The Priest at Prayer, May 10

The Priest and the Eternal Truths

* DEATH *

First Meditation - Its Certainties

I. A day will arrive - who will dare to doubt it? - when I myself shall be the one who is seriously ill, the one past recovery, the one dying, with people around me beginning to worry about preparations for my burial: the laying out, the coffin, the funeral, obituary cards. . . .

Do you think these details are somewhat ludicrous, unworthy of the seriousness of a meditation? Apply them to yourself, and perhaps they will have the effect of plunging you into deep thought.

If the thought of death does not impress me or deter me from evil, as the Scriptures promise it will, it is because I think of someone else's death, not my own.

My God, frankly, I have never really given a thought to my own death, I have hardly believed in it, despite the fact that I see the face of death so near in my daily ministrations and almost feel its icy breath.

II. When my time comes everything and everywhere around me will echo that "responsum mortis" of which St. Paul speaks. God forbid that I should be the only one deaf to its challenge!

Let us picture the scene. The priest comes to hear your last confession; the tinkling bell heralds your Via­ticum; then follow the Last Anointings [Anointing of the Sick], the prayers for the recommendation of the soul, and the low mumblings, drawn faces, and silent tears of relatives and friends standing round your bed - if indeed there is anyone at all to weep your departure! Your whole body is in a cold sweat, there is a gradual stiffening of your features, a twitching of your rigid fingers as if trying to clutch at something, the cold impression of the crucifix on your livid half-open lips; and the shadows of death crowd upon you thicker and thicker, and your eyes acquire that fixed look as if pursuing sights that vanish from you. . . .

My Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who for love of me didst submit to the anguish of dying, do not fail me Thou when everything and everyone else forsakes me!

III. At long last your soul will quit the body, leaving it a
repulsive heap of lifeless matter.

The bells you so often heard toll or had tolled for others will now toll for you. The funeral service that you so often chanted for others is now to be chanted for you. And there will be a burial, your very own; and the officiating priest, while your body sinks into the earth, will seal your disappearance from this world with a last supplication wherein you will lose even your name:

Anima ejus et animae omnium fidelium defunc­torum,
per misericordiam Dei requiescant in pace.
Amen.

And then, what will this world have to offer you?

What will become of those material goods that you seemed to have fused with your inmost soul, so deeply had you buried them within your heart's affections? Your name will be struck off all the lists of the living; your benefice, office, money, titles, every one of them will be handed over to another; and people will be quite indifferent and oblivious; they are used to these irrevoc­able resignations!

If you think the consideration of these incidents is of some avail to you for the prudent steering of your life and spirit, turn them over in your mind frequently; if you consider them useless, throw them overboard, bury them fathoms deep: century after century has stood witness to men whose one code is:

Let us eat and drink and be merry for tomorrow we shall die. (Is. xxii, 13)

Resolution
I shall often take as subject of my daily meditation my own death, a future but inescapable fact; and I shall run through, one by one, all the probable circumstances that are apt to impress me the most.

Now I see why the remembrance of the Last Things, of death in particular, has been of such little value to me, in spite of the well-known text:

Remember thy last end and thou shalt never sin.

It is because I have thought of death in the abstract or as applied to someone else. So from now I shall come to grips with the thought of my own death, and I shall take this bitter thought as a leash to my unbridled passions.
_________________________
Adapted from The Priest at Prayer
by Fr. Eugenio Escribano, C.M. (© 1954)
Translated by B.T. Buckley, C.M.

###
Please pray for our priests and pray for vocations to the priesthood!

Francis Cardinal George, we are outraged...

From:

Catholic Citizens of Illinois Board of Directors

"Francis Cardinal George, we are outraged and dismayed that you would permit the Mercy Home for Boys & Girls to invite Hillary Clinton to speak at their fundraiser"
5/9/2007 8:00:00 PM

May 8, 2007

TO: Cardinal Francis George, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Chicago
P. O. Box 1979
Chicago, IL 60690-1979

Dear Cardinal George,

We are outraged and dismayed that you would permit the Mercy Home for Boys & Girls to invite Hillary Clinton to speak at their fundraiser. The newspapers and various internet sites report that you questioned it but were satisfied that it was not be a political event. You can't possibly believe that. We can only hope that your comments were misrepresented by the media.

Hillary Clinton is running for President. Any appearance or speech she gives is a political event. Mrs. Clinton opposes the moral teachings of the Church on abortion, stem cell research, the morality of homosexual acts and the defense of marriage. She has spoken to the Human Rights Campaign, the major homosexual organization in the country and promised that she will advance their agenda "when she becomes president."

Hillary Clinton's appearance at a fundraiser for Mercy Home is a disgrace for the Church and a scandal to the faithful. It is a disheartening affront to the pro-life movement that fights on a daily basis for the lives of the innocent unborn and other vulnerable members of our society. It is in direct opposition to the Bishops statement opposing awards, honors, or platforms for those who oppose the fundamental moral principals of the Church. No wonder Catholics think it is okay to vote for pro-abortion candidates! (my emphasis)

Before long you will be taking the leadership of the USCCB. Is this what we have to look forward to? We have already experienced the weakness and indifference of the USCCB on major moral issues. If only all of the bishops would follow the lead of those courageous ones who are willing to take a public stand against such speakers on Catholic property. Is it too much to ask the leaders of the church Militant to do what they ask us to do - stand firm in defending the faith? Is compromise and accommodation what defines us and if so, is now the time to just submit?

Sincerely,
Thomas F. Roeser
Mary Anne Hackett
Cristov Dosev
Susan Jordan
Karl Maurer
M. Kelly Smith

Poor Cardinal George...unable or unwilling to confront evil; unable or unwilling to prevent scandal. All of us are admonished that we are never to cooperate in evil, such as abortion or the support of abortion, nor are we even to give tacit approval to evil, as it appears to have happened in this case.

Who cannot recall what Archbishop Burke stated recently in this regard:

“When there is a significant risk that others could be led to evil, as the one responsible for the spiritual and moral well-being of the faithful entrusted to my pastoral care, I am obliged in justice to act...Life is the most basic human good and the right to life of every innocent human being must be respected. The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of civil society and legislation. The Catholic Church consistently teaches that actions that result in the direct killing of the innocent, such as deliberate abortion and destruction of human embryos for research, are grave offenses against the right to life found in the natural law and Divine Revelation. When, for economic gain, a Catholic institution associates itself with such a high profile proponent of the destruction of innocent lives, members of the Church and other people of good will have the right to be confirmed in their commitment to the Gospel of Life.” (my emphasis)

Who cannot understand why there are committed and faithful Catholics of Illionois who feel they have been betrayed by their shepherd for failing to confront the Clinton fiasco? A perfect teaching and leadership opportunity was lost, cast aside for some reason which escapes Catholics on the front lines of the battle. Whatever the "secret" reason for failing to act with zeal, courage, and determination to stop the Clinton affair happened to be, it remains at odds with what is expected of Catholics, especially of a bishop.

The worse scandal is not that Clinton was part of this fundraiser, but that a Catholic cardinal was remiss in fulfilling his obligation to Christ, the Church and those under his charge. A good shepherd does not let his flock wander about aimlessly - he gives his life (or self-esteem, human respect, etc) for his flock as did our Lord.

Our bishops and our priests need our prayers. The evil one is engaged in a relentless assault against them. We must help in supporting them with our prayers and sacrifices and reparations - even if, at times, they become frightened like the hired hand, and flee for some imaginary "safety."

Vatican issues excommunication clarification

From Dr Peters:

Exactly along the lines of my blog post earlier today. It is discussed here: http://www.canonlaw.info/2007/05/legislating-in-mid-air-possible-but-not.html

Ahhh, the speed of the internet being used to clarify these matters!

Now let's hope that we see the application of Canon 915!

News I Should Have Known...

Seems that this was missed and only recently discovered:

Archbishop Burke was the recipient of HLI’s Cardinal von Galen Award of February 2007, which is given primarily to Catholic prelates who stand up and defend the innocent and the Church.

I only came to hear of this when I was catching up on some things and read HLI's press release regarding Archbishop Burke's stand in the Cardinal Glennon/Sheryl Crow Fundraising debacle...

Congratulations to Archbishop Burke on this award - I wish that it had been reported in a timely manner.

Dr Ed Peters: Legislating in mid-air? First thoughts: possible, but not likely.

Responding to a reporter's question during his flight to Brazil, Pope Benedict XVI said that he supported the Mexican bishops' threat to take canonical action against the politicians who were involved in the effort to legalize abortion. The English version of his comment reads: "Yes, this excommunication was not an arbitrary one but is allowed by canon law which says that the killing of an innocent child is incompatible with receiving communion, which is receiving the body of Christ."

Now, the very first thing to notice about this quotation is that, as reported, it is susceptible to the chronic confusion that wearies discussions of the ecclesiastical consequences for involvement in abortion: "excommunication" and "denial of the Eucharist" are not, not, not, the same thing. Understanding the difference between the related but quite distinct institutes of "excommunication" and "withholding the Eucharist" is a prerequisite for any productive commentary on the pope's remarks.

Read the rest here...

99 Balloons

"Eliot was born with an undeveloped lung, a heart with a hole in it and DNA that placed faulty information into each and every cell of his body. However, that could not stop the living God from proclaiming Himself through this boy who never uttered a word."

HT to PK for the link...

Pro-abortion politicians excommunicated, Pope says

...the Holy Father was asked whether he supported the Mexican bishops who have announced the excommunication of politicians who voted to approve legalization of abortion in Mexico City. The Pontiff replied that he did.

"They did nothing new, nothing arbitrary or surprising," the Pope said of the Mexican bishops. "They simply announced to the public what is stipulated by the law of the Church."

Later the Vatican press director, Father Federico Lombardi, enlarged on the Pope's remarks during his own conversation with reporters. Father Lombardi pointed out to reporters that the Code of Canon Law provides the penalty of excommunication for anyone directly involved in abortion. That penalty would apply to politicians who support the legalization of abortion, he said. (my emphasis)

The most encouraging, yet sad news of the day - encouraging in that there is a clarification from the Holy Father's remarks that, indeed, those legislators who vote for or support laws permitting abortion excommunicate themselves. But it is also sad that these people, blinded by arrogance or ignorance, choose to ignore the teachings of the Church and further the slaughter of the most innocent...

Stats from Magister's article...

Excerpts from Magister's article:

...three out of four [Latino Catholics] are convinced that God guarantees wealth and health for those who have faith. (the "prosperity gospel"?)

...among Catholic "Latinos" 28 percent describe themselves [as "charismatic"]

...one out of five [Latino emigrants] has changed religion, almost all of them out of the "desire for a more direct and personal experience of God." (So the Holy Mass is not sufficient? Nor the Sacraments, or the Church or living one's faith and vocation?)

... 57 percent [of Latino Catholics] ask that the Church speak out from time to time on social and political questions.

...52 percent of Catholics from Latin America are against homosexual marriage, (So half are not Catholic?)

...54 percent [of Latino Catholics] maintain that abortion should be illegal, (So half are not Catholic?)

...40 percent [of Latino Catholics] oppose the death penalty...

...three times as many Hispanic Catholics identify themselves as Democrats...(The number don't seem to add up here?)

Who needs the magisterium when there are nuns better in touch with the real truth?

There will be no surprises here:

The peace and justice ministry of the Los Angeles archdiocese is promoting a “gathering” that will feature a Dominican sister known as a defender of diversity -- “bio” and sexual.

Ah yes, if the protestant movement within the Church is not enough to whet the appetites of the disgruntled, the maladjusted, the confused, or the curious, one can "gather" in LA (and elsewhere, no doubt) and be treated to all sorts of pagan or heretical ideas and beliefs (often called, "diversity"), and promoted as Catholic...

Heresy abounds and is given "pride of place" in many areas of the Church...Don't forget to thank those responsible! And pray for them!

A glimpse into the future of the Church?

Hispanics are projected to constitute almost half of all U.S. Catholics within 25 years, and 54 percent of them describe themselves as “charismatic” "protestant" (there, fixed it...)

California newspapers are preparing their inevitable retrospectives on the “Summer of Love” of 1967: the beginning of the hippie movement, when marijuana-scented youth flocked to San Francisco “with flowers in their hair.” Yet this timeframe holds another event that has had far stronger repercussions -- the birth of “Spirit-filled” Catholicism.

This summer, the 40th anniversary of the beginning of the Catholic Charismatic movement, will be highlighted by plenty of special events. There’s the May 19 Rosary Bowl at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and the May 25-27 Pentecostal Weekend at the Santa Clara Convention Center. There’s a “Teaching and Healing Seminar” in Santa Barbara and a “Charismatic School for Spiritual Directors” in San Luis Obispo. There are Healing Masses in dozens of California parishes. There’s a big Pentecost Vigil Celebration at Our Lady of Refuge in Long Beach, and a truly huge “Trust in the Lord” Convention coming up on August 31 – September 2 in Anaheim.

Get thee to a "Teaching and Healing Seminar"....If only I could babble even more senselessly - in tongues...

"Immigration is changing the nature of the American Catholic, making worship more lively, more intense," said Monsignor Joseph Malagreca, moderator of the National Hispanic Committee of Catholic Charismatic Renewal. "We are accommodating the desire for a deeper and more personal relationship with God.”

"More lively"??? "More intense"???? "We are accommodating the desire for a deeper and more personal relationship with God.” I'm sure you are padre...except for those who wish to practice the faith as it was practiced for centuries before all of these "novelties" were allowed to enter the Church...But, at least, maybe we'll have dancing in the aisles!!!

Brazilians Welcome Pope but Question His Perspective

Pictured:The Roman Catholic Church has lost ground in Brazil to Pentecostalism in recent years, and Catholic churches across Brazil have incorporated charismatic or Afro-Brazilian rites into their services.

SÃO PAULO, Brazil, May 8 — Pope Benedict XVI arrives here Wednesday for his first foray into Latin America, hoping to stanch the church’s steady loss of followers in the region. But some of the faithful frankly wonder whether an 80-year-old pontiff from Germany can speak to their needs.
* * *
Today only two-thirds of Brazilians consider themselves Catholics, according to a recent church-endorsed survey.

Much of that ground has been lost to surging Pentecostalism in a region that has traditionally been home to nearly half the world’s Catholics.

One never knows what the ill winds will bring when arbitrarily throwing open the windows to let in the "fresh air"...

The challenge from Pentecostalism, say theologians and other religious experts, is likely to be one of the most important challenges of Benedict’s papacy. Philip Jenkins, a professor of religious studies at Penn State University who has written several books about the church in the developing world, called the spread of Pentecostalism in Latin America “the greatest single crisis facing the Catholic Church worldwide.”

Some segments of the Latin American church have responded by emphasizing the theology of liberation, which merges faith and politics. Others have incorporated Afro-Brazilian and indigenous rites into the Mass.

Another increasingly popular response has been the emergence of a charismatic renewal movement, which borrows liberally from the Pentecostal liturgy. Its most visible symbol is a young priest named Marcelo Rossi, a former personal trainer who is a devotee of the Virgin Mary and the rosary.

Blessed with matinee-idol looks and a strong singing voice, he draws thousands to the concrete warehouse where he celebrates his televised Masses. He has sold millions of records and even starred in a movie.

“I come here because the Mass is relaxed and informal, gets me more involved than at my old church and transmits a feeling of happiness,” Edilanis Diniz, a 31-year-old store clerk, said one recent Sunday as Father Rossi sang “God is a 10” to a rock ‘n’ roll beat. “I think this is the right path for the church, especially for young people.”

That's right - the Holy Mass is supposed to be "relaxed and informal"...It should "transmit a feeling of happiness"...As we read in the Gospel accounts of Calvary, that, too, was a happy, relaxed and informal time for all...

But then, I'm not surprised that there exists a warped understanding of the Mass. Numerous others have commented and lamented this fact for the past 40 years.

Catholics in Brazil may be faring no better than other Catholics in the West, having a foundation of Faith built on sand, there will be no surprise when the first storm or tide washes away whatever they have built...

The stories and accounts of the "Catholicism" of Brazil, generally, seem depressing to me.

Pope Benedict XVI Is in Brazil...

Benedict XVI Is in Brazil. But Meanwhile, the "Latinos" Are Invading the North
The United States is now fifth among the nations with the highest Latin American population. A survey by the Pew Forum on an emigration movement that is changing the face of Catholicism in the leading country in the West.
by Sandro Magister

Gospel for Wednesday, 5th Week of Easter

From: John 15:1-8

The Vine and the Branches

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [1] "I am the vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. [2] Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes that it may bear more fruit. [3] You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. [4] Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. [5] I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. [6] If a man does not abide in Me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. [7] If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. [8] By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples."
____________________

Commentary:

1. This comparison of the chosen people with a vine was used in the Old Testament: Psalm 80 speaks of the uprooting of the vine in Egypt and its re-planting in another land; and in Isaiah's Song of the Vineyard (5:1-7) God complains that despite the care and love He has lavished on it, His vineyard has yielded only wild grapes. Jesus previously used this imagery in His parable about the murderous tenants (Matthew 21:33-43) to signify the Jew's rejection of the Son and the calling of the Gentiles. But here the comparison has a different, more personal meaning: Christ explains that He Himself is the true vine, because the old vine, the original chosen people, has been succeeded by the new vine, the Church, whose head is Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:9). To be fruitful one must be joined to the new, true vine, Christ: it is no longer a matter of simply belonging to a community but of living the life of Christ, the life of grace, which is the nourishment which passes life on to the believer and enables him to yield fruits of eternal life. This image of the vine also helps understand the unity of the Church, Christ's mystical body, in which all the members are intimately united with the head and thereby are also united to one another (1 Corinthians 12:12-26; Romans 12:4-5; Ephesians 4:15-16).

2. Our Lord is describing two situations: that of those who, although they are still joined to the vine externally, yield no fruit; and that of those who do yield fruit but could yield still more. The Epistle of St. James carries the same message when it says that faith alone is not enough (James 2:17). Although it is true that faith is the beginning of salvation and that without faith we cannot please God, it is also true that a living faith must yield fruit in the form of deeds. "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6). So, one can say that in order to produce fruit pleasing to God, it is not enough to have received Baptism and to profess the faith externally: a person has to share in Christ's life through grace and has to cooperate with Him in His work of redemption.

Jesus uses the same verb to refer to the pruning of the branches as He uses to refer to the cleanness of the disciples in the next verse: literally the translation should run: "He cleanses him who bears fruit so that he bear more fruit". In other words, He is making it quite clear that God is not content with half-hearted commitment, and therefore He purifies His own by means of contradictions and difficulties, which are a form of pruning, to produce more fruit. In this we can see an explanation of the purpose of suffering: "Have you not heard the Master Himself tell the parable of the vine and the branches? Here we can find consolation. He demands much of you for you are the branch that bears fruit. And He must prune you `ut fructum plus afferas": to make you bear more fruit'.

"Of course: that cutting, that pruning, hurts. But, afterwards, what richness in your fruits, what maturity in your actions" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 701).

3. After washing Peter's feet Jesus had already said that His Apostles were clean, though not all of them (cf. John 13:10). Here, once more, He refers to that inner cleansing which results from accepting His teachings. "For Christ's word in the first place cleanses us from errors, by instructing us (cf. Titus 1:9) [...]; secondly, it purifies our hearts of earthly affections, filling them with desire for Heavenly things [...]; finally, His word purifies us with the strength of faith, for `He cleansed their hearts by faith' (Acts 15:9)" (St. Thomas Aquinas, "Commentary on St. John, in loc.").

4-5. Our Lord draws more conclusions from the image of the vine and the branches. Now He emphasizes that anyone who is separated from Him is good for nothing, like a branch separated from the vine. "You see, the branches are full of fruit, because they share in the sap that comes from the stem. Otherwise, from the tiny buds we knew just a few months back, they could not have produced the sweet ripe fruit that gladdens the eye and make the heart rejoice. Here and there on the ground we may find some dry twigs, lying half-buried in the soil. Once they too were branches of the vine; now they lie there withered and dead, a perfect image of barrenness: `apart from Me, you can do nothing'" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 254).

The life of union with Christ is necessarily something which goes far beyond one's private life: it has to be focused on the good of others; and if this happens, a fruitful apostolate is the result, for "apostolate, of whatever kind it be, must be an overflow of the interior life" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 239). The Second Vatican Council, quoting this page from St. John, teaches what a Christian apostolate should be: "Christ, sent by the Father, is the source of the Church's whole apostolate. Clearly then, the fruitfulness of the apostolate of lay people depends on their living union with Christ; as the Lord Himself said: `He who abides in Me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing'. This life of intimate union with Christ in the Church is maintained by the spiritual helps common to all the faithful, chiefly by the active participation in the Liturgy. Laymen should make such a use of these helps that, while meeting their human obligations in the ordinary conditions of life, they do not separate their union with Christ from their ordinary life; but through the very performance of their tasks, which are God's will for them, actually promote the growth of their union with Him" ("Apostolicam Actuositatem", 4).

6. If a person is not united to Christ by means of grace he will ultimately meet the same fate as the dead branches--fire. There is a clear parallelism with other images our Lord uses--the parables of the sound tree and the bad tree (Matthew 7:15-20), the dragnet (Matthew 13:49-50), and the invitation to the wedding (Matthew 22:11-14), etc. Here is how St. Augustine comments on this passage: "The wood of the vine is the more contemptible if it does not abide in the vine, and the more glorious if it does abide....For, being cut off it is profitable neither for the vinedresser nor for the carpenter. For one of these only is it useful--the vine or the fire. If it is not in the vine, it goes to the fire; to avoid going to the fire it must be joined to the vine" ("In Ioann. Evang.", 81, 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.

The Priest at Prayer, May 9

The Priest and the Eternal Truths
The Redemption

The Tremendous Lover

I. "We have learned to recognise the love God has in our regard, to recognise it, and to make it our belief." (1 John iv, 16)

I know and I believe in God's love for me; I hold it with the same firm conviction as any other article of belief. I believe in God's loving choice of me, His high esteem. And yielding to the spell of this belief, I am going to throw myself at the feet of Christ crucified and there repeat with St. Paul the glorious Hymn of the redeemed:

The Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me! (Gal. ii, 20.)

Christ, the God-Man, the Divine Will poured into a Human Heart; Christ, of His own most free will, loved me, me personally with all the obscurity and wretchedness attaching to my life's story; and to convince me of His love He gave Himself up to death for my sake. Well-tested indeed is the love whose declaration is signed and sealed by the lover's own life and blood; no proof of love more profound and true!

Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John xv, 13)

Rather than doubt Thy love for me, O Lord, I must doubt and deny every other love: the love of my father, whose life of toil and privations is written large and fruitfully over the welfare of his son; or the love of my mother, wrought of tears and sorrows. . . .

Dear Lord, I know and believe, and on bended knees I confess, the charity Thou hast for me.

II. "Thanks be to God for His unutterable bounty to us."(II Cor. ix, 15)

But shall I be asked for nothing in return?
If Thou art going to ask something of me, Lord, I am I afraid; Thou hast a right to so much!

Yes, I am determined to make a request from my Cross.

Speak, Lord.

That thou love me. . . . Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole soul and with thy whole mind. (Matt. xxii, 37) He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. (Matt. x, 37)

O heart I made, a Heart beats here!
Face, My hands fashioned, see it in Myself! Thou hast no power, nor mayst conceive of Mine, But love I gave thee, with Myself to love,
And thou must love Me, Who have died for thee! (Browning)

Is that all Thou askest? to love Thee? . . . What less could I do? . . . I ask my dog to love me, for the bone and dry crust I throw to it, and Thou hast given me all Thy Blood. Hast Thou anything else to ask?

Yes. If you love me, keep my commandments.(John xiv, 15)

Lord, my heart was afraid lest Thou might require me to shed at least half of my blood for Thee, or to undergo some fearful martyrdom; and that would not have exceeded Thy rights, seeing that Thou hast suffered all for me. But no, I am required to keep Thy commandments. And what does that requirement amount to? To acting reasonably in everything Thou commands me, to act in keeping with the lawful aspirations of the rational being that I am; and therefore, to follow the only course that brings me to the shores of the land of eternal happiness. If thou will enter into life, keep the commandments. (Matt. xix, 17)

Just think of it! Jesus Christ appears before my eyes amid the tortures and ignominy of His Cross, mangled, torn, steeped in streams of Blood, pleading with anguish from each gaping wound; and He says to me: "My son, if you intend to make some return for all the pain you have cost me, you have only to follow, out of love for me, the one road that leads to thy own true happiness."

My Jesus, I know not when Thou art the more sublime: when dying for me on the shameful gibbet, or when pleading with me, like a beggar, not to refuse Thee the pleasure Thou derivest from seeing me obey the law of my own supreme welfare!

III. Lord, what has been my response? Do I love Thee? Dare I say so, having offended Thee hundreds of times for a few crumbs of vile satisfaction? Do I love Thee when I make any puny creature my preference and run after it so recklessly?

And do I keep Thy commandments? Thou knowest I do not; this is abundantly clear, even to me. Ah, many, many a time I have broken my covenant with Thee, thrown off Thy yoke, sundered Thy healthful bonds, and said "I will not serve." (Jer. ii, 20). Try as I may, I shall never number the offences I have committed against Thee who hast loved me to the death upon the Cross, to the shedding of Thy Blood.

In Lucifer's rebellion there is at least an element of the sublime, that sublimity portrayed by Milton so vividly, and, before Milton, by the greater poetry of the Sacred Scriptures. An angelic creature, limited in his being, limited in duration - because he had a beginning - with the audacity to hurl defiance into the face of the Infinite Whose sovereign Attributes he well recognises, into the face of the Almighty who had just brought millions of worlds into being out of nothing by dint of a mere act of the Will. Yes, in that rebellion, criminal as it was, I can glimpse some trace of mysterious and fascinating grandeur.

But, my crucified Jesus, in my offenses and continued rebellion against a God-made-Man nailed to a gibbet and streaming with Blood, can I or anyone else discover the slightest hint of captivating arrogance or of sublime strength? Is it sublime to pour vinegar into the wounds, or make mockery, of One who is nailed and agonising?
So, besides being ungrateful and criminal in offending Thee, O Lord, I have just been despicably mean and vile.

IV. Even supposing that during my life as a priest I have refrained from sinning grievously, and have always sworn to serve Thee; Thou, on Thy part, hast loved me with all the strength of Thy Being; Thou hast loved me, so to speak, with Divine Passion, with a sort of incomprehensible precipitancy, with impatient longing to die for me:

I have a baptism wherewith I am to be baptised, and how I am straitened until it be accomplished! (Lk. xii, 50)

How straitened! How impatient! Lord, it is as though Thy breast were all too small, as though Thy Heart, under the stress of such vehement desire, would leap its bounds.

I am enlisted in Thy service; Thy lover and servitor is the name I prize. But do I serve Thee? Well, perhaps I do. But how? Against the grain, as it were. If I do not offend Thee more, if I do not wrench myself away from Thee entirely, is it not because there is still a remnant of fear restraining me? Or rather, it is because Thy infinite mercy has encompassed me about with granite?rock ramparts to keep me within the citadel of my duty; because Thou hast walled me in, lest I flee or stray. Thou pursuest me, and at my side Thou art constraining me, oh! so gently, so lovingly, and yet almost irresistibly, with Thy grace, with Thy subtle inspirations, with Thy Shepherd's gentle call, lest I hold back. And with all this, how hard I find it to forge ahead!

Thou, dear Lord, so ardent in Thy love for me; I, so tepid and remiss in requiting Thee!
Am I above Thee? Do I excel Thee in gifts and graces?

Resolutions
I propose to re-enact in my heart every day, however briefly - for instance, in my thanksgiving after Mass - the pathetic scene of the Adoration of the Cross on Good Friday.

Christ crucified, newly unveiled by the priest, is shown to the people, while priest and people intone the Ecce lignum Crucis in quo salus mundi pependit! And then the crucifix is laid on the ground for all to contemplate in silence for a while. Afterwards, the suspense is broken by the doleful tones of the choir singing:

Popule meus, quid feci tibi
aut in quo contristavi te;
responde mihi,

during which the weeping faithful prostrate themselves three times as they approach to kiss the Cross; and in answer to the remonstrations voiced by the choir, they can only babble:

Sanctus Deus,
Sanctus Fortis,
Sanctus Immortalis:
Miserere nobis!

I shall re-enact this scene in my heart between Christ and my sinful soul every day, either before the altar or before the crucifix in my bedroom when retiring for my night's rest.
_________________________
Adapted from The Priest at Prayer
by Fr. Eugenio Escribano, C.M. (© 1954)
Translated by B.T. Buckley, C.M.

###
Please pray for our priests and pray for vocations to the priesthood!

Adm Jeremiah Denton Named to Thomas More Law Center’s Citizens Advisory Board

Admiral Jeremiah A. Denton Named Chairman Of The Thomas More Law Center’s Citizens Advisory Board
Tue, May 8, 2007

ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center, a national Christian legal advocacy group based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, today announced that Vietnam War hero and former U. S. Senator from Alabama—Admiral Jeremiah A. Denton, USN (Ret)—has been appointed Chairman of the Law Center’s Citizens Advisory Board.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center stated, “Admiral Denton represents everything good about America—a heroic patriot, a devoted husband, father, and a faithful Christian. He symbolizes everything the Law Center strives to be. We are honored that he would accept the position of ‘Chairman’ to replace another great Christian American patriot, Bowie Kuhn, who passed away in March of this year.”

Blessed are you...when they revile you...

Reading Dr. Francis Beckwith's blog last night, I was stunned by many of the negative comments made for his return to the Catholic Church...

Carl Olson has picked up on it with his Converts, Reverts, and Authority (Evangelical backlash on return of Dr. Francis Beckwith)

We should remember to keep all of these people in our prayers..

How healthy is Liberation Theology in Brazil?

An interesting article on Christianity Today's LiveBlog by David Neff titled, "Brazil's Base Communities, Are they declining or defiantly holding their own?"

How many “base communities” are there in Brazil? And how healthy is the liberation theology that spawned them?

The New York Times run-up story to Pope Benedict’s visit to Brazil wants you to believe that reports of liberation theology’s demise are greatly exaggerated. Despite official attempts to suppress this Marxist version of politicized Catholicism, says the Times, there are 80,000 active base communities in Brazil’s vast territory.
* * *
At least half of active Catholics in Brazil have gravitated toward the charismatic movement. “The Catholic response to the Pentecostal challenge is to imitate it.”

Msgr. Michael Schmitz on Catholic Answers Live

Msgr. Michael Schmitz, Vicar General of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest and its Provincial Superior for the United States, was interviewed on Catholic Answers Live radio last Friday, May 4. This interview is now available for listening/downloading by clicking here.

HT to Marc P for the update.

Confused?

A Hayward couple, Diane and Jacob Anderson-Minshall, are queer even in the LGBT “community.” Besides being co-authors of a lesbian murder thriller, Blind Curves, published by the lesbian-themed publisher Bold Strokes Books, their own relationship is not easily defined. Is it lesbian heterosexualism or heterosexual lesbianism?

For, Jacob, once a man trapped in a woman’s body, is now, presumably a woman transformed into a man. But for many years Jacob was Susannah, and she and Diane met 17 years ago at a gay pride parade in Boise, Idaho. Up until about 13 years, they were a lesbian couple; but four years ago, Susannah underwent the treatments and surgeries to maker her a “he.” Now, said the May 1 Oakland Tribune, “the two share their lives in Hayward as transgender man and lesbian wife.”

Got that? Who's what, when?

The Moral Responsibilities of Caring for the Young...

...And who is emminently qualified to discuss this matter?

...[Hillary] Clinton delivered a graduation speech at a luncheon for Mercy Home, a Catholic-run home in Chicago for abused and troubled youngsters. Clinton said “it matters” whether children have health care and hit elementary school with a running start. She called for investing in quality preschool.

“What we need to do now is translate that heart, that love of mercy, into doing justice,” she told the crowd, which held its applause until the end. “There is no higher moral responsibility than caring for the young.” [my wmphasis]

Are her statements not revolting?

And what about those responsible for letting her spew her venom? Have they not, like Judas, betrayed Christ as well?

About 25 protesters gathered outside the hotel to argue that a Catholic organization should not have invited a politician who supports abortion rights to speak. Clinton said abortion should be kept “legal and safe” and government shouldn’t interfere in “these very difficult, intimate decisions.”

God help us!

Judie Brown: The Problem with Rudy

THE PROBLEM WITH RUDY!
By Judie Brown
Author of Saving Those Damned Catholics

The headlines this past weekend have been among the most ludicrous I have seen in recent memory. We see the question, “Can Giuliani Overcome Abortion Stand?” and “In GOP Presidential Debate, Religion Becomes Politics.”

What is most curious about all this is that the two people whose names received the most ink happen to be pro-abortion Catholics, interviewer Chris Matthews and candidate Rudy Guiliani. Interesting the way Matthews queried the candidates on their views of Roe v. Wade, and even more interesting the way Rudy danced around the question.

Giuliani equivocated, suggesting it would be “okay to repeal” the decision if a “strict constructionist judge viewed [Roe] as precedent.” He then suggested that he believed only a judge could make that decision. But a bit later said “I hate abortion.”

What is clear is that Giuliani has no dedication to preborn children in any situation, and that Matthews found it disingenuous to ask the tough question, a question he does believe is relevant anyway.

The question is simply this: “Rudy, do you believe a human being lives in the womb during pregnancy?”

I can just see his facial contortions as he scratched his little head and said, “I am not sure.”

God save us from Republicans who find their religious convictions in poll results and Monday morning pundits. God save us from Rudy.

An interview can be arranged with Judie Brown through Hayley McConnell at (703) 739-5920 / hmcconnell@sbpublicaffairs.com.

Gospel for Tuesday, 5th Week of Easter

Optional Memorial: Bl Catherine of St Augustine, Religious

From: John 14:27-31a

The Promise of the Holy Spirit (Continuation)

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [27] "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [28] You have heard Me say to you, `I go away, and I will come to you.' If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. [29] And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place, you may believe. [30] I will no longer talk much to you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over Me; [31a] but I do as the Father has commanded Me."
_________________________
Commentary:

27. Wishing a person peace was, and still is, the usual form of greeting among Jews and Arabs. It is the greeting Jesus used, and which the Apostles continued to use, as we can see from their letters (cf. 1 Peter 1:3; 3 John 15; Romans 1:7; etc.).

The Church still uses it in the liturgy: for example, before Communion the celebrant wishes those present peace, a condition for worthily sharing in the holy sacrifice (cf. Matthew 5:23) and also a fruit of that sacrifice.

On our Lord's lips this common greeting acquires its deepest meaning; peace is one of the great messianic gifts (cf. Isaiah 9:7; 48:18; Micah 5:5; Matthew 10:22; Luke 2:14; 19:38). The peace which Jesus gives us completely transcends the peace of the world, which can be superficial and misleading and compatible with injustice. The peace of Christ is, above all, reconciliation with God and reconciliation of men with one another; it is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:22-23); it is "serenity of mind, tranquility of soul, simplicity of heart, a bond of love, a union of charity: no one can inherit God if he does not keep His testament of peace, or live in unity with Christ if he is separated from Christianity" (St. Augustine, "De Verbis Domini Serm.", 58).

"Christ `is our peace' (Ephesians 2:14). And today and forever He repeats to us: `My peace I give to you, My peace I leave with you'. [...] Never before in the history of mankind has peace been so much talked about and so ardently desired as in our day. [...] And yet again and again, one can see how peace is undermined and destroyed. [...] Peace is the result of many converging attitudes and realities; it is the product of moral concerns, of ethical principles based on the Gospel message and fortified by it. [...] In his message for the 1971 Day of Peace, my revered predecessor, that pilgrim of peace, [Pope] Paul VI, said: "True peace must be founded upon justice, upon a sense of the untouchable dignity of man, upon the recognition of an indelible and happy equality between men, upon the basic principle of human brotherhood, that is, of the respect and true love due to each man, because he is man'. This same message I affirmed in Mexico and in Poland. I reaffirm it here in Ireland. Every human being has inalienable rights that must be respected. Each human community--ethnic, historical, cultural or religious--has rights which must be respected. Peace is threatened every time one of these rights is violated. The moral law, guardian of human rights, protector of the dignity of man, cannot be set aside by any person or group, or by the State itself, for any cause, not even for security or in the interests of law and order. The law of God stands in judgment over all reasons of State. As long as injustices exist in any of the areas that touch upon the dignity of the human person, be it in the political, social or economic field, be it in the cultural or religious sphere, true peace will not exist. [...] Peace cannot be established by violence, peace can never flourish in a climate of terror, intimidation and death. It is Jesus Himself who said: `All who take the sword will perish by the sword' (Matthew 26:52). This is the word of God, and it commands this generation of violent men to desist from hatred and violence and to repent" ([Pope] John Paul II, "Homily at Drogheda", 29 September 1979).

The peace and joy which Christ brings us should be typical of believers: "Get rid of those scruples that deprive you of peace.--What takes away your peace of soul cannot come from God.

"When God comes to you, you will feel the truth of those greetings: My peace I give to you..., peace I leave you..., peace be with you..., and you will feel it even in the midst of troubles." ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 258).

28. Jesus Christ, as Only-begotten Son of God, possesses divine glory for all eternity; but while He is on earth this glory is veiled and hidden behind His holy human nature (cf. 17:5; Philippians 2:7). It only shows itself on a few occasions, such as when He performs miracles (cf. 2:11) or at the Transfiguration (cf. Matthew 17:1-8 and paragraph). Now, through His death, resurrection and ascension into Heaven Jesus will be glorified--in His body also--as He returns to the Father and enters into His glory. Therefore, His departure from this world should be a source of joy for His disciples; but they do not properly understand what He is saying, and they are saddened because they are more aware of the Master being physically separated from them than the glory which awaits Him.

When Jesus says that the Father is greater than He, He is thinking about His human nature; as man Jesus is going to be glorified, ascending as He does to the right hand of the Father. Jesus Christ "is equal to the Father in His dignity, less than the Father in His humanity" ("Athanasian Creed"). St. Augustine exhorts us to "acknowledge the twofold nature of Christ--the divine, by which He is equal to the Father; the human, by which He is less than the Father. But the one and the other are together not two, but one Christ' ("In Ioann. Evang.", 78, 3). However, although the Father and the Son are equal in nature, eternity and dignity, our Lord's words can also be understood by taking "greater" to refer to His origin: only the Father is "beginning without beginning", whereas the Son proceeds eternally from the Father by way of a generation which is also eternal. Jesus Christ is God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God (cf. Nicene Creed).

30. Clearly the world is good, for it has been created by God, and God loved it so much that He sent His Only-begotten Son (cf. John 3:16). However, in this passage "world" means all those who reject Christ; and "the ruler of the world" is the devil (cf. John 1:10; 7:7; 15:18-19). The devil opposed the work of Jesus right from the start of His public life when he tempted Him in the desert (cf. Matthew 4:1-11 and paragraph). Now, in the passion, he will apparently overcome Christ. This is the hour of the power of darkness when, availing of Judas' treachery (cf. Luke 22:53; John 13:27), the devil manages to have our Lord arrested and crucified.
___________________________
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 Priest at Prayer, May 8

The Priest and the Eternal Truths
Salvation

Importance of my Salvation

I. God created me! There is real delight in relishing this
lofty truth.

God created me; I am His handiwork; to Him belongs my body with its intricate structure; His are the delicate organisms that serve the soul's spiritual faculties; a world more wonderful and of wider span than the sensible world of sky, land, and sea. His, in sum, is all this being which I call my own, and which He placed as the keystone of the arch of creation.

It is obvious then, that God did not make me for the sake of merely entertaining Himself, in order, shall we say, to while His time away or kill the boredom of an empty eternity, to amuse Himself like a child making mud pies or blowing bubbles!

Even more admirable than the constitution of my being is my purpose and destiny: my elevation to the dignity of a child of God, the infusion into me of the Spirit of His Only-begotten Son, His Eternal Word; the share He has allotted me in the inheritance of my Heavenly Father; in a word, my salvation. Hereditas mea praeclara est mihi! "No fairer lot could be mine; no nobler inheritance could I win! " (Ps. xv, 6)

II. As a pledge of this destiny, God engraved our souls with the yearning for salvation.

Good or bad, we all wish to save our souls; and although the desire for selfish enjoyment here below may lie deep in our hearts, as perhaps the mainspring of our lives, we nevertheless want to save our souls. Probe the dark recesses, and, more or less deep down, more or less alive, that desire of salvation will be discovered; a desire that in the dizziest moods and excesses is never wholly extinguished. If any sinner were to be asked while in the very act of plunging into the miry and turbulent waters of sin, "Do you wish to save your soul?" he would instandy reply: "Of course I do!"

A pity that this unquenchable longing for salvation, which seems akin to something instinctive, is not more often coupled with a serious consideration of St. Augustine's famous dictum: "Qui creavit te sine te, non salva­bit te sine te."

III. In order to kindle our desire of salvation, let us feed the flames by meditating on the following two questions put to us by our Divine Lord:

What doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul?
Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul? (Matt. xvi, 26.)

The Son of Man will one day come in the glory of His Father, escorted by angels, to give to each one according to his works. If on that day your evil works entail the eternal loss of your soul, if Christ the Judge condemns you, what will you have gained by hoarding up money, by adding possession to possession, pleasure to pleasure, honor to honor, benefice to benefice? What will it avail to have been a priest, a bishop, a pope, and to show forth the ineffaceable character of the priesthood for all eternity? What doth it profit? What doth it profit? . . .

Nobody, reflects St. Bernard, would accept a month's enjoyment at the price of forty years of misery. And shall I, a man in my sane mind, accept an hour of pleasure at the cost of endless suffering?

IV. What exchange shall a man give for his soul?

In the event of your losing your soul before the scrutiny and Judgement-Seat of God, do you hold any­thing in reserve? Any assets wherewith to bribe the Judge and elicit a withdrawal of the sentence? Money? Influence? Persuasive oratory? Useless, every bit of it! He will give, not according to one's words or dignities or friendships or wealth, but according to one's works. (Matt. xvi, 27)

Only one kind of currency passes there: good works; and not those that you might do then but those done during this life. Mark it well; your eternal salvation is to be the fruit of the life you are living now.

Is my life such, so well-ordered, so in keeping with the Will of God, that it can yield fruit of life everlasting?

Resolutions
1. To bring practice into line with profession. Do I profess to save my soul? Then I shall regulate my life by the demands of success in this enterprise, and with the Psalmist I shall often say: Vide si via iniquitatis in me est, et deduc me in via aeterna. (Ps. cxxxviii, 24)

2. To engrave on my soul, as the heraldic expression of my entire existence, the motto from the Gospel: What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul?
_________________________
Adapted from The Priest at Prayer
by Fr. Eugenio Escribano, C.M. (© 1954)
Translated by B.T. Buckley, C.M.

###
Please pray for our priests and pray for vocations to the priesthood!

A News Break Interlude

NY Governor Spitzer: Gay Rites Will Help Families
Spitzer is ill - a man in need of prayer and conversion.

Woman drops Starbucks habit because of coffee cup quote
The quote causing the religious outrage:

"Why in moments of crisis do we ask God for strength and help? As cognitive beings, why would we ask something that may well be a figment of our imaginations for guidance? Why not search inside ourselves for the power to overcome? After all, we are strong enough to cause most of the catastrophes we need to endure."

It sounds like punishment for frequenting Starbucks in the first place.

Former Catholic church secretary admits theft of nearly $500,000
About 7 years this theft was occurring - that's roughly 70K per year...and she used the money for "lavish vacations" - I bet!

Actually, I just scanned some headlines before I went back to reading the book:
The Christ, The Son of God - A Life of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (Vol 1) by the Abbe Constant Fouard, published in 1891.

It's rather historical and combines this history with the narratives of Sacred Scripture of Jesus' life and gives great explanations about things of which I was unaware. Abbe Fouard describes the book, "This Life of Jesus is an act of faith."

"The Second Coming" in Orlando of All Places

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A controversial religious figure who claims he is Jesus Christ incarnate with a following of millions with "666" tattoos on their bodies, filled an amphitheater in Orlando this weekend, and promised joy, peace and prosperity.

Miranda said millions of people worldwide have tattooed their bodies with "666" in recognition that the second-coming of Christ has taken place, according to the report.

St John must have misunderstood - 666 wasn't the sign of the "anti-christ," it was the sign of the "Second Coming"....

Miranda, who has been banned from three countries, told Local 6 News cameras and a cheering crowd that he was Jesus Christ reincarnated.

Miranda said he is known as God in at least 30 countries.

I'm sure he is - by the deranged and delusional...

Embryonic stem cells can repair eyes, company says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Stem cells made from human embryos can home in on damaged eyes, hearts and arteries of mice and rats, and appear to start repairs, a U.S. company said on Monday.

Massachusetts-based Advanced Cell Technology said it had devised a straightforward way to make blood vessel precursor cells out of the stem cells and plans to test them in humans.

"We figured out how to produce literally billions of so-called 'hemangioblasts'...," Dr. Robert Lanza, vice president of research and scientific development at ACT, said in an e-mail.

After reading the article, I'm almost convincd that Lanza and his company hold the keys to "everlasting life" (this is sarcasm, folks):

"...they have incredible reparative potential."

Embryonic stem cells are the ultimate master cell of the body...

They directed the stem cells into becoming what they believe are hemangioblasts...

"The cells are really smart, and amazingly, knew not to do anything in uninjured eyes."

"...showed remarkable reparative capacity in animals..."

"If the same thing works in humans ..."

...the company wanted to test the cells in people...

"We also have studies underway indicating that the cells can also considerably accelerate wound healing, repair lung damage, and can even generate unlimited amounts of red blood cells for transfusion."

Science gone mad...They hope to have permission for human test subjects by year's end...

Statement of Protestant Leaders against Anti-Catholic Bigotry

As Protestant Christians and as Americans, we condemn the grotesque anti-Catholic bigotry that is now on display as a result of the Supreme Court's recent decision upholding the constitutionality of the federal law prohibiting partial-birth abortion.

We denounce as particularly odious a cartoon published by the Philadelphia Inquirer depicting the five justices who formed the majority in the case wearing Catholic bishops' mitres...

We believe it is our particular duty to condemn the bigotry we are now witnessing in view of the history of anti-Catholicism in our nation. It is a stain on the Protestant Christian conscience...

Some of our separated brethren have been blessed with eyes to see and ears to hear. We must pray and offer our reparations and sacrifices for our own sins and for those of others whose hearts and minds are closed to the graces of our Lord.

More at Cathlic Exchange here.

May 9 & 16, PBS: “The Secret Files of the Inquisition.”

On May 9 and 16, PBS will air a four-part docudrama called “The Secret Files of the Inquisition.” Catholic League president Bill Donohue raised some concerns today:

“PBS will not air a movie that its officials say paints Muslims in a bad light, ‘Islam vs. Islamists,’ but it has no qualms about showing a flick that Catholics have every right to question. This film is advertised on PBS’s website with an eerie black background depicting all the ‘T’s’ as crosses. All that is missing is Dracula’s voiceover. ‘For over half a millennium a system of mass terror reigned,’ it says, and ‘Thousands were subject to secret courts, torture and punishment.’ This is plainly dishonest...

...Edward Peters, another student of the period, says, ‘Modern historiography has completely blown the old Inquisition propaganda out of the water. No one seriously contends that hundreds of thousands or millions were killed, or that the Protestant countries were any more humane than Spain was.’. . .

"Plainly dishonest"? It's PBS fer cryin out loud...Is it even capable of presenting the facts truthfully in an unbiased manner...? Didn't think so...

Any company that would parrot and promote such "intellectual giants" as Bill Moyers is worthless. The truly sad thing is that taxpayer funds are used to promote this propaganda...

More at the Catholic League here

Great Pics at Local Seminarian's Blog

There are some truly outstanding pictures posted at Jeff Geerling's blog, such as this one of Kenrick Glenon seminary from the back baseball field...



And please, remember to keep all seminarians in your prayers and to pray for vocations to the priesthood.

Pope Benedict to Focus on the Youth of Brazil

"This is my first pastoral visit to Latin America and I am preparing myself spiritually to visit the continent where almost half the Catholics of the whole world, many of them young people, live."

More here at American Papist and,

The Holy Father will "entrust the apostolic trip" that he makes to Brazil this week "To the Holy Virgin, Mother of the Church..."

Source: Vatican Information Service, here.

CWNews: "burke the belligerent"

Diogenes writes:

If I were Archbishop Raymond Burke, I'd be beaming with satisfaction in the afterglow of Tim Townsend's "news" story that ran in Saturday's St. Louis Post-Dispatch. It's a conventional exercise in journalistic knee-capping, meant to disparage Burke by canvassing the opinions of Thinking Catholics, but the meatball hired to do the hit buries the slug in his own foot and, in spite of his efforts to the contrary, boosts the only reputation Burke is concerned to have.

Nuncio Battles for Truth

The following exclusive analysis of the April controversy in Israel between the Vatican's representative in Jerusalem and Israeli authorities in charge of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum will appear in the May issue of Inside the Vatican magazine.

A troublingly inaccurate exhibit at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Israel about the role of Pope Pius XII and the Catholic Church during Hitler's persecution of the Jews sparks a diplomatic incident. Why?

Read about it here.

Oct 7-Worldwide School Children’s Holy Hour

Connie Schneider is a Board of Trustees member for the World Apostolate of Fatima in the United States, and also the new National Chairwoman for Children’s Programs.

She says that two new programs for children have been adopted:

A Worldwide School Children’s Holy Hour to be celebrated each October 7th Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and or around the feast day as it lands on different days etc.

The promotion of Eucharistic Adoration for Children.

She says that her local diocesan division has been working since the “Year of the Rosary” to promote this School Children’s World wide Holy Hour, and she is working to bring these programs to not only a National but also to a worldwide level.

Pope John Paul II gave his blessing on this World Day of prayer of Children in 2004, and Benedict XVI has likewise given his blessing to this year’s event, which will be publicised on EWTN.

If you would like to promote this event in any way please feel free to contact your local Catholic school, your diocesan bishop, etc. It is hoped that this will be a worldwide event.

Connie Schneider can be contacted at: connieschneider@earthlink.net

Revealing Comments...

From the Post-Dispatch Commentary section:

As Gandhi said ...

Regarding the St. Joseph's Academy decision to disinvite Sen. Claire McCaskill as a keynote speaker at their graduation because she is a pro-choice Roman Catholic ("Sen. McCaskill not welcome," May 1). Mohandas Gandhi used to say, "Everyone in the world knows how Christians love each other, except Christians."

Anti-choice Roman Catholics need to knock it off. St. Paul said Jesus will judge us when he comes in glory. We should not judge each other. (my emphasis)

Joseph J. Kuciejczyk | St. Louis

Yet again, we hear the voices of those who are oblivious to the scandal and harm done by those who profess to be Catholic and those who, while supporting the murder of the unborn, are given a platform of honor or distinction at a Catholic institution...And the term which Mr. Kuciejczyk uses to describe Catholics reveals quite a bit about his thinking.

When using the word "choice" in this context, we can safely assume that it means the choice, - the willful belief - of a Catholic to kill the unborn, in which case, one ceases to be Catholic, having stepped into the reality of heresy. Hence, a better adjective would have been a pro-life rather than "anti-choice" or, when speaking of Roman Catholics, no adjective should be necessary at all. A true Catholic will have formed his conscience properly and in accord with the teachings of Christ and His Church.

We also witness one whose understanding of the "Judge not!" directives of Jesus is utterly lacking but quite common for those who look for excuses and justifications for sinful acts.

It's unfortunate that Mr Kuciejczyk is not Catholic - otherwise he might not be as confused about the faith as his comments indicate. And if, by some remote chance he is Catholic, a prayerful reading of Gospels and the Catechism might bring some relief to his confusion.

Clashes between Catholic Church Officials and Catholic Public Figures

The Post was able to go back in history all of 23 years to come up with a list of 10 instances in which "Catholics" were admonished by bishops on a matter in opposition to the Church, primarily on abortion. Archbishop Burke is named in 3 of the 10 examples. The late Cardinal O'Connor is listed twice.

Is the Church Against Abortion and the Death Penalty?

It is not a rare thing for Catholic prelates to assert definitively that the Church opposes capital punishment. Some even liken the death of a defenseless aborted baby to that of a criminal duly judged by a competent court and condemned for a grave violation of the moral or judicial order. Such prelates conclude that Catholics are obliged to reject not only abortion but also the death penalty as well.

Continued here (page 14) from an article in Crusade Magazine...There are also some excellent articles on the the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Gospel for Monday, 5th Week of Easter

From: John 14:21-26

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [21] "He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and manifest Myself to him." [22] Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?" [23] Jesus answered him, "If a man loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. [24] He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.

[25] "These things I have spoken to you, while I am still with you. [26] But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."
_________________________
Commentary:

22-23. It was commonly held by the Jews that when the Messiah came He would be revealed to the whole world as King and Savior. The Apostles take Jesus' words as a revelation for themselves alone, and they are puzzled. Hence the question from Judas Thaddeus. It is interesting to note how easy the Apostles' relations with our Lord are: they simply ask Him about things they do not know and get Him to clear up any doubts they have. This is a good example of how we should approach Jesus, who is also our Teacher and Friend.

Jesus' reply may seem evasive but in fact, by referring to the form His manifestation takes, He explains why He does not reveal Himself to the world: He makes Himself known to him who loves Him and keeps His commandments. God repeatedly revealed Himself in the Old Testament and promised to dwell in the midst of the people (cf. Exodus 29:45; Ezekiel 37:26-27; etc.); but here Jesus speaks of a presence of God in each person. St. Paul refers to this presence when he asserts that each of us is a temple of the Holy Spirit (cf. 2 Corinthians 6:16-17). St. Augustine, in reflecting on God's ineffable nearness in the soul, exclaims, "Late have I loved You, O Beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved You! You were within me, and I was in the world outside myself. I searched for You in the world outside myself.... You were with me, but I was not with You. The beautiful things of this world kept me far from You and yet, if they had not been in You, they would have no being at all. You called me; You cried aloud to me; You broke my barrier of deafness; You shone upon me; Your radiance enveloped me; You cured my blindness" ("Confessions", X, 27, 38).

Jesus is referring to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the soul renewed by grace: "Our heart now needs to distinguish and adore each one of the Divine Persons. The soul is, as it were, making a discovery in the supernatural life, like a little child opening his eyes to the world about him. The soul spends time lovingly with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and readily submits to the work of the lifegiving Paraclete, who gives Himself to us with no merit on our part, bestowing His gifts and the supernatural virtues!" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 306).

25-26. Jesus has expounded His teaching very clearly, but the Apostles do not yet fully understand it; they will do so later on, when they receive the Holy Spirit who will guide them unto all truth (cf. John 16:13). "And so the Holy Spirit did teach them and remind them: He taught them what Christ had not said because they could not take it in, and He reminded them of what the Lord had taught and which, either because of the obscurity of the things or because of the dullness of their minds, they had not been able to retain" (Theophylact, "Enarratio in Evangelium Ioannis, ad loc").

The word translated here as "bring to your remembrance" also includes the idea of "suggesting": the Holy Spirit will recall to the Apostles' memory what they had already heard Jesus say--and He will give them light to enable them to discover the depth and richness of everything they have seen and heard. Thus, "the Apostles handed on to their hearers what He had said and done, but with that fuller understanding which they, instructed by the glorious events of Christ (cf. John 2:22) and enlightened by the Spirit of truth, now enjoyed: (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 19).

"Christ has not left His followers without guidance in the task of understanding and living the Gospel. Before returning to His Father, He promised to send His Holy Spirit to the Church: `But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all I have said to you'" (John 14:26).

"This same Spirit guides the successors of the Apostles, your bishops, united with the Bishop of Rome, to whom it was entrusted to preserve the faith and to `preach the Gospel to the whole creation' (Mark 16:15). Listen to their voices, for they bring you the word of the Lord" ([Pope] John Paul II, "Homily at Knock Shrine", 30 September 1979).

In the Gospels is consigned to writing, under the charism of divine inspiration, the Apostles' version of everything they had witnessed--and the understanding of it, which they obtained after Pentecost. So it is that these sacred writers "faithfully hand on what Jesus, the Son of God, while He lived among men, really did and taught for their eternal salvation, until the day when He was taken up (cf. Acts 1:1-2)" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 19). This is why the Church so earnestly recommends the reading of Sacred Scripture, particularly the Gospels. "How I wish your bearing and conversation were such that, on seeing or hearing you, people would say: This man reads the life of Jesus Christ" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 2).
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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 Priest at Prayer, May 7

The Priest and the Eternal Truths
The Creation

My Creaturely Dignity and Duties

I. God brought all creatures out of nothing by His impersonal command: Let there be light, let there be a firmament, let the earth bring forth, etc.

But when creating man, He begins with Let us make, not Let there be; and, with Himself as Model, -to our image and likeness. But man is not yet, not even after that ample phrase so full of power and majesty. God bends His heavenly Might, no, not to touch the summits of lofty mountains, but down to the depths where, from the slime of the earth, He fashions the body of Adam. So that man alone among all visible creatures can say to God with the psalmist: Tu formasti me et posuisti super me manum tuam: "It is Thou that hast fashioned me, Thy hand that has been laid upon me." (Ps. cxxxviii, 5)

That goes for Adam, you'll say, what about me? In a certain sense, I am more to be wondered at than my first parent. What an immense power God must have given to Adam for him to be the source of all the blood and vital energy to thousands of generations! Omnia ossa mea dicent: Domine, quis similis tibi? Cor meum et caro mea exultaverunt in Deum vivum." The Living God! at His Name my heart, my whole being thrills with joy."­ (Ps. xxxiv, 10; Ps. lxxxiii, 3)

II. Will not that have been sufficient for the fashioning of man? No. That indeed was something beautiful, but lifeless. God contemplated the work of His hands with delight, and, bending over it He breathed into his face
the breath of life, and man became a living soul.­ (Gen. ii, 7)

My spirit is not, like the heavens, the work of God's Fingers - opera digitorum tuorum - my soul cannot say to its Maker, like the body: Manus tuae plasmaverunt me: my spirit God breathed into me from the depths of His own Being, like a breath that I exhale from the recesses of my lungs; that is what my soul is: spiritus, spiraculum, the Breath of God. Has anything more mysterious, more profound and beautiful ever been said about the nature of my soul? Is it possible to go further without touching pantheism?

If this is testimony from God, what must my soul be but God's own image, cast and molded in His Heart, bearing the marks of God's attributes, and, in a sense, divine?

Recognize, my soul, thy dignity; regret having trailed thy mantle of glory through earthly mire.

III. To the foregoing proofs of ineffable love on the part of God, there is another, tenderer still.

More than a hundred years ago, more than a thousand, a million, a thousand million. . . how will my imagina­tion encompass the thought, the magnificent reality? . . .

From all eternity. . . God thinks of me . . . Before the first break of the first dawn; before the coverlet of the skies was spread, God thought of me!

What is the choicest favor we ask of a friend? "Keep me in your thoughts." And throughout the ever­lasting years, Thou, O Lord, dost keep me in Thy thoughts; not for a moment do I slip from Thy remem­brance. But Thou dost not think of me as the savant thinks of the object of his learning and investigations; Thou thinkest of me, dear Lord, from the dawning of Thy eternal Day as the lover thinks of and keeps in perpetual remembrance the beloved of his heart:

With unchanging love I love thee, and in mercy I have drawn thee to Myself. -(Jer. xxxi, 3)

God loves me, loves me from all eternity! And so often have I complained with bitterness of soul that nobody cares a damn for me! And all the time God was loving me with an unchanging, everlasting love!

O divine Lover, eternal Lover, what wonder that Thou ask for my cold and fleeting love?

The thing that defies all explanation is the miserliness with which I have been refusing it to Thee through­out my whole existence, to squander it, instead, among a host of puny creatures, fetishes of the hour that show me neither gratitude nor reward except to lacerate my heart and hand when I try to clutch them.

Resolution
I have learned that Thou, my God and my Father, though in need of nothing that is mine - quia bonorum meorum non eges (Ps. xv, 2) - hast nevertheless a longing for something which only I can give, just one small thing: my love, my heart; and Thou dost long for this with such intensity as to stoop down and beg it of me, like a lover of his beloved, like a mother of her only son:
Son, give Me thy heart. (Prov. xxiii, 26)

Lord, sever with the sword of Thy Power the bonds that have bound my heart and enslaved it to lower, tyrannical creatures; I wish, at long last, to surrender my heart into Thy hands, that it may become a censer exhaling the immortal fragrances of holy love to Thee who didst create and fashion my whole being with individual care: qui finxit sigillatim corda eorum.­(Ps. xxxii, 15)_________________________
Adapted from The Priest at Prayer
by Fr. Eugenio Escribano, C.M. (© 1954)
Translated by B.T. Buckley, C.M.

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Please pray for our priests and pray for vocations to the priesthood!

Public Protest at Sen. Hillary Clinton Keynote Address to Catholic Mercy Home

From Catholic Citizens of Illinois:

Join the Public Protest at Sen. Hillary Clinton Keynote Address to Catholic Mercy Home, Monday, May 7, 11AM at Chicago Hilton Towers, Downtown on South Michigan Ave

To politely express concerns contact:

Cardinal Francis George
Archdiocese of Chicago
155 E. Superior Street
Chicago, IL 60611

312-751-8230 Press 4
312-751-5307 - Fax


Mercy Home, Email: mhinfo@mercyhome.org, Call: (312) 738-7560

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Imposing an Anti-Christian Worldview

From the American TFP:

Homosexual acts are a moral aberration, yet the drive to have them accepted as normal by society continues full steam ahead.

Egregious recent examples can be found in two bills under consideration in Congress which would grant special privilege to those embracing the homosexual lifestyle, and intimidate and punish those citizens whose values and principles are opposed to the moral revolution advocated by the homosexual movement.

The first bill is H.R. 2015, known as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2007; the second is H.R. 1592, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007.
* * *
The "New Class": those who embrace the homosexual revolution
Both H.R. 2015 and H.R. 1592 will have a tremendous chilling effect on the expression of faith and morality in the public square, while granting special status and privilege to homosexuals.

Gospel for the 5th Sunday of Easter

From: John 13:31-33a, 34-35

The New Commandment

[31] When he (Judas Iscariot) had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and in Him God is glorified; [32] if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him at once. [33] Little children, yet a little while I am with you. [34] A new commandment I give you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. [35] By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another."
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Commentary:

31-32. This glorification refers above all to the glory which Christ will receive once He is raised up on the cross (John 3:14; 12:32). St. John stresses that Christ's death is the beginning of His victory: His very crucifixion can be considered the first step in His ascension to His Father. At the same time it is glorification of the Father, because Christ, by voluntarily accepting death out of love, as a supreme act of obedience to the Will of God, performs the greatest sacrifice man can offer for the glorification of God. The Father will respond to this glorification which Christ offers Him by glorifying Christ as Son of Man, that is, in His holy human nature, through the His resurrection and ascension to God's right hand. Thus the glory which the Son gives the Father is at the same time glory for the Son.

Christ's disciple will also find His highest motivation by identifying himself with Christ's obedience. St. Paul teaches this very clearly when he says: "Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14).

33. From this verse onwards the evangelist recounts what is usually called the discourse of the Last Supper; in it we can distinguish three parts. In the first, our Lord begins by proclaiming the New Commandment (verses 33-35) and predicts Peter's denials (verses 36-38); He tells them that His death means His going to the Father (Chapter 4), with Whom He is one because He is God (verses 1-14); and He announces that after His resurrection He will send them the Holy Spirit, who will guide them by teaching them and reminding them of everything He told them (verses 15-31).

The second part of the discourse is contained in Chapters 15 and 16. Jesus promises to those who believe in Him a new life of union with Him, as intimate as that of a vine and its branches (15:1-18). To attain this union one must keep His New Commandment (verses 9-18). He forewarns them about the contradictions they will suffer, and He encourages them by promising the Holy Spirit who will protect them and console them (verses 18-27). The action of the Paraclete or Consoler will lead them to fulfill the mission Jesus has entrusted to them (16:1-15). The fruit of the presence of the Holy Spirit will be fullness of joy (verses 16-33).

The third part (Chapter 7) gives Jesus' priestly prayer, in which He asks the Father to glorify Him through the cross (verses 1-5). He prays also for His disciples (verses 6-19) and for all those who through them will believe in Him, so that, staying in the world without being of the world, the love of God should be in them and they should bear witness to Christ being the envoy of the Father (verses 20-26).

34-35. After announcing that He is leaving them (verse 33), Christ summarizes His commandments in one--the New Commandment. He will repeat it a number of times during the discourse of the Supper (cf. John 15:12, 17), and St. John in his First Letter will insist on the need to practice this commandment of the Lord and on the demands it implies (cf. 1 John 2:8; 3:7-21).

Love of neighbor was already commanded in the Old Testament (cf. Leviticus 19:18)--and Jesus ratified this when He specified that it was the second precept of the whole Law and similar to the first: Love God will all your heart and soul and mind (cf. Matthew 22:37-40). But Jesus gives the precept of brotherly love new meaning and content by saying "even as I have loved you". The love of neighbor called for by the Old Law did also in some way extend to one's enemies (Exodus 23:4-5); however, the love which Jesus preaches is much more demanding and includes returning good for evil (cf. Matthew 5:43-44), because Christian love is measured not by man's heart but by the heart of Christ, who gives up His life on the cross to redeem all men (cf. 1 John 4:9-11). Here lies the novelty of Jesus' teaching, and our Lord can rightly say that it is His commandment, the principal clause in His last will and testament.

Love of neighbor cannot be separated from love of God: "The greatest commandment of the law is to love God with one's whole heart and one's neighbor as oneself (cf. Matthew 22:37-40). Christ has made this love of neighbor His personal commandment and has enriched it with a new meaning when He willed Himself, along with His brothers, to be the object of this charity, saying: `As you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me' (Matthew 25:40). In assuming human nature He has united to Himself all humanity in a supernatural solidarity which makes of it one single family. He has made charity the distinguishing mark of His disciples, in the words: `By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another'" (Vatican II, "Apostolicam Actuositatem", 8).

Even though Christ is Purity itself, and Temperance and Humility, He does not, however, make any one of these virtues the distinguishing mark of His disciples: He makes Charity that mark. "The Master's message and example are clear and precise. He confirmed His teaching with deeds. Yet I have often thought that, after twenty centuries, it is indeed still a NEW commandment, for very few people have taken the trouble to practice it. The others, the majority of men, both in the past and still today, have chosen to ignore it. Their selfishness has led them to the conclusion: `Why should I complicate my life? I have more than enough to do just looking after myself.'

"Such an attitude is not good enough for us Christians. If we profess the same faith and are really eager to follow in the clear footprints left by Christ when He walked on this earth, we cannot be content merely with avoiding doing unto others the evil that we would not have them do unto us. That is a lot, but it is still very little when we consider that our love is to be measured in terms of Jesus' own conduct. Besides, he does not give us this standard as a distant target, as a crowning point of a whole lifetime of struggle. It is--it ought to be, I repeat, so that you may turn it into specific resolutions--our starting point, for our Lord presents it as a sign of Christianity: `By this shall all men know that you are My disciples'" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 223).

And this is what in fact happened among Christians in the early centuries in the midst of pagan society, so much so that Tertullian, writing around the end of the second century, reported that people could indeed say, looking at the way these Christians lived: "See how they love one another" ("Apologeticum", XXXIX).
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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.