Keep
your eyes open!...
First Week of Advent, 2016
(Mat 24:42-44) Watch
ye therefore, because you know not what hour your Lord will come. But
this know ye, that, if the goodman of the house knew at what hour the
thief would come, he would certainly watch and would not suffer his
house to be broken open. Wherefore be you also ready, because at what
hour you know not the Son of man will come.
POPE FRANCIS:
"Advent is an invitation to vigilance, because, not knowing when He
will come, we must always be ready to depart. During Advent we are
called to enlarge the horizons of our hearts, to be surprised by the
life that is presented each day with its newness. In order to do this
we need to learn to not depend on our own securities, our own
established plans, because the Lord comes in the hour which we don’t
imagine."
CATHOLIC WORLD REPORT: Advent is Apocalyptic
ICBC: Advent Calendar 2016
ADVENT RESOURCES
DYNAMIC CATHOLIC: Best Advent Ever Rediscover Mercy! Are you Ready?
STEUBENVILLE FUEL: Project Advent
CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY'S ONLINE MINISTRIES: Praying Advent and Celebrating Christmas
VIA A MOMENT WITH MARY: Let’s prepare for Christmas
We are now entering the Advent season—we have four Sundays to prepare
ourselves to welcome the Messiah, the Savior, the Redeemer of mankind.
During this time, we are called to unclutter our lives to make room for
the Lord Jesus.
Naturally, Advent is also a time of material preparation for the big
Christmas celebration, but this should not over take our inner
preparation. We have to find the right balance. Who better than a
woman—and a mother—to teach us how we can live this time of Advent in a
meaningful way?
We should set out then on our journey with the Virgin Mary. Mary
received the Word of God, she allowed the Word to grow, then gave it to
the world. So let us be vigilant and prepare ourselves with Mary, who
also prepared for this beautiful and great mission that transformed the
history of mankind forever.
As Saint John Paul II said: "Walk with Mary. Walk with Mary. Let the
echo of her fiat resound in your hearts." This is my wish for all of
you during this time of Advent.
Father Pierre Le Bourgeois Former pastor of Nantua (France) saintmichelnantua.com/Avec-Marie-se-preparer
CATHOLICPHILLY.COM: Advent has changed with the centuries but its focus remains on Christ
ICN:
Unlike Lent, the four weeks preceding the great feasts of Christ’s
birth and Epiphany are not times of great penance. We are asked to
prepare ourselves to welcome these feasts, but more in prayerful
anticipation and silent prayer, it is the season for wakefulness, being
attentive to the call of God right in our daily lives. It is also a
reminder that we anticipate not only the festivals of light and joy but
look beyond the limits of our world into that dark winter sky and see
in the twinkling of those so far distant stars a hint of the glory and
majesty of Christ our God who one day will come again.
Perhaps in our security of life we might feel that this is a long way
off, we have another Christmas to get through, plenty to do, friends to
contact, relations to visit. It is a season of giving! And yet, the
insistent voice of scripture tells us that we have been promised that
the Son of Man will come. Matthew in his direct way prepares us for
that second coming, reminding us to stand ready and be prepared. That
is very much the message of Advent; that He will come again as surely
as He came into the world as a little child. This is why Isaiah tells
us to walk in the light of the Lord, why Paul tells us that the night
is nearly over and the day is at hand!
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 8- "On Freedom from Anger and on Meekness"
12. Nothing is so inappropriate to those repenting
as a spirit agitated by anger, because conversion requires great humility,
and anger is a sign of every kind of presumption.
November 23, 2016
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
(Mat 9:12-13) But
Jesus hearing it, said: They that are in health need not a physician,
but they that are ill. Go then and learn what this meaneth, I will have
mercy and not sacrifice. For I am not come to call the just, but
sinners.
CARDINAL DANIEL N. DiNARDO: Christ's
mercy endures. The healing power of God's forgiveness is available to
all who earnestly seek it. In his apostolic letter concluding the Year
of Mercy, Pope Francis invites us to carry this life-giving message to
all who need it. The Jubilee Year has been filled with grace, a grace
that has refreshed our faith for the path of service ahead.
In our human weakness, we may feel
beyond God's reach and forgotten by society. The merciful heart of
Jesus is stronger than sin and Christians cannot be indifferent to the
suffering around us. Let us seek out the poor, the sick and all those
in spiritual need. As we, ourselves, have been redeemed through God's
mercy, let us generously share with our sisters and brothers what He
has so generously given us. In this way, we will transform a Year of
Mercy into a life of mercy.
We rely on the prayers of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy and Consolation, who constantly intercedes
for the Church and draws us ever closer to the compassionate embrace of
her Son.
CATHOLIC PHILLY: Making mercy a way of life
ROME REPORTS: 7 keys to understanding the Apostolic Letter "Misericordia et Misera"
WHAT IS AN APOSTOLIC LETTER?
An apostolic letter is a document of papal magisterium, less solemn
than an encyclical, but of great importance. John Paul II published one
after closing the Jubilee year in 2000.
In the letter, the pope combines the greatest lines of the Jubilee and
explanations so that these intense months are not reduced to a mere
"theory of mercy."
WHAT DOES "MISERICORDIA ET MISERA" MEAN?
The title translates to "Mercy and Misery." St. Augustine used this
expression to remember the scene of the Gospel in which they wanted to
stone an adulterous woman and Jesus forgives her.
WHAT DOES IT SAY?
The main point is to do everything possible to make it easier for
people to go to confession. There are many transformations. One for
example, is it will be easier to find priests available to hear
confessions, because the sacrament should not only be a novelty.
It proposes that each Catholic community dedicate one Sunday a year to
"renew its efforts to make the Sacred Scriptures better known and more
widely diffused."
He also instituted a "World Day of the Poor," to be held in all churches on the last Sunday before the feast of Christ the King.
ABORTION
From now on all priests will be able to absolve the sin of abortion
from those who confess it, both from the doctors performing it and the
parents of the child. Previously, only bishops could absolve people
from this sin.
FIVE RESERVED SINS
Pope Francis is maintaining the force of the "Missionaries of Mercy," a
thousand priests from all over the world who can absolve these five
sins reserved only to the Vatican:
The violation of the secret of confession
The ordination of bishops without the approval of the pope
The complicity of priests who propose sexual relations to another person and then confess of that sin
Desecration of the Eucharist
Violence against the pope
FAMILY
Pope Francis returns to the main idea contained in the document "Amoris
Laetitia," and asks the Church to "regard all human problems from the
standpoint of God’s love, which never tires of welcoming and
accompanying."
Pope Francis reminds priests how they should care for those who want to
return to the life of faith, but are divorced and have remarried or
live a delicate personal situation. It is a matter of exercising "a
careful, profound and far-sighted spiritual discernment, so that
everyone, none excluded, can feel accepted by God, participate actively
in the life of the community and be part of that People of God which
journeys tirelessly towards the fullness of his kingdom of justice,
love, forgiveness and mercy."
HELPING OTHERS
The pope shows that in addition to receiving mercy, it must be given.
That means not being indifferent to the sufferings of people.
He calls on Catholics to work to "restore dignity to people."
Especially those who do not have work, do not have a house, are
marginalized, are hungry, have to migrate, are in prison in inhuman
conditions or do not have access to education.
VATICAN RADIO: Vatican unveils new website for Pope's collection: Peter's Pence
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 8- "On Freedom from Anger and on Meekness"
11. An angry person is a willing epileptic, who
due to an involuntary tendency keeps convulsing and falling down.
November 21, 2016
(Luk 9:24-26) For
whosoever will save his life shall lose it: for he that shall lose his
life for my sake shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he
gain the whole world and lose himself and cast away himself? For he
that shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him the Son of man
shall be ashamed, when he shall come in his majesty and that of his
Father and of the holy angels.
RESOURCE: PRAYING POWERFULLY AND SIMPLY by Rev. Joseph M. Esper
VATICAN RADIO: Pope Francis on Jubilee close: become instruments of mercy
In his homily, Pope Francis said, “[E]ven if the Holy Door closes, the
true door of mercy which is the heart of Christ always remains open
wide for us.”
The kingship of Christ in its cosmic, social, and personal dimensions
was the main focus of the Holy Father’s remarks to the faithful.
“[T]he grandeur of [Christ’s] kingdom is not power as defined by this
world, but the love of God, a love capable of encountering and healing
all things,” said Pope Francis. “Christ lowered himself to us out of
this love, he lived our human misery, he suffered the lowest point of
our human condition: injustice, betrayal, abandonment; he experienced
death, the tomb, hell.”
“And so,” the Pope went on to say, “our King went to the ends of the
universe in order to embrace and save every living being. He did
not condemn us, nor did he conquer us, and he never disregarded our
freedom, but he paved the way with a humble love that forgives all
things, hopes all things, sustains all things (cf. 1 Cor 13:7).”
“This love alone,” Pope Francis said, “overcame and continues to
overcome our worst enemies: sin, death, fear.”
Following the conclusion of the Mass, the Holy Father signed the
Apostolic Letter Misecordia et misera, addressed to the whole Church,
which is to be published Monday as a concluding reflection on the Year
of Mercy.
MEDITATION: Thoughts
by St Theophan (1815-1894)
[Col. 2:20-3:3; Luke 9:23-27]
Do not be ashamed to confess the
Lord Jesus Christ as the incarnate Son of God who redeemed us through
His death on the cross, who through His resurrection and ascension
opened for us the entrance into the Kingdom of heaven. If you shall be
ashamed, then He shall be ashamed of you, When he shall come in His own
glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy Angels.
Now in society there is a trend to
not talk at all about the Lord and about salvation, whereas in the
beginning these dear subjects were all that people talked about. One's
talk more readily flows from the place where the heart abides. Can it
really be that people's hearts abide less with the Lord? Judging from
the talk, this must be the case. Some do not know Him at all, others
are cold towards Him. Fearing encounters with such people, even those
who are warm towards the Lord do not direct the conversation towards
Him, and the priesthood is silent. Now, talk about the Lord and Saviour
and about our main concern — salvation — is excluded from the circle of
talk acceptable in society.
What, you say, are we really
supposed to talk only about that? Why only about that? One can talk
about anything, but in a way that is shaded by the spirit of Christ.
Then it would be possible to guess whether the speaker is Christian or
pagan. Now, however, it is impossible to guess what they are, neither
by their talk, nor by their writings. Look through all the periodicals
— what don't they write there? But nobody wants to make Christian
conversation. What a complicated time!
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 8- "On Freedom from Anger and on Meekness"
10. As a hard stone with sharp corners has ll its
sharpness and hard formation dulled by knocking and rubbing against other
stones, and is made round, so in the same way, a sharp and curt soul, by
living in community and mixing with hard, hot-tempered men, undergoes one
of two things: either it cures its wound by its patience, or by retiring
it will certainly discover its weakness, its cowardly flight making this
clear to it as in a mirror.
November 17, 2016
(Rom 12:14-17) Bless
them that persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that
rejoice: weep with them that weep. Being of one mind one towards
another. Not minding high things, but consenting to the humble. Be not
wise in your own conceits. To no man rendering evil for evil. Providing
good things, not only in the sight of God but also in the sight of all
men.
CATHOLIC JOURNAL: By Your Perseverance, You Will Secure Your Lives
ACN: Report warns of global rise of religious 'hyper-extremism'
Religious Fundamentalism—more lethal than ever before—is unleashing
death, destruction, displacement and instability at unprecedented
levels, according to a report out today.
The Religious Freedom in the World 2016 report, produced by
international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, warns of the
global impact of “a new phenomenon of religiously-motivated
violence—‘Islamist hyper-extremism.’” The report points to the Islamic
State (ISIS) as the prime example.
Key characteristics of “Islamist hyper-extremism” include systematic
attempts to drive out all dissenting groups—including moderates,
unprecedented levels of cruelty, global reach and the effective use of
social media, often used to glamorize violence.
Compiled every two years, the report, which assesses the situation
regarding religious freedom in each of the world’s 196 countries,
charges: “In parts of the Middle East, including Iraq and Syria, this
hyper-extremism is eliminating all forms of religious diversity and is
threatening to do so in parts of African and the Asian sub-continent.
In an introduction to the report, Father Jacques Mourad—a Christian
monk who was held by ISIS in Syria for five months before escaping in
October 2015—writes that “our world teeters on the brink of complete
catastrophe as extremism threatens to wipe out all trace of diversity
in society.”
The report, which draws on research by journalists, academics and
clergy, records that in the two-year period under review which ended
last June, attacks linked to “hyper-extremism” had taken place in one
out of five countries worldwide—from Australia to Sweden as well as 17
African countries.
With refugee numbers at a new high of 65.3 million according to the UN,
the report describes extremist Islamism as a “key driver” in the
massive displacement of people fleeing countries such as Afghanistan,
Somalia and Syria.The report also highlights the impact on countries in
the West, whose socio-religious fabric is being destabilized by the
challenge of having to absorb unprecedented numbers of refugees.
However, the report stresses that not all problems regarding religious
freedom are linked to militant Islam—with a “renewed crackdown” on
religious groups reported in China and Turkmenistan and an ongoing
denial of human rights for people of faith in worst-offending North
Korea and Eritrea.
Nor is the outlook universally bleak – looking at Bhutan, Egypt and
Qatar, countries notorious for religious freedom violations, the report
found that the situation had improved for faith minorities during the
period under review.
Bishop Gregory Mansour, who heads the Maronite Eparchy of St. Maron in
Brooklyn, NY, and serves on the Advisory Board of ACNUSA, expressed
hope that the report will “help the Trump Administration in developing
a strategy to step up US support for persecuted religious minorities
around the world—in particular the Christians in Iraq and Syria.”
The ‘Religious Freedom in the World’ 2016 report’ is available at www.religion-freedom-report.org. To read the Executive Summary of the Report, please click here.
EDITORIAL: When Walls Are More Merciful Than Bridges
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Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 8- "On Freedom from Anger and on Meekness"
9. And we ought not to forget, my friends, that
the wicked demons sometimes suddenly leave us, so that we may neglect our
strong passions as of little importance, and then become incurably sick.
November 15, 2016
(John 8:31-32) Then
Jesus said to those Jews who believed him: If you continue in my word,
you shall be my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth: and the
truth shall make you free.
VATICAN INSIDER: Four cardinals openly challenge Francis over “Amoris Laetitia”
CATHOLIC ACTION FOR FAITH AND FAMILY: Exclusive Interview: Cardinal Burke Explains Plea to Pope for Clarity
Catholic Action: Your
Eminence, thank you for taking the time to have this interview with us
about what you have published today. The substance of the documents
which you and the other Cardinals have made public is called “Dubia.”
Can you please explain what Dubia means and what the presentation of
Dubia involves?
Cardinal Burke: It is my
pleasure to discuss these important matters with you. The title of the
document is, “Seeking Clarity: A Plea to Untie the Knots in ‘Amoris
Laetitia’.” It has been co-authored by four cardinals: Walter Cardinal
Brandmüller, Carlo Cardinal Caffarra, Joachim Cardinal Meisner, and
myself. My fellow cardinals and I are publicizing a plea that we have
made to the Holy Father, Pope Francis, regarding his recent Apostolic
Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia. Portions of the document contain
ambiguities and statements that are like knots that cannot be easily
untied and are causing great confusion. Sharing the Pope’s devotion to
Our Lady, Untier of Knots, we are asking him to clarify these ambiguous
statements and, with the help of God, to untie some of the knotty
statements of the document for the good of souls.
Dubia is the plural form of the Latin word, dubium which means a
question or a doubt. When, in the Church, an important question or
doubt arises about the faith itself or its practice, it is customary
for Bishops or priests or the faithful themselves to articulate
formally the question or doubt and to present it to the Roman Pontiff
and his office which is competent to deal with it. The formulation of
an individual question or doubt is called simply a dubium. If more than
one question or doubt is articulated, they are called dubia. The
Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia has raised a number
of questions and doubts in the minds of Bishops, priests and the
faithful, many of which have already been presented to the Holy Father
and discussed publicly. In the present case, four Cardinals have
presented formally to the Holy Father five fundamental questions or
doubts regarding faith and morals based on the reading of Amoris
Laetitiae.
CA: Many people in the Church
right now are discussing what is designated as “pastoral.” Can you tell
us a little about the document you have published today, and how that
relates to being pastoral?
Truth spoken with charity is clear and pastoral. It is never helpful
pastorally to leave important matters, in the present case matters
touching upon the salvation of souls, in doubt or in confusion. We four
Cardinals, as Bishops who the pastoral care of the universal Church and
as Cardinals who have the particular responsibility of assisting the
Holy Father in the teaching of the faith and in the fostering of its
practice in the universal Church, have judged it our responsibility to
make public these questions for the sake of the good of souls.
CA: This co-authored
document is actually a number of documents, as the headings indicate.
Would you mind explaining why there are different parts, and what they
mean?
The core of what we are publishing today is a letter which we four
Cardinals initially sent to Pope Francis, along with the dubia – that
is, along with a series of formal and serious questions – about Amoris
Laetitia. The process of submitting formal questions is a venerable and
well-established practice in the Church. When the question concerns a
grave matter that affects many of the faithful, the Church responds to
these questions with a “yes” or “no”, sometimes with explanation. We
also sent a copy of the letter and dubia to Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig
Müller, the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
which has the particular competence regarding such questions.
In order to provide the background for the letter and our questions
about Amoris Laetitia, we are also publishing a brief foreword and an
explanatory note, which explain the context of the letter and the dubia
or questions along with a commentary on each of the questions
themselves.
CA: So you are saying that you
are publishing a letter that you sent to the Pope privately. This is
extraordinary. Isn’t this action objectionable from a Christian point
of view? Our Lord said in the Gospel of Matthew (18:15) that if we have
a problem with a brother, we are supposed to talk with him privately,
one-on-one, not publicly.
In the same portion of Sacred Scripture to which you refer, Our Lord
also said that, after addressing a difficulty to a brother,
individually and together with others, without it being resolved, then,
for the good of the Church the matter is to be presented to the whole
Church. This is precisely what we are doing.
There have been many other statements of concern regarding Amoris
Laetitia, all of which have not received an official response from the
Pope or his representatives. Therefore, in order to look for clarity on
these matters, three other Cardinals and I used the formality of
presenting fundamental questions directly to the Holy Father and to the
Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. No response
has been given to these questions either. Therefore, in making public
our questions or dubia, we are being faithful to Christ’s mandate to
first talk with a person privately, then in a small group, and finally,
taking the matter to the Church as a whole.
CA: As you say, Amoris
Laetitia has been the subject of much discussion, and even criticism.
For example, you have famously stated that you believe it is not a
Magisterial document. Could you explain how your current questions to
the Holy Father relate to these other analyses of the Apostolic
Exhortation?
To understand the present publication, we need to consider what has led up to it.
Just after his election, in his first Sunday Angelus message, Pope
Francis praised Cardinal Walter Kasper’s understanding of mercy, which
is a fundamental theme in Amoris Laetitia. Only a few months later, the
Vatican announced an Extraordinary Synod about Marriage and Family for
October 2014.
In preparation for the Synod, I, along with four other Cardinals, an
Archbishop, and three theologians, published a book, Remaining in the
Truth of Christ. As a member of the Synod, I noted that the mid-term
report lacked a solid foundation in Sacred Scripture and the Tradition
of the Church. Later, I agreed with other Cardinals that there was
manipulation in the running of the Synod itself, and in the writing of
the final report of the Synod.
Prior to the 2015 Synod, to which I was not invited, eleven Cardinals
contributed to a book about marriage and the family. Although I did not
contribute to this book, I read it with great interest. Also prior to
the 2015 Ordinary Synod on the Family, over 790,000 Catholics signed a
“Filial Appeal” to Pope Francis about the future of the family, asking
him to say “a clarifying word” to dissipate the “widespread confusion”
about Church teaching. Along with other Cardinals, I was a signatory.
During the 2015 session of the Synod, thirteen Cardinal-participants
signed a letter to the Pope indicating their concern about its
manipulation of the process of the Synod.
In April 2016, Pope Francis published Amoris Laetitia as the fruit of
the 2014 and 2015 sessions of the Synod of Bishops. In the summer of
2016, forty-five academics, including some prelates, wrote to the Holy
Father and to the College of Cardinals, asking the Pope to repudiate a
list of erroneous propositions that can be drawn from portions of
Amoris Laetitia. This received no public response.
On 29 August, 2016, I joined many bishops, priests, and lay faithful in
signing a Declaration of Fidelity to the Church’s Teaching on Marriage
and to Her Uninterrupted Discipline. This also has received no public
response.
My position is that Amoris Laetitia is not Magisterial because it
contains serious ambiguities that confuse people and can lead them into
error and grave sin. A document with these defects cannot be part of
the Church’s perennial teaching. Because that is the case, the Church
needs absolute clarity regarding what Pope Francis is teaching and
encouraging.
CA: Some Catholics may be concerned that your current publication is an act of disloyalty.
I, together with the other three Cardinals, are striving to be loyal to
the Holy Father by being loyal to Christ above all. By making public
our plea for clarity of doctrine and pastoral practice, we are hoping
to make this a discussion for all Catholics, especially our fellow
bishops. Every baptized person should be concerned about doctrine and
moral practices regarding the Holy Eucharist and Holy Matrimony, and
about how we are to identify good and evil actions. These matters
affect all of us.
Rather than being a matter of disloyalty to the Pope, our action is
deeply loyal to everything that the Pope represents and is obliged to
defend in his official capacity. Pope Francis has called for candid
speech in the Church a number of times, and has asked members of the
hierarchy for openness and accountability. We are being candid, with
the fullest respect for the office of the Holy Father, and exercising,
according to the light of our consciences, the openness and
accountability which the Church has the right to expect of us.
This is my duty as a Cardinal of the Catholic Church. I was not created
a Cardinal in order to receive an honorary position. Rather, Pope
Benedict XVI made me a Cardinal to assist him and his successors in
governing the Church and teaching the Faith. All Cardinals have the
duty of working closely with the Pope for the good of souls, and this
is precisely what I am doing by raising questions of grave importance
regarding faith and morals. I would not be fulfilling my duty as a
cardinal, and therefore as counselor to the Pope, if I remained silent
on an issue of such serious matter.
CA: If I may, I would like to
continue this line of thought. It is unclear how your publication is
being docile to the Pope’s desire for greater pastoral sensitivity and
creativeness in the Church. Hasn’t the Pope indicated his position in a
letter to the Argentine Bishops? Other Cardinals have said that the
proper way to read Amoris Laetitia is that it allows
divorced-and-remarried couples to receive communion in certain
circumstances. In that light, one could argue that your document is
creating more confusion.
First, a point of clarification. The issue is not about divorced and
remarried couples receiving Holy Communion. It is about sexually active
but not validly married couples receiving Holy Communion. When a couple
obtains a civil divorce and a canonical declaration that they were
never validly married, then they are free to marry in the Church and
receive Holy Communion, when they are properly disposed to receive. The
Kasper proposal is to allow a person to receive Holy Communion when he
or she has validly pronounced marriage vows but is no longer living
with his or her spouse and now lives with another person with whom he
or she is sexually active. In reality, this proposal opens the door for
anyone committing any sin to receive Holy Communion without repenting
of the sin.
I would also like to point out that only the first of our questions to
the Holy Father focuses on Holy Matrimony and the Holy Eucharist.
Questions two, three, and four are about fundamental issues regarding
the moral life: whether intrinsically evil acts exist, whether a person
who habitually commits grave evil is in a state of “grave sin”, and
whether a grave sin can ever become a good choice because of
circumstances or intentions.
It is true that the Holy Father wrote a letter to the Argentinian
Bishops, and that some Cardinals have proposed the interpretations of
Amoris Laetitia that you have mentioned. However, the Holy Father
himself has not clarified some of the “knotty” issues. It would
contradict the Faith if any Catholic, including the Pope, said that a
person can receive Holy Communion without repenting of grave sin, or
that living in a marital way with someone who is not his or her spouse
is not a state of grave sin, or that there is no such thing as an act
that is always and everywhere evil and can send a person to perdition.
Thus, I join my brother Cardinals in making a plea for an unmistakable
clarification from Pope Francis himself. His voice, the voice of the
Successor of Saint Peter, can dispel any questions about the issue.
NCR: Full Text and Explanatory Notes of Cardinals’ Questions on ‘Amoris Laetitia’
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 8- "On Freedom from Anger and on Meekness"
8. There is a quick movement of a millstone which,
in one moment, grinds and does away with more spiritual grain and fruit
than another crushes in a whole day. And so we must pay attention with
understanding. It is possible to have such a blaze of flame, suddenly fanned
by a strong wind, as will ruin the field of the heart more than a lingering
flame.
November 14, 2016
(1Pe 5:8-11) Be
sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring
lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast
in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in
your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath
called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have
suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
ESSAY CATHOLIC WORLD REPORT: "The Battle Against the Devil Is Still Being Fought Today"
ANGELUS: Spiritual Warfare and the Saints Who Help
EXCERPT DR. PETER KREEFT: Who, then, is our enemy?
There are two answers. All the saints and popes throughout the Church’s
history have given the same two answers, for these answers come from
the Word of God on paper in the New Testament and the Word of God in
flesh in Jesus Christ.
Yet they are not well known. In fact, the first answer is almost never
mentioned today. Not once in my life have I ever heard a homily on it,
or a lecture by a Catholic theologian.
Our enemies are demons. Fallen angels. Evil spirits.
So says Jesus Christ: “Do not fear those who can kill the body and then
has no more power over you. I will tell you whom to fear. Fear him who
has power to destroy both body and soul in Hell.”
So says St. Peter, the first pope: “The Devil, like a roaring lion, is
going through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Resist him,
steadfast in the faith.”
So says St. Paul: “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers of wickedness in high places.”
So said Pope Leo the XIII, who received a vision of the 20th century
that history has proved terrifyingly true. He saw Satan, at the
beginning of time, allowed one century in which to do his worst work,
and he chose the 20th. This pope with the name and heart of a lion was
so overcome by the terror of this vision that he fell into a trance.
When he awoke, he composed a prayer for the whole Church to use to get
it through the 20th century. The prayer was widely known and prayed
after every Mass—until the ’60s: exactly when the Church was struck
with that incomparably swift disaster that we have not yet named (but
which future historians will), the disaster that has destroyed a third
of our priests, two-thirds of our nuns, and nine-tenths of our
children’s theological knowledge; the disaster that has turned the
faith of our fathers into the doubts of our dissenters, the wine of the
Gospel into the water of psychobabble.
The restoration of the Church, and thus the world, might well begin
with the restoration of the Lion’s prayer and the Lion’s vision,
because this is the vision of all the popes and all the saints and our
Lord himself: the vision of a real Hell, a real Satan, and real
spiritual warfare.
I said there were two enemies. The second is even more terrifying than
the first. There is one nightmare even more terrible than being chased
and caught and tortured by the Devil. That is the nightmare of becoming
a devil. The horror outside your soul is terrible enough; how can you
bear to face the horror inside your soul?
What is the horror inside your soul? Sin. All sin is the Devil’s work,
though he usually uses the flesh and the world as his instruments. Sin
means inviting the Devil in. And we do it. That’s the only reason why
he can do his awful work; God won’t let him do it without our free
consent. And that’s why the Church is weak and the world is dying:
because we are not saints.
MSGR. CHARLES POPE: Who Is Your Real Enemy and What Are His Tactics?
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 8- "On Freedom from Anger and on Meekness"
7. Some who are prone to anger are neglectful of
the healing and cure of this passion. But these unhappy people do not give
a thought to him who said: 'The moment of his anger is his fall.' (Eccl
1:22).
November 9, 2016
(Psa 150:6) Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
CNA: US bishops encourage unity, prayer after election night
AMERICA SAVED FROM THE FIERY FURNACE
(Dan
3:23) But these three men, that is, Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, fell
down bound in the midst of the furnace of burning fire.
(3:24) And they walked in the midst of the flame, praising God, and blessing the Lord.
(3:25) Then Azarias standing up, prayed in this manner, and opening his mouth in the midst of the fire, he said:
(3:26) Blessed art thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers, and thy name is worthy of praise, and glorious for ever:
(3:27) For thou art just in all that thou hast done to us, and all thy
works are true, and thy ways right, and all thy judgments true.
(3:28) For thou hast executed true judgments in all the things that
thou hast brought upon us, and upon Jerusalem, the holy city of our
fathers: for according to truth and judgment, thou hast brought all
these things upon us for our sins.
(3:29) For we have sinned, and committed iniquity, departing from thee: and we have trespassed in all things:
(3:30) And we have not hearkened to thy commandments, nor have we
observed nor done as thou hadst commanded us, that it might go well
with us.
(3:31) Wherefore, all that thou hast brought upon us, and every thing
that thou hast done to us, thou hast done in true judgment:
(3:32) And thou hast delivered us into the hands of our enemies that
are unjust, and most wicked, and prevaricators, and to a king unjust,
and most wicked beyond all that are upon the earth.
(3:33) And now we cannot open our mouths: we are become a shame, and a reproach to thy servants, and to them that worship thee.
(3:34) Deliver us not up for ever, we beseech thee, for thy name's sake, and abolish not thy covenant.
(3:35) And take not away thy mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham,
thy beloved, and Isaac, thy servant, and Israel, thy holy one:
(3:36) To whom thou hast spoken, promising that thou wouldst multiply
their seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is on the sea
shore.
(3:37) For we, O Lord, are diminished more than any nation, and are brought low in all the earth this day for our sins.
(3:38) Neither is there at this time prince, or leader, or prophet, or
holocaust, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, or place of first
fruits before thee,
(3:39) That we may find thy mercy: nevertheless, in a contrite heart and humble spirit let us be accepted.
(3:40) As in holocausts of rams, and bullocks, and as in thousands of
fat lambs: so let our sacrifice be made in thy sight this day, that it
may please thee: for there is no confusion to them that trust in thee.
(3:41) And now we follow thee with all our heart, and we fear thee, and seek thy face.
(3:42) Put us not to confusion, but deal with us according to thy meekness, and according to the multitude of thy mercies.
(3:43) And deliver us, according to thy wonderful works, and give glory to thy name, O Lord:
(3:44) And let all them be confounded that shew evils to thy servants,
let them be confounded in all thy might, and let their strength be
broken:
(3:45) And let them know that thou art the Lord, the only God, and glorious over all the world.
(3:46) Now the king's servants that had cast them in, ceased not to
heat the furnace with brimstone and tow, and pitch, and dry sticks,
(3:47) And the flame mounted up above the furnace nine and forth cubits:
(3:48) And it broke forth, and burnt such of the Chaldeans as it found near the furnace.
(3:49) But the angel of the Lord went down with Azarias and his
companions into the furnace: and he drove the flame of the fire out of
the furnace,
(3:50) And made the midst of the furnace like the blowing of a wind
bringing dew, and the fire touched them not at all, nor troubled them,
nor did them any harm.
(3:51) Then these three, as with one mouth, praised and glorified and blessed God, in the furnace, saying:
(3:52) Blessed art thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers; and worthy to
be praised, and glorified, and exalted above all for ever: and blessed
is the holy name of thy glory: and worthy to be praised and exalted
above all, in all ages.
(3:53) Blessed art thou in the holy temple of thy glory: and exceedingly to be praised and exalted above all for ever.
(3:55) Blessed art thou that beholdest the depths, and sittest upon the
cherubims: and worthy to be praised and exalted above all for ever.
(3:56) Blessed art thou in the firmament of heaven: and worthy of praise, and glorious for ever.
(3:57) All ye works of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:58) O ye angels of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:59) O ye heavens, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:60) O all ye waters that are above the heavens, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:61) O all ye powers of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:62) O ye sun and moon, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:63) O ye stars of heaven, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:64) O every shower and dew, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:65) O all ye spirits of God, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:66) O ye fire and heat, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:67) O ye cold and heat, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:68) O ye dews and hoar frost, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:69) O ye frost and cold, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:70) O ye ice and snow, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:71) O ye nights and days, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:72) O ye light and darkness, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:73) O ye lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:74) O let the earth bless the Lord: let it praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:76) O all ye things that spring up in the earth, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:77) O ye fountains, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:78) O ye seas and rivers, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:79) O ye whales, and all that move in the waters, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:80) O all ye fowls of the air, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:81) O all ye beasts and cattle, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:82) O ye sons of men, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:83) O let Israel bless the Lord: let them praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:84) O ye priests of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:85) O ye servants of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:86) O ye spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:87) O ye holy and humble of heart, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
(3:88) O Ananias, Azarias, Misael, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt
him above all for ever. For he hath delivered us from hell, ad saved us
out of the hand of death, and delivered us out of the midst of the
burning flame, and saved us out of the midst of the fire.
(3:89) O give thanks to the Lord, because he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever and ever.
(3:90) O all ye religious, bless the Lord, the God of gods: praise him,
and give him thanks, because his mercy endureth for ever and ever.
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 8- "On Freedom from Anger and on Meekness"
6. As with the appearance of light, darkness retreats;
so at the fragrance of humility, all anger and bitterness vanishes.
November 4, 2016
(Php 3:17-21) Be
ye followers of me, brethren: and observe them who walk so as you have
our model. For many walk, of whom I have told you often (and now tell
you weeping) that they are enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is
destruction: whose God is their belly: and whose glory is in their
shame: who mind earthly things. But our conversation is in heaven: from
whence also we look for the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who will
reform the body of our lowness, made like to the body of his glory,
according to the operation whereby also he is able to subdue all things
unto himself.
OVERVIEW: ELECTION 2016- A CATHOLIC PERSPECTIVE
SHARE: Anonymous Release Bone-Chilling video of Huma Abedin every American Needs to See
NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTER: Election 2016: U.S. Bishops on Voting
LINK: Novena for the Election
PRIESTS FOR LIFE: Election Prayer for Life
O God, we acknowledge you today as Lord,
Not only of individuals, but of nations and governments.
We thank you for the privilege
Of being able to organize ourselves politically
And of knowing that political loyalty
Does not have to mean disloyalty to you.
We thank you for your law,
Which our Founding Fathers acknowledged
And recognized as higher than any human law.
We thank you for the opportunity that this election
year puts before us,
To exercise our solemn duty not only to vote,
But to influence countless others to vote,
And to vote correctly.
Lord, we pray that your people may be awakened.
Let them realize that while politics is not their salvation,
Their response to you requires that they be politically active.
Awaken your people to know that they are
not called to be a sect fleeing the world
But rather a community of faith renewing the world.
Awaken them that the same hands lifted up to you in prayer
Are the hands that pull the lever in the voting booth;
That the same eyes that read your Word
Are the eyes that read the names on the ballot,
And that they do not cease to be Christians
When they enter the voting booth.
Awaken your people to a commitment to justice
To the sanctity of marriage and the family,
To the dignity of each individual human life,
And to the truth that human rights begin when human lives begin,
And not one moment later.
Lord, we rejoice today
That we are citizens of your kingdom.
May that make us all the more committed
To being faithful citizens on earth.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
MEDITATION: Thoughts
by St Theophan (1815-1894)
[Col. 1:18-23; Luke 8:22-25]
When they got in the ship to sail to the other side of the lake, did
the apostles think that they would meet with a tempest and expose their
lives to danger? Meanwhile, a tempest suddenly arose and they did not
expect to remain alive. Such is the path of our life! You do not know
how or from where misfortune will sweep in, capable of destroying us.
Air, water, fire, beasts, man, bird, house, in a word — everything
around us could suddenly be transformed into a weapon for our death.
From this comes a law: live in such a way that every minute you are
ready to meet with death and fearlessly enter into its realm. This
minute you are alive, but who knows whether you will be alive the next?
Keep yourself according to this thought. Do everything you have to,
according to the routines of your life, but in no way forget that you
could immediately move to a country from which there is no return.
Forgetting this will not postpone the determined hour, and intentional
expulsion of this decisive upheaval from your thoughts will not lessen
the eternal meaning of what will happen after it.
Commit your life and all into the hands of God; spend hour after hour
with the thought that each hour is the last. From this the number of
empty pleasures will decrease; while at death this deprivation will be
immeasurably recompensed with a joy to which there is nothing equal in
the joys of life.
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 8- "On Freedom from Anger and on Meekness"
5. Wrath is a reminder of hidden hatred, that is
to say, remembrance of wrongs. Wrath is a desire for the injury of the
one who has provoked you. Irascibility is the untimely blazing up of the
heart. Bitterness is a movement of displeasure seated in the soul. Anger
is an easily changeable movement of one's disposition and disfiguration
of soul.
November 2, 2016
(2Th 2:13-15)
But we ought to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, beloved of
God, for that God hath chosen you firstfruits unto salvation, in
sanctification of the spirit and faith of the truth: Whereunto also he
hath called you by our gospel, unto the purchasing of the glory of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast: and hold the
traditions, which you have learned, whether by word or by our epistle.
CNA: Pope Francis reiterates a strong 'no' to women priests
VATICAN RADIO: Pope and President of Lutheran World Federation sign Joint statement
CATHOLIC CULTURE: November Octave and Novena
November 1 begins the “Poor Souls’ octave” during which a plenary
indulgence for the Poor Souls in Purgatory can be gained each day from
November 1 through 8.
I always like to issue an annual reminder of the wonderful
opportunities we have to earn indulgences for the Poor Souls in
Purgatory. There are the special opportunities during the first week of
November:
- To Visit a Cemetery: One can gain a plenary indulgence visiting a
cemetery each day between November 1 and November 8 and praying for the
departed, even if the prayer is only mental. These indulgences are
applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory.
- To Visit a Church or Oratory on November 2: A plenary indulgence,
again applicable only the Souls in Purgatory, is also granted when the
faithful piously visit a church or a public oratory on November 2. In
visiting the church or oratory, it is required that one Our Father and
the Creed be recited.
The usual plenary indulgence
conditions apply: receiving Communion, going to Confession, and praying
for the Holy Father while detached from sin. For more details, please
see Praying for the Dead and Gaining Indulgences During November.
Depending on which day to end the novena, October 30 or 31 also begins
an election novena in the United States, counting down the final nine
days to the election on November 8. The Knights of Columbus have a beautiful election novena
“addressed to the Holy Trinity through the intercession of Mary, the
Mother of Jesus, under her title of the Immaculate Conception.”
RESOURCE: Purgatory Project- Register your souls for Perpetual Masses
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 8- "On Freedom from Anger and on Meekness"
4. The beginning of freedom from anger is silence
of the lips when the heart is agitated; the middle is silence of thoughts
when there is disturbance of the soul; and the end is an imperturbable
calm under the breath of unclean winds.
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