Oscar Romero, he's not

This story in the National Catholic Reporter is interesting:

The Associated Press reported Nov. 17 that Archbishop Fernando Sáenz Lacalle spoke out against a criminal complaint filed last week in the Spanish High Court naming 14 members of the Salvadoran military and the nation’s president, accused of masterminding and covering up the assassination of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her 16-year-old daughter at a San Salvador Jesuit university in November 1989. Lacalle was quoted, “El Salvador’s affairs should be resolved in El Salvador.”

With all due respect, Bishop...are you bloody kidding me? How can you not stand up for your brother priests when they were clearly killed in cold blood? How can any of your priests ever place their trust in you again? How can anyone who works for a University, much more a Catholic institution ever take you seriously?

Fr Joseph O'Hare the former President of Fordham preached an awesome homily only days after the tragic event took place. Here is an exerpt:

For the Jesuits of the United States, most especially those working at the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in this country, there is an added sense of solidarity with the martyrs of last Thursday, based on the common identity of Catholic universities throughout the world. In eliminating the rector and vice-rector and some of the most influential members of the faculty of the University of Central America, the assassins cut out the heart of one of the most respected intellectual institutions in the country. As you know from newspaper accounts, these men were not merely murdered, but in a gesture of deliberate contempt, their brains were spilled out on the ground by their murderers. This chilling symbol was to demonstrate the power of bullets over brains. It represents the contempt of men of violence for the power of the truth.

There are those who have said, and who will say in the days and weeks ahead, that the Jesuits in El Salvador were not disinterested academics, that they had deliberately chosen to insert themselves into the political conflict of their nation. If they had remained within the insulated safety of the library or the classroom, their critics will charge, if they had not “meddled in politics,” their lives would not have been threatened.

But such criticism misunderstands the nature of any university, and most certainly the nature of a Catholic university. No university can be insulated from the agonies of the society in which it lives. No university that identifies itself as Catholic can be indifferent to the call of the church to promote the dignity of the human person.

Pope John Paul II, himself a man from the university world, has often challenged Catholic universities to confront the crucial issues of peace and justice in our world today. On his last visit to this country in September 1987, the Pope called on Catholic universities to recognize the need for the reform of attitudes and unjust structures in society. He spoke of the whole dynamic of peace and justice in the world, as it affects East and West, North and South: “The parable of the rich man and the poor man is directed to the conscience of humanity, and today in particular, to the conscience of America. But conscience often passes through the halls of academe, through nights of study and hours of power.” Again last April in his address to the Third International Congress of Catholic Universities, Pope John Paul insisted that a Catholic university must measure all technological discovery and all social development in the light of the dignity of the human person.

It was this distinctive mission of a Catholic university that inspired the Jesuits of El Salvador to seek, not only through teaching and writing, but also through personal interventions, a resolution of the terrible conflict that has divided their land. Those of us who carry on this mission of faith and justice in the relatively comfortable circumstances of North America can only be humbled by the total commitment to the ministry of truth that stamped the lives of the Jesuit scholar teachers of El Salvador and in the end cost them their lives.

This liturgy is not the time for political analysis or political advocacy. At the same time, we would not be faithful to the truth of this moment if we did not recognize than another more troubling source of our solidarity with the people of El Salvador is the history of the last 10 years, in which the Government of the United States has worked closely with the Government of El Salvador. The policy of the United States toward El Salvador, in theory at least, has had respectable objectives: to control extremist forces on left and right, to encourage an environment in which the people of El Salvador can choose through democratic process the government they wish. But our Government has also insisted that massive military assistance to the Government of El Salvador is necessary to achieve these goals.

Before his assassination in 1980, Archbishop Romero has written to President Jimmy Carter asking him to curtail American military aid to the Government because, in Archbishop Romero’s opinion, such aid only escalated the level of violence in that country and prevented the achievement of a negotiated political settlement. Now, nearly 10 years later, can anyone doubt the accuracy of Archbishops Romero’s warning? Does anyone believe that the national security of the United States can possibly be endangered by the results of the civil war now raging in El Salvador? At a time when our Government leaders and our corporate executives hasten to socialize with the leaders of the Communist giants elsewhere in the world, why must we assemble our military might to deal with revolutionary movements in tiny Central American nations? Are our national interests really at stake? Or are we obsessed with the myth of the national security state, a myth that is discredited each day by events elsewhere in the world? After 10 years of evasions and equivocations, a tissue of ambiguities, the assassinations of Nov. 16 pose, with brutal clarity, the question that continues to haunt the policy of the United States toward El Salvador: Can we hand weapons to butchers and remain unstained by the blood of their innocent victims?

The final word of this liturgy cannot be one of anger or denunciation. It must be one of hope. For this too, in the end , is the ground of our solidarity with the people of El Salvador. If Jesuits are men crucified to the world and to whom the world is crucified, it is only because we believe that out of the crucifixion of our Savior, El Salvador, came life and comes life. With the people of El Salvador we believe in the words of Jesus cited in today’s Gospel: “Unless a wheat grains falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest: (Jn. 12:24).

When Christians celebrate the Eucharist, they take the bread, break it and remember Him who took His life, broke it and gave it that others might live. With deep hope in the Resurrection of the Lord, we pray that the final word in the drama of El Salvador be one of life and hope rather than death and despair. We pray that the irony of that tiny tortured country’s name, El Salvador, will be redeemed by the resurrection of its people.

AMERICA December 16, 1989

We, in the United States, know all too well about murderous madmen who hope to surpress ideas with violence. We've seen that in the violence of September 11th. We've seen it in the nihlistic shootings of Columbine and more recently Virginia Tech. We see it each day another bullet is fired in anger towards someone because of what they think, proclaim or stand for.

When we don't stand for justice, that, my friends, is not freedom talking. More importantly, it is not the freedom that God gives us that hinders tongues. It is merely fear, perhaps even well meaning fear. Listening to fear is often a safe route--we don't merely throw caution to the wind, after all. But faith indeed is the opposite of fear. Faith is listening to the voice of God, the voice of wisdom, the voice of truth.

The Jesuits of El Salvador listened to that voice, a voice that called them to justice for the Salvadorian people. It was that voice that people in power found so dangerous. Thoughts so profound that the poor began to think that maybe their lives were indeed worth living--that they indeed counted, that they could be more than oppressed members of a society that tried to keep them down with injustice.

That voice was indeed Jesus---who gives voice to the voiceless and hope to those without hope.

It is a dangerous voice to listen to...and if you do. It just might get you crucified.

An Adult Sense of Faith

I sat with my friend, Liz, at my reunion for a long time...who not only went to high school with me but we were even in the same Kindergarten class! So we've known each other for over 30 years.

Liz, my kindergarten buddy, talked to me about my work with the church at BustedHalo. She seemed impressed that we try to reach young people where they are, to try to help them make sense of how they can believe in God in an often secular world, where science seems to trump religious experience. She's a Godmother to her brother's children and wonders if she's up to the challenge of being an engineer with a scientific mind and a Godmother who has to pass on the faith to a younger generation when she can't seem to square it with her own critical thnking.

Our high school was very science-based. In high school many of us studied electronics, chemistry, or some other form of engineering. If we stuck with that focus we ended up well ahead of our college classmates in that area (I aced my physics class as a Freshman at Fordham due to the fact that my high school prepared me well). If we didn't stick with our then-chosen areas we ended up being prepared for college and more focused on NOT chosing an area of study that didn't suit our personalities. It was great doing this discernment at a young age and at this stage in my life it's given me the opportunity to continue to challenge myself to focus on what I do well.

But it also led many of us into this gray area where we had to do deeper discernment to figure out how we can be both people of faith and still be believers in the religious beliefs that we had grown up with.

What I have come to believe is that we can't simply hold on to the faith of our youth but that we need to create a new faith, an adult faith, one that looks different from the faith of childish simplcity--but still rejoices with child-like awe in God's creation and wonder.

Most of all it calls us into being people of love. People who choose to love when it's hard. People who choose to see God's creation in those who make it hard for us to see that. Can we see God in the homeless when they burden our community? Can we see God in the aged who are lonely and require time and patience? Can we commit to help those in desparate situations--perhaps a pregnant teen or an orphan in Africa? Who are we called to love?

Liz reminded me last night that my own work in helping people translate God into their critial, scientifically-educated adult-sense of faith is hard work indeed. But gently bringing them to discover God in their midst in a way that doesn't deny what is obviously scientifically true is where I'm called to be.

An Awesome Reunion

It's been 20 years since my high school graduation and last night we had our reunion in Yonkers. It was great to catch up with friends like


Karen Lewandowski who was the rowdy one--and still is!

Joe Egan who always had a generous and kind word for everyone--and still does.

Sonja Priest who always brings vibrant energy wherever she goes...and that continues today in her work in a hospital.

The gospel today is the parable of the talents. A man gives his servants talents (coins)...and the important thing to note in this story is that he gives them a different number of coins according to their ABILITY. So the one with the most "talent" if you will, gets 5 coins. Another less talented person gets two and a third, probably with minimal talents gets one. The first two servants do great things with their talents and make more money. The rich always seem to have an easier time making more money --don't they? The least talented one, the one who didn't have much to begin with, essentially gives up. He buries his money in fear and just returns it...much to the master's disappointment.

There's much for me to reflect on here. Yonkers is a working-class city. Many of my high school friends were the children of postal workers, police officers, and in my case, a custodian. Good working-class, union workers who gave their children all they could with what little they had.

As I looked around the room last night, I saw that everyone had turned out to be pretty successful in whatever role they chose. My friend, Liz is now a successful engineer--a successful woman in a very male dominated industry. Karen is in management at an accounting firm. Joe designs sets for the theatre and Sonja cares for the sick as a technician in a huge suburban hospital. None of us had all that much starting out with but, our one talent has indeed become many thanks to our own hard work, the committment of our parents and the training that our high school and college teachers gave us.

The common misnomer of this parable is that the servant who buries the money is one who can't be trusted in large matters. The truth is that that servant can't even be trusted with small matters. That with all the odds already against him he doesn't even try to do something worthwhile. He doesn't discern what might be a good route to go into. He simply settles for what his lot in life is. His is a one-talent life.

I loved looking around that room last night and seeing that everyone I knew had done so well. Many have children of their own and are building their own families now. Many had successful businesses. Many had to get creative and invent their own way of being in the world. And many didn't stop with one career but expanded out into 2 or 3.

I loved having people tell me that I look more confident now than I did 20 years ago--that my skinny frame filled out (perhaps a bit too much), a few asked me for a copy of my book or when my next retreat was, and that, as our first reading also tells us, I married a wonderful woman.

I didn't however, feel like either of those first two servants--who doubled and tripled their master's wealth. I felt like that last servant, the one that many people don't expect much from--but who succeeds despite the odds against them. When everyone tells you to simply accept the cards you are dealt and you don't and you make everyone see that you are worth more than that one talent...that God has given you far more than the world has given to you and God regards you as more than what the world tells you your abilities are. Perhaps you even exceed your own parents expectations.

Surely, the spirit was at our party last night. As the wine flowed and the music blared, we celebrated life. And we all saw that we had made the most of the last 20 years! And that more awaits all of us in the future.

Is Evolution Making a Monkey Out of the Catholic Church?

Here's the latest video that I narrated and wrote for BustedHalo.com.

It's an interview with Fr George Coyne, S.J. who was the head of the Vatican Observatory.

Barack to Benedict: The Call

President Elect Obama called the Pope to thank him for his congratulatory message. No further details are available as all calls with world leaders and a President or President-elect are private.

I wonder who was more nervous on the phone--the President or the Pope--most likely the incoming President as he's rather new at this "let's call the Pope and thank him" thing.

One of my friends said that perhaps the call went something like this:

President elect Obama: Thanks for your telegram, we should hang out sometime.

Pope Benedict: Ya, that sounds good, grab a beer, ya?

President Elect: Let's do this before January, I'll never get to hang out anymore after the 20th.

Pope Benedict: You don't know the half of it. When the gullitine fell on me, I had to cancel a lot of appointments. I can't even take my cat Chico to the vet anymore. By the way the girls should have a cat too.

President Elect: Your holiness, don't give them any ideas.

Pope Benedict: I'll get them to change your mind on abortion too--just give me five minutes with them that's all they'll need. They'll even beg you to convert!

President Elect: This isn't the best way to persuade me to come to the Vatican, your holiness!

Pope Benedict: (laughs) Come anyway, I'll let you wear my Mitre and take some pictures to put on our facebook pages!

President Elect: OK...I'm sold. See ya Benny!

Pope Benedict: Sure Barry, God bless.

Both laughing hang up.

If anyone could help figure out a way that this administration can work with the Vatican, it's this Pope and this President--two brilliant and vastly reasonable men.

Worth a Read Today

Cathleen Falsani offered her pre-election interview with Barack Obama to beliefnet today. Steven Waldman has it all here

Two Money quotes:

Obama: I'm not somebody who is always comfortable with language that implies I've got a monopoly on the truth, or that my faith is automatically transferable to others.

I'm a big believer in tolerance. I think that religion at it's best comes with a big dose of doubt. I'm suspicious of too much certainty in the pursuit of understanding just because I think people are limited in their understanding.

I think that, particularly as somebody who's now in the public realm and is a student of what brings people together and what drives them apart, there's an enormous amount of damage done around the world in the name of religion and certainty.

FALSANI:
Do you pray often?

OBAMA:
Uh, yeah, I guess I do.

Its' not formal, me getting on my knees. I think I have an ongoing conversation with God. I think throughout the day, I'm constantly asking myself questions about what I'm doing, why am I doing it.

One of the interesting things about being in public life is there are constantly these pressures being placed on you from different sides. To be effective, you have to be able to listen to a variety of points of view, synthesize viewpoints. You also have to know when to be just a strong advocate, and push back against certain people or views that you think aren't right or don't serve your constituents.

And so, the biggest challenge, I think, is always maintaining your moral compass. Those are the conversations I'm having internally. I'm measuring my actions against that inner voice that for me at least is audible, is active, it tells me where I think I'm on track and where I think I'm off track.

It's interesting particularly now after this election, comes with it a lot of celebrity. And I always think of politics as having two sides. There's a vanity aspect to politics, and then there's a substantive part of politics. Now you need some sizzle with the steak to be effective, but I think it's easy to get swept up in the vanity side of it, the desire to be liked and recognized and important. It's important for me throughout the day to measure and to take stock and to say, now, am I doing this because I think it's advantageous to me politically, or because I think it's the right thing to do? Am I doing this to get my name in the papers or am I doing this because it's necessary to accomplish my motives.

Amen. Looks like we picked the right guy to move us away from the usual fundementalism that we see associated with so-called religious people and go into a more nuanced view of what religion truly needs to become--an influence that moves people to do good things in the world because their faith experience COMPELS them to do so.

I hope that we all can take our own faith experience and go out and help someone who is in need today. Someone who hungers for a connection with God needs you today. Someone who is struggling to feed their kids needs you today. Someone who is thinking about what their next step in life is--they need you today. A child who is confused needs you to set them straight today. A mother considering abortion needs you to help her not kill her baby today and the world needs you to do that without being haughty or condescending.

And someone who is hard to love needs you as well.

Will you go and follow Christ somewhere that might make you uncomfortable? Will you allow the power of God's unfailing love to push you to serve all of God's people?

What are you waiting for? Go!

Living Saints

Relfection from Fordham University's Sapientia et Doctrina Vespers Service at the Graduate School of Religion

I woke up this morning a bit poorer…no I’m not talking about my 401K…I woke up thinking about the tragedies that I’ve seen both globally and personally in my own fairly young life.

I’ve seen madmen take over airplanes and take the lives away of 50,000 New Yorkers including 3 of my friends. I’ve seen the government ignore the poor who floated in the devastating waters of Hurricane Katrina. I’ve seen young soldiers come back maimed, scarred, and psychologically damaged…and I’ve seen students lose their lives simply by going to class.

What’s more is that I’ve seen this in more than one country. For several summers I spent time working in an orphanage and with the poor in Nicaragua. I’ll never forget holding a child who was abandoned by the side of the road because she couldn’t walk…she couldn’t talk…she was half the size that a child her age should have been. And as I sat with her in the makeshift chapel that we had helped build the year before…I felt completely helpless. With my master’s degree from Fordham and all my knowledge and all my gifts and with my so-called first world know-how…I was completely unable to do anything for this little girl. And she was completely unable to change her lot in life too. Together we sat in this… poverty…in a third world country. All I could do was hold her and love her. She’d smile this big wide smile…and laugh when I’d tickle her belly. She didn’t need the latest ipod or a pair of cool sneakers…somehow….I was enough for her. And in that moment she was more than enough for me. Together we were poor…and but by God we were blessed.

Could this be what Jesus means when he says "How blessed are the poor in spirit?"

Tonight…we have people amongst us who indeed have blessed the world with their gifts their talents and have done it all—simply by being themselves—by being the best version of who they already are. Moreover, they have done it in a world that indeed can make one feel an immense poverty.


We see that in Fr. John Grace who in the aftermath of the violence and unexplainable madness that took place during the shootings at Virginia Tech, Fr John showed us that the raising of young voices in song can carry far higher than the sounds of gunfire.

Saints are among us…You know it…I know it.




We see that in religious educators like Sr. Marie Pappas, Fr James DiGiacomo, and Carole Eipers, who have spent their lives passing the faith along in a world that often seems faithless and sometimes to students who don’t seem to appreciate them. Their teaching has blessed the minds of literally thousands of students and helped to shine Christ’s love to a world that often tells us that Christ doesn’t matter in business, or law, or science.

Saints are among us…You know it….I know it.



We see that in people who minister to young people. Like Bob McCarty who doesn’t look at the young as a bunch of no-good, do-nothing nuisances but rather as people who hunger for God in a fast-paced, dog-eat-dog technological world where everyone tells them that all they need to do is become productive members of society and to hell with everything else.

Saints are among us…You know it…I know it.

Charlie Mayer and Sr. Joanne Piccurro counsel and direct people and become companions for people who are often so stuck in crisis that they can’t even see where God is working in their lives. They help pull that veil away that the world often puts there that tells us we are not loved—we are not be-loved by anyone or anything. And when they do that and reveal that God has been there all along in the rhythms of all of our lives—not only does deep conversion happen but lasting psychological and spiritual healing does as well.

Saints are among us…You know it…I know it.

Tonight we honor those who are able to see the face of Jesus amongst the poor near Penn Station, and they all have brown robes. That when everyone in society tells us that the homeless are far too hard to love—these Monks—moved by the spirit of St Francis remind us that God’s love holds no boundaries and calls us not only to mercy but also to drop our own prejudices towards people that are often kicked to the curb.

Saints are among us…You know it…I know it.

Mario Paredes and Carl Landegger have been able to use their financial resources not merely for their own personal gain but to indeed move all people into conversation—They remind us that we need to keep talking to one another whether we are young or old, rich and poor, Hispanic and Asian. Whether we love the church or disdain it—We have to keep talking to get beyond all of our prejudices and biases.

Saints are among us…you know it…I know it.

And finally, when a young man, filled with rage shoots a police officer in the prime of his life and puts him in a wheelchair for the remainder of his days—I think I’d be the first to start throwing the stones his way. But with every last ounce of energy Detective Steven McDonald would not let violence beget violence but would remind the world that violence can not hold a candle to forgiveness.

Saints are among us…you know it…I know it.

Thomas Merton while walking with his good friend, Robert Lax was asked who he wanted to become…he told his friend he didn’t know…perhaps a Good Catholic. His friend, a practicing Jew, responded…You should say that you want to be a saint. Merton laughed…a saint? How can I do that?

Lax responded, “All that is necessary to be a saint is to want to be one. Don’t you believe that God will make you what He created you to be, if you will consent to let him do it? All you have to do is desire it.”

Merton, of course, knew his friend was right. And he would go on to become one of the great spiritual thinkers and writers of the last century and His friend Bob Lax would later convert to Catholicism himself -- and begin his own journey to try and be a saint.

But the words Lax spoke are also for us.

You should want to be a saint. And to be one, all you need is to want to be one.

Of course, if you only want to be a run-of-the-mill, average Christian, that’s probably all you’ll ever be. It’s fairly easy to be ordinary—and while the people who are behind me are probably too humble to tell you how hard it is to be extraordinary—to be saint-like—I think they’d all say that they really discovered just who they were in the tough jobs that they all have done with such grace and fortitude.

Yes, brothers and sisters there indeed are saints among us…They are people who simply live their lives as best they can—they become all that they can be, nothing more and more importantly NOTHING LESS. They are like little Elvira…who couldn’t do much…but yet with all of her disabilities she is one of the only people in the world who has been able to provide me with such an intimate and profound feeling of God in my very midst. These are the people we have come to honor as—and we don’t toss this word out very casually---living saints.

You know it…I know it… and let’s be sure we let the saints amongst us know it too.

Monday's Prayers

Hey little fella, I pray with my doggie too!

For Nigel, who is mourning the loss of his brother.

For Kim, who deals with illness and does it all with a smile on her face.

For those fighting anger and hardships today--may they find peace.

For our bishops who began their meeting today.

For all those special people in our lives and for those who have nobody to pray for them.

For those who wish we would stop praying altogether.

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

Proverbial Wisdom

"The scoundrel suffers the consequences of his ways, and the good man reaps the fruit of his paths."

-Proverbs: 14:14
Recently, I've been feeling a bit blue. As an old friend once said to me, "People disappoint me." I have certain expectations of friends and even of people I respect and they often fall short of what I hope for them. Many times I'm surprised at the levels some people stoop to for their own personal gain.

The proverb above has much for us to think about. The scoundrel, the person who is always out for themselves, suffers those consequences. Most often, I find scoundrels end up alone and unhappy and then they have to take out that loneliness on others. In many ways, a scoundrel is responsible for their own lot in life. Nobody likes them because nobody can trust them.

The second half of the proverb provides much more for our thoughts. Whose path is the the writer is referring to here? Does the "good man" reap the fruit of his own paths--or does he reap the fruit of the path of the scoundrel?

The answer may be both. The scoundrel most often overlooks the goodness that is right in front of his face and focuses only on the negative elements. They don't believe in anyone but themselves and have to cut someone down for them to get ahead.

The good man however, is almost always outward-looking and positive. They reach that extra yard not merely for themselves but rather for another and what they find is that they end up gaining much more than what they gave. I've found that most happy business people are almost never that self-involved but are rather concerned about the needs of the people who work for them ahead of their own self-interest. They are, in a sense, on vacation every day--basking in the fruit of what they have created and hoping that it brings joy to the world.

Jesus created that kind of joy. The joy that awakened people to all they could become. The joy that lifted up the lowly and cast down the mighty in their conceit--as we hear in Mary's Magnificat. The people whom the scoundrel has tried to keep down, end up being exhalted through the actions of the "good man", the one who always creates healing and gives people a sense of belonging and self-worth.

As someone who struggles with self-esteem, I need to remember that I am not a scoundrel, and that I need to overcome the scoundrels in my life and find the good man who will bring me to that place where I am loved, where I am valued and where I can trust others.

May we all pray to find that good man or woman in our lives.

Beyond Blue

Which is a blog on beliefnet has nothing on me. It was a dank, rainy day here in New York and so I spent most of the day depressed on the couch with my dog watching movies. I have to say that Office Space really makes me feel good after a stressful work week as does my dog.

Friends also have an ability to lift me from the funk. My friends Jonathan and Marianne went to brunch with me today and they are just so joyful that I couldn't help but feel good.

I plan to spend Sunday morning hitting baseballs in the batting cage and hope that this gets the endorphins moving. Perhaps thinking about the stressful things in my life and releasing that on the ball in an eruption of hard hitting action.

What do you do to de-stress?

Prayers for the Day

Lots to pray for today:

My mother has taken ill once again...and Marion's uncle is still in the hospital as well...so please offer some prayers for a speedy recovery for both.

Today in general, was one of those trying days that we all have from time to time...so also add a word for the lifting of some sadness.

My wife, Marion's cousin just informed us of the death of his brother. So prayers for the family are needed.

On a more positive note,

Prayers for a new baby in our clan, Drew Friedlein and his mom and dad, our cousins Christine and Kurt. Simply awesome. His sister Audrey joins in the joy.

Also in Thanksgiving for a wonderful priest who touched my heart at mass today and for colleagues in Chicago who always lift my spirits.

Sunday Readings

The Readings can be found at the USCCB's website here.

Jesus Drives Out the Moneychangers from the Temple

It is hard to pray when worldly things are on our mind--is it not? The reving motors on the street, the contant staccato of television, even the hum of electricity all serve to distract me from prayer. It's hard to pray when we have disagreements with co-workers or when we can't figure out how we are going to make ends meet. And when the ways of the world envitably begin to sneek into and sometimes overcome our sacred space, our temples both literal buildings and the ones within our own selves, we need to shake things up again.

We need Jesus to us drive out...and into a more contemplative space.

The Moneychangers were not simple salesmen selling gifts and animals and such in the temple like we sell books and rosaries in our parish bookstore. No the moneychangers were people who took advantage of the poor. In order to be ritually clean, Jews had to literally exchange their money from the usual secular coins to a temple coin in order to buy an animal to feed their family or trade for other goods. The exchange was never a fair one with the moneychangers profitting off the poor. Some scholars say this is what evoked Jesus' anger--but it goes beyond the moneychangers themselves into a system that allows this to happen in the first place. The temple chief priests certainly knew what was going on--and they let it happen. They were allowing the poor to remain poor and keeping them indebited unfairly to a temple system that kept them in the inertia of poverty.

We need Jesus to drive us out...into a world that keeps people at bay and allows us to remain as a prejudiced people in society.

But what else does this system prohibit? The moneychangers did all of this within a temple that was designed to include everyone in praying together. In keeping the community one--despite the obvious differences of race and class.

Who are the moneychangers today? We all are. I know I hold some reservations about working with the homeless. I don't often pray for people I don't like--much less, pray with them. I'm ready at times to step on people in order to be just a slight be superior to them as well.

I need Jesus...to drive me out of my comfort zone where I indeed am a moneychanger from time to time.

In Nicaragua there is indeed a temple that was built by my own hands with other people at an orphanage for disabled children. Whenever I go to that chapel I notice a few things:

1) It is far from beautiful. There's no stained glass. The foor is usually dingy or has paint stains on it. There's cheap and tacky Catholic knick-knacks all around the place.

2) It is almost always quiet--until the children come in and then it is excruciatingly noisy and rambunctious.

3) It is the one place I always go to in my mind when I need to feel God's presence in my life.

In that sacred space I would sit with Elvira--a child who had spina bifida and really couldn't do much of anything--and in those peaceful moments there was no need for money, racial segregation had no place there, our gifts and talents were often rendered useless and in the silence within the filthy walls and the torn drapes, we realize that God is very much present.

We didn't need the best choir or good preaching and I didn't long to put my ipod on or escape into a good book. I was enough for her and she was enough for me.

And our temple, dirty and all, was more than enough for Jesus to drive me into His loving presence in the simple silence.

The White House and the Vatican

John Allen at NCR gives some prudent advice so that the picture to your right of the wax figurines at Madame Tussaud's isn't the last picture we have of the Pontiff and the President. Hat tip to Mark Wilson for the photo.

Allen suugest that the Vatican does not simply wish to forgo having conversations with the President simply because our President is pro-choice. Perhaps there's a message there for many people in the Catholic pundantry and others who probably think otherwise. In fact, the Pope is doing quite a bit of outreach.

The pope sent a telegram on Wednesday calling your election “a historic occasion,” and offering his prayer that God will “support you and the American people, so that through the good will of all, a world of peace, solidarity and justice can be built.” Lombardi likewise expressed hope that you “will be able to match the expectations and the hopes directed towards the new president, effectively serving justice and rights, finding the best ways to promote peace in the world, favoring the growth and dignity of persons with respect for essential human and spiritual values.”

You’ll notice that neither the pope nor his spokesperson explicitly mentioned abortion or other areas of disagreement, and certainly their tone suggests that concern for the “life issues” will not exclude cooperation in other areas. On the contrary, the Vatican seems to be doing everything it can to invite it.

Allen goes on to suggest one way that the White House and Vatican can work togther:

I believe there is a historic opportunity for your administration and the Holy See to work together to move the international community, at long last, toward serious engagement on behalf of peace and development in Africa.

You are a hero to much of Africa, giving you a degree of political capital on the continent that no other Western leader could rival. At the same time, 2009 is shaping up as a “Year of Africa” in global Catholicism. Over the next 12 months, Pope Benedict XVI will visit Cameroon and Angola; the African bishops will hold their plenary assembly in Rome; and bishops from all over the world will converge on Rome for a “Synod for Africa.” All this suggests the possibility of synergy between the world’s most important political and spiritual leaders -- i.e., you and the pope -- to promote peace and development for Africa, where the world’s most impoverished and abandoned people are today found.

During the Pope's visit to the U.S. now President-elect Obama also had some positive words to say about B16. Hat tip to the Boston Globe:

"At a time when American families face rising costs at home and a range of worries abroad, the theme of Pope Benedict’s journey, 'Christ Our Hope,' offers comfort and grace as well as a challenge to all faith communities to put our faith into action for the common good. It will not only be Catholics who are listening to the Holy Father’s message of hope and peace; all Americans will be listening with open hearts and minds."

Agreed...now go read it all here.

Obama and the Catholic Vote

Today's Wall Street Journal has more...

I do think that the key here is younger voters who generally as a majority are not tied into the traditional church structures but rather, engage in "spiritual tinkering" as Robert Wuthnow the great Princeton sociologist writes. They create a "virtual faith" to coin another phrase from Tom Beaudion the great Practical Theologian at Fordham (and who bought me lunch today--thanks!) and that leads them to merely be inspired by the many voices who call their experiences into greater light.

For example:

The clarity of the Bush administration when it came to their message on the war, America's security and even on economics may indeed have inspired the young people who actually went out and voted--but probably kept an apathetic bunch of people who saw no positive alternative to the institutional government at that time.

Contrast that with a very easily disputed message:

When the war is a fiasco and people, especially the young, are tired of it--having very specific plans for an alternative was a clear strength of the Obama message.

The campaign's message on having an alternative to simply combating Supreme Court justices and legislation with regard to life issues like abortion was also a secondary message that worked well--and especially was well-received amongst younger Catholics who generally again, are not tied into the message of the Bishops but still are concerned with objective evil like abortion (in short--they don't see abortion as being peachy keen but also don't see an institutional alternatives to overriding the law either--until now).

Moreover, young people are SOLUTION based. They are the God Googlers who expect instant gratification in all areas of their life. Once the economy tanked and it was clear that Mccain had no answers for the crumbling of the economy and planned to keep with the Bush tax plan--a clear alternative was a young person's only choice. I think Obama wins regardless of the economic collapse but add that to the mix and he bodyslammed McCain (in the figurative sense, of course).

54% of Catholics voted for Obama. The bigger question in the inner Catholic world now is whether or not younger Catholics informed their conscience on issues like abortion and voted for Obama anyway, saw both candidates as morally reprehensible on the life questions and voted for what they perceived to be the lesser of two evils, or ignored the issue entirely.

Sociologists---get to work!

An Open Letter to President-Elect Obama

Dear Mr President-Elect,

Congratulations. You have inspired many of us with your candor and energy. Your drive to the Presidency has been well-earned. You ran a great campaign and I pray today that peace will soon come to our country as the result of your efforts.

Mr President elect, I am a card-carrying member of your party and agree with you on most issues. I firmly believe that the poor and middle class deserve support from the government. I believe in social justice and in programs that help bring that about that are also government-sponsored and are supported by private entities as well. I think the death penalty is barbaric and that war is an atrocity. I believe President Bush stupidly got America into an unjust war and hate the face that he used pre-emptive means in doing so. I believe that we have to regain the respect of the United Nations, our allies and countries throughout the world. I believe that the environment is needing much of our support as well and that it should be a national priority. Our economy also needs to become one of our top priorities naturally with the current economic crisis placing not only Wall Street but many global markets in a precarious place.

However, Mr President-Elect, I do not agree with you on the issue of abortion. As a Catholic I have been compelled by not merely my faith but also by scientific fact that abortion is the murder of innocent human life. It is indeed a social justice issue as well. Poor women face abortion a lot more often than anyone else and abortion being available as an option pushes them into killing their baby because we feed into that fear that tells them that they aren't any good, that they should be ashamed and that they can't possibly be a good mother. Not only does the fact that abortion on demand give them that option but many of our citizens makes it an option for them by their indifference.

For the first time I have heard a democrat talk about making abortion rare. I believe that you are sincere and that perhaps you think in your heart that abortion really is as tragic as Catholic teaching professes it to be. With that in mind, I ask for your support in doing just that--making abortion as rare as it can be--or even making the option of abortion a decision that never has to be made because we have all figured out how to support those who find themselves with an unexpected pregnancy.

How can we all work together to do this? I'm asking Catholics to pledge to simply support one pregnant woman this year. Whether it's doing something small like buying diapers or a crib for a pregnancy crisis center or giving a pregnant woman a room in your home rent free (or at least low), I ask that perhaps the office of faith-based initiatives makes this a priority in your administration.

Know that I think you are a great man and that while time and God himself will judge us all on how we have treated the unborn, I hope that this transcends mere legalities and that we all directly work to avoid a barbaric choice.

Perhaps helping young women make that kind of choice indeed is the start on the road to peace in our world and to bring us all into concern for the least of our brothers and sisters.

I'd like to suggest that your answer to helping young women in this regard can be met with your own inspirational and simple refrain: "Yes, we can."

Know that you have my prayers today.

Much peace,

Mike Hayes
Woodside, NY

Abortion and Today's Election

I've been reading on various Catholic blogs that people MUST vote for McCain/Palin over Obama/Biden becauee McCain upholds Catholic teaching on abortion.

Guess what? He doesn't.

John McCain does NOT accept ALL the teachings on protecting the unborn. He is in favor of embrionic stem-cell research which regards life in the womb as disposable at best--a far worse crime in my opinion than the woman who is shuddering in fear at the prospect of an unwanted pregnancy and finds no support anywhere around her--even from us Catholics at times. McCain also supports abortion rights in cases of rape or incest.

Now that being said--it's bad on the other side too. Obama certainly does not support a life position in favor of the unborn. Unlike McCain however, he does support other aspects of a life platform outside of the womb. He's against the death penalty and also wants to fight to keep abortion rare (which is a much better statement than what democrats usually espouse).

I think anti-abortion people are right when they say that we have to regard life in the womb as holy in order to have peace--however...

The sad tragedy is that we are so far removed from that possibility that it's sad.
We're so far away from even being able to convince anyone that a life within the womb--invisible to human eyes without a sonogram--is something worth protecting. How many of us took in a pregnant teen this year? How many of us convinced a woman to keep her baby and promised to financially help her even if it inconvenienced us or made it hard for us to pay the bills (or even just made us give up cable for a month or two)? How many of us REALLY cared?

The truth is that we don't.

What's worse?

We can't even get people to know--never mind care about--their next-door neighbors. People don't see citizens of Iraq or any other Middle Eastern country as valued members of the body of Christ either. We don't do a good job of praying for our enemies for the most part and many of us are more than apt to agree to put grandma and grandpa in a home because it is inconveinent for us to care for them ourselves. And to top it all off, we don't understand the committment involved in being married and we play compromising games with our spouses instead of putting 100% into being in a mutually beneficial relationship that leads to unity and creates life.

What's our big sin these days? It's not relativism--not even close. It's being selfish.

We might talk a good game about abortion but until pregnancy crisis centers are shrines, until Catholics are lining up to be foster parents, until we tithe 10% to pregnant unwed mothers and until we do it all with a smile on our face...we've got no shot at ever ending abortion--not by a longshot.

In short, we've got our work cut out for us.

That's WE...have got our work cut out for us. And we must all start there--with ourselves, with our families, with our neighbors and parishioners and friends and colleagues. We have to live OUR lives as if all of this matters...or simply put---none of it ever will.

What we really need to do is to change our own hearts and let in those who deserve our utmost protection.

And that has nothing to do with voting for President--or changing a law, or electing someone to the Supreme Court. All of that is "helpful" but it doesn't mean a damn thing if we're not really committed.

So before you pull that lever or punch a chad--know that you have a very complex decision to make. Not one that exonerates you from playing a part in making abortion illegal simply by voting for who you consider the lesser of two intrinsic evils. Rather, the decision you make today is to make sure that whoever gets elected sees YOU as a mover and a shaker in making sure that the unborn are protected. YOU...not elected officials...not judges...not even Bishops. YOU.

And ME too.

So I leave you today with far better words than I could muster up. They come from the greatest man to ever walk this earth--our God. Jesus.

Matthew Chapter 7

"Stop judging, that you may not be judged.

For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?

How can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove that splinter from your eye,' while the wooden beam is in your eye?

You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye.

"Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread,
or a snake when he asks for a fish?

If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.

"Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many.

How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few."

It's time to put our money where our mouths are and removing the planks from our own eye. Start today...Here's one guy who did just that.

http://www.maltahouse.org/

What did you do today?

Still Church Searching in Queens

I think we are going to settle on St Sebastians in Queens as our "parish of choice." Although we plan to head back into Manhattan to go to Ascension parish this weekend to meet up with some friends. We ran into their ministry fair last weekend and they have quite a good number of things going on. The pastor also had a great homily on the late workers who were paid the same wage as those who had worked all day.

"Whenever I read this I want to yell "THAT'S NOT FAIR! I mean, this is how unions start!... But what we need to keep in mind is that we don't need to pay attention to who gets the credit, or who gets more than I did---instead we need to be focused on Jesus...are we pleasing God with our work? How are we bringing Jesus into the lives of others?"

We attended Our Lady Queen of Martyrs this weekend again. We were treated by the best homily I heard in months by Deacon Greg Kandra of the Deacon's Bench blog! And surprise surprise, I was even mentioned anonymously in his homily:

I had lunch with a friend who went to World Youth Day and he said that one of the Bishops said that "while all of us who are here are in the club, so to speak, there is something that keeps us from committing ourselves totally to Jesus."

I was that friend and those words indeed inspired me to look more deeply at my own life and helped me make the decision to pursue a vocation to the diaconate.

Deapite the great homily and even a fairly nice choir, I just didn't get a warm feeling from the place (Greg, if you're reading this do not include yourself as playing a part in these feelings). So we might head back for some inspiration from time to time but I don't think this will be our regular place of worship.

St Sebastians isn't all that warm either but I can see it warming up a bit more readily than other places and I see more of a role for me to get involved there.

We are going to try St Rapael's and St Teresa's also in the Woodside/Sunnyside area in coming weeks. But it's looking like St Sebastian's has the inside track right now.

Church Search

I've taken it upon myself (and my wife) to do some research on parishes in Queens (a borough of NYC--if you've been to NYC and flown into JFK or LaGuardia-you've been there) to see if we can find any that appeal to young adults. So far we have these two to report on:

St. Sebastian's in Woodside: This is our neighborhood parish and it's the biggest one in the greater Queens area. The pastor, Msgr Hardiman is very welcoming and is a good homilist. There seems to be a lot of activities but I'm not sure how many people are very active. The parishioners tend to keep to themselves but to be fair, I haven't exactly put myself out there and said "hi" to too many people myself. Lots of Filipino young adults attend here and a large hispanic presence as well. The rest of the parish are mostly Irish-Americans in an area known for it's Hibernian flair. A strong dedication to supporting the armed forces exist here and the pastor is very vocal on life issues. They do have a young adult discussion group on the tenets of the faith and their 6PM Sunday mass is well attended. Mediocre music but I've heard worse.

Our Lady Queen of Martyr's in Forest Hills: For those of you who are fans of The Deacon's Bench, this is Deacon Greg's parish. Unfortunately, we didn't pick the mass that he preaches at--but we were treated to a rather good homily by the priest who did preside. The congregation seems middle-aged which reflects the area but they also seem very involved. Lots of parents who send their kids to their school of which Everybody Loves Raymond star Ray Romano is an alumnus. Generally speaking, I liked the parish. It didn't thrill me, but it was solid liturgy. Smells and bells galore and well-trained altar servers (which I thought was the best feature of the parish actually).

From now until Christmas I'll post on a few new churches in the Queens and perhaps Brooklyn area each Sunday or so. Stay tuned.

Dean Hoge: Sociologist par excellence, RIP

Dean Hoge may not be a household name to most. but in the field of sociology of religion in indeed was a legend. Hoge died yesterday after a long battle with cancer at the age of 71. Much of the work that we've done at BustedHalo can certainly be traced to many of his findings in the book, Young Adult Catholics: Religion in a Culture of Choice (written with Bill Dinges, Mary Johnson and Juan Gonzalez). That book gave us a lot of the sociological trends that indeed helped us gain a foothold on how to attack what clerics were then calling "the young adult problem."

Hoge was a wonderful pragmatist when advising people like myself on how we might want to address young adults. Always a "data guy" Hoge would always throw numbers back at you to dispute common misconceptions. He revealed and continued to hammer home the fact that "young adults indeed were not disaffecting from the church--but merely not regular attendees or participants. They are still checking off the "Catholic" box." He would often tell my colleagues and I to watch out for judgmentalism. "Hitting these people with every tenent of church teaching and telling them that they are bad will NOT work. In fact, that's what drives most of them away in the first place."

Indeed. What I liked most about Dean was his folksy charm. He was an "aw shucks" kind of guy who was always very humble while still speaking with valid authority. He was a true gift to all faiths and he was a faithful Christian, very active in his own Presbyterian church.

His longtime colleague, Bill D'Antonio had this to say:

“While he was first and foremost a scholar, I’d have to say that I don’t know of a person who was more a Christian throughout his life,” said friend and colleague, William D’Antonio, who worked in recent years with Hoge at Catholic University’s Life Cycle Institute. “He was a shy person, but treated others with an easy grace as he attempted to live the Gospel.”

I couldn't have said it better...Rest in Peace, Dean.

Hat tip to Deacon Greg for the heads up.

A Forgiving God?

An excellent article on atonement and forgiveness has been written by Fr. Bill O'Malley who has taught at Fordham Prep for eons (no offense). Fr. O'Malley lived in my dorm at Fordham and always had a warm smile, an open door, and a quick wit for all of us.

Go read his latest masterpiece HERE

More Memories of Mike and the Mad Dog

Chris Russo is about to start his new radio show on Sirius and its been bringing up lots of memories of my former career, and especially of Russo on Saturday morning:

There was the famous "Back to back beer spots" story...where I was serving as the engineer and I played a Miller Beer spot and then a Budweiser spot right after it. ("Spot" is radio lingo for commercial for the unititiated). I had also been moonlighting for WOR Radio at the time and asked permission to work there before I did so and it didn't seem like a big deal to the powers that be. I thought otherwise after this moment. Russo comes right out of the jingle and yells "Back to back beer spots! Boy oh boy, WOR is doing a helluva job with Mike Hayes. No wonder they're losing money with the Giants. If ya don't know what the heck I'm talking about our intern engineer Mike Hayes played back to back beer commericals which he's not supposed to do. If I'm Chrysler and I buy time on WFAN I don't want you running a TAY-ota spot right after it. (giggles) Vinny from Queens...."

Funny...he was probably getting revenge for the tommohawk chop call. But it was then that I started to know that there were some bad feelings with me working for WOR at WFAN and I started to wind it down there. I liked working there but the pay was very low and the chances for promotion were slim. WOR offered me more hours and a higher rate and I got a full time job out of it after a year or so. I also was able to cover sports for Bob Papa--now the voice of the NY Giants.

In hindsight, I should've left both places much faster than I eventually did. I was holding on to something that just didn't fit. I didn't really have the passion for sports or even for radio--even though I like the podcast we do now and the video stuff I've done on the road as well and even filling in for Fr Dave on Sirius from time to time.

As we always say...It all comes out in the wash, doesn't it?

BustedHalo.com Facelift

In case you missed it--and in case you've been wondering where I've been...and we know you have...

BustedHalo.com got a major facelift last month and I am busy expaning the new Googling God section for Faith Information.

We'll be calling stuff out each week that will expound on what the church teaches but we'll do that in an informative way that's also entertaining (using video, online powerpoints, audio and of course the dreaded article) and we'll also try to cover the pastoral element--merging the practical with the theoretical while remaining true to the intentions of the church's teaching.

First feature will be on October 1 and will be "something" on the upcoming election, so stay tuned.

Bob Sheppard Update--well...not really.

At the Wheeling-Charleston Diocese's conference for Faith Formation where I'm tomorrow's keynote speaker, and I ran into this story (Hat tip to The Mets Police) on Bob Sheppard who still doesn't seem up to par two months after his intended goal of returning to the Yankee Stadium PA Booth.

As first reported here on Googling God on July 7th, Sheppard may in fact have trouble simply staying awake for 9 innings.

The solution as mentioned in the Newsday column might be to have Sheppard do the opening lineup and first few innings and then hand things off to Jim Hall who should get the permanent position anyway when Shep officially retires.

Beaker offers a funny

Via Rocco Palmo

Mike and the Mad Dog - RIP

Mike Francesa and Chris Russo, better known as Mike and the Mad Dog have called it quits. Two New York Sports Radio Legends decided to part ways today with Russo reportedly having a deal already in place with Sirius radio.

I served as their engineer for about 5 years and loved working on the program. They are exactly the same way off the air that they are on the show. Mike is gruff and alwaqys gets right to the point. Chris is zany and always full of enthusiasm. They both did me tons of favors when I was just a young kid trying to break into the business. One of my highlights was being on their show as a reporter from (of all places) the Gaucho Gym in Harlem covering (of all things) Felipe Lopez's (the basketball one not the baseball one) press conference on where he was going to attend college (St. John's).

It was interesting being behind the scenes with those guys. Bob Gelb was their longtime producer and he was a great guy too. We saw all the fights between them and their disagreements with those in the sports world. They broke tons of stories. It was exciting to be there when Magic Johnson told the world that he was HIV positive and every Fall Saturday and Sunday when they were by themselves, there was no better place to be during Football season...well, except Friday night when they made their football picks together.

One memory stands out. Chris was a really good natured guy and we used to tease him about being a San Francisco Giants fan. Because I had interned at WFAN and was later hired by them, he'd tease me and say--"Have they promoted you from intern yet?"

Anyway, the Braves were playing the Giants in a crucial game and Russo was touting the Giants all day long on the air. We'd play Giants highlights everytime something good would happen because he'd be in the newsroom screaming at us for them. So we got revenge. The Giants had two men on and were down a run. Russo yelled to me, "I want the next highlight on the air ASAP, Mikey!" I had just about had it with him, to be honest--but it was hard not to like the guy's enthusiasm for his team. So when the next play was a 6-4-3 double play--I did exactly as he asked. That double play for the Braves was on the air as fast as possible followed by the Braves theme song--the Tommohawk Chop.

Later in the evening the Braves were pretty much in commmand and I called Russo at HOME and played the chop song down the phone line!

He immediately hung up on me.

Next day on the air:

Russo: "Everyone's killing me. You're killing me. Gelb is killing me. Spitz (executive producer) is killing me. That dope intern Mike Hayes is killing me calling me up and playing the tommohawk chop down the line last night. I can't win!"

I think this is a good move by Russo who will bring hundreds of sports fans to Sirius. If Mike is smart he'll sign an NFL deal with them too.

If you're not listening to KT Tunstall...

Than you are missing out. Go to her website here. For the uninitiated, she's a Scottish singer who is a bit folky, a bit rocky, a bit country but a whole lot of fun. My wife and I caught her in Atlantic City last night and she rocked. We had mezzanine seats at The Music Box which is a small intimate theatre (translation, we were up high and there were "floor seats" down the stairs from us. So there isn't a "bad" seat per se. But regardless, KT said the following during the show:

"So either the people in the back are very shy, or the people up front have imaginary friends sitting next to them. There's plenty of seats up here so why don't you all just come on up! They should do this on an airplane!

So we went from row V (10 rows up the stairs plus the 10 rows of floor seats) to row EE (5th row). Awesome. She rocked! I snapped some shots with my camera phone--here's the best one.

Summer Retreat

A wonderful summer retreat at Mt. Paul Retreat Center. 43 people took in the lakefront and had a fab time.

The retreat team did an outstanding job--some of the better talks I have heard. They made me look good especially since I was away for awhile in Australia.

Blogging will be sporadic as I am down at the Jersey Shore taking some rest at our uncle's house.

Papal Mass

Sorry for the late post:

Here's my report from the Papal Mass

Wolrd Youth Day Booty Call

Needless to say...hormone-crazed teens and college students...

Pope as Audiobook

So John Paul II was Pope as Rock Star, I think Pope Benedict is more of a Pope as Audiobook. People love to listen to him and he gives really good theological discourse which is always challenging to listen to in the freezing cold with 150,000 noisy pilgrims. I think that one of the problems with World Youth Day is that it provides great emotional resonance and people fall in love with the Pope (and hopefully Jesus)--much like a Promise Keepers revival stirs up the same kinds of emotions. However, it does little for the intellect. Even the Cathechetical sessions with the Bishops just skim the surface.

Here's my proposal for Young Adults (20s and 30s) to engage with the Pope: Offer a one week course on a topic of the Pope's choosing to teach to young adults online. 250 young adults will get a trip to Rome to sit in the Pope's classroom and 50 will have lunch with him each day and celebrate a mass with him in a more intimate setting.

Nonetheless, great theological insights were shared with the crowd. Rocco gives you the text of the Vigil homily. I'm not sure if the teens heard it. Regardless, a good night to all who sleep outdoors. I'm in my nice warm hotel bed.

Wuss that I am.

Receive the Power From the Holy Spirit

This is the theme for World Youth Day--and yet, I'm not sick of it yet.

The Vietnamese Young Adults dig it too!

Vigil with the Pope

Cardinal George Has One--Why Don't You?

Buy Googling God NOW
and then maybe one day, you too can be the President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops!

Papal Motorcade

My Travel Companions

I haven't had the chance to tell you a bit about the folks I'm travelling with. I'm with a group of women from Charis Ministries in Chicago--which runs retreats for young adults in Chicago and elsewhere. BustedHalo has been in a partnership with them for 8 years now and I'm really happy to be considered a friend of this ministry which is very close to my own heart.

Here's a little video or two of some of us:





Lauren Gaffey (in the Notre Dame hat) is a Charis employee who is leading the trip--no daunting task--is the only person that I had met and spoken with for any real length of time. We worked together a bit on the BustedHalo Pod Retreat which Charis "experimented" for us. She's been doing a great job despite the obsticles that inevitably get thrown in your path when leading a pilgrimage like this. Her number one rule for the group is simple: "Nobody can die."

So far so good.

Our other friends who I've gotten to know include:

Lexi (in the bar video, blowing a kiss at the end), a twenty something year old Creighton University graduate who has a real heart for singing. In fact, she sings everything--and warned me about that fact when we started hanging out on this journey. She's also someone who enjoys going out and spending time in the city that we've come to really like. Lauren, Lexi and I went to The Bourbon for happy hour last night while we awaited our friends who had been doing some additional sightseeing on our "off night."

Melissa (next to Lauren with the reddish hair) is someone I had met briefly at a Young Adult Conference in Chicago some time ago. We've spent some time hearing about her nieces--something that I love to talk about as well (my nieces, that is). We are bit closer in age to each other as Melissa is unbelievably in her 30s (flaterry will get you everywhere). Like me, she's been thankful for some of the one on one time she's gotten to spend with the folks here on the trip. Hopefully, we'll get to know each other better over the next few days.

Lori (with the camera in the video), also in her twenties, is straight out of my book as a millennial Catholic who gravitates toward the beauty of Catholic teaching. Yet, Lori is no "holy roller", she enjoys a clever retort, and since she said that in her opinion, our website BustedHalo talks about "useful situations of everyday life," she's launched herself into someone someone I'm convinced has impeccable judgment.

Brianna (with the WYD headband and tattoo) is Charis' development coordinator. We had a chance to sit and talk a few times the past week. She was asking me if I miss my wife and how tough was it to be apart. It has been hard, but we've been busy and they all have been keeping me laughing and on the go constantly so I've had less time to really think about how much I truly miss my wife and my dog--especially on nights when I mess up taking videos or when things don't go exactly well.

Ana (not pictured) is from El Salvador but now living in the U.S. I've been particularly touched by how much she's shared about her family in our evening reflection group (which I confess, I accidentally slept through tonight). She asks for prayers for her sister who has cancer. I'm always amazed at the people who struggle to be here at World Youth Day and at how much it means to them to just be in the presence of the Pope and to hear him talk in their native language. I think Anna was the first one to scream when Benedict spoke in Spanish today.

Chrissy (also in the bar video with the red jacket) is very sweet and kindhearted and had the line of the day yesterday when I quipped that the band we were listening to was very "disney-like." Without missing a beat, Chrissy replied, "You're right...they almost sound like the Chipmunks!" Never a truer statement was said.

There are a few others with us as well that I hope to get to know a bit more as the week goes on. But suffice it to say, this journey has been made all the lighter by the presence of these, and I'll use the word, not lightly here, HOLY WOMEN.

Let us pray that Mary, the mother of God, will continue to inspire us all on this pilgrimage and remind us of the goodness of God.

Catechesis Day

So today young adults got a "teaching" from one of the Bishops from around the world. Our Bishop, the Most Reverend Raymond Field, was from Ireland and was very engaging. His topic: The Holy Spirit--which he compared the Holy Spirit's role in the trinity to "the software that makes a computer run." Agreed.

I ran into some young adults today including Hamish who was one of the animators at the Catechetical session. It seems young people suffer from an "it's embarrassing to be Catholic problem. Certainly understandable...but they also have great hungers in their faith.



And then this Motley crew:

Bob Sheppard to miss All Star Game

Just not healthy enough yet says NJ.com

Flip Video ruins my day? Or opens me to something new?

So we had a great day here in Sydney at World Youth Day today. I worked very hard and actually had some great footage of Young Adults from Tonga doing their native dances and then I interviewed two young Tongan women as well.

What happened to the videos? I have no idea. I left Barangaroo were the opening mass was held with the videos intact but with the batteries draining. They actually died and so I replaced them--that seems to have resulted in deleting half of the videos I took today. Of course they didn't leave the good ones--it was the so-so ones that got saved.

Anyway, perhaps there is some spiritual opportunity that I am missing here. Maybe I am supposed to really try to interact more with the pilgrims here and not just look on them as subjects for the website?

I know plenty of people found a vocation at World Youth Day and I've been feeling more and more like I'm being called to be a deacon lately. Even at mass tonight I noticed the Deacon reading the Gospel--which I think is cool. At a mass with all these Cardinals and Bishops--the deacon is still the one who gets to read the Gospel. Same will be true for the Papal mass later this week.

I'm really attracted to the servant part of the ministry as well. Cardinal Pell talked a lot in his homily about how many of us only take our committments to Jesus so far--even those of us who would take the time to come to World Youth Day. Are we afraid to take the next step into a larger committment to faith? Are we able to grow more by listening to God, letting him lead us by the hand--perhaps into fear--but then again, into a place where we can grow more closely to God and more toward the person that we are called to be for the world?

I think that touched me a bit tonight. So I'm open to listening more this week and seeing where I need to stretch and what new things God may have in store for me.

Opening Cermonies

Two quick video clips:

Before Mass at St Mary's cathedral

This is from Sunday night--but just got around to posting this. Before mass outside the Cathedral I took these shots.

Pilgrims have started to arrive

So I had my last touristy day today as the pilgrims have started to arrive. I went to Harry's (see below) and then walked back to Circular Quay from The Domain a large outdoor arena near the Naval Pier (picture, left of the pier, that is) and caught a ferry to Taronga Zoo.


The ferry ride provided some spectacular sites. As it was a beautiful sunny 70 degree fahrenheit day--or as the rest of the world would say it-- 21 degrees celsius.
Here's a sunny shot from the ferry of the Harbour Bridge.



The opening ceremonies start tomorrow and my colleagues from Chicago have arrived. A great group of women from Charis Ministries--BustedHalo's retreat partner--and a Jesuit Young Adult retreat initiative. Lauren Gaffey is running the outfit and they've actually been at this a lot longer than me. They've been in Melbourne for the last week doing the Magis Experiements--which is a Jesuit-based retreat-like experience with other young adults from Jesuit Schools and parishes all over the world.

I've started to see other pilgrims from all over the world now too settling in. An impressive sight...or rather sound. There is a World Youth Day song chosen each year and usually sung in English. They ask pilgrims to learn it if they can. I ran into an entire group of teens from Turkey at the zoo. They wanted to entertain a Bishop who had just joined them and they began to sing the song. Now it starts out with the words "Alleluia" but I'm sure it's not the same in Turkish or even in Arabic. Regardless, the next words out of their mouth were said in perfect English:

"Receive your power...from the Holy Spirit."

My only words were..."Wow. If the World Youth Day song were in Arabic would any Americans dare to learn it?"

Or even if it were in Latin?

Harry's Cafe de Wheels

So my friend Dan Twohig has been to Sydney before and insisted that I go to Harry's Cafe de Wheels to get an Aussie Meat Pie called the Tiger. His words to me were essentially some form of:

"If you don't go I will beat you into the ground."

So off I go and as advertised it was delicious. Essentially it's a meat pie with mashed potatoes and gravy on top as well as mashed peas. I hate peas generally but these concoction was simply delicious.


Now I had a meat pie earlier in the trip so I'd have something to compare it to other than the lousy meat pies my mom used to make (sorry, mom). And Harry is certainly a cut above. We need to go back to that area later in the week so I'll be taking my colleagues who have now arrived here in Sydney to Harry's. I think this time I might try the Hot Dog de Wheels.

So credit to Mr. Twohig for a great meal find in Australia. Thanks, Dan!

Benedict's Family

John Allen has a great story today about Pope Benedict's cousin and childhood playmate, who happens to live in Australia (Melbourne though, not Sydney).

The money quote at the end made me laugh:

"Nobody else in the family wanted to visit them because they were so religious."

I guess that paid off for the Ratzingers.