Dulles Funeral

Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. was laid to rest today at St. Pat's. Fr. Jim Martin has the event covered in depth here. One particular piece moved me to tears.

Cardinal Egan's warm and moving homily took as its central image an ancient crucifix he had once seen in Umbria; from one side the face of Christ appeared contorted in pain; from the other illumined by joy. This image, suggested Egan, could characterize Avery's life, one of triumph and, towards the end, of pain...

Cardinal Egan remembered visiting Avery on his 90th birthday at Fordham Unversity--when Avery was bedridden, crippled by the recurrence of his polio--for a Mass in his honor. The cardinal wheeled Avery's bed up the aisle of the Fordham chapel, but with difficulty, as a result of Egan's childhood polio. "I'm afraid it's a case of the lame pushing the lame," said Egan to Dulles.

With that Avery broke into broad smile, and Egan was put in mind of that crucifix.

Condolences to the Dulles family and to the Jesuits of the New York province.

Fr Jim "McScrooge" Martin Responds

Fr Jim Martin (whose PC is on the fritz) emailed me the following comment:

Of course your card is lovely! It has not only you but the Holy Family, too! Who could object? Actually, that NPR piece really hit a nerve. I think people missed the point that I wasn't saying I was against family photos, just ones that usurped the place of the Holy Family.
Anyway, Merry Christmas from Father McScrooge, SJ.

And if you haven't bought a gift for that special someone in your holy family yet--try Fr Jim's book: My Life With the Saints

Fr Jim Martin, SJ on Holiday Cards

Fr Jim has this cranky take on holiday cards from NPR today.

Family (Christmas) cards display — on the front — a photo of a happy family, typically wearing red-and-green scarves or red-and-green sweaters. Sometimes the family dog is included, wearing a scarf covered with slobber. Just as often, family cards show the clan on their summer vacation, posing jauntily in bathing suits in the Caribbean. These cards don't say "Merry Christmas" as much as "Look where you didn't go!"

But I enjoy the photos more when they're inside the card, not the card itself. Because more and more, even devout Christians have been replacing Jesus, Mary and Joseph with themselves.

I wonder if our card (below) which has our picture with the dog and a spiritual message and manger image would calm his dulcet tones?

St Joseph Who?

Here's my big acting debut as St Joseph with America Magazine:

More on Cardinal Dulles

Fr James Martin, S.J. reflects on the life of Cardinal Dulles here.

A quick pullquote and a hat tip to The Washington Post:

We arrived in Boston with barely enough time to dress in the Jesuit community where we were lodging. "Come by my room when you're ready," he said. An hour later, I knocked on his door. When he opened the door he was resplendent in his cardinal's black cassock with red piping, and the grand ferraiolo, or scarlet cape. At age 82, Cardinal Dulles couldn't reach the lowest buttons of his cassock so I knelt down to help. "How do I look?" he said with a sly smile. "As my mother would say," I told him, "you look very handsome." His patrician bearing was evident no matter what he wore; that night, the lanky Jesuit looked like Cardinal Abe Lincoln.

The next morning we caught the 8 a.m. train back to New York. (His Protestant work ethic, undimmed by his Catholicism, opted for the earliest train we could make.) Back at Fordham, a few Jesuits asked how things were in Boston; the country was still reeling from the Sept. 11 attacks. "People in Boston were upset that two of the planes that hit the World Trade Center came from Logan airport," I explained, relating what I heard the night before. Avery said, "How do you think I feel? One of them came from Dulles!"

That was one of the rare times he referred to that place, out of humility. Once, during a stay in Washington, D.C., a young Jesuit was assigned to drive Avery to the airport. He asked, "Which airport are we going to, Father? National or...?" Father Dulles said, "The other one!"

Given his lightheartedness, it seemed appropriate that, in 2001, during the Vatican ceremony when he was made a cardinal, Pope John Paul II placed the customary red biretta on Avery's head, and it toppled into the pope's lap. No one enjoyed telling that story more than the new cardinal.

I remember hearing him at the now infamous meetings of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Meeting when the Dallas charter for zero tolerance was drafted. In his 80s, the Cardinal didn't have a vote in the meeting--something that I think bothered him--but yet he did all he could to influence his brother bishops in any way he could. Hearing him talk at that meeting gave me some insight to how humble he truly was. He nearly sounded apologetic for speaking but yet said some of the most tender and appropriate comments in the room. As Drew Christiansen, S.J., the editor of America magazine points out:

Regarded in his latter years as a theological and political conservative, he continued to take independent positions both as a consultant and a non-voting member of the U.S. bishops’ conference. He strongly backed proposals for “lay ecclesial ministry”, for example, and was critical of the bishops’ Dallas charter on clergy sex abuse for the unfairness of its Draconian measures toward possible offenders.

Dulles was his own man, nay, God's own. He reveled in the person that God had created and never backed down on his well thought out opinions. May he rest in peace. Amen.

My Facebook Status Line Has Caused An Uproar

Look at all these comments from people in my Facebook network from my comment:

Michael thinks the GWB shoe thrower was a publicity stunt

Rachel Bundang at 1:01pm December 16
sad to say, my first thought in seeing "GWB" was "George Washington Bridge".

Joanna Rice at 1:02pm December 16
He dodged it with speed and grace like it was the Vietnam War.

Mary Anne Reese at 1:38pm December 16 via Facebook Mobile
I think it would make a good alternative to all wars: just throw shoes at each other.

Michael Hayes at 2:01pm December 16
He dodged it with speed and grace? He dodged it because he knew it was coming!

Alex Swingle at 2:15pm December 16
he is an expert at ducking stuff...

Joanna Rice at 2:16pm December 16
If only his reflexes were as quick when, I dunno, the country is attacked or an entire city is suddenly underwater.

Patty Jimenez at 3:47pm December 16
OMG, I had the same thought. It looked like he knew it was coming, as if he was anticipating it.

Michael Hayes at 4:15pm December 16
Joanna - LOL---nice line. The book My Pet Goat apparently is his kryptonite.

Michael Hayes at 4:17pm December 16
Rachel--I guess people walk across the GWB and then throw their shoes over? Make a wish? Two shoes in the fountain?

Jen Martin at 5:11pm December 16
What a great opportunity for Kenneth Cole's ad guys!

Juan Antonio Aller at 6:09pm December 16
I hope it was staged, or Obama will have a hard time not being hurt in office or worse......nice job Secret Service......

Elizabeth Fernandez Pinero at 10:10pm December 16
He didn't know it was coming; he's done an excellent job keeping your spoiled brat little American butts safe these last 8 years; and I hope you all get used to the terms Socialism, Nationalization and Taxation. You putzes.

I'd also like to say that the Secret Service needs to wratchet it up a notch or so if they plan on staying on the Presidential crew when President-Elect Obama takes office. Why was there no person diving to knock the shoe away? Not one of these guys moved to block the shoe. In fact, the second shoe got thrown. Shouldn't this guy have been tackled while his arm was cocked back the first time? (Or dare I say perhaps even shot?) Why didn't he get tackled? Because they knew it was coming. I'm 100% convinced that this was a staged event.

Memories: I loved this song/TV show: The Heights

The saxophone player was beautiful. This show was short lived but I thought it should've been renewed. This one hit wonder is the only remnant of it now.

Was the Bush shoe thrower a Stunt?

Anybody besides me think that this was a publicity stunt? President Bush looks like he knows which way to dodge and the second guy actually blocks Bush's field of vision and yet he still ducks the second shoe.

Click To Play

Fr. James Martin, S.J. on St Joseph

Nice job here by Fr James Martin, SJ of America Magazine with this reflection on St Joseph.

The Brillance of Cate Blanchett

Read this awesome interview by Jack White of Interview Magazine with Cate Blanchett, one of my favorite actors.

A quick pull quote:

Jack White: So, to start off, I did some Internet research. I'm going to tell you what I've learned about your history, and you can tell me what is true and what is not. Okay, so you were born in Mexico and orphaned at age 1.

Cate Blanchett: Yes.

JW: And then again at age 3.

CB: Shit. That's on the Internet?

JW: Eventually, you were raised by either shepherds or Sherpas on Christmas Island-I don't know which one because I think someone misspelled something.

CB: And then I was kidnapped and raised by a Mormon family.

JW: Well, it says here that you slept every night with a baby goat in your arms until you were 22.

CB: Twenty-three.

JW: Then you attended an all-boys school in New Zealand, only to experience the opposite when you were transferred to an all-girls school in Australia.

CB: Well, such is the life of a hermaphrodite.

JW: After discovering America and claiming it for Australians everywhere, you set about learning to type. You never completed training in this, but it did get you to use your hands, which of course led to acting as a hand model in a series of soap commercials in France. Then you decided to drop out of high school and look for a real job, so you became an actress. How does it end, though?

CB: Then you run a theater company with your friends and your husband . . .

JW: [both laugh]

This whole interview is filled with sarcasm of this kind and it made me long for Sydney--where the Aussies all have a flair for this kind of talk (as do New Yorkers).

She also named her son after St. Ignatius of Loyola! A Hat tip to Fr. Mark Mossa, SJ for pointing me to this article.

Read it all here

This is Beautiful and Sad at the Same Time

The anchoress writes about the death of her brother, unbelievably poignant.

He had no faith, wished for no funeral, no rites, no memorial.

I don’t blame him for not having faith. I can’t think of any example of love he ever encountered that did not - ultimately - get distorted or misrepresented or prove itself to be wholly untrustworthy, not to be counted on, not to be believed.

I loved him, but I was much younger than he, and of a completely different nature. I doubt he believed it, that I loved him. He had no tools to believe it.

How tragically sad is that?

Read more here

I wish all funeral homilies could be as touching and as moving as this tribute. I often say that people only know what they have experienced. In my own family, we have seen people who have only known disfunction, drugs and a life of disorder. Why do we expect their lives to be any different? Still, I often think that we can do more for people like this and unfortunately we can only do so much at the same time. Helping someone is often a full-time job and many of us can't possibly do it ourselves.

Prayers today for John. If he was anything like his sister, I am sure that God is caring for him today.

Masses on Christmas

A nice gesture at mass tonight from a visiting priest from India...

We attend the 6PM mass at St Sebastian's in Woodside most nights and on Christmas Day the staff decided that they wouldn't have a 6PM evening mass (With Midnight mass and the morning masses serving most people--or at least that's the assumption by the staff).

The presider announced at the end of mass:

"Since I'm not going anywhere for Christmas I'd be happy to come and say the 6PM mass here for those who prefer to come to mass on Christmas in the evening. So go and spend Christmas morning with your families and then come on by later in the day--I'll be here for you."

I almost feel like changing my plans just to show up.

My biggest pet peeve about Christmas masses are the stupid people who decide that they want to have "Midnight" mass at 10PM--or even worse at 7PM! You are taking the most identifiably Catholic thing in the world and throwing it out the window. Stupid.

We will most likely have a late Christmas dinner and then head over to St Sebastian's for a most appropriately scheduled Midnight Mass at Midnight!

Now the old joke, "Hey Father, what time is Midnight mass?" no longer can be told either! Sigh.

Reflection for Gaudete Sunday

"The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
to announce a year of favor from the LORD
and a day of vindication by our God."

How many of us are brokenhearted today because we think we are in captivity? How many of us can't retire because the nestegg is not quite as lucrative as it once was? How many of us are fearful about the future, about our jobs, about what lies ahead for our financial future?

This indeed has been an advent that many of us would like to forget. Christmas shopping has gotten frugal and even in some cases dangerous--like when that person was trampled to death in a shopping mall in Long Island. We'd like to put aside all of this waiting in fear for the Dow to begin the upward climb. We'd like to find someone to blame for this mess and we'd like to hold someone responsible for fixing all of our problems, don't we?

We'd like to simply skip over the advent of financial recovery and come into the time of Christmas--where we get all the gifts in an instant.

But today's readings call us into greater discernment--not merely about the time of Jesus--but also about our own lives today. What kind of Messiah were people waiting for at the time of Jesus? And what kind of Messiah do we wait for this Christmas?

The people of Jesus' time--the people we read about in today's Gospel were eagerly awaiting someone who would finally bring them out from under Roman authority. All those years of waiting. All those years of eating manna in the desert. All those years of getting up and going out to work for people who didn't respect them. All those years of life which were really not their own. They wanted a Messiah, but they wanted their kind of Messiah...a political one who would lead a revolution--God's revolution. And what did God send them? A helpless little baby, who didn't even have clothes or his own bed. In fact his first bed was a feeding trough for animals.

What kind of Messiah do we hope for? In some ways, we want a God who makes us comfortable again. A God who doesn't ever make us uncomfortable and gives us everything that we want. The dow will rise and we'll be able to retire younger, buy that nice apartment and provide for all of our needs and more.

We want a God who doesn't demand that we deal with those who are far poorer than us in the third world or even those who live on our city streets. We want a God who will stay quiet and humble in a manger and never cause us to think about how we outside people into our barns, our stables, our mangers today. We want a God who is comfortable with the wood of the manger--even with the scratchy hay--but who never takes a step towards the wood of the cross.

This advent, we have had to do a lot of growing in ways that maybe we didn't expect. We have had to stretch ourselves into some uncomfortable areas. But where have we really not stretched yet these three weeks into advent? Where have we lost faith in God? Where have we failed to hear God calling us?

Not only do I fail to see the cry of the poor and fail to bring them good news but I fail to believe that Jesus might have some good news for my life--even in the midst of tragedy. Might I be called to live a more meager lifestyle so that I might devote more time to family, friends and other causes that need my attention? Might I be called to care for the least of those amongst us when I'm certainly not in a destitute situation? Might I be called to look more deeply at my own gifts and talents to figure out what I really need and what I really can and can't live without?

This Advent--let us all ask ourselves--what kind of Messiah do we really need this year?

Come Home At Bankruptcy

The NY Times claims that Evangelical churches are showing big increases in attendance since the economic downturn.

Here's a quote with reference comparing Catholic Congregations to the Evangelical sects from a prominent priest-pundit.

Msgr. Thomas McSweeney, who writes columns for Catholic publications and appears on MSNBC as a religion consultant, said the growth is fed by evangelicals’ flexibility: “Their tradition allows them to do things from the pulpit we don’t do — like ‘Hey! I need somebody to take Mrs. McSweeney to the doctor on Tuesday,’ or ‘We need volunteers at the soup kitchen tomorrow.’ ”

In a cascading financial crisis, he said, a pastor can discard a sermon prescribed by the liturgical calendar and directly address the anxiety in the air. “I know a lot of you are feeling pain today,” he said, as if speaking from the pulpit. “And we’re going to do something about that.”

Um, Father, with all due respect...there are ways that the scripture --yes, even the prescribed scripture readings do indeed provide the opportunity to preach on modernity and the recent downfall. Perhaps this is why many young adults don't find the Catholic Church to be a relevant voice when they find themselves at mass. I most often hear these criticisms about mass from young people:

- Dreadful Music
- Nobody cares if I'm there or not--there's no sense of welcome
- The homilies have nothing to do with my life
- The homilies are boring
- The homilies are diatribes against modern culture
- I don't understand the rituals or what's going on and feel stupid.

So perhaps this week...we might want to think about how Gaudete Sunday is in fact bringing us good news--even in the midst of financial downfall.

Avery Cardinal Dulles - RIP

Cardinal Avery Dulles died this morning at the age of 90. America Magazine has the announcement

Cardinal Dulles was a brilliant theologian and more importantly, a kind a gentle man to all he would meet. I served mass with him as an acolyte during my time at Fordham many times and he had a very gentle nature about him and always had time for students and faculty alike.

One quick story: A Jesuit I know (Who I'll keep anonymous for now) told me that he was doing his laundry in the Jesuit residence and an older Jesuit came in and sat next to him and started making small talk with him--the weather, maybe a news item, etc.

One of his then-scholastic classmates came in and saw this scene. When the older Jesuit got his laundry and left, the scholastic came running over and said to my Jesuit friend, "Wow! What were you too talking about?"

My friend replied, "Oh we were just chatting about the weather. He's always in here when I'm here for some reason. He's such a sweet old man."

"Um, pal...that was Avery Dulles!"

My friend who tells the story so well replied, "So here I was talking to possibly the greatest theologian of the 20th Century...about...the...weather!"

Rest in peace, Cardinal Dulles. You will be missed.

Fordham Basketball

Hat tip to the Fordham Message Boards.

As a Graduate of Fordham, I wonder what's going on?

Memo to Fr. McShane
« on: December 07, 2008, 06:20:23 PM »

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good morning, Father, it's the start of another week. Since Fordham appears to have closed its Sports Information Department, and since your AD typically takes Mondays off, I thought it would be a good idea to take up the reins and give you a report on the two "marquee" sports (your words, not mine) at the school aspiring to be the leading Catholic University in the country.

Uh, we could use a little help from you here, Father.

MENS' BASKETBALL: The lads are 0-6, and in case you're wondering, yes, that's the worst start in Fordham's 106 years of heaving orbs at the old peachbasket. And it's not really a case of hard luck -- after blowing a lead to a weak Columbia team, the guys have suffered 5 blowouts in a row. That's when they were mostly healthy; they've got two kids hurting at the moment. Sagarin rates them at 339th in the country. That's not good, since there are only 347 teams in the ratings, and the few below us aren't exactly what you'd call peer or aspirant institutions, uh, institution-wise.

They've got a home game Monday night against Lafayette, 2-5 and rated 262nd by Sagarin. A win would really be important. Maybe you could show up at the game and uh, cheer or something to show you care. And an email from you to the students, urging them to attend, would be nice.

We'll forgive you if you weren't aware the season had started. I know, you're used to getting one of those Media Guides when the season starts. Funny thing, there isn't a Media Guide yet. For the marquee program. A month into the season. I know, that's never happened before. I'd say you could find out about the players at the game, but, well -- um, we don't do programs for the games any more, apparently. Maybe you could bring the Registrar with you. If you go to the Rose Hill Gym, maybe you could go upstairs to the Athletic Department offices and see if anyone . . . uh, died, or something.

The small hard core of alumni fans is getting, well, smaller and harder. We knew that this would be a rough season, but if you could see your way to doing something to inject some excitement into it . . . like announce plans for a new arena, or a new AD . . . that would be swell. And much appreciated.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: We'd immensely dumbed down the schedule, and it looked like it was going to work. After beating Wofford (the smallest institution, enrollment-wise, in Division I ball -- the NCAA has some rule that doesn't let us play against crippled kids) by 2 points the other day, the team was 4-4. So what's not to like?

Well, that Megan Mahoney kid -- you know, the one coach Andruzzi was highlighting all last year? The team's leading scorer? The kid who made the A-10 all-rookie team? She's left, or been thrown off the squad. Apparently talking about transferring. Now that can't be good. Also, Raina Spencer, who had the 3rd highest scoring average on the team last year? Off the roster, no explanation. That can't be good, either.

It's like about a year and a half ago, when girls were disappearing from the women's team so frequently that everyone suspected a vampire at work? Uh, maybe it's time to change the garlic and refresh the holy water, Father.

Well, that's this week's report, Father. I figured it was a good idea to tell you some stuff your underlings might be less than willing to headline. You might want to stick your head in the gym Monday night and get some of the story first-hand. Hope you have a good week, and hope that the rest of your campaign to transform Fordham into America's finest Catholic University is going better than the basketball part of it. I looked to see which Catholic colleges in NCAA division I were doing better than us in our marquee sport, and the answer is -- uh, all of them.

It's kind of like the question, "Which NCAA Division I schools have gotten new basketball facilities since Fordham?" The answer to that one is also -- all of them.

Enjoy your week, Father.

The Devil as Pitchman

Deacon Greg Kandra is headed to NET TV --which will launch Dec 8th. This is the best ad campaign I've seen in a long while.

Advent Reflection: What are you Waiting For?

This will be in audio form by tomorrow....but I thought I'd give it a test run here:

What are you waiting for?

This advent are you the one waiting for that new job, gripped in the fear of being unemployed with no hope of ever finding work that satisfies you?

- Are you the one waiting for that special someone to come into your life—to be with you forever in marriage? But often find yourself lonely…or depressed?
- Are you the one waiting in hope for peace in the world only to be greeted by violence in Mumbai?
- Are you waiting for that something that will bring you satisfaction or bliss but end up choosing fleeting choices –like drugs, or alcohol, or empty sex?
- Are you waiting for the long workday to end so that you can put food on the table for your kids—even when you’re a single parent and it’s hard?
- Are you the little child waiting for the day when you come forth from your mother’s womb?

What are you waiting for?

We all wait—we wait on long lines, we wait on hold, we wait for a web page to resolve. This week I waited for my computer to be fixed hoping that I wouldn’t lose any files and that my wait for the file I most needed would not be in vain.

And God knows our waiting…and God waits with us for all those things that we most desire too.

What’s more is that God waits for us…

God waits for our own hearts to be moved beyond our prejudices to open a home for the homeless.

God waits for us to have the courage to stand up for injustice when we see it happen to others.

God waits for us to challenge our political leaders with letters and for us to go beyond the political process to serve the needs of all.

God waits for someone who will care enough to love all those who we often deem too hard to love—be they elderly, lonely, filthy, jailed or unborn.

God waits for us in the sacrament of reconciliation when we are ashamed—when we think we cannot be forgiven—that we are not worthy of forgiveness—God waits for us and welcomes us home with open arms.
God waits for us each and every week here in the eucharist—so that indeed we might dare to become what we eagerly wait each week to receive.

And God waits for us to notice that God’s rhythms are in our every day—God waits for us to see where the Holy Spirit is lurking each day of our lives.

Some ask the question each time another bomb gets fired or another soldier dies…Some ask the question each time a child is a victim of sexual abuse or war breaks out or someone dies too young or a huge injustice takes place. Some indeed feel righteous enough to ask the question….

MY GOD WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

And our God who waits with us…asks us the very same question.

In a world too often fraught with violence, injustice and anxiety—how often do we simply wait and do nothing?

How often to we stay home feeling sorry for ourselves instead of heading out to meet someone new, to take on new challenges, to explore something new?

How often do we make peace someone else’s problem instead of doing something for it ourselves?

How often do we not seek help when we need it and become too proud and try to do it all ourselves?

How often to we take the easy way out—and settle for booze, drugs, or sex when we can make healthier choices?

This advent…may you take time to not merely wait but to consider what you have been waiting for…and ask how Jesus may indeed end your waiting and bring a new life in Christ for you and for the world.

Each day can indeed be Christmas—if we wait for God and allow him to move us beyond waiting and into prayerful action not merely for ourselves but for all.

This advent…may you answer a simple question…

What are you waiting for?

Headed to Cleveland

Will be blogging from the NCCYM Conference in Cleveland...where the heart of rock and roll is still beating.

I'll have a few updates on Young Adult Ministry items that I can't quite reveal yet...so stay tuned. Nothing earth shattering but important information.

Advent is Here

The BustedHalo Advent Calendar is up and running.

Busted Halo has created our own Advent Surprise Calendar. Each day of Advent will open a new link on our calendar with a chance at winning a great prize and an opportunity for reflection, for action, for learning and for Charitable giving. We're giving away great prizes DAILY, including a grand prize of a Sirius Sportster 5Satellite Radio and six-month subscription --a value of over $200.

Click here for the Calendar

Sorry to be blog-less this weekend the Dell computer was having issues but we are now back in good health. So far at least.