It's Catholic Coffee Break Friday!
I recently published a new book on Near Death Experiences from a Catholic perspective, and I've been busy. I've never really one of my books explode like this before. It's been good, but a bit nuts.
I've got a big announcement. Check it out at the end. It's pretty exciting.
Also, Happy Feast of St. Norbert! More on him below ... Plus, the Solemnity of Pentecost is Sunday!
Here are the 5 or so coolest Catholic things I learned/enjoyed/discovered since our last coffee break ...
1. Quotes I'm mulling over about obedience ...
I recently had an opportunity for obedience, which has never been an "easy" virtue for me. Here are some amazing quotes on holy obedience:
Obedience is a virtue of so excellent a nature, that Our Lord was pleased to mark its observance upon the whole course of His life; thus He often says, He did not come to do His Own will, but that of His Heavenly Father.
- St. Francis de Sales
A single instant passed under simple obedience is immeasurably more valuable in the sight of God than an entire day spent in the most sublime contemplation.
- St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi
And again from St. Francis de Sales: “The Devil doesn’t fear austerity but holy obedience.”
I've also been assembling a Catholic Quote Index. It's called a quote rolodex, because it's organized by category.
2. Thing I've been pestering Pope Leo about ...
On June 14, 1892, Pope Leo XIII wrote an Apostolic letter on the Holy Family, Breve Neminem fugit, declaring the Feast of the Holy Family and elevating St. Joseph's feast day to a solemnity:
When God in his mercy determined to accomplish the work of man’s renewal, which same had so many long ages awaited, he appointed and ordained this work on such wise that its very beginning might shew to the world the august spectacle of a Family which was known to be divinely constituted; that therein all men might behold a perfect model, as well of domestic life as of every virtue and pattern of holiness: for such indeed was the Holy Family of Nazareth.
Now, it's time for Pope Leo XIV to pull a Pope Leo XIII and declare a Year of the Holy Family. Fr. Calloway and I are also about to publish 33 Days to the Holy Family, a consecration to the Holy Family. So, I'm writing the Holy Father weekly letters to ask him for this. I'm adding a little something extra to the letters, too. I'll tell you about that later and let you know how it goes :)
Feel free to share and post the image below:
3. Pope Leo homily I'm reading ...
It seems like Pope Leo is very close to declaring a year of the Holy Family. This past Sunday, the pope gave the following homily for the Jubilee of Families 😄, Children, Grandparents, and the Elderly on St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican (read the full transcript here):
Dear friends, if we love one another in this way, grounded in Christ, who is “the Alpha and the Omega,” “the beginning and the end” (cf. Rev 22:13), we will be a sign of peace for everyone, in society and the world. Let us not forget: families are the cradle of the future of humanity.
In recent decades, we have received a sign that fills us with joy but also makes us think. It is the fact that several spouses have been beatified and canonized, not separately, but as married couples. I think of Louis and Zélie Martin, the parents of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus; and of Blessed Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi, who raised a family in Rome in the last century. And let us not forget the Ulma family from Poland: parents and children, united in love and martyrdom. I said that this is a sign that makes us think. By pointing to them as exemplary witnesses of married life, the Church tells us that today’s world needs the marriage covenant in order to know and accept God’s love and to defeat, thanks to its unifying and reconciling power, the forces that break down relationships and societies.
For this reason, with a heart filled with gratitude and hope, I would remind all married couples that marriage is not an ideal but the measure of true love between a man and a woman: a love that is total, faithful and fruitful (cf. SAINT PAUL VI, Humanae Vitae, 9). This love makes you one flesh and enables you, in the image of God, to bestow the gift of life.
What other "exemplary witnesses of married life" could we point to? The Holy Family is coming ...
4. Catholic resource that I'm always using ...
New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia - I'm sure you all have used this before. It has a huge number of in-depth entries. It also has the entire Summa Theologiae, completely searchable. I've been using this resource a lot recently, because I have a big, new writing project (yes, another project).
I got an idea 10 years ago, and I've been plugging away at it steadily ever since. Well, it's more like I've been hitting my head against a wall for 10 years. Until last week!
This project is called Catholic Quiz Bowl or "The Bishop's Cup". It's about competitive, intellectual formation for high school and middle school. I played A LOT of quiz bowl growing up and even into college. I've written for all the different question companies, even Jeopardy! I was even on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? But, I began to notice over the years how woke the questions had become. In the quiz bowl world, there's even a canon of acceptable or ask-able questions -- it is not a Catholic canon. I'm going to change this.
My own diocese is finally hosting the first Bishop's Cup this year! In the next years, we are inviting other dioceses to join us. Each diocese will then bring its champions to the National Catholic Quiz Bowl Tournament. We will probably host this at EWTN headquarters, so the tournament can be televised. Exciting stuff! Stay tuned ...
5. Saint I'm celebrating today ... St. Norbert
St. Norbert inspires me to be better about praying the Divine Office! Pre-conversion, St. Norbert wasn't exactly what you would call "pious." He was a kind of ordained man called a canon, like a sub-deacon. As a canon, he received a salary for just praying the Divine Office each day. He found a way to outsource this and increase his income! He paid someone to take his place praying the Divine Office each day and moved to the court of the Prince-Archbishop of Cologne. He quickly advanced and became a member of the court of Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, where he was put in charge of distributing the royal alms. Does this remind you of Judas? That was the path he was heading down, until ...
He was literally struck by lightning! And, he had a near-death experience!
Want to read more? Here's a really good write-up about St. Norbert.
Hope you enjoyed all that! Please drop me a line and let me know if anything moved you. Thanks for all your emails so far!
In Christ through Mary & Joseph,
Scott
⏬⏬🤯😁👍⏬⏬
P.S. I've been working as a producer on another secret project that's about ready for launch. It's about Venerable Aloysius Schwartz, the founder of the World Villages for Children. Here's the link to the preview. Very excited to share this one with you!
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