February 11, 2024
/Thank you to all who were able to celebrate with us in person or in spirit at the Rite of Acceptance/Signation on January 28! It was an immense joy to present from our current RCIA cohort eight catechumens seeking Baptism and nine candidates seeking Confirmation. Heartfelt gratitude to the sponsors and stand-in proxies who took part in this beautifully welcoming rite that is a preparation for the Easter Vigil sacraments. As the “Welcome Home” Lenten season fast approaches, let’s more intentionally lean into the Gospel reflections on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving as we seek to follow Christ's will more faithfully with an inner conversion of the heart.
—Oriana Li Halevy
on behalf of the Intra-Community Council’s CATH-Links team
If you are interested in submitting reflections, meditations, articles, book reviews, etc., see Submit Resources for Publication for submission guidelines. We look forward to your participation!
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Artificial Intelligence and the Wisdom of the Heart: Towards a Fully Human Communication [vatican.va] Pope Francis prefaces his message for the 58th World Day of Social Communications: “The development of systems of artificial intelligence, to which I devoted my recent Message for the World Day of Peace, is radically affecting the world of information and communication, and through it, certain foundations of life in society. These changes affect everyone, not merely professionals in those fields. The rapid spread of astonishing innovations, whose workings and potential are beyond the ability of most of us to understand and appreciate, has proven both exciting and disorienting. This leads inevitably to deeper questions about the nature of human beings, our distinctiveness and the future of the species homo sapiens in the age of artificial intelligence. How can we remain fully human and guide this cultural transformation to serve a good purpose?”
RECENT NEWS
Remembering Nicholas Rescher, a Gentle Giant [firstthings.com] by John Haldane, Professor Emeritus of Moral Philosophy at the University of St. Andrews. “Nicholas Rescher, who died on January 5 at age ninety-five, was the most extensively published philosopher of the last century, with a hundred books and four hundred articles to his name … He received countless prizes and honorary degrees, yet I appreciated him especially for his example as a Christian philosopher. Working within the environment of scientific and pragmatist naturalism, Rescher was nonetheless drawn in mid-life to Roman Catholicism, entering the Church at the age of fifty-three … ‘I had to decide upon my spiritual kindred in life … and I felt drawn toward those who saw humanity as subject to transcendent aspirations and obligations—and for whom forms of worship and religious styles of thought really mattered.’”
THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION
Three Habits to Get the Most out of Lent [youtube.com] Bishop Robert Barron distills the essence of Lenten practices into three areas of concrete action. On prayer: John of Damascus described prayer in terms of raising the mind and the heart to God. We can up our game in cultivating a relationship with God by praying more intensely. On fasting: “Catholics are not Puritans and fasting has nothing to do with anti-materialist gnosticism.” However, some insistent desires within us “have to be disciplined so that the deeper hungers of the heart and the soul can emerge.” Consider fasting from social media screen time, for example. On almsgiving: Giving alms entails concrete ways to express love, the greatest of the theological virtues. Will the good of the other by helping our neighbors through any form of corporal or spiritual works of mercy.
EVENT OF INTEREST
Sarum Vespers and Benediction at Princeton University [scalafoundation.org] A solemn choral Vespers according to the medieval Use of Sarum will be held on March 1st in the beautiful neo-gothic chapel of Princeton University. “The Use of Sarum is a form of the Roman Rite, sung in Latin, that goes back to pre-Reformation England and which is rooted in the ancient worship of Salisbury Cathedral. Sarum is an archaic name for the city of Salisbury.” The service is organized by Peter Carter of the Catholic Sacred Music Project, who serves as the choir director for the Aquinas Institute of Princeton University which is hosting the event. The event, co-sponsored by the Scala Foundation, Durandus Institute, and Benedict XVI Institute, will not be live-streamed but it will be recorded. The recording will be made available.
UPCOMING CINEMATIC RELEASE
The First Must See Film of 2024: Cabrini [patheos.com] Review by Lori Twichell: “When I went to see Cabrini (Angel Studios) a few weeks ago, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was intrigued with what I had seen in the trailers, but I still didn’t know if the story would grab me or if the quality of the filmmaking would be up to par. But after the movie ended and the credits rolled, something amazing happened. The entire audience sat unmoving and completely still, watching each and every credit. You might think that was a little like watching the end of a Marvel film but let me assure you, it was not. In Marvel movies, the audiences still get buzzy. They whisper and talk about what they just saw while waiting for the various mid/post credit scenes that they have come to expect. With Cabrini, you could hear the popcorn popping in the lobby. There was no movement. Just a room of people who had shared something beautiful. Then I did something that I have never done in my entire career. I texted every friend I have at Angel Studios and told them that it would be a crime if this movie wasn’t nominated for every possible award in Hollywood. It was that good.” Reserve tickets here [atomtickets.com]
BOOK OF INTEREST
Popcorn with the Pope: A Guide to the Vatican Film List [wordonfire.org] “In 1995—one hundred years after the birth of cinema in Paris—a Vatican-appointed commission compiled a list of forty-five significant films. The entries vary widely, ranging from light-hearted favorites like The Wizard of Oz to challenging arthouse features such as The Seventh Seal. This list, released under Pope St. John Paul II, was an important milestone in the dialogue between the Church and the wider culture. Yet for many Catholics and cinephiles alike, it remains undiscovered or unclear. What was the list for? And why did the commission choose these particular titles? In this groundbreaking study, David Paul Baird, Andrew Petiprin, and Michael Ward walk readers through the entire Vatican List, film by film. The authors show that its aim was not to serve as a ‘best-ever’ register, nor as an anthology of approved works; rather, it was to guide people in an appreciation of cinema as an artistic language and a bearer of spiritual and moral messages. In addition to theologically and historically informed commentary, each chapter includes film stills, quotations, fun facts, and questions for further reflection and discussion. Elevated yet entertaining, Popcorn with the Pope is perfect for anyone interested in delving deeper into a Christian approach to movies.” - Word on Fire
