The New Faithful

The final lecture in the John Carroll Lectures series - celebrating the Archdiocese of Baltimore's 200th anniversary - is on The New Faithful. It will be presented on June 9 at 7 p.m. at the Basilica by Colleen Carroll Campbell, author of a book entitled, “The New Faithful; Why Young Adults are Embracing Christian Orthodoxy.”

This may be a useful lecture to understand how to reach young adults for Jesus Christ. I skimmed sections of the book. Very interesting.

On Romanus the Melodist

This Wednesday general audience of the holy Father’s is very enlightening on the creativity and charisms of the Holy Spirit working in and through Romanus.   Very inspiring to read the Holy Father’s address in terms of the new evangelization calling us to be new in zeal, methods and expressions.

On Romanus the Melodist
"If faith Is Alive, Christian Culture Will Never Be Outdated
VATICAN CITY, MAY 21, 2008 (Zenit.org <http://www.zenit.org/> ).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today at the general audience in St. Peter's Square.

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Dear Brothers and Sisters:

In the series of catecheses on the Fathers of the Church, I would like to speak today of one who isn't well known: Romanus the Melodist, born around the year 490 in Emesa (today Homs) in Syria. Theologian, poet, composer, he belongs to the group of theologians that have transformed theology into poetry. We think of his countryman, St. Ephraim of Syria, who lived 200 years before he did. We can also think of theologians of the West, such as Ambrose, whose hymns form part of our liturgy and touch our hearts to this day; or in a theologian, a thinker of great vigor, such as St. Thomas, gave us the hymns of the feast of Corpus Christi, which we celebrate tomorrow; we think in St. John of the Cross and in many others. Faith is love, and so it creates poetry and music. Faith is joy, and so it creates beauty.

Romanus the Melodist is one of these, poet, theologian and composer. He learned the foundations of Greek and Syrian culture in his native city, and then moved to Beritus (now Beirut), to complete his classical education and knowledge of rhetoric. After being ordained permanent deacon -- around 515 -- he was a preacher in this city for three years. He then moved to Constantinople, until the end of the reign of Anastasius I -- around 518 -- and from there he settled in at the monastery of the Church of the Theotokos, Mother of God.

A key moment of his life took place there: the Synaxar tells us that Mary appeared to him in his dreams and gave him the gift of poetic charism. Mary, in fact, asked him to swallow a scroll. Upon waking the next day, it was Christmas, Romanus began to recite from the pulpit: "Today the Virgin gives birth to the Transcendent" (Hymn On the Nativity, I. Proemium). He became in this way a preacher-cantor until his death (around 555).

Romanus is known in history as one of the most representative authors of liturgical hymns. At the time the homily was for the faithful practically the only opportunity of catechesis. Thus Romanus was not only an eminent witness of the religious sentiment of his day, but also of a lively and original method of catechesis. Through his compositions we can see the creativity of this form of catechesis, of the creativity of the theological thought, of the aesthetic and the sacred hymnography of the era.

The place where Romanus preached was a shrine on the outskirts of Constantinople: he would ascend the pulpit, located in the center of the Church, and he would speak to the community using a rather elaborate setting -- he used images on the walls or icons on the pulpit to illustrate his homilies, and even used dialogue. He recited chanted metrical hymns, called kontakia. The word "kontakion" --"small rod" -- seems to make reference to the small rod around which he rolled the scroll of the liturgical manuscript, or another such scroll. There are 89 kontakia attributed today to Romanus, but tradition attributes a thousand to him.

In Romanus, each kontakion is composed of stanzas, at the most 18-24, with the same number of syllables structured according to the model of the first stanza (irmo); the rhythmic accents of the verses of all the stanzas are modeled according to the "irmo." Each stanza ends with a refrain (efimnio), in general identical, to create poetic unity.

Furthermore, the beginning of each stanza indicates the name of the author (acrostico), frequently preceded with the adjective "humble." A prayer referring to the celebrated or evoked events ends the hymn.

Upon ending the biblical reading, Romanus sung the Proemium, generally in the form of a prayer or supplication. He thus announced the theme of the homily, explaining the refrain that was repeated all together at the end of each stanza, which he recited aloud in cadence.

A significant example is the kontakion for Holy Friday: It is a dialogue between Mary and her son that takes place on the way of the cross.

Mary says: "Where are you going, son? Why have you completed the path of you life so rapidly? / I would never have thought, my son, that I would see you like this. / And I could never have imagined that that the fury of the wicked could go so far, / laying their hands on you against all sense of justice."

Jesus responds: "Why are you crying, mother? [...] I shouldn't go? I shouldn't die? / How will I save Adam?"

Mary's son consoles his mother, but also reminds her of his role in salvation history: "Lay down, then, mother, lay down your pain: / It is not fitting for you to cry out, for you were called 'full of grace.'" (Mary at the Foot of the Cross, 1-2; 4-5).

In the hymn on the sacrifice of Abraham, Sarah reserves for herself the decision on the life of Isaac. Abraham says: "When Sarah hears, my Lord, your words, / upon knowing your will, she will tell me: / If the one who has given wants to take back, why has he given? / [...] You, watchful one, leave me my son, / and when he who called you wants him, he should say so to me" (The Sacrifice of Abraham, 7).

Romanus did not use the solemn Byzantine Greek of the imperial court, but the simple Greek that was close to the language of the people. I would like to cite here an example of his lively and very personal way of speaking about the Lord Jesus: he calls him the "spring that does not burn and the light against the shadows," and says: "I desire to have you in my hands like a lamp; / in fact, he who carries the light among man is illuminated without being burned. / Illuminate me, then, you who are the light that never burns out" (The Presentation, or Feast of Encounter, 8).

The strength of conviction in his preaching was based on the great coherence between his words and his life. One prayer says: "Make clean my tongue, my savior, open my mouth / and, after having filled it, penetrate my heart so that I may act / that I be coherent with my words" (Mission of the Apostles, 2).

Let us now examine some of his main themes. A fundamental theme of his preaching is the unity of the action of God in history, the unity between creation and the history of salvation, unity between the Old and New Testaments.

Another important theme is pneumatology, the doctrine on the Holy Spirit. During the celebration of Pentecost he underlines the continuity that exists between Christ, who ascended to heaven, and the apostles, that is to say, the Church, and he exalts missionary action in the world: "With divine virtue they have conquered all men; / they have taken up the cross of Christ like a pen, / they have used words like fishing nets and with them they have fished all over the world, / they have used the word of God as a sharp hook, / and they have used as bait / the meat of the Sovereign One of the universe" (Pentecost 2:18).

Another central theme is, of course, Christology. He does not involve himself in the difficult theological concepts, highly debated at that time, which tore at the unity among theologians and Christians in the Church. He preached a simple Christology, but fundamental, the Christology of the great councils. But above all he spoke of popular piety, in fact the concepts of the councils came from popular piety and the knowledge of the Christian heart, and in this way Romanus underlined that Christ is true man and true God, and being true man-God, is only one person, the synthesis of creation and Creator, in whose human words we hear the voice of the Word of God himself. "He was man," he said, "Christ, but he was also God, / now, he wasn't divided in two: He is one, son of a Father who is only one" (The Passion, 19).

Regarding what he said about Mariology, in thanksgiving to the Virgin for the give of poetic charism, Romanus remembers her at the end of almost all of his hymns, and he dedicated to her some of his most beautiful kontakia: Christmas, Annunciation, Divine Motherhood, New Eve.

Lastly, his moral teachings are related to the last judgment (The Ten Virgins, [II]). He takes us to this moment of truth of our lives, the appearance before the just Judge, and for this he exhorts us to conversion in penitence and fasting. The Christian should practice charity and almsgiving.

He accentuated the primacy of charity over continence in two hymns -- The Wedding at Cana and The Ten Virgins. Charity is the greatest of the virtues: "Ten virgins possessed intact the virtue of virginity, / But for five of them the practice prove futile. / The others shown with their lamps of love for humanity, / And for this the bridegroom invited them in." (The Ten Virgins, 1).

Palpitating humanity, arduous faith and profound humility pervade the songs of Romanus the Melodist. This great poet and composer reminds us of the entire treasure of Christian culture, born of faith, born of the heart that has found Christ, the Son of God. From this contact of the heart with the truth that is love, culture is born, the entire great Christian culture.

And if the faith continues to live, this cultural inheritance will not die, but rather it will continue to live and be current. Icons continue to speak to the hearts of believers to this day, they are not things of the past. The cathedrals are not medieval monuments, rather houses of life, where we feel "at home": where we find God and each other. Neither is great music -- the Gregorian chant, Bach or Mozart -- something of the past, rather it lives in the vitality of the liturgy and our faith.

If faith is alive, Christian culture will never be "outdated," but rather will remain alive and current. And if faith is alive, we can respond to the imperative that is always repeated in the psalms: "Sing an new song unto the Lord."

Creativity, innovation, new song, new culture, and presence of the entire cultural inheritance are not mutually exclusive, but one reality: the presence of the beauty of God and of the joy of being his sons and daughters.

Fr. Stan Fortuna

Podcast 46 includes an awesome interview with Fr. Stan Fortuna, a passionate Franciscan Friar of the Renewal known for his talents in rap music. He is a great example of someone who is completely using his gifts for the Lord, no matter what it takes!
Listen in to this podcast below about Fr. Stan's prophetic mission in the Church, his zeal for Christ, and the inspiration of John Paul the Great in his life:

We discovered Christ at OLPH

We just recently wrapped up with the Discovering Christ course at OLPH with over 100 adults hungering for Jesus! The course went for seven weeks with topics such as: The meaning of Life, Why do I need a Savior?, the Holy Spirit, etc. Fr. Erik Arnold, the Pastor of OLPH, and Dave Nodar, the director of ChristLife, were the speakers throughout the course.

It was amazing to see the willingness of so many members of the parish to help out in numerous ways to make the course run smoothly and effectively. A service team of about 30 parishioners helped with small group facilitation and other technical aspects of the course. Three women of the parish used their artistic talents by making flower presentations every week for the tables, and a group of parishioners cooked incredible meals every week. To see a photo album of some highlights from the course click here.
It was a tremendous blessing to be a small group helper and to grow in the knowledge and love of Christ with the members of my group. The most amazing thing, though, was seeing the Lord impact the hearts and lives of the participants in a personal and unique way. Below are some of the testimonies they shared of the Lord impacted them during this course:

“This program came at a really good time in my life. I needed it and I think the Holy Spirit is working through me to get me through a tough time.”

“It hit me that Christ is God’s love sent down for us.”

“I think the biggest miracle for me is something is happening inside…this is just the beginning and I’m very hopeful.”

“I’m a very shy person and the night before the course I asked the Lord to remove the spirit of fear from within me…and I found myself speaking to the members of my small group without fear.”

“During the retreat I asked Jesus to reveal Himself to me, and I just surrendered…and I’ve noticed a change in my life and my perceptions.”

"Ever since I started coming to these sessions a complete peace has come over me. I am more relaxed and calm even during stressful times because I know God is in total control and I have nothing to worry about or fear about."

"I feel that the emptiness in my life is beginning to be filled by learning more about my faith and sharing with others."

"My personal conversion happened on training day. I fully committed myself to living for the Lord and I am so excited and happy about this rebirth. This is the BEST gift I could ever and will ever receive - everything else in life is icing on the cake. Praise God."

"I was spiritually bankrupt and seeking Jesus. Now I see things in a different way - my perception has changed through noticing God and Jesus at work in my life..."

Praise the Lord for all He is doing to show us His love and radically change our lives! If you have experienced the Lord "breaking into" your life please comment on this blog and share what the Lord has done in your life with us! For He "is able to do far more than we could ever ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work in us" (Ephesians 3:20).

Redemptorist Superior General speaks on laity

Our friend, Fr. Rast'o, a Redemptorist from Slovakia, sent us this video. It is a Q&A that Slovakian lay Catholics and Redemptorists had with the Superior General of the Redemptorist Order - Fr. Joseph Tobina. He makes some excellent points on the role of the laity in evangelization and encourages his religious order to collaborate with laity in the mission of the Church.



What did you like about what Fr. Joseph said?

I personally was impressed by his warmth of personality and clear statements about concentrating on Jesus Christ. Without which the mission of the Church comes down to planning and strategies only - and isn't fired by the love of Jesus for those that are lost and far from Him.

Pope: Evangelization Is "Urgent and Necessary"

Great article from Zenit news. (The bold emphasis below is my own)

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Pope: Evangelization Is "Urgent and Necessary"
Affirms Missionary Nature of Church

VATICAN CITY, MAY 18, 2008 (Zenit.org ).- The evangelizing mission of the Church remains "urgent and necessary," Benedict XVI told members of the general assembly of the Pontifical Missionary Works.

The Pope received in audience members of the assembly Saturday, during which he reaffirmed that “the whole Church is missionary by nature” and that “mission regards all Christians.”

The Pontiff explained that the must be attentive to the demands of proclaiming with frankness and courage the truth that saves. “This apostolic commitment is a duty and an indefeasible right, the proper expression of religious liberty, that has its corresponding ethic-social and ethic-political dimensions.”

The Holy Father then invited every local Church to collaborate with other Churches, becoming the interpreter of a “mission of communion.”

“Against the seeds of disunity among men,” Benedict XVI said, “that everyday experience shows to be so rooted in humanity because of sin, the local Church opposes the generative force of the unity of the Body of Christ.”

“Mission is a duty about which one must say ‘Woe to me if I do not evangelize’ (1 Corinthians 9:16),” the Pope added, citing the words of the Apostle Paul, who personally experienced that “redemption and mission are acts of love,” because “those who proclaim the Gospel participate in the charity of Christ.”

“It is love that must move us to proclaim to all men with frankness and courage the truth that saves,” he explained. "A love that must radiate everywhere and reach the heart of every man. Indeed, men await Christ.”

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Comments? your thoughts?

I love the last line, its so true, "indeed, men await Christ." If I don't believe that, then I feel like I'm imposing my beliefs on someone... But if I do know it, I realize that I give away Christ who is that which all men hunger for, though many don't know it - to be Him.

To grow in how to "proclaim to all men with frankness and courage the truth that saves" checkout our Sharing Christ program and our podcasts.

Local day retreat

Hi all. A quick fyi: Ralph Martin, Fr. Francis Martin, and Mary Healy are hosting a one-day retreat on Saturday, May 24 on Contemplative Prayer and the Healing of the Heart. Looks like a great event. A heads up for anyone in the Baltimore/DC area - the event is in Gaithersburg. Check it out.

Cardinal: God Sending Eager Evangelizers

Below is a wonderful story from ZENIT news.

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Calls Movements and Groups an Answer to Church's Needs

By Jesús Colina

VATICAN CITY, MAY 12, 2008 (Zenit).- New movements and ecclesial realities are part of God's answer to the Church's need for a new evangelization, says Cardinal Paul Cordes.

The cardinal, who is president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, affirmed this Sunday when he took possession of his titular see, San Lorenzo in Piscibus, home of the San Lorenzo Center, which Pope John Paul II established 25 years ago as a center to welcome youth to Rome.

When still a vice president of the Pontifical Council for Laity, Bishop Cordes was entrusted with founding the center.

And now as a cardinal, the prelate said he considers himself committed in a particular way to the new evangelization. The red hat, he affirmed, is about more than just participating in conclaves for the election of a new pope.

Cardinal Cordes said he chose Pentecost to take possession of the titular see because the feast is an invitation to the new evangelization, since "the fire, the flame of the Spirit of God wants to set others ablaze."But, "where are the missionaries?" the cardinal asked. And he answered that God already considered years ago that the Church would have a need for evangelization.

"Since the middle of the last century, he has brought men and women in movements and new [ecclesial] realities to awaken in the Church enthusiasm for evangelization," the prelate contended. "He has given them the grace to speak in a fascinated and fascinating way about Jesus Christ, to enthuse people about the following of Christ, to find in Jesus of Nazareth -- just as he is proclaimed by the Church -- the center of their very existences and the fount of a plentiful life."

"These groups are not new walls between consecrated and laypeople, between mission in the Church and mission in the world," Cardinal Cordes continued. "This is not about canceling the diversity of ministries and responsibilities: They seek to awaken in every state of life a love for Christ, our brother and Lord, since from him alone comes salvation and joy."

"Despite aggressive secularization, which wants to bring all of us to the idolatry of the 'I,' they keep Christ as the star that guides their activities," he said. "It's not that they are 'more perfect' Christians. They are Christians like all of us. But they are special since God has prepared them better for the decisive challenge of today: the new evangelization."

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We at ChristLife have benefited greatly from the “new movements and ecclesial realities.” In fact, sometimes, we feel like we are part of an emerging new movement of Catholics committed to following with our whole hearts Jesus and proclaiming the person of Jesus Christ to all the world. Yet “this movement” has no formal name or boundaries. It brings together bishops, priests, religious orders, lay movements, organizations, and individual lay Christians of all denominations – all with a burning heart to reveal to this world, Emmanuel, God is with us “in the face of Jesus of Nazareth” (Pope Benedict).

In fact I was at my sister’s graduation at Mount Saint Mary’s University on Pentecost Sunday – and Baltimore’s Archbishop O’Brien gave the commencement address (read Archbishop’s recent letter of encouragement to ChristLife) . And I was expecting – you know – the usual stuff about “go out and serve the world” and “be a leader” and “make a difference.” Well, he did talk about those things, but at a critical moment during the address, as he was recalling the Pope’s recent visit to the US, he said-

Who am I? What is my purpose? How can I realize my potential?

These are searching questions, rooted in every heart since Adam and Eve. But they are so rarely asked, much less answered by your contemporaries. Truth demands an answer. Faith answers, Jesus Christ. Benedict XVI again to the youth at Dunwoodie, New York:

…truth is not an imposition. Nor is it simply a set of rules. It is a discovery of the One who never fails us; the One whom we can always trust… ultimately truth is a person: Jesus Christ.

Bicentennial graduates: Have you discovered or perhaps re-discovered Jesus Christ here? And will you share that discovery with others as you depart with your Mountain memories? Do you believe that he is the only ultimate measure of the truly human being? Do you find in him, in his life, his preaching, his example the model of true leadership?

What an encouragement! Read the entire commencement address.

This whole theme of focusing on the centrality of the person of Jesus – is one of the hallmarks of Pope Benedict XVI. He is constantly calling Christians and all people to friendship with Jesus Christ. From the summative and final sentence of the Foreword to his latest book, Jesus of Nazareth, he writes-

“it struck me as the most urgent priority to present the figure and message of Jesus in his public ministry, and so to help foster the growth of a living relationship with him” (xxiv).

And if you didn’t catch any of his message while he was here in the US recently, listen to the first few minutes of the “Pope Podcast” below – we have an awesome clip of him talking about the centrality of Jesus. Always good to hear. Come Lord Jesus!

The Pope Podcast!

Well, we've now done 45 podcasts at ChristLife! Its really amazing how many we've done - how many different people we've interviewed. This podcast is a first though. It is the first to have audio of the Pope speaking!

So, the top three reasons to listen to this podcast are-

1. A clip of the Pope speaking at Yankee stadium
2. A song by Matt Maher
   
3. Testimonies from our young adult Following Christ course at UMBC

Listen in!

Amazing testimony of disabled young man!

This is really an amazing video, worth seeing. If you have anyone in your life going through suffering or who is physically disabled - this is quite an inspiration. Born with no arms or legs, Nick Vujicic gives an inspiring testimony about overcoming circumstances in one's life.

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God is on the move and is using all sorts of people in their different circumstances in powerful ways to get His message out there! This reminds me of the First Reading today, the Lord Jesus speaks to Paul and says, "Take courage. For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness in Rome" (Acts 23:11). Particularly the phrase "my cause" caught my eye - and made me think about this grand cause, this divine conspiracy that Jesus initiated to destroy sin and death in our lives - and bring us to life, peace, and confidence in Him and His plan for our lives now, and eternally. No matter our circumstances.

Nick's circumstances in the above video - and how he deals with them - and gives glory to God - is really the miracle. And in my own life it seems that it is particularly in those times of suffering where God uses us to broadcast his message of love to the world. A video I watched several months ago called the Megaphone of Hope by Christian speaker Louie Giglio - is all about this. If you have time check it out - it is powerful - and such an integral connection between suffering and evangelization.

ChristLife on EWTN

Dave Nodar was asked to join Ralph Martin on The Choices We Face Show to discuss Sharing Christ, the new evangelization, and the work of ChristLife. The show sponsored by Ralph Martin of Renewal Ministries, called The Choices We Face aired on EWTN last week. And due to the amazing technology of GodTube you can now view the show below:

Part I:

Part II:

Telling the Story

The other day a friend asked me to write a note to a friend of his that has no Christian background.  His friend is interested in moving forward, in knowing God, knowing what Christianity and following Jesus is all about.  But my friend asked me to try to offer encouragement in a way that a non-Christian would understand.  Here was my stab at that... It was a wonderful exercise... that really helped me think about ways to reach outsiders with the Gospel.  It also challenged me to “always be ready to make an account of the hope that lies within you.” (1 Peter)  To learn how to do stuff like this, especially tell your personal story, visit http://www.christlife.org/sharefaith/SharingChrist.html

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Well, we are clearly more than a collection of meaningless material elements.  We have dignity, our lives have meaning. This to me seems obvious when I really reflect on life.  I love living, I love the adventure, I love to love others and to be loved.  I love to get out into nature and the mountains and get some fresh air. Something is transcendent about it.  All cultures speak of this clearly.  We are more than just material elements.  And if our lives have meaning than Someone has personally created each one of us for a purpose.  We have purpose- to love and to be loved.

Our creator gave us the option, unlike animals, to be free, to have a mind, a will, a conscience – a “soul” in biblical language.  God made us absolutely free to choose to live a life worth living – a life that connects to his purpose for our lives – a life that connects to the deepest fabric of our universe.  We also have the opportunity to reject this life and choose to run our own lives – this, however, leads to “me first.”  And what follows is the whole history of “sin” - putting myself and my needs before others – and even trouncing on them to meet my needs.  This leads to death and separation from God and his purposes.

He could foresee this though.  He first told us how to live through a people he interacted with (Israel) and he gave them a law to live by.  This wasn’t sufficient. They just tried to meet the basic requirement of the law (and even make their own) and didn’t see the deep meaning behind the law. He knew this was going to happen.  So he gave himself to us so completely by becoming like us, by becoming human.  He gave himself to us through his Son.  He sent his son to us.  His Son, Jesus, showed us how to live.  He was the most impressive person who ever walked this earth.  He said amazing things for his times.

Since that time millions and millions of peoples all around the globe, throughout history-  have found in this God-man – the ultimate meaning of there lives.  He entered our space for a life-time (33 years) and he was killed by the Jewish authorities via Rome.  As a God-man he chose instead of punishing his people for disobeying the law (and for killing him!) – he showed them the ultimate meaning of all things – love – by dying on a cross freely – and bearing the punishment (needed because of God’s absolute justice) of all the people’s disobedience.   God raised his Son, the God-man, from the dead – and not only destroyed the power of sin, but death itself.  So that for those of us who put our trust, our reliance in this God-man – Jesus who died for us and was raised from the dead – we are promised His very divine life.  And it begins now!  We live connected to Jesus as our life-source.  And we are promised, just like him – to be raised from the dead after our death.  So that we too can experience the life of God forever – in love.

God makes this very easy for people to enter into this life.  He draws near to us through simply elements – bread, water, oil.  Especially in water.  And this is where “baptism” (being immersed) comes in.  Jesus gave all his followers – his community of disciples, his Church - a powerful reality – that when we are baptized with water – we are joined to the life of Jesus –as we are immersed in the water- we are immersed in the burial of his death – and we rise out of the water – just as Jesus rose from the dead.  This symbol is powerful and God promises to send his very life-force, his Spirit to give us the power to live this new divinely-connected life.  And on a personal note- its awesome!  What a great adventure!  I have learned what life really means by being a Christian, I have learned to love, and I have a wonderful hope and joy of being connected to the source of love for all eternity.