Quote of the Week

“Mary is present, with the Church and as the Mother of the Church, at each of our celebrations of the Eucharist. If the Church and the Eucharist are inseparably united, the same ought to be said of Mary and the Eucharist.”

- Blessed John Paul II

Catechism for the Year of Faith

Part of a continuing series.A selected quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church in honor of the Year of Faith (October 11, 2012 - November 24, 2013)

977 Our Lord tied the forgiveness of sins to faith and Baptism: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved." Baptism is the first and chief sacrament of forgiveness of sins because it unites us with Christ, who died for our sins and rose for our justification, so that "we too might walk in newness of life."

978 "When we made our first profession of faith while receiving the holy Baptism that cleansed us, the forgiveness we received then was so full and complete that there remained in us absolutely nothing left to efface, neither original sin nor offenses committed by our own will, nor was there left any penalty to suffer in order to expiate them. . . . Yet the grace of Baptism delivers no one from all the weakness of nature. On the contrary, we must still combat the movements of concupiscence that never cease leading us into evil "

980 It is through the sacrament of Penance that the baptized can be reconciled with God and with the Church:

Penance has rightly been called by the holy Fathers "a laborious kind of baptism." This sacrament of Penance is necessary for salvation for those who have fallen after Baptism, just as Baptism is necessary for salvation for those who have not yet been reborn.

981 After his Resurrection, Christ sent his apostles "so that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations." The apostles and their successors carry out this "ministry of reconciliation," not only by announcing to men God's forgiveness merited for us by Christ, and calling them to conversion and faith; but also by communicating to them the forgiveness of sins in Baptism, and reconciling them with God and with the Church through the power of the keys, received from Christ:

[The Church] has received the keys of the Kingdom of heaven so that, in her, sins may be forgiven through Christ's blood and the Holy Spirit's action. In this Church, the soul dead through sin comes back to life in order to live with Christ, whose grace has saved us.

989 We firmly believe, and hence we hope that, just as Christ is truly risen from the dead and lives for ever, so after death the righteous will live for ever with the risen Christ and he will raise them up on the last day. Our resurrection, like his own, will be the work of the Most Holy Trinity:

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you.

992 God revealed the resurrection of the dead to his people progressively. Hope in the bodily resurrection of the dead established itself as a consequence intrinsic to faith in God as creator of the whole man, soul and body. The creator of heaven and earth is also the one who faithfully maintains his covenant with Abraham and his posterity. It was in this double perspective that faith in the resurrection came to be expressed. In their trials, the Maccabean martyrs confessed:

The King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws. One cannot but choose to die at the hands of men and to cherish the hope that God gives of being raised again by him.

996 From the beginning, Christian faith in the resurrection has met with incomprehension and opposition. "On no point does the Christian faith encounter more opposition than on the resurrection of the body." It is very commonly accepted that the life of the human person continues in a spiritual fashion after death. But how can we believe that this body, so clearly mortal, could rise to everlasting life?

997 What is "rising"? In death, the separation of the soul from the body, the human body decays and the soul goes to meet God, while awaiting its reunion with its glorified body. God, in his almighty power, will definitively grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them with our souls, through the power of Jesus' Resurrection.

998 Who will rise? All the dead will rise, "those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment."

999 How? Christ is raised with his own body: "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself"; but he did not return to an earthly life. So, in him, "all of them will rise again with their own bodies which they now bear," but Christ "will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body," into a "spiritual body":

But someone will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?" You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body which is to be, but a bare kernel. . . . What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. . . . The dead will be raised imperishable. . . . For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality.

1000 This "how" exceeds our imagination and understanding; it is accessible only to faith. Yet our participation in the Eucharist already gives us a foretaste of Christ's transfiguration of our bodies:

Just as bread that comes from the earth, after God's blessing has been invoked upon it, is no longer ordinary bread, but Eucharist, formed of two things, the one earthly and the other heavenly: so too our bodies, which partake of the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, but possess the hope of resurrection.

1001 When? Definitively "at the last day," "at the end of the world." Indeed, the resurrection of the dead is closely associated with Christ's Parousia:

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

1003 United with Christ by Baptism, believers already truly participate in the heavenly life of the risen Christ, but this life remains "hidden with Christ in God." The Father has already "raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Nourished with his body in the Eucharist, we already belong to the Body of Christ. When we rise on the last day we "also will appear with him in glory."

1005 To rise with Christ, we must die with Christ: we must "be away from the body and at home with the Lord." In that "departure" which is death the soul is separated from the body. It will be reunited with the body on the day of resurrection of the dead.

1010 Because of Christ, Christian death has a positive meaning: "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." "The saying is sure: if we have died with him, we will also live with him. What is essentially new about Christian death is this: through Baptism, the Christian has already "died with Christ" sacramentally, in order to live a new life; and if we die in Christ's grace, physical death completes this "dying with Christ" and so completes our incorporation into him in his redeeming act:

It is better for me to die in (eis) Christ Jesus than to reign over the ends of the earth. Him it is I seek - who died for us. Him it is I desire - who rose for us. I am on the point of giving birth. . . . Let me receive pure light; when I shall have arrived there, then shall I be a man.

Monday Musings

A few random thoughts and ponderings to start the week...

We are right in the midst of First Communion celebrations around here. So, I'll probably post something on the Eucharist this week. But I also wanted to take this opportunity to extend my congratulations and prayers to all those who are receiving Holy Communion for the first time. It is a tremendous blessing to receive Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, and I hope that the depths of this mystery continue to nourish you spiritually as you grow in the faith.

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This thought occurred to me at Mass on Sunday: Is it just me, or did the new translation of the Mass just go off without a hitch, without any disruption, without confusing anyone or alienating the average layman? Did we have riots or huge protests? Did people walk away in disgust or beg for a return to the simpler, dumbed-down version that we had before? Did any of the dooms-day secnarios occur? You know what I mean...the stuff that all the liberal/progressive Catholics warmed us about. Did any of that happen?

Yeah, I didn't think so.

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Well, today is Monday...and indeed it felt like a Monday. So I don't have much else to say. I'm just ready to call it a day and try again tomorrow.

This Week's Headlines

As another week comes to an end, this is your chance to top off your glass with a final helping of news, current events, and just plain interesting stuff that may not have made into the mainstream media. A chance to linger for a few more moments before we close the door on the week. Below are some links to articles, blogs, and miscellaneous happenings that caught my eye over the past few days. Sample what you like. I'll serve up more next Friday...

Pope urges Christians to remember final judgment - "Christians should not be frightened of the final judgment but should let it affect how they live, Pope Francis told the 100,000 pilgrims who filled St. Peter’s Square." See also: Christian life is a time to prepare to enjoy heaven, pope says

Pope Francis at priestly ordinations: “You are pastors, not functionaries” - "Beloved brothers and sisters: because these our sons, who are your relatives and friends, are now to be advanced to the Order of priests, consider carefully the nature of the rank in the Church to which they are about to be raised." [Full text of homily]

The 4-Minute Speech That Got Pope Francis Elected? - "Before the recent conclave, Cardinal Bergoglio gave an intervention, which didn't even last four minutes but which got the attention of his brother cardinals. According to some, this speech was a major moment in his path to becoming Pope Francis."

Pope Francis Film Is in the Works - "When producer Christian Peschken watched Pope Francis appear on the balcony in Rome on the day of his election, he thought: 'This will make a great scene for the end of a movie about his life up to the point where he became Pope.'"

Benedict XVI and the End of the “Virtual Council” - "...notwithstanding all the banality, all the pathetic liturgies, all the congregationalist ecclesiology, the Virtual Council of the Media has lost its dynamism.  It is no longer potent.  It no longer sets the course of human lives; it no longer inspires rebellion.  It too has become boring and sterile."

Pope Benedict XVI’s Legacy: Faith and Future - "The new springtime for the Church hoped for by Blessed John Paul II has found its great advocate and defender in Benedict XVI.  He has been an indefatigable defender of Tradition and renewal in the light of both the Second Vatican Council and the crisis that has been its aftermath. "

The Vatican doctors approve the miracle to make Wojtyla a saint - "The medical council has recognized one healing as inexplicable If the theologians' OK were to arrive, John Paul would become a Saint only eight years after his death"

Three Prophetic Insights from Pope Leo XIII That Still speak powerfully 120 Years Later - "There are three influences which appear to Us to have the chief place in effecting this downgrade movement of society. These are–first, the distaste for a simple and laborious life; secondly, repugnance to suffering of any kind; thirdly, the forgetfulness of the future life."

Gosnell’s Media Cover Up: Lifeists vs. Abortionists - "Once you wade through the political rhetoric, the media cover-up and the overall ugliness surrounding the Kermit Gosnell trial, there’s an important message to take away: The abortion debate is transparently becoming less and less about when life begins, and instead about two groups of people separated by an increasingly large ideological gap."

Abortion Backers Hope No Media Coverage Will Make Gosnell Go Away - [Let's show them that it won't go away! Share these stories with friends and relatives!]

Members of Congress Shocked After Watching Kermit Gosnell Documentary - "Members of Congress were described as shocked after seeing a documentary on Friday that profiles the House of Horrors abortion clinic run by Kermit Gosnell where gruesome late-term abortions and infanticides occurred."

Eighteen Members of Congress Expose Kermit Gosnell in Speeches - "The speeches were organized by Rep. Marlin Stuzman (R-IN) and were delivered during designated times when Members are given one minute to speak on the subject of their choice."

Kermit Gosnell's Horrors Prove Legalizing Abortion Didn't Make it Safe - "In light of their demands that abortion be legalized for safety reasons, it is the ultimate form of hypocrisy that abortion advocates refuse to support regulations that would make facilities safer for women." See also: Back-Alley Abortion Never Ended

Planned Parenthood and NARAL spin webs around Gosnell murders - "Planned Parenthood’s abortionists regularly behead babies inside the womb at the same age of many of the babies Gosnell beheaded outside the womb. Would Planned Parenthood or NARAL care to explain the difference? "

Obama Will be First Sitting President to Address Planned Parenthood - "...he will speak to 1,000 supporters of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The big question is whether he will address the murder trial of abortion practitioner Kermit Gosnell." Here's a slightly different take on the President's speech to Planned Parenthood: Why is Obama Distancing Himself from Planned Parenthood? Answer: Gosnell

And here's the answer to the question above: Obama Ignores Kermit Gosnell Murder Trial in Planned Parenthood Speech; and he also said this: Obama to Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz: “God Bless You”

Abortion is the Number One Killer of Black Americans - [Ironic that our first black President is also the most pro-abortion.]

Most Young People Don’t Know Planned Parenthood Does Abortions - [Yikes! Would that organization receive so much support if the American people knew the truth?]

Southern Poverty Law Center Linked to Shooting at Pro-Life Group - [You know, I read about this sort of thing, where a pro-life, pro-family center is targeted, and I wonder why pro-life Christians and right-wingers are labeled "terrorists" while this guy is ignored by the media...]

Pushing Abortion Was Always a Main Goal of Obamacare - "Twice, the Institute of Medicine Committee on Preventive Services for Women shut out pro-life groups from making official comments about the implementation of ObamaCare. The panel shut out pro-life groups in November 2010 while allowing Carolyn Westhoff of the Planned Parenthood abortion business and Judy Waxman of the pro-abortion National Women’s Law Center to testify. It did so again in January 2011." [Unfortunately, too many Catholics sold their souls in supporting this evil law.]

Bill Maher Exposes the Leftist Islamophobia Ruse for Even Leftists to See - "There's only one faith that kills you, or wants to kill you, if you draw a bad cartoon of the prophet.  There's only one faith that kills you, or wants to kill you, if you renounce the faith.  An ex-Muslim is a very dangerous thing.  Talk to Salman Rushdie after the show about Christian versus Islam.  So I'm just saying, let's keep it real." [If Bill Maher can see the light then ANYONE can.] Here's another piece on the same incident: That’s “Liberal Bullsh*t” – Atheist King Bill Maher Defends Christianity

Christianity and Islam: Cooperation or Conflict? - "The main question is whether the differences between Christianity and Islam can be worked out or whether there is an unbridgeable chasm between the two faiths."

Bomber phoned mother to say 'I love you' - [Something is sickeningly wrong with Islam, that it can produce men who love their mothers and yet blow up the mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers of those they never met.] See also: ALLAHU ACKBAR! Mother of Boston Bomber doesn't care if kids die

The Boston Bombing's Hidden Victim - "...I wanted to look at another aspect of this horrendous story: a victim whose suffering may not be getting its due: Katherine Russell, the widow of dead bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev."

What is Napolitano hiding? Is Homeland Security arming the next generation of terrorists? - "Over the past year the Department of Homeland Security has upped its purchase of ammunition to more than 1.6 billion rounds. Those billions of rounds are purportedly intended for the use of some 70,000 DHS officers. There is now an average of 1,300 to 1,600 rounds intended for each officer."

The Church and Science: The Right Place at the Right Time - "We have to remember and realize there are still many prejudices about the Church, and people think the Church is against science and research, which is not true. The Church states very strongly that the research must be performed in the framework of moral values."

Unborn child just a ‘parasite’? Cutting edge science shows fetal cells heal mother for life - "...science paints a vastly different picture about the actual relationship between a baby in utero and his or her mother, showing that, far from being a parasite, the unborn child can help heal his mother for the rest of her life, as beneficial cells from the child pass into the mother’s body during pregnancy."

Now You Can Watch Your Unborn Child in Ultra-Creepy HD - [The images from this new ultrasound are really neat... But the fact that the author of this piece calls it "ultra-creepy" is a sad symptom of the culture of death. This sort of subliminal messaging chips away at an otherwise life-affirming advancement in technology.]

Seeing “us” again on a flight to Texas - "It is an ugly cycle: the more we abort children with disabilities, the fewer the opportunities to learn from them, the more ready we are to abort those who are 'different.'"

Future of Catholic weddings in Britain in doubt, MPs and Peers told - "He told MPs and peers that, unless urgent changes are made, Catholic bishops may have to reconsider whether priests can carry on performing weddings, in effect, on behalf of the state." [Is this the future in America as well?]


Gay Marriage Activist: “It’s a no-brainer that the institution of marriage should not exist.” - "It’s a pretty shocking claim. Shocking not because of what she says – that much is obvious – but because of the rare honesty of someone willing to say it."


What year was Jesus born? The answer may surprise you - "You often hear that Jesus was born around 6-7 B.C. The evidence from the Bible and the Church Fathers, however, support a different year. Here's what the evidence says..."

Desperately Seeking a Catholic Mass - "The bottom line is that, for most people in most circumstances, it is not that hard to find Masses to attend on Sundays and holy days of obligation."

Why Aren’t Demons Saved? - "Like us, the demons sinned and experienced a fall. Like us, demons are self-aware, have minds, and possess a will—the ability to choose between good and evil. This makes demons rational beings like us. But we were offered a chance at redemption while demons were not. Why is this so?"

Catechism for the Year of Faith

Part of a continuing series.A selected quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church in honor of the Year of Faith (October 11, 2012 - November 24, 2013)


963 ..."The Virgin Mary . . . is acknowledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and of the redeemer. . . . She is 'clearly the mother of the members of Christ' . . . since she has by her charity joined in bringing about the birth of believers in the Church, who are members of its head." "Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church."

Thus the Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross. There she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, enduring with her only begotten Son the intensity of his suffering, joining herself with his sacrifice in her mother's heart, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this victim, born of her: to be given, by the same Christ Jesus dying on the cross, as a mother to his disciple, with these words: "Woman, behold your son."

964 Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it. "This union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to his death"; it is made manifest above all at the hour of his Passion:

966 "Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death." The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians:

In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death.

967 By her complete adherence to the Father's will, to his Son's redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church's model of faith and charity. Thus she is a "preeminent and . . . wholly unique member of the Church"; indeed, she is the "exemplary realization" (typus) of the Church.

968 Her role in relation to the Church and to all humanity goes still further. "In a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the Savior's work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace."

970 "Mary's function as mother of men in no way obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power. But the Blessed Virgin's salutary influence on men . . . flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on his mediation, depends entirely on it, and draws all its power from it." "No creature could ever be counted along with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer; but just as the priesthood of Christ is shared in various ways both by his ministers and the faithful, and as the one goodness of God is radiated in different ways among his creatures, so also the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not exclude but rather gives rise to a manifold cooperation which is but a sharing in this one source."

971 "All generations will call me blessed": "The Church's devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship." The Church rightly honors "the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of 'Mother of God,' to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs. . . . This very special devotion . . . differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration." The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the rosary, an "epitome of the whole Gospel," express this devotion to the Virgin Mary.

Quote of the Week

"It is not man who is on the quest for God. It is God who is on the quest for man."

- Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Monday Musings

A few random thoughts and ponderings to start the week...

Don't forget that it is still Easter!! Be counter-cultural...embrace your Catholic culture... continue to celebrate the Easter Season even though the pop culture has packed it up and moved on. Find ways to keep the Season alive in your home. Set out candles to remind you that Christ is our light. (We use candles at meal times during the Easter Season to remind our kids - and us - of the Paschal Candle that is featured prominently at Mass during this liturgical time.) Leave out other reminders of Easter, decorative eggs, floral arrangements, what ever reminds you of Easter Sunday morning and keeps that memory fresh in your mind. Indulge in candy and treats! Don't follow the popular trends, don't leave Easter behind when we still have more time to celebrate. Bring the liturgical calendar into your home and celebrate it.

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I've kind of left in limbo the "Male-Only Priesthood" series of posts that I was working on a few months ago. I never actually finishing them, although I have the material I was going to use for the last couple of posts. I'm thinking I may reboot the whole series - possibly start over with a re-write so that I can tighten them up a bit and give them a proper finish. Look for that in the near future.

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Last year, before I purchased my new missal, I used my Android tablet with the iMissal app installed so that I could follow along at Mass. I felt a little awkward and tried to hide the fact that I was using an electronic device, because I was afraid to create any unnecessary distractions for people around me. This was especially true since we go to the early Mass where most of the congregation is elderly and may not know what I'm doing with a large glowing screen in my hands...

Well, I guess I don't have to worry about that anymore. A couple of weeks ago an older gentleman sitting across from us was using what looked like a Kindle Fire (or a similar device) to follow along with the readings. I suppose the new technology is beginning to catch on at our parish... and here I am back to using old fashioned books.