Homily 3rd Week of Easter
Saturday, April 24, 2010
A Homily on the Pope Benedict and the Scandal
Homily 3rd Week of Easter
Prayer for Patience
Lord, teach me to be patient --
with life, with people, with myself.
I try to speed things along too much,
and I push for results before the time is right.
Teach me to trust Your sense of timing rather than my own,
and to surrender my will to Your greater and wiser plans.
Help me let life unfold slowly,
like the small rosebud whose petals unravel bit by bit.
If I hurry the bloom along by pulling away petals,
I destroy the bud and all the potential for beauty therein.
Instead, let me wait for the flower to unfold in its own time.
I will appreciate all stages of its opening,
until it becomes the massive rose whose fragrance fills my home
for days.
Each moment and state of growth contains a unique loveliness.
Teach me to slow down enough to appreciate life.
Teach me that patience which Mary seemed to exhibit as she waited
thourgh the years, fully experiencing her vow of commitment,
"Let Your will be done in my life, according to Your word."
- Marian Prayer Book
Friday, April 23, 2010
How the Nazis engineered a paedophile priests scare
In 1937 propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels organized a campaign to discredit the Catholic Church after Pope Pius XI severely criticised the Nazi regime.Click here to read the entire Mercatornet article
ACN News - Living Biblically in India
ACN-USA News
4/23/2010
Studying the Bible is transforming the lives of Christians in north-east India and leading to practical action.
Speaking to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Fr. Thomas Manjaly, Bible professor at the Oriens Theological College, Shillong, told the Catholic charity that the Scriptures are central to Catholics living in India’s Meghalaya State.
He said, “The Bible occupies a very important place in the life of the Church in north India – one main reason being the large Protestant influence in the region.”
More than 70 percent of the inhabitants of Meghalaya are Christian, and, according to Fr. Manjaly up to 60 percent of the Christians in north-east India are Protestant.
He added, “They have a developed Bible culture which has come into the Catholic communities, which is a very positive thing.”
Bible study is central to a movement of small Christian communities that have been developed in Catholic parishes over the last 15 years.
Fr. Manjaly said, “To a large extent they have helped to get people more engaged with the Word of God.
“They listen to the Bible in small groups, hear it explained and then pray the Word.”
He explained how these groups help the faithful to apply the Bible to their lives and put what they have studied into practice.
“They, as a group, will do something not only at an intellectual level, or at an emotional level, but also at a practical level.”
“It could be improving my relationships with others, forgiving someone who has hurt me, or helping someone in the community. It depends on the particular text taking for the reflection.”
Diocesan Biblical outreach programs have received funding from Aid to the Church in Need.
He said: “ACN has been a great supporter of our Biblical Pastoral ministry.”
“We are very grateful for this sort of help which makes the Word of God better known and better understood. God bless you.”
He went on to describe how Catholic families honor the Bible by putting it in a special place in their homes, where it becomes the center of a quasi-shrine.
Fr. Manjaly described how this “enthronement” of the Bible is performed by a local community leader, a Catechist, or a religious Sister who visits the family.
The ceremony takes the form of a short prayer service prepared by the Church in the local language.
Fr. Manjaly, who is a member of the Vatican’s Pontifical Biblical Commission, explained how it is common for the family to read the Bible together.
He said, “Some people in the house may not be able to read, so someone who does will read it to the whole family.”
The Bible is also shaping modern worship in the region.
Fr. Manjaly said, “Until the last quarter of the last century we followed hymns in the local language Khasi, translated from those brought over by the Germany and Italian missionaries.
“There has been an attempt to compose hymns in Khasi language, using Khasi music – drawn from the texts of scripture – so that it’s not Italian music, or German music, or Spanish music, but our music.”
The priest told ACN how the new hymns are based on the Gospel – the parables, or the Gospel narratives of the life of Jesus – or on the epistles of St. Paul or Psalms.
With picture of Fr. Thomas Manjaly of Oriens Theological College, Shillong, Meghalaya
Editor’s Notes:
4/23/2010
Living Biblically in India
Studying the Bible is transforming the lives of Christians in north-east India and leading to practical action.
Speaking to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Fr. Thomas Manjaly, Bible professor at the Oriens Theological College, Shillong, told the Catholic charity that the Scriptures are central to Catholics living in India’s Meghalaya State.
He said, “The Bible occupies a very important place in the life of the Church in north India – one main reason being the large Protestant influence in the region.”
More than 70 percent of the inhabitants of Meghalaya are Christian, and, according to Fr. Manjaly up to 60 percent of the Christians in north-east India are Protestant.
He added, “They have a developed Bible culture which has come into the Catholic communities, which is a very positive thing.”
Bible study is central to a movement of small Christian communities that have been developed in Catholic parishes over the last 15 years.
Fr. Manjaly said, “To a large extent they have helped to get people more engaged with the Word of God.
“They listen to the Bible in small groups, hear it explained and then pray the Word.”
He explained how these groups help the faithful to apply the Bible to their lives and put what they have studied into practice.
“They, as a group, will do something not only at an intellectual level, or at an emotional level, but also at a practical level.”
“It could be improving my relationships with others, forgiving someone who has hurt me, or helping someone in the community. It depends on the particular text taking for the reflection.”
Diocesan Biblical outreach programs have received funding from Aid to the Church in Need.
He said: “ACN has been a great supporter of our Biblical Pastoral ministry.”
“We are very grateful for this sort of help which makes the Word of God better known and better understood. God bless you.”
He went on to describe how Catholic families honor the Bible by putting it in a special place in their homes, where it becomes the center of a quasi-shrine.
Fr. Manjaly described how this “enthronement” of the Bible is performed by a local community leader, a Catechist, or a religious Sister who visits the family.
The ceremony takes the form of a short prayer service prepared by the Church in the local language.
Fr. Manjaly, who is a member of the Vatican’s Pontifical Biblical Commission, explained how it is common for the family to read the Bible together.
He said, “Some people in the house may not be able to read, so someone who does will read it to the whole family.”
The Bible is also shaping modern worship in the region.
Fr. Manjaly said, “Until the last quarter of the last century we followed hymns in the local language Khasi, translated from those brought over by the Germany and Italian missionaries.
“There has been an attempt to compose hymns in Khasi language, using Khasi music – drawn from the texts of scripture – so that it’s not Italian music, or German music, or Spanish music, but our music.”
With picture of Fr. Thomas Manjaly of Oriens Theological College, Shillong, Meghalaya
Editor’s Notes:
Directly under the Holy Father, Aid to the Church in Need supports the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need. ACN is a Catholic charity - helping to bring Christ to the world through prayer, information and action.
Founded in 1947 by Father Werenfried van Straaten, whom Pope John Paul II named “An Outstanding Apostle of Charity,” the organization is now at work in over 145 countries throughout the world.
The charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including providing transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church buildings, funding for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since the initiative’s launch in 1979, 43 million Aid to the Church in Need Child’s Bibles have been distributed worldwide.
For more information contact Michael Varenne at michael@churchinneed.org or call 718-609-0939 or fax718-609-0938. Aid to the Church in Need, 725 Leonard Street, PO Box 220384, Brooklyn, NY 11222-0384. www.churchinneed.org
The Association for The Arch of Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and International Shrine of the Holy Innocents
To learn more or to donate, please visit Arch of TriumphIn January 2001, the first month of the new millennium, The Association for The Arch of Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and International Shrine of the Holy Innocents, a not-for-profit New York corporation, was formed in Buffalo, New York. As described in detail in our Prospectus, the Association’s purpose is to build a truly world-class, globally significant shrine, to be located on the shore of Lake Erie adjacent to downtown Buffalo. The shrine will feature primarily a monumental, ascendable, golden triumphal arch, The Arch of Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to be the world’s tallest monument measuring 700 feet to the tip of the golden Cross that will surmount its peak (seven being the mystical number of perfection, as Mary represents the perfection of humanity).
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Thanks to Brother John Samaha for sharing.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Remembering Mothers on Mother's Day
Today in Catholic History – Inscrutabili Dei Consilio
On Easter Sunday 21 April 1878, Pope Leo XIII issued the encyclical Inscrutabili Dei Consilio or On the Evils of Society. This was the first encyclical of his pontificate and stressed many of the themes which would guide his future papacy.Read the rest here at Catholic Under the Hood
In this encyclical, Pope Leo identifies several threats facing humanity at his time, chiefly that the rejection of objective truth and authority which has led to civil strife and war; the rejection of law; and a desire for the things of this world rather than the eternal. The chief defense against these threats is the Catholic Church, which is why Pope Leo believes it is under attack.
Leo stresses the contributions of the Catholic Church to civilization through science and culture. He also calls for the restoration of Vatican political independence to ensure that the Church can freely exercise its responsibilities in the world.
Inscrutabili Dei Consilio
Thanks to Sue Cifelli for sharing.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
12 Things Every Catholic Should Know About the U.S. Scandals
1. The crisis seems to be nearing its conclusion. The vast majority of allegations are from the 1960-1985 period, and only six cases of clerical sex abuse in 2009 have been reported.Read the rest over at the National Catholic Register
2. There was no global cover-up. “Nobody, nowhere, no time, no way, no how knew the extent, depth, or horror of this scourge, nor how to adequately address it,” wrote New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan. No one had the knowledge necessary to orchestrate anything on a global scale. The crisis arises from individual cases, distant from each other in time and place, which have hit the press simultaneously.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Happy Birthday Dear Mother Angelica!
Today is Mother Angelica's birthday. Please take a minute to go to the EWTN Website and offer up a Spiritual Bouquet for Mother.
We love you Mother!!
Thanks Jean for the reminder!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Third Week of Easter
Photo by Esther G.
“I am the Bread of Life.”
- John 6