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Gandalf’s wisdom for the new Cold War
Police officers stand watch as people wait outside an immigration office in Brussels March 7, 2022, after fleeing from Ukraine following Russia's invasion of the country; photo: CNS/Yves Herman, Reuters
In trying to make sense of the events surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a recent Facebook post from Catholic theologian and writer Scott Hahn with an excerpt from J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” provided me with some necessary inspiration.
“ ‘I wish it need not have happened in my time,’ said Frodo. ‘So do I,’ said Gandalf, ‘and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.’ ”
Thank you, Tolkien. And thank you, Hahn.
Mark Wahlberg’s film about Fr. Long aims to inspire
An upcoming film about a rough-and-tumble Montana priest has the potential to inspire every person to consider a relationship with God, Academy Award nominee Mark Wahlberg said in an interview that aired Feb. 10, 2022 on EWTN’s The World Over.
“It felt like it was a story and a message that everybody needed to hear,” Wahlberg said. “If we get one other person, if we plant one more seed… and even if it takes him 50 years to get there to impact somebody else, we're doing our job.”
Read more Mark Wahlberg’s film about Fr. Long aims to inspire
We are All Missionaries — The Challenge of that Word
European group of La Salette Laity and La Salette Missionaries, La Salette Shrine in Salmata, Italy in 2012“No one will understand the speech of another” (Genesis 11:7).
In teaching listening skills to seminarians, I introduced the basics of linguistic theory – how human beings communicate with one another and where problems occur. In any verbal exchange, there is the messenger, the message, and the receiver of the message. The messenger encodes the message in some vehicle – usually words – and then sends that message to the receiver. The receiver must hear the message (no problems in transmission) and decode it before understanding is possible.
May I have a cookie?
Seems straight forward enough, no? I want a cookie. I say, “May I have a cookie?” and my wife, who is putting away the box of cookies, hears my words and responds with “Sure, have the rest of them.” But something more was received than my message, because there are other messages being sent using other means: tone of voice, body language, eye contact.
And there may be an underlying message about the relationship itself, or the context, or a message the receiver is trying to send, such as, “You saw that I was cleaning up, dinner is over, and I am putting the box away. You are interrupting me. Have what you want, there are not that many left, just finish them off and take care of your mess.
Read more We are All Missionaries — The Challenge of that Word
Prayer set in motion – Contemplatives in Action
Sr. Carole Blazina, S.C. performs a blood pressure check; photo: Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill
Members of religious communities focused on service in the world like to think of ourselves as “contemplatives in action,” finding God through people, places, ministry, and more.
Daily Conversation with God
Prayer, as prompted by the Holy Spirit, is our daily conversation with God. How we experience prayer each day ultimately leads us to God’s plan for our life. Then prayer becomes an integral part of our calling, no matter what it is.
When I look back at my call to religious life, I see that a number of influences moved me to begin the journey of discernment. Topping the list was my growing relationship with God and a sense of God inviting me to “more.” I sensed this invitation because I was open to a relationship with God and had been taking time to be with God through prayer.
At the origins of our universe
Hubble Space Telescope has revealed the astounding variety and amazing complexity of planetary nebulas; photos: NASA
Recently, NASA launched the James Webb Space Telescope into space, the biggest and most expensive telescope ever built. It will take six months for it to travel a million miles from the earth, find its permanent place in space, and then start transmitting pictures back to earth. Those pictures will be such as we have never seen before.
The hope is that it will enable us to see much further into space than we’ve ever seen before, ideally to the very ends of our still-expanding universe, right to the first particles that issued forth from the original explosion, the Big Bang, that began time and our universe.
We are still discovering more of God’s universe
The devil is in the exquisite details of Denzel’s ‘Macbeth’
Denzel Washington as Macbeth; photo: A24/Rotten Tomatoes
This Macbeth is the story of a man’s deal with the devil, told in dramatic strokes of black and white.
When Joel Coen decided to direct “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” he knew he faced a dilemma. Should he work hard to make it as un-play-like as possible? Should he switch every soliloquy to voiceover, with footage of mountains and heather and skulls underneath? The only other option, it seemed, was to do something stiff and stagey.
Read more The devil is in the exquisite details of Denzel’s ‘Macbeth’
Our common humanity
Archbishop José H. Gomez speaks via video at a pre-event for the 23rd Congress of Catholics and Public Life in Madrid, Spain.The Gospel of Jesus Christ remains the most powerful force for social change that the world has ever seen. And the Church has been “antiracist” from the beginning. All are included in her message of salvation.
Jesus taught us to know and love God as our Father, and he called his Church to carry that good news to the ends of the earth — to gather, from every race, tribe and people, the one worldwide family of God.
Mary's Presence as Experienced in my Service in Mission
I am a Marianist, a member of the Society of Mary, and so I draw grace and encouragement in my life and in my ministry from Mary, the Mother of Jesus. A phrase from the wedding at Cana that I carry in my heart is “and the mother of Jesus was there” (John 2:1). Her presence to me was broadened and deepened when I experienced the faith, inspiration, and nourishment I received from her while serving the people of India and Kenya, both places where I have served, receive from her.
My mission in Nairobi, Kenya
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Thirty-One Days of Reconciliation—Lenten Daily Tasks
Each new day of Lent offers us the opportunity to grow in God's love. To attain this does not require a great deal of time or deep reflection. As is so often the case, it is through seemingly small gestures of kindness and thoughtfulness that great spiritual comfort is shared.
Of course there is no set formula, but one simple way to attain this is to resolve to accomplish one positive thing each day. This need not be a dramatic decision of life-changing proportions: an encouraging word to a friend who is experiencing a difficult time, a visit to someone who is ill or a short note to a troubled person to let them know you are thinking of them, can create more good will than lavish gifts or floral tributes.
As we pray to Our Lady of La Salette during this Lenten season, seeking her love and intercession in our life, let us pause briefly each day and consider the following suggestions for positive action. We can be sure that this attempt to meet God daily will help us feel much better about ourselves and the world around us. And as grace flows into our lives, we cannot help but feel in closer harmony with Christ and his Blessed Mother.
Read more Thirty-One Days of Reconciliation—Lenten Daily Tasks
Book of Hours exhibit at the Getty illuminates the journey to eternity
I had a telling in-flight experience on a plane a few years ago. Not a minute had passed after I opened my breviary to pray when the man sitting next to me asked if I was a priest. I am not, but as it turned out, he was.
The conversation was an illustrative reminder that praying the Book of Hours, the precursor of what is now known as the Liturgy of the Hours or the Divine Office, was long considered an essentially clerical task and largely still is today. That, despite the Second Vatican Council’s invitation to lay men and women to rediscover this everyday prayer of the Church.
Read more Book of Hours exhibit at the Getty illuminates the journey to eternity