Keep
your eyes open!...
January 31, 2012
(Mat 18:5) And he that shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me.
FEAST OF SAINT JOHN BOSCO
Born
in 1815 in Turin, Italy, Don Bosco was ordained priest in 1841. He
taught poor young boys about God, how to live moral lives, and basic
livelihood skills. He founded the Salesian Order in 1859 to educate
more neglected young boys. In 1872, together with St. Mary Mazarello,
he established the Daughters of Our Lady Help of Christians to help
poor and neglected young girls.
MORE: St. John (Don) Bosco
PROPHECY: Don Bosco's Prophecy of the Two Columns
CATHOLIC REPORT:
Saint John Bosco's Two Pillars Dream: Did Pope Benedict Fulfill
That Dream With His Voyage Down the Rhine At The Start Of World Youth
Day?
FROM THE MAILBAG
VIA CABIO-ORG: Prayer
Sweet Savior, Saint John Bosco had a powerful love and tender heart for
youth. I lift up to You the children and teenagers in my life. Protect
them; lead them away from the temptations of the world and hold them
tight in Your arms. When Saint John was a boy, he performed circus
tricks to draw in the neighborhood children, and then he shared the
homily he'd heard at Mass. Help the youth in my family and church
become powerful evangelists to their peers. Bless those who have been
gifted with a vocation to the priesthood or religious life, and help
them say yes to this call. Saint John Bosco, pray for us. Amen.
Thoughts
and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: Various Subjects
14. I admire the mercy of God with regard to the
dear departed one... Happy the soul who has quitted this miserable life
where there is nothing but suffering and affliction of mind, and where
our salvation is constantly endangered through sin, the greatest enemy
of the soul.
January 26, 2012
(Psa 46:10) Be still and see that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, and I will be exalted in the earth.
POPE BENEDICT XVI:
"The God of biblical revelation speaks also without words: 'As the
Cross of Christ demonstrates, God also speaks by His silence. If
God speaks to us even in silence, we in turn discover in silence the
possibility of speaking with God and about God. ... In
speaking of God's grandeur, our language will always prove inadequate
and must make space for silent contemplation. Out of such
contemplation springs forth, with all its inner power, the urgent sense
of mission, the compelling obligation 'to communicate that which we
have seen and heard' so that all may be in communion with God".
"In silent contemplation, then, the
eternal Word, through Whom the world was created, becomes ever more
powerfully present and we become aware of the plan of salvation that
God is accomplishing throughout our history by word and deed.
... This plan of salvation culminates in the person of Jesus of
Nazareth, the mediator and the fullness of all revelation. He has
made known to us the true face of God the Father and by His Cross and
Resurrection has brought us from the slavery of sin and death to the
freedom of the children of God. The fundamental question of the
meaning of human existence finds in the mystery of Christ an answer
capable of bringing peace to the restless human heart. The
Church's mission springs from this mystery; and it is this mystery
which impels Christians to become heralds of hope and salvation,
witnesses of that love which promotes human dignity and builds justice
and peace".
FROM THE MAILBAG: Saint Romuald’s Brief Rule
"Sit in your cell as in paradise. Put the whole world behind you
and forget it. Watch your thoughts like a good fisherman watching
for fish. The path you must follow is in the Psalms—never leave
it.
If you have just come to the monastery, and in spite of your good will
you cannot accomplish what you want, take every opportunity you can to
sing the Psalms in your heart and to understand them with your mind.
And if your mind wanders as you read, do not give up; hurry back and apply your mind to the words once more.
Realize above all that you are in God’s presence, and stand there with the attitude of one who stands before the emperor.
Empty yourself completely and sit waiting, content with the grace of
God, like the chick who tastes nothing and eats nothing but what his
mother brings him".
Saint Romuald’s Brief Rule is taken from Saint Bruno of Qerfurt’s Lives
of the Five Brothers (Chapter nineteen). It was written around AD
1006—about twenty years before Saint Romuald’s death—and is based on
reports from Saint John, one of the “five brothers”, who, like Saint
Bruno, knew Saint Romuald well. We can therefore be certain we
have here an authentic version of Saint Romuald’s teaching and spirit.
BOOK EXCERPT:
An archer depends on the strength of his bow, but if he keeps it strung
all the time, the string loses strength. To keep a how strong, it
must be unstrung and given time to rest. That is how God designed
you also.
If you keep your body strung on high alert all the time, as I talked
about earlier, then when you are ready to shoot, you will not have the
tension or elasticity necessary to aim well and hit your target.
Like an archer, you aced to find times to unstring your bow, so to
speak_
If you constantly push yourself beyond God's boundaries for your life,
you will be ineffective and also miss a blessing God ordained for you.
Thoughts
and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: Various Subjects
11. Have no reserve with Him Who wishes to dwell
within you as the source of eternal life. He would reign in you, to rule
and govern you, by being the motive power of all your actions and the object
of all your affections.
January 24, 2012
POPE BENEDICT XVI:
"At the heart of every culture, whether perceived or not, is a
consensus about the nature of reality and the moral good, and thus
about the conditions for human flourishing. In America, that consensus,
as enshrined in your nation's founding documents, was grounded in a
worldview shaped not only by faith but a commitment to certain ethical
principles deriving from nature and nature's God. Today that consensus
has eroded significantly in the face of powerful new cultural currents
which are not only directly opposed to core moral teachings of the
Judeo-Christian tradition, but increasingly hostile to Christianity as
such".
THE NEW AMERICAN: Religious Groups Vow to Fight Obama’s Contraception Mandate
The Obama administration announced January 20 that under its 2010
ObamaCare medical legislation employers will be compelled to cover
birth control for women free of charge, including controversial
contraceptive drugs which can induce abortion early in a woman’s
pregnancy. The administration rejected an appeal from religious
organizations, led by the Catholic Church, for an exemption on
insurance provided to employees of religious institutions such as
hospitals, colleges, and charities.
Under the ruling, most health insurance covered by employers will
be required to include free access to all contraceptives approved by
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), including such “emergency
contraception” as Plan B, RU-486, Ella, and other “morning after” drugs
which can induce abortion in women who take them very early in their
pregnancies.
The White House made the announcement about the ruling through Kathleen
Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, who insisted that the
decision “was made after very careful consideration, including the
important concerns some have raised about religious liberty.” She
expressed her belief that the mandate “strikes the appropriate balance
between respecting religious freedom and increasing access to important
preventive services.”
REVIEW: A Primer On the HHS Rule, What You Need to Know
RELATED VIDEO: Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan on HHS Conscience Regulation
CALIFORNIA CATHOLIC: “Never before in US history”
Both the president of the U.S. bishops and the bishops’ Pro-Life
chairman called on the thousands of Catholics gathered for the National
Prayer Vigil for Life to speak out for the protection of conscience
rights and religious liberty.
“From a human point of view, we may be tempted to surrender, when our
government places conception, pregnancy and birth under the ‘center for
disease control,’ when chemically blocking conception or aborting the
baby in the womb is considered a ‘right’ to be subsidized by others who
abhor it,” said Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New
York and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
at the vigil’s closing Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of
the Immaculate Conception on January 23.
His words referred to the January 20 announcement by the Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS) that nearly all employers will be
forced to cover drugs and procedures that violate their conscience in
their health insurance plans.
“When the ability of feeding, housing, and healing the struggling of
the world is curtailed and impeded if one does not also help women
abort their babies, one can hardly be faulted for being tempted to the
‘sin against the Holy Spirit’ and just consider all as lost,”
Cardinal-designate Dolan said.
Addressing the opening Mass the previous evening, Cardinal Daniel
DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston and chairman of the USCCB
Committee on Pro-Life Activities, excoriated the HHS rule.
“Never before in our US History has the Federal Government forced
citizens to directly purchase what violates our beliefs. At issue here
as our President of the Conference stated it this past Friday, is the
survival of a cornerstone constitutionally protected freedom that
ensures respect for conscience and religious liberty,” said Cardinal
DiNardo.
LINKS TO HOMILIES: http://www.usccb.org/about/media-relations/resources/2012-national-prayer-vigil-for-life-homilies.cfm
ARCHBISHOP CHAPUT HOMILY: http://archphila.org/archbishop-chaput/homilies/homilies.htm
Thoughts
and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: Various Subjects
10. Provided He is pleased we ought to be satisfied,
and ought not to be troubled about our feelings of dissatisfaction or annoyance;
these arise within us only because we are not sufficiently mortified and
simple-hearted to cut off the windings and reflections of self-love.
January 20, 2012
POPE BENEDICT XVI: "I
am convinced that legislative measures which not only permit but at
times even promote abortion for reasons of convenience or for
questionable medical motives compromise the education of young people
and, as a result, the future of humanity.”
USCCB: National Prayer Vigil For Life
The National Prayer Vigil for Life is an all-night pro-life prayer
vigil held on the eve of the March for Life each January. Over 20,000
pilgrims from across the nation pray through the night for an end to
abortion and a greater respect for all human life. It is held at the
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in
Washington, D.C.
The vigil schedule
includes the Opening Mass celebrated in the Great Upper Church. Prayer
continues throughout the night with the National Rosary for Life, Night
Prayer and Holy Hours for Life. The following morning, the prayer vigil
concludes with Morning Prayer, Benediction and the Closing Mass the
next morning.
The National Prayer Vigil for Life is one small part of the Church's
"great prayer for life." It is sponsored by the USCCB Pro-Life
Secretariat, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate
Conception, and The Catholic University of America Office of Campus
Ministry.
A
great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up
throughout the world. Through special initiatives and in daily prayer,
may an impassioned plea rise to God, the Creator and lover of life,
from every Christian community, from every group and association, from
every family and from the heart of every believer. - Blessed Pope John
Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, no. 100
NCR: March On, March for Life
EXCERPT EDITORIAL: On Roe's anniversary, remembering 50 million killed
Thirty-nine years ago the U.S. Supreme
Court issued its ruling in Roe v. Wade. The justices decided 7-2 that
the practice of abortion in America was a right protected by the
Constitution and thus legal throughout the United States. The date was
Jan. 22, 1973. The specific date of the Roe decision deserves to be
remembered as a day of infamy along with other tragic events like the
bombing of Pearl Harbor and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The Roe ruling also deserves to be compared to the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide. All are despicable atrocities.
Those who track the numbers report
that more than 50 million preborn babies have had their lives snuffed
out as a direct result of the Roe decision. Think about the death toll
and then compare it with the 2,400 who were killed at Pearl Harbor and
the 3,000 who lost their lives on Sept. 11.
Ponder the number of 50 million dead preborn children and contrast them
with the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis, 1 million of whom were
children. Also consider the Rwandan genocide, which took place in the
spring of 1994, where between 800,000 and 1 million Tutsis were
brutally slaughtered by their fellow countrymen, the Hutus.
Each historic event has been
universally deemed a horrific calamity. Additionally, world leaders and
historians have rightly declared these tragic events must always be
remembered and studied so they are never repeated. The only exception
is abortion.
Thoughts
and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: Various Subjects
9. Let us take refuge in the Wound of the Sacred
Side like a poor traveller, who seeks a safe harbor in which to shelter
from the rocks and tempests of the stormy sea of this life, for here below
we are continually exposed to shipwreck, unless we have the help of our
all-wise Pilot.
January 18, 2012
(1Co 15:57-58) But
thanks be to God, who hath given us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast and unmoveable:
always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is
not in vain in the Lord.
VIS NEWS: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins January 18
Following the Angelus prayer on Sunday, Benedict XVI invited the
faithful, "as individuals and in communities, to participate
spiritually, and where possible practically in the Week of Prayer, to
ask God for the gift of full unity among the disciples of Christ".
VATICAN RADIO: Singing in Christian Unity : Gibbons is the name...
VIA MANILA: Christian unity
Hundreds of countries across the world will observe from Wednesday,
Jan. 18, until Jan.25, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
(Ecumenical Week), which promotes prayer and dialogue for the unity of
Christian churches.
The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Commission
on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches said the theme for
this year’s observance is “We Will All Be Changed by the Victory of Our
Lord Jesus Christ.”
Taken from 1 Corinthians 15:51-58, the theme highlights what Saint Paul
said: “Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation and we are called to
live as children in the light.”
VIA CALGARY:
"Ecumenical worship services which offer an opportunity to draw
together Christians from a variety of different backgrounds that helps
us to unite us in Christ and to one another. That's basically what the
week is for."
The theme is based on the following biblical passage from Corinthians:
"We will all be changed by the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ."
"The word 'victory' there is not meant in triumphalist terms, but
rather Paul in Corinthians talks about victory in Christ when it's
servanthood. Of service. When it's of loss and sacrifice," Kim says.
"So the Polish churches have understood that idea of victory and have
tried to communicate through this week of prayer liturgy in terms of
how we understood victory as Christians. It's not about winning and
power. About being triumphant, but rather about serving, giving,
sacrificing. That's the focus.
VIA MALTA: Celebrating Christ’s victory over the self
Thoughts
and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: The Holy Eucharist
30. This Feast of the Sacred Heart is a day of
salvatona and of eternal blessing for all who honour It with a humble and
sincere heart. Let us then, love this divine Heart and in all things try
to conform ourselves to It.
January 13, 2012
(1Pe
2:24) Who his own self bore our sins in his body upon the tree: that
we, being dead to sins, should live to justice: by whose stripes you
were healed.
RON SMITH REPORT: Confession Explained
CATHOLIC PAMPHLET: Sorrow For Sin By His Grace the Most Reverend John Charles McQuaid, D.D. Archbishop of Dublin, Primate of Ireland
PRAYER: Prayer in Sorrow for Sin
FROM THE MAILBAG: Reflection by Father Ted - – January 3, 2012
My dearest Lord Jesus, as we begin this new year of 2012 You exhort us
who are members of Your clergy that we are to bless Your people. For on
New Year’s Day in the first reading at Mass You told Moses to speak to
his brother and his nephews and exhort them to proclaim to Your people
“The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you
peace.
If we are to do what You want us to do, then we, ourselves, must listen to You, as intently as did Moses.
You want us to be like You. When we were ordained we were reminded that
we are to be “another Christ.” If we are to be another You, then we
must really get to know You and strive to imitate You.
One of the significant characteristics that You have revealed to us is
that You spent much time in prayer – conversing with Your Father and
listening to Him.
This is one of the key messages that Your Vicar, Pope Benedict XVI
emphasized when he met several years ago with the American bishops in
Washington. He stressed to them that they must be men of prayer. He
told them that they should spend one hour with You in Eucharistic
Adoration daily; that they should pray the Rosary daily; and that they
should pray the Divine Office daily – not only Lauds and Vespers.
Obviously they were to exhort us priests to imitate them so that we can be men of prayer.
We, in turn, are to exhort our lay brothers and sisters to become men and women of prayer as well.
For we all have a similar mission - to evangelize the entire world.
And without being close to You, how can we imitate You and do what You have commanded us to do.
When we listen to You, we become receptive to receiving Your Holy
Spirit who will enable us to reflect You to others – that is why You
have reminded us also that we are to be “the light of the world” – and
our world right now seems to be in tremendous darkness.
Lord Jesus, help us to respond to Your call so that we will bless Your people and enable them to experience Your Peace.
Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us, your priestly children, so that we
become like Your Son, the Prince of Peace, and reveal to His People and
your children how to experience the peace of Christ now and forever.
Thoughts
and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: The Holy Eucharist
29. Let us not be grieved if our desires for the
glory of the divine Heart are not at once fulfilled. This delay is only
permitted because He takes pleasure in seeing the increase of our zeal
and eagerness for His glory.
January 10, 2012
(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 REVIEW: A Persecuted Church and its Heroes
HEADLINE: Catholics defy terror warning at Philippine parade
VIS NEWS: POPE BENEDICT XVI:
"In this perspective. it is clear that an effective educational
programme also calls for respect for religious freedom. This freedom
has individual, collective and institutional dimensions. We are
speaking of the first of human rights, for it expresses the most
fundamental reality of the person. All too often, for various reasons,
this right remains limited or is flouted. I cannot raise this subject
without first paying tribute to the memory of the Pakistani Minister
Shahbaz Bhatti, whose untiring battle for the rights of minorities
ended in his tragic death.
"Sadly, we are not speaking of an isolated case. In many countries
Christians are deprived of fundamental rights and sidelined from public
life; in other countries they endure violent attacks against their
churches and their homes. ... In other parts of the world, we see
policies aimed at marginalising the role of religion in the life of
society, as if it were a cause of intolerance rather than a valued
contribution to education in respect for human dignity, justice and
peace. In the past year religiously motivated terrorism has also reaped
numerous victims, especially in Asia and in Africa. ... Religion cannot
be employed as a pretext for setting aside the rules of justice and of
law for the sake of the intended 'good'".
"I would also like to bring up several encouraging signs in the area
of religious freedom. I am referring to the legislative amendment
whereby the public juridical personality of religious minorities was
recognised in Georgia; I think too of the sentence of the European
Court of Human Rights upholding the presence of the crucifix in Italian
schoolrooms. ... I hope that Italy will continue to foster a stable
relationship between Church and State, and thus serve as an example to
which other nations can look with respect and interest.
"On the continent of Africa ... it is essential that cooperation
between Christian communities and governments favour progress along the
path of justice, peace and reconciliation, where respect is shown for
members of all ethnic groups and all religions. It is painful to
realise that in different countries of the continent this goal remains
distant. I think in particular of the renewed outbreak of violence in
Nigeria, ... the aftermath of the civil war in Cote d'Ivoire, the
continuing instability in the Great Lakes region and the humanitarian
emergency in the countries of the Horn of Africa. I once again appeal
to the international community to make every effort to find a solution
to the crisis which has gone on for years in Somalia.
RELATED NEWS ITEMS
Nigeria's descent into holy war
Egypt: Islam: One year after the massacre of Christians in Alexandria, Egypt seeks a way forward
Muslim Persecution of Christians: The Christmas Edition
VATICAN RADIO: What future for the Catholic community in Gaza?
VOICE OF THE MARTYRS:
We would like to extend this special opportunity for you to request a
complimentary copy of Tortured for Christ for your Christian friends
and family members. Help spread the message of today's persecuted
church. Link: https://etools.ncol.com/a/tfc/bg_vomtfc_wdbm-tfc-flash_346.html
Thoughts
and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: The Holy Eucharist
28. If you would live entirely for Him, and reach
the perfection which He desires of you, you must sacrifice yourself unreservedly
with all that depends on you. You must no longer will anything but by the
will of this loving Heart, and no longer love anything but by Its affections.
You must act only by Its light; never undertake anything without first
asking for Its counsel and help; give It all the glory thereof; return
It thanks, both for failure and for success in your undertakings, and without
worry be equally satisfied with all; for, provided that this divine Heart
is pleased, loved and glorified, nothing else matters.
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