That’s a relief!

Thank heavens the White House cleared things up. 

A fashion manufacturer claimed that Michele Obama was carrying its $6000 purse the other day.  Of course, that would be a sad and pathetic instance of showing blatant indifference to the needs of the poor and turning up her nose in the face of so many people in the U.S. and elsewhere who are out of work, struggling to get by, or both.  (Sort of like the time in April she wore a pair of sneakers that cost over $500 — to a food bank!)

But don’t be troubled!  The White House has clarified matters.  The purse she was carrying cost only $875. 

Well, that makes me feel better.

Brief vent

Yes, I did watch the death pageant today.  I confess to have been one of those moved by MJ’s death, having come of age in the 1980s.  But I was put off by today’s show — the exaggerated claims of his greatness, the odd (considering MJ himself) attempt to make it a “black” celebration, etc.

I was particularly disgusted by the way they shoved his daughter in front of a microphone — the same kid whose privacy he clearly worked so hard to protect over the years.  Was there anyone who wasn’t aware that he’d have strongly opposed having her up there?  Heck, she was clearly opposed to the whole idea.

The Pope’s Unexpected Announcement: St. Paul’s bones are here.

Now this (from the London TimesOnline) is really cool.  I’m surprised it hasn’t gotten more attention in the Catholic press/blogosphere.  (Or did I just miss it?)  He  announced it at vespers last night.

Basilica bones are St Paul’s, Pope declares after carbon dating tests

Pope Benedict XVI said last night that bone fragments found inside the tomb of St Paul in Rome had been carbon dated for the first time, “confirming the unanimous and uncontested tradition that they are the mortal remains of the Apostle Paul”.

He said that archaeologists had inserted a probe into the white marble sarcophagus under the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls which has been revered for centuries as the tomb of St Paul.

The pontiff said: “Small fragments of bone were carbon dated by experts who knew nothing about their provenance and results showed they were from someone who lived between the 1st and 2nd century. This seems to confirm the unanimous and uncontested tradition that these are the mortal remains of Paul the Apostle.”

The Pope, who said the discovery “fills our souls with great emotion”, made the unexpected announcement during Vespers at St Paul’s Basilica last night, marking the end of the Pauline year held in honour of the apostle. He said that as well as bone fragments, archaeologists had found grains of red incense, a piece of purple linen with gold sequins and a blue fabric with linen filaments in the tomb.

Full story here.

At Peter’s Tomb, Virtually

The Vatican has added a very cool feature to its webpage.  You can now take a virtual tour of the Vatican necropolis, the excavations of the ancient cemetery that still lies below St. Peter’s Basilica, and which includes the tomb of St. Peter.  

It takes a little tinkering to get the hang of exploring around, but it’s as close as you can get to an experience of being there through your computer screen.  They’ve done a great job of putting this together.  Have a look.

And while you’re at it, if you’re up for a little more, be sure to check out the full text of Margherita Guarducci’s famous book The Tomb of St. Peter, first published in 1960.

Live for Eternity

When I was a teenager, I think around the time of my high school graduation, someone (a priest, actually) gave me some advice.  It was one of those statements that sounded simple yet profoundly important.  I was open to it, both because of who it was coming from and how wise it sounded.  And yet, it made me uncomfortable, and I knew  there was something just not quite right with it.

“Live for today,” I was told.  “Don’t worry about the past or the future.  Live for today.”  Heady words for a senior in high school.

From time to time over the past two decades, I’ve gone back to that and tried to pry out of it what seemed askew to me.  Several times since beginning to raise a family, for example, I’ve thought how the advice makes absolutely no financial sense.  And of course, it could be used to justify any sort of behavior, regardless of morality. 

But today I came across the text of a talk that brings out boldly what I sensed but never really articulated to myself about the problem in the statement.  Over at the First Things blog, there’s a talk delivered by Denver’s Archbishop Charles Chaput. 

“Live for eternity” is the advice he offers  there, and he explains very well what he means, invoking two heroes of mine, Franz Jagerstatter and Charles de Foucauld, along the way.

If someone ever offers that anemic advice, “Live for today,” remind yourself of this much sounder advice: Live for eternity.

Shock o’ the week

The United States bishops’ marriage website offers a tip o’ the day to married couples: “Don’t be afraid to experiment in your love making. Some things might not work out, but one of the beauties of married love is the security that you’re not competing with anyone else.”

One Catholic blogger is shocked: “Excuse me but “experiment” can mean a lot of things, including stuff that is simply contrary to the dignity of the human person.”

What suggestion will those scandalous bishops come up with next?  Married couples dancing together?  (Another dangerous suggestion.  What sort of dance might they come up with, after all?)

These days

With much in life still keeping my attention away from this blog, I’ll be continuing my “haitus” for a bit longer.   Hopefully not much longer, though. 

In the meantime, I notice the Holy Father has approved the canonization of Blessed Damien de Veuster, Blessed Jeanne Jugan, and a few others as well.  It’s wonderful news about some beautiful figures in Catholic history.  Damien and Jeanne are particularly relevant to American Catholics — Damien for his extraordinary priestly ministry in Hawaii century and a half ago, Jeanne for her legacy of care for the needy elderly that the order she founded carries on in the U.S. to this day.  I hope I get more opportunity to write about both of  them, here and elsewhere, because I’d love to see people become more familiar with both of them.

I am just finishing up a project for Pauline Books and Media on Damien.  They’re going to publish a small book on him to mark his October canonization.  They asked me to contribute a biographical chapter about him, and also a new novena to St. Damien, along the lines of the ones that are found in my book Saints for Our Times: New Novenas and Prayers.

Other work I’ve been up to: My article on St. Francis de Sales’ book Introduction to the Devout Life is in the new issue of The Catholic Answer.  The book was published exactly 400 years ago, and is just as important today as it was then.  And an excerpt from my book Your Guide to Spe Salvi: Saved in Hope, appears in the new issue of Catholic Men’s Quarterly.

Hope you’re well.  Thanks for stopping by.

Hiatus

Life has been busy, with lots of extra concerns thrown in recently to keep things interesting.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to return to blogging soon, but not at the moment.  In the meantime, this is cool:

Fr. Neuhaus

Fr. Richard Neuhaus has passed away today.  When I get the opportunity, I’ll offer my own little reflection here on his impact on my Christian formation.  I consider it somewhat significant.  Let’s pray for him and his loved ones.

Son Rise goes global

Congratulations and good luck to the folks at Sacred Heart Radio, broadcast out of Cincinnati and available to everyone via the internet.  Today’s the day their Son Rise Morning Show with Brian Patrick goes international.  Starting at 7:00 this morning, Son Rise joins the EWTN Global Catholic radio network.  That means they’ll be heard on over 100 radio stations and satellite radio. 

The Son Rise program regularly features important information, resources for prayer and spiritual growth, and a wide variety of excellent guests, like Fr. Robert Barron, Mark Shea, Rich Leonardi, Mike Aquilina, Mitch Finley, and many others.

And somehow, I ended up there, too.  My monthly visits with Brian Patrick, on the topic of up-and-coming saints’ causes, have been fun and interesting.  The next one, in fact, is tomorrow morning.