Amen and Sign of the Cross

One of my pet peeves is the lack of enthusiasm many Catholics have when saying "Amen". This is most noticeable when receiving Communion. Most times when in line to receive, I cannot hear the person in front of me say "Amen" before he/she receives the Host. Worst many Eucharist Ministers mumble "The Body/Blood of Christ". I can hardly hear them. Come on guys, do we believe what we are doing. Are we not acclaiming "Yes, this IS the Body of Christ". Let's respond boldly and clearly from our heart, "AMEN". When I was a Eucharist Minister I always clearly and proudly said "The Body of Christ".

In watching Into Great Silence (see post below) I noted that these holy men always made a large sign of the cross. Their hand went from their forehead down to their belly. It was done rather slowly and with intent. I would say, normally, my sign of the cross went from my forehead to my diaphragm. So taking their lead I am trying to improve my sign of the cross. Last Sunday I was watching people in Church just after receiving the Host. Many of them made the sign of the cross immediately afterward. But many made these tiny movements. Hardly touching their foreheads and commonly only reaching down to their chin or neck, and quickly done.

This is a sign of our faith. Let us make the sign of the cross purposely and intently. AMEN.

Into Great Silence

In an earlier post I mentioned my Good Friday entrance into silence. Not part of my usual routine. Yesterday I was able to watch this rewarding video "Into Great Silence". I was greatly impressed by these holy men and it touched me.

Netflix says this about the movie in its "At a Glance":

A prize winner at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, director Philip Groening's study of the Grande Chartreuse monastery introduces a world of austere beauty, following the daily activities of the resident monks, whose silence is broken only by prayer and song. With no other sound save the natural rhythms of age-old routines being carried out, the film captures the simplicity -- and profundity -- of lives lived with absolute purpose and presence.

First of all, I would highly recommend watching/experiencing this video. I surely wouldn't be able to live this life - you can't teach an old dog new tricks. But it taught me, along with my Good Friday experience, that I need to bring occasional silence into my life.

Violence is Wrong

Remember Me Passion of The Christ

Remember Me by Josh Groban

Sermon for Vigil of Easter

A very good Sermon for Vigil of Easter
from What Does The Prayer Really Say? by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf
http://wdtprs.com/blog/2008/03/sermon-for-vigil-of-easter/

Easter

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Active Participation

With Easter here, I would like to jot down some of my thoughts on active participation in the Mass. I've noticed many Catholics show up for Mass but they arn't really into it, or halfway so.

Many don't sing, I don't know why this is so. I've been to a lot of churches in my diocese and find the same all over. This is not true everywhere. I had an enriching experience in the Diocese of Rapid City a number of years ago and I was shocked becasue everyone sang. I was shocked because no one left until the final hymn was sung and I didn't even notice children squirming.

It is so rewarding to attend a Mass when there is active participation. Again a number of years ago I attended a quinquennial of the Secular Franciscans and the room resounded with voices during the hymns and responses. How great an experience! Why do I not experience this every Sunday?

When I am receiving the Eucharist I clearly and strongly reply "Amen!" Yet for those in front of me, I can hardly hear them, if at all, mumble their response.

What is going on here? Let's put our heart into it.

The Island

I ran across this article from Inside Catholic.com by Deal W. Hudson, A File for Holy Saturday. http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=A-Film-for-Holy-Saturday.html&Itemid=99999999

I just finished watching it on Netflix Instant, and highly recommend it.

Here is the article:

A few weeks ago Joseph Susanka recommended a Russian movie of recent vintage, "The Island." His commentary was so compelling I scrounged around the Internet to find a copy, and I'm glad I did. "The Island" ("Ostrov") goes on my short list of movies in which spirituality is actually caught on screen. I waited until early morning on Holy Saturday to watch it, and, as it turns out, the action takes place between Good Friday and Easter, so to speak.

The story is a simply one, about a man's search for redemption after commiting a crime he cannot put behind him. As the film opens we witness the actual crime, then the film cuts ahead thirty years to images of Fr. Anatoly praying for forgiveness.
Now living in a Russian Orthodox monastery, Fr. Anatoly has gained a reputation as a healer, a saint, in spite of the fact that he never washes, acts the fool, and irritates
his brother monks. The last thing Fr. Anatoly wants is to be revered by anyone
-- he is too aware of his sins, especially his one big sin.

The scenes depicting Anatoly's relationship to Father Job, who is jealous of him, and
Father Filaret, his superior, are particularly memorably and probing. Job is jealous of Filaret's admiration of Anatoly, while Filaret charitably excuses Anatoly's excesses before suddenly and painfully discovering the resolute detachment underlying his "foolishness." I didn't know the work of the director, Pavel Lungin, although his films are well-respected and celebrated in the festival circuit. Lungin has lived in France since 1990, but still makes Russian films -- if you read Russian you can learn about his production company here .

You may have heard someone talk about the "greatness of the Russian soul." Once you see this movie you may start talking about it yourself -- I have a good friend, a
Slavophile, who never tires about telling about the Russian soul and its stubborn endurance through seventy years of Communism. (And he wasn't talking about the Russian ballet!)

The setting of this film is the late 70s, when the Cold War was still raging and glasnost was still nearly a decade away. Who of us thought about the spiritual communities in the Soviet empire which were still thriving, still praying endlessly to their sacred icons?

As the story unfolds, it keeps digging deeper and deeper into the mystery of Anatoly's sin. Just when you think this is a wonderful film depicting the spiritual struggles of a true penitent and its effects on his community the story takes an unexpected and overwhelming turn.

I won't say anymore for fear of spoiling a surprising narrative of the kind you rarely
encounter in the movie theater. "The Island" is a film that, over the years, will make its way into the company of "The Passion of St. Joan of Arc," "The Diary of a Country Priest, and "The Passion of the Christ." It's worth seeking out, as Susanka did, get it from Netflix.

Holy Saturday

Another normal day? The usual Saturday routine; grocery store, cleaners, laundry, pay bills, some light housework. But it feels different. There is something missing, an emptiness. Even the Catholic blogs are quiet. Yes, it is Holy Saturday -- we know, we feel something is missing. Christ. We commemorated His death yesterday, and He has not yet risen. There is expectation. Hope. We are reliving the event so long ago, yet today.

Good Friday

When you live alone it is not hard to find some peace and quiet. But I usually have some sort of background noise to keep me company; the TV, radio, or music.

Today was different. No TV or radio or music, although I did indulge in some Triduum chants and some YouTube Catholic reflections.

I was not used to hearing the usual sounds we make all through the day. Walking, hearing myself eat, the refrigerator starting up, my typing, etc. We are not used to silence. But today is a day for it. This is not a normal day.

I had coffee but without sugar, ate a very light breakfast - had to take my pills. Lunch was a cheese sandwich on rye, and dinner was a small salad. I even stayed away from the usual Diet Coke.

I was thinking of going to the Good Friday liturgy at church, but my sorry self had a nap instead. I did make time for the Stations of the Cross on the Internet. http://www.catholicculture.org/liturgicalyear/overviews/seasons/lent/stations.cfm

So it was a day of quiet, rest, reflection, and some Bible reading - I'm reading a commentary on Romans. I also spent the day reading various posts from Catholic blogs.

A couple of months ago I started my own iGoogle page and I ran across Google Reader which allows you to get new posts from subscribed blogs. In the past couple of weeks I have subscribed to a number of them - seeing which ones I like - so far I like most of them.

Here is a sampling:
The Anchoress http://theanchoressonline.com/
The Catholic Tube http://www.catholic-tube.com/
The Deacons Bench http://deacbench.blogspot.com/
Fr. Victor Brown’s Catholic Daily Message http://frbrown.wordpress.com/
The Catholic Knight http://catholicknight.blogspot.com/
Bonfire of the Vanities http://frmartinfox.blogspot.com/

So the day, or shall I say evening, continues in quiet. Back to Romans.

Pax et Bonum.