“Know you not, that your (bodily) members are the temple of the Holy Ghost, who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own (property)? For you are bought with a great price. Glorify and bear God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
“Is, then, the mark of tattooing lawful for the Catholic? Not wishing to exaggerate what may be a small matter, I judge that I speak with the mind of the Church when I say that tattooing is at least unseemly for a Catholic. It surely could weaken Faith in Christ for one to place a non-Christ permanent mark on his body. Our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, says St. Paul. Let that temple be preserved from unworthy marks”Image Source: Pinterest
In those days, a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
Traditional Matins Reading:
Prayer:Barnabas, called also Joseph, a Levite, was born in Cyprus, and was the one designated by the apostles, together with Paul, to preach the Gospel of Christ to the Gentiles. He having land, sold it and brought the money to the apostles. Being sent to Antioch to preach there, he met with a great number of people already converted to the faith of Christ the Lord, which thing filled him with much joy, and he multiplied his exhortations, that they might persevere in the faith of Christ. His word had great success, for he was looked upon by all as a good man and one filled with the Holy Ghost.
Travelling thence to Tarsus, there to seek Paul, he came with him as far as Antioch. They here passed one year with the faithful who formed the Church of this city, labouring to instruct them in the Christian life and in faith; and here also it was, that the worshippers of Jesus Christ were first called Christians. The disciples of Paul and Barnabas aided with alms the Christians that were in Judea, and sent these subsidies by the hands of Paul and Barnabas. Having performed this work of charity, joining unto them John surnamed Mark, they returned to Antioch.
Whilst Paul and Barnabas were serving the Lord in the Church of Antioch, fasting and praying with the other prophets and doctors, the Holy Ghost spoke and said: Separate me Paul and Barnabas for the work whereunto I have called them. Then, with fasting and prayer, they imposed hands upon them and let them depart. They went to Seleucia, and thence to Cyprus; besides this, they passed through many towns and countries, preaching the Gospel everywhere, with much fruit amongst all who heard them. After this Barnabas separated himself from Paul, and together with John surnamed Mark returned to Cyprus. Here about the seventh year of the reign of Nero, on the third of the Ides of June, he joined the martyr's crown to the dignity of an apostle. In the reign of the emperor Zeno, his body was discovered in the island of Cyprus: on his breast lay a copy of the Gospel of St Matthew, written by the hand of Barnabas himself.
SCOTLAND had long been Christian when Margaret was given to her to establish, amidst a population so diversified, and so often at mutual enmity as was hers, that unity which makes a nation.
Ancient Caledonia, defended by her lakes, mountains, and rivers, had, up to the fall of the Roman empire, kept her independence. But, whilst herself inaccessible to invading troops, she had become the refuge of the vanquished of every race and the proscribed of every epoch.
Many an advancing wave, that had paused at the feet of her granite frontiers, had swept pitilessly over the southern provinces of the great British island. Britons, Saxons, and Danes in turn, dispossessed and driven from their homes, fleeing northwards, had successively crept in, and settling down as best they might, had maintained their own customs in juxtaposition with those of the first inhabitants, adding consequently their own mutual jealousies to the inveterate divisions of the Picts and Scots.
But from the very evil itself the remedy was to corne. God, in order to show that he is master of revolutions just as he is of the surging waves, was about to confide the execution of his merciful designs upon Scotland to such casual instruments as a storm or a political overthrow may sometimes prove to be. At the opening of the eleventh century, Danish invasion had driven from the English shore the sons of the Saxon king, Edmund Ironside. The crowned apostle of Hungary, St Stephen I, generously received the fugitives at his court, welcoming in these helpless children the great-nephews of a saint, namely Edward the Martyr
To the eldest he gave his own daughter in marriage, and the second he affianced, to the niece of St Henry, emperor of Germany. Of this last mentioned union were born three children, Edgar, surnamed Atheling, Christina, afterwards a nun, and Margaret, whose feast the Church is keeping to-day. By the turning tide of fortune, the exiles once more returned to their country, and Edgar was brought to the very steps of the English throne. For in the meantime, the sceptre had passed from the Danish princes back again to the Saxon line, in the person of their uncle, St Edward the Confessor, and by very birthright seemed destined to pass ultimately to Edgar Atheling.
But almost immediately after their return from exile, the death of St Edward and the Norman conquest again banished the royal Saxon family. The ship bearing these noble fugitives, bound for the continent, was driven in an opposite direction by a hurricane, and stranded on the Scottish shore. Edgar Atheling, in spite of the efforts of the Saxon party, was never to raise up the fallen throne of his sires; but his sister, the saint of this day, made conquest of the land whither the storm, God's instrument, had carried her.
Having become the wife of Malcolm III, her gentle influence softened the fierce instincts of the son of Duncan, and triumphed over the barbarism still so dominant in those parts of the country as to separate them utterly from the rest of the known world. The fierce highlander and haughty lowlander, reconciled at last, now followed their gentle queen along hitherto unknown paths, thrown open by her to the light of the Gospel. The strong now bent down to meet the weak or the poor; and all alike, casting aside the rigidity of their hardy race, let themselves be captured by the alluring charms of Christian charity. Holy penitence resumed its rights over the gross instincts of mere nature. The frequentation of the Sacraments, once more brought into esteem, produced seasonable fruits. Everywhere, whether in Church or in State, abuses vanished.
The whole kingdom became one family, whereof Margaret was called the mother; for Scotland was born by her to true civilization. David I (inscribed like his mother in the catalogue of the saints) completed the work begun by her; and another child of Margaret's, alike worthy of her, Matilda of Scotland, surnamed' good Queen Maud,'was married to Henry I of England; and thus an end was put on the English soil to the persistent rivalries of victors and vanquished, by this admixture of Saxon blood with the Norman race.
Hello Father,
I just wanted to send you a note of support to thank you for taking this tough stand.
I go to a parish in Chicago that only has male altar servers. We've seen a large increase in vocations in the parish. It's important to note, as you have explained, that altar boys is the long standing tradition of the Church. It is vital for our Church's future vocations that boys be trained in altar serving. I know that you do not need reminded of this.
I just wanted you to know that you are very much supported by many. And I hope that despite the pressures you may face, that you will stay true to this position.
May Almighty God protect you and may our Blessed Mother intercede for you amidst those who wish to attack you.
Dear Matthew,
Thank you for your email in support of Fr. Driscoll and me, and for your prayerful support of our dear Archbishop, Salvatore Cordileone. Since the altar girl controversy broke out in January, I have received hundreds of emails from around California, the entire country, and even several dozen from foreign countries. I cannot respond to all of them personally, so am sending this general letter to you.
Archbishop Cordileone is working hard, and suffering personally with resolute magnanimity, to bring the light of Christ’s Gospel and the beautiful teachings of our Church to his people in San Francisco. He is widely misunderstood and even attacked for it, but accepts this with graceful patience. He is a good father. We at Star of the Sea want to share in this mission, and so have accepted also a part of this suffering. Please pray for us, that we accept the wisdom and perseverance that God, through Our Lady, is offering to us. Personally, I hope that this experience will truly purify me and many others, so that we may all be holy and bring glory to God. All of Jesus, through His Holy Mother.
Yours sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Joseph Illo
The San Francisco Community of St. Philip Neri at Star of the Sea Parish
