A good and devout man first disposes his works inwardly, which he is to do outwardly. Neither do they draw him to the desires of an inordinate inclination: but he bends them to the rule of right reason.
- Bk. I, ch. iii.
Keep thyself first in peace, and then thou wilt be able to bring others to peace.
- Bk. II, ch. iii.
____________
She taught that the best way to avoid giving way to anger, was to aim at "softening one's heart in advance".
-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.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Thoughts and Counsels - May 25
As a mother feels no disgust in dressing the sores of her child, so Mary, the heavenly infirmarian, never refuses to care for sinners who have recourse to her.
-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 25, Corpus Christi - Tantum Ergo
Tantum ergo sacramentum veneremur cernui.
Yes, let us venerate profoundly such a Sacrament!
Sacrament means "secret," something hidden, mysterious, and the Eucharist bears out this root meaning of the word. It seems such a great secret, that many when suddenly confronted with an explanation of it, fail to comprehend its significance. I have only to recall the well-known Gospel scene in which Our Lord announced for the first time that He would give His flesh as food and His blood as drink. At least half of those who heard Him went away unable to believe it, unable to penetrate the secret.
I know. I believe. The secret, however, still remains, and at the climax of the Mass the Church does not fail to recall it. Bending low for the words of consecration, the priest uses the words Mysterium fidei, Mystery of Faith. Truly, there is nothing to appeal to the senses. The will alone clings, enlightened by the Gospel and the testimony of the Church. Prostrate, I adore You, my Lord in Your great Sacrament.
Sacrament also means a sensible sign of grace. The species reveal a little bread, but it is merely the screen for something else. The bread is no longer bread, it is Christ, Christ, come to give me invisible strength.
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Yes, let us venerate profoundly such a Sacrament!
Sacrament means "secret," something hidden, mysterious, and the Eucharist bears out this root meaning of the word. It seems such a great secret, that many when suddenly confronted with an explanation of it, fail to comprehend its significance. I have only to recall the well-known Gospel scene in which Our Lord announced for the first time that He would give His flesh as food and His blood as drink. At least half of those who heard Him went away unable to believe it, unable to penetrate the secret.
I know. I believe. The secret, however, still remains, and at the climax of the Mass the Church does not fail to recall it. Bending low for the words of consecration, the priest uses the words Mysterium fidei, Mystery of Faith. Truly, there is nothing to appeal to the senses. The will alone clings, enlightened by the Gospel and the testimony of the Church. Prostrate, I adore You, my Lord in Your great Sacrament.
Sacrament also means a sensible sign of grace. The species reveal a little bread, but it is merely the screen for something else. The bread is no longer bread, it is Christ, Christ, come to give me invisible strength.
"Oh, let me receive You, Lord Jesus with an ever increasing faith. Let me contemplate You in the monstrance with a love that grows ever more ardent and more radiant."_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Gospel for Saturday, 7th Week in Ordinary Time
From: Mark 10:13-16
Jesus and the Children
[13] And they were bringing children to Him, that He might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. [14] But when Jesus saw it He was indignant, and said to them, "Let the children come to Me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the Kingdom of God. [15] Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." [16] And He took them in His arms and blessed them, laying His hands upon them.
_______________________
Commentary:
13-16. This Gospel account has an attractive freshness and vividness about it which may be connected with St. Peter, from whom St. Mark would have taken the story. It is one of the few occasions when the Gospels tell us that Christ became angry. What provoked His anger was the disciples' intolerance: they felt that these people bringing children to Jesus were a nuisance: it meant a waste of His time; Christ had more serious things to do than be involved with little children. The disciples were well-intentioned; it was just that they were applying the wrong criteria. What Jesus had told them quite recently had not registered: "Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me" (Mark 9:37).
Our Lord also stresses that a Christian has to become like a child to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. "To be little you have to believe as children believe, to love as children love, to abandon yourself as children do..., to pray as children pray" ([St] J. Escriva, "Holy Rosary", Prologue).
Our Lord's words express simply and graphically the key doctrine of man's divine sonship: God is our Father and we are His sons and daughters, His children; the whole of religion is summed up in the relationship of a son with His good Father. This awareness of God as Father involves a sense of dependence on our Father in Heaven and trusting abandonment to His loving providence--in the way a child trusts its father or mother; the humility of recognizing that we can do nothing by ourselves; simplicity and sincerity, which make us straightforward and honest in our dealings with God and man.
_____________________
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 and the Children
[13] And they were bringing children to Him, that He might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. [14] But when Jesus saw it He was indignant, and said to them, "Let the children come to Me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the Kingdom of God. [15] Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." [16] And He took them in His arms and blessed them, laying His hands upon them.
_______________________
Commentary:
13-16. This Gospel account has an attractive freshness and vividness about it which may be connected with St. Peter, from whom St. Mark would have taken the story. It is one of the few occasions when the Gospels tell us that Christ became angry. What provoked His anger was the disciples' intolerance: they felt that these people bringing children to Jesus were a nuisance: it meant a waste of His time; Christ had more serious things to do than be involved with little children. The disciples were well-intentioned; it was just that they were applying the wrong criteria. What Jesus had told them quite recently had not registered: "Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me" (Mark 9:37).
Our Lord also stresses that a Christian has to become like a child to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. "To be little you have to believe as children believe, to love as children love, to abandon yourself as children do..., to pray as children pray" ([St] J. Escriva, "Holy Rosary", Prologue).
Our Lord's words express simply and graphically the key doctrine of man's divine sonship: God is our Father and we are His sons and daughters, His children; the whole of religion is summed up in the relationship of a son with His good Father. This awareness of God as Father involves a sense of dependence on our Father in Heaven and trusting abandonment to His loving providence--in the way a child trusts its father or mother; the humility of recognizing that we can do nothing by ourselves; simplicity and sincerity, which make us straightforward and honest in our dealings with God and man.
_____________________
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.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Just for Today, May 24
The humble man God protects and delivers: the humble He loves and comforts: to the humble He inclines Himself: to the humble He gives grace; and after he has been depressed, raises him to glory.
To the humble He reveals His secrets, and sweetly draws and invites him to Himself.
-Bk. II, ch. ii.
_________________
When, in order to make it bear before the season, a gardener lavishes care on a tree, he does not leave the fruit upon the branches, but sends it to the Master's table. It was with this intention that Jesus lavished graces upon His little flower. He wished to manifest His mercy in me; He who cried out, rejoicing, in the days of His mortal life: I confess to thee, O Pather, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent, ~and hast revealed them to little, ones (Luke x, 21). Because I was little and weak, He stooped down and taught me the secrets of His love.
-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.
To the humble He reveals His secrets, and sweetly draws and invites him to Himself.
-Bk. II, ch. ii.
_________________
When, in order to make it bear before the season, a gardener lavishes care on a tree, he does not leave the fruit upon the branches, but sends it to the Master's table. It was with this intention that Jesus lavished graces upon His little flower. He wished to manifest His mercy in me; He who cried out, rejoicing, in the days of His mortal life: I confess to thee, O Pather, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent, ~and hast revealed them to little, ones (Luke x, 21). Because I was little and weak, He stooped down and taught me the secrets of His love.
-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 - May 24
Let us highly esteem devotion to the Blessed Virgin, and let us lose no opportunity of inspiring others with it.
-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 24, Sisterly Love
Speaking of the spirit of fraternal charity that St. John of the Cross excelled in developing in the communities around him, an author smilingly offers this objection: "Yes, they love one another in the convents; and evidently, if we compare the peace that reigns there with the peace that reigns in other places, we would say that they love one another a great deaL"
Slight praise, indeed! When the standard of comparison is very low, to say that one object surpasses another does not indicate a very remarkable degree of attainment. To say that they love one another more in the convent than is the general practice in the world is not saying very much. Ordinarily people love each other very little in the world.
Let us seek another criterion and aspire to a somewhat more elevated ideal, otherwise we shall scarcely surpass the low-water mark of the commonplace which is devoid of any grandeur.
Let us speak of the friendship that our vocation clearly supposes, a friendship sealed by ardent devotion to the same sublime cause, capable of forgetting pettiness, and of surmounting miseries inherent in all community life; of the friendship whose only bond is that holy passion of saving souls for Jesus Christ, and of loving Him as He has loved us, a purely supernatural friendship where all hearts are united and fixed in the Charity of the One Friend, united with and absorbed in the exclusive love of the Divine Heart who has so loved us and wants us to be loved by all.
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Slight praise, indeed! When the standard of comparison is very low, to say that one object surpasses another does not indicate a very remarkable degree of attainment. To say that they love one another more in the convent than is the general practice in the world is not saying very much. Ordinarily people love each other very little in the world.
Let us seek another criterion and aspire to a somewhat more elevated ideal, otherwise we shall scarcely surpass the low-water mark of the commonplace which is devoid of any grandeur.
Let us speak of the friendship that our vocation clearly supposes, a friendship sealed by ardent devotion to the same sublime cause, capable of forgetting pettiness, and of surmounting miseries inherent in all community life; of the friendship whose only bond is that holy passion of saving souls for Jesus Christ, and of loving Him as He has loved us, a purely supernatural friendship where all hearts are united and fixed in the Charity of the One Friend, united with and absorbed in the exclusive love of the Divine Heart who has so loved us and wants us to be loved by all.
"O Jesus, permit me to love all my sisters with this affection, and grant that I may love without faltering, without lessening my love, without excluding anyone from my affection, without however becoming familiar, that I may truly love my Sisters as sisters."_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Oxford lab to revisit carbon dating of Shroud of Turin
Colorado Springs, May 23, 2008 / 05:01 am (CNA).- A physics professor has persuaded an Oxford laboratory to revisit the question of the age of the Shroud of Turin, the reputed burial shroud of Jesus Christ. The professor argues that carbon monoxide contaminating the shroud could have distorted its radiocarbon dating results by more than 1,000 years....
The Denver Post reports that John Jackson, a physics lecturer at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, has hypothesized that even minimal contamination of the shroud by environmental carbon monoxide could have skewed the dating by 1,300 years....
Junk Science...
Some of us are waiting for the eco-nuts to come down on our candles and incense...but, perhaps, there is hope. That is, if the media would ever begin to present the truth.
There’s a new global warming consensus in town....
The Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine this week announced that 31,072 U.S. scientists signed a petition stating that "...There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane or other greenhouse gases is causing, or will cause in the future, catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the Earth’s climate..."
The OISM petition represents a direct challenge to the Al Gore-touted notion that a consensus of scientists has determined that catastrophic manmade global warming is real and that any debate over the science is pointless.
Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos to ordain four priests for FSSP
Denton, NE, May 23, 2008 / 01:18 am (CNA).- Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, will ordain four men to the priesthood for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter on Friday, May 30.More great news! Let's not forget to keep these men in our prayers!
The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) was established in 1988 under Pope John Paul II and has nearly 200 priests and over 100 seminarians studying in Bavaria and Nebraska....
The men will be ordained at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln, Nebraska. The ordination Mass will be broadcast on EWTN at 11 a.m. (EST).
Transgender “man” weds transgender “woman” in Mexico City
Confused? But wait, there's even more!...Mario Sánchez (formerly María Sánchez), a 55-year-old retired female prison guard, and Diana Guerrero (formerly José Guerrero), an electrical engineer, 45, were legally married, with all the rights and obligations of a heterosexual marriage.
To avoid violating the law, the judge who performed the ceremony permitted the wedding only if “Mario” was married as María -- her birth name, and “Diana” was married as José, his original name. Thus, under the law, “Diana” will be the husband, and “Mario” the wife....
According to “Diana,” the couple plans to persist in efforts to get married in the Catholic Church. In Mexico, civil law does not recognize Church marriages, and the Church does not recognize civil marriages, so it has long been customary for couples to wed twice. “We will exhaust all avenues, but if the Catholic hierarchy refuses to marry us, we will resort to other churches, such as the Anglican [or] the Unitarian, which don’t have so many prejudges [prejudices?]. The most important thing is to have God’s blessings,” said “Diana.”God's blessings? For real? I'm certain that He is showering them with graces for a much needed repentance and conversion, but, alas, it does require the exercise of free will to accept this gift of grace. Someone should tell them to avoid wasting time with getting the Church to approve such an arrangement and go straight to some Unitarian sect which, it seems, approves just about anything. But will God bless this "union?"
Catholic "Left" Hangs Itself
William Donohue writes:
Christ told us that we would always have the poor with us. Is there any doubt that this would include, not only those who suffer from not having even the barest necessities of life, but also those whose poverty of mind and spirit needs to be fed by truth and charity? Let us continue to pray for and educate these confused souls so that, perhaps one day if it be God's will, this country may be governed by morally upright people with common sense and and a deep, abiding respect for the sanctity of all human life.
of Donohue's article.
The Catholic Left is hanging itself right before our eyes. Having never come to grips with the Church's teachings on sexuality, they are now tightening the noose on themselves in public. It is not a pretty sight. This month alone they have embroiled themselves in a debate with three separate archbishops, with no end in sight.Haven't these so-called Catholics simply rejected the Faith?
Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City recently rebuked Catholic Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius for vetoing a bill imposing new restrictions on abortion providers. Indeed, he publicly urged her not to go to Communion. The archbishop was not shooting from the hip: He has met with Sebelius on several occasions regarding her pro-abortion position.
Catholic Left apologists like Catholic Democrats have blasted Archbishop Naumann for doing his job. But in doing so, they have exposed themselves as lining up behind a public official whose record on abortion makes a mockery of their game plan to reduce abortions....
"Roman Catholics for Obama '08" is another group on the Catholic Left that now looks rather enfeebled. They deliberately took Denver archbishop Charles Chaput's words out of context, making it look like he was in the tank for Obama. Nothing could be further from the truth.....Groups like this could just as easily call themselves "Roman Catholics for Abortion" or "Roman Catholics for Tyranny & Slavery" or "Roman Catholics for Hitler" (were he still living). Again, some of us find it impossible to refer to them as "Catholic", let alone Christian.
The third archbishop to become embroiled in a fight with the Catholic Left is Roger Cardinal Mahony of Los Angeles. Mahony has denied Australian bishop Geoffrey Robinson permission to speak in his archdiocese, citing his dissident positions. The Aussie bishop disagrees with the Catholic Church's teachings on adultery, women priests, homosexuality, and "papal power." And who is sponsoring Bishop Robinson in his grand tour of the United States? Voice of the Faithful (VOTF)....More accurately, "Voice of the UNFaithful." But so few seem to care. The good part is that the membership numbers of such dissident groups have been in decline for years and they continue to decline due to death or, thank God, miraculous awakenings to the truth.
At bottom, it is not the Catholic Left's quarrel with three archbishops that is doing them in; it is their total failure to convince Catholics (as well as non-Catholics) that it is okay to vote for NARAL-approved candidates for public office and then claim with a straight face that this adequately represents the Catholic position. Everyone knows this is bunk.Since neither the Catholic Left nor its 'agendas' are from God, we know that they will not survive. We are saddened, however, at the confusion they cause and loss of souls that they leave in their wake.
Christ told us that we would always have the poor with us. Is there any doubt that this would include, not only those who suffer from not having even the barest necessities of life, but also those whose poverty of mind and spirit needs to be fed by truth and charity? Let us continue to pray for and educate these confused souls so that, perhaps one day if it be God's will, this country may be governed by morally upright people with common sense and and a deep, abiding respect for the sanctity of all human life.
of Donohue's article.Nothing New Here...
The Telegraph posts an article about Hans Kung which is nothing more than a rehash of his constant complaints...
And where did Vatican 2 establish a "path of liberalisation"? This is what can happen when one fails to read, with the mind of the Church, the documents of any council. It's no different, really, than reading Scripture. He who reads the Scriptures after dismissing the Church's (or the Fathers') understanding can easily succumb to error or erroneous interpretations - as evidenced by the thousands upon thousands of 'Sola Scriptura' denominations. Kung seems to be no different in this regard.
Pope Benedict attacked by Catholic Church’s most senior theologiansI'm not certain than any faithful Catholic would dare suggest that Kung is one of the Church's "most senior theologians" unless he was referring to his 'age' - it certainly isn't doctrinal fidelity.
One of the Catholic Church’s most senior theologians, and former mentor to Pope
Benedict XVI, has launched a stinging attack on the Vatican.
Father Hans Küng, 80, a Swiss priest and professor at Tübingen university said it was a “tragedy” for the Catholic Church that Rome had failed to follow the path of liberalisation set out by the Vatican II council in 1965.
And where did Vatican 2 establish a "path of liberalisation"? This is what can happen when one fails to read, with the mind of the Church, the documents of any council. It's no different, really, than reading Scripture. He who reads the Scriptures after dismissing the Church's (or the Fathers') understanding can easily succumb to error or erroneous interpretations - as evidenced by the thousands upon thousands of 'Sola Scriptura' denominations. Kung seems to be no different in this regard.
...In an interview with La Repubblica, however, he said: “Rome continues to block every sort of renewal, and is blocking any ecumenical unification with the protestant and orthodox churches. This pope has made serious mistakes.”Kung, a pope in his own mind - we need to pray for him and for those who minds and hearts have been infected by his dissent, pride and rebellion.
Gospel for Friday, 7th Week in Ordinary Time
From: Mark 10:1-12
The Indissolubility of Marriage
[1] And He (Jesus) left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to Him again; and again, as His custom was, He taught them.
[2] And Pharisees came up and in order to test Him asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" [3] He answered them, "What did Moses command you?" [4] They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away." [5] But Jesus said to them, "For your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment. [6] But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.'; [7] `For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, [8] and the two shall become one.' So they are no longer two but one. [9] What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder."
[10] And in the house the disciples asked Him about this matter. [11] And He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; 12] and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."
_______________
Commentary:
1-12. This kind of scene occurs often in the Gospel. The malice of the Pharisees contrasts with the simplicity of the crowd, who listen attentively to Jesus' teaching. The Pharisees' question aimed at tricking Jesus into going against the Law of Moses. But Jesus Christ, Messiah and Son of God, has perfect understanding of that Law. Moses had permitted divorce because of the hardness of that ancient people: women had an ignominious position in those primitive tribes (they were regarded almost as animals or slaves); Moses, therefore, protected women's dignity against these abuses by devising the certificate of divorce; this was a real social advance. It was a document by which the husband repudiated his wife and she obtained freedom. Jesus restores to its original purity the dignity of man and woman in marriage, as instituted by God at the beginning of creation. "A man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24): in this way God established from the very beginning the unity and indissolubility of marriage. The Church's Magisterium, the only authorized interpreter of the Gospel and of the natural law, has constantly guarded and defended this teaching and has proclaimed it solemnly in countless documents (Council of Florence, "Pro Armeniis"; Council of Trent, "De Sacram. Matr."; Pius XI, "Casti Connubi"; Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 48; etc.).
Here is a good summary of this doctrine: "The indissolubility of marriage is not a caprice of the Church nor is it merely a positive ecclesiastical law. It is a precept of natural law, of divine law, and responds perfectly to our nature and to the supernatural order of grace" (St J. Escriva, "Conversations", 97). Cf. note on Matthew 5:31-32.
5-9. When a Christian realizes that this teaching applies to everyone at all times, he should not be afraid of people reacting against it: "It is a fundamental duty of the Church to reaffirm strongly [...] the doctrine of the indissolubility of marriage. To all those who, in our times, consider it too difficult, or indeed impossible, to be bound to one person for the whole of life, and to those caught up in a culture that rejects the indissolubility of marriage and openly mocks the commitment of spouses to fidelity, it is necessary to reaffirm the good news of the definitive nature of that conjugal love that has in Christ its foundation and strength (cf. Ephesians 5:25).
"Being rooted in the personal and total self-giving of the couple, and being required by the good of the children, the indissolubility of marriage finds its ultimate truth in the plan that God has manifested in His revelation: He wills and He communicates the indissolubility of marriage as a fruit, a sign and a requirement of the absolutely faithful love that God has for man and that the Lord Jesus has for the Church.
"Christ renews the first plan that the Creator inscribed in the hearts of man and woman, and in the celebration of the sacrament of matrimony offers `a new heart': thus the couples are not only able to overcome `hardness of heart' (Matthew 19:8), but also and above all they are able to share the full and definitive love of Christ, the new and eternal Covenant made flesh. Just as the Lord Jesus is the `faithful witness' (Revelation 3:14), the `yes' of the promises of God (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:20) and thus the supreme realization of the unconditional faithfulness with which God loves His people, so Christian couples are called to participate truly in the irrevocable indissolubility that binds Christ to the Church, His bride, loved by Him to the end (cf. John 13:1).
"To bear witness to the inestimable value of the indissolubility and fidelity of marriage is one of the most precious and most urgent tasks of Christian couples in our time" (John Paul II, "Familiaris Consortio", 20).
___________________________
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 Indissolubility of Marriage
[1] And He (Jesus) left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to Him again; and again, as His custom was, He taught them.
[2] And Pharisees came up and in order to test Him asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" [3] He answered them, "What did Moses command you?" [4] They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away." [5] But Jesus said to them, "For your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment. [6] But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.'; [7] `For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, [8] and the two shall become one.' So they are no longer two but one. [9] What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder."
[10] And in the house the disciples asked Him about this matter. [11] And He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; 12] and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."
_______________
Commentary:
1-12. This kind of scene occurs often in the Gospel. The malice of the Pharisees contrasts with the simplicity of the crowd, who listen attentively to Jesus' teaching. The Pharisees' question aimed at tricking Jesus into going against the Law of Moses. But Jesus Christ, Messiah and Son of God, has perfect understanding of that Law. Moses had permitted divorce because of the hardness of that ancient people: women had an ignominious position in those primitive tribes (they were regarded almost as animals or slaves); Moses, therefore, protected women's dignity against these abuses by devising the certificate of divorce; this was a real social advance. It was a document by which the husband repudiated his wife and she obtained freedom. Jesus restores to its original purity the dignity of man and woman in marriage, as instituted by God at the beginning of creation. "A man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24): in this way God established from the very beginning the unity and indissolubility of marriage. The Church's Magisterium, the only authorized interpreter of the Gospel and of the natural law, has constantly guarded and defended this teaching and has proclaimed it solemnly in countless documents (Council of Florence, "Pro Armeniis"; Council of Trent, "De Sacram. Matr."; Pius XI, "Casti Connubi"; Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 48; etc.).
Here is a good summary of this doctrine: "The indissolubility of marriage is not a caprice of the Church nor is it merely a positive ecclesiastical law. It is a precept of natural law, of divine law, and responds perfectly to our nature and to the supernatural order of grace" (St J. Escriva, "Conversations", 97). Cf. note on Matthew 5:31-32.
5-9. When a Christian realizes that this teaching applies to everyone at all times, he should not be afraid of people reacting against it: "It is a fundamental duty of the Church to reaffirm strongly [...] the doctrine of the indissolubility of marriage. To all those who, in our times, consider it too difficult, or indeed impossible, to be bound to one person for the whole of life, and to those caught up in a culture that rejects the indissolubility of marriage and openly mocks the commitment of spouses to fidelity, it is necessary to reaffirm the good news of the definitive nature of that conjugal love that has in Christ its foundation and strength (cf. Ephesians 5:25).
"Being rooted in the personal and total self-giving of the couple, and being required by the good of the children, the indissolubility of marriage finds its ultimate truth in the plan that God has manifested in His revelation: He wills and He communicates the indissolubility of marriage as a fruit, a sign and a requirement of the absolutely faithful love that God has for man and that the Lord Jesus has for the Church.
"Christ renews the first plan that the Creator inscribed in the hearts of man and woman, and in the celebration of the sacrament of matrimony offers `a new heart': thus the couples are not only able to overcome `hardness of heart' (Matthew 19:8), but also and above all they are able to share the full and definitive love of Christ, the new and eternal Covenant made flesh. Just as the Lord Jesus is the `faithful witness' (Revelation 3:14), the `yes' of the promises of God (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:20) and thus the supreme realization of the unconditional faithfulness with which God loves His people, so Christian couples are called to participate truly in the irrevocable indissolubility that binds Christ to the Church, His bride, loved by Him to the end (cf. John 13:1).
"To bear witness to the inestimable value of the indissolubility and fidelity of marriage is one of the most precious and most urgent tasks of Christian couples in our time" (John Paul II, "Familiaris Consortio", 20).
___________________________
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.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Thoughts and Counsels - May 23
Just for Today, May 23
There is then no sanctity, if Thou, O Lord, withdraw Thy hand. No chastity is secure without Thy protection. No guard that we can keep upon ourselves will profit us, if Thy ho1y providence watch not over us.
Oh! how humbly and lowly ought I to think of myself: how little ought I to esteem whatever good I may seem to have!
-Bk. III, ch. xiv.
______________
The lilies of my soul would droop,
And fade, if Jesus went;
The Lily of the Valley, He,
Preserves their spotless purity,
The fragrance of their scent.
-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.
Oh! how humbly and lowly ought I to think of myself: how little ought I to esteem whatever good I may seem to have!
-Bk. III, ch. xiv.
______________
The lilies of my soul would droop,
And fade, if Jesus went;
The Lily of the Valley, He,
Preserves their spotless purity,
The fragrance of their scent.
-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.
Meditation for May 23, Pettiness
It is most disconcerting after a few years in religion, to discover what pettiness exists in the religious life of some communities. We expected to find only nobility of soul, intense love of renunciation, joyful endurance in trial, faultless fraternal charity, a thirst for God so ardent that it absorbs every mean feeling...hence what surprise and what sorrow to discover more often than we ought, all sorts of pettiness without any graciousness, little meannesses, little envies, little disagreements, little infidelities.
Long experience is not necessary to confirm the fact that we are perhaps leading contributors to this chaplet of pettiness with beads both large and small.
We had imagined religious life a Paradise, and how far it is from heaven. It is not hell - at least - at least, God grant that it may not be! - and no one is a demon; but we might be strongly tempted to believe, at least some days, that it is surely purgatory.
First of all, we must not be surprised. However firm may be the desire for perfection, it remains, that as long as we are on this earth, we keep our poor human nature subject as it is to much misery.
We must have a better understanding of God's plans. We are more often tried by our friends than by our enemies. God so designs it that we may suffer because of those with whom we live, without their suspecting it and without their committing the least
fault. There is absolutely no malice and no ill will, only weakness, misunderstanding, and forgetfulness. It is the triumph of God that each one is mortified by the other without any offense to God.
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Long experience is not necessary to confirm the fact that we are perhaps leading contributors to this chaplet of pettiness with beads both large and small.
We had imagined religious life a Paradise, and how far it is from heaven. It is not hell - at least - at least, God grant that it may not be! - and no one is a demon; but we might be strongly tempted to believe, at least some days, that it is surely purgatory.
First of all, we must not be surprised. However firm may be the desire for perfection, it remains, that as long as we are on this earth, we keep our poor human nature subject as it is to much misery.
We must have a better understanding of God's plans. We are more often tried by our friends than by our enemies. God so designs it that we may suffer because of those with whom we live, without their suspecting it and without their committing the least
fault. There is absolutely no malice and no ill will, only weakness, misunderstanding, and forgetfulness. It is the triumph of God that each one is mortified by the other without any offense to God.
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Will I ever awake from this nightmare?
The legal status of "personhood" is denied by the irrational for unborn babies so that they can be murdered at will for the sake of convenience or body parts, yet...
European Court agrees to hear chimp's plea for human rights...
European Court agrees to hear chimp's plea for human rights...
Pope considering limits on concelebration?
Atheists Push Own Holidays
Haven't they been doing this for years?
Reason...so necessary but in such short supply.
...The Institute for Humanist Studies, an Albany, N.Y.-based nonprofit, is calling attention to its calendar of atheist holidays on its Web site, www.secular seasons.org. The group wants nonbelievers (or at least people who don't celebrate religious holidays) to have a handy reference guide of the calendar of holidays honoring free-thinkers, banned books and nature, among other themes.Festivus, Darwin Day, the solstices, National Day of Reason in May, and so many more....
Matt Cherry, executive director of the Institute for Humanist Studies, said his group is trying to expand options and alternatives for secular holidays. He said he hopes even people affiliated with a particular religion will consider the options.
"Some religious holidays are about culture and tradition, not theology," he says. "Even people who go to church only on Christmas or to synagogue on the High Holidays do so out of cultural heritage, not because they believe the religious doctrines associated with it...."
"This year, there will be almost 1,000 events for Darwin Day around the world," he said.That's almost "3 holidays" everyday. Let's party!!!
Reason...so necessary but in such short supply.
Minneapolis-"Union Blessing" for St. Stephen Staff Member Tonight
ALL ARE WELCOME!!!
From the May 11 St. Stephen Catholic Church bulletin:
http://www.ststephenscommunity.org/Library/upload/May%2011%20bulletin.pdf
*** Updated ***
Please remember to pray for the new priest assigned to this parish - his difficulties, no doubt, are many. (Thanks, Roamin' Roman)
HT to PC for the original link!
From the May 11 St. Stephen Catholic Church bulletin:
http://www.ststephenscommunity.org/Library/upload/May%2011%20bulletin.pdf
You are most warmly invited…"Gaychurch" and others list this parish as one of the most "gay friendly" in Minneapolis...
On May 24, 2007 we exchanged marriage vows at Bethany Covenant Village, the skilled nursing facility and new home of Florence Deaner, mother of Mary. As we near our first anniversary it would be our pleasure if you would join us as we seek the Church's blessing of our union. Thursday, May 22, 7:30 p.m., Church of St. Stephen, Dessert Reception to follow in the Church Basement.
Please reply by Friday, May 16, 612-789-4069. If possible, bring any spring flowers that are blooming in your yard to decorate the Church space. There are plenty of vases that can be filled! Thank you.
Mary Deaner and Ehud Snir.
ALL ARE WELCOME!!!
*** Updated ***
Please remember to pray for the new priest assigned to this parish - his difficulties, no doubt, are many. (Thanks, Roamin' Roman)
HT to PC for the original link!
Royal College Warns Abortions Can Lead to Mental Illness
Simple common sense should have informed the supporters of eugenics and infanticide this, but common sense is too troublesome when an agenda of evil must be carried out.
Women may be at risk of mental health breakdowns if they have abortions, a medical royal college has warned. The Royal College of Psychiatrists says women should not be allowed to have an abortion until they are counselled on the possible risk to their mental health.Consensus? A consensus of whom? Abortionists and others who make money killing the innocent?
This overturns the consensus that has stood for decades that the risk to mental health of continuing with an unwanted pregnancy outweighs the risks of living with the possible regrets of having an abortion.
More than 90% of the 200,000 terminations in Britain every year are believed to be carried out because doctors believe that continuing with the pregnancy would cause greater mental strainThey're all suffering "mental strain" - and this includes these so-called doctors.
Several studies, including research published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry in 2006, concluded that abortion in young women might be associated with risks of mental health problems.Shhhsssshhh! We can't let the facts get in the way of "choice" - the 'sacrament' of abortion is too important to let the truth be known. After all, where would the high priests/priestesses of the abortion industry get their children to continue their human sacrifices to Moloch? Cloning?
Dr Peter Saunders, general secretary of the Christian Medical Fellowship, said: “How can a doctor now justify an abortion [on mental health grounds] if psychiatrists are questioning whether there is any clear evidence that continuing with the pregnancy leads to mental health problems.”Answer: Money, greed,...and a perverted 'love' of evil...
Boston Archdiocese agrees to give up control of hospital system
BOSTON - The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston has agreed to give up control of its financially struggling chain of six eastern Massachusetts hospitals, but will still retain authority over moral and ethical issues, Attorney General Martha Coakley said Tuesday.
An independent board of governors will manage financial, strategic and operational affairs under changes proposed by church officials, Coakley said.
The archdiocese, however, will retain the right to reject any action proposed by the board and which may require its approval — provided that church officials file an advance written notice to the office of the state’s chief law enforcement official, Coakley said....
Fr. Frank Pavone Calls for Unified Action on Elections!
An email update:
Below is my column in English and Spanish. Before you read them, please note this important announcement.The column, Through the Church, can be read here.
Between now and Election Day 2008, I am going to host a series of conference calls with interested pro-life people from around the country who want to do something about the elections. You will have an opportunity to sign up to participate, and I will send you all the necessary instructions.
The “something” we ultimately have to do, of course, is to keep out of office the abortion proponents, and put into office those who will not stand in our way as we go about the business of ending abortion. We are not looking for political saviors. We are simply looking to put into office public servants who can tell the difference between serving the public and killing the public.
We do not expect them to do our work for us. We just want to make sure they’re not going to stand in our way.
At www.PoliticalResponsibility.org, you'll see more information about the coordinated action we will ask people to take nationwide, and a form where you can sign up to get involved.
Let me also provide you with the upcoming schedules for our own TV shows and Radio programming:
Hear us on EWTN radio on Catholic Connection with Teresa Tomeo. I am her guest every Wednesday at 9:30am ET and Janet Morana is her guest every Friday at 9:10am ET. For radio station information and to listen to the live show on the internet, go to www.avemariaradio.net
I will host an hour long pro-life radio show on Radio Maria, Thursday, May 22, from 2-3pm Eastern Time. For station information or to listen online go to www.radiomaria.us. You can call in with your questions for the live show at (866) 333-6279 or you can email your questions to questions@priestsforlife.org.
Defending Life: Watch on EWTN every Friday at 10pm ET and Saturday at 2:30am ET. Listen on EWTN radio every Friday at 1am ET, Saturday at 6:30pm ET and Sunday at 5am ET.
May 23-24: The Embryonic Moment
May 31: Elections, Churches and the Law (Defending Life will be preempted on May 30)
Gospel of Life: Watch on the Angel One channel 101 on Sky Angel IPTV or Angle One channel 262 on the Dish Network: Monday at 8:00am, Wednesday at 11:30pm and Thursday at 8:30am. Watch on Catholic Familyland: Sunday at 1am, Monday at 9am, Wednesday at 3:30am and Thursday at 11:30pm (All Times Eastern). Listen to Gospel of Life episodes on the web at www.gospeloflife.com/tv
Week of May 19: Youth Defending Life. Guest: Karen Garnett of the Catholic Pro-Life Committee
Week of May 26: The A.C.O.G Bluff (American College of OBGYN's). Guest: Mark Crutcher of Life Dynamics
Life on the Line radio program. Go to www.lifeontheline.com/listen/index.htm for stations and airing times.
May 24-25: Facing Hard Truths. In the first of a five-part series Fr. Pavone talks with Psychiatrist Dr. Philip Ney about the first step on the road to recovery from Abortion Guilt.
May 31-June 1: Abortion is Not Medicine. In the second of a five-part series Fr. Pavone talks with Psychiatrist Dr. Philip Ney about the lack of medical benefit found in abortion and the harmful secrets it creates.
Please tune in and spread the word! In fact, you can help us – and your whole parish -- by asking your pastor to place in the parish bulletin an announcement about our TV shows. Thanks in advance!
Blessings and prayers,
Fr. Frank Pavone, M.E.V.
National Director, Priests for Life
The 'Generosity' of the United Nations
Bangkok - The United Nations will send nearly a quarter of a million condoms into cyclone-hit Myanmar to help needy survivors with no access to contraceptives, a UN official says.Maybe the condomns are edible? What a worthless organiztion!
So far, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said it had sent 72 800 condoms to survivors struggling to maintain their family planning after the storm hit in early May.
A total of 218 400 condoms would be delivered, UNFPA aid advisor Chaiyos Kunanusont said.
"We don't want regular use of contraception disrupted. An emergency usually damages the health system, so people don't have access to condoms and contraceptives," said Chaiyos...
Michelle Obama Penned Letter Defending Partial-Birth Abortions in 2004
What sick, demented people...
...in February 2004, Michelle Obama penned a fundraising letter to help her husband Barack [Hussein] raise funds for his Illinois-based Senate seat.Death peddlers, all! I wonder how she and Margaret Sanger would have gotten along?
The letter contends the federal ban on partial-birth abortions "is clearly unconstitutional" and "a flawed law."
Though the three-day-long partial-birth abortion procedure involves the partial birth of a baby during the middle trimester of pregnancy and the jamming of scissors into the back of her head to kill her, Obama's wife describes it as "legitimate" medicine....
In closing, Obama told prospective donors that they could "count on" Barack to "keep the Bush team from appointing the Supreme Court justice that will vote against Roe v. Wade."
Catholic school sued over English-only policy....
Not mentioned is whether these agitators are illegals or if the children are "anchor babies."
One might also wonder that if the kids are bi-lingual U.S. citizens, what problem is there with requiring them to speak English? Emotional suffering? God help us!
Maybe the policy should be changed - to Latin only?
Wichita, May 21, 2008 / 06:14 pm (CNA).- A Catholic school in Wichita is being sued by four Hispanic families over a policy that requires students to speak English in school at all times."Anchor babies"??? One might wonder who's paying the tuition for these students. Perhaps a Mexican school would serve their needs better?
The Associated Press reports that the lawsuit filed against St. Anne’s Catholic School on Monday seeks to end the policy and to secure an order barring similar policies at other diocesan schools. The suit also seeks to allow the return of one student who was allegedly kicked out for refusing to sign the “English only” pledge. It asks for court costs and unspecified damages for discrimination and emotional suffering.
Parents Mike and Clara Silva, Maria and Fermin Fernandez, Guadalupe Cruz-Tello and Alma Contreras filed the lawsuit on behalf of themselves and their minor children. The lawsuit names as defendants St. Anne Catholic School, Principal Margaret Nugent, St. Anne Catholic Parish, and the Catholic Diocese of Wichita.
The diocese said the school instituted the policy in response to four students who were using Spanish to bully others and to put down teachers and administrators. The majority of the school’s 243 students are white, while 75 students are Hispanic, 27 are Asian, and two are black.
According to court documents, the students named in the lawsuit are bilingual U.S. citizens with no disciplinary record....
One might also wonder that if the kids are bi-lingual U.S. citizens, what problem is there with requiring them to speak English? Emotional suffering? God help us!
Maybe the policy should be changed - to Latin only?
Gospel for Thursday, 7th Week in Ordinary Time
Optional Memorial of Saint Rita of Cascia, religious
Old Calendar: Corpus Christi
From: Mark 9:41-50
Scandal
[41] "For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose his reward.
[42] "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. [43] And if your hand causes you to sin cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. [45] And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. [47] And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, [48] where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. [49] For every one will be salted with fire. [50] Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."
____________________
Commentary:
41. The value and merit of good works lies mainly in the love of God with which they are done: "A little act, done for love, is worth so much" (J. Escriva, "The Way", 814). God regards in a special way acts of service to others, however small: "Do you see that glass of water or that piece of bread which a holy soul gives to a poor person for God's sake; it is a small matter, God knows, and in human judgment hardly worthy of consideration: God, notwithstanding, recompenses it, and forthwith gives for it some increase of charity" (St Francis de Sales, "Treatise on the Love of God", book 2, chap. 2).
42. "Scandal is anything said, done or omitted which leads another to commit sin" ("St Pius X Catechism", 417). Scandal is called, and is, diabolical when the aim of the scandal-giver is to provoke his neighbor to sin, understanding sin as offense against God. Since sin is the greatest of all evils, it is easy to understand why scandal is so serious and, therefore, why Christ condemns it so roundly. Causing scandal to children is especially serious, because they are so less able to defend themselves against evil. What Christ says applies to everyone, but especially to parents and teachers, who are responsible before God for the souls of the young.
43. "Hell", literally "Gehenna" or "Ge-hinnom", was a little valley south of Jerusalem, outside the walls and below the city. For centuries it was used as the city dump. Usually garbage was burned to avoid it being a focus of infection. Gehenna was, proverbially, an unclean and unhealthy place: our Lord used this to explain in a graphic way the unquenchable fire of hell.
43-48. After teaching the obligation everyone has to avoid giving scandal to others, Jesus now gives the basis of Christian moral teaching on the subject of "occasions of sin"--situations liable to lead to sin. He is very explicit: a person is obliged to avoid proximate occasions of sin, just as he is obliged to avoid sin itself; as God already put it in the Old Testament: "Whoever lives in dangerwill perish by it" (Sir 3:26-27). The eternal good of our soul is more important than any temporal good. Therefore, anything that places us in proximate danger of committing sin should be cut off and thrown away. By putting things in this way our Lord makes sure we recognize the seriousness of this obligation.
The Fathers see, in these references to hands and eyes and so forth, people who are persistent in evil and ever-ready to entice others to evil behavior and erroneous beliefs. These are the people we should distance ourselves from, so as to enter life, rather than accompany them to hell (St Augustine, "De Consensu Evangelistarum", IV, 16; St John Chrysostom, "Hom. on St Matthew", 60).
44. "Where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched": these words constituting v. 44 are not in the better manuscripts. They are taken from Isaiah 66:24 and are repeated as a kind of refrain in vv. 46 (omitted for the same reason as v. 44) and 48. Our Lord uses them to refer to the torments of hell. Often "the worm that does not die" is explained as the eternal remorse felt by those in hell; and the "fire which is not quenched," as their physical pain. The Fathers also say that both things may possibly refer to physical torments. In any case, the punishment in question is terrible and unending.
49-50. "Every one will be salted with fire." St Bede comments on these words: "Everyone will be salted with fire, says Jesus, because spiritual wisdom must purify all the elect of any kind of corruption through carnal desire. Or he may be speaking of the fire of tribulation, which exercises the patience of the faithful to enable them to reach perfection" (St Bede, "In Marci Evangelium expositio, in loc.").
Some codexes add: "and every sacrifice will be salted with salt". This phrase in Leviticus (2:12), prescribed that all sacrificial offerings should be seasoned with salt to prevent corruption. This prescription of the Old Testament is used here to teach Christians to offer themselves as pleasing victims, impregnated with the spirit of the Gospel, symbolized by salt. Our Lord's address, which arises out of a dispute over who is the greatest, ends with a lesson about fraternal peace and charity. On salt which has lost its taste cf. note on Mt 5:13.
___________________________
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.
Old Calendar: Corpus Christi
From: Mark 9:41-50
Scandal
[41] "For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose his reward.
[42] "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. [43] And if your hand causes you to sin cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. [45] And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. [47] And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, [48] where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. [49] For every one will be salted with fire. [50] Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."
____________________
Commentary:
41. The value and merit of good works lies mainly in the love of God with which they are done: "A little act, done for love, is worth so much" (J. Escriva, "The Way", 814). God regards in a special way acts of service to others, however small: "Do you see that glass of water or that piece of bread which a holy soul gives to a poor person for God's sake; it is a small matter, God knows, and in human judgment hardly worthy of consideration: God, notwithstanding, recompenses it, and forthwith gives for it some increase of charity" (St Francis de Sales, "Treatise on the Love of God", book 2, chap. 2).
42. "Scandal is anything said, done or omitted which leads another to commit sin" ("St Pius X Catechism", 417). Scandal is called, and is, diabolical when the aim of the scandal-giver is to provoke his neighbor to sin, understanding sin as offense against God. Since sin is the greatest of all evils, it is easy to understand why scandal is so serious and, therefore, why Christ condemns it so roundly. Causing scandal to children is especially serious, because they are so less able to defend themselves against evil. What Christ says applies to everyone, but especially to parents and teachers, who are responsible before God for the souls of the young.
43. "Hell", literally "Gehenna" or "Ge-hinnom", was a little valley south of Jerusalem, outside the walls and below the city. For centuries it was used as the city dump. Usually garbage was burned to avoid it being a focus of infection. Gehenna was, proverbially, an unclean and unhealthy place: our Lord used this to explain in a graphic way the unquenchable fire of hell.
43-48. After teaching the obligation everyone has to avoid giving scandal to others, Jesus now gives the basis of Christian moral teaching on the subject of "occasions of sin"--situations liable to lead to sin. He is very explicit: a person is obliged to avoid proximate occasions of sin, just as he is obliged to avoid sin itself; as God already put it in the Old Testament: "Whoever lives in dangerwill perish by it" (Sir 3:26-27). The eternal good of our soul is more important than any temporal good. Therefore, anything that places us in proximate danger of committing sin should be cut off and thrown away. By putting things in this way our Lord makes sure we recognize the seriousness of this obligation.
The Fathers see, in these references to hands and eyes and so forth, people who are persistent in evil and ever-ready to entice others to evil behavior and erroneous beliefs. These are the people we should distance ourselves from, so as to enter life, rather than accompany them to hell (St Augustine, "De Consensu Evangelistarum", IV, 16; St John Chrysostom, "Hom. on St Matthew", 60).
44. "Where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched": these words constituting v. 44 are not in the better manuscripts. They are taken from Isaiah 66:24 and are repeated as a kind of refrain in vv. 46 (omitted for the same reason as v. 44) and 48. Our Lord uses them to refer to the torments of hell. Often "the worm that does not die" is explained as the eternal remorse felt by those in hell; and the "fire which is not quenched," as their physical pain. The Fathers also say that both things may possibly refer to physical torments. In any case, the punishment in question is terrible and unending.
49-50. "Every one will be salted with fire." St Bede comments on these words: "Everyone will be salted with fire, says Jesus, because spiritual wisdom must purify all the elect of any kind of corruption through carnal desire. Or he may be speaking of the fire of tribulation, which exercises the patience of the faithful to enable them to reach perfection" (St Bede, "In Marci Evangelium expositio, in loc.").
Some codexes add: "and every sacrifice will be salted with salt". This phrase in Leviticus (2:12), prescribed that all sacrificial offerings should be seasoned with salt to prevent corruption. This prescription of the Old Testament is used here to teach Christians to offer themselves as pleasing victims, impregnated with the spirit of the Gospel, symbolized by salt. Our Lord's address, which arises out of a dispute over who is the greatest, ends with a lesson about fraternal peace and charity. On salt which has lost its taste cf. note on Mt 5:13.
___________________________
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, May 21, 2008
Just for Today, May 22
It is a great honour, a great glory, to serve Thee and to despise all things for Thee. For they who willingly subject themselves to Thy most holy service shall have a great grace. They shall find the most sweet consolations of the Holy Ghost who for the love of Thee have cast away all carnal delights.
O service worthy to be embraced and always to be wished for, which leads to the Supreme Good, and procures a joy that will never end!
-Bk. III, ch. x.
_____________
If in the midst of our earthly combat and suffering the thought that God has called us out of the world gives us such joy; what will it not be in Heaven, where in eternal glory and endless rest, we shall see what an immense grace we received when we were chosen to dwell in God's house, the very gate of Heaven.
-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.
O service worthy to be embraced and always to be wished for, which leads to the Supreme Good, and procures a joy that will never end!
-Bk. III, ch. x.
_____________
If in the midst of our earthly combat and suffering the thought that God has called us out of the world gives us such joy; what will it not be in Heaven, where in eternal glory and endless rest, we shall see what an immense grace we received when we were chosen to dwell in God's house, the very gate of Heaven.
-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 - May 22
May the two names so sweet and so powerful, of Jesus and Mary, be always in our hearts and on our lips!
-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 22, Joy in the Truth
A writer who was far from the truth but who was tormented by a desire to possess it, put these words on the lips of two of his characters to express the state of his soul:
"Speak to me, tell me what is on your mind. What do you need?"
The other lowered his eyes and answered: "What I need you cannot give me."
"What is it then?"
"Peace, joy, an immortal soul and God."
What a torment it must be to be perpetually groping in the dark, reaching toward a ray of hope which continually evades the grasp; to be shut in an opaque enclosure with no means of escape, to be as a caged squirrel at bay turning with ever increasing swiftness without finding a means of escape.
To know, to possess the truth, not to wander perpetually without the faintest idea of where one is going, but on the contrary to expand in the light; not an inert, cold light, but an ardent, comforting light, warm because it is living; because it is not a mere abstraction but a Person, He even who said: I am the Light, and of whom it can be said, Deus est caritas, God is charity; He is perfect Love, infinite Love.
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
"Speak to me, tell me what is on your mind. What do you need?"
The other lowered his eyes and answered: "What I need you cannot give me."
"What is it then?"
"Peace, joy, an immortal soul and God."
What a torment it must be to be perpetually groping in the dark, reaching toward a ray of hope which continually evades the grasp; to be shut in an opaque enclosure with no means of escape, to be as a caged squirrel at bay turning with ever increasing swiftness without finding a means of escape.
To know, to possess the truth, not to wander perpetually without the faintest idea of where one is going, but on the contrary to expand in the light; not an inert, cold light, but an ardent, comforting light, warm because it is living; because it is not a mere abstraction but a Person, He even who said: I am the Light, and of whom it can be said, Deus est caritas, God is charity; He is perfect Love, infinite Love.
"O God, I thank You for having been until this time the sunshine of my life. It is like the gift of sight. I have enjoyed it without remembering to thank You for it. In the future I want to be more attentive, and even more exultant in my joy; I wish to sing Your infinite Goodness - this is true joy."_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Pope to Visit Tomb of Australia's Saint-In-Waiting
SYDNEY, May 20, 2008 -- Pope to Visit Tomb of Blessed Mary MacKillop
by Andrew Rabel
It was confirmed today that Pope Benedict XVI will pray at the tomb of Bl Mary MacKillop (1842-1909), when he visits Sydney in July for World Youth Day celebrations.
Mary MacKillop was a 19th century nun who was a pioneer of Australia's Catholic school system. Her misunderstandings with Catholic bishops of the time led to her excommunication (which was soon lifted) and later on banishment from the city of Adelaide, among other things.
This never stopped the Melbourne born religious and social worker, from her tireless work in the order she co-founded, the Sisters of St Joseph on behalf of poor and abandoned children......
Bishop Vigneron calls on the faithful to stand in defense of marriage
The California Supreme Court’s decision last Thursday legalizing homosexual marriage “is a profoundly significant matter,” inviting “pastoral support and guidance,” wrote Bishop Allen Vigneron in a pastoral message “to the Faithful of the Oakland Diocese.” Bishop Vigneron asked his priests to read the message at Masses last weekend.
Vigneron said his “relatively brief” message could not address “all that needs to be said in a full discussion of this question;” but, it would “offer some strategic points that give us a sense of our situation....”
Reports On Cara, Pew Research Part Of June Bishops’ Meeting
WASHINGTON—Reports on research on the Catholic Church from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) and the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life will be presented at the June meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Orlando, Florida....This is the week following Gay Days in Orlando...
[snip]
The bishops’ spring meeting will be June 12-14 at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando, Florida....
Isn't the Pew study the one that shows how many "Catholics" disagree with Church teaching and discipline?
We hope that the light bulbs will go off and most will see the devastation wrought by 40 years of failing to uphold the teachings of the Church...Wishful thinking?
Gospel for Wednesday, 7th Week in Ordinary Time
Optional Memorial of St. Christopher Magallanes, priest and martyr, and his companions, martyrs; Optional Memorial of St. Eugene de Mazenod, bishop (Canada)
From: Mark 9:38-40
Being the Servant of All
[38] John said to Him (Jesus), "Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us." [39] But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in My name will be able soon after to speak evil of Me. [40] For he that is not against us is for us."
_____________
Commentary:
38-40. Our Lord warns the Apostles, and through them all Christians, against exclusivism in the apostolate--the notion that "good is not good unless I am the one who does it." We must assimilate this teaching of Christ's: good is good, even if it is not I who do it. Cf. note on Luke 9:49-50.
[The note on Luke 9:49-50 states:
49-50. Our Lord corrects the exclusivist and intolerant attitude of the Apostles. St Paul later learned this lesson, as we can see from what he wrote during his imprisonment in Rome: "Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will [...]. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in that I rejoice" (Philippians 1:15, 18). "Rejoice, when you see others working in good apostolic activities. And ask God to grant them abundant grace and that they may respond to that grace. Then, you, on your way: convince yourself that it's the only way for you" (St J. Escriva, "The Way", 965).]
___________________________
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: Mark 9:38-40
Being the Servant of All
[38] John said to Him (Jesus), "Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us." [39] But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in My name will be able soon after to speak evil of Me. [40] For he that is not against us is for us."
_____________
Commentary:
38-40. Our Lord warns the Apostles, and through them all Christians, against exclusivism in the apostolate--the notion that "good is not good unless I am the one who does it." We must assimilate this teaching of Christ's: good is good, even if it is not I who do it. Cf. note on Luke 9:49-50.
[The note on Luke 9:49-50 states:
49-50. Our Lord corrects the exclusivist and intolerant attitude of the Apostles. St Paul later learned this lesson, as we can see from what he wrote during his imprisonment in Rome: "Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will [...]. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in that I rejoice" (Philippians 1:15, 18). "Rejoice, when you see others working in good apostolic activities. And ask God to grant them abundant grace and that they may respond to that grace. Then, you, on your way: convince yourself that it's the only way for you" (St J. Escriva, "The Way", 965).]
___________________________
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, May 20, 2008
Just for Today, May 21
Take courage then, and be brave, both in doing and in suffering things repugnant to nature. Thou must put on the new man, and be changed into another man. Thou must oftentimes do that which is against thy inclination, and let alone that which thou art inclined to do.
But consider, son, the fruit of these labours, how quickly they will end, and their exceeding great reward, and thou wilt not be troubled at them, but strongly comforted in thy suffering.
-Bk. III, ch. xlix.
_________________
If my life were to be prolonged, I would prefer the office of infirmarian to any other. I would not ask for it, but if it were given to me as an obedience, I should consider myself very privileged. I would do my work lovingly, remembering Our Lord's words: I was sick and you visited me (Matt. xxv, 36). The sound of the infirmary bell should be like heavenly music in your ears. You ought to make a point of passing beneath the infirmary windows, so that the sick may be able to call you and ask some service, as though you were a little slave that everyone had the right to command. If you could but see the Angels watching from Heaven our combat on earth, ready to crown us at the end! If we profess to be little martyrs, we must earn our palm. God does not despise these struggles, all the more meritorious for being hidden: The patient man is better than the valiant: and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh cities (Prov. xvi, 32).
By the little acts of charity we perform in secret, we convert souls in distant lands, we help the missionaries and obtain abundant alms for them, thus building both spiritual and material tabernacles for Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
-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.
But consider, son, the fruit of these labours, how quickly they will end, and their exceeding great reward, and thou wilt not be troubled at them, but strongly comforted in thy suffering.
-Bk. III, ch. xlix.
_________________
If my life were to be prolonged, I would prefer the office of infirmarian to any other. I would not ask for it, but if it were given to me as an obedience, I should consider myself very privileged. I would do my work lovingly, remembering Our Lord's words: I was sick and you visited me (Matt. xxv, 36). The sound of the infirmary bell should be like heavenly music in your ears. You ought to make a point of passing beneath the infirmary windows, so that the sick may be able to call you and ask some service, as though you were a little slave that everyone had the right to command. If you could but see the Angels watching from Heaven our combat on earth, ready to crown us at the end! If we profess to be little martyrs, we must earn our palm. God does not despise these struggles, all the more meritorious for being hidden: The patient man is better than the valiant: and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh cities (Prov. xvi, 32).
By the little acts of charity we perform in secret, we convert souls in distant lands, we help the missionaries and obtain abundant alms for them, thus building both spiritual and material tabernacles for Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
-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 - May 21
O most blessed Virgin, who declarest in thy Canticle that it is owing to thy humility that God hath done great things in thee, obtain for me the grace to imitate thee, that is, to be obedient; because to obey is to practise humility.
-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)
May 31-Archbishop Burke to visit newly founded St. Gianna Parish
Archbishop Raymond Burke will preside at a Mass at St. Gianna parish on Saturday May 31 and enthrone a picture of the parish's patron saint as well as share his experiences of meeting the husband and other living family members of this modern day saint.For more information please contact the parish office at (636) 625-6012 or see www.stgiannaparish.org
The program will begin with Mass at 5:00PM followed by a short ceremony where of a picture and relic of St. Gianna will be presented to the parish by Thomas McKenna, president of the St. Gianna Physician's Guild . After the ceremony light refreshments will be served and Archbishop Burke and Mr. McKenna will tell about the life of this inspiring saint as well as share many pictures and stories of their meetings with family members and the places where St. Gianna lived.
The new parish is located in Lake St. Louis west of Highway 40/Interstate 64 near a Catholic cemetery and currently is using a temporary facility as they prepare to build a new church on 25 acres at Highway N near Highway Z between Dardenne Prairie and Wentzville.
"We are very pleased and honored to have Archbishop Burke coming to visit our parish," said the pastor. Rev. Timothy Elliot. "We welcome neighboring parishes as well as others from around the diocese who would like to share this inspiring occasion with us," he continued.
As an Italian physician, wife and mother, St. Gianna was best known for her refusal to have a medical procedure after being diagnosed with a uterine tumor, which would have resulted in the loss of her unborn child. Her death has been called a testament to the value of the unborn. The saint, who died in 1962, was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2004.
Meditation for May 21, On Keeping Peace
It is certainly permissible to try to excel in fidelity, so much the better indeed, if no one surpasses me in that respect.
I am concerned in this meditation with disagreements and rivalry.
In these things I must never be the first one to open fire.
As someone has said: "It takes two to make a quarrel, never be the first."
If no one ever begins ~ you can guess the rest. Should someone begin, however, don't be the second. It is unbelievable what bitter words two people can say to each other and what abominable tricks they can play when they no longer agree.
A good means to avoid a dispute is to know how to remain silent. When St. Monica's husband came home in a rage, she was very careful not to say anything. And this imperturbable serenity was a thousand times more effective than reproaches or attempts to bring him to time, which were decidedly inopportune as long as the storm lasted.
I must distrust my sensitiveness, hasty judgments, opinions formed more through passion than a sane view of persons and things. I must distrust decisions based on inclinations and groundless accusations; they are usually only the utterings of self-love, or unbridled pride which flies into a passion, or frequently, a misunderstanding of the exact situation.
An upright spirit; a noble heart; a good bit of intelligence and a great deal of charity - that is what assures peace.
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
I am concerned in this meditation with disagreements and rivalry.
In these things I must never be the first one to open fire.
As someone has said: "It takes two to make a quarrel, never be the first."
If no one ever begins ~ you can guess the rest. Should someone begin, however, don't be the second. It is unbelievable what bitter words two people can say to each other and what abominable tricks they can play when they no longer agree.
A good means to avoid a dispute is to know how to remain silent. When St. Monica's husband came home in a rage, she was very careful not to say anything. And this imperturbable serenity was a thousand times more effective than reproaches or attempts to bring him to time, which were decidedly inopportune as long as the storm lasted.
I must distrust my sensitiveness, hasty judgments, opinions formed more through passion than a sane view of persons and things. I must distrust decisions based on inclinations and groundless accusations; they are usually only the utterings of self-love, or unbridled pride which flies into a passion, or frequently, a misunderstanding of the exact situation.
An upright spirit; a noble heart; a good bit of intelligence and a great deal of charity - that is what assures peace.
"Lord, I wish to be as the Book of Proverbs counsels, Always more prompt to listen than to speak. And if someone speaks to me unkindly, I must carry out the counsel completely: I have not been the first, nor will I be the second."_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Theater of the Word's Kevin O'Brien on EWTN May 21
Kevin O'Brien on EWTN LIVE!
Kevin will be on live with Fr. Mitch Pacwa on Wednesday night, May 21 @ 7:00. Click here to find out more!
Kevin will be on live with Fr. Mitch Pacwa on Wednesday night, May 21 @ 7:00. Click here to find out more!
Speaking of Pigs Flying...
....How's this?
Archbishop Chaput Calls on "Catholic" Obama Supporters to Ask Him to Oppose Abortion
Sure, stranger things have happened - but....
More at LifeNews.com.
Archbishop Chaput Calls on "Catholic" Obama Supporters to Ask Him to Oppose Abortion
Sure, stranger things have happened - but....
Denver, CO (LifeNews.com) -- In the latest development of the saga over a group of Catholics who are supporting Barack Obama for president despite his pro-abortion position, Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput is weighing in. Chaput says the Catholics should following the church's pro-life teaching and get Obama to do so as well....As the the title says, when pigs fly - which may not be that far off now that the UK has embarked on its freakish experiments.
... Chaput said he can't support candidates who are pro-abortion and he urged Catholics not to do so either.Looks to be another interesting election season, especially with professed Catholics who reject the Church's perennial teachings.
"So can a Catholic in good conscience vote for a pro-choice candidate? The answer is: I can't, and I won't," he wrote. "But I do know some serious Catholics -- people whom I admire -- who may. I think their reasoning is mistaken."
Some Catholics who back Obama say they do so because he takes stands on other issues such as war, poverty or the death penalty that impact people's lives. But Chaput doesn't buy it, especially given the enormous loss of live and injuries to people like women and unborn children victimized by abortion....
More at LifeNews.com.
Cardinal Mahony bars Australian bishop with “doctrinal difficulties” from archdiocese
Los Angeles, May 19, 2008 / 07:10 pm (CNA).- Cardinal Roger Mahony has denied an Australian bishop permission to speak in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles after the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference issued a statement warning of “doctrinal difficulties” present in the bishop’s writings.
In 2007 Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, the retired auxiliary bishop of Sydney, published a book titled “Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church: Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus.” Bishop Robinson argued in his book that because the Church refuses to reexamine Catholic teachings on extramarital sex, women priests, homosexuality, and papal power, the Church is not serious about responding to clerical sexual abuse but is only “managing” it....
Anglican Bishop Calls for Homosexual Christianity
LONDON, May 16, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Anglican Church is the perfect vehicle for creating a new “gay” Christianity by virtue of the fact that it is the only church that accepts the logical contradiction of asserting both the sanctity of human life and the existence of a right to abortion.We witness today, how perversion, sexual immorality, and sin contribute to not only to the loss of grace in one's soul but also the death of one's abililty to think clearly. The mind becomes muddled and confused, unwilling to face reality and truth. It substitutes the lies of the evil one for the truths of God. The confused soul really begins to believe that his sin id approved by God.
Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson, whose ordination to the episcopate has precipitated the ongoing schism between traditionally Christian Anglicans and its ultra-liberal, secularized branches, is in London to talk about his vision for the homosexual future of the Anglican Church. He was visiting and promoting his cause in preparation for the upcoming Lambeth Conference in July.
He told an admiring audience in Putney, in southwest London, that Anglicanism is uniquely suited to the establishment of the contradiction of homosexual Christianity....
Robinson is a long-time supporter of abortion. In 2005, he...told Planned Parenthood, “We have to take back those Scriptures.....”
Robinson asserts that the acceptance of homosexuality was part of the teaching that the Holy Spirit was to give the Church later....
Gospel for Tuesday, 7th Week in Ordinary Time
Optional Memorial of St. Bernardine of Siena, priest
Old Calendar: St. Bernadine of Siena, confessor
From: Mark 9:30-37
Second Prophecy of the Passion
[30] They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And He (Jesus) would not have any one know it; [31] for He was teaching His disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He is killed, after three days He will rise." [32] But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask Him.
Being the Servant of All
[33] And they came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house He asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?" [34] But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest. [35] And He sat down and called the Twelve; and He said to them, "If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." [36] And He took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in His arms, He said to them, [37] "Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me".
______________________
Commentary:
30-32. Although moved when He sees the crowds like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36), Jesus leaves them, to devote time to careful instruction of the Apostles. He retires with them to out-of-the-way places, and there He explains points of His public preaching which they had not understood (Matthew 13:36). Here, specifically, for a second time, He announces His death and resurrection.
In His relationships with souls Jesus acts in the same way: He calls man to be with him in the quiet of prayer and there He teaches him about His more intimate plans and about the more demanding side of the Christian life. Later, like the Apostles, Christians were to spread this teaching to the ends of the earth.
34-35. Jesus uses this argument going on behind his back to teach His disciples about how authority should be exercised in His Church--not by lording it over other, but by serving them. In fulfilling His own mission to found the Church whose head and supreme lawgiver He is, He came to serve and not to be served (Matthew 20:28).
Anyone who does not strive to have this attitude of self-forgetful service, not only lacks one of the main pre-requisites for proper exercise of authority but also runs the risk of being motivated by ambition or pride. "To be in charge of an apostolic undertaking demands readiness to suffer everything, from everybody, with infinite charity" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 951).
36-37. To demonstrate to His Apostles the abnegation and humility needed in their ministry, He takes a child into His arms and explains the meaning of this gesture: if we receive for Christ's sake those who have little importance in the world's eyes, it is as if we are embracing Christ Himself and the Father who sent Him. This little child whom Jesus embraces represents every child in the world, and everyone who is needy, helpless, poor or sick--people who are not naturally attractive.
___________________________
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.
Old Calendar: St. Bernadine of Siena, confessor
From: Mark 9:30-37
Second Prophecy of the Passion
[30] They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And He (Jesus) would not have any one know it; [31] for He was teaching His disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He is killed, after three days He will rise." [32] But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask Him.
Being the Servant of All
[33] And they came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house He asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?" [34] But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest. [35] And He sat down and called the Twelve; and He said to them, "If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." [36] And He took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in His arms, He said to them, [37] "Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me".
______________________
Commentary:
30-32. Although moved when He sees the crowds like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36), Jesus leaves them, to devote time to careful instruction of the Apostles. He retires with them to out-of-the-way places, and there He explains points of His public preaching which they had not understood (Matthew 13:36). Here, specifically, for a second time, He announces His death and resurrection.
In His relationships with souls Jesus acts in the same way: He calls man to be with him in the quiet of prayer and there He teaches him about His more intimate plans and about the more demanding side of the Christian life. Later, like the Apostles, Christians were to spread this teaching to the ends of the earth.
34-35. Jesus uses this argument going on behind his back to teach His disciples about how authority should be exercised in His Church--not by lording it over other, but by serving them. In fulfilling His own mission to found the Church whose head and supreme lawgiver He is, He came to serve and not to be served (Matthew 20:28).
Anyone who does not strive to have this attitude of self-forgetful service, not only lacks one of the main pre-requisites for proper exercise of authority but also runs the risk of being motivated by ambition or pride. "To be in charge of an apostolic undertaking demands readiness to suffer everything, from everybody, with infinite charity" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 951).
36-37. To demonstrate to His Apostles the abnegation and humility needed in their ministry, He takes a child into His arms and explains the meaning of this gesture: if we receive for Christ's sake those who have little importance in the world's eyes, it is as if we are embracing Christ Himself and the Father who sent Him. This little child whom Jesus embraces represents every child in the world, and everyone who is needy, helpless, poor or sick--people who are not naturally attractive.
___________________________
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, May 19, 2008
Just for Today, May 20
Who will give me, O Lord, to find Thee alone, that I may open my whole heart to Thee, and enjoy Thee as my soul desireth; no one beholding me, nor any creature interesting me, or at all affecting me, but Thou alone speaking to me, and I to Thee, as the beloved is wont to speak to his beloved, and a friend to entertain himself with his friend?
-Bk. IV, ch. xiii.
_________________
To live by love is to live Thy life,
O Joy of the blessed, my King!
Who under a little white host dost conceal
Thy glory the Seraphim sing.
For Thy sake I choose to live hidden, alone,
- True lovers a solitude seek -
Day and night in Thy presence my vigil I keep,
Face to face with my Lord I will speak.
-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. IV, ch. xiii.
_________________
To live by love is to live Thy life,
O Joy of the blessed, my King!
Who under a little white host dost conceal
Thy glory the Seraphim sing.
For Thy sake I choose to live hidden, alone,
- True lovers a solitude seek -
Day and night in Thy presence my vigil I keep,
Face to face with my Lord I will speak.
-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 - May 20
O Queen of heaven and earth! The universe would perish before thou couldst refuse aid to one who invokes thee from the depth of his heart.
-Bl. Henry Suso.
________________________
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)
-Bl. Henry Suso.
________________________
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)
Archbishop Burke inspired vocations explosion
Once or twice a year, each student at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary will drop by Archbishop Raymond Burke's residence in the Central West End at 4:30 p.m. From there, they set off down Lindell Avenue and into Forest Park..Good article in the Post...
"The walks," as the seminarians call them, are opportunities for young men to have heart-to-hearts with a man who regularly meets with the pope, a heady prospect for a young priest-in-training. The conversations are usually casual, and the seminarians get to see a more personal, human side of Burke — like when he gets a little skittish around off-leash dogs.
Kenrick officials organize the walks using time sheets. When the sheets are posted, there's a rush to sign on...
Meditation for May 20, On Desiring Recognition
It is said that Nicholas Poussin, whose artistic talent was not at all negligible, had a virtue greater than his talent. When someone gave him more for a painting than he believed it to be worth, he, with legendary honesty, sent back the surplus.
I do not demand cash for my services, but do I not often like to claim more than my due, in salary of gratitude or a smile?
I will imitate the artist of Louis XIV, accomplishing my task to the best of my ability. If I can do but little, then I will do that little with my whole soul, happy to pass unnoticed. If I think I have talent, I will use it without counting the cost, without being conceited, but without denying the gift of God if there really is a gift.
If someone calls attention to my success, I must not boast unduly; if no one notices my effort or achievement I must not be sad. As a rule I will try to pass unnoticed. Who notices the cook's most carefully prepared menu or the value of a well-planned lesson presented by a teacher?
I am a servant and should be thrilled to pass for even a useless servant. I will not expect a salary. And if by chance, someone deigns to praise me, I shall thank this rare and excellent person. I will not boast about my accomplishment but seek to do even better the next time.
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
I do not demand cash for my services, but do I not often like to claim more than my due, in salary of gratitude or a smile?
I will imitate the artist of Louis XIV, accomplishing my task to the best of my ability. If I can do but little, then I will do that little with my whole soul, happy to pass unnoticed. If I think I have talent, I will use it without counting the cost, without being conceited, but without denying the gift of God if there really is a gift.
If someone calls attention to my success, I must not boast unduly; if no one notices my effort or achievement I must not be sad. As a rule I will try to pass unnoticed. Who notices the cook's most carefully prepared menu or the value of a well-planned lesson presented by a teacher?
I am a servant and should be thrilled to pass for even a useless servant. I will not expect a salary. And if by chance, someone deigns to praise me, I shall thank this rare and excellent person. I will not boast about my accomplishment but seek to do even better the next time.
"My God, when I examine myself, I see clearly that I love to deduct a premium from all that I offer You; it is often slight but nevertheless real. When all ought to be Yours I gather in small compensations in the way of selfish satisfaction."I act like a child who tries to collect goodies or pennies to swell his bank. Not any more! I shall return what is over and above to Him to Whom it is due.
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Vatican says prohibition against gays in seminaries is universal
Vatican City, May 19, 2008 / 09:21 am (CNA).- Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, has sent a letter to the bishops of the world with the approval of Pope Benedict XVI reaffirming the norms established by the Congregation for Catholic Education in the 2005 document, “Instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocation with regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in view of their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders,” as universal and without exceptions....
The letter, which Cardinal Bertone said was issued in response “to numerous requests for clarification,” implies that the prohibition against accepting homosexual candidates in seminaries applies not only to diocesan seminaries but also to those of religious orders and congregations, as well as to those that are located in mission territories....
See more here at Rorate Caeli
British Government OK's Creation of Human-animal Embryos
British scientists will be allowed to research devastating diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s using human-animal embryos, after the House of Commons tonight rejected a ban...They pretend to be God and engage in monstrous acts.
Edward Leigh, Conservative MP for Gainsborough, moving the amendment to ban all admixed embryos, said mingling animal and human DNA crossed an “ultimate boundary”. He said that exaggerated claims were giving patients false hope and that the dangers of the research were unknown.Mad scientists care not a whit about boundaries, moral or otherwise.
He said: "In many ways we are like children playing with landmines without any concept of the dangers of the technology that we are handling.”Where will the creation of chimeras lead us? Will some crackpot in the future unwittingly unleash some devastating plague upon civilization?
It seems as if those pushing for such grotesque experimentation and research are like little children playing with dangerous tools or weapons. What absurdity!
It seems that the more we think we learn, the more stupid we become. When we act absent basic norms of morality, we hurt not only ourselves, but others as well.
Yes, children, welcome to the isles of Dr Moreau or the worldly laboratory of Dr Frankenstein. Enter! You will be safe here. We're here to help the human race!
Priest & Seminarian Training Workshop, 1962 Missale Romanum
My apologies - I missed this:
5/19/2008
Event Time: From 08:00 AM To 12:00 PM
Location: Canons Regular of St. John Cantius 825 N. Carpenter Street Chicago, Illinois 60622
Details: Priest and Seminarian Training Workshop
Extraordinary Form of the Mass - 1962 Missale Romanum
From Monday, May 19, 2008, through Friday, May 23, 2008, the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius, in conjunction with the Archdiocese of Chicago, will offer a Traditional Latin Mass Training Workshop for priests and seminarians....
Young Recruits for "Call to Action"
As witnessed in this grave abuse of the liturgy, CTA appeared to have very few young adherents to its heterodox or heretical beliefs and agenda.
Yet, we see a group of like-minded 20 to 30 year olds are banding together to carry the torch of rebellion for the gray haired dissidents.
From the "About" page at YoungAdultCatholics-Blog, we read:
What a future these malcontents have ahead of them. They, too, can be elite members of a dying group - frustrated because of the willful rejection the graces necessary to develop the virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity, they, too, will one day become embittered "progressive" senior citizens. They will go to their graves defiant and confused, having rejected the truth in exchange for lies. What wasted lives they will have if they continue that path.
May God have mercy on them and grant them the graces for conversion. And may we, in true charity, pray for their souls.
HT to Darla for the link: YoungAdultCatholics - a blog of NextGen at Call To Action
Yet, we see a group of like-minded 20 to 30 year olds are banding together to carry the torch of rebellion for the gray haired dissidents.
From the "About" page at YoungAdultCatholics-Blog, we read:
YoungAdultCatholics-Blog is dedicated to the progressive, faithful, Catholic voices of 20- and 30-year-olds. This is a blog of NextGen at Call To Action, which has faith-sharing groups in urban areas around the country and a national conference every November in Milwaukee. For more information, please visit www.cta-usa.org.Did you catch the distorted feminist touch above which demonstrates complete ignorance of the meaning of the word "man"?
The contributors to this blog come from a variety of backgrounds and live in various places on the globe. The goal is to lift up these voices that make up our Church in an intimate way....
In this light, we support Catholics in their pursuit of truth in the spirit of religious freedom. The bishops provide us with guidance from the Second Vatican Council: “Wherefore every man [sic] has the duty, and therefore the right, to seek the truth in matters religious in order that he may with prudence form for himself right and true judgments of conscience, under use of all suitable means” (from Dignitatis Humanae, Pope Paul VI, December 7, 1965).
What a future these malcontents have ahead of them. They, too, can be elite members of a dying group - frustrated because of the willful rejection the graces necessary to develop the virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity, they, too, will one day become embittered "progressive" senior citizens. They will go to their graves defiant and confused, having rejected the truth in exchange for lies. What wasted lives they will have if they continue that path.
May God have mercy on them and grant them the graces for conversion. And may we, in true charity, pray for their souls.
HT to Darla for the link: YoungAdultCatholics - a blog of NextGen at Call To Action
India at Peace. But Not with the Christians (Chiesa)
Jesuit USF Honors Homosexual, Condom-Promoting AIDS Ambassador
A "Role Model" for USF StudentsPerversion rewarded and promoted - not only by our own country, but by a Jesuit institution. St Ignatius, pray for us!
Among those receiving honorary degrees at University of San Francisco commencement ceremonies this past weekend was Ambassador Mark Dybul, an open homosexual with a same-sex partner about whom he makes no secret. Dybul has served as U.S. Global AIDS coordinator under President George W. Bush.
At his swearing-in ceremony in October 2006, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice welcomed Dybul’s family members, including his partner, Jason Claire, and Claire’s mother, whom Rice called Dybul’s “mother-in-law"....
According to a USF press release, the university honored Dybul “for his work at the forefront of the international fight against HIV/AIDS as the U.S. global AIDS coordinator.” According to the release, “Dybul is a role model for USF students as someone with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed, and the values and sensitivity to be men and women for others....”
More at California Catholic Daily here.
Protest Marks Pope's Trip to Italian North
GENOA, Italy (AFP) — Pope Benedict XVI sparked a protest Saturday by campaigners angry at the Catholic Church's powerful influence in the country as he flew into northern Italy for a two-day trip.....And just who might be leading this protest, you ask?
Organised by far-left, feminist and gay rights groups, the rally was called in defence of secularism and in protest at a speech Monday in which the pope lashed out at abortion, legalised in Italy 30 years ago, as an offence before God.Secularism? They are defending immorality and rebellion against truth and the natural moral law! Hedonisism is their religion!
"I have been a feminist since 1963, and I still have to march for the same things as 40 years ago," said Silvana, an elegant woman in her 70s....That's because she's apparently been 'willfully ignorant' and hasn't learned anything of value in her entire 70+ years of life on this planet.
There - is that better...Perhaps "ignoramus" would have been a better term, yes?
Gospel for Monday, 7th Week in Ordinary Time
Old Calendar: St. Peter Celestine, pope and confessor;
St. Pudentiana, virgin;
RM St. Ives
From: Mark 9:14-29
The Curing of an Epileptic Boy
[14] And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd about them, and scribes arguing with them. [15] And immediately all the crowd when they saw Him (Jesus), were greatly amazed, and ran up to Him and greeting Him. [16] And He asked them, "What are you discussing with them?" [17] And one of the crowd answered Him, "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a dumb spirit; [18] and wherever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked Your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able." [19] And He answered them, "Oh faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to Me." [20] And they brought the boy to Him; and when the spirit saw Him, immediately it convulsed the body, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. [21] And Jesus asked his father, "How long has he had this?" And he said, "From childhood. [22] And it has often cash him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if You can do anything, have pity on us and help us." [23] And Jesus said to him, "If you can! All things are possible to him who believes." [24] Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!" [25] And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again." [26] After crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse; so that most of them said, "He is dead." [27] But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. [28] And when He had entered the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" [29] And He said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting."
______________________
Commentary:
17. The demon who possessed this boy is described as a "dumb spirit" because dumbness was the main feature of the possession. On diabolic possession cf. note on Matthew 12:22-24.
19-24. As on other occasions, Jesus requires submission of faith before He works the miracle. The exclamation of Jesus refers to the request of the boy's father (verse 22), which seemed to suggest some doubt about God's omnipotence. The Lord corrects this way of asking and requires him to have firm faith. In verse 24 we can see that the father has quite changed; then Jesus does the miracle. The man's strengthened faith made him all-powerful, for someone with faith relies not on himself but on Jesus Christ. Through faith, then, we become sharers in God's omnipotence. But faith is a gift of God, which man, especially at times when he is wavering, should ask humbly and tenaciously, like the father of this boy: "I believe, help my unbelief," and like the Apostles: "Increase our faith!" (Luke 17:5).
28-29. "In teaching the Apostles how to expel a spirit as evil as this He is teaching all of us how we should live, and telling us that prayer is the resource we should use to overcome even the severest temptations, whether they come from unclean spirits or from men. Prayer does not consist only in the words we use to invoke God's clemency but also in everything we do, out of faith, as homage to God.
The Apostle bears witness to this when he says: `Pray constantly' (1 Thessalonians 5:7)" (St. Bede, "In Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc.").
___________________________
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.
St. Pudentiana, virgin;
RM St. Ives
From: Mark 9:14-29
The Curing of an Epileptic Boy
[14] And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd about them, and scribes arguing with them. [15] And immediately all the crowd when they saw Him (Jesus), were greatly amazed, and ran up to Him and greeting Him. [16] And He asked them, "What are you discussing with them?" [17] And one of the crowd answered Him, "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a dumb spirit; [18] and wherever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked Your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able." [19] And He answered them, "Oh faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to Me." [20] And they brought the boy to Him; and when the spirit saw Him, immediately it convulsed the body, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. [21] And Jesus asked his father, "How long has he had this?" And he said, "From childhood. [22] And it has often cash him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if You can do anything, have pity on us and help us." [23] And Jesus said to him, "If you can! All things are possible to him who believes." [24] Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!" [25] And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again." [26] After crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse; so that most of them said, "He is dead." [27] But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. [28] And when He had entered the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" [29] And He said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting."
______________________
Commentary:
17. The demon who possessed this boy is described as a "dumb spirit" because dumbness was the main feature of the possession. On diabolic possession cf. note on Matthew 12:22-24.
19-24. As on other occasions, Jesus requires submission of faith before He works the miracle. The exclamation of Jesus refers to the request of the boy's father (verse 22), which seemed to suggest some doubt about God's omnipotence. The Lord corrects this way of asking and requires him to have firm faith. In verse 24 we can see that the father has quite changed; then Jesus does the miracle. The man's strengthened faith made him all-powerful, for someone with faith relies not on himself but on Jesus Christ. Through faith, then, we become sharers in God's omnipotence. But faith is a gift of God, which man, especially at times when he is wavering, should ask humbly and tenaciously, like the father of this boy: "I believe, help my unbelief," and like the Apostles: "Increase our faith!" (Luke 17:5).
28-29. "In teaching the Apostles how to expel a spirit as evil as this He is teaching all of us how we should live, and telling us that prayer is the resource we should use to overcome even the severest temptations, whether they come from unclean spirits or from men. Prayer does not consist only in the words we use to invoke God's clemency but also in everything we do, out of faith, as homage to God.
The Apostle bears witness to this when he says: `Pray constantly' (1 Thessalonians 5:7)" (St. Bede, "In Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc.").
___________________________
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.
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