Paul Zalonski: October 2010 Archives

The Church in Baghdad has faced another crisis with the murder of 7 and wounding of many more during the Divine Liturgy in Baghdad today. Reports seem to conflict: as many as 47 are reported dead including 2 priests.



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When the Lord gazes upon you, looks up you with mercy, love, and interest, are you going to grumble and run away? Or, will you invite the Lord into your home with joy?

The gaze of the Lord is nothing less than THE miracle of a lifetime. God excludes no one, his salvation is give to all people. The lost are sought after by God and offers the chance for conversion. The Lord answers our human need with Himself. His Presence, the same as His Eucharistic Presence does today. His Presence is what we all long for.
H2O News has a short video clip on the Guardini Foundation meeting with the Pope.
St Bridget of Sweden.JPGOn Wednesday, October 27, Pope Benedict XVI noted that in the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, the Venerable Servant of God John Paul II proclaimed Saint Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373), co-patroness of the whole of Europe. It's the hope of all of us, as Benedict indicated, that Saint Bridget "...can intercede effectively before God, to obtain the much-awaited grace of the full unity of all Christians. We want to pray ... for this same intention, which we consider so important, so that Europe will be able to be nourished from its own Christian roots, invoking the powerful intercession of St. Bridget of Sweden, faithful disciple of God, co-patroness of Europe."

In his address the Pope noted something that I think is quite interesting, perhaps quite bold to say, even if it is the teaching of the Church, that married couples are to help each other get to heaven: "to advance in the Christian life." Our Catholic teaching on marriage is that man and woman are to form a "conjugal spirituality" that is "follow a path of sanctity." The two pertinent paragraphs of a longer address are here:

"Bridget, spiritually guided by a learned religious who initiated her in the study of the Scriptures, exercised a very positive influence on her own family that, thanks to her presence, became a true "domestic church." Together with her husband, she adopted the Rule of the Franciscan Tertiaries. She practiced works of charity towards the indigent with generosity; she also founded a hospital. Together with his wife, Ulf learned to improve his character and to advance in the Christian life. On returning from a long pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, taken in 1341 with other members of the family, the spouses matured the plan to live in continence, but shortly after, in the peace of a monastery to which he had retired, Ulf concluded his earthly life.

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The first period of Bridget's life helps us to appreciate what today we could define an authentic "conjugal spirituality": Together, Christian spouses can follow a path of sanctity, supported by the grace of the sacrament of Marriage. Not infrequently, as happened in the lives of St. Bridget and Ulf, it is the wife who with her religious sensibility, with delicacy and gentleness, is able to make the husband follow a path of faith. I am thinking, with recognition, of so many women who, day in day out, still today illumine their families with their testimony of Christian life. May the Spirit of the Lord fuel the sanctity of Christian spouses, to show the world the beauty of marriage lived according to the values of the Gospel: love, tenderness, mutual help, fecundity in generating and educating children, openness and solidarity to the world, participation in the life of the Church."

When was the last time you heard a priest speak of marriage in such a beautiful way? That husband and wife not only love each other, raise children, and are active members of the Church but also see to it that the other spouse intimately know the person of Jesus Christ. How important it is to realize that we have to help each other see God face-to-face!!! When we learn the lesson that indeed heart to speaks to heart in marriage in Christ, then will the renewal of the Church happen.
Come to Jesus. There is no sensible reason why there has to be split in thinking and acting  when it comes to saying you believe in Christ and follow His Church and being a serious voter or a politician. Today we hear politicians and sadly some clergymen, are not steadfast to the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. They are often working out of a pretext of religion without the substance of the Faith.

For years we've heard the bi-polar reasoning that has produced nothing but bonk, fuzzy thinking and inconsistent acting when comes to making the claim of being a "good Catholic" and yet introducing and sustaining legislation that's contrary to Catholic belief. You can't support principles contrary to Christ and say that you are a follower of Christ. It doesn't make sense because there needs to be a clear conformity to sacred Scripture and sacred Tradition. What we do in our private lives must be coherent in our public lives. Belief in Christ is reasonable, that is, true faith doesn't conflict in any way with reason. It all has to hang together.

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Catholic Action for Faith and Family has produced a video conversation with Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, Rome (the high court of the Church). By now you know that the Holy Father announced his intention to create Archbishop Burke a cardinal of the Holy Roman Church on November 20.

Watch the video: it is clear and helpful...no fuzzy thinking.

Catholics have a moral obligation in voting and to vote for candidates who uphold the moral law, the moral good. If you say you believe in Christ, that you want to stick closely to Him in this life, with the hope of being with Him in the next, then close adherence to Him in everything is required. There is no splitting the vote. 

If you say you believe in Jesus Christ you can't betray Jesus Christ for any reason while claiming to be a Christian, even if we think that we may offend another because they don't believe in Jesus as God's Son and the Savior of humanity. Hence, we say that following an informed conscience is primary, with the emphasis on the word "informed." Adhering to Christ equals adhering to the Catholic Church, Christ's Church. It is the teaching authority of the Church continues in time the teaching of Christ which informs body, mind and spirit. We know in conscience, in our heart, that Abortion is always wrong. Taking a life for any reason is not right, it offends the dignity of the human person who is yet to be born. Euthanasia is always wrong. Embryonic stem cell research is always wrong. Destroying the environment is always wrong. And then there is our relationship with the elderly, the children, the poor, the homeless and the immigrant?

Do you follow, that is, do you truly hold the premises of the Golden and Silver Rules as taught by Christ? And the Church doesn't teach this or that truth but is the truth-telling thing.

In case you are looking for more of Burke's thinking on the subject of being a Christian and activity in civic life, then I'd recommend reading his 2004 pastoral letter, "A pastoral letter to Christ's faithful of the Archdiocese of St. Louis On Our Civic Responsibility for the Common Good."

So, as we prepare ourselves to vote on November 2, do so as an informed person according to Catholic principles.
A few weeks ago I posted a brief piece on Komen Foundation giving funds to Planned Parenthood. Today, Zenit.org ran an article "Race for the Truth About the Susan G. Komen Foundation: Is Abortion and Hormonal Contraception a Prescription for Breast Cancer?" by Jenn Giroux, the executive director of Human Life International in America. Sometimes I wonder when the truth will be revealed!


Edited by Fr. Samuel F. Weber, OSB
$18.95 USD

Foreword by Archbishop Raymond L. Burke

From Ignatius Press:

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This volume contains the Office of Compline for every day of the year, in Latin and English, according to the novus ordo of the Roman Catholic Church, with Gregorian Chant settings. On the facing pages for the Latin, the official English text is also arranged for chanting, using simple English tones. New translations have been made for the official hymns of the Office, and all the hymns are given with the Gregorian melodies proper for each season and feast of the liturgical year.

This book will find a welcome in parishes, cathedrals, religious communities and seminaries, as well as families, all who wish to pray together at the end of the day.

Complete instructions are given for praying Compline. The Foreword by Archbishop Raymond Burke explains the rich spiritual tradition of prayer at the close of day, and provides an inspiring meditation on the texts and meaning of the Office of Compline.

The scriptures give only one command concerning the frequency of prayer: pray without ceasing (Lk 18:1; 1 Thess 5:17). This volume will prove to be a welcome companion to all who are seeking to make a full response to the Gospel, and persevere in unceasing prayer.

The editor, Fr. Samuel Weber, is a Benedictine priest and monk of the Archabbey of Saint Meinrad and is the Director of the Institute of Sacred Music in the Archdiocese of Saint Louis

Healing after Abortion

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There is a light that can break through any darkness.

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Lumina is a post-abortion healing network helping women and men adjust and heal following the trauma of having an abortion or being closely connected with someone who has had an abortion like a spouse, significant other, or sibling. We can't overestimate the power of the affective and spiritual life when a woman has an abortion. Because many people who support abortion will minimize the impact an abortion has on a woman (and her husband or boyfriend) and the emotional effects are discounted or dismissed. The dignity of the human person tells us, we know about this real dignity in our heart: we are not merely flesh and blood, but we have a soul, a spiritual life that is intimately connected with our body and we are made for God. We are made for greatness and love and happiness in this world, and the next.

Health issues may be plentiful. Intimacy issues may arise and the beauty of sexuality is objectified. What is often overlooked is that in some case a woman can't conceive and bring to full term another child after having an abortion (or in other cases having been using contraception). What to do?

Some women report they have suffered for years with the memories of having a child that they aborted. The death of a child, whether born or yet to be born, is painful, full of dark moments, and seemingly a sin that's unforgivable.

And today we are finding that men have similar issues of the affect to deal with because of their close connection with woman who had an abortion. A few years ago the Catholic Information Service at the Knights of Columbus published a great little booklet, "Men and Abortion: Finding Healing, Restoring Hope." I recommend it.

The work of the Lumina as a post-abortion network is assist women and men realize that they can be healed, that they are loved by God even with the sin of abortion in their past and there is light that guides us along the path of life.

Prayer, hard work with a professional counselor and friendship contribute to one's healing. We are made for other people, why not let good people help the healing of the post-abortion pain?

There are plenty of opportunities in the Tri-State area.

Days of prayer and healing for men are being planned.

Days of prayer and healing for women in the coming months:

November 13, January 15, 2011, February 19, April 2, and June 11.

For more information:

Theresa Bonapartis
877.586.4621 (toll free)
lumina@postabortionhelp.org

or the Sisters of Life organize people through their Hope and Healing network:
866.575.0075 (toll free)
hopeandhealing@sistersoflife.org
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For those who think that the Catholic Church, orthodox Catholic theology, the Pope, or any right-thinking Catholic person in the 21st century is against science: think again. Take your head out of the sand; do some reading. Today, His Holiness address the distinguished members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences meeting for their plenary assembly. The theme they've chosen to explore is "The Scientific Legacy of the Twentieth Century."

Two papal hopes for future scientists: "the need for an interdisciplinary approach tied with philosophical reflection" and that the work of science "always be informed by the imperatives of fraternity and peace, helping to solve the great problems of humanity, and directing everyone's efforts towards the true good of man and the integral development of the peoples of the world."

Benedict addressed the following text to 80 scientists:


The history of science in the twentieth century is one of undoubted achievement and major advances. Unfortunately, the popular image of twentieth-century science is sometimes characterized otherwise, in two extreme ways. On the one hand, science is posited by some as a panacea, proven by its notable achievements in the last century. Its innumerable advances were in fact so encompassing and so rapid that they seemed to confirm the point of view that science might answer all the questions of man's existence, and even of his highest aspirations. On the other hand, there are those who fear science and who distance themselves from it, because of sobering developments such as the construction and terrifying use of nuclear weapons.

Science, of course, is not defined by either of these extremes. Its task was and remains a patient yet passionate search for the truth about the cosmos, about nature and about the constitution of the human being. In this search, there have been many successes and failures, triumphs and setbacks. The developments of science have been both uplifting, as when the complexity of nature and its phenomena were discovered, exceeding our expectations, and humbling, as when some of the theories we thought might have explained those phenomena once and for all proved only partial. Nonetheless, even provisional results constitute a real contribution to unveiling the correspondence between the intellect and natural realities, on which later generations may build further.

The progress made in scientific knowledge in the twentieth century, in all its various disciplines, has led to a greatly improved awareness of the place that man and this planet occupy in the universe. In all sciences, the common denominator continues to be the notion of experimentation as an organized method for observing nature. In the last century, man certainly made more progress - if not always in his knowledge of himself and of God, then certainly in his knowledge of the macro- and microcosms - than in the entire previous history of humanity. Our meeting here today, dear friends, is a proof of the Church's esteem for ongoing scientific research and of her gratitude for scientific endeavour, which she both encourages and benefits from. In our own day, scientists themselves appreciate more and more the need to be open to philosophy if they are to discover the logical and epistemological foundation for their methodology and their conclusions. For her part, the Church is convinced that scientific activity ultimately benefits from the recognition of man's spiritual dimension and his quest for ultimate answers that allow for the acknowledgement of a world existing independently from us, which we do not fully understand and which we can only comprehend in so far as we grasp its inherent logic. Scientists do not create the world; they learn about it and attempt to imitate it, following the laws and intelligibility that nature manifests to us. The scientist's experience as a human being is therefore that of perceiving a constant, a law, a logos that he has not created but that he has instead observed: in fact, it leads us to admit the existence of an all-powerful Reason, which is other than that of man, and which sustains the world. This is the meeting point between the natural sciences and religion. As a result, science becomes a place of dialogue, a meeting between man and nature and, potentially, even between man and his Creator.

As we look to the twenty-first century, I would like to propose two thoughts for further reflection. First, as increasing accomplishments of the sciences deepen our wonder of the complexity of nature, the need for an interdisciplinary approach tied with philosophical reflection leading to a synthesis is more and more perceived. Secondly, scientific achievement in this new century should always be informed by the imperatives of fraternity and peace, helping to solve the great problems of humanity, and directing everyone's efforts towards the true good of man and the integral development of the peoples of the world. The positive outcome of twenty-first century science will surely depend in large measure on the scientist's ability to search for truth and apply discoveries in a way that goes hand in hand with the search for what is just and good.

The liturgical year of the Church brings to the front burner of the spiritual life a number of things at this time of year: questions about salvation, death, hell, heaven, purgatory, Christ's kingship, conversion, and the like. In fact, a central piece of our spiritual work in the School of Community (of Communion and Liberation) right now is understanding what it means to convert, to live in spirit of conversion, to live as though we REALLY believe in Christ, turning away from sin, and turning toward the Lord. Father Julian Carron is hitting members of Communion and Liberation pretty hard with the call to conversion. However, if truth be told, Father Carron is taking his cue from Pope Benedict. Nevertheless, on the human level, for finite beings we have to be concerned with such things because we don't live forever, just in case you didn't know this fact; we are rightly concerned now because once we're dead, there is no way of making a conversion (sorry, there is no reincarnation).

A professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Theology of Shkodër (Albania), Jesuit Father Mario Imperatori, wrote an essay that caught my eye, "Eschatology and Resurrection of the Body in St. Thomas Aquinas," published in the current issue of La Civiltà Cattolica (issue # 3849; pp. 257-268). As you know, this periodical is reviewed by the Secretary of State of the Holy See prior to publication.

In the article, Father Imperatori argues, "St. Thomas's doctrine regarding glorified bodies is based on the resurrection of the flesh, interpreted in an anti-spiritualistic manner. For him, in fact, the intellectual soul is the unique and subsisting shape of the human being; after the resurrection carried out by God, the body too will share with the soul the same incorruptibility and bliss; it will be a spiritual body not because it becomes spirit, but because everything will be subjected to the spirit. Aquinas adds that the human body, because of its wholeness, will continue to be sexual, despite the absence of procreation. The Eschatology of St. Thomas has proven controversial, but it has the merit of asserting the bodily-spiritual reality of man as the ultimate purpose of creation."

So, the human body will relate as a sexual being in the eternal life. Interesting. Thanks for letting me know. What joy that will be, don't you think? I wonder what relating sexually means for a glorified body.

Saints Simon and Jude

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May the apostles and martyrs Saints Simon and Jude, pray for us!
May Saint Simon intercede for Egypt and may Saint Jude intercede for Persia!

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Eucharist Institution.jpgSome friends and I at the parish have been reading a series of Pope Benedict's homilies on the Eucharist taken from his book, God is Near Us. I recommend paying attention to every page of this small collection of Benedict's. Reading through some meditations of Blessed Columba Marmion, the famed Benedictine monk and spiritual master struck me. He wrote,

To believe that Jesus is God, is to acknowledge that He has every right over us, it is to surrender ourselves to Him without reserve, to allow Him to act in us as absolute Master.

When we live by this faith, we say to Our Lord: "I love Thee, I adore Thee, I give myself to Thee by my submission to Thine every will, by leaving all that Thou does desire of me; I wish to live in complete dependence on Thee." Then Christ takes us by the hand and draws us close union with Himself.

Moreover, faith in the Divinity of Jesus produces great confidence in our souls. His merits are those of a God, therefore they are infinite, and they are ours, we may dispose of them. His redeeming blood can blot out all our sins and all our infidelities; we may hope for all the graces of which we have need, for He intercedes for us.

United to His intercession and clad with His merits, let us not fear to draw nigh to the Father and to speak to Him, in the Name of His Son, with unshaken and boundless trust.

Blessed Columba Marmion, OSB
Revue Liturgique et Monastique
eastern bishops.jpgThe bishops at the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East have given the Holy Father the following propositions for his consideration and perhaps for him to act on when he issues a post-synodal document. The Synod is now closed and the bishops are on their way home and now it's time for the Pope and his consultors to do some heavy lifting. The publication of the propositions was approved by the Pope, though they remain unofficial. Some of the propositions are formal, pro-forma and many are so boring that watching the grass grow is fun.

There's a lot boiler plate or what I take to be normal, e.g., financial transparency, providing information in Arabic, being hospitable to immigrants, listening to youth, etc. Also, what've given here you can get a sense of what the churches face in their situation. What's evident to a Westerner is that our context in North America is a bit more advanced, dare I say, than the situation many Middle Eastern Christians face. We already have experience of good education, dialogue, fruitful collaboration with other faiths, developed canonical processes. The propositions do raise the point of concern for our sisters and brothers who are Christians in the Middle East.

What is missing is the consideration for a common date for Easter and a better awareness of the role of the sacred Liturgy in the life of the churches.

The list of the 44 propositions given to the Pope are listed here.
You can follow the entire Synod here.
My soul is deprived of peace, I have forgotten what happiness is; I tell myself my future is lost, all that I hoped for from the Lord. (Lamentations 3:17)

These words are put on our lips at the funeral liturgy. We understand these words at the depths of our being not only at the time of someone's death, but for many, many days ahead in dealing with the loss of a loved one. Time without the decedent can seem ugly, deprived, and hopeless. The author of Lamentations has it right: life can be very bleak. This would indeed be desperate if these words were the only ones we heard and remembered.

This reading from Lamentations also says, My portion is the Lord, says my soul; therefore will I hope in him. Good is the Lord to one who waits for him, to the soul that seeks him; It is good to hope in silence for the saving help of the Lord.
Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucahrist logo.jpgMother Assumpta Long announced last evening that her new congregation of religious sisters, the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, are hoping to purchase the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center across the street from the Catholic University of America, Washington, DC and using the facility as a house of studies.

Mother Assumpta's email letter to Deal Hudson making the announcement of purchase of the JPII Center is here.

The video presentation can be seen here.

May the great Mother of God, Mary most holy, pray for the sisters and for us!

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St Mary of the Cross MacKillop2.jpgA record number of Australians flocked to Rome last week to attend to the Mass and rites of canonization celebrated by Pope Benedict of 6 people, among them was Australia's first saint, Sister Mary of the Cross MacKillop. While many will make her the patron saint of the former ex-communicate, she is for me an example of staying faithful to Christ even when ecclesiastics are unusually harsh in their pastoral judgment. For Saint Mary of the Cross for us too, Jesus told us that upon Peter is the Church built; and that's how we follow Christ: by remaining on that Rock. As her own religious name indicates, "of the Cross," we ought to carry our cross but with Christ helping us. We don't go through life alone!!!! The Lord is there with us, right now.

Religion & Ethics Newsweekly has a story on Saint Mary of the Cross which notes the response of people generally unaffected by the practice of faith.

Saint Mary of the Cross, remember Australia at the Throne of Grace and us, too.
Jesus says to his disciples, ask the Lord to send workers into his harvest (MT 9:38).

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Earlier today I attended the Sacrifice of the Mass celebrated by His Excellency, the Most Reverend Michael R. Cote, Bishop of Norwich and Chancellor of Holy Apostles Seminary (Cromwell, CT),  where he also instituted 27 seminarians in the ministries of Lector and Acolyte. These men of various ages, life experience and affiliation, are preparing for service as priests.

This was the first time these rites were performed in the new seminary chapel.

These rites are minor, but essential in the life Church as she prepares men for service as priests. All of these men have been reading the sacred Scripture at Mass and serving and bringing Holy Communion to the people. But now, they are more official in their service for without these rites they can't be advanced to the Order of Deacon.

The Church commissions those instituted as lector with these words:

Take this book of Holy Scripture and be faithful in handing on the Word of God, so that it may grow strong in the hearts of His people.

And, for those instituted as acolytes:

Take these vessels with bread and wine for the celebration of the Eucharist. Make your life worthy of your service at the table of the Lord and of His Church.

Bishop Cote reminded all the seminarians that as ministers of God and of the Church they are to read the signs of the times, to think with the Church, to share the Good News of the Lord and to signs of mercy for the faithful. He emphasized that priests and deacons and other ministers are to be gentle shepherds of the Gospel: nothing harsh, nothing repelling when it comes to teaching the faith and exercising the pastoral office.

My friend and neighbor, Ken Dagliere, a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Hartford was one of the men given ministry of acolyte. His new ministry allows him to officially serve at the altar, expose and repose the Blessed Sacrament and cleanse the liturgical vessels if a deacon or priest is not available.

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Driving to and from the seminary there was a tangible experience holiness and the feeling of rightness of the event just lived: not only did I sense the presence of the Holy Spirit but also the graces of friendship and the beauty of the horizon revealed the face of God. New England color is particularly revealing of God's interest in our lives. You know when something is "just right," "just what it's supposed to be." Saint Catherine of Siena tells us that we know that grace is at work in our lives when we are who we are meant to be; in another vein: we are to strive to be what God has made us to be. It is an awareness of the Divine Plan in our lives. And so today, 27 seminarians, visiting priests and laity with the bishop asked the Holy Spirit once again make hallow the lives those called to priesthood. But lest we forget that all people have vocations: some it's priesthood, for others it's teaching, and others the lay life in its multiplicity of works; all are called to seek the face of Christ and to live the Gospel and the sacraments.

May Mary, Queen of the Apostles and seminarians, pray for Ken and the other seminarians as they continue their formation for priesthood.
Good question. I am not always confident that the baptized ask this question enough in the lives as Christians. From what I can tell, there seems to be an easy dismissal of anything that requires assent and personal responsibility for our actions, words and thinking. Why? Do we admit there is a sin, that it's part of the human condition, that it's handed down from generation to generation? Are we no longer need of redemption? Is humanity's need for salvation a thing of the past, quaint?  Does the fear of God no longer have currency for a relationship with the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving God, creator of heaven and earth?

Jesuit Father Donath Hercsik, a professor of Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University (Rome), raises the question of relevance and Original Sin for those who are interested in a life with the Triune God from a some important points of interest. Father Hercsik's essay, "Original Sin, as a Doctrine, Is It Still Relevant Today?" should be of interest to all people of faith.

Hercsik asks the question: "Is there a need for a doctrine on original sin? This doctrine, interpreted according to the Catholic faith, offers an answer to at least four questions that are important to both believers and non-believers: anthropological, philosophical, liturgical, and dogmatic. The article goes on to examine the role of the Sacred Scripture, the position of Saint Augustine, of Saint Thomas Aquinas, and the outcomes of the Council of Trent. In contemporary theology, there exist various tendencies on this theme: original sin as sin of the world, original sin as psychological and/or social phenomena, and original sin and the supremacy of the grace of Christ. 

If you are interested in reading the entire essay, it can be can be read in the Vatican-vetted journal La Civiltà Cattolica 2010 IV, pp. 119-132; issue 3848, © copyright.
The Fraternity of Communion and Liberation sponsored a forum in which the Patriarchs of the Eastern Churches attended and spoke about matter pertaining to peace-building in the Middle East. Notable in attendance were the Mayor of Rome and Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs. Patriarch Gregory of the Melkites, one of the most out-spoken Catholic patriarchs, said that if the international community could create the State of Israel it should also work for peace there. The conflicts in Israel and Palestine are destroying the fabric of peace, culture and family. Freedoms are of religion and conscience are not universally respected in all the countries of the Middle East. It was noted that Saudi Arabia gives no freedom of worship and conscience to their inhabitants.


Pray for peace!
Moses vs Amalekites.jpgIt would be a pity to forget last Sunday's first reading where we read of Moses' role as mediator of God's saving plan.

In the book of Exodus we were reminded that Moses had concern for the salvation of his unbelieving countrymen, and therefore he asked that God show His compassion towards sinful Israel (see Exodus 32-34). The raising of Moses' hands in prayer, while dramatic, is not a biblical example of a magical Wizard of Oz. It is, however, a posture that invites all of us to pray using our God-given body and as a group as it is more effective in expanding our own heart for God's grace and power.

The teaching of the Church as it is given to us in the Catechism of the Catholic Church cites Saint John Damascene's definition of prayer as "...the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God." The Catechism speaks of biblical types of prayer, such as 'the prayer of Moses [that] responds to the living God's initiative for the salvation of His people. It foreshadows the prayer of intercession of the unique mediator, Christ Jesus' (2593).

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Do we raise our hands in prayer? What posture of prayer do we use? Do we use our body in praying? Are you too stiff and scared in your manner of praying? 

Recall that one of the "Nine Ways of Prayer" given to us by Saint Dominic de Guzman is the raising of hands in prayer. The 6th and 7th Ways of Prayer are directly connected with the living of the Beatitudes and the spirituality of the Cross. Outstretched hands in the form of a cross became a familiar way of praying for Saint Dominic (and his followers) that he believed was inspired by God not only at Mass but also when he was praying for someone's healing or being being raised from the dead.

Catholics of the Latin Church are often too reserved, perhaps even too rigid, in their posture of prayer versus what is seen in Eastern Christianity where the extension of hands in prayer is one of many postures used in the sacred Liturgy and in private. This particularly seen in praying the Lord's Prayer and other prayers of penitence and before the reception of Holy Communion.

So, can we follow the example of Moses and Saint Dominic in speaking and listening to God? 

cardinals.jpgThe Pope announced his intention to name 24 new cardinals of the Holy Roman Church today. The public consistory is scheduled for November 20 and it is at this ceremony that the Holy Father's intention becomes official, becoming members of the College of Cardinals. The new cardinals will have their names in inscribed in the list of "Roman priests" who are deputed to elect the Bishop of Rome.

This is the third time the Holy Father has created cardinals since his becoming Pope in 2005. Previous consistories were in 2006 and 2007. The new cardinals reflect the various competences the Church relies upon to preach the Gospel and to serve the Church.

  • Italians

Archbishop Angelo Amato, SDB, Prefect of the Congregation of Saints

Archbishop Mauro Piacenza, Prefect of the Congregation of Clergy

Archbishop Fortunato Baldelli, Major Penitentiary

Archbishop Velasio De Paolis, CS, President of the Prefecture of the Economic Affairs of the Holy See

Archbishop Paolo Sardi, Vice-Chamberlain of the Apostolic Chamber and Patron of the Order of Malta

Archbishop Francesco Monterisi, Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls

Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council of Culture

Archbishop Paolo Romeo, Archbishop of Palermo

  • North Americans

Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke,  Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of Apostolic Signatura

Archbishop Donald William Wuerl, Archbishop of  Washington, DC

  • Other Europeans

Archbishop Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for the Unity of Christians

Archbishop Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising

Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz, Archbishop of Warsaw

  • Africa

Archbishop Robert Sarah (Guinea Conakry), President of  Cor Unum

Archbishop Medardo Mazombwe, Emertius Archbishop of Lusaka

Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, Archbishop of  Kinshasa

  • Asia

Archbishop Malcom Ranjith Patabendige Don, Archbishop of Colombo

  • Eastern Church

His Beatitude, Patriarch Antonio Naguib, Patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts 

  • South America

Archbishop Raymundo Damasceno Assis, Archbishop of Aparecida

Archbishop Raul Eduardo Vela Chiribogo, Emeritus Archbishop of Ecudor

  • The Over 80 Cardinals

Msgr. Domenico Bartolucci, Emeritus Master of the Sistine Chapel

Msgr. Walter Brandmüller, Emeritus President of the Pontifical Commission of Historical Sciences

Bishop Elio Sgreccia, Emeritus President of the Pontifical Academy of Life

Archbishop Jose Manuel Estepa Llaurens, Emeritus Ordinary of the Spanish Military


Read journalist John Allen's analysis of the new cardinals: John Allen the new cardinals 2010.pdf


Muslim man dances on altar

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On October 11, a Muslim managed to get up and dance on the altar of the Florence's Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, the famed cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Florence.

Apparently, the man brought his ghetto blaster to the cathedral and played Michael Jackson's song, "Bad."

Here are the  pictures of this unbelievable event. The perpetrator does not speak Italian, but it's reported that he prayed several time in Arabic.

Interesting...I am not sure what to make of this act of disrespect. Surely this man was out of his mind, right? Is this the result of the multiculturalism that the liberal West promotes and condones as a matter of religious freedom? What would Whoopi Goldberg say about this event? Could she bring herself to re-think her objections to Bill O'Reilly's ideas the day when she stormed off the stage on live TV?

Where is the Christian protest? Why are the Catholics of Florence so quiet about this act of insensitivity??? Please tell me!

North American Martyrs

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North American Martyrs.jpgThe Church in North America was built, in part, by the pouring of the blood of Jesuits and laymen in the 17th century. Men who followed Christ to a perfect end. That is, not for their glory but for the greater glory of God. Saint Paul's 2nd Letter to the Corinthians captures this foundation well: "For while we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh."

Most of us will not be called to lay down our lives for Christ by giving our blood, but we are called to manifest in our body the love of Christ crucified and risen for our own salvation and the salvation of the entire world. How is this possible today: by not growing weary of the Gospel and the truth proclaimed by the Church, constantly keeping the name and face of Jesus in front of us, by caring for others, even those who are colossal pains, etc. In short, by living the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Do we act so as to give the Lord greater glory?

Last year's post on the Blackrobe martyrs is here.

Saint John de Brebeuf and companions, pray for us.

The Simpsons and Religion

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simpsons family.jpgIn the last few days the Catholic and secular media have picked up a story in L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, on the famous show, "The Simpsons." To me, the show is OK social commentary and therefore not for young audiences. The show is now in its 22nd season and broadcast to 90 countries. The claim is that Homer J. Simpson is Catholic. Well.... The Jesuit periodical, La Civiltà Cattolica published last week Jesuit Francesco Occhetta's essay, "'The Simpsons' and Religion." For what's it's worth, here is the précis of the article says:

"Today, even after 24 television series and a blockbuster movie, the Simpsons are still breaking records: the program is watched by 100 million viewers, in 90 countries worldwide. The story of the life of a regular family, of a cross-section of American society and individual problems are the reasons why viewers identify themselves with The Simpsons. This article also examines the relationship between the protagonists of this American sitcom and religion. "The Simpsons" are among the few television programs for young people in which, although sometimes treated with a certain superficiality, the Christian faith, religious practice and the question of God are recurring themes." (Copyright © La Civiltà Cattolica 2010 IV 140-149 issue 3848)

You'll have to get a subscription to La Civiltà Cattolica to read the whole thesis. I am not sure I'd bother unless you're a Catholic culture-vulture.

The Order of Capuchin Friars Minor opened a center for spirituality and formation for religious and laypeople who want to attend courses and retreats in that region. The center, which is inspired by the motto, "I am the light of the world," was inaugurated 28 September 2010.

At the inauguration ceremony, Archbishop Fouad Twal, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, noted that this light is the witness that believers make to those around them. He added that this idea "is a topic of our next synod," which will take place in Rome, beginning Sunday, and will focus on the Middle East.

"In Jerusalem, we can count on hundreds of religious congregations, 14 of which are contemplative communities," the prelate said. "They are the strength and richness of the Latin Catholic Church." He continued: "Today we inaugurate a new center for spirituality and welcome, thanks to the goodwill of our beloved Capuchins, a center called to be light." "True Christians influence the world around them and reflect the light of the Lord," the archbishop affirmed.

The property where the center is located belonged to the Capuchin order since the 1930's, when Archbishop Luigi Barlassina invited the religious to build a convent in the Jewish area of Jerusalem.

However, the friars had to leave Jerusalem during World War II, putting the project on hold. The property was taken over by the state for a psychiatric hospital. The Capuchin center project was later revived in the 1990's.

Present at the inauguration ceremony were: Fr. Mauro Jöhri, Capuchin General Minister and the entire Definitory; His Beatitude, Archbishop. Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem; Archbishop Antonio Franco, Apostolic Delegate in Jerusalem and Apostolic Nuncio in Israel; Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, Custos of the Holy Land; Bishop Francesco Beschi, Bishop of Bergamo; the Capuchin Order's Legal Representative, the General Bursar, the Capuchin Provincial Minister of Venice, other Franciscan Provincials.

The renovation was made possible by a number of benefactors, with a considerable contribution from the Cariplo Foundation.

A photo journal of the center's dedication is here.

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem posted a story on the center.

Zenit carried a story on this center.

(this story is reposted and edited from Capuchin Newsnotes, 13 October 2010)

Saint Luke

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St Luke as an ox.jpg



Lord God, who chose Saint Luke to reveal by his preaching and writings the mystery of Your love for the poor, grant that those who already glory in Your Name, may persevere as one heart and one soul, and that all the nations may merits to see Your salvation.

Today, let us pray for healthcare professionals, hospital chaplains and those others who care for the ill through Saint Luke's intercession.

Saint André Bessette

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Pope Benedict said earlier today,

St André Bessette.jpg

"Brother André Bessette, born in Quebec, in Canada, and a religious of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, knew suffering and poverty very early in life. This led him to turn to God for prayer and an intense interior life. Doorman at the Notre Dame College in Montreal, he showed boundless charity and did everything possible to soothe the despair of those who confided in him. With little instruction, he nevertheless understood what was essential to his faith. For him, to believe meant to submit freely and lovingly to Divine Will. Everything existed through the mystery of Jesus, he lived the beatitude of the pure of heart, that of personal rectitude. It is thanks to this simplicity, he showed many God. He had the Saint Joseph Oratory of Mont Royal built, where he was the faithful guardian until his death in 1937. There, he was the witness of many healings and conversions. "Do not try to have your trials taken away from you", he said, "rather, ask for the grace to endure them well". For him, everything spoke of God and His presence. May we, following his example, search for God with simplicity to discover Him always present in the core of our lives! May the example of Brother André inspire Canadian Christian life!"

The Church in Australia has a her first native born saint, Mary of the Cross MacKillop.  The canonized Saint Mary of the Cross with 5 others earlier today. The feast day of Saint Mary of the Cross is August 8.

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"She dedicated herself as a young woman to the education of the poor in the difficult and demanding terrain of rural Australia, inspiring other women to join her in the first women's community of religious sisters of that country. She attended to the needs of each young person entrusted to her, without regard for station or wealth, providing both intellectual and spiritual formation. Despite many challenges, her prayers to Saint Joseph and her unflagging devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to whom she dedicated her new congregation, gave this holy woman the graces needed to remain faithful to God and to the Church. Through her intercession, may her followers today continue to serve God and the Church with faith and humility! She dedicated herself as a young woman to the education of the poor in the difficult and demanding terrain of rural Australia, inspiring other women to join her in the first women's community of religious sisters of that country. She attended to the needs of each young person entrusted to her, without regard for station or wealth, providing both intellectual and spiritual formation. Despite many challenges, her prayers to Saint Joseph and her unflagging devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to whom she dedicated her new congregation, gave this holy woman the graces needed to remain faithful to God and to the Church. Through her intercession, may her followers today continue to serve God and the Church with faith and humility!"

(Pope Benedict XVI, 17 October 2010, canonization homily)
Archbishop Ruggero Franceschini, OFM Cap. of Izmir, Turkey, and Administrator of the Apostolic Vicariate of Anatolia and President of the Turkish Episcopal Conference, gave the following intervention today. The point of noting the Archbishop's intervention here is that I believe we have to be concerned with the reality of the Catholic faithful in places outside our neighborhood. Catholics can't simply concerned with matters that are near. The June murder of Capuchin Bishop Luigi Padovese's death has remained a key point in my prayer, interest in ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue, the missionary aspect of the Church's preaching program and the extent to which one would lay down his life for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Is Luigi Padovese a martyr? Franceschini has been clear that Padovese's death was premeditated by Islamic radicals with a hatred toward Christianity while the Turkish authorities insist the murder was personal and not politically or religiously motivated. I am not sure as I didn't know the state of his soul or his true relationship with Christ. The designation of a person as a martyr is a matter for Mother Church to make, but I might be persuaded to think in that direction. Christians comprise less than one percent of the Turkish nation.

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"The little Church of Turkey, at times ignored, had her sad moment of fame with the brutal murder of Bishop Luigi Padovese O.F.M. Cap., president of the Turkish Episcopal Conference. In a few words I would like to close this unpleasant episode by erasing the intolerable slander circulated by the very organisers of the crime. It was premeditated murder, by those same obscure powers that poor Luigi had just a few months earlier identified as being responsible for the killing of Fr. Andrea Santoro, the Armenian journalist Dink and four Protestants of Malatya. It is a murky story of complicity between ultra-nationalists and religious fanatics, experts in the 'strategia della tensione'. The pastoral and administrative situation in the vicariate of Anatolia is serious. ... What do we ask of the Church? We simply ask what we are lacking: a pastor, someone to help him, the means to do so, and all of this with reasonable urgency. ... The survival of the Church of Anatolia is at risk. ... Nonetheless, I wish to reassure neighbouring Churches - especially those that are suffering persecution and seeing their faithful become refugees - that the Turkish Episcopal Conference will continue to welcome them and offer fraternal assistance, even beyond our abilities. In the same way, we are open to pastoral co-operation with our sister Churches and with positive lay Muslims, for the good of Christians living in Turkey, and for the good of the poor and of the many refugees who live in Turkey".

Saint Teresa of Jesus (Avila)

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I was a bit more conscious of today's feast being of the great Carmelite saint, founder and Doctor of the Church, Saint Teresa of of Jesus (Avila). She has a particular hold on me because of her honesty and her extraordinary attention to human experience. This is especially true when you heed what Teresa is saying about friendship and those distinctions between the human friendship that what is shared with the Lord. The Office of Readings provided for us by the Church --and herewith published with my emphasis-- reminded me of something that's been on my mind for some time: am I mindful of Jesus right now? The sacred Liturgy is most direct in reminding us that salvation is given to us today. We are not saved at some point in the future, but right now. Eternal life doesn't only begin when we give up the ghost, but we live in the Eschaton at this moment of existence. Don't be fooled: Christ uses our human experience to manifest the promise of our divine destiny. So I ask you, Are you mindful of Christ right now? If not, why? What is distracting you? If so, in what ways are you paying mind to Him?

St Teresa of Avila Vatican statue.jpg
Pay attention to what Saint Teresa is saying:

If Christ Jesus dwells in a man as his friend and noble leader, that man can endure all things, for Christ helps and strengthens us and never abandons us. He is a true friend. And I clearly see that if we expect to please him and receive an abundance of his graces, God desires that these graces must come to us from the hands of Christ, through his most sacred humanity, in which God takes delight.

Many, many times I have perceived this through experience. The Lord has told it to me. I have definitely seen that we must enter by this gate if we wish his Sovereign Majesty to reveal to us great and hidden mysteries. A person should desire no other path, even if he is at the summit of contemplation; on this road he walks safely. All blessings come to us through our Lord. He will teach us, for in beholding his life we find that he is the best example.

What more do we desire from such a good friend at our side? Unlike our friends in the world, he will never abandon us when we are troubled or distressed. Blessed is the one who truly loves him and always keeps him near. Let us consider the glorious Saint Paul: it seems that no other name fell from his lips than that of Jesus, because the name of Jesus was fixed and embedded in his heart. Once I had come to understand this truth, I carefully considered the lives of some of the saints, the great contemplatives, and found that they took no other path: Francis, Anthony of Padua, Bernard, Catherine of Siena. A person must walk along this path in freedom, placing himself in God's hands. If God should desire to raise us to the position of one who is an intimate and shares his secrets, we ought to accept this gladly.

Whenever we think of Christ we should recall the love that led him to bestow on us so many graces and favors, and also the great love God showed in giving us in Christ a pledge of his love; for love calls for love in return. Let us strive to keep this always before our eyes and to rouse ourselves to love him. For if at some time the Lord should grant us the grace of impressing his love on our hearts, all will become easy for us and we shall accomplish great things quickly and without effort.
Visiting the Sick and Homebound 2011.jpgIn 2009 I wrote a review of the book, The Catholic Handbook for Visiting the Sick and Homebound. The 2011 edition is now available for use beginning on November 28th, the First Sunday of Advent 2010. Liturgy Training Publications is the publisher. This resource is a good deal for $6.00, discounts for bulk orders.

The is published according to Canon 827 of the Code of Canon Law and the approval Committee of Divine Worship of the USCCB.

My opinion remains the same: the book is an essential tool for those who are Ministers of Care of the Sick. The introduction written by Sr Genevieve Glen can't be neglected if one wants to be an effective, sensitive and holy minister.

Latin in New Zealand???

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I suppose Latin is no longer taught in New Zealand. Read this article ...
Komen for the Cure.jpgToo many women, too many friends, have or have had, breast cancer. Just the other day in the local newspaper there was an obit for a young woman who died of breast cancer at 43 years. Her battle with an ugly disease captured my prayer for that day. It drew to intensify my own resolve to work in simple ways to work for a cure but my angle is the spiritual battle; first petitioning the patron saint of those living with diseases of the breast, Saint Agatha. (If you're a Communio reader you might remember attention focussed on Saint Agatha's spiritual patronage for breast cancer survivors especially in February.)

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation is certainly one of the big funding agencies for breast cancer research. Their work is noteworthy. BUT the Komen Foundation is a very significant financial supporter of Planned Parenthood, an organization that does more than 25% of the abortions in the USA. An unacceptable collaboration for men and women of good will who work for the dignity of human life at all stages. And while 7.5 million dollars is a fraction of Komen's overall budget, any amount money going to the work of an abortion mill is too much money. I don't believe, in fact, I think there is deliberate hoodwinking of the Komen Foundation's spokesperson who offers a justification of the use of money: he claims a small amount of money goes to Planned Parenthood for breast health programs.

Steven Ertelt, Editor of LifeNews.com has an article, "Komen for the Cure Donated $7.5M to Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz in 2009," following the money from Komen to Planned Parenthood. Instead of sticking closely to a noble cause of breast health research Komen contributes to the heinous crime of killing babies.

The Susan G Komen for the Cure is NOT to be supported by Christians, of any stripe!

Saint Agatha, pray for us!!!

Saint Edward the Confessor

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St Edward the Confessor.jpgHail to You, Christ, Prince of Peace!
Your great reign shall never cease!
Model of each Christian king,
Hear the song of praise we bring
For Saint Edward, strong and true,
Ever faithful, Lord, to You!
On this day we sing his fame,
And proclaim Your holy Name!

Steadfast in his nation's care,
Fervent with the poor to share,
Just to great and small, they say;
His good deeds we sing this day!
Give us grace, like him to strive,
That our faith might be alive,
Full of mercy, love, and grace
That the world may see Your face!

Glory to the Father bring!
Glory to the Son, our King!
Glory to the Spirit blest!
Three-in-One, in heaven's rest!
With St. Edward joined as one,
May we pray, "Thy will be done!"
Till we there in heav'n may be
Joined with You, forever free!

77.77D
suggested tune: St George's Windsor

Crossroads Cultural Center.pngEach year, the lay ecclesial movement, Communion and Liberation (CL) in NY suggests a particular Crossroads Cultural Center (NYC) event that has a particular significance, seriousness, and the weight because of its potential impact on our lives.

There is one event in the Crossroads program which CL wants to underline and encourage everyone not only to attend but also to put effort into getting the word out among fellow parishioners, co-workers, family, etc.

This year, it is an event, October 13, at 7pm at Columbia University, entitled "Health Care Reform: What is it all about?" Below is an excerpt from the Crossroads website.

The distinguished panel of speakers will help us to understand better what practical consequences we should expect from the new health care law and its implementation. To a large extent, the debate on health care reform has been shaped by "experts," both from the academic world and from various think-tanks and professional associations. The idea behind this discussion is to ask a group of experienced professionals whose work is related to health care how the new law will concretely impact their work, and the health care system as they know it in their field of action. As a general rule, experience is the best immunization against the temptations of ideology. In the case of health care reform these temptations include both the utopian conviction that this huge social problem can basically be solved by technocratic means (i.e., government action) and the opposite prejudice, namely that nothing good can come from governmental intervention in the health care system as prescribed by the reform. Rather than joining this stale ideological struggle, we want to listen to those who will deal every day with the effects of the reform, as the best to way to learn what we should realistically expect.

The most important thing is that we take this event seriously as a personal invitation to come to know more about something in reality as it's unfolding now. It's in reality that the Divine Mystery speaks to us. We cannot simply ignore the questions and problems our society faces and claim to be above them. It's in facing reality, struggling with it, and involving ourselves with it, that we can come to know Christ more.

The presentation info:

Wednesday, October 13, 2010 at 7 pm

Columbia University, Philosophy Hall 301

1150 Amsterdam Avenue at 116th Street

 

The flyer for the event is posted here: Health Care Reform.pdf 

The Holy Father published a long-awaited Motu Proprio, Ubicumque et semper, by which he established a new office (dicastery) at the Roman Curia: "Pontifical Council for Promotion of the New Evangelization." The new head of the Council is, as you know, Archbishop Rino Fisichella.

The objectives of the new Pontifical Council:

  • To deepen the theological and pastoral meaning of the new evangelization.
  • To promote and to foster in close collaboration with bishops' conferences, teaching of the Magisterium relative to the new evangelization.
  • To make known initiatives already under way in local churches and to promote new initiatives, involving also resources of religious institutes and groups of the faithful and new lay communities;
  • To study and to foster the use of modern means of communications as instruments for the new evangelization.
  • To promote the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

A summary of Ubicumque et semper can be read here

I am happy that a papal document finally appeared since it was expected since four months ago. Now a more concerted effort at the needs of evangelization will be worked on by the Roman Curia and that good works already in play with groups like Communion and Liberation, Opus Dei, Focolare, Sant'Egidio will be more coordinated and collaborated with. I hope the big religious orders like the Benedictines, Franciscans and Dominicans will respond positively to the hopes and desires of the Pope. The expectation of the new Council are looking to re-energize the work of evangelization of culture and to give renewed interest and thrust of the Church as missionary. Please note, secularism, not secularity needs to be addressed by the entire Church, not just the bishops and certainly not just the Roman Curia.

The Pope said, "At the root of all evangelization there is no human project of expansion, but the desire to share the priceless gift that God wished to give us, sharing His life with us."

There are, however, a number of missed opportunities already since the announcement of the Council: there was a too long of wait for the motu proprio, the motu proprio is only available in Latin and Italian at this point, the staff has not been announced, and there is no web presence for the new Council as of yet. Another example of not doing the homework on the part of those who work for the Pope.

Blessed John XXIII

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Pope John XIII.jpgToday we are given Blessed John XXIII as a model of holiness. Pope Blessed John's liturgical memorial is not the date of his death but the anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council.

As one example of his holy inclinations I recently read his 1962 letter to women religious, "Il Tempio Massimo." It is remains a beautiful testament to a great man filled with the Holy Spirit lived as a man of the Church. In this letter the Pope talks about the place of spiritual renewal in religious life; he's got the grace of a new Pentecost in mind: an old person can be born again.

The new Pentecost in Blessed John's mind is evidenced in a life of prayer, a life of example and a life in the apostolate, whether active or in the cloister. Of course, this letter to the women religious has a specific structure and emphasis but one that ought not be lost to the rest of the Church today; the Pope encourages us "to cultivate a holy enthusiasm" in life in Christ aiming to a more complete and full vocation first introduced to us in the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation & Eucharist) and then in the call to serve the Lord and the Church in a particular manner (the vowed life, priesthood for those given that vocation, the married state and single life).

 Blessed John's points on prayer could be summarized as follows:

1. "...more rigid mortification and penance is intended to affirm once again the pre-eminence of the duties of worship and of complete consecration of life to prayer over any other form of apostolate...;

2. "...conform more perfectly to the call of the Divine Master...in the contemplative life";

3. "...the only foundations and soul of the apostolate is the interior life";

4. without a life of prayer can "...fall into that 'heresy of action';

5. a life of prayer "...entails not a mechanical repetition of formulas but is rather the irreplaceable means by which one enters into intimacy with the Lord, to better understand the dignity of being daughters of of God and spouses of the Holy Spirit, the 'sweet guest of the soul' Who speaks to those who know how to listen in recollection";

6. "holy Mass should be the center of your day, so much so that every action converges on it as a preparation or as a thanksgiving. Let Holy Communion be the daily food which sustains, comforts and strengthens you";

7. 3 recommended and fundamental devotions: "Nothing is better for enlightening and encouraging the adoration of Jesus than to meditate upon Him and invoke Him in the threefold light of the Name, the Heart and the Blood.

I'd recommend reading the rest of the letter because Pope John talks about honoring poverty, radiating chastity, a life of sweet obedience and the apostolic and contemplative life.
The Synod of Bishops for the Middle East begins today. The importance of this particular Synod is given by NCR correspondent John Allen.

The Synod's meeting is the result of requests of bishops and the pastoral visits of the pope to that part of the Church. The Christian minority in the Middle East needs our help.

The Synod is using Arabic for the first time as an official language and a rabbi and 2 Muslims are observers to the Synod.

The North American contingent to the Synod is quite substantial. See the list...

The Synod meets from October 10-24.

We beg the Holy Spirit to guide the work of the Pope, the bishops and other attendees.
In his pastoral visit to Sicily last week the Holy Father called to mind the beauty and the place of the Mother of God in our lives: she's an intensely loving mother who truly looks after her children. Here are some excerpts:

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To the Virgin Mary I wish to entrust all of the people of God who live in this beloved land. May she sustain the families in love and in educational commitment; may she fructify the seeds of vocation that God liberally sows among the young people; may she instill courage in trials, hope in difficulties, renewed strength in doing the good. May the Madonna comfort the sick and all those who are suffering, and help the Christian communities so that no one in them be forgotten or in need, but that each one, especially the little and the weak, feel welcomed and valued." 

The also told us that "in Parma, Anna Maria Adorni is being beatified. In 19th century she was an exemplary wife and mother and then, having become a widow, she dedicated herself to charitable work among women in prison and in difficulty, for whose service she founded two religious institutes. Mother Adorni, because of her constant prayer, was called the "Living Rosary." I am glad to mention her at the beginning of the month of the rosary. May the daily meditation on the mysteries of Christ in union with Mary, the prayerful Virgin, strengthen us in faith, in hope and in charity."

Benedict XVI
address at Palermo's Foro Italico Umberto I
October 3, 2010
Timothy Kelly.jpgThe monastic family of Saint John's Abbey and the American Cassinese Congregation mourns the passing of Abbot Timothy Kelly who died on October 7. He was 76 and had been suffering from cancer.

Abbot Timothy was the 9th abbot of St John's Abbey (1992-2000) and was the Abbot-President of his congregation of monks from 2001 till this past June. The Abbot's monastic life was rich in service to abbey and the wider Church.

The present abbot of Saint John's, John Klassen, has an obit here.

Saints Benedict and Scholastic, pray for Timothy and the Saint John's community.

May the angels lead Abbot Timothy to the Kingdom.
A new work has been published, albeit in Italian, on angels. Monsignor Marcello Stazione recently published The Angels: An Essential Guide. Rome Reports has a news video on the project.

...ask the angels for help...

Saint Louis Bertrand

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St Louis Bertrand.jpgProclaim the glory of the Lord among the nations; God's marvelous deeds to all the peoples; great is the Lord and worthy of all praise.


Almighty and merciful God, as You filled the heart of Saint Louis Bertrand with reverent fear of Your name, inflame our hearts with that same divine fire. With both love and reverence may we too serve You faithfully.

JHN icon.jpgO God, the source of wisdom's fire,

Who formed the mind of man

In complex and mysterious ways

Within Your loving plan,

We thank You now for calling forth

This priest who praised Your Name

By teaching and exalting you

In words of living flame.

 

John Henry Newman, England's son,

Was formed in Oxford's halls,

Endowed with tow'ring intellect

To answer all the calls

Which Church and University

Gave forth in times of doubt,

A rebirth of the ancient truths

As rain for minds in drought.

 

He served the Church of England well

With scholarship and grace,

Restoring ancient roots of faith,

Removing error's trace.

But scorned by leaders of his time,

He left his Oxford home,

In search of kindly, leading light

Which led him on toward Rome.

Blessed John Henry Newman

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Bl John Henry Newman.jpgO God, who bestowed on the priest Blessed John Henry Newman the grace to follow Your kindly light and find peace in Your Church; graciously grant that, through his intercession and example, we may be led out of shadows and images into the fulness of Your truth.

 

"God has created me to do him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another" (JH Newman, Meditations on Christian Doctrine).


Blessed John Henry's feast day today is the anniversary of his conversion to Catholicism and not the date of his birth into eternal life (death), as most of the saints are honored. 

The other Propers for Mass and the Office of Readings for Newman's feast day can be found here.

The Catholic University of Lueven, founded in 1425 by Pope Martin V is said to be entering into a process to re-consider their Catholic identity, even to the point of removing the adjective "Catholic" from their title, a news item on the Cardinal Newman Society's webpage said, reporting a Brussels-based news article on October 7.

The university's rector Mark Waer, 59, a trained physican and medical researcher in nephrology and immunology, has reportedly said, "The Catholic message is not appropriate for the university..." after the criticism from Catholics about the granting of the Nobel Prize to the instigator of IVF technology. Waer only began his term as rector of the university in 2009.

The University's mission statement can be read here.

UK's The Tablet ran a news piece today saying the seminary for the North of England dioceses, Ushaw College, is closing at the end of the school year in June 2011. Currently, 7 English dioceses are served by UC. Ushaw was first founded in Douai, France in 1568 and has been located four miles west of Durham City since 1808.

From its heyday of 400 men studying for the priesthood to 26 today, the Ushaw has a staff of 62.

The story of Ushaw is grim and it sounds like St Joseph's Seminary (Dunwoodie) which has fewer than 25 seminarians for the secular priesthood. For the time being SJS is working alone and is slated to merge with Huntington's seminary.

A question was asked of me about the building blocks of the Catholic faith. Is there such a thing? Do Catholics actually have a structure of belief? Well, yes, there are 4 essential building blocks of our life of faith. These 4 areas are the very same areas by which the Catechism of the Catholic is structured.

The 4 Pillars of the Catholic Faith:

-Creed
-10 Commandments
-7 Sacraments
-The Lord's Prayer (Christian prayer)

Christ giving the keys to Peter.jpg
Catholics believe in revealed truth. Spirituality needs to be founded on truth otherwise you have nothing. Hence creed, code & cult are essential aspects of Catholic Faith.

The study of faith needs two distinctions to understand what's going with the army of words and ideas associated with theological reflection: fides quae and fides qua.  

Fides quae ("faith which") is the faith which is held by the Church through divine revelation or sacred tradition (it is what is considered to be objective, verifiable faith).

Fides qua ("faith by which") is the faith by which a person is moved to respond to God. A person's understanding of his or her personal relationship to God is spoken of here; here we usually filter what hear of divine revelation; in some instances personal revelation is located in this type of faith, e.g., the teachings of the saints would be a distinction of fides qua (we'll say this is subjective faith, a faith known through concrete experience).

Theologically speaking, a theologian be able to distinguish between fides quae and fides qua and to always maintain conformity in study and work with fides quae. Only a few theologian have held a personal faith that has been enlightened enough to illuminate fides quae. The task of theology is gain a deeper understanding of faith; it is, as St Anselm said: faith seeking understanding. Our study of theology is done on our knees; that is, we study the fact of God and the allied theological sciences from a posture of adoration of God first, in the sacred Liturgy and second, in personal prayer. 

The student of theology takes his or her first presupposition from the position of "faith." Faith is not a gift of God it is also the manner by which we look at reality, it's the "starting point for a new way -that is, a true way of becoming aware of reality itself." Through faith we have access to truth and through we live truth.  Without faith in the study of theology we have mere religious studies.

Supporting Catholic Schools

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This morning the Archbishop of Hartford, Henry J. Mansell hosted what has become the annual Columbus Day Breakfast to provide scholarship grants to students attending Catholic elementary schools in greater New Haven. The Archbishop assisted by the Foundation for the Advancement of Catholic Schools helped us to look with fresh eyes at the need for Catholic education in greater New Haven. I am very happy to have been invited to attend this morning's breakfast.

Some thoughts though... It was a good networking opportunity but something was missing, the reason why we dragged ourselves out of bed to have breakfast with people vaguely known but connected through our concern for Catholic education: Jesus Christ and our friendship with Him. While we are all very grateful for the $60K raised for Catholic elementary students, the absence of noting who sustains our efforts and why we are at all interested in Catholic education was for me problematic. Do-gooders are well-meaning; they can be helpful and advancing a good mission such as education. Yet, as I mentioned to a friend, I don't care about Catholic education or any other program if we're not helping each other seek a relationship with Jesus and try to live as Catholics (Christians, if you will). It is not a "what" that sustains our efforts in education but a "who" --it is Jesus Christ. "Remember Him," I'd like to say?

I agree that "An education would be most impoverished if it were limited to providing notions and information and neglected the important question about truth, especially that truth which can be a guide in life" (Benedict XVI, January 21, 2008). That truth is none other than unique offer of love and salvation given to us by the Lord. It is the pursuit of Truth that makes education, formal or informal, worth it. Everything else pales. 

Anthony Cernera, President of Sacred Heart University (Fairfield, CT) spoke well of remembering the past and dreaming for the future. When we remember the past we hold in ourselves an attitude of gratitude for graces received. When we dream we look forward in hope for realization of the desires of the heart given by God Himself. If the Church is correct, then those who believe in Christ are obligated to hope, to live concretely in the present yet looking to the fulfillment of the promises God has made personally with each of us. Catholic education is indeed in a difficult place today with the great divorce of remembering and dreaming, faith and reason, and faith and justice. SO, yes, support Catholic education because as Mansell said, "Our schools not only provide a rigorous curriculum, but also an education for a lifetime...."
Few people in these parts (in the Eastern part of the USA) know the name Robert F. Vasa except ecclesial-philes like myself, but that's because he's on the other side of the country. Never mind. Who could say with honesty that there's a genuine concern for knowing ecclesial affairs viz. from a person who has little name recognition such as Robert Vasa. That is, until now, who, with some excellent, even controversial ideas, is sure to anger the round heads. Only now Vasa's thinking is gaining some currency. But let's give him his just due respect. Robert F. Vasa, 59, is the Bishop of Baker, OR, a priest of the Lincoln Diocese who delivered an extraordinarily good address titled, "Sacred Duties, Episcopal Ministry" on September 16, 2010 at the 2010 InsideCatholic Partnership Award Dinner in Washington, DC, that has not received the attention it deserves.

The Bishop is taking a critical look at the contemporary ministry of the bishop, at least in the USA, as we've seen it unfold with the existence of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

I DON'T like the USCCB and would prefer to see it close, or at least downsize significantly. I find USCCB officials intrusive, their work open to misinterpretation, the bishops not doing what they are supposed to do for "needy bishops" --to give fraternal constructive correction to bishops not doing or incapable of doing their episcopal ministry as expected-- and I find the USCCB documents compromised or agenda driven. In addition, I find the tax paid on each "Catholic head" in the dioceses to be excessive and it's a genuine burden on many dioceses, particularly the Eastern Church dioceses who don't have access to large amounts of money. One last word on the bishops' documents: they are often not written by the bishops themselves (who would have the time?) but are produced by the staffers of the USCCB or outsiders and are vague and lack substance that would clearly address the issues at hand; when the documents are "committee documents" they are often ground for the lefty-loonies to manipulate for their own ends.

There are few instances where I think a conference of bishops in the USA is useful but not absolutely necessary. The usefulness of a conference of bishops would be seen in knowing the needs of the Church in North America, in the work done in the fields of the sacred Liturgy, certain questions on immigration, healthcare and pro-life and certain relief agencies like CRS. The translation of texts is labor intensive and it needs wider episcopal oversight and input that 10 bishops can give. BUT let's be clear, the USCCB is not an alternative teaching body for the Church in America; it has no authority to teach or make laws over and above the Universal Church or the individual diocesan bishop; it does not speak for the Church's bishops. Diocesan bishops can't absolve themselves of the duty to rightly to teach, govern and sanctify the people entrusted to them personally by the Holy Spirit and for the Church in general. Episcopal ministry is exercised not with strategies and programs but by listening, praying and teaching when needed. 

Some people who are USCCB favorable will be dramatic by saying, "The USCCB said and demands thus and such...." AND the response you should give is, "SO what."

Read, study and pray with Bishop Vasa's address noted above. You may want to say a prayer for him, too. He'll likely get hate mail for his attempt to teach what is true. In my mind this address is necessary reading for informed Catholics. The point here is not be disrespectful of the sacred duties and responsibilities of bishops. My point here is to live, to act and to think with the Church under the Roman Pontiff and the bishops in communion with him. As Catholics we are to be total and radically centered on the person of Jesus Christ lived in the sacrament of the Church and under her magisterium. I follow Christ through the ministry of the Pope, the bishop of this diocese but not in a bureaucracy of bishops.

Our Lady of the Rosary

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Madonna of the Rosary LLotto.jpgI once told a youth director who was getting "heat" from his colleagues for having his parish youth group pray the rosary that that prayer is really Scripture study. What else could you call the each of the mysteries, the Hail Mary and the Lord's Prayer? On the simplest level praying the rosary is not only a tool of spiritual education in the School of Mary, but also uniting more and more closely to the Lord.


It is often said that if you want to end sin in your life, evil in the world, that is, to slice the head off evil, then pray the Rosary. I see more rosaries around the rear view mirror or around the neck but so rarely in those same hands fingering the beads of the Mysteries of the Jesus' life, death and resurrection. In the rosary we trace the lines of salvation history and the beautiful mission of Jesus.


Pope, saints, good priests and religious and grandmothers recommend wholeheartedly our attachment to this divine gift of love.


The previous year's post for this feast is here.


The infant church in prayer was gathered round

Th'apostles and the Mother of the Lord;

In faithfulness to Christ's farewell command,

They prayed and waited, trusting in the Word.

 

With joy we think on incarnation's grace;

With light we meditate upon Christ's life;

With sorrow, all his passion keep in mind;

And in his glory, hope beyond all strife.

 

For Mary's faithfulness we praise you, Lord,

who heard and trusted in your promise strong;

To you we sing, O Trinity most blessed,

In praise that through the ages echoes long.

 

10 10 10 10

SURSUM CORDA

Saint Faustina Kowalska

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Clued-in Catholics know the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. They are, however, unlikely to know the person who made this devotion known to the world and who was instrumental in getting the work of divine mercy known in the world today. Today, the Church gives us the woman who made the Lord's mercy known to men and women of today. 


Sr Faustina Kowalska wrote in her Diary:  "I feel tremendous pain when I see the sufferings of my neighbours. All my neighbours' sufferings reverberate in my own heart; I carry their anguish in my heart in such a way that it even physically destroys me. I would like all their sorrows to fall upon me, in order to relieve my neighbour" (Diary, p. 365). This is the degree of compassion to which love leads, when it takes the love of God as its measure!

It is this love which must inspire humanity today, if it is to face the crisis of the meaning of life, the challenges of the most diverse needs and, especially, the duty to defend the dignity of every human person. Thus the message of divine mercy is also implicitly a message about the value of every human being. Each person is precious in God's eyes; Christ gave his life for each one; to everyone the Father gives his Spirit and offers intimacy. (Pope John Paul II, Canonization homily, April 30, 2000).

Pauline Fahey.jpgToday, we are praying the Mass of Christian Burial for a friend, Pauline Marie Fahey, who died last Thursday after living with cancer. Join me in praying for her peaceful repose thanking God for this blessing.

Let's also remember Father Michael A. Fahey, SJ, Pauline's brother and a very dear friend, who survives her.

May Pauline's memory be eternal.

Let's also pray for those who served in the medical profession as nurses, as Pauline did for decades.
The Benedictines celebrate the feast of Saint Maurus, a first disciple of Saint Benedict on January 15 and the Roman Martyrology notes his feast day as today. Liturgical calendars of religious aren't always the same, sometimes for very good reasons. For Saint Maurus' feast day in January I posted a prayer for the sick through his intercession which may interest you. Today, we're honoring Saint Benedict and his student Maurus, by giving this prayer more "press" recalling the profound love they had for the Cross of Christ.

Sts Maurus & Placid with Benedict.jpg
Let us pray:

Through the intercession of the Immaculate Mother of God, ever a virgin, and by the intercession of St. Benedict and of St. Maurus, may the power of God + the Father, the wisdom of God + the Son, and the might of God + the Holy Spirit, deliver you from this infirmity. Amen.

May God's will be done in all things, and so may it be done in your case, just as you seek and desire only the praise and honor of the all-holy Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.


US Supreme Court.jpgThere are several "firsts" for the new session of the Supreme Court of the United States. Among the firsts:

  • members of the bench are either Catholic (6) or Jewish (3)-- there are no Protestants serving
  • 1/3 of the members of the bench are women
  • first time in 35 years that Justice John Paul Stevens will not serve as a Justice
  • Justice Kagan is the 100th Supreme Court Justice
Read the brief overview of the Supreme Court

Saint Francis of Assisi

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St Francis FZurbaran.jpgSaint Francis seems to be a model of holiness for many, many people. Protestants of all flavors, the Muslims and Jews honor dear Francis for a variety of reasons. They've met Francis in as many ways as I have.


This morning I am pondering why I love Francis. Preparing for my reception of the sacrament of Confirmation I chose as my "confirmation name" Francis of Assisi because he not only seemed to reasonable guide for life, especially the spiritual life, but I was drawn to him through the stained glass in the parish church, the secular Franciscans were present but more important, the narrative of Saint Francis' life was verifiably compelling.


Over time I've come to know Francis as not only poor, humble, loving, faithful, guru of the human condition but also that he preached what he received from the Lord Himself: the mercy of Christ crucified is real, the truth of faith, hope and love in Christ is the path to salvation, that he preached the reality of knowing who in fact God is (that is, Father, Son, Holy Spirit) and not what he thought, guessed about God. Saint Francis emblematic of the Catholic second chance, that is, one can be given another chance for happiness. So, the real Saint Francis is not the personage hijacked by the lefty-looines who use him to justify all sort of liberalities of theology, Liturgy, social concern and life in the public order. Francis is not the stereotypical garden statue nor is he a man unconcerned with true conversion of life. He's quite the opposite: he life was a life in Christ firmly rooted in the Mystical Body of Christ --the Church-- nourished by the sacraments, most especially the Holy Eucharist.


Friar Charles, OFMCap had this to say about Saint Francis

Death of St Francis Giotto.jpg

Saint Francis died during the evening of October 3/4. The Church observes the death of Saint Francis on October 4.

As he lay dying, Francis prayed Psalm 142 and during the closing verse he died. This human and liturgical event is solemnly remembered each year by Franciscans to honor their holy Father's entrance into the joy of being the Most Blessed Trinity be prayerfully remembering the passage --a transitus-- of Francis from life to Life today, October 3.

Alleluia, Alleluia, Francis, poor and humble, enters heaven rich and is welcomed with celestial hymns. Alleluia.

Psalm 142

I cried to the Lord with my voice; with my voice to the Lord did I make my supplication.

I poured out my complaint before him; I showed before him trouble.

When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then he knew my path.

In the way where I walked have they secretly laid a snare for me.

I looked on right hand, and held, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.

I cried to You, O Lord: I said, You are my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.

Attend to my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.

Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Your name: the righteous shall compass me about; for You shall deal bountifully with me.

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Alleluia, Alleluia, Francis, poor and humble, enters heaven rich and is welcomed with celestial hymns. Alleluia.

O God, you granted our blessed Father Francis the reward of everlasting joy: grant that we, who celebrate the memory of his death, may at last come to the same eternal joy; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

JADiNoia.jpgThe annual Red Mass celebrated by Archbishop Donald Wuerl at Saint Matthew's Cathedral (Washington, DC) was preached by Archbishop J. Augustine DiNoia, OP, Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship (Rome). Today's Red Mass is the 57th and was sponsored by the John Carroll Society. Present was the Vice President, the Chief Justice and four other justices. Archbishop DiNoia's homily follows.

 

In anticipation of the official opening of the Supreme Court term tomorrow, we unite in prayer today in this solemn liturgy in order to invoke the Holy Spirit upon the distinguished justices, the judges, attorneys, and lawmakers, professors and students of the law, the law clerks and paralegals, and upon all others who serve us in the various sectors of the legal profession. We give thanks to God for their precious service, and we humbly pray, "Holy Spirit, Lord of light / From the clear celestial height / Thy pure beaming radiance give"(Veni Sancte Spiritus, Pentecost Sequence, trans. Nat. Lit. Conf. England and Wales, 1967).

The annual invocation of the Holy Spirit at the start of the judicial year in Washington reflects a 700 year old tradition honoring the sacred character of the law and the vital civic role of its guardians. Indeed, the practice of celebrating a Red Mass--"red" because of the color of both the liturgical vesture and the traditional judicial robes--at the opening of the judicial term is as old as the legal profession itself. According to historian James Brundage (cf. The Medieval Origins of the Legal Profession, University of Chicago Press, 2008), the emergence of a distinctive legal profession in the West dates roughly to the thirteenth century--precisely when the first recorded celebrations of the Red Mass occurred in Paris in 1245 and in Westminster in 1301. It may well be that the widespread practice of celebrating a votive Mass of the Holy Spirit at other similar occasions--like the start of the academic year--originated with the tradition of the Red Mass.

Trinity Flamelle.jpgThe celebration of the annual Red Mass signals the profound esteem which the Church has for the Supreme Court and the legal and judicial institutions of this nation, for the invocation of the Holy Spirit on this occasion springs from nothing other than the trinitarian faith which is at the very center of her faith. "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come and make our dwelling with him." Christ teaches and the Church proclaims that God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, desires to share the communion of trinitarian life with creaturely persons, that--in the famous formulation of St. Irenaeus--God who is without need of anyone gives communion with himself to those who need him. Christ teaches us, moreover, that it is the Holy Spirit who plays a critical role in fitting individual persons and the Church herself for this high destiny. "The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, that the Father will send in my name...will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you." Thus we can pray: Veni Sancte Spiritus! Come Holy Spirit! "Thou, on us who evermore / Thee confess and thee adore, / With thy sevenfold gifts descend. / Give us comfort when we die; / Give us life with thee on high; / Give us joys that never end."

What should we be praying for as we invoke the Holy Spirit on the justices and on all the rest of us during this Red Mass? As St. Paul reminds us, the Holy Spirit himself helps us to ask for the right things: "The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groaning." We have already heard some verses from the ancient "Golden Sequence" for Pentecost Sunday, the Veni Sancte Spiritus; let us turn to it again to learn more of what we can expect when the Church invokes the Holy Spirit in this solemn setting.

Veni Sancte Spiritus! Come Holy Spirit! "Thou, of all consolers best, / Thou the soul's delightful guest, / Dost refreshing peace bestow; / Thou in toil art comfort sweet; / Pleasant coolness in the heat; / Solace in the midst of woe." In praying to the Holy Spirit, for, among other blessings, consolation, peace, and solace, the Church understands the nearly overwhelming complexity of the climate which envelops the practice of law and the administration of justice today.

And perhaps not just today. It was precisely such complexity that gave rise to the legal profession in the 13th century as popes, kings and bishops found it impossible to carry out their duties without expert legal advice. You will be amused to learn that, during this period, there was lively debate about whether popes should be elected from the ranks of theologians or of canon lawyers: as a theologian, it pains me to report that learned opinion favored the election of qualified lawyers to the See of Peter.

In all seriousness, no informed observer can fail to acknowledge that the social and cultural pluralism of our times--not to mention the relentless and sometimes pitiless public scrutiny to which you are subjected--makes the work of judges and lawyers today very hard indeed. The Church prays that, amidst the clamor of contending interests and seemingly intractable moral disagreements, the Holy Spirit will help you to maintain your personal integrity and professional equilibrium. Not for nothing, then, do we invoke the Holy Spirit today with these poignant words. Veni Sancte Spiritus! Come Holy Spirit! "Heal our wounds, our strength renew; / On our dryness pour thy dew; / Wash the stains of guilt away. / Bend the stubborn heart and will; / Melt the frozen, warm the chill; / Guide the steps that go astray."

The words of the prophet Ezechiel recall another important element in our invocation of the Holy Spirit today. "I will put my Spirit within you," he says, "and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees." Positive law rests on certain principles the knowledge of which constitutes nothing less than a participation in the divine law itself: the pursuit of the common good through respect for the natural law, the dignity of the human person, the inviolability of innocent life from conception to natural death, the sanctity of marriage, justice for the poor, protection of minors, and so on. The legal profession is entrusted with the discernment and administration of justice and the rule of law according to an objective measure--in effect, according to principles--not of our own making. A consensus about these principles inspired the founders of modern democracies, and although it was profoundly influenced by Judaism, Islam, and Christianity (think of Averroes, Maimonides and Aquinas), this consensus was understood to transcend religious and cultural differences. Thus, it follows that the invocation of the Holy Spirit in the Red Mass is a prayer for light and guidance. Among the things for which we ardently pray is the wisdom to affirm and maintain those profound truths about human nature that are at the foundation of the common life we treasure in this great nation. "Holy Spirit, Lord of Light ... / Come thou light of all that live ... / Light immortal, light divine."

Pentecost.jpgAt the deepest level, our invocation of the Holy Spirit here today manifests the conviction that the democratic state does not so much confer the most fundamental human rights and the duties of citizenship as acknowledge their existence and source in a power beyond the state, namely in God himself. Your presence here today bears eloquent witness to the enduring power of this conviction.

Yet, as she invokes the guidance and consolation of the Holy Spirit today, the erosion of this conviction is a source of deep concern for the Church. The alternative view--until recently more or less successfully resisted by democratic societies like ours--is the idea that man can find happiness and freedom only apart from God. This exclusive humanism has been exposed as an anti-humanism of the most radical kind. Man without God is not more free but surely in greater danger. The tragic history of the last century--as John Paul II and Benedict XVI have unceasingly reminded us--demonstrates that the eclipse of God leads not to greater human liberation but to the most dire human peril. That innocent human life is now so broadly under threat has seemed to many of us one of the many signs of this growing peril. Gabriel Marcel said somewhere that in our time "human flesh has undergone such intolerable outrage that it must receive some kind of reparation in glory...The world today can be endured only if one's spirit is riveted on [the] hope of the resurrection... If this hope were shared by a greater number, perhaps, respect for the flesh and for the body, so terribly lacking in our time, would be restored." Thus, along with wisdom and light, today we must also beg the Holy Spirit for the gift of hope in the resurrection.

Our enactment of this ancient ritual of the Red Mass joins us to the generations of judges and lawyers who pursued their professions conscious of their need for divine grace and guidance, for enlightenment, for consolation, for refreshment, for solace, for healing, for comfort, for hope. May these wonderful blessings of the Holy Spirit be yours today!

Veni Sancte Spritus! Come Holy Spirit!

"Come, thou Father of the poor,

Come with treasures which endure...

Light immortal, light divine,

Visit thou these hearts of thine,

And our inmost being fill." Amen.

Heavenly Jerusalem Maronite.jpgAutumn is upon us with its mix of weather: recent days there's been warmth and coolness, rain, clouds and sun. The earth is adjusting and so are we, at least liturgically. Judging by the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church we are near the end of the liturgical year with the First Sunday of Advent only a few weeks away. Some churches, like the Maronites in particular, mark this time of the liturgical year by counting weeks after the Exaltation of the Cross in a time called the Season of the Cross. This particular season of the Maronite liturgical calendar prepares us to account for our lives by looking to our personal final victory through prayer, fasting, waiting, and conversion of life. The rich liturgical theology of the Maronite Church ought to draw us more closely to the glory of the Lord's right side in an attitude of gratitude for all things in life.

You'll hear Maronite liturgical theology speak of Jesus' Cross as "the Cross of Light," the symbol -the reality-- par excellence of the victorious Son of Man and Son of God. The cross of is that primary sign by which Jesus Christ, Our Lord, becomes for us the victor over death and opens the gates of heaven for our entrance into blessedness with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

The Maronite Church prayed today: When you shall appear on the last day the sign of the cross shall shine brighter than the sun, enable us, your worshipers, to enter your kingdom of light, and glorify and thank you, O Christ, with your father, and your Holy Spirit, now and forever.

Guardian Angels

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Angles LBicci.jpg
Behold, I send an angel before you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Give heed to him and hearken to his voice, do no rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression; for my name is in him. (Exodus 23:20)

We pray:

O leaders of the heavenly armies, although we are always unworthy, we beseech you that with your prayers you may encircle us with the protection of the wings of your angelic glory. Watch over us as we bow low and earnestly cry out to you: Deliver us from trouble, O princes of the heavenly armies.

Plus, 

Angel of God, my Guardian dear, to whom His love commits me here, ever this day (night) be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.


See last year's post on this feast of the Guardian Angels for a prayer and a brief catechesis.

Let's remember Abbot Hugh Anderson, abbot-president and the Benedictine monks of the American Cassinese Congregation who observe today as a patronal feast of their congregation.

Sacrament of Mercy Conference

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A friend, the Rev'd Canon Matthew R. Mauriello, has organized the forthcoming Conference on the Sacrament of Mercy to be held in Milwaukee, 8-9 October. There are several excellent speakers to note.

If you are in the area, perhaps you can participate. But being united in prayer is very welcomed. Perhaps the intention could be to ask the Lord to show us His mercy so that we can be merciful. In so many places and circumstances in the Church love shown to its extreme limits --mercy-- is lacking. There is something wrong with this experience. Pray to Saint Matilda of Hackeborn, as Pope Benedict suggested earlier this week.

See the program here: Sacrament of Mercy Conference.pdf

Archbishop Velasio de Paolis, C.S., the Pope's delegate for the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, announced the names his four counsellors who will assist him in restructuring and renewing the Legion.

The counselors:

  • Father Agostino Montan C.S.I., episcopal vicar for religious life in the Diocese of Rome;
  • Monsignor Mario Marchesi, vicar general of the Diocese of Cremona, Italy;
  • Father Gianfranco Ghirlanda S.J., former rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University;
  • Bishop Brian Farrell, LC,  secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

Archbishop Ricardo Blazquez Perez of Valladolid, Spain, is the visitator for Regnum Christi.

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

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See that you do not despise one of these little ones...

 

St Therese the Little Flower.jpgGod of tenderness and mercy,

Choosing weak, confounding strong,

Telling all of heaven's secrets

To the child that for you longs;

We give thanks for boundless kindness

Shown to this, your little one,

Who, in midst of earthly darkness,

Sought the radiance of your Son.

 

For Thrérèse, your little flower,

We lift up our song today--

In her life and in her teachings

We are led the "little way,"

From self-seeking to self-knowledge,

That we all might serve in love.

Give us strength to thus surrender;

Shower graces from above.

 

From her hidden life in Carmel,

You have raised her as a light

In your Church for all your people,

Drawing us from sinful blight

Into fellowship with Jesus,

Image of the Father's face:

Grant us mission spirit fervent,

Preaching you to ev'ry race.

 

Teach us by her great example

How to treasure sacrifice;

Show us that small acts of loving

Are true gifts, beyond all price.

As she did, so let us utter,

"Jesus, help me love you more!"

In our lack of might and power,

Let us praise you and adore.

 

God of mercy, love, and blessing,

Father, Son, and Spirit great,

To your name we give the glory

As your coming we await.

Working here to spread your Kingdom,

Lead us in your little way

Till Thèrése and all your faithful

Sing your name in endless day!

 

J. Michael Thompson copyright 2010

87 87 D; IN BABILONE, BEACH SPRING

Benedict XVI Sept 19 2010.jpgKeeping the Pope and his intentions in front of us in prayer and in conversation, October's intentions are the following:

The general intention

That Catholic Universities may increasingly become places where, in light of the gospel, people may experience the unity of faith and reason.

The mission intention

That World Mission Day may help Christians realize that the task of proclaiming Christ is a necessary service to which the Church is called for the benefit of humanity.

About the author

Paul A. Zalonski is from New Haven, CT. He is a member of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, a Catholic ecclesial movement and an Oblate of Saint Benedict. Contact Paul at paulzalonski[at]yahoo.com.

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This page is a archive of recent entries written by Paul Zalonski in October 2010.

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