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

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