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Go to church,
stay healthy
Liturgists may be among some of the healthiest people around, according to
a report by the Catholic News Service. Researchers at Duke Medical
University tell us that people who participate in weekly religious services
may develop a stronger immune system than those who do not. Since
liturgists are often at several services on a weekend, it seems logical
to presume their immune systems may be among some of the strongest.
Researchers measured levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), an immune system
protein, in 1,718 older adult worshipers. The study was conducted in
North Carolina -- which means it may be only old Southern liturgists who
are healthier.
Confirmation
ML hears that the diocese of Portland, Maine, has recently changed
its initiation policy so that children are now confirmed at the same
time they celebrate their first communion. Fr. John Dreese, pastor at
St. Rose of Lima Church in New Lexington, Ohio, advocates for that
practice. He writes in the December issue of U.S. Catholic
of his experience of combining confirmation and first communion in his
parish since 1990. He says, "Resistance to placing confirmation
in its proper place before first communion ultimately seems to rest on
two shaky premises. One premise insists that confirmation is a rite
of Christian maturity, where the word maturity is understood incorrectly in a
psychological and sociological sense. The other premise is the belief
that the bishops will not have the time nor desire to give first communion
to all the Catholic youngsters in the diocese." He claims that
when all is said and done, however, "there is really no excuse
for continuing the anomalous practice of confirming people who have
already made their first communion." Dreese did not convince
U.S. Catholic readers, though. In a reader survey, only 37
percent agreed with him that confirmation ought to be combined
with first communion. Fifty-five percent believed 7 and 8 year olds
were too immature to celebrate confirmation.
Hymnody as history
The Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals has announced a
project for using hymn-texts as a source for understanding American
Protestant history. ISAE is seeking article-length papers that study
some aspect of 300 hymns published from 1737 to 1960. Competitive
grants of $1,500 are available. Contact ISAE at (630) 752-5437 or
isae@wheaton.edu.
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