The One True Faith

Conscious Immolation

2012-02-13T13:42:00.000-08:00

Conscious Immolation is the term Pope Paul VI, used to describe St. Gianna Beretta. Gianna Beretta is the next saint I want to post about in my collection of saints in good married life. Actually, it's Fr. Thomas Keven Kraft, OP, who's complying lives of saints and holy people, who are well married. He means they were happily married; as opposed to their endurance in marriages from hell. That alone would be reason for sainthood. No, our interest is those in average life, not celibates.

Gianna Francesca Beretta was born in Magenta, Italy, in 1922. She was born into a large family; she was the the tenth of thirteen children. Eventually, five siblings died. Her family was very devout--daily communicants. Three of her siblings became religious; Virginia became a Canossian sister, Giuseppe became a diocesan priest, and Enrico became a Capuchin missionary. While Gianna also considered a religious vocation, she discerned that she was called to married life and motherhood.

Always a good girl, she was an excellent student, and went on to become a doctor. She was dedicated to service of the poor and earned a reputation for being a good, kind, person, and also a kind, and good physician. She married Pietro Molla in 1955. He was a good Catholic, also.

Her first child was Pierluigi. Then came Maria Zita. Family was very important to Gianna. Her own immediate family and professional duties, did not isolate Gianna. She kept as close as contact as possible, with her own siblings. As you can imagine, she was extremely busy. Gianna almost lost her third baby in pregnancy, but in 1959, Laura Enrica Maria was born. There was a fourth pregnancy. This one turned out to be problematic. During Gianna's third month of pregnancy, she was diagnosed with a large ovarian cyst. The doctors recommended an abortion, or a hysterectomy, or a risky operation to remove the fibroma (which could kill both mother and child).

Which would you choose? (1) Abortion -- murder the baby (2) Hysterectomy -- murder the baby and negate all possibility of having more children (3) Only remove the fibroma -- however this may endanger the mother's life.

Looking at it this way, I can see where insurance companies would pressure doctors and hospital to take the easy way out. (1) is the Insurance Company's choice -- and unfortunately the choice made most often, in the USA, anyway. We are insurance driven.

But Gianna was not a company. She was a doctor who served people--human beings. Insurance companies be damned.

She chose humanity over business. As a doctor herself, she was very much aware of the risks (3) would entail, yet she prayed and was operated on to extract the fibroma. Some complications continued, yet a fourth child, Gianna Emanuela, was delivered by Caesarian section. It was this choice that Pope Paul VI was referring to, when he used the term "conscious immolation." Gianna consciously chose to risk her life, for the life of another. Jesus taught her that.

Her cause for beatification began in 1970. The miracle that was accepted for her beatification was the cure of a young mother giving birth in 1977. She had a septicemic infection. BTW, this hospital was in Brazil, and the very hospital that Gianna's brother, Fr. Alberto OFM Cap., was promoter of.

The miracle recognized for canonization involved a mother, who when she was only 16 weeks pregnant, sustained a tear in her placenta that drained her womb of amniotic fluid. There is no way a baby in the womb, can survive without amniotic fluid. Through praying for Gianna Molla's intercession, a healthy baby was delivered in normal time.

Gianna was canonized by Pope John Paul II, on May 16, 2004. Her last child, Gianna Emanuela was present, along with her father, Pietro. Gianna Emanuela, herself, is also a physician.

h/t Father Thomas Kevin Kraft, O.P. Research on the Lives of Well married Saints and Holy People and the Vatican News Service http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20040516_beretta-molla_en.html

Process of Canonization

2012-02-12T15:14:00.000-08:00

This post is written by a guest blogger. Let me introduce you to my "cloistered brother", Steve. We are putting together an issue of eLumenate, highlighting Pere Marie Jean-Joseph Lataste, O.P., who will be beatified, June 3, 2012. Brother Steve thought that he would explain the process of canonization. Hence this post.

In the early days of the church, cults grew amongst the followers of certain holy persons, of which nearly all the martyrs were considered saints. Though without approval of the local bishop their recognition was not official. For nearly 1200 years, the authority to declare a person a saint lay with the local bishop.

In 993, the first official canonization by a Pope was made by John XV, when he elevated St. Ulric of Augsburg to sainthood. Not until 1171, was the process of canonization reserved to the Holy See by Pope Alexander III. The present process dates to 1588, when Sixtus V established the Sacred Congregation of Rites,, now handled by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (CCS). In 1983, Pope John Paul II made several changes to the canonization process, most notably the elimination of the "Devil's Advocate."

The process of Canonization can be lengthy and normally begins five years after the death of the Servant of God (waived in 1999, for Mother Teresa). Thereupon, the local bishop investigates the life and writings of the candidate and sends this information to the vatican. After approval of a panel of nine theologians, and the bishops and cardinals of the CCS, the Pope may then proclaim the candidate "Venerable."

Upon confirmation of a miracle (not necessary for martyrs), the person or persons are beatified, or "blessed", which allows veneration by a particular group or region. (Pere Lataste is at this stage.)

Only after the proof of one more miracle (martyrs included), the Pope will canonize the saint. Whereupon, his or her names (s) will be enrolled in the Canon of the Saints, and presented to the entire Church for veneration and emulation.

Nota Bene: Canonization does not "make" a saint; it only recognizes what God has already done.

Fish = God

2012-02-11T06:20:00.000-08:00

I don't know. What's your understanding of this little video?

God created friar and fish, so after being together for so long, they live in harmony.

???????

The fish represents God and the friar wants it. He goes after it and eventually gets it.

???????

I think that's what attracts me to this little video. I'm not sure I understand it; but I like it; it makes me smile.

Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

2012-02-11T05:53:00.000-08:00

Our Lady of Lourdes is the name used to refer to the Marian apparitions that appeared to St. Bernadette and various individuals on separate occasions around Lourdes, France. The apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes began on 11 February 1858, when Saint Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year-old peasant girl from Lourdes, told her mother, after being asked, that she had seen a "lady" in the cave of Massabielle, about a mile from the town, while gathering firewood with her sister and a friend. Similar appearances of the "lady" were reported on seventeen further occasions that year.
Bernadette Soubirous was canonized as a saint. In 1862, Pope Pius IX authorized the local bishop to permit the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes.

Preliminary Prayer to be said each day

Be blessed, O most pure Virgin, for having vouchsafed to manifest your shining with life, sweetness and beauty, in the Grotto of Lourdes, saying to the child, St. Bernadette: "I am the Immaculate Conception." A thousand times we congratulate you upon your Immaculate Conception. And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin, Mother of mercy, Health of the sick, Refuge of sinners, Comforter of the afflicted, you know our wants, our troubles, our sufferings; deign to cast upon us a look of mercy. By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes, you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary, whence you dispense your favors, and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and physical. We come, therefore, with the most unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession. Obtain for us, O loving Mother, the granting of our request. (mention your request) Through gratitude for your favors, we will endeavor to imitate your virtues, that we may one day share your glory.
Our Lady of Lourdes, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine son while upon earth. You have the same influence now in Heaven. Pray for us; obtain for us from your Divine Son our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

DAY NINE
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Feast Day: Our Lady of Lourdes
(First apparition to St. Bernadette)
O glorious Mother of god, to you we raise our hearts and hands to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the benign Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for our spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly for the grace of a happy death. O Mother of our Divine Lord, as we conclude this novena for the special favor we seek at this time. (mention your request) We feel animated with confidence that your prayers in our behalf will be graciously heard. O Mother of My Lord, through the love you bear to Jesus Christ and for the glory of His Name, hear our prayers and obtain our petitions.
O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

Day Eight

2012-02-10T04:26:00.000-08:00

Preliminary Prayer

Be blessed, O most pure Virgin, for having vouchsafed to manifest your shining with life, sweetness and beauty, in the Grotto of Lourdes, saying to the child, St. Bernadette: "I am the Immaculate Conception." A thousand times we congratulate you upon your Immaculate Conception. And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin, Mother of mercy, Health of the sick, Refuge of sinners, Comforter of the afflicted, you know our wants, our troubles, our sufferings; deign to cast upon us a look of mercy. By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes, you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary, whence you dispense your favors, and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and physical. We come, therefore, with the most unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession. Obtain for us, O loving Mother, the granting of our request. (mention your request) Through gratitude for your favors, we will endeavor to imitate your virtues, that we may one day share your glory.
Our Lady of Lourdes, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine son while upon earth. You have the same influence now in Heaven. Pray for us; obtain for us from your Divine Son our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

DAY EIGHT
Friday, February 10, 2012

O Immaculate Mother of God, from heaven itself you came to appear to the little Bernadette in the rough Grotto of Lourdes! And as Bernadette knelt at your feet and the magic spring burst forth and as multitudes have knelt ever since before your shrine, O Mother of God, we kneel before you today to ask that in your mercy you plead with your Divine Son to grant the special favor we seek in this novena. (mention your request)
O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

It's a Gettin Closer

2012-02-09T18:30:00.000-08:00

Everyday it's a-gettin' closer / Goin' faster than a roller coaster But I'm not talking about "Love;" I'm talking about the Beatification of Pere M. Jean-Joseph Lataste, O.P. It's scheduled for June 3rd, in Bescacon, France. And I'm so-o-o blessed to be going.

There's a web site I'd like to call your attention to. It's under construction. It's dedicated to the promotion of Pere Lataste, the Apostle of Prisons, and the reviving of the Bethany Brothers. This is a group of men who follow Latastian spirituality. Give them a click.

Seventh Day of the Novena

2012-02-09T04:01:00.000-08:00

Preliminary Prayer to be said each day

Be blessed, O most pure Virgin, for having vouchsafed to manifest your shining with life, sweetness and beauty, in the Grotto of Lourdes, saying to the child, St. Bernadette: "I am the Immaculate Conception." A thousand times we congratulate you upon your Immaculate Conception. And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin, Mother of mercy, Health of the sick, Refuge of sinners, Comforter of the afflicted, you know our wants, our troubles, our sufferings; deign to cast upon us a look of mercy. By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes, you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary, whence you dispense your favors, and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and physical. We come, therefore, with the most unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession. Obtain for us, O loving Mother, the granting of our request. (mention your request) Through gratitude for your favors, we will endeavor to imitate your virtues, that we may one day share your glory.
Our Lady of Lourdes, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine son while upon earth. You have the same influence now in Heaven. Pray for us; obtain for us from your Divine Son our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

DAY SEVEN
Thursday, February 9, 2012

O Almighty God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary did prepare a worthy dwelling place for your Son, we humbly beseech you that as we contemplate the apparition of Our Lady in the Grotto of Lourdes, we may be blessed with health of mind and body. And, O most gracious Mother Mary, beloved Mother of Our Lord and Redeemer, look with favor upon us as you did that day on Bernadette and intercede with Him for us that the favor we now so earnestly seek may be granted to us. (mention your request)
O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

Six Down

2012-02-08T03:46:00.000-08:00

Preliminary Prayer to be said each day

Be blessed, O most pure Virgin, for having vouchsafed to manifest your shining with life, sweetness and beauty, in the Grotto of Lourdes, saying to the child, St. Bernadette: "I am the Immaculate Conception." A thousand times we congratulate you upon your Immaculate Conception. And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin, Mother of mercy, Health of the sick, Refuge of sinners, Comforter of the afflicted, you know our wants, our troubles, our sufferings; deign to cast upon us a look of mercy. By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes, you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary, whence you dispense your favors, and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and physical. We come, therefore, with the most unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession. Obtain for us, O loving Mother, the granting of our request. (mention your request) Through gratitude for your favors, we will endeavor to imitate your virtues, that we may one day share your glory.
Our Lady of Lourdes, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine son while upon earth. You have the same influence now in Heaven. Pray for us; obtain for us from your Divine Son our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

DAY SIX
Wednesday, February 8, 2012

O glorious Mother of God, so powerful under your special title of Our Lady of Lourdes, to you we raise our hearts and hands to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the benign Heart of Jesus all the helps and graces necessary for our spiritual and temporal welfare and for the special favor we so earnestly seek in this novena. (mention your request)
O Lady of Bernadette, with the stars of heaven in your hair and the roses of earth at your feet, look with compassion upon us today as you did so long ago on Bernadette in the Grotto of Lourdes.
O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

Classic

2012-02-07T18:26:00.000-08:00

Abbott: You throw the ball to first base.
Costello: Then who gets it?
Abbott: Naturally.
Costello: Naturally.
Abbott: Now you've got it.
Costello: I throw the ball to Naturally.
Abbott: You don't! You throw it to Who!
Costello: Naturally.
Abbott: Well, that's it—say it that way.
Costello: That's what I said.
Abbott: You did not.
Costello: I said I throw the ball to Naturally.
Abbott: You don't! You throw it to Who!
Costello: Naturally.

Day Five

2012-02-07T04:07:00.000-08:00

Preliminary Prayer to be said each day

Be blessed, O most pure Virgin, for having vouchsafed to manifest your shining with life, sweetness and beauty, in the Grotto of Lourdes, saying to the child, St. Bernadette: "I am the Immaculate Conception." A thousand times we congratulate you upon your Immaculate Conception. And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin, Mother of mercy, Health of the sick, Refuge of sinners, Comforter of the afflicted, you know our wants, our troubles, our sufferings; deign to cast upon us a look of mercy. By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes, you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary, whence you dispense your favors, and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and physical. We come, therefore, with the most unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession. Obtain for us, O loving Mother, the granting of our request. (mention your request) Through gratitude for your favors, we will endeavor to imitate your virtues, that we may one day share your glory.
Our Lady of Lourdes, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine son while upon earth. You have the same influence now in Heaven. Pray for us; obtain for us from your Divine Son our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

DAY FIVE
Tuesday, February 7, 2012

O Mary Immaculate, Mother of god and our mother, from the heights of your dignity look down mercifully upon us while we, full of confidence in your unbounded goodness and confident that your Divine Son will look favorably upon any request you make of Him in our behalf, we beseech you to come to our aid and secure for us the favor we seek in this novena. (mention your request)
O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

People Pleasers

2012-02-06T18:07:00.000-08:00

Don't ask me why; but "Everybody's Talking at Me" often pops into my mind, during scripture readings.

You see I'm the Lector for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. I'm reading 1Corinthians 10:31-11:1. I love these short dramatic readings. It's so short that I'll have no problem memorizing it, so I don't have to look down to read it; I can look people in the eyes.

Although, I like the Reading, itself, I don't really agree with it. The idea is not to cause scandal. It seems to me that St. Paul is driving himself crazy trying to be a people pleaser.

Do not be a stumbling-block to Jews and Greeks and to the church of God,
even as I myself in all things please all men, not seeking what is
profitable to myself but to the many, that they may be saved.

St. Ambrose gives the opposite advice to St. Monica: "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." St. Ambrose seems more sensible to me. Would St. Monica's neighbors back home be scandalized because St. Monica was acting Roman? Probably. But if she didn't, then the Romans would be scandalized.

Well, Paul, what now?

Novena Day Four

2012-02-06T03:57:00.000-08:00

Preliminary Prayer to be said each day

Be blessed, O most pure Virgin, for having vouchsafed to manifest your shining with life, sweetness and beauty, in the Grotto of Lourdes, saying to the child, St. Bernadette: "I am the Immaculate Conception." A thousand times we congratulate you upon your Immaculate Conception. And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin, Mother of mercy, Health of the sick, Refuge of sinners, Comforter of the afflicted, you know our wants, our troubles, our sufferings; deign to cast upon us a look of mercy. By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes, you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary, whence you dispense your favors, and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and physical. We come, therefore, with the most unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession. Obtain for us, O loving Mother, the granting of our request. (mention your request) Through gratitude for your favors, we will endeavor to imitate your virtues, that we may one day share your glory.
Our Lady of Lourdes, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine son while upon earth. You have the same influence now in Heaven. Pray for us; obtain for us from your Divine Son our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

DAY FOUR
Monday, February 6, 2012

O Immaculate Queen of Heaven, we your wayward, erring children, join our unworthy prayers of praise and thanksgiving to those of the angels and saints and your own the One, Holy, and Undivided Trinity may be glorified in heaven and on earth. Our Lady of Lourdes, as you looked down with love an mercy upon Bernadette as she prayed her rosary in the grotto, look down now, we beseech you, with love and mercy upon us. From the abundance of graces granted you by your Divine Son, sweet Mother of God, give to each of us all that your motherly heart sees we need and at this moment look with special favor on the grace we seek in this novena. (mention your request)
O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

Day Three Our Lady of Lourdes Novena

2012-02-05T07:27:00.000-08:00

Preliminary Prayer to be said each day

Be blessed, O most pure Virgin, for having vouchsafed to manifest your shining with life, sweetness and beauty, in the Grotto of Lourdes, saying to the child, St. Bernadette: "I am the Immaculate Conception." A thousand times we congratulate you upon your Immaculate Conception. And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin, Mother of mercy, Health of the sick, Refuge of sinners, Comforter of the afflicted, you know our wants, our troubles, our sufferings; deign to cast upon us a look of mercy. By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes, you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary, whence you dispense your favors, and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and physical. We come, therefore, with the most unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession. Obtain for us, O loving Mother, the granting of our request. (mention your request) Through gratitude for your favors, we will endeavor to imitate your virtues, that we may one day share your glory.
Our Lady of Lourdes, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine son while upon earth. You have the same influence now in Heaven. Pray for us; obtain for us from your Divine Son our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

DAY THREE
Sunday, February 5, 2012

"You are all fair, O Mary, and there is in you no stain of original sin." O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. O brilliant star of sanctity, as on that lovely day, upon a rough rock in Lourdes you spoke to the child Bernadette and a fountain broke from thee plain earth and miracles happened and the great shrine of Lourdes began, so now I beseech you to hear our fervent prayer and do, we beseech you, grant us the petition we now so earnestly seek. (mention your request)
O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

The Purpose of Love

2012-02-04T16:58:00.001-08:00

What is the purpose of love? It can't be to procreate, because that can be done without love.

I think the purpose of love is evidence that God exists. God is Love.

Day Two

2012-02-04T03:49:00.000-08:00

Preliminary Prayer to be said each day

Be blessed, O most pure Virgin, for having vouchsafed to manifest your shining with life, sweetness and beauty, in the Grotto of Lourdes, saying to the child, St. Bernadette: "I am the Immaculate Conception." A thousand times we congratulate you upon your Immaculate Conception. And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin, Mother of mercy, Health of the sick, Refuge of sinners, Comforter of the afflicted, you know our wants, our troubles, our sufferings; deign to cast upon us a look of mercy. By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes, you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary, whence you dispense your favors, and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and physical. We come, therefore, with the most unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession. Obtain for us, O loving Mother, the granting of our request. (mention your request) Through gratitude for your favors, we will endeavor to imitate your virtues, that we may one day share your glory.
Our Lady of Lourdes, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine son while upon earth. You have the same influence now in Heaven. Pray for us; obtain for us from your Divine Son our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.
Help spread this Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes

DAY TWO
Saturday, February 4, 2012

Be blessed, O most pure Virgin, for having vouchsafed to manifest yourself shining with light, sweetness and beauty, in the Grotto of Lourdes, saying to the child Saint Bernadette: "I am the Immaculate Conception!" O Mary Immaculate, inflame our hearts with one ray of the burning love of your pure heart. Let them be consumed with love for Jesus and for you, in order that we may merit one day to enjoy your glorious eternity. O dispenser of His graces here below, take into your keeping and present to your Divine Son the petition for which we are making this novena. (mention your request)
O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes

2012-02-03T04:09:00.000-08:00

I would like to invite you, to begin a marvelous 9-Day Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes, starting today, Friday, February 3rd and end on the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes, next Saturday, February 11th.

Novena Intention: Along with your own intentions, we ask you to pray for our country and also for America Needs Fatima to be able to meet its goal of 8,000 Rosary Rallies in October, 2012. As always, we assure you of our prayers.

Preliminary Prayer to be said each day

Be blessed, O most pure Virgin, for having vouchsafed to manifest your shining with life, sweetness and beauty, in the Grotto of Lourdes, saying to the child, St. Bernadette: "I am the Immaculate Conception." A thousand times we congratulate you upon your Immaculate Conception. And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin, Mother of mercy, Health of the sick, Refuge of sinners, Comforter of the afflicted, you know our wants, our troubles, our sufferings; deign to cast upon us a look of mercy. By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes, you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary, whence you dispense your favors, and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and physical. We come, therefore, with the most unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession. Obtain for us, O loving Mother, the granting of our request. (mention your request) Through gratitude for your favors, we will endeavor to imitate your virtues, that we may one day share your glory.
Our Lady of Lourdes, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your Divine son while upon earth. You have the same influence now in Heaven. Pray for us; obtain for us from your Divine Son our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

DAY ONE
Friday, February 3, 2012

O Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, virgin and mother, queen of heaven, chosen from all eternity to be the Mother of the Eternal Word and in virtue of this title preserved from original sin, we kneel before you as did little Bernadette at Lourdes and pray with childlike trust in you that as we contemplate your glorious appearance at Lourdes, you will look with mercy on our present petition and secure for us a favorable answer to the request for which we are making this novena. (mention your request)
O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

Friday Fast

2012-02-02T09:32:00.000-08:00

The USCCB is asking Catholics to “fast” on Friday, February 3, by limiting their food spending to the allotment on the USDA Modified Thrifty Food Plan--about $18 for a family of four.

The theme of the February First Fridays for Food Security initiative is food insecurity and climate change. “Food insecurity is also a serious problem globally and is often intensified by climate change,” states a USCCB flyer. “According to a recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization, climate change will significantly affect the availability of water for growing food and for crop production globally. This will disproportionately affect poor people in rural areas whose livelihoods are closely connected to agriculture and natural resources.”

Our Cardinal Archbishop's Letter

2012-02-01T18:50:00.000-08:00

Here is Cardinal O'Malley's letter:
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Allow me this opportunity to share with you important information concerning an alarming and serious matter that negatively impacts the Church in the United States directly, and that strikes at the fundamental right to religious liberty for all citizens of any faith. The federal government, which claims to be “of, by, and for the people,” has just dealt a heavy blow to almost a quarter of those people—the Catholic population—and to the millions more who are served by the Catholic faithful.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced last week that almost all employers, including Catholic employers, will be forced to offer their employees’ health coverage that includes sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs, and contraception. Almost all health insurers will be forced to include those “services” in the health policies they write. And almost all individuals will be forced to buy that coverage as a part of their policies. The Church has had to struggle against regulations like those now proposed by HHS in several states. This HHS ruling would expand and intensify a situation which is already very harmful.

In its ruling, the Administration has cast aside the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, denying to Catholics our Nation’s first and most fundamental freedom, that of religious liberty. And as a result, unless the rule is overturned, we Catholics will be compelled and must be prepared either to violate our consciences, or to drop health coverage for our employees (and suffer the penalties for doing so). The administration’s sole concession was to give our institutions one year to comply.

We cannot simply accept this unjust law now proposed at the federal level. People of faith cannot be made second class citizens. We are already joined by our brothers and sisters of all faiths and many others of good will in this important effort to regain our religious freedom. Our parents and grandparents did not come to these shores to help build America’s cities and towns, its infrastructure and institutions, its enterprise and culture, only to have their posterity stripped of their God given rights. In generations past, the Church has always been able to count on the faithful to stand up and protect her sacred rights and duties. I trust she can count on this generation of Catholics to do the same. Our children and grandchildren deserve nothing less.

In order that we make every effort to respond to this proposed restriction on religious liberty I would ask of you two things. First, as a community of faith we must commit ourselves to prayer and fasting that wisdom and justice may prevail, and religious liberty may be restored. Without God, we can do nothing; with God, nothing is impossible. Second, I recommend that you visit the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website, www.usccb.org/conscience, to learn more about this assault on religious liberty, and how to contact Congress in support of legislation that would reverse the Administration’s decision.

With the assurance of my prayers for you and all your loved ones, I am,

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Cardinal Seán O’Malley, OFM Cap.
Archbishop of Boston

Planned Parenthood, the Largest Abortion Store in the World

2012-01-31T18:56:00.000-08:00

Is this what is meant by "shop till you drop?"

Boston Sports Humor

2012-01-29T17:11:00.000-08:00

LOL

You have to be from Boston to think this is funny.

Peyton Manning, Tim Tebow, and Tom Brady all died and go to heaven at the same time.

Peyton approaches God and says,
Christ is risen.
God responds, Truly He is risen! Come Peyton and sit to my left.

Tim approaches God and says,
Have mercy on me, O God, for men trample upon me;
all the day they press their attack against me.
God responds, Well done, Tim. Come sit to my right.

Tom Brady approaches God, and before he says anything, God jumps out of his throne and says,
Here you go, Tom. I've been keeping your seat warm for you.

:-)

Time for St. Michael the Archangel

2012-01-28T16:52:00.000-08:00

President Obama's requirement that abortion, sterilization, and contraception be included in all health plans has been called "unconscionable", by the USCCB. It is time for all believers to start praying to St. Michael the Archangel. Remember he's the one who threw Satan into hell. Obviously, Satan is prowling the earth. It's time to pray.

There are different stories about the origin of this prayer. But like all legends, there are some similarities and somewhere therein likes the truth. These are from Wikipedia.

An article in the Roman journal Ephemerides Liturgicae (V. LXIX, pages 54–60) in 1955 gave an account in Latin and Italian of how the St. Michael prayer developed. Footnote nine of this account quotes an article in another Italian journal called La Settimana del Clero in 1947 by Fr. Domenico Pechenino who worked at the Vatican during the time of Leo XIII, in which he stated:
"I do not remember the exact year. One morning the great Pope Leo XIII had celebrated a Mass and, as usual, was attending a Mass of thanksgiving. Suddenly, we saw him raise his head and stare at something above the celebrant's head. He was staring motionlessly, without batting an eye. His expression was one of horror and awe; the colour and look on his face changing rapidly. Something unusual and grave was happening in him.
"Finally, as though coming to his senses, he lightly but firmly tapped his hand and rose to his feet. He headed for his private office. His retinue followed anxiously and solicitously, whispering: 'Holy Father, are you not feeling well? Do you need anything?' He answered: 'Nothing, nothing.' About half an hour later, he called for the Secretary of the Congregation of Rites and, handing him a sheet of paper, requested that it be printed and sent to all the ordinaries around the world. What was that paper? It was the prayer that we recite with the people at the end of every Mass. It is the plea to Mary and the passionate request to the Prince of the heavenly host, (St. Michael: Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle) beseeching God to send Satan back to hell."
According to the same article in Ephemerides Liturgicae,[12] Cardinal Giovanni Nasalli Rocca di Corneliano wrote in his Litteris Pastoralibus pro Quadragesima (Pastoral Letters for Lent) that "the sentence 'The evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls' has a historical explanation that was many times repeated by his private secretary, Monsignor Rinaldo Angeli. Leo XIII truly saw, in a vision, demonic spirits who were congregating on the Eternal City (Rome). The prayer that he asked all the Church to recite was the fruit of that experience. He would recite that prayer with strong, powerful voice: we heard it many a time in the Vatican Basilica. Leo XIII also personally wrote an exorcism that is included in the Roman Ritual. He recommended that bishops and priests read these exorcisms often in their dioceses and parishes. He himself would recite them often throughout the day."[13]
In the late twentieth century, more vivid stories circulated among traditionalist Catholics, according to which in that century Satan would be particularly powerful. They recounted that Pope Leo XIII was climbing the steps to the altar when he suddenly stopped, stared fixedly at something in the air and with a terrible look on his face, collapsed to the floor (some accounts say he fell shrieking). The Pope was carried off by those around him to another room where he came around. As one rendition of the story tells it:
"When asked what had happened, he explained that, as he was about to leave the foot of the altar, he suddenly heard voices - two voices, one kind and gentle, the other guttural and harsh. They seemed to come from near the tabernacle. As he listened, he heard the following conversation:
The guttural voice, the voice of Satan in his pride, boasted to Our Lord: "I can destroy your Church."
The gentle voice of Our Lord: "You can? Then go ahead and do so."
Satan: "To do so, I need more time and more power."
Our Lord: "How much time? How much power?"
Satan: "75 to 100 years, and a greater power over those who will give themselves over to my service."
Our Lord: "You have the time, you will have the power. Do with them what you will."[14][15][16]
A variant of the story of the vision of Leo XIII was given by Father William Saunders in the Arlington Catholic Herald of 2 October 2003: "Pope Leo XIII (d. 1903) had a prophetic vision of the coming century of sorrow and war. After celebrating Mass, the Holy Father was conferring with his cardinals. Suddenly, he fell to the floor. The cardinals immediately called for a doctor. No pulse was detected, and the Holy Father was feared dead. Just as suddenly, Pope Leo awoke and said, 'What a horrible picture I was permitted to see!' In this vision, God gave Satan the choice of one century in which to do his worst work against the Church. The devil chose the 20th century. So moved was the Holy Father from this vision that he composed the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel

And here is the prayer:

O glorious Archangel St. Michael, Prince of the heavenly host, defend us in battle, and in the struggle which is ours against the principalities and Powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against spirits of evil in high places. Come to the aid of men, whom God created immortal, made in his own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil.

Fight this day the battle of the Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in Heaven. But that cruel, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan, who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with all his angels.

Behold, this primeval enemy and slayer of man has taken courage, Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the name of God and of his Christ, to seize upon, slay and cast into eternal perdition souls destined for the crown of eternal glory. This wicked dragon pours out, as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity.

These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the Immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on her most sacred possessions.

In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be scattered.

Arise then, O invincible prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and bring them the victory.

The Church venerates thee as protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious powers of this world and of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude.

Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly conciliate the mercies of the Lord; and beating down the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations. Amen.

God will demand an Accounting

2012-01-27T17:56:00.000-08:00

This is long. It is the entire Talk that Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. gave at the
Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life, Jan. 22, 2012 Washington, D.C. But it is Most Excellent!!!!! I just couldn't restate it because every sentence has meaning. Please read; it's well worth it.

The great French Jesuit Henri de Lubac once wrote, “Suffering is the thread from which the stuff of joy is woven. Never will the optimist know joy.”i Those seem like strange words, especially for Americans. We Americans take progress as an article of faith. And faith in progress demands a spirit of optimism.
But Father De Lubac knew that optimism and hope are very different creatures. In real life, bad things happen. Progress is not assured, and things that claim to be “progress” can sometimes be wicked and murderous instead. We can slip backward as a nation just as easily as we can advance. This is why optimism – and all the political slogans that go with it – are so often a cheat. Real hope and real joy are precious. They have a price. They emerge from the experience of suffering, which is made noble and given meaning only by faith in a loving God.
As a young bishop I had the privilege of knowing Cardinal John O’Connor as a mentor and friend. Later I had the great fortune to work closely with His Eminence and Bishop James McHugh as they developed the text of the 1998 U.S. bishops’ pastoral letter, Living the Gospel of Life – which is still, in my view, the best statement of prolife convictions ever released by the Church in the United States.ii
Throughout our friendship, Cardinal O’Connor was a man of uncommon hope, integrity and kindness. And these virtues were never more evident than during his final illness. In the face of all of his suffering, he never lost his sense of joy in the goodness and sanctity of life. So I’m very grateful to be part of this conference that bears his name. And I’m very grateful to all of you today for honoring him with your presence and your witness.
I want to talk this morning about the kind of people we’re becoming, and what we can do about it. Especially what you can do about it. But it’s always good to start with a few facts. So that’s what I’ll do.
A number of my friends have children with disabilities. Their problems range from cerebral palsy to Turner’s syndrome to Trisomy 18, which is extremely serious. But I want to focus on one fairly common genetic disability to make my point. I’m referring to Trisomy 21, or Down syndrome.
Down syndrome is not a disease. It’s a genetic disorder with a variety of symptoms. Therapy can ease the burden of those symptoms, but Down syndrome is permanent. There’s no cure. People with Down syndrome have mild to moderate developmental delays. They have low to middling cognitive function. They also tend to have a uniquely Down syndrome “look” – a flat facial profile, almond-shaped eyes, a small nose, short neck, thick stature and a small mouth which often causes the tongue to protrude and interferes with clear speech. People with Down syndrome also tend to have low muscle tone. This can affect their posture, breathing and speech.
Currently about 5,000 children with Down syndrome are born in the United States each year. They join a national Down syndrome population of about 400,000 persons. But that population may soon dwindle. And the reason why it may decline illustrates, in a vivid way, a struggle within the American soul. That struggle will shape the character of our society in the decades to come.
Prenatal testing can now detect up to 95 percent of pregnancies with a strong risk of Down syndrome. The tests aren’t conclusive. They can’t give a firm yes or no. But they’re pretty good. And the results of those tests are brutally practical. Studies show that more than 80 percent of unborn babies diagnosed with Down syndrome now get terminated in the womb. They’re killed because of a flaw in one of their chromosomes – a flaw that’s neither fatal nor contagious, but merely undesirable.
The older a woman gets, the higher her risk of bearing a child with Down syndrome. And so, in medical offices around the country, pregnant women now hear from doctors or genetic counselors that their baby has “an increased likelihood” of Down syndrome based on one or more prenatal tests. Some doctors deliver this information with sensitivity and great support for the woman. But, as my friends know from experience, too many others seem more concerned about avoiding lawsuits, or managing costs, or even, in a few ugly cases, cleaning up the gene pool.
In practice, medical professionals can now steer an expectant mother toward abortion simply by hinting at a list of the child’s possible defects. And the most debased thing about that kind of pressure is that doctors know better than anyone else how vulnerable a woman can be in hearing potentially tragic news about her unborn baby.
I’m not suggesting that doctors should hold back vital knowledge from parents. Nor should they paint an implausibly upbeat picture of life with a child who has a disability. Facts and resources are crucial in helping adult persons prepare themselves for difficult challenges. But doctors, genetic counselors, and medical school professors should have on staff – or at least on speed dial – experts of a different sort.
Parents of children with special needs, special education teachers and therapists, and pediatricians who have treated children with disabilities often have a hugely life-affirming perspective. Unlike prenatal caregivers, these professionals have direct knowledge of persons with special needs. They know their potential. They’ve seen their accomplishments. They can testify to the benefits – often miraculous – of parental love and faith. Expectant parents deserve to know that a child with Down syndrome can love, laugh, learn, work, feel hope and excitement, make friends, and create joy for others. These things are beautiful precisely because they transcend what we expect. They witness to the truth that every child with special needs has a value that matters eternally.
Raising a child with Down syndrome can be demanding. It always involves some degree of suffering. Parents grow up very fast. None of my friends who has a daughter or son with a serious disability is melodramatic, or self-conscious, or even especially pious about it. They speak about their special child with an unsentimental realism. It’s a realism flowing out of love – real love, the kind that forces its way through fear and suffering to a decision, finally, to surround the child with their heart and trust in the goodness of God. And that decision to trust, of course, demands not just real love, but also real courage.
The real choice in accepting or rejecting a child with special needs is never between some imaginary perfection or imperfection. None of us is perfect. No child is perfect. The real choice in accepting or rejecting a child with special needs is between love and unlove; between courage and cowardice; between trust and fear. That’s the choice we face when it happens in our personal experience. And that’s the choice we face as a society in deciding which human lives we will treat as valuable, and which we will not.
Nearly 50 percent of babies with Down syndrome are born with some sort of heart defect. Most have a lifelong set of health challenges. Some of them are serious. Government help is a mixed bag. Public policy is uneven. Some cities and states provide generous aid to the disabled and their families. In many other jurisdictions, though, a bad economy has forced very damaging budget cuts. Services for the disabled – who often lack the resources, voting power and lobbyists to defend their interests – have shrunk. In still other places, the law mandates good support and care, but lawmakers neglect their funding obligations, and no one holds them accountable. The vulgar economic fact about the disabled is that, in purely utilitarian terms, they rarely seem worth the investment.
That’s the bad news. But there’s also good news. Ironically, for those persons with Down syndrome who do make it out of the womb, life is better than at any time in our nation’s history. A baby with Down syndrome born in 1944, the year of my own birth, could expect to live about 25 years. Many spent their entire lives mothballed in public institutions. Today, people with Down syndrome routinely survive into their 50s and 60s. Most can enjoy happy, productive lives. Most live with their families or share group homes with modified supervision and some measure of personal autonomy. Many hold steady jobs in the workplace. Some marry. A few have even attended college. Federal law mandates a free and appropriate education for children with special needs through the age of 21. Social Security provides modest monthly support for persons with Down syndrome and other severe disabilities from age 18 throughout their lives. These are huge blessings.
And, just as some people resent the imperfection, the inconvenience and the expense of persons with disabilities, others see in them an invitation to learn how to love deeply and without counting the cost.
Hundreds of families in this country – like my young friends in Denver, Kate and JD Flynn – are now seeking to adopt children with Down syndrome. Many of these families already have, or know, a child with special needs. They believe in the spirit of these beautiful children, because they’ve seen it firsthand. A Maryland-based organization, Reece’s Rainbow, helps arrange international adoptions of children with Down syndrome. The late Eunice Shriver spent much of her life working to advance the dignity of children with Down syndrome and other disabilities. The Anna and John J. Sie Foundation committed $34 million to the University of Colorado to focus on improving the medical conditions faced by those with Down syndrome. And many businesses, all over the country, now welcome workers with Down syndrome. Parents of these special employees say that having a job, however tedious, and earning a pay check, however small, gives their children pride and purpose. These things are more precious than gold.
I said at the start of my remarks tonight that I wanted to talk about the kind of people we’re becoming, and what we can do about it. And especially what you can do about it as Catholics who take their faith seriously.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner Albert Schweitzer once wrote that, “A man is truly ethical only when he obeys the compulsion to help all life which he is able to assist, and shrinks from injuring anything that lives.”iii Every child with Down syndrome, every adult with special needs; in fact, every unwanted unborn child, every person who is poor, weak, abandoned or homeless – each one of these persons is an icon of God’s face and a vessel of his love. How we treat these persons – whether we revere them and welcome them, or throw them away in distaste – shows what we really believe about human dignity, both as individuals and as a nation.
The American Jesuit scholar Father John Courtney Murray once said that “Anyone who really believes in God must set God, and the truth of God, above all other considerations.”
Here’s what that means.
Catholic public officials who take God seriously cannot support laws that attack human dignity without lying to themselves, misleading others and abusing the faith of their fellow Catholics. God will demand an accounting.
Catholic doctors who take God seriously cannot do procedures, prescribe drugs or support health policies that attack the sanctity of unborn children or the elderly; or that undermine the dignity of human sexuality and the family. God will demand an accounting.
And Catholic citizens who take God seriously cannot claim to love their Church, and then ignore her counsel on vital public issues that shape our nation’s life. God will demand an accounting.
As individuals, we can claim to believe whatever we want. We can posture, and rationalize our choices, and make alibis with each other all day long – but no excuse for our lack of honesty and zeal will work with the God who made us. God knows our hearts better than we do. If we don’t conform our hearts and actions to the faith we claim to believe, we’re only fooling ourselves.
We live in a culture where our marketers and entertainment media compulsively mislead us about the sustainability of youth; the indignity of old age; the avoidance of suffering; the denial of death; the nature of real beauty; the impermanence of every human love; the oppressiveness of children and family; the silliness of virtue; and the cynicism of religious faith.
It’s a culture of fantasy, selfishness, sexual confusion and illness that we’ve brought upon ourselves. And we’ve done it by misusing the freedom that other – and greater – generations than our own worked for, bled for and bequeathed to our safe-keeping.
What have we done with that freedom?
In whose service do we use it now?
John Courtney Murray is most often remembered for his work at Vatican II on the issue of religious liberty, and for his great defense of American democracy in his book, We Hold These Truths. Murray believed deeply in the ideas and moral principles of the American experiment. He saw in the roots of the American Revolution the unique conditions for a mature people to exercise their freedom through intelligent public discourse, mutual cooperation and laws inspired by right moral character. He argued that – at its best – American democracy is not only compatible with the Catholic faith, but congenial to it.
But he had a caveat.
It’s the caveat that George Washington implied in his Farewell Address, and that Charles Carroll – the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence – mentions in his own writings. In order to work, America depends as a nation on a moral people shaped by their religious faith, and in a particular way, by the Christian faith. Without that living faith, animating its people and informing its public life, America becomes something alien and hostile to the very ideals it was founded on.
This is why the same Father Murray who revered the best ideals of the American experiment could also write that “Our American culture, as it exists, is actually the quintessence of all that is decadent in the culture of the Western Christian world. It would seem to be erected on the triple denial that has corrupted Western culture at its roots: the denial of metaphysical reality, of the primacy of the spiritual over the material, [and] of the social over the individual . . . Its most striking characteristic is its profound materialism . . . It has given citizens everything to live for and nothing to die for. And its achievement may be summed up thus: It has gained a continent and lost its own soul.”v
Catholics need to wake up from the illusion that the America we now live in – not the America of our nostalgia or imagination or best ideals, but the real America we live in here and now – is somehow friendly to our faith. What we’re watching emerge in this country is a new kind of paganism, an atheism with air-conditioning and digital TV. And it is neither tolerant nor morally neutral.
As the historian Gertrude Himmelfarb observed more than a decade ago, “What was once stigmatized as deviant behavior is now tolerated and even sanctioned; what was once regarded as abnormal has been normalized.” But even more importantly, she added, “As deviancy is normalized, so what was once normal becomes deviant. The kind of family that has been regarded for centuries as natural and moral – the ‘bourgeois’ family as it is invidiously called – is now seen as pathological” and exclusionary, concealing the worst forms of psychic and physical oppression.vi
My point is this: Evil talks about tolerance only when it’s weak. When it gains the upper hand, its vanity always requires the destruction of the good and the innocent, because the example of good and innocent lives is an ongoing witness against it. So it always has been. So it always will be. And America has no special immunity to becoming an enemy of its own founding beliefs about human freedom, human dignity, the limited power of the state, and the sovereignty of God.
A friend of mine has a son with Down syndrome, and she calls him a “sniffer of souls.” I know him, and it’s true. He is. He may have an IQ of 47, and he’ll never read The Brothers Karamazov, but he has a piercingly quick sense of the people he meets. He knows when he’s loved – and he knows when he’s not. Ultimately, I think we’re all like her son. We hunger for people to confirm that we have meaning by showing us love. We need that love. And we suffer when that love is withheld.
These children with disabilities are not a burden; they’re a priceless gift to all of us. They’re a doorway to the real meaning of our humanity. Whatever suffering we endure to welcome, protect and ennoble these special children is worth it because they’re a pathway to real hope and real joy.
Abortion kills a child; it wounds a precious part of a woman’s own dignity and identity; and it steals hope. That’s why it’s wrong. That’s why it needs to end. That’s why we march.
The task you need to take home with you today is this. Never give up the struggle that the March for Life embodies. No matter how long it takes; no matter how many times you march – it matters, eternally. Because of you, some young woman will choose life, and that new life will have the love of God forever.
The great Green Bay Packer theologian, Vince Lombardi, liked to say that real glory consists in getting knocked flat on the ground, again and again and again, and getting back up – just one more time than the other guy. That’s real glory. And there’s no better metaphor for the Christian life.
Don’t give up.
Your prolife witness gives glory to God.
Be the best Catholics you can be.
Pour your love for Jesus Christ into building and struggling for a culture of life. By your words and by your actions, be an apostle to your friends and colleagues.
Speak up for what you believe.
Love the Church.
Defend her teaching.
Trust in God.
Believe in the Gospel.
And don’t be afraid. Fear is beneath your dignity as sons and daughters of the God of life.
Changing the course of American culture seems like such a huge task; so far beyond the reach of this gathering today. But St. Paul felt exactly the same way. Redeeming and converting a civilization has already been done once. It can be done again. But we need to understand that God is calling you and me to do it.
He chose us.
He calls us.
He’s waiting,
… and now we need to answer him.

Thanks, and God bless you.
======================================================================
i. Henri de Lubac, S.J., Paradoxes of Faith, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1987; p. 39
ii. Available at http://old.usccb.org/prolife/gospel.shtml
iii. Albert Schweitzer, The Philosophy of Civilization, Prometheus, Buffalo, NY, 1987; pp. 307-29
iv John Courtney Murray, S.J., “The American Proposition,” an interview with “The Catholic Hour,” 1961; http://woodstock.georgetown.edu/library/murray/1961a.htm
v. Murray, “The Construction of a Christian Culture,” 1940; http://woodstock.geogetown.edu/library/Murray/1940A.htm
vi. Gertrude Himmelfarb, One Nation, Two Cultures, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1999; p. 28

Pray for Your Bishop

2012-01-26T17:36:00.000-08:00

Satan hates Bishops. If we're tempted by the Evil One, just imagine how much more Satan works on Bishops. It would be quite a feather in his cap to get a Bishop. They certainly need all our prayers to support them.

There's an online initiative to pray a Rosary, a day for Bishops. My prayer group always prays for our Bishop, Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley. He came into an impossible job and has admitted in interviews that he had asked God to "take the cup away." He does need all our prayers.

Definitely!!! I put in Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Emilio S. Allué, who is the Bishop of my vicariate, and he has nobody praying for him. God forbid!!!!! I'll correct that right this second.

Cardinal Sean Patrick, only has 19 people prayer. Well! Now he has 20. And wait till I spread the word.

C'mon! Join the Rosary for your Bishop campaign.

Define Social Justice

2012-01-24T17:30:00.000-08:00

There are different definitions of social justice. Take criminal justice, for instance. The criminal justice system executes the laws and punishes those who violate them. This is one kind of justice, but is not complete, for it does not evaluate whether or not those laws are in fact ethical, and does not interest itself with whether structures outside of the law are ethical. Of course I'm looking at this through Catholic lenses. I know that the only true justice will be in the after life, but I propose that any definition of social justice include:

1. Life from birth to death must be preserved because humans are made in the image of God.
2. We must take care of each other--all humans.
3. Resources are given for everyone to use.

The implementation of these three principles is what we have to figure out.

2012-01-23T15:00:00.000-08:00

Since I didn't have the opportunity to make the Pro-Life March in Washington DC, this year, I've been praying. As my "cloistered brother," would say, It's 'unbelievable' that over 200,000 people are walking en masse, down Pennsylvania Avenue, and the major news outlets don't pay it any attention.

Why?

Pope Speaks on Christian Unity

2012-01-23T03:51:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, January 18th marked the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, a worldwide fellowship of over 300 Churches that try to find a common witness. This year's theme is "We will all be changed by the victory of Our Lord Jesus Christ." A prayer for unity:

Eternal Father,
we praise you for sending your Son
to be one of us and to save us.
Look upon your people with mercy,
for we are divided in so many ways,
and give us the Spirit of Jesus to make us one in love.

We ask this gift, loving Father,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

A Time for Everything

2012-01-22T14:39:00.000-08:00

Finally, I'm putting away the last of my Christmas stuff. Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 tells us that there's a time for everything. I'm not sad that I have to put away the Christmas decorations, especially when I vacuumed and could smell the pine from the Christmas tree.

Last week we threw the tree out and I vacuumed. Mmmmmmm, the smell of those pine needles is still in the vacuum. I enjoyed the memories with that smell.

There is a time for everything. Time goes on. I am reminded of Old Testament leading to New Testament.

Well...it makes the cleaning pass more quickly, if you meditate. At least, it feels like you're not wasting prayer time.

I had to laugh at our creche. My granddaughter was obviously visiting the baby Jesus--along with a snowman, Raggedy Ann, a teddy bear, etc..

Geesh! I guess the overflow from the inn, moved to the stable.

I'll Fly Away

2012-01-21T13:36:00.000-08:00

Rhythm and Blues Legend, Etta James died Friday at age 73. Here she sings one of my "cloistered brothers'" favorite songs. She's good. But they sing I'll Fly Away, better.

Singing Blues comes from the heart.

Government Mandating Contraception Coverage

2012-01-20T13:13:00.000-08:00

Archbishop Timothy Dolan on HHS Conscience Regulation from Rocco Palmo on Vimeo.

This is important. If you don't believe in abortion, then you don't want to pay for someone to have one, right? Make sense. Even if you do believe abortion is "OK", why would you want to pay for someone else"s.

This is exactly what is being proposed. Today the president proposed that sterilization, abortifacients and contraception be included in virtually all health plans. There will be no conscience protection. Everyone is forced to pay.

Is this the United States of America? What happened to the First Amendment, where freedom of religion is protected? No government should come between an individual person and God — that's what America is supposed to be about.

In Memoriam

2012-01-19T15:39:00.000-08:00

A very dear "cloistered brother," Brother Louis de Montfort, O.P., died last night. One of his often used expressions was "unbelievable!" He said it with the first syllable pronounced and long. UUUUNNNNNbelievable!!!

For sure, he's saying UUUUNNNNNbelievable!!! right now.

I wrote this Sestina to explain who he was. A sestina (Occitan: [sesˈtinɔ]; Catalan: sextina, IPA: [sə(k)sˈtinə] or [se(k)sˈtina]; also known as sestine, sextine or sextain) is a structured 39 line poem consisting of six six-line stanzas followed by an envoi of three lines. The words that end each line of the first stanzas are used as line endings in each of the following stanzas, rotated in a set pattern. It is a 12th century Provençal form still popular today. from Wikipedia

Running Sestina

Working for the mob, he once was a scoundrel,
a runner, traveling from here to there,
Providence to Boston. Scrapes with the law
were frerquent and numerous. He'd escape
somehow to run again. When his luck ran
our he knew he was facing some hard time.

One night a battle of bullets stopped time.
The dead weren't talking, still one scroundrel
had to take the fall, and out of luck ran
into the law. Charges and bargains and there-
in lies the sentence. Star wishing to escape
did no good; no choice 'cept to face the law.

The judge called for the heavy hand of the law
to be laid on and he was in for a long, long time.
The Charles Street jail was not an easy escape,
but from scoundrel guard to original scoundrel
passed a saw. That's all it took to get out of there.
Once free and with new I.D. he took off and ran

to California. As Louis Montfort he ran
three thousand miles away from the law,
or so he thought. He thought he was safe there
and managed to lead a double life, but time
ran out again, as it does for every scoundrel
and this time he had no help or means to escape.

False ID, new wife, new name, but no new escape,
he was caught but good. Nowhere to turn he ran
into God. Sounds funny I know, but a scoundrel
can turn around, for there's a higher law
that commanded his attention and this time
he was still enough to listen. In prison, there

was Cursillo and Father Lataste, Rosary, and there
was preaching, praying, and learning, and no escape.
He had met a Dominican Sister and this one time
he heard her story and didn't want to escape. He ran
out of excuses and schemes and chose to obey the law
because Father Lataste said that once a scoundrel

didn't always have to be a scoundrel. There
was the law of love and he didn't need to escape.
He ran into St. Dominic and time stood still.

New Book

2012-01-18T04:08:00.000-08:00

Wait till I tell the Argonauts (my book club) about The Father's Tale. I ordered this book by Michael O'Brien on a whim. I knew nothing about him, or his books. I happened to see a full page add of the book in Catholic Digest and ordered it. It's 1075 pages!

He's written quite a few novels, and I have read Father Elijah. I remember liking that novel and thinking that it was thought provoking. I can't wait to read The Father's Tale. I'll tell you about it, as I progress.

Atta a Priest

2012-01-17T15:32:00.000-08:00

Think of encouraging a priest as a gift of the Holy Spirit. I learned this on the Encourage Priest Site. This is a good idea. I often feel sorry for our overworked, lonely, and unappreciated priests. I'll look at a Rectory at night, and see one little lone light in a window. One priest, all alone in the rectory, looks so sad. Sometimes, I wonder how the priest feels at family celebrations of the sacraments. Is he afraid to enjoy himself, damned if he does; damned if he doesn't?

I do appreciate their service. I'm humbled by their humility, at services, out in public. I see the image of Christ in them. They need our prayers, and a pat on the back, "Atta boy, Father."

Penultimate Values

2012-01-16T18:35:00.000-08:00

I tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out.

From now on, let those having wives act as not having them,
those weeping as not weeping,
those rejoicing as not rejoicing,
those buying as not owning,
those using the world as not using it fully.
For the world in its present form is passing away.

The above is the Second Reading this Sunday, for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. 1 Corinthians 7: 29-31. It's short, but for a drama queen, like myself, it's a bonanza. I can't wait to proclaim this. It's such a short reading that I'll probably have it memorized, so I can deliver it with piercing eye to eye contact.

I'll have them squirming in their seats. Next, they'll stop and think what it means.

....Voila!

Another Married Saint

2012-01-15T09:57:00.000-08:00

I am awed and humbled by martyrs. I whiffle between praying "O God, don't ever let that happen to me;" to "You'd better give me a lot of grace to do THAT;" to "I trust in You;" to "Whatever is Your will, My Love."

Good Lord! What a weak, miserable creature I am!

I'm nothing like Blessed Paul Nishihori and his wife Magdalene Shikibu. They were Christians in Japan in the seventeenth century: Paul and Magdalene. Paul was a Samurai warrior. During Advent of 1628, The Japanese government commanded that all Catholics be put to death. Samurai officers were noble, courageous, and honorable men. Paul could not deny Christ. Being an honorable man, Paul went to the governor and turned in his sword and other accouterments of his position. Magdalene's family was able to obtain a pardon for her, but not Paul. Everyone was impressed by the manner in which Paul had handled his fate. The governor, to whom, he turned in his Samurai sword, was so deeply moved by Paul's noble gesture, that the night of Paul's execution he sent him wine and saki, and a declaration that he wish he had the power to cassate the decree.

On the morning of January 12, 1629, Paul put on his finest clothes and went to the place of his execution in a small procession led by a youth carrying a picture of Mary. Magdalene wanted to suffer martyrdom along with her husband, but was held back. Just prior to his execution, Paul venerated the bodies of the martyrs who had died immediately before him.

Lux perpetua luceat ei, Domine. Requiescat in pace.

Thy Will be done.

h/t Magnificat, Jan 2012, Vo. 13, No. 11, p. 179.

Eating Mindfully

2012-01-13T18:24:00.000-08:00

My group, T.O.P.S. is working on eating Mindfully. Last week, we tried dropping a hundred calories, daily. I had planned on doing this by making 3 small changes to my life style. I didn't do so well.

My three changes were (1) drink more water (2) make half my plate vegetables and fruit (3) more exercise.

I sometimes did # 1. I did do # 2 faithfully. I never did # 3.

My weight remained the same.

At least I didn't gain!

This week, I'm going to eat with my left hand. I'm right handed. Eating with your opposite hand will make you eat slower and give you time to think about what you're eating. Using the opposite hand will also give that part of brain muscle some exercise.

And there # 3--MORE EXERCISE! (See I am smarter than the average bear.)

Br. Tonto and Food

2012-01-12T14:59:00.000-08:00

Prior: Brother Tonto, I noticed that you didn't pray before dinner.
Br. Tonto: Didn't have to. Brother Jehoshaphat did the cooking.

Psalm 46:10 and 1 Sam. 3:3b-10

2012-01-11T18:34:00.000-08:00

Be Still from Grand Rapids Dominican Sisters on Vimeo.

The discussion with my "cloistered brothers" tonight focused on Psalm 46:10. Be still and know that I am God.

All I could think of was this coming Sunday's, Reading: 1Sam. 3:3b-10--the very Reading I've been practicing. The very Reading I've been thinking about. It's just too coincidental, not to be
Godincidental.

As soon as we read that Psalm verse, I was bursting to tell MY connection. But I held off to defer to my brothers. Most of their quiet times involved resting. It was either in bed, at night, or early morning before everyone else was up. Some found it easy to do, anytime--just tune out.

Near the end, I told them about Sunday's Reading. Now they're all ready for it.

Go Talk to God

2012-01-10T19:31:00.000-08:00

In preparing to read the Readings for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, 1Samuel 3:3b-10, I wished I were as clever as Eli. I know the meaning of the story is listening to God. God speaks to us and we need to get use to His voice.

But I was remembering when my young children would wake me up early in the morning. They'd come in and manually lift an eyelid, and ask "Are you asleep?"

Like Eli I said, "It's too early; go back to bed."

And like Samuel, the kids would keep coming back.

Eventually, I'd end up getting out of bed and the day began.

Why didn't I think of telling them to go back to bed and pray? Go talk to God. Listen.

Four Epiphanies

2012-01-08T14:42:00.000-08:00

I had an epiphany on epiphany. Epiphany meaning a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience. From the online dictionary.

During Chapter, we prayed Evening Prayer II for Epiphany. The Antiphon for the Canticle of Mary says Three mysteries mark this holy day: today the star leads the Magi to the infant Christ; today water is changed into wine for the wedding feast; today Christ will to be baptized by John in the river Jordan to bring us salvation.

There was the answer to my question, at the end of yesterday's post. But what has it to do with Epiphany?

Depending on...what calendar you use, Orthodox or not,diocese...the feast of Epiphany may celebrate the Magi giving gifts to Jesus, The Wedding Feast of Cana, or Jesus' baptism. The diving for the cross identifies with Jesus being baptized. Actually, they all have to do with Jesus starting a new life. Think about it...birth, death, public ministry.

Epiphany Blessings for a Year

2012-01-07T20:53:00.000-08:00

The Feast of Epiphany is celebrated around the world. Look at this site for different celebrations. I like the look of rapt devotion on slide # 2.

There were so many celebrations that involved water, that I googled Epiphany celebrations in water. And that's where I found this You Tube Video. Looks like fun. But what has it to do with Epiphany?

It's Not About What You've Done

2012-01-06T13:43:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about my morning's post, Another Pere Lataste Sermon. You can tell it's been translated from the French--too many "the". But the theme is pure Lataste. This sermon exemplifies his spirituality. It's about living in the moment. You can't fix the past. It's done. Yes, it has formed you and made you what you are. Understand that, and move on. Accept it and use it, but don't let it define you.

If you have a bad jacket, hang it up. It's there in your closet, but you've outgrown it. Don't worry about it. Didn't Jesus say, "..there will be joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, more than over ninety-nine just who have no need of repentance." Luke 15: 7?

You can't undo the past. And there's nothing you can do about the future. So why worry about something that may never happen? My very first spiritual director assigned me Flannery O'Connor's The Art of Being," to read. I still pick it up, now and then. I'm still learning to live in the moment. It's too easy to forget. It's easier if you put it all in God's hands.

Another important theme in my morning meditation, was the idea of using the very vices that were used to sin, into tools to serve God. Pere Lataste said "And as you employed all your body for the service of impurity and iniquity, employ it now to serve justice, for you to become saints."

What is there for you to do now, as you decided to convert yourselves? -- Will you try to get rid of all things because they were used to sin, will you damn your youth, your health, your blazing soul, will you try to kill your heart and imprison your brains... No, no, a thousand times no; without mentioning that you could some way eschew that goal, this is not what God asks of you -- All what you were given, you were given by God and He wants you to use them for doing good.

This quote also reminds me of something else a spiritual director once told me. He pointed out that my sins were abuses of my God given gifts.

This what Pere meant Will you try to get rid all things because they were used to sin... Well I sinned and have been absolved. It is time now to use my talents for good.

Merci, Mon Pere, for a beneficial meditation.

Another Lataste Sermon

2012-01-06T04:20:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Sister Pia Elizabeth, O.P., here is another of Pere Lataste's sermons translated.

YOU WHOM THE HUMANITY DESPISES, YOU ARE THE GOD’S BELOVED

Preaching by Fr. Lataste to prisoners of Cadillac, during the retreat he preached in 1864 is radically different of what the clerics used to do then in jails. Instead of insisting on the guilt and the crimes of those women, the preacher calls them to love God in their actual situation, just like sisters living in silence, work and enclosure.

Mary Magdalen (5) uses to express her repentance and her love to Christ, the very ways she used to sin and offer to poor creatures her criminal passions: her perfumes, her kisses, her hair (6)…She uses them to serve the Saviour; and she purifies her sultry ways in this sacred relation. That is the way to act. Nothing good comes from other than God and He gave us all that allows us to love Him. Men often make evil with these graces coming from God; yourselves were blessed maybe with those graces: youth, health, maybe some social advantages, maybe a blazing soul open to noble and admirable feelings, a penetrating cleverness, able to understand and enjoy the strong and great joys of piety and faith…and all the gifts of God you abused against God himself.

What is there for you to do now, as you decided to convert yourselves?- Will you try to get rid of all things because they were used to sin, will you damn your youth, your health, your blazing soul, will you try to kill your heart and imprison your brains…No, no, a thousand times no; without mentioning that you could some way eschew that goal, this is not what God asks of you- All what you were given, you were given by God and He wants you to use them for doing good.

Divert all to Him, spend your resources now to serve and love Him, spend them to expiate your sins and make Him forget the past, spend the strength of your age, the activity of your soul, its light, the full tenderness of your heart- Obey the words of the apostle: don’t transform your limbs into limbs of unfairness; but give yourselves to God and, now become alive, as before you were dead, devote your limbs to Him as to make them weapons of justice and sanctity, to serve Him.

And as you employed all your body for the service of impurity and iniquity, employ it now to serve justice, for you to become saints. Follow the example of Magdalen, and dedicate to God what you were given of life, what is good in you; all that you employed for the sole benefit of passion and sin!

And what will happen if you act that way. Here what will happen:

You, disdained and despised by men, either because of your ancient and exposed crimes, or because of an infamous and heavy judgement, you disdained and despised by men, you will be the beloved of God, the preferred children, the blessed souls of the Saviour. Men would not make friends with you, and God, yes God, welcomes you and offers you His friendship. Seeing you, the world would say: poor women, poor girls, they are rejected from society, garbage and scum of the people; and by looking at you with love, your guardian angels will say: blessed souls, poor, miserable and humiliated by the world, these souls keep as a secret and a mystery in their heart, the greatest treasure, the most immense glory, the sweetest joy: they are loved by their God.

One would believe those women soiled, but no, they regained in the tears of their repentance a new innocence, one would believe them devoid of benevolent action, but their daily pains, suffered in a spirit of love and repentance, are written in the Book of Life and will be remembered one day- One thinks they are not free, even if their soul was a slave in a free body; today their bodies live in chains, but they found for their souls the safe freedom of the children of God.

The world despises them but they are loved by God. Jesus loves them most. Yes, don’t doubt, He loves them most. Didn’t I tell you yesterday what our Lord told Himself: there is more joy in heaven and so, more love in the heart of God, for one sinful and remorseful soul than for ninety-nine unrepentant souls.

Indeed this is a brave and hazardous idea, hard to believe, but don’t doubt, it is sure and certain. Yes, if you would, you could arrive with a dark past, and be loved by God more than the sinless souls. Do you know how? By loving Him more. Oh! Innocence, purity, humility are dear to His heart and having lost them one time, one moment, is a great misery, but what God loves more than those virtues, is to be loved!

(5) Homely 95, pronounced on Saturday evening 17th September 1864 in the Cadillac prison. Complete text in “Preacher for charity”, Paris, Cerf publisher, 1992, 123-136.

(6) Like many preachers at that time, Fr. Lataste sees Mary of Bethany, Mary Magdalena and the sinner of Simon’s are one and only woman.

Source: Blackfriars Province of France, ed. br. Jean-Marie Gueulette, op, Vice-Postulator of the canonization cause of Pere Lataste

Failure

2012-01-05T19:04:00.000-08:00

Failure is a matter of perspective. The best attitude to have about it is that it's part of the equation for success. Babe Ruth is called the King of Swat because of all the home runs he hit. But he was also called the Strike Out King because he had to swing a lot to hit all those home runs. So, people who take a lot of chances are bound to have a lot of failures, and not everyone will succeed.

So what? Look at failure as part of the learning process. People who have never failed have never pushed themselves. One could consider people who have never failed, cowards.

The worst part of failure is not the fact that you didn't cut it. It's what others think. It's telling your family that you're fired. It's never passing the law exam after all those years in school--not to mention money. Not being able to sell your book after devoting two years of your life to writing it. One could tell themselves that it just wasn't in the cards. It wasn't meant to be. But it's the look on your parents', your spouse, your friends, faces that hurts. It's not the failure itself; it's the opinion of others.

Regardless, one has to go on. Swing that bat, again. Thomas Edison experimented with 10,000 materials before he found the exact filament for his light bulb. Look at the video of Michael Jackson. He enumerates his failures and he concludes, "That's why I succeed." Take a chance.

Did you know that there's a Failure Club. It's a show on yahoo. The idea came from two girls. In Dec 2003, she told about how she had performed on stage in a holiday choir, something she had wanted to do her whole life, as the result of a dare with her sister on who could ‘fail’ first. A couple of producers were captivated by the idea of a support structure that used positive peer pressure and friendly competition to overcome the fear of failure, and they quickly gathered 9 friends for the inaugural Failure Club in 2004. It has been going on ever since.

About ten people pick an impossible goal and work at it for a year. Most fail. What of it? They failed because they had the courage to push themselves beyond their comfort zones. They tried and that was the start of an adventure. That's the way to look at failure.

Epiphany Blessing of Home

2012-01-04T16:08:00.000-08:00

I stole this post from Father Austin. It's OK. He has a purple stole.

It's an old custom to bless homes on Epiphany which is celebrated this coming Sunday, January 8, 2012.

Some parishes provide blessed chalk for marking the front door as part of this house blessing, but if not, you may certainly bring chalk to Mass and ask Father to bless it.

The Blessing of a House on the Feast of the Epiphany

All gather at the front door and one person is chosen as the Leader of prayer.

Leader:
In the name of the Father
and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Peace be with this house and with all who live here.
Blessed be the name of the Lord, now and forever.

During these days of the Christmas season,
we keep this feast of Epiphany,
celebrating the manifestation of Christ to the Magi.

Today Christ is revealed to us
and his presence makes our home a holy place.
The lintel above the door is marked. If a number of people are present, individuals might be invited to mark the several elements of the inscription as found here:

20 + C + M + B + 12

The traditional marking of the doorway commemorates the three magi (traditionally named Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar) and gives the calendar year already recently begun.

Then one person is chosen to read the gospel:
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father's only Son,
full of grace and truth.

All who are present proceed from one room to the next,
asking God’s blessing on all that takes place in that room:

Lord, bless this room
(where we eat, rest, gather, cook, sleep, bathe, play, work)
and bless those who dwell here
with faith, hope and love.

Coming finally to the dining room or kitchen table,
all join in praying the Lord’s Prayer…

after which the Leader prays:

Lord God of Heaven and earth,
you revealed your only begotten Son to every nation
by the guidance of a star.
Bless this house and all who live here.
Fill them with the light of Christ:
may their concern for others always reflect your love.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

All join in singing a Christmas hymn
(Silent Night or O Come All Ye Faithful or We Three Kings)

Bls. Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi and Maria Corsini

2012-01-03T17:44:00.000-08:00

Here's another pair of saintly spouses. They both are holy people. The Prefect of the Congregation promoting their sainthood said that it was impossible to beatify them separately, since one could not separate their holiness, which they lived so intimately. They are models for all married couples.

They met as teens and married in their twenties. He was Catholic but not noticeable devout. And I haven't read anything about Maria's spirituality. But I bet she was the heart of the family. It seems that once they married they took their religion seriously and participated in many devotions. I've seen this before. Many couples decide that they've grown up, now. They've matured; it's time to be responsible. This results in taking their responsibilities seriously. Included in the term "responsibilities", is religion, especially bringing children up in the faith. What could be more important than saving your children's souls?

During Maria's last pregnancy complications developed. An abortion was recommended because Maria was in danger of not surviving. If they weren't religious before, they certainly were now. Enrichetta was born healthy and Maria was fine. Their faith had strengthen them.

Their family consisted of two boys and two girls: Filippo became a Monsignor for the diocese of Rome, Cesare became a Trappist monk, Stefania was a Benedictine religious, and Enrichetta married. Three of the children were alive to see their parents beatified.

Pope John Paul II assigned Nov. 25th as their feast day. Usually, feast days of saints are on the date of their deaths; however, since their deaths occurred on separate days, their marriage date was chosen as their feast day. Their beatification was in 2001.

h/t Father Kevin Kraft, O.P. and his work compiling "well married saints."

Theodoret's Torments

2012-01-02T13:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I was so repulsed by Count Julian's inhumane treatment of Theodoret, that I still can't get it out of my mind. I decided to enumerate the tortures. I made a list. And guess what. The enumerated list of tortures carried a momentum--a horrific register of one abomination after another. I just had to close my eyes and appeal to God.

In many psalms, there are lists. (Psalm 36: 5-6, Psalm 56:5-6, Psalm 83: 13-15) As I enumerated Theodoret's torments I felt like an Old Testament psalmist. Hunt down Theodoret's enemy. Stop his torturers. Send down a bolt of lightning. Turn Julian's vile outrage upon himself.

My Lectio Devina turned into a Psalm.

Theodoret's Torments

My God, I offer up my torments:
my raw, bloody and crippled feet,
my bruised and spittle-flecked face,
my stretched and broken joints,
my poor, humiliated, spirit,
my blood leaking wounds,
my charred, dripping flesh,
my simple, sinful, soul.

Destroy my oppressor, Julian,
terrify him with Your might.

St. Theodoret

2012-01-01T16:22:00.000-08:00

Two years ago, I was given the Archangel Raphael as a patron. I have never felt so close to someone whom I barely knew existed. I read the story of Tobit and was attracted to Raphael. For a year, he was a wonderful intercessor.

Last year, I was given St. Nicholas. Well, a few days later I went to a museum, which just happened to have a special exhibit of icons of St. Nicholas. I didn't know this. I was shocked at the coincidence. And then my friend, Tricia, bought me a little icon of St. Nicholas.

Well...as you know, St. Nicholas loves to surprise people. What a blessed year I've had!
Deo Gratias.

This year, I've been given St. Theodoret.

Who? Yeah, that was my reaction. He's a wonderful saint. He's a church father, writer, apologist, and martyr. I loved how he defended the faith against the Monophysites, who denied the divinity of Christ. St. Dominic would have identified with St. Theodoret. They both fought heresies. They both defended the Faith. They both loved Veritas.

Theodoret was a theologian and his writings are still around today. I've copied out this saying and have it pinned up on my bulletin board:

To see visible objects we need the eyes of the body. To understand intelligible truths we need the eyes of the mind. To have the vision of divine things we cannot do without faith. What the eye is for the body, faith is for reason, puts it in contact with visible things; reason needs faith to show it divine things.

Would you like a patron saint? Go to Catholic Life.

The Fourth Magi

2012-01-01T09:42:00.000-08:00

I was reading in Magnificat, about "The iconographic

evolution of the Magi, (January 2012, Vol. 13, No. 11, page 432)." It is interesting how the story grew over time. The story from Matthew (2: 1-12) tells of "wise men" coming from the east. By the fourth century, art depicts a differentiation in ages of the Magi. Tertullian refers to them as kings. In the eleventh century they are given names and are thought to represent the three continents that were known, at that time: Melchior from Europe, Balthasar from Asia, and Caspar of Africa. Then in the fifteenth century, the Portuguese and Spanish try to add an American Indian king, but the idea doesn't catch on.

I protest! I want a native American included.

If Bishop Anthony Fisher, OP can put a kangaroo in the nativity, and my granddaughter can put in, Elmo, then the least people can do is be politically correct, and add a native American for the Americas, the kangaroo for Australia, and a penquin for Antarctica.

Even the Catalonians put in the caganer, for gosh sakes!

Tongue/Hand and Bread/Wine and Either and Both

2011-12-31T07:35:00.000-08:00

So how's Christmas going?

Lovely,I tried to keep it focused on Christ. I hear that you Catholics do that.

We try. Of course that's what the celebration is about. Without the birth of Our Savior, Jesus, they'd be no Christmas.

We agree on that, for sure. I bet the music at your Midnight Mass was special.

Yes, and the flowers, and the Readings.

Was the Mass different?

You mean the celebration of the Eucharist, itself?

Oh yeah! What did you do for a Christmas Eucharist?

You mean the Consecration of the Bread and Wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus?

yes

That is always the same. The same words that Jesus used.

Well what about the people receiving Communion?

What do you mean?

At the Mass you took me to, some people went to the priest, some to regular people, some had wine, and some knelt down, some bowed, and I couldn't follow what was happening.

Mmmmmm You've just hit a hot button issue -- how best to receive Communion. It's personal preference. Some priests prefer Communion on the tongue, and some prefer Communion in the hand. Some people, likewise. The same with the kneeling, and bowing. That's the way some show reverence. Most people in the United States take Communion in the hand. We call receiving the Bread and the Wine receiving both Species. Actually, that's a matter of practicality: whether there's time, the ministers to distribute Communion, and the occasion. The Bread and Wine is the fuller form. However, we Catholics believe Christ is present in even the One Form.

So who do you know to go to? Which line?

LOL! The closest to your seat.

What if you're in AA and can't drink the wine?

Then don't. I don't, not because I'm in AA, but because I had Cronkhite Canada Syndrome and it's so rare that it's not sure how it's carried. I'm probably not a carrier, but why take the chance when I can receive Christ, wholly and entirely, and receive the necessary grace for my salvation, in the Bread alone?

What if you have celiac disease?

The same. The Wine or better to call it, the Precious Blood, is wholly and entirely the true Sacrament, and the same grace is given, just like the Sacred Host. So celiacs only take the Precious Blood.

Wow.

You can say that again. WOW.

If you Catholics really believe that, then why aren't you all receiving Communion on your knees?

Good question. Very good question! Because we're Americans? Because it would take too long? Because too many are elderly and can't? Because it's not comfortable? .......all of the above. As you noticed some people do. Others may think that's too show-offy. Matt. 6:6 Some pastors have asked people not to. It takes too long. What can I say? It really is a pastoral decision. But one or two people kneeling isn't too time consuming. But wait a minute. Don't get hung up on posture. It's important to receive Communion with faith and devotion whether kneeling or not?

I see.

I'll take you to some Masses where Communion is distributed by the intinction of the Host.

Huh?

You'll see.

OK. That'll be interesting.

My Personal Top Five 2011

2011-12-30T16:22:00.000-08:00

Richie and I celebrated our 40th year anniversary!

The Master General of the Dominican Family visited my Chapter.

My granddaughter's first birthday.

Family Newport Vacation.

New Translation of the Roman Missal.

2011-12-29T18:02:00.001-08:00

From the site "We are Catholic." Inspiring!

When is Christmas Over?

2011-12-29T16:44:00.000-08:00

When I went back to work today, I was surprised to find all the Christmas decorations put away. That's it! It's gone. Christmas is over.

How sad. Another reason, I'm glad I'm Catholic. Our Christmas lasts until January 8th, this year. The Epiphany, the Feast of the Three Kings, where Christians celebrate the Wisemen bringing their gifts to the Christ child, is actually January 6th. but that's a Friday, so it has been transferred to Sunday, January 8th.

Some people actually exchange their Christmas gifts on this day, instead of the birth of Christ. It's a wonder some enterprising entrepreneur hasn't capitalized on these two holidays and hyped it up to two Christmases. But of course, the religious meaning of Christmas hasn't entered the minds of the secular commercial promoters. They promote the idea of Santa bringing gifts (period).

Hence the mind set of the people at my work, who took down the Christmas decorations. They think Christmas is a party and socializing and gifts. It is so much more. Again, thank God, I'm Catholic. I party, socialize, and exchange gifts, AND I experience Jesus in the celebration at Midnight Mass. Jesus was present in everyone at that Mass. The music, the singing, the candles, the bells, the incense, the prayers, the readings, the blessings, the Kiss of Peace, and listening to my husband sing Silent Night (now there's a miracle)enhance our communion with Jesus. It is a happy time for everyone. For Catholics, this feeling of goodwill last until Little Christmas, Jan. 8th, 2012.

Jesus came to us as a baby. He is not a God to be feared, but to Love. And He wants nothing from us, but our love. This is what I feel this Christmas season--God's love. This is what Christians experience and mean by Christmas. This is exactly, what the secular world doesn't get.

Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice! Psalm 96

Want A Patron Saint for 2012?

2011-12-28T04:18:00.000-08:00

Matthew from a Catholic Life is matching patron saints to people who request them. I can attest to this wonderful devotion. I have met and become close to my patrons, over the years that I have participated.

I've also requested patrons for my family and others, whom I thought might benefit. So it you, too, would like to receive the patronage of a saint, this year, click on A Catholic Life and ask for a patron. God bless.

Down Syndrome Community

2011-12-26T18:47:00.000-08:00

Look at this website, Fraternities Notre-Dame de l'Etoile. They aim to develop and support small "fraternities" of down syndrome people who want to live a spiritually oriented Christian life.
Everyday's life is shared between education, manual activites, and prayer and services, in the parish environment.

Their challenge is now to develop many other such tiny "micro-structures".
It is essential to mitigate the fragility of the size by a united functioning in network.
So don't hesitate to let us be known by parents, by physicians, by anybody, family, teacher, who would be interested to help create a new "Frat" anywhere aroud the world.

May God bless them with many graces. Lord, secure them with Your Love.

Gestation

2011-12-26T08:33:00.000-08:00

Since I've volunteered to do the Readings on January 1st, I thought I'd take a look at them to see what I've gotten myself into.

They're good ones. I can relate, Gal. 4: 4-7. When the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, born of a woman,...

Mary's pregnancy must have been like most women's--long, with much praying, worrisome, and with a lot of planning ahead. Finally, a baby is born. Jesus is born.

Isn't this how people convert? I use "convert" very broadly. I mean changing from non-believing to believing, not caring to caring, not understanding to understanding.

Coming to believe, to understand, to accept, or even to go deeper, doesn't happen instantaneously. It takes time. One has to be open, to accept (like Mary did). Then one day, after a period of gestation, epiphany! Thanks be to God.

In Reference to Our Part of the Story

2011-12-25T18:40:00.000-08:00

You know that post I blogged about yesterday. The one where Bishop Anthony Fisher put a kangaroo in the creche. Well, my granddaughter must have listen to him preach. Do you think?

Christmas Hokku

2011-12-25T07:11:00.000-08:00

Ronnie,
There is a missing Christmas card, a disorientation, a feeling of something amiss.
Your absence is felt.

Cold aching grief lies within
Christmas has arrived
A warmth lights a way to hope

Our Part in the Story

2011-12-24T19:11:00.000-08:00

Bishop Anthony Fisher, O.P. from Parramatta, Australia, in his homily for Christmas, explains that he once sent a statue of a kangaroo to fit in the nativity scene in Berlin, Germany. At that time, the Dominican Priory in Berlin was just emerging from being a communist nation, and had set up a nativity scene with many animals, and characters--from all walks of life. Thus, a kangaroo would be fitting. The idea was to show that everybody is part of the story.

Everybody? Sure.

Even the caganer?

Definitely.

Special Day

2011-12-22T18:10:00.000-08:00

This free scrapbooking design made with Smilebox

Not only were we celebrating the Anniversary of the Order of Preachers, but also the Jubilee of Father Anthony Prakash Lohale, O.P. Father celebrated Mass with his "cloistered brothers" in Our Lady of Hope Chapter and spent some time with them. Father enjoyed himself and was blessed.

Afterwards, we went to the House of Hope where some of our Dominican brothers live. We had a good supper and discussion. This slide show depict some of the fun.

Archbishop Thomas Cajetan Kelly, O.P.

2011-12-22T06:40:00.000-08:00

I so wish the video showed his Dominican brothers saying "good-bye." The Dominican Salve is impressive.

Thank you Holy Father

2011-12-22T04:17:00.000-08:00

From this morning's Zenit:

KOREAN CHILDREN THANK POPE FOR SERVING HUMANITY

Embassy Marks Benedict XVI's 60th Anniversary With a Drawing Competition

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 21, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Three Korean children today represented their peers in thanking Benedict XVI for his love for their people, and his service to humanity.
The threesome at today's general audience gave the Pope a file containing letters and drawings by 33 of their peers, prize-winners in a competition organized by the Korean embassy to the Holy See and published in the Korean Catholic daily "Pyeonghwa Shinmun."
More than 1,200 children from all over the country participated in the competition, which was organized to coincide with the Holy Father's 60th anniversary as a priest.
According to a communique published today by the embassy of the Republic of Korea to the Holy See, the aim of the competition was "to thank the Holy Father for his tireless service to humankind and for his great affection for the people of Korea. ... This event will help the Church and society in Korea to promote the Catholic vocation, increasing the 'sensus fidei' of Korean Catholics."
During Midnight Mass, one of the children will read a Prayer of the Faithful, two will participate in the offertory, two will carry flowers to the nativity scene and two more will receive Communion from the hands of the Holy Father.

Now that's a reciprocal Christmas present.

Thrice Blessed in Confession

2011-12-21T18:41:00.000-08:00

Not only did the good Monsignor give me Absolution,tonight, but he also gave me new insight. No matter how old you are, you can always learn something new.

I never realized that my faults were abuses of my God given gifts.

Who knew?

And hubby is going to like the Penance I was given. ;-)

And also, I met my friend, Sister Lisette there. Sister Lisette is the Religious Education Coordinator for the parish. I was telling her about my planned trip to the Beatification of Pere Marie Jean-Joseph Lataste, O.P., and how I need to learn French. She suggested one of the sisters from the Religious of Jesus and Mary as a French, tutor.

Mais bien sûr!

The Religious of Jesus and Mary is my great aunt's order. And she use to teach French.

Qu'est-ce un cancre que je suis!

Hoping for Cheap Grace

2011-12-21T09:45:00.000-08:00

The Light Is On For You - 2011 from Archdiocese of Boston on Vimeo.

Since I'm giving myself a Christmas present by going to Confession, tonight, I listened to Bishop Robert Hennessey explain the importance of Confession, at this time of year. The good Bishop said he gets a kick out of people rushing around, especially Christmas Eve, trying to prepare for Christmas. Think about it--Christmas is the same date, every year.

I see his point. I also see that he doesn't have to worry about money. Some of us have to wait for sales. The best bargains are Christmas Eve. This is when to buy a Christmas tree, for example.

So the good bishop segued into being spiritually prepared for Christmas, and don't wait until it's too late to meet your Maker. Don't put Confession off.

I can segue into that line of thinking, too. Don't wait for the sale; cheap grace isn't going to do it. Better to go to Confession.

Liturgical Dance in Prison

2011-12-20T14:22:00.000-08:00

It seems that dancing is exercise and as such is considered appropriate to do in prison. This prison is Cebu Provincial Detention & Rehabilitation Center in Cebu Province in the Philippines. This is a maximum security prison. Since this is a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Ricardo Vidal I'd call it liturgical dance, wouldn't you?

Anyway, good luck to CPDRC. There are quite a number of You Tube Videos of the inmates dancing, but the program has been put on hold because they don't know what to do with the donations.

I have a few suggestions. I bet you do, too.

Slave Market Prayer

2011-12-18T15:25:00.000-08:00

Father Nic told us the most captivating story today. I've tried to verify the information, but google wasn't definitive. Fr. Nic was teaching us to chant Salve Regina. He asked us if we knew the origin of the prayer.

The term "Valley of Tears," can be applied to many situations. In fact, this prayer is my favorite because of this expression, "Valley of Tears." But I always associated the phrase with my personal situation. Fr. Nic told us that the phrase was given to the slave market in Alexandria. So this prayer, was a prayer to Our Lady from the slaves in Alexandria.

I can imagine it being prayed throughout history, whenever mankind felt that he was in a "Valley of Tears."

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.

Blessed??????

2011-12-18T09:01:00.000-08:00

Gabriel words to Mary about God choosing her, have always made me "gulp." Part of me says, "Thank God, I wasn't chosen. Who'd want to see their child tortured to death before their eyes." (OK, a big part of me, thinks like that.) (I'm not a saint, yet.) (Working on it)

I understand that Jesus redeemed us through His suffering and death. But why He'd bother with such ingrates as us, is beyond me (literally). (I'm not a saint, yet.) (Working on it)

Thinking deeper (Working on it), the point is "trust." Mary trusted God and said "Thy will be done." But it is more amazing to me,(I'm not a saint, yet.) (Working on it) that she trusted God through Jesus' Passion and Crucifixion.

I wish Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, would have written about what Mary's thoughts were. Of course, it's not about Mary. Still, she could have questioned how blessed she was to witness her Son's dying.

(I'm not a saint, yet.) (Working on it) Maybe, she focused on our redemption. Maybe, she understood Jesus' teachings and knew and understood the purpose of the Crucifixion.

I'm the one that questions being "blessed" to be the Mother of God. Mary never questioned; she trusted God. (I'm not a saint, yet.) (Working on it) I need to work on trusting God to become a saint. I get it.

Totus Tuus

2011-12-16T13:26:00.000-08:00

Dominican Student Brothers Schola

Occupy Christmas

2011-12-16T12:05:00.000-08:00

In a mall in California, St. Raymond's parish reminds everyone what Christmas is about.

A Vegetable Christmas Tree

2011-12-15T18:47:00.000-08:00

This centerpiece is made out of vegetables. I just came from a party that used this Christmas Tree as a centerpiece. The inside is a Styrofoam cone, but everything else is a vegetable. The tree itself is broccoli crowns. The star was something I never heard of. But the decorations on the tree are cauliflower, carrots, cherry tomatoes, and lemon zest, or skin, for garland.

Very nice. Clever. Too pretty to eat.

Community Life

2011-12-14T18:27:00.000-08:00

You know that often used verse in weddings, from 1Corinthians 13:4-7. I don't think it's meant for espoused relationships. I think it's referring to community life.

In Discussion Group, tonight, we were discussing how hard it is to live in community, especially a celibate one. It is especially so in a male celibate community. If you're competitive, and feel the need to present a certain persona, it is very hard to love your confreres. The verse tells us basically to be humble enough to forget ourselves--our needs, our ego, and consider the other person's needs. We need to see Christ in them, and one can't if you're maintaining the persona of an alpha male.

Love is patient, is kind; love does not envy, is not pretentious, is not puffed up, is not ambitious, is not self-seeking, is not provoked; thinks no evil, does not rejoice over wickedness, but rejoices with the truth; bears with all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Read this verse again, thinking of a couple making their marriage vows. Between two people in love there naturally is this mutual give and take. What bride is more ambitious than her husband? Self-seeking? Unkind? Thinks evil? Come'on! They're just getting married! This verse is wasted on them.

Now read this verse again, thinking of a Lay Dominican Chapter.

Oh boy!

Those that live in community need to forget all pretense, ego, ambition, and look for the best in their brothers and sisters. That's where God abides.

Augustine's Confessions, 10.27.38

2011-12-13T20:22:00.000-08:00

Wrongly thinking that beauty lay without,
blindly I cast about.
How late did I begin
to realize your beauty lay within.

To one bereft of sight
you said Let there be light.
Thus to my deafened ear
you called, you cried! hoping that I might hear.
I thirsted, hungered, yearned.
You touched me, and I burned.
How late I came to you,
to beauty ever ancient, ever new.
How late I came to you.
Tim Murphy --October 2008

Our Lady of Guadalupe

2011-12-12T17:30:00.000-08:00

.
This is Our Lady of Weight Loss puzzle. Think I'm kidding. Go to the Kick in the Tush site and you'll see Our Lady of Weight Loss.

I don't think she compares to Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Managing Stress

2011-12-11T17:32:00.000-08:00

Oh no! I can feel that I'm stressing. That makes me stress that I'm going to get stressed, and that might affect by health and the ability to be happy and live a productive life. I've already had one stress related disease. So I know it can happen.

OK. What's happening? I'm baking these tiny loaves of bread for Christmas presents, for people at work. Since they're gifts, I want them to look nice and taste good. And it looks like that's not happening. Some dough spilled out of one of them already. Messes dropped on the oven floor stink up the whole house and make me worry. I've already burnt my index finger on the oven rack. Santa better bring me some new oven mits because these are getting too thin.

They're still not done. It's taking these small loaves longer to bake than large loaves!

As soon as these are out of the oven, I'm destressing. How?

This is how to manage stress according to the Book of Faith.

1. Blog Yes, get on my computer and rant. I didn't even mention how I got stuck going to the children's Mass, this morning. It was the only time I could make it. Almost an occasion of sin. Then when I went to go to Chapter, I wasn't allowed in. It seems there was a mix-up of times. And now, my Christmas baking is testing me. So it's good when no one wants to listen to me (Hubby's watching the football game.) that I can blog.

2. Go outside and walk around the block.

3. Telephone someone and chat.

4. Eat an apple. Yes, I'm a stress eater and I'll eat something unhealthy unless I can eat something more readily available. Always have a fruit bowl.

5. Go to the movies. Today that wasn't practical.

6. Drink. Tea or wine is relaxing. Yesterday at a Christmas party I drank a Reisling called Relax. I think it's better than a Blue Nun.

7. Change your clothes. Take an inventory of your closet and see what you need. Get on line and do some shopping. When I don't have the money, I make a list of what I want to buy for when I do have the money--some day.

8. Plan something. Plan how to decorate the house for the next holiday. Plan what to do for someone's birthday.

9. Think of someone in a nursing home and think of something nice to do for them.

10. Pray a Rosary. It's particularly relaxing to listen to a CD of the Rosary. The ones I have are very calming.

The important thing is to take my mind off myself. I have to enjoy and not stress. Life is too short. Nothing matters except saving my soul and taking along a few others. Focus. Focus. Focus.

All is passing. God alone sustaining. God alone abiding.

Christmas Alphabet Game

2011-12-10T17:29:00.000-08:00

The answers follow the letters of the alphabet from A to Z with the answer to # 1 starting with an A and # 26 starting with a Z.

1. They herald the miracle of Christmas.
2. Heard in churches on Christmas day.
3. Used in both decoration and illumination.
4. What little girls may like to find under the tree.
5. What we all do too much of at Christmas.
6. Where the stockings should be hung.
7. What everyone should have for everyone else.
8. Traditional Christmas decoration.
9. We like real ones outside and artificial ones on the tree.
10. Santa is supposed to be this.
11. What a German child calls Santa Claus.

12. Christmas parcels, when mailed, should always be
13. People kiss under it.
14. They get cracked during the Christmas baking.
15. First word in the song, "O Christmas Tree."
16. St. Nick carries it.
17. When kids are waiting for Santa they are
18. There are supposed to be eight of them.
19. Another name for St. Nick.
20. Meat often eaten at Christmas.
21. At Christmas, it's a lucky child who has a rich
22. Besides, meat, we should make sure we eat a variety of
23. We hang it on our front door.
24. Abbreviation for Christmas
25. In England, people always brought one home for Christmas.
26. The way some folks walk after an overdose of Christmas spirits.

Answers: angels, bells, candles, dolls, eat, fireplace, gifts, holly, icicles, jolly, Kris Kringle, labeled, mistletoe, nuts, O, presents, quiet, reindeer, Santa, turkey, uncle, vegetables, wreath, Xmas, yule log, zig zag These answers aren't open for discussion. They're not up for debate. I'm the mommy, that's why.

Santa Joke

2011-12-09T19:32:00.000-08:00

Brother Tonto: I got a job as a substitute Santa at the Mall.
Brother Diotrophes : What's your job title?
Brother Tonto: Subordinate Clause.

No Women Cantors

2011-12-08T18:09:00.000-08:00

Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. I'm so disappointed. There are such beautiful songs about Mary: O Sanctissima, Immaculate Mary, Hail Holy Queen enthroned above, Alma Redemptoris Mater, not to mention concluding with Salve Regina Chant. But we didn't sing those. We sang songs most people couldn't sing.

Why?

The Cantor was a soprano.

Forget about fighting for women to be priests. That's a waste of time. Fight to ban women from being cantors.

I can prove that my grievance is right. Listen and watch the congregation when you have a woman cantor. Listen and watch the congregation when you have a man cantor.

Aha! See, I told you. Most people can't sing those high notes. When it's a male cantor, everyone sings.

Stop the arguing about womynpriests and girl altar servers. Take up my cause; no woman cantors. At least no sopranos.

Christmas Cards

2011-12-06T18:03:00.000-08:00

Writing Christmas Cards is fun. I like to connect to relatives and friends, at least once a year. My address book is a file of index cards. On the front is the name, address and phone numbers. On the back, are notes. Information like their children's names, birth dates, boy/girl friend names, etc. I'll refer to this in the card.

Most of the time, I just sign my name. I just don't have time to write more. It's the card that's the gift. I'm saying, "thinking of you." But it's the outside of the card, that causes me anxiety. I try to match the picture to the receiver. I'm not sending a beautiful Madonna and Child to my Wiccan co-worker. That would be wasted. She'll get a generic Santa, or snowman.

I enjoy sending the religious ones to my friends who would appreciate it. After all, Christmas is religious. I even mail these cards with the Madonna stamps. The other cards are mailed with the pine cone stamps.

It's important to send cards before Christmas. But people who write the newsletters with their cards are always late. Did you ever notice that? I think that's why they do it--write long letters. It's to say, see that's why I'm late; I'm excused; I was writing this letter; Aren't I more special? Not that I don't like the newsletter. I like to see what your family's been up to. But have you ever noticed that the news in these letters is always wonderful. I never read about Daddy got drunk and smashed the car and the police arrested him, and he's in prison for a bit. Suzie was raped. Johnny keeps getting fired from his jobs.

Every thing is always honkey dorey. Well, if everything is so wonderful, and honkey dorey, how come you didn't send me any money with your wonderful, honkey dorey, news?

Intents Intense over Tents

2011-12-05T15:24:00.000-08:00

OK! I had to laugh. I couldn't help it. Kudos to Occupy Melbourne. Watch the video and you'll see that the police came to take down the tents. As they approached closer, the people popped out of the center of the tents. They were wearing their tents as clothes! Very clever. An example of non-violent protest, or should I say aggression. HA! This is a new version of passive aggressive behavior. The police didn't know what to do.

I try not to pay attention to any of the Occupy Movements. It reminds me of the 60's and the Peace Movement and these kids aren't protesting a War. Do they know what they're protesting? I'm not sure. Has it been defined yet?

OK. They've got my attention with their humor. I'll pay them serious consideration now.

Fifty Dollars is Fifty Dollars

2011-12-03T14:16:00.000-08:00

Brother Tonto and the Prior enjoyed walking around the fair grounds. Every time they went,they found themselves in front of the airplane ride. Brother Tonto would wistfully read the sign, "Fifty Dollars a ride". The pilot explained that he'd fly over the neighborhood and your home--in their case, the priory. But the prior would say "Fifty Dollars!"

And Brother Tonto would explain, "The experience would be priceless."

The Prior, was aghast. "Fifty Dollars! Do you know what fifty dollars could buy? It would feed us for a week. We could pay a bill. We could help the poor. We could buy some books. Yadayadayadayadayad........"

Every year, the pilot would relive this same scenario.

"Fifty Dollars! Do you know what fifty dollars could by? It would feed us. We could pay some bills. We could help the poor. We could buy some books. We could get the plumbing fixed. We could send money to Father Tom's Kids. Yadayadayadayadayad........"

This year, however, when the pilot saw the friars approaching, he made an offer that the friars, (especially the parsimonious prior), couldn't refuse. "I'll make a bet with you."

"Eh?"

The pilot said, "I'll fly you both free, if the prior won't speak--during the entire time."

The friars were sure to win. After all, they lived in silence. Mostly. Some of the time. Well, the prior was sure he could remain silent. Sure. This wasn't even a gamble; the prior would win.

Up they went. Brother Tonto pointed out the priory and the pilot flew all around it. It was awesome. The scenery was spectacular. God is awesome.

But the prior hadn't said a word. He was sitting in back and was silent during the tour of the neighborhood, the priory, and fairgrounds.

The pilot was beginning to worry that he was going to be out Fifty Dollars. So he did some aerobatic maneuvers. He did some spins over the fair. No sound from the back. He looped over the priory. It was quiet. He was rolling over the river when he noticed that Brother Tonto was turning green. Still no word from the prior. The pilot also noticed that he was low on fuel.

The pilot had no choice, but to land. As he was taxiing to a stop, the pilot remarked that he was very surprised that the prior could keep his mouth closed, this long.

"The Prior?" Brother Tonto's voice went up. "Oh, he fell out during your spin over the river."

"What!" The pilot was aghast. "Brother Tonto, why didn't you say something?"

"Well, because..." Brother Tonto spoke from memory. "Fifty dollars is fifty dollars. Do you know what fifty dollars could buy...........................................?"

First Christmas Party

2011-12-02T17:38:00.000-08:00

It's a festive gathering, to celebrate Christmas.

The hot buns were delicious.

MMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmm

Hold the dessert. I'll just have the whipped cream.

You Tube on New Translation

2011-12-01T13:31:00.000-08:00

This would be funny if I didn't know that people actually think like this.

St. Andrew's Novena

2011-11-29T20:07:00.000-08:00

St. Andrew's Novena is a prayer that is recited fifteen times a day, starting on the Feast of St. Andrew November 30, until Christmas. I know a novena is for nine days, but this one is for 25 days. The prayer is very short, so it's not a hardship.

As Catholics, we know we're praying to God, not St. Andrew. It's called St. Andrew's Novena because it starts on the Feast of St. Andrew, that's why.

It's a good way to focus on Christmas,because of the meaning of the prayer:

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother. Amen.

Fr. Chris and the New Translation

2011-11-28T19:32:00.000-08:00

It's a good thing Father Chris is Father Chris because my "cloistered brothers" and friends blew him away with our "And with your spirit."

The Mass began, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." We responded "Amen." Father Chris looked at us and said "The Lord be with you." Then the walls reverberated with our "And with your spirit."

That's the way it was. Everytime we responded with the new translation we prayed loudly. We didn't mess up at all.

One good thing about the new translation is that it made us pay attention to the words in the Mass. And that's a beautiful thing.

Frere Benoit

2011-11-26T13:19:00.000-08:00

Frère Benoît from M duf animation on Vimeo.

Look what happened to Brother Tonto's friend, Frere Benoit!

Help Build an Inclusive Playground

2011-11-26T06:54:00.000-08:00

The Kennedy School is an elementary school in my town. The school children need an inclusive playground. An inclusive playground is designed for children of all abilities. Everyone will be able to use it. The Building Committee has hooked up with Pepsi Refresh Challenge. Pepsi awards the one with the most votes. So voting won't cost you a cent!!!! I repeat, they're not asking for money. They're asking for you to take the time to vote. Please find it in your heart to do so. Read below.

Help my kids school - PLEASE. It just takes a second to help

PLEASE!! I need more help!! We are #11 in the Pepsi Challenge and need to be in the TOP 10 to win.

As many of you may already know, my children's school is trying to raise money for a new Inclusive Playground. Our current one is deteriorating quickly despite the efforts of our DPW to keep it maintained. In deciding to rebuild we have designed a new Inclusive one, where all children of all abilities can play together.

I am asking for your help - it only takes a few seconds and cost you nothing. I am just asking that you vote for our project in the Pepsi Refresh Challenge. We are in the running for $50,000 and just need to reach the TOP 10 to win. We are currently at #17. We started at 43, moved quickly to 22, then 19, 17 and now we are at 11!! We need more votes and support!!!

Go to the Pepsi Website - If you click on this link it should take you directly to us - www.refresheverything.com/kennedyplayground - There is a wonderful video that the KennedyKids are in!
ALSO you can vote a 2nd way by Texting in a vote - TEXT 109738 to 73774

Vote EVERYDAY until Nov 30th to help us!

Any and all help would be appreciated. If you could ask friends and family to help too, we would really appreciate it! Anyone 13 and older can vote! Please help my kids school!!! Our website is www.kennedyplayground.com if you would like to learn more about this project.

Thank you
Sandy Brown
Kennedy Playground Committee

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The Eucharist

2011-11-25T05:42:00.000-08:00

This morning I was blessed with a an encounter with a poem. I say "encounter" because it touched me. I'm still thinking of my conversation, yesterday, on the Eucharist. There's so much I wish I could've said. But how could I, a simple old lady fingering her Rosary ever explain Transubstantiation? This poem says what I wish I could. It's by Monica. That's all I know. She must be a beautiful person to write so poignantly. I found this little gem on the Lay Dominican's site from Raleigh, North Carolina. The site is called Dominican Echoes.

A Single Drop

Just one drop of water
Yet a million believers
Poured into the wine
Tossing and tumbling
Swirling and whirling
Merging and mingling
Dispersed and disseminated
Into this cup

By the mystery of this water
By the mystery of this wine
We ask for what we have been given

Our share in the divinity

Inebriated and intoxicated
Co-mingled and consecrated
Grace filled and grateful
Blessed and beatified

With mere words are we joined
Transformed and transubstantiated
Sacred and sacramental
We are the Body
We are the Blood
We are humanity we are divinity
The flesh made Word
In this mystical mystery

Questions About the Eucharist

2011-11-24T19:22:00.000-08:00

Going to Mass was interesting. I have lots of questions, but first is the one about when everyone went quiet. The atmosphere changed, too. I could hear the old man behind me praying in a whisper, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus….” And then everyone said, “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.”

What was that all about?

This is the part I was telling you about that was so important, it has many names: the Sacrifice of the Mass, Holy Sacrifice, Holy Mass, the Lord’s Supper, the Breaking of the Bread, the Eucharistic assembly, the Memorial of the Lord’s Passion, death, and Resurrection, the Holy and Divine Liturgy, the Sacred Mystery, Communion, Holy Communion. We have so many names and terms because it’s so ineffable. It’s what keeps me Catholic. It’s because you don’t get this, that I told you not to come up and receive it.

Look. I’ll quote the Bible for you, this is from John 6: 53-58. Sorry, I can’t quote from memory, we Catholics don’t memorize verses. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food, and my blood is real drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”

There! Right from Jesus’ mouth. Who would dare tell Him that He didn’t mean what He said? Was He lying? Did He say pretend? Reenact? He specifically said, “Do this in memory of me.”

So even though those little round pieces of bread, and the wine, look the same as they did before the priest prayed over them, they’re not the same. Whether you believe this is not depends on the grace of God. If you desire to understand, then pray for understanding. Even Jesus lost disciples because they thought His teachings too hard. John 6: 61.

This is called Transubstantiation. I can’t explain it any more. I can give you books. We can google it, but I still say your best shot at understanding is praying for it.

You know, Transubstantiation is so important that I think that’s enough for you to chew on today. Next time, I’ll answer more than one question. I’ll meet you tomorrow: same place, same time. Your turn to pay.

What do you do at "Mass"?

2011-11-23T16:05:00.000-08:00

While we’re on our way to Mass, let me give you a “heads up” on what to expect. I’m explaining now, because during Mass I can’t. I’ll be focused on prayer, and can’t answer your questions satisfactorily. After Mass, we’ll go to Dunkin Donuts for coffee, and you can ask me anything you want.

Let’s go through the front door up the long, wide steps. I’ve heard that every church has five doors, for the five wounds of Christ, but my parish church has seven. It’s a nice symbolism, though.

Every Mass will have two parts: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The Word is first. Let’s choose a pew. Yes, that’s called a kneeler. We Catholics pray with our bodies. (Let me tell you about St. Dominic’s Nine Ways of Prayer, sometime.) We genuflect before entering the pew. Genuflecting is kneeling on one knee—as if you’re meeting Queen Elizabeth. However, when you genuflect to God, and we are, you kneel on the right knee. And when you meet the Queen, you genuflect on the left knee, because God is God, and she’s not.

The Mass begins with a Procession of altar servers, the Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist, the Lectors, and a priest will bring up the rear. One of the altar servers will carry the crucifix. He will lead. The others follow. You’ll see one person processing with a big book, held high. This book is God’s Word; called the Gospel. Without the Gospel we wouldn’t know that God sent His Son to us out of His love for us. It’s very important. In fact, you’ll see the priest kiss the Book of Gospels.

First, the Mass celebrant, the priest, will greet us. After the greeting comes the Penitential Rite. If we are sincere about worshipping our God, then we want to be worthy of Him. So we take a few moments to ask for forgiveness for any wrongdoing.

The Gloria is sung, next. No matter how beautiful the choir sings, or the congregation belts it out, nothing, (nothing!) can compare to the way my “cloistered brothers” do it. It really is a glorious affirmation of the wonder of God.

The Readings are next. Lay people read. One reading will be from the Old Testament, and one from the New Testament. That means one is from before Jesus was born, and one after. Between the two Readings a Psalm will be sung. The last part of the Liturgy of the Word will be the priest, or the deacon, reading a Gospel. (Watch him kiss the Book.) Then he will give a sermon, or a homily.

What can I tell you? Expect the worse; pray for the best. Priests are human. Some give good homilies. The homily should tie in all the Readings together into something that is relevant. I’m sure most homilies do. However, it’s the delivery that doesn’t get the message across. I think all priests should go to Toastmasters. I think they all should have yearly public speaker refresher courses. I think they should constantly strive to be better speakers. I’m not asking to be entertained. I’m asking for a homilist to deliver God’s message in a worthy manner.

Oh well…thank God for our ears to hear what He wants us to hear. I’ll try to listen better.

After the Gospel is proclaimed, we profess our faith with a prayer known as the Nicene Creed. This prayer is followed by the Lector asking us to pray for certain intentions.
When the Lector sits, you’ll notice the altar servers going back and forth with dishes, linens, and a book. You could think of this as the servers setting the table, with dishes, cups, napkins, and a book of recipes. We Catholics call this the preparation of the gifts. The book contains prayers, the dishes and cups are for the bread and wine. The linens will be used like napkins. People from the congregation will carry up to the priest, the bread, and the wine.

OK. The best is yet to come. The high point of this part of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Eucharist, is the Eucharistic Prayer, which is introduced by a Preface, and a prayer called the Sanctus. The priest is doing what he became a priest for. He is not acting as a mere human being; we Catholics believe that the priest, standing at the altar is Christ, Himself. This is known as in persona Christi capitis. This means that priests do not merely act in Christ’s place, or at his command; but are ordained, Christ, Himself. Christ acts through them.

We have many names for what the Mass celebrant is doing: the Sacrifice of the Mass, Holy Sacrifice, Holy Mass, the Lord’s Supper, the Breaking of the Bread, the Eucharistic assembly, the Memorial of the Lord’s Passion, death, and Resurrection, the Holy and Divine Liturgy, the Sacred Mystery, Communion, Holy Communion. We have so many names and terms because this transsubstantiation of ordinary bread and wine into God, is so unfathomable, that we have difficulty giving it a name. Through the actions of the priest, the bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus.

That’s it. That’s the Sacred Mystery. This is what keeps me Catholic. My belief in this transsubstantiation keeps me Catholic. Thank you Jesus. It is a blessing.

The Eucharistic Prayer concludes with the Doxology, and then the Lord’s Prayer. The Doxology is praising the Trinity. The prayer will begin with “Through Him, with Him, and in Him…” and leads into the Lord ’s Prayer. Following is the Kiss of Peace. Now, you’re not politicking for Mayor, so just nod to those around you. Don’t glad hand everybody in the surrounding pews.

We will pray for peace, and the priest will break the bread, and afterwards, we faithful go up to receive these holy Gifts. Not you, not yet. It doesn’t mean to you, what it means for Catholics. So please don’t offend us by taking what we consider so sacred. It would be like giving a family heirloom to children, who don’t understand its value, to play with. If by the grace of God, you do become Catholic…well, then you’ll understand.

The Mass ends with meditation, thanksgiving, a concluding prayer, and a blessing by the priest.

Thanks be to God.

I’ll answer your questions in the next post.

Stupid Idea

2011-11-20T04:35:00.000-08:00

You know what this is? No, whatever you think, it's wrong.

What it is, is...a stupid idea. It's the result of someone not thinking.

You see, we were celebrating my daughter's birthday, and the candles were all covered in cake, and ice cream, and frosting. What's the easiest way to wash them off?

Not the dishwasher!

Idjit.

Glorious just Glorious

2011-11-18T14:41:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my sister in community, Mary Snow, I have this wonderful video of the solemn profession of two Dominican nuns. Please pay attention to the shower of roses. Remember these are nuns from Peru, the home of the first saint of the Americas--St. Rose of Lima. She is

pictured with a crown of roses. Roses are the queen of flowers, and as such are befitting for the Madonna (and Dominican nuns).

After the shower of roses, is the ceremony of the wedding ring, because these nuns are espoused to Jesus.

Lastly, look at the expressions on the faces of Sister Yolanda Del Nino Jesus and Sister Victoria de Nuestra a Senora del Rosario. Reminds me of my own wedding. I remember what I felt marrying Dick, a mortal. Imagine marrying the Son of God.

Thank you Jesus for Loving Me

2011-11-17T04:12:00.000-08:00

Yes, He loves me! He really does. He thinks I'm # 1. He's God and He truly loves me. Didn't He die for me? What more could He possibly do to prove His love?

I learned this more than ten years ago from Father Aniello Salicone, sx, and it was hammered home, again, last night, at Father Aniello's healing service.

Many people were there for many different reasons. I was feeling so helpless and sad when I saw these people so desperate for relief from their illnesses. Father Aniello explained to them that Jesus always answers prayers, and if you don't get what you want, he gives you something better. Spiritual healing is better than physical. God's ways are not our ways and His time is infinite, not according to our schedule. So we prayed to be touched according to God's Will, and the understanding to know and accept God's Will.

Thank you Jesus for loving me, is Father Aniello's favorite prayer, and has become his trademark. It's so easy; yet it says it all. I pray it every time I receive Communion.

Thank you Jesus, for bringing Father Aniello into my life.

St. Albert and Alchemy

2011-11-15T05:23:00.000-08:00

One of the mottoes of the Order of Preachers is Veritas, or Truth. St. Albert the Great, whose feast we celebrate today, exemplifies that Dominican search for Truth. There is a plethora of subjects, one could focus on, when posting about Albert Magnus, e.i., theology, chemistry, teacher of St. Thomas Aquinas, translator of Aristotle, medicine, botany, geography, astrology, general science, philosophy, and really so-so much more. He was the quintessential searcher for the truth.

But what interests me is his work with "alchemy." I had associated the word alchemy with magic. But that's not accurate. Alchemy is embryonic chemistry. By this I mean that it was chemistry before chemistry was organized into a separate science. In the early stage of alchemy, the experiments alchemists conducted were probably medicines. Some of which worked better than others. I can readily see where the term "charlatans" could probably have readily been applied to some alchemists. But alchemy continued.

Alchemists seemed to be interested in making precious metals by mixing common ingredients together. Trying to make gold and silver was one objective. There were other aspects of alchemy. Making an elixir to prolong life was another objective of many alchemists. Combine the ideas of making precious metals to prolonging life and you give rise to the notion of the "philosopher's stone." Legend has it that Albert found it. What he probably found was that it was not physical, but a spiritual concept: eternal life, living in sacramental grace, etc. At a time when the typical medieval scientist regularly resorted to magical incantations, St. Albert’s investigations were based on observation and analysis. His writings give some of the earliest evidence of the scientific method: the use of controls in experiments, verification of results by careful repetition, and conclusions drawn from sound hypotheses.

Albert constantly taught the connection between faith and reason. Each is incomplete without the other.

It is important therefore to recall that the truths of faith and of reason never contradict one another. The Church’s mission, in fact, involves her in humanity’s struggle to arrive at truth. In articulating revealed truth she serves all members of society by purifying reason, ensuring that it remains open to the consideration of ultimate truths. (Pope Benedict XVI)

Part of alchemy was philosophical. To Albert and others like minded, this meant spiritual. The search to heal and prolong life was the human desire for God. Searching for the philosopher's stone was the search for eternity--the search for God. Experimenting with common substances to make precious metals was an analogy of transmutation of the soul. Albert constantly strived to comprehend the good in the world around him. His influence was great; hence his name "Magnus."

Alchemy may have morphed into Chemistry, but Albert morphed into sainthood. Albert teaches us to trust in God. May all your work glorify him.

h/t to the Nashville Dominicans

St. Vincent Ferrer

2011-11-14T19:46:00.000-08:00

St. Vincent Ferrer was a great preacher. On one occasion, when St. Vincent Ferrer was entering Barcelona, he saw the Angel Guardian of the city. He spoke of this fact, when he gave a sermon to the people. As a consequence, a special devotion sprang up toward the angel, and a monument was erected in his honor. At the hour of St. Vincent's death, a multitude of angels came to

accompany his soul to heaven. The angels filled the house in which he lay dying under the appearance of snow white birds of ravishing beauty, and disappeared at the moment that the Saint breathed his last breath.

St. Vincent is frequently depicted with wings like an Angel because he had a special rapport with the angels.

The Hero in Matt. 25: 14-30

2011-11-13T18:28:00.000-08:00

Well, well, well. I heard something new today. The parable about the servant burying his talents is the hero. Fr. Frank offered that idea, this morning. That servant didn't invest, or even put the money in the bank. That was what the "world" would do. Cultural, societal pressure tells people to save, invest, make money, and more money. But this little guy, went against the grain. He's a counter-cultural hero. He's not interested in the money. He gave back exactly what he was given.

He was punished for not going along with the common thought. Maybe he "offered up" his punishment (that's nun talk for "suck it up.")

Then again...maybe not. Do you think he knew what he was doing?

Always Praying

2011-11-12T13:32:00.000-08:00

Fr. Kevin before Mass said that the first sentence in today's Gospel told us how Jesus wants us to pray. This is Luke 18: 1-8. Jesus told his disciples a prarable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. Of course, Fr. Kevin is a contempletive monk, so he has the opportunity to pray. But how do we Lay People pray all the time?

There's the famous Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,have mercy on me, a sinner."

There's prayer ejaculations: short prayers.

There's Mass, Rosary, Lectio Divina, Liturgical Dance,fasting, and probably more that I can think of. In fact St. Dominic had nine ways of prayer. Like all Catholics, he knelt, bowed, genuflected, sat, stood--Catholic aerobics.

The first way is bowing. Gentlemen bow to ladies as a sign of respect. Catholics bow to the

altar to reverence it.

The second way is prostrations. This is laying flat out on the ground to make yourself as low

as possible before your God. You'll see priest do this at their ordinations. It really isn't very practical for all the laity to do this in church--how. You could do it at home, if this type of prayer appeals to you.

The third way is penance. This picture is of a friar hitting himself. It's called taking the discipline. I'm not called to do this, and I don't know anyone nowadays who is, but in medieval

times, it was practiced. I would do penance in place of the discipline.

The fourth way is kneeling. This is the common prayer stance.

This is St. Dominic kneeling in Adoration of the Crucifixion.

The fifth way of prayer is supplication.

I picture this as talking to God using hand gestures. Since I'm such a drama queen, I could easily implore, shake my fist, beg, etc..

St. Dominic's sixth way of prayer is the Orans position. This is the position people use to

invite people to pray. The priest will use it and say, "Let us pray." The people use it at Mass to pray the Lord's Prayer.

The seventh way of prayer is stretching up your arms as high as you can. St. Dominic use to

look like an arrow. How's that for shooting your prayers up to heaven?

The eighth way of St. Dominic's prayer is Reading. This is reading and contemplating what you

have read. This may turn into Lectio Divina. There is no prescribed method for this type of reading except to pray beforehand and afterwards talk to God about it.

St. Dominic's last method of praying was probably the one he used most often. This is walking. Since he walked everywhere, he prayed as he walked. I pray when traveling. I may use my iPod,

but Dominic prayed and sang as he journeyed along. What better way to pass the time?

Choi Sung-Bong

2011-11-11T16:44:00.000-08:00

Watch this video and you'll hear an amazing story and an amazing voice. It's like one of the judges said in the end, "I just want him to be happy from now on."

Consubstantial

2011-11-11T07:24:00.000-08:00

Everybody's talking about the changes in the Missal. Personally, I'm sick of hearing about it. That's all I read about in my diocesan newspaper, on other blogs, in Chapter,on iCatholic TV, and radio...ad nauseum. Yet I hear that people say they haven't heard anything about it.

Are they blind, deaf, and dumb? Don't they read their Catholic periodicals? Don't they watch and listen to Catholic TV and radio? Don't they listen to homilies, read their parish bulletins, and go to parish activities?

Don't they read blogs?

SIGH. Guess not.

I really don't know what the big deal is about. I lived through the big change from Latin to English. I certainly can live through the change from "one in being" to "consubstantial." Consubstantial is more precise. When I say "one in being" I imagine a spousal relationship. That's hardly the image one should have for the relationship between God and Jesus. And that's the purpose of the Nicean Creed--to prove that Jesus is God.

Besides, it's not new to me. I still have my First Communion Prayer Book. "Consubstantial" was the word that I read, as a child. The Latin was on one page:

Et in unum Dominum Jesus Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum, et ex Pate natum ante omnia saecula. Deum de Deo; Lumen de Lumine; Deum verum de Deo vero; genitum non factum; consubstantialem Patri, per quem omnia facta sunt.

and the Enlish was on the opposite page, right beside the English:

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. Gog of God; Light of Light; true God of true God; begotten,not made; consubstantial to the Father, by whom all things were made.

If children could read then, what everyone is arguing about, now, then I think the new translation will readily be accepted. Besides, I attended Mass where the New Translation was used, and I overheard the comment, "I don't see any difference?" I don't know if the pic I took of my childhood's missal is readable, but the footnote on the bottom says, "...kneel down to adore God for the ineffable mystery of the Incarnation." I get a kick out of the fact that we children knew the word "ineffable." Well, why not? We knew consubstantial; why wouldn't we know ineffable?

For a really thorough and understandable explanation from somebody other than a "simple old lady fingering her Rosary beads", I'll point you to Fr. Cessario's article in the Jan. 14, 2011, Pilot, "Preparing for the Changes in the Roman Missal, 3rd Edition: 'Consubstial with the Father'

Talents

2011-11-10T17:50:00.000-08:00

In preparing to Lector this Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, I always read all the Readings. I lucked out this time, because I'm reading 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-6. It's easy to read and fun to proclaim.

It's the Gospel (Matthew 25: 14-30) that bugs me. Of course, being a product of my culture and time, I think the poor servant who was so afraid of his Master, that he didn't do anything with the money the Master gave him, was wronged. If he was beaten for giving back the money, what would have happened if he lost it, or spent it?

The only way I can justify the thinking in this Gospel, is to literally think "talents," as talents, not money. Talent is a gift of something, e.i., singing voice, learning languages,playing an instrument, intelligence, etc.. The way I see it is, if God gave you a talent, then you should use it for the greater glory of God. To not use it, is a waste, and is the equivalent of the servant burying his Master's "talents."

Mmmmmm. I still don't think that really fits. If a person doesn't use his God-given-talent, it would be a sorry waste, but not wrong, as a sin.

Maybe the kids Occupying Wall Street are right--the rich get richer, and the poor, get poorer. Matthew 25: 14-30 is proof.

Order of Preachers All Souls Day

2011-11-08T04:20:00.000-08:00

Today everyone in the Dominican Family celebrates ALL who have gone before us. The Order of Preachers (known as Dominicans from its founder-St. Dominic)is made up of friars, nuns, and the laity. At one time these divisions were known as First Order, Second Order, and Third Order. Since August 8, 2008, however, this terminology of "divisions" has been done away with. Now we are all one Dominican Family. Now we all use the same initials "o.p." after our names, to designate that we belong to the Order of Preachers. That's why it is so important to prefix your name with a designation, to indicate your state in life. "Lesley, o.p.," doesn't tell us whether you are a priest, or a brother, or a sister, or laity. It must be Fr. Lesley, o.p., or Br. Lesley, o.p., or Sr. Lesley, o.p., or Mr. Lesley, o.p., or Ms. Lesley, o.p., or Miss Lesley, o.p., or Mrs. Lesley, o.p. Now we now who, and, what you are!

Our big brother, St. Thomas Aquinas, o.p. would say that "distinctions are important."