Marian Brother JL
Thursday, July 31, 2003
Ok, although I don't have any Crispin CD's (something I'll have to work on), I have seen the band live and I like their music. I've gotten a bit more mellow in my musical tastes, and Crispin is good if you're in a mellow mood. The Crispin music website has some sample songs to listen to.
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
There's a two minute Flash movie at Catholicexchange.com that I would describe as the "feel-good Catholic Flash movie of the year." It's a bit of a boost in the midst of anti-Catholic sentiments. The site mentions it isn't doing well financially, and I think this is a common problem among Catholic charities at this time, but watch the movie and get a boost. That's what it's designed for.
Continuing on varioius aspects of Catholic devotion, I found a very enlightening article from the Oct. 29, 1966 issue of Ave Maria Magazine called "Personal Piety." In an article by John Reedy, C.S.C., and James Andrews, the subject of traditional devotions is discussed, particularly to the Eucharist and Mary, and they explain that:
"Within a period of five or 10 years that whole system of devotion--very human, with a lot of weaknesses, but nevertheless, a complete system--has been unmistakably overthrown. Not by those who would attack or denouce the Church, but from within. And from both extremes." (p. 16)
However, there are guidelines given about devotion regardless of circumstances. I will focus on the first one:
"In the long run, the Church will retain those forms of personal piety which are, in fact, effective in leading the men and women of this generation to meaningful prayer... The purpose of Christian devotions lies in the help they offer to the sincere person who wishes to turn his thoughts and love toward God in ways that fit the teachings of Jesus most perfectly. It's that simple." (pp. 16-17)
Devotion will not die, but yes it will change in the way it is expressed. Novelty changes (some of the songs of the '70s have not fared well into this time), but the basic idea of having devotion helps one keep his or her head on straight. It gives us a way to express our inner feelings and love for God. It gives us more connections to the supernatural realm that we don't see but know is there. We need to know the Communion of Saints is concerned about us, and we need to remember the poor souls in Purgatory. These aspects of devotion are returning, and whenever we feel alone, we can remember that we are most definitely not alone.
Sunday, July 27, 2003
Occasionally, I note an entry on Splurf that is worth pointing out. This is such an entry. I don't think any comments are necessary.
In a previous entry, I mentioned the Ave Maria Magazine, which was published weekly for over 100 years. I just visted the Marian Library in Dayton, Ohio, where I was able to look at a collection of all the issues. I wondered, when did the magazine stop focusing on Mary? In the late 50's, the cover started to deal with non-Mary themes, but Mary was pictured in a corner of the cover. But, in February of 1960, they pulled her picture from the cover, and she rarely made the cover after that (although she was on the cover of the last issue). About 10 years later, in March of 1970, Ave Maria Magazine was no more. While I am not suggesting that taking Mary off the cover brought about the demise, I don't think it would have hurt to keep her face on the cover through the 1960's.
The 60's were a tough time for devotion to Mary, and maybe the 70's were even worse, but in the 80's, there was Medjugorje, and a new generation was introduced to the idea that Mary might show up somewhere in the world and ask people to pray, pray, pray, to fast, to be converted, to read the Bible, etc. Now, I think the time of a renewal of devotion to the Blessed Mother is about to arrive. Medjugorje just celebrated the 22nd anniversary. That's quite a while.
Thursday, July 24, 2003
World Youth Day has Foundational Documents... ever look at them? The closing session of Vatican II spoke to the young, and said something rather foreboding: "It is you who, receiving the best of the example of the teaching of your parents and your teachers, are to form the society of tomorrow. You will either save yourselves or you will perish with it." Wow. That sounds pretty serious. It reminds me of Acts 2:40--"Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."
Peter warned the early Christians, and Vatican II has warned us.
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
There are big benefits to promoting the Divine Mercy message and devotion:
Jesus said to St. Maria Faustina, "Souls who spread the honor of My mercy I shield through their entire lives as a tender mother her infant, and at the hour of death I will not be a Judge for them, but the Merciful Savior. At that last hour, a soul has nothing with which to defend itself except My mercy. Happy is the soul that during its lifetime immersed itself in the Fountain of Mercy, because justice will have no hold on it." (Diary #1075). The Fountain is most likely confession (and the Blood and Water), because in #1602, Jesus says, "Daughter, when you go to confession, to this fountain of My mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My Heart always flows down upon your soul and ennobles it."
Saturday, July 19, 2003
If you're looking for a book published by the Vatican and just can't seem to find it through those big mega-book sites, you can order straight from the source at paxbook.com. Yes, there is a way to get those books, if you don't mind some steep S&H costs.
Thursday, July 17, 2003
What about more Catholic TV stations online? I don't know of any live 24 hour stations netcasting in English except EWTN, but if you want something in Portugues, try cancaonova.com. Scroll down and on the left sidebar you will see "TV Cancao Nova." Click on that. Then, on the left sidebar of the new page, click "TV ao Vivo." Before you know it, you are enjoying Brazilian Catholic TV.
So, you want to listen to hours of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen talks but don't have any extra cash... Hmmm, perhaps you could go to this link. Yes, that should do the trick, unless you've heard these before... Thanks to EWTN for putting the files out there...
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
The trailer of the coming Passion movie has really reminded me of the passion of Jesus and previous meditations I have made on it, things I have read, etc. If you've never read the description by Anne Catherine Emmerick, you can read it online. This is one of the sources Mel Gibson used for the movie.
Monday, July 14, 2003
Continuing to look at holy young persons, no list would be complete without examining the life of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. His example is a testament to the power of the transforming love of Christ, especially for the poor. Maybe I should put all these links together in a post one of these days... There really are a lot of examples--saints, blesseds, venerables, servants of God, and those like Charles Untz that are gaining recognition by word-of-mouth.
Now, Splurf has for you the trailer from the new Mel Gibson movie of the Passion of Jesus. I can't help but compare it to the movie Jesus of Nazareth. Even this brief trailer is quite overwhelming, so the movie should be an unforgettable experience. The trailer is provided in Quicktime, Windows Media Player, and Real Player formats.
Saturday, July 12, 2003
While on the subject of holy persons who died young (hence we remember them as young holy persons), there is also Angela Baird. If you've never read her story, you should.
There's always more holy people to learn about. Ever hear of Maria Orsola? Probably not, because there's very little written in English about this Servant of God who died from an accident at the age of 15. You can read about her in Italian here. The book about her life has indeed been translated into English, but it's nowhere to be found on the Internet. I got it from the Focolare community in Chicago. The book is called I Want to Love! by Silvano Cola, and it tells of her short life as a life of intense spirituality--of love of God. I'll quote from a letter of hers...
"So now I have decided to live the Gospel 100%, but I am not always successful and so I fall. When I do not succeed, I try to start again, offering the sorrow caused by my failure for others, for young people, for those who are suffering. In this way I have peace and serenity inside, even when I am suffering or tired" (page 71).
An inspiring homily on evangelical poverty is to be found at Catholic Exchange. It's good to hear a homily preached with the emphasis on the evangelical counsels, and the fact that, yes, they are for all according to their state of life. They are not just for religious brothers and sisters! They may be expressed differently, but they have their place in the life of every Christian.
Thursday, July 10, 2003
As a Marian, what do I do? Since I'm a seminarian at this point, my tasks vary, but often involve study. Once in a while I'm asked to write an article for our magazine. The first serious article I wrote for the magazine was on Our Lady of Guadalupe. The article gives a bit more insight into where I'm coming from.
Do you understand French? I never formally learned it, but I can make out a little here and there. I can get around the KTO website, at least. KTO is French Catholic TV, and, sure enough, you can watch programs archived, and if you have a high-speed connection, they look really good. I recommend watching the documentary about Taize, even if you don't understand it. It gives you a sense of the experience of Christian youth in Europe.
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
Looks like Anne Catherine Emmerick is finally going to become Blessed. Info here. I've been quite inspired by her writings.
Movies... should I be going to any movies? I'm not. Right now, the next movie I want to see is the new one on St. Therese, but the proposed public release date is October 2003. I don't think the young woman playing St. Therese looks much at all like her, but it looks like they've taken pains to get the sets and scenery accurate (from viewing the trailer). The movie got some good publicity on Vatican Radio when they had a screening in Rome.
Sunday, July 06, 2003
I am assuming readers of this blog know something about the Passion/OneDay/268 Generation scene. Well, if you don't, it's too much to explain, but many big praise and worship songs were popularized through this college student movement. I just wanted to let you know that you can watch a webcast of "Passion on the Hill" online. The site is: Passion on the Hill. It starts with about 5 minutes of scripture floating around the screen. Then, the Dave Crowder band does "Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow," then Louie Giglio gives a brief talk. He has a neat theme of ancient/future worship, which is something that is quite a topic of concern for young Catholics. We want worship that is both ancient and new. Apparently, evangelicals are getting into this too. He also talks about an ancient Greek hymn called Phos Hilaron, and a candle is brought in representing the light of Christ! Gasp! What will they think of next? Louie also gives a talk dealing with the stealing of music. Thou shalt not burn copies of Passion CDs! Hopefully his words will have some impact. It's definitely a problem.
Praying for Hollywood? That's what the Hollywood Prayer Network is all about. Obviously, it could use some.
A quiet Sunday here in Chicago. I hear the Star Spangled Banner playing outside at the Little League field. Baseball is kinda big here.
Saturday, July 05, 2003
Years ago (somewhere in those early 90's) I saw the beginning of the Catholic Student Union at Florida State University. Now, from the looks of the website, they're doing pretty well. The more recent photo sections explain each photo in detail, so you understand what's going on (reminds me of Viewmaster reels from the past). Lately, I've seen more of Campus Ministry at Catholic University of America in action. The famous praise and worship Holy Hour at CUA is featured in the first chapter of The New Faithful by Colleen Carroll.
Friday, July 04, 2003
Today is a day to thank God for our blessings, and to pray for His mercy. It used to be quite common for people to attend church services today. I guess it still is in some places, but we could use a return to that practice overall. God should be praised openly where He can be praised openly.
Thursday, July 03, 2003
Devotion... I'm on a devotion kick. Back in my teen days, I had devotion to a rock band. Devotion involves identifying with that which one is devoted to (i.e. a rock band, singer, writer, etc.), promoting devotion (this is a really cool song...) and defending that which one is devoted to. There are other aspects, such as wanting to learn a lot about that which one is devoted to, etc. Of course, I recommend devotion to the saints. One site that gives a neat introduction to devotion to saints is Compass. Check out the emails from Uncle Eddie. Uncle Eddie gives the real scoop on the saint of the day.
