Our Lady - Protectress of the Unborn

Protectress of the Unborn, Blue Army Shrine, NJ

Recommended Reading: Edith Stein: Life in a Jewish Family

A book about a former Jewish atheist who converted and was later canonized may seem an odd choice for Advent reading but this is the book I chose. It is the unfinished autobiography of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, formerly Edith Stein. Her autobiography was interrupted by her arrest and ultimate death at the hands of the Nazis.

This book which spans many years in the writer's life is fascinating in its frankness in telling her family's story. In the first part she shares the good times and the hardships growing up in the family home. She is very open with the stories of problems and struggles within the family. I was surprised by the family disputes, quarrels and rivalries that she shared. I felt grateful to her for taking me, the reader into her confidence and trusting me enough to share what she did. Edith Stein, who wrote this after becoming a Catholic did not want to portray her family as a holy family but a normal family with normal every day troubles.

Because she wrote this autobiography as a Catholic, she makes references to certain situations from a Catholic perspective even though it involved Jewish individuals.

The second part of the book is filled with her memories of her time as a student. She was a student of philosophy in Germany. During that time period Europe was the mecca for academia and art. She was a member of a philosophical society in which one of its founders was none other than Dietrich von Hildrebrand another famous Catholic convert.

Her first cousin was mathematician Richard Courant.  He co-authored a well-known book on mathematics with Herbert Robbins entitled What is Mathematics.  In the Stein autobiography she speaks in a warm way of her cousin, with whom she had a close relationship. 

"The further removed things are from mathematics, the more complicated they are; and nothing is as far removed from mathematics as housekeeping." - Nelli Courant, mathematician and wife of Richard Courant. Nelli was not very well equipped to be a housewife according to Edith Stein.

The manuscript continues on until it is abruptly stopped. Sad that it was never to be completed.  But then again, we all know how it turns out.

This book can be ordered at EWTN Religious Catalog

Resolutions for Radical Catholcs

The year is still young. We still have an opportunity to make and keep new resolutions, especially the spiritual kind. The Sinner's Guide has a good list. The following are the first three on the list:

1. Weekly confession.
2. Daily Examination of Conscience.
3. Daily time for silence and listening.

The rest can be found here.

In Memoriam: Cardinal Avery Dulles and Fr. Richard John Neuhaus

My friend Father Gordon MacRae has a moving tribute to Cardinal Avery Dulles and Father Rich John Neuhaus over at his blog here. Those of you following Father Gordon's story of injustice know of the support given to him by Father Neuhaus.

Additionally, one of the prisoners at the prison with Father, converted to the Catholic faith recently. Father shared a link to his heartbreaking story with the light at the end of the tunnel, which he shared with the Catholic League in 2007.  Father Neuhaus send him a letter of support which you will also read at Father's blog post.  Please be sure to read it. More importantly, please be sure to remember Father and Pornchai in your prayers.

Saint Andre Bessette

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A Prayer
Lord our God,
friend of the lowly,
you gave your servant, Saint André Bessette,
a great devotion to St. Joseph
and a special commitment to the poor and afflicted,
Through his intercession,
help us to follow his example of prayer and love
and so come to share with him in your glory,
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen
Saint André, pray for us.

Prayer source: Holy Cross Vocations

Joan's Birthday

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As I posted yesterday, today would have been Joan of Arc's 599th birthday.

Check out how the author of Maid of Heaven will be celebrating St. Joan's birthday Ben D. Kennedy's Joan's Birthday

Dictionary published with 2,600 apparitions of the Virgin Mary

Mortal Sins

The Seven Deadly Sins by Hieronymus Bosch

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Detail of the above painting: Table of Mortal Sins: Gluttony

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The following two posts/articles answer many questions regarding what constitutes a mortal sin.

1. Boston Catholic Journal: Mortal Sin and Holy Confession: The Antidote to Death

Our excuses are numberless. In fact, they are as numberless as our sins, none of which are now deemed by us (and, for sorrow, by many priests) grievous enough to preclude our receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in Holy Communion. Most often they are reducible simply to this: "I have not committed any mortal sin".

Indeed.

For Catholics who have never been taught the difference between Mortal and Venial sin — which is to say, the entire last generation of Catholics — we must be clear about the notion of sin, especially the distinction between two kinds of sin, before we can proceed to even understand the necessity, as well as the inestimable value of Holy Confession.

2. Aggie Catholics: What Constitutes Grave Matter - What Makes Mortal Sin "Mortal"?

Q - My question is regarding the distinction between mortal and venial sins. I have read (many times over) the description in the Catechism, specifically sections 1854-1864. I am still unclear about the definition of grave matter. I'm not a murderer, thief or adulterer, so those grave matters are easy to exclude for me. But, how does a decent, law-abiding, generally respectful, person know how to distinguish when a sin has moved from venial to mortal? Section 1858 of the Catechism seems to imply that violation of the Ten Commandments is a mortal sin. But aren't venial sins also violations of the Ten Commandments? Are sins on a continuum where the same act could be defined as mortal or venial depending on how the sin occurs, to whom its directed, etc? Is there a sample list of mortal vs. venial sins that could help clarify this for people?

The first one was shared by Sue Cifelli.

Prayer for St. John Neumann's Intercession

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Thanks to Mary Jane for sharing.

O Jesus, who on earth commanded and practiced a hidden life, grant that--in these our days of pride and outward display--the example of your servant John Neumann may lead us to follow your humble ways. Grant, O Lord, that like your holy bishop we may do all our work with the pure intention of pleasing you, and let not our deeds be done to win the favor of others but to give glory to our Father in heaven.

We thank you that our fellow citizen and devoted missionary bishop is recognized among the saints of your Church in heaven, and we beseech you, O Lord, to glorify him on earth by granting the favors we ask through his intercession. Amen.

St. John Neumann

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Blessed Francis X. Seelos, C.S.s.R's connection to St. John Neumann:

After being ordained, he worked for nine years in the parish of St. Philomena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, first as assistant pastor with St. John Neumann, the superior of the Religious Community, and later as Superior himself and for the last three years as pastor. During this time, he was also the Redemptorist Novice Master. With Neumann he also dedicated himself to preaching missions. Regarding their relationship, Seelos said: “He has introduced me to the active life” and, “he has guided me as a spiritual director and confessor.”

Source: Seelos Center

Incorrupt Body of St. John Neumann, C.S.s.R.

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PRAYER FOR HIS INTERCESSION

O Saint John Neumann, your ardent desire of bringing all souls to Christ impelled you to leave home and country; teach us to live worthily in the spirit of our Baptism which makes us all children of the one Heavenly Father and brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, the first-born of the family of God.

Obtain for us that complete dedication in the service of the needy, the weak, the afflicted and the abandoned which so characterized your life. Help us to walk perseveringly in the difficult and, at times, painful paths of duty, strengthened by the Body and Blood of our Redeemer and under the watchful protection of Mary our Mother.

May death still find us on the sure road to our Father's House with the light of living Faith in our hearts. Amen.

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For those interested in a pilgrimage check out Walk in the footsteps of St. John Neumann & Blessed Francis Seelos. I came across this pilgrimage info on the internet.