Anamchara

YEAR FOR PRIESTS BEGINS

  

This Friday inaugurates the Year for Priests, proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI.  It's a time to remember our priests and pray for them.  It's also a time for priests to renew their own priesthood.  The Pope wishes us to do that by following the example of St. John Vianney, the Cure of Ars, patron of parish priests whose 150 anniversary of death we celebrate this year.

In his letter to priests, the Pope writes this:  "To the Most Holy Virgin I entrust this Year for Priests.  I ask her to awaken in the heart of every priest a generous and renewed commitment to the ideal of complete self-oblation to Christ and the Church which inspired the thoughts and actions of the saintly Cure of Ars...Dear priests, Christ is countin on you.  In the footsteps of the Cure of Ars, let yourselves be enthralled by him.  In this way you too will be, for the world in our time, heralds of hope, reconciliation and peace."  For the complete letter go here.

A BLESSED FEAST OF ST. COLUMBA--JUNE 9

  

One of the four great saints of Ireland--the others being Patrick, Brigid, and Brendan, St. Columba gets claimed by the Scots as well.  Half his life was spent in Ireland, and then, after a self-imposed exile, he founded the famous monastery of Iona, off the coast of Scotland.  The above picture tells of an event at the end of his life as he bids his horse farewell.  Diarmid, his servant, had shooed the horse away, but Columba welcomed the beast back where it wept copious tears.  Columba said, "If this beast knows of my coming death before anyone else, should I not let it grieve our parting?"  A beautiful story, a fantastic saint, a great protector.

LORD OF THE RINGS FANS--CHECK OUT NEW MOVIE "THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM"

 

FOR THOSE WHO LOVE "THE LORD OF THE RINGS"--A MOVIE TO HELP YOU WAIT FOR "THE HOBBIT" called THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM.

Not so long ago, a group of people who loved all things Tolkien decided to put together a little film covering the search for Gollum just before the events in the novel "The Lord of the Rings" took place.  They did it all on a shoestring budget with no pay for actors, producers, directors, etc.  The result:  a wonderful 40 minute film that should please the hearts of those who loved the movie  version of  "The Lord of the Rings."  Beautifully filmed, well acted, and a good story.  Watch it; you won't be disappointed. 

Anamchara gives this film:   

 

 

 

You can access the film by going to "The Hunt For Gollum" website here .

A TRAVESTY AT NOTRE DAME: THE HONORING OF PRES. OBAMA

I'd love to let this rest, but it's just impossible.  Again, the problem is with the school administration, not President Obama.  He came with a rather conciliatory message.  And if I heard right, he wants a conscience clause in any health care bill provision to protect those who refuse to do abortions.  That's good.  However, his argument was based on the primacy of tolerance, that reasonable people can disagree over the abortion issue and that we all want to make abortions fewer.  But the nice words belie the facts--he's making them easier to get.  Say one thing; do another.  I've come to expect that from him.  He is no friend to our Catholic faith.  Let his actions speak his values. (You can check out the text of his speech here.)

The real travesty was Fr. John Jenkins whose introductory speech sounded suspiciously like those French Revolution/Napoleonic prelates who threw the ancient faith overboard in their haste to make peace with the secular government.  He lauded Obama in almost Messianic terms and then added that Catholics are against his position on abortion but other than that he really is the Messiah.  One looks for a change in the library mosaic. (Check out his speech here (May 17 entry)).   Really, it was quite pathetic as was the wording of the honorary law degree which formalized the worshipful words of the university president.  A sad day for a once great university.  And Catholics in this nation are now further divided. 

STAR TREK: BOLDLY GOING AGAIN!

 

IT'S HERE.  IT'S GREAT. GO SEE IT.

What a superb way to kick off the summer film season!  I do have a confession to make.  I've seen ever episode of every Star Trek series (with the exception of the animated ones), some many times over.  I've even been to an annual Star Trek Convention (2007 if you must know).  So I guess I've earned the title trekkie or trekker or whatever they're calling us fanatics of the Star Trek Universe.

So I'm actually a good person to review this film.  Why?  Because those of us who grew up on the original show don't like strangers messing with the mythos.  We like our Kirk to be Kirk, and our Spock to think logically.  Be at peace.  If you are like me, you will be amazed, astonished, and very pleased with the new version of our old friends.  J. J. Abrams, the director, has a cast that brings new depth to familiar faces.  What's more, he makes you believe these are younger versions of Shatner, Nimoy, Kelley, Takei, Koenig and the rest who made us yearn to go into space ourselves.

Never the less, this is a reboot.  That means things happen that are different than what we expect.  History is altered and that leaves the door wide open for more sequels.  And people are going to want them.  This will be the biggest movie of the summer.  There's no allegory, no hidden meaning, just good clean fun--space opera at its best.  Speaking of which, the soundtrack is a treasure to listen to--even the operatic parts. Take the kids, take grandma and grandpa, but most of all take yourself and beam aboard the new Enterprise for a whole new experience of Space, the Final Frontier. 

ANGELS AND DEMONS: WHERE ARE YOU AUNT BEA AND THE FONZ?

 

RON HOWARD:  THE MAKING OF AN ANTI-CATHOLIC BIGOT

****Check out a newspaper version of this article here.

When Opie did something wrong on the andy griffith show or Richie Cunningham screwed up on happy days, one could always count on Aunt Bea setting the kid straight or the Fonz slapping the teenager around to knock some sense in him.  No more.  Opie's all grown up and Richie's graduated.  Ron Howard is a major movie director now and gives us one more Catholic bashing movie, angels and demons, based on Dan Brown's novel of the same name and starring Tom Hanks in a reprise of his role as symbologist Dr. Robert Langdon.

The movie is about a vengeful group of modern day Illuminati who wish to punish the Church for an old massacre of their members.  Along the way, the secret to life is found which the Church has hidden in order to protect itself--yada, yada, yada.

In an op-ed attacking William Donohue, President of the Catholic League, who has delineated exactly why the movie is anti-Catholic, Howard denies that bias saying, "After all, in angels and demons, Professor Robert Langdon teams up with the Catholic Church to thwart a vicious attack against the Vatican.  What exactly, is anti-Catholic about that?"

Let me count the ways.  First of all, if it is possible to paint the Church in a bad light, Howard does so.  The movie claims Copernicus was killed by the Church--wrong, he died an old man supported by the Church.  The movie claims the Church slaughtered a group of Illuminati around the time of Galileo--that secret society did not exist until one hundred years after the eminent astronomer's death, and the Church never did any action like that against this group  Howard went out of his way not to offend Muslims since in the book a Moslem assassin is the bad guy.  No so in the movie.  How come they get such sensitivity and we get the back of Howard's hand?  As Donohue writes, "If only Hollywood treated Catholics as if they were Moslems."

Howard as been stung by Donohue's criticism.  You can read Howard's piece here.  The Curt Jester has a great satiric piece here using Howard's method to satirize Howard himself.  No one is going to lose their faith watching this slick movie.  But aren't we just a little tired of Catholic bashing?   

MARY ANN GLENDON TO NOTRE SHAME: THANKS BUT NO THANKS

GLENDON REFUSES MEDAL

Mary Ann Glendon--former Ambassador to the Vatican--has turned down the Laetare Medal to be bestowed on her at the same time the President will be speaking at Notre Dame's Commencement.  For her great letter of rejection and Fr. Jenkins response check out American Papist Blog here.  

Ambassador Glendon--a great profile in courage. 

BISHOP TO NOTRE DAME: YOU'RE WRONG; YOU CAUSED IT; YOU FIX IT

 

BISHOP D'ARCY:  A CLEAR, CONCISE, PIERCING LETTER TO FR. JENKINS OF NOTRE DAME

Just in case Fr. Jenkins, President of Notre Dame, doesn't get it, Bishop D'arcy has released a letter to him that clarifies erroneous positions taken by Notre Dame in order to justify its invitation to President Obama.  Read the great letter here.  

DOCTRINAL INVESTIGATION OF U. S. NUNS

 

above picture is the Sinsinawa Dominican Retreat Center and Motherhouse, Sinsinawa, WI.

Recently, Cardinal Levada announced that there would be a doctrinal investigation of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR).  It will be headed by Bishop Blair of Toledo.   There was concern voiced because of many of the annual addresses given to the conference at their meetings seemed not quite orthodox.  Lest you think this is a witch hunt, take a peek at what Sr. Laurie Brink, a Sinsinawa Dominican said at the 2007 Annual Address to the LCWR:

 

The dynamic option for Religious Life, which I am calling, Sojourning, is much more difficult to discuss, since it involves moving beyond the Church, even beyond Jesus. A sojourning congregation is no longer ecclesiastical. It has grown beyond the bounds of institutional religion. Its search for the Holy may have begun rooted in Jesus as the Christ, but deep reflection, study and prayer have opened it up to the spirit of the Holy in all of creation. Religious titles, institutional limitations, ecclesiastical authorities no longer fit this congregation, which in most respects is Post-Christian.

When religious communities embraced the spirit of renewal in the 1970s, they took seriously that the world was no longer the enemy, that a sense of ecumenism required encountering the holy “other,” and that the God of Jesus might well be the God of Moses and the God of Mohammed. The works of Thomas Merton encouraged an exploration of the nexus between Eastern and Western religious practices. The emergence of the women’s movement with is concomitant critique of religion invited women everywhere to use a hermeneutical lens of suspicion when reading the androcentric Scriptures and the texts of the Tradition. With a new lens, women also began to see the divine within nature, the value and importance of the cosmos, and that the emerging new cosmology encouraged their spirituality and fed their souls.

As one sister described it, “I was rooted in the story of Jesus, and it remains at my core, but I’ve also moved beyond Jesus.”

HOMELAND SECURITY EQUATES PRO-LIFERS WITH RADICAL ISLAMISTS

DO THE TALKING HEADS IN DHS REALLY HATE THE PRO-LIFE MOVEMENT SO MUCH?

Several days ago, Janet Napolitano, the head of Homeland Security, released a report on threats from right wing extremists.  This caused headlines because in the document, Homeland Security talked about the supposed threat from returning veterans who have access to guns, battle plans, and have combat experience.  Justly so, the report was condemned for this, as if all vets were dangerous, and Napolitano was forced to issue a rather half hearted apology.  But what most folks don't know is that pro-lifers were singled out as well.  As if those who hold the sanctity of life were like radical islamists--a clear and present danger.

Some have opined that right wing groups do cause terrorism at times.  True, but so do well-meaning liberal, left-leaning causes.  One needs only think of the eco-terrorists in there "Green" cause, or those for illegal immigration who are willing to do violence in their twisted idea of justice.

It is just amazing how bigoted this report is.  Read it here if you have Adobe reader.  It's really rather stunning.  I'm not usually a glass half empty kind of guy, but this report even has me seeing black helicopters in the sky.  Not really, but it does send a chill up my spine.  Dark times are coming I think.  What say you?