Al Kresta's Blog, page 26

A Big Heart Open to God

The exclusive interview with Pope FrancisThinking Faith
Pope Francis and
Antonio Spadaro SJ Editor’s Note: This interview with Pope Francis took place over the course of three meetings during August 2013 in Rome. The interview was conducted in person by Antonio Spadaro, S.J., editor in chief of La Civiltà Cattolica, the Italian Jesuit journal. Father Spadaro conducted the interview on behalf of La Civiltà Cattolica, Thinking Faith, America and several other major Jesuit journals around the world. The editorial teams at each of the journals prepared questions and sent them to Father Spadaro, who then consolidated and organised them. The interview was conducted in Italian. After the Italian text was officially approved, a team of five independent experts were commissioned to produce the English translation, which is also published by America.Father Spadaro met the pope at the Vatican in the pope’s apartments in the Casa Santa Marta, where he has chosen to live since his election. Father Spadaro begins his account of the interview with a description of the pope’s living quarters.
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The setting is simple, austere. The workspace occupied by the desk is small. I am impressed not only by the simplicity of the furniture, but also by the objects in the room. There are only a few. These include an icon of St. Francis, a statue of Our Lady of Luján, patron saint of Argentina, a crucifix and a statue of St. Joseph sleeping. The spirituality of Jorge Mario Bergoglio is not made of “harmonised energies,” as he would call them, but of human faces: Christ, St. Francis, St. Joseph and Mary.

The pope speaks of his trip to Brazil. He considers it a true grace, that World Youth Day was for him a “mystery.” He says that he is not used to talking to so many people: “I can look at individual persons, one at a time, to come into contact in a personal way with the person I have before me. I am not used to the masses,” the pope remarks. He also speaks about the moment during the conclave when he began to realise that he might be elected pope. At lunch on Wednesday, March 13, he felt a deep and inexplicable inner peace and comfort come over him, he said, along with a great darkness. And those feelings accompanied him until his election later that day.

The pope had spoken earlier about his great difficulty in giving interviews. He said that he prefers to think rather than provide answers on the spot in interviews. In this interview the pope interrupted what he was saying in response to a question several times, in order to add something to an earlier response. Talking with Pope Francis is a kind of volcanic flow of ideas that are bound up with each other. Even taking notes gives me an uncomfortable feeling, as if I were trying to suppress a surging spring of dialogue.

READ THE REST HERE: http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20130919_1.htm

Mary of Nazareth: How Coordinating a Faith-Based Film Event Could Change Your Life

By Lisa Hendey - Posted on September 17, 2013

For the past few weeks, you’ve heard us sharing the good news about the beautiful movie Mary of Nazareth which will be opening on October 1st around the country. The unusual thing about this movie — along with its beauty and ability to be a true tool of the New Evangelization — is the fact that all screenings are being organized and sponsored by volunteers. Ignatius Press, the film’s distributor, is actively seeking parishes and individuals who will step forward in faith to bring this lovely film to their communities. They provide all the tools you need to make your screening a great success, but it’s up to you and I to prayerfully consider how we might be a part of sharing this stunning film with our friends and loved ones.

To encourage you to consider volunteering, today I’m sharing a recent conversation I had with someone just like us — a busy, working wife and mom — who organized a similar screening of the film Restless Heart a few years ago in her home town. What Marsha discovered was not only the joy of sharing a movie with friends. Indeed through her efforts, she was able to raise over $6,000 for a crisis pregnancy center in her community! Imagine making this happen in your home town, and supporting your parish, school or organization at the same time…
I hope you enjoy this interview. For additional information, visit the Mary of Nazareth website.

Today on "Kresta in the Afternoon" - September 19, 2013

Talking about the "things that matter most" on September 19

4:00 – 6:00 – Catholic Relief Services and the Population Research Institute Come Together to Air Their Differences AND We Analyze the Pope's Lengthy Interview in America Magazine that is Capturing the World's Attention TodayBig show today as we bring together representatives from Catholic Relief Services and the Population Research Institute to discuss the controversy raised in a 100+ page report issued by PRI criticizing some of the work of CRS in Africa. We try to shed light and get to the heart of the disagreement. Also, a lengthy interview that Pope Francis granted America Magazine is sending shockwaves around the world - and great amounts of misreporting. We look at what was ACTUALLY said and what he did not say.

The Danger of Martha’s Vindication

by Dan Burke Wednesday, September 18, 2013 8:30 AM    National Catholic Register

I have noticed a troubling trend in past years when the Gospel reading about Mary and Martha’s encounter with Christ surfaces. Of course we all know the passage:

“Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

What usually happens when this passage is discussed is that the speaker or writer immediately comes to the defense of Martha. Some point out that she was a saint (which she was), and others note that she was simply seeking to serve Jesus (which she was). I can’t know the individual motivations behind this tendency, but, regardless, the softening of Martha’s error in judgment runs contrary to what the Holy Spirit is working to reveal to us here.

We know that Martha is a good and holy woman, who is doing a good thing in her desire to serve Christ. Yet Jesus’ rebuke in this passage is harsh — which should not cause us to recoil, but instead inspire us to lean in and pay close attention.

Imagine yourself in Martha’s shoes, rushing around to care for Jesus with diligence and love. Christ knew the inner workings of her heart. He knew her desires, intent and concerns. He had the opportunity to honor her efforts, but he didn’t; quite the opposite.

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/dan-burke/the-danger-of-marthas-vindication#ixzz2fJ7z7oq3

"What the Pro-Life Movement Must Do In the Next 10 Years to End Abortion"

Video source: Youtube and LifeNewsSept. 18, 2013 

Giants CB Prince Amukamara: ‘Some People Call Me The Black Tim Tebow’

Nebraska Alum: 'I Am A Virgin. I'm Not Ashamed To Say That'September 18, 2013 5:02 PM      Giants corner Prince Amukamara kneels on the field after defeating
the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium on
Feb. 5, 2012 in Indianapolis. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Tim Tebow is long gone from this town.He was released by the Jets on April 29 and is now nothing more than an afterthought in New York.
But Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara is now being compared to Tebow, who was released by the Patriots on Aug. 31.
The comparison doesn’t have to do with their play on the field, but rather their actions off the field.
Big Blue’s first-round draft pick in 2011 told Muscle and Fitness that he never drinks alcohol, and is committed to staying celibate.
With that has come a nickname.
“Yeah, some people call me the black Tim Tebow,” the 24-year-old told the magazine. “I am a virgin. I’m not ashamed to say that.”
The Super Bowl XLVI champion is engaged, and he met his fiancee when he was out dancing at SL in the Meatpacking District – although it took some encouragement from his peers.
“(Teammates) Corey Webster and Aaron Ross made me go back,” Amukamara told Muscle and Fitness. ”They were like, ‘Go say something to her!’ And they were cheering me on. She thought we were all rowdy and drunk and she didn’t pay us any attention. Then, later, I was waiting for Ahmad (Bradshaw) and she came by and we struck up a conversation.
“I asked her for her email address because when someone asks for your number, it might be too personal and you might not want to give it. But if you ask for their email address, they’ll give it. I was right.”
Amukamara will likely imbibe for the first time in the coming months.

Prince Amukamara (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images for H.H. Brown Shoe Company)“I still haven’t had a drink,” the Nebraska alum said. “I told my fiance that I’ll probably take my first drink at my bachelor party. I grew up Catholic, so it just started out as one of those things. I’d think, ‘If I do this, maybe I can get to heaven,’ so I said no drinks, no sex, all the big things.”

Today on "Kresta in the Afternoon" - September 18, 2013

Talking about the "things that matter most" on September 18

4:00 – 6:00 – Direct to My Desk
Today we open the phone lines and let you set the agenda with your questions and comments. As always, we have topics we will bring up for discussion but the show only works with your input. Some topics include the complete lack of any context when reporting in “priestly sex abuse,” an Evangelical leader saying Catholics are not Christians, the continued ignorance over the Pope’s remarks on celibacy and the trend of young people knowing less and less about religion in general. Be ready to call 877-573-7825.

This looks thrilling: a glimpse at the new IMAX movie “Jerusalem”

September 17, 2013 By Deacon Greg KandraThe Deacon's Bench 
See the Holy Land as never before, thanks to the wizards at National Geographic.
From HuffPo:

Jerusalem is one of the world’s most important cities, held sacred by three religious traditions, and it’s now possible to virtually visit its holy places in an unprecedented way thanks to the vision and daring of the team behind “Jerusalem,” a new IMAX film presented by National Geographic Entertainment.

Producers Taran Davies, George Duffield, and Daniel Ferguson faced huge challenges to gain access to sacred spaces as well as the airspace above the holy city, which is usually a no-fly zone. They stated in a press release, “Our goal is to look at the roots of the universal attachment to Jerusalem: Jewish, Christian and Muslim. We hope the juxtaposition of these different religions and cultures — all with profound spiritual and historical connections to the city — will reveal how much Jews, Christians and Muslims have in common and inspire all of us to better understand each other.”

But how to tell the story of Jerusalem without just focusing on politics? Enter three teenage girls from each faith: Farah Ammouri, a Muslim, Nadia Tadros, from a Greek Orthodox and Catholic family, and Revital Zacharie, a Jew.

Ferguson asked each of the girls to take him (separately) on a one-day tour of Jerusalem, which he filmed. “What was really amazing was that they would bring me to some of the same places in the city and tell me entirely different things. Revital would point out Jewish history, but when I asked her if she knew about the Christian or Muslim attachment to the same places, she didn’t. The same was true of the other girls.”
Benedict Cumberbatch narrates the film, and Dr. Jodi Magness of University of North Carolina Chapel Hill features as lead archaeologist.

Read more about the project here.

Check out the trailer at Deacon Greg's website: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/2013/09/this-looks-thrilling-a-glimpse-at-the-new-imax-movie-jerusalem/

Putin won by appealing to our reason, not to our emotions

Thanks to our flawed educational ventures, rational argument is almost unknown to us
TheChristians.com
Sep 17, 2013
President Putin: Flummoxed by his argument, his foes attacked him personally.             

It is hard to deny that Russian President Vladimir Putin hit a home run last week, in appealing directly to the American people through an op-ed piece in the New York Times not to launch a missile attack on Syria. Some conservative commentators said he made his case resoundingly. Liberals, while deploring it, had to concede that it was exceedingly well written. But what made it well written was the fact it was well reasoned.

Rational argument has almost disappeared from Western political discussion, principally because it has almost disappeared from Western education. We are enjoined not to think but to feel. The White House rationale for a missile attack on Syria, for instance, consisted almost entirely of videos of children who suffered and died from nerve-gas. Heart rending they certainly were, but the prevention of further attacks will not depend on what we feel, but on what we think, and what in consequence we do. Putin knows this, and so at one time did we. That's why his line of reasoning came to many as such a refreshing, even startling, change.

His article sets out four propositions:

1. The reason there has been no world war since 1945 lies in the veto power within the United Nations Security Council which assures that the council can only act unanimously.

2. The U.N. charter puts legal limitations on the right of any single power to start a war.

3. An American attack on Syria would not meet those conditions.

 4. Hence an attack of Syria without Security Council approval would be illegal and possibly trigger a world war. Therefore, Americans, please dissuade your government from doing this.

If you can't beat the argument, beat the man

The liberal response has consisted almost wholly in a personal attack on Putin himself. Who, after all, was he to talk about rights and morality? Look at his record. All of which may be emotionally understandable, but did nothing whatever to refute his central contentions. It was the old argumentum ad hominem – if you can’t defeat a man's argument, attack the man himself instead.

 - See the rest at: http://thechristians.com/?q=node/641#...

Blessed are the peacemakers, you jerk!

A continuing rise in road rage may reflect a waning of religious faith and discipline
TheChristians.com
Sep 13, 2013
What would Jesus do?
Road rage is on the rise says the Washington Post, which polled people around the District of Columbia. It found the proportion of drivers admitting to often feeling “uncontrollable anger” at a fellow driver had doubled since a 2005 poll, to 12 percent.

The American Automobile Association got a similar result when it tracked police reports through the 1990s: traffic disputes that got violent rose 50 percent across America over one five-year period. According to a new Canadian study of eight years of complaints posted on Roadragers.com, the acts which most often trigger road rage are: cutting in and weaving (comprising 54 percent of posts), speeding (29 percent) and hostile displays (25 percent).

What’s causing it?

Underlying explanations differ widely depending on the source: sociologists suggest our sense of community is breaking down. Psychologists suspect that driving imparts a dangerous mix of entitlement and invincibility. Leon James, a University of Hawaii professor and author of Road Rage and Aggressive Driving, told the Post their 12 percent who admitted to road rage were just the honest ones. James’ own tests found 30 percent admitting to raging, while 85 percent had experienced it from other drivers, making James believe almost everyone rages.

But surely both numbers could be true: a smaller percentage of aggressive drivers impact many non-ragers as they weave through crowded traffic lanes. When they cut off another of their ilk, there is mutual rage: i.e. the New Jersey detective who recently shot and killed another driver, or the man and woman who waved a knife and gun at each other from separate vehicles on a D.C. expressway in March.

- See the rest at: http://thechristians.com/?q=node/631#...