Hospital Notes from Father Benedict

Did he have a near death experience?



From Letter 3/14/03:



"People have asked me if I had one of those life-after-death experiences. I can honestly say no; but medically there is no doubt that I had walked in the shadow of death. It makes life very precious - all sorts of things start to fall into a profound perspective: pro-life, euthanasia, even the general question of how we treat those who are needy or incapacitated. "

Episcopalians Exclude Bishop

We live in tumultuous times. There is breakdown in churches, society and one wonders what the future holds?



From Episcopalians exclude bishop:



"But one person was missing from the festive, Episcopal gathering in Fairlawn Sunday afternoon - the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio.



Six area congregations unhappy with Bishop J. Clark Grew II's support of the election and consecration of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire broke church protocol and brought in retired bishops from outside the diocese to conduct the confirmation service.



They secretly planned the service and held it in an Orthodox church so that Grew could not stop it and they later could not be accused of holding an improper service in an Episcopal Church.



'We don't know what repercussions there will be, but we certainly expect some,' said Cynthia Brust, a spokeswoman for the conservative American Anglican Council that helped arrange the service at Presentation of Our Lord Orthodox Church. She said about 800 people attended. "

Daily Lenten Meditations by Michael Dubruiel

I continue to post these at a separate site, that you can reach by clicking on the "gate"in the right column. The Sunday posts are based on the readings for Cycle A because in parishes with the Rites for Christian Initiation these readings are used every year.

For excellent Lenten reading, see Michael Dubruiel's book The Power of the Cross, available for FREE .pdf download here. Also available at the site are podcasts Michael Dubruiel made about the book.

For Michael Dubruiel's "new" version of the Stations of the Cross, based on those created by Pope John Paul II - go here. (also available in an IPhone app.)

Pope's Reign the Third Longest in the Church's History

If you take Peter out of the mix, his reign is the second longest!



And while many were prepared for his death last Fall, in recent days the pope's health is continues to improve to the point that he may start walking again.

Twenty-five Percent of Boston Catholic Churches to Close

Hearing the percentage puts the depth of the crisis that exists in the Church in context. Its not just about the clergy crisis, it is about the faith of people who have lost any real moorings about why they should go to church on Sundays. This is the fault of religious education that has not taught fundamentals, it is the fault of pastors who do not preach Christ but in an attempt to entertain and not challenge leave people looking for something more entertaining and more challenging and ultimately it is the fault of the hierarchy who in the Catholic Church are the leaders and sadly in many cases have refused to lead but have been led by forces that often are against them.

Same Sex Marriages

I had kind of forgotten that a few years ago when I acquired a fascinating work by author David Lang that one of the items that he addressed in the book was same-sex marriages. The book is entitled "Why Matter Matters" and is about the "matter" of the sacraments...why wheat bread and grape wine should be used for the Eucharist, why olive oil should be used in annointings, why a male is the appropriate "matter" for the priesthood and why a male and a female are the right matter for marriage. If you are looking for something on this subject, I highly recommend David's book that includes a preface by Peter Kreeft.

The Blockbuster Answer to The Da Vinci Code