Journeys of a Catholic Poster Girl

From today’s Dispatch

For the love of all things holy! —III
NEW ALBANY SCHOOLS Religious songs pulled from concert Wednesday, December 13, 2006David Conrad THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

After pulling two religious songs from a fifth-grade holiday concert, New Albany school officials found the program a little too short for prime time.

When Silent Night and Hayo, Haya, which celebrates Hanukkah, were removed from the program, the principal moved the show from Thursday evening to the afternoon.

The district said a Jewish parent complained that Silent Night, which contains the lyrics “Christ, the savior, is born,” was included in the program.

So officials yanked the song and then pulled Hayo, Haya, which contains the lyrics, “Oh, sing our songs and praise the Torah, praise the Torah.”

“We wanted to show respect for the religious sensibilities of all students,” said Chris Briggs, principal of New Albany Intermediate Elementary School, which serves grades 4 and 5.

Briggs said that from now on, the two grades will include only cultural songs in their holiday programs.

Three nonreligious songs are left for Thursday’s concert.

The Columbus Public Schools took a similar stance a few years ago. In 2001, the district was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union after choirs sang Christian songs at two high-school commencement ceremonies.

The school system responded the next year by passing a policy that required holiday music to be “based on sound educational principles” and not “manifest in preference of religion or particular religious beliefs.”

“I think the (New Albany) school made the safest decision that it could possibly make,” said Gary Daniels, of the ACLU of Ohio. “A winter performance is a bad time to take a wrong turn from being at a choir concert to a church assembly.” (WHAT?!)

However, Daniels also said that he doesn’t believe that schools need to do away with all religious songs.

“The key issue the courts look at it is whether the purpose of the performance was to enhance a particular religious message,” he said.

“You’re not going to find a court decision that says you can’t have any religious songs. But if every song in a 10-piece holiday concert is about a certain religion, then you have a problem.”

ME: Um, we have problems with Silent Night??? LEt’s get real! When I was in high school I sang Jewish songs and I;m not Jewish! If you don’t want your kid singing Christmas songs then just tell the director and boom, your kid doesn’t sing them. Sheesh. But if they are in a choir and there is a holiday concert, chances are pretty good you’re going to be singing Christmas songs! I know there are other holidays in December. When they have as many songs written about them as Christmas, then we’ll talk. And these are little kids! Come on now. But of course, once the ACLU is involved….

I’ve always loved the feast of St. Lucy,probably because the idea of more light in December in Ohio is a great idea. Course if I wasn’t here in the resort I;d be home making my St. Lucia buns, which may be labor intensive (two risings!) and take hours to make, but they are quite yummy. Oh well, I’ll just have to make them for Christmas instead…I get my recipe out of an old American Girl cookbook, but if you want to try them I;m sure Yahoo! foods or whatever would have a recipe, or Google. Mine have raisins, yeast, and some sugar, which make them sweet although you wouldn’t expect it. I also think an egg wash is involved somehow.

Christmas questions
Stole this from Life In A Nutshell (http://lastthingonmymind.blogspot.com); also listed on the blogroll..

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? Hot chocolate, esp. since I just bought Hot Chocolate and a Hot Chocolate pot from Williams-Sonoma! (www.williams-sonoma.com)

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? That’s Mrs. Claus and the Elfettes’ job(Yes I just invented a word :))

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colored, even though I don’t have any up personally. My parents, however, have the awful retro 1970s big, colored bubls that have been in, out, and in again….

4. Do you hang mistletoe? I would if I could find some!

5. When do you put your decorations up? Thanksgiving weekend, but usually the weekend before since we’re not here Thanksgiving weekend…what can I say? I love my tree!

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? The cinnamon rolls and sausage links mom makes for Christmas morning breakfast.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Tye year I got the Care Bears kitchen set I wanted and thought I didn’t get. I had opened everything–no set. My parents had hidden it in the basement. And you know, we still have parts of it that we use to store books/videos…so it’s lasted! And Pittsburgh Christmases…see below.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I was about 8, I think…not very traumatic or anything.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Now we open one gift on Christmas Eve since I sing Midnight Mass and we all go to that. Opening one gift keeps us enteratined and hopefully awake. But when Iwas little Christmas was a three day extravaganza. We opened family gifts Dec. 22 or 23rd, went to my dad’s mom’s house to do Christmas with them in Pittsburgh (Corapolis) on Christmas Eve, where there would be great cooking in both kitchens (wish I had that now!) and we’d open gifts from my grandma and my two aunts. Then we’d head over to my mom’s parents’ in South Hills/Baldwin, where a few of my aunts still lived until they got married. We’d do presents there Christmas morning. Oh it was good times.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? My colored lights and two strands of Target garland, one gold and one white (kind of snowflakey), and, of course, my ornaments, including Glinda in her bubble, Lucy and the wardrobe, a talking Ariel, Christmas carol ornaments, etc…it’s fun!

11. Snow? Love it or Dread it? As long as I can stay inside, love it.

12. Can you ice skate? Yup, I can even do fancy stuff.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? The highlight reel: the Coach evening bag I got last year; American girl dolls (various years); the first edition Virginia Woolf diary; my Coco Mademoiselle perfume (mom got me the really good stuff, not just the eau de toilette, so I only use it very , very rarely).

14. What’s the most exciting thing about the Holidays for you? Seeing my cousins! And exchanging gifts with Tiff and Milia.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? My spicey cookies, the Snickerdoodle cake. The new chocolate chip cookies I made Sunday are good, too. I also like my St. Lucia buns, which are making a Christmas return this year,.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Singing Midnight Mass, opening gifts with my family, the Heilmann reunion.

17. What tops your tree? An angel I got from my mom.

18. Which do you prefer - giving or receiving? Both have their joys, but I really can’t wait to see Tiff, Milia and David’s reactions to their gifts this year.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? The original “have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in Judy Garland’s range! (also know as: not the really high one all the arrangers wrote so that wimpy little Sopranos could sing it. Not cool) Also: All Come, All Ye Faithful and O Holy Night.

20. Candy canes? They are enjoyable.

From Rod’s blog…

A Family Christmas, Crunchy Con Style
By Cary McMullen
cary.mcmullen@theledger.com

For all you bleary-eyed shoppers out there, here’s a story from author and blogger Rod Dreher. Before he was married, Dreher told me by phone from Dallas that he spent a Christmas in Holland visiting a family with three adult daughters, the Jeurissens.

“The family celebrated in a typically Dutch way. They got together on Christmas Eve and cooked a meal. We ate together and told stories. At midnight, they brought out gifts they had made for each other. Then we put on our coats and went to Mass, even though they were not especially religious. As an American, I was waiting for the big payoff, but that was it.

“It made a big impression on me. It was so stripped down. What mattered to them was family, and faith, too,” he said.

I called Dreher because I recently read his book, “Crunchy Cons.” (The book’s subtitle would take up the rest of this column, but the title refers to countercultural conservatives, with emphasis on the countercultural.) Dreher, himself a conservative, has written a literate and much-needed critique of how America in general and a rabidly pro-big-business Republican Party in particular reduces its citizens to nothing more than consumers or potential consumers - “the sum of our desires,” as Dreher puts it.

“We believe that modern conservatism has become too focused on material conditions, and insufficiently concerned with the character of society. The point of life is not to become a more satisfied shopper,” he writes in point two of his 10-point “Crunchy Con Manifesto.” Instead of blindly acquiescing to being regarded as walking pocketbooks, Dreher wants us to fight back. He argues for a way of life that stresses family, community, faith, simplicity, beauty and humility.

Although I didn’t agree with Dreher on some of his political and lifestyle arguments, much of what he had to say struck me as healthy skepticism and right on target. Dreher is married now and has three children under the age of 7, and I asked him how he and his wife manage to be countercultural during the holidays, the biggest assault of the year on our consumer sensibilities, with children as special targets of opportunity. He admitted it isn’t easy.

“We have a family ritual. We light an Advent candle (and) read Scripture and pray together. We do have a Christmas tree. We also made a vow not to smother the kids with presents on Christmas Day. It’s amazing to hear about people going into debt just so they can give things to their kids,” he said.

Even if couples manage to set limits on gift-giving, they may have difficulty enforcing that rule on extended family members, especially grandparents, Dreher said. Limiting the number and price of gifts goes against the ethos. It’s our culture’s everyday math: Love equals things.

“We’re told if you don’t go all out, somehow your children will think you don’t love them,” Dreher commented.

The Drehers even allow their children to be visited by Santa Claus, because they felt “we didn’t have the right” to deny their kids an experience both Rod and Julie Dreher had enjoyed themselves when young. But they play down Santa’s role in Christmas in favor of emphasizing the role of Christ, he said.

The decision to have a countercultural Christmas requires work, he went on, not just in constantly saying no but also in constructing positive alternatives.

“It’s not just joyless and grim. There’s a lot of light and color in the Christian tradition. The trick is to find a balance,” he said.

The thing that intrigues me about Dreher’s philosophy is that although he’s a former staffer for the National Review, often he doesn’t sound much like what passes for contemporary conservatism, and he describes in his book how ideological conservatives have attacked him as a closet leftist. For instance, because consumerism is driven by capitalism, Dreher is not a fan of one of capitalism’s biggest engines, advertising. Television is limited in the Dreher household.

“The media - by which I mean entertainment and advertising - are designed to separate you from your values. That makes it easier to sell to us. It’s not a grand conspiracy, but it’s true,” he said.

What Dreher commendably embraces is traditionalism. Recalling his Christmas in Holland, Dreher still expresses wonder over the gifts the Jeurissen family gave to each other. One daughter wrote a poem. Another sewed an article of clothing.

“They poured love and affection for their family into them. They took time and thought,” he said. “It was tremendously affecting to me, coming from a country where Christmas meant more, more, more.”

Cary McMullen is religion editor for The Ledger. He can be reached at cary.mcmullen@theledger.com or 863-802-7509.

Since today is her feast day, here’s some more from Amy:

Today is the feastday of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

On the morning drop-off route, I just stopped by the parish that’s the locus of the Hispanic ministry (St. Patrick’s, founded for the Irish who were working on the railroads more than a century ago. The wheel turns.). I should have put my thinking cap on last Saturday instead of yesterday - of course, as the sign told me, their major celebration was Sunday. Harrumph. They’d also evidently been having a novena that ended this morning of course - at 5:30 AM, followed by cafe y chocolate and so on. Oh well…next year, perhaps.

Some Guadalupe-related news articles, and if you like, add your own experiences of any celebrations this week:

Sancta. org is the major umbrella website devoted to Our Lady of Guadalupe.

In Houston, a story of gratitude:

The work is his pleasure. Galvan believes Our Lady kept him alive during triple bypass heart surgery a few years back. She watched over two of his sons when they served in Iraq. He believes she will continue to watch over the young men when they return to the war-torn country next year.

“This shrine,” said Galvan, 60, “represents the mother of God. She has pulled me through a lot of miracles.”

The Arizona Daily Star has an overview, with some interesting photos

Here’s kind of an odd column from the OC Register, which attempts to see the bright side. The columnist writes of an interesting parish tradition, in which a statue of Our Lady, purchased by parishioners on a road trip to TIjuana without the pastor’s knowledge, goes from house to house. A marvelous compromise! Perhaps. The columnists comments on the
“austere beauty” of the interior in which there is hardly any statuary, except in a side chapel. So, basically - the powers that be don’t want statues in the church. So, folks, keep it in your houses, okay? Ni-ice.

Oh, let’s be positive, shall we?

The AP story on the Mexico City celebration.

Chicago:

Even though the warming weather created muddy conditions at Maryville’s grass parking lot, cars continued to pour in through the evening. Organizers estimate that between 60,000 to 120,000 people will take part in the two-day celebration.

Des Plaines police had shut down Central Road at River Road starting 5 p.m. Monday to handle the crowds. It will reopen at 6 a.m. today.

“You do Maryville honor by coming here in such big crowds,” the Rev. John Smyth said in his welcome address.

At times solemn and at times festive, Mass, which began at 8 p.m., was primarily in Spanish, as the celebration is largely attended by Hispanic parishioners. The ceremony was peppered with Mexican dancing and songs.

Las Cruces:

From the Arizona Republic, the perspective of Hispanic Protestants:

Twice a day, Jose Gonzalez used to pray to the Virgin of Guadalupe. But when he turned away from Catholicism, he let her go. Now, the Phoenix pastor speaks directly to Jesus.

“Traditionally, Mexican people believe that the Virgin of Guadalupe is a mediator between God and the people,” said Gonzalez, 55, of Nuevo Nacimiento Church on 27th Avenue near Van Buren Street.

“We pray only to God, through Jesus Christ,” he said. “The Virgin of Guadalupe plays no role. Not at all.”

San Antonio, on the devotion crossing cultural lines:

The parish’s Society of Guadalupanas, a ministry promoting devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, has grown from just 12 members, mostly Hispanics, to nearly 140 men and women, almost half of whom are Anglo, the priest said.

Nick Young was devoted to the Virgin long before he came to St. Mark’s in 2001, having overcome his early skepticism about some Marian devotions.

But it was here that he first learned about Our Lady of Guadalupe.

“She has appeared in many different places, such as Lourdes and Fatima, and we have many devotions to her,” Young said. “She’s still Mary, the Mother of God. We can go to her and pray for her intercession under any of her titles.”

He said the unusually deep devotion and dedication displayed by the parish’s Guadalupanas attracted him to join the society. He said he’d never seen such devotion and reverence elsewhere.

“I’m doing OK, slowly,” Martinez said, walking stick in hand, as he looked out over Las Cruces from the heights of Tortugas Mountain.

Martinez, born in San Miguel and now 81, is in many ways the embodiment of what the annual Tortugas trek is all about — faith, sacrifice and promises to a higher power.

Monday marked yet another occasion on which Martinez climbed Tortugas Mountain, also known as “A” Mountain. He was just one of hundreds who made the trip.

For 92 years the faithful have walked from Tortugas Pueblo to the top of the mountain in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, commemorating the day in the 16th century when the Virgin Mary appeared in what is now Mexico City.

Tucson:

Heredia has led the veneration, held on the eve of Dec. 12, the feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, since she and her 84-year-old husband, Manuel, bought their now-sprawling Southwest Side home, which started out as a single-room brick dwelling more than 50 years ago.
“I have 11 children in all, and not one ended up in jail or gangs,” said Heredia. “They’ve all been so good. For all that, I thank the Virgin.”
The movie:
The movie, produced by Dos Corazons films and distributed by Slowhand Cinema, was not reviewed by major newspapers even though it was released to 150 theaters nationwide in major markets such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Dallas, Seattle and Miami.

Most of the marketing and distribution of the film was aimed at areas with high concentrations of Latinos and channeled through Spanish language radio stations and publications, said Sandra Eckardt of Sentir Marketing, a Newport Beach-based firm that promoted “Guadalupe.”

The distributors were relying on word of mouth generated through e-mails and Catholic parishes, she said.

“The core audience are the Spanish-speaking Latinos that are religious,” Eckardt said. “The movie has a lot to do with the Mexican culture and beliefs of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It has appeal to first-, second-, third- and fourth-generation Hispanics. It can help later generations tap into their culture and the way they were raised, especially from a religious standpoint.”

The content of the movie could make it a big movie here,” Carrillo said. “La Virgen is a very traditional symbol that at the same time is very contemporary and links Latinos in the United States to their culture and families in Mexico.”

Constructed with documentary style and dramatic elements, the film introduces a modern plot surrounding two Spanish siblings who travel to Mexico for a scientific exploration of the 475-year-old story of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It features some well-known Mexican actors including Eric del Castillo, Angelica Aragon and Pedro Armendariz.

The film’s website (The trailer has a very DVC feel, btw.)

From Amy:

The publication of the Motu Proprio on the part of the Pope which will liberalise the celebration of the Mass in Latin according to the missal of Saint Pius V is close` Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez, member of the Commission Ecclesia Dei which this morning met to discuss the liberalisation of the Mass in Latin confirmed this. ” We have studied the document calmly” the cardinal affirmed. ” We have discussed together for more than four hours and have made some corrections to the text of the Motu Proprio” The next move belongs to Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos ( president of the commission) who will present the text to Benedict XVI. Perhaps, added Medina, there will be another meeting of the Ecclesia Dei commission. Another member of the body, the Cardinal of Lyon, Jean Pierre Ricard did not want to make any comment, emphasising that he is “bound by the pontifical secret”

All right, this may be a little personal, but…

I have always disliked confession. I suppose that’s normal human nature, to dislike telling a total stranger what we’ve done wrong and actually having to own to it. Hence the necessity of confession for conversion and all that. But still. I have a disinclination for the sacrament. But, I went last week, since I hadn’t been in, oh 16 months.

Now here’s a question. Once you’ve confessed sins, you’re forgiven. (well, OK, once you do your penance, technically). But what if you still feel bad about it? No, I haven’t done anything bad (well,OK, that bad. Obviously it was bad if it was confessed, right?). Anyone else ever felt this way? What did you do about it?