Fired for not Practicing What You Teach

Diocese of Green Bay, in Appleton, WI. My guess is that there is more to this story, something akin to a very public dissent from Church teaching that isn't being told in the stories below:

From ABC's Good Morning America:

After five years trying to conceive, Kelly and Eric Romenesko decided to try in vitro fertilization.

Their twins, Alexandria and Allison, were born last year. It was a joyous event in the couple's life.

"They're miracles. They're precious," Kelly Romenesko said.

The couple were not prepared for what came next. When Kelly, a teacher at two Catholic schools in Wisconsin, told her bosses she had gotten pregnant through in vitro, they handed her a pink slip.

From the Local Press:

Kelly Romenesko wanted to get her story before the public, but appearing live on network TV was a little more exposure than she had anticipated.

A camera crew from ABC's "Good Morning America" was setting up at the Romenesko's house Wednesday night for a live broadcast this morning.

Oh, and Geraldo called. So did CNN.

Romenesko lost her teaching job with ACES/Xavier, the system that runs Appleton's seven Catholic schools, in 2004 for having in-vitro fertilization. The procedure violated her contract with the district, which requires teachers to act and teach in accordance with church doctrine. Unbeknownst to Romenesko, the Roman Catholic Church opposes in-vitro fertilization.

Evangelicals Using DaVinci Code as an Opportunity

To evangelize...even offering free i-pods?

From the LA Times:

Evangelical churches across the nation are launching an aggressive effort to save souls by talking about a fictional murder mystery that many regard as blasphemous.

Pastors are setting out doughnuts and sandwiches and inviting non-Christians to come discuss "The Da Vinci Code" bestseller. They're creating hip marketing campaigns to draw nonbelievers to sermons about the thriller. They're even giving away free iPods loaded with their commentary on the novel.

Amy Live Tonight on Life on the Rock (EWTN)

At 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, you can watch online if you don't have EWTN...

Understanding the Traditionalist Movement

This book will be invaluable if the rumored Indult happens:

Benedict's Catechesis on the Church Continues

From Asia News Italy:

Benedict XVI, partly improvising and reading off his prepared speech,
highlighted the role of the Church of Rome, “sign, criterion and guarantee of
the uninterrupted transmission of the apostolic faith” in the context of
apostolic succession. Although no reference, direct or indirect, was made to the
illicit Chinese ordinations, the words spoken by the pope today cannot but
appear to be a stress on bishops’ need for a relationship “with Peter”.

Benedict XVI dealt with the theme of apostolic succession, continuing
to tackle tradition in the Church. The pope said succession has a “personal
aspect”. It was started by Jesus, “gathering the Twelve, who represented the
future people of God”. After the Ascension and the “defection of Judas”, others
were “associated” with the Twelve and their ministry, so it would continue, and
Jesus himself “called” Paul. All of them, as the last expressly said, are
concerned with “passing on what I have received”. “Just as at first, there is a
calling and sending by the Risen Lord to the apostles, in the same way, the call
and sending of others, in the strength of the Spirit, by those who are already
inserted in the apostolic ministry, will be the way through which Episcopal
ministry is entrusted.”

Accuracy in the Media

Published by students of John Carroll University...

From Carroll News Online:

Books such as Darrell Bock’s "Breaking the Da Vinci Code," a book which attempts
to answer questions surrounding the novel and Amy Welson’s
"De-Coding Da Vinci," a Catholic response to the issues in the novel, are now
being published. Documentary television shows are aired to rebuttal some of the
issues Brown’s book raises.

Coming Soon!

Available September 2006!

Also look for:
A Pocket Guide to The Mass
in 2007

The Healing Priest at Ave Maria University

And a Parish Healing Service.

Poster Priest for Vocations--Known Dissident?

Such is the claim at Life Site:

The ad pictures Fr. Marcoux smiling, with the subtext "Priesthood, I love
my life."

The only problem is that Fr. Marcoux was the main signatory and in fact
one of the promoters of a letter slamming the Vatican and the U.S. bishops for
using "vile and toxic language" in addressing homosexuality.

The diocese cannot claim ignorance of Marcoux's actions since he led
the charge to write the controversial letter to the US Bishops Conference, and
the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith then and sent a copy to his bishop,
Rochester Bishop Matthew Clark. Bishop Clark has long been known to be a
sympathizer of homosexual clergy.

Top 10 Newspapers (by Circulation)

Look for Amy's op-ed in the top paper sometime within the next ten days...

From Drudge:

1. USA Today, 2,272,815, up 0.09 percent
2. The Wall Street Journal, 2,049,786, down 1 percent
3. The New York Times, 1,142,464, up 0.5 percent
4. Los Angeles Times, 851,832, down 5.4 percent
5. The Washington Post, 724,242, down 3.7 percent
6. New York Daily News, 708,477, down 3.7 percent
7. New York Post, 673,379, down 0.7 percent
8. Chicago Tribune, 579,079, up 0.9 percent
9. Houston Chronicle, 513,387, down 3.6 percent
10. The Arizona Republic, 438,722, down 2.1 percent

Opus Dei Site Affirms DaVinci Code Assertions

In fact, as you'll read on Fr. John Wauck's excellent DaVinci Code Catechism...Jesus was married (as also has been posted on this blog and look for a fuller treatment this week), the Church did create the New Testament, Sex is holy, and others.

Free Kittens...Not

From Yahoo News:

A Sphynx kitten is held before a referee while being evaluated at an international cat beauty contest in Bucharest Romania Sunday May 7, 2006. Rare breed cats sell for prices ranging from 300 to over 1,000 euros ($US380/ $US1,270). The average monthly income in Romania is around 150 euros.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...personally when I think of Romania, I think of vampires and this sure looks like a vampire to me!

Even Stranger Top 10 Barnes and Nobles Catholic List

May 7, 2006, B & N Daily Top Bestsellers in Roman Catholicism...

The surprise isn't that "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" is listed here or that it's listed twice, but rather what the #1 book is:

1.Praying the Rosary: With the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries
Michael Dubruiel, Amy Welborn / Hardcover
Usually ships within 24 hours - Same Day delivery in Manhattan
Our Price: $6.95

2.Parish Priest: Father Michael McGivney and American Catholicism
Douglas Brinkley, Julie Fenster, Julie M. Fenster / Hardcover
Usually ships within 24 hours
Our Price: $17.46
You Save: 30%

3.Mother Teresa: In My Own Words: 1910 - 1997
Mother Teresa / Hardcover
Usually ships within 2-3 days
Our Price: $5.99
You Save: 49%
4.Essential Rosary: With Prayers by Caryll Houselander
Caryll Houselander / Paperback
Usually ships within 24 hours - Same Day delivery in Manhattan
Our Price: $5.95

5.Rediscovering Catholicism: Journeying toward Our Spiritual North Star
Matthew Kelly, Matthew Kelley / Hardcover
Usually ships within 2-3 days
Our Price: $18.36
You Save: 20%

6.Holy Blood, Holy Grail
Michael Baigent, Henry Lincoln, Richard Leigh / Paperback
Usually ships within 24 hours - Same Day delivery in Manhattan
Our Price: $13.50
You Save: 10%

7.Holy Blood, Holy Grail
Michael Baigent, Henry Lincoln, Richard Leigh / Mass Market Paperback
Usually ships within 24 hours - Same Day delivery in Manhattan
Our Price: $7.99

8.Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles
Raymond Arroyo / Hardcover
Usually ships within 24 hours - Same Day delivery in Manhattan
Our Price: $19.16
You Save: 20%

9.Catholicism For Dummies
John Trigilio / Paperback
Usually ships within 24 hours - Same Day delivery in Manhattan
Our Price: $17.59
You Save: 20%

10.The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming
Henri J. M. Nouwen / Paperback
Usually ships within 24 hours - Same Day delivery in Manhattan
Our Price: $12.80
You Save: 20%

Amazon's Catholic Bestseller's (5/7/2006)

Always interesting, not sure how some get labeled "Catholic", anyway here it is the snapshot at 8:28 a.m on Sunday morning:

1. Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene : The Followers of Jesus in History and Legend
by Bart D. Ehrman Not Catholic

2. Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
by Libreria Editrice Vaticana

3. Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code : A Historian Reveals What We Really Know about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine
by Bart D. Ehrman Not Catholic

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

5. My Life With the Saints
by James Martin

6. Breaking the Da Vinci Code : Answers to the Questions Everyone's Asking
by Darrell L. Bock Not Catholic

7. Catholic Matters: Confusion, Controversy, And the Splendor of Truth
by Richard John Neuhaus

8. Return of the Prodigal Son
by Henri Nouwen

9. The Da Vinci Hoax: Exposing the Errors in The Da Vinci Code
by Carl E. Olson, Sandra Miesel

10. Catechism of the Catholic Church : Second Edition
by U. S. Catholic Church, Catholic Church

Pope Ordains Priests for Rome and the Carmelites

From the homily via Asia News Italy:

In the homily, the pope highlighted some fundamental aspects of the priesthood in the image of the “Good Shepherd”.

1) The priest does not want “to personally become someone, but rather to be so for another, for Christ, and thus through Him and with Him, to be there for the men He seeks, who He wants to lead to the path of life. One enters the priesthood through the Sacrament – and this means precisely: through the total giving of self to Christ, so that He may use me, so that I may serve Him and follow his call, even if this should be in contrast with my desires of self-realisation and esteem. Entering the door, that is Christ, means knowing and loving him ever more, because our will becomes one with his and our behaviour becomes one thing with his.”

2) Celebrated each day, the Eucharist “should become for us a school of life, in which we learn to give our life. Life is not given only in the moment of death and not only in the moment of martyrdom. We must give it day after day. We must learn, day after day, that I do not possess my life for myself. Day after day, I must learn to abandon myself, to put myself at the disposal of that which He, the Lord, wants of me at that moment, even if other things appear more beautiful or important to me. Giving life, not taking it. And it is thus that we experience freedom. Freedom from ourselves, the enormity of being. It is in being useful that our life becomes important and beautiful. Only those who give their life, find it.

3) The priest must live in his intimate “relationship with Christ and through the Father, only then can we truly understand men, and then they will realise they have found a true shepherd”.

4) “The mission of Jesus regards all humanity, and so the Church is entrusted with a responsibility for all humanity, so that they may recognize God, that God who, for all of us, became man in Jesus Christ, suffered, died and rose. The Church should never be content with the line-up of those who have joined it at a certain point. It cannot withdraw comfortably within the borders of its own environment. It is entrusted with universal concern; it should concern itself about everyone. This great task must be “translated” in our respective missions. Obviously, a priest, a pastor of souls, should worry above all about those who believe and live with the Church, who seek there the path to life and who, for their part, are living stones, building the Church and thus together edifying and supporting the priest too. All the same, we must always once again – as the Lord days – go “into the roads and lanes” (Lk 14:23) to bear the invitation of God to his banquet to those men who so far have not yet heard anything, and who have not been touched inside.”

Regina Caeli Message of Pope

World Day of Prayer for Vocations...

From Asia News Italy:

The Pope told pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square: “In the message, I recalled the experience of the first apostles of Jesus who, after getting to know him at the lakeside and in the villages of Galilee, were conquered by his appeal and his love. The Christian vocation is always the renewal of this personal friendship with Jesus Christ, which gives full sense to one’s existence and makes it available for the Kingdom of God. The Church lives off such friendship, fed by the Word and the Sacraments, a sacred reality entrusted in a particular way to the ministry of Bishops, Presbyterians and Deacons, consecrated by sacrament of ordination. This is why – as I reiterated in the same message – the mission of priesthood is irreplaceable, and although in some places there is a shortage of clergy, there should be no doubt that God continues to call young people and adults to leave everything to dedicate themselves to preaching the Gospel and to pastoral ministry”.

The Pontiff also recalled “another special form of following Christ” that is “vocation to consecrated life, expressed in a poor, chaste and obedient existence completely dedicated to God, in contemplation and prayer, and at the service of one’s brothers, especially the meek and the poor”. He also emphasized that Christian marriage is a vocation in the full sense of the word, and that “the example of holy parents is the first condition that favours the flourishing of priestly and religious vocations.”

Before reciting the Easter prayer to Our Lady, the Pope called on all the faithful to invoke the “intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, for all priests and religious; let us pray so that the seeds of vocation that God sows in the hearts of the faithful may reach maturity and bear fruits of holiness in the Church and the world.”

Co-Founder of Life Teen Resigns

From East Valley Tribune:

Baniewicz, father of four, was praised Friday in a statement from the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix.

“Words cannot truly express the gratitude the diocese, as well as thousands of young people around the world, has for Phil Baniewicz,” diocese spokeswoman Mary Jo West said. ”For 21 years, this dynamic leader has devoted his life to Life Teen, bringing God’s message of love and hope to those young people who are the future of our Catholic Church.”

Free Comic Book Day!

I remembered this from an article I'd read in the Indianapolis Star the other day, but didn't want to mention it to Joseph in case it wasn't being observed locally--but no fear it is...about ten free comic books later, he is very happy.

Plus he got to ride on the new carousel at the mall and won free food, tickets to a Wizard's game (Single A Minor league baseball) and other bling.

Catholics and Immigration

Reminds me of something I read and I believe wrote about in Praying in the Presence of Our Lord with Fulton Sheen that led Dorothy Day to take an active passivist stance when it came to war (active in that we should pray like their is no tomorrow)...when it comes to being a Christian the Body of Christ doesn't know of borders.

Nations can defend their borders, but Christians welcome the stranger as Christ Himself (Matthew 25).

From the Voice of America:

Father Richard Mullins represents many priests who say protecting immigrant
rights is part of their religious mandate to minister to the poor and
oppressed. "No one is illegal especially in the eyes of the church. We are
all the sons and daughters of God."

The Catholic Church has a long history of helping immigrants -- no
matter what their legal status -- to learn English, find employment and
provide legal services. But if a new law supported by many in Congress is
passed, aiding and abetting an illegal immigrant could be a criminal
offense.

Life Conceived in the Lab: Doctor, 63 Pregnant

From the ITV:

A doctor in her sixties is about to become Britain's oldest mum following IVF treatment abroad. Patricia Rashbrook, a 63-year-old child psychiatrist
from Sussex, is thought to be seven months' pregnant.
She has conceived after IVF treatment with the controversial Italian fertility doctor Severino Antinori, it is believed. He specialises in treatment for women who have gone through the menopause and do not have their own eggs. It is not clear
if Dr Rashbrook has used donor eggs or not.

Want to Grow Spiritually?

"Take every thought captive to obey Christ..."
2 Corinthians 10:5

Why the Bishop of Saginaw Met the Pope

Exclusive at Bishop Of Saginaw Robert Carlson Talks With The Catholic Report

Threefold Mission of the Apostles--Pope at GA

From Asia News Italy:

"The mandate conferred by Jesus on the Apostles was transmitted by them to their successors. Beyond the experience of their personal contact with Jesus, a unique and irreplaceable experience, the Apostles passed on to their successors the solemn sending to the world by their Teacher. Apostle comes from the Greek word ‘apostéllein’, that means to send; they are those who were sent by the Lord. The apostolic sending, that is revealed in the text of Mt 28:19ff, implies three elements: a pastoral service (‘make disciples of all the nations’), liturgical (‘baptise them’…) and prophetic (‘teach them to observe all I have taught you’). A triple service guaranteed by the nearness of the Lord until the end of time (‘See, I am with you all the days until the end of the world’). Through the apostolic ministry, it is Christ himself who reaches he who is called to faith. The distance over centuries is overcome by the Risen Lord who offers himself alive and working for us, in the present of the Church and the world." The pope ended off the cuff: "He is truly always with us and he gives us life, the road towards the future."

Creighton University Prof's Argue for Morality of Same Sex Acts

First of all, since when has it been termed the "New" Natural Law theory? Did I miss something? Secondly what is "genital-biological complementarity"(or do I even want to know)?

Of course, I also notice that the Christian aspect of Natural law isn't addressed here.

In the Heythrop Journal, here is an abstract:

The New Natural Law Theory (NNLT) argues against the morality (and
legality) of same sex-unions on the basis that homosexual (and non-reproductive
heterosexual) acts are unnatural, unreasonable, and therefore immoral. In this
paper, we explore and critique the foundational principles – biological and
personal complementarity, their subcategories, and the interrelationship between
them – that the NNLT uses to justify its claim. We propose alternative
principles – orientation, personal, and genital-biological complementarity, with
a distinct interrelationship – to argue that homosexual couples can engage in
sexual acts that are natural, reasonable, and therefore moral. Our study clearly
demonstrates that for the NNLT genital complementarity, a subcategory of
biological complementarity, is the sine qua non for personal complementarity. In
other words, personal complementarity within a sexual act is only possible if
there is genital complementarity between male and female. We believe that the
NNLT's foundational principles reflect too narrow an understanding of the human
person and human sexuality. Instead, we propose "holistic complementarity" as
the fully human integration of orientation, personal, and genital-biological
complementarity. What defines a natural, reasonable, and moral sexual act is not
genital complementarity as the foundational principle, but a dialectic between
these three principles of complementarity.

Vatican to Launch Interactive Web Site This Fall

O Click All Ye Faithful

Saint Athanasius

"Within the Virgin He fashioned a Temple"

From the Office of Readings:

The Word of God, incorporeal, incorruptible and immaterial, entered our world. Yet it was not as if he had been remote from it up to that time. For there is no part of the world that was ever without his presence; together with his Father, he continually filled all things and places.
Out of his loving-kindness for us he came to us, and we see this in the way he revealed himself openly to us. Taking pity on mankind’s weakness, and moved by our corruption, he could not stand aside and see death have the mastery over us; he did not want creation to perish and his Father’s work in fashioning man to be in vain. He therefore took to himself a body, no different from our own, for he did not wish simply to be in a body or only to be seen.
If he had wanted simply to be seen, he could indeed have taken another, and nobler, body. Instead, he took our body in its reality.
Within the Virgin he built himself a temple, that is, a body; he made it his own instrument in which to dwell and to reveal himself. In this way he received from mankind a body like our own, and, since all were subject to the corruption of death, he delivered this body over to death for all, and with supreme love offered it to the Father. He did so to destroy the law of corruption passed against all men, since all died in him. The law, which had spent its force on the body of the Lord, could no longer have any power over his fellowmen. Moreover, this was the way in which the Word was to restore mankind to immortality, after it had fallen into corruption, and summon it back from death to life. He utterly destroyed the power death had against mankind – as fire consumes chaff – by means of the body he had taken and the grace of the resurrection.
This is the reason why the Word assumed a body that could die, so that this body, sharing in the Word who is above all, might satisfy death’s requirement in place of all. Because of the Word dwelling in that body, it would remain incorruptible, and all would be freed for ever from corruption by the grace of the resurrection.
In death the Word made a spotless sacrifice and oblation of the body he had taken. by dying for others, he immediately banished death for all mankind.
In this way the Word of God, who is above all, dedicated and offered his temple, the instrument that was his body, for us all, as he said, and so paid by his own death the debt that was owed. The immortal Son of God, united with all men by likeness of nature, thus fulfilled all justice in restoring mankind to immortality by the promise of the resurrection.
The corruption of death no longer holds any power over mankind, thanks to the Word, who has come to dwell among them through his one body.

Bishop Wenski on Immigration

From an editorial in the Orlando Sentinel:

To those who accused Jesus of breaking the laws of his day, he replied:
"The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." (Mark 2: 27) This
teaching underscores the point that positive law, even divine positive law, is
meant to benefit, not to enslave mankind. The patriots who broke the law by
tossing tea into Boston Harbor understood this -- as did Rosa Parks, who broke
the law by refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man. When laws fail to
advance the common good, they can and should be changed.

Today, as a statewide march for immigration reform leads thousands of
people through the heart of downtown Orlando, let me state: Our immigration laws
need to be changed. They are antiquated and inadequate for the promotion and
regulation of social and economic relations of 21st-century America. On this
point, everyone is seemingly agreed. However, the solutions proposed should not
make the situation worse. Outdated laws, ill adapted to the increasing
interdependence of our world and the globalization of labor, are bad laws.
However, proposed changes must take into account both human dignity and the
national interest; otherwise, bad laws will be replaced by worse ones.

For this reason, the U.S. Bishops and a broad bipartisan coalition ranging
from unions to Chambers of Commerce have supported broad, comprehensive
immigration reform. Our proposed reform, while addressing future needs for labor
by providing for a legal guest-worker program, also offers an "earned" path to
legalization for those 10 million or so workers already in the country, as well
as fixing the unacceptable backlogs for family reunification visas that keep
families separated for intolerable lengths of time.

A narrow, restrictive legislation focusing on solely "enforcement" will
only make matters worse. Indeed, a billion dollars has been spent on border
enforcement over the past 10 years -- and yet illegal immigration has increased
because the labor market has demanded willing and able workers. Illegal
immigration should not be tolerated, for it leads to the abuse and exploitation
of the migrants themselves. Ultimately, businesses that rely on their labor --
and, in doing so, help fuel the growth of the American economy -- would prefer
and benefit from a reliable and legal work force. But, fixing illegal
immigration does not require the "demonization" of the so-called illegals.
America has always been a land of promise and opportunity for those willing to
work hard. We can provide for our national security and secure borders without
making America, a nation of immigrants, less a land of promise or opportunity
for immigrants.

Victor Hugo's 19th-century novel, Les Miserables, tells how pride and
neglect of mercy represented in the bitterly zealous legalism of Inspector
Javert ultimately destroys him.

Today, modern day Javerts, on radio and television talk shows, fan flames
of resentment against supposed law breakers, equating them with terrorists
intent on hurting us. However, these people ask only for the opportunity to
become legal -- to come out of the shadows where they live in fear of a knock on
their door in the dead of night or an immigration raid to their workplace. Like
Jean Valjean, today's migrants look only for the opportunity to redeem
themselves through honest work. This is the point of the massive demonstratives
that have taken place throughout the country.

Today, many take umbrage at the Catholic bishops' advocacy on behalf of
these "illegals" -- but, in doing so, we stand in a proud moral tradition, like
the novel's benevolent Bishop Myriel, who gave his candlesticks to the desperate
Jean Valjean and protected him from arrest by Javert. For this reason, we call
upon the legislative branch of our government to seize the opportunity for a
comprehensive fix to our broken immigration system. We backed the bipartisan
McCain-Kennedy proposal -- and, while the Martinez-Hagel compromise needs work,
it moves our nation in the right direction and should be passed.

A nation that honors law breakers like the patriots of the Boston Tea
Party, a nation that can allow the dignified defiance of Rosa Parks in her act
of lawbreaking to touch its conscience, is a nation that also can make room for
modern-day Jean Valjeans. We can be a nation of laws, without becoming a nation
of Javerts. As Jesus reminded the embittered zealots of his day, laws are
designed for the benefit -- not the harm -- of humankind.

Oil--The New Terrorist Attack

Iran minister: Oil likely to climb to $100 a barrel by Winter.

On the McLaughlin Group this past week, Pat Buccahnan predicted that it would hit $200 a barrel by Labor Day.

With enemies of the US holding back on production to drive up the cost it is not to difficult to conceive of this as an attack on the US economy. Like most wars, it is the poor who will suffer the most.

St. Joseph the Worker

A Reflection by Father Richard Roemer, CFR:

When Pope Pius XII put today’s feast of Saint Joseph the Worker on the Church’s calendar just 50 years ago, it had probably seemed like “May Day” would be a perpetual day of Communist propaganda. Now Communism is hardly spoken of, but thanks be to God, this feast celebrating both Saint Joseph and the dignity of human labor will far outlast “May Day.”

Bishop Publishes Novel on Early Church...in Florida

Story of New World Mission Insightful

Pope: Present Moment Marked by Not a Few Shadows

From Today's Regina Caeli Message:

Christ's resurrection is the central event of Christianity, a fundamental truth that must be reaffirmed with vigor at all times, as to deny it in different ways, as has been attempted and continues to be attempted, or to transform it into a merely spiritual event is to make our faith vain. "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:14).

In the days that followed the Lord's resurrection, the apostles remained gathered together, comforted by the presence of Mary and, after the Ascension, persevered with her in prayer, awaiting Pentecost. The Virgin was for them mother and teacher, a role she continues to carry out for Christians of all times. Every year, during Eastertide, we live this experience more intensely and, perhaps, precisely for this reason, popular tradition has consecrated the month of May, which normally falls between Easter and Pentecost, to Mary.

Therefore, the month that begins tomorrow helps us to rediscover the maternal role that she carries out in our lives so that we may always be docile disciples and courageous witnesses of the risen Lord.

Let us entrust the needs of the Church and of the world to Mary, especially at this moment marked by not a few shadows. Invoking also the intercession of St. Joseph, who we remember particularly tomorrow, thinking of the labor world, we address her with the Regina Caeli prayer, which enables us to relish the comforting joy of the presence of the risen Christ.

Great Crowd in Kalamazoo

Thanks to Kurt Lucas, who is a real blessing to his diocese and their people.

Learn Chant

EWTN Podcasts

Most of their shows and some extras.

Thanks!

From Video meliora, proboque; Deteriora sequor:

The rosary can be a nourishing prayer or it can be somewhat exasperating, with the decades going by with little or no comprehension of the mysteries. I've found a helpful book aid of late, helpful in the sense that it's pocket-sized and includes icons to help focus on particular mysteries. (The art is to my taste, with a Byzantine bent.) I'm speaking of Michael Dubruiel and Amy Welborn's Praying the Rosary. It also helped open up the Joyous mysteries to me. Before they seemed tinged with non-joy (i.e. the loss of Jesus and presumed dismay of Mary, the sword that would pierce her heart, the lack of inn, or hearts, the Holy Family found). But the book emphasizes the positive side of each mystery, which pessimists need, and there was also the helpful reminder on every page: "Ask Our Lady to help you pray this mystery." I've become increasingly mindful of the help I need to do just that.

The book (which you can look through on Amazaon):

Soon, Another American Saint

The story behind Blessed Mother Theodore Guerin, and a side note--I was taught by Sr. Marie Kevin Tighe (the postulator of her cause).

Changing Face of the Catholic Church

From The Wichita Eagle:

At a time when priesthood ranks in the United States have been shrinking -- down 26 percent from 57,317 in 1985 to 42,528 in 2005 -- the number of Asian-Americans in seminary schools is growing, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.

From 2000-2005, the number of seminarians in the U.S. dropped 5 percent, with whites falling from 69 percent to 65 percent. Black seminarians increased from 4 percent to 5 percent; Hispanics held steady at 15 percent.

And while exact numbers by ethnicity are not available, church officials say Vietnamese and Filipinos make up the largest segment of the Asian seminarian population.

The Urgency of Divine Mercy

Divine Mercy and the Second Coming of Christ

Call From Vatican Official for Catholics to Boycott DaVinci Movie

From Yahoo News:

Amato, addressing a Catholic conference in Rome, called the book "stridently anti-Christian .. full of calumnies, offences and historical and theological errors regarding Jesus, the Gospels and the Church."

He added: "I hope that you all will boycott the film."

New Saints and Blesseds

Quite a list, one American--in fact an Indianan or Hoosier if you wish, from the Vatican Information Service:

Today, during a private audience with Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, C.M.F., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Pope authorized the congregation to promulgate the following decrees:

MIRACLES
- Blessed Filippo Smaldone, Italian, diocesan priest, founder of the Congregation of the Salesian Sisters of the Sacred Heart (1848 - 1923).
- Blessed Rafaele Guizar Valencia, Mexican, bishop of Veracruz, Mexico (1878 - 1938).
Blessed Rosa Venerini, Italian, foundress of the Congregation delle Maestre Pie Venerini (1656 - 1728).
- Blessed Teodora Guerin, ne Anna Teresa, French, foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary of the Woods in the United States. (1798 - 1856).
- Venerable Servant of God Basile Antonio Maria Moreau, French, priest and founder of the Congregation of the Holy Cross (1799 - 1873).
- Venerable Servant of God Mariano de la Mata Aparicio, Spanish, priest of the Order of Saint Augustine. (1905 - 1983).
- Venerable Servant of God Margarita Maria Lopez de Maturana, Spanish, foundress of the Institute of the Missionary Sisters of Mercy (1884 - 1934).
MARTYRS
- Servants of God Cruz Laplana y Laguna, Spanish, bishop of Cuenca, Spain (1875 - 1936) and Fernando Espanol Berdie, Spanish, diocesan priest (1875 - 1936).
- Servant of God Narciso Estenaga Echevarria, Spanish, bishop of Ciudad Real, Spain (1882 - 1936).
- Servant of God Libero Gonzalez Nombela, Spanish, diocesan priest (1896 - 1936).
- Servant of God Eusebio del Bambino Gesu, Spanish, professed priest of the Order of the Discalced Carmelites (1888 - 1936).
- Servant of God Felice Echevarria Gorostiaga, Spanish, professed priest of the Order of the Minor Friars (1893 - 1936).
- Servant of God Teodosio Rafael ne Diodoro Lopez Hernandez, Spanish, professed religious in the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian School (1898 - 1936) and three brothers from the same institute.
- Servant of God Sara Salkahazi, Hungarian, of the Institute of the Sisters of the Assistance (1899 - 1944).
HEROIC VIRTUES
- Servant of God Ciriaco Maria Sancha y Hervas, Cardinal of S.R.C., Spanish, archbishop of Toledo, Spain, founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Cardinal Sancha (1833 - 1909).
- Servant of God Vincenza Maria Poloni ne Luigia, Italian, foundress of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of Verona (1802 - 1855).
- Servant of God Maria Bucchi ne Maria Matilde, Italian, foundress of the Congregation of the Most Precious Blood of Monza (1812 - 1882).
- Servant of God Esperanza Gonzalez Puig, Spanish, foundress of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (1823 - 1885).
- Servant of God Cataline Coromina Agusti, Spanish, foundress of the Institute Josephine Sisters of Charity (1824 - 1893).
- Servant of God Maria Dolores Marquez Romero de Onoro, Spanish, foundress of the Congregation of the Philippian Daughters of Sorrowful Mary (1817 - 1904).
- Servant of God Maria Rosa Flesch, German, ne Margherita, foundress of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of Saint Mary of the Angels (1826 - 1906).
- Giuseppina Nicoli, Italian, of the Society of the daughters of Charity (1863 - 1924).

"And the Love of Many Will Grow Cold"

Pope Benedict says "lovelessness" reason for low birthrates, from CNN International:

Pope Benedict has said the growing number of loveless relationships may be behind declining birthrates in the developed world.

The pope also said on Friday that an "eclipse of love" and lack of moral guidance threatened the intellectual and spiritual development of future generations of children.

"Perhaps the lack of such creative and forward-looking love is the reason why many couples today choose not to marry, why so many marriages fail, and why birthrates have diminished," the pope said in a message to a meeting of the Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

"It is children and young people who are often the first to experience the consequences of this eclipse of love and hope. Often, instead of feeling loved and cherished, they appear to be merely tolerated."

Most of Misouri Has "Cheaper" Gas

Gas Price Map

Excellent Conference

I think this is open to anyone and includes an excellent line-up of Catholic speakers, including:

Cardinal Arinze, Fr. Benedict Groeschel, Christopher West (costs extra to hear him), Fr. Richard Hogan and others. In July, in Jacksonville, FL on a Friday the 21st and Saturday the 22nd.

The Family Honor Conference.

Father Corapi--No Confessions and Bodyguards

Thanks to Spirit Daily for this link... rather strange, especially since I don't find Father Corapi all that "dangerous." But there are plenty I guess who do. Read the thread, its interesting and mostly from people who have heard or seen Father speak in person.

One commentor says that he isn't allowed to say Mass in several dioceses. Very strange.

Catholic Digest Poll on DaVinci Code

Strange one...Catholics not "fazed" by it, mainly because those polled haven't read it or only read part of it.

From USA TODAY, today:

But most Catholics view the brouhaha with a big yawn, according to the survey released Tuesday by Catholic Digest, the 70-year-old monthly magazine.

Most (73%) say The Da Vinci Code has had "no effect on their faith."

And 92% say they don't know of anyone leaving the church after reading the book, says the March 23-27 survey of 443 Catholics, by Yankelovich Inc. Margin of error was ±4.7 percentage points.

"Catholics know this is fiction," and they're "smart enough and strong enough not to let a book or movie bother them," says Dan Connors, editor-in-chief of Catholic Digest.

Other findings:

• 28% have read all or part of the book; 63% did not read it, chiefly, they say, because they lack time, interest or inclination to read fiction.

Bonnie Owens RIP

Four weeks after the death of Buck Owens, her one time husband. Married to Merle Haggard and to a third husband, divorced all...had Alzheimer's for the past six to seven years.

From the LA Times:

Bonnie Owens, a cocktail waitress-turned-singer who was married at different times to country music giants Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, died Monday in Bakersfield after a lengthy struggle with Alzheimer's disease. She was 76.

Her death came four weeks after that of Buck Owens, but she may have been too deeply gripped by Alzheimer's to know that he was gone, according to Jim Shaw, a close family friend.

WHAT?

I think someone is pulling John Allen's leg, can you imagine Father counseling the unrepentant mob boss thus?

"Hey Vito, don't kill him--just rough him up, and while your at it Vito wear a condom when you're out on the town--it's self defense you know!"

From NCR:

Traditionally, confessors and pastors have long been permitted to counsel a "lesser evil" to prevent greater harm. For example, if a mob boss tells a priest he intends to kill an enemy, and if the mob boss can't be persuaded to change his mind, the priest could advise him to beat up the enemy instead. Under those circumstances, the priest is not approving the beating, merely tolerating it to avoid an even worse outcome.

Da Vinci Code Resources

Give Answers about the book and the movie!

Tradition Lives

From the Pope's General Audience today:

Ecclesial communion, in the words of Benedict XVI, “does not only extend to all believers in a given moment in time, which unites all believers in all parts of the world (synchronic communion); it also embraces all times and all generations of believers in the past and future (diachronic communion).”And so the “experience of the Risen Lord of the apostolic community at the beginnings of the Church, can always be lived by successive generations, in that it is transmitted and actualized in faith, in worship and in communion of the People of God, pilgrim in time. The apostolic Tradition of the Church consists of this transmission of the virtues of salvation, which makes the Christian community the permanent realization of the original community, in the strength of the Spirit. It is called so because it was born from the testimony of the Apostles and of the community of disciples at the beginning, it was handed down under the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the writings of the New Testament and sacramental life, and the Church continually refers to it as its foundation and norm through the uninterrupted succession of the apostolic ministry.” And it is the Spirit who “actualizes” the “saving presence of the Lord Jesus through the ministry of the apostles – leaders of the eschatological Israel (cfr Mt 19:28) – and through the life of all the people of the new covenant”.

“This permanent actualization of the active presence of the Lord Jesus in his people, by the work of the Holy Spirit and expressed in the Church through the apostolic ministry and brotherly communion, is what is meant, in a theological sense, by the term Tradition: it is not the simple material transmission of things and words, of what was given to the Apostles at the beginning, but the effective presence of the Lord Jesus, crucified and risen, that accompanies and leads the community gathered around him in the spirit”.

Magister Gives Full Text of Cardinal Martini Interview

Calls it the "first great act of opposition to this pontificate from the upper levels of the Church."

A conversation between Carlo Maria Martini and Ignazio Marino