Tuesday Tech Talk: Advent App

What better way to reflect on this Advent Season then by using a Magnificat published app?  The Magnificat Advent Companion application is available for download at iTunes for 99¢ and is built to work on iPad and iPhone.  The application is organized in a day-to-day format. Modeling the Liturgy of the Hours the app includes opportunities to pray morning, evening and night.  It also contains the daily readings and prayers.

It includes a number of extras: meditations, essays, Advent Penance Service, art work (that can be used for meditation) and Advent Stations.

Favorite Christmas Song

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A few years ago, I began teaching a lesson with my high school debate students (around this time of the year) in which I asked them to name their favorite holiday song. Part of the lesson required that the students explain why they chose the song. The kids enjoy the lesson and they learn how to structure a simple argument.  In the process they also learn a little  about themselves.

A couple of years ago one of the students put me on the spot and asked me to name my favorite song. To the extreme pleasure of my students, I had been stumped. I didn't know. I gave it some thought and reviewed by my iTunes library, discovering I had a number of versions of the Little Drummer Boy.  Apparently the Little Drummer Boy was my favorite Christmas song.

As I listened through Joan Jett, Bing Crosby/David Bowie and Jose Feliciano, I determined that the reason I so enjoyed that song is that the little drummer boy gives the only gift he has, his one talent. For me, this embodies our response to universal call to holiness. Like the little drummer boy we can sanctify our daily ordinary lives by offering our Lord our work and our simple talents.

Anyway, I now make it a tradition to search out new versions of the song and I am now up to 27 on my special playlist.  This year I have added Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Diamond and Johnny Cash.

What's your favorite Christmas song and why?

Free Missal Worship Aid

Today (actually last night's Vigil Masses) marks the beginning of the use of the 3rd Edition of the English translation of the Roman Missal.

Thanks to  Catholic Mom and Sadlier, Inc. I was able to download a worship aid to print at home. For those not using an app like iMissal, this makes a great low tech way of learning the portions of the Mass prayers that have changed, especially our responses.

Tuesday Tech Talk: iMissal Update

iMissal has issued a number of updates just in time for the new translation of the Roman Missal. Most notable of these updates, is the recent inclusion of the Blackberry platform.  The new Blackberry version is $6.99.

iMissal has added some few new features since I last reviewed it. First, the settings tab now also includes the option to switch to the new translation. The app now has a Catholic news feed that links to Catholic News Agency. The designers of the app have added more prayers and an email subscription to get information about new develops in the app. Additionally, they have included the ability to purchase the Saint a Day app within iMissal. Interestingly, the app does not recognize the Saint a Day app within its menu if you have previously purchased it separately.

At $4.99, iMissal remains one of the more expensive Catholic apps, but I still think it is worth it. I actually prefer using the iMissal to iBreviary (still the best value for praying the Liturgy of the Hours) because I do not have to worry about syncing it before mass and the font is easier to read.

Catholicism Mini-Series Debuts on EWTN

Tonight, EWTN will begin airing episodes from Father Robert Barron's epic mini-series Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of Faith. Based on the previews running on EWTN, these are episodes that did not run on PBS. I don't know about you, but our local PBS station, KERA, is not carrying the series and is yet to respond to my email asking if they intend to air it. Maybe we can nudge them a bit with some calls or emails.

For now, enjoy the series on ETWN. Roll that DVR to make sure you get them all!

Tuesday Tech Talk: Ignio

Thanks to my cousin Lupe, I discovered this new Catholic app. The best way I can describe Ignio is that is a hybrid scripture and prayer app with a social media twist. Ignio means ignite in Latin, and your virtual candle gets bigger as you share your prayers with friends (up to only 11 others) who also have the app. In some ways, it has the potential to be an accountability tool with prayer partners or in a small faith sharing group. Ignio opens with a daily scripture for reflection (and memorization if you like) and it also has the daily readings. You can also post your prayers on a wall to share.

The app is available for free download on the Apple App store. Bishop Kevin Ferrell, the shepherd of the Dallas Diocese, blessed the launch of the app.

RCIA Talk Part 2: My Life with the Saints

I shared a few stories of saints who have helped me in my journey to answer God's call.  Here I will only mention three: St. Paul, St. Josemaria, and Blessed John XXIII.

St. Paul

My earliest recollection of admiring a saint involves St. Paul. When I was a freshman in high school ABC aired a two-part mini-series entitled Peter and Paul, starring Anthony Hopkins as St. Paul. Hopkins portrayed St. Paul as a remarkable preacher. This inspired me to read the epistles of St. Paul. 

Later I would volunteer to be a lector at St. Cecilia Catholic Church in Dallas. I would always try and get the second reading so I could read a letter from St. Paul. Now as an adult, I still find myself thinking of Anthony Hopkins' St. Paul when I read one of St. Paul's letters at mass.

St. Josemaria Escriva

About seven years ago I experienced a reconversion that led me through a significant formation process. I truly experienced the awareness, renewal and dialogue found in the teaching of Ecclesiam suam, Pope Paul VI's encyclical written during Vatican II. I had become conflicted about living my "Sunday life" separate from my every-other-day-life. I mistakenly thought I needed to leave my profession as a teacher to serve God in a greater capacity. I was also looking for a saint to help me find congruence in my work and spiritual life. 

The entire time I was searching for this saint, I kept stumbling upon the writings of St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei. Ironically this coincided with the popularity of the Brown's DaVinci Code, which painted the Catholic Church and Opus Dei in a false negative light. Eventually I read The Way, St. Josemaria's most famous written work. In it, I found the precise message I was looking for: we are all God's children and we are ALL called to holiness, even in our ordinary work. I had found the saint I was looking for. Since then, I have become a Cooperator of Opus Dei and I begin each day of prayer reading a passage from St. Josemaria's writings.

Blessed John XXIII

For the last fifteen years, I have struggled with my weight. I went from being a fit cyclist to an obese couch potato (you are indeed what you eat).  Recently, I had a series of events which inspired me to take a more spiritual approach to my weight loss. Like my search for a saint of the ordinary, I was looking for a patron saint for obese people or weight loss. I could not find one recognized by Church tradition. Other suitable candidates like St. Maximillian Kolbe (because the Nazi's tried to starve him to death) and St. Thomas Aquinas (because he may have been a large man) came to mind. 

Instead, I decided Blessed John XXIII would be the patron I ask for intercessory help. I even took a picture of a statue of him we have in our sanctuary and use it as my iPhone wallpaper. I have lost over 50 pounds since I incorporated prayer into my weight loss plan (Weight Watchers has helped too). I must admit I have not read much about him, but what I do know, I have enjoyed. He was funny, friendly and, most importantly, he convoked the Council of Vatican II.

These are just a few of the saints who have helped me along the way. Some have inspired me by their writings. Others have been role models and still others I have asked for intercessory prayer.

Part 3 of this series will include a discussion of Fun Facts about the saints.

RCIA Talk Part 1: Communion of Saints

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This Sunday I spoke on the Communion of Saints to the RCIA group at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Carrollton, Texas.  This is one of my favorite topics to teach because by reflecting on the lives of saints, we draw inspiration and hope from these living examples of faith.  In addition to their intercessory prayer, this is precisely why they are helpful to our own spiritual development.  What follows are the highlights from the talk.


CCC
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) teaches that the Communion of Saints is the Church (#946). More specifically, the CCC teaches that the Communion of Saints is made up of the souls in heaven (Church Triumphant), those on Earth still fighting the fight - sometimes with ourselves (Church Militant) - and the purifying souls in Purgatory (Church Suffering).


Role Models 
The Saints - the Holy Ones - are our spiritual role models. They provide us with real life examples of people who faced similar challenges and overcame them through the grace of God. Although there are a number of saints who lived the totality of their lives has "holy people" most did not. Most were like me and you - every day sinners trying to make their way through life. This is why it important to read  the lives of the saints, to get the complete before and after picture. For me, reading about someone like St. Augustine - the Charlie Sheen of his day - gives me hope. What makes the saints different is that they humbled themselves to accept the will of God and live is His love.  This is what we are called to do right now: submit to will of God, answer His call to holiness and share His love with others.  This does not mean we have to be preachers on street corners. What it really means (and I think this is more difficult) is to be friends to those we work and live with. They will know we are Christians by our love! "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35)


This post was getting lengthy so I am going to break it up into three parts. Part Two will be My Life with the Saint, in which I talked about a few of the saints that have helped me in my spiritual journey.


For now, we pray for the intercession of St. Augustine, St. Joseph and all Holy Men and Women of God. Amen!

Purgatory - One of the Lord's Greatest Mercies

So that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire...1 Peter 1:7

The Catholic Church's teaching on Purgatory is commonly misunderstood by non-Catholics and Catholics alike. First, it important to note that the Catholic Church teaches that in the end, there are only two places a soul ends up: Heaven or Hell.  Properly understood, Purgatory is a state of cleansing and purification for souls who are on their way to heaven. You could think of it as a triage station or even a decontamination chamber before you enter the clean room of Heaven.


We don't earn our way into heaven and we have done nothing to deserve God's divine mercy. Instead, Purgatory is a loving gift from the Father which prepares us for the beatific vision. Even though not explicitly referred to by name (by the way neither is the Trinity), the Bible does allude to it, especially in terms of purging fire because nothing unclean can enter heaven (see Isaiah 35:8).

There are are several Biblical passages to support the teaching on purgatory. Here are just a few:

Mal 3:2-3

2 Mac 12:46

1 Pet 3:19

Rev 21:27


Please also review the sections of the Catechism of the Catholic Church that address the teachings on Purgatory: CCC 1030-1031

FOR FURTHER READING:

Catholic Answers provides an online article with a detailed explanation and answers to common objections.

Books for Further Reading

Purgatory, Fr. Frederick Faber

A Pocket Guide To Purgatory, Patrick Madrid