Paula Westwood blogs at createdorder.blogspot.com.
Fr Joseph Fessio is online at ignatius.com.
Fr Stefan Starzinsky, author of "Miracles: Healing for a Broken World"
John Pontifex and Aid to the Church in Need are online at churchinneed.org.
Mike Aquilina is online at fathersofthechurch.com.
Anthony Buono is online at avemariasingles.com.
Stephanie Mann is online at supremacyandsurvival.com.
Madeleine Scherb, author of "A Taste of Heaven"
Kevin Wright is online at wrtareligioustravel.com.
Tom Pauken, author of "Bringing America Home"
For information on the Appalachian Quilt and Craft expo at Chatfield College, visit chatfield.edu.
Sister Ann Shields, author of "To Be Like Jesus"
Fr Alfred McBride, contributor to "A Priest's Life"
The Son Rise Morning Show Needs Your Support!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
A New "Pro-Choice" Position
The old pro-choice folks were "pro" the choice to kill someone else. The new pro-choice folks (come to think of it, probably many of the same folks) are "pro" the choice to kill yourself.
Oh, they don't call it that. They favor terms like "hastening death" to "suicide" in the same way that the old pro-choice folks prefer "terminating the pregnancy" to "abortion." But that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, and suicide by any other name is still killing yourself.
Arland Nichols has a good roundup of the countries and states that are pushing suicide, and the reasons for doing so, over at Homiletic and Pastoral Review. He also talks about the strategies that proponents use to get people to overcome what is as much a natural revulsion to suicide as people once felt to killing babies in the womb, contraception (yes, look it up, people almost universally used to feel revulsion at the idea) and other sins that have been redefined as virtues.
The danger is real. Already, the idea that killing yourself before your life becomes unbearable or before you are "too much of a burden" for others is gaining acceptance. The 1997 VA publication Your Life, Your Choices came under attack for doing just that last year. Vigorously defended by the VA, the publication (available online) says that physician assisted suicide is "currently illegal" but contains a worksheet that includes various forms of incapacity and invites the veteran to decide which would make life "difficult but acceptable," "worth living, but just barely," or "not worth living."
Well, as Bishop Sheen used to say, "Life is worth living." To paraphrase Gilbert Meilaender, whose 1991 essay I Want to Be a Burden to My Loved Ones was revisited by First Things last month, we're supposed to be burdens to our loved ones. More than that, we're supposed to be a burden to people who don't even know us. Being a burden is sometimes a part of life, and we're not supposed to throw life away -- even if Clint Eastwood thinks it's a good idea.
Oh, they don't call it that. They favor terms like "hastening death" to "suicide" in the same way that the old pro-choice folks prefer "terminating the pregnancy" to "abortion." But that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, and suicide by any other name is still killing yourself.
Arland Nichols has a good roundup of the countries and states that are pushing suicide, and the reasons for doing so, over at Homiletic and Pastoral Review. He also talks about the strategies that proponents use to get people to overcome what is as much a natural revulsion to suicide as people once felt to killing babies in the womb, contraception (yes, look it up, people almost universally used to feel revulsion at the idea) and other sins that have been redefined as virtues.
The danger is real. Already, the idea that killing yourself before your life becomes unbearable or before you are "too much of a burden" for others is gaining acceptance. The 1997 VA publication Your Life, Your Choices came under attack for doing just that last year. Vigorously defended by the VA, the publication (available online) says that physician assisted suicide is "currently illegal" but contains a worksheet that includes various forms of incapacity and invites the veteran to decide which would make life "difficult but acceptable," "worth living, but just barely," or "not worth living."
Well, as Bishop Sheen used to say, "Life is worth living." To paraphrase Gilbert Meilaender, whose 1991 essay I Want to Be a Burden to My Loved Ones was revisited by First Things last month, we're supposed to be burdens to our loved ones. More than that, we're supposed to be a burden to people who don't even know us. Being a burden is sometimes a part of life, and we're not supposed to throw life away -- even if Clint Eastwood thinks it's a good idea.
Guests for Tuesday, 4/6/2010
Dr Kevin Vost is online at drvost.com.
Cheryl Dickow is online at bezalelbooks.com.
Vera Faith Lord is online at verafaithlord.com.
Fr Richard Veras, author of "Wisdom for Everyday Life from the Book of Revelation"
Bill Donaghy is online at missionmoment.org.
Kevin Schmiesing is online at catholichistory.net.
Paula Westwood blogs at createdorder.blogspot.com.
Send your questions for Catholic counselor Kevin Prendergast to sonrise@sacredheartradio.com.
Fr Joseph Fessio is online at ignatius.com.
For more information on the upcoming concert with Phil Keaggy and Muriel Anderson, visit gcparts.org.
Mike Ditka is online at mikeditka.com.
Fr Stefan Starzynski, author of "Miracles: Healing for a Broken World"
Sister Ann Shields "To Be Like Jesus: Inspiration from the Gospel of Luke"
Cheryl Dickow is online at bezalelbooks.com.
Vera Faith Lord is online at verafaithlord.com.
Fr Richard Veras, author of "Wisdom for Everyday Life from the Book of Revelation"
Bill Donaghy is online at missionmoment.org.
Kevin Schmiesing is online at catholichistory.net.
Paula Westwood blogs at createdorder.blogspot.com.
Send your questions for Catholic counselor Kevin Prendergast to sonrise@sacredheartradio.com.
Fr Joseph Fessio is online at ignatius.com.
For more information on the upcoming concert with Phil Keaggy and Muriel Anderson, visit gcparts.org.
Mike Ditka is online at mikeditka.com.
Fr Stefan Starzynski, author of "Miracles: Healing for a Broken World"
Sister Ann Shields "To Be Like Jesus: Inspiration from the Gospel of Luke"
Monday, April 5, 2010
Guests for Easter Monday
Kevin Schmiesing is online at catholichistory.net.
Tom Colyandro, author of "The Judas Syndrome"
Mike Ditka is online at mikeditka.com.
Teresa Tomeo is online at teresatomeo.com.
Tony Beshara is online at thejobsearchsolution.com.
Fr Cedric Pisegna is online at frcedric.org.
Dr Kevin Vost is online at drvost.com.
Fr Richard Veras, author of "Wisdom from Everyday Life from the Book of Revelation"
Cheryl Dickow is online at bezalelbooks.com.
Dr Richard Brake, author of "The Shaping of the American Mind"
For more information on Vera Faith Lord speaking at the Pregnancy Center East banquet on Thursday, April 22, call 513-321-3100 or visit pregnancycentereast.com.
Tom Colyandro, author of "The Judas Syndrome"
Mike Ditka is online at mikeditka.com.
Teresa Tomeo is online at teresatomeo.com.
Tony Beshara is online at thejobsearchsolution.com.
Fr Cedric Pisegna is online at frcedric.org.
Dr Kevin Vost is online at drvost.com.
Fr Richard Veras, author of "Wisdom from Everyday Life from the Book of Revelation"
Cheryl Dickow is online at bezalelbooks.com.
Dr Richard Brake, author of "The Shaping of the American Mind"
For more information on Vera Faith Lord speaking at the Pregnancy Center East banquet on Thursday, April 22, call 513-321-3100 or visit pregnancycentereast.com.
Friday, April 2, 2010
"Take My Yoke Upon You."
Matt's note: As we continue through the Triduum, I've posted a short excerpt from The Eucharist and the Rosary: Mystery, Meditation, Power, Prayer from the chapter dedicated to the fourth Sorrowful Mystery, the carrying of the cross. I hope it blesses your Good Friday.
There is no aspect of Christ’s passion that does not hold symbolic spiritual significance, and one of the most powerful examples of this is Christ’s carrying the wooden cross to Golgotha as a symbol of the sin and sorrow he also carried there on behalf of us. Isaiah 53 tells us that it was not merely a physical burden that Jesus bore, but the burden of our infirmities that he bore as well. In some translations of Isaiah 53:4, the word is translated “took up,” as if to indicate the voluntary initiative of the “suffering servant” in bearing the burden. Jesus encourages us to employ such initiative as a bare minimum for being his disciple- “"If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." (Mark 8:34).
Catholic liturgy is processional by design. We walk in a line together at Mass to receive Holy Communion. We process solemnly, because we know that what awaits us at the altar is nothing less than the death of Jesus. Frequently we only bear our own burdens as we walk; occasionally we bear a burden or two on behalf of others as we approach the altar. It is impossible then to imagine the weight Jesus carried to his own sacrifice, as he was dragged down by the sin and sorrow of all of humanity simultaneously. No wonder he fell three times in the process.
At a certain point, it became clear that Jesus would not be able to carry his cross alone and survive to suffer the torture of crucifixion, and so Simon, a Cyrenian from North Africa, was pulled from the crowd to assist.
Accounts from the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us that Simon did not volunteer for this task. He was, as they put it, ordered to carry the cross. And yet Simon, the first recognized African saint, was transformed by this act. The evidence of this transformation is not immediately noted in any of the Gospels, but tradition holds that Simon was among the “men of Cyrene” mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles who preached the Gospel to the Greeks. For Simon, the order to carry the cross, which initially came from outside, developed into a personal mission to take up his own cross as a voluntary disciple of Jesus.
So often, we think that our religion is our business and our decision, and in a sense, it is. We choose our parish, we choose which Mass we want to attend, and we choose how to speak and act in accordance with the tenets of our faith, some of us doing so in the same way that people choose entrees at a breakfast bar. And while we cannot deny the gift of free will given to us by God, we at the same time cannot dismiss the blatant words of Jesus in John 15:16: “you did not choose me but I chose you.” Simon was chosen by Christ to carry the cross before he chose to preach the Gospel to the Greeks. In the same way, our very ability to approach Jesus in the Eucharist is a choice we make because we have been chosen. Faith, we understand, is a gift and not a merit.
-Matt Swaim
There is no aspect of Christ’s passion that does not hold symbolic spiritual significance, and one of the most powerful examples of this is Christ’s carrying the wooden cross to Golgotha as a symbol of the sin and sorrow he also carried there on behalf of us. Isaiah 53 tells us that it was not merely a physical burden that Jesus bore, but the burden of our infirmities that he bore as well. In some translations of Isaiah 53:4, the word is translated “took up,” as if to indicate the voluntary initiative of the “suffering servant” in bearing the burden. Jesus encourages us to employ such initiative as a bare minimum for being his disciple- “"If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." (Mark 8:34).
Catholic liturgy is processional by design. We walk in a line together at Mass to receive Holy Communion. We process solemnly, because we know that what awaits us at the altar is nothing less than the death of Jesus. Frequently we only bear our own burdens as we walk; occasionally we bear a burden or two on behalf of others as we approach the altar. It is impossible then to imagine the weight Jesus carried to his own sacrifice, as he was dragged down by the sin and sorrow of all of humanity simultaneously. No wonder he fell three times in the process.
At a certain point, it became clear that Jesus would not be able to carry his cross alone and survive to suffer the torture of crucifixion, and so Simon, a Cyrenian from North Africa, was pulled from the crowd to assist.
Accounts from the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us that Simon did not volunteer for this task. He was, as they put it, ordered to carry the cross. And yet Simon, the first recognized African saint, was transformed by this act. The evidence of this transformation is not immediately noted in any of the Gospels, but tradition holds that Simon was among the “men of Cyrene” mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles who preached the Gospel to the Greeks. For Simon, the order to carry the cross, which initially came from outside, developed into a personal mission to take up his own cross as a voluntary disciple of Jesus.
So often, we think that our religion is our business and our decision, and in a sense, it is. We choose our parish, we choose which Mass we want to attend, and we choose how to speak and act in accordance with the tenets of our faith, some of us doing so in the same way that people choose entrees at a breakfast bar. And while we cannot deny the gift of free will given to us by God, we at the same time cannot dismiss the blatant words of Jesus in John 15:16: “you did not choose me but I chose you.” Simon was chosen by Christ to carry the cross before he chose to preach the Gospel to the Greeks. In the same way, our very ability to approach Jesus in the Eucharist is a choice we make because we have been chosen. Faith, we understand, is a gift and not a merit.
-Matt Swaim
Guests for Good Friday 2010
Mike Aquilina is online at fathersofthechurch.com.
Dr Marcellino D'Ambrosio is online at dritaly.com.
A great article on the "Praying the Steps" devotion can be found here.
Danielle Bean is online at faithandfamilylive.com.
Steven Greydanus is online at decentfilms.com.
Jennifer Fulwiler is online at conversiondiary.com.
Fr Greg Friedman is online at franciscanradio.org.
Dr Matthew Bunson, author of pretty much everything.
Taylor Marshall, author of "The Crucified Rabbi"
Dr Marcellino D'Ambrosio is online at dritaly.com.
A great article on the "Praying the Steps" devotion can be found here.
Danielle Bean is online at faithandfamilylive.com.
Steven Greydanus is online at decentfilms.com.
Jennifer Fulwiler is online at conversiondiary.com.
Fr Greg Friedman is online at franciscanradio.org.
Dr Matthew Bunson, author of pretty much everything.
Taylor Marshall, author of "The Crucified Rabbi"
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Rita Heikenfeld's Seared Lamb Loin with Puree of Pea, Bacon, and Brussels Sprouts
This is a very special recipe for when you want to go “all out” and wow your guests. It is not difficult but does take a bit of time.
Thanks to Antonio LaFaso for sharing this recipe.
2 cups frozen peas
2 cups whipping cream
2 cloves garlic, large
1 sprig marjoram
1/4 pound thick cut bacon
10 cippollinis, peeled and quartered
10 Brussel sprouts, leaves removed
1/2 cup olive oil
Approx 16 ounces lamb loin
2 tablespoons butter
2 small sprigs rosemary, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
In a sauce pan, bring peas and cream to a boil with 1 clove of garlic and sprig of marjoram. Strain the peas from the liquid. Discard the garlic and marjoram. Reserve liquid. With a blender or food processor blend peas adding liquid as needed to achieve the consistency of baby food.
In a sauté pan, cook bacon slowly to render fat. Cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon from the pan and sauté cippollinis in bacon fat until brown and tender. Add Brussells sprouts leaves and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes, set aside.
In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil until very hot and sear lamb loin for about 2-3 minutes. Turn over for another minute, add butter and rosemary and allow to brown. Add the other garlic clove and begin to baste lamb with brown butter and garlic until it reaches desired doneness (don’t overcook). Let rest. Serve with puree, ragu of bacon, onion and Brussels sprouts.
Tips from Rita’s kitchen:
•Prepare the puree up to a day ahead.
•For the Brussels sprouts, you’ll use most of the leaves, just pull them apart so they are separate.
•Lamb loin is very tender and available by special order a few days prior to when you need it. Some groceries carry it all the time; others may not.
•Cippollini onions are Italian onions, sort of small and are usually sold in net bags in the produce aisle. Substitute sweet onions if you can’t find them.
Find more at abouteating.com.
Guests for Holy Thursday 2010
Marybeth Hicks is online at marybethhicks.com.
Fr Kyle Schnippel is online at fatherschnippel.blogspot.com.
Patrick Reilly is online at cardinalnewmansociety.org.
Send your questions for Catholic counselor Kevin Prendergast to sonrise@sacredheartradio.com.
Fr James Kubicki is online at apostleshipofprayer.org.
Rita Heikenfeld is online at abouteating.com.
Dan Egan is online at bibletidbits.blogspot.com.
Dr Marcellino D'Ambrosio is online at dritaly.com.
Fr Kyle Schnippel is online at fatherschnippel.blogspot.com.
Patrick Reilly is online at cardinalnewmansociety.org.
Send your questions for Catholic counselor Kevin Prendergast to sonrise@sacredheartradio.com.
Fr James Kubicki is online at apostleshipofprayer.org.
Rita Heikenfeld is online at abouteating.com.
Dan Egan is online at bibletidbits.blogspot.com.
Dr Marcellino D'Ambrosio is online at dritaly.com.
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