Seven Extremely Quick Takes

1. It's all relative. I was so excited to get back home to Jersey last month. After nearly a month off in New Jersey with my family for a wedding my sibs and their spouses and I celebrated 40th birthday bash for my brother with a weekend getaway to Mexico. We got back to Jersey on Monday night, and I woke up Tuesday to an open window and warm breeze. And then I opened my eyes. My first thought was - crap! I'm in Jersey.

2. God provided in His own magnificent way for us to cover the cost of Mexico. I felt a little guilty, but when you get a gift, you say thank you, right? Thanks, God, for sending us generous gifts- that trip was just the break we needed after smashing way too much info on biblical hermaneutics into my brain.

3. I am studying theological German this summer. This means that I'm doing lots of biblical translating, and slowly moving on to folks like Bonhoeffer, Barth, and God help us, Rahner. If you speak to me and my words sounds like gibberish, I guarantee this is why.

4. I am praying for inspiration hoping to submit an abstract for an academic conference at Notre Dame this fall. The topic is bodies- fearfully and wonderfully made. While I am leaning towards a look at the female body through modern media (Eponine, Eowyn) and JP II's TOB, I am still not sure if that will be "scholarly" enough from someone still in school. So if you have any brilliant ideas along the TOB/new feminist lines, and specifically about the Body, feel free to share :)



5. I realized I have not made lasagne in about ten years. Totally forgot what goes into the ricotta. Amazingly enough, I did FIND ricotta, but my Kroger only carried Kroger brand, which has me a little worried, and a little puzzled, to be honest. Why in the world do no Italians live in the Midwest?

6. I'm counting down the days to TOB III: Theology of the Body and the New Evangelization offered by the TOB Institute in PA. If you've never been, and you'd be interested in one of the many week-long courses they offer, you can visit them at their website. Even if you're looking for some great encouragement in your Catholic walk, and you want a retreat atmosphere with lots of young people and folks from all over the world, a place to think and pray and reflect... this may be for you!

7. I wish I could write something brilliant these days, and I do have thoughts brewing. I think my next post may be about this: article on a "woman's place" though I really want to get at the horrible misuse and abue of the word complementary. Yeah, I'll get there...

Thanks for the continued support & prayers. Love hearing from you - so feel free to comment :)

GO Visit Jen at Conversion Diary, the gracious hostess of this quick takes explosion :)

Why You Haven't Heard From Me In Case You Wondered (and Happy Easter)

Happy Easter!!! YES IT'S STILL EASTER!!!!
"We are Easter people, and Alleluia is our song"

Seven VERY QUICK takes, even though it's Saturday.

1. I was sick for two weeks with bronchitis, hence no posts.

2. I have less than a week til the dreaded general exam: Bible. Please, please pray I can cram it all in and make it stick. It's basically a four day exam, for those of you who haven't gone through this particular hell. I have lost study time. Why? See #1.

3. We hosted six adult band members of Mike Mangione and the Union Thursday night. They played at Canal St Tavern, a very cool venue in Dayton. They rocked the crap out of the place, and I really wish you could have been there. When we first agreed to make our house presentable and open for them to stay, I was thinking I'd be well under way to needing a break from diligent study. But I wasn't. Why? See #1.

4. What's better than listening to Really Talented Live Music? Sharing Really Talented Live Music with friends!!!!

5. Spending today and tomorrow writing a paper on Cardinal Newman's notes on the Development of Doctrine and JP II's concept of imago Dei in Theology of the Body. If you have never read the CDF document on the image of God, and you have a very curious intellect and lots of time to spare, go for it! The rough outline and research WILL be done by tomorrow. I usually do not work on Sunday. But I may have to because I lost some time. (see #1)

6. Mon-thurs I am studying biblical exegesis. All day, every day. Except for about an hour on Monday when I'm driving my hubs to the eye doc so they can do the dilation thing and he'll have a driver to take him home with ginormous pupils.

7. We go home May 3rd. Even if my papers aren't finished and they hate my answers in the two part written-one part oral exam taking place the 19th-22nd. We are going home for a couple of weeks, a wedding, and a 40th birthday party (by crackey). I can't focus on that goal yet (see #s 1, 2, 5, and 6) but thanks be to God it's coming soon.

Hope you have an excellent week. Hope I can get through all this without ending up dead. But like my hubs reminded me... gonna do this Gideon Style. Not through my strength, but through Yours, O merciful God.

Amen.

Very Good Friday: In Communion (7 Quick Takes)

Perhaps it's just years of Catholic culture telling me to stay off all the electronic sources today. But I have already been so inspired by this amazing virtual community that is part of the Real Community of Catholics and Christians joining together today in remembrance of Christ who died for us.

So while there is no official "7 quick takes", I will share some thoughts for reflection.

1. If you have time, turn off all the other noises, maybe turn off the lights or close your eyes, and listen to Mike Mangione singing this reflection on Calvary. It stirs my heart, a cry for mercy and redemption...
not the usual churchy stuff but so powerful

2. My friend Julia posted the words of a beautiful Byzantine hymn today that reminds me of that mother's heart breaking at the foot of the cross. The words are here for you to ponder:
Now do I go
to the Cross.
Nowhere else
shall I find You,
Jesus, Lord, Peace
of my soul.
There shall I find
the Mother of God.
Sorrow and pain
piercing her heart.
Sorrow now is
all I feel.


3. If you can't get to a church to pray this afternoon, but you can find a few minutes at home or on a break at work, the USCCB has some good resources for us.

4. Pope Francis, as I'm sure you have seen, washed the feet of twelve teen prisoners as part of the rituals of Holy Thursday. This group included two women. This is particularly telling because a few years ago there was a renewal of the tradition that the twelve people whose feet were being washed needed to "literally" represent the twelve apostles, and therefore be men. I understand this is a reminder that Holy Orders were first conferred at that Passover supper so long ago. But, since the remembrance of that gesture of Jesus is not a matter of dogma, it makes better sense to my mind and heart that the foot washing is above all a call to love, a call to service, and not a call to priesthood in the ordained sense. Women are no less part of this call, and perhaps in some sense have a more natural capacity for service that can inspire us all. Whose feet are better to wash in honor of the weight they carry for their families and those they serve every day? So let us all - male, female, old, young, take this ritual as a sign of a call to holiness, regardless of our personal vocations. It is part of the greatest Vocation, to Love.

5. I am a little hesitant to join my new parish today for Good Friday services. The midwest tends to take a different tack on things, and I'm used to my 160+ year old Catholic parish and brilliant pastor who is Attentive to Stuff... we'll see.

6. It is sunnier outside than it has been in months. For me, a reminder, perhaps, that though this is a day of prayer and fasting, all creation also remembers that we have been saved.

7. Even if Jennifer at Conversion Diary isn't hosting a "7 quick takes" today (and she's so right not to...) she has a short but beautiful post on suffering that may help unite us all to the cross today.

May you be today consumed by Grace, inspired by God's sacrifice, and gently carried in Love.
Peace on this very Good Friday.

What a Pope Should Look Like

Last week I was sitting on my end of the couch, talking to my husband about Pope Francis. I'm so amazed at his mannerisms and the way he interacts with people, I told him. I am really grateful that the Holy Spirit has granted us a man who seems like he will make a holy and gifted Pope, I said while scrolling the iPad through the dozens of photos and memes that had already cropped up in response to the vote. But... He looked at me. But you want to say this is not the only way a Pope can look, can be? Yes. Yes, that was it.

While this has been muddling about in my head alongside the paper on material culture I had to write for my gargoyle class, and the Assent of Grammar which is hurting my brain, other bloggers have put "pen to paper" and written much what I wanted to say. It won't stop me though. I add my voice to theirs.

I am so grateful that the conclave was quick and decisive in its vote. I thought the new pope's prayer from the loggia was beautiful. I am glad to know he has expressed preference for the poor, reminded us as a Church that Christ is at the center, asserted conviction and faith in the doctrine of the Church. I love that he blessed a seeing eye dog, washed the feet of the sick while bishop, and is giving the Swiss Guard a run for the money. His easy laugh and mischievous temperament seem to be as much a product of his ethnic culture as his own personality.

Pope Francis is what a pope should look like. Should be like.

Eight years ago, I was very grateful that the conclave was quick and decisive in its vote. I thought the new pope's blessing from the loggia was beautiful. I am glad to know he expressed preferential option for the poor in his first encyclical (“love for widows and orphans, prisoners, and the sick and needy of every kind, is as essential as the ministry of the sacraments and preaching of the Gospel"). He reminded us Christ is at the center with his three volume work on Jesus of Nazareth. He dedicated many years asserting conviction and faith in the doctrine of the Church. I love that he travelled halfway across the world to celebrate life with the youth of the Church in Sydney (and Cologne, and Madrid), apologized publicly for thousands of years of offenses perpetrated by members of the Church (even though they weren't his own fault), and met personally with victims of sexual abuse to offer empathy and dignity to their suffering. His musical "grandpa wave" and formal temperament seems to be as much a product of his ethnic culture as his own personality.

Pope Benedict XVI is what a pope should look like. Should be like.

In 1978, I was very grateful that the conclave responded to the Holy Spirit and elected a non-Italian pope. I thought the new pope (whose name was unceremoniously flubbed) gave a beautiful blessing from the loggia. I was glad to learn he emphasized preferential love for the poor. He reminded us Christ is at the center of our faith - the Source and Summit- the Eucharist, he asserted conviction and faith in the doctrine of the Church. I love that he started World Youth Day to help teach the youth of the Church that they are part of something real, something so much bigger than themselves, asserted the dignity and value of all human persons, fought to end Communism and oppression in the world. His love for drama and passionate temperament seemed to be as much a product of his ethnic culture as his own personality.

Pope John Paul II is what a pope should look like. Should be like.

I could go on. These popes have had, or will likely have, the greatest impact in my own relationship to the Church in my life. They are all different - size, shape, ethnicity, spirituality.
John Paul II was a philosopher. He didn't travel in a Popemobile either. Until they tried to kill him.
Benedict XVI was our formal theologian. He followed the rules and he loved Jesus. His commitment to the history of the office was so fitting, given his love for the history of God's people. His humility allowed us to receive the gift of Pope Francis. We should not forget that.
Pope Francis is prayerful, gutsy, and causing havoc to the Vatican order. That's not a bad thing, per se. But it may be a matter of time until the weight of the office settles in and daily tasks affect his choices.

All of these men can be very different, and STILL be the Rock on which our Church is founded. All of these men can have different expressions, different spirituality, different gifts and STILL be the Vicar of Christ. In fact, it should give us all great hope that the Holy Spirit IS at work, and the cardinals have been receptive. Our popes are not some cookie-cutter personality, no cut-and-dried "type". Each is unique, unrepeatable: a tiny glimmer of originality mirroring the never-ending diversity of the Image of God - in a very real way. They challenge us to stop putting God in a box! They engage us in meditating on God's wondrous love, on God's vastness, on God's passion for humanity - that we are created so individually, but called to communion, to faith, and to the Truth.

Truth is the Person of Christ. Each of these popes reveals to us some measure of the Truth in service to the Church. And how blessed we are to once again receive the gift of a pope - Pope Francis, the first of the name, who once again, as his brothers did before him, will offer us the truth in love, remind us of who we are and who we are meant to be.

Veni, sancte spiritus. And Thanks, God... for Your awesome GIFTS!

Habemus Papam et Seagull-am?

What a day.

Facebook was exploding earlier in the day, when a seagull decided it liked the papal chimney as a roosting post. At school already, I read tales of families sitting home with several tv sets blaring, cheering for the seagull whenever it flew up and re-landed on the smokestack.I nearly fell out of my chair when a dear professor of mine made a comment that she had heard the bird say "filioque" as he alighted. My colleagues laughed, considering that God comes in the form we despise. All these great very human quips while we waited - But then...

White smoke has rarely been this significant.

I was sitting in the break room at school, with the live yet silent shot of a boring old chimney open on my computer screen, which I flipped back and forth to from my kindle edition of Newman's Grammar of Assent. And then I heard the yell, and flipped back, saw the billows and billows and billows of white smoke- unmistakably white, and unmistakably a LOT of it, as if to assure the millions of viewers that we could, indeed, believe our eyes just two days in to the conclave.

I got the chance to experience this historical and oh-so-Catholic moment at a Catholic university, amidst a hallway full of theologians, next to several colleagues of my own. Watching the white smoke- waiting- dying of curiosity. Stories were traded over and over "they say it will take an hour for him to come out" and "who is it? did he come out yet?" and "does anyone have a live feed that isn't sputtering out due to overload every 30 seconds!?"

We had seen the light flip on, the curtain sway with a whispered promise. And then Pope Francis was there.

I am of a generation that tends to think of the Pope as a spiritual grandpa. Sure, Paul VI was pope when I was born, and John Paul I followed when I was still little, though only for a matter of weeks. I remember that. And I remember John Paul II becoming pope, and thinking it was really cool that he took the other guy's name. I received all my sacraments (except Baptism) during the papacy of John Paul II, and I have his papal blessing on my marriage framed on the wall. I was sad to see him pass away, feeling as if I had lost a family member. But then Papa Benedict came through and shared his beautiful theology of love, and became part of our family soon after.

My friend who was sitting next to me, also glued to the macbook, saw Pope Francis and made a cooing sound. "A pocket pope" he said. And by that he was indicating his immediate heart-meets-heart moment, as if meeting a dearly loved grandpa once again. For him, as a new Catholic, this was his first papal election, but my fourth. And still, we hoped, and we were blessed by a soft-spoken man who prayed for Benedict XVI first, who asked our blessing, who blessed us in return.

I cried during the papal blessing. In a crowd of university professors. I don't care. My heart could really say in that moment - yes. And thank you.

I am sharing this with you because this is a happy day. This is a moment of celebration that the Church is no longer at a loss. That we are in a new moment, a moment of promise, of faith, and of hope. Pope Francis' motto? "Lowly, but Chosen." How incredibly beautiful these words which echo Mary's Canticle... "you have looked with favor on your lowly one".

The Almighty, in His lavish love and mercy, has done great things for us. And Holy is His name.

Go, rejoice! Share your story, your joy, your hope!
And never rule out the significance of a seagull- you never know what God might have in store next :)