Month: April 2020

Wichita, Kan., Apr 9, 2020 / 03:01 am (CNA).- A group of five friends, and scholars of the Catholic writer G.K. Chesterton, are launching an online lecture series with the hopes of sparking interest in Chesterton’s work, and infusing joy and humor into a country reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.

The series, “Tuesdays with the Troubadours”, began April 7 and is put on by the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton, a lay apostolate.

The presenters will offer a short talk on a topic related to the faith, followed by a panel discussion and a Q&A. Participants can sign up for the free series and receive a link to join via Zoom video conferencing.

William Fahey, president of Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in New Hampshire, told CNA that he and the other four presenters— The Troubadours— became friends as presenters at the annual Prairie Troubadour Conference, put on by the G.K. Chesterton Society and held in Fort Scott, Kansas, 160 miles east of Wichita.

The goal of the series is to recreate  virtuallythe spirit of that conference.

“I tossed out an idea in an email exchange—almost as a fanciful thought—that all of us should just give an online conference,” Fahey told CNA.

“Everyone moved on the idea quickly…it was the fruit of friendship.”

Fahey said he hopes the friendship and levity of the group will come across online.

“Joy is of the Christian spirit,” Lahey said, citing the motto of the college he leads, which is taken from St. Paul: caritas congaudet veritati; charity rejoices in the truth.

“Catholics, especially on the cusp of darkness, can get quite melancholy and gloomy. But I think the Catholic character…is to laugh when the chips are down and ride on,” he said.

What is a troubadour, anyway?

Troubadours were medieval poets and storytellers, who went from place to place and often lived a mendicant lifestyle. St. Francis of Assisi in particular is often remembered as a “troubadour of God” for his mendicant lifestyle and joy.

Christopher Check, president of the media apostolate Catholic Answers, told CNA that his presentation, set for April 28, will focus on the importance of storytelling, especially in education.

He pointed out that many students today are fed a steady diet of practically oriented readings, with a decreased emphasis on stories that “capture the imagination and impart a moral truth.”

“And yet, when Our Lord wants to impart a truth, what does he do? He tells stories,” Check said.

“This is the educational device par excellence: the story. And Our Lord knew it.”

Joie de vivre

Chesterton, the inspiration for the series, was born in 1874 and became a prolific writer and staunch Catholic apologist after his conversion to the faith. He is renowned for writing apologetic classics such as “Orthodoxy” and “The Everlasting Man,” as well as for his fictional “Father Brown” series, among many other works.

He died in 1936 and is remembered for his humor and wit.

Check said the virtual conference aims to whet participant’s appetites for the writings of Catholic authors like Chesterton, and to be in the company of fellow Catholics “and feel that joy” when the coronavirus outbreak ends.

Joseph Pearce, another presenter and director of book publishing at the Augustine Institute, told CNA that Chesterton’s way of seeing the world was and is very Catholic, because a sense of humor, infused with grace, is crucial for evangelization.

Troubadours, in a Catholic sense, have a spirit of joie de vivre that comes from faith in Christ, Pearce said.

Chesterton brought people to God through a hearty cheerfulness and jollity, with a smile on his face, Pearce said.

“Basically, the victory is already won. We, as Christians, understand that God is in charge…we really should be walking around full of that joy, the joie de vivre that comes from the joie de crist, from the joy of Christ. And if that’s not present, there’s something wrong,” Pearce told CNA.

Fostering a troubadour attitude

The spirit of the troubadours has a rambunctiousness about it, Pearce said.

“The whole idea of the format is that the seriousness of the message is nonetheless delivered with ‘levitas’— gravity with levity,” he explained.

He mentioned a famous Chesterton quote from his book “Orthodoxy”: Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.

“Yes, I want to talk about serious things, while at the same time having that Chestertonian levity,” Pearce said.

“That’s what we should be aiming at. What Chesterton succeeded in doing so well is something that we disciples of Chesterton should try to emulate,” he said.

Lahey recommended that Catholics wishing to foster a “troubadour” attitude within themselves ought to read such authors as Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Louis Stevenson, John Buchan— “things that are adventurous; things that make them want to live large and risk.”

Check agreed, also recommending that Catholics tend to their interior spiritual lives during the coronavirus outbreak. He recommended praying the Divine Office at home— “in that prayer, you’ll see penitential psalms, but you’ll also see psalms of joy,” he said.

He also encouraged Catholics to get a copy of the Mundelein Psalter and say Lauds and Vespers around the kitchen table.

“We’re about to enter the Easter Season, where the feasting really just goes on and on and keeps going on, a time of great joy,” he noted.

“And all of the Divine Office is going to reflect that joy. So that is a sure recommendation I would make to people.”

[…]

Washington D.C., Apr 8, 2020 / 06:00 pm (CNA).- The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has resolved a disability rights case with Alabama after the state removed controversial triage guidelines recommending that people with severe intellectu… […]

Chicago, Ill., Apr 8, 2020 / 04:33 pm (CNA).- The Archdiocese of Chicago has assembled a team of 24 priest volunteers— all under age 60, and without pre-existing medical conditions— to administer sacramental anointing of the sick to Catholics with COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic.

Father Matthew O’Donnell, pastor of St. Columbanus Parish on the city’s South Side, has been a part of the team for about three weeks, and told CNA that so far he has anointed two people with COVID-19.

“I know that all of us who are doing this ministry in Chicago right now are doing it because we believe that this is what we’re called to do as priests, to be present to people,” Fr. O’Donnell told CNA.

“And I think all of us are knowledgeable of the risks, but the importance of the sacrament outweighs that.”

The archdiocese is divided into six vicariates, or regions. Within each one, O’Donnell said, the archdiocese wanted to ensure that there were at least four priests available that could handle the vicariate’s anointing needs, while also ensuring that no one priest is called to every single COVID-19 patient in his area.

He said pastors can call the archdiocese to let them know about a parishioner with COVID-19, and the archdiocese will then reach out to a member of the volunteer priest team to convey the patient’s name, the hospital where they are located, and any other pertinent information.

When he first offered to volunteer, Fr. O’Donnell said he thought it would be a while before he actually got a call to anoint a COVID-19 patient.

In reality, the day after he agreed to volunteer, the priest received his first request.

“Knowing that there’s not a lot of young priests that are here, that was what made me want to volunteer. Making sure the priests in my area who might overage, or have other health issues, and I knew I wanted to volunteer for that reason,” he said.

“More importantly, knowing how powerful the sacrament of the anointing of the sick can be for individuals and for families, I think as our parishes aren’t able to have public liturgies right now, this was a way for me to really minister and to really reach out people and allow the Church to be present to people in what is definitely a moment of great suffering.”

At the first hospital he visited for the anointing, Father Matthew said he wore a bodysuit, a gown, gloves, an N95 mask, goggles, a hairnet, and shoe coverings— all provided by the hospital.

Once he had completed the anointing in the patient’s room, the hospital walked him through a protocol for taking all the equipment off in a safe and sterile manner.

In addition to the hospital’s precautions, O’Donnell said the archdiocese offered training to the priests on the team on how to safely administer the sacrament to COVID-19 patients.

One of the recommended practices was to make sure not to dip their thumbs into the oil twice— so as to avoid contaminating the oil— and instead use a different finger to anoint first the patient’s head, and then the hands.

The priests were encouraged to either burn or bury the cotton on which they placed oil, and to disinfect the outside of the oil stock.

O’Donnell said he has been amazed at the gratefulness of the hospital staff, many of whom have expressed gratitude to him for his willingness to come and minister to the patients.

Though the team of young priests is not able to “assemble” in person, O’Donnell said he has been in touch with several of his brother priests and fellow team members.

“I’ve definitely talked to several of the other guys, some of whom haven’t yet gone to anoint someone, and others who have,” he told CNA.

“Every hospital has different protocols in place, and it’s been very similar experiences making sure that we have all the protective equipment on.”

In addition to administering anointing, O’Donnell has spoken on the phone with several families of COVID-19 patients.

He pointed out that many of the people suffering from the coronavirus cannot have visitors in their hospital rooms. So for him, as a priest, the fact that he is able to go and visit someone’s loved one, and relay to the family information about how their loved one is doing, brings comfort to the families, he said.

A number of hospitals in the Chicago area are not allowing priests to enter areas with confirmed cases of COVID-19 to perform last rites. In those cases, the families are reaching out to O’Donnell by phone, seeking a priest to talk to for spiritual guidance, and to ask for prayers. He has been talking on the phone to two or three families a week, in addition to his own parishioners.

O’Donnell said many of his own parishioners have contacted him, asking him whether he is safeguarding his own health when he goes to administer the anointing.

He said he has been reassuring them that the archdiocese and the hospitals are taking the precautions necessary to keep the priests safe. 

The sacramental anointing of the sick is conferred upon those Catholics who are in danger of death.

“The first grace of this sacrament is one of strengthening, peace and courage to overcome the difficulties that go with the condition of serious illness or the frailty of old age. This grace is a gift of the Holy Spirit, who renews trust and faith in God and strengthens against the temptations of the evil one, the temptation to discouragement and anguish in the face of death,” according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

“This assistance from the Lord by the power of his Spirit is meant to lead the sick person to healing of the soul, but also of the body if such is God’s will. Furthermore, ‘if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven,’” the catechism adds.

The catechism explains that “as soon as anyone of the faithful begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the fitting time for him to receive this sacrament has certainly already arrived.”

[…]

Washington D.C., Apr 8, 2020 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- After the coronavirus pandemic forced the Supreme Court to postpone oral arguments in cases scheduled in March and April, several Catholic institutions are waiting on the status of their religious fr… […]

CNA Staff, Apr 8, 2020 / 02:00 pm (CNA).- A Catholic church in the Diocese of Greensburg was among the buildings heavily damaged by a tornado in western Pennsylvania early Wednesday morning. 

Much of the roof of St. Mary of Czestochowa church was… […]