As a mom of a 23-year-old daughter, Elise, with Down Syndrome, your post about Max and Pia brought tears to my eyes. The simple yet profound faith of these little ones is a lesson for us all. One thing Elise has taken to doing on her own--on her way back from Communion, she stops and kisses her finger and then puts it on one of the stained-glass window images of a saint. People walking behind her have to wait a moment for this gesture of affection, but I never discourage her from doing it!
Over the years, my catechesis has developed that Baptism is about the greatest commandment: loving and being loved by God. Confirmation is about the second commandment: loving our neighbor as ourselves. The two sacraments are linked because as Jesus tells us, the second commandment is like the first, and implied by it. The point of Confirmation is to take our faith beyond the personal relationship with God into an ecclesial Communion with him and with our brothers and sisters.
The modern explanation of Confirmation, becoming and adult in the Church, works with this understanding. The mark of an adult is having responsibility to care for others. For some this is as a parent or priest, but for all Catholics being an adult in the Church means turning outward toward our neighbors. I am sure that your children will, according to God's call, be confirmed in the Holy Spirit, who is their love for their neighbor.
Today's Gospel reminds us that to enter the Kingdom of God we must be like little children:) Your family is beautiful.
I appreciate the Pillar not doing salacious hit pieces on people in the church which would have no apparent reason but to darken a person's character. However, those wondering what may be up at the Pontifical Academy for Life may want to read George Weigel's article about the The John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family which is also headed by Archbishop Paglia.
"We are assimilated to the Son in the Christian life, and that entails a kind of mystical assimilation into his passion, which we offer for the salvation of the world.
The cross finds us. And we can only pray that we’ll be prepared with a disposition of gratitude, with the sacramental imagination that assures us of our suffering’s eternal significance. With the joy for an opportunity to be more closely conformed to Christ, and the hope to perdure when we’re tempted from the narrow way."
*The cross finds us.* . . . Well said. Thanks for that. 🙏
What a happy day it will be for Max and Pia and also for Jesus :-)
I read the line about "none of us can even fly!" to my oldest son (who likes jokes, but even more, likes someone to have to explain the joke) who said expectantly "what's so funny?" and I explained "you don't have to fly to be a saint" and he said pensively "Though St Michael *did* have wings. So did Gabriel. ...And Rafael."
And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
"vocation" and "state in life" are separate things. God does have purpose for you, regardless of your state in life. And your vocation is (very likely) not limited to your state in life.
Whatever became of the internationally renowned sexual predator Fr Adam Park? Is he still assigned somewhere? Is he at some priest institution for his rehab? Why is Fr Adam Park allowed to walk around free as a bird and travel? Has the Church moved go defrock him as a lifelong sexual predator? There is no cure for this horrendous and destructive sexual behavior. Whatever happened to Fr Adam Park?
I was talking to a friend of mine who commented on the Anglican Ordinariate saying that it was meant for converts and that their children should attend the new order of the Roman Rite.
Our son Andrew is 27 and has Down Syndrome. I can promise you with all certainty, that Max and Pia will have a great mission and purpose in the Church.
I began going to daily Mass to prepare Andrew for his First Communion. I had already seen the Holy Spirit working in his life, and had come to know that God Knew Andrew and me in a very personal way by how He was acting in Andrew's life. This realization began to transform my husband and my spiritual life.
Two years later Andrew was invited to be the server at daily Mass. Many people tell me how inspiring it is to see the prayerful way he carries out his duties and the devotion with which he looks upon Our Lord during the Consecration.
Sixteen years later, he still serves every day, and also serves at most of the funerals at our parish and many others. He has a great devotion to the deceased and prays twice a day with his binder filled with holy card of the deceased. He has a great memory for dates and will often come down and tell me "Today, Uncle Nick." What a blessing it is to them to have such a faithful prayer warrior!
Of course there is much more I could say, but have no fear your little ones are needed in the church, they will bless your family with their simplicity and infused knowledge of the things that are most important. Follow them!
Many prayers for a beautiful Confirmation and First Communion for Pia and Max.
I became Catholic via the Ordinariate. If the TLM and Anglican-use rites are banned, I will be becoming Orthodox. This insanity from the Vatican would just be proof of the Pope being a literal heretic and Anathema (I don't think he is, but their actions could cross that line). This is truly insanity, and we all feel completely gaslit right now.
I will add that the novus ordo parishes are dying, and Ordinariate and TLM are busting out of the walls with young people. The average age is probaly 25. I cannot say the same of the new mass parishes.
I don’t attend TLM or watch Taylor Marshall. I just went through over a year of serious catechesis and have been studying nonstop. I go to a NO for daily mass, and the Ordinariate is technically NO.
People like you are completely out of touch. If the first encounters with Catholicism I and many other converts had experienced were at a typical NO, we never would have learned about orthodox Catholicism and wouldn’t have converted. Many NO are completely banal and outside of orthodox Christianity both in beliefs and practice. We are simply waiting for the retirees to die so we can take back over and practice correctly. Any priest under 45 will say this openly if not within earshot of older parishners, even at most Novus Ordos.
It is frustrating. I converted from Anglicanism and now am being told I should re-evaluate why I became Catholic, because I’m worried that my liturgy will be banned - just as the other traditional liturgy within the western church just was. Hmm.
This is how many in the Ordinariate feel btw. Many Catholics want to listen to the concerns of other religions but won’t heed what their fellow Catholics are concerned about. I’m 29 years old for goodness sake - I have no idea why many in the church want to basically mock me for my concerns. A healthy church would listen to people my age.
Secondly, you’re missing the main point, which is that if the faith can change this drastically, the Catholic Church is not the real church. Either it was wrong before or it is wrong now, either way the link is broken. How can you all not see your grave error here?
This is not the first time I've seen someone mulling over the purely hypothetical circumstances in which they say that they would become Orthodox, but for the first time it has reminded me particularly of an awkward conversation I once had; I knew a woman whose husband evidently had a tendency to think through worst-case scenarios and how he would react to them (the rest of the world does this on social media, but being an older gent, he simply did it out loud to his wife), and at one point when their family was awaiting results from some pending potential crisis (it turned out almost immediately afterwards that everything was fine), his first reaction to his envisioned worst-case chain of events was that he would abandon the family, which I suppose by the standards of the worldly might have been the best possible choice (start over fresh, avoid the sunk-costs fallacy, etc), but the thing is that he also had the poor taste to actually say what he was thinking out loud to his wife (women being what they are, her friends then all heard about it second-hand.) It was in essence a running away from the cross (one could not have said so to him since he was not a Christian), which one might think does not matter because it was a completely imaginary cross and he never made one move to leave; and yet by imagining it and planning to run from it and saying so, he damaged a real relationship; even if he had said nothing out loud, a firm intention of that sort has an effect on one's own heart. Proposing to leave a church is a completely different matter than proposing to abandon a family, but I think it's still a case in which imagining worst-case scenarios in advance is at minimum going to damage one's own heart, and a case in which focusing on the future rather than the present is a temptation from the evil one.
Thank you JD for sharing about your "Body of Christ" party. One of my (eight) brothers had intellectual and physical restrictions, but the heart and soul of a giant... and the biggest toothless grin you can imagine. His name was Greg. Greg taught me more about God's love than any homily or class. Because he had his priorities in this order: He knew when to say I love you, thank you, I'm sorry, and can I help you? Years later, after he has gone home to the Father, I realize I lived with a saint. I hope you will find the same thing with Max and Pia. May they be the gift that keeps giving in your family. Not without cost, as you know better than I do. But I love when parents like yourself share the unique gifts of their children, especially in these days when the value of life is questioned and threatened at every stage. BTW, saw a great movie this weekend on YOUTUBE... it's an oldie but full of life lessons for parents/called Heaven Only Knows. Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJ7jw9E0sro
As a mom of a 23-year-old daughter, Elise, with Down Syndrome, your post about Max and Pia brought tears to my eyes. The simple yet profound faith of these little ones is a lesson for us all. One thing Elise has taken to doing on her own--on her way back from Communion, she stops and kisses her finger and then puts it on one of the stained-glass window images of a saint. People walking behind her have to wait a moment for this gesture of affection, but I never discourage her from doing it!
beautiful.
Would that we all had the faith and joy of your children. God bless you all, and have a wonderful Body of Christ party!
Grateful for the tidbit on the Pontifical Academy, has been helpful in understanding that whole thing.
Great work this week!
❤️ the children of the Pillar Podcasters.
Thank you for that meditation on Confirmation.
Over the years, my catechesis has developed that Baptism is about the greatest commandment: loving and being loved by God. Confirmation is about the second commandment: loving our neighbor as ourselves. The two sacraments are linked because as Jesus tells us, the second commandment is like the first, and implied by it. The point of Confirmation is to take our faith beyond the personal relationship with God into an ecclesial Communion with him and with our brothers and sisters.
The modern explanation of Confirmation, becoming and adult in the Church, works with this understanding. The mark of an adult is having responsibility to care for others. For some this is as a parent or priest, but for all Catholics being an adult in the Church means turning outward toward our neighbors. I am sure that your children will, according to God's call, be confirmed in the Holy Spirit, who is their love for their neighbor.
Today's Gospel reminds us that to enter the Kingdom of God we must be like little children:) Your family is beautiful.
I appreciate the Pillar not doing salacious hit pieces on people in the church which would have no apparent reason but to darken a person's character. However, those wondering what may be up at the Pontifical Academy for Life may want to read George Weigel's article about the The John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family which is also headed by Archbishop Paglia.
https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2019/07/29/the-vandals-sack-rome-again/
"We are assimilated to the Son in the Christian life, and that entails a kind of mystical assimilation into his passion, which we offer for the salvation of the world.
The cross finds us. And we can only pray that we’ll be prepared with a disposition of gratitude, with the sacramental imagination that assures us of our suffering’s eternal significance. With the joy for an opportunity to be more closely conformed to Christ, and the hope to perdure when we’re tempted from the narrow way."
*The cross finds us.* . . . Well said. Thanks for that. 🙏
What a happy day it will be for Max and Pia and also for Jesus :-)
I read the line about "none of us can even fly!" to my oldest son (who likes jokes, but even more, likes someone to have to explain the joke) who said expectantly "what's so funny?" and I explained "you don't have to fly to be a saint" and he said pensively "Though St Michael *did* have wings. So did Gabriel. ...And Rafael."
Matthew 18:2-5
And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
God has blessed you with two saints in residence.
"vocation" and "state in life" are separate things. God does have purpose for you, regardless of your state in life. And your vocation is (very likely) not limited to your state in life.
Congrats to your kids. What a happy occasion!
Whatever became of the internationally renowned sexual predator Fr Adam Park? Is he still assigned somewhere? Is he at some priest institution for his rehab? Why is Fr Adam Park allowed to walk around free as a bird and travel? Has the Church moved go defrock him as a lifelong sexual predator? There is no cure for this horrendous and destructive sexual behavior. Whatever happened to Fr Adam Park?
I was talking to a friend of mine who commented on the Anglican Ordinariate saying that it was meant for converts and that their children should attend the new order of the Roman Rite.
Dear JD,
Our son Andrew is 27 and has Down Syndrome. I can promise you with all certainty, that Max and Pia will have a great mission and purpose in the Church.
I began going to daily Mass to prepare Andrew for his First Communion. I had already seen the Holy Spirit working in his life, and had come to know that God Knew Andrew and me in a very personal way by how He was acting in Andrew's life. This realization began to transform my husband and my spiritual life.
Two years later Andrew was invited to be the server at daily Mass. Many people tell me how inspiring it is to see the prayerful way he carries out his duties and the devotion with which he looks upon Our Lord during the Consecration.
Sixteen years later, he still serves every day, and also serves at most of the funerals at our parish and many others. He has a great devotion to the deceased and prays twice a day with his binder filled with holy card of the deceased. He has a great memory for dates and will often come down and tell me "Today, Uncle Nick." What a blessing it is to them to have such a faithful prayer warrior!
Of course there is much more I could say, but have no fear your little ones are needed in the church, they will bless your family with their simplicity and infused knowledge of the things that are most important. Follow them!
Many prayers for a beautiful Confirmation and First Communion for Pia and Max.
God's blessings to your family,
Teresa
I became Catholic via the Ordinariate. If the TLM and Anglican-use rites are banned, I will be becoming Orthodox. This insanity from the Vatican would just be proof of the Pope being a literal heretic and Anathema (I don't think he is, but their actions could cross that line). This is truly insanity, and we all feel completely gaslit right now.
I will add that the novus ordo parishes are dying, and Ordinariate and TLM are busting out of the walls with young people. The average age is probaly 25. I cannot say the same of the new mass parishes.
This attitude is pure gaslighting.
I don’t attend TLM or watch Taylor Marshall. I just went through over a year of serious catechesis and have been studying nonstop. I go to a NO for daily mass, and the Ordinariate is technically NO.
People like you are completely out of touch. If the first encounters with Catholicism I and many other converts had experienced were at a typical NO, we never would have learned about orthodox Catholicism and wouldn’t have converted. Many NO are completely banal and outside of orthodox Christianity both in beliefs and practice. We are simply waiting for the retirees to die so we can take back over and practice correctly. Any priest under 45 will say this openly if not within earshot of older parishners, even at most Novus Ordos.
Brothers, please let me remind you that The Pillar’s only comment policy is Christian charity.
Let’s have meaningful, important, and interesting exchanges of opinion, but let’s do it with love, gentleness, kindness, and mutual respect.
I am sorry
We’ve all been there. Me, pretty often.
It is frustrating. I converted from Anglicanism and now am being told I should re-evaluate why I became Catholic, because I’m worried that my liturgy will be banned - just as the other traditional liturgy within the western church just was. Hmm.
This is how many in the Ordinariate feel btw. Many Catholics want to listen to the concerns of other religions but won’t heed what their fellow Catholics are concerned about. I’m 29 years old for goodness sake - I have no idea why many in the church want to basically mock me for my concerns. A healthy church would listen to people my age.
Sorry to rant.
Secondly, you’re missing the main point, which is that if the faith can change this drastically, the Catholic Church is not the real church. Either it was wrong before or it is wrong now, either way the link is broken. How can you all not see your grave error here?
This is not the first time I've seen someone mulling over the purely hypothetical circumstances in which they say that they would become Orthodox, but for the first time it has reminded me particularly of an awkward conversation I once had; I knew a woman whose husband evidently had a tendency to think through worst-case scenarios and how he would react to them (the rest of the world does this on social media, but being an older gent, he simply did it out loud to his wife), and at one point when their family was awaiting results from some pending potential crisis (it turned out almost immediately afterwards that everything was fine), his first reaction to his envisioned worst-case chain of events was that he would abandon the family, which I suppose by the standards of the worldly might have been the best possible choice (start over fresh, avoid the sunk-costs fallacy, etc), but the thing is that he also had the poor taste to actually say what he was thinking out loud to his wife (women being what they are, her friends then all heard about it second-hand.) It was in essence a running away from the cross (one could not have said so to him since he was not a Christian), which one might think does not matter because it was a completely imaginary cross and he never made one move to leave; and yet by imagining it and planning to run from it and saying so, he damaged a real relationship; even if he had said nothing out loud, a firm intention of that sort has an effect on one's own heart. Proposing to leave a church is a completely different matter than proposing to abandon a family, but I think it's still a case in which imagining worst-case scenarios in advance is at minimum going to damage one's own heart, and a case in which focusing on the future rather than the present is a temptation from the evil one.
Thank you JD for sharing about your "Body of Christ" party. One of my (eight) brothers had intellectual and physical restrictions, but the heart and soul of a giant... and the biggest toothless grin you can imagine. His name was Greg. Greg taught me more about God's love than any homily or class. Because he had his priorities in this order: He knew when to say I love you, thank you, I'm sorry, and can I help you? Years later, after he has gone home to the Father, I realize I lived with a saint. I hope you will find the same thing with Max and Pia. May they be the gift that keeps giving in your family. Not without cost, as you know better than I do. But I love when parents like yourself share the unique gifts of their children, especially in these days when the value of life is questioned and threatened at every stage. BTW, saw a great movie this weekend on YOUTUBE... it's an oldie but full of life lessons for parents/called Heaven Only Knows. Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJ7jw9E0sro