Father Benedict Still Not Out of the Woods

From Father Glenn:



I was hoping to report that today was uneventful; it was not. This morning at approximately 10:20, Father's blood pressure unexpectedly began to drop together with his pulse rate which suddenly went flat. Of course, this unexpected turn of events put the trauma team into high gear. After five or so minutes, the pulse rate once again peaked and the blood pressure slowly rose and stabilized. The storm was sudden and strong, but thank God, it ended and Father was back safe and sound.



I was not able to receive much information other than Father did not sustain a heart attack and there was no neurological or brain damage. When the friars were finally allowed to enter Father's room they said he looked "awake and alert". I have not been able to get any clear word as to why this happened, but I was told by a doctor here in New York that this can happen if a person is on a respirator for a long time. In the process of trying to wean the patient off, there can be some inability to get enough oxygen to the lungs and into the blood. However, this is the opinion of a physician who is following Father Benedict's progress from afar.



This morning's scare was sobering indeed. The tightrope is very narrow and Father's steps are feeble. So, once again, and with full voice we cry out: "Lord, have mercy!" In the liturgy of the Eastern Church we hear this invocation repeated over and over again. The ancient Egyptian monks were said to hurl very short prayers to God like javelins. "Lord, have mercy" is a simple, yet powerful prayer so straight and strong! Remember, our prayer need not be long, but it should be deep; meaning, it should come from our very depths. The more the bow is bent, the further the arrow flies. So, go down deep and let your prayer fly like an arrow aimed towards the heavens at the very heart of God.

Wise Advice from a Early Church Father

From the Praktikos:



"Our holy teacher, who was very experienced in the ascetical life (praktikotatos), said, ?The person ought always to be ready as if he were to die tomorrow, but at the same time he should use his body as if he were going to live with it for many years to come. The first [approach] cuts back the thoughts of acedia and makes the person more zealous, while the second preserves the body and keeps its self-control balanced.?" Evagrius #29

Had to Remove the Map

Was messing up my page.

Tales of a Football Recruit

Private jet, limo, nice hotel room, $500 dinner tab... what a joke the NCAA is! Read Willie Williams ongoing accounts of recruiting visits to top colleges around the country.



From Herald.com - Your Miami Everything Guide:



"Willie Williams' weekend visit to Florida State felt like a scene from Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.



From a ride on a private jet to chowing down hundreds of dollars worth of steaks and lobster tails at Tallahassee's most elegant restaurant The Silver Slipper, Williams ate up the royal treatment.



Williams enjoyed it so much that he says FSU has moved back into a tie with the University of Miami in the battle for his services.



''After this visit, it's 0-0 again,'' said Williams, who will also visit Auburn and Florida. "

An Excerpt From "Walking through the Ruins of Catholicism"

Taming the Wild



Solanus had also been cultivating a patch of wild strawberries which he told the friars he was "taming."

Father Solanus: The Story of Solnus Casey O.F.M. Cap. p.174



I had been making my lunch time pilgrimage for several months when I read a chapter from Cathy Odell's book on Solanus' time in Huntington. I had literally walked the fields and woods throughout but had never come across any wild strawberries. They must have perished when some of the land was plowed, I figured.



It was a beautiful sunlit day, not a cloud in the sky and very low humidity. I started out walking the perimeter of the property, as was my usual route, and began to pray the rosary. Normally this meant finishing the joyful mysteries by the time I reached the far forest where an Eagle Scout had cleared a trail through the woods. There I would begin the sorrowful mysteries reaching the Capuchin graveyard about the time I reached the third sorrowful mystery (the Crowing with Thorns) where I would prostrate in the direction of the simple wooden cross at the head of the graveyard and pray the prayer of St. Francis, "We adore thee O Christ and we praise Thee because by thy holy cross Thou hast redeemed the world." Then I would pray the third sorrowful mystery on my knees for the Friars and others buried there, at the same time asking for their intercession for my many needs.



Then I would retrace my steps backward in a slightly different path along the woods rather than through them. At about the same spot where I had discovered an apple tree left over from the orchard that Solanus had blessed, I looked down and spotted something red blooming. At first I thought they were small red flowers that had some how resisted the mowing the lawn had received recently. But on closer inspection I found wild strawberries almost ready to be harvested.



I thought of the irony of my discovery on the very day that I had first read about Solanus' "taming" of wild strawberries, then I thought of the whole aspect of "taming" the wild.



Looking over the property of what had once been a flourishing center of Catholic spirituality, I could not help but be struck by the apparent failure. What had been tamed here and once again become wild.



It struck me as an apt symbol for the state of Catholicism in the United States at the beginning of the Twenty-first century. The in-roads that the Church had made in converting and bringing Catholic Christianity to this country seemed to have reverted back to its wild state. Those who call themselves Catholic pick and choose what they believe and how they practice their faith. In many ways they mirror the environment they live in with very little to distinguish them from their non-Catholic neighbors.



Of course it also struck me that I suffered from this as much as anyone.



Picking up the wild strawberry, I saw how immature it was. No doubt Solanus' taming of the "wild" strawberries had resulted in them growing into substantial fruit that was enjoyed by the Huntington Capuchins. Now without that taming, the wild strawberry had once again returned to a small pitiful caricature of what it might have been.



Sadly this is what we also have become. Our influence in our culture is weak and we risk giving scandal to those who look to us as representatives of all that is Catholic. We are "wild" Cathlolics, in great need of being tamed by Our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me."

This is this year's Lenten theme! Now, I think (in other words, I'm guessing), that the message that John Paul will release tomorrow will revolve around charitable works that are designed to help children in impoverished parts of the world. But if there is no mention of the scandals that have rocked the Church in Ireland, Austrailia, Austria and the United States--there will be something that is really out of touch with the theme.

Our Servant of God Needs a Miracle More!

Father Stan Fortuna, C.F.R. told me an amusing story yesterday about the battle of relics that is taking place at Father Benedict Groeschel's bedside. If you have been following the updates, you'll know that one of the first groups to respond with the offer of sending relics were Mother Teresa's sisters who had relics of Mother Teresa sent to Father's bedside.



Father Stan told me that another group from Turkey called the friars and argued that their "Servant of God" needed a miracle more than Mother Teresa and that her relics should be removed from Father's bedside and the "Servant of God's" should be placed there instead.



Meanwhile, Father Benedict seems to be recovering nicely, thanks to all of those who are praying and to the presence of the saints--both those declared "Blessed" and those who await that miracle.