The Crucified Rabbi - A Review

About once a year I get motivated to post a book review. I should do it more often. Today I wish to recommend Taylor Marshall's new book, The Crucified Rabbi which became available two weeks ago.

The author was formerly the Assistant Director of the Catholic Information Center in Washington, D.C. and currently a Ph.D. student in Philosophy at the University of Dallas focusing on the Natural Law theory of Saint Thomas Aquinas.

The book is about the Jewish roots of Catholic Christianity and meets that description with outstanding clarity. Just this past Saturday in a discussion about the coming changes in text used in the Latin Rite Mass a question was raised about Jesus "descending into hell" phrase in the Apostles Creed. I was happy to refer the group to Taylor's discussion of this very subject.

Click here to to order the book. It appears to be only available in paperback. Much of his work at Catholic Information Center is available on Podcasts at their web site.

Blue Grass Mass

Some of you liturgical musicians as well as many non choir Christians might enjoy listening to the Blue Grass Mass written by Father Edward Richard for St James Parish in Bristol, Virginia, the birth place of Country Music. It is performed by Fr Richard and friends. The composer is a professor at Kenrick Seminary in St Louis.

Listen to the Blue Grass Mass Music here.

Thanks to Deacon Greg for pointing to this well done effort.

Love Requires Freedom

Yesterday I had the privilege of officiating at my Grand nephew’s wedding. David and Eiledh have been friends since high school. Their college careers took them to different locations but now, to the joy of their families, they have chosen to enter together the life-long vocation of marriage. The ceremony featured bagpipe accompanied processions in tribute to the bride’s Scottish heritage.

The scripture readings they chose for their wedding provided excellent lessons on the subject of just what kind of love God calls us to in the marriage covenant. The first truth is that such love must be freely chosen. On Friday a favorite author, Roxane Salonen, wrote the following paragraph on this very subject on her blog.

“If only (we)understood we are not here to learn to be happy. We are here to learn to draw near to our Creator so that when we are called into the next life, we will be inclined to choose, on our own accord, Love. Forced love is not love; it defies the very definition of true love, which is freely given and chosen. And so it is that God, who desires our happiness but knows that our choosing Love is even more important than our attaining happiness, allows suffering. He does not cause it, but in His wisdom, He steps aside to let the world He created happen as it might. In this way, we are freed to choose Him, in spite of suffering, in spite of our continued failure to find perfect happiness in this life.”

Roxane and her husband have been married for some time and have a energetic family of young children but but her posting is about the loss of their son Gabriel. It is tough to contemplate suffering and death on a wedding day but the love to which David and Eiledh aspire has the power to overcome all of life’s troubles."

To read Roxane's complete essay click here.

New Evangelization Sucess Story

View From The Lake has linked to several “Catholics Come Home” ads over the weeks. Now there is an interview with Tom Peterson, the founder of “Catholics Come Home”, on the television network of the Brooklyn New York Diocese. For those of us that have felt that the new evangelization requested by Pope John Paul II has been a little slow in coming up to speed it is good to see someone kick thing into a higher gear.

View the entire Tom Peterson interview on the web site of this exciting new Catholic Television network called “netny”.

Celebrating Priestly Careers

One of the favorite yearly events in my life is the clergy conference of the Diocese of St Cloud that meets for three days every October. The conferees gather for Morning and evening prayer (singing and praying the Psalms and the poetry of the Bible) and at midday to celebrate the Eucharist. The serious presentations and meetings take place between the prayer time and the meal times. Oh yes, in years that the weather cooperates, we golf, swim, play tennis, walk or tour, on one of the afternoons.

For me, the prayer time is always a high point. The large conference room serving as a chapel resounding with over a hundred voices, mostly men, eagerly signing the biblical Psalms never fails to inspire me. At the banquet on the final night we honor retiring clergy with plaques, testimonials, often by the Bishop, and appreciative applause for their remarks recapping their years of service. This year the three retirees were priests and their stories revealed the wide scope that a priestly vocation can take at the diocesan level.

Eberhard Schefers always wanted to be a Parish Priest. His vocation was just that. His early assignments as curate were in a time when many parishes had at least two priests on staff and his pastoral assignments ended in a time where most priests pastor multiple parishes at the same time. Father Schefers spoke of his happiness in his vocation and his love for the people he served.

Richard Leisen decided as young priest that he would like to be a missionary and asked the Bishop to assign him to the overseas missions sponsored by the diocese. The Bishop instead asked Richard to go Fordham University and study for an advanced degree in social work. Upon his return he became the head of Catholic charities in Central Minnesota where he served for 22 years. The remaining 22 years of his ministry he served as Pastor. Father Richard spoke of the satisfactions of a priestly life taking special note of the many refugees families he helped resettle in the United States.

Daniel Taufen, early in his seminary training, revealed a knack for administration and was sent to Rome for advanced studies. In his ministry in the diocese he served for many years as Vicar General, the top administrative executive in the diocese under the bishop. Monsignor Taufen also was editor of the Diocesan Newspaper for many years. He was clearly moved by the tribute and applause of the gathered clerics.

The careers of this evening's honorees are certainly a tribute to the wide range of ministries possible within a vocation to the priesthood as well as the satisfaction and love one receives from a life dedicated to serving God's people.

Today (October 2, 2009) Pope Benedict XVI welcomed Minnesotan Miguel Diaz as the new Ambassador from the U.S. to the Vatican. Diaz met with the Pope to present his credentials as he took up his new office in Rome. The Pope and the Ambassador exchanged written greetings. Here is a section of the Pope's comments to the new Ambassador.

"In the course of my Pastoral Visit to your country last year I was pleased to encounter a vibrant democracy, committed to the service of the common good and shaped by a vision of equality and equal opportunity based on the God-given dignity and freedom of each human being. That vision, enshrined in the nation's founding documents, continues to inspire the growth of the United States as a cohesive yet pluralistic society constantly enriched by the gifts brought by new generations, including the many immigrants who continue to enhance and rejuvenate American society. In recent months, the reaffirmation of this dialectic of tradition and originality, unity and diversity has recaptured the imagination of the world, many of whose peoples look to the American experience and its founding vision in their own search for viable models of accountable democracy and sound development in an increasingly interdependent and global society."

Obviously the "reaffirmation" of our American ideals that "recaptured the imagination of the world" refers to the election of Barack Obama.

Read the entire greeting from the Pope which includes addition emphasis on our concern for the human dignity of all from conception to natural death and the protection of conscience of healthcare workers.