Moscow, June 19, Interfax - Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia considers church blessing of homosexual unions unacceptable though it becomes wide spread among Protestant communities in the West.
"Blessing of the marriage urges God to bless childbearing and giving birth," Alexy II said at his meeting with general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance Neville Callam in St. Daniel's monastery in Moscow.
"We have every reason to think that the majority of Baptists share our concerns for today's state of Christian communities in the world and together we can oppose these destructive tendencies," the patriarch said.
The Baptist World Alliance's general secretary believes "militant secularism has become the highest and the strongest challenge" Christians face today.
"We, Baptists, also oppose this cancer of secularization and we seek to spread the good news of Jesus Christ like you do," Callam said. He hopes that friendly relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and Russian Baptists will develop and it will let both parties "denounce the monster of secularism."
The patriarch reminded that the resolution of the last joint seminar of the Moscow Patriarchate and Russian Baptists held in 2006 "expressed deep concerns with alarming tendencies in some Protestant communities which revise Biblical norms of morality and ordain women." The resolution further stated "the necessity to reach harmonic unity between human rights and moral values."
The Russian Orthodox Church suspended contacts with the Lutheran Church of Sweden as it "not only blessed homosexual "marriages," but even worked out the text for blessing them in the church," Alexy II noted.
The Moscow Patriarchate had to suspend relations with the Episcopal Church of the USA as its leaders ordained an open homosexual.
Source
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Constantinople, Jun. 19, 2008 (CWNews.com) - The Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople has responded favorably to a suggestion by the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church for a system of "dual unity" in which Byzantine Catholic churches would be in full communion with both Constantinople and Rome.
Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople welcomed the proposal in an interview with the magazine Cyril and Methodius, the RISU news service reports. The acknowledged leader of the Orthodox world suggested that the "dual unity" approach would produce something akin to the situation of the Christian world in the 1st millennium, before the split between Rome and Constantinople.
Cardinal Lubomyr Husar of Kiev, the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church-- the largest of the Eastern Catholic churches-- had offered the possibility that Byzantine Catholics might seek communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, without giving up their communion with the Holy See. Patriarch Bartholomew expressed distinct interest in the idea, saying that "the mother Church in Constantinople holds the doors open for the return of all her former sons and daughters."
Patriarch Bartholomew acknowledged that a restoration of unity would require study, and important differences would have to be overcome. However, he observed that major steps have already been taken to resolve disagreements-- most importantly the revocation of the mutual decrees of excommunication issued by Rome and Constantinople against each other in 1054.
While Catholic and Orthodox theologians continue their efforts to reach agreement on doctrinal questions, Patriarch Bartholomew said, "the people at the grass roots have to come together again." He pointed to the "dual unity" idea as a possible step toward practical unity.
Cardinal Husar, the Ukrainian Catholic leader, has suggested in the past that the Orthodox and Byzantine Catholics of Ukraine should unite under the leadership of a single patriarch. That provocative suggestion is particularly interesting for two reasons.
First, Byzantine Catholics in Ukraine argued for years-- particularly since emerging vigorously from the shadow of Communist repression-- that the Ukrainian Catholic Church should be accorded the status of a patriarchate. Both the late Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have expressed some sympathy for that suggestion. The Byzantine-rite Ukrainian Catholic Church is substantially larger than other Catholic churches that are recognized as patriarchates, including the Maronite, Melkite, Chaldean, Syrian, Armenian and Coptic Catholic churches. However, Kiev is not a historical patriarchal see like Antioch or Alexandria. And the recognition of a Ukrainian Catholic patriarchate would be sure to provoke outrage from the Russian Orthodox Church, which has complained frequently and bitterly about the activities of Byzantine Catholics in Ukraine.
Second, the Orthodox Church in Ukraine is badly split, with three different groups competing for recognition as leaders of the Byzantine faithful. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church- Kiev Patriarchate is led by Patriarch Filaret, who was once acknowledged by Moscow but broke with the Russian Orthodox Church after Ukraine gained political independence. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church- Moscow Patriarchate retains ties to Russian Orthodoxy. The Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine, smaller than the other two, has frequently sided with the Kiev patriarchate in efforts to form a single, unified Orthodox Church in Ukraine, independent from Moscow.
Source: Catholic World News
As I write you today, the situation in Uruguay is extremely perilous!
The agents of death are intentionally sacrificing the women and unborn of Uruguay in order to establish an abortion beachhead in Latin America.
A loophole in Uruguay’s laws allows for “abortion counseling” in public hospitals. Acting as “counselors” abortion advocates tell vulnerable women that they’d be better off killing their babies ... and that abortion is a “reproductive right.” Official statistics reveal that 90% of Uruguayan women “counseled” in this way choose to have an abortion. And once they do, medical personnel tell them how to obtain the drug Misoprostol in pharmacies or on the black market ... and how to use it at home in order to abort their babies.
As you know, however, taking Misoprostol alone does not always result in an abortion. It’s only half of the RU-486 regimen. And the callous individuals in Uruguay who are telling women to take Misoprostol know this!
Not surprisingly, then, 56% of the mothers who begin these Misoprostol abortions come back to the hospitals hemorrhaging and needing a dilation and curettage (D&C) to finish the abortion.
This is precisely what the heralds of the culture of death want to happen. They are literally creating the “unsafe abortion” crisis that they plan on using to launch a new call for legalized abortion-on-demand in Uruguay. And if a few thousand unsuspecting women die in the process, so be it.
Even as you read this, our HLI pro-life missionaries are working round the clock to expose this treachery.
But they desperately need your help in order to succeed.
We can make a big difference for them ... and at relatively little cost. For example:
* $10,000 will enable HLI to sponsor a conference that would instruct pro-life activists on what’s going on, organize them into a cohesive force, and show them how to mobilize the people to demand that government officials restore Uruguay’s lifelong pro-life and pro-family laws.
* $14,000 will allow HLI to provide materials – films, publications and preborn baby models – to pro-life high school teachers in every school in the country, which they can use to refute the abortion propaganda now rampant in Uruguayan schools and instill in young people respect for innocent human life.
* $5,000 will allow HLI to publish brochures, pamphlets and other publications to HLI’s pro-life missionaries who are on the ground and ready to distribute these materials all across the country.
We need to act now to help spread the truth about what the culture of death has in store for the women and babies of Uruguay.
Click here to send an emergency contribution that HLI will use to help the people of Uruguay cast out the abortion demon. Time is of the essence.
Catholics for a Free Choice and other liberal pro-abortion groups have targeted this small Latin America nation to become the abortion base of operations from which they will spread out and impose their anti-life agenda throughout all of Latin America. Years of anti-life propaganda has already reduced the country’s fertility rate to below replacement levels. And earlier this year, the agents of death put on an international abortion conference in Uruguay’s capital city of Montevideo. Conference leaders had the gall to promote the use of Misoprostol as a way to end “unsafe abortions” ... all the while knowing that this “abortion cocktail” would in fact lead to the deaths of many women and create the very crisis they proclaim to the world they are trying to prevent!
Right now, only a few brave pro-lifers – led by HLI’s pro-life missionaries – stand in the way of these “murderers” and “liars.”
This is your chance to help rescue an entire country – and quite possibly an entire continent! – before it becomes the next victim of the culture of death!
Click here to send HLI the largest gift you can give today.
And please join me in invoking the heavenly aid of Uruguay’s Guardian Angel. Lift your heart to God and say the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel. Do this right now:
St. Michael the Archangel, defend the people of Uruguay in battle! Be their protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil! By the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the other evil spirits who prowl about Uruguay seeking the ruin of souls!
May God bless you!
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer,
President, Human Life International
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Portal-credo.ru, 12 May 2008
Once again it has been asserted in the Russian Orthodox church of the Moscow patriarchate that they do not consider it possible for Orthodox persons to perform divine services jointly with representatives of other Christian confessions.
"We wish to affirm once again our intention to refrain from participation in joint worship with persons of other confessions," a worker in the Secretariat for Inter-Christian Relations of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow patriarchate, the priest Alexander Vasiutin, told the "Interfax-Religion" portal.
He said that this matter has acquired new pertinence in the process of preparing for the XIII General Assembly of the Conference of European Churches which is scheduled for July 2009 in Lyons (France).
The news agency's interlocutor, who also is a member of the assembly's organizing committee, noted that "the position of the Russian Orthodox church, unfortunately, does not always meet with understanding among representatives of other local Orthodox churches."
As an example, Fr Alexander told how at a recent session of the organizing committee Metropolitan of Gaul Emmanuel (Constantinople patriarchate) responded to the suggestion of refraining from performing interconfessional worship at the assembly by saying that "the position of representatives of the Moscow patriarchate on this matter reminds one of the behavior of a man who has a wife but doesn't sleep with her."
In addition, the representative of Constantinople posed the question, "why do representatives of the Moscow patriarchate always refuse to participate in joint worship with non-Orthodox, while Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and all-Rus participated in joint worship with Catholic clergy in the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris when he was there?"
"There is no need to repeat the information disseminated by many church and secular news media that in reality an Orthodox prayer service was conducted in the Paris Notre Dame cathedral at which representatives of the Roman Catholic church were merely present, including Archbishop of Paris André Vingt-Trois. But one cannot speak of any joint service or worship in this case," Fr Alexander stressed. (tr. by PDS, posted 6 June 2008)
Source: Russia Religion News
Saturday, June 14, 2008
The New Liturgical Movement has several excellent photographs (including the above image) from the Requiem Mass offered for the repose of the soul of the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, Andrew Bertie.His full title was His Most Eminent Highness Fra Andrew Willoughby Ninian Bertie, Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, Most Humble Guardian of the Poor of Jesus Christ. He was the fourth cousin twice removed of Queen Elizabeth II of England.
Image Source: Via, New Liturgical Movement
Toledo, Jun. 13, 2008 (CWNews.com) - A Spanish cardinal has called upon Catholic parents to "use all legitimate means in your power to defend your right to determine the moral education of your children." Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera spoke out in response to the obligatory "Education for Citizenship" classes that will be introduced in some Spanish public schools in the next academic year. He warned that the courses offer "a moral formation that is not determined by parents" and sometimes contradicts the moral teachings of the Church. In a pastoral letter issued for the close of this academic year, Cardinal Cañizares argued that "public authority cannot impose any certain moral code on all people, whether it be supposedly a majority choice, or Catholic, or any other kind." That authority is reserved for parents, he insisted. Addressing himself specifically to administrators of Catholic schools, the cardinal said that they should not accept the "Education for Citizenship" curriculum because it "would go against your mission." Even public schools should not promote the course, he continued, because it would violate "the ideological neutrality they should have." Cardinal Cañizares strongly encouraged citizens to use every means to stop the imposition of the moral-education program, assuring them that "there is still time remaining to change the course of events." Political activism is amply warranted in this case, he added, because parents "are not asking for anything more than they should have." Source: Catholic World News
MANILA, Philippines - A Catholic bishop on Wednesday said that "freedom of expression" should not be used as an excuse for some churchgoers who continue to ignore a "dress code" inside the church.
Davao archbishop Fernando Capalla said it is foolish to invoke personal freedom in the choice of dress for liturgical functions.
"We have to admit that, while living in society, our personal freedom is limited by the rights of others. And if we want to live in peace and harmony with others we have to observe certain proprieties of behavior," he said in a statement on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines website.
Capalla said the dress code is a sign of propriety and reminded all Catholics in the archdiocese that liturgical functions require decent and simple attire.
According to him, he issued the reminder not because he took offense felt insulted, but he is simply concerned about order and propriety in human relations.
"This applies to both ministers and the faithful and there are liturgical guidelines to this effect," he said.
"I am only supporting what the home, the school, and social and civic institutions are supposed to be doing on this matter," he added.
Capalla said that in the celebration of the Eucharist, which the Church considers a solemn occasion, churchgoers are required to be in their decent attire.
"Everyone should be able to dress up simply and decently even not elegantly for Mass. (But) to come to Mass in short pants or jogging pants would be out of place and can be very improper and unbecoming (behavior). Short pants are for the person's privacy or sporting occasions, so are the jogging pants. Beach wear and working outfits are not for the solemn and sacred celebration like the Mass," he stressed.
"Sunday best has become a common expression of people who know the value of the Sunday celebration and so those who pride themselves on self-respect choose the best for the Lord. I am not very sure now whether that passage in the Gospel where an invited guest was thrown out because he was not dressed properly, is applicable here. It seems it is," he added. - GMANews.TV
Source
Friday, June 13, 2008
Valencia, Jun. 12, 2008 (CWNews.com) - The Spanish financial newspaper La Gaceta de los Negocios reports that the Vatican has given the green light to the beatification of 250 Spaniards martyred in Valencia during Spain's Civil War. The Vatican has not issued any formal announcement.
Valencia's Cardinal Agustin Garcia-Gasco opened the cause in 2004 for 183 priests, 10 religious, and 57 laymen, including a woman who was 9 months pregnant, who was asked her captors to let her give birth to her child so that she could baptize him but sadly her request was denied. In 2001, John Paul II beatified 226 other Valencian martyrs of the Spanish Civil War.
Source: Catholic World News
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Bucharest, June 11, Interfax - Priests of the Romanian Patriarchate come from different regions of the country to join trade unions to protect their own interests from the church management.
In particular, some time ago, 20 priests filed documents to Iasi court for incorporation of the "Holy Virgin Protection" trade union. Later, 35 clerics from Oltenia province declared the official incorporation of the independent "Good Pastor" trade union and their intent to hold a strike action aimed at protecting their rights.
"There is an abyss between the church hierarchy and the priests who serve in churches. We are put under pressure, and have already lost some of our members," priest Nikolay State, vice-president of Good Pastor, said in his interview to the Gyndyl newspaper.
He also said that Oltenian priests were seeking to create their trade union for several years. The main objective of trade union members is to oppose low wages of priests and support their right to make decisions related to their parish without prior approval of the diocese.
Besides, trade union members are seeking for the right to run for any position in administrative bodies without prior consent of their executives.
The Metropolitan of Oltenia, however, warned the priests, who had established the trade union, of their possible defrocking.
"There is the principal incompatibility of priests' servicing and trade union activity, because the priest's mission is to unite people with each other and the God, and any trade union activity involves confrontation and separatism," the official message of the metropolitan reads.
Source: Interfax Religion
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
I have also had an opportunity to review Hildengard von Bingen's "Marriage of the Heavens and the Earth". This CD is a collection of Hildengard's best compositions - a true gem to own!After being forgotten for several centuries, Hildegard von Bingen is recognized today as one of the universal minds in Western culture. The abbess at the monastery of Saint-Rupert close to the town of Bingen, Hildegard was a composer, writer, physician and visionary who lived in the 12th century A.D.
Hildegard von Bingen s music is undoubtedly her most inspiring legacy. She is considered one of the leading composers of the Middle Ages. One of her works, the Ordo Virtutum, has been called the first form, and possibly the origin, of opera. She composed seventy-seven more songs mostly for her monastery. Only a few decades ago, this incredible treasure was rediscovered and presented to a larger audience.
Jade Music is proud to release Marriage of the Heavens and the Earth, an album by Catherine Braslavsky and Joseph Rowe that contains some of von Bingen s best known compositions.
For more than 15 years, Catherine Braslavsky has been playing Hildegard von Bingen s music. Herself a composer and Greogorian chant enthusiast, she also studied Indian, Judeo-Spanish and harmonic chant. She is currently also pursuing her research on ancient music. Soloist, musical director, and teacher, she has performed all over Europe, the United States and Japan. With Joseph Rowe, she recorded six albums that explore contemporary sacred music, and sacred music of Europe, and the Mediterranean.
Although it is stereo-typically identified as a silent film, "Into Great Silence" features a variety of sounds, including beautiful Gregorian Chant. I have already watched the film three times, and I whole-heatedly recommend the soundtrack for "Into Great Silence". Tracks include "Matins", "Pentecost Matins", "Corpus Christi", "Salve Regina", and others!Click here to preview some of the songs.
I was recently given the opportunity to review Olivier Messiaen's "Never Before Released" CD. Featuring "La Mort Du Nombre", "Offrande Au Saint Sacrement", and twelve other tracks, I enjoyed listening to this CD, even though it certainly was not my favorite soundtrack of piano. If you enjoy piano music, you should appreciate adding this CD to your collection.Jade Music, the specialty arm of Milan Records, is proud to commemorate Olivier Messiaen s 100th birthday with the album entitled Never Before Released. Messiaen was born in the French town of Avignon into a literary family and entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 11.
He would become a leading composer and organist of his time, traveling the globe and performing in major concert venues. In 1949, Messiaen s Turangalîla-Symphonie was performed for the first time in the United States and conducted by Leonard Bernstein. He drew his inspiration from very diverse influences such as Japanese music, Greek and Hindu sources and Roman Catholicism.
The album Never Before Released regroups works from three different sources. Some songs were unpublished and kept only in Messiaen s archives Offrande au Saint Sacrement, Prélude pour Orgue, Chant dans le style Mozart, Quatre Inédits pour Piano et Onde Martenot, and Prélude pour Piano. Some songs were published but never available to the public Monodie, Pièce pour le Tombeau de Dukas, Pièce pour Piano et Quatuor à cordes, and Chant des Déportés. Finally, some songs were published but are no longer available on CD La Mort du Nombre, and Le Merle Noir.
This exceptional recording includes, among others, performances by his wife, Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen, the BBC Choir and Orchestra, Guy Deplus, and is a tribute to a major figure of 20th century contemporary music
Moscow, June 9, Interfax - A complete holy communion between Orthodox believers and Catholics is very unlikely, Russian Orthodox Church Representative to European International Organizations, Archbishop Hilarion of Vienna and Austria, said in an interview with the newspaper Soyuznoye Veche of the Russia-Belarus Union Parliamentary Assembly.
"I think we should not expect the complete unity of Orthodox and Catholic rites. The division occurred almost 1,000 years ago and it can hardly be repaired," he said.
The archbishop said he does not think the differences between Orthodox believers and Catholics will evaporate in the third millennium.
At the same time, certain theological differences do not hamper cooperation and possible joint protection of common values, he said.
"We will not unite but we can learn to be allies and partners. We should not be rivals, we should be Christians who may differ in certain theological intricacies but have practically the same ideas about morals and social values," he said.
Source: Interfax Religion
Pope Paul VI has been called a prophet for his intuitions expressed in the 1968 encyclical, Humanae vitae, about what would happen to society if contraception ever became widely used. But a “prophecy” is much more than just a prediction: it is really a view of reality and an assessment of what happens when the right order of things is snubbed. All the Old Testament prophets told the people of Israel, in unambiguous terms, that they had turned their backs on the Lord’s covenant (God’s view of reality) and that the consequences would be dire if they persevered in that apostasy. Succeeding generations of scholars, who saw the fulfillment of the prophets’ words, then scrupulously wrote their prophecies down for posterity—lest anyone forget them!
Brother priests, faithful to the Magisterium, in a certain sense, we are the true prophets of our modern times when we teach God’s view of reality to our world. Or rather, we are the scribes who echo the teachings of our great papal prophets for the benefit of our flocks. Let us make sure our people know what the Prophet, Paul VI, said in Humanae vitae forty years ago so that their marriages, and their souls, will not perish.
The four prophecies of Humanae vitae are clear, but also stubborn, views of reality. They are unequivocally countercultural. Paul VI said that if a society accepted contraception as a way of life (like all economically developed societies have), then several consequences would inevitably result:
* First, contraception would lead to conjugal infidelity. Not hard to see this one right? When you separate babies from the marital act there is nothing binding that act to, well, marriage. Fornication (pre-marital) and adultery (extra-marital) have thus skyrocketed with the massive practice of contraception.
* Second, Pope Paul predicted that contraceptive practice would lead to a “general lowering of morality.” Hmm, let’s see if this one was right: “normal” youthful entertainments in our society today include that despicable MTV channel, hooking up, salacious reality TV shows, heavy metal music, wicca and the New Age, drugs and ubiquitous internet porn. In Janet Smith’s famous words: has anyone noticed a “general lowering of morality” lately?
* Third, Paul VI said that contraception would lead men to cease respecting women in their totality and would cause them to treat women as “mere instruments of selfish enjoyment” rather than as cherished partners. Clearly, this prophecy has been vindicated many times over by pornography alone, the most lucrative business in the modern world. That entire industry is singularly dedicated to the “selfish enjoyment” of men.
* Finally, the Holy Father said that massive acceptance of contraception by couples would lead to a massive imposition of contraception by unscrupulous governments. He predicted, in other words, that contraception would pass from a “lifestyle choice” to a weapon of mass destruction, and how dreadfully his prophecy has been vindicated by population control and coercive sterilization programs, fertility reduction quotas and the promotion of abortion literally everywhere in the world.
Should the blame for all these terrible evils of our modern times be laid at the feet of contraception? Well, yes—at least largely so. That’s the truth that we, as priests, must absolutely get clear so that we can hand this on to our people. Contraception’s destruction of the integrity of the marital act—as unitive and procreative—has dire consequences for society and for souls. Contraception is a rejection of God’s view of reality. It is a wedge driven into the most intimate sphere of communion known to man outside of the Holy Mass. It is a degrading poison that withers life and love both in marriage and in society. No wonder everything goes wrong when contraception shows up.
The Prophet has warned us. Now it’s our turn to warn our people. Brothers, their very souls are at stake!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Maternal Deaths Down In Nicaragua Once Abortion Is Eliminated
Unsuspecting pro-life cultures are regularly assaulted by the “logic” of the international abortion promoters who push their anti-life agenda into every culture that will cave in to the pressure. Their main argument goes roughly like this: “When abortion is not legal, women have abortions anyway but in unsafe conditions and back-alley clinics with untrained people who injure and kill them. All this death and injury is totally unnecessary and we could just solve the problem overnight by legalizing abortion to make it safe and keep all these poor women from dying.”
That’s the main argument which, in one form or another, is repeated ad nauseam by the abortion lobby to sympathetic healthcare providers, social workers, government leaders and the media. It can be an effective argument for legalized abortion because people are generally more willing to sacrifice the rights of the unseen child for the immediate perceived needs of the suffering woman. However, that argument is a ruse. Abortion doesn’t work the way they say it does. In reality, legalized abortion, besides killing babies, creates a climate of disrespect for women’s health that leads to a greater number of maternal deaths. Let’s take another look at the most fascinating and heroic case study in the abortion wars that our modern age has seen: Nicaragua.
That marvelous little pro-life country in Central America is a good example of what happens when a country chooses a culture of life. Remember that Nicaragua made abortion completely illegal in 2006 and then reaffirmed that prohibition in 2007. The overall positive results for Nicaraguan women have been just amazing. The abortion promoters screamed that making abortion illegal would cause women to die in droves because of more back-alley abortions, but that didn’t happen. In fact, the opposite is true—fewer women are dying now! A recent publication by Nicaragua’s Ministry of Health noted that the overall maternal mortality rate decreased by 58% in the year that abortion has been made totally illegal. There were 21 maternal deaths for 2007 compared to 50 maternal deaths the year before. This is a stunning reversal!
The lie that women will die from back-alley, “unsafe,” abortions is nothing but a scare tactic to coerce pro-life cultures into compliance with abortion. The truth is that abortion-free cultures have a greater respect for women and babies and are not subject to that degrading pall of killing that lies over the medical profession. In the case of Nicaragua, their rejection of abortion in 2006/2007 coincided—not surprisingly—with a greater provision of basic pre-natal services for pregnant women and accompaniment in childbirth which is what led to the surprising turn-around in the maternal death rate. Even aside from legal protection of babies, pro-life cultures just protect women better, it’s that simple.
We don’t have to listen to the liars who tell us that legalized abortion is “safe.” Women are much safer in countries where abortion is not legal. Abortion enthusiasts were never able to use the maternal death argument in abortion-free Ireland which has the lowest rate of maternal deaths in the world. They are also confounded by pro-life cultures like Poland that restricted abortion in 1993 and has seen a phenomenal increase in maternal wellbeing ever since.
The abortion promoters tell us that certain abortions are unsafe. They’re half right. Actually, all abortions are unsafe. The numbers don’t lie.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer,
President, Human Life International
Monday, June 9, 2008
Rome, Jun. 9, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Bishop Renato Corti of Novara, Italy, has formally removed three pastors who were suspended last year because they insisted on celebrating only the traditional Latin Mass.
Fathers Alberto Secci, Stefano Coggiola, and Marco Pizzochi, who have been under suspension since last fall, have now been replaced in their parish assignments. The three priests were disciplined by their bishops for refusing to celebrate the Novus Ordo Mass.
The suspensions had drawn different reactions from the priests' parishioners. In Father Secci's parish, 600 people signed a petition saying that they would attend Mass only if it was celebrated in the extraordinary form. Father Coggiola's parishioners were reportedly divided, with some supporting their pastor and others praising the bishop for taking disciplinary action against him.
Source: CWNews
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Please learn why the Catholic Church is opposed to artificial contraception.Consequences of Artificial Methods
17. Responsible men can become more deeply convinced of the truth of the doctrine laid down by the Church on this issue if they reflect on the consequences of methods and plans for artificial birth control. Let them first consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards. Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings—and especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation—need incentives to keep the moral law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law. Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.
Source: Humane Vitae
Friday, June 6, 2008
The following photos are of a Mass celebrated according to the 1962 Missal at the 11th Century Basilica di San Nicola in Carcere, which is merely a 10-minute walk from Saint Anselmo on the via del Teatro di Marcello.
Image Source: Used with Permission of the person that emailed them to me.
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Image Source: Used with Permission of the person that emailed them to me.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
These and other photos are from Una Voce Carmel.Ss. Philomena & Cecilia’s is an apostolate of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Fr. Gerard Saguto is the administrator of the apostolate, if you would like more information on Mass times or joining the Parish please call the rectory 765-647-0310.
Novena to St. Anthony of Padua - Say once a day for nine days, especially beginning on 4 June and ending on 12 June, the eve of the Feast of St. Anthony. O White lily of purity, sublime example of poverty, true mirror of humility, resplendent star of sanctity. O glorious St Anthony, who didst enjoy the sweet privilege of receiving into thy arms the Infant Jesus, I beseech thee to take me under they powerful protection. Thou in whom the power of working miracles shines forth among the other gifts of God, have pity upon me and come to my aid in this my great need.
(Mention your intentions here).
Cleanse my heart from every disorderly affection, obtain for me a true contrition for my sins and a great love of God and of my neighbour that serving God faithfully in this life, I may come to praise, enjoy and bless Him eternally with thee in Paradise. Amen
Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.
Visit Catholic Tradition for a longer traditional novena to St. Anthony, with a distinct prayer for each day of the novena.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Under the banner of Our Lady of GuadalupeImage Source: Wikipedia
SIEGE OF JERICHO.
ACCOMPANY THE BLESSED SACRAMENT IN DAILY PUBLIC ROSARY PROCESSIONS IN EDGBASTON BIRMINGHAM TO END ABORTION
Monday 9th June to Sunday 15th June 2008
Priests and people praying the rosary are to process with the Blessed Sacrament round the abortion clinic on Arthur Road Edgbaston Birmingham 15 following the route of Arthur Road, Carpenter Road and Ampton Road
On the weekdays from Monday 9th June to Saturday 14th June 2008 inclusive we will start with Mass at the Oratory Church, Hagley Road, Edgbaston at 3pm and after travelling to Arthur Road priests (one carrying the Blessed Sacrament unseen) and people will process once round the route. It will take about 20 minutes.
On Sunday 15th June 2008 we will start at Arthur Road at 2pm (no Mass) and process (priests vested) round the route seven times, carrying the Blessed Sacrament openly, accompanied by the ringing of bells.
PRAYER BACK UP
During the event supporters will pray before the Blessed Sacrament at St. Dunstan’s Church, Kings Heath and other venues praying many Rosaries. We invite everyone to join us in prayer from their churches or homes or elsewhere, especially the old and the sick.
THE INTENTIONS
1. For a conversion of heart among the organisers and staff of the abortion centre and centres generally so that they and others may join the present movement to stop abortions world wide. They will know at first hand the distressing effects abortion has on women and the cruel death visited on the babies aborted. They must know too about the lucrative and shameful sale of aborted baby parts.
2. To reinstate the priesthood in the eyes of the people, one of God’s purposes at the original Siege of Jericho on which we model this prayer crusade.
To help with organisation please let us know in advance, if you can, on which days you intend to participate.
Contact us on 0121 705 9317 or 0121 706 1973
Please tell your priest friends and encourage them to come on one or more days
Today I updated my list of Books for Sale. If you are interested in any of the books for sale, please email me.
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Sunday, June 1, 2008
I have not been a supporter of Medjugorje because some of the alleged messages of Medjugorje seem to contradict Catholic Tradition.
Some of the Alleged "Messages" from Medjugorje:
"All religions are equal before God," says the Virgin. (Chronological Corpus of Medjugorje, p. 317
"I do not dispose of all graces...Jesus prefers that you address your petitions directly to him, rather than through an intermediary." (Chronological Corpus of Medjugorje, p.181, 277-278)
"God directs all denominations as a king directs his subjects, through the medium of his ministers" ("The Apparitions at Medjugorje," by Fr. Svat Kraljevic, 1984, p.58)
"It is you who are divided on this earth. The Muslims and the Orthodox, like the Catholics, are equal before my Son and before me, for you are all my children." (Fr. Ljubic, p.71)
"The Madonna said that religious are separated in the earth, but the people of all religions are accepted by her Son." Ivanka Ivankovic (The Apparitions of Our Lady of Medjugorje, Francisco Herald Press, 1984)
Question: "Is the Blessed Mother calling all people to be Catholic?" Answer: "No. The Blessed Mother says all religions are dear to her and her Son." Vicka Ivankovic. (The Visions of the Blessed Mother at Medjugorje, St. Martin's Press, August, 1992)
The Teaching of the Church:
Pope Innocent III: "There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved." (Fourth Lateran Council, 1215.)
Pope Boniface VIII: "We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff." (Unam Sanctam, 1302.)
Pope Eugene IV: "The most Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can have a share in life eternal; but that they will go into the eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless before death they are joined with Her; and that so important is the unity of this ecclesiastical body that only those remaining within this unity can profit by the sacraments of the Church unto salvation, and they alone can receive an eternal recompense for their fasts, their almsgivings, their other works of Christian piety and the duties of a Christian soldier. No one, let his almsgiving be as great as it may, no one, even if he pour out his blood for the Name of Christ, can be saved, unless he remain within the bosom and the unity of the Catholic Church." (Cantate Domino, 1441.)
News:
Emphasis is in bold and my comment are in red. Importantly, I am unable to verify any of this information from a trusted, well-known source.
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Some of the Alleged "Messages" from Medjugorje:
"All religions are equal before God," says the Virgin. (Chronological Corpus of Medjugorje, p. 317
"I do not dispose of all graces...Jesus prefers that you address your petitions directly to him, rather than through an intermediary." (Chronological Corpus of Medjugorje, p.181, 277-278)
"God directs all denominations as a king directs his subjects, through the medium of his ministers" ("The Apparitions at Medjugorje," by Fr. Svat Kraljevic, 1984, p.58)
"It is you who are divided on this earth. The Muslims and the Orthodox, like the Catholics, are equal before my Son and before me, for you are all my children." (Fr. Ljubic, p.71)
"The Madonna said that religious are separated in the earth, but the people of all religions are accepted by her Son." Ivanka Ivankovic (The Apparitions of Our Lady of Medjugorje, Francisco Herald Press, 1984)
Question: "Is the Blessed Mother calling all people to be Catholic?" Answer: "No. The Blessed Mother says all religions are dear to her and her Son." Vicka Ivankovic. (The Visions of the Blessed Mother at Medjugorje, St. Martin's Press, August, 1992)
The Teaching of the Church:
Pope Innocent III: "There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved." (Fourth Lateran Council, 1215.)
Pope Boniface VIII: "We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff." (Unam Sanctam, 1302.)
Pope Eugene IV: "The most Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can have a share in life eternal; but that they will go into the eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless before death they are joined with Her; and that so important is the unity of this ecclesiastical body that only those remaining within this unity can profit by the sacraments of the Church unto salvation, and they alone can receive an eternal recompense for their fasts, their almsgivings, their other works of Christian piety and the duties of a Christian soldier. No one, let his almsgiving be as great as it may, no one, even if he pour out his blood for the Name of Christ, can be saved, unless he remain within the bosom and the unity of the Catholic Church." (Cantate Domino, 1441.)
News:
Emphasis is in bold and my comment are in red. Importantly, I am unable to verify any of this information from a trusted, well-known source.
The Vatican has denounced a group [interesting news. I would like to confirm this statement with more sources] who claim to have seen the Virgin Mary more than 40,000 times in the past 27 years.
The six Bosnian 'seers' attract five million pilgrims a year to their home town of Medjugorje, providing a lucrative trade for local businesses.
Hundreds of thousands travel there each year from Britain alone.
The Vatican has rejected claims made by the six Bosnian 'seers' that they have seen the Virgin Mary more than 40,000 times over the past 27 years
But now one of the most respected voices in the Roman Catholic church has accused the visionaries of perpetuating a 'diabolical deceit'.
Andrea Gemma, 77, a bishop and once the Vatican's top exorcist, told a magazine in Italy: 'In Medjugorje everything happens in function of money: Pilgrimages, lodging houses, sale of trinkets.
'This whole sham is the work of the Devil. It is a scandal.' He said the Vatican would soon crack down on the group.
The Medjugorje phenomenon began on June 25, 1981, when six children told a priest they had seen the Virgin on a hillside near their town.
A church investigation dismissed the vision, and the Vatican banned pilgrimages to the site in 1985. But many Catholics ignored the ban. [Confirmation is needed of these statements]
Today, the seers own smart houses with security gates and tennis courts and expensive cars. One is married to a former U.S. beauty queen.
Catholic officials in the U.S. have recently banned the group from speaking on church property during their world tours, on which they allegedly take the Virgin with them.
Source: Daily Mail
Saturday, May 31, 2008
I wish to thank the person who kindly sent me this article via email. My comments follow in red while emphasis is in bold. Fr. Z at WDTPRS has excellent photos with commentary for this occasion.Priests from Nebraska lead rite's resurgence of Latin MassImage Source: Of EWTN, via WDTPRS
Christopher Burbach
Omaha World-Herald, Neb.
Released : Saturday, May 31, 2008 4:00 AM
May 31 -- LINCOLN -- A cardinal from the Vatican, surrounded by 50 priests.
Gregorian chants floating through clouds of incense.
A 3 1/2 -hour Mass, sung in Latin mostly by priests facing the altar.
A cathedral packed to standing-room-only with lots of families with lots of children, women and girls in veils, men in suits, boys in neckties and close-cropped haircuts.
Catholics kneeling to take communion.
The ordination at Lincoln's Cathedral of the Risen Christ on Friday seemed oh-so-retro. But it was hardly an exercise in nostalgia. It was more like back to the future for a small but growing minority that seeks a louder voice in the Roman Catholic Church -- those devoted to the old Latin liturgy known as the Tridentine Mass.
It's a big deal for Catholics because many equate bringing back the Tridentine Mass, which dates to the 16th century, with rejecting the 1960s reforms of Vatican II. Proponents see it as finally bringing back sacredness, God-oriented reverence and tradition that had been left behind.
Whatever the reaction, Friday's events in Lincoln were a further sign that the Latin Mass is on a rebound some 40 years after it was replaced, in the wake of Vatican II, by the modern Mass. The newer rite is celebrated in the local language with the priest facing the congregation.
The Latin Mass was largely shunned for nearly 20 years. It began a comeback when Pope John Paul II approved its use in 1984 [It was never forbidden: "It is, therefore, permissible to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962 and never abrogated, as an extraordinary form of the Liturgy of the Church" (Summorum Pontificum)], then further encouraged its use in 1988 with a letter known as Ecclesia Dei Adflicta.
The rebound accelerated last year when Pope Benedict XVI decreed, in a document called a motu proprio, that priests no longer needed their bishops' approval to say the old Latin Mass, or as the pope calls it, the extraordinary form of the Roman rite.
Denton, Neb., a small town outside Lincoln, is a center of the movement. It's home to Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, which prepares men from all over the world to be priests in the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. That organization is the largest of the priestly societies authorized by the Vatican to preserve ancient liturgical traditions.
Friday's service in the Lincoln cathedral was the ordination of four Fraternity of St. Peter priests. They were ordained by Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, head of the Vatican department that oversees matters regarding the Latin Mass. His appearance in Lincoln was not only a sign of the Nebraska seminary's importance to Rome, but also a further symbol of encouragement from a pope seen as friendly to those who love the Latin Mass.
The ordination Mass was televised live on Eternal Word Television Network, an international Catholic cable network.
Like many of the 800-plus people at Friday's ordination, Wyoming Catholic College teacher Thaddeus Kozinski saw Friday's ordination in the context of Pope Benedict's recent U.S. visit and last year's papal decree.
"What you're seeing is a resurgence in traditional Catholicism and a public vindication of it," Kozinski said as he and his family joined a throng chatting on the cathedral steps after the service. "It's not marginalized anymore."
Kozinski said he hopes his fellow devotees of the Latin Mass will respond with joy and gratitude to God.
About 300 Latin Masses are offered each Sunday in the United States, according to the Coalition in Support of Ecclesia Dei, an Illinois-based lay group that promotes the old liturgy. That's up from about 175 a Sunday in 2001. [Deo Gratias!]
Latin Masses are offered each Sunday at such churches as Immaculate Conception Church, on South 24th Street in Omaha, and St. Francis of Assisi Church, 1145 South St. in Lincoln. About 250 people combined attend the three Masses at Immaculate Conception.
"It's a drop in the bucket," said Mary Kraychy, executive director of the Coalition in Support of Ecclesia Dei. "But it's growing."
The Denton institution is the Fraternity of St. Peter's English-speaking seminary. The fraternity also has a seminary in Germany. Currently, 45 seminarians are enrolled at Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The seminary recently was expanded to accommodate 100 students, said the Rev. Joseph Lee, a priest of the society. It draws seminarians from around the world and sends priests around the world.
The Fraternity of St. Peter has nearly 200 priests worldwide. Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary also is one of the largest providers of training for priests who wish to learn the old Latin Mass. Since June 2007, priests from more than 60 dioceses have been trained.
The society moved the seminary to Nebraska from Pennsylvania in 2000. Lincoln Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz invited the society to his diocese, but the seminary is independent of the diocese. Rather, the society reports directly to Rome.
Demand from priests and parishioners has increased since Benedict XVI's much-anticipated 2007 decree, Lee said. The pope wanted to make sure that the extraordinary form of the Roman rite is preserved and made available to Catholics who desire it, Lee said.
What Benedict XVI didn't intend with the decree, and he said so himself in a letter to bishops, was for the Latin Mass to replace the modern Mass, known as the Novus Ordo. The pope refers to that liturgy as the ordinary form of the Roman rite.
"It (the decree) doesn't require it. and it doesn't encourage replacing the Novus Ordo," said Eileen Burke-Sullivan, an assistant professor of theology at Creighton University. "The emotional and spiritual needs of people are very varied. There isn't one size that fits all."
Devotees of the Latin Mass include older Catholics who grew up with it and wish it had never gone away, as well as younger people raised on modern Masses.
Omahan Erin Sullivan grew up on English-speaking Masses but found a church home where the Tridentine Mass was offered. For about five years, she and her husband, Jim, and their children attended Latin Mass at St. Patrick Catholic Church. They moved about a year ago, with their seven children, to Immaculate Conception when Omaha Archbishop Elden Curtiss gave that parish to the Fraternity of St. Peter to administer.
Sullivan, who sang in the choir at Friday's ordination, said she was attracted to the Tridentine Mass by "its beauty and its reverence, its silence and its solemnity."
"When you attend the Latin Mass, there's no doubt that there's something holy and special going on," she said.
Moscow, May 29, Interfax - Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia and Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, discussed in Moscow on Thursday the expansion of the Uniate Church in the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church.
"The talks centered, among other matters, on the expansion of the Uniate Church, including in Ukraine. The Patriarch also said that canonical Orthodox believers in Western Ukraine must have decent church buildings to pray in," a source in the Moscow Patriarchate told journalists after the meeting.
Another issue raised was the spiritual rearing of children, who are heirs of the Orthodox tradition by birth, at Catholic orphanages.
No specific discussion was held on a possible meeting between Alexy II and Pope Benedict XVI, although "the possibility in principle" was confirmed, according to the source.
The Russian Patriarch said that a meeting like this must be thoroughly prepared, so it will not be merely "a photo-up opportunity ," the source said.
Both sides shared their concerns about the Ravenna incident happened on October 2007 at the session of the Mixed Orthodox-Catholic Theological Commission. Then the Moscow Patriarchate's representatives left its plenary session as they didn't agree to the participation of the so-called Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church delegates in it. The latter was established in 1996 by the Constantinople Patriarchate on the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchate.
"Alexy II stated that Orthodox and Catholic dialogue couldn't develop without the world largest Orthodox Church participating," the source said.
According to him, Kasper agreed with such an opinion.
Source: Interfax
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Vatican Congregation for the Clergy
Theme for World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests
May 30, 2008
by Cardinal Claudio Hummes
Reverend and dear Brothers in the Priesthood,
On the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus let us fix the eyes of our minds and hearts with a constant loving gaze on Christ, the one Savior of our lives and of the world. Focusing on Christ means focusing on that Face which every human being, consciously or not, seeks as a satisfying response to his own insuppressible thirst for happiness.
We have encountered this Face and on that day, at that moment, his Love so deeply wounded our hearts that we could no longer refrain from asking ceaselessly to be in his Presence. “In the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch” (Psalm 5).
The Sacred Liturgy leads us once again to contemplate the Mystery of the Incarnation of the Word, the origin and intimate reality of this company which is the Church: the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob revealed himself in Jesus Christ. “No one could see his Glory unless first healed by the humility of his flesh.... By dust you were blinded, and by dust you are healed: flesh, then, had wounded you, flesh heals you” (St. Augustine, Commentary on the Gospel according to John, Homily, 2, 16).
Only by looking again at the perfect and fascinating humanity of Jesus Christ -- alive and active now -- who revealed himself to us and still today bends down to each one of us with his special love of total predilection, can we can let him illumine and fill the abyss of need which is our humanity, certain of Hope encountered and sure of Mercy that embraces our limitations and teaches us to forgive what we ourselves do not even manage to discern. “Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts” (Psalm 42[41]).
On the occasion of the traditional World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests that is celebrated on the Feast of the Sacred Heart, I would like to recall the priority of prayer over action since it is on prayer that the effectiveness of action depends. The Church's mission largely depends on each person's personal relationship with the Lord Jesus and must therefore be nourished by prayer: “It is time to reaffirm the importance of prayer in the face of the activism and the growing secularism” (Benedict XVI, "Deus Caritas Est," No. 37). Let us not tire of drawing on his Mercy, of letting him look at and medicate the painful wounds of our sin, in order to marvel at the ever new miracle of our redeemed humanity.
Dear confreres, we are experts of God's Mercy within us and only by so being, his instruments in embracing wounded humanity in a way that is ever new. “Christ does not save us from our humanity, but through it; he does not save us from the world but came into the world so that through him the world might be saved (cf. John 3:17)” (Benedict XVI, Urbi et Orbi Message, Dec. 25, 2006). Finally, we are priests through the Sacrament of Orders, the highest Act of God's Mercy and, at the same time, of his special preference.
In the second place, with an unquenchable thirst and longing for Christ, the most authentic dimension of our Priesthood is mendicancy, simple and continuous prayer that is learned in silent orison. It has always characterized the life of Saints and should be asked for insistently. This awareness of our relationship with him is subjected to the purification of daily testing. Every day we realize again and again that not even we Ministers who act "in Persona Christi Capitis" are spared this drama. We cannot live a single moment in his Presence without a gentle longing to know him and to continue to adhere to him. Let us not give in to the temptation to see being priests as a burden, inevitable and impossible to delegate, henceforth assumed, which can perhaps be carried out “mechanically” with a structured and coherent pastoral program. Priesthood is the vocation, the path and the manner through which Christ saves us, has called us and is calling us now to! abide with him.
The one adequate measure, with regard to our Holy Vocation, is radicalism. This total dedication with awareness of our infidelity can only be brought into being as a renewed and prayerful decision which Christ subsequently implements, day after day. The actual gift of priestly celibacy must be accepted and lived in this dimension of radicalism and full configuration to Christ. Any other approach to the reality of the relationship with him risks becoming ideological.
Even the great mass of work that the contemporary conditions of the ministry sometimes impose on us, far from discouraging us must spur us to care with even greater attention for our priestly identity which has an incontrovertibly divine root. In this regard the particular conditions of the ministry themselves must impel us, with a logic opposed to that of the world, to “raise the tone” of our spiritual life, witnessing with greater conviction and effectiveness to our exclusive belonging to the Lord.
We are taught total dedication by the One who loved us first. “I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here am I, here am I' to a nation that did not call on my name”. The place of totality par excellence is the Eucharist since, “in the Eucharist Jesus does not give us a ‘thing' but himself; he offers his own body and pours out his own blood” ("Sacramentum Caritatis," No. 7).
Let us be faithful, dear confreres, to the daily Celebration of the Most Holy Eucharist, not solely in order to fulfill a pastoral commitment or a requirement of the community entrusted to us but because of the absolute personal need we have of it, as of breathing, as of light for our life, as the one satisfactory reason for a complete priestly existence.
In his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Sacramentum Caritatis," the Holy Father reproposes to us forcefully St Augustine's affirmation: “no one eats that flesh without first adoring it; we should sin were we not to adore it” (St. Augustine, "Enarrationes in Psalmos," 98,9). We cannot live, we cannot look at the truth about ourselves without letting ourselves be looked at and generated by Christ in daily Eucharistic Adoration, and the “Stabat” of Mary, “Woman of the Eucharist”, beneath her Son's Cross, is the most significant example of contemplation and adoration of the divine Sacrifice that has been given to us.
Since the missionary spirit is intrinsic in the very nature of the Church, our mission is likewise innate in the priestly identity, which is why missionary urgency is a matter of self-awareness. Our priestly identity is edified and renewed day after day in “conversation” with Our Lord. An immediate consequence of our relationship with him, ever nourished in constant prayer, is the need to share it with all those around us. The holiness we ask for daily, in fact, cannot be conceived according to a sterile and abstract individual acceptance but is necessarily Christ's holiness, which is contagious for everyone: “Being in communion with Jesus Christ draws us into his ‘being for all'; it makes it our own way of being” (Benedict XVI, "Spe Salvi," No. 28).
Christ's “being for all” is realized for us in the Tria Munera by which we are clothed in the very nature of the Priesthood. These Munera which constitute the entirety of our Ministry, are not the place for alienation or, even worse, a mere functionalist reductionism of ourselves but rather are the truest expression of our belonging to Christ; they are the place of our relationship with him. The People which has been entrusted to us to be educated, sanctified and governed is not a reality that distracts us from “our life” but the Face of Christ that we contemplate daily, as the face of his beloved for the bridegroom and the Church his Bride for Christ. The People entrusted to us is the indispensable path for our holiness, in other words the path on which Christ manifests through us the Glory of the Father.
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea... those on the other hand who send to perdition an entire people... what should they suffer and what punishment should they receive?” (St. John Chrysostom, "De Sacerdotio," VI, 1.498). In the face of the awareness of such a serious task and such a great responsibility for our life and our salvation, in which faithfulness to Christ coincides with “obedience” to the needs dictated by the redemption of those souls, there is not even room to doubt the grace received. We can only ask to surrender as much as possible to his Love so that he will act through us, for either we let Christ save the world, acting in us, or we risk betraying the very nature of our vocation. The measure of dedication, dear confreres, is totality, again and anew. Yes, “five loaves an! d two fishes” are not many but they are all! God's Grace makes of all our littleness the Communion that satisfies the People. Elderly and sick priests who exercise the divine ministry daily, uniting themselves with Christ's Passion and offering their own priestly existence for the true good of the Church and the salvation of souls, share especially in this “total dedication”.
Lastly, the Holy Mother of God remains an indispensable foundation of the whole of priestly life. The relationship with her cannot be resolved in pious devotional practice but is nourished by ceaseless entrustment to the arms of the ever Virgin of the whole of our life, of our ministry in its entirety. Mary Most Holy also leads us, like John, to beneath the Cross of her Son and Our Lord in order to contemplate, with her, God's infinite Love: “He who for us is Life itself descended here and endured our death and slew it by the abundance of his Life” (St. Augustine, "Confessiones," IV, 12).
As a condition for our redemption, for the fulfillment of our humanity, for the Advent of the Incarnation of the Son, God the Father chose to await a Virgin's “Fiat” to an angel's announcement. Christ decided to entrust, so to speak, his own Life to the loving freedom of the Mother: “She conceived, brought forth, and nourished Christ, she presented him to the Father in the temple, shared her Son's sufferings as he died on the Cross. Thus, in a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the work of the Savior in restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace” ("Lumen Gentium," No. 61).
Pope St Pius X said: “Every priestly vocation comes from the heart of God but passes through the heart of a mother”. This is true with regard to obvious biological motherhood but it is also true of the “birth” of every form of fidelity to the Vocation of Christ. We cannot do without a spiritual motherhood for our priestly life: let us entrust ourselves confidently to the prayer of the whole of Holy Mother Church, to the motherhood of the People, whose pastors we are but to whom are entrusted our custody and holiness; let us ask for this fundamental support.
Dear confreres, the urgent need for “a movement of prayer, placing 24-hour continuous Eucharistic adoration at the centre so that a prayer of adoration, thanksgiving, praise, petition and reparation will be raised to God, incessantly and from every corner of the earth, with the primary intention of awakening a sufficient number of holy vocations to the priestly state and, at the same time, spiritually uniting with a certain spiritual maternity -- at the level of the Mystical Body -- all those who have already been called to the ministerial priesthood and are ontologically conformed to the one High and Eternal Priest. This movement will offer better service to Christ and his brothers -- those who are at once ‘inside’ the Church and also ‘at the forefront’ of the Church, standing in Christ's stead (cf. "Pastores Dabo Vobis," No. 16), and representing him as head, shepherd and spouse of the Church” (Letter of the Congregation of the! Clergy, 8 December 2007).
A further form of spiritual motherhood has recently been outlined. It has always silently accompanied the chosen ranks of priests in the course of the Church's history. It is the concrete entrustment of our ministry to a specific face, to a consecrated soul who has been called by Christ and therefore chooses to offer herself, with the necessary suffering and the inevitable struggles of life, to intercede for our priestly existence, thereby dwelling in Christ's sweet presence. This motherhood, which embodies Mary's loving face, should be prayed for because God alone can bring it into being and sustain it. In this regard there are plenty of wonderful examples; only think of St Monica's beneficial tears for her son Augustine, for whom she wept “more than mothers weep when lamenting their dead children” (St. Augustine, "Confessions," III, 11).
Another fascinating example is that of Eliza Vaughan, who gave birth to 13 children and entrusted them to the Lord; six of her eight sons became priests and four of her five daughters became women religious. Since it is impossible to be true mendicants before Christ, marvelously concealed in the Eucharistic Mystery, without being able in practice to ask for the effective help and prayers of those whom he sets beside us, let us not be afraid to entrust ourselves to the motherhoods that the Spirit will certainly bring into being for us.
St Thérèse of the Child Jesus, aware of the extreme need of prayer for all priests, especially those who were lukewarm, wrote in a letter to her sister Céline, “Let us live for souls, let us be apostles, let us save above all the souls of priests.... Let us pray and suffer for them and on the last day Jesus will be grateful” (St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Letter 94).
Let us entrust ourselves to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Queen of Apostles, our sweetest Mother, let us look to Christ with her, ceaselessly striving to be totally, radically his; this is our identity!
Let us remember the words of the Holy Curé d’Ars, Patron of Parish Priests: “If I already had one foot in Heaven and I was told to return to the earth to work to convert sinners, I would gladly return. And if, to do this, it were necessary that I remain on earth until the end of the world, always rising at midnight and suffering as I suffer, I would consent with all my heart” (Brother Athanase, "Procès de l’Ordinaire," p. 883).
May the Lord guide and protect each and every one, especially the sick and those who are suffering the most, in the constant offering of our life for love.
Cardinal Cláudio Hummes
Prefect
Mauro Piacenza
Titular Archbishop of Victoriana
Secretary
SALINAS —After an absence of forty years, the Traditional Latin Mass according to the Roman Missal of 1962 returns to Mission San Juan Bautista on the Feast Day of Saints Peter and Paul, Sunday, June 29, 2008 at 2 PM.
The Latin Mass – to be celebrated by Father Nicholas Milich – will be a Sung Mass or Missa Cantata with Gregorian Schola composed of singers from throughout the northern part of the Diocese of Monterey.
In July 2007, Pope Benedict XVI removed all remaining restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass in his motu proprio "Summorum Pontificum." Benedict XVI decreed the traditional rite of the Mass as the "Extraordinary Form" of the Roman Rite with any Roman Rite priest free to celebrate it without the permission of the local ordinary or any other ecclesiastical authority.
Current plans call for the Traditional Latin Mass to begin being celebrated regularly on Sundays at the San Juan Bautista Mission.
Additional information: Andrew Russo, 831-753-1419.
Source: WDTPRS
Friday, May 30, 2008
Brazil’s Pro-Life Movement Stops Abortion Legalization
With great joy we received the news at Vida Humana Internacional, HLI’s Hispanic Division in Miami, that a piece of legislation (bill 1135/91) which would have legalized abortion on demand throughout Brazil, did not make it out of the Safety and Family Commission. This pro-life triumph was possible thanks to the very excellent pro-life movement that exists in Brazil and in particular to the efforts of Dr. Humberto Vieira, HLI’s national representative in that country. Dr. Vieira, who is founder and president of Providafamilia, has been involved with HLI for over 18 years. He has managed to create a magnificent pro-life network throughout Brazil that is well-organized and united.
The vote that stopped abortion legalization was a unanimous 33 to 0. The four pro-abortion legislators on the Commission left the session at the time of the vote, but two of them were substituted by other legislators who in turn voted for life! According to pro-life leaders, many parliamentarians were crying, embracing each other and rejoicing over this triumph. Now the bill will be voted on in the Commission of Constitution and Justice, where victory is expected. However, we ask for prayers for the ultimate defeat of this bill.
The strategy devised by Dr.Vieira and his great team was two-fold: One group lobbied the legislators and another one worked with the electoral grassroots of the parliamentarians. It was an historic vote for Brazil and the pro-aborts were surprised and in disarray! Dr. Maria das Dores Guimarães Dolly, a pro-life attorney from Sao Paolo, traveled to Brasilia every week to lobby the legislators. Needless to say, the support of the Brazilian Bishops Conference and of many of the individual bishops themselves was crucial. Brazil’s bishops have recently embarked on a pro-life educational campaign that will reach out to all parishes throughout the entire country.
Representatives Jose Aristodemo Pinotti and Cida Diogo initially said they would vote in favor of the abortion law but withdrew before the vote was taken. Pinotti is a medical doctor, and in the 70’s he was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Rockefellers’ Population Council, an organization that is behind population control efforts throughout the world.[1] In the letter he wrote to a Brazilian pro-life leader, dated May 14, 2008, Pinotti claimed to be “against abortion” and only in favor of its “regulation.” Yet according to his curriculum vitae on the website of the Brazilian Chapter of the Jewish Medical Association, he is (or has been) a member of the board of directors of the International Projects Assistance Services (IPAS). IPAS is an American company based in Chapel Hill, NC that manufactures abortion equipment and promotes its legalization. [2] Pinotti is also a past president of the terrible abortion promoting organization called the “International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics” (FIGO, 1988-1991); Pinotti presided over its XII World Congress in 1988.
It would seem that there are some foreign anti-life organizations behind the efforts to legalize abortion in Brazil as is the case in other Hispanic countries. The main example of this type of international pressure is Nicaragua, where abortion was outlawed in 2006 and yet those pressures still continue. Nevertheless, in spite of whatever anti-life organizations and foundations may be behind the effort to legalize abortion in Brazil, the pro-life movement of that country is now a huge force to contend with.
VATICAN CITY (CNA) - Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, has sent a letter to the bishops of the world with the approval of Pope Benedict XVI reaffirming the norms established by the Congregation for Catholic Education in the 2005 document, "Instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocation with regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in view of their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders," as universal and without exceptions.
In the brief "Rescriptum ex audientia" –a written response to various queries—Cardinal Bertone said the norms establishing the selection of candidates to the priesthood are valid "for all houses of formation for the priesthood, including those under the Dicasteries for Eastern Churches, for the Evangelization of Peoples, and for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life."
The letter, which Cardinal Bertone said was issued in response "to numerous requests for clarification," implies that the prohibition against accepting homosexual candidates in seminaries applies not only to diocesan seminaries but also to those of religious orders and congregations, as well as to those that are located in mission territories.
The 2005 Instruction indicated the Congregation for Catholic Education, "in accord with the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, believes it necessary to state clearly that the Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question, cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practise homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called 'gay culture'."
"Such persons, in fact, find themselves in a situation that gravely hinders them from relating correctly to men and women. One must in no way overlook the negative consequences that can derive from the ordination of persons with deep-seated homosexual tendencies," the 2005 document also said.
Source: Catholic.org
Former prime minister Tony Blair has promised to "spend the rest of my life" uniting the world's religions
He said faith could be a "civilising force in globalisation", bringing people together to solve problems such as malaria and extreme poverty.
Mr Blair, who is now a peace envoy to the Middle East, told Time magazine that religious belief had given him "strength" while in power.
He is launching a "faith foundation" in New York on Friday.
Mr Blair, who recently converted to Catholicism, said: "Faith is part of our future, and faith and the values it brings with it are an essential part of making globalisation work."
'Fantastic thing'
His foundation will attempt to bring religions together to tackle global issues such as the UN's eight Millennium Development Goals, which range from eradicating extreme poverty to ensuring environmental sustainability.
One of its first priorities will be to fight the spread of malaria.
Mr Blair said: "If you got churches and mosques and those of the Jewish faith working together to provide the bed nets that are necessary to eliminate malaria, what a fantastic thing that would be.
"That would show faith in action, it would show the importance of cooperation between faiths, and it would show what faith can do for progress."
He added that it was possible to "achieve a greater understanding between the different religious faiths, so that we make platforms for action by those faiths and deal with some of the biggest issues in the world".
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Source: BBC
Let us pray that our Lord Jesus Christ will work through Former Prime Minister Tony Blair. I am extremely pleased to see the recent convert, Mr. Blair, pursing an active role in evangelization.
Laudetus Jesus Christus!
Image Source: AFP/File/Leon Neal
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