St. Anthony of Padua Catholic ChurchAngola, Indiana

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SOME FAVORITE CATHOLIC BLOGS

11/9/2018

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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.
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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.

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On Bad Priests and Judas Iscariot

9/13/2018

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Nota bene: this op-ed first appeared as Fr. Bob's "Letter from the Pastor" in the SEptember 2018 issue of Catholic 101: A Magazine for Catholics in Steuben County, published by St. Anthony od Padua parish incl. St. Paul's Catholic Chapel. The opinions expressed herein are Fr. Bob's.

In recent weeks, we as Catholics have experienced pain, shame, anger and confusion as a grand jury investigation in Pennsylvania revealed how a number of bishops mishandled accusations of abuse by clergy and other employees of the Church. Such news calls forth all sorts of reactions.

 
Let me say, first of all, that most of these reactions are legitimate. You feel what you feel. You are supposed to get angry at injustice. You are supposed to feel hurt when your family messes up. Sure, of course there are other families that mess up too. But this is my family, and we messed up. It hurts.
 
In my years as a Franciscan friar and as a Roman Catholic priest, I have known and spoken with both abusive priests and victims of abuse. I have worked closely with bishops who took the painful but necessary steps to protect the innocent; and I have had to work with bishops who tried to act like there was no problem. I do not expect perfection. I do expect a minimum of decency.
 
In the midst of this, there are moments of hope. I hope that these news stories, for example, will help parishioners and others understand why we at St. Anthony’s enforce the safe environment rules so strictly. I hope that, if the Roman Catholic Church gets beaten up in the public media, this just might help all of society start to deal more realistically with some big problems that are hurting people everywhere – both in the church and elsewhere. And I hope that it will help me to love appropriately.
 
St. Francis of Assisi said, if you see someone whose life choices you cannot agree with, do not look down upon that person, but look rather into your own heart and examine your own sinfulness, and then ask yourself, how can I love this person more?
 
Jesus loved his apostles, even though he knew that one would betray him, one would deny him, and most of the rest would run away when he needed them most. He chose to love them anyway, and he chose to build his church upon them in all their imperfection and weakness. Judas Iscariot and Simon Peter were both apostles.
 
I pray for those who were hurt. I pray for those whose lives were ruined. And I pray that the People of God – who are the Church – will learn how to care for one another in charity and with patience. “You are God’s chosen ones. Put on, then, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another in the Lord.” (Col. 3:12-13)
 
 
Peace and all good,
friar Bob Showers OFM Conv.


_________________________
Postscript:

You can read more about the parish's Safe Environment Program here. To report suspicion of sexual abuse at the church, here is contact information. The Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend has recently upgraded its Safe Environment Program, and we at the parish have followed suit. As a pastor, I am well aware that these efforts can be a hardship for our volunteer religion teachers and other parishioners. Some may even feel that we are doubting them or casting suspicion upon them. That is not our intention, of course. Our goal is to nurture a safe environment for all families, children, youth and vulnerable adults, so that everyone can feel welcome, withour fear. Thank you to all the parishioners who help us strive for that safe environment.

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FOR IT WAS PREPARATION DAY ...

4/8/2018

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On the 5th Sunday of Lent - March 18, 2018 - the Parish of St. Anthony of Padua held a "Whole Parish / Whole Family Workshop & Retreat Day in Preparation for Easter". The inspiration was taken from the challenge given by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for the parishes to celebrate multi-generational catechism days "that make Easter and Christmas come alive".
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Professor Kate Mahon from the University of Notre Dame's Liturgical Theology Department came and helped us along the way. Prof. Mahon provided theological guidance as well as holding a talk for the whole parish and workshops for small groups.

The theme of the day was the liturgies of Holy Week and Easter. The different groups of liturgical ministers - from extraordinary communion ministers to ushers and greeters - held different workshops to prepare themselves to help at the many liturgies of Holy Week and Easter. Other workshops dealt with different aspects of Catholic life in the contemporary world.
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A special part of the day was the children's program, organized by Cathy Bryan and our catechists. There were also workshops in Spanish, and different workshops for youth and young adults.

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After the workshops, we watched the animated movie "Prince of Egypt." The day ended with a celebration of the Solemn Vespers of the Fifth Sunday of Advent.

Fr. Bob and the parish staff thank everyone who made the day a wonderful experience, "making Easter come alive for the whole family".
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Putting the church to bed after a long an succesful day:
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HOLY TONY YOUTH AT ST. FELIX

3/4/2018

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High school students from St. Anthony's and their chaperones went on retreat at St. Felix Catholic Center in Huntington on February 23-24, 2018.
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The young Catholics explored the prayer life of the Catholic Church, looked at how they make decisions in their lives, celebrated Mass and the Liturgy of Hours together, and basically had lots and lots of fun.

St. Felix was built by the Capuchin Franciscan Friars (Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, or OFM Conv.) in 1928 as their novitiate and formation center for the Midwest. This was at about the same time that the Conventual Franciscan Friars (OFM Conv.) built their novitiate in Angola. The Capuchins moved their novitiate program and closed St. Felix in 1980. Recently, it has been restored as a Catholic retreat center. Our high school youth think it was a great place to go o9n retreat and they really look forward to doing it again next year!

Thank you to our Director of Youth and Yound Adult Ministry, Cara Molyet, for arranging the retreat. Be sure to join us at high school youth group every Sunday evening at 6:00!
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A Word about "Thirteen Reasons Why"

5/14/2017

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Dear parents, catechists and parishioners,

The series "Thirteen Reasons Why" has become the most watched show produced by Netflix - not without controversy. I take this opportunity to share with you some thoughts and reactions.

This series is based on a 2007 novel by Jay Asher. In the book, a young teenage girl named Hannah Baker is raped, then bullied. She commits suicide. But first, she makes 13 tapes giving 13 reasons why she is killing herself. More precisely, she singles out 13 individuals or groups whom she blames for her death.

My purpose here is neither to condemn nor to recommend the show. I simply want want to provide you with some resources to help you talk with our young people. If you follow our parish teenagers' Twitter feeds, Facebook pages or Instagram accounts at all, you know that they are already watching and discussing this! I have been impressed by many of their comments so far.

Both Catholic and secular groups have written warnings about the show. In short, the consensus is that for strong youth not in danger of suicide, this show can help them resolve to be better friends to people, to take the suffering of others seriously, and never to bully. For vulnerable youth - that is, those who already have suicidal thoughts - the show can lead them precisely to carry out the act. In any case, doctors and clergy alike strongly recommend that parents and teachers TALK about this show with their children.

The people who made the show are serious people. The executive producer is Selena Gomez, a serious artist - although her involvement might make some young people think that there is a certain "Walt Disney air of approval" over the series. Gomez herself has a passionate desire to PREVENT suicide by getting people to talk about things like school rape, school bullying, and the like. She has dealt with her own psychological problems and suicidal episodes. The problem is that the show "13 Reasons Why" never deals with psychological issues - it only blames other people. In the end, I believe that Gomez missed the mark. (But please do check out Project Semicolon.)

Our Sunday Visitor had an excellent review of the Netflix series. Read it here.

National Public Radio aired discussions of the original novel back in 2007, and has followed up with several good shows about the new Netflix adaptation. Here is the link to one of their better discussion, as a podcast, featuring several doctors. And here is their link to a summary article.

Over at catholicmom.com, Lisa Hendey has gathered some very good resources. I especially recommend the discussion by the cast and crew of the actual series (a half hour Youtube program), as well as the two medical articles. By the way, if you do not already know and read www.catholicmom.com, for Heaven's sakes take a look at it. It is an excellent resource!

As teachers, parents and religious, we will be expected to give some guidance. I hope that these resources can help.

Peace and all good,
friar Bob
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