Dear Parishioners, +JMJ
Thank you for the prayers while I was away for my ongoing education conference in Rome. It dealt with spirituality. It was a very good conference; and it was packed every day from early morning to late at night. We started with praying the breviary (by language groups, since there were groups there who spoke Italian, Spanish, German, French, Korean, etc.) at 7:00 AM. Then breakfast. Then two morning conferences, about an hour and a half each, including questions and answers. Then the afternoon and evening were the same. We ended each night with language groups sharing; and this sometimes lasted past 10:30 PM. So, it was a packed schedule. The talks were profound; and sitting at meals with priests from all around the world was also very enriching. We had great conversations.
One of the sessions that I thought was super applicable to all of us was on the explicit satanic content now in so much of the “entertainment” our children watch. The presenter showed us a montage of American and Italian and Korean singers whose material was simply satanic – with explicit wording and imagery, or the material mocked the sacred. There is a prime time television show that many Italian families watch, and it starts with a famous Italian pop star who mocks baptism. Imagine what is happening to our youth, if they are being exposed to hours and hours of this stuff; yet on the other hand they are only experiencing one hour of explicitly holy content on Sundays at Mass. What are they sharing with their friends at school during break times and extracurricular activities? May the Lord give us prudence to know how to guide our children to what is genuinely good, true and beautiful when it comes to entertainment.
As I am writing this on the plane back from Rome, I am thinking of what it might be like digging out of the practical things that have piled up over the last week and a half. Thanks for your patience with my trip, and for your patience as I get back on top of things!
Have a blessed week!
In cordibus Iesu, Mariae et Iosephus,
Father Poggemeyer