"The faithful chased the street preachers out of town says Rev. John Raphael,
pastor of The Shrine.
'They show up with video cameras, send threatening
faxes, and are there to cause problems,' Rev. Raphael tells WNWO. 'I instruct my
staff and those faithful who show up to ignore them.
'They go to other
places and do the same thing. I tell my staff to pray for them.' "
On today’s feast of the Assumption, we contemplate the mystery of the passing of Mary from this world to Paradise: we may say we celebrate her “Easter”. Just as Christ rose from the dead with his glorified body and ascended into heaven, the Blessed Virgin, fully associated with him, was taken up into heavenly glory in her whole person. Even in this, the Mother followed her Son more closely and went before all of us. By the side of Jesus, the new Adam, who is “the first fruits” of the resurrected (cfr 1 Cor 15:20-23), the Madonna, the new Eve, appears as the “first fruits and image of the Church” (preface), “a sign of sure hope” for all Christians on earthly pilgrimage (cfr Lumen gentium, 68).
The feast of the Assumption, so dear to popular tradition, is for us believers a useful occasion to meditate about the true sense and value of human existence from the perspective of eternity. Dear brothers and sisters, heaven is our final home. From there Mary encourages us with her example to welcome the will of God and not to allow ourselves to be seduced by false calls of all that is ephemeral and transient, not to give in to temptations of egoism and evil which snuff out the joy of life in the heart.
When I taught scripture in high school, the students had a one-sentence summary of what they learned of the bible: "We learn that nothing that the bible says really happened really happened." That's the impression they got from four years of historical criticism.
First a comment on the picture. I'm not a big fan of "resurrection images" but I do like this one...very powerful. It brings to mind the Pantocrater images found in ancient churches."DeFilippo told police that when he confronted his wife of 20 years about the trysts, she threatened to stab him.
'I fear for my safety and that of my children. She has been threatening me and the kids,' DeFilippo told police, adding that Laura has a 'history of alcohol-related incidents.'
DeFilippo obtained an order of protection barring Laura from the family home pending a court hearing.
Laura's lawyers charge DeFilippo made the 'false and outrageous' accusations to 'coerce' her into turning over their Eastchester home worth an estimated $1 million or more — and custody of their two kids, 14 and 10.
Laura refused his demands, they say.
DeFilippo, a former Allstate insurance adjuster for 15 years, seems to have made less money than Laura, who earned close to $100,000 a year as Clark's administrative assistant. She was 'the more significant breadwinner,' said a source."
"The film presents scenes and episodes that, in their severity, awaken in the viewers an instinctive 'turning away' in horror and stimulates them to consider the abyss of iniquity that can be hidden in the human soul. At the same time, calling to the fore such aberrations revives in every right-minded person the duty to do what he or she can so that such inhuman barbarism never happens again. I express living gratitude to those who wanted to offer me the opportunity to view this moving film."
- Pope Benedict XVI
