Reflecting on the Pope Emeritus

As the Cardinals prepare for the serious duties of entering the Conclave and choosing the next Supreme Pontiff, the idea of having a new Holy Father any day now is exciting, but also has led us to reflect on the last papacy. We thank Pope Emeritus Benedict for his selfless service to the Church and pray for God’s will to be done in choosing our new Pope. Today, the Diocese of Arlington’s Communications team will reflect on the legacy of His Holiness Benedict VXI, Pope Emeritus, and relate how he personally touched our lives. Please feel free to discuss how Benedict influenced your faith in the comments below.

Seeing Benedict strolling the grounds of Castel Gandolfo makes me realize how influential he was to me as a young Catholic and how his particular style of communication compelled me to delve deeper into my faith. I had hesitations about his election; the media described him as “God’s Rottweiler,” after all. How could I connect on a personal level to someone I perceived as a staunch and rigid Cardinal; we disagreed on modern issues from rock and roll to Harry Potter! I didn’t really feel he was the right person to lead the Church during such uncertain times, especially not when the very principles of the Church were being ridiculed by society and media as bigoted and uncharitable. I thought that such a dogmatic and unyielding leader, in my opinion, couldn’t bring the Church together. Yet that was exactly what Benedict did.

Even so, I was happy to have a Pope from Germany, the country of my heritage, and it was particularly delightful to see him in Rome, where, for the first time, I began to read his writings and was amazed at his deep love and invitations to everyone from saint to sinner. Seeing him celebrate the Easter Vigil Mass after reading his encyclical Deus Caritas Est helped me to remove the beam from my own eye in order to see more clearly and without negative judgments. In his papacy, Benedict strove to connect to Catholics, especially young adults, and constantly surprised us by adopting new communications platforms like Twitter. He was one of the oldest elected Popes, but his messages weren’t outdated and his efforts were robust. Even to the end of his papacy, Benedict constantly reached out towards his Church and encouraged us through love. His papacy was, especially for me, inspiring and renewing as he guided the Church back to Christ. “Love is possible, and we are able to practise it because we are created in the image of God. To experience love and in this way to cause the light of God to enter into the world—this is the invitation I would like to extend with the present Encyclical” (Deus Caritas Est, 39).

-Kathleen Cosgrove

My clearest memory of Pope Benedict XVI is burned into my memory – partly because I was literally getting burned in the sun while waiting for a Papal Audience to begin. While I had the blessing of being able to see and hear Pope Benedict a number of times while I was in graduate school at a Pontifical University in Rome for several years, on this day I was sitting up on a dais only 15 feet from the Holy Father.

Why did I get to sit up front with the dignitaries and VIPs? Because my well-connected friend knew that on that very day my grandmother was being buried in the United States and that I was the only family member unable to be at her funeral.  You see, he knew my affection for Benedict – a wise shepherd who was like a scholarly, loving grandfather. I was continually struck by our former pope’s clarity in teaching, his obvious humility and his simple love for God and for beauty. That day I couldn’t be with my earthly family, but I felt so intimately the connection with the Church as I sat at the feet of the Holy Father.

At the end of the audience, Pope Benedict gave the audience attendees and their families a blessing. My grandmother always said that she thought that Heaven would look like St. Peter’s. But on that day, with the always sincere Pope Benedict extending his blessing to my grieving parent, siblings and cousins, St. Peter’s looked like home and the Holy Father seemed like family.
-Caitlin Bootsma

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Making Lent Real

By: Kathleen Cosgrove

Of all the Liturgical seasons, Lent can be a hard sell. During Advent, the wreaths and familiar carols draw many Catholics back to church for the nostalgia of the season. On the other hand, Lent is often the bane of Catholic children who sadly and reluctantly give up their sweets, weekday television, and video games. Even adults can find Lenten sacrifices and resolutions frustrating and hard to bear. It’s not always easy to take joy in the weeks leading up to Easter when we are reminded of our sins and asked to make atonement, and yet that is what we are called to do.

Further, modern life has become so centered on enjoyment and convenience that the meaning and purpose of fasting and making sacrifices can seem archaic. We are, after all, only human, creatures of the time, and we live in our ‘modern’ world, where life doesn’t pause for us to rest and pray.

Making small sacrifices, however, should help us focus on the many blessings we take for granted every day. Simple things like praying a decade of the rosary each day, giving up pastries, and donating a little more money during Lent shouldn’t bring us down but buoy us as we focus on God’s endless graces and mercies.

That’s why it is so important to make Lent ‘real’ by keeping reminders around to help focus your attention. You can do this by keeping a religious calendar in the center of your home, or writing Lenten verses or your own goals on notecards around the house. When I was younger, I had a hard time remembering not to eat meat on Fridays, so I make sure to keep a reminder on my fridge and phone that Fridays are meatless (This has helped a lot!). Parents often have interactive activities to help their children remember why we make sacrifices, but there’s no reason why adults shouldn’t make Lent an active experience for themselves as well. Taking even five minutes out of the day for prayer can be a challenge, so why not set an alarm or notification regularly to remind you of your ultimate desire to repent of your sins and forge a more personal relationship with Christ?

One of the best and most meaningful ways I’ve seen of making Lent ‘real’ is by using the Catholic Relief Service (CRS) Rice Bowl, a program that offers faith formation during Lent with the proceeds going to support the poor overseas and at home. It’s a great tool for children and young people, but also for adults. The Rice Bowl is a collection box for change and has spaces for you to write your own sacrifice to personalize it. It also offers facts to support you in your Lenten journey and links to provide more information and resources to continue your support throughout the year. This simple, folded paper box helps Catholics focus on true suffering and works as a visual reminder of the promises we’ve made to God and to ourselves. The kit comes with a Lenten spiritual guide with information on easy and concrete ways a small sacrifice can make real differences in the lives of those less fortunate than us. It includes five meatless recipes from countries that will receive aid from CRS along with stories of the goals that CRS has for these countries. This year, the program focuses on helping the poor in Burkina Faso, East Timor, Lesotho, the Dominican Republic, Pakistan, and the Diocese of Oakland, California. Twenty-five percent of donations is returned to help those in need in our diocese.

Don’t be discouraged or allow the minor inconveniences of sacrifice make you see Lent as time of sadness and suffering. Let’s be grateful that God has put so much into our lives and joyfully embrace our Lenten devotions. After all, our complaints ring hollow when meat or anything we can easily offer up as a small sacrifice are things people all over the world regularly go without.

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Parents: 10 Engaging Lenten activities for your Kids

By: Kathleen Cosgrove

Don’t forget, you can also take your children to The Light is On For You – either to receive the Sacrament or, if they are too young, simply to pray with you http://www.thelightison.org/

As the saying goes, time sure does fly. Lent has almost come, and it is time to reflect on our Lenten devotions and the mercy of God. For those of us with children, it can be difficult to know how to explain Lent. As adults, we are capable of understanding the suffering that Christ experienced and we spend the time between Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday thanking Christ for His sacrifice and mercy, trying to atone for our sins and following the Lenten pillars of prayer, sacrifice, and almsgiving. For children, it can be difficult or tiresome to fully understand the grave themes of Lent. Remember to teach the principles of Lent at an age-appropriate level and that children learn best when they are actively participating! Here are ten suggestions for educating your children about Lent.

1.     Making Family Sacrifices: Before Ash Wednesday, take the time to think of a family sacrifice together. It can be small, like giving up television on certain days. A group activity can introduce Lenten devotions to even small children and bring your family closer together.

2.     Encouraging Charity: Catholics sometimes forget that almsgiving is a tenet of Lent; why not encourage all your children to give a small amount to a family donation box. Choosing a charity together is another way to help them realize how important it is to give to others at a young age.

3.     Finding Role Models: Lent is the perfect time to introduce your children to the saints and their stories. It can be hard to follow through on sacrifices, but inspire your children with the great role models of the saints.

4.     Teach the Stations of the Cross: The Stations of the Cross are a popular Lenten devotion, one that can be tailored to children of all ages. You can make an age appropriate version or find resources at your church or online.

5.     Prayer Time: As a busy parent, scheduling prayer can be difficult, but Lent is the perfect way to begin. Learning how to pray with your children is rewarding and can be a habit you keep throughout the year.

6.     Read the Bible: Children’s Bibles deliver God’s Word in an interesting way so children can understand it. Don’t let your Children’s Bible be a book that remains unread.

7.     Cook Together: Lent has a rich, long tradition and history, and there are several favorite recipes to be made including hot cross buns and pretzels. Fish is traditionally cooked on Fridays in Lent, and has been for centuries. This is an especially fun way to educate and encourage kids in their Lenten devotions.

8.     Make a Lent Calendar: There aren’t many Lenten Calendars to be found when Ash Wednesday rolls around, but making one together is a creative and exciting way for kids to learn about Lent and Holy Week. Talk about the symbols of Lent and have your children draw or design them.

9.     Personalize a Game: Many games can easily have Lenten twists. Whether you play music with your kids, color together, or have a family game night, focus the game on Lent. Jelly bean games and Bingo are popular ways for kids to learn about Lent.

10.     Follow Through on Your Lenten sacrifices: The most important way you can encourage your children to have a deep faith and love of Christ is to give them a good example. Follow your own resolutions and acknowledge when you haven’t. If you have an active prayer life, your kids will follow in your footsteps.

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Do you Celebrate the Epiphany?

By: Kathleen Cosgrove

This Sunday marks the twelfth day of the Christmas season, the Solemnity of the Epiphany. To be honest, as a child I only knew this as ‘Three King’s Day,’ or ‘that other day I put my shoe out at night and get candy, toys, and saint books the next morning.’ This holy day, though, is more than just a feast day, it is a holy day of obligation (however, in some countries, such as ours, the celebration has been moved to Sunday). Epiphany means ‘manifestation’ or ‘revelation’ and marks the day that the Three Kings came to worship the newborn Christ. Pope Benedict spoke of the significance of this date, saying in his Epiphany homily of 2012, “[t]he wise men from the East lead the way. They open up the path of the Gentiles to Christ”.  What an important day this truly is! From the very beginning of his life on earth, God makes it clear that our Savior hasn’t come only for His chosen people, the Jews, but for all people.

Nevertheless, the importance of the Epiphany goes unrecognized by many of us. Since it is celebrated after Christmas and the New Year, in the midst of daily life returning to its bustling normalcy after a brief respite, the significance of this feast day can be all too easily be overlooked. This holy day needs to be recovered by Catholics as much more than just a reason for a candy-laden shoe or the last day for die-hards to take down their Christmas tree.

In other parts of the world, Epiphany has a rich tradition and is almost as joyous as Christmas. If you are Greek, you may be familiar with young men diving into freezing cold waters to retrieve a sunken crucifix in honor of Christ’s own Baptism. Eastern Orthodox churches hold Epiphany in such a high esteem that it is called the Feast of the Theophany and is the subject of parades and festivals in honor of God’s revelation to us.

This isn’t to say that you should dive into any frigid waters, but instead, that we should all try to recognize more fully the revelation of the Epiphany, one of joy and thanks to Christ. Let’s try to add a small devotion or new tradition to praise the many miraculous events that Epiphany honors. The USSCB has an Epiphany Blessing of Homes available online that would be a great way to celebrate this day. Does your family already have an Epiphany tradition? What does this day mean to you as a Catholic?

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My Cup is Overflowing with Christmas Cheer: An Advent Reflection

By: Kathleen Cosgrove

If you’re anything like me, you’re likely to have been swept up occasionally in the cheerful hubbub and joyful chaos that surrounds the Christmas season. I love planning gifts or baking German Christmas cookies in preparation for a festive party, all while singing along with my son to classic Christmas tunes. Does it get any better than watching the Grinch’s expression when he realizes that Christmas “came just the same”?

Focusing on the message of Advent, let alone Christmas, gets even more challenging when you have a little one (or ones) enthusiastically gobbling up Christmas legends and holiday cheer, eager to hear more about these mythical figures in books and on the television named Santa, Rudolph, Dominick the Donkey, Frosty, etc. Most of us fall back into the parties and movies, tastes and smells of the season quite easily and rush headlong to get our holiday shopping done as quickly as possible. So often, we rush right past the meaning of the candles in our windows or the somber readings and homilies at Mass.

Christmas, to Catholics, means joy, merriment, and pleasure in the commemoration of our Lord’s Birth, and delight in our families and traditions. But celebrating Christmas before or in place of Advent can mean that we ignore the reflection and preparation asked of us. Tradition can be reduced to mere ritual if there is no substance or meaning behind it. The season of Advent should be devoted to meditating upon the virtues of watchfulness, wonder and preparation.

Since Christmas, in its many forms, is my favorite time of year, it’s all the more important for me to adhere to the Church’s calendar and the messages of the Holy Father, and show my son the virtues of patience and obedience. Instead of singing along to Christmas songs on the radio, reading the Bible or listening to a service of lessons and carols reminds me to slow down and prepare for Christ’s birth. I enjoy these preparations because they enable me to more fully appreciate the blessings and love of Christ in my life.

Now is the time for penance and the renewal of our identities as Catholics, called to be in the world and not of the world; to recall the promises of the second coming that are in these Advent Gospels, and to renew our intent, as Catholics, to be ready and waiting for Christ when He comes. This is a serious message, and one that is almost the exact opposite of the secular visions of sugar plums, cherubic angels, and red-nosed reindeer plastered in nearly every shopping mall or public square. But Christmas, in its secular form, is like candy: too much will leave you with nothing but a twitch in your eye and a hatred of anything jolly.

The Gospel’s message of being watchful and ready, while sobering, culminates on Christmas in a celebration of joy and blessing. Celebrations are always more meaningful when we review the trials and tribulations leading up to them. This Advent, after meditating on how far we’ve come this year, how necessary God’s grace is, and how blessed we are, it’ll be that much more special to delight in the full joy of the Nativity on Christmas day.

“O come, thou Wisdom from on high,

who orderest all things mightily;

to us the path of knowledge show,

and teach us in her ways to go.”

How do you observe Advent? Do you find it challenging? Is Christmas season changed by fully observing the Advent season?

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