Easter Weekend

Mom and dad arrived in town last night, and the in-laws arrive tonight. Busy weekend ahead. We went to Holy Thursday mass at St. Matthew's so we can go out tonight (maybe burgers? LOL).

It's a busy hectic time, but it's so nice to have them here and have family nearby. We get so busy all of the time. We don't slow down, we don't focus on faith and family and time together. My parents aren't getting any younger. Well, neither are we. But seeing them slow down, or step tentatively, or squint a little harder at a map, it's all a stark reminder that we should be grateful to have this time away without commitments or dad having to get back to work. It's a time of peace, and family, and a home together. And it's time to remember during the holiest week of the year. Gay marriage has dominated the headlines these last few days. I don't begrudge those who want that "right" for themselves. But a traditional definitely of marriage and family is one of the Catholic Church's longest legacies. And it should be treasured. Marriage is marriage, right? Civil unions and legal commitments are another.

I digress. Happy Easter.

The New Holy Father

Habemos Papem! Pope Francis, the Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio from Argentina, is the successor to the seat of St. Peter.

It was sort of chilling to watch and wait during the selection process. So much eager anticipation. Apparently, the Catholic church is not as dead as the MS claim it is.

Perfect timing for St. Joseph's Day.

"An Act of Great Humility"

The Holy Father steps down. A tremendous moment for the Catholic Church, so shortly before Lent, and it has not happened for nearly 600 years. God bless him. 

However, in today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.

Catholic Schools Week

As a product of 17 years of Catholic schooling, this article caught my interest. It's basically what the Catholic church, in its very mission, should do to dissuade bullying.

Catholic schools are charged with creating conditions and fostering values that lead to the full intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual development of every child.  This demands creating safe communities that protect girls from indirect, covert forms of aggression that prey on their insecurities (and make them more insecure) and teaching values that are currently countercultural, particularly among teenage girls.

One remedy:

A second step might be confronting the adolescent obsession with popularity.  Simmons notes that “popularity changes girls, causes a great many of them to lie and cheat and steal.  They lie to be accepted, cheat their friends by using them, steal people’s secrets to resell at a higher social price.”  This race for popularity is “as dangerous an issue for girls as weight, appearance, or sexuality.”  A key step is to build authentic community in the classroom, something for which Catholic schools should be particularly well-suited.  Catholic classrooms should seek to build a family-like environment where caring about others is a shared norm, even if students will not always be able to live up to that standard.  Not everyone will be best friends with everyone else, but in this type of environment, friendships will be more likely to have a foundation in compatibility rather than being the product of social ambitions.

There needs to be a constant emphasis that the only close friends worth having are ones around whom each girl can be herself and who share her inclination to keep it real.  By developing real relationships, instead of ones where they use others or are used instrumentally, girls can see the benefits of friendship and trust, instead of losing their ability to trust those close them. 

It should be stressed that Catholicism contains the important message that each person’s worth is innate, rooted in the fact that each person is made in the image of God, entirely unique and infinitely valuable.  This is a hard concept to grasp, but if this message is taught, constantly reinforced, and seen to shape the behavior of teachers, administrators, and others, girls will be able to increasingly disconnect their sense of self-worth from their popularity or coolness.  Given the type of behavior that is inspired by the quest to be cool or popular, this is a very worthy goal.

Now I applaud these concepts. I really do. But I don't think Catholic schools do an innately better job of addressing these issues. They can emphasize a commitment to dignity and love for others, but it all starts at home. If anything, parents need to be educated in this respect. Adolescent popularity contests extend to the generation beforehand, and values like respect, honor, and generosity aren't going to be extended to others if superficiality, cheating, lying, and disrespect are what is exhibited at home. And it is more than that-it is genuine concern about the day, genuine interest so parents know their children are not cheating  on homework, know who their children's friends are, and recognize when those friends disappear due to adolescent cruelty.

It is a tough subject, and angst of these years will exist regardless of what one attempts to remedy it. But the Catholic Church can only do so much, and really, not very much at all. At least it did not in my experience.

Fire and Rain

This week has gone by so quickly, but it also has been a long one. I went to Chicago for Donna's father's funeral on Tuesday and Wednesday. I don't want to write about it--the tragedy of seeing her strong mother, her sweet little nephew waving to the Knights of Columbus, feeling the embrace, witnessing the tears, and knowing that ache does not just go away. But people are stronger than you think, right? There is something comforting in the ritual of the Catholic funeral. "On Eagle's Wings" and Psalm 90 and Psalm 91.

James Taylor's classic "Fire and Rain" has been running through my head lately.  You know those lyrics. And the last month, Africa and weddings and a new niece and a friend's sad goodbye...all of those eternal things. Like the priest said, they are a part of our journey. And gosh, what a journey we're on. I looked at my church a little differently after these past couple of days. I was so grateful to have my faith. So grateful to have something to believe in.  And so grateful for friendship. The ability to be there for someone and to smile in those tears. So grateful.

Good Friday

I attended St. Matthew's for Good Friday services today, despite the fact I never really get into a Good Friday service there. I appreciated that the Bishop addressed the child molestation by priest issue. I greatly appreciated the community of Catholics present, feeling less alone in commemorating a day that is so meaningful. I appreciate hearing the Passion, a story I've heard so many times but am always profoundly affected by.

But I never quite "feel" that parish. I think I need to try to get to St. Joseph's next year, or somewhere else. Easter is late next year--Lent doesn't even start til after my birthday. I need to remember, or maybe pick that weekend to go home.

I still miss going to Holy Thursday services with mom. As a kid, you never would believe the things you'd miss that much.

Old Catholic Schools

This piece in the Post today discusses how former Catholic schools in the District are being converted into charter schools. Personally, I'm a fan of this concept: can't afford to keep struggling Catholic schools open? Convert them, so that the education and discipline remains. Give students a choice--choice being the operative word--to attend somewhere beside their usual horrid public school.

But this still makes me sad, that Catholic schools close and so many are so unaffordable. It makes me wonder about the students in the halls of St. Veronica, which is a charter now. I hope they appreciate the education they receive there. I'm glad they are still halls of learning. But it's bittersweet the Catholic option had to close in the first place.

As to whether I'd say my future children to a Catholic school? Maybe, if I could afford it. Maybe, if I could stomach it. That is a question for another date, though...

Save the Catholic Schools

Bill Bennett's NRO column obviously struck a chord with me; it's something near and dear to me.

A new study by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute — a smart, highly regarded education think tank — estimates that 300,000 students have been displaced due to Catholic-school closings since 1990, and that taxpayers have spent upwards of $20 billion to pay for public schooling for these students whose Catholic schools have vanished.

It has now been 15 years since Star closed. Yes, I still think about it. With some of the controversy here about Archbishop Wuerl converting some Catholic schools to charters, this has been a news-worthy item here. Someone commented that we don't have Catholic schools to educate, but we have these schools because we are Catholic. Or something like that...anyway, when St. Veronica closed, obviously, I was a decade-plus removed from that environment. But there is a sadness that a generation of kids is being deprived of this education, Detroit kids who aren't Catholic and Catholic kids living in the inner suburbs. I guess this is all a product of demographics. But you can never convince me after what happened fifteen years ago that Church administrators and priests really care about this, really believe these schools are important and really will sacrifice for them. So if Wichita Catholics can make this a priority, well, that is one good thing about the state of Kansas. As for me, I need to think about what I can do.

The Holy Father's visit

How neat was it to see Pope Benedict XVI at the White House arrival today!



HERE is the video of Happy Birthday.

What an amazing site it was on, a beautifully sunny 65 degree day, on the Holy Father's 81st birthday, to see him. He was strong, resilient, bold.

The speeches.

President Bush:

Here in America you'll find a nation that welcomes the role of faith in the public square. When our Founders declared our nation's independence, they rested their case on an appeal to the "laws of nature, and of nature's God." We believe in religious liberty. We also believe that a love for freedom and a common moral law are written into every human heart, and that these constitute the firm foundation on which any successful free society must be built.

Pope Benedict:

In a word, freedom is ever new. It is a challenge held out to each generation, and it must constantly be won over for the cause of good. Few have understood this as clearly as the late Pope John Paul II. In reflecting on the spiritual victory of freedom over totalitarianism in his native Poland and in Eastern Europe, he reminded us that history shows time and again that "in a world without truth, freedom loses its foundation," and a democracy without values can lose its very soul. Those prophetic words in some sense echo the conviction of President Washington, expressed in his Farewell Address, that religion and morality represent "indispensable supports" of political prosperity.