The authentic Church is an extension of Good Samaritan today


At Vespers
(evening prayer) with the gathered bishops of Latin America at the
Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of Light, (Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico) this evening the Holy
Father address the following homily. His thoughts turn our attention to a
deeper fidelity in belonging to Christ, being true in communion with others,
rooted and ground in Love. The homily is terrific, he hits on some real significant issues that concern the Catholic Faith and the promotion of Justice. But I can’t help thinking that the Pope is treating this pastoral visit as a giant Ad limina.

B16 at OL Lady Cathedral Leo Mexico Mar 25 2012.jpg

It gives me great joy to be able to pray with all of
you in this Basilica-Cathedral of León, dedicated to our Lady of Light. In the
lovely painting venerated in this basilica, the Blessed Virgin holds her Son in
one hand with immense tenderness while extending her other hand to succour
sinners. This is how the Church in every age sees Mary. We praise her for
giving us the Redeemer and we put our trust in her as the Mother whom her
divine Son bequeathed to us from the Cross. For this reason, we invoke her
frequently as “our hope” because she has shown us Jesus and passed down to us
the great things which God constantly does for humanity. She does so simply, as
a mother teaches her children at home.

A decisive sign of these great things is
given to us in the reading just proclaimed at these Vespers. The people of
Jerusalem and their leaders did not acknowledge Christ, yet, by condemning him
to death, they fulfilled the words of the prophets (cf. Acts 13:27). Human evil
and ignorance simply cannot thwart the divine plan of salvation and redemption.
Evil is simply incapable of that.


Continue reading The authentic Church is an extension of Good Samaritan today

Christ alone can give life in its fullness; what is needed is a pure heart, Pope tells us


An excerpt of the Pope’s homily delivered early today in Mexico. What does it mean to be pure of heart? Why do I want a purity of heart?


B16 at Mass in Mexico.jpg

“A pure heart, create for me, O
God” (Ps 50:12) during the responsorial psalm. This exclamation shows us
how profoundly we must prepare to celebrate next week the great mystery of the
passion, death and resurrection of the Lord. It also helps us to look deeply
into the human heart, especially in times of sorrow as well as hope, as are the
present times for the people of Mexico and of Latin America.


The desire for a
heart that would be pure, sincere, humble, acceptable to God was very much felt
by Israel as it became aware of the persistence in its midst of evil and sin as
a power, practically implacable and impossible to overcome. There was nothing
left but to trust in God’s mercy and in the hope that he would change from
within, from the heart, an unbearable, dark and hopeless situation. In this way
recourse gained ground to the infinite mercy of the Lord who does not wish the
sinner to die but to convert and live (cf. Ez 33:11). A pure heart, a new
heart, is one which recognizes that, of itself, it is impotent and places
itself in God’s hands so as to continue hoping in his promises. Then the
psalmist can say to the Lord with conviction: “Sinners will return to
you” (Ps 50:15). And towards the end of the psalm he will give an
explanation which is at the same time a firm conviction of faith: “A
humble, contrite heart you will not spurn” (v. 19).

Continue reading Christ alone can give life in its fullness; what is needed is a pure heart, Pope tells us

Annunciation of the Lord

Annunication MBroederlam.jpgMary would never see the world in the same way again because she had conceived beneath her heart, The Word, the Son of God made flesh within her. The Word from the mind of God now in her being…She would now have to see everything through the eyes of that Word and everything would change. “Nothing would again be causal and small, but everything with light invested,” (J. Duffy, “The Annunciation”). Christ, the Light of the World.

That’s what happens when we come to know Christ, to possess Christ, to bring Christ into our very being, flesh of our flesh, blood of our blood. When our heart beats with Christ’s heart we see the whole world differently. We look into the womb of every mother and see the image of the Son of God.
John Joseph Cardinal O’Connor
8th Archbishop of New York, 1984-2000

Walter Ciszek’s advances incrementally to sainthood

Walter J Ciszek.jpgMoving around the circles of the Catholic press is the noteworthy acceptance as valid of the cause of beatification and canonization of Father Walter J. Ciszek, SJ, (1904-84) by the Holy See’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints. 

So, this opens the door for Father Walter to be called “The Servant of God Father Walter J. Ciszek.” This is after thousands of pages already sent to Rome. When the biography, and gathering of other information is complete and deposited with the officials of the Saints’ Congregation, Cisezk’s case will be studied by nine theologians who will determine if he indeed lived a life of heroic virtue. If so after a commission of bishops and cardinals meets, a recommendation will be made to the Holy Father. A positive vote on all matters will result in the bestowing of the title “Venerable Servant of God…” Then, the real work of identifying a certifiable miracle takes place for the rank of beatification and then another miracle for canonization.

Continue reading Walter Ciszek’s advances incrementally to sainthood

Saint Benedict

St Benedict pPerugino.jpg

Stir up in your Church, O Lord, the spirit that animated our Father Saint Benedict, that filled with this spirit we may learn to love what he loved and practice what he taught.

Today is the commemoration of the passing of Saint Benedict (known also as the Transitus of Saint Benedict). The monks of Montecassino noted the serenity of his death making him a patron, an advocate for the dying. We attribute something similar to Saint Joseph, whom we celebrated on the 19th.  

Those who wear the “St Benedict Medal” will notice on the margin encircling the image of Benedict the Latin words: Eius in obitu nostro præsentia muniamur (May we be strengthened by his presence in the hour of our death)!

I might note, the Medal of Saint Benedict is THE most indulgenced medal the church has and the proper blessing of the medal contains an exorcism. Because of the Saint’s love of the Cross and his fighting of Satan, the medal has been known to protect against evil.


Tradition holds, 

Six days before he died, Benedict gave orders for his tomb to be opened. Almost immediately he was seized with a violent fever that rapidly wasted his remaining energy. Each day his condition grew worse until finally, on the sixth day, he had his disciples carry him into the chapel where he received the Body and Blood of our Lord to gain strength for his approaching end.

Then, supporting his weakened body on the arms of his brethren, he stood with his hands raised to heaven and, as he prayed, breathed his last.

Pope Saint Gregory the Great, Dialogues, book 2, c. 37.

The feast celebrate today is not so much a feast about the advocacy of a good death –an important aspect of our Christian life life– as much as it is to hold before our eyes an authentic witness to Jesus Christ and His Gospel. No other saint of the Church as affected the world as Saint Benedict has.

Most holy confessor of the Lord, Saint Benedict, Father of monks and nuns, guide and intercede for the salvation of us all.

Compunction awakens our soul


Compunction involves a moment of awakening, the first
glimmer of enlightenment, the dawning of a new day lived against a different
horizon. St. John Cassian, one of Benedict’s principal sources, defines
compunction as whatever can by God’s grace waken our lukewarm and sleepy souls
(Conferences 9:26)

This definition seems to envisage us living our spiritual
lives in a slumberous state of half-wakefulness. The grace of compunction is
the transition to a state of fuller awareness.

The great difference between the
saints and the rest of us is that they were spiritually awake more of the time
than we are; they were alert to possibilities. It is because they went through
life in a state of greater consciousness that they were more conscientious in
doing good and avoiding evil.

We who stumble through life with many mistakes
and omissions admire their saintly deeds but without necessarily realizing that
perhaps we could imitate them more closely if our spiritual senses were not so
drowsy 

Michael Casey, OCSO
The Road to Eternal Life

Stand up for religious freedom: Connecticut takes a stand against HHS


Rallies will be
taking place all over the country this Friday, March 23rd, to voice concerns
over the HHS mandate. Visit online: Stand Up for Religious Freedom.

Thousands of Americans of all faiths will be
participating in these peaceful rallies, organized by the Pro-Life Action League and Citizens for a Pro-Life Society to oppose
the new mandate from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) which
is requiring all employers provide free contraceptives, sterilization and
abortion-inducing drugs through their health plans, even in violation of their
consciences. 

Locally, Connecticut as two notable rallies: New Haven and
Hartford beginning at noon and will last approximately one hour. 

Women are
invited to voice their concern and support for freedom at Women Speak for Themselves.

Ken Hackett receives Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal

Ken Hackett.jpgUniversity of Notre Dame announced today that Ken Hackett, the longtime and recently retired president of the Catholic Relief Services, will receive 2012’s Laetare Medal. Catholic Relief Services is the Catholic Church in the USA’s humanitarian agency. The medal will be awarded on May 20th, the 167th commencement exercise.

ND’s president Holy Cross Father John Jenkins said that “Ken Hackett has responded to a Gospel imperative with his entire career. His direction of the Catholic Church’s outreach to the hungry, thirsty naked, sick and unsheltered of the world has blended administrative acumen with genuine compassion in a unique and exemplary way.”
Mr Hackett was born in West Roxbury, MA (a suburb of Boston), graduated from Boston College, worked with Peace Corps in Africa, and joined CRS in 1972. He was elected president of the same in 1993. Hackett has received numerous awards in previous years.

laetare medal.jpg

The Laetare Medal awarded by the University of Notre Dame on Laetare Sunday has its origins in 1883. Notre Dame’s understanding of the award honors a Catholic “whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the Church and enriched the heritage of humanity.” At the time it was given, the Laetare Medal was modeled on the 11th century tradition of a Golden Rose given by the Supreme Pontiffs to shrines of the Blessed Virgin Mary (a tradition maintained by Pope Benedict) and to Catholic Queens. Not too many notable Catholic queens today.
Laetare Sunday is the 4th Sunday of Lent. Rejoice Sunday –Laetare means “to rejoice”, the first word of the Introit (the Entrance Antiphon) of the Mass. The priest wears the joyful color of rose to symbolize the joyfulness of entering into this new phase of Lent, taking a respite from the Lenten observances, and picking up new strength to continue to the end of Lent. The Laetare Medal bears the inscription “Magna est veritas et prevalebit” (Truth is mighty, and it shall prevail.)
Enhanced by Zemanta

Saint Joseph, our model


St Joseph & Infant JA Escalante.jpgToday is a Solemnity in the Church with the feast of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
 
The Church prays:
 
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that by Saint Joseph’s intercession your Church may constantly watch over the unfolding of the mysteries of human salvation, whose beginnings you entrusted to his faithful care.
 
A magnificent prayer to pay attention to during lectio.
 
“Today is the day to celebrate fatherhood. To be a father is not an easy challenge – there are many difficulties that go with it. We can look to St. Joseph, who quietly – as I would say, one of the ‘silent fathers’ – handled whatever needed to be handled…it is important [that fathers] pray for discernment, to pray for patience, to pray for these qualities, which can make one a good father.”
 
Fr. Moses Hamungole
Head of Vatican Radio’s
English for Africa service
 
Several people and organizations to pray for today: my father, Edward Joseph, Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph), Brother Joseph at Portsmouth Abbey, the Cistercian abbey of Saint Joseph (Spencer, MA), the Archdiocese of Hartford (the Cathedral of Saint Joseph), the Dominican Province of Saint Joseph, and several other friends named Joseph. Let’s not also forget the Universal Church is under St Joseph, whose patronage she is.