Keep
your eyes open!...
August 31, 2011
(Act 19:17-18) And
this became known to all the Jews and the Gentiles that dwelt a
Ephesus. And fear fell on them all: and the name of the Lord Jesus was
magnified. And many of them that believed came, confessing and
declaring their deeds
NCREGISTER: Vatican Publishes Confession and Spiritual Direction Manual for Priests
The Vatican has published an aid
for confessors and spiritual directors, reflecting an urgent need for
both priests and the faithful to rediscover the Sacrament of
Reconciliation.
Published by the Congregation for
the Clergy, "The Priest, Minister of Divine Mercy — An Aid for
Confessors and Spiritual Directors" is essentially a manual on how to
be good confessors.
The 70 page document is a fruit of
the Year for Priests during which the Holy Father urged priests to
return to the confessional, both to celebrate the sacrament of
reconciliation but also as a place where the priest should "dwell" more
often.
DOCUMENT LINK: http://www.clerus.org/clerus/dati/2011-08/08-13/sussidio_per_confessori_en.pdf
HEADLINE: Priest: I'll go to jail rather than bow to law on revealing confession
TRACT LINK: Don't Be Fearful of Confession! by the late Father Kilian McGowan, C.P.
FROM THE MAILBAG
VIA OLRL: Confession
"Confess your sins one to another."-St. James 5;16.
Confession is a great remedy for the soul. It purifies it through
the words of absolution, enlightens it through the good counsel
received, strengthens it by the great graces received, humbles it by
acknowledging to another man that we are sinners and gives peace to the
soul being reconciled to God. We didn't care to commit the sin,
but now we are ashamed to confess it. "God resists the proud but
giveth grace to the humble."
Confession has been in the Church from the beginning. The second
Sunday after Easter Our Lord appeared to the Apostles and gave them His
mission to carry on.
He said therefore to them again:
Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. When he
had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the
Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and
whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.
(John 20:21-23)
Tangible evidence of this doctrine was brought forth in Rome when, in
1911, archaeologists unearthed a stone slab which read: "Here lies
Blessed Peter, who absolved us, the elect, from sins confessed."
A beautiful story -- St Francis and the sinful woman:
St. Francis de Sales was hearing confessions in his church at
Annecy. Among other penitents who went to him was a woman who had led a
very bad life, but who, touched by God's grace, made a good and sincere
confession of all the evil she had done. St. Francis
blessed God for her conversion and felt his soul full of happiness in
giving her absolution. When she received it she said to him: "My
father, what do you think of me now since you have heard of all the
crimes I have been guilty of?" "My child," he answered, "I now look
upon you as a saint; let people say and think what they like, they may
judge you as the Pharisee judged Mary Magdalen after her conversion,
but you know what Jesus Christ thought of her and how he judged
her. Your past life now has no longer any existence. I weep
tears of joy because of your resurrection from the grave of sin to a
life of grace. The penitent was not only consoled by these words
of St. Francis, but when the devil came to try to make her fall
into despair by thinking of her past iniquities, they enabled her to
drive the temptation away. -His Life: Jan.29, Stories from the
Catechist.
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto Thine
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 30- "Concerning the Supreme Trinity
Among the Virtues"
7. Love, by reason of its nature, is resemblance
to God, as far as that is possible for mortals; in its activity it is inebriation
of the soul; and by its distinctive property it is a fountain of faith,
an abyss of patience, a sea of humility.
August 29, 2011
(Rom
8:35-37) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or
peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the
day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all
these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
STRENGTH IN WEAKNESS
Biloxi church says Katrina showed us our blessings
Group spends millions on disaster aid
EXCERPT: Vignettes from Irene's march up the East Coast
Parishioners of Holy Family Catholic Church sang a hymn on Sunday that
assumed a new resonance the day after Hurricane Irene whipped through
the area: "God will protect us from darkness and death," goes a line in
"Rain Down."
"Across the street from us, a big
tree came down, but it just fell right between the houses," parishioner
Jeffrey Hale said. "No damage. It's the kind of thing that
makes you want to come to church and give thanks."
Holy Family is the only Catholic
parish for miles. The church draws its members from all over the
Albemarle Sound, and many drive 30 minutes or more for services.
About 80 people gathered for Mass on Sunday, less than a third of the
usual crowd.
"Are we having Mass? Is the
pope Catholic?" the Rev. James Buchholz told a carload of
parishioners that pulled up to the church to ask if services were still
on.
Buchholz also celebrated Mass Saturday evening at Holy Family as Irene was passing through the area.
"When you see the power of God in
the kind of wind and rain we had yesterday, you realize there are many
things to be thankful for," he said in an interview.
Like much of surrounding Elizabeth
City, Holy Family largely escaped damage. A few leaks in the roof
and a parking lot covered by leaves and twigs were about the extent of
it. The sound system wasn't working, but the voices of the
worshippers rang out in the building as they sang "Hallelujah" and
recited a prayer improvised by Buchholz: "Lord, for those who were
caught in inclement weather, for those who made it through and for
those having rough times today, we pray. Lord, hear our prayer."
"This wasn't a hurricane.
This was more like a Nor'Easter," said Bill Hogue, 82, a retired
steelworker from Pittsburgh who's lived in the area for 18 years.
Hogue said the winds knocked over some pillars below a porch at his
home, but otherwise the damage was minimal.
Hogue's daughter had repeatedly
asked her father, a Korean War veteran, to leave North Carolina ahead
of Irene and join her in Virginia. Hogue shook his head at the
idea.
"Why? So I can be stuck on 95
with all the other idiots?" he said. "I've got brick walls and
shatterproof windows. I'm fine here."
FROM THE MAILBAG
VIA Jim Bramlett: Jesus redirects Hurricane Irene!
This past Friday, August 26, 2011, Hurricane Irene was heading directly
for my house. We were 3-4 states away, but the cone projection
chart put out by the National Weather Service had my address right in
the center of the storm's path. It was only about 24 hours from
us.
I remembered by childhood hero, Superman, and my new super hero, and exclaimed, "This is a job for Jesus."
Suddenly, I remembered Jesus' words, "He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also" (John 14:12).
Then I remembered that Jesus had calmed a storm by speaking to
it. And I remembered that He said if we have faith we could speak
to a mountain and it would be removed (Mark 11:23). He did not
say to pray that the mountain would be removed, but to speak to it,
just as He spoke to the fig tree (Mark 11:14).
So using Jesus as an example, and His words as my authority, I decided
to speak to Irene. In the name of Jesus, I commanded Irene to
move to the east, away from our neighborhood.
I contacted members of our Friday night Bible study and asked them to do the same. They did.
I asked our home church in Florida (that we attend via Skype) to do the same. They did.
After that, even though Irene continued to bear down upon us, I had a
great peace. A pervasive peace. We did not even purchase
supplies.
The next day, Irene was getting closer and closer, and I still had a
great peace. Finally, Irene was on the outskirts of our
metropolitan area, still heading for my house. I took a nap.
A TV announcer suddenly came on and said that Irene was veering off to
the north-northeast. I knew that was Jesus! This slight
directional change caused the brunt of the storm to miss us, Thank you,
Jesus! Your Word works!
Bottom line: We got some strong breezes but no hurricane-force
wind. We got light rains, but no problem. We needed rain
anyhow, and it helped put out a swamp fire miles away that had given us
so much smoke for days.
Most of our area lost electrical power, including nearby friends and
relatives. But we did not lose power. Our next-door
neighbor lost a big tree. We lost nothing. This is
odd. In a period of just one week, this area of the nation got a
rare earthquake, the worst in over 100 years, then an unusual
hurricane, both experienced all up and down the east coast.
Hello! Is there another message here? The main message I
got is that Jesus rose from the dead, is still alive, well, and
faithful to His Word!
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 30- "Concerning the Supreme Trinity
Among the Virtues"
6. God is love. so he who wishes to define this
tries with bleary eyes to measure the sand in the ocean.
August 25, 2011
THE TRIB TIMES WILL
RETURN NEXT WEEK, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).
(Rom 8:24-25) For
we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man
seeth, why doth he hope for? But if we hope for that which we see not,
we wait for it with patience.
POPE JOHN PAUL II:
"We are certainly not seduced by the naive expectation that, faced with
the great challenges of our time, we shall find some magic formula. No,
we shall not be saved by a formula but by a Person, and the assurance
which he gives us: I am with you!"
ADDRESS: So That the World May Know New Hope by Cardinal Raymond L. Burke
REALCATHOLICTV: Belief in God-
Belief in God is not merely confined to accepting some of His truths.
Belief demands a TOTAL giving, not just checking off some boxes.
FROM THE MAILBAG
VIA Jim McCrea: Are You Saved Just Because You Are "Good"? by Jim J. McCrea
Often it is heard that if a person does not believe in Jesus Christ,
but is "good," it would be unjust for a good and just God to condemn
him to hell.
That on the surface sounds reasonable. For it seems right that
God should allow a person into heaven because he is kind, just, good to
others, and civic minded, rather than because he accepted a point of
doctrine from a particular religion.
However, to see the fallacy of that, we have to look at exactly what "good" is and its structure within the human soul.
We can use an analogy from the 2009 Star Trek movie. In that
movie, the villain would destroy planets by drilling to their core with
a giant ray machine and then dropping a miniature black hole in.
That black hole, at the center of the planet, would within minutes
consume the entire planet because the planet would collapse around the
black hole into it.
Now lack of Jesus Christ and God's grace in a soul is like a black hole in the center of it.
The idea that God should reward a soul for simply "goodness" presumes
that goodness proper to a soul is completely on the natural level and
is that which can be empirically perceived.
However, our souls are structured so that they have a God shaped hole
within them. At their depths, if they are what they should be,
they have an infinite supernatural good dwelling there. That
infinite supernatural good is Jesus Christ and His grace. All
other levels of goodness in the soul depend upon that infinite good for
their proper integrity.
Now to remove that infinite good in the soul, by knowingly and
willingly rejecting Christ and His law, the rest of the goodness there
does not have a proper foundation.
That is why Catholics who dissent against Church teaching or other
Christians who live in a morally compromised way are in grave danger of
losing their eternal salvation. If willfully and knowingly done,
there is a black hole at the center of their soul, which is the absence
of God's grace (for a Catholic to knowingly and willingly dissent
against even one point of Church teaching is to reject Christ as
untrustworthy and hence is to reject Him).
Without God's grace, the empirical goods that a person exercises may
last most his life, because of the support of society, others around
him, and his own psychology.
However, if rejection of God's grace continues, collapse is inevitable,
like the planet collapsing into the black hole. The natural
levels of goodness in the soul eventually disintegrate because there is
no supernatural core of Jesus Christ to support them.
This can be seen when "good" people, with the onset of death, become
vile and abusive (however, we cannot judge the individual case.
Bad behavior with the onset of death may be caused by psychological
factors due to a deteriorating brain rather than a deteriorating soul).
Once in hell, all natural goodness disappears, and a person is converted into pure evil.
However, the Good News is, Jesus came to earth to save us sinners (John 3:16).
Unlike the black hole at the center of a planet, where due to the laws
of physics collapse in inevitable, we can always reverse course in our
life - even at the last moment - to accept Christ and His mercy into
our soul - avoiding ultimate collapse, and having that supernatural
core of goodness which eventually brings the whole soul to eternal life
in God.
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 30- "Concerning the Supreme Trinity
Among the Virtues"
5. The angels know how to speak about love, and
even they can only do this according to the degree of their enlightenment.
August 23, 2011
(Mat 24:6-7) And
you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that ye be not
troubled. For these things must come to pass: but the end is not yet.
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: And
there shall be pestilences and famines and earthquakes in places.
CHIESA: Sunny in Madrid, Stormy in Damascus- In Libya, and even more
so in Syria, Christians are afraid that the fall of the regimes will
bring them more harm than good
STRATFOR: Israeli-Arab Crisis Approaching
In September, the U.N. General Assembly will vote on whether to
recognize Palestine as an independent and sovereign state with full
rights in the United Nations. In many ways, this would appear to be a
reasonable and logical step. Whatever the Palestinians once were, they
are clearly a nation in the simplest and most important sense — namely,
they think of themselves as a nation. Nations are created by historical
circumstances, and those circumstances have given rise to a Palestinian
nation. Under the principle of the United Nations and the theory of the
right to national self-determination, which is the moral foundation of
the modern theory of nationalism, a nation has a right to a state, and
that state has a place in the family of nations. In this sense, the U.N.
vote will be unexceptional.
However, when the United Nations votes on Palestinian statehood, it will
intersect with other realities and other historical processes. First,
it is one thing to declare a Palestinian state; it is quite another
thing to create one. The Palestinians are deeply divided between two
views of what the Palestinian nation ought to be, a division not easily
overcome. Second, this vote will come at a time when two of Israel’s
neighbors are coping with their own internal issues. Syria is in chaos,
with an extended and significant resistance against the regime having
emerged. Meanwhile, Egypt is struggling with internal tension over the
fall of President Hosni Mubarak and the future of the military junta
that replaced him. Add to this the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and the
potential rise of Iranian power, and the potential recognition of a
Palestinian state — while perfectly logical in an abstract sense —
becomes an event that can force a regional crisis in the midst of
ongoing regional crises. It thus is a vote that could have significant
consequences.
MORE: A primer on Palestinian statehood
RELATED HEADLINES
Islamist Cleric: Meet an Israeli? Kill Him
Diplomatic woes pile up for isolated Israel
Israel prepares troops for battle with Bibles
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 30- "Concerning the Supreme Trinity
Among the Virtues"
4. He who wishes to speak about Divine love undertakes
to speak about God. But it is precarious to expatiate on God, and may even
be dangerous for the unwary.
August 22, 2011 (Feast of Queenship of Mary)
(Gal 5:22-23) But
the fruit of the Spirit is, charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity,
goodness, longanimity, Mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity.
Against such there is no law.
HUFFINGTON POST: World Youth Day: The Joy of Being In the Presence of God by Michael Rossmann, SJ
Pilgrims will likely not forget
hiking with temperatures over 90 degrees in order to encounter the
million other people arriving at the same site and looking for a place
to sleep, only for their belongings later to be soaked or blown away by
the rain and high winds that caused a chapel constructed on the site to
collapse. Still, inclement weather was but a preface to the
deeper atmosphere at the conclusion of World Youth Day in Spain.
At the beginning of his homily,
Pope Benedict expressed that his heart was full of joy in seeing young
people from all ends of the world gathered together - and still
gathered together, despite how the weather affected the almost entirely
tent-less pilgrims who slept outside the night before. Many had
responded to the storm with even more singing and dancing, and millions
of us here in Madrid had tasted a similar joy during this week.
And the joy was contagious. I previously wrote about the kindness of complete strangers.
After several more days of a million-plus young pilgrims erupting into
chants and songs in an array of languages wherever they went, many in
Madrid were swept up in the spirit. It was analogously to the
sleeping mat that during last night's storm literally blew into the
arms of a student in my group who had failed to bring anything on which
to sleep.
While walking to and from the site
of the final World Youth Day vigil and Mass, the joyful smiles of
gratitude from the previously hot but recently refreshed pilgrims were
only surpassed by the residents of third-floor apartments throwing down
buckets of water upon us and seemingly having the time of their lives
doing it.
An elderly woman, seeing a group of
thirteen of us walking back from the site, intuitively asked whether we
needed to use a bathroom - exactly the thing we had been searching for
without success - and invited all of us up to her apartment to use the
restroom and insisted that we also take cold beverages and fruit.
We delighted in her generosity, and she beamed with joy in being able
to assist us.
Then, upon reaching the high school
at which I'm staying after a long journey back, I could not help but
laugh and yet not be surprised at overhearing one U.S. student
who does not speak Spanish recount to his friend how he had gone to a
restaurant where a man insisted on buying him a drink. While the
only words that the student could understand were "cerveza" (beer) and
"el Papa" (the Pope), he understood the man's desire to welcome and
celebrate the presence of the pilgrims here.
The 20th-century Jesuit Pierre
Teillhard de Chardin said that "joy is the most infallible sign of the
presence of God." After seeing the Pope, encountering over a million
fellow young people who share their faith, attending liturgical
celebrations in various languages with music that moves their hearts,
many young people explicitly attest to feeling as if they have been in
the presence of God and that they are "rooted in Christ"-- part of the
theme of this year's World Youth Day. All while exuding a
contagious joy that can be an indication of that presence.
TEXT: Pope Benedict XVI's WYD closing homily
FROM THE MAILBAG
VIA Javier Lopez Torres: These are some videos from WYD I have just upload in YouTube and I would to share!
The Pope in front of me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T7Wy8g4-jY
Atmosphere in Plaza Colón
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAmhP9nxbhs
At Puerta del Sol with Mexican People
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2pCgJEpOfk
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 30- "Concerning the Supreme Trinity
Among the Virtues"
3. The first can make and create all things; the
Divine mercy surrounds the second and makes it immune to disappointment;
the third does not fall, does not stop in its course and allows no respite
to him who is wounded by its blessed madness.
August 19, 2011
THE TRIB TIMES WILL
RETURN NEXT WEEK, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).
(John 16:33) These
things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the
world you shall have distress. But have confidence. I have overcome the
world.
VATICAN RADIO: Pope Benedict XVI to young people: "Know Christ personally as a friend"
I am grateful to Your Majesty for your presence together with the
Queen, and for the kind and deferential words with which you welcomed
me, reviving in me the unforgettable gestures of kindness which I
received during my previous Apostolic Journeys to Spain, and most
particularly during my recent Visit to Santiago de Compostela and
Barcelona. I greet very cordially those of you gathered here at
Barajas and those of you following this event on radio and
television. A very grateful greeting also goes to those who, with
such commitment and dedication, from the ecclesiastical and civil
spheres, have contributed with their efforts and work so that this
World Youth Day in Madrid might unfold well and bring forth abundant
fruits.
With all my heart I also wish to recognize the hospitality so many
families, parishes, schools and other institutions which have welcomed
young people from all over the world, firstly in various regions and
cities of Spain, and now in the great cosmopolitan and welcoming city
of Madrid.
I have come here to meet thousands of young people from all over the
world, Catholics committed to Christ searching for the truth that will
give real meaning to their existence. I come as the Successor of
Peter, to confirm them all in the faith, with days of intense pastoral
activity, proclaiming that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the
life; to motivate the commitment to build up the Kingdom of God in the
world among us; to exhort young people to and so, rooted in his person,
to become faithful followers and valiant witnesses. Why has this
multitude of young people come to Madrid? While they
themselves should give the reply, it may be supposed that they wish to
hear the word of God, as the motto for this World Youth Day proposed to
them, in such a way that, rooted and built upon Christ, they may
manifest the strength of their faith.
Many of them have heard the voice of God, perhaps only as a little
whisper, which has led them to search for him more diligently and to
share with others the experience of the force which he has in their
lives. The discovery of the living God inspires young people and
opens their eyes to the challenges of the world in which they live,
with its possibilities and limitations. They see the prevailing
superficiality, consumerism and hedonism, the widespread banalization
of sexuality, the lack of solidarity, the corruption. They know
that, without God, it would be hard to confront these challenges and to
be truly happy, and thus pouring out their enthusiasm in the attainment
of an authentic life. But, with God beside them, they will
possess light to walk by and reasons to hope, unrestrained before their
highest ideals, which will motivate their generous commitment to build
a society where human dignity and true brotherhood are respected.
Here on this Day, they have a special opportunity to gather together
their aspirations, to share the richness of their cultures and
experiences, motivate each other along a journey of faith and life, in
which some think they are alone or ignored in their daily
existence. But they are not alone. Many people of the same
age have the same aspirations and, entrusting themselves completely to
Christ, know that they really have a future before them and are not
afraid of the decisive commitments which fulfill their entire
lives. That is why it gives me great joy to listen to them, pray
with them and celebrate the Eucharist with them. World Youth Day
brings us a message of hope like a pure and youthful breeze, with
rejuvenating scents which fill us with confidence before the future of
the Church and the world.
Of course, there is no lack of difficulties. There are tensions
and ongoing conflicts all over the world, even to the shedding of
blood. Justice and the unique value of the human person are
easily surrendered to selfish, material and ideological
interests. Nature and the environment, created by God with so
much love, are not respected. Moreover, many young people look
worriedly to the future, as they search for work, or because they have
lost their job or because the one they have is precarious or
uncertain. There are others who need help either to avoid drugs
or to recover from their use. There are even some who, because of
their faith in Christ, suffer discrimination which leads to contempt
and persecution, open or hidden, which they endure in various regions
and countries. They are harassed to give him up, depriving them
of the signs of his presence in public life, not allowing even the
mention of his holy name. But, with all my heart, I say again to
you young people: let nothing and no one take away your peace; do not
be ashamed of the Lord. He did not spare himself in becoming one
like us and in experiencing our anguish so as to lift it up to God, and
in this way he saved us.
In this regard, the young followers of Jesus must be aided to remain
firm in the faith and to embrace the beautiful adventure of proclaiming
it and witnessing to it openly with their lives. A witness that
is courageous and full of love for their brothers and sisters, resolute
and at the same time prudent, without hiding its Christian identity,
living together with other legitimate choices in a spirit of respect
while at the same time demanding due respect for one's own choices.
MORE: Pope denounces profit-at-all mentality behind economic crisis hitting Europe
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 30- "Concerning the Supreme Trinity
Among the Virtues"
2. And (as far as I can make out) I see the one
as a ray, the second as a light, the third as an orb; and in all, one radiance
and one splendour.
August 18, 2011
(Amo 8:11-12) Behold
the days come, saith the Lord, and I will send forth a famine into the
land: not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but of hearing the
word of the Lord. And they shall move from sea to sea, and from the
north to the east: they shall go about seeking the word of the Lord,
and shall not find it.
EXCERPT OPINION: Relentless attack on faith and religion
World Youth Day takes place in Madrid this week. It is estimated
that over a million people will attend, all young people, somehow
captured by the mystery of divine, and drawn towards Christ through
their faith. Here, they publicly celebrate their Catholicism,
their belonging to the Catholic Church. Here they share and live
out their faith, in the midst of like-minded individuals.
It's a wonderful opportunity for them to have a positive experience of
Church, where the truth and the goodness of the Gospel message is
proclaimed and honoured. World Youth Day is akin to an oasis
where people can be themselves, practising religious freedom, something
they can't easily do at home.
Why? Because there is a relentless attack on faith, on religion,
on the church, on people who believe. Day after day, the negative
publicity and the attacks and the awful modern-day persecution of
Christians is harder and harder to withstand. And so it's
absolutely fantastic that these young people are given the
opportunities that World Youth Day provides.
When Enda Kenny made his now famous 'attack'
on the pope, the Vatican and the Church, I'm sure he didn't mean to
disenfranchise every catholic in Ireland. After all, as the
leader of a people, the majority of which profess to be catholic, it
would have been a pretty calamitous move. Especially for a
politician, who must echo the wishes of the people he represents and
leads.
And yet, somehow, many ordinary Catholics did feel shame and
embarrassment that the Taoiseach would make such a strong attack on
something they believe in, and in attacking it, they felt he was also
attacking them, even though they share no blame for the awful
atrocities perpetrated by some of their members.
Of course, ordinary Catholics, including as Enda Kenny rightly pointed
out, ' good priests, some of them old, others struggling to keep their
humanity, even their sanity, as they work so hard, to be the keepers of
the Church's light and goodness within their parishes, communities and
the human heart' are well aware of the failings of the Church in the
past.
They are ashamed of that too, and indeed angry that it happened at
all. But they still believe in their faith, and wish to practice
it. More and more nowadays Catholics are feeling it harder to
justify their faith, and to engage in it, because they are afraid of
being tarred with the same brush, so to speak.
And maybe that brings about a whole other consideration.Can we in
Ireland survive the absence of church; a concept, as John Waters puts
it, "driven by the secular-agnosticism or secular-atheism of some of
our most vocal exponents of the defeat of Catholicism, the greatest
enemy?"
MORE FROM IRELAND: Dublin church close to 'financial collapse'
FROM THE MAILBAG
VIA Anne Lastman (http://victimsofabortion.com.au/):
I read with interest your email Tribulation Times (Mark Mallett
Landslide). As I read this current one, I can see what you say
and the prophetic voices around the world. I particularly find it
interesting that God is blamed for catastrophes, illnesses, pain
suffering and anarchy, but if humanity doesn’t believe in God, well how
can they blame Him for the events? It doesn’t make sense.
It’s the confusion created by the father of lies himself.
There is a very important scripture in Old Testament Amos 8:11 (cited
above). I think we are living these days, a famine for hearing the word
of Yahweh and if this is so it is a punishment for loss of faith and
loss of love. I think the worst thing that God can do is to leave
us to our own devices and being left to our own devices we cannot hear
“The Word and are starved for The Word,” hence the famine.
Whenever I see an image of the famine raging in Africa, and see the
skeletal images of human beings starving I am reminded of this word, it
is visible prophecy. We can see when we are not “fed” how awful
are the ravages of famine. In our day we see the behaviours
around the world not only of the young going on rampage (primitive
mentality-pack mentality) but on other issues which should have
separated us from the beastly creation but at times seem not to.
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 30- "Concerning the Supreme Trinity
Among the Virtues"
1. And now, finally, after all that we have said,
there remain these three that bind and secure the union of all: faith,
hope, and love; and the greatest of these is love, for God Himself is so
called (1 John 4: 8, 16).
August 17, 2011
(John
15:18-20)
If the world hate you, know ye that it hath hated me before you. If you
had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you
are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore
the world hateth you. Remember my word that I said to you: The servant
is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will
also persecute you. If they have kept my word, they will keep yours
also.
ACN: Spain: World Youth Day exhibition highlights Christian persecution
The persecution of Christians is being highlighted by an exhibition
which has been organised as part of World Youth Day 2011's cultural
programme.
The photographic and multimedia exhibition, Persecuted Christians
Today, takes place in the Royal Church of Jerome Saint in Madrid from
the 15th – 21st August – but a special preview was held on Friday 12th
August.
The exhibition has been organised by the international Catholic charity, Aid to the Church in Need.
Javier Fariñas, Head of Communications for ACN (Spain), said: "Many
people are surprised to find that freely living one's faith is still an
offence in many countries. "We are challenged by the incredible
testimony of people who continue living in their country, in their
home, despite hostility, violence, discrimination, ridicule or mockery
– despite everything they have to endure – because of their Christian
faith. "What would I do if I lived under the same conditions as them?"
The ACN exhibition tells the story of 15 martyrs from the last 50 years
and describes three examples of persecution which have attracted
attention in the wider media. The anti-Christian attacks took place in
Gojra in Pakistan, India's Orissa State and Tibhirine in Algeria. The
exhibition also features short audio-visual presentations on Nigeria,
China, Sudan, Cuba and Iraq.
Visitors are also encouraged to pray for persecuted Christians.
ACN's Amparo Llobet, who organised the exhibition, said: "Prayer is one
of our pillars, we want to transmit to the young people the necessity
of interceding for the rest of the Church." She added: "What we want is
to enter into dialogue with the young people so that they know us and
that they know what Aid to the Church in Need is and the various ways
they can help the Church throughout the world. "We want to sensitise
them, to awake their conscience and help them engage with the issues of
religious liberty and the persecution of the Church."
HEADLINE: Is this the time of religious persecution?
US experts call Europe the leader in growing hostility towards
religion. It is a paradox that in spite of its Christian roots the Old
World persecutes Christianity more than any other region. All in all,
Christians are persecuted in 130 countries, especially in the Middle
and the Near East where clashes between Christians and Muslims occur
regularly. Thus, several months ago a domestic quarrel resulted in the
burning of a Christian church in Egyptian Alexandria, which entailed a
series of armed conflicts in other places. The same situation can be
seen in Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan. In primordially
Christian countries persecutions of Christians are provoked by
authorities, like in Kosovo.
CNA: Iraqi Christians worry after car bomb hits third Kirkuk church
PODCAST: The Arab Spring and Middle East Christians
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 29- "Concerning Heaven on Earth"
12. But why say more? The dispassionate man no
longer lives himself, but Christ lives in him (Gal. 2:20), as he says who
fought the good fight, finished his course and kept the Faith (2 Tim. 4:7).
August 15, 2011
(Rev 12:17) And
the dragon was angry against the woman: and went to make war with the
rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God and have the
testimony of Jesus Christ.
LINK: Pastoral
Letter by H.L. Mons. Mario Grech, Bishop of Gozo, on the occasion of
the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 2011
VIA MANILLA: Feast of the Assumption of The Blessed Virgin Mary
The assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the most popular
feasts in the Catholic Church worldwide. In many Catholic
countries in Europe, this feast is a holy day of obligation.
The feast is based on a belief of the early Church that since Mary was
sinless, she was rewarded by the Lord with assumption to heaven body
and soul.
This belief was formalized into a doctrine on November 1, 1950, by Pope
Pius XII who, in a decree, declared: "We pronounce, declare, and define
it to be a divinely revealed dogma that the immaculate Mother of God,
the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life,
was assumed body and soul to heavenly glory."
Although there is no scriptural basis for this belief, the Church
believes, that through Mary's obedience and fidelity to the will of
God, she was rewarded with this special privilege of being united with
God in such a special way.
Reflecting on the Assumption of Mary, one will be led to reflect on the
life and works of Mary, our mother and model, especially on her "fiat"
to God and her service to her fellowmen. While it is true that
she was glorified by God, her glorification only reflects the original
glory that belongs only to God.
Her solidarity with the poor is in fact reflective of God's love and
concern for them. Indeed, Mary's Magnificat becomes a reality in
her life through her witnessing to the values of the Kingdom.
As we celebrate Monday her feast, we call to mind the words of the
Second Vatican Council: "In the bodily and spiritual glory which she
possesses in heaven, the Mother of Jesus continues in this present
world as the image and first flowering of the Church as she is to be
perfected in the world to come.
Likewise, Mary shines forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall
come (cf. 2 Peter 3:10), as a sign of certain hope and comfort
for the pilgrim People of God" (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church,
68).
The Assumption of Mary gives us hope that one day, we, too, shall enjoy
the glory of God in heaven. May Mary continue to guide us in this
journey of faith and life. May she show us the true path that
will lead us to God our loving Father. Amen.
MORE:
One might ask, "What difference does it make to me if Mary is in heaven
body and soul or not? What relevance does it have to my life?"
Some people claim that "life is meaningless"; others live by the
philosophy: "Eat and be merry for tomorrow you die." But God gives us a
clear and ringing answer to the contrary.
The Assumption of Mary reminds us that our final destiny is not in this
world but in heaven and that, like Mary, we will achieve this heavenly
home if we are steadfast and faithful in fulfilling our mission and
responsibilities on earth.
* * *
FULL SALVATION. Mary's Assumption is telling us, too,
that we are redeemed as complete beings, meaning, not only our souls,
but also our bodies. This is full salvation.
There has been too much preaching about "saving our souls." Religion
has become too "spiritual." But Christ did not come to save souls only;
he came to save the whole man composed of body and soul.
Now if our body will be glorified, would you use it recklessly by
indulging in excessive drinking of alcohol or taking dangerous drugs?
Would you do harm or take your own life or that of other people? Just
think of the senseless killings like the Maguindanao massacre,
tortures, hold-ups with murder.
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 29- "Concerning Heaven on Earth"
9. That soul has dispassion which is immersed in
the virtues as the passionate are in pleasures.
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