Real Catholic Blog

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. 

It’s funny how things work. Okay, let me stop myself: “how things work” — how very secular. You see how long hours in the pits can make you forget what’s important? Which is exactly why this little story is relevant. It’s not “things” at work. It’s the Holy Spirit, of course!

Yesterday, when I got home, there was a message from the new Friday captain at the Adoration Chapel I attend. Make that, had been attending. A unrelenting work schedule (for the most part) and, admittedly, some disorganization om my part, over the last several months had prohibited me from attending my Friday afternoon hour. But finally, some very much looked-forward-to light at the end of the tunnel is upon men, as the schedule is about to relax, and so I have look forward to rededicating myself to a 3:00 Friday hour of adoration. So, what perfect timing to get such a message!

Then, I get an e-mail from my local Legion of Mary friend. They are having a Mass, Rosary and a potluck brunch, but she left off the flyer attachment. There was enough information in the e-mail, but I replied and asked her to send the flyer anyway. In her reply, was the below quote. Wow! I guess something — not a thing, the Holy Spirit — is telling me something, huh?

Adore and visit Jesus abandoned and forsaken by men in His Sacrament of love. Man has time for everything except for visits to his Lord and God, who is waiting and longing for him in His tabernacle. The streets and houses of amusement are filled with people. The house of God is deserted.

- St. Peter Julian Eymard (1811 – 1868)

Oh, so very true. Just as in my case with work. We all need time to for perspective. Nothing gives us that than time alone with the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament at Adoration. Silence. The Rosary. Reading meditations or Scripture. Especially during Lent. It will do you good in many ways. Not the least among them, remembering from whence all things come.

We are called to prayer, fasting and sacrifice during Lent. As for prayer, what better way to pray than the Rosary. Even better, pray the Rosary at Eucharistic Adoration. There most likely is a parish or community in your area that has a constant, if not 24-hour, adoration. At the very least, many parishes offer adoration during Lent on Fridays after Stations of the Cross.

Since Lent is about drawing closer to Jesus and his redemption for our sins, praying the Rosary is a powerful way to reach out to our Lord — and the Blessed Mother. Doing so anywhere — by yourself, in a group, silent or out loud — is a very spiritual and tangible way of drawing near Jesus. Doing so at Eucharistic Adoration is especially spiritually fulfilling. There are five mysteries of the Rosary. I have found the Sorrowful Mysteries during Lent, as they are prayed on Fridays, particularly special as they instigate a self-inspection we all should put ourselves through.

Catholics Come Home explains more about the Rosary:

The Rosary is an ancient and powerful prayer that the faithful have been praying for over 800 years. In this video you will see the 20 Mysteries of the Rosary, which include events of the life of Christ and Mary that are meditated upon while reciting the prayers. Every believer in Jesus Christ should honor His mother by praying the Rosary, and in return she will bring you closer to her Son.

And if you object to the Rosary because you don’t think that the Hail Mary is a legitimate prayer, then watch my video “Every Christian should pray the Hail Mary,” and you will see the Biblical basis for the Hail Mary.

The Rosary is a powerful and special way to reach out to Jesus and seek His intercession as well as that of the Blessed Mother.

Father Tito of the Franciscan Friars of Air Maria gives a homily on the Luminous Mysteries, starting with the baptism of Jesus. He explains that we see Jesus’ espousal with His bride, the Church in the Luminous Mysteries. His breaking open of these mysteries gives good reason as to why John Paul The Great added these mysteries to the Rosary. Father Tito’s homily is packed with thoughtfulness. Every sentence gives you much to think about. Take the time to listen. It’s worth it.

The Catholic Church teaches the Truth, which is not easy. But who will teach those Truths if not us? Certainly “not the New York Times.”

Today is the Feast Day of Saint Pio Of Pietrelcina, commonly known as Padre Pio. Born Francesco Forgione in 1887 to a devout family in the village of Pietrelcina, Italy, in which devotion flourished among all of its residents, he knew as early as age five he wanted to give his life to God in the priestly ministry (read more at EWTN.com).

He entered the monastery as a young teenager, but only after his father moved to the United States to make enough money to pay for the private tutor he would need to bring his education up to the level where the monastery would accept him. This is an extraordinary act of love, not only to his son, but to God. So although much has been written about Padre Pio —his stigmata inspired hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to seek the sacraments from him and attend the Masses at which he presided — by believers and non, it his parents from whom I draw the lesson.

Both were illiterate (imagine being illiterate in your language, not to mention moving to a new country) but had memorized Scripture and Bible stories, taught them to their children, as well as the Rosary and all other prayers. Early on his parents instilled in the Faith in him and his siblings. Not only that, but they lost two children at birth — what devotion and love for God!

At Baptism, the parents are called to raise their child in the Faith; they are reminded that their child’s first teachers of the Faith. How many parents take this responsibility in more than a perfunctory way? Is it one more thing they slough off to Sunday school or even the Catholic school? I hope there is a renaissance of parenting in the Catholic tradition, where parents teach their children from the very earliest of ages how to pray and about the Church and Faith, who actively involve themselves in their children’s formation. Teaching rights and wrongs in a civil sense, which is what some parents reduced their moral responsibility to, is irrelevent without formation and a foundation.

Padre Pio heard God’s call through his formation from his parents.