Tuesday, November 11, 2003
Veteran's Day/Feast fo St. Martin of Tours
There is a very neat site dedicated to Catholics in the military...Welcome to CatholicMil.org...check it out while you offer up a prayer for those who are still in and for those. like myself (77-80 US Army) who've served in the past.
Only Catholic Church Losing Clergy
Contrary to an oft repeated mantra by certian groups with regard to the retention of Clergy in Christian Churches in the United States, the truth is that only the Catholic Church has experienced a decline.
From CNS NEWS BRIEFS Nov-10-2003:
Among major U.S. religious bodies, the Catholic Church is the only one experiencing a decreasing number of clergy, according to Purdue University sociology professor James D. Davidson. In the current U.S. discussion over whether mandatory celibacy is a significant factor in the Catholic priest shortage, some church officials have cited clergy shortages in other denominations to argue that it is the social or cultural climate of the country that inhibits vocations, not celibacy. Davidson compared 1981-2001 trends in the Catholic Church, seven large mainline Protestant churches and three more theologically conservative churches. He found that the Catholic Church experienced a 22 percent decline in clergy, while all the Protestant churches registered gains. Even seven denominations that had declining membership in those years had more clergy in 2001 than in 1981 or 1991, he found. The CARA Report, a quarterly publication of the Washington-based Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, cited Davidson's findings in its fall 2003 issue.
From CNS NEWS BRIEFS Nov-10-2003:
Among major U.S. religious bodies, the Catholic Church is the only one experiencing a decreasing number of clergy, according to Purdue University sociology professor James D. Davidson. In the current U.S. discussion over whether mandatory celibacy is a significant factor in the Catholic priest shortage, some church officials have cited clergy shortages in other denominations to argue that it is the social or cultural climate of the country that inhibits vocations, not celibacy. Davidson compared 1981-2001 trends in the Catholic Church, seven large mainline Protestant churches and three more theologically conservative churches. He found that the Catholic Church experienced a 22 percent decline in clergy, while all the Protestant churches registered gains. Even seven denominations that had declining membership in those years had more clergy in 2001 than in 1981 or 1991, he found. The CARA Report, a quarterly publication of the Washington-based Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, cited Davidson's findings in its fall 2003 issue.
Monday, November 10, 2003
Universities and the Conneticut Coast
Day 2
The second day was dominated (for me anyway) of taking care of Joseph while Amy spoke at the Catholic Congress at Sacred Heart University, in Fairfield, CT. After lugging Joseph around the previous day, I immediately went with him to a nearby mall after dropping Amy off at Sacred Heart. Luckily, I quickly found a cheap stroller and we headed back to the University where I took in a few minutes of each of the speakers who were speaking at the same time as Amy. Barbara Morgan of Stuebenville was telling the teachers that they needed to present a Catholic world view in how they taught their subjects, regardless of what the subject was...Monsignor Irwin was speaking about the liturgy and it's importance as a part of life and Amy was speaking on how to teach young people to pray and evidently since people kept saying to me "oh this must be the stroller," that entailed relating the need for help that we all have in carrying our burdens.
Joseph and I spent much of the afternoon sitting in the Pioneer's stadium watching the football team practice (mostly goof around). His comment in between sifting through peanut shells left from a previous game was that the boys were being silly. The silly Pioneeer boys lost again this past weekend, it turns out for the third straight time!
Here is an interesting tidbit about Sacred Heart's nickname:
Sacred Heart University's nickname, Pioneers, stems from its founding, in 1963, as the first Catholic university in the United States that was led and staffed by independent lay people. All five of its presidents have been laymen. The first issue of the school's yearbook, in 1967, refers to the men's basketball team as the "Pioneers". This name was subsequently adopted as the name for all of our athletics teams.
We met the wife of the President at lunch.
At the end of the day we traveled along the Conneticut coast. A beautiful drive, up toward Guilford, CT. I had been to Guilford two other times in my life, both times to visit a friend who was assigned in a parish there. We had a nice meal at the Guiford Mooring, where the chilled air smelled of seaweed and lobster traps were piled high in the air.
On the way home we drove through New Haven and the Yale University campus.
The second day was dominated (for me anyway) of taking care of Joseph while Amy spoke at the Catholic Congress at Sacred Heart University, in Fairfield, CT. After lugging Joseph around the previous day, I immediately went with him to a nearby mall after dropping Amy off at Sacred Heart. Luckily, I quickly found a cheap stroller and we headed back to the University where I took in a few minutes of each of the speakers who were speaking at the same time as Amy. Barbara Morgan of Stuebenville was telling the teachers that they needed to present a Catholic world view in how they taught their subjects, regardless of what the subject was...Monsignor Irwin was speaking about the liturgy and it's importance as a part of life and Amy was speaking on how to teach young people to pray and evidently since people kept saying to me "oh this must be the stroller," that entailed relating the need for help that we all have in carrying our burdens.
Joseph and I spent much of the afternoon sitting in the Pioneer's stadium watching the football team practice (mostly goof around). His comment in between sifting through peanut shells left from a previous game was that the boys were being silly. The silly Pioneeer boys lost again this past weekend, it turns out for the third straight time!
Here is an interesting tidbit about Sacred Heart's nickname:
Sacred Heart University's nickname, Pioneers, stems from its founding, in 1963, as the first Catholic university in the United States that was led and staffed by independent lay people. All five of its presidents have been laymen. The first issue of the school's yearbook, in 1967, refers to the men's basketball team as the "Pioneers". This name was subsequently adopted as the name for all of our athletics teams.
We met the wife of the President at lunch.
At the end of the day we traveled along the Conneticut coast. A beautiful drive, up toward Guilford, CT. I had been to Guilford two other times in my life, both times to visit a friend who was assigned in a parish there. We had a nice meal at the Guiford Mooring, where the chilled air smelled of seaweed and lobster traps were piled high in the air.
On the way home we drove through New Haven and the Yale University campus.
New York and Conneticut
Day 1
After a flight to Chicago and then to Westchester County we picked up the rental car and proceeded to Manhattan. Flying into White Plains I was amazed at how sparsely populated the area is just a half hour from one of the largest cities in the world. The Westchester County airport had two gates, making it one of the smallest airports I have ever flown into.
After picking up tickets and dropping off books to a generous benefactor who had contacted Amy we headed to the Mother Cabrini Shrine in upper Manhattan. Here is the final resting place of Saint Mother Cabrini, her body lies in state under the main altar. The walls in the sanctuary contain mosaics of her life, from her commission by the Pope to "go west", to illustrations of her many charitable works. I met with several workers at the shrine to discuss the inclusion of the shrine in a new book that will come out next year entitled The Church's Most Powerful Novenas--a complete revision of the (Mention Your Request) book that will be done more like a prayer book. One of the workers gave me a second class relic--they were all very cooperative!
While we were there one of the Shrine directors was giving a presentation to a group of students visiting the shrine. I only caught part, but it was fascinating to hear--like a scene out of an episode of CSI the details of Mother Cabrini's remains when her tomb was openned some twelve years after her death. All done with a thick New York accent!!
We had lunch at a little New York diner, where Joseph gobbled down his grilled cheese (when promised that he would receive a cookie from a nearby bakery).
When we returned to where I had parked, we found another car had double parked next to us--blocking us in. The driver was in the car though, so it didn't seem like it would be a problem--until the driver found they couldn't start their car. Another driver, also double parked got out and tried to help the driver of the car that wouldn't start by banging the battery cables. Finally the second driver moved his car and I was able snake my way out. I found evey New Yorker I encountered on this trip to be incredibly friendly--are the days of the rude New Yorker a distant memory now or did we just luck out?
Next we went to the Cloisters, where there was plenty of parking. By now it was raining a cold damp drizzle. Taking turns lugging Joseph around and trying to keep him entertained in a beautiful peaceful setting is no small chore. He did take a fancy to a small bird (fake) in a cage that hung from the ceiling in one of the rooms. And he was able to identify figures of Mary, Jesus on the cross and "nummy" referring to an exposed woman's breast whenever he would spot one.
Which brings to mind one image (that I believe was there), of Mary interceding with her Son who was inteceding with the Father for a group of petitioners who were at the bottom of the painting. In the image the people small stand pleading under an image of Mary who appears larger than life, who holds one of her breast out toward Christ saying (portrayed by words flowing from her to Christ) something to the effect "for the sake of the milk that I nurished you with" hear these people's prayers. Jesus then has one hand opening the wound on his side as he looks to the Father in Heaven and says (agains symbolized by words flowing upward) something to the effect "for the sake of the suffering I endured for your glory". I found the whole image an incredible lesson in the nature of sacrifice as essentially a "giving" of oneself for others and how intricate this is to true prayer. Thanks to Joseph who pointed it out to me as another "nummy" image...thanks to the giving of his mother for planting that thought in his mind.
Next, since it was already rush hour and any attempt on fleeing New York would have been in vain. We just bit the bullet and drove right through Manhattan. Down Broadway, up Fifth Avenue, past Rockfeller Center, through Times Square, past Ground Zero, through the Brooklyn Tunnel and then north on I-278 where crawling in traffic we spyed the New York skyline at night to the music of Joseph whining, crying and shouting that he wanted something. We tried to convince him to take his neglected nap and that when he awoke he would indeed get something, but to no avail. Meanwhile Amy tried to read a map but like me found that her reading without the aid of some magnification is failing. When I looked at the map several times when the traffic was at a complete stop, I found that while I could make out roads the numbers were totally illegible. But we made it finally out of Gotham and into the more placid region of Conneticut.
After a flight to Chicago and then to Westchester County we picked up the rental car and proceeded to Manhattan. Flying into White Plains I was amazed at how sparsely populated the area is just a half hour from one of the largest cities in the world. The Westchester County airport had two gates, making it one of the smallest airports I have ever flown into.
After picking up tickets and dropping off books to a generous benefactor who had contacted Amy we headed to the Mother Cabrini Shrine in upper Manhattan. Here is the final resting place of Saint Mother Cabrini, her body lies in state under the main altar. The walls in the sanctuary contain mosaics of her life, from her commission by the Pope to "go west", to illustrations of her many charitable works. I met with several workers at the shrine to discuss the inclusion of the shrine in a new book that will come out next year entitled The Church's Most Powerful Novenas--a complete revision of the (Mention Your Request) book that will be done more like a prayer book. One of the workers gave me a second class relic--they were all very cooperative!
While we were there one of the Shrine directors was giving a presentation to a group of students visiting the shrine. I only caught part, but it was fascinating to hear--like a scene out of an episode of CSI the details of Mother Cabrini's remains when her tomb was openned some twelve years after her death. All done with a thick New York accent!!
We had lunch at a little New York diner, where Joseph gobbled down his grilled cheese (when promised that he would receive a cookie from a nearby bakery).
When we returned to where I had parked, we found another car had double parked next to us--blocking us in. The driver was in the car though, so it didn't seem like it would be a problem--until the driver found they couldn't start their car. Another driver, also double parked got out and tried to help the driver of the car that wouldn't start by banging the battery cables. Finally the second driver moved his car and I was able snake my way out. I found evey New Yorker I encountered on this trip to be incredibly friendly--are the days of the rude New Yorker a distant memory now or did we just luck out?
Next we went to the Cloisters, where there was plenty of parking. By now it was raining a cold damp drizzle. Taking turns lugging Joseph around and trying to keep him entertained in a beautiful peaceful setting is no small chore. He did take a fancy to a small bird (fake) in a cage that hung from the ceiling in one of the rooms. And he was able to identify figures of Mary, Jesus on the cross and "nummy" referring to an exposed woman's breast whenever he would spot one.
Which brings to mind one image (that I believe was there), of Mary interceding with her Son who was inteceding with the Father for a group of petitioners who were at the bottom of the painting. In the image the people small stand pleading under an image of Mary who appears larger than life, who holds one of her breast out toward Christ saying (portrayed by words flowing from her to Christ) something to the effect "for the sake of the milk that I nurished you with" hear these people's prayers. Jesus then has one hand opening the wound on his side as he looks to the Father in Heaven and says (agains symbolized by words flowing upward) something to the effect "for the sake of the suffering I endured for your glory". I found the whole image an incredible lesson in the nature of sacrifice as essentially a "giving" of oneself for others and how intricate this is to true prayer. Thanks to Joseph who pointed it out to me as another "nummy" image...thanks to the giving of his mother for planting that thought in his mind.
Next, since it was already rush hour and any attempt on fleeing New York would have been in vain. We just bit the bullet and drove right through Manhattan. Down Broadway, up Fifth Avenue, past Rockfeller Center, through Times Square, past Ground Zero, through the Brooklyn Tunnel and then north on I-278 where crawling in traffic we spyed the New York skyline at night to the music of Joseph whining, crying and shouting that he wanted something. We tried to convince him to take his neglected nap and that when he awoke he would indeed get something, but to no avail. Meanwhile Amy tried to read a map but like me found that her reading without the aid of some magnification is failing. When I looked at the map several times when the traffic was at a complete stop, I found that while I could make out roads the numbers were totally illegible. But we made it finally out of Gotham and into the more placid region of Conneticut.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation
Official site for the cause of canonization... at Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation
My attempt to pray at the tomb of Archbishop Sheen on Saturday was turned out to be a futile attempt. Not sure why the crypt is so out of reach there...
My attempt to pray at the tomb of Archbishop Sheen on Saturday was turned out to be a futile attempt. Not sure why the crypt is so out of reach there...
Friday, November 7, 2003
Trip Update
This will be short and to the point. We had a pleasant flight yesterday into New York,spent lunch time at the Shrine of Mother Cabrini in the City, ate at a nearby deli. Took in the Cloisters, also nearby..all very nice. We then drove through Manhattan, smack in the middle of Times Square, down past the pit where the World Trade Centers once were and through the tunnel into Brooklyn. Then a long rush hour drive, back to Conneticut, where we are right now.
Wednesday, November 5, 2003
President Signs Partial-Birth Ban
From My Way News:
"'For years, a terrible form of violence has been directed against children who are inches from birth while the law looked the other way,' Bush said as he signed the ban on a procedure called partial-birth abortion by its critics.
The White House staged the ceremony, before about 400 lawmakers and abortion opponents, at a federal building named for former President Ronald Reagan, a strong supporter of anti-abortion groups. 'Today at last the American people and our government have confronted the violence and come to the defense of the innocent child,' he said."
"'For years, a terrible form of violence has been directed against children who are inches from birth while the law looked the other way,' Bush said as he signed the ban on a procedure called partial-birth abortion by its critics.
The White House staged the ceremony, before about 400 lawmakers and abortion opponents, at a federal building named for former President Ronald Reagan, a strong supporter of anti-abortion groups. 'Today at last the American people and our government have confronted the violence and come to the defense of the innocent child,' he said."
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