O most blessed Virgin, who declarest in thy Canticle that it is owing to thy humility that God hath done great things in thee, obtain for me the grace to imitate thee, that is, to be obedient; because to obey is to practise humility.
-St. Vincent de Paul.
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
May 31-Archbishop Burke to visit newly founded St. Gianna Parish
Archbishop Raymond Burke will preside at a Mass at St. Gianna parish on Saturday May 31 and enthrone a picture of the parish's patron saint as well as share his experiences of meeting the husband and other living family members of this modern day saint.For more information please contact the parish office at (636) 625-6012 or see www.stgiannaparish.org
The program will begin with Mass at 5:00PM followed by a short ceremony where of a picture and relic of St. Gianna will be presented to the parish by Thomas McKenna, president of the St. Gianna Physician's Guild . After the ceremony light refreshments will be served and Archbishop Burke and Mr. McKenna will tell about the life of this inspiring saint as well as share many pictures and stories of their meetings with family members and the places where St. Gianna lived.
The new parish is located in Lake St. Louis west of Highway 40/Interstate 64 near a Catholic cemetery and currently is using a temporary facility as they prepare to build a new church on 25 acres at Highway N near Highway Z between Dardenne Prairie and Wentzville.
"We are very pleased and honored to have Archbishop Burke coming to visit our parish," said the pastor. Rev. Timothy Elliot. "We welcome neighboring parishes as well as others from around the diocese who would like to share this inspiring occasion with us," he continued.
As an Italian physician, wife and mother, St. Gianna was best known for her refusal to have a medical procedure after being diagnosed with a uterine tumor, which would have resulted in the loss of her unborn child. Her death has been called a testament to the value of the unborn. The saint, who died in 1962, was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2004.
Meditation for May 21, On Keeping Peace
It is certainly permissible to try to excel in fidelity, so much the better indeed, if no one surpasses me in that respect.
I am concerned in this meditation with disagreements and rivalry.
In these things I must never be the first one to open fire.
As someone has said: "It takes two to make a quarrel, never be the first."
If no one ever begins ~ you can guess the rest. Should someone begin, however, don't be the second. It is unbelievable what bitter words two people can say to each other and what abominable tricks they can play when they no longer agree.
A good means to avoid a dispute is to know how to remain silent. When St. Monica's husband came home in a rage, she was very careful not to say anything. And this imperturbable serenity was a thousand times more effective than reproaches or attempts to bring him to time, which were decidedly inopportune as long as the storm lasted.
I must distrust my sensitiveness, hasty judgments, opinions formed more through passion than a sane view of persons and things. I must distrust decisions based on inclinations and groundless accusations; they are usually only the utterings of self-love, or unbridled pride which flies into a passion, or frequently, a misunderstanding of the exact situation.
An upright spirit; a noble heart; a good bit of intelligence and a great deal of charity - that is what assures peace.
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
I am concerned in this meditation with disagreements and rivalry.
In these things I must never be the first one to open fire.
As someone has said: "It takes two to make a quarrel, never be the first."
If no one ever begins ~ you can guess the rest. Should someone begin, however, don't be the second. It is unbelievable what bitter words two people can say to each other and what abominable tricks they can play when they no longer agree.
A good means to avoid a dispute is to know how to remain silent. When St. Monica's husband came home in a rage, she was very careful not to say anything. And this imperturbable serenity was a thousand times more effective than reproaches or attempts to bring him to time, which were decidedly inopportune as long as the storm lasted.
I must distrust my sensitiveness, hasty judgments, opinions formed more through passion than a sane view of persons and things. I must distrust decisions based on inclinations and groundless accusations; they are usually only the utterings of self-love, or unbridled pride which flies into a passion, or frequently, a misunderstanding of the exact situation.
An upright spirit; a noble heart; a good bit of intelligence and a great deal of charity - that is what assures peace.
"Lord, I wish to be as the Book of Proverbs counsels, Always more prompt to listen than to speak. And if someone speaks to me unkindly, I must carry out the counsel completely: I have not been the first, nor will I be the second."_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Theater of the Word's Kevin O'Brien on EWTN May 21
Kevin O'Brien on EWTN LIVE!
Kevin will be on live with Fr. Mitch Pacwa on Wednesday night, May 21 @ 7:00. Click here to find out more!
Kevin will be on live with Fr. Mitch Pacwa on Wednesday night, May 21 @ 7:00. Click here to find out more!
Speaking of Pigs Flying...
....How's this?
Archbishop Chaput Calls on "Catholic" Obama Supporters to Ask Him to Oppose Abortion
Sure, stranger things have happened - but....
More at LifeNews.com.
Archbishop Chaput Calls on "Catholic" Obama Supporters to Ask Him to Oppose Abortion
Sure, stranger things have happened - but....
Denver, CO (LifeNews.com) -- In the latest development of the saga over a group of Catholics who are supporting Barack Obama for president despite his pro-abortion position, Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput is weighing in. Chaput says the Catholics should following the church's pro-life teaching and get Obama to do so as well....As the the title says, when pigs fly - which may not be that far off now that the UK has embarked on its freakish experiments.
... Chaput said he can't support candidates who are pro-abortion and he urged Catholics not to do so either.Looks to be another interesting election season, especially with professed Catholics who reject the Church's perennial teachings.
"So can a Catholic in good conscience vote for a pro-choice candidate? The answer is: I can't, and I won't," he wrote. "But I do know some serious Catholics -- people whom I admire -- who may. I think their reasoning is mistaken."
Some Catholics who back Obama say they do so because he takes stands on other issues such as war, poverty or the death penalty that impact people's lives. But Chaput doesn't buy it, especially given the enormous loss of live and injuries to people like women and unborn children victimized by abortion....
More at LifeNews.com.
Cardinal Mahony bars Australian bishop with “doctrinal difficulties” from archdiocese
Los Angeles, May 19, 2008 / 07:10 pm (CNA).- Cardinal Roger Mahony has denied an Australian bishop permission to speak in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles after the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference issued a statement warning of “doctrinal difficulties” present in the bishop’s writings.
In 2007 Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, the retired auxiliary bishop of Sydney, published a book titled “Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church: Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus.” Bishop Robinson argued in his book that because the Church refuses to reexamine Catholic teachings on extramarital sex, women priests, homosexuality, and papal power, the Church is not serious about responding to clerical sexual abuse but is only “managing” it....
Anglican Bishop Calls for Homosexual Christianity
LONDON, May 16, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Anglican Church is the perfect vehicle for creating a new “gay” Christianity by virtue of the fact that it is the only church that accepts the logical contradiction of asserting both the sanctity of human life and the existence of a right to abortion.We witness today, how perversion, sexual immorality, and sin contribute to not only to the loss of grace in one's soul but also the death of one's abililty to think clearly. The mind becomes muddled and confused, unwilling to face reality and truth. It substitutes the lies of the evil one for the truths of God. The confused soul really begins to believe that his sin id approved by God.
Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson, whose ordination to the episcopate has precipitated the ongoing schism between traditionally Christian Anglicans and its ultra-liberal, secularized branches, is in London to talk about his vision for the homosexual future of the Anglican Church. He was visiting and promoting his cause in preparation for the upcoming Lambeth Conference in July.
He told an admiring audience in Putney, in southwest London, that Anglicanism is uniquely suited to the establishment of the contradiction of homosexual Christianity....
Robinson is a long-time supporter of abortion. In 2005, he...told Planned Parenthood, “We have to take back those Scriptures.....”
Robinson asserts that the acceptance of homosexuality was part of the teaching that the Holy Spirit was to give the Church later....
Gospel for Tuesday, 7th Week in Ordinary Time
Optional Memorial of St. Bernardine of Siena, priest
Old Calendar: St. Bernadine of Siena, confessor
From: Mark 9:30-37
Second Prophecy of the Passion
[30] They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And He (Jesus) would not have any one know it; [31] for He was teaching His disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He is killed, after three days He will rise." [32] But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask Him.
Being the Servant of All
[33] And they came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house He asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?" [34] But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest. [35] And He sat down and called the Twelve; and He said to them, "If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." [36] And He took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in His arms, He said to them, [37] "Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me".
______________________
Commentary:
30-32. Although moved when He sees the crowds like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36), Jesus leaves them, to devote time to careful instruction of the Apostles. He retires with them to out-of-the-way places, and there He explains points of His public preaching which they had not understood (Matthew 13:36). Here, specifically, for a second time, He announces His death and resurrection.
In His relationships with souls Jesus acts in the same way: He calls man to be with him in the quiet of prayer and there He teaches him about His more intimate plans and about the more demanding side of the Christian life. Later, like the Apostles, Christians were to spread this teaching to the ends of the earth.
34-35. Jesus uses this argument going on behind his back to teach His disciples about how authority should be exercised in His Church--not by lording it over other, but by serving them. In fulfilling His own mission to found the Church whose head and supreme lawgiver He is, He came to serve and not to be served (Matthew 20:28).
Anyone who does not strive to have this attitude of self-forgetful service, not only lacks one of the main pre-requisites for proper exercise of authority but also runs the risk of being motivated by ambition or pride. "To be in charge of an apostolic undertaking demands readiness to suffer everything, from everybody, with infinite charity" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 951).
36-37. To demonstrate to His Apostles the abnegation and humility needed in their ministry, He takes a child into His arms and explains the meaning of this gesture: if we receive for Christ's sake those who have little importance in the world's eyes, it is as if we are embracing Christ Himself and the Father who sent Him. This little child whom Jesus embraces represents every child in the world, and everyone who is needy, helpless, poor or sick--people who are not naturally attractive.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Old Calendar: St. Bernadine of Siena, confessor
From: Mark 9:30-37
Second Prophecy of the Passion
[30] They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And He (Jesus) would not have any one know it; [31] for He was teaching His disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He is killed, after three days He will rise." [32] But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask Him.
Being the Servant of All
[33] And they came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house He asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?" [34] But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest. [35] And He sat down and called the Twelve; and He said to them, "If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." [36] And He took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in His arms, He said to them, [37] "Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me".
______________________
Commentary:
30-32. Although moved when He sees the crowds like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36), Jesus leaves them, to devote time to careful instruction of the Apostles. He retires with them to out-of-the-way places, and there He explains points of His public preaching which they had not understood (Matthew 13:36). Here, specifically, for a second time, He announces His death and resurrection.
In His relationships with souls Jesus acts in the same way: He calls man to be with him in the quiet of prayer and there He teaches him about His more intimate plans and about the more demanding side of the Christian life. Later, like the Apostles, Christians were to spread this teaching to the ends of the earth.
34-35. Jesus uses this argument going on behind his back to teach His disciples about how authority should be exercised in His Church--not by lording it over other, but by serving them. In fulfilling His own mission to found the Church whose head and supreme lawgiver He is, He came to serve and not to be served (Matthew 20:28).
Anyone who does not strive to have this attitude of self-forgetful service, not only lacks one of the main pre-requisites for proper exercise of authority but also runs the risk of being motivated by ambition or pride. "To be in charge of an apostolic undertaking demands readiness to suffer everything, from everybody, with infinite charity" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 951).
36-37. To demonstrate to His Apostles the abnegation and humility needed in their ministry, He takes a child into His arms and explains the meaning of this gesture: if we receive for Christ's sake those who have little importance in the world's eyes, it is as if we are embracing Christ Himself and the Father who sent Him. This little child whom Jesus embraces represents every child in the world, and everyone who is needy, helpless, poor or sick--people who are not naturally attractive.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Just for Today, May 20
Who will give me, O Lord, to find Thee alone, that I may open my whole heart to Thee, and enjoy Thee as my soul desireth; no one beholding me, nor any creature interesting me, or at all affecting me, but Thou alone speaking to me, and I to Thee, as the beloved is wont to speak to his beloved, and a friend to entertain himself with his friend?
-Bk. IV, ch. xiii.
_________________
To live by love is to live Thy life,
O Joy of the blessed, my King!
Who under a little white host dost conceal
Thy glory the Seraphim sing.
For Thy sake I choose to live hidden, alone,
- True lovers a solitude seek -
Day and night in Thy presence my vigil I keep,
Face to face with my Lord I will speak.
-Poems.
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
-Bk. IV, ch. xiii.
_________________
To live by love is to live Thy life,
O Joy of the blessed, my King!
Who under a little white host dost conceal
Thy glory the Seraphim sing.
For Thy sake I choose to live hidden, alone,
- True lovers a solitude seek -
Day and night in Thy presence my vigil I keep,
Face to face with my Lord I will speak.
-Poems.
__________________
For more information, see this post.
Adapted from Just For Today(©1943 Burns & Oates)
Nihil Obstat: Reginaldus Phillips, S.T.L.,Censor deputatus
Imprimatur: Edwardus Myers, Vic. Cap.
Thoughts and Counsels - May 20
O Queen of heaven and earth! The universe would perish before thou couldst refuse aid to one who invokes thee from the depth of his heart.
-Bl. Henry Suso.
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
-Bl. Henry Suso.
________________________
From Mary, Help of Christians
Part VI, Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year
Compiled by Fr. Bonaventure Hammer, OFM (© 1909, Benziger Brothers)
Archbishop Burke inspired vocations explosion
Once or twice a year, each student at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary will drop by Archbishop Raymond Burke's residence in the Central West End at 4:30 p.m. From there, they set off down Lindell Avenue and into Forest Park..Good article in the Post...
"The walks," as the seminarians call them, are opportunities for young men to have heart-to-hearts with a man who regularly meets with the pope, a heady prospect for a young priest-in-training. The conversations are usually casual, and the seminarians get to see a more personal, human side of Burke — like when he gets a little skittish around off-leash dogs.
Kenrick officials organize the walks using time sheets. When the sheets are posted, there's a rush to sign on...
Meditation for May 20, On Desiring Recognition
It is said that Nicholas Poussin, whose artistic talent was not at all negligible, had a virtue greater than his talent. When someone gave him more for a painting than he believed it to be worth, he, with legendary honesty, sent back the surplus.
I do not demand cash for my services, but do I not often like to claim more than my due, in salary of gratitude or a smile?
I will imitate the artist of Louis XIV, accomplishing my task to the best of my ability. If I can do but little, then I will do that little with my whole soul, happy to pass unnoticed. If I think I have talent, I will use it without counting the cost, without being conceited, but without denying the gift of God if there really is a gift.
If someone calls attention to my success, I must not boast unduly; if no one notices my effort or achievement I must not be sad. As a rule I will try to pass unnoticed. Who notices the cook's most carefully prepared menu or the value of a well-planned lesson presented by a teacher?
I am a servant and should be thrilled to pass for even a useless servant. I will not expect a salary. And if by chance, someone deigns to praise me, I shall thank this rare and excellent person. I will not boast about my accomplishment but seek to do even better the next time.
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
I do not demand cash for my services, but do I not often like to claim more than my due, in salary of gratitude or a smile?
I will imitate the artist of Louis XIV, accomplishing my task to the best of my ability. If I can do but little, then I will do that little with my whole soul, happy to pass unnoticed. If I think I have talent, I will use it without counting the cost, without being conceited, but without denying the gift of God if there really is a gift.
If someone calls attention to my success, I must not boast unduly; if no one notices my effort or achievement I must not be sad. As a rule I will try to pass unnoticed. Who notices the cook's most carefully prepared menu or the value of a well-planned lesson presented by a teacher?
I am a servant and should be thrilled to pass for even a useless servant. I will not expect a salary. And if by chance, someone deigns to praise me, I shall thank this rare and excellent person. I will not boast about my accomplishment but seek to do even better the next time.
"My God, when I examine myself, I see clearly that I love to deduct a premium from all that I offer You; it is often slight but nevertheless real. When all ought to be Yours I gather in small compensations in the way of selfish satisfaction."I act like a child who tries to collect goodies or pennies to swell his bank. Not any more! I shall return what is over and above to Him to Whom it is due.
_________________
Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)
Vatican says prohibition against gays in seminaries is universal
Vatican City, May 19, 2008 / 09:21 am (CNA).- Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, has sent a letter to the bishops of the world with the approval of Pope Benedict XVI reaffirming the norms established by the Congregation for Catholic Education in the 2005 document, “Instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocation with regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in view of their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders,” as universal and without exceptions....
The letter, which Cardinal Bertone said was issued in response “to numerous requests for clarification,” implies that the prohibition against accepting homosexual candidates in seminaries applies not only to diocesan seminaries but also to those of religious orders and congregations, as well as to those that are located in mission territories....
See more here at Rorate Caeli
British Government OK's Creation of Human-animal Embryos
British scientists will be allowed to research devastating diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s using human-animal embryos, after the House of Commons tonight rejected a ban...They pretend to be God and engage in monstrous acts.
Edward Leigh, Conservative MP for Gainsborough, moving the amendment to ban all admixed embryos, said mingling animal and human DNA crossed an “ultimate boundary”. He said that exaggerated claims were giving patients false hope and that the dangers of the research were unknown.Mad scientists care not a whit about boundaries, moral or otherwise.
He said: "In many ways we are like children playing with landmines without any concept of the dangers of the technology that we are handling.”Where will the creation of chimeras lead us? Will some crackpot in the future unwittingly unleash some devastating plague upon civilization?
It seems as if those pushing for such grotesque experimentation and research are like little children playing with dangerous tools or weapons. What absurdity!
It seems that the more we think we learn, the more stupid we become. When we act absent basic norms of morality, we hurt not only ourselves, but others as well.
Yes, children, welcome to the isles of Dr Moreau or the worldly laboratory of Dr Frankenstein. Enter! You will be safe here. We're here to help the human race!
Priest & Seminarian Training Workshop, 1962 Missale Romanum
My apologies - I missed this:
5/19/2008
Event Time: From 08:00 AM To 12:00 PM
Location: Canons Regular of St. John Cantius 825 N. Carpenter Street Chicago, Illinois 60622
Details: Priest and Seminarian Training Workshop
Extraordinary Form of the Mass - 1962 Missale Romanum
From Monday, May 19, 2008, through Friday, May 23, 2008, the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius, in conjunction with the Archdiocese of Chicago, will offer a Traditional Latin Mass Training Workshop for priests and seminarians....
Young Recruits for "Call to Action"
As witnessed in this grave abuse of the liturgy, CTA appeared to have very few young adherents to its heterodox or heretical beliefs and agenda.
Yet, we see a group of like-minded 20 to 30 year olds are banding together to carry the torch of rebellion for the gray haired dissidents.
From the "About" page at YoungAdultCatholics-Blog, we read:
What a future these malcontents have ahead of them. They, too, can be elite members of a dying group - frustrated because of the willful rejection the graces necessary to develop the virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity, they, too, will one day become embittered "progressive" senior citizens. They will go to their graves defiant and confused, having rejected the truth in exchange for lies. What wasted lives they will have if they continue that path.
May God have mercy on them and grant them the graces for conversion. And may we, in true charity, pray for their souls.
HT to Darla for the link: YoungAdultCatholics - a blog of NextGen at Call To Action
Yet, we see a group of like-minded 20 to 30 year olds are banding together to carry the torch of rebellion for the gray haired dissidents.
From the "About" page at YoungAdultCatholics-Blog, we read:
YoungAdultCatholics-Blog is dedicated to the progressive, faithful, Catholic voices of 20- and 30-year-olds. This is a blog of NextGen at Call To Action, which has faith-sharing groups in urban areas around the country and a national conference every November in Milwaukee. For more information, please visit www.cta-usa.org.Did you catch the distorted feminist touch above which demonstrates complete ignorance of the meaning of the word "man"?
The contributors to this blog come from a variety of backgrounds and live in various places on the globe. The goal is to lift up these voices that make up our Church in an intimate way....
In this light, we support Catholics in their pursuit of truth in the spirit of religious freedom. The bishops provide us with guidance from the Second Vatican Council: “Wherefore every man [sic] has the duty, and therefore the right, to seek the truth in matters religious in order that he may with prudence form for himself right and true judgments of conscience, under use of all suitable means” (from Dignitatis Humanae, Pope Paul VI, December 7, 1965).
What a future these malcontents have ahead of them. They, too, can be elite members of a dying group - frustrated because of the willful rejection the graces necessary to develop the virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity, they, too, will one day become embittered "progressive" senior citizens. They will go to their graves defiant and confused, having rejected the truth in exchange for lies. What wasted lives they will have if they continue that path.
May God have mercy on them and grant them the graces for conversion. And may we, in true charity, pray for their souls.
HT to Darla for the link: YoungAdultCatholics - a blog of NextGen at Call To Action
India at Peace. But Not with the Christians (Chiesa)
Jesuit USF Honors Homosexual, Condom-Promoting AIDS Ambassador
A "Role Model" for USF StudentsPerversion rewarded and promoted - not only by our own country, but by a Jesuit institution. St Ignatius, pray for us!
Among those receiving honorary degrees at University of San Francisco commencement ceremonies this past weekend was Ambassador Mark Dybul, an open homosexual with a same-sex partner about whom he makes no secret. Dybul has served as U.S. Global AIDS coordinator under President George W. Bush.
At his swearing-in ceremony in October 2006, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice welcomed Dybul’s family members, including his partner, Jason Claire, and Claire’s mother, whom Rice called Dybul’s “mother-in-law"....
According to a USF press release, the university honored Dybul “for his work at the forefront of the international fight against HIV/AIDS as the U.S. global AIDS coordinator.” According to the release, “Dybul is a role model for USF students as someone with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed, and the values and sensitivity to be men and women for others....”
More at California Catholic Daily here.
Protest Marks Pope's Trip to Italian North
GENOA, Italy (AFP) — Pope Benedict XVI sparked a protest Saturday by campaigners angry at the Catholic Church's powerful influence in the country as he flew into northern Italy for a two-day trip.....And just who might be leading this protest, you ask?
Organised by far-left, feminist and gay rights groups, the rally was called in defence of secularism and in protest at a speech Monday in which the pope lashed out at abortion, legalised in Italy 30 years ago, as an offence before God.Secularism? They are defending immorality and rebellion against truth and the natural moral law! Hedonisism is their religion!
"I have been a feminist since 1963, and I still have to march for the same things as 40 years ago," said Silvana, an elegant woman in her 70s....That's because she's apparently been 'willfully ignorant' and hasn't learned anything of value in her entire 70+ years of life on this planet.
There - is that better...Perhaps "ignoramus" would have been a better term, yes?
Gospel for Monday, 7th Week in Ordinary Time
Old Calendar: St. Peter Celestine, pope and confessor;
St. Pudentiana, virgin;
RM St. Ives
From: Mark 9:14-29
The Curing of an Epileptic Boy
[14] And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd about them, and scribes arguing with them. [15] And immediately all the crowd when they saw Him (Jesus), were greatly amazed, and ran up to Him and greeting Him. [16] And He asked them, "What are you discussing with them?" [17] And one of the crowd answered Him, "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a dumb spirit; [18] and wherever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked Your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able." [19] And He answered them, "Oh faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to Me." [20] And they brought the boy to Him; and when the spirit saw Him, immediately it convulsed the body, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. [21] And Jesus asked his father, "How long has he had this?" And he said, "From childhood. [22] And it has often cash him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if You can do anything, have pity on us and help us." [23] And Jesus said to him, "If you can! All things are possible to him who believes." [24] Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!" [25] And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again." [26] After crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse; so that most of them said, "He is dead." [27] But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. [28] And when He had entered the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" [29] And He said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting."
______________________
Commentary:
17. The demon who possessed this boy is described as a "dumb spirit" because dumbness was the main feature of the possession. On diabolic possession cf. note on Matthew 12:22-24.
19-24. As on other occasions, Jesus requires submission of faith before He works the miracle. The exclamation of Jesus refers to the request of the boy's father (verse 22), which seemed to suggest some doubt about God's omnipotence. The Lord corrects this way of asking and requires him to have firm faith. In verse 24 we can see that the father has quite changed; then Jesus does the miracle. The man's strengthened faith made him all-powerful, for someone with faith relies not on himself but on Jesus Christ. Through faith, then, we become sharers in God's omnipotence. But faith is a gift of God, which man, especially at times when he is wavering, should ask humbly and tenaciously, like the father of this boy: "I believe, help my unbelief," and like the Apostles: "Increase our faith!" (Luke 17:5).
28-29. "In teaching the Apostles how to expel a spirit as evil as this He is teaching all of us how we should live, and telling us that prayer is the resource we should use to overcome even the severest temptations, whether they come from unclean spirits or from men. Prayer does not consist only in the words we use to invoke God's clemency but also in everything we do, out of faith, as homage to God.
The Apostle bears witness to this when he says: `Pray constantly' (1 Thessalonians 5:7)" (St. Bede, "In Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc.").
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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.
St. Pudentiana, virgin;
RM St. Ives
From: Mark 9:14-29
The Curing of an Epileptic Boy
[14] And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd about them, and scribes arguing with them. [15] And immediately all the crowd when they saw Him (Jesus), were greatly amazed, and ran up to Him and greeting Him. [16] And He asked them, "What are you discussing with them?" [17] And one of the crowd answered Him, "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a dumb spirit; [18] and wherever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked Your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able." [19] And He answered them, "Oh faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to Me." [20] And they brought the boy to Him; and when the spirit saw Him, immediately it convulsed the body, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. [21] And Jesus asked his father, "How long has he had this?" And he said, "From childhood. [22] And it has often cash him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if You can do anything, have pity on us and help us." [23] And Jesus said to him, "If you can! All things are possible to him who believes." [24] Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!" [25] And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again." [26] After crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse; so that most of them said, "He is dead." [27] But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. [28] And when He had entered the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" [29] And He said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting."
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Commentary:
17. The demon who possessed this boy is described as a "dumb spirit" because dumbness was the main feature of the possession. On diabolic possession cf. note on Matthew 12:22-24.
19-24. As on other occasions, Jesus requires submission of faith before He works the miracle. The exclamation of Jesus refers to the request of the boy's father (verse 22), which seemed to suggest some doubt about God's omnipotence. The Lord corrects this way of asking and requires him to have firm faith. In verse 24 we can see that the father has quite changed; then Jesus does the miracle. The man's strengthened faith made him all-powerful, for someone with faith relies not on himself but on Jesus Christ. Through faith, then, we become sharers in God's omnipotence. But faith is a gift of God, which man, especially at times when he is wavering, should ask humbly and tenaciously, like the father of this boy: "I believe, help my unbelief," and like the Apostles: "Increase our faith!" (Luke 17:5).
28-29. "In teaching the Apostles how to expel a spirit as evil as this He is teaching all of us how we should live, and telling us that prayer is the resource we should use to overcome even the severest temptations, whether they come from unclean spirits or from men. Prayer does not consist only in the words we use to invoke God's clemency but also in everything we do, out of faith, as homage to God.
The Apostle bears witness to this when he says: `Pray constantly' (1 Thessalonians 5:7)" (St. Bede, "In Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc.").
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
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