Celtic Catholic Soul

Journeying through Lent

2010-02-17T16:27:00.005-05:00

Today marks the beginning of a tremendous journey. A journey that, as Catholics, should hold profound significance to us. Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning point, is associated with the ashes placed upon our foreheads at the end of Holy Mass, signifying that we are dust. They are also symbolic of our need for repentance from sin.

As we process forward to receive our ashes, we will hear these or similar words: "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19) or "Repent, and believe in the Gospel." (Mark 1:15)

Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting and abstinence as mandated by the Church. We refrain from eating to draw closer to God. We offer up our fasting as a sacrifice for sins; our sins and the "sins of the whole world" as we remember during the prayer of Divine Mercy.

Ashes were used to express sorrow or deep mourning in Scripture. When Jonah preached repentance to the Ninevites, Scripture tells us that the King of Ninevah, "rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes." - Jonah 3:6

Daniel, striving to understand the words of the Prophet Jeremiah, says, "I turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes." - Daniel 9:3

The Psalmist, crying out to the Lord, prayed "I eat ashes like bread, mingle my drink with tears." - Psalm 102:10

Fortunately, the Church does not require us to wear sackcloth, but we are asked to fast, pray and repent.

Lent is a somber time; a time of quiet reflection and amendment of purpose. We must all strive to make the most of these 40 days as 'wilderness' time: we are seeking the Promised Land. We will arrive, blessed and refreshed, at the Easter Vigil, where with the whole Church, the Communion of Saints, and in the presence of the seraphim and cherubim gathered round, we will all joyfully proclaim Christ's Resurrection.

May you have a Blessed Lent. May your meditations, prayers, fasting, and amendment of purpose, be united with the prayers of our Blessed Mother, as she brings us closer and closer to her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

When I was first a Catholic, I found this prayer in the Book of Job which spoke deeply to my heart and does so today. May it speak also to your heart:

Then Job answered the Lord and said:

I know that you can do all things,

and that no purpose of yours can be hindered.

I have dealt with great things that I do not understand;

things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know.

I had heard of you by word of mouth,

but now my eye has seen you.

Therefore, I disown what I have said,

and repent in dust and ashes.

- Job 42:1-6

Amen.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010 Message to Mirjana from our Blessed Mother

2010-02-04T18:52:00.001-05:00

"Dear children, with motherly love, today I call you to be a lighthouse to all souls who wander in the darkness of ignorance of God’s love. That you may shine all the brighter and draw all the more souls, do not permit the untruths which come out of your mouth to silence your conscience. Be perfect. I am leading you with my motherly hand – a hand of love. Thank you."

St. Blaise and the Blessings of the Throat

2010-02-04T18:32:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was the feast day of St. Blaise, patron saint of throats and other ailments of the head and neck. Each year in my parish, we process forward to the alter after Holy Mass to receive the "blessing of the throat" in the name of St. Blaise. I decided to check a little further into the story of this saint and discovered that, much to my delight, he is very much like St. Francis or the Celtic saint, St. Kevin. Like them, he was honored by the animals in the surrounding area near the cave where St. Blaise lived during the time of Diocletian's persecution of Christians during the 3rd century A.D. Animals and birds would come to feed from his hand and offered him protection in times of trouble. Blaise lived as a hermit for many years and then was made Bishop of the Church during the Diocletian persecution.

Many legends grew up around the figure of St. Blaise, mostly pertaining to persecutions he suffered at the hands of a government prefect who chained St. Blaise in jail for not worshipping the gods of the region (Cappadocia). One story tells of St. Blaise being thrown into a pond which immediately became firm ground under his feet. He beckoned those who were jeering on the shore to come and walk on the water if they were able. All jumped in and were immediately drowned.

Perhaps the best known legend of St. Blaise and the one that gives rise to the "blessings of the throat" comes from the story of a woman who son was choking on a fish bone. She summoned Bishop Blaise and asked him to heal her son. Bishop Blaise laid hands on the boy, prayed that he would be healed and he immediately was. Thereafter, his name has been invoked for throat troubles. Ironically, I suppose, St. Blaise was beheaded in or around the year 283.

As a person who suffers from asthma and other respiratory issues, I guess I have a fondness for St. Blaise. I look forward to the "blessings of the throat" each February and pray that by his intercession, I will find comfort and relief from my asthma. It is so good to know that the Lord has given us saints to intercede for us in all manner of problems and difficulties; some with such specific intentions as St. Blaise.

If you have a chance to receive a "blessing of the throat" this weekend at your parish, remember these stories and ask St. Blaise for a special intercession for someone you may know who needs healing and deliverance.

If you want to know more about St. Blaise or any other Saint, you can find much in the two volume work of Jacobus de Voragine entitled The Golden Legend, published by Princeton University Press.

What I'll Be Reading for Lent

2010-01-31T21:07:00.016-05:00

With Ash Wednesday just over two weeks away, I have been thinking about what I will be using as my Lenten meditation reading material. I have sent for Esther De Waal's newest addition to her corpus of work on the Rule of St. Benedict, "Seeking Life: The Baptismal Invitation of the Rule of St. Benedict". Esther De Waal has long been a favorite spiritual writer of mine and her books on the Rule of St. Benedict always bring me new insights and wisdom.

In this book, she compares the on-going spiritual development that begins in each believer's life at Baptism with the Gospel truths present in the Rule's famous Prologue.

Christian catechesis for neophytes coming into the Church has traditionally been a long, involved process taking much time and effort on the part of the 'candidate' seeking communion with the Church. Over the centuries, our catechesis has become somewhat simpler, less time consuming and I am left to wonder if we should not return to the older ways of catechizing in order to insure that those entering into full communion totally understand what they are vowing to uphold in their spiritual lives. I'm not sure I totally understood when I renewed my baptismal vows in my own right during adult confirmation.

So I am anxious to read De Waal's thoughts and I promise to post more about this new book as soon as I have finished absorbing it all...

For those looking for new Lenten meditation material, I would recommend the late Fr. Richard John Neuhaus' "Death on A Friday Afternoon". I was deeply moved by this book and it strengthened my already vast respect and admiration for this great man of God. Neuhaus takes the Seven Last Words of our Lord on the Cross and brings them into focus with amazing precision and profound insight.

Anne Catherine Emmerich's "The Dolorous Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ" is a book that awed and inspired me to grow closer to our Lord by meditating on His Passion. These looks into Christ's Passion were given to Emmerich during ecstatic visions in which Our Lord revealed to Anne Catherine unknown details of the hours leading up to and concluding with our Lord's death on the Cross. These visions were recorded in written form by Clemens Bretano, a friend and associate of Emmerich's at the time of her visions. This book contains both a Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur for those who may be somewhat cautious in reading and believing ecstatic visions. At least you will be comforted that nothing in her words are outside of accepted doctrine or teachings of the Catholic Church. By the way, this book was the source material that Mel Gibson used in researching and writing The Passion of the Christ.

Lastly, I would recommend Edward Hay's "The Lenten Labyrinth" as another great choice for Lenten meditations. Hay discusses the journeys of life and the journeys of Lent as paths much like a labyrinth, twisting this way and that before reaching the goal. Hay's writings always challenge, amuse and cause me to look at ideas and preconceived notions just a little bit differently than I may have in the past. He has a 'quirky' way of getting to his point but the end result is clear and pure. This book is divided up into daily reflections for ease of use.

Whether you choose to read any of these books or pick up something of your own choosing, meditate well this Lent on our Lord's Passion and continue to grow in faith and love. Blessed reading! (and let me know what great books you might find in your own search...)

The Cause for Canonization

2010-01-28T16:29:00.011-05:00

In recent months I have been watching the progression of the process towards beatification and ultimately, canonization of several "saints in waiting". These are people, who for various reasons, have caught my attention over the years and to whom I have looked for wisdom and inspiration. So in no particular order, here's my list:

Damien de Veuster, SSCC, Leper Priest of Moloki. I read Fr. Damien's story many, many years ago and was amazed by his faithfulness and courage. Fr. Damien's mission was to the lepers of Hawaii during the late 19th century. He died of leprosy in 1889. You can read about Fr. Damien on www.leperpriest.blogspot.com. Fr. Damien was canonized on October 11, 2009.

Pope John Paul II. John Paul the Great is currently on the "fast track" towards beatification. In December, Pope Benedict signed a decree on the virtues of Pope John Paul II, which means that he can be beatified as soon as the Vatican certifies that a miracle attributed to his intercession has occurred.

The late, great Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. Archbishop Sheen returned home to Glory on December 9, 1979. His cause for beatification and canonization was opened in 2002 by the Diocese of Peoria, IL, where Fulton Sheen had been an altar boy at St. Mary's Cathedral. Archbishop Sheen is perhaps best known for his television program, "Life is Worth Living" which aired back in the 1950's & can still be seen on EWTN. His best known writing is perhaps, Life of Christ, a book to which I often turn for study, reflection, and the joy of reading about our Lord's life. Read more about Archbishop Sheen at www.archbishopsheencause.org

And this weekend, January 31, 2010, the cause for beatification and canonization of Maria Esperanza of Venezuela will be officially opened by the Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey. Usually known as Maria Esperanza of Betania, Maria received apparitions of our Blessed Mother at Finca, Betania where Mary referred to herself as "Mary, Virgin and Mother, Reconciler of all Peoples and Nations." The apparitions were approved by Bishop Pio Bello Ricardo on November 21, 1987. You can learn more at www.mariaesperanza.com

Let us pray that all may be found worthy of sainthood and may their prayers join with ours in the Communion of Saints.

If you have a favorite "saint in waiting", I'd love to hear their story. Please feel free to post your comments and favorites here.

Medjugorje & the OT Prophets

2010-01-27T13:59:00.010-05:00

This is Monday's message from Our Lady to the world:

"Dear children! May this time be a time of personal prayer for you, so that the seed of faith may grow in your hearts; and may it grow into a joyful witness to others. I am with you and I desire to inspire you all: grow and rejoice in the Lord Who has created you. Thank you for having responded to my call."

We were just talking last night in Bible study about the messages that Our Lady brings to us through the visionaries in Medjugorje. We were comparing the content of her messages with the word of the OT prophets who spoke to Israel concerning returning to God with their whole hearts and forsaking the ways of foreign gods.

We discussed the idea that we are not that different from our OT forebears. We, too, turn to foreign gods in the misguided belief that life will be better, easier, more comfortable. If I only had.... a bigger house, better car, etc... We want to 'have it all' but find our lives lacking in joy and peace. We talk about peace, we pray for peace but we do not feel peaceful. I am as guilty as the next person.

I continually rant and rave over drivers on the road but fail to remember that they too may be having a difficult day; that they too just want to get out of traffic and find some peace.

Mary's messages are being given to us for a time. Jesus spoke to St. Faustina about people being given extra time before His justice falls because of His love for us and His Divine Mercy.

Perhaps it would be good for all of us to review the OT prophets including Elijah and Elisha and hear again their words of warning and repentance. Perhaps we should listen more closely to Our Lady's messages given each month, especially when they seem repetitive. She is trying to get our attention!

We are being given extra time. Time to pray, time to repent, time to make amends and time to turn to the Lord as our only source of true peace and joy. It is a new year. Perhaps this is the best time to make a new beginning of prayer and reconciliation. I know I have to. Before time runs out.

Returning...

2010-01-27T11:41:00.012-05:00

Greetings to all readers and followers! I have been away for several months on a hiatus from writing due mostly to a dryness in my spirituality. We have all experienced the 'dark night of the soul' and it can sometimes be life changing. It certainly has changed mine.

I am sure that in the weeks to come, I will be able to share some of my insights and perspectives on this 'dark night' and the resulting life changes for all those who would care to continue reading..

Thanks to my few faithful followers who have continued to occasionally post comments to previous blog entries and to those who have checked back every once in a while to see if I had returned. I am grateful for your continued interest.

I have also changed the name of my blog from Celtic Soul to Celtic Catholic Soul to more thoroughly express what this blog is about and where my perspectives come from..

During this period of absence, many things have happened in my life that will probably become fodder for writing over the next few weeks. In May, I "retired" from a company where I had worked for 30 years. This was a huge decision. To walk away from the one thing that I had always seen as the 'stable' part of my life was difficult but necessary. Stagnation is soul killing and I had come to a point where the mere thought of yet another day in a cubicle was beyond anything I was willing to endure..

On the other hand, this translated into a whole new way of 'being' in the world. I am still, 8 months later, learning how to live this new life. Everything has to be re-thought and re-adjusted to accommodate this new life. All aspects of my day, from 'what time is good to get up?' (now that I don't punch a clock) to how much time do I devote to recreation vs. working vs. family time, have to be looked at and evaluated.

My lifestyle is certainly changing and as I struggle to find my way in this new life, I'm sure many thoughts and reflections will find their way into the writing on this blog. If they can help anyone else to maneuver through new and sometimes difficult waters, then it will be my prayer that we can find our new ways together.

Absent but not gone...

2009-04-21T10:07:00.008-04:00

Sometimes in this life, we have moments (days, weeks, ....) that we feel like we have nothing to offer. We are like Ezekiel's valley of dry bones... We are wandering in the wilderness, seeking the Promised Land, but finding that we are only circling around, wandering in circles, lost and alone.

This is where I have been the past week or so... sometime around the middle of Holy Week, it happened. I was going along cheerfully, trying to not let my problems overwhelm me, but at some point, I succumbed...

Easter Vigil was wonderful, as always, but I was there mostly in body; my spirit was elsewhere..
Easter morning Holy Mass was a blessing, but again I was not entirely there.

St. John of the Cross describes this wilderness journey as the Dark Night of the Soul. I know that, in part, I was under spiritual attack; in part, God was silent to my despairing cries.

I could relate to Our Lord's words from the Cross: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

My problems are nothing in the grand scheme of things. To take a phrase from 12 step programs, 'This too will pass.."

But when you are in the smack middle of a dark night, it does not seem like it will pass; it feels that God has abandoned you utterly.

I am struggling still to walk this dark journey yet I know there is a light just ahead.

My weapons accompany me: the Holy Rosary, Confession, Eucharist. I am praying the Fifteen Prayers of St. Bridget and have found consolation in all these tools of the spiritual life. I know that at some point I will find again the Promised Land and return to tell you all about my journeyings..

Till then, my Celtic friends....Godspeed.

The Holy Week of our Lord's Passion

2009-04-06T17:34:00.010-04:00

Sunday - Passion or Palm Sunday

"Jesus enters into Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. He is hailed "son of David" by those who days later will cry out "Crucify Him!" Would we have done the same?

Monday - Watching "The Passion of the Christ" with fellow parishioners tonight.. Every year after seeing this movie, I realize that little else in life really matters compared to this most Holy Sacrifice...

"See I make all things new!" - Revelation 21:5

Tuesday - Chrism Mass

This is the Holy Mass where all the catechumens and candidates of the Diocese who are being Baptized and received into full communion with the Catholic Church get to meet in one place with the Bishop presiding.

The 'holy oils ' are brought back to the parish for use during the following year: the oils of baptism, confirmation, anointing of the sick.

It is a chance to see most of the priests of the Diocese all together; the procession to the altar, led by the Knights of Columbus in dress regalia, is wonderful to see.

I remember when I was a candidate, I was so excited to be finally 'accepted' by the Diocese and to know that within a few days, I too would be a member of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

A very exciting time right in the middle of a very holy week.

Let us pray for our catechumens and candidates that they will feel the grace of the Lord during this very special time in their lives.

Wednesday - Tenebrae

We are having a Tenebrae service in our Parish tonight.

In a Tenebrae service, the church is lit only with candlelight, including one larger Christ candle on the altar. The word Tenebrae comes from the Latin, meaning ‘shadows’.

The purpose of Tenebrae is to recreate the emotions of Christ’s Passion: His betrayal by Judas, the disciples’ abandonment and the beginnings of His Agony.

During the Tenebrae service, there will be Scripture readings and Gospel narratives. At the end of each reading, a candle is extinguished… so that by the end of the numerous readings, all the candles are out, leaving the nave in darkness.

The last reading will be Psalm 22, which Christ quoted from the Cross:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

When this Psalm reading is completed, the Christ Candle is extinguished. All is now darkness.

We have reached our most despairing moment: Christ has asked to be spared from drinking this bitter Cup but surrenders Himself to God’s Will. God seems not to answer: Christ will endure His Passion. The darkness of our sins prevails…

There is no benediction, no final blessing. The participants leave the Church in silence.

We wait…. in silence, in darkness…in grief…

Coming Home to the Catholic Church

2009-04-03T08:31:00.002-04:00

Here’s the recent statistics regarding the numbers of people being received into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church this coming Easter Vigil 2009! These numbers represent just some major Dioceses in the country; certainly not all Dioceses have reported, so this number is low but certainly representative:

The Archdiocese of Atlanta: 2708
The Archdiocese of Seattle: 1242
The Archdiocese of San Diego: 1225

In 2007, 49,415 adult baptisms & 87,363 people were received into full Communion with the Catholic Church.

Amazing, isn’t it? Aren’t people leaving the Catholic Church in droves? Didn’t the sex abuse scandal of 2001-02 drive most intelligent, cosmopolitan, enlightened people away from Catholicism, never to return?? That’s what the liberal, secular media would have you believe. But, IT IS NOT TRUE!!

It is true that the Church lost members due to the scandal, and other reasons, such as the Church’s position on contraception, stem cell research, and abortion. But even during these difficult years, people were coming into the Roman Catholic Church in much higher numbers than the mainstream media would ever want you to know.

I came ‘home to Rome’ in 2005 in the Manchester Diocese, State of New Hampshire. That particular year, over 100,000 people either formally returned to the Church or came in through RCIA programs, in the US alone.

So who are these people? They come from all walks of life, all backgrounds.

Some are people who had been previously ‘unchurched’ in that they had no church affiliation whatsoever, some were ‘reverts’ who returned to the Catholic Church of their youth, and some, like myself, were ‘converts’ who left one Christian denomination (usually Protestant) to become members of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church through the Sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation.

Early in his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI was questioned regarding the numbers of people leaving the Catholic Church. His response was to the effect that perhaps in the future, the Church would be ‘smaller, but purer’.

That does not mean that we are ‘pure’ in the sense of free from sin, because all are sinners, but that those who remained in the Catholic Church would be those who, freely and of their own accord, chose to remain as faithful members of Christ’s Church.

A Catholic friend of mine, back in 2004, after learning of my intent to join the Catholic Church, remarked, “Why would you do that now, of all times? We have too many warts…”

I replied, “I’ll take Christ’s Holy Church, warts and all.”

And so, I guess, I’m not alone. The numbers are evident. People want to be a part of this Church. People, at some deep level, know that the fullness of Truth is found here. The Catholic Church is the only Church that has the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Christ is present always in our tabernacles. Why would you want to be anywhere else?

Resource: Catholic News Agency as reported on www.spiritdaily.com

What Pope John Paul II means to me...

2009-04-02T09:29:00.004-04:00

Today is the 4th anniversary of the passing into Eternal Glory of our beloved Pope, John Paul II.

Pope John Paul II passed away the same year I entered into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church, so he was my Pope for only a very short time. But he had become, for me, a guiding light on my journey home to the Catholic Church.

So it seems only right that today I write about my feelings for Pope John Paul during this first year of my own Catholic blog.

As we all know, John Paul was bigger than life. His presence demanded that you pay attention; his words demanded that you listen.

I began to listen a couple of years before my conversion to the Catholic faith, mostly by watching the Catholic television network, EWTN. I watched it pretty faithfully for a couple of years before I even dreamt that one day I would be a Roman Catholic. I would watch Life on the Rock with Jeff Cavins and I would watch Daily Mass celebrated at the Our Lady of the Angels Monastery, broadcast in the evenings.

I remember one particular winter when I was sick as a dog with whooping cough for almost six months and would spend the evenings huddled up in a blanket in my recliner, full of cough meds and prescription anti-biotics, dozing on and off throughout the evening. I would turn Daily Mass on at 7:00 and sit there with my eyes closed, just listening. Then I would continue to listen to whatever Catholic programming was on after Mass.

This was very comforting to me. I knew that I would not be jolted awake by scenes of violence or profanity. I could literally ‘rest in the Lord’ while I gathered my strength for the next day.

And it was during that winter that I became acquainted with John Paul II. I heard him spoken about with deep respect and affection. I heard others talk about his teachings. I watched him celebrate Holy Mass at St. Peter’s on Holy Days. I began to look for news about him and to schedule time to watch EWTN if I knew he was going to be televised. I began to feel my own deep respect and affection for this man.

At that time, I knew that as Pope, he was the head of the Roman Catholic Church, but that was all I really knew about the Papacy. I didn’t know that he was the Vicar of Christ, that he had received his authority from St. Peter himself, through Apostolic Succession, I didn’t know that he would become such a powerful influence in my own spiritual life.

As we all know, Pope John Paul II was a prolific writer. It has been said that you could spend the rest of your life studying the words and thoughts of JPII and not be able to fully digest all that he had to offer. His books, his encyclicals, his poetry… so much to take in.

One of his teachings, however, that has drawn me in and captivated my attention, is a series of Wednesday messages, given over a period of about six years, beginning in 1978 right after his election to the Chair of Peter. These teachings are known as Theology of the Body.

I remember my pastor in 2005, Fr. Paul, talking about Theology of the Body (TOB) and stating that it would take Catholic scholars and laity a hundred years to fully ‘unpack’ these remarkable teachings. But that these teachings on human sexuality would literally ‘revolutionize’ society’s distorted ideas about the role of human sexuality and its place in our lives. Through TOB, we would learn that our sexuality is so much a part of who we are and who we are called to be, beings made in the image and likeness of God, that we would find new freedom and wholeness in our lives and use the God given gift of our sexuality as it was intended to be used – as a divine expression of the life of the Trinity.

TOB is, in its major components, a study in anthropology, in sociology, and in theology. It is a ‘right ordering’ of our human desires and needs firmly grounded in the Person of Jesus Christ. It is a life-changing study. And I can only wish that I had found it much earlier in my own life!

John Paul II was a man of remarkable depth, deep intellect, and an uncanny ability to convey complex theological ideas in layman's terms. This deep study of the human person is accessible to everyone.

Our parish has over the last five years offered studies of TOB. We started out with a beginner’s class, just noting the basics of this remarkable teaching. We moved on to a deeper level with Theology of the Body Explained, presented by Christopher West, who has made the ‘unpacking’ of this material his life’s vocation.

We are now in the middle of an advanced class, going deeper and deeper into the profound implications of life lived authentically, as either a married or celibate person. This advanced level class is called Into the Heart and is again taught by Christopher West, using the text of John Paul II's Man and Woman He Created Them.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg of JPII’s writings. His encyclicals alone need more time to be delved into and the gold nuggets of his rich wisdom mined.

There is no better person to study (outside of Jesus Christ Himself), if you want to know the deep wisdom of our Christian, and Catholic, heritage.

As this blog often deals with various apparitions of our Blessed Mother, I end with this: a few days after the passing of John Paul II into Glory, it was reported by one of the Medjugorje visionaries, that during an apparition of our Lady, John Paul II was seen standing beside our Blessed Mother, young and vibrant. Mary told the visionary, ‘Here is my son – he is with me.’

John Paul II lives in the fullness of the Kingdom of God and enjoys the Beatific Vision.

May Jesus Christ be praised! Amen

Secretary of State Clinton meets our Lady of Guadalupe

2009-04-01T16:09:00.005-04:00

Last week, Patrick Madrid was running a caption contest on his blog,
patrickmadrid.blogspot.com

He was looking for captions for this picture

which shows Secretary of State Hillary Clinton looking at the tilma of Juan Diego in Guadalupe which, of course, shows the famous imprint of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

I submitted my caption and, lo and behold, I came in as a First Runner Up (three way tie)!

Here is how he announced the winners:

The winner and the runners up are those who, in my subjective judgment, best and most cleverly captured the ironic weirdness of the scene: a woman who has made a lucrative career for herself as an implacable foe of the Pro-life movement (and, more fundamentally, a foe of all the unborn children who have been, are being, and will be slaughtered through abortion, as the result of her efforts to support it) being shown the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Life Herself.

There's no need for me to editorialize further on this bizarre juxtaposition of Truth and error, light and darkness, goodness and evil, which is represented by these two very different, diametrically opposed women.

The winner of this caption contest will receive a personally inscribed copy of my book 150 Bible Verses Every Catholic Should Know.

Contest Winner:

Nick — "Behold: The ORIGINAL 'Mexico City Policy'"

Congratulations Nick!

First Runners Up (3-way tie):

Micaela — "That sinking, nauseous, empty feeling in your abdomen, Hillary? Well, it isn't from the burritos . . ."

Dee — The culture of death meets the Mother of Life.

BillyHW — "Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon...well, I don't want to ruin the ending for you."

I, of course, am Dee with my caption “The culture of death meets the Mother of Life.”

Visit Patrick Madrid’s blogspot to see the rest of the wonderful caption entries and read the whole article.

What is going on in Medjugorje?

2009-04-01T09:21:00.002-04:00

About a month ago, it was reported that Fr. Jozo Zovko, of the parish of Siroki-Brijeg, Bosnia-Hercegovina, is now on a year-long sabbatical. Allegedly, this is due to a health concern for which he has been receiving treatment.

He has cancelled all talks to Medjugorje pilgrims.

Next, it was reported that the local Bishop of Mostar, who has jurisdiction over the hamlet of Medjugorje, and hence St. James Parish, has stopped the visionaries from receiving their apparitions of our Blessed Mother at Cenocola. Cenocola is an alcohol/drug rehabilitation center for young men. It has had amazing success over the years in helping young men to clean up and move on with their lives.

Yesterday, it was reported that the Bishop of Mostar, Radko Peric, has now forbidden Holy Mass and Adoration to be celebrated at the Oasis of Peace!

Bishop Peric has long been an opponent of the visionaries and has declared the apparitions to be a fraud.

His ‘jurisdiction’, so to speak, over the visionaries has been removed by the Vatican which is now conducting an investigation into the alleged apparitions. A former commission, set up to review the apparitions, in which Bishop Peric was a member, was de-commissioned due to the fact that only non-believers in the apparitions were on the commission.

However, he is still Bishop of Mostar and therefore, still has authority over the Parish of St. James.

Now, if just one of these incidents had been reported, I would probably not make too much of it, such as Fr. Zovko’s sabbatical. Perhaps he truly does have a health condition that would require taking that much time from his duties.

But, with the additional incidents at Cenocola and now the Oasis of Peace, I have to wonder: What is going on in Medjugorje?

Whoever heard of forbidding Holy Mass to be celebrated? This is a scary thought, which quite frankly, sends chills up my spine. It has long been prophesied that one day the Holy Mass would be forbidden and faithful Catholics would have to ‘go underground’ to celebrate Holy Mass. Is this a harbinger of tribulations yet to come?

Are the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary about to draw to a close? Are the first of the ‘secrets’ about to be revealed?

It has even been reported, by an alleged visionary/prophet here in the US, that the first secret will be revealed soon; in fact, possibly as soon as this month!

Prophetic ‘rumors’ come and go. But it does make me wonder when incidents like these happening in Medjugorje take place within a couple of weeks of each other. Could something really big be on the horizon? Time will tell. But for me, Medjugorje and what happens there, is a HUGE barometer of our times… Could the first secret be revealed soon? And if so, what does it mean for us and for the world?

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be praised and adored.
May the Immaculate Heart of Mary be praised and adored.
Amen

Mary Reilly

2009-03-24T09:41:00.003-04:00

Have you heard of Mary Reilly, a woman living in upstate New York, who allegedly has locutions of our Blessed Lady?

She has made numerous accurate predictions of events after having received messages from the Blessed Virgin.

Scripture states that the sign of a true prophet of God is that the prophecies they speak must come true all the time; a prophecy that is proven untrue is the sign of a false prophet. Some prophecies may be delayed; that does not render them as false.

Please visit www.markmallett.com/blog for his entry of March 19th found under “Daily Journal” to read the incredible story of Mary Reilly. She provides some interesting insights into the future which seem to be in line with other prophecies regarding the end of this era and the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Blessed be the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Blessed be the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Amen.

St. Brigid of Kildare (Ireland)

2009-03-23T18:29:00.009-04:00

I was having an interesting discussion yesterday regarding St. Brigid (sometimes confused with St. Bridget of Sweden), a Celtic saint. This led me to look up some more information about her from Catholic Encyclopedia. This is what I found:

Born in 451 or 452 of princely ancestors at Faughart, near Dundalk, County Louth; d. 1 February, 525, at Kildare. Refusing many good offers of marriage, she became a nun and received the veil from St. Macaille. With seven other virgins she settled for a time at the foot of Croghan Hill, but removed thence to Druin Criadh, in the plains of Magh Life, where under a large oak tree she erected her subsequently famous Convent of Cill-Dara, that is, "the church of the oak" (now Kildare), in the present county of that name. It is exceedingly difficult to reconcile the statements of St. Brigid's biographers, but the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Lives of the saint are at one in assigning her a slave mother in the court of her father Dubhthach, and Irish chieftain of Leinster. Probably the most ancient life of St. Brigid is that by St. Broccan Cloen, who is said to have died 17 September, 650.

Cogitosus, a monk of Kildare in the eighth century, expounded the metrical life of St. Brigid, and versified it in good Latin. This is what is known as the "Second Life", and is an excellent example of Irish scholarship in the mid-eighth century. Perhaps the most interesting feature of Cogitosus's work is the description of the Cathedral of Kildare in his day: "Solo spatioso et in altum minaci proceritate porruta ac decorata pictis tabulis, tria intrinsecus habens oratoria ampla, et divisa parietibus tabulatis". (The rood-screen was formed of wooden boards, lavishly decorated, and with beautifully decorated curtains. )

Probably the famous Round Tower of Kildare dates from the sixth century. Although St. Brigid was "veiled" or received by St. Macaille, at Croghan, yet, it is tolerably certain that she was professed by St. Mel of Ardagh, who also conferred on her abbatial powers. From Ardagh St. Macaille and St. Brigid followed St. Mel into the country of Teffia in Meath, including portions of Westmeath and Longford. This occurred about the year 468. St. Brigid's small oratory at Cill-Dara became the centre of religion and learning, and developed into a cathedral city. She founded two monastic institutions, one for men, and the other for women, and appointed St. Conleth as spiritual pastor of them. It has been frequently stated that she gave canonical jurisdiction to St. Conleth, Bishop of Kildare, but, as Archbishop Healy points out, she simply "selected the person to whom the Church gave this jurisdiction", and her biographer tells us distinctly that she chose St. Conleth "to govern the church along with herself".

Thus, for centuries, Kildare was ruled by a double line of abbot-bishops and of abbesses, the Abbess of Kildare being regarded as superioress general of the convents in Ireland.

Not alone was St. Bridget a patroness of students, but she also founded a school of art, including metal work and illumination, over which St. Conleth presided. From the Kildare scriptorium came the wondrous book of the Gospels, which elicited unbounded praise from Giraldus Cambrensis, but which has disappeared since the Reformation.

According to this twelfth- century ecclesiastic, nothing that he had ever seen was at all comparable to the "Book of Kildare", every page of which was gorgeously illuminated, and he concludes a most laudatory notice by saying that the interlaced work and the harmony of the colours left the impression that "all this is the work of angelic, and not human skill".

Small wonder that Gerald Barry assumed the book to have been written night after night as St. Bridget prayed, "an angel furnishing the designs, the scribe copying". Even allowing for the exaggerated stories told of St. Brigid by her numerous biographers, it is certain that she ranks as one of the most remarkable Irishwomen of the fifth century and as the Patroness of Ireland. She is lovingly called the "Queen of the South: the Mary of the Gael" by a writer in the "Leabhar Breac". St. Brigid died leaving a cathedral city and school that became famous all over Europe. In her honour St. Ultan wrote a hymn commencing:

Christus in nostra insula Que vocatur Hivernia Ostensus est hominibus Maximis mirabilibus Que perfecit per felicem Celestis vite virginem Precellentem pro merito Magno in numdi circulo.
(In our island of Hibernia Christ was made known to man by the very great miracles which he performed through the happy virgin of celestial life, famous for her merits through the whole world.)

The sixth Life of the saint printed by Colgan is attributed to Coelan, an Irish monk of the eighth century, and it derives a peculiar importance from the fact that it is prefaced by a foreword from the pen of St. Donatus, also an Irish monk, who became Bishop of Fiesole in 824. St. Donatus refers to previous lives by St. Ultan and St. Aileran. When dying, St. Brigid was attended by St. Ninnidh, who was ever afterwards known as "Ninnidh of the Clean Hand" because he had his right hand encased with a metal covering to prevent its ever being defiled, after being he medium of administering the viaticum to Ireland's Patroness.

She was interred at the right of the high altar of Kildare Cathedral, and a costly tomb was erected over her. In after years her shrine was an object of veneration for pilgrims, especially on her feast day, 1 February, as Cogitosus related. About the year 878, owing to the Scandinavian raids, the relics of St. Brigid were taken to Downpatrick, where they were interred in the tomb of St. Patrick and St. Columba. The relics of the three saints were discovered in 1185, and on 9 June of the following year were solemnly translated to a suitable resting place in Downpatrick Cathedral, in presence of Cardinal Vivian, fifteen bishops, and numerous abbots and ecclesiastics. Various Continental breviaries of the pre-Reformation period commemorate St. Brigid, and her name is included in a litany in the Stowe Missal.

In Ireland today, after 1500 years, the memory of "the Mary of the Gael" is as dear as ever to the Irish heart, and, as is well known, Brigid preponderates as a female Christian name. Moreover, hundreds of place-names in her honour are to be found all over the country, e.g. Kilbride, Brideswell, Tubberbride, Templebride, etc. The hand of St. Brigid is preserved at Lumiar near Lisbon, Portugal, since 1587, and another relic is at St. Martin's Cologne.

Text taken from http://www.newadvent.com/

The interesting part of this whole essay is that it is not mentioned directly but Brigid (pronounced Breed in the ancient Gaelic) is often confused, and their stores interwoven, with another Brigid who was a pagan and honored as a goddess. The whole idea that St. Brigid's convent was underneath a large oak tree, oaks being highly venerated by the Druids and priestesses of pagan Ireland, certainly has reinforced the idea for centuries.

Edward C. Sellner, in his book Wisdom of the Celtic Saints states that 'nuns at her monastery are said to have kept an eternal flame burning there, a custom that may have originated with female druids residing at that spot long before the saint arrived. Their leader supposedly was a high priestess who bore the name of the goddess Brigit or Brighid, a deity of wisdom, poetry, fire and the hearth. Like other Celtic goddesses who sometimes appear in groups of threes, the goddess Brigit was associated with two sisters by the same name -- one who was patron of healing and the other of the smith's craft. The attributes were eventually identified with Brigit, the saint, whose feast day, February 1, came to be celebrated on the same day as that of the pagan goddess.'

This is just one of the many Celtic saints Sellner describes in his wonderful book, Wisdom of the Celtic Saints and if you find this an interesting topic, this would be a great place to start learning more of the holy men and women now known to us as the Celtic Saints. Happy reading!

Spring!

2009-03-21T21:04:00.005-04:00

I don't know how your life has been going lately, but as for me, this winter has been especially hard. Cold, icy weather; economy in the trashbin; car problems that cost a small fortune to repair; leaking roofs and wild drivers crashing through my living room!

All in all, I've had enough.

So, these are the things I am looking forward to this spring:

Yellow forsythia, green grass, temps above 60 degrees, sipping wine on my porch, spring peepers, open windows to let in the fresh air, marshmallows over the firepit and the smell of fresh soil in my flower pots!

Glorious, glorious Spring!

Pope Benedict to wear cross at Western Wall - how amazing!!!

2009-03-18T18:28:00.012-04:00

Did you see the article on line yesterday regarding the fact that a certain rabbi did not want Pope Benedict to wear a cross during his visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem? Below is an article from Catholic News Agency today stating that the Pope may wear a cross while praying at the Western Wall. Of course, this is a retraction of yesterday's comment, which is now being referred to as "misleading."

Ok, here's my thoughts on this particular matter: You've got to be kidding, right? Ah, he's THE POPE. THE HEAD OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. And this rabbi is upset that he will wear a cross??? Perhaps Benedict should ask the rabbi to take his Star of David off, or perhaps remove his prayer shawl... which of course, he wouldn't do, as Pope Benedict has respect for our Jewish brethren...

Rome, Italy, Mar 18, 2009 / 02:13 am (CNA).- Contrary to comments attributed to an Israeli rabbi, Pope Benedict XVI will not be barred from entering the holy area of Jerusalem’s Western Wall while wearing a cross.
On Tuesday the Jerusalem Post quoted Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, who oversees worship matters at the Western Wall, as saying that the Pope should not wear a cross during his visit to the area.
“It is not fitting to enter the Western Wall area with religious symbols, including a cross,” the rabbi reportedly said, according to SIR.
Mordechay Lewy, Israel’s Ambassador to the Holy See, issued a clarifying statement saying that the Jerusalem Post’s quotation was “misleading.”
Ambassador Lewy said that Israel will “respect, as a matter of course, the religious symbols of the Holy Father and of his entourage, as expected in accordance with rules of hospitality and dignity,” following the same procedure applied in Pope John Paul II’s papal visit to Israel in 2000.
“This was confirmed to a high Official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Jerusalem personally by Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch,” the ambassador’s statement continued.
Pope Benedict is scheduled to visit the Western Wall on May 12 as part of his journey to the Holy Land.

3/18 Apparition to Mirjana

2009-03-18T18:20:00.005-04:00

"Dear children! Today I call you to look into your hearts sincerely and for a long time. What will you see in them? Where is my Son in them and where is the desire to follow me to Him? My children, may this time of renunciation be a time when you will ask yourself: 'What does my God desire of me personally? What am I to do?' Pray, fast and have a heart full of mercy. Do not forget your shepherds. Pray that they may not get lost, that they may remain in my Son so as to be good shepherds to their flock." Our Lady then looked at all those present and added: "Again I say to you, if you knew how much I love you, you would cry with happiness. Thank you."

May we always follow our Blessed Mother's words with sincere intentions and fullness of heart.

St. Patrick's Breastplate

2009-03-17T08:28:00.007-04:00

Top o’ the Mornin’ to ye! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

There are very many wonderful websites offering history and legend regarding St. Patrick today so I thought I would simply offer this prayer, St. Patrick’s Breastplate.

It has always been one of my favorites and I hope you, too, will find comfort and joy in Christ this day through the words of this beloved Saint.

St. Patrick's Breastplate is found in the ancient Book of Armagh, from the early 9th Century. St. Patrick is said to have written this prayer to strengthen himself with God's protection as he prepared to confront and convert Loegaire, High King of Ireland.

It is the quintessential prayer of Celtic Christian spirituality. We bind Christ to ourselves for protection, comfort, fellowship and good will towards our fellow man.

St. Patrick’s Breastplate

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of pagans, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison,
Against burning,
Against drowning,
Against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the boat.

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe. Amen

St. Michael Prayer Campaign

2009-03-13T10:07:00.003-04:00

While reading some articles on one of my favorite Catholic daily websites, www.spiritdaily.com
I came across an interesting, and important, link.

We are fighting a battle in this world, more today than ever before. We are living, in the words of the Great John Paul II, in a ‘culture of death’. This has only been worsened by the recent Executive Orders signed by our new President. A reversal of the Bush Administration’s law limiting the use of embryonic stem cells was signed into law this week. It will broadly expand the use of viable embryos for stem cell research, including the creation of new stem cell lines which was banned under the Bush law.

While this new technology does indeed hold out promise for new treatments for some of the worst illnesses and disabilities we face in the modern world, it comes at much too high a price – the destruction of human life in the embryonic stage.

Or in other words, killing one person to possibly help another.

While President Obama couches his words in carefully constructed rhetoric, this is the bottom line. Pitting science against morality might be something he is prepared to defend, but it is indefensible in the eyes of Almighty God. The knowledge of scientific principle is a gift given to humanity from God. It is to be used to increase our knowledge of the created world. It is not to be used to destroy creation in any forms.

Obama would have you believe this is a political issue. It is not. It is a moral issue.

Pope Leo XIII composed a powerful prayer, which all Catholics are familiar with: The Prayer to St. Michael. At one time it was an obligatory prayer at the end of Holy Mass.

Human Life International is campaigning to bring the St. Michael Prayer back to Holy Mass. If you are interested in helping to fight the battle against the destruction of human life, please visit Human Life International’s website, www.hli.org . Join in the battle by supporting their St. Michael Prayer Campaign for the Conversion of Abortionists. Let’s get the beautiful and powerful St. Michael Prayer reinstated at the end of every Holy Mass.

Prayer is our most powerful tool in the battle against the evil forces of this world. We can change the world, if we do our part.

St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in the day of battle.
Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host,
by the power of God,
cast into hell Satan and all the other evil spirits,
who prowl throughout the world, seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

Festival of Purim

2009-03-09T11:57:00.002-04:00

Tonight at sundown the Jewish festival of Purim begins. Purim is a celebration of the time when the Jewish people were saved from total extermination by a young woman named Esther. Her story and the story of Purim is found in the Biblical Book of Esther.

Esther was the niece and adopted daughter of Mordecai, living in Persia (modern day Iran). Esther was living in the home of King Xerxes, King of Persia, as part of his harem and had been made Queen of Persia by King Xerxes because he loved Esther more than all of the other women. Esther was Jewish but King Xerxes did not realize this as neither Mordecai nor Esther ever made mention of the fact.

Haman, a jealous, arrogant, self-serving man was advisor to King Xerxes. He despised Mordecai, because he would not bow the knee to Haman and therefore, Haman decided to exterminate the Jewish people.

In Esther 3:8, we read Haman’s words to King Xerxes: ‘There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your realm. Their laws are different from those of every other people’s and they do not observe the king’s laws; therefore, it is not befitting the King to tolerate them.’ King Xerxes agreed and issued an edict of extermination.

Now there was a certain law of the land that stated no one could enter the king’s presence without being first summoned by the king. For Esther to place herself in the king’s presence uninvited was a very dangerous undertaking.

In Chapter 4 of Esther, we read that Mordecai, learning of the King’s edict that all the Jewish people be slaughtered, sends a message inside the royal court to Queen Esther, asking that she intercede for her people. Esther replies:

"All the servants of the king and the people of his provinces know that any man or woman, who goes to the king in the inner court without being summoned, suffers the automatic penalty of death, unless the king extends to him the golden scepter, thus sparing his life. Now as for me, I have not been summoned to the king for thirty days." (verse 11)

Mordecai responds to the Queen’s message in verse 13 – 14:

"Do not imagine that because you are in the king's palace, you alone of all the Jews will escape. Even if you now remain silent, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another source; but you and your father's house will perish. Who knows but that it was for a time like this that you obtained the royal dignity?" - New American Bible

Another translation puts Mordecai’s words this way:

And who knows if you have come to the Kingdom for such a time as this? – Revised Standard Version

So Esther, together with all the Jewish people, fasted for three days in preparation and then Esther approached the King. Much to her surprise, he welcomed her. She was able to tell him about Haman’s plan to destroy not only her but all of her people. King Xerxes reverses the extermination planned by Haman and he puts Mordecai in Haman’s place in the royal court. Mordecai and Queen Esther were then able to work together for the benefit of the Jewish people and the feast of Purim celebrates this victory over destruction by God’s powerful hand.

The reason I point all of this out today is that verse 14 has always stood out for me. All of Scripture contains many levels of understanding. On one level, we have the story of Esther and Mordecai saving the Jewish people.
On another level, we have the meanings of Scripture that we can try to apply to our own 21st century lives.

We, ourselves, live in changing times. We need look no further than the evening’s news to know that we are in dangerous days. Wars, economic crisis, homelessness, lack of security accost us everywhere. We search for answers, seek deeper meanings, and wonder what will be the outcome of it all?

Those with faith know that God is in control but we all feel the need ‘to do something’ that can help, not only ourselves, but our families, our parishes, our communities, our world. What is it that we can do?

“And who knows if you have come to the Kingdom for such a time as this? “

Perhaps, we ourselves have been put here at this time for a specific purpose? I often wonder why, of all the generations of my family, I am the only one who has converted to Catholicism? Perhaps for a reason beyond my understanding or imagining? I do believe that God has a job for me to do, as yet undisclosed, but to be revealed later. Perhaps during some up-coming crisis, I will be able to lead someone to God’s fullness of truth found only in the Catholic Church.

Whatever that job may be, I pray that I would be worthy and ready for the task.

Why has God brought you to the Kingdom? There is much to think about here. Let’s reflect on this Jewish festival day of Purim and start thinking about God’s purposes. Let’s ponder with Mordecai his words, “And who knows if you have come to the Kingdom for such a time as this? “

Amen.

See you Sunday

2009-03-06T20:39:00.001-05:00

I'm just hangin' for tomorrow - back to posting on Sunday!

The power of positive words

2009-03-06T09:02:00.002-05:00

I was reading an interesting article today on www.spiritdaily.com regarding a Japanese scientist who has been working with water crystals. He has allegedly confirmed that when water is frozen right after being surrounded by good or bad words, the crystals change their formation.

Bad words produce distorted, blob-like crystalline structures while good words spoken produce beautiful, symmetrical crystals, much like the beautiful intricate snowflake patterns we are all familiar with.

Like all articles on Spirit Daily, they offer this information for the reader’s discernment.

He goes on to say, “This principle is what I think makes swearing and slang words destructive. These words are not in accordance with the laws of nature. For example, I think you would find higher rates of violent crime in areas where a lot of negative is being used. Just as the Bible says, first there was the Word, and God created all of Creation from the Word.”

Actually, this seems to make some sense to me. After all, we know that God spoke the heavens into being by the power of the spoken Word. We also know that we, as God’s creatures, are called to work co-operatively with God in His on-going redemption of the world. How do we co-operate? We know that the power of prayer, spoken and silent, has restorative, healing powers. Our Blessed Mother continually urges us to “pray for the conversion of the world.”

So obviously, our prayerful words have power to effect positive change, in our own lives, in our families, in our communities and in the larger world.

There is mystery about life. There are millions upon millions of unknown, mysterious things in the world; some God reveals to us and some He does not. Science, used properly, is a tool God has given mankind to better know and understand the world around us.

Might this be just one example of how unbelievably amazing this world truly is?

Something to ponder...

2009-03-05T10:59:00.001-05:00

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.
- Ronald Reagan

This seemed like an appropriate quotation for our day and time. Would that we had more men and women with the heart and soul of President Reagan. Today we are in dire straits and we need good, Godly men to lead us forward towards a brighter tomorrow. We are sadly lacking the very thing we need. May God spare and preserve us...

Why Worry?

2009-03-04T13:58:00.008-05:00

I was remembering a Scripture passage that I had memorized many, many years ago as a child, where Jesus was saying not to worry about tomorrow, cause things are bad enough today… Well, that’s not exactly how He said it; that’s my paraphrase or the way I have always remembered that passage.

When I was a kid in Protestant Sunday School, the only translation of the Bible we used was the beautiful, poetic King James Version. So most of the Scriptures that I have memorized and retained over the years play back in my head in the KJV translation.

In Matthew 6: 26 – 34, Jesus is speaking about the fact that to worry is a pointless exercise. He asks “and who by being worried can add a single hour to his life?”

Here is the passage from the Revised Standard Version:

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?”

“And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?”

“And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.”

“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!”

“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’

“For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

“But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Or in the words of the beautiful King James:

“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” – Matthew 6: 34

The reason I point out all of this is because I’ve been worrying about a lot of things lately.

I’ve been suffering from the winter blahs and when I’m in an already depressed state, it does seem that I worry more. So I have to remember to ‘offer it up’ to God, to lay my burdens on Him, and especially not to take them back upon myself, once I have given them to the Lord. I’m not particularly good at any of this.

I struggle; I resist the whole idea that I am not capable of managing my own life; that I need God so desperately each and every minute. But the truth is: I do. I need Him to take all the worry and stress away. I need to lay my burden down and not pick it back up. I need to remember this Scripture that I have carried with me in my heart almost all of my life:

“But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” – Matthew 6: 34

Perhaps you need to remember this too. Have a blessed, worry-free day!

Human will vs. God's will

2009-03-03T11:00:00.009-05:00

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the human will, and in particular, about free will.

I thought I had read somewhere, something about superior will vs. inferior will in regard to our free will.

I have searched around the Internet and cannot find any reference to superior vs. inferior will. Perhaps someone out there in the blogosphere can point me in the right direction?

In the meantime, here are my thoughts: In terms of our free will or as I am calling it for the purposes of this discussion, human will, it would seem to me that we can divide our will into two categories: superior will and inferior will.

By superior will, I would be referring to those times, when through prayer and discernment, we commit ourselves to following the highest will of God, as we can best discern that will.

By inferior will, I am referring to those times when, without prayer and discernment, we commit ourselves (consciously or unconsciously) to following our own desires, our own way, and end up following our inferior will, unenlightened by God. This, of course, probably occurs many times during a single day.

There would be a thousand examples of this, as there are a thousand ways to sin, because that is really what is being discussed here – our concupiscence towards sin.

I’ll use fasting as an example, because I’ve been thinking about that a lot also, as you know if you have been reading this blog for the past few days…

If I get up in the morning with the intention to fast, and I am successful in my commitment to fast, then I have, in my own free will, aligned my will with the Father’s. I have been obedient to His will (which I know because both Jesus in the Scriptures & the precepts of the Church tell me to fast) and I have also exercised my superior will, because I have chosen to be obedient.

However, if I get up in the morning with the intention to fast, and I am unsuccessful in my commitment because I have chosen, again using my own free will, to eat that cookie or have that piece of steak at dinner, then I have been disobedient to His will and I have exercised my inferior will, because I have chosen to be disobedient.

Now perhaps this is a discussion that doesn’t need to occur, because you, the readers, already understand this. Perhaps it is only I who don’t understand. Perhaps this is something that if I were more astute, I would already know that the Fathers of the Church have thrown this idea around for centuries, and I just need to be pointed in the right direction.

Or perhaps I’m getting this all wrong and need to be corrected. If so, I would welcome any corrections you might send my way.

But this is the bottom line: How many times during the course of a day, week, month…. do I exercise my inferior will over my superior will, without so much as a thought about it. Free will is something we know that we possess, but how often do we consider how well we are handling our free will? How many times, without even thinking about it, am I choosing to be disobedient to the will of the Father?

If this whole idea of superior vs. inferior will makes absolutely no sense, my apologies. If, however, it resonates with you and you can point me in the right direction in terms of what others have said about this subject, please do so. If my feet are all wet, you can tell me so, too!

Book Review - Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia and the Biggest Funeral in the World by Anthony Doerr

2009-03-02T10:11:00.005-05:00

Four Seasons in Rome in the author’s personal account of a year spent in Rome in 2005 living on an American Academy Fellowship.

Doerr’s wife Shauna had just delivered twin boys and their peaceful, adult life was turned up-side down by the inclusion of two new babies. Doerr recounts the struggles and joys of their new topsy-turvy life: adjusting to twins while learning to live in a foreign country. Either one of those experiences would be daunting enough; but to combine the two was an adventure beyond his imaginings. Coming from Boise, Idaho, the cultural differences, language barriers and sheer ‘newness’ of life in Rome was fascinating fodder for a writer.

This book is poetic prose. Doerr writes with brutal honesty, charming wit and descriptive precision. I could see and feel and taste through Doerr’s words with an amazing clarity. I felt as if I, too, had experienced first hand some of the delightful and not-so-delightful adventures that the Doerrs’ shared during their year in Rome and the Umbrian countryside.

Doerr was there for the death and funeral of our beloved Pope, John Paul II. He witnessed first hand the thousands upon thousands of pilgrims who flooded into the Eternal City for what Doerr describes as the ‘biggest funeral in the history of the world’.

As someone who is planning on visiting Rome this year, I found this book to be insightful and inviting. I can’t wait to experience Rome for myself and this book has only encouraged me all the more to pursue that dream.

Our Lady's Message, given to Mirjana today.

2009-03-02T09:09:00.002-05:00

From http://www.blogger.com/info@medjugorje-online-com

Message through Mirjana - March 2, 2009
"Dear children! I am here among you. I am looking into your wounded and restless hearts. You have become lost, my children. Your wounds from sin are becoming greater and greater and are distancing you all the more from the real truth. You are seeking hope and consolation in the wrong places, while I am offering to you sincere devotion which is nurtured by love, sacrifice and truth. I am giving you my Son."

More thoughts on fasting..

2009-03-02T08:39:00.015-05:00

I've received some feedback (unfortunately, off-blog) regarding my previous post on fasting and the issues I have experienced with it. I have been offered various types of fasts and "how-to"s... As I stated previously, I have read all sorts of books, articles, etc. about how to fast and what to eat when fasting, and why one should fast... that's not really the issue.

Knowing how and why something should be done, does not necessarily make it happen. If we could all follow through with our best intentions, and always do things correctly and always make the best choices, I guess we could do away with Church altogether, cause we wouldn't need the graces and blessings of the Sacraments... we'd be restored to our original Edenic perfection!

For me, fasting is a spiritual struggle and perhaps will always be so. Perhaps this struggle is given to me by God to help me grow spiritually. Growth in holiness is always fraught with struggle, false starts, the too high expections we place upon ourselves and the humility that comes from realizing we are but dust. After all, this is the message that we start out the Lenten Season with: Remember that thou art dust and to dust thou shalt return.

So I will continue to struggle with fasting and to rely totally upon God's graces to see me through.

More on Fasting

2009-02-28T17:59:00.003-05:00

Seems like the whole blogosphere of Catholic websites is discussing fasting this week, which is only natural.

Check out www.fisheaters.com for their article titled "Fasting and Abstinence"; also spiritdaily.com for an article entitled "The Power of Fasting". All good reads and good websites.

Prayer of Three Things

2009-02-27T20:02:00.002-05:00

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, I ask of Thee three things this day:That Thou wilt help me to repair before my death, all the graces I have lost through my own fault; that Thou wilt assist me in attaining that degree of merit and perfection destined for me, and which I may have frustrated by my infidelities; and finally, that Thou wilt deign to pardon me all the sins which I have caused others to commit, and restore to them all the graces I have caused them to lose. I ask these graces of Thee, O Holy Trinity, through the Sacred Heart of Jesus,the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the intercession of the glorious Saint Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church. Amen.

Being an Oblate - Part II

2009-02-27T15:20:00.007-05:00

There were two other retreatants who were becoming Associates of Holy Cross Monastery on Saturday night. We met with the Associate’s Master, Br. Ron Haynes, and he reviewed with us what it means to be an Associate of Holy Cross Monastery.

We had all written our Rule of Life, with the vows of obedience, stability and conversion of life as the principal elements of our Rule. How would we live out this Rule of Life when we were outside of the confines of the Monastery, when we were back in our regular lives, balancing jobs, homes, family, church commitments, friends and the thousand other demands upon our time?

How would we find time for prayer, meditation and good works? These are the challenges we all face who strive to walk the path that Christ walked, striving to be in the world but not part of it. We all acknowledged the challenges which lay before us; we all chose to continue to associate ourselves with this Monastery, these Brothers, this ministry.

Saturday evening during the Triduum (three holy days preceding Easter) is a beautiful time at the Monastery. All the preparations for Easter Vigil have been made; the candlesticks have been polished, the incense is ready. The food for the Easter Feast has been prepared. All is ready. The Monastery gleams in the candlelight.

It is a bit unusual to be having guests take their Associate Vows over the Triduum but this year an exception was made for us. Accompanied by all those in attendance who were already Associates and some of the Brothers, the three candidates proceeded down the stairs to the Crypt Chapel, the burying place of the Order’s Founder, Fr. James Otis Sargent Huntington.

The Chapel Crypt is beautiful at any time of the year. It is a stone chapel. The back wall behind Fr. Huntington’s tomb is curved and the walls are stucco white. There is an oriental rug upon the stone floor and the steps leading up to the altar. The candlelight absolutely glows against the white wall, the brass shining in the flickering flames. Pots of bright pink flowers adorned the altar. The room was lit by only candlelight. It was truly breath-taking. We stood in front of the altar together while we said our Associate Pledge.

It seemed good and right that I was taking these Associate vows during this particular Triduum but it was also quite strange. Because it had been only a few short weeks before that I had experienced a profound conversion during a Friday Holy Mass and I knew that I had to become a Roman Catholic.

Lenten Fast

2009-02-27T08:47:00.008-05:00

Okay, so I admit it right up front. I’m not a fan of fasting. In fact, it’s my least favorite thing that I’ve had to participate in since becoming Catholic.

Truth is, I suffer from low-blood sugar. Which basically means that if my sugar levels drop too low, I get cranky. My hands shake. I get cranky. I feel woozy. I get cranky. My legs turn to rubber. I get cranky. You get the picture…

Now I’m usually a fairly level person when it comes to moods. My moods don’t tend to swing to either extreme – giddy or grumpy. But when my sugar drops, watch out.

Now I know that fasting is an extremely important spiritual discipline. If Jesus did it, it must be important. I’ve talked with others who practice fasting and they seem to get a lot from the practice. Do they get cranky? They don’t tell me that they do, unless they are hiding that one small detail…

I have read several books or chapters of books dealing with the discipline of fasting. I read them, I say, ‘yup, got that.’ And then I go about my merry way…

When I returned from pilgrimage to Medjugorje, I said to myself, “Guess I’ll start fasting, ‘cause our Blessed Mother asks us to do so.” That was in 2005 and I’m still trying to start. Or not even to start, just to think about starting…

The Catholic Church calls for a day of fasting and abstinence on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and to abstain from eating meat on all Fridays of the Lenten season. I have no issues with giving up meat once in a while. Not a problem. But this year, I totally forgot that it was even Ash Wednesday at all until I thought about my evening plans and remembered that I had to go to Holy Mass. So, needless to say, I had not fasted nor abstained from meat all day. In fact, I had a roast beef sandwich for lunch! Guess I’ll need to go to Reconciliation right away….

So then I thought, “Well, Ash Wednesday doesn’t technically start until you receive your ashes, right?” Okay, so I know I’m justifying my actions here, but what else can I do? What’s done is done…

So here’s what I’ve decided about Lenten fasting: I do need to fast. Jesus and Mary both ask us to do so. So...

I will pick up the Lenten fast today (Friday) and abstain from meat. I’ll also limit my daily intake of food and ‘give up’ certain favorite items…On Fridays I’ll stick to tuna fish, salads, cottage cheese, and grilled cheese sandwiches, etc. Except that that’s not much of a sacrifice as I do enjoy those foods…

I guess this is where the real quandry lies: Abstaining from meat or eating only two small meals on a fasting day (as prescribed by Church law) is not much of a sacrifice. I would feel like I’m cheating God if I ate at all on a fasting day; yet the Church clearly allows two small meals (added together they should not be as much as a normal meal.)

So, as my Pastor said last week, don’t think of Lent as a time to just ‘give up’ something but as a chance to ‘do’ something for God that you might not ordinarily do, such as visiting our Lord in Eucharistic Adoration more frequently, praying an extra Rosary, or visiting someone who is alone. If fasting is not on your normal agenda, then starting to fast now would be a good thing; a sacrifice for God. This seems much more in line with what Lent should be all about. Giving back to Jesus what He so generously gave to us – Himself.

To be an Oblate - Part 1

2009-02-26T08:28:00.006-05:00

Lay people who choose to affiliate themselves with a monastery are most commonly called oblates. These people, in communion with the monastery and its values, hold up and support the monastery by their prayers, their works and their resources.

I am associated with Holy Cross Monastery in West Park, New York. Holy Cross is situated on the left bank of the beautiful Hudson River in the small township of West Park, approximately 100 miles north of New York City.

Across the river, you can watch the Amtrak train as it snakes its way between Poughkeepsie to the south and Albany to the north. You can also see the Vanderbilt Mansion, listed as a National Historic Site, National Park Service. It is located in Hyde Park, on the east bank of the Hudson.

The Order of the Holy Cross, of which Holy Cross Monastery is a part, was founded by Fr. James Otis Sargent Huntington in New York City in 1884. The Order is a Benedictine Anglican monastic community.

The community moved from New York City to Maryland before settling in West Park in 1902. The grounds comprise 2 Guest Houses, the Monastery Church of St. Augustine, and the Monastic Enclosure, which is the private residence of the Brothers.

The Order of Holy Cross is comprised of 4 houses in the United States, Canada, and Grahamstown, South Africa. One of the Order’s houses, which was located in Santa Barbara, CA, was recently destroyed by the wild fires that raged through southern California in the last months of 2008.

The brothers of Holy Cross live in community under the threefold vow of obedience, stability, and conversion to the Monastic way of life as stated in the Rule of St. Benedict. Their lives also reflect the rule of their Founder, Fr. James Huntington.

I first became aware of Holy Cross Monastery many years ago while attending a week long retreat on Gregorian chant at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, across the river in Rhinebeck, NY. It was there that a chance conversation over lunch led me to my first spiritual retreat at Holy Cross. It was given by Br. Andrew, a wonderful Scotsman who speaks with a delightful brogue. It was a Celtic retreat and we discussed Celtic spirituality, walked the labyrinth as a prayer tool and listened to Celtic music played on the harp by self-taught Br. Andrew himself. It was a wonderful, Spirit-filled retreat weekend. And I fell in love with the monastic life, especially as lived out by the brothers of Holy Cross Monastery.

Since then, I have returned to Holy Cross Monastery many, many times. I have found peace, solitude, camaraderie, prayer and friendship there. I have studied, chatted, taken long walks in the woods and along the shore of the river, taken longer naps and eaten my share of wonderful food over the years. I have formed friendships with people who live within a few short miles of my home but whom I would never have met unless our paths had intersected at Holy Cross Monastery.

I have written a Rule of Life for myself, based on the Benedictine vows of obedience, stability and conversion of life. At Holy Cross, I have pondered what it means to be a true disciple of Christ and I have been both challenged and encouraged to follow the path that the Lord has set before me, wherever that path may lead.

During the Easter Triduum 2004, I journeyed to Holy Cross to spend the three holy days in preparation for the great Resurrection celebration with the brothers and guests of Holy Cross Monastery. I was there to take a public vow to become an oblate, or as we are called at Holy Cross, an Associate.

I will never forget those three awesome, holy days. Good Friday was spent in silence. We were all assigned some small tasks to do during the day, in preparation for Easter. I was sent to the Sacristy to help polish brass candlesticks. We polished in silence. I spent time in the Great Hall, reading Scripture and spiritual books. We all read in silence. Whenever the church bell rang, summoning us to the Daily Office, we gathered in St. Augustine’s Chapel in silence, walking down the hallway to the Chapel, side by side with friends and fellow Retreatants, all with one purpose, to worship God in this holy place. We returned to the Great Hall, awaiting the dinner bell, filing into the Refectory in silence, eating in silence, clearing our places and returning our used dishes to the kitchen, in silence. We spent the evening in silence and retired to our rooms for the night in silence.

I found this enforced silence terribly difficult. Even if I don’t know someone or don’t feel the need to speak to someone as we pass in the hall, or share a spot on the couch in the Great Hall, I, at least, always look at the person and offer them a smile. I soon discovered that smiling at each other during a silent day was discouraged…

I felt awkward about this, as if I were denying my own nature and found myself seeking places throughout the Monastery where I would not encounter other people, to spare myself the discomfort of not smiling, not speaking.

I asked Br. Ron, my spiritual advisor at Holy Cross, about this ‘not smiling’ rule. He taught me about the monastic practice called “custody of the eyes”. He explained that since we speak so much through our eyes, our smiles, our presence, we must avoid the chance of breaking silence by being ‘drawn in’ to someone, that monastics learn to avoid looking into someone’s eyes during silent hours or silent days. Once I understood this, it seemed to make it so much easier the next time we were in a period of silence. I learned to just not look. I learned to not take it personally when someone didn’t look at me or return my smile. I learned custody of the eyes.

On Saturday, after breakfast, the silence of Good Friday was over. There was work to do. I helped fold bulletins for Easter morning worship. I polished some more brass candlesticks. I spent time in the Monk’s Cell Bookshop, browsing at books and chatting with the Brothers and guests. It was a happier, more up-lifting day than the somber, silence-filled Good Friday. I took a nap in the afternoon because I knew that Easter Vigil began at 4:00 a.m. outside in the chill of a March morning. And I knew that Saturday evening I would take my vows as an Associate of Holy Cross.

Ash Wednesday

2009-02-25T08:43:00.005-05:00

Ash Wednesday, that holy day that signals the beginning of the Lenten Season, dates back to the early Church and the use of ashes originally signified mourning. A penitent sinner would use ashes to show in a literal, physical way their sorrow and repentance.

We read in the book of Job (42:3-6), “Job says to God: ‘I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye sees Thee. Therefore, I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.’”

Job, repenting of his harsh words spoken to God, acknowledges the power of God and in the presence of such Power, is sorrowful.

When I was a Protestant, depending on who was the pastor at my church in any given year, the practice of applying ashes to foreheads on Ash Wednesday varied. Some pastors were accepting of the idea of ashes; others were not. So some years, we received ashes; some we did not! It is only in recent years that many Protestant denominations (Methodist, for one), have returned to the ancient practice of ashes on Ash Wednesday.

The Catholic Church, however, has always seen the distribution of ashes on the foreheads of the faithful as a very important, vital aspect of the Lenten Season.

The Second Vatican Council, in their document Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, #109, turned the focus of Lent from mourning and sorrow to “a period of closer attention to the Word of God and more ardent prayer.”

By using the forty days of Lent as a focused period of prayer and Scripture reading in anticipation of the Glorious Easter Resurrection, this time can have profound meaning for us if we enter into it with the right spirit and the right tools.

The Spirit comes to us in prayer. We seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit who will enable us to ‘lean into’ the Lenten days with repentant hearts and minds. We acknowledge our sinfulness; our inability to walk the straight path and to enter through the narrow gate. We acknowledge our total and utter dependence upon the Lord to motivate us, to spur us on.

With the Spirit to guide us, we search for the right tools for the journey. Certainly, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is one of our prime tools. We clean up our souls and “dust off” our venial sins in preparation for these 40 days of fasting, abstinence, prayer, and meditation upon Scripture.

Another tool is the Sacrament of the Eucharist. We partake wholly and with deep reverence as we eat the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord. We are there as Christ institutes the Eucharist at the Last Supper. We draw closer to Him in the most intimate of ways.

We read Holy Scripture, meditating on the days leading up to our Lord’s Passion, particularly those Scripture passages given to us in the Lectionary as appropriate for this holy season. We pray the Holy Rosary, meditating on the Sorrowful Mysteries and deepening our understanding of them.

We read spiritual books which point us in the right direction for this Lenten preparation. One of my favorites is Francis Fernandez’s In Conversation with God, Vol II, Lent and Eastertide, which are heavily dependent upon the writings of St. Josemaria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei.

We can perhaps take some time to enjoy special movies that portray our Lord’s life and Passion, such as Franco Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth or Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.

All these tools, when used in conjunction with and in the power of the Holy Spirit, should help to draw us closer to our Lord and His Passion.

I pray that each and every one of us draw closer to Jesus during this sacred time. May we all ‘lean into’ the season of Lent with contrite hearts and steadfast love.

May we pray with Job: ‘I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye sees Thee. Therefore, I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.’ Amen.

Until the Vatican Rules, Don't Dismiss Medjugorje

2009-02-24T09:08:00.011-05:00

John Ellis says Catholics should keep an open mind about the claims of the town's 'seers' -
27 June 2008

This in an article I came across this morning in Catholic Herald, the most widely-read Catholic newspaper in the United Kingdom. I thought it was worthy of posting, as so many do not understand what is actually happening in Medjugorje as regards the Vatican Commission and the opposition the visionaries have faced for over twenty-five years. May our Blessed Mother continue to bless each and every one of us with her encouragements and prayers.

On June 24 1981 six children in a sleepy mountain village in what was then Yugoslavia claimed to have seen the Blessed Virgin. Twenty-seven years later, those same "seers", adults now, insist they are still being visited by the Mother of God, and many millions of people from all over the world, believers and unbelievers, have flocked to Medjugorje. Even priests, bishops, archbishops and cardinals in their thousands have been on pilgrimage there. Yet still the town's very name can be relied upon to provoke frothy splutterings of vitriolic condemnation from dyed-in-the-wool sceptics - as indeed did Lourdes and Fatima in their time. The epitome of Catholic orthodoxy, Medjugorje seems to be only about peace, prayer, renewal and reparation.

So why all the fuss? The two most-voiced grumbles of the Medjugorje-bashers are these: the inordinate length of time the "visions" and "interior locutions" have endured, and the perception that somehow those who go on pilgrimage there - along with the Franciscan priests who minister to them - are disobeying the local Ordinary. Yet any ruling, any decision to be made concerning events at Medjugorje, is no longer in the hands of the Bishop of Mostar; and while the Church is certainly well able to denounce fraudulent visions or visionaries when required, it never allows itself to pronounce in favour so long as the phenomenon continues and until all relevant facts have been gathered and carefully studied.

In the case of Medjugorje the jury is still out. Meanwhile, the Vatican has made clear that the faithful are free, both lay and religious, to go on pilgrimage there, but even where such pilgrimages are attended by a priest or bishop, they must not be seen as being arranged by the clergy. That is the status quo. There are those who seem concerned that the "visionaries", instead of retiring to the cloister, have chosen to marry and raise families. Have they forgotten La Salette? Besides, in an age addicted to profligacy and promiscuity, where marriage is demeaned and family life dangerously weakened, might not this example be both relevant and timely? And perhaps those who are too eager to convince themselves that Medjugorje, far from being heaven-sent, is satanic in origin should look again at its fruits, for surely this is our best measure.For almost two decades now the International Youth Festival held during the summer in Medjugorje has each year attracted tens of thousands of good, faithful, discerning young Catholics, the very best of the world's youth - and perhaps our only hope for a better tomorrow.

These are the spiritual children of John Paul II, faithful to the Magisterium, disciples of orthodoxy, not easily deceived. And is it really possible that Satan laughs up his diabolical sleeve at the 50 million communicants who have tasted Our Lord in Medjugorje, many for the first time in years? Are dark forces, then, responsible for such fervour at Holy Mass and Eucharistic Adoration seen there, and for the daily rosary for a sick, deluded, traumatised world? There is surely a dilemma here, for if that is the case then logic tells us hell itself stands ready to crumble, since "a house divided against itself must fall".When the Medjugorje "visions" began in 1981 the then Bishop of Mostar, the late Pavao Zanic, was keen to support the children.

He urged his priests to "accept God's providence", insisting that the "visionaries" were all to be trusted. Later, choosing to interpret one of the children's messages, purportedly from the Blessed Virgin, as a reprimand for having dealt harshly with the local Franciscan priests - whose "crime" was saying Mass for a group of pilgrims - he remarked during a meeting of prelates gathered to discuss the phenomena: "The Blessed Mother would never admonish a bishop"; and therefore, ipso facto, the apparitions were a fraud. Archbishop Franic of Split, who was convinced they were dealing with "affairs of heaven", retorted: "In the Book of the Apocalypse the Holy Spirit admonishes seven bishops!"Any serious student of Medjugorje has to ask some difficult questions.

What was Bishop Zanic's state of mind? During one television interview he spoke of "wiping out Medjugorje", while on another occasion he recommended "burying" it. On April 1 1985 the cardinal in charge of the Vatican State Secretary's office urged Croatian Cardinal Franjo Kuharic to demand that Bishop Zanic "suspend the airing of his own personal statements and renounce making judgments". He refused. Here was a bishop so intent on wiping Medjugorje off the map that he was even prepared to disobey his superiors and set himself against them. Interestingly, the very first commission to investigate the happenings in the mountain village was authored by Bishop Zanic. It proved to be nothing less than a whitewash, his "commission" consisting almost entirely of individuals hostile to the phenomenon, its avowed aim being to totally discredit both "visionaries" and Medjugorje itself.

Once the Vatican understood the extent of Bishop Zanic's opposition his commission was disbanded and a new one set up in its place. Unfortunately, the Balkans war and the subsequent splitting up of Yugoslavia brought everything to a grinding halt, since it meant the Vatican no longer had a local Ordinary with whom it could conduct the Church's business. The incumbent Bishop of Mostar, Ratko Peric, was a close friend of his predecessor and, while not subject to Bishop Zanic's obsessive rants, he is not an advocate for Medjugorje.

Yet it is important to reiterate that the Church's position remains as before insofar as pilgrims are at liberty to visit Medjugorje, and in fact the Vatican has frequently insisted that proper and adequate provision is made for them.For those wishing to examine the fruits of Medjugorje it must be admitted that these are rich indeed. There are stories of conversions and reversions by the hundreds of thousands. The Cenacolo community established there to rehabilitate young drug addicts and tearaways has been successful beyond most people's wildest dreams. The orphanage, originally for war orphans but now open to any child in need of parenting, is thriving, thanks mainly to the goodwill of pilgrims.

Many bishops, archbishops and cardinals the world over are convinced Medjugorje is genuine; many others hold the opposite view. Pope John Paul II counted himself with the believers, more than once stating his desire to make the pilgrimage. Sadly, both Bishops of Mostar in turn determined to deny the Holy Father that pleasure. Since, politically speaking, even the Supreme Pontiff could not go there without formal invitation from the local bishop, they made sure that offer was never extended to him.

Medjugorje dissenters might spend a truly enlightening retreat in the quiet village in the mountains, perhaps kneeling in the open air with 5,000 other "God's idiots" for Eucharistic Adoration; or attending one of many daily Masses, in several languages, each concelebrated devoutly by a dozen or more priests; observing (perhaps joining) the international team of priests who, seven days and evenings a week, generously hear confessions, both in the confessionals and in the open air, sometimes until midnight.

Is this the "fraud", the "addiction damaging to our health" that one Jesuit writer alleges? Until the Church decides, surely we should all stand back, observe with Christian charity, weighing the pros and cons without presumption.

Fr. Damien de Veuster, 1840-1889, The Leper Priest of Molokai

2009-02-23T19:05:00.001-05:00

Fr. Damien, born in Tremeloo, Belgium in 1840. He joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts and volunteered for the mission to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii). In 1873 he went to minister as a priest in a leper colony on the island of Molokai. He died from leprosy in 1889 at 49 yrs. of age. The testimony of the life he lived among the lepers of Molokai led to an intensive study of Hansens disease, eventually leading to a cure. Pope John Paul II beatified Damien in Brussells in 1995.

It has been announced this week that Fr. Damien will be Canonized on October 11, 2009.

If you care to follow the story as it leads up to Fr. Damien's canonization, visit leperpriest.blogspot.com

My First Solo Day as a Bookstore Volunteer

2009-02-22T16:10:00.000-05:00

I am a new trainee. I have recently volunteered to work one Sunday afternoon each month as a voluneer in my Parish's Catholic bookstore. Today was my first day solo. Or at least it was supposed to be...

I am blessed (as we all are) that God always sends us an angel when we most need one. Today I needed an angel several times. I was trained very well a couple of weeks ago by the bookstore's Assistant Manager and I really thought I was going to do all right on my first solo Sunday.

What's that saying? Pride goeth before a fall... or something like that... anyway,

I had to pick up the money bag which was marked 'Sunday' in a certain hallway closet. So I proceeded to the hallway, located the key to the closet, turned the key in the lock.. nothing.

Tried again. Nothing. Tried again on the assumption that I just wasn't turning the key hard enough... Nothing.

I have 20 minutes before the store is due to open, so I head over to the OCIA class taking place in the Rectory because I know a good friend of mine in over there and she knows how to open the bookstore. So I go over and get her, follow her back to the hallway closet and she proceeds to open the closet door no problem! I, in the meantime, am metaphorically beating my head against the table 'cause she has opened the correct closet door while I had been trying to open the broomcloset! So I'm off to a rather inauspicious start...

Next: During 'start of day' procedures, I was supposed to enter my name as the 'user' for the day. My name was not recognized. So now my angel friend, who had accompanied me to the bookstore to make sure I got that door open, punches in her 'user' name and the computer comes up!

Great - I think "things will be fine now - just a small bump getting started." I unlock the door to the bookstore, flip over the sign in the window to read "OPEN" and hang out the flag, which also indicates that we are OPEN for business! I turn to go back inside - whoops, I've locked myself out! What would I have done if my angel had not still been inside! The cash drawer was unlocked, the computer was on, the store declared itself OPEN for business, my own purse and coat were inside; all the while I'm locked outside!

So, for the third time, my angel comes to my rescue! So I'm thinking to myself, "she must think I'm a total nut case..."

So the afternoon proceeds along rather pleasantly. My angel leaves, several customers arrive; two are looking for items I cannot locate. Hmmm, definite pattern emerging here.

But things work out - one customer purchases a different book than the one she had been searching for; I find the item the second customer wanted, hiding on a bottom shelf, and all is well.

Closing time comes - my angel, as promised, returns to help out with 'end of day' procedures.
I count the money in the drawer, post and reconcile to the computer and then: the computer decides it does recognize my name after all, but since I had not put in my 'user' name during the start up procedures, it will not let me continue with the end of day procedures! (Computers...I mutter...)

Long story short - we call the Assistant Manager; she walks us through the error and 45 minutes past closing, we are done!

I sometimes wonder if the evil one, who prowls about looking to destroy our souls, sometimes just gets some big kick messing with our heads: nothing too big-- just the little mundane things that drive us all to distraction and cause us to pull our hair out!

But what he consistently forgets is that God's mercy always goes before us. God had arranged my schedule and my angel's schedule to coincide today; she was there to help me when I really needed help and although many things seemed to go wrong on my solo flight in the bookstore, at the end of the day, we both laughed about it and chalked it up to one major learning experience.

I'll return to the bookstore for my Sunday volunteer day next month and perhaps there will be other, different obstacles in my path. But I learned a lot today and the evil one will just have to come up with something a bit more innovative the next time! I will be prayed up and ready to do battle!

Check out this great blog!

2009-02-20T10:47:00.000-05:00

Please take a moment and check out Fr. Dwight Longenecker's fabulous blog, "Standing on My Head" @ gkupsidedown.blogspot.com

Fr. Dwight is a former Anglican, turned Catholic priest. He has written several books, including my favorite "Benedict and Theresa:The Little Rule and the Little Way", in which he examines and compares both the Rule of St. Benedict and St. Theresa of Lisieux's "little way".

If you enjoy his blog, please vote for him as he is in fierce competition with AmericanPapist for "Best Blog"! You'll find the link on his blog page.

Thanks!

World Apostolate of Fatima

2009-02-20T08:29:00.000-05:00

I became a member of the World Apostolate of Fatima (formerly known as the "Blue Army") a couple of years ago. I did this in response to my love and devotion to our Blessed Mother and a desire to help spread the messages of Fatima that Mary gave to the world in 1917.

Here is a description of the World Apostolage of Fatima (WAF) from their own website:worldapostolateoffatima.org

The World Apostolate of Fatima/Blue Army is a worldwide public association of the faithful, responding to the requests that Our Blessed Mother made to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal in 1917, to help save souls and bring peace to the world. It promotes Eucharistic prayer and the Rosary, as well as penance, especially the generous acceptance of the duties of our state in life.

The World Apostolate of Fatima offers a variety of spiritual programs. These range from the Prayer Cells, where individuals meet for weekly prayer in the Parish or home setting, to the Parish First Saturday Devotions, All Night Vigils, and a Sacred Heart Home Enthronement Program and Family Consecrations to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. These and other programs can revitalize and strengthen the faith of participants in local Church communities.

What is a Public Association of the Faithful?

Only a public association can receive a mission to teach Christian doctrine in the name of the Church, promote public worship or pursue a purpose which by nature is reserved to ecclesiastical authority (canon 301 §1). As a public association, the members act in the name of the Church when fulfilling the purpose of the association.

This is from americancatholic.org which sends a daily "Saints of the Day" email by subscription.

Today is the feast day of Blessed Jacinta & Francisco Marto, the Fatima visionaries.

Blessed Jacinta and Francisco Marto
(1910-1920; 1908-1919)

Between May 13 and October 13, 1917, three children, Portuguese shepherds from Aljustrel, received apparitions of Our Lady at Cova da Iria, near Fatima, a city 110 miles north of Lisbon. At that time, Europe was involved in an extremely bloody war. Portugal itself was in political turmoil, having overthrown its monarchy in 1910; the government disbanded religious organizations soon after.

At the first appearance, Mary asked the children to return to that spot on the thirteenth of each month for the next six months. She also asked them to learn to read and write and to pray the rosary “to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war.” They were to pray for sinners and for the conversion of Russia, which had recently overthrown Czar Nicholas II and was soon to fall under communism. Up to 90,000 people gathered for Mary’s final apparition on October 13, 1917.

Less than two years later, Francisco died of influenza in his family home. He was buried in the parish cemetery and then re-buried in the Fatima basilica in 1952. Jacinta died of influenza in Lisbon, offering her suffering for the conversion of sinners, peace in the world and the Holy Father. She was re-buried in the Fatima basilica in 1951. Their cousin, Lucia dos Santos, became a Carmelite nun and was still living when Jacinta and Francisco were beatified in 2000. Sister Lucia died in February 2005 at the age of 97. The shrine of Our Lady of Fatima is visited by up to 20 million people a year.

Comment:
The Church is always very cautious about endorsing alleged apparitions, but it has seen benefits from people changing their lives because of the message of Our Lady of Fatima. Prayer for sinners, devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and praying the rosary—all these reinforce the Good News Jesus came to preach.

Quote:
In his homily at their beatification, Pope John Paul II recalled that shortly before Francisco died, Jacinta said to him, “Give my greetings to Our Lord and to Our Lady and tell them that I am enduring everything they want for the conversion of sinners.”

Please support your local parish's World Apostolate of Fatima group. Let's spread the message of our Lady given at Fatima for the conversion of the world.

Saved for Works or by Works?

2009-02-18T11:17:00.001-05:00

The Catholic Doctrine of Justification

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now am found
Was blind, but now I see…

During a recent discussion, a statement was made that perhaps Catholics really believed that they could earn their salvation by 'works'.

As a former Protestant, I naturally picked up on this and had to point out that Catholics do not believe that they are saved by 'works'. Although there are very many Protestant denominations that believe this and revile the Catholic Church because of this unfortunate misunderstanding of Catholic teaching, it simply is not true.

Where does a Catholic go to get “right teaching” regarding their faith? To Holy Scriptures and to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Article 2 – Grace and Justification, paragraphs #1987 – #2029 concern this very subject, “How are we saved?”

#1987 – Romans 3:22; cf. 6:3-4 The grace of the Holy Spirit has the power to justify us; that is, to cleanse us from our sins and to communicate to us the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ and through Baptism.

We are made justified (saved) by grace, through faith.

Grace is given to all who repent and believe, as proclaimed in the Gospel: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” – Matthew 4:17 Now the very act of repenting could be seen as a ‘work’; what it truly is, however, is “co-operation” with the grace that was given to us through Christ. It is a response to God’s gracious gift; not something we could initiate without that grace being given first.

#1989 – The first work of the grace of the Holy Spirit is conversion, effecting justification in accordance with Jesus’ proclamation at the beginning of the Gospel, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Moved by grace, man turns toward God and away from sin, thus accepting forgiveness and righteousness from on high. “Justification is not only the remission of sins, but also the sanctification and renewal of the interior man.” (Council of Trent (1547): DS 1528)

There is simply nothing that we ourselves, in our fallen human nature, could do to merit justification (the righteousness of God). We could never initiate, nor follow through, with anything on our own that would satisfy the requirements of a just God.

#1992 – Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ who offered himself on the cross as a living victim, holy and pleasing to God, and whose blood has become the instrument of atonement for the sins of all men. Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his mercy. Its purpose is the glory of God and of Christ, and the gift of eternal life.

Now we know that our justification has been merited by Christ alone and has been conferred upon us in our Baptism. Now what? God requires our co-operation as He will not infringe upon the freedom (free will) that He has given mankind.

When God touches man’s heart though the illumination of the Holy Spirit, man himself is not inactive while receiving that inspiration, since he could reject it; and yet, without God’s grace, he cannot by his own free will move himself toward justice in God’s sight. (Council of Trent (1547): DS 1525)

#1996 – Our justification comes from the grace of God. Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life. (John 1:12-18; 17:3; Romans 8:14-17; 2 Peter 1:3-4)

How do we then, co-operate with God’s grace? If we are to exercise our free will, we have the choice to reject or accept God’s grace and thus confirm our justification. Is this a ‘work’? Again we turn to the Catechism:

#2001 – The preparation of man for the reception of grace is already a work of grace. This latter is needed to arouse and sustain our collaboration in justification through faith, and in sanctification through charity. God brings to completion in us what he has begun, “since he who completes his work by cooperating with our will began by working so that we might will it.”

Indeed we also work, but we are only collaborating with God who works, for his mercy has gone before us. It has gone before us so that we may be healed, and follows us so that once healed, we may be given life; it goes before us so that we may be called, and follows us that we may be glorified; it goes before us so that we may live devoutly, and follows us so that we may always live with God; for without him we can do nothing. (St. Augustine, De Natura et gratia 31: PL 44, 264.)

So even our “co-operation” as a ‘work’ is a work initiated by God’s grace beforehand; we can respond in accordance with our free will, but we can never initiate our own co-operation.

St. Augustine, in his Confessions, went on to further elaborate on the initiation of ‘good works’:

If at the end of your very good works… you rested on the seventh day, it was to foretell by the voice of your book that at the end of our works, which are indeed “very good” since you have given them to us, we shall also rest in you on the Sabbath of eternal life. (Confessions 13, 36, 51: FL 32, 868; cf. Genesis 1:31)

The Catechism goes on in Paragraphs #2003 – 2004, to describe the various gifts of the Spirit that enables us to “associate us with his work” and to collaborate in the salvation of others and the growth of the Body of Christ, the Church. We all receive these gifts of the Spirit in accordance with the grace given us.

How do we, then, know that God’s grace has been given to us? Perhaps it is my own ego, my own sense of ‘righteousness’ that is working in me. Would that be sufficient? The obvious answer is ‘no’. There is nothing in human experience that would justify that approach.

#2005 – Since it belongs to the supernatural order, grace escapes our experience and cannot be known except by faith. We cannot therefore rely on our feelings or our works to conclude that we are justified and saved. However, according to the Lord’s words –“Thus you will know them by their fruits”—reflection on God’s blessings in our life and in the lives of the saints offers us a guarantee that grace is at work in us and spurs us on to an even greater faith and an attitude of trustful poverty.

It is our faith that enables us to experience and cooperate with God’s grace. Based on that experience of faith, we are then able to ‘do good works’ in His name; to produce the good fruit that points to our justification in Christ.

And this leads us back to the beginning: what can we do to “merit” God’s justification?

The Catechism defines merit in Paragraph #2006:

The term “merit” refers in general to the recompense owed by a community or a society for the action of one of its members, experienced either as beneficial or harmful, deserving reward or punishment. Merit is relative to the virtue of justice, in conformity with the principle of equality which governs it.

#2007 – With regard to God, there is no strict right to any merit on the part of man. Between God and us there is an immeasurable inequality, for we have received everything from him, our Creator.

God has chosen to associate man with the work of his grace (#2008); this is of his own initiative; man cooperates and the merit of good works is attributed to the grace of God and secondly, to those who respond in faith.

“After earth’s exile, I hope to go and enjoy you in the fatherland, but I do not want to lay up merits for heaven. I want to work for your love alone… In the evening of this life, I shall appear before you with empty hands, for I do not ask you, Lord, to count my works. All our justice is blemished in your eyes. I wish, then, to be clothed in your own justice and to receive from your love the eternal possession of yourself.” – St. Theresa of Lisieux, “Act of Offering” in Story of A Soul; tr. John Clarke (Washington DC: ICS, 1981), 277.

And all I can add to this is: Amen.

Pilgrims' Return

2009-02-17T10:31:00.000-05:00

Today my dear pastor and a group of intrepid Pilgrims return from a 10 day pilgrimage to the Holy Land. They have walked in the steps of our dear Lord, their eyes have gazed upon scenes that His eyes gazed upon, they have walked the shore of the Sea of Galilee. They have sailed on waters He sailed upon and they have felt His holy presence among them. They are returning with a lifetime's worth of wonderful memories. Welcome Home, Pilgrims! I have missed you.

Walking

2009-02-16T11:36:00.000-05:00

Today my thoughts are on the discipline of walking. I don’t do much of it – not the long distance stuff anyway. Oh, I walk around the office building, around the grocery store, across the parking lot. But getting out to walk around for the sake of walking, not much…

But now my car is in need of a new pair of brakes and while I wait patiently for the repairs to be made (brakes only one among other repairs also necessary… this may take a while…) I decided to walk to work. Now keep in mind this is not a long walk – only ½ mile one way. It took me 14 minutes of a steady, but not brisk, walk to arrive at work this morning.

It was a balmy 22 degrees outside; slight wind, sunny sky. Not an altogether unpleasant day.

As I walked along, I was thinking about the walking I have done while on pilgrimage. I walked a lot in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Hercegovina, when I was there in 2005. I even climbed Apparition Hill (a rather rocky, pathless climb) stopping along the way every few feet to pray a Station of the Cross (and to catch my breath). I discovered that climbing back down is harder as gravity pulls on your leg muscles in unusual ways… I didn’t climb Cross Mountain (Krizivac) because it was slippery due to recent rains and much steeper than Apparition Hill. Most of the folks on pilgrimage with me climbed Cross Mountain late at night while I was content to call it a day. But I have regretted not attempting it at least and definitely will try if the Lord allows me to ever travel to Medjugorje again.

We walked a lot in the Holy Land, too. Nothing too strenuous but some days we left the bus parked in the morning and didn’t return to the bus till late afternoon, to return to our hotel. We walked the Via Dolorosa, praying the Stations along the way, carrying a wooden Cross, and jostling our way around and through the crowds on the street.

We walked the green hills of the Galilee, walked down to the marina to pick up our boat to sail the Sea of Galilee, walked the muddy paths around the Mt. of Beatitudes. The only strenuous (for me) climb was up to Ein Karem, the site of Mary’s Visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. So I stopped frequently to catch my breath but was rewarded along the way by panoramic views of Jerusalem in the distance.

So my thoughts were pleasantly occupied on my walk this morning; I’ll walk home again this afternoon and repeat the process tomorrow and Wednesday. Thursday’s forecast is for a wintry mix, so I’ll probably give in and call a cab.

In the meantime, I’ll enjoy this time God has given me to walk and I’ll meditate along the way, re-calling all the good walks He has so generously provided.

Fr. Jozo Zovko suspends public appearances for a year

2009-02-15T15:54:00.000-05:00

From Spirit Daily spiritdaily.com - February 15, 2009

On the apparition beat: at the most famous alleged one, Medjugorje, in Bosnia-Hercegovina, there have been rumors for weeks now that seer Mirjana Dragicevic Soldo is no longer allowed (by the local bishop) to have apparitions in a place called Cenacolo -- a Catholic center near the village that reforms alcoholics, drug addicts, and others with severe problems. We have now confirmed that. Is something in the wind? Or is it just another joust with Mostar?

The most well-known priest associated with Medjugorje, Father Jozo Zovko, who was pastor when the apparitions began, and who regularly spoke to pilgrims (as an integral part of pilgrimages), has suspended all public appearances for a year. It is said that he is going to Italy. The stated reason is health: Father Jozo has had heart issues. Some think he has been silenced.

In 2002, he was disallowed from celebrating Mass at the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington after a bishop in Mostar, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Ratko Peric, who is strongly anti-Medjugorje, sent a letter to all dioceses in the U.S. stating that the priest -- accused of defying the bishop -- was under canonical censure. Some dioceses accepted the letter, while others felt the bishop did not have jurisdiction (Father Jozo's Franciscan superior general in Mostar, Father Slavko Soldo, said the priest was in "good standing").

We'll go with the official statement from Medunarodno Kumstvo in Siroki Brieg, circulated February 9, which states that "due to health reasons, the need for rest and recuperation, and due to the commencement of construction on Badija, Father Jozo Zovko has asked his superiors for permission to reside outside of the province. The province board approved his request. For this reason, we are cancelling all programs planned for the ensuing year."

We will strictly abide by whatever the Church decides, regardless of our personal opinions. The matter is currently under study by a special Vatican commission. We can't report full details because an information curtain has been drawn over such details for many years.

Having been to Medjugorje personally on pilgrimage in 2005 and remembering the time I spent listening to Fr. Jozo, I can attest to the obvious sincerity and trust of this holy man.

Let us pray for Fr. Jozo, for the Vatican commission looking into the apparitions @ Medjugorje, and for the visionaries themselves. Let us ask our Holy Mother to continue to bring her messages of peace, love, prayer and conversion to Christ to the world, for as long as our Heavenly Father allows her to do so. In the love of Jesus and Mary, AMEN.

St. Benedict speaks to me...

2009-02-15T15:23:00.000-05:00

Prologue to the Rule: Listen, children of God, to the guidance of your teacher. Attend to the message you hear and make sure that it pierces to your heart, so that you may accept with willing freedom, and fulfill by the way you live, the directions that come from your loving Father.

This first sentence of the Prologue to the Rule of St. Benedict, speaks to me in a profound way. St. Benedict is a teacher, and one that I have made a public vow to follow. I must be open to the Word of God whenever and wherever I may hear it. I must let my heart be pierced by the Word of God and to be open to sharing that Word with others God may put in my particular path. I must be a vessel for His Spirit so that I "co-operate" with God's plan for my life and for the lives of those with whom I come in contact.

Now, none of this is easy and more often than not, I'm afraid, I do not want to co-operate, nor do I want to share the Word with those I am not fond of!

A guest Priest at my home parish today spoke of Jesus' healing of a leper, an "unclean" person in His midst (Gospel Reading, Mark 1:40-45, 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B). He told a story of how the late, great Archbishop Fulton Sheen once met with members of a leper colony of 500. He had brought with him several silver Crucifixes to give to each leper. When he was approached by one particular leper, Sheen realized that one of the man's arms was totally gone from the elbow down and that the remaining arm was sheathed in linen cloths due to the severity of his sores.

Bishop Sheen hesitated, and then simply dropped the Crucifix into the outstretched palm of the leprous man, rather than placing the Crucifix into his palm and thus, physically touching him. He immediately realized what he had done; he went on to say that that day there were 501 lepers in that colony. He had failed to carry the Gospel message to this leprous man while he was handing him the very symbol of our Redemption!

This story spoke to my heart and brought me to tears. How many times have I looked the other way, crossed the street, failed to meet the eyes of my Lord shining through the eyes of a stranger, a person in need? I judged them unclean. I disobeyed my Lord. I have failed Him, time and time again...

I have left unheeded not only the Gospel message but Benedict's orders to "fulfill by the way you live, the directions that come from your loving Father."

Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa.. forgive me Father, for I have sinned...

Saint Scholastica

2009-02-13T11:48:00.000-05:00

Born in Nursia (Nurcia), Italy, c. 480 (?); died near Monte Cassino, Italy, c. 543. Almost everything we know about Saint Scholastica comes from the Dialogues of Saint Gregory the Great. Saint Scholastica, twin sister of Saint Benedict of Nursia, who founded theBenedictine order, was consecrated to God at a very early age but probably continued to live in her parents' home. It is said that she was as devoted to Jesus as she was to her brother. So, when Benedict established his monastery at Monte Cassino, Scholastica founded a convent in nearby Plombariola, about five miles south of Monte Cassino.

The convent is said to have been under the direction ofher brother, thus she is regarded as the first Benedictine nun. The siblings were quite close. The respective rules of their houses proscribed neither entering the other's monastery. According to Saint Gregory, they met once a year at a house near Monte Cassino monastery to confer on spiritual matters, and were eventually buried together, probably in the same grave.

Saint Gregory says, "so death did not separate the bodies of these two, whose minds had ever been united in the Lord." Saint Gregory tells the charming story of the last meeting of the two saints on earth. Scholastica and Benedict had spent the day in the "mutual comfort of heavenly talk" and with nightfall approaching, Benedict prepared to leave. Scholastica, having a presentiment that it would be their last opportunity to see each other alive, asked him to spend the evening in conversation. Benedict sternly refused because he did not wish to break his own rule by spending a night away from Monte Cassino. Thereupon, Scholastica cried openly, laid her head upon the table, and prayed that God would intercede for her.

As she did so, a sudden storm arose. The violent rain and hail came in such a torrential downpour that Benedict and his companions were unable to depart. "May Almighty God forgive you, sister" said Benedict, "for what you have done. "I asked a favor of you," Scholastica replied simply, "and you refused it. I asked it of God, and He has granted it!" Just after his return to Monte Cassino, Benedict saw a vision of Scholastica's soul departing her body, ascending to heaven in the form of a dove. She died three days after their last meeting.

He placed her body in the tomb he had prepared for himself, and arranged for his own to be placed there after his death. Her relics were alleged by the monk Adrevald to have been translated (July 11) to a rich silver shrine in Saint Peter's Church in Le Mans, France, which may have been when Benedict's were moved to Fleury.

In 1562, this shrine was preserved from the Huguenots' plundering. Some say that we should only petition God for momentously important matters. God's love, however, is so great that He wishes to give us every good thing. He is ever ready to hear our prayers: our prayers of praise and thanksgiving, and our prayers of petition, repentance, and intercession. Nothing is too great or too trivial to share with our Father.

The dependent soul learns that everything we are and have is from His bountiful goodness; when we finally learn that lesson we turn to Him with all our hopes and dreams and needs. Saint Scholastica is obviously one of those who learned the lesson of her own helplessness. Saint Scholastica is usually depicted in art as a habited nun, holding a crozier and crucifix, with her brother. Sometimes she may be shown (1) with Saint Justina of Padua, with whom she is confused though Justina was never a nun (2) receiving her veil from Saint Benedict (3) her soul departing her body like a dove (4) with a dove at her feet or bosom; or kneeling before Saint Benedict's cell. She is the patroness of Monte Cassino and all Cassinese communities. She is invoked against storms.

Book Review - Border Lands by David Adam

2009-01-26T09:28:00.002-05:00

David Adam was previously Vicar at Holy Island (Lindisfarne), Northumberland. He has written numerous books on Celtic Spirituality which he and the residents of Holy Island live out in their daily lives..

He has written extensively on the Celtic Saints and composes his own Celtic prayers. His book, Border Lands, is sub-titled "The Best of David Adam's Celtic Vision".

He starts out by discussing the "marginal lands" of Holy Island and goes on to talk about the fact that we often live on "the edge of things" and that this experience is a call to explore and experience all that God has for us to see and do. In the introduction to the book, he quotes T.S.Eliot's Little Gidding:

"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."

Using the words from that great Celtic hymn, Be Thou My Vision, Adam leads the reader through some experiences from his own life and what he has learned. He invites us to consider for ourselves how these words resonate within our own lives and what we can learn.

For example, in the passage "Be all else but naught to me, save that thou art" (pg. 83), Adam writes, "There is something in human nature that makes us all seekers. Whatever we achieve, we feel that we should be able to go on to other things. None of us can live for long off past glories. Most of us have this feeling that life can be improved on. We seek something that is still beyond us, an inner urge makes us explorers."

Before my conversion to Roman Catholicism, I too was "seeking." Although a Christian most of my life, (living with doubts and questions), I felt that there had to be "more." What that more was, I did not know. But as time and prayers went on, I began to be discouraged and frustrated that I would never find the "more" that I was seeking. Where to look? And what was I looking for? I was unsure.

In the Arthurian legends, the Knights of the Round Table go out on a "quest" for the Holy Grail. They encounter obstacles, pitfalls, set-backs on their journey. They learn that 'to whom much is given, much is required." (Luke 12:48)

I began to see that my own 'quest' would require much: hard work, study, struggle, conflict.

Adam writes, "The quest for the beyond, for the Pearl of Great Price, for the Holy Grail, for hidden treasures, is part of the literature of all mankind: the symbols may differ but the quest remains the same. In every quest there is a desert to cross or a jungle to conquer, there are always untold dangers."

"...(but) it is in searching that we grow, in triumphing over the desert that we shape ourselves and show what we are made of."

My 'quest' lead me to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. One quiet Friday afternoon during a Lenten Holy Mass, He spoke to my heart, "Do you see Me now?" "Yes, Lord, I see You", I responded. I became a Catholic in my heart that day and officially joined the Roman Catholic Church at Easter Vigil 2005.

For me, His Real Presence in the Eucharist is the Pearl of Great Price, the 'hidden treasure' of the Church; His cup of Precious Blood is the Holy Grail. This was the 'more' I had searched for; what I had 'quested' for had been found.

This is how Adam's words: "We seek something that is still beyond us, an inner urge makes us explorers" speak to me.

Read Border Lands. Meditate upon the words and stories David Adam shares and become "questers" in this exciting, but often daunting, world of Celtic Spirituality.

2009-01-20T11:02:00.000-05:00

Unless the Lord builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

the watchmen stand guard in vain.
- Psalm 127: 1

Let us pray today that our new President will, indeed, let the Lord lead him in all of the hard decisions he will have to make in the days and months ahead. May he rely on the wisdom and knowledge of God to direct his paths, lest he, like the watchmen, act in vain. Amen

Daily Office 01/19/09 Psalm Reading

2009-01-19T18:32:00.000-05:00

Responsorial PsalmPs 110:1, 2, 3, 4R. (4b) Daily Office for January 19, 2009

You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at my right handtill I make your enemies your footstool.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.

The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch forth from Zion:“Rule in the midst of your enemies.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.

“Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor;before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.

The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent:“You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.

The Catholic Church teaches that Christ is a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. Likewise, all Catholic ordained priests participate in this same royal priesthood. This was one of the many aspects of Catholic teaching that convinced me that the Roman Catholic Church was the Church founded by Christ. The Priesthood is continued forever by Apostolic Succession.

Listmania on Amazon.com

2009-01-19T18:28:00.000-05:00

Please feel free to visit my Listmania! lists on Amazon.com
You will find them listed as "Celtic and Benedictine Pathways" and "Journey to Catholicism".
These lists contain several books I have found useful and up-lifting. Hope you enjoy.

Celtic musings...

2009-01-19T14:51:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my new blog! I am here to hopefully discuss Celtic Spirituality, the Roman Catholic Church, Benedictine Spirituality.. with others of like mind and heart.

I am a convert (2005 Easter Vigil) to the Roman Catholic Church from evangelical Protestantism. I converted due to my belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and also because of my deep love and abiding affection for the Holy Father John Paul II and, of course, Benedict XVI.

More of that later... would love to hear from anyone who has converted to Roman Catholicism, anyone who is thinking about converting and has questions, or anyone with a love of all things Celtic or Benedictine...