Reading Catholic

Reading Catholic and catholic

Pope Benedict XVI

#PrayforthePope

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My husband Joseph and I have just been in shock this morning about the news of Pope Benedict XVI resigning.

My first tweet this morning was retweeted a few times, so I’m sharing it here:

Looking for another intention to pray for this Lent? @pontifex resigning and the election of a new Pope is a good start.
— Nancy Piccione (@readingCatholic) February 11, 2013

How interesting, too, that this news breaks on the World Day of the Sick and Our Lady of Lourdes.

From the Holy Father’s letter announcing his resignation:

“After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering.”

My husband, with his interest and knowledge of all things Catholic, starting sharing about the last pope to resign.  New Advent has the Catholic Encyclopedia about the last pope to resign, Celestine V.  It’s not unprecedented, but it is really surprising.

We’ve had an interesting discussion here.  On the one hand, as Joseph mentioned, Pope Paul VI spoke about how it was important for people to see the Holy Father die in office.

Consider how Pope John Paul II’s decline and death showed a generation the beauty and nobility of that.  On the other hand, Pope Benedict XVI resigning shows that stepping down is also a viable option, and strength and holiness can be shown through that.

This may not seem like the best way to say this, but there are many ways to grow old.   Blessed Pope John Paul II showed us one very public way, and perhaps Benedict XVI is showing us another, quieter way, more suited to his quiet personality.

Here’s a brief article from Vatican Radio (and update, here is Rocco Palma’s first, thorough analysis) detailing some of the specifics: Benedict XVI will not participate in the conclave to elect the new pope (and he is also too old to vote in any case).   He will move to Castel Gandolfo after his resignation becomes effective, and he will live in private apartments at the Vatican.   Joseph and I both thought he might have moved back to Germany to live out his final days there.  We just watched Cardinal Dolan interviewed on the Today Show, and he appears just as surprised as everyone.

Consider, too, that the Holy Father won’t be like a former president.  The media won’t get to interview him and ask how “the new guy” is doing. He will be living a completely private life.

Can we join in prayer as we approach Lent? I will be considering how prayer for Benedict XVI, as well as the new pope, will be part of my Lent.

Any special ideas you have to make this a fruitful Lent in prayer for the Holy Father and his successor?

Celebrating the Year of Faith

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Today starts The Year of Faith, a year Benedict XVI set aside for learning about, sharing and living out our Catholic faith.  The Holy Father celebrated a Mass this morning to open this year; here is his homily.  Many quotes jumped out at me from the homily, but let me share just one:  “Living faith opens the heart to the grace of God which frees us from pessimism.”

One of the reasons the Year of Faith begins October 11 is that today, is the 50th anniversary of the first session of Vatican II.  Here, BXVI shares some of his memories from that time.  Today is also the 20th anniversary of the release of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC).

Much has been written all over the Internet and in publications about living out The Year of Faith. I’m sure you parish, like ours, has many activities and events to help people grow in faith. I write here to encourage people (myself included) to consider the ways we can be intention in this Year of Faith about learning about our faith, praying together, and sharing it with others.

What are just a few of the ways to celebrate the Year of Faith?

Last Saturday, I attended a great gathering of women (called “First Saturday) to hear a presentation on the Year of Faith.  The couple giving the presentation were a “dynamic duo,” sharing with us and challenging us to live out the Year of Faith.  There was a lot of food for thought there; most helpful was an annotated version of the papal letter Porta Fidei (“the door of faith”) announcing the Year of Faith and what it means for us.

*Read Porta Fidei would be a great start to the year.

*Read the Catechism in a Year.

 I just received early this morning my first e-mail from Flocknote for Read the Catechism in a Year (reading this link will explain what it’s all about).  “Read the Catechism in a Year” is joint project of Matthew Warner’s Flocknote (a terrific service for parishes and other groups to communicate with people via texting, e-mail and other media ways) and Jeffrey Pinyan of  Catholic Cross Reference.  Sign up for this free service is quick and easy, and it’s just one e-mail a day.  There are more than 27,000 people signed up for this, so you’ll be reading along with a big group.

What a great idea!  When I got the first e-mail this morning, I confess my concern at how much text there would be to read, but it’s really bite-sized.

Back in the early 1990s, I actually read the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) start to finish in preparation for teaching religion to high schoolers, and I consider it a tremendous resource.

But I don’t “read” it much these days, using it like a reference, either online or in one of the copies floating around our house.  I do love the YouCat (youth version of the CCC,  as I’ve written about previously to page through, but one of the annoying things for me is that the paragraph numbers do no correspond to the Catechism.  So having the CCC come to my in-box provides a little push and reminder to re-connect with this Church treasure.

*Participate in a Scripture Study for the Year of Faith.

Here is a women’s Facebook group dedicated to reading Father Mitch Pacwa’s “The Year of Faith: A Bible Study Guide for Catholics.”  In addition to online discussion, open to women from all over, we will also meet locally in the Peoria, IL area once a month.  I’m sure there are many others, especially parish-based, to

*Get a plenary indulgence (or two, or many).  

Did you know there is a plenary indulgence associated with the Year of Faith?  You can read the details here, but just from a cursory read of the various ways to obtain the plenary indulgence, getting one or multiple ones is not difficult.

How do you plan to celebrate The Year of Faith?  Any great links or ideas to share?

Catholic Media Promotion Day: #silenceandword

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Yesterday and today comprised the two-day Catholic Media Promotion Day(s?).  Last year I participated and listed some of my favorite online Catholic “things” like podcasts websites and other Internet sources.

Because of that, this year organizers of Catholic Media Promotion Day recommended that participants this year take a break from social media on Wednesday, May 23, then write about it on Thursday, May 24.   The hashtag to be used is #silenceandword, as a direct quote from Benedict XVI from the Holy Father’s message for World Communications Day.

That message was really about the need to balance contemplation with action related to social media use.  As Benedict XVI writes, “Word and silence: learning to communicate is learning to listen and contemplate as well as speak.” Nice!

I saw on Lisa Hendey’s CatholicMom.com site about Catholic Media Promotion Day earlier this week, and made a mental note to stay off social networks and to write today about it.  But as it turned out, that happened to be no problem.

Yesterday was the class trip for our oldest’s 8th grade class, so I was on a bus from early morning until late at night, coordinating with the coach driver and keeping head counts of fellow parents (yes, that was one of my roles!)   I didn’t feel bad being “offline” at all.  If I had thought about it, I might have checked Facebook on my phone (I need to delete and re-install mobile Twitter, as it hasn’t worked for some months, showing how often I use that on my phone), but I truly never thought of it.

It’s interesting to reflect on that, and to choose to have a day of silence, because I find myself with more silence than noise when it comes to social networks and communications.  I can go more than a day being on the computer, and even longer for checking into Facebook or Twitter. (I use TweetDeck for Twitter feeds, and lately, my laptop is running slow so I don’t often have it up).

Strangely, I find that I have lots of time for contemplation, but not as much time for speaking or engaging.  I still have early morning hours and times of quiet when I reflect, or think of things I would like to write and accomplish as I go about the busyness of life.  But even though the contemplation bears fruit in the form of ideas, getting those writing ideas actually done has been very difficult lately, because when I’ve processed it enough to get it down, it’s time to take kids somewhere, or put in another load of laundry, or go grocery shopping, or go on a field trip or ….fill in the blank of running a household and keeping kids fed, clothed and loved.  And sometimes I get to it, and sometimes I don’t.  As an example, the only reason that this post is being finished, even after day of intending to, is that a huge branch came down from a tree on the tree lawn in front of our house.  It’s blocking the road, and a city crew is here cutting it up with chainsaws, and the rest of the family is outside watching.  (I went out to snap a few photos and say hello to the police who came, and now I’m taking advantage of the quiet to finish this).

The topic then to share about was, “What in Catholic Media has had an impact on me during the past year?”  And to be honest, I have to say my shrinking time online is something that has had the greatest impact on me.  It’s not all bad, and it’s not all good.

I am trying to tweak my schedule and time management skills so that I have more time to accomplish the writing and reading that I love, and with intentionally connecting with others online, whether family members through e-mail, Facebook friends and groups, Twitter or blogging here (as I should!)  

But overall, I’ve increasingly realized that the season of my life right now is meant to be spent as much time as I would like, or feel called to–writing, or reading (sigh!), or interacting with others online–and to be at peace with it.  There will come a time when I’ll have much more leeway in my schedule to write the Great American Novel (or whatever project I’ve got in mind then), and be much more active in whatever social media looks like in the future.  But for now, it’s a lot of analog, and that’s a good thing.

How about you?  Do you find yourself connected online more than you would like, or less?  What would you change about your online engagement?

Meet a Reader: Deacon George Geagea

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I’m delighted to feature as a “reader” this month Deacon George Geagea.  Thank you so much, Deacon, for agreeing to be featured this month. 
 
 
 
How you know me:
I’m Deacon George Geagea, a deacon at St. Sharbel Maronite Catholic Church in Peoria.  I have been married for 30 years to my wife Najeebe, and we have 5 children—Jeanette, Nadia, Amanda, Gabriel and Rachel.  I work as the chief administration officer at Illinois Neurological Institute.  I was born and raised in Lebanon, and moved to central Illinois at the age of 18.
Why I love reading:
Reading makes me use my imagination and helps me get into the mind of the author, helps me gain different perspectives of issues and expands my thinking.  Genres I enjoy reading include spiritual and inspirational books and self-improvement books.
What I’m currently reading:
I am currently reading a book by Fr. Larry Richards titled Be A Man! Becoming The Man God Created You To Be.  He has a simple, yet profound, message to Catholic men about how to experience the real presence of God in our daily lives.
My favorite books:
I have two favorite recent reads.  The one that really captured my imagination and made me think at a deeper level was Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI.  This book differentiates between the historic Jesus and the person Jesus who lives forever.
Another recent favorite is Contemplating the Trinity: The Path to the Abundant Christian Life by Father Raniero Cantalamessa.  Fr. Cantalamessa is preacher to the papal household, and it is an excellent read.  In Contemplating the Trinity, Father Cantalamessa looks at the Trinity from multiple dimensions, such as the Trinity and beauty, or the Trinity and love, and goes deep into the mystery of the Trinity and its relationship to humanity.