Confessions from a Culinary Confessor,Movie Review: Ice Age

Confessions from a Culinary Confessor

By Father Leo Patalinghug

Making a good and honest confession is hard to do. Admitting what we’ve done wrong, or the good we failed to do means judgment by the one who sees it all. Despite the challenges, confessions are helpful and necessary. We admit the truth, and the truth will set us free. And thank God, our judge is merciful. Even our sins, in his hands, become lessons to help us improve.

Understanding the theology of grace that comes from an honest confession and bringing this understanding into our world and culture means that we must look at the world truthfully, critically – at all times, even when we’re eating in a restaurant.

I certainly hope you can sense the deeper reason why the Catholic Review has taken a chance with these Culinary Confessions. We know it’s not easy to be critical. Besides, who am I (a priest) to pass judgment on anyone or anything? Hopefully you can see our purpose is not to give destructive critiques, but to be honest in a constructive and a personally reflective way.

We are in the business of serving and feeding God’s people. If we don’t do it, the devil will. Just look at the food-related, confusing tricks played on Adam and Eve. These culinary confessions give us pause to reflect how we are doing in feeding and nourishing people’s faith.

We, as the Church – involved in “food service” – can learn from the good and even bad examples of our secular counterparts: restaurants. Culinary Confessions provides opportunities to dine, learn and help our church make faith connections where God’s people are found. And they are hungry, which is why I want to learn best practices in serving hungry souls.

If you notice, these “confessions” try to provide little lessons to help us become better servants of faith, not just in church, but everywhere. Experiential faith ought to parallel a great dining experience. It should help us celebrate, whet our appetites, satisfy our hungers, and make us want to share the good news about this “place” (church or parish, for example), where you will be fed the best of foods – the Eucharist!

Looking at restaurants critically, we can ask if our church welcomes people, serves them joyfully, provides dynamism and gives comfort to those hungering for God.

Some may consider it a stretch to make such a comparison, but I follow the example of Christ who taught some of his greatest lessons around food and the family dinner table. Hopefully our Catholic Review readers will do the same. After all, as I said before, if we don’t feed the flock, the devil will.

In future columns, I hope to widen our culinary confessions. We will make a slight change and give “halos” instead of Hail Marys – highlighting restaurants for what they do right rather than giving penances for what they do wrong. And, we will also want to hear more from you! Let us know if you have food and faith connection or a restaurant you’d like for me to review. Tell us what you think of our Culinary Confessions, and keep reading for ways to join me as my guest, on a future culinary confession.

Next month, I search for holy smokin’ good barbecue. Do you have a favorite barbecue spot, or even a favorite sauce – or perhaps your own secret recipe? I’ll do my best to share some helpful tips, fun faith analogies and spiritual connections about one of America’s unique culinary experiences.

And, as I said before: I’ll be honest. But I will also follow Archbishop William E. Lori’s episcopal motto, “Truth in Charity.” Now that will truly set us free!

Visit gracebeforemeals.com for more information.

By John Mulderig

Catholic News Service

NEW YORK – As he has been known to do before, the manic saber-toothed squirrel Scrat (voice of Chris Wedge) steals the show in “Ice Age: Continental Drift” (Fox).

Other comic elements in this modestly entertaining 3-D animated sequel, co-directed by Steve Martino and Michael Thurmeier, are beginning to feel worn. But lessons in loyal friendship and family solidarity are more durable. And the only red flags for parents are raised by plot developments that might frighten the most sensitive and some fleeting potty humor.

When Scrat’s obsessive pursuit of his ever-elusive acorn accidentally causes the natural phenomenon of the title, setting the once-united continents asunder, Earth’s newfound divisions separate good-hearted mammoth Manny (voice of Ray Romano) from his levelheaded wife, Ellie (voice of Queen Latifah), and their teenage daughter, Peaches (voiced by Keke Palmer).

This forced family breakup comes at a bad time: Overprotective Manny and headstrong Peaches have been quarreling over her aspirations to hang out with the local in-crowd led by mammoth heartthrob Ethan (voice of rapper Drake), whom she’s trying to woo.

Peaches’ membership in Ethan’s clique also spells trouble for her long-standing friendship with mole hog Louis (voiced by Josh Gad) since her snobbish new pals regard him as insufficiently cool. Determined to reunite his clan, Manny is aided by his two closest amigos, sloth Sid (voice of John Leguizamo) and tiger Diego (voice of Denis Leary). But his efforts are temporarily stymied when the trio is taken prisoner by a band of pirates led by bellicose orangutan Captain Gutt (voice of Peter Dinklage).

Accompanying them into captivity is Sid’s eccentric Granny (voiced by Wanda Sykes), whose other relatives have dumped her in Sid’s keeping – much as they previously abandoned Sid himself. Happily for her companions, though, Granny is not quite as dotty as she first seems.

The shortcomings of this pleasant but uninspired fourth installment of the popular franchise are only emphasized by its being shown in conjunction with “The Longest Daycare,” a brilliant short featuring characters from television’s long-running comedy, “The Simpsons.”

Looking at the upside, though, the single sight gag of Marge Simpson dropping her little daughter Maggie off at the Ayn Rand School for Tots is probably worth the whole price of admission.

The film contains mild menace and a bit of scatological humor. The Catholic News Service classification is A-I – general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG – parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

Mulderig is on the staff of Catholic News Service.

CLASSIFICATION

“Ice Age: Continental Drift” (Fox) – Catholic News Service classification, A-I – general patronage. Motion Picture Association of America rating, PG – parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

Stella Maris recognized with award for excellent health care

By Catholic Review staff

Stella Maris in Timonium announced July 11 that it received a national “Silver- Achievement in Quality” award from the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living.

Stella Maris was one of 52 health care facilities nationwide and the only Maryland facility to receive the silver-level award this year.

“It is an honor for and also a tribute to Stella Maris’ leadership and staff for their continued dedication to providing the highest quality care to the elderly, sick, injured and dying,” “ said Sister of Mercy M. Karen McNally, Stella Maris’ chief administrative officer.

The program has three levels: bronze, silver and gold. Facilities must begin at the bronze level before advancing to the next level. In order to be named to the gold level, Stella Maris must fully address the Baldrige Health Care Criteria for Performance Excellence, which sets the award standards.

“This award is a benchmark of distinction in the journey to providing high quality care,” said Governor Mark Parkinson, President and CEO of AHCA/NCAL. “The long term and post-acute care community applauds Stella Maris on this great achievement.”

Stella Maris’ services include senior living facilities, home care, long-term care, rehabilitation services, dementia care, hospice care, and senior day center services. Copyright (c) July 11, 2012 CatholicReview.org

Communion veil prevails for three generations

By Catholic Review Staff

A Baltimore County family maintains a sacramental tradition, as a first Communion veil was worn by a third generation of the family this year.

The veil was originally worn March 24, 1962, when Mary Germaine (Sacha) Schaefer made her first Communion at St. Wenceslaus Church in East Baltimore. In 1990, her daughter, Michelle Mary Schaefer, wore the same veil when she made her first Communion, at Church of the Annunciation in Rosedale.

Stephanie Elizabeth Schaefer, a granddaughter, continued the family tradition May 5, wearing the veil to take first Communion at St. Ursula, Parkville.

Mary Schaefer and her husband, John, are parishioners of St. Clement Mary Hofbauer, Rosedale. Their son, Michael, and his wife, Nancy, are the parents of Stephanie.

Mary Germaine Schaefer, Michelle Mary Schaefer and Stephanie Elizabeth Schaefer, mother, daughter and granddaughter, respectively, all wore the same first Communion veil, in 1962, 1990 and most recently May 5. (Courtesy Schaefer Family)

Walking tall To Congress XI

By Therese Wilson Favors

In January 1889, the very first Colored Catholic Congress was held in Washington, D.C. The visionary of the Congress movement, Daniel A. Rudd, invited His Eminence, Cardinal James Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, to offer Mass and address the assembly. Cardinal Gibbons graciously accepted and shared a message which recognized the gravity of the moment.

“This day will mark an era in the history of the Colored Catholics of America,” Cardinal Gibbons shared. “This is the first time they have assembled, and I have no doubt that many good results will follow from this congress. It will strengthen you and give additional force to your convictions. In union there is strength. This is true in mercantile, social and religious life. Take a single drop of water, how powerless it is. Add to it millions of other drops, and what a force you have. Look at the father of waters, the mighty Mississippi, as it rolls from its source in the north down to the gulf.”

Using Cardinal Gibbons’ thoughts, one concludes that many drops of water make up the Mississippi and give it force to flow from north to south. Like the Mississippi, many voices, visions and actions of black Catholics, from the north to the south and from the west to the east, have come together, working for good results since this first congress in 1889.

Today, African Americans find themselves in this new time, anchored in great hope remembering these words of Cardinal Gibbons and the dream of Daniel Rudd. Rudd had a deep love for God and an abiding and committed dedication to the church. He saw the Catholic Church as a vehicle that could raise our people out of poverty, and push the world to respect the equality of African Americans. In the church’s efforts of improving the quality of life with and for blacks, Rudd concluded that morally the church would be elevated to its authentic Catholic teaching. Rudd’s thinking captured the notion that people of color become agents toward the salvation of the church and not merely objects of challenge in the church.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore, led by Bishop Denis J. Madden and parish leaders, will walk tall at the 11th National Black Catholic Congress (NBCC) in Indianapolis July 19-21. The agenda is to complete some unfinished business of Daniel Rudd and to discuss effective pastoral strategies to enhance evangelization in the black community.

The Office and Board of African American Catholic Ministries are proud to sponsor four young adults to the Congress. They were selected during the Day of Reflection in preparation for the NBCC.

Rachel L. Black and Raynard Pinckney were baptized at St. Veronica Parish in Cherry Hill and remain very active.

Black is the daughter of Cecilia Mayo and Benjamin Black. She has achieved two degrees in physics, completing undergraduate studies at Morgan State University and recently achieving a master’s degree from Hampton (Va.) State University. In September, she will join the faculty at the Institute of Notre Dame, teaching physics.

Pinckney serves as the youth minister at St. Veronica and has completed academic degrees in criminal justice from Baltimore City Community College and the University of Baltimore. In September, Raynard will enter Loyola University Maryland, striving for a master’s degree in theology. His parents are Teresa and Raynard Pinckney.

James Conway, from St. Wenceslaus in Baltimore, is active as a eucharistic minister and lector, and serves in the choir. His hope in attending the Congress is to be inspired with new ideas to bring back to his church family so that their parish can be stronger in evangelizing and become more relevant in its mission. He is the son of Bridget Holley and Thomas Conway.

Rudy Dehaney, a senior at Morgan State University, is a math major. Recently he suggested to the Board of African American Ministries his willingness to organize a survey instrument similar to the National Black Catholic Survey to gauge the engagement of black Catholics in Baltimore. Dehaney is a parishioner of Blessed Sacrament Church in Baltimore, and is the son of Megan Godfrey and Rudolph Dehaney.

Therese Wilson Favors is director of the archdiocesan Office of African American Catholic Ministries.

Community-supported agriculture good for body and soul

By Maria Wiering [email protected]

SPARKS – Sitting at a picnic table on a hot summer evening, Jane Lorenzi, 16, was recounting the new vegetables she’s tried through her family’s community- supported agriculture membership when a fellow picnicker asked if she ate the beet greens. She didn’t, Lorenzi said.

You should, she was told.

Lorenzi was promptly advised on how to prepare the dark leaves – either chopped raw in a salad, or sauteed with onions and spices – with a warning that they wilt quickly after harvesting.

The impromptu cooking lesson was part of the Lorenzi family’s informal culinary education, which begins each week with a box from Calvert’s Gift Farm, a community-supported agriculture venture, or CSA, its owners Jack and Beckie Gurley launched near Sparks in 1998.

As members of the CSA, the Lorenzis receive a weekly portion of the farm’s produce, which, in June, included the beets. A membership costs $500 for 24 weeks.

The Lorenzis pick up their box at the farm; some CSAs – the University of Maryland’s extension service lists 72 across the state – deliver boxes to drop sites where members pick them up.

Community Supported Agriculture offers means for people to buy food — often produce, eggs or meat — directly from a farmer. People purchase “shares” of the farm’s produce at the beginning of a growing season for a determined number of weeks. Each week, the “shareholders” pick up a box containing their portion of that week’s harvest at the farm or a designated site. CSA farms often provide opportunities for their members to work on the farm and learn about how food is grown and harvested. Shareholders often cite the feel-good and health-conscious benefits of financially supporting the work of small local farmers, connecting to their food producers, and eating in season.

Lorenzi and her mother, Dena, joined other CSA members for Calvert’s Gift Farms’ summer solstice potluck June 20. The gathering – where Jane got the beet green advice – was one way the Gurleys build the “community” aspect of their CSA, Beckie Gurley said.

The Gurleys also host work days, where their 60 members are invited to help pick vegetables in exchange for a reduction in share cost. The farm’s name comes from Beckie Gurley’s appreciation for the sense of place her family instilled in her, she said. Her ancestors voyaged on the Arc and the Dove in 1634 to make a life in Maryland, which was founded by the Calvert family.

Being part of a CSA has encouraged the Lorenzis to eat a greater variety of vegetables, including ones they had not tried before the membership, such as garlic scrapes, said Dena Lorenzi, whose family attends St. Joseph in Cockeysville.

“The thing for me that’s neat is reconnecting to nature,” Dena Lorenzi said. “You don’t realize how disconnected you become, even in the ’burbs.”

On a quest to learn more about where her food comes from, Jane Lorenzi discovered CSAs while hunting online for local farmers’ markets, she said.

At her urging, the family joined the Gurleys’ CSA after she and her mother sampled one of their heirloom tomatoes at a farmers’ market – a tomato Jane insists is the best she has ever tasted.

A junior at Notre Dame Preparatory School in Towson, she said she sees a connection between the way the CSA cares for its soil and crops, and Catholic social teaching, which includes stewardship of creation.

Ivan Pare, a gardener in Fairfield, Pa., would agree. He is passionate about soil quality and is trying to grow nutrient-dense vegetables that surpass the quality of organic supermarket vegetables. He believes that farming without chemicals is the best way to care for creation and rural communities, he said.

Pare often attends Mass across the Mason-Dixon Line in Emmitsburg, and is part of a small group of Catholics beginning a CSA, a decision they say is rooted in prayer and God’s providence. They call it Heaven’s Harvest.

CSA partner Christy Weller hopes that Heaven’s Harvest will eventually produce enough food to feed CSA members and donate to help feed hungry families in the area, she said.

Mark and Molly Carlson, parishioners of St. Anthony Shrine in Emmitsburg, joined Heaven’s Harvest after being part of other CSAs. They joined their first one several years ago while living in Madison, Wis.

Molly Carlson tries to buy organic vegetables, but it can be hard to find organic produce in local grocery stores, she said. She appreciates that produce from Heaven’s Harvest has not been grown with chemicals, and is glad to see her daughters, ages 1 and 3, eating a variety of vegetables in their meals.

“I also like to be ‘forced’ to eat these vegetables,” she said, adding that it makes her feel guilty if anything goes to waste. “I like that it forces you to be more creative with what your kids eat.”

To see a photo slideshow, navigate the arrows below.

Towson family feels God’s presence at every turn

By Matt Palmer [email protected] Twitter: @ReviewPalmer

The Sugarman family never takes any life for granted.

Matriarch Inchi gave birth, via C-section, to her fifth child, Maura, in California eight years ago.

“I just felt like there was an elephant sitting on my chest,” she said. “I was trying to breathe, but couldn’t get up. I just passed out.”

“I was holding the baby,” her husband Barry said, “and (Inchi) made a sound. All the buzzers started going off. I took a step and they made us leave. On the PA system, I could hear them saying, ‘Any cardiologist! Any cardiologist to labor and delivery! Code blue!’”

Inchi had an amniotic fluid embolism, which meant she hemorrhaged blood and required 22 transfusions of blood, Barry said. The death rate is about 80 percent, but the vast majority of infants suvive.

Inchi faded.

“She crashed,” Barry said. “She was in ICU and given last rites.”

Barry, briefly, faced life without his wife and raising their children by himself. He composed himself, “only by God’s grace. I don’t know how many rosaries I prayed.”

Barry called almost every priest and Catholic leader he knew. Prayer chains began all over the country for his wife. Inchi, in her recovery, was sedated for a day.

“Within 36 hours she went from gone to sitting up,” Barry said.

Now 17, daughter Cecilia remembers hearing the story as a little girl.

“I was just so close to losing her,” she says now. “I didn’t even want to listen to that.”

Noticing the little things

Inchi, 50, typically likes to run 3.1 miles in a wooded path near Towson. On June 5, she stumbled upon a tiny tuxedo kitten, abandoned and sick, standing by herself. The kitten’s eyes were crusty.

Inchi thought: “Oh my gosh, she’s so small.”

She stopped her run, knelt down and called to the cat, doing mock meows. The kitten didn’t run away and began to check out Inchi, meowing at her.

“Finally, I just put my hands slowly on her and picked her up,” Inchi said. “I couldn’t leave her there. I thought, ‘Alright, I guess I’ve got to take her home.’”

The Sugarman family, now parishioners at St. Ignatius on Calvert Street in Baltimore, has a dog that does not shed. When she arrived at the window of the family home, several of Inchi’s children bounded about the house excited, despite the fact that many members had allergies.

“She looked a little sick,” Inchi said. “She was sneezing. She had an eye infection.”

The thought occurred to give the kitten away, particularly to a family who didn’t have allergies. They feared giving the kitten away to a local shelter because her sickness might result in being put to sleep.

They knew a young cat should be more active and sought medical advice.

“She was not very alert or frisky at all,” Barry said. “Whether she was in your arms or not, she just sat there.” They took the kitten to the veterinarian, who prescribed medicine and vitamins for her upper respiratory and eye infections, but didn’t sound overly positive about the kitten’s future.

Fourth-child Tessa, 14, remembers the doctor repeatedly saying, ‘If she survives.”

“He was not very hopeful,” Inchi added. “He wasn’t discouraging me, but he treated her for free.”

Very quickly, it appeared like the family was getting hooked on a kitten that might break their hearts with a quick life.

“I just loved her,” Tessa said. “My dad said she might not survive and I was so upset. I would hold her and she wouldn’t look up. I was so scared.”

Initially skeptical of having a kitten in the house, Barry was worn down and became smitten with the family’s new addition – now called Snowball.

“It was a war of attrition,” he joked.

The children are helping take care

Now the family’s house has various cat toys and furniture scattered throughout the house.

“How can I not love her? It’s like we were meant to meet,” Inchi said.

Watch a video of Inchi Surgarman explaining how she discovered Snowball:

A family of faith

The family moved to Baltimore a few years ago after some seven years in Sacramento. Barry and Inchi met and married 25 years ago in New York and spent some time living in New Jersey and here in Maryland in Montgomery County.

The family moved to the Baltimore area after Barry was recruited by Laureate Education to develop curriculum. Prior to the offer, the family decided to return

“It was so providential,” Inchi said. “It’s just amazing to see the hand of God in all that.”

Inchi and Barry have homeschooled their five children – Noah, 22, Benzi, 20, Cecilia, Tessa and Maura, 8 – throughout the years. At one point, they were directors of an organization called Traditions of Roman Catholic Homes. The family was part of a home school co-op during the past year.

“It’s great,” Inchi said. “I don’t want it any other way. It’s just wonderful to be with your family all of the time and really teaching them our values.”

Cecilia said, “there’s so much love between the children and the parents.”

The Sugarman family attended the opening Mass for the Fortnight for Freedom. Seeing leadership from Archbishop William E. Lori and Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien, the archbishop emeritus, in the religious liberty struggle brought pride.

Inchi joked, “We are bishop groupies. We just get so excited.”

An unexpected journey

Twenty years ago this year, Barry converted to Catholicism after a lifetime of Judaism. Before he met Inchi, he was still an Orthodox Jew who wore a yarmulke. At one point, Barry, who has a doctorate in education, considered becoming a rabbi and traveled to Jerusalem.

A neighbor had given him information pamphlets.

“It kind of happened to me,” Barry said. “It wasn’t a plan. I didn’t know it. I could feel it. I described it as the same feeling as being in love with (Inchi), but it was Jesus.”

Barry and Inchi had initially been married in a civil ceremony, had their marriage blessed by Blessed Pope John Paul II in Rome in 1993. It was shortly after Barry had become a Catholic.

“It was another grace,” Inchi said. “You just count those times when God has given us such big gifts that are springboards to other greater things.”

Tessa was born after Barry’s conversion, but she observes, “You can tell where it happened because the first two boys names are Jewish and then we’re named after saints.”

The family said it sees the hand of God acting in their life regularly.

“We always ask where something is going to lead,” Inchi said. “You do things and you don’t understand why, but one day God will reveal to you while it was part of his plan.”

The next phase

Besides the adoption of Snowball, one of the family’s latest projects is a band. Tessa and Cecilia are vocalists and songwriter who have played at Baltimore area gatherings.

“It’s a blessing that our gifts are being (recognized),” Cecilia said.

Cecilia won a pro-life songwriting contest in Sacramento when she was 14. The song was called “I am real” and was from the perspective of a growing child inside a mother. She used the money to buy a guitar to further her musical aspirations.

“I used to big on YouTube covers, but now I’m more into live performances,” said Cecilia, who’s YouTube channel has more than 60,000 views.

“We do a lot of covers and originals,” said Tessa, who provides backup vocals and plays guitar and piano. “I’ve been playing guitar for six years now and she just got into during the last year and is better than me,” Cecilia said of Tessa.

The family is going to take a family vacation in Nashville and will play at various “open mic” nights.

Inchi, who has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in business, serves as the band’s manager. She formerly worked for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, doing grass roots marketing for the group.

The girls know they have a mother and father who have faced adversity head on, survived and thrived.

“I love them,” Cecilia said. “They’re my best friends, I can tell them anything. I can’t imagine it being any different.”

Watch Cecilia and Tessa Sugarman’s cover of Maroon 5’s “Payphone”:

St. Frances Academy produces Olympian

By Elizabeth Lowe [email protected] Angel McCoughtry’s dreams keep coming true.

McCoughtry, a 2004 graduate of St. Frances Academy in Baltimore and the leading scorer in the Women’s National Basketball Association, is on the 2012 U.S. Olympic women’s team.

“It’s just an honor,” said McCoughtry, 25. “It hasn’t really hit me yet. When I get to London and the opening ceremonies, I think everything will start flashing back.”

After St. Frances Academy, McCoughtry was a three-time All-American for the University of Louisville, where she earned an undergraduate degree. She was the No. 1 selection in the 2009 WNBA draft and then the league’s Rookie of the Year for the Atlanta Dream.

McCoughtry said she “dreamed of being in the WNBA,” and being an Olympian is “a dream come true.”

McCoughtry will head to London July 18. The Summer Olympics begin July 27, and the medal round games in women’s basketball will be Aug. 11, the day before the Games close.

The U.S. women are heavy favorites to defend, as they went 8-0 at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and are the reigning world champions.

She won’t be as visible on NBC as Michael Phelps – who will? – but McCoughtry is a major part of the U.S. team. She was the second-leading scorer and the fourth- leading rebounder for the Americans at the 2010 world championships, and their high scorer in the gold medal rout of the Czech Republic, the tournament host.

McCoughtry is one of five WNBA players nominated for an “ESPY,” presented by the cable sports network ESPN, for best WNBA player. The winner was expected to be announced July 11 in Los Angeles, after the Catholic Review went to press.

Through games of July 9, McCoughtry was averaging 22.6 points per game, tops in the WNBA.

The U.S. men’s Olympic team, meanwhile, will again include Carmelo Anthony, who starred for the now-closed Towson Catholic High School in 2000-2001 before moving on to a prep school in Virginia and then leading Syracuse University to the 2003 NCAA title. Anthony plays for the New York Knicks.

Oblate Sister of Providence John Francis Schilling, president of St. Frances Academy, said that while the school has produced other professional athletes, McCoughtry is the school’s first Olympian.

A basketball player since age 8, McCoughtry played on the Panthers’ basketball team throughout high school. She was also on the school’s track and field and volleyball teams.

Sister John Francis called McCoughtry “a phenomenal athlete” and an “outstanding track star,” but said “basketball was No. 1. She did the other things for conditioning.”

As a freshman at St. Frances, “you could tell the talent, but she (McCoughtry) wasn’t a centerpiece,” said Sister John Francis, a fixture at school sporting events. “I don’t think she recognized her talent; I don’t think other people did either.”

An average student, McCoughtry “was just a regular kid,” Sister John Francis said. “She was definitely very much involved in everything we do. I think we have really good athletes. They can come here and be regular students.”

A non-Catholic, McCoughtry said she was accepted at St. Frances “for who I was.”

“It was a blessing from God,” McCoughtry said of her time St. Frances. “I enjoyed my four years there.”

Angel McCoughtry Day is being planned at the school, Sister John Francis said, in September, after the Olympics and when students return to school. McCoughtry said she hopes to return to Baltimore for the event. Sister John Francis said that McCoughtry periodically visits St. Frances and works out with the female student athletes.

“The students, especially the girls, have a real interest in Angel,” Sister John Francis said. The 6-foot-1-inch guard-forward, who has an endorsement contract with Nike, founded the Angel McCoughtry Dream Foundation, a Georgia-based, nonprofit that works to teach and empower youths to follow their dreams with self-confidence and life skills.

Another motivation for starting the foundation in 2011 was her desire to get girls physically active to lower obesity rates.

“I’m really passionate about girls and sports,” McCoughtry said. “Girls who are busy and active, they’re more focused, they’re going after a goal.”

Follow Angel McCoughtry on Twitter at @angel_35.

Tired and sore

Chalene Johnson is CEO of Powder Blue Productions and Fitness Professional. (http://turbokick.com and Powder

Blue Productions)

As a fitness professional, many people assume that I can do just about anything that requires physical effort. So, if I ask someone to do push ups, and I do it with them, they assume I can hang on because “I do this all the time.” But that’s not always true.

I’m not the fastest runner and I’m sure there are people who can do tons more push- ups than I can, but I don’t concentrate on that. When I get down and do the work with you, to tell you and show you that it can be done, it’s because I want you to succeed. I want you to see in yourself what I see in you.

The downside of being a fitness professional is, because working out is my job, there are days when I am just too tired and sore to want to go on. That day I want to rest. What could it hurt to take a day off? I already know the answer to that. One day turns into another, and then another, and then another. My mind says to keep going but my body says to sleep more!

I know you all can relate. And it’s for that reason many of us never achieve the fitness goals we set out to conquer. We are tired and sore.

We get that way with our prayer lives at times. We set a goal to say the rosary every day and when life gets in the way one day, we might find it hard to get back to the rosary the next day. And before we know it, we’ve been without the rosary or regular prayer for days. We feel guilty, but sometimes that isn’t enough motivation to get back to our original goal. Does that make us a bad person? No. Just human.

Sticking with your fitness routine is just like sticking with your prayer routine: it’s about habit. Experts say it takes 21 days to solidify a new habit, but what I have found is, no matter what day you are into this, it’s going to be a mental challenge for you.

You must identify that mental block and be determined to overcome it. You know that regular prayer is good for you, just as regular exercise is. Just like my first military Catholic Chaplain said in 1997, “Faith is like a muscle. You have to exercise it to make it stronger.” The words came through in a thick Boston accent, but I got the point.

I can always give you tips to overcome the physical affects of a new fitness routine – the fatigue and the soreness. But what can I tell you about the spiritual side? It’s actually pretty simple. I have to go with Nike on this and tell you to just do it. I don’t care if it’s been two days, two weeks, or two decades. Take some time and talk to God. Not sure what to say? You can always pray the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be. It doesn’t have to be complicated; I just want you to know that you can do it. And the more you pray, the easier it gets and your habit is formed.

As for me, and my sore muscles, I’ll be drinking plenty of water and sticking to my workout schedule. After all, I owe it to myself to persevere. You owe it to yourself to do the same with your spiritual and physical well-being. After the Fortnight

By Archbishop William E. Lori

I am deeply grateful to all who made the opening Mass for the Fortnight for Freedom at the Basilica of the Assumption so beautiful – the many people who attended, the spirit of gratitude for our God-given freedoms that was so evident, coupled with a genuine love of country and concern for the common good. Dioceses all around the United States scheduled many Fortnight activities including Masses, prayer services, rallies, talks, discussion groups and the like. The closing Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington also drew an overflow crowd and Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia preached a magnificent homily. It was clear that determination to defend religious freedom had grown during that 14-day period.

Now the Fortnight for Freedom has come and gone. In the meantime, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld in large measure the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. Summer vacations are under way. And so we may be left wondering, “What’s next?”

Let’s begin with a quick clarification. Whatever turn the national debate about health care takes, we need to be clear that the Supreme Court did not answer the First Amendment questions which churches, church-related organizations and businesses have raised, namely, “Can the federal government force religious organizations to fund and/or facilitate in their employee health care plans medical services which are against church teachings?” The 12 lawsuits representing 43 Catholic organizations – dioceses, Catholic charities, Notre Dame University, Our Sunday Visitor, etc. – are still very much in play. Further, there is renewed interest on Capitol Hill in arriving at a legislative fix so that churches, church-related organizations and conscientious employers will continue to have the same First Amendment protections they have enjoyed under federal law until now.

Second, we are fast approaching the Aug. 1 deadline when conscientious employers will have to comply with the onerous HHS mandate (churches, by the way, have been given a year before having to violate their teachings to be in compliance with federal law). A private employer who wishes to run his or her enterprise according to Christian precepts has been free to do so until now – but after Aug. 1 that won’t be the case. Such employers will be forced to violate their convictions by funding or facilitating pharmaceuticals and surgical procedures they find morally objectionable. This is also true for private companies which were founded to serve the mission of the church but which are not themselves religious organizations, such as Catholic publishing houses. The Becket Fund and other groups are providing legal assistance to such employers and a number of them are included in the 12 lawsuits I mentioned earlier. Such employers will need to review this whole question from a moral and legal standpoint.

Third, the religious liberty texting campaign has begun in earnest. This is an easy way to receive updates on your mobile device about fast-moving developments related not just to the HHS mandate but to the many challenges to religious freedom at the local, state and federal level. These text messages are not alarmist, unreasonable or any way partisan. They are informative and help all of us as believers and citizens to participate fully in a very important national debate. Simply text the word “Freedom” to 377377 to begin receiving these updates.

Fourth, I think we all recognize that we have a lot of work to do. As our culture becomes more secular, less room is made for God and the things of God. When people drift from the active practice of religious faith, they perceive less clearly its importance for the overall good of society and are apt to miss the connection between what a church teaches and the good it does, not only for its own members but for society. As a result, religious liberty is in danger of being devalued and indeed trumped by so-called “rights” which have no textual basis in our nation’s founding documents. This is where the New Evangelization and religious freedom intersect; The more we practice the faith robustly and fill our churches on Sunday with families and individuals who are truly opening their minds and hearts to the living presence of Christ in their midst – the more religious liberty will flourish in our society.

And this brings us to the ultimate reason why we are defending religious liberty. We are seeking to protect religious liberty not for partisan political purposes as some have cynically suggested but rather because we want to use our God-given freedom to pursue a deeper freedom – the true freedom of the sons and daughters of God. This is not mere freedom of choice but freedom to choose what is good, indeed what is excellent. And nothing is more excellent than freely welcoming the Holy Spirit who pours the love of God into our hearts so that we might be the living images of Christ, and specifically the Christ of the Beatitudes. The freedom to become those persons that God wants us to become: that is why we are defending religious freedom.

It is true that many saints have attained true and authentic freedom in the midst of persecution and repression. It is also true that many have lost their authentic freedom while enjoying their civil liberties – but it doesn’t have to be that way. Let us show our gratitude for the God-given gift of freedom by embracing our faith wholeheartedly and living it robustly. Then we will enjoy a peace and a freedom which no earthly power can deny us. Then we will also be best equipped to defend those God-given liberties guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Atheist can’t believe he can get a discount without faith

By Christopher Gunty

It’s hard to miss all the car ads these days. Everyone wants to sell you a vehicle, and everyone has a gimmick. One dealer offers low finance rates – “for well-qualified buyers.” Another offers special discounts for returning owners of its own brand. Still another offers $500 off a car purchase for members of the military. Sounds discriminatory, doesn’t it?

At the movie theater, I could get a discount if I were under 13 years old, or a senior citizen. Since I’m neither, I’ll have to attend a matinee show to save a few bucks on the movie ticket.

Businesses use all kinds of marketing gimmicks – from coupons to social media promotional codes – to entice shoppers. Some deals are more enticing than others. Years ago, a car dealership placed a Yellow Pages coupon offering $100 off on any car and neglected to state “one coupon per transaction.” One enterprising customer gathered 64 coupons from friends’ and relatives’ phone books and argued successfully for a more than $6,000 savings off her car. The dealership wisely posted a correction after that, but had to honor the truth-in-advertising policy on that first transaction.

A Lancaster County, Pa., restaurant must now do battle of its own over a seemingly innocuous promotion. Sharon Prudhomme’s Lost Cajun Kitchen in Columbia, Pa., placed an ad in local church bulletins. Like many restaurants and bakeries that do such advertising, it offers a 10 percent discount for those who bring in the bulletin. She hoped that folks heading home from a religious service might stop by the diner on what is typically a slow day for business.

Enter one spoilsport: John Wolff, atheist and member of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, filed a complaint against the restaurant because, since he doesn’t go to church, he says he cannot get the discount. Let’s set aside the fact that Wolff admits he has never been to Prudhomme’s Lost Cajun Kitchen and so he has never had occasion to be discriminated against in said establishment; Prudhomme and ministers at local churches note there is nothing to stop him from picking up a bulletin at any local church – without staying for the church service – and getting the discount. Apparently, Wolff doesn’t have to sing for his supper, but he’s howling away anyway.

It’s just inane. Certain coupon fliers get sent by direct mail houses to certain areas. If an establishment I want to patronize advertises in one of these local editions doesn’t deliver the coupon to my home, does that mean I have been discriminated against because the discount was only offered to people who live in certain ZIP Codes? No. If customers are resourceful, they can look around for copies of the coupon, or perhaps find one online. Similarly, if Wolff or others were friendly enough, he could ask a manager at a restaurant for the discount, noting that he realizes they offer a discount and he was not able to pick up the coupon. Would they still offer the discount? Some do, and the Lost Cajun Kitchen probably would, too.

The saddest part of all of this is that it reveals the increasing animosity between secularists and people of faith. From the billboards that peppered the Baltimore area in late 2009 asking, “Are you good without God?” to the increasing ways that those who bring a religious and moral perspective to society are discounted and discredited, secularism seems to be becoming the “religion” established by the state. This bulletin flap is just the latest skirmish, and the fight surely isn’t over.

It’s a shame, really, that something as simple as a diner discount has turned into a battle royal. All Prudhomme wanted was to get some diners in the seats, and she wasn’t particularly concerned with whether they were the sheep of any given flock or not. Instead she has to deal with a Wolff.

Christopher Gunty is the editor/associate publisher of the Catholic Review.

Former championship Archbishop Curley baseball coach, teacher dies

By Elizabeth Lowe [email protected] Twitter: @ReviewLowe Al Frank, a history teacher at Archbishop Curley High School from 1962 to 2003 and the Friars’ baseball coach from 1963 to 2004, died from pulmonary disease, heart and respiratory complications July 6. He was 74. A funeral Mass was to be offered July 10 at the Northeast Baltimore high school. Frank was 546-423 during his coaching career, and in 1997 he was named to the Maryland State Association of Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame. During his tenure at Archbishop Curley, the Friars won six Maryland Scholastic Association and Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference titles. Conventual Franciscan Friar Joseph Benicewicz, president of Archbishop Curley and a 1978 graduate of the school, called Frank “a very dedicated teacher and coach for all those years.” As a coach, Frank was “tremendously dedicated to teaching and taught the game the way the game is meant to be played,” said Father Benicewicz, who was to preside at Frank’s funeral. “His players would say it was certainly about what he taught them about the game of baseball but also about how to live their lives.” Frank’s classroom, room 216, “was his castle,” said Richard Patry, who taught and coached at the school from 1963 to 2001. “That’s what we called his classroom because nobody else was allowed in there. The school meant everything to him and me.” “Baseball was his (Frank’s) life, that was it,” Patry said. “He lived for it, really.” Tim Norris, a 1978 graduate of Archbishop Curley who played baseball for Frank as a student and later coached baseball with him at the school from 1997 to 2001, said “anyone who has come in contact with Al is a better person,” because of knowing him. “He was a bear on the outside but deep down he was a little pussycat once you got to know him,” Norris said.

Frank, a Catholic and Glen Burnie resident, is survived by his wife Mary, two children from a previous marriage and five grandchildren.