work for children’s organizations. The obituary listed numerous efforts O’Keefe spearheaded,
Many homeless people might wonder if anything better will ever be possible for them. But for the last few decades, Father Joe’s Villages in San Diego, California, has helped thousands transform their lives from poverty to self-sufficiency. What began as a sandwich shop and thrift store in the early 1980s has grown into a multicampus operation with more than 600 employees and more than 4,000 volunteers. Many credit Father Joe Carroll with giving them a second chance at life.
Our Christian faith shapes our frame of mind and perspective. It helps us see each person as created in the image and likeness of God, bringing us to realize that each deserves our utmost respect. Our instruction and inspiration come from the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. From him, we learn that we all have one Father. We are here to do God’s will and to serve others.
When walking into a Catholic church today, you may see a baptismal font much larger than the one in which you were baptized. It may have a raised bowl large enough for the immersion of an infant. It may occupy an area on the floor that’s wide, long, and deep enough for adults to enter. For Catholics used to a long tradition of baptism by pouring a short stream of water across the head and into a shallow bowl, the switch is surprising.
Not long ago I read the story of Randy Pausch, the young college professor with terminal cancer who gave the inspiring graduation talk following the final term he taught. As I reflected on his words, I asked myself what my last sermon might sound like. I immediately realized, of course, that I could never plan such a talk, even though I had almost fifty years of priesthood and countless sermons and homilies to look back on.
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Inspirational Psalms
| You crowned him with glory and honor. Psalm 8:5 |