Antoni Gaudí, Patron Saint of Architects?—Gabriela Gonzalez-Cremona

The above link will take you to the Catholic Culture Podcast for a nice discussion of the great Catholic architect Antoni Gaudi. His stunning Basilica La Sagrada Familia was consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.  I learned today by listening to this Podcast that the building was actually privately funded 'expiatory temple' and is owned by a Foundation -



The Junta Constructora del Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família is a private, non-profit, autonomous pious foundation. Its purpose is to build, preserve and restore the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Família, founded by Josep Maria Bocabella and designed by Antoni Gaudí, on the plot of land delimited by Mallorca, Marina, Provença and Sardenya streets.

"The Sagrada Família, as an expiatory temple, has always been funded through the donations and contributions of thousands of anonymous individuals over the years."

I learned only when putting up this post that the Foundation recently paid $41 million dollars for lacking a work permit and back taxes (LOL).  The government always gets around to getting their hand in everything.

Fasting

I was listening to Relevant Radio today on the way home from work (its on 1040 AM in New York).  The guest on the Drew Mariani show was Dr. Jay Richards and they discussed Fasting.  His website The Stream has a 13 part series about fasting here.  I have heard a lot about intermittent fasting after seeing several Catholic bloggers on Facebook talking about losing a lot of weight.  I think it all started with Jimmy Akin who had an incredible transformation.  The discussion was interesting and covered the physical improvements possible with different types of fasting.  Dr. Richards mentioned that the fasting that is done in the Eastern part of the Church is the type done by Christians throughout history, basically saying our Western fasting has been wimpy for the past several decades.  He talked about doing a 48 hour fast which is pretty extreme.  I tried the 18/8 hour fast for a few weeks even though I am skinny and don't have any weight to lose.  I did notice that I was able to go without breakfast without a problem and thought more about whether I really needed to eat or was just bored.  The discussion on the show did not discuss the spiritual benefits of fasting or why Christians fast which I was waiting to hear.  So, I found this article that discusses Christian fasting on The Catholic Gentleman.

More Than 300 Catechumens at Cathedral Rite of Election

"On the first Sunday of Lent, Cardinal Dolan celebrated the annual Rite of Election at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, welcoming and congratulating more than 300 catechumens who have been preparing to join the Catholic Church.
The catechumens will officially enter the Church in their parishes at the Easter Vigil, April 20, when they will receive the sacraments of initiation—baptism and confirmation and First Holy Communion.
The March 10 Rite of Election ceremony drew about 900 people, including relatives and friends of the catechumens who were present to show faith-filled support and encouragement."

Great Website:  Institute of Catholic Culture

I have had this bookmarked for awhile but only realized recently that it is free to sign up and get the whole library of talks.  I look forward to checking out more of the site which appears to be solid, orthodox education for adults.  One of the founders is a revert:  Greek Melkite Fr. Hezekias Carnazzo who was interviewed on The Journey Home.

A French Parish Gets an Irish Priest, And War Breaks Out in Fall River

The above link is to an interesting historical article (via Domenico Bettinelli of Bettnet.com) that shows that the arguments and battles within the Church are no where near as bad as they were in the past.    After all, the Church as a whole in the US is doing more to make sure various nationalities are welcomed and supported.  I am sure many would like to see the Church do more, but I have not seen anything at the level described in the article.  I have also seen other stories of ethnic clashes within the Church involving Italian, Germans, Irish, Polish, etc.  I found studying history makes me more optimistic than many people because the 'good old days' were never really that good. 


"In 1884, a French parish in Fall River, Mass., locked its Irish pastor out of the church and made his life a living hell. Parishioners evicted him from the rectory, seized the parish finances, insulted him on the street and disrupted Mass. The ensuing turmoil went all the way to the Vatican.
Bishop Thomas Francis Hendricken had deliberately appointed Father Samuel McGee as pastor of Notre Dame de Lourdes. He wanted the clannish Franco-American parishioners to assimilate to their new home. The parishioners resisted. One Franco-American said he would ‘stand on the brink of hell’ before accepting an Irish pastor."