Friday, March 31, 2006

From Poland Will Come the Spark

One year ago today...

"From Poland will Come the Spark that will prepare the world for my final coming"

I read these words back in 1978 from St. Faustina's diary that were spoken to her by Jesus. They were published before anyone had even thought of a Polish pope, but somehow one knew that Jesus was referring to this pope and twenty six years later the spark has spread it's fire throughout the world and the devotion to the Divine Mercy is one of the most popular.

I wrote to the pope back in those early days and received the standard reply from a Monsignor that the Holy Father had received my message and sent his blessings. Enclosed in the letter was a small crucifix. What I had written the pope was the following message from teh Gospel of John in Polish:

Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young,
you girded yourself and walked where you would;
but when you are old,
you will stretch out your hands,
and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go."
(This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God.)
And after this he said to him, "Follow me."
John 21:18-19

It is Our Lord's message to St. Peter. I was reminded of this today at Mass when the Gospel reading was from John and the verses immediately preceding this passage. When I sent it to the Holy Father those many years ago I did so because I thought of how his embracing of the Petrine office was taking him away from his beloved Poland. But in these last years it has seemed even more prophetic as he is wheeled out and put around.

If indeed he is the spark that was to prepare the world for the Lord's coming what awaits us after his entrance into the Father's Kingdom?

One Year later...2006:

In the middle of the night on February 24/25th on a plane somewhere over the west European cost as light broke through the darkness this passage from St. Faustina's diary entered my mind and the words "write and remind others about this message."

I forgot about it for the most part after the excitement of the days in Rome, but was reminded of it when I prayed at the tomb of Pope John Paul II and then this:



The beautiful Encyclical of Pope Benedict is yet another invitation from the God of Love...

Yet how many of us are mired in judgment--judging and being judged?

Picking up stones to cast at others, while worthy of being stoned?

Forgetful of the price paid for our salvation, forgetful of the gift being offered in the Confessional and the altar?

Lord have mercy on us!

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Pope to China, Russia and Canada

One of these is not like the others...

All in the news.

Quebec in 2008?

China

Russia

Pope's General Audience

From Asia News Italy:

The Church, “in spite of all human frailties”, expresses the communion, the “participation in trinitary life”. It is a “gift that brings us out of our solitude and enables us to participate in the love that binds us to God and to one another.” We can understand its greatness “only if we consider the divisions and conflicts that afflict relations between individuals, groups and entire peoples.”

Today, on a true day of spring, Benedict XVI spoke of the gift of communion to 40,000 faithful gathered for the general audience in St Peter’s Square. Communion is a gift from which the Church stems and which the Church expresses, he said. Through its apostolic ministry, it “will live across time building and nourishing the communion in Christ and the Spirit”.

“The Twelve prepared their successors (cf 1 Clem 42, 4) so that their mission might continue after their death. In the course of time, the Church, organically structured under the guidance of its legitimate Pastors, has thus continued to exist in the world as the mystery of communion in which is somewhat reflected the trinitary communion itself”.

Monday, March 27, 2006

Archbiship Marini Hospitalized?

Rumor floating around Rome is that Papal Master of Ceremonies, Archbishop Piero Marini has suffered a heart attack and has been hospitalized.

Now if this is true, let me make one comment. I noticed at the Mass on Saturday that Marini kept rubbing his eyes during the Pope's homily. ..which struck me as strange as these papal attendants usually are very stoic. If there is someone with medical knowledge could rubbing of the eyes be a warning sign?

It might be that Marini is getting too old to handle the rigours of papal liturgies (three in the past three days)!

Btw, I wasn't the only one who noticed. Check out what Shouts has to say:

Just as Marini being passed over for cardinal doesn't necessarily mean
anything neither does his remaining on the job as M.C. As is always the case we
don't get to decide for him what the Pope's actions (or lack thereof) mean.
Besides, there's always next year for more red hats, right? Perhaps that's why
Piero seemed so out of it at yesterday's Consistory?
Perhaps, the axe is about
to fall and he's bummed? Maybe the axe has already fallen and it just isn't
public yet so he's feeling whistful for the "old days" of the last millenium
when he had more control?

(emphasis mind)

Cardinal Masses' From on Site Bloggers

Cardinal O'Malley's mass at the North American College via Sister Bernadette

And...

Cardinal Leveda's Mass via Zadok

Yes, We Can!


Half a million protest immigration bill in LA...

From Access North Georgia:

More than 500,000 protesters - demanding that Congress abandon attempts to make
illegal immigration a felony and to build more walls along the border -
surprised police who estimated the crowd size using aerial photographs and other
techniques, police Cmdr. Louis Gray Jr. said.

Wearing white T-shirts to
symbolize peace, the demonstrators chanted "Mexico!" "USA!" and "Si se puede,"
an old Mexican-American civil rights shout that means "Yes, we can."

Article on Fr. Robert Barron in the NY TImes

I thoroughly enjoy Father Baron's talks as well as his books.

In Chicago, Energizing the Catholics