Call To Holiness - Writings from a Catholic in Virginia

Pope John Paul II Cultural Center SOLD!!!

August 3, 2011 by John Clem 3 Comments

Pope John Paul II Cultural Center

I am very please to report that Knights of Columbus announced this evening that they will be purchasing The Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C. They will continue the mission and message of Blessed John Paul II, and continue the work of the this great Catholic Museum located next to Catholic University of America. My prayers have been answered that a good steward would be found for this fine institution.

The Knights of Columbus have accomplished many great works for the Catholic Church and charitable work throughout the world. In the past year, they helped finance the new vatican news website, and gave to charitable causes with $154 million and over 70 million man-hours. They also are financing much of the upcoming World Youth Day in Spain.

Knights of Columbus

Website for Pope John Paul II Cultural Center

Previous Blog about my visit to the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center

New Vatican News Website

2011 World Youth Day

UPDATE (August 3, 2012):

The Knights of Columbus announced the plans to build a Shrine to Blessed John Paul II on the grounds of the present Cultural Center:

website with updated announcement

Prayers in Time of Need

July 22, 2011 by John Clem Leave a Comment

(Photo by Wathiq Khuzaie)

We are facing times in need of prayer. Our community and nation are currently facing tremendous challenges with financial burdens, and wartime, with stress to our American values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I am worried about our social network that was first envisioned by FDR with Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

I am a social worker who helps support those with developmental and intellectual disabilities for The Arc of the Piedmont. The United States started the system of Medicaid to help serve the poor and disabled in this country in 1965. It is the primary funding to help support people with disabilities with half funded federally and half funded by the state. When it was started there were 8 workers helping to support each person in the system, and today there are only 3 people to support each person. This is clearly a system that will go bankrupt without some new ideas, but I am frustrated that I see no ideas proposed to fix the system or get a new system. Medicaid already offers minimal services to its beneficiaries and to cut its budget means the poor and disabled will be hurt.

Perhaps prayer may offer some way that we can find guidance through God for answers to help the poor and disabled in America and around the world. I always try to keep the priorities in life by remembering The Beatitudes from Jesus’ Sermon on The Mount from the Gospel of Matthew:

Blessed Are:

the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy
the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

I would like to suggest a very fine prayer inspired by Saint Francis when you are in time of need:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen. (Sarah McLachlan sings this prayer below)

My cousin, Monsignor Charles Pope, spoke at the White House five years ago during National Prayer Day. He urged the importance of prayer, and I urge you to view his speech in the You Tube video in his recent blog with the Archdiocese of Washington.

Archdiocese of Washington Blog–The Saving Power of Prayer

I recently wrote about my favorite prayer–The Rosary, in a recent posting

God Bless,

John

Hunger & Charity in Our Community

July 8, 2011 by John Clem Leave a Comment

It is a time of great hunger and difficulties for the poor and middle class in our community with the rising costs of energy, housing, and food. Our local food banks have been seeing a rise in the demand for food from Charlottesville and surrounding areas.

The cost of food have driven many to ask our local food banks for more to feed their families. Corn has soared 52% the past 12 months. Sugar’s up 60%. Soybeans have jumped 41%. And wheat costs 24% more than it did a year ago.

The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank currently serves 145,000 people in our area each year. Right now, one in ten people in our community do not know where they will get their next meal. The Blue Ridge Area Food bank did a detailed study in 2010 and found the following:

• 43% of the members of households served by The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, Inc are children under 18 years old.

• 11% of the members of households are children age 0 to 5 years.

• 7% of the members of households are elderly.

• About 68% of clients are non-Hispanic white, 24% are non-Hispanic black, 5% are Hispanic, and the rest are from other racial groups.

• 43% of households include at least one employed adult.

• 74% have incomes below the federal poverty level.

• 6% are homeless.

On the weekend of June 18-19, at local area grocery stores, The Church of the Incarnation in cooperation with area volunteers and Boy Scouts, helped collect over 12,ooo pounds of food and over $3,000 for the Emergency Food Bank and the parish food ministry. This represents 20% of the food distributed in a year from the Emergency Food Bank who provides a 3-day supply of nutritional meals to individuals and families in need. The Emergency Food Bank provides meals to the Bright Stars children’s program as well as the PACEM program for the homeless. A big thanks goes to Patrick Cottrell and his family who helped organize this food drive.

The Church of the Incarnation started a Food Assistance Program to help serve Hispanic families, and is now going to expand this program to anyone in need. This is a wonderful program that is supported by donations from individuals and local farmers who help supply produce, groceries, and funding. If you are interested in volunteering or donating to this program, or know someone in need, please contact the Coordinator for Justice and Charity, Kristen Schenk at (434) 973-4381.

NBC produced an informative report about childhood hunger following is Part 1 of 3 of this report:

Please consider helping our local food banks through your kind donations of time, money, and prayers. Any contribution you make can be a BIG help:

Blue Ridge Area Food Bank

Emergency Food Bank of Charlottesville/Albemarle

Church of the Incarnation–Justice & Charity

The Church and New Media

July 7, 2011 by John Clem 3 Comments

There is a fantastic new book coming out called The Church and New Media by Brandon Vogt. Brandon Vogt is a Catholic blogger himself who writes the blog called The Thin Veil. He has gotten many prominent people working in Catholic new media using blogs, Twitter, You Tube, television, and websites to contribute chapters. There are eleven authors of chapters in the book including SQPN’s Lisa Hendey, Word on Fire’s Fr. Robert Barron, Catholic TV’s Scot Landry, and media spokesperson Shawn Carney.

The content of this book is meant to help Christians to reach out with this new media and to educate and inspire. The chapters look to have good tools and ideas for authors and producers: Lisa Hendey writes: That They May Be One: Cultivating Online Community, Fr. Barron writes: The Virtual Areopagus: Digital Dialogue with the Unchurched, and Shawn Carney writes: Moving Mountains: Building a Digital Movement. This book will be coming out soon and is currently taking pre-orders (links below).

The Church and New Media

The Thin Veil

Thanks also to Waldo for adding my blog to C-ville Blogs

God Bless,

John Clem

www.calltoholiness.us

Great Day – Great Inspirational Music

June 26, 2011 by John Clem Leave a Comment

It is time to add some great music to this blog. I wanted to share some of the music that I find most inspiring. I am blessed to have a musician in my family–my brother Mike is a talented performer who plays guitar, bass, mandolin, and harmonica. He is in a number of bands, but Eddie From Ohio (EFO) is the band that is one of the most inspiring. They play a variety of styles of music with some being religious, but many are secular and they have been touring the United States since 1991. Eddie From Ohio is also a very charitable band and they have helped many with their music and deeds.

One of my favorite songs is called Great Day written by EFO singer Julie Murphy Wells. Julie has been involved with raising awareness of diabetes and breast cancer due to her personal experiences–link to article below. Following is from the Philadelphia Folk Festival:

EFO member, Robbie Shaefer, wrote a beautiful song about Jerusalem after a visit to the Holy Land. I think about this song often and pray for peace in this time of turmoil in the Jerusalem. Robbie also has a wonderful charity called One Voice to help children in Africa with music with a link below. Here is a live performance of Jerusalem by EFO from Evanston, Illinois:

Here is a great song called Walk Humbly Son by Eddie from Ohio written by my brother. It was used as a song of remembrance during the Virginia Tech Tragedy–April 16, 2007.

I do love good gospel music and just wanted to add a couple of my favorites, including Oh Happy Day by Edwin Hawkins:

A great gospel song called Souled Out by Rev. Hezekiah Walker:

Here’s a rockin’ gospel song called Awesome God by Fred Hammond:

Here Odetta sings Glory Halleleja in 2008:

Thanks goes to my friend, Nancy, for pointing me to this great R&B song called Sinners Prayer by Ray Charles with BB King:

I also love Bluegrass music and here is a great gospel song from a long-gone Virginia band called Magraw Gap with the song Men of God:

I wish I could add more music, but will wait for another blog to add more at a later date. Do you have any inspirational music to share?

LINKS:

Eddie From Ohio website

Article about Julie Murphy Wells in I am Modern E-Zine

One Voice

Walk Humbly Son–Virginia Tech Magazine

Into Great Silence

June 19, 2011 by John Clem Leave a Comment

Movie: Into Great Silence

Into Great Silence (2005) is a movie by Philip Groening that has gained many acclaims including winning the Sundance Film Festival, and European Film Awards for best documentary. This movie is about the Carthusian order of monks who were founded in 1084 by Saint Bruno of Cologne. The last time that these monk allowed any visitor was around 1960, and director Philip Groenig was finally granted permission after many inquiries to come film the monks during a year’s period. The Carthusian order of monks follow a contemplative life of prayer, and a simple life of labor, faith, fasting, and silence. Watching this movie brings one into the life of these monks, and with the silence and beautiful Gregorian chanting also moves one into contemplative prayer. Philip Groening made this film at the Mother House of the Carthusian Order in the French Alps where the monks provide for themselves all there needs with shared labors, and producing the famous Chartreuse liqueur. This is a great documentary and I highly recommend you put this in your movie queue. I have added links at the bottom about this movie.

Into Great Silence has sparked more interest in the monastic life and there is a now some growth happening in orders around the globe. The Monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel are a new and growing order of Carmelite monks founded in 2003 in the mountains of Wyoming. According to their website, “their life is characterized by dedicated prayer and selfless penance, manual labor and a joyful communal way of life much like what you read in the life of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, the “Little Flower”.” These monks live a devout life and labor to make some of the finest coffee called Mystic Monk Coffee. My friend, Michael Ray, is an architect working with McCrery Architects and helping to design a beautiful gothic monastery and church for this growing order of monks. Michael was also inspired by Into Great Silence and modeled the new monastery on the architecture of the Grand Chartreuse Monastery. Please check out the links below and consider buying some great coffee or making a donation to help with their building campaign.

Carmelite Monastery in Wyoming

Here in Virginia, a Dominican order is about to build a new priory next to the University of Virginia for its growing group of men. Unlike monks, the Dominican Friars live a life in the community through pastoral care, and preaching, but also live a life of contemplative prayer, and take a vow of poverty. The Dominicans have been serving Charlottesville and Central Virginia for over 50 years, and because they are a growing order they need a new facility to meet their needs. They are currently trying to raise 5.9 million dollars for this facility and could use your donations and prayers for this worthy project. A wonderful website has been set up for this Priory and also has more information about the Dominican Order and videos about the project (below).

Saint Thomas Aquinas Priory

In Crozet, Virginia, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, sits a beautiful Trappist Monastery of sisters devoted to simple life of prayer and faith. “In this setting, the School of Love continues to flourish. Here modern women learn to follow Jesus in self-gift for the glory of God and the salvation of the world he loves so much.” (from their website) Our Lady of the Angels Monastery, founded in 1987, offers retreats for surrounding parishes in the rustic cabins that originally was housing for the nuns until their new facility was built a few years ago. The nuns are also famous for the delicious gouda cheese they make to help sustain their way of life. I encourage you to look at their wonderful new website and help them by purchasing some excellent gouda cheese made in the Dutch tradition (link below).

Gouda Cheese Making at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery

Do you have any stories of inspiration to share about monastic life of monks, friars, or nuns near you?

LINKS:

Into Great Silence – Official Trailer

Into Great Silence – Official Website

The New Mount Carmel of America

Mystic Monk Coffee

Saint Tomas Aquinas Priory

Our Lady of the Angels Monastery

Please Pray for the Saint Thomas Aquinas Priory in Charlottesville, Virginia

The Catholicism Project

June 13, 2011 by John Clem 1 Comment

Pentacost

“Happy Birthday” is how my pastor, Fr. Gregory Kandt, greeted us this Pentecost Sunday. It is indeed the birthday of the church when the Holy Spirit came down upon the Apostles which began their mission to preach the good news to many nations. The Apostles were given a gift to help share their wonderful faith with others, and today I want to share a wonderful gift to help others discover or deepen their faith in Christ.

Father Robert Barron, is a teacher and theologian, who has been working on one of the greatest projects that will help to educate and inspire those about the Catholic faith. The Catholicism Project is a video project of the highest production quality that is available as a high-definition DVD collection and available to parishes with teaching materials this coming August. Father Barron has been working on this project for four years by taking many pilgrimages to sites around the world that tell the rich history of the Catholic Faith through art, architecture, people, saints, and cultures. I urge you to get this video series for your family or parish, and it will be something you will want to watch more than once.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan has compared Father Barron to one of the first apostles of Catholic new media–Archbishop Fulton Sheen. Archbishop Dolan said, “We were so proud of Fulton Sheen because he embodied the truth, the beauty, the light, the warmth of Catholicism. He was able to present the timeless truths of our beloved Catholic faith in a very timely manner and able to tie in art, architecture, news, humor, sports and you name it – to bring that to bear in the Gospel, and the teaching of Jesus and his Church. He did it in a dynamite way. I think we’ve got a winner in Fr. Bob Barron. He speaks with that same eloquence and that same pizazz and same conviction.” Father Barron is the modern day Fulton Sheen, and I encourage you to look at the video link below, and hope you will be inspired to get this video series and share it with others. What a great gift Father Barron had given to the church. Father Barron also writes a very good Blog that I highly recommend and has his writings, sermons, and videos with the link below.

Are there any bloggers that inspire you that you would like to share in this forum?

The Catholicism Project You Tube Video–extended version

The Catholicism Project Overview

The Catholicism Project (Pre-Order for August 2011)

Word On Fire Blog and Website

iRosary App–My Favorite Prayer

June 6, 2011 by John Clem 1 Comment

iRosary App

The prayer of the Holy Rosary was inspired by an apparition of Mother Mary to Saint Dominic in the year 1214. Mary has appeared to many other saints over history to emphasize the importance of this prayer including the children of Fatima in 1917, and with Jesus appearing to Saint Faustina in 1935. Blessed Pope John Paul II has said that the Rosary was his favorite prayer, and added the wonderful Luminous Mysteries to the Rosary in 2002.

I would like to recommend a great App to say the Rosary and to help give deeper meaning to this prayer. iRosary is a wonderfully programmed App that offers the prayers of the Rosary with inspiring artwork that was recently updated (version 3.0) for high definition of the iPad and retina display of the iPhone. This App is a wonderful teaching tool for children and adults, and you may like it so much that it will become a regular part of your prayer life.

The creators of iRosary, were inspired to program this App when their 6-year old daughter was diagnosed with the blood cancer–leukemia. Their daughter received 7-months of medical treatments and lots of prayer from family and friends in 2008. The Brown family believes that through the power of praying the Rosary, their daughter is now free of cancer, and blessed them to make this beautiful prayer of the Rosary for the iPhone, iTouch, and iPad. It is a universal App that is reasonably priced at $2.99.

iRosary offers all 20 Mysteries of the Rosary, and one has the option to turn on/off the Luminous Mysteries for those wanting a traditional 15 Mysteries. iRosary offers many styles of beads and can be operated for left or right hand manipulation of the beads. iRosary also offers the user many types of ways to say the Rosary with variations for the Fatima Prayer, Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and the Lorreto Litanies. The App will also remember where you left off if you are interrupted during your prayers.

I would also like to recommend the book, The Rosary: “The Little Summa” 3rd Edition, from Aquinas Press, which helps to give you a deeper understanding of the Rosary. The author, Robert Feeney, has written a wonderful book about the complete history of the Holy Rosary, and offers chapters to better understand the Mysteries of the Rosary. This book also has endorsements from many prominent Catholics including, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, and Bishop Paul Loverde.

The Rosary: The Little Summa by Robert Feeney

Do you have any inspiring Apps or books to share in this blog?

LINKS

iRosary–Opicury Software

The Rosary: “The Little Summa” (Amazon.com)

“Eyes Wide Open” on Memorial Day

May 29, 2011 by John Clem 1 Comment

Virginia Fallen Hero's Boots

As I walked out of church this Memorial Day weekend, there was a moving presentation on our parish lawn called “Eyes Wide Open: An Exhibit on the Human Cost of War.” The Eyes Wide Open exhibit began in Chicago in 2004 by a Quaker peace movement and now has exhibits in many states and cities. There on our parish lawn were over 100 pairs of combat boots with the names of Virginian’s who have been killed in the Iraq or Afghanistan Wars, in addition there were everyday shoes representing the Afghani and Iraqi civilians who have lost their lives. It is a moving tribute to these men and women who gave their lives for our country and a tribute to the civilians who have also lost their lives. God Bless them all on this Memorial Day.

The cost of war to our country in human life and money has been great. In Iraq alone the US has lost over 4,400 troops, and 32,000 with injuries. In Afghanistan, we have lost over 1,500 troops, and over 10,000 with injuries, and there are hundreds more to mention with our coalition countries, but much of the burden has been with the American troops. At present, two hundred and thirty three Virginians have died while serving in the global war on terrorism.

I am also praying for the many troops and civilians who have come back with the wounds of war. My brother, Joe, is a psychiatrist with the U.S. Navy, and has served two tours in Iraq and one in Kuwait, to help with the many suffering the mental wounds of war. My brother Joe continues to serve the military and their families in the Tidewater Region of Virginia, and I am proud of his service and that he is rising to the rank of Captain this Fall. The people helping our troops with recovery at home and abroad are overburdened and need your help and prayers. Please consider contributing your time, money, and prayers to this worthy cause this weekend and throughout the year. Your comments and tributes to heroes from these wars are welcome. Have you or someone you’ve known been affected by the wars in the Middle East?

Prayer in Time of War: (from Archdiocese of Military Services website)

God our Father,
Maker and lover of peace,
To know you is to live,
And to serve you is to reign.
All our faith is in your saving help;
Protect us from men of violence
And keep us safe from weapons of hate.
Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Eyes Wide Open - The Cost of War to Virginia

Eyes Wide Open at Church of the Incarnation, Charlottesville, Virginia

LINKS:

Eyes Wide Open–American Friends Service Committee

Archdiocese for Military Services, USA

Hawaiian Saints

May 23, 2011 by John Clem Leave a Comment

Saint Damien of Molokai

I recently was invited to spend a vacation in Hawaii with my brother, Dr. Joseph Clem, as he was attending the American Psychiatric Association’s Convention in Honolulu. While he was attending the seminars with 10,000 other psychiatrists, I explored the culture and faith of the island of Oahu. I was able to attend two services at parishes associated with Saint Damien of Molokai, who just recently celebrated his feast day on May 10th.

First, I attended Mass at St. Augustine’s in Waikiki. This is a beautiful church that was begun in 1854 and the church building that now stands was built in 1962. It was beautiful to see parishoners adorn Mary’s May altar and other statuary with flower-laden leis, even Pastor Lane Akiona wore a lei during the service. The parish is planning to build a museum for Saint Damien, and they have relics from his time he was a priest in Honolulu (pictures below). Waikiki Beach area is a place of great beauty near the ocean, and the Hawaiin people are warm and welcoming. However, the area is a place of great wealth with fine shopping and dining, but in contrast it also has people experiencing great poverty and homelessness. I felt a bit awkward wearing my backpack to communion, but the ushers urged all men and women to leave nothing in the pews, as it would be at risk of being stolen. The parishes of Honolulu offer soup kitchens and other supports for the poor, homeless, and sick, in the same spirit of Saint Damien.

St. Augustine’s Church in Waikiki

Altar Relics used by Saint Damien

Stained Glass Window of St. Damien in St. Augustine’s Church

Mary’s May Altar at St. Augustine’s Church

Joseph De Veuster was born in 1840 in Belgium and later chose the name Damien in religious life. His older brother Auguste was a priest with the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts and urged him to join the order. Joseph joined and was tutored in Latin and Greek by his brother to work towards his candidacy for priesthood. His brother was asked by his bishop to go to Hawaii to minister to the sick, but became sick himself with typhus, so brother Damien volunteered to go in his place. Damien arrived in Honolulu and was ordained a priest in 1864 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace. He was assigned to help on the remote island of Molokai to minister to those with leprosy (now called Hansen’s Disease). These people were banished to a part of the island that was a peninsula only accessible by boat, and life had deteriorated to a place of lawlessness and poor living conditions. Father Damien acted as a priest, a physician, a carpenter, and a friend to these people in need of love and caring. Father Damien won over the people by first learning the Hawaiian language and customs, and then by showing his dedication and faith in action. Father Damien died from contracting leprosy in 1889 after sixteen years of service to the people of Molokai. Pope Benedict XVI canonized Damien on October 11, 2009.

I also attended services at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in downtown Honolulu where Saint Damien was ordained. It is a beautiful church built in 1843, and now houses a relic of Saint Damien (his right heel). Saint Damien was also fortunate to have the assistance of Blessed Mother Marianne Cope who came in 1888 with the Sisters of St. Francis to join in the ministry of Father Damien in Molokai. Blessed Mother Marianne Cope continued the work of Father Damien after his death and it is considered a miracle that she never contracted leprosy, or any other sister in the order. On May 14, 2005, Mother Marianne was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI. Blessed Marianne Cope’s relics (bone fragments) toured the six islands recently and then were dedicated in a Mass on May 13, 2011. I was touched in faith by the love and devotion the Hawaiian people have to their saints and ministries in their parishes. Aloha and Mahalo!

Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu

Saint Damien Relic

Blessed Mother Marianne Cope Relic

Do you have any stories to share about faith experiences while you were on vacation?

LINKS:

St. Augustine By-The-Sea

Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace

Saint Damien of Molokai (SQPN)

Story of Blessed Mother Marianne from Hawaiian Catholic TV

Note: Hansen’s Disease was made a treatable disease in the 1940’s with the development of sulfone drugs, and the majority of people are cured or are not contagious.