Sloppy Catholicism

I saw this article and cringed.

The title is Welcome Home Lance Corporal Alex Sanford.

The editing was atrocious:

- While in Afghanistan he was part o the force that pushed into Trek Nawa...

- Alex and his fellow Marines subsisted on MRE's (meals- ready- to -eat), while makin their quarters...

- He looks forward to connecting up with friends an purchasing a truck...

- He and his family would like to thank the community for their continue support of our troops.

This is indicative of the casual approach we take to so many things these days, including our own Catholic Faith.  We don't dot the i's or cross the t's or spell things correctly.  It sends the wrong messages and leaves us more distant from God.  In parallel to the errors listed above:

- Leaving out one letter of a two letter word is like leaving out Joseph when talking about the parents of Jesus, or leaving out Abel when talking about the children of Adam and Eve.

- Adding unnecessary spaces in the explanation of an acronym is like keeping people confused about the Truth.

- Omitting the "g" in an "ing" word is like listing all your sins but never going to Confession.

- Leaving out one letter of a three letter word is like leaving out Jesus from the Trinity.

- Forgetting the "d" at the end of a past tense verb is like telling people the Passion is occurring today, not way back in Jesus' time.

With these oversights, we have to constantly re-interpret what we are reading, if we take the time, that is.  It is an annoyance and a distraction and we miss out on what the author really wants us to know. 

The same thing occurs with our Faith.  When we are less than thorough in things like learning the Catechism, or doing our Confession, or receiving the Eurcharist, others have to re-interpret what they are observing, and at the same time, we are personally missing the fullness of God's plan of salvation for us.

What are you doing to deepen your knowledge and practice of the Catholic Faith?


image - personal files

a whole lot of shaking going on

The floor underneath me has been shaking on and off since this morning.  My coworker thinks that it is from some nearby MTR construction or pile driving in a neighboring site.  I work at the Hopewell Centre in Wanchai.  If anyone can tell me why the ground is shaking I would really appreciate it.  I am feeling more skittish about it than I probably should and would like to ease my mind.

UMCOR Builds on 9/11 Response

Like many people, I anticipated the arrival of the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks for some time. Although I was not in my current position with UMCOR at the time of those terrible events, I recall feeling a sense of pride as a United Methodist pastor serving in a local congregation that "my" church was responding.

UMCOR responded as it always does, with special attention to the most vulnerable populations. Love in the Midst of Tragedy was UMCOR’s three-tiered response to those events. In addition to focusing on the most vulnerable survivors and other affected people, its programs promoted peace and reconciliation and also extended a hand to a displaced Afghan population that was returning home after two harsh decades.

It is fitting that at this tenth anniversary of 9/11 UMCOR continues to build on its response to that tragedy as it addresses current emergencies around the world. In just the past six months, these have included the triple disaster in Japan; a rash of violent tornadoes through the US South; a third straight year of record flooding in North Dakota; a still unfolding recovery in Haiti; epic flooding caused by back-to-back hurricanes/tropical storms along a string of Eastern states; and wildfires that have burned tens of thousands of acres in Texas.

Yes, it is fitting that UMCOR should honor those who experienced not only the horror of 9/11 but the solidarity and self-giving that were part of the response to the events of that late-summer day by continuing to be present in times of emergency or disaster, to offer a hand and to offer hope.

*Rev. Cynthia Fierro Harvey is the head of UMCOR.

You can also read 9/11 reflections from the General Board of Global Ministries General Secretary Thomas Kemper here.

a decade later

I will tell this story to the best of my recollection.

SB's friend K is a remarkable man.  Years ago he quit his finance job and spent years traveling around the world, engaging in all sorts of exciting activities.  He kayaked from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.  He rode his bicycle across the United States.  While in India he grew a beard so that he could enter Yemen with minimum attention. 

Ten years ago during he worked in a finance company on Church Street in New York City.  One morning he was having a meeting in the center of his office when a huge explosion rocked the building.  Nothing was spoken after that; the meeting broke up as each colleague ran for an exit.  Interestingly, each of the four colleagues at the meeting chose a different emergency exit.  Three of them made it out of the building in minutes but K had chosen the wrong exit.

He ended up in a mass of confusion as people were running in both directions.  The exit floor had become blocked with debris and smoke so eventually he made his way onto a refuge floor with several colleagues.  After about half an hour later he went back to the staircase and discovered that some of the smoke had cleared and firefighters were ascending the stairs.  Some of the people on the refuge floor opted to wait but he decided to go down the staircase.  The fire at the bottom was not as bad as it had seemed.

Once outside he began walking from the building with a couple of women who had exited with him.  He had lost his colleagues.  As they walked away a loud noise drew his attention.  He looked back to see a sight that most of the world has now also seen.  He told the women with him not to turn around but they did.  One woman fell to the ground.  Eventually they did the only thing left to do and began walking again.  He lived close to his office so he took the women to his home where they stayed for some amount of time before going on.  I didn't ask if he found out their names or ever saw them again. 

Most of us know where we were at that time.  I spent that morning in the stairwell of my school, offering comfort to a stranger.  We have forged a friendship out of the day that we were united by our grief and fear though we have never spoken about it.  But I am writing it down now as a record or what was lost and gained.

Catholic Prayers From The East

I bought a wonderful Eastern prayer book published by Sophia Press.  It is called the Publicans Prayer Book.  When I read it, I yearn for the Divine.  Here are some samples.

Morning Prayer

O Heavenly King, Consoler, Spirit of Truth, present in all places and filling all things, the Treasury of Blessings and the Giver of Life, come and dwell in us, cleanse us of all stain and save our souls, O Good One!

Fifth Ode - Excerpt

You are the source of all light and Creator of the ages, O Lord:  direct us in the light of Your commandments, for we know no other God but You.

From The Great Fast, First Ode
It is time for repentance; I come to You, my Creator.  Remove my heavy yoke of sin, and in Your compassion, grant me the forgiveness of my sins.
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me!
Like the Prodigal, O Savior, I have squandered the wealth of my soul on dissolute living, and I am barren of the fruits of virtue.  In my hunger, I cry out:  O compassionate Father, come out to meet me and take pity on me!

From The Paschal Hour
Christ is risen from the dead, and by His death, He has trampled upon Death, and has given life to those who were in the tombs! (This sounds wonderful when chanted in church.)
From Anavathmi, p. 475
Many a pain have I sustained since my youth. Be my assistance, O my Savior, and save me.
O you, the enemies of Sion, flee in your shame before the Lord, for you shall wither like grass before the fire...

Prayer to Your Guardian Angel
O Holy Angel, interceding for my wretched soul and passionate life, forsake me not, a sinner, nor shrink from me for my intemperance. Give no place for the subtle demon to master me through the violence of my mortal body. Strengthen my poor and feeble hand, and guide me in the way of salvation. O holy Angel of God, guardian and protector of my wretched body and soul, forgive me for all the insults I have given You every day of my life, and for whatever sins I may have committed during the past night. Protect me during the present day, and guard me from every temptation of the Enemy, that I may not anger God by any sin. And pray to the Lord for me that he may strengthen me in His fear, and make me, His slave, worthy of His goodness. Amen.

Prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos
(Mother of God, i.e. Mary)O most Holy Lady, Mother of God, light of my poor soul, my hope, my protection, my refuge, my comfort and my joy:  I thank You for having enabled me to be a partaker of the most Pure Body and the most Precious Blood of Your Son.  Enlighten the eyes of my heart, You who carried the Source of Immortality.  O most tender and loving Mother of the merciful God, have mercy on me, and grant me a repentant and contrite heart with humility of mind...make me worthy always, even to my last breath, to receive the most Pure Mysteries of Christ for the healing of my soul and body.  Give me tears of repentance and thanksgiving, that I may  chant and praise You all the days of my life, You who are ever blessed and glorified.  Amen.


images - http://mi9.com/wallpaper/free-good-morning-rising-sun-wallpaper_84537/
http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/civil-religion/sharon-autenrieth/image_af5a113e-7036-11e0-9e6f-0019bb30f31a.html
http://www.examiner.com/eastern-orthodoxy-in-san-francisco/eastern-orthodoxy-101-theotokos

horrible

Like many other media sources this morning's Standard reported the airplane crash that killed most of the members of KHL's Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.  They also couldn't resist including a picture of a body being hauled out of the wreckage, unlike other media organizations.  Scanning through the rag at my bus stop, I was unprepared to come across the image but was immediately disgusted.  I also felt horror because the body had more than a passing resemblance to SB's physique.  I would have been devastated to see my beloved's body plastered across a newspaper. 

I will agree that images of death can be important to convey the gravity of a situation.  I can even agree that they are truthful images that are part of a record.  But I do not agree with the tabloid-like exploitation of such images for shock and titillation value.  I will say no thank you next time the paper is offered to me at my bus stop.

Passing on the Gift: Haiti Day 2- Sept. 6, 2011

Madame Marie Therese in La Tremblay, Haiti, discusses her participation in the PAUA Agriculture project with UMCOR's director of marketing and communications J. Rollins.  Photo: J. Rollins/UMCOR

The day began with a rooster crowing outside my window at 5 a.m., beating my alarm clock by half-an-hour.

Everyone gathered in the common area of the Methodist Guest House on the Frere campus for a delicious breakfast (the hospitality is incredible) and then set out for three site visits: a recipient from the Emergency Agriculture program Projet d’Assistance Urgente d’Agriculture (PAUA) at La Tremblay; a trip through Camp Corail, a resettlement camp; and the construction site of a school at Leveque.

It was overwhelming to see the estimated 100,000 temporary and transitional homes at Camp Corail, encouraging to see the progress of construction at the Laveque school, and heartwarming to meet Madame Marie Therese at the PAUA site at La Tremblay.

M. Therese was a recipient of goats as part of the agricultural project, which reached out to 1,600 most vulnerable families in all of Haiti. The project focuses on livestock and grain distribution in six of the most difficult places to access in Haiti. M. Therese and her husband chose to raise goats instead of growing crops due to the difficult access to water. They use the milk from the goats, and also breed them to sustain themselves and others in their village.

M. Therese said that without this program, she is not sure how she and her husband would have survived. Neither could work after the earthquake, and they struggled to meet day-to-day needs.

Today, when she saw Collins Zamar, PAUA project coordinator, approaching her home with our group, she came out and greeted us with a large smile. She explained that she was not feeling well, but she did not want to pass up the opportunity to tell us how the program had changed their lives. She said she was looking forward to the day when she would “pass on the gift” to another family in need.

A component of PAUA is that recipients of livestock and grain are required to give a percentage of seed harvested or livestock produced to others in their community—thus keeping the program going and changing the lives of their neighbors, friends, and loved ones.

I thought of M. Therese for the rest of the day and felt lucky to share in her joy. My sentiment was best described in our liturgy that started this day:

For men, women, and children in communities adversely affected by natural disasters;
For friends, and well wishers who are actively involved in Haiti’s ongoing development;
For a positive outcome of this roundtable meeting;
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.


James Rollins, director of communications for UMCOR