Today is the 43rd wedding anniversary of my parents, Edward & Lynda.
God grant them many years!
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Mom celebrates her 67th birthday today.
Blessings!
Where else would a seminarian and a priest be doing on a rainy, Thursday afternoon in the middle of prep work for midterm exams & papers? If you guessed wine making then you answered correctly. Taking a break from an afternoon of meetings, paper writing and exam prep, Father Philip (from Burma) and I took a ride over to Saint Leopold Friary to see what the good Franciscan Friars of the Renewal are doing with their wine making project. Brother Giuseppe Maria is spear-heading a Franciscan making effort for two years. This second try seems to be off and running well.
Sacred Scripture supports wine drinking (and wine making, of course). Can one ever think of true Christianity without wine? If you
don't believe me look at 1 Timothy 5:23 which says: "No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments." If you want more holy Scripture, try on Revelation 6:5-6 for size: When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!"
Looking into the spiritual tradition you can see monks and friars making wine and beer for medicinal purposes. Let's just look a the Benedictine tradition for a second. In chapter 40 of his Rule for Monasteries, Saint Benedict doesn't think wine should be served to monks but he concedes that it may be served to the
sick and those who can't be persuaded otherwise. Saint Benedict writes: "However, with due regard for the infirmities of the sick, we believe that a half a bottle of wine a day is sufficient for each. And then he says: "We read it that monks should not drink wine at all, but since the monks of our day cannot be convinced of this, let us at least agree to drink moderately and not to the point of excess, for "wine makes even the wise fall away" (Eccles. 19:2). OK, so tradition is a beautiful thing and so let's enjoy a little bit of life. Just for the record, Mount Angel Abbey has a Festival of Arts and Wine.
So it is no wonder Brother Giuseppe and his Franciscan brothers are making wine. This IS serious work!
Here are some photos of step two in making homemade wine.
Our Lady of Cana, pray for us.
Friday evening a group of friends gathered at the
Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament in Raritan, New Jersey, to welcome another
friend into our company. Coming from Florida, Sweden and Switzerland, New York,
North Carolina and New Jersey we prayed, feasted and shared companionship.
Father Guy, the rector of the Shrine, and head of the Order of Saint Agatha in
the USA (an international philanthropic group of Christians seeking to serve
our neighbor by charitable works and defense of the Christian faith), presided at solemn Vespers for Friday with a service of Benediction
of the Blessed Sacrament.In his brief homily Father Guy zeroed-in on the
witness of Saint Agatha who gave her life to Christ because of her love for
Him. Hence, our lives are not mere do-gooders but people of faith rooted in
sacrifice and giving of self; Father Guy drew our attention to the need to root
our service of neighbor in Christ as he reflected Saint Paul's second letter to
the Corinthians where Paul speaks of the Father's compassion and encouragement
in all things, particularly in times of affliction. The human tendency is to
loose hope and despair over our sufferings without uniting this reality to
Christ. Remembering and living in Christ's sufferings strengthens our resolve
to carry-on because we know we are not alone.
Happy 69th birthday, Dad!
Abundant Blessings
(photo from a celebratory dinner last Saturday)
You never know who will bless a house. Today, a friend's house was blessed by his uncle, Archbishop Peter Leo Gerety, emeritus archbishop of Newark. The Gerety's nephew, Phil, was a most gracious host today.The archbishop is the sometime bishop of Portland in Maine and the once a upon a time founding pastor of Saint Martin de Porres Church, New Haven, CT. His parish work in New Haven is legendary given that his ministry was among the African American Catholics for 24 years (his only pastorate until he was nominated bishop in 1966). Archbishop Peter is a well-known prelate of the Church for his many years of service to the same in an era of great upheaval. At the moment he's the oldest living bishop in the US (he turned 97 on July 19th) and the 12th oldest bishop in the world. His anniversary stats this year include being a priest for 70 years and a bishop for 43. In addition to his daily routine of prayer and living, Archbishop Peter reads about two books a week and periodically celebrates the sacrament of Confirmation but he does have to nurse a sore hip.
A delightful part of the afternoon was had over a delicious lunch talking about the archbishop's seminary training with the Sulpician Fathers in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France.
Say a prayer for Archbishop Peter's continued health of mind and body. He's a very delightful person with a great heart and good humor.
I was in NYC today visiting my friend Henry. Visiting friends is a good and serious thing to do because it builds a companionship for the journey of life, particularly the spiritual life. Seeing Henry is always a good thing for me. Pray for Henry as he heads to Italy for a retreat with members of the Fraternity of Saint Joseph.
Having the opportunity to go to the sacrament of Confession at Saint Agnes Church (E. 43rd Street, near to Grand Central) was a good thing. I make it to the sacrament about once a month but generally not more than every 5 weeks. It takes real courage and humility to face one's humanity and take the medicine for the healing of the soul. And my mentioning this fact here ought to be interpreted as an encouragement to seek the face of God. I am a sinner as all people and so I the weight of personal sin can weigh the soul down but the inclination of the heart to face one's humanity is by virtue of the power of the Holy Spirit beckoning to come closer to the Lord. Examen your conscience and go to Confession! An active sacramental life is necessary for salvation: give to God a worthy Confession (give God everything), receive Communion worthily and prayer is more effective (as in the prayers of the saints). God is never outdone in generosity. Working on our personal life of holiness through Confession and Holy Communion sustains our daily life.
I stopped into the brand new Pauline Books & Media in Manhattan at 64 West 38th Street (near to 6th Ave.). Until recently the bookstore was uptown.
THE reason I am mentioning this fact is that I think Catholics need to give patronage to good bookstores and Catholic bookstores in particular. Amazon is a good service and I have to admit that I use Amazon more than visiting a real bookstore: who can pass up a discounted price and free shipping? But this is a matter of being in solidarity with small business owners and I think Pauline Books & Media is one. Consider how you spend your money!
The Daughter of Saint Paul have a superb bookstore with a chapel for private prayer. It is worth a visit!
New books added to my bookshelf:
-31 Questions and Answers on Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
-Order for the Solemn Exposition of the Holy Eucharist
-Your Guide to Spe Salvi
-Where Is That in the Bible?
-Elizabeth of the Trinity: The Complete Works vol.1
-Francis & His Brothers
-The Reform of Renewal
-The Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel: Catechesis and Ritual
Henry and I also visited the national headquarters of the Fraternity of Communion & Liberation. Seeing the new offices was fun. Seeing friends was good, too. A got a copy of the new Traces.
Yesterday morning my mother called me with the startling news that a second cousin on my father's side had died. Deborah was 42; because of a complicated family system I don't recall meeting her. Deborah's father is my father's cousin and we would see him every now-and-again. Deborah's death was kept a secret from family and friends; a proper Mass of Christian Burial with the prayerful solidarity of the family and friends is not happening. The ministrations of the Catholic Church were sidelined. The cross of addiction on which Deborah hung --which is known to many in this world-- was quite heavy, probably too heavy, for Deborah and for her family to carry. I am presuming that Deborah's death is and will continue to be for years to come an unfathomable puzzle --full of incredible pain and sorrow-- for the family and friends who survive. My also think that God mourns the loss of His daughter.
Where is God in the circumstances of Deborah's pain and ultimately in her death at 42? Looking at the history of humanity from the Christian perspective, suffering and death is not part of the divine plan. We are not made for suffering and death but we are faced with these things. The question of evil and suffering is known by Christianity as a struggle with the rebellious powers that enslave the world, like drug addiction, and the power of God's love. What God permits because of the supreme gift of our personal freedom often runs contrary to His will. Since we live in a biological world and our biology has natural limits and can't be sustained if it's oppressed by exterior forces (disease, addiction, diabetes, cancer, etc). Our human freedom is God's supreme gift to us and it allows us to say "Yes" to God or "No" to Him; God allows for the possibility free will to run contrary to what He wants for us. Sadly, we have made our autonomy a god and we would sacrifice anything for it on the altars of selfishness; sometimes our actions say we love death more than the gift of life. Man and woman love the word "No" in the face of living life to its fullest potential in God (and the Church). When the Church says drugs are bad for you, we say "let me use them."
As a Christian I believe that Deborah's life, not her death was tragic. Today she knows the fullness of who God is, today she knows His mercy and healing and today she knows intimately the embrace of His love.
Pray for those who struggle with addiction and for those who bear this cross alone. Pray that the community of faith will assist those left behind to know that they are loved by Jesus and by others. Pray that we use our freedom wisely. Pray for Deborah's peace for her family who survive to make sense of life now.
Give eternal rest, O Lord, to Deborah and let her share your glory.
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