On the Need for Discernment

 A couple of (sort of ) related things got my attention this past week.  One of them was a reading for Mass on Thursday, the 21st.  It was the troubling Old Testament reading, Judges 11:29-39, the story of Jephthah and his daughter:

Post-Mass encounter on immigration

A brief conversation after mass today left both of us unsatisfied.

"Love and hope are preferable to fear"

America Magazine has a nice little article sketching the differing attitudes through the centuries toward the frequency with which laypersons could receive Communion.  Here is how it begins:

One Holy Saturday sometime in the 10th century, a married couple dressed in sackcloth and covered themselves in ashes. They went to their parish priest, barefoot and weeping, begging to be able to receive holy Communion with the rest of the parish on Easter. The priest, although appalled by their audacity, given their sins, accepted their repentance and gave them absolution. However, he did not grant them permission to receive Communion. The couple was completely distraught and rushed to a nearby parish in hopes of receiving a different verdict from the neighboring priest.

What horrible action could this married couple have done that kept them from receiving Communion, and why were they so unhappy at being unable to receive on Easter Sunday?

Preparing for the master's return

This is my homily for this past weekend, the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C.  Today's readings are here.  

FYI - I actually gave two different homilies this weekend: the one below, plus a homily for the children who were present at what has become our so-called family mass.  For that one, I called the children forward, had them sit on the sanctuary steps, and asked them questions about being prepared - e.g. getting ready to go back to school this month; and then asked them to think about what it means to get ready for Jesus coming again.  

What follows is the more traditional homily I gave at a different mass this weekend.  One note about that homily: in it, I mention Blessed Carlo Acutis.  Our parish hosted an exhibit this week of the Eucharistic miracles that, as I understand it, formed some of the content of Blessed Carlo's web site.  He is said to be the first saint (or saint-to-be) of the Internet or social media or something similar.  What our parish hosted was low-tech: a long series of placards describing the Eucharistic miracles that Blessed Carlo had documented, organized by country and city.  Some were of fairly recent vintage, while others werre 700-800 years old.  Nearly all of the countries listed were in Europe, although Argentina (including Buenos Aires when Jorge Bergoglio was archbishop) was included.  I didn't see any miracles from the United States, although I suppose there must be some Eucharistic miracles documented in the US.  I wasn't able to examine the exhibit in great detail (and I know almost nothing about Blessed Carlo), but from what I was able to glimpse, a number of the miracles documented were variations on the theme of a consecrated host that bled.  

Pope Leo Most Favorably Viewed Newsmaker by Americans (Gallup)

 
Pope Leo Most Favorably Viewed of 14 Newsmakers

by Lydia Saad

Among 14 prominent U.S. and global figures, Pope Leo XIV has the most positive image by far, with many more Americans viewing him favorably than unfavorably. His 57% favorable rating and 11% unfavorable rating result in a +46 net-favorable score, far ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (+18) and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (+11).

	Favorable	Unfavorable	No opinion	Net favorable
	%	%	%
Pope Leo XIV	57	11	31	46
Volodymyr Zelenskyy	52	34	14	18
Bernie Sanders	49	38	14	11
Emmanuel Macron	30	31	39	-1
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez	34	38	28	-4
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.	42	47	10	-5
Joe Biden	43	54	3	-11
JD Vance	38	49	13	-11
Gavin Newsom	30	41	28	-11
Pete Hegseth	26	38	37	-12
Donald Trump	41	57	2	-16
Marco Rubio	31	47	22	-16
Benjamin Netanyahu	29	52	19	-23
Elon Musk	33	61	6	-28

Favorable ratings for several current and former Trump administration officials have slipped since January. This includes Trump himself, Vance, Kennedy, Rubio and Musk, who stepped down two months ago as head of the Department of Government Efficiency and has since sparred with Trump over policy and personal matters.

The Trump officials’ image declines have been most pronounced for Musk and Rubio, who are each down 24 points in net favorability.

Pope Leo’s 57% favorable rating is the first Gallup rating of the American-born pontiff since he was elected to his position in May. Relatively few Americans, 11%, view him unfavorably, while the rest either aren’t familiar enough with him to have an opinion (18%) or have not heard of him (13%).

These figures closely match Pope Francis’ ratings when he assumed the role in 2013, then viewed favorably by 58% and unfavorably by 10%, as well as Pope Benedict in 2005 (55% favorable, 12% unfavorable).

All three pontiffs also earned higher-than-average support from American Catholics in their initial ratings, with Leo viewed favorably by 76%, Francis by 80% and Benedict by 67%.

One way Leo differs from his predecessors is that his favorable rating is higher among liberals than conservatives (65% vs. 46%), whereas in Benedict’s and Francis’ early days as pope — in 2005 and 2013, respectively — they were each viewed more favorably by conservatives than liberals. That pattern persisted for Benedict through Gallup’s final reading on him in 2010, three years before he resigned in 2013. Francis, on the other hand, saw his popularity with conservatives wane over time to the point that by Gallup’s final reading on him, in December 2023, he was liked much more by liberals (70%) than conservatives (42%), similar to Leo’s ratings today

Unlike the political figures measured in the latest poll, Leo is viewed more favorably than unfavorably by all party groups — although, consistent with the ideological differences in his ratings, he is liked better by Democrats than Republicans.

Pope Leo has broad appeal in the U.S., setting him apart from public figures with clear party associations, whose images are often highly polarized. Although liked by all party groups, he gets better ratings from Democrats and liberals than Republicans and conservatives. Given the similarity to Francis’ image in his later years, this could indicate that Americans perceive Leo to be continuing Francis’ approach to religious and social questions, or that they are assuming that’s the case until shown otherwise.

Andry Hernandez Romero tells his story

I listened to Tim Miller's interview with Andry Hernandez Romero this morning, and read this account on The Bulwark. The actual interview is linked in the article, and is worth listening to. It is in Spanish, but it is translated and subtitled, so you don't need to speak Spanish to tune in to it.

I expected to be angry and beyond disappointed in the actions of our government to this man, and so many others, and I was.  But I was also inspired and humbled by what Andry said.  Read on for the link to the interview EXCLUSIVE: Andry Hernández Romero Tells His Story and excerpts from the article: 

The Presidential Fitness Test Redux

Some background from the New York Times:

Trump Is Bringing Back the Presidential Fitness Test - The New York Times

"...President Trump signed an executive order to reinstate the Presidential Fitness Test in public schools. The move is part of the administration’s goal to “restore urgency in improving the health of all Americans,” according to a statement released by the White House. 

"The test, which was introduced in 1966, has taken several forms over the years. The most recent version included a one-mile run, modified sit-ups, a 30-foot shuttle run, the sit-and-reach flexibility test and a choice between push-ups and pull-ups....the Trump administration has yet to announce which exercises will be included in the new test."