We wait for Jesus

Holy Saturday traces our Salvation History at the Easter Vigil. We sit and wait for Christ, some of us racked in our own fear that as Lent ends perhaps we feel we still do not know what we need to die to in order to unite to Christ-or that we find it difficult to do so. Regardless of fear, we have and need faith--the faith that tells us that Christ has redeemed the world despite the darkness of our sins. Alleluia.

Quia per Sanctam Crucem Tuam Redemisti Munum (Because By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed the World)




For those who are entering the church tonight--welcome! Congratulations on a long Lenten and perhaps lifelong journey to our church. Know that we need you, God needs you, the church needs your gifts and are grateful for you.

Video Reflection: Way of the Cross over the Brooklyn Bridge

Here is a small video reflection of our walk over the Brooklyn Bridge.



The cross was so far ahead of us that sometimes indeed it almost seemed like we were just walking over the bridge. Only five stations are reflected upon--a kind of conglomeration of the Passion Narrative as opposed to the traditional stations. The first was read at St. James Cathedral the seat of the Brooklyn diocese. Then we headed to the bridge.



We walked about halfway on the bridge before the first station where we heard the following:



We proceeded onto City Hall, Ground Zero and St. Peter's Church in lower Manhattan. More to come.

Pictures from the Brooklyn Bridge

Here are some pictures from Communion and Liberation's Good Friday Way of the Cross procession over the Brooklyn Bridge



Choir at St James Cathedral--the seat of the Brooklyn Diocese.



Crowd walking on the bridge to the second station.



The Manhattan Skyline over the bridge.



City Hall from the Bridge.



The Cross arrives at Ground Zero

Way of the Cross over the Brooklyn Bridge

Communion and Liberation organized a Way of the Cross over the Brooklyn Bridge. It was quite moving to be among all kinds of Catholic New Yorkers. From St James Cathedral to the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall to Ground Zero and finally ending at St Peter's Church in Downtown Manhattan. I'll post a bunch of stuff in a few minutes but surprise, surprise--yours truly got picked out of the crowd by NY1 reporter Rebecca Spitz.

There's no embed but you can see me in the video in the story by clicking here

Church in a Bar

Arkansas Pastor decides to have services in a bar. Sounds like a theology on tap rip-off to me!



Appropriate?

Facebook for Good

For CEO Mark Zuckerberg via CNN

"We will welcome our 200 millionth user to Facebook some time today," wrote Zuckerberg, who's just over a month away from his 25th birthday. "Growing rapidly to 200 million users is a really good start, but we've always known that in order for Facebook to help people represent everything that is happening in their world, everyone needs to have a voice."

To commemorate the occasion, Facebook has launched a page called Facebook for Good, a page for members to share stories and experiences about how the social site has helped them give back.

Read the rest here

Rocking Good Friday

Quite frankly, I hate Good Friday. It’s dreary and dark and there’s the cross and the blood and the whipping and the people calling for Jesus to die. There’s the lance through Jesus’ side and the falling on the road and the pieta—where Jesus’ body is handed over to his mother, Mary—what torture for any mother to see her son like that!

No, Good Friday is not a comfortable wooden rocking chair kind of day. It is an uncomfortable wooden cross kind of day.

Read the rest of the article here on Busted Halo.


Good Friday confronts us with the wood of the cross. Can we be brave enough to confidently say…come…let us worship?

BTW--the podcast version is found here

Washing of the Feet

In the time of Jesus, washing feet was a filthy job. It was the lowest job that anyone could have, so low that even some servants would refuse to do it--leaving the job to those who were new on the job. The disciples in today's gospel's instance, wore sandals exposing their feet to the dust of the road but more than that...

The marketplace was an area where livestock roamed so animal waste was plentiful and anyone walking through the marketplace really couldn't avoid it. And because Jesus's disciples were about to recline together at table...feet needed to be washed as they would lie in close proximity to the table and to one another.

And Jesus washes these filthy, stinky feet.

Simon Peter will have none of it. The one who is master and Lord, the one we call teacher, the one who is the Son of God is going to wash my FEET? No way. There is a big elephant in the room and Peter is the only one who has the guts to point it out. And who can blame him? Some disciples maybe even breathed a sigh of relief that he did this.

I think I'd be a lot like Peter. Because my feet get me into lots of trouble. They take me to plenty of places that I shouldn't go. I walk past the homeless each day on my way to work ignoring their needs most of the time. My feet won't stay still when I need to sit by my parent's bedside as their medical problems worsen in their old age. And when my wife needs someone to listen to her when she's upset my feet can find plenty of things to walk to instead.

Feet are indeed troublesome for us all.

One Holy Thursday my parish invited us to wash each other's feet after a select group had been washed by the pastor. One of the more moving moments in my life was when my wife washed my feet. Why? Well Marion, my wife, knows me better than anybody else. She knows all of my faults and insecurities. She knows that I'm grumpy in the morning and short-tempered at times. She knows I'm far from perfect and yet she loves me anyway--and sometimes I wonder why she does? And she knows that we can't make a baby together either. We've been through a lot in our marriage together and will continue to go through a lot over our married life. And she also knows that I have stinky feet.

And because of all that, the fact that Marion can get down and washes my feet--and I hers says something much deeper. And when she stoops to wash them she says to me: "OK Mike, I know you are not perfect, but if I can do this...if I can get down and do something as vile as washing these feet of yours--I know we can make it through just about anything in our marriage together." And I am called to do the same for her.

Jesus knows all about these feet too. Peter doesn't want these feet of his washed because he knows they are dirty. What's more is that he knows that there are a lot of filthy parts of himself. And he doesn't want Jesus to know much less, touch any part of them. But the point of most of John's gospel is that Jesus is in complete control and knows what is about to befall him. What is remarkable is that these feet of these so-called friends of his will run at the first sign of trouble.

No matter who we are...we all have stinky feet from time to time. Whether we wear Prada shoes or flip flops--the filth of our lives is something that we all know is present. We sin. And it is filthy.

And Jesus knows it. And yet...he gets down and washes their feet anyway. There was only one man who was worthy enough to be served that night--and he was the one who washes feet.

But like Peter, we don't think we deserve to be washed clean. We think that God couldn't really want to and really shouldn't be anywhere near the most filthy parts of ourselves.

And yet, here is Jesus not only stooping down to wash our feet but he seems at ease with doing so.

God doesn't forgive our sins against our will. No, it is up to us to let Jesus touch those intimate parts of ourselves--to face what needs cleaning and to let the water wash us clean. It reminds us of our baptism and calls us to the Eucharist.

Admitting that we have stinky feet, doesn't keep us guilty or even make us feel like horrible people. Our stinky feet simply remind us that we need God--that we're not perfect, that we all have Busted Halos.

This night, I pray that you, like Peter can let Jesus stoop down to touch those deep wounds that you have suffered.

"Not only my feet Lord, but my hands and my head as well."

Pittsburgh:Healing the Wounds of Sexual Abuse

Rocco and Deacon Greg has the moving news

The service began on a somber note. In place of the usual organ music and hymns of welcome, Bishop Zubik and his alter servers entered in silence, the only noises the sound of their footsteps and the rustling and muffled coughing of those in attendance.

Reaching the altar, Bishop Zubik prostrated himself before it, lying flat and motionless on the cool marble floor for a full two minutes. He stood up, and soon offered the opening prayer in a ringing voice that filled the huge, vaulted cathedral.

"Where sin has divided and scattered, may your love make one again," he said, addressing God. "Where sin has brought weakness and hurt, may your power heal and strengthen. Where sin has brought death, may your spirit raise to life."

But even as he celebrated God's mercy, he acknowledged that the church is made up of men and women who are very human and at times, very sinful.

It was clear from the hundreds of people attending the service that their sins had caused harm, he said....

He would do whatever he could, he told his listeners -- many of whom were middle-aged men and elderly women -- to restore their trust in the church "so that as a church, we can live our best, love our best, do our best, give our best."

Bishop Zubik then lit six candles of remembrance and apology to the victims -- children, teenagers and adults -- of abuse by representatives of the church.

"We acknowledge their deep wounds," said a priest, after Bishop Zubik lit the third candle. "We acknowledge the betrayal of a most sacred trust. We acknowledge their courage in speaking the truth. We affirm their dignity as people who are seeking truth and accountability, compassion and redress for the wrong that has been done to them. We support their healing. We offer our prayer for their journey toward wholeness."

Sounds like Bishop Zubik is off to a great start in one of America's great cities.

If I were Peter, I'd be nowhere near the Courtyard

Here's an old Busted Halo column that I thought I'd share for Holy Thursday:

Usually when St. Peter’s denial of Jesus is recounted every Holy Week I find myself feeling somewhat superior. After all, Peter refuses to admit that he even knows Jesus—and here I am standing proud in my pew as a faithful follower of Christ. But this year I’ve begun to see that scene from the Gospel in a different light. Though Peter denies Jesus I wonder if on that tortuous night he also displayed a form of conflicted courage as well.

All the other apostles ran away in fear that night, but Peter followed Jesus all the way into the high priest’s courtyard (in Luke’s Gospel he even enlists another disciple who is known to the high priest to help get him into the courtyard). Certainly this was not an exercise for the timid. Peter even goes to warm himself by the fire where the very soldiers who arrested Jesus were also sitting—presumably one of the soldiers would remember the follower of Jesus who struck the high priest servant’s ear? (And one does, Peter’s second accuser was a kinsman of that very servant.)

Stay Close

Still, after being recognized he doesn’t run away. Perhaps he is simply trying to stay close to Jesus to find out what is to become of Him. So he lies, not merely out of fear for his own life but out of fear of being banished from the courtyard and losing sight of Jesus. Perhaps in his conflicted love he thought that if he could just keep Jesus in his sights, maybe there was something he could do to help? In Luke’s version Peter’s denial happens just out of earshot from where Jesus is standing. It is here that we read: “…and the Lord turned and looked at Peter, and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.” He went out and began to weep bitterly.” (Luke 22:60-63)

There’s a lot of Peter in all of us. And when faced with the choice of denying our Christianity or being flogged for it—we most often decline the invitation that leads us into suffering and take the easy way out.
Perhaps Peter is an example of faint-hearted, fearful discipleship in the story, but how often have I done even less in my own life?

Read the rest here.

A Special Holy Thursday Memory

I met my wife (sorta) on Holy Thursday nine years ago and we went on our first date the following day: A Passover Seder at a friend's house--where we didn't partake of the lamb. At one point the entire seder was on one side of the room and we were on the opposite side sitting on the floor and talking as if we had known each other all our lives.

So Holy Week is special to us for many reasons--besides being the Holiest week of the year, it was also the time we started our relationship, one that flourishes still today.

As all married couples do, we too have our struggles. But we are just as crazy about each other as we were that magical first night.

Happy Anniversary, Darling.

Giving new meaning to Downward Dog

From today's NY Times: Doga--Yoga with Dogs!

Ludicrous? Possibly. Grist for anyone who thinks that dog-owners have taken yoga too far? Perhaps. But nationwide, classes of doga — yoga with dogs, as it is called — are increasing in number and popularity. Since Ms. Caliendo, a certified yoga instructor in Chicago, began to teach doga less than one year ago, her classes have doubled in size.

Not everyone in the yoga community is comfortable with this.

“Doga runs the risk of trivializing yoga by turning a 2,500-year-old practice into a fad,” said Julie Lawrence, 60, a yoga instructor and studio owner in Portland, Ore. “To live in harmony with all beings, including dogs, is a truly yogic principle. But yoga class may not be the most appropriate way to express this.”

My dog has his own thoughts on this here on Haze Hayes his blog that he types as fast as his little paws lets him.

I have done yoga with my friend Fr. Tom Ryan and found it to be both physically challenging and it gave me an opportunity to meditate more intentionally. It was a Catholic experience--taking Yoga postures and putting them into Catholic prayers and then meditating for about 20 minutes afterward. To check out Fr. Tom's yoga style get his DVD here and see one of his videos and read more about it here.

Citi Field Tour

I toured the New Citi Field Stadium with my colleagues Bill McGarvey and Jarrad Venegas. Thanks to Fordham and John Cirillo for providing us the opportunity. Here are a few vids:

The Old Shea Stadium Apple




Kids area in the fan zone:




View from the LF Glass enclosed restaurant:

Spy Wednesday: Thoughts on Judas

Today is the day that we recall that Judas "looked for an opportunity to hand him over" an imfamously became the most well known traitor known to man.

But isn't there a bit of Judas in all of us? Don't we sell Jesus out every time we choose to sin, or choose not to know, or choose not to love someone as best we can? Most especially, I think we reflect Judas' thinking when "we think we know better than God does."

Judas had it all mapped out. Jesus just needed the right back-up from those in power and he would take over the world. He had this picture of what revolution could look like and nothing was going to alter his vision.

Not even Jesus.

What was Jesus waiting for? Why wouldn't he be moving this whole thing along faster? And what's all this talk about dying?

Some scholars believe that Judas tried to force Jesus into declaring his Messiahship and thus establish the Kingdom of God on earth.

He had it all figured out.

After the betrayal, Judas realizes what he had done and flings the 30 pieces of silver into the Temple. Two conflicting stories of Judas' despair follow. The Gospel of Matthew states that Judas went off and hanged himself and that the Chief priests used the 30 pieces of silver to buy the Potter's field and buried him there. Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, tells a different and more gruesome version where Judas in despair used the bribe to buy a field, but fell down headfirst, and burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. Scholar Raymond Brown notes that what we can take from this is that Judas died quickly and violently and that people used Old Testament traditions to help explain his death. Many times hanging was accompanied by disembowelment and other times people would impale themselves on a stake after throwing themselves from a tree with a rope around their neck thus breaking their neck and also impaling themselves. A graduate school professor I once had said that if one were to commit suicide, one wanted to make sure that they'd end up dead--so the spike served as a failsafe.

What I take from all of that is that Judas continues not to learn the lesson that he is not in control to the point of taking his own life. For Judas, his plan went miserably awry and there was nothing left for him and to make matters worse, there was nothing left for Jesus. Without the eyes of faith we often lose track of the big picture and end up in a world where all we can see is our own ideas.

How do we in our own ways, "look for an opportunity to hand him over?" Do we choose our own selfish occupations ahead of the needs of others? Do we fail to see that the poor need us in favor of our own pleasures and comforts? Are we so wrapped up even in our most well meaning of intentions that we become uncharitable and even destructive in order to see that our vision is fulfilled?

Perhaps the lesson in Judas' story for us is to have faith. God is in control and we are not and even our best intentions and efforts don't change that. While we do what we are called to do for others and face overcoming many obstacles on the way, we also are not God and cannot accomplish it all. Sometimes we need to get out of out own way and let go of our tight grasp of our limited vision in order for God to step in and work on us a bit more.

We do not have it all figured out. And neither did Judas. But don't despair, God knows that and works with us each day, even with our betrayals of Him in our own pride. Lent and Holy is quickly coming to a close. Perhaps we have moved a bit closer in dying to what keeps us as prideful as Judas and can move into a more loving way of being united with Christ both in accepting the cross and faithfully believing and experiencing Resurrection.

The Anchoress on Obama and Fire Breathing Pro-lifers

A hat tip to Deacon Greg and Pajamas Media

For many pro-life Catholics, myself included, the thought of President Obama addressing the upcoming commencement exercises at Notre Dame just scalds.

It scalds, but as my email fills up with angry press releases from various pro-life groups and with appeals to sign anti-Obama petitions, I find all the fire-breathing just a bit scalding, as well.

I understand and support the duty of Catholic bishops to register strong disapproval of the president’s anti-life positions, and I further believe that teaching the truth is always imperative, but Catholic universities have never been intellectual ghettos, offering only narrow exposure to ideas. On the contrary, Catholic universities have been bastions of rigorous debate with the application of reason triumphant over trends, sentiments, or policies. Because I believe that, and because I believe in the rightness of the Catholic position on life and the ability of the Holy Spirit to use surprising people and circumstances to do God’s will, I keep thinking, “Why are the Catholics approaching all of this with outrage and apparent fear, instead of confidence in battle?”

The current administration has famously quipped “never let a good crisis go to waste.” Well, Catholics might take a page from the president’s book and see this situation as less a “crisis” than an opportunity.

Amen, Anchoress! That's exactly what I've been saying--which you've said much more eloquently.

Read some more comments from her here

Can a Pro-Life Democrat Please Stand Up?

Hat tip to Deacon Greg for this tidbit:

Caroline Kennedy is rumored to be considered to become the Ambassador to the Holy See (The Vatican City-state for those less theologically literate). This is sure to be a fruitless exercise as there is no way the Vatican would accept her nomination with her pro-choice record.

And they shouldn't. Because there are plenty of others who could in fact, fit the bill. Two come to mind: Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and Congressman Lincoln Davis (D-TN). My guess is that the President might not want to remove either of them from their congressional positions though and perhaps we might not want to lose two votes for life in the congress either.

I think perhaps a good solution might be to ask Virginia Governor Tim Kaine who is the head of the DNC for a recommendation. Especially with Republican Chairman Michael Steele recently saying that he supports a pro-choice position, Kaine may be able to work for bi-partisan support now for life more than ever before.

CUA Law Commencement Speaker: Let Obama Speak

A hat tip to American Papist.

Mark Shields, the political columnist who will be addressing graduates as commencement speaker at Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law next month, disagrees.

Shield’s syndicated column, published after the University announced him as speaker, goes against the stated opinions of O’Connell and several members of the board of trustees, including chairman Bishop William E. Lori.

“As a proud graduate of Notre Dame and, frankly, as an admirer of Father Jenkins, I am not a disinterested bystander in this controversy,” writes Shields. “My university likes to think of itself, not immodestly, as the place where the Catholic Church does its thinking. But the current rhubarb is already conspicuous for generating — mostly off the campus — more heat than light.”

“The reality is that Roe v. Wade is not going to be overthrown,” he continued.

American Papist noted sarcastically after quoting this: "Yes, defeatism is generally a feature of enlightened discourse." And I must say that the line made me chuckle (in a good way--funny is funny). However, I think he misses the point.

If the likelihood of Roe v. Wade is in fact that at least in the near future our likelihood is that the law won't be overthrown shouldn't we at least concentrate just as much on trying to serve the needs of pregnant teens who seek abortion as we do on trying to influence politicians to change the law? As one who is pro-life, I think that this is what Bishop Chaput was driving at when he said and I paraphrase: "we don't really care."

If we really cared the law wouldn't stop us from creating a solution that stops abortion. The law would make it harder for us to completely stop it altogether to be sure, but showing people great victories in changing the lives of these mothers, caring for them and their children and honoring the unborn as full persons who deserve not merely our PROTECTION but also our CARE. I've been to a few events at Malta House in Connecticut and was quite moved by the stories of the young women who they serve. They do this DESPITE the law and uphold our Catholic values greatly. They also hope that the law will one day change, but if it doesn't they're not going to close up shop. The Sisters of Life in New York do similar good works.

Why aren't these stories being told? What if we all told just one small story of how we saved a life and supported it for years beyond that first year each day? We know those stories are out there.

Or would we rather just complain about a speech by the President?

To Vatican Critics: Media Matters for You Too

I got annoyed at a few friends the other night and I think I shot the messenger. They mentioned that they were annoyed at Pope Benedict's statements while he was in Africa about how condoms are not a solution to the AIDS crisis.

I asked them (probably in an angry NY tone) what they thought the Pope meant. One claimed that they weren't sure and the other said that they thought the Pope was saying that condoms are not a way to prevent the spread of AIDS--that they don't work--that scientifically condoms don't really prevent the AIDS virus.

Balderdash.

What the Pope was saying was that condoms are a quick fix. That they don't stop the real systemic problem at hand which is an unhealthy and cheapened view of sexuality--which most people in the world actually subscribe to and which many men especially in Africa have taken to an extreme.

Women are regarded in Africa by many men in that culture as disposable. They are only there to serve the sexual needs of men. We shouldn't single out Africa in this regard as this is a widespread phenomenon.

So the Pope's suggestion is that condoms do not create a culture change and a shift in the sexual mindset of the world--especially on a continent where AIDS and HIV is a huge problem--is what is really needed.

But what happens now? His answer is taken out of context and blown up in the media as the Pope saying that we don't need condoms in Africa to solve the AIDS crisis with no explanation at all and most people come away thinking that the Pope just made a stupid and perhaps even an out-of-touch statement.

He did not. But now we'll never hear him go beyond this statement because the Vatican PR department won't field anymore questions on the subject out of fear.

The good follow up question that I suspect the Pope may even have a brilliant idea about is this:

"While it may be true that a more systemic change is needed to really solve the problem of AIDS in the world, there are many people who may not share that opinion. While we realize that you need to set the bar high by calling people to a higher standard and uphold the teachings of the Catholic faith, can you also share any ideas you may have to keep people safe in the meantime, before this culture change hopefully takes hold on the culture--or even dare we say, if it doesn't?"

Culture change doesn't happen overnight. And while I agree with the Pope's point, I'd sincerely like to hear what ideas he might promote of a practical nature that will protect, especially women who are often raped by men with the AIDS virus or are forced to have sex with their husbands who may be transmitting the virus as well.

While I'm not likely to get an answer from the Holy Father on this matter, I'm wondering what y'all think about two things:

1) Is the media as well as the general public shooting us in the foot by taking questions out of context?

2) What ideas might we have for both building a change in the culture and for keeping people safe in the meantime?

Let's say that condoms are not an option just for kicks!

Archbishop Quinn on Notre Dame and President Obama

This is very clear-headed thinking in America Magazine

These questions are not negligible. Cardinal James Gibbons, when he received the "Red Hat," in a memorable sermon at the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, strongly praised the tremendous benefit that came to the church in our country because of the separation of church and state. During our more than two hundred years of history, the American bishops have until very recently steadfastly held to the position of making judgments about policy but never judgments about persons in the political arena. One reason for this position was that the episcopate recognized that the greater good of the mission of the church would be served in this way.

Taking account of what serves the greater good of the mission of the church is not opportunism. It is what Catholic tradition calls prudence. The saints have used various words for this cardinal virtue: discretion, discernment, practical wisdom. The great teacher of discernment, St. Ignatius Loyola, points out in this context the serious evil of the temptation of the good. Not everything that seems good is in fact good. Weighing, discernment and discretion are necessary even in things that seem on the face of it to be good. There is always the twin issue of the objective itself and the means of achieving it. One may be good, the other not.

The bigger question though which Bishop Quinn addressed in the first few paragraphs of the article is a doozy: How do unborn get served in the end by either withdrawing the invitation or by allowing President Obama to speak? Which ends up serving their needs best? I agree with Bishop Quinn on this point:

But it does not improve the likelihood of making progress on this and other issues of common concern if we adopt the clenched fist approach. The president has given ample evidence that he is a man of good will, of keen intelligence, desirous of listening and capable of weighing seriously other views. The Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops, citing Augustine, points out that “ Certain situations cannot be resolved with asperity or hardness” and goes on to say “(B)ecause his daily pastoral concerns give the Bishop greater scope for personal decision-making, his scope for error is also greater, however good his intentions: this thought should encourage him to remain open to dialog with others, always ready to learn, to seek and accept the advice of others.”

There's a lot of good thoughts in the early part of the article as well which you should read by going here

Hat tip to Susan Franesconi who pointed this article to me on Facebook where there's a good conversation going on that was started by Jeremy Langford.

A Facebook Passion of the Christ

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

http://canter.s437.sureserver.com/fbp/facebookpassion.pdf

Worth a click. Hat tip to Rosemary Azzaro.

Will the folks at Notre Dame mention...

President Barack Obama became the first U.S. president to unequivocally commit the United States to a long-term goal of ridding itself and the world of nuclear weapons.

Obama spelled out a broad three-part plan:

- Changing U.S. nuclear strategy and working with Russia to further slash their stockpiles of warheads.

- Working to control the spread of weapons, including creating an international fuel bank to let non-nuclear powers get materials needed for nuclear power without developing the capacity to create material for weapons, as is feared in Iran.

- Starting a new international effort to secure from terrorists all the materials needed for nuclear weapons. He said his first step would be to downplay the United States' nuclear weapons as the keystone of its defense.

"Today, I state clearly and with conviction America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons," he said to cheers from an audience of 20,000.

Read the rest at NCR

If you happen to be in the Brooklyn Diocese today...

Get yourself some Soul Wow!

Two stadiums and a hole in the ground

A great post today from our friends at The Mets Police:

Six and a half years ago a nightmare descended upon this city. At the time both the Mets
and Yankees had been discussing new stadia with the city. Following 9/11 those discussions were put on hold so that the city could recover and rebuild.

Recover we did - rebuild we have not.

Six and a half years later, two structures designed for a game have been designed, constructed, and now opened. Several hundred million dollars in city and state "assistance" has helped in getting these structures built.

Yet just over 9 miles away from each site there remains a big hole in the ground where two office towers once stood.

Think about that for a moment.

6 1/2 years
$2+ Billion
2 new, state-of-the-art ballparks
0 towers

Read a bit more here.

Opening Day

While here in New York both the Mets and the Yankees open on the road (good thing--it's pouring in NY today!) before unveiling their new ballparks officially (translation: in a game that counts) baseball is back.

May the Cubbies take it all this year and end their drought of 101 years without a World Series win. As my friend Mike Caragliano (who is a national baseball trivia champion) always teases me: "Your team hasn't won the world series in my GREAT grandfather's lifetime."

I'm off to punch him in the arm now.

But baseball is a game that is really about loss rather than winning. The best hitters get a hit only 3 times every 10 at bats. The best teams will lose at least one third of their games. And pitchers are never sharp every single time. There's always a clunker in the mix. Slumps, losing streaks, trades and arguing with the ump are all a part of the great American pastime.

When I covered baseball, back in my radio days the better stories were always in the losing locker room. When the Yankees won their first in a recent set of World Series wins in 1996, Derek Jeter was a rather boring interview. One reporter wondered if he was happy. Several players on the Braves team showed up outside of the Yankee locker room and congratulated their opposition. Something you almost never see, at least not publicly. Loss again, breeds more than winning.

Growing up as a Mets fan (and then abandoning them because I saw the arrogance of their owner up close in personal in my radio days), those first few years of rooting were covered in losses. The Mets in the late 70s and early 80s stunk. I built a lot of character in those years and when they finally won the World Series in 1986, I gloated like the best of them. But looking back, I think I remember the losing teams more fondly.

Thus now as a Cubs fan, I have gotten back into the spirit of learning to live with loss. It's an acquired skill. I needed two tums to go to sleep after the Bartman foul ball incident. I was crushed at the way they fell apart this year, texting a friend who was sitting in the friendly confines while it unfolded, or perhaps better stated, folded. But it's all part of the game. Kids learn this fast. My little league team lost its first game 37-0. As the last out was recorded I started to wail. My coach looked at me and said, "You've been losing by more than 10 runs since the first inning. Did it just occur to you now that you were going to lose? Relax there's always another game and even if you lose them all, this is about learning." He was right.

As my parents get older and the years quickly drift by I realize that I will lose much more than I gain--and that's even with many significant gains. I was told recently by a high school friend that she was proud of how I've taken many painful experience from our high school years and turned them into something positive. But truth be told, sometimes loss just sucks.

When there is nothing to do and no way to explain why bad things happen, I often look to baseball for comfort. Besides my faith, baseball teaches me that loss may be painful but there is always another game, another season, another at-bat, another turn on the mound. Life is not for the faint-hearted but for those who keep getting up off the bench and having another go.

Loss indeed is painful. But as we strike forward into Holy Week we find our savior hanging on a cross only to see him return to us after a short while. The veil between death and life is torn and we are forever changed. No baseball game has that much drama or carries that much weight. But there is comfort in knowing Jesus has already handled it all for us. We all are doomed to lose but our losses can and indeed are redeemed.

And in some ways that is what makes opening day so special. There is only redemption. All the teams are 0-0 and everyone has an equal chance to win it all. Enjoy rooting for the home team and the hot dogs.

But remember, you are going to lose. It's only a matter of time.

Cardinal Egan to get pacemaker

After experiencing stomach pains Cardinal Edward Egan of the Big Apple was hospitalized at St. Vincent's Hospital. Rumors of the Cardinal's ill health have been floating around the NY Archdiocese for some time.

Originally the Cardinal was said to be having a pacemaker installed tomorrow, putting his participation in Holy Week services, for the final time here in Gotham in jeopardy--even with it being an outpatient procedure.

Rocco Palmo had the scoop as usual from the grand poobah of Communications in NYC's Chancery:

After further consultation with his doctors, the pacemaker implant for Edward Cardinal Egan has been temporarily postponed. The pacemaker will not be installed on Monday, April 6, as was announced earlier today.

The doctors explained that for the Cardinal the implant was not an emergency procedure, and could wait until his stomach ailment had improved and he has an opportunity to regain some strength.

Decisions about the Cardinal’s participation in Holy Week services will be made when the Cardinal is feeling better and with the input of his doctors.

The surgery to implant the pacemaker will be scheduled for a later date.

As I pray for the good Cardinal and ask you to do so too, I also ask for prayers for my mother who was also hospitalized yesterday with her recurring stomach ailment. At her 80 years old to the Cardinal's 77, there's no doubt that it's tough to get old never mind keeping up with the usual schedules that either would like to keep in their golden years.

This Holy Week when we hear of the sufferings of Jesus let us remember that suffering still exists in the world--not just for people like Cardinal Egan and my mom but for more than 3/4 of the world who live on less than $3 a day. Let us dedicate our own prayers to all who long to be free of suffering.

Exotic Dancer now Dances for Jesus

From the London Telegraph:

Anna Nobili, 38, spent years working as an exotic dancer and striptease artist in night clubs in Milan.
But she swapped string bikinis and high heels for a nun's habit after a visit to the shrine of St Francis in Assisi, a place of pilgrimage for millions of Catholics in Umbria, in 2002.

Read the rest here. I agree with Sr Julie over at A Nun's Life who gets a hat tip here for pointing us to this story that the London Telegraph has as she says:

The headline plays off the worst of stereotypes (and fantasies) about women, authority, and relationships between nuns and clergy.

The headline introduces an article in the UK newspaper Telegraph. “Lap Dancing Nun to perform for cardinals and bishops” (April 3, 2009) includes the more accurate subtitle “An Italian lap dancer turned nun is to perform a religious dance in front of an audience of Roman Catholic cardinals and bishops.”

“So what’s wrong with an attention-grabbing headline and a little fun, Sister Julie? It’s just a headline after all.”

Yeah, yeah. It’s not that I’m against provocative headlines, one of my more recent ones being Nuns, Sex, and Knitting. But I think there’s got to be some integrity in what is written. The fact is that the “lap dancing nun” is a Catholic Sister named Anna Nobili who expressly says that she has given up her lap dancing (and other activities).

I hope that it sells a few papers that converts a few more people if they're going to try to be provocative at her expense.

I'd pay a whole lot of money if someone could orchestrate this to happen at Penn Station

Today's inspiration: Christ Behind Me and Beneath Me

Sarah Hart with a beautiful version of the Breastplate of St Patrick:

The Breastplate of St. Patrick - Sarah Hart

Palm Sunday

I love Palm Sunday. We get to see more people on Palm Sunday and Ash Wednesday than we do most of the year. And while many people find it annoying that these folks only show up during these times (and maybe in addition Christmas and Easter) we have such an opportunity to feed them some good spirituality.

I would also challenge those who don't like these people that they may be the reasons that they don't show up more often. Complaining about their lack of attendance might just be the nudge they needed to go right back out the door from whence they came--and most likely not to return again. Other traditions would fall over backwards welcoming these people with open arms each and every Sunday--and yet, we don't do that often enough--not even four times a year when we know they're going to make their way back to us. There's a lot of hatred out there--why not be a force for positive change? Pastors often are too busy with preparations as are the rest of the staff--what is it that we can do as laity to take on the task of welcoming people into our pews this Palm Sunday?

So today, ask yourself--not father, not deacon, not the choir director...

How can you welcome someone in your parish that you might not see on a regular basis?

That's where we need to be this Holy Week...and I pray that we all find it in our hearts to do just that.

Everything you ever wanted to know about Canon Law and My Book

My favorite new podcast is The Everyday Catholic. Why? Because the host David Dawson, from the Diocese of Baton Rouge really gets the internet. He gets right to the meat of what he wants to discuss right away without the usual prattle--which I admit even I do much too much of on our own Busted Halo Cast.

This week's episode is particularly good.

In Episode 10 Canon Law 101, I stop by the office of Judicial Vicar for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Fr. Paul Counce.

In a nutshell, this podcast contains the overview of Canon Law: What it is, what are canon lawyers, how does the Church use this type of law, and how we, as Catholics, will encounter canon law in our Church life.

We also discuss what to do if you see an "abuse" in the Church. How one should discern this "abuse" and the appropriate steps to report it. Don't go emailing the Bishop from your iphone during mass, please.

Last week the podcast featured yours truly so check out both episodes:

Canon Law

And My talk at the Diocese on young adults called: Identity Theft: Is Your Catholic Identity Safe?

Thanks to David Dawson for the podcast post and for doing such a great job with this podcast.

What an awesome story:

(April 2) -- Four years after his death, Pope John Paul II is moving closer to being canonized. And the incredible recovery of an Ohio shooting victim may speed the late pontiff's path to sainthood.
The chaplain at a Cleveland hospital is crediting John Paul's intercession for the recovery of Jory Aebly, who was shot in the head execution-style during a mugging five weeks ago, ABC News reported on 'Good Morning America.'

Read more here

Even if you don't buy that Pope John Paul interceded here, it is nonetheless astounding that this young man recovered.

Watch his video and see how remarkable he is:

East 12th Street shooting – Jory Aebly to be discharged from hospital today

The Princess and the Priest

The debut episode of the newest Busted Halo feature.

Greatest Thing Ever

From one of the finest men I know: Fr Jim McDermott, SJ at America Magazine's blog yesterday:

A strange, fun tidbit: the alignment of Venus and Mercury relative to Earth today creates a very slight upward gravitational pull which is actually just enough to be sensed. Many will feel a certain lightness in their step; if you get on a scale your weight will be slightly less. And, the really cool part, if you jump into air at exactly 11:11 am this morning (EST), or at 5:37 this afternoon, you will be able to experience a very slight floating sensation. First discovered in 1937 by astronomer Sir Robert Townsley, this event actually occurs once every 587 days. A little-known, but amazing feature of life in a solar system of planets.

Enjoy!

For all of you who jumped: April Fool!

Best...April...Fool's...Ever!

Bob Sheppard Retiring...not so fast

For once being lazy works out for me.

An announcement came down yesterday that Yankee Stadium Announcer Bob Sheppard who I interviewed on Busted Halo last year about possibly coming back to announce games after his brief illness was retiring. I was poised to share the news with my blog audience almost immediately, but something told me to wait.

Now reports say that the story is false. our friends over at the Mets Police say:

I suspect the NYY's are sad that things got unofficially announced.

Bob is 98 and hasn't done a game in a year. I love him but let's be real. He's retired. They just don't like how it got announced.

To further the story from my undisclosed sources:

Bob's been sick for a long time and is 98 and needs to get his weight up to about 155 pounds or so and has struggled to do that. He may be there now but is still very feeble. One source said that they'd find is "surprising if he can even stay awake for nine innings never mind announce 9 innings."

I also don't think that this is why the Yankees are upset. My guess is that Bob is having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that he really isn't in any shape to be doing full games anymore. His journey towards recovering enough to do the games is indeed what has kept him going. To take that journey away from him may indeed depress him and slow any recovery further for him.

While I know Bob doesn't want any kind of digitally enhanced recording of his voice to be used permanently, I don't see why in this age we couldn't use Skype to have Sheppard broadcast the games from his living room. Skype would feature studio sound as long as both endusers have usernames.

Even having Sheppard start the games from home and having someone else in house to finish it, I think is still a good solution.

Instead the Yanks have another solution for now, anyway:

April 1 (Bloomberg) -- While Bob Sheppard won’t man the public-address booth as the New York Yankees debut their new stadium, fans will still notice the announcer’s flair and technique they’ve grown accustomed to since 1951.

“The Yankees have asked me to do certain things in the Bob Sheppard style, especially the lineups,” said Paul Olden, who is temporarily filling in for Sheppard. “It will be the way things are done from here on, whether I’m doing them, or Bob’s doing them, or anybody else.”

Sheppard, 98, is continuing a recovery from a bronchial infection that caused him to miss the entire 2008 Major League Baseball season. The New York Times reported today that Sheppard has retired, citing Paul Doherty, a friend and agent of the announcer. Yankees spokesman Jason Zillo said he couldn’t confirm the report.

Sheppard will be replaced by Olden at the $1.3 billion ballpark for at least the team’s exhibitions versus the Chicago Cubs on April 3-4 and its home opener April 16 against Cleveland.

Regardless, let's pray for Bob Sheppard, who is one of the nicest men I have ever met.

And for what else shall we pray?...On Facebook?

I'm going to take a different turn than the usual posting of my prayers and those who've asked for them today and issue a type of challenge/complaint (I'm not sure which this really is!)

I'll explain: I was on Facebook last night and began chatting with an old friend from my radio days who is now pregnant (which I only knew from her Facebook status). I congratulated her on her news and then she told me that she had been pregnant before but that her child had died after only a few months after birth. I had no idea and felt terrible that I didn't know and hadn't said anything until now.

I realize that people lose touch with one another and that is the case here, but there are several people from that time in my life who knew about this who I talk to almost daily who never mentioned a word about this to me. I'm not blaming here, but I am upset at how this didn't get relayed to me.

Why do we withhold intimate details of our lives to one another? When someone else has tragic news we often leave it to that person to have to spread the news. It seems unjust but it also seems like we think we should be minding our own business too. There doesn't seem to be an easy answer here.

And yet, we long for that intimacy with one another. We long for it so much that we've started inventing new (albeit cheap substitutes) ways of doing it through things like Facebook and Twitter. I have found out more about people through Facebook than I have any other method of information sharing in the last year. I don't know if that's a good thing but it has led me to some more intimate encounters with God and with people in crisis.

So I'd like to issue a thought. When you hear of tragic news: perhaps a Facebook status update or a tweet from Twitter could read something like these:

"Mike is praying for baby Hailey who went to God today and asks prayers for her mom."

"Mike is praying for Steve who is unemployed."

"Mike is praying for Linda who has been sick."

"Mike is praying for his mom who is back in the hospital."

Let me know what you think about this.

April Fool's Podcast

Is now up here. My "Out of the Hayes (Haze? I can't decide!)" reflection deals with "the fool" in scripture--in today's scripture for that matter. We also cover a question on the Anointing of the Sick.

Anger in the Church

Fr. Mark Mossa, S.J. highlights this morning's blogging as he gets the first tip o' the hat when his experience of the readings at mass brought him to an unexpected place of anger.

I realized that there was no way around it--today's readings definitely had something to say about injustice against women. To avoid the issue, as some might have, seemed to me to be ignoring the elephant in the room. Today's readings clearly had something to say to use about gender justice, and the injustice perpetrated against women by abuse of power and sinful double standards. That's what I spoke about in my homily. I admitted that I myself haven't exactly been the best advocate of gender justice, and have been known to roll my eyes at academic discussions of the evils of patriarchy, but that it was clear in these two readings that gender justice is something we are meant to be concerned about. We are called, like Daniel, not to stand idly be but to speak up when we see injustice being perpetrated against women. And, we are challenged by Jesus to examine the ways in which our own attitudes and opinions ignore such abuses of power, and conform to sinful double standards. And while we can often point to more egregious examples of injustice and violence against women in other countries, that shouldn't prevent us from recognizing that there is plenty happening here, right in our own communities.

Honestly, this was a bit out of my comfort zone, and so I was pretty nervous. I wasn't sure how people would react. I was pleased with the homily, though it took a lot out of me. And, as I reflected for a few moments afterward, I was confident that what I had said indeed reflected God's concern.

And that was why I was so appalled and angered by the prayers of the faithful!

Read the rest here to find out why.

And Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg, Florida gets the second nod via David Gibson's blog over at Beliefnet.

Early 'markers' [of Obama's record on the life issues] are not encouraging in this regard but hope needs to spring eternal and while Notre Dame may have acted way too early and too generously, I am more alarmed that the rhetoric being employed is so uncivil and venomous that it weakens the case we place before our fellow citizens, alienates young college-age students who believe the older generation is behaving like an angry child and they do not wish to be any part of that, and ill-serves the cause of life. Notre Dame has in the past and continues to give this local Church fine, professional and very Catholic women and men who both know and live out their faith. Most of them I know are ardently pro-life and like myself are probably disappointed with their alma mater. They and I will choose to convey our sadness to the Board of Trustees and Administration in a calm and dignified manner.

Today let us pray for an end to such venom in the church and that we can act civilly towards one another and towards people who disagree with us. While there are things that we should be angry about, how we channel that anger into something positive and life giving seems to be where we are called.