Manning up against porn

You read about the pervasiveness of pornography. You recognize its destructiveness both to the viewer and on marriage and family life. Usually all you can do is shake your head. Except now.

There is one small step you can take for men, and a leap for women and children.

A protest of the porn purveyor Adult World at Routes 202 and 309 in Montgomeryville will happen the afternoon of July 1, led by the King's Men, a group of Catholic/Christian men.

These guys don't accept the maxim "boys will be boys" as a lame excuse for men behaving badly. They know how bad porn is for individuals and society, and they know the men who buy it can do better.

As the King's Men's mission states: "Under Christ the King’s universal call to serve, we as men, pledge to unite and build up other men in the mold of leader, protector, and provider through education, formation and action." Read about them on Facebook.

These good men will peacefully witness to anyone pulling up to the sex shop how strong, moral men ought to behave, for their good and everyone's. It ought to be a moving gesture, so come out and show your support in the effort to fight the systematic degradation for profit that is the porn industry.

It won't break the back of this insidious business, but if they can turn away one man even for a day, it's a beginning.

Thanks to Dad, on his day

A friend who works for John Patrick Publishing, the good folks who publish many of the parish bulletins in the Archdiocese, sent me a poem he wrote about the fine example of his father to mark Father's Day this Sunday.

His father was another of the heroes of the greatest generation, as they have come to be known. The hero-as-dad might be uncommon these days, with TV shows often depicting fathers as bumbling fools. Sure, guys have a way of earning that reputation at times, but most men live lives of humble goodness, devoted to their wives and families without fanfare.

The father of George Gerlach was one of those men. He was not only a hero to his son, but over the years taught George how to love his own wife in the fullest measure, to sacrifice and guide his children with gentle strength, and to be joyful whenever possible.

Enjoy:

He Taught Me How to Love My Wife

Dad was a big guy.
He consumed the open area of a doorframe as he passed through.
His presence became the focus though he didn’t wish it to be.
He would brighten up the room with his Big Band smile and got everyone laughing with his one-liners, even if we heard it for the tenth time.

At other times you could hear a pin drop as he LISTENED to your trials, tribulations and concerns, waiting for you to finish, to get it all out… then he would often, without saying a word would have helped you to realize that you just answered your own question or solved your problem just by giving voice to it.

His most potent times of being Dad were just in being present, being there to show he cared or because his wife, his bride, agreed we must go.

He lived for his family, his wife and children. Yet he never minced words or left any doubt who was most important to him after his God. Bernice, his wife, his lover and companion on the journey, mother of his children, yes, but first his wife.

Through the years they would be happy, sad, challenged, stretched, twisted, conflicted, joyous and always busy.

But, make no bones; Dad was loyal, faithful, loving and in love with Mom. They marched as one, some days with different drums but in the end they made beautiful music.

Never afraid to express affection for his wife in front of others, Dad was a man’s man. The hug, the kiss, the knowing glance and yes the pinch under the table brought back visions to Dad of never wanting again to be separated from his girl as he was in the War across the Ocean, of losing the grip of her loving hand.

Being taller than Mom was no problem because he always had her on a pedestal.

This larger than life husband would take his wife in his arms and gracefully whisk her across the dance floor and sing to her with his eyes “ I’ll being loving you always”….

Dad had the grace and humility to laugh, cry, lead the way and ask forgiveness all at the same time.

His pace would slow as he got older, his sore tired legs, feet and heart told him how far he could walk but whatever he could do, even to the end, it was always holding the hand of his lover.

Dad, thank you for teaching me how to love my wife.
I pray that I keep learning from your wonderful life. Happy Fathers Day 2009

Reason and faith, perfect together

What do high-energy particle physics and Bible study have to do with one another? Two unrelated Catholic News Service stories this week point to the connection between reason and faith.

In a talk June 10, Pope Benedict XVI reviewed the thought of a ninth century Irish monk, John Scotus Erigena.

He taught that the only way to understand the Bible fully was with an approach that relied on intelligence and prayer at the same time, and that the final result was not understanding, but contemplation, according to CNS.

Christians, the Pope said, have "the obligation to continue to seek the truth until one reaches an experience of silent adoration of God."

This concept of using one’s intellect not merely for its own ends but to orient the person toward the Other finds a parallel in a Vatican delegation’s visit to CERN, the world’s largest particle physics laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland.

The research at CERN is not strictly theoretical, even though the leader of the delegation, Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, expressed his personal interest “regarding the farthest limits that astrophysical science is striving to reach with proton acceleration."

CNS reports that the idea of having the Vatican visit CERN came from Ugo Amaldi, the president of TERA Foundation, which collaborates closely with CERN in finding ways to apply atomic research in treating cancer, especially in children.

It’s been fashionable for people to say science and religion are mutually exclusive. Far from it.
As this one example shows, science and religion meeting in the service of human needs can work in harmony, not opposition.

In doing so, one can help the other affirm life and seek truth, both of which come from God, the origin and end of humanity.

Go digital, go tell the Good News

Today Pope Benedict XVI mentioned World Communications Day, held this Sunday, May 24. Since you're reading this, you're no stranger to new communications media. Neither is he.

The Vatican is taking the occasion to launch iPhone and Facebook apps to reach young Catholics (and ages on up) and to launch a new site, http://www.pope2you.net/, going live Sunday.

Beyond the bling of blogs and treat of Tweets, content is still king. That means it is still the message that counts most. And what better message than "the Good News of God's infinite love for all people"? Christians in the digital world have the job of witnessing our faith -- in the words we choose to read (or skip past) and especially the words we write.

The Holy Father's words on the topic:

"I am inviting all those who make use of the new technologies of communication, especially the young, to utilise them in a positive way and to realise the great potential of these means to build up bonds of friendship and solidarity that can contribute to a better world.

"The new technologies," he added, "have brought about fundamental shifts in the ways in which news and information are disseminated and in how people communicate and relate to each other. I wish to encourage all those who access cyberspace to be careful to maintain and promote a culture of respect, dialogue and authentic friendship where the values of truth, harmony and understanding can flourish.

"Young people in particular, I appeal to you: bear witness to your faith through the digital world! Employ these new technologies to make the Gospel known, so that the Good News of God's infinite love for all people, will resound in new ways across our increasingly technological world!"

Under the Rainbow

CS&T reader John Firn sent us the above photo some weeks back. With apologies to John for the delay -- as the CS&T has shown over the past six weeks, it's been a busy/hectic/frantic time. (Holy Week and Easter, the Catholic Charities Appeal, Priesthood jubilarians and ordination, two multi-part series including parish life and violence among youth, Bishop Cistone's appointment to Saginaw, Mich. -- and they're just the high-profile items.)

Here are John's words after he snapped this photo at the Burholme Ambulance Station in Northeast Philadelphia, reminding us all of the beauty and fragility of our earthly home, and Who is ultimately in charge of it...

"On the 8th of April, at 1830 hrs, a heavy rain and wind came on suddenly. To the north, it was dark , cloudy and raining, and to the south, behind our Station it was sunny.

"A large rainbow appeared where the two fronts met, just out front of the Station. I took a couple of pictures with my cell phone, and the one here was the one I sent to my e-mail.

"Something in the picture caught my attention. Hardly anyone notices it the first look, but keep looking."

That something is, with the gift of imagination, an image of a man's arms spread wide. Thanks to John for sharing a reminder of God's gift of salvation through the sacrifice of His son, Jesus Christ.

A new economic order?

“Economies based on greed must be replaced,” read the headline on Catholic News Service.

Interesting concept from the Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, who is president of the Catholic relief organization Caritas International.

OK, your eminence, but replaced by what?

Agencies like Caritas, Catholic Relief Services in this country and many others work to ease the suffering of poor people. They naturally look at the economic system in which those who are well off tend to get richer, while the poor struggle to survive.

To paraphrase Churchill’s description of democracy, capitalism is the worst economic system, except for all the others.

Certainly communism has failed in most cases, though the jury is still out on the long-term economic success of China’s mix of repressive communism and competitive capitalism. Socialism compares poorly with capitalism in terms of prosperity, especially when the latter is functioning in a healthy manner. A barter system, while it has merits on a small scale, is impractical to meet the demands of global and interdependent commerce.

One emerging idea is peer-to-peer commerce, part of what is called cooperative economics. Here’s an interesting read on it plus a broader economic overview.

Don't get anxious, fellow democratic capitalists. Free-market capitalism didn’t surpass feudalism overnight, and the former likely won’t be supplanted any time soon.

Cooperative economics might not be what Cardinal Rodriguez was thinking, but getting people to consider a more charitable, more sustainable economic system might really be what he had in mind.

Using natural resources as though they were infinite cannot continue as it has. Nor can wealthy nations give lip service to development in poor nations.

If there is going to be economic progress after the crash of 2008, a system must emerge in which resources are used efficiently while jobs are created by entrepreneurs. At the same time, governments with the means must seriously address the lack of basic necessities and education in poor countries that lead to radical movements and that ultimately threaten prosperity (perhaps even life) for all.

How to do that? There is no agreement at this point, but one couldn’t disagree with John Lennon’s line: “We’d all love to see the plan.”

Eucharist every day, from the beginning

Along with the other unasked-for mail I received at home last week was a brochure addressed to Current Resident, from the local congregation of the Jehovah's Witnesses.

It was slick, tri-fold, full color and invited people to join the congregation's reenactment of the Last Supper. It quoted from the (synoptic) Gospels how the Eucharist was instituted by Jesus the night before He died. Of course the words were familiar: "... this is my body ... this is my blood."

Since the congregation takes the command to "do this in memory of me" (First Corinthians) literally, they are doing so on April 9, Holy Thursday -- on just this one day of the year!

Excuse me, but as a Catholic I have to ask, if it's so important to print a brochure, mail it to every home in the local area, and ask folks to share in this great feast by the Lord's command, why do it only once a year?

I do hope their celebration, in whatever form it takes, leads the participants to a deeper and yes, literal understanding of the Eucharist: Christ, the son of the Father, second person of the Holy Trinity, becomes truly present among the community of the faithful in the appearance of bread and wine. I hope they discover that in the Catholic Church, the Eucharist is celebrated every day of the year as it has been from the beginning of the Church!

The Eucharist is our Lord Jesus Christ's gift of himself to us every time we participate in the sacrifice of the Mass. What a great gift we share as Catholics. Christ established his Church and gave us His real presence in the Eucharist as spiritual food for the journey, as memorial sacrifice to help remember all that he did and said, as a sign of unity and of thanksgiving -- the literal meaning of Eucharist.

This source and summit of our worship bonds us together with one another in the Church and to our Lord Jesus. More than community, this is communion, thanks to the Eucharist whose institution we celebrate tonight, at the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper.

As Lent ends tonight we begin the Triduum -- three days of intense communal prayer leading toward Easter. Tonight we thank God in the most solemn way for the gift of himself.

Personally, tonight I pray also for those who have heard and read the Lord's command to "take, eat, this is my body..." but do not share full communion with the Catholic Church. In a special way, I pray for those people who were raised Catholic with the gift of the Eucharist but have chosen a different path.

May they, through the providence of God acting perhaps in an unasked-for brochure, find their way to Jesus Christ the bread of life, in his most precious body and blood.