Paul Luvera Journal

In my readings I came across a short account of Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez. Curious to learn more about this Mexican priest and martyr I found a home page about him. He was born in 1891 in Guadalupe, Mexico and entered the Jesuit seminary in 1911. However, the Mexican revolution had begun in 1910 and the fighting lasted until 1921, killing some 900,000 people in the process. After studying in Mexico he was forced to leave when the tidal wave…

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Jesuit spiritual writer Mark Link S.J. has written a number of spiritual mediations in booklet form that are inspiring as well as informative. In his Jesus 2000, a contemporary walk with Jesus, he tells the story of the grub worms at the bottom of a pond who couldn’t understand why those who climbed up the stems of the water lillies never returned to tell them what they found. They selected one who was to climb up and then come back…

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We are in Scottsdale where the temperature is perfect and the weather beautiful. We were at mass this morning, Sunday and the priest spoke of a Carmelite nun who said that even though she is in a convent where prayer and meditation is an around the clock activity there are annoyances that come with living with other people. I thought of one of my favorite saints, Theresa of Lisieux, the little flower, who became a saint by the way she…

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I’m listening to a book on tape The Life You Save May be Your Own by Paul Elie. It deals with four Catholic writers and literary figures of the mid twentieth century, Flannery O’Connor, Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton and Walker Percy. I am familiar with Day and Merton, having read their work and books about them, but not O’Connor or Percy. The book is well written and I am interested in their contribution to literature, religion and intelligent investigation of…

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A letter to the editor in the May 4th issue of the National Catholic Reporter captured my thinking about freedom of conscience and Catholic Bishops and the Vatican. I read the letter after having just read a position paper by Bishop Alex Brunett in the Catholic Northwest Progress about freedom of conscience. As I understood the bishop, freedom of conscience really means agreeing with the bishops and Vatican. The letter in the NCR quoted the Catholic bishops on birth control…

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While we were waiting in Egypt at a restaurant, a man carrying a prayer rug under his arm and laid on the ground, took his shoes off and began the prayer required five times a day by Muslims. Alternately standing with arms positioned, he would knee and touch his forehead to the ground. It reminded me of an article I had just read in the International Herald Tribune by Professor of History Leor Halevi at Texas A & M University…

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The April 20th Edition of the National Catholic Reporter has an editorial entitled "Little Genuine Progress on Sex Abuse." It relates that the executive director of the Bishops’ Office of Child and Youth Protection" provided a 2006 audit with an accompanying letter. The letter, the editorial points out, which is signed by the executive director, says there is a: "Surrounding atmosphere that one might describe as Refusal to See the Evidence. It takes two forms. Those who see the bishops…

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I previously reported about Seattle Archbishop Alex Brunett’s opposition to a bill which would grant same sex couples limited legal rights, including the right to make medical decisions about the other person in the relationship. (See 3/21/07) There is ample legal justification for passage of the bill which is now awaiting signature by the Governor. However, The Catholic Northwest Progress reports Brunett is urging Catholics to contact the Governor to request that she veto the bill. He has written the…

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I’ve commented before about Pope Benedict starting to expose his real arch-conservative beliefs after first trying to present himself as a moderate. (See post 3/14/07) When first elected he seemed to be reaching out to dissidents and other faiths. Now Vatican observers are reporting that since turning 80 years of age and after three years at the job he has more and more frequently shown that his views are the same as when he was the late Pope John’s junk…

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The Voice of the Faithful is a Catholic lay organization who advocates for transparency and accountability in Catholic Church affairs. It has been generally condemned by Catholic Bishops for speaking out about criticisms of Church affairs and is seen as a controversial voice regarding the need for Church reform. The organization recently mailed out a newsletter reporting a number of embezzlement’s of Church money nationally. The mailing was timely since a Nebraska Catholic nun has been in the news after…

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