Mass Journal

It’s summer and time for reading books on the beach & catching up on some movies with your family.

Here are Fr. Dan’s recommended books

Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of LifeIn Falling Upward, Fr. Richard Rohr seeks to help readers understand the tasks of the two halves of life and to show them that those who have fallen, failed, or “gone down” are the only ones who understand “up.” Most of us tend to think of the second half of life as largely about getting old, dealing with health issues, and letting go of life, but the whole thesis of this book is exactly the opposite.? What looks like falling down can largely be experienced as “falling upward.”? In fact, it is not a loss but somehow actually a gain, as we have all seen with elders who?have come to their fullness.

The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality “Spirituality is about what we do with our unrest… [it] is about what we do with that incurable desire, the madness that comes from the gods, within us.” Rolheiser (Restless Heart) contends that the late 20th century is marked by a kind of spiritual restlessness, even though the spiritual landscape is littered with a variety of “spiritualities.” He argues that there is richness in such spiritual diversity and plurality, but that many seekers lack direction in their spiritual search. Rolheiser develops a Christian spirituality that he believes offers some definite direction for seekers. At the heart of a healthy Christian spiritual life, he says, there must be four essentials: “private prayer and private morality; social justice; mellowness of heart and spirit; and community as a constitutive element of true worship.” At the base of Christian spirituality, he notes, is the Incarnation of God in human flesh. If Christians can focus on the embodied character of their theology, then the four essentials of Christian spirituality become easier to embrace.

Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection Working from Scripture, the Church Fathers and contemporary scholarship, Benedict XVI deftly brings together the historical and theological dimensions of the gospel portraits of Jesus. This is a splendid, penetrating study of the central figure of Christian faith; a learned and spiritual illumination not only of who Jesus was, but who he is for us today. –+Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Denver

What better guide could you find than Benedict XVI to lead you on the bracing adventure of exploring the historical Jesus and discovering, under the tutelage of this most sage successor to Peter, the inner meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Faith and reasonare the two wings Benedict XVI takes up to lead us to astonishingly fresh spiritual perspectives and dizzying heights. This book often takes ones breath away, while infusing in the reader the God-breathed Word, which is the Gospel. –Tim Gray, Ph.D., President , Augustine Institute

In Search of Belief
Chittister’s meditations on the mysteries that her belief affirms in the Creed are rich. She cautions that disbelief in God inevitably leads to a myopic affirmation of one’s own divinity, and she repeats the ancient caveats against creating God in our own image, or believing that a human being is able to grasp God intellectually…Her characterization of heaven is both refreshing and challenging…Her reflections on the annunciation and incarnation soar with hope as she affirms the reality of miracles, the active presence of God who fills human flesh ‘with an insatiable capacity for the divine.’ –America Magazine

Recommended Movies

Of God and Men

Departures

The King’s Speech

Toy Story 3

Tsotsi

At a recent staff meeting, we discussed a few other things that would enhance our worship and art at St. Matthews. We felt that perhaps there are some people in our Parish community who would like to donate the funds for them or memorialize a deceased loved one through such an offering.

Some of the items suggested are as follows:

• An icon of Our Lady of Guadeloupe for the Gathering Space (many people appreciated the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the space during Christmas season)
• An additional set of altar vessels for Sunday Mass (chalice and plate).
• Concelebration chasubles for occasions when more than one priest celebrates the Eucharist.
• In the fall of 2011 we will need to purchase a new Sacramentary (Mass Book) and Lectionary (Book of Readings).
• Stained glass panels.
• Purple altar cloths

Hopefully, some people might consider these possibilities. Please feel free to call Fr. Dan if interested.

We pay a dear price trying to possess the biggest, best, fastest and latest. Satisfaction will never be spelled with LETTERS (SUV, DVD, IRA, and IPOD) but rather by the WORD of God in today’s gospel: “Be on your guard against all greed.” Happiness comes from those we love and who love us and not from gadgets because we are more than consumers. Continue reading 10 Commandments of Cell Phone Use

Some say that letting in too many immigrants, because they are often a cheap source of labor, could hurt the wages of workers already in the country. Is this known to be true?
Immigrant workers generally do not compete with U.S. workers for unskilled jobs. Some studies show that immigrant workers may have an impact on the job status and wages of low-skilled American workers, such as high school dropouts. Overall, however, immigrant workers fill crucial jobs in important industries that many American will not do, such as agriculture. By enacting immigration reform, the wages of immigrant workers will increase because they will be better able to assert their rights in the workplace and because the pool of unauthorized workers will dwindle.

Won’t a more generous immigration policy risk allowing terrorists and other undesirables into the United States?

Quite the contrary. A more generous immigration policy will ensure that government authorities can iden¬tify and monitor who is coming into the country. If a migrant comes in legally, they will identify themselves to the government and be subject to background checks and criminals and would-be terrorist can be weeded out. Now, persons who come in without papers are not known to the government and their whereabouts are not known.

What level of border enforcement do the bishops see as necessary and appropriate?

The U.S. bishops believe that comprehensive immigration reform will reduce the pressure on the southern border by letting migrants who otherwise would cross the border illegally to enter legally through ports of entry. This would allow border patrol officials, who have a difficult task, to better protect us from smug¬glers and traffickers and other criminal elements. The erection of fences along our southern border will not necessarily stop illegal immigration but could lead to migrants depending more on unscrupulous smugglers and taking more dangerous routes through the desert.

What can the average Catholic in the pew do to support the kind of immigration reform that the Catholic Church endorses?
They can visit the Justice for Immigrants website at justiceforimmigrants.org. to obtain information on the position of the U.S. bishops and how they may contact their federal officials to support comprehensive im¬migration reform. Support from Catholic parishioners will help enact a just and humane bill