My Hope Is In You Lord by Aaron Shust

Why do I have to confess to a priest?

Saint of the day: Andrew the Apostle

Today the Church remembers St. Andrew the Apostle! The following is taken from the chrysostom.org website:

Andrew was at first a disciple of John the Baptizer along with John the Theologian. When the Forerunner pointed out Jesus as the Christ, they both became His disciples. Andrew took his brother, Saint Peter, to meet Jesus. He is called the Protokletos (the First Called) because he was the first Apostle to be summoned by Jesus into His service. Andrew and his brother Peter made their living as fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. Both men became Apostles, and while Peter symbolically came to represent the Church of the West, Andrew likewise represents the Church of the East.

The First Called, Apostle to Greece and Beyond

According to ecclesiastical tradition, Andrew began his missionary activity in the Provinces of Vithynia and Pontus on the southern shores of the Black Sea. Later he journeyed to the City of Byzantium and founded the Christian Church there, ordaining the first Bishop of Byzantium, Stachys, who was one of the 70 disciples of the Lord.

After Pentecost, Andrew taught in Byzantium, Thrace, Russia, Epiros, and Peloponnese. In Amisos, he converted the Jews in the temple, baptized them, healed their sick, built a church, and left a priest for them. In Bithynia, he taught, healed their sick, and drove away the wild beasts that bothered them. His prayers destroyed the pagan temples, and those who resisted his words became possessed and gnawed at their bodies until Andrew healed them.

The First Called, Wonderworker

In one of his several missionary journeys to Greece, Andrew visited the City of Patras. Through his preaching and the miracles of healing he performed, in the name of Jesus, many persons were converted to Christianity. Among those healed was Maximilla, the wife of the Roman Proconsul, Aegeates. Seeing this miracle of healing, Stratoklis, the highly intellectual brother of the Proconsul, also became a Christian, and Andrew consecrated and enthroned him as the first Bishop of Patras.

As a prophet, he foretold of the greatness of Kiev as a city and a stronghold of Christianity. In Sinope, he prayed for the imprisoned Apostle Matthias, and his chains fell from him and the cell door opened. The people beat Andrew, breaking his teeth, cutting his fingers, and left him for dead in a dung heap. Jesus appeared to him and healed him, telling him to be of good cheer. When the people saw him the next day, they were amazed and they believed. At another time, he raised a woman's only son from the dead.

The Crucifixion of the First Called

The conversions to the Christian Faith by members of his own family infuriated the Proconsul Aegeates, and he decided, with the urging of the idolators who advised him, to crucify Andrew. The crucifixion was carried out on an X-shaped cross with the body of the Apostle upside down so that he saw neither the earth nor his executioners, but only the sky which he glorified as the heaven in which he would meet his Lord. Aegeates had him tied to the cross in this manner so that he would live longer and suffer more.

Twenty thousand of the faithful stood by and mourned. Even then, Andrew taught them and exhorted them to endure temporary sufferings for the kingdom of heaven. Out of fear of the people, Aegeates came to remove Andrew from the cross. Andrew, however, said that Aegeates could still become a Christian, but that he had already seen Jesus and he would not allow himself to be removed from the cross. Many tried to undo the knots, but their hands all became numb. Suddenly, a heavenly light illumined Andrew for about a half hour. When it left, Andrew had given up his spirit.

His body was tenderly removed from the cross by Bishop Stratoklis and Maximilla, and buried with all of the honor befitting the Apostle. Soon countless numbers of Christians made their way to Patras to pay reverence to the grave of Andrew, and when Aegeates realized that the man he had put to death was truly a holy man of God a demon fell upon him and tormented him so powerfully that he committed suicide.

Re-burial in Constaninople

In the month of March in the year 357 the Emperor Constantine (son of Constantine The Great) ordered that the body of Saint Andrew be removed from Patras and be reinterred in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. With all the magnificence and honor of the Byzantine Empire and the Great Church of Christ at Constantinople, Saint Andrew was returned to the City that had first heard the message of Jesus Christ from his lips. Thus he became in death, as well as in life, the founder of the Great Church of Christ in Constantinople. His relics are in Constantinople along with the Apostle Luke and Timothy, the disciple of Paul, in the Church of the Apostles.

Patron Saint of Scotland

The deeds and preaching of Andrew became known in all parts of the world. According to tradition a part of the remains of Andrew were taken to Scotland, and he was chosen as the Protector of the Scottish people. The Cross of Saint Andrew also adorns the British flag where it was placed after the union of Scotland and England. The skull of Andrew was kept in Patras until the year 1460 when Thomas Paleologos, the last ruler of the Morea, brought the skull to Rome. In 1967, under the orders of Pope Paul of the Roman Church, the skull was returned to Patras with all of the pomp and dignity of the Papal State. He remains the patron saint of Russia, Scotland and Romania to this day.

Father Barron visiting the Colosseum

Advent in the Mountains

You Are More by Tenth Avenue North

Tenth Avenue North - You Are More from Provident Label Group on Vimeo.

Remembering Our Lady of Beauraing

Today is the anniversary of the first visions of Our Lady at Beauraing, Belgium. The following comes from MedjugorjeUSA:

In 1917, Our Lady of Fatima told the 3 shepherd children that if men did not stop offending Her Son, the world would be punished by means of wars, famines, and persecutions of the church. By 1932, this prophecy was well underway. Communists were in power in Russia. Mussolini was leader of Italy. Hitler was rising in Germany. The world was in depression. Unemployment, bread lines, hunger and riots were wide spread.

In a French speaking part of Belgium, lay a village called Beauraing. Sixty miles southeast of Brussels, Beauraing was mostly a farming community of about 2000 people.

Once staunch Catholic, many Beauraing villagers were lead away from the Church. The Marxist Labor Party won many district elections. Many were now anti-Catholic.

On November 29, 1932, Fernande and Albert Voisin, age 15 and 11, respectively, went to meet their sister, Gilberte, age 13. Gilberte attended an Academy conducted by the Sisters of Christian Doctrine. Gilberte's sister Fernande and brother Albert would often walk their sister home from school at the end of the day. Accompanying them this day was the two Degeimbre girls, Andree, age 14 and Gilberte, age 9.

Waiting for Gilberte Voisin to come out of the convent, the other four children went to the convent garden to visit the Lourdes Grotto. Albert was the first to notice a beautiful luminous lady dressed in white, walking in the air with her feet inside a cloud. Looking to see what Albert was talking about the other children saw the lady as well.

The lady looked about 18. Her eyes deep blue with rays of light coming from her head. She wore a long white pleated gown with a belt. The dress reflected a sort of blue light. Her hands were held together as if in prayer. Later she would carry a Rosary on her right arm during all other visitations.

The lady continued to appear in the following days. On December 2, Albert was the first to speak asking her, "Are you the Immaculate Virgin?" The Lady smiled and nodded Her head, then saying, "Always be good." Disappearing, She returned 3 more times that very day.

On several occasions the Lady told the children that She desired them to be present on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. On December 8th some 15000 people were present, as the word of the vision had spread. During this apparition, Dr. Maistriaux, Dr. Lurquin and other doctors were there to pinch, slap, prick and shine flashlights in the children eyes. There was no response from the children during the Lady's visit.

Dr. Lurquin took a lighted match to Gilberte Voisin's left hand; still there was no response. After the apparition Dr. Lurquin looked to see what damage the match had done. There was no sign of injury.

On December 17, the Lady asked for a chapel to be built.
On December 23, she stated that she desired people to come on pilgrimage.
On December 21, the beautiful luminous Lady clearly stated, "I am the Immaculate Virgin."
On December 29, the Blessed Virgin opened Her arms in Her usual gesture of farewell. This time Fernande saw a Heart of Gold, surrounded by glittering rays. In the coming days all the chosen children witnessed this event which happened in all the remaining apparitions. The Heart was without question, the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Beginning with the Dec. 30th apparition, Our Lady began to repeat, "Pray, pray, very much.

On Jan 3, 1933, after two decades of the rosary, again She appeared. She spoke to each child separately, given each a secret and ending by saying good-by.

Fernande was the last to receive word. At this time many spectators witnessed a loud noise like thunder, seeing a large ball of fire. Our Lady said to Fernande, "Do you love My Son?" 'Yes,' Fernande replied. "Do you love Me?" asked the Lady. 'Yes,' Fernande answered. "Then sacrifice yourself for me."

As Fernande was asking what sacrifices she should make, the Lady of light extended Her arms in gesture of farewell showing Her gold heart, then She disappeared saying good-by.

Though this was the last visitation, the children prayed the rosary in the Grotto every day. There were reports of a number of healing and many sinners were converted.

In 1935, a Commission was appointed to investigate the Events in Beauraing. On February 2, 1943, Bishop Andre Marie Charue authorized public devotion to Our Lady of Beauraing. Decrees of healing were to follow. On July 2, 1949, the Bishop released a document to Clergy in the Diocese declaring that the Queen of Heaven did appear to the children.

The statue of Our Lady of Beauraing was blessed on August 22, 1946, the Feast of the Immaculate Heart. The Chapel was consecrated August 21, 1954.

The secrets given to the children have never been revealed.

St. Catherine Laboure and the Miraculous Medal

This vignette of the apparition of Our Lady to St. Catherine Laboure on the occasion of her request for the Medal was produced by the Franciscans of the Immaculate in conjunction with Susan Mackewich of Gizmo Productions and Dave Wroe. We include this segment on the happy occasion of the start of Air Maria and on the Feast of the Annunciation of the Archangel St. Michael to Our Lady resulting in the blessed Incarnation of the Son of God. This will also serve to introduce our series on the Miraculous Medal, hosted by Fr. Elias Mary, FI and Dave Wroe on the many miracles attributed to this medal.

The following comes from the Patron Saints Index:

Ninth of eleven children born to a farm family, and from an early age Catherine felt a call to the religious life. Never learned to read or write. Forced to take over running the house at age eight after her mother died and her older sister joined the Sisters of Charity. Worked as a waitress in her uncle’s cafe in Paris, France. Upon entering a hospital run by the Sisters of Charity she received a vision in which Saint Vincent de Paul told her that God wanted her to work with the sick, and she later joined the Order, taking the name Catherine.

On 18 July 1830 she had a vision of Our Lady who described to her a medal which she wished struck. On one side it has the image of Our Lady, and the words, “O Mary, conceived wthout sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee”; on the other are the hearts of Jesus and Mary. Our Lady told Catherine that wearers of the medal would receive great graces, it has become known as the Miraculous Medal, and its wearing and devotion has spread worldwide. Miracles reported at her tomb.

People Get Ready by U2

I was in the mood for U2... in the spirit of Advent.

May's Miracle

Advent in 2 Minutes

I Love You This Much by Jimmy Wayne

Pope Benedict to Youth: Look at passing of time with eyes of faith

The following comes from Zenit.org:

Benedict XVI noted today the end of the liturgical year, and invited youth to consider the passage of time with faith.

In his customary greetings to youth, the sick, and newlyweds at the close of the general audience, the Pope spoke of the liturgical season.

"Dear young people," he invited, "harmonize your personal journey with the Church's, which flows from the liturgy, and prepare yourselves to live the time of Advent as a time of interior waiting on the Messiah, Our Savior."

The Holy Father added: "Dear sick, ask God for the gift of hope, and offer even your sufferings for this; and you, dear newlyweds, always trust in Divine Providence, which guides and accompanies Christian families."

Fr. Robert Barron: The Priority of Christ

Saint of the day: John Berchmans

Today we remember another youthful saint as we remember John Berchmans.  The following comes from the Patron Saints Index:

Son of a shoemaker, and one of five children, three of whom entered religious life. Great devotion to his position as an altar boy. He spent much of his time caring for his mother, who was in poor health. Jesuit noviate in 1616, deciding to become a Jesuit after reading the life of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. Student at the Jesuit College at Malines. Studied philosophy in Rome. John had a dream of helping and teaching multi-lingual migrants, and he studied all the chief languages of Europe. He wanted to work in China after ordination. He died of unknown causes following his participation in a public debate defending the faith, and while clutching his rosary, crucifix, and rules of his order; he did not live to be ordained.

John Berchmans was not noted for extraordinary feats of holiness or austerity, nor did he found orders or churches or work flashy miracles. He made kindness, courtesy, and constant fidelity an important part of his holiness. The path to holiness can lie in the ordinary rather than the extraordinary.

Knockin' On Heaven's Door by Bob Dylan

Mama, take this badge off of me
I can’t use it anymore
It’s gettin’ dark, too dark for me to see
I feel like I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door

Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door

Mama, put my guns in the ground
I can’t shoot them anymore
That long black cloud is comin’ down
I feel like I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door

Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door

Fr. Barron on Why the New Missal Will Be Good for the Mass

The following comes from the NCR:

In just a few days, Catholics in this country will notice a rather significant change when they come to Mass. Commencing the First Sunday of Advent, the Church will be using a new translation of the Roman Missal. I would like to emphasize, at the outset, that this in no way represents a return to “the old Mass,” for the Latin texts that provide the basis for the new translation were all approved after Vatican II. So why the change? What had come increasingly to bother a number of bishops, priests and liturgists over the years was that the translation of the liturgical texts, which was made in some haste in the late ‘60s of the last century, was not sufficiently faithful to the Latin and was, at least in some instances, informed by questionable theological assumptions. And so, over the course of many years, two groups in particular — ICEL (the International Commission on English in the Liturgy) and Vox Clara (a committee of bishops, liturgical experts and linguists from around the English-speaking world) — labored over a new translation. This work was approved by the U.S. Bishops’ Conference and finally by the Vatican, and Advent 2011 was determined to be the time to begin use of the new Missal.

What marks these new texts? They are, I would argue, more courtly, more theologically rich, and more scripturally poetic than the current prayers — and this is all to the good. An unmistakable feature of the Latin liturgical texts is their nobility and stately seriousness. They were composed by people who clearly knew that liturgical prayer is a manner of addressing almighty God, the Lord of heaven and earth. Accordingly, they utilized not the language of the street or of the market or political forum, but, instead, the speech appropriate at the court of a King to whom supplication is being made. Or to situate things more in the context of our culture: They employ the kind of speech one might use in addressing the president in a formal letter or the recipient of an honorary degree at a university commencement exercise. Now, when these texts were rendered into English in the late ‘60s of the last century, they were translated in accord with certain definite cultural tendencies of that time. Starting in the 1960s, we began to prize speech that is blunt, clear, direct, casual and unadorned. And we developed a prejudice against language that seems fussy or overly ornamental. To see a vivid illustration of this shift, compare the sermons of John Henry Newman or Fulton J. Sheen to almost any sermon delivered today.

But what this gave us, many came to see, was a certain flattening out of the language of the liturgy, a rendering pedestrian of that which ought to be elevated. I will give just one example from hundreds that I could have chosen. Here is the prayer that we currently offer as the opening collect for Tuesday of the first week of Advent: “God of mercy and consolation, help us in our weakness and free us from sin. Hear our prayers that we may rejoice at the coming of your Son.” Pretty clear, direct, straightforward. Now here is the new translation of the same Latin prayer: “Look with favor, Lord God, on our petitions, and in our trials grant us your compassionate help that, consoled by the presence of your Son, whose coming we now await, we may be tainted no longer by the corruption of former ways.” We notice first that a great deal of the Latin original was simply not translated in the earlier version, but we also remark that the formality and courtly elegance of the Latin is preserved in the new version.

Next, let us consider the increased theological density of the new translations. It appears to have been a conviction of the translators in the ‘60s that overly theological language would turn people off and make the liturgy less immediately appealing. A particularly clear example of the application of this principle is the old translation of the post-Communion prayer for the 30th Sunday of the year: “Lord, bring to perfection within us the communion we share in this sacrament. May our celebration have an effect in our lives.” That prayer, I think you’ll agree, is rather bland and inelegant, landing, as one wag put it, “with a thud in heaven.” But it is also remarkably lacking in theological density and precision. Effect? What kind of effect? Good, bad, sacred, secular, psychological? Now listen to the new translation of the same Latin prayer: “May your sacraments, O Lord, we pray, perfect in us what lies within them, that what we now celebrate in signs we may one day possess in truth.” In a rather pithy formula, we find both a subtle theology of grace as well as a presentation of the eschatological dimension of the sacraments. Now we know fairly precisely what the “effect” is that we’re praying for.
Finally, let us look at the richly poetic and scriptural quality of the new translations. Once more, it seems to have been a conscious decision of the earlier translators that much of the poetic imagery of the Bible — so evident in the Latin originals — should be trimmed from the English versions. I will give one example of dozens I could have chosen. The older translation of the opening Collect for the First Sunday of Advent runs, in part, as follows: “All powerful God, increase our strength of will for doing good, that Christ may find an eager welcome at his coming …” And here is the new version of the same prayer: “Grant your faithful, we pray, almighty God, the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ with righteous deeds at his coming, so that, gathered at his right hand, they may be worthy to possess the heavenly Kingdom.” Our longing for Christ was pretty blandly communicated in the earlier version as “eager”; but in the new translation, it is given wonderfully rich expression as “running forth to meet” the Lord. If the new prayers sometimes won’t seem as immediately understandable as their predecessors, we should remember that poetry is generally harder to grasp than prose, but infinitely richer than prose in its evocative and descriptive power.

There has been, over the past several decades, an enormous debate concerning this process of translation. If you doubt me, dip into blogs written by liturgists — if you dare. But the Church has given us these new texts, and I think it is wise for us to accept them in a positive spirit. We will find in time, I believe, that they will deepen and enrich our prayer together.

My Hope Is In You Lord by Aaron Shust

The First Thanksgiving

The following comes from the Freedomkeys website and presents a real look at the first Thanksgiving:

Did you know that the first [Plymouth Colony Pilgrim's] Thanksgiving was a celebration of the triumph of private property and individual initiative?

William Bradford was the governor of the original Pilgrim colony, founded at Plymouth in 1621. The colony was first organized on a communal basis, as their financiers required. Land was owned in common. The Pilgrims farmed communally, too, following the "from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs" precept. 

The results were disastrous. Communism didn't work any better 400 years ago than it does today. By 1623, the colony had suffered serious losses. Starvation was imminent.

Bradford realized that the communal system encouraged and rewarded waste and laziness and inefficiency, and destroyed individual initiative. Desperate, he abolished it. He distributed private plots of land among the surviving Pilgrims, encouraging them to plant early and farm as individuals, not collectively.

The results: a bountiful early harvest that saved the colonies. After the harvest, the Pilgrims celebrated with a day of Thanksgiving -- on August 9th.  

Psalm 111

Praise the Lord. I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who have pleasure in them. Full of honor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures for ever. He has caused his wonderful works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and merciful. He provides food for those who fear him; he is ever mindful of his covenant. He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the heritage of the nations. The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy, they are established for ever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness. He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant for ever. Holy and terrible is his name! The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who practice it. His praise endures for ever!

Martyrs of Vietnam

Today we remember the Martyrs of Vietnam. The following comes from the Patron Saints Index:

Between the arrival of the first Portuguese missionary in 1533, through the Dominicans and then the Jesuit missions of the 17th century, the politically inspired persecutions of the 19th century, and the Communist-led terrors of the twentieth, there have been many thousands of Catholics and other Christians murdered for their faith in Vietnam. Some were priests, some nuns or brothers, some lay people; some were foreign missionaries, but most were native Vietnamese killed by their own government and countrymen.

Record keeping being what it was, and because the government did not care to keep track of the people it murdered, we have no information on the vast bulk of the victims. In 1988, Pope John Paul II recognized over a hundred of them, including some whose Causes we do have, and in commemoration of those we do not. They are collectively known as the Martyrs of Vietnam (or Tonkin or Annam or the other older names of that country).

When I Get Where I'm Going by Brad Paisley

Remembering Father Slavko Barbaric, OFM

Below is the memorial plaque at the site of his death.


November 24 is the 11th anniversary of the death of Father Slavko Barbaric, OFM of Medjugorje. This saintly man was a wonderful witness to so many pilgrims. Let's pray that we might imitate him and the sentiments he expressed in his last homily (read below). Hat tip to The North East for the following:

At the top of the 'hill of the cross' or 'Krusevac' is a plaque commemorating the place where Father Slavko died. The story of how he died is incredible.

With tears in her eyes, our Croatian guide described how he climbed the hill every day of his life since the apparitions began and how he always took a bag to collect any accumulated litter which he happened to spot whilst praying and stepping over rocks. She related the story of how he reached the last station of the cross and said to those around him ' We will now pray for all the pilgrims in Medjugorje and we we will now pray for the next one to die.'

He then sat down and died.

The next day the visionaries were told by Our Lady that their brother Slavko had entered Heaven and was now interceding for them.
THE LAST HOMILY OF Fr SLAVKO BARBARIC O.F.M.

Given on the morning of his last day on earth, November 24, 2000, at 9.00am Mass in St James’ Church, Medjugorje.
The unity of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Almost every message of Our Lady ends with the sentence, ‘Thank you for having responded to my call’. I have often asked myself, whom does Our Lady give thanks to, who is so important that she comes down from Heaven to say ‘Thank you’ to that person? She does not expect a lot from us, but she sees everything good we have done already and that is why she thanks us.

FORGIVENESS

Let us also ask God's forgiveness for all that was not good, where selfishness, jealousy or arrogance prevailed in the past, so that, by our prayer and fasting, we may help in the dawning of a new time; as Our Lady said in her last message (25th October 2000) I would like to say quite consciously, together with Mary, once more ‘Thanks’ to all who have answered her messages in their own special way. It is always good to know, time and again, that Our Lady cannot do anything without our help! When we heard her ‘Thank you’ for the very first time, we were somehow taken aback, for we are used to ask God for everything.

Of course, there is nothing wrong in expecting everything from God, to ask and pray to Him, the Almighty One – but there is a message coming back to us, saying: ‘I need you, you are important to me, I cannot do anything without your help!’ We often cannot comprehend this, but it is truly a fact. God wanted each and everyone of us, at our time, in our own surroundings, where we live. He wanted us and He has bestowed certain talents to us, which He wants to develop and make grow in us by His grace, so that we may serve Him by using our talents.

CRITICISM

Everyone who, by using his or her talents, serves, loves, believes and hopes, is helping and respects others. We all are essential, in our time, at our place in our life, where God has decided us to be. I have often said this to people who criticise others a lot, or to those who believe they themselves would have done better had they been in God’s position. If God would have thought that you would have lived and served better at a different time or at a different place, then He would not have put you where you are now, but at that other place. Never say ‘I’ in God's place, but rather open your eyes and ears to your time and to your neighbour with whom you live. This is your very first task; this is where you are irreplaceable; this is where you are important for God and this is where God cannot do anything without your help. In that way we experience God's love and, His love, that same love reaches others through us.

GOD NEEDS US

When we receive consolation from God, it is only right to give it to others and – this we can only do at the time, at the place where we are just now. Only there, and now, can we do God's will and He cannot do anything without our help. Mary has succeeded in one thing during these 19 years and 5 months: Many people, who thought it sufficient to attend Holy Mass on Sundays only, have become very active in their religious life through the messages. That is why we can say today ‘Thank you’ for all the people across the whole world, who consciously spread the messages, with Our Lady's and other's help.

A Croatian monk, a missionary who spent his time in India, once told me that every Saturday night and evening programme like the one in Medjugorje is being celebrated not just in one parish, but in several. This is another reason for Mary saying in her last message, that she thanked God and is delighted that so many people have come here during this Jubilee year and that the Church has been spiritually renewed.

I believe we still must change quite a lot ourselves, for instance, to be able to see the Church and our families with the eyes of Mary. We are often inclined to judge and to complain about people and our time when we look at the world around us. Of course, there are a lot of problems. But Mary looks upon this world with different eyes than we do. She sees the good, however small, however insignificant. She recognises it and is grateful for it.

GRATITUDE

Gratitude is the best guideline in education. When you want to educate someone, you must first look at the good inside that person; however insignificantly small it may be. Then you must try and visualise how the individual could be and work on that together with the person. If we are blind to these things we only see the negative aspects; things that are imperfect; things alien to our momentary fancy and so we can get cracking with our criticism; we condemn and reject.

Mary, on the other hand, only sees the good things in this world. She also sees what could be better, and right there she begins with her teaching. Read the messages! They are positive and they give hope, they are encouraging. In the same way, Mary has awakened the positive power within us and that is why we thank her.

The one who follows Mary has no time to criticise. Mary gives us courage to do something even where we might believe it might disturb, or not be good, or be too much for us. Only in this way can Mary, together with her Son Jesus, enter the third Millennium. Therefore, thank all the people in the world who follow Mary, who visit us untiringly, who organise pilgrimages without ever getting tired.

Let, as Mary says, a new dawn arise, a new springtime. It is not springtime in a calendar sense, but it is springtime of a new decision. Let the New World begin, where we believe it is outdated, contaminated and destroyed. When you decide to love God and our neighbour as yourself and when many besides you do likewise, then the new time has arrived. Amen.

Fr Slavko Barbaric O.F.M., November 24, 2000

Saint of the day: Pope Clement I

The following comes from the CNA:

On Nov. 23 Roman Catholics remember the fourth Pope, St. Clement I, a disciple of the apostles who inherited the authority of St. Peter in the first century. Eastern Catholics celebrate his feast on Nov. 25.

The details of Clement's life, before his conversion and even afterward, are largely unknown. Some aspects of his writings have led scholars to believe that the fourth Pope either came from a Jewish background, or had converted to Judaism earlier in life before entering the Catholic Church.

Tradition suggests that Clement was the son of a Roman named Faustinus, and that he joined the Church in Rome during its early years through the preaching of Saint Peter or Saint Paul. He went on to share in the missionary journeys of the apostles, and may even have assisted the first Pope in running the Church on a local level.

After the deaths of St. Peter's first two successors, the canonized Popes Linus and Cletus, Clement took up St. Peter's position of primacy in the Church around the year 90. One of his most important tasks, during nearly 10 years as Pope, was to resolve serious problems in the Church of Corinth, which St. Paul had also struggled to discipline.

Clement's own letter to the Corinthians, though not part of the biblical canon, offers an important look at the role of authority and charity in the early Church. Its introduction suggests that Pope Clement composed it while his own local Church faced persecution from the Roman Emperor Domitian.

In the letter, the Pope describes how the Corinthians had once been “distinguished by humility,” being “in no respect puffed up with pride” and “more willing to give than to receive.” But in time, “the worthless rose up against the honored, those of no reputation against such as were renowned, the foolish against the wise, the young against those advanced in years.”

“Let us give up vain and fruitless cares, and approach to the glorious and venerable rule of our holy calling,” Pope Clement wrote in his call to repentance. “Let us attend to what is good, pleasing, and acceptable in the sight of him who formed us.”

Order and discipline, he noted, are at least as important in the Church as they are in the rest of creation, where the powers of nature follow God's decrees. The Pope also warned the Corinthians to follow “those who cultivate peace with godliness,” rather than “those who hypocritically profess to desire it.”

The Church Clement headed was one that honored tradition and right order as fundamentals of its life.

“It behooves us to do all things in order, which the Lord has commanded us to perform at stated times,” he told the Corinthians. God, he said, “has enjoined offerings and service to be performed ... not thoughtlessly or irregularly, but at the appointed times and hours.”

“Where and by whom (God) desires these things to be done, he himself has fixed by his own supreme will, in order that all things being piously done according to his good pleasure, may be acceptable to him.”

The fourth Pope's writings reveal much about the early Church, but little about his own life. According to one later account, he died in exile during the reign of the Emperor Trajan, who purportedly banished Clement to Crimea (near modern Ukraine) and had him killed in retaliation for evangelizing the local people. In 868 the Greek missionary St. Cyril claimed to have recovered St. Clement's bones.

St. Clement I probably died around the year 100. He is among the saints mentioned in the Western Church's most traditional Eucharistic prayer, the Roman Canon.

Cristo Rey, Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro and the Cristeros

"Viva Cristo Rey", "Long live Christ the King!"On November 23 we remember Blessed Miguel Pro. Fr. Pro was a hero for the faith during the persecution of Mexican Catholics in the early 20th century. I found some of these images at A Catholic Mom in Hawaii blog. His story would make a wonderful movie! Like St. Edmund Campion, Padre Pro had to dress up in disguise to outfox those who were chasing him down. He secretly brought the sacraments to the Catholic people of Mexico while it was illegal to do so under the Anti-Catholic government. The following is from catholic.org:

Born on January 13, 1891 in Guadalupe, Mexico, Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez was the eldest son of Miguel Pro and Josefa Juarez.

Miguelito, as his doting family called him, was, from an early age, intensely spiritual and equally intense in hi mischievousness, frequently exasperating his family with his humor and practical jokes. As a child, he had a daring precociousness that sometimes went too far, tossing him into near-death accidents and illnesses. On regaining consciousness after one of these episodes, young Miguel opened his eyes and blurted out to his frantic parents, "I want some cocol" (a colloquial term for his favorite sweet bread). "Cocol" became his nickname, which he would later adopt as a code name during this clandestine ministry.

Miguel was particularly close to his older sister and after she entered a cloistered convent, he came to recognize his own vocation to the priesthood. Although he was popular with the senoritas and had prospects of a lucrative career managing his father's thriving business concerns, Miguel renounced everything for Christ his King and entered the Jesuit novitiate in El Llano, Michoacan in 1911..
He studied in Mexico until 1914, when a tidal wave of anti-Catholicism crashed down upon Mexico, forcing the novitiate to disband and flee to the United States, where Miguel and his brother seminarians treked through Texas and New Mexico before arriving at the Jesuit house in Los Gatos, California.

In 1915, Miguel was sent to a seminary in Spain, where he remained until 1924, when he went to Belgium for his ordination to the priesthood in 1925. Miguel suffered from a severe stomach problem and after three operations, when his health did not improve, his superiors, in 1926, allowed him to return to Mexico in spite of the grave religious persecution in that country

The churches were closed and priests went into hiding. Miguel spent the rest of his life in a secret ministry to the sturdy Mexican Catholics. In addition to fulfilling their spiritual needs, he also carried out the works of mercy by assisting the poor in Mexico City with their temporal needs. He adopted many interesting disguises in carrying out his secret mininstry. He would come in the middle of the night dressed as a beggar to baptize infants, bless marriages and celebrate Mass. He would appear in jail dressed as a police officer to bring Holy Viaticum to condemned Catholics. When going to fashionable neighborhoods to procure for the poor, he would show up at the doorstep dressed as a fashionable businessman with a fresh flower on his lapel. His many exploits could rival those of the most daring spies. In all that he did, however, Fr. Pro remained obedient to his superiors and was filled with the joy of serving Christ, his King.

Falsely accused in the bombing attempt on a former Mexican president, Miguel became a wanted man. Betrayed to the police, he was sentenced to death without the benefit of any legal process.

On November 13, 1927, President Calles gave orders to have Pro executed under the pretext of the assassination, but in reality for defying the virtual outlawing of Catholicism. Calles had the execution meticulously photographed, and the newspapers throughout the country carried them on the front page the following day. Presumably, Calles thought that the sight of the pictures would frighten the Cristero rebels who were fighting against his troops, particularly in the state of Jalisco. However, they had the opposite effect.

On the day of his execution, Fr. Pro forgave his executioners, prayed, bravely refused the blindfold and died proclaiming, "Viva Cristo Rey", "Long live Christ the King!"

To learn a bit more about the Cristero War in Mexico you can click here and watch the impressive video below!

Sing with the Angels and Saints

Lover of the Light by Mumford and Sons

Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The following comes from the Let's Get it Right site:

Mary’s presentation was celebrated in Jerusalem in the sixth century. A church was built there in honor of this mystery. The Eastern Church was more interested in the feast, but it does appear in the West in the 11th century. Although the feast at times disappeared from the calendar, in the 16th century it became a feast of the universal Church.

As with Mary’s birth, we read of Mary’s presentation in the temple only in apocryphal literature. In what is recognized as an unhistorical account, the Protoevangelium of James tells us that Anna and Joachim offered Mary to God in the Temple when she was three years old. This was to carry out a promise made to God when Anna was still childless.

Though it cannot be proven historically, Mary’s presentation has an important theological purpose. It continues the impact of the feasts of the Immaculate Conception and of the birth of Mary. It emphasizes that the holiness conferred on Mary from the beginning of her life on earth continued through her early childhood and beyond.

Comment:

It is sometimes difficult for modern Westerners to appreciate a feast like this. The Eastern Church, however, was quite open to this feast and even somewhat insistent about celebrating it. Even though the feast has no basis in history, it stresses an important truth about Mary: From the beginning of her life, she was dedicated to God. She herself became a greater temple than any made by hands. God came to dwell in her in a marvelous manner and sanctified her for her unique role in God's saving work. At the same time, the magnificence of Mary enriches her children. They, too, are temples of God and sanctified in order that they might enjoy and share in God's saving work.

Quote:

"Hail, holy throne of God, divine sanctuary, house of glory, jewel most fair, chosen treasure house, and mercy seat for the whole world, heaven showing forth the glory of God. Purest Virgin, worthy of all praise, sanctuary dedicated to God and raised above all human condition, virgin soil, unplowed field, flourishing vine, fountain pouring out waters, virgin bearing a child, mother without knowing man, hidden treasure of innocence, ornament of sanctity, by your most acceptable prayers, strong with the authority of motherhood, to our Lord and God, Creator of all, your Son who was born of you without a father, steer the ship of the Church and bring it to a quiet harbor" (adapted from a homily by St. Germanus on the Presentation of the Mother of God).

Memorial of the Presentation:

Today the Church celebrates the memorial of the Presentation of Mary. The three feasts of the birthday of Our Lady, the holy Name of Mary and her Presentation in the Temple correspond in the Marian cycle with the first three feasts of the cycle of feasts of our Lord: namely, Christmas, the Holy Name of Jesus, and His Presentation in the Temple (February 2).

Presentation of Mary

"Sacred Scripture contains no text concerning the event commemorated in today's liturgy. For something of a historical background one may consult the apocryphal works, particularly the Protoevangel of St. James (ch. 4:1ff). After an angel had revealed her pregnancy, Anna is said to have vowed her future child Mary to the Lord. Soon after birth the infant was brought to the sacred precincts at which only the best of Israel's daughters were admitted. At the age of three she was transferred to the temple proper (7:2). According to legend, here she was reared like a dove and received her nourishment from the hand of an angel (8:1).

"In the East, where the feast, celebrated since the eighth century, is kept as a public holiday, it bears the name, 'The Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple'. It was introduced at Rome by a Cypriotic legate to the papal court of Avignon in 1371. In 1472, Sixtus IV extended its observance to the whole Church. Abolished by Pius V, it was reintroduced some years later (1585)."

Awake My Soul by Mumford and Sons

Pope celebrates Mass in Benin: "Let us allow Christ to free us from the world of the past!"

On the pope's final day in Benin, he celebrated Mass with the faithful and asked them to renew their faith in Christ. 

FULL TEXT:


Dear Brother Bishops and Priests,

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Following in the footsteps of my blessed predecessor Pope John Paul II, it is a great joy for me to visit for the second time this dear continent of Africa, coming among you, in Benin, to address to you a message of hope and of peace. I would like first of all to express my cordial gratitude to Archbishop Antoine Ganyé Cotonou, for his words of welcome and to greet the Bishops of Benin, as well as the Cardinals and Bishops from various African countries and from other continents. To all of you, dear brothers and sisters, who have come to this Mass celebrated by the Successor of Peter, I offer my warm greetings. I am thinking certainly of the faithful of Benin, but also of those from other French-speaking countries, such as Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger and others. Our Eucharistic celebration on the Solemnity of Christ the King is an occasion to give thank to God for the one hundred and fifty years that have passed since the beginnings of the evangelization of Benin; it is also an occasion to express our gratitude to him for the Second Special Assembly of the Synod of African Bishops which was held in Rome a few months ago.

The Gospel which we have just heard tells us that Jesus, the Son of Man, the ultimate judge of our lives, wished to appear as one who hungers and thirsts, as a stranger, as one of those who are naked, sick or imprisoned, ultimately, of those who suffer or are outcast; how we treat them will be taken as the way we treat Jesus himself. We do not see here a simple literary device, or a simple metaphor. Jesus’s entire existence is an example of it. He, the Son of God, became man, he shared our existence, even down to the smallest details, he became the servant of the least of his brothers and sisters. He who had nowhere to lay his head, was condemned to death on a cross. This is the King we celebrate!



For the rest of the story please click here.

Solemnity of Christ the King

Today is the Solemnity of Christ the King. This comes from Fr. Hardon:

The spirituality of St. Paul derives all it’s meaning and finds all its purpose in one dominant mystery of the Christian faith—namely, the person of Christ as the natural Son of God.

After all, what is Christianity except the religion of a human being who was and proved Himself to be the Incarnate God?

It is not so much that Paul knew this, as though his letters somehow serve to confirm what, as Christians, we believe. It is rather that the revelation of Christ’s divinity is found in St. Paul. His fourteen letters are a mosaic of many things, but of nothing more surely and clearly and fundamentally than that Jesus is the Eternal God.

We could almost close our eyes and choose any one of more than a score of passages in Paul’s writings testifying to Christ’s divine nature. In fact, for Paul, Christ is simply the Lord, Kyrios, the same title as he uses for God.

But the classic passage in which the apostle synthesizes all that Christ is and means to mankind occurs in the first chapter of Colossians. It reads like a symphony, which it is, because it contains in six verses all that the Church believes about her Founder.

Says St. Paul of Christ:

He is the image of the unseen God and the first born of all creation, for in Him were created all things in heaven and on earth; everything visible and everything invisible, Thrones, Dominations, Sovereignties, Powers—all things were created through and for Him.
Before anything was created, He existed, and He holds all things in unity (Col 1:15-17).

Amazing Grace by The Priests

Monstrance connected to Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos to be returned to New Orleans

THe following comes from the NOLA site:

Days before it was to be auctioned off in New York City, a 19th-century altarpiece associated with Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos has been removed from the sale and will be returned to New Orleans. "We are in final negotiations to bring the monstrance back," archdiocesan spokeswoman Sarah McDonald said Tuesday.

The monstrance, which is made of gold-plated silver, stands 4 feet high and weighs 13 pounds. It used to be in St. Alphonsus Church in the Irish Channel, where Seelos occasionally heard confessions, and it is depicted in the church's ceiling fresco.Among the topics of negotiation, she said, is the price to be paid to Sotheby's, the New York auction house that had planned to sell the monstrance today along with other examples of 19th-century furniture and decorative arts.

For the purposes of the auction, Sotheby's had said the monstrance is worth between $40,000 and $80,000.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond said last month that that amount was more than the archdiocese could afford. But after people learned of the impending sale, "we received many calls ... offering assistance," McDonald said.

She declined to say whether a donor or group of donors was buying the vessel. Darrell Rocha, a Sotheby's spokesman, said he could offer no information beyond the fact that the monstrance has been withdrawn from today's sale.

Aymond is "directly involved" in the negotiations, McDonald said.

He is attending a bishops conference in Baltimore and was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, C.SS.R, a Redemptorist priest in New Orleans in the late 1860s.

The monstrance, a bejeweled vessel shaped like a cross surrounded by a sunburst, contains a glass case, called a luna, in which the consecrated host is displayed for the adoration of the faithful. Catholics believe that, upon consecration, the host becomes the body of Jesus Christ.

The piece's name derives from the Latin word monstrare, meaning "to show."

Although it is definite that the monstrance will return to New Orleans, no one knows yet when it will return or where it will go, McDonald said.

Charles "Jerry" Rosato, a longtime antiques dealer who collects religious artifacts, said he bought it in the late 1990s from the Rev. Alton Carr, St. Mary's pastor, for $5,000 because the parish needed money.

The sale was approved by Monsignor Earl Woods, a friend of Rosato's who was archdiocesan archivist at the time. Woods has since died, and Carr has not returned calls seeking comment.

Rosato consigned the monstrance to Sotheby's because he needed money to pay off a $30,000 Hurricane Katrina-related loan and, he said, the monstrance was the only thing he could use as collateral.

Aymond said last month that the sale violated church law, which forbids the sale of a sacred object to anyone not affiliated with a church.

"Besides being a relic of someone who could be canonized with local ties, a monstrance holds the body of Christ and should never be auctioned off for money," Aymond said then.

The prospect of the monstrance's return is "fantastic," Rosato said, adding, "That's exactly what I wanted."

View full sizeThe bejeweled altarpiece once seen at St. Alphonsus Church was scheduled to be sold at Sotheby's auction house.

The monstrance was made in France in 1857. It was in St. Alphonsus Church when Seelos, a native of Bavaria, was in New Orleans. He was assigned to St. Mary's Assumption Church, across Constance Street from St. Alphonsus, because many German-speaking Catholics worshipped there.

However, he occasionally crossed the street to celebrate sacraments for English-speaking worshippers at St. Alphonsus, said the Rev. Byron Miller, the chief advocate for Seelos' canonization.

He was "a tireless sacramental priest," Miller said.

Seelos, who arrived in September 1866 and died of yellow fever 13 months later, has been beatified because a miraculous cure was attributed to his intervention. As a result, "Blessed" precedes his name.

He is one miracle away from sainthood.

More important than the monstrance's connection to Seelos is its iconic importance to the Irish Channel community, said Bill Murphy, who was an altar boy at St. Alphonsus.

The church was closed in 1979 and has since been used as an art and cultural center.

Miller, who called the altarpiece "the prodigal monstrance," said he was "ecstatic" about its impending return.

"It never should have left the city," he said.

Pope Benedict to people of Benin: Seek Jesus through Mary

The following comes from the CNA:

Pope Benedict XVI urged the people of Benin to seek Jesus Christ through the intercession and example of his mother Mary.

“She shows us, with simplicity and with a mother’s heart, the one Light and Truth: her Son, Jesus Christ who leads humanity to its full realization in the Father,” said the Pope in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mercy in Benin’s largest city of Cotonou Nov. 18.

“Let us not be afraid to invoke, with confidence, her who ceaselessly dispenses to her children abundant divine graces.”

The cathedral visit was the Pope’s first stop after touching down in Benin. After arriving at the packed church, he prayed at the tombs of two previous bishops of Cotonou—Archbishop Christoph Adimou and Archbishop Isidore de Sousa.

He described them both as “heroic workers in the vineyard of the Lord,” and gave particular mention to Archbishop de Souza’s “decisive role” in helping the country’s transition from communism to democracy in 1991.

The Pope explained that often in the “salvation history” of both individuals and nations, “divine mercy” consists “not only in the remission of our sins” but also “the fact that God, our Father, redirects us, sometimes not without pain, affliction or fear on our part, to the path of truth and light, for he does not wish us to be lost.”

The model of how to respond to “the mystery of divine love,” he said, was the Virgin Mary since “by her yes to the call of God, she contributed to the manifestation of divine love in the midst of humanity.”

Thus, “she is the Mother of Mercy by her participation in the mission of her Son: she has received the privilege of being our helper always and everywhere.”

“Under the shelter of her mercy, deadened hearts are healed, the snares of the devil are thwarted and enemies are reconciled,” he said, adding that “in Mary, we have not only a model of perfection, but also one who helps us to realize communion with God and with our brothers and sisters.”

As “Mother of Mercy,” she is “a sure guide to the disciples of her son who wish to be of service to justice, to reconciliation and to peace.” Christians should “not be afraid to invoke, with confidence, her who ceaselessly dispenses to her children abundant divine graces.”

The Pope concluded by asking God for the help of “Our Lady of Africa,” that she may “intercede for Africa before your divine Son, and obtain for all of humanity salvation and peace!”

He then imparted his apostolic blessing before leading the congregation in the singing of the Marian anthem, the Salve Regina.

Bridging the Great Divide: Musings of a Post-Liberal, Post-Conservative Evangelical Catholic

What Life Would Be Like by Big Daddy Weave

Saint of the day: Elizabeth of Hungary

The following comes from the New Advent site:

Also called St. Elizabeth of Thuringia, born in Hungary, probably at Pressburg, 1207; died at Marburg, Hesse, 17 November (not 19 November), 1231.

She was a daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary (1205-35) and his wife Gertrude, a member of the family of the Counts of Andechs-Meran; Elizabeth's brother succeeded his father on the throne of Hungary as Bela IV; the sister of her mother, Gertrude, was St. Hedwig, wife of Duke Heinrich I, the Bearded, of Silesia, while another saint, St. Elizabeth (Isabel) of Portugal (d. 1336), the wife of the tyrannical King Diniz of that country, was her great-niece.

In 1211 a formal embassy was sent by Landgrave Hermann I of Thuringia to Hungary to arrange, as was customary in that age, a marriage between his eldest son Hermann and Elizabeth, who was then four years old. This plan of a marriage was the result of political considerations and was intended to be the ratification of a great alliance which in the political schemes of the time it was sought to form against the German Emperor Otto IV, a member of the house of Guelph, who had quarrelled with the Church. Not long after this the little girl was taken to the Thuringian court to be brought up with her future husband and, in the course of time, to be betrothed to him.

The court of Thuringia was at this period famous for its magnificence. Its centre was the stately castle of the Wartburg, splendidly placed on a hill in the Thuringian Forest near Eisenach, where the Landgrave Hermann lived surrounded by poets and minnesingers, to whom he was a generous patron. Notwithstanding the turbulence and purely secular life of the court and the pomp of her surroundings, the little girl grew up a very religious child with an evident inclination to prayer and pious observances and small acts of self-mortification. These religious impulses were undoubtedly strengthened by the sorrowful experiences of her life.

In 1213 Elizabeth's mother, Gertrude, was murdered by Hungarian nobles, probably out of hatred of the Germans. On 31 December, 1216, the oldest son of the landgrave, Hermann, who Elizabeth was to marry, died; after this she was betrothed to Ludwig, the second son. It was probably in these years that Elizabeth had to suffer the hostility of the more frivolous members of the Thuringian court, to whom the contemplative and pious child was a constant rebuke. Ludwig, however, must have soon come to her protection against any ill-treatment. The legend that arose later is incorrect in making Elizabeth's mother-in-law, the Landgravine Sophia, a member of the reigning family of Bavaria, the leader of this court party. On the contrary, Sophia was a very religious and charitable woman and a kindly mother to the little Elizabeth.

For more on St. Elizabeth please click here.