Writer's Wednesday - Peggy Noonan

As you grow older and life itself becomes more elaborate and complex, you find yourself using simpler words. And this is not only because your brain cells are dying. It is also, for some of us, because you have grown used to life, even comfortable with it, and understand that it comes down to essentials, that the big things count and the rest is commentary, and that way deep down in the heart of one's life's extraordinary complexity is... extraordinary simplicity.

I think that to achieve true adulthood is to understand the simplicity of things. We're locked in a funny arc, most of us, in terms of what we know. When you are goony and fourteen years old you think the most important thing in life is love. Then you mature, become more sober and thoughtful, and realize the most important thing in life is achieving, leaving your mark--making breakthroughs in the field of science, or winning an Academy Award in recognition of a serious body of work, or creating security for yourself and your family through having a good house and sending your kids to good schools.

And then you get old and realize... the most important thing in life is love. Giving love to others and receiving it from God. All the rest, the sober thoughtful things, are good and constructive... but love is the thing. The rest is just more or less what you were doing between fourteen and wisdom.

The language of love is simple, it is simplicity itself. The great novelist Edith Wharton noted this when she talked about romantic love. She said that no matter what the gift of the writer, whether genius or dunce, the language of the love letters is always the same:
"I love you, I love you, my darling, you are so wonderful..."

The language of love is simple because love is big. And big things are best said, are almost always said, in small words.

----Peggy Noonan, On Speaking Well, Harper Collins, 1999.

Hip Trip: In search of a good leg to stand on, Part 1

It started to become noticeable in 2002 with a twinge on the "incline" setting on the treadmill. It continued with pain going down stairs... as if my leg was coming out of the hip socket. Then it affected my going up stairs. It shortened my stride, reducing my brisk walk to a stroll. It kept me out of pantyhose and kept me from crossing my legs in lady-like fashion. It delivered me from high heels. Along the way, I gave up a gym membership, cross country skiing, tennis, camping, and long walks on the beach. At times, it made me irritable and depressed. It drove me to Weight Watchers as my weight keep going up because my life became more sedentary. I kept a cane handy for the more physically challenging events in my life.

After three medical evaluations in six years, and three injuries to other body parts caused by this pain, I booked the appointment for a total hip joint replacement at the ripe old age of 48.

I am diagnosed with bi-lateral congenital hip dysplasia. That means, yes, BOTH of my hips are ill-formed. I was born this way. More on that when I have a more lucid opportunity to write about it, for narcotics do not bring out the best in my writing.

Today is Day 7 post-op. Pain medication remains my most dominant need. And prayers. I'll take them if you've got 'em.

I am grateful to God for bringing me safe thus far... and for good doctors and reputable hospitals, for health insurance and for prescription drugs, and for my loving, coping, family.

You'll have to excuse me, my cell phone is ringing. (It's my alarm for my pain medication cycle.) I need to take that call.

Writer's Wednesday -- Fr. James Martin, SJ

On discerning a non-religious vocation...

One’s primary call comes from one’s deepest desires, which are God’s desires planted within us. Then one “tests them out,” to see how things work out. For example, you may have a great desire to be a lawyer and then find out that practicing law is not what you really desire. So “confirmation” of your choice is also important. In general, though, I would say pay attention to what you find attractive, appealing and exciting.

One of my favorite meditations for this is the one by Pedro Arrupe, SJ, the former superior general of the Jesuits (also included in my book!) Here’s his meditation, called “Falling in Love.” It can be applied not only to individuals, or religious communities, but also to anyone’s vocation in life.

Father Arrupe wrote: “Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in a love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the mornings, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.”

--this quote taken from A Nun's Life, which hosted an interview with Fr. James Martin, SJ, author of My Life with the Saints, (Loyola Books, 2008).

Biscotti in Bed

This morning, as I write this, I am eating biscotti in bed. Close at hand is my warm mug of hazelnut-crème-flavored coffee. Hubby is already at work and summer’s pace still has the teenagers sleeping in. I am hiding out from my fears for a little while as I contemplate my forthcoming hip-replacement surgery only days away. Call it escapism or denial, but for me, little moments like this do a lot to bolster my immune system.

I bought the biscotti yesterday from a feisty apron-clad lady at the local Italian bakery. She warned me that the biscotti are very hard. “Sometimes people complain to me about it—but I try to lovingly explain that ‘biscotti’ means twice-baked.” I nod knowingly, given my love of European cafés and penchant for these intentionally hard and crusty biscuits. She continued, “It’s made to be dipped in your coffee or espresso.” I always do that… but I smiled under her tutelage, knowing that Americanized mass-produced biscotti cannot compare with her Old World-recipe.

This is probably a good time to mention that, this past year, as I finished my graduate studies in theology, I rekindled an old love affair with coffee—drinking about a pot a day—indeed, it would be accurate to say that prayer and coffee got my middle-aged brain through my final year. But these days, for health reasons, I’m weaning back to one or two cups a day. I say this so you'll perhaps better appreciate the significance of this little interlude between my morning java and my crisp Italian treat.

Today, I anticipated this delectable moment as I was lured into the kitchen by the aroma of the freshly brewed pot. I chose my favorite cup, wrapped a napkin around my portion of biscotti, and retreated to the quiet of my bedroom to read, write, and pray. As I mentioned, stress about my surgery has been mounting; here in my bed, I asked God to help me. I no sooner bit down on the homemade biscotti when I realized that God wanted me not only to savor this, but He intended to teach me something powerful using things I could easily understand.

Let’s get real here: If coffee could be compared to God, we might compare the biscotti to, well, me and my life right now and my need for daily prayer. My worries and fears are making my life hard right now—even though I love my life, and I wouldn't trade it. For me, dealing with health issues is hard, and hard-to-swallow at times. It would be accurate to say that I’m feeling a little hard and crusty on the outside right now, even though so many other things in my life, on the inside, are going well.

Okay, you can probably see the lesson in all of this: I can only enjoy my biscotti slowly, and patiently, consuming it bit by bit as I immerse it in my coffee. The coffee must soak and penetrate the biscuit so that it can be softer to swallow. In the same way, my worries--and more importantly, my life--need to be immersed and permeated by God’s strong brew of grace, wisdom, and peace. Then, what is hard—what is seemingly difficult to swallow on its own—becomes saturated with what I truly love—and reduced to manageable, even tasty, bite-sized morsels.

Sometimes I expect God to overwhelm me with something profound. But most often, he speaks with amazing simplicity, like a conversation over morning coffee...

Like the words I find in the Psalm 16... for a gal facing surgery, these words are simple, direct, and understandably real...

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the LORD, "Thou art my Lord: I have no good apart from thee."

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; thou holdest my lot.

I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night my heart instructs me.
I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices;
my body also dwells secure. (Psalm 16: 1-2, 5, 7-9. RSV)

God loves me so much that He used something as simple as a slice of biscotti to allow me to see, smell, taste, and feel his love this morning. He is my portion and cup. He is holding fast to my lot. And all I had to do was wake up and smell the coffee.

© 2008 Patricia W. Gohn

Promoting good things in and around Boston

Attention Boston Area Catholics!
Here are a few good things going on right in our backyard here in the Archdiocese of Boston!

First, Cardinal Sean has initiated a weekly email out to all interested members of the Archdiocese... it literally takes one minute to sign up for it here.

Second, mark your calendar for July 25th for a great day for your spiritual renewal called "Catholic Boot Camp" featuring Patrick Madrid and other speakers! It is sponsored in part by the good folks at Catholic Quest, so check it out here.

Third, I just caught a great episode of Real Faith TV (a Catholic show for youth) on Catholic TV featuring singer-songwriter Matt Maher. Check out Real Faith TV on Catholic TV online or on your local cable channel: Saturday at 4:30 PM, Sunday at 9:00 PM, Monday at 3:30 PM, Wednesday at 3:30 PM, Thursday at 5:30 PM.

Finally, check out the details here for Magnificat's "Pilgrimage of Hope" coming to Boston in October!

Writer's Wednesday - Benedict Groeschel, CFR

A London newspaper once invited various popular writers to submit articles for a series about 'what's wrong with the world?' G.K. Chesterton, the Catholic apologist, submitted the following letter:

Gentleman,

I am.

Sincerely yours,
G.K. Chesterton

Most thinking Christians feel the same way about themselves. What's wrong with the world? They are! We are! Many others seem to have lost any sense of sin. Modern pop-psychology has successfully convinced many that the experience of guilt is merely an unhealthy habit to be avoided at all costs. Yet the Holy Spirit is constantly at work in our heart to convince us of the need to struggle against our tendency of rebellion against God.

-----Benedict J. Groeschel, CFR, Healing the Original Wound: Reflections on the Full Meaning of Salvation, Servant Publications.

New Media and me... it's great, but must wait!

Well, it's been two days since I returned home from Atlanta and the first ever Catholic New Media Celebration. I was totally pumped up by the event, and it allowed me to meet and greet in real life many writers, editors, bloggers and podcasters whom I've only known online. That, along with the inspirational content given by the presenters, was a gift to me. But would you believe my life is too complicated right now that even posting about it is creating some stress? So I'm gonna leave the descriptions to a few other blogs...

I am one day from more medical tests... I am two days from having to drive my son and friends up to Maine for a day... I am three days away from hosting this weekend's wonderful invasion of out-of-town family and friends for a party celebrating my daughter's high school graduation...I am 5 days away from my dreaded-but-needed hospitalization for the new hip.

Can you spell S-T-R-E-S-S?

Therefore, I will not be posting on the Catholic New Media Celebration, but fortunately, there are so many great bloggers who did! Go check out Lisa, Heidi, Kate, and Mark.

Blog neglect

Once upon a time, there was a little corner of cyberspace that needed tending... I've always said this blog was something I kept "in between" the other pages of life.

Indeed, my blog has gone neglected as I try to squeeze in alot of living into the month of June. As you can see, we've recently celebrated my daughter Kate's graduation, (you can admire the non-cap-and-gown gowns her Catholic all-girl academy dons for their graduation, at left!)

Then, we were off to take a family vacation for a few days on the sunny beaches of Long Island.

Now, I'm about to attend the Catholic New Media celebration in Atlanta this Sunday June 22.

Then it's home to prepare for my upcoming hip replacement surgery! (Okay, maybe that's too much information, but its the truth! I needed the slower pace of the the summer to fit in such a big event!) Keep me in your prayers as I recover and recuperate this summer.

Thanks for checking in!

Writer's Wednesday

...a day late and a dollar short...

but here is a gem.

HT to Happy Catholic.

Writer's Wednesday -- Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap.

How to change the world by letting ourselves be changed by the Holy Spirit

Mary is so important to the Catholic understanding of the world. Mary is the first Christian, the perfect model of the Church and the perfect model for each of us as individual disciples. We are all called to be Mary...



What did Mary do? She said "yes" to the Holy Spirit. In that "yes" the Holy Spirit filled her with new life. The early Church called Mary theotokos, which is Greek for "God-bearer." As a creature, she allowed her Creator to act in her and accomplish great things through her. In giving birth to God's son, Mary gave new life to the whole world. We're called to follow her example, each in our own way. Hearing the gospel isn't enough. Talking about our faith isn't enough. We have to do something about it. Each of us, in a personal way, needs to be a kind of theotokos, a God-bearer. The seed of faith has to bear fruit in a life of Christian action, a life of personal Christian witness, or else it's just words. Talk is cheap...



The Church, like Mary, is about new life. The Holy Spirit filled Mary with thenew life at the Annunciation and Mary gave birth to Jesus. The Holy Spirit filled the apostles with new life at Pentecost, and they immediately gave birth to a new era through their preaching and teaching. God is a god of abundance, not sterility; of confidence, not fear. God relentlessly creates new life through each of us, if we allow Him to do so. We are meant to be fertile. We are meant to bring others to new life in Jesus Christ...



"Go make disciples of all nations" was the last command Jesus gave to us before returning to His Father. It's a big one. How can simple people like us convert the world? That brings us back to Mary, and to the apostles at Pentecost. They changed the world by letting God change them and work through them. We don't need to be afraid. We need to be confident in the promise made by Christ Himself: "I am with you always, to the close of the age."



Don't be afraid of the world. The Holy Spirit is on your side. Charles Spurgeon once said, "The way you defend the Bible is the same way you defend a lion. You just let it loose."



So much of the world is already dead without knowing it. That's exactly why people respond to the truth when they hear it. Robert Farrar Capon once wrote, "Jesus came to raise the dead. The only qualification for the gift of the Gospel is to be dead. You don't have to be smart. You don't have to be good. You don't have to be wise. You don't have to be wonderful. You just have to be dead. That's it." So we pray to God to losse the Holy Spirit on the world again in our time, and in our lives, to bring new life to those dead from sin:



Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and we will be created, and you will renew the face of the earth.



Understand the purpose of your life. C.S. Lewis once said that "Christianity, if false, is of no importance; and if true, of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important." So, away with "moderate" love for the gospel; away with "moderate" love for Jesus Christ. Time is too limited, too valuable, too important. At the end of every day we need to ask ourselves this simple question: I have paid one day of my life to do what I did today. WAS IT WORTH IT?



At the end of Good Friday, Jesus Christ could say "yes."



How will we answer today?



-----Charles. J. Chaput (currently Archbishop of Denver), from Living the Catholic Faith, Servant Books, 2001. p. 149-150; 158-159.