Chicago!

So, I made it to Chicago. I wanted to share a couple pictures with you, first a couple of the Cathedral as a whole:

Then, one of the Tabernacle of the Blessed Sacrament:

Finally, a nice shot of a relic of St. Faustina (who we plan to name our first daughter after) and the IHS on the ceiling:

My Statue of St. Joseph

I've blogged before about sacramentals, the Communion of Saints, and how I feel about them as a Catholic. I was just standing in my bedroom and looking at my statue of St. Joseph. He, being my patron saint, raises my mind up to Heaven. When I see the statue standing there, sometimes I fondly refer to it as Joseph, such as when I shut my drawers and he starts to wobble on the dresser. I say "Joseph, you stay up there!". Now, of course, I know that little statue isn't St. Joseph, but it raises my mind up to Heaven, to God, and all the Saints surrounding his throne. I see it in the mornings and I remember to pray the prayer I always say to my patron saint (that I made up):

"St. Joseph, I chose you as my patron saint. Please pray for me to live up to your example of a husband and a father."

As a matter of fact, I've been praying that since before I even had a son! Then, I walk into my dining room, and I see the icon of Christ the Teacher and I pray, "Lord, please teach me to lead my life in a way pleasing to you." Again, Christ isn't the icon, but it lifts my mind up to him. I know that all seems strange to many outside of Catholic/Orthodox Faith, but that's just the way it is, and I'm always glad to be walking around my house, seeing the icons and statues, and remember that I am not alone. I am surrounded by a glorious throng of Saints from all the ages.

Jesus, I trust in you!

Access to the Blessed Sacrament

One thing that bothers me recently is that I have noticed many churches locking their doors during non-mass hours (even the Cathedral in the diocese we live in, but not the diocese we worship in, only unlocks the doors during mass times). That bothers me because people don't have access to the Blessed Sacrament - to be able to sit and pray in the Church. Why they do this, I am not sure. Perhaps they think people are going to steal things or it isn't safe if they can't lock it up. Whatever it is, I would really like parishes to find ways to leave things open for prayer more often. Luckily, one parish in the city we live in right next to my work allows constant access to the Church for private devotion and prayer. I wonder if anyone else has thoughts or experiences with this, or could explain the issue to me a little more?

Medjugorje

Seen those billboards around your neighborhood with the Blessed Virgin on them, a link to www.mej.com, and the quote "This is my time"? Being curious about this, and knowing it had something to do with the unauthenticated and non Church-approved apparitions at Medjugorje, I checked out the web site. Looks like they are trying to push people to personally investigate the apparitions and also running tours to the area. I know little about this personally, and I expect I will be waiting till the Church makes an official declaration on it before I make up my mind, but does anyone else know more about this group specifically? It is interesting that they are putting up billboards all over the country. Is it legitimate belief or a money-making scheme? Could the billboards bring people closer to Christ, the sacraments and the Church or could they be misleading and cause people to shy away? Interesting, to say the least.

Chinese Our Lady of Perpetual Help

I have a small devotion to "Our Lady of Perpetual Help" and was shocked to find a mother of pearl version in Chinatown in Honolulu. Any idea why they have such a devotion to her? It was also hanging up in a predominately Korean parish there. Very interesting nonetheless and I wanted to share a photo!

St. Cecilia

Lately I have been talking about relics and the incorruptables quite a bit. The other day I was listening to the SaintCast which had a great treatment of the incorruptables. He mentioned a book called "The Incorruptables" (is there an echo in here?) by Joan Carroll Cruz. I remembered that at the local used bookstore that I had seen that book and rushed up there to buy it! On a side note, I think I keep their religion section profitable.

I wanted to share a bit about St. Cecilia (a beautiful name that we might name a daughter some day), who was the first incorruptable, and I am borrowing heavily and citing her book.

St. Cecilia was one of the early martyrs of the Church. She died in 177 A.D (maybe even early enough to get in Foxe's Book of Martyr's - before the "evil Roman Catholic Church" took over and there were no saints until 1500 A.D.) Anyhow, she was a wealthy Roman who converted to Christianity. The emperor ordered her death because she would not sacrifice to the Roman Gods and they had to do it in private since a public death of a noble person would cause quite a stir. So, they sealed her up in her sauna room in her house and tried to gas her to death in a way. This didn't work, and she lived through it, so they sent in an Axe-man to chop off her head. He saw how beautiful and young she was and lost his gusto, so he tried to chop three times, and ended up not killing her...she slowly bled to death over the next few days in prayer and he ran as quickly as possible out of the house.

Of course, all this seems like such a legendary story, one that many would say was rediculous. Then, about 822 A.D., Pope Pascal I had a vision where the saint led him to her body. He moved it and had it placed in a Church. In 1599, her coffin was discovered during the remodeling of the Church. They opened it up, and there was St. Cecilia, preserved without any evidence of decomposition and EXACTLY how this 'legend' describes her death - with the axe marks and all. It was VERY heavily documented and several medical experts examined the body and wrote about it. You can read all about it in the book. So, (and despite the fact that many relics were taken of her blood soaked clothe and fragments of bone that were shattered onto her clothing by the axeman), they put her back in the tomb where it still is today, but beforehand they got a famous sculptor Stfano Maderno to come and sculpt her body. How beautiful she was!

The most amazing thing: St. Cecilia died in a position with one finger outstretched on her left hand and three on the right hand. Any clue? She was praying about the unity of God in the Trinity! (click on the picture for the full view)

More on Relics

I thought since last night I was talking about Saints and their bodies that this morning I would share a little more about relics. Relics can be 1st, 2nd, or 3rd class. A first class relic is a piece of a Saint's body (or their body) or an instrument used in Christ's crucifixion (cross, lance, nail, etc.). A second class relic is a piece of something owned by the Saint (such as clothing) or an instrument in their passion. A 3rd class relic is when something is touched to a first or second class relic (you can make these by touching an object to the tomb of a Saint. A great website on where some really cool relics are is here. As for the Incorruptibles, there are two good websites that I found that go into great detail about the incorruption of so many saints and has images of a lot of their bodies (or in St. Cecilia's case, who was the first incorruptible, a sculptor made a wonderful replica of her body then they put it back in the tomb.) These sites can be seen here and here.

Iconophiles

Check out this post over at Army of Martyrs where he takes a look at the difference between idol worship and Christians who use images as sacramentals. He breaks it down in a slightly different way than I've thought about it before.

Expression of Religion - New York Part 2

Well since I still don't have all the pictures that I want on this computer to start really talking about neat things, I wanted to share my happiness at seeing so many people openly expressing their religion. On the streets of New York we saw nuns, priests, MANY orthodox Jews, Orthodox priests, and Muslim spiritual leaders. It was really cool to see so many expressing their religion openly and getting to meet a lot of open Catholics. I also got a chance to go to St. Patrick's Cathedral for Sunday mass (and receive communion from the celebrant, Archbishop Dolan!), I invaded a Filipino Catholic Chapel right before they locked it up, saw the Church of the Precious Blood (where people were praying in Vietnamese, which was really moving to me because it really expressed the Catholicity of the Catholic Church...be sure to check out photos under the link), and went to another small Church where mass was being celebrated and another priest standing in the back got to ask my wife about our baby!

Also, we blew a lot of money in the Gift Shop for St. Patricks! Such awesome stuff and it also fed my addiction to Holy Cards. Hopefully pictures to come soon!

St. Paul's Bones

Interestingly, the Pope has announced two cool discoveries about St. Paul over the last few days, and this one is especially neat on the Feast Day of Sts. Peter and Paul. Scientific testing has indicated that the relics we venerate as St. Paul's really seem to be his.

Podcasts!

Well, for an early Father's Day gift, my wife bought me a nice little MP3 player (which I must say i am simply amazed at the quality for the low price). Of course, I have been spending all my time trying to figure out how I can use it for the things I like - namely Catholicism and Classical Music. I thought I'd use this blog post to share a tiny bit about how awesome an MP3 player can be in building your faith and what kind of resources I've found so far. Feel free to throw out suggestions, I'm new at this.

First, from Rosary Army you can download the rosary for every day of the week. Awesomely enough, it takes the exact amount of time for them to say one rosary with me on the MP3 player as it does to walk from our house to my office.

Next, we have a group who have been recording the entire Liturgy of the Hours for EVERY DAY! That really helps me stay on track for praying the Divine Office.

How about a monastary that records their daily office and shares it with us?

EWTN offers a lot of interesting things, including quite a few offerings from one of my favorite priests, Father Mitch Pacwa.

For the classical music fan, I found Classic Cat - the largest collection of free (legal!) classical music up on the web.

And finally, I must talk about my favorite find so far - SaintCast. This is an amazingly well done podcast that deals each weak with a different Saint and about teaching us about the Communion of Saints in general. Check it out!

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

Last year:

Today being the day after Ash Wednesday, and the day before another day of Abstinence, I wanted to reflect a little on fasting. Of course, we have the example of Christ who did it and told us that the Church would do it after he was gone (Mt. 6:18, Mt. 9:15). We don't see it very often in Christianity (probably not at all among 99% of Protestants), but it helps us clear our mind to focus on God in prayer. It's been a wonderful blessing to me, and I'm hoping that everyone else who got to do it drew closer to God in some way. We should try to do it more often than just when required. Any thoughts or feelings on it?

You know, after a year (and especially after my Holy Week last year), I have only built on how much benefit I think fasting gives us.  I also see a correction from last year, maybe it should have said "90%" of Protestants ;)  

Seriously though, I highly suggest any religious person to try and fast more often.  I was reading and discussing a little about the gospel reading yesterday.  Many people think that the Gospel contradicts what we do on Ash Wednesday as Catholics.  After all, Jesus tells us not to show other people that we fast or repent but just to do it in secret so that our reward will be in Heaven.  This is one of those passages that is easily taken out of context by people.  Looking at the message, Christ is warning us not to let that be the reason we are doing something.  Don't do it for earthly glory or to feel "cool" or something.  I think there are some who go to Ash Wednesday because they think that is when it is cool to be a Catholic.  That's exactly the kind of thing I think Jesus is warning about here - and is the same problem we could have with wearing a cross or praying in public or carrying a Bible around with us.  We have to make sure we are doing things for God and not to please other men - for people like that "have their reward".

Maybe I got a little off topic today....be sure to check out our first baby photo below :)

Monday of the First Week of Advent

Last night Seraphina and I started our decorations for Christmas (Sorry all you hard corers that don't like to do it until the 24th....).  We put up our tree, our wreath on our front door, and set up our nativity set, all of which were extremely beautiful and came from her family.  It is so wonderful being able to decorate for Christmas (this is only the second year I have done it since my old Protestant denomination did not celebrate Christmas).  We decided that until Christmas, our nativity set will not be a nativity set but rather an advent set.  So, here is how we set it up (I took pictures, and will upload them later):

Mary and Joseph are both facing an angel hanging on the wall so that it looks like the angel is speaking to them.  The wise men are coming from the East and are gathered together meeting with each other, on their way to meet the Christ when he is born.  The shephards are slightly closer to where the manger will be, and are on their way with all the animals.

We thought this was a good way to remind ourselves that it was still advent and that we are preparing for Christ (both to celebrate his birth and watching for his second coming).  

Interesting Research About the Exorcist

Keeping in mind, that we just have to trust this guy is telling the truth, unless we want to do the same kind of investigation that he did, he's done a marvelous job of uncovering as much as possible about the true story behind the Exorcist.

The Exorcist - A Review

So, as mentioned earlier I was reading the book "The Exorcist". Since it has at least tangentially involves the Catholic Church (at least it's portrayal in the media), I'll talk about it a bit.

First, it should be noted that The Exorcist has scenes that are intensely lewd, grotesque, and sacrilegious. Maybe that should be obvious since the subject matter is demon possession. People who are deeply disturbed by violence or sexuality really should not read this book, and young people should stay away from it as well.

Secondly, it is very hard to tell exactly what the author's opinion of the Catholic Church is. He is very positive about many aspects of it, but also negative about some (homosexuality in some priests, lack of faith among clergy, etc.) Now, one might counter and say that he did a good job of balancing the Church, because we would probably be liars if we tried to claim that these things don't exist in the Church, no matter how limited.

As for the story itself, again, who really knows? While I believe in exorcism and demon possession (I think the gospels are pretty clear about it), I have very little understanding of what it actually involves. I've never met an exorcist, to my knowledge never met anyone who is/was possessed by a demon, and I've never witnessed an exorcism in person. Obviously the Church keeps pretty tight wraps on that. So, is it a realistic story or is it purely speculative fiction?
Some would argue that it was more realistic than not:

"According to Rev. Father William O'Malley (who played Father Joseph Dyer in the film), the events depicted in the film are approximately 80% true. He claims the major differences between the movie and the actual event were the gender of the subject (a boy in the case and girl in the novel) and that the possession occurred just outside DC in Cottage City, MD and not in Georgetown proper. Also, in the actual event, the boy's head did not rotate 360 degrees, though he claims that nearly everything else in the movie actually occurred." - From the bastion of truth, Wikipedia.

Whatever the case might be, it was an above average horror novel. Better than most that I have read, and will keep you up late gripping the book with your white knuckles until you collapse in exhaustion. Worth a read if you are mature enough to handle it. Now I just need to convince Seraphina to watch the movie with me.....

Art!

I found the most magnificent art site I've ever seen in my life in my bookmarks. I vaguely remember seeing it posted on someone's blog a while back, bookmarking it and never looking at it. Let me know if it was you and I'll give you credit.

Part of my journey to Catholicism is enjoying the rich traditions that as an evangelical Protestant we didn't have the beauty of. One of these is Catholic (Eastern Orthodox, other High Church groups) art. Viewing images puts me in a place that I feel closer to God in prayer, study, etc. In the Middle Ages since many could not read, this is how they were exposed to a lot of the Bible and it's stories, through art. Take some time and look over some of the religious art on this page. Pray and meditate on the mysteries that are being presented there.

Feast Days

I think it is absolutely wonderful when we can actually celebrate a feast in honor of a Feast Day of one of the saints. Especially our patron saints, or someone who means something special to you. This is best done right after a mass celebrating that saint when possible. Here's my suggestion of how to celebrate your patron saint:

1) Gather around the table with close family or friends (only people who are going to be able to participate with you)
2) Begin with a prayer of thanksgiving for the food you are about to eat.
3) Start feasting.
4) Go around the table, keeping conversation on topics such as "Why is this Saint special to me"?
5) Read any kind of Bible verses about the Saint or a hagiography
6) Pray a prayer to God asking for and thanking him for the intercession of this saint.
7) Pray to the saint, asking for his/her intercession, specifically regarding something that has to do with their life. For instance, Joseph is my patron saint, so I ask his prayers that I might live up to his example of a Father and a Husband.


Has anyone else done anything special on their patron saint day or another Saint day?

YHWH

Hello All! I am Joseph the Worker's wife, and have been invited contribute to his blog.

My background is a little different as I was raised Roman Catholic, became agnostic during my rebellious teenage years, was reignited in the Church of Christ, and finally came back to the beautiful Universal Church.

I wanted to say something about the title photograph used as the header. That is the photo of the ceiling above the altar in the Wheeling-Charleston Cathedral. I (as well as Joseph) used it as our desktop background for quite some time. I wanted to offer anyone who reads this blog the same chance, so I uploaded it. Download Here

You will notice the name of God in Hebrew (YHWH) in the center in Gold surrounded my multiple Seraphs. I never realized how complex YHWH was until I read this. I'm not saying that that is the most reliable source, but I think sometimes we tend to glaze over things - acknowledging what they mean but not really digging deeper. I feel this has been a major flaw in my spiritual life, and I hope that, using this blog as a tool, I will curb that tendancy of mine.

Churches

One thing I absolutely love is to worship in old traditional style churches or cathedrals. The atmosphere, the music, the paintings and icons really grab your attention and help you focus on the spiritual. Others will probably feel the opposite and like the newer style buildings and such. This is something that is very interesting to me. Before I was Catholic, I often criticized that Catholics spent so much money on buildings and items. Now, I can realize the deep spiritual purpose they have and especially the benefit they can be for individuals. At the same time, we have to realize that there is a balance involved that we need to find. I've seen two shocking images in recent months that both deserve mentioning. One is the image of a homeless girl in the Phillipines (about 10) sleeping under a statue of the Blessed Virgin in the window of a shop. The caption said to buy a statue like the one in the window, it would cost about 1 year's wage, and that they were extremely popular in the Phillipines (This image was part of a Station's of the Cross that I attended during Lent). Another image I saw showed homeless people in Italy sleeping in one of the Cathedrals, without clothing or possessions, but surrounded by gold and glamour. These photos made me once again think about how much we spend and what we spend them on. I think it reminds us to think about what kind of stewards we are with what God provides us. Again, I see the reasoning behind beautiful churces, and I personally love them and think it is important for us to take care of them. But we shouldn't neglect the poor in the process.

Oldest Church

As Seen on : Vivificat! , Catholic World News claims that the oldest Catholic Church ever found has been found. (Yes, excuse me for using the same word twice in one sentence.) Anyway, here is a more balanced report of the same news:


http://www.abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=5045242&page=1

This brings me to the question of...what happens if we do find the ruins of a Church from the first century? What about the fact that we will find evidence of early Christian art, liturgical services, etc. What will Protestants who "trace their history" say about the fact that worship wasn't spontaneous but rather patterned after the Jewish liturgical form of worship? Seems like good evidence for both the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic faiths to me.