Fr. Bob's Corner

Does God really matter? For some, God not only does not matter – God is superstition – God is rules – God is ……….

QUOTE: “Why God Matters-How to Recognize Him in Daily Life by Karina Lumbert Fabian and Deacon Steven Lumbert is a Catholic living story filled with life journeys shared by this daughter and father duo. Why God Matters reminds us to draw faith from the ordinary daily life and through shared family experiences.”(Blog Review: Simply Stacy)

I just downloaded this book to my new KINDLE. It really sounds interesting and inspiring. I’ll let you know what I think when I’m finished reading it. Maybe you would like to read it too, and let frbobscorner know what you think. It is pretty inexpensive: $2.99 – Kindle version, versus $15.99 + tax – print version.

[My first impressions of my new reading device is that a KINDLE is a real aid for anyone with certain types of vision problems. The new Kindle seems pretty easy on the eyes. You can increase font size. There is no glare with the new ink technology, And, when your eyes get sore or give out, it will even read to you. And a hidden bonus is that books are often much cheaper.]

I recently read Fr. Richard Richard Rohr’s Book: Hope Against Darkness. (The Transforming Vision of St. Francis in an Age of Anxiety) Some of you might find it to be a particularly relevant given the upheaval in our world at the present time. It is also a good Lenten book, in my opinion.

Fr. Richard (a Franciscan priest) is founder and animator of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is the author of numerous books, including Jesus’ Plan for a New World, The Sermon on the Mount with John Feister (St. Anthony Messenger Press). Besides his Center in New Mexico, he gives retreats and lectures internationally. He also emails free of charge a daily Meditation to which I subscribe. I thought today’s particularly moving and insightful so I am including it here. You might like to subscribe yourself – there is a link below.

SUFFERING

Question of the day:
What is it to live with suffering?

Suffering is the necessary feeling of evil. If we don’t feel evil we stand antiseptically apart from it, numb. We can’t understand evil by thinking about it. The sin of much of our world is that we stand apart from pain; we buy our way out of the pain of being human.

Jesus did not numb himself or withhold from pain. Suffering is the necessary pain so that we know evil, so that we can name evil and confront it. Otherwise we somehow dance through this world and never really feel what is happening.

Brothers and sisters, the irony is not that God should feel so fiercely; it’s that his creatures feel so feebly. If there is nothing in your life to cry about, if there is nothing in your life to complain about, if there is nothing in your life to yell about, you must be out of touch. We must all feel and know the pain of humanity. The free space that God leads us into is to feel the full spectrum, from great exaltation and joy, to the pain of mourning and dying and suffering. It’s called the Paschal Mystery.

The totally free person is one who can feel all of it and not be afraid of any of it.

from Radical Grace: Daily Meditations, p. 209, day 218
(Source: Days of Renewal)

Current mantra:
Prayer and suffering are the two
primary paths of transformation

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[Fr. Edward L. Cleary is a professor of political science and the director of Latin American studies at Providence College.]

Fr. Edward Cleary has just published a new book on faith, religion, and the Latin American people. It is a must read for all those interested in our brothers and sisters in this part of America. In the last forty years much has happened to undermine the faith of these staunchly catholic people. But, there are seeds of hope, and wonderful things happening that offer promise for the future of Christianity and the the Catholic Church in this part of the world. Although the Pentecostal Church has spear headed a major religious revival and recruited thousands of new members, Catholicism has become more dynamic and fostered a more committed faith response. Just listen to these statistics that Fr. Cleary reports:

In Honduras, the national seminary had an enrollment of 170 in 2007, an all-time high for a country where the total number of priests is slightly more than 400. Twenty years ago, there were fewer than 40 candidates. Bolivia saw the most remarkable increase; in 1972, the entire country had 49 seminarians, while in 2001 the number was 714, representing growth of 1,357 percent. Overall, seminarians in Latin America have increased 440 percent in the last two decades.

Catholic Broadcaster, Fr. Dave a Paulist priest on Sirius Radio, interviewed the Award-winning journalist and Chief Vatican Analyst for both CNN and NPR, John L. Allen, Jr. on July 18, 2007. Father Dave focuses on John Allen’s new book about the mega-trends that are shaping the global Catholic church. First however he asks John Allen about his thoughts on the recent 660 million dollar financial settlement by the Arch-Diocese of Los Angeles headed by Cardinal Mahoney, and related issues. To hear, click: LISTEN

You might also be interested in reviewing John Allen’s article: REVIEW

Doubleday has just released a book containing Mother Teresa private letters to her confessors and superiors. Astonishingly, we discover that the ‘Saint of the Gutters of Calcutta’, could not feel or sense God’s presence in her heart for most of her ministry in Calcutta. Prior to beginning her work she had been a visionary and even shared a conversation she had with Jesus as he hung on the cross.

With unflinching determination she continued her work with the poor and dying while her heart anguished over the Lord’s distance. Her writings, never meant for publication, portray a woman that is lonely and desperate for the ‘feeling of God’ in her life, work, and heart.

Many will be shocked by what is revealed, and other will be edified. Here is one brief quote from the book:

Lord, my God, who am I that You should forsake me? The Child of your Love — and now become as the most hated one — the one — You have thrown away as unwanted — unloved. I call, I cling, I want — and there is no One to answer — no One on Whom I can cling — no, No One. — Alone … Where is my Faith — even deep down right in there is nothing, but emptiness & darkness — My God — how painful is this unknown pain — I have no Faith — I dare not utter the words & thoughts that crowd in my heart — & make me suffer untold agony.

Her writings are reminiscent of the writings of St. John of The Cross in his book, ‘Dark Night of the Soul’. And, they remind us that faithfulness does not depend on feelings, but our deepest held convictions and commitments. One of her spiritual advisors wrote to her in 1953: “God guides you, dear Mother,” he wrote, “You are not so much in the dark as you think … You have exterior facts enough to see that God blesses your work … Feelings are not required and often may be misleading.”

This book will certainly be a must read for all those that seek to do God’s will now, and in the centuries to come, and will also become an important text in the history and study of spirituality and the lives of the Saints. It will also be a comfort and an insight to others that experience the feeling of a distant God – ‘the dark night of the soul’.

Time Magazine has an excellent article on this new book filled with many quotes from Mother Teresa’s letters: Mother Teresa’s Crisis of Faith

THE MONK UPSTAIRS
By Tim Farrington (2007)
Ron Charles recently reviewed this Novel in the Washington Post. In his review he comments on the authors first Novel about an ex-monk:
The Monk Downstairs earned praise from a variety of venues; the New York Times chose it as a “Notable Book of the Year.”
Now, Farrington has returned with a sequel called The Monk Upstairs, and, if anything, he concentrates on the function of prayer even more, but he still maintains the same ironic humor that welcomes readers of any religion — or no religion.

After reading his review, I was left thinking that this is a book I should read. I’ll let you know what I think, when I get a chance to read it. Please feel free to comment, if you have read it.

When people pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV news, they generally aren’t looking for a Sunday school lesson. This creates a challenge for journalists covering religious leaders, since most of their public utterances are devoted either to expounding their faith, or urging people to behave. The way reporters solve the problem is by combing through those utterances to find statements presumed to have broad, non-sectarian significance, normally because they apply to matters of politics or culture.
The result is that the real concerns of religious leaders, and the priority they assign to those concerns, often don’t come across terribly clearly — not because reporters aren’t doing their jobs, but because of how the news business works in a secular world. Recent coverage of Benedict XVI’s new book, Jesus of Nazareth, offers a good example. Read Full Review

Pearl S. Buck won the Nobel Prize in literature, the first American woman to do so. By the time of her death in 1973, Pearl would publish over seventy books: novels, collections of stories, biography and autobiography, poetry, drama, children’s literature, and translations from the Chinese. Here is a short inspirational story:

All Things Christmas: Stories and Poems: Christmas Day in the Morning

Ave Maria Press is offering free of charge a new web resource called Exploring Deus Caritas Est. This is a four-part discussion resource written to help small groups and individuals explore the major themes of Pope Benedict’s first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, “God is Love.”

The author of this resource, Anthony Garascia, is a pastoral minister in South Bend, Indiana, parish and long-time marriage and family counselor. He is the author of Before “I Do”, Catholic Remarriage: A Workbook for Couples, and Getting Married, Living Together: A Guide for Engaged Couples, all published by Ave Maria Press.

Exploring Deus Caritas Est is found at avemariapress.com. The first session is available for download now as a PDF. The remaining three sessions become available during the next couple of weeks. A complete schedule of release dates is available on the web site.

This may be a good self-directed retreat for individuals and small groups.
Ave Maria Press (Find in downloads at this link)

Waiting in Joyful Hope: “(Upcoming film) The Nativity Story
November 17th, 2006

I’ve been asked to help spread the word about a film that will be released this Christmas: The Nativity Story. Although I haven’t seen it myself, T.O. over in…errr…T.O. has posted a review on her blog. Sounds interesting.”