conversion

The streams have crossed

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

There are not many instances where my headbangin’ tendencies and my Catholic faith cross.

Iron Maiden pay respects at Blessed Oscar Romero’s tomb

Iron Maiden paid tribute to Blessed Oscar Romero during the British heavy metal band’s stop in El Salvador on their current world tour.

During a concert at the Estadio Jorge Magico Gonzalez in San Salvador, El Savador’s capital, a crowd of 9,000 people cheered when the band’s drummer Nicko McBrain put on a t-shirt featuring an image of the murdered priest and the slogan, “Saint Romero of the Americas”.

Before the concert, McBrain and his bandmate, guitarist Janick Gers, visited Blessed Romero’s tomb in the Crypt of San Salvador Metropolitan Cathedral, Associated Press reports.

Now I knew Nicko McBrain joined a Presbyterian church in Florida around 1999, so this is rather interesting.

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Pope

You were misinformed

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

Now this is rather odd,

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s main archdiocese has taken the unusual step of publicly saying Pope Francis had been badly advised when he directed harsh words to local bishops during his visit in mid-February.

The pope told a gathering of local bishops in February not to be career-minded clerics, saying, “We do not need ‘princes,’ but rather a community of the Lord’s witnesses.”

The pope also urged them to maintain unity and show more transparency. “If you have to fight, fight. If you have to say things, say them, but do it like men: to the face,” Francis told the bishops.

An editorial published Sunday on a website of the archdiocese of Mexico City also said that some of the pope’s comments had been misinterpreted by “reporters more focused on histrionics than the deep meaning of the words.”

“The Mexican bishops have been accompanying the suffering, downtrodden people, devoting their lives to others and not living like ‘princes,’” the editorial said.

It denies local bishops are out of touch with the people, and says the pope’s comments “might be due to someone near him who gave him bad advice.”

The editorial ends with the question: “Who gave the pope bad advice?” Source

Wow I am going to move to Mexico where apparently they have perfect bishops with no amount of clericalism.

Well, maybe not. It is true the Pope can be a bit of a scold at times like his Christmas speech to the Curia. Still this seems very thin-skinned to me. Say for example the Pope was misinformed, than such bishops unconcerned about a worldly career would not be concerned that they were mischaracterized. That they issued an editorial regarding this is a “Doth protest too much” moment.

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Liturgy

The Elder Brother

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

I heard a very unique homily on the parable of The Prodigal Son. Unique in a good way.

It was a soliloquy delivered from the perspective of the older brother as he speaks about his anger at his brother and father and fleshes out his feelings and reflects on them. Is he just in his anger and being treated unfair? Is he trying to buy his Father’s love by duty? Does he have gratitude for what he has or is he jealous of his brother? There is a whole chain of thoughts expressed to where he comes out the other side seeing his own faults.

I found this rather powerful and a interesting way to get the point across. Listening to it I was hoping that he would finish the soliloquy and not try to expand by trying to explain further – since it was perfect as it was. He did leave it alone.

Now this is not a technique I would want to see used all the time. Turning a homily into a drama audition. Yet used sparingly by someone in a skillful manner I found it a rather effective way to reflect on the reading,

When I have heard the pastor of this church preach I have been impressed. There is a vigor and thoughtfulness to his homilies. Plus more to the point I actually remember the points made in them after Mass. Usually I suspect the Holy Water font contains the water from Lethe.

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The Weekly Francis

The Weekly Francis – Volume 133 – 2 March 2016

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

pope-francis2-300x187This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 22 January 2016 to 29 February 2016.

The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I also post at Jimmy Akin’s The Weekly Francis. Jimmy Akin came up with this idea when he started “The Weekly Benedict” and I have taken over curation of it.

Angelus

Daily Homilies (fervorinos)

General Audiences

Homilies

Messages

Speeches

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The Weekly Francis

The Weekly Francis – Volume 132 – 17 February 2016

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

pope-francis2-300x187This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 28 January 2016 to 17 February 2016.

The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I also post at Jimmy Akin’s The Weekly Francis. Jimmy Akin came up with this idea when he started “The Weekly Benedict” and I have taken over curation of it.

Angelus

Daily Homilies (fervorinos)

General Audiences

Homilies

Messages

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “God wants to live amidst his sons and daughters. Let us make space for him in our hearts.” @Pontifex 4 February 2016
  • “Entering through the Holy Door means discovering the depths of the Father’s mercy, who seeks each of us personally.” @Pontifex 8 February 2016
  • “In Mexico I will look into the eyes of the Virgin Mary and implore her to look upon us always with mercy. I entrust my journey to her.” @Pontifex 11 February 2016
  • “Today is a day of grace. The meeting with Patriarch Kirill is a gift from God. Pray for us.” @Pontifex 12 February 2016
  • “Dear Mexican friends, you are in my heart. Let us put our trust in the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe who always looks on us with tenderness.” @Pontifex 12 February 2016
  • “Mexico has a young face. This makes it possible to contemplate and plan for a future, for a tomorrow. This offers hope.” @Pontifex 13 February 2016
  • “Mary is the woman who says yes, a yes of surrender to God, a yes of surrender to her brothers and sisters. May we follow her example.” @Pontifex 13 February 2016
  • “Simply looking at you, O Mother, to have eyes only for you, looking upon you without saying anything…” @Pontifex 14 February 2016
  • “Lent is a time for reconsidering our feelings, for letting our eyes be opened to injustice, to open our hearts to those suffering.” @Pontifex 14 February 2016
  • “May the Lord help us overcome the temptations of wealth, vanity and pride which seek to destroy the truth of the Gospel.” @Pontifex 14 February 2016
  • “Jesus is waiting for us and wants to heal our hearts of all that tears us down. He is the God who has a name: Mercy.” @Pontifex 14 February 2016
  • “In the heart of every person is a desire to live in freedom, in a place where change is possible in fellowship and solidarity.” @Pontifex 15 February 2016
  • “Among the poor being treated worst is our planet. We cannot pretend all is fine in the face of the great environmental crisis.” @Pontifex 15 February 2016
  • “I prefer a family with a tired face from sacrifices made rather than a pretty one which is unfamiliar with tenderness and compassion.” @Pontifex 15 February 2016
  • “We learn how to pray, just as we do to walk, speak and listen. If you tell me how you pray, I can tell you how you live.” @Pontifex 16 February 2016
  • “Our first calling is to learn how to say the “Our Father”. Father, help us to avoid the temptation of resignation.” @Pontifex 16 February 2016
  • “In Jesus I have met the one who is able to bring out the best in me.” @Pontifex 16 February 2016
  • “You have asked me for a word of hope: what I have to offer you has a name: Jesus Christ.” @Pontifex 16 February 2016
  • “Jesus would never ask us to be assassins; he calls us to be disciples. He would never send us to die. He invites us to life.” @Pontifex 16 February 2016
  • “The mercy of Jesus embraces everyone in every part of the world: open your hearts!” @Pontifex 17 February 2016
  • “Celebrating the Jubilee of Mercy means learning how to not remain prisoners of the past. It means believing things can be different.” @Pontifex 17 February 2016
  • “Dear prisoners, while you have experienced great pain, you can become prophets of a better society without violence and exclusion.” @Pontifex 17 February 2016
  • “All of us must struggle so that work can become a reality of humanization and a positive future.” @Pontifex 17 February 2016
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Prayer

Motivational Prayer Hacks

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

This my be my most audacious post on my blog. One in which I offer prayer advice. When it comes to praying badly I am quite an expert at it. Really though this post is how to help to develop the habit of prayer for some personality types. Plus with Lent starting, just possibly what I offer might be useful to someone.

I really put the pro in procrastinating and so even things I prioritize gets put off for later and then don’t get done at all for that day. Why put off something today you can put off tomorrow? Really I have been thinking about doing this post for a couple of weeks.

Last year I got an Apple Watch and I soon found that the activity tracker was very helpful for me. For one the three-ring activity indicator was a constant reminder I was failing in one of those areas. So I started to prioritize exercising each day and looking for opportunities to walk. I soon found I was doing this every single day, even on days when I could have found tons of reasons not to do it that day. I have maintained this for over six months now and went down some pant sizes and have made this a habit every day of the week.

During this I was observing myself and wondering why this visual indicator was so important to me? Part of it was maintaining a streak and continuously hitting the goals. A visual indicator of an accomplishment. But I also found that even when I was unable to exercise because of sickness or travel, that when able to do so again – did so. So it got me into the habit to the point where it was a habit.

Still as much as physical health is important, I wanted to prioritize my prayer life even more. So I figured that if the activity rings provided me the motivation I needed, then maybe something could help me likewise in my prayer life. Around the same time I had been thinking about this I had seen various app reviews about goal oriented apps where you could set daily goals to check off each day with various options.

One of the prayers I have continued in since even before I officially entered the Church was the Liturgy of the Hours. Really I had been pretty good starting my day with the Office of Readings and Morning Prayer, but Evening and Night Prayer would often fall away – especially on weekends. The same for the Rosary – I normally would pray it towards the end of the day during the first part of the week, but weekends rarely.

So I wanted to set two goals. One to pray those hours in the Liturgy of the Hours that I sometimes didn’t get to and to be much more consistent in praying the Rosary.

So around the beginning of the year I bought an an iOS app called Strides: Goals & Habits Tracker + SMART Goal Setting and set these two daily goals. I was also able to set the time where it would show an indicator that one of my goals needed attention. So now for over a month I have not failed to meet these two goals daily.

So for whatever reason my personality quirks found this method useful in meeting goals and actually planning a head of time to make sure I provide the time for this. When it comes to exercise and prayer it certainly does take a significant block of time each day – but what I would fill that block with otherwise would be less helpful for me. I also found that more consistency in praying the Rosary was actually helpful in praying the Rosary for me. There was another prayer hack that I added in praying the Rosary, but I will discuss that on another day.

No doubt this technique will not work for everybody. You have to care about some indicator badge on an app and it has to annoy you enough to meet the goal.

The app I used – Strides has been getting the job done for me. It is fairly easy to setup and to interact with daily. Although based on this review I would probably have bought Streaks instead as it seems to be the better designed app. Momentum Habit Tracker is another possible consideration for much more tracking. I admit the main reason I haven’t switched over to Streaks is that I already have a months worth of data in Strides and while losing it would really mean nothing, there is psychological momentum connected with it.

No doubt there are equivalent apps on Android, although the one they have called Streaks is a habit reminder, but is is not from the same creators as the iOS app of that name.

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Pro-lifePunditry

Any stick will do

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

In the “any stick will do category”, Tina Beattie at CruxNews gives us a total crap article which misrepresents the Church’s theology along with what Pope Benedict XVI previously said. Plus of course includes an appeal to surveys regarding Catholics as if they mattered beyond unfortunately illustrating the ignorance of many Catholics.

This only exposes the weakness in those who can’t grasp that you can’t do evil to do good. What she calls weakness is actually a consistent moral ethic.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church

1750 The morality of human acts depends on:

  • the object chosen;
  • the end in view or the intention;
  • the circumstances of the action.

The object, the intention, and the circumstances make up the “sources,” or constitutive elements, of the morality of human acts.

This is an example of the new eugenics where it is better to kill a person or prevent them from every becoming a person than to exist with illnesses and disabilities.

The Catholic tradition has always allowed for some flexibility in the interpretation of Church teaching in particular circumstances — a practice known as casuistry. When the denial of contraception exposes adults or the children they conceive to life-threatening illnesses and disabilities — and when the criminalization of abortion condemns women to carry unwanted pregnancies to term or risk their lives through illegal abortions — we need to navigate a path of careful ethical reasoning through contested areas of human vulnerability, rights, and responsibilities.

Funny how abortion is a cure for “life-threatening illnesses and disabilities”. The new eugenics has been busy wiping out birth defects by eliminating the person who has them. They have done a bang up job with Down Syndrome with 90 percent being aborted and are looking for continued success in other areas.

She sees casuistry as loopholes to help ignore the morality of human acts.

From the Catholic Dictionary.

… casuistry is an integral part of the Church’s moral tradition. Its purpose is to adapt the unchangeable norms of Christian morality to the changing and variable circumstances of human life. (Etym. Latin casus, case, problem to be solved.)

It is not a term that describes changing unchangeable norms to adapt to the situation like she thinks.

As a partial remedy to this article is one surprisingly in the Washington Post “What this amazing mom of two girls with microcephaly has to say about Zika scare”.

“This is the baby I’m supposed to be a mom to,” she said. “I would be missing out on a gift that had been given to me.”

Note: Post title alludes to G.K. Chesterton’s comment in Orthodoxy.

“They burned their own corn to set fire to the church; they smashed their own tools to smash it; any stick was good enough to beat it with, though it were the last stick of their own dismembered furniture.”

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The Weekly Francis

The Weekly Francis – Volume 131 – 3 February 2016

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

pope-francis2-300x187This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 1 January 2016 to 2 February 2016.

The Weekly Francis is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I also post at Jimmy Akin’s The Weekly Francis. Jimmy Akin came up with this idea when he started “The Weekly Benedict” and I have taken over curation of it.

Angelus

Daily Homilies (fervorinos)

General Audiences

Homilies

Messages

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “As Christians, we cannot be self-centred, but must always be open to others and for others.” @Pontifex 28 January 2016
  • “Mary, Mother of Jesus, help us to share the wonders of the Lord with all whom we meet on the way.” @Pontifex 2 February 2016
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News

Headline News

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

(Vatican Radio) The Prefect of the recently established Secretariat for Communications, Monsignor Dario Edoardo Viganò, has refuted press reports claiming Pope Francis “will play himself” in an upcoming film.

The film production company ENVI Pictures issued a statement on Monday saying Pope Francis will appear in the film “Beyond the Sun.”

“The Pope is not an actor,” Msgr. Viganò said.

He added that no scenes for the movie were filmed “for purpose,” although he does not exclude “as has happened before, video clips of the Pope could appear in the film.”

Any profits from the film are being used to support two Argentinian charities for children Source

“The Pope is not an actor” not that there is any thing wrong with that says Saint Pope John Paul II.

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