How common are you?

I was doing a little research for an article today, and I came across an oddity in the archives. Looking through some letters to the editor of a secular paper, I found someone with the same first and last name and middle initial. Plus, there were some other instances of Jim Myers in the Colorado Springs area.

So, I decided to go to the site HowManyOfMe.com to see how common my name was.

It's a pointless exercise, but a curious one nonetheless. Go there and see for yourself. Incidentally, I am one of 4,174 James Myers in the U.S., according to that site.

Latin Mass motu proprio update

A new rumor is swirling in the Catholic blogosphere that the motu proprio that would loosen the restrictions on the celebration of the Tridentine Mass will finally be released July 7. Now this is the gazillionth rumored release date of the document, so while this seems to be the best bet yet, I'll believe it when I see it.

And even so, the media and the blogosphere are going crazy over this, and I'm not sure why. I don't see this document as revolutionary, especially considering any priest could already celebrate the Mass with the bishop's consent. I have heard of (and lived in) some dioceses where it is hard to get approval, so I guess this will help those priests. But I would be shocked (and pleasantly so, btw) if more parishes in our diocese started offering, if not the Tridentine Mass, at least the Novus Ordo Mass. I don't see this creating a "Latin revolution" with a resurgence of sacred music at Mass, etc..., but maybe I'll be wrong.

Another American cardinal in the making

Archbishop John Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications since 1984, was named pro-grand master of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher by Pope Benedict XVI.

According to the Catholic News Service article, this move "seemed to indicated that he would be named a cardinal during the next consistory, which likely will be held in November."

Interestingly, while Archbishop Foley will be heading the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher, an organization dedicated to supporting Catholicism in the Holy Land, he told CNS that he hasn't been to that area since the 1970s.

CCH Blog - Family-friendly?

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I thought we'd maybe get PG-13 ... at least PG. I guess we need to get edgier. If you have a blog, you should run it through this site and see what it's "rated."

A plea for immigration reform

From Susan Rezzonico, director of Catholic Charities of Colorado Springs' Office of Social Concerns and Public Policy:

As you may know, the Senate will be returning to the comprehensive immigration reform debate TODAY. It is critical that we let our Senators know of the US Bishops' and our Bishop Sheridan's support of comprehensive immigration reform. If the motion to proceed fails it is highly probable that nothing will be done regarding immigration reform until after the 08 elections.

Last week, Senator Reid took the first step to resurrect the debate by re-introducing the bill that had been previously been debated. The new bill (S. 1639) is identical to the bill we debated a few weeks ago, except that:

· Language from Senate amendments that were agreed to earlier this month has been incorporated; and
· Language directing $4.4 billion dollars in fees and fines collected from undocumented immigration participating in the new Z visa program has been added. This funding would be used to implement the border and interior enforcement triggers as well as a number of other homeland security measures.

Today, at approximately 11:00AM CO TIME, the Senate will be taking the first of many votes that will hopefully lead to final passage of a Senate bill. The specific vote will be on the "Motion to Proceed" to S.1639. That is, we will be voting on whether or not to debate this issue again. We need 60 Senators to vote SUPPORT this motion. If we succeed, then we will begin debate. If we do not, the Senate is likely to move onto other important legislative matters.

Please call our CO Senators to express your support of the motion to proceed with 1639 and to encourage closure on it as well. We need to be clear about our support for comprehensive immigration reform.

Sen. Allard Englewood,303-220-7414 Colo Spgs 719-634-6071
Sen. Salazar Denver 303-455-7600 Colo Spgs 719-328-1100

Some prayers for wisdom and courage at the Capital would also greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Peace,
Susan

[EDITOR'S NOTE: (4 p.m.) The Senate voted to revive the immigration debate. Thank you for your assistance. For the lastest news flash from the Colorado Catholic Conference click here.]

Defenders of the pew

I feel like posting something a bit lighthearted today. So, take what I write with a grain of salt.

This is something I thought about when entering church this weekend and finding a place to seat my family: It seems that there is a large contingent that sits on the end of the pew and, instead of moving to the center when more people arrive, remains closely attached to that station. I'm not talking about people with ailments who sit there out of necessity; I'm talking about those who nonchallantly slide their knees to the side to give you that 1/4 inch of space.

Personally, I don't mind moving to the center of the pew. But my father was one of those "defenders of the pew," as I like to call them. There were 10 in my family, so I think my parents bookended us on the pews so they had easy access to rap the back of our heads and to make sure we didn't bolt Mass before the processional hymn had ended.

I'm interested in this phenomenon, though. Are there any "defenders of the pew" out there who wish to stand up and be counted? What are your reasons? Does anyone else notice this?

Chastity ring banned at English school

The first news item I heard when I got in the car this morning was a story on a girl who was banned from wearing her chastity ring at a Millais School in Great Britain. Lydia Playfoot, who attends a "non-denominational religious secondary school for girls," was forbidden to wear her ring on the grounds of the school's anti-jewelry policy that also forbids crosses and crucifixes from being worn. The same school allows Muslim girls to wear their religious garb, including bracelets.

Two things:
1) What is a non-denominational religious school? Judging by the variety of religions that attend, it seems like a secular school to me. I went to the school's Web site and could only find one place that mentions religion: The religious education department, which has four symbols on its page (among them a cross, a Star of David, a crescent moon for Islam). The department's mission statement: "The R.E. Department at Millais School aims to provided [sic] an environment which fosters genuine, non-denominational enquiry into the place of Religion in society"

2) Does this seem like anti-Christian bias, or were the school officials just being consistent?

Priestly ordination

In the June 22 issue of The Colorado Catholic Herald, we cover the ordination Mass for Father Rafael Torres-Rico. If you haven't had a chance to attend an ordination, I highly recommend it. It is one of the most holy events you can witness.

I wish Father Torres-Rico much success as a priest, and I ask that you include him in your daily prayers.

Father Don Dunn memories

In the June 8 issue, The Colorado Catholic Herald celebrates Father Don Dunn's career by publishing thoughts from co-workers and family members. This is in addition to the profile we did on him last December. We invite you to continue the conversation here for Father Dunn, who is retiring this month from active ministry.

I have only known Father Dunn for less than two years, but I have always found him to be incredibly patient, affable and approachable. I've enjoyed the opportunity to get to know a little more about his personal life, and his stories from his time in Colombia are remarkable.

Please share your comments.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: We will be keeping this post at the top of the blog for about another week. Newer posts will appear beneath this during that time.]

"Ten Commandments of Driving"

Well, the secular media is jumping all over this as a trendy story. The Vatican has released a "Ten Commandments" for drivers, aimed at stemming road rage incidents and improving overall road safety. The latest Herald poll asks if any of those 10 would be a challenge to you.

I can't argue with any of them, and it made me think of something that should be mandatory: Everyone should have to take a driver's test every five years in order to retain their license.

Mork mocks Catholics to promote new film

I can't remember the last time Robin Williams had a funny film, but he's got people in stitches over his recent mockery of Catholics prior to the release of the sure-to-suck film, "License to Wed." Let's see... pedophile jokes? Celibacy jokes? How original.

But he did make one interesting point that many in Hollywood won't say but sure seems to be true:

I mean it's difficult because you have to realize that we just made major fun of the Catholic church but hey, they don't blow you up.

[Update 7-10-07:] Apparently he doesn't even play a Catholic priest but is talking about it like he does. Anyway... if you think marriage preparation should be taken seriously, here are a couple of links to the diocese's program, a USCCB document and Herald special sections on marriage prep and natural family planning.

Colorado Springs gets distinguished honor

This doesn't really have anything to do with anything, but Old Spice ranked Colorado Springs the 91st sweatiest city in its annual top 100 list. Take that Portland, Ore., and Flint. My last stop of residence, Dallas, ranked third.

Denver ranked 69th. Darn you, Denver... we'll get you next year. Everyone start loading up on carbs tonight. Don't worry about dropping in the "healthiest city" poll.

Feast of Corpus Christi

Here's a very cool shot from Corpus Christi's Parish procession for the Feast of Corpus Christi on June 10. It almost made the Herald but the composition seems just a tad off. Jim Myers thought it would work if the monstrance was lifted higher (we weren't about to interrupt the procession to make artistic suggestions). I think he's right. Nevertheless, we thought it deserving of some sort of publication.

I love the Corpus Christi procession. With hostilities against Catholicism high these days and the temptation to privatize our faith and confine it to indoors, it's a powerful witness to line up behind Christ in the Blessed Sacrament and take our faith to the streets.

National Right to Life boots out Colorado Right to Life

Wow. Anyone care to venture a guess as to the future of Colorado Right to Life after this? I haven't been here long enough to know the group's history. From what I understand, the local Catholics pro-life community has been very involved with CRL events.

Ordination of Deacon Torres on Saturday

Come celebrate the ordination of Deacon Rafael Torres-Rico to the priesthood for the Diocese of Colorado Springs at a 10 a.m. Mass this Saturday at St. Mary's Cathedral. Bishop Sheridan will celebrate. If you have never been to an ordination Mass, I strongly urge you to attend. It is a powerful event. It is hard to put into words the feelings that come with watching a man lay before Christ at the altar and vow to give the rest of his life to serving the Church.

You are also encouraged to attend Father Torres' first Mass the following morning at 9:30 a.m. at St. Patrick Church. A priest's first Mass is a special ocassion of great grace. The church acknowledges this rare moment by granting a plenary indulgence "to the faithful who devoutly participate in the Mass." To read what an indulgence is and is not (read: not what the kinds that caused the Protestant Reformation) and for the conditions to receive the indulgence, click here.

Paris Hilton, Mel Gibson and the sheriff

In the "who cares but it's still interesting" department, while socialite Paris Hilton was being sent back to jail on Friday, much was being made in the media about the actions of the sheriff, who said that jail overcrowding and Paris' unspecified medical condition warranted her serving out the remainder of her sentence in the luxury of her Hollywood Hills mansion. The judge in her case was not aware that the sheriff overrode his decision and, understandably upset, called everyone back to court, where Hilton was ordered back to jail.

One article pointed out that this is the same sheriff who handled Mel Gibson's DUI arrest a few months ago. Gibson allegedly went on an anti-semetic rant while being arrested, but this same sheriff withheld audio and videotapes of the arrest causing media outlets to cry foul. I admit that I was shocked when I read this and thought Mel was spared far greater punishment from the public because of that decision.

I'm curious, since Mel has a strong Catholic contingent supporting him, does that last bit of information change in any way your thoughts on the Hilton case... or the Gibson case? "Celebrity justice" is wrong no matter who is involved, and these two cases involving the same sheriff bring an interesting twist on events, I think. Are you more likely to cut Gibson more slack because he's Catholic and trying to live a Catholic life while demanding that Hilton be taught her lesson in jail?

Gibson is handling his situation in a far more noble manner than Hilton. Gibson apologized profusely for his actions, acknowledged his drinking relapse, accepted whatever punishment was given him and has dutifully gone through rehab. Hilton, on the other hand, has fought her sentence, is said to be consantly crying and shaking and called for her mother yesterday as she was being led away back to jail.

"Once:" The rare love story without sex

While attending the Catholic Press Convention in NYC a couple of weeks ago, I ventured to an independent film theater on one of our open nights and saw the film, "Once." Shot for just $150,000, it is the first film in some time that I'm eagerly recommending to friends.

It's about "the guy," an Irish street musician who fixes vacuum cleaners for a living, who meets "the girl," a Czech immigrant relocated to Dublin to start a new life and who becomes a fan of the guy's music. Turns out she's a musician too and the two quickly strike up a friendship based on their love of music and art. Along the way, the friendship helps each of them to deal with a major hurt in their life that they're running away from. The film unfolds in a bittersweet, yet uplifting way that is just right.

Maybe it's conditioning from today's films, but there are a couple of moments when you expect them to consummate their affections through sex, but it never happens (even though they want to). The scenes are honest and even inspiring, as the main characters (particularly "the girl")make the kind of decisions that you wouldn't find in, say, the most popular film out right now, "Knocked Up." The film isn't particularly religious in its theme, but the chaste relationship speaks louder than any forced scene of characters entering a church, etc... As Christopher West said in his Body Language column for the March 9 Herald:

Maybe, as John Paul II himself emphasized (in his "theology of the body"), these are simply truths that find an echo in every human heart.

Barb Nicolosi of Act One, on her Church of the Masses blog, gives an excellent review of the film. You may have to scroll down a couple of posts to get to it.

"Once" is scheduled to come to Kimball's Twin Peak theater beginning June 29.

Editorial clarification

In last issue's editorial, we discussed how some readers are writing nasty letters and leaving harsh voice mails over our addition of the Spanish page. In the editorial, we touched on Cardinal George's pastoral letter on racism:

In 2001, Chicago Cardinal Francis George wrote a pastoral letter on racism and issued a bold challenge to Catholics:

"Loving only people who are just like ourselves, loving only those who are members of our biological family or who share our own ethnic or cultural background, our own political views or our own class assumptions, does not fulfill the challenge of the Gospel."

After the issue was mailed, we received a few more letters from folks who think that I'm saying that anyone who is against illegal immigration is racist. That is certainly not what I'm saying. I was specifically addressing the few Catholics whose letters showed an obvious disdain of illegal immigrants. My point was that, regardless of how the immigrants got here, at least while they're here our calling as Catholics is to help catechize and evangelize. Statistics are showing that if the Catholic Church abandons them in their struggles, they will leave the church. What is wrong with at least making sure that they are being fed in their Catholic faith while the larger immigration questions get worked out?

Immigration is again the big issue this summer, and the Herald will cover the issue fairly and do its best to explain church teaching on the matter. And we would love to hear what you have to say on the issues.