Call To Holiness

John Paul II Cultural Center for Sale?

May 22, 2011 by John Clem Leave a Comment

Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C.

I was very excited that Blessed Pope John Paul II (Karol Józef Wojtyła) was beatified recently and think that his teachings and legacy should be passed down to future generations. It is with great sadness that the museum in Washington, D.C. that was dedicated to Blessed Pope John Paul II in March 2001, is presently up for sale. The 100,000 square foot building on 12 acres is adjacent to the Catholic University of America. The grounds are presently owned by the Archdiocese of Detroit and they are looking for a buyer. The center is currently only available to visit by appointment, but very much worth your time.

The Pope John Paul II Cultural Foundation runs the facility with its mission: to continue the work of the late pontiff, John Paul II, in bringing the wisdom and faith experience of the Catholic Church. [and vision] To provide the atmosphere and resources needed to promote Interfaith Dialogues and Days of Faith and Culture that transcend the boundaries of culture to discover the all-inclusive compassion and similarities that serve to unite us in our faith journey. (from foundation’s website) On April 17, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI met with about 200 representatives of Islam, Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism at the Cultural Center.

Inside the museum are many items of historical significance from Pope John Paul II’s pontificate, and interactive museum displays for teaching children and adults the faith and wisdom of this great saint. There are gifts, and artwork from many politicians, and religious leaders, and many faiths, including a buddha from The Dalai Lama. A display called the Hands of Peace has bronze castings of famous people working for the cause of peace including Pope John Paul II’s hand.

The well-worn bronze casting of JPII's hand

John Paul II's skis

Stone from the tomb of Saint Peter in Rome

In addition to the museum, EWTN has a television studio on the second floor that is used for the Live broadcast each Thursday for the show The World Over with Raymond Arroyo. I e-mailed a request for tickets, and was privileged to be invited to attend the studio audience on May 19th. Raymond has a one-hour live program that starts with a news brief about Catholic news from around the world, and then he usually has two other guests interviews that allows callers to ask questions. That day his first guests were Emily and Charles Colson, who spoke about supporting a family member with Autism. They co-authored a wonderful book about their journey called Dancing with Max. His second guest was Dr. Bill Donohue, from The Catholic League, who commented on the recent report to the American Bishops about the clergy scandal. Raymond Arroyo has a great crew working with him to provide this top-rated broadcast, and it was fascinating to watch behind the scenes. I spoke with Raymond after the show and asked him if he was going to be able keep his studio, and he replied that it depended on who the buyer will be and what they will do with the building. I hope that whomever buys this facility will keep its current mission, and keep the television studio going to help continue the faith and teachings of Blessed John Paul II.

Do you know any people or organizations that could help in saving this great museum? What are your favorite inspirations of Blessed John Paul II?

Raymond Arroyo interviewing Dr. Bill Donohue--The World Over--EWTN Studio

Raymond Arroyo & John Clem

LINKS:

John Paul II Cultural Foundation

EWTN

Raymond Arroyo’s Blog

Dancing with Max

The Catholic League

Note: Blessed John Paul II has one more miracle to be verified, which surely will happen, before finally being canonized a saint.

Dorothy Day and The Catholic Worker

May 10, 2011 by John Clem 2 Comments

Dorothy Day 1968

This past 40-Day period of Lent, I was posed a question by Father Roderick and my pastor whether to give up something, or to contribute something. I chose to give my time and talent to The Catholic Worker House here in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was an amazing experience to contribute to a wonderful community that helps with housing, food, and prayer for the poor and needy in our local area.

—

Dorothy Day is the co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement that began in New York City in 1933. Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin Co-founded the Catholic Worker Movement which “is grounded in a firm belief in the God-given dignity of every human person. Today 213 Catholic Worker communities [worldwide] remain committed to nonviolence, voluntary poverty, prayer, and hospitality for the homeless, exiled, hungry, and foresaken. Catholic Workers continue to protest injustice, war, racism, and violence of all forms.” (from Catholic Worker website)

—

Dorothy Day was born in 1897 and was raised in a Protestant family and converted to Catholicism in 1927. She began the Catholic Worker newspaper and a hospitality house to work for the causes of the poor during the Great Depression in New York City. The circulation of her newspaper started in 1933 with 2,500 copies and grew to 190,000 copies by 1938. Dorothy wrote over 1,000 articles and 8 books during her life, including correspondence with the monk Thomas Merton, Saint Mother Teresa, and many bishops and cardinals. There is currently a group, The Guild for Dorothy Day, working to have her cannonized a Saint by the church.

—

The Catholic Worker House, in my community has recently been renamed Casa Alma, which means House of Soul in Spanish. Casa Alma just celebrated its second anniversary and has accomplished a lot in its short time by now having two hospitality houses, community gardens, chickens, beehives, and we are working on having some goats for milk soon. Laura & Steve Brown founded Casa Alma with their three children. They live and work a simple and prayerful life, and have organized over 150 volunteers from all walks of life around Central Virginia to help with this worthy cause. It has been a wonderful experience to volunteer for Casa Alma, and share in the fellowship and charity of others in the community. Below are some links about The Catholic Worker, Dorothy Day, and the Blog from Casa Alma (Charlottesville Catholic Worker)

—

Is there is Catholic Worker Movement in your community, or a similar organization that you would like to share about your experiences?

—

http://casa-alma.org/ (Catholic Worker Website)

http://www.catholicworker.org/dorothyday/canonization.cfm (Guild for Dorothy Day)

http://cvillecatholicworker.blogspot.com/ (Casa Alma: Charlottesville Catholic Worker)

—

New Casa Alma Logo

Founders of Casa Alma: Laura & Steve Brown

Bees making honey for Casa Alma

Gardens at Casa Alma

Band celebrating 2nd Anniversary of Charlottesville Catholic Worker

Great video about Casa Alma on Vimeo:

iPieta App: Best resource for Catholics

May 10, 2011 by John Clem Leave a Comment

iPieta App

iPieta is one of the best resources for Catholics, and is practically like having the Vatican Library in your pocket. iPieta only costs $.99, but offers writings that would cost hundreds of dollars if bought in a bookstore. Kudos to iVerbum, the company who produces this app, and they constantly offer FREE updates. The App is constantly updated with new content and recently added the writings of St. Josemaria Escriva and St. Bridgett of Sweden. This App offers The Douay-Rheims Bible, a Novus Ordo (Catholic) Calendar through the year 2050, a large list of prayers, and many writings of the Saints and Popes.

The Veritas section of the App has a tremendous number of books from many Catholic theologians and saints. A sampling of some of the writings include Saint Francis DeSales “Introduction to the Devout Life”, Saint Teresa of Jesus’ “Interior Castle”, Saint Thomas Aquinas’ “Summa Theologica”, Saint John of the Cross’ “Dark Night of the Soul”, and Saint Augustine’s “City of God”.

In the section of Papal writings, there are books and encyclicals from 18 Popes. These include Pope Benedict XVI: Spe Salvi (Christian Hope), Deus Caritas Est (Christian Love), and Caritas In Veritate (Charity In Truth), and Blessed Pope John Paul II has 17 encyclicals including Vertatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth) and Redemptoris Mater (about the Blessed Virginia Mary and the Life of the Pilgrim Church). The latest writings of Pope Francis are also included in this App.

iPieta is available for the iOS and Driod and it is available in Spanish and offers adjustable sizes for text. Optional free audio is available for many prayers and novenas. The huge library of Catholic writings that are held in this one app offer a lifetime of readings that will constantly challenge and lift your spirit. This is also a wonderful resource for catechists and RCIA students & teachers.

Note: All content can be obtained through the app and does not require internet connection, so it can be used in any classroom, or even on camping trips.

Update July 2014: The latest version (8.0) allows audio to be stored within the app with many new audio supports and files.

More information available at www.ipieta.com

Title Screen for iPieta

Washington, D.C.’s Hidden Gem

May 10, 2011 by John Clem Leave a Comment

There is a hidden gem in Washington, D.C., that many do not know about. It is the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America. This monastery was first constructed in 1898 through the divine guidance of a Franciscan Friar named Father Godfrey Schilling. This beautiful place in Washington offers the visitor inspiration with art, architecture, and nature’s glory.

In one place, you can visit many recreations of holy sites from around the globe–Italy, France, and many revered places in the Holy Land. This order of the Franciscans have been protectors of the holy sites since 1219 in Jerusalem, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Cyprus. Recreations of many Holy Sites include: the Tomb of Christ, Saint Francis’ Chapel in Assisi, Grotto of Lourdes, the Catacombs of Rome, Tomb of Mary, Grotto of Gethsemane, and Chapel of the Ascension.

One of my favorite places to say the rosary is around the Rosary Portico which has 15 beautiful mosaics of the Mysteries of the Rosary, and it has the “Hail Mary” in about every language from around the globe including many Native American languages. True to Saint Francis’ love of nature, the grounds are filled with beautiful flowers, trees, and plants that are maintained by many volunteers. One can find solace and peace in the gardens all through the year.

The Memorial Church is a wonderful piece of architecture and filled with incredible stained glass and paintings. I highly recommend anyone visiting DC to visit. Do you have any favorite places for retreats? You can find out more about the Franciscan Monastary at their newly redesigned website–take the virtual tour:

http://www.myfranciscan.org/

Franciscan Monastery Gate & Church

Rosary Portico and Gardens

Grotto of Lourdes with my mother and godson

Finalist in photo contest for Monastery in 2012

Start of a new blog.

May 10, 2011 by John Clem 1 Comment

This new blog has been inspired by SQPN and the Universal Call to Holiness from Vatican II and emphasized by Blessed John Paul II for the new millenium. I hope to write about people, places, and things that help us to be closer to God and holiness. Thank you for visiting, and all comments are welcome.

Quote from Blessed John Paul II:

“True holiness does not mean a flight from the world; rather, it lies in the effort to incarnate the Gospel in everyday life, in the family, at school and at work, and in social and political involvement.”

Universal Call to Holiness at Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception