Cool Cats - a blog about cool Catholics

Monday, March 26, 2012

Louise Summerhill - Founder of Birthright International

The idea was revolutionary: be there for women. To be there, to love, and to not judge. Welcome to Birthright International.

Birthright was founded in 1968 shortly after abortion became legal in Canada. Louise Summerhill, a mother of seven who had experienced unplanned pregnancy herself, felt that the best way to act against this unjust law was to act justly toward women in a way that did not include picketing and slinging insults at politicians. No, Birthright has always been non-political and it refuses the label of “anti-abortion.” They are pro-love and pro-having-babies-with-love. “We can save millions of babies. We can get the laws of abortion changed, but if we have not love, we are nothing, we are just nothing." (Georgia Bulletin)

In addition to face to face counseling, Birthright offers a hotline, free pregnancy tests, diapers, and other assorted baby items. It is run entirely by donation and every Birthright member is a volunteer.

Many of the volunteers happen to be Catholic—as is, of course, Louise Summerhill—but the organization is interdenominational. The mission to tend to our sisters is not reserved for Catholics alone, but Birthright is no less universal, with over 600 offices around the world.

There isn’t much on the net on Summerhill’s personal life, but her vision speaks volumes about her character as a woman of Christ.

Friday, March 23, 2012

By the way...

The Thirsting's new website is up! You know, The Thirsting!

Anyway, visit it and listen to some of the tracks from their newest album, Universal Youth.

And, I know, I didn't start the week off with a cool cat. I'm sorry. But if you're desperately in need of one, go hug the closest Catholic in your proximity and remind them that they're cool, too.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Lopez Lomong - Olympian and Lost Boy

"… animals could have killed us or people could have got us and killed us, but God was there to protect us."
(USA Today)

The Second Sudanese Civil War.

Lopez Lomong was abducted while attending mass at the age of six. After some weeks of wasting away in the rebel camp, he escaped with several older boys (his "angels") through a hole in the fence. And they ran.

As is clear from the post title, Lopez Lomong’s running ability is a God-given gift, but I get ahead of myself. The boys made it to a refugee camp, and there he subsisted on roughly one meal a day for ten years, all the while believing his parents to be dead. At sixteen, he wrote an essay for Catholic Charities detailing what he would do in America, given the chance. His story was so moving, the chance was given.

In 2001 Robert and Barbara Rodgers welcomed him into their home in Tully, New York. The transition was not without a hitch: Lopez was too shy to ask his adopted parents for help with the shower, lights, and other first world puzzles for the third world upbringing. Key to adjusting to his radically new setting was running. What was once comforting footfalls became high school cross-country, then a NCAA Division I education, the pros, and ultimately the Olympic 1500m. In 2008 he was voted by the U.S. team to bear the flag in the parade of athletes, and he is currently training for the London Olympics this summer.

Lomong is still very much attached to his roots. It was about a year after coming to the U.S. that he discovered his parents were alive. Now his monetary aid helps support the younger brothers he did not used to know he had. He is also a driving force of Team Darfur, an organization of elite athletes who are spreading awareness about the conflict, and pressure on the guilty powers. With 4 South Sudan he raises funds for clean drinking water, healthcare, and education.

Interestingly, some of the the mainstream media downplays his faith. However, USA Today was cool enough to share Lomong’s own faith-filled words with us: "(God) blessed me and gave me a lot of strength to be faithful and more determined with my life to overcome obstacles. He had a vision for me. He knew I would come to America and have family.”

Sunday, March 4, 2012

The Thirsting - Awesome Universal Rock

Stay thirsty, my friends.

It’s that time of year when we’re called to go into the desert in imitation of Christ. If we imitated Him fully, we’d be starving and thirsty by now, but since our dependence on comfort precludes us from this, the next best thing is to let ourselves be evangelized by an album or two by The Thirsting.

By sampling their music on their facebook page or their website, you’re bound to notice two things: 1) Their lyrics are unapologetically Catholic and 2) They seriously rock. This is not a band that could easily put on a “non-denominationally safe” show, not with lyrics like this (from "In this Sacrament"):

Well some people tell me faith is all I need;
it's like I just stop sinning when I'm on my knees,
but when reality hits I know it's him I hurt
cause every word every thought
hurts His Church.
The Church is you and the Church is me,
but this sacrament will set you free,
so every week I'm on my knees inside a little room
just a begging for His mercy trying to heal his wounds

Even if they did avert their more "catholic" songs, it wouldn't quite jive with their mission of “inspire(ing) Catholic youth to love and to follow Jesus Christ through the Eucharist, Mary through the rosary, and all of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.”1

Throw in some songs about the trinity, the Eucharist, and some Bible verses along with the sacrament of reconciliation, and you’ve got an idea of the line-up from their debut album Companions of the Lamb. Their second, Universal Youth, is particularly focused on…you guessed it, the universal church, but also on God's unrelenting and unifying love (see "Love is Blind" and "One Love").

The title track from their latest album seems especially poignant for our current culture clashes. "Will you rise up? Will you be that generation? Do you thirst with The Thirsting?"2 If you liked that, as I’m sure you did, you can get it for free here, courtesy of the band.

And who is the band? With a frontman in founder and lead vocalist Daniel Oberreuter, The Thirsting is comprised of Mike Jackson on the bass, Steve Jackson on lead guitar, Trishella Messer on Keyboard, and Ben Plumb on drums. The group is based out of Vancouver, WA, but have gigs all across the country. Note that their facebook page seems to have the most up-to-date information, so check it to see if they'll be in your area.

In case you needed further motivation to share the sweet sounds of The Thirsting with your friends, put on your headphones and check out the tracks that sold me on them:

"Ocean of Mercy":

"Hail Holy Queen":

Seriously, please spread the joy that is listening to The Thirsting. A quick google search reveals that these guys aren't well-known, and yet, their passion for the teachings of the universal church is exemplary for all Catholics.

Looking for that perfect confirmation or first communion gift? Their albums are available on amazon and cdbaby.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Dolores Hart - Oscar nominee

You could call it an off-week, or you could call me lazy, but I'm going to ask any dear reader of mine to take the initiative to get to know this week's cool cat. How do I expect you to do that?

By watching "God is Bigger than Elvis," the OSCAR NOMINATED DOCUMENTARY!

But, if you really can't bring yourself to support the black and habit on the red carpet, then I'd suggest the NY Times article "A Nun Returns to the Red Carpet."

What was that? You still think I'm incredibly lazy? Okay, here's the quick run down. Mother Hart is a voting member of the academy and even presented at the Oscars back in her acting days. Between 1957 and 1963 she appeared in sixteen different films/tv series, most notably landing Elvis Presley's first onscreen kiss in Loving You (1957). She then left her very successful Hollywood career and chivalrous fiancee for a a cloistered life in Connecticut, where she is now the prioress. There are some other details in there, but I don't want to spoil it. Ha.

Hmm, what would you toss aside for the sake of following God's plan?

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Dean Koontz - Bestselling Author

"Real joy comes from those moments during the writing when you feel the great beating heart of the divine." 1

Ash Wednesday is approaching. It’s a time for meditation and reflection, a time to contemplate our morality and mortality. Taking time to consider our lives and the world around us is a cornerstone of Catholicism, resulting in the advancement of science, the founding of systems of education, and of the building of whole societies of counter-cultural contemplatives (but don’t take my word for it, find out for yourself). With this in mind, I introduce a cool cat who looks evil in the eye and asks the tough questions: Dean Koontz.

Koontz knows firsthand what he is up against. Childhoods like Koontz's are often what people have in mind when they ask, “If there’s a god, why he does let bad things happen?” Koontz grew up under the whim and oppression of an abusive, alcoholic, and sociopathic father. Even as an adult, Koontz could not maintain distance from him because there was no one else to take care of the man in his later years. Rather than a heartwarming story of a father-son reconciliation, Koontz had to endure several attempts on his life. Indeed, why does God let these things happen?

A staple of Koontz’s books seems to be that though evil might triumph in the short term, good always prevails in the long run. This belief in the power of good, or perhaps in God’s plan, is what allows Koontz to confront evil and not shy from addressing it. He admits, he does not find it glamorous and so will never portray anything but a pathetic villain. (NRC)

Evil, as part of this world as it is, is offset by the wonder of this world: “If you remain alert to the lessons of life and aware of the mystery of the world, it is difficult to deny the existence of design in all things.” 1 This acknowledgement of the wonder of reality, while also providing a meaning and a form to truth, is part of what Koontz loves about being Catholic. What drew him to the church in the first place, however, was witnessing the closeness of his then girlfriend/current wife’s Catholic family. After some reading, he was particularly drawn to the “intellectual rigor” of the faith as evidenced by St. Thomas Aquinas and G.K. Chesterton. 2

Koontz finds science and faith to be complementary, and many of his books deal with quantum physics and biology. He also explores bioethics through his disabled characters, and he doesn’t draw the same conclusions as a certain Peter Singer who measures human worth through output:

If you bring these [disabled] people into your life, I’ve discovered – I’ve never found one who whined or complained like average people do. I’ve never found one who wasn’t grateful for every good thing that comes their way. And I haven’t found one that wasn’t an inspiration to people. If you can inspire other people by your own courage and your own stoicism, you’ve had a very valuable and important life. So they bring a great deal to the world. - Catholic Exchange, 2009

In a good example of stewardship, Koontz works extensively with Canines Companions for Independence, a group that trains dogs that greatly contribute to the lives and opportunities for the physically and mentally disabled.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Fr. Leo Patalinghug - Priest, Chef, Martial Artist

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?

The breeds