Some time back, I wrote two posts detailing how I wasn't welcomed at Ste. Marie's Parish in Manchester and how I even had to struggle just to obtain a parish registration form. These two posts may be found here:
http://lasalettejourney.blogspot.com/2006/01/welcoming-parish.html
http://lasalettejourney.blogspot.com/2006/01/constructive-criticism_24.html
Although I was made to feel totally unwelcome and denied the opportunity to volunteer at the parish (most likely because of my orthodoxy) - among other things the parish has promoted New Age Centering Prayer - and I'm on record as opposing it as well as dissent from Church teaching, the pastor of Ste Marie's - Fr. Marc Montminy - did manage to find the time to send me a letter asking for financial help for the parish.
In his letter dated October 19, 2006, he writes in part: "..our church is a priceless treasure; but like all treasures, it costs money to preserve....We cannot modernize these beautiful buildings without significant financial commitment on the part of everyone in the parish...now I need your help! If everyone does his/her best we can accomplish this goal."
And so it would seem that my money is welcome at Ste Marie's Parish but I am not. When I was new to the parish and looking to fit in, I was denied the opportunity to belong and to volunteer. In short, it would seem that while Fr. Montminy considers the parish buildings to be priceless treasures, he does not believe me to have any worth as a human being. If he had, I would have been welcomed and not to made to feel like a pariah.
I guess we all have our priorities.
Paul.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Pope Benedict XVI: Christians and Muslims Must Face Global Challenges Together
CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS: FACE GLOBAL CHALLENGES TOGETHER
VATICAN CITY, OCT 20, 2006 (VIS) - Made public today was the annual Message to Muslims for the end of the month of Ramadan from the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue. It bears the signatures of Cardinal Paul Poupard and Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, respectively president and secretary of the council. The theme of the Message this year (1427 AH / 2006 AD) is, "Christians and Muslims: in confident dialogue aimed at solving together the challenges of our world."
The document as been published in English, French, Italian and Arabic. Extracts are given below:
"It is good to be able to share this significant moment with you in the context of our ongoing dialogue. The particular circumstances that we have recently experienced together demonstrate clearly that, however arduous the path of authentic dialogue may be at times, it is more necessary than ever.
"The month of Ramadan which you have just completed has also undoubtedly been a time of prayer and reflection on the difficult situations of today's world. While contemplating and thanking God for all that is good, it is impossible not to take note of the serious problems which affect our times: injustice, poverty, tensions and conflicts between countries as well as within them. Violence and terrorism are a particularly painful scourge. ... So much, which has taken years of sacrifice and toil to build, destroyed in a few minutes!
"As Christian and Muslim believers, are we not the first to be called to offer our specific contribution to resolve this serious situation and these complex problems? Without doubt, the credibility of religions and also the credibility of our religious leaders and all believers is at stake. If we do not play our part as believers, many will question the usefulness of religion and the integrity of all men and women who bow down before God.
"Our two religions give great importance to love, compassion and solidarity. ... In recalling this point, the first Encyclical Letter of Pope Benedict XVI, 'Deus Caritas Est' (God is Love), underlines the importance of fraternal charity in the Church's mission: love, to be credible, must be effective. ... True love must be of service to all the needs of daily life; it must also seek just and peaceful solutions to the serious problems which afflict our world."
"In those places where we can work together, let us not labor separately. The world has need, and so do we, of Christians and Muslims who respect and value each other and bear witness to their mutual love and cooperation to the glory of God and the good of all humanity. ... [This will] offer a significant contribution to the re-establishment and strengthening of peace both within nations and between peoples."
VATICAN CITY, OCT 20, 2006 (VIS) - Made public today was the annual Message to Muslims for the end of the month of Ramadan from the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue. It bears the signatures of Cardinal Paul Poupard and Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, respectively president and secretary of the council. The theme of the Message this year (1427 AH / 2006 AD) is, "Christians and Muslims: in confident dialogue aimed at solving together the challenges of our world."
The document as been published in English, French, Italian and Arabic. Extracts are given below:
"It is good to be able to share this significant moment with you in the context of our ongoing dialogue. The particular circumstances that we have recently experienced together demonstrate clearly that, however arduous the path of authentic dialogue may be at times, it is more necessary than ever.
"The month of Ramadan which you have just completed has also undoubtedly been a time of prayer and reflection on the difficult situations of today's world. While contemplating and thanking God for all that is good, it is impossible not to take note of the serious problems which affect our times: injustice, poverty, tensions and conflicts between countries as well as within them. Violence and terrorism are a particularly painful scourge. ... So much, which has taken years of sacrifice and toil to build, destroyed in a few minutes!
"As Christian and Muslim believers, are we not the first to be called to offer our specific contribution to resolve this serious situation and these complex problems? Without doubt, the credibility of religions and also the credibility of our religious leaders and all believers is at stake. If we do not play our part as believers, many will question the usefulness of religion and the integrity of all men and women who bow down before God.
"Our two religions give great importance to love, compassion and solidarity. ... In recalling this point, the first Encyclical Letter of Pope Benedict XVI, 'Deus Caritas Est' (God is Love), underlines the importance of fraternal charity in the Church's mission: love, to be credible, must be effective. ... True love must be of service to all the needs of daily life; it must also seek just and peaceful solutions to the serious problems which afflict our world."
"In those places where we can work together, let us not labor separately. The world has need, and so do we, of Christians and Muslims who respect and value each other and bear witness to their mutual love and cooperation to the glory of God and the good of all humanity. ... [This will] offer a significant contribution to the re-establishment and strengthening of peace both within nations and between peoples."
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Prophecy: A Sign From the East
And yet, there are many pollyanna-like Catholics who just cannot read the signs of the times and who insist that anyone who speaks of chastisement or the consequences of sin is being "negative."
Such confused Catholics are drawn to the message of people like Norman Vincent Peale and the Chicken Soup books. The "I'm okay, you're okay" school of sacharrin-coated spirituality which avoids any mention of sin or at least downplays its seriousness.
Many priests and religious have succumbed to this "positive" feel-good spirituality. This is why they cannot muster the courage to speak out against sin and a culture of death which is envelloping our society.
As for me, I stand with the Catholic writer who said, "I find Peale appalling and Paul appealing." Amen. It is our vocation as baptized Catholics to take a stand against a society saturated in sin - institutionalized sin - and to be salt and light to a troubled and hurting world. The choice is ours: we can continue to live in denial and pretend that everything is "okay" and denounce those Christians who actually possess the Holy Spirit's gift of Fortitude and who are not afraid to stand with Christ and His Church or we can stand with the Son of Man and refuse to be ashamed of His Person and message.
The choice is ours. A meditation: Revelation 3:16.
Paul
Such confused Catholics are drawn to the message of people like Norman Vincent Peale and the Chicken Soup books. The "I'm okay, you're okay" school of sacharrin-coated spirituality which avoids any mention of sin or at least downplays its seriousness.
Many priests and religious have succumbed to this "positive" feel-good spirituality. This is why they cannot muster the courage to speak out against sin and a culture of death which is envelloping our society.
As for me, I stand with the Catholic writer who said, "I find Peale appalling and Paul appealing." Amen. It is our vocation as baptized Catholics to take a stand against a society saturated in sin - institutionalized sin - and to be salt and light to a troubled and hurting world. The choice is ours: we can continue to live in denial and pretend that everything is "okay" and denounce those Christians who actually possess the Holy Spirit's gift of Fortitude and who are not afraid to stand with Christ and His Church or we can stand with the Son of Man and refuse to be ashamed of His Person and message.
The choice is ours. A meditation: Revelation 3:16.
Paul
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Monday, October 16, 2006
FAITHFUL TO THE SPIRIT OF ST. PIO OF PIETRELCINA
VATICAN CITY, OCT 14, 2006 (VIS) - In St. Peter's Square at midday today, Benedict XVI met with 30,000 people from Italy and other countries who have come together to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the foundation, by St. Pio of Pietrelcina, of the hospital, "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza" (House for Relief of Suffering).
Among those present were the Capuchin Fathers of the Shrine of St. Mary of Grace and of the new church dedicated to St. Pio, located in San Giovanni Rotondo in southern Italy, as well as directors, doctors and nurses of the hospital, and members of various prayer groups.
In his address to them, the Pope called on the Capuchin Fathers, "spurred on and supported by the example of Padre Pio and by his intercession," to make every effort "to imitate him and help everyone to live a profound spiritual experience focussed on the contemplation of the Crucified Christ, Who reveals and mediates the merciful love of the heavenly Father.
"From the heart of Padre Pio, which burned with charity, arose the House for Relief of Suffering," he added. The saint "chose to call it 'house' so that sick people, especially the poor, might feel at ease there, ... and might find 'relief' from their suffering ... thanks to two converging forces: prayer and science. ... Faith in God and scientific research work together towards the same aim, that can best be expressed in Jesus' own words: 'that they may have life, and have it abundantly.' Yes, God is life, and wants man to be healed from all of the evils of the body and of the spirit."
The Holy Father then went on to recall how the prayer groups came into being following a call to pray for peace made by Pope Pius XII in 1942 during World War II. "Padre Pio," he said, "encouraged his spiritual children to give a prompt response to the appeal of the Vicar of Christ."
"The prayer groups have spread to parishes, convents and hospitals, and today number more than 3,000 with a presence on all the continents. ... Your prayer, as it says in your Statutes, is 'with the Church, through the Church and in the Church,' to be experienced always in full accordance with the Magisterium, with ready obedience to the Pope and the bishops, under the guidance of a priest appointed by the bishop. The Statues also prescribe another vital commitment of the prayer groups: 'effective and assiduous charity to bring relief to the suffering and the needy as a practical demonstration of charity towards God.' Here again is the combination prayer and charity, God and our fellow man."
Benedict XVI concluded his remarks by thanking the faithful for "the support you give me with your prayers. May the Lord repay you! At the same time, for the community of the House for Relief of Suffering I ask the special grace of remaining ever faithful to the spirit and project of Padre Pio."
May the spirit of St. Padre Pio be with all of us during these difficult times.
Paul
VATICAN CITY, OCT 14, 2006 (VIS) - In St. Peter's Square at midday today, Benedict XVI met with 30,000 people from Italy and other countries who have come together to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the foundation, by St. Pio of Pietrelcina, of the hospital, "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza" (House for Relief of Suffering).
Among those present were the Capuchin Fathers of the Shrine of St. Mary of Grace and of the new church dedicated to St. Pio, located in San Giovanni Rotondo in southern Italy, as well as directors, doctors and nurses of the hospital, and members of various prayer groups.
In his address to them, the Pope called on the Capuchin Fathers, "spurred on and supported by the example of Padre Pio and by his intercession," to make every effort "to imitate him and help everyone to live a profound spiritual experience focussed on the contemplation of the Crucified Christ, Who reveals and mediates the merciful love of the heavenly Father.
"From the heart of Padre Pio, which burned with charity, arose the House for Relief of Suffering," he added. The saint "chose to call it 'house' so that sick people, especially the poor, might feel at ease there, ... and might find 'relief' from their suffering ... thanks to two converging forces: prayer and science. ... Faith in God and scientific research work together towards the same aim, that can best be expressed in Jesus' own words: 'that they may have life, and have it abundantly.' Yes, God is life, and wants man to be healed from all of the evils of the body and of the spirit."
The Holy Father then went on to recall how the prayer groups came into being following a call to pray for peace made by Pope Pius XII in 1942 during World War II. "Padre Pio," he said, "encouraged his spiritual children to give a prompt response to the appeal of the Vicar of Christ."
"The prayer groups have spread to parishes, convents and hospitals, and today number more than 3,000 with a presence on all the continents. ... Your prayer, as it says in your Statutes, is 'with the Church, through the Church and in the Church,' to be experienced always in full accordance with the Magisterium, with ready obedience to the Pope and the bishops, under the guidance of a priest appointed by the bishop. The Statues also prescribe another vital commitment of the prayer groups: 'effective and assiduous charity to bring relief to the suffering and the needy as a practical demonstration of charity towards God.' Here again is the combination prayer and charity, God and our fellow man."
Benedict XVI concluded his remarks by thanking the faithful for "the support you give me with your prayers. May the Lord repay you! At the same time, for the community of the House for Relief of Suffering I ask the special grace of remaining ever faithful to the spirit and project of Padre Pio."
May the spirit of St. Padre Pio be with all of us during these difficult times.
Paul
Sunday, October 15, 2006
From the La Salette Journey Archives
A word from a Doctor of the Church on authentic charity. A charity which is rooted in fraternal correction:
St. Catherine of Sienna and the Dialogue
In her own day, St. Catherine of Sienna found much corruption within the Holy Church. Homosexuality and many other deeply rooted problems were found among the clergy and Our Lord spoke to this Doctor of the Church about these problems (pride, loss of sacred identity, loss of faith, worldliness, and sensuality). These conversations were laid out in St. Catherine's book entitled "Dialogue," and most especially in that portion of the book labelled "The Mystical Body of Holy Church."
While St. Catherine cautions her readers not to engage in blanket condemnations aimed at the clergy in general (using scandals as an excuse to denigrate priests in general), and refers to such people as "irreverent persecutors" of the clergy, still, she was told by Our Lord that those who will not receive correction and those who will not give it are like the limbs of a body beginning to rot.
In our sacharrin society, medicinal rebuke is often mistaken for a "lack of charity" when in actuality such constructive criticism aids in healing. In his excellent work entitled "Liberalism is a sin," Fr. Felix Sarda Y Salvany writes:"If the propagation of good and the necessity of combating evil require the employment of terms somewhat harsh against error and its supporters, this usage is certainly not against charity. This is a corollary or consequence of the principle we have just demonstrated. We must render evil odious and detestable. We cannot attain this result without pointing out the dangers of evil, without showing how and why it is odious, detestable and contemptible. Christian oratory of all ages has ever employed the most vigorous and emphatic rhetoric in the arsenal of human speech against impiety. In the writings of the great athletes of Christianity the usage of irony, imprecation, execration and of the most crushing epithets is continual. Hence the only law is the opportunity and the truth.
But there is another justification for such an usage. Popular propagation and apologetics cannot preserve elegant and constrained academic forms. In order to convince the people we must speak to their heart and their imagination which can only be touched by ardent, brilliant, and impassioned language.To be impassioned is not to be reprehensible----when our heat is the holy ardor of truth. The supposed violence of modern Ultramontane journalism not only falls short of Liberal journalism, but is amply justified by every page of the works of our great Catholic polemicists of other epochs. This is easily verified. St. John the Baptist calls the Pharisees "race of vipers," Jesus Christ, our Divine Savior, hurls at them the epithets "hypocrites, whitened sepulchers, a perverse and adulterous generation" without thinking for this reason that He sullies the sanctity of His benevolent speech. St. Paul criticizes the schismatic Cretins as "always liars, evil beasts, slothful bellies." The same apostle calls Elymas the magician a "seducer, full of guile and deceit, child of the Devil, enemy of all justice."
If we open the Fathers we find the same vigorous castigation of heresy and heretics. St. Jerome arguing against Vigilantius casts in his face his former occupation of saloonkeeper: "From your infancy," he says to him, "you have learned other things than theology and betaken yourself to other pursuits. To verify at the same time the value of your money accounts and the value of Scriptural texts, to sample wines and grasp the meaning of the prophets and apostles are certainly not occupations which the same man can accomplish with credit." On another occasion attacking the same Vigilantius, who denied the excellence of virginity and of fasting, St. Jerome, with his usual sprightliness, asks him if he spoke thus "in order not to diminish the receipts of his saloon?"Heavens! What an outcry would be raised if one of our Ultramontane controversialists were to write against a Liberal critic or heretic of our own day in this fashion!
What shall we say of St. John Chrysostom? His famous invective against Eutropius is not comparable, in its personal and aggressive character, to the cruel invectives of Cicero against Catiline and against Verres!The gentle St. Bernard did not honey his words when he attacked the enemies of the faith. Addressing Arnold of Brescia, the great Liberal agitator of his times, he calls him in all his letters "seducer, vase of injuries, scorpion, cruel wolf." The pacific St. Thomas of Acquinas forgets the calm of his cold syllogisms when he hurls his violent apostrophe against William of St. Amour and his disciples: "Enemies of God," he cries out, "ministers of the Devil, members of antiChrist, ignorami, perverts, reprobates!" Never did the illustrious Louis Veuillot speak so boldly. The seraphic St. Bonaventure, so full of sweetness, overwhelms his adversary Gerard with such epithets as "impudent, calumniator, spirit of malice, impious, shameless, ignorant, impostor, malefactor, perfidious, ingrate!"Did St. Francis de Sales, so delicately exquisite and tender, ever purr softly over the heretics of his age and country? He pardoned their injuries, heaped benefits on them even to the point of saving the lives of those who sought to take his, but with the enemies of the faith he preserved neither moderation nor consideration. Asked by a Catholic, who desired to know if it were permissible to speak evil of a heretic who propagated false doctrines, he replied: "Yes, you can, on the condition that you adhere to the exact truth, to what you know of his bad conduct, presenting that which is doubtful as doubtful according to the degree of doubt which you may have in this regard."
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, that precious and popular work, he expresses himself again: "If the declared enemies of God and of the Church ought to be blamed and censured with all possible vigor, charity obliges us to cry 'wolf' when the wolf slips into the midst of the flock, and in every way and place we may meet him."
This is real meat for real Catholics. It was Sir Edmund Burke who said that, "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph in the world is for good people to do nothing." When we witness another Catholic (and yes, even a priest) promoting homosexuality, abortion, contraception, New Age, witchcraft, or dissent in general, we have an obligation (in charity) to speak the truth and to show others how that individual's words, ideas or actions fail to hold up when placed in the Lumen Christi - when held up to the Magisterial teaching of the Church. If someone wants to accuse us of "having an axe to grind," simply because we speak the truth, that's their affair. But such people should recall what St. Catherine had to say about medicinal rebuke and should meditate upon these passages from Sacred Scripture:
"Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." (Galatians 6:7-8)."
"Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Whatever you have said in the dark SHALL BE HEARD IN THE LIGHT, and what you have whispered in private rooms SHALL BE PROCLAIMED FROM THE HOUSETOPS." (Luke 12:2-3).
The Word of the Lord.
Amen.
Paul Anthony Melanson
St. Catherine of Sienna and the Dialogue
In her own day, St. Catherine of Sienna found much corruption within the Holy Church. Homosexuality and many other deeply rooted problems were found among the clergy and Our Lord spoke to this Doctor of the Church about these problems (pride, loss of sacred identity, loss of faith, worldliness, and sensuality). These conversations were laid out in St. Catherine's book entitled "Dialogue," and most especially in that portion of the book labelled "The Mystical Body of Holy Church."
While St. Catherine cautions her readers not to engage in blanket condemnations aimed at the clergy in general (using scandals as an excuse to denigrate priests in general), and refers to such people as "irreverent persecutors" of the clergy, still, she was told by Our Lord that those who will not receive correction and those who will not give it are like the limbs of a body beginning to rot.
In our sacharrin society, medicinal rebuke is often mistaken for a "lack of charity" when in actuality such constructive criticism aids in healing. In his excellent work entitled "Liberalism is a sin," Fr. Felix Sarda Y Salvany writes:"If the propagation of good and the necessity of combating evil require the employment of terms somewhat harsh against error and its supporters, this usage is certainly not against charity. This is a corollary or consequence of the principle we have just demonstrated. We must render evil odious and detestable. We cannot attain this result without pointing out the dangers of evil, without showing how and why it is odious, detestable and contemptible. Christian oratory of all ages has ever employed the most vigorous and emphatic rhetoric in the arsenal of human speech against impiety. In the writings of the great athletes of Christianity the usage of irony, imprecation, execration and of the most crushing epithets is continual. Hence the only law is the opportunity and the truth.
But there is another justification for such an usage. Popular propagation and apologetics cannot preserve elegant and constrained academic forms. In order to convince the people we must speak to their heart and their imagination which can only be touched by ardent, brilliant, and impassioned language.To be impassioned is not to be reprehensible----when our heat is the holy ardor of truth. The supposed violence of modern Ultramontane journalism not only falls short of Liberal journalism, but is amply justified by every page of the works of our great Catholic polemicists of other epochs. This is easily verified. St. John the Baptist calls the Pharisees "race of vipers," Jesus Christ, our Divine Savior, hurls at them the epithets "hypocrites, whitened sepulchers, a perverse and adulterous generation" without thinking for this reason that He sullies the sanctity of His benevolent speech. St. Paul criticizes the schismatic Cretins as "always liars, evil beasts, slothful bellies." The same apostle calls Elymas the magician a "seducer, full of guile and deceit, child of the Devil, enemy of all justice."
If we open the Fathers we find the same vigorous castigation of heresy and heretics. St. Jerome arguing against Vigilantius casts in his face his former occupation of saloonkeeper: "From your infancy," he says to him, "you have learned other things than theology and betaken yourself to other pursuits. To verify at the same time the value of your money accounts and the value of Scriptural texts, to sample wines and grasp the meaning of the prophets and apostles are certainly not occupations which the same man can accomplish with credit." On another occasion attacking the same Vigilantius, who denied the excellence of virginity and of fasting, St. Jerome, with his usual sprightliness, asks him if he spoke thus "in order not to diminish the receipts of his saloon?"Heavens! What an outcry would be raised if one of our Ultramontane controversialists were to write against a Liberal critic or heretic of our own day in this fashion!
What shall we say of St. John Chrysostom? His famous invective against Eutropius is not comparable, in its personal and aggressive character, to the cruel invectives of Cicero against Catiline and against Verres!The gentle St. Bernard did not honey his words when he attacked the enemies of the faith. Addressing Arnold of Brescia, the great Liberal agitator of his times, he calls him in all his letters "seducer, vase of injuries, scorpion, cruel wolf." The pacific St. Thomas of Acquinas forgets the calm of his cold syllogisms when he hurls his violent apostrophe against William of St. Amour and his disciples: "Enemies of God," he cries out, "ministers of the Devil, members of antiChrist, ignorami, perverts, reprobates!" Never did the illustrious Louis Veuillot speak so boldly. The seraphic St. Bonaventure, so full of sweetness, overwhelms his adversary Gerard with such epithets as "impudent, calumniator, spirit of malice, impious, shameless, ignorant, impostor, malefactor, perfidious, ingrate!"Did St. Francis de Sales, so delicately exquisite and tender, ever purr softly over the heretics of his age and country? He pardoned their injuries, heaped benefits on them even to the point of saving the lives of those who sought to take his, but with the enemies of the faith he preserved neither moderation nor consideration. Asked by a Catholic, who desired to know if it were permissible to speak evil of a heretic who propagated false doctrines, he replied: "Yes, you can, on the condition that you adhere to the exact truth, to what you know of his bad conduct, presenting that which is doubtful as doubtful according to the degree of doubt which you may have in this regard."
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, that precious and popular work, he expresses himself again: "If the declared enemies of God and of the Church ought to be blamed and censured with all possible vigor, charity obliges us to cry 'wolf' when the wolf slips into the midst of the flock, and in every way and place we may meet him."
This is real meat for real Catholics. It was Sir Edmund Burke who said that, "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph in the world is for good people to do nothing." When we witness another Catholic (and yes, even a priest) promoting homosexuality, abortion, contraception, New Age, witchcraft, or dissent in general, we have an obligation (in charity) to speak the truth and to show others how that individual's words, ideas or actions fail to hold up when placed in the Lumen Christi - when held up to the Magisterial teaching of the Church. If someone wants to accuse us of "having an axe to grind," simply because we speak the truth, that's their affair. But such people should recall what St. Catherine had to say about medicinal rebuke and should meditate upon these passages from Sacred Scripture:
"Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." (Galatians 6:7-8)."
"Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Whatever you have said in the dark SHALL BE HEARD IN THE LIGHT, and what you have whispered in private rooms SHALL BE PROCLAIMED FROM THE HOUSETOPS." (Luke 12:2-3).
The Word of the Lord.
Amen.
Paul Anthony Melanson
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Monday, October 09, 2006
Pope Benedict XVI: Commitment to truth opens the way to reconciliation
COMMITMENT TO TRUTH OPENS THE WAY TO RECONCILIATION
VATICAN CITY, OCT 9, 2006 (VIS) - Made public today was a Letter from Benedict XVI to Cardinal Edward Idris Cassidy, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, for a meeting of Australian bishops commemorating the 20th anniversary of John Paul II's visit to their country. The meeting was held in Alice Springs, Australia, from October 2 to 7.
In his Letter, written in English, the Pope indicates how recalling John Paul II's visit provides an opportunity to renew the aims and repropose the challenges he identified. These include faithfulness "to your worthy traditions," the capacity to "adapt your living culture whenever this is required," and above all the ability to open hearts "to the consoling, purifying and uplifting message of Jesus Christ."
"How," the Holy Father asks, "might these challenges be embraced when there is much that could lead to discouragement or even despair? As Jesus, during His time on earth, moved from village to village preaching the Good News of truth and love, He captured the attention of those who heard Him." He "made a deep impression because He taught them with authority. Indeed, every human community needs and seeks strong, inspiring leaders to guide others into the way of hope.
"Much rests therefore," he adds, "upon the example of the elders of communities. I encourage them to exercise authority wisely through faithfulness to their traditions, ... and most especially through a renewed expression of their deep awareness of God, made possible through the Good News of Jesus Christ."
Addressing young people, the Pope writes "keep alight the flame of hope and walk tall. ... Don't allow your 'dreaming' to be undermined by the shallow call of those who might lure you into the misuse of alcohol and drugs, as promises of happiness. Such promises are false, and lead only to a circle of misery and entrapment."
The Pope praises achievements "along the path of racial reconciliation," though warning that "there is still much to be accomplished. No one can exempt themselves from this process. While no culture may use past hurt as an excuse to avoid facing the difficulties in meeting the contemporary social needs of its own people, it is also the case that only through the readiness to accept historical truth can a sound understanding of contemporary reality be reached and the vision of a harmonious future espoused.
"I therefore again encourage all Australians to address with compassion and determination the deep underlying causes of the plight which still afflicts so many Aboriginal citizens. Commitment to truth opens the way to lasting reconciliation through the healing process of asking for forgiveness and granting forgiveness - two indispensable elements for peace."
Indeed, a commitment to truth opens the way to reconciliation. It's not that the message of reconciliation doesn't grab young people anymore. It's that young people are hungry for the truth. A truth which paves the way for an authentic reconciliation with God and neighbor. The La Salette Missionaries should reflect upon this truth.
Paul
VATICAN CITY, OCT 9, 2006 (VIS) - Made public today was a Letter from Benedict XVI to Cardinal Edward Idris Cassidy, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, for a meeting of Australian bishops commemorating the 20th anniversary of John Paul II's visit to their country. The meeting was held in Alice Springs, Australia, from October 2 to 7.
In his Letter, written in English, the Pope indicates how recalling John Paul II's visit provides an opportunity to renew the aims and repropose the challenges he identified. These include faithfulness "to your worthy traditions," the capacity to "adapt your living culture whenever this is required," and above all the ability to open hearts "to the consoling, purifying and uplifting message of Jesus Christ."
"How," the Holy Father asks, "might these challenges be embraced when there is much that could lead to discouragement or even despair? As Jesus, during His time on earth, moved from village to village preaching the Good News of truth and love, He captured the attention of those who heard Him." He "made a deep impression because He taught them with authority. Indeed, every human community needs and seeks strong, inspiring leaders to guide others into the way of hope.
"Much rests therefore," he adds, "upon the example of the elders of communities. I encourage them to exercise authority wisely through faithfulness to their traditions, ... and most especially through a renewed expression of their deep awareness of God, made possible through the Good News of Jesus Christ."
Addressing young people, the Pope writes "keep alight the flame of hope and walk tall. ... Don't allow your 'dreaming' to be undermined by the shallow call of those who might lure you into the misuse of alcohol and drugs, as promises of happiness. Such promises are false, and lead only to a circle of misery and entrapment."
The Pope praises achievements "along the path of racial reconciliation," though warning that "there is still much to be accomplished. No one can exempt themselves from this process. While no culture may use past hurt as an excuse to avoid facing the difficulties in meeting the contemporary social needs of its own people, it is also the case that only through the readiness to accept historical truth can a sound understanding of contemporary reality be reached and the vision of a harmonious future espoused.
"I therefore again encourage all Australians to address with compassion and determination the deep underlying causes of the plight which still afflicts so many Aboriginal citizens. Commitment to truth opens the way to lasting reconciliation through the healing process of asking for forgiveness and granting forgiveness - two indispensable elements for peace."
Indeed, a commitment to truth opens the way to reconciliation. It's not that the message of reconciliation doesn't grab young people anymore. It's that young people are hungry for the truth. A truth which paves the way for an authentic reconciliation with God and neighbor. The La Salette Missionaries should reflect upon this truth.
Paul
Sunday, October 08, 2006
La Salette Missionaries in crisis
This particular story comes as no surprise to me. Last year I chronicled some of the dissent within that troubled Religious Community. Our Lord does not bless infidelity. And the La Salette Missionaries are simply reaping what they have sown. According to this article, the message of La Salette "no longer grabs young people the way it once did." I disagree. The problem is not with the message Our Lady brought to the world through her apparitions at La Salette France. The problem is one of fidelity to that message within the La Salette Missionary Community itself as well as one of infidelity.
This is not to say that there are not many good and faithful La Salette Missionaries. But a spiritual dry-rot has seeped into the community and this fact itself calls for a return to Magisterial fidelity and to an earnest commitment toward the message of reconciliation.
According to one La Salette priest (who once said that there is "wiggle room" on the question of ordaining women to the ministerial priesthood), young people are deterred from even considering religious life "because they are shaped by a culture obsessed with material wealth."
This may be a factor to some degree. What this priest neglects to mention is that many young people do come forward only to be rejected because they are too "Magisterial" or "pre-Vatican II" and others are turned off because of the infidelity they witness or the lack of commitment to an authentic prayer life.
It's always easy to blame the laity or young people's commitment to faith or our society in general. It's much more difficult to take some responsibility and to begin with an examination of one's own attitudes. But a pharisaical approach to the vocations crisis, a crisis which is largely man-made, will not produce any positive fruit.
Paul
This is not to say that there are not many good and faithful La Salette Missionaries. But a spiritual dry-rot has seeped into the community and this fact itself calls for a return to Magisterial fidelity and to an earnest commitment toward the message of reconciliation.
According to one La Salette priest (who once said that there is "wiggle room" on the question of ordaining women to the ministerial priesthood), young people are deterred from even considering religious life "because they are shaped by a culture obsessed with material wealth."
This may be a factor to some degree. What this priest neglects to mention is that many young people do come forward only to be rejected because they are too "Magisterial" or "pre-Vatican II" and others are turned off because of the infidelity they witness or the lack of commitment to an authentic prayer life.
It's always easy to blame the laity or young people's commitment to faith or our society in general. It's much more difficult to take some responsibility and to begin with an examination of one's own attitudes. But a pharisaical approach to the vocations crisis, a crisis which is largely man-made, will not produce any positive fruit.
Paul
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Pope Benedict XVI abolishes idea of Limbo
This poses a problem for the Saint Benedict Center in Richmond, New Hampshire.
Paul
Paul
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Spiritual Food from Mr. Mark Mallett
The more I read from Mr. Mallett, the more I like. His Blog is filled with wisdom.
Now Rosie O' Donnell is attacking the Holy Father
Expect the attacks against the Holy Father to continue and for a general persecution of the Church to emerge. The Man of Sin will soon reveal himself to the world. Already the media is paving the way for persecution by trying to connect our beloved Holy Father with the cover-up of homosexual abuse which has occured in the Church.
Last year, I warned my readers of attorney Daniel Shea's attempt to smear our Holy Father's name and explored the troubled background of this angry attorney from Houston, Texas who has a passionate hatred for the Church and has been involved with the transgender movement.
Watch and pray. Make your homes a fortress under the mantle of Our Lady. Pray the Rosary daily. Have recourse to the Sacrament of Penance. The Son of Perdition is ready to initiate the final persecution of the Church. Already the Dragon has waged a tremendous war against our priests, tempting so many of them into sin and compromise with the world.
Catholics who remain loyal to the Holy Father may soon find it necessary to go underground.
Paul
Last year, I warned my readers of attorney Daniel Shea's attempt to smear our Holy Father's name and explored the troubled background of this angry attorney from Houston, Texas who has a passionate hatred for the Church and has been involved with the transgender movement.
Watch and pray. Make your homes a fortress under the mantle of Our Lady. Pray the Rosary daily. Have recourse to the Sacrament of Penance. The Son of Perdition is ready to initiate the final persecution of the Church. Already the Dragon has waged a tremendous war against our priests, tempting so many of them into sin and compromise with the world.
Catholics who remain loyal to the Holy Father may soon find it necessary to go underground.
Paul
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Friday, September 29, 2006
What do you get when you cross a faith-filled woman on fire with the love of God and blogging technology? A Blog by devout Catholic Marie Cecile entitled God's Wonderful Love. It's not only God's Love which is wonderful. But the form it takes in the life and writing of my dear friend from Ludlow, Massachusetts.
Her excellent site: http://mybloggodswonderfullove.blogspot.com
Drop by and tell her I said hello.
Paul
Paving the way for the reign of Antichrist through technology
Even now, the hour is fast approaching.
Paul
Paul
When I was confirmed in my Catholic Faith by His Excellency, the Most Rev. Ernest J. Primeau (one of the presiding Bishops at Vatican II), I took the name Michael because I wanted the powerful Archangel as my patron saint.
Let us all have recourse to St. Michael during these troubled times we are living in. As the Man of Sin prepares to reveal himself to the world, let us continually have recourse to Our Lady, placing ourselves under her mantle and invoking her as Queen of the Holy Angels to send St. Michael and a multitude of Heavenly Angels to surround, protect and guide us in all that we do.
Paul
Two priests accused of stealing 8.6 million
"And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for: "God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble." So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you. Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for (someone) to devour." (1 Peter 5:5-8).
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Daily Prayers
FATIMA MORNING OFFERING
O JESUS, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings, all that this day may bring, be they good or bad: for the love of God, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for all the sins committed against the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
OFFERING OF DAILY ACTIONS
ETERNAL FATHER, by virtue of Your generosity and love, I ask that You accept all my actions, and that You multiply their value in favor of every Soul in Purgatory. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
SHORT MORNING OFFERINGS
My loving Jesus, out of the grateful love I bear Thee, and to make reparation for my unfaithfulness to grace, I give Thee my heart, and I consecrate myself wholly to Thee; and with Thy help I purpose never to sin again. Dear Lord, I could never vie with Thee in generosity, but I love Thee; deign to accept my poor heart, and though it is worth nothing, yet it may become something by Thy grace. Since it loves Thee, do Thou make it good and take it into Thy custody.
I will extol Thee, O God, my King, and I will bless Thy Name forever and ever.
Take O Lord, all my liberty. receive my memory, my understanding and my whole will. All that I am, all that I have, Thou hast given me, and I restore it all to Thee, to be disposed of according to Thy good pleasure. Give me only Thy love and Thy grace; with these I am rich enough, and I desire nothing more.
OFFERING TO THE HOLY TRINITY
MOST Holy and Adorable Trinity, One God in Three Persons, I praise Thee and give Thee thanks for all the favors Thou has bestowed upon me. Thy goodness has preserved me until now, I offer Thee my whole being and in particular, all my thoughts, words, and deeds, together with all the trials I may undergo this day. Give them Thy blessing. May Thy divine Love animate them and may they serve Thy greater glory.
I make this morning offering in union with the Divine intentions of Jesus Christ Who offers himself daily in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and in union with Mary, His Virgin Mother and our Mother, who was always the faithful handmaid of the Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. Amen.
PRAYER TO SAINT MICHAEL: SHORT VERSION
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in our hour of conflict; Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God restrain Him, we humbly pray, and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast Satan into Hell, and with him all the other evil spirits, who wander through the world, for the ruin of souls. Amen.
PRAYER TO SAINT MICHAEL: LONGER VERSION
PRAYER AGAINST SATAN and THE REBELLIOUS ANGELS
PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF H. H. POPE LEO XIII
The Holy Father exhorts priests to say this prayer as often as possible, as a simple exorcism to curb the power of the devil and prevent him from doing harm. The faithful also may say it in their own name, for the same purpose, as any approved prayer. Its use is recommended whenever action of the devil is suspected, causing malice in men, violent temptations and even storms and various calamities. It could be used as a solemn exorcism (an official and public ceremony, in Latin), to expel the devil: It would then be said by a priest, in the name of the Church and only with the Bishop's permission.
In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.
PRAYER TO SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL
Most glorious Prince of the Heavenly Armies, Saint Michael the Archangel. defend us in "our battle against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places" (Ephes. 6:12). Come to the assistance of men whom God has created to His likeness and whom He has redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil. Holy Church venerates thee as her guardian and protector; to thee, the Lord has entrusted the souls of the redeemed to be led into heaven. Pray therefore the God of Peace to crush Satan beneath our feet, that he may no longer retain men captive and do injury to the Church. Offer our prayers unto the Most High, that without delay they may draw His mercy down upon us; take hold of "the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan." Bind him and cast him into the bottomless pit "so that he may no longer seduce the nations" (Apoc. 20:2).
O JESUS, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings, all that this day may bring, be they good or bad: for the love of God, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for all the sins committed against the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
OFFERING OF DAILY ACTIONS
ETERNAL FATHER, by virtue of Your generosity and love, I ask that You accept all my actions, and that You multiply their value in favor of every Soul in Purgatory. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
SHORT MORNING OFFERINGS
My loving Jesus, out of the grateful love I bear Thee, and to make reparation for my unfaithfulness to grace, I give Thee my heart, and I consecrate myself wholly to Thee; and with Thy help I purpose never to sin again. Dear Lord, I could never vie with Thee in generosity, but I love Thee; deign to accept my poor heart, and though it is worth nothing, yet it may become something by Thy grace. Since it loves Thee, do Thou make it good and take it into Thy custody.
I will extol Thee, O God, my King, and I will bless Thy Name forever and ever.
Take O Lord, all my liberty. receive my memory, my understanding and my whole will. All that I am, all that I have, Thou hast given me, and I restore it all to Thee, to be disposed of according to Thy good pleasure. Give me only Thy love and Thy grace; with these I am rich enough, and I desire nothing more.
OFFERING TO THE HOLY TRINITY
MOST Holy and Adorable Trinity, One God in Three Persons, I praise Thee and give Thee thanks for all the favors Thou has bestowed upon me. Thy goodness has preserved me until now, I offer Thee my whole being and in particular, all my thoughts, words, and deeds, together with all the trials I may undergo this day. Give them Thy blessing. May Thy divine Love animate them and may they serve Thy greater glory.
I make this morning offering in union with the Divine intentions of Jesus Christ Who offers himself daily in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and in union with Mary, His Virgin Mother and our Mother, who was always the faithful handmaid of the Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. Amen.
PRAYER TO SAINT MICHAEL: SHORT VERSION
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in our hour of conflict; Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God restrain Him, we humbly pray, and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast Satan into Hell, and with him all the other evil spirits, who wander through the world, for the ruin of souls. Amen.
PRAYER TO SAINT MICHAEL: LONGER VERSION
PRAYER AGAINST SATAN and THE REBELLIOUS ANGELS
PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF H. H. POPE LEO XIII
The Holy Father exhorts priests to say this prayer as often as possible, as a simple exorcism to curb the power of the devil and prevent him from doing harm. The faithful also may say it in their own name, for the same purpose, as any approved prayer. Its use is recommended whenever action of the devil is suspected, causing malice in men, violent temptations and even storms and various calamities. It could be used as a solemn exorcism (an official and public ceremony, in Latin), to expel the devil: It would then be said by a priest, in the name of the Church and only with the Bishop's permission.
In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.
PRAYER TO SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL
Most glorious Prince of the Heavenly Armies, Saint Michael the Archangel. defend us in "our battle against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places" (Ephes. 6:12). Come to the assistance of men whom God has created to His likeness and whom He has redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil. Holy Church venerates thee as her guardian and protector; to thee, the Lord has entrusted the souls of the redeemed to be led into heaven. Pray therefore the God of Peace to crush Satan beneath our feet, that he may no longer retain men captive and do injury to the Church. Offer our prayers unto the Most High, that without delay they may draw His mercy down upon us; take hold of "the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan." Bind him and cast him into the bottomless pit "so that he may no longer seduce the nations" (Apoc. 20:2).
Monday, September 25, 2006
Dr. Germain Grisez on Aggressive or So-Called "Preventive War."
"St. Thomas, following St. Augustine, does not think only defensive war can be just. The two doctors indicate that nations can rightly wage war in order to punish outlaw nations, just as they rightly use their police power within their jurisdiction to bring criminals to justice (see S.t., 2-2, q. 40, a.1). If that view were correct, just wars, rather than always countering an enemy’s unjust use of force, sometimes would attempt to achieve retributive justice. For example, a superpower might rightly make war on a small power to punish it for attacking and annexing its even smaller neighbor, despite the fact that the neighbor, ruled by an oppressive regime, deserved no defense...one might wonder whether Pius XII’s statements that only defensive war can be just express a judgment contingent on contemporary problems or, instead, propose a doctrine solidly grounded in Christian tradition. At least three considerations support the latter view.
First, contemporary problems were a factor, but traditional principles also were in play. In obvious respects, modern war is very different from any war Augustine and Thomas could have imagined. By the end of the nineteenth century - well before atomic, bacteriological, and chemical weapons became available - modern technology and industry had greatly increased war’s carnage and devastation. The intertwining of industry with military power, together with the new weapons and new strategies for using them - climaxing in the terror bombing of World War II and the subsequent development of nuclear deterrence strategies and systems - somewhat blurred the line between combatants and noncombatants, made discrimination increasingly difficult, and made it more and more likely that virtually any aggressive war would be or become indiscriminate. Thus, the idea of using military power to rectify injustices no longer seemed plausible, and the analogy between military power and domestic police power no longer seemed valid.
Increasingly, too, combatants were no longer professionals but citizens forced to fight, sometimes at gunpoint, so that it more and more was the case that aggressive war punished most severely those who had little or no responsibility for the policies and actions of the political and military leaders of a nation considered outlaw. These modern developments called for a fresh application of traditional principles, drastically limiting the situations in which military action could be morally justified. Indeed, many people began to say, with reason, that war had changed its very nature, and the magisterium shared this view. John XXIII teaches: ‘In this age which boasts of its atomic power, it no longer makes sense to maintain that war is a fit instrument with which to repair the violation of justice.’ (Pacem in terris, AAS 55 (1963) 291, PE, 270.127).
Noting John’s point, Vatican II, explains how ‘the horror and perversity of war are immensely magnified by the addition of scientific weapons,’ and draws the conclusion: ‘All these considerations compel us to undertake an evaluation of war with an entirely new attitude’ (Gaudium et Spes, 80).
Second, there is another way, less obvious but more profound, in which nondefensive war in modern times differs in nature from what Augustine and Thomas had in mind. Because in their days there was, at least in theory, a supreme, worldwide authority - the Roman emperor, the pope - to whom every other human ruler was subject, they could think about nondefensive war on the analogy of law enforcement within a nation. However, the development of the modern state robs this idea of whatever plausibility it may have had in earlier times. In a world of independent states, each jealous of its sovereignty and none recognizing any legitimate authority higher than its own, war is something like the self-help measures to which individuals and families resort in the absence of public authority capable of maintaining law and order. In such a situation, however, any self-help beyond that strictly necessary for self-defense provokes reprisals and endless feuds. Those involved may not always be subjectively guilty of vengefulness and murder, but objectively their feuding is wrong. In the absence of public authority, their real duty is, not to do their best to do justice without it, but to establish the commonly recognized authority they obviously need. The same thing plainly is true of the modern world, and, beginning with Leo XIII, the popes have come, step by step, to this conclusion*.
Thus, aggressive war must be excluded as unjust, not only because such war no longer can be carried on justly but because in principle it is not the right way to deal with international injustice and pursue world peace**. Modern history, if not the whole of history, makes it clear that aggressive war not only leads to endless and total strife but is a side-effect of the nations’ collective evasion of their common responsibility to establish real world community."
* Pope Leo XIII, in Nostis errorem, having pointed out the futility of the arms race, adds significantly: "And so there should be sought for peace foundations both firmer and more in keeping with nature: because, while it is allowed consistently with nature to defend one’s right by force and arms, nature does not allow that force be an efficient cause of right. For peace consists in the tranquility of order, and so, like the concord of private persons, that of rulers is grounded above all in justice and charity."
** Thus, Pius XII explains his sharp distinction between the absolute condemnation of aggressive war and his qualified approval of defensive war in the context of his articulation of the concept of Christian peace: see Christmas Message (24 Dec 1948), AAS 41, (1949) 11-13.
Paul
First, contemporary problems were a factor, but traditional principles also were in play. In obvious respects, modern war is very different from any war Augustine and Thomas could have imagined. By the end of the nineteenth century - well before atomic, bacteriological, and chemical weapons became available - modern technology and industry had greatly increased war’s carnage and devastation. The intertwining of industry with military power, together with the new weapons and new strategies for using them - climaxing in the terror bombing of World War II and the subsequent development of nuclear deterrence strategies and systems - somewhat blurred the line between combatants and noncombatants, made discrimination increasingly difficult, and made it more and more likely that virtually any aggressive war would be or become indiscriminate. Thus, the idea of using military power to rectify injustices no longer seemed plausible, and the analogy between military power and domestic police power no longer seemed valid.
Increasingly, too, combatants were no longer professionals but citizens forced to fight, sometimes at gunpoint, so that it more and more was the case that aggressive war punished most severely those who had little or no responsibility for the policies and actions of the political and military leaders of a nation considered outlaw. These modern developments called for a fresh application of traditional principles, drastically limiting the situations in which military action could be morally justified. Indeed, many people began to say, with reason, that war had changed its very nature, and the magisterium shared this view. John XXIII teaches: ‘In this age which boasts of its atomic power, it no longer makes sense to maintain that war is a fit instrument with which to repair the violation of justice.’ (Pacem in terris, AAS 55 (1963) 291, PE, 270.127).
Noting John’s point, Vatican II, explains how ‘the horror and perversity of war are immensely magnified by the addition of scientific weapons,’ and draws the conclusion: ‘All these considerations compel us to undertake an evaluation of war with an entirely new attitude’ (Gaudium et Spes, 80).
Second, there is another way, less obvious but more profound, in which nondefensive war in modern times differs in nature from what Augustine and Thomas had in mind. Because in their days there was, at least in theory, a supreme, worldwide authority - the Roman emperor, the pope - to whom every other human ruler was subject, they could think about nondefensive war on the analogy of law enforcement within a nation. However, the development of the modern state robs this idea of whatever plausibility it may have had in earlier times. In a world of independent states, each jealous of its sovereignty and none recognizing any legitimate authority higher than its own, war is something like the self-help measures to which individuals and families resort in the absence of public authority capable of maintaining law and order. In such a situation, however, any self-help beyond that strictly necessary for self-defense provokes reprisals and endless feuds. Those involved may not always be subjectively guilty of vengefulness and murder, but objectively their feuding is wrong. In the absence of public authority, their real duty is, not to do their best to do justice without it, but to establish the commonly recognized authority they obviously need. The same thing plainly is true of the modern world, and, beginning with Leo XIII, the popes have come, step by step, to this conclusion*.
Thus, aggressive war must be excluded as unjust, not only because such war no longer can be carried on justly but because in principle it is not the right way to deal with international injustice and pursue world peace**. Modern history, if not the whole of history, makes it clear that aggressive war not only leads to endless and total strife but is a side-effect of the nations’ collective evasion of their common responsibility to establish real world community."
* Pope Leo XIII, in Nostis errorem, having pointed out the futility of the arms race, adds significantly: "And so there should be sought for peace foundations both firmer and more in keeping with nature: because, while it is allowed consistently with nature to defend one’s right by force and arms, nature does not allow that force be an efficient cause of right. For peace consists in the tranquility of order, and so, like the concord of private persons, that of rulers is grounded above all in justice and charity."
** Thus, Pius XII explains his sharp distinction between the absolute condemnation of aggressive war and his qualified approval of defensive war in the context of his articulation of the concept of Christian peace: see Christmas Message (24 Dec 1948), AAS 41, (1949) 11-13.
Paul
Maria Esperanza of Venezuela and the war in Iraq: Prophecies Fulfilled?
"No, never again war, which destroys the lives of innocent people, teaches how to kill, throws into upheaval even the lives of those who do the killing and leaves behind a trail of resentment and hatred, thus making it all the more difficult to find a just solution of the very problems which provoked the war. Just as the time has finally come when in individual States a system of private vendetta and reprisal has given way to the rule of law, so too a similar step forward is now urgently needed in the international community."
- Pope John Paul II, Centesimus annus, 52, AAS 83 (1991) 857-858, OR, 6 May 1991.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Our Lady to Josyp Terelya
Definite signs are emerging as a "New Order" gains momentum. Those who refuse to accept this "New Order" with its "New Savior" or "World Teacher" (or Mahdi or Maitreya or whatever other name he decides to go by) will be seen as obsolete, hateful and hopelessly backward. And will be dealt with in no uncertain terms: http://www.share-international.org/archives/M_emergence/mem_mas-reception.htm
It will be as the great Romano Guardini prophesied in his timeless classic The Lord:
"One day the Antichrist will come: a human being who introduces an order of things in which rebellion against God will attain its ultimate power. He will be filled with enlightenment and strength. The ultimate aim of all aims will be to prove that existence without Christ is possible - nay rather, that Christ is the enemy of existence, which can be fully realized only when all Christian values have been destroyed. His arguments will be so impressive, supported by means of such tremendous power - violent and diplomatic, material and intellectual - that to reject them will result in almost insurmountable scandal, and everyone whose eyes are not opened by grace will be lost. Then it will be clear what the Christian essence really is: that which stems not from the world, but from the heart of God; victory of grace over the world; redemption of the world, for her true essence is not to be found in herself, but in God, from whom she has received it. When God becomes all in all, the world will finally burst into flower." (The Lord, p. 513).
Paul
It will be as the great Romano Guardini prophesied in his timeless classic The Lord:
"One day the Antichrist will come: a human being who introduces an order of things in which rebellion against God will attain its ultimate power. He will be filled with enlightenment and strength. The ultimate aim of all aims will be to prove that existence without Christ is possible - nay rather, that Christ is the enemy of existence, which can be fully realized only when all Christian values have been destroyed. His arguments will be so impressive, supported by means of such tremendous power - violent and diplomatic, material and intellectual - that to reject them will result in almost insurmountable scandal, and everyone whose eyes are not opened by grace will be lost. Then it will be clear what the Christian essence really is: that which stems not from the world, but from the heart of God; victory of grace over the world; redemption of the world, for her true essence is not to be found in herself, but in God, from whom she has received it. When God becomes all in all, the world will finally burst into flower." (The Lord, p. 513).
Paul
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the "Mahdi."
In a speech given at the United Nations, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that a messianic figure known to Muslims as "Mahdi" is about to reveal himself to the world. President Ahmadinejad told the assembly:
"I emphatically declare that today's world, more than ever before, longs for just and righteous people with love for all humanity; and above all longs for the perfect righteous human being and the real savior who has been promised to all peoples and who will establish justice, peace and brotherhood on the planet"... "Oh, Almighty God, all men and women are your creatures and you have ordained their guidance and salvation. Bestow upon humanity that thirsts for justice, the perfect human being promised to all by you, and make us among his followers and among those who strive for his return and his cause."
The real savior promised to all peoples?
Recall the words of Our Lord in the fifth chapter of John, verse 43: "I came in the name of my father, but you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him."
"Let no one deceive you in any way. For unless the apostasy comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one doomed to perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god and object of worship, so as to seat himself in the temple of God, claiming that he is a god--do you not recall that while I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. But the one who restrains is to do so only for the present, until he is removed from the scene. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord (Jesus) will kill with the breath of his mouth and render powerless by the manifestation of his coming, the one whose coming springs from the power of Satan in every mighty deed and in signs and wonders that lie, and in every wicked deceit for those who are perishing because they have not accepted the love of truth so that they may be saved. Therefore, God is sending them a deceiving power so that they may believe the lie, that all who have not believed the truth but have approved wrongdoing may be condemned." (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12).
Paul
"I emphatically declare that today's world, more than ever before, longs for just and righteous people with love for all humanity; and above all longs for the perfect righteous human being and the real savior who has been promised to all peoples and who will establish justice, peace and brotherhood on the planet"... "Oh, Almighty God, all men and women are your creatures and you have ordained their guidance and salvation. Bestow upon humanity that thirsts for justice, the perfect human being promised to all by you, and make us among his followers and among those who strive for his return and his cause."
The real savior promised to all peoples?
Recall the words of Our Lord in the fifth chapter of John, verse 43: "I came in the name of my father, but you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him."
"Let no one deceive you in any way. For unless the apostasy comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one doomed to perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god and object of worship, so as to seat himself in the temple of God, claiming that he is a god--do you not recall that while I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. But the one who restrains is to do so only for the present, until he is removed from the scene. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord (Jesus) will kill with the breath of his mouth and render powerless by the manifestation of his coming, the one whose coming springs from the power of Satan in every mighty deed and in signs and wonders that lie, and in every wicked deceit for those who are perishing because they have not accepted the love of truth so that they may be saved. Therefore, God is sending them a deceiving power so that they may believe the lie, that all who have not believed the truth but have approved wrongdoing may be condemned." (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12).
Paul
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Our Lady and Islam: Heaven's Peace Plan
We are entering a period of crisis such as the world has never seen. Once again, Christianity and Islam are clashing. Let us all have recourse to Our Lady of Fatima. May the Holy Rosary be our spiritual weapon which leads us to an authentic victory, a civilization of love.
Paul
Paul
Pope was defending reason, not attacking Islam
The following was sent to me by Father Thomas Carleton on the anniversary of Our Lady of La Salette:
THE FATIMA VISION
The apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Fatima Portugal are intimately tied to the Islamic world. The two great women of Islam are the Virgin Mary of Nazareth and Mohammed's daughter, named Fatima. After the death of his daughter, Fatima, Mohammed wrote: "Thou shalt be the most blessed of all the women in Paradise, after Mary".
The village itself in Portugal called Fatima was named such by a Christian leader who married a Muslim maiden named after Mohammed's daughter. When Pope John Paul II was almost killed in Saint Peter's Square by an extremist, some interpreted it as the fulfillment of a prophecy spoken by the young seer of Fatima.
It did not actually fulfill the words of the prophecy and so the terrible event of 1981, happening, indeed, as it did on May 13, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, could therefore be interpreted only as a foreshadowing or warning, if you will, of the eventual real fulfillment of the prophecy.
The Holy Father, Benedict XVI, in his controversial speech at the Germany University, pointed out an important truth, namely, that much of the Muslim violence cannot be attributed to merely this or that extremist Muslim leader, but rather is traceable to the very texts of the Islamic holy book itself, the Koran. What is to be feared, is that the price of stating this truthful fact, may, in the end, cost the Pope his life, and it seems all the more possible, since the, as yet unfulfilled, prophecy of the seer of Fatima would in fact then, according to the letter, be fulfilled.
We must, as Jacinta so often pleaded: "Pray for the Holy Father".
Father Thomas Carleton
Feast of Our Lady of La Salette
Sept. 19, 2006
THE FATIMA VISION
The apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Fatima Portugal are intimately tied to the Islamic world. The two great women of Islam are the Virgin Mary of Nazareth and Mohammed's daughter, named Fatima. After the death of his daughter, Fatima, Mohammed wrote: "Thou shalt be the most blessed of all the women in Paradise, after Mary".
The village itself in Portugal called Fatima was named such by a Christian leader who married a Muslim maiden named after Mohammed's daughter. When Pope John Paul II was almost killed in Saint Peter's Square by an extremist, some interpreted it as the fulfillment of a prophecy spoken by the young seer of Fatima.
It did not actually fulfill the words of the prophecy and so the terrible event of 1981, happening, indeed, as it did on May 13, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, could therefore be interpreted only as a foreshadowing or warning, if you will, of the eventual real fulfillment of the prophecy.
The Holy Father, Benedict XVI, in his controversial speech at the Germany University, pointed out an important truth, namely, that much of the Muslim violence cannot be attributed to merely this or that extremist Muslim leader, but rather is traceable to the very texts of the Islamic holy book itself, the Koran. What is to be feared, is that the price of stating this truthful fact, may, in the end, cost the Pope his life, and it seems all the more possible, since the, as yet unfulfilled, prophecy of the seer of Fatima would in fact then, according to the letter, be fulfilled.
We must, as Jacinta so often pleaded: "Pray for the Holy Father".
Father Thomas Carleton
Feast of Our Lady of La Salette
Sept. 19, 2006
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Manchester NH priest under arrest
"And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for: "God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble." So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you. Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for (someone) to devour." (1 Peter 5:5-8).
Monday, August 28, 2006
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Warning Signs from Richmond NH
Some quotes from Mr. Douglas Bersaw of the Saint Benedict Center in Richmond:
"There's a lot of controversy among people who study the so-called Holocaust..There's a misperception that Hitler had a position to kill all the Jews. It's all a fraud. Six million people..it didn't occur."
Referring to Pope John Paul II: "the worst pope we ever had."
"Were the Jews at that time responsible for our Lord's death? Of course."
Source: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/02/22/cherishing_an_older_catholicism/
Paul
"There's a lot of controversy among people who study the so-called Holocaust..There's a misperception that Hitler had a position to kill all the Jews. It's all a fraud. Six million people..it didn't occur."
Referring to Pope John Paul II: "the worst pope we ever had."
"Were the Jews at that time responsible for our Lord's death? Of course."
Source: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/02/22/cherishing_an_older_catholicism/
Paul
Friday, August 18, 2006
Thursday, August 17, 2006
More information on the Neo-Nazi/White Supremacist Vanguard News Network may be found here: http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/alex_linder.asp?LEARN_Cat=Extremism&LEARN_SubCat=Extremism_in_America&xp
Brother Andre Marie of the Saint Benedict Center in Richmond left a comment at this website which I won't publish since I found it to be highly inappropriate. However, he did say that he never heard of the Vanguard News Network before I wrote a post about that website (even though he is quoted from at the website and had written his comments to Mr. Luke O' Farrell, another anti-Semite who has contributed to VNN). Fair enough. Perhaps he hadn't heard of that particular website. However, there is more than ample room for concern regarding the anti-Semitism which is in evidence at the Saint Benedict Center. Brother Andre Marie's defense of the anti-Semitic priest Father Denis Fahey speaks volumes. Equally disturbing is the fact that Mr. Douglas Bersaw, another member of the SBC, has engaged in Holocaust denial.
Brother Andre Marie has made some profoundly disturbing remarks about the Jews himself. Here is a posting from the La Salette Journey archives:
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Brother Andre Marie, M.I.C.M. and Anti-Semitism
In a feeble attempt to reply to Mr. Karl Keating's e-letter in which he rightly accuses the Saint Benedict Center in Richmond, New Hampshire of being anti-Semitic, Brother Andre Marie, M.I.C.M. wrote:"If anti-Semitism means opposing the Jews on religious matters, opposing the Zionist state in Palestine (as St. Pius X did), or opposing the Jewish tendency to undermine public morals (widely acknowledged by Catholic writers before the present age of PC), then we could rightly be considered such; but if anti-Semitism means unconditionally hating people for genetic and / or religious purposes, then we are not so. As Catholics who seek the conversion of all men to the true Church— all men, including Jews— we actually love them. "
For Andre Marie then, the Jewish people are a people of "low morality." A people who tend to "undermine public morals." Does this sound familar? It should. For the Nazis insisted that the Jewish People were people of low morality and compared them with rats emerging from a sewer. By way of example, one of Hitler's early followers - Hermann Esser - in his 1939 book entitled "The Jewish World Plague," had this to say:"Jewry undermines every people and every state that it infiltrates. It feeds as a parasite and a culture-killing worm in the host people. It grows and grows like weeds in the state, the community and the family and infests the blood of humanity everywhere.In brief, that is the pestilential nature of Jewry, against which every people, every state, every nation must, should and wants to defend itself if it does not want to be the victim of his bloody plague.Wherever Jewry has appeared, it has never built anything. It has always and everywhere destroyed or torn down, sucking others dry to fill itself. From the days of the Romans to our day, Jewry in every century, in every people, was and remained a foreign body, a destroyer of real and ideal values, a denier of any upward progress, a plague for body and soul. It sneaks in through deceit and treachery, trickery and slyness, murder and assault, understanding how to establish itself."
As previously mentioned, Mr. Douglas Bersaw (one of the founders of the Saint Benedict Center), has denied the Holocaust asserting that, "The 'holocaust' is yet another lying, perfidious, Jewish scheme to plunder the nations, as they seek their World Domination."Brother Andre Marie insists that members of the Saint Benedict Center "actually love" the Jewish People. This as he accuses them of a "tendency to undermine public morals" and as Mr. Douglas Bersaw accuses them of a lying and perfidious scheme "to plunder the nations" and dominate the world.
Gee, it's a good thing members of the Saint Benedict Center don't "actually hate" the Jewish People. Or perhaps this is what they mean by "Holy Hate"? Maybe the folks at the SBC would like to "cleanse" our society of those Jewish People who "undermine public morals" and who seek to "plunder the nations" and "dominate the world."Yes, you can just feel the love.
In fact, the SBC is carrying the full text of a speech by the late Monseigneur Ernest Jouin given on December 8, 1930, and entitled "Papacy and Freemasonry": http://www.catholicism.org/papacy-freemasonry.html in which this anti-Semitic priest (who served as parish priest of St. Augustin in Paris as well as Editor of Revue Internationale des Societes Secretes - an anti-Semitic publication) cites the classic forgery "Protocols of the Elders of Zion."The "Protocols" had been concocted by the Russian police to blame the Jewish People for the Czar's problems around the turn of the century and Fr. Jouin became the first person in his native country to publish the anti-Semitic propaganda piece during the 1920's. When Fr. Jouin published the "Protocols" he included this introductory comment: "From the triple viewpoint of race, of nationality and of religion, the Jew became the enemy of humanity." In the 1930's, Italian fascist leader Roberto Farinacci praised Fr. Jouin for publishing the "Protocols."
The Saint Benedict Center cult is a house built on sand. It's philosophy is rooted in hatred. And this hate, which is anything but holy, will eventually consume those who embrace it.
Perhaps one day Brother Andre Marie will explain to us what he means by the "Jewish tendency to undermine public morals." Perhaps he could also explain why his words are so eerily similar to those of Hermann Esser? Maybe he could then explain why he defends a priest who is known for his anti-Semitism?
I won't hold my breath.
Read more here: http://fringewatcher.blogspot.com/2006/01/feeneyite-connection.html
Paul
Brother Andre Marie of the Saint Benedict Center in Richmond left a comment at this website which I won't publish since I found it to be highly inappropriate. However, he did say that he never heard of the Vanguard News Network before I wrote a post about that website (even though he is quoted from at the website and had written his comments to Mr. Luke O' Farrell, another anti-Semite who has contributed to VNN). Fair enough. Perhaps he hadn't heard of that particular website. However, there is more than ample room for concern regarding the anti-Semitism which is in evidence at the Saint Benedict Center. Brother Andre Marie's defense of the anti-Semitic priest Father Denis Fahey speaks volumes. Equally disturbing is the fact that Mr. Douglas Bersaw, another member of the SBC, has engaged in Holocaust denial.
Brother Andre Marie has made some profoundly disturbing remarks about the Jews himself. Here is a posting from the La Salette Journey archives:
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Brother Andre Marie, M.I.C.M. and Anti-Semitism
In a feeble attempt to reply to Mr. Karl Keating's e-letter in which he rightly accuses the Saint Benedict Center in Richmond, New Hampshire of being anti-Semitic, Brother Andre Marie, M.I.C.M. wrote:"If anti-Semitism means opposing the Jews on religious matters, opposing the Zionist state in Palestine (as St. Pius X did), or opposing the Jewish tendency to undermine public morals (widely acknowledged by Catholic writers before the present age of PC), then we could rightly be considered such; but if anti-Semitism means unconditionally hating people for genetic and / or religious purposes, then we are not so. As Catholics who seek the conversion of all men to the true Church— all men, including Jews— we actually love them. "
For Andre Marie then, the Jewish people are a people of "low morality." A people who tend to "undermine public morals." Does this sound familar? It should. For the Nazis insisted that the Jewish People were people of low morality and compared them with rats emerging from a sewer. By way of example, one of Hitler's early followers - Hermann Esser - in his 1939 book entitled "The Jewish World Plague," had this to say:"Jewry undermines every people and every state that it infiltrates. It feeds as a parasite and a culture-killing worm in the host people. It grows and grows like weeds in the state, the community and the family and infests the blood of humanity everywhere.In brief, that is the pestilential nature of Jewry, against which every people, every state, every nation must, should and wants to defend itself if it does not want to be the victim of his bloody plague.Wherever Jewry has appeared, it has never built anything. It has always and everywhere destroyed or torn down, sucking others dry to fill itself. From the days of the Romans to our day, Jewry in every century, in every people, was and remained a foreign body, a destroyer of real and ideal values, a denier of any upward progress, a plague for body and soul. It sneaks in through deceit and treachery, trickery and slyness, murder and assault, understanding how to establish itself."
As previously mentioned, Mr. Douglas Bersaw (one of the founders of the Saint Benedict Center), has denied the Holocaust asserting that, "The 'holocaust' is yet another lying, perfidious, Jewish scheme to plunder the nations, as they seek their World Domination."Brother Andre Marie insists that members of the Saint Benedict Center "actually love" the Jewish People. This as he accuses them of a "tendency to undermine public morals" and as Mr. Douglas Bersaw accuses them of a lying and perfidious scheme "to plunder the nations" and dominate the world.
Gee, it's a good thing members of the Saint Benedict Center don't "actually hate" the Jewish People. Or perhaps this is what they mean by "Holy Hate"? Maybe the folks at the SBC would like to "cleanse" our society of those Jewish People who "undermine public morals" and who seek to "plunder the nations" and "dominate the world."Yes, you can just feel the love.
In fact, the SBC is carrying the full text of a speech by the late Monseigneur Ernest Jouin given on December 8, 1930, and entitled "Papacy and Freemasonry": http://www.catholicism.org/papacy-freemasonry.html in which this anti-Semitic priest (who served as parish priest of St. Augustin in Paris as well as Editor of Revue Internationale des Societes Secretes - an anti-Semitic publication) cites the classic forgery "Protocols of the Elders of Zion."The "Protocols" had been concocted by the Russian police to blame the Jewish People for the Czar's problems around the turn of the century and Fr. Jouin became the first person in his native country to publish the anti-Semitic propaganda piece during the 1920's. When Fr. Jouin published the "Protocols" he included this introductory comment: "From the triple viewpoint of race, of nationality and of religion, the Jew became the enemy of humanity." In the 1930's, Italian fascist leader Roberto Farinacci praised Fr. Jouin for publishing the "Protocols."
The Saint Benedict Center cult is a house built on sand. It's philosophy is rooted in hatred. And this hate, which is anything but holy, will eventually consume those who embrace it.
Perhaps one day Brother Andre Marie will explain to us what he means by the "Jewish tendency to undermine public morals." Perhaps he could also explain why his words are so eerily similar to those of Hermann Esser? Maybe he could then explain why he defends a priest who is known for his anti-Semitism?
I won't hold my breath.
Read more here: http://fringewatcher.blogspot.com/2006/01/feeneyite-connection.html
Paul
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
The Vanguard News Network
As previously mentioned at this Blog, Brother Andre Marie of the Saint Benedict Center in Richmond, New Hampshire recently left a post at the website for VNN - the Vanguard News Network - defending anti-Semitic priest Fr. Denis Fahey as well as Fr. Leonard Feeney.
The Vanguard News Network, according to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, "is an anti-Semitic white supremacist website that is run by Alex Linder.... One of VNN's most frequent contributors is Tomasz Winnicki of London, Ontario. Mr. Winnicki was jailed by the Federal Court of Canada for 9 months beginning in July of 2006 for violating an injunction ordering him to stop posting hate propaganda to the Internet." (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanguard_News_Network ).
Mr. Linder, again according to Wikipedia, "supports the idea that virtually all non-whites the world over ought to be exterminated, in order to eliminate the possibility of racial intermixing, and their lands repopulated with white settlers." (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Linder ).
Readers of this Blog will recall that Mr. Douglas Bersaw, a founder of the Saint Benedict Center to which Brother Andre Marie belongs, has engaged in Holocaust denial in the past. And Brother Andre Marie has had some profoundly disturbing ideas about the Jewish People.
One can only hope that the federal government will step in at a certain point and initiate a thorough investigation of the Saint Benedict Center and its activities.
Paul Anthony Melanson
The Vanguard News Network, according to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, "is an anti-Semitic white supremacist website that is run by Alex Linder.... One of VNN's most frequent contributors is Tomasz Winnicki of London, Ontario. Mr. Winnicki was jailed by the Federal Court of Canada for 9 months beginning in July of 2006 for violating an injunction ordering him to stop posting hate propaganda to the Internet." (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanguard_News_Network ).
Mr. Linder, again according to Wikipedia, "supports the idea that virtually all non-whites the world over ought to be exterminated, in order to eliminate the possibility of racial intermixing, and their lands repopulated with white settlers." (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Linder ).
Readers of this Blog will recall that Mr. Douglas Bersaw, a founder of the Saint Benedict Center to which Brother Andre Marie belongs, has engaged in Holocaust denial in the past. And Brother Andre Marie has had some profoundly disturbing ideas about the Jewish People.
One can only hope that the federal government will step in at a certain point and initiate a thorough investigation of the Saint Benedict Center and its activities.
Paul Anthony Melanson
Monday, August 14, 2006
Domine Deus patrum nostrorum
"O Lord God of our fathers, Thou art God in heaven, and rulest over all the kingdoms and nations, in Thy hand is strength and power, and no one can resist Thee."
"Dómine Deus patrum nostrórum, Tu es Deus in cælo, et domináris cunctis regnis géntium: in manu Tua est fortitúdo et poténtia, nec quisquam Tibi potest resÃstere." (2 Par. 20, 6)
"Dómine Deus patrum nostrórum, Tu es Deus in cælo, et domináris cunctis regnis géntium: in manu Tua est fortitúdo et poténtia, nec quisquam Tibi potest resÃstere." (2 Par. 20, 6)
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Fr. Denis Fahey and the Jews
"In a public address given in the Vatican to Belgian pilgrims in 1938, Pope Pius XI said: "Mark well that in the Catholic Mass, Abraham is our Patriarch and forefather. Anti-Semitism is incompatible with the lofty thought which that fact expresses. It is a movement with which we Christians can have nothing to do. No, no, I say to you it is impossible for a Christian to take part in anti-Semitism. It is inadmissible. Through Christ and in Christ we are the spiritual progeny of Abraham. Spiritually, we [Christians] are all Semites."
"Although fond of counting Jewish noses in Hollywood, the Politburo, and the United Nations, as well as sniffing out people with Jewish blood, Father Fahey denied that he was an anti-Semite because he honored pre-Christian Jews. Nevertheless, he enjoyed quoting papal policy statements against Jews, coyly refused to reject the long-debunked Protocols*, praised the anti-Semitic activities of Henry Ford, and denied the death toll from the Holocaust."
- Sandra Miesel
Dear Mr. O’Farrell,
Laudetur Iesus Christus!
"As a member of Father Feeney’s congregation, and as someone who knows many of Father’s lifelong intimates, I can tell you that Father Feeney was no racist. Father Feeney’s vigorous protests against the Jews were from a purely religious perspective. In this, he followed the thinking of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church....
I strongly recommend to you the works of Father Dennis Fahey, a great apostle of Christ the King, whose very supernatural perspective on social issues needs to be more closely studied by those who wish to restore Christian order to society..."
- Brother Andre Marie, M.I.C.M., responding to an article written by Luke O'Farrell entitled "The Joy of Genocide" at the Vanguard News Network, a website which has the following on its masthead: "No Jews. Just Right." - http://www.vanguardnewsnetwork.com/?p=494
Father Feeney was no racist? There are accounts of him screaming at Jewish people and hurling anti-Semitic epithets at them while condemning them to Hell. In his acclaimed book on the life of Richard Cardinal Cushing entitled "Cushing of Boston: A Candid Portrait," noted author Joseph Dever - who was both a well known novelist and feature writer for the Boston Sunday Herald as well as a former editor of the Bruce Publishing Company, devotes a chapter to the Leonard Feeney affair.
He writes, "Many Boston Catholics - this writer included - were friends of Feeney and his brother, the whimsical, lovable fellow Jesuit, Thomas Butler Feeney, during World War II and through the late Forties. The relationship was laudable and normal in those days. Eventually, Father Feeney began saying and doing strange things; perhaps he was under exceptional mental strain. His rigid, fanatical emphasis on 'No salvation outside the Church' was bad enough at first...But Father Feeney's rigid fanaticism deteriorated steadily into bitter invective. He reduced the doctrine to the absurd.." (p. 144).He continues: "Anyone who has ever been to St. Benedict Center during the first days of deterioration, or to the Sunday 'seances' at the Boston Common during the final days, can recall some of Father Feeney's sick, horrifying rhetoric. Even in the early days, no difference of opinion, no matter how gentle or reasonable, would be tolerated." (pp. 145-146).
Brother Andre Marie has also insisted that members of the Saint Benedict Center are not anti-Semitic. But the facts suggest otherwise. Read the following article over at Fringe Watcher: http://fringewatcher.blogspot.com/2006/01/feeneyite-connection.html
* Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, an anti-Semitic propaganda tool which has been thoroughly discredited by historians. See my article linked at Fringe Watcher.
Paul
"Although fond of counting Jewish noses in Hollywood, the Politburo, and the United Nations, as well as sniffing out people with Jewish blood, Father Fahey denied that he was an anti-Semite because he honored pre-Christian Jews. Nevertheless, he enjoyed quoting papal policy statements against Jews, coyly refused to reject the long-debunked Protocols*, praised the anti-Semitic activities of Henry Ford, and denied the death toll from the Holocaust."
- Sandra Miesel
Dear Mr. O’Farrell,
Laudetur Iesus Christus!
"As a member of Father Feeney’s congregation, and as someone who knows many of Father’s lifelong intimates, I can tell you that Father Feeney was no racist. Father Feeney’s vigorous protests against the Jews were from a purely religious perspective. In this, he followed the thinking of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church....
I strongly recommend to you the works of Father Dennis Fahey, a great apostle of Christ the King, whose very supernatural perspective on social issues needs to be more closely studied by those who wish to restore Christian order to society..."
- Brother Andre Marie, M.I.C.M., responding to an article written by Luke O'Farrell entitled "The Joy of Genocide" at the Vanguard News Network, a website which has the following on its masthead: "No Jews. Just Right." - http://www.vanguardnewsnetwork.com/?p=494
Father Feeney was no racist? There are accounts of him screaming at Jewish people and hurling anti-Semitic epithets at them while condemning them to Hell. In his acclaimed book on the life of Richard Cardinal Cushing entitled "Cushing of Boston: A Candid Portrait," noted author Joseph Dever - who was both a well known novelist and feature writer for the Boston Sunday Herald as well as a former editor of the Bruce Publishing Company, devotes a chapter to the Leonard Feeney affair.
He writes, "Many Boston Catholics - this writer included - were friends of Feeney and his brother, the whimsical, lovable fellow Jesuit, Thomas Butler Feeney, during World War II and through the late Forties. The relationship was laudable and normal in those days. Eventually, Father Feeney began saying and doing strange things; perhaps he was under exceptional mental strain. His rigid, fanatical emphasis on 'No salvation outside the Church' was bad enough at first...But Father Feeney's rigid fanaticism deteriorated steadily into bitter invective. He reduced the doctrine to the absurd.." (p. 144).He continues: "Anyone who has ever been to St. Benedict Center during the first days of deterioration, or to the Sunday 'seances' at the Boston Common during the final days, can recall some of Father Feeney's sick, horrifying rhetoric. Even in the early days, no difference of opinion, no matter how gentle or reasonable, would be tolerated." (pp. 145-146).
Brother Andre Marie has also insisted that members of the Saint Benedict Center are not anti-Semitic. But the facts suggest otherwise. Read the following article over at Fringe Watcher: http://fringewatcher.blogspot.com/2006/01/feeneyite-connection.html
* Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, an anti-Semitic propaganda tool which has been thoroughly discredited by historians. See my article linked at Fringe Watcher.
Paul
Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it will not bear fruit
A prayer by Saint Francis :
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred . . . let me sow love
Where there is injury . . . pardon
Where there is doubt . . . faith
Where there is despair . . .hope
Where there is darkness . . . light
Where there is sadness . . .joy
Divine Master, grant that i may not so much seek to be consoled . . .as to console
To be understood . . .as to understand,
To be loved . . . as to love
For it is in giving . . .that we receive,
It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned,
It is in dying . . .that we are born to eternal life
"I have frequently been threatened with death. I must say that, as a Christian, I do not believe in death but in the resurrection. If they kill me, I shall rise again in the Salvadoran people."
- Oscar Romero, the martyred Archbishop of San Salvador.
The photo above shows Archbishop Romero on the day he was assasinated. This prophet for the Americas had laid down his life for his people. As Christians today, are we prepared to lay down our lives for God and neighbor? And not necessarily in the martyrdom of blood but in a dry martyrdom? Or are we absorbed with our own self-will? Are we preoccupied with gratifying our own needs and wants?
Are we prepared to bear fruit? Or will self-interest and self-preservation get in the way?
Paul
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Massachusetts Hometown Heroes
My father's brother, Arthur Melanson, served in the Navy during the Second World War. He earned the Navy's Distinguished Service Cross in the process. Arthur was killed when his plane went down over the Pacific during a training exercise. His body was never recovered.
Like so many others, Arthur gave up his very life for a country he loved and ideals shared by generations of men and women. Ideals such as duty, honor and country. We forget the sacrifices of these brave men and women at our own peril.
The link above takes you to a listing of Massachusetts Hometown Heroes.
Paul
Like so many others, Arthur gave up his very life for a country he loved and ideals shared by generations of men and women. Ideals such as duty, honor and country. We forget the sacrifices of these brave men and women at our own peril.
The link above takes you to a listing of Massachusetts Hometown Heroes.
Paul
Ben Stein's Last Column: A Much Needed Message For A Society Which Has Lost Sight Of Real Values
For many years Ben Stein has written a biweekly column called "Monday Night At Morton's." (Morton's is a famous chain of Steakhouses known to be frequented by movie stars and famous people from around the globe.) Now, Ben is terminating the column to move on to other things in his life. Reading his final column is worth a few minutes of your time.
Ben Stein's Last Column...
How Can Someone Who Lives in Insane Luxury Be a Star in Today's World? As I begin to write this, I "slug" it, as we writers say, which means I put a heading on top of the document to identify it. This heading is "eonline FINAL," and it gives me a shiver to write it. I have been doing this column for so long that I cannot even recall when I started. I loved writing this column so much for so long I came to believe it would never end. It worked well for a long time, but gradually, my changing as a person and the world's change have overtaken it. On a small scale, Morton's, while better than ever, no longer attracts as many stars as it used to. It still brings in the rich people in droves and definitely some stars. I saw Samuel L. Jackson there a few days ago, and we had a nice visit, and right before that, I saw and had a splendid talk with Warren Beatty in an elevator, in which we agreed that Splendor in the Grass was a super movie. But Morton's is not the star galaxy it once was, though it probably will be again. Beyond that, a bigger change has happened. I no longer think Hollywood stars are terribly important. They are uniformly pleasant, friendly people, and they treat me better than I deserve to be treated. But a man or woman who makes a huge wage for memorizing lines and reciting them in front of a camera is no longer my idea of a shining star we should all look up to. How can a man or woman who makes an eight-figure wage and lives in insane luxury really be a star in today's world, if by a "star" we mean someone bright and powerful and attractive as a role model? Real stars are not riding around in the backs of limousines or in Porsches or getting trained in yoga or Pilates and eating only raw fruit while they have Vietnamese girls do their nails. They can be interesting, nice people, but they are not heroes to me any longer. A real star is the soldier of the 4th Infantry Division who poked his head into a hole on a farm near Tikrit, Iraq. He could have been met by a bomb or a hail of AK-47 bullets. Instead, he faced an abject Saddam Hussein and the gratitude of all of the decent people of the world. A real star is the U.S. soldier who was sent to disarm a bomb next to a road north of Baghdad. He approached it, and the bomb went off and killed him. A real star, the kind who haunts my memory night and day, is the U.S. soldier in Baghdad who saw a little girl playing with a piece of unexploded ordnance on a street near where he was guarding a station. He pushed her aside and threw himself on it just as it exploded. He left a family desolate in California and a little girl alive in Baghdad. The stars who deserve media attention are not the ones who have lavish weddings on TV but the ones who patrol the streets of Mosul even after two of their buddies were murdered and their bodies battered and stripped for the sin of trying to protect Iraqis from terrorists. We put couples with incomes of $100 million a year on the covers of our magazines. The noncoms and officers who barely scrape by on military pay but stand on guard in Afghanistan and Iraq and on ships and in submarines and near the Arctic Circle are anonymous as they live and die.I am no longer comfortable being a part of the system that has such poor values, and I do not want to perpetuate those values by pretending that who is eating at Morton's is a big subject.
There are plenty of other stars in the American firmament...the policemen and women who go off on patrol in South Central and have no idea if they will return alive; the orderlies and paramedics who bring in people who have been in terrible accidents and prepare them for surgery; the teachers and nurses who throw their whole spirits into caring for autistic children; the kind men and women who work in hospices and in cancer wards. Think of each and every fireman who was running up the stairs at the World Trade Center as the towers began to collapse. Now you have my idea of a real hero. I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters. This is my highest and best use as a human. I can put it another way. Years ago, I realized I could never be as great an actor as Olivier or as good a comic as Steve Martin...or Martin Mull or Fred Willard--or as good an economist as Samuelson or Friedman or as good a writer as Fitzgerald. Or even remotely close to any of them. But I could be a devoted father to my son, husband to my wife and, above all, a good son to the parents who had done so much for me. This came to be my main task in life. I did it moderately well with my son, pretty well with my wife and well indeed with my parents (with my sister's help). I cared for and paid attention to them in their declining years. I stayed with my father as he got sick, went into extremis and then into a coma and then entered immortality with my sister and me reading him the Psalms. This was the only point at which my life touched the lives of the soldiers in Iraq or the firefighters in New York. I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters and that it is my duty, in return for the lavish life God has devolved upon me, to help others He has placed in my path. This is my highest and best use as a human.
Faith is not believing that God can. It is knowing that God will.
By Ben Stein
Ben Stein's Last Column...
How Can Someone Who Lives in Insane Luxury Be a Star in Today's World? As I begin to write this, I "slug" it, as we writers say, which means I put a heading on top of the document to identify it. This heading is "eonline FINAL," and it gives me a shiver to write it. I have been doing this column for so long that I cannot even recall when I started. I loved writing this column so much for so long I came to believe it would never end. It worked well for a long time, but gradually, my changing as a person and the world's change have overtaken it. On a small scale, Morton's, while better than ever, no longer attracts as many stars as it used to. It still brings in the rich people in droves and definitely some stars. I saw Samuel L. Jackson there a few days ago, and we had a nice visit, and right before that, I saw and had a splendid talk with Warren Beatty in an elevator, in which we agreed that Splendor in the Grass was a super movie. But Morton's is not the star galaxy it once was, though it probably will be again. Beyond that, a bigger change has happened. I no longer think Hollywood stars are terribly important. They are uniformly pleasant, friendly people, and they treat me better than I deserve to be treated. But a man or woman who makes a huge wage for memorizing lines and reciting them in front of a camera is no longer my idea of a shining star we should all look up to. How can a man or woman who makes an eight-figure wage and lives in insane luxury really be a star in today's world, if by a "star" we mean someone bright and powerful and attractive as a role model? Real stars are not riding around in the backs of limousines or in Porsches or getting trained in yoga or Pilates and eating only raw fruit while they have Vietnamese girls do their nails. They can be interesting, nice people, but they are not heroes to me any longer. A real star is the soldier of the 4th Infantry Division who poked his head into a hole on a farm near Tikrit, Iraq. He could have been met by a bomb or a hail of AK-47 bullets. Instead, he faced an abject Saddam Hussein and the gratitude of all of the decent people of the world. A real star is the U.S. soldier who was sent to disarm a bomb next to a road north of Baghdad. He approached it, and the bomb went off and killed him. A real star, the kind who haunts my memory night and day, is the U.S. soldier in Baghdad who saw a little girl playing with a piece of unexploded ordnance on a street near where he was guarding a station. He pushed her aside and threw himself on it just as it exploded. He left a family desolate in California and a little girl alive in Baghdad. The stars who deserve media attention are not the ones who have lavish weddings on TV but the ones who patrol the streets of Mosul even after two of their buddies were murdered and their bodies battered and stripped for the sin of trying to protect Iraqis from terrorists. We put couples with incomes of $100 million a year on the covers of our magazines. The noncoms and officers who barely scrape by on military pay but stand on guard in Afghanistan and Iraq and on ships and in submarines and near the Arctic Circle are anonymous as they live and die.I am no longer comfortable being a part of the system that has such poor values, and I do not want to perpetuate those values by pretending that who is eating at Morton's is a big subject.
There are plenty of other stars in the American firmament...the policemen and women who go off on patrol in South Central and have no idea if they will return alive; the orderlies and paramedics who bring in people who have been in terrible accidents and prepare them for surgery; the teachers and nurses who throw their whole spirits into caring for autistic children; the kind men and women who work in hospices and in cancer wards. Think of each and every fireman who was running up the stairs at the World Trade Center as the towers began to collapse. Now you have my idea of a real hero. I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters. This is my highest and best use as a human. I can put it another way. Years ago, I realized I could never be as great an actor as Olivier or as good a comic as Steve Martin...or Martin Mull or Fred Willard--or as good an economist as Samuelson or Friedman or as good a writer as Fitzgerald. Or even remotely close to any of them. But I could be a devoted father to my son, husband to my wife and, above all, a good son to the parents who had done so much for me. This came to be my main task in life. I did it moderately well with my son, pretty well with my wife and well indeed with my parents (with my sister's help). I cared for and paid attention to them in their declining years. I stayed with my father as he got sick, went into extremis and then into a coma and then entered immortality with my sister and me reading him the Psalms. This was the only point at which my life touched the lives of the soldiers in Iraq or the firefighters in New York. I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters and that it is my duty, in return for the lavish life God has devolved upon me, to help others He has placed in my path. This is my highest and best use as a human.
Faith is not believing that God can. It is knowing that God will.
By Ben Stein
High Flight
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence.
Hov'ring there I've chased the shouting wind along,
and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue, I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.
Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee
No 412 squadron, RCAF
Killed 11 December 1941
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Immaculate Mother of God
Immaculata Mater Dei, Regina caelorum, Mater misericordiae, advocata et refugium peccatorum, ecce ego illuminatus et incitatus gratiis, a te materna benevolentia large mihi impetratis ex thesauro divino, statuo nunc et semper dare in manus tuas cor meum Iesu consecrandum.
Immaculate Mother of God, Queen of heaven, Mother of mercy, Advocate and Refuge of sinners, behold, I, enlightened and inspired by the graces obtained for me abundantly from the divine treasury through thy maternal affection, resolve this day and always to place my heart into thy hands to be consecrated to Jesus.
Tibi igitur, beatissima Virgo, coram novem choris Angelorum cunctisque Sanctis illud trado, Tu autem, meo nomine, Iesu id consecra; et ex fiducia filiali, quam profiteor, certum mihi est te nunc et semper quantum poteris esse facturum, ut cor meum iugiter totum sit Iesu, imitans perfectissime Sanctos, praesertim sanctum Ioseph, Sponsum tuum purissimum.
Amen.
To thee, therefore, most Blessed Virgin, in the presence of nine choirs of Angels and all the Saints, I now give it. Do thou, in my name, consecrate it to Jesus; and out of the filial confidence which I hereby make profession of, I am certain that now and always thou wilt do all thou canst to bring it to pass that my heart may ever wholly belong to Jesus, and may imitate perfectly the example of the Saints, and in particular that of Saint Joseph, thy most pure Spouse.
Amen.
Monday, August 07, 2006
A Forgotten Truth
“Medicinal rebuke must be applied to all who sin, lest they should either themselves perish, or be the ruin of others… Let no one, therefore, say that a man must not be rebuked when he deviates from the right way, or that his return and perseverance must only be asked from the Lord for him.” - St. Augustine
The Holy Rosary: Spiritual Weapon
This is something St. Louis de Montfort said repeatedly. Every Catholic should pray the Holy Rosary for peace and for all of the spiritual needs of the Church. Satan hates this powerful prayer. The only thing he hates (and fears) more is the Holy Mass.
Paul
Paul
TANTUM ergo SacramentumVeneremur cernui:Et antiquum documentum Novo cedat ritui:Praestet fides supplementum Sensuum defectui.
DOWN in adoration falling, Lo! the sacred Host we hail, Lo! oe'r ancient forms departing Newer rites of grace prevail; Faith for all defects supplying,Where the feeble senses fail.
Genitori, Genitoque Laus et iubilatio, Salus, honor, virtus quoque Sit et benedictio: Procedenti ab utroque Compar sit laudatio.
Amen.
To the everlasting Father, And the Son Who reigns on high With the Holy Spirit proceeding Forth from each eternally, Be salvation, honor blessing, Might and endless majesty.
Amen.
V. Panem de caelo praestitisti eis. (T.P. Alleluia)R. Omne delectamentum in se habentem. (T.P. Alleluia)
V. Thou hast given them bread from heaven (P.T. Alleluia).R. Having within it all sweetness (P.T. Alleluia).
Oremus: Deus, qui nobis sub sacramento mirabili, passionis tuae memoriam reliquisti: tribue, quaesumus, ita nos corporis et sanguinis tui sacra mysteria venerari, ut redemptionis tuae fructum in nobis iugiter sentiamus. Qui vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Let us pray: O God, who in this wonderful Sacrament left us a memorial of Thy Passion: grant, we implore Thee, that we may so venerate the sacred mysteries of Thy Body and Blood, as always to be conscious of the fruit of Thy Redemption. Thou who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Prayer to the Blood of Jesus
In every need let me come to Thee with humble trust saying:
Blood of Jesus help me!
In all my doubts, perplexities and temptations,
Blood of Jesus help me!
In hours of loneliness, weariness and trials,
Blood of Jesus help me!
In the failure of my plans and hopes, in disappointments, troubles and sorrows,
Blood of Jesus help me!
When I feel impatient and my cross irritates me,
Blood of Jesus help me!
Always in spite of my weakness, falls and short-comings of every kind,
Blood of Jesus help me
and never forsake me!
Amen.
Prayer to St. Paul for Patience:
O glorious St. Paul,
who from a persecutor of Christianity,
did become a most ardent apostle of zeal;
and who to make known the Saviour Jesus Christ
to the ends of the world did suffer with joy imprisonment,
scourging, stonings, shipwrecks
and persecutions of every kind,
and in the end did shed your blood to the last drop,
obtain for us the grace to receive,
as favours of the Divine Mercy,
infirmities, tribulations,
and mistfortunes of the present life,
so that the vicissitudes of this our exile
will not render us cold in the service of God,
but will render us always more faithful and fervent.
Amen.
From My Daily Bread
Confraternity of the Precious Blood
Chapter 51
Daily Need of Patience
Christ:My child, though you may plan all things and arrange everything with the greatest care, you will still have many opportunities to exercise the virtue of patience. You cannot eliminate the unexpected, the unforseen, and the unavoidable. In many cases your best remedy and weapon will be an intelligent patience with yourself as well as others.
Every man has his daily share of troubles and trials. sometimes it may be bodily pain and discomfort. At other times it may be mental or spiritual suffering, some annoyance, disappointment, or anxiety. Sometimes you may feel that I have deserted you. Then again, you may have to bear misunderstandings, misinterpretations, or even bad will from your neighbor. In fact, there are times when you are a burden and a bother to yourself.
Everybody would like to free of these trials, but it cannot be. They are a part of your earthly life. Wherever you turn, you will always find my cross in one form or another. Patience will help you bear it more easily. This virtue will help you keep your soul at peace, so that you may continue to walk toward Heaven in time of trials.
Think:I see only too clearly how wonderful a virtue patience is. It is the key to peace, even joy, in time of trouble and suffering. I need never be surprised, resentful, disappointed, or sad when things go badly for me. Wherever I go, I bring with me one of my greatest troubles and burdens-myself, with all my unreasoning desires and endless wants. Through the virtue of patience I can gain greater possesion of myself. I shall more easily see how to deal with the trials facing me.
Pray:My Jesus, King of true glory, You embraced a life of suffering and trials for love of me. You mounted a throne of shame and agony for my sins. Can I expect, or even desire, a life of ease, with everything going as I wish? When I consider what You chose to suffer for my sake, the disappointments, hatred, ingratitude, humiliation, injustice, and more, can I want a life of planned successes and pleasant friendships? No, Lord. If I really love You, I shall desire a patience to accept the heartaches, aggravations, and disappointments which come my way. Make me more like You in a life like Yours. No greater glory is possible to any man.
Amen.
O glorious St. Paul,
who from a persecutor of Christianity,
did become a most ardent apostle of zeal;
and who to make known the Saviour Jesus Christ
to the ends of the world did suffer with joy imprisonment,
scourging, stonings, shipwrecks
and persecutions of every kind,
and in the end did shed your blood to the last drop,
obtain for us the grace to receive,
as favours of the Divine Mercy,
infirmities, tribulations,
and mistfortunes of the present life,
so that the vicissitudes of this our exile
will not render us cold in the service of God,
but will render us always more faithful and fervent.
Amen.
From My Daily Bread
Confraternity of the Precious Blood
Chapter 51
Daily Need of Patience
Christ:My child, though you may plan all things and arrange everything with the greatest care, you will still have many opportunities to exercise the virtue of patience. You cannot eliminate the unexpected, the unforseen, and the unavoidable. In many cases your best remedy and weapon will be an intelligent patience with yourself as well as others.
Every man has his daily share of troubles and trials. sometimes it may be bodily pain and discomfort. At other times it may be mental or spiritual suffering, some annoyance, disappointment, or anxiety. Sometimes you may feel that I have deserted you. Then again, you may have to bear misunderstandings, misinterpretations, or even bad will from your neighbor. In fact, there are times when you are a burden and a bother to yourself.
Everybody would like to free of these trials, but it cannot be. They are a part of your earthly life. Wherever you turn, you will always find my cross in one form or another. Patience will help you bear it more easily. This virtue will help you keep your soul at peace, so that you may continue to walk toward Heaven in time of trials.
Think:I see only too clearly how wonderful a virtue patience is. It is the key to peace, even joy, in time of trouble and suffering. I need never be surprised, resentful, disappointed, or sad when things go badly for me. Wherever I go, I bring with me one of my greatest troubles and burdens-myself, with all my unreasoning desires and endless wants. Through the virtue of patience I can gain greater possesion of myself. I shall more easily see how to deal with the trials facing me.
Pray:My Jesus, King of true glory, You embraced a life of suffering and trials for love of me. You mounted a throne of shame and agony for my sins. Can I expect, or even desire, a life of ease, with everything going as I wish? When I consider what You chose to suffer for my sake, the disappointments, hatred, ingratitude, humiliation, injustice, and more, can I want a life of planned successes and pleasant friendships? No, Lord. If I really love You, I shall desire a patience to accept the heartaches, aggravations, and disappointments which come my way. Make me more like You in a life like Yours. No greater glory is possible to any man.
Amen.
A Reflection:
Jesus before Pilate
Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and asked,"What charges are you bringing against this man?" "If he were not a criminal," they replied,"we would not have handed him over to you." Pilate said, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law." "But we have no right to execute anyone," the Jews objected. This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" "Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about me?" "Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied."It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?" Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." "What is truth?" Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said,"I find no basis for a charge against him. But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release `the king of the Jews'?" They shouted back, "No, not him! Give us Barabbas!" Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion..." (John 18: 28-40).
Everyone on the side of truth listens to Jesus. And today, Jesus teaches us through His Magisterium. Do we listen? If not, Jesus has told us that we are not on the side of truth. If we reject the Magisterium of His Church, if we dissent from Magisterial teaching, we serve another father - John 8:44.
Paul
Jesus before Pilate
Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and asked,"What charges are you bringing against this man?" "If he were not a criminal," they replied,"we would not have handed him over to you." Pilate said, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law." "But we have no right to execute anyone," the Jews objected. This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" "Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about me?" "Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied."It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?" Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." "What is truth?" Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said,"I find no basis for a charge against him. But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release `the king of the Jews'?" They shouted back, "No, not him! Give us Barabbas!" Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion..." (John 18: 28-40).
Everyone on the side of truth listens to Jesus. And today, Jesus teaches us through His Magisterium. Do we listen? If not, Jesus has told us that we are not on the side of truth. If we reject the Magisterium of His Church, if we dissent from Magisterial teaching, we serve another father - John 8:44.
Paul
Saturday, August 05, 2006
More Symptoms of Decay
And yet, there are those within the Church (influenced by flawed thinkers such as Teilhard de Chardin), who actually believe mankind has "come of age" and is tending toward spiritual maturity. God preserve us from such nonsense!
"By masturbation is to be understood the deliberate stimulation of the genital organs in order to derive sexual pleasure. "Both the Magisterium of the Church, in the course of a constant tradition, and the moral sense of the faithful have been in no doubt and have firmly maintained that masturbation is an intrinsically and gravely disordered action." "The deliberate use of the sexual faculty, for whatever reason, outside of marriage is essentially contrary to its purpose." For here sexual pleasure is sought outside of "the sexual relationship which is demanded by the moral order and in which the total meaning of mutual self-giving and human procreation in the context of true love is achieved."
To form an equitable judgment about the subjects' moral responsibility and to guide pastoral action, one must take into account the affective immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety or other psychological or social factors that lessen, if not even reduce to a minimum, moral culpability." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2352).
Paul
"By masturbation is to be understood the deliberate stimulation of the genital organs in order to derive sexual pleasure. "Both the Magisterium of the Church, in the course of a constant tradition, and the moral sense of the faithful have been in no doubt and have firmly maintained that masturbation is an intrinsically and gravely disordered action." "The deliberate use of the sexual faculty, for whatever reason, outside of marriage is essentially contrary to its purpose." For here sexual pleasure is sought outside of "the sexual relationship which is demanded by the moral order and in which the total meaning of mutual self-giving and human procreation in the context of true love is achieved."
To form an equitable judgment about the subjects' moral responsibility and to guide pastoral action, one must take into account the affective immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety or other psychological or social factors that lessen, if not even reduce to a minimum, moral culpability." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2352).
Paul
Friday, August 04, 2006
From the La Salette Journey Archives
Attorney Daniel Shea in an email to myself back in 2003:
Paul:
"That's Mystici Corporis, Pope Pius XII speaking in an Encyclical which teaching is to be taken seriously but is NOT ex cathedra. You seem to be blinded by the ability of Ratzinger and Co. to engage in an international conspiracy to obstruct justice. Crime is crime no matter how much watered silk you wrap it in. You're right about one thing though, Mystici Corporis and Immortale Dei are now driving this train and Vatican II isnt worth the paper its written on."
Dan Shea.
Anti-Catholic for District Attorney?
Attorney Daniel J. Shea, who has referred to the Catholic Church as "a criminal institution," announces bid for District Attorney position:Attorney Daniel J. Shea, an attorney who represented clergy abuse victims within the Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts and who has referred to the Catholic Church as "a criminal institution," while asserting that "Ratzinger and Co" have engaged in an "international conspiracy to obstruct justice," has announced that he will seek the Democratic nomination to the position of District Attorney for the Middle District, which encompasses Worcester County/Central Massachusetts. On one occasion, attorney Shea wrote me an email in which he said that the Church, "..is a criminal institution and those who contribute to it any longer are aiding and abetting this criminal conduct called obstruction of justice." On another occasion, he asserted that I "..seem to be blinded by the ability of Ratzinger and Co. to engage in an international conspiracy to obstruct justice."Please take the time to read my two articles on attorney Daniel J. Shea, the links to which are below. Note how attorney Shea has been involved with the transgender movement. Attorney Shea's anti-Catholic remarks are a cause for serious concern. Do we really want to see this man elected to the District Attorney's Office of the Middle District? How will Catholics fare under Daniel Shea as a District Attorney? Will Catholics be able to receive justice from a man who has said that Catholics who contribute to the Catholic Church are "aiding and abetting" a "criminal institution"?What do you think?
The articles:
http://lasalettejourney.blogspot.com/2005/06/attorney-daniel-shea-and-co-liberal.html
http://lasalettejourney.blogspot.com/2005/06/attorney-daniel-shea-and-co-liberal_23.html
Read Attorney Shea's letter to the Honorable Michael J. Sullivan and expressing his interpretation of Crimen Sollicitationes:
Daniel J. Shea, P.C.1928 WEST BELL STREET, HOUSTON, TX 77019-4814(713) 942-7500 (713) 942-7507 FACSIMILE
djs7500@aol.com
DANIEL JOSEPH SHEA__________________ ALSO ADMITTED IN MASSACHUSETTS July 28, 2003
Hon. Michael J. Sullivan Facsimile: (617) 748-3974
United States Attorney
And U.S. Mail, First Class
District of Massachusetts
1 Courthouse Way,
Suite 9200
Boston, MA 02210-3011
RE: Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, A Corporation Sole
Dear Mr. Sullivan:
Reference is made to a hand-delivered letter of even date to you from Mr. Carmen L. Durso. That letter transmits to you a copy of a 1962 Vatican document "On the Manner of Proceeding in Cases of Solicitation," a/k/a "Crimen Sollicitationes."A word first on provenance and authentication.
Crimen Sollicitationes first appears in a footnote to a letter from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, dated May 18, 2002, "To All Bishops of the Catholic Church . . . Concerning Very Grave Sins Which are Reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith." I have in my possession the official Latin texts of both these documents.
The Ratzinger letter was brought to the attention of the Massachusetts Attorney General by letter of March 1, 2002. A copy of that letter and its attachments is hereby provided. Since March 1, 2002, I have conducted a search for Crimen Sollicitationes and until two weeks ago, had been unable to find it. Major Thomas Doyle, a catholic chaplain in Germany, was able to unearth it and send me both the Latin original, and the English translation you have in your possession.
Father Doyle is the co-author of the so-called Doyle-Mouton Report which apprized the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) of the criminal implications of this coverup in 1985 with the warning that catholic judges and lawyers would no longer shield them from the consequences of their behavior in this matter. I sent a copy of Crimen Sollicitationes to Massachusetts Attorney General Reilly by letter of July 28, 2003. That letter contains a brief "commentary" on Crimen, forbidden in its preface with the warning: "This text is to be diligently stored in the secret archives of the Curia as strictly confidential. Nor is it to be added to with any commentaries." That letter is also hereby provided Hon. Michael J. Sullivan July 28, 2003 Page Two____________________As you can glean from my correspondence with Mr. Reilly, I have been involved in the Ratzinger-Bank of New England nexus for some time. Consequently, I am less inclined to characterize the A.G.'s report as "regrettable," as does Mr. Durso.
First of all, I find the Reilly Report legally unacceptable to the extent that it names the "target" as the "Archdiocese of Boston." That is a canonical term. The target institution is "Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, A Corporation Sole" as Mr. Durso correctly indicates. Significantly, the Bank of New England jurisprudence, cited by Mr. Durso, has never been applied to a special, legislatively created, corporation sole. That unique corporate form has been a legislative privilege extended to the Archbishop of Boston that allows him to operate as a de facto monarch.
I believe the Reilly Report intentionally sidesteps the implications of Bank of New England's collective knowledge doctrine to this de facto monarch. The Report (page 1) states, "The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston has been a duly registered corporation, formed under Chapter 180 of the Massachusetts General Laws, for religious purposes since 1897." That is incorrect. This chapter shall apply to all corporations whenever established, except so far as such application may be inconsistent with provisions still in force of any special acts of incorporation, enacted before March eleventh, eighteen hundred and thirty-one, and not subject to amendment, alteration or repeal by the general court, or with provisions of any special acts of incorporation enacted after October first, nineteen hundred and seventy-one.
Mass. Gen. L. ch. 180 § 1.The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, A Corporation Sole is, thus, not incorporated under Chapter 180, but is a noted exception to it. Otherwise, the "Archdiocese of Boston" would be subject to the requirements for officers and directors, articles of incorporation, and other legal safeguards that Chapter 180 otherwise provides.The next instance of issue-avoidance in the Reilly Report is found on page 22 therein. "The evidence gathered during the course of the Attorney General's sixteen month investigation, does not provide a basis for bringing criminal charges against the Archdiocese or its senior managers." Id. (emphasis added). At this point in the report, the reader would expect that there would be separate treatment of criminal charges against the "Archdiocese" under Bank of New England, and criminal charges against any individuals. Instead, the report continues, The investigation did not produce evidence that senior Archdiocese managers encouraged priests to abuse children, intended that priests would abuse children, intended to obstruct justice by helping abusive priests avoid arrest or punishment, Hon. Michael J. Sullivan July 28, 2003 Page Three____________________interfered with the testimony or role of a witness in a judicial proceeding, or entered into unlawful agreements. Nor is there evidence that the Archdiocese benefitted by priests sexually abusing children. Id. Thus ends any reference to criminal charges against the corporate entity, however mis-characterized. Turning, however, to the criminal conduct of the individuals involved, I fail to see how such evidentiary conclusions can be reached in light of the Ratzinger letter (in the AG's possession since March 1, 2002), Crimen Sollicitationes, and the fact that in one case, there was "some evidence" of sexual molestation of a minor by the RCAB himself, i.e., Humberto S. Medeiros.
In addition, I can direct you to at least four places in the deposition testimony of Bernard F. Law where, in light of the Ratzinger letter and Crimen, there is "some evidence" of perjury. Finally, I find it unacceptable that in a report of this importance, appropriate legal distinctions between "no evidence," "some evidence," "preponderance of evidence," and the like are not maintained. I trust that unlike Mr. Reilly, you will not be so unprofessional as to fail, at the very least, to acknowledge receipt of this letter.
Very truly yours,
Daniel J. Shea
Mass. B.B.O. No. 652896
cc: Mr. Carmen L. Durso, w/o encl.Facsimile: (617) 426-7972
Attorney Shea provided me with this copy as part of an exchange of emails we had back in 2003.
Paul
Paul:
"That's Mystici Corporis, Pope Pius XII speaking in an Encyclical which teaching is to be taken seriously but is NOT ex cathedra. You seem to be blinded by the ability of Ratzinger and Co. to engage in an international conspiracy to obstruct justice. Crime is crime no matter how much watered silk you wrap it in. You're right about one thing though, Mystici Corporis and Immortale Dei are now driving this train and Vatican II isnt worth the paper its written on."
Dan Shea.
Anti-Catholic for District Attorney?
Attorney Daniel J. Shea, who has referred to the Catholic Church as "a criminal institution," announces bid for District Attorney position:Attorney Daniel J. Shea, an attorney who represented clergy abuse victims within the Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts and who has referred to the Catholic Church as "a criminal institution," while asserting that "Ratzinger and Co" have engaged in an "international conspiracy to obstruct justice," has announced that he will seek the Democratic nomination to the position of District Attorney for the Middle District, which encompasses Worcester County/Central Massachusetts. On one occasion, attorney Shea wrote me an email in which he said that the Church, "..is a criminal institution and those who contribute to it any longer are aiding and abetting this criminal conduct called obstruction of justice." On another occasion, he asserted that I "..seem to be blinded by the ability of Ratzinger and Co. to engage in an international conspiracy to obstruct justice."Please take the time to read my two articles on attorney Daniel J. Shea, the links to which are below. Note how attorney Shea has been involved with the transgender movement. Attorney Shea's anti-Catholic remarks are a cause for serious concern. Do we really want to see this man elected to the District Attorney's Office of the Middle District? How will Catholics fare under Daniel Shea as a District Attorney? Will Catholics be able to receive justice from a man who has said that Catholics who contribute to the Catholic Church are "aiding and abetting" a "criminal institution"?What do you think?
The articles:
http://lasalettejourney.blogspot.com/2005/06/attorney-daniel-shea-and-co-liberal.html
http://lasalettejourney.blogspot.com/2005/06/attorney-daniel-shea-and-co-liberal_23.html
Read Attorney Shea's letter to the Honorable Michael J. Sullivan and expressing his interpretation of Crimen Sollicitationes:
Daniel J. Shea, P.C.1928 WEST BELL STREET, HOUSTON, TX 77019-4814(713) 942-7500 (713) 942-7507 FACSIMILE
djs7500@aol.com
DANIEL JOSEPH SHEA__________________ ALSO ADMITTED IN MASSACHUSETTS July 28, 2003
Hon. Michael J. Sullivan Facsimile: (617) 748-3974
United States Attorney
And U.S. Mail, First Class
District of Massachusetts
1 Courthouse Way,
Suite 9200
Boston, MA 02210-3011
RE: Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, A Corporation Sole
Dear Mr. Sullivan:
Reference is made to a hand-delivered letter of even date to you from Mr. Carmen L. Durso. That letter transmits to you a copy of a 1962 Vatican document "On the Manner of Proceeding in Cases of Solicitation," a/k/a "Crimen Sollicitationes."A word first on provenance and authentication.
Crimen Sollicitationes first appears in a footnote to a letter from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, dated May 18, 2002, "To All Bishops of the Catholic Church . . . Concerning Very Grave Sins Which are Reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith." I have in my possession the official Latin texts of both these documents.
The Ratzinger letter was brought to the attention of the Massachusetts Attorney General by letter of March 1, 2002. A copy of that letter and its attachments is hereby provided. Since March 1, 2002, I have conducted a search for Crimen Sollicitationes and until two weeks ago, had been unable to find it. Major Thomas Doyle, a catholic chaplain in Germany, was able to unearth it and send me both the Latin original, and the English translation you have in your possession.
Father Doyle is the co-author of the so-called Doyle-Mouton Report which apprized the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) of the criminal implications of this coverup in 1985 with the warning that catholic judges and lawyers would no longer shield them from the consequences of their behavior in this matter. I sent a copy of Crimen Sollicitationes to Massachusetts Attorney General Reilly by letter of July 28, 2003. That letter contains a brief "commentary" on Crimen, forbidden in its preface with the warning: "This text is to be diligently stored in the secret archives of the Curia as strictly confidential. Nor is it to be added to with any commentaries." That letter is also hereby provided Hon. Michael J. Sullivan July 28, 2003 Page Two____________________As you can glean from my correspondence with Mr. Reilly, I have been involved in the Ratzinger-Bank of New England nexus for some time. Consequently, I am less inclined to characterize the A.G.'s report as "regrettable," as does Mr. Durso.
First of all, I find the Reilly Report legally unacceptable to the extent that it names the "target" as the "Archdiocese of Boston." That is a canonical term. The target institution is "Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, A Corporation Sole" as Mr. Durso correctly indicates. Significantly, the Bank of New England jurisprudence, cited by Mr. Durso, has never been applied to a special, legislatively created, corporation sole. That unique corporate form has been a legislative privilege extended to the Archbishop of Boston that allows him to operate as a de facto monarch.
I believe the Reilly Report intentionally sidesteps the implications of Bank of New England's collective knowledge doctrine to this de facto monarch. The Report (page 1) states, "The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston has been a duly registered corporation, formed under Chapter 180 of the Massachusetts General Laws, for religious purposes since 1897." That is incorrect. This chapter shall apply to all corporations whenever established, except so far as such application may be inconsistent with provisions still in force of any special acts of incorporation, enacted before March eleventh, eighteen hundred and thirty-one, and not subject to amendment, alteration or repeal by the general court, or with provisions of any special acts of incorporation enacted after October first, nineteen hundred and seventy-one.
Mass. Gen. L. ch. 180 § 1.The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, A Corporation Sole is, thus, not incorporated under Chapter 180, but is a noted exception to it. Otherwise, the "Archdiocese of Boston" would be subject to the requirements for officers and directors, articles of incorporation, and other legal safeguards that Chapter 180 otherwise provides.The next instance of issue-avoidance in the Reilly Report is found on page 22 therein. "The evidence gathered during the course of the Attorney General's sixteen month investigation, does not provide a basis for bringing criminal charges against the Archdiocese or its senior managers." Id. (emphasis added). At this point in the report, the reader would expect that there would be separate treatment of criminal charges against the "Archdiocese" under Bank of New England, and criminal charges against any individuals. Instead, the report continues, The investigation did not produce evidence that senior Archdiocese managers encouraged priests to abuse children, intended that priests would abuse children, intended to obstruct justice by helping abusive priests avoid arrest or punishment, Hon. Michael J. Sullivan July 28, 2003 Page Three____________________interfered with the testimony or role of a witness in a judicial proceeding, or entered into unlawful agreements. Nor is there evidence that the Archdiocese benefitted by priests sexually abusing children. Id. Thus ends any reference to criminal charges against the corporate entity, however mis-characterized. Turning, however, to the criminal conduct of the individuals involved, I fail to see how such evidentiary conclusions can be reached in light of the Ratzinger letter (in the AG's possession since March 1, 2002), Crimen Sollicitationes, and the fact that in one case, there was "some evidence" of sexual molestation of a minor by the RCAB himself, i.e., Humberto S. Medeiros.
In addition, I can direct you to at least four places in the deposition testimony of Bernard F. Law where, in light of the Ratzinger letter and Crimen, there is "some evidence" of perjury. Finally, I find it unacceptable that in a report of this importance, appropriate legal distinctions between "no evidence," "some evidence," "preponderance of evidence," and the like are not maintained. I trust that unlike Mr. Reilly, you will not be so unprofessional as to fail, at the very least, to acknowledge receipt of this letter.
Very truly yours,
Daniel J. Shea
Mass. B.B.O. No. 652896
cc: Mr. Carmen L. Durso, w/o encl.Facsimile: (617) 426-7972
Attorney Shea provided me with this copy as part of an exchange of emails we had back in 2003.
Paul
Domine Deus Omnipotens Rex Regum
O Lord God Almighty, King of Kings
Domine Deus Omnipotens, Rex regum et Dominus dominantium, in cuius manu omnis victoria consistit et omne bellum conteritur, concede mihi ut tua manus cor meum corroboret ut in virtute tua in manibus viribusque meis bene pugnare viriliterque agere valeam ut inimici mei in conspectu meo cadent et corruant sicut corruit Golias ante faciem pueri tui David, et sicut populus Pharaonis coram Moysi in mare rubro, et sicut Philistini coram populo Israel cecidi1 sunt, et Amalech coram Moysi et Chananei coram Iesu corruerunt, sic cadant inimici mei sub pedibus meis, et per viam unam conveniant adversum me et per septem fugiant a me; et conteret Deus arma eorum et confringet framea eorum, et liquescent in conspectu meo sicut cera a facie ignis ut sciant omnes populi terrae quia invocatum est nomen Domini nostri Iesu Christi super me et magnificetur nomen tuum Domine, in adversariis meis, Domine Deus Israel.
O LORD God Almighty, King of kings, Lord of rulers, in whose hand all victory rests and all war is destroyed, grant me that Thy hand may strengthen my heart so I may fight well and act courageously so my enemies may fall before my sight. May they fall as did Goliath fall before Thy servant David, as did the people of the Pharaoh in the Red Sea before Moses, as did the Philistines before the people of Israel, as did Amalech before Moses, and as did the Canaanites before Joshua, so may my enemies fall beneath my feet. May all who come against me be dispersed and God destroy their weapons and shatter their swords. They will melt in my sight as wax in the face of fire so all the peoples of the earth will know that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ has been invoked over me. May Thy Name, O Lord, be made great over my adversaries, O Lord, God of Israel.
O Lord God Almighty, King of Kings
Domine Deus Omnipotens, Rex regum et Dominus dominantium, in cuius manu omnis victoria consistit et omne bellum conteritur, concede mihi ut tua manus cor meum corroboret ut in virtute tua in manibus viribusque meis bene pugnare viriliterque agere valeam ut inimici mei in conspectu meo cadent et corruant sicut corruit Golias ante faciem pueri tui David, et sicut populus Pharaonis coram Moysi in mare rubro, et sicut Philistini coram populo Israel cecidi1 sunt, et Amalech coram Moysi et Chananei coram Iesu corruerunt, sic cadant inimici mei sub pedibus meis, et per viam unam conveniant adversum me et per septem fugiant a me; et conteret Deus arma eorum et confringet framea eorum, et liquescent in conspectu meo sicut cera a facie ignis ut sciant omnes populi terrae quia invocatum est nomen Domini nostri Iesu Christi super me et magnificetur nomen tuum Domine, in adversariis meis, Domine Deus Israel.
O LORD God Almighty, King of kings, Lord of rulers, in whose hand all victory rests and all war is destroyed, grant me that Thy hand may strengthen my heart so I may fight well and act courageously so my enemies may fall before my sight. May they fall as did Goliath fall before Thy servant David, as did the people of the Pharaoh in the Red Sea before Moses, as did the Philistines before the people of Israel, as did Amalech before Moses, and as did the Canaanites before Joshua, so may my enemies fall beneath my feet. May all who come against me be dispersed and God destroy their weapons and shatter their swords. They will melt in my sight as wax in the face of fire so all the peoples of the earth will know that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ has been invoked over me. May Thy Name, O Lord, be made great over my adversaries, O Lord, God of Israel.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
State Representative Fran Wendelboe from New Hampton appeals to Rome
The State Rep is appealing a decision by the Manchester Diocese to merge St. Agnes Church with two other parishes.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
A Double Standard
Catholic League Statement:
July 31, 2006
MEL’S ENEMIES LACK FORGIVENESS
Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented today on the furor over the comments Mel Gibson allegedly made after his arrest for drunk driving Friday morning:
“What Mel Gibson apparently said is indefensible. The remark attributed to him, ‘The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,’ is anti-Semitic and irresponsible. Fortunately, he has apologized for his bigoted outburst. Unfortunately, his apology is being rejected by some who should know better. To wit: Abraham Foxman, head of the Anti-Defamation League, has branded Gibson’s apology ‘unremorseful and insufficient.’ Moreover, Foxman concludes that it shows what a ‘sham’ it is for Gibson to portray himself as the ‘tolerant, loving person’ who made ‘The Passion of the Christ.’
“We have quite a file on Ted Turner at the Catholic League. Unlike Foxman, I have accepted every apology Turner has ever made for his anti-Catholic outbursts, all of which were made while he was sober. Indeed, I even went so far as to say that ‘no one in his right mind’ would ever put Ted Turner ‘in the same camp with a Klansman or an inveterate bigot.’ More recently, when radio shock-jocks Opie and Anthony apologized for their orchestrated anti-Catholic stunt in St. Patrick’s Cathedral a few years back, I not only accepted their apology, I was the first guest on their new CBS radio show and welcomed their return.
“But Mel’s enemies will never cut him a break. Their real goal is to discredit ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ and that is why their propaganda machine is in full gear. Never mind that Mel has said that ‘Anti-Semitism is not only contrary to my personal beliefs, it is also contrary to the core message of my movie.’ How ironic it is to note that the core message of his film—forgiveness—is sorely lacking in his critics.
“In 2003, Roman Polanski, the convicted child rapist, received a standing ovation when he won an Oscar for ‘The Pianist.’ Nice to know what really offends Hollywood.”
Kiera M. McCaffrey
Director of Communications
The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights
450 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10123
212-371-3191
212-371-3394 (fax)
Email: cl@catholicleague.org
Paul
July 31, 2006
MEL’S ENEMIES LACK FORGIVENESS
Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented today on the furor over the comments Mel Gibson allegedly made after his arrest for drunk driving Friday morning:
“What Mel Gibson apparently said is indefensible. The remark attributed to him, ‘The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,’ is anti-Semitic and irresponsible. Fortunately, he has apologized for his bigoted outburst. Unfortunately, his apology is being rejected by some who should know better. To wit: Abraham Foxman, head of the Anti-Defamation League, has branded Gibson’s apology ‘unremorseful and insufficient.’ Moreover, Foxman concludes that it shows what a ‘sham’ it is for Gibson to portray himself as the ‘tolerant, loving person’ who made ‘The Passion of the Christ.’
“We have quite a file on Ted Turner at the Catholic League. Unlike Foxman, I have accepted every apology Turner has ever made for his anti-Catholic outbursts, all of which were made while he was sober. Indeed, I even went so far as to say that ‘no one in his right mind’ would ever put Ted Turner ‘in the same camp with a Klansman or an inveterate bigot.’ More recently, when radio shock-jocks Opie and Anthony apologized for their orchestrated anti-Catholic stunt in St. Patrick’s Cathedral a few years back, I not only accepted their apology, I was the first guest on their new CBS radio show and welcomed their return.
“But Mel’s enemies will never cut him a break. Their real goal is to discredit ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ and that is why their propaganda machine is in full gear. Never mind that Mel has said that ‘Anti-Semitism is not only contrary to my personal beliefs, it is also contrary to the core message of my movie.’ How ironic it is to note that the core message of his film—forgiveness—is sorely lacking in his critics.
“In 2003, Roman Polanski, the convicted child rapist, received a standing ovation when he won an Oscar for ‘The Pianist.’ Nice to know what really offends Hollywood.”
Kiera M. McCaffrey
Director of Communications
The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights
450 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10123
212-371-3191
212-371-3394 (fax)
Email: cl@catholicleague.org
Paul
FutureChurch
Venerable Anne Catherine Emmerich:
I had another vision of the great tribulation. It seems to me that a concession was demanded from the clergy which could not be granted. I saw many older priests, especially one, who wept bitterly. A few younger ones were also weeping. But others, and the lukewarm among them, readily did what was demanded. It was as if people were splitting into two camps. "I saw that many pastors allowed themselves to be taken up with ideas that were dangerous to the Church. They were building a great, strange, and extravagant Church. Everyone was to be admitted in it in order to be united and have equal rights: Evangelicals, Catholics, sects of every description. Such was to be the new Church ... But God had other designs. "
"I saw again the strange big church that was being built there in Rome. There was nothing holy in it. I saw this just as I saw a movement led by Ecclesiastics to which contributed angels, saints, and other Christians. But there in the strange big church all the work was being done mechanically according to set rules and formulae. Everything was being done according to human reason ...I saw all sorts of people, things, doctrines, and opinions. There was something proud, presumptuous, and violent about it, and they seemed very successful. I di not see a single Angel nor a single saint helping in the work. But far away in the background, I saw the seat of the cruel people armed with spears, and I saw a laughing figure which said: " Do build it as solid as you can; we will pull it to the ground."
"I saw again the new and odd-looking church which they were trying to build. There was nothing holy about it ... People were kneading bread in the crypt below ... but it would not rise, nor did they receive the body of our Lord, but only bread. Those who were in error, through no fault of their own, and who piously and ardently longed for the Body of Jesus were spiritually consoled, but not by their communion. Then my Guide (Jesus) said: "This is Babel." "I saw deplorable things: they were gambling, drinking, and talking in church; they were also courting women. All sorts of abominations were perpetrated there. Priests allowed everything and said Mass with much irreverence. I saw that few of them were still godly... All these things caused me much distress. "
DEVOUT CATHOLICS AND CLERGY BEING OPPRESSED:
"Then I saw an apparition of the Mother of God, and she said that the tribulation would be very great. She added that people must pray fervently with outstretched arms, be it only long enough to say three Our Fathers. This was the way her Son prayed for them on the Cross. They must rise at twelve at night, and pray in this manner; and they must keep coming to the Church. They must pray above all for the Church of Darkness to leave Rome... These were all good and devout people, and they did not know where help and guidance should be sought. There were no traitors and enemies among them, yet they were afraid of one another... "
"I saw more martyrs, not now but in the future ... I saw the secret sect relentlessly undermining the great Church. Near them I saw a horrible beast coming up from the sea. All over the world, good and devout people, especially the clergy, were harassed, oppressed, and put into prison ... "
"Whole Catholic communities were being oppressed, harassed, confined, and deprived of their freedom. I saw many churches closed down, great miseries everywhere, wars and bloodshed. A wild and ignorant mob took violent action. But it did not last long... "
I had another vision of the great tribulation. It seems to me that a concession was demanded from the clergy which could not be granted. I saw many older priests, especially one, who wept bitterly. A few younger ones were also weeping. But others, and the lukewarm among them, readily did what was demanded. It was as if people were splitting into two camps. "I saw that many pastors allowed themselves to be taken up with ideas that were dangerous to the Church. They were building a great, strange, and extravagant Church. Everyone was to be admitted in it in order to be united and have equal rights: Evangelicals, Catholics, sects of every description. Such was to be the new Church ... But God had other designs. "
"I saw again the strange big church that was being built there in Rome. There was nothing holy in it. I saw this just as I saw a movement led by Ecclesiastics to which contributed angels, saints, and other Christians. But there in the strange big church all the work was being done mechanically according to set rules and formulae. Everything was being done according to human reason ...I saw all sorts of people, things, doctrines, and opinions. There was something proud, presumptuous, and violent about it, and they seemed very successful. I di not see a single Angel nor a single saint helping in the work. But far away in the background, I saw the seat of the cruel people armed with spears, and I saw a laughing figure which said: " Do build it as solid as you can; we will pull it to the ground."
"I saw again the new and odd-looking church which they were trying to build. There was nothing holy about it ... People were kneading bread in the crypt below ... but it would not rise, nor did they receive the body of our Lord, but only bread. Those who were in error, through no fault of their own, and who piously and ardently longed for the Body of Jesus were spiritually consoled, but not by their communion. Then my Guide (Jesus) said: "This is Babel." "I saw deplorable things: they were gambling, drinking, and talking in church; they were also courting women. All sorts of abominations were perpetrated there. Priests allowed everything and said Mass with much irreverence. I saw that few of them were still godly... All these things caused me much distress. "
DEVOUT CATHOLICS AND CLERGY BEING OPPRESSED:
"Then I saw an apparition of the Mother of God, and she said that the tribulation would be very great. She added that people must pray fervently with outstretched arms, be it only long enough to say three Our Fathers. This was the way her Son prayed for them on the Cross. They must rise at twelve at night, and pray in this manner; and they must keep coming to the Church. They must pray above all for the Church of Darkness to leave Rome... These were all good and devout people, and they did not know where help and guidance should be sought. There were no traitors and enemies among them, yet they were afraid of one another... "
"I saw more martyrs, not now but in the future ... I saw the secret sect relentlessly undermining the great Church. Near them I saw a horrible beast coming up from the sea. All over the world, good and devout people, especially the clergy, were harassed, oppressed, and put into prison ... "
"Whole Catholic communities were being oppressed, harassed, confined, and deprived of their freedom. I saw many churches closed down, great miseries everywhere, wars and bloodshed. A wild and ignorant mob took violent action. But it did not last long... "
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