>>>With God all things (anything) is possible!!
Former Abortionist Speaks At Students For Life Event
By Regina Conley
Aaron Smith/ Tower Staff
For many people, the illegalization of abortion means saving unborn babies; however, local obstetrician/gynecologist Ph.D. John Bruchalski says it as much about women in crisis.
Bruchalski spoke at the Students for Life sponsored event on Monday called "A Man on a Mission." He spoke of his former life as an OB/GYN who performed many abortions, sterilized patients and prescribed various forms of contraception, and his subsequent conversion.
"As a gynecologist, I contracepted everyone, I wanted to do this full blown," said Bruchalski. "I was sterilizing 20 women a week."
But after an experience visiting the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City and the Medjugorje site in Bosnia-Herzegovina, he decided to refocus his medical career.
"My life came tumbling down," said Bruchalski. "I told my employer I could not make embryos anymore, I couldn't sterilize."
Following his conversion Bruchalski founded the Tepeyac Family Center in Fairfax, VA in 1994 which provides affordable alternative healthcare for women, especially those with crisis pregnancies.
Also a part of Tepeyac Family Center is his organization called Divine Mercy Care which provides spiritual and corporal works of mercy in the DC metro area. It was declared the first Catholic health care facility in the Diocese of Arlington.
Bruchalski works extensively with the national pro-life movement and offers women alternatives to abortion. Alternatives include assistance in the adoption sector, support services for financially burdened mothers, and the offering of other solutions that discourage mothers from choosing an abortion.
"There is no choice for women who abort," said Bruchalski. "Ask any woman and she will tell you she had no choice. We can offer choices."
The event which took place in Hannan Hall had more than 50 students in attendance. Deirdre Lawler, president of Students for Life, said that the event exceeded her expectations.
"It is so powerful for us to hear from a witness who truly knows both sides of this issue," she said. "It was fascinating to hear him speak about his time spent as an abortionist… versus his work in pro-life healthcare."
Bruchalski thinks that the primary way to reach the pro-choice supporters is to show them the crisis that today's contraceptive mentality causes for women.
"You think if you showed them the humanity of a fetus, it would work, but it doesn't," he said. "Every sexually active woman knows the panic she feels every month when she's late on her period, whether she is using contraceptives or not and that is what we are trying to help: women in crisis."
According to Bruchalski, President Barack Obama spoke recently about the importance of ensuring that our daughters and sons have the same equal opportunities in the future and the importance of acting on belief. However, the availability of abortion, sterilization and contraception make this equality impossible, he said.
He also spoke about the recent arrest of abortionist Dr. Kermit Gosnell, who was charged with the murder of several newborns and one pregnant woman in West Philadelphia last month.
"What is disgusting is not what he was doing, but that the Health department had checked his facility since 1994 and they turned the other way," said Bruchalski.
In response to a question about the effectiveness of Natural Family Planning, Bruchalski said that 98% of women, according to the World Health Organization, could identify their fertile phase within three months, which is the key to NFP.
"NFP is about women knowing the language of their bodies," said Bruchalski. "But the world is going green and women are pumping hormones into their bodies. This is not healthy."
Another student asked if there was ever a case, such as where the mother's life was in danger, where abortion was the right course of action.
"You never pick one life against the other," said Bruchalski. "You always try to save both."
Senior philosophy major Lauren Joyce said she was struck by his remark, "We treat disease not desire."
"Women don't get into crisis pregnancies because of their fertility," she said. "Crisis pregnancies are the inevitable result of a culture that denies the obvious - sex can create babies. We need to take ownership of our bodies and our actions and realize that if we're not ready for a baby, then we're not ready for sex."
Monday, February 14, 2011
The "official" Saints of Valentine's Day
>>>They replaced St. Valentine on the Church calendar. See my previous post.
Sts. Cyril and Methodius
Feastday: February 14
Cyril and Methodius must have often wondered, as we do today, how God could bring spiritual meaning out of worldly concerns. Every mission they went on, every struggle they fought was a result of political battles, not spiritual, and yet the political battles are forgotten and their work lives on in the Slavic peoples and their literature.
Tradition tells us that the brothers Methodius and Constantine (he did not take the name Cyril until just before his death) grew up in Thessalonica as sons of a prominent Christian family. Because many Slavic people settled in Thessalonica, it is assumed Constantine and Methodius were familiar with the Slavic language. Methodius, the older of the two brothers, became an important civil official who would have needed to know Slavonic. He grew tired of worldly affairs and retired to a monastery. Constantine became a scholar and a professor known as "the Philosopher" in Constantinople. In 860 Constantine and Methodius went as missionaries to what is today the Ukraine.
When the Byzantine emperor decided to honor a request for missionaries by the Moravian prince Rastislav, Methodius and Constantine were the natural choices; they knew the language, they were able administrators, and had already proven themselves successful missionaries.
But there was far more behind this request and the response than a desire for Christianity. Rastislav, like the rest of the Slav princes, was struggling for independence from German influence and invasion. Christian missionaries from the East, to replace missionaries from Germany, would help Rastislav consolidate power in his own country, especially if they spoke the Slavonic language.
Constantine and Methodius were dedicated to the ideal of expression in a people's native language. Throughout their lives they would battle against those who saw value only in Greek or Latin. Before they even left on their mission, tradition says, Constantine constructed a script for Slavonic -- a script that is known today as glagolithic. Glagolithic is considered by some as the precursor of cyrillic which named after him.
Arriving in 863 in Moravia, Constantine began translating the liturgy into Slavonic. In the East, it was a normal procedure to translate liturgy into the vernacular. As we know, in the West the custom was to use Greek and later Latin, until Vatican II. The German hierarchy, which had power over Moravia, used this difference to combat the brothers' influence. The German priests didn't like losing their control and knew that language has a great deal to do with independence.
So when Constantine and Methodius went to Rome to have the Slav priesthood candidates ordained (neither was a bishop at the time), they had to face the criticism the Germans had leveled against them. But if the Germans had motives that differed from spiritual concerns, so did the pope. He was concerned about the Eastern church gaining too much influence in the Slavic provinces. Helping Constantine and Methodius would give the Roman Catholic church more power in the area. So after speaking the brothers, the pope approved the use of Slavonic in services and ordained their pupils.
Constantine never returned to Moravia. He died in Rome after assuming the monastic robes and the name Cyril on February 14, 869. Legend tells us that his older brother was so griefstricken, and perhaps upset by the political turmoil, that he intended to withdraw to a monastery in Constantinople. Cyril's dying wish, however, was that Methodius return to the missionary work they had begun.
He couldn't return to Moravia because of political problems there, but another Slavic prince, Kocel, asked for him, having admired the brothers' work in translating so much text into Slavonic. Methodius was allowed by the pope to continue saying Mass and administering baptism in the Slavonic tongue. Methodius was finally consecrated bishop, once again because of politics -- Kocel knew that having a Slavonic bishop would destroy the power of the Salzburg hierarchy over his land. Methodius became bishop of Sirmium, an ancient see near Belgrade and given power over Serbo-Croatian, Slovene, and Moravian territory.
The German bishops accused him of infringing on their power and imprisoned him in a monastery. This lasted until Germany suffered military defeats in Moravia. At that time the pope intervened and Methodius returned to his diocese in triumph at the same time the Germans were forced to recognize Moravian independence. There was a loss involved -- to appease the Germans a little, the pope told Methodius he could no longer celebrate liturgy in the vernacular.
In 879 Methodius was summoned to Rome to answer German charges he had not obeyed this restriction. This worked against the Germans because it gave Methodius a chance to explain how important it was to celebrate the liturgy in the tongue people understood. Instead of condemning him, the pope gave him permission to use Slavonic in the Mass, in Scripture reading, and in the office. He also made him head of the hierarchy in Moravia.
The criticism never went away, but it never stopped Methodius either. It is said that he translated almost all the Bible and the works of the Fathers of the Church into Slavonic before he died on April 6 in 884.
Within twenty years after his death, it would seem like all the work of Cyril and Methodius was destroyed. Magyar invasions devastated Moravia. And without the brothers to explain their position, use of the vernacular in liturgy was banned. But politics could never prevail over God's will. The disciples of Cyril and Methodius who were driven out of Moravia didn't hide in a locked room. The invasion and the ban gave them a chance to go to other Slavic countries. The brothers' work of spreading Christ's word and translating it into Slavonic continued and laid the foundation for Christianity in the region.
What began as a request guided by political concerns produced two of the greatest Christian missionaries, revered by both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, and two of the fathers of Slavonic literary culture.
In Their Footsteps:
Cyril and Methodius believed in the importance of celebrating liturgy in our own language, a privilege we have only had in last twenty years. If this change took place before your time, ask older Catholics about the differences that have taken place in their worship because of this change. If you were worshipping during the change, reflect on how celebrating in the vernacular has helped your worship and your spiritual life.
Prayer:
Saints Cyril and Methodius, watch over all missionaries but especially those in Slavic countries. Help those that are in danger in the troubled areas. Watch over the people you dedicated your lives to. Amen
Sts. Cyril and Methodius
Feastday: February 14
Cyril and Methodius must have often wondered, as we do today, how God could bring spiritual meaning out of worldly concerns. Every mission they went on, every struggle they fought was a result of political battles, not spiritual, and yet the political battles are forgotten and their work lives on in the Slavic peoples and their literature.
Tradition tells us that the brothers Methodius and Constantine (he did not take the name Cyril until just before his death) grew up in Thessalonica as sons of a prominent Christian family. Because many Slavic people settled in Thessalonica, it is assumed Constantine and Methodius were familiar with the Slavic language. Methodius, the older of the two brothers, became an important civil official who would have needed to know Slavonic. He grew tired of worldly affairs and retired to a monastery. Constantine became a scholar and a professor known as "the Philosopher" in Constantinople. In 860 Constantine and Methodius went as missionaries to what is today the Ukraine.
When the Byzantine emperor decided to honor a request for missionaries by the Moravian prince Rastislav, Methodius and Constantine were the natural choices; they knew the language, they were able administrators, and had already proven themselves successful missionaries.
But there was far more behind this request and the response than a desire for Christianity. Rastislav, like the rest of the Slav princes, was struggling for independence from German influence and invasion. Christian missionaries from the East, to replace missionaries from Germany, would help Rastislav consolidate power in his own country, especially if they spoke the Slavonic language.
Constantine and Methodius were dedicated to the ideal of expression in a people's native language. Throughout their lives they would battle against those who saw value only in Greek or Latin. Before they even left on their mission, tradition says, Constantine constructed a script for Slavonic -- a script that is known today as glagolithic. Glagolithic is considered by some as the precursor of cyrillic which named after him.
Arriving in 863 in Moravia, Constantine began translating the liturgy into Slavonic. In the East, it was a normal procedure to translate liturgy into the vernacular. As we know, in the West the custom was to use Greek and later Latin, until Vatican II. The German hierarchy, which had power over Moravia, used this difference to combat the brothers' influence. The German priests didn't like losing their control and knew that language has a great deal to do with independence.
So when Constantine and Methodius went to Rome to have the Slav priesthood candidates ordained (neither was a bishop at the time), they had to face the criticism the Germans had leveled against them. But if the Germans had motives that differed from spiritual concerns, so did the pope. He was concerned about the Eastern church gaining too much influence in the Slavic provinces. Helping Constantine and Methodius would give the Roman Catholic church more power in the area. So after speaking the brothers, the pope approved the use of Slavonic in services and ordained their pupils.
Constantine never returned to Moravia. He died in Rome after assuming the monastic robes and the name Cyril on February 14, 869. Legend tells us that his older brother was so griefstricken, and perhaps upset by the political turmoil, that he intended to withdraw to a monastery in Constantinople. Cyril's dying wish, however, was that Methodius return to the missionary work they had begun.
He couldn't return to Moravia because of political problems there, but another Slavic prince, Kocel, asked for him, having admired the brothers' work in translating so much text into Slavonic. Methodius was allowed by the pope to continue saying Mass and administering baptism in the Slavonic tongue. Methodius was finally consecrated bishop, once again because of politics -- Kocel knew that having a Slavonic bishop would destroy the power of the Salzburg hierarchy over his land. Methodius became bishop of Sirmium, an ancient see near Belgrade and given power over Serbo-Croatian, Slovene, and Moravian territory.
The German bishops accused him of infringing on their power and imprisoned him in a monastery. This lasted until Germany suffered military defeats in Moravia. At that time the pope intervened and Methodius returned to his diocese in triumph at the same time the Germans were forced to recognize Moravian independence. There was a loss involved -- to appease the Germans a little, the pope told Methodius he could no longer celebrate liturgy in the vernacular.
In 879 Methodius was summoned to Rome to answer German charges he had not obeyed this restriction. This worked against the Germans because it gave Methodius a chance to explain how important it was to celebrate the liturgy in the tongue people understood. Instead of condemning him, the pope gave him permission to use Slavonic in the Mass, in Scripture reading, and in the office. He also made him head of the hierarchy in Moravia.
The criticism never went away, but it never stopped Methodius either. It is said that he translated almost all the Bible and the works of the Fathers of the Church into Slavonic before he died on April 6 in 884.
Within twenty years after his death, it would seem like all the work of Cyril and Methodius was destroyed. Magyar invasions devastated Moravia. And without the brothers to explain their position, use of the vernacular in liturgy was banned. But politics could never prevail over God's will. The disciples of Cyril and Methodius who were driven out of Moravia didn't hide in a locked room. The invasion and the ban gave them a chance to go to other Slavic countries. The brothers' work of spreading Christ's word and translating it into Slavonic continued and laid the foundation for Christianity in the region.
What began as a request guided by political concerns produced two of the greatest Christian missionaries, revered by both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, and two of the fathers of Slavonic literary culture.
In Their Footsteps:
Cyril and Methodius believed in the importance of celebrating liturgy in our own language, a privilege we have only had in last twenty years. If this change took place before your time, ask older Catholics about the differences that have taken place in their worship because of this change. If you were worshipping during the change, reflect on how celebrating in the vernacular has helped your worship and your spiritual life.
Prayer:
Saints Cyril and Methodius, watch over all missionaries but especially those in Slavic countries. Help those that are in danger in the troubled areas. Watch over the people you dedicated your lives to. Amen
Sunday, February 13, 2011
St. Valentine's Day: Catholic or Not? Kind of...
The Catholic Church no longer officially honors St. Valentine, but the holiday has both Roman and Catholic roots.
The Origins of St. Valentine’s Day
A quick quiz: St. Valentine was:
a) a priest in the Roman Empire who helped persecuted Christians during the reign of Claudius II, was thrown in jail and later beheaded on Feb. 14.
b) a Catholic bishop of Terni who was beheaded, also during the reign of Claudius II.
c) someone who secretly married couples when marriage was forbidden, or suffered in Africa, or wrote letters to his jailer's daughter, and was probably beheaded.
d) all, some, or possibly none of the above.
If you guessed d), give yourself a box of chocolates. Although the mid-February holiday celebrating love and lovers remains wildly popular, the confusion over its origins led the Catholic Church, in 1969, to drop St. Valentine's Day from the Roman calendar of official, worldwide Catholic feasts. (Those highly sought-after days are reserved for saints with more clear historical record. After all, the saints are real individuals for us to imitate.) Some parishes, however, observe the feast of St. Valentine.
The roots of St. Valentine's Day lie in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated on Feb. 15. For 800 years the Romans had dedicated this day to the god Lupercus. On Lupercalia, a young man would draw the name of a young woman in a lottery and would then keep the woman as a sexual companion for the year.
Pope Gelasius I was, understandably, less than thrilled with this custom. So he changed the lottery to have both young men and women draw the names of saints whom they would then emulate for the year (a change that no doubt disappointed a few young men). Instead of Lupercus, the patron of the feast became Valentine. For Roman men, the day continued to be an occasion to seek the affections of women, and it became a tradition to give out handwritten messages of admiration that included Valentine's name.
There was also a conventional belief in Europe during the Middle Ages that birds chose their partners in the middle of February. Thus the day was dedicated to love, and people observed it by writing love letters and sending small gifts to their beloved. Legend has it that Charles, duke of Orleans, sent the first real Valentine card to his wife in 1415, when he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. (He, however, was not beheaded, and died a half-century later of old age.)
The Origins of St. Valentine’s Day
A quick quiz: St. Valentine was:
a) a priest in the Roman Empire who helped persecuted Christians during the reign of Claudius II, was thrown in jail and later beheaded on Feb. 14.
b) a Catholic bishop of Terni who was beheaded, also during the reign of Claudius II.
c) someone who secretly married couples when marriage was forbidden, or suffered in Africa, or wrote letters to his jailer's daughter, and was probably beheaded.
d) all, some, or possibly none of the above.
If you guessed d), give yourself a box of chocolates. Although the mid-February holiday celebrating love and lovers remains wildly popular, the confusion over its origins led the Catholic Church, in 1969, to drop St. Valentine's Day from the Roman calendar of official, worldwide Catholic feasts. (Those highly sought-after days are reserved for saints with more clear historical record. After all, the saints are real individuals for us to imitate.) Some parishes, however, observe the feast of St. Valentine.
The roots of St. Valentine's Day lie in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated on Feb. 15. For 800 years the Romans had dedicated this day to the god Lupercus. On Lupercalia, a young man would draw the name of a young woman in a lottery and would then keep the woman as a sexual companion for the year.
Pope Gelasius I was, understandably, less than thrilled with this custom. So he changed the lottery to have both young men and women draw the names of saints whom they would then emulate for the year (a change that no doubt disappointed a few young men). Instead of Lupercus, the patron of the feast became Valentine. For Roman men, the day continued to be an occasion to seek the affections of women, and it became a tradition to give out handwritten messages of admiration that included Valentine's name.
There was also a conventional belief in Europe during the Middle Ages that birds chose their partners in the middle of February. Thus the day was dedicated to love, and people observed it by writing love letters and sending small gifts to their beloved. Legend has it that Charles, duke of Orleans, sent the first real Valentine card to his wife in 1415, when he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. (He, however, was not beheaded, and died a half-century later of old age.)
A can't miss video: Faith and Football
Please watch the youtube video about a high school football team of incarcerated teenagers and their encounter with a Christian School that "gets it".
Can we always treat EVERYONE God puts in our lives with dignity and respect. Following the example of Jesus can we ALWAYS love others; even those most of the world deems unlovable?
Watch this video, be patient and ponder the simplicity of just showing others the love that Christ calls us to share with others.
This is awesome; totally awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eogs3DcxWPs
Can we always treat EVERYONE God puts in our lives with dignity and respect. Following the example of Jesus can we ALWAYS love others; even those most of the world deems unlovable?
Watch this video, be patient and ponder the simplicity of just showing others the love that Christ calls us to share with others.
This is awesome; totally awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eogs3DcxWPs
World Marriage Day
>>>Today we celebrate World Marriage Day in the Church. I've included below some details from the World Marriage Day website and gound the interesting tidbit that this effort began in Baton Rouge, La. Go figure!
This weekend I was privileged to hear two homilies on marriage; one from a veteran Priest; the other the 1st homily ever of a newly ordained Deacon. Both were very hopeful and supportive when discussing broken and hurting marriages and the proper understanding of Sacrament, covenant and even the more difficult discussion of divorce and annulment.
I'll address annulments in a later post as I have been taking a class these last few months related to annulments. We have explored Canon Law, Scripture and years of Church teaching so perhaps I can speak from a more educated and enlightened poingt of view.
In the meantime can we celebrate the Church's recognition of the importance and dignity of marriages and the Sacrament of Matrimony? Yes we can. And let's pray for strong marriages rooted in the teachings of Jesus Christ. Enjoy the article:
World Marriage Day Purpose Statement
World Marriage Day honors husband and wife as head of the family, the basic unit of society. It salutes the beauty of their faithfulness, sacrifice and joy in daily married life.
History of World Marriage Day
History - The idea of celebrating marriage began in Baton Rouge, La., in 1981, when couples encouraged the Mayor, the Governor and the Bishop to proclaim St. Valentines Day as "We Believe in Marriage Day". The event was so successful, the idea was presented to and was adopted by Worldwide Marriage Encounter's National Leadership.
By 1982, 43 Governors officially proclaimed the day and celebrations spread to U.S. military bases in several foreign countries. In 1983, the name was changed to "World Marriage Day", designated to be celebrated each year on the second Sunday in February. In 1993, his Holiness, Pope John Paul II, imparted his Apostolic Blessings on World Marriage Day. WMD celebrations continue to grow and spread to more countries and faith expressions every year.
Symbol of World Marriage Day
Symbol - Our World Marriage Day Symbol speaks readily of the role and values we proclaim. Husband and wife are symbolically seen as two candle-like figures, reminding us that married love calls us to help enlighten the world. The couple is joined by a heart, focusing on love as the power that fosters unity within the couple and generates the capacity to be life-giving and inspire others to fruitfulness and unity.
Theme of World Marriage Day
Theme - Our Theme for WMD has been permanently adopted as "Love One Another". This phrase is the commandment given us by Jesus in John 15:12. It speaks to us in a simple but challenging way of how our Father wishes us to live. Loving one another is a daily decision, simple but challenging.
Prayer for World Marriage Day
Prayer - "Father, as we prepare for WMD, we thank you for your tremendous gift of the Sacrament of Marriage. Help us to witness to its glory by a life of growing intimacy. Teach us the beauty of forgiveness so we may become more and more One in Heart, Mind and Body. Strengthen our dialogue and help us become living signs of your love. Make us grow more in love with the Church so we may renew the Body of Christ. Make us a sign of unity in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Brother. Amen" - Fr. Bill Dilgen, S.M.M.
This weekend I was privileged to hear two homilies on marriage; one from a veteran Priest; the other the 1st homily ever of a newly ordained Deacon. Both were very hopeful and supportive when discussing broken and hurting marriages and the proper understanding of Sacrament, covenant and even the more difficult discussion of divorce and annulment.
I'll address annulments in a later post as I have been taking a class these last few months related to annulments. We have explored Canon Law, Scripture and years of Church teaching so perhaps I can speak from a more educated and enlightened poingt of view.
In the meantime can we celebrate the Church's recognition of the importance and dignity of marriages and the Sacrament of Matrimony? Yes we can. And let's pray for strong marriages rooted in the teachings of Jesus Christ. Enjoy the article:
World Marriage Day Purpose Statement
World Marriage Day honors husband and wife as head of the family, the basic unit of society. It salutes the beauty of their faithfulness, sacrifice and joy in daily married life.
History of World Marriage Day
History - The idea of celebrating marriage began in Baton Rouge, La., in 1981, when couples encouraged the Mayor, the Governor and the Bishop to proclaim St. Valentines Day as "We Believe in Marriage Day". The event was so successful, the idea was presented to and was adopted by Worldwide Marriage Encounter's National Leadership.
By 1982, 43 Governors officially proclaimed the day and celebrations spread to U.S. military bases in several foreign countries. In 1983, the name was changed to "World Marriage Day", designated to be celebrated each year on the second Sunday in February. In 1993, his Holiness, Pope John Paul II, imparted his Apostolic Blessings on World Marriage Day. WMD celebrations continue to grow and spread to more countries and faith expressions every year.
Symbol of World Marriage Day
Symbol - Our World Marriage Day Symbol speaks readily of the role and values we proclaim. Husband and wife are symbolically seen as two candle-like figures, reminding us that married love calls us to help enlighten the world. The couple is joined by a heart, focusing on love as the power that fosters unity within the couple and generates the capacity to be life-giving and inspire others to fruitfulness and unity.
Theme of World Marriage Day
Theme - Our Theme for WMD has been permanently adopted as "Love One Another". This phrase is the commandment given us by Jesus in John 15:12. It speaks to us in a simple but challenging way of how our Father wishes us to live. Loving one another is a daily decision, simple but challenging.
Prayer for World Marriage Day
Prayer - "Father, as we prepare for WMD, we thank you for your tremendous gift of the Sacrament of Marriage. Help us to witness to its glory by a life of growing intimacy. Teach us the beauty of forgiveness so we may become more and more One in Heart, Mind and Body. Strengthen our dialogue and help us become living signs of your love. Make us grow more in love with the Church so we may renew the Body of Christ. Make us a sign of unity in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Brother. Amen" - Fr. Bill Dilgen, S.M.M.
Continuing the changes to the Roman Missal: The Creed
Preparing the Way for the Roman Missal 3rd Edition, Part 8: The Creed
February 7th, 2011 by Louie Verrecchio
We discover right out of the gate in the new translation that the Creed is a personal statement, Credo / I believe. Yes, we profess the faith of the Church in one voice with all of her members, but the Creed must be our own personal acceptance of that faith.
And so we say, I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
The former words which spoke of all that is seen and unseen were clearly deficient.
There is a real difference to be considered between things unseen and those that are invisible. Maybe you’ve never seen Jupiter, for example. However, it is possible, you know it’s there, but it is as yet unseen to you. This is not what the Creed means to address.
When we speak of things invisible, we are acknowledging that there is yet another reality of which God is Creator; the angels for instance (e.g. the thrones, dominations, principalities, and powers of which St. Paul wrote in Colossians 1:16), and the souls of humankind. These are indeed created things, and our God is Lord of them all.
We continue, I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages.
Once again we state I believe… and similar to the Gloria, we are once again saying that there is a relationship between the “begotteness” of the Son and the fact that God is Father before all ages.
The Son’s begotteness further indicates that both Father and Son are of the same divine substance, and we articulate this even more clearly as we say, “God from God, Light from Light, etc…” culminating in the new translation with the phrase, “consubstantial with the Father.”
Jesus, in other words, is of the same substance as the Father.
In Latin we say, consubstantialim Patris. Con – meaning “with,” substantialim – meaning “substance.” So when we say that Jesus is consubstantial with the Father, we are saying that He is in some way with the substance of the Father. We are professing that the Father and the Son are the same in glory and the same in divinity. The Son, in other words, is not the lesser divinity – the Son is God with the Father, not two gods, but one God of one divine substance – consubstantial.
We continue: For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man…
Incarnate – to become or to be in the flesh. The old translation wasn’t just insufficient as far as translations go; it also hinted of grave error.
Question: When did Jesus become man? Before you answer, know that the Latin text reads, et homo factus est / He became man. Homo – meaning “human.” So asked another way, when did Jesus become human? Was it when He was born of the Virgin Mary?
That’s what we’ve been saying for more than 40 years now, but isn’t this exactly the lie of the pro-abortionists?
Lex orandi, lex credendi. The law of prayer is the law of belief. As we pray, so too do we believe. For more than four decades now even the most committed pro-lifers among us have unwittingly been saying that even Jesus became human only at his birth, but the truth is that Jesus, like all of us, became a real man at the moment of his conception by the Spirit – when he was incarnate of the Virgin Mary.
We continue, “He was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”
He suffered death… Have you ever heard it said that this person or that had “a peaceful death?” This particular expression is not meant to deny whatever suffering may have been present for the individual; rather, it’s meant to describe the manner of death.
When we say that Jesus suffered death, we are likewise giving heed to the manner of his death; a violent immolation. In fact, Jesus suffered death with an intensity that exceeds that of any other person. We know this because suffering and death can only be understood in relation to sin. Indeed, they are a consequence of sin. And so Jesus who took upon himself the sin of the world; i.e. the sin of every man, woman and child who ever lived or will ever live, suffered death in a manner that exceeds our comprehension.
Now, while there is nothing inherently wrong with the current phrase in fulfillment of the Scriptures, the properly translated Latin text, in accordance with the Scriptures, makes more sense from the standpoint that the Scriptures are as yet not entirely fulfilled.
We are a pilgrim Church that “waits with joyful hope for the coming of our Savior” and his return in glory. We await the new heavens and the new Earth that are promised in the Book of Revelation, etc. It is more fitting, therefore, to say that everything we have professed thus far has happened in accordance with the Scriptures.
There are two more statements in the old translation that begin We believe that are no longer prefaced as such in the new translation. Instead these statements employ the personal affirmation, I believe…
One such statement regards the Holy Spirit.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
This is essentially the same as the old translation, but the threefold addition of the personal pronoun who seems to underscore the distinct “personhood” of the Holy Spirit. We also say adore as opposed to worship; just as it is stated in the original Latin.
We once more assert our personal acceptance of the faith when we say I believe for the fourth and final time in the Creed as we profess, I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church…
We then conclude by professing, I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Where once we said, we acknowledge one baptism, we now say I confess; again, a personal statement of faith, but in this case one that goes beyond simply acknowledging baptism. To confess in this sense means that we not only acknowledge this doctrine, we also personally endorse and submit to the truth of its teaching.
We now no longer say that we look for the resurrection of the dead; we say that we look forward to it. This manner of speaking more perfectly reflects the theological virtue of hope, and it is much more in keeping with Romans 8 where St. Paul tells us that the entirety of creation longs for the resurrection and the renewal of all things in Christ.
The Creed is both a profession and a prayer, and so we conclude with the Amen that means to say that we confirm and adopt as our very own before God and one another the faith we just professed.
Our series will continue in Part Nine as we begin our examination of the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
February 7th, 2011 by Louie Verrecchio
We discover right out of the gate in the new translation that the Creed is a personal statement, Credo / I believe. Yes, we profess the faith of the Church in one voice with all of her members, but the Creed must be our own personal acceptance of that faith.
And so we say, I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
The former words which spoke of all that is seen and unseen were clearly deficient.
There is a real difference to be considered between things unseen and those that are invisible. Maybe you’ve never seen Jupiter, for example. However, it is possible, you know it’s there, but it is as yet unseen to you. This is not what the Creed means to address.
When we speak of things invisible, we are acknowledging that there is yet another reality of which God is Creator; the angels for instance (e.g. the thrones, dominations, principalities, and powers of which St. Paul wrote in Colossians 1:16), and the souls of humankind. These are indeed created things, and our God is Lord of them all.
We continue, I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages.
Once again we state I believe… and similar to the Gloria, we are once again saying that there is a relationship between the “begotteness” of the Son and the fact that God is Father before all ages.
The Son’s begotteness further indicates that both Father and Son are of the same divine substance, and we articulate this even more clearly as we say, “God from God, Light from Light, etc…” culminating in the new translation with the phrase, “consubstantial with the Father.”
Jesus, in other words, is of the same substance as the Father.
In Latin we say, consubstantialim Patris. Con – meaning “with,” substantialim – meaning “substance.” So when we say that Jesus is consubstantial with the Father, we are saying that He is in some way with the substance of the Father. We are professing that the Father and the Son are the same in glory and the same in divinity. The Son, in other words, is not the lesser divinity – the Son is God with the Father, not two gods, but one God of one divine substance – consubstantial.
We continue: For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man…
Incarnate – to become or to be in the flesh. The old translation wasn’t just insufficient as far as translations go; it also hinted of grave error.
Question: When did Jesus become man? Before you answer, know that the Latin text reads, et homo factus est / He became man. Homo – meaning “human.” So asked another way, when did Jesus become human? Was it when He was born of the Virgin Mary?
That’s what we’ve been saying for more than 40 years now, but isn’t this exactly the lie of the pro-abortionists?
Lex orandi, lex credendi. The law of prayer is the law of belief. As we pray, so too do we believe. For more than four decades now even the most committed pro-lifers among us have unwittingly been saying that even Jesus became human only at his birth, but the truth is that Jesus, like all of us, became a real man at the moment of his conception by the Spirit – when he was incarnate of the Virgin Mary.
We continue, “He was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”
He suffered death… Have you ever heard it said that this person or that had “a peaceful death?” This particular expression is not meant to deny whatever suffering may have been present for the individual; rather, it’s meant to describe the manner of death.
When we say that Jesus suffered death, we are likewise giving heed to the manner of his death; a violent immolation. In fact, Jesus suffered death with an intensity that exceeds that of any other person. We know this because suffering and death can only be understood in relation to sin. Indeed, they are a consequence of sin. And so Jesus who took upon himself the sin of the world; i.e. the sin of every man, woman and child who ever lived or will ever live, suffered death in a manner that exceeds our comprehension.
Now, while there is nothing inherently wrong with the current phrase in fulfillment of the Scriptures, the properly translated Latin text, in accordance with the Scriptures, makes more sense from the standpoint that the Scriptures are as yet not entirely fulfilled.
We are a pilgrim Church that “waits with joyful hope for the coming of our Savior” and his return in glory. We await the new heavens and the new Earth that are promised in the Book of Revelation, etc. It is more fitting, therefore, to say that everything we have professed thus far has happened in accordance with the Scriptures.
There are two more statements in the old translation that begin We believe that are no longer prefaced as such in the new translation. Instead these statements employ the personal affirmation, I believe…
One such statement regards the Holy Spirit.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
This is essentially the same as the old translation, but the threefold addition of the personal pronoun who seems to underscore the distinct “personhood” of the Holy Spirit. We also say adore as opposed to worship; just as it is stated in the original Latin.
We once more assert our personal acceptance of the faith when we say I believe for the fourth and final time in the Creed as we profess, I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church…
We then conclude by professing, I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Where once we said, we acknowledge one baptism, we now say I confess; again, a personal statement of faith, but in this case one that goes beyond simply acknowledging baptism. To confess in this sense means that we not only acknowledge this doctrine, we also personally endorse and submit to the truth of its teaching.
We now no longer say that we look for the resurrection of the dead; we say that we look forward to it. This manner of speaking more perfectly reflects the theological virtue of hope, and it is much more in keeping with Romans 8 where St. Paul tells us that the entirety of creation longs for the resurrection and the renewal of all things in Christ.
The Creed is both a profession and a prayer, and so we conclude with the Amen that means to say that we confirm and adopt as our very own before God and one another the faith we just professed.
Our series will continue in Part Nine as we begin our examination of the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
Friday, February 11, 2011
More Missal Changes
Preparing the Way for the Roman Missal 3rd Edition, Part 7: The Gloria
by Louie Verrecchio
Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth, in the new translation becomes, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will.
This “new” wording represents a return to the Scriptural roots of the text (Luke 2:14) and the angels’ announcement of the Savior’s birth. The question some will ask is whether the Lord offers tidings of peace to all people or only just to those of good will?
God the Father, through his Son, Jesus Christ, does indeed invite all people to receive the gift of peace, but not the “don’t-worry-be-happy” variety that the world desires apart from divine law. The Council Fathers defined true peace in Gaudium et Spes, saying:
“Earthly peace results from the peace of Christ which radiates from God the Father… for by His Cross the incarnate Son, the Prince of Peace, reconciled all men with God… restoring all men to the unity of one people and one body” (GS 78).
The peace offered by the Savior, in other words, is directly related to “reconciliation” – that is, the forgiveness of sin. It is therefore no coincidence that we recall the angels’ announcement immediately after our prayers for forgiveness (during the Penitential Rite) and the priestly prayer of absolution (after the Kyrie) that followed.
You see, to be among the people of good will we must first recognize, and have true contrition for, our sinfulness, because it is only in the forgiveness of sin that true peace – the peace of Christ – can exist.
We formerly continued our prayer, Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.
The new text, however, reads, We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father.
This faithful translation adds the words adore, bless and glorify. Though worship is no longer said, the entire acclamation clearly is an act of worship; a rather substantial one at that. And why shouldn’t it be?
We just acknowledged our sins before God and one another. We just tasted the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness and the peace that comes with it – a gift freely given by God to poor sinners who but seek his healing love. If this doesn’t merit an abundant outpouring of praise and thanksgiving, nothing does!
We glorify you, we bless you….
How do we mere mortals glorify and bless God? Psalm 40 tells us:
“I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall be always in my mouth. In the Lord shall my soul be praised: let the meek hear and rejoice. O glorify the Lord with me; and let us extol His name together.”
To bless and to glorify God is to sing his praises, to magnify him among the peoples, and to tell all the lands of his greatness.
We adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks… And why do we do so? For your great glory.
There is but one small change to the text here – the addition of the word great. Who can argue with its fittingness? Scripture itself describes the Lord’s glory as “great” numerous times. Sirach, for example, says, “The Lord hath wrought great glory through his magnificence from the beginning…” (Sir. 44:2)
So even though our outpouring of praise and thanksgiving is a fitting response to the great gifts that the Lord has just given to us in the Mass, it’s important for us to acknowledge that our God is more than just a collection of gifts; rather, His gifts reveal to us who God is from the beginning.
As Sirach tells us, a God of great glory is who God is from all eternity; that’s right, even before you and I came along to receive his gifts! And so when we say, We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, we do so because our God is an awesome God whose greatness exceeds our comprehension. He is so great that our lips cannot even begin to keep pace with the groanings of the Spirit who cries out on our behalf. He is worthy of every outpouring we can muster simply because of who he is; a God of great and eternal glory.
We then continue in the Gloria to say, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father.
Our outpouring continues here in words very similar to the old translation, but notice how the exclamation O God seems to well-up almost spontaneously. It’s as though our hearts really are about to explode in thanksgiving and praise to the point where we can’t help but cry out almost without effort or forethought, O God! We are awestruck in the Lord’s presence, fittingly so, and the corrected translation seems to express this more passionately than before.
We have addressed the Father in the Gloria, now we turn our attention to the Son.
In the new translation we will pray, Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us…
Notice that we now speak of Jesus as both only begotten Son and Son of the Father. This may seem redundant, but it’s really meant to affirm a great mystery of the Blessed Trinity. For one, to be begotten of God indicates that Jesus is of the very same divine essence as the Father, and that he is co-eternal with him.
Furthermore, Jesus is indeed Son of the Father as we are used to saying, but then again I am the son of my father too. Unlike me, however, Jesus is not born of his Father; rather, he is begotten. This is important! You see, to be born is to have a beginning. In reality, however, neither does the Son nor the Fatherhood of God have a beginning.
And why is it so important for us to express this Trinitarian doctrine at this point?
In calling upon Jesus as both the only begotten Son and Son of the Father, we are expressing a keener awareness of why we just addressed God as almighty Father in the first portion of the Gloria. We addressed God as almighty Father in the outpouring of praise that preceded the words that we now address to the Son because God has always been Father – yes, even before he created us!
From here the only other change in the text is an additional plea for mercy. In the new translation the plea connects to the phrase You are seated at the right hand of the Father; the place from which our Lord will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.
The Announcement of the Gospel
One of the “last minute” changes to be approved as of this writing concerns our response to the announcement of the Gospel reading, after the priest or deacon proclaims, A reading from the holy Gospel according to N.
The people will now reply, Glory to you, O Lord while making the threefold sign of the Cross on head, lips and heart. This is a minor change in the scope of things, certainly; in fact, many people have always said O Lord and not simply Lord as it appears in the current Missal.
The addition of the acclamation O, though small, is a linguistic device that effectively lends emphasis to our response and it is one that is employed rather frequently throughout Sacred Scripture. In the “Douay Rheims Bible” (a faithful English translation of the “Latin Vulgate”), for example, the expression O Lord appears nearly 500 times!
We will continue our examination with a look at the Creed in Part Eight.
by Louie Verrecchio
Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth, in the new translation becomes, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will.
This “new” wording represents a return to the Scriptural roots of the text (Luke 2:14) and the angels’ announcement of the Savior’s birth. The question some will ask is whether the Lord offers tidings of peace to all people or only just to those of good will?
God the Father, through his Son, Jesus Christ, does indeed invite all people to receive the gift of peace, but not the “don’t-worry-be-happy” variety that the world desires apart from divine law. The Council Fathers defined true peace in Gaudium et Spes, saying:
“Earthly peace results from the peace of Christ which radiates from God the Father… for by His Cross the incarnate Son, the Prince of Peace, reconciled all men with God… restoring all men to the unity of one people and one body” (GS 78).
The peace offered by the Savior, in other words, is directly related to “reconciliation” – that is, the forgiveness of sin. It is therefore no coincidence that we recall the angels’ announcement immediately after our prayers for forgiveness (during the Penitential Rite) and the priestly prayer of absolution (after the Kyrie) that followed.
You see, to be among the people of good will we must first recognize, and have true contrition for, our sinfulness, because it is only in the forgiveness of sin that true peace – the peace of Christ – can exist.
We formerly continued our prayer, Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.
The new text, however, reads, We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father.
This faithful translation adds the words adore, bless and glorify. Though worship is no longer said, the entire acclamation clearly is an act of worship; a rather substantial one at that. And why shouldn’t it be?
We just acknowledged our sins before God and one another. We just tasted the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness and the peace that comes with it – a gift freely given by God to poor sinners who but seek his healing love. If this doesn’t merit an abundant outpouring of praise and thanksgiving, nothing does!
We glorify you, we bless you….
How do we mere mortals glorify and bless God? Psalm 40 tells us:
“I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall be always in my mouth. In the Lord shall my soul be praised: let the meek hear and rejoice. O glorify the Lord with me; and let us extol His name together.”
To bless and to glorify God is to sing his praises, to magnify him among the peoples, and to tell all the lands of his greatness.
We adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks… And why do we do so? For your great glory.
There is but one small change to the text here – the addition of the word great. Who can argue with its fittingness? Scripture itself describes the Lord’s glory as “great” numerous times. Sirach, for example, says, “The Lord hath wrought great glory through his magnificence from the beginning…” (Sir. 44:2)
So even though our outpouring of praise and thanksgiving is a fitting response to the great gifts that the Lord has just given to us in the Mass, it’s important for us to acknowledge that our God is more than just a collection of gifts; rather, His gifts reveal to us who God is from the beginning.
As Sirach tells us, a God of great glory is who God is from all eternity; that’s right, even before you and I came along to receive his gifts! And so when we say, We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, we do so because our God is an awesome God whose greatness exceeds our comprehension. He is so great that our lips cannot even begin to keep pace with the groanings of the Spirit who cries out on our behalf. He is worthy of every outpouring we can muster simply because of who he is; a God of great and eternal glory.
We then continue in the Gloria to say, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father.
Our outpouring continues here in words very similar to the old translation, but notice how the exclamation O God seems to well-up almost spontaneously. It’s as though our hearts really are about to explode in thanksgiving and praise to the point where we can’t help but cry out almost without effort or forethought, O God! We are awestruck in the Lord’s presence, fittingly so, and the corrected translation seems to express this more passionately than before.
We have addressed the Father in the Gloria, now we turn our attention to the Son.
In the new translation we will pray, Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us…
Notice that we now speak of Jesus as both only begotten Son and Son of the Father. This may seem redundant, but it’s really meant to affirm a great mystery of the Blessed Trinity. For one, to be begotten of God indicates that Jesus is of the very same divine essence as the Father, and that he is co-eternal with him.
Furthermore, Jesus is indeed Son of the Father as we are used to saying, but then again I am the son of my father too. Unlike me, however, Jesus is not born of his Father; rather, he is begotten. This is important! You see, to be born is to have a beginning. In reality, however, neither does the Son nor the Fatherhood of God have a beginning.
And why is it so important for us to express this Trinitarian doctrine at this point?
In calling upon Jesus as both the only begotten Son and Son of the Father, we are expressing a keener awareness of why we just addressed God as almighty Father in the first portion of the Gloria. We addressed God as almighty Father in the outpouring of praise that preceded the words that we now address to the Son because God has always been Father – yes, even before he created us!
From here the only other change in the text is an additional plea for mercy. In the new translation the plea connects to the phrase You are seated at the right hand of the Father; the place from which our Lord will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.
The Announcement of the Gospel
One of the “last minute” changes to be approved as of this writing concerns our response to the announcement of the Gospel reading, after the priest or deacon proclaims, A reading from the holy Gospel according to N.
The people will now reply, Glory to you, O Lord while making the threefold sign of the Cross on head, lips and heart. This is a minor change in the scope of things, certainly; in fact, many people have always said O Lord and not simply Lord as it appears in the current Missal.
The addition of the acclamation O, though small, is a linguistic device that effectively lends emphasis to our response and it is one that is employed rather frequently throughout Sacred Scripture. In the “Douay Rheims Bible” (a faithful English translation of the “Latin Vulgate”), for example, the expression O Lord appears nearly 500 times!
We will continue our examination with a look at the Creed in Part Eight.
Mary and Egypt on this historic day!
>>>I had to repost this; simply amazing. Thanks to the website: The Anchoress
Mubarak Out; Another Historic Marian Feastday! UPDATED
February 11, 2011 by Elizabeth Scalia
It occurs to me that the ouster of Hosni Mubarak and the potentially world-changing events that are occurring today in Egypt have happened on a Marian feastday: today is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Recalling that Nelson Mandela was freed on this very day, in 1990, I started looking up other dates and events. My friend Paul helped me out, and here is a partial list of recent historical events that have occurred on days set aside to honor the Theotokos, the God-bearer, who delivered unto the world, a savior:
02 February 1943 – Feast of the Presentation – Battle of Stalingrad ends
15 August 1945 – VJ Day – Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
13 May 1981 – Pope John Paul II shot – Our Lady of Fatima
08 December 1987 – Reagan signs treaty with Gorbachev – Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
11 Feb 1990 – Nelson Mandela Freed – Our Lady of Lourdes
22 August 1991 – Failure of Russian Coup – Queenship of Mary
21 November 1995 – Initialing of the Dayton Peace Accord in Bosnia – Presentation of Mary
12 December 2000 – Supreme Court finally ends election recounts in America – Our Lady of Guadalupe
11 February 2011 – Egyptians drive out Mubarak – Our Lady of Lourdes
For those who argue that an event in the Arab world cannot have a Marian component, recall that the Muslim people do honor Mary.
Recall too that on October 8, 2000 there was what was regarded as a “holy light” and apparition of Mary at St. Mark’s (Coptic Orthodox) Church in Assiut, Egypt — seen by huge crowds — that occurred simultaneously with Pope John Paul II’s imploring Mary to pray for the entire world in the third millennium:
History, he said, “in its deepest reality, is the scene of a terrible struggle against the powers of darkness, a struggle that began at the origin of the world, and that will last, as the Lord says, until the last day. Man, every man, is involved in this all-out confrontation, he must combat without respite to be able to remain united to the good, at the price of great efforts, with the help of God’s grace.”
And remember that Jesus was delivered to us “for all the people.” His mother, it follows, is for all of us as well. It cannot be otherwise.
And there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophies…and as my friend Paul points out, it was to Egypt that the Holy Family fled, to safety.
As I discover more of these historic feastdays, I’ll add them. Check back!
UPDATE I:
Via Instapundit – it turns out the Shah of Iran was also ousted on this day!
UPDATE II: A few more interesting (and some are less recent) intersections:
16 July 1918 – Our Lady of Mr. Carmel – Czar Nicholas II and his family are executed by the Bolsheviks
05 August1858 – Dedication of Basilica of Maria Maggiore – First telegraph line across Atlantic is completed
15 August 1961 – Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – East German authorities begin building Berlin Wall
Mubarak Out; Another Historic Marian Feastday! UPDATED
February 11, 2011 by Elizabeth Scalia
It occurs to me that the ouster of Hosni Mubarak and the potentially world-changing events that are occurring today in Egypt have happened on a Marian feastday: today is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Recalling that Nelson Mandela was freed on this very day, in 1990, I started looking up other dates and events. My friend Paul helped me out, and here is a partial list of recent historical events that have occurred on days set aside to honor the Theotokos, the God-bearer, who delivered unto the world, a savior:
02 February 1943 – Feast of the Presentation – Battle of Stalingrad ends
15 August 1945 – VJ Day – Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
13 May 1981 – Pope John Paul II shot – Our Lady of Fatima
08 December 1987 – Reagan signs treaty with Gorbachev – Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
11 Feb 1990 – Nelson Mandela Freed – Our Lady of Lourdes
22 August 1991 – Failure of Russian Coup – Queenship of Mary
21 November 1995 – Initialing of the Dayton Peace Accord in Bosnia – Presentation of Mary
12 December 2000 – Supreme Court finally ends election recounts in America – Our Lady of Guadalupe
11 February 2011 – Egyptians drive out Mubarak – Our Lady of Lourdes
For those who argue that an event in the Arab world cannot have a Marian component, recall that the Muslim people do honor Mary.
Recall too that on October 8, 2000 there was what was regarded as a “holy light” and apparition of Mary at St. Mark’s (Coptic Orthodox) Church in Assiut, Egypt — seen by huge crowds — that occurred simultaneously with Pope John Paul II’s imploring Mary to pray for the entire world in the third millennium:
History, he said, “in its deepest reality, is the scene of a terrible struggle against the powers of darkness, a struggle that began at the origin of the world, and that will last, as the Lord says, until the last day. Man, every man, is involved in this all-out confrontation, he must combat without respite to be able to remain united to the good, at the price of great efforts, with the help of God’s grace.”
And remember that Jesus was delivered to us “for all the people.” His mother, it follows, is for all of us as well. It cannot be otherwise.
And there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophies…and as my friend Paul points out, it was to Egypt that the Holy Family fled, to safety.
As I discover more of these historic feastdays, I’ll add them. Check back!
UPDATE I:
Via Instapundit – it turns out the Shah of Iran was also ousted on this day!
UPDATE II: A few more interesting (and some are less recent) intersections:
16 July 1918 – Our Lady of Mr. Carmel – Czar Nicholas II and his family are executed by the Bolsheviks
05 August1858 – Dedication of Basilica of Maria Maggiore – First telegraph line across Atlantic is completed
15 August 1961 – Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – East German authorities begin building Berlin Wall
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Our Lady of Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes
On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in the apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus. A little more than three years later, on February 11, 1858, a young lady appeared to Bernadette Soubirous. This began a series of visions. During the apparition on March 25, the lady identified herself with the words: “I am the Immaculate Conception.”
Bernadette was a sickly child of poor parents. Their practice of the Catholic faith was scarcely more than lukewarm. Bernadette could pray the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Creed. She also knew the prayer of the Miraculous Medal: “O Mary conceived without sin.”
During interrogations Bernadette gave an account of what she saw. It was “something white in the shape of a girl.” She used the word aquero, a dialect term meaning “this thing.” It was “a pretty young girl with a rosary over her arm.” Her white robe was encircled by a blue girdle. She wore a white veil. There was a yellow rose on each foot. A rosary was in her hand. Bernadette was also impressed by the fact that the lady did not use the informal form of address (tu), but the polite form (vous). The humble virgin appeared to a humble girl and treated her with dignity.
Through that humble girl, Mary revitalized and continues to revitalize the faith of millions of people. People began to flock to Lourdes from other parts of France and from all over the world. In 1862 Church authorities confirmed the authenticity of the apparitions and authorized the cult of Our Lady of Lourdes for the diocese. The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes became worldwide in 1907.
Comment:
Lourdes has become a place of pilgrimage and healing, but even more of faith. Church authorities have recognized over 60 miraculous cures, although there have probably been many more. To people of faith this is not surprising. It is a continuation of Jesus’ healing miracles—now performed at the intercession of his mother. Some would say that the greater miracles are hidden. Many who visit Lourdes return home with renewed faith and a readiness to serve God in their needy brothers and sisters. There still may be people who doubt the apparitions of Lourdes. Perhaps the best that can be said to them are the words that introduce the film Song of Bernadette: “For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.”
On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in the apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus. A little more than three years later, on February 11, 1858, a young lady appeared to Bernadette Soubirous. This began a series of visions. During the apparition on March 25, the lady identified herself with the words: “I am the Immaculate Conception.”
Bernadette was a sickly child of poor parents. Their practice of the Catholic faith was scarcely more than lukewarm. Bernadette could pray the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Creed. She also knew the prayer of the Miraculous Medal: “O Mary conceived without sin.”
During interrogations Bernadette gave an account of what she saw. It was “something white in the shape of a girl.” She used the word aquero, a dialect term meaning “this thing.” It was “a pretty young girl with a rosary over her arm.” Her white robe was encircled by a blue girdle. She wore a white veil. There was a yellow rose on each foot. A rosary was in her hand. Bernadette was also impressed by the fact that the lady did not use the informal form of address (tu), but the polite form (vous). The humble virgin appeared to a humble girl and treated her with dignity.
Through that humble girl, Mary revitalized and continues to revitalize the faith of millions of people. People began to flock to Lourdes from other parts of France and from all over the world. In 1862 Church authorities confirmed the authenticity of the apparitions and authorized the cult of Our Lady of Lourdes for the diocese. The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes became worldwide in 1907.
Comment:
Lourdes has become a place of pilgrimage and healing, but even more of faith. Church authorities have recognized over 60 miraculous cures, although there have probably been many more. To people of faith this is not surprising. It is a continuation of Jesus’ healing miracles—now performed at the intercession of his mother. Some would say that the greater miracles are hidden. Many who visit Lourdes return home with renewed faith and a readiness to serve God in their needy brothers and sisters. There still may be people who doubt the apparitions of Lourdes. Perhaps the best that can be said to them are the words that introduce the film Song of Bernadette: “For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.”
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