Posted at 11:16 PM on 3/10/2010 | Permalink

The Prodigal Son by Charlie Mackesy, used with permission of the artist


The Prodigal Daughter by Charlie Mackesy, used with permission of the artist

Today is just about the half-way point in Lent.

How's Lent going for you?

Do you remember what you pledged on Ash Wednesday? Have your pledges of prayer, fasting and works of mercy been kept? or is there room for improvement?

Last Sunday's opening prayer included these words:

Father,
you have taught us to overcome our sins
by prayer, fasting and works of mercy.
When we are discouraged by our weakness,
give us confidence in your love...

If you're discouraged, as I am in some ways, then look upon this half-way point in Lent as a new opportunity to begin again.

Think of Lent not as half-over, but as half-yet-to-come!

Think of Lent as a glass half-full, not half-empty.

If you've failed in your Ash Wednesday Lenten pledges, renew your commitment today.

And if you made no pledges on Ash Wednesday to begin with, make some today!

Above are two paintings by Charlie Mackesy. (Mackesy has a number of paintings and sculptures on this theme and I'll post more this week since the story of the Prodigal Son is the gospel for this coming Sunday.) One is titled the Prodigal Son and the other the Prodigal Daughter. You'll note in the background graffiti on each Mackesy's comment, "This is the story of the prodigal son/daughter. It really should be the running father..."

Each of us is a daughter, a son of the Father who waits to run to meet us when we come to our senses and make our way home.

It's not too late in Lent to turn around, to see the Father who is running to meet us on the way...

Remember: God wants to do something in my life and in yours this Lent...


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Posted at 10:04 PM on 3/10/2010 | Permalink

Washington D.C., Mar 10, 2010 / 10:04 pm (CNA).- The head of Catholics United, a group advocating the passage of the Senate health care bill, says that the abortion funding rules in the Senate and House bills are too restrictive. He also criticized the U.S. bishops for being more interested in persuasion than in compromise but admitted that the Stupak Amendment "might be the only acceptable solution" from a Catholic moral standpoint.

Posted at 4:15 PM on 3/10/2010 | Permalink

Vatican newspaper:
Abuse cases show need for greater women's role

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A greater presence of women in decision-making roles in the church might have helped remove the "veil of masculine secrecy" that covered priestly sex abuse cases, a front-page commentary in the Vatican newspaper said.

The article said that despite calls by popes and others for welcoming women into equal, though diverse, roles in the church, women have generally been kept out of positions of responsibility.

As a result, the church has failed to take advantage of the many talents and contributions that could have been provided by women, it said.

The article, published March 10 by L'Osservatore Romano, was written by Lucetta Scaraffia, an Italian journalist and history professor who has been a frequent contributor to the Vatican paper in recent years.

As an example of what the church has lost by not taking advantage of women's contributions, Scaraffia pointed to the "painful and shameful situations" of sexual abuse by priests against the young people entrusted to their pastoral care.

"We can hypothesize that a greater female presence, not at a subordinate level, would have been able to rip the veil of masculine secrecy that in the past often covered the denunciation of these misdeeds with silence," the article said.

"Women, in fact, both religious and lay, by nature would have been more likely to defend young people in cases of sexual abuse, allowing the church to avoid the grave damage brought by these sinful acts," it said.

Scaraffia used the Italian word "omerta," a term that refers to the Mafia's code of silence, to describe the secrecy surrounding the sex abuse cases.

The article cited statements by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI in support of a greater presence of women in the church, not in the ordained priesthood but in roles that are important.

The problem is that these theoretical statements have not been put into practice, it said. In reality, women continue to be generally excluded from decision-making roles in the church, it said.

The article said religious orders have long understood better than other church institutions the importance of reciprocal cooperation between men and women, as seen in the fact that most orders have male and female branches.

(See Catholic News Service)

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Posted at 3:19 PM on 3/10/2010 | Permalink

From Sunday to Wednesday, March 14-17th, Toronto will be hosting the national vocation and formation conference at the Courtyard Marriott in downtown Toronto.  It is an event organized by the National Association of Vocation and Formation Directors (or NAVFD), and they expect close to 200 religious and lay participants from Canada and the US.  The [...]

Posted at 3:00 PM on 3/10/2010 | Permalink