New document by the American Bishops.
I found the following, from the Appendix interesting:
i. What are indulgences?
An indulgence does not confer grace. An indulgence is not a remission of the guilt due to sin. The guilt due to sin is ordinarily taken away by the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance (confession), in which we receive forgiveness for sins through Jesus Christ. Although guilt is taken away, and with it the eternal penalty that is due to sin—namely, damnation, the eternal loss of the presence of God—there remain consequences for sins that those who have committed them must bear. There is what is traditionally called the temporal punishment for sin.
By its very nature, every sin inevitably causes suffering for the one who has committed it. Every sinful act creates a disorder within the soul of the human person; it distorts our desires and affections, leaving us with "an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory."57 Furthermore, sin disrupts one's relationships with God, with the Church, with other people, and with the world as a whole. The communion intended by God is damaged or lost. Those who have received forgiveness for their sins still have an obligation to undergo a difficult and painful process (the temporal penalty for sin) to be purified of the consequences of their sins and to restore the disrupted relationships. "While patiently bearing sufferings and trials of all kinds and, when the day comes, serenely facing death, the Christian must strive to accept this temporal punishment of sin as a grace."58 The necessary and painful process that brings restoration and purification can take place either in this life or in Purgatory, as whatever part of the process remains unfinished at death must be completed in Purgatory.59
Through an indulgence, God grants the prayer of the Church that the temporal penalty for sin due to someone be reduced (or possibly eliminated). By God's grace, participation in a prayer or action that has an indulgence attached to it brings about the necessary restoration and reparation without the suffering that would normally accompany it. The granting of an indulgence by the Church is "the expression of the Church''s full confidence of being heard by the Father when—in view of Christ's merits and, by his gift, those of Our Lady and the saints—she asks him to mitigate or cancel the painful aspect of punishment by fostering its medicinal aspect through other channels of grace."60
Thursday, November 13, 2003
A Pint of Guinness is Good for You
Actually 8 ounces more than a pint...I'll drink to that!
From BBC NEWS | Health | Guinness good for you - official:
"The researchers told a meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando, Florida, that the most benefit they saw was from 24 fluid ounces of Guinness - just over a pint - taken at mealtimes.
They believe that "antioxidant compounds" in the Guinness, similar to those found in certain fruits and vegetables, are responsible for the health benefits because they slow down the deposit of harmful cholesterol on the artery walls.
From BBC NEWS | Health | Guinness good for you - official:
"The researchers told a meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando, Florida, that the most benefit they saw was from 24 fluid ounces of Guinness - just over a pint - taken at mealtimes.
They believe that "antioxidant compounds" in the Guinness, similar to those found in certain fruits and vegetables, are responsible for the health benefits because they slow down the deposit of harmful cholesterol on the artery walls.
Feast of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini
Today is the feast of the Mother Cabrini. Last Thursday Amy, Katie, Joseph and I prayed a few inches from Mother Cabrini's body encased below the altar at the Mother Cabrini Shrine in uptown Manhattan. We prayed that Amy's talk would go well the next day, and that all our future "missionary" activity would be blessed by God as well, including specifically a mission that I'm giving in suburban Chicago later this month.
Mother Cabrini died in Chicago and there is a shrine there that has the rooms she lived and died in at the Columbus Hospital. The hospital recently closed and I understand that the shrine remains open. I ask everyone to ask Mother Cabrini's intercession on all missionary activity both in this country and in foreign lands.
Today is also the feast of St. Stanislaus Kostka the patron saint of the parish that I grew up in, essentially one of the few Polish parishes in New Hampshire. In fact, I grew up directly across the street from the original parish church, pictured in the link.
Mother Cabrini died in Chicago and there is a shrine there that has the rooms she lived and died in at the Columbus Hospital. The hospital recently closed and I understand that the shrine remains open. I ask everyone to ask Mother Cabrini's intercession on all missionary activity both in this country and in foreign lands.
Today is also the feast of St. Stanislaus Kostka the patron saint of the parish that I grew up in, essentially one of the few Polish parishes in New Hampshire. In fact, I grew up directly across the street from the original parish church, pictured in the link.
Wednesday, November 12, 2003
In Case You Missed It
A few weeks ago on Sixty Minutes, Bob Simon did a piece on the canonization of Mother Teresa and the subject of Padre Pio came up in his disscussion with Father Richard McBrien. Father Richard McBrien's Catholicism was a book that many lay ministers in the Church use to carry around as though it were a Bible. Bishops in the U.S. have called the accuracy of the book into question, but it is still used by many. What is telling in this interview with Bob Simon isn't so much McBrien's disbelief in the miracles of Padre Pio but his equating Jesus with a simple message minus miracles. It shows what kind of Chritianity we are left with once Jesus has been stripped of the miraculous--a powerless Christianity, which is not the Christianity of the Jesus of the Gospels...who tells His Apostles and disciples "You shall receive power!" What kind of power, to heal the sick, to raise the dead and I would guess the power to "love" the unlovable. No wonder the church is in such a mess in this country!
From CBS' Sixty Minutes:
SIMON: (Voiceover) But behind every bevy of true
believers, there is bound to be a skeptic. Father
McBrien says he'd like to do away with the miracle
requirement for sainthood, and he thinks that Pope
John Paul II made a mistake when he declared Padre Pio
a saint.
Padre Pio?
Fr. McBRIEN: I would not have canonized him, either.
SIMON: Just in terms of the miracles which he is said
to be involved with--he naturally emitted the scent of
flowers, it is said. He appeared to many people...
Fr. McBRIEN: I don't believe--I don't...
SIMON: ...in many places at the same time.
Fr. McBRIEN:: I don't--I don't believe any of that.
SIMON: He levitated above his hometown.
Fr. McBRIEN: I don't--I don't believe any of that.
See, that makes religion into a kind of act, a show,
a--a kind of theatrical operation. I mean, Jesus'
message was pretty straightforward and universal: you
know, 'love your neighbor as you love yourself.'
I might add that Jesus' message is also stripped of "Loving God above all things"
From CBS' Sixty Minutes:
SIMON: (Voiceover) But behind every bevy of true
believers, there is bound to be a skeptic. Father
McBrien says he'd like to do away with the miracle
requirement for sainthood, and he thinks that Pope
John Paul II made a mistake when he declared Padre Pio
a saint.
Padre Pio?
Fr. McBRIEN: I would not have canonized him, either.
SIMON: Just in terms of the miracles which he is said
to be involved with--he naturally emitted the scent of
flowers, it is said. He appeared to many people...
Fr. McBRIEN: I don't believe--I don't...
SIMON: ...in many places at the same time.
Fr. McBRIEN:: I don't--I don't believe any of that.
SIMON: He levitated above his hometown.
Fr. McBRIEN: I don't--I don't believe any of that.
See, that makes religion into a kind of act, a show,
a--a kind of theatrical operation. I mean, Jesus'
message was pretty straightforward and universal: you
know, 'love your neighbor as you love yourself.'
I might add that Jesus' message is also stripped of "Loving God above all things"
No Priest Shortage Priest Sociologist Claims
One reason cited is that even though there are a lot more Catholics today, a lower percent attend Mass.
From the Detroit News:
"But the Rev. Paul Sullins, a sociologist at Catholic University in Washington, is researching the distribution of priests, and he said Monday that the shortage may not be a crisis.
Sullins' findings:
* Demand has dropped. In 1965, when 70 percent of Catholic worshipers attended Mass weekly, there was a priest for every 540 weekly attendees, the group most likely to seek Communion. Today, fewer than 30 percent of Catholics go to Mass weekly; there's a priest for every 448.
* Many African and South American nations have three to six times more Catholics per priest than the United States.
* Permanent deacons (married or celibate single men) and parish administrators (including women) handle many tasks once performed by priests. There are 14,106 permanent deacons in the United States who perform sacraments such as baptisms and weddings.
The answer to empty altars is not in changing ordination rules but in redistributing priests, Sullins suggests. Like doctors and lawyers, priests tend to concentrate in urbanized, wealthier locations. They also are tied to the bishop who ordained them. Any change in assignment depends on a bishop's consent. "
From the Detroit News:
"But the Rev. Paul Sullins, a sociologist at Catholic University in Washington, is researching the distribution of priests, and he said Monday that the shortage may not be a crisis.
Sullins' findings:
* Demand has dropped. In 1965, when 70 percent of Catholic worshipers attended Mass weekly, there was a priest for every 540 weekly attendees, the group most likely to seek Communion. Today, fewer than 30 percent of Catholics go to Mass weekly; there's a priest for every 448.
* Many African and South American nations have three to six times more Catholics per priest than the United States.
* Permanent deacons (married or celibate single men) and parish administrators (including women) handle many tasks once performed by priests. There are 14,106 permanent deacons in the United States who perform sacraments such as baptisms and weddings.
The answer to empty altars is not in changing ordination rules but in redistributing priests, Sullins suggests. Like doctors and lawyers, priests tend to concentrate in urbanized, wealthier locations. They also are tied to the bishop who ordained them. Any change in assignment depends on a bishop's consent. "
Perhaps Just a Little Tasteless
Popecountdown.com
Incidently the most popular prediction for the current pope's death is December 25th, second is December 24th...there is something of the saintliness of this pontiff that is reflected in that thought.
Meanwhile, that count may be a lot longer than anyone thought a month ago:
From Yahoo News:
Pope Jean Paul II's health has improved "incredibly" since his exhausting schedule of 25th anniversary celebrations last month, former Polish president Lech Walesa said.
"The suitable therapy must have been found because the pope has overcome his moment of weakness," Walesa said after meeting the pope at the Vatican with a delegation from the Polish Solidarity trade union.
"This meeting has been very moving. The last time we were really concerned (about the pope's health), but this time, there has been an improvement," he said.
Walesa met the 83-year-old pope last month during celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of his election and also attended the ceremony beatifying Mother Theresa.
The pontiff, who suffers from the degenerative Parkinson's disease and arthritis, had appeared visibly exhausted and was barely able to speak at the end of a week-long series of public engagements.
Incidently the most popular prediction for the current pope's death is December 25th, second is December 24th...there is something of the saintliness of this pontiff that is reflected in that thought.
Meanwhile, that count may be a lot longer than anyone thought a month ago:
From Yahoo News:
Pope Jean Paul II's health has improved "incredibly" since his exhausting schedule of 25th anniversary celebrations last month, former Polish president Lech Walesa said.
"The suitable therapy must have been found because the pope has overcome his moment of weakness," Walesa said after meeting the pope at the Vatican with a delegation from the Polish Solidarity trade union.
"This meeting has been very moving. The last time we were really concerned (about the pope's health), but this time, there has been an improvement," he said.
Walesa met the 83-year-old pope last month during celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of his election and also attended the ceremony beatifying Mother Theresa.
The pontiff, who suffers from the degenerative Parkinson's disease and arthritis, had appeared visibly exhausted and was barely able to speak at the end of a week-long series of public engagements.
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