This past Thursday, I celebrated Mass with a couple of my friends, but with a twist. A couple twists, actually. The priest decided that he wanted to practice the new translation of the Roman missal that are being implemented at the start of Advent. So we all got cards to help us follow along with the responses and prayers. To those who do not know (and to those who do)-there is a new translation from Latin to English for the...
Ten years ago, I sat in Spanish class watching as the Twin Towers collapsed. While that day and the days that followed were a whirlwind of emotions, the images of destruction from the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and United 93 remain seared into my conscience. 3000 lives were lost that day and countless more were affected by the violence and hatred at the hands of a few. Being from Los Angeles, I did not personally know anyone who died that...
On August 3, 2011, I will be officially closer to the age of 50 than the day I was born. The athletes I root for are younger than me. The supermodels I admire are younger (and still more attractive) than me. And worst of all, my students think The Lord of the Rings film trilogy is old. I feel like I am having a quarter-life crisis (that might be the most “emo” thing I ever wrote) But before I purchase...
Considering that the eighth and supposedly final of the movies comes out TONIGHT, it is altogether fitting to give a tribute to J.K. Rowling’s masterpiece, the Harry Potter series. Having inspired millions of Muggles (non-magical folk) to put down the remote and spark their imaginations, Potter deserves to be a literary and- on a lesser scale-a cinematic icon. In 8th grade, the only things that I read were the articles on the Lakers and Dodgers in the Los Angeles Times....
Like Palm Sunday, we as Catholics read and re-live the Passion of the Christ on Good Friday. I have found it to be a helpful and prayerful practice to insert myself into the story. How I would I act and react if I was there? Would I be like… 1. Mary: The Faithful, Obedient, and Loving Mother who witnessed The Birth and stayed until the End 2. John: The Beloved Disciple who was there until the end standing at the...
“…you ought to wash another’s feet.” -John 13:14 In this Gospel reading on Holy Thursday, we are reminded of Jesus’ final wishes for us. To celebrate His Body and Blood in memory of him. To love one another as he has loved us. To wash each other’s feet. We may cringe at this command for two reasons: 1) Feet smell. Feet are dirty. Feet may have warts. Why would I want to wash other feet? 2) Feet smell. Feet are...
150 years ago on this date, Confederate soldiers attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, thus starting the conflict known as the U.S. Civil War. Despite the pleas and protests of many, a war broke out sown from the seeds of discord and hatred. In the next four years, more Americans died in battle than all Americans who died in World War I and World II combined. More Americans died for what they believed in- whether it was for the preservation...
A “Small” Insight into the Passion of Our Lord Amidst all the pastoral and administrative duties that he is in charge of, Pope Benedict XVI found some time to impart a theological duty as well. In writing Jesus of Nazareth-Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection, Benedict XVI continues his personal-and yet communal- reflection and journey on the Lord. This work is a follow up to the 2005 Jesus of Nazareth: Baptism to Transfiguration, which was an...
This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, thus beginning the season of Lent. Before you start moaning and groaning about how we have to get a smudge on our forehead or how we are to not eat meat on Fridays, let us take some time to reflect on this opportunity for growth as a more faithful, charitable, and loving human being. Scripture teaches us that there are times to put away “childish things” (1 Cor. 13:11) and these upcoming 40 days offer...
“Because I Have a Voice…” The time of artistic and cinematic elitism-bordering on snobbishness-is arriving on Sunday February 27. Well and terribly dressed men and women will step out of their limos. Lights will flash. Screams of joy and questions rise to the air to create a cacophony of sound. Then everyone will sit down for a night of gratitude, graciousness, and glamour. Yes-the Oscars are coming. In 2009, I proclaimed that I would stop caring about the Academy Awards when “The Dark Knight” was...
