News Updates, 7/8

In new encyclical Pope Benedict slams population control, urges openness to life
...the much-anticipated social encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate was released, after being delayed for a year due to the global economic crisis. The encyclical includes several passages of great interest to those involved in the pro-life movement. The most pertinent and striking passages dealing with the life issues are reproduced below...

Caritas in Veritate in Gold and Red [George Weigel]
The revenge of Justice and Peace (or so they may think.

Caritatis in Veritate: papal encyclical calls for new moral approach to global economy
Explaining the title of the encyclical, Pope Benedict writes that the social teachings of the Catholic Church offer a means of appraising the secular world, judging social and economic systems against a clear moral standard. The guiding principle of Catholic social teaching is charity, he says. The teaching function of the Church involves explaining how that charity should be applied to practical issues: "A Christianity without truth would be more or less interchangeable with a pool of good sentiments, helpful for social cohesion, but of little relevance."

Bishops Blast New Stem Cell Guidelines, Some 30,000 Public Comments Ignored
Cardinal Justin Rigali is decrying a decision made by the National Institutes of Health to broaden the guidelines for federal funding of embryonic stem cell research...

Alabama Attorney General Calls Undercover Video of Planned Parenthood 'Extremely Troubling', Seeks Investigation
Alabama Attorney General Troy King has called a new undercover video released last week showing Planned Parenthood of Alabama apparently breaking state mandatory reporting laws for sexual abuse "extremely troubling" and requested the full recordings. The student-led nonprofit responsible for the recordings, Live Action, immediately sent the full footage, which the Attorney General's office received yesterday...

Refused by the Vatican, US sends Kmiec to Malta
Candidacy for Holy See quashed due to stance on abortion

Pope's private chapel reopens after restoration
Altar turned toward tabernacle, communion rail restored

Crude bombs thrown into Massachusetts church
'Nothing more than a tinged mark in one small area'

Gun pulled on pro-life sidewalk counselor
Man was determined his girlfriend would get abortion

Pope, Obama may find common ground in encyclical
Upcoming meeting may be focused on financial crisis

AP, Reuters spinning Pope's 'Charity in Truth'
Ignored Benedict's traditional stances on family, bioethics

Supreme Court ruling goes against Catholic Church
Opens door to lawsuits against Maine diocese

Second bomb blast in Philippines kills two
...on island where al-Qaida-linked militants are active

Connecticut court denies appeal from diocese
...for release of documents on handling of sex-abuse cases

=========
Other Issues
=========

Argentina's Banks To Shut Friday As Swine Flu Measure
Argentina's private-sector banks will shut down Friday as part of a nationwide effort to contain the spread of the A/H1N1 swine flu, local press reported Friday.

Heard through the grapevine, as yet unverified: California's new IOU's (registered warrants) have already been counterfeited
[Counterfeiting fake money...Is there no shame???]

“This may come as a shock to parents”
California slashes tax deduction for dependent children, but won’t touch Planned Parenthood funding

Afghanistan says 14 H1N1 cases on U.S. military base
Fourteen new cases of the H1N1 flu virus have been reported among U.S. citizens on the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan, the Afghan Health Ministry said on Wednesday, the second confirmed cases in three months.

Two Canada hog workers hit by new non-pandemic flu
* New flu virus not connected to H1N1 outbreak
* Hogs transmitted virus to workers

Gore likens fight against 'climate change' to battle with Nazis
[Al Gore is one sick, hypocritical individual - we should pray for his conversion and enlightenment]

Cancer patients to receive California IOUs
Court-appointed lawyers, cancer patients and alcoholics in treatment programmes have become the latest victims of California’s financial crisis, as the state grapples with a budget deficit that has ballooned to $26bn.

RBC is new Fed primary dealer
Royal Bank of Canada joined an exclusive club on Tuesday, as the investment dealer arm of the country’s largest bank was named a primary dealer by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

FBI: U.S. mortgage fraud 'rampant' and growing
U.S. mortgage fraud reports jumped 36 percent last year as desperate homeowners and industry professionals tried to maintain their standard of living from the boom years, the FBI said on Tuesday.
____________
When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators.
-P. J. O'Rourke

Gospel for Wednesday, 14th Week in Ordinary Time

Bl. Peter Vigne, priest
Old Calendar: St. Elizabeth, Queen of Portugal, widow

From: Matthew 10:1-7

The Calling and First Mission of the Apostles
[1] And He (Jesus) called to Him His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity. [2] The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; [3] Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; [4] Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

[5] These twelve Jesus sent out, charging them, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, [6] but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. [7] And preach as you go, saying, `The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.'"
________________________
Commentary:
1-4. Jesus calls His twelve Apostles after recommending to them to pray to the Lord to send laborers into His harvest (cf. Matthew 9:38). Christians' apostolic action should always, then, be preceded and accompanied by a life of constant prayer: apostolate is a divine affair, not a merely human one. Our Lord starts His Church by calling twelve men to be, as it were, twelve patriarchs of the new people of God, the Church. This new people is established not by physical but by spiritual generation. The names of those Apostles are specifically mentioned here. They were not scholarly, powerful or important people: they were average, ordinary people who responded faithfully to the grace of their calling--all of them, that is, except Judas Iscariot. Even before His death and resurrection Jesus confers on them the power to cast out unclean spirits and cure illnesses--as an earnest of and as training for the saving mission which He will entrust to them.

The Church reveres these first Christians in a very special way and is proud to carry on their supernatural mission, and to be faithful to the witness they bore to the teaching of Christ. The true Church is absent unless there is uninterrupted apostolic succession and identification with the spirit which the Apostles made their own.

"Apostle": this word means "sent"; Jesus sent them out to preach His Kingdom and pass on His teaching.

The Second Vatican Council, in line with Vatican I, "confesses" and "declares" that the Church has a hierarchical structure: "The Lord Jesus, having prayed at length to the Father, called to Himself those whom He willed and appointed twelve to be with Him, whom He might send to preach the Kingdom of God (cf. Mark 3:13-19: Matthew 10:1-10). These Apostles (cf. Luke 6:13) He constituted in the form of a college or permanent assembly, at the head of which He placed Peter, chosen from among them (cf. John 21:15-17). He sent them first of all to the children of Israel and then to all peoples (cf. Romans 1:16), so that, sharing in His power, they might make all peoples His disciples and sanctify and govern them (cf. Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:45-48; John 20:21-23) and thus spread the Church and, administering it under the guidance of the Lord, shepherd it all days until the end of the world (cf. Matthew 28:28)" ("Lumen Gentium", 19).

1. In this chapter St. Matthew describes how Jesus, with a view to the spreading of the Kingdom of God which He inaugurates, decides to establish a Church, which He does by giving special powers and training to these twelve men who are its seed.

5-15. After revealing His intention to found the Church by choosing the Twelve (verses 1-4), in the present passage He shows that He intends to start training these first Apostles. In other words, from early on in His public ministry He began to lay the foundations of His Church.

Everyone needs doctrinal and apostolic training to follow his Christian calling. The Church has a duty to teach, and the faithful have a parallel duty to make that teaching their own. Therefore, every Christian should avail of the facilities for training which the Church offers him--which will vary according to each person's circumstances.

5-6. In His plan of salvation God gave certain promises (to Abraham and the patriarchs), a Covenant and a Law (the Law of Moses), and sent the prophets. The Messiah would be born into this chosen people, which explains why the Messiah and the Kingdom of God were to be preached to the house of Israel before being preached to the Gentiles. Therefore, in their early apprenticeship, Jesus restricts the Apostles' area of activity to the Jews, without this taking from the world-wide scope of the Church's mission. As we will see, much later on He charges them to "go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19); "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation" (Mark 16:16). The Apostles also, in the early days of the spread of the Church, usually sought out the Jewish community in any new city they entered, and preached first to them (cf. Acts 13:46).
___________________________
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.

Principles and Practices - July 8

One Thing Wanting

'One thing is wanting to thee' -St Luke xviii, 22.

How many souls there are upon whom Jesus looks with love, souls who are very dear to His Sacred Heart, for they have done much and sacrificed much for Him. Yet He asks for more; He wants that last sacrifice, the surrender of that secret clinging to some trifling attach­ment, that their lives may be a perfect holocaust. How many souls hear this little voice: 'One thing is wanting to you that you may be perfect,' one generous effort to break away from the almost severed ties of self-love, and yet they heed it not. Liberty, home, and family they have given up, the joys and pleasures of this world they have despised, for a life of ease and comfort they have embraced the poverty of Jesus; but still they cling to some trifling gratification, and heed not the pleadings of the Sacred Heart.

-W. Doyle, S.J.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930

Thoughts of St Augustine for July 8

LET us go to him and be illumined, not as the Jews went to him that they might be blinded. They went to him in order to crucify him. Let us go to him and receive his Body and Blood.
_________________________
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

Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day-July 8

PRIESTS are chosen by God to manage on earth all his concerns and interests. They are dispensers of divine graces and the com­panions of God. St Francis of Assisi used to say, "If I saw an angel and a priest, I would bend my knee first to the priest and then to the angel."
_________________
From Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day
Compiled by Rev. C. McNeiry, C.SS.R.
Imprimatur: Joseph Hull, C.SS.R., Prov. Angl. Sup.
Nihil Obstat: Innocentlus Apap, O.P., S.T.M., Censor Deptutatus.
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius Generalis.
Westmonasterii, Die 9a Junii, 1927.
First published 1927

Dr Edward Peters: The Recife excommunications: Summum ius, summa iniuria

Dr Peters writes:

Roughly translated, Summum ius, summa iniuria means "the greater the right, the greater the wrong". When a great right (e.g., the right to life) is violated, it results in a great wrong. Similarly, when those with great responsibility (say, Curial officials) commit blunders in office, they do much more harm than would others. The continuing crisis over recent statements by certain Roman dicastery officials in regard to the Recife excommunications case features, I suggest, wrongs of both these sorts.

See why here...

News Updates, 7/7

Summary of the Encyclical "Caritas in Veritate" (Charity in Truth)
The Encyclical published today - which comprehends an introduction, six chapters and a conclusion - is dated 29 June 2009, Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles. A summary of the Encyclical released by the Holy See Press Office explains that in his introduction the Pope recalls how "charity is at the heart of the Church's social doctrine". Yet, given the risk of its being "misinterpreted and detached from ethical living", he warns how "a Christianity of charity without truth would be more or less interchangeable with a pool of good sentiments, helpful for social cohesion, but of little relevance".
[The Encyclical may be read here]

Is aborted fetal DNA linked to autism? [PDF file]
Is there a link between aborted fetal DNA and the rise in autism and autism spectrum disorder? A new study is underway by Sound Choice Pharmaceutical Institute - the non-profit arm of AVM Biotechnology and strategic partner of Children of God for Life.
[HT to DM for the update!]

Vatican investigation of Legion begin July 15
Five bishops, including Chaput, charged with task

Google bans advertising for abortion businesses
in Brazil, France, Mexico, Poland, and Taiwan

Philippines probes foreign angle in church blast
Foreign Islamic militants may have had a link

Muslim group rejects accusation of bomb attack
Explosion outside Philippine cathedral killed eight

Honduran army shuts down Catholic radio station
Bishops' statement read out on national television

Vatican investigating conduct of U.S. nuns
Sisters fear Church is trying to restore old traditions

Cash-strapped Vatican Radio to carry ads
...for first time in station's nearly 80-year history

Bishop asks ousted Honduran president to give it up
"To the Organization of American States, please pay attention to everything illegal that was happening before the 28th of June," [Archbishop Oscar Andrés] Rodríguez said. "This is a community that will define our own destiny without any unilateral pressures. We renounce any blockades, which will only hurt the poor."

Australia denies pressuring Vatican over sainthood
Prime Minister to urge Pope to canonize first down under

=========
Other Issues
=========

Public Pensions Cook the Books
Some plans want to hide the truth from taxpayers.

Delinquencies on U.S. Home-Equity Loans Reach Record

U.S. House May Include Surtax on Wealthy in Health-Care Package
House Ways and Means Committee members are likely to propose a surtax on high-income Americans to help pay for an overhaul of the health-care system, according to people familiar with the plan.
[Taxing and spending Amerika into prosperity! Criminal clowns!]

Big Banks Don't Want California IOUs
A group of the biggest U.S. banks said they would stop accepting California's IOUs on Friday, adding pressure on the state to close its $26.3 billion annual budget gap.

U.S. Attorney: Stolen Goldman Sachs Program Can "Manipulate Markets"
At a court appearance July 4 in Manhattan, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Facciponti told a federal judge that Aleynikov’s alleged theft poses a risk to U.S. markets...
[Apparently, it's OK for GS and .gov entities to "manipulate markets"]

Fitch Downgrades State of California GOs to 'BBB'; Maintains Rating Watch Negative
Fitch Ratings has downgraded the state of California's (the state) long-term general obligation (GO) bond rating to 'BBB' from 'A-'. The bonds remain on Rating Watch Negative.

New York Stock Exchange: "We Screwed Up"
[Organized crime can be defined as a transnational grouping of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for the purpose of generating a monetary profit.] Source

A baking institution in the Bronx will soon shut its doors.
[Union workers' demands leave them out of work...maybe now they'll understand what worker greed does to small companies]

Where's the birth certificate? An interview with Joseph Farah
Last week, Mr. Farah was kind enough to take the time to answer my questions concerning the controversy over Mr. Obama’s qualifications to be President. My questions and his responses were as follows...
[Still waiting for that transparency...]

__________________
The crash has laid bare many unpleasant truths about the United States. One of the most alarming, says a former chief economist of the Intl Monetary Fund, is that the finance industry has effectively captured our government.
-"Quiet Coup" article.

Gospel for Tuesday, 14th Week in Ordinary Time

Old Calendar: Sts. Cyril and Methodius, bishops and confessors

From: Matthew 9:32-38

The Dumb Devil
[32] As they were going away, behold, a dumb demoniac was brought to Him (Jesus). [33] And when the demon had been cast out, the dumb man spoke; and the crowds marvelled, saying, "Never was anything like this seen in Israel." [34] But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the prince of demons."

The Need for Good Shepherds
[35] And Jesus went about all the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity. [36] When He saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. [37] Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; [38] pray therefore the Lord of harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."
_______________________
Commentary:
35. The Second Vatican Council uses this passage when teaching about the message of Christian charity which the Church should always be spreading: "Christian charity is extended to all without distinction of race, social condition or religion, and seeks neither gain nor gratitude. Just as God loves us with a gratuitous love, so too the faithful, in their charity, should be concerned for mankind, loving it with that same love with which God sought man. As Christ went about all the towns and villages healing every sickness and infirmity, as a sign that the Kingdom of God had come, so the Church, through its children, joins itself with men of every condition, but especially with the poor and afflicted, and willingly spends herself for them" ("Ad Gentes", 12).

36. "He had compassion for them": the Greek verb is very expressive; it means "He was deeply moved". Jesus was moved when He saw the people, because their pastors, instead of guiding them and tending them, led them astray, behaving more like wolves than genuine shepherds of their flock. Jesus sees the prophecy of Ezekiel 34 as now being fulfilled; in that passage God, through the prophet, upbraids the false shepherds of Israel and promises to send them the Messiah to be their new leader.

"If we were consistent with our faith when we looked around us and contemplated the world and its history, we would be unable to avoid feeling in our own hearts the same sentiments that filled the heart of our Lord" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 133). Reflection on the spiritual needs of the world should lead us to be tirelessly apostolic.

37-38. After contemplating the crowds neglected by their shepherds, Jesus uses the image of the harvest to show us that that same crowd is ready to receive the effects of Redemption: "I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see now the fields are already white for harvest" (John 4:35). The field of the Jewish people cultivated by the prophets--most recently by John the Baptist--is full of ripe wheat. In farm work, the harvest is lost if the farmer does not reap at the right time; down the centuries the Church feels a similar need to be out harvesting because there is a big harvest ready to be won.

However, as in the time of Jesus, there is a shortage of laborers. Our Lord tells us how to deal with this: we should pray to God, the Lord of harvest, to send the necessary laborers. If a Christian prays hard, it is difficult to imagine his not feeling urged to play his part in this apostolate. In obeying this commandment to pray for laborers, we should pray especially for there to be no lack of shepherds, who will be able to equip others with the necessary means of sanctification needed to back up the apostolate.

In this connection [Pope] Paul VI reminds us: "the responsibility for spreading the Gospel that saves belongs to everyone--to all who have received it! The missionary duty concerns the whole body of the Church; in different ways and to different degrees, it is true, but we must all of us be united in carrying out this duty. Now let the conscience of every believer ask himself: Have I carried out my missionary duty? Prayer for the Missions is the first way of fulfilling this duty" ("Angelus Address", 23 October 1977).
___________________________
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.

Principles and Practices - July 7

Do Not Presume

Whatever high degree of grace and virtue thou hast attained, whatever gift of prayer God hath bestowed upon thee, let it be as sublime as thou wilt; even if thy life hath been one of a thousand years spent in innocence and fervour of devotion, thou oughtest, nevertheless, to walk always in fear and self-distrust, and more especially in matters touching purity. Recollect that thou carriest about in thee an indestructible germ and an inexhaustible fountain of sin, and knowing that thou art all weakness, all unstableness, and all un­faithfulness. Look, therefore, always to thyself; close thine eyes and ears so as neither to see nor hear anything that might sully thy soul.

-Leo XIII-Vaughan.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930

Thoughts of St Augustine for July 7

AND do not wonder either that our hearts are so fed as to be themselves refreshed, whilst the source of their refreshment remains undiminished.
_________________________
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

Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day-July 7

WERE the Redeemer to descend into a church and sit in a confessional to administer the Sacrament of Penance, and a priest to sit in another confessional, Jesus would say over each penitent, "Ego te absolvo," the priest would say over each of his penitents, "Ego te absolvo," and the penitents of each would be equally absolved.
_________________
From Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day
Compiled by Rev. C. McNeiry, C.SS.R.
Imprimatur: Joseph Hull, C.SS.R., Prov. Angl. Sup.
Nihil Obstat: Innocentlus Apap, O.P., S.T.M., Censor Deptutatus.
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius Generalis.
Westmonasterii, Die 9a Junii, 1927.
First published 1927

News Updates, 7/5-6

Welcome, Obama. The Vatican Plays Him a Fanfare [Chiesa]
On the eve of the visit of the pres__ent of the United States to the pope, Cardinal Cottier, for many years the official theologian of the pontifical court, writes an enthusiastic commentary about him. Obama responds with a very friendly interview. But the points of conflict remain...

Man Who Dropped Off Girlfriend for Abortion Pulls Gun on Pro-Life Advocate
An Arizona man who dropped off his girlfriend at a Phoenix Planned Parenthood abortion center pulled out a gun on a pro-life advocate after she handed him a brochure with information on alternatives. Police say the incident occurred on Wednesday morning.

Vatican hit by economic downturn: official figures
Pope Benedict XVI has not escaped the economic downturn, with donations hit by the global financial storm, official figures showed Saturday. The Vatican City ended 2008 with a deficit of 15 million euros (21 million dollars) and had been affected "like other states, by the economic and financial crisis", a statement said.

Blast at south Philippine cathedral kills five
Muslim terrorists detonate bomb fashioned from mortar round

Cardinal John Henry Newman on path to sainthood
Pope approves miracle attributed to his intercession

Russian president: We want better Vatican ties
Says possibility of diplomacy is under discussion

Anglican bishop to gays: Repent and 'be changed'
Comments have infuriated gay rights campaigners in UK
[Sinners generally, including sexual deviants and perverts, are not interested in the truth...many prefer to wallow in their sin until it kills the soul - and in others, the body.]

Obama meets with Catholic reporters
President outlines his thoughts on upcoming visit with Pope

UK bishop: Disobedience is harming the Church
'We all know what Jesus said about a divided house'

Douglas Kmiec named ambassador to Malta
Obama rewards Catholic presidential campaign supporter
[Destruction of truth pays off 'in this world' for the heretic - but what does he have to look forward to in 'eternity?']

Pro-abortion violence on rise after media build up
8,519 acts perpetrated against pro-life advocates
[But these acts are not viewed as "hate-crimes" - even though many are motivated by a sick malevolence against pro-life people...Justice denied by tyranny.]

Connecticut diocese drops federal lawsuit
Office of State Ethics said it would not pursue inquiry

Attorney General To Classify Pro-Life, Pro-Gun Americans As Terrorists
An amendment to a bill swiftly moving through the US Congress will allow the Obama Administration's Attorney General to classify Americans as domestic terrorists if they are pro-life, pro-gun and anti-big government.
[The domestic enemies in the US are looking forward to enhancing their fascist agenda...When will these traitors to the country make a public appearance on the gallows?]

=========
Other Issues
=========

Obama assured of a chilly Russian welcome; 'There will be no adoring crowds to greet him'

'Send Barry back to Kenya'
Florida protesters brave blazing sun to denounce 'fiscal lunacy'

WHO warns swine flu 'unstoppable'
The UN's top health official has opened a forum in Mexico on combating swine flu by saying that the spread of the virus worldwide is now unstoppable....

A Goldman Sachs Traing Scandal?
Did someone try to steal Goldman Sachs' secret sauce?
More insights here...

Earnings Drop Worldwide as Job Losses Hurt Consumers
Earnings at such companies as Ford Motor Co. and ArcelorMittal may continue to decline in the next three months as the highest unemployment in a quarter-century keeps consumers from spending...

Biden Says Obama Administration ‘Misread’ Economy
Vice President Joe Biden said the Obama administration “misread the economy” when it forecast unemployment would peak at 8 percent if Congress enacted a $787 billion fiscal stimulus...
[one would have to have been blind or lying not to see this storm coming - It's really just a looting/fraud racket perpetuated by the oligarchy]
____________

"The great masses of the people will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one."
-Adolf Hitler

Gospel for Monday, 14th Week in Ordinary Time

Optional Memorial: St Maria Goretti, Virgin and Martyr

From: Matthew 9:18-26

The Raising of Jairus' Daughter
[18] While He (Jesus) was speaking to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before Him, saying, "My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live." [19] And Jesus rose and followed him, with His disciples.

The Curing of the Woman with a Hemorrhage
[20] And behold, a woman who had suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His garment; [21] for she said to herself, "If I only touch His garment, I shall be made well." [22] Jesus turned, and seeing her He said, "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." And instantly the woman was made well. [23] And when Jesus came to the ruler's house, and saw the flute players, and the crowd making a tumult, [24] He said, "Depart; for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at Him. [25] But when the crowd had been put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. [26] And the report of this went through all that district.
______________________
Commentary:
18-26. Here are two miracles which occur almost simultaneously. From parallel passages in Mark (5:21-43) and Luke (8:40-56) we know that the "ruler" (of the synagogue) referred to here was called Jairus. The Gospels report Jesus raising three people to life--this girl, the son of the widow of Nain, and Lazarus. In each case the identity of the person is clearly given.

This account shows us, once again, the role faith plays in Jesus' saving actions. In the case of the woman with the hemorrhage we should note that Jesus is won over by her sincerity and faith: she does not let obstacles get in her way. Similarly, Jairus does not care what people will say; a prominent person in his city, he humbles himself before Jesus for all to see.

18. "Knelt before Him": the eastern way of showing respect to God or to important people. In the liturgy, especially in the presence of the Blessed Eucharist, reverences are a legitimate and appropriate external sign of internal faith and adoration.

23. "The flute players": engaged to provide music at wakes and funerals.

24. "Depart, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping": Jesus says the same thing about Lazarus: "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him" (John 11:11).

Although Jesus speaks of sleep, there is no question of the girl--or Lazarus, later--not being dead. For our Lord there is only one true death--that of eternal punishment (cf. Matthew 10:28).
___________________________
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.

Principles and Practices - July 6

Nobody Excluded

Solitude is to be found more permanently in the religious state than in the world; indeed, the religious state affords advantages scarcely to be found elsewhere for the pursuit of ontemplation. Still, it must not be thought to be confined to that state. Even in the world, in a secular state of life, God has often guided souls into these perfect ways, affording them as much solitude and internal freedom of spirit as He saw was necessary to bring them to a high degree of perfection.

-Baker.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930

Thoughts of St Augustine for July 6

HE says of himself "I am the Living Bread who cometh down from heaven." This is the Food which gives life and is never wanting, which is taken and not consumed, which feeds the hungry and remains whole.
_________________________
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

Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day-July 6

WHEN St Michael comes to a dying Christian who invokes his aid, the holy archangel can chase away the devils, but he cannot free his client from his chains till a priest comes to absolve him.
_________________
From Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day
Compiled by Rev. C. McNeiry, C.SS.R.
Imprimatur: Joseph Hull, C.SS.R., Prov. Angl. Sup.
Nihil Obstat: Innocentlus Apap, O.P., S.T.M., Censor Deptutatus.
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius Generalis.
Westmonasterii, Die 9a Junii, 1927.
First published 1927

1st Reading for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

From: Ezekiel 2:2-5

The Prophet’s mission

[2] And when he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me upon my feet; and I heard him speaking to me. [3] And he said to me, "Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels, who have rebelled against me; they and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. [4] The people also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them; and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God.' [5] And whether they ear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that there has been a prophet among them.
____________
Commentary:
2:1-3:3. The vision by the river Chebar is all about the grandeur and glory of God, who is sovereign over all things; whereas the account given of the call of Ezekiel tells us about the prophet and about the people of Israel, for whom the message is meant. The prophet is described as a son of man, whom the Spirit moves, a prophet among the people; and they are a rebellious people. The account takes the form of an address by the Lord containing a command to pass his word on to the people (2: 1-7) and a symbolic action in which Ezekiel eats the scroll given to him by God (2:8-3:3).

2:1. “Son of man”: this title is used repeatedly in these opening chapters. It occurs later on, too, more than ninety times; but it has special significance here, which is the first time it is used. Because Ezekiel is living in exile in a foreign and therefore unclean country, he cannot be given grand titles. He is an ordinary mortal, one creature among many, on an infinitely lower level than the Lord; one more among his people, like them an exile, a person brought low, but also someone who has hope in his heart. St Gregory the Great explains the title like this: “He is brought up often into heaven and his soul rejoices at great and beautiful mysteries which remain invisible to us. But it is fitting that he be called "son of man" while he contemplates those hidden wonders, so that he will not forget who he is or glory in the splendour that has been revealed to him” ("Homiliae in Ezechielem prophetam", 1, 12, 22).

2:2. “The Spirit set me upon my feet”. In the vision of God’s glory, the word “spirit” has three meanings. It is a natural thing -- a stormy wind, breath, spirit (1:4; cf. 13:11). From this comes the second meaning: "spirit" is an inner, superhuman strength which guides the actions of living creatures and cherubim, deciding when they should move and where they should go (cf. 1:12, 20, 21). But in the account of the call of Ezekiel, “spirit” has a third meaning: it is lifeforce, reminiscent of the “breath of life” that God breathed into man at the moment of creation (cf. Gen 2:7); this meaning will be seen more clearly in the vision of the bones brought back to life (cf. 37:5, 6, 8, 10). As a life-force, every time that the spirit affects Ezekiel, it is to ‘‘set him on his feet’’ (cf. 2:1; 3:20), to “lift him up’’ (cf. 3:12, 14, 24), so that he is better able to hear the word of God and to see what is happening in the temple of Jerusalem cf. 8:3; 11:1; 43: 5) or in Babylon (cf. 11:24). It is therefore an inner energy that transforms the prophet and helps him to hear or see things that he could not if left on his own, for he is a mere “son of man”.

2:3. Israel is a “nation of rebels” or, as it is put a little further on in the text, a “rebellious house” (2:8). The book defines the people of Israel in this negative way (cf. 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9) because it sums up the sinful history of their forebears and their own hostility towards God. Their rebelliousness involves arrogance towards God, rejection of his commandments, and refusal to listen to what he says. It makes them stubborn: one can even see it in their faces. Time and again Ezekiel tells them that their sin is grave, for they have freely chosen to adopt this attitude. They “will not listen to you”, the Lord says to Ezekiel, “for they are not willing to listen to me” (3:7). Precisely because sin requires a free act of the will, the prophet puts special emphasis on personal responsibility. Each individual will be punished for his or her sins, not for those of their forebears (cf. 18:1 32). Because the people are so rebellious, God wants the prophet to he especially docile: “Do not be rebellious” (2:8). The Lord asks him to listen carefully to the word of God and to accept it joyfully. The gesture of eating the scroll shows what docility requires. Even though the scroll contains “words of lamentation and mourning and woe” (2:10), the prophet will find it “sweet as honey” when he does what he is told.

2:4. “Thus says the Lord God”: this makes it clear that the prophet is not speaking on his own behalf. It is usually termed a “messenger formula” (words a messenger uses to preface his message), and occurs often in other prophetical books, particularly Isaiah and Jeremiah. However, in Ezekiel, where it appears almost 130 times, the name of God is reinforced (“Lord God”), to signal the infinite majesty of the Lord who speaks with full authority. The people’s stubbornness in rejecting God’s word is an act of rebellion, and the docility shown by the prophet is an almost obligatory act of submission. Ezekiel never resists the voice of the Lord, never raises any personal objection or difficulty unlike Isaiah and Jeremiah. On the contrary, knowing that he is passing on a divine message, not inventing one of his own, he must do this bravely, and never flag, even if the people refuse to listen (cf. 2:6-7; 3:11). “True prophets are those who say the words that God has spoken to them; the prophet of God is the one who delivers the words of God to men who cannot or do not deserve to understand God himself” (St Augustine, "Quaestiones in Heptateuchum", 2, 17).

2:5. “They will know that there has been a prophet among them”: a formal confirmation that Ezekiel is indeed a prophet. At a time when there was no king (for he was the prisoner of Nebuchadnezzar) and no temple (for it had been profaned and destroyed) and no social or religious institutions among the Jews, prophets acquired increased status. The prophet was God’s only representative among the people; he was the only one with authority to demand that they listen to his message.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.

2nd Reading for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

From: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Visions and Revelations

[7] And to keep me [Paul] from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. [8] Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me; [9] but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. [10] For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hard- ships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
______________

Commentary:
7-10. Displaying admirable humility, St Paul now refers to the weakness God allowed him to experience to ensure his supernatural gifts did not make him proud. It is impossible to say what exactly the "thorn in his flesh" was. Some Fathers- St Augustine, for example--and modern commentators think that it was some particularly painful and humiliating physical ailment, possibly the same one as he refers to in Galatians 4:13f, where he also speaks in general terms. Others, like St John Chrysostom, are of the view that he is referring to the pain which continual persecution caused him. Others--from St Gregory the Great onwards --opt for an ascetical interpretation; they say he is referring to temptations to do with conscience; but the supporters of the two other theses argue, for example, that it is unlikely that St Paul would have mentioned anything of that kind, because it could have given his enemies ammunition for further attacks.

St Paul asked God to take this "thorn" away, but the heavenly answer he received is very revealing: God's grace is enough to enable him to cope with this difficulty--which serves to reveal God's power. And so it is that he boasts of and is content with his weaknesses and the persecution he suffers: in these circumstances he is stronger than ever, thanks to God's supernatural help.

When commenting on this passage, St Thomas explains that God sometimes permits certain kinds of evil in order to draw out greater good: for example, in order to protect people from pride--the root of all vices -- he sometimes allows his chosen ones to be humiliated by an illness, or a defect, or even by mortal sin, in order that "the person who is humbled in this way might recognize that he cannot stand firm by his own efforts alone. Hence it is said in Romans 8:28, 'We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him'--not of course that God seeks the sin but [the sinner's] turning to him" ("Commentary on 2 Cor, ad loc.").

7. "A messenger of Satan", an angel of Satan: this is how he describes the humiliating "thorn". This suggests that the disability could have been seen as an obstacle to his work of evangelization--which the devil, logically, would have been keen to frustrate (cf. 2:11; 11:14f).

8-10. Christians can learn a great deal about the ascetical struggle from these words. They remind us, on the one hand, of the need to ask the Lord to help us when we experience difficulties, and at the same time to be full of trust and to abandon ourselves to God, who knows what is best for us. "The Lord is good", St Jerome teaches, "because he often does not give us what we desire, in order to give us something we would prefer" ("Epist. ad Paulinum").

The passage also shows us what attitude we should take to our own weakness: "We have to glory", St Alphonsus says, "in the knowledge of our own weakness in order to acquire the strength of Jesus Christ, which is holy humility", without "giving in to lack of confidence, as the devil wants, and falling into more serious sins" ("Treasury of Preaching Material", II, 6).

At the same time this passage teaches us that awareness of our personal shortcomings should lead us to put all our trust in God: "We have to cry out ceaselessly with a strong and humble faith, 'Lord, put not your trust in me. But I, I put my trust in you. ' Then, as we sense in our hearts the love, the compassion, the tenderness of Christ's gaze upon us (for he never abandons us) we shall come to understand the full meaning of those words of St Paul, "virtus in infirmitate perficitur" (2 Cor 12:9). If we have faith in our Lord, in spite of our failings -- or rather, with our failings--we shall be faithful to our Father, God; his divine power will shine forth in us, sustaining us in our weakness" (St. J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 194).
___________________________
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.

Gospel for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

From: Mark 6:1-6

No Prophet Is Honored In His Own Country
[1] He (Jesus) went away from there and came to His own country; and His disciples followed Him. [2] And on the Sabbath He began to teach in the synagogue; and many who heard Him were astonished saying, "Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to Him? What mighty works are wrought by His hands! [3] Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judah and Simon, and are not His sisters here with us?" And they took offense at Him. [4] And Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house." [5] And He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands upon a few sick people and healed them. [6] And He marvelled because of their unbelief.
_______________________
Commentary:
1-3. Jesus is here described by His occupation and by the fact that He is the son of Mary. Does this indicate that St. Joseph is dead already? We do not know, but it is likely. In any event, the description is worth underlining: in the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke we are told of the virginal conception of Jesus. St. Mark's Gospel does not deal with our Lord's infancy, but there may be an allusion here to His virginal conception and birth, in His being described as "the son of Mary."

"Joseph, caring for the Child as he had been commanded, made Jesus a craftsman, transmitting his own professional skill to him. So the neighbors of Nazareth will call Jesus both "faber" and "fabri filius": the craftsman and the son of the craftsman" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 55). This message of the Gospel reminds us that our vocation to work is not marginal to God's plans.

"The truth that by means of work man participates in the activity of God Himself, his Creator, was 'given particular prominence by Jesus Christ'--the Jesus at whom many of His first listeners in Nazareth 'were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to Him?... Is not this the carpenter?'" (Mark 6:23). For Jesus not only proclaimed but first and foremost fulfilled by His deeds the 'Gospel', the word of eternal Wisdom, that had been entrusted to Him. Therefore this was also 'the gospel of work', because 'He who proclaimed it was Himself a man of work', a craftsman like Joseph of Nazareth (cf. Matthew 13:55). And if we do not find in His words a special command to work--but rather on one occasion a prohibition against too much anxiety about work and life--(Matthew 6:25-34)--at the same time the eloquence of the life of Christ is unequivocal: He belongs to the `working world', He has appreciation and respect for human work. It can indeed be said the 'He looks with love upon human work' and the different forms that it takes, seeing in each one of these forms a particular facet of man's likeness with God, the Creator and Father" (John Paul II, "Laborem Exercens", 26).

St. Mark mentions by name a number of brothers of Jesus, and refers in general to His sisters. But the word "brother" does not necessarily mean son of the same parents. It can also indicate other degrees of relationship--cousins, nephews, etc. Thus in Genesis 13:8 and 14:14 and 16 Lot is called the brother of Abraham (translated as "kinsman" in RSV), whereas we know that he was Abraham's nephew, the son of Abraham's brother Haran. The same is true of Laban, who is called the brother of Jacob (Genesis 29:15) although he was his mother's brother (Genesis 29:15); there are other instances: cf. 1 Chronicles 23:21-22, etc. This confusion is due to the poverty of Hebrew and Aramaic language: in the absence of distinct terms, the same word, brother, is used to designate different degrees of relationship.

From other Gospel passages we know that James and Joses, who are mentioned here, were sons of Mary of Clophas (John 19:25). We know less about Judas and Simon: it seems that they are the Apostles Simon the Cananaean (Matthew 10:4) and Judas the son of James (Luke 6:16), the author of the Catholic Epistle, in which he describes himself as "brother" of James. In any event, although James, Simon and Judas are referred to as brothers of Jesus, it is nowhere said they were "sons of Mary"--which would have been the natural thing if they had been our Lord's brothers in the strict sense. Jesus always appears as an only son: to the people of Nazareth, He is "the son of Mary" (Matthew 13:55). When He was dying Jesus entrusted His mother to St. John (cf. John 19:26-27), which shows that Mary had no other children. To this is added the constant belief of the Church, which regards Mary as the ever-virgin: "a perfect virgin before, while, and forever after she gave birth" (Paul IV, "Cum Quorumdam").

5-6. Jesus worked no miracles here: not because He was unable to do so, but as punishment for the unbelief of the townspeople. God wants man to use the grace offered him, so that, by cooperating with grace, he become disposed to receive further graces. As St. Augustine neatly puts it, "He who made you without your own self, will not justify you without yourself" ("Sermon" 169).
___________________________
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.

Principles and Practices - July 5

Ideal of Prayer

It is well to bear in mind that in commanding us to pray always our Saviour did not mean actual prayer, as that would be an impossibility. The desire to glorify God by all our actions suffices for the rigorous fulfilment of this precept, if this desire be habitual and permanent. 'You pray often,' says St. Augustine, 'if you often have a desire to pay homage to God by your actions: you pray always if you always have this desire, no matter how you may be otherwise employed.'

-Quadrupani.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930

Thoughts of St Augustine for July 5

I WILL go beyond this power of mine, which is called memory, in my wish to reach thee whence thou mayest be reached, and to cleave to thee if so it may be.
_________________________
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

Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day-July 5

THE priestly dignity surpasses the dignity of the angels. Not all the angels in heaven can absolve from a single sin. The guardian angels procure grace for the souls committed to their care to have recourse to a priest that he may absolve them.
_________________
From Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day
Compiled by Rev. C. McNeiry, C.SS.R.
Imprimatur: Joseph Hull, C.SS.R., Prov. Angl. Sup.
Nihil Obstat: Innocentlus Apap, O.P., S.T.M., Censor Deptutatus.
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius Generalis.
Westmonasterii, Die 9a Junii, 1927.
First published 1927

The Paradox of Liberty

There is a paradox at the heart of liberty, a tension between our desiring what is good and our willingness to sacrifice true happiness for fleeting satisfaction. “Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom,” abolitionist Wendell Phillips said. Lord Acton echoed the idea, calling liberty, “the delicate fruit of a mature civilization.”...

Continued at Catholic Exchange here.

Happy Independence Day - Some Quotes to Ponder

Below are some quotes worth reading as our country is being attacked from within and de-Christianization, with its inherent demoralizing effects, is standard operating procedure by an out-of-control federal government which has become tyranical and dictatorial in scope and action:

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here."
--Patrick Henry, The Trumpet Voice of Freedom: Patrick Henry of Virginia, p. iii.

"Resistance to tyranny becomes the Christian and social duty of each individual....Continue steadfast and, with a proper sense of your dependence on God, nobly defend those rights which heaven gave, and no man ought to take from us."
--John Hancock, History of the United States of America, Vol. II, p. 229.

He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach himself.
--Thomas Paine

"The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God."
--Adams wrote this on June 28, 1813, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson.

"God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever; That a revolution of the wheel of fortune, a change of situation, is among possible events; that it may become probable by Supernatural influence! The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in that event."
--Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII, p. 237.

"While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian."
--George Washington, The Writings of Washington, pp. 342-343.

"The Gospel of Jesus Christ prescribes the wisest rules for just conduct in every situation of life. Happy they who are enabled to obey them in all situations!"
--Benjamin Rush, The Autobiography of Benjamin Rush, pp. 165-166.

"Christianity is the only true and perfect religion, and that in proportion as mankind adopts its principles and obeys its precepts, they will be wise and happy."
--Benjamin Rush, Essays, Literary, Moral, and Philosophical, published in 1798.

"I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth--that God Governs the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?"
--Ben Franklin, Congressional Congress, 1787

May you have a most happy and blessed Independence Day!

You may want to re-read our American Founding Documents. This is, after all, why we celebrate today.

Please reflect on what this day truly means and ponder if, were you in the same situation, would you risk life, liberty, and property (as did our Founding Fathers) to oppose and revolt against the heavy hand of tyranny?

May God bless you and our country! And please pray for our military - past, present and future!

Story of the First Weekly TLM in Fitchburg, Massachusetts

The first weekly Mass in the Extraordinary Form (Traditional Latin Mass) at Immaculate Conception Church in Fitchburg was held on Sunday, June 28^th.  The Missa Cantata was very well attended by people of all ages.  The superb acoustics in the large  Romanesque Church accentuated the Latin prayers intoned by the celebrant, Reverend Father David Phillipson, as well as the traditional Gregorian chants and motets sung by the choir directed by Sam Schmitt, an organist, singer, conductor and composer who holds a Doctorate in musicology and other graduate degrees in liturgical music and music history.   The seven altar boys in attendance added much to the reverent and transcendent atmosphere of the Solemn Liturgy: the incense from the thurible, the candlelight from the torches carried by the boys, and the sound of the bells rung at key points.

 

The following impressions from one of the attendees are typical of the responses expressed:

 

        "I think it's fair to call this the beginning of the restoration of the immemorial Holy Mass codified by St. Pius V to the church of the Immaculate Conception. I'm glad to say that our (my family's) hopes were high, but we were entirely unprepared for the palpably sacred ambience that persisted in the church throughout the sacred liturgy and  which accompanied us right out the door and into the church hall (where I spent most of my time talking about the Mass, I think). It brought back a flood of memories of the best days I'd seen when I was a boy and the blessed years we had the privilege of going to Mass at Holy Trinity in Boston (where our two girls were baptized). I had the distinct impression that Father, the altar servers, and the choir were actually praying (not acting out roles) as they solemnly carried out their offices with unaffected reverence. I trust that everyone could plainly see how beautiful the church is with its French blue and gold, especially in the magnificent statue of Our Lady, and the organ filling every corner, at times with sounds of reflection, at others with those of majesty; but even now when I recall the ensemble of those impressions, I'm overwhelmed.  I think one cannot really overestimate the beguiling power of the truly sacred.

    "My family thanks you and all those who worked so long, so hard, and with such loving devotion to bring the truly extraordinary Holy Mass back to Immaculate Conception Church.  May Our Lord and His holy Mother and ours bless you abundantly with their most excellent graces here on Earth and forever in Heaven. 

With gratitude in Jesus and Mary, John and Connie Mick and family."

 

All are invited to experience worship in this Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite which will be offered every Sunday at 8AM as a Sung High Mass when possible (or else as a Low Mass).   The Sacrament of Confession takes place before the Mass from 7:15 to 7:50AM, and the Rosary is recited at 7:30AM.    For more information, visit the website which is under construction at www.immaculateconceptionfitchburg.com.   

 

Father David Phillipson was trained to offer the Ancient Roman Rite by the Fraternity of St. Peter and has worked in traditional parishes for several years.  Father will also hold spiritual conferences and traditional devotions, and administer the Sacraments according to the Extraordinary Form.  "Together with the Latin Mass Community, I wish to thank Bishop McManus and Father Thien for making available the celebration of Mass in the Ancient Rite in this beautiful Church.  I look forward to serving the community and invite all to attend and experience Mass in the Ancient Usage.  I am happy to help anyone to learn to follow the missal or to answer any questions they may have.  Any priests who would like assistance in learning this rite are welcome to contact me:  frdavidphil4@gmail.com."

 

Contributions to help with the start up costs for this endeavor are very welcome and may be sent to the Church at 59 Walnut Street in Fitchburg 01420.  Please make your tax deductible donation to Immaculate Conception Church EF  (EF designating the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite).

 

###
Submitted by (and a Special Thanks to) Todd Tabbaa of Leominster, MA

Gospel for Saturday, 13th Week in Ordinary Time

Optional Memorial: St Elizabeth of Portugal
Optional Memorial: Our Lady's Saturday

From: Matthew 9:14-17

The Call of Matthew (Continuation)

[14] Then the disciples of John (the Baptist) came to Him (Jesus), saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" [15] And Jesus said them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. [16] And no one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. [17] Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; if it is, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved."
____________________

Commentary:

14-17. This passage is interesting, not so much because it tells us about the sort of fasting practised by the Jews of the time--particularly the Pharisees and John the Baptist's disciples--but because of the reason Jesus gives for not requiring His disciples to fast in that way. His reply is both instructive and prophetic. Christianity is not a mere mending or adjusting of the old suit of Judaism. The redemption wrought by Jesus involves a total regeneration. Its spirit is too new and too vital to be suited to old forms of penance, which will no longer apply.

We know that in our Lord's time Jewish theology schools were in the grip of a highly complicated casuistry to do with fasting, purifications, etc., which smothered the simplicity of genuine piety. Jesus' words point to that simplicity of heart with which His disciples might practise prayer, fasting and almsgiving (cf. Matthew 6:1-18 and notes to same). From apostolic times onwards it is for the Church, using the authority given it by our Lord to set out the different forms fasting should take in different periods and situations.

15. "The wedding guests": literally, "the sons of the house where the wedding is being celebrated"--an __expression meaning the bridegroom's closest friends. This is an example of how St. Matthew uses typical Semitic turns of phrase, presenting Jesus' manner of speech.

This "house" to which Jesus refers has a deeper meaning; set beside the parable of the guests at the wedding (Matthew 22:1 ff), it symbolizes the Church as the house of God and the body of Christ: "Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ was faithful over God's house as a son. And we are His house if we hold fast our confidence and pride in our hope" (Hebrews 3:5-6).

The second part of the verse refers to the violent death Jesus would meet.
___________________________
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.

Principles and Practices - July 4

The Soul's Detachment

My soul is so detached, so denuded, lonely, so estranged from all created things, in heaven and earth; it has become so recol­lected in Thee, that nothing whatever can come with­in sight of that most intimate joy which I have in Thee. That is, there is nothing whatever that can cause me pleasure with its sweetness, or disgust with its vileness, for my soul is so far removed from all such things, absorbed in such profound delight in Thee, that nothing can behold me.

-St. John of the Cross.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930

Thoughts of St Augustine for July 4

WHAT then shall I do, O my God, my true life? I will go beyond this power of mine which is called memory, I will go beyond it that I may reach thee, my sweet Light. What sayest thou to me? Behold me ascending through my own soul to thee who dwellest above me.
_________________________
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

Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day-July 4

AT the Council of Nice, the Emperor Constantine wished to sit in the last place, after all the priests, and on a seat lower than that which they occupied; he would not even sit down without their permission.
_________________
From Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day
Compiled by Rev. C. McNeiry, C.SS.R.
Imprimatur: Joseph Hull, C.SS.R., Prov. Angl. Sup.
Nihil Obstat: Innocentlus Apap, O.P., S.T.M., Censor Deptutatus.
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius Generalis.
Westmonasterii, Die 9a Junii, 1927.
First published 1927

News Updates, 7/3

The Recife Case. Rome Has Spoken, But the Dispute Has Not Ended [Chiesa]
The controversy over the abortion for the child-mother is becoming increasingly heated. The Brazilian archdiocese is threatening a canonical denunciation against the president of the pontifical academy for life. The indictment of Michel Schooyans, which ends with an appeal to the pope

Archbishop Carlson Saved Loome Theological Booksellers
St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson once saved Loome Theological Booksellers from the "out with the old, in with the new" spirit of Vatican II hardliners in the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis...
[Interesting story...BTW, Loome has some great books]

Obama cites influence of Cardinal Bernardin, prepares to meet pope
Barack Obama told a round table of religion writers July 2 that he continues to be profoundly influenced by the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago, whom he came to know when he was a community organizer in a project partially funded by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development...
[First, I want to know the year and the recipient to determine IF this is even possibly true! Second, who is feeding Obongo this tripe? Kmiec? This makes me want to barf, he is such a lying phony and people actually believe him!]

Apostolic visit to Legionaries of Christ to begin July 15
After the announcement on March 31 that Pope Benedict XVI had ordered an Apostolic Visitation of the Legionaries of Christ, many wondered when it would begin. Vatican watcher Sandro Magister has answered the question by reporting it will begin on July 15 and that five bishops have been charged with the task


=========
Other Issues
=========

Palin Quits, Transfers Power to Lt. Governor
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Friday that she would not seek a second term, setting up a potential run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.

Small businesses vital to economic recovery go bankrupt

Congress's Travel Tab Swells
Spending by lawmakers on taxpayer-financed trips abroad has risen sharply in recent years, a Wall Street Journal analysis of travel records shows, involving everything from war-zone visits to trips to exotic spots such as the Galápagos Islands...
{Up 50% since Dems took over Congress! Thieves - the imates are running the asylum!]

Banking system like South Sea bubble, says B o E official
A senior Bank of England official today compared the banking system over the last 20 years to the South Sea bubble of the early 18th century and said bankers had merely "resorted to the roulette wheel" to keep up with each other.

CDC: U.S. may need 600 million swine flu vaccine doses

Woman Obama Hugged at Town Hall Was His Volunteer
Debby Smith, the woman who Obama hugged during yesterday's town hall meeting and promised to help after she described her difficulties getting treatment for a tumor, "is a volunteer for Organizing for America, Obama's political operation within the Democratic National Committee" who "obtained her ticket through the White House."
[Scheming, lying, deceiving fraud! I still maintain that this thug is a spawn of Satan!]

Lear announces bankruptcy reorganization plan
Lear Corp. said today it will soon file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as the seat maker, reliant on the Detroit 3 for nearly 40 percent of sales, succumbed to the worst vehicle sales environment in nearly 30 years.

Gospel for July 3, Feast: St. Thomas, Apostle

Old Calendar: St. Irenaeus, bishop and martyr; St. Leo II, pope and confessor (Hist)

From: John 20:24-29

Jesus Appears to the Disciples (Continuation)
[24] Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. [25] So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in His side, I will not believe."

[26] Eight days later, His disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, "Peace be with you." [27] Then He said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side; do not be faithless, but believing." [28] Thomas answered Him, "My Lord and my God!" [29] Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."
_________________________
Commentary:
24-28. Thomas' doubting moves our Lord to give him special proof that His risen body is quite real. By so doing He bolsters the faith of those who would later on find faith in Him. "Surely you do not think", [Pope] St. Gregory the Great comments, "that is was a pure accident that the chosen disciple was missing; who on his return was told about the appearance and on hearing about it doubted; doubting, so that he might touch and believe by touching? It was not an accident; God arranged that it should happen. His clemency acted in this wonderful way so that through the doubting disciple touching the wounds in His Master's body, our own wounds of incredulity might be healed. [...] And so the disciple, doubting and touching, was changed into a witness of the truth of the Resurrection" ("In Evangelia Homiliae", 26, 7).

Thomas' reply is not simply an exclamation: it is an assertion, an admirable act of faith in the divinity of Christ: "My Lord and my God!" These words are an ejaculatory prayer often used by Christians, especially as an act of faith in the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Eucharist.

29. [Pope] St. Gregory the Great explains these words of our Lord as follows: "By St. Paul saying `faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things unseen' (Hebrews 11:1), it becomes clear that faith has to do with things which are not seen, for those which are seen are no longer the object of faith, but rather of experience. Well then, why is Thomas told, when he saw and touched, `Because you have seen, you have believed?' Because he saw one thing, and believed another. It is certain that mortal man cannot see divinity; therefore, he saw the man and recognized Him as God, saying, `My Lord and my God.' In conclusion: seeing, he believed, because contemplating that real man he exclaimed that He was God, whom he could not see" ("In Evangelia Homiliae", 27, 8).

Like everyone else Thomas needed the grace of God to believe, but in addition to this grace he was given an exceptional proof; his faith would have had more merit had he accepted the testimony of the other Apostles. Revealed truths are normally transmitted by word, by the testimony of other people who, sent by Christ and aided by the Holy Spirit, preach the deposit of faith (cf. Mark 16:15-16). "So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes from the preaching of Christ" (Romans 10:17). The preaching of the Gospel, therefore, carries with it sufficient guarantees of credibility, and by accepting that preaching man "offers the full submission of his intellect and will to God who reveals, willingly assenting to the revelation given" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 5).

"What follows pleases us greatly: `Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.' For undoubtedly it is we who are meant, who confess with our soul Him whom we have not seen in the flesh. It refers to us, provided we live in accordance with the faith, for only he truly believes who practices what the believes" ("In Evangelia Homiliae", 26, 9).
___________________________
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.

Principles and Practices - July 3

One With And In

Such is our union with Christ that we, and all Christians, are one not only with Christ, but in Christ. We belong to Christ. We are one in Christ Jesus: we are of Christ. Thus is the 'mystical Body' constituted: Christ and Christians form one sole moral person, one sole living orgacism.

-Dupperay-Burke.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930

Thoughts of St Augustine for July 3

ALL things which have entered memory by their own proper door are stored up in it with order and distinctness...Great, exceedingly great, is this power of memory, O my God, it is a measureless abode, who can fathom it?
_________________________
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

Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day-July 3

THE priestly dignity is the most noble of all the dignities in the world. The power of kings extends only to temporal goods and to the bodies of men, but the power of the priest extends to spiritual goods and to the human soul.
_________________
From Thoughts from St Alphonsus for Every Day
Compiled by Rev. C. McNeiry, C.SS.R.
Imprimatur: Joseph Hull, C.SS.R., Prov. Angl. Sup.
Nihil Obstat: Innocentlus Apap, O.P., S.T.M., Censor Deptutatus.
Imprimatur: Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius Generalis.
Westmonasterii, Die 9a Junii, 1927.
First published 1927

News Updates, 7/2

"We Bend the Rules on Sexual Abuse"
Another Lila Rose video exposes Planned Parenthood

Chairman Obama Meets With Catholic Press Thursday
Thursday morning at 10:45 Eastern time, [Chairman Obama] is hosting a round table at the White House for members of the Catholic press. The National Catholic Register’s publisher, Father Owen Kearns, will be among eight religion reporters and editors in attendance at that gathering. The purpose of the gathering, according to Chris Hensman, press secretary with the National Security Council, is a “preview of the pres__ent’s [ID missing] upcoming visit with Pope Benedict XVI.” Obama is meeting with the Pope on July 10.

NEA to consider full support of homosexual 'marriage'
The co-founder of the National Education Association (NEA) Conservative Educators Caucus says the NEA will consider adoption of a resolution supporting homosexual "marriage."
[This is nothing more than the "educational abuse" of children - the NEA, a big contributor to the Usurper in Chief, should be viewed as a group advocating the emotional and spiritual abuse of innocent children.]

IrishCentral's own Father Tim, a Jesuit missionary who has his own blog on the site, has written a very special column on the Church abuse scandal in Ireland. The (rather long) link to Father Tim's "Mother Mary, speaking words of wisdom" post is here.

Nuns In The U.S. Are Facing Scrutiny By The Vatican
The Vatican is quietly conducting two sweeping investigations of American nuns, a development that has startled and dismayed nuns who fear they are the targets of a doctrinal inquisition. Sister Sandra M. Schneiders has urged fellow nuns not to participate in the study that is being conducted by the Vatican...

Mexican drug lords target outspoken priests
1,000 Catholic clerics facing constant threats

Controversial Brazilian bishop retires
Excommunicated those involved in 9-year-old's abortion

Pope urges state aid for victims of extortion
Benedict XVI thanked Italian anti-usury group

Probe of Bridgeport diocese loses momentum
Attorney General advises ethics officials to desist

Church against legalizing homosexuality in India
Catholics already at odds with gov't over other issues

Did Canadian bishops issue a 'whitewash' report?
Catholic agency cleared of abortion-funding allegations

Paraguay bishop: no reason to reconsider celibacy
Saya Lugo 'is aware of the rules of the Catholic Church'

First Indian convicted in anti-Christian riots
Hindu fanatics continue to issue death threats in Orissa

'Sexualized' nun and priest ad banned by watchdog
Suggestion of a kiss offensive in ice cream campaign

Baltimore Archdiocese to Probe Whether 'Miracle' Cancer Cure Tied to 19th-Century Priest
The Archdiocese of Baltimore plans to investigate whether an Annapolis woman's cure from cancer was a miracle, a possible step toward sainthood for a 19th-Century priest.

=========
Other Issues
=========

Swine flu cases in Britain could soar to 100,000 A DAY by next month, Government warns

Buenos Aires mayor declares health emergency (Swine flu)

Texas Appellate Court Deals Blow to Islamist Lawfare -- Upholds Free Speech Rights
Yesterday, seven Texas-area Muslim organizations filed an appeal of the unanimous ruling of the Texas Second Court of Appeals at Forth Worth, which protected the free speech rights of internet journalists and at the same time dealt a blow to the legal jihad being waged by radical Muslim groups throughout the United States...

North Korea seen readying missiles

Harvard Economist Ferguson Sees No Green Shoots

Obama's biggest character flaw
The President of these United States recently expressed his love for "the Urdu poets," a piece of inspired BS that nobody in their right minds believed for a second. But then the P was narrowcasting to Pakistan, he thought, and Americans weren't supposed to be listening. Yet character is revealed in those little snippets of Obama's mind -- his glorious fantasy life, his everlasting hope that somebody will fall for another piece of schtick, and his essential fraudulence as a human being...
[Besides suffering from NPD, where's the proof that Obongo is a "natural born citizen"?]

Bank of America to accept IOU's from California
[An insolvent bank accepting IOU's from insolvent state...How long before other states start similar schemes???]

NY City Council backs closure of schools for Islamic Feast on Sept. 11thThe NY Times fails to mention that Eid al-Adha falls on Sunday, September 11 in the year 2016 and Eid al-Fitr will begin at sunset on September 9 and continue to sunset on Friday September 10 in the year 2010...

Treasury Ready to Throw Away Billions
The U.S. Treasury has apparently found another way to lose more taxpayer money. Perhaps $9 billion down the drain, unless changes are made soon...

UK scraps compulsory ID cards
Alan Johnson, the home secretary, has shelved plans for the eventual introduction of compulsory ID cards for British citizens, dealing another blow to the government’s controversial £4.9bn national identity scheme.

The 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence Proved Freedom is not Free
It all began on July 4, 1776 in the city of Philadelphia when a small group of men, suffering under the restraints of a European power 3000 miles away, and acting as the Second Continental Congress, declared their 13 colonies to be free and independent of Great Britain. Knowing their proclamation would bring difficulties, they committed themselves and their constituents to what they believed was their “unalienable right” — freedom from tyranny...


_____________
Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.
-Ben Franklin.