Keep your eyes open!...

September 28, 2007   

THE TRIB TIMES WILL RETURN NEXT WEEK, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).

LINK: Angels and the Good News By Catholic Evangelist, Eddie Russell FMI

LINK: Angels in Catholic Teachings and Traditions

LINK: Homily by Fr. Robert Altier, September 29, 2003, Feast of the Archangels Reading (Revelation 12:7-12ab) Gospel (St. John 1:47-51)

Today we celebrate a glorious feast that in the minds of many people does not really have a lot of relevance because people do not recognize the reality of the angels. Even though in Scripture the angels are mentioned more than three hundred times and their work is hailed in many different ways, people think they are not real because they cannot see them. The foolishness of that would be to say “I guess radio waves and video waves and so on aren’t real either because we can’t see them.” It does not make sense. The angels are made very, very clear in Scripture, who they are and what they are about. They are mysterious, yet at the same time the reality of them is very clear.

Today we celebrate the only three angels whose names we actually know from Scripture: Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. These three angels are generally known as archangels. Even to call them archangels is an equivocal term because, for instance, Gabriel himself tells us that he is one of the seven angels that are around the throne of God. That means he is from the order of seraphim, not from the order of archangels. And so the word “archangel” is used then in an equivocal sense. The Greek word arche´ is where we get the word “arch” at the beginning of “archangel” and that means “leader”. So these are the leading angels. Now, the order of archangels is the second lowest of the nine choirs of angels, so when we are talking about these particular angels, we are talking about those who are the leaders of the heavenly host. Saint Michael actually is the only one in Scripture who is called an archangel; Raphael and Gabriel are not. Calling them an archangel is just lumping them with Michael, but it does not really mean they are from the choir of archangels.

Regardless, the angels are real. There is a battle that is going on around us that we do not see. To deny the angels would be as foolish as denying Satan, because he is a fallen angel. Our Lord Himself told us that He saw Satan falling from the sky, losing his place in Heaven, and being cast out. We heard the same thing in the first reading today, the war that broke out in Heaven and Michael and his angels battling against Satan and his angels. And Michael, whose name means “Who is like unto God”, throws Satan out, who said, “I will not serve.” So we see exactly in the angelic world what is happening in our own. It is a choice for us of whether we are going to serve God or not. If we want to serve ourselves then we will say, “Who is like unto me?” But that is not what the good angels did. That is what Satan said: “I will not serve. I am greater than this little baby, I am greater than this woman whom you want to make my queen, and I will not serve.” Michael, when he looked at the mysteries of God – the angels do not have an infinite intellect (only God does) so they are not able to comprehend fully the mysteries of God either – was able to say, “Who is like unto God? Who do you think you are, thinking that you know better than God?” And it was within the power of that act of faith that he was able to cast Satan out.

It is the same for us. With the help of the angels whom we can call on, whom we can pray to, whom we can ask for help, we too can overcome Satan. By ourselves there is no way. The name Satan means “the accuser”. Again, it is exactly what we heard in the first reading: “The accuser of our brothers is cast out who day and night accused them before our God.” It is what he still does. But God has given us the angels to help us, and they help us in ways that we never know because we do not see them and we pay no attention. But we need to learn to call upon the angels. That is what they are there for. They worship God day and night but they are there also to help us. And there are, as we hear in the Book of Daniel, thousands upon thousands and myriads upon myriads of angels. No one knows just how many angels there are. Some of the saints suggest that when one-third of the angels were cast out that part of the task of humanity is to fill up all of the thrones that were vacated by the angels. Well, if you stop to think about all the billions of people that have lived upon the earth – we do not know how many of those have actually gone to Heaven – but the fact that God is still filling the thrones of fallen angels, if that is the case, at least gives us a slight idea of how many angels there must be.

Each of those angels simply waits to do the bidding of God, and we can call upon each of them. Our Lady is their queen and they will do whatever she asks. So we can ask her as the Queen of the Angels, we can ask Our Lord, Who created the angels and in Whom the angels made their glorious act of faith that they believed in Him Who is God but man, and they will be there to help us. We are not in this battle alone. We know that we have Our Lord. We know that we have Our Lady. We can get a grasp on them because they are tangible; they have bodies. The angels do not, but that does not mean they are not real. We need to learn to call upon the angels. We need to learn that this battle that is going on around us and the battle that is going on for our souls is completely real – more real, in fact, than all of us sitting here. Satan wants your soul, and so does God. God has given you all the help necessary to be able to ward off Satan and all of his fallen angels. We have to make the choice to call upon them, to avail ourselves of the help that God has given us. We can call upon these three angels whose names we know, but we can call upon any number of angels. Our Lord said that He could call upon His Father and He would send a legion of angels. We can too because we are members of Jesus Christ and the help of the angels will be there for us in times of temptation, in times of fear, in times where we are experiencing a variety of difficulties. God created the angels to be messengers to us. That is what the word angel means: “a messenger”. And so we can call upon them and they will bring the Word of God to us. They will help us, protect us, and fight for us against Satan and all his minions.

The Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Humility

84. A hermit said, 'He who bears scorn and injury and loss with patience, can be saved.'

September 27, 2007   

HEADLINES

US Supreme Court to examine legality of lethal injections
Legacy-seeking Bush calls for 'mission of liberation'
Why is Congress so Disapproved of?

The Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Humility

83. A brother asked a hermit, 'Tell me one thing, that I may keep it and live by it.' He said, 'If you can suffer injury and endure, this is a great thing, it is above all virtues.'

September 26, 2007   

IN THE NEWS: Catholic women devoted to stringing rosary beads

FROM THE MAILBAG
VIA David J Sheehan: In Fort Worth, we are having a children and youth's holy hour led by the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal on October 5th. They will need rosaries and so we are asking people to send rosaries.

I have put together an announcement. If you would be able to send it out via your normal email letter, I would appreciate it.

****************************************************************************************
Are you a dusty rosary?

Are you waiting to get called to work in the Father’s vineyard? (Matthew 20:1)

Well, fear not, God is ready to put you to work on His payroll And you can come to Fort Worth, Texas to boot! (no pun intended)

Please ask your owner to mail you to 

Ms. Patty Bransford – Children’s Holy Hour c/o St Patrick’s Cathedral
1206 Throckmorton Street 
Fort Worth, Texas 76102-6308 

And you will be put to use by our young people on October 5th.

We are trying to have as many rosaries on hand for the event to pass out to our young people. They are our future and I am sure they will pray for owners with dusty rosaries (like myself!)

The Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Humility

81. A hermit said, 'I would learn rather than teach.' He also said, 'Do not teach too early, or you will have less understanding during the rest of your life.'

September 25, 2007   

(Luke 6:22-23) Blessed shall you be when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you and shall reproach you and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Be glad in that day and rejoice: for behold, your reward is great in heaven, For according to these things did their fathers to the prophets.

The Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Humility

79. A hermit said, 'Even if you have succeeded in the habit of keeping silent, you should not have that in you as though it was a kind of virtue, but say: "I am not worthy to speak."'

September 14, 2007   

THE TRIB TIMES WILL RETURN WITHIN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).

(John 10:7-9) Jesus therefore said to them again: Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All others, as many as have come, are thieves and robbers: and the sheep heard them not. I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved: and he shall go in and go out, and shall find pastures.

DEVIL MADE ME DO IT 
By: Tom Smikoski

The Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Humility

78. A hermit said, 'If anyone says, "Forgive me", and humbles himself, he burns up the demons that tempt him.'

September 13, 2007   

For the first time in its 26 year history, Mother Angelica's Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) will be broadcasting a live Solemn High Mass at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama on September 14, 2007 at 8:00AM EST. EWTN has asked for the assistance of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, an international Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right, to help celebrate this "extraordinary" form.

This past July 7th, Pope Benedict XVI affirmed the beauty and importance of the Tridentine Mass by issuing Summorum Pontificum, a papal document encouraging and confirming the right of all Latin Rite priests to use this more ancient use of the Mass starting September 14th. The Tridentine Mass was the normative liturgy experienced by Latin Rite Catholics prior to the Second Vatican Council.

"Most Catholics have not seen this heavenly celebration in over 40 years," said Father Calvin Goodwin, a professor at the Society's international English-speaking seminary located in Denton, Nebraska. "We are very excited to help EWTN and to support the Holy Father's call for a wider presence of this form of the Mass. This is a cause for great joy."

Priests and seminarians from Denton, Nebraska will travel to Alabama and provide the celebrant, deacon, subdeacon, preacher, master of ceremonies and altar servers.

SANTA MISSA: Tutorial on the Tridentine Latin Mass according to the 1962 Missale Romanum

RELATED: Pope Benedict and the Latin Mass in Chicago

The Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Humility

77. A brother asked a hermit, 'What is the way to make progress?' The hermit answered, 'Humility. The more we bend ourselves to humility, the more we are lifted up to make progress.'

September 12, 2007   

(Mat 5:44-45) But I say to you, Love your enemies: do good to them that hate you: and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you: That you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven, who maketh his sun to rise upon the good, and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust.

CHRISTIANS PRAY FOR MUSLIMS AS RAMADAN BEGINS

The anniversary of 9/11, the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, and tensions with Iran all have the world's attention. All of these issues have a direct tie to radical elements of Islam. So Christians today are asking fellow believers to begin praying earnestly for Muslims, as Islam's holiest month Ramadan begins tomorrow.

Evangelist Sammy Tippit was known for reaching behind the Iron Curtain during the days of the Soviet Union, and now he's reaching behind the black veil of Islam. He's doing it in a unique way in Iran. "We have a television broadcast that is reaching literally millions of people, and we're hearing great response from that broadcast of people coming to Christ, and people growing in the Lord, and even small house churches are being formed."

With the start of Ramadan, Tippit is asking Christians to pray for Muslims in Iran and around the world. "It's kind of a time of seeking in a certain sense, when they're fasting and they're more geared toward spiritual things. And it's out of a sense for God--a thirst for God and a hunger for God. And during these times of Ramadan, many will have dreams about Jesus."

He describes one of many incredible conversions to Christian faith. "A husband began to dream about Jesus. He had several dreams about Jesus. Then, one night his son walked in and said, 'Dad, God told me to tell you that Jesus is God's Son.' The dad fell on his knees and gave his life to Christ."

MORE: "Jesus Stuns a Muslim Court"

Escalation of Incitement to Violence During the Month of Ramadan

"The month of Ramadan, the month of fasting, has a special status as the month of religious spirituality and devotion. However, in Muslim tradition it is also perceived as a month of Jihad, a month in which Allah grants military victories to His believers. It was during Ramadan that Muslims triumphed in many battles throughout the history of Jihad for the sake of Allah – among them the battle of Badr in 624, the conquest of Mecca in 630 and of Andalusia in 711, the battle of Al-Zallaqa (in Andalusia) in 1086, the battle of Ein Jalut in 1260, as well as the 1973 War (called The Ramadan War).

"Given the historic religious and military significance of Ramadan, Islamist groups, as well as some mainstream Arab organizations, escalate incitement to terrorism during this period."

Cross-Border Qassam Strike Injures 69 Sleeping Israeli Soldiers

Credit was taken jointly by the Al-Quds Brigade of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror organization, which receives funding, training and direction from Iran, and by the Popular Resistance Committees, a group composed; of ex-Hamas and Fatah members. PIJ presented the attack on their website as a "gift" to the Palestinian people for Ramadan. "We knew that in these hours we could harm as many soldiers as possible," a spokesman for the group told the Israeli media. A spokesman for Hamas, which has been in full control of the Gaza Strip since June, said after the strike that "we consider this a victory from God."

RELATED: Jews' Rosh Hashanah, Muslims' Ramadan start tonight

The Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Humility

75. A hermit said, 'Do not ignore your neighbour for you do not know whether God's Spirit is in you or in him. I tell you that your servant is your neighbour.'

September 11, 2007   

(Rev 3:14-17) And to the angel of the church of Laodicea write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, who is the beginning of the creation of God: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou wert cold or hot. But because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest: I am rich and made wealthy and have need of nothing: and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

911—SIX YEARS LATER…THE APPROACH OF MIDNIGHT 
BY REV. JOHN A. CORAPI

SIX YEARS AGO ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 TIME STOOD STILL IN A SPASM OF BLACK SMOKE, DEATH, AND DESTRUCTION. IT HAD NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE, BUT NOW IT HAD, PROVING DEFINITIVELY THAT IT COULD HAPPEN. AN ERA ENDED. INDEED, WE WOULD NEVER BE THE SAME.
FOR A TIME, IT SEEMED TO THOSE STILL POSSESSED OF ANY ABILITY TO SEE SPIRITUAL THINGS AT ALL THAT PERHAPS THE WORLD MIGHT CORRECT IT’S BLIND AND HEADLONG FLIGHT OVER A PRECIPICE AND INTO A MORAL ABYSS. PEOPLE RUSHED TO CHURCHES, SYNAGOGUES, AND MOSQUES. THERE WERE LONG LINES FOR CONFESSION IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCHES. OTHERS MADE THEIR AMENDS WITH GOD AND EACH OTHER IN WHATEVER WAY THEY COULD, NOT SURE WHAT WAS NEXT, NOT TAKING ANY CHANCES.

THE VERY HEART OF THE PORNOGRAPHY AND ABORTION INDUSTRIES SUFFERED A NEAR FATAL CASE OF CASH REGISTER ARREST. CLOSE PROXIMITY TO DEATH TENDS TO BRING REALITY INTO FOCUS.
TIME HEALS ALL THINGS, IT IS SAID. YES, AND IN THIS CASE EVEN MOMENTS OF MORAL LUCIDITY AND SPIRITUAL CLARITY WERE “HEALED” AND REPLACED BY BUSINESS AS USUAL. MANKIND HAS A SHORT MEMORY DESPITE THE CONSTANT REMINDERS OF HISTORY.
IN THE SIX YEARS SINCE 911 HAS A SOCIETY CRIPPLED BY EASE, DEBILITATED BY POLITICAL CORRECTNESS, AND CLOSE TO DEATH FROM THE MORAL MALAISE THAT HAS PLAGUED IT FOR DECADES LEARNED ANYTHING?
APPARENTLY NOT, FOR TODAY EVEN MOST RELIGIOUS LEADERS ARE LOATH TO LINK 911 WITH THE REALITY OF SIN. THE WORD ITSELF HAS BEEN EXILED, MUCH LIKE GOD HIMSELF, FROM OUR SCHOOLS, OFTEN EVEN FROM CHURCHES, AND, INDEED, FROM OUR VERY CONSCIOUSNESS.
THE FACT IS THAT WE REAP WHAT WE SOW. WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND. THE GREATEST NATION ON THE EARTH HAS THE GREATEST MORAL RESPONSIBILITY. INDEED, “TO THE MAN GIVEN MUCH, MUCH WILL BE REQUIRED. TO THE MAN GIVEN MORE, MORE WILL BE REQUIRED.” WE WERE ENTRUSTED WITH THE WELFARE OF THE WORLD, AND ALL TOO OFTEN THE TRUST WAS BETRAYED. UNDER THE SPECIOUS PRETEXT OF FREEDOM—WHICH WAS REALLY LICENSE—WE BECAME PURVEYORS OF PORNOGRAPHY, ABORTION, GREED, DECEIT, MURDER AND MAYHEM.
THE CLOCK IS TICKING AND MIDNIGHT IS APPROACHING. ILLUMINATED BY THE FALSE LIGHT OF AFFLUENCE AND EASE, SUCCESS AND POWER, WE BECAME BLIND TO THE DARKNESS, AND YET MIDNIGHT APPROACHES, WITH ALL OF THE CERTAINTY OF TIME ITSELF.
HAVE WE LEARNED ANYTHING IN THE PAST SIX YEARS, OR ARE WE YET MORE BLIND, MORE DEAF, MORE STEEPED IN SIN? ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES. 911 WAS A WARNING SHOT FIRED OVER THE BOW OF A SICK SOCIETY. THE WARNING HAS GONE LARGELY UNHEEDED.
THE CLOCK IS TICKING. MIDNIGHT IS APPROACHING. PRAYER IS NOW THE ONLY THING THAT WILL AVAIL CHANGE, SO PRAY MY DEAR FRIENDS, PRAY LIKE YOUR LIFE AND THE LIFE OF ALL YOU HOLD DEAR IS AT STAKE.

FOR IT IS, IT IS.

GOD BLESS YOU AND PROTECT YOU AND YOURS, 
REV. JOHN CORAPI SEPTEMBER 11, 2007 
SIX YEARS LATER, AND COUNTING

"9/11" HEADLINES

Bin Laden praises 9/11 "champions"
Radical Islamic sect 'has half of Britain's mosques in its grip'
Exclusive: The Talibanization of Britain

The Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Humility

74. A hermit said, 'I would rather be defeated and humble than win and be proud.'

September 6, 2007   

THE TRIB TIMES WILL RETURN NEXT WEEK, GOD WILLING (James 4:15).

(Rom 13:11-12) And that, knowing the season, that it is now the hour for us to rise from sleep. For now our salvation is nearer than when we believed. The night is passed And the day is at hand. Let us, therefore cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light.

FROM THE MAILBAG
Reflection by Father Ted – September 3, 2007:

My dearest Lord Jesus, each day You want me to struggle to become a saint.

Yet sometimes I do not feel like cooperating. I want to do my own thing.

These are only feelings.

You want me to admit how I feel. And then - to ask You for the help that I need to deal with such feelings according to Your Way.

I need to ask You for the grace not to give into such feeling.

I need to use my own will power – fortified with the grace of Your Holy Spirit.

It is not an either or situation.

I need to decide to do what You want of me - and I need the grace of Your Holy Spirit to do what You want.

Every day I must face some forms of temptations – either from my own weakened nature, or from the world, or from the evil one – the devil.

And I must recognize the simple fact that the devil frequently works on my weakened nature.

Not only is he aware of my weaknesses, he strives to push my buttons so that I will give into my weaknesses.

Moreover, he knows that I will give into these weaknesses, if I do not fortify myself through prayer and through some forms of self-discipline – such as fasting.

That is why one of his most successful strategies is – to keep me from praying often and to urge me not to practice some form of self-discipline – such as fasting.

He wants me to be so busy that I do not have the time to pray.

He wants me to start the day – without prayer. He wants me to end the day – without prayer.

And when I do pray, he wants me to do so without full attention.

Likewise when I pray, he wants me to tell You what I am going to do for You, for others – he doesn’t want me to ask You what You want me to do.

He doesn’t want me to provide myself with silence – for it is when I am silent that You can speak softly to my heart.

He does not want me to listen to You. For You will tell me not only what to do, but even how to do it.

Jesus, help me to be that man of prayer that You want me to be. Help me to be a saint.

The Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Humility

69. The hermits said, 'If an angel really appears to you, do not accept it as a matter of course, but humble yourself, and say, "I live in my sins and am not worthy to see an angel.'"

September 5, 2007   

(1Pe 5:8-9) Be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist ye, strong in faith: knowing that the same affliction befalls, your brethren who are in the world.

Mario Conti, the Archbishop of Glasgow, urged his flock to resist threats to their way of life from everything from same-sex civil partnerships to anti-sectarian campaigners critical of denominational schooling.

The archbishop did so in a special sermon to mark the quarter century since the first ever papal visit to Scotland, by John Paul II in 1982.  He said: "At a distance of 25 years, we need to reflect on the Holy Father's words: In so many areas of life the most fundamental principles of our Christian life are not only questioned, but ridiculed and threatened with sanction.' "Individualism has come to predominate the growth of the quest for individual rights has taken precedence over what is right."

Archbishop Conti, speaking yesterday at Carfin Grotto in Lanarkshire, cited the "ever-increasing incidence of abortion and the creeping acceptance of euthanasia" and claimed that marriage was being downgraded by "equal rights being accorded to unmarried and same-sex unions".

He also spoke of "repeated attacks on our Catholic schools, unjustly accusing them of fostering sectarianism" and reinforced long-standing concerns among some Catholics that equality legislation would lead to faith-based adoption agencies being forced to place children in gay households.

The archbishop quoted at length in his sermon from John Paul's rallying cry to Catholics in Glasgow's Bellahouston Park on June 2, 1982.

Then the Pope said: "We find it harder to follow Christ today than appears to have been the case before. Witnessing to him in modern life means a daily contest.

"As believers we are constantly exposed to pressures by modern society, which would compel us to conform to the standards of this secular age, substitute new priorities, restrict our aspirations at the risk of compromising our Christian conscience.

"Things abhorred a generation ago are now inscribed in the statute books of society. These are issues of the utmost gravity to which a simple answer cannot be given; neither are they answered by being ignored.

"Matters of such magnitude demand the fullest attention of our Christian conscience."

VIA MALTA: Time of decadence

UGLY: Confession getting a makeover

UGLIER: Defacing the Bible because of Homosexuality

TIMELY REMINDER: Mortal sin: Does it still exist?

The Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Humility

68. The devil appeared to a monk disguised as an angel of light and said to him, 'I am the angel Gabriel, and I have been sent to you.' But the monk said, 'Are you sure you weren't sent to someone else? I am not worthy to have an angel sent to me.' At that the devil vanished.

September 4, 2007   

(John 17:20-21) And not for them only do I pray, but for them also who through their word shall believe in me. That they all may be one, as thou, Father, in me, and I in thee; that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

Pope Benedict's prayer intention for September: "That the ecumenical assembly of Sibiu in Romania may contribute to the growth of unity among all Christians, for whom the Lord prayed at the Last Supper."

THIRD EUROPEAN ECUMENICAL ASSEMBLY TO BE HELD IN ROMANIA

The Third European Ecumenical Assembly on the theme ‘The light of Christi shines upon all - Hope for renewal and unity in Europe’ will be held in Sibiu, Romania, on September 4 to 9.

‘We would like this assembly to answer many questions that challenge Christians in today’s Europe,’ the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate secretary for inter-Christian relations Fr. Igor Vyzhanov told Interfax on Thursday.

According to him, there will be 2,500 people attending the event.

The assembly should become ‘a place not only for saying splendid but useless words, but rather for elaborating a common strategy for Christians facing common challenges,’ Vyzhanov said.

He called the Sibiu 2007 ‘an Orthodox stage’ of the inter-Christian dialogue since Romanian people are mostly Orthodox. The priest noted that there have already been meetings in Rome in January 2006 (‘a Catholic stage’) and in Wittenberg in February 2007 (‘a Protestant stage’).

The Third European Ecumenical Assembly is organized jointly by the Conference of the European Churches that unites mostly Orthodox and Protestant Christians, and the Roman Catholic Council of European Bishops’ Conferences.

MORE: Major church assembly expected to impel Christian comeback in Europe

RELATED: Russian primate praises ecumenical work of Vatican envoy

Links  E-mail Dr. Zambrano  Home

Jubilee 2000: Bringing the World to Jesus

The Tribulation Times Archives: