Liturgically, we’re taking a brief breath in ordinary time. We’ve lived the long wait of Advent, and Christmas has been celebrated and it’s trappings stored away – nativity sets snuggled in attic alcoves and ornaments stacked in garage bins. Read the rest…
By Kathleen Beckman
The renowned Pope John Paul II biographer George Weigel gave a moving keynote presentation on suffering in the life of St. John Paul II at the 2005 national conference of the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious. The conference theme was Healing and the Mystery of Suffering. I was there to give my testimony of suffering and healing in the family but the greatest witness we heard was Weigel on the life of Karol Wojtyla. In the latter days of his life that played out on the theater of the world, the Polish Pope became an image of the Suffering Servant of whom the prophet Isaiah wrote so eloquently.
We have never needed the message in this video (below) more.
Our nation-and the world-are slowly grinding to a standstill in the wake of a virus we were barely aware of a few weeks ago. How quickly things change…it wasn’t part of my ‘plan’ this year to have my kids doing all schoolwork at home, my college son’s commencement canceled, all public Masses halted. I don’t even think it has totally sunk in, honestly. I’ve been wandering around in a daze, trying to figure out what to do next and where to get Lysol wipes and eggs. Read the rest…
The Oratory of Saint Joseph at Mount Royal is a magnificent structure, its imposing dome dominating the highest point of the cosmopolitan city of Montreal. In the incomprehensible ways of God, this majestic basilica, the largest church in Canada, is named for and dedicated to one of His humblest creatures: the carpenter of Nazareth, whose feast day we celebrate on March 19th.
By Susan Tassone
It is our duty to pray especially for the souls of our family, friends, and benefactors. Pray especially for our priests, and consecrated religious. We tend to “canonize” our clergy and loved ones immediately after their death. Fr. Frederick Faber tells us: “We are apt to leave off too soon praying for our parents, friends, or relatives, imagining with a foolish enlightened esteem for the holiness of their lives, that they are freed from purgatory much sooner than they really are.”
By Dan Burke
We received the following inquiry from one of our readers:
“I just visited the regional Catholic young adults website for our diocese and was, at first, pleased to see that they were encouraging spiritual direction for young adults, even providing a list of spiritual directors, questions to ask a spiritual director, etc. I then found that they referred repeatedly to an entity called “Spiritual [Directors] International,” (http://www.sdiworld.org) which apparently seeks to somehow bring together, in one place, information and resources about spiritual direction for Buddhists, Christians, Eastern-Philosophy, Muslims, and Jews etc.
Here’s the introductory paragraph on the Spiritual Directors International home page:
“Do you want to be part of an inclusive, global contemplative movement that contributes to peace, justice, and living in right relationship with all creation? Together we are changing the world through the contemplative action of spiritual direction.”
I was taken aback that earnest young adults at this critical time of discernment in their lives were being guided to what seems to me to be an impossibly diverse and nebulous collaboration of spiritualities. What is wrong with this picture? And what, pray tell, could I do to help these naive young people, who are likely to be led astray? God have mercy! I now understand on a whole new level why you are so passionate about your work to help Catholics gain access to authentically Catholic spiritual direction.”
Obviously the person asking the question is more than capable of making a sound assessment of this situation. It seems very clear that Spiritual Directors International is consistent with their stated goals. However, to determine just how “inclusive” they are I decided to inquire as to whether or not a Catholic seeking spiritual direction through them could end up say, in the hands of a practicing Witch.
To do this I sent a simple inquiry into Spiritual Directors International. Here’s what I wrote and their response (emphasis mine):
Question Sent to SDI: “Would I be allowed to be a member [of SDI] as a Wiccan?”
Answer from SDI: “Thanks for asking. Yes, you would certainly be welcome to become a member! SDI is an inclusive, multi-faith global learning community and there are no requirements or conditions for membership or being listed on the Seek and Find Guide.”
There you have it, plain as day. The bottom line is that any Catholic seeking authentic Catholic spirituality and spiritual direction in keeping with the same would do well to steer clear of Spiritual Direction International.
This blog originally appeared on the Spiritual Direction website on March 2, 2020 and is reprinted here with the kind permission of Dan Burke.
by Kathleen Beckman
Lent’s forty days of prayer and fasting offer a process of healing and liberation. In Lent we place ourselves nearer to the suffering servant, Jesus Christ. We ponder the Redeemer’s suffering. We remember that Christ’s Passion sanctified all human suffering. We relate to His pain because we are touched by the corporate weight of sin and evil in the world. It rubs against us in ordinary life. The Christian is called to push back the tsunami of sin and evil. Read the rest…
The canonized women who are mothers add to our altars a special kind of incense – a two-fold fragrance of motherhood, both natural and spiritual. The very definition of their sainthood reveals that the life of the soul was sacrosanct to them and that while they nurtured the physical life of their children, it was eternal life which they desired to impart above all. Read the rest…
Photo Courtesy of Even the Sparrow
When I was invited to attend the FOCUS conference, SLS20: “Made for Mission” in Phoenix Dec 30-Jan 3, I jumped at the chance. The prior year’s event, SEEK2019, had been attended by some friends who declared it life-changing. And to have it in my backyard? Count me in!
“Man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart!” (I Samuel 16:7)
