Every year the U.S. Catholic Church dedicates a week in November to pray for and promote vocations to the priesthood, the diaconate and consecrated life through prayer and education.

This year National Vocation Awareness Week is Nov. 5-11, and Catholic organizations, dioceses, schools and local parish communities are sponsoring events and providing different resources to raise awareness for vocations, and help those who are discerning a vocation, particularly one to ordained ministry or consecrated life.

“During this week, the Church gives thanks to God for the faithful example of husbands and wives, and joyful witness of ordained ministers and consecrated persons,” said an Oct. 30 statement from Bishop Earl A. Boyea of Lansing, Michigan, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations.

“We pray that many more men and women will be open to the movement of the Holy Spirit in their hearts as they discern the mission God has for them,” he said.

Bishop Austin A. Vetter of Helena, Montana, a member of the USCCB vocations committee,
said the week is a “wonderful time for us to hone in our efforts” to promote vocations.

“We should always have vocation awareness and always asking God for an increase of vocations to the priesthood and religious life around around the world and for our own local churches,” he said, underscoring the importance of the weeklong focus “to heighten awareness” about the need for vocations and have this on “the forefront of our minds.”

The bishop, whose statement accompanied Bishop Boyea’s remarks in a USCCB news release, also is episcopal liaison to the National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors, the National Religious Vocation Conference and Serra International.

Bishop Vetter emphasized that National Vocation Awareness Week offers a special opportunity for “redoubling our efforts of prayer that young people would be able to hear the voice — the quiet, gentle voice many times — of Jesus inviting them into a vocation as a priest or religious.”

“It’s such a beautiful life and it’s such a needed life and a life that is so loved by our people,” he added, noting his own prayers “and commitment to do my part” to increase vocations.

Beginning in 1976, the U.S. bishops designated the 28th Sunday of the year as an opportunity for the Catholic Church in the United States to renew its prayerful support for those discerning an ecclesial vocation. In 2014, the Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations committee elected to move the observance to the first week of November “to better engage Catholic educational institutions in the efforts to raise awareness for vocations,” according to the USCCB news release.

NOTES: USCCB resources on vocations as well as resources from the National Religious Vocation Conference, National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors, and the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious are available on the USCCB website, www.usccb.org.

By Bert Ghezzi (OSV News)

Advent prepares us for Jesus’ coming at Christmas and for his coming into our lives afresh. And no one knows how to get ready to welcome Christ better than the saints.

They express their love for him by putting him first in their hearts. They make room for him by clearing out the clutter of sins and faults. The saints pursue holiness by embracing the Lord’s teaching and lifestyle. They respond to his graces by practicing spiritual disciplines like prayer, Scripture study, fasting and almsgiving. And the saints express their love for God by reaching out to others with the Good News. They especially dedicate themselves to caring for the poor and marginalized.

So, let’s make the most of this Advent and spend it with four representative saints, imitating the ways that they opened their hearts to Jesus.

– St. Thérèse of Lisieux (1873–1897)

We are attracted to St. Thérèse because she was an ordinary person. Raised in a faithful Catholic family, she was doted on by her father, teased by her sisters and suffered the pain of loss. Her youth was troubled by her mother’s death and by two sisters entering the convent. But on Christmas 1887, Thérèse experienced a conversion that released her spiritual sadness. “Love filled my heart, I forgot myself, and henceforth I was happy,” she said.

The next year, when Thérèse was only 15, the bishop allowed her to join the Carmelite convent at Lisieux. She wanted to become a missionary and a martyr, but soon realized that neither option was open to a cloistered nun. So she sought the Holy Spirit for another way to serve the Lord Jesus. Reflecting on Scripture, Thérèse learned to do the loving thing in every situation, which she discovered was the fuel that fired the faith of martyrs and saints. Doing the least of actions for love became the secret of her “little way.”

What does a 19th-century nun have to do with us? Juggling the duties of family, work or school, navigating freeways and keeping up with the digital world, we don’t have much time for pursuing holiness, do we? But that’s where Thérèse sets the example for us. Her simplicity shows us that we, too, can be holy.

– Venerable Matt Talbot (1856–1925)

For 16 years, Venerable Matt Talbot was a daily drunk. Then one day, an unanticipated conversion transformed him and he became a model penitent following Jesus Christ.

As a child of a poor family in Dublin, Matt had to forgo school for a job. After a year of basic education, he started working for a wine seller. And Matt started drinking heavily at the early age of 12.

His father beat him and made him change jobs — but nothing could stop Matt’s habit. He said that when he was intoxicated, he occasionally thought about the Blessed Mother and prayed an off-handed Hail Mary. Matt speculated later that she had something to do with his conversion.

One day in 1884 everything suddenly changed. Matt had been out of work several days and expected his buddies to take him drinking. When they snubbed him, he made a decision that transformed his life.

When he arrived at home, his mother said, “You’re home early, Matt, and you’re sober!” He replied, “Yes, mother, I am and I’m going to take the pledge.” The next day he went to confession and took the sobriety pledge for three months.

But Matt extended three months of going without alcohol into 41 years. In 1891, Matt found community support by joining the Franciscan Third Order. He lived the rest of his life quietly, working and praying. St. Paul VI declared him venerable in 1975.

At a time when addictions to alcohol, other drugs and pornography are running rampant, Matt Talbot stands as an exemplar of the ways to freedom and holiness through Jesus.

– Blessed Anne Mary Taigi (1769-1837)

A model woman, Blessed Anne Mary managed a large household in Rome for nearly five decades. She handled finances with little money, patiently cared for a difficult extended family and entertained a constant stream of guests. She did all this full of faith and good cheer.

At age 21, Anne Mary married Domenico Taigi, a servant in a Roman palace. They had seven children, two of whom died in childbirth. Early in her marriage, Anne Mary experienced a religious conversion. She simplified her life, initiating practices of prayer and self-denial that she pursued the rest of her life in following Jesus Christ.

Anne Mary took the spiritual lead in her family. The day began with morning prayer and Mass, and ended with reading lives of the saints and praying the rosary. The Taigis had little of their own, but Anne Mary always found ways of providing for those who had less. She also took in her hard-to-get-along-with parents and her widowed daughter, Sophie, with her six children.

Domenico’s violent temper often disrupted the family. But Anne Mary was always able to calm him and restore peaceful relationships. In his old age, Domenico gave this touching tribute to his wife:

“With her wonderful tact she was able to maintain a heavenly peace in our home. And that even though we were a large household full of people with very different temperaments.

“I often came home tired, moody and cross, but she always succeeded in soothing and cheering me. And due to her, I corrected some of my faults. If I were a young man and could search the whole world to find such a wife, it would be vain. I believe that God has received her into heaven because of her great virtue. And I hope that she will pray for me and our family.”

We may imagine that becoming a saint requires heroics like founding a religious order or converting people in faraway places who have never heard of the Gospel. But Blessed Anne Mary shows us that the daily faithful care of a family requires more than enough heroism to make us holy.

– Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925)

Pope St. John Paul II celebrated Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati as a man of the Beatitudes. Athletic and strong, he devoted himself to the weak and malformed. He was wealthy, but he lived in poverty so he could give everything to the poor. He was gregarious, but a lover of solitude. He was rambunctious, the life of every party, and a practical joker, but at prayer he was solemn, reflective and quiet.

As a teenager, Pier Giorgio made friends of the poor in Turin’s back streets and gave them whatever he had – his money, his shoes, his overcoat. “Jesus comes to me every morning in holy Communion,” he replied to a friend who asked why the hovels did not repulse him. “I repay him in my very small way by visiting the poor. The house may be sordid, but I am going to Christ.”

Pier Giorgio saw the need for social change to relieve the causes of poverty. At the university, he decided to major in mechanical engineering so that he could work with miners, who were especially disadvantaged. He was a leader in student political organizations and actively opposed Benito Mussolini and the Fascists.

At the same time, he was the organizer of student parties, games and ski trips to the Alps, where he would lead his friends in prayer. Afterward, they relaxed and enjoyed food, wine, cigars and songs.

Blessed Pier Giorgio has become the hero of contemporary young Catholics. They recognize his high Christian ideals, still held while pursuing the same pleasures that they enjoy. They gravitate to this handsome and charming saint who delighted in reciting the poetry of Dante, praying the rosary in a booming voice and spending a night in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

– Christ’s final coming

Advent anticipates not only Jesus’ coming to us as a baby, but it also expects his final coming in glory. Since the Father alone knows the day of the end, the Lord cautioned us always to be watchful and to conduct ourselves in uprightness. When Jesus comes as the Bridegroom to wed the church, we do not want to be as unprepared as the five foolish virgins in the parable (see Mt 25:1-13).

So this Advent, following the saints, may we decide always to love God above all and to do the loving thing in every circumstance.

(Bert Ghezzi is the author of many books including “Voices of the Saints” and “The Power of Daily Prayer.” He lives near Orlando, Florida.)

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour

By Kurt Jensen
NEW YORK (OSV News) – “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 is a guest reviewer for OSV News.)

The Exorcist: Believer

By John Mulderig
NEW YORK (OSV News) – Although the horror sequel “The Exorcist: Believer” (Universal) gets off to a reasonably promising start, it degenerates quickly. In fact, it ends up being a muddle both dramatically and, more significantly, in its treatment of religion.

Director and co-writer David Gordon Green’s take on the demonic possession theme follows the ordeal of widowed father Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom Jr.). Victor’s life is initially disrupted when his daughter Angela (Lidya Jewett) disappears in the company of her schoolmate and friend, Katherine (Olivia O’Neill).

Although Victor agonizes over Angela’s absence, he gets more than he bargained for when both girls eventually return. As the audience knows, the pals had gone into the woods to practice amateur spiritualism in the hope of communicating with Angela’s late mother. To that extent, the screenplay – penned with Peter Sattler – presents a cautionary tale applicable in real life.

As Victor and Katherine’s parents, Miranda (Jennifer Nettles) and Tony (Norbert Leo Butz), try to cope with the duo’s bizarre subsequent behavior – as well as some inexplicable phenomena – they get religious guidance from nun-turned-nurse Ann (Ann Dowd). They also get less specific advice from self-described exorcism expert Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn).

Chris is, of course, the mother of Regan, the victim in a similar incident showcased in the 1973 film that inaugurated the franchise. Although the current movie is intended as a direct sequel to the original and, in that respect, a reboot of the series, the approach of this script to its subject matter departs markedly from the earlier tale.

As adapted from his own fact-based novel by screenwriter William Peter Blatty, and directed by William Friedkin, the Watergate-era picture may have sensationalized matters but at its center was a fairly straightforward confrontation between Regan’s tormentor and two Catholic priests.

The driving away of the devil here, by contrast, takes on the qualities of a circus.

In part, that’s probably attributable to the fact that the more-or-less church-friendly attitude of the earlier movie would jar on contemporary Hollywood sensibilities. What’s presented to the audience, as a result, is a spiritual free-for-all.

There is a well-meaning cleric, Father Maddox (E.J. Bonilla), hovering around. But his superiors won’t authorize an exorcism. So Ann decides she’ll read from the Roman Ritual herself. Miranda and Tony’s unnamed minister (Raphael Sbarge) also is on hand, loudly reciting verses from the Bible.

This interdenominational broadmindedness is further extended by the inclusion of a female shaman, Dr. Beehibe (Okwui Okpokwasili). She’s out to see what her version of African animism can contribute to the overheated shouting match.

The good doctor’s practices are shown to be just as effective as the prayers of priest or pastor. But the dialogue in some quieter scenes assures us that it’s really interpersonal solidarity that will ultimately send Satan packing.

The production thus promotes a syncretist, humanistic and even vaguely anti-Catholic outlook that could be spiritually dangerous for anyone inclined to take it seriously. On the whole, however, this half-a-century-later follow-up is best dismissed as a bit of chaotic schlock.

The film contains misguided spiritual ideas, brief gory images, mature references, including to abortion, a handful of mild oaths, a few rough terms and at least one crass expression. The OSV News classification is O – morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association rating is R – restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

(John Mulderig is media reviewer for OSV News. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @JohnMulderig1.)

By Maria Wiering

(OSV News) – In Marietta, Georgia, helping moms in need goes beyond diaper distribution or rental assistance. It’s rocking a baby in the middle of the night to help a tired mother sleep, a phone call to check in and listen, a warm relationship of support.

“It would be easy for these ministries to drop some diapers off, and not to say that’s not important,” said Keri Ninness, who leads the Walking with Moms in Need ministry at St. Joseph Parish in Marietta. “But when we’re talking about long-term impact – and we’re talking long term – being the hands and feet of Jesus, that means relationship.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops launched Walking with Moms In Need, a parish-based ministry that networks resources and accompanies pregnant and parenting mothers, in March 2020. While initial efforts were stymied by the COVID-19 pandemic, many have recommitted to helping pregnant and parenting mothers, especially as abortion lawmaking returned to states last year following the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

On Sept. 18, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, called Catholics to “radical solidarity” with vulnerable pregnant women in a letter titled “Living Radical Solidarity” issued ahead of the 50th anniversary of the inaugural Respect Life Month this October.

“While ending legalized abortion remains our preeminent priority, the most immediate way to save babies and mothers from abortion is to thoroughly surround mothers in need with life-giving support and personal accompaniment. This is radical solidarity,” Bishop Burbidge wrote.

The phrase, the letter notes, echoes St. John Paul II, who first defined “radical solidarity” as becoming “courageously ‘pro woman,’ promoting a choice that is truly in favor of women” by not leaving a woman in need alone. Drawing on Pope Francis, Bishop Burbidge said radical solidarity requires a “new mindset … moving beyond the status quo and out of our comfort zones.”

For Ninness, “Solidarity means to be one with each other. It means to be in communion with one another,” she said. She pointed to a quote in Bishop Burbidge’s letter from Pope Francis saying solidarity is not found in “a few sporadic acts of generosity.”

That’s why relationships and prayer are key to St. Joseph’s Walking with Moms in Need program, she said.
That approach is familiar to Father Peter Ascik, who coordinates the Walking with Moms in Need initiative for parishes in the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, as the first director of its nearly two-year-old office of family life.

As a parochial vicar in 2020, he helped one of the diocese’s largest parishes, St. Matthew in Charlotte, start a Walking with Women in Need program. Along with another Walking with Moms program at St. Pius X in Greensboro, North Carolina, “the programs at both of those parishes have flourished and are bearing really good fruit,” he said.

While the state generally bans abortions after 12 weeks, it has become a destination for women seeking abortions from neighboring states, including Georgia, with more restrictive laws, said Father Ascik, who is also pastor of St. Mary, Help of Christians Church in Shelby, North Carolina.

He praises the program for building networks of social services and providers of material resources, and the parishes for noticing gaps and working to fill them. St. Matthew parishioners identified paperwork-related barriers for mothers to get free diapers, so it organized a day each month where mothers could pick up diapers and other baby supplies, no questions asked.

In another situation, a mother’s car broke down, and she started to receive Uber gift cards “out of nowhere.” The woman was surprised to realize the wide network of people who wanted to help her, he said, and because of Walking With Moms in Need, the communication for a call for help was in place.
Part of that network are three long-standing maternity homes, as well as transitional housing for women and children experiencing homelessness in the Diocese of Charlotte.

“Radical solidarity is going to mean radical availability,” Father Ascik said. “Radical availability is being willing to answer a text message, maybe at 9 p.m. at night or on a weekend, with a need that mom’s having right now.”

“That’s the culture that Walking with Moms helps us build,” he continued, “because, whereas, maybe before we would say, ‘Yeah, I want to help pregnant moms,’ … the next step is stepping up and saying, ‘I’m here. I’m the person that you can call on, the person that will go and talk to you, the person that will help you run down a place where you can get food on a weekend,’” when food banks are closed.

A holistic approach to supporting expecting and parenting mothers in difficult circumstances is the crux of the Women and Children First initiative at the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana.

In November 2021, just before oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization were heard by the U.S. Supreme Court and real potential loomed for the overturn of Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the de Nicola Center launched an initiative to unite scholars on the interdisciplinary questions that surround building a culture of life.

“Let’s just try to think creatively and comprehensively about what people facing difficult pregnancies, difficult decisions, what they’re going to need to flourish, what’s going to be needed to protect those babies, those moms, and to create a world in which they can be cared for and loved and supported,” said O. Carter Snead, the center’s director and a professor of law and political science, of the initiative.
That meant focused academic programming and events, as well as engaging researchers interested in public policy, health care, race, addiction management, mental health care, employment law, housing and other facets that play into vulnerable parents’ circumstances and decisions, Snead said.

Among the de Nicola Center’s current partnerships is the university’s Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities and the National Maternity Housing Coalition, which are conducting an empirical study of maternity homes’ role in improving outcomes for mothers and babies.

Snead, a consultant to the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said that kind of research refutes the popular “slander” that accuses pro-life advocates of caring only for unborn babies, not their mothers or children post-birth.

“It’s the case, and it’s always been the case, that pro-lifers have stepped up to try to care for moms and families in need,” he said. “This is … the radical solidarity, radical hospitality: caring for others in need by virtue and in proportion to their need, not because we have something to gain by it or some kind of pre-existing obligations do it, but … everybody has a claim on us, especially the weakest and most vulnerable.”

How Walking with Moms in Need will grow remains to be seen, but its leaders know the work is valuable. In the past year, St. Joseph in Marietta has helped about 18 women, Ninness said.

“These ministries have the opportunity to preach the Gospel in a way that does not even require quoting Scripture,” she said. “It’s ‘I’m going to allow myself to be the hands and feet of Jesus for you, so that you might not know who Jesus is, but you will see what he does, through what this ministry does.”

Maria Wiering is senior writer for OSV News.

By Michael Gresham
DALLAS (OSV News) – The Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, located in the heart of downtown Dallas, has long been known as a landmark in the Diocese of Dallas for its enduring cultural and faith-filled significance, drawing pilgrims from across north Texas and beyond.

Now, the long beloved diocesan landmark is also a national shrine.

On behalf of the Diocese of Dallas, Bishop Edward J. Burns officially announced Oct. 3 that the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe has been granted the significant designation of a national shrine by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“The Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe has stood as a beacon of faith and history in Dallas for generations,” said Bishop Burns as he expressed his profound gratitude and enthusiasm for the milestone. “This elevation to national shrine status is a testament to our community and parishioners’ enduring devotion, the cultural richness the cathedral embodies, and its role as a place of solace and reflection for all.”

A special Mass is planned Dec. 12 to celebrate the national shrine status of the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which will now be known as The National Shrine Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It’s a designation Father Jesús Belmontes called befitting of the cathedral’s impact on Catholics within the diocese, around the nation, and throughout Central and Latin America.

The cornerstone for the cathedral was laid June 17, 1898. The cathedral’s pastor at the time, Father Jeffrey A. Hartnett, did not live to see the construction completed. Father Hartnett died ministering to the faithful during the 1899 smallpox epidemic, contracting the disease while attending to the spiritual needs of patients in the city’s infirmary.

On Oct. 26, 1902, Bishop Edward J. Dunne, second bishop of Dallas, formally dedicated the cathedral. Constructed out of red brick and limestone, and featuring many stained-glass windows, the cathedral was designed by architect Nicholas J. Clayton, who is regarded by many as the greatest Victorian architect Texas has ever known.

Michael Gresham is editor-in-chief of The Texas Catholic, newspaper of the Diocese of Dallas. Violeta Rocha of Revista Católica Dallas, the diocese’s Spanish-language magazine, contributed to this story.