Happy New Year

Happy New Year? That’s right. The Church begins its new Liturgical Year on the First Sunday of Advent (not Jan. 1). Each year, the Church celebrates this 4-week preparatory season in order to focus our minds and hearts on the upcoming celebration of the Incarnation, God becoming like us. With the end of the semester looming, we as Catholics are celebrating a beginning. There will not be a giant ball dropping on the Salameno Center to celebrate this, but there are new changes happening within the Church. As we begin this new liturgical year and welcome the New Roman Missal, we look forward to what the Lord has in store for us—it is far better than anything we could have in mind!

An Advent Poem from Bl. John Henry NewmanThey watch for Christ
who have a sensitive, eager, apprehensive mind,
who are awake, alive, quick-sighted,
zealous in seeking and honoring Him,
who look out for Him in all that happens, and
who would not be surprised,
who would not be over-agitated or overwhelmed,
if they found that he was coming at once . . .

This then is to watch:
to be detached from what is present, and
to live in the thought of Christ as He came once,
and as He will come again;
to desire His second coming, from our affectionate
and grateful remembrance of His first.

The Duty of Delight - A Book Review

First and foremost I have to admit my ignorance of Dorothy Day up until this point. I have heard people mention her in talks about social justice and service. I have heard people argue for and against her canonization. However, I never took the time to truly look into the life of this wonderful person. After doing some research (I recommend catholicworker.org) and, of course, reading The Duty of Delight, I have come to appreciate the life work of this woman. Whether or not she will ever be canonized a Saint is not up to me, nor do I feel that a simple book review would be cause for such.

Getting past the debate of sainthood for Dorothy Day, from these 752 pages, one cannot escape knowing that she truly believed that she was doing God’s will in a very unique way. Many people can read her diaries and most recently, The Duty of Delight and become confused as to her political stance and whether or not she was in line with the Church during the time she was alive. However, I believe that is irrelevant in learning who this woman truly is.

Day took time to write every day, often after long and testing hours, as she puts it, “I have been working from seven [in the morning] until twelve at night, or traveling fifteen hours by bus…” Day also described the long days that we can most relate to when the bills pile up and the deadlines approach. Through her writing, both for The Catholic Worker and her diaries one can truly enter into her day to day grind and appreciate the struggles, heartaches, sorrows, and joys. Yet she had a great self awareness that she often omitted prayers or spiritual readings after these long days. In her New Year’s Eve entry of 1935, Day writes of the importance of having “a rule” for her workers. She then writes the rule down to hold herself and her workers accountable. The rule included the Liturgy of the Hours, daily rosary and Mass, and claimed that her motto for 1936 would be “Could you not watch with me one hour,” echoing Christ during his agony in the garden.

Day was extremely learned in various subjects to due the time she spent reading and writing. Just as one can improve their knowledge of a subject such as political science by reading and writing so too can one expand upon their knowledge and love for Christ and His Church by meditating on Scripture and other spiritual works. Throughout her diary entries, Day mentions the different works she reads including, but not limited to: Vatican II documents, Papal encyclicals, Thomas Merton, and Augustine. Not only did I find it impressive that she found time to read spiritual giants, I was also struck by her devotion to time in prayer and visiting the sacraments, praying the Liturgy of the Hours and reading Magisterial writings. She did not do these things simply because of her rule, but because without them her work would be meaningless; this rule transformed her “duty” into her “Duty of Delight.” Day was always trying to better herself to ensure she could work towards the betterment of a confused society.

While some entries are a few sentences (especially towards the end of her life) others can become quite lengthy, yet one thing remains constant. This woman is relatable. While reading her words, one can enter into her thoughts and emotions. As you turn the pages, you can see her spiritual ups and downs. Her explanations of the people she encountered, her feelings towards others (most notably Peter Maurin, one of Day’s colleagues and closest friends), her relationship with her family, her abandonment to God’s will and her constant STRIVING to put other’s needs before her own can make one read this book and become inspired. Dorothy Day was real. Regardless of what poor decisions she may have made or if you think she should be canonized or not, the pages of this book offer a poetic glimpse into the life of someone who lived a life of love and service.

Purchase The Duty of Delight

Check out other great books from IMAGE Catholic Books

With great anticipation

Bulletin 11/6/11
Each year I find myself getting more and more excited for Advent. While most people are focusing on Halloween and Thanksgiving preparations, I am anticipating a season of anticipation. As children, we love the excitement of anticipating Christmas and, for many, Christmas is celebrated one day. One of the things I love about the Catholic Church is that we know how to celebrate! First we celebrate in anticipation the celebration of Christ’s birth, the Incarnation! For four weeks we prepare our hearts for this joyous occasion and the celebration continues long past the single day of December 25th.

Looking at the Responsorial Psalm from today, I am reminded of the Christmas hymn, O Holy Night. A line that always sticks out to me is “Long lay the world in sin and error pining.” If we look at the Psalm of today, we read “O God, you are my God whom I seek; for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts…” This idea of longing and desiring is not foreign to us. Each of us has desires and longings and for some reason many keep these things to ourselves. We suppress them with school work, careers, paying the bills, and other things that “need to be done.” If there is one thing the Lord has taught us through his incarnation, it is that God has desires and longings for us and they are not meant to be hidden. God became man to show us his loving plan for each of our lives. Yet we push our God given desires and dreams aside to be a mediocre citizen of this world rather than an extraordinary citizen of the Kingdom of God.

As I anticipate the anticipatory season with great anticipation, (say that 5 times fast) I challenge each of us to sit quietly each day. In that quiet, discover your God-given desires to serve his Kingdom. As the Psalmist continues, “I will remember you upon my couch, and through the night-watches I will meditate on you” Once we have discovered our hopes, dreams, and desires to serve God and His Church, we must bring them about so that we may “bless [the Lord] while I live.” By truly preparing ourselves for this wonderful season, I guarantee that your Christmas season will be filled with Peace on Earth and Good will to all…

Too busy to get to Mass?

Philip Rivers, quarterback of the San Diego Chargers, always makes time for Mass even while on the road. In an interview with “Lifeteen,” a Catholic website that offers resources for Catholic Youth programs, Rivers discusses his Catholic faith and how it is a part of his life and pro-football career. As we prepare for our annual “Montapo” retreat, the talk of our Montclair-Ramapo football rivalry is in the air (Ramapo is looking for their first win this year). As our loving trash-talk between campuses is in full swing, we know that come game time our faith puts both schools on the same team. Below are some of the interview questions with Rivers. For the full interview, go to lifeteen.com.

Question: So you grew up in a Catholic home, and you took that into your adulthood as a football player. That’s pretty rare for professional athletes, how did you do that?
Answer: I was fortunate to grow up in the faith; my mom taught me the faith. In North Alabama there were only like 15 of us in my county in my confirmation class. We were quite the minority in Alabama. But one thing I remember is when I went to college at North Carolina State, the biggest thing that stuck in my head from my mom was never miss Mass. That was the thing that she definitely got across. When you go to college that’s when the faith becomes your own. Your mom and dad aren’t waking you up and reminding you “Hey this is a good day to go to confession.” It’s up to you.
So that really stayed with me and I made sure I never missed Mass and continued to grow in the faith. My wife had a lot to do with it, she’s a convert and she actually became Catholic the day before we got married. There’s so many gifts from the faith to appreciate and it strikes people differently, but the one-ness of the church wherever you are, Raleigh, San Diego, Alabama. Every place we were was home because the Catholic Church is the same everywhere. When we went to Mass that first Sunday after moving to a new place, that was where we felt at home and were able to say “well, home is anywhere, it doesn’t matter where we live because we have the faith.”

Question: How are you able to make the sacraments a priority in the midst of your football schedule, especially on Sundays?
Answer: They have Mass available for us; there’s a team priest who travels with us. Obviously at home I have the opportunity to go at our parish, either earlier Sunday morning or Saturday mass. But I’ve recently starting visiting the churches in the cities we go to, and it’s that same thing – you feel at home. You’re in the opposing teams city and yet you found Mass there. That’s really special playing on Sunday and being able to go to Mass the day of the game – to play and do something you’re passionate about…

Why Stay in the Boat When You Can Walk on Water?

Bulletin Article 8/7

Last week I wrote about trust. Trust can be rewarding, but it almost always comes with a challenge. The Lord constantly calls us outside of ourselves. He calls us to do more today than we did yesterday. The Lord knows what we are capable of and calls us to see it for ourselves. Peter learns this first hand in this week’s Gospel.

Immediately after the miracle of Jesus multiplying the bread and fish, He tests the Disciples’ trust. In the midst of a storm, He walks toward the boar on the water. They have seen Jesus cure the sick, cast out demons, multiply loaves, and calm a storm, yet they still are afraid and lack trust. Peter, being the leader of the 12, calls out to Jesus and tests Him. Could you imagine testing the Lord? It shouldn’t be too hard considering how often we do it on a daily basis! Just like Peter and the Disciples, we are quick to test the Lord and doubt Him even though he has already proven Himself as our Lord.

Peter steps out of the boat and walks on water. I often tell this story about Peter when I give talks or teach lessons on Christianity. Peter, our first Pope, was one of the biggest screw ups of all time. There are many times where Peter failed—just open the New Testament and you will find examples. However his failures show that he TRIED. He took leaps of faith and stepped out of the boat literally and metaphorically. Can you imagine standing at the edge of the boat? Peter was a fisherman by trade, so he grew up in boats. He was comfortable in them and knew how to deal with everything the water threw at him. Yet Jesus called Him to more. Imagine standing on the edge of the boat watching the waves crash around you. Holding on for dear life, you take one foot and put it over the edge but quickly pull it back in. You put your foot back over and then you follow with the other one. You are now sitting on the edge of the boat with your feet on the surface of the water. You stand up and let go of the side of the boat and you take your first step toward Jesus. That is trust defined.

Last week I wrote that Trust is hard to define but easy to understand. That moment where we let go of what we are comfortable and take a step into the unthinkable or the uncertain—that moment is complete and utter trust. What boats are you in in your life? Have we grown too comfortable in our jobs, our commitments, or our lives? Is Jesus calling us to step out of that which is comfortable into a world where He will make us do the unthinkable? What are you waiting for? Jesus already has proven Himself as our Lord. He conquered death and holds us in the palm of His hand. What are you doing in the boat? I think it’s time you and I walked on water. We can do it—one trusting step at a time.

Prayer

The second reading this week is rather short, but extremely profound. Something I have noticed going through the different stages in my life is that prayer changes with you as you mature. Prayer is not something that is done “right” or “wrong” per se. In fact, there are many different forms of prayer that fit a range of lifestyles. As a young adult in your 20s or 30s, you are probably busy. As a young adult we have a lot going on: weddings, careers, schooling, children, volunteering, etc. The best thing about our Lord is that he is available 24-7.

Prayer is a relationship. It isn’t simply stating our needs before God like a shopping list. In any relationship, communication is one of the most important factors. For example, if I am with a friend and all I am doing is talking about my wants and needs, I do not give my friend any time to respond or tell me about his wants or needs. I am being pretty selfish in the conversation and even worse, I am being a bad friend. Obviously it feels a lot different when we sit down to pray because we can’t always hear God or we feel like He isn’t listening. Nevertheless, God is always available and always willing to sit and listen to us.

Prayer can be compared to a cell phone service. The major difference is that we have the best network you could possibly imagine. We have the ultimate 3G (3 persons, 1 God) – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There are no limits on messaging, minutes, or long distance. God is always available. He has us penciled in; it is up to us to keep the appointments.

You may be thinking that there is way too much going on for me to sit down and pray. Well not everyone needs to take hours out of their day to pray in solitude. However, you and I can pray throughout the day. We can say a rosary on the way to or from work. We can do daily readings of Scripture when we wake up and think about them throughout our work day. We can offer hours of work or school up for someone who needs it. Before we go to bed, we can recount our actions during the day—recognizing the times we failed and ask for the grace and strength we need to get through tomorrow. There are multiple forms of prayer that we can do at different times in the day.

So as the 2nd reading states, “The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.” Let the Spirit help you pray. Allow Him to guide you into making your day prayerful. Let Him guide your conversations, your thoughts and your actions.
Saints for Young Adults
Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925) was dedicated to works of social action, charity, prayer and community. He enjoyed the outdoors and constantly would climb mountains with friends. He was involved with Catholic youth and student groups, the Apostleship of Prayer, Catholic Action, and was a third order Dominican. He would often say, "Charity is not enough; we need social reform." He helped establish a newspaper entitled Momento, whose principles were based on Pope Leo XIII's encyclical: Rerum Novarum. (source: Catholic Online) Blessed Pier Giorgio Frasatti was a young “normal” guy who dedicated his life in service of others. He loved to care for the poor and those less fortunate.

Evangelization

A bulletin article written by Angela Amore, FOCUS Team Director, Ramapo College
For more information about FOCUS (the Fellowship of Catholic University Students)
click here.

It’s a scary word to Catholics, but Pope Paul VI tells us that the Church’s very identity is mission. So, what is our Identity, our mission as Catholics? We only need to turn to the last words Christ gave us on this earth, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always to the close of the age.” (Mt 28:19-20) The last command that Jesus gave us before ascending into Heaven, clearly tells us that we need to bring others to know, “the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He has] sent.” (Jn 17:3). The apostles took this seriously, hit the ground running, brought people the Gospel, and died for this believe.

Not too many of us our going to preach to the multitudes, but we are still called to fulfill this mission. It can seem like a daunting task with 7.6 billion people on this Earth. As in all things, we need only to look to the example of Christ. Jesus took 12 guys camping for 3 years. Jesus invested His very self into three of these men specifically; Peter, James and John. They were with Him at the Transfiguration and in the Garden before His death. He entrusted
everything He knew to these faithful men who would be able to teach others also. (cf 2 Tim 2:2) And that is all we need to do. Think about 3 people. Just three people in whom you can invest yourself and be ready to give witness for the reason of your hope. (cf 1 Pt 3:15) If these three people meet the person of Jesus Christ and then each find three people to invest in and bring to the Lord, who then find three more, and so on, we can reach the entirety of the 7.6 billion people on this planet for Christ in 33 years (same number Jesus was on this Earth, FYI)

It is as simple as grabbing coffee and over time start bringing up questions of the faith. Or playing basketball and talking after the game. It is not being afraid to ask the person at the desk next to you to come back to Mass. For me, it was seeing the constant joy of my lacrosse teammates day in and day out for three years to question where that kind of peace could come from. Start on the most natural of levels and do not be afraid to go deeper with people. It takes time. It takes patience. It takes trust in the Lord to go outside of our comfort zone and bring Him up to those around us. The battle has already been won and failure is not an option, so we have no reason to fear evangelization. Remember and trust in Christ’s promise as He gave us this mission; “lo, I am with you always until the close of the age.”
~Angela Amore, FOCUS Team Director