Saturday, August 09, 2008

Maryknoll Priest Excommunicates Himself for Priestettes?

From the National Catholic Reporter:
Peace activist priest assists at women's ordination ceremony
The title tells us what's coming, doesn't it?

Maryknoll Fr. Roy Bourgeois, long associated with the cause of Christian non-violence and attempts to close the international school for military training at Fort Benning, Ga., today staked his conscience to a different cause: the ordination of women in the Catholic church.
If one makes the claim to "conscience," then one is bound to properly form that "conscience." Apparently, in this case, "conscience" has been deprived of proper formation.

Bourgeois was a concelebrant and homilist at the ordination of Janice Sevre-Duszynska, a longtime peace activist and advocate of women’s ordination. The ordination occurred Aug. 9 at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington, Ky.
A "concelebrant"? With fake priestettes? If past experience is any indication, there would have been no Mass and no consecration because of invalid matter...the "bread" normally used at these events is not valid matter. And one might argue that this priest did not really intend to do what the Church intends, but that is a matter for another debate.

He said, in part:
"...I felt in conscience -- this matter of conscience keeps coming up and I don’t know what other word to use -- if I didn’t attend her ordination, I would have to stop addressing this issue as I do...”
This so-called "conscience" is nothing more than at attitude of pride and rebellion. He has willfully chosen scandal over obedience, arrogance over humility. He has scandalized the Church and the faithful - and the Maryknoll order and his brother priests - all because of a defective attitude fed by dissent and insolence.

When questioned, Bourgeois said he knew there could be “serious implications” if he openly participated in a women’s ordination ceremony.
Serious implications? Automatic excommunication? And laicization?

“For me it seems very right,” he said in the interview. “I would have a problem sleeping at night in the future if I didn’t put my body where my words are.”
Well, maybe after he is booted from the priesthood for rejecting a definitive truth of the Church (the priesthood is reserved to men alone), he can join up with the priestettes or some other heretical sect. We'll have to watch what actions, if any, his Maryknoll superiors take regarding this matter.

Speaking as a self-proclaimed pope, he states:
“We cannot justify discrimination no matter how hard the bishops may try. In the end, it is wrong. It is a sin. That’s how I see it and that’s why I am going to be there Saturday.”
Some might wonder how it is possible that such a man was ever ordained? He understanding of the Church, the sacraments, sin and probably everything else appears to be severely flawed. This matter has been settled for all time, everywhere, in every age yet to come. yet he claims, in effect, that Jesus erred by excluding women from the priesthood and the Holy Spirit erred in guiding the Church for the past nearly 2000 years for guiding the Church in following Jesus' example.

It's one thing when delusional women dress up and "play priest." It's becomes even more serious when delusional priests scandalize the faithful and promote dissension and animosity in the Church. May God have mercy on this man.

NCR story here.

Just for Today, August 10

The holy martyr Laurence overcame the world, with his prelate; because he despised whatever seemed delightful in this world; and for the love of Christ he also suffered the high priest of God, Sixtus, whom he exceedingly loved, to be taken away from him. He overcame, therefore, the love of man by the love of the Creator: and instead of the comfort he had in man, he made choice rather of God's pleasure. So do thou also learn to part with a necessary and beloved friend for the love of God.
-Bk. II, ch. ix.
_______________

I had a great longing to see Celine a nun at the Carmel of Lisieux, but this hope seemed beyond the bounds of possibility. I sacrificed my wish, committing my beloved sister's future entirely to God, content to see her go, if necessary, to the other side of the world, if only she might be, like myself, a bride of Christ. I suffered so much at seeing her exposed in the world to dangers of which I had known nothing. I felt such affectionate solicitude for her soul, that my sisterly love was more like that of a mother.
-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 of St Augustine for August 10

IF, therefore, the Saints of God are to be at peace, it is to be that peace which surpasses all understanding.
_________________________
Click here for more information.

From Thoughts of St Augustine for Every Day
by Kathleen Mary Balfe (© 1926)
Nihil Obstat: Georgius D. Smith, S.T.D
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont

Meditation for August 10, The Flames of My Funeral Pyre

It is said that St. Lawrence, while upon the gridiron, finding him­self sufficiently burned on one side of his poor body, asked his tormentors to turn him on the other side.

Heroic courage of the saints!

And I, as soon as suffering wounds me, not only neglect to offer another part of myself for the sacrifice, but I even seek to avoid it; this is quite natural, too, because suffering, whether of body or soul, repels the deepest instincts of my being.

Could I not be braver, however, in the trifling occasions for re­nunciation that come to me?

Here and now, it is not a question of a martyrdom to be endured, of a gridiron as for St. Lawrence, nor of a pyre as for St. Jeanne of Arc. We are not speaking of heroism, but of ordinary courage, of drab sacrifice. What are my little sufferings in the last analysis? Rather insignificant miseries, a little dryness at prayer, a difficulty with one of my associates, a lack of success, trials regarding my health, a charge which oppresses, and approaching old age. I ought to know how to bear these troubles joyfully. "What is it all?" said P. Foch, "when I shall think of it, when I shall contemplate it, from the heights, in the tenth century of my eternity?"

"You see, O my God, how much I recoil from suffering, despite the long time I have been a religious. Sustain me. Be to me as the Cyre­nean in my feeble attempts at carrying the cross. It ought to be just the contrary; it should be I who help You. We shall make an agreement of mutual aid. I will try to do it for You another time, but, I beg of You, Help me! Help me!"
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)

Gospel for Saturday, 18th Week in Ordinary Time

Optional Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, virgin and martyr
Old Calendar: The Vigil of St. Lawrence; St. Romanus, martyr


From: Matthew 17:14-20

The Curing of an Epileptic Boy

[14] And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and kneeling before him said, [15] "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; for often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. [16] And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him." [17] And Jesus answered, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me." [18] And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. [19] Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" [20] He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move hence to yonder place,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you."
_____________________

Commentary:

14-21. This episode of the curing of the boy shows both Christ's omnipotence and the power of prayer full of faith. Because of his deep union with Christ, a Christian shares, through faith, in God's own omnipotence, to such an extent that Jesus actually says on another occasion, "he who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father" (Jn 14:12).

Our Lord tells the Apostles that if they had faith they would be able to work miracles, to move mountains. "Moving mountains" was probably a proverbial saying. God would certainly let a believer move a mountain if that were necessary for his glory and for the edification of one's neighbor; however, Christ's promise is fulfilled everyday in a much more exalted way. Some Fathers of the Church (St. Jerome, St. Augustine) say that "a mountain is moved" every time someone is divinely aided to do something which exceed man's natural powers. This clearly happens in the work of our sanctification, which the Paraclete effects in our souls when we are docile to him and receive with faith and love the grace given us in the sacraments: we benefit from the sacraments to a greater or lesser degree depending on the dispositions with which we receive them. Sanctification is something more sublime than moving mountains, and it is something which is happening every day in so many holy souls, even though most people do not notice it.

The Apostles and many saints down the centuries have in fact worked amazing material miracles; but the greatest and most important miracles were, are and will be the miracles of souls dead through sin and ignorance being reborn and developing in the new life of the children of God.

20. Here and in the parable of Matthew 13:31-32 the main force of the comparison lies in the fact that a very small seed--the mustard seed--produces a large shrub up to three meters (ten feet) high: even a very small act of genuine faith can produce surprising results.
___________________________
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, August 08, 2008

Just for Today, August 9

Wherefore, O Lord God, I take it for a great benefit not to have much which, outwardly and according to men, might appear praiseworthy and glorious; so that a person, considering his own poverty and meanness, ought not upon that account to be weighed down, or to be grieved and dejected, but rather to receive comfort and great pleasure. Because Thou, O God, hast chosen the poor and the humble, and those that are despised by this world, for Thy familiar friends and domestics.
-Bk. III, ch. xxii.
_____________

She frequently had her side cauterized, and one day after a painful treatment was resting during recreation, when she overheard the following remark being made in the kitchen: "Sœur Therese will soon die, but I wonder what Mother Prioress will find to say about her when she is gone. It will not be an easy task, because, although so pleasant and amiable, she has never done anything worth talking about."

The infirmarian also overheard these words, and remarked to the Saint: "What a good thing you never relied on the opinion of others, you would be bitterly disappointed today!" she replied: "Thank God I have always had the grace to feel indifferent to what others thought of me."
-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 of St Augustine for August 9

BUT let them who have a spiritual as well as a natural affection for their friends who are dead according to the flesh, though not according to the spirit, show a far greater solicitude and zeal in offering up for them those things which help the spirit of the departed--alms and prayers and suppli­cation.
_________________________
Click here for more information.

From Thoughts of St Augustine for Every Day
by Kathleen Mary Balfe (© 1926)
Nihil Obstat: Georgius D. Smith, S.T.D
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont

Meditation for August 9, Poor Sinners

It is said that the Cure of Ars, although so perfect during his whole life, used to be forced to stop preaching at times on account of the violence of the emotion which gripped him, whenever he pronounced the words poor sinners.

That is how the saints judge.

I have doubtlessly through the mercy of God, not committed many grave sins--and how grateful I should be to the Savior! But how much inattention, how much ingratitude, and how many failures against mortification have I accumulated, not so much be­cause my weakness tripped my will, anticipating my consent, but because of my manifest and wilful lack of generosity, for which my Savior knows how responsible I am!

Isn't that cause enough to put anyone else but me whose pride is irreducible, in a state of absolute humility?

Humility! Yes, certainly! Not only on account of what has been, but on account of what might have been if God, understand­ing my wretchedness, has not portioned out the trials in accordance with my all too feeble strength.

I must take care however that my humility does not degenerate into lack of confidence--the devil has many tricks.

The abbe Vianney who used to lament his faults so deeply, said at the end of his life to one of his missionaries, "One night about two months ago I could not sleep. I was seated on my bed weeping over my wretched sins. I heard a sweet voice which whispered in my ear, 'I hope in You, my Lord, I shall not be confounded forever.'"

"Let me too hear this closing verse of the Te Deum. It was said for me--I hope in You, O Lord, I shall not be confounded forever.

"Heart of Jesus, I trust in You. I abandon myself entirely to You. I hope for all things."
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)

News Updates, 8/8

Anglican head: gay sex reflects 'love of God'
Rowan Williams says it's comparable to marriage

“The mother church of Oakland”
City’s oldest parish falls victim to 21st century cathedral

Be sure to wear a flower in your hair
In San Francisco, voters to decide whether to decriminalize prostitution, rename sewage plant after President Bush

Religious art prize judge quits in disgust
Objected to inclusion of 'ugly' Christ crucified triptych

Obama reaffirms support for homosexual adoptions
'We also have to do more to support...LGBT families'

Pope: Church has undervalued environment
But says materialism is biggest threat to planet

Obama's view on abortion may divide Catholics [True and fake?]
Pro-life senator Bob Casey may speak at convention

Anthrax suspect's abortion stance eyed as motive
Did Ivins believe targeted senators were 'bad Catholics'?

Pro-life leaders receive death threats in Ecuador
'...an unfortunate way of doing politics in the country'

New book argues that Shakespeare was a Catholic
For sake of career and neck, he kept that a secret?

Gospel for August 8, Memorial: St Dominic, Priest

Friday, 18th Week in Ordinary Time
Old Calendar: St. John Mary Vianney, confessor; Sts. Cyriac, Largus and Smaragdus, martyrs; Fourteen Holy Helpers

From: Matthew 16:24-28

Jesus Foretells His Passion and Resurrection (Continuation)

[24] Then Jesus told His disciples, "If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. [25] For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. [26] For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? [27] For the Son of Man is to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay every man for what he has done. [28] Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom."
_________________________

Commentary:

24. "Divine love, `poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us' (Romans 5:5), enables lay people to express concretely in their lives the spirit of the Beatitudes. Following Jesus in His poverty, they feel no depression in want, no pride in plenty; imitating the humble Christ, they are not greedy for vain show (cf. Galatians 5:26). They strive to please God rather than men, always ready to abandon everything for Christ (cf. Luke 14:26) and even to endure persecution in the cause of right (cf. Matthew 5:10), having in mind the Lord's saying? `If any man wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me'" (Matthew 16:24) ("Apostolicam Actuositatem", 4).

25. A Christian cannot ignore these words of Jesus. He has to risk, to gamble, this present life in order to attain eternal life: "How little a life is to offer to God!" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 420).

Our Lord's requirement means that we must renounce our own will in order to identify with the will of God and so to ensure that, as St. John of the Cross comments, we do not follow the way of those many people who "would have God will that which they themselves will, and are fretful at having to will that which He wills, and find it repugnant to accommodate their will to that of God. Hence it happens to them that oftentimes they think that that wherein they find not their own will and pleasure is not the will of God; and that, on the other hand, when they themselves find satisfaction, God is satisfied. Thus they measure God by themselves and not themselves by God" ("Dark Night of the Soul", Book 1, Chapter 7, 3).

26-27. Christ's words are crystal-clear: every person has to bear in mind the Last Judgment. Salvation, in other words, is something radically personal: "He will repay every man for what he has done" (verse 27).

Man's goal does not consist in accumulating worldly goods; these are only means to an end; man's last end, his ultimate goal, is God Himself; he possesses God in advance, as it were, here on earth by means of grace, and possesses him fully and forever in Heaven. Jesus shows the route to take to reach this destination--denying oneself (that is, saying no to ease, comfort, selfishness and attachment to temporal goods) and taking up the cross. For no earthly--impermanent--good can compare with the soul's eternal salvation. As St. Thomas expresses it with theological precision, "the least good of grace is superior to the natural good of the entire universe" ("Summa Theologiae", I-II, q. 113, a. 9).

28. Here Jesus is referring not to His Last Coming (which He speaks about in the preceding verse) but to other events which will occur prior to that and which will be a sign of His glorification after death. The Coming He speaks of here may refer firstly to His Resurrection and His appearance thereafter; it could also refer to His Transfiguration, which is itself a manifestation of His glory. This coming of Christ in His Kingdom might also be seen in the destruction of Jerusalem--a sign of the end of the ancient people of Israel as a form of the Kingdom of God and its substitution by the Church, the new Kingdom.
___________________________
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, August 07, 2008

Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost, Leprosy, Sin And Death

By The Rev. J. J. Hurst
_________________

"And as He entered into a certain town there met Him ten men that were lepers, who stood afar off, and lifted up their voice, saying: 'Jesus, Master! Have mercy on us.' Whom, when He saw, He said: 'Go, show yourselves to the Priests.' And it came to pass, that as they went, they were made dean. And one of them, when he saw that he was made dean, went back, with a loud voice, glorifying God. And he fell on his face before His feet, giving thanks; and he was a Samaritan."--Luke, xvii, 12-16.


Leprosy was a disease prevalent in Palestine at the time of Christ. Biblical leprosy, the type which afflicted the Jews, was virulent and progressive and baffled all medical skill to cure or arrest, so that it usual1y terminated in the death of its victim. It was generally believed to be hereditary and contagious and, in some instances, to be a signal proof of Divine punishment for sin. Hence it was regarded with the greatest horror and loathing and con­sidered to be the cause of legal and religious defilement.

The utmost precautions were taken to prevent the spread of the disease by segregating the infected and by subjecting those suspected of the contamination to a quarantine, till the priests who were the properly constituted judges in the matter could pronounce the latter clean or unclean, according to prescribed rules.

For a picture of human misery intensified by evils calculated to increase and embitter the burden of life and rob it of every support and solace, we have only to contemplate the fate of the leper; condemned to dwell in seclusion, away from the habitations of the healthy, his clothes hanging loose, his head bared, his mouth covered, he was obliged to add to his own self-abasement by crying out to passers-by the fateful words: "Unclean, unclean."

Neither position nor age nor sex served to defer or mitigate this harsh sentence. Some of the most pathetic scenes ever witnessed or pictured by mortals took place in the home of the leper. The father might sigh and groan for his misfortune, but the leprous father had to abandon his family, and as their head they knew him no more. The mother might melt into tears at a parting so cruel, but her place in the home had to be vacated, and the leprous mother went forth without a farewell embrace from the dear ones she loved. The child might plead for pity and cling to its mother for protection, but the unclean child and the distracted mother parted forever. The maiden in the pride of her beauty, or radiant with dreams of domestic bliss, showing the slightest but certain marks of the contagion, was compelled to fly the paternal roof and to wander forth, with her disfigurement her only shield. The young man had to forego his prospects and ambitions, and ere yet the disease had sapped his strength or impaired his vitality he became the associate of helpless outcasts. Oh, the bitter and sad fate of the leper!

But who can describe the mental anguish of the sufferer as the disease by slow degrees consumed his members and ate its way into his very vitals? For it is a strange fact that in the case of leprosy the mind retains its wonted vigor, while the body becomes a victim to its full ravages. Who can tell of the dreary days and cheerless nights passed by the pool whither he had crawled to slake his burning thirst, or of the hours spent wistfully gazing in the direction of the home he was destined never again to enter? And who can depict the isolation of the death scene away from home and friends?

Shunned from the day of his parting, he was left to pay nature's last debt without a kindly word, a pitying tear, or a friendly hand of those he cherished to sooth the agony of his dying moments. Truly may leprosy be spoken of as the first born of death, the name by which it is referred to in the Book of Job.

Leprosy is a figure of sin. As leprosy defiles the body and makes it an object of fear and loathing in the eyes of men, so sin defiles the soul and makes it hideous and hateful in the sight of God.

There is nothing outside the court of heaven with which to compare a soul regenerated in the saving waters of baptism. It is pleasing to God the Father as His adopted child and heir to His eternal Kingdom; it is pleasing to God the Son as His brother and co-heir; it is pleasing to God the Holy Ghost as His living temple and the object of His gifts and graces. Infused with the virtues of faith, hope and charity, it approximates the picture of blissful innocence and supernatural perfection in which the Creator had made man unto His own image and likeness. The adornments of the soul remain as long as it is untouched by the foul breath of leprosy. Let it receive but the slightest taint and its beauty is tarnished, its innocence and its sanctity lessened.

In the case of the leper it was the first symptom that aroused suspicion, spread alarm and ultimately lead to his condemnation. It did not forthwith make him an outcast, but it presaged his fate.

In the case of the sinner the stain that at first only dimmed the luster of the soul did not deprive him of sanctifying grace, but it robbed him of many degrees of merit, weakened his powers of resistance and disposed him to mortal sin.

Sin, like leprosy, is corrosive. "He who contemneth small things shall fall little by little." Every sin, however venial, darkens the understanding, impairs the will and sears the conscience, so that the multiplication of venial sins indicates the proximity of mortal sin; for once the habit of venial sin is formed the descent to mortal sin is sudden. When one has the misfortune to incur its guilt, he has reached the fatal stage of leprosy from which only the intervention of Providence can rescue him.

Leprosy affected only the body; sin imparts death to the soul. The former causes only a temporary affliction, the latter exposes to eternal torments. In the transition from innocence to guilt, what a mantle of misery falls on the soul of the sinner! Fallen from his high estate, his dignity forfeited, his innocence, beauty and sanctity lost, he who was privileged to banquet on the Bread of angels feeds on the husks of swine. The child of God, the brother of Jesus Christ, the temple of the Holy Ghost is a slave to his passions, a pervert to Satan and the habitation of uncleanliness. And should he depart life in his forlorn condition, no words that a mortal ever spoke or penned can depict the dreadfulness of the scene that shall take place after the angel has summoned mankind to judgment.

He may be the father of a family. Pathetic, indeed, was the parting of the leprous father from his family, but there remained a hope of being reunited with them hereafter. Hope for the leper is turned into despair for the sinner, and at the command of the angry Judge he is forever separated from those he loved. It seemed cruel to banish a mother from her children while on earth, but unutterable woe if a mother has to be banished from her children for eternity! It was heart­rending to see the maiden go forth from home, alone and unprotected. The taint of leprosy disfigured her beauty and the law was inexorable. The young woman that dies tainted with mortal sin shall never reach her destined home. She forfeited her right to heaven, the home of the pure and the angels, and she is condemned forever to hell, the home of the wicked and demons. It was hard for the young man to have his ambitions thwarted, his hopes extinguished and his prospects ruined, and to be obliged to associate with outcasts. What an awful prospect for the young man who must herd with howling mobs where ambition is vain and hope abandoned forever!

Terrible, indeed, is the condition of the sinner and fearful the. consequence of his sins. But amid the darkness that encircles him there is a path by which he can retrace his steps. The poor leper looked for no solace, but the grave. What a revelation and what a manifestation of supernatural power it was to him to be healed of so foul and fatal a disease by a word only! How joyfully he heard the monition: "Go, show yourself to the Priest." Yet He who by a word restored to health and happiness the victim of a disease beyond all human power to remedy has instituted a means whereby the diseases and disorders that defile and disfigure the souls of men can be treated and cured.

The condition imposed on the lepers of showing themselves to the priests did not imply that the priests of the Old Law had power over diseases. It was merely a ceremonial in accordance with the Mosaic Law, and in the case of leprosy consisted in their pronouncing on the validity of a cure that had already been effected. How different with the priests of the New Law who are not only constituted judges but also physicians! What tremendous power they wield, power that transcends that of the angels, aye, even that of the Mother of God herself! And what a merciful dispensation God has given in it for fallen man!

The sinner, touched by grace, awakes to his condition. The words of Christ ring in his ears: "Go, show yourself to the priest." He harkens to their appeal. He approaches the tribunal, carrying a corpse--his own dead soul. He makes an humble confession of his sins. The priest listens, raises his hand in absolution, and then occurs what St. Augustine calls a miracle greater than the creation of another world--the soul that was dead is raised to life and becomes once more the child of God, the brother of Jesus Christ, and the dwelling place of the Holy Ghost.

Leprosy was common in Palestine in the time of Christ. Sin, the disease of which it is a figure, is common throughout the world at all times. It affects every state and condition and extends its dominion over every period, from childhood to old age. Leprosy excites the contempt and horror of men; sin, the greatest misfortune that can befall them, does not evoke surprise, and sometimes does not awaken remorse.

Nay, men make an open confession of their conquests in evil and there are many to condone them. Years ago there was a case of leprosy, or rather what appeared to be leprosy, in a city in the United States. It was a city comprising upwards of two millions of souls. The presence of a leper in that vast community was made a subject of the most sensational interest. How many moral lepers there were in that same city whose disease was not made a matter of comment, and how many were thrown into consternation by the report of leprosy who felt no alarm for their own diseased and repulsive state!

We live in an age when the nations are forgetting God, and faith is decaying among the children of men, when time-honored principles are becoming as shifty as the ripples on the surface of the deep, and the Ten Commandments themselves are looked upon as so much spectacular rhetoric, when the old pagan traffic in the lusts of the flesh is being revived and the silver-tongued prophets of pleasure preach from the house-tops their sensuous philosophy: "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you may die."

This lamentable condition is due mainly to the internal dissolution of Protestantism, but in this country it is accentuated by the well­meant but fatal remedy of banishing religion from the public schools. Describing the utter loneliness he felt at the loss of God thus banished from the minds of young Americans, a distinguished professor, now dead, said: "We have seen the Spring sun shine out of an empty heaven upon a souIless earth."

Religious indifference and skepticism and the consequent increase of. crime and immorality which are seen to flow from a system of Godless education are sufficient evidence that the new order is the fruitful source of vice and sin, destructive alike of religion and of the best interests of government.

The only salvation for society, amid present-day disruptions, chaos and infidelity is to allow itself to be schooled in the Church of Christ which alone is sufficient to teach that morality does not consist in outward conformity to law or custom, but in the inner rectitude of the will; that aesthetic culture is of less consequence than purity of heart, and that charity and not expediency is the only true form of relationship, human and Divine.

One would think that a being healed of so vile and virulent a disease as leprosy, rescued from horrible death, and restored to the society of the healthy, to friends, family and home, would never cease to thank the author of the cure, especially since it could not be effected by any other agency, yet we learn from the Gospel that of the ten lepers whom Christ made whole, only one returned to thank Him, and he was a stranger--a Samaritan; the Jews looked upon the Samaritans not only as aliens, but also as enemies.

There was a racial and religious antagonism between them. The hatred of the Jew for the Samaritan was proverbial. When the Pharisees wished to malign Christ, they spoke of Him as a Samaritan: "Thou art a Samaritan and hast a devil." The contrast between the conduct of the stranger and the nine Jews is therefore all the more striking and illustrates what frequently happens, viz., that the slave of error condemns by his conduct the disciple of truth.

Ingratitude is the trait of character that deserves the censure of all right-minded men. It is a relic of barbarism and an unerring mark of a selfish, ungenerous nature. It is an insult to one's benefactor in as much as it discloses a lack of appreciation for favors conferred. To avoid this suspicion of being considered ingrates people generally are at pains to express thanks for favors and courtesies, however trifling. To do so is expedient and proper, but the mere expression of thanks without a corresponding sense of gratitude is only a disguised effort to avoid a term of reproach from which men instinctively shrink. It is a misnomer to call that gratitude which lives to find expression in words only.

Gratitude has its roots deep in the heart and its seat in the memory, and out­lives the desire or expediency to translate it to words. Such was the gratitude of the Samaritan who returned to give glory to God for his cure and who as a reward was cleansed of the disease of his soul.

Though men affect to regard ingratitude with greater abhorrence than "any taint of vice whose strong corruption inhabits our frail blood," it is an offence of the commonest occurrence. To be conscious of this one has but to examine the lives and actions of men in their dealings and intercourse. He will find in every circle of society, in every phase of commerce, and in almost every department of life gratitude outraged to an extent saddening to contemplate, and what is still more lamentable, he will find few on whose hearts the stain of ingratitude is not more or less deeply impressed. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the percentage of thankless lepers is not greater than the percentage of ungrateful members of the race.

We emerge from childhood with sacred and solemn obligations of the natural and supernatural order upon us, but few endeavor to discharge them, while many fail to appreciate them, or completely ignore them. Of all God's creatures there are none born in such a helpless state of dependency as man, and there is no other that needs so many external aids to support life and so much constant vigilance and sympathetic care to ward off illness and to keep the body in a healthful condition.

Indifferent treatment of the infantile body will engender diseases which may be the forerunner of a life of suffering or premature death. The same is true of the mind. It awakes to conscious hungering for food and dependence on others for the serving.

Parents are the instruments in God's hands for the sustenance, conservation and training of their children. The father provides the means and the mother supplements her duties with lavish affection and solicitude. There is nothing in nature so close, so sacred, and so abiding as the love of a mother for her child. It follows and clings to the child through every vicissitude of life, in good fortune and evil, in honor and dishonor, in joy and sorrow, and it survives every incentive to destroy it. But is the mother's love always repaid? Alas, no. The world teems with ungrateful children. Many a broken-hearted mother who sacrificed herself for her children and looked forward hopefully and joyfully to the time when they would gratefully acknowledge and repay her services and sacrifices, has lived to witness their undutiful and unnatural conduct and to die of a broken heart.

Ingratitude causes man to ignore the sacred ties and claims of humanity, and also the more serious, solemn obligations to God.

The contemplation of God in His works of creation, philosophers tell us, constitutes the highest satisfaction of which the human mind is capable; and truly man in contemplating the perfections of God and the grandeur and majesty of His work is impressed with a true sense of his own imperfections and utter dependence.

When Descartes reached what he conceived the sublime heights of philosophy, he says he thought it proper to remain there for some time in the contemplation of God himself, in order to ponder at leisure the sublime grandeur of His attributes and to admire and adore the beauty of the light so unspeakably great. When one reflects that he owes his existence to this Supreme Being, like unto His image, little less than the angels, and destined for an eternity of bliss, boundless gratitude ought to fill his heart and evoke his praises: "Be ye filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual canticles, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things" (St. Paul, Ep. v, 18).

But how do men respond to this solemn obligation of serving, honoring and thanking God? Some deny Him, others disregard Him, and many mention His name only to profane it. Men of the world are too busy with temporal affairs or so steeped in sensuality as to have little time and less inclination to glorify God for the grandeur and majesty of His creations and to thank Him for His goodness and mercy.

The Saviour had occasion to complain of the nine lepers of Israel, but ingratitude to Him did not perish with the synagogue. It has lived through every age of Christianity and it manifests itself in every form of injury and insult. When we consider His claims to our love and gratitude, His mission on earth, His love of poverty and humiliation, His sufferings and death, the institution of the Sacraments, the power He has given the priests of His Church to remit sin, and the undying pledge of His love He has left us in His own Sacramental presence, we are not at a loss to say whether the thankless lepers or offending Christians are the more deserving of condemnation.
__________________
Adapted from Plain Sermons by Practical Preachers, Vol. II(©1916)
Nihil Obstat: Remegius Lafort, S.T.D
Imprimatur: John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

Just for Today, August 8

When thou hast Christ thou art rich, and He is sufficient for thee; He will provide for thee, and will be thy faithful Procurator in all things, so that thou needst not trust to men. For men quickly change and presently fail: but Christ remains for ever, and stands by us firmly to the end.
-Bk. II, ch. i.
_______________

We can lean on nothing but Our Lord, for He alone is immutable. What joy to know that He can never change!
-Letters.
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.

Thoughts of St Augustine for August 8

A PROPER care should be shown for the tomb and for burial, for such care is reckoned in Holy Scripture amongst good works....Then let men carry out these last offices for their dead and solace their human grief in so doing.
_________________________
Click here for more information.

From Thoughts of St Augustine for Every Day
by Kathleen Mary Balfe (© 1926)
Nihil Obstat: Georgius D. Smith, S.T.D
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont

Meditation for August 8, A Receptive Heart

An artist, using the words of Our Lord in the Apocalypse: Behold I stand at the door and knock (iii, 20), represented, in a painting, the Savior standing at the threshold of a house, raising His hand to knock for admittance. The artist's little boy said to him sud­denly after contemplating the picture,

"Papa, something is missing."

"What's that?"

"The door has no latch, and the gentleman cannot enter."

The father had to explain to the child that the door of the heart is opened from within, for its latch is inside. The Master cannot enter unless the soul wishes it.

The grace of God knocks incessantly at my door, but to what advantage, if inattention or ill-will prevents it from entering?

Ill will! You know well, my Lord, that that is not the case. On the contrary, with all my heart I want You to enter into me, that You may be Master there alone; that nothing, absolutely nothing may escape Your conquest.

But I am inattentive, I must reproach myself with levity. After so much direction, such a long period of training and so many graces received, I still am not concerned enough about eternity; there is too much of the human in my life; too much of the human, motivated solely by human prudence without a sufficiently pure in­tention. I do not have to sanctify myself outside of my human nature, but everything human that I cling to or that I work with must be divinized to become more significant for eternity.

"O my God, give me the grace never to keep you waiting at the door of my soul; let me always be accessible, receptive, teachable. You desire to communicate Yourself; I desire ardently to receive You. Holiness is found at the point of our meeting."
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)

Social Injustice...

Democratic Party Platform Draft Backs Abortion, Tries to Moderate Image

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A draft copy of the proposed Democratic Party platform shouldn't surprise anyone involved in the abortion debate. The platform backs unlimited abortions paid for at taxpayer expense but also tries to moderate the party's image with support for childbirth and birth control....

"The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right," the proposal says on page 50....

"The Democratic Party also strongly supports access to affordable family planning services and comprehensive age-appropriate sex education which empowers people to make informed choices and live healthy lives. We also recognize that such health care and education help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and thereby also reduce the need for abortions," the platform proposal reads....

In other words, the party "strongly and unequivocally supports" genocide/infanticide- the dismembering and killing of the most defenseless persons on the planet!

And what is "a safe and legal abortion?" Is it safe for the butchered and murdered child? What about the irreparable mental harm to the mother? And how is it that the crime of child murder is deemed legal?

The support of these unspeakable acts is indicative of a suicidal pagan society - a once Christian nation which has lost its soul and its way - and if it refuses to change course, will self destruct under its own immorality and iniquity. Who could possibly follow these minions of all that is evil?

More unbelievable news from our friends at C-Fam:
Dear Colleague,

More scoops for you. The reason I keep repeating that is because the Friday Fax is the only weekly source of this kind of news. No one from our side covers this beat like we do. You should spread the word far and wide.

We report today on a resolution of the Organization of American States that basically endorses hate crimes based on “sexual orientation and gender identity.” Even the Bush Administration endorsed this resolution that could come to be used against religious people who criticize homosexual behavior, like this Friday Fax.

We also report on the mega-AIDs conference meeting right now in Mexico City. There is one “Catholic” panel at the conference and it is being chaired by the anti-Catholic group Catholics for Choice. Funny old world, isn’t it?

Spread the word.

Yours sincerely,
Austin Ruse
President
More here.

Is the Archbishop of Canterbury an Apostate?

So it would seem if this story is accurate.

Archbishop of Canterbury compares gay relationships to marriage
The Archbishop of Canterbury has claimed that active homosexual relationships are "comparable to marriage" in the eyes of God.

In private correspondence, seen by the Daily Telegraph, Dr Rowan Williams, refutes the Anglican Communion's traditional teaching that homosexuality is sinful.

Furthermore, he expresses his hope that the Church will change its position to be more accepting of gay partnerships.

His comments – made in a letter written shortly before he became Archbishop of Canterbury – will infuriate the conservatives who boycotted the recent Lambeth Conference in protest at the presence of liberals who elected Anglicanism's first openly gay bishop.

Leading evangelicals have claimed that he is in an "untenable position"....
Sliding more and more into the darkness, the blind lead the blind following Satan's path of prideful revolt. What a sorrowful and pitiable soul this man is. But then, when one or groups of like-minded "religious" sects accept contraception and divorce as normal or acceptable, then abortion, homosexuality, and who-knows-what-else, can't be far behind.



Another article on this matter from Catholic Online is here.

News Updates, 8/7

Archbishop Chaput calls women religious to obedience (LCWR)
”It’s a clear way we measure the fidelity and unselfishness of our hearts."

“It depends on the bishop”
Pelosi insists again that she’s “Catholic,” says she’s never been denied Communion

“Planned Parenthood actually makes our argument for us”
Prop 4 backers ready to defend challenged ballot argument in court

Case dismissed
Judge throws out charges against home-schooled student ticketed for playing hooky

Priests in hunger strike against bishop
Keeping coffin inscribed with diocese's name with them

GI's on the march to Black Madonna shrine
Soldiers on 10-day pilgrimage to Czestochowa shrine

Polish immigrants walk inter-state pilgrimage
Four day trek ends at the 'American Czestochowa' in Penn.

O'Malley reflects, after 5 tumultuous years
Boston cardinal checked into a monastery, and prayed

Actress: Conan's priest stalker harassing her
Boston cleric sending woman disturbing letters

Rome's plans for the converting Anglicans
Future shape of Church of England may depend on it

Cardinal Rigali rejects accused priest
Transfer from Florida halted after lawsuit accusations

New Website for Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest

The Institute of Christ the King has launched a new Web site at www.institute-christ-king.org.

The new Web site features:
* a fresh, elegant design easy navigation and better organization
* a new email list
* RSS news feed
* more resources and information
* new mini-sites for each apostolate with new pictures and maps
* a new home page that pulls the site together
* a solid, secure online donation system
and much more...

This new site should be a great resource for news and information about the Institute, as well as Catholic Liturgy, Tradition, and culture.

Please visit and bookmark this updated website and pass it along to family and friends.

Gospel for Thursday, 18th Week in Ordinary Time

Optional Memorial of Sts. Sixtus II, pope and martyr and companions, martyrs and Optional Memorial of St. Cajetan, priest

Old Calendar: St. Cajetan, confessor; St. Donatus, bishop and martyr


From: Matthew 16:13-23:

Peter's Profession of Faith and His Primacy

[13] Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of Man is?" [14] And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." [15] He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" [16] Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." [17] And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, by My Father who is in Heaven. [18] And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My Church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. [19] I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven." [20] Then He trictly charged the disciples to tell no one that He was the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Passion and Resurrection

[21] From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. [22] And Peter took Him and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to You." [23] But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a hindrance to Me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men."
_____________________________

Commentary:

13-20. In this passage St. Peter is promised primacy over the whole Church, a primacy which Jesus will confer on him after His Resurrection, as we learn in the Gospel of St. John (cf. John21:15-18). This supreme authority is given to Peter for the benefit of the Church. Because the Church has to last until the end of time, this authority will be passed on to Peter's successors down through history. The Bishop of Rome, the Pope, is the successor of Peter.

The solemn Magisterium of the Church, in the First Vatican Council, defined the doctrine of the primacy of Peter and his successors in these terms:
"We teach and declare, therefore, according to the testimony of the Gospel that the primacy of jurisdiction over the whole Church was immediately and directly promised to and conferred upon the blessed Apostle Peter by Christ the Lord. For to Simon, Christ had said, `You shall be called Cephas' (John 1:42). Then, after Simon had acknowledged Christ with the confession, `You are the Christ, the Son of the living God' (Matthew 16:16), it was to Simon alone that the solemn words were spoken by the Lord: `Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in Heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the powers of Hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and what you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven' (Matthew 16:17-19). And after His Resurrection, Jesus conferred upon Simon Peter alone the jurisdiction of supreme shepherd and ruler over His whole fold with the words, `Feed My lambs....Feed My sheep' (John 21:15-17) [...].

"(Canon) Therefore, if anyone says that the blessed Apostle Peter was not constituted by Christ the Lord as the Prince of all the Apostles and the visible head of the whole Church militant, or that he received immediately and directly from Jesus Christ our Lord only a primacy of honor and not a true and proper primacy of jurisdiction: let him be condemned.

"Now, what Christ the Lord, Supreme Shepherd and watchful guardian of the flock, established in the person of the blessed Apostle Peter for the perpetual safety and everlasting good of the Church must, by the will of the same, endure without interruption in the Church which was founded on the rock and which will remain firm until the end of the world. Indeed, `no one doubts, in fact it is obvious to all ages, that the holy and most blessed Peter, Prince and head of the Apostles, the pillar of faith, and the foundation of the Catholic Church, received the keys of the kingdom from our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior and the Redeemer of the human race; and even to this time and forever he lives,' and governs, `and exercises judgment in his successors' (cf. Council of Ephesus), the bishops of the holy Roman See, which he established and consecrated with his blood. Therefore, whoever succeeds Peter in this Chair holds Peter's primacy over the whole Church according to the plan of Christ Himself [...]. For this reason, `because of its greater sovereignty,' it was always `necessary for every church, that is, the faithful who are everywhere, to be in agreement' with the same Roman Church [...].

"(Canon) Therefore, if anyone says that it is not according to the institution of Christ our Lord Himself, that is, by divine law, that St. Peter has perpetual successors in the primacy over the whole Church; or if anyone says that the Roman Pontiff is not the successor of St. Peter in the same primacy: let him be condemned [...].

"We think it extremely necessary to assert solemnly the prerogative which the only-begotten Son of God deigned to join to the highest pastoral office. And so, faithfully keeping to the tradition received from the beginning of the Christian faith, for the glory of God our Savior, for the exaltation of the Catholic religion, and for the salvation of Christian peoples, We, with the approval of the sacred council, teach and define that it is a divinely revealed dogma: that the Roman Pontiff, when he speaks "ex cathedra", that is, when, acting in the office of shepherd and teacher of all Christians, he defines, by virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the universal Church, possesses through the divine assistance promised to him in the person of St. Peter, the infallibility with which the divine Redeemer willed His Church to be endowed in defining doctrine concerning faith or morals; and that such definitions of the Roman Pontiff are therefore irreformable because of their nature, but not because of the agreement of the Church.

"(Canon) But if anyone presume to contradict this our definition (God forbid that he do so): let him be condemned" (Vatican I, "Pastor Aeternus", chaps. 1, 2 and 4).
23. Jesus rejects St. Peter's well-intentioned protestations, giving us to understand the capital importance of accepting the cross if we are to attain salvation (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:23-25). Shortly before this (Matthew 16:17) Jesus had promised Peter: "Blessed are you, Simon"; now He reproves him: "Get behind me, Satan." In the former case Peter's words were inspired by the Holy Spirit, whereas what he says now comes from his own spirit which he has not yet sloughed off.
___________________________
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, August 06, 2008

Just for Today, August 7

Thy Beloved is of such a nature that He will admit of no other; but will have thy heart to Himself, and sit there like a king on His own throne.
-Bk. II, ch. vii.

Lo, I am Thy servant, ready to obey Thee in all things; for I do not desire to live for myself, but for Thee; O that I could do so after a faithful and perfect manner!
-Bk. III, ch. xv.
_______________

Now that I am about to appear before God, I under­stand very clearly that one thing only is necessary: to work for Him alone, and not for oneself or for others. Our Lord wants to take sole possession of your heart; this can only be at the price of much suffering...but what joy will be yours when you enter Heaven!...I am not dying, I am entering into life, and what I cannot explain on earth I will make known to you from Heaven.
-Letters.
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.

Thoughts of St Augustine for August 7

A CERTAIN sadness over the dead, whom we love, is in a manner natural, for it is not our judgement but our nature which shuns death....Kind hearts, then, may be allowed to sorrow in moderation over their dear departed ones, and to shed peaceful tears by reason of their mortal condition.
_________________________
Click here for more information.

From Thoughts of St Augustine for Every Day
by Kathleen Mary Balfe (© 1926)
Nihil Obstat: Georgius D. Smith, S.T.D
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont

Meditation for August 7, Fraternal Charity

An essential characteristic of the teaching of Jesus, our Savior, is that He did not separate the love of God from the love of our neighbor. To claim to love God and then wilfully to harbor bitterness toward our neighbor is an absolute contradiction.

By what sign, our Lord asked, will you be recognized as my disciples? Yes, indeed, by what sign? By the love you have for God? By the purity of your life?

Without doubt something else is required.

Here it is: By this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you have love one for another. The authentic, undeniable mark of Christianity, such as Jesus Christ wished it to be in the world, is love for one another.

How many would-be disciples of our Lord are far from quali­fying!

And I? Is the law of charity the first law of Christianity for me?

"Lord, give me, a religious, the grace to be first and foremost a true Christian, and then a soul who understands and practices real Christ­like charity; grant that I may understand it and practice it, not in the measure of my narrow heart and narrow views, but in the very measure of the Gospel-spirit. I have to learn how to love. Teach it to me."
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)

CAMERA Chronicles National Catholic Reporter's Anti-Israel Bias

When it comes to covering the Arab-Israeli conflict, the National Catholic Reporter, a Catholic weekly published in Kansas City, Missouri, makes no pretense of offering is readers a factual, fair and comprehensive view of events so that its readers can make responsible assessments about what policies should be pursued in the Middle East.

Instead, the NCR (which has no official ties to the Roman Catholic Church) offers its readers an ideologically-driven narrative of the conflict that demonizes Israel and excuses and minimizes the behavior of those who seek its destruction....
This should not be a surprise - NCR also expresses an anti-Catholic bias. It's a publication which should not be allowed to call itself "Catholic." But that aside, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America [CAMERA] makes some excellent points about NCR's so-called "reporting."

Pelosi Says Her Church Has Not Denied Her Communion For Supporting Abortion Rights

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in an interview with C-SPAN's "Q and A" Sunday said that her support for abortion rights has not conflicted with her requests to receive Holy Communion in the Roman Catholic Church, as it has for other lawmakers...

Pelosi in the interview said, "I think some of it is regional. It depends on the bishop of a certain region and fortunately for me, communion has not been withheld, and I'm a regular communicant so that would be a severe blow to me if that were the case."....
Pure unadulterated public scandal and sacrilege, besides her being a national embarrassment!



And in a related LifeSiteNews article, we read:
House Speaker Pelosi Vows to Kill Defense of Marriage Act and Still Receive Communion

SAN FRANCISCO, August 5, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has vowed to join Barack Obama's new crusade to kill the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and promises to continue to fortify herself with Holy Communion from the Catholic Church for the campaign.

Pelosi told reporters at a press conference last Thursday that she plans to support Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in his effort to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, should the American people elevate him to the presidency....
God forbid that this happen!

These people have no scruples whatsoever - they are possibly some of the finest examples of hypocrites that the world has ever witnessed.

And who are the weak and cowardly "shepherds" who support such scandal and sacrilege?

Most Reverend George Niederauer
1 Peter Yorke Way
San Francisco, CA 94109
Tele: (415) 614-5500
Email: info@sfarchdiocese.org

Most Reverend Donald W. Wuerl
Archdiocese of Washington
P.O. Box 29260
Washington, DC 20017-0260
Tele: (301) 853-4500

News Updates, 8/6

The approved, revised translation of the Order of the Mass (USCCB)
New English–language translation of significant parts of the Ordo Missae

Jury will decide on possible sex abuse coverup by Belleville Diocese
Lawsuit against diocese, priest set for Aug. 18

He got in my face, was hitting me, and choked me
Pro-life sidewalk counselor assaulted by abortion doctor in Santa Ana

Hope in a “dark moment”
Cardinal Mahony suggests how the Church can “reframe” the debate on immigration

Tensions on the rise for Egypt's Christians
Officials call clashes secular, not religious

Priest gets ten years for abusing 3 Arizona teens
53-year-old was also ordered to lifetime probation

Pope tells China: open up to Christianity
Benedict visited birthplace of 19th century saint

Blow-up church looks to lure Italian beachgoers
Staffed by priests ready to hear confession

Beijing sends 'positive signals' on religion
Bishops of Macao and Hong Kong invited to Olympics

Church probes miracles of British nun
Sister Elizabeth has been compared to Mother Teresa

Woman risks excommunication to seek ordination
Grandmother interrupted Lexington ordination service

Gospel for August 6, Feast: The Transfiguration of the Lord

Old Calendar: Transfiguration of Our Lord

From: Matthew 17:1-9

The Transfiguration


[1] And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart. [2] And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light. [3] And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. [4] And Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah." [5] He was still speaking, when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." [6] When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces, and were filled with awe. [7] But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and have no fear." [8] And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

[9] And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, "Tell no one the vision, until the Son of man is raised from the dead."
_____________

Commentary:

1-13. Realizing that his death will demoralize his disciples, Jesus forewarns them and strengthens their faith. Not content with telling them in advance about his death and resurrection on the third day, he wants two of the three future pillars of the Church ( cf. Gal 2:9) to see his transfiguration and thereby glimpse the glory and majesty with which is holy human nature will be endowed in heaven.

The Father's testimony (v. 5), expressed in the same words as he used at Christ's baptism (cf. Mt 3: 17), reveals to the three Apostles that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the beloved Son, God himself. To these words--also spoken at Christ's baptism--he adds, "Listen to him", as if to indicate that Jesus is also the supreme prophet foretold by Moses (cf. Deut 18:15-18).

3. Moses and Elijah are the two most prominent representatives of the Old Testament--the Law and the Prophets. The fact that Christ occupies the central position points up his pre-eminence over them, and the superiority of the New Testament over the Old.

This dazzling glimpse of divine glory is enough to send the Apostles into a rapture; so happy are they that Peter cannot contain his desire to prolong this experience.

5. In Christ God speaks to all men; through the Church his voice resounds in all ages: "The Church does not cease to listen to his words. She rereads them continually. With the greatest devotion she reconstructs every detail of his life. These words are listened to also by non-Christians. The life of Christ speaks; also, to many who are not capable of repeating with Peter, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God' (Mt 16:16). He, the Son of the living God, speaks to people also as Man: it is his life that speaks, his humanity, his fidelity to the truth, his all-embracing love. Furthermore, his death on the Cross speaks--that is to say the inscrutable depth of his suffering and abandonment. The Church never ceases to relive his death on the Cross and his resurrection, which constitute the content of the Church's daily life [...]. The Church lives his mystery, draws unwearyingly from it and continually seeks ways of bringing this mystery of her Master and Lord to humanity--to the peoples, the nations, the succeeding generations, and every individual human being" (John Paul II, "Redemptor Hominis", 7).
___________________________
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, August 05, 2008

Just for Today, August 6

That good and delightful affection which thou some­times perceivest, is the effect of present grace, and a certain foretaste of thy heavenly country. But thou must not rely too much upon it, because it goes and comes.
-Bk. III, ch. vi.
____________

The divine Shepherd of our souls deprives us of the sense of His presence, that He may bestow consolations on sinners. If He takes us to Thabor, it is only for a few moments, for pastures are usually found in the valley, and it is there that He rests at midday (Cant. i, 6).
-Letters.
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.

Thoughts of St Augustine for August 6

THE blessed Apostle admonishes us not to be sorrowful concerning them "that are asleep" --that is, our dear dead, "as others, who have no hope," which hope is that of the resurrection and of eternal life.
_________________________
Click here for more information.

From Thoughts of St Augustine for Every Day
by Kathleen Mary Balfe (© 1926)
Nihil Obstat: Georgius D. Smith, S.T.D
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont

Meditation for August 6, The Transfiguration

On certain days prayer is very difficult for me. Then again at rare intervals, it is so easy that I almost believe I am on Mt. Thabor; I willingly remain at prayer, for time passes without my being aware of it. My experience is somewhat similar, though in a lesser degree, to that of the monk in a legend. He was the porter of an old monastery in a forest. One day, hearing a bird sing, he went out of doors to hear it more clearly. Upon reentering the monastery, he found that he no longer recognized any faces...a hundred years had rolled away during the song of the bird.

That is poetry. Daily reality is sterner beyond a doubt. There is no captivating warbling--only faith, and most often, a faith without consolation, demanding a generous unfolding of all my powers, a generous persevering effort.

With God's grace I will try to recognize that everything comes from Him. Earth is earth. Normally I must seek the Master gropingly, my arms stretched out in the inky night; God is a hidden God. But I shall have all eternity to enjoy the Vision of Him.

If God permits me to remain powerless, a prey to distraction, I shall remember that such is the common lot; that I do not deserve to sit at the banquet, but should receive only the crumbs as my por­tion. And then, I will wait, not listless and weary, but alert and intensely alive to grace, unfolding all my powers to receive it, not through eagerness for sweetness but that I may never let a single grace slip by.

"Treat me, O Lord, as You wish. I do not ask for Your consolations but Your strength. If you have any seeds of sweetness to impart to me, weak child that I am, You will be good to think of me. I rely on Your Providence.

"Give me the grace to know how to remain steadfast in the absence of these sensible consolations, or in the intervals between them, and to persevere no matter what comes."
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)

The Lunacy Continues...

Janice Sevre-Duszynska, a peace and justice advocate who grew up in a Polish-American family on Milwaukee's south side, will seek to be ordained a priest in a Roman Catholic Womenpriests ceremony at 3 p.m. on Aug. 9 at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington, Ky....
Who would have thought that so many of the deranged women seeking to be "ordained" as a priestettes, are also so-called "peace and justice" advocates? Not only do they seek to subvert the truth, they misunderstand the social justice teachings of the Church as well. Ahhh, but should this not be expected from those boomers who failed to grow up?

This won't be the first time Sevre-Duszynska generated controversy. In 1998, she interrupted an ordination service at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Lexington and asked Bishop Kendrick Williams to ordain her....
Frankly, I'm surprised that Bishop Williams did not try to "ordain" her.

In 2000, she took part in a sit-in and grabbed the microphone at a meeting of U.S. bishops in Washington, D.C. to call for the ordination of women...
Disturbed or possessed?
And in 2002, she was arrested at a sit-in protesting ordinations at the cathedral in Atlanta, Ga...
Demented? Are these antics indicative of one who is of sound mind?

These excerpts are from an article from the Journal Sentinel Online here.

Another article from the Lexington Herald-Leader provides some additional background:

As a young girl growing up in Milwaukee, Janice Sevre-Duszynska often fantasized about becoming a priest while helping clean the sanctuary of the church her family attended. “I’d sit in the priest’s chair, go to the pulpit, make believe I was preaching and giving communion,” she said. “I thought, ‘Why couldn’t I be up here?’”
Sorry, Janice, I'm not buying this...As a young girl? How young might that be? Apparently this "urges" never pronpted her to seek to learn why the Church teaches what she does. And if by chance Janice did make an effort to understand, she rebelled against it.

Now, 50 years later, she will get her wish, but it could come with a price — excommunication from the Roman Catholic church....
Here's the answer...she was eight when she was helping to clean the church and pretending to be a priest...Cute!

Now 50 years later, she's determined to spit in the face of Jesus by joining with other heretics and schismatics. I wonder if it makes her family proud? It's certainly a sad day for the Church and for those who choose to jeopardize their eternal salvation by rejecting Christ and His Church in such a blatant and public display of rebellion.

“My heroes as priests are on the fringes ... they need to challenge the government and the Vatican,” Sevre-Duszynska said.
Where have we heard this before? Are these women all re-programmed like robots to say, on cue, exactly the same thing? Can't they come up with anything original? I know, that's a stupid question-there's nothing new about these rehashed attempts at bringing scandal and disunity to the Church.

How many priests "on the fringe" are truly Catholic? Guess it depend on what we mean by "fringe" but I think I understand Sevre-Duszynska's fringe.

“I’ve been asked to say Mass in September at the Catholic Workers House in Washington, D.C. I will consider that,” she said. “I also plan to continue my peace and justice work.”
So is the Catholic Worker House in DC another hotbed of dissent and rebellion? These clowns give authentic social justice a bad name...I only have one more question for the St Louis folks: How many from St Louis (St Cronan's or St Stanislaus) will be attending?

Lastly, I wonder if the diocese enlist the help of the media to run a covert surveillance operation?

May God have mercy on them and on us!

News Updates, 8/5

Saudis to Christians: Get out!
Those accused of worshipping in homes ordered deported

Spanish Templars are suing Pope Benedict
Seeking restoration of the medieval knights order

Catholic bishops endorse Calif. gay marriage ban
Urging parishioners to support a fall ballot measure

Junket to Jakarta
California "priestette" goes to Indonesia to promote women’s and LGBT rights and the female priesthood

Catholic universities take steps to go green
Colleges entering competitions such as RecycleMania

Kidnapped nun released after ransom paid
Woman abducted while riding public bus in Haiti

Catholics protest Manila's deal with Muslim rebels
Gov't giving Islam territory, broad political powers

Harlem priest steps down in sex scandal
Pastor played key role in Pope's visit to New York

Women bishops in the Catholic Church too?
Two recent countermeasures adopted by hierarchy

Gospel for Tuesday, 18th Week in Ordinary Time

Optional Memorial of the Dedication of St. Mary Major
Old Calendar: Dedication of the Church of Our Lady of the Snow (St. Mary Major); St. Oswald


From: Matthew 15:1-2, 10-14

True Cleanness

[1] Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, [2] "Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat."

[10] And he called the people to him and said to them, "Hear and understand: [11] "Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but whatcomes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." [12] Then the disciples came and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?" [13] He answered, "Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. [14] Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."
_______________

Commentary:

10-20. Our Lord proclaims the true meaning of moral precepts and makes it clear that man has to answer to God for his actions. The scribes' mistake consisted in concentrating on externals and not giving pride of place to interior purity of heart. For example, they saw prayer in terms of exact recital of fixed forms of words rather than as a raising of the soul to God (cf. Mt 6:5-6). The same thing happened in the case of dietary regulations.

Jesus avails of the particular cases dealt with in this passage to teach us where to find the true center of moral action: it lies in man's personal decision, good or evil, a decision which is shaped in his heart and which then is expressed in the form of action. For example, the sins which our Lord lists are sins committed in the human heart prior to being acted out. In the Sermon on the Mount he already said this: "Every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Mt 5:28).
___________________________
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, August 04, 2008

Just for Today, August 5

True glory and holy joy is to glory in Thee, and not in one's self; to rejoice in Thy name, and not to be delighted in one's virtue, nor in any creature, save only for Thy sake.

Let Thy name be praised, not mine; let Thy work be extolled, not mine; let Thy holy name be blessed; but to me let nothing be attributed of the praises of men. Thou art my glory; Thou art the joy of my heart.
-Bk. III, ch. xl.
_____________

Your letter did me so much good, especially the following passage: Let us keep back any word which would make others think better of us. We must keep all for Our Lord with jealous care; it is such a joy to work for Him alone...My only ambition is Our Lord's glory; as to mine, I leave it to Him. If He seems to forget me, well, He is free to do so, as I no longer belong to myself, but to Him. He will tire of keeping me waiting before I tire of waiting for Him.
-Letters.
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.

Thoughts of St Augustine for August 5

He is at once the priest who offers himself and he is the Oblation. He wills that the mystery should be the daily sacrifice of the Church.
_________________________
Click here for more information.

From Thoughts of St Augustine for Every Day
by Kathleen Mary Balfe (© 1926)
Nihil Obstat: Georgius D. Smith, S.T.D
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont

Meditation for August 5, Keep Smiling

At the beginning of the year, I made the resolution to smile at everything; to smile at God; to smile at my neighbor; to smile at myself.

Have I kept my resolution?

No, at least not completely.

That is not astonishing. Providence has not sent only sweetness; my neighbor has not always been agreeable; and I have found in myself more than one reason for annoyance.

But did I, by any chance, promise to smile only when all smiled on me? The very thing I was striving for was to force myself to smile when something or someone did not smile upon me. Other­wise, was it worth the trouble to make a resolution? A fine reso­lution indeed and how meritorious, to determine to accommodate myself to life as long as it rolls along according to my fancy.

No! No! I want to pledge myself'to go ahead even when things seem to go awry; to keep joyful even when sadness tries to creep in.

I have not been faithful.

I renew my resolution.

If I am young, it is an obligation for me; one cannot be morose at the very beginning of life. If I am mature, then I have learned from life that things grow better in the sunshine than at night; I must set a good example to those around me, maintain enthusiasm and keep a spirit of valor flourishing. If the years have slackened my pace with their coming, I will recall the advice of an old man who responded to the congratulations he received on his eighty-­sixth birthday: "the secret of a long life is to smile four times more than before."
"If you lack gaiety," a Greek poet once remarked, "I will not buy the rest of your goods, for the shadow of the smoke." In other words, when­ smiles are wanting only poverty and insignificance of life can be found. I will try to develop in myself the divine art of smiling. God loves a cheerful giver. (II Cor. ix, 7.)
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)

Spanish Templars Sue Pope?

Spanish Templars, who consider themselves to be the inheritors of the knight order destroyed in the 14th century, are suing Pope Benedict XVI and demanding the restoration of their order.
Demanding? What arrogance! Perhaps interdict or excommunication should be the next step?

Women Bishops in the Catholic Church, Too? Some Are Trying

According to Church authorities, ordinations of women are invalid, and those who perform them are excommunicated. Meanwhile, fifty women have already received sacred orders. The latest sensational case is from Saint Louis. Countermeasures by the Vatican...
by Sandro Magister
__________

...the theater of the latest ordination of Roman Catholic Womenpriests was Saint Louis. On November 11, 2007, in the Central Reform Synagogue headed by Rabbi Susan Talve, the female bishop Patricia Fresen, a former Dominican sister who had studied at the Angelicum in Rome, ordained two women to the priesthood, Rose Marie Dunn Hudson and Elsie Hainz McGrath (see photo). The ceremony was attended by about six hundred people, including an active supporter of the ordination, Sister Louise Lears, a member of the pastoral council of the parish of Saint Cronan, and the coordinator of religious education in the archdiocese.

During the ritual, a dozen Protestant pastors also laid their hands on the two women being ordained, concelebrated the Mass, and received communion.

There is, finally, the suspicion that some of the bishops are assisting the operation. Patricia Fresen, the former sister who is one of the four bishops of Roman Catholic Womenpriests, affirms that she was ordained to the episcopate in 2005 by three Catholic bishops whose names she is keeping secret. The same is thought to be the case for the other three women bishops of the movement.
More from Chiesa here.

News Updates, 8/4

In Rare Move Bishops Openly Criticize Catholic Professor over Nutrition and Hydration Articles in Jesuit Magazine
Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia and chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., chairman of the USCCB Committee on Doctrine, raise their concerns in the August 4 issue of the Jesuits' America magazine.

Catholic bishop warns Anglicans over property
Says: don't try to take churches of defectors to Rome

Where they feel “comfortable to reveal who they are”
Orange diocese’s “gay” and lesbian spiritual support group seeks to overcome discrimination in the Church

Sole intent, to attack the Church
Mexico City archdiocesan spokesman criticizes pro-abortion campaign for using Bible quotes

Congregation chains themselves to their church
Protesting planned closure of 100-year-old parish

Pope: Olympics should be sign of human dignity
'I am following this great sporting event...'

Polish Catholic monk preaches divine sex
Couples eager to attend his weekend and six-day workshops

Crucified frog sculpture provokes protests
Catholics complain to police that work is 'public obscenity'

Santeria's animal sacrifices legal in Florida
Afro-Cuban religion slaughers goats, chickens, pigeons