Keep
your eyes open!...
Lent, 2020
(Ecc
3:1-7) All things have their season, and in their times all things pass
under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant, and
a time to pluck up that which is planted. A time to kill, and a time to
heal. A time to destroy, and a time to build. A time to weep, and a
time to laugh. A time to mourn, and a time to dance. A time to scatter
stones, and a time to gather. A time to embrace, and a time to be far
from embraces. A time to get, and a time to lose. A time to keep, and a
time to cast away. A time to rend, and a time to sew. A time to keep
silence, and a time to speak.
UPDATES (Including COVID-19 RELATED UPDATES): Non-subscribers can access items emailed during Lent at https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/tribulaton-times
VATICAN.VA: MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS FOR LENT 2020
CATHOLIC HERALD: The perfect Fulton Sheen book for Lent ("Characters of the Passion")
NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTER: Lenten Living: A Family Guide
THE CATHOLIC WEEKLY: Be quiet this Lent
EXCERPT A BRIEF MEDITATION ON LENT:
Through the discipline of quiet prayer, we acknowledge and affirm the
sovereignty of almighty God in our lives. In doing so, we surrender the
notion of living according to the principle of power; we accept that we
are not the measure of all things. In the practice of fasting, we seek
to overcome the power that material things have gained over us; we
strive to be servants of the sacred and not merely masters of the
material and profane. Finally, we are called to almsgiving, through
which we share the fruits of our labor with those in need, and thus
surrender our natural tendency to be self-seeking. Prayer which unites
us to God, fasting which curbs our ceaseless desires, almsgiving which
allows us to actively love our neighbor as ourselves --- these are the
transforming gifts of Lent.
EASTER 2020 DATES
February 26 - Ash Wednesday
April 5 - Palm Sunday
April 9 - Maundy (Holy) Thursday
April 10 - Good Friday
April 12 - Easter Sunday (Western Christianity - Roman Catholic, Anglican Communion, Protestant Churches, etc.)
April 19 - Orthodox Easter Sunday (Orthodox Christianity - Eastern Orthodox Churches)
April 19- Divine Mercy Sunday
LENTEN SABBATICAL
The TRIB
TIMES will not
be updated again this year
during the Lenten season, extending to the first week after
Easter. My computer time will be limited to 30
minutes
each morning and evening during Lent. I will read all emails I receive,
and will answer all that I can, time permitting. I may also
occasionally
email non-reformatted news articles to Trib Times subscribers that I
find
to be of particular interest. But barring a major event (admittedly not unlikely these days), the Trib
Times
web page itself will not be updated.
I
apologize to all who have recently subscribed but
will keep your email information for use after my return. God
willing,
the next issue of the Trib Times should be shortly after Divine Mercy
Sunday, April 19, 2020. Please keep me in your
prayers, and be
assured that
I will do the same.
I recommend the
following links to keep up
with unfolding events:
Catholic
News
http://www.ewtnnews.com/
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/
http://www.catholicnews.com/
Signs of the Times
http://www.spiritdaily.com/
https://www.lifesitenews.com/
http://www.lifenews.com/
Readings & Meditations for Lent &
Holy
Week
http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Lent/index.html
http://www.lentreflections.com/
http://dynamiccatholic.com/bestlentever/
Catholic Commentary
Courageous Priest
Crisis Magazine
Aleteia
Newer
subscribers may also be interested in a meditation
that first appeared in the Trib Times in 2004, The
Pain of the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.
LINK TO DONATE TO AID TO THE CHURCH IN NEED: https://www.aidtochurch.org/lent2020
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 28- "On holy and blessed prayer"
11. If you feel sweetness or compunction at some
word of your prayer, dwell on it; for then our guardian angel is praying
with us.
February 24, 2020
(Isa 58:6-9) Is not this rather the fast that I have chosen? loose the
bands of wickedness, undo the bundles that oppress, let them that are
broken go free, and break asunder every burden. Deal thy bread to the
hungry, and bring the needy and the harbourless into thy house: when
thou shalt see one naked, cover him, and despise not thy own flesh.
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health shall
speedily arise, and thy justice shall go before thy face, and the glory
of the Lord shall gather thee up. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord
shall hear: thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou wilt
take away the chain out of the midst of thee, and cease to stretch out
the finger, and to speak that which profiteth not.
ARCHBISHOP FULTON J SHEEN: "Unless there is Good Friday in your life, there can be no Easter Sunday."
CATHOLIC HERALD: One good Lent can change your life
THE CATHOLIC THING: In Praise of – Real – Fasting
FROM THE MAILBAG: Father Rutler's Weekly Column
I used to dread Ash Wednesday because of the endless lines of people
coming for ashes. By the end of the day, priests look like coal miners.
Sociologists may condescendingly consider the phenomenon of crowds
coming for ashes, when they do not enter a church at other times of the
year, a habit of tribal identity. If the mystery of the Holy Trinity,
or Christ dying and rising from the dead, confounds limited human
intelligence, there is still a spark of the sense that biological life
has an end as real as its beginning. For skeptics, the Easter
proclamation “Christ is Risen” may seem like an indulgence of romance
or wishful thinking, but no one drawing breath can deny that “Dust thou
art and unto dust thou shalt return.”
God gives life and does not intend to take it away. He resents
mortality, and when he came into the world that he had made good, he
wept to see how it had gone wrong. “Jesus wept” (John 11:35), and those
tears were not because he was poor or hungry or insulted, or because of
bad harvests or unpredictable climate or corrupt governments. He wept
because someone had died. “I am come that they might have life, and
that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
Even if some think that is too good to be true, every day radio and
television advertisements promise that you will feel better if you take
their multiple vitamins or subscribe to their weight-loss programs.
This is what philosophers call the “élan vital,” or the will to live.
The forty days of Lent, which go faster than health regimens, offer a
promise of life beyond death more audacious than any promise of
improved nutrition or medical cures.
In 1970 the film “Love Story” was a real tear-jerker, breaking records
for its profits at the box office. Its closing line was “Love means
never having to say you’re sorry.” It was an altruistic sentiment, but
God is love and not sentiment. Divine love is so powerful that, as
Dante wrote, it “moves the sun and the other stars.” That power is
offered to the human soul, which is in the image of God. “Know you not
that the saints shall judge this world? And if the world shall be
judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?” (1
Corinthians 6:2).
Powerful love, sanctifying grace, is available through the absolution
of sin. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). We shortchange ourselves of splendor
if we do not tell God we are sorry, as “perfect love casts out fear” (1
John 4:18). Lent is not an unwelcome burden, for it is the gateway to
glory greater than the sun and the other stars.
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 28- "On holy and blessed prayer"
10. Do not try to be verbose when you pray, lest
your mind be distracted in searching for words. One word of the publican
propitiated God, and one cry of faith saved the thief. Loquacity in prayer
often distracts the mind and leads to phantasy, whereas brevity makes for
concentration.
February 21, 2020
(Joh 20:21-23) He said therefore to
them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send
you. When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them:
Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are
forgiven them: and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.
BLOG: The Complete Catholic Confession Guide: Confession Script, Act of Contrition, and Examination of Conscience
FR. BROOM: Ten Ways Confession Sets Us Free
RHODE ISLAND CATHOLIC: The Eucharist and Mortal Sin do not mix
Rhode Islanders have turned their attention recently to the question of
the worthy reception of Holy Communion. Every Catholic must attend Mass
on Sundays and holy days of obligation. Yet, a person in the state of
mortal sin should not receive Holy Communion until making a good
confession. St. Paul writes to the Corinthians: “A person should
examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who
eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment
on himself” (1 Cor. 11:28-29). Mortal sin is a free deliberate choice
that kills the life of grace in a person.
The Eucharist strengthens the life of grace, but it does not restore
it. As the Catechism explains, “The Eucharist is not ordered to the
forgiveness of mortal sins — that is proper to the sacrament of
Reconciliation. The Eucharist is properly the sacrament of those who
are in full communion with the Church” (CCC 1395). A person must make
another free and deliberate choice to repent and go to Confession in
order to receive the benefits of receiving the Eucharist. Confession
has the power to restore the life of grace, provided that the person
repents. Without this dynamic, the person stands as a house divided.
St. Paul connects the unworthy reception of Holy Communion to a sick
spiritual life that eventually leads to a dead spiritual life. The
unworthy reception of the Eucharist begins to sicken the person.
Eventually, the desire for the Eucharist lessens; the Mass and the
entire spiritual life become a chore. The Church denies the Eucharist
to people in order to help them realize their serious spiritual state,
to avoid profanation of the Sacrament, and to minimize scandal. At this
point, forbidding a person to receive Holy Communion simply affirms
what is already true about the person’s spiritual state. Further,
continuing to come to Mass, but not receiving the Eucharist, develops
in the person a hunger for the Eucharist. Such hunger helps to push out
any sinful desires that may have gripped the person and increase their
desire for Confession. Hopefully the person cries out: “O God, it is
you I seek! For you my body yearns; for you my soul thirsts, like a dry
weary land without water.”
EXCERPT B.C. CATHOLIC: On the Seal of Confession
The seal of confession is far more than a safety valve for sinners; it
is an encounter with the mercy of God which is beyond all human
comprehension. Although this seal helps any penitent as they humbly
approach the confessional, it is also an aid to the priest as confessor.
The priest, through the grace of Holy Orders, is given an almost
natural forgetfulness when hearing confessions. This is achieved by
grace through his own prayer to God, before hearing confessions as well
as after hearing them. This can give confidence to many Catholics who
may be worried about the priest confessor recognizing them or even
associating them with their confessed sins lest they may conclude that
the confessor will think less of them.
What helps the confessor in his so-called “memory loss” is the fact
that his focus is not on remembering the sins of the penitent – since
the priest has his own sins to look after – but on trying to bring the
penitent to reform by seeing the need for God’s strength through his
mercy!
VIA FR. Z:
And I hope, as we begin a new year, this also helps everyone….
GO TO CONFESSION!
Get this year off to a good start.
GO TO CONFESSION!
How long has it been?
GO TO CONFESSION!
This could be not only your last year, but your last DAY breathing.
GO TO CONFESSION!
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 28- "On holy and blessed prayer"
9. Do not be over-sophisticated in the words you
use when praying, because the simple and unadorned lisping of children
has often won the heart of their Heavenly Father.
February 19, 2020
(Mat 9:37-38) Then he saith to his
disciples, The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few. Pray
ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth labourers into
his harvest.
BISHOP J. STRICKLAND:
Pray for your priests. If they celebrate Holy Mass with reverence &
awe & a Spirit of profound joy thank them & pray that their
devotion increases. If they do not approach Holy Mass with this
reverence pray that they may come to understand that they offer Jesus
Christ to humanity.
NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTER: Cardinal Sarah: The Priesthood Today ‘Is in Mortal Danger’
EDITORIAL: In this time of great scandal, faithful priests need your love more than ever
CNA: Priest with brain tumor 'embraces it willingly' for victims of clergy abuse
NFP REPORT: One in four new Catholic priests in Europe is Polish – but numbers are falling
One in four
ordainments of Catholic diocesan priests in Europe takes place in
Poland, according to data from the Polish Institute for Catholic Church
Statistics.
But the number of new priests is
falling overall, while there has been a rise in the number of people
leaving the priesthood, leading the Catholic website Deon.pl to speak
of a “true vocations crisis”.
Around 350 new Catholic priests
have been ordained annually in Poland in the last few years,
representing 26% of the total number in Europe, which was 1,272 in
2017, the last year for which data are available. The total number of
ordainments worldwide in 2017 was 5,800.
In Poland and Europe, however,
these numbers have been falling steadily since 2000, according to
Deon.pl. The proportion of Polish ordainments in Europe has also
decreased slightly, having grown to a level of 30% in 2013.
The overall number of diocesan
priests around the world has been growing since 2000, reaching 281,000
in 2017. In Europe, however, the opposite trend has been observed, with
numbers falling to 125,000, down from almost 141,000 in 2003 and
132,000 in 2011.
The other major trend highlighted
by the data is a rise in the numbers of clergy leaving the priesthood.
While the data vary widely from year to year, the global trend was a
reduction until 2009, followed by a steady rise, with some 739 diocesan
priests leaving in 2017.
In Europe too, more diocesan
priests have been shedding their cassocks in the last decade, although
a much higher number was recorded in 2012, with 222 cases, than the 146
from 2017, reports Deon.pl.
In Poland, however, some 73
individuals ceased to be diocesan priests in 2017 – exactly half the
European total. The figure in 2012 was 54 – less than a quarter of the
Europeans abandoning the priesthood – and the average between 2000 and
2017 in Poland was 56.
According to the Deon report, data
from female and male Catholic religious orders in Poland tell a similar
story. In 2000 there were 566 postulants seeking admission to convents
in Poland, but by 2009 the figure had slipped to 251, and in 2017 it
was just 177. Mother Jolanta Olech SJK, secretary general of the
Conference of Major Superiors of Female Religious Orders, said that
following a boom, the trend has the hallmarks of a crisis.
ALETEIA: Offer your day for priests with this prayer
Divine Savior,
Jesus Christ, who has entrusted the whole work of your redemption, the
welfare and salvation of the world, to priests as your representatives,
I offer you through the hands of your most Holy Mother Mary, this
present day, whole and entire, with all its prayers, works, and
sacrifices, its joys and sorrows, for the sanctification of your
priests, and for all those preparing for the priesthood.
Give us truly holy priests, inflamed with the fire of your divine love,
who seek nothing but your greater glory, and the salvation of souls.
And you, Mary, good Mother of priests, protect all priests from dangers
to their holy vocation, and with the loving hand of a mother, lead back
to the Good Shepherd those unfortunate priests who, unfaithful to their
exalted vocation, have gone astray. Amen.
Bl. Alvarez of Corova pray for us!
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 28- "On holy and blessed prayer"
8. If you have ever been under trial before an
earthly judge, you will not need any other pattern for your attitude in
prayer. But if you have never stood before a judge yourself and have not
seen others being cross-questioned, then learn at least from the way the
sick implore the surgeons when they are about to be operated on or cauterized.
February 17, 2020
(Rev 6:9-11) And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the
altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the
testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying:
How long, O Lord (Holy and True), dost thou not judge and revenge our
blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given to
every one of them one; And it was said to them that they should rest
for a little time till their fellow servants and their brethren, who
are to be slain even as they, should be filled up.
CNA: Middle East patriarchs discuss plight of Christian minorities with Pope Francis
CATHOLIC HERALD: Hungarian government urges defense of persecuted Christians
The world must raise their voices
and stand up for persecuted Christians, Hungarian State Secretary for
the Aid of Persecuted Christians Tristan Azbej said on Thursday.
Azbej was one of eight speakers at
a side-event of the National Prayer Breakfast that was sponsored by the
organization Save the Persecuted Christians.
“All of humanity should stand up and come to the aid of persecuted Christians,” said Azbej.
Christian lives have the same
dignity as those who follow other religions, he said. He questioned why
stories of Christian persecution, such as the recent murder of a
Nigerian seminarian, do not make the news, but when people of other
religions are discriminated against, the stories are broadcast
worldwide.
“Why is (Christian persecution) not on the agenda of the United Nations, of the European Union, and so on,” he asked.
“And I know there is no such thing
as competition of martyrdom, but we have to talk about the
proportions,” he said, noting that nearly 300 million Christians in the
world are persecuted for their faith. This, he said, represents 80 per
cent of the total number of people who face persecution for their
religion, meaning Christians are “the most persecuted religious group
in the world.”
“It doesn’t get even a passing mention at the major human rights forum,” he said.
FROM THE MAILBAG: Father Rutler's Weekly Column
The names of the Franciscan friars Berard of Carbio, Otho, Peter,
Accursius and Adjutus, are not as familiar as that of Francis of
Assisi, who said that they had become the prototypes of what he called
the Friars Minor. After his own failed mission to convert the Muslims
of Egypt during the Fifth Crusade in 1219, he sent them on a similar
mission to Morocco where they were tortured and killed in 1220. That
was exactly eight hundred years ago. Clearly, Saint Francis did not
spend his days talking to birds. Nor did he and his friars risk their
lives to engage in meandering “inter-religious dialogue.”
This column is being published on the fifth anniversary of the
beheading of 21 Coptic Christians. All martyrs believe, as did Saint
Peter when filled with the Holy Spirit: “Salvation is found in no one
else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which
we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). This perplexes flaccid minds and
scandalizes the morally compromised, but it is the engine of heroic
virtue. Dietrich von Hildebrand wrote in 1967: “Enamored of our present
epoch, blind to all its characteristic dangers, intoxicated with
everything modern, there are many Catholics who no longer ask whether
something is true, or whether it is good and beautiful, or whether it
has intrinsic value: they ask only whether it is up-to-date, suitable
to ‘modern man’ and the technological age, whether it is challenging,
dynamic, audacious, progressive.”
About a century earlier, in his Grammar of Assent, Saint John Henry
Newman had already explained: “Persons influence us, voices melt us,
looks subdue us, deeds inflame us. Many a man will live and die upon a
dogma: no man will be a martyr for a conclusion.” Saint Paul disdained
rhetoric and mere speculation “so that your faith might not rest on
human wisdom but on the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:5).
By one estimation, and it is by necessity approximate, over the
centuries there have been about seventy million Christian martyrs and,
astonishingly, half of them have been in roughly the last century. It
is also a fact that in our present culture, one in six 18- to
64-year-olds, and one in five aged 65 and over, depend on
antidepressants. The example of the martyrs is better than any chemical
cure for sadness, for they testify that Christ has made life so worth
living, that living and dying for him makes sense. When the ransomed
bodies of those five Franciscan martyrs were brought from Morocco to
Portugal, a young priest in Coimbra was so moved by their mute witness
that he consecrated his life to proclaiming the Gospel as far and wide
as he could. We know him as Saint Anthony of Padua.
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 28- "On holy and blessed prayer"
6. The work of prayer is one and the same for all,
but there are many kinds of prayer and many different prayers. Some converse
with God as with a friend and master, interceding with praise and petition,
not for themselves but for others. Some strive for greater (spiritual)
riches and glory and for confidence in prayer. Others ask for complete
deliverance from their adversary. Some beg to receive some kind of rank;
others for complete forgiveness of debts. Some ask to be released from
prison; others for remission from offenses.
February 14, 2020
(Col 3:12-14) Put ye on therefore, as
the elect of God, holy and beloved, the bowels of mercy, benignity,
humility, modesty, patience: Bearing with one another and forgiving one
another, if any have a complaint against another. Even as the Lord hath
forgiven you, so do you also. But above all these things have charity,
which is the bond of perfection.
CNA: St.Valentine: How a beheaded martyr became the poster child for romantic love
CATHOLICGENTLEMAN.NET: Gentleman Saint: Saint Valentine
EXCERPT FR. WILLIAM SAUNDERS: History of St. Valentine
In 1969,
the Roman Catholic Church removed St. Valentine from the General Roman
Calendar, because so little is known about him. However, the church
still recognizes him as a saint, listing him in the February 14 spot of
Roman Martyrolgy.
In the early martyrologies, three different St. Valentines are
mentioned, all sharing Feb. 14 for a feast day. Unfortunately, the
historical record is sparse. The first St. Valentine was a priest and
physician in Rome. He along with St. Marius and his family comforted
the martyrs during the persecution of Emperor Claudius II, the Goth.
Eventually, St. Valentine was also arrested, condemned to death for his
faith, beaten with clubs, and finally beheaded on Feb. 14, AD 270. He
was buried on the Flaminian Way. Later, Pope Julius I (333-356) built a
basilica at the site which preserved St. Valentine's tomb.
Archeological digs in the 1500s and 1800s have found evidence of the
tomb of St. Valentine. However, in the thirteenth century, his relics
were transferred to the Church of Saint Praxedes near the Basilica of
St. Mary Major, where they remain today. Also, a small church was built
near the Flaminian Gate of Rome which is now known as the Porta del
Popolo but was called in the 12th century "the Gate of St. Valentine,"
as noted by the early British historian William Somerset (also known as
William of Malmesbury, d. 1143), who ranks after St. Bede in authority.
The second St. Valentine was the
Bishop of Interamna (now Terni, located about 60 miles from Rome).
Under the orders of Prefect Placidus, he too was arrested, scourged,
and decapitated, again suffering persecution during the time of Emperor
Claudius II.
The third St. Valentine suffered
martyrdom in Africa with several companions. However, nothing further
is known about this saint. In all, these men, each named St. Valentine,
showed heroic love for the Lord and His Church.
The popular customs of showing love
and affection on St. Valentine's Day is almost a coincidence with the
feast day of the saint: During the Medieval Age, a common belief in
England and France was that birds began to pair on Feb.14, "half-way
through the second month of the year." Chaucer wrote in his "Parliament
of Foules" (in Old English): "For this was on Seynt Valentyne's day,
When every foul cometh ther to choose his mate." For this reason, the
day was dedicated to "lovers" and prompted the sending of letters,
gifts, or other signs of affection.
While it seems that the exchange of
"valentines" is more the result of secular custom rather than the
memory of St. Valentine, and that the celebration has been further
paganized with cupids and the like, there is a Christian message that
should be remembered. The love of our Lord, depicted beautifully in the
image of His most Sacred Heart, is a sacrificial, self-less, and
unconditional love. Such is the love that each Christian is called to
express in his own life, for God and neighbor. Clearly, St. Valentineno
matter which oneshowed such a love, bearing witness to the faith in his
dedication as a priest and in the offering of his own life in
martyrdom. On this Valentine's day, looking to the example of this
great saint, each person should offer again his love to the Lord, for
only by doing so can he properly love those who are entrusted to his
care and any other neighbor. Each person should again pledge his love
to those loved ones, praying for their intentions, promising fidelity
to them, and thanking them for their love in return. Never forget Jesus
said, "This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you.
There is no greater love than this: to lay down one's life for one's
friends" (Jn 15:12-13). St. Valentine fulfilled this command, and may
we do the same.
CATHOLICTRUTH.NET: Saint Valentine, Patron of Lovers - Prayers for Happy Marriages and Couples
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 28- "On holy and blessed prayer"
5. Let your prayer be completely simple. For both
the publican and the prodigal son were reconciled to God by a single phrase.
February 12, 2020
(2Th 2:15) Therefore, brethren, stand fast: and hold the traditions, which you have learned, whether by word or by our epistle.
BREAKING: Pope plays down expectations on married priests
Pope Francis has told a group of US bishops that people focused on the
possibility of ordaining some married men and women deacons for service
in the Amazon will be disappointed in his apostolic exhortation.
REPORT: Fraternal correction of the Synodal Path. Ukrainian Bishops call for fidelity to Tradition
BISHOP SCHNEIDER: ‘The Pope cannot be silent as he watches the wolves devour the flock’
MSGR. POPE BLOG: Truth Precedes Love and Mercy
One of the problems with modern
Western culture is the tendency to prioritize feelings and emotions
over truth and reason. This has infected the Church as well; not
offending often takes precedence over the unambiguous teaching of
doctrine and the truth of the faith.
In his recent book, Christus Vincit, Bishop Athanasius Schneider writes,
The
crisis in the Church today is due to a neglect of the truth and
specifically a reversal of the order of truth and love. Today a new
principle of pastoral life is being propagated in the Church, which
says: love and mercy are the highest criteria and truth has to be
subordinated to them. According to this new theory, if there is a
conflict between love and truth, truth must be sacrificed. This is a
reversal and a perversion in the literal sense of the word (p. 166).
This makes an important point about
the order of truth and love. As the Bishop reminds us, truth precedes
love. It also serves as the foundation of true and perfect love.
Bishop Schneider roots this insight
not just in the nature of things but in the action of God. God first
sends forth his truth in the Law, through the prophets, and, perfectly,
through His Son, the Word made flesh. Then, having rooted and
established us in the truth, He sends forth the Holy Spirit, the Person
of the Holy Trinity most associated with love. God has poured out His
love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us(Rom
5:5). Thus, truth precedes love and frames its demands and blessings.
The precedence of truth is
important for another reason: today, love is often reduced to kindness.
While kindness is one aspect of love, so are correction and rebuke. In
our culture, if we do not kindly approve of anything others want to do,
we risk being called hateful. Love is often equated with approval, with
being “nice.”
This attitude that has infected the Church holds that
upsetting people, hurting their feelings, or making them feel
“excluded,” is almost the worst thing we can do. Never mind that the
biblical Jesus upset more than a few people; he “excluded” those who
“[could not] be [His] disciples” because they would not carry their
cross and would not love Him above all others. In the Church today, we
walk on eggshells to avoid giving offense and talk endlessly about
being a “welcoming community.” In order to achieve this, too many
clergy and leaders of every rank in the Church seem willing to deform
the truth of our doctrine through selective teaching, silence, or even
outright misrepresentation of what the Lord and Scriptures teach. Mercy
is frequently taught without any reference to repentance—but repentance
is the very key that unlocks the door to mercy! The Lord links the
summons to repentance with the good news of salvation (e.g., Mark 1:5).
Of course, it is not our goal to
offend, but the Gospel has a strange way of afflicting the comfortable
and comforting the afflicted; each of us is a little of both. We cannot
forget that we serve a Lord who was killed for what He said even though
no one ever loved His enemies more than He.
We need to summon clergy, parents,
and all leaders in the Church to beware of the problem so accurately
described by Bishop Schneider.We must not ignore the proper order:
truth precedes love and is its foundation. Things in the wider Church
are often disordered, for by reversing the order, things become—by
definition—disordered.
All of us must be more courageous
in speaking the truth. When I am preaching on a difficult or
controversial issue, I often prepare my listeners by saying, “I love
you too much to lie to you.” I then go on to speak the truth of God’s
teachings even if they are “out of season.” I do this not only to
prepare them but to illustrate that the truth of the Gospel precedes
and frames my love for them. I cannot really say I love them apart from
the truth of the Gospel. To lie or to be silent as the wolf of
deception devours them is not love; it is hate, or even worse,
indifference. It is neither loving nor merciful to deprive people of
the truth that can set them free.
Love and mercy are beautiful, but they must be preceded by the truth. I am grateful to Bishop Schneider for this reminder.
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 28- "On holy and blessed prayer"
4. When you are going to stand before the Lord,
let the garment of your soul be woven throughout with the thread of obliviousness
to wrongs. Otherwise, prayer will bring you no benefit.
February 10, 2020
(Luk 21:9-11) And when you shall hear
of wars and seditions, be not terrified. These things must first come
to pass: but the end is not yet presently. Then he said to them: Nation
shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there shall
be great earthquakes in divers places and pestilences and famines and
terrors from heaven: and there shall be great signs.
CORONAVIRUS MEDICAL ARTICLES
JAMA: Clinical Characteristics of 138 Hospitalized Patients With 2019 Novel Coronavirus–Infected Pneumonia in Wuhan, China
LANCET: Nowcasting
and forecasting the potential domestic and international spread of the
2019-nCoV outbreak originating in Wuhan, China: a modelling study
DR. TOM FRIEDEN BLOG: Former CDC Director, on the Latest Scientific Developments, and Implications for Novel Coronavirus Prevention and Control
HEADLINES OF CONCERN
Where did they go? Millions left Wuhan before quarantine
The Mysterious Origin of the Wuhan Coronavirus
Billionaire Whistleblower: Wuhan Coronavirus Death Toll Is Over 50,000
EXCERPT AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE: Plague Pushes China To Breaking Point
Read this stunning comment left by
“Wyoming Doc,” a physician in Wyoming (whose name I know) whose wife is
an immigrant from China:
Has been a while since I last wrote
anything. I have had the flu and have been home with my wife for the
past several days. It has been fascinating. Our satellite TV provider
has a service wherein you can subscribe to the People’s Republic
official TV station.
There have now been four occasions
where I have witnessed on live Chinese national TV public officials
being frog-marched out of press conferences in hand irons. Their
crimes? One had his mask on upside down. One did not have a mask on at
all. One was stating (translated by my wife) that he had repeatedly
been telling Beijing about the problems for weeks – and there was no
response. One was answering every question with obvious double-speak
(not unlike listening to Nancy Pelosi or Ted Cruz). Shortly into the
press conferences, young men from the PLA show up – slapped on the hand
irons – and hauled them out and in all 4 cases – it was just stunned
silence in the rooms. My wife just casually tells me – “no one will
ever see them again.” It is also clear to me as a physician – listening
to the Chinese doctors – and viewing footage from the hospitals and
clinics – that this is many orders of magnitude worse than what they
are saying. Common sense will tell you that as well – are they really
going to torpedo their entire industrial heartland for months – just
because 300 people have died? — I think not – I think this is way worse
than we can possibly imagine.
My mother-in-law lives in a smaller
city – far on the western fringe of China – If Wuhan were Atlanta – she
would be in a place like Boise. She had a fever about 8 days ago.
Please note – official statistics note that there are 9 people in her
province confirmed to have the virus. This belies the fact that she
(never known to me to be a liar or fabulist ) has been telling my wife
for days that there are hundreds upon hundreds of people all over the
sidewalks and streets outside the hospital – and that the hospital is
completely filled with patients. And apparently the crematorium has
been very busy. Of most grave concern to her – is Beijing nationalized
all of their small province’s health care workers and sent them to
Shanghai or Beijing – leaving their city of a million with only a
handful of doctors. When she had her fever – a nurse looked at her for
10 minutes. They found out she had a runny nose – and because of the
runny nose told her she did NOT have the virus. NO TEST WAS EVER DONE –
WHY? they simply do not have enough kits – and are having to go by
their gut instinct. She was sent back to her own home – and placed in
quarantine there – never having been tested. She is unable to leave –
and this is being violently enforced in her city. They bring her food 3
times a week. All this to say – any and all numbers coming from China
are highly suspect – and basically worthless. And thankfully my
mother-in-law is getting much better.
Her younger brother and his young
family live in Nanjing. I cannot tell you the grief expressed by my
wife the other night – when he called her the last time – and said all
international calls have been stopped effective at midnight that day.
Nanjing is now under martial law – for the first time since the
Japanese occupation before World War II. He told her about the tanks
going down the streets and all the main streets being guarded by men
with sub-machine guns. All exits out of the city are now being blocked
with layers of concrete blocks. Each family has to designate one person
who can go outside 2 times a week – to the nearest store for food and
supplies. Anyone caught on the streets without appropriate permission –
or not wearing a mask is immediately arrested – and placed in
quarantine camps themselves. Anyone who thinks this is all being done
just because of a “flu” or “a little virus” really needs to have their
head examined.
Her father is in Beijing – and has not been heard from in two weeks.
I pray for my wife – all the time.
This has been incredibly hard on our family. But we will make it. What
I can also tell you – based on my wife’s multiple conversations with
friends back home – is that this is really beginning to stir the hearts
and minds of the Chinese people. Thoughts about Xi Xinping that would
have been never thought to say out loud are being said now – and the
whole country seems to be galvanizing around the fact that they have
been seriously let down by the Communist Party. I am not sure what will
come of that – but this could not have happened at a worse time for Xi
– the Hong Kong fiasco – the pork virus disaster – and the trade war
with the USA – and now this – the country will soon be at the breaking
point.
My other question is for us in the
USA. Our supply lines – especially in things like medicine are
DEPENDENT now on China. I have been saying for years this is a national
security issue. And now their industrial heartland is on its knees. I
do not know anything about auto parts and widgets – I do know a lot
about medicine. There are many many things (saline bags, cardiac IV
meds, antibiotics, blood pressure meds, diabetes meds, I can go on and
on) that are only made in China. For the first time since this crisis
began – late last week saw the very first issues I am having with my
patients not being able to get things. We are promised this will just
be the beginning. [emphasis mine — rd] There is no way that we can
re-engineer factories quickly to start making things here – it will be
at least a year. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? When will the Chinese be able
to get back to work – is an open question….. This situation was brought
on by globalization and neo-liberal policies. It is truly a national
security issue at this point – and I think we are all about to get a
big dose of blowback. OUR ELITES ON BOTH SIDES HAVE COMPLETELY FAILED
US. THE COUNTRY NEEDS A POLITICAL ENEMA IN THE WORST WAY.
Again – what is sustaining me now –
is the memory of my grandfather in times of great stress – walking
around his house praying in Greek – the Jesus prayer – Lord Jesus
Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 28- "On holy and blessed prayer"
3. If we wish to stand before our King and God
and converse with Him, we must not rush into this without preparation,
lest, seeing us from afar without weapons and clothing suitable for those
who stand before the King, He should order His servants and slaves to seize
us and banish us from His presence and tear up our petitions and throw
them in our face.
February 7, 2020
(Heb 13:8) Jesus Christ, yesterday, and today: and the same for ever.
FR BROOM BLOG: In Sinu Jesu: When Heart Speaks to Heart!
SIGN.ORG: Why is daily spiritual reading so important?
EXCERPT ORTHODOX HOMILY: GOD HAS NO PARTIALITY- A Sermon on the Feast of St. Anthony the Great
The life of the great St. Anthony
was so full of various miraculous phenomena that we sometimes, reading
his life and the hagiographies of other ancient saints like him, are
amazed at how much their lives differ from our present life.
Sometimes this gives us cause to
think that at that time there were people who were particularly gifted
by nature, special chosen ones of God, who from time immemorial had
been appointed by God to be receptacles of His grace.
Sometimes it seems to us that their
times were something special, when the Lord was more generous with the
gifts of the Spirit and poured them out seemingly without measure upon
every Christian.
Thinking this way, we thereby
forget the words of the apostle Paul, who said that Jesus Christ is the
same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8).
We forget that the ancient saints
were the same as you and I by nature; they had the same infirmities
that we see in ourselves: They also experienced hunger as we do; they
also wanted to sleep; their bodies suffered the same sicknesses as you
and I.
God has no partiality. We hear the
same Divine voice now that St. Anthony the Great heard, that the host
of great ascetics and saints following after him heard, that future
generations of Christians who are coming after us will hear: Behold, I
stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the
door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. To
him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne (Rev.
3:20-21).
Our Lord Jesus Christ created this
visible world for our sake; He descended from Heaven for our sake,
becoming a man like us; He poured out His Divine blood for us upon the
Cross in terrible sufferings to grant us such blessings that we on
Earth cannot even imagine.
Therefore, there is probably no
greater sorrow either in Heaven or on Earth than the sorrow of knowing
that Christians neglect the unspeakable gifts we are called to inherit.
It was this sorrow that seized the
heart of St. Anthony when one day his disciples, seeing with what great
zeal an innumerable multitude of monks were laboring in the desert,
asked him: “Father! Will this zeal and fervor for the virtues to which
we and this whole multitude of monks are inclined, almost without
exception, continue for a long time?” Then the saint, sighing and
shedding copious tears, proclaimed to them a terrible prophecy about
the state of Christianity in the last times, about how the straight and
narrow path of the virtues will be abandoned by many, because of which
many will follow the impulses of their reason and flesh.
However, he added, against the
background of this general departure, among the Christians of those
times, some will be far better and more perfect than us: because more
blessed is he who could have sinned but did not, could have done evil
but did not, than he who had countless examples of asceticism before
him, by which he is unwittingly drawn to good.
These words of the God-pleaser are
a source of great consolation for us. That means we, in our present
situation, although it sounds impudent, can ascend to the same level of
perfection as St Anthony the Great! That means that in our present
impoverishment of the gifts of the Spirit, we have the chance to prove
to the Lord our love for Him, and the Lord awaits this love from us.
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 28- "On holy and blessed prayer"
2. Let us rise and listen to what that holy queen
of the virtues cries with a loud voice and says to us: Come unto me, all
ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke
upon you, and ye shall find rest for your souls and healing for your wounds.
For my yoke is easy (Matt 11:28-30) and is a sovereign remedy for great
sins.
February 5, 2020
(Mat 5:10-12) Blessed are they that
suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you,
and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: Be glad
and rejoice for your reward is very great in heaven. For so they
persecuted the prophets that were before you.
NATIONAL REVIEW: A New Ranking of Nations Where Christians Are Persecuted Most
SUMMARY: 260 Million Christians Currently Experience ‘High Levels’ of Persecution
The religious persecution watchdog
Open Doors recently released their annual “World Watch List”, and it
contains some startling numbers. According to the report, the number of
Christians experiencing “high levels of persecution” increased by 6%
last year. That means in the top 50 countries on the list, nearly 260
million Christians are being persecuted for their faith.
There was also a significant
increase in the number of Christians detained or imprisoned for their
faith—2,625 to 3,711 year over year. Perhaps the most shocking number
though is the increase in the number of “churches or Christian
buildings” that have been destroyed: 9,488 during the 2019 reporting
period, compared to 1,266 in the 2018 report. Though the number of
Christians killed for their faith dropped slightly, it still came out
to about eight deaths every day.
North Korea topped the list of
countries responsible for Christian persecution — for the 18th straight
year — and was followed by Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, Pakistan,
Eritrea, Sudan, Yemen, Iran and India.
FULL REPORT LINK: https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list/
CHRISTIAN POST: 'Persecuted even after death': China bans Christians from holding religious funerals
RELATED HEADLINES
Last Nigerian Seminarian Held by kidnappers Has Been Killed
Christians persecuted in Nigeria amid deafening silence
Islamic extremists hack 36 to death with machetes, including Christian pastor in DRC
ACN INTERVIEW: Burkina Faso: the unshakeable faith of women religious in the face of terror
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 28- "On holy and blessed prayer"
1 (cont.) For him who truly prays, prayer is the
court, the judgment hall and the tribunal of the Lord before the judgment
to come.
February 3, 2020
(Luk 18:7-8) And will not God revenge
his elect who cry to him day and night? And will he have patience in
their regard? I say to you that he will quickly revenge them. But yet
the Son of man, when he cometh, shall he find, think you, faith on
earth?
CATHOLIC CULTURE: The Poison Paralyzing the Church Is the Opinion that We Should Adapt to the Spirit of the Age and Not the Spirit of God by Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller
NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTER: German ‘Synodal Path’ Aims to Shape Vatican Decisions, Says Plan’s Architect
EXCERPT CNA ANALYSIS: Pope Francis and the Germans
The year 2020 is one month old and already stacked high with expectation for Pope Francis.
But bubbling under the surface is
one question which could ultimately define the whole of Francis’s
papacy: what will he do about the Germans?
The German bishops’ conference has
been on a collision course with Rome ever since they announced a
two-year “binding synodal process” to address – and reform – universal
Church teaching and discipline on issues ranging from clerical celibacy
to women’s ordination to same-sex unions.
As they publicly staked out their
intentions last year, in partnership with the Central Committee of
German Catholics (who hold opposite views to the Church on all of these
issues), every effort was made to make them change course.
While official papal spokesmen have
underscored Francis’s personal commitment to celibacy, the settled
wisdom is that a narrow carve-out for the Amazon might meet with papal
approval. But the pope’s freedom to treat the Amazonian question
discretely may prove limited.
An end to mandatory celibacy is
widely touted as one of the expected outputs of the German synodal
process, and the bishops there have been explicit that they would seize
on any exception made for the Amazon.
While Pope Francis and his curia
have been clear that the Vatican alone can treat issues of universal
Church teaching and discipline, the Germans have been equally clear
that they see a very different future for the Church.
On Jan. 27, the secretary of the
German bishops’ conference gave a pointed interview insisting that it
is “unacceptable” that Rome continue to have full discretion over
universal teaching and discipline. Instead, Fr. Father Hans
Langendörfer, SJ, called for other regions to follow the German’s
example and effectively force through a new federal model on the Church.
The pope’s council of cardinal
advisors is still reviewing feedback on last year’s draft of Evangelium
praedicate, the new apostolic constitution on the structure and
functioning of the Roman curia. Buried within the draft text, in the
section laying out the authority of the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith, is a provision which bears directly on the German
proposal for a federal Church.
The draft text refers to the
“primary responsibility” of individual bishops and national bishops’
conferences for the Church in different countries and regions. In what
would be a significant innovation, the draft constitution specifically
refers to the “genuine doctrinal authority” of national bishops’
conferences, and says the CDF “will apply the principle of
subsidiarity” on any measures related to “protecting the faith.”
Pope Francis has made open and sometimes contentious discussion a
hallmark of his papacy and he is widely seen as preferring to hear all
sides of an issue before making up his mind. But with their “binding
synodal path” now formally underway, the pope may increasingly perceive
the German bishops as trying to box him into giving them their way.
While he may not relish an open confrontation, they may have left him
no other option.
Whether he turns his attention to
the furthest corner of the Amazon, or to reforming his own curia in
Rome, Francis may find that all roads lead through Berlin in 2020.
CONCLUSION INTERVIEW: Professor Roberto de Mattei
Q: You then, don't think of the as Church a field-hospital?
A: No, I don’t. Today it is a battlefield.
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 28- "On holy and blessed prayer"
1 (cont.). Prayer is the mother and also the daughter
of tears, the propitiation for sins, a bridge over temptations, a wall
against afflictions, a crushing of conflicts, a work of angels, the food
of all the bodiless spirits, future gladness, unending activity, a source
of virtues, a means of obtaining grace, invisible progress, food of the
soul, enlightenment of the mind, an axe against despair, a demonstation
of hope, a cure for sorrow, the wealth of monks, the treasure of hesychasts,
the reduction of anger, the mirror of progress, the disclosure of stature,
an indication of one's condition, a revelation of future things, and a
sign of glory.
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