Keep
your eyes open!...Keep
your eyes open!...
September 26, 2003
THE TRIB TIMES WILL RETURN NEXT WEEK, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).
FROM THE MAILBAG
VIA The Cukierski
Family:
How to Start a Spiritual Revolution!
By the late Father Kilian McGowan, C.P.
Used with permission, from the Passionist Priests,
to help spiritually guide the layman.
If you’re perfectly content wit the state of your spiritual progress, then stop reading. If you have a healthy discontent with your spiritual life, then read about a resolution that will cause a spiritual revolution in your life.
Each new day reminds us not only of the fleeting nature of time, but also that we have precious little with which to purchase our eternity.
Here’s a resolution that’s a real challenge to any day or year! Our Blessed Lord said: “If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24). Apply this one sentence to your daily life for one year, and you won’t recognize yourself at its close.
To follow Christ means first of all, to make Him the chief study of your life. It calls for meditation and study of His words. It needs the intention to live of His life by prayer and the sacraments. It will lead to the mirroring of Him in your daily life. It is the wholehearted living of the commitment you made to Christ on the day of your Baptism. Actually, it means that you intend to substitute Christ for yourself in your daily life.
Undoubtedly, every Christian wants to walk with Christ, but not everyone is willing to pay the price. The determination to follow Him must be a more than half-hearted hope or a weak-kneed wish. It must be a truly effective resolution that doesn’t count the cost implied in the perfect following of our Blessed Lord.
Immediately after inviting us to follow Him our Blessed Savior adds: “Let him deny himself.” Living for God calls for a denying of self.
The quest for the perfect love of God implies an unselfish dedication to the love and interest of God. Christ didn’t ask us to give up something but rather someone-and that someone is ourselves! If we sacrifice all our selfish desires, there is no need for any further mortification to become a saint.
We deny ourselves first by our daily struggle against mortal sin. Simply to stay alive in Christ involves an undramatic but very real kind of daily martyrdom. Previous sinfulness must be atoned for, and future possible sin must be avoided, but the real struggle is in the present hour.
Nor do we have to go far from ourselves to find the cross that our Lord tells us we must take up daily. Each of us has our cross built within the framework of our own human nature. Indeed, the greatest cross of many of us is simply the putting up with ourselves! The refined selfishness that is part and parcel of our personality can be cured only by the Cross of Christ.
Start off by taking yourself just as you are. Then be determined to do you best with the materials on hand. You have the blue-print in the life of our Lord. You have the guidance and inspiration of His words and His representatives. You can contact Him and His life through prayer and the sacraments. And you have the reassurance that you don’t have to walk alone, for this Constant Companion not only shares your life, but has a healing compassion and a divine insight into your slightest needs.
What do you need to bring Christ more perfectly into your life during this year-and consequently more perfectly into the world that needs Him so badly? Only one thing-to will it! You need, in short, a firm resolution. One that will cause a spiritual revolution in your life. It’s the only one that can save the world and yourself!
OF INTEREST: Creighton University- An Online Retreat
Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "On discernment of thoughts, passions, and virtues"
55. When our good and all-gracious Lord and Master
sees people too lazy in their exercises, He lays their flesh low with sickness,
an asceticism with less toil; and sometimes it also cleanses the soul from
evil thoughts or passions.
September 25, 2003
(1Ti 2:1-2) First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way.
POPE'S HEALTH WORRIES FAITHFUL AS HIS 25TH ANNIVERSARY NEARS
Anne-Marie Brown, 14, practically had to be forced to fly to Rome to attend Pope John Paul II's biennial World Youth Day in 1997.
"I really wasn't into the whole church thing" and never attended Mass, she said.
When she returned home to Palm Beach Gardens, it was a different story.
"It was, 'How could I get involved' at church?" said Brown, now 20 and living in Stuart as the cantor at St. Joseph Catholic Church. "I began doing readings, cantored, sang at everything."
The credit for that transformation and her singing ministry belongs partly to other teens she met in Rome, but also to the pope, whose care for young people was palpable, Brown said. That focus has made all the difference in her faith.
"He spoke a lot about going to church. He made it invigorating. It was just the passion he had -- he kind of shared it with everyone."
Brown and other Treasure Coast Catholics say the 83-year-old pontiff's impact on Catholicism and the world has been highlighted by his reviving the faith of the young and illuminating their importance to the church.
But what is central in many Catholic's thoughts now is the pope's frailty on his recent visit to Slovakia, which raises questions about the future. How much longer will he be able to function as head of the Roman Catholic Church?
RELATED: Sick pope misses weekly audience
MORE
Pope
selection process changed under John Paul II
Vatican
Correspondent Handicaps Front-Runners for Next Pope
Speculation
rises in Rome on new cardinals
GARABANDAL LINK: JOHN PAUL II – IS HE THE LAST POPE?
“After His Holiness Paul VI, there will be only two more popes before the end of the present period (el fin de los tiempos) which is not the end of the world. The Blessed Virgin told me so, but I do not know what that means.” Such are the words of Garabandal’s principal seer, Conchita, as reported by Fr. Laffineur in Star On The Mountain.
Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "On discernment of thoughts, passions, and virtues"
54. Sickness is sometimes for the cleansing of
sins, and sometime to humble our mind.
September 24, 2003
Mat 5:9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
POPE SCHEDULES HIS 143RD TRIP TO ITALY
The Pope is scheduled to go to Pompei on October 7, and the "Holy Rosary for peace in the world" and a prayer to Mary are on the agenda. This was announced by the Holy Seat's press office, who published the program of the pope's 143rd trip in Italy. The visit will last just over two hours, and John Paul II will reach the sanctuary by helicopter. The arrival is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the airport that will be assembled for the occasion at the "Palestra grande" at the archaeological excavations in Pompei. After a brief welcome, the meeting will move by car to the Palestra Grande at Piazza Bartolo Longo. At 10:30 a.m. at the Basilica of the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the pope will recite the "Holy Rosary for peace in the world" and will perform the homily. Afterwards there will be a prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the pope will return to the archaeological excavations in Pompei.
RELATED: Year of the Rosary: October 2002 - October 2003
VATICAN CALL FOR ELIMINATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
The Vatican's delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) repeated the Church's call to stop the spread of nuclear weapons around the world.
Speaking at the 47th Session of the General Conference of the IAEA, which took place in Vienna from September 15-19, Mgr Leo Boccardi, said: "the present moment in history brings about new challenges and new opportunities for the IAEA which has been dedicated since its foundation to the realization and promotion of a vision of 'Atoms for Peace' with the aim to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, their eventual elimination, and to share safe and secure nuclear technology, in peaceful applications for the benefit of humankind."
"In this decisive moment of history, the spirit of legitimacy must be recuperated on the international scene. The return to the value of the law and to the institutions which should be in the position to secure its validity is the best way for preventing conflicts."
Mgr Boccardi said: "the past year has been very challenging for the Agency in the field of verification. ... It is important that verification is done through impartial, international inspections, because only such activities can generate credibility and bring about good results. However, to make the world more secure, verifying the actual situation in the nuclear weapons area is not enough: we need to reinvigorate the nuclear disarmament process including real progress in nuclear weapons dismantlement."
RELATED HEADLINES
Iranian
Official Warns of Less Nuclear Cooperation From Tehran
Iran
Displays Missile Might Amid N-Fears
N
Korea spurns nuclear treaty
North
Korea More Dangerous Than Ever
Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "On discernment of thoughts, passions, and virtues"
53. When we see one of our athletes in Christ in
bodily suffering and infirmity, let us not maliciously seek to learn the
explantion of his illness, but rather with simple and genuine love, let
us try to heal him as though he were part of our own body, and as a fellow
warrior wounded in the fray.
September 23, 2003
TEEN DIES AFTER COMPLICATIONS FROM ABORTION PILL
Holly Marie Patterson went to a Planned Parenthood clinic two weeks ago to quietly consider ways to handle a life change she wasn't ready for. One week later, the 18-year-old lay dying on an emergency room table, the victim of complications after she took the abortion pill.
Patterson's death is likely to reignite the debate surrounding RU-486, the pill approved by the Food and Drug Administration two years ago as a way for women to end pregnancies themselves.
Her father is hoping the tragedy will encourage other women considering abortion to seek support, especially from their families.
"Every time I think about it, I think, 'She suffered in silence,"' said Monty Patterson, who said he did not know his daughter was pregnant or taking abortion drugs. "She felt she would disappoint everyone around her, and then she had to carry that whole load. I wish she could have told me so I could have helped her."
SEE ALSO: Woman recounts abortion at Brigham's New Jersey clinic
RELATED: Late-term abortion ban in works Bill heads toward President Bush
Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "On discernment of thoughts, passions, and virtues"
52. The present generation is seriously corrupt
and all full of pride and hypocrisy. In bodily labours, it perhaps reaches
the level of our ancient Fathers, but it is not graced with their gifts,
though I think nature never had such need of spiritual gifts as now. And
we have received our due. For God is manifested not in labours, but in
simplicity and humilty. And if the power of the Lord is made perfect in
weakness, the Lord will certainly not reject a humble worker.
September 19, 2003
THE TRIB TIMES WILL RETURN NEXT WEEK, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).
WHAT WE MUST DO AFTER WE HAVE RECEIVED THE BLESSED SACRAMENT
"Stay with Me, My child, nor leave Me alone, by wandering away with thy mind, thy heart, or thy senses" (from part 1).
The first five parts of Chapter XX, Book IV of "The Imitation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus" by Rev. Peter J. Arnoudt, S.J.
BORN A JEW IN WAR, TODAY A PRIEST
A Jewish woman gives birth to a baby boy in a country where her kinfolk are being turned to ash. She knows she will not live to see the end of the war. But perhaps there is a way for her 6-day-old son to survive.
The Jewish mother appeals to a Polish woman she trusted.
" 'You're a Catholic. You believe in Jesus, and after all, he was a Jew,' '' she said. " 'You have to save this Jewish baby because of who you believe in. And once he grows up, he will become a priest.' "
Their sacrifice and courage won out over the Nazi war machine. Their son is alive. And whether it was his birth mother's promise--or a prophecy--he became a priest.
The Rev. Romuald Jakub Weksler-Waszkinel was in Chicago Monday to tell the tale of Batia Weksler, his Jewish birth mother, entrusting him to his adoptive Roman Catholic mother, Emilia Waszkinel. Emilia and her husband Piotr risked death for passing a Jewish child as their own.
His Jewish mother, father and brother died in the Holocaust.
Weksler-Waszkinel didn't learn until age 35--when his adoptive mother thought she was dying--that he was one of the Jewish "hidden children'' of the Holocaust.
He was in Chicago to build Jewish-Catholic bridges. He says he embodies both cultures, and that he is living proof of courageous gentiles in wartime Poland.
"I love both mothers,'' he said through a translator. "To say I respect them is not to say enough.''
Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "On discernment of thoughts, passions, and virtues"
51. As an example of the fear of the Lord, let
us take the fear that we feel in the presence of rulers and wild beasts;
and as an example of desire for God, let carnal love serve as a model for
you. There is nothing against taking examples of the virtues from what
is contrary.
September 18, 2003
(Mat 25:40) And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.'
IN ANY LANGUAGE, DANGER'S AFOOT
As Hurricane Isabel swirled toward North Carolina, state officials and Latino advocates hustled to ensure that the state's Spanish-speaking population knows to be ready for possible flooding, high winds, downed electric lines and other storm-related problems.
The Rev. Paul Brant, a Hispanic ministry coordinator for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, has spent the past few days signing up volunteers who can be translators at emergency management headquarters in Craven County as well as at shelters . He also has been calling contacts in Latino communities near the coast, many of whom work in the seafood packing industry and live in trailers that could be vulnerable to high winds, to urge people to go to local shelters.
"We do have some people who will go door-to-door if necessary to explain this is serious," Brant said. "This is not a game."
Advocates say they don't want a repeat of Hurricane Floyd in 1999, when floods caught some Latinos in Eastern North Carolina off guard. Others didn't understand English-only warnings about such things as not drinking tap water after systems went down. That meant that people showed up at shelters and hospitals sick, said Andrea Bazán Manson , executive director of El Pueblo, a Latino advocacy group in Raleigh.
CATHOLIC CHRISTIAN CHARITIES IN THE HEADLINES
50. The mother of all the vices is pleasure and
guile. He who has them within him will not see the Lord; and abstinence
from the first will bring but little benefit without abstinence from the
second.
September 17, 2003
(Luk 17:28-30) Likewise as it was in the days of Lot--they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom fire and sulphur rained from heaven and destroyed them all-- so will it be on the day when the Son of man is revealed.
THE FINAL FRONTIER FOR CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) recently held a hearing to determine if the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) will hold up to constitutional challenge or if a constitutional amendment is needed to insure that marriage is only between a man and a woman.
The conclusion, the experts told Sen. Cornyn, is that the DOMA statute may well be declared unconstitutional, thanks to the recent Supreme Court decision overturning the Texas sodomy law.
Sen. Cornyn is telling his colleagues that a constitutional amendment is required to protect traditional marriage. Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO) has introduced such an amendment, which now has about 100 bi-partisan co-sponsors. A similar amendment is likely to soon be introduced in the Senate.
The homosexual community claims it already has enough votes to kill the amendment in both Houses of Congress. It takes a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress to pass a constitutional amendment, and then three-quarters of the states to ratify it.
Some Members are telling the homosexual lobby that they will be with them, but that remains to be seen when the amendment is actually up for a vote. Pressure will be intense. This issue galvanizes the Christian community -- including not only Evangelicals but also Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Mormons as well. The community of believers recognizes that they either preserve traditional marriage as the backbone of society, or society will become ever more perverse.
RELATED: U.S. Catholic leaders endorse constitutional amendment against gay marriage
CANADIAN PARLIAMENT DEBATES GAY MARRIAGE RESOLUTION
Canada's parliament took on the divisive issue of same-sex marriage Tuesday, debating a nonbinding resolution that opposes the government's plan to legalize gay marriage. While the resolution has no legal weight, it is intended to force parliament members of the governing Liberal Party to declare with their vote whether they support or oppose the government measure.
Hundreds of gay and lesbian couples have been married in Ontario and British Columbia since courts in those provinces ruled earlier this year that the current definition of marriage as being between a man and woman is discriminatory. The government has not appealed, choosing instead to rewrite the law to define marriage as being between two persons. The draft law has been sent to the Canadian supreme court, the nation's highest, for review before parliament considers it.
Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "On discernment of thoughts, passions, and virtues"
49. All the contrary virtues are born of parents
contrary to these. But without enlarging on the subject, I will merely
say that for all the passions mentioned above, the remedy is humility.
Those who have obtained that virtue have overcome all.
September 16, 2003
CHRISTIAN LEADERS: HALT ISRAELI WALL
The heads of the Christian churches in the Holy Land are appealing to public figures and private citizens around the world to pressure Israel to halt the construction of a "separation wall" that, once completed, will separate the West Bank from Israel.
In a joint letter being circulated to journalists, government officials and church faithful, the nine leaders from Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran churches, said the barrier, started approximately 18 months ago, "constitutes a grave obstacle . . ."
If the wall is extended to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, as planned, they warned that visits by pilgrims, which have dwindled to a trickle since the start of the Palestinian uprising three years ago, "will be further discouraged."
RELATED: Fence divides West Bank city from its hopes
A LOOK BACK: 10 years after Oslo, Mideast peace process in tatters
SEE ALSO: Holy See Republishes "Pacem in Terris" -1963 Encyclical Seen as Having Timely Lessons
Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "On discernment of thoughts, passions, and virtues"
48. Hypocrisy comes from self-satisfaction and
wilfulness.
September 13, 2003
THE TRIB TIMES WILL RETURN NEXT WEEK, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).
A seemingly re-invigorated Pope John Paul II has celebrated an outdoor mass in the central Slovakian town of Banska Bystrica in front of thousands of pilgrims. The crowd included many people from his native Poland crossed the border to see him, waited in the rain for him to arrive in his white popemobile.
Correspondents say the 83-year-old pontiff seemed more alert than on Thursday in the capital Bratislava, when tiredness forced him to abandon his arrival speech.
Slovakia is the pontiff's last scheduled trip for this year, but Mr Navarro-Valls said he did not see any "real obstacle" to further travel next year.
Chanting crowd Up to 150,000 people turned up in the morning drizzle for a mass in the ancient town square. Flag-waving followers thronged the cobbled streets for what some fear will be their last chance to see the Pope.
The Pope thanked God for allowing him "another apostolic trip in the name of Christ". The crowd responded with chants of "let the Holy Father live". The Pope then asked Cardinal Josef Tomko to read the rest of the homily before finishing the last few lines himself.
This is John Paul's third visit to the former communist central European country and his 102nd foreign trip as pontiff.
Only one key public event has been scheduled each day for the Pope. But he is expected to continue travelling around the country by road and air until his departure on Sunday.
EXCERPT FROM THE WORD FROM ROME:
Other issues more internal to Slovakia will also loom large during the papal trip.
In July, the Slovak parliament voted to legalize abortion up to the 24th week of pregnancy, but President Rudolf Schuster vetoed the bill. Currently, a rule by the health ministry allows abortion up to 24th week and the proposed law was an attempt to make that rule into law. Parliament is expected to take up the issue again in October, and the pope will certainly want to weigh in.
The Vatican is also pushing the Slovak government to sign a treaty that would recognize a right to “conscientious objection” for Catholics, not just on abortion but across a wide range of issues. Under the terms of the treaty, employees could refuse to work on Sundays and Christian holidays, gynecologists could refuse to carry out abortions or prescribe contraception, judges would be able to refuse divorce cases, and teachers to refuse to teach sex education.
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE:
Answer
to a prayer- A higher grounding
Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "On discernment of thoughts, passions, and virtues"
47. Guile is born of conceit and anger.
September 11, 2003
(Mat 28:19-20) Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."
NEWSFLASH: Pope Threatened with death During Slovakia Visit
POPE'S SLOVAKIA TRIP KEY TO VATICAN'S EUROPE POLICY
When Pope John Paul starts a trip to Slovakia this Thursday, his attention will go beyond the hundreds of thousands of Catholics who will turn out to see him. He will have the very future of Europe in his sights.
Given the pope's advancing age and ailments, his followers here know each trip to his native region of central Europe, where he spurred the struggle against Soviet domination and was instrumental in its fall, could be his last.
The four-day trip -- his 102nd outside Italy -- will once again put the health of the 83-year-old Roman Catholic leader under the spotlight just a month ahead of the 25th anniversary of his election.
But the Church under the long-serving pontiff is still well capable of high politics, and the visit may show signs of how the Vatican will press its vision for Europe after Slovakia and seven other ex-Soviet satellites join the European Union next May.
While governments in the West are mostly set to secular norms -- divorce and abortion are legal almost universally, and gay marriages are becoming more frequent -- the legal character of central Europe's future EU members is still up for grabs.
With this in mind, the pope is expected to rally Slovaks and the rest of the region's Catholic faithful to defend their "authentic Christian" values -- Vatican shorthand for upholding the traditional concepts of marriage and sexuality.
"It will be a spiritual wake-up call," beams Frantisek Miklosko, a member of parliament and presidential hopeful for the ruling coalition Christian Democrat party (KDH).
MORE: Reviving
Catholic values
SEE ALSO: POPE
JOHN PAUL II AND THE RADIATION OF THE SUPERNATURAL
FROM THE MAILBAG
VIA Circle
of Prayer Mailist: WHY THE POPE IS TIRED
IN 23 YEARS OF HIS PONTIFICATE, THESE ARE SOME
OF THE REASONS WHY THE POPE IS TIRED
NUMBER OF TRIPS OUTSIDE OF ITALY: 95
NUMBER OF TRIPS INSIDE ITALY, NOT INCLUDING ROME:
140
VISITS IN ROME AND CASTELGANGOLFO: 726
BEATIFICATIONS: 1,282 CANONIZATIONS: 456
NUMBER OF NATIONS VISITED: 130
NUMBER OF CITIES VISITED: 604
NUMBER OF SPEECHES OUTSIDE OF ITALY: 3,430
SPEECHES DURING HIS PONTIFICATE: 20,341
NUMBER OF GENERAL AUDIENCES: 1,218 DOCUMENTS
13 ENCYCLICAS
13 APOSTOLIC EXHORTATIONS
11 APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS
41 APOSTOLIC LETTERS
CATHECHISM
NUMBER OF PERSONS THAT HAVE ATTENDED HIS GENERAL
AUDIENCES: 16,930,200 DURATIONS OF HIS TRIPS:541 DAYS, 18 HRS, 25 MIN
TOTAL OF KILOMETERS: 1,400,607 (THIS IS 28,3 TIMES
AROUND THE WORLD. IT IS 2,97 TIMES THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE EARTH AND THE
MOON. AND ALL THIS ACCOMPLISHED WITH 18 HOURS DAILY WORK)
UNTIL VERY RECENTLY HE DID NOT TAKE ANY MEDICINES.
HE HAS HAD 6 SURGERIES.
IN ONE OF THESE, THEY CUT OUT 2.5 METERS OF HIS
INTESTINE.
HE HAS ARTROSIS IN ONE LEG, THIS MAKES IT DIFFICULT
FOR HIM TO WALK. EVEN SO, HE NEVER COMPLAINS AND KEEPS GOING FORWARD.
WHATEVER YOUR BELIEF MAY BE, THIS POPE IS AN EXAMPLE FOR ALL, CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULTS, SICK OR HEALTHY. HE DOES THIS TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THE LOVE OF GOD FOR MANKIND.
ON HIS LAST TRIP TO BULGARIA, HE WAS ASKED IF HE WILL STEP DOWN, AND HE ANSWERED "IF CHRIST HAD STEP DOWN FROM THE CROSS, I WOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO THE SAME"
POPE JOHN PAUL II HAS ASKED ON SATURDAY JULY 6TH WHEN HE WAS PRAYING THE ANGELUS IN FRONT OF PILGRIMS TO ST. PETER'S SQUARE, FOR US TO PRAY FOR HIM. HE SAID HE IS STILL THERE BECAUSE OF THE STRENGTH THAT PRAYERS GIVE HIM.
COULD YOU HELP HIM WITH A PRAYER? COULD YOU SEND THIS MESSAGE TO OTHERS SO THAT WE CAN ALL PRAY FOR HIM?
Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "On discernment of thoughts, passions, and virtues"
46. Hardness of heart sometimes comes from over-eating,
often from insensitivity and attachment. And again attachment comes sometimes
from lust, or from avarice, or from gluttony, or from vainglory, and from
many other causes.
September 10, 2003
(Rev 2:24-25) But to the rest of you in Thyati'ra, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay upon you any other burden; only hold fast what you have, until I come.
CATHOLICS URGE BISHOPS AGAINST DISSENTERS
Conservative lay Roman Catholics urged U.S. bishops Monday to refrain from putting dissenters to the church's teachings on boards and in other high-profile positions.
They asserted that the problems facing the church are not the result of its fundamental teachings and that putting dissidents in positions of authority would undermine doctrine and weaken bishops.
They cited Leon Panetta's appointment to the National Review Board, a group of 13 lay Catholics asked by the bishops to monitor their response to the church's sexual abuse scandals.
Conservatives also discussed with the bishops how and when the hierarchy should reprimand public officials who are Catholic and contradict the church's beliefs on issues such as abortion.
"We will not honor pro-abortion public officials who call themselves Catholic," said Deal Hudson, editor of the conservative Catholic magazine Crisis.
MORE: Group cites dissent in church
‘DRAMATIC REALIGNMENT’ PREDICTED IN EPISCOPAL CHURCH
St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Monroe, Ga., held a funeral service Aug. 10. No one had died; parishioners were grieving for their denomination, the Episcopal Church USA, which on Aug. 5 approved an openly homosexual man, the Rev. V. Gene Robinson, as a bishop. The denomination also voted to give local clergy the option of performing same-sex unions.
The Rev. Foley Beach, rector of St. Alban’s, said the liturgy for the burial of the dead was intended to make a statement about the condition of the ECUSA. “The Episcopal Church as we have known it is dead,” Beach said. “It is no longer the same church we have been a part of.”
Like Beach, many members of the ECUSA are distraught over the General Convention’s actions and are wondering what to do next. Biblically orthodox leaders within the denomination are advising other conservative members to be patient and resolute, promising that change is coming.
“Do not say you are breaking communion with your bishop, and do say you are not leaving the Anglican Communion,” advised the American Anglican Council, a group representing orthodox members of the ECUSA.
The group directed conservatives not to sue for church property or take other “unilateral action,” but to hold on until Oct. 7 to 9, when orthodox bishops, clergy and lay leaders will meet in Plano, Texas, to plot strategy and take action.
The following week, the world’s 38 Anglican primates will convene in London Oct. 15 to 16 for an emergency meeting.
RELATED: Catholic-Anglican relations may be another casualty of gay bishop's election
Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "On discernment of thoughts, passions, and virtues"
45. Blasphemy is properly the offspring of pride;
but it is often born of condemnation of our neighbour for the same thing;
or of the excessive envy of the demons.
September 9, 2003
(Jer 6:13-14) "For from the least to the greatest of them, every one is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, every one deals falsely. They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace.
Just three months ago, after President Bush held back-to-back summits by the Red Sea to promote a U.S.-backed plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace, he discussed with reporters on Air Force One how presidents before him had worked for peace, but confidently added, "Maybe history is such that now we can achieve it."
With the sudden resignation Saturday of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, those hopes seemed in tatters. The Bush administration had invested time and money to bolster Abbas in his struggle with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Some U.S. officials say the resignation leaves the situation perilous, with little maneuvering room after a summer of missed opportunities and a shirking of responsibilities by all sides.
Indeed, the turn of events points to a central contradiction of the administration's approach to the conflict: U.S. officials refuse to deal with Arafat, the elected leader of the Palestinian people, and yet the success of their plan relies on a Palestinian official appointed by Arafat, who can limit his authority at any time.
The constant shunning of Arafat by the Americans -- while European officials continue to meet with him -- has only enhanced his stature in the Palestinian territories.
MORE: Palestinians
doubt Korei to fare better than Abbas
SEE ALSO: Christian
Peacemaker Teams take case for peace to Mideast
POPE SAYS PEACE HOPES FELL ALONG WITH TWIN TOWERS
Pope John Paul said on Monday the world's hopes for peace seemed to have collapsed with New York's Twin Towers two years ago and that the planet was mired more than ever in wars, injustice and terrorism.
In a sombre statement, the ailing 83-year-old Roman Catholic leader said that too often governments were more concerned with military spending than development.
"In a few days we will be commemorating the tragic attack on the Twin Towers in New York," he said in a message to the annual meeting of the internationally renowned Catholic peace group Sant'Egidio.
"Unfortunately, it seems that many hopes for peace collapsed along with the Towers," he said in the message released by the Vatican on Monday.
"Wars and conflicts continue to thrive and to poison the lives of so many people, particularly in the poorest countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America," he said.
Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "On discernment of thoughts, passions, and virtues"
44. Despondency is born sometimes of luxury, and
sometimes of lack of fear of God.
September 5, 2003
THE TRIB TIMES WILL RETURN NEXT WEEK, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).
(Mat 25:40) And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.'
CATHOLIC CHARITY IN THE NEWS
Catholic
Church Trains Health Workers
Catholic
Charities Agencies Continue to Help With the Healing Process of September
11
Caritas
Seeking Aid for People of North Korea
Caritas
Emergency Team Arrives in Monrovia, Liberia
FROM THE MAILBAG
VIA David
J. Sheehan:
Summary of Bosnia 2003 Summer Work Camp of St. David’s Relief Foundation
Time: First 2weeks of June 2003 - 1st week in countryside doing construction work and 2nd week is R&R in Medjugorje
Location: Alladinici, a small village in Bosnia-Hercegovina (B-H) about 40 minutes east of Medjugorje
Number of Volunteers – about 34
About 13 veterans, 5 of the Gray Friars from the
Bronx and 16 new /young people
Task: work on an elementary school (about 50 years old). This school was attended by Bishop Peric (you know of him) in his early years- Remove old windows and install new ones
Co-ordinators: Jeff Reed, Exec. Director of St. David’s, Father Svetozar of Medjugorje, and a man named Bozo (pronounced beau jew) who was the local honcho
First couple of days were deconstruction/removing the old windows. Crews worked all week and finished up Saturday. Then spent 2nd week in Medjugorje. Medjugorje very hot in June.
What worked well was that (a) all the worker were at the same jobsite instead of being scattered around the village as sometimes happens, (b) had all their meals together as a group, (c) work was close by the village church where the young pastor and one of the veteran volunteers, Annette, worked out daily adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Also, the local man in charge, Bozo, was an engineer and provided enthusiasm and leadership.
Here are the recurring elements of success with
St. David’s Relief
1. Inclusion of God through the daily Mass and
adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
2. Spiritual leadership provided by the Gray Friars
out of the Bronx
3. Good local leadership in the material things
that need to get accomplished
4. doing work that will benefit others and future
generations
5. Local Community spirit and involvement
Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "On discernment of thoughts, passions, and virtues"
43. Talkativeness is born sometimes of gluttony,
and sometimes of vainglory.
September 4, 2003
Looks like packing her family's personal effects and transferring the brood to a new home has given Fredricka "Louie" Callueng a touch of dust-induced colds and cough. But she has been through worse. In 1992, doctors discovered a tumor between the heart and lungs of this Philippine Airlines line administrator, pilot's wife and mother of two. A tube, in fact, needed to be inserted on her side to drain the blood that was flooding her collapsed lungs.
On the eve of her operation at the Makati Medical Center, Louie received a curious gift -- a picture and relic of Mother Ma. Cristina Brando, Foundress of the Congregation of the Oblation Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.
''Pray to her,'' instructed Mother Loredana, Superior of the congregation who was introduced to Louie by a common friend. ''She needs a miracle to be a saint.'' Louie did as she was told, though she knew nothing of the Italian nun and was hardly what you would consider religious. ''I think it was the way I prayed from the heart,'' she recalls. ''At the time, my children were only 4 and 7, so I was desperate to live! I was confident that Ma. Cristina would help me.''
And what a swift reply. The next day, a bemused Dr. Vicente Oben, thoracic surgeon and Louie's attending physician, informed her that an operation was no longer necessary as the tumor had disappeared. ''Immediately, I knew it was Ma. Cristina because I had never prayed for intercession before,'' says Louie, who underwent three x-rays to confirm the new findings. ''When doctors told me the mass had disappeared, I said, 'My God, that's the miracle they had been waiting for!' '' For his part, Dr. Oben (who detected the tumor and fluid in the patient's chest) attributed initial x-ray results to a technical glitch. Nevertheless, Oben, a Marian devotee whose unfailing prayers to Pope John Paul XXIII has granted, to his mind, ''a lot of graces,'' did not take Louie's case lightly. ''The moment I stepped into Fredricka's room,'' he once told the patient, ''everything was providential.''
ALSO OF INTEREST: The Holy Doctor Resonates 150 Years Later
Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "On discernment of thoughts, passions, and virtues"
42. Much sleep is born sometimes of luxury; and
sometimes of fasting, when those who fast are proud of it; and sometimes
of despondency; and sometimes from nature.
September 3, 2003
ILLUSIONS
OF THE WAR ON TERRORISM
by Peter L. Bergen foreignaffairs.org
Writing the obituary of al Qaeda has proven premature. Recent attacks in Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Pakistan by al Qaeda and affiliated groups demonstrate that the war on terrorism is far from over. Indeed, there are likely to be more attacks against Western targets in coming weeks. Yet the Bush administration, and by extension the American public, are laboring under two misapprehensions about the conduct of that war.
The first miscalculation is that the war in Iraq was relevant to the war on terrorism. In reality the Iraq war was a sideshow, albeit an expensive one in terms of blood and treasure. While the war in Iraq deposed a despicable tyrant, it will have little lasting impact on the war on terrorism except insofar as large numbers of American troops indefinitely occupying Iraq will provide tempting targets for Middle Eastern terrorists for years to come.
The second misapprehension that the Bush administration has about al Qaeda is far more serious as it represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the threat we all face. To treat al Qaeda simply as an organization is to miss the fact that al Qaeda has now mutated into an ideology with many adherents who may have never traveled to bin Laden's Afghan training camps. Rather, al Qaeda, the organization, has also evolved into an ideology of "bin Ladenism" or "al Qaedaism." Bin Ladenism will never enjoy the mass appeal of other destructive ideologies of the modern era, such as communism, but it certainly enjoys wider support today than the secular Arab socialism that gripped much of the Middle East in past decades. And this is important, because many thousands of underemployed, disaffected men in the Muslim world will continue to embrace for years to come bin Laden's violent anti-Western doctrine and call for Taliban-style theocracies around the Muslim world.
While eliminating the top leadership of al Qaeda will be useful in terms of seeking justice for the victims of September 11 and heading off other spectacular attacks by the group, make no mistake: this will not end the war of the terrorists. Bin Laden's ideas have circulated widely and will continue to attract adherents for years to come. Arresting people is a relatively simple matter. Arresting ideas is another thing entirely. All that one can hope for in the long term is that bin Ladenism will eventually wither way, burdened down by its own internal contradictions, as have other bad ideas in the past.
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Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "On discernment of thoughts, passions, and virtues"
41. Untimely jesting is sometimes born of lust;
and sometimes of vainglory, when a man impiously puts on a pious air; and
sometimes too of luxury.
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