The priestly garb matches his black belt in karate perfectly.
I’ll be frank, tabbies and tigers: we’re invisible.* If we’re not invisible, we’re being ignored, if not ignored, then we’re seen for the lies that people say about us. As the late great Bishop Sheen once said, “There are not more than 100 people in the world who truly hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they perceive to be the Catholic Church.”
However, that little intro isn’t to get you riled up against the world. It’s to motivate you to be your cool self, to be the best you can be with your gifts, because if you can’t reach people through your impeccable theology (as if anyone had this), you just may reach them through your talents. And here is where Fr. Leo E. Patalinghug does a karate flip into the kitchen and proceeds to serve Bobby Flay on national television. That is, he served fajitas, thereby besting the renowned Food Network chef in kitchen combat (Throwdown, not Iron Chef), and gaining attention for his Grace Before Meals movement.
The movement, compromised of a book, a TV show, events, and the participation of many, many people, may be summed up in the slogan: Stronger family, better food. It has its roots in when Fr. Leo used to cook for his St. John’s Church parishioners in Westminster, Maryland. Those opportunities were precious, self-evident moments of bonding, and they were what led to Grace Before Meals the book.
Fr. Leo’s love for cooking and his priesthood are not mere happenstance, however. It was while attending seminary in Rome that he started talking and exchanging recipes with local Italian chefs. They taught him rigatoni and lasagna, and he taught them hamburgers and ribs. Before the seminary and his call to the priesthood, he owned a martial arts school with his brother, where he presumably served up knuckle sandwiches in a masterful fashion.
But it's food that brings us together, and it isn’t just a way to share something delicious; it is a way to truly interact and learn from one another. Of course, in times like these, it is ever more important that we bind together, especially on the family level. We might as well be cool about it and throw a barbecue or two.
*The article is actually about pro-lifers, but I ask you, who is the largest pro-life institution in the world?
This fresh and tender music video premiered just one week ago, making this the perfect time for me to finally introduce Mr. Kim on Cool Cats. Though he sounds a bit like the answer to a Tribond riddle, the Catholic Korean beatboxer is also the answer to an age old question: can we get some God-loving lyrics and some headbobbing beats at the same time?
Answer:
Laying down percussion, instrumentals, and lyrics all at the same time may seem like a super power, but Paul doesn’t just use his powers for the good of your earbuds and stereo speakers: he takes them on the road so he can talk candidly with teens. Having once been an apathetic youth who took cues from MTV rather than from the faith he was raised in, it didn’t hit him until the college party scene left him empty that God could fill him completely.
I swallowed the whole world/ but was never filled/ until I met you/ against so pure and true/ I could never believe/ unless I found you
(chorus from "Man Fully Alive")
His own experience as a young man who tried everything aside from God allows him to connect so well with teens, but his words are also well grounded with a B.A. in Theology and Philosophy and an M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy. He’s out to reach and strengthen his Catholic family by preparing talks on self-image, bullying, chastity, faith and psychology, and how un-boring God is. In regards to the rifts and “bickering” in our Christian family at large, he leaves us with true words of wisdom: "Come on y’all! Let’s pray and serve together, loiter in the parking lot, and then go get KyoChon Chicken as ONE FAMILY!"1
Check out his website to see if he’ll be looping his voice in a venue near you, and if not, do everything you can to change that. You and he are both worth it.
Paul's Youtube channel - Paul also does some impressive a Capella covers of mainstream music such as Coldplay and Bruno Mars that are worth checking out.
"The Catholic Church defends religious liberty, including freedom of conscience, for everyone. The Amish do not carry health insurance. The government respects their principles. Christian Scientists want to heal by prayer alone, and the new health-care reform law respects that. Quakers and others object to killing even in wartime, and the government respects that principle for conscientious objectors. By its decision, the Obama administration has failed to show the same respect for the consciences of Catholics and others who object to treating pregnancy as a disease."
The winter X-games are upon us, and although they are not a direct translation of the games in the Winter Olympics, they still bring to mind memories of Vancouver and Turino. Among those memories are the particular athletes who inspired us, and in that vein I’d like to introduce this week’s cool cat: Rebecca Dussault, Olympian and mother.
Her journey to the Winter Games in Turino began when she first started racing in cross-country skis at age 15. Over the next five years she was among the elite, but to her dismay, she was not in good company. Many competitions were on Sundays, so on Saturday evening she alone would be hunting for a church and even fasting to receive communion. When her pre-race Eucharistic habit wasn’t being met with incredulity, Dussault still clashed with her 40 teammates where her beliefs were concerned.
The seed to witness was planted, but it would not sprout immediately. At age 19, Dussault married and wanted to retire from racing to make sure her priorities were straight. She was blessed with a son and a devoted husband, but she came to realize that God had blessed her to be a darn good skier as well. When she made her return after a three year break, she wasn’t the only one on the road to Turino; her son and husband were her indispensable entourage, and they would accompany her to the Italian Alps.
In Turino, Dussault became something of a media-buzz; interesting, since she didn’t even come close to medaling, though she was the top American finisher. Rather, it all had to do with what was written on her skis: Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. Pier Giorgio was a local of Turino, an athlete, and a faithful who died young contracting polio in his service to the poor. Dussault had adopted him as her patron saint before making it to Turino, and now the whole world was hearing about him.
Dussault is a member of Catholic Athletes for Christ, and she continues to witness in a way that only an athlete can: "There are so many parallels between sports and the spiritual life. When I am enduring physical pain, I can do just one more pull-up for one more soul. We need to recognize that a love of sports can help the mind search for truth."1
It’s not hard to see how the handsome face above became a pop sensation and a soap opera star in his native Mexico. As he went up the echelons to star in the 20th century Fox film, Chasing Papi, people even began calling him the “Brad Pitt of Mexico.”
With his rising fame and ambition, Eduardo made the logical decision to work with an English teacher in L.A., but he learned more than English from the devout Catholic. Further influenced by Scott Hahn’s Rome Sweet Home, Eduardo did a 180, vowed to stay off demeaning roles, and even considered becoming a pirest. Those around him thought he was nuts, but he had undergone a true conversion: ...heaven is forever and that is my goal. I realized that I didn’t want to be a part of anything where the Blessed Virgin Mary or my mother would have to cover their eyes. 1
His spiritual director advised him to stay in Hollywood, but he did not get another role for three years. The dry spell ended when he met Leo Severino at a daily mass. Together they set out to form Metanoia, a film company that seeks to change hearts and affirm human dignity. Their first major production was the Toronto Film Festival audience favorite Bella (2006). In it, Eduardo stars not as a Latin lover, but as a young man who wants to help his female friend, body and soul, and to keep her from repeating his mistakes.
Metanoia’s next project isLittle Boy, an adult fairy-tale about a boy who “struggles to achieve the impossible…bring his father back from WWII.”
In between movies Eduardo can be seen speaking out against abortion, inviting young Catholics to attend World Youth Day, and sharing the story of his personal journey. “We are not called to be successful, we are called to be faithful. I wasn't born to be famous, or rich, I was born to know and love and serve our Lord Jesus Christ.”2
Should I even try to follow that with pesky words? I better keep it brief and let her music speak for itself.
Truth be told, Miss Chavez is one of the reasons I started this blog. Some time back, I went on an internet walkabout to uncover what I could of Catholic music, and the fruits of it will show up from time to time on Cool Cats.*
Gina Chavez is from Austin, TX, where she is a mainstay on the live music scene. Her latest single, "Milas de Millas", was recently featured on the Austin Music Compilation 10, and was featured on NPR’s Alt Latino’s program on the SXSW music festival.
Though she’s Latin-American, she grew up a “gringa” and didn’t learn to speak Spanish from her parents. This led to a strong desire to find out more about her Latin roots, a desire that would take her on a study abroad to Argentina and later on a mission to El Salvador. There she taught English to 300 girls in the same region as the Mara Salvatrucha, a notorious gang. Spurred by a strong sense of social justice, she helped found a college fund for the girls she taught: Austin 4 El Salvador.
This social justice comes through in her singing, such as in the song “St. Anthony” from 2007’s Hanging Spoons:
You must think I’m hopeless/ you won’t even try to reach out your hand/ give me reason to smile/ there’s no one to listen/ no one to touch and you wonder why/ I hate the world so much
For such a beautiful voice, how about a beautiful quote?
“I think being a Catholic doesn’t just mean when you’re in church…Your faith is about struggle and struggle happens everywhere. For me, it’s about allowing God to be the Creator and me to be the instrument. The song might be about love, faith, falling down or struggling with hurtful feelings. Music can move people in a way that words cannot.”1
For the record, any cat who voices for a Bioware game is automatically cool.
Probably best known for his seven year portrayal of President Bartlet in The West Wing, the prolific actor has done everything from Apocalypse Now to voicing the Illusive Man in the later Mass Effect games. He’s played a priest on seven different occasions; five of those roles come after his rebirth in the faith.
To understand his spiritual journey, one has to recognize the troubled person he was in 1979’s Apocalypse Now, as further evidenced in Francis Coppola’s Hearts of Darknes: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, a documentary on the film’s disturbed set. In an interview for the National Catholic Register, Sheen says of the role:
…That sequence was in large part a reflection of my own personal brokenness. I was not a practicing Catholic at the time, and I had no clue as to what I was getting into with the film… A year later, I had a heart attack, a really close call.
I was playing a frightened, confused professional killer [Capt. Benjamin Willard], an unstable frightened alcoholic. I didn’t have a clue who this character was supposed to be and the director [Francis Ford Coppola] said to me: “It’s you. Whoever wants to arrive at any kind of certainty as an actor brings themselves.” I realized I could wrestle this demon… My poor wife, Janet, got a glimpse of this poor devil in that sequence, the anger, fear, resentment, disappointment that had built up over 36 years.
In 1981 he did a film in Paris, and it was there he met up with an Episcopalian friend, Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line, Tree of Life). After a series of life delving discussions, he went knocking on St. Joseph’s Church in Paris, and said to the Irish priest, “I have been away from the church for a long time and I’d like to go to confession.”(NCR)
Since then Sheen has been very active in social justice, taking inspiration from Daniel Berrigan, SJ, and his founding of the Plowshares Movement, which brought together people of varying faiths to nonviolently oppose the Vietnam war. He carries a rosary to help keep him from swearing and to comfort him on flights. According to Irish Central, he did not support Barack Obama in 2008 because of the candidate's pro-choice stance.
His latest spiritual foray into film is his starring role in The Way, which is written and directed by his son Emilio Estavez:
Martin Sheen plays Tom, an American doctor who comes to St. Jean Pied de Port, France to collect the remains of his adult son (played by Emilio Estevez), killed in the Pyrenees in a storm while walking the Camino de Santiago, also known as The Way of Saint James. Rather than return home, Tom decides to embark on the historical pilgrimage to honor his son's desire to finish the journey. What Tom doesn't plan on is the profound impact the journey will have on him and his "California Bubble Life."
Check the website to find a showing near you.
Fun fact: His actor's surname is taken from Bishop Fulton Sheen.
