Book moves Catholic heroes down from pedestals and into our hearts
“Not Less than Everything: Catholic Writers on Heroes of Conscience, from Joan of Arc to Oscar Romeo,” edited by Catherine Wolff. HarperCollins (New York, 2013).
338 pp., $17.99.
Reviewed by Nancy L. Roberts
Catholic News Service
Just in time for your autumn spiritual practice, is a book that invites prayerful contemplation about Catholics who were once persecuted for their beliefs, but who ultimately gained the church’s respect.
“Not Less than Everything” is an engaging testimony to the power of following one’s conscience. It gathers profiles of 26 figures, from Sts. Joan of Arc, Ignatius of Loyola and Hildegard von Bingen to Jesuit Father Gerard Manley Hopkins, Dorothy Day and Archbishop Oscar Romero. As the editor, Catherine Wolff, notes in her introduction, all of these Catholics “see through a lens of great moral clarity, and their passionate motivation serves as leaven to the rest of us.”
Napalm bombing survivor ‘came from war,’ now ‘values peace,’ she says
By Nichole Golden
Catholic News Service
ATLANTA (CNS) -- An entire generation instantly recognizes the image of an unclothed Vietnamese girl running toward the camera in terror after a bombing at her village.
Taken by Associated Press photographer Nick Ut in June 1972, the black and white photograph became one of the most iconic pictures from the Vietnam War.
Napalm bombing survivor Phan Thi Kim Phuc, the girl from the picture, visited Marist School in Atlanta and asked the students to help spread a message of peace and forgiveness.
Dressed in a traditional Vietnamese dress, Phuc delivered a soft-spoken yet mighty testimony during her October visit.
“I came through the fire and I am blessed to be here,” said Phuc.
Catholics nationwide push for immigration reform
Dioceses to hold Masses, pilgrimages, meetings with
legislators through October
WASHINGTON—Catholic dioceses across the country are holding events about the need for immigration reform. The events are meant to highlight the urgency of the issue and to show Congress the broad support in the Catholic community for immigration reform with a path to citizenship.
“Now is the time for Catholics to let their elected officials know that they support immigration reform,” said Archbishop José Gomez, archbishop of Los Angeles and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration. “We are an immigrant Church and an immigrant nation. The Church has grown with the nation and since the beginning has helped integrate immigrants into our culture and economy.”
A look at classic cinema’s depiction of personal holiness
By John Mulderig
Catholic News Service
NEW YORK (CNS) -- “Life holds only one tragedy, ultimately: not to have been a saint.” So wrote the French man of letters Charles Peguy (1873-1914).
Yet, while its attainment may be every human being’s vocation, sanctity can be a difficult quality to capture in the dramatic arts. Thus the stage and screen alike have seen a procession of hollow holy ones and canonized cardboard.
As the church’s observance of the Year of Faith draws to a close, here in alphabetical order are capsule reviews of 10 movies that have avoided that parade of the forgettable. Instead, these pictures have successfully risen to the challenge of depicting personal holiness in a way that’s both credible and engaging.
Unless otherwise noted, the Catholic News Service classification for each film is A-I -- general patronage. Motion Picture Association of America ratings are indicated for those titles that have received them.
“Becket” (1964) is a superb adaptation of Jean Anouilh’s classic play about the deep friendship and later conflict between England’s King Henry II (Peter O’Toole) and his friend, Sir Thomas a Becket (Richard Burton), later a saint, and how their days of drinking and womanizing came to an end when the monarch appointed Becket archbishop of Canterbury, leading to Becket’s spiritual transformation and ultimate martyrdom. Director Peter Glenville’s film is rather stagy and leisurely paced, but the Oscar-winning dialogue is uncommonly literate, and the performances are brilliant. Some crass expressions and (by today’s standards) tame sexuality. The Catholic News Service classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
Mark Roth to serve diocese as Director of Development
Dighton native to help ensure that parishes, schools build strong financial base
Liberal resident Mark Roth is the new full-time Director of Development for the Catholic Diocese of Dodge City and will begin his ministry on December 16. Previously, development activities were handled by Eric Haselhorst who will continue as the Stewardship Director for the diocese.
After a development summit held last year, attended by pastors and laity from various Catholic organizations and councils in the diocese, the recommendation to pursue a full-time development director was given. Catholic Extension Society has provided a three-year grant of more than $130,000 to help finance this new ministry position.
Pope Francis: To fight evil, Jesus uses humility and love, not armies
By CAROL GLATZ
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Jesus does not need an army to fight evil in the world; he uses the victorious weapons of love and humility, Pope Francis said.
And Christians, likewise, should be known for bringing forth the light of Christ, not darkness, to fight the world’s demons, he said Sept. 3 during his morning Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae.
The pope recommenced his early morning Masses for Vatican employees and guests Sept. 2 after a two-month-long summer hiatus.
Sept. 3 he reflected on St. Paul’s words to the Thessalonians when the apostle said, “For all of you are children of the light” and not children “of the night or of darkness.”
Church is ‘apostolic’ when it shares
Gospel with the world, Pope Francis says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The church can describe itself as “apostolic” only if it shares the Gospel with the world, remaining faithful to the teaching of the apostles and living out Gospel values, Pope Francis said.
“A church closed in on itself and its past, a church concerned only with its little rules, customs and attitudes is a church that betrays its identity,” the pope told more than 70,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square Oct. 16 for his weekly general audience.
‘We bring about the rebirth of Cain in every
act of violence and in every war’
Pope Francis leads day of prayer
for peace in Syria
By FRANCIS X. ROCCA
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Leading a crowd in prayer for peace in Syria, Pope Francis said that war is ultimately caused by selfishness, which can be overcome only though expressions of fraternity and never with violence.
“Leave behind the self-interest that hardens your heart, overcome the indifference that makes your heart insensitive towards others, conquer your deadly reasoning, and open yourself to dialogue and reconciliation,” the pope said Sept. 7 before an estimated 100,000 people in St. Peter’s Square.
The pope had called the prayer vigil less than a week earlier, as the central event of a worldwide day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria, the Middle East and the world.
The Vatican called the vigil an unprecedented papal gesture for peace, by virtue of its scale and prominence of location.
The pope’s homily, which took up about 15 minutes of the four-hour liturgy, did not refer to contemporary events but spoke in biblical terms about the nature of war, whose origins he traced to the fall of Adam and the first murder, by Cain of his brother Abel.
Answering Cain’s famous question to God -- “Am I my brother’s keeper?” -- the pope replied: “Yes, you are your brother’s keeper! To be human means to care for one another.”
Food for Thought
Hospitality has long been part of the Catholic tradition. Consider the Rule of St. Benedict, which in No. 53 tells us that “all guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me.’”
We don’t need riches or material goods to practice hospitality. It can come in gestures, in giving attention or help. Hospitality is about the relationships we build with those we come in contact with at work, in our local communities and in our parishes.
It’s an expression of the love we have received from God, the same kind of love we hope to share with others.
In the book “Radical Hospitality,” by Benedictine Father Daniel Homan and Lonni Collins Pratt, the authors say, “Hospitality is born in us when we are well loved by God and by others. Hospitality is the overflowing of a heart that has to share what it has.”
Hospitality is the answer, the authors say, to hostility, to receiving instead of judging, to opening up ourselves to others instead of closing.
They say, “Hospitality is a lively, courageous and convivial way of living that challenges our compulsion either to turn away or to turn inward and disconnect ourselves from others.”
Joy!
When I was ordained a priest, I purchased pre-printed cards to use as “Thank you” cards and notes (I’m not much of a long letter writer). I had my name printed on the cards, and simply the word “Joy!” Some people mistakenly believe that Christians are sad, even discouraged people. At times, we do fall into gloom. Yet, our Loving God brings us great joy, if we focus on Him:
“Look to Him that you may be radiant with joy.”
(Psalm 34:6)
“I find my joy in the Lord.”
(Psalm 104:34)
“I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete.”
(John 15:11)
“This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice in it and be glad.”
(Psalm 118:24)
Our theme for this year’s Stewardship Renewal is “Joyfully Receiving and Sharing.” As baptized followers of Jesus, we joyfully receive many blessings. But we don’t stop there. We then respond by joyfully sharing some of these blessings.
Why? Because we love God, our neighbor and ourselves. This issue of the SKR begins a four-part series on our Diocesan Stewardship Renewal for this year, culminating in Commitment Sunday on November 17th. Let us joyfully receive God’s gifts, and joyfully share these gifts in hospitality, prayer, formation and service. Joy!
¡Alegría!
Cuando fui ordenado sacerdote, compré tarjetas con un mensaje imprimido por adelantado para usar como tarjetas para dar “Gracias” y notas (casi no escribo cartas largas). Me nombre fue imprimido en las cartas y simplemente la palabra “¡Alegría!” Hay gente que equivocadamente cree que los cristianos están tristes, tal vez como gente desalentada. A veces, caemos en la melancolía. Aún, nuestro Dios Cariñoso nos trae la gran alegría, si nos concentramos en Él:
“Los que miran al Señor quedan radiantes de alegría.”
(Salmo 34:5)
“Me alegro en el Señor.”
(Salmo 104:34)
“Les he dicho todas estas cosas para que mi alegría esté en ustedes y su alegría sea completa.”
(Juan 15:11)
“¡Este es el día que ha hecho el Señor, gocemos y alegrémonos en él!”
(Salmo 118:24)
Nuestro tema para la Renovación de Compartir de este año es “Recibir y Compartir con Alegría.” Como seguidores bautizados de Jesús, con alegría recibimos muchas bendiciones. Pero no nos paramos allí. Entonces luego respondemos con compartir con alegría algunos de estas bendiciones. ¿Por qué? Porque amamos a Dios, al prójimo y a nosotros. Esta edición del SKR comienza una serie de cuatro partes en nuestra Renovación de Compartir para este año, que culmina el Domingo de Compromiso el 17 de noviembre. Vamos a recibir con alegría estos dones de Dios y alegremente compartir estos dones en hospitalidad, oración, formación y servicio. ¡Alegría!