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Blogger quits Edwards campaign in light of conservative criticism
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Pope Benedict's Lenten Message for 2007
From MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI FOR LENT 2007:
On the Cross, it is God Himself who begs the love of His creature: He is thirsty for the love of every one of us. The Apostle Thomas recognized Jesus as “Lord and God” when he put his hand into the wound of His side. Not surprisingly, many of the saints found in the Heart of Jesus the deepest expression of this mystery of love. One could rightly say that the revelation of God’s eros toward man is, in reality, the supreme expression of His agape. In all truth, only the love that unites the free gift of oneself with the impassioned desire for reciprocity instills a joy, which eases the heaviest of burdens. Jesus said: “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself” (Jn 12:32). The response the Lord ardently desires of us is above all that we welcome His love and allow ourselves to be drawn to Him. Accepting His love, however, is not enough. We need to respond to such love and devote ourselves to communicating it to others. Christ “draws me to Himself” in order to unite Himself to me, so that I learn to love the brothers with His own love.
On the Cross, it is God Himself who begs the love of His creature: He is thirsty for the love of every one of us. The Apostle Thomas recognized Jesus as “Lord and God” when he put his hand into the wound of His side. Not surprisingly, many of the saints found in the Heart of Jesus the deepest expression of this mystery of love. One could rightly say that the revelation of God’s eros toward man is, in reality, the supreme expression of His agape. In all truth, only the love that unites the free gift of oneself with the impassioned desire for reciprocity instills a joy, which eases the heaviest of burdens. Jesus said: “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself” (Jn 12:32). The response the Lord ardently desires of us is above all that we welcome His love and allow ourselves to be drawn to Him. Accepting His love, however, is not enough. We need to respond to such love and devote ourselves to communicating it to others. Christ “draws me to Himself” in order to unite Himself to me, so that I learn to love the brothers with His own love.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Pope Slams Italian Civil Unions Bill
From Adnki.com:
As the Italian parliament is preparing to discuss a highly controversial government decree granting legal rights to civil unions, including same-sex couples, Pope Benedict XVI on Monday slammed the planned legislation as weakening the family and harming society. "No legislation can change the law of the Creator without making the future of society precarious with laws which are in stark contrast with natural law," the pontiff said.
"A very concrete application of this principle can be found in relation to the family, which is the intimate communion of life as founded by the Creator, with its own rules," Benedict also said. The family "has its stability under divine laws. The good fortune of spouses and society does not depend on arbitrary acts."
As the Italian parliament is preparing to discuss a highly controversial government decree granting legal rights to civil unions, including same-sex couples, Pope Benedict XVI on Monday slammed the planned legislation as weakening the family and harming society. "No legislation can change the law of the Creator without making the future of society precarious with laws which are in stark contrast with natural law," the pontiff said.
"A very concrete application of this principle can be found in relation to the family, which is the intimate communion of life as founded by the Creator, with its own rules," Benedict also said. The family "has its stability under divine laws. The good fortune of spouses and society does not depend on arbitrary acts."
Faith-related Talks Set for Thursday
From the Palladium-Item:
Writer and teacher Amy Welborn will give two talks Thursday in Richmond (IN) related to faith.
Her discussion at 7 p.m. at St. Andrew Church, 235 S. Fifth St., is free and open to the public. She will focus on prayer and how the history and traditional use of certain prayers are "a treasure worth rediscovering" and "are gifts from the past that can be used to great benefit today."
Writer and teacher Amy Welborn will give two talks Thursday in Richmond (IN) related to faith.
Her discussion at 7 p.m. at St. Andrew Church, 235 S. Fifth St., is free and open to the public. She will focus on prayer and how the history and traditional use of certain prayers are "a treasure worth rediscovering" and "are gifts from the past that can be used to great benefit today."
Witchcraft is Destroying the Church in Africa
So the experts say, from All Africa. com:
Witchcraft is real, and it is destroying the church in Africa, Catholic experts warned this week.
Scholars from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) expressed concern that the church continued to dismiss the dark arts as mere superstition, thereby unwittingly helping the devil advance his reign.
For that reason, Christians who suffer because of witchcraft are often dismissed by priests as being superstitious. Because they do not get adequate help from pastoral agents, they seek the assistance of witchdoctors or join the mushrooming evangelical denominations that offer healing, exorcism and deliverance.
It was said that many African priests fear witchcraft or are ignorant of their own power to confront the devil.
Christians also visit diviners and magicians to seek practical solutions which the church and science apparently do not offer.
Witchcraft is real, and it is destroying the church in Africa, Catholic experts warned this week.
Scholars from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) expressed concern that the church continued to dismiss the dark arts as mere superstition, thereby unwittingly helping the devil advance his reign.
For that reason, Christians who suffer because of witchcraft are often dismissed by priests as being superstitious. Because they do not get adequate help from pastoral agents, they seek the assistance of witchdoctors or join the mushrooming evangelical denominations that offer healing, exorcism and deliverance.
It was said that many African priests fear witchcraft or are ignorant of their own power to confront the devil.
Christians also visit diviners and magicians to seek practical solutions which the church and science apparently do not offer.
The Open Book & Annunciations Blog Bestseller's List
Our own Bestseller's list:
What Books People who Read this Blog and Amy's Open Book blog are Buying
February 2007 (so far)
1. The How-To Book of the Mass: Everything You Need to Know but No One Ever Taught You
2. The Power of the Cross: Meditations for the Lenten Season
3. The Gift of Faith
4. Those Terrible Middle Ages: Debunking the Myths
5. The Best American Catholic Short Stories: A Sheed & Ward Collection
FYI, Last Month's Bestsellers:
January 2007
1. The Gift of Faith
2. When Children Became People: The Birth Of Childhood In Early Christianity
3. The Best American Catholic Short Stories: A Sheed & Ward Collection
4. God Alone Suffices
5. Behold, I stand at the Door and Knock
February 2007 (so far)
1. The How-To Book of the Mass: Everything You Need to Know but No One Ever Taught You
2. The Power of the Cross: Meditations for the Lenten Season
3. The Gift of Faith
4. Those Terrible Middle Ages: Debunking the Myths
5. The Best American Catholic Short Stories: A Sheed & Ward Collection
FYI, Last Month's Bestsellers:
January 2007
1. The Gift of Faith
2. When Children Became People: The Birth Of Childhood In Early Christianity
3. The Best American Catholic Short Stories: A Sheed & Ward Collection
4. God Alone Suffices
5. Behold, I stand at the Door and Knock
Sunday, February 11, 2007
World Day of the Sick
Pope entrusts the world's sick to Mary...
From Asia News Italy:
Benedict XVI recalled the “prodigious event” of “the first apparition of the Virgin Mary to St Bernadette, which took place on 11 February 1858 in the grotto of Massabielle in Lourdes”. This event, continued the pope, made “the location, situated in the French slopes of the Pyrenees, a global center for pilgrimages and intense Marian spirituality. In this place, for nearly 150 years now, the call of Our Lady to prayer and repentance still reverberates powerfully, a quasi permanent echo of the invitation with which Jesus inaugurated his preaching in Galilee: ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’ (Mk 1:15).”
Although miracles and healings confirmed by a team of doctors often take place at Lourdes, the pope saw fit to draw attention to a more profound miracle: “Moreover, the shrine has become a destination of many sick pilgrims who, putting themselves in a position to listen to the Most Holy Mary, are encouraged to accept their sufferings and to offer them for the salvation of the world, uniting them with those of the crucified Christ.”
Benedict XVI explained the connection between the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the World Day of the Sick: “It was precisely because of this link between Lourdes and human suffering that, 15 years ago, the beloved John Paul II wanted the World Day of the Sick to be celebrated on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. This year, the focus of this feast is in the city of Seoul, capital of South Korea, where I sent Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragán, President of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Health Care to represent me. I send an affectionate greeting to him and to all those gathered there.”
The pope continued: “I would like to extend my thoughts to health workers across the world, well aware of the importance of their service to sick people in our society. In particular, I want to express my spiritual closeness and my affection for our sick brothers and sisters, especially those who are afflicted by more serious and painful illnesses. On this Day, our attention is turned towards them in a special way. It is necessary to support the development of palliative care that offers holistic support and gives terminally ill people the human support and spiritual accompaniment that they badly need.”
Before the Angelus prayer, the pope reminded his audience about a Eucharistic Celebration that will be held this afternoon in St Peter’s Basilica, with many sick people and pilgrims. Mass will be presided over by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Vicar of the diocese of Rome. Benedict XVI said: “At the end of Holy Mass, I will have the joy, like last year, of spending some time with them, reliving the spiritual climate experienced at the grotto of Massabielle. With this Angelus prayer, I would like to entrust to the maternal protection of the Immaculate Virgin all those in the world who are sick and suffering in body and spirit.”
From Asia News Italy:
Benedict XVI recalled the “prodigious event” of “the first apparition of the Virgin Mary to St Bernadette, which took place on 11 February 1858 in the grotto of Massabielle in Lourdes”. This event, continued the pope, made “the location, situated in the French slopes of the Pyrenees, a global center for pilgrimages and intense Marian spirituality. In this place, for nearly 150 years now, the call of Our Lady to prayer and repentance still reverberates powerfully, a quasi permanent echo of the invitation with which Jesus inaugurated his preaching in Galilee: ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’ (Mk 1:15).”
Although miracles and healings confirmed by a team of doctors often take place at Lourdes, the pope saw fit to draw attention to a more profound miracle: “Moreover, the shrine has become a destination of many sick pilgrims who, putting themselves in a position to listen to the Most Holy Mary, are encouraged to accept their sufferings and to offer them for the salvation of the world, uniting them with those of the crucified Christ.”
Benedict XVI explained the connection between the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the World Day of the Sick: “It was precisely because of this link between Lourdes and human suffering that, 15 years ago, the beloved John Paul II wanted the World Day of the Sick to be celebrated on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. This year, the focus of this feast is in the city of Seoul, capital of South Korea, where I sent Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragán, President of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Health Care to represent me. I send an affectionate greeting to him and to all those gathered there.”
The pope continued: “I would like to extend my thoughts to health workers across the world, well aware of the importance of their service to sick people in our society. In particular, I want to express my spiritual closeness and my affection for our sick brothers and sisters, especially those who are afflicted by more serious and painful illnesses. On this Day, our attention is turned towards them in a special way. It is necessary to support the development of palliative care that offers holistic support and gives terminally ill people the human support and spiritual accompaniment that they badly need.”
Before the Angelus prayer, the pope reminded his audience about a Eucharistic Celebration that will be held this afternoon in St Peter’s Basilica, with many sick people and pilgrims. Mass will be presided over by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Vicar of the diocese of Rome. Benedict XVI said: “At the end of Holy Mass, I will have the joy, like last year, of spending some time with them, reliving the spiritual climate experienced at the grotto of Massabielle. With this Angelus prayer, I would like to entrust to the maternal protection of the Immaculate Virgin all those in the world who are sick and suffering in body and spirit.”
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