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Feed my sheep

Posted on by Father Lance Harlow

After Jesus had revealed himself to His disciples and eaten breakfast with them, He said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He then said to Simon Peter a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that He had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to Him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” [Jesus] said to him, “Feed my sheep.”

In this very private scene where Peter confesses his love for Jesus after his three-fold denial of Jesus on Holy Thursday, one can rightly interpret three degrees of feeding. There is the feeding of the physical body with food. There is the feeding of the eternal soul with the Eucharist. And lastly, there is the feeding of the emotions with love.

Each feeding responds to a particular need: hunger, salvation, and love. Every person is “hungry” to have those three needs satisfied. In most cases, I don’t recall anything particular about feeding the hungry with food — unless it was the homeless man who wanted Campbell’s chicken soup. I don’t recall anything unusual about feeding the people with the Eucharist at Mass — there are hundreds every week. But, from time to time, I do remember feeding the loveless one with love.

Once I was giving a lecture in a parish hall, and a young man wandered in. He had longish hair and was wearing a baseball cap. Right away my guard went up thinking there might be trouble. But he sat down and was respectful, although he kept his eyes closed for the entire hour.

Afterward, he started to leave, and I thought, “Oh, good he’s going. He won’t bother me.” Then he turned around and came back in to where I was sitting and sat down. He proceeded to talk to me. He said that his parents told him that he had schizophrenia, and they were concerned that he wasn’t taking his medication. He fought with them and said he doesn’t need medication and left home. He was living out of his car and was roaming the country. He was only 23 years old. He told me about getting into fights. About hearing voices. About seeing UFOs coming to get him. About people who had been kind to him. About colors talking to him. About his love life. About getting in car accidents. About his philosophy of life.

As he was talking, I was tempted to correct some things that he was saying that were irrational, but instead I simply responded with a smile, a calm voice and a sense of humor to get him laughing. I offered him my energy bar and some water — which were all I had to give. But the Lord touched my heart deeply that afternoon with a deep affection for him because this lost 23-year old was the hungry sheep who needed to be fed — not with food, not with the Eucharist, but with love during the 30 minutes we had together.

Sometimes that’s all we have to give to the homeless youth, the elderly woman with Alzheimer’s, the spouse with hearing difficulty or the child with disabilities. Jesus brings into our lives various sheep, and He asks us to feed them — in one way or another.

—Father Lance Harlow is pastor of Corpus Christ Parish based in St. Johnsbury.

—Originally published in the Fall 2023 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.

Catholic Center to offer Alpha program to ‘introduce students to Jesus’

Posted on by Cori Urban

“College students are faced with so much isolation and trying to fill the longing in their hearts with so many things except Jesus,” said Kim Allbee, campus minister at the Catholic Center

at the University of Vermont in Burlington.

She hopes that a new program called Alpha “helps students find a community of welcome and have an encounter with Jesus to fill the longing in their hearts.”

The goal of the program is to introduce students “to Jesus and the basic kerygma in the hopes that they will form a relationship with Jesus,” she said.

The 11- week series begins Sept. 13 and is only open to University of Vermont and Champlain College students.

“The Catholic Center has decided to host this program along with the Vine Ministries because we realized that many students at the University of Vermont and Champlain College have little to no knowledge of Jesus and have not been brought up with any faith tradition,” Allbee said. “Both the Catholic Center and Vine Ministries recognize that the campuses need Jesus, and we need to bring Jesus to them in a new way. This program is geared toward people who have no faith background to introduce them to Jesus. The way this is done is through prayer and radical hospitality over a meal.”

She hopes for 20 participants for the free program.

“Free food always draws students, but the welcome, radical hospitality and coming with friends will keep them coming back,” Albee said.

For more information, go to alphausa.org.

—Originally published in the Fall 2023 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.

 

 

Movie review: ‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’

Posted on by Our Sunday Visitor

Early on in the history of film, stage actors had to make the transition from the outsized gestures and expressions needed to convey emotion to a crowded theater to the restraint required by the intimacy of the camera. The same contrast is always likely to be highlighted in a movie dedicated to capturing a lavish stadium music concert.

Those attending “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” (AMC Theaters) will discover that the titular singer-songwriter – the current doyenne of breakup songs – is aware of this. Just as the smirks and eye rolls of some of her numbers become cloying, the solo balladeer emerges and equilibrium is restored.

While Swift can be credited with aesthetic insight, parents of teens clamoring to see her on screen will be concerned with other matters. In a world of ultra-raunchy rap and the obscenity-laden lyrics often found even outside that genre, Swift shows considerable moderation. A smattering of vulgar words aside, her performance is more glitzy than gritty. So, although her preteen fans may have to be kept away from this production, older teens can probably be given the green light.

They’ll find “Eras” a lively recap of all 10 of her studio albums across 17 years. Directed by Sam Wrench, the footage was compiled from concerts at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, outside Los Angeles, during Swift’s ongoing tour.

This is, then, no valedictory. Rather, it’s a powerful summation of Swift’s life and work so far. The idea is to craft an experience just as communal and immersive as the vocalist’s live events. Audience members, for instance, are encouraged to sing along. Yet in a movie theater the noise is not overwhelming, making it possible to concentrate on Swift in all her sparkly glory throughout.

Little exposition is provided. Instead, there’s continuous music, enhanced by CGI special effects and a bit of dancing. By contrast to some of the documentaries in which Swift has featured in the past, no backstage segments are included and no forum is given to her opinions.

Her lyrics do, however, address the loneliness of her level of stardom and hint, pretty consistently, at past heartbreak. At their poignant best, her songs somehow manage to combine the varied qualities of honky-tonk blues and the sophisticated work of German-born American composer Kurt Weill.

It’ll cost you a lot more than three pennies, though, to have a look.

The film contains fleeting rough and crude language. The OSV News classification is A-III – adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

—Kurt Jensen, OSV News

Book review: ‘How the Saints Shaped History’

Posted on by Kay Winchester

“How the Saints Shaped History.” By Randall Petrides. Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor, 2023. 376 pages. Paperback: $27.95; Kindle: $20.99; E-book: $20.99.

Perhaps the most important idea to take away from lawyer-turned-Catholic-writer Randall Petrides’ book, “How the Saints Shaped History,” is this assertion: “These are troubled times,” he begins after outlining the many and grave challenges the 21st century Catholic Church faces.  “Today’s Catholic has good reason to feel deep concern.”

That, however, is not the end of the story, which this book emphasizes. “With these challenges in mind,” he continues, “we can turn to the Church’s history – where we will find that we have every reason for hope.”

The Church, as the reader will see, has, in Petrides’ words, “been in trouble more than she has not, and the present crises are not necessarily her worst.” In every age, God has raised up men and women – the saints — who point the way home and who, by cooperating with God’s grace, help us to travel that way as well. “Thus, in the midst of today’s challenges,” Petrides says, “we can rest assured that the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church.”

Because this book is based in history, Petrides’ presentation of the saints is a bit different from other “lives of the saints.” Often, he points out, such books are arranged either alphabetically, or by feast day or patronage. Because they are not presented within the flow of history, we can often miss the circumstances which shaped these men and women as they responded to the grace of God to their times. Consequently, what the reader will find in the initial pages of this book is a particularly well done timeline of secular and sacred history, within which the various saints’ lives occur.

I want to point to the layout and graphics of these pages in particular, as they are inviting and easy to read – something that can be referred time and time again.

Because we meet more than 180 saints in roughly 340 pages of text, none of them is explored in exhaustive detail. For that, Petrides has included a recommended reading list at the end of the book that allows readers to dive more deeply into the lives of individuals if they wish.  However, the reader is nonetheless treated to a comprehensive look at not only the history of humankind since the birth of Jesus, but also at the intervention of God in that history by way of those we call saints.

Such an undertaking could be overwhelming, but another positive feature of Petrides’ work is the length of his chapters. Each is about five to five and a half pages, just enough to cover the material at hand without being too much to take in at once. His background as an attorney is evident in the clarity of his prose; while certainly not “legalese,” it is exact and to the point.  When giving his opinions – particularly concerning the situations facing the modern Church – he gives reasons for what he states. Whether or not one agrees with his assessments, they are well argued.

Another interesting feature is that he includes questions for reflection and discussion at the end of the book. This is definitely intended to be a work that is not merely read and put on the shelf, but one that will engender meaningful conversations between both Catholics and those who observe the Catholic Church.

At the end of the book, Petrides emphasizes that the story of the saints does not end with those who have been formally canonized; it is a state to which we too are called. “We all share in the making of history,” he concludes. “No soul, no event is too small for the kingdom of God – even if our lives remain unknown to posterity. God gives us our own place, our own role, in salvation history. Like all the saints, we are called to holiness.”

Author bio:

Randall Petrides is a Catholic writer and a retired attorney. He spent 38 years as a trial lawyer and administrator in the Genesee County Prosecutor’s Office. Upon retirement in 2017, He transitioned into Catholic theology and writing with an emphasis on Church history and saints.  His first book is “How the Saints Shaped History.” He and his wife have been married for 43 years and are members of Holy Family Catholic Church in Grand Blanc, Michigan.

 

The man of God is a man for others, says bishop in new pastoral letter

Posted on by Our Sunday Visitor

Men are called to “make a difference in the world” through submission to Christ, selfless giving and courageous leadership, says a Brooklyn-based bishop.

“If a man truly grasped and believed he was created in the image and likeness of God and beloved to his Heavenly Father, he would far more naturally assume the role of a faithful son, a caring father, a protector, and a guide to his family,” said Maronite Bishop Gregory Mansour of the Eparchy of St. Maron in Brooklyn, New York, in his sixth pastoral letter, “The Man of God is a Man for Others: Some Themes in Men’s Spirituality.”

The letter, which Bishop Mansour told OSV News was some three to four years in the making, was issued Oct. 12 and posted on the eparchy’s website — and it’s already been tested in the field, said the bishop.

“The other day I had a retreat for young men and women and I took the 11th- and 12th-grade boys (apart) and said, ‘I want to talk to you man to man,'” said Bishop Mansour. “And so I talked a little bit about the pastoral letter and gave it to them. And it was very fruitful. These guys really appreciated it.”

In the letter, Bishop Mansour states that “men who live as ‘chips off the old (divine) block’ are the greatest need today; women and children long for this — many men also long for this.”

That need is even greater due to what Bishop Mansour calls “some worrisome trends in our culture to undermine masculinity under the guise of remedying past chauvinism or over-reliance on patriarchal structures, not to mention the absence of dads in far too many homes in our country and the need for inspiring male role models.”

As a result, “many young men are growing up without effective guidance about how to live out their male identity,” he wrote.

At the same time, while “in recent years there has been a great deal of profound reflection on the spirituality of women,” there has been “less on the vocation and mission of men,” he wrote.

The pastoral letter draws in particular on several Scripture passages to explore the nature of men and God’s intention for them.

The creation accounts in Genesis (Gen 1:1-31, 2:4-25) show that both men and women have been fashioned in the image of God, and their genders are complementary by design, said the bishop in his letter.

“It was God who noticed what was lacking in man, well before man himself did!” he wrote. “God always notices our great need before we do and seeks to provide for us in that need.”

Jesus’ washing of his disciples’ feet (Jn 13:1-20) “teaches all of us, but especially men, a form of servant leadership,” wrote Bishop Mansour.

Citing St. Paul VI, who articulated “a clear masculine spirituality,” he said that “a man needs to learn the value of sacrifice to be able to place others first and to adapt himself to the needs of women and children.”

St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, which exhorts husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the church (Eph 5:25-27), points to a “love (that) draws a man to sacrificial self-giving and invites his spouse to make a similar gift herself,” wrote the bishop.

Pointing to St. John Paul II’s theology of the body, Bishop Mansour said the complementarity of man and woman enables them to view themselves as gifts, and to “also make gifts of themselves to one another in love,” which “gives sexual intimacy its meaning and purpose.”

“This natural God-given identity is part of what Pope Francis, and before him, Pope Benedict, referred to as human ecology,” Bishop Mansour wrote. “Our natures, different and complementary, are not merely social constructs open to alteration or redefinition but constitute a profound spiritual and physical reality.”

In fact, wrote Bishop Mansour, “to view our gender as anything less diminishes the meaning and beauty of our nature as created in the very image and likeness of God.”

The divine gift of procreation imparts “an amazing ability to make the world new again by bringing children” into it, he wrote.

Bishop Mansour also wrote that couples experiencing infertility, which “often causes great suffering,” model an “unselfish love” that enables them to serve others in “creative ways,” and “encourages us both in the family and the Church to greater love and respect.”

Chastity, which is “essential for holiness,” represents “a gift of love that places limits on our freedom” and “makes us truly free,” wrote the bishop.

“No matter what has happened in one’s past, the Gospel calls each of us to self-mastery and sacrifice,” he wrote. “Although this is counter-cultural and may seem impossible today, by the grace of God, such virtue is not only possible but happily achievable.”

Prayer, without which holiness is unattainable, can represent a particular challenge for men, since it requires a willingness to set aside pride and adopt “a constant and consistent openness to grace,” Bishop Mansour noted.

“To be vulnerable as a man is no small request, for by his nature as protector, provider, and cultivator it would seem almost contradictory to be at the same time vulnerable,” wrote Bishop Mansour. “For this reason, it may be difficult for men to enter more deeply into prayer, for it is difficult enough for a man to admit that he needs help and cannot do something on his own, but to also enter into a prayerful state requires a man to now go a step even further, and to stand vulnerable before another man, that is before the God-man, Jesus Christ, and ask him for help.”

Some men may “avoid going deep into prayer because they are afraid of what they might hear,” he added. “The stillness of God’s voice, which is often a long-desired peace and an answer to prayer, requires a vulnerable and docile heart.”

St. Joseph serves as “the greatest witness to a truly masculine spirituality,” wrote Bishop Mansour, since he “became the man he was because of the grace of God and the help of the Virgin Mary.”

Regardless of their state in life, all men are called to aspire to the same, said Bishop Mansour.

“Whether a man is called to be a father, husband, generous single man, celibate priest, monk, or consecrated religious, if he is truly a man of God, prayer, and integrity, he will necessarily be a man for others,” he wrote.

—Gina Christian, OSV News

Obituary: Father Paul Couture

Posted on by Submitted Article

Edmundite Father Paul Couture died Oct. 28 after a long illness.

He was born in Barre on March 2, 1929, the son of Flavien Couture and Laura Beaudoin Couture. He attended St. Edmund’s Juniorate in Swanton and graduated from St. Michael’s College in Colchester in 1952. Graduate studies followed at the Gregorian University, the Pontifical Biblical Institute, and the Gregorian University all in Rome. He professed first vows in the Society of St. Edmund in Putney on Aug. 22, 1950, and was ordained to the priesthood on June 29, 1956, in La Storta, Italy.

In addition to serving in internal ministries in the Society of St. Edmund, Father Couture pursued a long career in education, teaching at St. Edmund’s Seminary in Burlington and at St. Michael’s College. He served as director of the St. Michael’s College Graduate Theology and Pastoral Ministry Program from 1971 to 1992. After retiring from that position, he continued to teach at the undergraduate level and brought the love of Sacred Scripture to many people in the Diocese of Burlington and beyond.

Father Couture is survived by his nieces and nephews Liane Couture, Mark Couture, Daniel Couture, Matthew Couture, Laura Couture, and Lisa Couture McNamara. He also leaves behind many cousins, relatives, and friends.

Visiting hours will take place in the Chapel of St. Michael the Archangel at St. Michael’s College, on Nov. 2, from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. with a Mass of Christian Burial celebrated at 3 p.m. Burial will follow in the Merrill Cemetery, across from the campus.