Feast of the Holy Rosary

From True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis De Montfort:

Here is what our Blessed Lady revealed to Blessed Alan de Rupe as recorded in his book, The Dignity of the Rosary, and as told again by Cartagena: "Know, my son, and make it known to all, that lukewarmness or negligence in saying the Hail Mary, or a distaste for it, is a probable and proximate sign of eternal damnation, for by this prayer the whole world was restored."

These are terrible words but at the same time they are consoling. We should find it hard to believe them, were we not assured of their truth by Blessed Alan and by St. Dominic before him, and by so many great men since his time. The experience of many centuries is there to prove it, for it has always been common knowledge that those who bear the sign of reprobation, as all formal heretics, evil-doers, the proud and the worldly, hate and spurn the Hail Mary and the Rosary. True, heretics learn to say the Our Father but they will not countenance the Hail Mary and the Rosary and they would rather carry a snake around with them than a rosary. And there are even Catholics who, sharing the proud tendencies of their father Lucifer, despise the Hail Mary or look upon it with indifference. The Rosary, they say, is a devotion suitable only for ignorant and illiterate people.

Head of Human Life International Blasts President's Choice

From Catholic News Agency:

Fr. Euteneuer chided Bush, saying that his choice of close friend Miers sends a message of: ''If you are pro-life keep your mouths shut and hide in the closet if you ever hope to advance in your career.'“

'The nomination of Miers”, he said, “is a slap in the face to pro-life lawyers and judges who have not been ashamed of the principles that inform their conscience; evidently courage of conviction disqualifies candidates for the bench.'

'We know very little about Miers, but her nomination revealed a lot about President Bush. It has become clear he is afraid to fight for the values on which he campaigned.'

Fr. Euteneuer recalled that 'Last year Bush asked faithful Catholics to fight for him, campaign for him and vote for him and they did in record numbers; now the President lacks the stomach to fight for the values of those who put him in office.”

He added that Bush “is asking us to trust him in a gamble with the lives of millions of unborn babies, with the health and well being of mothers, with the fate of our nation.”

Terror Threats and October 7th

Tommorrow is a dangerous day for terror threats...two events happened on October 7th both of which would mark the US and the Christian West for an attack:

October 7, 1571

Pope Pius V institutes the Feast of the Holy Rosary:

The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary was instituted to honor Mary for the Christian victory over the Turks at Lepanto on October 7, 1571. Pope St. Pius V and all Christians had prayed the Rosary for victory. (This victory was seen as the final one of the crusades, steming the advance of Muslims into Europe)

October 7, 2001

The United States launches the war on terror against the Taliban:

Good afternoon. On my orders, the United States military has begun strikes against al Qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. These carefully targeted actions are designed to disrupt the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations, and to attack the military capability of the Taliban regime. (President Bush addressing the nation)

The current issue of The Priest magazine contains a column by Father Benedict Groeschel that exhorts priests to pray the rosary daily for peace (in answer to Our Lady of Fatima's plea in 1917). Father warns that any future "explosions" might be linked to our failure to carry out this mandate. I mention this here so that you the reader might also take Father's plea to heart and pray the rosary for peace!

Synod of the Eucharist

Bread of Life vs. Culture of Death

ARCHBISHOP JUAN FRANCSICO SARASTI JARAMILLO C.I.M., OF CALI COLOMBIA. "The Eucharist is the response to the negative signs of modern culture. In the first instance, in the face of a culture or anti-culture of death that traffics in arms, builds systems of wide-scale destruction, legalizes abortion and authorizes research on human embryos, Jesus defines and gives Himself to us as 'Bread of Life.' In the second instance, our culture is marked by hatred and terrorism. ... The Eucharist offers the permanent possibility of reconciliation with God and our brethren, an invitation to find reconciliation among ourselves before worshipping the Lord. This is the reason that so many communities feel so deeply about the 'rite of peace', as renewed by liturgical reform. Another modern trait is that of scientific positivism or relativism, yet the Eucharist reaffirms the reality of the 'mystery' and the value of belief and love as a way to knowledge; with Eucharistic faith, upheld by ecclesial tradition and based on the words of the Lord, we have access to real, though imperfect, certainties. Finally, in the face of the solitude and desperation that undermine mankind today, the Eucharist offers us ... profound companionship and a promise of eternal life that fills us with definitive hope."

Regaining the Sacredness of the Event

BISHOP JAVIER ECHEVARRIA RODRIGUEZ, PRELATE OF THE PERSONAL PRELATURE OF OPUS DEI. "Paragraph 34 of the 'Instrumentum Laboris' highlights the importance of a sense of the sacred in celebrating the Eucharist. We should study practical ways to help the faithful to a clearer understanding of the sacredness of Eucharistic sacrifice. ... It would therefore be useful, on the basis of the Instruction 'Redemptionis sacramentum,' to try to remove abuses that harm the sacred nature of Eucharistic celebrations, and to rethink certain regulations which may be interpreted and applied in an abusive fashion. For example, I suggest reviewing the appropriateness of Eucharistic ceremonies in which there is such an excessive number of concelebrants as to make the dignified celebration of the liturgy impossible; and re-evaluating whether communion should actually be given to all participants in a Mass where great numbers of believers are present, when such general distribution may harm the dignity of worship

Sacrifice

BISHOP EDWARD OZOROWSKI, AUXILIARY OF BIALYSTOK, POLAND. "The Eucharist, as the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, brings the sacrifice of the cross into the present day. The sacrifice is the 'primum principium' of the Eucharist and creates a hierarchy of all the truths related thereto. ... Eucharistic teaching underlines many important themes: banquet, communion, listening to the word of God, sacrament, etc., however these themes lack a 'keystone.' One consequence of this is a certain 'protestantization' of the theology of the Eucharist, which such teaching reveals as being a beautiful rite, but one with little meaning for life. Yet it is the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, to which man has access through the Eucharist, that is most important in this mystery. The sacrifice of Christ on the cross brought salvation to humanity. ... Thanks to the Eucharist, sacrifice in human life is transformed into the sacrifice of Christ. Only by walking the path of the cross can we reach the glory of the resurrection."

What Kind of Training is Necessary for Priests?

BISHOP ARNOLD OROWAE, COADJUTOR OF WABAG, PAPUA NEW GUINEA. "Experiences of injustice, violence, corruption, poverty, etc., show that there is a separation between the Eucharist and life. Thus the real saving and transforming presence of Jesus in the Eucharist should not be understood vaguely and taken lightly but Catholics should be serious in their faith, with due respect and adoration. ... How can this be true for communities who live in the remote villages that do not have the opportunity for frequent celebration and reception of the Eucharist? This poses the question, what kind of priest do we need in our situation? Does one need years of intellectual formation in philosophy and theology to give much-needed service to poor people in remote areas who may not equal his intellectual capabilities? The issue here is not having more vocations, but justice and equality for all the children of God, having the right to make the Eucharist the center of their lives by celebrating and receiving it as often as they can. ... Should the Church allow for mature Christian men who are strong in faith, very committed, and have the respect of the people, to be easily trained to preside at the Eucharistic celebration, which will make it easy for the people to participate in the Eucharist, so that the importance and centrality of the Eucharist becomes true for the people?"

Restore the "Breadiness" of the Eucharist

ARCHBISHOP ANTHONY SABLAN APURON O.F.M. Cap., OF AGANA, GUAM. "In the Pacific, the scarcity of priests and the aggressiveness of the evangelistic sects are challenging the very survival of the Catholic faith. In my experience, the only answer to this double predicament is to 'form communities based on faith,' as Pope Benedict told the youth in Cologne. ... Today, the Church needs to make clearly visible the signs of the Eucharist: maybe the Church needs to restore the 'breadness' of the bread which becomes the Body of Christ to be eaten by all, and wine drunk by all which becomes the Blood of Christ. These signs fully and powerfully represent the reality that they signify and not just approximate them. ... I urge leaders of the Church today, to do everything possible to help people come to really know Jesus Christ through the signs of the Eucharist and the reality they signify."

Feast of St. Bruno

Founder of the Carthusians, patron of the possessed.

I have a good friend who is a Carthusian. We attended college together some years ago and I had lost touch with him after that. Recently I caught up with him after I had mentioned him in a book that I wrote called The Power of the Cross. Turns out he was carrying a cross way back then that I was not aware of at the time.

Now ordained a priest for his order, he told me that after college his life went in a downward spiral of drugs, alcohol and sex--homosexual sex. Now, even after he told me that he was/is a homosexual, I found it hard to believe.

The drugs and alchohol were an attempt to flee from the path he knew that he must trod and in sobriety he set out once more for the house of the Father.

He is a good man, a holy man, a chaste monk. I believe and he believes he is where God wants him to be, in the order that St. Bruno founded. Pray for him today and the many like him who have restless hearts until they rest in God.

Tropical Storm Tammy

Headed toward St. Augustine, Florida



See Sun-Sentinel: South Florida weather

Supreme Nominee "Born" Catholic

Of course, no one is "born" any religion (and this from the New York Times!)...I'm guessing it means she was baptized a Catholic and raised a Catholic? I had read somewhere else that she was an Episcopalian, but also read somewhere that she attended daily mass at St. Jude's Catholic Church in Dallas, TX...so we might conclude that she is a little confused when it comes to religion or undecided?

FromIn Midcareer, a Turn to Faith to Fill a Void - New York Times:

Ms. Miers, born Roman Catholic, became an evangelical Christian and began
identifying more with Republicans than with the Democrats who had long held sway
over Texas politics. She joined the missions committee of her church, which is
against legalized abortion, and friends and colleagues say she rarely looked
back at her past as a Democrat.

Synod of the Eucharist

Against Communion in the Hand

ARCHBISHOP JAN PAWEL LENGA M.I.C. OF KARAGANDA, KAZAKHSTAN. "Among the liturgical innovations produced in the Western world, two in particular tend to cloud the visible aspect of the Eucharist, especially as regards its centrality and sacredness: the removal of the tabernacle from the center and the distribution of communion in the hand. ... Communion in the hand is spreading and even prevailing as being easier, as a kind of fashion. ... Therefore, I humbly propose the following practical propositions: that the Holy See issue a universal regulation establishing the official way of receiving communion as being in the mouth and kneeling; with communion in the hand to be reserved for the clergy alone. May bishops in places where communion in the hand has been introduced work with pastoral prudence to bring the faithful slowly back to the official rite of communion, valid for all local Churches."

No Mass on Lenten Fridays

BISHOP LORENZO VOLTOLINI ESTI, AUXILIARY OF PORTOVIEJO, ECUADOR. "Refraining from the celebration of Mass on Friday in Lent would help the faithful to feel greater hunger for the Eucharistic food, and it would give priests the chance to put themselves at the disposal of the faithful for the Sacrament of Penance, thus establishing a relationship of equal dignity and necessity between the two Sacraments. ... I propose it be suggested to dioceses or National Conferences, or at least allowed to those that request it, that they establish a day of Eucharistic fasting, preferably during Lent and perhaps on Fridays. This should not be experienced as a day of Eucharistic absence but as a period of preparation for and expectation of the Eucharist. It should not be considered as an interruption of the practice of celebrating the Eucharist each day, but as a way to give worth to the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ, equally celebrated in Penance and in the Eucharist in the totality and complementarity of the two Sacraments."

Communion to the Divorced and Remarried

ARCHBISHOP JOHN ATCHERLEY DEW OF WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND. "Our Church would be enriched if we were able to invite dedicated Catholics, currently excluded from the Eucharist, to return to the Lord's table. There are those whose first marriages ended in sadness; they have never abandoned the Church, but are currently excluded from the Eucharist. There are Catholics married to people baptized in other Christian faiths. We acknowledge them to be baptized in Christ in the sacrament of marriage, but not in the reception of the Eucharist. This Synod must be pastoral in approach; we must look for ways to include those who are hungering for the Bread of Life. The scandal of those hungering for Eucharistic food needs to be addressed, just as the scandal of physical hunger needs to be addressed."

Benedict urges Poles to Pray for JPII's Beatification

From IOL: Benedict urges Poles to pray for JPII's beatification:

"Pope Benedict XVI today urged Polish pilgrims to pray for the beatification of
Pope John Paul II, saying his predecessor's teachings and life were important
for the faithful today.

Benedict made the comments in Polish during his
weekly general audience, noting that six months had passed since John Paul's
April 2 death.

"All of his teachings and the example of his life remain
important and contemporary for us," Benedict said.

"I entrust his
beatification to your prayers of the Rosary."

Cause for Concern

This story, tragic as it is, involves a young priest ordained only a few years. It calls into question everything about the screening of candidates for the priesthood that we are all told is much better now than it was...

From Ironwood Daily Globe, Ironwood, Michigan, USA News:

According to an account of Monday's testimony in the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

Erickson professed a love of God, but he was described by witnesses as a man who downloaded hardcore pornography, much of it involving boys. Authorities said one computer file labeled 'Holy Mass/Prayers' included 40 pornographic photos.
Investigators said that when Erickson was 6 years old, he had sexual contact with a 4-year-old male cousin. At the age of 19, they said, he had sexual contact with a 14-year-old boy, and at 21 he was investigated for allegedly sexually assaulting a boy at a summer resort.
On Monday, an alleged victim of Erickson testified that as a teenager he met Erickson at a parish in Somerset, Wis., where Erickson had a weekend assignment while still in the seminary. From 2000 to 2002, the young man testified, he spent many weekends at the rectory with Erickson watching horror movies and playing drinking games. He said Erickson supplied cans of beer and shots of liquor.
Once the boy was drunk, Erickson would molest him, according to the testimony.
Another victim, a teenage boy, testified that more recently Erickson engaged in drinking binges during sleepovers at St. Patrick's rectory.
St. Croix County District Attorney Eric Johnson said Monday that Dan O'Connell apparently had confronted Erickson about allegations of sexual abuse of a boy and that provided the motive for his murder. "

And this from The Star Tribune:

According to a biography of Erickson's life, contained in the Hudson police case, the Catholic Diocese in Superior, Wis., had examined sexual allegations against Erickson in the mid-1990s, when he was still a seminary student. He was ordained in June 2000.

Much of the material concerning those allegations listed in the biography came from Erickson's personnel files from the Superior Diocese.

The biography cites a "letter to Erickson of a sexual misconduct allegation" written in 1994 by the Rev. Timothy Reker.

The district attorney in Wisconsin's Vilas County followed up with a letter on July 13, 1994. The letter said "that there will be no charges of sexual assault against Erickson," the police summary said.

The biography also said that the St. Paul Seminary questioned a Father Gordon with the Diocese of Superior in 1996 regarding sexual allegations against Erickson.

Internet Archive

The Internet Archive

Synod of the Eucharist

Propossals:

A Year of Penance?

ARCHBISHOP CRISTIAN CARO CORDERO OF PUERTO MONTT, CHILE. "My proposal is that, given the close theological, spiritual and pastoral relationship between the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Penance, and taking into account the shadows in the latter, a year be dedicated to the Sacrament of Penance, taking as fundamental points the following: the meaning of the true and living God, and His eclipse in modern culture; the need of salvation and the announcement of Jesus Christ; ... the sense of sin, which is diminished or annulled, due to the loss of God and moral relativism; conversion and the virtue of penance; spiritual guidance or accompaniment; the celebration of the Sacrament of Penance as an encounter between the sinner, who converts from his misery, and God who, in His mercy in Christ, welcomes and forgives him; the conditions for receiving Holy Communion; new life in Christ, as His disciples and members of the Church. With respect to the relationship between the Eucharist and the pastoral care of vocations, I propose that in the 'Year of Penance' priests be formed and motivated to give spiritual direction to young people and to give time to the Sacrament of Reconciliation which, together with the Eucharist, are fundamental in spiritual guidance.

Against Canonization Homilies at Funerals

CARDINAL JORGE ARTURO MEDINA ESTEVEZ, PREFECT EMERITUS OF THE CONGREGATION FOR DIVINE WORSHIP AND THE DISCIPLINE OF THE SACRAMENTS. "Intimately united to the sacrificial nature of the Eucharistic celebration is its propitiatory element, as much for the living as for the dead. Obsequial liturgy aims above all to support the soul of the deceased, and it is a misapplication to convert the obsequial homily into a tribute of the person who has passed away."

Experiencing the Joy of the Eucharist

BISHOP PETER KANG U-IL OF CHEJU, KOREA. "In the Church in Korea the attendance of children at Eucharist decreases drastically as they move on to higher age. The children who don't attend the Mass say it is because Mass is too tedious and not interesting. Adults also say that because they find it very boring, they cannot motivate themselves to attend. As a priority we have to motivate and give rise within the hearts of Catholics to a desire and aspiration to participate in the Eucharist. ... In order to communicate to modern people the mystery of the Eucharist it is not enough to strictly enforce the rules and regulations regarding the celebration of the Sacrament. For our part, as bishops we need to more actively research ways to make it easier for modern Catholics to experience the real value of the Eucharist, to participate fully in it and to experience the joy of it."

Feast of St. Francis

From The Office of Readings

A Letter from St. Francis of Assisi to all the faithful:

It was through his archangel, Saint Gabriel, that the Father above made known to the holy and glorious Virgin Mary that the worthy, holy and glorious Word of the Father would come from heaven and take from her womb the real flesh of our human frailty. Though he was wealthy beyond reckoning, he still willingly chose to be poor with his blessed mother. And shortly before his passion he celebrated the Passover with his disciples. Then he prayed to his Father saying: Father, if it be possible, let this cup be taken from me.
Nevertheless, he reposed his will in the will of his Father. The Father willed that his blessed and glorious Son, whom he gave to us and who was born for us, should through his own blood offer himself as a sacrificial victim on the altar of the cross. This was to be done not for himself through whom all things were made, but for our sins. It was intended to leave us an example of how to follow in his footsteps. And he desires all of us to be saved through him, and to receive him with pure heart and chaste body.
O how happy and blessed are those who love the Lord and do as the Lord himself said in the gospel: You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart and your whole soul; and your neighbour as yourself. Therefore, let us love God and adore him with pure heart and mind. This is his particular desire when he says: True worshippers adore the Father in spirit and truth. For all who adore him must do so in the spirit of truth. Let us also direct to him our praises and prayers saying: Our Father, who art in heaven, since we must always pray and never grow slack.
Furthermore, let us produce worthy fruits of penance. Let us also love our neighbours as ourselves. Let us have charity and humility. Let us give alms because these cleanse our souls from the stains of sin. Men lose all the material things they leave behind them in this world, but they carry with them the reward of their charity and the alms they give. For these they will receive from the Lord the reward and recompense they deserve. We must not be wise and prudent according to the flesh. Rather we must be simple, humble and pure. We should never desire to be over others. Instead, we ought to be servants who are submissive to every human being for God’s sake. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on all who live in this way and persevere in it to the end. He will permanently dwell in them. They will be the Father’s children who do his work. They are the spouses, brothers and mothers of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Deacon Testifies Priest Confessed Murders to Him

Perhaps I'm missing something here, but why didn't the Deacon go to the authorities both civil and ecclesial with this information?

From MPR: Judge rules priest 'probably' committed Hudson murders:

Deacon Russell Lundgren, from St. Mary's Church in Hurley, testified Monday he
talked to Erickson after police interviewed the priest late last year.
'He tells me that 'I done it and they were going to catch me,'' Lundgren said during
the hearing.
'He was staring out the window. Throughout the whole conversation, we never made eye contact,' Lundgren said.
The priest also told him, 'Do you know what they do with young guys in prison, especially priests?' Lundgren testified.
Lundgren said they never talked about the deaths again.
Erickson, 31, was found hanged Dec. 19 from a fire escape at his parish in Hurley in far northern Wisconsin several days after police questioned him and he denied involvement in the deaths of Dan O'Connell, 39, and intern James Ellison, 22.

Fire Urban Meyer Site Up

Supports the UF coach, someone bought the domain before the fireronzoon guy could...



See fireurbanmeyer.com

Prayer for Success of Synod

From ZENIT News Agency--The World Seen from Rome:

Lord Jesus Christ, whom the Father has commanded us to listen as his beloved
Son, shed your light upon your Church, so that she might have nothing more holy
than to listen to your voice and follow you. You are the Supreme Shepherd and
Ruler of Souls. Look then upon the Pastors of your Church gathered in these days
with the Successor of St. Peter in synod assembly. We implore you to sanctify
them in truth and confirm them in faith and love.

Lord Jesus Christ,
send forth your Spirit of love and truth on the bishops in synod and on all who
assist them in fulfilling their task. Make them more faithful to what the Spirit
is saying to the Churches; stir their souls and teach them truth by that same
Holy Spirit. Through their work, may the faithful of their Churches be purified
and strengthened in spirit, so that they might greater follow the Gospel through
which you accomplished salvation and they might make of themselves a living
offering to the heavenly Father.

May Mary, the Most Holy Mother of God
and Mother of the Church, assist the Bishops in these days, as she assisted the
Apostles in the Upper Room, and intercede with motherly affection to foster
brotherly communion among them, to allow them to rejoice in prosperity and peace
in the calmness of these days, and, in reading the signs of the times, to
celebrate the majesty of the merciful God, the Lord of History, to the praise
and glory of the Most Blessed Trinity, Father Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Vatican's Press Office for Synod News

Top Ten Amazon Catholic Bestsellers

As of Sunday morning October 2nd...

I haven't done this for awhile. Several new titles...Arroyo, Greeley,Woods,Groeschel.

1. Mother Angelica : The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles by Raymond Arroyo

2. The Making of the Pope 2005 by Andrew Greeley

3. Catholicism for Dummies by John Trigilio and Kenneth Brighenti

4. How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization By Thomas Woods Jr.

5. The How-To Book of the Mass: Everything You Need to Know but No One Ever Taught You by Michael Dubruiel

6. The Seeker's Catechism: The Basics of Catholicism : Presented in Light of the New Catechism of the Catholic Church by Michael Pennock

7. Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen

8. Catechism of the Catholic Church

9. There are No Accidents: In All Things Trust in God by Benedict J. Groeschel, John Bishop and Michael Dubruiel

10. Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux by St. Therese

Pope Opens Synod of Bishops

On the Eucharist...

Snipets From Benedict's Opening Homily:

Right in this hour in which we celebrate the Eucharist, in which we launch the Synod of the Eucharist, He comes to meet us, comes to meet me. Will he find a response? Or will the same happen to us as with the vine, of which God told Isaiah: “He expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes”? Isn’t our Christian life often more vinegar than wine? Self-pity, conflict, indifference?...

...We want to be masters in the first place and by ourselves. We want to possess the world and our own lives in an unlimited way. God is an encumbrance for us. We either pay devoted lip service to Him or deny Him completely; He is banished from public life, losing all meaning. A tolerance which acknowledges God, as it were, as a private opinion, but which refuses him any public domain, the reality of the world and of our life, is not tolerance but hypocrisy. Where man makes himself the only master of the world and master of himself, justice cannot exist. There only the arbiter of power and of interests can dominate. Certainly, the Son can be chased out of the vineyard and killed, so one can selfishly savour all the fruits of the earth alone. But soon the vineyard will turn into uncultivated terrain trampled by wild boars, as the Responsorial Psalm tells us (cf. Ps 79:14)...

...But the threat of judgement regards us too, the Church in Europe, Europe and the West in general. With this Gospel, the Lord is shouting into our ears the same words he told the Church of Ephesus in the Apocalypse: “Unless you repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” (2,5). The light may be taken away from us too, and we would do well to allow this warning in all its gravity to resound in our soul, at the same time crying to the Lord: “Help us to convert! Give us all the grace of a true renewal! Do not allow your light among us to be extinguished! Reinforce our faith, our hope and our love, so we may bear good fruit!”...

...Life sprang from the Son’s death, a new construction, a new vineyard is formed. He, who at Cana changed water into wine, changed his blood into wine of true love and in doing so he transformed wine into his blood. In the cenacle, he anticipated his death and transformed it into a gift of self in an act of radical love. His blood is a gift, it is love and for this it is the true wine which the Creator was waiting for. In this way, Christ himself becomes the grapevine, and this grapevine always bears good fruit: the presence of his love for us, which is indestructible...

...In the holy Eucharist, He draws all to himself from the cross (Jn 12:32) and he makes us become shoots of the grapevine which is Himself. If we remain united in Him, then we will also bear fruit and no longer will the vinegar of self-sufficiency, of discontent with God and his creation flow from us; rather there will be good wine of rejoicing in God and of love towards our neighbour. We pray that the Lord gives us his grace, so that in the three weeks of the Synod which we are starting, we will not only say nice things about the Eucharist, but above all we will draw life from its power. We invoke this gift through Mary, dear Fathers of the Synod, who I greet with much affection, together with the many Communities from which you come and which you represent, so that obedient to the movements of the Holy Spirit, we can help the world to become, in Christ and with Christ, the fertile grapevine of God. Amen.

Comments

Due to an increase in spam, I've had to activate word verification. Sorry for the inconvenience...

Screening of Church Employees?

Read this story and wonder...

From Northpinellas: Pastor apologizes to church:

The pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church has apologized to his parishioners for hiring a man accused of making a lewd proposition to a teenager.

Father Tom Madden took sole responsibility for hiring William Forte as the church's facilities manager in February 2004. Forte, 60, was arrested last week on charges that he offered a teen $100 last year to perform a sex act, which the boy refused.

'This has been very disturbing for me,' Madden said Friday during his first interview about the case. 'I carry the weight and pain of a lot of people's lives on my soul.'

Madden said he knew Forte had an arrest record when he hired him. In 1992, Forte had been charged in Polk County with showing pornography to six teens, giving them alcohol and paying them for sex. He ultimately pleaded guilty to two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and received six months' probation.

New Father Groeschel Book

co-authored by Bishop Robert Baker of Charleston, SC...an excellent and beautiful book very suitable as a gift for someone's birthday, religious event, or Christmas. It is hardcover and illustrated throughout, but there is another element to the book that makes it even more special that you can read about by viewing my comments on the Amazon book page by clicking on the link below:

When Did We See You, Lord?

Also check out another new title by Father:

Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

From the Office of Readings:

Since my longing for martyrdom was powerful and unsettling, I turned to the epistles of St. Paul in the hope of finally finding an answer. By chance the 12th and 13th chapters of the 1st epistle to the Corinthians caught my attention, and in the first section I read that not everyone can be an apostle, prophet or teacher, that the Church is composed of a variety of members, and that the eye cannot be the hand. Even with such an answer revealed before me, I was not satisfied and did not find peace.

I persevered in the reading and did not let my mind wander until I found this encouraging theme: Set your desires on the greater gifts. And I will show you the way which surpasses all others. For the Apostle insists that the greater gifts are nothing at all without love and that this same love is surely the best path leading directly to God. At length I had found peace of mind.

When I had looked upon the mystical body of the Church, I recognised myself in none of the members which St. Paul described, and what is more, I desired to distinguish myself more favourably within the whole body. Love appeared to me to be the hinge for my vocation. Indeed I knew that the Church had a body composed of various members, but in this body the necessary and more noble member was not lacking; I knew that the Church had a heart and that such a heart appeared to be aflame with love. I knew that one love drove the members of the Church to action, that if this love were extinguished, the apostles would have proclaimed the Gospel no longer, the martyrs would have shed their blood no more. I saw and realised that love sets off the bounds of all vocations, that love is everything, that this same love embraces every time and every place. In one word, that love is everlasting.

Then, nearly ecstatic with the supreme joy in my soul, I proclaimed: O Jesus, my love, at last I have found my calling: my call is love. Certainly I have found my place in the Church, and you gave me that very place, my God. In the heart of the Church, my mother, I will be love, and thus I will be all things, as my desire finds its direction.

Pope Visits Children's Hospital

From ABC News: Pope scares child who mistook him for doctor:

The Pope's white robes scared a young boy who mistook him for a doctor when he
visited a children's hospital on Friday.

The child began crying when
78-year-old Pope Benedict approached his bed in the cardiology ward of the
Bambino Gesu (Baby Jesus) hospital near the Vatican.

'It's the white,' a
nurse explained to the Pope. 'He can't take anymore of these white coats.'

Feast of St. Michael

And Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels (I'm partial to Michael though).

From The Office of Readings:

Whenever some act of wondrous power must be performed, Michael is sent, so that
his action and his name may make it clear that no one can do what God does by
his superior power. So also our ancient foe desired in his pride to be like God,
saying: I will ascend into heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of
heaven; I will be like the Most High. He will be allowed to remain in power
until the end of the world when he will be destroyed in the final punishment.
Then, he will fight with the archangel Michael, as we are told by John: A battle
was fought with Michael the archangel.

John Paul Gliding toward Beatification

Pope John Paul I that is...

From Ansa.IT:

Pope John Paul I, who died in 1978 after a reign of only 34 days, could be the next addition to the growing list of possible papal saints .

The beatification process for the Italian pontiff has moved swiftly ahead since its 2003 launch, the official in charge of the cause said in an interview marking the 27th anniversary of the pope's death .

RIP ''Road Less Traveled'' Author Dies at 69.

From Newsday.com: ''Road Less Traveled'' author dies at 69.:

Author M. Scott Peck, who wrote the best-seller 'The Road Less Traveled' and other novels, has died. He was 69.

Peck died Sunday at his home in Connecticut, longtime friend and Los Angeles publicist Michael Levine said. He had suffered from pancreatic and liver duct cancer.

More Catholic than the Pope?

The Pardoner's Tale: More Catholic than the Pope

Persecution?

I would like to turn this conversation once more to how one identifies themselves. If I ask a celibate his or her sexual orientation I expect them to say celibate not gay or heterosexual. St. Paul takes this a step further, saying that all of us should remember that we are Christ's and what we were before Christ was not who we really are...

The passage is well known and it deals with all of us not just one group:

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts,
nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.

And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

People who still identify themselves in one way perhaps haven't converted to Christianity (a problem that exists among Catholics who don't always see the connection between their faith and Jesus), no persectution---just truth in advertising as Amy said in her NY Times piece.

From Gay Men Ponder Impact of Proposal by Vatican - New York Times:

Gay priests say they are being scapegoated for crimes committed by pedophiles
and covered up by bishops who never faced any discipline. The interviews made
clear that they now had the strong sense of being persecuted by their own
church.

'I feel like a Jew in Berlin in the 1930's,' said a 48-year-old
gay priest who has spent 18 years in a religious order. He said he was
considering donning a pink triangle - the symbol used by the Nazis - and getting
heterosexual priests and members of the laity to wear the triangles as a
protest.

First Seminary Investigation Begins

At Aquinas in St. Louis...

I am familiar with the Rector/President, had him at a class at the Aquinas Institute (same place) in St. Louis back in the early 90's. They used to brag about one of their nuns having an MDiv so that when the ban on women's ordination was lifted she would be ready to go...gives you an idea of where they are coming from... not surprising to hear his comments.

From STLtoday - News - St. Louis City / County:

The 25 candidates studying to become priests at Aquinas Institute of Theology
were described as 'anxious' but not worried Monday as a Vatican team began
evaluating how they are prepared intellectually, spiritually and sexually for
priesthood.

And an op-ed in the St. Louis Dispatch by the President Rector:

Priests are not sexless.

Priestly celibacy is a free choice to forgo sex and marriage for the sake of ministry. Like marriage, celibacy can be difficult, even burdensome. Those of us who have chosen it do so because we believe it is the best way for us to achieve our life's purpose. The goal is not to suppress sexuality but to shape it into a truly creative force in the service of others. Priests are loving, caring, feeling and, yes, even desiring, human persons. We wouldn't want it any other way.

Homosexuality and pedophilia are not the same.

Homosexuality involves attraction to adult persons of the same sex and is not in itself sinful or sick. There is no evidence that a homosexual orientation, in and of itself, prevents a seminarian from achieving the same holiness and ministerial effectiveness as a seminarian with a heterosexual orientation.

On the other hand, a pedophile has no interest in adult sexual relationships and is attracted only to children.

Most victims of pedophilia are girls, and most molesters are male family members. Pedophilia is a serious pathology that is resistant to therapy. It is found in every social class, within every racial and ethnic group and in every profession. There is no evidence that pedophilia is more prevalent among priests than in society at large.

William F. Buckley Jr. on Monsignor Clark

At William F. Buckley Jr. on Monsignor Clark on National Review Online

Amy in the New York Times

Well done, of course...



New York Times Op-Ed The Sins of the Seminaries

No Publication Date for Seminarian Document

According to National Catholic Reporter quoting Vatican "officials".

Feast of St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Padre Pio...

From the Canonization Homily by Pope John Paul II:

"But may I never boast except in the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ" (Gal 6,14).

Is it not, precisely, the "glory of the Cross" that shines above all in Padre Pio? How timely is the spirituality of the Cross lived by the humble Capuchin of Pietrelcina. Our time needs to rediscover the value of the Cross in order to open the heart to hope.

Throughout his life, he always sought greater conformity with the Crucified, since he was very conscious of having been called to collaborate in a special way in the work of redemption. His holiness cannot be understood without this constant reference to the Cross.

In God's plan, the Cross constitutes the true instrument of salvation for the whole of humanity and the way clearly offered by the Lord to those who wish to follow him (cf. Mk 16,24). The Holy Franciscan of the Gargano understood this well, when on the Feast of the Assumption in 1914, he wrote: "In order to succeed in reaching our ultimate end we must follow the divine Head, who does not wish to lead the chosen soul on any way other than the one he followed; by that, I say, of abnegation and the Cross" (Epistolario II, p. 155).

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Power of St. Rita of Cascia's Intercession

From a commentor on the Huricane post below:

The professor of history and Moral Theology at the Seminary I attendeed for two years is a brilliant priest named Father Juan-Carlos Iscara, from Argentina. He was having problems with his visa my first year, and thought he might have to be deported. The summer between my first and second year, either his passport or his visa expired (I can't remember) and he was still in America. Whatever it was, not only was he facing certain deportation, but also maybe jail time, due to the laws in Argentina.

Father has a great devotion to St. Rita of Cassia, and prayed a novena to her to fix the problem. So he went to the Argentine embassy to sort it out. Normally, that means he went to turn himself in.

After a long wait in line, he went up to the counter, and the lady behind the counter asked Father if he would say a Mass for her mother in honor of St. Rita. She then told him how devoted she was to St. Rita and was very grateful, because American priests were so reticent to do such a thing. So Father said, "That's wonderful. But what about the visa/passport?" She said, "I'm in charge here. Your visa/passport has been approved. Have a nice day, Father." That was it, thanks to St. Rita.

Let's ask St. Rita to beg God to spare eastern Texas. St. Rita, pray for us.

Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Expected Vatican Ban Roils American Church

Father Benedict Groeschel often points out that to refer to oneself as "gay" is a further step beyond identifying oneself as a homosexual--to be gay is to be a part of subculture that in and of itself is oriented against what the Catholic Church teaches about sexuality. Herein I think lies the problem with even celibate "gays" being ordained or for that matter celibate "straights"...for someone who is celibate to be identifying themselves by their sexual orientation, is a pretty good indication that they face an uphill battle. A celibates shoulld be toward celibacy not toward having sex with men or women.

I have known genuine celibates who would not be married if they weren't priests or religious, neither would they be cavorting with other men. They are celibate...people who see themselves as sexually oriented are doomed to live a celibate vocation--faithfully anyways.

For what its worth...interesting that from a British paper this is seen as a problem for the Catholic Church in the U.S.

From Guardian Unlimited World Latest Expected Vatican Ban Roils American Church:

A gay American priest, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared
reprisals from church leaders, said he and other gay clergy and seminarians felt
``absolute horror'' when they heard about the anticipated ban.

``I've spoken to gay priests who feel demoralized. I've heard straight priests say that they're embarrassed by it. I've heard priests both straight and gay seriously
considering leaving,'' he said. ``They couldn't believe that after centuries of
either explicit or implicit welcoming of celibate gay clergy that the church
would turn its back on them.''

Cardinal Law Got One Vote to be Pope in Last Conclave

Cardinal Bergoglio of Agentina was the closest challenger to Benedict...

From Guardian Unlimited World Latest Diary Reveals Vote Tally for New Pope:

Ratzinger also led the second ballot with 65 votes, while Bergoglio received 35.
In the third round of voting, Ratzinger got 72 votes and Bergoglio 40.

Ratzinger needed 77 votes in the final round to win the necessary
two-thirds majority of the 115 voting cardinals. He got 84, Bergoglio got 26,
and three other cardinals also registered one vote apiece in the last round:
Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, Italian Cardinal Giacomo Biffi and
American Cardinal Bernard Law, according to the diary.

Terrible Storm

Feast of St. Matthew

From the Office of Readings:

"He saw the tax collector and, because he saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him, he said to him: Follow me. This following meant imitating the pattern of his life --not just walking after him. St. John tells us: Whoever says he abides in Christ ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

And he rose and followed him. There is no reason for surprise that the tax collector abandoned earthly wealth as soon as the Lord commanded him. Nor should one be amazed that neglecting his wealth, he joined a band of men whose leader had, on Matthew's assessment, no riches at all. Our Lord summoned Matthew by speaking to him in words. By an invisible, interior impulse flooding his mind with the light of grace, he instructed him to walk in his footsteps. In this way Matthew could understand that Christ, who was summoning him away from earthly possessions, had incorruptible treasures of heaven in his gift.

As he sat at table in the house, behold many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. This conversion of one tax collector gave many men, those from his own profession and other sinners, an example of repentance and pardon. Notice also the happy and true anticipation of his future status as apostle and teacher of the nations. No sooner was he converted than Matthew drew after him a whole crowd of sinners along the same road to salvation. He took up his appointed duties while still taking his first steps in the faith, and from that hour he fulfilled his obligation and thus grew in merit. To see a deeper understanding of the great celebration Matthew held at his house, we must realise that he not only gave a banquet for the Lord at his earthly residence, but far more pleasing was the banquet set in his own heart which he provided through faith and love. Our Saviour attests to this: Behold I stand at the door; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Let me recommend a great commentary on Matthew's Gospel. It is written by a non-Catholic but is magisterial with a few exceptions and will definitely leave the reader satiated with knowing a lot more than they did before. It is in two volumes:

Volume I:



and Volume II:

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Interview with Robert Spencer

Author of the Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam...at Catholic Report

Top 100 of All Books Amazon Sells

Not religion, all books...

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I'll be a guest on Holy Spirit Radio 1570AM - WISP tomorrow morning at 9:45 Eastern time (you can listen online if you don't live in the Philadelphia area)...and a guest on Mediatrix Radio on Friday morning at 9:05 Eastern time.

Tragic Accident at Mundelein Seminary in Chicago

A beautiful campus in a heavily wooded area, a narrow winding road...I'll bet a deer is involved in the swerving (not mentioned in the story but when I was there a few years ago the place was crawling with deer by the roadside).

From Two seminary students killed in car accident:

A seminary student from Wyoming was charged Friday in the deaths of two fellow
students who were killed when the car they were riding in crashed into a tree at
the University of St. Mary by the Lake in this northern Chicago suburb, police
said.

Prosecutors have charged Robert Spaulding, 27, of Evansville,
Wyo., with reckless homicide and driving under the influence, Mundelein Police
Sgt. John Monahan said.

Matthew Molnar, 28, of Overland Park, Kan., died
early Thursday at an area hospital after the car Spaulding was driving lost
control and smashed into a tree around 1:45 a.m., Monahan said. Fellow passenger
Jared Cheek, 23, of St. Marys, Kan., died of his injuries Friday morning, he
said.

Authorities charged a fourth passenger, 36-year-old seminary
student Mark Rowlands of Columbus, Ohio, with impersonating a police officer and
aggravated unlawful use of a weapon after authorities found a handgun and old
deputy badges inside the car, Monahan said.
Archdiocese of Chicago
spokeswoman Colleen Dolan said the students were driving back from having dinner
at a restaurant when the car's driver lost control of the vehicle when he
swerved to avoid hitting a deer. Molnar and Cheek were sitting in the back seat
and were ejected from the car, Dolan said.

'This seems to have been more
of a freak accident,' she said.

Book Makes Sudden Appearance on Top Amazon Sellers

I'm always monitoring Catholic books sales on Amazon and was surprised to see that this book by Father Benedict Groeschel (he has two new excellent titles that have just come out) suddenly appear in the top twenty.



I wonder if the Hurricane sparked the sales? Or perhaps the anniversary of 9/11?

Feast of St. John Chrisostom

From The Office of Readings:

The waters have risen and severe storms are upon us, but we do not fear drowning, for we stand firmly upon a rock. Let the sea rage, it cannot break the rock. Let the waves rise, they cannot sink the boat of Jesus. What are we to fear? Death? Life to me means Christ, and death is gain. Exile? "The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord." The confiscation of goods? We brought nothing into this world, and we shall surely take nothing from it. I have only contempt for the world's threats, I find its blessings laughable. I have no fear of poverty, no desire for wealth. I am not afraid of death nor do I long to live, except for your good. I concentrate therefore on the present situation, and I urge you, my friends, to have confidence.

Do you not hear the Lord saying: "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst?" Will he be absent, then, when so many people united in love are gathered together? I have his promise; I am surely not going to rely on my own strength! I have what he has written; that is my staff, my security, my peaceful harbour. Let the world be in upheaval. I hold to his promise and read his message; that is my protecting wall and garrison. What message? "Know that I am with you always, until the end of the world! "

If Christ is with me, whom shall I fear? Though the waves and the sea and the anger of princes are roused against me, they are less to me than a spider's web. Indeed, unless you, my brothers, had detained me, I would have left this very day. For I always say "Lord, your will be done"; not what this fellow or that would have me do, but what you want me to do. That is my strong tower, my immovable rock, my staff that never gives way. If God wants something, let it be done! If he wants me to stay here, I am grateful. But wherever he wants me to be, I am no less grateful.

Yet where I am, there you are too, and where you are, I am. For we are a single body, and the body cannot be separated from the head nor the head from the body. Distance separates us, but love unites us, and death itself cannot divide us. For though my body die, my soul will live and be mindful of my people.

You are my fellow citizens, my fathers, my brothers, my sons, my limbs, my body. You are my light, sweeter to me than the visible light. For what can the rays of the sun bestow on me that is comparable to your love? The sun’s light is useful in my earthly life, but your love is fashioning a crown for me in the life to come.

Prohibit Gay-inclined Men from Seminary, Archbishop O'Brien Says

He's leading the Vatican investigation of American seminaries...

Prohibit gay-inclined men from seminary, prelate says:

The American prelate overseeing a sweeping Vatican evaluation of every
seminary in the United States told a weekly newspaper that men with 'strong
homosexual inclinations' should not be enrolled, even if they have remained
celibate for years.

Archbishop Edwin O'Brien made the comments to the National Catholic
Register newspaper as Roman Catholics await word of a much-anticipated Vatican
document on whether homosexuals should be barred from the priesthood. O'Brien
and several other U.S. bishops have said they expect that document to be
released soon.

'I think anyone who has engaged in homosexual activity, or has strong
homosexual inclinations, would be best not to apply to a seminary and not to be
accepted into a seminary,' O'Brien told the independent newspaper.

Legion Opens New School for Young Men

Just south of South Bend, IN

From Boston.com:

The Legionaries of Christ said the minor seminary, called Sacred Heart Apostolic
School and located on a 51-acre campus 20 miles west of South Bend, plans to add
a grade level each year with an ultimate goal of 100 to 120 students, order
spokesman Jay Dunlap said.

The order's Immaculate Conception Apostolic
School in Center Harbor, N.H., draws several students from the Midwest, Dunlap
said. That 23-year-old school enrolls 140 students in grades seven through 12.
The order also operates schools in Colfax, Calif., and Cornwall, Ontario.

Terror Threats Against Los Angeles and Melbourne

From an American!



See Tape Released: American al Qaeda Member Warns of Attacks

Old Men