Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Rev. Robert Drinan Dies

Roman Catholic priest elected as voting member of Congress dead . Amy and I were talking about him yesterday and then last night I heard that he had died.

One cannot understand the Democrat Catholics who hold views contrary to the what the Church teaches without understanding that behind everyone of them stands a priest. Fr. Drinan is a great example of that--the Paulist Center in Boston is another example when it comes to John Kerry. It is for that reason that I think that if the U.S. Bishops want to get a handle on Catholic politicians they will have to first get a handle on priests. As an old Latin sayings says, I give you the English equivalent, "Every heresy comes from the altar."

There isn't a good faithful priest out there who doesn't have to spend a good deal of his time undoing the damage done by those who are less sure about their Catholic identity.

Pray for all of them.

Update: Funeral details:

At Georgetown University:

Wake: Wednesday, January 31, 2-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Wolfington Hall Jesuit Residence Funeral Mass: Thursday, February 1, 9 a.m. St. Aloysius Church, 19 Eye Street, NW

In Boston:

Wake: Friday, February 2, 7-9 p.m. St. Mary’s Hall, Boston College -- Lying in State: Saturday, February 3, 9-11 a.m. St. Ignatius Church, Chestnut Hill, MA -- Funeral Mass: Saturday, February 3, 12 p.m. St. Ignatius Church, Chestnut Hill, MA (followed by burial at Campion Center, Weston, MA)

New Bishop for Youngstown

Who happens to be the current bishop of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands...mmm Northern Ohio from the VI, not sure this is a promotion.

Pope Benedict XVI appoints Bishop George V. Murry, S.J. as Bishop of the Diocese of Youngstown

Please Remember in Your Prayers

Gaurav Shroff's father Economist Manu Shroff passes away

And my godfather Clarence Grover

#1 Catholic Bestseller on Amazon

Thanks to the readers of Amy's blog and this one.

The Gift of Faith

Ranked 454 out of the millions of books that Amazon sells! You have displaced Gary Wills' What Paul Really Meant as the #1 Catholic title....a real service to those who don't know much and will now encounter a very solid and life changing book, rather than an opinionated version of what St. Paul would have meant if he were Gary Wills.

Monday, January 29, 2007

One of the Best Books on the Spiritual Life

I've ever read...

(Michael Dubruiel - 2007)


I have a M.A. in Christian Spirituality and have read a ton of books on the spiritual life, but I would have to say that The Gift of Faith by Father Tadeusz Dajczer is in a class all by itself.

I only came to know of this book a week ago, when I met the founders of In the Arms of Mary Foundation when I was attending the Catholic Marketing Network trade show in Birmingham, AL. Lisa Hendey has interviewed the organization for more about them.

Now, what I came to know about the organization is that they read The Gift of Faith by Father Tadeusz Dajczer and it changed their life. As a result they began translating his book and those by a disciple of Father Dajczer's S.C. Biela (See God Alone Suffices as an example).

What will you find in Father Dajczer's book a revolutionary way of looking at your spiritual life. If you feel stuck, or like you are just aimlessly moving about in your relationship with God, you need this book!

Interestingly it was a meeting with St. Padre Pio that changed Fr. Dajczer's life and outlook and one of the interesting anecdotes in the book is about a scientist who presented Padre Pio with his opus vitae, his life's work--two volumes that he wrote over his lifetime and wanted Padre Pio to bless. Padre Pio's reaction to this is worth the price of the book alone.

It was providential that this book fell into my hands at this time when Father Benedict Groeschel and I are working on a Q and A book on the spiritual life that will come out this Fall--and also while I'm working on a "pocket guide" to Confession. Fr. Dajczer points out there are two ways to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance--in an egocentric way or a theocentric way. The egocentric way of course focuses on oneself--we go to confession in order to feel better about ourselves, its all about us (of course the antithesis of the spiritual life, where we are to die to ourselves in order to live for Christ), the "theocentric" way is to be focused on Christ--what have our sins done to Christ? Are we sorry that we have betrayed him, broken our relationship with Him? Is that the goal to once again mend the broken relationship with Christ and His Body the Church?

I confess that I recognize that my own celebration of the sacrament has been more "egocentric" than God centered and of course that is a huge problem if one is seeking spiritual growth--to come closer to God.

Fr. Dajczer points out that the egocentric model in the Scriptures is Judas--who expresses sorrow for his betrayal of Christ, returns the thirty pieces of silver to the Priests, then "repents onto himself"--not to God or Christ--this is suicidal--we can not save ourselves! Peter who also betrays Christ, denying him three times--comes to Christ and expresses his love for Christ, "Lord, you know that I love you."

Check this book out for a real life changing book!


Please pray for my Godfather

...who died this morning after 94 years. He would have been 95 if he had lived one more month.

Who Could be New York's Next Archbishop?

Cardinal Egan retires on April 2nd.

From the New York Magazine:

1. Edwin O’Brien, 67Archbishop of the Military Services of the United States O’Brien was passed over in 2000 in favor of Egan, but his name frequently surfaces as a possible successor. A native New Yorker, he is now head of the military vicariate, the nonterritorial archdiocese that serves the spiritual needs of Catholic U.S. service personnel stationed around the world. While not an over-the-top presence, O’Brien has extensive seminary experience and powerful connections in Rome.

2. Timothy Dolan, 56Archbishop of Milwaukee Dolan is a mediagenic defender of orthodoxy who tows the Vatican line but doesn’t come off as stern. He’s long been considered a favorite for New York, owing to his Irish heritage and his experience as head of the Pontifical North American College in Rome. With connections to powerful prelates from the Tiber to the Hudson, Dolan is a something of an Establishment candidate.

3. Gerald Walsh, 64, and Dennis Sullivan, 61 New York auxiliary bishops The clubhouse favorites among local priests. Both are New Yorkers from Irish working-class stock and have done their time in the vineyard of parish work rather than the libraries of Rome. Walsh, the son of Irish immigrants, served for many years in the same Washington Heights parish where he grew up. Sullivan, the Bronx-born son of a cabdriver, toiled in the Bronx and Lower East Side. He knows how to lead a flock and manage a big operation; he oversaw the parish-reorganization effort for Egan. Both are considered long shots—auxiliary bishops are rarely promoted to cardinals in the same city.

4. Henry Mansell, 69Archbishop of Hartford The former auxiliary to O’Connor was reportedly on the terna last time around, while he was bishop of Buffalo, but instead was sent to Hartford in 2003. A New Yorker by birth, Mansell is popular with the clergy and is seen as a safe choice.

5. Roberto Octavio González Nieves, 56Archbishop of San Juan, Puerto Rico While the Catholic hierarchy is sorely in need of Latinos to minister to a flock that’s becoming steadily more Spanish-speaking, González—a New Jersey native—may also be tapped for the Southwest, where the need is greater. What’s more, Catholic power and money in New York still derive from the Church’s Irish roots; in 200 years, New York Catholics have had only one leader who was not of Irish stock, an ill-fated Frenchman in the early nineteenth century.