Crank Up For Your Day

Favorite quote for the New Year 

 Father Lorenzo Scupoli, an Italian priest who died in 1610. 

          “When you see in other people either goodness, or wisdom, or truth, or some other virtue, say to your God: “O inexhaustible treasure-house of all virtue! How great is my joy to see and to know that every good thing comes from you alone.  I thank you, my God for this and every other good thing you do to my neighbor.” 

Crank up for your day 

  

When I learned to fly, planes didn’t have automatic starters.  If you didn’t have a buddy to swing the prop, the procedure was to climb into the cockpit and clamp on the brake, push the throttle slightly open and turn on the switch. Then outside, I had to start the propeller turning with a strong swing, remembering to lean backward to prevent falling into the blades once they started spinning. Next, I would scurry back inside the plane and prepare to take off.  One poor fellow in my group forgot first to clamp on the brake. After he got the propeller spinning, he had to hit the ground fast as the plane surged forward and took off airborne, pilot less. 

 

Though my flying days were many years ago, I often think of this procedure when I am cranking up for a new day.  First, it’s good to clamp the brake to clear my mind of muddling thoughts (How am I going to do all the things I need to do today?  I sure did goof up yesterday, etc.). If I don’t take time to start with a short meditation, my day might take off leaving me grounded. 

Then I throttle my appreciation of my mental and physical gifts that make it possible for me to be and to act.  Turning on the switch is acknowledging that there is a hidden power which makes all things possible. Thank you for my being a joyful Catholic! 

Swinging the prop is my commitment to soar. And sometimes, perhaps in spite of a wobbling takeoff, I’m soon in the air, heading towards today’s many goals.  It works, so give it a try! 

  

Now, tell me how you start your day. joyfulcatholic@comcast.net) 

 Admired sayings

 

By Joseph Cao, the Republican U. S. Congressman from New Orleans, when asked if he voted on the health care reform bill out of personal conviction, not politics: 

Correct! I spent six years in the Society of Jesus, training to be a priest. I always adhere to what I call “the politics of the Gospel.” You have to take care of the poor, take care of the widows, visit the sick, and help those who cannot help themselves. 

(And what is your opinion?  joyfulcatholic@comcast.net)  

  

 

News flashes 

(Church in crisis) 

-   Because of low enrollment, 14 schools in the greater Washington, DC, region have a questionable future. 

-   The cartoon on page 77 in the Dec. 22 & 28 New Yorker magazine indicates that artist, Yual Noth, has read chapter “Communion, ho-hum” in Light Reading for Good and Wayward Catholics. It shows a man receiving the cup from a priest, and rather than saying “I am receiving the blood of Christ,” he says, “I’m getting red fruits, earth tones and oak, Amen.” 

-   The UK equality minister Harriet Harman (whom I am told is nicknamed “The British Bitch”) is submitting a bill to ban the Catholic Church from insisting its priests be celibate single men. If her bill becomes law, the Church and its leaders who refuse candidates for the priesthood who are women, gays, lesbian, or married, would be subject to imprisonment, unlimited fines and having Church assets seized. (My comment:  Henry VIII, he ain’t dead!) 

  

(Let me have your thoughts about Ms. Harman. joyfulcatholic@comcast.net)  

  

 Recommended reading 

-         This should be required reading for every parish priest: 

“Parish Revival” in December 21-28 issue of America magazine by Father Bruce Cecil, pastor of Our Lady of Soledad Parish in Coachella, CA. 

-         www.zenit.com (daily news from the Vatican) 

  

Quiz 

The winner of a gift copy of Light Reading for Good and Wayward Catholics, who clocked in at 10:25AM on December 21, is Mabel Erickson in Buffalo, NY 

1.     Before Paul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus, his name was Saul. 

2.     The only saint canonized by Christ was the good thief. “Today, you shall be with me in Paradise.” 

3.     Michelangelo was a youngster of 24 when he carved La Pieta. 

  

Communiqués received 

-         Regarding your Tiger Woods account, I resent your putting me in  the same category with that man! (Abigail, Cincinnati, OH) 

-         When you reminded me that we joyful Catholics are all billionaires, I remembered this statement from St. Ignatius of Loyola, “Lord Jesus Christ, your love and your grace are wealth enough for me.”  (Eric Thompson, Sacramento, CA) 

 -   (from Dr. David Pinault, the writer of “Hidden Prayer in Yeman”, which, in our last issue, I recommended you read.) “The reason I write popular-format essays is precisely for the purpose of reaching the largest possible audience. And I feel very strongly that the situation in Yemen is one that warrants attention.  So I thank you for helping to publicize this.”
  

        (And let me hear from you readers via joyfulcatholic@comcast.net)  

  

  

Chuckle time 

-         The favorite hymn of retail merchants in December is “Oh, What a friend we have in Jesus.” 

-         Actual news that qualified as humor: 

Rev. Al Sharpton blasted Tiger Woods, not for immorality, but for racial prejudice.  His quote: “Why is it that a man who calls himself black can’t bring himself to cheat on his wife with a black woman? What does it say to young black girls everywhere when you pass them over?  Shame on you, Tiger Woods. What would your daddy say?” 

  

My favorite religious person 

As a joyful Catholic, Sister Joan Carusillo, CSC, has been a special person in my life for many years.  She has the quality I sensed when I met Mother Teresa of Calcutta, because by being forgetful of self, Sister Joan always radiates a deep love and concern for others.  With her associate, Sister Lorraine Ryan, Sister Joan is now working diligently in The Women’s Circle in Boynton Beach, FL.  The purpose of this not-for-profit organization is to provide free services for low-income women in education, job preparation and support groups.  Donations are welcomed to support this splendid work, and the Women’s Circle address is 145 N.E. 4^th Avenue, Boynton Beach, FL 33435.    (561) 364-9501   (561) 364-9501 . (I’m sending my donation today!) 

And let me know about your favorite Catholic organization that is making a difference.  Share this info with your many other joyful catholic members. 

joyfulcatholic@comcast.net) 

  

Special Intentions List 

As you pray with a broad brush, please include these loved ones, who have been submitted by our readers. You, too, are invited to send me names of your special persons who are in need of prayer. My address is joyfulcatholic@comcast.net. They will be on the list for 60 days. At the end of that time, if prayers are still needed, you merely have to renew the name. 

Juanita Caldwell, David Abbey, Amie Ellis, Linwood “Skip” Williams, Gerry Paradiso, Nick DeCarlo, Tom Medved, Bob Haines, Eileen Grotsky, 

Rebecca Matthews, Roseanne Somlock, Nicholas Gallagher, Tom Lewis, 

Violeta Zepeda, Rev. Joseph Healy, John Aylor, Rev. Joseph Marini, Enrique Portillo, Sharon McPike, Joe Berger, Tom Ryan, Joseph Normile, Jim Quimby. 

 

Busy Work!

Just because I am God’s own, totally unique, God’s very own possession, what else can I do but sing of God’s goodness. My whole being sings
Sr. Charleen Hug, S.N.D
(She teaches theology at Notre Dame Academy in Toledo, OH)

Busy Work 

With the Church in crisis, I was puzzled by our bishops devoting so much time and effort to change words in the Mass.  They remind me of two of my women relatives.  The first was my Mississippi great-grand-mother who raised prize chickens.  Back in the early 1900s, house parties were popular social events in the South. One would invite four or five couple to come for a several day visit, when they would be constantly entertained with fancy dinners, parties, dances, picnics and games.  My mother told me that the few days before she had a house party, the place was in constant turmoil with the family and servants preparing food, getting the house in order and planning for every hour of the event.  During this time, her grandmother would devote her time to cleaning out her chicken house.

          The other person was my splendid Spanish mother-in-law.  Whenever she observed someone doing something which she thought was not of importance, she would say, “Ah, they must not have much to do.”

          One aspect of the bishops’ changes puzzles me. At the beginning of the Mass, the priest faces the congregation and offers his blessing: “The Lord be with you.” When he says “you”, I assume he is blessing each body and spirit. We used to answer, “And also with you.”

          But now, in reply, we are to say only “And with your spirit.” What gives?  Why shouldn’t we also want a blessing on the priest’s physical being?

          One reason they made this change might have been because of an event which happened one day at the beginning of a Mass when the priest was having trouble with his microphone. At the start of the service he was fumbling with his mike speaker attached to his robe, and the sound came on just as the priest said to the deacon, “There is something wrong with this mike,” and the congregation said with one voice, “And also with you.”

 

Admired sayings

“Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.”

                             Henry James 

 

 

Shame on me

(A letter to me from Rita S., in Portland, Oregon)

“Armiger, I read your book, Light Reading for Good and Wayward Catholics, and if I were the Pope, I would excommunicate you!”

 

Returned serve

(I wrote back)

“Dear Rita, I thank you for your frank comment about my book, and I thank God that you aren’t the Pope.”

 Current news

Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum is considering a run for the presidency in 2012. (God, please save America)

 

 

Recommended reading

If have an interest in teenagers, don’t miss the article, “Faulty Guidance”, by Father William J. O’Malley, S.J. in the September 14-21 issue of America magazine. It’s an excellent no-holds-barred article.

 

Also, check out the “Pray” article by Zev Chafets in the magazine section of the Sunday New York Times on September 20.  In discussing how we Catholic pray, there is an interesting interview with Sister Janet Ruffing, director of Fordham’s program on spiritual direction. 

 Joyful Catholic Quiz

 (Answers to last week’s quiz)

The winner of the gift copy of Light Reading for Good and Wayward Catholics is Jacob Rodriguez in Chicago in New Orleans who logged in at 8:27 AM on September 23.

 

1.     Because of the stain on her garment, St. Veronica is the saint patroness of laundresses

 

2.     Papal Elections take place in the Sistine Chapel.

 

3.     The first USA bishop was John Carroll, Archbishop of Baltimore, consecrated on August 25, 1790.

 

Chuckle time

  From the book, How to Become a Bishop without Being Religious, by Charles Merrill Smith

“Two requirements to be a bishop: gray hair and hemorrhoids to give you that sorrowful look.” 

My Favorite Priest 

Rev. Andrew Gries, O.C.S.O.

While visiting at Carroll Manor, a nursing home in Washington, DC, I met Father Andrew Griest, a wonderful Trappist monk whose life has been dedicated to prayer and silence. While confined in this facility for the rest of his life, he continues his priestly mission by attending daily Mass in the chapel and sharing his time with fellow Trappist patients, Father Edmund and Brother James. He welcomes, listens and counsels both Catholics and non-Catholics who come to him for advice. He is a true priest—a good representative of God. I look forward to each visit with him and always leave peaceful and happy.

Submitted by Margaret Headley in Washington, DC 

                   (Click here to submit your recommendation for your favorite priest)

Communion, Juicy Fruit Flavor

You will discharge your labor well if you perform with gaiety,

quietly, courageously, constantly.

Bishop Joseph Fenwick (1846)

 Communion, Juicy Fruit Flavor At Mass last Sunday I had a thought provoking experience. Two rows in front and sitting alone slightly to the right was a neatly dressed young man. I estimate he was in his late twenties.  What attracted my attention was that he was obviously chewing gum.

He seemed attentive during the service while he constantly chewed in a slightly rotary movement. At the time for Communion, I followed him up the aisle and watched as he received the Sacred Host.  He chewed going and returning to his seat.  At the end of Mass when we walked out of the church, he was ahead of me, still enjoying his gum.

          Wild thoughts raced through my mind.  What action took place inside the young man’s mouth when he received the Host?  Had he stashed the chewing gum in the corner of his cheek so that he could quickly swallow the Host before he resumed chewing?  Or, God forbid, did he crush the Host into the gum?

          I have since wondered what action I should have taken.  Had he insulted my wife sitting beside me, there would have been a scene. Instead, his action implied lack of respect for the Son of God, and I was silent. My excuse for inaction was to put the blame on others.

The fellow was probably born fifteen years after Vatican II Conference.  Since then, the Church has successfully undervalued the Eucharist and Communion Sacraments in favor of a busy Mass which eliminated Mystery, silence and meditation.  As do too many Catholics, the gum-chewer probably considers the Host to be merely a spiritual vitamin pill, freely dispensed during the service as a doctor might give a sample placebo to his patients.

When I converted to Catholicism over fifty years ago, I was attracted by the spiritual reality of God having become man and the transubstantiation of bread and wine into the very Body and Blood of the risen Christ. But the young man, whose behavior upset me, probably has scant knowledge of the dogmas of Incarnation and Communion.  Who should have prevented his ignorance?

          My only consolation is the fact that this young man was at Mass. 

(And what are your thoughts?)

 Take The Joyful Catholic Quiz- Just Click Here!

The winner of the gift copy of Light Reading for Good and Wayward Catholics is Adrienne, who logged in at 7:05 PM on August 13.. 

 

Chuckle Time

  One beautiful Sunday morning, a priest who wanted to play golf, asked his associate to cover for him at early Mass. Observing this from on high, this annoyed St. Peter, who asked God, “Are you going to let him get away with it?”  God told him to be patient.

          On the 4^th hole, the priest, playing alone, hit the most fabulous shot of his life — 420 feet straight towards the green. When he walked to the ball, the priest realized he had made a hole-in-one. This puzzled St. Peter who asked God, “What kind of punishment do you call that?”         

          God smiled and said, “Who’s he going to tell?”

 

My favorite priest

(Submit your recommendation for your favorite priest in the tab above)

Self-Blindfolded in Paradise

Just because I am God’s own, totally unique, God’s very own possession, what else can I do but sing of God’s goodness. My whole being sings.

                                                              Sr. Charleen Hug, S.N.D.

(She teaches theology at Notre Dame Academy in Toleodo, OH)

Self-Blindfolded in Paradise

 

Last week when I was in Florida, I took an early morning walk.  The morning sun felt good on my face.  I shook hands with a giant benjamina ficus tree by firmly grasping one of its root stalks, and I sensed the power and strength of this masterpiece of Nature.  Further along, I stopped to listen to a mocking bird in a large hibiscus tree with yellow bell-shaped flowers. For my benefit, the bird sang every song it has ever heard — non stop.

          When I passed a six-foot gardenia bush covered with white flowers that perfumed the area, I snapped off a flower to put in my buttonhole.  In all directions, there was lush green vegetation and shrubbery with bright red and orange flowers.  I thought that the word which best described the place was “paradise.”
          Then I saw a man walking forward me, with a dog on a leash and a cell phone held against his ear.  As we passed, he didn’t see me.  I startled him when I said, “Good morning!”

          He gave me a quick nod and pressed the phone closer to his face.

          “Communication’s a great thing,” I said.

          “You betcha,” he muttered as he passed on his way.

          As have millions of his compatriots, the poor fellow walking the dog is a victim of the Age of Distraction, which has been successfully nurtured by mobile technology.  iPods, Walkmans, cell phones and the yet-to-be-invented audio-communication tools entice us to be blind to that which is within our field of vision.  It is difficult to be a joyful Catholic when you are not aware of nearby people and things in which you should have interest.

          It is good to test ourselves occasionally to be sure we haven’t let modern hearing and speaking devices prevent us from quiet time. As Father Thomas Massard, S. J., wrote in a recent American magazine, “If technology is rendering this sort of deliberate oblivion more likely, then let’s unplug and make a choice for immediacy.”

          I think it’s important to be available and receptive to hear the Voice which needs no device to reach our ears.

 

(And what are your thoughts?)

         

 

Joyful Catholic Quiz

(The first to send the right answers will receive a gift copy of

Light Reading for Good and Wayward Catholics)

 

1.   Who were the women who discovered the empty tomb of Christ on Easter morning?

 

2 When a new Pope is elected, what is the color of the smoke that arises from the Vatican chimney?

 

3.  Who was St. Monica’s famous son?

 

 

 

Chuckle time

 (Church Bulletin) Now that we have a second baptism fount at the North Entrance of the church, babies can now be baptized at both ends.

 

My favorite priest

Don’t forget to submit your recommendation for your favorite priest above.

American Catholics, Don’t be Proud!

At first glance, it doesn’t look too bad.  I read that, in the period 2004-7, we rated 9^th among other nations with our number of 309,000 adult baptisms. Then when I gave this further thought, I was ashamed of our poor rating.

 For example, ahead of us in 7^th place was Peru with 425,000 baptisms.

Since their population is less than one-tenth of that in America, relating our miserly achievement to theirs is comparing Buffalo, NY, to Los Angeles.

  In 6^th place is Mexico with 445,000 baptisms.  As their population is one third that of the USA, comparing our number of new Catholics to those in Mexico is relating Corpus Christi to San Antonio.

Why do we have such a poor record of attracting others to our faith?  Could it be that we are too smug and secure with our self-satisfaction, too free of fear of deprivation, etc.?

  What are your thoughts?

Shame on the Diocese of Kansas City!

 

Shame on the Diocese of Kansas City!

 

Had I read this in anti-Catholic press, I would not have been surprised. But I was shocked to see it in The Catholic Key  of the Kansas City Diocese. It seems that the holy folks there are pissed off  at my friend Sister Carol Keehan, who is the extremely competent head of the Catholic Health Association, because of her support of some of President Obama’s pro-choice appointees.

 

The headline (which is all of what most people read) states “Catholic Health’s $856,093.00 Nun”.  Then to confirm that they are taking a cheap and unfair potshot, they don’t mention until at the end of the article that “Sister Carol does not keep her salary. It goes to her order.”

 

They further imply that Sister Carol and the Catholic Health Association (representing over 1200 Catholic health care sponsors, systems, facilities and related organizations and services) don’t care two-cents for the poor, because they have chosen for their board of directors some of the top health officials in America, who are earning large salaries.  I want my mid-western Catholic bigots to know that when Sister Carol headed Providence Hospital in Washington, DC, even thought she took charge of an institution that was deep in debt, she ordered that no patient would ever be turned away if they were not able to pay.

Diocese of Kansas City, go sit on the stool in the corner and face the wall.