Defenders of Archbishop Burke

I APOLOGIZE FOR THE LATE NOTICE!!!

I received this today, (I just returned from the Marian Conference):

If you have not heard, a group is forming to show especially the media that Archbishop Burke is not universally reviled in our Archdiocese.

The Archbishop will be formally installing the pastor at St. Agatha's this coming Sunday at 10 a.m., and the Mr. McKenzie says the Vicar General, Monsignor Gardin, has encouraged anyone who wants to come and show support for the Archbishop to attend this Mass. I figure the Credo folks will especially want to be there.

And the Message from the Defenders:

I am happy to report that our press release garnered quite a bit of attention Friday, and the attention continues.

Here is what I am aware of that happened in the media today (let me know if I missed anything):

Fox News 2 carried a report this morning that repeated all the points from the press release

I gave an interview to KTRS radio (AM 550) which they used in segments throughout the day during their local news. The ones I heard were balanced.

I gave an interview to "Metro Network News" that supplies news in digest form to approximately 30 St. Louis FM stations. You may be hearing segments in the next few days.

I gave a telephone interview to a reporter for the Post-Dispatch who wants to put an article in Saturday's paper and cover the Mass on Sunday.

I have been contacted by a producer and photographer at KMOV TV who are both interested in arranging an interview.

From now until Sunday I will be promoting the Mass at St. Agatha's to the media. They tell me that they will be there and we will be on the Sunday evening news (and I believe it because traditionally Sunday is a slow news day). Because the cameras will be rolling it is vital that we have visuals for them. This means posters, signs, placards, you name it - anything visual that they can show on the screen while they play their audio. They will show the crowd of course but since each shot only takes a few seconds we need to give them a rich visual environment (colorful clothes anyone?)

The Name of the Game - Signs!

This is the area in which the members of the Defenders can really help our efforts on Sunday. If you are coming to the Mass, and if you have the ability to make a sign please do so. Here are some suggested messages:
We Love Archbishop Burke!
God Bless Archbishop Burke!
We Support Archbishop Burke
St. Stan's Come Back! We Miss You!
If you want to use a different message just make sure it is positive, not critical. It is to our advantage if we have a wide selection of hand-lettered signs (as opposed to duplicate machine-made signs). This gives the camera more visual variety to work with. The Mass on Sunday is beginning to look like a very important event for us. We are going there to support the Archbishop, but the media will use it to introduce our group to their audiences. I hope we impress them favorably.

Remember, some members of the media have accepted the interpretation given out by the St. Stan's board of directors: that Christ was a rebel and so are the people at St. Stanislaus. You know what that makes the Archbishop and those faithful to him don't you? That's right. The Pharisees. We have to counteract that image.

Image is very important when you deal with the media. Our words and image must match. If we say we love the Archbishop and the people of St. Stanislaus we must look like loving people. On TV that means smiles or at least not frowning. If you see me not smiling please kick me. Gradually we will change the perception. We and the Archbishop will no longer be seen as Pharisees but as mild and loving Catholics - which is exactly what we are.

Directions to St. Agatha's Church

The address of St. Agatha's is 3239 S. 9th Street, St. Louis MO 63118. It is just a little south of the brewery. From Highways 40 or 44 get on Broadway and go south to Arsenal Street. Turn right on Arsenal and left on 9th Street. Go two blocks to the Church. From Hwy. 55 get off at Arsenal Street and go east. Turn right on 9th Street. Go two blocks to the Church. There is parking on the lot behind the church and on the street.

I will have a sign saying "Defenders of Archbishop Burke". Please join me, with your sign if you have one (you shy people may want to have a sign just to hide behind). Please be there by 9:00 A.ME. for the convenience of the media. I will send a press release out tomorrow to the media telling them that we will be there early if they would like a statement or some footage.

You do not have to speak to the media if you don't want to. I will be making statements for the group. If they want comments from our members (and they probably will) you are welcome to do so if you wish (comments are like signs - the more signs and comments, the better - and longer - the news report will be) but there is absolutely no obligation to do so. It is also up to you to provide your name to the reporter. If you don't want them to have your name don't give it!

If you decide to make a statement please try to include a sentence about how you pray that the people at St. Stanislaus will realize their mistake and come back to the Church. Tell them we miss them! Tell them we are in a state of mourning over the split! Tell them they will always be welcome in the Church of their forefathers. Tell them you pray for them (if you do). I deeply believe all these things and I hope you do too. Catholics want everyone to be Catholic right? Even the naughty ones.

So to review for the media. We want to keep it simple and focus on:
Our love for Archbishop Burke
Our love for the people of St. Stanislaus
If they try to get you to criticize the board of directors or the people of St. Stanislaus don't take the bait! Just say that deep down they know as Catholics that what they did is wrong and that you want them to come home. I hope we can reach some of the board members' wives through TV. They must be heartbroken at what their husbands have done.

Feel free to attend the Mass. That's what the Archbishop invited us there for. Let's gather again outside after Mass in case there are any tardy members of the media and to become better acquainted with one another. I am looking forward to meeting all of you faithful Catholics!

Remember, producing good newsworthy public events to show our support for the Archbishop is one of the primary reasons Defenders of Archbishop Burke came into existence. A good showing Sunday will go a long way towards meeting that goal. Let's make it count! I keep the media posted about our numbers. If we have, for example 130 members (as we did as of 1-13-06) and only five members show up it won't look so good.

Many of you Defenders are emailing me with information and encouragement. I really appreciate this but it takes me time to ascertain if the email is from a new or existing member. We are already up to 130 members and I cannot remember everyone's name. Therefore please write "I am already a member" on the top of your email if you are already a member. That way I won't waste time signing you up twice and you won't receive duplicate emails. Thanks for your consideration.

If you are a recent member and wonder what our previous messages said you are welcome to email me and request copies. So far we have had:
Announcing: DEFENDERS OF ARCHBISHOP BURKE
First Opportunity to help the Archbishop (about the Mass at St. Agatha's)
Pray for those in schism
Press Release: It's Not Too Late For St. Stanislaus!
God bless,
Bill McKenzie
Defenders of Archbishop Burke

Gospel for Saturday, 1st Week in Ordinary Time

From: Mark 2:13-17

The Calling of Matthew

[13] He (Jesus) went out again beside the sea; and all the crowd gathered about Him, and He taught them. [14] And as He passed on, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and He said to him, "Follow Me." And he rose and followed Him. [15] And as he sat at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were sitting with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many who followed Him. [16] And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that He was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to His disciples, "Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?" [17] And when Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners."
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Commentary:

14. St. Mark and St. Luke (5:27-32) both call him "Levi"; the First Gospel, on the other hand, calls him "Matthew" (Matthew 9:9-13); but they are all referring to the same person. All three accounts describe the same event. Later on, St. Mark and St. Luke, when giving the list of Apostles (Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16), include Matthew, not Levi. The Fathers identify Matthew with Levi. Besides it was quite common for Jews to have two names: Jacob-Israel, Simon-Peter, Saul-Paul, Joseph-Caiaphas, John-Mark... Frequently, the name and surname were connected with some significant change in the life and mission of the person concerned. Did Jesus' saving intervention in this Apostle's life lead to a change of name? The Gospel does not tell us.

Levi-Matthew, as a publican or tax collector (Matthew 9:9-13), was sitting at the `tax office', a special place where one went to pay tribute. Publicans were tax-collectors appointed by the Romans. It was, therefore, an occupation hated and despised by the people; but it was also a much-coveted position because it was an easy way to become prosperous. Matthew leaves everything behind when Jesus calls him. He immediately responds to his vocation, because Jesus gives him the grace to accept his calling.

Jesus is the basis of our confidence in being able to change, provided we cooperate with His grace, no matter how unworthy our previous conduct may have been. And He is also the source of the confidence we need in order to be apostolic--helping others to be converted and seek holiness of life. Because He is the Son of God He is able to raise up children of God even from stones (cf. Matthew 3:9). Cf. note on Matthew 9:9.

17. The scribes and Pharisees reproach the disciples, and Jesus replies with a popular proverb: `Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.' He is the doctor of souls, come to cure sinners of their spiritual ailments.

Our Lord calls everyone, His redemptive mission extends to everyone; He affirms this on other occasions, using parables such as that of the marriage feast (Matthew 22:1-14; Luke 14:16-24). How, then, can we explain the restriction He seems to place here by saying that He has not come to call the righteous? It is not really a restriction. Jesus uses the opportunity to reproach the scribes and Pharisees for their pride: they consider themselves just, and their reliance on their apparent virtue prevents them from hearing the call to conversion; they think they can be saved by their own efforts (cf. John 9:41). This explains the proverb Jesus quotes; certainly His preaching makes it quite clear that `no one is good but God alone' (Mark 10:18) and that everyone must have recourse to the mercy and forgiveness of God in order to be saved. In other words, mankind is not divided into two--the just and the unjust. We are all sinners, as St. Paul confirms: `all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:23). Precisely because of this, Christ came to call all of us; He justifies those who respond to His call.

Our Lord's words should also move us to pray humbly and confidently for people who seem to want to continue living in sin. As St. Teresa beseeched God: "Ah, how hard a thing am I asking of Thee, my true God! I ask Thee to love one who loves Thee not, to open to one who has not called upon Thee, to give health to one who prefers to be sick and who even goes about in search of sickness. Thou sayest, my Lord, that Thou comest to seek sinners; these, Lord, are the true sinners. Look not upon our blindness, my God, but upon all the blood that was shed for us by Thy Son. Let Thy mercy shine out amid such tremendous wickedness. Behold, Lord, we are the works of Thy hands" ("Exclamations of the Soul to God", n. 8).

The Fathers of the Church see this calling by Jesus as an invitation to repentance and penance. St. John Chrysostom ("Hom. on St. Matthew", 30:3), for example, explains the phrase by putting these words in Jesus' mouth: "I am not come that they should continue sinners but that they should change and become better."
_____________________

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.

Who's Packing & Moving to Russia? or Canada

Russia May Legalize Polygamy for “10 Million Lonely Women”

Canadian Government Study Suggests Legalizing Polygamy

Why can’t my church be quiet when I want to pray?

Father Matthew Mitas of Immaculate Conception Parish in Union answered this question last month in the local diocesan newspaper. Many Catholics have voiced such concerns in recent years. It a number of churchs, it seems as if many have forgotten why they are there. One thing I have noticed, however, is that those churches which are less "modern" and which have priests who give sound and faithful homiles seem to be less prone to adopting a disrepectful, "party-like" atmosphere. Of course, there are exceptions, but there seems to be a connection. When the sense of the sacred is lost because of the embracing of a secular or banal architecture, the hiding of the tabernacle, or the removal of things such as statues which help us draw our attention to the holy and sacred, one may be deceived into thinking according to his surroundings.

Anyway, some excerpts of his excellent response are:

...post-Vatican II Catholics don’t pray as much, they don’t pray as often, and they don’t pray as well as did their pre-1962 forebears. Many Catholics don’t know how to pray...if they ever find themselves alone in a church, many don’t know what to do.

First, they simply don’t know how to talk to God (which, after all, is what prayer is), and, second, they have no sense of the sacred. Christ Himself shows us that prayer and the sense of the sacred are inextricably joined.

...the one[indignity] He [Jesus] could not bear was when His Father’s house was profaned. "My house shall be called a house of prayer!"...It was the only time He ever used physical force, driving the miscreants out...

If the Lord was moved to physical force by His revulsion at those who failed to respect His house, how can we tolerate the same outrage in our parish churches? At one time we didn’t. Why do we now?. . .Under no circumstances should we allow the turning of our Father’s house into anything less than what it is: a house of prayer.

What followed from Fr. Mitas' sound and cogent article? It's really hard to determine, but the Review later printed two follow-up "Letters to the Editor" which are below.

===========================
Quiet needed
Editor:

Kudos to Father Matthew Mitas for his Dec. 16 column. I go 30 to 40 minutes before Mass to spend some quiet time with my Lord and to say the rosary.

The loud noise from constant talking in the vestibule is very disturbing and very inconsiderate. I’ve gone to the 4:30 p.m. Mass on Saturday and the 9 a.m. Mass on Sunday, and I might as well be in the middle of a Wal-Mart.

Please, people, wait until after Mass to converse with other parishioners or to use the telephone. The Lord and I will appreciate it very much.

Name withheld by request
Ferguson
=============================
Joyful Mass time
Editor:

I strongly disagree with Father Matthew Mitas in his Dear Father column (Dec. 16 ) in the Review. I think that far too often our churches are uninviting and even somewhat dead.

I am glad to see people talking before Mass. A Mass is supposed to be a celebration with our community. It is not a private affair. It should be a happy occasion.

There are some people who I have sat near for years and I don’t even know their names or anything else about them. I think that we should take time before Mass begins to greet each other. At certain times I think we should greet each other and spend a little time praying with each other in a group.

If a person wishes to pray silently and alone there are many occasions when that is possible. Just visit a church some day during the week.

Raymond Stahl
St. Louis
======================

What is truly uninviting, at least to me, is an atmosphere of the everyday life. As we step into a church, are we not supposed to be entering that mysterious realm where heaven and earth meet? Where the eternal and infinite coalesces with that which is of time and space? Where our Lord, truly and substantially present beckons us to follow Him and abide in Him?

How many of us, witnessing the cruel torture and death of our Lord, would be engaged in idle chit-chat? How many of us, witnessing our Lord's resurrection from the dead and His Ascension into Heaven, would ignore Him in order to converse with our neighbor instead?

We can see a marked difference between these two letter writers. One concerned with the spiritual aspect of giving to God that respect, attention and adoration due to Him in His house, and another, apparently more concerned with the temporal matters which are better left before or after Holy Mass. After all, can we not keep watch with Him for one hour in sacred silence or in prayer?

Is the Future of America Worth Two Bits?

Another request for citizens (especially faithful Catholics) to get involved. The is from an email that was forwarded to me this morning:

Call Your Two Senators Today and Ask That They Vote to Confirm Judge Alito

In a few days the U.S. Senate will be voting on the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. Liberal groups, led by the ACLU, have spent nearly $30,000,000 to defeat his nomination.

Is the future of America and America's children worth two bits? That 25 cents is about what a phone call to your Senators will cost. I urge you to call your two Senators today and ask that they vote to confirm Judge Alito.

----------------------------------------------
The Capital Switchboard number is 202-224-3121.
----------------------------------------------

However, that line could be busy. If you want your call to go directly to your Senator's offices, click here to enter your zip code and obtain the direct number.

Please call today. Those wanting to confirm only liberal activist judges to the courts are calling by the thousands. Please let your voice be heard. And please forward this to friends and family and encourage them to call also.

The future of America, and America's children, is worth the two bits it will cost. Thanks for caring enough to get involved.

Sincerely,
Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman
American Family Association

P.S. Please forward this e-mail message to your family and friends!

The Real Issue Regarding St. Stanislaus

In last weeks's Letters to the Editor Section of the St Louis Review, we find this:

The real issue
Editor:

In the 1970s, Howard Irving, the brilliant Baptist theologian and head of the theology department at Oral Roberts University, told a group of St. Louis priests and ministers: "Protestantism will never experience unity until it deals with the very principle which is endemic to Protestantism; that is, if you disagree, separate. The Catholic Church is like a wise mother. Whenever a new charism arises within it, it creates a religious order and keeps it within the Church."

The issue with St. Stanislaus Parish is neither monetary, because the money belongs to the parish, nor ethnic, because we have St. Agatha Parish for Polish-speaking Catholics. It is all about dissent. The present hasty marriage between two high-profile personalities cannot last. [emphasis added]

Bishop Robert Hermann
St. Louis

I suppose that now, since Bishop Hermann has re-affirmed the truth of the matter, he will be vilified and condemned by the those who willfully choose to ignore the crux of the matter and distort the facts to fit their own agendas - that of pride, arrogance, and disunity.

Canons establish community of consecrated life in St. Louis

by Jennifer Brinker, St Louis Review Staff Writer
___________________________
After months of anticipation and hard work, Father Daniel Augustine Oppenheimer finally received a Christmas present he had long been waiting for.

Literally hours before the Christmas Midnight Mass, the founder and prior of the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem, a diocesan religious institute of consecrated life, put the finishing touches on the congregation’s new chapel at the Priory of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chesterfield.

But just who are the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem? In 2004, the religious congregation arrived here at the invitation of Archbishop Raymond L. Burke.

One of the group’s hallmarks is the use of the 1962 liturgy in celebrating the Mass in its historic Latin form, which is consistent with Pope John Paul II’s 1988 apostolic letter, "Ecclesia Dei Adflicta."

Its members, known as canons, pronounce vows of stability, conversion of life and obedience. They live in community and under the rule of St. Augustine of Hippo, a fourth-century bishop, theologian and one of the doctors of the Latin Church.

A convert to Catholicism in 1977, Father Oppenheimer said he first discovered and embraced traditional Roman Catholic forms of worship as practiced in certain parishes of the Episcopal church, of which he was a member during childhood. Throughout the 1960s and ’70s, however, the priest said his former church went through "a serious doctrinal and moral deformation," which ultimately caused his conversion to the Catholicism.

"When I first experienced the historical forms of worship, they had a profound effect on me," said the New York native. "My heart was just seized and taken up in love toward God."

"Historical forms of worship are not merely cultural expressions," said Father Oppenheimer. "They are graced vehicles of historic Christian faith. They led, without doubt, to my embracing true Catholic Christianity. They are, in the words of Pope Pius XII, holy and worthy of all respect."

In 1991, Father Oppenheimer was ordained to the priesthood in Germany, and in 1997, he met Archbishop Raymond Burke in Rome, who offered the priest guidance in establishing a new foundation of religious priests. With the support of the archbishop, the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem was juridically erected in 2002 in the archbishop’s former Diocese of La Crosse, Wis.

Archbishop Burke has noted that "the worthy celebration of the Church’s worship of God" is the heart of the congregation’s work.

In a written decree at the time of the congregation’s establishment, the archbishop wrote, "May all members of the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem generously respond to the will of God for them, and in accord with the pastoral mission of this particular Church, give glory to God and serve others through the promotion of the worthy celebration of the Sacred Liturgy."

Father Oppenheimer said the congregation can be further defined as a clerical institute that "lives religious life with a choir orientation."

That means its members are solely focused on the priestly life, with worship to God throughout the day.

Much of the canons’ day is spent in prayer, said the priest. "The members of our community are bound to the choir ... to the solemn celebration of the Church’s full liturgy. This properly takes place in the sanctuary of our church and comprises the heart of the Church’s worship of Christ."

"Our community is a reflection of the most ancient form of clerical life," said Father Oppenheimer. "The tradition of canons regular is rooted in first Christian community as described in the Acts of the Apostles."

As a symbol of their profession to the congregation, canons receive the Rite of Tonsure, a ritual in which the crown of a canon’s head is shaved to symbolize the crown of thorns placed on Christ’s head at His crucifixion. The hair is specifically cut in five places to symbolize the five wounds of Christ at the crucifixion, added the priest.

In the fall of 2004, Archbishop Burke invited the community to St. Louis, and its members established themselves in the Chesterfield area. Father Oppenheimer and two seminarians — Fraters Alban and John Berchmans — reside at the the priory, a former convent of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of O’Fallon, located next to Linda Vista Catholic School.

Upon their arrival in St. Louis, Father Oppenheimer went to work at converting the monastery’s large garage into a chapel for the community. The project, financed through donations from individuals, took about seven months to complete, he said. The chapel can comfortably hold about 25 guests.

Last fall, after they made their first profession as novices, Fraters Alban and John began their studies at the canons’ newly established Studium Augustinianum, a program of philosophical studies based on pontifical university academic programs in Rome. Formation takes place at the priory.

Father Oppenheimer also has opened the seminary program to interested lay men who are interested in philosophical studies. Lay students must be able to follow the canons’ "wider spiritual regime," he added. Currently, there are two young men who are taking part in the program with the seminarians.

The priest said the order uses the 1962 Latin Mass for several reasons, including its foundations in Scripture, patristics, the teaching and spiritual tradition of the early Church fathers, and the Latin Church’s ascetic tradition of Christian self-denial.

These elements, said Father Oppenheimer, "constitute an irreplaceable source of grace, which is the particular ecclesial patrimony or spiritual inheritance of Western Catholicism."

In formation and pastoral ministry, Father Oppenheimer said, he insists on the importance of a full understanding of the Church’s history and experience and the influence this has on the Catholic faith.

"We are trying to live the way disciplined priests have always lived in the history of the Church," said Father Oppenheimer.

He noted that co-existence of the traditional Latin Mass and today’s post-Second Vatican Council Mass "is living proof that nothing has changed regarding the doctrinal self-understanding of the Catholic Church."

Canons, he added, participate "in the traditional Latin liturgy in a living manner — as active members of the Catholic Church of today.

"Neither the liturgy as we celebrate it, nor ourselves as religious, can be considered museum pieces," he said. "If such were the case, then the Church herself would be pointless."

Father Oppenheimer said he is grateful to Archbishop Burke for inviting the congregation to St. Louis. The priest said he is looking forward to "a fruitful development of our ministry in the archdiocese. The importance of living continuity with the Church’s long history is not merely a matter of intellectual speculation.

"We live the liturgy as received from our Western tradition in the light of its universal practice. The faithful have a deep sense of ‘being home’ when they use the ancient forms we employ. But our life is about faith, not ritual form. We are priests, and as such we must think and act with the Church.

"Our liturgy is a gift from the Church which we give back to the faithful," said Father Oppenheimer. "It is an exquisite offering of deep contemplative value. It speaks to hearts of today, hearts so often alienated by the dryness of rationalism in religion and secularism in all other walks of life.
_____________________________

Sidebar:
Canons offer opportunities for prayer, adoration, Mass.

The Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem offer opportunities for prayer and participation in the Mass throughout the week. Their schedule is:

Daily Mass is offered Monday through Saturday at 7 a.m. in the chapel of the Priory of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 1635 Kehrs Mill Road in Chesterfield.

Vespers is celebrated daily at 5:15 p.m., rosary and compline at 7:30 p.m. daily, and eucharistic adoration on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., all in the chapel.

A traditional High Mass is celebrated on Sundays at 9:45 a.m. at the chapel of the Passionist Monastery, 15700 Clayton Road in Ellisville.

The canons can be reached at (636) 536-4082. The congregation’s Web site is www.canonsregular.com.

A Bishop's Obligations-Teaching, sanctifying, guiding

Being a shepherd after the Heart of Jesus the Good Shepherd, carrying out the work of the new evangelization, means, first of all, studying deeply the truths of the Catholic faith and faithfully handing on those truths by means of preaching, teaching and the use of the communications media. It means preparing priests to be shepherds of the flock, authentic teachers of the faith. It also means assuring that catechists and Catholic-school teachers, both lay faithful and consecrated persons, are prepared to work with the priests in the teaching of the faith.
. . .
Hand-in-hand with the deeper knowledge of the faith goes the greater love of Christ in the sacraments. The bishop must constantly deepen his participation in the sacramental life so that he can bring the sacraments to all the faithful. He fulfills his responsibility by preparing priests to be true ministers of sacramental grace, above all, through the worthy celebration of the Holy Eucharist and through sacramental absolution given in the Sacrament of Penance. He also prepares permanent deacons for ordination, so that they may assist him and the priests.

Lastly, the bishop must govern the diocese or archdiocese entrusted to his pastoral care, so that in every aspect of the life of the Church, from teaching to administration of temporal goods, Christ may draw us into the unity of love, which He shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Unity expresses itself in obedience to the will of the Father, for which the Holy Spirit inspires and strengthens us.
=======================
From Archbishop Raymond Burke's Jan 13th Column in the St. Louis Review.


January 6 was the 11th anniversary of Archbishop Burke's episcopal ordination. He has a request which all of us can and should fulfill. He asks for prayers for him and for our priests:

My little reflection makes clear the weighty responsibility of the bishop as a true shepherd of the flock. Considering the responsibilities of the bishop, together with his priests, please pray daily for me and our priests, asking that we may be faithful, generous and loving shepherds, after the Heart of Christ, the Good Shepherd.

Please respond graciously to this request for our prayers and let us also give thanks to Almighty God for providing us with a faithful and courageous shepherd.

An MP3 of Marek Bozek's 12/21 Press Conference

An MP3 file of Marek Bozek's December 21, 2005 Press Conference is available for download here. This recording was taken when the Board of Directors of St. Stanislaus Kostka Polish Roman Catholic Church introduced their new "pastor".

The audio was provided courtesy of KTRS (550AM) news reporter, Chris Pilcic.

WARNING - This file is about 35MB...I intend to have a transcription of it within a few days.

Iran and China Also Fall under the Pope’s Judgment

Benedict XVI did not cite them by name in his address to the diplomatic corps. But he clearly stated how he judges them: by the yardstick of truth and freedom. An interview with the bishop of Hong Kong.
by Sandro Magister

A Short Email Reminder on Unity

Disunity Among Christians is Contrary to the Gospel

Jesus says:

"I and the Father are one" (John 10:30) and
"And there are Three Who give testimony in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one." (1 John 5:7)

St. Cyprian writes:

"The Lord says: 'I and the Father are one.' And again of the Father and Son and the Holy Spirit it is written: 'And these three are one.'

"Does anyone believe that this unity which comes from divine strength, which is closely connected with the divine sacraments, can be broken asunder in the Church and be separated by the divisions of colliding wills?

"He who does not hold this unity, does not hold the law of God, does not hold the faith of the Father and the Son, does not hold life and salvation."

[St. Cyprian (bishop martyr, d.258) - "The Teachings Of The Church Fathers." (Fr. J. Willis, Herder 1966, p.83, n.130)]

Gospel for Friday, 1st Week in Ordinary Time

From: Mark 2:1-12

The Curing of a Paralytic

[1] And when He (Jesus) returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that He was at home. [2] And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door; and He was preaching the word to them. [3] And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic carried by four men. [4] And when they could not get near Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay. [5] And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven." [6] Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, [7] "Why does this man speak thus? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" [8] And immediately Jesus, perceiving in His spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question thus in your hearts? [9] Which is easier to say to the paralytic, `Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, `Rise, take up your pallet and walk?' [10] But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"-- He said to the paralytic-- [11] "I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home." [12] And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"
______________________

Commentary:

4. Many Jewish houses had a terraced roof accessible by steps at the back. The same structure can be found even today.

5. Here Jesus emphasizes the connection between faith and the forgiveness of sins. The boldness of the people who brought in the paralytic shows their faith in Christ, and this faith moves Jesus to forgive the man's sins. We should question how God views our faith: the faith of these people leads to the instantaneous physical and spiritual curing of this man. We should notice also that one person's need can be helped by the merits of another.

In this man's physical paralysis, St. Jerome sees a type or figure of spiritual paralysis: the cripple was unable to return to God by his own efforts. Jesus, God and man, cured him of both kinds of paralysis (cf. "Comm. in Marcum, in loc."). Cf. notes on Matthew 9:2-7.

Jesus' words to the paralytic--"Your sins are forgiven"--reflect the fact that his pardon involves a personal encounter with Christ; the same happens in the Sacrament of Penance: "In faithfully observing the centuries-old practice of the Sacrament of Penance--the practice of individual confession with a personal act of sorrow and an intention to amend and make satisfaction--the Church is defending the human soul's individual right, man's right to a more personal encounter with the crucified forgiving Christ, with Christ saying, through the minister of the Sacrament of Reconciliation: `Your sins are forgiven'; `Go, and do not sin again' (John 8:11). As is evident, this is also a right on Christ's part with regard to every human being in the soul's life constituted by the moment of conversion and forgiveness" (John Paul II, "Redemptor Hominis", 20).

7-12. Here we find a number of indicators of Jesus' divinity: He forgives sins, He can read the human heart and has the power to instantly cure physical illnesses. The scribes know that only God can forgive sins. This is why they take issue with Our Lord's statement and call it blasphemous. They require a sign to prove the truth of what He says. And Jesus offers them a sign. Thus just as no one can deny that the paralytic has been cured, so no one can reasonably deny that he has been forgiven his sins. Christ, God and man, exercised power to forgive sins and, in His infinite mercy, He chose to extend this power to His Church. Cf. note on Matthew 9:3-7.
______________________

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.

All Thinkers Concerned About Religion

The most serious thought of the world has been given to religion. The greatest geniuses of all nations have bestowed their best efforts on it. From the time of Jesus Christ to the present day, the literature of the world has given first place to religious topics.

At the very outset I have mentioned Jesus Christ. Do not infer, however, that I take for granted anything about Him. I shall later consider His personality. In fact, Christ is the basis of the Christian religion and every­thing depends on who and what He is. In these preliminary remarks, I speak in the traditional way, putting the subject before you as millions view it.

You, too, no matter how busy you are, nor how great or little you may be, should give religion consideration. Not to do so is to re­ject what has most concerned humanity all the ages. If at present there is a wave of indif­ference abroad, do not be caught in it. Be concerned about what Jesus Christ came from heaven to bring us, what millions of the best men and women have died for, what hundreds of millions are living for, what holds up to mortal men immortality, what places before mankind ideals which are heaven-born and whose adoption will make you a dweller for­ever in heaven. Be not indifferent to such a boon.

If a worldly prospect promises much or its rejection threatens disaster, men are not in­different to it. Religion promises eternity of happiness to those who live by it, and threatens eternity of misery to those who reject it. Can you afford to take a chance when so much is at stake?
_____________________
From God and Myself, An Inquiry into the True Religion (©1917), Ch 2
by Martin J Scott, S.J.

Man Who Shot John Paul II Is Freed From Prison

Question Remains: Who Ordered the 1981 Attack?

"Da Vinci Code" -- a Blessing for Opus Dei?

Use the Lemon to Make Lemonade, Says Spokesman

No Limit to Planned Parenthood's Blasphemies & Outrages

Perhaps, though, this perverted example by those who are attempting to thwart Judge Alito's confirmation deserves that we set a good example and respond with charity. What better way to do that than to choose this worthy response:
Sign the petition at ApproveAlito.com now! Urge your senators to approve judicial nominee Samuel Alito!

LifeSiteNews has an article on the subject here

A special HatTip to Patte G for the notice!

Vatican moves to clear Judas’ name

Actually, it's not the Vatican but the head of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Science...And, we can't even be certain if the story is accurately presented.

From Ynetnews:

Proposed ‘rehabilitation’ of the man who was paid 30 pieces of silver to identify Jesus to Roman soldiers in the Garden of Gethsemane, comes on the ground that he was not deliberately evil, but was just ‘fulfilling his part in God’s plan, the London Times reports.

Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus with a kiss, is to be given a makeover by Vatican scholars, according to the London Times.
...
According to the London Times, a campaign led by Monsignor Walter Brandmuller, head of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Science, is aimed at persuading believers to look kindly at a man reviled for 2,000 years.

Mgr Brandmuller told fellow scholars it was time for a “re-reading” of the Judas story. He is supported by Vittorio Messori, a prominent Catholic writer close to both Pope Benedict XVI and the late John Paul II.

Signor Messori said that the rehabilitation of Judas would “resolve the problem of an apparent lack of mercy by Jesus toward one of his closest collaborators.”

He told La Stampa that there was a Christian tradition that held that Judas was forgiven by Jesus and ordered to purify himself with “spiritual exercises” in the desert.

Seems Judas, while undertaking self mortification with a rope around his neck, slipped accidentally. Evidently it seems, Jesus was probably mistaken when He said it would have better for him had he not been born...

One can only ask, who's next? Frankly, this seems to be an exercise in futility.

Mgr Brandmuller said that he expected “no new historical evidence” from the supposed gospel, which had been excluded from the canon of accepted Scripture.

But it could “serve to reconstruct the events and context of Christ’s teachings as they were seen by the early Christians.” This included that Jesus had always preached “forgiveness for one’s enemies.”

Historical revisionism at its finest...

Some Vatican scholars have expressed concern over the reconsideration of Judas. Monsignor Giovanni D’Ercole, a Vatican theologian, said it was “dangerous to re-evaluate Judas and muddy the Gospel accounts by reference to apocryphal writings. This can only create confusion in believers.”

And we certainly do not need any more confusion!

Hopefully, Monsignor D'Ercole and others will prevail before others succeed in promoting (as Dan Brown and others) more of the gnostic writings and the sainthood of Judas and confusing already confused Christians and others. Any study of this kind would best be done in private, away from the prying eyes of the media.

Source.

National Catholic Reporter Comes to the Aid of Belleville Priests

And they do this with an editorial, and an article, "Bishop shuts us out, say priests".
It's difficult to imagine how relieved some of these priests are now that NCR steps in to expose their burdensome "plight" to the world.

Pope to Neocatechumenal Way Families: Spread the Gospel of Life

VATICAN CITY, JAN 12, 2006 (VIS) - Today in the Vatican, Benedict XVI received a group from the Neocatechumenal Way, including 200 families who will soon depart on evangelizing missions in various countries, especially in Latin America.
. . .
"Your task," said the Pope after greeting the group, "is part of the context of new evangelization, ... because your apostolic activity aims to situate itself within the bosom of the Church, in total harmony with her directives and in communion with the particular Churches where you will go to work, fully evaluating the richness of the charisms that the Lord has generated through the founders of the Way."...

Family advocates to Ford: Stop funding 'gay' agenda

44 pro-family groups ask Ford to honor commitment, stop funding either side in cultural war

(Tupelo, MS) - American Family Association (AFA), along with 43 other pro-family groups, has asked Ford Motor Company Chairman Bill Ford to honor Ford’s commitment to stop supporting homosexual groups. The organizations also requested that Ford stop supporting any group involved in the current cultural war.

Pressured by homosexual activists, Ford caves, thinking apparently that its backing of homosexuality will help keep the Ford Company afloat. Maybe some at Ford think that its future sales will come from all of the children that result from homosexual relationships?

More from AFA here.

Dr. Ed Peters: Why risk so much for so little?

An LA Superior Court judge has ordered a priest to testify about whether he ever heard the confession(s) of an accused clergy child-abuser, saying that the priest-penitent privilege protects the content of confession, but not the fact of confession. It's a narrow distinction that I cannot consider here; let's just say there are plausible points to be made on both sides of that one. What I want to ask is something different, namely: why does the court think it needs to know whether Father A heard Deacon B's confession in the first place?

Continued here...

Our Daily Meditation

14. OUR DAILY MEDITATION

A priest is expected to be a man of God and of prayer. If he fails in prayer, what a loss for himself, for the souls entrusted to him, and for the Church!

But are we all not called to a life of holiness? Are not all of us called to be people of God and of prayer? Although these meditations are for priests, can we not also benefit from them?

Our daily medita­tion ought to be a real communion with God. If we realize its importance, if we apply ourselves to it with persevering diligence and enlightened fervour, God will surely communicate Himself to us intimately through it and illumine our life with His light: "Dominus illuminatio mea".

IMPORTANCE OF OUR DAlLY MEDITATION

That our daily meditation is of supreme importance in our spiritual life is a trite saying. Ascetical writers never tire of repeating it; Saints have taught it in doctrine and example; it was one of the first principles inculcated to us at the very dawn of seminary life, and a strict rule bound us to meditation every day - an obligation extended to our priestly life by Canon Law. .. To rekindle our esteem for and love of meditation, let us ponder over these lines of Bishop Hedley, on the true meaning of our daily hour of mental prayer:

"It is the hour in which the soul lives: that is, lives its true life and rehearses for that life of eternity, in which prayer in its highest sense will be its rapture. It is the hour of its intensest discipline, when acts are produced which vibrate long afterwards through the hours of the day, through the spaces of life. It is the hour of speaking to God in His Holy of Holies, where the soul finds insight and strength and endurance. It is the hour of calm when the thronging elements of man's personal life are ranged in order and mar­shalled to obedience, so that the will may aim at one thing and one thing alone. It is the hour of the kindling of that precious life - the fire of Divine Love - which must burn through every pulsation of life, or else life's deeds can never be borne to the heavens, but must drop like leaves that wither on earth. It is the hour when the continual presence of the awful Sovereign of the creature is, in a certain sense, made actual and real, when the heart speaks to God, and - what is of infinitely greater moment - when God speaks to the heart."

* In the light of these lofty considerations, what am I to think of my habitual way of looking upon the time of meditation?

Do I hold it sacred and consider it the most valuable time of the day?

Do I not go perfunctorily through it, or find easy pretexts to shorten or omit it?

Do I seek earnestly to overcome the many difficulties of his exercise?

HELPS TO A FRUITFUL MEDITATION

Although meditation holds out such great promises for our spiritual life, must we not confess that we often fail to gather any appreciable fruit from it? ... Many causes may account for this; some of them quite beyond our control, and then - given good will and earnest efforts - the failure is more apparent than real, and God's grace will not be denied us. But often enough the fault is ours and we could improve matters greatly if we were more diligent and sagacious.

Diligent in following a method. There are rules for medita­tion, as for all other arts. Methods differ; all are good. Let us follow one, and not go on at random, leaving our course to chance. Too often the rules we once used to follow are neglected through carelessness and weariness: it would profit us much, to go back, humbly, to the fidelity of our first years.

Diligence also in preparing overnight the subject of our meditation, suiting the points to ourselves, and trying to select those which will help us to find Our Lord in prayer, and to live in Him afterwards during the day's work.

Sagacity will make us proceed along our arduous path with true supernatural wisdom: adapting our mental prayer to the need of our soul and the promptings of divine grace. People differ from one another, and the same man passes through different states and moods; each one will get the best results if he uses that form of mental prayer which most suits him: discursive meditation, affective prayer, or contemplation. The rule is laid down tersely by St Ignatius:

"For every person that form of prayer is best in which God communicates more freely with him."

This last saying sets in relief another point, the most fundamental perhaps, on which the success of our medita­tion depends: the aim we must have in it, which is to bring us into intimate contact with God. Everything else, forms and methods, reasonings and reflections, are only helps to prepare the soul for God's Light and Love; they are means, not ends in themselves. And consequently, if we wish to reap the fruit of our meditation, we must make it above all a real exercise of prayer, a familiar intercourse with God.

Yet another weighty consideration follows from this: we must ever keep in mind that the work of our meditation is principally the work of divine grace in us: hence the importance of the preparatory prayers, which make us beg for that grace in humble and ardent supplication. For want of earnestness in this, how many fruitless hours have we spent at our prie-dieu, how many vain and discouraging efforts have we made!

Last but not least: When the 'hour of prayer' is over, prayer must continue; it must pervade the whole day and gradually pass into an habitual union with God; in this, ejaculatory prayers are helpful. - Above all, it must produce a firmer determination to mortify our sensual and selfish passions. Progress in prayer is bound up with progress in self-renunciation and self-surrender: how can a man enjoy conversing with God if his heart is elsewhere? how can he rise up to God if he is held down by earthly desires and attachments?

* Each and everyone of our meditations ought to be a step forward in sanctity. Why are mine not so?

An earnest survey of my habitual practice of meditation...A generous and wise plan of reform with the help of God's grace: "Domine, doce nos orare."
_____________________
Adapted from Alter Christus, Meditations for Priests by F.X. L'Hoir, S.J. (1958)
Meditation 13.

Gospel for Thursday, 1st Week in Ordinary Time

From: Mark 1:40-45

The Curing of a Leper

[40] And a leper came to Him (Jesus), beseeching Him, and kneeling said to Him, "If You will, You can make me clean." [41] Moved with pity, He stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I will; be clean." [42] And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. [43] And He sternly charged him, and sent him away at once, [44] and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to the people." [45] But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in the country; and people came to Him from every quarter.
______________________

Commentary:

40-44. Leprosy was seen as a punishment from God (cf. Numbers 12:10-15). The disappearance of the disease was regarded as one of the blessings of the messianic times (Isaiah 35:8; cf. Matthew 11:5; Luke 7:22). Because leprosy was contagious, the Law declared that lepers were impure and that they transmitted impurity to those who touched them and to places they entered. Therefore, they had to live apart (Numbers 5:2; 12:14ff) and to show that they were lepers by certain external signs. On the rite of purification, see the note on Matthew 8:4.

[The note on Matthew 8:4 states:
4. According to the Law of Moses (Leviticus 14), if a leper is cured of his disease, he should present himself to a priest, who will register the cure and give him a certificate which he needs to be reintegrated into the civil and religious life of Israel. Leviticus also prescribes the purifications and sacrifice he should offer. Jesus' instruction to the leper is, then, in keeping with the normal way of fulfilling what the laws laid down.]

The passage shows us the faithful and confident prayer of a man needing Jesus' help and begging Him for it, confident that, if Our Lord wishes, He can free him from the disease (cf. Matthew 8:2). "This man prostrated himself on the ground, as a sign of humility and shame, to teach each of us to be ashamed of the stains of his life.

But shame should not prevent us from confessing: the leper showed his wound and begged for healing. If You will, he says, You can make me clean; that is, he recognized that the Lord had the power to cure him" (St. Bede, "In Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc.").

On the discretion and prudence Jesus required regarding His person, see the note on Mark 1:34 and Matthew 9:30.

[The note on Mark 1:34 states:
34. Demons possess a supernatural type of knowledge and therefore they recognize Jesus as the Messiah (Mark 1:24). Through the people they possess they are able to publish this fact. But Our Lord, using His divine powers, orders them to be silent. On other occasions He also silences His disciples (Mark 8:30; 9:9), and He instructs people whom He has cured not to talk about their cure (Mark 1:4; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26). He may have acted in this way to educate the people away from a too human and political idea of the Messiah (Matthew 9:30). Therefore, He first awakens their interest by performing miracles and gradually, through His preaching, gives them a clearer understanding of the kind of Messiah He is.

Some Fathers of the Church point out that Jesus does not want to accept, in support of the truth, the testimony of him who is the father of lies.]

[The note on Matthew 9:30 states:
30. Why did our Lord not want them to publicize the miracle? Because His plan was to gradually manifest Himself as the Messiah, the Son of God. He did not want to anticipate events which would occur in their own good time; nor did He want the crowd to start hailing Him as Messiah King, because their notion of messiah was nationalistic, not a spiritual one. However, the crowd did in fact proclaim Him when he worked the miracles of the loaves and the fish (John 6:14-15): "When the people saw the sign which He had done, they said, `This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!' Perceiving then that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, Jesus withdrew again to the hills by Himself."]
_______________________

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

New Research Links Abortion With Depression, Other Mental Health Problems

From Austin Ruse of the Culture of Life Foundation:
_______________________
Dear Colleague,

Another area where "big science" is suspect is the ongoing rejection of any link between abortion and mental health problems. An honest researcher who favors abortion has determined there is such a link.

Spread the word.

Yours sincerely,
Austin Ruse
President
===================================
New Research Links Abortion With Depression, Other Mental Health Problems

A New Zealand researcher who identifies himself as "pro-choice," an atheist and a rationalist has published a study linking abortion with an increased risk for mental health problems and he criticized the American Psychological Association for its absolutist stance claiming no link between abortion and mental health.

Dr. David M. Fergusson's study, published in the widely respected Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry found that compared to women who had never been pregnant and women who had been pregnant but never had an abortion, women who had abortions were at a higher risk for suicide, major depression, anxiety disorder and drug dependence.

In an interview on Australian radio Fergusson said he is pro-abortion but thinks it is important to have as much information about the effects of abortion as possible. "My view is I'm pro-choice, and I believe that women do have the right to have a choice to abortion. So I don't see these results as being against that position, but it does show, as with any surgical procedure, or any procedure of any form, that there are risks and benefits that need to be taken into account and to be weighed up very carefully."

Fergusson said he conducted the research because he did not think there had been enough study on the subject. "The whole topic has been remarkably under-researched . . . there's been a lot of debate about whether abortion does or does not have harmful effects, but the amount of research into the harms of abortion, or its benefits for that matter, has been very limited."

The report examined a group of more than 500 girls who have been studied from birth to age 25. While it has long been acknowledged that women who have had abortions have higher rates of depression and other mental health problems, there has been dispute over whether or not this was because abortion caused mental health problems or because women with mental health problems were more likely to have abortions. By studying such a large cohort of women over such a long period of time, Fergusson said he was able to take into account and eliminate factors like socio-economic background, family life and previous history of mental illness.

Fergusson noted that his findings were at odds with many in the mainstream of psychology who have steadfastly rejected a link between abortion and depression. "In particular, in its 2005 statement on abortion, the American Psychological Association concluded that ‘well designed studies of psychological responses following abortion have consistently shown that risk of psychological harm is low . . . the percentage of women who experience clinically relevant distress is small and appears to be no greater than in general samples of women of reproductive age’ . . . This relatively strong conclusion about the absence of harm from abortion was based on a relatively small number of studies which had one or more of the following limitations: a) absence of comprehensive assessment of mental disorders; b) lack of comparison groups; and c) limited statistical controls. Furthermore, the statement appears to disregard the findings of a number of studies that had claimed to show negative effects for abortion."

###

Culture of Life Foundation
1413 K Street, NW, Suite 1000
Washington DC 20005
Phone: (202) 289-2500
Fax: (202) 289-2502
E-mail: clf@culture-of-life.org
Website: http://www.culture-of-life.org

New Encyclical will be published on January 25

Per BettNet...

Bishop McAuliffe, retired bishop of Jefferson City, dies at 85

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (CNS) -- Retired Bishop Michael F. McAuliffe of Jefferson City died in his sleep Jan. 9 in the Jeanne Jugan Home of the Little Sisters of the Poor in Kansas City. He was 85. His successor, Bishop John R. Gaydos, described Bishop McAuliffe as "a gentle man of God" and said "it was in keeping that he gently slipped the traces of this earthly existence." His funeral Mass was scheduled for Jan. 14 at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Jefferson City, followed by burial in Resurrection Cemetery, also in Jefferson City. A priest of the Diocese of Kansas City, later renamed the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese, Bishop McAuliffe headed the Jefferson City Diocese from 1969 until his retirement in 1997. Although he headed a relatively small diocese, with about 90,000 Catholics, Bishop McAuliffe became nationally known when he chaired the U.S. bishops' Ad Hoc Committee on Women in Church and Society from 1974 to 1982.

German bishop withdraws priest's license to teach theology

COLOGNE, Germany (CNS) -- A German priest suspended for celebrating a high-profile Mass where he invited non-Catholics to partake of the Eucharist has had his right to teach theology withdrawn by his bishop. Father Gotthold Hasenhuttl released a letter dated Jan. 2 from Bishop Reinhard Marx of Trier, who said that Father Hasenhuttl's recent writings "have made it clear that you are not prepared to give way, that you consider your view to be correct and that you see no reason to bow to the ecclesiatical [sic] discipline on the issue which led to your suspension." Father Hasenhuttl, who was a professor of systematic theology at the University of the Saarland until his retirement in 2002 and who still teaches there occasionally, was suspended from the priesthood in 2003 after he invited the participation of non-Catholics in a Mass he celebrated on the fringes of an official ecumenical church day in Berlin.

Source.

Fidelis launches animated ad for Alito hearings

Washington DC, Jan. 10, 2006 (CNA) - A Catholic advocacy group, called Fidelis, launched an Internet-based animated advertising campaign Jan. 9 to coincide with the confirmation hearings of Judge Samuel Alito.

The ad is a parody of The Sound of Music's "The Lonely Goatherd" by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

To see the ad, go to: http://liberalherd.fidelis.org/liberalgoatherdcartoon.html

Worth watching!

Vatican clamps down on Polish clergy

The Vatican has issued a document imposing discipline upon the clergy in Poland. Their public activity, outside the church but engaging its authority, now requires a written permission of the bishops.
. . .
A spokesman of the Polish Episcopate, father Jozef Kloch says the document touches upon some worrying developments in the catholic church in Poland and aims at introducing discipline.

More...

Bishop Gumbleton Says Priest Abused Him as Teenager

Breaking ranks with his peers, a Roman Catholic bishop called yesterday for state legislatures to temporarily remove the time limits that have prevented many victims of sex abuse from suing the church.

In making that extraordinary appeal, Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit also unburdened himself of a secret. As a teenager 60 years ago, he said, he was "inappropriately touched" by a priest.

Gospel for Wednesday, 1st Week in Ordinary Time

From: Mark 1:29-39

The Curing of Peter's Mother-In-Law

[29] And immediately He (Jesus) left the synagogue, and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. [30] Now Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever, and immediately they told Him of her. [31] And He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her; and she served them.

Jesus Cures Many Sick People

[32] That evening, at sundown, they brought to Him all who were sick or possessed with demons. [33] And the whole city was gathered together about the door. [34] And He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew Him.

Jesus Goes To a Lonely Place To Pray

[35] And in the morning, a great while before day, He rose and went out to a lonely place, and there He prayed. [36] And Simon and those who were with Him followed Him, [37] and they found Him and said to Him, "Everyone is searching for you." [38] And He said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out." [39] And He went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
________________________

Commentary:

34. Demons possess a supernatural type of knowledge and therefore they recognize Jesus as the Messiah (Mark 1:24). Through the people they possess they are able to publish this fact. But Our Lord, using His divine powers, orders them to be silent. On other occasions He also silences His disciples (Mark 8:30; 9:9), and He instructs people whom He has cured not to talk about their cure (Mark 1:4; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26). He may have acted in this way to educate the people away from a too human and political idea of the Messiah (Matthew 9:30). Therefore, He first awakens their interest by performing miracles and gradually, through His preaching, gives them a clearer understanding of the kind of Messiah He is.

Some Fathers of the Church point out that Jesus does not want to accept, in support of the truth, the testimony of him who is the father of lies.

35. Many passages of the New Testament make reference to Jesus praying. The evangelists point to Him praying only on specially important occasions during His public ministry: Baptism (Luke 3:1), the choosing of the Twelve (Luke 6:12), the first multiplication of the loaves (Mark 6:46), the Transfiguration (Luke 9:29), in the garden of Gethsemane prior to His passion (Matthew 26:39) etc. Mark for his part, refers to Jesus' prayer at three solemn moments: at the beginning of His public ministry (1:35), in the middle of it (6:46), and at the end, in Gethsemane (14:32).

Jesus' prayer is prayer of perfect praise to the Father; it is prayer of petition for Himself and for us; and it also a model for His disciples. It is a prayer of perfect praise and thanksgiving because He is God's beloved Son in whom the Father is well pleased (cf. Mark 1:11). It is a prayer of petition because the first spontaneous movement of a soul who recognizes God as Father is to ask Him for things. Jesus' prayer, as we see in very many passages (e.g. John 17:9ff) was a continuous petition to the Father for the work of redemption which He, Jesus, had to achieve through prayer and sacrifice.

Our Lord wants to give us an example of the kind of attitude a Christian should have; he should make a habit of addressing God as son to Father in the midst of and through his everyday activities--work, family life, personal relationships, apostolate--so as to give his life a genuinely Christian meaning, for, as Jesus will point out later on, "apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

"You write: `To pray is to talk with God. But about what?' About what? About Him, about yourself: joys, sorrows, successes and failures, noble ambitions, daily worries, weaknesses! And acts of thanksgiving and petitions: and love and reparation. In a word: to get to know Him and to get to know yourself: `to get acquainted!'" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way").

38. Jesus tells us here that His mission is to preach, to spread the Good News. He was sent for this purpose (Luke 4:43). The Apostles, in turn, were chosen by Jesus to be preachers (Mark 3:14; 16:15). Preaching is the method selected by God to effect salvation: "it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe" (1 Corinthians 1:21). This is why St. Paul says to Timothy: "Preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and teaching" (2 Timothy 4:1-2). Faith comes from hearing, we are told in Romans 10:17, where St. Paul enthusiastically quotes Isaiah: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!" (Romans 10:15; Isaiah 52:7).

The Church identifies preaching the Gospel as one of the main tasks of bishops and priests. St. Pius X went so far as saying that "for a priest there is no duty more grave or obligation more binding (to dispel ignorance)" ("Acerbo Nimis"). In this connection Vatican II states: "The people of God is formed into one in the first place by the Word of the living God (cf. 1 Peter 1:23; Acts 6:7; 12:24), which is quite rightly sought from the mouths of priests (2 Corinthians 11:7).

For since nobody can be saved who has not first believed (Mark 16:16), it is the first task of priests as co-workers of the bishops to preach the Gospel of God to all men (2 Corinthians 11:7). In this way they carry out the Lord's command `Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature' (Mark 16:15) (cf. Malachi 2:7; 1 Timothy 4:11-13; etc.) and thus set up and increase the people of God" ("Presbyterorum Ordinis").

Jesus' preaching is not just limited to words: He backs up His teaching with His authority and with deeds. The Church also has been sent to preach salvation and to effect the work of salvation which it proclaims--a work done through the Sacraments and especially through the renewal of the sacrifice of Calvary in the Mass (Vatican II, "Sacrosanctum Concilium", 6).

In the Church of God all of us should listen devoutly to the preaching of the Gospel and we all should feel a responsibility to spread the Gospel by our words and actions. It is the responsibility of the hierarchy of the Church to teach the Gospel authentically--on the authority of Christ.
______________________

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.

Friar Assails "Lies" Against Franciscans of Assisi

In Wake of Pope's Program to Organize City's Holy Sites

ROME, JAN. 10, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The head of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual lamented what he said are lies against the Franciscans of Assisi, following papal measures to organize the city's holy sites.

Minister General Friar Joachim Giermek's response to media reports appeared in an editorial of the international news bulletin of the Conventual Franciscans, Fraternus Nuntius. The order's General Curia publishes the bulletin.

Assisi has attracted media attention since Nov. 9, when Benedict XVI published a letter entrusting the pastoral activity of the city's basilicas to the bishop of the local diocese.

Continued...

Church still reeling from Bozek's move

Departure left void in diocese, many say.
Linda Leicht
News-Leader

At midnight Christmas Eve, the sanctuary at St. Agnes Cathedral was filled with worshippers celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ as the media swirled with the news of a priest who had walked away from his job at St. Agnes to step into a conflict between a parish and the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Bishop John Leibrecht's sermon at St. Agnes spoke of broken relationships.

"You could hear a pin drop," said the Rev. Mike McDevitt, pastor at St. Agnes.

The contrast between interest in the drama of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish, Marek Bozek and Archbishop Raymond Burke and the day-to-day needs of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau and St. Agnes Parish is not lost on the 61-year-old priest.

"We pray for the best for Father Marek, but we need to be present to the people's needs," he said.

He does need prayers, especially for his conversion and repentance.

Bozek left his job as associate pastor at St. Agnes on Dec. 2. Since then, McDevitt has been handling the extra duties left by Bozek, helping his congregation deal with the situation and coping with his own ordeal.

Poor Fr. McDevitt - what a betrayal this had to be for him as well. He, no doubt, needs our prayers and support, as well.

The Springfield diocese has also been struggling to serve the more than 64,000 Catholics within its 25,719 square miles.

And the Catholics in the diocese have been trying to understand why one of their priests would leave to enter into a controversy in St. Louis, and why the archbishop and St. Stanislaus cannot come to an agreement.

"This is still a really heartfelt and sensitive subject to me," said Cynthia Ruzicka, a lifelong Catholic and a member of St. Agnes. She supports Bozek's decision to help St. Stanislaus, but she also sees the impact of his leaving on her own church and diocese.

It's unfortunate that some lend credence to and support for such schismatic actions because they "feel" rather than "think" the matter through clearly. But such is a fact of our culture today where far too many can't seem to understand the gravity and sinfulness of causing division in Christ's Church and among His people.

"My heart goes out to Father Mike with the extra duties that he has," she said. "I think Father Mike has a great burden right now ... and he will do it."

It is that support that brings tears to McDevitt's eyes as he talks about his congregation.

"We're going through healing," he said. "I think the story is that the people are still faithful."

A TIGHT-KNIT GROUP

Bishop Leibrecht has consistently said that Bozek is welcome and encouraged to return to the Springfield diocese. But to return, Bozek would have to apologize to the approximately 60 priests in the diocese.

Those priests, said Leibrecht, are an "unusually tight-knit, fraternal group" who have been hurt by Bozek's actions.

"Many of them are disappointed in Marek," he said. "Some of them have used the phrase ... 'He has betrayed us.'"

A sad commentary, the same was said of Judas, no doubt...

The bishop said his goal now is to help his priests "process their feelings about what it meant to them that one of their own was willing to depart."

Leibrecht, who is 75 years old and slated to retire this year, is responsible for matching the right priest with the right assignment — in parishes and other diocesan jobs. The assignments are announced each August. Bozek's leaving has already forced the bishop to change some of those plans. Two new priests scheduled to be ordained this summer will relieve some of that strain, but there are also some priests who are considering retirement, Leibrecht said.

"The departure of one man affects the assignments of other priests," he said. "Some of what I had hoped to do I will not be able to do."

But are we supposed to believe and understand that the "Holy Spirit" was calling Bozek to rebel and commit schism? Surely not! It may have been a "spirit" but it was not of God!...Maybe the 30 pieces of silver was just too much to resist?

The diocese has experienced growth, especially with an influx of Spanish-speaking Catholics. Each priest in the diocese is learning to speak Spanish to respond to that need. Bozek was already leading Spanish Masses in Springfield and in Branson.

"While we will keep going, and the guys will do their ministry, it will take a while for them to get over their feelings," Leibrecht said.

'A GOOD RAPPORT'

The Rev. Dave Hulshof has known Bozek since he came to Springfield from Poland in 2000. Hulshof is director of vocations for the parish. He works closely with men who are in discernment and through their seminary training and ordination. He also pastors two parishes, Holy Trinity in Aurora and Sacred Heart in Verona.

As Bozek's vocations director and housemate at the St. Agnes rectory, Hulshof had many conversations with the young priest.

Did Father did not see a problem with Bozek or his inclination toward disobedience?

Bozek, in a telephone interview, said he has been welcomed by many of the priests in the St. Louis archdiocese. "But I do miss terribly the companionship of St. Agnes," he said. "I love them dearly."

Easy, empty words, one would think...For if he truly loved them, he would not have treated them in the manner he did by his betrayal. One wonders, as well, what faithful Catholic priests would welcome him? Surely one would know that by "welcoming" him, one also welcomes his rebellion, disobedience and schism. Another sad commentary if this is, in fact, true. But seeing how this is a Bozek quote, it unclear how much weight can be given to the statement.

"It was a good rapport," Hulshof said of the relationship. But he is disappointed that Bozek never opened up about his decision to go to St. Stanislaus.

Or his inclination to reject lawful Church authority - apparently a number of times. Maybe it's the money?

"You were not open with us on this journey you were on," Hulshof said, as if Bozek were in the room.

Perhaps due to Pride? Arrogance? Greed? An inability to be truthful? A lack of affective maturity?

Hulshof said he had heard rumors that Bozek was planning to go to St. Louis as early as August, but whenever he confronted Bozek, the priest would deny it.

Pathological, no doubt...If he couldn't tell the truth then, why would one believe him now?

"Then he simply said, 'I changed my mind,'" said Hulshof.

Cafeteria style...

Despite the frustration and hurt, Hulshof is convinced the diocese will move on.

"We don't want to be seen as victims," he said.

Good attitude - It's time to move on...Judas has run off, he has taken enough rope to hang himself!

The diocese has a good reputation and has attracted potential priests from around the country and the world, he said. But Hulshof is quick to note that three of the next four expected to be ordained are "natives" of the diocese.

'NOT ENOUGH PRIESTS'

Harriet Pacyniak is a member of the parish council at St. Agnes, and she sees the struggle the parish faces there and across the diocese.

"There are not enough priests," she said. "And all the other priests in the diocese have to really, really work hard and help each other."

Bozek not only led many of the Masses, he had been assigned to head the youth ministry, a position that will now be filled by a lay person. Another paid position will also strain the parish's limited resources, she said.

Mike Finch, another council member, said that Bozek's disconnection from the youth has left a void.

A void? When now one can ensure the the fullness of truth shines forth? Certainly they are better off without him if his pastoral "assistance" would lead them astray. What would he have taught these young people? The Truth? As Pilate said, "Truth? What is Truth?"

"I personally thought Father Marek was going to fill that role very well," he said. "We need to find somebody who can make the connection. That's a hard role to fill."

Certainly there are faithful Catholics who can fill this void...a void that would probably have existed even if this man were still there. One must have concern for the kids immortal souls - that comes first!

Finch's two teenage daughters attend Springfield Catholic High School where Bozek would say Mass. The situation has opened an opportunity to talk with the girls about what the priest did and the consequences of his actions.

"It was a good learning point for them," he said.

The situation has also been a "learning point" for Finch, who said he has followed the news coverage closely and has learned a lot about church law.

But law is not at the heart of the matter for Finch or many others.

"I worry about the divisiveness," he said. "There will be hard feelings by folks who don't understand why Archbishop Burke and Bishop John did what they did. They don't understand the rules of the church."

For Ruzicka, understanding how Bozek came to his decision makes it easier.

"I know he was called to do this," she said. "My daily prayer for him is that this will get easier."

We can be certain that he was not called by God to do this...

Article

Minnesota Priest Criticizes Bishops' Stance on Marriage Amendment

History reveals unsavory mix of religion, constitutional law
Michael V. Tegeder

The author of the Opinion piece in the St. Paul Pioneer Press is the Pastor of the Church of St Edward in Bloomington, a suburb of the Minneapolis- St. Paul.

7 Hour Deposition for Archbishop Levada

SAN FRANCISCO — A high-ranking Vatican official was deposed for seven hours Monday about how the Portland diocese handled priest sex abuse allegations during his tenure there.
. . .
Plaintiffs' attorney Kelly Clark described Levada as articulate and intelligent and said it "was a productive day." Clark was prevented by a court order from discussing any specifics of the deposition, but said it was "a remarkably uncontentious deposition."

Continued here.

Marian Conference Schedule

Below is the schedule for this weekend's Seventh Annual Marian Conference:

FRIDAY, JAN 13

3:00 Divine Mercy Chaplet
3:15 Rosary
3:40 Fr. Joe Fessio, SJ
4:30 Mass – Archbishop Burke
5:30 Break
6:45 Adoration Chapel opens/Confessions
7:00 Msgr. Michael Schmitz
8:00 Fr. Don Calloway
9:00 Fr. Bill Casey
10:00 Veneration of Holy Cross

SATURDAY, JAN 14

6:30 Mass – Fr. Wade Menezes homilist
7:50 Rosary
8:15 Fr. Don Calloway
9:15 Fr. Pablo Straub
10:15 Break
10:30 Prince Bertrand of Orleans-Braganza
12:00 Angelus/lunch
1:15 Fr. Mitch Pacwa, SJ
2:15 Msgr. Michael Schmitz
3:15 Break
3:30 Fr. Eugene Morris
4:30 Fr. Andre Mhanna
5:30 Dinner Break
7:00 Fr. Wade Menezes
8:00 Mass/Blessed Sacrament Procession

SUNDAY, JAN 15

8:00 Rosary
8:30 Fr. Mitch Pacwa, SJ
9:30 Fr. Wade Menezes
10:30 Break
10:45 Fr. Pablo Straub
11:45 Fr. Bill Casey
1:00 Mass

HT to Marc P. for providing the update.

L.A. Cathedral Disinvites Christian Unity Event

Pastor decides not to allow conference after realizing the role of a self-proclaimed mystic.
By Larry B. Stammer, Times Staff Writer

The Roman Catholic cathedral of Los Angeles on Monday rescinded its invitation to hold a Christian unity conference later this month after concluding that the principal speaker was to be a controversial self-proclaimed mystic who claimed to speak directly with God, Jesus and Mary.

In a letter to the sponsors, Msgr. Kevin Kostelnik, pastor of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, said that what had been represented by sponsors as a Christian unity conference had turned out to be largely a forum for Vassula Ryden, a Greek Orthodox laywoman who has attracted worldwide attention with her reports of sacred conversations.

At the same time, a leading Greek Orthodox priest said Monday he previously had also pulled out of the Jan. 28 conference. "Everything is very suspect. That's all I'm going to say," said the Very Rev. John Bakas, dean of St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles.
. . .
1995 and 1996 Vatican statements cautioning Catholics against following Ryden remain "in full force."

"The 1995 statement cautioned Catholics that Ms. Ryden's 'revelations' were merely the result of private meditations and contained doctrinal errors. It also advised bishops not to provide any opportunity in their dioceses for the dissemination of her ideas," Kostelnik wrote.

More here.

Finally, the Truth. What the Pope Said to the Diplomatic Corps

In his first address to the ambassadors to the Holy See, Benedict XVI recalled where true peace comes from: “To all those responsible of Nations I wish to state: if you do not fear truth, you need not fear freedom!”

by Sandro Magister

ROMA, January 10, 2006 – Speaking yesterday in the Sala Regia of the Vatican palace to the representatives of the 174 states that have diplomatic ties with the Vatican, Benedict XVI repeated the key points of the previous geopolitical message he wrote, for the new year of 2006, the World Day for Peace.

The truth was at the center of this message, beginning with the title: “In Truth, Peace.”

And again, pope Joseph Ratzinger pegged to the truth his speech to the diplomatic corps at the beginning of the year.

Justice, freedom, forgiveness – the three elements that embody peace among men and nations – all derive from what Benedict XVI called “the commitment to truth.”

More...

Gospel for Tuesday, 1st Week in Ordinary Time

From: Mark 1:14-28

Jesus Begins to Preach and Calls His First Disciples

[14] Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the Gospel."

[16] And passing along by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. [17] And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men." [18] And immediately they left their nets and followed him. [19] And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. [20] And immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and followed him.

Jesus in the Synagogue of Capernaum

[21] And they went into Capernaum; and immediately on the sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. [22] And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. [23] And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; [24] and he cried out, "What have You to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are, the Holy One of God." [25] But Jesus rebuked him saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" [26] And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. [27] And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching! With authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him." [28] And at once His fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.
______________________

Commentary:

14-15. "The gospel of God": this _expression is found in St Paul (Rom 1:1; 2 Cor 11:7; etc.) where it means the same as "the gospel of Jesus Christ" (2 Thess 1:8; etc.), thereby implying the divinity of Jesus Christ. The imminence of the Kingdom requires a genuine conversion of man to God (Mt 4:17; Mk 6: 12; etc.). The prophets had already spoken of the need for conversion and for Israel to abandon its evil ways (Jer 3:22; Is 30:15; Hos 14:2; etc.).

Both John the Baptist and Jesus and his Apostles insist on the need for conversion, the need to change one's attitude and conduct as a prerequisite for receiving the Kingdom of God. John Paul II underlines the importance of conversion for entry into the Kingdom of God: "Therefore, the Church professes and proclaims conversion. Conversion to God always consists in discovering his mercy, that is, in discovering that love which is patient and kind (cf. 1 Cor 13:4) as only the Creator and Father can be; the love to which the 'God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ' (2 Cor 1:3) is faithful to the uttermost consequences in the history of his covenant with man: even to the Cross and to the death and resurrection of the Son. Conversion to God is always the fruit of the 'rediscovery' of this Father, who is rich in mercy.

"Authentic knowledge of the God of mercy, the God of tender love, is a constant and inexhaustible source of conversion, not only as a momentary interior act but also as a permanent attitude, as a state of mind. Those who come to know God in this way, who 'see' him in this way, can live only in a state of being continually converted to him. They live, therefore, "in statu conversionis" and it is this state of conversion which marks out the most profound element of the pilgrimage of every man and woman on earth "in statu viatoris" (John Paul II, "Dives In Misericordia", 13).

16-20. In these verses the evangelist describes how Jesus called some of those who would later form part of the Apostolic College (3:16ff). From the start of his public ministry in Galilee the Messiah seeks co-workers to help him in his mission as Savior and Redeemer. He looks for them among people used to hard work, people for whom life is a struggle and whose life-style is plain. In human terms they are obviously at a disadvantage vis-a-vis many of those to whom they will preach; but this in no way prevents their self-surrender from being generous and free. The light lit in their hearts was enough to lead them to give up everything. A simple invitation to follow the Master was enough for them to put themselves completely at his disposal.

It is Jesus who chooses them: he interfered in the lives of the Apostles just as he interferes in ours, without seeking our permission: he is our Lord. Cf. note on Mt 4:18-22.

21. "Synagogue" means meeting, assembly, community. It was--and is--used by the Jews to describe the place where they met to hear the Scriptures read, and to pray. Synagogues seem to have originated in the social gatherings of the Jews during their exile in Babylon, but this phenomenon did not spread until much later. In our Lord's time there were synagogues, in Palestine, in every city and town of any importance; and, outside Palestine, wherever the Jewish community was large enough. The synagogue consisted mainly of a rectangular room built in such a way that those attending were facing Jerusalem when seated. There was a rostrum or pulpit from which Sacred Scripture was read and explained.

22. Here we can see how Jesus showed His authority to teach. Even when He took Scripture as His basis--as in the Sermon on the Mount--He was different from other teachers, for He spoke in His own name: "But I say to you" (Matthew 7:28-29). Our Lord speaks about the mysteries of God, and about human relationships; He teaches in a simple and authoritative way because He speaks of what He knows and testifies to what He has seen (John 3:11). The scribes also taught the people, St. Bede comments, about what is written in Moses and the prophets; but Jesus preached to them as God and Lord of Moses himself (St. Bede, "In Marci Evangelium Expositio"). Moreover, first He does and then He preaches (Acts 1:1)--not like the scribes who teach and do not do (Matthew 23:1-5).

23-26. The Gospels give us many accounts of miraculous cures, among the most outstanding of which are those of people possessed by the devil. Victory over the unclean spirit, as the devil is usually described, is a clear sign that God's salvation has come: by overcoming the Evil One, Jesus shows that He is the Messiah, the Savior, more powerful than the demons: "Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out" (John 12:31). Throughout the Gospel we see many accounts of this continuous and successful struggle of our Lord against the devil.

As time goes on the devil's opposition to Jesus becomes ever clearer; in the wilderness it is hidden and subtle; it is noticeable and violent in the case of possessed people; and radical and total during the Passion, the devil's "hour and the power of darkness" (Luke 22:53). And Jesus' victory also becomes ever clearer, until He triumphs completely by rising from the dead.

The devil is called unclean, St. John Chrysostom says, because of his impiety and withdrawal from God. In some ways he does recognize Christ's holiness, but this knowledge is not accompanied by charity. In addition to the historical fact of this cure, we can also see, in this possessed man, those sinners who must be converted to God and freed from the slavery to sin and the devil. They may have to struggle for a long time but victory will come: the Evil One is powerless against Christ (cf. note on Matthew 12:22-24).

27. The same authority that Jesus showed in His teaching (1:22) is now to be seen in His actions. His will is His command: He has no need of long prayers or incantations. Jesus' words and actions already have a divine power which provokes wonder and fear in those who hear and see Him.

Jesus continues to impress people in this way (Mark 2:12; 5:20-42; 7:37; 15:39; Luke 19:48; John 7:46). Jesus of Nazareth is the long-awaited Savior. He knows this Himself and He lets it be known by His actions and by His words; according to the gospel accounts (Mark 1:38-39; 2:10-11; 4:39) there is complete continuity and consistency between what He says and He does. As Vatican II teaches ("Dei Verbum", 2) Revelation is realized by deeds and words intimately connected with each other: the words proclaim the deeds and clarify the mystery contained in them; the deeds confirm the teaching. In this way Jesus progressively reveals the mystery of His Person: first the people sense His exceptional authority; later on, the Apostles, enlightened by God's grace, recognize the deepest source of this authority: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16).
______________________

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.

Ontario Bishops Conference Tells Catholic Voters to Learn Candidates' Stands on Life and Family

TORONTO, January 9, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A message from the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops (OCCB) sent to all dioceses in the province with instructions to be used prior to the federal election notes a list of "issues pertaining to human life that should be addressed during the federal election campaign."
. . .
The issues of importance and their explanations as outlined by the OCCB statement are:

Abortion
Marriage
Family
Artificial Reproductive Technologies
Embryonic Stem-cell Research
Human Cloning
Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

More.

Bishop Olmsted Mandates NFP for Marriage Candidates

No pills. No patches. No condoms.

Birth control is a grave wrong that is at the root of many of the problems afflicting American society, Catholic Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted said in a series of articles that reopened a contentious debate in the church and augmented his credentials as one of the most conservative bishops in the nation.

Olmsted now is one of only three bishops in the country to require a full course of natural family planning for anyone who wants a church wedding, joining his counterparts in Denver and Fargo, N.D. Natural family planning is the only church-approved method of birth control.

More here...

Assassin to Be Released

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - The man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 will be released from prison this week after a court decided he had completed his sentence for the attack on the pontiff and other crimes - a ruling that took the Vatican by surprise.

Mehmet Ali Agca was extradited to Turkey in 2000 after serving almost 20 years in Italy for shooting and wounding the pope in St. Peter's Square in Rome. His motive for shooting John Paul in the abdomen on May 13, 1981, remains unclear.

Agca, 47, was to be released on parole Thursday, his lawyer, Mustafa Demirbag told The Associated Press by telephone.

Continued...

Prayers Needed for Fr. John Miller

Fr. John H. Miller, CSC, is the director of the Central Bureau, Catholic Central Union of America, which publishes the Social Justice Review, of which Fr. Miller is the editor.

Some of you may know that Father Miller is suffering from pancreatic cancer and has been receiving treatment for some time.

From what I come to learn, Fr. Miller has been informed that the chemo treatments have not shrunk his pancreatic tumor. His codition has deteriorated and the prognosis is bleak.

His Holy Cross Provincial Superior has ordered him to their infirmary at the University of Notre Dame. Apparently the trip will be made by ambulance within the next day or days.

Fr. Miller is a faithful servant of Christ. Please keep our dear friend and faithful defender of the Church in your prayers.

The State of the World Address by the Holy Father

Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

With joy I welcome you all to this traditional meeting between the Pope and the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See. After our celebration of the great Christian feasts of Christmas and Epiphany, the Church continues to draw life from the joy that they bring: that joy is great, because it arises from the presence of Emmanuel - God with us - but it is also quiet, since it is experienced within the domestic setting of the Holy Family, whose simple and exemplary story the Church relives intimately at this time. Yet it is also a joy that needs to be communicated, because true joy cannot be isolated without becoming attenuated and stifled. So to all of you, Ambassadors, and to the peoples and Governments that you worthily represent, to your beloved families and to your colleagues, I wish Christian joy. May it be the joy of universal brotherhood brought by Christ, a joy that is rich in truthful values and is openly and generously shared; may it remain with you and grow every day of the year that has just begun.
. . .
I spoke of "our common mission". And what is this, if not the mission of peace? The Church’s task is none other than to spread the message of Christ, who came, as Saint Paul writes in the Letter to the Ephesians, to proclaim peace to those who are far away and to those who are near (cf. 2:17). And you, esteemed Diplomatic Representatives of your peoples, according to your statutes (Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations) you have this among your noble goals: to promote friendly international relations. On this foundation, true peace can develop.

Peace, alas, is hindered or damaged or threatened in many parts of the world. What is the way that leads to peace? In the Message that I delivered for the celebration of this year’s World Day of Peace, I said: "wherever and whenever men and women are enlightened by the splendour of truth, they naturally set out on the path of peace" (no. 3). In truth, peace.

Continued...

A Catechism Quiz on Homosexuality

Courtesy of David Morrison...

"To Hell with Hell!": The Spiritual Dumbing Down of the Generations

I am the product of a “dumbed down" generation. During my “Catholic” instruction in the late 1960s, I can’t recall having ever seen a monstrance, prayed a novena, heard Gregorian chant, taken part in a May crowning or prayed a benediction prayer.

This statement, and others like it, literally brings tears to my eyes, seeing the spiritual poverty that has been thrust upon so many, especially the children.

When Rome recently asked for churches to again start the “Forty Hours” devotion, I found myself asking people exactly what that entailed. So I struggle even in adulthood, reaching back like an orphaned child searching for her parental roots. At one time in history, the roots of traditional Catholic prayers and truths might have been easy to find. But that is no longer true. Sadly, one can no longer simply walk into any Catholic church and find all those universal things that are part of true Catholicism.

Fortunately, in some parishes, these things always remained or, as is happening in an increasing number of parishes, our Catholic heritage, prayers and devotions are making a return. More and more people are being freed of the spiritual impoverishment that was, in too many instances, imposed upon them. This is not to impute guilt, necessarily, to those who led others to a spiritual desert.

As I continue the struggle to learn what our faith really teaches, and what Catholic prayer means, I try to keep the connection alive for our children. I don’t want them one day to be forced to struggle as I have to learn the truth of all that it means to be Catholic. But even that is hard. For example, many children are consistently taught post-1960 Acts of Contrition. The problem with these prayers is that all but the original Act of Contrition excludes "the pains of hell." If children do not learn the full Act of Contrition, including "the pains of hell," for their first penance, then when will they learn it? Is there any connection between the “pains of hell” being purged from the modern-day Act of Contrition prayers, from Sunday homilies, and from many catechism books, and the fact that so many children nonchalantly wander off into mortal sin, acting as though heaven was real place, but hell was not?

We need only to ask, if hell is not real, then just what are we saved from?

The link to the article.

Status Ecclesiae-The Obedience Test

When given an instruction or lawful command by the Holy Father or the bishop, knowing that our response is really a response to our Lord, which one of us would bend the knee, make the sign of the Cross and say, ‘Your will, not mine be done, Lord,’ or would we instead shout ‘Non serviam!’ and proceed on that path toward schism?

John Mallon has an article in "Inside the Vatican" which I read last night. In it he makes some observations which in the past 2 years have also been made here. For instance:

St. Ignatius of Loyola...said, “We ought always to hold that the white which I see is black, if the hierarchical Church so decides it, believing that between Christ our Lord, the Bridegroom, and the Church, His Bride, there is the same Spirit which governs and directs us for the salvation of our souls. Because by the same Spirit and our Lord Who gave the Ten Commandments, our holy Mother the Church is directed and governed."”

But then, in summation, the point is clearly made for those who can understand:

For almost exactly 40 years now dissenters have been putting forth the idea that dissent was somehow an expression of “adult faith” or “thinking for oneself.” The exact opposite is true. In fact, dissent is an adolescent act.

Religious obedience, on the other hand, is a matter of great spiritual maturity. Obedience to God is the pinnacle of wisdom. There is no greater expression of maturity than obedience to God. When it comes to faith and morals, the Magisterium is our divine guarantee of freedom from error. There is no other.

The spiritual maturity of which he speaks, also extends to disciplinary matters as well - obedience can not be limited to merely those aspects of one's life which deal with faith and morals. One who proposes that obedience can be denied in the case of a lawful command of a matter of discipline or administration is deceiving himself and others.

In this respect, recall the words of St. Gregory the Great:

"Obedience is the only virtue which implants the other virtues in the mind, and preserves them when they are implanted. Obedience is better than sacrifice: because by sacrifice the flesh of another is immolated, by obedience our own will is sacrificed to Almighty God."

[from The Seventh Century From The Saints - 14 - St. Gregory the Great (Pope, Doctor, 540-604) - "A Parochial Course Of Doctrinal Instructions" ((Frs. Callan and McHugh, Wagner, 1941, Moral Course, v.2, Part 3, p. 174)]

The full article is here.

Church-goers Who Do Harm

Perhaps I can best show what I mean by Church-goers who do harm by relating an occurrence I met with while a chaplain in a hospital. A man was dying. The nurse asked him if he was a Catholic. He replied he was once.

"Do you want to see a priest?" she said.

"No," he snapped.

The nurse, thinking he did not realize his condi­tion, continued: "If you were very ill, in fact, if you thought you might possibly die, would you care to have a priest?"

"No."

The next time I was passing through the ward, the nurse said to me: "Father, there is a man dying in bed No. 17 and he is a Catholic, but I guess you will find him a pretty tough customer."

I was used to tough customers, so I approached the bed. "Good day, my man," I began, very kindly. Just a nod for a reply. "I am a priest and I have come to see you," I added, gently.

"I don’t want to see you," he said, and turned his head aside. Now I knew I had a tough customer.

"My child," I persisted quietly, "do you realize that you are a very sick man; in fact, you are dan­gerously ill ? You are put on the list of those whom the priest should see before it may be too late."

"If I want you, I will send for you," he replied.

Thinking that he was disturbed over something and that he did not realize his nearness to death, I said to him plainly: "My child, you are dangerously ill, you may not have long to live. Now begin your confession."

So saying, I put on my stole, and gave him the blessing prior to confession. To my amazement, he said: "Now, Father, I know you mean well, but I don't want any of this stuff. I have seen enough of religion, and I don't want any of it. I have seen people who go to Church and come home to quarrel and backbite and cheat and behave worse than those who stay at home. I am willing to take my chance without your services. Good-bye, and let me alone."

I took out my crucifix and held it before him and said: "It is our Lord who is coming to you; I am merely His messenger. Do you want to turn away the Lord?"

For an answer, he made a gesture with his hand for me to go. I was sorry to leave him, but I realized that our Lord Himself had to leave some people. The Son of God Himself let the Scribes and Pharisees go their way after He had done His part.

Before I take up the subject on which this man based his rejection of religion, I may as well nar­rate how the matter ended. At four o'clock the next morning, a man was brought into the hos­pital who had been struck and badly injured by an automobile. He was too terribly cut and broken to be operated on, his life being a matter of hours only. He was a Catholic and was placed in a bed adjoining my friend above. Although awfully injured, the man was conscious, and as he asked for the priest, they sent for me at that un­reasonable hour. I knew that a call at such an hour was urgent, so I got to the patient with all haste. When he saw me, he groaned out these words: ­ "0 Father, I have been praying to live until I should see you; now I don't care when I go."

I heard his confession and administered the last rites. He died half an hour later. Meanwhile, my tough customer in bed No. 17 was keenly ob­serving. As I was leaving the ward, I stopped at his bed, and said: "The Lord has come to you again; do you wish to turn Him away this time?"

Tears came to his eyes, and he said: "Forgive me, Father, and may God forgive me!" I stayed with him until I had administered all the sacraments of the dying. The next day he was dead.

That man was repelled from religion by Church­goers who do harm. I do not say that he was justified, indeed he was not, but I am stating his own justification. He himself realized at the end that the example of bad Catholics was no reflection on their religion, but only on themselves. But he realized all that only under extraordinary conditions. The fact remains that for many years he abandoned religion because of the bad example of some Church-goers.

Now, of course, no educated or reasonable per­son will condemn an organization for the defects of an individual. But we must remember that everybody is not educated or reasonable. And these people must be taken into account, for in every community you will find them. ­

Our Lord Himself seems to have had such per­sons in mind when He distinctly warned His fol­lowers that scandals must come, but woe to them who cause them. For the present we leave to themselves those who take it out on God for what one of His creatures has done amiss. God is their judge.

Now to turn to those who go to Church and yet live as though there were no Church. In con­sidering this matter, we must bear in mind several things. The first is this, that because a person who goes to Church does not do right, it is no reason why he should not go. If in spite of the good influence exerted by the Church he lives on carelessly and with certain faults, he would be worse without religion.

Some people doctor a good deal without get­ting better, but that does not mean that the doctor is at fault. Perhaps without the doctor they would be on their last legs or in the grave. Of course some doctors may not understand their pa­tients, and may in consequence do them harm in­stead of good.

But the religion of Jesus Christ is that of the divine Physician who never gives wrong prescrip­tions. If then the Catholic Church-goer returns home and cuts up, it is his own perverse nature that is to blame, and not the Church. What he should do is not to discontinue going to Church, but to realize that to profit by a physician's treat­ment he must take his medicine and follow his directions.

Now the next thing to observe about these Church-goers who do harm is that the things we complain of in them are not so much matters of sin as defects of disposition, which, though annoy­ing and at times devilish, are nevertheless not serious moral transgressions. It may sound strange to say that they can behave in a devilish way and yet not seriously transgress.

Well, if you know poor old human nature, you will understand what I mean. You know that some people have a bad streak in them. Some people have several bad streaks. Of course, these are not the best people in the world, nor are they the worst. These difficult and touchy and trouble­some people who sometimes make a hell for those around them would nevertheless die rather than deliberately violate one of God's grave command­ments.

But is it not violating God's law to create dis­turbance and cut up the way some of these so-called religious people do? These disturbances are dreadful things. They do a lot of harm, I am not extenuating them a bit. But some people in their tantrums are not accountable. They get carried away by their nerves. For the time be­ing they are like runaway horses. I have seen a horse in a runaway plunge right through a large plate-glass window of a store and get all cut to pieces.

Some people's nerves are that way. Nervous people, and nowadays there are many such, say and do things which cause pain to themselves and others. But it is not because they are morally bad. A person may cause a lot of trouble, and yet not be deliberately guilty of wrong-doing.

Now before God it is only culpable wrong that is an offense. And wrong-doing is culpable only when it is deliberate, more or less. Some people have characteristic defects which will be theirs as long as they live. Yet they may not be sinners. The just man falls frequently during the day, yet he is just. And why? These falls are virtually unavoidable and constitute a cross for self and others.

I do not wish to excuse these unfortunate per­sons. My purpose is to show that they may be sincerely trying to be good, and yet, by reason of their disposition, fail. A man who does not take account of this trait in human nature may mistake the failure for sinfulness and conclude that re­ligion has failed. Of course, only a narrow-minded and illogical man would so conclude. But we must remember that there are lots of that class.

It is the duty, therefore, of Church-goers to real­ize that they hold the good reputation of the Church in their keeping. By their disedifying con­duct they may do religion harm. There are many weak Catholics who are looking for an excuse to give up the Church, and the bad example of some Church-goers furnishes them with a pretext. I said above, that, in itself, their conduct might not be sinful, but it may readily become so if they do not do their very best to avoid those faults and defects which alienate people from religion.

It is a strange thing, but true, that some people who wink at great transgressions take offense at little infractions of the home virtues. A violation of the conventionalities of society repels certain persons more than a violation of God's law. We cannot overlook this fact, and consequently, while doing all in our power to observe God's law, we should not be unmindful of the code of man.

Charity is the soul of religion. Charity implies kindness and consideration for others. If you go to Church and then, on returning home, behave as you like, regardless of others, you show plainly either that you have a bad streak in you, or that religion in your case is only nominal.

The sensible man will look at it in that way. He will understand that the individual is not the Church. He will go on and faithfully attend to his religious duties, and, perhaps, say a prayer for the poor misguided soul who in reality needs prayers and pity more than anything else. For the Church-goer who does not profit by the Mass and the Gospel and the general help which the Catholic service gives, is impervious to the best influences that can affect humanity.

There is nothing in this world higher or nobler than the standard held up to Catholics by their faith and practice. If they fail to approach that standard, it is their own fault and their own responsibility. To whom much is given, of him much is required. God will judge Catholics se­verely who harm His religion by making caricatures of it by their conduct.

There is no doubt about it, if Catholics half lived up to the holiness of their religion, very many outside the Church could not hold out against con­version. But when non-Catholics see some people return from Mass and carry on as though they had come from the theater or from shopping, they judge religion accordingly. They are not justified for so judging, but that does not excuse those who, by their conduct, occasion contempt for their Church.

And so, to the Church-goer who does harm I say, do not leave off going, but start right in and I do what is right. Be patient, considerate, careful of truth, polite and faithful to every little duty. You are all right on the big things. I know you do not steal nor tell injurious lies nor commit sins of impurity. You avoid the sins which corrode the individual and society. Your faults are minor ones. But an elephant can be more damaged by a few mice than by a pack of hyenas.

Bear that in mind. People do not see your heart, but only your person. And if you commit a lot of small faults they judge you by them only; at least, some people do. And in a way they are right, for they expect much from those who pro­fess and practice the Catholic religion.

What I wish to insist on is that, while practicing the great virtues, we should not neglect the small. While doing the heroic things of super­natural virtue, we should not neglect the ordinary things of natural virtue. And some people are inclined to do just that. They think that because they feel all right before God they do not need to care for man. That is wrong, very wrong, and it does religion great harm.

In conclusion, I might say that I do not know whom to pity more, the Church-goer who does harm or the man who stops going to Church be­cause of the bad example of some Church-goers. God is not going to judge you for what another does, but for what you yourself do or fail to do. It will do you little good before a court of justice to say you failed to keep the law because John Smith broke it. Every man must one day stand judgment on his own observance of the law of God. The eternal Judge will attend to others. You must answer for yourself.
______________________________

Adapted from The Hand of God, A Theology for the People (1918)
By Martin J. Scott, S.J., Litt.D.

Gospel for Jan 9, Feast: The Baptism of the Lord

From: Mark 1:7-11

The Ministry of John the Baptist

[7] And he (John the Baptist) preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. [8] I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

Jesus Is Baptized

[9] In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. [10] And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove; [11] and a voice came from heaven, "Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased."
_____________________

Commentary:

8. "Baptizing with the Holy Spirit" refers to the Baptism Jesus will institute and shows how it differs from the baptism of John. In John's baptism, as in the other rites of the Old Testament, grace was only signified, symbolized. "By the baptism of the New Law, men are baptized inwardly by the Holy Spirit, and this is accomplished by God alone. But by the baptism of John the body alone was cleansed by the water" (St. Thomas Aquinas, "Summa Theologiae, III, q. 38, art. 2 ad 1). In Christian Baptism, instituted by our Lord, the baptismal rite not only signifies grace but is the effective cause of grace, i.e. it confers grace. "Baptism confers the first sanctifying grace and the supernatural virtues, taking away Original Sin and also personal sins if there are any, together with the entire debt of punishment which the baptized person owes for sin. In addition, Baptism impresses the Christian character in the soul and makes it able to receive the other sacraments" ("St. Pius X Catechism", 295). The effects of Christian Baptism, like everything to do with the sanctification of souls, are attributed to the Holy Spirit, the "Sanctifier". It should be pointed out, however, that like all the "ad extra" actions of God (i.e. actions external to the intimate life of the Blessed Trinity), the sanctification of souls is the work of all three Divine Persons.

9. Our Lord's hidden life takes place (apart form his birth at Bethlehem and the time he was in Egypt) in Nazareth of Galilee from where he comes to receive John's baptism.

Jesus has no need to receive this baptism of conversion. However, it was appropriate that he who was going to establish the New Alliance should recognize and accept the mission of his Precursor by being baptized with his baptism: this would encourage people to prepare to receive the Baptism which WAS necessary. The Fathers comment that our Lord went to receive John's baptism in order to fulfill all righteousness (cf. Mt 3:15), to give us an example of humility, to become widely known, to have people believe in Him and to give life-giving strength to the waters of Baptism.

"Ever since the Baptism of Christ in the water, Baptism removes the sins of all" (St Augustine, "Sermon" 135).

"There are two different periods of time which relate to Baptism--one the period of its institution by the Redeemer; the other the establishment of the law regarding its reception. [...] The second period to be distinguished, that is, the time when the law of Baptism was made, also admits of no doubt. Holy writers are unanimous in saying that after the Resurrection of our Lord, when he gave to his Apostles the command to go and 'make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost' (Mt 28:19) the law of Baptism became obligatory on all who were to be saved" ("St. Pius V Catechism", Part II).

10. The visible presence of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove marks the beginning of Christ's public ministry. The Holy Spirit will also appear, in the form of tongues of fire, on the occasion when the Church begins its mission to all the world on the day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:3-21).

The Fathers usually interpret the dove as a symbol of peace and reconciliation between God and men. It first appears in the account of the flood (Gen 8:10-11) as a sign that God's punishment of mankind has come to an end. Its presence at the beginning of Christ's public ministry symbolizes the peace and reconciliation he will bring.

11. At the very beginning of his public life the mystery of the Holy Trinity is made manifest: "The Son is baptized, the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove and the voice of the Father is heard" (St Bede, "In Marci Evangelium expositio, in loc."). "The Holy Spirit dwells in him," the same author goes on, "but not from the moment of his Baptism, but from the moment he became man." In other words, Jesus did not become God's son at his Baptism; he is the Son of God from all eternity. nor did he become the Messiah at this point; he was the Messiah from the moment he became man.

Baptism is the public manifestation of Jesus as Son of God and as Messiah, ratified by the presence of the Blessed Trinity.

"The Holy Spirit descended visibly in bodily form upon Christ when he was baptized so that we may believe him to descend invisibly upon all those who are baptized afterwards" (St Thomas Aquinas, "Summa Theologiae", III, q. 39, a. 6 and 3).
_____________________

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.

More 'Erudite' Reflections from Marek Bozek

St. Stanislaus held its first Sunday Mass since the Decree of Suppression by Archbishop Burke last week.

During his homily, Father Mark Bozek talked about the issue of suppression saying this is not what Jesus would've done.

Such a suggestion is total mischaracterization of the Gospels to the people of St. Stanislaus. As a matter of fact, we read in Matthew 23

[1] Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples, [2] Saying: The scribes and the Pharisees have sitten on the chair of Moses. [3] All things therefore whatsoever they shall say to you, observe and do...

Jesus certainly would not ask others to do what He himself would not do...and for those who refuse to listen, even to the Church, Jesus says (as recorded in Matthew 18):

[15] But if thy brother shall offend against thee, go, and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother. [16] And if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more: that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand. [17] And if he will not hear them: tell the church. And if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican.

So not only is Archbishop Burke fulfilling his obligation as the faithful Shepherd of the Archdiocese, he fulfills, albeit with sadness, exactly what Jesus commands us to do. While Marek Bosek claims to have taken 10 years of theological and other training, one must wonder at this point if he passed any of his classes?

He pointed out that the manger where Jesus was born included animals and pagans. Father Mark Bozek said, "Imagine the Archbishop being a gatekeeper at the manger scene. Would we have all these Magi coming to Jesus today?

The point of Bozek's exercise in confusion is somewhat difficult to understand. The Magi were called by God through extraordinary means to receive the message of salvation and adore the new-born King. This conjuring up of hypotheticals (the Archbishop as Gatekeeper) is nothing more than an attempt to deflect attention from his own disobedience and the Board's disobedience to another who has been completely obedient and patient.

I'm afraid he would have said, 'I'm sorry guys you are not Roman Catholics, you can't come here, there's no room for you.' Well Jesus didn't."

Pure conjecture - and - "poor" conjecture. The "visible" Church was, as yet, unknown to humanity and all those who came, came in humility, to adore the Child were welcomed and encouraged and strengthened in their faith. The only ones who were denied access to the Baby Jesus were those whose only desire was to inflict harm to the Baby. Hence the reason for the Flight into Eqypt. Again though, we see an attempt by Bozek to sidestep the real issue of his own disobedience and rebellion and direct attention elsewhere. And of course, the media, as a willing enabler of his questionable behavior, facilitates his fantasies.

In response to why St. Stanislaus doesn't follow the same rules as other Catholic churches, Father Bozek said, "We are following the same rules. We are following all the dogmas of Catholic faith and the rules of discipline. The only question we have is the small administration rule."

It's unbelievable that this man can even say this with a straight face. How does he have the audacity to say, "We are following the same rules. We are following all the dogmas of Catholic faith and the rules of discipline."?

Some possibilities for such an outlandish statement might be:
1. He is so confused and out of touch with reality that he actually believes it, in which case he probably shouldn't be allowed to roam the streets.
2. He is deliberately lying.
3. He is incapable of determining truth from fiction.

The people of the "parish" are not being well served by such an individual who claims that St. Stanislaus has a problem with a "small administration rule", since that "rule" is part of the "discipline" which he claims to be following. Do these people truly want to place their trust and eternal souls under the direction of man who has such difficulty with reality and the truth.

One woman stated that Fr. Bozek is such a good salesman. He makes everyone feel good and comfortable inside...Besides, Christian is Christian, and "Catholic" is just a word.

Cute...

Nevertheless, we should never underestimate the power of prayer. Perhaps those afflicted by blindness, arrogance, pride, disobedience and greed might be converted by prayer.

A video of the KSDK interview can be seen here.

A previous KMOV TV Video report is here.

Former SF archbishop returns for sex abuse-related questioning

Former Archbishop William Levada was expected to answer questions from lawyers Monday about how the Portland diocese handled priest sex abuse cases during his tenure there.

Levada was served with a subpoena Aug. 10, right before he left for Rome to take over as prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith...
. . .
Monday's deposition has been limited to seven hours and is expected to wrap up in a day. Lawyers haven't revealed where it will take place.

Source.

Dr Arthur Hippler's "Citizens of The Heavenly City"

I just read an interesting article in the National Catholic Register about a book written by Dr. Arthur Hippler, director of the Justice and Peace Office for the Diocese of La Crosse, Wis.

As the Register notes, this book, Citizens of The Heavenly City, is a "New hish school textbook [which] gets Catholic social teaching right." For those who had the opportunity to read some of Dr. Hippler's works in past on the diocesan web (before the site was reworked, making them unavailable), one can cannot help but think that this book is an excellent work which truly presents a solid foundation of Catholic Social Teaching - something many see as an area in which a number of Catholics are quite confused. This book, it seems, offers Catholics and others an opportunity th "get it right".

Not only would a book of this sort be necessary for high school Catholics, but I would venture to say that many of us could use a "refresher" from an authentically Catholic perspective.

Dr Hippler states,

"It's so important these kids get social formation from the Church, or they're going to get a social teaching from somewhere else. They'll end up being Catholic schizophrenics, materialists, socialists, or communists because they don't have any formation ­of what the Church says about society."

I found the book available at Ave Maria Radio here.

Product Description

This book is an excellent introduction to Catholic Social Teaching. It has a clear competent focus on the Natural Law, the 10 Commandments, our common moral tradition, and the truth that binds and limits all of us. It includes an excellent introduction to Biblical tradition, the early Church Fathers, Augustine, Aquinas, Conciliar teaching, and appropriate papal documents. Its focus on the key Cardinal virtues essential to moral growth and perfection is very well done.

Product Reviews
* * * * *
"Citizens of the Heavenly City is a valuable addition to the materials for use in Catholic high schools which seek to impart to their pupils a sense of how Catholics are to go about weighing moral choices in the area of social teaching, an obligation on us all."
-- Most Reverend Thomas G. Doran, Bishop of Rockford, IL

This book has an imprimatur and a forward from our own Archbishop, His Excellency, the Most Reverend Raymond Burke.

Holy Father Denounces "culture of death" at first baptisms

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict performed the first baptisms of his pontificate on Sunday, using the occasion to launch an impassioned denunciation of irresponsible sex and a "culture of death" that he said pervaded the modern world.


Pope Benedict, abandoning his prepared sermon, compared the wild excesses of the ancient Roman empire to 21st century society and urged people to rediscover their faith.

"In our times we need to say 'no' to the largely dominant culture of death," Benedict said during his improvised homily in the frescoed Sistine Chapel where he was elected Pope last April.

"(There is) an anti-culture demonstrated by the flight to drugs, by the flight from reality, by illusions, by false happiness ... displayed in sexuality which has become pure pleasure devoid of responsibility," he added.

For some reason I awoke about 4:00am this morning, turned on EWTN and saw His Holiness celebrating Holy Mass in the Sistine Chapel with so many parents and their babies. What a tremendous joy it was to see this...

The article with pictures is here.

Prisoners rap for redemption-Singers combine rhythm with Gregorian chants

The world premiere of an innovative musical piece, performed by prison inmates, will combine modern rap with classical Gregorian chants.

The "Rap of Redemption" will be performed at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 8, at the Blessed Sacrament Church, 2203 Parallel, in Kansas City, Kan. The rap/chant performance is part of "How Can I Keep from Singing," will also be performed at 4 p.m., Jan 22 at First Presbyterian Church in Lawrence. The powerful rap message of the "Rap of Redemption," deals with a prison inmate's pain and regret for the damage caused to others.
. . .
The Gregorian chants are the "Kyrie" and the "Angus Dei." The text of the "Kyrie" means "Lord have mercy," and the text of the "Agnus Dei" says "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us."
. . .
The KCK concert is presented by the Ladies of Peter Claver from Our Lady and St. Rose Catholic Church and Cure of Arts Catholic Church in Leawood, Kan.

This seems to have created quite a stir 4 hours to the west of St. Louis...Apparently the SSPX folks and the FSSP are planning to protest a desecration of Catholic liturgical music in the sanctuary of a Catholic Church...

DVD/VHS Review: Gate of Heaven: The Solemn Consecration of St. Mary's Oratory

The Institute of Christ the King is a society of priests dedicated to the solemn celebration of the liturgy according to the classical liturgical books of the Roman rite.

From watching this video, it becomes clear that the Institute operates on the principle that the liturgy ought to be a representation of heaven meeting earth. Likewise is it obvious that their sense of sacred architecture is also imbued by this spirit. From the sacred vestments to the sacred music, the Institute presents the traditional liturgy of the Roman church as it ought be. Hence, the title of this DVD/VHS, "Gate of Heaven" is an appropo title and indicates the experience that viewers will come away with.

The video is an opportunity to witness an event in ecclesial life seldom witnessed by most people: the consecration of a church. To see this done, and done well, in the context of the classical liturgy is of particular delight. Led by Archbishop Raymond Burke, and with the presence of the Institute's schola cantorum (coming all the way from Italy for this event), viewers will be delighted in the quality of the sacred music and liturgical solemnity.

More here.

Cost:
$29 for the DVD (S/H included)
$19 for the VHS (S/H included)

The Order Form from the Institute of Christ the King is here.

******* Updated *******
Also, as Marc P. points out,

Do not forget that our beloved Institute of hrist the King also is selling, out of their Chicago office, the EWTN Live show that featured Msgr. R. Michael Schmitz (also a featured speaker in the Marian Conference lineup). It was on last spring.

http://www.institute-christ-king.org/EWTNLiveOrderForm.htm

Decisions, Decisions...

Sunday, Jan 15th is the last day of the Seventh Annual St Louis Marian Conference, which looks to be a great event with solid speakers...But then in a local bulletin we have this announcement:

Share wonderful food and support the Catholic Action Network! On Sunday, January 15, join us for brunch at MoKaBe’s Coffeehouse, 3606 Arsenal at South Grand, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cost is $12 and 100% of the profit will be donated to the Catholic Action Network.

The CAN PDF flyer is available at http://www.catholicactionnetwork.org/site/images/uploads/mokabes_flyer.pdf

This brunch is sponsored by Show Me Equality, which states that it is a

diverse group of people with many different ideals and backgrounds. While we may not agree on everything, we are all working toward one common goal... equality! We strive to be a group run by its members where everyone's voice is heard.

It appears to be, primarily, an advocacy group promoting LGBT issues as can be seen from its links page.

Its Statement of Purpose begins:

In response to the passage of an amendment to the Missouri constitution to ban the recognition of same gender marriage, a group of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies joined together to turn anger and hurt into a positive force of action. Because so many have been removed from the ‘mainstream' of society and excluded from the full benefits and their rights as citizens of Missouri, we have dedicated ourselves to work for the betterment of all left behind, and for the greater good of society as a whole.

While proudly promoting the "Holy Families" group at Catholic Action Network, it seems strange that no mention was made in any of the parish bulletins about the Marian Conference

Instead of informing the parishioners of a truly authentic Catholic conference, for the past 3 weeks, there has been a notice to help provide monetary support for a group which usurps the name "Catholic" to promote an agenda of homosexuality...

And this, from a "Catholic" parish in the Archdiocese.

Gospel for the Epiphany of our Lord

From: Matthew 2:1-12

The Adoration of the Magi

[1] Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, [2] "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East, and have come to worship Him." [3] When Herod the kind heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; [4] and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. [5] They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: [6] `And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.'"

[7] Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; [8] and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the Child, and when you have found Him bring me word, that I too may come and worship Him." [9] When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. [10] When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; [11] and going into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshipped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. [12] And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
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Commentary:

1. "King Herod": four different Herods are mentioned in the New Testament. The first is Herod the Great, referred to in this passage and in the next; the second, his son, Herod Antipas, who had St. John the Baptist beheaded (Matthew 14:1-12) and who abused our Lord during His passion (Luke 23:7-11); the third, Herod Agrippa I, a nephew of Herod the Great, who executed the Apostle St. James the Greater (Acts 12:1-3), imprisoned St. Peter (Acts 12:4-7), and died suddenly and mysteriously (Acts 12:20-23). The fourth, Herod Agrippa II, was Herod Agrippa's son. It was before him that St. Paul answered Jewish accusations when he was a prisoner in Caesarea (Acts 25:23).

Herod the Great, who appears here, was the son of non-Jewish parents. He came to power with the aid and as a vassal of the Romans. He was a consummate politician and among other things he rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem on a lavish scale. Herod the Great had a persecution complex; everywhere he saw rivals to his throne. He was notorious for his cruelty: he killed over half of his ten wives, some of his children and many people of standing. This information derives largely from the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, who wrote towards the end of the first century, and it confirms the cruel picture drawn in the Gospels.

"Wise men": these were learned men, probably from Persia, who devoted themselves to the study of the stars. Since they were not Jews, they can be considered to be the very first Gentiles to receive the call to salvation in Christ. The adoration of the wise men forms part of the very earliest documented tradition: the scene is already depicted at the beginning of the second century in the paintings in the catacombs of St. Priscilla in Rome.

2. The Jews had made known throughout the East their hope of a Messiah. The wise men knew about this expected Messiah, king of the Jews. According to ideas widely accepted at the time, this sort of person, because of his significance in world history, would have a star connected with his birth. God made use of these ideas to draw to Christ these representatives of the Gentiles who would later be converted.

"The star had been hidden from them so that, on finding themselves without their guide, they would have no alternative but to consult the Jews. In this way the birth of Jesus would be known to all" (St. John Chrysostom, "Hom. on St. Matthew", 7).

St. John Chrysostom also points out that "God calls them by means of the things they are most familiar with; and He shows them a large and extraordinary star so that they would be impressed by its size and beauty" ("Hom. on St. Matthew", 6). God called the wise men in the midst of their ordinary occupations, and He still calls people in that way. He called Moses when he was shepherding his flock (Exodus 3:1-3), Elisha the prophet ploughing his land with oxen (1 Kings 19:19-20), Amos looking after his herd (Amos 7:15).... "What amazes you seems natural to me: that God has sought you out in the practice of your profession! That is how He sought the first, Peter and Andrew, James and John, beside their nets, and Matthew, sitting in the custom-house. And--wonder of wonders!--Paul, in his eagerness to destroy the seed of the Christians" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 799).

"Like the Magi we have discovered a star--a light and a guide in the sky of our soul. `We have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.' We have had the same experience. We too noticed a new light shining in our soul and growing increasingly brighter. It was a desire to live a fully Christian life, a keenness to take God seriously" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 32).

4. In all Jewish circles at the time of Jesus, the hope was widespread that the Messiah would come soon. The general idea was that he would be a king, like a new and even greater David. Herod's worry is therefore all the more understandable: he governed the Jews with the aid of the Romans and cruelly and jealously guarded his crown. Due to his political ambition and his lack of a religious sense, Herod saw a potential King-Messiah as a dangerous rival to his own worldly power.

In the time of our Lord, both Herod's monarchy and the occupying Romans (through their procurators) recognized the Sanhedrin as the representative body of the Jewish people. The Sanhedrin was, therefore, the nation's supreme council which ruled on day-to-day affairs, both religious and civil. The handling of the more important questions needed the approval of either the king (under Herod's monarchy) or the Roman procurator (at the time of the direct Roman occupation of Palestine).

Following Exodus 24:1-9 and Numbers 11:16, the Sanhedrin was composed of 71 members presided over by the high priest. The members were elected from three groupings: 1) the chief priests, that is, the leaders of the principal priestly families; it was these families who appointed the high priest (the chief priests also included anybody who had formerly held the high priesthood); 2) the elders, or the leaders of the most important families; 3) the scribes, who were teachers of the Law or experts on legal and religious matters; the majority of these scribes belonged to the party or school of the Pharisees.

In this passage of St. Matthew only the first and third of the above groups are mentioned. This is understandable since the elders would have no authority in the matter of the birth of the Messiah--a purely religious question.

5-6. The prophecy referred to in this passage is Micah 5:1. It is worth noting that Jewish tradition interpreted this prophecy as predicting the Messiah's exact place of birth and as referring to a particular person. The second text thus teaches us once more that the prophecies of the Old Testament are fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

8. Herod tried to find out exactly where the Child was--not, of course, to adore Him, as he said, but to dispose of Him. Such was Herod's exclusively political view of things. Yet neither his shrewdness nor his wickedness could prevent God's plans from being fulfilled. Despite Herod's ambition and his scheming, God's wisdom and power were going to bring salvation about.

9. "It might happen at certain moments of our interior life--and we are nearly always to blame--that the star disappears, just as it did to the wise kings on their journey.... What should we do if this happens? Follow the example of those wise men and ask. Herod used knowledge to act unjustly. The Magi used it to do good. But we Christians have no need to go to Herod nor to the wise men of this world. Christ has given His Church sureness of doctrine and a flow of grace in the Sacraments. He has arranged things so that there will always be people to guide and lead us, to remind us constantly of our way" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 34).

11. The gifts they offered--gold, frankincense and myrrh--were those most valued in the East. People feel the need to give gifts to God to show their respect and faith. Since they cannot give themselves as a gift, which is what they would wish, they give instead what is most valuable and dear to them.

The prophets and the psalmists foretold that the kings of the earth would pay homage to God at the time of the Messiah (Isaiah 49:23). They would offer Him their treasures (Isaiah 60:5) and adore Him (Psalm 72:10-15). Through this action of the wise men and the offering of their gifts to Jesus, these prophecies begin to be fulfilled.

The Council of Trent expressly quotes this passage when it underlines the veneration that ought to be given to Christ in the Eucharist: "The faithful of Christ venerate this most holy Sacrament with the worship of latria which is due to the true God.... For in this Sacrament we believe that the same God is present whom the eternal Father brought into the world, saying of Him, `Let all God's angel worship Him' (Hebrews 1:6; cf. Psalm 97:7). It is the same God whom the Magi fell down and worshipped (cf. Matthew 2:11) and, finally, the same God whom the Apostles adored in Galilee as Scriptures says (Matthew 28:17)" (Decree, "De SS. Eucharista", Chapter 5).

St. Gregory of Nazianzen has also commented on this verse, as follows: "Let us remain in adoration; and to Him, who, in order to save us, humbled Himself to such a degree of poverty as to receive our body, let us offer not only incense, gold and myrrh (the first as God, the second as king, and the third as one who sought death for our sake), but also spiritual gifts, more sublime than those which can be seen with the eyes" ("Oratio", 19).

12. The involvement of the wise men in the events at Bethlehem ends with yet another act of respectful obedience and cooperation with God's plans. Christians also should be receptive to the specific grace and mission God has given them. They should persevere in this even if it means having to change any personal plans they may have made.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.

The Epiphany or Little Christmas

Our Christmas Day! For we were once represented by the Gentiles - the people which were not God's particular own. So we stood rather aside on the first Christmas Day, and watched the angels call the Jewish shepherds into the manger and bring them to adore the new-born Babe. We were touched by their loving simplicity, their ready faith, and we felt that those who came did their best to give Him a loving welcome. But the Jewish reception of the Messiah was a sad fulfilment of prophecy - "His own received Him not."

Days rolled on, and months. The Holy Family moved from the stable into the town when the census-visitors had gone home again. Joseph worked at his carpenter's bench for a livelihood. The shepherds and their kin kept up reverent intercourse with the Child and His Mother, but seemingly their circle of acquaintance did not widen much, and they were only known in Bethlehem as poor but respectable people from Nazareth.

A day came, however, when the dull little place witnessed an unusual sight. A company of travellers, evidently from the East, were seen rapidly riding down the Jerusalem road. They guided their horses and came­ls with decided fingers, they looked neither right nor left, they asked no directions, but made straight for the western gate and entered the town. Then the idlers came out of their dark dwellings and watched the new arrivals curiously, the little children ran by their side shouting, the more respectable waited with what patience they could muster for a sign that would make their direction clear. Had they looked up into the heavens they would have seen the star, "His star." But they did not look up and they did not see it.

More blessed than the Jewish townsfolk were the Gentiles from the East. "Seeing the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And entering into the house, they found the Child with Mary His Mother; and falling down, they adored Him. And opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh."

Thus did the Gentiles come to Our Lord. A glorious coming it was, with pomp, and majesty, and generosity, and love. For they came from a great distance, with much labor, with much self-denial; with immense faith; with rich gifts. So must we come to Our Lord. We may live but a step from His crib, yet business and distrac­tion make our coming as it were from afar. Self-denial, too, is re­quired for the putting aside of amusements, business, and self-interest. Immense faith we need likewise, for the Eucharistic accidents are as swathing bands upon our hidden King. And the rich gifts! Have we any for Him? Or are we going to plead poverty? But such an excuse will not hold good. For the gifts the Christmas Child loves are not bought with gold, but with good will, and that all men can have.

If I have not gifts I must buy them at once - golden charity in deed, if not in bounties; quick ascending prayer from a heart burning with love, and health-giving mortification. Such gifts must be mine. It will never do to degenerate from the generosity of our Eastern an­cestors.

Just one other thought from this beautiful Feast. The Gentiles were brought to Our Lord in His earliest childhood, and He received them with all graciousness and love. He admitted them into His fam­ily, accepted their offerings, and filled them with exceeding great joy. There are many people about us now, those who are not Our Lord's par­ticular own. Let us open wide our hearts to these, meet them with charity on every bit of common ground we can find. And there is much common ground for us and for them - the love of God, of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the love for His poor, purity of intention, unselfish devotion to duty. Fellow feeling working with fellow interests will make us wondrous kind, will warm our hearts, and melt our stiffness, strangeness, and our prejudices, and so perhaps by bright and cheer­ing ways we may become a star, leading men whose hearts are aching, whose eyes and ears are eager for the - truth, to find "the Child with Mary His Mother in the One Church of God."
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Adapted from The Manual of the Holy Catholic Church (1906)