Third Street Promenade

Third Street Promenade

Retreat at Stonehill/Stations of the Cross

Retreat at Stonehill/Stations of the Cross

Coadjutor Archbishop of Los Angeles and New Media

Coadjutor Archbishop of Los Angeles and New Media

Holy Hour For Hollywood

Every week we pray a Holy Hour on Friday during the "Hour of Mercy" 3-4, for Hollywood. This week we prayed for Mel Gibson, Lindsay Lohan and Eric Roberts. All are in need of the support of our prayers and our faith to navigate a "Sea of Troubles."

• We also pray for all Acting Coaches, Actors, Agents, Animators, Cinematographers, Craft Services, Directors, Executive producers, Grips, Heads of Studios and Productions Companies, Interns, Investors, Lawyers, Lighting Professionals, Line Producers, Location Scouts, Make-up Artists, Managers, Producers, Stuntmen {women},Video Gamers, Wardrobers, Writers, Everyone below the line and above the line.
• Our prayer is that all men and women in Hollywood will use their immense talent, energy, resources to produce true works of art that enhance human dignity and give glory to God.
• We pray for those who love evil and are far from the Good, especially for pornographers who use men, women and children as objects and diminish the value and beauty of the human person, body, soul, spirit, mind and heart. Our prayers are needed here more than anywhere else.
• We also pray for all the video game creators, producers, and marketers some of whom use extreme violence, especially against women and children.
• There is no greater power in this world than the power of prayer. Look at the transformation in the life of Joe Ezstherhas as exhibit A. His memoirs, Crossbearer, speak eloquently of the power of prayer and God's love and mercy to bring about a new man.

Coadjutor Archbishop of Los Angeles and New Media

Coadjutor Archbishop of Los Angeles and New Media

Roman Holyday

Roman Holyday

Roman Holyday

Roman Holyday

Vatican Blesses Blues Brothers

Vatican Blesses Blues Brothers

Visit to Holy Father

Dear Friends,

Sorry for neglecting the blog. This April 21st, 2010, while traveling to Milan, Florence, Castel Gandolfo and Rome with Angelus Student Film FEstival winners and staff, I had the great joy of meeting the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, after a Wednesday audience in Rome. We just had 30 seconds in which I asked for his blessing on Hollywood and the work started by Servant of God Father Patrick Peyton, CSC and that Family Theater continues. He said, "Hollywood, that is very important work. God bless you." He also gave me a blessed Rosary which I cherish. Before the meeting, I chatted with some Americans while waiting for the pope's arrival. They were from the University of Southern California and they had the cornerstone of the new Catholic Center which Pope Benedict blessed right after our meeitng. Fr. Lawrence and Mrs. Sample were there with the chairmen of their advisory committee to accompany the blessed stone back to Los Angeles. This was one of the most memorable days of my life. Have you ever met the Pope? I would love to to hear from you if you have.

Caritas in Veritate

Dear Friend,
Recently, I have been thinking a lot about Pope Benedict XVI's latest encyclical Caritas in Veritate, for two reasons: I had to prepare a staff development session on "Charity in Truth" and today President Obama signed the Health Care Reform bill passed by the House of Representatives on Sunday, March 21st. The encyclical and health care reform are related. Allow me to begin first by referring to the WORD CLOUD to the left which captures the major themes of this 30,000 word encyclical Caritas in Veritate. This magisterial document opens with three powerful sentences: "Charity in truth, to which Jesus Christ bore witness by his life and especially by his death and resurrection, is the principal driving force behind the authentic development of every person and of all humanity. Love-caritas-is an extraordinary force which leads people to opt for courageous and generous engagement in the field of justice and peace. It is a force that has its origin in God, Eternal Love and Absolute Truth." Repeatedly, the Holy Father states that Charity and Truth need each other. Charity without truth becomes mere "sentimentality" and a "empty shell" of itself. Truth without charity leads to cold rights and duties and ultimately dictatorship.

Without reiterating the whole argument, it seems to me that the political parties and the extreme media on both ends of the political spectrum in this country, all need to heed the wisdom of Caritas in Veritate. By way of illustration and encouragement, bankers in London have made time in their busy schedules to study in small groups the entire encyclical. It is worthwhile for many since it is addressed not only to religious leaders, but to political leaders, financiers, labor leaders, business leaders and aid agencies.

I believe that too often the civility in public discourse and the respect we owe to every human person as a child of God are lacking because we divorce Caritas from Veritate. If one does not have a respect for the truth but rather selects and advances arguments and data that support only one's preconceived conclusion, what good does that do for humanity and the common good? Conversely, if one wishes to save the world with good intentions cultivated in a generous and noble heart but lacks the wherewithal to face the facts and limits of life in the world, little of value is accomplished. Charity and Truth need each other.

Pope Benedict concludes his encyclical with wise and modest reminders. "Development needs Christians with their arms raised to God in prayer. Christians moved by the knowledge that truth-filled love, caritas in veritate,from which authentic development proceeds, is not produced by us but given to us. For this reason, even in the most difficult and complex times, besides recognizing what is happening, we must above all turn to God's love."

As we near the fifth anniversary of his selection as the successor of Peter, God must take delight in the knowledge one of the most brilliant and holy men alive today is occupying Peter's venerable chair. If you have read this may God bless you and our good Pope Benedict.

With respect,
Fr. Willy Raymond, CSC.

Brother Andre Bessette, CSC

Wow, He was born in 1845 and died in 1937. He interceded with his prayers and Saint Joseph's help to bring God's healing grace into the hearts and bodies of thousands. So beloved and revered was he that more than a million mourners passed by his bier on cold January days in wintry Montreal in 1937.

His Oratory is now the largest shrine to Saint Joseph in the world. In 1982 he was beatified by Pope John Paul II and on December 19,2009 Pope Benedict announced approval for the final miracle that promised an unobstructed path to sainthood for this humble doorman of Notre Dame College at the foot of Mount Royal.

On October 17, 2010 Brother Andre Bessette, CSC will be canonized a saint in Rome, so announced Pope Benedict on Feb. 19, 2010. Holy Cross, Montreal, Canada and much of the Northeastern United States has been waiting for this good news for 72 years.

As a member of Holy Cross, as a descendeant of French-Canadians, as a priest and pilgrim trying to live this Catholic Christian faith, I am delighted to know that our humble lay brother, the "Miracle-worker' of Mount Royal, will finally be recognized as a saint and his great love and faith be shared with the whole world. Beni soit le nom du seigneur, maintenant et a toujours! As Brother Andre told thousands, Ite ad Joseph, Go to Joseph. He is a powerful friend to have in heaven.

History in the making

Dear Friend;

This is meant to give an inside look at the workings of the historic Rosary Bowl celebration in California this past May.

It is just over one month since the Rosary Bowl celebration in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on May 19, 2007. Eighteen months of planning and excellent collaboration by hundreds of volunteers preceded this great event. Not in the last fifty years has there been a gathering of this magnitude in southern California to pray the Rosary.

The organizers of this splendid event serve in Holy Cross Family Ministries, the successor organization for all the ministries founded by Servant of God Father Patrick Peyton, CSC, a Holy CRoss priest who died in 1992 and is now a candidate for sainthood.

Patrick Peyton was born in Ireland in a poor family and came to the United States in 1928. Feeling called to the priesthood he entered the Holy Cross Congregation at Notre Dame University. Gaduated Magna Cum Laude and moved on to Washington, D.C. to study theology and prepare for ordination to the priesthood. Two years from ordination he was diagnosed with terminal tuberculosis and returned to Notre Dame to die--he thought. He was encouraged to trust in God and pray to the Mother of God that he would be healed through her intercession, if it were God's will. It was and he was given a new lease on life. He promised the Blessed Lady that he would dedicate the remainder of his life spreading devotion to her and to family prayer, especially the Rosary.

He founded Family Rosary in 1942 and Family Theater in 1947. He produced excellent radio and television programs; he organized huge rallies around the world sometimes gathering 2 million people at once to pray the Rosary {Sao Paulo, 1964 and Manila, 1985 each had 2 million people at large outdoor rallies.}He died in San Pedro California in 1992 after extraordinary service in over 40 rosary rallies around the world, hundreds of radio, television and film productions.

When Pope John Paul II announced a year of the Rosary and offered to all Christians his letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, he gave a fresh and solid theologuical foundation for the Rosary as a Chrosto-centric prayer. He called the Rosary a compendium of the Gospel and invited all people of good will to consider taking up the practice of the daily Rosary as a way of getting to know the Lord Jesus more intimately. He said we do this by travelling through all the events of Jesus'life in the comapny of the one who knew him best and loved him most, his own mother. She is also our mother and eager for us to take her hand and lead her lead us to her Son.
Pope JP II confessed in this letter that the Rosary was his favorite pryaer.

That 2002 letter provided the impetus for all of us in Holy Cross Family Ministries, including Family Theater, to begin looking at ways of making the Rosary once again a common and valued devotion for Christians everywhere, especially Catholics. The great secret of the Rosary is that it is a meditative way into contemplation that uses the repetition of the Hail Marys and Our Fathers as mantras to keep focused on the Lord and his great love for the human soul.

We see the Rosary Bowl in Pasadena as a way of gathering believers in large numbers to experience the power and the joy of praying to God and honoring His Mother. The Rosary Bowl has been a powerful experience ang the afterglow continues to encourage and inspire other cities around North America to attempt something similar.

You can see footage of the Rosary Bowl celebration on our website www.hcfm.org.

More about this later. I pray you and your family and friends will have a safe and joyful 4th of July celebration in which we all give thanks for our cherished freedom.

God bless,

Fr. Willy

August Catholic Hollywood News

This first full week of August began with a visit to Family Theater on Sunday, August 6, of first term Nebraska Congressman Jeff Fortenberry. Our guest is a friend of Barbara Nicolosi of Act One fame and spoke at the Act One Graduation Dinner on Saturday, August 5.

At Family Theater The congressman spoke about being a Catholic in Washington. We wish him well as a champion of life and of Justice in the nations's capitol.

On Tuesday, August 8, Barbara Nicolosi visits Family Theater to speak this week and next on Friendship in Hollywood. Always thought-provoking and sometimes provocative, Barbara is never boring.

On Wednesday, August 9, Leo Severino visits Family Theater for another session of Going Deeper at 8:15 PM. This follows informal prayer beginning at 7 PM in the Family Theater Chapel.

On Thursday, August 10, at 4 PM at Family Theater, the Goretti Chastity Group sponsors at Holy Hour with Benediction and a 7 PM training session for Chastity speakers.

The Whole Going Deeper Series of talks, almost 25 hours in Toto, is available through this site.

THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Is Mel Gibson's career in Hollywood in jeopardy? Let me know your opinion.

If you have a prayer intention, send it to this site and we will pray for every reasonable intention at daily Mass here at Family Theater.

Peace and I pray God's blessing on you,

Fr. Willy

The Papacy and the Priesthood

This week's Going Deeper presentation, on the papacy and the priesthood (the primacy of Peter), is now available as a podcast.

visit the podcast feed page

subscribe to the series via iTunes

listen to this episode now

Going Deeper--Podcasts, complete set

Dear Friend,

This comes to advise you that this coming week will see the availability of the complete set of all 22 hours of "Going Deeper" with Leo Severino from Family Theater in Hollywood. If you are seeking:

• to know more about God, His purposes and designs,
• about Jesus and his fulfillment of the great covenants to accomplish humanity's salvation,
• about the original Church founded by Christ upon the apostles and guided through the centuries by the Holy Spirit,
• about the Bible and its centrality to Christian and Catholic life and liturgy,
• about Mary and the saints in the ongoing pilgrimage of God's people,
• about the sacraments of Eucharist and reconciliation,
• about ordained priesthood
• about making moral decisions in one's daily life.

Then this is the site for you.

Since October of 2005 Leo has been presenting one-hour seminars on the faith for Christians who are not yet Catholic but seek to know more about the Catholic Church and for Catholics who wish to enhance their understanding of the faith.

These are challenging programs recorded on an iPod and now available to you for downloading during the coming week.

The URL for the Going Deeper podcast feed is:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/GoingDeeperPodcasts

Questions about Going Deeper can be directed to this site. Family Theater is a Catholic production house in Hollywood, CA on Sunset Blvd. Next year Family Theater will celebrate 60 years of producing radio and television and film programs along with a national billboard campaign, an international film festival for undergraduate and graduate students called the Angelus Student Film Festival, and an outreach to young people in Hollywood with Prayer and Pasta once a month, and a variety of programs like Going Deeper to support young and not so young people in Hollywood.

Be on the lookout this week for the complete set of "Going Deeper" seminars.

Peace and a great summer,

Fr. Willy

What's New in Catholic Hollywood

Dear Friends,

Leo Severino is a young lawyer who has served as a parish youth minister and worked at Fox in the entertainment industry. Now he is the founder, along with Eduardo Verastegui, of Metanoiafilms. They have just completed their first feature film as a production company called Bella.

Leo has been presenting a weekly series of talks called Going Deeper for young people in Hollywood. Going Deeper is designed to assist people who are looking for the truth, first through human reason and then through revealed faith in scripture, tradition and the Leadership of the Church. While intended to assist people who are thinking about joining the Catholic Church, Going Deeper is also very helpful to cradle Catholics who wish to get to know their faith better. For several months now Going Deeper has been a weekly staple at Family Theater at 8 PM on Wednesday nights. It is open to the public and is very well attended. Family Theater is located at 7201 Sunset Blvd. Hollywoood, CA. 90046.

In addition to Going Deeper, Matthew Malek, a young man from Detroit who studied in the seminary for the Archdiocese of Detroit in that city and in Rome, is presenting an eight part series on the radical and beautiful teachings of Pope John Paul II called collectively The Theology of the Body. Matthew has a energetic and passionate love for his subject. The late Holy Father devoted the first four years of his Wednesday General Audiences
to the presentation of a comprehensive view of human sexuality. An emerging generation of Catholics takes this cahllenging and beautiful teaching seriously and Matthew is one of a number of people who are able to make this subject come alive in healthy ways.
The Theology of the Body takes place at 8 PM on Tuesday nights at Family theater.

These are two of a number of programs and events for young Catholics in Hollywood that are rooted in prayer and a deepening knowledge of one's faith. Saint Victor's Church on Holloway in West Hollywood sponsors a weekly Holy Hour at 8 PM on Fridays along with confession and Reconciliation.

Family Theater sponsors a monthly open house for young Catholics in Hollywood called Prayer and Pasta.

The Family Theater events are usually preceded or followed by one of a variety of prayers available in the Catholic Church: Eucharist, Rosary, Benediction, Meditation, Stations of the Cross, etc.

Something quite novel is happening in Hollywood among Catholics. It is exciting to be a part of it and makes it very easy to hope that Hollywood might become a place where God is welcome and his disciples are too. Of course there have long been Catholics in Hollywood and many have been very generous in collaborating with Family Theater over the last 60 years. More than five hundred A-list actors have participated in Family Theater productions over the years, Grace Keely, Bing Crosby, James Dean, Loretta Young and Jimmy Stewart are just a few. Paulist productions has also been the beneficiary of many good men and women stepping forward to help.

In recent years it is clear that there is a new ethos in Hollywood among young Catholics who are not squeamish about letting it be known that they are people of faith trying to live that faith with integrity and fidelity. Jim Caviezel is one of the better known Catholics of this generation. They love getting together to pray often in devout and traditional forms of mainline Catholic worship such as the Eucharist, Benediction, the Rosary. It is common to find fifty or sixty young Catholics and their friends gathered for a holy hour on Friday night at Saint Victor's in West Hollywood. Saint Victor's parish welcomes them and is very accommodating.

A concluding few comments:

1. I have the very strong belief, shared by many others here in Hollywood, that there is no greater force for good on this earth than the power of prayer, especially communal prayer. Obviously, the source and summit of all Christian prayer for Catholics is the Eucharist. This is the pearl of great price and the source of strength we need for any worthwhile enterprise. Many young Catholics in Hollywood share the Eucharist daily. They and others also pray the Rosary and the Litrugy of the hours.
2. With that in mind, I believe that Hollywood will undergo a profound transformation if Catholics, other Christians, Jews and other people of good will pray for the hand of Providence to guide them and Hollywood. And, as the Gospels remind us, pray without ceasing.
3. It seems to me that Catholics, with two millennia of experience in prayer and asceticism, with a rich mystical tradition, with centuries of loving God and neighbor in distinctive works of charity, with generations of extraordinary commitment to educating the heart and the mind of the young, with decades and decades of patronizing the arts and artists, with so much experience in preserving the best of civilization through beacons of light and faith called monasteries,in very dark ages; it seems to me that this great Catholic Church is especially well-equipped to begin laying the foundation for a profound transformation in Hollywood.
4. Going Deeper, Theology of the Body, Prayer and Pasta, Saint Victor's Holy Hours, young people going to daily Eucharist, praying the Liturgy of the Hours, Praying the Rosary together, spending time before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament in the quiet of the Church, visiting the imprisoned and the sick and the homeless and the troubled in mind and spirit. I am so heartened by what I see of young Catholics in Hollywood that I really do have hope that God is doing something new and powerful and it is exciting to be present to witness this unfolding before our eyes.
5. As the Good Pope John Paul II so often said, "Be not afraid." "Be not afraid of new technology in the media of communications, be not afraid of the criticism of the world for our Savior has said, 'I have conquered the world.'"
   
   Peace and may you know that you are in our prayers. May I ask the same from you.
   
   In Christ,
   
   Fr. Willy Raymond, CSC.

More World Youth Day podcasts now available

We've just added 13 more podcasts from my pilgrimage to Cologne for World Youth Day.

• Click here to subscribe to my World Youth Day podcasts using iTunes


• Visit Podcast Alley to vote for my podcast


• Subscribe to the podcast with any podcatching software by using this URL: feeds.feedburner.com/WYD2005

Young Catholic Hollywood Coming Alive and Going Deeper

Dear Friends,

In the first two months of 2006 young Catholic actors, writers, directors, amnagers and agents and those aspiring to careers in Hollywood have been noticably more active in their faith.

From November to March, Leo Severino, a former youth minister in Orange County and now a lawyer and film producer has been engaging young Hollywood with a series of talks collectively called "Going Deeper."

Leo is consistently attracting 30-50 people a night on Wedensdays at Family Theater in Hollywood at 7201 Sunset Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90046

I have been impressed by the quality of the presentation, both content and style. It is also moving to see how many of the participants remain or go off and spend hours in some cases discussing their faith into the wee hours.

Another interesting development in recent months is Holywood of the Cross. An intiative started by Matthew Malek of Detroit, Michigan. Holywood has been sponsoring twice monthly holy hours at Saint Victor's in West Hollywood and now is sponsroing Theology of the Body led by Matthew Malek, at Family Theater on Tuesday evenings each week for eight weeks.

Both Theology of the Body and Going Deeper are preceeded by Prayer at 7 PM at Family Theater. This prayer may be the Eucharist, the simple Rosary, Vespers, mediatation and contemplation or some other form of Catholic worship or devotion.

Also, Family Theater Prayer and Pasta continues on the third Wednesday of each month and offers young Catholics an opportunity to come together for prayer, reflection and a social, and networking meal. Prayer and Pasta is nearing its third birthday serving young Catholic in the entertainment industry in the middle of Hollywood.

If you receive this please keep us in your prayers and also kindly send this onto people that you know in the entertainment industry who might benefit from participating in some of the evening programs at Familly Theater:

To repeat, Theology of the Body with Matthew Malek is on Tuesday nights following7 PM Prayer; "Going Deeper" is on Wednesday nights following 7 PM Prayer and Prayer and Pasta is every third Wednesday of the month beginning at 7 Pm with prayer, refelction and a pasta meal.

MAy God bless you and your family during lent with a deep longing for his gifts in your life.

Fr. Willy

Going Deeper--the First Four Hours

Dear Friend,

Apologies for the long delay. It has been more difficult than we anticipated to get the digital recordings transferred to CD's edited, than returned to Family theater and then get them downloaded for podcasting. However, we now know how to do it and have the first four hours ready for your listening as we go deeper into our understanding of {1} Who we are, {2} How we got here and {3} Why we are here. Leo Severino is a young lawyer from USC but we Notre Dame Alumni will not hold that against him. He has worked at Fox Studios and as a Youth Minister in a Catholic Parish. He is now a Manager of tealent in Hollywood, a feature film producer and very engaging teacher. His film BELLA, starring Eduardo Verastegui, is in post production and should be released in the next year, God willing.

Family Theater is delighted to offer these Going Deeper Sessions in the hope that they will enrich your faith and draw you deeper into the Mystery of God's Creative Love and Design for all of us.

These talks are very exciting and if you have observations or questions please enter them at this site and we will be glad to respond.

Since we are two days from Lent, all of us at Going Deeper and Family Theater Productions on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood pray that your Lent floods you with God's grace and a springtime of the spirit.

I hope you will always remember: "The Family That Prays Together, Satys Together." I am sure you have heard that phrase, it originated right here at Family Theater in 1947 with Father Patrick Peyton, CSC.

May God the Father Who Created you, God the Son who Saved you and God the Holy Spirit who

The URL for the Going Deeper podcast is

http://feeds.feedburner.com/GoingDeeperPodcasts

Once a podcast has been downloaded to your computer, it can be either played on your computer or saved onto a portable music player (MP3 player - an iPod or other similar device) so that you can listen to it wherever, whenever.

For a visual demonstration of how to subscribe to my podcast and play it using iTunes, click here.

Going Deeper

Dear Friends,

We are already well into Advent and the month of December. If you have followed the World Youth Day Interviews from Cologne and Dusseldorf you might be glad to know that the final group of interviews with young pilgrims from around the world will be arriving in the next few days.

Also, we have recorded and edited a series of engaging talks given at Family Theater this fall by Leo Severino, a young Catholic lawyer, movie producer and thoughtful and engaging speaker. These presentations are collectiely referred to as GOING DEEPER.

Leo begins with pure reason and moves logically to knowledge of God through reason. Having established that creation and humanity originate in the creative love of a First Cause, he argues for the dignity and true identity of the human person rooted in a divinely endowed design that is fully realized only in self-sacrificing love. Self-donation leads then to the deepest realization of who one is.

Later Leo uses revelation to move to a greater knowledge and understanding and love of God.

These presentations continue into the comming year and will lead ultimately to a deeper appreciation of God's plan for all of creation and especially for human beings. Leo's presentations are so well crafted and thoughtful and consistent with Catholic belief that I wish to make sure they are available to all who seek the truth about themselves, about God, about life's purpose, and about the best road to realize that purpose as fully as possible on this earth and even in the next.

He engages the participants in lively discussion always moving forward to the truth. Often, he leaves his audience wanting more, a great compliment to him since they usually respond to his talks with genuine apppreciation and loud applause.

Please be on the watch for GOING DEEPER with Leo Severino.

In the meantime, I hope the peace and joy of this Advent might be found in the quiet of your heart and in the richness of your prayer.

God bless,

Fr. Willy Raymond, CSC.