Prayer request for Father Vittorio Mazzucchelli

I was asked by a reader of my blog to ask for prayers for Father Vittorio Mazzucchelli from the Institute of Christ the King. He suffered a tragic car accident on January 16th, 2006, and he despertately needs our prayers.

His story is recorded on the website of the Institute of Christ the King.

Please pray for this priest! We need our priests.

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Requesting Apologetists to Help

I was just visiting Salt of the Earth, a blog by Adam, and I read this:

"I'm not going to go into why the pope is the Antichrist right now"

How horrible! Our Holy Father is not the Antichrist! The pope is the successor of St. Peter, who was the first pope founded on the Catholic Church in Matthew 16:18. Please go over there and present the truth of the Catholic faith and counter this saddening lie.

Other Related Posts:

• Main Post on Apologetics
  

Image Source: Image believed to be in the Public Domain, Image of Pope Pius XII

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Mark your calendars for Sunday!

This Sunday is another episode of "Sunday Night Live" with Fr. Benedict Groeschel, one of my favorite TV programs. And this week at 7 PM EST, Fr. Benedict's Program is entitled "How the Church Leads us to God".

If you have ever asked yourself that question see his program; I have a feeling it will be an excellent program.

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The Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Mary

"Mary lived in the divine Eucharist, the center of her love. All her thoughts, words and actions sprang from It like the rays from the sun."
(St. Peter Julian Eymard)

Today - February 17 - we remember the Seven Founders of the Order of Servites, who had an intense devotion to Mary as Our Lady of Sorrows. Please pray the Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Mary today.

The Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Mary:

"This devotion was originated in the thirteenth century It recalls the Sorrows the Virgin Mother of God endured in compassion for the suffering and death of her Divine Son. The Seven Sorrows rosary consists of seven Hail Marys For each of the seven Sorrows. One Our Father is said before each group of seven Hail Marys: which ore separated by a medal. On the three beads of the rosary at the end three Hail Marys are said in honor of the Tears of Our Sorrowful Mother. While reciting the prayers meditate upon.

1. Prophecy of Simeon - reflect on and sympathize in the sorrow of our Blessed Lady, when she presented her Divine Child in the Temple, and heard from the aged Simeon that a sword of grief should pierce her soul on His account.
Our Father, Seven Hail Mary's

2. Flight into Egypt - reflect on her sorrow when, to escape the cruelty of King Herod, she was forced to fly into Egypt with St. Joseph and her beloved Child.
Our Father, Seven Hail Mary's

3. Three-day Separation from Jesus in Jerusalem - reflect on her grief, when, in returning from Jerusalem she perceived that she had lost her dear Jesus, whom she sought sorrowing during three days.
Our Father, Seven Hail Mary's

4. Meeting Christ on the Road to Calvary - reflect on her meeting her Divine Son, all bruised and mangled, carrying His cross to Calvary, and seeing Him fall under His heavy weight.
Our Father, Seven Hail Mary's

5. Crucifixion and Death of Jesus Christ - reflect on her standing by when her Divine Son was lifted up on the cross, and the blood flowed in streams from His sacred wounds.
Our Father, Seven Hail Mary's

6. Our Lord is Taken Down from the Cross (Pieta) - reflect on her sorrow, when her Divine Son was taken down from the cross, and she received Him into her arms.
Our Father, Seven Hail Mary's

7. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is Buried in the Tomb - contemplate her following His sacred body, as it was borne by Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus, to the sepulcher, enclosed there, and hidden from her sight.
Our Father, Seven Hail Mary's

3 Hail Mary's in honor of the Sorrowful tears of Our Lady

V. Pray for us, O most Sorrowful Virgin
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ

Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, we now implore, both for the present and for the hour of our death, the intercession of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Thy Mother, whose holy soul was pierced at the time of Thy Passion by a sword of grief. Grant us this favor, O Savior of the world, Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost for ever and ever. Amen."

(Source: Catholic Culture)

Image Source: Image believed to be in the Public Domain

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Seven First Fathers of the Order of Servites

Greater Double (1954 Calendar): February 12
Optional Memorial (1969 Calendar): February 17

Today the Church remembers the Seven First Fathers of the Order of Servites from the 13th Century. As Dom Gueranger relates, "February 11, the day first chosen as their common feast, is not the anniversary of the death of any one of them, but the day on which, in the year 1304, after passing through many vicissitudes, their Order obtained the definitive approbation of the Church."

In the mid-13th Century, morals were low and religion seemed nearly meaningless in the political city of Florence. In 1233, seven men from that city decided to form into a small group and go off to a silent place to serve God direct. The Order was founded that day on the Feast of the Assumption as Mary appeared to the seven men. As such, the Blessed Virgin Mary has always been held as the founder of the Order, which was established with these seven first members.  Two of them were widowers and two were still married and brought their families to live together in faith.

They meant to live in solitude, but the group was continually disturbed by visitors. They all left Florence and went to Monte Senario. In 1244, under the direction of St. Peter of Verona, O.P., this group adopted a religious habit similar to the Dominicans and chose to live in accord with the Rule of St. Augustine. They adopted the name of the Servants of Mary.

The men were beatified on December 1, 1717, and canonized in 1887. The original founders were the following:

1. Saint Alexis Falconieri
2. Saint Bartholomew degli Amidei
3. Saint Benedict dell'Antella
4. Saint Buonfiglio Monaldi
5. Saint Gherardino Sostegni
6. Saint Hugh dei Lippi-Uguccioni
7. Saint John Buonagiunta Monetti

Learn how to pray the special Servite Rosary today.

The Traditional Divine Office lessons at Matins for this day recount their lives:

When in the thirteenth century the most cultured peoples of Italy were divided by factions, and the schism fostered by Frederic 11, the merciful providence of God raised up many persons remarkable for their holiness, among whom were seven noble Florentines whose union of spirit gave to the world a striking example of fraternal love. They were Bonfilius Monaldi, Bonagiunta Manetti, Manettus dell' Antella, Amadeus de Amadei, Hugo Lippi, Gerard Sostegni, and Alexis Falconieri. The Mother of God appeared to each of them on the feast of her Assumption, 1233, when they were praying fervently in the Chapel of the pious Confraternity of the Laudesi, and exhorted them to embrace a more perfect life. They took counsel with the Bishop of Florence, and at once bade farewell to their wealth and rank, clothing themselves in hair cloth and old and ragged garments. On September 8 they established themselves in a humble retreat outside the city, desiring to begin their new life on the day when the Mother of God began her own most holy life upon earth. 

God showed by a miracle that their resolution was pleasing to him. One day shortly afterwards, when all seven were begging from door to door in Florence, they were hailed by the voices of children, among whom was St. Philip Benizi, then only five months old, as the “Servants of Mary,” which was for the future to be their title. This prodigy and their love of solitude led them to choose Monte Senario as a place of retreat, that thus they might avoid great concourse of people. Their life was truly heavenly. They lived in caves, took no food but herbs and water, and subdued their bodies by vigils and penances. The Passion of Christ and the Dolours of his afflicted Mother were the subject of their continual meditations. One Good Friday, when they were absorbed in fervent prayer, the blessed Virgin appeared to them all in person a second time, showed them the sombre habit they were to adopt, and told them that she wished them to found a new Order of Religious, whose mission was to cultivate and spread devotion to the sorrows which she endured at the foot of the Cross. They were aided in this work by Peter, an illustrious Friar Preacher, who died the death of a martyr. He was their intimate friend, and had been instructed about the new Order in a vision by the blessed Virgin herself. The Order received the name of Servites, or Servants of the blessed Virgin Mary, and was approved by Innocent IV. 

The holy Founders were soon joined by many disciples, and began to preach Christ Crucified in the towns and cities of Italy, especially in Tuscany. They brought civil feuds to an end, and recalled numbers of sinners to the paths of virtue. Not only Italy, but France, Germany, and Poland benefited by their apostolic labours, and their miracles made them famous. Finally, after having carried the good odour of Christ into distant lands, they went to God. In life they were one in their love of religion and of the brotherhood, in death they wore united in one tomb and in the veneration of the people. Popes Clement XI. and Benedict XIII. confirmed the cultus which had been paid to them unitedly for many centuries. Leo XIII., having approved this devotion, and recognized the miracles wrought by God in answer to this collective invocation, proceeded to their formal canonization in the fiftieth year of his priesthood, and ordered that their Office and Mass should be said every year throughout the Church.

Prayer:

O Lord Jesus Christ, Who, to honor the memory of the sorrows of Thy most holy Mother, didst through seven blessed Fathers enrich Thy Church with a new family of her Servants: mercifully grant that we may be so linked in fellowship to them in their sorrows, as to share also in their joys: Who livest and reignest.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

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Special Rosary Novena

"This comes a little late but you can still begin a nine-day Rosary novena for the intentions of the Holy Father. The novena ends on the feast of the Chair of Peter, next Tuesday, February 22."

Thanks to St. Peter's Helper for this.

Image Source: Pope Paul III

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Pro-life Story on The Inspired Traditionalist

Ginny at the Inspired Traditionalist has posted a truly moving story of how ordinary people fighting against abortion can save lives.

It's worth you time. Please read it.

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Please pray for my father

I posted last week that my father was admitted to the hospital. Well, he's home now, but he is still not feeling well. Doctors found out that one of his veins in his head is rather narrow, so he can easily get a blood clot. Plus, he's been feeling dizzy and sick with headaches this past week.

Please pray for his recovery.

Thank you

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The Cost of Abortion

The South Dakota House just approved a bill February 14, 2006, that would outlaw abortions in the state. The Governor is expected to sign the bill into law, though it will certainly be fought in court. With changes in the makeup of the Supreme Court, we can only pray that the court upholds this and overturns Roe v. Wade.

In light of this, we must discuss the cost of abortion since it's legilization on Jan. 23, 1973:

1. Over 46 million surgical abortion have been performed. An entire generation has been murdered and the government allows this. 46 million human lives were murdered! This is more than the casualties of the Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and Iraq War combined. Abortion is the greatest holocaust in our history.
2. Abortion is the leading cause of death for African Americans. 13 million black lives in the last 30 year years has been murdered. 33% of all abortions are performed on African Americans.
3. 24% of pregnancies end in abortions. 1 in 4 of us human beings are murdered by abortion
4. So how many abortions are because of rape...1%! Incent...0.5%! Don't let the lies of the world confuse you. Abortion on demand accounts for nearly 98% of all abortions. These children were murdered because they were unwanted. That could have been any of us.
5. 80% of unborn diagnosed with Down Syndrome are aborted. But, I'm sure you realize how wrong doctors are on these diagnosis half of the time. People are being murdered so that their families won't be burdened by a less than "ideal" person.

(All stats are from the Human Life Alliance)

Abortion should be illegal! I'll say it until it's illegal. It's 21 days after conception that a baby's heart begins to beat. An unborn child is one of us - a creation of God simply in another part of development. An adult is no more human than a 7 yr old even though the child is not completely developed. The same things applies to an unborn child - just because it can't function outside of the womb doesn't mean it's not a live human being.

Prayer to End Abortion
Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life, And for the lives of all my brothers and sisters.
I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion, Yet I rejoice that you have conquered death by the Resurrection of Your Son.
I am ready to do my part in ending abortion. Today I commit myself Never to be silent, Never to be passive, Never to be forgetful of the unborn.
I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement, And never to stop defending life Until all my brothers and sisters are protected, And our nation once again becomes A nation with liberty and justice Not just for some, but for all.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen!

(Source: Priests for Life)

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Family Planning Funds Slashed

Some good news with the Federal Budget...

President Bush's has severely slashed funding for family planning (contraceptives). In 2001 President Bush initiated the Mexico City Policy to stop taxpaying funds from being used to perform or support abortions in other countries. At that time, President Bush froze family planning at $425 million each year. This year, the budget calls for $357 million, a 18% slash in funds.

Let us pray for an end to the use of contraceptives. Since the earliest days of the Catholic Church, our fathers have condemned artificial contraception as an offense against God and the natural law. This was the case with all Christians until the early 1900s when other denominations began to allow them. Thank be to God for guiding the Church and keeping it in the Truth, a promise recorded in scripture (Matthew 16:18).

For more information on why contraception is sinful, see "Weekly Discussion Topic One."

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A Prayer Request for a Departed Seminarian

Here is a prayer request sent to me today:

My cousin who was missing for 3 days was found dead early this morning of foul play. He was a seminarian for a long time but was not ordained. Please pray for his eternal repose. The whole family is in shock by this news of his unpleasant death. His name is Jojo. Thank you so much. Suzette

What he truly needs are Masses said in his name. Please, if you can, have a Mass said for him. The value of a Mass is nearly of infinite value. For, at the Mass, the Sacrifice of Calvary is recalled. For the Eucharist is Jesus Christ; He is truly present at each Mass.

Q: When a Mass is said for the soul of a deceased loved one, does this help lessen the soul's time in purgatory?

A: Just as we pray for others here on earth, we are encouraged by the Church to pray for souls who may be in purgatory. Why? We are all in need of grace to come into the perfection of charity. We cannot enter heaven if we have not been completely cleansed of sin and all punishment due to sin. See Catechism of the Catholic Church #1031 and 1472

Since the Mass is the "source and summit" of the Christian Life, we naturally look to that Holy Sacrifice of Christ, containing the perfect prayer, to offer for our deceased relatives and friends who may still need the help of our prayers. Priests are under a strict obligation to remember in a special way the person for whom the Mass is being offered. Often you wil hear the priests say the name of the person in the part of the Mass which specifically remembers those who have gone before us. Sometimes the intention for the Mass is listed in the bulletin or announced before the Mass.

We can't really speak of "time" since the deceased person has entered eternity, but we can speak in terms of "final purification" before entrance into heaven. We believe that a Mass offered for a departed relative or friend may help hasten that final purification which he/she may still be undergoing in purgatory.

For more information on the Mass, see "The Holy Mass."

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Write to St. Padre Pio

St. Padre Pio - "I will never tire of praying to Jesus. It is true that my prayers deserve punishment rather than reward, for I have offended Jesus only too often by my innumerable sins; but in the end, He will be moved to pity."

Would you like to have your prayers requests remembered by the friars, who pray next to his tomb?

You can email your requests for the friars to bring next to his tomb in prayer, or you can mail them. I received this information in my comment box by Mare54n:

"Every evening, at 8:30 pm, the Frati Cappuccini will be gathered to the grave of the blessed Padre Pio to recite the S. Rosario according to the intentions of all those people that ask to be remembered in the prayer. To that time, your prayers and intentions will be deposed on the grave. If you find it possible, anywhere you find yourself, spiritually unite to us with the recitation of the S. Rosario."

Contact Information

Letters can be sent here:

Convento Frati Minori Cappuccini
"Santa Maria Dell Grazie"
71013 S. Giovanni Rotondo (FG)Italy
c/c postale n 189712

Telephone 0882.4171
Fax 0882.417252

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain

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Reversal Decision on Illinois Advertisements

Many blogs have reported that a northern IL newspaper (The Herald News) had refused to publish ultrasound pictures calling them "too graphic". One of them is posted to the left.

I'm pleased to announce the paper has reversed its decision and the paper will allow the ads run. I have even read some of those papers before since I'm from Illinois. I'm glad this paper has reversed its decision though.

For more information and how to write to the paper in order to thank them, please see this link.

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Let God's Light Shine Forth

Tonight I spent time reading "The Spiritual Vision of Pope Benedict XVI: Let God's Light Shine Forth" by Robert Moynihan. The book included many statements and works by Our Holy Father. I wanted to share some segments of the book that I've read so far that I have found intriguing.

"His recollection of his childhood Easters reveal the extent to which Benedict's faith sprang out of a rich fabric of Christian symbolism, still almost 'baroque' in comparison with post-Vatican II liturgy introduced in the 1960s: 'For all of Holy Week, the windows of the church were covered by black coverings. Even in daytime, the church was shrouded in a darkness dense with mystery. But the instant the parish priest sang out the verse that announced "He is Risen!" the coverings were suddenly pulled back from the windows and a radiant light flooded the entire church: it was the most impressive representation of the resurrection of Christ I can imagine" (9).

"Benedict has long argued that the 'absence of God' in the modern world, the 'secularization' of the modern 'globalized' society, has created a society in which the human person no longer has a sure protection against the depredations of power or, more importantly, any clear understanding of the meaning and ultimate destination of his life" (4).

Benedict's words: "I would say the word 'conversion' is the key word, one of the key words, of St. Augustine, and our culture also has a need for conversion. Without conversion one does not arrive at the Lord. This is true of the individual and this is true of the culture as well..." (36).

(Moynihan, Robert, ed. "The Spiritual Vision of Pope Benedict XVI: Let God's Light Shine Forth". New York: DoubleDay, 2005.)

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An Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart

What is Consecration to the Sacred Heart? Fr. Peter Scott explains:

Consecration to the Sacred Heart is consequently an act of individuals, of families, of parishes, of nations, and will bring all the more graces as it is clearly understood as an act of re- turning love for love, and is accom- plished fervently by an entire com- munity. What, then, is consecra- tion? It is much more than a formu- la, a passing pious act to be repeated from time to time. It is a complete gift of oneself, in this case to divine love. It is an interior belonging to Christ, that might be accomplished the words of the Apostle: “it is no longer I that live, but Christ lives within me” (Gal 2:20). It is a dona- tion of our whole being and life, as of a victim, to be immolated to di- vine love. It is the living of our bap- tismal vows, by which we re- nounced entirely Satan and his al- lurements to serve Christ our King and Him alone. 

There is no one act of consecration to the Sacred Heart. St. Margaret Mary in fact requested that her novices write their own, as she herself did. How- ever, in a letter of 1684 to one of her superiors, she describes what it must contain: “If you desire to live for Him alone and to attain to the perfection that He desires from you, you must offer to his Sacred Heart the entire sac- rifice of yourself and all that belongs to you, without any reserve, so that you may no longer like anything but what he likes; may act only according to his inspirations, undertaking nothing without first asking his counsel and his aid, giving unto him the glory of all-glorifying Him for every- thing...” (Cf J.B. Bainvel SJ).

Reparation to the Sacred Heart (Miserentissimus Redemptor) by Pope Pius XI in 1928:

“But assuredly among those things which properly pertain to the worship of the Most Sacred Heart, a special place must be given to that Consecration, whereby we devote ourselves and all things that are ours to the Divine Heart of Jesus, acknowledging that we have received all things from the everlasting love of God. When Our Saviour had taught Margaret Mary, the most innocent disciple of His Heart, how much He desired that this duty of devotion should be rendered to him by men, moved in this not so much by His own right as by His immense charity for us; she herself, with her spiritual father, Claude de la Colombiere, rendered it the first of all. Thereafter followed, in the course of time, individual men, then private families and associations, and lastly civil magistrates, cities and kingdoms. But since in the last century, and in this present century, things have come to such a pass, that by the machinations of wicked men the sovereignty of Christ Our Lord has been denied and war is publicly waged against the Church, by passing laws and promoting plebiscites repugnant to Divine and natural law, nay more by holding assemblies of them that cry out, "We will not have this man to reign over us" (Luke xix, 14): from the aforesaid Consecration there burst forth over against them in keenest opposition the voice of all the clients of the Most Sacred Heart, as it were one voice, to vindicate His glory and to assert His rights: "Christ must reign" (1 Corinthians xv, 25); "Thy kingdom come" (Matt. vi, 10). From this at length it happily came to pass that at the beginning of this century the whole human race which Christ, in whom all things are re-established (Ephes. i, 10), possesses by native right as His own, was dedicated to the same Most Sacred Heart, with the applause of the whole Christian world, by Our Predecessor of happy memory, Leo XIII.”

An Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart from the Raccolta:

I, ______________, give myself and consecrate to the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ, my person and my life, my actions, pains and sufferings, so that I may be unwilling to make use of any part of my being, save to honor, love and glorify the Sacred Heart. This is my unchanging purpose, namely, to be all His, and to do all things for the love of Him, at the same time renouncing with all my heart whatever is displeasing to Him. I therefore take Thee, O Sacred Heart, to be the only object of my love, the guardian of my life, my assurance of salvation, the remedy of my weakness and inconstancy, the atonement for all the faults of my life and my sure refuge at the hour of death. 

Be then, O Heart of goodness, my justification before God Thy Father, and turn away from me the strokes of His righteous anger. O Heart of love, I put all my confidence in Thee, for I fear everything from my own wickedness and frailty, but I hope for all things from Thy goodness and bounty. Do Thou consume in me all that can displease Thee or resist Thy holy will; let Thy pure love imprint Thee so deeply upon my heart, that I shall nevermore be able to forget Thee or to be separated from Thee; may I obtain from all Thy loving kindness the grace of having my name written in Thee, for in Thee I desire to place all my happiness and all my glory, living and dying in very bondage to Thee.

Written by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

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St. Valentine's Day

Simple (1954 Calendar): February 14

Happy St. Valentines Day to all!

On the Traditional Catholic Calendars, today is a day to remember St. Valentine, priest and martyr.

February 14th, St. Valentine's Day, is based on the life of St. Valentine, a Roman martyr who was beheaded in c. 269-273 AD. Emperor Claudius II declared that unmarried men were potential soldiers, so he outlawed marriage. However, St. Valentine refused to accept this pernicious error, and the saintly priest continued to marry young couples.

Claudius attempted to convert St. Valentine to paganism, but St. Valentine resisted and attempted to bring Claudius to the Church and Jesus Christ. For this, the Emperor had St. Valentine beheaded.

In prison, he helped imprisoned, soon-to-be martyrs. The jailer saw that Valentine was a man of learning, so he brought his daughter, Julia, to Valentine for lessons. Julia was a young girl, who had been blind since her birth. During the lessons, St. Valentine would read to her about the history of Rome. And he taught her about God. The following is an account of St. Valentine:

"Valentinus, does God really hear our prayers?" Julia asked one day.
"Yes, my child, He hears each one." 

"Do you know what I pray for every morning and every night? I pray that I might see. I want so much to see everything you've told me about!"

"God does what is best for us if we will only believe in Him," Valentinus said.
"Oh, Valentinus, I do believe! I do!" She knelt and grasped his hand. 

They sat quietly together, each praying. Suddenly there was a brilliant light in the prison cell. Radiant, Julia screamed, "Valentinus, I can see! I can see!" 

"Praise be to God!" Valentinus exclaimed, and he knelt in prayer. 

On the eve of his death Valentinus wrote a last note to Julia, urging her to stay close to God. He signed it, "From your Valentine." His sentence was carried out the next day, February 14, 270 A.D., near a gate that was later named Porta Valentini in his memory. 

He was buried at what is now the Church of Praxedes in Rome. It is said that Julia planted a pink-blossomed almond tree near his grave. Today, the almond tree remains a symbol of abiding love and friendship. On each February 14, Saint Valentine's Day, messages of affection, love, and devotion are exchanged around the world."

After her healing, the jailer, too, was converted to the Catholic Faith.

As part of today’s feast day of St. Valentine, consider ordering a copy of "Marriage in the Heart and Mind of the Church" to further your knowledge of the Sacrament of Marriage or consider it as a gift to those you know who are about to receive Holy Matrimony this upcoming year. It is a must-read for all couples and a great resource for parishes to use with couples!

Prayer:

Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God: that we, who celebrate the heavenly birthday of blessed Valentine, Thy Martyr, may, through his intercession, be strengthened in the love of Thy name. Through our Lord.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

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The Eucharist and the Priesthood

I wanted to pass along some articles that are worthily from the Real Presence Association. These are articles on the priesthood by Fr. John A. Hardon. My favorite is "The Eucharist and the Priesthood."

Part of that article:

"A priest makes the Real Presence possible and no one, no king, no genius, not even the will of a thousand people, or the combined efforts of a whole nation, can substitute for the power of a priest’s consecrated words: “This is My Body...This is the chalice of My Blood.”"

An ordained priest, bishop, cardinal, or Pope are the only people that can perform such a miraculously act. Consequently the Eucharist of other Christian denominations is not the Body and Blood of Christ as is the case in the Catholic Church.

More: "No less than the Real Presence, so the Mass is impossible without the priest. In fact, it is only at the Mass that the Consecration takes place, changing bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. Yet, we know that the Mass is not merely the Eucharistic Consecration. The Mass is not only a means to give us Christ's Presence, it is also Christ's Sacrifice."

This divine power comes only from Christ. He gave his disciples this power: "Do this in remembrance of Me," which has passed from them (the first bishops) to our priests today throuhg apostolic succession. This is truly miraculous. Christ is there at every Mass. He is there as truly present as He was in Jerusalem on the Cross or in Bethlehem in the manger. Yet, how sad that still so many don't understand and know him. The pharisses are not gone; today they are none other than false teachers claiming to know Christ. But if one does not know Christ in the Eucharist, he does not know Christ at all.

Pray for our priests!

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Florida pro-life law upheld

More good news in our crusade for the diginity and recognition of all human life -

A federal judge has turned Planned Parenthood's request to stop enforcing a parental notification law down. The law was declared constitutional and was previously by Florida votes in a 65% appove to 35% oppose ratio.

It remains unclear whether the decision will be appealed, but luckily this law has already taken effect June 30, 2005. These parential notification/consent laws save lives.

(Read more on this story)

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The Miracles of St. Padre Pio

A reader of my blog asked me to make post on this, and I was more than happy to do so.

St. Padre Pio (1887 - 1968) lived in our modern world but was everything other than ordinary. On September 20, 1918, St. Padre Pio received the stigmata, the five wounds of Christ. He is the only priest in history to receive the Stigmata. Roughly 300 others in Church history have also received it including St. Francis of Assisi, St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Frances of Rome, and others. While the Church has yet to issue an official statement on this phenomenon, it is surely an act in accordance with the Divine Will.

Doctors examined St. Padre Pio and could find no natural cause of the wounds. These wounds remained his entire life until his death when, as he predicted, they were healed. However, there was no scarring of the flesh. The blood that flowed from the stigmata was reported by others to have a smell of roses and flowers. St. Padre Pio was a living example of how holy an individual can become by faith.

He had the Gift of Bilocation:

"Among the most remarkable of the documented cases of bilocation was the Padre's appearance in the air over San Giovanni Rotondo during World War II. While southern Italy remained in Nazi hands American bombers were given the job of attacking the city of San Giovanni Rotondo. However, when they appeared over the city and prepared to unload their munitions a brown-robed friar appeared before their aircraft. All attempts to release the bombs failed. In this way Padre Pio kept his promise to the citizens that their town would be spared. Later on, when an American airbase was established at Foggia a few miles away, one of the pilots of this incident visited the friary and found to his surprise the little friar he had seen in the air that day over San Giovanni." (Source: EWTN)

There are numerous other bilocation miracles that have been confirmed by numerous eyewitnesses. Read about them here.

"In order to attract us, the Lord grants us many graces that we believe can easily obtain Heaven for us. We do not know, however, that in order to grow, we need hard bread: the cross, humiliation, trials and denials" (Padre Pio)

He had the Gift of Levitation:

In his life, St. Padre Pio was a miracle worker. He also could levitate. On one occasion, St. Padre Pio levitated through the air in order to reach the Confessional without being seen and stopped. He immediately began to receive penitents. A man in the church was amazed how the priest had gotten to the confessional because so many people were outside of his door waiting to talk with him. St. Padre Pio said to him that God made him invisible and he walked on their heads to the confessional.

He healed others:

In 1919, St. Padre Pio received a penitent using two canes. The doctors could not help the 62-year-old man, but after Confession St. Padre Pio said, "Stand up and go away! You have to throw away these canes." The man could walk perfectly again. There have been numerous other healings too.

He had the Gift of Perfume:

Sometimes God allows saints to emit a beautiful perfume in order to draw more people to Himself and holiness. This perfume is smelt only by a privileged few, not all. St. Padre Pio had this gift and the smell of roses, incense, ammonia, and others was emitted from him. He said to some inquiring about them: "They are only a sign of my presence."

Father Agostino of San Marco in Lamis had a malfunctioned olfactory gland and could only smell strong odors. He said, "I smelt a number of times the perfume that many people smell. Even when I was distant from San Giovanni Rotondo I smelt it." The Gift of Perfume continued after St. Padre Pio's death. Not just places connected with him but also places in American and distant places of the world smelt the distinct perfume.

The Gift of Light:

On October 5, 1925, Dr. Giorgio Festa operated on St. Padre Pio for a hernia. Before he had to stitch the wound, the doctor noticed St. Pio had lost consciousness. He took advantage of this and look at his left side - the place of Jesus' wound from his stigmata. And, he saw the wound was "fresh and of a vermilion red and in the shape of a cross...From the edges of the wound emitted small but unmistakable rays of light." Dr. Giorgio put on the bandage and St. Padre Pio regained his senses.

He also had the Gift of Visions, the spirit of Prophesy, Clairvoyance, the power to read hearts in Confession, and Xenoglossy (i.e. the ability to write, speak, or understand an unknown language).

To assist your spiritual life, pick up a copy of "Padre Pio's Spiritual Direction for Every Day."

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Jesus on trial?

A few weeks ago I posted about a horrible court case in Italy, where a man is suing a priest, Enrico Righi (76), for teaching about Jesus. The plantiff Luigi Cascioli (72) claims Jesus is not real and it is deceitful for the Church to teach otherwise.

I was glad to read today that the case is over - the case was dismissed by the judge.

However, Cascioli, the atheist suing, plans to appeal to Italy’s highest court, and then he plans to go to The Hague.

Keep praying and for more information see Jesus Blog

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