Tonight on Perspectives: Archbishop Peter Sartain of Seattle explains Ad Limina visits and we take a look at what’s happening across the country.
World Catholicism Week in Chicago
April 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment
This past week Cheridan, S+L cameraman Dave Le Ross and I were in Chicago to attend and film DePaul University’s World Catholicism Week. We met many wonderful students, administrators, professors and guest lecturers, who shared their thoughts with us about the conference and spoke about the meaning of Catholic education in our society today. The university truly is a place of warmth and hospitality.
We also had the great privilege of speaking to Fr. Robert Barron of Word on Fire Ministries and his Eminence Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago. They are two exceptionally gifted pastors and intellectuals, and after each interview Cheridan and I just looked at each other and said “Wow!”
But perhaps the most moving experience of our trip was the day we spent with Fr. Bob Lombardo at the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels. The Mission, situated in the middle of Humboldt Park on Chicago’s West end (one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city) is an inspiring place and a powerful sign of the New Evangelization.
The Mission feeds about 700 families per month, hosts 130 children every day in their after-school program, assists a few dozen seniors in weekly exercise, computer, and arts programs, and conducts a Bible Study which has become very popular in the community.
During our stay we met Sisters Alicia, Kate and Stephanie – young, energetic women whose love for Christ and the Church is absolutely contagious (photo). The Mission is so alive with the spirit of St. Francis, who was known for his simplicity and perpetual happiness. A young family and a neighborhood boy came to visit the Sisters while we were there, and they shared their deepest gratitude for Fr. Bob, the Sisters and the Mission – for building a church and building up a people in a seemingly broken community. What a place!
You can learn more about Fr. Bob and the Mission at www.missionola.com.
Photo: Cheridan Eygelaar interviews Sr. Alicia
Jesus, the beautiful and noble shepherd
April 24, 2012 By 1 Comment
Fourth Sunday of Easter – April 29, 2012
The readings for this Sunday are: Acts 4:7-12; 1 John 3:1-2; John 10:11-18
In the Bible and in the ancient Near East, “shepherd” was a political title that stressed the obligation of kings to provide for their subjects. The title connoted total concern for and dedication to others. Tending flocks and herds is an important part of the Palestinian economy in biblical times. In the Old Testament, God is called the Shepherd of Israel who goes before the flock (Psalm 68:7), guides it (Psalm 23:3), leads it to food and water (Psalm 23:2), protects it (Psalm 23:4), and carries its young (Isaiah 40:11). Embedded in the living piety of believers, the metaphor brings out the fact that God shelters the entire people.
In Psalm 23, the author speaks of the Lord as his shepherd. The image of shepherd as host is also found in this beloved psalm. Shepherd and host are both images set against the background of the desert, where the protector of the sheep is also the protector of the desert traveller, offering hospitality and safety from enemies. The rod is a defensive weapon against wild animals, while the staff is a supportive instrument; they symbolize concern and loyalty. [Read more...]
Defining personhood
April 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Last Friday, I was at St. Therese of Lisieux in Richmond Hill, Ontario for a presentation by the Sprit Movers. If you’ve never heard of them, the Spirit Movers is a dance troupe from the L’Arche Daybreak community, composed of people of all abilities who celebrate the gift of diversity through sacred dance.
I first came into contact with the Spirit Movers as we were preparing for WYD2002. We asked them to participate in the Papal Welcome Ceremony at Exhibition Place. Many of us remember an emotional performance to Joe Mattingly’s On That Holy Mountain, with a very aged and disabled Pope John Paul II sitting only a few feet away from the dancers. Since that highlight performance, my paths have crossed many times with the dance group.
None was as meaningful as the six months that I spent during my pastoral placement for diaconal formation at L’Arche Daybreak. Not only did I get to learn a great deal about a population in our society that is often misunderstood and marginalized, but I got to make friends. I made friends with Peter, Dave, Tim, Joey and Helen. They are wonderful, loving human beings, who cannot live on their own. That is their only fault: They need others to help them survive. Every single parent of a child with disability that I know would say that this is also their greatest gift: They provide us with an opportunity for holiness. Jean Vanier would agree.
[Read more...]
Perspectives Daily – Monday, April 23
April 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Tonight on Perspectives: Pope Benedict XVI gives new cardinals some new duties, CNS speaks to Cardinal Roger Mahoney, and the Church celebrates the feast of St. George.
A (possible) television saint
April 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The late Archbishop Fulton Sheen is a not only a regular fixture on the S+L broadcast schedule, but an inspiration to our team as well. Archbishop Sheen was ahead of his time when he took to the airways to teach the faith in a way that viewers of his day could connect to.
It’s no wonder there is a movement to have him beatified. The diocesan phase of the cause – the phase in which officials his home diocese meet with people who knew him or were touched by his work and gather evidence to show he lived a life of heroic virtues – was closed in 2008 and the related documents were sent to the Vatican.
The Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation recently made it known that there is a possible miracle to support Archbishop Sheen’s cause. That case is being studied in Rome. The mother of the little boy believed to have been healed through Sheen’s intercession posted on her blog a message sent to her by the Fulton Sheen Foundation saying that a committee of bishops and archbishop at the Vatican’s congregation for the causes of saints will be reviewing the materials regarding Archbishop Sheen’s life May 15.
If the Vatican committee finds that Archbishop Sheen lived a life of heroic virtues, he could be declared “venerable.” Then the Vatican would look at the alleged miracle to determine whether it was indeed a miracle and whether it can be attributed to Archbishop Sheen’s intercession
Photo courtesy of Catholic News Service