Notre Dame Students Object to Obama Law Honors

Campus Divided Over Catholic Character Question

SOUTH BEND, Indiana, MARCH 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- A coalition of student organizations at the University of Notre Dame are joining forces to protest President Barack Obama's invitation to speak at their graduation ceremony.

A statement released today by the coalition reported the "deepest opposition" of the students to the announcement made Friday by Notre Dame's president that the U.S. president will give this year's commencement speech and will receive an honorary law degree at the university's graduation.

Senior Emily Toates of Notre Dame Right to Life affirmed: "This is not a partisan issue; rather, it's an issue of respect for human life, and our Catholic character.

"We want to emphasize that we are not attacking the office of the president, but taking issue with his moral stances. I think the statement makes it clear that the student body of Notre Dame is not unequivocally in favor of this decision."

The statement noted the objection to President Obama's "hostility to the Catholic Church's teachings on the sanctity of human life at its earliest stages."

It added, "His recent dedication of federal funds to overseas abortions and to embryonic stem cell research will directly result in the deaths of thousands of innocent human beings."

The students stated, "We cannot sit by idly while the university honors someone who believes that an entire class of human beings is undeserving of the most basic of all legal rights, the right to live."

Citing the U.S. bishops' conference, they noted that Catholic institutions should not give "awards, honors or platforms" to those "who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles."

Law and justice

The statement, signed by several law school student groups, noted the "great irony" that the university is awarding President Obama an honorary law degree.

It explained: "The Notre Dame law school states that its mission is 'to facilitate greater understanding of and commitment to the relationship between law and social justice.' The social justice issue of our day is the deliberate, legal attack on the most vulnerable members of society, the unborn.

"To award a Notre Dame law degree to a lawyer and politician who has used the law to deny equality to the unborn diminishes the value of the degree itself."

Moral dilemna

The students asserted that the university's president, Father John Jenkins, "has placed some of his students in a moral dilemma as to whether they should attend their own graduation."

"Many pro-life seniors," they continue, "along with their families, are conflicted about whether to participate in the commencement ceremony."

The student groups affirmed, "In response to the university's decision, we pledge ourselves to acts of witness that will be characterized by respect, prayerfulness, outspoken fidelity to the Church, and true concern for the good of our university."

The groups committed to host academic and religious events in order to engage the university community.

The coalition is comprised of students from Notre Dame Right to Life, The Irish Rover Student Newspaper, Notre Dame College Republicans, The University of Notre Dame Anscombe Society, Notre Dame Identity Project, Militia of the Immaculata, Children of Mary, Orestes Brownson Council, Notre Dame Law School Right to Life, Notre Dame Law St Thomas More Society, and The Federalist Society at Notre Dame Law School.

Bishop D'Arcy to Skip Notre Dame Graduation

Cites University's Preference for Prestige Over Truth

SOUTH BEND, Indiana, MARCH 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- For the first time in 25 years, the bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend will not attend the University of Notre Dame's graduation ceremony.

In a statement released today on the diocese's Web site, Bishop John D'Arcy revealed his decision to not attend this year's commencement, at which President Barack Obama will speak and receive an honorary degree.

He said his move isn't an attack on anyone, but rather a gesture done in defense of the truth of human life.

Father John Jenkins, the president of Notre Dame, informed the bishop Friday that Obama had accepted an invitation to speak at the university's spring commencement. Bishop D'Arcy noted that this was the first he had heard that such an invitation had been extended.

"President Obama," he said, "has recently reaffirmed, and has now placed in public policy, his long-stated unwillingness to hold human life as sacred. While claiming to separate politics from science, he has in fact separated science from ethics and has brought the American government, for the first time in history, into supporting direct destruction of innocent human life."

Bishop D'Arcy noted that he made his decision "after much prayer," and that he wishes "no disrespect to our president."

"I have always revered the office of the presidency," he said. "But a bishop must teach the Catholic faith 'in season and out of season,' and he teaches not only by his words -- but by his actions."

"My decision is not an attack on anyone, but is in defense of the truth about human life," he added.

Quoting a 2004 statement of the U.S. bishops, Bishop D'Arcy said, "The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."

"Indeed, the measure of any Catholic institution is not only what it stands for, but also what it will not stand for," the bishop noted.

Honor for Glendon

Bishop D'Arcy noted that Notre Dame will also honor Mary Ann Glendon, former U.S. ambassador to the Holy, at this year's graduation ceremony. She will be presented with the university's Laetare Medal.

The medal has been awarded annually since 1883 to a Catholic "whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the church and enriched the heritage of humanity."

The bishop said he has spoken with Glendon, and he encouraged her to accept the award, "and take the opportunity such an award gives her to teach."

"Even as I continue to ponder in prayer these events, which many have found shocking, so must Notre Dame," concluded Bishop D'Arcy. "Indeed, as a Catholic university, Notre Dame must ask itself, if by this decision it has chosen prestige over truth.

"Tomorrow, we celebrate as Catholics the moment when our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, became a child in the womb of his most holy mother. Let us ask Our Lady to intercede for the university named in her honor, that it may recommit itself to the primacy of truth over prestige."

Pope: Condoms vs. Abstinence

This was so simple and pure that I copied it from Bill Murphy's blog, which I maintain. Bill writes from Reading, England on Culture and Catholicism. A brilliant layman and a great writer. His blog is VIEW FROM THE TOWER OF LONDON. Here's his latest post:
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Dear Stan,

At least one commentator (Peter Hitchens, as ever) was willing to back the Pope. And incidentally willing to point out that conventional wisdom (i.e. 90% of both politicians' words and media output) is pure drivel.

* Conventional wisdom says the Pope is stupid and wrong to say fidelity and abstinence are better than condoms at guarding Africans from AIDS.

Conventional wisdom, as usual, is talking out of its backside. What the Pope says matters only if anyone listens to him. If nobody does, his opposition to condoms won’t stop anyone using them and will make no difference. If lots of people listen to him, his support for marital fidelity will persuade many people to follow this path, and so save untold lives.

The experience of such countries as Uganda suggests very strongly that he is right when he says this, and that fidelity is a far better protection than a rubber sheath. The only real hope is a change in sexual habits.

I am not a Roman Catholic, but I am weary of the concerted smearing and misrepresentation which the Pontiff constantly faces.

Cardinal George's Message for Obama

Cardinal Denounces Obama's Stem Cell Ban Reversal

ZENIT - March 10, 2009

Calls It a Victory of Politics Over Science

WASHINGTON, D.C., MARCH 9, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The U.S. bishops' conference pro-life committee chairman is denouncing President Barack Obama's executive order that will allow federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

Cardinal Justin Rigali issued a response to the U.S. president's order today that will allow federal tax dollars to be used to fund scientists in the destruction of live human embryos to develop stem cells for research.

The cardinal said: "President Obama's new executive order on embryonic stem cell research is a sad victory of politics over science and ethics.

"This action is morally wrong because it encourages the destruction of innocent human life, treating vulnerable human beings as mere products to be harvested.

"It also disregards the values of millions of American taxpayers who oppose research that requires taking human life. Finally, it ignores the fact that ethically sound means for advancing stem cell science and medical treatments are readily available and in need of increased support."

The cardinal also cited a letter written Jan. 16 by Cardinal Francis George, president of the bishops' conference, to Obama, urging him not to allow funding for this research. Cardinal George stated three reasons why this research is "especially pointless at this time."

"First," he wrote, "basic research in the capabilities of embryonic stem cells can be and is being pursued using the currently eligible cell lines as well as the hundreds of lines produced with nonfederal funds since 2001."

He continued: "Second, recent startling advances in reprogramming adult cells into embryonic-like stem cells -- hailed by the journal 'Science' as the scientific breakthrough of the year -- are said by many scientists to be making embryonic stem cells irrelevant to medical progress.

"Third, adult and cord blood stem cells are now known to have great versatility, and are increasingly being used to reverse serious illnesses and even help rebuild damaged organs.

"To divert scarce funds away from these promising avenues for research and treatment toward the avenue that is most morally controversial as well as most medically speculative would be a sad victory of politics over science."

President Obama's action reverses the ban on federal funding for this type of research enacted by former president George W. Bush, who limited the use of taxpayer money to the 21 stem cell lines already developed before his order.

Cardinal George stated, "If the government wants to invest in hope for cures and promote ethically sound science, it should use our tax monies for research that everyone, at every stage of human development, can live with."

This Is Not the Legion of Anybody Except of Christ

Dear Family:

This post is really a about Fr. Groeschel, not the Legionairs of Christ...thus I lead with a picture of the good friar.

Perhaps some of you have heard of the recent scandal in a religious order prominent in many countries and here in the U.S. --- The Legionaries of Christ. I considered joining their lay order order called Regnum Christi (the Regimen of Christ). A few of my very close and devout Christian friends are members of this order. They have schools and ministries all over the world. I've been to meetings and confession here in Detroit, and once a business friend and I attended a silent National Men's Retreat in Thornwood, New York, at the Legionaries U.S. seminary.

The scandal involves the revelation (hidden by many for years, unfortunately) that the Legionaries' Mexican founder Father Marcial Maciel, LC, who died last year, and which many had come to revere as a devout priest and religious writer, including John Paul II, carried on a double life. While head of the order and demanding many strict rules of those under him, he spent without much restraint, carried on with a mistress, and even fathered a child who is now in her 30s. This was "slowly" revealed over the past year since he died, and has been a great shock to the order of many, many priests, and lay men and women (some whom I know).

A natural outgrowth of these revelations has been a call by some Catholics for the order to disband, although its devotional focus and ministry rivals many in turning people to Christ. It has no shortage of young men who want to be priests through it's seminaries, or men and women who work tireless for many great causes through it's ranks.

What to do?

There is a great priest, a Franciscan friar, actually, from New York named Benedict Groeschel. He's an elderly psychologist who works among the poorest of the poor in New York boroughs. Fr. Groeschel travels and speaks widely, has a regular show on EWTN, and has been a prolific author. He is a master at verbal communication, and is worth going out of your way to hear. He sustained a near-death car accident in Florida a few years ago. I've met him several times, he's prayed over me, and one of Nineveh's Crossing's most popular DVDs, Fishers of Men, was produced by one of his ministries, Grassroots Films.

The other day, at the Thornwood, NY seminary, Fr. Groeschel gave a talk, in part about the scandal that is rocking the Legionaries order. Fr. Groeschel is the founder of a different order named Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. His insights and humor never fail to inspire. And while his thoughts at the time of the talk were in part about the suffering which the Legion is experiencing, they are also applicable to all of us in the midst of any struggle, economic, personal, or spiritual. So, I am posting them below... from ZENIT.

Before that post, a side note about the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. I've had the privilege of meeting a number of these friars over the years at retreats and at dinners. They're distinctive in their habits. Some think these guys and gals should dress better, and one Catholic lay leader expressed his discontent to me privately about their lack of dignity in how they dressed. But what that gentleman may not have understood is that the friars work among the poorest of the poor and the extremely down trodden, and so they dress the part. They also have no trouble attracting young men and women to join them...a good indication that Christ is among their midst. The picture is from a retreat in 2005 in New York.

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Father Groeschel to the Legion of Christ

"This Is Not the Legion of Anybody Except of Christ"

THORNWOOD, New York, MARCH 2, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the text of a homily given Feb. 20 by Father Benedict Groeschel, one of the founders of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, when he concelebrated Mass at the formation center of the Legionaries of Christ in Thornwood.

Father Groeschel hosts Sunday Night Live with Father Benedict Groeschel on EWTN, directs the Office for Spiritual Development for the Catholic Archdiocese of New York, and teaches pastoral psychology at St. Joseph's Seminary in New York and at the Institute for Psychological Sciences in Arlington, Virginia.

* * *

Well, brothers and sisters, I'm delighted to be here and grateful to God that I can talk, because I came down with laryngitis yesterday. And I wanted to be with the members of the Legionaries and of Regnum Christi in a time that obviously is one of great suffering, of pain, but also of promise.

It happened just by an unusual circumstance that this little book of mine, "The Tears of God," arrived yesterday. I wrote it and sent it to the publisher a year ago. The name of the book is "The Tears of God: Persevering in the Face of Great Sorrow and Catastrophe." And so I brought several copies with me. It's hardly a book; it's a long essay with prayers, but I hope that it will be helpful to you all.

And first of all, let me say that the Legionaries have many friends, and I've been on the phone with a number of members of Regnum Christi who are friends and associates of mine, especially through the Institute for the Psychological Sciences, which I am a faculty member of. And I'm so delighted to know that the spirit of the Lord is with you in this time of suffering and that people are holding on.

Now: "You all need reform!" We ALL need reform! When do we need it? Every single day, no matter what goes on. Send anybody around to me who says, "They need reform!" and I'll tell them, "Wake up, smarty!" Our Divine Savior says, "The time has come, and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news." And that is something that must go on every single day.

When I was a young fellow, fourteen years old, I saw a book: "The Confessions of St Augustine." And I started to read it. The only translations were old Anglican translations in very stilted language: Dr. Pusey's translations. And it intrigued me. (I skipped over the parts about the Manicheans.) But the whole story of St Augustine, not only his conversion, but also his great belief on every page that God, that Christ, called to him no matter what was happening, even before his conversion. He wrote, "You called me with an unheard voice, and you pushed me on with a hidden goad."

Right in the first paragraph, there is a sentence. It almost knocked me on the ground when I read it: "You have made us for yourself, oh God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you." And down through the ages, the spirit of St. Augustine has guided religious orders in the West over and over again (St. Benedict, St. Francis, St. Dominic, many, many others... St. Ignatius). And on into modern times. "You have made us for yourself, oh God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you."

And in St. Augustine, you read a great deal about human weakness, about how much we need every day to be converted. You'll never read in St .Augustine: "We've arrived." Absolutely not.

And at times, in individual lives, and sometimes in corporate lives, events occur which are difficult for us to comprehend, to get our arms around. And often, not always, but often, the answer is a personal, individual call to repentance on our part, on OUR part. And the willingness to go on.

The friars, work with the poorest section of society, and we get along very well with humble people. Right during the priests' scandal, this great scandal four years ago, two of our brothers are walking down Broadway. It's a little hard to miss us, you know. (At least we LOOK religious; I wish we WERE that religious.) And this truck driver with a leather jacket and a handful of keys walked by the two brothers. He turned around and he says, "Hey brothers, don't let the turkeys get you down."

It's a great motto. Now, it's not elegant, and those of you who speak English in a second language: get someone to explain to you why they call them turkeys. (How do you say it in Spanish? "Pavo" is turkey?)

Now, what goes on is that each individual soul is called in the way that the Holy Spirit calls us to turn all of the events of life -- successes, failures, joys, sorrows, virtues, and even sins -- to turn them all into our personal repentance and following of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Legionaries of Christ were built and sustained by a deep Christological theology and devotion. It will stand you in the best stead at this time. This is not the Legion of anybody except of Christ.

And I encourage you... my little book is about this. That's Christ on the cover with tears running down his face. This painting was made in the 19th century. No one knows who made it, but it shows Christ in the agony, crowned with thorns, and the tears running down his face. The tears of Christ are the tears of God. He weeps with us. He wept in the garden. He wept at the death of his friend Lazarus. Don't ever, ever think that he does not weep even now.

If you look at the religions of the world, there are unique qualities about each of them, that were founded by sincere people, far away from Christianity, and perhaps with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in those cultures: Buddhism, for instance. And in those religions, God never suffers. In the Jewish religion, from which we come, God gets mad. He gets annoyed. He also gets happy; he rejoices when things are going well. But in Christianity, God suffers. An incredible, impossible thought. The absolute, infinite, divine being, eternal, unchangeable... That he could weep: This is the mystery of the Incarnation. Christ comes and weeps with us. He suffers with us. We have the unthinkable reality of a God who dies. Incomprehensible. Theologically, we have explanations through the Councils of how it could happen, but it's a mystery of mysteries. And the devotions of the centuries, especially of the Sacred Heart, reveal that Christ in a mysterious way suffers with us today.

Pope John Paul quoted the French writer Léon Bloy that "Christ is on his cross till the end of the world in his Mystical Body." And so Christ suffers with you in a very special way.

Years from now, you'll think back on these difficult days, and I hope you'll remember that Christ suffered with you. Let the cross be your guide. St. Augustine says, "When the cross was first preached to the few who believed, it was mocked by the multitudes. But by the power of the cross, the blind saw, the lame walked, the lepers were cleansed, and even the dead rose so that even among the powers of this world, men would come to believe that there is, in fact, nothing more powerful than the humility of God." Nothing more powerful than the humility of God.

And if I may say this as a friend to your community, this is a time when the face of Christ, covered with tears and sweat, calls each of us to participate in the humility of God. Amen.

Catholic Faith Formation - Evangelical Style

Below are my comments to the New Evangelization in America Conference in Dallas on January 31, 2009. I was asked to participate on a panel titled “The Ecumenism of Evangelization – A Protestant-Catholic Dialogue” which was moderated by The Most Reverend Stephen Blaire, Bishop of Stockton and President of the Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs (USCCB). On the panel with me were other Catholics and Protestants.

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NEA Comments –SDW 1-31/2009

I am a Catholic of 11 years, having spent the first half century of my life as an active lay Evangelical.

Since my conversion I have spent my time and money on trying to explain Catholic teaching to Protestants through my writing and television series that has aired on 6 different Protestant and Catholic networks through my distribution company, Nineveh’s Crossing.

Our most popular project, COMMON GROUND, was produced by Evangelicals and asks the question “What can Protestants and Catholics Learn from Each other.” There are brochures outside for Nineveh’s Crossing that explain how you can get a copy. The DVD and study guide are being used in RCIA and Bible Study programs across the country.

Our American bishops in “Our Hearts Are Burning Within Us” challenge us that while we may have the fullness of faith, there is much we can learn from the ardor and methods to evangelize which our Evangelical brothers and sisters successfully apply.

In that same document our bishops layout a number of strategies – strategies that I think have solutions found in Evangelical Christianity.

Allow me to mention two.

The first strategy our bishops charge parishes with is LIFE LONG ADULT EDUCATION..
The evangelical solution to that is Sunday School I think there are 10 characteristics that make up a successful Sunday School program, and I think Catholic parishes need to adopt these if they expect Catholics to be Christian.

1. Classes should be PRACTICAL, not THEORETICAL
2. Organize classes around demographic needs of people
3. The classes should be structured to fulfill the community dynamics afforded by small groups
4. Founded on Bible and Church Teaching
5. Enjoy constant promotion from the pulpit
6. Led by gifted volunteer LAY leaders who are great and even charismatic facilitators, who are also leaders in the community and business with evangelical hearts.
7. Classes must be FREE (not $80 for 8 weeks)
8. Meet EVERY Sunday 52 weeks.
9. Meet in platoon fashion with the Mass Schedule
10. You should not consider them a success until their attended by 50% of those that come to Mass.

The second strategy our bishops charge us with is KNOWING THE BIBLE.
The Evangelical solution to that is more emphasis on the Bible, per se.
Here are seven things we can learn from Evangelicals to do that.

1. During the liturgy of the word the reader should begin by saying “Open Your Bible Please and read with me.”
2. Personal Bibles should be promoted and sold.
3. Bible Memory programs and contests for children through adults should be celebrated thru-out the year.
4. TEEN Bible Quizzing and Tournaments (where entire chapters and books are memorized by teens) should be international in scope.
5. Homilies should be preached with the Bible in hand.
6. Parishes should have annual Bible Conferences where expository Bible preaching is perfected.
7. Use the Bible not the lectionary. SHOW the people (physically, visibly, like the sacraments) where the readings are coming from.

These two tactics are among many others highlighted on a webpage titled Best Practices of Faith Formation at my website StanWilliams.com Please visit.

I’m convinced, from 50 years of exposure to them, that they will significantly help lukewarm Catholics, who tend to go through the motions, become excited about the things of God.

Oh, yes, one last thing:

Fast and pray for spiritual revival in the Church.

Thank you.

Infallible Bible vs. Fallible Church

Dr. Frank Hermann asks this question in his story in the Feb. 2009 Coming Home Network newsletter:

If the Catholic Church was fallible, and therefore the bishops too, who over time came to agree on the canon of books that constitute today's Bible, what if they erred in choosing those books? Many believe the Catholic Church of the fourth and fifth century was not infallible. So, what guarantee do we have that the Bible they gave us is infallible? How can we be sure?

Catholic & Pentecostal Take Coffee

I'm finally trying to dig out my email's in-box. Theodore Frick wrote me back in September 2008:

Dear Stan:

I was sitting in a little coffee shop in Northern Minnesota, a town called Remer. (pop 500) A peaceful man sat at the church sponsored coffee shop and told me that Jesus Loved me as I entered the door. I smiled and said thank you, and was genuinely touched by his demeanor. I entered the coffee shop and was ordering my coffee when the woman at the counter told me to listen to the older woman who started talking about her Rome ministry and her meetings with both JPII and Benedict XVI.

Being a Catholic revert and the town's Catholic evangelist, I was struck by her sincerity and genuine respect for the Catholic faith, even though she was in this Pentecostal coffee shop. I ordered my brew and went outside on the deck to talk to her husband and was warmly greeted and he started talking about his praying in front of the Vatican.

He intrigued me and I started doing research about him, and then I found your blogs and your wonderful and clear writings. The man's name is Martin Lombardo and he has aged much since your photo from last year. I know this is a long rambling, but I really enjoyed your website and the articles you have written for Catholic Exchange.

As a revert to the faith, I want to thank you for making the toughest of choices to become Catholic. The Lord is using converts to put some fire into the pews. I am a Diocesan board member for the Cursillo movement in the Duluth diocese and have been dramatically changed by my encounters with converts. I will pray a rosary for you, and after reading one of your articles, I will put more feelings and concentrations into my daily rosary.

God Bless you

Ted Frick

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Ted,

Thanks so much for your kind and gracious message. It was great to hear that you ran into Martin up in MN. He gets around. Can I post your message to me on my blog? And thanks for your prayers. I'll put you on my blog distribution list, if you aren't already there.

Stan

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Stan,

Absolutely, I would be honored. I started reading more of your blogs and had to put them down as they were quite interesting, but I ran out of time. I am a lector at our little rural church and I was allowed to say, the reading begin on page so and so in the missal. Hopefully the parishioners would pick up the missal and follow along. The missal readings all have the scriptural reference on them. Some priests allow that, others do not. I wonder if our retention is better if we follow along or listen in reference? I am fascinated by the men who have the courage to change denominations. I am witnessed it a few times, but am amazed at how important your walk must be to you, to make that big of a change. I once told a room of Catholic gentlemen, that if someone could find more truth than the Catholic church, then I was obligated to follow, that is the kind of conviction we need. Ok, here I go again, rambling on. Have you heard of the Cursillo movement, or the Coming Home Network.

Again, I thank you for showing us the light.

Ted

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Thanks, Ted.

I heard of the Cursillo movement decades before I became Catholic. My older cousin was a leader in Pittsburgh when I met him. I know Marcus Grodi, and one of my part time employees in the Coming Home Network on-line forum moderator, Dave Armstrong.

I got some significant flack from Catholics about my suggestion to get Bibles and follow along in the Mass. It depressed me because they regarded the Bible as a distraction. One of these days I'll write about the flack I received and how the Catechism tells us to venerate the Bible the way we venerate The Eucharist.

But my point in the blog about Bible reading in the Mass was an early step to get Catholics to read and study their Bibles on their own, daily. I figured the Mass would be a good place to start.

Stan

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Dear Stan,

An old saying goes something like this. You never know what you have till it is gone, and those that have been spoon fed for long, tend to get lazy. One of the beautiful things about our faith is that there is an abundant harvest right in our own pews. Our little town has 500 or so people and 6 churches. Most people do not want to chase authentic truth, because (as you know) the cost may be quite high. Ok, here is a question for you. Since we now have 40,000 or so denominations, is it the responsibility of the worshipper to know what the church teaches and how severely will God judge us for being complacent? One such example would be a glaring one, the abortion issue. (I loved your Obama reference, as the black culture gets eliminated). If we are on the wrong side of that issue, is it a potentially salvation issue? If I believe abortion is no big deal, and I go to a church that teaches that, will my salvation be at risk? I believe that the answer is yes, but I need to work this through with someone who had the gumption to make the Tiber pole vault. So does believing the false teachings of a lost church an eternal choice? This really started to bother me when I was reading 1 Cor and Paul says? (weak paraphrase here) Are you a follower of Paul or Ananias? I heard that at Mass and shuddered, could we not supplant those names with the names of Martin Luther or the Wesley brothers? Again, you have piqued my interest, so I meander in the theological garden.

Ted

And Incredible Pilgramage

Our spiritual mentor, Fr. Dennis Brown, (at right with Pam and me during a visit to Michigan for a surgeon to check out a knee injury ... notice the crutch) finally got to the Holy Land. Fr. Dennis was catechized by Bishop Fulton Sheen and Fr. Ciszek (the clandestine missionary priest to the USSR who spent years in the Communist Gulag), and was ordained by Pope John Paul II in Rome. He was also advised for many years by the late Fr. John Hardon, S.J.. From those relationships he got to know Mother Teresa of Calcutta and is still friends with a number of the Missionaries of Charity.

Recently he was asked to come and give a mission for the Missionaries of Charity from Jordan. His superiors said he could go. What a thrill for him, because he finally made his pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

What he did in those few days is exhausting to contemplate. But here is his e-mail to those of us who pray for him. Imagine doing all fo this. The simplicity of his statements -- "I prayed here... " and "I celebrated Mass there..." -- each suggest an Ignatian reflection of some duration. And that is what he teaches, Ignatian Spirituality, e.g. contemplations. Imagine now, being in the real places where for so many years he's only been able to contemplate about being there. This email alone will provide for Pam and I many hours of prayerful fruit. Here's his report:

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Dear Friends,

By the grace of our Good God, I made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in November.

First, I gave a preached/directed retreat to 20 professed Missionary of Charity Sisters in Amman Jordan (or rather at their retreat house outside of Amman). One always gains more, and in a special way with the MCs, when one gives to them. I felt the presence of Blessed Theresa of Calcutta.

I, most importantly, put the retreat and my pilgrimage/vacation to Israel directly under the guidance of Our Lady, as my pilgrimage director. I could not have done a better thing:).

All went "miraculously" smoothly even to the "surprise" of the MC sisters.

I will list in "historical" chronological order the places I celebrated masses, prayed at and visited (that is, not necessarily in the order I personally visited them). I will probably leave some things out since there were so many things. I made the resolution, however, at the start not to "rush" but to leave myself as much time as I desired at each site to pray. That made it a calm and contemplative experience.

I will more relate the "events" rather than what I experienced since that would take a much longer reflective writing (sort of like Fr. Ciszek's two books, in the first he described events, and the in second written much later what took place in him interiorly).

The MC sisters in Jerusalem and Bethlehem took me under their wing and "spoiled" me with all their care and charitable assistance (including feeding me) during my pilgrimage. Their knowledge of the area really assisted me. At almost all of the masses I list at least two MC sisters assisted.

I stayed at St. Mark's Lutheran Hospice, near the Jaffa Gate in the Old City, the first week and in the Austrian Hospice (Catholic under Cardinal Schonborn) near the Damascus Gate in the Old City, the second week.

I prayed at and was awe-struck on Mount Nebo in Jordan where Moses was given a vision of the Promised Land and where he died.

I visited Abu Gosh,The Church of Notre Dame de l'Arche de l'Alliance (Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant), the site of the house of Abinadab where the Ark of the Covenant rested for twenty years until King David took it to Jerusalem and also the City of David, Silwan, where the prophets uttered their resounding perorations during the period of the First Temple and Zion where David first brought the Ark.

I prayed at the Temple Mount, Mount Moriah where Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac and where Solomon built the first Temple, and the Second Temple was rebuilt (prayed also for the Moslems in whose hands it is).

I prayed with and for the Jews at the Western (Wailing) Wall especially during their Sabbath. (Also praying the joyful mysteries remembering the presentation and finding of Jesus in the Temple especially and also meditating the other events regarding the Temple and Jesus and the Temple). I also visited one day when a number of Bar Mitzvah's were taking place at the Wall at the same time.

My first day in Jerusalem I concelebrated mass with an Italian group in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre Church. I spent much time in prayer in the Holy Sepulchre Church my first week in Jerusalem.

I visited and prayed several times at David's Tomb on Mount Zion, again surrounded by Orthodox Jews in prayer.

I celebrated Mass at Mary's birth place in the Church of St. Anne on the Via Dolorosa.

I celebrated Mass in Nazareth in the Church of the Annunciation where the Incarnation took place. We then visited Joseph's house where the Holy Family lived during the years of the hidden-ordinary life. Also prayed in the cave and at the tomb of St. Jerome.

I celebrated Mass in Ein Karem at the Visitation Church. This is the village of John the Baptist. We also assisted at mass in the Church of John the Baptist, the site of his birth.

I celebrated Mass in the Manger Grotto in the Basilica in Bethlehem, the site of the Birth of Jesus. (We also visited the Bethlehem Carmel and the Church/Convent of Our Lady of the Garden). We then visited the Shepherds' Field and the Milk Grotto Church, the site of the Magi's visit.

Prayed in Nazareth in the Synagogue where Jesus where Jesus first learned, prayed and later preached and where he revealed Himself (Luke 4)

We visited Cana and I blessed a married couple's marriage in the Church there.

We visited the Sea of Galilee which was the occasion for much moving meditation, as you can imagine (calling of the apostles, miracles, etc, etc)

Then we went to the Church of the Multiplication of Fishes and Loaves.

We visited Capernaum, the home of Jesus, where 5 of the apostles came from (Peter, Andrew, James, John, Matthew) and wherein Jesus worked so many of his miracles (healing man with unclean spirit; healing Peter's Mother-in-law; healing the Centurion's servant, etc) and where the House of Peter is. Jesus selected this town as the center of his public ministry in Galilee after he left Nazareth. He preached in the Synagogue there. We visited the ancient Syangogue there.

We prayed at the Mount of the Beatitudes.

I prayed at the Pool of Bethesda where Jesus cured the man who had for 38 years waited for a cure.

I visited, in Jordan, the Baptismal Site of Jesus and blessed some water from the Jordan and blessed the people I was with renewing our baptismal promises.

Prayed at Mount Tabor, the Mount of the Transfiguration.

We visited Bethany, the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. We prayed at the Tomb of Lazarus and the Church of Lazarus.

I celebrated mass at the Dominus Flevit Church where Jesus looked at and wept over Jerusalem. I was very much struck here and spent much time in prayer.

We visited Bethphage, where Jesus sent his disciples to get the donkey wherein he would ride into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

We visited the Mount of Olives where I also prayed for all the Jews buried in one of the oldest cemeteries on earth.

I celebrated Mass at the site of the Cenacle wherein Jesus celebrated the Last Supper and instituted the Eucharist.

I prayed in the Kidron Valley where Jesus and the disciples walked through to Gethsemane.

I celebrated Mass in the Grotto of Gethsemane.

On Friday I followed and made the Via Crucis, the way Jesus was lead to the Crucifixion, which was led by the Franciscans with a large group of pilgrims.

I celebrated Mass near the first station, the chapels of the Condemnation and the Flagellation. Visited the Ecce Homo site. I celebrated mass also at the private chapel of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy at this site.

I celebrated Mass in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher twice at Calvary, first the mass of the Triumph of the Cross, then at the altar of Our Lady of Sorrows.

I celebrated Mass in the Tomb of Christ wherein he was buried and Rose from the Dead.

I visited Tabgha Peter's Primacy Church where Our Lord performed the miracle of the miraculous catch of fish and three times asked Peter if he loved him.

I celebrated mass in Emmaus.

We visited the site of the Ascension of Jesus.

I prayed at the Dormition Church, the site of the "falling asleep" of Mary and of Pentecost.

My last day in Jerusalem I prayed in the Basilica of St. James where James the Apostle, the first bishop of Jerusalem was beheaded and where his tomb is (assisted at the Armenian's liturgy also).

In Jerusalem I also visited the Yad Va Shem Holocaust Museum, a deeply moving experience, and the Israel Museum which has a marvelous recreation the Jerusalem in the temple period. I also walked many times through the various quarters of the Old City (and just outside in the Mea Sherim neighborhood which is an orthodox Hasidic section). I prayerfully marveled at the various cultures/religions in the Old City living together, in the Jewish, Moslem, Christian and Armenian Quarters and deeply entered into prayer for all that the Christians could live in loving unity and that the non-Christians could discover their Savior, Jesus Christ.

Many times I would go to a rooftop overlooking the Old City and sit and pray contemplatively viewing all of the historical sites of Our Redemption which were so visible from this perspective.

You can probably fill in the spaces I "left blank" above in terms of the fitting intentions I must have had (e.g., at the Cenacle and Emmaus, at Calvary and the Tomb of Christ, etc)

There is a first reflection.

I prayed for all and remembered all at the altar of the Lord.

I'm going to spend a long time in Thanksgiving to the Lord and Our Lady and the saints who assisted me in this pilgrimage.

Prayers,

Fr. Dennis