by Dan Masterton
I feel like the cold has been hanging around pretty profoundly here, even though I can see March cresting the horizon from the bow of my ship. Good thing Lent is late this year because I feel it's my Chicago Catholic right (rite?) to bask in the spring sunshine on a bright Easter morn. Ash Wednesday and spring-forward weekend are coming right up. Before you lock down your Lenten sacrificial choices, why don't you treat yo' shelf?
A leading contender for my Lent is to watch what I drink, namely giving up alcohol and restricting caffeine. Personally, I don't overutilize or depend upon either, but I feel like the second thought I'll have in this special season will be a good nod toward the spiritual emphases of penitence. These folks mention no religious motivation, but they're among a set popularizing an alcohol-free social life. They celebrate the clarity, honesty, and authenticity of their social interactions, and I say, "Here, here," but am not sure if they'd welcome a toast.
"It’s time to give the church back to the people—literally" by Daniel P. Rhodes via USCatholic
This is a really neato burrito tilt on the Church reorganization that's going on and must unfold to help renew the modern Church. As parishes reorganize, merge, and close, land and buildings are left with reduced or no use, and dioceses sit holding underutilized/unused space. This author pieces together some of the initial details of a way to repurpose all of this at the service of the people, particularly those most in need. He admits that he's short on the complete details, but I feel like the ideas behind his outlined proposal are realistic and certainly an expression of justice.
I'm a little behind on this one, but it's exciting even if not no new. Cardinal Newman is one of the most prolific and insightful writers in the semi-recent history of Christianity. He is the author of some excellent prayers, chief among them My Mission of Service and the poetic prayer Lead, Kindly Light. He is also commonly cited as the inventor/founder/articulator of campus ministry, a movement that changed the course of my life, thanks to my fine high school, and gave me my vocation and career. Can't wait to invoke the patronage of this great saint in my campus ministry office.The Restless Hearts on Racism
Our first series in our renewed ministry of writing wrapped this week. On these last four Mondays, we shared some reflections on the sins of racism in our Church and our society. Please loop back and check out these posts in our series as we finish cooking up our next plan:
No. 1: Erin on naming racism
No. 4: Tim on racism as national original sin
* * *
Finally, my old college friend and now Holy Cross priest, Fr. Mike Palmer, shared a fun perspective from the Notre Dame hockey arena. Fr. Mike hopped into the penalty box, presumably not because of anything he did wrong, and captured a great inscription that greets opposing players during their time in the so-called "sin bin." Maybe Fr. Mike will hear some penitents there someday...
This is why @NDHockey will forever be my favorite. How many other teams actually encourage their opponents to repent while they're serving their two minutes? 😆 pic.twitter.com/DXsTRaoUEP— Fr. Mike Palmer, CSC (@mppcsc) February 26, 2019
No comments:
Post a Comment