My wife Cindy and I have been attending Mass this week at St. Dennis church in Madison, WI. I wish I could tell you what the sculpture in the picture is but you pass it on the way into the church. The trees are in full fall color so it was a pretty setting.
We’re attending the World Dairy Expo which is the largest dairy show in the United States. It’s an annual event and you can find our stories and photos on our dairy news website, World Dairy Diary.
It’s hard to believe that it has been six years since the canonization of St. Josemaria Escriva. Here’s a two minute overview video that was just released. I was one of the tiny dots that represents the crowd at that outdoor service in St. Peter’s Square! Blessed Pope John Paul II called St Josemaria “the patron saint of ordinary life”.
The canonization ceremony took place on Sunday, October 6 at 10 o’clock in the morning. “For the honor of the Blessed Trinity … we declare and define that Blessed Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer is a Saint and we enroll him among the Saints, decreeing that he is to be venerated in the whole Church as one of the Saints,” Pope John Paul II solemnly proclaimed. The formula of canonization was closed by an “Amen” from the whole congregation, and enthusiastic applause broke out all the way down from Saint Peter’s Square to the Castel Sant’Angelo. After the Mass was over, the Pope wanted to greet all those present, and in the “Popemobile” he went around the Square and along the whole length of the Via della Conciliazione, accompanied by the Prelate of Opus Dei. Along the way, many babies and small children received a blessing and a kiss on the forehead from the Pope.
You might enjoy seeing some of these new video clips just released.
To celebrate the founding of Opus Dei on October 2, 1928, and the 5th anniversary of the release of Passionately Loving the World, the St. Josemaria Institute is releasing never before seen (unedited) clips from Passionately Loving the World.
Fr. Dick Rieman, first member of Opus Dei in the United States, makes a brief appearance towards the end of the documentary. He talks about being at the canonization of St. Josemaria in Rome on October 6, 2002. After the canonization he told his students back home, “I am the only guy who has had pizza with a saint.”
In these exclusive clips, we share more of Fr. Dick’s story on meeting St. Josemaria Escriva in Rome for the first time; and, the meaning of holiness, of being a child of God, and being Christ to others.
Here’s one of the video clips you’ll find:
Fr. Dick Rieman is the first member of Opus Dei in the United States. In this clip from Passionately Loving the World, Fr. Dick explains how all Christians are called by God to holiness. Passionately Loving the World is a short documentary about ordinary Americans living the spirituality of St. Josemaria Escriva in the middle of the world today. From farmers to fire-fighters, they work hard, love their families, celebrate successes and endure failures. Through it all they try to grow closer to God. Order the DVD: www.stjosemaria.org
You need to bookmark this and visit it often. It’s Instant Escriva. Every time you hit the refresh button you get a new quote from St. Josemaria Escriva!
I’ve been meaning to post this photo for a while. When I was in Guelph, Ontario I visited the Church of Our Lady Immaculate. This church sits high on a hill and it’s my understanding that no other building in town is allowed to be built higher.
The Church of Our Lady Immaculate has been a place of worship and reflection for over 120 years. The church is constructed of local limestone in the Gothic Revival style. It towers over the Guelph community as a constant reminder of God’s love and a community’s resilience. Designated a National Historic Site, it is the most visited tourist destination in the city of Guelph.
I did not get to attend Mass but stopped in for a visit while out on a walk one afternoon.
Last week I attended the annual meeting of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ). This meeting brings in people from all over the world for farm tours, presentations from government/agribusiness/farm group representatives and professional improvement sessions on topics like writing, photography, etc. I’ve been attending these for a number of years including in countries like Switzerland, Norway and Japan. It’s fascinating to get to know and communicate with people from different cultures.
It’s also an eye opener. Let’s take as an example a man from Denmark who approached me and after a brief exchange of greetings said, “The problem with your country is you don’t pay enough in taxes.” Really? I told him he was out of his mind. He got a little agitated and said “My son was able to go to college for the equivalent of about $800 this year. That’s why our system is so much better than yours.” He wouldn’t even consider a difference of opinion. Keep in mind that this guy is a journalist. He’s writing the “news.” Wonder from what viewpoint he writes about for things like government policy . . . I don’t know about you but I consider his policy views extremely liberal and polar opposite of mine. I tried explaining how high our taxes are but he refused to believe me. When I asked him if he’d like to pay more taxes back home he started to get even more indignant. So I found an excuse to move on away from him.
Let’s contrast that with another anecdote. We visited a dairy farm owned and run by a family of Amish descent. Our tour guide pointed out a school owned and run by the local Amish community as we approached the farm. He told us that the Amish school their own children and don’t accept any government funding for it. If they go to a doctor or hospital they pay the health care system back even though they pay their taxes. They don’t want and refuse to accept government assistance! I think these folks are proving we don’t have to have the government take care of us.
These stories made me think about how much our society in the good old USA has moved to a government dependent one. Although, I know many people who are fed up with this mentality. Every “crisis” (I hate that word) can be solved by just spending more money, at least according to every tv news story I see where they show talking heads calling for more and more spending. I wonder how we can keep allowing this to happen. Is it going to require a public revolt to change things? How about we just vote for a new batch of politicians and hold them to their word? Naw. That would never work.
Today a lot of you are remembering the horrors that happened in the United States ten years ago. You probably remember where you were. I was attending Husker Harvest Days, a farm show, in Nebraska. I learned about it along with a crowd gathered around a small tv in one of the tent exhibits. Today I pray for peace in our world. I got a Twitter reply from a friend who pointed out “the key is to pray for personal peace first then to move it further afield. So many people don’t know what personal peace is.” Good point.
Earlier today our Holy Father raised an appeal to world leaders to always reject violence as a solution to problems:
“Today, our thoughts also go to September 11 ten years ago. In entrusting the victims of the terrorist attacks on that day and their families to the Lord of Life, I invite the leaders of nations and men of good will to always refuse violence as the solution to problems, to resist the temptation toward hatred and to work in society, inspired by the principles of solidarity, justice and peace”.
I’m seeing lots of remembrances on Facebook and Twitter today. I am also making a concerted effort to stay away from the 24/7 news coverage. I’ve seen tv network ads encouraging you to “immerse yourself in 9/11.” Why would I want to do that? Unfortunately that’s network news today. Trying to capitalize on your emotions. Unfortunately that kind of immersion leads to depression, IMO. So I would encourage you to take the news in moderation and spend that other time in prayer and personal peace.
Hello from Canada. I’m participating in an agricultural communicators conference this week. We’re starting out in Guelph, Ontario and will be touring later in the week and winding up in Niagra Falls before heading home.
I was very blessed to attend Mass this weekend at St. John the Baptist Church in Guelph. Here’s a photo prior to Mass. We heard from a Comboni Missionaries priest. Very fascinating work that he’s involved in with people in Africa.
I’ve mentioned Scepter Publishers before and want to direct your attention back to them since they’ve got a growing number of books now available as e-books.
This means they are available in the Amazon Kindle store, Barnes & Noble Nook store and iBooks. You can’t go wrong picking a title from Scepter Publishers. So if you’re looking for some good spiritual reading and want to do it on your favorite device then check it out. I’m currently reading, “The Virtues of Holiness: The Basics of Spiritual Struggle.”
This is a picture inside the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville, TN. It is one of the places I was last week. This summer has been one of the busiest in terms of travel that I can remember.
This week Cindy and I will be on the road together at the annual Farm Progress Show. It’s going to mean long days out at the show since you have to get in before the crowd and the lines start.
This week you get a picture of a church I did not attend. Instead, this is St. Therese Church, Wrightsville Beach, NC, where my wife Cindy went to Mass. She sent me the photo.
I was in Sturgis, SD, staying in an RV at the Buffalo Chip Campground for a couple days work at the annual motorcycle rally. It really is not a pleasant place to be in a lot of ways. But if you’re a motorcycle fan then you’ll never see more of them all at once in a small area.
Summer travel for work has been at a hot pace lately and so has the weather. One of the places I’ve been to in the last couple weeks was New Orleans. This is the Cathedral-Basilica St. Louis King of France New Orleans. That’s a long name!
Few cities in the world are so identified by a building as is New Orleans. The city is instantly recognized by our cathedral and its position overlooking Jackson Square. The Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis King of France is the oldest Catholic cathedral in continual use in the United States. As the caretakers of the Historic place of worship, we constantly battle the elements and the aging of the Cathedral with ongoing conservation and restoration.
The church sits right on the edge of the famous french quarter where there is a lot of partying. For those of us who have to visit for work it offers a kind of retreat from the activity that’s going on at a frantic pace every day and night.
I’m doing a lot of summer highway miles. Last week that included staying in Pontiac, IL for a couple nights for a farm tour I was working on. We visited farms that are taking part in a project to manage nutrients on their crops in order to make sure they are doing all they can to take care of the environment.
While I was in Pontiac I got to attend weekday Mass at St. Mary’s. The church is downtown and easy to find and had early morning Mass on Thursday and Friday which was perfect for my schedule. I’ll be in Nebraska and back to Illinois this week. It’s always an adventure to see where my faith takes me!
Cindy and I are thinking of going to our local Independence Day activities this evening that includes the Little River Band playing on the Missouri Capitol steps before the fireworks. That’s a great way to celebrate. But so is attending Mass!
This is a photo from our morning Mass at the Cathedral of St. Joseph. Our new Associate Pastor, Fr. Nicholas Reed, celebrated. I would give up a hundred fireworks displays and free concerts to go to just one Mass as a way to celebrate this day.
I hope everyone has a very safe and blessed celebration wherever you are.
Our Holy Father has made headlines with one tweet. And one that’s not even on his own personal Twitter account. He doesn’t have one. He did it on an iPad using the Vatican’s Twitter account. His post says, “Dear Friends, I just launched News.va Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI.” If you haven’t checked out the new Vatican website you need to. It is much improved.
My wife Cindy and I have been attending Mass this week at St. Dennis church in Madison, WI. I wish I could tell you what the sculpture in the picture is but you pass it on the way into the church. The trees are in full fall color so it was a pretty setting.
