Crossing: Book Review

Here is my review of Crossing: Reclaiming the Landscape of Our Lives by Mark Barrett, OSB. I originally chose this book because it was supposed to deal with the Liturgy of the Hours, the Church's specific prayers of the day, and I wanted to learn more on the Liturgy. This book, though, took the general look at the Liturgy. I was looking for more of the common prayers and advice on praying the Liturgy of the Hours.

In the book the author describes our days as full of crossroads through a garden (the garden being a metaphor of our life), and only if we rely on God and think clearly about how to improve our lives through prayer can we hope to travel through life without going in circles. Make sure you see prayer as a personal dialogue with God and an opportunity to reflect on our day so far. If you, however, do not rely on God then we are nothing and surely can not find our way through a garden because it would undoubtedly seem a wilderness.

My review: It was full of references to works that I have never heard of, and it digressed a little too much at times. 4.0/10

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Book Review: Novena

I just checked out a fabulous book called "Novena: The Power of Prayer" by Barbara Clamari and Sandra DiPasqua. It is composed of prayers in three sections: the saints, Marian novenas, and Novenas to God. Each section briefly describes the devotion/person and then lists the novena. It's a great necessity for any devout Catholic, and I would really like to buy one of these books soon.

Rating 10/10

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Conditions on Receiving the Eucharist

As we profess, the Eucharist is the Real presence of Jesus Christ: Body, Blood, soul, and divinity. Think about the wonder and joy in receiving the Word made flesh, the Light of the world.

November 14, 1996, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops approved the following guidelines on the reception of communion. These guidelines replace the guidelines approved by the Administrative Committee of the NCCB in November 1986:

For Catholics

As Catholics, we fully participate in the celebration of the Eucharist when we receive Holy Communion. We are encouraged to receive Communion devoutly and frequently. In order to be properly disposed to receive Communion, participants should not be conscious of grave sin and normally should have fasted for one hour. A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord without prior sacramental confession except for a grave reason where there is no opportunity for confession. In this case, the person is to be mindful of the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, including the intention of confessing as soon as possible (canon 916). A frequent reception of the Sacrament of Penance is encouraged for all.

For our fellow Christians

We welcome our fellow Christians to this celebration of the Eucharist as our brothers and sisters. We pray that our common baptism and the action of the Holy Spirit in this Eucharist will draw us closer to one another and begin to dispel the sad divisions which separate us. We pray that these will lessen and finally disappear, in keeping with Christ’s prayer for us “that they may all be one” (Jn 17:21).

Because Catholics believe that the celebration of the Eucharist is a sign of the reality of the oneness of faith, life, and worship, members of those churches with whom we are not yet fully united are ordinarily not admitted to Holy Communion. Eucharistic sharing in exceptional circumstances by other Christians requires permission according to the directives of the diocesan bishop and the provisions of canon law (canon 844 § 4). Members of the Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Polish National Catholic Church are urged to respect the discipline of their own Churches. According to Roman Catholic discipline, the Code of Canon Law does not object to the reception of communion by Christians of these Churches (canon 844 § 3).

For those not receiving Holy Communion

All who are not receiving Holy Communion are encouraged to express in their hearts a prayerful desire for unity with the Lord Jesus and with one another.

For non-Christians

We also welcome to this celebration those who do not share our faith in Jesus Christ. While we cannot admit them to Holy Communion, we ask them to offer their prayers for the peace and the unity of the human family.

For this reason, we must ensure that we are free from mortal sin when we receive:

"Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice. " (1 Cor. 11:27–28).

Let us show the Lord our love and seek Him out in the Holy Eucharist in adoration and praise; let us receive Him with a forgiven heart full of love for the Light of the World. "Whoever comes to me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life." And, then let us go forth as tabernacles of the Highest and love all others.

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St. Rose of Lima

Optional Memorial (1969 Calendar): August 23
Double (1955 Calendar): August 30

St. Rose of Lima (1586 - 1617), a virgin, lived for Jesus Christ. She became the first canonized saint of the Western Hemisphere and was a Dominican lay tertiary who worked to evangelize the Indians. Her parents wanted her to marry, but she wanted to remain single and dedicate her life to Christ. St. Rose not only prayed for hours each day but also took care of orphans and the elderly who needed help. She lived each day for Jesus Christ and her friends, including St. Martin de Porres and St. John Masias.

In her life of penance, many people viewed her highly, and she was even a member of the Third Order of St. Dominic. At age five, St. Rose devoted her life to God and served Him through all of her trials. St. Rose was born to Spanish immigrants and was a beautiful girl. At a young age, she used pepper and lye to ruin her complexion so she would not be viewed as attractive to help her vow of chastity. She had a great devotion to St. Catherine of Siena. St. Rose wore roses around her head, but underneath them was a crown of thorns - it was her penance.

She was tortured physically by the devil and scolded by her family, but she thought of them as treating her better than she deserved. For fifteen years, she suffered spiritual abandonment until her death when she received the companionship of Mary and her guardian angel. St. Rose of Lima even had the invisible stigmata.

Prayer:

O Almighty God, the Giver of all good gifts, Who didst will that blessed Rose, bedewed with Thy heavenly graces, should blossom forth in the Indies as a lovely flower of virginity and patience: grant to us Thy servants so to run in the odor of her sweetness, that we may be found worthy to become a sweet savor of Christ: Who with Thee liveth and reigneth.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

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Thoughts on God

Today was my first day back to a busy schedule of work and it may be very difficult to see God through everyday life. But He is there. He's in the small joys we see, the pleasant conversations, the joy of getting something done right. God isn't just that sensation but Our Lord and God, who watches out for us and loves us with an infinite love.

He died for you, for me, for your neighbor and everyone else. Even when life gets down, always look up and know that God is there. He is always with us through the trials and joys, and we will all ultimately arrive at the gates of the small eternal city. And what will we say: I forgot to pray; I didn't know how. Just say, "Lord I love you. Have mercy on me. Look at what I have done and look at what I have failed at but know I love you."

Trust in God must be a key factor in all of our lives. I hope it will lead us all to Heaven through the Catholic Church, which Christ has promised, "But when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will teach you all truth. For he shall not speak of himself; but what things soever he shall hear, he shall speak; and the things that are to come, he shall shew you" (John 16:13)

My apologizes if I am unable to post everyday, but thank you to everyone that will still come back here and hope to read something.

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WYD 2008: Sydney

Well, World Youth Day is over and so is Pope Benedict XVI's first international trip. The next World Youth Day will be in 2008 in Sydney, Australia.

Do you think World Youth Day will bring people to the Church? Greater vocations to the priesthood

Do you think Pope Benedict XVI passed the "test" of being able to connect with the youth?

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Pro-life Posts

"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish" (Mother Teresa).

Catholic and Pro-life Issues

1. Prayer for the Helpless Unborn
2. In vitro Fertilization
3. Catholics and the End of Life issues
4. Human Cloning
5. Contraception
6. The Catechism of the Catholic Church on abortion
7. What is the Cost of abortion?
8. Petition against Planned Parenthood
9. Amnesty International and Abortion

This is a list of all of my pro-life news & legislation updates to date. (More recent at the top)

1. Partial Birth Abortion Ruled Unconstitutional
2. American Cancer Society funds Planned Parenthood
3. Colorado Gov. Signs Bill Mandating Catholic Hospitals Provide Abortion Drug
4. Portugal Legalizes Abortion
5. Fr. Frank Pavone's Homily from January 18, 2007
6. Choose Life Plates for Illinois
7. 34th Anniversary of Legalized Abortion
8. 2006 US Election Results
9. Vote Pro-life on November 7, 2006
10. FDA Guidelines on Vaccines/Aborted Fetal Cell Lines Open for Public Comment
11. Nicaragua votes to ban all abortions; UN tried to stop vote
12. Missourians: Vote NO on Amendment 2
13. The Pill causes cancer
14. Help the South Dakota Abortion Ban
15. Plan B will not stop abortions
16. FDA approves Morning after pill!
17. President Bush supports Plan B!
18. Unborn children murdered for cosmetics!
19. Ask President Bush to stop Plan B
20. Contact Ms. Magazine
21. Child Custody Protection Act passes Senate, stopped
22. Bush vetos embryonic stem cell research bill YES!
23. Crucial Stem cell research update!
24. European Union- embryonic stem cell research
25. Today's Crazy News
26. Abortion mill becomes Catholic chapel
27. Omaha abortion center closes
28. A living miracle
29. British abortion rates rise
30. Independence Day: Pro-life Wisdom
31. Curves: Pro-life
32. Alabama Pro-life law goes into effect
33. Microsoft is a huge abortion supporter
34. End of trouble at NKU
35. South Dakota abortion law to be voted on in November
36. Governor Blanco signs Louisiana abortion ban into law
37. A Child of an Abortion Practitioner Insists on Life for the Unborn
38. Annual report on Planned Parenthood
39. Ohio abortion ban
40. Philippines abolishes the death penalty
41. Start the 77 Day Novena to close Tiller's abortion mill
42. Updates on Abortion in South Dakota
43. Amnesty International and Abortion
44. Wisconsin newspaper funds Planned Parenthood
45. Blythe Danner & Gwyneth Paltrow support abortion
46. Proposition 73 is back!
47. Clinton asked to use abortion to kill the poor
48. Victory for Life in Britain
49. Andrea Clark has died
50. Colorado Governor vetos bill that would allow morning after pill without a prescription
51. Hawaii protects abortion after Roe v. Wade
52. Arizona vetos pain-awareness act bill
53. Breast cancer risks drastically increase after an abortion
54. Updates with South Dakota
55. Amazon.com gives in to abortion activists
56. Some Catholic colleges support abortion
57. Day of Prayer for the Conversion of Abortionists
58. National polls released on the South Dakota abortion ban
59. Gov. Rounds signs ban on abortions in South Dakota (Mar 2006)
60. Walmart begins to sell the morning-after-pill
61. Abortion bans in Mississippi and Missouri
62. 55 Catholic Democrats in the House support abortion
63. Gov. Rounds of South Dakota needs prayers
64. Supreme court sides with pro-lifers in regard to RICO laws
65. South Dakota passes abortion ban
66. Governor Blagojevich funds embryonic stem cell research
67. RU-486 in Australia
68. US Family Planning Funds Slashed (Feb. 16th)
69. IL Paper allows pro-life advertisements
70. "Abortions have decreased" - President Bush
71. Florida parential notification law upheld by judge
72. NARAL's abortion grades
73. US Supreme Court ruling on N. Hamsphire law
74. US Supreme Court ruling in Oregon suicide law
75. Diocese to require contraception classes
76. Pope Benedict XVI - "God loves every embryo"
77. Illinois Abortions at a 30 year low
78. Boycott American Girl
79. Best Christmas Gift for a mother
80. Umbilical Cord Blood Bill becomes Law (Dec. 21, 2005)
81. An abortion survivor's story - Read the amazing story
82. Prop. 73 will be back!
83. Phillipines support the Church on birth control
84. Prop. 73 fails in California (Nov. 13, 2005)
85. Missouri abortion clinic closed; new law (Oct. 26, 2005)
86. Don't support "Save lids to Save lives"
87. Adult Stem cells cure paraplegic
88. The Truth on Life Checks
89. UNFPA denied funding from US; Canada increases funding
90. Missouri pro-life bill signed into law on Sept. 16, 2005
91. Susan Torres's child dies on Sept. 11, 2005
92. Pro-life bumper sticker saves a life
93. Priests for life announce lay association
94. CBS pro-life statistics as of Aug. 11, 2005
95. Minnesota signs abortion-fetal pain law on Aug. 2, 2005
96. New York Contraception Bill is vetoed in Aug. 2005
97. Susan Torres gives birth
98. Embyronic Stem Cell Research
99. Benefits of adult stem cell research
100. Pro-life survey
101. Abortion laws in other countries
102. Tell Senators not to support Embryonic stem cell Research
103. If Roe v. Wade is overturned

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Why did Jesus Institute the Eucharist?

The institution of the Eucharist was at the Last Supper, on the night before Our Lord's death, where He offered us the greatest gift of all - Himself in the Eucharist.

From the Catechism of St. Pius X:

28 Q: Why did Jesus Christ institute the Most Holy Eucharist?

A: Jesus Christ instituted the Most Holy Eucharist for three principal reasons: (1) To be the Sacrifice of the New Law; (2) To be the food of our souls; (3) To be a perpetual memorial of His passion and death and a precious pledge both of His love for us and of eternal life.

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Conclusion of World Youth Day

As I watch now, Pope Benedict XVI is boarding his plane to leave Cologne, Germany from World Youth Day, and I reflect on the closing Mass today. Over 1 million people from over 200 countries attended the Holy Mass in Marienfeld. The Pope encouraged the pilgrims to read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, but stated that "books alone are not enough. Form communities based on faith." Read his excellent homily via the Vatican's website.

The next World Youth Day is scheduled for Sydney, Australia in 2008.

Images from the Mass:

AFP/Pier Paolo Cito

AFP

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The DaVinci Protest

With the release of Dan Brown’s “The DaVinci Code” coming to the big screen, a 61-year-old nun protested outside of the cathedral where it was filmed in London for 12 hours by praying the Rosary on the concrete in reparation for the lies of the movie against Jesus.

Many view this book offensive because it states lies about Christ and the Church including that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, had a child with her, and she started the papacy. Some claim this is fiction and is no harm, but while I watched the program many people talked about how they believe it as the truth! I’m certainly opposed to a movie like this that distorts the truth, and the Only Truth at that, just to make money.

August 2006 Update: Visit Jesus Decoded and my later post on this.

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