Contemplative Prayer Retreat

 

This is where I was this weekend, at the St. Benedict Center, Christ the King Priory, in Schuyler, NE.  The large mural on the right is the Misereor Lenten Veil, 1996, by artist Sieger Köder. It is a triptych. I will have a closer image of it, and some information about it, after the break.

The retreat was the first silent one I have ever attended. It was also the simplest one I have ever experienced.  In some ways the silence was something I had to adjust to, but that part was surprisingly easy.

Incoming mail at the parish

A new book arrives, unsolicited.

Southern Baptists Expel Saddleback over Women Pastors

 The Cleveland Plain Dealer coverage as picked up by MSN:

Nation’s largest Protestant denomination expels giant megachurch for allowing a woman role as pastor

The move to expel Saddleback Church with California’s largest congregation is part of a dispute that has festered since 2021 when the church’s founder, best-selling author and pastor Rick Warren, ordained three women as pastors.

With its vote, the Southern Baptist Convention has cut ties between the nation’s largest Protestant denomination — which officially opposes women as pastors — and one of the biggest church-growth successes of modern times.

At issue is the role of Stacie Wood, the wife of the church’s head pastor, Andy Wood. Stacie Wood has led services as pastor at least three times since her husband was commissioned at Saddleback late in 2022

The Executive Committee also expelled four smaller churches for having women in pastor roles.

Two of those churches have female senior pastors (New Faith Mission Ministry in Griffin, Georgia, and St. Timothy’s Christian Baptist in Baltimore, Maryland) and two others have female lead pastors (Calvary Baptist in

The New York Times Coverage

Southern Baptists Expel Saddleback Church Over Female Pastor

Our joyful, praise-filled covenant with God

Morning Prayer on Ash Wednesday steers us away from wallowing too much in our own sinfulness.  We are in a relationship with God.  Let's lean into it!

Lenten Reflections

 Michael Sean Winters has a good piece on the NCR site today, titled "Why Catholics Need Ash Wednesday".  Why Catholics need Ash Wednesday | National Catholic Reporter (ncronline.org)

The whole article is worth reading, but I will post some excerpts here, along with some personal reflections following:

"Ash Wednesday is not a holy day of obligation, but it always draws larger crowds than any celebrations, save Christmas and Easter. All Saints' Day and the feast of the Immaculate Conception are holy days of obligation, and most parishes see more communicants than a typical weekday, but nothing like the standing-room-only crowds of Ash Wednesday."

Cheater lasagna

In a recent conversation, Stanley invoked lasagna and drew some enthusiastic responses.  I make lasagna, and it's pretty good.  But if you're a lasagna purist, it's emphatically not real lasagna.  Even if you're into stuffed shells or cannelloni, it's not really those, either.  But it's relatively quick and easy, and it's good.  It's meatless, so it works for Fridays during Lent, too.   Here is the recipe:

Francis in Conversation with Jesuits of Congo

 I see Francis as very much a Jesuit. He always stops on his trips to engage in conversation with the Jesuits of the location. The conversation is then published in the Jesuit magazine by his close collaborator, Antonio Spadaro S.J.

Pope Francis in conversation with Jesuits in Congo and in South Sudan

Some quotable quotes

Valentine's Day and romantic relationships

This morning, during Morning Prayer, I said a little prayer for our married relationship, it being Valentine's Day and all.  Nothing wrong with romance, even when you've been married for well over 30 years.

Then I figured, I may as well pray for the relationships of my siblings while I'm at it.  But that quickly got complicated: two of them have been separated from their spouses for many years; one currently is going through a divorce; one is on his second marriage (which seems solid enough); the other two seem to be happily married.  So a bit of a mixed bag.

Among my parents' generation, my parents have been happily married for 60+ years; another uncle and his wife for 50+ years, seemingly equally happy; another has been divorced for decades; and the other is on her second marriage which, from my rather distant vantage point, perhaps could be better.

As for my kids: they're all in their 20s.  One has some sort of ambiguous relationship which, if there is romance and intimacy involved, he hasn't revealed it to us yet.  The others have nothing cooking: no boyfriends, girlfriends, or even dates.  I think the whole relationship-attachment thing is screwy for that generation.  This NY Times article from a day or two ago: "Have more sex, please!" doesn't necessarily hit the bulls-eye when it comes to romance and happiness, but it does discuss the curious asexuality of that generation.  

I prayed for all of them anyway, even if not all their relationships conform to society's Valentine's Day ideal.  Romance doesn't happen to all of us all the time, but it's nice when it's there, and it's worth working for.

Happy Valentine's Day.  

Gun Violence Is the Leading Cause of Death for American Children

 The sentence that makes up this post's title is a direct quote from a story in the New York Times titled Boy, 12, Is Fatally Shot by Owner of Stolen Car in Denver, Police Say, and in the story the sentence contains a link to an earlier piece titled Childhood’s Greatest Danger: The Data on Kids and Gun Violence. The piece is filled with shocking statistics. For example:

No group of American children has been spared, but some have fared far worse. Last year, nearly two-thirds of gun deaths involving children — 2,279 — were homicides. Since 2018, they have increased by more than 73 percent. Most homicides involved Black children, who make up a small share of all children but shoulder the burden of gun violence more than any others, a disparity that is growing sharply.

The number of children who die by suicide with a gun has also risen to a historical high over the last decade. Last year, suicides made up nearly 30 percent of child gun deaths — 1,078. Unlike homicides, suicides disproportionately involve white children, mostly teenage boys. A decade ago, the number of white children who killed themselves with a gun totaled around 500 annually; in three of the last five years, that figure has surpassed 700.

The share of gun suicides for Black and Hispanic children has been growing, too. Still, in America, among children who die by gunfire, Black and Hispanic children are more likely to be killed by others, and white children are more likely to kill themselves.

Gun accidents that kill children have also ticked up in the last decade, though they are relatively uncommon, totaling fewer than 150 in most years.

Is there anything to do but despair? I am all in favor of strict gun-control legislation, but is there any conceivable legislation—let alone legislation that has any chance of being passed and upheld by the Supreme Court—that would make a meaningful difference?

Catholic Parish Donations Steady, Fewer Donors

 

Donations to Catholic parishes steady, post-pandemic, but by far fewer donors

“People who were less engaged before became more so. Infrequent givers stopped going during covid and haven’t come back. The base of people shrunk significantly. That was the scary part for us from a sustainability point of view,”

Pope Francis' Africa Trip

Pope Francis has returned from his trip to the two African countries of The Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan. He gave a good summary of the trip and what he wished to accomplish in his weekly Wednesday audience, delivered today. 

The text of the address appears on the America media site:  Pope Francis on his trip to Africa: God places his hope in the humble | America Magazine

I will post the text of his address after the break, and also comment a bit at the end:

The trouble with Catholic church music

The problems with Catholic church music are frequently discussed, not least by Catholic music professionals.  I'd like to share a couple of thoughts on the topic.  

Light of the world

 This is my homily for today, the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A.  The readings for the day are here.