Oh! how humbly and lowly ought I to think of myself: how little ought I to esteem whatever good I may seem to have. Oh! how low ought I to cast myself down under the bottomless depths of Thy judgements, O Lord: where I find myself to be nothing else than nothing! Oh! immense weight! Oh! sea that cannot be passed over, where I find nothing of myself but altogether nothing!
Where, then, can there be any reason for giorying in myself? where any confidence in any conceit of my own virtue? All vainglory is swallowed up in the depth of Thy judgements over me.
-Bk. III, ch. xiv.
________________
The warm sunshine does not harm the little flower, but makes her blossom wonderfully. She still holds the precious dewdrops that one fell upon her petals, and which ever remind her that she is little and weak. If everyone were to overwhelm her with praise and admiration, it would not add a single trace of vainglory to the true joy she feels in her heart when she sees that in God's eyes she is but nothingness.
-The Story of a Soul (L'Histoire d'une Âme)
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Thoughts and Counsels - May 4
The devotions we practise in honor of the glorious Virgin Mary, however trifling they be, are very pleasing to her divine Son, and He rewards them with eternal glory.
-St. Teresa.
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
-St. Teresa.
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
Meditation for May 4, The Power of Prayer
In his Confessions, St. Augustine writes of his moth~r, St. Monica:
When Monica had wept and prayed eighteen years, Augustine, touched by her tears, finally yielded.
Is a tear or a prayer of a woman so powerful? Can that change a heart and convert a will?
Yes, indeed, wonderful is the power of the Communion of Saints. A soul which elevates itself raises the world. A prayer, a sacrifice, does good not only to the one who prays and mortifies himself, but to any soul who at that moment stands in need of assistance.
The world is saved by prayerful souls. If there were no Monicas, there would be no St. Augustines.
What tremendous power to save the world I hold! Am I solicitous to sanctify myself to such a degree that I may reach as many souls as possible?
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
"You know, my God, what a mother I have lost in her. No other mother has wept over the tomb of her son as much as she has wept because of the degradation of my soul. Could I be so ungrateful as to forget such a mother? No, my dear mother, I shall always remember your love so full of solicitude for me, your anxiety on my account, the bitter sufferings of your heart."Was it not by the prayers and tears of St. Monica that Augustine, the Prodigal, obtained the grace from God to return to the house of his Father? He was torn between his desire for good and his delight in evil; the old habits clung like harpies to the tails of his garments. In spite of all his good desires, he felt himself brought back regularly to "the customary watering place of habit" - these are his own words.
When Monica had wept and prayed eighteen years, Augustine, touched by her tears, finally yielded.
Is a tear or a prayer of a woman so powerful? Can that change a heart and convert a will?
Yes, indeed, wonderful is the power of the Communion of Saints. A soul which elevates itself raises the world. A prayer, a sacrifice, does good not only to the one who prays and mortifies himself, but to any soul who at that moment stands in need of assistance.
The world is saved by prayerful souls. If there were no Monicas, there would be no St. Augustines.
What tremendous power to save the world I hold! Am I solicitous to sanctify myself to such a degree that I may reach as many souls as possible?
"My God, let me be a Monica to tbe many Augustines in the world. Use my poor merits to the best advantage. Let them be Yours, I surrender to You their power."_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Friday, May 02, 2008
Gospel for May 3, Feast: Sts. Philip and James, Apostles
From: John 14:6-14
Jesus Reveals the Father (Continuation)
(Jesus said to Thomas), [6] "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me." [7] "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; henceforth you know Him and have seen Him.
[8] Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied." [9] Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, `Show us the Father?' [10] Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does His works. [11] Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the sake of the words themselves.
[12] "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father. [13] Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; [14] if you ask anything in My name, I will do it."
_______________________
Commentary:
4-7. The Apostles did not really understand what Jesus was telling them: hence Thomas' question. The Lord explains that He is the way to the Father. "It was necessary for Him to say `I am the Way' to show them that they really knew what they thought they were ignorant of, because they knew Him" (St. Augustine, "In. Ioann. Evang.", 66, 2).
Jesus is the way to the Father--through what He teaches, for by keeping to His teaching we will reach Heaven; through faith, which He inspires, because He came to this world so "that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life" (John 3:15); through His example, since no one can go to the Father without imitating the Son; through His merits, which make it possible for us to enter our Heavenly home; and above all He is the way because He reveals the Father, with whom He is one because of His divine nature.
"Just as children by listening to their mothers, and prattling with them, learn to speak their language, so we, by keeping close to the Savior in meditation, and observing His words, His actions, and His affections, shall learn, with the help of His grace, to speak, to act, and to will like Him.
"We must pause here...; we can reach God the Father by no other route...; the Divinity could not be well contemplated by us in this world below if it were not united to the sacred humanity of the Savior, whose life and death are the most appropriate, sweet, delicious and profitable subjects which we can choose for our ordinary meditations" (St. Francis de Sales, "Introduction to the Devout Life", Part II, Chapter 1, 2).
"I am the way": He is the only path linking Heaven and Earth. "He is speaking to all men, but in a special way He is thinking of people who, like you and me, are determined to take our Christian vocation seriously: He wants God to be forever in our thoughts, on our lips and in everything we do, including our most ordinary and routine actions.
"Jesus is the way. Behind Him on this Earth of ours He has left the clear outlines of His footprints. They are indelible signs which neither the erosion of time nor the treachery of the Evil One have been able to erase" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 127).
Jesus' words do much more than provide an answer to Thomas' question; He tells us: "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life". Being the Truth and the Life is something proper to the Son of God become man, who St. John says in the prologue of his Gospel is "full of grace and truth" (1:14). He is the Truth because by coming to this world He shows that God is faithful to His promises, and because He teaches the truth about who God is and tells us that true worship must be "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23). He is Life because from all eternity He has divine life with His Father (cf. John 1:4), and because He makes us, through grace, sharers in that divine life. This is why the Gospel says: "This is eternal life, that they know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent" (John 17:3).
By His reply Jesus is, "as it were, saying, By which route do you want to go? I am the Way. To where do you want to go? I am the Truth. Where do you want to remain? I am the Life. Every man can attain an understanding of the Truth and the Life; but not all find the Way. The wise of this world realize that God is eternal life and knowable truth; but the Word of God, who is Truth and Life joined to the Father, has become the Way by taking a human nature. Make your way contemplating His humility and you will reach God" (St. Augustine, "De Verbis Domini Sermones", 54).
8-11. The Apostles still find our Lord's words very mysterious, because they cannot understand the oneness of the Father and the Son. Hence Philip's persistence. Then Jesus "upbraids the Apostle for not yet knowing Him, even though His works are proper to God--walking on the water, controlling the wind, forgiving sins, raising the dead. This is why He reproves him: for not recognizing His divine condition through His human nature" (St. Augustine, "De Trinitate", Book 7).
Obviously the sight of the Father which Jesus refers to in this passage is a vision through faith, for no one has ever seen God as He is (cf. John 1:18; 6:46). All manifestations of God, or "theophanies", have been through some medium; they are only a reflection of God's greatness. The highest _expression which we have of God our Father is in Christ Jesus, the Son of God sent among men. "He did this by the total fact of His presence and self-manifestation--by words and works, signs and miracles, but above all by His death and glorious resurrection from the dead, and finally by sending the Spirit of truth. He revealed that God was with us, to deliver us from the darkness of sin and death, and to raise us up to eternal life" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 4).
12-14. Before leaving this world, the Lord promises His Apostles to make them sharers in His power so that God's salvation may be manifested through them. These "works" are the miracles they will work in the name of Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 3:1-10; 5:15-16; etc.), and especially the conversion of people to the Christian faith and their sanctification by preaching and the ministry of the sacraments. They can be considered greater works than Jesus' own insofar as, by the Apostles' ministry, the Gospel was not only preached in Palestine but was spread to the ends of the earth; but this extraordinary power of apostolic preaching proceeds from Christ, who has ascended to the Father: after undergoing the humiliation of the cross Jesus has been glorified and from Heaven He manifests His power by acting through His Apostles.
The Apostles' power, therefore, derives from Christ glorified. Christ our Lord says as much: "Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it". "It is not that he who believes in Me will be greater than Me, but that only that I shall then do greater works than now; greater, by him who believes in Me, than I now do by myself without Him" (St. Augustine, "In Ioann. Evang.", 72, 1).
Jesus Christ is our intercessor in Heaven; therefore, He promises us that everything we ask for in His name, He will do. Asking in His name (cf. 15:7, 16; 16:23-24) means appealing to the power of the risen Christ, believing that He is all-powerful and merciful because He is true God; and it also means asking for what is conducive to our salvation, for Jesus is our Savior. Thus, by "whatever you ask" we must understand what is for the good of the asker. When our Lord does not give what we ask for, the reason is that it would not make for our salvation. In this way we can see that He is our Savior both when He refuses us what we ask and when He grants it.
_________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Jesus Reveals the Father (Continuation)
(Jesus said to Thomas), [6] "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me." [7] "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; henceforth you know Him and have seen Him.
[8] Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied." [9] Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, `Show us the Father?' [10] Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does His works. [11] Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the sake of the words themselves.
[12] "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father. [13] Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; [14] if you ask anything in My name, I will do it."
_______________________
Commentary:
4-7. The Apostles did not really understand what Jesus was telling them: hence Thomas' question. The Lord explains that He is the way to the Father. "It was necessary for Him to say `I am the Way' to show them that they really knew what they thought they were ignorant of, because they knew Him" (St. Augustine, "In. Ioann. Evang.", 66, 2).
Jesus is the way to the Father--through what He teaches, for by keeping to His teaching we will reach Heaven; through faith, which He inspires, because He came to this world so "that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life" (John 3:15); through His example, since no one can go to the Father without imitating the Son; through His merits, which make it possible for us to enter our Heavenly home; and above all He is the way because He reveals the Father, with whom He is one because of His divine nature.
"Just as children by listening to their mothers, and prattling with them, learn to speak their language, so we, by keeping close to the Savior in meditation, and observing His words, His actions, and His affections, shall learn, with the help of His grace, to speak, to act, and to will like Him.
"We must pause here...; we can reach God the Father by no other route...; the Divinity could not be well contemplated by us in this world below if it were not united to the sacred humanity of the Savior, whose life and death are the most appropriate, sweet, delicious and profitable subjects which we can choose for our ordinary meditations" (St. Francis de Sales, "Introduction to the Devout Life", Part II, Chapter 1, 2).
"I am the way": He is the only path linking Heaven and Earth. "He is speaking to all men, but in a special way He is thinking of people who, like you and me, are determined to take our Christian vocation seriously: He wants God to be forever in our thoughts, on our lips and in everything we do, including our most ordinary and routine actions.
"Jesus is the way. Behind Him on this Earth of ours He has left the clear outlines of His footprints. They are indelible signs which neither the erosion of time nor the treachery of the Evil One have been able to erase" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 127).
Jesus' words do much more than provide an answer to Thomas' question; He tells us: "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life". Being the Truth and the Life is something proper to the Son of God become man, who St. John says in the prologue of his Gospel is "full of grace and truth" (1:14). He is the Truth because by coming to this world He shows that God is faithful to His promises, and because He teaches the truth about who God is and tells us that true worship must be "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23). He is Life because from all eternity He has divine life with His Father (cf. John 1:4), and because He makes us, through grace, sharers in that divine life. This is why the Gospel says: "This is eternal life, that they know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent" (John 17:3).
By His reply Jesus is, "as it were, saying, By which route do you want to go? I am the Way. To where do you want to go? I am the Truth. Where do you want to remain? I am the Life. Every man can attain an understanding of the Truth and the Life; but not all find the Way. The wise of this world realize that God is eternal life and knowable truth; but the Word of God, who is Truth and Life joined to the Father, has become the Way by taking a human nature. Make your way contemplating His humility and you will reach God" (St. Augustine, "De Verbis Domini Sermones", 54).
8-11. The Apostles still find our Lord's words very mysterious, because they cannot understand the oneness of the Father and the Son. Hence Philip's persistence. Then Jesus "upbraids the Apostle for not yet knowing Him, even though His works are proper to God--walking on the water, controlling the wind, forgiving sins, raising the dead. This is why He reproves him: for not recognizing His divine condition through His human nature" (St. Augustine, "De Trinitate", Book 7).
Obviously the sight of the Father which Jesus refers to in this passage is a vision through faith, for no one has ever seen God as He is (cf. John 1:18; 6:46). All manifestations of God, or "theophanies", have been through some medium; they are only a reflection of God's greatness. The highest _expression which we have of God our Father is in Christ Jesus, the Son of God sent among men. "He did this by the total fact of His presence and self-manifestation--by words and works, signs and miracles, but above all by His death and glorious resurrection from the dead, and finally by sending the Spirit of truth. He revealed that God was with us, to deliver us from the darkness of sin and death, and to raise us up to eternal life" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 4).
12-14. Before leaving this world, the Lord promises His Apostles to make them sharers in His power so that God's salvation may be manifested through them. These "works" are the miracles they will work in the name of Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 3:1-10; 5:15-16; etc.), and especially the conversion of people to the Christian faith and their sanctification by preaching and the ministry of the sacraments. They can be considered greater works than Jesus' own insofar as, by the Apostles' ministry, the Gospel was not only preached in Palestine but was spread to the ends of the earth; but this extraordinary power of apostolic preaching proceeds from Christ, who has ascended to the Father: after undergoing the humiliation of the cross Jesus has been glorified and from Heaven He manifests His power by acting through His Apostles.
The Apostles' power, therefore, derives from Christ glorified. Christ our Lord says as much: "Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it". "It is not that he who believes in Me will be greater than Me, but that only that I shall then do greater works than now; greater, by him who believes in Me, than I now do by myself without Him" (St. Augustine, "In Ioann. Evang.", 72, 1).
Jesus Christ is our intercessor in Heaven; therefore, He promises us that everything we ask for in His name, He will do. Asking in His name (cf. 15:7, 16; 16:23-24) means appealing to the power of the risen Christ, believing that He is all-powerful and merciful because He is true God; and it also means asking for what is conducive to our salvation, for Jesus is our Savior. Thus, by "whatever you ask" we must understand what is for the good of the asker. When our Lord does not give what we ask for, the reason is that it would not make for our salvation. In this way we can see that He is our Savior both when He refuses us what we ask and when He grants it.
_________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Just for Today, May 3
In the cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness; in the cross is strength of mind; in the cross is joy of spirit.
-Bk. II, ch. xii.
_______________
One of the Community, who doubted her patience, went to see her one day, and noticing her very sweet expression asked the reason.
"It is because I am in great pain," answered the heroic invalid, "I have always tried to welcome suffering lovingly."
Another time she admitted: "When I am in pain, or have to endure unpleasant things, instead of looking sad, I try to smile. In the beginning I was not always successful, but now I am happy to have formed the habit."
-The Story of a Soul (L'Histoire d'une Âme)
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
-Bk. II, ch. xii.
_______________
One of the Community, who doubted her patience, went to see her one day, and noticing her very sweet expression asked the reason.
"It is because I am in great pain," answered the heroic invalid, "I have always tried to welcome suffering lovingly."
Another time she admitted: "When I am in pain, or have to endure unpleasant things, instead of looking sad, I try to smile. In the beginning I was not always successful, but now I am happy to have formed the habit."
-The Story of a Soul (L'Histoire d'une Âme)
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
Thoughts and Counsels - April 3
When we feel our cross weighing upon us, let us have recourse to Mary, whom the Church calls the "Consoler of the Afflicted."
-St. Alphonsus.
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
-St. Alphonsus.
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
Meditation for May 3, Crucified with Christ
Louise Therese de Montaignac, foundress of the Oblates of the Sacred Heart, wrote one day, "If Our Lord said to you, 'Would you consent to be riveted to the cross and to be freed only by death,' could you say 'Yes, with my whole heart!'"
While still very young, she had made several resolutions: "Every day on awaking, after making the sign of the cross, and raising my heart to God, I will address to Him these words which must be a sincere expression of the disposition of my soul: Pater, ecce venio... behold, I am ready to do Your Holy Will, that is the sole purpose of my life. If I foresee a difficult task, I will repeat with humility and abandonment the words of the most holy Virgin, Ecce Ancilla."
She could have said after that - in a humorous but singularly expressive way, "I have always done what I wanted, because I have always done the will of God." Is that not equivalent to saying that her ego, completely crucified, no longer existed; that
the wish expressed by St. Paul for every truly Christian soul was verified: I live, now not I, but Christ liveth in me? (Gal. ii, 20.)
One day while she was complaining to Our Lord that she possessed Him so little, He answered, "It is enough that I possess you. To possess is to dispose freely of a thing in order to derive all the profit one wishes from it. It is to use it when and how one pleases."
"Lord, take complete possession of me."
That is death to oneself in all the beauty of its plenitude. And I, how far am I from such complete abandonment?
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
While still very young, she had made several resolutions: "Every day on awaking, after making the sign of the cross, and raising my heart to God, I will address to Him these words which must be a sincere expression of the disposition of my soul: Pater, ecce venio... behold, I am ready to do Your Holy Will, that is the sole purpose of my life. If I foresee a difficult task, I will repeat with humility and abandonment the words of the most holy Virgin, Ecce Ancilla."
She could have said after that - in a humorous but singularly expressive way, "I have always done what I wanted, because I have always done the will of God." Is that not equivalent to saying that her ego, completely crucified, no longer existed; that
the wish expressed by St. Paul for every truly Christian soul was verified: I live, now not I, but Christ liveth in me? (Gal. ii, 20.)
One day while she was complaining to Our Lord that she possessed Him so little, He answered, "It is enough that I possess you. To possess is to dispose freely of a thing in order to derive all the profit one wishes from it. It is to use it when and how one pleases."
"Lord, take complete possession of me."
That is death to oneself in all the beauty of its plenitude. And I, how far am I from such complete abandonment?
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Mo Court: Carnahan's ballot summary is "insufficient," "unfair," and "inadequate..."
From Missouri Right to Life:
Missouri Right to Life Vows to ContinueMissouri Right to Life web site here.
Efforts to Ban All Human Cloning
Missouri Right to Life applauds the Missouri Court of Appeals' ruling that Secretary of State Robin Carnahan's ballot summary of the Mo. Cures Without Cloning Initiative Petition was "insufficient," "unfair," and "inadequate to give clear notice of its purpose."
"We are gratified by the court's opinion that the Secretary of State erred in suggesting that the initiative proposal would repeal the ban on human cloning" said Pam Fichter, state president of Missouri Right to Life. "However, this ruling is only a partial victory. We do not agree with the court's upholding the unsubstantiated assertion that the amendment would limit access to stem cell cures and treatment."
"Missouri Right to Life remains committed to banning human cloning, research that destroys human embryos, and taxpayer funding of these unethical practices. We support The Missouri Cures Without Cloning Initiative Campaign in their decision to resubmit the initiative in November. MRL will continue to help build the team necessary for success," said Fichter. "In the meantime, we will oppose all efforts by the legislature to fund human cloning and life-destroying research with taxpayer funding and tax credits."
Archbishop Wuerl answers "critics" on Communion for pro-abort politicians
In a column that appears in the Catholic Standard, the archdiocesan newspaper, the archbishop argues that any decision to bar prominent Catholics from receiving the Eucharist should be made by the bishop in their local dioceses.So, this means that known, infamous, public supporters of the killing the unborn are free to receive Holy Communion in Washington DC if they have not been interdicted in their own diocese. How nice!
Archbishop Wuerl indicated that he would not bar a politician from receiving Communion unless the bishop of that politician's diocese had taken that step. He explained that he has "always respected the role of the local Church and the ministry of the individual bishop as shepherd of the Church entrusted to his care."
Welcome to Washington!
More at Catholic World News here.
Archbishop Flynn's Resignation Accepted
On May 2, the Holy Father accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, U.S.A., presented by Archbishop Harry J. Flynn, upon having reached the age limit. He is succeeded by Coadjutor Archbishop John C. Neinstedt.Source: Vatican Information Service
An American Dispute: Should Communion Be Given to Pro-abortion Catholic Politicians? (Chiesa)
In the United States, controversy has erupted over the giving of communion during the papal Masses to Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, and Rudy Giuliani. Cardinal Egan harshly criticizes the former mayor of New York. Joseph Ratzinger's positions on the question .It's been asked and answered. And the answer is "No!"
by Sandro Magister
Remember Tomorrow, May 3-One Million Rosaries for Unborn Babies
This event is scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, May 3rd, 2008.
The intention for this Rosary will be for an end to the surgical and non-surgical killing of unborn babies.
On the day of the prayer event, it is hoped at least one million people in the U.S.A. will be praying the Rosary within the same sixty minute time span.
The intention for this Rosary will be for an end to the surgical and non-surgical killing of unborn babies.
On the day of the prayer event, it is hoped at least one million people in the U.S.A. will be praying the Rosary within the same sixty minute time span.
Bishop to Offer a Funeral Mass for Eighteen Aborted Babies
DETROIT, May 1, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A funeral Mass burial for eighteen unborn babies will be offered this Saturday, May 3, by Bishop John Quinn of Detroit. The remains of their bodies were discovered in dumpsters at the Woman Care abortion clinic on Southfield Road in Lathrup Village, Michigan which is operated by abortionist Alberto Hodari.Unbelievable! This is demonic! May God have mercy on us!
Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, called upon all of the nation's Catholic priests today to offer a Mass within the next few days for the "Hodari babies." The pro-life group Citizens for a Pro-life Society headed by Monica Migliorino Miller discovered the bodies in the dumpster and brought the matter to the attention of the police.
Unbelievably, Miller was billed $1,100 by Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for the removal of the evidence from her home. In the meantime, the abortionist has himself escaped without any significant punishment....
Solemn High Mass Returns to Fresno
A News Release from the Fresno Traditional Mass Society (via California Catholic Daily)
Even before Pope Paul VI approved a new form of the Catholic Mass in 1970, it was a rare privilege for Catholics to attend a Solemn High Mass. On Sunday, May 11, at 3:30 p.m., St. Anthony of Padua Church in Fresno will see the return of this ancient ceremony, which requires three clergy, incense, and Gregorian chant.Source.
The Solemn High Mass is the full ceremonial form of the 1962 Missal, or extraordinary form of the Roman Rite. During the May 11 Mass, Fr. Matthew McNeely of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter will be assisted by Fr. Angel Sotelo of St. Columba's Church in Chowchilla, as well as a subdeacon and several altar servers.
"Although we have a Latin Mass every Sunday, the Solemn High Mass is an even more beautiful and reverent liturgy," says Keven Smith, president of the Fresno Traditional Mass Society. "Pentecost is an ideal time for this Mass. We very much appreciate the extra effort of our priests and pastor in making this possible."
Much of the Gregorian chant will be performed by the St. Blaise Schola Cantorum. Mass will begin at 3:30 p.m. in the main sanctuary, with printed English translations available.
St. Anthony of Padua Church is located at 5770 N. Maroa Avenue in Fresno.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Gospel for May 2, Memorial: St Athanasius, bishop and doctor
Old Calendar: St. Athanasius
From: John 16:16-20
Fullness of Joy
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [16] "A little while, and you will see Me no more; again a little while, and you will see Me." [17] Some of His disciples said to one another, "What is this that He says to us, `A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me'; and, `because I go to the Father'?" [18] They said, "What does He mean by `a little while'? We do not know what He means." [19] Jesus knew they wanted to ask Him; so He said to them, "Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, `A little while and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me'? [20] Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy."
_____________________________
Commentary:
16-20. Earlier our Lord consoled the disciples by assuring them that He would send them the Holy Spirit after He went away (verse 7). Now He gives them further consolation: He is not leaving them permanently, He will come back to stay with them. However, the Apostles fail to grasp what He means, and they ask each other what they make of it. Our Lord does not give them a direct explanation, perhaps because they would not understand what He meant (as happened before: cf. Matthew 16:21-23 and paragraph). But He does emphasize that though they are sad now they will soon be rejoicing: after suffering tribulation they will be filled with a joy they will never lose (cf. John 17:13). This is a reference primarily to the Resurrection (cf. Luke 24:41), but also to their definitive encounter with Christ in Heaven.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
From: John 16:16-20
Fullness of Joy
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [16] "A little while, and you will see Me no more; again a little while, and you will see Me." [17] Some of His disciples said to one another, "What is this that He says to us, `A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me'; and, `because I go to the Father'?" [18] They said, "What does He mean by `a little while'? We do not know what He means." [19] Jesus knew they wanted to ask Him; so He said to them, "Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, `A little while and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me'? [20] Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy."
_____________________________
Commentary:
16-20. Earlier our Lord consoled the disciples by assuring them that He would send them the Holy Spirit after He went away (verse 7). Now He gives them further consolation: He is not leaving them permanently, He will come back to stay with them. However, the Apostles fail to grasp what He means, and they ask each other what they make of it. Our Lord does not give them a direct explanation, perhaps because they would not understand what He meant (as happened before: cf. Matthew 16:21-23 and paragraph). But He does emphasize that though they are sad now they will soon be rejoicing: after suffering tribulation they will be filled with a joy they will never lose (cf. John 17:13). This is a reference primarily to the Resurrection (cf. Luke 24:41), but also to their definitive encounter with Christ in Heaven.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Just for Today, May 2
If anyone, being once or twice admonished, does not comply, contend not with him, but commit all to God, that His will may be done and that He may be honoured in all His servants, who knows how to convert evil into good.
-Bk. I, ch. xvi.
________________
Our Lord has given me the grace not to shrink from waging a just war; whatever happens I must do my duty. I take refuge, then, in prayer, and turn to Mary, and Our Lord always triumphs. My strength lies in prayer and sacrifice; they are invincible weapons, and touch hearts more surely than words can do, as I have learnt by experience.
-The Story of a Soul (L'Histoire d'une Âme)
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
-Bk. I, ch. xvi.
________________
Our Lord has given me the grace not to shrink from waging a just war; whatever happens I must do my duty. I take refuge, then, in prayer, and turn to Mary, and Our Lord always triumphs. My strength lies in prayer and sacrifice; they are invincible weapons, and touch hearts more surely than words can do, as I have learnt by experience.
-The Story of a Soul (L'Histoire d'une Âme)
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
John Mallon: The ‘Clergy Problem’
From this week’s Humanae Vitae Priests Column, a good article about how faithful priests are, many times, mistreated or ostracized especially when they proclaim the Gospel and the teachings of Christ and His Church.
We need to pray for and encourage our priests daily and we should be praying daily for good men to respond to God's call to the priesthood.
Read it here.
We need to pray for and encourage our priests daily and we should be praying daily for good men to respond to God's call to the priesthood.
Read it here.
Thoughts and Counsels - April 2
After the love which we owe Jesus Christ, we must give the chief place in our heart to the love of His Mother Mary.
-St. Alphonsus.
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
-St. Alphonsus.
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
Meditation for May 2, True Blessedness
As soon as the sky darkens, some souls, even religious, lose their balance, lose confidence, forget Providence, and wonder what God means by allowing His enemies to persecute His disciples, and among them, the most faithful.
First of all, would we forget, by chance, the words of Christ, If in the green wood (that is to Himself) they do these things, what shall be done in the dry? (that is to us) (Luke xxiii, 28-31). The disciple is not greater than the Master. Jesus whom we serve was crucified by His own race.
Then would we forget too, that Christ made a beatitude of the revilements of persecution? That is what Father Charles Foucauld recalled to his sister who told him of the expulsion of the religious Congregations from France in 1901:
I must believe the words of our Savior and learn to appreciate my own good fortune. How can I be sad when Jesus calls me blessed?
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
First of all, would we forget, by chance, the words of Christ, If in the green wood (that is to Himself) they do these things, what shall be done in the dry? (that is to us) (Luke xxiii, 28-31). The disciple is not greater than the Master. Jesus whom we serve was crucified by His own race.
Then would we forget too, that Christ made a beatitude of the revilements of persecution? That is what Father Charles Foucauld recalled to his sister who told him of the expulsion of the religious Congregations from France in 1901:
"No, my dear, I am not grieved by the persecution of religious, but I ask God, for them and myself, the courage and the virtue to suffer these things with the profit that Christ intends us to derive from them, because He the All Powerful, who loves us so much, permits them for the good of our souls. Blessed are those who are persecuted for justice sake....How can we be sad when Jesus calls us blessed?What a difference between our attitude and that of the saints! They have, however, the correct point of view. What an abyss between my anxiety and worry and the calm serenity of Charles Foucauld ever mindful of the promise made by Our Lord to those who suffer for His name's sake! Am I right or is he?
I must believe the words of our Savior and learn to appreciate my own good fortune. How can I be sad when Jesus calls me blessed?
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
The Latest Promotion from "Catholic" Action Network
Rockhaven Ecozoic Center celebrates its fifth-year anniversary in 2008.Rockhaven is located in House Springs MO....Pity the people living near this place...
To commemorate this event, Rockhaven has invited five spirit-filled friends (the last one is still on the works!) to celebrate five years of life and journey.
Join the evolving Rockhaven community for inspiring gatherings, sharing life-transforming journeys, and celebrating life with deep gratitude while encouraging each other as we continue our respective "Great Work" and walk towards the Ecozoic Era.
Speakers include Edwina Gateley and Micheal Morwood. Read more about Five for Five: A Celebration of Life and Journey
Catholic Action Network (CAN) has no business calling itself "Catholic"...And from what I recall, Archbishop Burke reminded them of this some time ago when the homosexual activists at CAN began a letter writing campaign to persuade the archbishop of the "wonderful blessings" of living the homosexual lifestyle.
What a sorry bunch of malcontents and imposters...
Diogenes has a take on the "Ecozoic" fun and games here.
Quiet Encounter: When Benedict XVI Met Cardinal Dulles
By Father Raymond J. De Souza
Register Correspondent
NEW YORK — Amid the great public spectacles of his visit to America, Pope Benedict XVI made time for a private, poignant encounter with Cardinal Avery Dulles, SJ, on April 19 at New York’s St. Joseph’s Seminary.
Cardinal Dulles, suffering the effects of post-polio syndrome, now lives in the Jesuit infirmary at Fordham University. As his muscles atrophy, he is no longer able to walk and is unable to speak. He was therefore unable to participate in the papal events alongside the other cardinals.
Instead, the Holy Father decided to meet him privately as a gesture of esteem and affection....
I had no idea that Cardinal Dulles was in such poor health...
Japanese bishops seek Vatican intervention on Neo-Catechumenal Way
Four Japanese bishops have travelled to Rome for a meeting with Pope Benedict to seek Holy See intervention to resolve what they describe as a "serious problem" with the methods of the Neo-Catechumenal Way movement and its seminary in a Japanese diocese....
"In the small Catholic Church of Japan, the powerful sect-like activity of Way members is divisive and confrontational. It has caused sharp painful division and strife within the Church. We are struggling with all our strength to overcome the problem but feel that if a solution is to be found, the consideration of Your Holiness for the Church in Japan will be of the utmost importance and direly needed...."
Vatican Clarifies Holy Days and '62 Missal
LONDON, APRIL 30, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The Vatican clarified the celebration of holy days of obligation when celebrating the extraordinary form of the Roman rite according to the 1962 Missal, reported the bishops' conference of England and Wales.Source: Zenit
The episcopal conference submitted a query to the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, which confirmed that in the Roman rite, whichever form of the liturgy is being celebrated, the holy days of obligation are to be held in common.
Where the obligation has been removed and the holy day transferred to the Sunday, this is to be followed in both ordinary and extraordinary celebrations of Mass, the pontifical commission clarified.
Catholics are obliged to go to Mass on holy days of obligation. Some holy days of obligation vary according to the decisions made by local episcopal conferences.
There are differences in the calendars corresponding to the extraordinary and ordinary forms of the Mass, with many feast days falling on different dates in the two missals.
"Gay" Episcopal bishop entering into civil union
New Hampshire's Bishop Gene Robinson is about to enter into a civil unionA "June bride"? These confused people have rejected common sense and the natural moral law. When, Lord, will this end?
In a new book the Anglican clergyman explains why he wanted to formalise his 20 year relationship
“I always wanted to be a June bride.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew there'd be trouble. I'd just delivered an hour-long lecture on the relationship between religion and public discourse, and why religious fervour over homosexuality plays such a large and negative role in the securing of full civil rights for gay people.
A Canon Law Update from Dr Edward Peters
Autumn Kelly: making the wrong choice for the wrong reasonRead more about it here
Barring Catholics from the throne of England, for no other reason than that they are Catholics, sounds more ominous than it is. I mean, who would want to be the king or queen of England anymore? … (But) making even less sense than desiring to be the monarch of England, is giving up one's Catholic faith so that one's future husband can stay 11th in line to succeed to throne! That's exactly what Autumn Kelly has done, she's joined the Church of England so that, (her husband) can cling to odds of ascending even slimmer than those held by "Louis Mazzini" in the Alec Guinness comedy classic Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)! Really, it's too, too bizzare.
But amid the surrealism, there is an important canonical issue.
Gospel for Thursday, 6th Week of Lent
Ascension of the Lord or
Optional Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker
From: John 16:16-20
Fullness of Joy
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [16] "A little while, and you will see Me no more; again a little while, and you will see Me." [17] Some of His disciples said to one another, "What is this that He says to us, `A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me'; and, `because I go to the Father'?" [18] They said, "What does He mean by `a little while'? We do not know what He means." [19] Jesus knew they wanted to ask Him; so He said to them, "Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, `A little while and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me'? [20] Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy."
_____________________________
Commentary:
16-20. Earlier our Lord consoled the disciples by assuring them that He would send them the Holy Spirit after He went away (verse 7). Now He gives them further consolation: He is not leaving them permanently, He will come back to stay with them. However, the Apostles fail to grasp what He means, and they ask each other what they make of it. Our Lord does not give them a direct explanation, perhaps because they would not understand what He meant (as happened before: cf. Matthew 16:21-23 and paragraph). But He does emphasize that though they are sad now they will soon be rejoicing: after suffering tribulation they will be filled with a joy they will never lose (cf. John 17:13). This is a reference primarily to the Resurrection (cf. Luke 24:41), but also to their definitive encounter with Christ in Heaven.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Optional Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker
From: John 16:16-20
Fullness of Joy
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [16] "A little while, and you will see Me no more; again a little while, and you will see Me." [17] Some of His disciples said to one another, "What is this that He says to us, `A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me'; and, `because I go to the Father'?" [18] They said, "What does He mean by `a little while'? We do not know what He means." [19] Jesus knew they wanted to ask Him; so He said to them, "Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, `A little while and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me'? [20] Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy."
_____________________________
Commentary:
16-20. Earlier our Lord consoled the disciples by assuring them that He would send them the Holy Spirit after He went away (verse 7). Now He gives them further consolation: He is not leaving them permanently, He will come back to stay with them. However, the Apostles fail to grasp what He means, and they ask each other what they make of it. Our Lord does not give them a direct explanation, perhaps because they would not understand what He meant (as happened before: cf. Matthew 16:21-23 and paragraph). But He does emphasize that though they are sad now they will soon be rejoicing: after suffering tribulation they will be filled with a joy they will never lose (cf. John 17:13). This is a reference primarily to the Resurrection (cf. Luke 24:41), but also to their definitive encounter with Christ in Heaven.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Reflections on the Ascension
The Ascension, from Explanation of the Epistles and Gospels by Fr. Leonard Goffine (c)1880
The Ascension - A Lesson on the Poor in Spirit
The Ascension - The Dignity of the Human Body
The Ascension - His Heavenly Throne
The Ascension-Confession is a Key to Heaven
6th Week of Easter - Lessons of the Ascension
Homily on The Ascension - Heaven
The Ascension - A Lesson on the Poor in Spirit
The Ascension - The Dignity of the Human Body
The Ascension - His Heavenly Throne
The Ascension-Confession is a Key to Heaven
6th Week of Easter - Lessons of the Ascension
Homily on The Ascension - Heaven
Just for Today, May 1
No one is indeed richer than such a man, none more powerful, none more free; who knows how to leave himself and all things, and place himself in the very lowest place.
-Bk. II, ch. xi.
_____________
There is one thing which nobody envies, and that is the last place; therefore, only there can we be free from vanity and afIliction of spirit. But as the way of man is not his (Jer. x, 23), we sometimes feel a desire to shine. When this happens, we must humbly acknowledge our imperfection, and consider ourselves little souls whom God has to support at every moment. When He sees that we recognize our nothingness and cry: My foot is moved: thy mercy, O Lord, assisted me (Ps. xciii), at once He stretches out His hand. But if out of zeal we try to do great things, He leaves us to our own resources.
True holiness consists in humbling ourselves and patiently bearing with our own imperfections.
-Conseils et Souvenirs.
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
-Bk. II, ch. xi.
_____________
There is one thing which nobody envies, and that is the last place; therefore, only there can we be free from vanity and afIliction of spirit. But as the way of man is not his (Jer. x, 23), we sometimes feel a desire to shine. When this happens, we must humbly acknowledge our imperfection, and consider ourselves little souls whom God has to support at every moment. When He sees that we recognize our nothingness and cry: My foot is moved: thy mercy, O Lord, assisted me (Ps. xciii), at once He stretches out His hand. But if out of zeal we try to do great things, He leaves us to our own resources.
True holiness consists in humbling ourselves and patiently bearing with our own imperfections.
-Conseils et Souvenirs.
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
Thoughts and Counsels - May 1
Mary was the most perfect among the saints only because she was always perfectly united to the will of God.
-St. Alphonsus.
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
-St. Alphonsus.
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
Meditation for May 1, Control of the Tongue
The Epistle of St. James includes a remarkable passage on control of the tongue.
I shall never meditate on it enough.
As a bit controls a horse, as a very small rudder governs a boat, even so the tongue is indeed a very little member, and boasteth of great things...(iii, 5.) The tongue is a world of iniquity...which defiles the whole body (6)....Every nature of beasts has been tamed by the nature of man: but the tongue no man can tame. (8)
The Apostle summarizes his thought in the remarkable words, If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man. (2)
I may be forfed to keep silence, either by circumstances, the exigencies of my duty, the obligation of my Rule, or for the sake of recollection.
I must never divulge what others need not know or what my office requires me to keep secret. Many faults against silence are at the same time faults against prudence or charity.
When the Rule commands silence, a breach of silence harms me and my neighbor. What right have I to arrogate to myself the power of taking from a soul a minute--or, alas, more--of recollection? That soul would have found God either in her duty well done, or in fervent prayer, and I have unduly taken the place of God.
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
I shall never meditate on it enough.
As a bit controls a horse, as a very small rudder governs a boat, even so the tongue is indeed a very little member, and boasteth of great things...(iii, 5.) The tongue is a world of iniquity...which defiles the whole body (6)....Every nature of beasts has been tamed by the nature of man: but the tongue no man can tame. (8)
The Apostle summarizes his thought in the remarkable words, If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man. (2)
I may be forfed to keep silence, either by circumstances, the exigencies of my duty, the obligation of my Rule, or for the sake of recollection.
I must never divulge what others need not know or what my office requires me to keep secret. Many faults against silence are at the same time faults against prudence or charity.
When the Rule commands silence, a breach of silence harms me and my neighbor. What right have I to arrogate to myself the power of taking from a soul a minute--or, alas, more--of recollection? That soul would have found God either in her duty well done, or in fervent prayer, and I have unduly taken the place of God.
"O Mary, so silent, teach me to check my unrestrained desire to talk. Silence teaches many things. Grant that in your school, I may accustom myself to keep many secrets in my heart for the glory of your Son."_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Comment Posting Rules, again...
A reader has opined that:
It is also claimed further in the above comment that the "comment moderation" has excluded others' comments while permitting all of those of our favorite "progressive" to pass through untouched.
This is simply not the case. Currently there are over 12 unapproved comments from our favorite "progressive" dated 4/28 compared to less than a handful of comments for others for all succeeding dates.
It's been apparent for years that many so-called "liberals" or "progressives" have no understanding of right and wrong, good and evil, light and darkness - they are, by and large, incapable of discussing matters intelligently or rationally.
Finally, the commenter asked LRS, "...what is worse in your mind, a rude, impolite, defender of the faith, or a polite blasphemer?"
I'm not going to answer for LRS but I will post my own response. The rules have been posted. Legitimate questions are OK and welcomed, however, continued denials of the tenets of the Deposit of Faith are not. Ramblings which support sinful and gravely immoral behavior such as homosexuality are not welcomed, while discussions discussing the Church's teachings and understanding of the subject are encouraged.
We should, if we are to follow Our Lord's example, go after the lost sheep and and try to bring them home - we simply can not do that if we chase them down, YELL AT THEM, beat them senseless with clubs or names, all while hoping that the lost sheep will recover from the beating and rush back to the fold!
Still , there will be those who will refuse to listen - even to the Church, and consequently to Christ, Himself. If one follows the Gospel mandate, they are to be treated as the heathens that they have chosen to be - so we shun them, yet pray for them.
In rejecting Gods grace, some will go headlong into the abyss of hell despite our best efforts to offer our assistance. Should we jump with them or do we finally reach a point at which we must let them go?
This could be read many ways, at first I thought, "good, the perfect rule to boot Joe from this site." But after some reflection, it could very easily be used to relieve Joe of his detractors, and allow him to blaspheme politely at will. The proof is in the pudding here is it not?There is a sufficient number of unapproved comments that do not add to any sort of meaningful discussion. Regardless of who makes a posting, the intent was never to "relieve Joe of his detractors." Those who think otherwise are mistaken.
It is also claimed further in the above comment that the "comment moderation" has excluded others' comments while permitting all of those of our favorite "progressive" to pass through untouched.
This is simply not the case. Currently there are over 12 unapproved comments from our favorite "progressive" dated 4/28 compared to less than a handful of comments for others for all succeeding dates.
It's been apparent for years that many so-called "liberals" or "progressives" have no understanding of right and wrong, good and evil, light and darkness - they are, by and large, incapable of discussing matters intelligently or rationally.
Finally, the commenter asked LRS, "...what is worse in your mind, a rude, impolite, defender of the faith, or a polite blasphemer?"
I'm not going to answer for LRS but I will post my own response. The rules have been posted. Legitimate questions are OK and welcomed, however, continued denials of the tenets of the Deposit of Faith are not. Ramblings which support sinful and gravely immoral behavior such as homosexuality are not welcomed, while discussions discussing the Church's teachings and understanding of the subject are encouraged.
We should, if we are to follow Our Lord's example, go after the lost sheep and and try to bring them home - we simply can not do that if we chase them down, YELL AT THEM, beat them senseless with clubs or names, all while hoping that the lost sheep will recover from the beating and rush back to the fold!
Still , there will be those who will refuse to listen - even to the Church, and consequently to Christ, Himself. If one follows the Gospel mandate, they are to be treated as the heathens that they have chosen to be - so we shun them, yet pray for them.
In rejecting Gods grace, some will go headlong into the abyss of hell despite our best efforts to offer our assistance. Should we jump with them or do we finally reach a point at which we must let them go?
Soviet Politbureau Members signed “informal death sentence on John Paul II
Warsaw, Poland: New, sensational documents concerning the attempt against the late pope, John Paul II, have been revealed in a new book by John O. Kohler, an American journalist and writer. The book, entitled ”It’s About the Pope. Spies in the Vatican”, will be released in Poland on Monday, April 28, 2008 by ZNAK Publishing House, known for its publications about the late pope.Gorbachev is among those who signed the document.
. . .
“Use all available possibilities to prevent a new political trend, initiated by the Polish pope, and if necessary - reach to means beyond disinformation and discreditation.”
Abp. Piero Marini calls liturgical renewal 'irreversible path'
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Liturgical renewal launched by the Second Vatican Council is an "irreversible path" and has not been affected by Pope Benedict XVI's concession on wider use of the Tridentine rite, a Vatican official said.And some of us were shocked at some of the papal Masses...And apparently Pope Benedict was as well considering Marinin was demoted.
"The pope's decision has so far not produced any change in the celebrative practice of our ecclesial communities. His gesture was only one of service to unity," Archbishop Piero Marini, who arranged papal liturgies for more than 20 years, said in an interview April 25 in the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano.
Archbishop Marini said his own experience in organizing papal liturgies in more than 100 countries has convinced him that the liturgical reform movement has brought overwhelmingly positive results.Of course, his experience would tell him that...Our experience is different, however.
"Everywhere, the liturgy desired by the council was celebrated with lively participation and enthusiasm. Everyone understood the liturgy as proper to the local church and at the same time as an expression of the universal church," he said."Everywhere, the liturgy desired by the council was celebrated with lively participation and enthusiasm."
Which liturgy is this? What I read in the council documents in no way indicate that dancing and performances are to be made of part of the Holy Mass. I read that Latin is to be retained and that the organ and chant are to have pride of place. Instead many are still living in liturgical wastelands.
He said the decree [Summorum Pontificum], which reached out to disaffected Catholics, should be seen as an effort to maintain unity in the church.Disaffected? A restoration of what was wrongly denied to the faithful of the Church by so many bishops? Hardly! Some still have difficulty finding a place where where Holy Mass is celebrated with the reverence and dignity proper to it.
I suspect he's a tad bitter these days...
Video - Sandals & Fiddlebacks - Franciscan Traditional Latin Mass
Fiddleback chasubles and Franciscan sandals come together in the extraordinary form of the Mass (Traditional Latin Mass) at Our Lady of Guadalupe Friary of the Franciscans of the Immaculate. The video is put to beautiful music from the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate, our sister order. The music was recorded in Italy and is a fine testimony to the high quality of their music program which, combined with the friar’s, is playing a major part in spearheading the liturgical music reform in Italy.Beautiful...Check it out here.
Shocked Visitor Exhorts Las Vegas Bishop to End Pro-Homosexual Ministry in Diocese
LAS VEGAS, NV April 29, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A visitor to the Cathedral of Las Vegas was shocked recently to see an advertisement for the Imago Dei ministry in the cathedral bulletin. Jack Fonseca, a 3rd degree member of the Knights of Columbus, has since worked to rally other Catholics to have Bishop Joseph Anthony Pepe disband the group for its infidelity to Church teaching regarding homosexuality....
In a letter to Bishop Pepe, Fonseca wrote, "I feel I have a Catholic moral obligation to express my shock and horror at the fact that GAC's bulletin promoted a homosexual ministry which appears to support and encourage homosexual relationships and the acceptance of homosexuality as good, natural and normal...."
Fonseca's letter exhorts the bishop to disband Imago Dei and to instead lend support to Courage, a ministry faithful to the whole of Church teaching that supports individuals with same-sex attractions in their efforts to overcome same-sex attractions and live lives of prayerful chastity.
Jim Caviezel Makes Good on Pro-Life Convictions...
...With Adoption of Second Disabled Child
April 29, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Jim Caviezel, the star of the blockbuster film The Passion of the Christ, told an interviewer that he had been challenged by a friend who was not pro-life to live up to his professed pro-life convictions and adopt a disabled child. The friend told Caviezel that if he did that, then he would change to the pro-life position. When Caviezel and his wife, Kerri, went to China to adopt not one, but eventually two orphans suffering from brain tumours, the friend reneged on the deal. Caviezel, however, said, "It didn't matter to me because the joy that we had from (Bo) - he's like our own...."
Gospel for Wednesday, 6th Week of Easter
Memorial of St. Pius V, pope;
Optional Memorial Blessed Marie de l'Incarnacion, religious (Can)
Old Calendar: St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin
From: John 16:12-15
The Action of the Holy Spirit (Continuation)
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [12] "I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. [13] When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak of His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. [14] He will glorify Me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you. [15] All that the Father has is Mine; therefore I said that He will take what is Mine and declare it to you."
______________________
Commentary:
13. It is the Holy Spirit who makes fully understood the truth revealed by Christ. As Vatican II teaches, our Lord "completed and perfected Revelation and confirmed it...finally by sending the Spirit of truth" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 4). Cf. note on John 14:25-26.
14-15. Jesus Christ here reveals some aspects of the mystery of the Blessed Trinity. He teaches that the Three Divine Persons have the same nature when He says that everything that the Father has belongs to the Son, and everything the Son has belongs to the Father (cf. John 17:10) and that the Spirit also has what is common to the Father and the Son, that is, the divine essence. The activity specific to the Holy Spirit is that of glorifying Christ, reminding and clarifying for the disciples everything the Master taught them (John 16:13). On being inspired by the Holy Spirit to recognize the Father through the Son, men render glory to Christ; and glorifying Christ is the same as giving glory to God (cf. John 17:1, 3-5, 10).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Optional Memorial Blessed Marie de l'Incarnacion, religious (Can)
Old Calendar: St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin
From: John 16:12-15
The Action of the Holy Spirit (Continuation)
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [12] "I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. [13] When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak of His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. [14] He will glorify Me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you. [15] All that the Father has is Mine; therefore I said that He will take what is Mine and declare it to you."
______________________
Commentary:
13. It is the Holy Spirit who makes fully understood the truth revealed by Christ. As Vatican II teaches, our Lord "completed and perfected Revelation and confirmed it...finally by sending the Spirit of truth" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 4). Cf. note on John 14:25-26.
14-15. Jesus Christ here reveals some aspects of the mystery of the Blessed Trinity. He teaches that the Three Divine Persons have the same nature when He says that everything that the Father has belongs to the Son, and everything the Son has belongs to the Father (cf. John 17:10) and that the Spirit also has what is common to the Father and the Son, that is, the divine essence. The activity specific to the Holy Spirit is that of glorifying Christ, reminding and clarifying for the disciples everything the Master taught them (John 16:13). On being inspired by the Holy Spirit to recognize the Father through the Son, men render glory to Christ; and glorifying Christ is the same as giving glory to God (cf. John 17:1, 3-5, 10).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Just for Today, April 30
Whosoever finds Jesus finds a good treasure, yea, good above all goods. And he that loseth Jesus loses exceeding much, and more than if he lost the whole world.
-Bk. II, ch. viii.
______________
Lord of the world! in Thee I find
Again those things I left behind:
The forest and the smiling plain,
Soft-footed snow and summer rain,
The reeds that whisper in the wind.
-Poems.
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
-Bk. II, ch. viii.
______________
Lord of the world! in Thee I find
Again those things I left behind:
The forest and the smiling plain,
Soft-footed snow and summer rain,
The reeds that whisper in the wind.
-Poems.
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
Thoughts and Counsels - April 30
Consent to suffer a slight temporary pain, that so thou mayst avoid the eternal pains which sin deserves.
-St. Catherine of Siena.
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
-St. Catherine of Siena.
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
Meditation for April 30. St. Catherine of Siena
Blessed Raymond of Capoua, the confessor of St. Catherine of Siena and her first biographer, recounts this incident of the saint's childhood.
It was sufficient to have seen Our Lord, from then on, nothing mattered.
Assuredly, I can not expect to see Our Lord in a miraculous, supernatural way, but if, through faith, through ever more attentive prayer, I succeeded in acquiring a more complete, more true, more captivating idea of Our Lord, if I succeeded in seeing Our Lord, what a change there would be in my life!
I must look upon Our Lord in such a way that I can say: "I have seen Him."
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
"When she was six years old, Catherine was returning home one day and upon raising her eyes to heaven she saw opposite her, on the gable end of the Church of the Dominicans, a splendid throne occupied by our Lord Jesus Christ clothed in pontifical robes and His brow adorned with a tiara. At His side were St. Peter, St. Paul and St. John the Evangelist. Catherine stood still, overcome with admiration, lovingly contemplating Him who manifested Himself to her in order to captivate her devoted heart more completely. The Savior looked at her with serene majesty, smiled upon her with benign tenderness, and then extending His hand gave her His blessing in the form of a threefold cross. The grace of this favor was so powerful that Catherine's spirit was ravished and transformed into Him upon whom she looked with such ardor. She not only forgot her way but also totally forgot herself."How well should I remember this last sentence! "She not only forgot her way, but also totally forgot herself."
It was sufficient to have seen Our Lord, from then on, nothing mattered.
Assuredly, I can not expect to see Our Lord in a miraculous, supernatural way, but if, through faith, through ever more attentive prayer, I succeeded in acquiring a more complete, more true, more captivating idea of Our Lord, if I succeeded in seeing Our Lord, what a change there would be in my life!
I must look upon Our Lord in such a way that I can say: "I have seen Him."
"O Jesus, grant that I may see You and seek You with so much ardor and perseverance, that I may find You at last at every turn on my life's road, and recognize You through faith."_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Cardinal Egan Slams Giuliani for Receiving Communion at Papal Mass
From LifeSiteNews:
NEW YORK, April 28, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The decision by several prominent pro-abortion politicians to publicly receive Holy Communion at papal Masses during the recent visit of Pope Benedict XVI, despite clear Church teaching that says that their reception of Communion would constitute a grave sacrilege, may have backfired. While at first it seemed like it would be business as usual, today Cardinal Edward Egan of New York issued a statement condemning the reception of Holy Communion by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.And Dr Edward Peters writes:
The Archdiocese informed LifeSiteNews.com that the issue is being brought forward publicly at this time "because it has become a public issue and a public question." [Continued here...]
Four cheers for New York's Cardinal EganInteresting developments..."Catholic" politicians who support the murder of the unborn need to be admonished and barred from their continued sacrilege.
Four cheers, not three.
Three for telling Rudy Giuliani, a notorious supporter of legalized abortion, that Canon 915 means what it says, that those who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin are subject to the withholding of Holy Communion. Chronic promotion of abortion, in which Rudy engages, is a grave sin. See Cdl. Ratzinger's letter of June 2004....[Continued]
Gospel for April 29, Memorial: St Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor
Old Calendar: St. Peter of Verona, martyr
From: John 16:5-11
The Action of the Holy Spirit (Continuation)
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [5] "But now I am going to Him who sent Me; yet none of you asks Me, `Where are You going?' [6] But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. [7] Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. [8] And when He comes, He will convince the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment: [9] of sin, because they do not believe in Me; [10] of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see Me no more; [11] of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged."
___________________________
Commentary:
6-7. The thought that He is going to leave them saddens the Apostles, and our Lord consoles them with the promise of the Paraclete, the Consoler. Later (verses 20ff), He assures them that their sadness will turn into joy which no one can take away from them.
Jesus speaks about the Holy Spirit three times during the discourse of the Last Supper. The first time (14:15ff), He says that another Paraclete (advocate, consoler) will come, sent by the Father, to be with them forever; secondly, He says (14:26) that He Himself will send them, on behalf of the Father, the Spirit of truth who will teach them everything; and now He unfolds for them the complete plan of salvation and announces that the Holy Spirit will be sent once He ascends into Heaven.
8-12. The word "world" here means all those who have not believed in Christ and have rejected Him. These the Holy Spirit will accuse of sin because of their unbelief. He will accuse them of unrighteousness because He will show that Jesus was the Just One who was never guilty of sin (cf. John 8:46; Hebrews 4:15) and therefore is in glory beside His Father. And, finally, He will indict them by demonstrating that the devil, the prince of the world, has been overthrown through the death of Christ, which rescues man from the power of the Evil One and gives him grace to avoid the snares he lays.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
From: John 16:5-11
The Action of the Holy Spirit (Continuation)
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [5] "But now I am going to Him who sent Me; yet none of you asks Me, `Where are You going?' [6] But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. [7] Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. [8] And when He comes, He will convince the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment: [9] of sin, because they do not believe in Me; [10] of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see Me no more; [11] of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged."
___________________________
Commentary:
6-7. The thought that He is going to leave them saddens the Apostles, and our Lord consoles them with the promise of the Paraclete, the Consoler. Later (verses 20ff), He assures them that their sadness will turn into joy which no one can take away from them.
Jesus speaks about the Holy Spirit three times during the discourse of the Last Supper. The first time (14:15ff), He says that another Paraclete (advocate, consoler) will come, sent by the Father, to be with them forever; secondly, He says (14:26) that He Himself will send them, on behalf of the Father, the Spirit of truth who will teach them everything; and now He unfolds for them the complete plan of salvation and announces that the Holy Spirit will be sent once He ascends into Heaven.
8-12. The word "world" here means all those who have not believed in Christ and have rejected Him. These the Holy Spirit will accuse of sin because of their unbelief. He will accuse them of unrighteousness because He will show that Jesus was the Just One who was never guilty of sin (cf. John 8:46; Hebrews 4:15) and therefore is in glory beside His Father. And, finally, He will indict them by demonstrating that the devil, the prince of the world, has been overthrown through the death of Christ, which rescues man from the power of the Evil One and gives him grace to avoid the snares he lays.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Just for Today, April 29
Think not thyself wholly forsaken, although for a time I have sent thee some tribulation, or withdrawn from thee the comfort which thou desirest; for this is the way to the kingdom of heaven. And without doubt it is more expedient for thee and for the rest of My servants, that thou be exercised by adversities, than that thou shouldst have all things according to thy inclination.
Where is thy faith? Stand firmly, and with perseverance. Have patience and be of good courage; comfort will come to thee in its proper season. Wait for Me, wait, I will come and cure thee.
-Bk. III, ch. xxx.
_________________
We read in the Gospel that the Good Shepherd left the ninety-nine sheep in the desert whilst He sought the one that had strayed. What touching confidence! He can rely on the former, they are held captive by love and would never try to escape. So the divine Shepherd of our souls deprives us of the sense of His presence, that He may bestow consolations on sinners.
-Letters.
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
Where is thy faith? Stand firmly, and with perseverance. Have patience and be of good courage; comfort will come to thee in its proper season. Wait for Me, wait, I will come and cure thee.
-Bk. III, ch. xxx.
_________________
We read in the Gospel that the Good Shepherd left the ninety-nine sheep in the desert whilst He sought the one that had strayed. What touching confidence! He can rely on the former, they are held captive by love and would never try to escape. So the divine Shepherd of our souls deprives us of the sense of His presence, that He may bestow consolations on sinners.
-Letters.
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
Thoughts and Counsels - April 29
He who is resigned to the divine will shall always surmount the difficulties he meets with in the service of God. The Lord will accomplish His designs concerning him.
-St. Vincent de Paul.
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
-St. Vincent de Paul.
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
Meditation for April 29, Discreet Silence
An author who wrote well of the foster father of Jesus said:
He looks, contemplates, communes. He loves, that is enough.
If my vocation be exclusively or chiefly contemplative, the silent St. Joseph should be my model, especially in his interior silence of which the exterior was only an indication.
If my vocation admits of or exacts some activity, my model is Joseph whose spirit of contemplation was an active one. His lips were silent but his hammer and saw made noise, a soothing noise of holy work accomplished for God and which consequently did not disturb his interior silence.
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
"From the depth of obscurity where he lived with his work, St. Joseph had strength not to tell people, 'The Son of God is here.' Many speak who have nothing to say. St. Joseph had everything to say and was silent. He kept in his heart all the grandeur he contemplated." (Ernest Hello.)What a marvelous silence was St. Joseph's! But do we not accuse him sometimes of carrying it too far? Would it have not been better to shout to the world about the hidden treasure he sheltered in his little workshop? Decidedly not! Jesus reserved to Himself the privilege of announcing to the world His Message, His Revelations and His Gospel. One thing was asked of Joseph that He keep silence.
He looks, contemplates, communes. He loves, that is enough.
If my vocation be exclusively or chiefly contemplative, the silent St. Joseph should be my model, especially in his interior silence of which the exterior was only an indication.
If my vocation admits of or exacts some activity, my model is Joseph whose spirit of contemplation was an active one. His lips were silent but his hammer and saw made noise, a soothing noise of holy work accomplished for God and which consequently did not disturb his interior silence.
O St. Joseph, Father of fruitful silence and of fruitful activity, teach me to find rest in the silence of prayer and my activity in work without abandoning prayer._________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Gospel for Monday, 6th Week of Easter
Optional Memorial: St Peter Chanel, Priest and Martyr
Optional Memorial: St Louis Grignion de Monfort, Priest
Old Calendar: St. Paul of the Cross, confessor
This is also the Feast Day of St. Gianna Beretta Molla
___________________________
From: John 15:26-16:4a
A Hostile World (Continuation)
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [26] "But when the Counsellor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness to Me; [27] and you also are witnesses, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
The Action of the Holy Spirit
[1] "I have said all this to you to keep you from falling away. [2] They will put you out of the synagogues; indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. [3] And they will do this because they have not known the Father, nor Me. [4a] But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you of them."
________________
Commentary:
26-27. Just before the Ascension our Lord will again charge the Apostles with the mission to bear witness to Him (cf. Acts 1:8). They have been witnesses to the public ministry, death and resurrection of Christ, which is a condition for belonging to the Apostolic College, as we see when Matthias is elected to take the place of Judas (cf. Acts 1:21-22). But the public preaching of the Twelve and the life of the Church will not start until the Holy Spirit comes.
Every Christian should be living witness to Jesus, and the Church as a whole is a permanent testimony to Him: "The mission of the Church is carried out by means of that activity through which, in obedience to Christ's command and moved by the grace and love of the Holy Spirit, the Church makes itself fully present to all men and peoples in order to lead them to the faith, freedom and peace of Christ by the example of its life and preaching, by the sacraments and other means of grace" (Vatican II, "Ad Gentes", 5).
2-3. Fanaticism can even bring a person to think that it is permissible to commit a crime in order to serve the cause of religion--as happened with those Jews who persecuted Jesus to the point of bringing about His death, and who later persecuted the Church. Paul of Tarsus was a typical example of misguided zeal (cf. Acts 22:3-16); but once Paul realized he was wrong he changed and became one of Christ's most fervent apostles. As Jesus predicted, the Church has often experienced this sort of fanatical, diabolical hatred. At other times this false zeal, though not so obvious, takes the form of systematic and unjust opposition to the things of God. "In the moments of struggle and opposition, when perhaps `the good' fill your way with obstacles, lift up your apostolic heart: listen to Jesus as He speaks of the grain of mustard seed and of the leaven. And say to Him: `edissere nobis parabolam': explain the parable to me.'
"And you will feel the joy of contemplating the victory to come: the birds of the air lodging in the branches of your apostolate, now only in its beginnings, and the whole of the meal leavened" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 695).
In these cases, as our Lord also pointed out, those who persecute God's true servants think they are serving Him: they confuse God's interest with a deformed idea of religion.
4. Here Jesus prophesies not only His own death (cf. Matthew 16:21-23) but also the persecution His disciples will suffer. He forewarns them of the contradictions they will experience so that they will not be scandalized or depressed when they do arise; in fact, difficulties will give them an opportunity to demonstrate their faith.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Optional Memorial: St Louis Grignion de Monfort, Priest
Old Calendar: St. Paul of the Cross, confessor
This is also the Feast Day of St. Gianna Beretta Molla
___________________________
From: John 15:26-16:4a
A Hostile World (Continuation)
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [26] "But when the Counsellor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness to Me; [27] and you also are witnesses, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
The Action of the Holy Spirit
[1] "I have said all this to you to keep you from falling away. [2] They will put you out of the synagogues; indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. [3] And they will do this because they have not known the Father, nor Me. [4a] But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you of them."
________________
Commentary:
26-27. Just before the Ascension our Lord will again charge the Apostles with the mission to bear witness to Him (cf. Acts 1:8). They have been witnesses to the public ministry, death and resurrection of Christ, which is a condition for belonging to the Apostolic College, as we see when Matthias is elected to take the place of Judas (cf. Acts 1:21-22). But the public preaching of the Twelve and the life of the Church will not start until the Holy Spirit comes.
Every Christian should be living witness to Jesus, and the Church as a whole is a permanent testimony to Him: "The mission of the Church is carried out by means of that activity through which, in obedience to Christ's command and moved by the grace and love of the Holy Spirit, the Church makes itself fully present to all men and peoples in order to lead them to the faith, freedom and peace of Christ by the example of its life and preaching, by the sacraments and other means of grace" (Vatican II, "Ad Gentes", 5).
2-3. Fanaticism can even bring a person to think that it is permissible to commit a crime in order to serve the cause of religion--as happened with those Jews who persecuted Jesus to the point of bringing about His death, and who later persecuted the Church. Paul of Tarsus was a typical example of misguided zeal (cf. Acts 22:3-16); but once Paul realized he was wrong he changed and became one of Christ's most fervent apostles. As Jesus predicted, the Church has often experienced this sort of fanatical, diabolical hatred. At other times this false zeal, though not so obvious, takes the form of systematic and unjust opposition to the things of God. "In the moments of struggle and opposition, when perhaps `the good' fill your way with obstacles, lift up your apostolic heart: listen to Jesus as He speaks of the grain of mustard seed and of the leaven. And say to Him: `edissere nobis parabolam': explain the parable to me.'
"And you will feel the joy of contemplating the victory to come: the birds of the air lodging in the branches of your apostolate, now only in its beginnings, and the whole of the meal leavened" (St. J. Escriva, "The Way", 695).
In these cases, as our Lord also pointed out, those who persecute God's true servants think they are serving Him: they confuse God's interest with a deformed idea of religion.
4. Here Jesus prophesies not only His own death (cf. Matthew 16:21-23) but also the persecution His disciples will suffer. He forewarns them of the contradictions they will experience so that they will not be scandalized or depressed when they do arise; in fact, difficulties will give them an opportunity to demonstrate their faith.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Just for Today, April 28
He is gone before thee carrying His cross; and He died for thee upon the cross, that thou mayest also bear thy cross, and love to die on the cross. Because if thou die with Him, thou shalt also live with Him; and if thou art His companion in suffering, thou shalt also partake in His glory.
-Bk. II, ch. xii.
_______________
I do not know when my exile will end. I may yet sing the mercies of the Lord for many an evening, but even so, my last evening must come....My desire is to die of love, as Jesus died, upon the cross.
-Esprit de Sainte Therese.
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
-Bk. II, ch. xii.
_______________
I do not know when my exile will end. I may yet sing the mercies of the Lord for many an evening, but even so, my last evening must come....My desire is to die of love, as Jesus died, upon the cross.
-Esprit de Sainte Therese.
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
Thoughts and Counsels - April 28
He who cheerfully endures contempt and is happy under crosses and affliction, partakes of the humility and sufferings of Our Lord.
-St. Mechtildis
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
-St. Mechtildis
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
Meditation for April 28, Alter Christus
St. Paul counsels us earnestly, Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. The only way I can follow his advice is to try to live each day as perfectly as Jesus Christ would have lived it in my place. I do not have to do what He did, but I can and must do what He would have done if He were I; I must strive particularly to have the same affections and aversions as Christ would have had.
This bitterness against my neighbor, these little resentments, these secret jealousies, these little revenges, this foolish vanity to which I give way, these dreams which make me neglect my duty and enervate me; if Christ were in my place, would He allow them to continue?
How many faulty dispositions develop in my soul, producing either bitterness or disgust, just because I lack supernatural spirit or courage.
Instead of living in faith and by faith, I allow self love to express itself, groaning over a little failure, neglecting to persevere in prayer when consolations fail, being unreasonably sensitive over a superior's remark or criticism.
It has been rightfully said that women are very sensitive. This may be an asset, however, if it makes one thrill to beautiful and noble things. But there is another side to the story. Be careful not to be too impressionable....
I must strive to have the sentiments of Jesus Christ. No other spirit should appeal to me.
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
This bitterness against my neighbor, these little resentments, these secret jealousies, these little revenges, this foolish vanity to which I give way, these dreams which make me neglect my duty and enervate me; if Christ were in my place, would He allow them to continue?
How many faulty dispositions develop in my soul, producing either bitterness or disgust, just because I lack supernatural spirit or courage.
Instead of living in faith and by faith, I allow self love to express itself, groaning over a little failure, neglecting to persevere in prayer when consolations fail, being unreasonably sensitive over a superior's remark or criticism.
It has been rightfully said that women are very sensitive. This may be an asset, however, if it makes one thrill to beautiful and noble things. But there is another side to the story. Be careful not to be too impressionable....
I must strive to have the sentiments of Jesus Christ. No other spirit should appeal to me.
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Gospel for the 6th Sunday of Easter
From: John 14:15-21
The Promise of the Holy Spirit
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [15] "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. [16] And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Counsellor, to be with you for ever. [17] even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; you know Him, for He dwells with you, and will be in you.
[18] "I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you. [19] Yet a little while, and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. [20] In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. [21] He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and manifest Myself to him."
_____________________
Commentary:
15. Genuine love must express itself in deeds. "This indeed is love: obeying and believing in the loved one" (St. John Chrysostom, "Hom. on St. John", 74). Therefore, Jesus wants us to understand that love of God, if it is to be authentic, must be reflected in a life of generous and faithful self-giving obedient to the Will of God: he who accepts God's commandments and obeys them, he it is who loves Him (cf. John 14:21). St. John himself exhorts us in another passage not to "love in word or speech but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:18), and he teaches us that "this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments" (1 John 5:3).
16-17. On a number of occasions the Lord promises the Apostles that He will send them the Holy Spirit (cf. 14:26; 15:36; 16:7-14; Matthew 10:20). Here He tells them that one result of His mediation with the Father will be the coming of the Paraclete. The Holy Spirit in fact does come down on the disciples after our Lord's ascension (cf. Acts 2:1-13), sent by the Father and by the Son. In promising here that through Him the father will send them the Holy Spirit, Jesus is revealing the mystery of the Blessed Trinity.
"Consoler": the Greek word sometimes anglicized as "paraclete" means etymologically "called to be beside one" to accompany, to console, protect, defend. Hence the word is translated as Consoler, Advocate, etc. Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit as "another Consoler", because He will be given them in Christ's place as Advocate or Defender to help them, since Jesus is going to ascend to Heaven. In 1 John 2:1 Jesus Christ is described as a Paraclete: "We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous". Jesus Christ, then, also is our Advocate and Mediator in Heaven where He is with the Father (cf. Hebrews 7:25). It is now the role of the Holy Spirit to guide, protect and vivify the Church, "for there are, as we know, two factors which Christ has promised and arranged in different ways to continue His mission [...]: the apostolate and the Spirit. The apostolate is the external and objective factor, it forms the material body, so to speak, of the Church and is the source of her visible and social structures. The Holy Spirit acts internally within each person, as well as on the whole community, animating, vivifying, sanctifying" ([Pope] Paul VI, "Opening Address at the Third Session of Vatican II", 14 September 1964).
The Holy Spirit is our Consoler as we make our way in this world amid difficulties and the temptation to feel depressed. "In spite of our great limitations, we can look up to Heaven with confidence and joy: God loves us and frees us from our sins. The presence and the action of the Holy Spirit in the Church are a foretaste of eternal happiness, of the joy and peace for which we are destined by God" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 128).
18-20. At various points in the Supper we can see the Apostles growing sad when the Lord bid them farewell (cf. John 15:16; 16:22). Jesus speaks to them with great tenderness, calling them "little children" (John 13:33) and "friends" (John 15:15), and He promises that He will not leave them alone, for He will send the Holy Spirit, and He Himself will return to be with them again. And in fact He will see them again after the Resurrection when He appears to them over a period of forty days to tell them about the Kingdom of God (cf. Acts 1:3). When He ascends into Heaven they will see Him no longer; yet Jesus still continues to be in the midst of His disciples as He promised He would (cf. Matthew 28:20), and we will see Him face to face in Heaven. "Then it shall be that we will be able to see that which we believe. For even now He is with us, and we in Him [...]; but now we know by believing, whereas then we shall know by beholding.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
The Promise of the Holy Spirit
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [15] "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. [16] And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Counsellor, to be with you for ever. [17] even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; you know Him, for He dwells with you, and will be in you.
[18] "I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you. [19] Yet a little while, and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. [20] In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. [21] He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and manifest Myself to him."
_____________________
Commentary:
15. Genuine love must express itself in deeds. "This indeed is love: obeying and believing in the loved one" (St. John Chrysostom, "Hom. on St. John", 74). Therefore, Jesus wants us to understand that love of God, if it is to be authentic, must be reflected in a life of generous and faithful self-giving obedient to the Will of God: he who accepts God's commandments and obeys them, he it is who loves Him (cf. John 14:21). St. John himself exhorts us in another passage not to "love in word or speech but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:18), and he teaches us that "this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments" (1 John 5:3).
16-17. On a number of occasions the Lord promises the Apostles that He will send them the Holy Spirit (cf. 14:26; 15:36; 16:7-14; Matthew 10:20). Here He tells them that one result of His mediation with the Father will be the coming of the Paraclete. The Holy Spirit in fact does come down on the disciples after our Lord's ascension (cf. Acts 2:1-13), sent by the Father and by the Son. In promising here that through Him the father will send them the Holy Spirit, Jesus is revealing the mystery of the Blessed Trinity.
"Consoler": the Greek word sometimes anglicized as "paraclete" means etymologically "called to be beside one" to accompany, to console, protect, defend. Hence the word is translated as Consoler, Advocate, etc. Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit as "another Consoler", because He will be given them in Christ's place as Advocate or Defender to help them, since Jesus is going to ascend to Heaven. In 1 John 2:1 Jesus Christ is described as a Paraclete: "We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous". Jesus Christ, then, also is our Advocate and Mediator in Heaven where He is with the Father (cf. Hebrews 7:25). It is now the role of the Holy Spirit to guide, protect and vivify the Church, "for there are, as we know, two factors which Christ has promised and arranged in different ways to continue His mission [...]: the apostolate and the Spirit. The apostolate is the external and objective factor, it forms the material body, so to speak, of the Church and is the source of her visible and social structures. The Holy Spirit acts internally within each person, as well as on the whole community, animating, vivifying, sanctifying" ([Pope] Paul VI, "Opening Address at the Third Session of Vatican II", 14 September 1964).
The Holy Spirit is our Consoler as we make our way in this world amid difficulties and the temptation to feel depressed. "In spite of our great limitations, we can look up to Heaven with confidence and joy: God loves us and frees us from our sins. The presence and the action of the Holy Spirit in the Church are a foretaste of eternal happiness, of the joy and peace for which we are destined by God" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 128).
18-20. At various points in the Supper we can see the Apostles growing sad when the Lord bid them farewell (cf. John 15:16; 16:22). Jesus speaks to them with great tenderness, calling them "little children" (John 13:33) and "friends" (John 15:15), and He promises that He will not leave them alone, for He will send the Holy Spirit, and He Himself will return to be with them again. And in fact He will see them again after the Resurrection when He appears to them over a period of forty days to tell them about the Kingdom of God (cf. Acts 1:3). When He ascends into Heaven they will see Him no longer; yet Jesus still continues to be in the midst of His disciples as He promised He would (cf. Matthew 28:20), and we will see Him face to face in Heaven. "Then it shall be that we will be able to see that which we believe. For even now He is with us, and we in Him [...]; but now we know by believing, whereas then we shall know by beholding.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
2nd Reading, 6th Sunday of Easter
From: 1 Peter 3:15-18
Undeserved Suffering is a Blessing
[15] But in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence; [16] and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. [17] For it is better to suffer for doing right, if that should be God's will, than for doing wrong.
Christ's Suffering and Glorification
[18] For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.
_________________
Commentary:
3:13 - 4:19. The sacred writer now makes a series of appeals designed to give hope to Christians suffering unjustly on account of Jesus' name: he reminds them that every baptized person is called to share in the paschal mystery of Christ, that is, in his sufferings and in his glorification; just as he, after suffering unjustly, was glorified (3:18-22), so too those who now suffer for Christ will have a part in his glorious triumph (4:13-14).
The section begins and ends speaking about the Christian meaning of tribulation (3:13-17 and 4:12-19): trials should not make them feel cowed or ashamed, nor should they come as a surprise; on the contrary, they should fill them with joy and lead them to glorify God for letting them partake in our Lord's suffering.
The Apostle also points to one of the reasons for the misunderstandings they experience: after Baptism they have broken with their previous sinful life and that is something pagans cannot understand (4:1-6). Also, Christians should remember that life is something very transient, and therefore they should practice prayer and charity (4:7-11).
13-17. These verses act as an introduction to the central theme of this section (3:13-4:19). They seem to be directed to people who are surprised to encounter persecution despite doing good (v. 13). Opposition should not dismay them; their calumniators will come to realize their mistake (v. 16).
St Peter's words of advice have a very positive ring about them; they are really an application of the beatitude in which our Lord says, "Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven" (Mt 5:11-12).
St Peter's teachings have a perennial value for disciples of Christ, for (as history clearly shows) fidelity to the Master brings with it persecution (cf. Jn 15:18-22; 2 Tim 3:12), sometimes open and violent persecution, sometimes persecution of a more subtle type, in the form of calumny, humiliation and other hazards.
The counsel St Peter gives is very positive in tone--a kind of application of the Beatitude which says, "Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven" (Mt 15:11-12).
15. "Reverence Christ as Lord": literally, "Hallow", as in the Our Father. The words imply recognition of the divinity of Jesus Christ: he is called Lord ("Kyrios"), a name proper to God; and they are told to "glorify" or "reverence" him, that is, render him the worship that is due to God alone. Even in the midst of difficulties the entire Christian life should be a hymn of praise to God; by acting in this way, Christians are living out their holy, royal priesthood (1 Pet 2:4-10; cf. Vatican II, "Presbyterorum Ordinis", 1).
"To account for the hope that is in you": he is not referring to defending oneself before the courts, for official persecution had not yet become widespread in Asia Minor (cf. note on 2:11-12). He seems, rather, to be referring to the obligation to bear witness to their faith and hope, for all baptized persons should always, by word and example, make known their faith known to others.
18-22. This passage may include parts of a Creed used in early Christian baptismal instruction. It very clearly expresses the essence of faith in Jesus Christ, as preached from the beginning by the Apostles (cf. Acts 2:14-36; 1 Cor 15:1ff) and as articulated in the Apostles' Creed "He was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty."
Jesus Christ, who suffers for the sins of mankind--"the righteous for the unrighteous"--and then is glorified, gives meaning to the sufferings of Christians. "Oh, how great thanks am I bound to return to you for having shown me and all the faithful the right and good way to your everlasting kingdom! For your life is our life; and by holy patience we walk on to you, who are our crown. If you had not gone before and taught us, who would care to follow? Alas, how many would have stayed afar off and a great way behind if they had not had before their eyes your wonderful example!" ("The Imitation of Christ", 3, 18).
18. "Christ has died for sins once for all": our Lord's sacrifice is unrepeatable (cf. Heb 9:12-28; 10:10) and superabundantly sufficient to obtain the remission of all sins. The fruits of the Cross are applied to man, in a special way, by means of the sacraments, particularly by taking part in the Mass, the unbloody renewal of the sacrifice of Calvary.
"Being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit": there is disagreement among commentators as to what "flesh" and "spirit" mean here. Some identify them with our concepts of body and soul--"dead as regards the body, alive as regards the soul". Others see them as equivalent to the humanity-divinity of our Lord: "dead as far as his human nature is concerned, alive (continues to live) as far as his divinity is concerned". Finally, having regard to the meaning these terms have in the Old Testament the phrase may refer to the earthly condition of our Lord compared with the glorious condition he had after his resurrection; in which case it would be an early form of words used to convey the idea that Jesus Christ, on dying, left his mortal condition behind for ever in order to move into his glorious, immortal state through his resurrection (cf. 1 Cor 15:35-49).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Undeserved Suffering is a Blessing
[15] But in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence; [16] and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. [17] For it is better to suffer for doing right, if that should be God's will, than for doing wrong.
Christ's Suffering and Glorification
[18] For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.
_________________
Commentary:
3:13 - 4:19. The sacred writer now makes a series of appeals designed to give hope to Christians suffering unjustly on account of Jesus' name: he reminds them that every baptized person is called to share in the paschal mystery of Christ, that is, in his sufferings and in his glorification; just as he, after suffering unjustly, was glorified (3:18-22), so too those who now suffer for Christ will have a part in his glorious triumph (4:13-14).
The section begins and ends speaking about the Christian meaning of tribulation (3:13-17 and 4:12-19): trials should not make them feel cowed or ashamed, nor should they come as a surprise; on the contrary, they should fill them with joy and lead them to glorify God for letting them partake in our Lord's suffering.
The Apostle also points to one of the reasons for the misunderstandings they experience: after Baptism they have broken with their previous sinful life and that is something pagans cannot understand (4:1-6). Also, Christians should remember that life is something very transient, and therefore they should practice prayer and charity (4:7-11).
13-17. These verses act as an introduction to the central theme of this section (3:13-4:19). They seem to be directed to people who are surprised to encounter persecution despite doing good (v. 13). Opposition should not dismay them; their calumniators will come to realize their mistake (v. 16).
St Peter's words of advice have a very positive ring about them; they are really an application of the beatitude in which our Lord says, "Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven" (Mt 5:11-12).
St Peter's teachings have a perennial value for disciples of Christ, for (as history clearly shows) fidelity to the Master brings with it persecution (cf. Jn 15:18-22; 2 Tim 3:12), sometimes open and violent persecution, sometimes persecution of a more subtle type, in the form of calumny, humiliation and other hazards.
The counsel St Peter gives is very positive in tone--a kind of application of the Beatitude which says, "Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven" (Mt 15:11-12).
15. "Reverence Christ as Lord": literally, "Hallow", as in the Our Father. The words imply recognition of the divinity of Jesus Christ: he is called Lord ("Kyrios"), a name proper to God; and they are told to "glorify" or "reverence" him, that is, render him the worship that is due to God alone. Even in the midst of difficulties the entire Christian life should be a hymn of praise to God; by acting in this way, Christians are living out their holy, royal priesthood (1 Pet 2:4-10; cf. Vatican II, "Presbyterorum Ordinis", 1).
"To account for the hope that is in you": he is not referring to defending oneself before the courts, for official persecution had not yet become widespread in Asia Minor (cf. note on 2:11-12). He seems, rather, to be referring to the obligation to bear witness to their faith and hope, for all baptized persons should always, by word and example, make known their faith known to others.
18-22. This passage may include parts of a Creed used in early Christian baptismal instruction. It very clearly expresses the essence of faith in Jesus Christ, as preached from the beginning by the Apostles (cf. Acts 2:14-36; 1 Cor 15:1ff) and as articulated in the Apostles' Creed "He was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty."
Jesus Christ, who suffers for the sins of mankind--"the righteous for the unrighteous"--and then is glorified, gives meaning to the sufferings of Christians. "Oh, how great thanks am I bound to return to you for having shown me and all the faithful the right and good way to your everlasting kingdom! For your life is our life; and by holy patience we walk on to you, who are our crown. If you had not gone before and taught us, who would care to follow? Alas, how many would have stayed afar off and a great way behind if they had not had before their eyes your wonderful example!" ("The Imitation of Christ", 3, 18).
18. "Christ has died for sins once for all": our Lord's sacrifice is unrepeatable (cf. Heb 9:12-28; 10:10) and superabundantly sufficient to obtain the remission of all sins. The fruits of the Cross are applied to man, in a special way, by means of the sacraments, particularly by taking part in the Mass, the unbloody renewal of the sacrifice of Calvary.
"Being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit": there is disagreement among commentators as to what "flesh" and "spirit" mean here. Some identify them with our concepts of body and soul--"dead as regards the body, alive as regards the soul". Others see them as equivalent to the humanity-divinity of our Lord: "dead as far as his human nature is concerned, alive (continues to live) as far as his divinity is concerned". Finally, having regard to the meaning these terms have in the Old Testament the phrase may refer to the earthly condition of our Lord compared with the glorious condition he had after his resurrection; in which case it would be an early form of words used to convey the idea that Jesus Christ, on dying, left his mortal condition behind for ever in order to move into his glorious, immortal state through his resurrection (cf. 1 Cor 15:35-49).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
1st Reading, 6th Sunday of Easter
From: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17
Philip's Preaching in Samaria
[5] Philip went down to a city of Samaria, and proclaimed to them the Christ. [6] And the multitudes with one accord gave heed to what was said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs which he did. [7] For unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed, crying with a loud voice; and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. [8] So there was much joy in that city.
Peter and John in Samaria
[14] Now when the Apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, [15] who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit; [16] for it had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. [17] Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
____________________
Commentary:
5. This is not Philip the Apostle (1:13) but one of the seven deacons appointed to look after Christians in need (6:5). The Gospel is proclaimed to the Samaritans --who also were awaiting the Messiah. This means that it now spreads beyond the borders of Judea once and for all, and our Lord's promise (Acts 1:8) is fulfilled: "You shall by My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria."
The despised Samaritans became the first to benefit from the Gospel's determination to spread all over the world. We can sense St. Luke's pleasure in reporting its proclamation to the Samaritans; earlier he had already showed them in a favorable light: he is the only Evangelist to recount the parable of the Good Samaritan (cf. Luke 10:30-37) and to mention that the leper who came back to thank Jesus after being cured was a Samaritan (cf. Luke 17:16). On the Samaritans in general, see the note on John 4:20.
14-17. Here we see the Apostles exercising through Peter and John the authority they have over the entire Church. The two Apostles proceed to confirm the disciples recently baptized by Philip: we may presume that in addition to laying their hands on them to communicate the Holy Spirit, the Apostles made sure that they had a correct grasp of the central points of the Gospel message. At this time the Apostles constituted the spiritual center of the Church and took an active interest in ensuring that the new communities were conscious of the links--doctrinal and affective--that united them to the mother community in Jerusalem.
This passage bears witness to the existence of Baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit (or Confirmation) as two distinct sacramental rites. The most important effects Christian Baptism has are the infusion of initial grace and the remission of Original Sin and any personal sin; it is the first sacrament a person receives, which is why it is called the "door of the Church".
There is a close connection between Baptism and Confirmation, so much so that in the early centuries of Christianity, Confirmation was administered immediately after Baptism. There is a clear distinction between these two sacraments of Christian initiation, which helps us understand the different effects they have. A useful comparison is the difference, in natural life, between conception and later growth (cf. "St. Pius V Catechism", II, 3, 5). "As nature intends that all her children should grow and attain full maturity [...], so the Catholic Church, the common mother of all, earnestly wishes that, in those whom she has regenerated by Baptism, the perfection of Christian manhood be completed" ("ibid.", II, 3, 7).
"The nature of the Sacrament of Confirmation," John Paul II explains, "grows out of this endowment of strength which the Holy Spirit communicates to each baptized person, to make him or her--as the well-known language of the Catechism puts it--a perfect Christian and soldier of Christ, ready to witness boldly to His resurrection and its redemptive power: 'You shall be My witnesses' (Acts 1:8)" ("Homily", 25 May 1980). "All Christians, incorporated into Christ and His Church by Baptism, are consecrated to God. They are called to profess the faith which they have received. By the Sacrament of Confirmation they are further endowed by the Holy Spirit with special strength to be witnesses of Christ and sharers in His mission of salvation" ("Homily in Limerick", 1 October 1979). "This is a sacrament which in a special way associates us with the mission of the Apostles, in that it inserts each baptized person into the apostolate of the Church" ("Homily in Cracow", 10 June 1979). In the Sacrament of Confirmation divine grace anti- cipates the aggressive and demoralizing temptations a young Christian man or woman is likely to experience, and reminds them of the fact that they have a vocation to holiness; it makes them feel more identified with the Church, their Mother, and helps them live in accordance with their Catholic beliefs and convictions. From their formative years Christ makes them defenders of the faith.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Philip's Preaching in Samaria
[5] Philip went down to a city of Samaria, and proclaimed to them the Christ. [6] And the multitudes with one accord gave heed to what was said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs which he did. [7] For unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed, crying with a loud voice; and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. [8] So there was much joy in that city.
Peter and John in Samaria
[14] Now when the Apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, [15] who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit; [16] for it had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. [17] Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
____________________
Commentary:
5. This is not Philip the Apostle (1:13) but one of the seven deacons appointed to look after Christians in need (6:5). The Gospel is proclaimed to the Samaritans --who also were awaiting the Messiah. This means that it now spreads beyond the borders of Judea once and for all, and our Lord's promise (Acts 1:8) is fulfilled: "You shall by My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria."
The despised Samaritans became the first to benefit from the Gospel's determination to spread all over the world. We can sense St. Luke's pleasure in reporting its proclamation to the Samaritans; earlier he had already showed them in a favorable light: he is the only Evangelist to recount the parable of the Good Samaritan (cf. Luke 10:30-37) and to mention that the leper who came back to thank Jesus after being cured was a Samaritan (cf. Luke 17:16). On the Samaritans in general, see the note on John 4:20.
14-17. Here we see the Apostles exercising through Peter and John the authority they have over the entire Church. The two Apostles proceed to confirm the disciples recently baptized by Philip: we may presume that in addition to laying their hands on them to communicate the Holy Spirit, the Apostles made sure that they had a correct grasp of the central points of the Gospel message. At this time the Apostles constituted the spiritual center of the Church and took an active interest in ensuring that the new communities were conscious of the links--doctrinal and affective--that united them to the mother community in Jerusalem.
This passage bears witness to the existence of Baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit (or Confirmation) as two distinct sacramental rites. The most important effects Christian Baptism has are the infusion of initial grace and the remission of Original Sin and any personal sin; it is the first sacrament a person receives, which is why it is called the "door of the Church".
There is a close connection between Baptism and Confirmation, so much so that in the early centuries of Christianity, Confirmation was administered immediately after Baptism. There is a clear distinction between these two sacraments of Christian initiation, which helps us understand the different effects they have. A useful comparison is the difference, in natural life, between conception and later growth (cf. "St. Pius V Catechism", II, 3, 5). "As nature intends that all her children should grow and attain full maturity [...], so the Catholic Church, the common mother of all, earnestly wishes that, in those whom she has regenerated by Baptism, the perfection of Christian manhood be completed" ("ibid.", II, 3, 7).
"The nature of the Sacrament of Confirmation," John Paul II explains, "grows out of this endowment of strength which the Holy Spirit communicates to each baptized person, to make him or her--as the well-known language of the Catechism puts it--a perfect Christian and soldier of Christ, ready to witness boldly to His resurrection and its redemptive power: 'You shall be My witnesses' (Acts 1:8)" ("Homily", 25 May 1980). "All Christians, incorporated into Christ and His Church by Baptism, are consecrated to God. They are called to profess the faith which they have received. By the Sacrament of Confirmation they are further endowed by the Holy Spirit with special strength to be witnesses of Christ and sharers in His mission of salvation" ("Homily in Limerick", 1 October 1979). "This is a sacrament which in a special way associates us with the mission of the Apostles, in that it inserts each baptized person into the apostolate of the Church" ("Homily in Cracow", 10 June 1979). In the Sacrament of Confirmation divine grace anti- cipates the aggressive and demoralizing temptations a young Christian man or woman is likely to experience, and reminds them of the fact that they have a vocation to holiness; it makes them feel more identified with the Church, their Mother, and helps them live in accordance with their Catholic beliefs and convictions. From their formative years Christ makes them defenders of the faith.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.