Pooh's Best Friend

Andrew Sullivan today pointed to this bit of levity on swine flu:

(Apologies for the language.)

Mariah Paige

Some family news:

I became an uncle again yesterday. My younger sister, Kristy, gave birth to a daughter at 11:31 a.m. The name of my first niece is Mariah Paige. She weighed in at 5 pounds, 6.5 ounces.

The new arrival makes a brother out of Kristy's son, Ethan John, age 5. Ethan and I have talked about what it means to be a "big brother."

And, Mariah Paige will be a new cousin to Aiden Joseph.

Welcome to the party, Mariah Paige! May the Holy Spirit always be your guide.

An aside: I don't think my sister knows this but there's an old Broadway tune evoking the name she's given to her newborn. Here's one version of that song:



And, a more traditional version:

NCCL in Dearborn, MI

Today through Wednesday, yours truly will be blogging from Dearborn, Michigan.

I'm here exhibiting for my gig at the 73rd annual gathering of the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership. NCCL is a professional development organization for Catholics who serve as directors of religious education for their dioceses and parishes.

I've been to Detroit once before but this is my first visit to Dearborn, the world headquarters of Ford.

Hopefully, the prayers of the 600 or so catechists here this week will bring some peace for the beleaguered auto industry.

Flashback from NCCL '08: "A Mellow Heart".

A Pal & A Confidant

First Sophia. Now Dorothy also goes to that great lanai in the sky.

R.I.P. Bea Arthur (1922 - 2009).

In Memoriam:



Hat-tip: John, who broke the news to me Sunday morning via Facebook.

Hands, Feet, Flesh, Bones & Baked Fish

Today is the Third Sunday of Easter. The events of the morning brought me to the Financial District so I went to the 12:15 p.m. Mass at Our Lady of Victory, the small red brick church at the corner of William and Pine streets.

It was a solid Mass with a respectable turn-out for what is a less-densely populated part of Manhattan. I'd say about 65 percent of those in the pews were in their 20s and 30s.

In his fine homily, Monsignor Filacchione looked at the word "witness" in the day's readings -- particularly its use in the last line of the Gospel passage.

From Luke Chapter 24 (just after the account on the road to Emmaus):

The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way, and how Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of bread.

While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you."

But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have."

And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.

While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?"

They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them.

He said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled."

Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

And he said to them, "Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things."

A Concord Pastor, in his homily on today's readings, explains why that baked fish is important.

The image above is from here.

Clothed in Humility

The first reading from today's daily Mass is from the First Letter of St. Peter. The passage from Chapter 5 contained this thought-provoking quote:

"Beloved: Clothe yourselves in humility in your dealings with one another, for:

God opposes the proud

but bestows favor on the humble.

So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exult you in due time. Cast all of your worries upon him because he cares for you."

The image above is from here. The entry states that it is an interior shot from Thomas Merton's hermitage. (T.M. thought and wrote a lot about humility before God.)

Funny the Way It Is

I've been told by a reader or two of this space that the odd personal story makes for the most interesting copy. So, gentle reader, I shall introduce one of our weekly features with a little vignette.

Tonight, I went to dinner with someone with whom I am/was interested in going out on a date. It was a very casual thing as we have known each other for almost a year through a political group. We had spoken earlier in the day and agreed to likely touch base in the evening after we both were in the city. We met at a local bar and then went to dinner at a nice but not expensive Thai restaurant.

I thought dinner went quite well. Nice conversation, tasty red curry chicken, etc.

Then, outside the restaurant, things took an almost instantaneous nose-dive.

My "sorta date" leaves. A call from me goes unanswered. Odd text messages follow. A snide message awaits in my Facebook inbox.

In college, when faced with this type of stress, I'd often listen to the Dave Matthews Band -- usually beginning with "Crash."

So, for this week's "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend," here is the new DMB single "Funny the Way It Is." I think I like it ... still contemplating.

Peace:



Song hat-tip: Liz in my office

Manhattan visits the Strip

The blogger behind "Catholic Churches of Manhattan" has apparently visited the 'Burgh.

Here's his shot of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in the Strip District:

In the old days (circa 1997 - 2001), we used to hit the clubs on Smallman Street before you reached St. Stan's. I'm a little sorry that's my strongest association with this impressive Church building.

On Blogging

Regular readers of this space know that I often link to The Anchoress and Deacon Greg.

Want to see what they look like?

Here they are discussing blogging on NET:



FYI: Featured in the second half of the clip are Dr. McNamara and Grant Gallicho of dotCommonweal.

Good Tired = Vocation Fits

Sr. Helen Prejean, CSJ, has penned a good article on vocations titled "Ride the Current" for 100th Anniversary edition of America magazine.

I thought this was an especially wise observation:

When a vocation fits who we are, by living it we feel ourselves growing into a stronger, truer self, even though the going gets rough and at times we feel confused and tired. The kind of “tired” we feel is worth noting. It is not that heavy, sad fatigue we carry around like a low-grade fever, a form of depression. Life work demands genuine expenditure. We spend ourselves, maybe exhaust ourselves. But the energy flowing out of us feels natural, just the opposite of feeling pulled at by others, who have their own ideas about what we ought to be doing. When we let this happen, we feel resentful and cranky and sad.

A few years back, when I was running for office, I often found this to be the case. At the end of a day of campaigning, I was usually exhausted -- but often in a satisfying way.

In Memoriam: Gary Vincenti, 1953 - 2009

This morning brought the news that Gary Vincenti, my first cousin twice removed, died Sunday at the age of 56. He had lived for decades with multiple sclerosis.

Please keep Gary and his wife, Laura, in your prayers.

From the prayers at the end of the funeral Mass:

Gary,

May the angels lead you into paradise,
may the martyrs come to welcome you,
and take you to the holy city,
the new and eternal Jerusalem.

Peace, Doubt, Belief, Signs

Following two relaxing days of visiting some old college friends in Los Angeles, I arrived early this morning in NYC via the JetBlue red-eye from Long Beach to JFK. After a few hours of sleep back at my place, I ventured out to the 12:45 p.m. Mass in English at nearby St. Patrick's Old Cathedral.

(I think 12:45 p.m. is a great time for Mass -- perfect for the occasional lazy Sunday morning. It's the fourth Mass each Sunday at Old St. Pat's. There's an earlier Mass in English followed by Masses in Chinese and Spanish.)

For Western Christians, today is the second Sunday of Easter. For Catholics, it is also "Divine Mercy Sunday."

The Gospel at Mass included the account of Jesus' post-Resurrection appearance to the disciples, as well as the story of "Doubting Thomas."

From John Chapter 20:

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you."

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord."

But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."

Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."

Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe."

Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

Deacon Greg looks at the example of the inspiring Susan Boyle of "Britain's Got Talent" fame in his homily on Divine Mercy and Doubting Thomas.

Meanwhile, A Concord Pastor is considering doubt. The good pastor also has posted multiple images illustrating today's Gospel passage (including the one used above).

And, last but not least, Amy is recalling that today is also the fourth anniversary of the election of B16 and the 14th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing.

Both Shall Row

Our Eva Cassidy series will continue for this week's "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend." Here she is with "The Water is Wide."

Peace:



Here's another nice version:

Missing "The Banner Headline"

S.C. nails it at the end: "An Elephant so big that these four men could only see part of him":

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Bart Ehrman
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

Hat-tips: The Anchoress and Deacon Greg

NCEA in Anaheim

Yesterday, I arrived here in Anaheim, CA, for the annual convention of the National Catholic Educational Association. It's the third time I've exhibited at this one for my gig.

Today's keynote speaker was Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona. In his fine presentation, Bishop Kicanas spoke of how Catholic school teachers can help achieve the five pastoral priorities of the U.S. Catholic Bishops.

I love getting to spend the week in sunny and warm southern California. But, I must say, I do regret not being in Gotham for all of the excitement today and tomorrow at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Endless Song

Easter Monday morning deserves some music.

This peaceful take on "How Can I Keep From Singing?" might work:



Song Hat-tip: The Anchoress

An aside: Yesterday, for Easter dinner, we went to Zenon Taverna in Astoria, Queens. It was a good place. I'd recommend it. Among the fellows were Mike and Deanna (who was featured yesterday on NPR).

"Not a Fairy Tale"

B16 had very strong words Sunday in the annual Easter "Urbi et Orbi" ("To the City and the World") greetings. Here are two passages that struck me:

... The resurrection, then, is not a theory, but a historical reality revealed by the man Jesus Christ by means of his "Passover", his "passage", that has opened a "new way" between heaven and earth (cf. Heb 10:20). It is neither a myth nor a dream, it is not a vision or a utopia, it is not a fairy tale, but it is a singular and unrepeatable event: Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary, who at dusk on Friday was taken down from the Cross and buried, has victoriously left the tomb. In fact, at dawn on the first day after the Sabbath, Peter and John found the tomb empty. Mary Magdalene and the other women encountered the risen Jesus. On the way to Emmaus the two disciples recognized him at the breaking of the bread. The Risen One appeared to the Apostles that evening in the Upper Room and then to many other disciples in Galilee.

The proclamation of the Lord's Resurrection lightens up the dark regions of the world in which we live. I am referring particularly to materialism and nihilism, to a vision of the world that is unable to move beyond what is scientifically verifiable, and retreats cheerlessly into a sense of emptiness which is thought to be the definitive destiny of human life. It is a fact that if Christ had not risen, the "emptiness" would be set to prevail. If we take away Christ and his resurrection, there is no escape for man, and every one of his hopes remains an illusion.

...

If it is true that death no longer has power over man and over the world, there still remain very many, in fact too many signs of its former dominion. Even if through Easter, Christ has destroyed the root of evil, he still wants the assistance of men and women in every time and place who help him to affirm his victory using his own weapons: the weapons of justice and truth, mercy, forgiveness and love. This is the message which, during my recent Apostolic Visit to Cameroon and Angola, I wanted to convey to the entire African continent, where I was welcomed with such great enthusiasm and readiness to listen. Africa suffers disproportionately from the cruel and unending conflicts, often forgotten, that are causing so much bloodshed and destruction in several of her nations, and from the growing number of her sons and daughters who fall prey to hunger, poverty and disease.

I shall repeat the same message emphatically in the Holy Land, to which I shall have the joy of travelling in a few weeks from now. Reconciliation - difficult, but indispensable - is a precondition for a future of overall security and peaceful coexistence, and it can only be achieved through renewed, persevering and sincere efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. My thoughts move outwards from the Holy Land to neighbouring countries, to the Middle East, to the whole world. At a time of world food shortage, of financial turmoil, of old and new forms of poverty, of disturbing climate change, of violence and deprivation which force many to leave their homelands in search of a less precarious form of existence, of the ever-present threat of terrorism, of growing fears over the future, it is urgent to rediscover grounds for hope. Let no one draw back from this peaceful battle that has been launched by Christ's Resurrection. For as I said earlier, Christ is looking for men and women who will help him to affirm his victory using his own weapons: the weapons of justice and truth, mercy, forgiveness and love. ...

Hat-tips: Amy and Rocco (from whom the Reuters photo above is shamelessly cribbed)

Clothed in a White Robe

Tonight (I'm writing this after midnight), I attended the Easter Vigil Mass at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle on Manhattan's West Side. It was the second year that I was blessed to be a sponsor of one of R.C.I.A. candidates at St. Paul's.

The liturgy was extraordinary: the darkened church and the Easter fire, the singing of the Exsultet, seven Old Testament readings plus the Psalms, the Easter Gospel and Fr. Jamie's lively homily, five baptisms (four adults and one baby), 11 confirmations, the liturgy of the Eucharist, the powerful music. It left me very joyful.

The Gospel was the account of the visit of Mary Magdalene and the other women to the tomb. The passage states that a "young man clothed in a white robe" tells the women that Jesus has risen from the dead. (Tonight, white robes also were worn by those being baptized, confirmed and received into full communion with the Church.)

From Mark Chapter 16:

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him.

Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb.

They were saying to one another, "Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?"

When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back; it was very large.

On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, "Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.'"

Tonight, the final Communion song of the Easter Vigil Mass was "In The Breaking of the Bread." It's actually a song about the Emmaus story but I thought it worked quite well for the celebration of First Holy Communions on Easter:



The image above is from here.

Good Friday in the Village

Last night, some friends and I took part in the annual Good Friday Way of the Cross through New York City's SoHo, East Village and Greenwich Village neighborhoods. It was the second year I walked in this special nighttime procession.

Leaving from St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in SoHo a little after 9 p.m., the group of about 75 (mostly) young adults set out carrying candles, tiki torches and simple wooden crosses. At the head of the procession, a seminarian carried a large image of the face of Christ.

Led by Fr. Luke Sweeney of the Archdiocese of New York Vocations Office, we prayed all 14 Stations of the Cross using prayers and meditations by St. Alphonsus Liguori.

We prayed most of the stations in front of the neighborhood's many Catholic churches, including Nativity Church and La Salle Academy, St. Stanislaus, St. George's Ukrainian, Our Lady of Pompeii and St. Veronica's. But, we also prayed stations in Tompkins Square Park, Union Square Park, in front of the Washington Square Arch and in Sheridan Square.

Remembering the unborn, we prayed the second station in front of the Planned Parenthood office on Bleecker Street. Remembering the sick, we prayed the 13th station in front of St. Vincent's Hospital.

We ended after midnight with the 14th station in front of the University Parish of St. Joseph in Greenwich Village on Sixth Avenue.

We sang as we walked between stations -- thanks in large part to two men who carried the portable amplifiers on their backs. (The biggest concern of the night may have been keeping the amplifiers dry when it started raining.) Our traveling repertoire included "O Sacred Head Surrounded," "Ubi Caritas," "What Wondrous Love Is This?," "Were You There?," "Jesus, Remember Me," "Amazing Grace" and "Open the Eyes of My Heart."

As we walked, it was fascinating to see and hear the reactions of people on the streets and in the bars and restaurants. Most were just curious. Some were encouraging. A few made fun. When asked what we we were doing, we usually responded "It's for Good Friday" or "It's the Stations of the Cross."

At one point in the West Village, my friend Shu-Fy turned to me and said, "Don't you think this is what is must have been like that day in Jerusalem? Some people would have been watching Jesus carry the cross. But other people would have just been going about their day."

Along the way, one slightly nutty guy decided to join us. A yarmulke on his head and a large silver cross on a chain around his neck, he carried a bible in his right hand preacher-style. He managed to get two young blond women dressed all in black to join us for a station.

On Seventh Street, we walked passed the storefront CityLight church. Loud, upbeat music blared from inside. It actually sounded rather fun.

A woman standing at CityLight's door called out to us, "Jesus is alive!" (Apparently, they skipped right to Easter.) We genuinely appreciated the ecumenical shout-out -- but kept on our Way of the Cross all the same.

The image above is from here.

Good Friday

Today is Good Friday.

We remember:


The image above is from the Monastery of the Angels in Los Angeles, CA. Caption: "Station XII: Jesus Christ Dies on the Cross."