Wednesday lunchtime concerts at the cathedral

This just in ...

Every Wednesday morning during Lent from 11:45-12:10 p.m. (before Mass) there will be a sacred music concert at St. Mary's Cathedral for all who are interested in attending.

Speaking to experts about the 'Jesus Tomb'

By now, many people have heard about film director James Cameron’s bombshell delivered Monday in promotion of the Discovery Channel documentary “The Lost Tomb of Jesus.” Actually, terming it a documentary may be a stretch, as a Discovery Channel press release calls it “Part archaeological adventure, part Biblical history, part forensic science, part theological controversy. . . .”

The basic premise that Cameron and the Discovery Channel put forth is that Jesus Christ did not ascend to heaven, as stated in the Gospels. Rather, they claim to have discovered the tomb of Jesus with 10 ossuaries (bone boxes) in Jerusalem, containing the remains of Christ, the Virgin Mary, Matthew, Joseph and Mary Magdalene.

The Cameron team (which includes filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici) also claims to have unearthed evidence that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene and fathered children. The Discovery Channel release claims there is another coffin with the name “Judah, son of Jesus” inscribed on it.

Catholic News Service interviewed an archaeologist who debunks the documentary.

I spoke Tuesday morning with Rebecca and Dr. John Jackson, directors of the Turin Shroud Center in Colorado Springs.



The center is devoted to studying the shroud, its authenticity and its historical significance. The Jacksons have interesting backgrounds. Dr. John Jackson (pictured above) comes from a mathematics and science background and teaches physics at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Rebecca Jackson, who was raised as an Orthodox Jew, is an expert on ethnology and early Judaism.

They plan on watching the program this Sunday, and I’ll have a better chance to discuss it with them on Monday. While Rebecca Jackson said they will approach the documentary with an open mind, their preliminary thoughts are to remain skeptical.

“This smells of a real agenda,” said Dr. Jackson. “The name Mary, the name Joseph – these are names that were quite prevalent at the time. At the crucifixion, there were three Maries there.”

Rebecca Jackson said there usually seems to be some kind of program on the part of agnostics and atheists to disprove Jesus Christ’s existence and divinity.

“I think they’re jealous of Christians. They’re jealous of the peace and serenity Christians have,” she said. “They are so threatened by Easter.”

The convert to Catholicism also hopes people don’t fall into a knee-jerk reaction of blaming Jews for stirring up controversy. Instead, she pins it more on atheists.

“People are first going to blame the Jews, but I don’t think they’re behind this,” said Rebecca. “I think what they would say is, ‘You have your faith; we have our faith. Let’s live in peace.’”

Rebecca saw photos of the bone boxes and immediately found inconsistencies with claims from Cameron’s team.

“First of all, look at the sarcophagus. It’s covered in rose petals,” she said. “No Jews would be buried like that. That’s Hellenic -- it’s very Gentile.”

As curators of the Turin Shroud Center, the Jacksons have experience fending off various skeptics and those with an agenda to disprove Christianity.

“The Shroud over the years has been a lightning rod for a lot of cornball theories,” said Dr. Jackson. “We have real data to back up our claims. People don’t care about that when they have an agenda.”

Titanic + DaVinci Code = ?

Just in time for Lent, Titanic director James Cameron claims in a new documentary he is producing that he has discovered the tomb of not only Jesus, but of Mary Magdalene and their son. He's saying that he's proving it with DNA analysis. And this is an interesting tidbit:

Crucially, he is not denying the resurrection - as there were no bones in the caskets.

Not so fast, say several Scripture scholars and scientists. Amy Welborn's Open Book blog has a nice compilation of responses, including this one from Ben Witherington's blog.

Somewhere, Dan Brown is smiling at the thought of more people running to buy "The DaVinci Code."

Christianity and Islam

On Sunday, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrahkan retired from public ministry, giving a speech to thousands at Ford Field in Detroit.

In his speech, he made an interesting comment:

The 73-year-old Farrakhan told the thousands at Detroit's Ford Field that Jesus Christ and the Prophet Muhammad would embrace each other with love if they were on the stage behind him.

As Christians, we believe Jesus is the Son of God, the third person of the Trinity and the Messiah, not another prophet. I'm all for interfaith dialogue, so long as the Catholic faith is not watered down, but how this can be reconciled between the two faiths is beyond me, but Pope Benedict XVI made news last fall trying to respectfully build bridges while acknowledging the major differences between Islam and Christianity/Catholicism.

The topic of Christian-Islam relations will get further discussion as part of the March 27 Theology on Tap in downtown Colorado Springs. Bishop Richard Hanifen, Rabbi Howard Hirsch and Arshad Yousufi from the Islamic Society will present "Briding the Gap Between Catholic, Jewish and Islamic Religions" 6:30 p.m. at The Warehouse Brewery (25 W Cimarron St). I plan to be there.

What are your preparations?

Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, is here on Feb. 21. Lenten preparations have changed for me over the years, as sacrifice means something differently to me now than it did five, 10 and 20 years ago. When I was a child, I would give up soda or pizza. But as I became an adult, I thought that rang a little hollow and too easy. So, now I try to dedicate myself more to prayer and spiritual self-improvement during Lent, like setting aside time to pray the Rosary each day or bringing others into prayer with me. I feel it brings me closer to the Lord, strengthens my family and reminds me of the sacrifices Jesus made for us.

I know I should be doing these things during the year anyway, so am I copping out by not giving up M&Ms? I'm interested in your opinion.

What kind of sacrifices do you make during Lent, and are you always successful?

Feeding lust for a good cause...

After Jim's outstanding, uplifting blogs from Guatemala, I hate to bring the room down. But as a member of the diocesan task force on pornography/sex addiction, I could not turn away from this story in today's Dallas Morning News.

In Dallas, lawmakers are trying to highlight the link between "adult entertainment" (read: pornography and strippers) and sexual assault. That's a good thing. How are they doing it, you ask? By trying to pass a law that would force strip clubs to charge at least a $5 cover charge, with those $5 going to fund programs focused on sexual assault prevention, counseling and treatment.

I guess banning strip clubs completely is too much to ask for, especially since "adult entertainment" is seen as a right that is protected by our courts. Maybe this fee will ultimately hurt business. One can only hope. But to say you can go to strip clubs and feed your lust to help fund programs that address the very problems that lust leads to is so messed up... where do you start?

Here's a sad quote from someone defending strip clubs. It boggles me how women can defend the very industry that is all about exploiting them.

"To say there's a link between sexual assault and gentlemen's clubs is ludicrous," said Angelina Spencer, the executive director for the Association of Club Executives. "These taxes are a ruse to burden the club owner because somebody finds the business morally reprehensible. There is no evidence that links an increase in sexual assaults among women to adult entertainment clubs."

Back in the USA

I arrived back from my mission awareness trip to Guatemala late Satruday, yet I still have a couple of loose ends I wanted to tie up with the blog.

Guatemala really is a dichotomy. Eighteen families control industry in the country, so spreading the wealth is difficult. And it's even tougher to make a decent living when all the resources are controlled by so few.

Yet the Guatemalan people I encountered were extremely friendly and welcoming. They have a spirit of hope despite enduring a lasting civil war that ended two decades ago and facing the prospect of living in the Third World. There is also violence and gang activity in the country, especially in cities. While the country has a long way to go, it is making steps, education being the first one. From a photography standpoint, the people are very photogenic.

They handle transportation differently in Guatemala as well. Gas is expensive, as are cars in the country, so most people travel by bus. These old school busses are decked out with chrome and decorations, and it appears they are named after women.

When in towns and cities, you can get around by these small taxis that are sometimes driven by youngsters who are 12 or 13 years old. The ride is cheap, but it's a risk.

You could also hop a ride from town to town on a pickup truck that will be loaded with other people. Once again, cheap but a risk.


If space and time permits, I may be able to get a sidebar in the next issue of The Colorado Catholic Herald highlightin quirky points of Guatemalan life.

Guatemala is also a country with very old churches that cry out to be photographed.


People doing missionary work in Guatemala are trying to life the people out of poverty to a better life through education, job training and help acquiring land to produce their own food and goods. Bob Hentzen, president of the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (www.cfcausa.org, first came to Latin America in the late 1950s and has been performing Christian work ever since. CFCA began in 1981 and has now spread to 25 countries. In 1996, Hentzen walked from CFCA's headquarters in Kansas City, Kan., to Guatemala, where he has made his home since.


In short, Guatemala is a very picturesque country that will steal your heart.


But I couldn't wait to get home to the United States to get one of these.


Look for our article on CFCA in the Feb. 23 issue.

Catholic mission in San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala

I'm on a mission trip to Guatemala with the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, a Kansas City, Kan.,-based charitable organization founded in 1981 by a group of Catholic laypeople. Its focus is sponsoring children and young adults to get them school educations and job training.

Associating missionary work with Latin American countries like Guatemala is not unusual. What is a bit unorthodox is where they get their missionaries in the area where I’m staying: the highlands around Lake Atitlan. San Lucas Toliman has a Catholic mission that has been operating under the auspices of the New Ulm, Minn., diocese since 1962.

Its pastor, Msgr. Greg Schaeffer, has been here since 1963.

While it is officially a mission of the parish in the United States, San Lucas mission operates financially separate from the parish. It receives its funding through individual donations.

The mission concentrates on building infrastructure and helping locals fend for themselves. It has purchased land for them to farm, is running community water and forestation projects and runs an elementary school. At the school is a library dedicated to Daniel Mauser, one of the victims of the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton. His family sponsored a child through CFCA and requested donations to the organization in his name. CFCA was then able to get the school library built and had one more built at the school of the sponsored child.

The mission also has a coffee plantation that produces coffee for sale locally and in some places in the United States. The mission lets coffee suppliers determine what they need for the price, which is double what the regular market will dictate. It’s a curious economic principle, but it seems to work.

The parish sells goods produced by locals, with the proceeds going to widows. Volunteers from mostly the United States and Canada come to the mission to work for nearly a year. Chris Cottle, from Basalt, graduated the University of Colorado last May and came to work in the mission from September until June. He said it was tough work at times but very rewarding, though he misses all the snow we’ve been getting in the Centennial State.

Two brothers are instrumental in running the mission. Andres Chajil, who has been working with the mission 34 years, runs the water project.

Toribio Chajil is in charge of the forestation project. To say the brothers are passionate about their work would be an understatement. When I talked with each about his role in the mission, his eyes lit up as he explained that the work they did was necessary to provide a better future for their country.

Said Andres: “Guatemala has the best coffee in the world, but the best coffee in Guatemala is here in San Lucas.” After tasting the local coffee every day, it’s hard to argue with that assessment.

Their first language is Kaqchiquel, a Mayan dialect, but they also are fluent in Spanish.

Toribio is definitely a tree hugger (“My friends are the people here, everyone who comes from the United States to help and, of course, the trees. People would call me crazy,” he said.) His philosophy is that without the trees you have no food, no animals and no air. His project helps plant Cypress trees, which grow to maturity in six or seven years.

You get the point. The mission is another example of Catholics doing great work in the area. They don’t make any grandiose promises that they’re going to solve all of the residents’ problems, but they help them acquire the knowledge and tools to work their own land and improve their lot in life.

Double standard at Air Force Academy?

[2-12-07 UPDATE: According to the Engaged Encounter speaker, one of the four cadets managed to get out to the weekend, but the other three never made it.]

The following e-mail excerpt came to us from a Catholic Engaged Encounter speaker in our diocese who is upset because the Air Force Academy will allow its nationally ranked men's basketball team to travel to New Mexico this weekend, but four Catholic seniors cannot leave to attend their required Engaged Encounter weekend. The academy is currently on "lockdown" this weekend after 19 cadets admitted to cheating on a basic-knowledge test.
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There are 32 couples registered for this weekend’s Catholic Engaged Encounter, four of these couples are from the Air Force Academy. They were informed yesterday that they cannot attend this religious retreat, because the Air Force Academy is restricting the entire Cadet Wing for a weekend of reflection on cheating.

While I understand the need for the entire cadet wing to reflect on this, the entire cadet wing will not there. The members of the basketball team have been allowed to leave, since they have an away game tomorrow. If the entire cadet wing was to be there I would understand better the outright denial that we were given, but how does a basketball game rate an exception and a religious retreat that will help these young men and women prepare for a lifelong commitment in marriage not rate the same exemption!?

The cadets who were supposed to attend the Catholic Engaged Encounter weekend are all senior cadets, who have wedding dates set right after graduation (May 30), and the Diocese of Colorado Springs does not have another chance for them to attend a CEE weekend until June 8, not to mention the fact that they have already paid $175 – non refundable after two weeks out. They have made all kinds of arrangements so that they can attend and done everything they can to faithfully prepare for this sacrament. While there is an opportunity for them to attend a weekend through the Archdiocese of Denver (at St. Malo, April 13-15 -- the cost is $350 per couple, making it cost prohibitive for most cadets) and a weekend in Estes Park in early May (4-6, cost is $225), that is when these same cadets will be preparing for or taking finals, making arrangements to move to their next base. Oh yes, there is this thing of a wedding the weekend of June 2 – so there are final preparations for that too, not to mention they will have to pay [for the retreat] again.

The instance of divorce is over 50 percent in the military. With all the demands on these young kids the least we can do is afford them the best opportunity to prepare properly for this. The Diocese of Colorado Springs has done an admirable job in discerning a year-long preparation process for couples to have to go through to prepare for these lifelong vows. The military similarly takes these young cadets and prepares them for four years here and, in the majority of cases, with follow-on training for them to be proficient at whatever job they will have defending our country. Is it too much to ask that they be allowed to leave campus for 36 hours to prepare for a commitment for the rest of their lives?!

If you're ever in Chichi, stay at the Hotel Santo Tomas

Thursday was a chance to go to state of Quiche – or departments, as they are called in Guatemala. We saw another project in that city that CFCA was working on in the town of Quiche. Then we saw some Mayan ruins (you have to use your imagination) before getting a little rest stop in Chichicastatenango, which more or less means “home of the Chichicasta.” It's a small, sturdy tree with terrible thorns that will give you a rash if you come into contact with them.



Quiche seems to be better off than San Lucas Toliman, where the CFCA Guatemalan headquarters are. However, I didn’t expect to encounter Hotel Santo Tomas, a magnificently-appointed hotel in the middle of Chichi.


There was Catholic artwork throughout the building.
Crucifixes along a stairwell:

A painting of the crucifix of Christ in the hotel lobby:


One thing I’ve learned about this country is the Catholics are very serious about their faith and aren’t afraid to express it. It has made for some great conversations with other Catholics about our faith and where it is headed.

UPDATE: One thing I didn't mention when I posted this entry was an example of violence in the Quiche area. Wednesday night a man and his two sons were gunned down in the area. Apparently, he was staunchly against deforestation, and the thought is the logging company had him and his sons eliminated. Last year, a nun who was anti-deforestation was also killed. It brings to mind tales of railroad companies in Colorado who used violence to achieve their goals.

Meeting the youth

I'm on a mission trip to Guatemala with the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, a Kansas City, Kan.,-based charitable organization founded in 1981 by a group of Catholic laypeople. Its focus is sponsoring children and young adults to get them school educations and job training.

I'll keep this one lighter than the last couple of posts. This post regards Tuesday night, where some sponsored children from the south of Guatemala made the trip to CFCA's Guatemalan headquarters in San Lucas Toliman, in the country's highlands, to show traditional dances and songs.

They stayed the night, and later Tuesday evening I got to play some basketball and soccer with them, thinking I was some kind of hotshot. The next morning they were teasing me a little bit, calling me Ronaldinho. Or maybe I'm just that good in soccer!

The national Guatemalan instrument is the Marimba, which is something of a xylophone. Earlier this week a group from La Salle Institute in Santa Maria Visitacion Solola performed on the instrument. The cones that give the instrument resonance were guords in early versions.

Finally, hopefully these sound files will attach. The first is the group playing the marimba.

The next one is children from San Lucas singing "De Colores." (sound quality is low)

Finally, a boy at the CFCA center in Santiago singing a song of praise.

Lots of words, but lots of photos as well

I am reporting from Guatemala, where I am on a mission awareness trip with the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (www.cfcausa.org), a Kansas City, Kan., charity started by Catholic laypeople in 1981. The charity is focused on helping the impoverished in more than 25 developing countries. CFCA helps children and young adults receive school education and job training and employs many people who have also been on the receiving end of aid that comes from individual sponsors. Sponsors, who give at least $30 a month to children in need through CFCA, have taken the trip to meet the children whom they sponsored. The sponsors and I are staying at CFCA’s Guatemalan headquarters in San Lucas Toliman, in the country’s highlands along Lake Atitlan about three hours west of Guatemala City.

Wednesday was a spiritual day that had its share of highs and lows. I want to preface this entry by saying I'm not trying to make anyone feel guilty or pull any heartstrings. This is just what I witnessed.

Staying true to its Catholic Christian mission, CFCA starts each day with morning prayer. Wednesday’s featured a native ceremony, which is a mixture of Mayan traditions and symbolism with Catholic elements. Pictured is CFCA president Bob Hentzen, who is quick to pick up his guitar in song. Guatemalans are very strong in their Catholicism and are not reserved about praising Jesus.

It was then on to Santiago Atitlan, a one-hour boat ride (or 20-minute car ride) across Lake Atitlan from San Lucas. It was a beautiful ride across the lake, with a vista of volcanoes and mountains.

While in Santiago, we visited the CFCA center there (the organization is present nationwide) before heading to the town parish. This is a town where Father Stan Rother, a priest originally from Oklahoma, was murdered by the Guatemalan army in 1981. His body is buried in the United States, but his heart literally remains in the church, where it is buried.

The church is lined with interesting depictions of saints in clothing that changes throughout the year.

It was in a chapel where the tabernacle is located that I felt the real presence of Christ.

After spending time in Santiago, we went to a village called Panabaj outside of town where, during Hurricane Stan in October 2005, hundreds of people died in a mudslide that struck at about 3 a.m. The Guatemalan government led an effort to rebuild in the same spot. But construction stopped halfway through when they determined it was too dangerous from the threat of more mudslides. So, displaced residents are in temporary housing on adjacent land that amounts to nothing more than a shantytown. The makeshift village has a common water holding tank and a common kitchen, and many places have no electricity. It's an example of why government intervention fails so many times in place of individual action.

This is the real face of Guatemala:

Sorry to be heavy, folks, but that’s the way it is, and Christian work is necessary. It’s also the face of Jesus. Life ain’t always rainbows and sunshine.

I met a family of nine that lives in one of these houses with only one bedroom, no bathroom and a makeshift working area/kitchen. The family shares four beds and makes goods to sell in the town. I want to be clear that two of us (Father Jose Maria, a Spanish priest, and I) ventured into this house to meet the family, and it wasn't something staged by the charity.

I personally think that CFCA should show people more of this. But Mike DiToro, a sponsor from Shelton, Conn., said it might be a little too visceral for some people to encounter these situations every day.

When we returned to HQ, Father Jose Maria celebrated Mass in CFCA’s chapel. It was very solemn, and the week’s emotions were manifested in the Mass. During the sign of peace, I noticed some people fighting back tears and others letting them go. It was another example of Christ’s presence in many ways.

That’s it, y’all. I’m a little spent, as everyday is a whirlwind of activity. I’m grateful to be born in the United States, and I’m looking forward to getting back to family in Colorado Springs.

One of the families helped by CFCA

I am in Guatemala thus week with the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (www.cfcausa.org), an organization formed by Catholic laypeople in 1981 with the mission of lifting people out of poverty in the Third World and equipping them with the education and job skills to forge a decent life. I met one person who benefits from the program.

Meet Armando (center), Lesli Andrea(l) and Ingrid Elizabeth, a family sponsored by CFCA in Guatemala. Armando, a laborer for Toyota who was able to purchase a small home, adopted both girls with his now-deceased wife.

Lesli Andrea, 11, was abandoned by her birth mother when she was 4 months old.
"When I came across this little girl, she was very abandoned," said Armando. "She was in the mud when I found her."

Armando and his wife took her in, but Lesli Andrea had multiple health problems. She has a thyroid issue that will require lifelong attention and has undergone several surgeries. Lesli Andrea had to have an operation on her lungs at age 7 and has since endured two open heart surgeries and removal of her gall bladder.

Armando and his wife also adopted Ingrid Elizabeth, 10, after convincing her birth mother not to abort the child and instead let them raise her.

"I am very impressed with this family. Just from the human side, the store of this wonderful couple taking in these girls is wonderful," said Bob Hentzen, president of CFCA.

The girls' adoptive mother, Armando’s wife, died of intestinal cancer when Lesli Andrea was 5 and Ingrid Elizabeth was 3. CFCA has enabled Armando to provide for his two girls, including such items as school supplies and uniforms, food, shoes and other personal clothing. Much of Lesli Andrea’s medication comes from CFCA sponsorship.

"We are grateful to God for coming across our sponsors," said Armando.

Lesli Andrea still has the same interests as most girls her age. While she fills the role of mother of the house in the morning, she enjoys attending school in the afternoon. The fifth-grader’s favorite subject in school is math, and she enjoys playing with her younger sister in her free time.

Love those tortillas

I haven't had to adjust my diet much in Guatemala, as it consists of items I normally eat in Colorado: chicken, beef, rice, beans and tortillas. . . . lots and lots of tortillas. Here is Cristina making tortillas for our lunch.

The entrance to the CFCA (www.cfcausa.org) compound features a mural of a Mayan corn god. If the picture looks a little disorienting, it's because I took it upside down and flipped it in photshop.

Sponsors and children at CFCA

I am in Guatemala on a mission awareness trip for the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (http://www.cfcausa.org), a 25-year-old charity started by Catholic laypeople in Kansas City, Kan (in 1981, actually). It's an amazingly organized charity that helps lift people out of abject poverty through education and financial opportunities.

Monday was the day when Guatemalan children who are sponsored made their way to CFCA's headquarters in San Lucas Toliman to meet their sponsors. It would be logistically impossible for a group of 30 or so sponsors to travel to every child around the country. Yet children and their families traveled great distances to get here.

The compound sits on land that was donated by members of the parish in San Lucas Toliman. CFCA began building on it in 1996.

David Asher from Minneapolis, Minn., has sponsored a girl for seven years and was able to meet her on Monday. She travelled two hours from her home to get to a shuttle bus. Then it was another seven-hour trip to CFCA's headquarters. Sponsors also came from far away, but none farther than Father Jose Maria Gonzalez Casado, from a city near Madrid in Spain. He has sponsored a 16-year-old boy for nine years whom he met yesterday, and Father Maria Gonzalez planned to make a six-hour round trip from the Guatemalan highlands to the coast to see where his sponsored child lives.

Children and their families arranged these travel plans on two-weeks' notice, and it was an emotionally visceral experience for some.

"My sponsored child is 20-years-old. Yet when I met him, he just collapsed in my arms," said Mary Dwyer of Granbury, Texas.

Some took a playful approach to meeting their children. Steve Dziadik from Seymour, Conn., is on his third trip to Guatemala. Dziadik, who only said he has been sponsoring children for "a very long time," taught children the "Hokey Pokey."

After spending time getting to know their sponsors, children showed their skills with a pageant that included singing and dancing. This little girl displayed a Guatemalan folk dance.

One more thing: Here's the view out of the back of the building where I'm staying.

A couple of quick notes on my graceful arrival and subsequent smooth transition: Not five minutes after arriving at the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging compound, I stepped into a mess of fire ants. The CFCA staff was helpful and empathetic, but I felt like a dolt. One man offered some wisdom: "That is your welcoming." Today I tried to scramble to get my computer up and running with an Internet connection. You cannot believe the patience and grace they displayed while I thought I was dead in the water. Needless to say, I'm here with a connection.

That is indicative of the Guatemalan people I have encountered. They are very friendly and willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, so long as you make an attempt on your part. My Spanish is rusty, but I'm getting by.

Here is a photo of Lago de Atitlan, a very picturesque scene.

Now here is Cerro de Oro, where we visited sponsored families:

That kind of illustrates the dichotomy of Guatemala. But there is hope for something better in the faces of los jovenes (the young people).



Organizations like CFCA are trying to help with reform. Governmental reform is a stretch, so charities like CFCA are trying to appeal to the landowners for justice, and in the meanwhile are educating and sometimes later employing people like the girl in the photo.

Arriving in Guatemala

While most Americans were watching the Super Bowl on Sunday, I was in Guatemala on a mission awareness trip for the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, a 25-year-old charity started by Catholic laypeople in Kansas City, Kan. The purpose of the organization is to help impoverished people in Third World countries get the training and education they need to improve their station in life. CFCA is also committed to helping land reform in Guatemala, where 18 extended families own all the land in the country. It has helped indigenous people acquire land in this country that suffered through a terrible civil war two decades ago.

The trip I took is designed for people who sponsored children in the area. The sponsors meet the children whom they help. For $30 a month, Americans are able to sponsor one child in the Third World, including places like Colombia, India, the Phillipines and Kenya. Put into perspective, a man I met Sunday was a mason who makes about 35 Quetzales per day during a six-day work week. That comes out to less than $30 per week. Three of his children have been sponsored by CFCA, and he expressed gratitude to the sponsors and to God for their contributions.

We arrived in Guatemala City Saturday night and drove three hours to CFCA's Guatemalan headquarter in San Lucas Toliman on Sunday. There, we were met by a procession of children who walked with sponsors from the town to CFCA´s compound about a mile away. The whole time they were singing hymns and religious songs, including one of my personal favorites "de Colores." I will try to attach sound files later.

The afternoon was spent visiting a small village, Cerro de Oro (meaning Hill of Gold) just outside of town. The unpaved roads were dusty, and the village was very impoverished. Yet it seemed these people still kept their spirits high. Perhaps it was an act, but I think it was more a strong faith that God will provide.

Attached is a photo of a girl in a sponsored family who showed us how she weaves materials that she sells at the market.

We attended an evening Mass in San Lucas. In a twist, Father Mike Walker from the Pueblo Diocese concelebrated Mass (along with a Spanish priest, who is on the trip as a sponsor). Father Walker is a rare breed: a diocesan priest who has spent most of his life as a missionary. Most missionaries are order priests, after all.

I will add more to the blog later, including testimonials from sponsored families and sponsors. If there is anything in particular you would like to know, fire away in the comments section.

Herald live from Guatemala

Assuming he stays at hotels with an Internet connection, Assistant Editor Jim Myers hopes to blog regularly about his experiences in Guatemala, where he arrived Saturday for a one-week mission awareness trip with Christian Foundation for Children and Aging.

"Definitive" DVD comes out for "The Passion"

I can't believe I didn't know about this until after it was released, but just in time for Lent "The Passion of the Christ" was released as a two-disc collector's edition DVD set on Tuesday. Fox keeps finding ways to make more money of one of the most commercially successful films (and probably most successful Catholic film) of all time.

The film appears to be offered in the original and 2005 less violent "re-cut" versions. Among the features are:
* Filmmaker Commentary with Mel Gibson, Caleb Deschanel, and John Wright (original cut only)
* Production Commentary withStephen McEveety, Ted Rae and Keith Vanderlaan (original cut only)
* Theologian Commentary with MelGibson, Father William J. Fulco, Gerry Matatics, and Father John Bartunek (original cut only)
* Music Commentary with John Debney (Selected scenes)

I am most interested in the theologian commentary. I don't know anything about the priests except that they helped Mel on the set during the filming. It's a shame there's no actor commentary, as I very much would've liked to hear about the experiences of Jim Caviezel, Monica Bellucci and other main characters.

The second disc has a feature-length documentary of the making of the film.