by Pietro Perugino (1481-82) Fresco, Sistine Chapel, Vatican |
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Ego, God, and MinistryBy Ron RolheiserRenowned theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar, once suggested that there are two different dramas we can live out in life, an ego-drama or a Theo-Drama. We live an ego-drama when we draw our basic energies from our ego and from the highs and lows that our ego undergoes in life, feeling good when things are going well and feeling depressed when they are not. When we are living an ego-drama we are easily, and often, discouraged, angry, and depressed. We live a Theo-Drama when we draw our energies from something beyond ourselves, from God. When we do this the highs and lows of our daily lives do not affect us so deeply and we are less prone to discouragement, anger, and depression because we are drawing meaning and energy from something beyond the fluctuations of our own egos. Nowhere is this truer than in ministry where, invariably, we are either too full of ourselves when things are going well or too discouraged and angry when they are not. There's a story inside the mystical tradition of Islam that brilliantly illustrates this. It has (Click title to read more) |
Congregations Gone WildBy G. Jeffrey MacDonaldPublished: August 7, 2010 Swampscott, Mass. THE American clergy is suffering from burnout, several new studies show. And part of the problem, as researchers have observed, is that pastors work too much. Many of them need vacations, it’s true. But there’s a more fundamental problem that no amount of rest and relaxation can help solve: congregational pressure to forsake one’s highest calling. The pastoral vocation is to help people grow spiritually, resist their lowest impulses and adopt higher, more compassionate ways. But churchgoers increasingly want pastors to soothe and entertain them. It’s apparent in the theater-style seating and giant projection screens in churches and in mission trips that involve more sightseeing than listening to the local people. As a result, pastors are constantly forced to choose, as they work through congregants’ daily wish lists in their e-mail and voice mail, between paths of personal integrity and those that portend greater job security. As religion becomes a consumer experience, the clergy become more unhappy and unhealthy. (Click title to read more) |
The findings have surfaced with ominous regularity over the last few years, and with little notice: Members of the clergy now suffer from obesity, hypertension and depression at rates higher than most Americans. In the last decade, their use of antidepressants has risen, while their life expectancy has fallen. Many would change jobs if they could. Public health experts who have led the studies caution that there is no simple explanation of why so many members of a profession once associated with rosy-cheeked longevity have become so unhealthy and unhappy. But while research continues, a growing number of health care experts and religious leaders have settled on one simple remedy that has long been a touchy subject with many clerics: taking more time off. We had a pastor in our study group who hadn’t taken a vacation in 18 years,” said Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell, an assistant professor of health (Click title to read more) |
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Unformed future
Gathering pairs ‘necessary unknowing’ with grounded witnessBy Tom RobertsNational Catholic Reporter In Search of the Emerging Church ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- When Shane Claiborne hops to the podium in the meeting room at the Hotel Albuquerque, he looks as stylistically unbounded as his spiritual quest that’s outlined on a bio sheet. He’s long and lanky with a goatee. He looks bookish in dark-rimmed glasses, his thin face framed by dreadlocks held in place by a handkerchief bandana. He projects a kind of urban underbelly chic with an accent as pure as the early days of NASCAR. He is a product of East Tennessee Protestant evangelical Christianity transplanted to the Northeast, where he engages in a robust version of Catholic Worker-type community, advocating for the poor and for nonviolent solutions to problems. Franciscan Fr. Richard Rohr speaks of him as a gifted “third-way person.” In the context of the conference on emerging Christianity he is about to address, he serves as a bridge, and a personification of one version of what might be arising out of what is. (Click title to read more) |
Beloved and Blessed: Biblical Wisdom for Family LifeAuthor: Kimberly HahnServant Books. Cincinnati, OH. 2010. Pp. 249 An Excerpt from the Jacket: The third in a series of bible studies based on Proverbs 31, Beloved and Blessed offers tools to help you strengthen your marriage and raise your children, creating a civilization of love in your home. Applying Sacred Scripture, Church teaching and pastoral wisdom, Kimberly Hahn helps you explore: Marital intimacy Responsible parenthood Facing the financial future without fear Strategies for disciplining and instructing children Trusting God when parenting hurts. An Excerpt from the Book: Harmony in our home We are capable of great good or harm with our words. Saint James offers several word-pictures to illustrate just how powerful our tongues are: If we put bits into the mouths of horses that they may obey us, (Click title to read more) |
Adventures in Daily Prayer: Experiencing the Power of God’s LoveAuthor: Bert GhezziBaker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, MI. 2010. Pp. 158 An Excerpt from the Intro: In these pages I share in detail my adventures in daily prayer. I offer my experiences as a series of mirrors in which you can reflect on your own prayer life. I will tell of the ways the Lord has worked in me so they may trigger your memories of the ways he has worked in you. Each chapter explains an element that characterizes my prayer times — practices such as praying in God’s presence, listening to God, and interceding for others. In order to help you connect with my message and explore its value for you, I have provided Think, Pray, and Act questions at the end of each chapter. You may also use these questions — especially those labeled “Think” — for group discussions. An Excerpt from the Book: Later in 1975 the Lord spoke to me through C.S. Lewis’s essay, “The Weight of Glory.” One night, after everyone had gone to bed, I stayed up reading and came across this stunning paragraph: “It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that (Click title to read more) |
The Fragility of a ReputationEugene Hemrick“I used to marvel at film clips of Tiger Woods’ that portrayed his triumphs. Now, I have lost my taste for watching them.” Sad to say, a stellar reputation has been stained that will take enormous efforts to erase. British business executive Anita Roddick once said, “Seventeen years of reputation doesn't really matter to a media that sniffs blood.” As the press continues to dig deeper into Woods’ character, no doubt, his achievements will lose a larger and larger amount of their pristine attraction. The word reputation comes from the Latin meaning consideration, denoting it relies on how we are considered by others, our self and by God. How well we are reputed to be is of the essence for good self identity and happiness. U.S. abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher once said, “A reputation for good judgment, for fair dealing, for truth, and for rectitude, is itself a fortune.” Spanish dramatist Miguel de Cervantes takes this a step further than fortune, “A good name is better than riches.” Maintaining a good reputation isn’t easy. In the bible we hear Christ say, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone,” implying none of us is without guilt. We enter this world innocent, but like beautiful fresh flowers blooming in spring and fading in winter, our journey through life becomes filled with many weary, wintery nights. (Click title to read more) |
You Want to be a Leader? Learn how to Listen!Eugene Hemrick“To whom would you point as real leaders among our bishops?” This question arises every time people learn I worked for the Bishops’ Conference in Washington, D.C. When they discover that I also live a block from the U.S. Capitol, they inevitably ask, “Who among our senators, congressmen and congresswomen can we consider respected leaders?” Leadership has been and always will be a major topic of discussion. Why is this so? Because it is at the center of power. Abraham Lincoln once said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.” What one quality more than others must priests possess to be revered leaders? On a visit to St. Vincent’s Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, I interviewed several monks on the Rule of St. Benedict as it applies to leadership. [These interviews are on our website: The National Institute for the Renewal of the Priesthood www.jknirp.com]. In my interview with Archabbot Douglas Nowicki, O.S.B. I asked him, “What is the one quality most an abbot must possess according to St. Benedict?” Without hesitation, he replied, “listening!” In the book Listen With Your Heart, Fr. Basil Pennington OCSO, echoes Archabbot (Click title to read more) |
Taken from Spiritual Direction by Henri Nouwen
The book is already posted on our website When I was staying at Genesee Abbey, I asked the Abbot a very basic question: “When I pray, to whom do I pray?” or “When I say ‘Lord,’ what do I mean?”The Abbot responded very differently than I expected. He said, “Indeed, this is the real question, this is the most important question you can raise.” He stressed with great convincing emphasis that if I really wanted to take that question seriously, I should realize that there would be little room left for other things. Knowledge of God is a subject one can never fully master. “It is far from easy,” he said, “to make that question the center of your meditation. You will discover that it involves every part of yourself because the question ‘Who is the God to whom I pray?, leads directly to the question ‘Who am I who wants to pray to God?” And then you will soon wonder about God’s multivalent character, and ask, “Why is the God of justice also the Lord of love; the God of fear also the God of gentle compassion?’ This leads you to the center of your heart – the core of our being.” What the Abbot meant by “heart” includes the deep recesses of our psyche, our moods and feelings, our emotions and passions, also our intuitions, insights, and visions. The heart is the place where we are most human. A listening heart (Click title to read more) |
Homilies to Transform Hearts and MindsAuthor: Andre Papineau, SDSResource Publications, San Jose, CA. 2010. Pp. 103 An Excerpt from the Jacket: Everyone has undergone various life transitions — things like graduating, marrying, having children, moving to a new city, fighting a serious illness, losing a job. How can you inspire members of your assembly to re-imagine difficult transitions as conversion experiences? This book gives you twenty-five ways that a respected homilist approached the problem. Use these samples to generate your own homilies that move people to a deeper understanding of themselves, their world, and God. An Excerpt from the Book: Moods Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23 Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is Vanity! (Eccl 1:2) The Teacher reflected and said, (Click title to read more) |
Emerging Church: 'Laypeople, future of missions'by Tom RobertsNational Catholic Reporter URBANA, ILL. -- Twenty-six years ago, Susan Nagele, just out of medical school, took a leap into the relatively unexplored territory of lay mission work when she joined the young movement of Maryknoll lay missioners. A three-year commitment grew, year after year, until it became her life’s work, a vocation that drew her simultaneously to the front lines of war in Sudan and to the quieter pursuit of a deeper interior journey. Longevity makes hers an unusual tale, but foreign mission work is one of those staples of U.S. Catholic life that is shifting because of increased involvement of laity and changing needs in the field. The initial impulse to involve laypeople as active missionaries at Maryknoll, a peculiarly American organization, was provided by the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) and its emphasis on the roles and responsibilities of laypeople within the church. Maryknoll, a foreign mission endeavor that includes a (Click title to read more) |
Study: Half of children poor at birth spend formative years in povertyBy Jessica PallCatholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A study released by the Urban Institute shows that 49 percent of children who are poor at birth go on to spend at least half of their childhoods living in poverty, but Lisa Sheehan of St. Ann's Infant and Maternity Home in Hyattsville, Md., said that helping young, single mothers can help turn that around. The Urban Institute in Washington is a nonpartisan economic and social policy research organization. The study, "Childhood Poverty Persistence: Facts and Consequences," by Caroline Ratcliffe and Signe-Mary McKernan shows that targeting poverty at birth could help the 37 percent of youths who live in poverty at some point during their childhoods. Demographically, 31 percent of white children and 69 percent of black children who are poor at birth go on to spend at least half of their childhoods living in poverty, according to the study. It shows that all children born into poverty are more likely to remain (Click title to read more) |
The Joshua Priest: A Biography of FaithAuthor: Barbara Benjamin Nepperhan Press, LLC. Yonkers, NY. 2010. Pp. 141. An Excerpt from the Jacket: Since the publication of Joshua in 1983, countless millions of readers across the globe have found their faith transformed by “the good news” of Jesus’ unconditional compassion and love that they encounter in the writings of Father Joseph Francis Girzone, The Joshua Priest. Here, in this inspiring biography, the reader discovers the deeply rooted faith and raw courage that, on critical occasions, saved Fr. Joe’s life and made his Joshua ministry possible, a faith that remained steadfast in the face of daunting personal crises and turbulent world events. An Excerpt from the Book: Addressing contemporary peace movements and contemporary violence, Thomas Merton had written in Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander: (Click title to read more) |
Bishop as
Archbishop Vlazny
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The Relationship of Priests and Bishops TodayMsgr. Stephen RossettiOrigins, July 22, 2010, Vol. 40. No. 10 “One of the most powerful predictors of a priest’s happiness is how he perceives his relationship to his bishop,” Msgr. Stephen Rossetti said in a June 18 speech on the relationship between priests and bishops at the U.S. bishops’ spring meeting in St. Petersburg, FL. Msgr. Rossetti said that while it is often assumed that priests and bishops do not have strong relationships, his recent research reveals that 77 percent of priests feel they have a good relationship with ther bishop, a much higher percentage that is seen between employees and supervisors in the secular world. Msgr. Rossetti noted that “most Americans can function relatively well in their jobs if they do not have a great relationship with their bosses. But for a priest, this relationship carries so much valence, so much importance, it is critical that it be exceptionally strong.” He said the U.S. bishops’ (Click title to read more) |
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Taken from The Call to Discernment in Troubled Times: New Perspectives on the Transformative Wisdom of Ignatius of Loyola. The review on this book is already posted on our website. We have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding (Col. 1:9) Having done all he could, Ignatius felt certain he had found God’s will. On what basis could he make such a claim? Can we say the same if we follow these methods? Ignatius’s certainty was not based on a theory of the powers of the human intellect, nor on the infallibility of consolations or other data of experience. His assurance rested, ultimately, on his belief that God is supremely good and requires only that we do our best t determine the most beneficial course of action. God would have to be malevolent or capricious to require something of us and then frustrate us after we had tried our best to do it. In the end, Ignatius’s certitude (Click title to read more) |
Published on National Catholic Reporter (http://ncronline.org)
Pope's reluctance to impose American way not a shockerBy John L Allen JrA July 9 editorial in The New York Times called upon Pope Benedict XVI to make the American bishops’ “zero tolerance” approach to sexual abuse binding on the worldwide Catholic church. In principle that’s a perfectly reasonable idea, especially since Vatican spokespersons routinely invoke the pope’s defense of the tough American rules as proof that he gets it. Yet the editorial also used the word “shocking” to describe the fact that eight years after the American policies were developed, the pontiff has not yet imposed them on the rest of the world. That’s where people who know the lay of the land in the church will probably balk, because aside from the fact that Rome has an evolutionary sense of time (in which eight years seems a nanosecond), there are three other reasons why this is hardly a shocker. (Click title to read more) |
Why the War on Terrorism Is Likely to Be a Long Oneby Fr. William Byron, S.J.From the book, Faith-Based Reflections on American Life [Book review is on our website already] If you’re wondering if the war on terrorism is likely to be a long one, take a look at Caryle Murphy’s book, Passion for Islam — Shaping the Modern Middle East. Murphy, a 1991 Pulitzer Prize winner for her reporting during Desert Storm, spent five years in Cairo, as bureau chief for the Washington Post. Passion for Islam — the title is drawn from a post-sentencing statement made in 1995 by a moderate Egyptian Islamist found guilty of “practicing democracy” — provides a useful interpretative framework for puzzled observers like myself who need help in understanding the Muslim world. The “passion” for Islam that Murphy observed up close in several Muslim countries is driving an attempt “to fuse two powerful desires, one for democratic government and the other for Islam to be their society’s main reference point.” (Click title to read more) |
The Sustaining Power
by Ron Rolheiser |
Taken From the Book: Spiritual Direction: Wisdom for the Long Walk of Faith by Henri Nouwen. This book is already cited on our website. Please go to our search engine, select jknirp only and enter Nouwen to find a book review on it.
A third aspect of God is a very difficult on to accept: God is hidden as well as able to be found, absent as well as present. The hidden and mysterious aspect of God is celebrated in the classical mystical text The Cloud of Unknowing. When we first experience the reality of God’s presence in our lives, when we return home to God’s personal and loving embrace, we are initially sheltered from the truth of the hiddenness and absence of God. Eventually, we may come to understand that this too is an aspect of divinity. Ultimately, we discover that God cannot be understood or grasped by the human mind. The full truth of God escapes our human capacities. The only way to come close to it is by a constant emphasis on human limits to “have” or “hold” the whole truth. We cannot explain God or God’s (Click title to read more) |
Obama and Benedict: A partnership delayed, but not yet deniedBy John L Allen JrNational Catholic Reporter Tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of the first, and, to date, only meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and U.S. President Barack Obama. Fireworks probably won’t mark the occasion on either side of the Atlantic, given that hopes for a “grand partnership” between the two leaders so far have fizzled. A partnership delayed, however, does not have to mean a partnership denied. Not so long ago, the stars seemed aligned for an “odd couple” coalition between Benedict and Obama, despite obvious contrasts in both substance and style. The Vatican reacted warmly to Obama’s ascent, with the pope departing from custom to send a personal telegram congratulating Obama on his “historic” election. When Benedict XVI traveled to the Holy Land in May 2009 and Obama delivered a major address around the same time in Cairo, there seemed a striking convergence in their visions of détente between the West and the Islamic world. As fate would have it, their meeting last year came on the heels of the Benedict’s (Click title to read more) |
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Our inspiration for the National Institute for the Renewal of the Priesthood stems from a longstanding friendship with Father John Klein, a priest of the Our work is made possible in part by grants from the Catholic Church Extension Society, the Paluch Family Foundation and Our Sunday Visitor. We are also grateful for the prayers of the Madonna House. In addition, The Arthur J. Schmitt Foundation has generously provided us with a grant in honor of Monsignor Ken Velo, a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago who has been an inspiration to so many for so many years. If there is any way that I can be of service to you, I hope you will take advantage of the link below to send me an email. I would enjoy hearing from you with any comments or questions you may have. Father Gene Hemrick
The National Institute for the Renewal of the Priesthood Washington Theological Union 6896 Laurel Street, Northwest Washington, D.C. Dedicated to energizing the spiritual and intellectual life of the priesthood
through an ongoing dialogue via the Internet. This Web page was created and is maintained by the National Institute for the Renewal of the Priesthood.
Please send comments to Father Hemrick by clicking on his name.  .Last updated August 22, 2010 |
