Real Catholic Blog

A recent Wall Street Journal article chronicled the problem evangelical churches are having keeping young members. It’s an interesting turn of media events, so to speak: After years of pounding the Catholic Church for its declining attendance at the expense of rising protestant churches with charismatic pastors, now it seems the media is examining the flight of young evangelicals to other churches.

It’s important for Catholics to understand why this is happening. While many of our dioceses went through (or are still in) a period of “hipness” to ”attract” young people, that’s exactly what drove them away — a lack of substance. While trying to be “relevant” to the young (and even not so young) the Church watered down the Mass and its emphasis on certain Church teachings. While evangelicals got a bump for a number of years by its sheer emotional pull, people soon find out that after a service, when the “alleluias” are over, there isn’t much there, there.

The American Church must never forget the substance and challenge of The Faith. For too long “Modern” Catholicism focused on emotion, not substance. But emotion does have a place — as a tool, not an end. It’s a lesson the Church in America has had to learn the hard way. Sadly, some still have not learned. Perhaps, this new exodus from the evangelical movement will give Catholic dioceses an opening to present the Truth to those so desperately seeking it.

As usual, Michael Voris at RealCatholicTV gets to the heart of the matter. Please take a view and let us know what you think.

Can the Catholic Church learn from the exodus of many from evangelical “mega churches”? 

One more thing about the iPadres (really, I’m not obsessed about it): I forgot to post a picture of Father Padrini. Since I posted a video of the American iPadre, Father Jay Finelli, of Rhode Island, the least I can do is post a picture of his Italian counterpart. So, here is Father Paolo Padrini (Deacon Chronicle):

Not quite phoning God: The iPadre, Father Paolo Padrini, looks over morning prayers on his iPhone application.

I have a confession to make. Last week, when I wrote about iPadre Father Jay Finelli, something didn’t feel right. Not about him. He seems an outstanding priest.

I got the idea about the “iPadre” from I saw something on television a few days before. I caught it in the middle, and didn’t get the whole story, but I did see where this priest was a Apple aficionado and had developed an iPad app for the Roman Missal and used it rather than the actual Missal at Mass.

I heard the reporter use the moniker “iPadre” for him. So, I Googled “iPadre” and only one news article registered, much less any television reports (the one I found was from a local station and buried on his Web site), and that article was from the The Georgia Bulletin (Archdiocese of Atlanta) — strange, since I also thought the iPadre was in Italy. Stranger still since the article was about a priest in Diocese of Providence.

Oh, well, what do I know. The “Heat Index” has hovered around 110 degrees for about two months. Maybe I was suffering from heat fatigue and thought “Italy” because I heard an Italian name, which Father Finelli has. I further researched Father Finelli, found more information, was quite impressed and wrote a blog about him. I’ve heard from some people and have had interesting discussions about the use of technology in bringing the Word to more people.

But something still stuck in me. I’m the type that simply cannot go unfulfilled in the pursuit of a story and my instincts are pretty good. I’m the type that just has to know. I’m not satisfied until I’m satisfied all avenues are exhausted to confirm or deny any hunch I have. Yesterday, I was still thinking about it. Then, it hit me: Although one might think it specific enough, instead of “iPadre,” Google instead, “priest uses iPad at Mass.”

Thank you Saint Anthony! (Don’t laugh, he helped me find deleted blog posts on another blog, once — Google and Yahoo! cache them.) So, today, here’s a post about the real iPadre!

He happens to be Father Paolo Padrini, 36, an Italian priest who consults with the Vatican, (indeed, from Italy) and another Mac head (see boing boing). Now that I know his name, there’s miles of info on him. He created the Roman Missal app for the iPad and it became available for free in July in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Latin. He created it with his own money and mind — the Vatican, though approving, had no role in its initiation or creation. According to Rebecca Boyle at PopSci.com, via the AP, an audio version with suggestions for homilies will be available before too long. But it wasn’t his first Apple app. He also invented an iPhone app called the iBreviary, which contains the book of daily prayers used by priests. More than 200,000 people have downloaded it (AP/PhysOrg.com).

All of this is seen by both the Vatican and Father Padrini, who serves as an advisor, fittingly, to the Vatican on social communication, as a plus, both in reaching young people and logistically for priests, especially for those who travel much. Having the Bible, Missal, Breviary and more at the their finger tips, in one piece of technology, rather than several bound editions, is convenient.

So, we have iPadres on two continents. Doubtless, the American iPadre is one of those 200,000 downloaders. Both priests are doing creative, yet labor intensive, work in the Lord’s vineyard to bring the Faith to more people. It wasn’t by design, but I was happy to learn about both. Confession is, after all, good for the soul.

When Pope Benedict endorsed using all modern electronic means to spread the Word of God, he might not have had Father Jay Finelli in mind. As devout a Mac head as he is a priest, there is no gadget or online tool Father Finelli is not using to win new souls for Christ (see The Georgia Bulletin). You can even see him opening his iPad upon its deliver to him.

Podcasts? Check! Video podcasts? Of course! Blog? Got that down, too. He even has a Chantcast! He is on Twitter as well Facebook and YouTube might as well be old school for him. He even has a live stream.

It’s all well and good and with younger priests come newer techniques.  Priests are no different than anyone else. They will bring with them their interests and parts of applicable modernity to their job. In this sense, they are no different than a young CPA using online tools while the grizzled old vet still uses the ledger book. In fact, we love EWTN and a new wave of technology at its founding allowed it to take off — and newer technology allows it to flourish still — and EWTN is about as traditional and true to the Word as there is. It’s safe to say we love the way technology has enabled hundreds of millions to stay in tune with the Faith, and to spread it, or we wouldn’t be here at RealCatholic ourselves.

Still, and again as in life, technology has a role. It can be a road to, but not a substitute for, our personal relationship with God and the manifestation of that on Sunday, which is the receiving of the Holy Eucharist. Delivering and receiving a better understanding of the Word through technology is a useful supplement it, but listening to Father Finelli’s homilies or watching Mass on EWTN cannot take the place of attending Mass. Watching videos of a papal address cannot take the place of saying the Rosary or Eucharistic Adoration.

Technology has its place. But we have ours — in the pews and in prayer, engaged in our parishes and the communities around us.

The iPadre takes Christ’s injunction seriously high tech: To spread the Gospel to the ends of the Earth. 

Here’s a report from CNN on the Shroud of Turin. Even the reporter seems to be enlightened (see video below). Of course there are skeptics, but more and more are coming to believe. (It’s amazing how some people either purposely ignore the evidence or are truly ignorant of it and base their denials on old, outdated assertions.) The report was in advance of Pope Benedict’s visit last month and below that is a video of his adoration of the Shroud. We’ll have more about his visit soon. 

If a reporter can see the light . . . then hope truly is on the rise. 

Pope Benedict XVI praying before the Shroud of Turin. The Church believes the Shroud is a holy article to kindle faith. But many believe in a more definitive declaration.

Great news! Many of our readers will remember the drummed up controversy by an atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation protesting the U.S. Postal Service issuing a stamp in honor of Mother Teresa. For a brief spell it looked like the USPS might reconsider. However, 138,000 people signed a national petition urging the Post Office to stick to its guns. Last week, it did! Thanks to all of you who signed the petition.

Roy Betts, a spokesman for the Postal Service, told CatholicVote.org last week (click here to read more from CV):

The stamp will be dedicated September 5 [at] the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Feel free to post information about the stamp, the image and the dedication ceremony on your website. Thanks!

The push to stop the stamp was nothing more than anti-religious and, specifically, anti-Catholic bigotry. So, it’s never too late to show support for a great cause like this. If you haven’t signed the petition, please do (by clicking here). CatholicVoteAction.org has done a great job with the Stamp Out Bigotry Web site. In fact, the more people sign in the days ahead, the better the chance of making this a forever stamp. Why not? As one commenter put it, Mother Teresa’s spirit and work are enduring.

Most importantly, be sure to buy and use the Mother Teresa stamp. The Postal Service is like any business — if you buy a certain product a lot, it will keep making it! Show your devotion to the Church through one of its modern servants, Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Coming soon, on an envelope in your mail! Mother Teresa’s spirit endures in many forms including, in the very near future, a new U.S. post stamp.

One of the things I have remarked to my own mother, father, and other Catholics, who are part of what I will refer to as the “Bill O’Reilly generation of Catholics,”  is how different my experiences were growing up Catholic as compared to theirs.

Growing up in Richmond, Virginia in the 1970’s, I had what I will call a somewhat  “watered down” Catholic experience as compared to the generation before – and well – frankly, it  has left me feeling somewhat “gypped…”  Let me explain.

This is certainly NOT a testament to the Catholic schools in Richmond, for which I am most thankful to have received an excellent education NOR is it some kind of condemnation of my own parents as good Catholic parents!   It is simply this:  having been born in 1969,  I was coming along after the moral and societal tsunami of the  1960’s.

What does that mean?  For me, after having read my own family history book, Bill O’Reilly’s book, and Tim Russert’s book – I became aware rather quickly of the fact that many of the really beautiful small things talked about by that generation of Catholics –  the really sacred little things were cast aside, or perhaps fell through the cracks as people were being told to “get with the times.”

What kinds of little things?    And who cares?  Well,  a lot of things, and frankly I care.  Because I think the “little things” were really reflections of the “big things” – the “BIG IDEAS” that made Catholics, Catholics.

For Instance – here’s something very small (BUT BIG) … my grandfather, Peter Belton, would write “JMJ” atop every piece of paper he touched before writing anything.    My dad remarked that EVERY piece of paper laying around the house growing up  – even down to a scrap paper torn out of a book with a phone number scribbled on it in my grandfather’s handwriting – would have JMJ above it!    Similarly, my dad said, that when he was going to Catholic school, the nuns and Benedictine monks would have them write “Ad maiorem dei gloriam” atop every school assignment they handed to them.   In other words, BEFORE YOU EVEN WRITE YOUR OWN NAME, you write “for the greater glory of God.”  So why is this small thing such a big deal?  Well, in a word, HUMILITY.

I think the subtext of such an exercise (writing JMJ or AMDG) BEFORE your own name – or before anything else —  is to admit, and to plainly glorify the fact that  THERE IS SOMETHING BIGGER THAN YOU.   This practice says by the user, “I am remembering that I am here for the blink of an eye, and that the Glory of God and Christ have been before me, and will come after me.   Whatever I am to write (either in this classroom), or as part of my busy day – I am pausing before I begin to honor God, to remind myself that HE IS BIGGER THAN I AM.”

This, to me, explains a lot about why the generation before me and their parents were so traditional and different from my generation and those coming after mine.   They had those devoted monks, nuns, and other mentors and parents who INGRAINED in them the importance of humility, using these very types of methods.    Through something as simple as the consistent practice of putting what is most important “AT THE TOP”  of your heart and your mind, at all times before beginning even the smallest task.

I was deeply moved by this sentiment, and have been so happy to have had the chance to compile and read stories of my family in this book my father and I completed.   It has enlightened me about so aspects of how the “faith of my fathers”  shaped their lives and made them who they were day to day.

I think the WORST lie of the 60’s (which prevails today politically in my opinion), is this overriding message of:  “this is not my father’s oldsmobile.” The message that basically ANYTHING OLD;  traditional religion, social issues, history, and traditional personal conduct is “so very yesterday.”   This generation of liberals has successfully passed off the idea that –  “if it’s old – it’s outdated – ‘throw it out’ –  it’s NO LONGER OF USE.”   But what if much of what is OLD is Truth?  What if much of what is OLD contains WISDOM?   “ ‘CHANGE’ is not always just intrinsically good.  Is it?”

This example of the old practice of writing JMJ or AMDG symbolically illustrates a worldview, a  mindset, a practice and devotion, that keeps SELF in check.   It is a symbolic recognition that,  WISDOM has come before me.  I am standing on the shoulders of something bigger than myself.   I honor and recognize that.

In my opinion, the baby has been thrown out with the bathwater.   If these sweet and simple, “old fashioned” methods and practices of remembering those truths have been poo-pooed as outdated and discarded, might we be surprised to find that sometimes the truths that came along with those practices have gotten stripped from their rightful place as well?    FROM THE TOP?

Erin Belton Lilly is a parishioner at St. Bede’s Catholic Church in Williamsburg, Virginia where she resides with her husband, Michael, and two children, Jordan and Jacob.   She attended St. Bridget’s school and parish growing up in Richmond, and was married in downtown historic St. Peter’s Church.  Her father, grandfather and uncles attended Benedictine High School, and her grandmother, mother, and aunts attended St. Gertrude’s High School.  Erin was married by Father Adrian Harmening, who evidently also quite regularly disciplined her mischievious father and uncles at Benedictine High School many years earlier.

In November, I wrote about an exciting new film produced by Newt and Callista Gingrich about John Paul II. Yes, that Newt Gingrich, who converted to Catholicism within the last couple of years (as written about here with video), with the earthly influence of his wife, Callista, and the late Holy Father himself; as well, of course, from the Divine guidance of the Holy Spirit. 

Originally, the movie, Nine Days That Changed The World, a DVD documentary which chronicles the Pontiff’s 1979 visit to his native Poland — a pilgrimage that drew a third of Poland’s population to see him and peacefully, but forcefully, jackhammered the first cracks into the grip of Soviet enslavement of Eastern Europe — was supposed to have been released late last year. It wasn’t, but in a bittersweet irony it was released a couple of weeks ago, around the time of the plane crash that killed the Polish president, first lady and several high ranking government officials.

Nine Days That Changed The World looks extraordinary. That’s easy, of course, because John Paul The Great is and an extraordinary subject. The movie features priceless archival film and photos and interviews with John Paul biographer George Weigel and Solidarity leader and former Polish President Lech Walesa. It will bring back to life a period not long ago but neglected and taken for granted already, one which, as with all John Paul did, brings to life timeless lessons. It was a history altering event, an impact  unforeseen and unexpected by almost everyone at the time, but one which to this day shows the Heavenly power of the Holy Spirit.  

Here’s more about the film from Gingrich Productions:

Pope John Paul II’s historic nine-day pilgrimage to Poland in June of 1979 created a revolution of conscience that transformed Poland and fundamentally reshaped the spiritual and political landscape of the 20th Century. … explore what transpired during these nine days that moved the Polish people to renew their hearts, reclaim their courage, and free themselves from the shackles of Communism.

Nine Days That Changed The World and showed the unequal power of the Holy Spirit in the realm of man.

Last week I wrote about the inventive way CatholicVote.org is turning the secularist high holy feast of Earth Day on its head by promoting God’s greatest creation: Human Life! Today, it released a complementary video on people’s reactions to its provocative bus boards in major markets (click to learn more or get involved). It also announced it is expanding the campaign to Los Angeles! Here’s the video. Let us know what you think.

Another slant on Earth Day: Celebrating God’s greatest creation! The people get it!

Normally, a headline like that would signal a sarcastic post, instigated from some wacky, ill-thought, usually liberal fad or, worse, actual policy. But . . . not this time. As they used to say (and probably still do, somewhere): Now that I’ve got your attention!

In this case, it’s CatholicVote.org turning the liberal paganism of Earth worship around on its illogical head to make some actual sense of the Earth Day, whose advocates are vigorous population control freaks. It is buying up billboard and bus signage space around the country to promulgate the pro-life message by using the secular line of thinking. Pretty brilliant to use their words to promote the most precious aspect of God’s creation on Earth:

Human Life!

It is more than disturbing that “environmentalists” choose to protect and prioritize anything living except the unborn. You cannot celebrate the Earth and not celebrate the Creator — and that which He created in His Likeness. As CatholicVote’s Brian Burch said in a statement: 

Our goal is to use Earth Day to get Americans to think more deeply about what it means to truly respect the Earth and creation. Prevailing environmental attitudes too often view humans as the enemy of nature. We believe the human person is God’s greatest creation, and the Earth’s greatest resource. Building up a culture of life is the single most important way to build a culture that respects the environment.

If we truly care about building a world that respects the environment, we must begin by building a moral culture — one that understands pollution not just in materialistic terms, but in spiritual terms too. In fact, moral pollution does more to harm the environment than inefficient cars or greenhouse gases.

If we are wasteful and reckless with the environment, maybe it is because we are wasteful and reckless with each other — including the unborn.

Here’s what Pope Benedict wrote in a recent encyclical:

If there is a lack of respect for the right to life and to a natural death, if human conception, gestation and birth are made artificial, if human embryos are sacrificed to research, the conscience of society ends up losing the concept of human ecology and, along with it, that of environmental ecology.

It is contradictory to insist that future generations respect the natural environment when our educational systems and laws do not help them to respect themselves.

CatholicVote.org has bought space for these ads in Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle for starters. You can read more the Earth Day Pro-Life campaign from Joshua Mercer at the CatholicVoteAction blog, here. 

According To CatholicVote’s Burch: “Let’s remember: Transforming pagan feasts into Christian celebrations is what our faith has been doing for 2,000 years.”