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June 29, 2002

THE TRIB TIMES WILL RETURN ON TUESDAY JULY 2, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).

CRISIS OF CONFESSION REFLECTS CRISIS OF CONFESSORS

Q: In your opinion, what is the present state of the sacrament of God´s forgiveness?

Father Fucek: We are experiencing a crisis that is especially acute in some local Churches. Because of this, the Pope's apostolic letter has special significance. It is a strong document, because it is a direct intervention of the Bishop of Rome. Now we must see how it is received by priests.

The letter, as such, does not offer any novelties from the doctrinal point of view, put it emphasizes and confirms what has already been clarified in many documents.

It stresses personal and individual confession, an integral confession, which means the remission of all grave, but also venial, sins. It is, implicitly, a call to priests, who must always be available to hear the faithful´s confession.

It is inconceivable that a priest is not available or has no time to hear confessions, because confession, together with the Eucharist, is the priest´s principal task. In the Apostolic Penitentiary, we teach confessors how to conduct themselves as fathers, friends, teachers, physicians of souls, and judges.

EXCERPT FROM CONFESSION THE BITTERSWEET SACRAMENT
By Ronald Stanley, O.P.

Whenever and wherever we truly repent for our sins and ask God to forgive us, we are immediately forgiven. God, Who is love, keeps no record of wrongs (1 Cor 12:26f). But my sins are more than just a private matter between me and God. Sin cuts me off not only from God, but from God's Church as well. In sinning I let the whole Church down, I weaken the love binding Christ's Body, the Church, together. In the sacrament of reconciliation, in exercising the Church's God-given power to forgive sins (Jn 20:23), the priest not only assures me of God's forgiveness, but acts as a representative of the Church, welcoming me back into full communion.

SEE ALSO: New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia: The Sacrament of Penance

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 9- "On remembrance of wrongs"

9. Have remembrance of wrongs and spitefulness against the demons, and be at constant enmity with your body. The flesh is an ungrateful and treacherous friend. The more you care for it, the more it injures you.

June 28, 2002

(Mat 6:31-33) So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

JAN SELLS 'AFTER DEATH' INSURANCE

Jan Lashley, that top flight insurance woman who was always winning sales awards a few years back, will be signing her latest book at Pages Bookstore in Cave Shepherd on Broad Street (Barbados) today.

This book, like the three before it, does not give tips on how to sell two million dollars in insurance for seven years straight – an achievement that earned her the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table Award.

Rather, "Talitha Koum" hints at the submissive side of a woman who was aggressive in the insurance field and tells something of the kind of insurance she is committed to sell in her days of semi-retirement.

Jan’s outlook on life changed dramatically at the peak of her career.

She went through a depression. While seeking a cure, she witnessed a miracle. “With my own two eyes I saw a woman’s deformed foot healed at a prayer meeting. I knew that Jesus was alive.”

After that, word soon got around that in meetings with her clients, Jan talked more about Jesus than about insurance. She had changed her priorities and decided to seek first the Kingdom of heaven and let the other things, like insurance contracts fall into place.

Jan, who has the gift of healing, tells friends of how she used to think she was in control of everything with her big ego until she was gripped by a fear of the future she could not control. She had everything; yet she had nothing. Peace came to her only when she turned to her Creator for help.

That is what she wants people to do – reorder their priorities and consider where they will be after death. “Will they be in eternity or will it be another place?”

"Talitha Kuom" (meaning little girl, arise) takes its title from the words attributed to Jesus when he healed the daughter of a Roman soldier, Jairus. The book, just 58 pages recounts several of Jesus recorded miracles as well as some that Jan has witnessed in her ministry.

Publication of Talitha Koum coincides with the return to Barbados of Reynard Araya Morales, a Roman Catholic priest from Florida, who also has a healing ministry.

COMMENTARY: Reflections: ‘Good old days’ are starting now

OF INTEREST: One of wounded monks returns to abbey; other improving

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 9- "On remembrance of wrongs"

8. Remembrance of wrongs is far removed from strong natural love, but fornication easily comes near it, just as a hidden louse can sometimes be seen in a dove.

June 27, 2002

(Rev 6:5-6) When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" And I saw, and behold, a black horse, and its rider had a balance in his hand; and I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; but do not harm oil and wine!"

POINT BY FALLING POINT, STOCK LOSSSES SAP ECONOMY'S SPUNK

Over the past 27 months, the nation's stock markets have lost about $5.5 trillion in value, or nearly three times what the US government spends annually. On a dollar basis, the nation's loss of wealth is greater than all the other US market declines combined.

The implications of this huge wealth shrinkage are still being felt: Business is reluctant to embark on new ventures while stock prices languish. Consumers are more restrained then a few years ago. Policymakers are watching nervously.

"This tremendous loss of wealth is a weight on the economy," says Mark Zandi of Economy.com, an economic website. "It threatens to take on a life of its own."

The market's decline has been particularly onerous the past few months as corporate scandals and bankruptcies have battered stocks. Companies worth billions are now worth millions. Even some of the mom-and-pop favorites, such as telephone stocks, are reminiscent of Depression-era prices. Most people just groan when asked about their stock holdings.

Q&A: Why falling stock markets affect you
Tokyo Shares End Down 4% Wednesday in Wake of WorldCom Accounting News
Nasdaq falls below post Sept. 11 lows
Market unravels as investors stay away
Ailing markets reflect investors' fear of diving in

ANALYSIS: Stocks in Nosedive

MORE: Eyedoctor's Site: Hoofbeats of the Black Horseman

FROM THE MAILBAG

VIA Richard: Exactly 40 years ago the Supreme Court banned voluntary school prayer. Now the Pledge of Allegiance has been ruled unconstitutional. What's left?

In Remembrance of School Prayer
Pledge of Allegiance Ruled Unconstitutional

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 9- "On remembrance of wrongs"

7. I have seen hatred break the bond of long-standing fornication, and afterwards remembrance of wrongs, in an amazing way, did not allow the severed union to be renewed. Wonderful sight- a demon curing a demon! But perhaps this is the work not of demons but of Divine providence.

June 26, 2002

POPE JOHN PAUL II: "Today I would like to entrust in a special way to the merciful heart of Jesus all those who live in the Holy Land: Jews, Christians and Muslims. That Heart that, burdened with insult, never nourished sentiments of hatred and vengeance, but asked for forgiveness for his executioners, that Heart shows the only way to emerge from the spiral of violence: the way of pacification of spirits, of reciprocal understanding and reconciliation."

TERROR TAKES ENORMOUS TOLL IN ISRAEL

Since January 2002, about 225 Israeli citizens have been killed in terrorist attacks, suicide bombings or shooting rampages targeting innocent civilians at home, on buses, on city streets, at weddings, in discos or pizzerias. Living with the fear and pain of terror has become a part of daily life for Israelis in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Netanya and in neighborhoods in the West Bank and Gaza.

One of every 26,392 Israelis has been killed in a terrorist attack in the past six months. The same ratio applied to the populat ion of the United States would equate to 10,888 American citizens. That's more than three times the number of people killed in the September 11 attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and aboard United Airlines Flight 93.

ANALYSIS: How can Israel find security?

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A MOTHER'S BLESSING TO KILL AND BE KILLED
Palestinian Treated as Celebrity for Backing Son's Plan to Raid Israeli Settlement

Mariam Farahat interrupted the somber greetings offered by a visitor. "I don't want condolences, I want congratulations," she said. "I encouraged my son to sacrifice himself. It is a victory."

She was speaking of her firstborn, Mohammed, 19, who was killed in March during a one-man raid on an Israeli settlement in the southern Gaza Strip. Armed with an assault rifle and grenades, Mohammed killed five students at a military school for religious Jews and wounded 23 other settlers at Gush Katif before he was gunned down.

Although most parents of the dead are in the dark -- or at least feign ignorance -- about their offspring's activities, Farahat said she was in on Mohammed's plans from the beginning. She gave him moral support and has the videotape to prove it.

The video, recently beamed throughout the Middle East on Arabic-language television, has made Farahat a celebrity. She has taken on the name Um Nidal, Mother of Struggle. Arab reporters flock to her door (when she is not in hiding, for fear of Israeli reprisals). Her stand in the face of a son's death is a topic of conversation in Palestinian cities already infused with the glorification of death.

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 9- "On remembrance of wrongs"

6. A banquet of love dispels hatred, and sincere gifts soothe a soul. But a heedless banquet is the mother of familiarity; and through the window of love gluttony leaps in.

June 25, 2002

(Luk 21:31-33) So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

POPE URGES HELP FOR QUAKE VICTIMS IN IRAN

Pope John Paul II sent his prayers to the victims of the earthquake in northwestern Iran on Sunday and called for a generous international response in the relief effort.

The Roman Catholic Leader made the comments in his weekly appearance in St. Peter's Square, as well as in a message of condolence sent to Iranian officials via the Vatican's apostolic nunciature in Tehran.

"I raise to the Lord fervent prayers for the victims, for their families and for all who are suffering," John Paul told the faithful and tourists gathered under a scorching sun in St. Peter's square.

"I encourage the rescue work and hope for a quick and generous response of international solidarity to this serious situation," he said.

DISASTERS IN THE HEADLINES

Russian Floods Kill 53, Many More Missing
Massive Wildfires Merge, Move Toward East Arizona Town
Rising river threatens NW Minnesota
Poor African harvests threaten famine for millions
Hundreds killed in Tanzania train crash

NEW TIME MAGAZINE COVER STORY: Apocalypse Now

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 9- "On remembrance of wrongs"

5. He who has obtained love has banished revenge; but he who nurses enmities stores up for himself untimely labours.

June 22, 2002

THE TRIB TIMES WILL RETURN ON TUESDAY JUNE 25, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).

A LOOK BACK AT THE CANONIZATION OF SAINT PIO

BIG CROWD AT VATICAN AS PADRE PIO MADE SAINT

Before one of the largest crowds ever to fill the Vatican area, Pope John Paul on Sunday made a saint of Padre Pio, a 20th century mystic monk who is said to have borne the bleeding wounds of Christ.

In sweltering heat topping 91 degrees F in the shade, hundreds of thousands of people from around the world thronged St. Peter's Square and all the streets in the vicinity for the ceremony in front of Christendom's largest church.

Italian civil protection squads distributed about one million bottles of water and firemen hosed down the crowd to bring some cool relief.

Cheers and applause went up in Rome and throughout Italy when the 82-year-old Pope, wearing gold and white vestments, proclaimed Pio, who was born in the southern Italian city of Pietrelcina, a saint.

"We include the blessed Pio of Pietrelcina in the annals of saints and we establish that throughout the whole Church he be devotedly honored among the saints," the Pope said, reading a Latin formula in a trembling voice.

EWTN SPECIAL REPORT ON PADRE PIO

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 9- "On remembrance of wrongs"

4. He who has put a stop to anger has also destroyed remembrance of wrongs; because childbirth continues only while the father is alive.

June 21, 2002

GLOBE-TROTTING POPE DEFIES DOUBTERS

Pope John Paul II will visit Mexico and Guatemala in July as planned, the Vatican has confirmed. The statement came after reports that the ailing pontiff would call off the visits after a six-day tour of Canada.

The pontiff heads for Toronto on 23 July. He will then make the five-hour flight from Toronto to Guatemala on 29 July for the canonisation of Pedro de San Jose de Betancur, a 17th century Spanish-born priest who founded a hospital for the poor.

The following day, John Paul II will make the two-hour hop to Mexico City, where he will canonise the Aztec Indian Juan Diego, who had several visions of the Virgin Mary in 1531. Juan Diego will be the 464th saint to be canonised by the current pope, who has created more saints than any of his predecessors in the Church's nearly 2,000-year history.

MORE: Pope to Forge Ahead with 10-Day Trip to Americas

CHURCH BANS CULT 'MIRACLE WORKER'

He says the Virgin Mary speaks to him on the 13th of each month at 3pm, that he is destined to be the last Pope and can "cure" the deaf and blind. From his compound at Cambewarra, outside Nowra, William Kamm – known to followers as The Little Pebble – has spent the past 20 years chronicling his visions for the future and running a worldwide religious sect linking itself to the Catholic Church.

After a four-year investigation involving the Vatican, the church yesterday officially outlawed Mr Kamm's Order of St Charbel. The decree orders the cult to disband and Mr Kamm to stop linking his order to the church, which finds most of its practices and Mr Kamm's supernatural prophecies "offensive". Mr Kamm, who claims the Virgin Mary gave him the name Little Pebble to protect his real identity, has grown his order to 500,000 members in 160 countries.

Wollongong bishop Peter Ingham said yesterday the sect had sparked family breakdowns on the south coast and had been the target of the church for nearly two decades. The sect's teachings were "false, harmful and contrary to the Catholic Church", Bishop Ingham said. "If Mr Kamm considers himself a loyal Catholic, he would not want to operate outside the church or encourage others to do so." Three successive bishops have tried to shut the sect since 1984. After issuing the decree, the church has now taken the rare step of setting up a phone service to counsel members of the cult, which include more than 300 people at the 100ha Cambewarra property as well as communities in Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.

(Mat 7:15-20) "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits.

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 9- "On remembrance of wrongs"

3. This dark and hateful passion, I mean remembrance of wrongs, is one of those that are produced but have no offspring. That is why we do not intend to say much about it.

June 20, 2002

POPE ISSUES STRONG CONDEMNATION OF TERROR ATTACK

Pope John Paul II decried the Palestinian suicide bombing that killed 19 Israelis, delivering one of his strongest condemnations Wednesday of those who plan "such barbarous attacks."

"The dramatic news of the attack that yesterday sowed terror and death in Jerusalem cannot but bring the most absolute condemnation from everyone," John Paul told thousands of pilgrims and tourists at his weekly general audience.

"For the umpteenth time I repeat that those who plot and plan such barbarous attacks will have to answer before God," the pope said. The bombing on a city bus packed with commuters and students was claimed by Hamas, the Islamic group.

The pope asked for prayers to "change hearts and inspire thoughts of peace and mutual pardon."

RELATED HEADLINES

Suicide Bombing Kills 7 in Israel
Jerusalem Explosion Leaves 20 Dead
Hizbollah Rockets Set Off Fire in Israeli Town
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More Hispanics are embracing Islam
Religious Leaders Search for Peace

MORE: Mideast Suicide Bombings at a Glance

FAITH PULLS U.S. CHRISTIANS IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS OVER MIDEAST

Having watched TV coverage of Palestinians scaling walls to get to work and enduring beatings at the hands of Israeli soldiers, Lois Gode felt a Christian calling this spring to go explore prospects for leading tours where Israeli F-16s had been dropping bombs by night.

"I'm a person who cannot stand injustice," says Gode, a Benton City, Mo. homemaker. "All this has to do with greed and taking land away from people by whatever means they can get it."

At the same time this spring, other Christians from the American heartland were at the Sea of Galilee singing in four-part harmony at the enshrined site where Jesus delivered his Sermon on the Mount. Though these bearded men and head-covered women share Gode's faith, they had braved an environment of daily suicide bombings to answer a contrary calling: encourage Israel in an hour of need.

"Jerusalem is suffering," says Galen Bowman of Old German Baptist Brethren Church in Belkite, Ind. "We're trying to help out. We need to support Israel" as visitors, he says, because Israel is God's way of preparing the Messiah's return.

As war in the Holy Land rages on, American Christians claim a greater stake in the situation as they strive to understand dynamics behind the news and to take moral stands. But the more informed they get, the more they part company along perennial fault lines of biblical interpretation and the role of politics in faithfulness. They feel increasingly invested in the conflict as denominational leaders frame it in moral and theological terms.

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 9- "On remembrance of wrongs"

2. Remembrance of wrongs is the consummation of anger, the keeper of sins, hatred of righteousness, ruin of virtues, poison of the soul, worm of the mind, shame of prayer, cessation of supplication, estrangement of love, a nail stuck in the soul, pleasureless feeling cherished in the sweetness of bitterness, continuous sin, unsleeping transgression, hourly malice.

June 19, 2002

NICKELODEON SPECIAL ON GAY PARENTS IGNITES STORM

Nickelodeon is going ahead with a children's special about same-sex parents, despite receiving so many e-mails that the network had to create a separate address to avoid a computer crash.

The half-hour report, produced by Linda Ellerbee and featuring Rosie O'Donnell, includes comments from the Rev. Jerry Falwell -- who later joined conservative activists in urging Nickelodeon not to air it.

The network received 100,000 e-mails and phone calls to protest the program, which was set to air at 9 p.m. EDT Tuesday (6/18).

The Washington-based Traditional Values Coalition has spearheaded the campaign against "Nick News Special Edition: My Family is Different," sight unseen. "It is a cover for promoting homosexuality for kids," said Andrea Lafferty, the coalition's executive director.

Nickelodeon said that's not so. Ellerbee, in the show's introduction, says, "The following program is about tolerance ... It is not about sex. It does not tell you what to think."

O'Donnell's public acknowledgment that she is a lesbian put the subject in the news, Ellerbee said. The former talk-show host has adopted three children.

Lafferty said advertisers wouldn't touch the show; Scannell said the plan was always to be commercial-free. Some other Ellerbee shows, including the Clinton discussion and one about AIDS, also contained no ads.

OF INTEREST: Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons via Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 9- "On remembrance of wrongs"

1. The holy virtues are like Jacob's ladder, and the unholy vices are like the chains that fell from the chief Apostle Peter. For the virtues, leading from one to another, bear him who chooses them up to Heaven; but the vices by their nature beget and stifle one another. And as we have just heard senseless anger calling remembrance of wrongs its own offspring, it is appropriate that we should now say something about this.

June 13, 2002

THE TRIB TIMES WILL RETURN ON WEDNESDAY JUNE 19, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Pope Paul VI on Padre Pio: “Look what fame he had.... But why?... Because he said Mass humbly, heard confessions from dawn to dusk and was ... the one who bore the wounds of our Lord. He was a man of prayer and suffering.”

RECORD CROWDS EXPECTED FOR PADRE PIO CANONIZATION

Blessed Padre Pio da Pietralcina's canonization looks set to go down in Rome's history as one of its largest religious ceremonies. Ahead of his canonization, Rome's civil authorities said they were expecting about 400,000 pilgrims but had contingency plans in place for as many as 600,000. Some estimates went as high as 800,000, according to an official in the U.S. bishops' office for Rome visitors.

Spiritual and logistical preparations for the June 16 event were reminiscent of those for the liturgical megagatherings that were a hallmark of the jubilee year 2000.

But perhaps reflecting confidence born from their hard-won jubilee experience, civic leaders seemed virtually nonchalant about the expected influx of hundreds of thousands of people for the ceremony. Not even generalized concerns about post-Sept. 11 terrorist threats seemed to worry them.

"With a saint protector like Padre Pio, (we have) no fear," said Emilio Del Mese, Rome's top law-and-order official.

PADRE PIO AND GARABANDAL

Normally when he was asked about certain matters, such as unapproved apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary which were being reported from all over the world, Padre Pio, who knew by revelation from Our Lady which were true and which were not, would normally, instead of answering yes or no, refer the people to the Church authorities in the locale of the alleged events, in whose power the ultimate approval or condemnation of the reported apparition lay. Nonetheless, there was one Apparition that Padre Pio did not hesitate to affirm was genuine: GARABANDAL, SPAIN. He recommended pilgrims to make visits there, but always to obey the local Bishop first, because local Church officials were very negative about the events being of Divine Origin.

Nonetheless, on March 3, 1962, the four visionaries of Garabandal received a letter from Padre Pio in which he told them: "They do not believe in you, or in your dialogues with the Lady in White. They will believe you when it is too late." Before he died in 1968, Padre Pio ordered that one of his blood-stained gloves, his Rosary, and one of the three veils that would cover his face during his wake be given to CONCHITA GONZALEZ, the principal visionary of Garabandal. These requests were fulfilled and Conchita now has these preserved in her home in New York.

MORE: Garabandal- The Padre Pio Connection
SEE ALSO: Padre Pio saw the Miracle

RELATED: http://www.Godswarning.com

Padre Pio's Promise: "....I will stand at the gates of Heaven but will not go through them until all my spiritual children have entered".

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 8- "On Freedom from Anger and on Meekness"

19. It is bad to disturb the eye of the heart by anger, according to him who said: 'Through wrath is mine eye become troubled' (Ps. 6:8). But it is still worse to show in words the turmoil of the soul. And to come to blows is utterly inimical and alien to the monastic, angelic and divine life.

June 12, 2002

(Mat 9:37-38) Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

A FEW VERY GOOD MEN
Priest Recruiter Bill Parent Is Looking for Those Who Have Seen the Light

Pope John Paul II calls the shortage of priests "one of the pivotal problems of the church in America," and has urged prayer and greater recruitment efforts. At the same time, he warns that the church must not "expect less and settle for a mediocre formation and spirituality."

There were 50 million Catholics and 55,000 active priests in the United States in 1960, according to Scott Appleby, director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame. Today there are 65 million Catholics and 35,000 active priests.

The current scandals, he believes, may "throw a wet blanket on recruiting if priests are afraid to develop friendships with young men. On the other hand, if the church is perceived to be in a state of siege…it could lead to a new wave of young men stepping forward to serve."

Indeed, Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, archbishop of Washington, says he finds "young men today saying, 'Okay, this is the time to put my life on the line because of what's happened.' They're coming in to save the priesthood. They see the Lord really needs them to help pick up the pieces."

The Rev. Robert Panke, the Catholic chaplain at George Washington University says he's seen the same thing. "In the month or two after the scandals broke, I had more guys expressing an interest in the priesthood than I'd had in the previous nine months."

FROM THE MAILBAG

June 10, 2002
Reflection by Father Ted, Catholic Chaplain - San Francisco General Hospital

My Lord Jesus, what can I say to You on this the 41st anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood?

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

Thank You for the privilege of sharing in Your Priesthood.

You gave to me this gift because of the prayers of my mother and many others.

You gave this gift to me for the benefit of others.

In offering to me this gift, You have called me to a very deep and intimate relationship with You.

You have called me, as You have called all of my brother priests, to become "Alter Christus" - that is, another You.

I have been called to die to myself and to live only for You.

To do this, is humanly impossible.

You know this. Now I know this.

That is why You have given to me, and to all of my brothers who share in Your Priesthood in this sacramental way, the power of the Holy Spirit.

We are to live under His influence each and every moment of each and every day.

Yet, You know that I have not done so.

At times I have been living for myself – and not for You.

But in Your great Divine Mercy, You have called me back - You have corrected me in my selfish behavior.

Thank You for Your Divine Mercy.

Now help me to live each day, to live each moment of each day as You want.

You let me start this day well.

I was able to visit You in the Most Blessed Sacrament - to adore You and to pray.

You allowed me during this holy time - to pray the first part of the Divine Office, which responsibility You gave to me and to all my brother priests on the day of our ordination to either the Sub-diaconate or to the Diaconate. You permitted me to pray the Office of Readings and then Morning Prayers.

Then You permitted me to offer Mass with the Missionaries of Charity in their chapel in Pacifica.

I offered the Mass for my classmates - both living and deceased - both still in the active ministry and who have left the active ministry. For You want all of us to become holy men - saints for Your Kingdom.

You have also allowed me to persevere in deepening my relationship with Your Mother Whom You have given to me to be my mother as well - through praying the Rosary.

Thank You again for letting me become "Another You" by being ordained on this 10th day of June in 1961.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

Holy Mary, Queen of the Clergy, pray for me, and for my brothers, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 8- "On Freedom from Anger and on Meekness"

14. If the Holy Spirit is peace of soul, as He is said to be an as He is in reality, and if anger is disturbance of heart, as it actually is and as it is said to be, then nothing so prevents His presence in us as anger.

June 11, 2002

(Jud 1:16-19) These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own passions, loud-mouthed boasters, flattering people to gain advantage. But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; they said to you, "In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions." It is these who set up divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.

HEADLINES IN A WORLD RUN AMUCK

Pensioner kills two in monastery shooting
Maryland Dad Charged With Killing Kids
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U.N. CALLS ON LEADERS TO END HUNGER

Against the backdrop of possible famine in southern Africa and debate over genetically modified foods, delegates at the U.N. World Food Summit called Monday for governments to make good on pledges to end world hunger.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan opened the summit by urging greater access for the world's farmers to land, credit, markets and technology – including the means to grow more resistant crops.

"There is no shortage of food on the planet," Annan told delegates at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. "But while some countries produce more than they need to feed their people, others do not, and many of these cannot afford to import enough to make up the gap."

The summit is expected to conclude Thursday with a declaration recommitting governments to promises to cut hunger they made in 1996 at the first food summit.

During that meeting, delegates pledged to reduce the number of hungry people in the world from 800 million to 400 million by 2015. Today, the number of people without enough to eat, however, remains at 800 million.

The Pope, in a message read to the summit on his behalf, said the reasons that the 1996 goals hadn't been met were due to inertia, selfishness "and to international relations often shaped by pragmatism devoid of ethical and moral grounds."

RELATED: World Hunger Facts and Figures

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 8- "On Freedom from Anger and on Meekness"

13. It is a mark of extreme meekness, even in the presence of one's offender, to be peacefully and lovingly disposed towards him in one's heart, then it is certainly a mark of hot temper when a person continues to quarrel and rage against his offender, both by words and gestures, even when by himself.

June 8, 2002

THE TRIB TIMES WILL RETURN ON TUESDAY JUNE 11, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).

(Luk 2:51) And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.

DEVOTION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

Devotion to the immaculate Heart of Mary is primarily based upon the Sacred Scriptures. In the New 'testament, there are two references to the Heart of Mary in the Gospel according to St. Luke: ..Mary treasured all these things and reflected on them in her heart. " (Lk 2: 19) and " His mother meanwhile kept all these things in her heart. " (Lk 2:51 ) In the Old Testament, the heart is seen as the symbol of the depths of the human soul, the center of its choices and commitments. For all mankind, it is a symbol of love. In the Book of Deuteronomy we are told, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Dt. 6:5) When Our Lord Jesus Christ was asked by the scribes which was the first commandment, he answered them by quoting this verse to them (see Mk. 12:29-31) .

It was the Heart of Mary which expressed her "yes" to God. .['his was her response to the message sent through the angel at the Annunciation. By her loving consent, Mary first conceived Christ in her heart and then in her womb. Our Lord Jesus, Himself: when reminded by a woman in the crowd how blessed was the womb which gave birth to Him, responds, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it." (Lk. 11 :28) Pope John Paul II , in his first encyclical, REDEMPTOR HOMINIS, wrote "the mystery of Redemption was formed under the heart of the Virgin of Nazareth when she pronounced her "fiat" (R.H. #22).

In 1942, the twenty-fifth anniversary of Fatima, Pope Pius XII consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. That same year, he assigned the feast day to August 22, the octave of the Assumption. On May 4, 1944, he extended the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to the Universal Church. With the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council in 1969, the feast was given a more suitable place on the day following the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. That is the Saturday after the second Sunday after Pentecost.

The opening prayer for the liturgical celebration helps us focus on the important message of this feast day. God prepared the heart of Mary as a fitting home tor the Holy Spirit. May we, His chosen people become temples of His glory. We ask Mary to help us- her spiritual children, so dear to her heart, to stay ever united in friendship with her Son and never separate ourselves by sin.

LAST WORD- Much of the damage done to Catholic piety can be traced to a failure to appreciate the power of symbols by Rev. Peter Stravinskas

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 8- "On Freedom from Anger and on Meekness"

12. Nothing is so inappropriate to those repenting as a spirit agitated by anger, because conversion requires great humility, and anger is a sign of every kind of presumption.

June 7, 2002

(Mt 11:25-26) At that time Jesus exclaimed: "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will".

WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR SANCTIFICATION OF PRIESTS

The Feast of the Sacred Heart has been designated as a world day of prayer for the sanctification of priests.

In a letter to priests Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy, called for the renewal of the experience of God´s mercy in their lives in order to rediscover their priestly identity.

He advised that all priests should receive the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist frequently. Without the sacraments, he said: "we will find ourselves increasingly submerged in the night, in a confused ethical darkness, in spiritual impotence in face of a wave of evil that would run the risk of drowning us."

The Cardinal's letter advises all priests to transform their lives by experiencing Divine Mercy, the devotion promoted by St Faustina Kowalska.

REDISCOVER FEAST OF SACRED HEART, JOHN PAUL II TELLS YOUTH

John Paul II called on youth to rediscover one of the Church´s most profound feasts, that of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which will be celebrated Friday. The Holy Father said it is a special occasion to penetrate "the mystery of divine love for people of all times."

At the end of his general audience, held in St. Peter´s Square in the presence of 12,000 faithful, the Pope addressed youth in particular, with an invitation: "Prepare yourselves in the school of the Heart of Christ to face with confidence the commitments that await you."

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 8- "On Freedom from Anger and on Meekness"

11. An angy person is a willing epileptic, who due to an involuntary tendency keeps convulsing and falling down.

June 6, 2002

SUICIDE CAR BOMB KILLS AT LEAST 16 IN ISRAEL

A Palestinian suicide bomber blew up a car packed with explosives next to a bus in northern Israel on Wednesday, killing at least 16 people in a major setback to international peace efforts.

The attack marked a change in tactics by militant groups, whose usual method in the past has been to send suicide bombers with less powerful explosive belts strapped to their own bodies. It followed two days of talks between U.S. CIA Director George Tenet and Palestinian and Israeli leaders.

The blast claimed the highest number of Israeli casualties since the end early last month of a crushing six-week Israeli offensive through the West Bank launched in response to a wave of suicide bombings.

The militant Palestinian group Islamic Jihad said it carried out the bombing near Megiddo, the Hebrew name for Armageddon, on the 35th anniversary of the 1967 Middle East war in which Israel seized the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

HOLY FATHER'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR JUNE

The Holy Father's general intention for the month of June is: "That the leaders and members of different religions may cooperate in their search for world peace, based on conversion of hearts and brotherly dialogue."

The Holy Father's mission intention for the month of June is: "That the lay faithful, in virtue of their Baptism, may strive with all their strength to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world in their own environments."

FROM THE MAILBAG:

There is a special gift of Peace that Our Lady can give each one of us in these times of turmoil.

Picture you are sitting with Our Lady in her Rose Garden in Heaven and just let the Peace envelop you.

Do you smell the roses? Is that water I hear or a soft whisper? Can I hold your Baby's hand?

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 8- "On Freedom from Anger and on Meekness"

10. As a hard stone with sharp corners has ll its sharpness and hard formation dulled by knocking and rubbing against other stones, and is made round, so in the same way, a sharp and curt soul, by living in community and mixing with hard, hot-tempered men, undergoes one of two things: either it cures its wound by its patience, or by retiring it will certainly discover its weakness, its cowardly flight making this clear to it as in a mirror.

June 5, 2002

WASHINGTON POST: "At least 225 priests of more than 46,000 across the country have either been dismissed from their duties or resigned since the scandal began."

EDITOR'S COMMENT: Mathematically then, greater than 99.5% of the priesthood has remained untainted by this scandal.

Reminds me of the Proctor & Gamble ads for Ivory soap: "Ivory Soap is 99 44/100 percent pure".

Hmmm. Maybe the headline in the Washington Post article should have read: "The Catholic Priesthood in America: Purer than Ivory Soap!".

OF INTEREST: Rare colleagues: Son joins father as Roman Catholic priest

CATHOLIC COMMITTEE ISSUES GUIDELINES ON SEXUAL ABUSE

The Roman Catholic Church should defrock any priest who sexually abuses a child in the future, and those who molested one time in the past could continue in the ministry under certain conditions, a church panel recommended Tuesday.

Under the plan, clergymen who victimized more than one child in the past also would be removed and all such violations would have to be reported to authorities. The committee's plan contains apologies to victims and emphasizes the bishops' commitment to reform.

"The sexual abuse of children and young people by some priests and bishops, and the ways in which these crimes and sins were too often dealt with by bishops, have caused enormous pain, anger and confusion," the panel wrote.

"We are profoundly sorry for the times when we have deepened its pain by what we have done or by what we have failed to do."

A senior Vatican official said the Vatican is not preparing a public response to the committee's recommendation, as it will await decisions by the full bishops assembly at the Dallas meeting. Those decisions will then be sent to the Vatican for approval.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is struggling to balance the rights of victims and accused priests in a policy meant to restore trust in the church, which has been under siege for months over how prelates have handled clerical sexual misconduct.

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 8- "On Freedom from Anger and on Meekness"

9. And we ought not to forget, my friends, that the wicked demons sometimes suddenly leave us, so that we may neglect our strong passions as of little importance, and then become incurably sick.

June 4, 2002

"Whatever occurs within or near us, occurs with the knowledge and permission of God. And because God is infinitely good, He permits no evil that can only end in evil. Therefore, if a soul is possessed of good will, in accord with God's will, it can be at peace, for all will finish well." -- St. Maximilian Kolbe

ARCHBISHOP TURNS FOCUS TO BLESSINGS

They came on foot, walker and in at least one case a wheelchair adorned with a Jesus and Mary plaque to support the Miami archbishop as he grapples with the growing allegations against his priests.

On a balmy Saturday night the backbone of South Florida's Catholic community gathered at the James L. Knight International Center in Miami. Hispanic Catholics filled most of the auditorium for the 40th annual Cursillo Movement under this rallying cry:

"There is an ongoing campaign against religion and the Catholic Church in particular," read the invitation. "All of us, united, must rally in support of our beliefs and our leaders defending the truth."

While Archbishop John Favalora admitted earlier this week that the church had fallen short of caring for the children, at the downtown Miami event it was clear the archbishop wanted to focus on the church's blessings, not its problems. His audience obliged, giving Favalora a standing ovation when he thanked the "wonderful priests."

"I thank you for being faithful, faithful Catholics in your everyday life," he said to the audience, as an enormous gold cross hung above his head against a blood red curtain.

Favalora told the crowd that the faithful "will live forever," never be spiritually hungry, or cowed by current events. "We shouldn't stand in fear of what happened on Sept. 11, the stock market crashing or the scandals in the church," he said. "[Jesus] is with you."

MORE: Our Beloved Priest

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Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 8- "On Freedom from Anger and on Meekness"

8. There is a quick movement of a millstone which, in one moment, grinds and does away with more spiritual grain and fruit than another crushes in a whole day. And so we must pay attention with understanding. It is possible to have such a blaze of flame, suddenly fanned by a strong wind, as will ruin the field of the heart more than a lingering flame.

June 1, 2002

THE TRIB TIMES WILL RETURN ON TUESDAY JUNE 4, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).

(Phi 2:9-11) Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

VENEZUELEN DANCERS CELEBRATE CORPUS CHRISTI

The Devil Dancers of Yare festival, which began Thursday, is this coastal town's unorthodox way of commemorating Corpus Christi, the Roman Catholic holiday celebrating the transformation of the body and blood of Christ into the bread and wine the faithful receive at Communion.

The dance symbolizes the eternal struggle between good and evil. It originated in southern Spain in the fifth century, when the Catholic church used a version of the dance to convert pagans.

In Venezuela, the tradition dates to 1740, when liberal priests used it to include slaves of African origin - who were not permitted to worship in the same church as their white masters - into church celebrations. Venezuela abolished slavery 1854, but descendants of slaves in San Francisco de Yare have preserved the tradition.

After dancing all day, the dancers drop their masks and kneel to receive the blessing of the region's bishop, Monsignor Ovidio Perez Morales. The motion symbolizes the triumph of good over evil.

FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI

A feast for the world

Corpus Christi is a time to reflect again on those words. It is not a matter of all belonging to the same club – like the United Nations – which confers upon all members a similar status. Rather it is matter of believing that if Jesus is really present in the Eucharist, then the same Christ Jesus who is in me is also in the others who received Him. He is the same Christ Jesus who is in all those who ever received Him, going all the way back to the Upper Room on Holy Thursday. Corpus Christi is not, then, just a feast for the Church; it is also a feast for the world, for it offers to the world a unity and fraternity – a conviviality – that the world desires but cannot achieve.

The feast of Corpus Christi- Blessed Josemaria

The Corpus Christi procession makes Christ present in towns and cities throughout the world. But his presence cannot be limited to just one day, a noise you hear and then forget. It should remind us that we have to discover our Lord in our ordinary everyday activity. Side by side with this solemn procession, there is the simple, silent procession of the ordinary life of each Christian. He is a man among men, who by good fortune has received the faith and the divine commission to act so that he renews the message of our Lord on earth. We are not without defects; we make mistakes and commit sins. But God is with us and we must make ourselves ready to be used by him, so that he can continue to walk among men. (Christ is Passing By, 156)

Going to Communion every day for so many years! Anybody else would be a saint by now, you told me, and I, I'm always the same!
Son, I replied, keep up your daily Communion, and think: what would I be if I had not gone? (The Way, 534)

Have you ever thought how you would prepare yourself to receive Our Lord if you could go to Communion only once in your life?
We must be thankful to God that he makes it so easy for us to come to him: but we should show our gratitude by preparing ourselves to receive him very well. (The Forge, 828)

Fr. Frank Pavone RealAudio Homily for Feast of Corpus Christi
The Feast of Corpus Christi-Illustrations, Theology, Liturgy, and Prayers
Father John Sandell- Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 8- "On Freedom from Anger and on Meekness"

7. Some who are prone to anger are neglectful of the healing and cure of this passion. But these unhappy people do not give a thought to him who said: 'The moment of his anger is his fall.' (Eccl 1:22).

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