How To Become a Catholic

Recently, I attended an annual conference focused on establishing fellowship among Christian men.  Dubbed Men of Valor, the event features speakers that offer insights on Christian sexuality and purity.  Although Men of Valor is organized by a Protestant group, the director Phillip Cosby invites Catholic  speakers to participate.  The collaboration between denominations to address the pervasive issue of sexual addiction is encouraging and reassuring.  I have been informed that some individuals have converted to Catholicism after hearing some of the breakout talks.  I’m not sure if this claim is true, but an intriguing issue arises from this thought.

So how does one convert to Catholicism?  Many people are Catholic because they were baptized as infants.  As they grow up, these individuals either confirm their initiation into Catholicism through the sacraments and regular attendance of mass or elect to follow other faiths or no faiths at all.  However, if a person outside the Church wants to join the Catholic faith, there is a process of preparation.  Adults and children older than the age of seven must undergo training in the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA).  Furthermore, the process of becoming a Catholic is different for non-Christians and Christians.

Non-Christians

First, an unbaptized person must learn about the Catholic faith.  This step is facilitated by the entrance into the order of catechumens, where the unbaptized  are provided with a thorough background of Christian and Catholic teaching.  A catechumen is the term given to those who have not yet been initiated as Christians.  The purpose of this time is to give the catechumens the opportunity to strengthen their faith and reflect on their desire to become Catholic.  The catechumens generally stay in this phase for less than a year.

Second, the catechumen takes the rite of election thereby expressing a sincere desire and intention to receive the Sacraments by writing his or her name in a book.  Normally, the Rite of Election happens on the first Sunday of Lent, the 40 day period of fasting and preparation for Easter.

Third, after the right of election, the candidates experience a time of deep reflection through participation in several rituals known as scrutinies.  These scrutinies are designed to bring out the best and worst qualities of the catechumen.  During this period of intense meditation and prayer, the candidates are given the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer, which they recite on the evening of initiation.

Fourth, the initiation itself happens on the Easter Vigil the night before Easter Sunday.  At this special mass, the catechumens receive three sacraments- baptism, confirmation, and the Eucharist.  On this unique evening, the catechumens are accepted into the Catholic Church.

Lastly, the new Catholics go through mystagogy, a time in which faith is strengthened and an immersion into the Catholic community takes place.  For the first year as Catholics, the new initiates are known as neophytes, or “New Christians”.   

Christians

If a person is already a Christian and wishes to convert to Catholicism, there is a separate process of conversion.  

For non-practicing Christians, the instruction received can be similar to a catechumen’s experience.  However, these people are not catechumens because they have already been raised as Christians.  It follows that they should not participate in the rites and rituals mentioned above.  Practicing Christians only need to receive instruction of the Catholic tradition before converting.  Therefore, these people do not need to undergo the entire RCIA program.  It is up to the Church to decide who has lived a Christian life prior to converting to Catholicism. 

Interestingly enough, the timing of their reception into the Church is different.  Rather than being initiated on the Easter Vigil, Christians are welcomed as Catholics on any Sunday celebration of the Eucharist.   

Of course, the conversion to Catholicism is a personal decision that should be made only after long periods of reflection and study into the traditions of the Catholic tradition.  The Catholic Church spans milleniums, and thus,is the oldest Christian church, tracing its roots to Jesus of Nazareth.  Approximately 1 billion people identify themselves as Catholics, so prior to joining this global community, a prospective convert should truly believe in the Church’s teachings.     

Homilies of Cardinal DiNardo and Archbishop Dolan

Earlier this week, I returned from the March for Life in Washington D.C. where, in addition to the March itself, I had the opportunity to listen to Cardinal DiNardo deliver an awe-inspiring homily to over 20,000 Catholic pilgrims in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.  His words resonated with me primarily because he stood strong against the blatant anti-life efforts of Health and Human Services and the Obama Administration.  Last week, the President Obama restated that many religious institutions would be required to fund contraception including abortifacient birth control pills as part of their health insurance coverage.  

“We are nearing the 40th anniversary of Roe versus Wade,” Cardinal DiNardo preached.  “53 million children have lost their lives since then; millions of men and women have lives that will never be the same because of their tragic choices.  Our embrace of life must be clear...Disturbing news came to us Friday from HHS and the Obama Administration: it fundamentally repeated the mandate that sterilization and contraception must be included in virtually all health plans.  Never before in our US history has the federal government forces citizens to directly purchase what violates our beliefs.”

Archbishop and Cardinal-elect Timothy Dolan added another point that hits all pro-lifers hard: 

“From a human point of view, we may be tempted to surrender, when our government places conception, pregnancy, and birth under the ‘Center for Disease Control,’ when chemically blocking conception or aborting the baby in the womb is considered a ‘right’ to be subsidized by others who abhor it.”

Pictures from Washington D.C.

I've just returned from the annual March for Life in Washington D.C.  Powerful, awe-inspiring, uplifting, and positive.  These are the words fellow students at the St. Lawrence Center used to describe the experience.  We attended masses at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and St. Matthews Cathedral.  The March itself consisted of approximately 250,000 individuals all united for the common purpose of protesting abortion.  In between mass and the march, we had free time to explore our nation's capital.  I took the opportunity to visit the Holocaust Museum, the American History Museum, the Museum of Natural History, and the National Archives.   

St. Matthews Cathedral

"Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching the people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. That is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion." Mother Teresa

A timeline of natural history.  Near the very top is man.

Teddy Roosevelt's pants

Ronald Reagan campaign materials.

Bakery in international food court.

The Basilica

Tesla

Sign from the Holocaust Museum.

Dispatch 1/23/12

7:05 AM  Sitting in a hostel in Washington D.C..  The past few weeks have been hectic, yet fascinating.  I have visited Bangalore, Cochin, and Vembanad in addition to the company visits and classroom sessions in India.  Life is certainly different there.  The seemingly reckless driving is the first thing that caught my attention.  The cars have the right of way in India, which is a shock for Americans.

I'm in Washington D.C. for the annual March for Life.  Today, thousands of people, mainly Catholics, will gather to advocate for the pro-life cause on the National Mall.  I've heard it is beautiful scene, although the questionable weather will pose a challenge.  This marks my third visit to Washington D.C.  I love this city for multiple reasons.  Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit the Holocaust Museum.  What a moving experience.  There was a cattle car used to transport Jews from their hometowns to concentration camps.  The eeriness and evil of it all hits you real hard.  Last night, I attended a mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.  Cardinals, bishops, priests, seminarians, deacons, and thousands of laypeople gathered for the annual pro-life mass.  The basilica and ceremony itself were both beautiful.      

Newt Gingrich seems to gaining momentum as we head into the heart of the primary season.  He won South Carolina by a landslide with Mitt Romney coming in second.  Rick Perry is the latest Republican candidate to drop out of the race.  

This morning, I learned Joe Paterno passed away.  Appropriately, Penn State will be holding a candlelight vigil to honor and remember him.  You don't see many college football coaches remaining at one school anymore.  My hope is that the recent scandal involving Jerry Sandusky will not tarnish his legacy.  Ideally, all the great things he did for young men and Penn State will determine how he is remembered.

Thanks for reading,

Joe

This Week In Finance

1. Asset management firm The Carlyle Group revealed the salaries of its executives in a regulatory filing.  The private equity company's three founders each earned about $3.8 million in salary and bonuses last year.  Carlyle also disclosed its planned stock ticker--CG.  The firm plans to list on the Nasdaq Stock Market due to lower registration and listing fees and better familiarity with the exchange.

2. Online health company WebMD took itself off the auction block after it failed to attract satisfactory offers from potential buyers.  Shares in WebMD plummeted almost 28% in premarket trading last Tuesday.

3. Former hedge fund manager Drew Brownstein was sentenced to a year and a day in prison after pleading guilty to insider trading accusations.  Mr. Brownstein admitted to buying stock in Mariner Energy after receiving information that the company was about to be acquired.

4. Hostess Brands, best known for products such as Twinkies and Ding Dongs, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last Wednesday.  The company has amassed $860 million in debt and suffers from rising expenses from its workforce.  Hostess said its return to bankruptcy will not affect the company's sale of tasty treats.

5. Goldman Sachs lost a total of 50 senior partners in 2011.  Edward Eisler and David Heller, the co-directors of Goldman's securities division were among the more prominent retirements.  There are just 33 partners today who were partners when Goldman went public in 1999.

6. JP Morgan Chase announced its quarterly profit dropped 23 percent.  The bank made $19 billion in 2011, up 9 percent from the $17.4 billion total in 2010.  However, JP Morgan earned $3.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, down 23% from the same quarter a year before.

7. Co-founder of Yahoo Jerry Yang announced he will step down from the board of directors.  In a letter to Yahoo's chairman, Yang wrote, "The time has come for me to pursue other interests outside of Yahoo."

8. The Senate Agriculture Committee is considering new policies to prevent a repeat of the MF Global bankruptcy.  MF Global reportedly misused $1.2 billion in customer money invested in futures and options.

9. Film and camera company Eastman Kodak announced it will file for bankruptcy.  The company has only reported one profitable year since 2004, and its short supply of cash finally caused it to filed for Chapter 11.  Citigroup loaned Kodak $950 million in financing to allow operations to continue.

10. Bank of America reported a fourth-quarter profit of $2 billion compared with a loss of $1.2 billion in the same period a year ago.  The profit was buffered by a $2.9 billion gain on sale of a stake in China Construction Bank.  However, BofA is still in the hole.  Its disastrous acquisition of Countrywide Financial in 2008 saddled the bank with more than $30 billion in losses.

Reflections from India

Regular readers of Joe’s Musings should rightfully feel deprived of posts.  Good news: I have safely returned from a three week study abroad trip to India, an adventure that consisted of company visits, cultural experiences, and classroom learning.  Today, I’m happy to announce that Joe’s Musings will commence as usual moving forward.

Background  

For the second year, a group of students from the University of Kansas visited major cities in south India to learn about business practices in India.  We were hosted by the Asian School of Business, a small, yet top university in Thiruvananthapuram, India.  We gained an understanding of a wide spectrum of industries through interactive company visits to IT companies, a private hospital and manufacturing plants.       

In addition, I have some thoughts on my experience that could be beneficial for everyone interested in traveling internationally.  This post will be unorganized reflections, but I will include takeaways in the event you are considering a study abroad trip.  In just three short weeks, I experienced things I will remember for a lifetime.  My first piece of advice for prospective travelers to India is to immediately change your mindset about traffic and driving.  Indian drivers are reckless, and will not stop for you to cross the street.  In Bangalore, I saw a motorized rickshaw barrel down a road into a crowd of people, narrowly missing a mother and child by no more than a foot.  Animals, pedestrians, cars, and trucks all share the same road.  Forgot about stop lights and crosswalks.  Indian drivers use their car horn liberally to let pedestrians know “I am here”.   A gentleman at a hotel explained to me Indian consumers keep purchasing passenger vehicles, but the roads are not equipped to handle the rising number of drivers.  Auto sales in India are on pace for a record-setting year.  From October 2009-October 2010, sales of passenger vehicles rose 38 percent!

Takeaway: Research the driving customs in the country you are visiting.

Despite the high potential for economic growth, a common theme persisted among Indian business people we visited with.  It takes a great deal of time and effort to get around the masses of red tap evident in the Indian government.  One professor at the Asian School of Business phrased it well--the government prepares for the future based on yesterday’s demand.

Takeaway:  If you are interested in doing commerce internationally, learn about the opportunities and challenges facing businesses in your resident country.  

Because the British ruled India for centuries before independence in 1948, many Indians speak English.  Even the Bollywood film we watched contains traces of English in a hybrid language known as Hinglish (combination of Hindi and English).  However, a language barrier can present an opportunity to international travelers in other countries to learn the local tongue.   

Takeaway: Learning even the basics of a new language can be time-consuming.  Before you sign up to study abroad, inquire about the languages commonly spoken in other countries.   

The food was above average, and at times, excellent, but there is no substitute for an American hamburger.  Cows are regarded as sacred in India, so finding a genuine beef burger was next to impossible.  However, I particularly enjoyed the seafood selection of fish, prawn, and lobster.  The Indians also carbo-load at every meal, eating rice, idly, and poori.  Dinner is usually served at 9 PM or later in India, so that took some time to acclimate to.  

Takeaway: Bring snacks in the event the meal times are different.  Try the local food, but be careful to eat only cooked food.

I have still not fully processed this experience yet, but I am certain of one thing--my observations in India made me appreciate the blessings we have in the United States.  Although India’s economy is growing rapidly, an average citizen’s standard of living is nowhere near that of the United States. 

Movie Review: Limitless

If you could take a pill that allowed you to access 100% of your brain power, would you do it?  That’s the concept behind the 2011 thriller Limitless.

Eddie Morra is a struggling, pitiful writer whose life drastically changes when he is introduced to a black-market drug that enables him to remember everything he has ever seen or read, speak new languages fluently within a month, and earn 500% returns on his investments.  When his supply begins to diminish, he desperately searches for more to keep the attention of hedge fund genius Carl Van Loon (Robert De Niro) and avoid individuals after his drug stash.  Eddie becomes a target of loan sharks and gangsters while internally, the drug causes mysterious blackouts.  Eddie and the viewer quickly realize that the intellect-inflating drug has a deadly price.    

Everyone craves a boost in smarts, but what we would do with a genius IQ is a separate matter entirely.  Eddie uses his enhanced mental powers to serve himself.  Instead of curing cancer or solving world hunter, he succumbs to greed and lust in a quest to earn money and power.  For an ultra-intelligent guy, his moral sense of right and wrong seems woefully misguided.  Furthermore, the film seems to glorify the use of illegal drugs and luxurious lifestyles.  While Limitless has its limits with respect to moral philosophy, the plot of brilliance clashing against desperation makes for an enjoyable, fast-moving 105 minutes.     

Plot line aside, the film makes excellent use of lighting to capture the mental transformation of Eddie.  When Eddie takes the drug, the colors on the screen escalate and his view of the world seem skewed.  When Eddie is writing under the influence, we see letters fall from the ceiling.  A shining light engulfs Eddie’s face and the camera whips through Manhattan streets.  Cinematographer Jo Willems deserves credit for enhancing the quality of this film.     

Perhaps more than anything else, Limitless leaves the audience with a sense that we should be careful what we wish for.     

India 3

We have just returned from Cochin, Bangalore, and Vembanad.  Here's a selection of photos from the last week.

For the first time in history, the Communist Party was democratically elected by the people of Kerala.

Beach at Cherai

Main actor in Don 2.

We attended a dance show in Cochin.

Stray dog.

Sign in Jew Town.

Mall in Cochin.

Bridge crossing on the way to Cochin.

Coconut milk cost 5 Rupees.

Cows are regarded as sacred in India.

Deer park in Cochin.

Pictures with the locals.

Elisha told me she will start reading Joe's Musings.

Karl Marx

Christian Church.

Sign in a Bangalore shopfront.

Bangalore streets.

Shopkeeper in Bangalore.

Infosys fish pond.

View from the rooftop of Cleanray, an LED lighting company.