by friar Bob

Blogs, podcasts, print-on-demand books, webcasts - there are so many ways for small operations to get their product out to the public today. And millions do just that. Just under the category "Catholic blogs", there are thousands and countless thousands (you're reading one now). Many - perhaps most - are of little interest to most people. But some blogs are really worth reading regularly, even some produced by individuals or small groups.

Besides the ones I read myself, I looked at lists of popular blogs at various North American web aggregators. It is no surprise that the most popular Catholic blogs are all produced by big Catholic magazines and news agencies. According to Freshy Sites, among the most popular are:

CNA - Catholic News Agency - owned by the National Catholic Register (which also owns EWTN), this is a "mainstream conservative" Catholic news agency, which does a lot of interviews with bishops.

CNS - Catholic News Service - this is the official news service of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It is, therefore, quite authoritative but is sometimes thought of us less independent.

Besides the big sites, here are three interesting small blogs:

25 and Catholic, by Mary Kate Knorr - part of the website Patheos' stable of blogs, Mary Kate's blog explores expressions of Catholicism by a young, single, politically active adult. Well written, often exploring topics other blogs shy away from.

Carrots for Michaelmas, by Haley Stewart - Haley is a wife and mother in Texas, living and working on a sustenance farm. I like this blog because Haley is so well read, and keeps on reading. Haley herself says that she writes "about motherhood, faith, culture, and literature (with a healthy dose of miscellany and fashion)." For a good idea of her writing, see her blog about Halloween.

Peanut Butter and Grace, by Gracewatch Media (Jerry Windley-Daoust, ed.) - I let this one sneak in because it can be so interesting. Gracewatch Media is a small Catholic publishing house in Winona, Minnesota, whose staff publishes this blog "to help other Catholic parents raise their kids in the faith." They go on to say: >>Our primary audience is “middle pew Catholics”—parents who attend Mass regularly and want to do more to integrate the faith into their family life, but don’t know where to begin. They might even say, “I can’t teach my children about the faith because I don’t know how.” These parents are probably both working to support their family, living the crazy-busy lifestyle of the typical working- and middle-class American family.<<  -- Please note that this is a commercial site selling products, but I like it anyway!

What are some of your favorite Catholic blogs? Please comment below.

NOTA BENE: I'm trying to get someone to write about good Catholic podcasts. Any takers?

Peace and all good,
friar Bob Showers OFM Conv.

October 8-18, 2018, seventeen members of the Secular Franciscan Order, two sisters from the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration in Mishawaka, and one Conventual Franciscan Friar journeyed from Indiana to the birthplace of St. Francis - Assisi in Umbria in Italy.

Sr. Agnes Regan SSFPA was the main planner and organizer. She was assisted by friar Bob Showers OFM Conv. of Angola. OFS members from fraternities in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Mishawaka and Chicago participated.

The pilgrimage included trips to Greccio (where Francis made the first living Christmas manger), San Damiano (where St. Clare founded the Poor Clares), Rivo Torto (where the friars first developed their concept of a 'friary'), and Mount La Verna (where Francis received the stigmata, the living wounds of the crucified Jesus on his hands, his feet and his side). Within Assisi, we prayed at the places where Francis was born, where he was baptized, where he fought against the death penalty, where he founded the Order, where he wrote the Rule, where he died, and where he is buried.

It was our great privilege to be able to pray at all these places and to celebrate Mass, from the tomb of St. Francis to the very spot where he received the stigmata. Each day we prayed moring prayer and evening prayer using the words of St. Francis himself.

Of course, there was also time for relaxation, wonderful food, beautiful scenery, good wine, good conversation and, in some of our cases, meeting up with old friends and acquaintances.

The Secular Franciscan Order - in Latin, Ordo Franciscana Sæcularis, hence the initials "OFS" - was founded by St. Francis of Assisi in the 13th century, with the guidance of Pope Innocent III. It is a fraternity for all those women and men - married and single, lay and ordained - who wish to follow in the footsteps of Christ in the manner of St. Francis, bringing the Gospel into their lives and their lives into the Gospel. You can learn more about the OFS by clicking here.

This was friar Bob's sermon for the Feast of the Assumption:

A confrère – a Franciscan friar who spent some years as a missionary in the Central American country of Honduras – was visiting his parish in the mountains of Comayagüela. He would ride his donkey from village to village and visit parishioners in their homes. Arriving at the home of a very poor family, he complimented the mother on the beauty of the house altar – like in most Spanish speaking households, this family had an altar set up against one wall as a focus of devotion. The woman had on display three beautiful pictures of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Lourdes and Our Lady of Fatima.
 
With joy in her voice, she pointed to each picture and said, “This is the virgin I pray to when someone in the family is sick, this is the virgin I pray to for strength in our daily work at home and in the fields, this is the virgin I pray to for the happiness and success of my children.” In his wishful thinking, the priest asked her, “You are aware, are you not, that there is only one Blessed Virgin Mary and all these pictures are of the same woman.” “Oh no, Father”, the woman replied, “there are many Blessed Virgin Mary’s and they’re all cousins!”
 
The priest knew better than to argue with a woman whose faith was stronger and more lively than his or that of any priest. It does remind me, however, that since the early days of the Church, our theological tradition has spoken of two Mary’s.

One the one hand, we have the earthly Mary, the Mary of the Gospel (cf. today’s Gospel, Luke 1:39-56), the historical Mary – the young woman who said YES to the Holy Spirit, who became the mother of our Savior, who loved him, nurtured him, raised him, taught him, until she let him go to do the work of his heavenly Father. And yet she followed him still, through his life and teachings, through his miracles, through his crucifixion, through his resurrection, until she became the woman around whom the Apostles gathered – causing St. Francis of Assisi to call her “the woman who became the Church.” (Salutation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, vs. 1)
 
Most of the big Marian Feasts of the Catholic calendar commemorate the earthly, historical Mary of the Gospels: the Immaculate Conception, the Nativity of Mary, the Annunciation, the Visitation.
 
On the other hand, there is the cosmic Mary, the heavenly Mary, the Mary of the Book of Revelation (cf. today’s first reading, Rev. 11:19a; 12:1-6a,10ab). This is the Mary who is Queen of Heaven, Queen of the Angels, the Mary who intercedes for us – now and at the hour of our death. Today’s feast – the Assumption of the Virgin Mary Body and Soul into Heaven – celebrates her passage from the earthly Mary to the Cosmic Mary.

This puzzle of two Mary’s is important because it mirrors the broader puzzle of our two-fold Christian calling: we are called to be IN the world but not OF the world. (John 17:14-16) How do we do that? What does that mean?
 
On the one hand, we are called by God truly to be in this world, to be part of it, to take it seriously. In the beginning, God placed humanity in the earthly garden and made us its stewards, to nurture and protect it in His name. (Gen. 2:8) We are called to build up a human society in this world that is just and good and holy, reflecting the goodness of our maker. “Be fruitful and multiply,” God said. (Gen. 1:28) We are called upon to raise families, to love our spouses and children and ancestors, to let our families be the foundation of civilization and of the domestic Church. (Cf. Vat II, Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People, chap. 3, par. 11: The Family)
 
But at the same time, we are called upon to remember that all of this passes away, none of it is as important as Heaven. “Our true citizenship is only in Heaven.” (Phil. 3:20) We must remember that only when we see God face to face will we know who we really are. Only in heaven will you become the human being you were always meant to be.
 
How do we do both at the same time?

God gave us Mary as a prism shining light and color on the conundrum. We see it partly in Mary’s words to the archangel Gabriel: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done unto me according to God’s will”. (Luke 1:38) The first step of our enlightenment – the first step of our passing from our own earthly selves to our cosmic selves – is to discern, accept, do and rejoice in the will of God. When Mary visited Elizabeth, she said, “My soul rejoices in God my savior.” (Luke 1:46-47) Being happy, finding true joy in the Lord, is another important step along the way. Mary said, “the Lord has looked upon me in my lowliness.” (Luke 1:48) Recognizing our own limitations, weaknesses and sinfulness with honest humility is another important step. “From this day every generation will call me blessed – the Lord has done great things for me!” (Luke 1:48-49) Even in our humility, we are called upon to recognize the great gifts God has given us and to rejoice in them, and to use them for others.
 
Mary’s greatest example, however – and I say this with trepidation because I know that I shall never experience this first hand – is the example she gave as a mother. The job of every parent is to pour your heart and soul and strength, your life’s blood, your joy, your tears, your hopes, your fears, your dreams, your being, into your children – just to let them go in the end, to say goodbye as they move out into the world. Mary did that with Jesus.
 
And Mary did that with her own life. The passage from the earthly Mary to the cosmic Mary was made possible by Mary’s willingness to let go. “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." (Luke 1:45)
 
Fulfillment of our calling means to be like the Virgin Mary. St. Francis of Assisi said, “We become the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ when we carry Him in our heart and body through a divine love and a pure and sincere conscience, we give birth to Jesus through a holy activity which must shine as an example before others.” (Earlier Exhortation to the Brothers and Sisters of Penance, chap. 1)
 
You move from your earthly you to your cosmic you – that is, you fulfill the commandment of Jesus to be in the world but not of it – by accepting the will of God, living in true humility and true greatness, filled with the joy of the Gospel, and then by letting this go in the power of the Holy Spirit. You become the Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ. You become the Church. Be the Church!

June 13th is the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua, for whom our parish is named. Often simply called “The Saint – Il Santo”, Saint Anthony is beloved by millions of people who, in reality, know nothing about his life and have never read anything the man wrote. And yet they love him anyway. This is truly a wonder. It is beautiful.

This morning I was watching the children streaming in for the parish’s Vacation Bible School. Children are so full of love, even though you have to keep your eye on them every second or they’ll destroy the parish hall and everything in it. Children are innocent and explosive all at the same time. They love from the heart, without knowing the thing they love.

Saint Anthony said that our love must begin like that of a child – just as Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me” (Matthew 19:14). We approach God like a child. We meet God and start to love him with the explosive, ignorant innocence of a child.
 
But childish love does not last. If our love is to deepen, we must get to know God more deeply.
 
Saint Anthony said:
 
The child loves just because.
The adult loves, not because, but in spite of.

Here’s a little exercise:
 
Think of someone you love.
Make a list in your head of things you really like about that person, all the things that make you love them …
 
Now make a list of all the little things about that person that irritate you.
 
Often, the second list just writes itself, faster and longer than the first list.
 
Here is what adults discover: We love in spite of all these things! Not because, but in spite of. You are called to love your neighbor in spite of everything. This is a holy love.
 
Blessings for the Feast of St. Anthony
friar Bob Showers OFM Conv.
 
My inspiration for this entry:
“Saint Anthony and You: A Novena” by friar Juniper Cummings OFM Conv.
(available online at: https://www.ecatholic2000.com/cts/untitled-421.shtml)

St. Anthony of Padua Parish carried out elections for three new members of the Parish Pastoral Council on the weekend of June 2-3, 2018. Elected for a 4-year term (spring of 2018 until spring of 2022) were:

• Laurie Beard
  
• Tamera Wise
  
• Jaime Tellez

Election ballot counting committee: Fr. Bob Showers, Sam Thomas, Steve Wertman
Ballots cast: 137
Vote count: Laurie Beard 99, Tamera Wise 97, Jaime Tellez 87, Dan Caruso 85

As of now, the Parish Pastoral Council consists of: Laurie Beard, Ruth Libey, Julissa Reyna, Ben Roederer, Chris Scott, Jaime Tellez & Tamera Wise.

Fr. Bob sends his thanks and congratulations to the new PPC members, his gratitude to the outgoing members Liat Peters and Doug Osos, his thankfulness to all the candidates, and his gratitude to all those who have served this parish on the pastoral council in the past or who serve now.

This year, as he does every year, Pope Francis presided at a Solemn Mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome in honor of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Thousands of Latin American faithful participated.

In his homily, the Pontiff asked Latin America to defend "our peoples from an ideological colonization that cancels out their richness, be they indigenous peoples, African-Americans, mestizos, peasants, or slum dwellers."

The Pope said:

Today's Gospel is the preface to two great Biblical canticles: the Canticle of Mary, called the "Magnificat", and the Canticle of Zechariah, the "Benedictus", which I like to call "the Canticle of Elizabeth" or "the Song of Fertility".

Elizabeth is the sterile woman, with all that this implied for the religious mentality of her time, which considered sterility as a divine punishment due to one's own sin or that of the husband - a sign of shame in her own flesh, making her feel guilty of a sin she did not commit, making her feel worthless because he did not live up to what was expected of her. And in this context the song of Elizabeth breaks forth in the form of a question: "Who am I, that the mother of my Lord comes to visit me?."

Here we can glimpse the parallel with the poor Indian Juan Diego when he tells Mary: "I really am not worth anything, I'm just a Mecapal, I'm a Cacaxtle, beaten and broken, who must bow down before the foreign conquerors. It is not my place nor my right to go to the high places you would send me."

Here, too, we see the parallels in our own society:

• In the indigenous peoples and the African-Americans who very often are not treated with dignity or granted equality.
  
• In many women, who are excluded because of their gender, race or socio-economic position.
• In those youth who receive an education of inferior quality and are denied the opportunity to progress in their studies or to enter the workplace so they can develop and start a family.
• In the many poor, the unemployed, the migrants, immigrants, refugees, peasants without land, struggling to survive in an "alternate economy".
  
• In boys and girls, beaten and broken, forced into child prostitution or exploited by sex tourism.

And yet, alongside this "Elizabeth the sterile one", we contemplate "Elizabeth overshadowed by fertility". She was the first to recognize and bless Mary. It is she who in her old age experienced in her own life, in her very flesh, the fulfillment of the promise made by God.

In Elizabeth, we realize that the dream of God is not - and never will be - to sterilize or stigmatize or fill with shame His children, but rather to nurture in them and let break forth from them a song of blessing.

In the same way we realize it in Juan Diego. It was precisely he, and no other, who carries in his tilma the image of the Virgin: the Virgin with brown skin and mestizo face, supported by an angel with the wings of the eagle, the pelican and the macaw - the sacred birds of the Aztec; the mother able to take upon herself the traits of her children to make them feel part of her blessing.

Dear sisters brothers, in the midst of this dialectic of fertility and sterility, let us behold the richness and cultural diversity of our peoples in Latin America. This cultural diversity is a great treasure that we are called upon not only to cultivate but courageously to defend against any and every attempt at homogenization that ends up imposing - under catchy slogans - one single way of thinking, one single of being, of feeling, of living - a globalization that ends up crippling and sterilizing everything we inherited from our elders; that ends up making us - especially our young people - feel small and worhless because we belong to this or that minority culture.

In short, our fertility requires us to defend our peoples from an ideological colonization that cancels out their richness, be they indigenous peoples, African-Americans, mestizos, peasants, or slum dwellers.

Como cada año, el Papa Francisco presidió hoy una solemne Misa en la Basílica de San Pedro en Roma con motivo de la festividad de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, en la que participaron miles de fieles latinoamericanos.

En su homilía, el Pontífice pidió a América Latina defender “a nuestros pueblos de una colonización ideológica que cancela lo más rico de ellos, sean indígenas, afroamericanos, mestizos, campesinos, o suburbanos”.

El Papa dijo:

El Evangelio que acaba de ser proclamado es el prefacio de dos grandes cánticos: el cántico de María conocido como el «Magníficat» y el cántico de Zacarías, el «Benedictus», y me gusta llamarlo «el cántico de Isabel» o «el cántico de la fecundidad».

Isabel la mujer estéril, con todo lo que esto implicaba para la mentalidad religiosa de su época, que consideraba la esterilidad como un castigo divino fruto del propio pecado o el del esposo. Un signo de vergüenza llevado en la propia carne o por considerarse culpable de un pecado que no cometió o por sentirse poca cosa al no estar a la altura de lo que se esperaba de ella. Y en este contexto brota el canto de Isabel en forma de pregunta: «¿Quién soy yo para que la madre de mi Señor venga a visitarme?».

Así podemos vislumbrarlo en el indiecito Juan Diego cuando le dice a María, «yo en verdad no valgo nada, soy mecapal, soy cacaxtle, soy cola, soy ala, sometido a hombros y a cargo ajeno, no es mi paradero ni mi paso allá donde te dignas enviarme».

Así también este sentimiento puede estar en nuestras comunidades:

• indígenas y afroamericanas, que, en muchas ocasiones, no son tratadas con dignidad e igualdad de condiciones;
• en muchas mujeres, que son excluidas en razón de su sexo, raza o situación socioeconómica;
• jóvenes, que reciben una educación de baja calidad y no tienen oportunidades de progresar en sus estudios ni de entrar en el mercado del trabajo para desarrollarse y constituir una familia;
• muchos pobres, desempleados, migrantes, desplazados, campesinos sin tierra, quienes buscan sobrevivir en la economía informal;
• niños y niñas sometidos a la prostitución infantil, ligada muchas veces al turismo sexual.
  

Y junto a Isabel, la mujer estéril, contemplamos a Isabel la mujer fecunda-asombrada.

Es ella la primera en reconocer y bendecir a María. Es ella la que en la vejez experimentó en su propia vida, en su carne, el cumplimiento de la promesa hecha por Dios.

En ella, entendemos que el sueño de Dios no es ni será la esterilidad ni estigmatizar o llenar de vergüenza a sus hijos, sino hacer brotar en ellos y de ellos un canto de bendición.

De igual manera lo vemos en Juan Diego. Fue precisamente él, y no otro, quien lleva en su tilma la imagen de la Virgen: la Virgen de piel morena y rostro mestizo, sostenida por un ángel con alas de quetzal, pelícano y guacamayo; la madre capaz de tomar los rasgos de sus hijos para hacerlos sentir parte de su bendición.

Queridos hermanos, en medio de esta dialéctica de fecundidad–esterilidad miremos la riqueza y la diversidad cultural de nuestros pueblos de América Latina. Ella es signo de la gran riqueza que somos invitados no sólo a cultivar sino a defender valientemente de todo intento homogeneizador que termina imponiendo — bajo slogans atrayentes — una única manera de pensar, de ser, de sentir, de vivir, que termina haciendo inválido o estéril todo lo heredado de nuestros mayores; que termina haciendo sentir, especialmente a nuestros jóvenes, poca cosa por pertenecer a tal o cual cultura. En definitiva, nuestra fecundidad nos exige defender a nuestros pueblos de una colonización ideológica que cancela lo más rico de ellos, sean indígenas, afroamericanos, mestizos, campesinos, o suburbanos.

La Madre de Dios es figura de la Iglesia y de ella queremos aprender a ser Iglesia con rostro mestizo, con rostro indígena, rostro afroamericano, rostro campesino, rostro cola, ala, cacaxtle. Rostro pobre, de desempleado, de niño y niña, anciano y joven para que nadie se sienta estéril ni infecundo, para que nadie se sienta avergonzado o poca cosa. Sino, al contrario, para que cada uno al igual que Isabel y Juan Diego pueda sentirse portador de una promesa, de una esperanza y pueda decir desde sus entrañas: «¡Abba!, ¡Padre!» desde el misterio de esa filiación que, sin cancelar los rasgos de cada uno, nos universaliza constituyéndonos pueblo.

¡María, María! Bendita eres entre todas las mujeres y bendito es el fruto de tu vientre, Jesús.

p. Roberto María Showers Arreazola OFM Conv.
12 de dec. 2017

Announcing a special collection to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey at all Masses the weekend of September 2nd and 3rd

Even before the rains started, local members of Houston's Catholic Charities were in place and getting ready for the storm. Catholic Charities USA ('Caritas') is one of the most important ways by which the Roman Catholic Church in the USA helps people in need. Because Catholic Charities is organized by local diocesan groups, Catholic parishioners in Texas and Louisiana are the ones responding, on the ground, right where they are, right now.

The quickest way to get help to the victims of the storm is to donate to the Catholic Charities USA special collection. At both St. Anthony's in Angola and St. Paul's Chapel in Clear Lake, we will take up a special collection at all Masses this weekend (Sept. 2-3, 2017) to support these efforts. Because local parishioners handle the donations and send them to the local parishes in Louisiana and Texas, there are absolutely no administrative costs - every penny you donate is used for disaster relief. You can also give right now by clicking here.

It is also important to PRAY for the victims of the storms. Archbishop Daniel Cardinal DiNardo of Galveston-Houston said on Saturday, "Please join me and pray for all of those affected by the storm and in need of assistance during this natural disaster. In addition, I ask the faithful to also keep the emergency response personnel and volunteers in your prayers. For those residing in our Archdiocese, in Texas and along the Gulf Coast, be safe and may God have mercy on those affected by Hurricane Harvey." (full statement)

Finally, we must resist any urge to rush down to Texas to "lend a hand". Or any urge to gather food or water or clothing or toys and ship them. Such actions do more harm than good. The Reverend Dan Layden of the Fort Wayne Associated Churches Active in Disaster uses the phrase "pray, pay and stay away!" “Those people who descend on disaster sites without a coordinated plan ... always get in the way,” he says.

Monetary donations are more valuable than donations of goods which require transportation, warehousing, and distribution and, if they don't match local needs, may end up in landfills, according to Layden, who is rector of Fort Wayne's St. Alban's Episcopal Church. “We also urge that people not automatically respond to emails or Facebook postings asking for money – they're often scammers,” he adds.

Please note that the previously scheduled collection for the Franciscan students will be dropped. Since the seminarians of our Province are in San Antonio, Texas - also battling flood waters from Harvey - they are more than happy to forego tuition money inorder to help their city survive the storm! Thank you and God bless you all.

Friar Bob Showers