Viva La Cristo Rey!

Blessed Miguel Pro was a remarkable human being. With the election of General Plutarco Elias Calles to president, thus began the systematic persecution and attempt to eradicate the Catholic Church in Mexico during 1920's. Churches were burned down priests were hunted down and hung, religious were either jailed or murdered. Every attempt was made to shut the down the Catholic Church.

Father Miguel Pro was born in Guadalupe, the son of a miner. He joined the Society of Jesus, and was forced out of Mexico to California. He was eventually sent to Belgium where the Jesuits were there having also been tossed out of France. He was ordained in Belgium in August 1925. He returned to Mexico in 1926 but things there were worse not better. Blessed Miguel Pro was not deterred either spiritually nor in service to his people. He would often disguise himself in order to celebrate Mass and was always cheerful in his disposition. This, during the most horrible of times when you could find priests strung up hanging from power lines. He was arrested on phony trumped up charges that he attempted to assassinate the ex president. In November of 1927 he was ordered to be executed despite no evidence or even a conviction. The Mexican government was going to use his execution as a propaganda to show that the Catholics were cowards.
On November 23, 1927,as Fr. Pro walked from his cell to the courtyard and the firing squad, he blessed the soldiers, knelt and briefly prayed quietly. Declining a blindfold, he faced his executioners with a crucifix in one hand and a rosary in the other and held his arms out in imitation of the crucified Christ and shouted out, "May God have mercy on you! May God bless you! Lord, Thou knowest that I am innocent! With all my heart I forgive my enemies!" Before the firing squad were ordered to shoot, Pro raised his arms in imitation of Christ and shouted the defiant cry of the Cristeros, "Viva Cristo Rey!" -"Long live Christ the King! Bullets were fired but Blessed Miguel Pro would not go down. When the initial shots of the firing squad failed to kill him, a soldier shot him point blank. At his beatification on September 25, 1988 Pope John Paul II honored Fr. Pro with these words:

Neither suffering nor serious illness, neither the exhausting ministerial activity, frequently carried out in difficult and dangerous circumstances, could stifle the radiating and contagious joy which he brought to his life for Christ and which nothing could take away. Indeed, the deepest root of self-sacrificing surrender for the lowly was his passionate love for Jesus Christ and his ardent desire to be conformed to him, even unto death

When I hear the excuses that people give about missing Mass and how this or that is so difficult, I remind them of the many martyrs who throughout the ages paid with their lives so the Faith would continue. Men will die but the Church will never die as Christ promised. We are to live our faith with joy and courage. If you look at the Catholic Church and truly understand its history and its message of hope and love you will recognize that our faith is a faith worth living and worth dying for. Viva Cristo Rey!
Blessed Miguel, before your death, you told your friend to ask you for favors when you were in Heaven. I beg you to intercede for me and in union with Our Lady and all the angels and saints, to ask Our Lord to grant my petition, provided that it be God's Will.

[Here mention your request.]

We honor and adore the triune God. (Gloria)
We ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. (Come Holy Spirit)
We pray as Jesus taught us to pray. (Our Father)
We venerate with love the Virgin Mary. (Hail Mary)
All you angels, bless you the Lord forever.
Saint Joseph, Saint [name of your patron], and all the saints, pray for us.
Blessed Miguel, high spirited youth, pray for us. ¡Viva Cristo Rey!
Blessed Miguel, loving son and brother, pray for us. ¡Viva Cristo Rey!
Blessed Miguel, patient novice, pray for us. ¡Viva Cristo Rey!
Blessed Miguel, exile from your homeland, pray for us. ¡Viva Cristo Rey!
Blessed Miguel, prayerful religious, pray for us. ¡Viva Cristo Rey!
Blessed Miguel, sick and suffering, pray for us. ¡Viva Cristo Rey!
Blessed Miguel, defender of workers, pray for us. ¡Viva Cristo Rey!
Blessed Miguel, courageous priest in hiding, pray for us. ¡Viva Cristo Rey!
Blessed Miguel, prisoner in jail, pray for us. ¡Viva Cristo Rey!
Blessed Miguel, forgiver of persecutors, pray for us. ¡Viva Cristo Rey!
Blessed Miguel, holy martyr, pray for us. ¡Viva Cristo Rey!

from Ad Majorem De Gloriam

Pope Benedict: Cross Sign of the Kingship of Christ

Pope Benedict on Sunday said the cross is the paradoxical sign of kingship of Christ. Speaking before reciting the Angelus in St. Peters Square, the Holy Father said the regal power of Christ is not that of the kings of this world, it is the divine power to give eternal life to free us from evil, and to defeat the dominion of death.

The Solemnity of Christ the King concludes the Liturgical year. The Pope said Christs power of love can soften a hardened heart, bring peace to the most bitter conflict, and turn people to hope in the greatest darkness.

The Pope said that it is a power that can not impose anything, and always respects our freedom.

May His Name Be Blessed Forever

O God, give your judgment to the king; your justice to the son of kings; That he may govern your people with justice, your oppressed with right judgment,

That the mountains may yield their bounty for the people, and the hills great abundance,

That he may defend the oppressed among the people, save the poor and crush the oppressor.

May he live as long as the sun endures, like the moon, through all generations.

May he be like rain coming down upon the fields, like showers watering the earth,

That abundance may flourish in his days, great bounty, till the moon be no more.

May he rule from sea to sea, from the river to the ends of the earth.

May his foes kneel before him, his enemies lick the dust.

May the kings of Tarshish and the islands bring tribute, the kings of Arabia and Seba offer gifts.

May all kings bow before him, all nations serve him.

For he rescues the poor when they cry out, the oppressed who have no one to help

He shows pity to the needy and the poor and saves the lives of the poor.

From extortion and violence he frees them, for precious is their blood in his sight.

Long may he live, receiving gold from Arabia, prayed for without cease, blessed day by day.

May wheat abound in the land, flourish even on the mountain heights.

May his fruit increase like Lebanon's, his wheat like the grasses of the land.

May his name be blessed forever; as long as the sun, may his name endure. May the

tribes of the earth give blessings with his name; may all the nations regard him as favored.

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wonderful deeds.

Blessed be his glorious name forever; may all the earth be filled with the LORD'S glory. Amen and amen.

Christ the King and His Bride

So Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"Jesus answered, "Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?"Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?"Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants (would) be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here."So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

God in the economy of salvation sent His only begotten Son, not to establish a "feel good" philosophy. His plan was not to be a guru to all future generations, so they can "cherry pick" those nuggets of truths that make us all feel good, even if we can't live by them. He also did not come here to establish the first blank church of blank blank, or the healing church of blank, or the thousands upon thousands of churches who have found their elusive truth that was missing or eluded the Church. Jesus Christ came to establish His Kingdom, the evidence is all throughout the Old Testament. His Kingdom does not depend upon what political power is in office. His Kingdom does not depend on some philosophical construct or theory that man can come up with. In establishing His Kingdom on earth Christ the King took a bride and that bride is the Church. He promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against her. Christ bride was not established as a democracy or a republic, she does not exist so that she can make you feel good, or remove or ignore truths that "are up with the times." Christ is the King, and he told us that the way we showed our love for Him was by obeying His commandments. If you belong to the truth that He is King you will hear His words.

On the Presentation of Mary

"Sacred Scripture contains no text concerning the event commemorated in today's liturgy. For something of a historical background one may consult the apocryphal works, particularly the Protoevangel of St. James (ch. 4:1ff). After an angel had revealed her pregnancy, Anna is said to have vowed her future child Mary to the Lord. Soon after birth the infant was brought to the sacred precincts at which only the best of Israel's daughters were admitted. At the age of three she was transferred to the temple proper (7:2). According to legend, here she was reared like a dove and received her nourishment from the hand of an angel (8:1).

"In the East, where the feast, celebrated since the eighth century, is kept as a public holiday, it bears the name, 'The Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple'. It was introduced at Rome by a Cypriotic legate to the papal court of Avignon in 1371. In 1472, Sixtus IV extended its observance to the whole Church. Abolished by Pius V, it was reintroduced some years later (1585)."

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.

The Mary Landrieu $100 Milllion Dollar Vote

Our esteemed Senator has a special provision in the health care bill just for you. ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports:
The 100 Million Dollar Health Care Vote

What does it take to get a wavering senator to vote for health care reform?

Here’s a case study.

On page 432 of the Reid bill, there is a section increasing federal Medicaid subsidies for “certain states recovering from a major disaster.”

The section spends two pages defining which “states” would qualify, saying, among other things, that it would be states that “during the preceding 7 fiscal years” have been declared a “major disaster area.”

I am told the section applies to exactly one state: Louisiana, the home of moderate Democrat Mary Landrieu, who has been playing hard to get on the health care bill.

In other words, the bill spends two pages describing would could be written with a single world: Louisiana. (This may also help explain why the bill is long.)

Senator Harry Reid, who drafted the bill, cannot pass it without the support of Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu.

How much does it cost? According to the Congressional Budget Office: $100 million.

Here is the bill's language:

SEC. 2006. SPECIAL ADJUSTMENT TO FMAP DETERMINATION FOR CERTAIN STATES RECOVERING FROM A MAJOR DISASTER.

Section 1905 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d), as amended by sections 2001(a)(3) and
2001(b)(2), is amended— (1) in subsection (b), in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘subsection (y)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (y) and (aa)’’; and (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

‘‘(aa)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (b), beginning January 1, 2011, the Federal medical assistance percentage for a fiscal year for a disaster-recovery FMAP adjustment State shall be equal to the following:
‘(A) In the case of the first fiscal year (or part of a fiscal year) for which this subsection applies to the State, the Federal medical assistance percentage determined for the fiscal year without regard to this subsection and subsection (y), increased by 50 percent of the number of percentage points by which the Federal medical assistance percentage determined for the State for the fiscal year without regard to this subsection and subsection (y), is less than the Federal medical assistance percentage determined for the State for the preceding fiscal year after the application of only subsection (a) of section 5001 of Public Law 111–5 (if applicable to the preceding fiscal year) and without regard to this subsection, subsection (y), and subsections (b) and (c) of section 5001 of Public Law 111–5.

‘‘(B) In the case of the second or any succeeding fiscal year for which this subsection applies to the State, the Federal medical assistance percentage determined for the preceding fiscal year under this subsection for the State, increased by 25 percent of the number of percentage points by which the Federal medical assistance percentage determined for the State for the fiscal year without regard to this subsection and subsection (y), is less than the Federal medical assistance percentage determined for the State for the preceding fiscal year under this subsection.

‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘disaster-recovery FMAP adjustment State’ means a State that is one of the 50 States or the District of Columbia, for which, at any time during the preceding 7 fiscal years, the President has declared a major disaster under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act and determined as a result of such disaster that every county or parish in the State warrant individual and public assistance or public assistance from the Federal Government under such Act and for which— ‘‘(A) in the case of the first fiscal year (or part of a fiscal year) for which this subsection applies to the State, the Federal medical assistance percentage determined for the State for the fiscal year without regard to this subsection and subsection (y), is less than the Federal medical assistance percentage determined for the State for the preceding fiscal year after the application of only subsection (a) of section 5001 of Public Law 111–5 (if applicable to the preceding fiscal year) and without regard to this subsection, subsection (y), and subsections (b) and (c) of section 5001 of Public Law 111–5, by at least 3 percentage points; and ‘‘(B) in the case of the second or any succeeding fiscal year for which this subsection applies to the State, the Federal medical assistance percentage determined for the State for the fiscal year without regard to this subsection and subsection (y), is less than the Federal medical assistance percentage determined for the State for the preceding fiscal year under this subsection by at least 3 percentage points.

‘‘(3) The Federal medical assistance percentage determined for a disaster-recovery FMAP adjustment State under paragraph (1) shall apply for purposes of this title (other than with respect to disproportionate share hospital payments described in section 1923 and payments under this title that are based on the enhanced FMAP described in 2105(b)) and shall not apply with respect to payments under title IV (other than under part E of title IV) or payments under title XXI.’’

Do not forget this bill will contain funding for abortions on demand! Thanks Mary.

The Slow Work of God

Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything
to reach the end without delay.

We would like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something
unknown, something new.

And yet, it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through
some stages of instability -
and that it may take a very long time.

And so I think it is with you;
your ideas mature gradually - let them grow,
let them shape themselves, without undue haste.
Don't try to force them on,
as though you could be today what time,
(that is to say, grace and circumstances
acting on your own good will)
will make of you tomorrow.

Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming in you will be.
Give our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.

--Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ

Canticle of Mary

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.

For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts,

He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away.

He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.

What Makes Peter Sink?

Then he made the disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.

When it was evening he was there alone.Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. "It is a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear

At once (Jesus) spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."Peter said to him in reply, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."He said, "Come." Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how (strong) the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, "Truly, you are the Son of God." Matthew 14:22-33

I met with my spiritual adviser and we spoke about faith. In this passage from the Gospel of Matthew when Peter begins to walk on water, he loses his faith. What cause it to happen? It was precisely the point when, because of the wind, the wind sort of shocked Peter, that Peter starts to think like the secular world, he needs something measurable. He should not be able to walk on water, so he starts to seek something by which he can measure his experience and does not find it. Faith is believing when all things tell you not to believe. When Christ was upon his cross, dying, he no reason to believe but only the love of His father. Faith does not require something that we can measure by. God does the impossible. Lets put this point into perspective of our current times. The economy is bad for sure, people begin to see all the things that comprise who they are, for most of us they are the things we can measure, our house, our car, our material possessions, our lifestyle. The loss of those things can devastate people. This is not the case with faith, it does not require anything measurable. Faith (deep faith) empties everything that you are and says to God, I totally depend on you. It believes when is no tangible, secular, measurable reason to believe. That is faith of Peter walking on the water after Jesus invites him with the word "Come" That is the faith we aspire to, we will get near it at times and move from at other times. That is what our spiritual life does, and in a slow sure zig zag pattern we move to holiness. Take another example, an alcoholic, when he is totally busted, lost job, wife, kids, house, car, is not even in control of his body, flat on his face. That is point where he realizes that he is totally dependent on someone outside of himself, and since he has betrayed his family and friends, God becomes the only place he can go, and God can fix that person. We don't need tragedy to realize we are not in control, although it will drive the message home. We need to gradually remove our attachments, they are much like the wind that Peter heard on the water, they cause us to take measure and so we fall back on them. The spiritual journey is moving from the detachments to total surrender, not that God is to take care of everything in your life, that's not what God does. He desires your love and through that love comes peace. Faith is believing when there is no reason to believe.

The Maccabees

The liturgy readings as we wind down Ordinary times has focused on the 1st Book of Maccabees. It is a wonderful story of courage and faith, of the Maccabee brothers, second century Jews who revolted against Antiochus, the Greek ruler who forbid the practice of their faith.

Read here:
2 Maccabees 7:1-42 It happened also that seven brothers and their mother were arrested and were being compelled by the king, under torture with whips and cords, to partake of unlawful swine’s flesh. One of them, acting as their spokesman, said, “What do you intend to ask and learn from us? For we are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our fathers.” The king fell into a rage, and gave orders that pans and caldrons be heated. These were heated immediately, and he commanded that the tongue of their spokesman be cut out and that they scalp him and cut off his hands and feet, while the rest of the brothers and the mother looked on. When he was utterly helpless, the king ordered them to take him to the fire, still breathing, and to fry him in a pan. The smoke from the pan spread widely, but the brothers and their mother encouraged one another to die nobly, saying, “The Lord God is watching over us and in truth has compassion on us, as Moses declared in his song which bore witness against the people to their faces, when he said, `And he will have compassion on his servants.’”

After the first brother had died in this way, they brought forward the second for their sport. They tore off the skin of his head with the hair, and asked him, “Will you eat rather than have your body punished limb by limb?” He replied in the language of his fathers, and said to them, “No.” Therefore he in turn underwent tortures as the first brother had done. And when he was at his last breath, he said, “You accursed wretch, you dismiss us from this present life, but the King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws.” After him, the third was the victim of their sport. When it was demanded, he quickly put out his tongue and courageously stretched forth his hands, and said nobly, “I got these from Heaven, and because of his laws I disdain them, and from him I hope to get them back again.”

As a result the king himself and those with him were astonished at the young man’s spirit, for he regarded his sufferings as nothing. When he too had died, they maltreated and tortured the fourth in the same way. And when he was near death, he said, “One cannot but choose to die at the hands of men and to cherish the hope that God gives of being raised again by him. But for you there will be no resurrection to life!”

Next they brought forward the fifth and maltreated him. But he looked at the king, and said, “Because you have authority among men, mortal though you are, you do what you please. But do not think that God has forsaken our people. Keep on, and see how his mighty power will torture you and your descendants!”

After him they brought forward the sixth. And when he was about to die, he said, “Do not deceive yourself in vain. For we are suffering these things on our own account, because of our sins against our own God. Therefore astounding things have happened.

But do not think that you will go unpunished for having tried to fight against God!” The mother was especially admirable and worthy of honorable memory. Though she saw her seven sons perish within a single day, she bore it with good courage because of her hope in the Lord. She encouraged each of them in the language of their fathers. Filled with a noble spirit, she fired her woman’s reasoning with a man’s courage, and said to them, “I do not know how you came into being in my womb. It was not I who gave you life and breath, nor I who set in order the elements within each of you. Therefore the Creator of the world, who shaped the beginning of man and devised the origin of all things, will in his mercy give life and breath back to you again, since you now forget yourselves for the sake of his laws.”

Antiochus felt that he was being treated with contempt, and he was suspicious of her reproachful tone. The youngest brother being still alive, Antiochus not only appealed to him in words, but promised with oaths that he would make him rich and enviable if he would turn from the ways of his fathers, and that he would take him for his friend and entrust him with public affairs.

Since the young man would not listen to him at all, the king called the mother to him and urged her to advise the youth to save himself. After much urging on his part, she undertook to persuade her son. But, leaning close to him, she spoke in their native tongue as follows, deriding the cruel tyrant: “My son, have pity on me. I carried you nine months in my womb, and nursed you for three years, and have reared you and brought you up to this point in your life, and have taken care of you. I beseech you, my child, to look at the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them, and recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed. Thus also mankind comes into being. Do not fear this butcher, but prove worthy of your brothers. Accept death, so that in God’s mercy I may get you back again with your brothers.”

While she was still speaking, the young man said, “What are you waiting for? I will not obey the king’s command, but I obey the command of the law that was given to our fathers through Moses. But you, who have contrived all sorts of evil against the Hebrews, will certainly not escape the hands of God. For we are suffering because of our own sins. And if our living Lord is angry for a little while, to rebuke and discipline us, he will again be reconciled with his own servants. But you, unholy wretch, you most defiled of all men, do not be elated in vain and puffed up by uncertain hopes, when you raise your hand against the children of heaven. You have not yet escaped the judgment of the almighty, all-seeing God. For our brothers after enduring a brief suffering have drunk of everflowing life under God’s covenant; but you, by the judgment of God, will receive just punishment for your arrogance. I, like my brothers, give up body and life for the laws of our fathers, appealing to God to show mercy soon to our nation and by afflictions and plagues to make you confess that he alone is God, and through me and my brothers to bring to an end the wrath of the Almighty which has justly fallen on our whole nation.”

The king fell into a rage, and handled him worse than the others, being exasperated at his scorn. So he died in his integrity, putting his whole trust in the Lord. Last of all, the mother died, after her sons. Let this be enough, then, about the eating of sacrifices and the extreme tortures.

What faith! What courage!

Just for the records. Martin Luther hated the Book of Maccabees. He removed it from the canon of the Bible, with no authority to do so. I could go into a discussion of the history of the Septuagint Bible and the development of the canon, but at another time. Another interesting tidbit: the Jewish holiday Hanukkah "the Festival of Lights" commemorating the re-dedication of the of the Holy Temple is mentioned in Maccabees, the only place it is mentioned in the Bible. Since the Hebrew Bible doesn't contain Maccabees and Luther pulled the book out, the only place you will find Hanukkah is in the Catholic Bible.

The Catholic Church reveres the Maccabees and August 1st is the Feast of their martyrdom.

Father Robert Barron on 2012 (SPOILERS )

The Great Deciever

Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me.

Why do you not understand what I am saying? Because you cannot bear to hear my word. You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe me. Can any of you charge me with sin? If I am telling the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not listen, because you do not belong to God." John 8:42-47

Read the above passage as if Jesus were speaking directly to you. Of course the Word of God should speak directly to you. Are the playthings of Satan distracting you so much you cannot hear Jesus speak to you. If you are cynical and do no think that Satan exists and is a figment of people's imagination, all I can say is that he is happy you think that way. He is the master of deception and will continue to run things for you as long as you permit. That is your free will working. That is why many are blinded to their sins. They have followed Satan's path for so long not even aware that he has them in his grips. He has set up his tent in the culture of death and is quite comfortable there. Satan loves death, he is all about death. he is happy about the death of the family, delighted in the death of worship, is thrilled by the death of virtues and morals and righteousness. He wallows in the lust for materials, sexual pleasure, drug and alcohol use, all destructive things. Do not underestimate him. If you belong to him you will as Jesus says willingly carry out his desires.
You need help to combat him. Even those who are not in his camp for he is always seeking new members, here is some advice:

"After you have made a decision that is pleasing to God, the Devil may try to make you have second thoughts. Intensify your prayer time, meditation, and good deeds. For if Satan's temptations merely cause you to increase your efforts to grow in holiness, he'll have an incentive to leave you alone."

-- St. Ignatius of Loyola

Make No Mistake He is A King

The Gospels show us many sides of Jesus. It is obvious that he is compassionate and loving to those who he ministered to. He shows his wisdom in the parables and the many times he out wits those who tried to trap him. He is a true friend to his disciples. In all the ways he revealed himself including his death and resurrection we see the boundless love for all of us. We tend to forget at times that He is a King. The wise men knew it and came bearing gifts for a King. Pilate knew it also in a strange way. Jesus is a King. He has Royal Blood and it ran from his side while he hung upon a cross. He was born in animal stable while Caesar slept in his palace, yet it is He who is King. He was fitted with a Crown of Thorns and spat upon but He is King. He is the most Righteous King and as we profess every time we say our creed, His Kingdom will last forever. At every Mass that you ever attend you are in a Royal Palace awaiting the precise moment when you are to be received by a King. The Greatest King, the King of Everything and All Things. When you process up to receive the Holy Eucharist, the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus the King, focus on seeing Him standing there in all His most majestic & royal clothing. Bow with honor and respect before the King! Make no mistake He is a King.

Hope

I recently posted about four people that I have known who took their lives and that the necessity to have something beyond what this material world can give. I came across this today in First Things. It is an article called The Reality of Hope in which Amy Julia Becker describes her experiences that she as she went through the process of losing her mother-in-law and friend to liver cancer. She writes:

When Penny first received her diagnosis—primary liver cancer—we were optimistic. Perhaps surgery would eradicate the disease. Perhaps she would live to know her grandchildren. Perhaps she would retire and travel to Italy again. We thought it might all work out. But then came the pathology report, the news that the cancer had gotten into her bloodstream. Those optimistic thoughts were no longer readily available. Optimism failed. But hope is not optimism, and neither is it false piety. Once Penny died, it was tempting to ignore the sadness and focus upon the promise of eternal life. It was tempting to bypass grief. But I cringed when someone offered, “I guess God needed another angel in heaven.” In thinking only of the future, of heaven, that statement skips over the real loss in the present. It implies that God is needy, snatching people away to fill some cosmic void. It implies that it is acceptable for a fifty-five-year old woman to die a grueling death. Statements about God’s purpose in death can be used as a cudgel, a way to berate believers into pretending that the loss is not profound, devastating. “Pie in the sky by and by” is no consolation. False piety skips past grief altogether, and, like optimism, it ultimately fails.

I visit people dying every week and have spoke with and consoled the sick and their family members. The thought that we are mortal and fragile at best is something I am reminded of each day. I think about dying quite frequently, how people my age have succumb to diseases, how there is really no logical way to make sense of it. In dealing with this a strange thing has happened to me, in confronting what was genuine fear, I have attained a certain degree of peace. That peace is that I truly feel the hope that Jesus talked about. We are given differing degrees of suffering and our losses can never be fully understood. He consoles us as we look to the hope of eternal life.

Will it Come to This?

St.. Elizabeth of Hungary

St. Elizabeth was born in Hungary in 1207, the daughter of Alexander II, King of Hungary. At the age of four she was sent for education to the court of the Landgrave of Thuringia, to whose infant son she was betrothed. As she grew in age, her piety also increased by leaps and bounds. In 1221, she married Louis of Thuringa and in spite of her position at court began to lead an austerely simple life, practiced penance, and devoted herself to works of charity.

Her husband was himself much inclined to religion and highly esteemed her virtue, encouraging her in her exemplary life. They had three children when tragedy struck - Louis was killed while fighting with the Crusaders. After his death, Elizabeth left the court, made arrangements for the care of her children, and in 1228, renounced the world, becoming a tertiary of St. Francis. She built the Franciscan hospital at Marburg and devoted herself to the care of the sick until her death at the age of 24 in 1231. (courtesy of Catholic Online)

A Prayer to St. Elizabeth
Almighty God, by whose grace your servant Elizabeth of Hungary recognized and honored Jesus in the poor of this world:
Grant that we, following her example, may with love and gladness serve those in any need or trouble. In the name and for the sake of and through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen (courtesy of www.stelizabeth.webhero.com)

St. Albert the Great

St. Margaret of Scotland

St. Gertrude

Is Your Life Based on Secular Thought?

Jesus told us that it was necessary to die to ourselves in order to follow Him. I would suggest that to be a good Christian it is necessary to jettison secular thought from your world view. For most Christians this is not an easy thing to do. Most people think in general terms that has a foundation and root in secular thought which has permeated so much of the American culture that it is almost inescapable. Here are the most significant side by side comparison on what believers should have as their basic philosophy in their journey of Faith.



Christianity-------------- Secular
Humility-------------------- Pride
Free Will-------------------- Determinism
Responsibility------------- Irresponsibility
Doctrine-------------------- Sentimentalism
Last Things---------------- Progress
Eternity-------------------- Temporary
Culture of life-------------- Culture of death

Lets look at each item. Being a Christian is first realizing that it is not about you. Jesus Christ was the perfect model of humility. Look to your heart and see if the way you view things is not guided by what it does for you and what gains will you make, or how you are stronger, smarter, prettier, more powerful, richer, what can the world do for me. That thinking is WRONG and not what Christ taught. God in his infinite wisdom gave man fee will. He so loved us that he gave us total freedom. The world on the other hand is a dreary, depressing place when you come to the conclusion that you are controlled by it. You feel powerless against the forces that govern your life. Submitting your free will to Christ is a paradox. It is the most liberating thing you can do! Without a set of moral principles guided by the Church and with the love of the Holy Trinity, you will make bad choices. The world even goes as far as suggesting that these choices are not your fault, its the fault of...fill in the blank. It is the duty and responsibility of each Christian to obey God's commandments and live a righteous life! Christ emphatically said to love Him is to obey His commandments.
Catholicism gives one the means to live fully Christian in every single aspect of life. It becomes central to your being as Christ is central to your being. It has order as all things are ordered. It has Christ present in the sacramental life, living and available to each one of us. It is not another secular lifestyle, which is narrow. Catholicism deals with first things and last things and never shys away from reason. Christianity answers the question "why do I exist and what is my life and death all about? The world is only concerned with pushing its agenda forward, a "better life through science and technology" well lest you forget science and technology takes us to places like widespread pornography (internet), abortion & birth control, death & destruction from military technology, an life that has been intruded. Christianity is about a much more important question than how can I live more comfortably today to how can I live eternally happy. We have the answer and it is a person, who lives and thinks and feels as we do - Jesus Christ! Christianity celebrates life. Its most imitates the Trinity in the structure of the family. God became man and lived in a family!
The world tells us that children are a burden, don't have them or you won't have as many toys. The world places the value of a person on one thing: can you produce? Once that question can't be answered you are subject to the the culture of death's main mantra: dispose what is not useful! Christianity celebrates life because man has inherent self worth not dependent on the world: He is the image of God! He possess an eternal life a soul that is everlasting! That is and will always be worth celebrating. Jesus said that there would be more celebration over a sinner that repents (how much love can that possibly be!) than all the righteous in heaven. Finally, I suggest that there is no greater joy than knowing God. Rid yourslef on that depressing, shallow, temporary, self indulgent, unsatisfying secular thought and get in touch with the Divine. Your eternal life depends on it.

Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Jesus, the Son of Father, true God expounds a very important philosophical truth about Himself. He is eternal. This is absolutely critical in understanding Christianity especially in a secularized society that is so concerned and focused on temporal things. Jesus is not a feel good guru espousing a life style or a philosophy about how human beings might better get along. That it would be a major mistake to extract the "DNA" of Christ and place it wherever it makes sense for you. With respect to Jesus, true God, it is imperative that you take all of Him. That is the first commandment, and you can't get to "love thy neighbor as thyself" outside of that. In the contemporary society that we live in there is an abundance of excuses why we don't love our neighbors. Jesus is eternal, and he is not going away. This is an important message for a world that is aching inside, that see that temporal truths can and have changed, (just ask the millions of unemployed or those who have had their life savings evaporated by scandals), that cannot make sense of the world and see opting out as a genuine choice (so tragic). Jesus is eternal and that is good. These truths are real, they can and should be anchored to. He is eternal, not a passing fad or something that you place your bets on, only to find out that you were wrong. Jesus is eternal, He never says no to a contrite heart and in fact He is overjoyed with it, as are all the angels in heaven. He will give you a chance when nobody else will. With Him and through Him you can attain eternal life, a share in the life of the Divine. Jesus is eternal.

Alma Mater: Featuring The Voice of Pope Benedict XVI

Spiritus Sanctus Chant

Mother of God (Wa in kana jismouki)

Mother of God, O Gentle One,

treasure of mercy and our hope.

You are our refuge and in you we place our trust.
Intercede for us, O Virgin Mary
and have compassion on our dead.

Though your body may be far from us,
Virgin Mother when you pray.
But your prayers are always with us
giving us protection and shelter.

We implore you to ask him who honored you
when he became incarnate from you.
Ask him for us sinners, forgiveness
and his mercy forever and ever.

You are our Mother, you are our hope
you are our glory and you are our refuge.
Be our advocate before your Son
that in his mercy, he may forgive our sins.

Do not abandon us, O Gentle Mother.
You are full of all the graces.
Pray for your children, all your children,
who give you thanks forever and ever.

Amen

My Gather Us in Song

A couple of days ago I came across this post on American Catholic. Gather us In The song has been stuck in my head so I decided to give it a whack. This is a parody so don't get upset.

To the tune of Gather Us In

Like a disease that there is no cure for
Like a bad guest who won't go away
The darn Jesuits of St. Louie
Gave us this crap to hear on Sunday

It matters not to know what you're doing
It matters not the clothes that you wear
Give us a happy song or two then
And in an hour we'll be out of here

Gather us in the liturgically challenged
Gather us in the ignorant mass
We'll have to listen to Marty Haugen
Or the equally bad David Haas

Gather us in the out-of-tune youth choir
Gather us in with songs that are dumb
With flip flops, blue jeans and tee shirts
And that outrageous, obnoxious drum

I'll take Gregorian chant any day
So please take this nonsense away
So far no change on banning this stuff
Except you can't sing the song called "Yaweh"

Mother Cabrini

Frances Cabrini was born in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano in the province of Lombardy, northern Italy, two months prematurely, on July l5, 1850. Her father, Agostino, was a farmer and her mother, Stella, stayed at home with the children. Frances was the tenth of eleven brothers and sisters, only four of whom survived beyond adolescence. Small and weak as a child, these characteristics influenced her entire life.Her parents’ strong faith was transmitted to her by word and example. Her father would read to the family from the Annals of the Propagation of the Faith, telling stories of the great missionaries. The stories of the missions in China made a particularly strong impression on Frances and at an early age, she desired to travel there as a missionary.

At the time of her youth, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was at its peak and provided a spiritual foundation to the work of the missions.

When she was old enough she applied for, but was refused, admission to several religious orders because of her frail health.

In 1863, Frances registered as a boarding student at the Normal School in Arluno, some distance from Sant’ Angelo. Her purpose was to graduate as a school teacher. The school at Arluno was run by the Daughters of the Sacred Heart who prepared and educated future teachers. Frances lived there for almost five years until 1868, the year she graduated. According to the custom of the time, boarding students lived in the convent with the religious sisters. For Frances, this was like a dream come true: for all practical purposes she was living as a religious among religious. Moreover, she shared the Christian life of a convent where the Sacred Heart was the center of devotion.

Upon completing her coursework, she petitioned to join the Daughters of the Sacred Heart. Although Mother Giovanna Francesca Grassi saw in Frances a chosen soul full of virtue, she decided not to accept her fearing that her poor health would not permit her to endure the rigors of religious life. Nonetheless, perhaps to soften the blow, or perhaps out of intuition, Mother Grassi encouraged her saying “You are called to establish another Institute that will bring new glory to the Heart of Jesus.” Her words were prophetic indeed.

In 1868, Frances received her teacher’s diploma and returned to Sant’Angelo where she taught in the private school established by her sister, Rosa, and dedicated herself to works of charity and to serving the poor. In 1871, at the request of her pastor, when a substitute teacher was needed immediately, she moved to the nearby village of Vidardo to teach in the public school.

For twenty-eight years of her missionary life, Mother Cabrini traveled regularly across the Atlantic Ocean. A prolific writer, it was during her second voyage, that she began the custom of writing letters to her sisters in the form of a travel diary. These letters are preserved today as valuable biographical documentation.

In conformity with the Heart of Jesus, the Institute she founded has responded compassionately and efficiently to the needs of all, immigrants, as well as the native-born worldwide. Education, pastoral ministry, and religious instruction and outreach to those in need spiritually and materially flourishes on six continents. Responses to the “signs of the times,” to needs as they presented themselves continue.

When Mother Cabrini died December 22, 1917, at the age of 67, 67 missions of the Institute had been established, ministries of healing, teaching, caring, giving and reaching out, in cities of the United States, Italy, France, England, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, and Nicaragua.

Stake Your Hope in the Eternal

I was doing some theological research when I accidentally came across a website that denounced Jesus and Christianity. I would not reference it because it is not a place where a thinking human being goes. It made me think about this: how do we as a society produce human beings who make no effort or attempt to seek what is true. I am not speaking arrogantly here, as though I am in possession of something that others don't have. I mean the ability to look at something objectively to discover what exists there. There has to be a certain degree of discipline in order to think that way. I find it striking that in the field of science it is necessary to have order and if it is good science, an unbiased objectivity. That prerogative is however not extended to the theological realm. The first priori is always a negative. Jesus didn't exist, miracles don't happen, God doesn't exist and he certainly doesn't care about the world. My personal belief is that the problem lies in our education system which does not truly promote free thinking. What it does promote is the accepted secular thought that the truth lies only in science and that reason does not exist where faith and religion matters are concerned. What is humorous is that they can ascribe all kinds of blame for human failings to a God they don't really believe exists. This leads me to this point and it is poignant. I personally know four human beings who were intelligent, talented, doing different jobs and at different points in their lives they decided that life was not worth living and ended it. Of course I asked myself the same questions that anyone who encounters this tragedy, what could I have done, what went wrong. I feel strongly about this: we human beings have to have hope. It is evident by these deaths and many others like it that the world falls short with that regard. Perhaps if we can get more people to open up to the possibility that there is more than the misery they see in their lives and around them they might begin to traverse to a place where on can take small steps on the journey to hope. To take's ones life over a lost relationship, job or foreclosed home, all temporal things, all repairable is to stake your hope in future on something very narrow, temporal and limited, all things that are bound to fail at some point. If the door is always closed to possibilities, because one will not enter and with reason, then we will perpetuate an even darker and dreary tomorrow. Hope is as close to you as you are willing to reach out to it.

St. Josasphat

St. Josaphat, an Eastern Rite bishop, is held up as a martyr to church unity because he died trying to bring part of the Orthodox Church into union with Rome. Here is a link to the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parama, OH

The Angels are Coming!

St. Martin of Tours

Today the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Martin of Tours, bishop. St. Martin is the first bishop and confessor honored by the Church in the West. He was a principal apostle of Gaul, where his feast was celebrated as a holyday of obligation with an octave and popular celebrations.

At the age of ten, he went to the church against the wishes of his parents and became a catechumen or candidate for baptism. At this time, Christianity had been made a legal religion (in 316), but it was by no means the dominant religion of the Roman Empire. It had many more adherents in the Eastern Empire, whence it had sprung, and was concentrated in cities, brought along the trade routes by converted Jews and Greeks (the term 'pagan' literally means 'country-dweller'). Christianity was still far from accepted amongst the higher echelons of society, and in the army the cult of Mithras would have been stronger. Although the conversion of theEmperor Constantine, and the subsequent program of church-building, gave a greater impetus to the spread of the religion, it was still a minority faith. When Martin was fifteen, as the son of a veteran officer, he was required to join a cavalry himself and thus, around 334, was stationed at Ambianensium civitas or Samarobriva in Gaul now Amiens, France.
While Martin was still a soldier at Amiens he experienced the vision that became the most-repeated story about his life. He was at the gates of the city of Amiens with his soldiers when he met a scantily dressed beggar. He impulsively cut his own militarycloak in half and shared it with the beggar. That night he dreamed of Jesus wearing the half-cloak Martin had given away. He heard Jesus say to the angels: "Here is Martin, the Roman soldier who is not baptised; he has clad me. (courtesy of wikipedia)

Gregorian Chant - Credo

St. Pope Leo the Great

St. Leo was probably born in Rome and was raised to the see of Peter in 440. He was a true pastor and father of souls. He labored strenuously to safeguard the integrity of he faith and vigorously defended the unity of the Church. He pushed back or atleast softened the onrush of the barbarians. Has the deservedly won the title "the Great." He died in 461.
He was declared a Doctor the Church by pope Benedict XVI.

The Mystery of the Incarnation is a Fitting Theme for Joy Both to Angels and to Men.

Therefore the Word of God, Himself God, the Son of God who in the beginning was with God, through whom all things were made and without whom was nothing made John 1:1-3, with the purpose of delivering man from eternal death, became man: so bending Himself to take on Him our humility without decrease in His own majesty, that remaining what He was and assuming what He was not, He might unite the true form of a slave to that form in which He is equal to God the Father, and join both natures together by such a compact that the lower should not be swallowed up in its exaltation nor the higher impaired by its new associate.Without detriment therefore to the properties of either substance which then came together in one person, majesty took on humility, strength weakness, eternity mortality: and for the paying off of the debt, belonging to our condition, inviolable nature was united with possible nature, and true God and true man were combined to form one Lord, so that, as suited the needs of our case, one and the same Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, could both die with the one and rise again with the other.

Rightly therefore did the birth of our Salvation impart no corruption to the Virgin's purity, because the bearing of the Truth was the keeping of honour. Such then beloved was the nativity which became the Power of God and the Wisdom of God even Christ, whereby He might be one with us in manhood and surpass us in Godhead. For unless He were true God, He would not bring us a remedy, unless He were true Man, He would not give us an example. Therefore the exulting angel's song when the Lord was born is this, Glory to God in the Highest, and their message, peace on earth to men of good will Luke 2:14 . For they see that the heavenly Jerusalem is being built up out of all the nations of the world: and over that indescribable work of the Divine love how ought the humbleness of men to rejoice, when the joy of the lofty angels is so great? St. Pope Leo the Great Sermon 21 Part II (Courtesy of New Advent)

What Incredible Love Is This?

Man was created for God. How do we know this? God told us. In fact the whole of history from our very beginning is this continuation of the creation. This mystery of God's love and how he can bring us home safely. We are part of the whole, longing to return to the ocean of the divine. The only thing that deters us from that journey is our selves. That is precisely why Jesus explained that it is necessary that we die to ourselves. Not a physical death, no, we are to slay the attachment of our being to the the things of the world. It is not because the natural world is somehow inherently evil. All things emanate from God who is ultimate perfection and thus ultimate goodness. God uses the natural world to impart his grace. St. Ignatius says

"God freely created us so that we might know, love, and serve him in this life and be happy with him forever. God's purpose in creating us is to draw forth from us a response of love and service here on earth, so that we may attain our goal of everlasting happiness with him in heaven. All the things in this world are gifts of God, created for us, to be the means by which we can come to know him better, love him more surely, and serve him more faithfully. As a result, we ought to appreciate and use these gifts of God insofar as they help us toward our goal of loving service and union with God. But insofar as any created things hinder our progress toward our goal, we ought to let them go."

Jesus is referring to attachments that hinder you from knowing him and thus hinder you from knowing the Father. These things will deter you from your journey back.

The problem with secular thought is that it has no end game. How can you make a journey anywhere without stating your final destination? Who will argue that life is not a journey? You start out in total dependence of someone. This trust is pure and true. It only becomes corrupt as we progress in the world. The time comes when we have choice as to who to trust. All too often we choose ourselves. The world says that's ok, be independent, don't rely on others, certainly not on a God you can't see or hear.

There is a way of seeing or hearing that is not easily recognizable to our human reason. That is why the message must be received divinely through means that God chooses. We communicate through words and pictures, God communicates using people and human history. That is the whole point of Sacred Scripture, to identify how God is communicating to us.

He told us how much he loved us when he sent his only begotten Son. What is more natural than a little baby? Growing and learning from an infant to a young boy, surrounded by the natural world, then finally a man. Jesus told many parables using things of the world, unless a seed dies, the fig tree, the seed thrown on fertile ground, the mustard seed, the lost sheep. In his first miracle at his Mother's request, he changed water to wine. All things found in our natural world.

He did not want us to be without this connection to the natural world. He left us his Word, Sacred Scripture, but he also left us something real and tangible within the physical world. What could possibly be "a gift of God, created for us, to be the means by which we can come to know him better, love him more surely, and serve him more faithfully", that would be the most perfect thing in the natural world? What was the most perfect thing that ever existed in the natural world but Christ himself. The Eucharist is the body, blood, soul, & divinity of Jesus Christ. What are body & blood if not real tangible physical things within the realm of nature. God so much wants us to return to him, he has gone to extraordinary measures to get us there. What incredible love is this! He is near us! We are so close. The world did not recognize him as John says in his Gospel. The world still doesn't recognize him, but we do.

Homily for the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran by Fr. Tommy Lane

Why do we celebrate the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran? The Basilica of St. John Lateran, like every church, is a place of the presence of Jesus and so when we honor a church, we honor Jesus. The preface for Mass today states,

Your house is a house of prayer,
And your presence makes it a place of blessing.

Jesus himself was indignant when the temple in Jerusalem was dishonored and he drove out the moneychangers. How much more zeal should we have for every church because it contains the presence of Jesus. Zeal for church buildings will be part of your future ministry as your parish renovates or builds a new church. How much more zeal should we have for the Basilica of St. John Lateran because it is the Pope’s Cathedral containing his Cathedra, the symbol of his teaching office.

“Cathedra” literally means the established seat of the Bishop, placed in the mother church of a diocese which for this reason is known as a "cathedral"; it is the symbol of the Bishop's authority and in particular, of his "magisterium", that is, the evangelical teaching which, as a successor of the Apostles, he is called to safeguard and to transmit to the Christian Community.

When a Bishop takes possession of the particular Church that has been entrusted to him, wearing his miter and holding the pastoral staff, he sits on the cathedra. From this seat, as teacher and pastor, he will guide the journey of the faithful in faith, hope and charity.
Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, February 22, 2006.

Thus as we celebrate the Dedication of the Basilica of John Lateran today we also honor the teaching office of Our Holy Father. Then continuing in his General Audience Pope Benedict traced the history of the Cathedra of St. Peter.

So what was the "Chair" of St Peter?…[Peter] began his ministry in Jerusalem, after the Ascension of the Lord and Pentecost. The Church's first "seat" was the Upper Room, and it is likely that a special place was reserved for Simon Peter in that room where Mary, Mother of Jesus, also prayed with the disciples…Subsequently, the See of Peter was Antioch...Peter was the first Bishop of that city…From there, Providence led Peter to Rome. Therefore, we have the journey from Jerusalem, the newly born Church, to Antioch, the first center of the Church formed from pagans…Then Peter went to Rome, the center of the Empire...So it is that the See of Rome…has the honor that Christ entrusted to Peter of being at the service of all the particular Churches for the edification and unity of the entire People of God. The See of Rome, after St Peter's travels, thus came to be recognized as the See of the Successor of Peter, and its Bishop's "cathedra" represented the mission entrusted to him by Christ to tend his entire flock.
Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, February 22, 2006.

Thus today we celebrate the unity of the People of God around the Cathedra of Our Holy Father as he teaches us.

The site where the Basilica of St. John Lateran stands was the palace of the Laterani, the administrators of the Roman emperors. After Constantine converted and issued the famous Edict of Milan in 313 allowing Christians to practice their faith in public he gave the Lateran palace to the Pope who adapted it to become a Church and it was dedicated on November 9^th 324 AD. It was first called the Basilica of the Savior and an inscription on the façade dedicates it to Christ the Savior but later it was also dedicated to St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist and so it acquired the name Basilica of St John Lateran. The adjacent Lateran Palace was the residence of the Popes for almost the next 1000 years. Although no longer the residence of the Popes the Lateran Basilica continues to be the Cathedral of the Popes since it contains the Pope’s Cathedra.

Every church building reminds us of the Church, the Body of Christ.

Every place set aside for divine worship is a sign of that spiritual temple, which is the Church, made up of living stones: of the faithful united by the one faith, of the participation in the Sacraments and of the bond of charity.
Pope John Paul II, November 9, 2003.

In our second reading today we have a similar idea, “You are God’s building…the foundation…is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 3:9,11) This together with our first reading reminds us to make Jesus the foundation stone and corner stone of our lives because there is a life-giving river flowing from him to fill us with his grace.

Our celebration of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran reminds us that we are all a living building whose foundation stone is Christ and we are united around the Cathedra of Our Holy Father which symbolizes his teaching office to transmit the faith to the whole Church. As the preface states today,

Your house is a house of prayer,
And your presence makes it a place of blessing.

Courtesy of Father Tommy Lane. This homily was delivered in Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, Maryland.

The Grumpy Catholic

"They came to Jerusalem, and on entering the temple area he began to drive out those selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.He did not permit anyone to carry anything through the temple area.Then he taught them saying, "Is it not written: 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples'? But you have made it a den of thieves." Mark 11:15-19

There has always been debate over this passage in Mark because some misconstrue Jesus rightful anger as somehow sinful or bad. How can the loving, peaceful, kind, miracle worker lose his temper? People forget that Jesus is God and he demands respect for His Father. Which leads what I am about to say here. I once thought that perhaps I could make a blog separate from this one in which I can rant about the things that I disapprove of, especially with things that has to do with Catholics. So without further ado, here is my top ten rants about Mass & Catholics and priests:

#10 The church is heaven on earth and the Mass is sacred - show some respect. I don't care to hear about what your niece said or where you ate last night before or during Mass. Please show some reverence, try genuflecting as you walk to your pew and say a prayer or two. This is my Father's House. He is God and you are not.
#9 Hello- this is an audience with Jesus Christ - please dress appropriately. This is not a night out at Bubba's barbecue, or a day at the beach, or a trip to Walmart. I don't buy the argument that we should all be grateful that you are there and back off the dress requirement. If this were your daughter, sister, brother, best friend's wedding you would get dressed up for it.
#8 Yes you are a participant at Mass - you are not a spectator - The responses that we give are part of the liturgy. When we profess our faith it is meant for each and everybody present. ( you are excused from singing stupid Catholic hymns)
#7 Stupid Catholic hymns - what can you say but please all musical directors or liturgists - the Mass is sacred and it is not about you. My only hope is that some day somebody will ban the idiotic hymns. Oh in case you didn't get the memo - no songs about YAWEH (forbidden)
#6 Stupid Sermons- I do not wish to be disrespectful here. I love and admire priests and we have many, many good priests, but at times I hear sermons that a six grader could do a better job. Priests are too intelligent and educated for that. Priests are suppose to be preachers and the Mass is the time to do your preaching.
#5 Liturgical Abuses - this can vary but one that I commonly see is inviting a speaker instead of giving the homily. If I am a visitor to your church why would I want to be held captive while someone talks about the bereavement group you have or the Knights of Columbus? That should be discussed after Mass. The rules of the liturgy forbid anyone but an ordained minister to speak and the homily should be about the readings or something appropriate. All other matter is to be dealt with after Mass.
#4 The Holy Eucharist is not a drive through restaurant. You are privileged to be part of the greatest event in all of human history. Please think about what you are doing.
#3 Cell Phones - they should have a large basket outside of church where anyone and everyone who brings there phone should throw it in. They even warn you before Mass but inevitably someone's phone goes off. Leave the the darn thing in your car.
#2 Extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist - lets begin with this statement- you are not needed for Mass, you are a luxury, please don't show up on my Father's sanctuary wearing blue jeans, see through blouses, or anything else that disrespects him. Please always keep in mind you are on sacred ground and that it is an enormous privilege and blessing to do what you do.
#1 Never apologize for the Mass. stay with me here- I have been at different times where there will be for one reason or another non-Catholics present at the Mass. Pastors please don't try to make the Mass accommodate the non-Catholic visitors by trying to act non-Catholic. I have been present when the Penitential Rite was changed not to ask for our forgiveness for our sinfulness, but glossed over to something to the effect of "now we are going to try to be better, blah blah blah." We are sinners - shout that from the mountaintop. That is precisely why before we do anything at the Mass we ask for God's mercy & forgiveness. Let our brethren see the beauty and mystery of the sacrifice of the Mass. You don't have to tell them that this is the part where we the"heathen" Catholics read from the Bible. They know what the Bible is.

Disclaimer to anyone out there who reads this: I am not worthy of anything period. I just love the Mass and want each one and every time to lift me to the place where I have not been before.