Lately I've been very perplexed about the tone of Catholic conversation on the internet, the blogs and social networking like Facebook or Twitter. Most perplexing is one Catholic attacking another because the other Catholic is too Catholic or not Catholic enough or factually wrong, dogmatically ignorant and on and on. I know sometimes we all should back off and realize that these folks are the vast minority. But these small bands of attackers are quite vocal.
I've been critical of a few things on my own blog and have a term for those who always attack the Church from within with a domesday outlook; chicken little Catholics. My hope and prayer, of course, is that they will relax, see the forest for the trees and, here's the tough one; let God be God!
This following post from monsignor Charles Pope, Archdiocese of Washington D.C. says it all. Read and enjoy, and remember: God don't like mean.
http://blog.adw.org/2011/07/say-what-you-mean-mean-what-say-but-dont-say-it-mean-on-the-tone-of-recent-mostly-deleted-comments/
Sunday, July 24, 2011
A Middle Eastern Catholic Saint
ST. CHARBEL MAKHLOUF
SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2011
Yussef Antoun Makhloof --later and forever after known as Sharbel-- was of humble birth.
Yet Sharbel belongs to more than his village, monastery, church or country. He belongs to the Universal Church and all Christians. When he was beatified on December 5, 1965, His Holiness Pope Paul VI announced that Saint Sharbel is "a new, eminent member of monastic sanctity [who] through his example and his intercession is enriching the entire Christian people." (Saint Sharbel: The Hermit of Lebanon 1977: 27)
Yussef, who later took the name Sharbel, was the youngest of five children born to Antoun Zaarour Makhlouf and Brigitta Elias al-Shediyaq. His father died when he was three years old. Like many of the Christians from the Lebanese Mountain, his father had been taken away from his family [by the Turks] and forced into hard labor.
Yussef studied at the parish school and tended the family cow. He spent a great deal of time outdoors in the fields and pastures near his village and he meditated amid the inspiring views of boundless valleys and proud mountains.
From early childhood, Yussef showed that he loved prayer and solitude. In 1851, without informing anyone, he left home. Tanious, his uncle and guardian, wanted Yussef to continue working with him. His mother wanted him to marry the young woman who loved him. (Daher 1952: 18-19; Sfeir 1995: 72-75)
When Yussef became Brother Sharbel, he was filled with determination and walked all the way to his new home, "the monastery," his new family, "the Lebanese Maronite Order," and his new bride, "the Church." He followed in the footsteps of his maternal uncles, who were already hermits at the hermitage of Mar Boula (Saint Paul) in the Holy Valley of Qadisha, across from the Monastery of Our Lady of Qannobine. (Daher 1993:48-49)
The Lebanese Maronite Order of monks is the embodiment of the ancient eastern monasticism, which since early Christian times existed and thrived within widely dispersed, independent monasteries.
At Mass on November 1, 1853, Sharbel took the monastic vows. Neither the monk's family nor the public were allowed to attend this solemn occasion.
After his ordination, Father Sharbel returned to the Monastery of St. Maron. During his 19 years there, Sharbel performed his priestly ministry and monastic duties in an edifying way. He dedicated himself totally to Christ to live, work and pray in silence.
As he worked the land and performed manual labor at the monastery, he continued a life of purity, obedience and humility that has yet to be surpassed. In 1875, because he showed "supernatural power," he was granted permission to live as a hermit at the Hermitage of Saints Peter and Paul, which is near the monastery.
It was in this secluded sanctuary that the monk Sharbel spent the remaining twenty-three years of his life practicing severe mortification.
Father Sharbel suffered a stroke on December 16, 1898 while he was reciting the prayer of the Holy Liturgy:
His tomb has been a site for pilgrimages ever since the day he died. Hundreds of miracles were performed through the intercession of Saint Sharbel in 'Annaya, Lebanon, and throughout the world.
At the closing of the Second Vatican Council, on December 5, 1965, Sharbel was beatified by Pope Paul VI who said: "Great is the gladness in heaven and earth today for the beatification of Sharbel Makhlouf, monk and hermit of the Lebanese Maronite Order. Great is the joy of the East and West for this son of Lebanon, admirable flower of sanctity blooming on the stem of the ancient monastic traditions of the East, and venerated today by the Church of Rome...
SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2011
Yussef Antoun Makhloof --later and forever after known as Sharbel-- was of humble birth.
Yet Sharbel belongs to more than his village, monastery, church or country. He belongs to the Universal Church and all Christians. When he was beatified on December 5, 1965, His Holiness Pope Paul VI announced that Saint Sharbel is "a new, eminent member of monastic sanctity [who] through his example and his intercession is enriching the entire Christian people." (Saint Sharbel: The Hermit of Lebanon 1977: 27)
Yussef, who later took the name Sharbel, was the youngest of five children born to Antoun Zaarour Makhlouf and Brigitta Elias al-Shediyaq. His father died when he was three years old. Like many of the Christians from the Lebanese Mountain, his father had been taken away from his family [by the Turks] and forced into hard labor.
Yussef studied at the parish school and tended the family cow. He spent a great deal of time outdoors in the fields and pastures near his village and he meditated amid the inspiring views of boundless valleys and proud mountains.
From early childhood, Yussef showed that he loved prayer and solitude. In 1851, without informing anyone, he left home. Tanious, his uncle and guardian, wanted Yussef to continue working with him. His mother wanted him to marry the young woman who loved him. (Daher 1952: 18-19; Sfeir 1995: 72-75)
When Yussef became Brother Sharbel, he was filled with determination and walked all the way to his new home, "the monastery," his new family, "the Lebanese Maronite Order," and his new bride, "the Church." He followed in the footsteps of his maternal uncles, who were already hermits at the hermitage of Mar Boula (Saint Paul) in the Holy Valley of Qadisha, across from the Monastery of Our Lady of Qannobine. (Daher 1993:48-49)
The Lebanese Maronite Order of monks is the embodiment of the ancient eastern monasticism, which since early Christian times existed and thrived within widely dispersed, independent monasteries.
At Mass on November 1, 1853, Sharbel took the monastic vows. Neither the monk's family nor the public were allowed to attend this solemn occasion.
After his ordination, Father Sharbel returned to the Monastery of St. Maron. During his 19 years there, Sharbel performed his priestly ministry and monastic duties in an edifying way. He dedicated himself totally to Christ to live, work and pray in silence.
As he worked the land and performed manual labor at the monastery, he continued a life of purity, obedience and humility that has yet to be surpassed. In 1875, because he showed "supernatural power," he was granted permission to live as a hermit at the Hermitage of Saints Peter and Paul, which is near the monastery.
It was in this secluded sanctuary that the monk Sharbel spent the remaining twenty-three years of his life practicing severe mortification.
Father Sharbel suffered a stroke on December 16, 1898 while he was reciting the prayer of the Holy Liturgy:
His tomb has been a site for pilgrimages ever since the day he died. Hundreds of miracles were performed through the intercession of Saint Sharbel in 'Annaya, Lebanon, and throughout the world.
At the closing of the Second Vatican Council, on December 5, 1965, Sharbel was beatified by Pope Paul VI who said: "Great is the gladness in heaven and earth today for the beatification of Sharbel Makhlouf, monk and hermit of the Lebanese Maronite Order. Great is the joy of the East and West for this son of Lebanon, admirable flower of sanctity blooming on the stem of the ancient monastic traditions of the East, and venerated today by the Church of Rome...
More than a symbol; a Cross of comfort and hope
World Trade Center cross moved to permanent home
By COLLEEN LONG - Associated Press | AP – 15 hrs agoRelated Content
The September 11 cross is lowered by crane into a subterranean section of the National …
The September 11 cross is lowered by crane into a subterranean section of the National …
NEW YORK (AP) — A cross-shaped steel beam found amid the wreckage in the days following the Sept. 11 terrorist attack was a symbol of hope for many working on rescue and recovery there, so much so that the construction worker who discovered it believes he stumbled on to a miracle.
"I saw Calvary in the midst of all the wreckage, the disaster," Frank Silecchia recalled Saturday. "It was a sign ... that God didn't desert us."
He said steel girders made into other makeshift crosses, Stars of David and possibly some Eastern religious symbols would also become part of the museum, which will open in 2012 and will be primarily underground at the site. The memorial will open this year, on the 10th anniversary of the attack.
"It's important to have these artifacts that reflect the history, to remember, to see how people coped," he said.
For Rev. Brian Jordan, the Roman Catholic priest who led the effort to preserve the cross, it is very much a symbol of Christianity — sacrifice, loss and renewal, he said. Jordan celebrated Mass under the cross for weeks — and members of many different religions took part.
"No one was turned away," he said. "Not only did I practice what I preached, I preached what I practiced."
The rusted, twisted metal beams were dear to Jordan partly because his mentor, Rev. Mychal F. Judge, chaplain of the city's fire department, died just feet from where it was found while helping people on Sept. 11. In 2006, the cross was lifted from the site and transplanted to a spot nearby at the oldest Roman Catholic parish in New York City, St. Peter's, where it remained until a flatbed truck took it to a nearby park for a blessing, and then on to the World Trade Center site.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, along with about 200 emergency workers and families of victims who died in the attack, joined Jordan for a blessing ceremony before the cross was moved.
"This was such an important part of how people dealt with Sept. 11," said Giuliani. "The night of the Sept. 11, we asked people to be stronger," he said. "And I believe New York is stronger today than it was then. Mayor (Michael) Bloomberg and Commissioner (Raymond) Kelly have made sure we're safer now. We're better prepared."
"I saw Calvary in the midst of all the wreckage, the disaster," Frank Silecchia recalled Saturday. "It was a sign ... that God didn't desert us."
The 2-ton, 20-foot-high T-beam has now become a religious relic. It was taken from its temporary post near a church Saturday and lowered 70 feet down into the bowels of where the twin towers once stood to become part of the exhibit at the National September 11th Memorial and Museum.
But for all the religious fervor surrounding the cross, it will become part of the museum because of its history at ground zero, not because of its Christian symbolism, museum officials said.
"It's powerful because it provided comfort to so many people — it is a part of the history of the space," said Joe Daniels, president of the memorial foundation.He said steel girders made into other makeshift crosses, Stars of David and possibly some Eastern religious symbols would also become part of the museum, which will open in 2012 and will be primarily underground at the site. The memorial will open this year, on the 10th anniversary of the attack.
"It's important to have these artifacts that reflect the history, to remember, to see how people coped," he said.
For Rev. Brian Jordan, the Roman Catholic priest who led the effort to preserve the cross, it is very much a symbol of Christianity — sacrifice, loss and renewal, he said. Jordan celebrated Mass under the cross for weeks — and members of many different religions took part.
"No one was turned away," he said. "Not only did I practice what I preached, I preached what I practiced."
The rusted, twisted metal beams were dear to Jordan partly because his mentor, Rev. Mychal F. Judge, chaplain of the city's fire department, died just feet from where it was found while helping people on Sept. 11. In 2006, the cross was lifted from the site and transplanted to a spot nearby at the oldest Roman Catholic parish in New York City, St. Peter's, where it remained until a flatbed truck took it to a nearby park for a blessing, and then on to the World Trade Center site.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, along with about 200 emergency workers and families of victims who died in the attack, joined Jordan for a blessing ceremony before the cross was moved.
"This was such an important part of how people dealt with Sept. 11," said Giuliani. "The night of the Sept. 11, we asked people to be stronger," he said. "And I believe New York is stronger today than it was then. Mayor (Michael) Bloomberg and Commissioner (Raymond) Kelly have made sure we're safer now. We're better prepared."
Mike Williams, whose son Kevin died in the twin towers, placed a baseball in honor of his son in a nook inside the cross in the days after the attack. The family, all avid ballplayers, started a foundation that sends kids to baseball camps
"Sometimes I can't believe it's been 10 years," he said. "It seems sometimes like it was two weeks ago."
The cross was loaded into a flatbed truck and hauled about a block to the construction site. A horn sounded to alert crews that something was overhead as the cross was slowly lifted by a giant white-and-red crane. It was turned counterclockwise and made slow, steady movement toward a rectangular hole in the concrete.
The only sound was the whir of construction machinery as the cross was slowly lowered 70 feet, through the metal work that will be the ceiling of the museum, past black vents and twisted wiring, to the bottom. It looked like a coffin being lowered into a grave.
But Jordan and the others think it's a turning point, and not a time for sadness.
"This is one of the most cathartic moments I have felt in my entire life," he said. "I feel a relief in the sense that I know it's found a permanent home, and for many of those who lost loved ones on that day, it is a relief for them, too."
The Catholic Church is booming; bad news for chicken little!
CATHOLIC CHURCH IS BOOMING
July 22, 2011
Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on new survey data profiling Catholicism:
All we ever hear from the wild-eyed critics of the Catholic Church, including the dissidents within, is that the Church had better "get with it" and change its teachings on abortion, homosexuality and women's ordination. Yet it is precisely those religious institutions that are the most liberal on these issues—the mainline Protestant denominations—that are collapsing. Not so the Catholic Church. Indeed, its numbers are going north while the mainline denominations are going south.
The latest findings by the "Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership" project, a collaborative effort with Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, are illuminating. In the last 40 years, the Catholic population has increased by 75 percent; it has grown by 50 percent since 1990. More important, Catholic attendance at Mass is up 15 percent since 2000. And in the last five years, contributions have increased by 14 percent. It is also important to note that there has been a 40 percent increase in Latinos in the Church over the past five years.
Shedding more light on the statistics is a study released a few months ago by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion. Its "Landscape Survey" found that of those Catholics who have left the Church, roughly half became unaffiliated while the other half became Protestant. Regarding the latter half, only 23 percent did so because of the Church's teachings on abortion and homosexuality; only 16 percent left because of the way women are treated. Importantly, two-thirds of these Catholics elected to join a Protestant evangelical church.
In other words, disaffected Catholics who left for another religion opted to join a more conservative church. That they did not run down the block in search of a mainline denomination—one that entertains the liberal agenda on issues governing sexuality and women—is telling.
It's time some people took a hard look at the data and made some hard choices. This is great news for the Catholic Church.
>>>So many people have sent this to me that I did a little due deligence and decided to pop this thing up on my blog. Some of this I've been saying for a few years. The Church has seen many enemies come and go; some from the inside. Despite this; she endures, thrives and remains the pillar and bulwark of truth. 1 Timothy 3:14.
The church has problems that are as old as her history and new to the times in which we all live. We have endured more than a decade now the revelations of child abuse by clergy; an unthinkable and unspeakable possibility in most Catholics minds. She sees abuses in doctrine and liturgy. And she is negatively impacted by disobedience from some clergy and laity. Yet she is sealed by the power of the Holy Spirit and guided by the words of Her founder, Jesus Christ: the gates of hell shall not prevail!
Despite the dire warnings; the church is growing; yes, it's demographics change and she flowers in places that, in the past, would hardly set eyes on a Catholic and she struggles deep inside many metropolitan urban areas. She booms on continents that were hardly ever Catholic, Africa and Asia come to mind, yet she struggles in Europe. But worldwide: growing and the numbers keep growing.
Vocations are turning around. Sure we won't have huge convents overnight and the Priesthood still has challenges with retirement and deaths; but young vocations are very, very "catholic" and nice numbers are coming in from the 30 and 40 year old generation. And social services, ministries and activities of holy Mother Church have never been more existent and needed. You see, we are not in charge; He is and the Holy Spirit is the guide.
Many of you who read this blog watch, and a few of you subscribe to, guys like Michael Voris and his wild attacks on the Church. In the name of the Church, he profits from calling out the Church, telling us where our eternal souls are not going to go unless we, well listen and subscribe to him. Culling through headlines and reports, he finds something needing to be attacked, and often it does, and fashions it as if it was the norm and all Bishops made it happen. He attacks singing Amazing Grace and the Knights of Columbus. And his rants continue ad hominem. Hey chicken little the sky might be falling but the Catholic Church is booming!
July 22, 2011
Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on new survey data profiling Catholicism:
All we ever hear from the wild-eyed critics of the Catholic Church, including the dissidents within, is that the Church had better "get with it" and change its teachings on abortion, homosexuality and women's ordination. Yet it is precisely those religious institutions that are the most liberal on these issues—the mainline Protestant denominations—that are collapsing. Not so the Catholic Church. Indeed, its numbers are going north while the mainline denominations are going south.
The latest findings by the "Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership" project, a collaborative effort with Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, are illuminating. In the last 40 years, the Catholic population has increased by 75 percent; it has grown by 50 percent since 1990. More important, Catholic attendance at Mass is up 15 percent since 2000. And in the last five years, contributions have increased by 14 percent. It is also important to note that there has been a 40 percent increase in Latinos in the Church over the past five years.
Shedding more light on the statistics is a study released a few months ago by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion. Its "Landscape Survey" found that of those Catholics who have left the Church, roughly half became unaffiliated while the other half became Protestant. Regarding the latter half, only 23 percent did so because of the Church's teachings on abortion and homosexuality; only 16 percent left because of the way women are treated. Importantly, two-thirds of these Catholics elected to join a Protestant evangelical church.
In other words, disaffected Catholics who left for another religion opted to join a more conservative church. That they did not run down the block in search of a mainline denomination—one that entertains the liberal agenda on issues governing sexuality and women—is telling.
It's time some people took a hard look at the data and made some hard choices. This is great news for the Catholic Church.
>>>So many people have sent this to me that I did a little due deligence and decided to pop this thing up on my blog. Some of this I've been saying for a few years. The Church has seen many enemies come and go; some from the inside. Despite this; she endures, thrives and remains the pillar and bulwark of truth. 1 Timothy 3:14.
The church has problems that are as old as her history and new to the times in which we all live. We have endured more than a decade now the revelations of child abuse by clergy; an unthinkable and unspeakable possibility in most Catholics minds. She sees abuses in doctrine and liturgy. And she is negatively impacted by disobedience from some clergy and laity. Yet she is sealed by the power of the Holy Spirit and guided by the words of Her founder, Jesus Christ: the gates of hell shall not prevail!
Despite the dire warnings; the church is growing; yes, it's demographics change and she flowers in places that, in the past, would hardly set eyes on a Catholic and she struggles deep inside many metropolitan urban areas. She booms on continents that were hardly ever Catholic, Africa and Asia come to mind, yet she struggles in Europe. But worldwide: growing and the numbers keep growing.
Vocations are turning around. Sure we won't have huge convents overnight and the Priesthood still has challenges with retirement and deaths; but young vocations are very, very "catholic" and nice numbers are coming in from the 30 and 40 year old generation. And social services, ministries and activities of holy Mother Church have never been more existent and needed. You see, we are not in charge; He is and the Holy Spirit is the guide.
Many of you who read this blog watch, and a few of you subscribe to, guys like Michael Voris and his wild attacks on the Church. In the name of the Church, he profits from calling out the Church, telling us where our eternal souls are not going to go unless we, well listen and subscribe to him. Culling through headlines and reports, he finds something needing to be attacked, and often it does, and fashions it as if it was the norm and all Bishops made it happen. He attacks singing Amazing Grace and the Knights of Columbus. And his rants continue ad hominem. Hey chicken little the sky might be falling but the Catholic Church is booming!
Homily for 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
One of my wife's favorite TV shows is something called Antique Roadshow. I bet many of you have seen it. These antique specialists come to town with TV crew in tow and invite folks to drag out those family treasures and assorted stuff accumulated over the years for a look see. I'm sure they look through a lot of junk but thanks to some great editing and a lot of patience, viewers of the show always see the amazing value of these treasures. In some instances, the unsuspecting owner finds out that they possess a treasure of great price.
Maybe some of us have had a similar experience. We find a painting or an old coin or some antique and we find out later that they really have some value. Of course just having things handed down from past generations within our family is enough for us to deem them a treasure.
As people of faith, what do we treasure? What do we value? How much are we willing to do or give to keep our treasure?
Today's Gospel brings us to the end of the 13th chapter of Matthew and his teachings in parables. In reading the shorter Gospel our focus is on the treasure in the field and the pearl of great price. Upon finding both of these treasures the person in the field and the merchant are willing to sell all that they have; to give up everything already in their possession to gain the greater value of that treasure in the field and the pearl of great price.
This first parable of finding the treasure in the field represents finding the treasure of the kingdom of God. Once gaining the right understanding of finding the treasures of God's kingdom, which offers eternal life, over the treasures of this life, which surely fades and passes away, will we sacrifice everything to gain the greater value? Jesus asks us to do so!
The parable of the pearl of great price is much the same as the treasure in the field. The merchant too can be compared to any of us who, understanding the value of God's kingdom, will do all that is necessary to always possess it. Will we? Jesus asks us to do so!
The challenge of these parables for us today is the opportunity to reflect on our own comittment to hanging on to the value of God's kingdom. Have we made that decision of faith that yes, we prefer the Kingdom of God to the distractions and allurements of this world? If so, have we sold all that we have; have we abandoned those things that prevent us from giving completely and fully to God? Does my life reflect one whose treasures align with the treasures of the Kingdom?
In the week ahead can we pray and reflect daily on these final few verses from Matthew 13. Use these Scriptures as a prayer; an examination of conscience if you will, on those things we possess that both lead us to God's kingdom and those things that may hold us back. And in this prayer, ask God to show us more keenly those things that He has given us that are truly treasure: our faith and love of Him, the family treasures and friends treasures He has placed in our lives. The many treasures we take for granted and the treasures that, at first blush, don't seem like treasures at all.
You know maybe the Antiques Roadshow will pass through town sometime soon and something you have found, something in your possession will be deemed of great value. But we all have already found that treasure in a field, that pearl of great price: it is our love of Jesus and the Kingdom of God; and that truly is priceless!
Maybe some of us have had a similar experience. We find a painting or an old coin or some antique and we find out later that they really have some value. Of course just having things handed down from past generations within our family is enough for us to deem them a treasure.
As people of faith, what do we treasure? What do we value? How much are we willing to do or give to keep our treasure?
Today's Gospel brings us to the end of the 13th chapter of Matthew and his teachings in parables. In reading the shorter Gospel our focus is on the treasure in the field and the pearl of great price. Upon finding both of these treasures the person in the field and the merchant are willing to sell all that they have; to give up everything already in their possession to gain the greater value of that treasure in the field and the pearl of great price.
This first parable of finding the treasure in the field represents finding the treasure of the kingdom of God. Once gaining the right understanding of finding the treasures of God's kingdom, which offers eternal life, over the treasures of this life, which surely fades and passes away, will we sacrifice everything to gain the greater value? Jesus asks us to do so!
The parable of the pearl of great price is much the same as the treasure in the field. The merchant too can be compared to any of us who, understanding the value of God's kingdom, will do all that is necessary to always possess it. Will we? Jesus asks us to do so!
The challenge of these parables for us today is the opportunity to reflect on our own comittment to hanging on to the value of God's kingdom. Have we made that decision of faith that yes, we prefer the Kingdom of God to the distractions and allurements of this world? If so, have we sold all that we have; have we abandoned those things that prevent us from giving completely and fully to God? Does my life reflect one whose treasures align with the treasures of the Kingdom?
In the week ahead can we pray and reflect daily on these final few verses from Matthew 13. Use these Scriptures as a prayer; an examination of conscience if you will, on those things we possess that both lead us to God's kingdom and those things that may hold us back. And in this prayer, ask God to show us more keenly those things that He has given us that are truly treasure: our faith and love of Him, the family treasures and friends treasures He has placed in our lives. The many treasures we take for granted and the treasures that, at first blush, don't seem like treasures at all.
You know maybe the Antiques Roadshow will pass through town sometime soon and something you have found, something in your possession will be deemed of great value. But we all have already found that treasure in a field, that pearl of great price: it is our love of Jesus and the Kingdom of God; and that truly is priceless!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Prayer answered; nothing impossible with God
Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens.
'Great', she thought. 'Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry.' She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn't there.
She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying. She prayed for calm, and she prayed that she might find her contact lens. When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of mountains. She thought of the bible verse 'The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth.'
She thought, 'Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me.'
Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, 'Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?'
Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!
The story doesn't end there. Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, 'Lord, I don't know why you want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what you want me to do; I'll carry it for you.'
I think it would do all of us some good to say, 'God, I don't know why you want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if you want me to carry it, I will.'
'Great', she thought. 'Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry.' She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn't there.
She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying. She prayed for calm, and she prayed that she might find her contact lens. When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of mountains. She thought of the bible verse 'The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth.'
She thought, 'Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me.'
Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, 'Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?'
Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!
The story doesn't end there. Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, 'Lord, I don't know why you want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what you want me to do; I'll carry it for you.'
Friday, July 22, 2011
Tonight we pray for the people of Norway
Today the people of Norway experienced terror on two fronts; a horrific bombing in Oslo that killed 7, injured many more and left the city and country in shock. And then word spread later in the day that at a youth camp on a forested island in Norway 80 innocent young people were gunned down. Here is the full report:
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-fg-norway-bombing-20110723,0,6147794,full.story
We sometimes only care when these things hit close to home but terror and fear and injustice anywhere is terror and fear and injustice everywhere.
As we pray for the folks of Norway I thought who is the patron saint of this Scandinavian country. I knew that Sweden has St. Bridget, who we remember tomorrow. But Norway; I could not remember. So to the search engine I go; it's St. Olaf. And as I read about him I notice his feast day is one week from today; barely a week removed from today's tragic act of terrorism. So reflect on his life as part of your prayer for the Norwegian people today:
St. Olaf
Feastday: July 29
Olaf was the son of Harold Grenske, a lord in Norway. Olaf Haraldsson, often called "the Fat", spent his youth as a pirate. He was baptized in Rouen, and in 1013, went to England to aid King Ethelred against the Danes. He returned to Norway in 1015, captured most of Norway back from the Danes and Swedes, defeated Earl Sweyn at the battle of Nesjar in 1016, and became king. He set about unifying and Christianizing his realm, but the harshness of his rule precipitated a revolt of the nobles in 1029, and aided by Canute of Denmark, they defeated him and forced him to flee to Russia. He returned in 1030 and attempted to recover his kingdom, but was slain at the Battle of Stiklestad in Norway on July 29th. Though not too popular during his lifetime, miracles were reported at his shrine, and a chapel was built, which became the cathedral of Trondheim; it became a great pilgrimage center for all Scandinavia. He is one of the great heroes of Norway for his efforts to unify and Christianize Norway, of which he is patron. He was canonized in 1164 and his feast day is July 29th.
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-fg-norway-bombing-20110723,0,6147794,full.story
We sometimes only care when these things hit close to home but terror and fear and injustice anywhere is terror and fear and injustice everywhere.
As we pray for the folks of Norway I thought who is the patron saint of this Scandinavian country. I knew that Sweden has St. Bridget, who we remember tomorrow. But Norway; I could not remember. So to the search engine I go; it's St. Olaf. And as I read about him I notice his feast day is one week from today; barely a week removed from today's tragic act of terrorism. So reflect on his life as part of your prayer for the Norwegian people today:
St. Olaf
Feastday: July 29
Olaf was the son of Harold Grenske, a lord in Norway. Olaf Haraldsson, often called "the Fat", spent his youth as a pirate. He was baptized in Rouen, and in 1013, went to England to aid King Ethelred against the Danes. He returned to Norway in 1015, captured most of Norway back from the Danes and Swedes, defeated Earl Sweyn at the battle of Nesjar in 1016, and became king. He set about unifying and Christianizing his realm, but the harshness of his rule precipitated a revolt of the nobles in 1029, and aided by Canute of Denmark, they defeated him and forced him to flee to Russia. He returned in 1030 and attempted to recover his kingdom, but was slain at the Battle of Stiklestad in Norway on July 29th. Though not too popular during his lifetime, miracles were reported at his shrine, and a chapel was built, which became the cathedral of Trondheim; it became a great pilgrimage center for all Scandinavia. He is one of the great heroes of Norway for his efforts to unify and Christianize Norway, of which he is patron. He was canonized in 1164 and his feast day is July 29th.
Sweden's patron saint
St. Bridget of Sweden
Feast Day: July 23
Patron of Sweden
Saint Birgitta was the daughter of Uppland’s Lagman, Birger Petersson and his wife, Ingeborg, who was a member of the same clan as the reigning family. Birgitta’s family was pious; her father went to confession every Friday and made long and arduous pilgrimages as far away as the Holy Land.
Birgitta’s mother died, leaving Birgitta, ten years old, Katharine, nine and a newborn baby boy, Israel. The children were sent to their maternal aunt for further education and care. It seems that as a young child, Birgitta had a dream-vision of The Man of Sorrows. This dream was very vivid. Birgitta asked Him who had done that to Him. His answer: ‘All those who despise my love.’ The memory of this dream never left Birgitta and may have even left an indelible mark on her sub-conscious. As was usual during the Middle Ages, Birgitta was married when she was 13 years old to a young man, Ulf Gudmarsson with whom she had eight children, four daughters and four sons, all of them survived infancy, and that was very rare at that time.
When the King of Sweden, Magnus Eriksson married Blanche of Namur, he asked his kinswoman, Birgitta to come and be Lady-in Waiting and to teach the young queen the language and customs of her new country. After her years of service at Court, Birgitta and Ulf made the long pilgrimage to Santiago di Compostela. On the return journey Ulf became dangerously ill in Arras. Birgitta feared for his death and sat all night by his bed praying, and then a bishop appeared to her, promised that Ulf would recover and ‘God had great things for her to do.’ He told her that he was Denis, Patron of France. Ulf recovered and was able to continue his work as Lagman in the province of Närke until early in the year 1344, when he was very ill so Birgitta took him to the monks at Alvastra where he died and was buried. Birgitta remained in a little house near the abbey and she spent along hours in prayer by Ulf’s grave. She said that she ‘loved him like my own body.’ She arranged her affairs among her children and various charities and prayed for guidance. She was 41 years old and in the abbey at Alvastra God called her ‘be My Bride and My canal’. He gave her the task of founding new religious order, mainly for women. He said that the other orders had fallen into decay and this new order would be a vineyard whose wine would revivify the Church. He showed her how her abbey church was to be built, gave directions concerning the clothing and prayers of the nuns, 60 in all, who needed priests as chaplains, 13 priests, 4 deacons and 8 lay brothers. These two communities were to be ruled by an abbess, who was to represent the Blessed Virgin Mary together with the Apostles in the Upper Room in Jerusalem.
King Magnus Eriksson donated a little palace and much land to the new monastery, but almost as soon she had begun altering the palace and organising the work, Christ appeared to her and asked her to go to Rome and wait there until she got the pope to return from France to Rome. She was to be there during the Holy Year 1350. Birgitta left Sweden at the end of 1349 never to return. For the rest of her life she saw visions concerning the reform of the Church, messages to kings and popes and many other persons in high places, directing them to work for the Church. It may be noted that Birgitta never wrote in the first person. She always said the she carried a message from a very High Lord. Although she had longed to become a nun, she never even saw the monastery in Vadstena. In fact, nothing she set out to do was ever realised. She never had the pope return to Rome permanently, she never managed to make peace between France and England, she never saw any nun in the habit that Christ had shown her, and she never returned to Sweden but died, worn out old lady far from home in July 1373. She can be called the Patroness of Failures. In this she was like her Lord. He was also classed as failure as He hung on the Cross. Birgitta was a successful failure as she was canonized in 1391.Birgitta was the only women ever to found a religious Order, Ordo Sanctissimi Salvatoris. It was never a double order but an order primarily for women with permanent chaplains, ruled by an abbess. The brothers had as their head, not a prior but a Confessor General who was responsible for the spiritual business of both convents.
The order spread swiftly throughout Europe with monasteries from Scandinavia right through Europe down to Italy. In modern times is has expanded into five different, juridically independant branches; Spain 1629, Rome 1911, U.S.A. 1970, Mexico at the change of the century. None of these foundations have brothers (except U.S.A. which has one male convent). The last Birgittine father died in Altomünster 1863. She is the patroness of Sweden. Her feast day is July 23.
Feast Day: July 23
Patron of Sweden
Saint Birgitta was the daughter of Uppland’s Lagman, Birger Petersson and his wife, Ingeborg, who was a member of the same clan as the reigning family. Birgitta’s family was pious; her father went to confession every Friday and made long and arduous pilgrimages as far away as the Holy Land.
Birgitta’s mother died, leaving Birgitta, ten years old, Katharine, nine and a newborn baby boy, Israel. The children were sent to their maternal aunt for further education and care. It seems that as a young child, Birgitta had a dream-vision of The Man of Sorrows. This dream was very vivid. Birgitta asked Him who had done that to Him. His answer: ‘All those who despise my love.’ The memory of this dream never left Birgitta and may have even left an indelible mark on her sub-conscious. As was usual during the Middle Ages, Birgitta was married when she was 13 years old to a young man, Ulf Gudmarsson with whom she had eight children, four daughters and four sons, all of them survived infancy, and that was very rare at that time.
When the King of Sweden, Magnus Eriksson married Blanche of Namur, he asked his kinswoman, Birgitta to come and be Lady-in Waiting and to teach the young queen the language and customs of her new country. After her years of service at Court, Birgitta and Ulf made the long pilgrimage to Santiago di Compostela. On the return journey Ulf became dangerously ill in Arras. Birgitta feared for his death and sat all night by his bed praying, and then a bishop appeared to her, promised that Ulf would recover and ‘God had great things for her to do.’ He told her that he was Denis, Patron of France. Ulf recovered and was able to continue his work as Lagman in the province of Närke until early in the year 1344, when he was very ill so Birgitta took him to the monks at Alvastra where he died and was buried. Birgitta remained in a little house near the abbey and she spent along hours in prayer by Ulf’s grave. She said that she ‘loved him like my own body.’ She arranged her affairs among her children and various charities and prayed for guidance. She was 41 years old and in the abbey at Alvastra God called her ‘be My Bride and My canal’. He gave her the task of founding new religious order, mainly for women. He said that the other orders had fallen into decay and this new order would be a vineyard whose wine would revivify the Church. He showed her how her abbey church was to be built, gave directions concerning the clothing and prayers of the nuns, 60 in all, who needed priests as chaplains, 13 priests, 4 deacons and 8 lay brothers. These two communities were to be ruled by an abbess, who was to represent the Blessed Virgin Mary together with the Apostles in the Upper Room in Jerusalem.
King Magnus Eriksson donated a little palace and much land to the new monastery, but almost as soon she had begun altering the palace and organising the work, Christ appeared to her and asked her to go to Rome and wait there until she got the pope to return from France to Rome. She was to be there during the Holy Year 1350. Birgitta left Sweden at the end of 1349 never to return. For the rest of her life she saw visions concerning the reform of the Church, messages to kings and popes and many other persons in high places, directing them to work for the Church. It may be noted that Birgitta never wrote in the first person. She always said the she carried a message from a very High Lord. Although she had longed to become a nun, she never even saw the monastery in Vadstena. In fact, nothing she set out to do was ever realised. She never had the pope return to Rome permanently, she never managed to make peace between France and England, she never saw any nun in the habit that Christ had shown her, and she never returned to Sweden but died, worn out old lady far from home in July 1373. She can be called the Patroness of Failures. In this she was like her Lord. He was also classed as failure as He hung on the Cross. Birgitta was a successful failure as she was canonized in 1391.Birgitta was the only women ever to found a religious Order, Ordo Sanctissimi Salvatoris. It was never a double order but an order primarily for women with permanent chaplains, ruled by an abbess. The brothers had as their head, not a prior but a Confessor General who was responsible for the spiritual business of both convents.
The order spread swiftly throughout Europe with monasteries from Scandinavia right through Europe down to Italy. In modern times is has expanded into five different, juridically independant branches; Spain 1629, Rome 1911, U.S.A. 1970, Mexico at the change of the century. None of these foundations have brothers (except U.S.A. which has one male convent). The last Birgittine father died in Altomünster 1863. She is the patroness of Sweden. Her feast day is July 23.
What a huge Deacon class!
‘Enter deeply into a friendship with Jesus.’ deacons told
Written by MIKE NELSON Friday, 22 July 2011 00:00
“This is a day of grace and joy for you, my brothers, and for all of your families,” the archbishop said with a smile as he looked upon the assembly filled with friends and parishioners of the new deacons, as well as their families and some 50 priests, 40 fellow deacons and Auxiliary Bishops Thomas Curry, Gerald Wilkerson and Oscar Solis.
The deacons (one is single) and their wives have journeyed for nearly five years in their formation process. It is the second large diaconate group from the region; 60 were ordained in June 2007 at Santa Barbara City College.
In June, 14 men were ordained to the permanent diaconate from parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. There are now some 350 permanent deacons serving in the archdiocese, the largest number since the restoration of the permanent diaconate by the Second Vatican Council; the first class of 25 deacons for Los Angeles was ordained in 1975.
“All of us in our Christian lives are entrusted with a mission to serve our brothers and sisters in the name of Jesus Christ,” Archbishop Gomez noted in his homily. “Each of us is called to take Jesus as our model and to imitate him by serving the Church and all mankind. However, you who are to be ordained to the permanent diaconate are called by God and set apart to a divinely instituted ministry of service in his Church.”
Citing the day’s Gospel reading from St. John (“I no longer call you slaves, but friends”), the archbishop encouraged the new deacons to “enter deeply” into a friendship with Jesus Christ, who “welcomes you to sacramental ministry in his Church — not as servants, but as friends. I pray that you will accept this beautiful gift of his friendship and let it shape your identity as deacons and let it set the program for your ministries.”
He reminded them that, in their ministries, they are called “to a life of simple holiness and an attitude of humble service. By your ordination, you are configured to the image of Jesus Christ, who emptied himself to come among us in the form of a servant. You are called to serve — in persona Christi Servi, ‘in the person of Christ the Servant.’”
Thus, he said, it is imperative that their example and actions speak as profoundly as the Gospels that they proclaim at Mass.
“Through your service of love,” Archbishop Gomez asserted, “you will show our brothers and sisters how much God loves them. You will show them how God longs to touch each one of us personally with his love.”
Newly ordained are: Genaro Gacasan and Luc Papillon (Blessed Junípero Serra, Camarillo); Eduardo Castillo, Patrick Coulter, Derrel Craig, Dennis Fleming, Michael Kromm and Joseph Tumbarello (Holy Cross, Moorpark); Jeffrey Braxton, Fernando Calderon, Miguel Marquez, Paul Nicastro and Jesus Rico (La Purísima Concepción, Lompoc); Alfonso Flores (Mary Star of the Sea, Oxnard); Daniel Bojorquez, Michael Burns, José Gonzalez, Don Huntley and Philip Joerger (Our Lady of the Assumption, Ventura); Sergio Bernal (Our Lady of Guadalupe, Guadalupe); Falk Gosdschan (Our Lady of Guadalupe, Santa Barbara); Jason Miller (Our Lady of Guadalupe, Santa Paula); Roberto González, David Munoz and Paul Rayas (Our Lady of Sorrows, Santa Barbara); Michael Lujan (Queen of Angels, Lompoc); Philip Conforti and Humberto Guzman (Sacred Heart, Ventura-Saticoy); Andrew Cottam (St. Anthony, Oxnard); Raymond Rodriguez (St. Francis of Assisi, Fillmore); José Ojeda (St. John Neumann, Santa Maria); Joseph Bond and Claudio Selame (St. Julie Billiart, Newbury Park); Christopher Boerger, Alfredo Espinosa, Antonio Mejia and Robert Schaefer (St. Louis De Montfort, Santa Maria); Dennis Pearson, Steven Pent (St. Mary of the Assumption, Santa Maria); George Esseff Jr. (St. Mary Magdalen, Camarillo); Christopher Laliberte (St. Maximilian Kolbe, Westlake Village); David Lawrence (St. Paschal Baylon, Thousand Oaks); Melecio Zamora (St. Peter Claver, Simi Valley); Edward Posvar (St. Rose of Lima, Simi Valley); Joaquin Lara (St. Thomas Aquinas, Ojai); and Jerome Bettencourt, Vincent Crawford and Leonardo Lacbain (Santa Clara, Oxnard).
—Mike Nelson
>>>Tip of the deacon's stole to Deacon's Bench where I first saw this amazing post. New Deacons are a response to God's call to have men serving the Church in the ministry of charity!
The deacons (one is single) and their wives have journeyed for nearly five years in their formation process. It is the second large diaconate group from the region; 60 were ordained in June 2007 at Santa Barbara City College.
In June, 14 men were ordained to the permanent diaconate from parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. There are now some 350 permanent deacons serving in the archdiocese, the largest number since the restoration of the permanent diaconate by the Second Vatican Council; the first class of 25 deacons for Los Angeles was ordained in 1975.
“All of us in our Christian lives are entrusted with a mission to serve our brothers and sisters in the name of Jesus Christ,” Archbishop Gomez noted in his homily. “Each of us is called to take Jesus as our model and to imitate him by serving the Church and all mankind. However, you who are to be ordained to the permanent diaconate are called by God and set apart to a divinely instituted ministry of service in his Church.”
Citing the day’s Gospel reading from St. John (“I no longer call you slaves, but friends”), the archbishop encouraged the new deacons to “enter deeply” into a friendship with Jesus Christ, who “welcomes you to sacramental ministry in his Church — not as servants, but as friends. I pray that you will accept this beautiful gift of his friendship and let it shape your identity as deacons and let it set the program for your ministries.”
He reminded them that, in their ministries, they are called “to a life of simple holiness and an attitude of humble service. By your ordination, you are configured to the image of Jesus Christ, who emptied himself to come among us in the form of a servant. You are called to serve — in persona Christi Servi, ‘in the person of Christ the Servant.’”
Thus, he said, it is imperative that their example and actions speak as profoundly as the Gospels that they proclaim at Mass.
“Through your service of love,” Archbishop Gomez asserted, “you will show our brothers and sisters how much God loves them. You will show them how God longs to touch each one of us personally with his love.”
Newly ordained are: Genaro Gacasan and Luc Papillon (Blessed Junípero Serra, Camarillo); Eduardo Castillo, Patrick Coulter, Derrel Craig, Dennis Fleming, Michael Kromm and Joseph Tumbarello (Holy Cross, Moorpark); Jeffrey Braxton, Fernando Calderon, Miguel Marquez, Paul Nicastro and Jesus Rico (La Purísima Concepción, Lompoc); Alfonso Flores (Mary Star of the Sea, Oxnard); Daniel Bojorquez, Michael Burns, José Gonzalez, Don Huntley and Philip Joerger (Our Lady of the Assumption, Ventura); Sergio Bernal (Our Lady of Guadalupe, Guadalupe); Falk Gosdschan (Our Lady of Guadalupe, Santa Barbara); Jason Miller (Our Lady of Guadalupe, Santa Paula); Roberto González, David Munoz and Paul Rayas (Our Lady of Sorrows, Santa Barbara); Michael Lujan (Queen of Angels, Lompoc); Philip Conforti and Humberto Guzman (Sacred Heart, Ventura-Saticoy); Andrew Cottam (St. Anthony, Oxnard); Raymond Rodriguez (St. Francis of Assisi, Fillmore); José Ojeda (St. John Neumann, Santa Maria); Joseph Bond and Claudio Selame (St. Julie Billiart, Newbury Park); Christopher Boerger, Alfredo Espinosa, Antonio Mejia and Robert Schaefer (St. Louis De Montfort, Santa Maria); Dennis Pearson, Steven Pent (St. Mary of the Assumption, Santa Maria); George Esseff Jr. (St. Mary Magdalen, Camarillo); Christopher Laliberte (St. Maximilian Kolbe, Westlake Village); David Lawrence (St. Paschal Baylon, Thousand Oaks); Melecio Zamora (St. Peter Claver, Simi Valley); Edward Posvar (St. Rose of Lima, Simi Valley); Joaquin Lara (St. Thomas Aquinas, Ojai); and Jerome Bettencourt, Vincent Crawford and Leonardo Lacbain (Santa Clara, Oxnard).
—Mike Nelson
>>>Tip of the deacon's stole to Deacon's Bench where I first saw this amazing post. New Deacons are a response to God's call to have men serving the Church in the ministry of charity!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)