Monsignor Clark Affair--Philip DeFillipo

Who knew you could make $100,000.00 a year as a parish secretary? I wonder if she pulled a knife on Clark (see below) to get that kind of a deal.

The irony of the Post story is that Clark wrote a letter of recommendation so that Philip could get a gun permit to "protect" priests during the abuse scandal. Did Clark have a death wish?

From New York Post Online Edition: news: HUSBAND'S NO SAINT, EITHER:

"DeFilippo told police that when he confronted his wife of 20 years about the trysts, she threatened to stab him.

'I fear for my safety and that of my children. She has been threatening me and the kids,' DeFilippo told police, adding that Laura has a 'history of alcohol-related incidents.'

DeFilippo obtained an order of protection barring Laura from the family home pending a court hearing.

Laura's lawyers charge DeFilippo made the 'false and outrageous' accusations to 'coerce' her into turning over their Eastchester home worth an estimated $1 million or more — and custody of their two kids, 14 and 10.

Laura refused his demands, they say.

DeFilippo, a former Allstate insurance adjuster for 15 years, seems to have made less money than Laura, who earned close to $100,000 a year as Clark's administrative assistant. She was 'the more significant breadwinner,' said a source."

Hallmark Channel August 15th at 8/7C

Check out the trailer for the filmhere

"The film presents scenes and episodes that, in their severity, awaken in the viewers an instinctive 'turning away' in horror and stimulates them to consider the abyss of iniquity that can be hidden in the human soul. At the same time, calling to the fore such aberrations revives in every right-minded person the duty to do what he or she can so that such inhuman barbarism never happens again. I express living gratitude to those who wanted to offer me the opportunity to view this moving film."

- Pope Benedict XVI

Pope's Angelus Message for Today

From AsiaNews.it:

"On this XX Sunday of ordinary time, the liturgy presents us with a singular example of faith: a Canaanite woman asks Jesus to heal her daughter “cruelly tormented by a demon”. As the evangelist Matthew tells us, the Lord resists her insistent pleas and does not seem to give in, even when his own disciples intercede for her. At the end, however, faced with the perseverance and humility of this stranger, Jesus consents: “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish” (cfr Mt 15: 21-28).

“Woman, great is your faith!” This humble woman is singled out by Jesus as an example of indomitable faith. Her insistence in calling for the intervention of Christ is an encouragement for us not to lose heart, not to despair even amid life’s greatest trials. The Lord does not close his eyes to the needs of his children and in times when he seems insensitive to their pleas, this is only to put them to the test and to strengthen their faith. This is the testimony of the saints, especially the witness of martyrs, who are linked in the closest way possible to the redeeming sacrifice of Christ. In recent days, we commemorated many: the popes Ponziano and Sixtus II, the priest Ippolito, the deacon Lawrence, killed with his companions in Rome at the dawn of Christianity. We also recalled a martyr of our times, St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Edith Stein, co-patron of Europe, who died in a concentration camp; and today the liturgy presents us with a martyr of charity, who sealed his witness to the love of Christ in a bunker of starvation in Auschwitz: St Maximilian Maria Kolbe, who sacrificed himself voluntary in the place of a father, a family man.

I invite every baptized Christian and especially youths taking part in World Youth Day to look to these shining examples of gospel heroism. I invoke on all their protection and especially that of St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross who spent the last years of her life right in the Carmel of Cologne. On each one let Mary’s maternal love reign, the queen of martyrs who we contemplate tomorrow in her glorious assumption into heaven."

White Wristbands Proclaim Solidarity with Pope for WYD

B16 We Come To Worship Him
JPII Be Not Afraid

The first is an allusion to Cologne being the final resting place of the Magi who followed the Star of Bethlehem to worship the new born King of the Jews...

You can purchase one for yourself at Youth For the World.

Praise the Lord, Football Season is Here!

Time for an excellent diversion from all the trials of life...

Official program of the XX WYD 2005

Official program of the XX WYD 2005

THANK YOU!!!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our 30 day appeal in which we asked the readers of this blog and Amy's Open Book to consider buying one copy of her excellent book Here. Now. A Catholic Guide to the Good Life.and of my How To Get The Most Out Of The Eucharist on a number of those days you were able to push both books to the top of Amazon's Catholic bestseller's list!

We appreciate all those who have ordered the books through their local bookstores, or from Our Sunday Visitor directly. The boost in sales has been noted by the publisher.

So far we can only track sales made through Amazon and based on those figures we will sending $269.85 to Food for the Poor. I am still hoping and praying that we can raise that number to $2,000 by the end of September when we will receive royalty payments and a quarterly statement from Amazon. So continue to order books, any books using a link from this or Amy's page and you will be contributing to this effort!

Thanks a billion for all that you have done and we ask for you continued support by recommending the books to your pastor, DRE, RCIA leader, friends (both Catholic and non-Catholic). THANK YOU!

Amy in the News

Sprinkling Holy Water on 'The Da Vinci Code' - New York Times

WANE-TV Coverage You Can Count On: Local Author May Help Shape Future Movie

Good Reading: Award Winning Books The-Tidings.com

HoustonChronicle.com - Da Vinci Code won't translate easily to big screen

'Da Vinci' film: What role for religion? - Arts & Leisure - International Herald Tribune

Remember You are a Sinner

The greatest crisis in the Church today is the loss of consciousness of our own sins. Reform will begin not when we see ourselves as different from the world but accept that we are part of the fallen nature of the world and need Christ to save us!



Then, we will fulfill the law of Christ not to judge...and the sins of others will not give us pause to rejoice but rather to mourn our own sinfulness.



From The Desert Fathers: Selected Sayings:



"At that time a meeting was held at Sketis about a brother who had sinned. The Fathers spoke, but Abba Pior kept silent. Later, he got up and went out. He took a sack and filled it with sand and carried it on his shoulder; then he put a little sand into a small bag that he carried in front of him. When the Fathers asked him what this meant he said, 'In this sack which contains much sand, are my sins which are many; I have put them behind me so that I might not be troubled about them and so that I might not weep. And behold, here are the little sins of my brother which are in front of me, and I spend my time judging them. This is not right. Rather, I ought to carry my sins in front of me and concern myself with them, begging God to forgive me.' The Fathers stood up and said, 'Verily, this is the way of salvation.'"

Behind the News--A Mystical Experience?

You've heard about Susan Torres who on life support gave birth to a child...what you haven't heard is this...Susan Torres' Husband and Parents Reveal Strange Happening on Night of Susan's Tragic Collapse:

The words that both Sonny and Jason believe they heard, before the
life-affirming story of Susan ever reached the ears of a journalist or a
newsman, are the following:

You and others will tell the world of a fight to save a precious life, not to change hardened hearts, but to give hope to those who believe, so that they know that there is more than what they see and hear. Let them come and see for themselves.

Sonny's voice shook as he read the paper on which he had written those
words. "I have a hard time reading the paper--At any other time I would have
thought I was a crazy person having a dream," he said. "But the way this has
taken off, I really question that now."

Thanks to Todd!

Native American Mascots

I regularly walk the grounds of a beautiful convent of the Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters on the grounds one will find statues of Our Lady and traditional Catholic images dotted throughout. The sisters are gracious and very helpful, but sadly they are an aging community.



I find their website interesting. An image of Mary in a medal and a "dream catcher" are featured. It made me think of the recent NCAA ruling banning Native American mascots from post-season games--one wonders why "only post season games"? Should we as Catholics be using the spirituality of other religions to promote our faith? Or is part of being a Catholic the assimilation of other faiths into the truth that Christ brings to all religions?

Upcoming Appearances

September 15th, 7-9 p.m.
Pauline Book Store, Charleston, SC
"How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist"
Including a Question and Answer segment.

September 16th, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Pauline Book Store, Charleston, SC
Booksigning and Question and Answer

September 16th-17th
Fire At the Beach! , Myrtle Beach, S.C.
"Developing a Spirituality of the Eucharist"

September 24th
Faith Formation Conference, New Albany, IN
"How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist"

November 12th
Spiritfest, Fort Wayne, IN
"How to Offer Your Sacrifice at Every Mass"

I Was at Nagasaki: A Veteran of the U.S. Marines Speaks Out

From I Was at Nagasaki: A Veteran of the U.S. Marines Speaks Out:



"Nagasaki was the center of Catholicism in Japan. It had a big cathedral, and if I'm not mistaken, it had the biggest Christian population of any city in the country. And yet there we were--Catholics killing Catholics, and Protestants killing Protestants.

After the war, one of the things I grappled with was the question of allegiance. Where, as a Christian, should your allegiance be? As soldiers, our allegiance was to the nation state, not to our brothers and sisters, nor to Jesus.



This worship of the nation state is one of the worst idolatries of our day. In fact, I think it's probably the worst. But people can't see it. Like George Zabelka, the chaplain of the A-bomb pilots, said, they are brainwashed."

From The "I Wish I Had Thought of This" Bin

Two new books, and there is another planned that present history and Islam with a thumb to the nose at political correctness:

One on Science is due out soon:

What Happens in Your Church Before Mass Begins?

Amy would blame me for either of us being able to answer this one...Let Mary Jane know what happens at your church at Sacred Miscellany: Preludes, Anyone?

Franciscan Friars of the Renewal Redesigned Website

Franciscan Friars of the Renewal

Final Day of the 30 Day Appeal--Be a Customer Evangelist!

Today is the final day of our 30 day appeal in which I'm asking the readers of this blog and Amy's Open Book to consider buying one copy of her excellent book Here. Now. A Catholic Guide to the Good Life.and of my How To Get The Most Out Of The Eucharist--two books that can help you or your Catholic friends find true joy by deepening their relationship with God as Catholics.

Our recent journey to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Washington was a great confirmation of the good that we Catholics can do if we decide to become a proactive force in the Church as opposed to a reactive drain. There are many good and holy people in the pews out there and there are good and holy bishops and priests out there as well! Support them with your prayers and with good materials such as the two books I'm recomending.

If you already own a copy of both books, thank you again and again! I'm sure you have found them to be both challenging and an excellent way to get more from your Faith. Please consider buying another copy of both to give as a gift to your Catholic friends, you might even consider organizing a study group built around both books. At the end of this appeal I'm asking you to be a customer evangelist...ask your local bookstore to carry our books, ask your parish bookstore to carry the books, invite us to come and speak to your groups.

At the end of the thirty-day period Amy and I will donate whatever royalties we earn from the sales of these books to Food for the Poor. We will keep you abreast of how much there is to donate daily!

Thank you and may God bless you!

Pope John Paul on Sacrifice and the Mass (Subject of "How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist"):

It is true that the sacrifice of Calvary was enough to obtain all the graces of salvation for mankind: the Eucharistic sacrifice but gathers the fruits. But Christ willed that His oblation should become continually present to join the Christian community together. The Eucharist is at one and the same time Christ's sacrifice and the Church's sacrifice, because in it Christ unites the Church with His redemptive work and lets the Church share His oblation.

How important it is, then, for the faithful, as they take part in the Eucharist, to assume a personal attitude of offering. It is not sufficient that they listen to the word of God, not that they pray in common. It is necessary for them to make Christ's oblation their own, offering up their pains, their difficulties, their trial, and even more themselves, together with Him and in Him as to make this gift rise even to the Father, with the gift which Christ makes of Himself.

Update: To date $249.82 will be donated to Food for the Poor...THANKS!

Amy on the NBC Today Show This Morning

If you are on the West Coast you can catch it at 7:39...open book: No, I wasn't there!

For a Touch of the Pope's Hand

Pilgrims reach out to touch the Pope's hands at todays General Audience.

Charges with Video

Monsignor is 79! She is 46...her husband hired a private investigator.



New York Daily News - Home - Affair charge rocks cleric

Update

After car trouble sidelined everyone but Amy on Thursday night and a quick battery replacement at a service station after a Pep Boys in Cherry Hill, NJ said it would take two hours to replace one there we rushed to make it to the National Gallery of Art where Dr. Jem Sullivan was waiting to give us a very nice overview of the religious art on exhibit there.

On Philadelphia Catholic Radio This Morning!

Thanks to Patrick McCabe, Janet Napoli and Joe Schreiber for having Amy and I on this morning live from the Catholic Marketing Network. I've already received email in response to our appearance. Hope to be on again soon...Finding the Kingdom

Week Three of the Appeal

As Amy mentioned on her blog I'm a little under the weather, a reoccurence of something I had the last time we traveled about four weeks ago.

Thanks to all who have taken this appeal to heart! I received an email from Bill White of Summa Minutiae telling me that he had participated by visiting C & A Inspirations in Champaign, IL. Thanks to Bill and thanks to C & A for having the books in stock!

We are asking the readers of this blog and Amy's Open Book to consider buying one copy of her excellent book Here. Now. A Catholic Guide to the Good Life.and of my How To Get The Most Out Of The Eucharist--two books that have helped others find true joy by deepening their relationship with God as Catholics.

At the end of the thirty-day period Amy and I will donate whatever royalties we earn from the sales of these books to Food for the Poor.

Pope's Weekly Audience

Pope Benedict came back to the Vatican today to give his weekly audience, over 6,000 in attendance...including a delegation of Chinese priests. Interesting to see the aids trying to sort through the folders.

Priest will Apologize for Dropping of Atomic Bomb

Fr. Bob Cushing of the Savanah diocese will also meet with a victim. Causing quite a stir in Georgia...At Minister will visit Japan to meet bombing victim, deliver apology 07/23/05 - The Augusta Chronicle

Great News!

All 309 Survive Plane Crash in Toronto - Yahoo! News

Buy Some Books!

Just like the PBS version of these things...the appeal is winding down...


We (Amy and I...not the Holy Father) are asking the readers of this blog and Amy's Open Book to consider buying one copy of her excellent book Here. Now. A Catholic Guide to the Good Life.and of my How To Get The Most Out Of The Eucharist--two books that have helped others find true joy by deepening their relationship with God as Catholics.

At the end of the thirty-day period Amy and I will donate whatever royalties we earn from the sales of these books to Food for the Poor.

Father Benedict on Knowing Saints

From :



"Knowing the saints or potential saints has been an interesting experience. The one thing you notice is their absolute consistency, that they always seek first the Kingdom of God. The other thing you recognize is that each one of them struggles with human weaknesses, if not in the sense of failings, then in the sense that they show that the cross can be heavy to carry. We have a kind of unrealistic magical idea of saints in our minds. On one occasion I had Fr. Solanus and Mother Teresa annoyed at me. Their annoyance was so kind and charitable that it made me feel worse --they got annoyed so sweetly!



Understanding people who are saints gives us some insight into sanctity. It really is about giving ourselves to God and seeking to do God's will every day as best we can. In fact, if we did this every day, we would soon be saints, but we don't have the equipment to do it. We only have the ability to take the next good step and move in that direction."

"He took what they gave him" Day 19 of the Appeal

I make mention of The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life in this post as well as the forthcoming book by Father Benedict Groeschel and Bishop Robert Baker When Did We See You Lord?

Learn Byzantine Chant

Learn Byzantine Chant

Day 18...Testimonial and an Idea

From a Deacon:

Michael:

I just finished reading your book, The How-To Book of the Mass: Everything You Need to Know but No One Ever Taught You, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I can see many applications for it's use here in our parish, especially around RCIA.

Consider a gift for your pastor, deacon or DRE! We're asking the readers of this blog and Amy's Open Book to consider buying copies of her excellent book Here. Now. A Catholic Guide to the Good Life.and of my How To Get The Most Out Of The Eucharist--to spread the message.

At the end of the thirty-day period Amy and I will donate whatever royalties we earn from the sales of these books to Food for the Poor.

What Benedict is Thinking

while on vacation...

A variety of topics (one was the marriage/divorce question touched upon earlier this week here) and amazingly frank even about African vocations and a negative motivation. Fascinating reading, I offer two snipets from www.chiesa:

On the "dying" Churches of the Western world:

"The mainline Churches appear to be dying. This is true above all in Australia and also in Europe, but not so much in the United States. What are growing, on the other hand, are the sects which offer the certainty of a rock-bottom faith, and man is looking for certitude. And thus the mainline Churches, especially the traditional mainline Protestant Churches, really are facing an extremely serious crisis. The sects have the upper hand because they appear with a few simple certainties and say: this is enough. The Catholic Church is not in such bad shape as the historical mainline Protestant Churches, but it also faces the problems of this moment in history."

On permission to divorce in the Orthodox Churches:

"We are aware of the problem […] of the Orthodox Churches, which are frequently presented as a model in which remarriage is possible. But only the first marriage is sacramental: they also recognize that the others are not a sacrament, they are a reduced or lesser form of marriage, and they take place in a penitential context. In a certain sense they may go to communion, but it is with the knowledge that this is granted to them 'in economia' – as they say – by an act of mercy which nevertheless does not change the fact that their marriage is not a sacrament. The other point in the Eastern Churches is that for these marriages the possibility of divorce is granted with great ease, and thus the principle of the indissolubility and real sacramental nature of marriage is seriously harmed."

A Comment from Mary Jane...

About a comment in How To Get The Most Out Of The Eucharist:

My books just came - and lo and behold, skimming through Michael's, I found just what I needed to see right now. A description of the organist as the most distracted person at Mass - yup, that's me. Maybe I'll do better this weekend just because I saw that sentence. Thanks, Michael.

That comment about the organist was made to me when I was telling a Benedictine monk who does missions around the world about the book, I thought it was interesting and so I put it in the book but when I think about it, there is a lot of competition for "who the most distracted person is at Mass" and the monk who noticed the organist might be a candidate as well!

By the way visit Mary Jane's excellent blog where you can learn all about liturgy from a fine muscian.

666---Search the Books---Day 17 of the Appeal

The Eucharist is so central to the Faith that Jesus left the early Christians that I think it very plausible (even though Scripture was not divided into chapter and verses until centuries later that John's prophecy in Revelation about the number of the anti-Christ may be uncovered in John's gospel in Chapter 6 verse 66. A nugget from How To Get The Most Out Of The Eucharist:

When he announced the doctrine of the Eucharist in John 6 many disciples ceased to follow him because they found the teaching too difficult (see John 6:66, notice the numbers). Did Jesus yell out, “Oh, that’s okay — take what you like, ignore the rest”? No, instead ..."

Our attitude toward this great gift of Our Lord is a matter of life and death.

I'm asking the readers of this blog and Amy's Open Book to consider buying one copy of her excellent book Here. Now. A Catholic Guide to the Good Life.and of my How To Get The Most Out Of The Eucharist--you can search through either book on Amazon in the way you might in a bookstore, don't take our word for it...search the books and see.

At the end of the thirty-day period Amy and I will donate whatever royalties we earn from the sales of these books to Food for the Poor.

Interesting Account of Anglican Priest Becoming Married Catholic Priest

Including this tidbit:

Redlands Daily Facts - News:



"Does my approval mean that the Catholic Church will one day change its general policy on the ordination of married men? My reply is no. Exceptions to the rule are made every few centuries, but the rule has and almost certainly will remain. Anglican priests who left Catholicism at the Reformation in the 16th century and French Catholic priests who were forced to marry in the French Revolution of the 18th century were allowed to return to the church and keep their wives, but the general rule remained."

Well... Modern to an Extent

From the Vatican Information Service (VIS):

As previously advised, VIS will be closed during the entire month of August. Service will resume on Thursday, September 1, 2005.

This in spite of World Youth Day in the middle of it...

Audio Appeal

Here is an audio appeal--may have to do a few of these, since we will be away from computers quite a bit in the next week.

I'm asking the readers of this blog and Amy's Open Book to consider buying one copy of her excellent book Here. Now. A Catholic Guide to the Good Life.and of my How To Get The Most Out Of The Eucharist--two books that have helped others find true joy by deepening their relationship with God as Catholics.

At the end of the thirty-day period Amy and I will donate whatever royalties we earn from the sales of these books to Food for the Poor.

The Catholic Report - July 28, 2005

Another daily source for Catholic news...
The Catholic Report - July 28, 2005

Catholic leaders Question Removal of Feeding Tube

Another case and another case where a "Catholic" ethicist was cited as the authority to remove the tube.



From Herald Sun: Catholic leaders question decision [28jul05]:



"'The Catholic position is that the person retains a right to nutrition and hydration until the body rejects it, especially in cases of terminal illness,' Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart said.



Archbishop Hart declined to comment on the specific case of Mrs Korp, saying there might be facts in her case he did not know about and he did not want to get involved in a polemic. "

The Body of Christ

Amen!

Maylen, 18, receives communion at the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Wednesday, July 27, 2005. Hundreds of clowns of all ages ended their annual pilgrimage to the Basilica to pay their respects to the Virgin of Guadalupe. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

This reminds me of a truth that is often forgotten by those of us who attend Mass faithfully:

"The miracle of the church assembly lies in that it is not the 'sum' of the sinful and unworthy people who comprise it, but the Body of Christ" (Father Alexander Schmemann)

Divorced Catholics Must be Welcomed in Parishes, Pope tells Priests

CNS STORY: Divorced Catholics must be welcomed in parishes, pope tells priests



The crux of the problem, beautifully enunciated:





"I would say that a particularly painful situation is that of those who were married in the church, but were not really believers and did so just for tradition, and then finding themselves in a new, nonvalid marriage, convert, find the faith and feel excluded from the sacrament," he said.

Week Two of Our Appeal--Testimonials

Testimonials

From a Director of Religious Education in a Catholic parish in South on Amy's Here. Now. A Catholic Guide to the Good Life.:

Just before you began the month-of-push I finished Here. Now. and decided to give it to my incoming RCIA candidates to read over our end of summer break. This is a tremendously helpful (and clear) book Amy has written, and I could foresee us using it again and again with various groups.

From a Women's Study Group leader on The How-To Book of the Mass: Everything You Need to Know but No One Ever Taught You :

A small group of women at my church have formed a summer book club and we are about to tackle your “How-to Book of the Mass” . . ,

. . . I thoroughly enjoyed it and feel like I am working on a whole new set of prayer muscles that I’ve never exercised before. From the moment you suggested singing all of the hymns – even the ones we don’t like – I figured “Okay if I don’t anything else out of this book, I’ve learned enough.” So now I’m out of critic mode and into praising and singing.

From a buyer in the Midwest of both books:

I recently purchased both books. How To Get The Most Out Of The Eucharist was obtained to review it for addition to our parish library. I haven't been able to give up my copy, either to share or place on the library table. I had mistakenly thought it might be helpful to those "other people" who need "books like that"!

I'm asking the readers of this blog and Amy's Open Book to consider buying one copy of her excellent book Here. Now. A Catholic Guide to the Good Life.and of my How To Get The Most Out Of The Eucharist--two books that have helped others find true joy by deepening their relationship with God as Catholics.

At the end of the thirty-day period Amy and I will donate whatever royalties we earn from the sales of these books to Food for the Poor.

Pastoral Associate Attends Mock Ordination of Women

And praises it!



Confusion reigns...Diocese of Syracuse



From In Protest of Catholic Policy, Women Ordained Priests -- Beliefnet.com:



"It's time that changed, said Sister Patricia Bergan, a member of the women's religious community the Sisters of St. Francis and an administrator at St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Syracuse, N.Y.



When Bergan, Cathy Gregory, and Meme Woolever, all of Syracuse, heard about the event, they decided to drive to the eastern Ontario town to see if they could participate. After waiting in the hot sun on the pier for more than an hour, they were allowed on the boat.



'This is great,' Bergan said. 'It's history.' "

Rome Next on Al Qaeda's List?

DEBKAfile -

More on the Woman Behind the Pope

A fascinating figure...Whispers in the Loggia: More Ingrid

Please Buy the Books...Day 7 of the Appeal

Like mendicant preachers who weren't ashamed to beg...today I am begging you to participate in our appeal. We need you! The work that we do in writing depends on others to spread the word.

• The most direct way for you to help is to give these books as gifts...to your parish priest, to shut-ins, to friends who ask you about the Church.
• A second way you can help is by visiting you local bookstore, whether it is Catholic, Christian or Borders and asking them to stock the books on their shelves so that others may have the opportunity to purchase something that will build up their faith as opposed to destroy it.
• Finally if you have a BLOG, please blog this!

Amy's Here. Now. A Catholic Guide to the Good Life.is a Catholic answer to the Purpose Driven Life only it won't take you forty days to figure out what your purpose is or how being Catholic is a good thing. My How To Get The Most Out Of The Eucharist can help you not only to receive Christ more fully but can give you the framework to develop a spirituality of the Eucharist, something Pope John Paul promoted that has received less attention than his "theology of the body."

This is the seventh day of our thirty day appeal to make Here. Now. A Catholic Guide to the Good Life.and How To Get The Most Out Of The Eucharist not only better known but also to get the message out! So many Catholics are struggling to see the connection that their Faith has with the "treasure" worth selling everything to possess. Too many good Catholics are listening with the rest of their lives. W e are begging readers of this blog and Amy's Open Book to consider buying one copy of both books for themselves and consider buying other copies for friends and relatives because you love them and desire their salvation.

All proceeds to this appeal will go to Food for the Poor. We both have a goal in mind and it is worth reporting that we are a long way off from reaching it. I ask you to pray for the success of our writing, speaking and movement of books.

Feast of St. Joachim and St. Anne--July 26th

Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The origins of the names and the stories surrounding are drawn from apochryphal gospels and are doubtful because they so resemble the Biblical accounts of the conception of Samuel...but there is no doubt that Our Lady had parents and this is there feast.

Canadian Catholics have long experienced the miraculous interecession of the Mother of Mary at the miraculous Basilica of St. Anne de Beaupré.

Pre-Order the Compendium of the Catholic Church

Due out in English in October...available in hardcover:



Or in softcover:






Read an English review of the Italian version here.

Feast of St. James the Apostle

Since traffic to this sight on Sunday is pretty slow, I repeat our appeal's message from yesterday...Day 5--The Joy of Being Catholic

In the Gospel reading you heard at Mass today--Jesus gives us several parables of what the Kingdom of Heaven is like--the first two are a reminder of why any of us even bother--the third a very loud reminder of the reality of the Church--good fish and bad fish (and only the angels at the end of time will be able to sort out that mess).

In both of the "find" parables something is found that is so precious, so key to what life is about that nothing else matters. The spiritual writer Jean Pierre de Cuasade wrote that "Without God everything is nothing, but with God nothing is everything." The joy of what is found by both seekers is so great that they sacrifice everything they have in order to possess what they do not have.

Most of us have had this experience in life where all the "stuff" has let us down enough to realize that true joy is somewhere else...this experience is a true grace because it enables us to really reach out to God and experience the joy that he has made us to experience. All the other "stuff" is a dead end road.

Sadly though many of us never take the next step...of getting rid of all the stuff and like the rich young man who was possessed by his possessions we go away sad.

A great grace in my life was to have known a young woman who had experienced the joy of Christ and also had (not by free choice) been despoiled of all her possessions. In the irony of life, her name was Pearl...in her early twenties she had terminal cancer and I myself still in my early twenties used to bring her Holy Communion. The joy that she experienced when she received Christ is something that I have never forgotten, twenty-five years later. Her entire life was near an end, all her hopes and dreams had vanished yet she communicated to me a joy that made me realize at an early age (although for her at the same age it was already very late) the pomp and emptiness of what the "world" and the "devil" hold out to all of us. Not to say that I haven't fallen time and again back into the traps set for us-- but thanks no doubt to her prayers and the prayers of others I have not remained in the pit for any length of time. I am a sinner but I have seen the pearl that is the source of true joy and is worth more than anything else in the world. Thanks to Pearl for teaching me that lesson.

I tell Pearl's story in The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life and credited her as the inspiration to the discoveryof the "pearl" and also the great price" which is required to possess that treasure-- embracing of the cross in our lives (the selling everything, i.e. changing the entire way we think about this life--the way we judge, the way we plan, what we think will bring us happiness).

Amy's Here. Now. A Catholic Guide to the Good Life. is a modern exposition of how being Catholic is the secret treasure found that can give one the joy that one is searching for in all the wrong places. This joy is so great that it is worth the "sacrifice" that I spell out in How To Get The Most Out Of The Eucharist. As Catholics we are in desperate need of knowing how to live our Faith out faithfully and with the full expectation of experiencing the joy that only Christ can give us, Amy and I have set out on a path to help Catholics understand how they can do that not by an endless search in diverse places but right at the foot of the cross in front of the tabernacle at their parish church--where no matter how many bad fish have been dragged in with the good (and God help us to become good fish), Jesus is present and comes to us.

This is the fifth day of our thirty day appeal to make Here. Now. A Catholic Guide to the Good Life.and How To Get The Most Out Of The Eucharist not only better known but also to get the message out! So many Catholics are struggling to see the connection that their Faith has with the "treasure" worth selling everything to possess. Too many good Catholics are listening more to the word sown by "the enemy" sometimes (like in the parable) in the midst of their own church. W e are asking readers of this blog and Amy's Open Book to consider buying one copy of both books for themselves and consider buying other copies for friends and relatives as mission to help each other reach our final goal--possession of the true treasure, Jesus Christ that is faithful to the commands he has given us in the church he founded on Peter.

Thanks again to all who have participated in this appeal, thanks for making both books Catholic bestsellers on Amazon. We have raised several hundred dollars to be given to Food for the Poor, we hope to raise several thousand by end of the appeal so that a new house may be built for a poor family in Latin America.

Pope Recalls John Paul's Plea to Europe

On the eve of the Feast of St. James... Pope: Youths of Cologne, fermentation for Europe’s roots and world peace