Sunday, July 11, 2010
Reflection on the Precious Blood by Fr. Frederick Faber


July is designated especially as the Month of the Precious Blood of Jesus, a special time to honor the Blood of Jesus. Please see my post entitled Devotions to the Precious Blood of Jesus for more information.

The Precious Blood by Fr. Frederick Faber:

"The Precious Blood was assumed directly to our Blessed Lord's Divine Person from His Immaculate Mother...Mary's blood was the material out of which the Holy Ghost, the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity, the artificer of Sacred Humanity, fashioned the Blood of Jesus. Here we see how needful to the joy and gladness of our devotion is the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.  Who could bear to think that the matter of the Precious Blood had ever been itself corrupted with the taint of sin, that it had once been part of the devil's kingdom, that what was to supply the free price of our redemption was once enslaved to God's darkest, foulest enemy?  Is it not indeed an endless daily jubilee to us, that the church has laid upon us as an article of our faith that sweet truth which the instincts of our devotion had so long made a real part of our belief?

"Moreover, there is some portion of the Precious Blood which once was Mary's own blood, and which remains still in our Blessed Lord, incredibly exalted by its union with His Divine Person, yet still the same.  This portion of Himself, it is piously believed, has not been allowed to undergo the usual changes of human substance.  At this moment in heaven He retains something which once was His Mother's..."
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Friday, July 9, 2010
Institute of Christ the King 2010 Ordinations

Please visit the following link and use the navigation links at the top of the screen to see many beautiful images of the recent Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest Traditional Ordinations said by His Emminence Raymond Cardinal Burke.  Below are two examples of these beautiful images.  And, now is a fitting time to one again extol you to pray for vocations to the Church; especially, pray for holy and traditional vocations. 



http://www.icrsp.org/IMAGES-APOSTOLATS/IMAGES-2010/Gricigliano/Ordinations-2010/Sacerdoce/sacerdoce.htm
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Monday, July 5, 2010
2010 Econe Ordination Photos


Above, I share some of the images from the recent June 29, 2010, Priestly Ordination that took place in Econe, Switzerland for the Priestly Society of St. Pius X.  Nine new priests were ordained by His Excellency Bishop Tissier de Mallerais.  Visit the website of La Porte Latine for more photos.
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Tuesday, June 29, 2010
5th Anniversary of A Catholic Life

The month of June joyfully marks the 5th year anniversary of this blog.  Today I opened the archives in the sidebar of this blog and opened what was my very first post entitled First Post.  Since that time much has changed in my life and I realize that my life is ever changing.  On July 1, 2010, in just a few days, I buy a well-recognized Catholic company and intend to take it to another level of success.  I formed this blog on June 19, 2005, for the purposes of winning souls for our Lord Jesus Christ. And to this day - 5 years later - my purpose remains unchanged.

I have at this time resumed a project that I began last year; namely, to write a short pdf book on "How to Successfully Create a Catholic Blog."  Reflecting on my blog, I realize that it has in five years received over 1.2 million page views with approximately 700,000 unique visitors.  I wish to pass along the knowledge that I have gained to help the Catholic Blogosphere.

In the scope of this project, I realize that I would like to share testimonials with my readers about the effectiveness of blogging.  And, surely there is no better time to share such thoughts than now - my 5 year blog anniversary!  So, if I have - in any way - helped your spiritual life please do share your comments below.  They can be completely anonymous if you so choose.  I will be choosing some of these comments to include in my book as examples of the effectiveness of blogs in serving as a witness to Our Lord and the One True Church.
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Saturday, June 26, 2010
In Minneapolis-St. Paul This Summer

Throughout this summer I will be living and working in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.  Generally I work 6 AM - 2 PM Monday - Friday at a large national corporation as a financial data anaylst.  In the evenings and weekends I regularly meet with local business leaders and individuals.  During that time I operate a new media marketing/technology company that I have helped form and I also work for CatechismClass.com.

I would additionally like the opportunity to interview local individuals for A Catholic Life and/or be interviewed by interested individuals/organizations. If any other readers of my blog are also in the St. Paul-Minneapolis area this summer, please send me an email so that we can attempt to meet, preferably over lunch or dinner.
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Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Music-Based Evangelization Opportunities For Young, Catholic Musicians


Attention Homeschooling Parents and Students

Music-Based Evangelization Opportunities
For Young, Catholic Musicians

Proclaiming the faith through beautiful music


Do you like to sing or can you play an instrument well?


Do you enjoy sharing your Catholic faith with others?


Can you be a good role model for today’s young people?

As faithful Catholics, we are all called to take up the challenge of Pope John Paul II’s call for a “New Evangelization”. Saint Cecilia Classical Productions was founded in response to that call. We are a music-based, Catholic, evangelization apostolate whose principle focus is the advancement of the Culture of Life by the promotion of authentic Catholic family values to today’s young people. As an orthodox, lay organization, we profess complete fidelity to the Magisterium.

We are searching for traditional Catholic young women who wish to use their musical talents and knowledge of the faith to make a difference in the lives of young people. We are looking for young ladies with above average music ability in the areas of classical voice, string or wind instruments. While not a requirement, acting, music theater, choir or public speaking experience would be an additional plus. Some knowledge of Latin would also be helpful.

We are especially interested in individuals who were homeschooled or were raised in the Tridentine Mass tradition. High school seniors, college age women or recent graduates, especially those with degrees in music, are encouraged to apply. This is a great opportunity to learn more about one’s own faith, while evangelizing our young people, and bringing them the pro-life message. At the same time, you will also be working with other young Catholic musicians who share the same traditional values.

Saint Cecilia Classical Productions is a non-profit, 501 (c) (3) public charity. We were organized exclusively for religious, educational and charitable purposes.
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Saturday, June 12, 2010
March of Silveri

The blog The New Liturgical Movement had a truly inspiring piece on the March of Silveri.  This inspiring musical piece used to be played at the elevation in the old solemn Papal Mass.  I re-post from that blog these two videos.  The video illustrates at 2:55 the March of Silveri during the Mass of Coronation of John XXIII.  

The second video [now removed was] of the Evening Prayer Vigil held by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for the conclusion of the Year of the Priest.  You will notice at 63:15 that the March of Silveri can be heard on the arrival of the Blessed Sacrament to St. Peter's Square.  For me, it reminds me of the joy felt by the Israelites upon the return of the Ark of the Covenant to them.  This could very well be the first time in decades that the March of Silveri was played in the context of a Papal Liturgy.


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Monday, June 7, 2010
Traditional Confirmations by Bishop Salvatore Corileone

The blog Veritatem facientes in caritate has some pictures and a video taken from the Confirmation Ceremony and Pontifical Low Mass in the Traditional Latin Rite (Extraordinary Form) at St. Margaret Mary's Church on May 20, 2010. The Mass was said by His Excellency, Bishop Salvatore Cordileone (Diocese of Oakland, CA).  Visit the post for more photos.
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Bishop-Elect David O'Connell's Commencement Address - Inspirational

On 4 June 2010, the Holy Father appointed Fr. David M. O'Connell, president of the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., U.S.A., as coadjutor of Trenton (area 5,580, population 2,048,000, Catholics 822,000, priests 314, permanent deacons 320, religious 510), U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in Philadelphia, U.S.A. in 1955 and ordained a priest in 1982. [note: He will be consecrated in the Trenton Cathedral on 6 August at 2 pm.]

On 15 May, Fr./Bishop-elect O'Connell gave the Commencement Address at Catholic University (DC), which is quoted below.

Address by Very Rev. David M. O'Connell, C.M., president

I want to tell you a story about our 16th and, perhaps, greatest president, Abraham Lincoln. His biographers tell us that he was never baptized, never joined a church, and rarely mentioned Jesus. His widow, Mary Todd Lincoln, once remarked after his death, “He was a religious man always but he was not a technical Christian (Daniel Burke, “Lincoln’s Faith Still a Puzzle, Washington Post, Feb. 7, 2009, page B09).” He did go to church services on occasion, not too far from here at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. On one of those occasions, President Lincoln listened intently to the sermon of the pastor. After leaving the church, the president was asked by his Pinkerton secret-service guard, “What did you think of the sermon, Mr. President?” Lincoln paused and said with obvious hesitation, “It was … good.” The guard inquired, “You didn’t like it?” to which Abraham Lincoln responded, “He never asked us to do something great.”

Archbishop Wuerl, members of the Board of Trustees, my university colleagues, dear families and guests of the graduates, and, especially, members of this class of 2010:

Today you will graduate from The Catholic University of America, 1,400 undergraduates, graduates and doctoral students. Today, no doubt, you will reflect on your studies and research, your interactions with faculty, staff and peers, your life and time here at CUA over the past several years. Today you finish one chapter of your life only to commence another, with your bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in hand. As president and the leader of this university community, I want to ask you “to do something great.”

In his immortal Gettysburg Address — a speech for which he was roundly criticized during his lifetime — we hear, again from Abraham Lincoln, words that addressed a completely different situation than the one that brings us together here, but that have significance for us just the same. Lincoln said, “The world will little note nor long remember what we say here but it can never forget what they did here.” Those brave soldiers in blue and gray, drenched with the red of their blood, whose names have been all but forgotten, made the greatest sacrifice for a great cause they believed in. Their greatness came not from being remembered or from any speech given to honor them. No. Their greatness came, as it always does, from what they did because of who they were and what they made of themselves. Their greatness came, as it always does, not from doing what was easy, but, rather from doing something that required sacrifice. Their greatness came, as it always does, not only from what they had been given but, rather, from what they chose to give away. And so it was, and so it is and so it shall be with you.

Your diploma from The Catholic University of America represents years of effort on your part. As you examine that parchment in a few moments, as you read your name underneath CUA’s name and seal, I ask you to see on that page the sacrifices made on your behalf by your parents and those who love you most; the lessons taught by a dedicated faculty; the support and friendship of those who surround you now in long gowns and silly hats; and, finally, your own labors and life here. With all of that as background, see also in your diploma one more important thing: an invitation to do something great.

Shakespeare once wrote, “Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon us (Twelfth Night, II, v. 159).” Let’s face it: Most of us are not born great. Still fewer of us have greatness thrust upon us. It is for us, the vast majority, to achieve greatness by sacrifice: putting what we have and who we are at the service of others.

Architects and engineers; philosophers and theologians; nurses and social workers; musicians and actors; librarians and lawyers; teachers, politicians, psychologists, scientists, historians, journalists, linguists, accountants, economists, mathematicians --- these and many others are the disciplines represented here today for which The Catholic University of America will confer degrees that you will take with you. Do something great with what you have learned and experienced. Your efforts will mean precious little if you are content to graduate magna cum mediocrity, willing to ignore all the sacrifices that have brought you to this moment. Do not just “leave” the university today — live what the university has given you, live what your parents have given you, live what God has given you and give it away to a world, to a humanity that needs our unique brand of greatness, your unique brand of greatness, to make it a better place tomorrow than it is today. Make no mistake about it: this is no easy task. A diploma on a wall somewhere is no greater than the frame that holds it. Take the diploma to heart, take it in hand and add to all that diploma represents passion and enthusiasm and conscience and integrity and the desire to serve others. Blend that diploma with a life and profession lived well and you will make a difference, you will do something great. It will take time and effort and sacrifice, for sure. You probably will not become famous — most of us do not — but you will become known for whom and what you are among those to whom you matter most and who matter most to you. The young, naïve idealist may hope to see his or her name in lights one day. The mature, seasoned realist prefers to see light shine from within his or her mind and heart.

The 19th-century English novelist William Makepeace Thackeray said it well when he wrote: “To endure is greater than to dare; to tire out hostile fortune; to be daunted by no difficulty; to keep heart when all have lost it; to go through intrigue spotless; to forgo even ambition when the end is gained – who can say this is not greatness (The Virginians, 92)?”

The believer acknowledges that he or she is a child of God, created by God in his image and likeness. We acknowledge and profess that here at The Catholic University of America. That truth of faith plants the seed of greatness in our souls. How we nurture and water and grow that seed is up to us, my dear graduates; it is up to you.

Belief in yourself and God’s gifts to you. Gratitude for what you have been given. Courage in your convictions. Willingness to sacrifice for a greater, even inconvenient good. Confidence in the presence and love and grace of God. The wisdom to choose what is right and to stand by it when the prevailing culture says that’s not necessary or advantageous or comfortable or politically correct. “Great things are done when men and mountains meet” (William Blake). Your education here has been an early step. Do not let it be your only, your final step up the mountain. I cannot tell you where the path of life will lead you but as you make your way on life’s journey, set out to do something great. You will not travel alone for the great work to be done is God’s.

I began my remarks today quoting a truly great American president. As you leave The Catholic University of America, let me end by quoting another who spoke in this city almost fifty years ago. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy – the symbol of a new generation of Americans at the time – concluded his inaugural address with these memorable words:

"With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own."
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Sunday, June 6, 2010
Photo Submission: Corpus Christi

Readers of "A Catholic Life":

Today is the External Solemnity of Corpus Christi, and many processions will be taking place around the world today. A Catholic Life would like to honor as many of these processions as possible. So, please send me any photos from today's processions and I will be sure to honor the parish, diocese, location, etc at which it took place. So, if you have not had your procession yet, please bring a camera!

Emails should be sent to acatholiclife[at]gmail[dot]com.

Image Sources: REUTERS/Giampiero Sposito
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