First Communion Mass at Loretto

Twenty-four young students received First Holy Communion at Our Lady of Loretto Church in Cold Spring at a noon Mass on Saturday that was celebrated by Fr. Brian T. McSweeney. He is shown at center rear with Fr. Anthony Yorke, at left center.

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LETTER: Witnessing First Communion brings back memories

I went to Mass last Sunday only to witness the most beautiful First Communion  ceremony I have seen in a long time. I remember how special it was when I made my First Communion so many years ago. I can still remember the beautiful white dress, veil, white shoes and thinking I was so holy.

It is something you never forget no matter how old you are. This ceremony took place and erased the awful day that St. John the Baptist Church was robbed and all the important things were destroyed.

I have to thank the many teachers who were responsible for teaching these children what this special occasion meant, and teaching them not to break the commandments of God.

I especially want to thank Mrs. Karen Quin Costa, who was a great teacher and devoted so much time of her time in preparing these beautiful children for this great day.

I could not believe how so many of these children went up on the altar and sang by themselves. They had so much confidence, which was taught to them by Mrs. Costa.

I recognized that my neighbor, Kyle Stang, was one of these children. He said hi to me as I walked by him.

There are so many bad things happening in this world today. The Boston Marathon bombing, the killing of all those precious children in Connecticut. I’m sure many of them were waiting to make their First Communion.

It was a wonderful day, and I’m sure God will bless all these children.

Joanne Mailloux Murphy, Westport

St. Anthony’s to host exhibit of sacred relics

St. Anthony Catholic Church in Temperance will have an exhibition of sacred relics from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday in Kenna Hall, 4605 St. Anthony Rd.

More than 150 artifacts, some thought to be more than 2,000 years old, will be displayed. They will include what are described as pieces of the veil of the Virgin Mary and one of the largest fragments of the True Cross.

Visitors who bring articles of devotion such as holy cards and rosaries will be able to touch them to reliquaries containing the artifacts as a means of intercession. For more information, call the parish office at 734-854-1143.

Sin-Filled Confessionals Harbor the Burdened’s Deepest Secrets

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For Billie Mandle, Catholic confessionals are not just dimly lit boxes where people go to confess their sins. They’re archives that collect and preserve deeply personal moments left behind by parishioners.

When you’re inside “you’re surrounded by the traces of past confessions,” Mandle says.

To try and capture these residues and explore what it means to ask for forgiveness, Mandle started shooting American confessionals for a project she calls Reconciliation.

“The priests and parish secretaries have been welcoming and extremely patient,” she says.

Traditionally, Catholic confession is a solemn exchange between an individual and priest. A camera is not part of the often guilt-ridden equation. But Mandle, who was raised Catholic and shares the faith with 1.2 billion other people on the planet, wants to challenge that history and thinks confessionals “are very photographic spaces.”

Sometimes all she captures is a piece of light and a slice of the screen that hides the priest so it’s up to the viewer to picture the exchange. Other times the signs of confessions-past are more obvious, like the worn benches where people sat or knelt.

For Mandle, it feels as if the walls of the structure literally “absorb the voices of each person who confesses.”

As you might imagine, it’s not easy to make photos inside these cramped and poorly lit spaces so she’s had to be patient.

“My exposures are long, sometimes up to 20 minutes when the confessionals are especially dark,” she says.

Today, the use of confessional boxes is not as common as in the past. Many have been replaced by less oppressive reconciliation rooms, which allow face-to-face conversation with a priest.

The move away from hearing confessions in dark seclusion began in 1962 following the Second Vatican Council, when the Catholic authorities addressed the Church’s changing relationship with the modern world. By demoting Latin-spoken masses, instructing priests to face congregations and removing altar screens, the Catholic hierarchy dragged Church practices into the 20th century.

In the majority of the world the Catholic church is thriving, particularly in Africa and Latin America, but in Europe and North America the church battles with individualism, neo-liberalism and indeed its own sins. Horrific sex-abuse scandals and archdiocesan-level cover-ups have alienated many of the faithful. Conservative stances on contraception, same-sex relationships and abortion are often too dogmatic even for those who grew up in the Catholic faith.

Mandle’s ominous photos seem to reflect these changing times. Once considered central to Catholics’ practice of faith, the confessional’s relevance and use is on the wane; they are vestiges of the church’s older approach.

Still, in the churches Mandle has visited (which are mostly in the northeast section of the United States), the choice between the new reconciliation rooms and old-school confessionals remains on offer.

“Many churches have both the traditional confessional and a reconciliation room,” she says. “I have heard from priests that parishioners are requesting it again.”

Whatever the future holds for the Catholic church and for its followers, awareness of sin and the nature of forgiveness is something Mandle says she can only speculate on. Her photographs are an exploration, not the answer.

“I sometimes wonder if absolution through confession is almost easier than trying to forgive yourself. It can be reassuring to give that responsibility to a higher power,” she says. “Trying to forgive yourself feels very difficult.”

All images: Billie Mandle

Pope Francis Condemns the Cult of Greed, Ted Cruz and Paul Ryan Support It

by Brent Budowsky

In recent remarks that were stunning and profound, Pope Francis harshly criticized what he called “the cult of money” and condemned what he called the “dictatorship” of economies that are socially unjust and morally unfair.

These remarks, reported in The Daily Telegraph and highlighted on the Drudge Report (but not in major American media) suggest a papacy with the potential to transform the global economic and financial debate.

Most recent popes, including Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict, raised the same issues that Francis dramatized this week. What makes the Holy Father different today is that he views economic and social injustice as a defining, and possibly THE defining, theme of his papacy.

This is extraordinary, powerful and profound. There are profound differences between the policies of President Obama and Democrats versus the policies proposed by the atheist Ayn Rand and conservative voices such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Rep. Paul Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Republican leaders in Congress.

Francis suggests there should be far more economic and social justice regarding the wealthy and everyone else within the leading industrial nations, and between the leading industrial nations and poorer nations throughout the world.

There is a debate raging in Washington, across Europe and throughout the world pitting the right, which favors cruel austerity at a time of slow growth and high joblessness, versus progressives and moderates who believe harsh austerity today is economically disastrous and morally repellant.

The pope specifically calls on world leaders to address the great economic and financial injustices, and I agree with him completely. The pope uses words like “cult” and “dictatorship” to describe the champions of financial justice and the conditions their policies create, and I fully agree with him about this, as well.

Francis has also put his money where his mouth is. The Vatican Bank has already announced new openness and reforms at his direction, which should interest opponents of financial reform in America, Britain and elsewhere. Paul Ryan is a fervent disciple of Ayn Rand, who was the atheist champion of the culture of greed.

Ryan famously tried to employ Catholic theology on behalf of his budget austerity against the poor, and was quickly forced to retreat as the absurdity of this view became obvious. Various rightist and Republican voices have championed aspects of the cult of money, including Cruz, Ryan, Rand Paul, Ron Paul, Republican leaders in Congress and Mitt Romney, who famously ridiculed and demeaned much of the nation on video, championing the cult of money to a room of Republican donors whose money he sought.

It is ironic that these profound and important views of the Holy Father have so far received more attention from the Drudge Report than the leading newspapers of America, the network television news, or cable networks with so much airtime to put to work.

The BBC, Al-Jazeera, The Daily Telegraph and other international media have respected and reported the profound thoughts from Francis, which deserve far more attention here, which is why I write these words today.

Let us advance this great discussion to the center of politics and media throughout America and across the world. For those who disagree with my views, or for whatever reason continue to champion the cult of money and greed, I command to their attention the recent comments from Francis and the timeless words of the Sermon on the Mount.

The Hill Magazine

Brent Budowsky is served as Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen, responsible for commerce and intelligence matters, including one of the core drafters of the CIA Identities Law. Served as Legislative Director to Congressman Bill Alexander, then Chief Deputy Whip, House of Representatives. Currently a member of the International Advisory Council of the Intelligence Summit. Left government in 1990 for marketing and public affairs business including major corporate entertainment and talent management.
Email this author | All posts by Brent Budowsky

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Celebrating First Communion

2013 First Communion

Posted: Saturday, May 18, 2013 2:23 pm

Celebrating First Communion

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First Communion with the Passover Seder was held on Maundy Thursday at First Lutheran, Aitkin. Pictured left to right at the Passover Seder are Hannah Paulbeck, Justice Taylor, Alaina Chute, Sophie Omberg, Brady Taylor, Seth Nordberg, Carter Olson, Jonathan Blanchett, Joseph Cummings, Kendra Gruhlke, Reagan Wilson and Pastor Darrell Pedersen.

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Saturday, May 18, 2013 2:23 pm.

Jesuit’s book offers rich insights on celibacy

LIVING CELIBACY: HEALTHY PATHWAYS FOR PRIESTS
By Gerdenio Sonny Manuel, SJ
Published by Paulist Press, $14.95

The election of Pope Francis is not likely to reopen the issue of clerical celibacy and its importance to the health of the church and our bishops and priests. The celibacy requirement in the Roman church will be reaffirmed, but with a fresh emphasis on how to make it work better.

Jesuit Fr. Gerdenio “Sonny” Manuel has written an important book for current and next-generation priests facing the challenges of ministerial effectiveness and personal well-being as celibates. His book is a clear sign of how far we have come from the days when newly ordained priests chose for their ordination cards the famous 19th-century prayer of French priest and orator Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire that spoke of priests as otherworldly and heroic men with “a heart of bronze.”

A licensed psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of San Francisco, Manuel’s formula for successfully “living celibacy” is to embrace rather than escape the psychosexual dimensions of a life that forgoes genital sex and an exclusive intimate partnership for the sake of service to the church. He affirms the obvious: that the sacrifices entailed also bring multiple benefits, not the least of which is the freedom to cultivate a wide circle of professional and personal relationships and to travel light, serving whenever and wherever needed without the obligations of marriage and family.

This is not to say that living celibacy is easy, especially as a priest goes through midlife, when the uncertainties of aging and the crisis of realizing one’s limits hit the panic button.

Manuel proposes a lifelong approach to living celibacy in the form of five “healthy pathways for priests.” They are:

• Live close to God and one’s deepest desires;
• Develop relationships and communities of support;
• Ask for love, nurture others, and negotiate separation;
• Cope with stress and recognize destructive patterns of behavior;
• Celebrate the holy.

Behind each of these summary prescriptions are rich stores of clinical data, analysis and case studies from the social sciences, joined to the deep perspectives of Catholic theology and spirituality. Living Celibacy is both informative and inspiring, making it a valuable tool for screening candidates, for those in formation programs and for newly ordained priests. Veteran priests can benefit from the basic principles the author presents. Each chapter ends with reflection questions for personal or group use.

Manuel affirms what Dominican Fr. Don Goergen risked censure to say in his now classic 1975 book The Sexual Celibate — that “friendship is not detrimental but central to celibate living, that celibate persons are also sexual persons, and that celibate life is a profound and rewarding way of living,” as Goergen wrote. Moving beyond a time when “particular friendships” were forbidden and contact between priests and women was discouraged, Manuel assumes that today’s priests can live chastely and effectively in the real world when grounded in community and in the charism given to them to build up the church.

Priests who use their extraordinary freedom to serve others wholeheartedly will bear witness to the mystery of Christ’s love for his church. Priests who seem preoccupied with their own special needs or automatic status will fail to impress anyone, least of all married people in the thick of life’s demands and sacrifices. As one married woman said to this reviewer in a recent conversation, “The biggest challenge for priests is not celibacy but selfishness.” Too much emphasis on the mystique of celibacy can produce a sense of entitlement that is only likely to extend the cycles of repression and compulsion that have so damaged the reputation of the priesthood for all priests.

Some readers may expect to find more discussion of questions about the value of clerical celibacy, the problems associated with clerical culture, issues regarding celibacy and homosexuality or theories that link sexual immaturity to child abuse. Manuel acknowledges these issues but brackets them from the primary focus of the book, which is to support those who choose priestly celibacy.

Manuel begins his book with a question posed by many people to celibates: “How in the world could you do that to yourself?” He ends by affirming the privilege priests have of nurturing the “close irrepressible connection between God and God’s people” that they share and witness to in their own desire and longing for God.

Living Celibacy reminds us all, married, single or celibate, that true love perfects human sexuality when it is lived passionately and chastely for the sake of others in any lifestyle or vocation.

[Pat Marrin is editor of Celebration, the worship resource of the National Catholic Reporter. Contact him at patrickjmarrin@gmail.com.]

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Daily Readings for Saturday, May 18, 2013

Reading 1, Acts 28:16-20, 30-31

¹⁶ On our arrival in Rome Paul was allowed to stay in lodgings of his own with the soldier who guarded him.

¹⁷ After three days he called together the leading Jews. When they had assembled, he said to them, ‘Brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.

¹⁸ They examined me and would have set me free, since they found me guilty of nothing involving the death penalty;

¹⁹ but the Jews lodged an objection, and I was forced to appeal to Caesar, though not because I had any accusation to make against my own nation.

²⁰ That is why I have urged you to see me and have a discussion with me, for it is on account of the hope of Israel that I wear this chain.’

³⁰ He spent the whole of the two years in his own rented lodging. He welcomed all who came to visit him,

³¹ proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ with complete fearlessness and without any hindrance from anyone.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 11:4, 5, 7

⁴ Yahweh in his holy temple! Yahweh, his throne is in heaven; his eyes watch over the world, his gaze scrutinises the children of Adam.

⁵ Yahweh examines the upright and the wicked, the lover of violence he detests.

⁷ For Yahweh is upright and loves uprightness, the honest will ever see his face.

Gospel, John 21:20-25

²⁰ Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them — the one who had leant back close to his chest at the supper and had said to him, ‘Lord, who is it that will betray you?’

²¹ Seeing him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘What about him, Lord?’

²² Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to stay behind till I come, what does it matter to you? You are to follow me.’

²³ The rumour then went out among the brothers that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus had not said to Peter, ‘He will not die,’ but, ‘If I want him to stay behind till I come.’

²⁴ This disciple is the one who vouches for these things and has written them down, and we know that his testimony is true.

²⁵ There was much else that Jesus did; if it were written down in detail, I do not suppose the world itself would hold all the books that would be written.

May 2013

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The New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) is a Catholic translation of the Bible published in 1985. The New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) has become the most widely used Roman Catholic Bible outside of the United States. It has the imprimatur of Cardinal George Basil Hume.

Like its predecessor, the Jerusalem Bible, the New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) version is translated “directly from the Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic.” The 1973 French translation, the Bible de Jerusalem, is followed only “where the text admits to more than one interpretation.” Introductions and notes, with some modifications, are taken from the Bible de Jerusalem.

Source: The Very Reverend Dom (Joseph) Henry Wansbrough, OSB, MA (Oxon), STL (Fribourg), LSS (Rome), a monk of Ampleforth Abbey and a biblical scholar. He was General Editor of the New Jerusalem Bible. “New Jerusalem Bible, Regular Edition”, pg. v.

Ten Commandments | Books of the Bible | Buy a Bible

May 19th, 2013

Reading 1, Acts 2:1-11:
When Pentecost day came round, they had all met together, when suddenly there came from heaven a … Psalm, Psalms 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34:
Bless Yahweh, my soul, Yahweh, my God, how great you are! Clothed in majesty and splendour, Gospel, John 20:19-23:
In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room … Reading 2, First Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13:
Because of that, I want to make it quite clear to you that no one who says ‘A curse on Jesus’ can … Read More

Old Testament »

New Testament »

Daily Readings for Sunday, May 19, 2013

Reading 1, Acts 2:1-11

¹ When Pentecost day came round, they had all met together,

² when suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of a violent wind which filled the entire house in which they were sitting;

³ and there appeared to them tongues as of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them.

⁴ They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak different languages as the Spirit gave them power to express themselves.

⁵ Now there were devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven,

⁶ and at this sound they all assembled, and each one was bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language.

⁷ They were amazed and astonished. ‘Surely,’ they said, ‘all these men speaking are Galileans?

⁸ How does it happen that each of us hears them in his own native language?

⁹ Parthians, Medes and Elamites; people from Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya round Cyrene; residents of Rome-

¹¹ Jews and proselytes alike — Cretans and Arabs, we hear them preaching in our own language about the marvels of God.’

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34

¹ Bless Yahweh, my soul, Yahweh, my God, how great you are! Clothed in majesty and splendour,

²⁴ How countless are your works, Yahweh, all of them made so wisely! The earth is full of your creatures.

²⁹ Turn away your face and they panic; take back their breath and they die and revert to dust.

³⁰ Send out your breath and life begins; you renew the face of the earth.

³¹ Glory to Yahweh for ever! May Yahweh find joy in his creatures!

³⁴ May my musings be pleasing to him, for Yahweh gives me joy.

Gospel, John 20:19-23

¹⁹ In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you,’

²⁰ and, after saying this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord,

²¹ and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. ‘As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.’

²² After saying this he breathed on them and said: Receive the Holy Spirit.

²³ If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained.

Reading 2, First Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13

³ Because of that, I want to make it quite clear to you that no one who says ‘A curse on Jesus’ can be speaking in the Spirit of God, and nobody is able to say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.

⁴ There are many different gifts, but it is always the same Spirit;

⁵ there are many different ways of serving, but it is always the same Lord.

⁶ There are many different forms of activity, but in everybody it is the same God who is at work in them all.

⁷ The particular manifestation of the Spirit granted to each one is to be used for the general good.

¹² For as with the human body which is a unity although it has many parts — all the parts of the body, though many, still making up one single body — so it is with Christ.

¹³ We were baptised into one body in a single Spirit, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as free men, and we were all given the same Spirit to drink.

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The New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) is a Catholic translation of the Bible published in 1985. The New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) has become the most widely used Roman Catholic Bible outside of the United States. It has the imprimatur of Cardinal George Basil Hume.

Like its predecessor, the Jerusalem Bible, the New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) version is translated “directly from the Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic.” The 1973 French translation, the Bible de Jerusalem, is followed only “where the text admits to more than one interpretation.” Introductions and notes, with some modifications, are taken from the Bible de Jerusalem.

Source: The Very Reverend Dom (Joseph) Henry Wansbrough, OSB, MA (Oxon), STL (Fribourg), LSS (Rome), a monk of Ampleforth Abbey and a biblical scholar. He was General Editor of the New Jerusalem Bible. “New Jerusalem Bible, Regular Edition”, pg. v.

Ten Commandments | Books of the Bible | Buy a Bible

May 19th, 2013

Reading 1, Acts 2:1-11:
When Pentecost day came round, they had all met together, when suddenly there came from heaven a … Psalm, Psalms 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34:
Bless Yahweh, my soul, Yahweh, my God, how great you are! Clothed in majesty and splendour, Gospel, John 20:19-23:
In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room … Reading 2, First Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13:
Because of that, I want to make it quite clear to you that no one who says ‘A curse on Jesus’ can … Read More

Old Testament »

New Testament »

Church offers a free breakfast and fellowship to all

St. John’s United Church of Christ, 1288 S. Indiana Ave., Crown Point, will host its free Breakfast and Blessings from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

Those in need of a hot meal and anyone who is lonely and in need of company  are welcome. A free will donation will be accepted. For more information, call (219) 663-1608.

Comedy on tap

The Stray Dogs Improv Comedy Club will perform a show at 7 p.m. Friday in the auditorium at Crown Point High School, 1500 S. Main St.

Admission is $5 at the door. All proceeds go directly to support the arts. Included in the evenings activities will be the premier of the club’s new video, “The Rights of Spring.”

Eggs for education

Colonel John Wheeler Middle School will hold its annual Egg Drop Contest for three seventh-grade teams at the end of May. The teams will be competing against each other to determine who has designed the most protective egg container.

The Crown Point Fire Department will help by dropping the containers from its lift. Students will then use their math skills on the collected data to write up their findings.

Chamber hosts expo

Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce will hold the Best of the Northwest Expo – Improving Your Health, Business and Home Starts Here from 4 to 7 p.m. May 29 at the Radission Hotel at Star Plaza, 800 E. 81st Ave., Merrillville. This free event is open to the public. They do still have vendor space available.

Want to say “I do?”

Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce is also still looking for a couple to marry during this year’s Marriage Mill Celebration at 6 p.m. June 21 on the steps of the Old Lake Courthouse on the downtown square in Crown Point.

One couple will be married and then already-married  couples will renew their vows.

For more information, call Farren at (219) 769-8180 or email farren@crossroadschamber.org.

Memorial Day services

On Memorial Day, May 27, St. Mathias Church will host a Roman Catholic Mass at 10 a.m. at Historic Maplewood Cemetery. Those attending the service at the corner of Wells and Pettibone streets, Crown Point, are asked to bring a lawn chair and encouraged to stay for the American Legion/Veterans of Foreign Wars program at 11 a.m.

That program will be followed by a tribute to Civil War veterans buried in Historic Maplewood Cemetery.

High school receives honor

Crown Point High School was recently recognized as one of Newsweek magazine’s Best 2000 Public High Schools in the nation. These schools have proven to be the most effective in turning out college-ready graduates, according to the publication.

Crown Point is one of two area schools ranked in the upper half of the list.