Keep
your eyes open!...Keep
your eyes open!...
September 29, 2006
THE TRIB TIMES WILL RETURN NEXT WEEK, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).
(Mat 19:14) but Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."
LINK: USCCB STATEMENT FOR RESPECT LIFE SUNDAY 2006
VIA http://www.internationalweekofprayerandfasting.org/
October 1 - October 10 An Invitation to Prayer and Fasting
This year the Week (actually 10 days) takes place from Sunday, October
1 through Monday, October 10, 2006. The goals of the International Week
of Prayer and Fasting are the conversion of nations, an end to
abortion, and to build a culture of Life . We ask people to participate
by doing the following:
Priests for Life: Observing Respect Life Sunday
Lifesite.net: New Website Details Thousands of Violent Crimes by Abortion Supporters
See also: Life Chain 2006
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Discretion
54. He also said, ' A grumbler is not a monk. Anyone who gives evil for evil is not a monk. An irritable man is not a monk.'
September 28, 2006
(Rev 7:9-10) After this, I saw a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands. And they cried with a loud voice, saying: Salvation to our God, who sitteth upon the throne and to the Lamb.
LINK PROVIDED BY HOLYSOULS.NET: http://www.ewtn.com/library/SPIRIT/AVOIDPRG.TXT
TO AVOID PURGATORY, DO AS FOLLOWS
1. In every prayer you say, every Mass
you hear, every Communion you receive, every good work you perform,
have the express intention of imploring God to grant you a holy and
happy death and no Purgatory. Surely God will hear a prayer said with
such confidence and perseverance.
2. Always wish to do God's will. It is in every sense the best for you.
When you do or seek anything that is not God's will, you are sure to
suffer. Say fervently, therefore, each time you recite the Our Father:
"Thy will be done"
3. Accept all the sufferings, sorrows, pains and disappointments of
life, be they great or small: ill health, loss of goods, the death of
your dear ones, heat or cold, rain or sunshine, as coming from God.
Bear them calmly and patiently for love of Him and in penance for your
sins. Of course one may use all his efforts to ward off trouble and
pain, but when one cannot avoid them let him bear them manfully.
Impatience and revolt make sufferings vastly greater and more difficult to bear.
4. Christ's life and actions are so many lessons for us to imitate.
The greatest act in His life was His Passion. As He had a Passion, so
each one of us has a passion. Our passion consists in the sufferings
and labours of every day. The penance God imposed on man for sin was to
gain his bread in the sweat of his brow. Therefore, let us do our work,
accept its disappointments and hardships, and bear our pains in union
with the Passion of Christ. We gain more merit by a little pain than by
years of pleasure.
5. Forgive all injuries and offences, for in proportion as we forgive others, God forgives us.
6. Avoid mortal sins and deliberate venial sins and break off all bad
habits. Then it will be relatively easy to satisfy God's justice for
sins of frailty. Above all, avoid sins against charity and against
chastity, whether in thought, word or deed, for these sins [and the
expiation for them] are the reason why many souls are detained in
Purgatory for long years.
7. If afraid of doing much, do many little things, acts of kindness and
charity, give the alms you can, cultivate regularity of life, method in
work, and punctuality in the performance of duty; don't grumble or
complain when things are not as you please; don't censure and complain
of others; never refuse to do a favour to others when it is possible.
These and such like little acts are a splendid penance.
8. Do all in your power for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Pray for them
constantly, get others to do so, join the Association of the Holy Souls
and ask all those you know to do likewise. The Holy Souls will repay
you most generously.
9. There is no way more powerful of obtaining from God a most holy and
happy death than by weekly Confession, daily Mass and daily Communion.
10. A daily visit to the Blessed Sacrament--it need only be three or
four minutes--is an easy way of obtaining the same grace. Kneeling in
the presence of Jesus with eyes fixed on the Tabernacle, sure that He
is looking at us, let us for a few minutes repeat some little prayer
like these: "My Jesus, mercy." "My Jesus, have pity on me, a sinner"
"My Jesus, I love You" "My Jesus, give me a happy death."
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Discretion
53. He also said, 'Evil cannot drive out evil. If anyone hurts you, do good to him and your good will destroy his evil.'
September 27, 2006
(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."
HEADLINE: In Italy, priests offering guidance via Web site
FROM THE MAILBAG Reflection by Father Ted:
My dearest Lord Jesus, thank You for
allowing me the privilege and the opportunity to be in Rome last week
and to see and to hear our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI on last
Wednesday in Saint Peter’s Square.
I am most grateful that You enabled me to see him, to hear him as well
as to witness the enthusiastic response of so many people from so many
different countries.
What a blessing that You gave to us.
Thank You!
I also want to thank You for having selected him to be our chief Shepherd at this time.
For You have given to him the many gifts and abilities that he needs to guide us during these critical days.
Above all, You have given to him Your Shepherd’s heart. For he loves us as You love us.
You have given to him Your Wisdom through Your Holy Spirit. He speaks
to us as You want him to – to teach us, to correct us, to
encourage us.
Just as he loves You with all his heart, with all his soul, with all
his mind, so You want us to love You and others in the same way.
You have taught him how to serve others.
Now, through him, teach us how to serve.
For just as You want him to shepherd Your Church, so teach us to shepherd the people You have placed within our communities.
Give to us, O Lord, as You have given to Pope Benedict, that loving
heart – so that we may help our brothers and sisters to know,
with their hearts, the deep love that You have for each one of them.
Place within our hearts the profound desire to serve them in their needs.
Stifle within us the inclination to be bossy.
Dearest Jesus, teach us as You have taught Pope Benedict the importance
of our daily prayers – especially the Holy Mass and the Divine
Office May we not neglect to visit You frequently in the Holy
Eucharist. May we not neglect to pray with Mary.
May we see all – as our brothers and sisters in You, O Lord.
May we, like Pope Benedict, love each other as You have loved us.
Jesus, with Pope Benedict, may we say and mean – We are Your
servants, O Lord. May we do Your Will each day by serving Your people
– teaching them Your Truth, giving them Your Life, loving them
with You.
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Discretion
52. He also said, 'Suppose there are three men living together. One
lives a life in stillness, the second is ill but gives thanks to God,
the third serves the needs of others with sincerity. These three men
are alike, it is as if they were all doing the same work.'
September 26, 2006
(Mat 5:11-12) Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: Be glad and rejoice for your reward is very great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets that were before you.
SECOND ATTACK IN THREE DAYS AGAINST A CHALDEAN CHURCH IN IRAQ
Second attack in three days against a
Chaldean church in Mosul. Once again the Church of the Holy Spirit is
the target. This morning a group of men fired rockets against the
building, whilst an explosive devise was detonated outside a usually
unused entrance door, this according to local sources who also told
AsiaNews that no one was killed or hurt in the incident. They also
suggested that the attackers might be the same people who on Sunday
fired some 80 shots against the church breaking some windows and
causing minor damage.
For months, tensions have been rising in Mosul, a Sunni stronghold.
Some people have suggested that the anti-Christian attacks are linked
to the controversy caused by the Pope's speech in Regensburg (Germany).
In fact, some flyers making anti-Christian threats were distributed
around town last Friday, calling on Christians to condemn the Pope's
remarks or be killed and see their churches burnt down.
Mgr Raho, Mosul's Chaldean bishop, had posters pasted on walls saying
that "neither Iraqi Christians, nor the Pope, want to destroy the
relationship with Muslims." But his action did not prevent violence
from happening again.
It is likely that in this as in previous cases, religion is being used
for political purposes. In fact Iraqi Muslim leaders, including grand
ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, have expressed solidarity and understanding
towards the Vatican. A representative of al-Sistani, who is Shia
Islam's highest authority in Iraq, has said that he wants to visit the
Pope.
MORE: Fear strikes Iraq's Christians over Pope words
RELATED
Violence must be opposed, Pope tells Muslim leaders
Excerpts from Benedict's speech
Via Lifesite: The Pope and Islam - More Article Excerpts
EDITORIAL: The Pope Was Right by George Weigel
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Discretion
51. He also said, 'If a man appears silent in speech but is condemning
other people in his heart, he is really talking incessantly. Another
man may seem to talk all day, but he is keeping silence since he always
speaks in a way that is right with his heart.'
September 22, 2006
THE TRIB TIMES WILL RETURN NEXT WEEK, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).(Heb 13:8) Jesus Christ, yesterday, and today: and the same for ever.
LINK: Eucharistic Miracles
LINK: The Holy Eucharist and the Holy Mass
VIA HOLY SPIRIT INTERACTIVE: The Worth of the Eucharist
FROM THE MAILBAG
VIA Jim McCrea: On Eucharistic Adoration
It is unfortunate that when
Eucharistic Adoration is available in a parish, so many Catholics there
simply do not have an awareness of its importance, treating Adoration
as if it were simply a devotion that a select number of parishioners
are into and others are not - a take it or leave it attitude.
But the Eucharist *is* Jesus' entire, physical, substantial presence,
under the sense qualities of bread (no real bread is present, it has
been transubstantiated by the omnipotence of God into Jesus Christ).
The Eucharist = Jesus.
There He is with all His power and love that He is willing to pour out on those who take time out to be with Him there in faith.
What blessings He gives adorers who are there in faith, hope, and
charity, most of which will not be known until we pass beyond the veil
in death.
What grievously denegrates from the importance of Eucharistic Adoration
is the modernist tendency to equate Jesus in the Eucharist with Jesus
in the people.
No wonder many people don't bother with Jesus in the Eucharist if He is equated with the crowd.
In a state of grace, we only have Jesus in a finite way (which is
always open to growth in this life), whereas in the Eucharist, Jesus is
present in the infinity of His entire being.
So in no way can they be equated.
For any true Catholic, Eucharistic Adoration is not an option, no more
than a relationship with Jesus is an option, because the Eucharist is
Jesus right there.
One may be pressed for time, but at least a few minutes should be spent if that is all one can afford.
Fr. Hardon says it right that the true disciple should spend as much
time before the Blessed Sacrament as his or her state in life allows.
Adoration is the most important time that one can spend outside of Mass.
Fr. Hardon stresses that the only way that a priest is able to know
what to say, what not to say, and how to say it, in his preaching, is
by learning it before Jesus in Adoration.
It is terrible when a priest detracts from that by preaching the heresy
from the pulpit that what happens to the bread at consecration happens
to the people.
Again, there is simply no equivalence between them.
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Discretion
50. He also said, 'He who knows himself is a man.'
September 21, 2006
POPE BENDICT XVI:
"I trust that after the initial reaction, my words at the university of
Regensburg can constitute an impulse and encouragement toward positive,
even self-critical dialogue both among religions and between modern
reason and Christian faith."
HEADLINE: The Pope is in danger, warns failed assassin of John Paul II
FROM THE MAILBAG
VIA Gary Zmuda (through Michael J. Coppi): Gary's Personal Reflection
Remembering, several months ago, this
sinner had the great honor and privilege of first worshiping at Holy
Mass and then having a private luncheon and discussion with His
Eminence + Emmanuel + CARDINAL Wamala of Uganda. His Eminence graced us
as he visited the AMF for but a few hours. Sitting right next to him as
we ate and talked candidly, i eventually asked the Cardinal if he could
share anything in retrospect relating to the Conclave that he
participated in bringing the Holy Mother Church a new Servant of the
Servants of God. Looking directly into me, his eyes changed as he
agreed and then became very solemn and somber and stood as he asked us
to remain in our seats. Silence filled the room as the Cardinal told of
how the Church was given such great preparations and teachings on how
to live and die from Pope JP II. He said that due to Dear JP II, the
College of Cardinals were properly instructed as to how to go about the
burying a very great Pope and then how to elect another.
His Eminence said, (quoting and some paraphrasing the best i can from
memory)....” The Holy Spirit was moving in tremendous Ways and in
specifically significant intimacies with each soul
there”...building up to the several times of personal depositing
the name that would become the new Pontiff. “There never are
coincidences, and the fact that the most inspirational setting of the
Sistine Chapel was set in such and such a fashion also definitely
needed meditation.” Every voting Cardinal had to make his
eventual walk to deposit his inspired response into the locked
box.”The fact that this large wooden and very sturdy box was
placed on top of a centuries old credenza was also most important; for
as you approached and then stood there ...hopefully participating in
God’s Will; it was impossible for a seeing person to miss the
Most Holy Image of The Crucified directly above the box. In fact,
looking upon this part of the wall, it appeared as if all of the Most
Precious Blood of our Dear Savior Jesus was flowing straight down upon
the credenza and into this box!”
(The Cardinal went on with great enthusiasm and now tears...) ”This observation produced tremendous insights as to the Papacy, until one strong thought could not be restrained in my body, as i declared to my brothers...’With each of our ballots, we are crucifying the next pope! He will indeed be the Crucified Pope...the Pope of the Cross!’ “
...and with that little lifting of The Veil...check out this article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060918/ts_afp/vaticanpopeislam_060918112134
May the Will of The Father reign in all of this through the Queen and Mother of the Church.
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Discretion
49. The same monk said, 'Experience is good. By experience men are
tested.' He also said, 'If a man preaches but does not practise what he
preaches, he is like a well of water where everyone can quench their
thirst and wash off their dirt, but which cannot clean away the filth
and dung that is around it.'
September 20, 2006
Sister Leonella, a nun who devoted her
life to helping the sick in Africa, used to joke there was a bullet
with her name engraved on it in Somalia. When the bullet came, she used
her last breaths to forgive those responsible.
"I forgive, I forgive," she whispered in her native Italian just before
she died Sunday in the Somali capital, the Rev. Maloba Wesonga told The
Associated Press at the nun's memorial Mass in Nairobi on Monday.
Sister Leonella's slaying raised concerns that she and other foreigners
killed in Somalia recently are victims of growing Islamic radicalism in
the Horn of Africa country, where a hard-line Muslim militia has been
expanding its reach.
The nun was the latest victim in a wave of slayings of both foreign
workers and moderate Somali intellectuals that has coincided with the
rise of the Islamic radicals.
RELATED: Papal Telegram on Death of Nun in Somalia
Being a saint isn’t about living
on a hilltop, or moving entire worlds thanks to charismatic leadership.
Rather, it’s about fully offering skills and work in the form of
a prayer that serves God on a minute-by-minute basis – even when
it comes to mundane things like digging trenches.
In that respect, Nicholas Owen had it right. Born into a pious Catholic
family, with two brothers who were priests - and another who was an
underground publisher of Catholic books - Nicholas Owen served the
Jesuits for many years before becoming a lay brother sometime around
1580. Being only slightly higher than a dwarf, he was often called
“Little John.” However, Nicholas Owen’s holiness
didn’t come from belonging to any religious organization, but
rather was the result of old-fashioned, sweat-making work. Nicholas
Owen was a construction worker - and he must have been a good one The
Superior of the English Jesuits, Father Henry Garnet, asked Nicholas to
build secret rooms in mansions throughout England where priests at that
time were hiding from persecution. Nicholas’ presence at the
construction sites was justified by his working on projects during the
day. At night he would dig tunnels, and an assortment of “priest
holes” that included hidden rooms and passages.
With time Nicholas’ curriculum began to closer resemble the Paul
Newman character in the classic film “Cool Hand Luke,” than
Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Besides using the aliases of Andrews and
Draper, impersonating a priest, and being a jailbird, Nicholas was
aiding and abetting outlaws from the English government. He was even
credited with being the mastermind for a well-known priest’s
escape from the Tower of London.
On paper Nicholas was anything but a saint.
The last time that Nicholas was arrested was in 1606 as part of the
government’s reaction to the foiled Gunpowder Plot – a
conspiracy led by some Catholics who swore an oath on the Holy
Sacrament to blow up King James and the Parliament for the exacting of
harsh penalties on English Catholics.
With the English government believing that the Jesuits were behind the
planning of the Gunpowder Plot, a wide net was cast. At the time of his
arrest Nicholas was impersonating Father Henry Garnet, the Jesuit
Superior.
Upon the capture of Nicholas, England’s Secretary of State, Sir
Robert Cecil the First Earl of Salisbury, is said to have written,
“how great was the joy caused by his arrest . . . knowing the
great skill of Owen in constructing hiding places, and the innumerable
quantity of dark holes which he had schemed for hiding priests all
through England.” Nicholas was imprisoned in the Tower of London.
He refused to give information and was the subject of violent torture:
His body was suspended by the placing of his arms in iron rings, while
heavy weights were placed upon his feet.
But Nicholas’ nasty and lengthy death isn’t alone what makes him a saint.
There is no way of knowing how many priests Nicholas’ hidden
passages saved, but thanks much to this diminutive construction worker
the Catholic faith in England was preserved.
In this respect, Nicholas is a model for all of us: to offer our daily
labor - no matter how humble it might be - to God as a prayer. In that
way we are all called to be ordinary saints - that’s the rule,
not the exception.
Background: Born in Oxford, England at an unknown date, St Nicholas died in the Tower of London in 1606. He was beatified in 1929, and canonized in 1970 by Pope Paul VI as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales whose joint Feast Day is October 25.
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Discretion
48. Poemen said, 'If a man sins and denies it, saying, 'I have not
sinned," do not correct him, or you will destroy any intention he might
have of changing. If you say, "do not be cast down, my brother, but be
careful about that in the future," you will move his heart to repent.'
September 19, 2006
FULL TEXT OF PAPAL LECTURE: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/15_09_06_pope.pdf
CARDINAL PELL: Pope Has Nothing to Apologise For
ANALYSIS: Pope's appeal for dialogue backfiresEDITORIAL: They're Rioting in Islam... again
MUSLIMS VOW WAR AGAINST CHRISTIANS
Still violently reacting to Pope
Benedict XVI having quoted a 14th century Byzantine emperor’s
comments about Islam, Muslims are now calling for an all-out war
against Christians. Muslims and Islamic-run governments worldwide have
condemned Pope Benedict for quoting the emperor’s negative
comments about Islam. Muslims have also been angered by the
pope’s condemnation of the violent Muslim “holy”
war—jihad.
Now, the Mujahideen Shura Council has issued the statement: “"We
shall break the cross and spill the wine! God will (help) Muslims to
conquer Rome. (May) God enable us to slit their throats, and make their
money and descendants the bounty of the mujahedeen!" After Pope
Benedict XVI had said he regretted the [Muslim] reaction to his
statements, al Qaeda in Iraq called for a war against "worshippers of
the cross".
Burning German, Israeli and US flags and an effigy of the pope,
protestors demonstrated in Basra chanting: "No to aggression! We gagged
the Pope!” At least 7 Christian Churches have, thus far, been
burned and a Somalian nun was shot to death in this latest Muslim
violence. Muslim violence is said to be growing.
Another identified terrorist group, Ansar al-Sunnah, also threatened
Christians with: "You will only see our swords until you go back to
God’s true faith Islam!" It also called the pope "Satan’s
hellhound in the Vatican".
Other Muslim groups are reported to have threatened to bomb St. Peters Cathedral in Rome.
Iran's Supreme leader Ali Khamenei said that the pope's comments were only "links in the chain" of a US-Israeli conspiracy.
RELATED: Who says we're violent?
MORE HEADLINES
Rare papal words fail to soothe
The Pope must die, says Muslim
Papal remarks 'beat the drum of war': Saudi paper
Rising tensions worry Christians in Mideast
Al-Qaeda threatens jihad over Pope's remarks
45. Poeman said, 'Do not live in a place where some are jealous of you; you will make no progress there.'
September 15, 2006
THE TRIB TIMES WILL RETURN NEXT WEEK, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Discretion
44. Joseph asked Poemen, 'How should we fast?' Poemen said, 'I suggest
that everyone should eat a little less than he wants, every day.'
Joseph said to him, 'When you were a young man, didn't you fast for two
days on end?' He said to him, 'That's right, I used to fast three days
on end, even for a week. But the great hermits have tested all these
things, and they found that it is good to eat something every day, but
on some days a little less. They have shown us that this is the king's
highway, for it is easy and light.'
September 14, 2006
LINK: The Exaltation of the Holy Cross
THOMAS A' KEMPIS:
"The cross, therefore, is always ready; it awaits you everywhere. No
matter where you may go, you cannot escape it, for wherever you go you
take yourself with you and shall always find yourself. Turn where you
will -- above, below, without, or within -- you will find a cross in
everything, and everywhere you must have patience if you would have
peace within and merit an eternal crown.
If you carry the cross willingly, it
will carry and lead you to the desired goal where indeed there shall be
no more suffering, but here there shall be. If you carry it
unwillingly, you create a burden for yourself and increase the load,
though still you have to bear it. If you cast away one cross, you will
find another and perhaps a heavier one" (The Imitation of Christ, Book
II, chapter 12).
BISHOPS TO PUSH EU'S RELIGIOUS HERITAGE
Catholic bishops met on Monday to discuss “ethical values for
European unification”, refuelling the debate over the
‘Christianisation’ of the EU constitution.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will attempt to resurrect the moribund
constitutional treaty when Berlin takes over the EU presidency in
January 2007, and has made no secret of her wish to include a reference
to Christian values in the text.
After a private meeting with the Pope in August, Merkel indicated that
any EU constitution “should refer to our Christian values”.
“I believe this treaty should be linked to Christianity and God
because Christianity was decisive in the formation of Europe.”
The bishops, from across the EU, will draw up a report on
Europe’s religious heritage which will be presented at their
European congress in Rome next March – the same day as Merkel
hosts a 50th birthday party for the EU in Berlin.
The anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which led to the creation of
what is now the EU, will be used by EU leaders to adopt a political
declaration setting out Europe’s values and ambitions – a
stop-gap measure designed to reaffirm support for the EU despite the
failure of the constitution.
The church leaders hope their report “will give a new impulse to
developing a civic sense of Europe as a community of values”,
according to a statement.
Germany is not the only country keen to see some reference to a
Christian God in the EU’s constitution. Italy, Poland,
Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ireland all
pushed hard for its inclusion during the first round of negotiations in
2004.
But opposition from the UK, France and Sweden kept religious statements
out of the constitutional treaty text. Instead, the constitution said
that the EU drew “inspiration from the cultural, religious and
humanist inheritance of Europe” – a vague reference that
was not considered strong enough for many Catholic countries.
But with plans still underway to allow Islamic Turkey to join the EU, many political leaders are wary of making too explicit a reference to Christianity.
RELATED: In Europe, a search for what defines the EU's moral identity
(Mat 10:32-33) Every one therefore that shall confess me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. But he that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven.
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Discretion
43. Joseph asked him about the same subject. Poemen said, 'If you shut
a snake or a scorpion in a box in the end it will die. Wicked thoughts,
which the demons scatter, slowly lose their power if the victim has
endurance.'
September 13, 2006
The Blessed Mother and Islam-"Turn to our Mother in this time of great peril".
By Father John Corapi, SOLT
FROM THE MAILBAG
VIA Arch of Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary: The first 9/11, and Mary's Holy Name!
On this great feastday of Our Lady’s Holy Name, established in 1683 to honor Mary’s intercession to deliver Christendom from the Moslem onslaught at Vienna—on September 11 and 12 that year—we recall the words of Psalm 33: “The LORD foils the plan of nations, frustrates the designs of peoples. The plan of the LORD stands forever, wise designs through all generations. Happy the nation whose God is the LORD, the people chosen as his very own.”
Catholic writer Hilaire Belloc, who predicted in a 1936 essay that Islam would again attempt to conquer the West, reviewed the history of its successful aggressions against our civilization, culminating in “the last effort they made to destroy Christendom”: “Vienna . . . was almost taken, and was only saved by the Christian army under the command of the King of Poland [Jan Sobieski] on a date that should be among the most famous in history—September 11, 1683.”
On that date, 9/11/1683, the rescuing
Christian army attacked the Turks besieging Vienna, delivering a
resounding defeat on the next day, September 12. The Viennese, under
fierce siege for two months, had sought the intercession of the Blessed
Virgin Mary.
“The object of this feast [The Holy Name of Mary] is our blessed
Lady bearing the name of Mary, and it was instituted that on it the
faithful might in a special manner recommend to God, through the
intercession of His all-holy Mother, the needs of the Church, and thank
Him for His almighty protection and numberless mercies, especially
those we receive on account of the graces and mediation of the Blessed
Virgin. The feast was allowed at Cuenca in Spain in 1513; it spread in
that country, and in 1683 Pope Innocent XI extended it to the whole
Western church, as an act of thanksgiving for the raising of the siege
of Vienna and the defeat of the Turks by John Sobieski, King of Poland;
it . . . is now kept on the date of Sobieski’s triumph.”
Butler’s Lives (vol III, p 544).
In an insightful secular essay, The Revolt of Islam: When did the
conflict with the West begin, and how could it end? (New Yorker
Magazine 11/19/01), Bernard Lewis wrote:
Then the change came. The second Turkish siege of Vienna, in 1683,
ended in total failure followed by headlong retreat—an entirely
new experience for the Ottoman armies. A contemporary Turkish
historian, Silihdar Mehmet Aga, described the disaster with commendable
frankness: "This was a calamitous defeat, so great that there has been
none like it since the first appearance of the Ottoman state." This
defeat, suffered by what was then the major military power o f the
Muslim world, gave rise to a new debate, which in a sense has been
going on ever since. The argument began among the Ottoman military and
political élite as a discussion of two questions: Why had the
once victorious Ottoman armies been vanquished by the despised
Christian enemy? And how could they restore the previous situation?
Did Christ's enemies, and ours, choose 9/11/2001 to “get
back” for 9/11/1683, and all the Moslem defeats that followed?
Or, did God perhaps allow this to be the fateful date, that we might
recall how Vienna, and what once was rightly called Christendom, were
rescued by faith and by repentance, and might like them return to the
path that leads to peace—to love of God and neighbo r, and
obedience to God's commandments—the path taught by Jesus,
exemplified by Mary's earthly life, and again emphasized by our beloved
Pontiff in his first encyclical, Deus caritas est? [www.paoline.org/eng/doc_art/articoli/deus_caritas.htm.]
To answer the question of Mr.
Lewis’ essay title, “How could it end?”, the conflict
between the West and Islam could end in peace—if those who have
heard and once believed the Gospel again embrace it, and submit to God
their wills, and their lives. In 1683, a holy Capuchin monk, Fr. M ark
D’Aviano, asked for help by King Leopold, who worried over the
Moslem advance upon Vienna, addressed the Viennese,
“’Vienna, Vienna, your love of lax living has prepared you
a grave and imminent chastisement: Convert, and consider well what you
are doing, O wretched Vienna.’ He was listened to: the emperor
commanded public penances, and the Viennese, like latter-day Ninevites,
prayed and did penance.” [www.angeluspress.org/angelus/2000_January/A_Politically_Incorrect_Monk.htm.]
Must not America and the West today repent again, of its abortions,
pornography, immorality, atheism, materialism; of its love of luxury in
preference to the love of God and neighbor?
St. Louis de Montfort (1673-1716), the “Apostle of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,” predicted:
"The power of Mary over all devils will be particularly outstanding in
the last period of time. She will extend the Kingdom of Christ over the
idolaters and Moslems, and there will come a glorious era in which Mary
will be the ruler and Queen of human hearts." Let us, then, keep this
holy day by prayer and by repentance, asking Our Blessed Mother Mary
again to intercede with her Divine Son, to obtain the conversion of the
Moslems (the truly devout among whom greatly revere Mary), and to bring
about the Triumph of her Immaculate Heart, and ensuing period of world
peace, that she prophesied—and promised—at Fatima,
Portugal, on July 13, 1917.
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Discretion
42. Isaiah questioned him about the same subject. Poemen said, 'Cloth,
if it is too long in a chest, becomes rotten. If our bodies do not
bring those thoughts into the daylight, then they will rot or be
destroyed.'
September 12, 2006
(1Co 1:21-24) For, seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world, by wisdom, knew not God, it pleased God, by the foolishness of our preaching, to save them that believe. For both the Jews require signs: and the Greeks seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified: unto the Jews indeed a stumblingblock, and unto the Gentiles foolishness: But unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.
POPE WARNS WESTERN SOCIETIES LOSING THEIR SOULS TO SCIENCE
Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday warned
modern societies not to let faith in science and technology make them
deaf to God's message, and suggested that Asia and Africa could teach
the wealthier West something about faith.
Western societies are losing their souls to scientific rationality and
frightening believers in the developing world who still fear God, Pope
Benedict told an open-air mass in Germany on Sunday.
Benedict, on the second day of a visit to his native Bavaria, said that
spreading the word of Jesus Christ was more important than all the
emergency and development aid that rich churches like that in Germany
gave to poor countries.
He also stressed the role of faith in fighting AIDS "by realistically
facing its deeper causes," indirectly confirming the Church view that
pre-marital abstinence and fidelity in marriage are the way to combat
sexually transmitted diseases.
"When we bring people only knowledge, ability, technical competence and
tools, we bring them too little," he said, hammering away at his
central concern that secularisation and materialism have replaced faith
in western thinking.
Benedict said Western societies had become "hard of hearing" about God,
saying: "There are too many other frequencies in our ears. What is said
about God strikes us as pre-scientific, no longer suited for our age."
He contrasted this to a faith he still found in developing countries,
where 70 percent of the world's Catholics now live. "People in Africa
and Asia admire our scientific and technical prowess, but at the same
time they are frightened by a form of rationality which totally
excludes God from man's vision, as if this were the highest form of
reason," he said.
They sensed a "contempt for God" in western societies and "a cynicism
that considers mockery of the sacred to be an exercise of freedom and
hold up utility as the supreme moral criterion for the future of
scientific research," he said.
He singled out the German Catholic church, one of the world's richest,
as one that generously gives emergency and development aid but plays
down the spreading of the Gospel. "Evangelisation itself should be
foremost," he declared.
RELATED: Pope begins visit to Bavaria at feet of Mary
MORE ON SCIENCE AND FAITH: http://www.kids4truth.com/watchmaker/watch.html
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Discretion
41. Ammon questioned Poemen on the subject of the impure thoughts
within the heart, and on the subject of vain desire. Poemen said, 'Can
the axe do harm unless th woodman is using it? Do not reach out your
hands to use those things, and they will do you no harm.'
September 8, 2006
THE TRIB TIMES WILL RETURN NEXT WEEK, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Discretion
34. Macarius said, 'If we remember the evil that men have done us, we
close our minds to the power of remembering God. But if we remember the
evil which the devils cause, we shall be undisturbed.'
September 7, 2006
(Mat 9:37-38) Then he saith to his disciples, The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth labourers into his harvest.
ARCHDIOCESE CONSIDERS MERGER, PRIEST SHARING
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of
Louisville would merge 17 parishes into six, with several others
sharing facilities, priests and staff under a proposal being considered
by the church.
The archdiocese's planning commission also recommended a centralized
school system, rather than the parish-based method used now.
Brian Reynolds, chancellor and chief administrative officer of the
archdiocese, said the idea behind the planning process is to start a
dialogue about the future of the archdiocese.
"We now have to find out whether ... the proposals will be affirmed by
the local regions. They may come up with an alternative," Reynolds said.
The parishes submitted many of the proposals after being asked to take
part in the yearlong planning process because of population shifts and
a drop in the number of priests.
Louisville isn't alone in considering parish mergers as a shortage of
priests hits American urban dioceses. In some places, such as Boston,
heavy protests have accompanied closure announcements.
Nearly half the parishes in the Louisville archdiocese are already sharing priests.
"There are just not enough priests ... or nuns who teach any more," said Janet Hobbs, a member of St. Clement parish.
RELATED HEADLINES
Catholic Church Looks Overseas to Remedy Priest Shortage
Vatican Forced To Turn to Third World for New Priests
Priest Shortage Causing Concern In Omaha Archdiocese
REVIEW: O Father, Where Art Thou?
O Jesus our great High Priest hear my humble prayers on behalf of your priests.
Give them a deep faith a bright and firm hope and a burning love which will ever increase in the course of their priestly life.
In their loneliness comfort them.
In their sorrows strengthen them.
In their frustrations point out to them that it is through suffering
that the soul is purified and show them that they are needed by the
Church they are needed by souls they are needed for the work of
redemption.
O Loving Mother Mary Mother of Priests take to your heart your sons who
are close to you because of their priestly ordination and because of
the power which they have received to carry on the work of Christ in a
world which needs them so much.
Be their comfort be their joy be their strength and especially help
them to live and to defend the ideals of consecrated celibacy. Amen.
+John Joseph Cardinal Carberry Archbishop of St. Louis
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Discretion
31. A brother asked Joseph, 'What shall I do? I cannot bear to be
tempted, nor to work, nor to give alms'. He said to him, 'If you cannot
do any of these, at least keep your conscience clear from every sin
against your neighbour, and you will be saved, for God looks for the
soul that does not sin.'
September 6, 2006
POPE BENEDICT XVI:
"Those who meet Jesus," he said, "those who let themselves be attracted
by Him and are ready to follow Him even unto the sacrifice of their
lives, personally experience, as He did on the cross, how only the
'grain of wheat' that falls to earth and dies brings 'much fruit'."
"This is the way of Christ, the way of total love that triumphs over
death," said Pope Benedict, adding: "This is the experience enjoyed by
those true friends of God, the saints, who have recognized and loved in
their brethren, especially in the poorest and most needy, the face of
God long contemplated with love and prayer. They are encouraging
examples for us to follow."
HUNGARIAN NUN WHO SAVED JEWS IN WORLD WAR II TO BE BEATIFIED
A Hungarian nun who helped saved the
lives of dozens of Jews during World War II will be beatified by the
Catholic Church, officials said Monday.
Sara Salkahazi was killed by the Arrow Cross -- the Hungarian allies of
the Nazis -- on Dec. 27, 1944 for hiding Jews in a Budapest building
used by her religious order, the Sisters of Social Service.
Salkahazi was taken along with several other occupants of the home and
shot, their bodies falling into the Danube River and never recovered.
The beatification rite will take place Sept. 17 at Budapest's St. Stephen Basilica.
"Sara Salkahazi heroically exercised her love of humanity stemming from
her Christian faith," said Cardinal Peter Erdo, who will celebrate the
beatification mass. "This is for what she gave her life."
Salkahazi was born in the city of Kassa in 1899, at the time in Hungary but now known as Kosice and part of Slovakia.
The beatification will be the first in Hungary since 1083, when
Hungary's first king, St. Stephen, was beatified along with his son,
St. Imre, and St. Gellert, an Italian bishop who had a key role in
converting Hungarians to Christianity.
Changes introduced by Pope Benedict XVI again allow beatification rites
to be held around the world, instead of just in the Vatican, as was the
norm for centuries.
Church officials highlighted Salkahazi's modest middle-class roots,
saying she will be first Hungarian to be beatified who is not royalty
or a member of the country's aristocracy.
Before taking her religious vows in 1930, Salkahazi worked as a bookbinder, journalist and newspaper editor.
Salkahazi's deeds were recognized in 1972 by Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial.
MORE: Mother Teresa: The “living” saint of Calcutta
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Discretion
26. Theodore said, 'Many choose the repose of this world before God gives them His rest.'
September 5, 2006
(Mat 5:9) Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
RELIGION CANNOT JUSTIFY TERRORISM: POPEThe
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Discretion
25. Once one of the monks came to Theodore and said, 'Look here, that
brother has gone back to the world.' Theodore said to him, 'Don't be
surprised at that. Be surprised when you hear that a man has been able
to escape the jaws of the enemy.'
September 1, 2006
THE TRIB TIMES WILL RETURN NEXT
WEEK, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).
(1Pe 3:15) But
sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts, being ready always to satisfy
every one that asketh you a reason of that hope which is in you.
LINK: The Just War Theory: A traditional Catholic moral view By Rev. Richard Benson, C.M.
FROM THE MAILBAG
VIA Ronald E Smith: My Catholic Q&A List
If you were on that list I automatically forwarded to you the reports I wrote for requestors regarding questions they had about our Catholic faith and occasionally questions they had about the occult, new age or cults.
To refresh your memories, when you have a question(s) I research it (free of charge) using Catholic source documents or good source documents I have on the occult. I also forwarded to you copies of letters I have written regarding, usually, liturgical abuses which also include detailed footnotes. I have amassed quite a hard copy and electronic library over the years.
In my answers I rarely if ever give my
own opinions. I quote the authors in the source documents and include
an accurate, detailed footnote with each quote so that you may go to
the source document yourself if you choose to do so. Each report has a
release therein that allows you to copy it and distribute it at will.
On rare occasions I cannot answer a question and I so advise you. I do
an average of 1-2 reports and/or letters each month. If someone asks
for their name to be withheld or for their Q&A to NOT go out to the
list, such request(s) are honored. I again ask that if you see an
important error in any of my reports or letters, please advise me so
that I can make the appropriate correction. I certainly do not want to
misinform anyone about our faith. If you have a new question, please
send it to me!
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