Pro-abortion protesters in Chicago met with a surprising sight this Saturday when a pro-life “flash mob” burst onto the scene and presented a jubilant, life-affirming message.
The gaggle of pro-lifers suddenly appeared on the rain-drenched Daley Plaza where the pro-aborts were gathered for a “Walk for Choice.” They pulled hundreds of bright yellow balloons, printed with the word “LIFE,” out of trash bags and began singing pro-life chants. The abortion supporters had gathered to protest against House Republicans’ efforts to end taxpayer funding of abortion.
Can you imagine being arrested and jailed for merely protesting an immoral law; giving a speech against it. If the Planned Parenthood backed legislation passes in the Philippines, Catholcis there won't have to imagine that possibility - it will be the reality.
To join a Facebook page in support of the parents of Joseph Maraachli, click here.
Father Frank Pavone, who became known as the “Terri Schiavo Priest” for his role in trying to save the life of the late Florida woman in 2005, has joined the fight to save a Canadian baby from a cruel early death.
“If I have to fly from Rome to Canada to get Baby Joseph out of the hospital and back home where he belongs, I am ready to do that right now,” said Father Pavone, who has been attending meetings at the Vatican this week.
Father Pavone said Priests for Life will pay all expenses to bring Baby Joseph and his family to a hospital in the United States that would agree to perform the tracheotomy that would make it possible for him to go home.
Villana de’Botti was a wife and a Third Order Dominican. She was born in Florence in 1332. She was a very pious child, and at age 13 she ran away from home to join a convent. She was refused and returned home. Soon after, her family married her to Rosso di Piero.
The rejection at the convent and the marriage seemed to change Villana. She became lazy and worldly, concerned only with pleasure. One day, as she was getting dressed, her reflection in her mirrors suddenly changed to a demon. Villana understood this to be a reflection of her sinful soul. She tore off her clothes, put on something poor and simple, and ran to the Dominican Fathers for help.
She became a Dominican tertiary, concentrated on her vocation of married life, and spent her free time praying and reading Scripture and the lives of the saints. She was given to religious ecstasies at Mass, visions of Our Lady and the saints, and had the gift of prophecy. She became the object of much ridicule and slander, but even her fiercest opponents eventually came to see her as a living saint.
She died in 1361 of natural causes at the age of 30. Her body was taken to the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, which was under the care of the Dominican Fathers. The priests were unable to bury her for a month due to the constant crowd of mourners. She was beatified by Pope Leo XII in 1824.
St. Alexander was named bishop of Alexandria in 313 and was a champion of orthodox Catholic teaching. He dedicated his ministry to fighting against the Arian heresy which claimed that Jesus was not truly God and that there was a time when the Son, the second person of the Trinity, did not exist.
The bishop was gentle with the Arians and was exemplary in the pastoral approach he took with them for a long period before finally excommunicating Arius at a meeting of his clergy in 321.The excommunication was confirmed at a local synod in Alexandria. His epistle on the Arian heresy has survived and remains an important part of ecclesiastical literature.
It is assumed that St. Alexander also drew up the acts of the first General Council of Nicaea in 325, where Arianism was formally condemned. He died in Alexandria two years after his return from the council.
St. Alexander was also famous for his charity to the poor and his doctrine on life.
A former advocate of women's ordination, who was attempted to be ordained as a deacon, has renounced her attempt to join the priesthood and declared her adherence to Church teaching.
“I relinquish all connection to the program of Roman Catholic Women Priests,” Dr. Norma Jean Coon stated in a recent declaration on her personal website. “I disclaim the alleged ordination publicly, with apologies to those whose lives I have offended or scandalized.”
“The ordinations were illegitimate, and not recognized by the Roman Catholic Church,” she wrote. “I withdrew from the program within two weeks of the ceremony, because I realized I had made a mistake in studying for the priesthood.”
Dr. Coon explained that she participated in an attempted ordination to the diaconate on July 22, 2007, at the hands of Patricia Fresen, a former Dominican sister from South Africa who claims to have been consecrated as a bishop.
Fresen's orders are also invalid according to Catholic doctrine – meaning that her attempt to ordain any other individual to the diaconate, priesthood, or episcopate would have no sacramental effect.
From the Catechism:
1577 "Only a baptized man (vir) validly receives sacred ordination." The Lord Jesus chose men (viri) to form the college of the twelve apostles, and the apostles did the same when they chose collaborators to succeed them in their ministry. The college of bishops, with whom the priests are united in the priesthood, makes the college of the twelve an ever-present and ever-active reality until Christ's return. The Church recognizes herself to be bound by this choice made by the Lord himself. For this reason the ordination of women is not possible.
It's very sad and disappointing that people can be so upset by a pro-life message.
Pro-abortion activists in New York City have forced the removal of a pro-life billboard that warned about the inordinately high abortion rates on African-American women and children.
The pro-life group Life Always paid for the billboard, to try to draw attention to the fact that abortions kill 300,000 black unborn children annually. In fact, new data put out by the CDC today indicates black babies are victims of abortions at a much higher rate than their white or Hispanic counterparts.
The billboard, located in SoHo, bears an image of a young black girl and says “The most dangerous place for an African-American is in the womb.”
But the outdoor advertising company that sold the space to the pro-life group for the billboard said on Thursday that it would remove the image because the employees at the Mexican restaurant located on the bottom floor of the several story building bearing the ad were facing harassment over its pro-life message.
On February 25, the Church celebrates the life of Blessed Maria Adeodata Pisani, a 19th century candidate for sainthood who lived a serene and quiet life of faith after a tumultuous youth. She was born in Naples, Italy, on December 29, 1806, and was given the name Maria Teresa at baptism.
Maria Teresa's father was an alcoholic and her mother abandoned the marriage, leaving the girl to be cared for by her father's mother. After her grandmother’s death, the 10-year-old was sent to a boarding school until she was 17.
In her youth, Maria Teresa declined several marriage proposals, preferring to lead a quiet life of prayer. She joined the Benedictine Community in St. Peter’s Monastery in 1828, and took the name Maria Adeodata, making her solemn profession two years later.
Her fellow nuns and many people outside the cloister benefited from her acts of charity and saintly life. She looked after the chapel and was a porter, which kept her close to the poor who came seeking help. Maria Adeodata wrote various works, most notably“The mystical garden of the soul that loves Jesus and Mary,” which is a collection of her personal reflections written between 1835 and 1843.
Maria Adeodata also suffered from heart problems. On Feb. 25, 1855, at the age of 48 and in poor health, she dragged herself to the chapel for Mass, against her nurse’s advice. After receiving Communion she had to be carried back to bed, where she died soon afterward. She had a simple funeral and was buried in the monastery’s crypt the following day.
I have been asked by many media outlets to comment on the propriety of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo receiving Holy Communion. The question arises because everyone knows that he is living in an adulterous relationship with his female companion. The reason we don't take a position on this issue is quite simple: it is not our job.
We are a civil rights organization that protects the rights of individual Catholics and the institutional Church from discrimination and defamation. We are not a moral detective agency for the Catholic Church. It is up to the bishops to decide what the appropriate course of action is regarding a Catholic public figure who is widely believed to be openly flouting the teachings of the Catholic Church.
When it comes to policy matters and cultural issues, as opposed to personal matters, that is a different story. Thus, we continue to criticize the notorious 1984 address that New York Governor Mario Cuomo, the father of Andrew, made at the University of Notre Dame: he is most responsible for disseminating the invidious notion that Catholics can be personally opposed to, but publicly supportive of, abortion rights.
Also objectionable is the seedy voyeurism of the media. No reporter would ever stand outside a synagogue or a mosque asking passersby whether they agree with Jewish or Islamic strictures on any internal matter. Catholicism is deserving of the same respect.
Nor do we appreciate the incredibly ignorant remarks made yesterday on "The View." Since all of the panelists have either left Catholicism (Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg and Elisabeth Hasselbeck), or were never a member (Sherri Shepherd), it should not matter what Catholicism teaches about anything. How about a little respect for diversity?
Andrew Cuomo and the bishops are the only parties that really matter on this issue. Everyone else belongs on the sidelines.
A battle of epic proportions is being waged in the Philippines at this very moment and it looks eerily similar to the battle that was fought and lost in the west 35 years ago. I'm in Manila all this week to report on the struggle and ask for your prayers in the fight. The Church CANNOT lose this battle.
(I meant to post this yesterday, but didn't get to it...thanks to my cousin for reminding me!)
A new billboard in New York City is causing outrage from abortion advocates upset by the message: “The most dangerous place for an African-American is in the womb.”
The billboard hopes to draw attention to the fact that African-Americans have abortions in much higher rates than their White and Hispanic counterparts and that Planned Parenthood and other abortion businesses frequently target the black community by placing new abortion centers in minority neighborhoods.
The billboard, located at the corner of Watts Street and Sixth Avenue, directs viewers to go to thatsabortion.com, a web site offering more information on the topic. It is up in the Soho district and will remain in place for three weeks.
A representative of Life Always, Marissa Gabrysch, says her group, which paid for the billboard, is trying to draw attention to the fact that abortions kill 300,000 black unborn children annually.
Blessed Thomas Mary Fusco was beatified in 2001 as a model of holiness for priests. He was dedicated to his priestly ministry, preaching spiritual retreats and missions, teaching catechism to youth and organizing prayer evenings for young people and adults at the parish. He had a deep devotion to the crucified Christ throughout his life and worked to build the devotion to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus among the faithful.
He was born Dec. 1, 1831, in Pagani, Italy, the seventh of eight children. Orphaned by the age of 10, his uncle, a priest, took charge of his education.
Since 1839, the year of the canonization of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Thomas Maria had dreamed of the priesthood. He entered the seminary in 1847 and was ordained in 1855. In 1862 he opened a school of moral theology in his home to train priests for the ministry of confession. That same year he founded the priestly Society of the Catholic Apostolate for missions among the faithful.
In 1873, deeply moved by the plight of an orphaned street girl, Fr. Thomas Maria founded the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood. Many orphanages sprung from his travels throughout Southern Italy.
Fr. Thomas Maria died of liver disease Feb. 24, 1891 at the age of 59.
I hate to break it to Barry, but the Executive branch of government does not have the authority to declare a law unconstitutional...The Judicial branch does that. This will ultimately end up in the Supreme Court.
The Obama administration announced Wednesday that it will no longer defend the federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
The decision marks a significant about-face for the Obama Justice Department, which until now had defended the law in court despite President Obama's misgivings with the policy. The administration's attorneys as recently as last month had filed a court motion in support of the Defense of Marriage Act, which effectively bans recognition of same-sex marriage.
But after two new lawsuits were filed in New York and Connecticut, Obama ordered Attorney General Eric Holder not to defend the statute.
What a farce...these pro-aborts pretend that the biggest abortion provider in the country is the only doctor for women. And is there anything more evil, immoral and stupid than abortion?
Joy Behar ripped the House of Representatives on her program on Monday for their recent defunding of Planned Parenthood.There is NO reason for Planned Parenthood to receive any taxpayer money.
Behar, focusing on the organization’s birth control services, criticized the move as “illogical…because if you are not going to help people with birth control, you’re going to have more abortions. So, besides being evil and immoral and unethical, they’re also stupid”.
The liberal host led her 10 pm program by playing clips from Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Moore’s Thursday speech on the floor of the House, where she argued that funding Planned Parenthood was better than having “to give your kids ramen noodles at the end of the month to fill up their little bellies so they won’t cry. You have to give them mayonnaise sandwiches.” Many in the conservative blogosphere argued that she’s hinting that it’s better to abort a child than have them live life in such a way. Behar then introduced Rep. Moore and Planned Parenthood Federation of American president Cecile Richards and asked the congresswoman, “What drove you to finally stand up on Thursday and deliver that great speech on the floor?”
The Saint of the Day for February 23 is St. Polycarp.
Polycarp had known those who had known Jesus, and was a disciple of St. John the Apostle, who had converted him around the year 80 AD. He taught, says his own pupil Irenaeus of Lyons, the things that he learned from the Apostles, which the Church hands down, which are true. Irenaeus, who as a young boy knew Polycarp, praised his gravity, holiness, and majesty of countenance. He had lived near Jerusalem and was proud of his early associations with the Apostles.
Polycarp became bishop of Smyrna and held the see for about 70 years. He was a staunch defender of orthodoxy and an energetic opponent of heresy, especially Marcionism and Valentinianism (the most influential of the Gnostic sects). Toward the end of his life he visited Pope St. Anicetus in Rome and, when they could not agree on a date for Easter, decided each would observe his own date. To testify his respect and ensure that the bonds of charity were unbroken, Anicetus invited Polycarp to celebrate the Eucharist in the papal chapel on this occasion. Polycarp suffered martyrdom with 12 others of his flock around the year 156.
Excerpted from St. Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr by Fr. Paul Haffner (Inside the Vatican, February 2004)
Among the select few from apostolic times about whom we have some historical information is Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna and one of the most glorious martyrs of Christian antiquity. His life and death are attested by the authentic "Acts" of his martyrdom (no similar account is older), as well as by other contemporary writings. It moves us deeply when, for example, we find in St. Irenaeus, a disciple of Polycarp, the passage in which he reminisces:
"The memory of that time when as a youth I was with Polycarp in Asia Minor is as fresh in my mind as the present. Even now I could point to the place where he sat and taught, and describe his coming and going, his every action, his outward appearance, and his manner of discourse to the people. It seems as though I still heard him tell of his association with the apostle John and with others who saw the Lord, and as though he were still relating to me their words and what he heard from them about the Lord and His miracles. . . ."
On the day of his death (February 23) the Martyrology recounts with deep reverence:
"At Smyrna, the death of St. Polycarp. He was a disciple of the holy apostle John, who consecrated him bishop of that city; and there he acted as the primate of all Asia Minor. Later, under Marcus Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus, he was brought before the tribunal of the proconsul; and when all the people in the amphitheater cried out against him, he was handed over to be burned to death. But since the fire caused him no harm, he was put to death by the sword. Thus he gained the crown of martyrdom. With him, twelve other Christians, who came from Philadelphia, met death by martyrdom in the same city."
Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.
With the House of Representatives having approved a budget amendment to revoke all taxpayer funding from the Planned Parenthood abortion business, the pro-life push now turns to the Senate — where the battle will be more difficult.
The Pence amendmentto de-fund Planned Parenthood was part of a House Republican designed continuing resolution that funds the federal government but it’s a funding bill the Senate will not likely approve, at least in its current form.
The current continuing resolution expires on March 4 and lawmakers in both parties are eager to avoid a government shutdown — and lawmakers may have to resort to a temporary continuing resolution to keep the federal government running until the House and Senate can negotiate a long-term funding bill.
House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan said over the weekend that Republicans would be negotiating a short and long-term spending bill.
I hope the Bishop is correct. I haven't given to the CCHD collection in my parish for a few years.
Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay has announced the end of a moratorium on local collections for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development because of policy changes aimed at preventing grants to groups whose actions contradict Catholic teaching.
“I am confident that we have the necessary checks in place that will help us to be better informed and assist us in discerning grant requests properly,” Bishop Ricken said in his seven-page Feb. 16 pastoral statement.
The bishop noted “significant disagreement” about some of the campaign's grants. Though the campaign has done “much good,” a few organizations that received its funds acted in conflict with Catholic teaching or had direct connections to coalitions which acted in contradiction to Catholic principles of social justice.
There was also concern about the “appearance of partisan political positions” some of these organizations had taken and whether this reflected poorly upon the adherence of a parish or diocese to the U.S. bishops’ guidelines for political involvement.
Since early times, the Roman Church has had a special commemoration of the primatial authority of St. Peter. As witness one of the most renowned of the Apostolic Fathers, the Roman See has always held a peculiar place in the affection and obedience of orthodox believers because of its "presiding in love" and service over all the Churches of God.
"We shall find in the Gospel that Jesus Christ, willing to begin the mystery of unity in His Church, among all His disciples chose twelve; but that, willing to consummate the mystery of unity in the same Church, among the twelve He chose one. He called His disciples, said the Gospel; here are all; and among them He chose twelve. Here is the first separation, and the Apostles chosen. And these are the names of the twelve Apostles: the first, Simon, who is called Peter. [Mt. 10, 1-2] Here, in a second separation, St. Peter is set at the head, and called for that reason by the name of Peter, 'which Jesus Christ,' says St. Mark, 'had given him,' in order to prepare, as you will see, the work which He was proposing to raise all His building on that stone.
"All this is yet but a beginning of the mystery of unity. Jesus Christ, in beginning it, still spoke to many: Go, preach; I send you [see Mt. 28, 19]. Now, when He would put the last hand to the mystery of unity, He speaks no longer to many: He marks out Peter personally, and by the new name which He has given him. It is One who speaks to one: Jesus Christ the Son of God to Simon son of Jonas; Jesus Christ, who is the true Stone, strong of Himself, to Simon, who is only the stone by the strength which Jesus Christ imparts to him. It is to him that Christ speaks, and in speaking acts on him, and stamps upon him His own immovableness. And I, He says, say to you, you are Peter; and, He adds, upon this rock I will build my Church, and, He concludes, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. [Mt. 16, 18] To prepare him for that honor Jesus Christ, who knows that faith in Himself is the foundation of His Church, inspires Peter with a faith worthy to be the foundation of that admirable building. You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. [Mt. 16, 16] By that bold preaching of the faith he draws to himself the inviolable promise which makes him the foundation of the Church.
"It was, then, clearly the design of Jesus Christ to put first in one alone, what afterwards He meant to put in several; but the sequence does not reverse the beginning, nor the first lose his place. That first word, Whatsoever you shall bind, said to one alone, has already ranged under his power each one of those to whom shall be said, Whatsoever you shall remit; for the promises of Jesus Christ, as well as His gift, are without repentance; and what is once given indefinitely and universally is irrevocable. Besides, that power given to several carries its restriction in its division, while power given to one alone, and over all, and without exception, carries with it plenitude, and, not having to be divided with any other, it has no bounds save those which its terms convey."
Excerpted from The See of St. Peter, Jacques Bossuet.
Maria Jesus Galan had 600 Facebook friends. She liked to communicate with them, to spread good news. Pope Benedict did encourage us to use social networking to evangelize to others.
However, her Facebook habit has lost her something very dear--her habit.
Galan, you see, spent 35 years inside the Santo Domingo el Real convent in Toledo, Spain. It's an introspective place that doesn't encourage its nuns to have too much contact with the outside world.
However, according to the Telegraph, the convent allowed a computer into its midst 10 years ago.
Sister Maria saw the future that this computer offered. She digitized the Dominican convent's archives. The computer also offered more mundane assistance.
"It enabled us do things such as banking online and saved us having to make trips into the city," she told the Telegraph.
Dr. Martin Harris (Neeson) wakes up after a car accident in Berlin, only to find out that someone has assumed his identity, his wife doesn't recognize him, and he is being pursued by assassins. In order to figure this out, he enlists help from a couple of people and, in the process, he figures out who he can trust and who he can't.
I am a big Liam Neeson fan...he has a knack for picking excellent scripts that are taylor-made for him.
There is plenty of action, the suspense is constant, and the chase scenes are among the best I've ever seen.
St. Peter Damian must be numbered among the greatest of the Church's reformers in the Middle Ages, yes, even among the truly extraordinary persons of all times. In Damian the scholar, men admire wealth of wisdom: in Damian the preacher of God's word, apostolic zeal; in Damian the monk, austerity and self-denial; in Damian the priest, piety and zeal for souls; in Damian the cardinal, loyalty and submission to the Holy See together with generous enthusiasm and devotion for the good of Mother Church. He was a personal friend of Pope Gregory VII. He died in 1072 at the age of 65.
On one occasion he wrote to a young nephew, "If I may speak figuratively, drive out the roaring beasts from your domain; do not cease from protecting yourself daily by receiving the Flesh and Blood of the Lord. Let your secret foe see your lips reddened with the Blood of Christ. He will shudder, cower back, and flee to his dark, dank retreat."
In his poem, the Divine Comedy, Dante places Damian in the "seventh heaven." That was his place for holy people who loved to think about or contemplate God.
Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
The 2011 Pontifical Yearbook was presented this morning to Benedict XVI by the offices of the Secretariat of State. The statistics, referring to 2009, reveal 1.18 billion faithful baptized in the world today, an increase of 15 million compared to 2008. The number of priests, both diocesan and religious, has also increased over the last ten years, rising to 410,593. However, the number of professed religious has fallen, now counting 729,371. The crisis remains therefore, in spite of Africa and Asia, where there is growth. The number of candidates to the priesthood in the world rose to 117,978 in 2009. Much of the increase is attributable to Asia and Africa. Europe and America registered a decline.
John Smith is the new kid in school, but he is really 'Number 4', from another planet. He lives with his 'protector' Henri, who poses as his father. John is hiding out from some criminals from his planet who seek to kill him because he is one of a handful of gifted people who have the ability to stop them.
While blending in, John falls in love and begins to develop his skills and discover his full abilities. And he utilizes them, because his enemies are formidable.
A very good movie. Lots of action and an engaging story. Very entertaining. I took my nephews, ages 11-13, and they really enjoyed it.
As you'd expect, there is some violence. Aside from that, the only content warning is some cursing.
Nobility. Married Euphrosyne, daughter of a nobleman. One day while hunting he ordered attendants to set fire to some brush in order to flush out the game. A strong wind carried the flames to nearby fields, forests, towns and villages. Conrad fled in panic; an innocent peasant was imprisoned, tortured into a confession and condemned to death for the fire. Remorseful, Conrad stepped forth to confess, saving the man. He then paid for the damaged property.
Conrad and his wife saw the hand of God in the dramatic events and chose to give the poor everything they owned. They then separated: she to a Poor Clare monastery, he to a group of Franciscan tertiary hermits. Conrad lived such a life of piety that his reputation for holiness spread quickly; had the gift of healing. Visitors destroyed his solitude, so he fled to the valley of Noto in Sicily where he lived 36 years in prayer as a hermit.
Legend says that when the Bishop of Syracuse visited him, the bishop asked if Conrad had anything to offers guests. Conrad said he would check in his cell. He returned carrying newly made cakes, which the bishop accepted as a miracle. Conrad returned the bishop's visit, and made a general confession to him. As he arrived, he was surrounded by fluttering birds, who escorted him back to Noto.
Excellent News. There is NO reason Planned Parenthood should get any government (taxpayer) funding. Now we need to get this past the Senate...and Barry.
The House of Representatives today voted overwhelmingly to scrap funding for the Planned Parenthood abortion business and ensure it can’t receive any federal funds through any departments or programs.
House members approved the Pence amendment on a 240-185 vote with 9 Democrats joining most Republicans to support de-funding the abortion business. Another 7 Republicans sided with most all of the pro-abortion Democrats in the lower chamber in voting for the pro-abortion organization to receive taxpayer funds.
Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana was the main sponsor of the amendment, which prevents federal fnuding of Planned Parenthood’s national organization and 102 named affiliates.
“This afternoon’s vote is a victory for taxpayers and a victory for life. By banning federal funding to Planned Parenthood, Congress has taken a stand for millions of Americans who believe their tax dollars should not be used to subsidize the largest abortion provider in America,” he said after the vote. “I commend my colleagues in both parties for taking a stand for taxpayers and a stand for life. I encourage my colleagues in the Senate to support this legislation and end federal funding of Planned Parenthood once and for all.”
A new audio version of the New Testament dramatized by numerous celebrities is being heralded as a “significant” contribution to modern evangelizing and for sparking a renewed interest in the gripping narrative of Scripture.
The audio series – which has the support of a Vatican imprimatur – features over 70 actors such as John Rhys-Davies, Neil McDonough, Julia Ormand and Kristen Bell. The Truth & Life Dramatized Audio Bible New Testament was released Nov. 1 of last year and is comprised of 18 CDs, or 22 hours of audio.
New York Times bestselling author and broadcast journalist for EWTN Raymond Arroyo, who helped produce the audio Bible, explained that the actors aren't simply “reading” the text but “sharing” the Gospel story by means of oral tradition.
British actor John Rhys-Davies – perhaps known best for his role as the dwarf Gimli in the blockbuster Lord of the Rings trilogy – served as narrator of the series.
Peter Hill's life has been peppered with signs. Years ago, all four tyres blew out one after the other when he suggested to his future wife in the car that God created all things and therefore must be responsible for evil.
More recently (in 2008), Pope Benedict XVI kissed his baby daughter, Claire, at Randwick in Sydney while in the midst of a throng of devotees.
And then, on Tuesday afternoon, he rolled his 22-seater bus on top of her in a queue for petrol on the South Coast.
When he saw the three-year-old lodged under the dual rear wheels of the four-tonne vehicle, Mr Hill was certain that Claire was dead.
But this morning she is likely to be sent home from hospital with little more than grazes and minor bruising.
The tyre marks were yesterday visible on her tiny abdomen, but she astounded her parents and medical specialists by surviving the ordeal without internal injuries, broken bones or lasting physical damage of any kind.
As Claire lay in bed at Sydney Children's Hospital with a Catholic prayer book, red-eyed but smiling and talkative, she said it was her dad and God that saved her.
A relative of Jesus', possibly a first cousin. He is in the Gospel of Matthew, and is one of the brethren of Christ mentioned in Acts who was present at the birth of the Church on the first Pentecost.
Reported to have been at the martyrdom of Saint James the Lesser, he was chosen to succeed James as bishop of Jerusalem. In 66, before the city fell to the Romans, the Christians received a divine warning, and evacuated to nearby Pella with Simon as their leader.
In the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem, Simon led the Christians back to the city where they flourished, performed miracles, and converted many.
Simon was eventually arrested, tortured and martyred for the twin crimes of being Jewish and Christian.
Is there a conspiracy inside the Church on the part of various high-placed people to help bring Her down? It's a vexing question that many people are now beginning to seriously consider.
These seven men were the founders of the Servite Order, a community instituted for the special purpose of cultivating the spirit of penance and contemplating the passion of Christ and Mary's Seven Sorrows. Due to the spirit of humility cherished by the members of the Order, their accomplishments are not too widely known. But in the field of home missions great things are to their credit, and certainly they have benefited millions by arousing devotion to the Mother of Sorrows.
The Breviary tells us that in the midst of the party strife during the thirteenth century, God called seven men from the nobility of Florence. In the year 1233 they met and prayed together most fervently. The Blessed Mother appeared to each of them individually and urged them to begin a more perfect life. Disregarding birth and wealth, in sackcloth under shabby and well-worn clothing they withdrew to a small building in the country. It was September 8, selected so that they might begin to live a more holy life on the very day when the Mother of God began to live her holy life.
Soon after, when the seven were begging alms from door to door in the streets of Florence, they suddenly heard children's voices calling to them, "Servants of holy Mary." Among these children was St. Philip Benizi, then just five months old. Hereafter they were known by this name, first heard from the lips of children. In the course of time they retired into solitude on Monte Senario and gave themselves wholly to contemplation and penance. Leo XIII canonized the Holy Founders and introduced today's feast in 1888.
Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
Today the pro-life group Live Action announced the addition of Abby Johnson, the former director of a Planned Parenthood abortion facility turned pro-life advocate, to the Live Action team. She will assume the role of Chief Research Strategist.
Live Action has been prominent in the news in recent weeks, after the release of a series of videos showing Planned Parenthood staffers apparently willing to aid and abet underage sex trafficking by advising a “pimp” how to obtain abortions and birth control for his young “sex workers.”
Author of the new book “Unplanned,” Johnson worked and volunteered for Planned Parenthood for eight years until October of 2009 when she witnessed a 13-week old baby in an ultrasound-guided abortion lose the fight for its life in the womb. She is now a pro-life advocate. Since her high profile conversion, Johnson has said that the alarming incidents revealed by Live Action’s undercover investigations are not isolated incidents.
The Saint of the Day for February 16 is St. Onesimus
Bishop of Ephesus and Martyr. Onesimus was a Phrygian by birth and a slave to Philemon, a person of influence who had been converted to the faith by Saint Paul. Having offended his master and been obliged to flee, he sought out Saint Paul, then a prisoner for the faith at Rome. The Apostle baptized him and sent him back to his master, with the beautiful letter we know as the Epistle to Philemon, asking for the liberty of Onesimus, that he might become one of his own assistants.
Philemon pardoned him and set him at liberty, and Onesimus returned to his spiritual father, as Saint Paul had requested; thereafter he faithfully served the Apostle. We know that Saint Paul made him, with Tychicus, the bearer of his Epistle to the Colossians. (Col. 4:7-9)
Later, as Saint Jerome and other Fathers testify, he became an ardent preacher of the Gospel and a bishop. It is he who succeeded Saint Timothy as bishop of Ephesus. He was cruelly tortured in Rome, for eighteen days, by a governor of that city, infuriated by his preaching on the merit of celibacy. His legs and thighs were broken with bludgeons, and he was then stoned to death. His martyrdom occurred under Domitian in the year 90.
How painful it is when we hear that someone famous 'used to be Catholic'. Little else hurts the soul as much, especially when you find out that they 'found' Jesus someplace else.
MOST, the Czech word for "The Bridge," is a 33-minute short film directed by Bobby Garabedian. It is short, but it delivers a strong message. A man who operates a drawbridge brings his son to work. When they spot a disaster about to happen, their effort to avert it leads to the ultimate sacrifice, grief, compassion, forgiveness and redemption. It is referred to as a "modern day parable" and it does invoke a lot of emotion.
I have this app on my iPhone. It can be a useful tool to prepare for confession. It gives you questions to answer based on the ten commandments, and offer several versions of the act of contrition.
Sales of Little iApps' new iPhone “Confession” application have exceeded the developers' expectations, with the program rising to the top of Apple's “Lifestyle” application charts, and even drawing the interest of those outside of the Catholic Church.
“Several Protestant ministers have recommended our app,” Little iApps' co-founder and developer Ryan Kreager told CNA on Feb. 14.
Those recommendations may have played a part in raising “Confession: A Roman Catholic App” to the number 1 spot in the “Lifestyle” section of the Apple's app store, a position it has held since Feb. 9. The program, which also runs on an iPad or an internet-enabled iPod, is currently among Apple's top 100 total applications.
“The response that we've gotten from non-Catholics – from our Protestant brothers in Christ, as well as those outside the Christian faith – has been largely positive,” said Kreager.
Claude de la Colombiere was beatified in 1929 and canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1992.
Claude de la Colombiere was born on February 2nd, 1641 in a small town in the diocese of Grenoble, France. Claude's parents were very devout as is evidenced by the vocations of their children a Jesuit, a Sulpician Father, a Diocesan Priest and a Visitation Nun.
In 1650 Claude was sent to a junior college in Lyons run by the Jesuits. At the age of seventeen Claude felt the inward calling to the religious life.He entered the Jesuit novitiate house in Avignon.
In 1675, after his solemn profession as a Jesuit, he was appointed superior at Paray-le-Monial, in which the convent of St. Margaret Mary was located. Here he became her spiritual director, encouraged her in the spread of the devotion to the Sacred Heart, and was described by our Lord as His "faithful and perfect friend."
Because of his remarkable gifts and judgment, he was sent to England, to be court preacher to the duchess of York, wife of the future James II, and took up residence in London. His radiant personality and splendid gifts were noted by everyone. When the alleged "Popish Plot" to assassinate King Charles II shook the country, Blessed Claude was accused of complicity in the plot and imprisoned. Through the intervention of Louis XIV of France, he was released, then banished from the country. He spent his last years at Paray-le-Monial.
He died on February 15, 1682, an apostle of the devotion to the Sacred Heart.
How often have faithful Catholics sat around fretting over God's Will for them? Does He want me to do this or that? It turns out, that line of thought is little else than a well-intentioned waste of time.
I am very glad to read this. There can be no compromise on abortion...it is literally a matter of life or death.
Governor Haley Barbour clarified his stance on a controversial abortion and social issues “truce” Governor Mitch Daniels advocated, that he supported, and he plugged his pro-life views at a national conservative conference.
Barbour, a pro-life Republican from Mississippi, addressed the 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday. The governor maintains an impressive pro-life record and is frequently mentioned as a potential Republican presidential candidate.
In his speech at CPAC today, Barbour touted his pro-life credentials and commended his state for its status as one of the safest places in the country for unborn children. Mississippi has one of the nation’s lowest abortion rates. Although there were several potential presidential hopefuls over the course of the three-day conference, few devoted as much time to pro-life issues as Governor Barbour.
Cyril and Methodius, the apostles of the Slavs, were brothers who hailed from Thessalonia. After receiving an excellent education, they were sent by the Eastern Emperor Michael III (842-856) into the kingdom of Grand-Moravia; through great effort and in spite of tremendous difficulties they converted the Slavonic nations. They translated the Bible into Slavonic and devised a kind of writing, called glagolitic, which even to the present day is used in the liturgical services of some Eastern rites.
In 867 the two brothers came to Rome, were met by Pope Hadrian II (867-872) and the whole papal court. They gave a report of their labors but encountered opposition on the part of jealous clergy who took offense, it was said, because of their liturgical innovations. Cyril and Methodius explained their methods and from the Pope himself received episcopal consecration (868). Soon after, Cyril died at Rome, only forty-two years old, and was buried in St. Peter's; later his body was transferred to San Clemente, where his remains still rest. His funeral resembled a triumphal procession.
Methodius returned to Moravia and labored as a missionary among the Hungarians, Bulgarians, Dalmatians, and the inhabitants of Carinthia. Falling again under suspicion, he returned to Rome and defended the use of the Slavonic language in the liturgy. The Pope bestowed upon him the dignity of archbishop. After his return to Moravia, he converted the duke of Bohemia and his wife, spread the light of faith in Bohemia and Poland, is said to have gone to Moscow (after the erection of the See of Lemberg), and to have established the diocese of Kiev. After his return he died in Bohemia and was buried in the Church of St. Mary at Velehrad, the services being conducted in Greek, Slavonic, and Latin.
Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
The Vatican’s radio station is celebrating its 80th anniversary — with a nod to its distinguished past but clearly focused on the digital future that lies ahead.
The station held a press conference at the Vatican Museums on Feb. 10 to mark the special occasion and offer a glimpse of eight decades of Vatican history through a new exhibit.
Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, president of the Vatican City’s government, spoke of the many important moments since Pope Pius XI inaugurated the station on Feb. 12, 1931.
The cardinal remembered its function as a source of independent news during the Second World War and its services that connected families with their sons and fathers separated by the conflict.
During the Cold War, he said, the Church’s voice reached where others could not, bringing reliable information and hope.
St. Julian the Hospitaller, or "the Poor Man", provably the son of a French Nobelman, described as a friend and counselor to the King, was a popular saint in Western Europe - his life was recounted in the Golden Legend - and his name was attached to many churches and charitable institutions. It is his legend which made him popular. He has been taken as the patron of ferrymen, innkeepers and circus performers.
The Golden Legend thus describes his last days: "So it happened that thieves who were in that country came one night into their hostel. And God allowed them to kill them in the same way that he killed his mother and father. For one of the thieves took each head and with one blow killed both. They plundered all the cupboards but found nothing except for food. There were great miracles without end in that place and land. So many that, as it pleased God, their bodies were brought to Brioude. Gold and silver was made ready and God saw to it that there were sufficient gift to make a reliquary. And still the bones are there from that time in great repose."
Can you imagine actually suing some diocese for the diocese failing to be faithful to the Church\'s teachings? Well, that's started to happen, sort of.
Unfortunately, another "supposed to be" Catholic University ignores Catholic teachings.
Xavier University, a Catholic and Jesuit institution of higher learning located in Cincinatti, Ohio, is scheduled to host what it calls “Queer Week” from March 30 to April 3 of this year, according to the university’s website.
The university says that the purpose of the event is to “embrace and celebrate the use of queer as an inclusive, unifying socio-political term for people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, straight, transsexual, intersexual, gender queer, or anyone else who supports the equality of all identities and expressions.”
From the Catechism:
2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.
