Resurrection in Texas?

Did you read the story about Zach Dunlop the 21 year old who was pronounced dead in Texas and 4 months later gained consciousness? That is so freaky. He even heard the doctor saying that he was dead.  It certainly raises some tough questions.

I believe in a consistent “life-ethic” which rejects abortion, poverty, capital punishment, euthanasia and other anti-life forms of descrimination and injustice. As a Catholic, I’m also not a “vitalist”. In other words it’s not life at all costs.  Death is not the worse thing that can happen to me.  It’s ok to die… and it’s ok to allow people who are dying, to go. That’s the genius of our Catholic moral theology. 

I have also signed my “organ donor” card and it’s marked on my health card. But now I’m beginning to wonder.  I don’t mind dying…. well, I guess I do right now. But you know what I mean. If my time is up, my time is up. But at the same time I would like to have an opportunity to heal if that’s what is possible.  Can you imagine being like that man, and hearing doctors declare you dead, or even worse beginning to harvest your organs. Ouch!

As  a priest visiting hospitals, and especially critical care departments, I wonder how the doctors make the determination that a person is “brain dead”. Is it a consistent, scientific diagnosis? It does not seem so. 

On the other hand I would not want to have no brain function and have either a machine breathing for me, keeping my body alive, nor would I want artificial nutrition and hydration keeping my body alive. I know that Pope John Paul II and the Holy See are against the removal of hydration and nutrition. And I understand the point. However, personally, I would not want to have my body kept alive artificially.

This is an important discussion to have, especially as governments tell us that funding is difficult for healthcare and we see people getting moved out of hospital quickly. This discussion also has a huge impact on organ transplants which are so necessary.

Please feel free to comment, BUT… this is a “family” discussion. We are all pro-life and sharing our thoughts and feelings.  Also, this is my blog. Please keep the lengths of the comments in keeping with the length of the initial post.

Read the story at AOL News.

Christ is Risen!

May the radiance of the Risen Christ fill your hearts with his warmth, light and joy. May you and your families be truly blessed during this Easter Season and throughout the year.

Gorbachev in Assisi

When I finally managed to tear myself away from the front page of the Post, I went to the Editorial which Neil McCarthy of the Archdiocese of Toronto suggested I might find interesting. Indeed. It’s a hopeful message about Easter. It also recounts the recent visit of the former Soviet President Gorbachev to the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi. It seems that the poor man of Assisi was instrumental in helping the former leader in his spiritual rebirth and an inspiration for him.
Read more: Gorbachev in Assisi

UPDATE: News reports state that Gorbachev denies his being a Christian.  It sounds more like political damage control. Read for yourself.

From Penance to Reconciliation

Canada’s National Post interviewed me for an article on the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Wow.. I didn’t expect that kind of coverage! I went out to the local drug store to buy a copy… ok a few copies… and it really was kind of weird. The focus of my interview with the Post’s Charles Lewis, was that the decline in the number of confessions was not necessarily a bad thing. In fact it’s partly a sign of our success in helping people move from an image of God as a vengeful accountant who keeps track of every deed to find some reason to “get us” to an image of God as a loving father who loves us deeply.

Unfortunately my reflection on the importance of the sacrament and the value of having a human experience of God’s mercy wasn’t present. However, the sense of my thought was presented by some of the others the Mr. Lewis interviewed.

There’s the awareness that the sacrament is not about what we do for God but rather a celebration of God’s mercy. Reconciliation is an act of worship of God. We also talked about the importance of that personal contact. We hear from so many voices in our lives that tell us how we don’t measure up. It’s also important to hear from a living, breathing person, how much we are loved by God who forgives us and loves us no matter what. The communal aspect of the sacrament was also another point I highlighted. The sacrament is not only a personal matter, but one for the Church as a whole. We are in this together, and it’s important to celebrate that aspect of Reconciliation by having real communal celebrations.

All in all, I am pretty happy with the core message. God loves us and as the headlines says… “It’s ok to confess again!”

Economic woes rooted in greed

The woes facing the U.S. economy, the mortgage crisis, this summer’s turmoil in the Canadian commercial paper market, the 5 year old war in Iraq. What do these have in common? Greed. The issues are very complex. But when you narrow down the issues it comes down to people wanting to get rich quickly, easily and at all cost. Our greed, if left unchecked, will always lead to disaster.

It’s the lesson of Charles Dicken’s Nicholas Nickleby. I recently attended the 6 1/2 hour (over two nights) production of Dicken’s play at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto. The performance was spectacular. You can imagine that with a play of that length you get to know the characters. It’s a tale of about the effects of greed and the power of love and charity. It ends with Nicholas Nickleby finally finding happiness and yet still haunted by the desire to continue the battle in defense of the poor and the powerless. This happens as the cast breaks into the song: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen! By the end of the play I was in tears.  It was Dickens as evangelist.

Once again I thought of the words of our Archbishop who yesterday challenged priests to focus on their ministry and preachers of the Good News, especially to those who are not sitting in our pews. Dickens is certainly a good example of how you can use the arts to spread the message of Jesus. As we enter into the Sacred Triduum, we should pray that the love and passion of Christ will propel us, not only to weep for him, but to channel that passion in service of the most neglected of his sisters and brothers.

Amazing Chrism Mass in Toronto

Archbishop Thomas Collins presided at our Chrism Mass this morning. It was such a refreshing experience. The music was great, the feeling was positive and the Archbishop preached an amazing homily. He spoke about the key mission of the priest. Quoting Vatican II he reminded us that the primary ministry of the priest is to preach the Good News.

The other thing that was amazing is that the Archbishop thanked the priests for their ministry. He did it very well. And it was very much appreciated.

Be sure to listen to the Archbishop’s homily.

Abundance of lace

It seems that lace has made a come-back at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome! The Holy Father, a couple of bishops in deacons’ dalmatics and acting as deacons and not surprisingly at all, the Master of Ceremonies (to the right of B16 and one step behind the cross) are all in quite the elaborate lace albs and surplices. The word on the street is that this return to the “baby-doll” liturgical look is the work of Msgr. Marini,  B16’s liturgical director. In contrast there is another priest (to the left and one step behind) in the traditional “look” of the Vatican since Paul VI and during the pontificate of JPII.  It’s a clean, sober, elegant look without being over the top. I’ve also noticed more and more bishops in dalmatics. What’s that about? Are there not enough deacons in Rome? 

Confession: A National Post Interview

Canada’s National Post newspaper came by the other day for some thoughts on the Sacrament of Reconciliation, also known as Confession or the Sacrament of Penance. The “religion” reporter for the Post, Charles Lewis, wanted to know, from the grass roots level, how the celebration of the sacrament had changed. We talked at legnth about the move from more “devotional” confessions to more substantial personal reflections. The new focus on social sin which came out of the Vatican, through Bishop Girotti, OFM Conv., a brother Franciscan, was also part of the conversation. There is a greater awareness in the sacrament on social and environmental issues. As a Franciscan Church we tend to focus on the communal impact of sin, but also on the communal celebration of the sacrament. This is important for us. People need to experience the fact that they are not alone in their struggle. One of my key points is that this sacrament, like all of them, is an act of worship. It’s not about us, but rather about what God is doing in our lives. Mr. Lewis also spoke to various theologians and experts on the topic. You can read all about it in this Saturday (March 15,2008) edition of the National Post.

NOTE: I received a message today that the article may not run until Easter. Keep you… Posted!

At the Ballet with Soldiers and Kurt Browning

Last night I went to the Ballet with a friend. That was not small feat as we were in the midst of a major snow storm in Toronto. I was hesitant, but my host thought her car would make it ok. The National Ballet of Canada’s website was quite adamant… the performance goes on now matter how much snow there is! So, off we went. I must say I was quite amazed by how the VW Jetta did on the road. That German engineering does make a difference. We didn’t slip, slide or shake. The car just keep going like a tank through the snow.

We made our way to the new Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. For patrons of the opera or ballet it is an exciting venue for performances. Elegent, bright and certainly sound-proof. For the people of Toronto the Centre is a square, brick-box of a slap in the face. Ugly! It’s also a slap to the good people of The Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts who are known for their good taste! The disappointing Centre is only outdone by the aluminium siding tumour that covers the Royal Ontario Museum. The renovation of the ROM was supposed to include the addition of a translucent crystal. It was going to be bold. Budget constraints meant the crystal was replaced by aluminium siding and left the building looking like a tornado pick up a trailer-park and dropped it on the ROM. Ugliest! I digress.

The performance we went to see was rather unique. I am a little weird when it comes to my taste in ballet. I don’t like the “story” ballets like the Nutcraker. I prefer more interpretative dance. I was quite pleased with the last night’s presentation. The first performance was was called 24 Preludes by Chopin. These were presented as a series of small, tight dances which were quirky, sometimes witty and very energetic. At times, the dancers moved like the hammers of the piano. Quite interesting. The very creative choreography was by Marie Chouinard. The next performance, and my favourite was Soldiers Mass. 12 men danced to the music of Bohuslav Martinu and the choreography of Jiri Kylian (pardon the lack of accents… I haven’t mastered WordPress yet). It was moving listening to the Kyrie, Agnus Dei and Lord’s Prayer and the poems of Jiri Mucha. The Soldiers Mass is dedicated to the young Czechs who fought the Nazis in France. The peformance notes suggest:

The dancers represent young soldiers everywhere who are called to fight in a just war they did not provoke.

This peformance was powerful, tender and deeply moving and certainly brought to mind the women and men of our Canadian Armed Forces serving in Afghanistan.

The last dance was Rooster and based on the music of the Rolling Stones. It portrayed the relationship between men and women. Keiichi Hirano, a male First Soloist with the National Ballet was especially engaging.

And… uh, where does Kurt Browning fit in all this, you ask? Well, I bumped into him (literally) at the concession stand during the intermission.  For those who don’t know him, Kurt Browning is an Olympic athlete and World Champion figure-skater from Canada. He is a true gentleman and the epitome of what Canadians aspire to be; talented, gracious, humble and kind. Mr. Browning is married to Sonia Rodriguez, a Principal Dancer with the Ballet. Judging by the amount of time he spent on his feet applauding, I would guess he was quite pleased with his wife’s performance and that of her colleagues. I couldn’t agree more! Kudos.

No more purple pills?

Today I started the last batch of the Nexium “purple pills” my doctor gave me to deal with the burning acid feeling in my chest. He gave me three weeks worth after having had a really bad go of the chest pains. (Check out my “Family Day” and “Health Update” posts for the details). The idea was that the Nexium was supposed to came things down for now, but that the real solution was weight loss, exercise and less stress. Ha!

My docs actually been quite gentle about the weight thing… most of the time. The last time he commented on my girth was several years ago. I had just started working at the parish and was beginning to feel pain in my back. His gentle prod got me to go to Weight Watchers where over a period of two years I lost 47lbs and kept it off for quite a while. It was a great experience and I was able to eat all sorts of things. The only “danger” food was pizza. Pizza has way too many WW points per slice. At least I could still have pasta though!

I kept the weight off until a good friend got very sick and died. Throughout that process I started not caring too much. We also got into a major fund-raising and construction mode here at the church… and well, eating felt good. I’ve gone back and forth to the gym… but without the renewed commitment to eating well it doesn’t really do much.

So now, years later, some of the pains and aches are back. My feet hurt. I don’t fit in my clothes. I get out of breathe reaching to tie my shoes… and now acid reflux, or whatever that is. I’ve got to do something. It’s amazing how the human mind, body and spirit work. I know how great I felt when I lost the weight. I remember how much energy I had and yet, I can’t get back into the grove. Perhaps, it’s more accurate to say I haven’t gotten back into the grove. I still can!

Ugh… this week the friary will be filled with lots of guests from Italy. There’s going to be lots of running around, eating and entertaining. I’m going to have to stay focused. I’ll keep you posted.