Whither Catholics?

David Lobo writes from Bangalore:

I see a number of Christian churches being "planted" all over the place around me. These "churches", though unorganized and often of questionable nature, are taking the Word of God and the name of Jesus to many places that the Catholic church does not seem to be reaching out to.

Last week, for instance, I came across three Hindus who accepted Jesus through such initiatives, and all are very ardent in their faith and their proclaimation of it. I hardly see anything like this happening in the Catholic Church and I wonder if any figures are available of lost sheep the Catholic Church brings in, in comparison with those our brothers bring in.

This is not a condemnation, but a concerned enquiry to find out what we are doing, and to know if there is anything that lay people like me who have regular jobs, but still interested in spreading the Word of God, can do?

Aneel Aranha replies: There is a huge revival taking place in the Catholic Church and the Spirit is empowering lay people from all over the world to spread the Word of God. HSI is only one such initiative. In a little over two years since it was founded, it has begun reaching close to half a million people a month through its various ministries, which is an amazing figure. I know of other ministries that are also reaching many people, though unfortunately I don't have the kind of comparitive figures that you are looking for.

While it does appear that the Catholic Church does not encourage lay initiatives, it is only because it tries to protect the faith, which many lay preachers - though, well intentioned - often distort. But if it sees that we have the fundamentals in place, it is supportive, and I can bear ample witness to that. There is much that lay people can do, even those with full time jobs, and if you - and anyone else reading this - drops me a note with your area of residence and your areas of interest/expertise; we'll try to find ways in which you can help.

May the Spirit be with you.

HSI Youth: Simply Fantastic

Gladwin Abrio writes:

I am a regular visitor to the HSI site, especially the Youth Section.

I think the latest article in the Growing Pains column is really good and applicable not just to youth, but to persons of all ages.

I also love visiting the Christian Music page. My favorite band is Casting Crowns. Even though most of the artists are Protestant, having them share space with Catholic bands on a Catholic site makes the site very ecumenical. So great going again!

I hope your ministry continues to grow and flourish and expand the kingdom of God. And may Jesus's prayer - "Father I pray that they may be one" - soon come to pass.

Listening to the Word of God

Marie writes:

Ever since I came to know of the Holy Spirit Interactive web site, I have been going through the Daily Missal, Inspiration and Reflections. I feel blessed.

Can you tell me where I will be able to download the whole Bible (Old as well as New Testament) which can be read aloud? My brother is unable to read and this would help him immensely.

We are unaware of any Catholic audio Bibles that can be downloaded, though there are several available on audio tape and CD. There is a Saint Joseph Edition of the New American Bible available, as also a New American Bible (both New Testament only) from Amazon.com. There are also complete Bibles available here: http://www.biblebible.com/Catholic-bible.asp.

A Whale Lot of Gratitude

Someone once said that gratitude is the memory of the heart. Unfortunately, most of us tend to be extremely ungrateful people, and very often, the most ungrateful of all are the ones who have the most to be thankful for. Perhaps we can all learn a lesson from this true life story e-mailed to me by Terry Fenwick.

If you read the front page story of the SF Chronicle on Thursday, Dec 14, 2005, you would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines.

She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body-her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralone Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help.

Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her - a very dangerous proposition. One slap of the tail could kill a rescuer.

They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her. When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around---she was thanking them.

Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.

May we, and all those we love, be so blessed and fortunate----to be surrounded by people who will help us get untangled from the things that are binding us. And, may we always know the joy of giving and receiving gratitude. I pass this on to you, in the same spirit.

May we, like the whale, remember to go back and thank all of those who helped us, beginning with the Lord and then others He sent to us.

HSI: Precious Help

Ivan and Dorothy Pais of Dubai write on April 19:

Here's good news for Mr. Aneel Aranha and his team. This is what Bishop Paul Hinder, o.f.m. (cap.), the new Vicar Apostolic of Arabia, has said in his first Pastoral Letter in the context of Bible groups and Bible courses: Those who have internet-access may get precious help on the website "Holy Spirit Interactive" (http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/). Copies of the Pastoral Letter have been distributed to all the parishioners in the Vicariate which comprises the U.A.E., Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen and Saudi Arabia (no churches).

Bishop Paul, like his predecessor, Bishop Bernard Gremoli, who recently retired after 29 years as Vicar Apostolic of Arabia, will visit all the churches in the Vicariate during his Pastoral Visitation every year. According to Canon Law it is an obligation to do so only once in 5 years.

The Vicariate is the size of Europe!

A Cradle Full of God's Love

Merwyn Caldeira of Goa, India writes this touching, courageous, and inspiring testimony that should teach all of us something:

Judith and I got married on the 30th of December 04. We live in Panjim and work in Margao, a 90 minute drive from our home. She teaches in a college, and I work for the Government of Goa. I am in the music ministry of the Panjim Charismatic prayer group; Judy, a very active member of 'Singles For Christ'.

The morning of 13th June 2005, the feast of St. Anthony, Judy took a pregnancy test and we were delighted that it was positive. We thanked God for His wonderful gift of this baby. We consulted a gynecologist, and went for the regular checkups.

At our 5th month appointment, the doctor was disturbed after the scan. He asked us to take a second opinion, which we did and then... the numbing news! Our baby had no kidneys (bilateral renal agenesis). The doctor advised us that in such cases the babies are stillborn in more than 40% of cases while those born, die within 4 hours. Other abnormalities included: dehydrated skin, cleft lip and palate, wide set eyes, parrot beak nose, receding chin, large low set ears, major abnormalities of the head, limbs, etc.

Medical opinions in Bombay and abroad echoed this. Many doctors, friends and relatives advised us to abort as they felt that it didn't make sense Judy going through all the usual complications of pregnancy, knowing our baby would survive a maximum of 4 hours. Besides the horrific experience of seeing our baby so deformed, and then the breast milk suppression drugs Judy would need to take, which could be cancer causing. For us, though, this baby was God's gift to us, and we loved and cherished our gift. NO WAY we would abort! We knew our baby had a problem, we knew what to expect, God was merciful to us.

We prayed, for hours, everyday, with daily visits to the Blessed Sacrament, for a total healing in our baby. We read the word of God. As days went by our prayer gradually stepped up into praise and thanksgiving, then just went on to total surrender, and as God's infinite love unfolded for us, we trusted Him completely and prayed "Thy will be done." Amazingly, throughout, the Lord never let us feel bitter about what had happened, we never ever asked 'WHY US'! God had given us the gift of faith.

Slowly we began to see how God was providing for us, a kind lady from my office who lives close to our work place, offered the entire first floor of her house for us to live in, provided us with excellent food and took great care of us. People we had never met before would come, introduce themselves and tell us they were praying for us and offer help. God loved us, and cared for us.

We would come across passages in various spiritual books a day before we would need them. Like one night I showed Judy a passage about thanking God for everything. The next morning Judy couldn't feel baby's movement, the doctor had instructed us that if this happened we had to rush to hospital, as it would mean that our baby had died in the womb. Judy just prayed, "Lord my baby isn't moving, I don't need to understand why, but I thank you for this." Within 15 minutes our baby started moving again. Hallelujah!!

Some weeks later Judy also had an asthma attack, which could have induced labor, in between her blood pressure too was shooting up, but we always got timely treatment. God was protecting our baby and us. We were now at 35 weeks, close to full term. Our baby was not supposed to survive beyond 30 weeks.

Our gynecologist advised us to consult at the Goa Medical College, as he felt that the baby had to be delivered soon as there were some complications.

25th January 2006: At the Goa Medical College, the very able assistant professor in Gynecology, told us our baby's chances of surviving a normal delivery were ZERO. But there was a slim chance our baby may survive a couple of hours if by caesarian section. God strengthened Judy, she opted for the caesarian. Many reviled her for this decision, but she stood firm. This was the only way our darling baby could be baptized. The surgery was scheduled for 5:30 pm, but Judy was rushed in at 1:30 pm itself, as her blood pressure was going up and our baby's heartbeat had dropped from 140 to 80 beats per minute. All throughout a tension filled hour outside the OT, our friends and relatives maintained a prayerful vigil. 2:30 pm, the surgeon came out and told us that our baby was alive, but for how long she couldn't say.

The priest arrived to baptize our baby and we rushed to the neonatal unit. I was very nervous entering. I didn't know what to expect. When the doctor led us to this beautiful baby boy, I thought she made a mistake. I didn't see any of the abnormalities I was told to expect. He seemed so perfect. What a compassionate God!! He yelled when we began to pray. Our son was baptized DERON ANTHONY. He survived a full 26 hours, thanks to wonderful pro-life pediatricians who gave him the best medical care.

26th January, 4:15 pm. God took our baby back to Him. Blessed be His name! I was devastated when informed. I went to Judy, I didn't need to tell her, she saw it on my face. We fell into each other's arms and had a good cry, and then amazingly, we spontaneously began thanking God. We said a prayer thanking God for this wonderful period in our lives, a period during which He gave us the gift of parenthood, and inundated us with graces and blessings. He carried us, to achieve the goal of being ideal parents; parents who led their child back to Him. God had rewarded us, with our very own intercessor.

Our little angels' thanksgiving mass and funeral was a beautiful and touching service; celebrated by Fr. Patrick Viegas, who had baptized Deron, I called Judy on her cell phone, and left it on through the service, so she could be part of it from her hospital bed.

Yes! Losing our child is very painful. Psychologically we did take a battering. Judy went through many physical hardships as well. Never once did she complain. Through it all the advice & prayer support of our parish priests, Sr. Mareena, Aneel Aranha, Charismatics, Couples for Christ, Crusaders, and their intercessory groups, our friends & relatives, carried us into a new experience of the Lord's intimate love. We are overwhelmed by the way people reached out to us, we pray the Lord continues to bless them all!

Who Created God?

Bosco P writes: My 8 year old son gets very keen and interested to hear when I quote to him events and incidents from the Scriptures (and I wish he continues to be this way always) - about Creation, how God created all things; about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, etc. He is totally amazed at how God Almighty has powers to create all things!! He understands, 'In the beginning there was darkness and a void, and God's spirit hovered over the waters.' Then God created everything, including us all. He wants to know how God was there in the beginning and who created God? I told him, 'God was just there - he was, is and will be forever.' I am sure you can give me a better convincing reply which I can give him?

No one created God - he has always existed. We can't understand this because everything that we know has a beginning or an end. Each day has a morning and night; basketball games have an opening tip-off and a final buzzer; people are born and they die. But God has no beginning or end. He always was and always will be.

Lord, through all the generations you have been our home! You were there before the mountains were made. You were there before the earth was formed. You are God without beginning or end. (Psalm 90:1-2) See also: Hebrews 13:8; Revelation 1:8; 18

For more answers to those dizzy questions kids ask, please visit our section Questions Kids Ask in the HSI KidsZone.

Late Comers and Holy Communion

Laura B asks: How late in the mass can a person arrive and still receive Holy Communion?

Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum, answers the question very well in the Zenit Daily Dispatch:

Like most priests, I am loath to give a straight answer to this question because, in a way, it is a catch-22 question for which there is no right answer.

It is true that before the Second Vatican Council some moral theology manuals placed arrival before the offertory as the dividing line in deciding whether one fulfilled the Sunday obligation of assistance at Mass. But after the liturgical reform, with its emphasis on the overall unity of the Mass, modern theologians shy away from such exactitude.

Mass begins with the entrance procession and ends after the final dismissal and we should be there from beginning to end. Each part of the Mass relates and complements the others in a single act of worship even though some parts, such as the consecration, are essential while others are merely important.

To say that there is a particular moment before or after which we are either "out" or "safe," so to speak, is to give the wrong message and hint that, in the long run, some parts of the Mass are really not all that important. It may also give some less fervent souls a yardstick for arriving in a tardy manner.

Although I prefer not to hazard giving a precise cutoff moment, certainly someone who arrives after the consecration has not attended Mass, should not receive Communion, and if it is a Sunday, go to another Mass.

Arriving on time is not just a question of obligation but of love and respect for Our Lord who has gathered us together to share his gifts, and who has some grace to communicate to us in each part of the Mass.

It is also a sign of respect for the community with whom we worship and who deserves our presence and the contribution of our prayers in each moment. The liturgy is essentially the worship of Christ's body, the Church. Each assembly is called upon to represent and manifest the whole body but this can hardly happen if it forms itself in drips and drabs after the celebration has begun.

Thus people who arrive late to Mass have to honestly ask themselves, Why? If they arrive late because of some justified reason or unforeseen event, such as blocked traffic due to an accident, they have acted in good conscience and are not strictly obliged to assist at a later Mass (although they would do well to do so if they arrive very late and it is possible for them).

Likewise for many elderly people, even getting to the church is an odyssey, and one must not burden their consciences by counting the minutes.

If people arrive late due to culpable negligence, and especially if they do so habitually, then they need to seriously reflect on their attitudes, amend their ways, and if necessary seek the sacrament of reconciliation.

Depending on how late they arrive they should prefer to honor the Lord's day by attending some other Mass, or, if this is not possible, at least remain in the Church after Mass is over and dedicate some time to prayer and reflection on the readings of the day.

An attentive reader suggested that Father Edward's reply as to "what point in time during Mass it is considered too late for anyone coming into the Mass to receive Communion" did not quite address the question at hand. The core query appeared to be "asking a more direct question, about how much Mass is required before receiving Communion." This could have serious consequences, the follow-up questioner noted, as "Mass is not a prerequisite for receiving Communion. If it were, I and other extraordinary eucharistic ministers could not bring Communion to the shut-ins, the sick, the elderly, or the imprisoned." You can read the addendum here.

The Crusades

Clare: I would like to read about "The Crusades" and the role the Church played in them. I have a Protestant friend who is totally against the Catholic Church because of the Crusaders. Could you include something that could be of help to me in one of your items.

Cell Phones at Mass

Eileen Wehner of St. Nicholas Parish, Alaska wrote this in response to Fr. Saunder's latest article posted on the site on the use of cellular phones in church.

I just read Fr. Saunders' answer about cell phones at Mass. Our pastor, Fr. Ross Tozzi, has a unique way to handle that situation: He offers to answer it for them! One embarrassed parishioner sat flame-faced while Fr. Ross talked to the caller. It only took that one time for the rest of us to remember to turn it off at the door!

Great idea, this!

Safe Exercises

Charlene: Someone had suggested that I try your site to find info on "safe exercises" that I can do instead of yoga. Do you have anything like that? Can you suggest a cd?

For stretching excercises, try The Stretch Deck, a set of 50 heavy-duty cards showing stretches for all the major muscle groups. Each card shows an illustration of a single stretch with step-by-step instructions on the reverse side. The cards also list the benefits of each stretch and offer a helpful tip. At US$ 14.95, it's a lot cheaper than yoga classes too!

I don't know of any CD's that are available, but perhaps some of our readers might. Charlene's question references the HSI series on New Age where we had articles on Yoga, among other things.

Welcome to Reader's Write

We receive hundreds of mails each week, and while many of them are messages complimenting us on a job well done, we receive several others that offer opinions on articles, make suggestions, and even ask questions.

We have long since wanted to create a forum online, that would not only allow visitors to the site to express themselves publicly, but also interact with each other. We found regular forums too cumbersome to manage, however, not to mention inelegant, and guest books too tacky, but a blog seemed to be an ideal solution for what we had in mind.

Hence this blog, where YOU do the writing, not us. To get your posts up and running, please email us at blogs@holyspiritinteractive.net, and we'll have you on this page in no time at all. Please do note that your comments might be edited in the interests of conciseness.