The Colorado Catholic Herald Blog

This is a special video by St. John Church in downtown Indianapolis as they open wide the doors to their church during Super Bowl week (the church is very close to Lucas Oil Stadium).

Imagine if more churches did this… something so simple…

BH

In the upcoming Jan. 20 issue of the Herald, stories and columns include:

• Catholic Schools Week: Listing of special events and articles highlighting the importance of Catholic education
• Bishops Column (English and Spanish): In Support of Catholic Schools.
• Returning God’s Gifts: Annual Diocesan Appeal Launch.
• Protect Marriage: Bishops launch postcard campaign against civil unions bill.
• St. Mary’s High School selects new president.
• Respect Life Essay Contest Winners: top three winning essays highlighted.
• Coverage of Bishop Sheridan’s inaugural Respect Life dinner
• National Catholic Singles Conference: event to be held in Denver this month.
• SPECIAL FEATURE: Why Catholics Cannot Be Masons, Pt. 6.
• SCOTUS ruling over teacher’s firing could have far-reaching implications
• Pope Benedict XVI elevates Dolan, O’Brien to cardinal.
• News briefs for diocese deaneries and updated diocesan event calendar.
• Nation/World: Philadelphia Archdiocese announces school closings, mergers; Texas bishops applaud court decision to uphold sonogram law; Cardinal: GMO crops breed economic dependence, slavery; Pope prays for migrants, refugees seeking a better life; Venezuela’s bishops urge end to political, social divides.
• Letters to the Editor.
• Commentaries: Feminine Genius (“Hede Wie Gi Afaun”); Family Matters (“Kindness Leads People to Repentance (Rm 2:4)”), Blessings in Bloom (“Preserving Seeds for Future Seasons”); Terri Sortor (“Children Face Challenges When Migrating”); George Weigel (“Breaking Bad Liturgical Habits”).

You read it first yesterday on our Twitter feed (see icon on top right of screen to “follow”)…

(drum roll) … Bishop Sheridan’s ad limina visit to Rome will take place April 30-May 5.

BH

More than 200 attendees packed Julie Penrose Hall for the sold out, inaugural Bishop's Respect Life Dinner Jan. 14 in Colorado Springs (Photo by Bill Howard)

Thanks to everyone who packed Julie Penrose Hall at St. Paul Church for the inaugural Bishop’s Respect Life Dinner. The event was a great success and Bishop Sheridan delivered a stirring keynote address that received a standing ovation. Text of the speech will hopefully go up on the Herald website sometime this week. Look for a recap in the Jan. 20 Herald.

BH

[EDITOR'S NOTE: In the next Herald, we present a pictoral recap of Our Lady of Guadalupe celebrations around the diocese, particularly the unique celebration in Leadville. Below is a special recap by Herald writer Bob Sallee of the celebration at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish near downtown Colorado Springs.]

Candles are placed under the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the plaza of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish. (Photo by Bob Sallee)

COLORADO SPRINGS.  Spanish-speaking Catholics packed Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish at the 11 p.m. anticipatory Mass on Dec. 11 for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, flowing into the vestibule and hallways.

Traditional religious dancers, “matachines,” dressed in gold and bright colors with headdresses made from peacock feathers, performed before Mass. Parishioner Luis Garcia trumpeted with a conch shell to the north, south, east and west to signify the start of the holy celebration, a tradition from the Aztecs, he said, used “to give commencement to the ceremony” and “to purify the worship space.”  A band from the Hispanic community led the people in traditional worship songs.

Father Alfredo Garcia, pastor, celebrated the Mass. The scene was repeated at 5 a.m. on the actual feast day of Dec. 12. Families brought their statues of Our Lady of Guadalupe for special blessings and flowers to leave at the church as a special tribute to Mary, the patroness the Americas, of Mexico and of Colorado, and namesake for the parish. English-speaking Masses were held at 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., with Bishop Michael Sheridan presiding at 8 a.m.

“Today we honor Mary,” Bishop Sheridan said, “arguably the most significant feast of our Blessed Mother, at least in America.”

Referring to appearances by Mary at Lourdes in France, Fatima in Portugal, and to St. Juan Diego in Mexico in 1531, Bishop Sheridan continued: “When Mary comes, she comes to assure the people of God’s love for them, and of His prayer for them, often in times of great danger.”

Because of Mary’s appearance to St. Juan Diego, an estimated 8-9 million people received the sacrament of baptism, he explained.  Her role has always been to draw us to her son Jesus, the bishop added, beginning at the wedding at Cana, when she said, “Do whatever He tells you to do.”

“She is there to point him out to us, to lead us to Him, to reveal over and over her Son, to give us strength to persevere,” the Bishop concluded.

Mildred Conrardy, a parishioner since 1998 and proclaimer of the Word at the 8 a.m. Mass, said Our Lady of Guadalupe is “our patroness. Because of her devotion, she made special our devotion to the Eucharist, and she also emphasized the importance of family life.”

At the end of the 8 a.m. Mass, the parish thanked Bishop Sheridan for his 10 years of service as a bishop in our diocese. The bishop was appointed coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Colorado Springs on Dec. 4, 2001.

“We really appreciate the Bishop being here,” said Mary Adler, a parish volunteer.

Lala Martinez agreed.  “It was a blessing to see him,” she said. “We’re very happy, very proud, to see him.”

The Catholic press and the Church lost a great priest yesterday with the passing of Cardinal John Foley.

I didn’t really know him well but I ran into him a few times at the annual Catholic Press Convention. Not too long ago, I was walking to Mass at the end of one convention day and he was waiting to cross the street. So we walked a few blocks and I was instantly impressed that he quickly took to asking me about what I did and about our paper. His speeches at the conventions were always full of wit and good, holy advice. His words always gave a boost if you needed to be re-energized, and while he was serious about the vital role the Catholic press played in the Church’s call to evangelize, he also reminded us to have fun. Being a Catholic journalist should be a vocation of joy, and it was hard not to feel that after meeting him or hearing him speak.

Rest in peace, Cardinal Foley. Your mark on the Catholic press will never be forgotten.

BH

A page from the new Roman Missal shows a change in the people's response when the priest says, "The Lord be with you." The congregation responds, "And with your spirit." New missals are on the way to parishes throughout the United States for use beginning the first Sunday of Advent, Nov. 27. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec) (Sept. 16, 2011)

At the parish where I attended Mass on the first Sunday of Advent (Nov. 27), we had what I would assume is the typical reaction to the changes in the new Roman Missal. I didn’t sense any frustration or negativity toward it. Rather, I sensed excitement and some subtle laughter and smiles as the new responses and prayers challenged Mass attendees to break out of their robotic autoresponse mode that has settled in on much of us over the years.

The most notable slip came with “And with your spirit,” and that was met with some smiles as probably half the congregation said the old response and half said the new. It will just take time. There were five times in the Mass when one was to answer “And with your spirit.” I remembered the new response three of those times, even though I had my Magnificat Mass card handy.

Old habits die hard, and the beautiful, rich prayers and responses in the Mass should never be desensitized to a habit, so I think it is great that we are being called to revisit why we say everything we do during the Mass. It also gives us occasion to revisit past commands during the Mass that haven’t changed (such as bowing in the middle of the Creed to “…and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man“). It has always bothered me how the instruction has always been there to bow at that significant moment in the Creed and maybe half the congregation does.

How did you do? Did you get all of the responses and prayers correct on the first try? Any stories you’d like to share from your Mass last weekend?

BH

Do we know what’s in our financial portfolios?

BH

Someone sent me this interesting exchange from ESPN.com.

Tebow also was asked to respond to comments made by former Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer to a Phoenix radio station Monday about Tebow’s expression of his Christian faith on the football field.

“I think he’s a winner and I respect that about him,” Plummer told 910-AM. “I think that when he accepts the fact that we know that he loves Jesus Christ, then I think I’ll like him a little better. I don’t hate him because of that, I just would rather not have to hear that every time he takes a good snap or makes a good handoff.”

Tebow, in his response to the comments, which he said he had not heard about before the interview, said he appreciated Plummer calling him a winner and compared his faith with marriage.

“If you’re married and you have a wife and you really love your wife, is it good enough to only say to your wife ‘I love her’ the day you get married? Or should you tell her every single day when you wake up and every opportunity? That’s how I feel about my relationship with Jesus Christ.”

Do you find Tebow’s frequent public expression of faith inspiring or obnoxious? Some thoughts from our staff:

“Tebow’s comparison of his faith to marriage could have come straight out of one of St. Josemaria Escriva’s writings.”

“As I read this, I thought, ‘I bet he would really embrace the theology of the body.’”

 ”I just don’t hear Tebow rambling on about Jesus. Maybe I’m living under a rock, but most of the time when I hear ‘Tebow’ and ‘Jesus’ mentioned in the same sentence, it’s because someone other than Tebow put them together. Mostly, I’m picking up on the animosity between Tebow fans who don’t know much about football and the die-hard football fans who just see Tebow as a mediocre quarterback. I don’t remember people getting their hackles raised so badly when Tony Dungy thanked God after winning the Super Bowl.”

A recent Web story spotlighted how a small group of fans for Denver Broncos quarterback and committed Christian Tim Tebow are wearing Broncos jerseys with his number 15 but with “Jesus” customized above it.

The Gazette touched on it yesterday, asking for the Diocese of Colorado Springs’ thoughts on it. Msgr. Bob Jaeger, diocesan vicar general and pastor of St. Paul Parish, responded since he has already been on record addressing a controversy last year where junior high and high school students were wearing rosaries around their necks to symbolize gang affiliation. On the Tebow jersey issue, he said:

“An outward expression of faith is a good idea and certainly welcome, and if it bring people to faith we appreciate it,” Monsignor Bob Jaeger said as the vicar-general of the Catholic Diocese of Colorado Springs. “If it is used as a joke or inappropriately, we don’t support it.

“Tebow is a man of faith and if it brings them to faith, that’s a good thing. If someone is mocking him, not so much.”

The love-hate relationship between fans and media with Tebow has been remarkable to watch. Tebow is trying not to be polarizing but his dedication to his faith is drawing passionate reactions in support and against him. In a recent Herald, George Weigel touches on why Tebow-mania is at such a fever pitch. I respect the humility with which he is trying to live out his faith and vocation as a professional athlete.

BH

In the upcoming Nov. 4 issue of the Herald, stories and columns include:

• Bishop’s column (English and Spanish): Part 2 Reflections on the New Roman Missal.
• ROMAN MISSAL: Dr. Ted Sri continues his analysis of the upcoming changes.
• SPECIAL FEATURE: Why Catholics Cannot Be Masons, Pt. 1
• Partners in Housing celebrates 20^th anniversary.
• A new diaconate class has been chosen, with ordination tentatively in 2016.
• Farm to Table ministry in Salida prepares for future expansion.
• EDUCATION: Holy Apostles Preschool celebrates its 35^th anniversary.
• Diocesan Social Ministry Gathering set for Nov. 12 at Holy Apostles.
• Faith in the Plains Pt. 3: Parishioners talk about the role of the parish and their priest amid the stresses of maintaining the family farm.
• Catholic Charities inducts new board members.
• Sister of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration Richardis Durant dies at 105.
• New briefs for diocese deaneries and updated diocesan event calendar.
• Nation/World: Bishop Lori addresses U.S. House on religious liberty concerns, Vatican commission’s document on economy gets mixed reviews, and more…
• Letters to the Editor.
• Commentaries: George Weigel (“Tim Tebow and Christophobia”); Caritas Corner (“Catholic Social Teaching: The Common Good”); 50-Something Else (“Wistful Thinking”); Sister Constance Carolyn Veit (“The Elderly Are a Blessing, Not a Burden”); Shameless (“Pleasure On the Brain”).

Also, we are now on Twitter (@CCHerald).

If you have any story ideas or there are any issues you’d like to see the Herald address, you can reach me at 719-866-6451 or bhoward@coloradocatholicherald.com.