Most churches stand out. St. Columba’s is hidden. Attending church there was like going to a house mass—nobody walking past suspects you’re going to a sacred gathering.

(Best wishes to the bride and groom—your lovely wedding is an auspicious start to your lives together.)

I attended Palm Sunday mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Oxford’s Blackbird Leys neighborhood. The church had such a large congregation, and such a narrow door, that I actually had to stand in line to enter.

Pictured: Re-entering Sacred Heart after the outdoor blessing of palms.

As a teen lector, Palm Sunday was The Show, the big mass, full of quick glances from Father Ed Bell that said, “Don’t screw this up, kid.” This mass at Sacred Heart was quite the opposite, relaxed and occasionally chaotic.

I was back at St. Peter’s, my home parish, for Holy Thursday mass. Each parish only has one mass on this day. For a multicultural parish like ours, this means celebrating that diversity by including as many languages and musical traditions as possible in the service. One year I counted 14 languages on Holy Thursday at St. Peter’s. This year, I think there were 8.

I mentioned on the 508 show that St. Peter’s had a good conversation about race a few weeks back, and that the measure of such a conversation is not the quality of that conversation, but what comes from it. For his Holy Thursday homily, Msgr. Scollen described some of the race conversation for those who weren’t there, and outlined the steps to our becoming a “beloved community.” Holy Thursday mass is also marked by a large-scale and literal washing of each other’s feet mid-way through the service, so the topic of building friendships and serving each other could not have been more fitting. I was not the only parishioner very happy to see this follow-through on “the beloved community,” and I hope I have many excuses in the coming months to blog more about how people are making that happen.

זאָג כאָטש להבֿדיל

Zack Berger’s new book of English and Yiddish poetry, Not in the Same Breath, is out.

Scott in Afghanistan

Worcester Magazine profiled of Scott Schaeffer-Duffy, who’s just returned from Afghanistan, where he was meeting with youth committed to building peace.

Nonviolent Solutions

If you want to catch up with Worcester’s Center for Nonviolent Solutions, Brian Goslow published a profile of the group in, of all places, Fifty Plus Advocate.

Forming Habits

My Lenten habits went OK this year. Could have been better, could have been worse. It’s not that my Lenten vows are so strenuous—it’s that forming new habits of any kind is tough for me.

Leo “Zen Habits” Babauta, one of the more useful sources of info on habit-building, is putting together an online Habit Course, and I’m lucky to be one of the beta testers. I’ll let you know how it goes, and how the course stacks up.

“Song for Holy Saturday”

Following tradition, here’s a link to this poem by James K. Baxter.

My favorite Holy Week post

Andrew Sullivan says Yes:

Does a force exist that is behind everything we are and see and know? Is that force benign? Does that force love us? Was the only way that truth could be revealed was by God becoming man and sacrificing himself to show us the only way to save ourselves?

One unexpected and helpful addition to my Lenten prayer schedule has been Susan Stabile’s series of daily meditations, with a weekly podcast of her remarks to students who are doing this “Lenten retreat in daily life” as well. Worth checking out if you need to jump-start your final week of Lenten prayers.

The best thing I’ve read about Lent this year is a brief essay by Jacob Berendes in his monthly newspaper Mothers News. It’s not at all religious, but it’s funny and a great piece of writing. In exchange for being able to quote me saying “The best thing I’ve read about Lent this year,” Jacob graciously agreed to let me reprint it, below.

HOLIDAYS IN MARCH

March has two big “revelry before the end of the world” holidays–Mardi Gras, aka Fat Tuesday, is the day before Lent. All during Lent you don’t eat pancakes, and on Mardi Gras you eat the Holy Hell out of a serious stack of pancakes, physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. In some parts of the world you also dress up like a sexy clown or insane bird on fire. In any event we are talking about buttering the bread with so much butter it’s borderline nauseating. St. Patrick’s Day is similar: it’s the day you celebrate a guy who drove the snakes (pagans) out of Ireland, and you celebrate by wearing snake colors, standing in a long line, and getting reptile-minded in a cave or cavern. Both involve putting your flag in the air, although St. Patrick’s day has more waving like “Hi, I see you, you’re wonderful”, and Marti Gras has more of a different kind of waving. REMEMBER that Marti Gras forms a holiday diad with Lent–you can’t just debauch all week and then go back to like whatever–it’s a wild life-affirming parade followed by a mild, life-affirming stretch of austerity, then springtime resurrection, THEN whatever. What will you give up for Lent this year? Netflix? Milk? Chairs? Peeing indoors? Nothing against hedonism as a method or “the eternal yes”, buy you’re not really “doing everything” if you deny yourself denial. Everything in moderation, including moderation.

From mass at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Worcester.

Colin is a friend of this blog, and we’re proud to see him in the pulpit.

Ding Dong! “Good Grief!” I grumbled as I dragged myself out of bed. “Who the heck could be at our door at 2 a.m.?” I went into our chilly hall to see a young couple on our front porch.

I asked them in and quickly learned that they are musicians from Illinois who were sleeping in their van in a Walmart parking lot until it got too cold.

“Our van died in front of your house,” the husband said gesturing toward a vehicle jutting out at an angle from Mason Court into Mason Street. “We know the Saint Louis Catholic Worker,” he concluded, as if that pretty much told all we needed to know.

True enough. Forget the fact that we were biblically obligated to welcome them as we would Christ Himself, how could we be jerks to someone who might tarnish our reputation in the CW family? So I roused Dave, who helped move the van, while I made up two beds and then settled our latest guests in for the night.

By dinner time the next day, this couple, who previously represented a late- night aggravation, were transformed into a fascinating pair who have recorded some pretty impressive music. So it goes. Contrary to the adage about familiarity breeding contempt, I find that I usually like people once I get to know them. Personal details elevate our guests above the stereotypes tacked on by social workers or late night first impressions.

When details emerge of how someone came to seek shelter from us, we become intimately aware of lives in a downward spiral and, worse still, lives which never really had any security to begin with. The transformation, we witness in them as they become more comfortable here, is one of my favorite things about the Catholic Worker. They seem more at home. We are able to joke together and reduce the indignities of their situation. These strangers become “our people” as the Southerners used to say when Claire and I were Catholic Workers in Washington, DC.

Hospitality often reminds me of resurrection. When a person is down and alone, they feel pretty morbid. Their former friends and family might even treat them as if they were dead. Watching a guest regain confidence is like springtime, a new beginning after a hard winter. The late-night couple shared their music, other guests have shared their writing, and many have shared their art. These aren’t bums. They are individuals with something unique to contribute.

Of course, resurrections are very much like spring in that they are seasons. Only The Resurrection is eternal. Some of our guests arrive as the leaves are turning brown. Some are stuck in a bitter cold winter, mocking the idea of spring rebirth.

The people of Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Bahrain, and anywhere else where dictatorships are being torn down are also experiencing a kind of spring. Unfortunately, the Chinese student uprising, crushed in Tianamen Square, never got the chance to blossom into democratic summer. Unlike calendar seasons, life’s seasons aren’t always timely or consecutive. But our actions can help bring spring on and lengthen summertime. Our faith can also dispel the despair which sees spring as impossible.

In a way, the Catholic Worker plants seeds for a new spring. Our hospitality and peacework are as hopeful as farming. Your prayers and support are essential for that miracle. May Christ’s Resurrection on Easter make it easier for you to believe in resurrections too.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Many Catholics attend mass today and receive a blessing of ashes on their foreheads.

Wikipedia:

The liturgical imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday is a sacramental, not a sacrament, and in the Roman Catholic understanding of the term the ashes themselves are also a sacramental.

This morning at St. Peter’s, Msgr. Scollen suggested that we avoid taking on too many Lenten projects, and just focus on one:

We know that if we try to do 10 things, or 5 things, or 3 things, that we’re going to do nothing.

I’m finally at the point in my life where I see the wisdom of this advice, and this Lent I’m trying to be constant rather than ambitious in my practice. For more on sustaining changes in behavior, Leo Babauta has solid advice that’s helped me.

“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”
–Matthew 6:16-18

Also:

• Lenten thoughts from the Gainesville Catholic Worker

My special project this year will be reading the gospel of Mark with a map in hand, as suggested by my bishop. Most Catholics give up eating mammals and birds on Fridays in Lent—for a long-time vegan like me, this isn’t a change, so I’m always experimenting with different fasts. This year, I’ll cut back my eating on Fridays to just a snack for breakfast. (The giving up soy idea is interesting, but hasn’t been fruitful for me.)

As usual, I also have an ambitious plan for reading and watching movies that connect with my search for Christ. If I get around to doing any of that, I’ll post my thoughts here.

One online prayer resource I’m going to try, for the first time, is Praying Lent. I’ll let you know how this goes.

“Song for Holy Saturday”
Following tradition, here’s a link to this poem by James K. Baxter.

“Enjoy the Silence: Triduum, sexual abuse, and the disappearance of the crucified”
Michael Iafrate:

It is truly difficult to hear the continued reports of children raped by priests and not be struck by the presence of the Crucified One there. But this presence is denied—“I do not know the man!”—each and every time church leaders and members alike remain silent or utter words of defensiveness that embarrassingly fill nearly every news story or ecclesial statement covering the abuse.

“Who’d win in a wrestling match, Lemmy or God?”
Not sure about the theology here:

(Very much looking forward to the Lemmy documentary.)

Here are some of the things I’m planning to read and watch. No real curriculum here, just what’s on one man’s shelf.

• The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky (also planning to read the recent thesis “The Sister Karamazov: Dorothy Day’s Encounter with Dostoevsky’s Novel” by Michael H. Hebbeler)
• Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion by Hume
• The Gospel of Luke
• News reports on the Catholic church’s German child-rape scandals
• The Last Temptation of Christ (have not seen this, though I signed a petition against it when it came out, something I’ve some to regret)
• Jesus of Montreal (have not seen this in years, and have mixed memories)
• The Gospel According to St. Matthew (have not seen this)

If anything else comes in handy I’ll add comments or maybe a second post. Probably 2001 (my favorite movie) and Breaking the Waves (my favorite religious film, though not for everybody–I freaked out a friend yesterday just explaining the plot) will find their way onto my screen.

In the past 5 years or so, I have heard from time to time impatient proponents of a Green Senate, a committee for sustainability, a parliamentary chamber with a built-in long-term view and overriding power in favour of measures for sustainability. Famous proponents include Norman Myers, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, and (most recently, this past Tuesday) John Strickland. I do not think such a constitutional arrangement would work.

First, who would we appoint to this Senate? Would they be 70-year-olds, having accumulated years of experiences and (one hopes) accompanying wisdom? Or would they be 20-year-olds, or even teenagers, who have a stake, with realistic interests, in the future? Or a mixture thereof? Then, what about the midlifers? Are they totally disinterested, and should only be shoved around by the young and the old?

And quickly you can foresee the second question: How would we appoint them? By popular election with pre-screening? By lot? Very soon I come to my main point, and I hope the reader gets it before I tell. With more than one person in the world, there inevitably comes politics. As much as we would like God to send edicts which we all equally receive with equal clarity, that is not the case.

Either we engage with politics, or we get apathetic and let others (the Pope, the King, the Prime Minister, the political class, etc.) run our lives for us. Politics cannot be circumvented or transcended. Or rather, the only way to transcend politics is to engage. There is no Enabling Act, no Guardian Council, no Workers Vanguard, that can deliver the Final Solution without real politics. There is no such thing as a system so perfect that people do not need to be good.

That means the only way to ensure sustainability is for those who care about sustainability to engage, to talk progressive talk with neighbours, to vote, to go to hustings and meetings, to agitate–educate–organize, to listen and learn, to run for political office and lose (sometimes), to win a few offices and use the power for good ends.

If you do not like the people running the system, aim to replace them. If you do not like the system, change it. But do not expect these to be once-and-for-all, straightforward, and clean. As much as there is no silver bullet, no single technological fix in environmental problems, the same applies to politics. It requires a collective change of mind, which will be messy and will take longer than we would like.

In the words of the prophet Bob Marley: ‘So you think you’ve found the solution, | but it’s just another illusion. | (So before you check out this tide,) | don’t leave another cornerstone | standing there behind. | We’ve got to face the day; | come what may: | We the street people talking; | yeah, we the people struggling.’ (So much trouble in the world)

And on the way, there will be setbacks, losses, defeats, wastage, betrayal, assassinations. (Though I hope the latter ones do not ever visit the present incumbent of the Presidency of the United States of America.) And what is the Christian response but to take these on with courage and hope? (Holy Martyrs, pray for us.) Was that not the way Jesus showed?

‘For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.’ (Romans 8:24,25 KJV)

There are no easy solutions: one can only go out to knock on doors and canvass. With this note, I relied heavily on the thinking of my friend Rupert Read, who taught that theoretical social studies in economics and politics are useless on their own except in praxis. He also demonstrated this brilliantly with his own life. ¡Hasta la victoria siempre!

Amendment after discussing with Rupert:

Yes, I think I should moderate my position.

To speak for the motion, a sustainability commissioner or committee only elevates the idea of sustainability in our constitutional architecture to the level that human rights already occupy. This is long overdue. To expand on the human rights mechanism: a minister certifies each Bill as compatible with the Human Rights Act; then there are enforcement mechanisms through domestic courts and the European Court of Human Rights to induce revision of incompatible Acts of Parliament.

Then we might think what are the norms of sustainability to be enumerated? How do we articulate the remit of the Green Senate, the mandate for our commissioner? The bare ‘whether they like it and think it is sustainable’ may not be enough. For human rights, there is the European Convention etc.; this is along the same lines.

Even if we introduce such a commissioner or committee, we should still reserve the right to criticize it. We should stay vigilant and political. Our interlocutors would have no qualms hijacking a ‘Green Senate’, so we should feel free to criticize it if it becomes mere greenwash for expedient projects. I think I am preaching to the converted, as you, Rupert, are the leading critic of liberal neutrality! (A recent example of such a lapse has been pointed out by Chris Goodall: The Committee on Climate Change shouldn’t have answered the question it was asked [about Heathrow expansion].)

The best thing about entering a charity beard competition is telling people with a straight face: “I have entered a charity beard competition.”

Thanks to the organizers for raising money for the Worcester County Food Bank and giving us an excuse to stop shaving!

WINNERS: Burly Man – Derek Ring; Facial Topiary – Mike Benedetti; Fan Fav – Peter Mascitelli; Best in Show – Duncan Arsenault.