Catholic News Roundup 07-31

The Vatican Information Service sends its last communique

New York, Minnesota politicians, Sarah Palin chime in on Chick-fil-A marriage controversy

More and more politicians are showing their colors in statements supporting or condemning Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy’s statement regarding his company’s support for traditional family values.

A New York City Councilor, Christine Quinn, issued a letter on Saturday demanding that the only Chick-fil-A restaurant in the city, located at New York University, be shut down.

“I urge you to sever your relationship with the Chick‐fil‐A establishment that exists on your campus,” she wrote in a letter to John Sexton, the president of NYU. “This establishment should be replaced with an establishment where the ownership does not denigrate a portion of our population.”

Quinn’s letter is in contradiction to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s statement during his Friday, July 27th morning radio show where he defended the right of Chick‐fil‐A to open and operate restaurants where they pleased.

“It’s inappropriate for a city government, or a state government, or the federal government to look at somebody’s political views and decide whether or not they can live in the city, or operate a business in the city, or work for somebody in the city,” Bloomberg said.  Pretty strong words from someone who thinks he should decide what everyone can eat or drink.  He has banned trans-fats, and large soda sizes.  So although I agree with his words, his actions speak differently.

“You can’t have a test for what the owners’ personal views are before you decide to give a permit to do something in the city. You really don’t want to ask political beliefs or religious beliefs before you issue a permit. That’s just not government’s job,” the mayor said.

In reference to negative comments about Chick‐fil‐A by the mayors of Boston and Chicago, Bloomberg said, “I disagree with them really strongly on this one.”

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Underpopulation is Taking America Over a Financial Cliff

It doesn't take a genius to see that we are aborting and contracepting ourselves out of existence.  A clear result of the millions of abortions that have taken place.  The economic impact has been estimated in the trillions.

Social security is about to go belly up, financially speaking. And at the head of this crisis is a demographic disproportion: there are simply too few young people coming into the workforce to support the increasing numbers of elderly baby boomers who are retiring.

In “What’s Really Behind the Entitlement Crisis,” (Wall Street Journal, July 12th), Ben Wattenberg explains that “never-born babies are the root cause of the ‘social deficit’ that plagues nations across the world and threatens to break the bank in many.”

The math is simple. Birthrates have fallen so far and so fast that the thinning ranks of the young can no longer support the burgeoning numbers of retirees in country after country. Greece and Spain are already going over a demographic cliff, and there is not much they can do about it. Governments there and elsewhere can and do try to raise taxes or delay the age of retirement, but this will only delay by a few years the onset of the crisis. Ultimately and inevitably, there will be too few taxpayers to compensate for the deficit.

The problem, at root, is the birth dearth. There are a number of factors contributing to the strange barrenness of this generation of humans. According to Wattenberg, these include delayed marriages, wealth, divorce, legalized abortion, and accessible contraception.

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Colorado Theater Shooter Won’t be Charged for Killing Unborn Baby

I strongly disagree with this decision.  If not for Holmes, the baby would still be growing in his/her mother, depending on how far along her pregnancy was.

Alleged Colorado theater shooter James Holmes appeared in court today and was charged with 24 counts of murder and 116 counts of attempted murder in the horrific shooting during the opening of the latest “Batman” movie.

Although prosecutors want to hold him accountable for the death of each and every person who died or he attempted to kill that evening, Holmes will not be charged with killing an unborn child. That’s because Colorado is one of more than a dozen states that does not recognize unborn children as people before birth for the purposes of criminal law.

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St. Ignatius of Loyola

The Saint of the Day for July 31 is St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Ignatius, by nation a Spaniard, was born of a noble family at Loyola, in Cantabria. At first he attended the court of the Catholic king, and later on embraced a military career. Having been wounded at the siege of Pampeluna, he chanced in his illness to read some pious books, which kindled in his soul a wonderful eagerness to follow in the footsteps of Christ and the saints. He went to Montserrat, and hung up his arms before the altar of the Blessed Virgin; he then watched the whole night in prayer, and thus entered upon his knighthood in the army of Christ. Next he retired to Manresa, dressed as he was in sackcloth, for he had a short time before given his costly garments to a beggar. Here he stayed for a year, and during that time he lived on bread and water, given to him in alms; he fasted every day except Sunday, subdued his flesh with a sharp chain and a hair-shirt, slept on the ground, and scourged himself with iron disciplines. God favored and refreshed him with such wonderful spiritual lights, that afterwards he was wont to say that even if the Sacred Scriptures did not exist, he would be ready to die for the faith, on account of those revelations alone which the Lord had made to him at Manresa. It was at this time that he, a man without education, composed that admirable book of the Spiritual Exercises.

However, in order to make himself more fit for gaining souls, he determined to procure the advantages of education, and began by studying grammar among children. Meanwhile he relaxed nothing of his zeal for the salvation of others, and it is marvelous what sufferings and insults he patiently endured in every place, undergoing the hardest trials, even imprisonment and beatings almost to death. But he ever desired to suffer far more for the glory of his Lord. At Paris he was joined by nine companions from that University, men of different nations, who had taken their degrees in Arts and Theology; and there at Montmartre he laid the first foundations of the order, which he was later on to institute at Rome. He added to the three usual vows a fourth concerning missions, thus binding it closely to the Apostolic See. Paul III first welcomed and approved the Society, as did later other Pontiffs and the Council of Trent. Ignatius sent St. Francis Xavier to preach the Gospel in the Indies, and dispersed others of his children to spread the Christian faith in other parts of the world, thus declaring war against paganism, superstition, and heresy. This war he carried on with such success that it has always been the universal opinion, confirmed by the word of pontiffs, that God raised up Ignatius and the Society founded by him to oppose Luther and the heretics of his time, as formerly he had raised up other holy men to oppose other heretics.

He made the restoration of piety among Catholics his first care. He increased the beauty of the sacred buildings, the giving of catechetical instructions, the frequency of sermons and of the sacraments. He everywhere opened schools for the education of youth in piety and letters. He founded at Rome the German College, refuges for women of evil life, and for young girls who were in danger, houses for orphans and catechumens of both sexes, and many other pious works. He devoted himself unweariedly to gaining souls to God. Once he was heard saying that if he were given his choice he would rather live uncertain of attaining the Beatific Vision, and in the meanwhile devote himself to the service of God and the salvation of his neighbor, than die at once certain of eternal glory. His power over the demons was wonderful. St. Philip Neri and others saw his countenance shining with heavenly light. At length in the sixty-fifth year of his age he passed to the embrace of his Lord, whose greater glory he had ever preached and ever sought in all things. He was celebrated for miracles and for his great services to the Church, and Gregory XV enrolled him amongst the saints; while Pius XI, in response to the prayers of the episcopate, declared him heavenly patron of all Spiritual Exercises.

Excerpted from The Liturgical Year, Abbot Gueranger O.S.B.

Catholic News Roundup 07-30

Vatican daily slams 'confused' Gates Foundation policies

How come everyone knows that contraception is contrary to Catholic teachings except poor Melinda?  
Or does she just not care what the Church really teaches?

Vatican daily L’Osservatore Romano has published an article sharply criticizing the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for securing $4.6 billion dollars over the next eight years to promote contraceptives, starting in Africa.

In her July 29 front-page story, reporter Giulia Galeotti said Melinda Gates, who self-identifies as Catholic, “has gone astray.”

Gates, the wife of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, helped organize a July 11 summit to garner funding pledges for family planning in Africa and southeast Asia. Summit attendees included African heads of state and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a video for the event, whose NGO partners include abortion providers like the International Planned Parenthood Federation and Marie Stopes International.

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Perpetual Eucharistic adoration begins at the Olympics

Today marked the launch of a major Olympic event that you won’t find in the official Games brochure, 24-hour Eucharistic adoration.

“We’re flying the flag for Christ if you like,” said Franciscan Father Francis Conway of St. Francis of Assisi Friary in Stratford, the Catholic Church closest to the Olympic village in London’s East End.

“We will have Eucharistic adoration from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., when another East End parish will take over from 6 p.m. till late, and then a third parish will continue through the night until we take over again at 9 a.m.,” Fr. Conway explained.

The two other parishes participating are Our Lady and St. Catherine of Siena in Bow and St. Antony of Padua in Forest Gate.

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St. Peter Chrysologus

The Saint of the Day for July 30 is St. Peter Chrysologus.

In the fifth century, Ravenna, not Rome, was the capital of the Roman Empire in the West, and Ravenna itself became a metropolitan see. St. Peter Chrysologus was one of the most distinguished archbishops of that see.

Peter was born in Imola about the year 400 and studied under Cornelius, bishop of that city, who ordained him deacon. In 433, the archbishop of Ravenna died, and when a successor had been chosen by the clergy and people of Ravenna, they asked Bishop Cornelius to obtain confirmation of their choice from Pope Sixtus III. On his trip to Rome, Cornelius took his deacon, Peter, as his companion; upon seeing Peter, the pope chose him for the see of Ravenna instead of the one selected by the clergy and people of Ravenna.

Peter was consecrated and was accepted somewhat grudgingly at first by both the clergy and the people. Peter, however, soon became the favorite of Emperor Valentinian III, who resided at Ravenna and was also highly regarded by Pope St. Leo the Great, the successor of Pope Sixtus.

There were still traces of paganism in Peter's diocese, and his first effort was to establish the Catholic faith everywhere, rooting out abuses and carrying on a campaign of preaching and special care of the poor. Many of his sermons still survive, and it is on the basis of these that he came to be known as "the golden word."

In his concern for the unity of the Church, Peter Chrysologus opposed the teaching of Eutyches, condemned in the East, who asked for his support. Peter also received St. Germanus of Auxerre to his diocese and officiated at his funeral.

Knowing that his own death was near, Peter returned to his own city of Imola and after urging great care in the choice of his successor he died at Imola about the year 450 and was buried in the church of St. Cassian. In 1729, Pope Benedict XIII declared him a Doctor of the Church. — The One Year Book of Saints by Rev. Clifford Stevens

Familiar is his dictum: "If you jest with the devil, you cannot rejoice with Christ." Some of his sermons are read in the Breviary. Ravenna, his episcopal city, still harbors treasures of ancient Christian liturgical art dating to his day.

Movie Review: The Dark Knight Rises - PG13

Warning: Possible Spoilers

TDKR opens about 8 years after "The Dark Knight"  left off.  Gotham City is honoring Harvey Dent with Harvey Dent Day, and Bruce Wayne is a recluse, taking the blame for what Harvey did (after he became Two Face) and for killing Harvey.   the whole city thinks Batman is the bad guy.   This part made absolutely NO sense, and started TDKR on a negative note.  When an evil terrorist terrorist named Bane arrives and threatens to destroy Gotham City, Bruce decides to return as Batman.

For starters,  Batman spends almost half the movie, which was 2:40 long,  recovering/rehabbing: first, when he returns to Gotham, and also after his first battle with Bane.  Most of the rest is pure destruction.  There is also a bed scene which is completely unnecessary to the story (no nudity).

The two bright spots are Anne Hathaway, who steals the show as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who is excellent as Detective John Blake, one of the few who believes in Batman.

There is a nice plot twist toward the end, but it is too late to save this morbid  story.  I  really hope they meant it when they said this is the end of The Dark Knight story.

2 words: DISAPPOINTING and DEPRESSING.  Very over-rated.  Save your money.

Boston’s Catholic mayor backs off vow to block Chick-Fil-A from city

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has backpedaled on remarks that he would keep Chick-fil-A off city grounds because the head of the fast food chicken restaurant supports traditional marriage - but maintaining that he hopes the chain will stay out of Boston.

Menino told the Boston Herald Thursday that he can’t actually stop the restaurant from opening there, despite his staunch opposition to its pro-family position.

“I can’t do that. That would be interference to his rights to go there,” Menino said.

Menino had warned “it will be very difficult” for Chick-fil-A to obtain licenses for a restaurant in Boston, where the chain was reportedly looking to open a location, after Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy defended his company’s donation to “anti-gay” groups such as Focus on the Family.

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St. Vctor I, Pope

The Saint of the Day for July 28 is St. Vctor I, Pope.

The date of birth of St. victor is unknown, but we do know that he was Pope from 189 to 199.

Victor was a native African, and his father's name was Felix. He is known for having obtained the release of many Christians who had been deported to the mines of Sardinia, and for being the first Pope to celebrate the liturgy and write Church documents in Latin rather than Greek.

He is most famous, however, for decreeing that Easter be universally celebrated on a Sunday, a practice already common in the West, but not so in the East.

He died in 199, possibly from martyrdom.

Catholic News Roundup 07-27

All nations enjoy the Summer Olympics...and that includes the Vatican!

Pope Benedict names Bishop Salvatore Cordileone Bishop of San Francisco

An EXCELLENT choice, but Bishop Cordileone will need A LOT of prayers in his new assignment, one of the most liberal Dioceses in the country.

Pope Benedict XVI has named Bishop Salvatore Cordileone the new Archbishop of San Francisco.

Born in 1956, Bishop Cordileone was ordained a priest of the Diocese of San Diego in 1982 and appointed Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego in 2002. He was named Bishop of Oakland in 2009.

Recognized as a leading force behind the 2008 passage of Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman, Bishop Cordileone was named chairman of the US bishops' Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage in 2011 by Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

Bishop Cordileone succeeds Archbishop George Niederauer, who has retired at age 76.

A Brazilian fan shows his allegiance before a men's soccer match between Brazil and Egypt in Cardiff, Wales, during the London Olympic Games July 26. (CNS/Reuters)

St. Panteleon

The Saint of the Day for July 27 is St. Panteleon.

St. Panteleon, whose feast we celebrate on July 27, is the patron saint of bachelors and physicians.

As lifelong layperson, he was the physician for emperor Maximian. At one point in his life he had abandoned his faith, but he eventually returned to the Church, and gave his fortune to the poor, providing them medical treatment without charge. Some of his cures were accomplished by prayer.

Other physicians eventually denounced him to the anti-Christian authorities. At his trial, he offered a contest between himself and the pagan priests. He challenged the pagan priests to heal a paralyzed man with their prayers, but they were unable. Panteleon cured the man by simply mentioning the name of Jesus. As a result, many of those who witnessed the miracle converted to Christianity.

However, the authorities remained resolute in trying to get him to denounce his faith with bribes, threats and torture, but they did not succeed. He was then nailed to a tree and beheaded in c.305.

Catholic News Roundup 07-26

San Francisco library installs plastic screens for patrons to view online pornography

What an upside-down world...this should be a no-brainer.  No library has to provide access to porn.  Why don't they just restrict it?

Rather than restrict access to pornography on its computers, the San Francisco Public Library has installed plastic privacy screens so visitors can view pornography more discreetly, according to a recent New York Times report.

“It’s for their privacy, and for ours,” said library spokeswoman Michelle Jeffers.

The move came in response to complaints from library patrons that some computer users were watching hard-core porn in full view of anyone who passed by.

A woman who was exposed to pornography after she passed someone watching hard-core pornography suggested that the library create specific areas or rooms for internet pornography users. But library officials told her that nothing like that would be done, although the facility has designated rooms such as the James Hormel Gay and Lesbian Reading Center that caters to homosexual clientele.

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Olympic Cross aims to foster faith during games

 I like the fact that they are recognizing the Olympics as an opportunity to evangelize.

Catholics in England have created an Olympic Cross to help reach out to Olympians and attendees of the 2012 Olympic Games.

“We wanted to create a keepsake that symbolizes everything the games truly represent, something we could then pass on to future Olympic host nations,” explained James Parker, Catholic Executive Coordinator for the 2012 Games.

“As Christians our lives mean nothing without the Cross and so this seemed to be the most suitable object to commission for ourselves and as a future gift to others.”

The cross will stand at the Joshua Camp, an international Catholic Olympic gathering to be held in East London from Aug. 1-13, the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales reported. The camp will provide hospitality, organize service projects and create a Catholic presence to foster spiritual growth and evangelization.

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Sts. Joachim and Anne, parents of Mary

The Saints of the Day for July 26 are Sts. Joachim and Anne, parents of Mary.

Who does not know about the great shrine of Ste. Anne de Beaupre in Canada, where miracles abound, where cured cripples leave their crutches, and where people come from thousands of miles to pray to the grandmother of Jesus? At one time, July 26 was the feast of St. Anne only, but with the new calendar the two feasts of the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary have been joined and are celebrated today. Our information about Mary's parents comes from an apocryphal Christian writing, the Protoevangelium Jacobi (or Gospel of James), written about the year 170. According to this story, Joachim was a prominent and respected man who had no children, and he and his wife, Anne, looked upon this as a punishment from God. In answer to their prayers, Mary was born and was dedicated to God at a very early age.

From this early Christian writing have come several of the feast days of Mary, particularly the Immaculate Conception, the Nativity of Mary, and her Assumption into Heaven. Very early also came feast days in honor of SS. Joachim and Anne, and in the Middle Ages numerous churches, chapels, and confraternities were dedicated to St. Anne. The couple early became models of Christian marriage, and their meeting at the Golden Gate in Jerusalem has been a favorite subject of Christian artists.

Anne is often shown in paintings with Jesus and Mary and is considered a subject that attracts attention, since Anne is the grandmother of Jesus. Her two great shrines — that of Ste. Anne d'Auray in Britanny, France, and that of Ste. Anne de Beaupre near Quebec in Canada — are very popular. We know little else about the lives of Mary's parents, but considering the person of Mary, they must have been two very remarkable people to have been given such a daughter and to have played so important a part in the work of the Redemption.

There is a church of St. Anne in Jerusalem and it is believed to be built on the site of the home of SS. Joachim and Anne, when they lived in Jerusalem.

Excerpted from The One Year Book of Saints by Rev. Clifford Stevens

Catholic News Roundup 07-25

Obama gives half-a-million dollars to North Carolina Planned Parenthood after state votes to defund

Barry's zeal for more and more abortions is truly disgusting.

The Obama administration has awarded nearly half-a-million dollars to Planned Parenthood in North Carolina, once again overriding elected representatives in a state that has chosen not to fund the nation’s leading provider of abortion.

The Department of Health and Human Services has given $426,000 in Title X funding to Planned Parenthood.

Earlier this month, North Carolina lawmakers voted to override a veto by Democratic Governor Beverly Perdue and end all family planning grants, effectively depriving Planned Parenthood of $125,000 in state taxpayer dollars. The group reacted by threatening to close a Durham clinic that does not provide abortions. It has dropped a lawsuit against the state after learning it received all the federal funds it has requested.

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St. James

The Saint of the Day for July 25 is St. James.

In Spain, he is called El Senor Santiago, the patron saint of horsemen and soldiers, and his great shrine at Santiago de Compostela in that country has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries. He is one of those that Jesus called Boanerges, "son of thunder," the brother of John the Evangelist and the son of Zebedee the fisherman from Galilee.

St. James the Greater and his brother John were apparently partners with those other two brothers, Peter and Andrew, and lived in Bethsaida, on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. How and where James first met Jesus, we do not know; but there is an old legend that makes Salome, his mother, a sister of Mary, and if this were the case, he would have known Jesus from childhood.

Along with Peter and his brother John, James was part of the inner circle of Jesus, who witnessed the Transfiguration, were witnesses to certain of His miracles, like the raising of the daughter of Jairus, and accompanied Him to the Garden of Gethsemani. Like his brother, he was active in the work of evangelization after the death of Jesus, and one legend, very unlikely, even has him going to Spain after Jesus' resurrection.

His prominence and his presence in Jerusalem must have been well known, for scarcely a dozen years after the Resurrection, he became involved in the political maneuverings of the day and was arrested and executed by King Herod Agrippa. This was followed by the arrest of Peter also, so his death must have been part of a purge of Christian leaders by Agrippa, who saw the new Christian movement as a threat to Judaism.

Jesus had foretold this kind of fate when He prophesied that James and his brother John would "drink of the same chalice" of suffering as Himself. The two brothers had asked to be seated at the right of Jesus and at His left in His kingdom, and Jesus told them that they would be with Him in a far different way than they expected.

James's death is the only biblical record we have of the death of one of the Apostles, and he was the first of that chosen band to give his life for his Master.

Excerpted from The One Year Book of Saints by Rev. Clifford Stevens

Catholic News Roundup 07-24

Lefebvrists list conditions to rejoin Rome

After years of negotiations between the Vatican and the Society of St. Pius X, both sides still haven't reached an agreement. But progress has been made.

Boston Mayor Menino wants to keep pro-marriage Chick-fil-A out of town

Why is it that the liberals, who claim to be so tolerant, are the ones who are most intolerant of anyone disagreeing with them?

Mayor Thomas Menino has vowed to block Chick-Fil-A from setting up shop in Boston after the president of the fast food chain recently confirmed his company’s stance against same-sex ‘marriage’.

“The Mayor’s position is just stupid and unconstitutional,” said Brian Camenker, who heads MassResistance, to LifeSiteNews. “You can’t just discriminate against a business and force it out of town because you happen to disagree with where the owner of the business gives his money.”

Mayor Menino, who has been hailed by homosexual groups as the “most pro-gay politician” in the country for his efforts that imposed homosexual ‘marriage’ on Bostonians, told the Boston Herald last week that “Chick-fil-A doesn’t belong in Boston.”

“You can’t have a business in the city of Boston that discriminates against a population,” he said.

Camenker pointed out, however, that Chick-fil-A “doesn’t discriminate against anybody” and called the mayor’s word’s “nasty and vindictive” for “putting up road blocks to keep this restaurant from being in Boston”.

Chick-fil-A defended itself in a statement last week, pointing out that the “Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect - regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender.”

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Hearst heiress: Cosmo magazine is ‘absolutely pornographic’

Ms. Hearst is 100% correct.  As an heiress in the company,  hopefully she'll eventually be in a position to change this.  Cosmo has become way too raunchy and is too accessible to kids in the supermarket.

Victoria Hearst, daughter of former Hearst Corp. chairman Randolph A. Hearst, has teamed up with a young model’s online petition to get the “absolutely pornographic” Cosmopolitan magazine out of the hands of vulnerable young girls.

The raunchy mag, a staple of grocery check-out lanes across America, blares its kinky tastes across every cover: “Kinky Sex - 64% of you want to try this” - “Sex he craves” - “99 sex moves” - “Your orgasm! the secret to super satisfaction every time.” Ms. Hearst, who converted to Christianity in the 1990s, is the heiress of the company that publishes Cosmopolitan - and says she is answering God’s call to join forces with model Nicole Weider, who hopes to put a stop to the corruption she experienced as a youth.

Originally a family magazine, Cosmopolitan morphed into its current form in the 1960s after sagging sales prompted the hiring of Helen Gurley Brown, a famously liberal feminist bent on promoting “sexual liberation.” Today Weider says that, like Hearst, she once was guilty of reading the magazine as a young girl - although even a few years ago the magazine was not nearly as bad as it has become today.

For her part, Hearst said in a recent interview that she felt compelled to join Weider’s campaign and demand that her family business get “a moral compass and put [Cosmopolitan] in an opaque bag and make it sold only to adults.”

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St. Sharbel (Charbel)

The Saint of the Day for July 24 is St. Sharbel (Charbel)

Joseph Makhlouf was born in 1828 at Beqa-Kafra, Lebanon. His peasant family lived a strong faith, were attentive to the Divine Liturgy, and had a great devotion to the Mother of God.

At the age of 23, Charbel (the name he chose when entering Novitiate) left his closely knit family to enter the Lebanese-Maronite Monastery called Notre-Dame de Mayfouk. Following studies and profession at St. Cyprian de Kfifane Monastery, he was ordained in 1859.

For the next seven years, Charbel lived in the mountainous community of Anaya. After that he spent the next twenty-three years in complete solitude at Sts. Peter and Paul Hermitage near Anaya. He died there on Christmas Eve, 1898.

Charbel had a reputation for his austerity, penances, obedience, and chastity. At times, Charbel was gifted with levitations during prayer, and he had great devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament.

In all things, Charbel maintained perfect serenity. He was beatified in 1965 by Pope Paul VI and canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1977.

On May 8, 1828 in a mountain village of Beka'kafra, the highest village in the near-east, Charbel was born to a poor Maronite family. From childhood his life revealed a calling to "bear fruit as a noble Cedar of Lebanon". Charbel "grew in age and wisdom before God and men." At 23 years old he entered the monastery of Our Lady of Mayfouk (north of Byblos) where he became a novice. After two years of novitiate, in 1853, he was sent to St. Maron monastery where he pronounced the monastic vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Charbel was then transferred to the monastery of Kfeifan where he studied philosophy and theology. His ordination to the priesthood took place in 1859, after which he was sent back to St. Maron monastery. His teachers provided him with good education and nurtured within him a deep love for monastic life.

During his 19 years at St. Maron monastery, Charbel performed his priestly ministry and his monastic duties in an edifying way. He totally dedicated himself to Christ with undivided heart to live in silence before Nameless One. In 1875 Charbel was granted permission to live as a hermit nearby the monastery at St. Peter and Paul hermitage. His 23 years of solitary life were lived in a spirit of total abandonment to God.

Charbel's companions in the hermitage were the Sons of God, as encountered in the Scriptures and in the Eucharist, and the Blessed Mother. The Eucharist became the center of his life. He consumed the Bread of his Life and was consumed by it. Though this hermit did not have a place in the world, the world had a great place in his heart. Through prayer and penance he offered himself as a sacrifice so that the world would return to God. It is in this light that one sees the importance of the following Eucharistic prayer in his life:

"Father of Truth, behold Your Son a sacrifice pleasing to You, accept this offering of Him who died for me..."

On December 16, 1898 while reciting the "Father of Truth" prayer at the Holy Liturgy Charbel suffered a stroke. He died on Christmas Eve at the age of 70. Through faith this hermit received the Word of God and through love he continued the Ministry of Incarnation.

On the evening of his funeral, his superior wrote: "Because of what he will do after his death, I need not talk about his behavior". A few months after his death a bright light was seen surrounding his tomb. The superiors opened it to find his body still intact. Since that day a blood-like liquid flows from his body. Experts and doctors are unable to give medical explanations for the incorruptibility and flexibility. In the years 1950 and 1952 his tomb was opened and his body still had the appearance of a living one.

The spirit of Charbel still lives in many people. His miracles include numerous healings of the body and of the spirit. Thomas Merton, the American Hermit, wrote in his journal: "Charbel lived as a hermit in Lebanon—he was a Maronite. He died. Everyone forgot about him. Fifty years later, his body was discovered incorrupt and in short time he worked over 600 miracles. He is my new companion. My road has taken a new turning. It seems to me that I have been asleep for 9 years—and before that I was dead."

At the closing of the Second Vatican Council, on December 5, 1965 Charbel was beatified by Pope Paul VI who said:

"...a hermit of the Lebanese mountain is inscribed in the number of the blessed...a new eminent member of monastic sanctity is enriching, by his example and his intercession, the entire Christian people... May he make us understand, in a world largely fascinated by wealth and comfort, the paramount value of poverty, penance, and asceticism, to liberate the soul in its ascent to God..."

On October 9, 1977 during the World Synod of Bishops, Pope Paul VI canonized Blessed Charbel among the ranks of the Saints.

St. Bridget

The Saint of the Day for July 23 is St. Bridget of Sweden.

Bridget was born in Sweden of noble and pious parents, and led a most holy life. While she was yet unborn, her mother was saved from shipwreck for her sake. At ten years of age, Bridget heard a sermon on the Passion of our Lord; and the next night she saw Jesus on the cross, covered with fresh blood, and speaking to her about his Passion. Thenceforward meditation on that subject affected her to such a degree, that she could never think of our Lord's sufferings without tears.

She was given in marriage to Ulfo prince of Nericia; and won him, by example and persuasion, to a life of piety. She devoted herself with maternal love to the education of her children. She was most zealous in serving the poor, especially the sick; and set apart a house for their reception, where she would often wash and kiss their feet. Together with her husband, she went on pilgrimage to Compostella, to visit the tomb of the apostle St. James. On their return journey, Ulfo fell dangerously ill at Arras; but St. Dionysius, appearing to Bridget at night, foretold the restoration of her husband's health, and other future events.

Ulfo became a Cistercian monk, but died soon afterwards. Whereupon Bridget, having heard the voice of Christ calling her in a dream, embraced a more austere manner of life. Many secrets were then revealed to her by God. She founded the monastery of Vadstena under the rule of our Savior, which was given her by our Lord himself. At his command, she went to Rome, where she kindled the love of God in very many hearts. She made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem; but on her return to Rome she was attacked by fever, and suffered severely from sickness during a whole year. On the day she had foretold, she passed to heaven, laden with merits. Her body was translated to her monastery of Vadstena; and becoming illustrious for miracles, she was enrolled among the saints by Boniface IX. 

Here are the St. Bridget Prayers.

St. Lawrence of Brindisi

The Saint of the Day for July 21 is St. Lawrence of Brindisi.

His name was Julius Caesar, and he was born at Brindisi in the kingdom of Naples in 1559. Educated in Venice at the College of St. Mark, he entered the Capuchins and was given the name Lawrence. Finishing his studies at the University of Padua, he showed a flair for languages, mastering Hebrew, Greek, German, Bohemian, Spanish, and French, and showed an extraordinary knowledge of the text of the Bible.

While still a deacon, St. Lawrence of Brindisi became known as an excellent preacher and after his ordination startled the whole of northern Italy with his amazing sermons. Sent into Germany by the pope to establish Capuchin houses, he became chaplain to Emperor Rudolf II and had a remarkable influence on the Christian soldiers fighting the Muslims when they were threatening Hungary in 1601. Through his efforts, the Catholic League was formed to give solidarity to the Catholic cause in Europe. Sent by the emperor to persuade Philip III of Spain to join the League, he established a Capuchin friary in Madrid. He also brought peace between Spain and the kingdom of Savoy.

His compassion for the poor, the needy, and the sick was legendary. Elected minister-general of his order in 1602, he made the Capuchins a major force in the Catholic Restoration, visiting every friary in the thirty-four provinces of the order and directing the work of nine thousand friars. He himself was a dominant figure in carrying out the work of the Council of Trent and was described by Pope Benedict XV as having earned "a truly distinguished place among the most outstanding men ever raised up by Divine Providence to assist the Church in time of distress."

In 1619, he undertook a journey to see King Philip III of Spain on behalf of the oppressed people of Naples who were ruled by a tyrannical governor. Lawrence reached Lisbon where the king was residing, and it was there that his last illness overtook him. His body was carried back to Spain and buried in the church of the Poor Clares at Villafranca del Bierzo.

Lawrence was canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1881 and declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope John XXIII in 1959.

Catholic News Roundup 07-20

Denver's bishops grieve with community after shooting massacre

What a tragedy...I am also praying for the victims and their families.

Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila and auxiliary Bishop James D. Conley mourned with the Denver community after a gunman opened fire in a local movie theater on July 20, killing 12 and wounding 50.

“We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters cast into that darkness. They do not stand alone. As Catholic bishops, we 'weep with those who weep,'” they said.

“We are shocked and saddened by this tragedy. Our hearts and prayers go out to those impacted by this evil act.”

At a packed midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” at Century Movie Theater in the eastern suburb of Aurora, Colo., a man identified as James Holmes, 24, entered the front of the theater and set off what appeared to be a noxious canister of gas.

Clad in a gas mask and armed with a shotgun, a rifle, and two handguns, Holmes began shooting at random. Stunned moviegoers, many of whom initially thought the noise was part of the show, began to flee as Holmes ascended the aisle.

According to Aurora Police, Holmes was apprehended outside the theater at 12:30 a.m., shortly after the attack, and taken into custody.

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St. Apollinaris

The Saint of the Day for July 20 is St. Apollinaris.

Apollinaris came to Rome from Antioch with the prince of the apostles, by whom he was consecrated bishop, and sent to Ravenna to preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. He converted many to the faith of Christ, for which reason he was seized by the priests of the idols and severely beaten. At his prayer, a nobleman named Boniface, who had long been dumb, recovered the power of speech, and his daughter was delivered from an unclean spirit; on this account a fresh sedition was raised against Apollinaris. He was beaten with rods, and made to walk barefoot over burning coals; but as the fire did him no injury, he was driven from the city.

He lay hidden some time in the house of certain Christians, and then went to Aemilia. Here he raised from the dead the daughter of Rufinus, a patrician, whose whole family thereupon believed in Jesus Christ. The prefect was greatly angered by this conversion, and sending for Apollinaris he sternly commanded him to give over propagating the faith of Christ in the city. But as Apollinaris paid no attention to his commands, he was tortured on the rack, boiling water was poured upon his wounds, and his mouth was bruised and broken with a stone; finally he was loaded with irons, and shut up in prison. Four days afterwards he was put on board ship and sent into exile; but the boat was wrecked, and Apollinaris arrived in Mysia, whence he passed to the banks of the Danube and into Thrace.

In the temple of Serapis the demon refused to utter his oracles so long as the disciple of the apostle Peter remained there. Search was made for some time, and then Apollinaris was discovered and commanded to depart by sea. Thus he returned to Ravenna; but on the accusation of the same priests of the idols, he was placed in the custody of a centurion. As this man, however, worshipped Christ in secret, Apollinaris was allowed to escape by night. When this became known, he was pursued and overtaken by the guards, who loaded him with blows and left him, as they thought, dead. He was carried away by the Christians, and seven days after, while exhorting them to constancy in the faith, he passed away from this life, to be crowned with the glory of martyrdom. His body was buried near the city walls.

Catholic News Roundup 07-19

CNN’s Piers Morgan vs US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Roe v Wade

Piers Morgan picked the wrong Justice to tangle with.

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia defended his faith in the Constitution and the Catholic Church in an interview with CNN’s Piers Morgan last night.

Scalia faced probing questions about how a pro-life Catholic could adhere to the U.S. Constitution during a prerecorded interview on Piers Morgan Tonight. The justice stated a woman’s inviolable right to have abortion “is simply not in the Constitution.”

The British-born Morgan pursued the strict constructionist justice about abortion over the course of a series of questions.

Morgan asked Scalia why he was “so violently opposed” to Roe v. Wade.

“I wouldn’t say violently,” the justice said placidly. “I’m a peaceful man. You mean adamantly opposed.”

Scalia said the case was badly decided, because “the Constitution says nothing about” abortion. 

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Are we on the losing side?

It may seem so at times, when we see big companies like Google, Kraft, Target and others actively promoting the homosexual lifestyle.  But Truth is not determined by a vote, or what's popular.  Pope Benedict XVI recently said  "This remains the mandate of the Church: she does not preach what the powerful want to hear. Her criterion is truth and justice, even if that garners no applause and collides with human power”

Contrary to what some homosexual activists will claim, the Church does NOT hate homosexuals. Here's what the Church teaches:

2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

I've only mentioned it once or twice on this blog, but I myself used to live the homosexual lifestyle.
In 2005 I was at Mass (standing in the back, first one out the door...that's the kind of Catholic I was).   One of the ushers who was walking past me suddenly stopped and handed me a Miraculous Medal, saying "I just had these blessed".  Soon after that, my conscience began to reawaken.  A few weeks later, the same usher again walked past me and without saying a word placed another Miraculous Medal in my hand.  I immediately knew that the Blessed Mother was calling me back to her Son, and   I couldn't ignore the call.  Soon after that, I broke up with my girlfriend.  I  looked for what resources the Church had for people who left the homosexual lifestyle and found the Courage Ministry.
 I made a couple of new friends and we worked together to start a Courage chapter at my Parish.  Courage is a very good ministry, but I can tell you that even within the Church, we met with some resistance from those who support the homosexual lifestyle.  That brings me back to my original question...are we on the losing side?  My answer is NO.. by willingly bearing the cross of SSA (same-sex attraction)  I was given, I hope to be able to atone for some of my own wrongdoings.  I believe this cross has led me closer to Jesus.  We are called to fight the "good fight" and even if we don't "win" in this world, we will receive our reward in heaven.   Never give up!

Google faces criticism over global push for gay advocacy

Google's push for the legal recognition of same-sex relationships in countries like Poland has drawn the ire of critics, who suggest the company should address basic human rights violations elsewhere.

“I am afraid that Google can’t distinguish between discrimination, tolerance and promotion,” Fr. Maciej Zieba, the director of Krakow’s Tertio Millennio Institute, told CNA July 17.

“In my opinion, it would be much better if Google with the same zeal will concentrate on violations of human rights in many countries of Asia and Africa where elementary human rights are violated.”

Kraft defends rainbow-stuffed gay pride Oreo as ‘reflection of our values’

Kraft Foods, the company behind the Oreo cookie, has defended a promotional image of the cookie stuffed with rainbow filling as “a fun reflection of our values,” even as the gay rights endorsement triggered boycott threats within hours of appearing on the Internet.

The Photoshopped image of “America’s favorite cookie” caused a stir on the brand’s Facebook page Monday evening when it appeared with the caption, “Proudly support love!”

The image had garnered nearly 220,000 Facebook “likes” by Wednesday morning, 66,600 shares, and 35,850 comments fueling an unending flame war over the cookie’s stand in favor of the homosexual movement.

Target sells gay ‘wedding’ cards

Target is now selling greeting cards for gay ‘marriages,’ as of the middle of June, adding to their previous support for the homosexual agenda.


The cards, produced by Carlton Cards, include phrases like “Mr. & Mr.” and “Two very special women, one very special love.”


“Target is focused on diversity and inclusivity,” spokesperson for Target Molly Snyder said, adding that they offer “wedding cards relevant for everyone,” including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender couples.


Target faced some backlash from homosexual political groups in 2010 after they gave $150,000 to MN Forward, a political group that supported Tom Emmer, the pro-life, pro-marriage Republican candidate for governor of Minnesota.

Vatican purchases website domain ".catholic"

A follow-up to my earlier post.

St. Arsenius

The Saint of the Day for July 19   is St. Arsenius.

St. Arsenius, an Anchorite, was born in 354 at Rome and died in 450 at Troe, in Egypt.

Theodosius the Great, having requested the Emperor Gratian and Pope Damasus to find him in the West a tutor for his son Arcadius, decided on Arsenius, a man well read in Greek literature, a member of a noble Roman family, and said to have been a deacon of the Roman Church. Upon receving the request to become the tutor of young Arcadius, he left and reached Constantinople in 383, and continued as tutor in the imperial family for eleven years, during the last three of which he also had charge of his pupil's brother Honorius.

Coming one day to see his children at their studies, Theodosius found them sitting while Arsenius talked to them standing. This he would not tolerate, and he ordered the teacher to sit while the pupils to stood.

Upon his arrival at court, Arsenius had been given a splendid establishment, and probably because the Emperor so desired, he lived a very great lifestyle, but all the time felt a growing inclination to renounce the world. After praying for a long time to be enlightened as to what he should do, he heard a voice saying "Arsenius, flee the company of men, and thou shalt be saved." Thereupon he embarked secretly for Alexandria, and hastening to the desert of Scetis, asked to be admitted among the solitaries who dwelt there.

St. John the Dwarf, to whose cell he was conducted, though previously warned of the quality of his visitor, took no notice of him and left him standing by himself while he invited the rest to sit down at table. When the John was half finished with his meal, he threw down some bread before Arsenius, bidding him with an air of indifference to eat if he would. Arsenius meekly picked up the bread and ate, sitting on the ground. Satisfied with this proof of humility, St. John kept him under his direction. The new solitary was from the beginning most exemplary, yet unwittingly retained some of his old habits, such as sitting cross-legged or laying one foot over the other. Noticing this, the abbot requested some one to imitate Arsenius's posture at the next gathering of the brethren, and upon his doing so, forthwith rebuked him publicly. Arsenius took the hint and corrected himself.

During the fifty-five years of his solitary life he was always the most meanly clad of all, thus punishing himself for his former seeming vanity in the world. In like manner, to atone for having used perfumes at court, he never changed the water in which he moistened the palm leaves of which he made mats, but only poured in fresh water upon it as it wasted, thus letting it become stenchy in the extreme. Even while engaged in manual labour he never relaxed in his application to prayer. At all times copious tears of devotion fell from his eyes. But what distinguished him the most was his disinclination to all that might interrupt his union with God. When, after a long period of searching, his place of retreat was discovered, he not only refused to return to court and act as adviser to his former pupil the Emperor Arcadius, but he would not even be his almoner to the poor and the monasteries of the neighbourhood. He invariably denied himself to visitors, no matter what their rank and condition and left to his disciples the care of entertaining them. His contemporaries so greatly admired him because of this, that they gave him the surname "the Great".

Catholic News Roundup 07-18

Vatican newspaper to be distributed in the US

Catholics United launches pro-life attack on Romney

It is important to be aware that Catholics United is nothing but a dissenting group that is funded by George Soros to help Barry get the Catholic vote.

A Democrat-leaning Catholic group that has supported pro-abortion rights politicians is attacking former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney over controversial reports claiming he had stock ownership in a medical waste disposal firm that discards aborted unborn children.

Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo, writing at the Catholics United-run group blog “Our Daily Thread,” cited Security and Exchange Commission filings apparently showing that Mitt Romney was involved in investment firm Bain Capital’s purchase of stock from the Stericycle medical waste disposal firm after his February 1999 retirement from management.

Stevens-Arroyo said “it is fair to ask what being ‘opposed to abortion’ means to a candidate who assisted this biowaste company in growing to be the largest in the country and made tens of millions from the deal.”

He charged that Stericycle “directly cooperated in abortion business” because abortion clinics would not have stayed open without waste disposal.

He then stated that Catholic opposition to abortion is “a fundamental principle of our doctrinal teaching” and noted canonical provisions that excommunicate any Catholic involved in the procurement of abortion. But it's okay when they support pro-abort Democrats....what a hypocrite.

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Pope: Church must preach what God says not what people want to hear

Oh how I wish every Diocese could receive a copy of this homily...
But they can check out the YouTube below  :)

In a homily delivered in the town of Frascati in Italy Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI noted that the Apostles were called by Christ to preach the truth even if people don’t want to hear it.

He said:

Jesus sends them out two by two and gives them instructions. ... The first instruction concerns the spirit of detachment: the Apostles must not be attached to money and comforts. Jesus warns the disciples that they will not always receive a favourable welcome: at times they will be rejected, and may also be persecuted. But that should not affect them: they must speak in the name of Jesus and preach the Kingdom of God, without worrying about success. They must leave the outcome in the hands of God.

Reflecting on the reading concerning the prophet Amos, the Holy Father added: “But, whether accepted or rejected, Amos continued to prophesy, preaching what God says and not what people wanted to hear.”

Addressing our current times, the Pope said, “This remains the mandate of the Church: she does not preach what the powerful want to hear. Her criterion is truth and justice, even if that garners no applause and collides with human power”.

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go to 0.40 in the video