from website of Nederland van Boven

As some of you know I spent a month with my mom in the Netherlands. As a general rule, mom’s television habits mainly include sports (and I use that term loosely, since besides soccer, speed skating, and tennis, she also religiously follows snooker, darts and other such recreational activities). But on occasion I could take control of the tv-clicker, and I found one of my favorite shows: Nederland van Boven (Netherlands from Above). It is a show that looks at habits of people by examining activities as seen from aerial shots. It is in Dutch, but the visuals are stunning (see http://nederlandvanboven.vpro.nl).

So why am I telling you about this? One of the episodes that struck me was bout wildlife in Holland. And one of the things they showed in that episode was the path that deer travel on a daily basis using gps. The deer would hide out in the forest during the day, staying pretty much in one location, away from people. At dusk, the animal would head to the nearest clearing and during the night would graze in the open grassland and wander about, only to sprint back to the forest at dawn. It would show this same pattern day after day.  I was surprise by the routine and the limited in range of such a wild animal.

The next day, I walked to the grocery store to get some basics for dinner and reflected on the pattern of movement of the deer and how my elderly mom is also limited in her pattern of movement. At 88, she shuffles around her apartment, daily head downstairs using her walker to get the mail, and perhaps take out a little baggy of trash and recyclables. Perhaps every other day (when I am not there to run the errands), she will get on her scoot-mobile and head out to get groceries, or into town to run an errand, after which she heads home for a nap.  Her pattern is routine, and limited by age, her energy level and mobility. And I thought to myself, isn’t it great that I am not so constrained.

Perhaps I am not as constrained by age or lack of mobility, but I am constrained by habit and routine. I get up, putter around the apartment, get in the car, drive to work, walk around campus, drive to the grocery store and to run errands, drive home … and every day is very similar.  On rare occasions I may head out of town to visit my sister, or to go to Boston or Manchester for a meeting… but generally, my pattern is just like the deer in the woods, or my mom.  What would your pattern look like from the air?  Do you track the same paths day after day? Dorm to class to Student Center, Dining Commons, back to the dorm, class, quick errand off campus and back to the dorm, out with friends …etc.

Copyright by Moyan Brenn

And what about our spiritual journeys?  Do you have a pattern there?  Perhaps a schedule of prayer or reflection.  Do you stop during the day to reflect on how God is with you always?  Or perhaps when you walk by the church, do you silently nod hello to Jesus in the tabernacle or cross yourself?  Or perhaps, you have a devotion like praying the Rosary, or reading scripture, or even just saying grace before meals or praying when you hear the siren of a fire engine or ambulance? Or perhaps, you only think about God on Sunday mornings…  What does your spiritual path look like?  Is it a well-worn path?  Is there someone who walks the path with you? Is there unexplored territory that you would like to seek out?

Just something to think about as we start a new semester in a new year….

I lucked out and was given a ticket to go to the Installation Mass of Bishop Peter Libasci in Manchester.  The excitement and energy in the Cathedral was palpable. Some of us had been to the vespers the night before and so had gotten a bit of a preview of the man who is now our 10th Bishop.  Some of the words that I kept hearing were: Real, Humble, Prayerful, FUNNY, Down-to-Earth, Passionate.   He showed us a sense of his humor in the homily at Vespers – recounting the tale of his ordination.  But I digress: the Installation Mass was AWESOME.   For those of you who haven’t seen it, it is available online at CatholicTV .  I highly recommend you watch the whole thing, but if you don’t have the time, definitely watch the following:

The Reading of the Papal Bull (Letter) by the Papal Nuncio that appointing Bishop Libasci to be the new Bishop of Manchester starts at about 15:45 which is immediately followed by Bishop Libasci taking the Cathedra (the Bishop’s Chair).

The Bishop takes his seat on the Cathedra (the bishop’s chair) starts at about 25:00 into the video.  The video cannot give you the sense of excitement and love that was poured out in the applause that followed.  It was as if all the pent of excitement and joy that people had been holding in poured out all at once during the applause.

The Homily starts at about 50:30 into the video and is probably the best Homily on the Immaculate Conception I have ever heard.  I loved it when he went off the prepared text and talked a little about himself as Bill and Flo’s kid (around 59:50) … at that the camera pans around and you can see the love and joy on the faces of all those present in the congregation.  There is such hope and love in this new beginning.  I was struck by the conclusion of the homily bacause it addressed the young people of our diocese:

This new Bishop who comes to you now asks you to allow the stirrings of God’s Grace to breathe new life into us all – together so that this Faith that has been the source of hope and love in this diocese for so many generations – cherished by those who built these communities of faith – can be entrusted whole and entire to a new young generation eager to engage in that Divine companionship that enabled Mary to say “Yes” to God and to sing that ancient hymn of joy: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!”

I believe this new bishop will also inspire many young people to consider their vocation, whether a call to married life, the priesthood and religious life.  I believe in this joyfilled, humble shepherd, many will see the beauty of a life lived completely for God.  The joy is contagious!

A couple of videos:

Entrance Procession of Bishop Libasci Installation Mass – Yes, it is long, but I liked the music and didn’t want to chop it up. And it is great to see so many bishops, priests and deacons   Oh, yes, the first 30sec is upside down … Apple makes right handed products…

Recessional from the Installation Mass of Bishop Peter Libasci

Some examples:

I used to work at another university where, when students found out that I was Catholic (I kept a small icon on my desk), they would vent to me that they had to hide their faith in class or risk not being called on for discussions.  If the professor found out that they were Catholic, any of their arguments or points would be ridiculed.  So they learned to keep quiet about their faith for the sake of a grade.

I myself have left  a job in the past, knowing that because the way political correctness was going, I would sooner or later be called upon in my position to support  programs that I could not in good conscience support. Rather than face that dilemma, I avoided it by finding a new position where that conflict would be less likely to happen.

I think part of the problem is that we have been trained from a very young age to compartmentalize.  The idea of separation of church and state is pounded in to us at an early age without ever really looking at the origin of that idea and what it really means.   Some of us were told not to talk about religion or politics because conflict might arise. We were told that should all just get along.   We were told by “experts” that our resumes should not indicate any religious beliefs (a little hard to do when you spent half your career in Church related jobs …

So what to do?   How can we integrate our lives and our faith?

Part of it is to begin to get a sense of what integration of life and faith might look like (or the flip-side: what integration does not look like).  Integrating work, school and faith does not mean that we must be holy-rollers or bible-thumpers or that we must have a big crucifix hanging in our office or cubicle, or walk around campus brandishing our rosaries (although, we should not have to hide our rosary either!).  It means that faith is part of who are and we shouldn’t have to hide our faith or put up with people –even those in authority – who denigrate our faith.

As all things, it starts with prayer.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you.  Pray for opportunities to love those around you, even (or especially when) they are difficult to deal with.   Pray for courage to be ourselves. It can be scary to take of the masks we hide behind.

If we live our faith out in the open, we may be challenged by people who do not believe as we do.  This requires that we continuously learn more about our faith and also how to explain our faith to others.  Knowledge is power and knowledge of our faith is a great remedy against the fear of being challenged for our faith by others.   On the other hand, don’t be afraid to say “I do not know”.  This is the beginning of wisdom.  However, follow up and find out – look it up in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, ask a priest or campus minister or DRE (and hey, if it is really complicated, they might have to look it up as well).

Join a group to support you.  The Newman Center was founded to support students, faculty and staff at non-Catholic colleges who want to learn more about their faith, who want to discuss their faith and ask questions without fear of being ridiculed.  But there are many other opportunities to join together with others who will support your faith: prayer groups at the parish, men’s groups, women’s groups, classes on specific topics, music ministry groups etc.  Find a group where you can simply be yourself and be loved for you are.

Questions for reflection: have you ever felt like you had to hide your faith?  Has anyone ever challenged you faith?

1)      I love Adoration … an hour sitting at Jesus’ feet and life all of a sudden has a whole new outlook.   The same problems remain to be solved, but the perspective is totally different.  Realizing the glass is half full.  Which brings to mind this image:

2)      Working on a longer post about integration of faith and life, whether at work or school or home. It’s a topic that has come up a lot in conversations in the last couple of weeks.  Will post sometime next week.  By the way, consider this an invitation to write a guest post.  If you would like to write a  post about life and faith especially if it relates to college students or young adults, drop me a line.  Contact info is in the right hand column.

3)      Pornography continues to be on my prayer radar.  A friend dropped me a DVD documentary called Out of the Darkness, a true story of Shelley Lubben and her journey from a life in porn to a life in Christ.  I still have to watch it, but it looks like it might be a good vehicle to open up discussion about the topic with college students.

4)      This weekend in Pumpkinfest in Keene NH.   It’s going to be different than in past years – different organizers, but many pumpkins will be lit and much fun will be had.  Will we set a new record for lit pumpkins this year?

5)      I am looking forward to tonight’s Cinema Divina run by the Daughters of St. Paul.   I have wanted to go to one of these since they started about a year ago, and something has always gotten in the way schedule-wise.   Tonight I am going!

6)    One of our priests, Fr. Paul,  has just been named pastor and he will be leaving Keene soon … a friend posted this image on her facebook page …

The three youngest pastors for our Diocese, Fr. Steve, Fr. Paul and Fr. Jeff, who all spent time here in Keene (with the editor of Parable, our diocesan magazine.)

7)      And that makes me think of vocations and how we must pray for more men to hear the call (because God is still calling…)   Found this image very hopeful:

One thing I really like about the podcast is that it is aimed at youth and young adults by hosts who are familiar with youth and young adults. Emily Strand is the director of liturgy at the University of Dayton and her co-host Bob Wurzelbacher is the associate director of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry. In a very conversational style they explain the changes that will take effect this coming Advent.

Anyway, I hope you will check out the podcast available on iTunes.

Of course there are many other resources available about the new translation. Here are a few:

The USCCB has a page dedicated to the Roman Missal

The Diocese of Manchester has resources available on its website

One of my favorite teachers has created a series of videos called Explain it to Me to place the new translation of the Roman Missal in context and to help us understand the changes that are coming.

And of course, our Catholic Faith Formation Center here in Keene, NH will offer a course for those who would like to delve deeper. Starting next week, the CFFC will be offering a five week course “A Biblical Walk through the Mass” which will include the changes to the missal, but also give a deeper understanding of what actually happens at Mass and why we do and say the things we do. For more information about the course, contact the Catholic Faith Formation Center. Classes will be on Monday 7-8pm starting Oct. 17 and Thursday 9-10am starting October 20.

1)     I have a love/hate relationship with the changing of the seasons … I love fall in New England, but find it really hard to get up in the morning.  Getting up the with sun means that I am running late now.  Part of me can’t wait for the clock to change back to wintertime … although that will also throw me off when it happens.

2)      This week the topic of pornography keeps popping up.  It’s everywhere and so sad.   Apparently our local library had an incident with someone using the computers in the kids section to watch porn.  As I mentioned last week, there is a new porn shop hidden by pretty shiny things on our Main Street.   Porn is a counterfeit for love and so many people are trapped by the illusion.  They want the real thing, but are led astray by the following the counterfeit.  Will take this to prayer.  In the mean time, if you are struggling with this sin: pray, make use of the Sacrament of Confession (it will strengthen you with grace) and do not despair.  A good resource: http://theporneffect.com/healing/10-steps-to-healing.

3)      Today is the Feast of the Holy Rosary.

This morning, in his homily, the priest reminded us that Mary loves it when offer rosaries for others.  But he reminded us also to ask to become more like Mary, who said YES to God.  We too must say Yes to God and not to be afraid of giving of ourselves.

4)    This week I attended a workshop on Music and the New Translation of the Roman Missal.  We have a lot of work to do.  I am looking forward to hearing more chant, but also to new contemporary settings of the Mass.  Maybe we can get away from limiting our Masses to a particular music style, and just work to have beautiful music enhancing our worship.  Rather than having a “choir Mass” and a “folk Mass” and a no-music Mass, and so training people to like only one thing, whether it be choir, or chant, or contemporary music, can we simply work to have beautiful music at Mass. Why can’t we bring some guitars up into the choir loft, and mix in some chant at the no-music Mass and set some beautiful traditional hymns (maybe even in Latin <gasp!>) to a guitar arrangement at the “folk Mass”.   Do not be afraid!

5)      I am looking forward to going apple picking this weekend with the Newman Center. It is always a wonderful way to relax and get to know students in a beautiful setting … not to mention that I get to make some home made applesauce and hopefully someone will be in the mood to make an apple pie

6)     The theme of the World Communications Day message will be Silence and Word: the Path to Evangelization.  Silence is hard to come by these days … and so necessary for being able to integrate the Word into our lives.

7)     I will have another podcast review for you next week.  I want to listen to a few more episodes in order to get a better impression … although what I have heard so far, I like.  In a very broad sense it is about the new translation of the Mass.  Stay tuned….

1)      I have been meaning to update this blog for the past couple of weeks.  There are a bunch of topics that I want to work on, but haven’t had the time to do them justice and so nothing has gotten posted.  Thought I would put them in the 7 quick takes format and perhaps some of these items will become a larger post in the future.

2)       It’s the end of September and there are all sorts of wonderful programs that have or are starting up for another year: RCIA, Welcoming Catholics Home, and Adult Faith Formation.  Our parish Catholic Faith Formation Center is offering a 24 week bible study called a Bible Timeline  a bible study on the book of Matthew, and soon will start a program called a Biblical Walk through the Mass.  We are so blessed to have the resources of the Faith Formation Center available to our campus ministry program.

3)      People are just too busy.  We have a lot of new students who have indicated that they are interested in the Newman Center and Catholic Campus Ministry, but schedules are so varied and complex that it is almost impossible to find a time when these students can meet.  Between work schedules, evening classes, daytime classes, studying, sports, and students often going home on the weekend, we are lucky to get five or six students to come together at any one time.  Our monthly student mass is this weekend.  Hopefully we will have a great turnout so that we can at least have one day a month that we can get almost everyone together.

4)      Just found out that what I thought was just a funky new store is actually a porn establishment.  Sigh.  The sad thing is many people don’t see anything wrong with porn.  We need to arm our young people with the knowledge of their innate dignity.  Sadly many of them see no harm in porn.  Time to pull out the Theology of the Body.  Another couple of resources to look at Porn Harms, and the Safe Library Project …

5)      The Catholic New Media Conference is going on this weekend in Kansas City and I wish I had the time to attend.  I guess following the tweets and the livestream will have to do this year. Check it out.  I normally schedule a screen-free day for myself on Saturdays, but will probably make an exception this week.

6)      I have been thinking about ways to reach out to the commuter students on campus.  Perhaps to offer the Newman Center as a living room for them to hang out and relax between classes.  Many of the students seem to commute into town with relatives who work in the area or other students and so are often stuck waiting for their ride home.

7)      About to head home.  I actually found a Tolkien book I haven’t read yet called The Children of Hurin …

Prayer at Ground Zero by Pope Benedict XVI (2008)

O God of love, compassion, and healing,

look on us, people of many different faiths and traditions,

who gather today at this site,

the scene of incredible violence and pain.

We ask you in your goodness to give eternal light and peace

to all who died here—

the heroic first-responders: our fire fighters, police officers,

emergency service workers, and Port Authority personnel,

along with all the innocent men and women who were victims of this tragedy

simply because their work or service brought them here on September 11, 2001.

We ask you, in your compassion to bring healing to those who,

because of their presence here that day, suffer from injuries and illness.

Heal, too, the pain of still-grieving families and all who lost loved ones in this tragedy.

Give them strength to continue their lives with courage and hope.

We are mindful as well of those who suffered death, injury, and loss

on the same day at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Our hearts are one with theirs as our prayer embraces their pain and suffering.

God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world:

peace in the hearts of all men and women and peace among the nations of the earth.

Turn to your way of love those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred.

God of understanding,

overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy,

we seek your light and guidance as we confront such terrible events.

Grant that those whose lives were spared may live so that

the lives lost here may not have been lost in vain.

Comfort and console us, strengthen us in hope,

and give us the wisdom and courage

to work tirelessly for a world where true peace and love reign

among nations and in the hearts of all.