This week it was announced that the pope has laicized the priest who was at the center of the Medjugorje apparitions. Tomislav Vladic was a Franciscan priest who was the spiritual advisor to the six “visionaries” who have claimed that the Virgin Mary has appeared to them since the early 1980′s. Vladic has been surrounded by controversy for years and there are even allegations that he has fathered a child with a nun.

Medjugorje has been a central event in the lives of many orthodox Catholics over the past thirty years. I have met countless good and holy Catholics who have visited Medjugorje and believe that the Virgin Mary is truly appearing there. Many of these people have had their lives changed for the good through their connection to Medjugorje. Even my own journey to Catholicism is wound up in the events in the tiny Bosnian town, as it was the conversion of Wayne Weible – a major proponent of Medjugorje – that was instrumental in getting me to consider my own conversion.

Yet I have come to the conclusion over the years that it is extremely unlikely that the Blessed Virgin Mary is truly appearing to the six “visionaries.” I do not know what actually happened to start the claims of apparitions – whether it was a hoax that got out of control, whether it was demonic influences, or whether there were deep psychological factors involved. But the fact that many good people support the apparitions and even my own conversion is partly a “fruit” of Medjugorje does not change my mind. What I have found over the years is that God will work in any situation, even those that begin against him. There are very few cases in the history of salvation in which man’s motives are completely pure and holy. Do you not think Peter had a least some pride when Christ appointed him head of the apostles? But that did not disqualify him, as God does not need pure instruments to affect His Will in our lives. He works with what He is given: broken, sinful men and women who often act out of selfish and prideful desires.

Nothing that has occurred at Medjugorje is beyond God’s ability to redeem and use for His glory. I have to imagine that the work of Satan is very frustrating: even when he gets people to follow his evil designs, God steps in and still is able to work them for His glory. And this is a good thing, for if God waited to work only when we were pure and holy, He would never come into our lives to change us.

It has been interesting to see the reaction in the blogosphere to the “Wedding Dance” video. It seems that when people see it, they have one of two reactions:

1. A smile at the infectious joy the video displays, even while noting that they would not choose to have such a dance in a Catholic church.
2. Condemnation at such irreverence being displayed in a church. For example, I’ve seen people categorically state that this was “wrong” and a few people who are already predicting the upcoming divorce of this “sacrilegious” couple.

My own reaction was a smile, and to be honest, I think those who have been quick to condemn the couple are dangerously close to the pharisaical attitudes our Lord condemned so often. I realize that accusations of “Pharisee!” are all too common these days and often are used to condone egregiously sacrilegious actions. Yet the Gospels make clear that our Lord does not look kindly on those who are searching for people to condemn who “break the rules.”

Those who know me know that I prefer more traditional forms of worship, as well as more traditional music to be sung during the Mass. Yet I also recognize that the exact music sung is not as important as the intention behind it. And when I see the Wedding Dance video I cannot help but see a couple that wants to celebrate their union in the best way they know how – through (modern) song and dance. This is not automatically irreverent, and nothing in that video shows a irreverence towards marriage or church in general. It might not be the standard way that middle-class American conservative Catholics would celebrate their own weddings, but frankly, middle-class American conservatism is not a divine standard to which we all must follow.

Too often we are so involved in our own culture wars that we cannot see outside of them – everything is judged according to our current battles. So those who are battling to restore more reverent music to the Mass (a worthy cause and one I support) see anything other than pre-Vatican II music as an attack on their cause. Yet this couple most likely knows nothing of our intramural battles and they simply wanted to express their joy at their nuptials. And it is joy that so often seems to be the main ingredient lacking in many who are fighting to restore our (legitimate) traditions. And thus many are quick to condemn any who do not follow our own man-made traditions, which is quite different than sacred Tradition. We must be careful that in our desire for more reverent worship in our own Church that we are not killjoys towards anyone who is outside of our own community.

Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, Rejoice!

Blogging will be light (and possibly non-existent) next week as I will be out of town.

As Mark always says, keep those beans out of those noses!

When I was a kid, Vacation Bible Schools became all the rage in Protestant churches. I remember going each year for games, crafts and hopefully a little Bible-learning as well. In recent years, many Catholic churches have also had VBS programs, and many of them are quite valuable.

A formerly-homeschooled college student in my area, however, had a great idea. She held a Latin Camp this week for kids grades 5-8. Her description of the camp:

This camp will teach common Latin vocabulary and regular verbs drawing from the Latina Christiana word lists; however,this will not be conducted in a normal classroom environment. In fact, no time will be spent doing “schoolwork”! Activities such as playing sports, drawing, putting on skits, nature walks, cooking, etc. will be the means by which the students will learn related Latin words and concepts. By the end of the week each will have created their own illustrated Latin dictionary and will be able to “act out” the verbs and vocabulary they have learned.

My oldest daughter participated and she really enjoyed it – it made all the Latin she learned last year more fun and memorable. I attended the end-of-camp puppet shows earlier today and was able to see “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” (my daughter was the father bear), “Three Little Pigs,” and “Jack and the Beanstalk” performed exclusively in Latin by the youngsters.

If anyone is interested in having a similar camp in their area, contact me and I’ll put you in touch with the young lady who put this one together.

Today is the feast day for St. Sharbel Makhlouf, one of the few Eastern Catholic saints on the universal calendar. St. Sharbel was a Maronite hermit who lived in Lebanon during the 19th century. From the American Catholic website:

Although this saint never traveled far from the Lebanese village of Beka-Kafra, where he was born, his influence has spread widely.

Joseph Zaroun Maklouf was raised by an uncle because his father, a mule driver, died when Joseph was only three. At the age of 23, Joseph joined the Monastery of St. Maron at Annaya, Lebanon, and took the name Sharbel in honor of a second-century martyr. He professed his final vows in 1853 and was ordained six years later.

Following the example of the fifth-century St. Maron, Sharbel lived as a hermit from 1875 until his death. His reputation for holiness prompted people to seek him to receive a blessing and to be remembered in his prayers. He followed a strict fast and was very devoted to the Blessed Sacrament. When his superiors occasionally asked him to administer the sacraments to nearby villages, Sharbel did so gladly.

He died in the late afternoon on Christmas Eve. Christians and non-Christians soon made his tomb a place of pilgrimage and of cures. Pope Paul VI beatified him in 1965 and canonized him 12 years later.

The Maronites have a proud tradition – they are the only Eastern Catholic church which never broke communion with Rome. For centuries they were isolated from the rest of the Christian world within the sea of Islam, but when Latin Crusaders discovered them during the Middle Ages they proclaimed that they had always been in communion with Rome. St. Sharbel is one of the finest jewels of their church.

St. Sharbel, pray for us!

John Norton over at OSV has compiled a list of the top 10 Catholic sites on the internet as determined by Alexis:

1 ******12,515 ****** vatican.va
2 ******17,882 ******catholic.net
3 ******21,702 ****** ewtn.com
4 ******25,760******catholic.org
5 ******25,931******catholic.com
6 ******30,992 ******newadvent.org
7 ******33,707******usccb.org
8 ******36,778 ******catholicmatch.com
9 ******43,698******zenit.org
10******58,491******fisheaters.com

I’ve found over the years that there are many advantages to having a really smart wife. For one, if you are writing a book, she can be the editor who makes your sentences actually make sense. For another, if you get a comment on your blog completely in Russian, she can translate it (she was, after all, a Russian Studies major) and tell you that it is an advertisement for a male enhancement product.

Lucky me.

Although I would never haven chosen to do something like this at my own wedding (and those who have witnessed my Elaine-like dancing abilities are grateful), I couldn’t help but smile at the joyfulness of this unique wedding processional:

H/T: Aggie Catholics

I often encounter Catholics who are unfamiliar with the Eastern Catholic Churches. The first questions that usually come up are “Are they really Catholic?” and “Can we receive communion at their churches?” The short answer to both is “yes” and “yes”. Zenit News Service, the Catholic news agency, has a nice Q&A which goes into some more detail:

Q1: Is there a real division/separation between Catholics of the Latin rite and Catholics of Eastern rites? Is a Catholic of the Latin rite debarred in anyway from participating in the liturgy of an Eastern-rite Catholic church? Does a Latin-rite Catholic have to follow a procedure before he can participate in the liturgy of an Eastern-rite Catholic church? — H.W., Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

Q2: May a Catholic attend Mass in an Orthodox church? Is not the Orthodox Church schismatic? — E.T., Mairé-L’Evescault, France

A: Since these two questions are related I will take them together.

First, there is no division or separation between the Latin rite and the more than 20 Catholic Eastern Churches. There are, however, many differences and distinctions.

These multiple distinctions give each Church its characteristic identity within the one fold which is the Catholic Church.

The most obvious distinctions are external. Each Church uses a distinct ritual for Mass, the sacraments and sacramentals.

For those Churches where there is a corresponding Orthodox Church (for example, the several Byzantine or Melkite Churches, the Coptic, and the Syro-Malankara), an outsider would be hard-put to distinguish between the two celebrations. One key difference with the Orthodox: The Eastern-rite Catholics mention the Pope in the anaphora, or Eucharistic Prayer.

Compared to the Latin-rite Church, the Eastern-rite Churches differ in their internal organization. This is evident, for example, in the guiding role of the patriarch or major archbishop, the means of selecting bishops, and in some cases the presence of married priests.

None of these differences, however, constitute a separation of faith or of communion with the See of Peter.

Because of this, any Catholic may attend, receive Communion, and fulfill the holy day precept at any Catholic rite.

There is no formal procedure required before attending, but the ancient principle of “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” should be diligently applied. Thus a Latin Catholic who wishes to attend one of these rites should acquaint himself with the basic practices and demands of the rite and adapt himself accordingly. For example, most Eastern rites remain standing for most of the celebration and do not kneel for the consecration; a Latin should respect this tradition. Some rites have stricter fasting rules before receiving Communion, and as far as possible a Latin should follow suit.

Frequency in attending an Eastern celebration does not inscribe a Catholic to that rite, just as an Eastern Catholic who habitually attends the Latin rite does not automatically become Latin. To formally switch rites in a permanent manner requires a formal procedure.

The question is somewhat diverse for the case of Orthodox Churches, which are not in full communion with Rome but which enjoy the apostolic succession and all seven sacraments. While full communion is lacking, the Catholic Church no longer considers these Churches as being in a formal schism or as being excommunicated.

From the Catholic standpoint, a member of the faithful who is unable to attend Mass because there is no Catholic celebration available, may, if he so wishes, attend and receive Communion at an Orthodox Divine Liturgy.

Likewise, an Orthodox Christian in a similar situation is allowed to receive Communion and some other sacraments in any Catholic rite. Such an attendance is always optional and is never obligatory, not even in order to fulfill a festive precept.

However, not all Orthodox Churches accept this, and some take a dim view of any form of intercommunion. Once more it is incumbent upon Catholics not to impinge on others’ sensibilities and limit themselves to what is acceptable to each particular Church.

My only comment to this answer is that although many Orthodox Christians would be greatly offended if a Catholic were to receive communion at their church, there are places in the world (especially in the Middle East) where inter-communion between Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches is commonplace.

For some time now I’ve been interested in how technology impacts the way we spend our time, communicate, think, and even relate to others and to God. If you are old enough, try to imagine it is 1989 and someone sends you 20 years in the future. What would you think about the fact that everyone you see in public seems to have a phone stuck in their ear? What would you think about being able to do most of your shopping online? What would you think about Facebook or Twitter? It would be quite a shock, even though it would only be 20 years in the future.

My main concerns about these technologies revolve around how they subtly change our behavior. For example, people live in a bubble while in public now because they are consumed by their phone or ipod or handheld gaming device. How often do we ignore the person at the checkout counter because we are too busy with whatever device we have handy?

But there are other dangers as well – specifically the control these new technologies can give institutions such as governments and corporations over our lives. For example, recently Amazon got in hot water because they reached into users’ Kindles without authorization and deleted content that a publisher had decided should not be on the ebook device (Amazon did refund the purchase price). They claim they will not do it again, but the idea that one’s whole library in the future could be monitored and controlled by a corporation or a government is cause for serious concern.

Oh, the book that Amazon deleted? George Orwell’s 1984. Somewhere an irony-meter exploded.

Okay, this is creepy. Illuminati creepy. A group of former world leaders, led by Nelson Mandela, has formed an organization called “The Elders”. Their mission, according to their website:

The Elders are an independent group of eminent global leaders, brought together by Nelson Mandela, who offer their collective influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity.

So how do these great leaders put these apparently laudable goals into practice? By demanding that religious groups such as the Southern Baptists and Roman Catholics start ordaining women. The author of the article advocating such a position is none other than former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

I don’t know about you, but as soon as I hear of a group called “The Elders” which consists of powerful world-wide political figures trying to “help” the world, my Anti-Christ Alert System – developed during my years as an Evangelical – starts going off like a five-alarm fire. I have pictures of a new one-world religion dancing in my head, led by someone telling us we must abandon Christianity in order to save the world. And frankly, after perusing their website, nothing I read really defuses that alarm.

The idea for this group partially originated with the musician Peter Gabriel. Coincidentally (or maybe not), last night I was playing his album “So” and my daughter said to me, “Oh, don’t play that, we all think his music is creepy.” Kinda like his ideas for helping the world.

Mark Shea has a nice article over at Catholic Exchange about Pope Benedict’s emphasis on fostering our relationship with Christ over simply following rules (“Benedict is About Relationship with Christ, Not Rules“).

Many people miss this aspect of B16′s pontificate, but it has been an inspiration for my writing Who Do You Say That I Am? My main goal for this book is that Catholics (and all Christians) will use it to know Jesus better and thus develop a deeper relationship with him. Often Catholics cringe when they hear Evangelicals talking about a “personal relationship with Christ,” but the fact is that they are right to emphasize it. Where they err is that they reject many of the gifts Christ has given us to foster that relationship – the Eucharist, the Blessed Mother, even periphery items like Canon Law are intended to deepen that relationship.

There is no dichotomy between Christ and the Church; in fact, the Church is our means in which we draw closer to Christ. As Mark mentions in the article, the elites of this world look at the Church as just another political entity and the rules the Church enforces are just ways to keep the faithful in line. But if you really listen to Pope Benedict’s words, you will see that his whole ministry is an effort to bring us each closer to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Today is the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, the “apostle to the apostles”. She, from whom seven demons were cast out, was privileged to be the first witness to the greatest event in human history: the Resurrection of Christ. Out of all the men and women ever created, Christ picked her as the one who would proclaim the first Easter tidings to the world. What an honor!

Yet we must also remember that she was faithful to Christ when almost no one else was – she remained at the foot of the Cross when all the apostles save John fled in fear. We hear so many stories of people being healed and delivered from bondage to the devil by Christ in the Gospels, yet Mary is one of the few who respond to that deliverance by following Christ completely in her life. Let us pray that we might be as faithful as Mary and proclaim Christ’s resurrection to the whole world.

St. Mary Magdalene, pray for us!

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has recently released 10 points for fruitful Scripture reading, and much of it is very useful. It reminds me, however, of what I call the Modern Myths about Catholics and the Bible:

1) Catholics don’t know the Bible. You hear this everywhere – it is the source of accusations from Protestants and inside jokes by Catholics. Yet I do not think it is really true. A few years ago, I picked up a “Bible Trivia” book while visiting my relatives in Ohio. I went through the questions with my brother-in-law, who is a Fundamentalist Christian, and my wife, who is a cradle Catholic. My wife did far better answering the questions than either my brother-in-law or myself (a former Protestant). She has never been in any formal Bible study, but she has attended the Mass for so long that she truly “knows” the Bible. It is true that most Catholics can’t cite chapter and verse like Protestants do, but my own experience is that most practicing Catholics have a better overall understanding of the underlying mosaic that is the Bible than do most practicing Protestants.

2) Catholics need to have Bible studies like Protestants. It has become common in many Catholic parishes to have small-group Bible studies. These groups model themselves after Protestant Bible studies, in which a small number of people (usually under 10) gather at someone’s house and discuss a certain Bible passage. There is not usually a member of the clergy in the group, and often there is no real leader – a different person leads at each meeting. Whereas I don’t think these meetings are necessarily bad, they are ripe for abuse and also are not consistent with the best of Catholic tradition regarding Scriptural studies. A more appropriate means of personal Bible study is one that has been recommended and practiced in the Church for centuries: lectio divina.

3) Protestant sermons are much better at explicating the Bible than Catholic homilies. There is truth in this but the problem with this statement is that it is comparing apples to oranges. As Catholics, we do not consider our worship experience – the Mass – as the appropriate place for Bible study. Yes, the Scriptures are a central element in the celebration of the Mass (see point #1 above), but the purpose of the Mass is to worship the Almighty God, not to understand the precise meaning of the Greek word behind a certain Bible verse. Protestants (especially low-church Protestants) do not typically see their Sunday morning services as worship services in the Catholic sense of the word “worship.” Their services are intended to help people to understand the Bible and apply it to their lives. Period. Furthermore, without the Eucharist the sermon becomes the central part of the service and therefore is considered much more important than a Catholic homily during Mass.

4) Catholics do not appreciate the Bible as much as Protestants. When I listen to a Protestant radio show or read a Protestant spiritual book, I am often struck by how often the speaker/author states, “the Bible says…” I heard a show on the radio recently where the host was quoting something that Jesus said and he started it with, “the Bible says…”! The truth is that the Bible doesn’t say anything – it is not a person, it is a book. Frankly, Protestants often do not just appreciate the Bible, they idolize it. Catholics, on the other hand, should instinctively understand the proper place for the Bible: it is the written Word of God and the most important writing ever, but it is not the end of our Faith, but a means in which to encounter the living Word of God, Jesus Christ. A great example of this proper appreciation is the Mass: we hear the Word proclaimed early in the Mass in order to more properly receive the Word eucharistically later in the Mass.

I hope and pray that all Catholics truly appreciate the Scriptures, but it is important that our appreciation is properly ordered and within the overall boundaries of the Catholic Faith.

There are thirty-three men and women who have been declared “Doctors of the Church,” meaning that their teaching of doctrine has been of particular importance to the Church. When you think of the Doctors, you typically think of the greats of the Catholic Faith such as St. Augustine, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Thomas Aquinas.

One doctor, however, whom I have never heard of previously is St. Lawrence of Brindisi, whose feast day we celebrate today (July 21st).

From the American Catholic website:

At first glance perhaps the most remarkable quality of Lawrence of Brindisi is his outstanding gift of languages. In addition to a thorough knowledge of his native Italian, he had complete reading and speaking ability in Latin, Hebrew, Greek, German, Bohemian, Spanish and French.

He was born on July 22, 1559, and died exactly 60 years later on his birthday in 1619. His parents William and Elizabeth Russo gave him the name of Julius Caesar, Caesare in Italian. After the early death of his parents, he was educated by his uncle at the College of St. Mark in Venice.

When he was just 16 he entered the Capuchin Franciscan Order in Venice and received the name of Lawrence. He completed his studies of philosophy and theology at the University of Padua and was ordained a priest at 23.

With his facility for languages he was able to study the Bible in its original texts. At the request of Pope Clement VIII, he spent much time preaching to the Jews in Italy. So excellent was his knowledge of Hebrew, the rabbis felt sure he was a Jew who had become a Christian.

In 1956 the Capuchins completed a 15-volume edition of his writings. Eleven of these 15 contain his sermons, each of which relies chiefly on scriptural quotations to illustrate his teaching.

Lawrence’s sensitivity to the needs of people—a character trait perhaps unexpected in such a talented scholar—began to surface. He was elected major superior of the Capuchin Franciscan province of Tuscany at the age of 31. He had the combination of brilliance, human compassion and administrative skill needed to carry out his duties. In rapid succession he was promoted by his fellow Capuchins and was elected minister general of the Capuchins in 1602. In this position he was responsible for great growth and geographical expansion of the Order.

Lawrence was appointed papal emissary and peacemaker, a job which took him to a number of foreign countries. An effort to achieve peace in his native kingdom of Naples took him on a journey to Lisbon to visit the king of Spain. Serious illness in Lisbon took his life in 1619.

St. Lawrence, pray for us!