Keep your eyes open!...





 

October 31, 2019  

(Rom 8:35-39) Who then shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation? Or distress? Or famine? Or nakedness? Or danger? Or persecution? Or the sword? (As it is written: For thy sake, we are put to death all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.) But in all these things we overcome, because of him that hath loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor might, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

ON HALLOWEEN

It's Time for Catholics to Embrace Halloween
All Hallows Eve (Halloween) in the Traditional, Pre-1955 Liturgical Books
Souling for cakes and beer: The Catholic tradition of trick-or-treating on Halloween

PODCAST- The Catholic Origins of Halloween

In this episode of The Catholic Talk Show, the guys talk about the true Catholic origins of Halloween including Trick-or-Treating, Costumes, Jack-o-Lanterns, and more!

In this episode, you will learn:
 
• The Catholic meaning of the name “Halloween”
• How Catholic Piety led to the tradition of Trick-or-Treating
• Why does Halloween fall on October 31st?
• How a tale about tricking the devil led to pumpkin carving
• How medieval processions led to Halloween costumes
• The medieval recipe that became the first Halloween candy
• and much more!

VATICAN NEWS: Head of the Apostolic Penitentiary: “Let us run to the confessional in these holy days!”

Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary, on Tuesday, released a letter to all the faithful on the occasion of the Solemnity of All Saints and the Commemoration of the faithful departed.

The Apostolic Penitentiary is one of the tribunals of the Roman Curia, whose field of jurisdiction is mainly the lifting of excommunications, dispensations for sacramental impediments, and the issuance and governance of indulgences. For this reason, the Penitentiary is called “a tribunal of mercy”, responsible for the forgiveness of sins.

All Saints and All Souls

The upcoming holy days will take place on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, the Solemnity of All Saints, the Church here on earth remembers all those holy men and women who are now in the presence of God, the Church Triumphant, and asks for their intercession on our behalf.

On Saturday, it is the Church on earth which intercedes on behalf of all the faithful departed, those who died in Christ and are being purified so as to join the heavenly choirs of angels and saints, and who can benefit from our prayers and good works.

“The Church of the Trinity”

In order to more fully understand this mystery, Cardinal Piacenza begins his letter by asking “what – or better still – who is the Church?”. He reminds the readers that the Church is always the “Church of the Trinity”, which is why we cannot fail to remember her heavenly dimension, and that in Christ we find ourselves “embracing our saved brothers and sisters who have left this world.” “This is the reality conveyed by the upcoming liturgies” the Cardinal said, expressing his wish that “driven by our affectionate remembrance of our dearly departed” we may all draw on the “inexhaustible treasure of Communion”, as well as contributing with our personal prayer, penitence and works of mercy.

The treasure of the Church’s mercy

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines indulgences as “a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven”. “Temporal punishment” is a consequence of sin, and not the same as “eternal punishment”, but nevertheless it requires purification before entering heaven.

Despite the disrepute into which they fell after the Protestant Reformation, Cardinal Piacenza said that indulgences express the “drawing of the treasure of the Church’s mercy”, and reminded the faithful that they are applicable to both the living and the dead.

The same treasure of mercy is expressed in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. “Let us go, indeed let us run to the confessional in these holy days!” was the Cardinal’s encouragement, and with it a plea to all confessors to show a generous availability to all those who wish to implore the Divine Mercy, and by so doing also strengthen their faith.

Spiritual renewal

Cardinal Piacenza pointed out the many opportunities in the days ahead “of consolation, of encouragement, and of the drying of tears”, hoping that these occasions would help us understand what it means to be on a “daily pilgrimage”, and so experience a spiritual renewal.

Asking the faithful to “open their hearts to the gifts of the Holy Spirit”, he entrusted the Church to “the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, Queen of all the Saints and Gate of Heaven”, asking her to pray to the Divine Mercy for “the entry of all our brothers and sisters into Paradise”.

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 27- "On holy stillness of body and soul"

2. Stillness of the body is the knowledge and composure of the habits and feelings. And stillness of the soul is the knowledge of one's thoughts and an inviolable mind.


October 30, 2019  

(1Co 3:16-17) Know you not that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? But if any man violate the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which you are.

VATICAN NEWS: Abrahamic religions: no to euthanasia, assisted suicide, yes to palliative care

CATHOLIC STAR HERALD: Human life must be cherished, protected and defended by Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan

ARCHBISHOP CHAPUT: Safe injection sites: A dose of despair

Philadelphia’s plan to create a safe (illicit) drug injection site, which received legal clearance from a federal court earlier this month, is saddening – but not surprising. The proposed facility is simply the latest dose of despair offered by a confused and suffering culture; a culture that refuses to understand the true nature of both addiction and those who are enslaved by it.

Supporters claim such sites offer a humane response to the agony of those trapped in substance abuse. A sheltered location that provides clean needles and Narcan (a nasal spray to counteract opioid overdoses) will save lives and lead to sobriety, proponents argue.

However, as those in recovery often say, truth is the first casualty of addiction. Safe injection sites show how facts can be disregarded to serve politicized public health policy, misguided compassion and flawed data. Such facilities are built on several false premises, the first of which is an erroneous concept of human nature.

God did not create us to ingest illicit drugs, even in “supervised” settings, as Catholic teaching makes clear. The Catechism states that “the use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life” (CCC, 2291) and that the use of drugs “except on strictly therapeutic grounds” is “a grave offense” (CCC, 2291). The production and trafficking of such drugs constitutes “direct cooperation in evil” (CCC, 2291).

Enabling others to use illegal, life-threatening substances clearly violates divine law. But that matters little to a society that seeks a pill for every pain, so let’s examine a few other reasons why safe injection sites fail.

Ethicists caution that the sites transgress the key principles of medicine: to do no harm, and instead to do the good. Sanitizing illicit drug use negates the first while failing to accomplish the second. The sites also take away funding and resources needed for proven forms of addiction treatment.

The science itself doesn’t support the sites. Through advanced neurological imaging, medical professionals have come to view addiction as a disease that rewires the brain’s reward system, causing a person to use drugs even when they no longer produce the same high. Research has also shown that the environmental stimuli which accompany substance abuse — that is, where and with whom drugs are taken — can cause conditioned surges of dopamine that in turn trigger cravings for the substance, even well into sobriety.

In other words, the brain bundles the physical high with the entire context of drug use, and stores it all together as a self-destructive impulse that can send the individual right back to square one with addiction.

That’s why 12-step recovery groups urge members to avoid the people, places and things that led to their substance abuse, not unlike Christ’s command in Matthew 5:29-30 to tear out one’s right eye and cut off one’s right hand to avoid sin. By enhancing these environmental stimuli, safe injection sites keep individuals locked in addiction.

Moreover, the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) recently revised its definition of addiction to clarify that it’s not all down to a bad brain. ASAM now acknowledges “complex interactions” that include “genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences,” and stresses the importance of prevention.

Safe injection sites, by contrast, oversimplify addiction, reducing their clients to one-dimensional creatures who must be anesthetized lest they realize their true condition and seek real recovery.

Much has been made of studies demonstrating the “effectiveness” of safe injection sites. However, the numbers from Insite, the first such facility in North America, can hardly be called convincing. Since its opening in 2003, some 3.6 million clients have self-injected at the Vancouver-based site, yet only 48,798 (or 1.35 percent) have received any kind of addiction treatment. That figure does not specify the form, duration or sustainability of such care, all quite vital given the significant risk of relapse associated with addiction.

In general, we lack solid, rigorous research on safe injection sites, and the studies we do have are often biased. Garth Davies of Simon Fraser University has observed that “much of the commonly cited evidence regarding the effect of [the sites] cannot be substantiated” due to a number of methodological errors, including a lack of sufficient data and statistical controls. York University’s Denielle Elliott, a safe injection site supporter who worked closely with Insite staff, noted a “politicization of evidence” that led to an “exclusive focus” on creating the site at the expense of other outreaches, such as HIV/AIDS prevention.

The heartbreak of addiction isn’t confined to individuals and families, and safe injection sites disregard others deeply wounded by substance abuse. Communities are scarred by the presence of a facility that normalizes illicit narcotics. After the Vancouver operation opened, Canada’s public safety ministry stated that getting drug injection and dirty needles out of sight hasn’t been sufficient, since residents still feel “a sense of lawlessness” reinforced by the criminal activities often required to secure illegal drugs.

Globally, millions have been ruthlessly exploited by drug cartels through sexual slavery, forced labor and violent crime. By sanctioning the use of illicit drugs, even in the pursuit of recovery, safe injection sites trample upon the human rights of those no less oppressed by the scourge of substance abuse.

All of us are scarred by addiction, as Philadelphia priest Father Douglas McKay — who has labored for some 50 years in addiction ministry, and who lost his own brother to an overdose — has affirmed: “You put that needle in your arm, and it goes into the arm of the Lord, and into everyone else’s arm as well.” The profound human misery of even one individual in addiction cannot justify safe injection sites, especially when there already exist an array of reliable recovery options, among them medical treatment, abstinence, counseling, support groups and above all the love of Christ, who came “to let the oppressed go free” (Luke 4:18).

Ultimately, healing from addiction is found not in a clean needle or Narcan, but in a heart renewed by its creator, who sent his Son to overcome sin and death that we “might have life, and have it in abundance” (John 10:10).

MORE: Safe injection sites for drug addicts 'a form of euthanasia,' priest says

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "Brief Summary on Discernment"

54. If anyone is weak in body and has had some grave falls, he should take the road of humility and the qualities that belong to her, for he will find no other way to salvation.


October 28, 2019  

(Luk 9:24-26) For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: for he that shall lose his life for my sake shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world and lose himself and cast away himself? For he that shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him the Son of man shall be ashamed, when he shall come in his majesty and that of his Father and of the holy angels.

CNA: Pope asks for focus on 'diagnosis' of Amazon synod report; warns against ‘elite Christians’ focusing on the ‘little things’

MORE: Amazon synod document calls for married priests and increased role for women

COMMENTARY

On Those Idols...
Why 'Pachamama' took a dip
Bishop Schneider Publishes Open Letter Condemning Pachamama Idolatry

FR. RUTLER'S WEEKLY COLUMN: If “religio” is translated as being bound to a particular outlook on life, then everyone is religious. The saints simply have bound themselves to true religion. Today that is a socially unacceptable assertion, but “political correctness” is itself a form of religion. Early Christians were condemned as atheists because they refused to worship the gods approved by the government. The term “agnostic,” presumably coined by T.H. Huxley in 1869, is just a lazy form of atheism. But institutionalized atheism, which the Soviets called “gosateizm,” has caused the deaths of hundreds of millions. In our own country, it has created a hollowness of spirit and consequent despair. It is not irrelevant to this case that the most impressionable age group in our society, adolescents, have had a 56% rise in suicides in the last ten years.

Saint Polycarp could have been spared death by burning had he renounced “Atheism,” which meant Christianity, but he shocked the pagans in the stadium by shouting that they were the real atheists. Around 110 AD, Pliny the Younger, governor in northern Asia Minor, would exonerate Christians if they would worship the emperor Trajan as a god, along with the statues in the state pantheon, “which it is said bona fide Christians cannot be induced to do.” Thus there were even then what we now call “CINOs”—Catholics in Name Only, not “bona fide,” who claim to be Catholic only when politically convenient, or in order to get married in a pretty church.

“Secularism” is a religion with a non-creedal creed censuring those who do not believe in unbelief. Young people in the United States who claim to have “No Religion”—called “Nones”—now outnumber Catholics, and they have their own prophets, redefining morality and predicting apocalypse by carbon emissions. “Politically incorrect” thinkers are banned from universities as heretics. Attorney General William Barr recently exposed this in an address at the law school of Notre Dame University: The secular project “is taking on all the trappings of religion, including inquisitions and excommunication. Those who defy the creed risk a figurative burning at the stake—social, educational and professional ostracism and exclusion waged through lawsuits and savage social media campaigns.

” Some church leaders have tried to cajole secularists by avoiding mention of true religion. By contrast, Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Kazakhstan, whose family suffered under Stalin’s pogroms, has said that a dispirited Catholicism is “an extremely cunning method of Satan to take away the successors of the Apostles and priests from prayer and evangelization—under the pretext of a so-called ‘synodality.’”

The Founder of what politically correct idolaters in every age have considered heretical atheism warned: “For he that shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him the Son of man shall be ashamed, when he shall come in his majesty, and that of his Father, and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:26).

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "Brief Summary on Discernment"

52. As a ship which has a good helmsman comes safely into harbour with God's help, so the soul which has a good shepherd, even though it has done much evil, easily ascends to Heaven.


October 25, 2019  

(Joh 15:20-21) 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. But all these things they will do to you for my name's sake: because they know not him that sent me.

ACN: Report: Christianity may disappear from Syria and Iraq—a call for international intervention

The Christian exodus from parts of the Middle East has reached alarming proportions. It can only be stopped if the international community acts now. That is the conclusion of a new report on Christian persecution published Oct. 23 by Aid to the Church in Need, an international Catholic charity.

The 2019 edition of “Persecuted and Forgotten?”, a biennial study of the persecution of Christians around the world, warns that Christianity is disappearing from towns and cities in the faith’s ancient homeland. Despite the defeat of ISIS, the impact of genocide has led to the hemorrhaging of great numbers of Christians from the region, says the report.

There were 1.5 million Christians in Iraq before 2003, but by mid-2019 that figure had fallen to well below 150,000; by some estimates the number of Christians there may have fallen as low as 120,000—a decline of more than 90 percent within a single generation. In Syria, the size of the Christian population has fallen by two-thirds since the country’s civil war began in 2011, when Christians still numbered more than 2 million.

“Persecuted & Forgotten?” warns that the Church in the region could vanish if radical Islamists were to mount another attack on vulnerable communities—a threat highlighted by reports of jihadists escaping prison, as a result of renewed violence in northeastern Syria. The report concludes: “Were there to be another ISIS-style assault on the faithful, it could result in the Church’s disappearance.” However, says the report, “if security can be guaranteed,” there is every indication that Christianity could survive on Iraq’s Nineveh Plains and in Erbil, Kurdish Iraq.

In a number of African countries Christians are threatened by Islamists seeking to eliminate the Church—either by use of force or by dishonest means, including bribing Christians to convert to Islam.

In Nigeria’s north and in the ‘Middle Belt’ regions, Islamist militants continued a reign of terror against Christians and Muslims alike—3,731 Christians were reportedly killed in 2018. In other parts of the African continent, the main threat to Christians came from the state—in a 12-month period, more than 70 churches were attacked in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains; with 32 of these churches burned down.

Surveying the past two years, “Persecuted & Forgotten” also records instances of Christian persecution in Central African Republic, China, Egypt, North Korea, Pakistan and the Philippines. The full report can be found here.

MORE: The unprecedented scale of anti-Christian persecution in Asia

CNA: ‘Our faith is stronger than their bombs’: A Sri Lankan priest in Rome

CATHOLIC HERALD: Decline in Hispanic Catholics a ‘direct challenge’ to the Church in the US

Last week, the Pew Research Forum on Religion and Public Life published the results of surveys of American adults conducted in 2018 and 2019.

The report showed a precipitous decline over the past decade in the percentage of the U.S. population that identifies as Christian, with the percentage of those religiously “unaffiliated” rising substantially in that time.

Overall, the percentage of Americans identifying as Christian has fallen by 12% in the last decade to 65% of the population, according to Pew. Meanwhile, the percentage of Americans not identifying with any religion at all has risen by 9% to 26% of the American populace.

Protestantism saw a large decline from 51% of the population to 43% in the last decade, while Catholicism fell from 23% to 20% of the population.

This decline appeared within the Hispanic demographic as well. Hispanics identifying as Catholic fell by 10% over the last decade from 57% to 47%; those “unaffiliated” with a religion grew from 15% to 23% in that time span.

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Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "Brief Summary on Discernment"

48. As one whose legs are tied cannot walk freely, so those who hoard money cannot ascend to Heaven.


October 23, 2019  

(Exo 20:13) Thou shalt not kill.

ABORTION NEWS HEADLINES WORLDWIDE

Northern Ireland Bishops: Legalization of abortion marks 'a tragic day'
South Korean doctor performs abortion on the wrong woman
Mexico's Oaxaca state legalizes abortion in historic move for Catholic nation
Archbishop: New South Wales abortion legalization ‘a defeat for humanity’
UK court authorizes forced abortion for disabled woman in new case
Documentary shows the horror of China’s forced-abortion policy

REVIEW: Abortion rights around the world

PRIESTS FOR LIFE: Pray the Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet every day with Priests for Life

Catholics around the world can now pray the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet every day with Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life.

On EndAbortion.TV, and about 20 social media video platforms simultaneously, a beautifully edited program will feature Father Pavone leading the rosary and chaplet at 3 p.m. ET, seven days per week.

The Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary will be recited on Mondays and Saturdays; the Sorrowful Mysteries, on Tuesdays and Fridays; the Glorious Mysteries, on Wednesdays and Sundays, and the Luminous Mysteries, on Thursdays.

On each day, the Rosary will be followed by the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Each broadcast lasts about 28 minutes.

“The Rosary is a devotion strongly embraced by the pro-life movement,” Father Pavone said. “This is so for good reasons, because in the Hail Mary we praise a mother, and we worship the fruit of her womb. Our salvation began because a mother said yes to the life within her! In the rosary we also say, "Pray for us sinners." We don't point the finger at others, but rather at ourselves. We know that sin that is in the world, but we start by repenting of the sin within us. That is the best way to rebuild the Culture of Life.”

The Divine Mercy Chaplet also has strong links to abortion, Father Pavone said.

“In the revelations of Divine Mercy to St. Faustina, abortion was the primary sin for which God asked us to cry out for his mercy,” he said. “Today, the devotion to Divine Mercy deserves particular emphasis for those who have had abortions and for abortionists and clinic workers.”

OPINION: Catholic Church is right on abortion

It’s been around for more than 50 years, yet Mr. Potato Head remains a popular toy because, by adding a hat, mustache, smile or frown, kids can fashion him any way they choose.

That’s pretty much what too many self-absorbed adults long to do to the Catholic Church, resisting its prohibitions, disavowing its beliefs, until at last it would no longer be the Church of their childhood but rather the Church they’d prefer it to be, totally nonjudgmental.

It’s a cultural battle being fought on many fronts, but nowhere are the combatants more intractable than in the confrontation over abortion. Neither side concedes the other has any merit, as we saw again Sunday on the Common where a March For Life demonstration was pretty much shouted down by frenzied opponents who feel no other view but their own is deserving of consideration.

“The dialogue wasn’t as constructive as it could have been,” Myra Maloney Flynn of the Mass. Citizens For Life observed in a generous understatement.

One reason might have been it’s hard to stay on topic when you’re being showered with urine, which one abortion activist heaved while others chose to chant: “Not the church, not the state; we decide our fate!” OK, but who decides the baby’s fate?

You’re pro-choice, fine, but what “choice” does the baby have?

Who speaks for the viability and sanctity of that unborn life, and, make no mistake, that’s what’s at the heart of this struggle.

It’s not about men wanting to impose their wills on women, as self-styled suffragettes preposterously maintain.

Don’t they know that pro-life men have mothers, wives, sisters and daughters they absolutely revere? To dismiss them all as misogynists is cheap and intellectually barren.

Then again, when you’re championing an indefensible cause, any weapon will do.

Now we’ve reached the point where a baby who somehow survives the abortion process can still be medically eliminated if unwanted.

It’s not about politics. Lily-livered pols will snuggle up to any demographic that will vow support at the polls.

This is about conscience, which has no party affiliation.

Right? Wrong? Those aren’t Republican, or Democratic, or liberal, or conservative positions; those are American values.

But now they’re shouted down on Boston Common, where democracy has some of its deepest roots.

Urine-heavers tell horrified onlookers this is an issue that can’t even be discussed, and too many of us sheepishly zip our lips.

Like a lighthouse in a hurricane, however, the Catholic Church says, “No, this is wrong; killing the unborn is unacceptable.” Thank goodness someone’s saying it.

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "Brief Summary on Discernment"

47. As a blind man cannot see to walk freely, so those who hoard money cannot ascend to Heaven.


October 21, 2019  

(Luk 18:7-8) And will not God revenge his elect who cry to him day and night? And will he have patience in their regard? I say to you that he will quickly revenge them. But yet the Son of man, when he cometh, shall he find, think you, faith on earth?

MARK MALLET BLOG: This is a Test

CATHOLICISM.IO: The Roman Pontiff: Immunity from Error and Never-failing Faith

HOMILY OF POPE FRANCIS: Holy Mass for World Missions Day

VATICAN NEWS: Pope: The prayer of Christians must be the breath of the Church

Extract from La Preghiera. Il respiro della vita nuova by Pope Francis

Baptism is the beginning of new life. But what does new life mean?

The new life of baptism is not new as when we change work or move to another city, and say: I have begun a new life. Certainly in these cases life changes, perhaps a great deal. It is different from what has gone before: better or worse, more interesting or less so, according to the individual cases. The conditions, the context, the colleagues, acquaintances and perhaps even friendships, the house, the salary are different. But it is not a new life; it is the same life that goes on.

The new life of baptism also differs from a radical change in our feelings for a lover; or a disappointment; a disease; an important yet unforeseen event.

Things of that kind can befall us like an earthquake, internally and externally: they can change our values, our fundamental choices: affections, work, health, service to others. Before one might have thought of a career, and later begin to work as a volunteer; or even give one’s own life as a gift for others! Before one might not have thought of building a family; later, they might experience the beauty of conjugal and familial love.

These too, which are great, extraordinary changes, are still “only” of transformations. They are modifications that lead us to a more beautiful and dynamic life, or a more difficult and tiring one. It’s no coincidence – when we talk about them – that we always use the expressions “more” or “less”. We could say that they have made our existence more beautiful, more joyful, more exciting. It is because we are always making comparisons between things that are more or less similar. It is as if we were measuring things on a scale of values. In our earlier life, joy was a “5”, now joy is a “7”; our health before was a “9”, now it is a “4”. The numbers change, but not the substance of life!

But the new life of baptism is not new only in respect to the past, to our earlier life, to our life before. New doesn’t mean recent, it doesn’t signify that there was [only] a modification, a change.

The life of God is communion and it is given to us as a friendship.

The new life of which Saint Paul speaks in his letters reminds us of the new commandment of Jesus (cf. Jn 13:34); it reminds us of the new vine of the Kingdom (cf. Mk 14:29), the new song that the saved sing before the throne of God (cf. Rv 5:9): of the definitive realities; that is, to use theological word, eschatological.

So we understand that for the new life it is not possible to make comparisons. How could you possibly compare life and death, or life before and after birth? Christ did not become one of us, He did not live His Pasch of the passion, death, and resurrection to make our life “better”, to make it more beautiful, more desirable, longer, more intense, easy, or happy. He came – as He told us – that we might have life in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10).

This is the new life, the life that God the Father presents to us in baptism. It is new because it is another life with respect to our own, because it is His life, it is the very life of God. This is the great gift that He has given us and that Jesus gives us! To participate in the love of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. To participate in the love that They have for all men and for all creation. The new life is the life of God given to us!

We Christians have always sought after images and symbols to express this immense gift. We are many, different, yet we are one only, we are the Church. And this unity is that of love, which does not compel, does not humiliate, does not limit us, but strengthens us, builds all of us up together, and makes us friends.

Jesus has a very beautiful expression in the Gospel: “This is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Him whom you have sent” (Jn 17:3). It is He Himself who tells us that true life is the encounter with God; and that the encounter with God is the knowledge of God.

We know, further, from the Bible that it is not knowing the person only with the head, because “to know” means “to love”. And this is the life that God has given to us: the love that becomes ours, and little by little makes us grow, thanks to the Holy Spirit (Rm 5:5), and enlightens even our little daily expressions, “Thank you”, “May I?”, “Sorry”.

Although the words are inadequate, it can be said that the new life is to discover oneself to pertain to Someone, to belong to Someone, and in Him to belong to all. Belonging means that each one is for the other.

This reminds me of what the bride says in the Song of Songs: “My beloved is mine and I am his” (2:16). So, day after day, the Holy Spirit is bringing to completion the prayer of Jesus to the Father: “I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word: that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, are in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us” (Jn 17:20-21).

One of the most ancient images – used already by Saint Paul – in order to express this belonging, this living-with – is that of the body, the Head of which is Christ, while we are the members (“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it” (1 Cor 12:27).

The symbol of the body

In the human body, there are some essential functions, such as breathing and the beating of the heart.

I like to imagine that the personal and communal prayer of us Christians is the breath, the heartbeat of the Church, which instills its strength in the service of those who work, study, teach; which makes fruitful the knowledge of educated people and the humility of simple people; which gives hope to the tenacity of those who fight injustice.

Prayer is our saying “yes” to the Lord, to His love that reaches us; it is welcoming the Holy Spirit Who, without ever growing weary, pours out love and live upon all.

Saint Seraphim of Sarov, a great spiritual teacher of the Russian Church, said, “Acquiring the Spirit of God is therefore the true end of our Christian life, to the point that prayer, vigils, fasting, almsgiving, and other virtuous actions done in the Name of Christ are only means for this end” [Colloquy with Motovilov]. You are not always conscious of breathing, but you can never stop breathing.

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "Brief Summary on Discernment"

46. As a mass of dung breeds a mass of worms, so a surfeit of food breeds a surfeit of falls, and evil thoughts, and dreams.


October 17, 2019  

(Joh 12:24-25) Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, Itself remaineth alone. But if it die it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it and he that hateth his life in this world keepeth it unto life eternal.

ARCHBISHOP CHAPUT SPEECH: Things worth dying for: The nature of a life worth living

CATHOLIC WORLD REPORT: On St. Ignatius of Antioch and the early Church

VIA UNIVERSALIS: From St Ignatius of Antioch's letter to the Romans I am God's wheat and shall be ground by the teeth of wild animals

I am writing to all the churches to let it be known that I will gladly die for God if only you do not stand in my way. I plead with you: show me no untimely kindness. Let me be food for the wild beasts, for they are my way to God. I am God’s wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become Christ’s pure bread. Pray to Christ for me that the animals will be the means of making me a sacrificial victim for God.

No earthly pleasures, no kingdoms of this world can benefit me in any way. I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire.

The time for my birth is close at hand. Forgive me, my brothers. Do not stand in the way of my birth to real life; do not wish me stillborn. My desire is to belong to God. Do not, then, hand me back to the world. Do not try to tempt me with material things. Let me attain pure light. Only on my arrival there can I be fully a human being. Give me the privilege of imitating the passion of my God. If you have him in your heart, you will understand what I wish. You will sympathise with me because you will know what urges me on.

The prince of this world is determined to lay hold of me and to undermine my will which is intent on God. Let none of you here help him; instead show yourselves on my side, which is also God’s side. Do not talk about Jesus Christ as long as you love this world. Do not harbour envious thoughts. And supposing I should see you, if then I should beg you to intervene on my behalf, do not believe what I say. Believe instead what I am now writing to you. For though I am alive as I write to you, still my real desire is to die. My love of this life has been crucified, and there is no yearning in me for any earthly thing. Rather within me is the living water which says deep inside me: “Come to the Father.” I no longer take pleasure in perishable food or in the delights of this world. I want only God’s bread, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, formed of the seed of David, and for drink I crave his blood, which is love that cannot perish.

I am no longer willing to live a merely human life, and you can bring about my wish if you will. Please, then, do me this favour, so that you in turn may meet with equal kindness. Put briefly, this is my request: believe what I am saying to you. Jesus Christ himself will make it clear to you that I am saying the truth. Only truth can come from that mouth by which the Father has truly spoken. Pray for me that I may obtain my desire. I have not written to you as a mere man would, but as one who knows the mind of God. If I am condemned to suffer, I will take it that you wish me well. If my case is postponed, I can only think that you wish me harm.

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "Brief Summary on Discernment"

45. As some, for lack of water, blot out writing by other means, so there are souls who have no tears, but pound out and scour away their sins by sorrow, sighing, and great heaviness of heart.


October 16, 2019  

(Rev 6:9-11) And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying: How long, O Lord (Holy and True), dost thou not judge and revenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given to every one of them one; And it was said to them that they should rest for a little time till their fellow servants and their brethren, who are to be slain even as they, should be filled up.

POPE FRANCIS: “The Church today is rich in martyrs. Today there are more martyrs than at the time of the beginning of the Church, and martyrs are everywhere; the Church is irrigated by their blood which is ‘the seed of new Christians’ and ensures growth and fruitfulness to the People of God.” "Martyrs are not 'holy men,' but men and women in flesh and blood who, as the Book of Revelation says, washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

ACN: BURKINA FASO: Christian villagers systematically attacked, expelled and exterminated

THE TABLET: German Dachau priest beatified as martyr

EXCERPT CRISIS MAGAZINE: We Live in an Age of Martyrs by Fr. Benedict Kiely

The term “martyr” is used widely today. In militant Islam, the word is shahid—literally, “witness. It denotes someone who blows himself up while trying to kill as many innocents as possible. In the twelfth chapter of his letter to the Hebrews, St. Paul encourages Christians to persevere and run the race of the Faith precisely because we are surrounded by a “cloud of witnesses”—the holy men and women in the Old Testament and the true martyrs, who gave all for Christ.

Monsignor Ronald Knox once wrote that “a martyr means someone who dies, not merely to bear witness, but to bear witness to the truth.” That distinction is essential for a proper understanding of martyrdom, and it is the reason why Christians should be inspired, encouraged and edified by the martyrs, both those of bygone centuries and those of our own age. The Church has always taught that the purpose of canonization is, apart from honoring the saint and asking for his prayers, to be an exemplar to the faithful and a source of encouragement to live the Christian life fully. The martyr—the man, woman or child who dies because of his or her faith in Christ—is, perhaps, the greatest source of encouragement to “persevere,” as Hebrews says. In modern terminology, the martyrs are the very best of role models.

If real martyrdom involves bearing witness to the truth then, a fortiori, you can be a martyr neither to your stomach nor to militant Islam. Indeed, you can’t be a martyr to any other cause or faith; a shahid cannot, in any sense except the semantic, equate with a Christian understanding of martyrdom. Someone who immolates himself for the sake of raising climate change awareness may have very profound beliefs, but he is not a martyr.

“What is truth?” asked Pontius Pilate (that most contemporary of politicians) when the Truth was standing in front of him. Bearing witness to the truth that there is no name under heaven by which we can be saved, except the name of Jesus Christ, and to be willing to die for that truth: that is what makes someone a martyr.

From the very beginning of the Church, the veneration of the martyrs has been an inspiration. That is why those first Christians gathered in the catacombs to celebrate Mass. Today, every altar contains relics of the martyrs, both to sanctify the altar and to connect us with that ancient witness.

The modern martyrs of the Faith—dying in their thousands in Syria, Iraq, Nigeria and Pakistan, to name but a few—are bearing witness to the truth, a truth that sets them free. Who can fail to be inspired by the witness to the truth of Asia Bibi, that illiterate Pakistani Christian woman just freed after all those years on death row in Pakistan for “blasphemy”? Similarly, the soon-to-be beatified Fr. Ragheed Ganni was martyred in Mosul in 2007 along with four sub-deacons after celebrating Mass. As his murderers approached, they demanded of Father Ragheed why he had failed to close the Church when they had ordered him to do so. His response is one of the most powerful witnesses in the modern age: “How,” he asked them, “can I close the House of God?”

The one thing necessary that the martyrs give us is the courage both to persevere and to be joyful in the strength of the Holy Spirit. “Lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,” the author of Hebrews writes. “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”

The past is with us by the memory and veneration of the martyrs, but the witness of the modern martyrs to the truth—especially those who suffered under the twin evils of Nazism and communism—should provide much-needed encouragement and inspiration for contemporary Christians. Attempts to ingrain the conscious lie into society will only grow in secular cultures, which tolerate everything except the intolerable practice of orthodox Christianity. Speaking the truth in love—Caritas in veritate—is the vocation of every Christian, without exception. Each martyr, each person who “dies, not merely to bear witness, but to bear witness to the truth,” is a beacon of light.

ST. JOHN HENRY CARDINAL NEWMAN (VIA MARK MALLET BLOG): "I know that all times are perilous, and that in every time serious and anxious minds, alive to the honor of God and the needs of man, are apt to consider no times so perilous as their own. At all times the enemy of souls assaults with fury the Church which is their true Mother, and at least threatens and frightens when he fails in doing mischief. And all times have their special trials which others have not… Doubtless, but still admitting this, still I think… ours has a darkness different in kind from any that has been before it. The special peril of the time before us is the spread of that plague of infidelity, that the Apostles and our Lord Himself have predicted as the worst calamity of the last times of the Church. And at least a shadow, a typical image of the last times is coming over the world".

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "Brief Summary on Discernment"

44. As writing is washed out by water, so sins can be washed out by tears.


October 14, 2019  

(Mat 28:19-20) Going therefore, teach ye all nations: baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.

CATHOLIC EXCHANGE: Columbus's discoveries not only paved the way for the evangelization of Latin America but also brought an end to the cannibalism of the Caribs and the tradition of human sacrifices among the Aztecs. Today, Latin America is home to 39 percent of the world’s Catholics and has two of the five countries with the most Catholics, Brazil and Mexico.

CATHOLIC STAND: Columbus, Catholicism and Courage

WEBSITE: Who Was the Real Christopher Columbus?

HISTORY TODAY: Columbus - Hero or Villain?

EXCERPT: The Catholic Spirit of Christopher Columbus

Columbus believed he was specially chosen by God to bring the Gospel to a people who were living in darkness and the shadow of death. He believed his given name, Christopher, signified the mission he was destined to carry out, as his son Fernando would later explain: “Just as Saint Christopher bore Christ over the waters, so too was he to bear the light of the Gospel over the vast oceans.”

Spreading the Catholic faith and acquiring riches so as to finance the retaking of Jerusalem from the Muslims were at the heart of Columbus’ mission. Any hopes of personal rewards or honors were secondary. In writing the royal treasurer of Spain at the completion of the first journey, he gives the reason all people, present and future, should celebrate what would come to be known as Columbus Day:

“And now ought the King, Queen, Princes, and all their dominions, as well as the whole of Christians, to give thanks to our Savior Jesus Christ who has granted us such a victory and great success. Let processions be ordered, let solemn festivals be celebrated, let the temples be filled with boughs and flowers. Let Christ rejoice upon earth as he does in heaven, to witness the coming salvation of so many people, heretofore given over to perdition. Let us rejoice for the exaltation of our faith, as well as for the augmentation of our temporal prosperity, in which not only Spain but all Christendom shall participate.”

Five Myths About Christopher Columbus

1. MYTH: Columbus was sailing to prove the world was round.
FACT: Every educated person at the end of the fifteenth century knew the earth was a sphere, a fact known since antiquity. What was in dispute was the earth’s circumference, which Columbus underestimated by one-fourth.

2. MYTH: Queen Isabella sold her crown jewels to finance the first journey.
FACT: The royal treasury of Spain was depleted after the completion of the conquest of Granada early in 1492. However, Luis de Santangel, the royal treasurer, was able to secure funding by reaching out to the Crusading societies throughout the Mediterranean, as well as other financial backers from Spain and elsewhere. The crown put up very little to finance the journey.

3. MYTH: There was a priest on board the Santa Maria in 1492.
FACT: Because of the dangers involved, there were no priests or friars on the first voyage, despite the deep piety of Columbus. Many of the paintings of the first landfall in the new world on San Salvador show a priest with Columbus—contrary to the facts. There were five priests on the second voyage: Benedictine Father Buil; the Jeronymite Father Ramon Pane; and three Franciscans.

4. MYTH: Columbus introduced slavery to the New World.
FACT: Slavery was already widespread among the native Indians when Columbus arrived. Columbus was insistent on the fair treatment of the Indians, a policy which gained him many enemies as governor of Hispaniola. Bartolome de las Casas, a Spanish friar who worked for the protection of the Indians, is quick to excoriate his fellow Spaniards in their grave abuses, but is filled with nothing but respect and admiration for Columbus. The mass subjugation and importation of Africans to the Americas did not begin until a generation after Columbus’ death.

5. MYTH: Columbus died a pauper, in chains, in a Spanish prison.
FACT: Despite the fact that the Spanish crown retracted some of the privileges promised to Columbus, he was relatively wealthy at the time of his death. Although he returned to Spain in chains in 1500 after his third voyage, the King and Queen apologized for the misunderstanding and had them removed.

On May 20, 1506, the Vigil of the Ascension, Christopher Columbus lay on his deathbed in his apartment at Valladolid, surrounded by his fellow Franciscans and his sons. As the friars chanted Compline, his last words echoed those of Christ on the cross: In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum. (Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.)

EXCERPT: Christopher Columbus and Fake History

The writings of Bartolomé de las Casas — a 16th-century Spanish Dominican priest, historian and missionary — exposing the abuse of the native peoples are often cited in an effort to impugn Columbus. But while de las Casas lamented the suffering of indigenous people, he also admired and respected Columbus for his “sweetness and benignity” of character, his deep faith and his accomplishments.

“He was the first to open the doors to the ocean sea, where he entered the remote lands and kingdoms which until then had not known our Savior, Jesus Christ, and his blessed name,” de las Casas wrote in his History of the Indies. While cognizant that Columbus was human and made mistakes, de las Casas never doubted the explorer’s good intentions, writing: “Truly, I would not dare blame the admiral’s intentions, for I knew him well and I know his intentions are good.”

According to Delaney, Columbus “fervently believed it was the duty of every Christian to try to save the souls of non- Christians,” and it was this passion that “led him on a great adventure, an encounter such as the world has never seen.”

Not surprisingly, popes since the late 19th century have praised Columbus’ mission of evangelization. Pope John Paul II, while celebrating Mass at a Columbus monument in the Dominican Republic near the 1992 quincentenary, said the crossshaped memorial “means to symbolize the cross of Christ planted in this land in 1492.” In a speech to the young people of Genoa in May, Pope Francis talked about how a disciple of Christ needs the “virtue of a navigator,” and he pointed to the example of Columbus who faced “a great challenge” and showed “courage,” a trait he indicated was essential to becoming a “good missionary.”

EWTN REVIEW: Honoring Christopher Columbus

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "Brief Summary on Discernment"

43. As it is impossible for a starving man not to think of bread, so it is impossible for a man eager to be saved not to think of death and judgment.


October 11, 2019  

(Psa 127:3) Behold the inheritance of the Lord are children: the reward, the fruit of the womb.

BROKEN BRANCHES NEWSLETTER: Issue 133, Oct/Nov 2019

CBN NEWS: 'Use This Case to Overturn Roe v. Wade': Supreme Court to Hear Louisiana Case, Tackle Abortion for First Time in 3 Years

HLI REVIEW: How Does Abortion Affect the United States?

ARLINGTON CATHOLIC HERALD: Project Rachel founder to receive Evangelium Vitae Medal

ST. POPE JOHN PAUL II:  I would now like to say a special word to women who have had an abortion. The Church is aware of the many factors which may have influenced your decision, and she does not doubt that in many cases it was a painful and even shattering decision. The wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly what happened was and remains terribly wrong. But do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope. Try rather to understand what happened and face it honestly. If you have not already done so, give yourselves over with humility and trust to repentance. The Father of mercies is ready to give you his forgiveness and his peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. To the same Father and his mercy you can with sure hope entrust your child. With the friendly and expert help and advice of other people, and as a result of your own painful experience, you can be among the most eloquent defenders of everyone's right to life. Through your commitment to life, whether by accepting the birth of other children or by welcoming and caring for those most in need of someone to be close to them, you will become promoters of a new way of looking at human life.

ARCHBISHOP CHAPUT: Domestic violence and our respect for life

October is Respect Life Month; it’s also Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The two issues differ in their focus, but they’re connected by a common concern for human dignity. The right to life — humanity’s first and foundational right — includes the need to protect life from womb to natural death. It begins with, and can never exclude, the unborn child; but our obligations as Christians go well beyond the moment of birth.

Men and women have equal capacities for holiness. They also have equal capacities for harm. Virtue and cruelty are alien to neither sex. But precisely because men and women differ in their strengths and weaknesses, violence between the sexes overwhelmingly consists in males physically abusing females. Women bear the brunt of domestic violence. And when that happens, women’s lives are brutally damaged or lost, families collapse, children suffer, and the memory and habit of intimate violence are transmitted across generations. Men who abuse women are cowards. They bitterly wound others, and they humiliate and poison themselves. There’s no excuse for it – ever.

In their 1992 statement, When I Call for Help: A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence Against Women, reaffirmed in 2002, America’s bishops stressed that violence against women, inside or outside the home, is never justified. They reminded the Catholic faithful that “violence against another person in any form fails to treat that person as someone worthy of love.” But it’s especially vile within a relationship of trust like a marriage or family. All of us, therefore, should take some time this month, a month dedicated to respecting life, to remember and pray for those women and families enduring domestic violence.

The Church has a variety of resources that can help raise awareness on these issues.

Many helpful websites exist, among them:
 The Made for Love Podcast, a USCCB podcast on domestic violence, can be found here:

https://madeforlove.podbean.com/e/when-love-means-leaving-domestic-abuse/

When I Call for Help, the bishops’ 2002 statement against domestic violence, can be ordered online: https://store.usccb.org/when-i-call-for-help­p/5-509p.htm

Life Matters: Domestic Violence, a brochure created by the USCCB Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, can also be ordered online: http://store.usccb.org/life-matters-domestic-violence­p/c1345.htm

Men and women are different and complementary in their gifts, but equal in dignity and equally precious in the eyes of God. Christian men are called to provide for and protect their families, and to respect and support the women in their lives. In fact, the quality of every man consists, in large measure, in how he treats women; which is why educating and working to prevent domestic violence is a task for all of us.

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "Brief Summary on Discernment"

42. As he who climbs up a rotten ladder runs a risk, so all honour, glory and authority oppose humility and bring down him who has them.


October 9, 2019  

(1Ti 6:11-12) But thou, O man of God, fly these things: and pursue justice, godliness, faith, charity, patience, mildness. Fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art called and be it confessed a good confession before many witnesses.

FR JOSEPH ESPER: The Dives Syndrome

One day in New York City, a man was walking in a park when he heard the sound of music.  Looking around, he saw two young men, one playing an accordion and the other a violin.  The man was enchanted by their lively music, and stopped to listen, as did several other New Yorkers.  As this was happening, vendors were setting up their stands for the weekly open-air farmers’ market.  Reflecting on all this, the man later wrote:
What a glorious moment: the music, the sunshine, the crowd, the shoppers at the market, and the smell of ripe peaches.  Just then someone cut through the rest of the crowd: a woman punching her BlackBerry and listening to her iPod.  She knifed through us and rushed away.  She had missed the entire experience, since she was completely absorbed in her own world (William J.  Bausch, The Story Revealed, p.  251).

There’s actually a psychological term for this failure to notice and appreciate things: the Dives Syndrome.  Dives, from the Latin word for riches, is the unofficial name given to the rich man in Our Lord’s parable in the Gospel of Luke (16:19-31)—the man who completely ignored the poor beggar Lazarus, who was miserably existing on his very doorstep.  Failing to notice and respond to the suffering of others, as Dives did, is not an option for Christians.  If we are to be true followers of Jesus, we must teach ourselves to be alert to the needs, and the dignity, of those around us.  It’s true that we will one day be judged by God as individuals on how we’ve lived our lives—but on our journey to Heaven and eternal life, we are meant to be united with all our neighbors and our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Scripture scholars generally agree the rich man in the Gospel was not really a bad person, at least according to human or worldly standards; there’s no indication that he had obtained his wealth dishonestly or was committing any crimes or serious sins.  His fault was a glaring sin of omission: he was so self-absorbed that he never even noticed the desperate suffering of someone almost literally under his nose—and this failure or lack of compassion was enough for him to be eternally condemned.  God takes the suffering of His children very personally; those who try to alleviate it are blessed by the Lord, but those who either cause it, or ignore it, are held to a strict standard and risk a severe judgment.  This was the warning of the prophet Amos (6:1, 4-7) some 700 years before Christ, and this warning applies even more today to a materialistic society such as ours.  In his Letter to Timothy (1 Tm 6:11-16), St.  Paul charges us to “pursue righteousness” .  .  .  and “keep the commandment without stain or reproach.” Doing this certainly includes sympathizing with and helping, in the Name of Christ, those who suffer—whether physically, spiritually, or emotionally.  We are not here on earth to live in our own little world, but to do our part in helping make this world a better place by living out our faith—for in this way we journey to Kingdom of God, while at the same time inviting others to join us.

How is the Dives Syndrome at work in our society, and perhaps even in our own lives?  I can think of three very pertinent examples.  The first of these involves technology.  It’s become quite common for young people—and even their parents, who should know better—to be so absorbed in their cell phones or other electronic devices that they ignore each other at the dinner table or in the car, missing out on the family interactions meant to help prepare them for relating to the larger world.  There are even young adults who spend up to 18 or 19 hours a day in cyberspace, almost completely living in an artificial world of on-line video games.  Can anyone seriously claim this is God’s will?  If technology takes over our lives, how will we learn to extend the human touch to persons in need and to our own families and loved ones?  How will we grow in virtue and come closer to God, and recognize and use His grace to be made ready for Heaven?

A second example involves sports.  I wish I—or better yet, the parish—had a dollar for every time someone has said, “Because of our kids’ sports schedule, we can’t come to faith formation classes, or make this commitment, or be involved in this parish activity,” or something similar.  That’s why I felt like cheering when Archbishop Vigneron announced that from now on, no sports events involving Catholic schools and parishes will be scheduled on Sundays, in an effort to reclaim this day for God and for families.  However, that doesn’t solve the problem of adults on the golf course, or in front of the TV watching football, while using these things as an excuse to miss Sunday Mass or avoid interacting with their children.  Anyone too busy for Mass, for prayer, or for family because of sports will have all eternity to regret having lived by the wrong priorities.

A final example of the Dives Syndrome involves an incomplete or misguided experience of religion: namely, the “me and Jesus” approach.  This heresy says that as long as I have my own “personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” I don’t have to think about anyone else, and that if I choose to reach out to suffering persons, I can do so on my own terms and at my own convenience.  Life can be so much simpler, and be a “feel-good” experience, when we ignore others—especially those who suffer—and think only of Jesus, while spiritually patting ourselves on the back.  However, this is not an option for true followers of Christ.  We come here to Mass as individuals so that we might worship God as a community, and we are sent forth from here not to follow our own agendas, but to help transform the world around us through our Catholic witness—something the Archbishop has emphasized in his pastoral letter Unleash the Gospel.  Moreover, the Holy Father has asked us to use this coming month of October as a time to reflect on how we can make a difference in the world by our Christian example.

As the story of Dives reminds us, we will one day be judged not simply on whether we stayed out of trouble and obeyed the rules, but on how well we responded to God’s love and shared that love with those around us.  Living rightly is impossible if we put the focus primarily on ourselves—whether through an excess of technology, sports, or any other form of self-indulgence.  This week let’s try a little harder to recognize, appreciate, and reach out to everyone we meet—especially if we have the opportunity to help them in Christ’s Name—for doing so will bring us one step closer to our goal of eternal life. 

MEDITATION: Thoughts by St Theophan (1815-1894)

[Eph.  4:25-32; Luke 3:19-22]

Herod is an image of self-love, irritated by his troubled conscience, reproached by the truth; self-love seeks to escape this unpleasantness by applying force.  John the Forerunner is an image of the truth persecuted by another's self-love, when this self-love is able to do so.  No matter how one softens the truth with all the soft words and turns of speech that tender love can invent, not desiring to injure or wound another's heart, the face of truth will nevertheless appear before the eyes of the conscience, and stir up a tempest of denunciation within. 

Selfishness is near-sighted, it cannot see that the denunciation is not coming from without but from within, and it rises up with all of its strength against the external accuser.  By blocking his lips, this selfishness expects to silence the inner voice as well.  It does not succeed, however; it does not direct its concern in the right direction.  One must pacify the conscience; then, no matter how many external accusers there will be, they will not disturb the inner world, but on the contrary only deepen it, compelling one to gather calming convictions within — faith in the crucified Lord, sincerity of repentance and confession, and firmness in the resolution to do nothing against one's conscience.  This is where one must look, and not keep putting all Johns into prison; for the word of God's truth walks everywhere upon the earth, and each one is an accusing John to you.

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "Brief Summary on Discernment"

41. A man who is fighting a lion is lost the moment he takes his eye off it, and so is the man who, while fighting the flesh, gives it any respite.


October 7, 2019  

(Php 4:6-7) Be nothing solicitous: but in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

VATICAN NEWS: Pope opens Synod for the Amazon, calling for fidelity to the newness of the Spirit

COMMENTARIES

A Wise Child’s Guide to the Amazon Synod
What Does the Amazon Synod’s Working Document Really Say?
Even a Cardinal Close To Bergoglio Is Condemning the Dangers of the Synods of the Amazon and Germany
Amazon Synod, Women Deacons, Apostasy

LIFESITENEWS.COM: Abp Viganò warns against silence of ‘reckless pastors’ who fear losing ‘human favor’

SIGNS & WONDERS: The Power of the Rosary

You and I must pray and fast if there is to be hope for the future.  Our Blessed Mother has said, ” PRAYER possesses a potent force and starts a chain reaction for good that is far more powerful than any ATOMIC REACTION.”

We have seen amazing signs of the fulfillment of our Blessed Mother’s promises about the power of prayer – especially the Rosary.  There have been many battles won in history through the Power of The Rosary.

The Rosary is the weapon for these times.  ~ St.  Padre Pio

Our Blessed Mother has said:
“…the Rosary is my Power…It is the weapon which you must make use of in these times of the Great Battle….” It is the chain with which she promises to bind Satan.  “Every Rosary which you recite with me has the effect of restricting the action of the Evil One, of drawing souls away from his pernicious influence,” …” and of expanding goodness in my children.”

Our Lady has shown us that the Rosary can stop wars. In fact, Our Blessed Mother has said that, “we can do more in one day of intense prayer, than years of discussion.” Are we listening?  Can we, her children, help Our Lady, mount a massive worldwide prayer and fasting campaign and include Masses of Reparation?  Of course we can!

If we don’t deal with the arrogance and moral sins of mankind, especially sins of the flesh, many believe our days are numbered.  Civilizations that have not repented from such moral decline have been destroyed by plagues, catastrophes, or wars – ie.  the Roman Empire, the time of Noah, Sodom and Gomorrah….  In the Old Testament, Ninevah was spared because they prayed, fasted and repented.

Our Blessed Mother has told us that prayer and fasting stops wars and natural catastrophes.

The Rosary as the Weapon for Peace 
 Historical Victories in Prayer

October 7, 1571 — In the great battle of Lepanto, October 7th, 1571 a greatly outnumbered force of Christian defenders held off a Turkish invasion.  It was considered a miraculous victory brought about specifically through the Rosary, for St.  Pius V’s Crusade, united all of Europe in prayer.

May 13, 1955 — After 700,000 people agreed to pray the Rosary in Austria, the Soviets mysteriously departed the country on the anniversary date of Fatima-May 13th, 1955.

October 13, 1960 — After Pope John XXIII called for prayer, a million pilgrims in Fatima held an all night prayer vigil before the Blessed Sacrament.  The next day, October 13, 1960, an accident destroyed a new Soviet missile, killing many top scientists and setting back the Soviet nuclear arms program by at least 20 years.

May 13, 1984 — After another major Rosary Crusade, a massive explosion on May 13, 1984, eliminated two-thirds of the missiles of the Soviet Union’s powerful Northern Fleet.

May 12, 1988 — Four years later it happened again!  As thousands prayed all night long, on May 12, 1988, during the vigil of the anniversary of the apparition at Fatima, another major explosion shut down the Soviet Union’s only missile plant.

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "Brief Summary on Discernment"

40. The drowsy are easily robbed, and so are those who seek virtue near the world.


October 3, 2019  

(Pro 6:16-19) Six things there are, which the Lord hateth, and the seventh his soul detesteth: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that deviseth wicked plots, feet that are swift to run into mischief, A deceitful witness that uttereth lies, and him that soweth discord among brethren.

EXCERPT FACT SHEET: Induced Abortion in the United States
 CRISIS MAGAZINE COMMENTARY: The U.N. Has Never Had a Pro-Life Champion Like Trump by Austin Ruse

USCCB: On Respect Life Month by Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, of Kansas City in Kansas and Chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities

“Each October during Respect Life Month, the U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops launches a new cycle of the Respect Life Program—a year-round, nationwide effort to help Catholics understand, value, and help cultivate respect for human life.

As Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all you do to build a culture of life on a daily basis. Your efforts on behalf of the unborn, the dying, the elderly, the imprisoned, the poor and so many others have a profound impact, both now and in the life to come.

This year’s theme, Christ Our Hope: In Every Season of Life, is particularly suited for the times in which we live. The attacks against human life seem to grow more numerous and callous by the day. Despite these challenges, we know that Christ has conquered sin and death once and for all. Through our Christian hope in the Resurrection, we are given the grace to persevere in faith. Our sacrifices on behalf of the Gospel of Life can contribute to the redemption of this current culture of death.

During the 2019-2020 Respect Life Program cycle, we also celebrate the 25th anniversary of the papal encyclical Evangelium vitae (The Gospel of Life), written by St. John Paul II. The Church’s teaching on the value and inviolability of every human life remains an indispensable source of truth for all people. As Evangelium vitae highlights, “together we may offer this world of ours new signs of hope, and work to ensure that justice and solidarity will increase and that a new culture of human life will be affirmed, for the building of an authentic civilization of truth and love” (EV 6).

We bishops need your help. While there may be opportunities for decisive political action, we know that to build a true culture of life, we must seek to change hearts and minds. And your witness is essential.

It is the vocation of the laity to go out to be as leaven in the world, a light in the darkness. Your daily activities take you to places I cannot go; they bring you to those I will never meet. May you allow Christ to renew and strengthen you, that He may work through you in each moment of every day.

Be assured of my prayers for you and for our common efforts to bring about a world in which every life is cherished. And so together may we “hold fast to the hope that lies before us. This we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm” (Heb 6:18-19)".

New parish resources have been developed around the theme of “Christ our Hope” and are available at www.respectlife.org. Respect Life Sunday falls on October 6.  The USCCB’s Secretariat of Pro Life Activities has prepared a packet for the 2019-2020 program containing materials and resources. The materials are available online at https://www.respectlife.org/october.

CATHOLIC STAR HERALD: This year’s Respect Life Month theme is, “Every Life: Cherished, Chosen, Sent". The theme is inspired by the story of Saint Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe. In 1531, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a poor indigenous peasant named Juan Diego four different times at the hill of Tepayac in Mexico, speaking to him in his native Nahuatl language. She instructed him to ask the local bishop to have a church built on the site, where people could come to receive her Son and her own care. The chapel was quickly built, countless people embraced Christianity and the Catholic Church increased its protection of indigenous persons.

Mary could have appeared to the bishop or another powerful person, but she chose Juan Diego. She saw his value and what he had to offer even though he was left on the margins of society. What a powerful example for us in our own time and place. We have a God and a Blessed Mother who have indescribable love for all their children, especially those who are forgotten or neglected in this world.

RELATED: 40 Days for Life Begins Around the World: ‘The Year of Infanticide’

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "Brief Summary on Discernment"

39. Crabs are easily caught because they walk sometimes forwards, sometimes backwards. So the soul that now laughs, now mourns, now lives in luxury, can make no progress.


October 1, 2019  

(1Ti 2:1-4) I desire therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all men: For kings and for all that are in high station: that we may lead a quiet and a peaceable life in all piety and chastity. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, Who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

CATHOLIC STANDARD: A Lament for the Diminishing Church by Msgr. Charles Pope

MARK MALLET BLOG: The Unfurling Revolution

FATHER BROOM BLOG: How you can Reform the Wounded Church

The great Prophet of the modern-epoch, Venerable Archbishop Fulton J.  Sheen stated that historically the Church goes through a crisis about every 500 years.  The Church battled through Christological heresies, the separation of the Eastern Orthodox Church from Rome, and the Protestant Reformation.  Presently the Church is traversing an exceedingly painful period in the public Church Scandals that seem to be rocking the Church to its very foundation.  Indeed, many, especially the very weak and vulnerable, are exiting the Church in considerable numbers.  For what they have seen and heard, and what some have witnessed at close range.  Nobody can deny the fact that Holy Mother Church suffers deep, gaping wounds, indeed wounds that will not be healed overnight.

This being the state of affairs, as members of the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, the challenge is before us.  We can jump ship or we can strive to mend the holes in the ship.  We can throw in the towel and call it quits or we can fight the good fight until the end.  We can throw a pity party and complain, moan, and groan, or we can strive to rise and return to the Home of the Father who awaits us joyfully with His arms and His Heart wide-open.  Each and every one of us must make the choice.

I hope and pray that our choice will be the choice of Joshua and his entire family with these decisive words: “As for me and my family: we will follow the Lord!” (Josh 24: 15) May it be your choice in words and actions: “As for me and my family, we will stay in the Church and strive with every fiber of our being to transform the Church!  And this transformation will commence with my own personal spiritual and moral life!” Therefore, we would like to offer ten short, clear, and practical ways in which those, in imitation of Joshua and his family and all the courageous saints of the past, have decided with a determined determination to regroup, to rebuild, to restore, to start anew with this thought taken from the words of the great novelist of the 19th Century, Charles Dickens: “The worst of times can indeed be the best of times.” And may each of us decide this will start with me and my own personal life and commitment!  Instead of looking around at the many ugly problems that seem to be engulfing and immersing the Church, let us look up to God for His help that never fails; then let us dig deep within our own hearts and strive for a radical conversion of life through the infinite love of the Merciful Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

The following are ten concise and practical practices that we can undertake to give impetus to the Reform of the Church and the conversion of its members.  Saint Ignatius of Loyola, who was instrumental in the reform and conversion of the Church in the 16th Century, constantly exhorts that we must humbly beg for the grace to be open to God’s working in our lives.  If we are docile to the workings of the Holy Spirit and God’s grace, the wounded Church can take its first steps in reformation, conversion, and sanctification.

1.  FERVENT PRAYER TO MARY AND THE HOLY SPIRIT.  The nascent Church underwent a radical transformation and conversion due to the presence of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the infusion of the Holy Spirit.  Read the account of Pentecost (Acts 2).  At the prospect of Jesus’ Passion, suffering, and death on the cross, all of the Apostles, with the exception of Saint John, fled, paralyzed with fear.  The little group of followers that Jesus chose basically jumped ship and abandoned the pursuit of the noble ideals that Jesus had instilled in them over those three long years.  However, a powerful nine day Retreat (Novena) concluded with the sound of a rushing wind and fire as the Holy Spirit descended on Mary and the Apostles.  Fears, doubts, confusion, insecurities—all disappeared instantaneously through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the presence, prayer, penance, and perseverance of Mary, the Mother of God, the Mother of the Apostles, and the Mother of the nascent Church.  Mary gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem; Mary would be present at the birth of the Mystical Body of Christ on Pentecost.  If indeed the Church is to undergo a deep reform and a deep healing it must come about by fervent, prolonged, sacrificial prayer, and the presence of Mary.  Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church and author of the Glories of Mary, asserted: “When a person declines and descends into lukewarmness, it is because he is lacking the presence of Mary.  Mary attains fire, fervor, and deep prayer!”

2.  AVOID USELESS AND DESTRUCTIVE CRITICISM.  Saint James issues a strong warning and admonition: “Be slow to speak and quick to listen.” (Jas 1: 19) All too often it is easier to give ears to gossip, negative criticism, character assassination, as well as to spread this with our own tongue.  Saint Augustine makes this interesting observation: “The more we criticize and condemn others, the less we examine our own lives.” A very strong recommendation on this topic of the loose tongue and venomous tongue: read Saint James Chapter 3—the sins of the tongue!  With respect to the problems in the Church, why not talk to God, as well as your Confessor or Spiritual Director, and offer fervent prayers for the Church.

3.  PRACTICE AND PERSEVERANCE IN PENANCE.  Our Lady of Fatima stated that many souls are lost because too few people pray and too few people offer sacrifices for the conversion of poor sinners.  Jesus also said: “Some devils can be cast out only by prayer and fasting (penance).” (Mt 17: 21) All of us, young and old, man or woman, rich or poor, can choose some concrete form of penance and offer that for the conversion and healing of Holy Mother Church.  As Saint Therese of Lisieux, who loved the Church intensely, pointed out: “Holiness does not depend upon the greatness of the action, but the love that accompanies it.” In other words: Do the ordinary things of daily life with extraordinary love.

4.  SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE HARD–WORKING PRIESTS IN THEIR LABORS.  Despite the failures and scandals present in the Church, in the Mystical Body of Christ there are still many hard-working, holy, sacrificial, and generous priests who are working in the vineyard of the Lord almost unperceived.  The Press often promotes and spreads the bad news, but ignores, conceals, and hides the manifold good actions that many priests carry out in the Lord’s vineyard day and night.  The next time you have contact with a priest in Confession or after Mass, you might say a prayer for him and give him a kind word of encouragement.  That can go a long way.  (I can testify to this through experience!!!

5.  THE CHURCH NEEDS MODELS.  A wounded, limping, and floundering Church is in dire need of splendid models to follow from both the past and the present.  Athletes admire their heroes from the past and present.  Writers admire literary masters.  Artists look for exemplary models after whom to style their work.  Now more than ever, priests, as well as Bishops, must lift their eyes to brilliant models, if you like the brilliant stars!  These of course are the saints.  Hans Von Balthasar states that in the heavenly firmament shine stars in gleaming splendor and these are the saints.  Among these resplendent balls of fire are priests and Bishops.

6.  LITANY OF SAINTS: PRIESTS AND BISHOPS!  Why not compose a Litany of saintly priests and Bishops and pray fervently this Litany on a daily basis for the conversion of the Church, for the healing of the Church, for the renewal of the Church, and the Reform of the Church???  If you like, I will start the list with ten saintly Bishops followed by ten saintly priests and you can add your own.  However, we must pray fervently and insistently to them for the Church!  Indeed, their prayers are very powerful to say the least.  Let us first lift our minds, our hearts and souls to these saintly Bishops: Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Saint Robert Bellarmine, Saint Anthony Maria Claret, Saint Albert the Great, Saint John Neuman, Saint Frances de Sales, Saint Augustine, Saint Athanasius, Saint John the Evangelist, Saint John Fisher… now you can add your own!  Next let us lift our minds, our hearts and souls to saintly priests among whom are: Saint John Bosco, Saint Padre Pio, Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Philip Neri, Saint John Vianney, Saint Louis de Montfort, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Saint Francis Xavier, Saint Damian of Molokai… now add your own, please!!!  Therefore, by forming this double Litany of saintly Bishops and priests and praying it fervently every day, an outpouring and effusion of graces will descend upon the Church, and especially upon priests and Bishops.  The prayers of these priestly souls and saints in heaven will never fail us!

7.  A MODERN MODEL FOR PRIESTS AND BISHOPS: VEN.  FULTON SHEEN.  Personally, I never weary of promoting the Beatification, as well as with sure hope the future canonization of Ven.  Fulton Sheen.  Indeed, in the modern world with its modern crises, this man of God who died in 1979 was a true prophet and serves as a brilliant model for both priests and Bishops.  We invite all to read Sheen’s autobiography: Treasures in Clay.  So much can be said about this true modern hero for priests and Bishops, but we will limit it to one central idea.  Upon retiring as Bishop at age 75 following the prescripts of Canon Law, Sheen dedicated the last few years of his life to preaching retreats, but specifically to priests and Bishops.  He always concluded with one simple idea: THE HOLY HOUR, THE HOUR OF POWER!!!  In a word, Sheen insisted that if priests, as well as Bishops, truly yearned for a sincere conversion of heart and life then it would come through daily contact with the Eucharistic Lord Jesus, present in the Tabernacle or Monstrance.  This meant the priests and Bishops had to make the commitment to make a Daily Holy Hour.  If done with constancy, fervor, faithfulness, and perseverance, the net result would be conversion, sanctification, and a true life of priestly holiness.  Please pray for priests and Bishops, that through the intercession of Ven.  Fulton Sheen, they will give the Lord Jesus that hour, the Holy Hour, the Hour of Power.  If done, the priest/Bishop will be imbued with power in his ministry to gather in an abundant harvest of souls.

8.  IN SINU JESU.  Recently, a very simple but extremely profound spiritual masterpiece is spreading far and wide.  The title is IN SINU JESU—When Heart Speaks to Heart: The Journal of a priest at prayer (a Benedictine Monk).  To be concise and to the point, every priest and Bishop should have a copy of this awe-inspiring classic.  The theme is very simple.  Jesus, who is the High Priest par excellence, has a burning desire to establish, cultivate, and grow in friendship with every priest and Bishop.  Most especially, Jesus longs for priests/Bishops to come before Him in the Blessed Sacrament and spend time with Him.  In this time, Jesus longs to speak heart to heart to the priest/Bishop.  What does Jesus desire of the priest/Bishop?  The following: his presence, prayer, thanksgiving, supplication, adoration, love, confidence, sincerity, transparency.  In a word, Jesus’ Heart is burning with an ardent fire to cultivate a deep, dynamic FRIENDSHIP with every priest and Bishop in the world, until the end of time.  As is displayed on the front cover, Saint John is leaning on the Heart of Jesus.  This Beloved Disciple, Saint John, is the model for every priest and Bishop in the world.  Priest/Bishops must get to know, converse with, trust, abandon themselves to, and befriend Jesus.  Once done, the life of the priest/Bishop will undergo a radical transformation, as well as the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ.  Pray and meditate upon this short passage from the Book: “Listen to me, open to me the ear of your heart, and I will speak to you as I promised.  I will instruct you.  I will teach you.  I will show you the way in which you are to go.  My heart yearns for yours.  I so desire your company… I have called you to experience the grace of my friendship.  I want you to be for my Heart another Saint John, loving me, seeking me, listening to me, abiding in my presence…” (In Sin Jesu, page 21)

9.  MERCY, MERCY, AND ONCE AGAIN MERCY!!!  Priests and Bishops must be totally immersed and transformed by the MERCY in the Heart of Jesus.  The Lord Jesus stated on many occasions to Saint Faustina Kowalska in the Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul, that the greatest attribute in the Heart of Jesus is His infinite MERCY.  However, for both priest and Bishop this mercy is a two-way street.  First, he must experience the mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus as sinner and penitent.  In a word, a priest/Bishop who expresses mercy to others, especially through the Sacrament of Penance—must first experience the merciful love of Christ as a penitent.  Before saying “I absolve you of your sins”, the priest/Bishop must hear and experience those words expressed to and for him.  In other words, before becoming the Father of the Prodigal Son, we first must be the son embraced by the loving Father.  Nobody can give what he does not have himself!

10.  MARY: THE MOTHER OF GOD, THE MOTHER OF THE CHURCH, AND THE MOTHER OF PRIESTS.  Among the many titles for Our Lady are the following from the prayer the Hail Holy Queen: “Our life, our sweetness, and our hope…” In the midst of the struggles, trials, battles, turmoil and confusion of life, the priest/Bishop must walk very closely with Mary most Holy—our life, our sweetness, and our hope.” The feminine, motherly, tender presence of Mary must constantly fill, absorb, and protect both the priest and the Bishop.  That lonely, hollow, and desolate void that many priests/Bishops at times may experience can be filled by the presence of Mary.  Saint Therese, who prayed constantly for priests, once stated that, “Mary is Queen and Mother, but she is more Mother than she is Queen.” The priest/Bishop must experience this tender, loving presence of Mary whose love is constant, pure, attentive, powerful, and most efficacious!

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "Brief Summary on Discernment"

38. As a ray of sun, passing through a crack, lights everything in the house and shows up even the finest dust, so the fear of the Lord, entering a man's heart, reveals to him all his sins.
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