Céilí Dé

Do we really need so many 'Eucharistic Ministers'?

2010-08-24T12:53:00.001+01:00

Do we really need so many 'Eucharistic ministers'?

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Múlier, ecce fílius tuus, Totus Tuus!Fergal

Same-Sex Marriage Battle

2010-08-23T12:05:00.000+01:00

An excellent article appearing in Zenit. I reproduce it here:

California Case Ignites Debate

By Father John Flynn, LC

ROME, AUG. 22, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The decision earlier this month by a federal judge to overturn California's Proposition 8 has set off an acrimonious debate over the issue of same-sex marriage.

Judge Vaughn R. Walker ruled that the majority vote in favor of defining marriage as being between persons of the opposite sex was a violation of the state's constitutional right to equal protection.

The ban still remains, due to a decision by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit not to change the current situation until after they hear arguments on an appeal, scheduled for December. The most likely outcome is that the case will eventually reach the Supreme Court.

There is, however, a question mark over whether the defenders of Proposition 8 have legal standing to appeal. California state authorities have refused to appeal and the appeals panel will decide first on the issue of standing.

Judge Walker's decision came in for harsh criticism due to what many consider its lack of objectivity. Even before he handed it down, Austin Ruse pointed out many troubling elements in how the case had been conducted in an article posted on the Catholic Thing Web site.

In his July 16 article, Ruse reminded readers that the Supreme Court had stepped in to stop the televising of the trial. Walker had wanted a "show trial," Ruse argued. In fact, four expert witnesses for the Proposition 8 case withdrew, fearing reprisals if they testified. This followed numerous cases of hostile actions by homosexual activists towards those who had donated to the Proposition 8 campaign.

Following the decision immediate criticism came from the Catholic Church. “Marriage between a man and a woman is the bedrock of any society," declared Cardinal Francis George, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, in an Aug. 4 joint statement with Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, chair of a committee set up to defend marriage.

"The misuse of law to change the nature of marriage undermines the common good,” they said. “It is tragic that a federal judge would overturn the clear and expressed will of the people in their support for the institution of marriage. No court of civil law has the authority to reach into areas of human experience that nature itself has defined,” asserted.

Out of control

There was also condemnation of the decision from those in favor of same-sex marriage. "When a judge in California found that same-sex couples have a right to wed, he cemented the widespread notion that the courts are out of control and that the Constitution means whatever judges want it to mean," said Steve Chapman in the Aug 8 edition of the Chicago Tribune.

Chapman declared himself in favor of same-sex marriage and even polygamy, but such changes should come from elected institutions and not courts. "Thanks to Judge Walker, the debate is no longer about whether gays deserve protection from the law, a debate they were steadily winning," Chapmen commented. "It is more about whether democratic processes should be trusted to resolve the question," he concluded.

John Yoo, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, also a supporter of same-sex marriage, lamented Judge Walker's decision in an article published Aug. 12 in the Wall Street Journal. He recalled how in his State of the Union address last January, President Barack Obama attacked the justices of the Supreme Court for an unpopular decision on campaign financing. The president then went on to ask Congress to overrule the court's decision, thus restoring settled constitutional law.

According to Judge Walker, gender no longer forms an essential part of marriage and any position to the contrary is simply irrational, Yoo noted. But the Constitution did not set up the federal courts to correct all the nation's problems or to engage in social engineering, Yoo argued.

Prematurely introducing same-sex marriage by judicial means will only guarantee decades of conflict, as happened with abortion when the Supreme Court in the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, he pointed out.

Political

Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association, accused Judge Walker of making a political statement in his decision. Writing in the opinion pages of the Aug. 13 edition of the Los Angeles Times, Wildmon referred to the argument that marriage being restricted to heterosexuals is similar to the ban in the past on persons of different races being able to marry.

In reply to this, Wildmon quoted an undated statement by Colin L. Powell, who said: "Skin color is a benign, nonbehavioral characteristic. Sexual orientation is perhaps the most profound of human behavioral characteristics. Comparison of the two is a convenient but invalid argument."

Regarding Judge Walker's affirmation that opposition to same-sex marriage is only based on religious or moral considerations, Wildmon argued that this is clearly a case of a judge imposing mere personal opinions. This is a clear case of judicial tyranny, something that the founding fathers had warned against.

The attack on defenders of heterosexual marriage that they are motivated by religious prejudice is common. A useful reply to this came in the second book of a series titled "Why vs Why" in which contrasting views on topical issues are books laid out in debate form. In the second one titled "Gay Marriage," published in May by Australian publisher Pantera Press, Bill Muehlenberg took up the case against same-sex marriage.

Reasonable arguments

Muehlenberg, secretary of the Family Council of Victoria, set forth a series of reasons, none of them based on religious grounds.

1. It negates what marriage is. Marriage is not just a social construct, but a cultural universal. Marriage is the basis for family formation and is not simply a way of legitimizing sex. Evolutionary biologists acknowledge that male-female bonding in lasting pairs was the critical step in human evolution and is something built into us by nature.

2. The percentage of homosexuals who want to marry is very small and in places where it has already been legalized there have been relatively few same-sex marriages. It has been legal in the Netherlands since 2001 and only about 4% of homosexuals married during the first five years after legalization.

3. There is another agenda here. A fundamental goal of the homosexual lobby is the complete social and public endorsement of them. Being able to marry is like having a stamp of approval from governments and society. It also changes the institution of the family and essentially redefines marriage out of existence.

4. Not all relationships are alike. Homosexual relationships are much more unstable and promiscuous than heterosexual ones. Research has also found that among married homosexual couples the rate of divorce is much higher than for heterosexual couples.

5. Claims of discrimination and denial of rights are spurious. People are entitled to the benefits of marriage if they meet the requirements. Just as family members and minors cannot marry, so too homosexuals cannot. Social goods are denied to all sorts of people and that is how life operates. Societies discriminate in favor of heterosexual unions because of the social good derived from them. Homosexuals are seeking to re-write the rules to get all the benefits, while avoiding the obligations.

6. The arguments used to justify legal same-sex marriage could be used to legalize incest, polygamy or any number of sexual combinations.

7. It is not good for children. In most cases a child will do better with a mother and a father. As well children need role models as they are growing up. Children should be given priority, and not used as political footballs.

These arguments, amply documented in the book, show clearly just how wrong-headed was Judge Walker's decision.

____________________________________________ “Have no fear of moving into the unknown. Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with you, therefore no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence.” Pope John Paul II

Pius X, Holy Communion & Ireland!

2010-08-21T12:42:00.007+01:00

Today is the feast day of Pope St. Pius X, known affectionately as the Pope of the Eucharist. For us Irish today also marks the 131st anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady at Knock in County Mayo. To the untrained eye, both may seem to have little in common but to devotees both feasts speak strongly about the Eucharist, the Mass and Holy Communion.

When our Lady appeared at Knock, in 1879 the events took on a most unique style. In the first instance there was only one appearance and no words were spoken. In the second instance Our Lady was accompanied by her Holy Spouse St. Joseph, who stood on her right and the Apostle Jesus loved most, St. John who stood in a teaching pose on her left. But perhps the most remarkable part of the apparition was the fact that the Lamb of God appeared on an Altar surmounted by a Cross and surrounded by Angels. This of course was the central part of the whole vision. It is interesting to note the position of the angels.

Even though no word were spoken by any of the Heavenly visitors, the message regarding the importance of Holy Mass is very powerfully conveyed. On another point, a personal one, Our Lady and St Joseph were husband and wife. St John was the disciple that took charge of the Blessed Virgin after the death of Christ. He was given to Mary as her son. So in the three persons to the left of the whole scene we see a powerful symbol of the family based on marriage between man and woman. Of course Ireland is no different from the rest of the world and our secular leaders, as they strive to gain kudos from the world, have waged a war on this model through financial and other secular policies. In truth the message, though unspoken has more relevance today that it ever had. When the Knock apparition occurred, the family and the Holy Mass were the two most important things in the lives of Irish Catholics. Today it is very different. Both are being sidelined at an alarming rate in order to embrace the emptiness that Caesar still offers. For many family put on hold in favour of career, family is put asunder in favour of second and subsequent lust filled relationships. For some alternative models of 'marriage' and 'family' are now vogue and are being celebrated by many as a sign of their progression! Progression indeed.

For many people visits to the Church now only occur at 'milestones' in ones life like Marriages, Funerals or the Christening, First Holy Communion or Confirmation of a sibling or relation. The latter three being used as an excuse to lavishly live it up for 24 hours or so before slipping back into a world without God. How sad an existence that is. Not a though is spared for keeping holy the Sabbath day or to the fact that the family into which they were baptised continue to come together to celebrate and pray. First Holy Communions are for far too many children also their last Holy Communion and Confirmation is now a sacrament of exit. One has to wonder, how have things gone so far in such a short space of time?

Today we implore the Queen of Ireland to intercede for this poor country and it's future. We may be losing money head over fist but we are losing something far more valuable than that through neglecting the precepts of the faith we claim to profess.

On thinking of Holy Communion we are again reminded that today is the feast day of Pope St Pius X, the Pope of the Eucharist. He encouraged daily Holy Communion and that the first Communion of children should not be deferred too long after they had reached the age of discretion. It was by his desire that the Eucharistic Congress of 1905 was held at Rome, while he enhanced the solemnity of subsequent Eucharistic congresses by sending to them cardinal legates. Indeed His eminence, Cardinal Lorenzo Lauri, was sent to Ireland in 1932 for the Congress that was held here. Pius X also reformed the liturgy, promoted clear and simple homilies, and brought Gregorian chant back. He reorganized the Roman curia, worked against the modern antagonism of the state against the Church. He helped to draft the New Code of Cannon law, issues in 1917. He encouraged Scripture reading by all the faithful. All of this achieved simply by his deep devotion to Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. My favourite quote of St Pius X is as follows: "Holy Communion is the shortest and safest way to Heaven." This is something we should meditate upon today as it bears tremendous fruit in a soul that ponders it sincerely. As previously stated Pope St. Pius X, encouraged the Church to consider that children about the age of 7 should be permitted receive their First Holy Communion and perhaps there is an Irish link to this Papal encouragement!

Nellie Organ, better known as "Little Nellie of Holy God" was born in the Artillery Barracks in Waterford on August 24th, 1903 and was baptised in the Old Ballybricken Church. This saintly child was the daughter of humble Catholic parents, whose only inheritance was a sterling Irish faith. She was the fourth child of William Organ of Dungarvan - her mother being Mary Aherne of Portlaw.
In 1905, her father, being a member of the Royal Artillery, was transferred with his family to Spike Island in Cork, and it was here that her mother's health quickly deteriorated and she died from tuberculosis in January, of 1907. Due to his duties as a soldier her father was unable to care for his young children, and so they were placed in orphanages - Nellie and her sister being put in the care of the Good Shepherd Sisters at their Industrial School in Sunday's Well, Cork.

It was soon discovered that the child was suffering from lung tuberculosis and curvature of the spine, and as her frail little body wasted away her heart and soul opened to the love of God and to the illumination of His grace to an extraordinary degree. This little angel had a remarkable intuition concerning the Real Presence, and her progress in religious knowledge and growth in holiness, truly amazed the good Sisters. In fact there were many extraordinarily spiritual facts attested by the Sisters who witnessed them. The long hours she spent in "talking to Holy God", and the secrets He revealed to her, convinced those who came in contact with her of her unusual sanctity.
She lived continuously in the presence of the "Holy God", and her hunger to receive Him in Holy Communion was so intense that the Bishop of Cork permitted her to make her Holy Communion at the tender age of four and a half a permission which was most unusual at that time.
She was taken to her heavenly home on February 2nd 1908 and was laid to rest in the public cemetery of St. Joseph, where her grave became a shrine at which it was rumoured that many found peace and consolation. About a year and a half after her death, her body was transferred from St. Joseph's to the Convent Cemetery at Sunday's Well. At the disinterment her remains were found to he intact, the fingers quite flexible and her clothing exactly as it was on the day of her death. After Nellie’s death, the children of St. Finbar’s School made a special Novena that Little Nellie would obtain for them and all little children around the world, the great favour of receiving Holy Communion as near as possible to the age at which she received it.
When Pope St. Pius X was told about Little Nellie, and how she longed for Jesus in Holy Communion, and how lovingly she received Him, he said, “There! That is the sign for which I have been waiting.” He also asked Little Nellie’s Bishop for a relic of her.
In 1910, the Pope Pius X made a Church Law stating that all children could receive Holy Communion at an early age. The children of St. Finbar’s School then wrote a beautiful letter to Pope St. Pius X. I will quote some parts:

“Dear Holy Father,
We, the little children of St. Finbar’s Industrial School, write, thanking Holy God for inspiring you to issue the First Holy Communion Decree. We will never stop praying for you, and we will ask Holy God to take you into His Sacred Heart. The wonderful favour, granted to the little children, of receiving Holy Communion at such an early age, is such a source of great joy to us…
We often wonder if your holiness has heard of our holy baby, ‘Nellie,’ who received Holy Communion at the age of four years and three months…. She received Holy Communion on December 6, 1907…. Holy God and Holy God’s Mother came for her February 2, 1908.
We pray to her for everything we want, and she is almost sure to hear our prayers. Twelve months ago we began a novena at night prayers that she would work six miracles, which would obtain for her little companions and all little children over the whole world, the great favour of receiving Holy Communion as near to the age that she received it as possible. Would it be wrong for us to think that the Decree has been granted through her intercession and that it is to our darling little Nellie that we and all little children owe this great privilege?”

Pope St. Pius X received the letter of the children a few months after he had issued the Decree about the Communion of Children. He wrote the following letter to the children of St. Finbar’s School:

To the beloved children of the School of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Cork, with sincere congratulations on the sentiments expressed in their pious address of true love for Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, with the warmest thanks for their prayers for the Holy Catholic Church and for Us, and with the wish that they may always keep as good as their companion Nellie, who was called to Heaven while still a child, where she is praying for them, for the comfort of their families, for the sisters, their dear Mistresses, for their Superiors, and especially for their very Venerable Bishop, to all of whom we earnestly impart the Apostolic Blessing.

I hope that those who read this story will pray to little Nellie of Holy God and ask her to help you love the Blessed Sacrament, like she did.

So today as you can see is intensely Eucharistic and by that I mean focused on the meaning of Holy Communion.

____________________________________________

"Have no fear of moving into the unknown. Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with you, therefore no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence.” Pope John Paul II

Edith Stein - St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

2010-08-09T14:30:00.004+01:00

"We bow down before the testimony of the life and death of Edith Stein, an outstanding daughter of Israel and at the same time a daughter of the Carmelite Order, Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, a personality who united within her rich life a dramatic synthesis of our century. It was the synthesis of a history full of deep wounds that are still hurting ... and also the synthesis of the full truth about man. All this came together in a single heart that remained restless and unfulfilled until it finally found rest in God."

These were the words of Pope John Paul II when he beatified Edith Stein in Cologne on 1 May 1987. The following biography is taken from the Vatican website. You can visit it here.

Who was this woman?

Edith Stein was born in Breslau on 12 October 1891, the youngest of 11, as her family were celebrating Yom Kippur, that most important Jewish festival, the Feast of Atonement. "More than anything else, this helped make the youngest child very precious to her mother." Being born on this day was like a foreshadowing to Edith, a future Carmelite nun.

Edith's father, who ran a timber business, died when she had only just turned two. Her mother, a very devout, hard-working, strong-willed and truly wonderful woman, now had to fend for herself and to look after the family and their large business. However, she did not succeed in keeping up a living faith in her children. Edith lost her faith in God. "I consciously decided, of my own volition, to give up praying," she said.

In 1911 she passed her school-leaving exam with flying colours and enrolled at the University of Breslau to study German and history, though this was a mere "bread-and-butter" choice. Her real interest was in philosophy and in women's issues. She became a member of the Prussian Society for Women's Franchise. "When I was at school and during my first years at university," she wrote later, "I was a radical suffragette. Then I lost interest in the whole issue. Now I am looking for purely pragmatic solutions."

In 1913, Edith Stein transferred to G6ttingen University, to study under the mentorship of Edmund Husserl. She became his pupil and teaching assistant, and he later tutored her for a doctorate. At the time, anyone who was interested in philosophy was fascinated by Husserl's new view of reality, whereby the world as we perceive it does not merely exist in a Kantian way, in our subjective perception. His pupils saw his philosophy as a return to objects: "back to things". Husserl's phenomenology unwittingly led many of his pupils to the Christian faith. In G6ttingen Edith Stein also met the philosopher Max Scheler, who directed her attention to Roman Catholicism. Nevertheless, she did not neglect her "bread-and-butter" studies and passed her degree with distinction in January 1915, though she did not follow it up with teacher training.

"I no longer have a life of my own," she wrote at the beginning of the First World War, having done a nursing course and gone to serve in an Austrian field hospital. This was a hard time for her, during which she looked after the sick in the typhus ward, worked in an operating theatre, and saw young people die. When the hospital was dissolved, in 1916, she followed Husserl as his assistant to the German city of Freiburg, where she passed her doctorate summa cum laude (with the utmost distinction) in 1917, after writing a thesis on "The Problem of Empathy."

During this period she went to Frankfurt Cathedral and saw a woman with a shopping basket going in to kneel for a brief prayer. "This was something totally new to me. In the synagogues and Protestant churches I had visited people simply went to the services. Here, however, I saw someone coming straight from the busy marketplace into this empty church, as if she was going to have an intimate conversation. It was something I never forgot. "Towards the end of her dissertation she wrote: "There have been people who believed that a sudden change had occurred within them and that this was a result of God's grace." How could she come to such a conclusion?

Edith Stein had been good friends with Husserl's Göttingen assistant, Adolf Reinach, and his wife.

When Reinach fell in Flanders in November 1917, Edith went to Göttingen to visit his widow. The Reinachs had converted to Protestantism. Edith felt uneasy about meeting the young widow at first, but was surprised when she actually met with a woman of faith. "This was my first encounter with the Cross and the divine power it imparts to those who bear it ... it was the moment when my unbelief collapsed and Christ began to shine his light on me - Christ in the mystery of the Cross."

Later, she wrote: "Things were in God's plan which I had not planned at all. I am coming to the living faith and conviction that - from God's point of view - there is no chance and that the whole of my life, down to every detail, has been mapped out in God's divine providence and makes complete and perfect sense in God's all-seeing eyes."

In Autumn 1918 Edith Stein gave up her job as Husserl's teaching assistant. She wanted to work independently. It was not until 1930 that she saw Husserl again after her conversion, and she shared with him about her faith, as she would have liked him to become a Christian, too. Then she wrote down the amazing words: "Every time I feel my powerlessness and inability to influence people directly, I become more keenly aware of the necessity of my own holocaust."

Edith Stein wanted to obtain a professorship, a goal that was impossible for a woman at the time. Husserl wrote the following reference: "Should academic careers be opened up to ladies, then I can recommend her whole-heartedly and as my first choice for admission to a professorship." Later, she was refused a professorship on account of her Jewishness.

Back in Breslau, Edith Stein began to write articles about the philosophical foundation of psychology. However, she also read the New Testament, Kierkegaard and Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises. She felt that one could not just read a book like that, but had to put it into practice.

In the summer of 1921. she spent several weeks in Bergzabern (in the Palatinate) on the country estate of Hedwig Conrad-Martius, another pupil of Husserl's. Hedwig had converted to Protestantism with her husband. One evening Edith picked up an autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila and read this book all night. "When I had finished the book, I said to myself: This is the truth." Later, looking back on her life, she wrote: "My longing for truth was a single prayer."

On 1 January 1922 Edith Stein was baptized. It was the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus, when Jesus entered into the covenant of Abraham. Edith Stein stood by the baptismal font, wearing Hedwig Conrad-Martius' white wedding cloak. Hedwig washer godmother. "I had given up practising my Jewish religion when I was a 14-year-old girl and did not begin to feel Jewish again until I had returned to God." From this moment on she was continually aware that she belonged to Christ not only spiritually, but also through her blood. At the Feast of the Purification of Mary - another day with an Old Testament reference - she was confirmed by the Bishop of Speyer in his private chapel.

After her conversion she went straight to Breslau: "Mother," she said, "I am a Catholic." The two women cried. Hedwig Conrad Martius wrote: "Behold, two Israelites indeed, in whom is no deceit!" (cf. John 1:47).

Immediately after her conversion she wanted to join a Carmelite convent. However, her spiritual mentors, Vicar-General Schwind of Speyer, and Erich Przywara SJ, stopped her from doing so. Until Easter 1931 she held a position teaching German and history at the Dominican Sisters' school and teacher training college of St. Magdalen's Convent in Speyer. At the same time she was encouraged by Arch-Abbot Raphael Walzer of Beuron Abbey to accept extensive speaking engagements, mainly on women's issues. "During the time immediately before and quite some time after my conversion I ... thought that leading a religious life meant giving up all earthly things and having one's mind fixed on divine things only. Gradually, however, I learnt that other things are expected of us in this world... I even believe that the deeper someone is drawn to God, the more he has to `get beyond himself' in this sense, that is, go into the world and carry divine life into it."

She worked enormously hard, translating the letters and diaries of Cardinal Newman from his pre-Catholic period as well as Thomas Aquinas' Quaestiones Disputatae de Veritate. The latter was a very free translation, for the sake of dialogue with modern philosophy. Erich Przywara also encouraged her to write her own philosophical works. She learnt that it was possible to "pursue scholarship as a service to God... It was not until I had understood this that I seriously began to approach academic work again." To gain strength for her life and work, she frequently went to the Benedictine Monastery of Beuron, to celebrate the great festivals of the Church year.

In 1931 Edith Stein left the convent school in Speyer and devoted herself to working for a professorship again, this time in Breslau and Freiburg, though her endeavours were in vain. It was then that she wrote Potency and Act, a study of the central concepts developed by Thomas Aquinas. Later, at the Carmelite Convent in Cologne, she rewrote this study to produce her main philosophical and theological oeuvre, Finite and Eternal Being. By then, however, it was no longer possible to print the book.

In 1932 she accepted a lectureship position at the Roman Catholic division of the German Institute for Educational Studies at the University of Munster, where she developed her anthropology. She successfully combined scholarship and faith in her work and her teaching, seeking to be a "tool of the Lord" in everything she taught. "If anyone comes to me, I want to lead them to Him."

In 1933 darkness broke out over Germany. "I had heard of severe measures against Jews before. But now it dawned on me that God had laid his hand heavily on His people, and that the destiny of these people would also be mine." The Aryan Law of the Nazis made it impossible for Edith Stein to continue teaching. "If I can't go on here, then there are no longer any opportunities for me in Germany," she wrote; "I had become a stranger in the world."

The Arch-Abbot of Beuron, Walzer, now no longer stopped her from entering a Carmelite convent. While in Speyer, she had already taken a vow of poverty, chastity and obedience. In 1933 she met with the prioress of the Carmelite Convent in Cologne. "Human activities cannot help us, but only the suffering of Christ. It is my desire to share in it."

Edith Stein went to Breslau for the last time, to say good-bye to her mother and her family. Her last day at home was her birthday, 12 October, which was also the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Edith went to the synagogue with her mother. It was a hard day for the two women. "Why did you get to know it [Christianity]?" her mother asked, "I don't want to say anything against him. He may have been a very good person. But why did he make himself God?" Edith's mother cried. The following day Edith was on the train to Cologne. "I did not feel any passionate joy. What I had just experienced was too terrible. But I felt a profound peace - in the safe haven of God's will." From now on she wrote to her mother every week, though she never received any replies. Instead, her sister Rosa sent her news from Breslau.

Edith joined the Carmelite Convent of Cologne on 14 October, and her investiture took place on 15 April, 1934. The mass was celebrated by the Arch-Abbot of Beuron. Edith Stein was now known as Sister Teresia Benedicta a Cruce - Teresa, Blessed of the Cross. In 1938 she wrote: "I understood the cross as the destiny of God's people, which was beginning to be apparent at the time (1933). I felt that those who understood the Cross of Christ should take it upon themselves on everybody's behalf. Of course, I know better now what it means to be wedded to the Lord in the sign of the cross. However, one can never comprehend it, because it is a mystery." On 21 April 1935 she took her temporary vows. On 14 September 1936, the renewal of her vows coincided with her mother's death in Breslau. "My mother held on to her faith to the last moment. But as her faith and her firm trust in her God ... were the last thing that was still alive in the throes of her death, I am confident that she will have met a very merciful judge and that she is now my most faithful helper, so that I can reach the goal as well."

When she made her eternal profession on 21 April 1938, she had the words of St. John of the Cross printed on her devotional picture: "Henceforth my only vocation is to love." Her final work was to be devoted to this author.

Edith Stein's entry into the Carmelite Order was not escapism. "Those who join the Carmelite Order are not lost to their near and dear ones, but have been won for them, because it is our vocation to intercede to God for everyone." In particular, she interceded to God for her people: "I keep thinking of Queen Esther who was taken away from her people precisely because God wanted her to plead with the king on behalf of her nation. I am a very poor and powerless little Esther, but the King who has chosen me is infinitely great and merciful. This is great comfort." (31 October 1938)

On 9 November 1938 the anti-Semitism of the Nazis became apparent to the whole world.

Synagogues were burnt, and the Jewish people were subjected to terror. The prioress of the Carmelite Convent in Cologne did her utmost to take Sister Teresia Benedicta a Cruce abroad. On New Year's Eve 1938 she was smuggled across the border into the Netherlands, to the Carmelite Convent in Echt in the Province of Limburg. This is where she wrote her will on 9 June 1939: "Even now I accept the death that God has prepared for me in complete submission and with joy as being his most holy will for me. I ask the Lord to accept my life and my death ... so that the Lord will be accepted by His people and that His Kingdom may come in glory, for the salvation of Germany and the peace of the world."

While in the Cologne convent, Edith Stein had been given permission to start her academic studies again. Among other things, she wrote about "The Life of a Jewish Family" (that is, her own family): "I simply want to report what I experienced as part of Jewish humanity," she said, pointing out that "we who grew up in Judaism have a duty to bear witness ... to the young generation who are brought up in racial hatred from early childhood."

In Echt, Edith Stein hurriedly completed her study of "The Church's Teacher of Mysticism and the Father of the Carmelites, John of the Cross, on the Occasion of the 400th Anniversary of His Birth, 1542-1942." In 1941 she wrote to a friend, who was also a member of her order: "One can only gain a scientia crucis (knowledge of the cross) if one has thoroughly experienced the cross. I have been convinced of this from the first moment onwards and have said with all my heart: 'Ave, Crux, Spes unica' (I welcome you, Cross, our only hope)." Her study on St. John of the Cross is entitled: "Kreuzeswissenschaft" (The Science of the Cross).

Edith Stein was arrested by the Gestapo on 2 August 1942, while she was in the chapel with the other sisters. She was to report within five minutes, together with her sister Rosa, who had also converted and was serving at the Echt Convent. Her last words to be heard in Echt were addressed to Rosa: "Come, we are going for our people."

Together with many other Jewish Christians, the two women were taken to a transit camp in Amersfoort and then to Westerbork. This was an act of retaliation against the letter of protest written by the Dutch Roman Catholic Bishops against the pogroms and deportations of Jews. Edith commented, "I never knew that people could be like this, neither did I know that my brothers and sisters would have to suffer like this. ... I pray for them every hour. Will God hear my prayers? He will certainly hear them in their distress." Prof. Jan Nota, who was greatly attached to her, wrote later: "She is a witness to God's presence in a world where God is absent."

On 7 August, early in the morning, 987 Jews were deported to Auschwitz. It was probably on 9 August that Sister Teresia Benedicta a Cruce, her sister and many other of her people were gassed.

When Edith Stein was beatified in Cologne on 1 May 1987, the Church honoured "a daughter of Israel", as Pope John Paul II put it, who, as a Catholic during Nazi persecution, remained faithful to the crucified Lord Jesus Christ and, as a Jew, to her people in loving faithfulness."

____________________________________________
“Have no fear of moving into the unknown. Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with you, therefore no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence.” Pope John Paul II

New Priests Reform Movement? Think again..........

2010-07-28T11:55:00.007+01:00

If you like myself almost had a seizure of joy when you read the above headline, then either look away now if you want the feeling to remain or read on to be filled in on the real motivation.

I receive my preview of the Irish Catholic newspaper this morning which tries to give us a flavour of what is coming up in Thursdays issue. The second headline was the above. Immediately I had visions of clerics uniting together to defend Orthodox Catholic values and practices. As I began to read this is what I learned: "A new priests' movement is being planned to push for a reformation within Irish Catholicism. The push, which will include a call for the Church to re-evaluate its teaching on sexuality as well as "an equal place for women in all areas of Church life" is the brainchild of three prominent priests."

Even though my heart sank deeply, I should have known better. Having watched that excuse of a 'Would you Believe special' on RTE which ran with the title "A faith in crisis", I had resigned myself to thinking that we are not to expect much in the way of proper renewal within the Church for some time to come. If anything we are to prepare ourselves for further disappointments and scandals with respect to 'faith development'. I thought I had seen it all. These 3 prominent priests whose names I can probable guess are simply jumping on the bandwagon of what is very misguided and ignorant opinion. Yes people are angry and rightly so. I have no problem with this anger and even feel it myself. What I have problems with is the fact that justifiable anger is being communicated through deep seated ignorance. I do not use the term ignorance as a derogatory term but one that communicates a lack of knowledge. The ignorance that is now sprouting from this anger must be challenged, corrected and rebutted. Who in this country is going to do it? How is it to be done? What we are witnessing is the domination of what is called 'vincible ignorance', and this ignorance i.e. that which can be corrected must be met head on and challenged by moral diligence. There's the challenge of renewal right there.

In my opinion ignorance is having it's day. Ignorance is being listened to by those who should know better. Ignorance is now credible in the Church. When you see Bishops nodding at what they know is off the scale in terms of faith and morals then you know the depth of the problem that faces true renewal. Ignorance is breeding at an alarming rate, and it's voice is being heard above the silent prayers and devotions of those who are with Peter. Yet, we must have no fear. Yes, the current dominance of ignorance is a lot to put up and causes deep hurt, but it is transient. True and holy faith will remain when all else has passed. This has been proven over the centuries. So again we look forward with silent trust in God.

Shortly after I had read this headline and taster, I then read an entry from Fr Tim Finigan's blog "The Hermeneutic of Continuity" in which he reported on a open letter of support from some British Priests for the Holy Father and his visit to Britian. The letter was penned by Fr. Ray Blake and is open to Priests to add their signatures. In the letter Fr Blake mentions the possibility of setting up something along the lines of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy which operates in Australia.

The ACCC is constituted under statutes in conforming with the 1983 Code of Canon Law under Canon 278.1, which states "Secular clergy have the right of association with others for the achievement of purposes befitting the clerical state." Now here's the best part. The Aims of the ACCC are to

give glory and honour to the Most Blessed Trinity
assist the eternal salvation and holiness of members
foster unity among Catholic priests and deacons with the bishops in loyalty to the Supreme Magisterium
encourage faithfulness to priestly life and ministry
assist bishops, priests, and deacons in the fulfilment of their ministry of teaching, sanctifying, and ruling.

Isn't that so edifying?? And if you think that's good look at the next paragraph:

"Motions presented to the AGM shall be in total accord with the Code of Canon Law, with the Magisterium and the faith and morals of the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church, and in utter obedience to and reflecting respect for and reverence toward the authority, position and person of the Supreme Pontiff, the Vicar of Christ and Bishop of Rome, and the Bishops teaching in union with him."

Could you imagine the reaction to Irish clergy, religious or laity who stood up and said that they were going to form a group of clerics who espoused the above noble values? The ridicule, the mockery, the martyrdom....... noble fruits indeed. Could there be even a handful of priests, religious and laity in Ireland who are willing to stand up now, grab the rudder of the Irish Catholic Church and with all their strength steer the into the wake of the Barque of Peter? Yes the wake is a turbulent area but the course is set and the destination certain.

Now Priests of Ireland. We are at a watershed moment in the history of the Catholic Church in Ireland and you are being given a choice in the way you go forward from here. This is most definitely a sheep and goats moment. I wonder which side each would choose?

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“Have no fear of moving into the unknown. Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with you, therefore no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence.” Pope John Paul II

Ignorance tries to dictate the course

2010-07-26T11:37:00.000+01:00

Just have a look at this programme that aired on Ireland's national flagship station last night Jul, 26 and then see why I put the above title to this blog entry. I know ignorance on a clerical level got the Irish Catholic Church into the mess in which we find ourselves, but courting the ignorance that exists on a lay level is certainly no answer.

http://www.rte.ie/player/#v=1077417

Do you think the above title is too harsh??
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“Have no fear of moving into the unknown. Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with you, therefore no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence.” Pope John Paul II

Christian brothers murdered

2010-07-24T21:16:00.002+01:00

Christian brothers murdered : "Two Christian brothers who were gunned down outside district courts Faisalabad on Monday, July 19, 2010 after bein..."

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“Have no fear of moving into the unknown. Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with you, therefore no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence.”Pope John Paul II

Vatican Sets Record Straight on Sexual Abuse

2010-07-24T17:28:00.002+01:00

Vatican Sets Record Straight on Sexual Abuse

I know it is over a year old but it is nice to have this article to hand when we are faced with comments about the Church from the ill informed and the Church bashers. I was actually amazed about the amount of media coverage this document got ;)

Save it, print it out, spread it far and wide!! Keep a copy on your desk especially if you are involved in any Catholic message boards or chat rooms.
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“The vow of celibacy is a matter of keeping one's word to Christ and the Church. a duty and a proof of the priest's inner maturity; it is the expression of his personal dignity.”

Pope John Paul II

The Genuflection

2010-07-24T12:34:00.003+01:00

Watching a priest whom I really admire because of his age (late 80's) and fidelity as well as his dedication has put me thinking on the whole are of our genuflection and how we make or perhaps fail to make it when in the Church. The reason why I post this is that every time the Priest, to whom I am referring, genuflects you can hear his knee making contact with the ground. It always has an impact on me (excuse the pun) but yesterday morning it did so more that ever.

I started to think about how I make a genuflection before the Lord and what is actually signifies. I than began thinking of how I have taught my children to make one and quickly realised that in all cases we too make contact with the ground albeit not as loudly or profoundly as the Priest mentioned above.

Folks, a good and reverent genuflection impacts on others. They notice. When I used to enter the Church by a side door opposite the side where the Blessed Sacrament is reposed, the first thing I would always do is turn and genuflect devoutly. To me it was the proper thing to do. To align ones face to Christ pause and keeping one's back straight bring the right knee down to the ground, slight pause as we greet the Lord and up again smartly. It is what I was trained to do when serving Holy Mass and I continue to do it as best I can. I have to admit that sometimes I also bow my head when genuflecting, but the thing is I take the time to do it properly. It's not easy because you have to keep your balance and I have wobbled at a time or two.

One morning as I finished making my genuflection I was ushered towards an elderly lady, who has now passed RIP, and she told me that she loved to watch me make a genuflection as it made her sit up and straighten her pose in the pew! So there you are people do notice. It is inevitable that some will think that you are doing it for show but that will always be that case no matter what you do properly for the Lord. As long as you can say with your whole heart that the act of reverence is for the Lord, then let the tongues wag as they will. Funny thing is I don't think people like being reminded of how to do things right when they have become accustomed to doing it in a lazy way. I am not for one minute talking of those who are not able because of health reasons but of those who could and either don't or exercise a lazy one.

There are so many variations of this gesture of respect now on show in the local catholic Church that you could be entertained for quite a while. Some quickly curtsey, others dip a knee a little from the normal vertical position and regretfully others have replaced the genuflection with a bow, not even a profound one at that. I would like to remind those who are able to genuflect that not even a profound bow is an acceptable replacement for a genuflection. This about it: a Priest begins the entrance procession, passes the tabernacle and bows profoundly. He then continues to process to the front of the Altar and profoundly bows once again. What is the message being communicated? It seems to say that they are both the same....no?? A genuflection before the tabernacle and a profound bow before the Altar tells a very definite story and gives the proper distinction to these two areas.

A genuflection has a language all it's own that no other gesture can communicate. Folks, I know it so easy for us to pick up habits of laziness but remember it is just as easy to drop them again if we make an effort to greet the Lord properly.

There is another occassion that I have taken to genuflecting and that is in the moment before I receive Holy Communion. There is no option to kneel in my Parish Church so I genuflect and move forward to receive. Once again there are folk look on this as a shallow act of pride but as long as I know why and to whom it is being directed I will continue to greet the presence of the Lord in this way.

How I wish that those who have become lazy with this gesture would begin again to make an effort to greet the Lord properly.

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Múlier, ecce fílius tuus, Totus Tuus!

Fergal

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“The vow of celibacy is a matter of keeping one's word to Christ and the Church. a duty and a proof of the priest's inner maturity; it is the expression of his personal dignity.” Pope John Paul II

Pastoral letter of the Holy Father to the Catholics of Ireland

2010-03-20T12:40:00.004Z

Given below is the complete text of the letter of Pope Benedict XVI to the Catholics of Ireland:

1. Dear brothers and sisters of the Church in Ireland, it is with great concern that I write to you as Pastor of the universal Church. Like yourselves, I have been deeply disturbed by the information which has come to light regarding the abuse of children and vulnerable young people by members of the Church in Ireland, particularly by priests and religious. I can only share in the dismay and the sense of betrayal that so many of you have experienced on learning of these sinful and criminal acts and the way Church authorities in Ireland dealt with them.

As you know, I recently invited the Irish bishops to a meeting here in Rome to give an account of their handling of these matters in the past and to outline the steps they have taken to respond to this grave situation. Together with senior officials of the Roman Curia, I listened to what they had to say, both individually and as a group, as they offered an analysis of mistakes made and lessons learned, and a description of the programmes and protocols now in place. Our discussions were frank and constructive. I am confident that, as a result, the bishops will now be in a stronger position to carry forward the work of repairing past injustices and confronting the broader issues associated with the abuse of minors in a way consonant with the demands of justice and the teachings of the Gospel.

2. For my part, considering the gravity of these offences, and the often inadequate response to them on the part of the ecclesiastical authorities in your country, I have decided to write this Pastoral Letter to express my closeness to you and to propose a path of healing, renewal and reparation.

It is true, as many in your country have pointed out, that the problem of child abuse is peculiar neither to Ireland nor to the Church. Nevertheless, the task you now face is to address the problem of abuse that has occurred within the Irish Catholic community, and to do so with courage and determination. No one imagines that this painful situation will be resolved swiftly. Real progress has been made, yet much more remains to be done. Perseverance and prayer are needed, with great trust in the healing power of God's grace.

At the same time, I must also express my conviction that, in order to recover from this grievous wound, the Church in Ireland must first acknowledge before the Lord and before others the serious sins committed against defenceless children. Such an acknowledgement, accompanied by sincere sorrow for the damage caused to these victims and their families, must lead to a concerted effort to ensure the protection of children from similar crimes in the future.

As you take up the challenges of this hour, I ask you to remember "the rock from which you were hewn". Reflect upon the generous, often heroic, contributions made by past generations of Irish men and women to the Church and to humanity as a whole, and let this provide the impetus for honest self- examination and a committed programme of ecclesial and individual renewal. It is my prayer that, assisted by the intercession of her many saints and purified through penance, the Church in Ireland will overcome the present crisis and become once more a convincing witness to the truth and the goodness of Almighty God, made manifest in His Son Jesus Christ.

3. Historically, the Catholics of Ireland have proved an enormous force for good at home and abroad. Celtic monks like St. Columbanus spread the Gospel in Western Europe and laid the foundations of mediaeval monastic culture. The ideals of holiness, charity and transcendent wisdom born of the Christian faith found expression in the building of churches and monasteries and the establishment of schools, libraries and hospitals, all of which helped to consolidate the spiritual identity of Europe. Those Irish missionaries drew their strength and inspiration from the firm faith, strong leadership and upright morals of the Church in their native land.

From the sixteenth century on, Catholics in Ireland endured a long period of persecution, during which they struggled to keep the flame of faith alive in dangerous and difficult circumstances. St. Oliver Plunkett, the martyred archbishop of Armagh, is the most famous example of a host of courageous sons and daughters of Ireland who were willing to lay down their lives out of fidelity to the Gospel. After Catholic Emancipation, the Church was free to grow once more. Families and countless individuals who had preserved the faith in times of trial became the catalyst for the great resurgence of Irish Catholicism in the nineteenth century.

The Church provided education, especially for the poor, and this was to make a major contribution to Irish society. Among the fruits of the new Catholic schools was a rise in vocations: generations of missionary priests, sisters and brothers left their homeland to serve in every continent, especially in the English-speaking world. They were remarkable not only for their great numbers, but for the strength of their faith and the steadfastness of their pastoral commitment. Many dioceses, especially in Africa, America and Australia, benefited from the presence of Irish clergy and religious who preached the Gospel and established parishes, schools and universities, clinics and hospitals that served both Catholics and the community at large, with particular attention to the needs of the poor.

In almost every family in Ireland, there has been someone - a son or a daughter, an aunt or an uncle - who has given his or her life to the Church. Irish families rightly esteem and cherish their loved ones who have dedicated their lives to Christ, sharing the gift of faith with others, and putting that faith into action in loving service of God and neighbour.

4. In recent decades, however, the Church in your country has had to confront new and serious challenges to the faith arising from the rapid transformation and secularisation of Irish society. Fast-paced social change has occurred, often adversely affecting people's traditional adherence to Catholic teaching and values. All too often, the sacramental and devotional practices that sustain faith and enable it to grow, such as frequent confession, daily prayer and annual retreats, were neglected. Significant too was the tendency during this period, also on the part of priests and religious, to adopt ways of thinking and assessing secular realities without sufficient reference to the Gospel. The programme of renewal proposed by the Vatican Council II was sometimes misinterpreted and indeed, in the light of the profound social changes that were taking place, it was far from easy to know how best to implement it. In particular, there was a well-intentioned but misguided tendency to avoid penal approaches to canonically irregular situations. It is in this overall context that we must try to understand the disturbing problem of child sexual abuse, which has contributed in no small measure to the weakening of faith and the loss of respect for the Church and her teachings.

Only by examining carefully the many elements that gave rise to the present crisis can a clear-sighted diagnosis of its causes be undertaken and effective remedies be found. Certainly, among the contributing factors we can include: inadequate procedures for determining the suitability of candidates for the priesthood and the religious life; insufficient human, moral, intellectual and spiritual formation in seminaries and novitiates; a tendency in society to favour the clergy and other authority figures; and a misplaced concern for the reputation of the Church and the avoidance of scandal, resulting in failure to apply existing canonical penalties and to safeguard the dignity of every person. Urgent action is needed to address these factors, which have had such tragic consequences in the lives of victims and their families, and have obscured the light of the Gospel to a degree that not even centuries of persecution succeeded in doing.

5. On several occasions since my election to the See of Peter, I have met with victims of sexual abuse, as indeed I am ready to do in the future. I have sat with them, I have listened to their stories, I have acknowledged their suffering, and I have prayed with them and for them. Earlier in my pontificate, in my concern to address this matter, I asked the bishops of Ireland, "to establish the truth of what happened in the past, to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent it from occurring again, to ensure that the principles of justice are fully respected, and above all, to bring healing to the victims and to all those affected by these egregious crimes".

With this Letter, I wish to exhort all of you, as God's people in Ireland, to reflect on the wounds inflicted on Christ's body, the sometimes painful remedies needed to bind and heal them, and the need for unity, charity and mutual support in the long-term process of restoration and ecclesial renewal. I now turn to you with words that come from my heart, and I wish to speak to each of you individually and to all of you as brothers and sisters in the Lord.

6. To the victims of abuse and their families

You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry. I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured. Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity has been violated. Many of you found that, when you were courageous enough to speak of what happened to you, no one would listen. Those of you who were abused in residential institutions must have felt that there was no escape from your sufferings. It is understandable that you find it hard to forgive or be reconciled with the Church. In her name, I openly express the shame and remorse that we all feel. At the same time, I ask you not to lose hope. It is in the communion of the Church that we encounter the person of Jesus Christ, who was Himself a victim of injustice and sin. Like you, He still bears the wounds of His own unjust suffering. He understands the depths of your pain and its enduring effect upon your lives and your relationships, including your relationship with the Church.

I know some of you find it difficult even to enter the doors of a church after all that has occurred. Yet Christ's own wounds, transformed by His redemptive sufferings, are the very means by which the power of evil is broken and we are reborn to life and hope. I believe deeply in the healing power of his self-sacrificing love - even in the darkest and most hopeless situations - to bring liberation and the promise of a new beginning.

Speaking to you as a pastor concerned for the good of all God's children, I humbly ask you to consider what I have said. I pray that, by drawing nearer to Christ and by participating in the life of His Church - a Church purified by penance and renewed in pastoral charity - you will come to rediscover Christ's infinite love for each one of you. I am confident that in this way you will be able to find reconciliation, deep inner healing and peace.

7. To priests and religious who have abused children

You betrayed the trust that was placed in you by innocent young people and their parents, and you must answer for it before Almighty God and before properly constituted tribunals. You have forfeited the esteem of the people of Ireland and brought shame and dishonour upon your confreres. Those of you who are priests violated the sanctity of the sacrament of Holy Orders in which Christ makes Himself present in us and in our actions. Together with the immense harm done to victims, great damage has been done to the Church and to the public perception of the priesthood and religious life.

I urge you to examine your conscience, take responsibility for the sins you have committed, and humbly express your sorrow. Sincere repentance opens the door to God's forgiveness and the grace of true amendment.

By offering prayers and penances for those you have wronged, you should seek to atone personally for your actions. Christ's redeeming sacrifice has the power to forgive even the gravest of sins, and to bring forth good from even the most terrible evil. At the same time, God's justice summons us to give an account of our actions and to conceal nothing. Openly acknowledge your guilt, submit yourselves to the demands of justice, but do not despair of God's mercy.

8. To parents

You have been deeply shocked to learn of the terrible things that took place in what ought to be the safest and most secure environment of all. In today's world it is not easy to build a home and to bring up children. They deserve to grow up in security, loved and cherished, with a strong sense of their identity and worth. They have a right to be educated in authentic moral values rooted in the dignity of the human person, to be inspired by the truth of our Catholic faith and to learn ways of behaving and acting that lead to healthy self-esteem and lasting happiness. This noble but demanding task is entrusted in the first place to you, their parents. I urge you to play your part in ensuring the best possible care of children, both at home and in society as a whole, while the Church, for her part, continues to implement the measures adopted in recent years to protect young people in parish and school environments. As you carry out your vital responsibilities, be assured that I remain close to you and I offer you the support of my prayers.

9. To the children and young people of Ireland

I wish to offer you a particular word of encouragement. Your experience of the Church is very different from that of your parents and grandparents. The world has changed greatly since they were your age. Yet all people, in every generation, are called to travel the same path through life, whatever their circumstances may be. We are all scandalised by the sins and failures of some of the Church's members, particularly those who were chosen especially to guide and serve young people. But it is in the Church that you will find Jesus Christ, Who is the same yesterday, today and for ever. He loves you and He has offered himself on the cross for you. Seek a personal relationship with Him within the communion of His Church, for He will never betray your trust! He alone can satisfy your deepest longings and give your lives their fullest meaning by directing them to the service of others. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and His goodness, and shelter the flame of faith in your heart. Together with your fellow Catholics in Ireland, I look to you to be faithful disciples of our Lord and to bring your much-needed enthusiasm and idealism to the rebuilding and renewal of our beloved Church.

10. To the priests and religious of Ireland

All of us are suffering as a result of the sins of our confreres who betrayed a sacred trust or failed to deal justly and responsibly with allegations of abuse. In view of the outrage and indignation which this has provoked, not only among the lay faithful but among yourselves and your religious communities, many of you feel personally discouraged, even abandoned. I am also aware that in some people's eyes you are tainted by association, and viewed as if you were somehow responsible for the misdeeds of others. At this painful time, I want to acknowledge the dedication of your priestly and religious lives and apostolates, and I invite you to reaffirm your faith in Christ, your love of His Church and your confidence in the Gospel's promise of redemption, forgiveness and interior renewal. In this way, you will demonstrate for all to see that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.

I know that many of you are disappointed, bewildered and angered by the way these matters have been handled by some of your superiors. Yet, it is essential that you co-operate closely with those in authority and help to ensure that the measures adopted to respond to the crisis will be truly evangelical, just and effective. Above all, I urge you to become ever more clearly men and women of prayer, courageously following the path of conversion, purification and reconciliation. In this way, the Church in Ireland will draw new life and vitality from your witness to the Lord's redeeming power made visible in your lives.

11. To my brother bishops

It cannot be denied that some of you and your predecessors failed, at times grievously, to apply the long-established norms of canon law to the crime of child abuse. Serious mistakes were made in responding to allegations. I recognise how difficult it was to grasp the extent and complexity of the problem, to obtain reliable information and to make the right decisions in the light of conflicting expert advice. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that grave errors of judgement were made and failures of leadership occurred. All this has seriously undermined your credibility and effectiveness. I appreciate the efforts you have made to remedy past mistakes and to guarantee that they do not happen again. Besides fully implementing the norms of canon law in addressing cases of child abuse, continue to co-operate with the civil authorities in their area of competence. Clearly, religious superiors should do likewise. They too have taken part in recent discussions here in Rome with a view to establishing a clear and consistent approach to these matters. It is imperative that the child safety norms of the Church in Ireland be continually revised and updated and that they be applied fully and impartially in conformity with canon law.

Only decisive action carried out with complete honesty and transparency will restore the respect and good will of the Irish people towards the Church to which we have consecrated our lives. This must arise, first and foremost, from your own self-examination, inner purification and spiritual renewal. The Irish people rightly expect you to be men of God, to be holy, to live simply, to pursue personal conversion daily. For them, in the words of St. Augustine, you are a bishop; yet with them you are called to be a follower of Christ. I therefore exhort you to renew your sense of accountability before God, to grow in solidarity with your people and to deepen your pastoral concern for all the members of your flock. In particular, I ask you to be attentive to the spiritual and moral lives of each one of your priests. Set them an example by your own lives, be close to them, listen to their concerns, offer them encouragement at this difficult time and stir up the flame of their love for Christ and their commitment to the service of their brothers and sisters.

The lay faithful, too, should be encouraged to play their proper part in the life of the Church. See that they are formed in such a way that they can offer an articulate and convincing account of the Gospel in the midst of modern society and cooperate more fully in the Church's life and mission. This in turn will help you once again become credible leaders and witnesses to the redeeming truth of Christ.

12. To all the faithful of Ireland

A young person's experience of the Church should always bear fruit in a personal and life-giving encounter with Jesus Christ within a loving, nourishing community. In this environment, young people should be encouraged to grow to their full human and spiritual stature, to aspire to high ideals of holiness, charity and truth, and to draw inspiration from the riches of a great religious and cultural tradition. In our increasingly secularised society, where even we Christians often find it difficult to speak of the transcendent dimension of our existence, we need to find new ways to pass on to young people the beauty and richness of friendship with Jesus Christ in the communion of His Church. In confronting the present crisis, measures to deal justly with individual crimes are essential, yet on their own they are not enough: a new vision is needed, to inspire present and future generations to treasure the gift of our common faith. By treading the path marked out by the Gospel, by observing the commandments and by conforming your lives ever more closely to the figure of Jesus Christ, you will surely experience the profound renewal that is so urgently needed at this time. I invite you all to persevere along this path.

13. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is out of deep concern for all of you at this painful time in which the fragility of the human condition has been so starkly revealed that I have wished to offer these words of encouragement and support. I hope that you will receive them as a sign of my spiritual closeness and my confidence in your ability to respond to the challenges of the present hour by drawing renewed inspiration and strength from Ireland's noble traditions of fidelity to the Gospel, perseverance in the faith and steadfastness in the pursuit of holiness. In solidarity with all of you, I am praying earnestly that, by God's grace, the wounds afflicting so many individuals and families may be healed and that the Church in Ireland may experience a season of rebirth and spiritual renewal.

14.I now wish to propose to you some concrete initiatives to address the situation.

At the conclusion of my meeting with the Irish bishops, I asked that Lent this year be set aside as a time to pray for an outpouring of God's mercy and the Holy Spirit's gifts of holiness and strength upon the Church in your country. I now invite all of you to devote your Friday penances, for a period of one year, between now and Easter 2011, to this intention. I ask you to offer up your fasting, your prayer, your reading of Scripture and your works of mercy in order to obtain the grace of healing and renewal for the Church in Ireland. I encourage you to discover anew the Sacrament of Reconciliation and to avail yourselves more frequently of the transforming power of its grace.

Particular attention should also be given to Eucharistic adoration, and in every diocese there should be churches or chapels specifically devoted to this purpose. I ask parishes, seminaries, religious houses and monasteries to organise periods of Eucharistic adoration, so that all have an opportunity to take part. Through intense prayer before the real presence of the Lord, you can make reparation for the sins of abuse that have done so much harm, at the same time imploring the grace of renewed strength and a deeper sense of mission on the part of all bishops, priests, religious and lay faithful.

I am confident that this programme will lead to a rebirth of the Church in Ireland in the fullness of God's own truth, for it is the truth that sets us free.

Furthermore, having consulted and prayed about the matter, I intend to hold an Apostolic Visitation of certain dioceses in Ireland, as well as seminaries and religious congregations. Arrangements for the Visitation, which is intended to assist the local Church on her path of renewal, will be made in co-operation with the competent offices of the Roman Curia and the Irish Episcopal Conference. The details will be announced in due course.

I also propose that a nationwide Mission be held for all bishops, priests and religious. It is my hope that, by drawing on the expertise of experienced preachers and retreat-givers from Ireland and from elsewhere, and by exploring anew the conciliar documents, the liturgical rites of ordination and profession, and recent pontifical teaching, you will come to a more profound appreciation of your respective vocations, so as to rediscover the roots of your faith in Jesus Christ and to drink deeply from the springs of living water that he offers you through His Church.

In this Year for Priests, I commend to you most particularly the figure of St. John Mary Vianney, who had such a rich understanding of the mystery of the priesthood. "The priest", he wrote, "holds the key to the treasures of heaven: it is he who opens the door: he is the steward of the good Lord; the administrator of His goods". The Cure d'Ars understood well how greatly blessed a community is when served by a good and holy priest: "A good shepherd, a pastor after God's heart, is the greatest treasure which the good Lord can grant to a parish, and one of the most precious gifts of divine mercy". Through the intercession of St. John Mary Vianney, may the priesthood in Ireland be revitalised, and may the whole Church in Ireland grow in appreciation for the great gift of the priestly ministry.

I take this opportunity to thank in anticipation all those who will be involved in the work of organising the Apostolic Visitation and the Mission, as well as the many men and women throughout Ireland already working for the safety of children in church environments. Since the time when the gravity and extent of the problem of child sexual abuse in Catholic institutions first began to be fully grasped, the Church has done an immense amount of work in many parts of the world in order to address and remedy it. While no effort should be spared in improving and updating existing procedures, I am encouraged by the fact that the current safeguarding practices adopted by local Churches are being seen, in some parts of the world, as a model for other institutions to follow.

I wish to conclude this Letter with a special Prayer for the Church in Ireland, which I send to you with the care of a father for his children and with the affection of a fellow Christian, scandalised and hurt by what has occurred in our beloved Church. As you make use of this prayer in your families, parishes and communities, may the Blessed Virgin Mary protect and guide each of you to a closer union with her Son, crucified and risen. With great affection and unswerving confidence in God's promises, I cordially impart to all of you my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of strength and peace in the Lord.

From the Vatican, 19 March 2010, on the Solemnity of St. Joseph

Prayer for the Church in Ireland

God of our fathers, renew us in the faith which is our life and salvation, the hope which promises forgiveness and interior renewal, the charity which purifies and opens our hearts to love you, and in you, each of our brothers and sisters.

Lord Jesus Christ, may the Church in Ireland renew her age-old commitment to the education of our young people in the way of truth and goodness, holiness and generous service to society.

Holy Spirit, comforter, advocate and guide, inspire a new springtime of holiness and apostolic zeal for the Church in Ireland.

May our sorrow and our tears, our sincere effort to redress past wrongs, and our firm purpose of amendment bear an abundant harvest of grace for the deepening of the faith in our families, parishes, schools and communities, for the spiritual progress of Irish society, and the growth of charity, justice, joy and peace within the whole human family.

To you, Triune God, confident in the loving protection of Mary, Queen of Ireland, our Mother, and of St. Patrick, St. Brigid and all the saints, do we entrust ourselves, our children, and the needs of the Church in Ireland.

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“The vow of celibacy is a matter of keeping one's word to Christ and the Church. a duty and a proof of the priest's inner maturity; it is the expression of his personal dignity.” Pope John Paul II

Time to Choose............

2010-02-18T13:47:00.003Z

I love the readings of Lent for this very reason: they are stark! Not a single one is left in any doubt as to what is expected of them if they simply read the Mass readings of the day.

Todays message? Choose Life or Death. There is no half way choice. There is no picking or choosing what part of each we may like to take on board so that we won't be discommoded too much from our comfort zone. It is a choice of acceptance or rejection and this is why so called cafeteria catholics make such bad role models. Either we accept the Catholic message and all that it contains and demands or we reject it and all it contains and demands. That choice is made on the fundamental principle of an acceptance or rejection of Christ himself.

I am suddenly reminded of all the hoo haa there was over Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of the Christ' and the reviewers giving it a thumbs down becuase of anti-semitism, excess violence etc etc etc the list was endless. They repeated time and time again that they had a problem with the Passion and all it contained. In reality they did not have a problem with the Passion; they had a problem with the Christ. There is not one body out there who will tell me that the Passion of the Christ is the most gorey or shocking film they have laid eyes on, but countless will agree that never have that seen such a film that disturbs the conscience so much. Again the problem is with the Christ and that problem cannot be resolved until we speak to the Christ from the depths of our hearts. The season of Lent invites us to do just that, to take time to bend a knee (or two) and open our hearts to God..........

If you, like me, are commenting on how quickly Lent has followed Advent this year and how it seems like no time ago when we were preparing for the feast of the Birth of Christ then be very glad that our Church gives us ample opportunities to convert, reconvert and continue our conversion throughout the year. It seems like the constant call of God is one of conversion and return. Have we responded as we should?????

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Lenten Resolutions

2010-02-17T19:19:00.002Z

My resolutions revolve about the three power points of prayer, penance and alms giving. The first two are very straight forward but the third is one that needs a little expansion.

Just what is alms giving? Is it a monetary contribution to some good cause? Yes and at the same time it is much much bigger than this. It is a service that has its roots in the social doctrine of the Church which says "Man should not consider his external possessions as his own but as common to all, so as to share them without difficulty when others are in need." The easiest way to satisfy this ideal is to make a monetary contribution to some worthy cause and in doing so is a most commendable action. Yet Psalm 40 verse 2 states "Blessed is he that considers the needy and the poor" not blessed is he who gives to the needs and the poor. It is so easy to give and forget but to consider and then give and consider again takes a lot more effort and usually results in the giving of self in response to the needs of those who are needy and poor.

In the light of the above and having given some thought to what one should do I have decided upon the following:

Penance:

Sugar & snacks gone. Focus only on the main meal of the day.

Prayer:

Daily - Mass, Morning & Evening Prayer of the Divine Office, Holy Rosary, Spiritual Reading

Weekly - Confession (Thursdays) Daily Visit to Blessed Sacrament maybe for Night Prayer.

Alms Giving:

Regular contribution to the Trocaire Box and offering of personal help to the Church / St Vincent De Paul. Perhaps once again offer to bring Holy Communion to the sick?

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Ash Wednesday 2010

2010-02-17T14:59:00.007Z

No matter how well I think I anticipate the arrival of Ash Wednesday each year, it always comes and catches me short! Only this morning I rose went to the kitchen and in the usual manner boiled the kettle placed a teabag in the cup, poured in the boiling water waited for the tea to 'draw' added the usual amount of milk and my spoon of sugar. A perfect way to start the day. Or so I thought......... I had completely forgotten that a little penance was part of the deal.

Only then was I reminded by my dear wife that it is Ash Wednesday. The I remembered 'Oh yeah! no sugar.........'. I was caught short and the prospect of having tea without sugar with no preparation for the event was too much for me. I fumbled about for an excuse and said well it doesn't start until we receive the ashes...... I thought I was doing well until one of my kids then said "Well in that case hand me the bag of 'Jelly Babies' and we will finish them off now. We are getting our ashes in school today after lunch." Case closed and I was found guilty.

The wisdom of kids huh??? Put me in my place and looking back I feel a little awkward now that I tried to excuse myself out of my penance from the off! So I had my sour tea which sat very well in line with the expression on my face! (Don't worry I do know what today's Gospel says to me about that too!!!)

After I had dropped the kids to school, I set out to Newbridge College for Confession and 10am Mass. That was an experience indeed! If you're living in Ireland at the present time and are in any way committed to the Catholic faith you will be finding these times tough will the talk of the sex abuse scandal and the limbic existence of the Roman Catholic Church here. One would be forgiven for thinking that "not even a good man was left" from what we are hearing from the printed and transmitted media. At 10mins to go before Mass started, the Church began to fill with an incoming tide of faithful, faithful of all ages to the point where 7/8ths of the Church was filled. Indeed a most impressive sight.

All I could think to myself was why, when there is so much of a display of popular piety shown throughout the country today and indeed on many a normal weekday does our media continuously ignore the outpouring of devotion?? It is very true that the Church in Ireland has given it's faithful every reason to leave. Yet, almost 70% of our population choose to remain faithful, with weekly Mass attendance held at 46 per cent while monthly attendance is 65 per cent. Why? Doesn't that bear out St Augustine's comment that our hearts are restless until they rest in God?

There are great displays of hope today all over the country. Folks are sporting the ashes reminding themselves and others who behold them of the importance of looking at self, challenging self, correcting self and restoring self through the grace of God which of course is always freely given. When I left the Church and drove through the streets, it was very hard to see many of the marked about the town as they dissolved into the greater populus. They went out, the few into the many; not like water into acid, which reduces its effectiveness, but like yeast into the dough that gives a lift to the entire batch. We pray for the effectiveness of their brave example.

And how do we sum up what is expected of us? We have today's Gospel to remind us of the three basic 'to do's' during the lenten season; those of prayer, fasting and alms giving that, by being so pleasing to God, cover a multitude of sins. But how to behave?? How should we be seen by others during this time? We are told by Christ in today's Gospel that we are not to trumpet these actions before others but must have recourse to them in secret.

What are we to do to show others that we wish to take Lent seriously after the ashes have been washed away? Well, we have the words of St Clement, Pope, to spell out exactly how we should behave during this time of grace and more importantly, after the season is over when he exhorts us to "be humble in mind, putting aside all arrogance, pride and foolish anger." This is after all the reason for the season.

Fergal

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A little 'wisdom' before we enter the Lenten Season

2010-02-15T12:21:00.004Z

On this Monday of the week where we will once again gather to have blessed Ashes placed on our foreheads as a sign of repentance, the thought of today is very much centred on 'Wisdom' the person and 'wisdom' the gift.

As I was perusing the Office of Readings for today, Monday, the readings spoke on this very topic. The to my joy so did the first reading from St James during the Liturgy of the Word in Holy Mass. Great when there is such unity in the daily readings of the Church.

Wisdom is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit given of course at Confirmation, but matured during life.

St Bernard tell us to "Look for wisdom while it can still be found. Call for it while it is near."

If there is any one of you who needs wisdom, he must ask God, who gives to all freely and ungrudgingly; it will be given to him. But he must ask with faith, and no trace of doubt...

A timely topic one would say as we give a little thought to the upcoming Holy Season of repentance.

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Recession + We can't afford to pay them = Family time is now a good thing!

2009-07-04T13:31:00.004+01:00

I had a smile to myself when i read the recent blurb coming from BT (British Telecom) in the light if encredible losses over the first quarter of over £1 billion. The answer? Read for yourself.....

the following is taken from Sky News:

BT employees have been offered the chance of 12 month holidays if they agree to huge pay cuts, the company said.

One option available to staff is taking a year off with a 75% drop in salary, in return for receiving the remainder of their wages as an up-front payment, said a spokesman.

BT, the former state telecom company, is one of the UK's largest private employers with more than 100,000 staff.

But it has been hit by the economic downturn and posted a £1.3billion loss for the first three months of the year.

A BT spokesman confirmed that staff had also been offered a one-off payment of £1,000 if they agree to go part-time.

Parents will also have the opportunity to restrict their hours to school term times to allow them to spend time with their children, he said.

"BT is known for it's progressive human resources policies with flexible working," said a BT spokesman.

"Being one of the largest employers in the UK, I think this is an extremely progressive way of managing costs during a recessions, rather than making redundancies."

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“The vow of celibacy is a matter of keeping one's word to Christ and the Church, a duty and a proof of the priest's inner maturity; it is the expression of his personal dignity.” Pope John Paul II

Everyday Catholic 't'raditions

2009-07-02T11:37:00.003+01:00

On my way home from Mass this morning we were met by an oncoming funeral cortege where those who knew and loved the deceased followed the hearse on foot. It is not unusual in Ireland to see this wonderful display of love, but it is less likely to meet it in the urban areas of the country. On the opposite side of the road, cars slowed down as they approached the cortege and eventually stopped until the Hearse passed by. Only then did they return to motion. I was very moved by this as it reminded me of my days in Athlone where this was a regular occurance. More over than not, during a visit to Athlone we would bet met by a funeral slowly winding it way towards the Parish Church. During the ordinary time of our existance which was spent in Dublin, this was not so much a custom.

I was only too delighted to be able to slow and stop and as the hearse passed by to bless myself and utter the prayer "Eternal rest grant unto this deceased, O Lord and may perpetual light shine upon them." Simple but profound. I can only imagine that I was seen making the sign of the cross by those in the funeral cortege and just perhaps it brought one a comfort to see a sign of respect being offered by one who had no idea of who the deceased was. Such a little gesture that speaks so much. To see a line of cars come to a stop and then individually wait for the passing by was very profound indeed and revealed to me just how deep the little Catholic traditions are ingrained in the Irish psyche.

As I pulled away and gained speed, I began to think of all the little things we could be doing as Catholics that unite us to Heaven for but a brief moment in the course of a busy day and had a quick mental list made up of what I do by myself or with my wife and kids in public or at home that is exclusively a Catholic tradition. Ok so here is my list:

1. We use Holy Water regularly and have a font by the front door.

2. We say Grace before meals as a family at dinner time.

3. We pause for prayer at the striking of the Angelus, usually at 6pm.

4. We bless ourselves when passing a Catholic Church.

5. We bless ourselves when passing a graveyard and pray for the enternal rest of those interred there and for all the faithful departed.

6. We observe meatless Fridays.

7. There is an image of the Sacred Heart and a statur of Our Lady in our living room.

8. We have our annual blessed Palm branches scattered about the house over pictures and door frames.

9. We gather as a family and pray evening prayers for special occassions.

9. When in the Church we bow to the Altar and genuflect towards the Tabernacle.

10. Before we leave the Church we always visit the Altar of Our Lady and pray a Hail Mary.

Well I have to admit these are things I insist on with my kids and remind them to do regularly. I am very much aware than some may see these external manifestations as show and am always reminded of the parable of the tax collecter and the Pharisee. Then again I am reminded through the same parable, that it was God who saw the ultimate reason for the action and He knows our motivations. This is really all that matters. The love of God should always by the origin of all our tribute.

Anyway I am urging any of you who may stumble across this little meander to reconsider taking up some of our everyday Catholic traditions and practice them for the love of God. Remember that something that is repeated over 20 times becomes a habit. For other Catholic traditions visit this page.

Make a habit of showing your love for God in the little things that are exclusively ours!

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England Praises Catholic Education, Ireland Tries To Demolish It.

2009-07-01T16:16:00.004+01:00

Ok! It's time to dish out the wonderful "Fit For Mission - Schools" documents to all involved in Catholic education here in this country. I am sick to the back teeth of the continued criticism of the Catholic Church's role in education in Ireland. There is a prevailing attitude that all religious run schools should be nationalised and made either non-denominational or muti-denominational. The big push is on for secular education for all.

Big use is being made of the Ryan Report which highlights horrific stories of every type of abuse imaginable that took place in religious run schools from the 1940's - 1980's. Our own Bishops have discussed the role of Catholic schools in Irish society in the wake of the of the report. There have been calls from politicians and in the media for the Catholic Church to be removed from the provision of primary education. There have been scandalous statements from Politicians involving trust issues about enrolling your child into Catholic schools.

There is nothing positive about Catholic education in Ireland in the news these days. Now compare that mind set with the following:

We read the following from ICN, Independent Catholic News:

The Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Rt Hon Ed Balls MP, paid tribute Catholic schools at the CESEW annual Parliamentary Reception last Wednesday.

He joined headteachers, principals of Catholic sixth form colleges, diocesan officers, MPs, Peers and other friends of Catholic education to celebrate the success of so many Catholic schools and colleges in providing an excellent education for more than 800,000 children, young people and mature adults in England and Wales. Guests also expressed their thanks to Archbishop Vincent Nichols, the former Chairman of CESEW and welcomed new Chairman Bishop Malcolm McMahon.

The Secretary of State congratulated Catholic schools on “a commitment to standards but also a commitment to wellbeing, to supporting the wider cultural and spiritual and moral development of children” noting that these schools “disproportionately take children from more disadvantaged backgrounds than the average, disproportionately take children with greater ethnic diversity than the average, and consistently achieve results which are above average”.

Mr Balls also praised the contribution of Catholic schools to community cohesion and citizenship, saying that “many of our Catholic schools are at the cutting edge of promoting community cohesion and we have a lot to learn from those schools”. He went on to thank CESEW for their "strong support" noting that "We’ve learned a lot from the Catholic Church and the approach of the CES to education. I value this relationship and I look forward to working with you more in the years to come."

In his first speech as CESEW Chairman, Bishop Malcolm McMahon described his new role as “a great joy and a great challenge” and reflected on the many gifts Catholic education in particular can offer the world of education in general, saying that it was time for Catholics to “step forward”. Seeking to define the ethos that makes Catholic schools so special, Bishop Malcolm said that Catholic education can speak a “word of truth” and a “word of grace”, teaching the world to “seek goodness”.

Acting as host, MP Jim Dobbin described the reception as “a celebration of Catholic
education in all its forms, locally, nationally and internationally” expressing his hope that the Catholic education system would continue to go “from strength to strength” saying that this would be “not just for the benefit of Catholic education but for the benefit of education in total”.

Feast of the Precious Blood - July 1st

2009-07-01T14:49:00.005+01:00

Today, the 1st of July, markes the feast of the Precious Blood of Jesus in the universal Church and here in Ireland it is also the Memoria of St Oliver Plukett. It is the beginning of the month dedicated to the Blood of Ch
rist.

Whenever I hear of this Feast I immediately think of that wonderful line in the Adoro Te written by St Thomas Aquinas where he describes Christ as the 'Pie Pelicane', the Good Pelican. This is a most inspiring image of Christ and the care He has for us His children.

One of the lovely devotions that members of Opus Dei are encouraged to practice is the recitation of the Adoro Te Devote on Thursdays in honours of the most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar and it was exactly here that I, for the first time, came to understand the significance of the image of the pelican as an image of the nourishing Christ.

I can also remember that the pelican was the symbol that the Blood Transfusion Board in Ireland used to advertise its office. In fact I remember my father wearing a tiny little pin in the shape of a blood drop with a white pelican on it. I often wondered what it stood for as a young fella and only in later life did I find out. That is a tribute to this kind of symbolism. It strikes you and stirs up an interest. It does not leave you knowledgeless, but encourages you to think and wonder. It leaves a mysterious impression and this impression remains in the mind until the mystery is solved. Today, as you see, they still use the image but the image of the pelican is a little more cryptic and less obvious. At least they recognised the heritage behind the logo and respected the pride of all who have worked for and donated to the service. On their website they say that "the new design was derived from celtic symbolism and its central visual embodies the pelican within a stylised blood drop."

You know one of the things I really lament these days is the severe lack of symbolism, intellectual symbolism that was so much in use in society in earlier years and thrived in the Church right down to modern times. It is gone and replaced by a vulgar exhibitionism that leaves nothing to the imagination and never engages the intellect. It is raw and rude, cheap
and crude and leaves us bereft of imagery that both builds up the intellect and at the same time reveals a deep truth or mystery. Anyway, I digress......

Back to the image of the pelican and its connection to Christ. The Medieval Bestiary states that the legend behind the bird is that as young pelicans grow, they begin to strike their parents in the face with their beaks. Though the pelican has great love for its young, it strikes back and kills them. After three days, the mother pierces her side or her breast and lets her blood fall on the dead birds, and thus revives them. Some say it is the male pelican that kills the young and revives them with his blood.

The pelican is Christ, who humanity struck by committing sin; the pelican cutting open its own breast represents Christ's death on the cross, and the shedding of his blood to revive us. The Aberdeen Bestiary adds that the hunger of the pelican signifies that "...the life of a hermit is modelled on the pelican, in that he lives on bread but does not seek to fill his stomach; he does not live to eat but eats to live."

I suppose it is not by chance that the Memorial of the Martyrdom of one of my Communion intercessors, St Oliver Plunkett is celebrated here in Ireland today. St Plunkett was the last man to suffer martyrdom for the faith at the infamous Tyburn. He was hanged, disembowelled, and quartered; the sentence was carried out before a large crowd. Plunket was beatified by Benedict XV in 1920 and canonized by Pope Paul VI on Oct. 12, 1975.

In this the year for Priests it is maybe no harm to mention that the four men responsible for his conviction and execution were 4 renegade priests who obvioulsy had an extreme dislike of St Oliver's strenuous efforts to divorce them from their erroneous ways! Along with many things, he tackled drunkenness among the clergy, writing 'Let us remove this defect from an Irish priest, and he will be a saint'. He is also credited withthe following saying "Sagairt oir is cailis chrainn/Bhi le linn Phadraig in Eirinn" [Golden Priests and wooden chalices in Ireland, in Patrick's time." and went so far as to say that in his time they had golden chalices and wooden priests. Spoken sometime in1680.

In my mind the red martyrdom of those faithful to Christ, is a continuation of the spilling, the pouring out of the blood of Christ, which keeps the seedbed of faith most fertile and gives with it the promise of great things ahead at the time of harvest. Contemplating martyrdom gives great hope to the Christian since their blood is not poured out in vain. Let us pray for Ireland whose soil is richly fertilised with the blood of those faithful.

"Sancti Oliverus Armacanus Totius Hiberniae Primas", intercede with God that He will give Ireland good and holy priests!

Cherie Blair To Launch Sea Sunday Appeal

2009-06-25T12:41:00.005+01:00

I have just read and article revealing that Cherie Blair is to launch the Apostleship of the Sea’s annual Sea Sunday appeal next week. The Apostleship of the Sea (AoS) is a Catholic charity providing practical and pastoral care to all seafarers in need, regardless of race, colour or creed.

This is a typical example of how those, with positioins of responsibility in our Catholic charities, value the culture of personality over the culture of the Creed. Reading things like this anger me. Flat and simple, they anger me and that in turn annoys me. I can think of many other fine, upstanding, Catholic stalwarts that should have been asked to do this job apart from the self professed supporter of so called women's reproductive rights which, even the cat in the street knows, is a mask for abortion and other anti-life and anti-family policies and ideals.

Here we have a woman who professes with one lung the fact that she is a Catholic and yet with the other lung professes allegiance to the culture of death. Just look at her website which I will not advertise here but which you can search for and see for yourself. This combination makes for the most foul smelling breath and the most hypocritical of speeches.

Just think of what Christ has to say about this type of personal dichotomy. In fact it is the theme of today's Gospel in Matthew 7: 21-29:

Jesus said to his disciples: 'It is not those who say to me, "Lord, Lord", who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven. When the day comes many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?" Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from me, you evil men!'

'Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what a fall it had!'

Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and his teaching made a deep impression on the people because he taught them with authority, and not like their own scribes.

Perhaps it would serve Mrs Blair well to remember that every human being, whose life begins at conception, spends the first nine months of its life in a body of water not unlike that in constitution to the sea. It is protected by this body of water, grows in this body of water, depends on this body of water and in fact ingests and moves about in this body of water that we call amniotic fluid. The fact that she shows contempt for the most vulnerable and innocent of all seafarers, rubbishes her support for this charity and brings a level of shame over this particular charity which claims to act in the name of Catholic social justice.

It is high time now that these so called Catholic agencies were called home to roost and if they are not willing to support the culture of the Creed they profess they should be closed down,and disbanded or resurrected in some lesser form that does not muddy the waters of Catholic social doctrine any further.

If your gonna wear the label, carry it properly and live up to its expectations.

Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini

"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Ecce Sacerdos Magnus

2009-06-19T16:20:00.005+01:00

"Ecce Sacerdos Magnus"

I will exercise my priesthood in order to strengthen them in theirs.

Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Looks like us Catholics were always ahead on so called green issues!

2009-06-15T11:45:00.004+01:00

I read today that the once famous Beatle Paul McCarthy has called for the human race to go without meat one day a week. Bit slow off the old mark isn't he? Perhaps he needs to be told that out of a populous of over 1 billion, quite a considerable number of Catholics still observe the meatless fast on Fridays. I know as a family, 7 of us, we observe a meatless Friday.

You know I love these moments when in the interest of the lunacy of political correctness and a pseudo-interest in green issues, a superstar unknowingly gives kudos to something that the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church has been advocating since the first century AD.

Explicit mention is made of the practice of abstaining from meat on Fridays in a document from the end of the first century A.D., the “Didache of the Apostles,” as well as by St. Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian in the third century. The perpetual tradition of the Church is clear beyond possibility of mistake on this matter.

The Friday abstinence was the universal custom from the very beginning, as Friday was dedicated to the memory of the Passion of Our Lord, as a day on which we should make a special effort to practice penance. It is in recognition of the fact that Christ suffered and died, and gave up his human flesh and life for our sins on a Friday that Catholics do not eat meat on Fridays.

By our abstinence on Friday, we recall, and participate in some small way, in the great sacrifice of Our Lord for us on that Good Friday. Moreover, by abstaining from meat, we give up what is, on the whole, the most pleasant as well as the most nourishing food, and so make satisfaction for the temporal punishment due to sin even when its guilt has been forgiven.

Now I know that some folks will be very quick to point out that the abstinence law for all Fridays of the year was relaxed and is now only an obligation on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Yes but, the obligation to carry out some form of penance on all Fridays of the year is still binding. So perhaps only this once will I counsel you to consider a meatless day of penance and make it a Friday in line with the tradition of the Church.

Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

How sweet the name of Jesus sounds!

2009-04-14T14:55:00.003+01:00

Such a beautiful meeting is presented to us today in the Gospel. Jesus calls the weeping woman by her name. This event reminds us of the words of the Prophet Isaiah in Chpt 43 verse 1 "I have called you by name: you are mine" Not only has Jesus given us the perfect prayer in the Our Father, this encounter shows us that when you fall on youre knees before the tabernacle or in that private room where the Heavenly Father can see and hear you, let your first word be 'Jesus'. You can be assured as is shown in the Gospel today that Jesus will respond calling you by your own name. The first line of one of our traditional hymns reads "How sweet the name of Jesus sounds." During the course of our daily prayers Jesus will repeat your name many times. In fact we could rewrite the above opening line of the above hymn to read: "How sweet your name to Jesus sounds."

What a wonderful way to open your prayers with the sacred name on your lips. Good time to remind ourselves of the power of this name which by the way is the only name given to mankind through which we are saved.

The Name of Jesus invoked with confidence

brings help in bodily needs, according to the promise of Christ: "In my name They shall take up serpents; and if they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay their hands upon the sick, and they shall recover". (Mark 16:17-18) In the Name of Jesus the Apostles gave strength to the lame (Acts 3:6; 9:34) and life to the dead (Acts 9:40).
It gives consolation in spiritual trials. The Name of Jesus reminds the sinner of the prodigal son's father and of the Good Samaritan; it recalls to the just the suffering and death of the innocent Lamb of God.
It protects us against Satan and his wiles, for the Devil fears the Name ofJesus, who has conquered him on the Cross.
In the Name of Jesus we obtain every blessing and grace for time and eternity, for Christ has said: "If you ask the Father anything in my name he will give it you." (John 16:23) Therefore the Church concludes all her prayers by the words: "Through Our Lord Jesus Christ", etc.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Reduce the Human Population to save wildlife!

2009-04-13T22:15:00.003+01:00

I have had the greatest of respect for this man, one who I have watched, listened to and been educated by for many years. He is a groundbreaker in so many ways.

On reading the following article I was deeply saddened by what warped logic a once great mind is now spinning as his latest crusade. Just read this:

London, April 13 (ANI): Sir David Attenborough, a prominent British broadcaster, has stressed on the need to reduce the number of people on Earth to protect wildlife in the future.

According to a report by BBC News, Attenborough has become in a line of patrons of a group seeking to cut the growth in human population.

On joining the Optimum Population Trust, he said that growth in human numbers was "frightening".

In a statement issued by the Optimum Population Trust, he is quoted as saying, "I've never seen a problem that wouldn't be easier to solve with fewer people, or harder, and ultimately impossible, with more."

Attenborough, one of the BBC's longest-standing presenters, has been making documentaries on the natural world and conservation for more than half a century.

The Trust, which accuses governments and green groups of observing a taboo on the topic, say they are delighted to have Sir David as a patron.

Founded in 1991, the trust campaigns for the UK population to decrease voluntarily by not less than 0.25 percent a year.

It has launched a "Stop at Two" online pledge to encourage couples to limit their family's size.

Other patrons include Jonathan Porritt, chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission, and Dame Jane Goodall, founder of the Jane Goodall institute. (ANI)

Well dear Mr Attenborough and those out there who share your views, the first thing I must teach you is that the entire 6 billion members of this race we call human, could all fit in an average sized Texas county.

Secondly I am delighted to report to you that we are now awaiting the birth of our sixth child. I am one of those individuals who will not be taking on board your advice.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Ireland - The Budget - My Response

2009-04-07T17:07:00.002+01:00

Well well. The dreaded budget has just been announced. I did ask the Lord to prepare me this morning to take whatever happens and grin and bear it since I have so much to be thankful for.

If I consider all my blessings in line with the fact that the Lord has always provided through providence for us I know I have nothing to fear. Our household budget now needs an adjustment and priorities need to be identified. I am ashamed to say that I am very uncomfortable right now. Once again those in the middle are the sacrificial lambs.

Big change has been announced. I have lost another €1800 or there abouts per annum. That works out at about €70 a fortnight. I have already given back just over €200 a month in the recent emergency 'readjustment' where a levy was imposed on the pension of all public service employees. Now a total figure: €6,400 in recent hard earned minimal increases and natural service increments has been taken out of my annual salary. In line with that my dear wife has seen a drastic decrease in the allowances and benefits that are payable in respect of our children. All of this as we prepare for the birth of our 6th child.

All of this can lead to a great sense of loss and helplessness most especially to those who don't have faith in God. I can't see how those with no faith can see any hope in today's announcenment and can easily fall into a sense of despair. Bad as it all is, we must remain focused and cut our cloth to suit our measure. For those of us who profess to have faith in God we have a most important message to share. The fact that there is always hope no matter how ban things seem. We simply cannot let societal changes dictate how and when we can be content, how and when we can be happy, and how we live our lives. God is in charge of the whole scenario and will not leave his children orphans nor will he leave them desolate. One thinks of Job and in fact if we are not familiar with the whole story one should read it again. Thins time slowly and with attention.

So now the focus. Let me think back to the time when those who were determined to catch Jesus out asked him whether it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not. I am sure this question is passing the minds of all of us who have been affected. How can we minimise the loss?, Do we have to give it all?, Can we do anything to prevent our giving?. At times like this it is a natural response but it is a bit of an elbow jerk reaction and indeed the Church's social teaching tells us that cheating taxes is not the answer no matter how tempted we are to do it. We need to take time and take stock of what we will continue to have and thank God for it. We need to look at what we have and decide for prudent use of our depleted, yet God given resources. We are now beginning to realise that we are not the masters of that which we have been given nor can we boast over that which we have been given. We must be thankful for it and must continue to be thankful no matter what happens. We must trust in God and turn over any sense of anxiety to Him asking him to settle us and protect us.

Lest we forget the question posed to Jesus by those of hardened heart let us look at the answer He gave. What was the response of Jesus? "Réddite ergo quæ sunt Cæsáris, Cæsári : et quæ sunt Dei, Deo". Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God, the things that are God's. And this is the answer to today's announcements.

Now that Caesar has decided to increase that which must be given in tribute to him, let us in parity increase that which is due to God. Praying and trusting that he will continue to provide for those who call upon him.

Let me finish be looking at Luke 12:22-34 which sums up exactly how we should live our lives:

And he said to his disciples: Therefore I say to you, be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat; nor for your body, what you shall put on. 23 The life is more than the meat, and the body is more than the raiment. 24 Consider the ravens, for they sow not, neither do they reap, neither have they storehouse nor barn, and God feedeth them. How much are you more valuable than they? 25 And which of you, by taking thought, can add to his stature one cubit? 26 If then ye be not able to do so much as the least thing, why are you solicitous for the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they labour not, neither do they spin. But I say to you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these. 28 Now if God clothe in this manner the grass that is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more you, O ye of little faith? 29 And seek not you what you shall eat, or what you shall drink: and be not lifted up on high. 30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek. But your Father knoweth that you have need of these things. 31 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you. 32 Fear not, little flock, for it hath pleased your Father to give you a kingdom. 33 Sell what you possess and give alms. Make to yourselves bags which grow not old, a treasure in heaven which faileth not: where no thief approacheth, nor moth corrupteth. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Jade - 2 Lessons in 1 month

2009-04-05T19:03:00.004+01:00

Folks,

I simply cannot let the weekend come to a close without reflecting on the funeral. Two thoughts have consistently crossed my mind during the whole sad affair: 1. The parable about the hiring of labourers to work in the master's vineyard at different times of the day and 2: End of life issues that so dominate the media in these times.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

How many of us thought....

2009-03-27T08:54:00.002Z

How many of us thought of the Holy Father this morning when we heard the First reading at Holy Mass? I know this reading is about the Christ but it can be applied to His Vicar on earth don't you think? Certainly he was in my mind and this reading gave great comfort if not also a little sadness.

Wisdom 2: 1.12-22

The godless say to themselves, with their misguided reasoning:

“Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man, since he annoys us
and opposes our way of life,
reproaches us for our breaches of the law
and accuses us of playing false to our upbringing.
He claims to have knowledge of God,
and calls himself a son of the Lord.
Before us he stands, a reproof to our way of thinking,
the very sight of him weighs our spirits down;
his way of life is not like other men's,
the paths he treads are unfamiliar.
In his opinion we are counterfeit;
he holds aloof from our doings as though from filth;
he proclaims the final end of the virtuous as happy
and boasts of having God for his father.
Let us see if what he says is true,
let us observe what kind of end he himself will have.
If the virtuous man is God's son, God will take his part
and rescue him from the clutches of his enemies.
Let us test him with cruelty and with torture,
and thus explore this gentleness of his
and put his endurance to the proof.
Let us condemn him to a shameful death
since he will be looked after – we have his word for it.'

This is the way they reason, but they are misled,
their malice makes them blind.
They do not know the hidden things of God,
they have no hope that holiness will be rewarded,
they can see no reward for blameless souls.

This is the word of the Lord!

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Pope to Ireland? "Come walk amongst us once more!"

2009-03-15T13:11:00.003Z

I hate to read headlines that tell us the Pope is returning to Ireland simply because I fall over myself with joy and believe them to be true immediately. I nearly always find out days later that no such visit has been spoken about or planed. You see, a visit from the Holy Father to Ireland once again is a very deep desire that I have held since 1979 when the late Servant of God Pope John Paul II visited us. Back then I was only 8 and my mother had just gone into hospital to give birth. The baby was indeed born on 29th September (the day the Pope arrived in Ireland) and he, baby Karl Paul O'Neill, lived for the three days His Holiness was here in Ireland dying only minutes after the Pope left our land. I can remember seeing John Paul II pass me by in the Popemobile along ChristChurch and he throngs of people lining the streets. I remember the cheering and the mania that went with it. Every house was festooned for the occassion. I can remember hearing that as the Holy FAther left Shannon airport he recounted how many people had come to see and hear him along his pilgrim path in Ireland. When he heard of the huge numbers that turned out he commented, "I have seen every single Irish person"!

Oh how I so long to see the Holy Father return to Ireland and every so often these headlines seem to pop up. Now I get vexed at them thinking that it is another false alarm. This time I did a little research and I can report that things are looking a little more promising this time.

With the next Eucharistic Congress planned for Dublin Ireland in 2012 and, the Peace process continuing to make so many waves across our country and further afield, and the imminent canonisation of John Henry Cardinal Newman, we see that the time is right for the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI to come and finish what John Paul II began in 1979. Of course it was the late Holy Father's wish to re-visit but from what I believe an invitation never came from Ireland. The shame of it all.

Today now I read an ever more promising atricle in the Times no less which reads as follows:

Pope to make historic visit to Britain

London (PTI): Pope Benedict XVI will undertake what would be the first papal visit to Britain in 30 years and the second by any pontiff since King Henry VIII broke with the Vatican to establish Church of England, according to sources.

However, details of the papal visit are still under discussion, but some cities being considered include London, Birmingham, Oxford, Edinburgh, Armagh and Dublin, 'The Daily Telegraph' quoted the unnamed sources as saying.

And, a senior cardinal is due to make a private trip to Britain in the summer to make preparations for the Pope's visit, which could be announced by the end of this year, the newspaper said.

It may be mentioned here that relations between the Vatican and British government have been strained following clashes over the introduction of laws enforcing homosexual equality and the Embryo Bill, which paved the way for the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos.

But, it is understood that the historic event is being timed to coincide with the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, who is on the path to becoming the first British saint in 40 years.

However, it has yet to be decided whether the Pope would travel to Britain solely for a service of beatification for Cardinal Newman or whether it would be turned into a tour of the British Isles.

A senior source in the Vatican told the newspaper that bishops in England are divided over whether the service would be conducted in Birmingham, where his remains are venerated, or in London at Westminster Cathedral or Wembley stadium.

The Pope has privately expressed an interest in travelling to Oxford, having previously visited Cambridge, and would also be likely to visit Scotland and Northern Ireland.

In a message released last week, he strongly condemned the attacks in Northern Ireland that left two British soldiers and a policeman dead as "abominable acts of terrorism".

"Apart from desecrating human life, (they) seriously endanger the ongoing peace process in Northern Ireland and risk destroying the great hopes generated by this process in the region and throughout the world," he said.

AS the voice of the Irish once called out to St Patrick, we now cry out loud to the Holy Father "Come and walk amongst us once more!"

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Priesthood?

2009-03-08T13:16:00.008Z

Two sets of statistics I read yesterday offered two very opposing views on the Priesthood.

First the Irish one which gives a wonderful view of how the Priesthood is viewed by present Priests. I am trying to track down the actual survey and if I get it I will present it here in full.

On the Irish website that was setup to celebrate the Year of Vocation (vocations.ie) the first page carries an article about parental worrues that may arise if a sibling raises the issue of Priesthood or Religious Life as a life choice.

It reads "Parents have lots of questions when a son or daughter indicates interest in serving the Lord in the full-time ministry as a priest or religious. I hope that you will find the answers to some of your question or concerns here. If you need additional information, just e-mail to me your specific questions.

Priesthood and religious life is an awesome call from God to serve his people. Not only do children need generous hearts to respond to God's call, but parents need that same generosity to support their children in their call. Many parents have a fear that the priesthood will not be a happy and fulfilling life. A recent survey shows just the opposite is true.

Parents worry: "I want my son to be fulfilled."

98% of our priests describe priesthood as life-giving.
Parents worry: "I don't want my son to be lonely."

91% of our priest report close friendships.

(& 96% with married couples is vital).
Parents worry: "I want my son to like his work."

100% of our priest say presiding at Eucharist is a great privilege,

98% love to preach,

& 100% find tending to the sick to be a profound experience.
Parents worry: "I want my son to be a man of prayer."

91% say praying over the scriptures each day is important.

Parents worry: "I don't want my son to regret his decision."

94% say they would recommend priesthood to a young man.

& 93% say they want to help foster vocations."

I don't know who ran the survey, what the sample size was or what the total survey was in aid of. I am looking for info on it.

The second one was carried in the Irish Catholic newspaper (irishcatholic.ie) which carried the results of a survey carried out amongst 800 Priests on their current attitudes to priestly life. It states that:

53% favour an end to priestly celibacy

30% admitted they had had a sexual relationship with a woman

12% stated that they are currently in a relationship with a woman.

For those who are seriously considering the Priesthood, opposing reports like the two shown above only go to make life more difficult.

Those of you reading this who are considering the Priesthood, the Diaconate or Religious Life please know that there is one here writing this who prays earnestly for you every day.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Eat so that you may always be hungry.

2009-03-08T13:15:00.001Z

This was the advice of

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

That wonderful Word "Faith"

2009-02-21T11:19:00.003Z

"Now it is impossible to please God without faith, since anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and rewards those who try to find him."

There are four types of Faith that an individual will experience throughout their lives. One is the Faith that we are born with, the innate trust in our parents and close relations. The second is trust that is earned and built up, over time and experience, much like the interest accrued on a monetary deposit in a financial institution. The third is the one that is passed on. It is the example that is laid before us of anothers faith in something that always motivates us to search for the meaning of this personal dedication. this in turn begins our journey to faith. We simply have to think back to a patriotic relative that awakened our own faith in democracy or in the fight for a just cause or of a enthusiastic teacher who helped us to have faith in the advancement of science and technology. Perhaps we can all call to mind that pious neighbour or mentor that convinced us of the need for holiness the need for God in our lives and the need of a relationship with Him. The fourth and perhpas the most important in our day is faith in God. After much time of consideration to the fourth type I can say with a good degree of certainty that it is a great grace from God, something not given to everyone but given to some in abundance. What is God's reason for this? Why give a deep faith to some a weaker faith to others and yet to some others still no faith at all? We will consider this later.

Faith - the dictionary tells us that it is trust or confidence in a person or a thing. The words faith and trust are interchangeable and will be interchanged throughout this meander. Of course the faith I wish to talk about here this morning, is the faith one proclaims to have in God. We, as human beings, have faith in so many things at present and as time goes by we learn to put our trust in many other things. Some of these things we put our faith in rewards us; others dissapoint. This is the nature of the world and of course the results of our well placed trust in certain people and things, be they good or not so good, always has the fruitful end of teaching us how to discern things we may wish to place our faith in at a later date. Such is the school of life.

We often hear that trust is difficult to build up and so easy to destroy and most of us can empathise with this statement. When we are small we have tremendous faith in our parents. A faith that in innate and incorruptable. We can say that we are born trusting and hence I would dare to say is the reason for the infants serenity. As life progresses this trust extends to our teachers although this time it is a trust that has been forged through experience infantile though it may be. Later still we learn to trust our friends and other family members with whom we become familiar and finally that trust of all trusts of one spouse in another. It may be said that we live life in 'faith' by degrees. Some of us go through life all too willing to trust all that come our way only to discover later that it was ill placed or that, much to our own hurt, those individuals did not live up to our expectations or exactly what trust is. Again lessons to be learned but this perhaps is the hardest thing to deal with because once trust is lost, it is so difficult to regain. To me, it is as if we try to rebuild trust like a broken sandcastle trying to put each individual grain of sand back into its original position.

When we think back to the feelings that faith or trust in another brings to us we are greeted with comfort and sometimes a deep emotional comfort. We are wrapped up in the certainty of the love of one who may be gone ahead of us or one who is seperated by miles, yet there is sure and certain hope waiting for us in good memories of a faithful friendship. Likewise we may find ourselves thinking over times where trust was violated which refreshes the hurt or may reopen the wound and again these memories are partnered by emotion. It boils down to this: good memories and good experiences give us an increase in certainty. whereas those on the opposite side bring hurt, confusion and sorrow. Either way the presence or lack of trust and faith in another person or thing are always encountered with feelings of intense emotion.

Let us turn our attention to the fourth type of faith - that of faith in God. Not a day goes by when I don't thank Almighty God for bestowing upon me the grace of the virtue of Faith. it has been with me

They observed the warning faithfully

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

As long as the disease lasts...........

2009-02-15T14:04:00.002Z

"As long as the disease lasts he must be unclean; and therefore he must live apart; he must live outside the camp."

I sincerely hope that the ears of all remaining 'cafeteria catholics' are open today as they attend Holy Mass and receive Holy Communion with out giving any due regard to their own state. I hope the ears of all those who see Holy Communion as their right are listening. I hope that those ordinary or extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion who refrain from refraining are having their consciences pricked.

In these days at every Mass I attend wherether it be weekday or weekend or Sunday it is usual to see all go to Communion. It is extremely rare to see a body refrain from approaching the August Sacrament. Either we have come such a long way and all are in a state of Grace as they receive or that the opposite case is true. let me reason this one out: We have a Aprish of 22,000 and the Parish provides roughly a 1 hour opportunity for confession a week. So, from what I can calculate, it is now the norm to receive without examination and distribute without question. To receive Holy Communion without any due self examination or to receive knowing that you are not in a state of Grace is an act of denial. It is an act of greed and we are no better than those who mocked Christ as he awaited his Cross in prison.

How many go well disposed? How many go in the state of Grace? How many go in mortal sin? How many go with no idea of what is happening? Only God knows. What we do know is that very few indeed refrain when they should refrain. We can excuse ignorance as God does, but a life of persistant sin with no contrition or remorse for sins committed is one that cries out for the Sacrament of Confession not for the Sacrament of the Altar.

As the Good Book asks, so should we ask ourselves "Is it thus that you repay your God O senseless and foolish people?" Deut32:6 Is this how we repay the most wonderful act of selflessness and sacrifice ever seen in the history of the world? Have we so much pride that we now feel we are entitled to everything with absolutely no effort to justify its possession?

Only since the Year of the Eucharist, 2004-2005 have I myself come to realise the importance of St Paul's words about reception of Holy Communion without proper preparation and examination. These words, first addressed to the Corinthians apply to us today. In the Year of St Paul we pray that they resound again.

Yes I have to say there have been times that I received whilst not in the state of grace. And in these times it was out of a misguided sense of the love the Lord had for me. I would say also due to a misunderstood notion of what it meant to love the Lord. And yes there were times when I let my pride block out the way I should act towards the Lord. Just as the earth is darkened during and eclipse of the sun, so is our rational behaviour during moments of pride. For these times of ignornace and pride I ask forgivness from God.

Only in recent times have I fully understood why the Church askes us to refrain from Holy Communion and indeed it is an act of Faith! To know our state in relation to Grace, to see ourselves as God sees us and to understand that we have seperated ourselves from His Grace by own own fault should be enough for every soul to seek Confession before reception of Holy Communion.

It is for exactly the same reason as the lepers were told to seperate themselves from the community. Their act of approaching the Priest seeking a diagnosis and seperating themselves from the community if leprosy was suspected, was an act of faith in the authorities of the time and through them to God, and an act of obedience to the Law prescribed.

Reception of Holy Communion

Reasons for refraining from reception

Reception with an act of perfect contrition

Spiritual Communion

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

OBAMA WATCH: It didn't take long....

2009-01-24T19:30:00.005Z

Two days and 'the river Jordan' completely changes its course and reverses on itself.

Bush may have had some grave faults but in the end fewer abortions took place during his time in office. Surely the saving of one life becuase of a policy idea is praise worthy.

President Barack Obama on Friday struck down the Bush administration’s ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide abortion information -- an inflammatory policy that has bounced in and out of law for the past quarter-century.

Obama’s move, the latest in an aggressive first week reversing contentious Bush policies, was warmly welcomed by liberal groups and denounced by abortion rights foes.

The ban has been a political football between Democratic and Republican administrations since GOP President Ronald Reagan first adopted it 1984. Democrat Bill Clinton ended the ban in 1993, but Republican George W. Bush re-instituted it in 2001 as one of his first acts in office.

“For too long, international family planning assistance has been used as a political wedge issue, the subject of a back and forth debate that has served only to divide us,” Obama said in a statement released by the White House. “I have no desire to continue this stale and fruitless debate.”

He said the ban was unnecessarily broad and undermined family planning in developing countries.

“In the coming weeks, my administration will initiate a fresh conversation on family planning, working to find areas of common ground to best meet the needs of women and families at home and around the world,” the president said.

And now for the $1,000,000 question: How can any country that wages a daily war on its most vunerable, and intends only to intensify it, expect to be graced with Peace? How can a nation like this call itself a defender of Peace?

It's lost on me.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

And now it begins.............

2009-01-22T22:03:00.002Z

Newsmax.com reprot the following interesting happening:

Pope Benedict XVI has communicated with Barack Obama twice since the Democrat won the White House — but the first message almost never got through.

The Pope telephoned Obama shortly after Election Day, but the staffer receiving the call didn’t believe it was actually the Pontiff on the line and wouldn’t put the call through.

Benedict was eventually able to get through, however, and he and the president-elect had a “cordial” conversation mainly about cultural issues, according to a source.

When the Pope brought up the subject of abortion, Obama said simply: “We agree to disagree.”

But Obama did agree with the Pope on same-sex marriage, saying marriage should be only between a man and a woman.

Benedict again contacted Obama by sending him a telegram on Tuesday shortly before presidential inauguration.

“I offer cordial good wishes, together with the assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will grant you unfailing wisdom and strength in the exercise of your high responsibilities,” the Pope stated in the telegram.

“Under your leadership, may the American people continue to find in their impressive religious and political heritage the spiritual values and ethical principles needed to cooperate in the building of a truly just and free society.”

Such a society, the Pope said, must be “marked by respect for the dignity, equality and rights of each of its members, especially the poor, the outcast and those who have no voice.”

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Ignorance

2009-01-20T19:02:00.004Z

I cannot share in your joy. I simply cannot join with you in your celebrations.

You dance, sing and clap your hands in ignorance of what is happening. And I am speaking to you Irish people. Irish people, whose ancestors placed the foundation of the family at the centre of all that they were, are celebrating this sad accession. Ok there are some Irish here that are celebrating for the right reasons i.e. they long to see gay marriage, they long to see the dismantlingof the nuclear family built on a life long committment before God between man and wife and they long for the culture of death and all of its empty promises to be available on demand.

The greater shock for me is that there are Irish out there whose ideals are the anthesis of all the above. They are celebrating too. These are the ones that are a true barometer of ignorance and it is reading 'high'.

Many Irish are applauding his achievement and are soaking up all the hype coming from the States as if it were the greatest show on earth. They call themselves pro-life, pro-family, Catholic etc. and in the same breath murmer about the historic day. I am amazed and to be honest very hurt by the prevalence of ignorance of those Irish people who rejoice in life, promote the culture of life and this day rejoice in the election of Mr Barack Obama to the American Presidency.

Not only is he a defender of abortion services, Barack Obama has defended infanticide; the killing of fully born infants who had survived a failed abortion attempt and were left in solied linen baskets to die.

I seem to be surrounded by them and cannot share in thier elation. I am amongst those I know and yet do not know them. For the first time in my life I am suffering from some type of claustrophobia. Some here are printing out ML King's 'I have a Dream' speech not because of the vision and intellegence within but simply because Obama is black. Let's get this right. What ML King called evil, Obama is calling good. One colleague is dancing and another is fiddling. Memories of Nero.

Having had friends of mine over at our house during the weekend, I was aghast to realise very quickly into the conversation about the weeks events, that in essence they knew nothing of what Obama intends to do with his power. The have no idea what he has done with the power that he has been given up to now. I am sure that even a very simple loose Google search will throw up some very sad statistics concerning his political career to date. Now that he is the chief, the boundaries of the 52 states are his playground.

Speaking of playgrounds, there was once upon a time when I remember a history teacher of mine telling us that Ireland was once called Britain's Playground. Things were tried here that were not tried in the rest of the UK simply because they despised us and we were expendable. Go through your history books lads if you don't remember.

Don't get me wrong. I have to conceed that Wednesday was indeed a historic step that many though they would not see for quite some time. The sad thing is that many do not realise that even though history is indeed being made, it is being made at the expense of the silent unborn.

By the way, shame on you American 'Catholics' whose vote helped to put this guy where he is now. That to me far outweighs and indeed exonarates any ignorance I might attribute to my fellow Iirish.

My heart is heavy today. I simply cannot share in your joy.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Praying for Christian Unity

2009-01-18T14:00:00.003Z

Lest we have forgotten exactly what it is that we are praying for this week, let us remind ourselves through these words composed by Pope Blessed John XXIII.

We therefore beg and implore Christ Our Mediator and Advocate with the Father to give all Christians the grace to recognize those marks by which His true Church is distinguished from all others, and to become its devoted sons. May God in His infinite kindness hasten the dawn of that long-awaited day of joyful, universal reconciliation. Then will all Christ’s redeemed, united in a single family, join in praising the divine Mercy, singing in joyous harmony those words of the psalmist of old: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” John XXIII: On Leo I and the Wisdom of God

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Silence is Golden!

2009-01-17T13:51:00.004Z

A new document, due for release shortly is based on a long-overdue document ordered years ago under John Paul II which sets out to give bishops a uniform set of standards in discerning and handling apparitions. We read at spiritdaily.com:

"Called a vade mecum, or "ready reference," it is an update on standards issued in 1978 by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith -- which was directed, for a long while, from 1981 until his ascension to the Throne of Peter, by Benedict XVI (then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger).

The update reportedly will advise local bishops who are faced with mystical claims to form commissions that include psychologists, theologians, and even exorcists (to evaluate potential demonic involvement in apparitions, a very necessary aspect), while suggesting that seers and others claiming supernatural contact keep a discrete silence until an investigation is complete -- if this is the wish of the local bishop, who in most cases has jurisdiction."

Looks like 'Our Lady's' audience of Medjugore'ites is going to hear less from her in the very near future thanks to the wisdom of the Church. Such a pity in that she seems to have spent that last 28 years making up for the silence she so beautifully displayed as did Her spouse Joseph throughout the Gospels.

At long last those responsible for the whole contrived phenomonen will have to put a stop to the message mill that is in operation through human hands in this sad state of affairs.

Needless to say what I report on is at present only hear say and not fact (much like those who give heed to the messages of Medjugorje) I can scarcely withold my joy.

As always the Holy Scriptures have shown, the Church has taught and the lives of the saints have atteste to the fact that the greatest 'sign' of authenticity in holiness of life or situation is obedience. In my opinion its absence is what is responsible for all the ills we see today both inside and outside of the Church.

Do you think that if I had any respect for this sham that I would be so flippant and irreverent? No way. This flippance and irreverence is directed towards all those resposible for the horrible mess.

High time thiese charlatans were told to row in, obey or disband. The Holy Father thinks so too because he has given his approval to the guidelines that effectively bind all visionaries to silence. There long have been rumors that Pope Benedict, as prefect of the congregation, had visited Medjugrje up to three times, and if it is the case as the defenders will always point out that the Holy Father once visited the 'Shrine' in Medjugorje incognito, we are now going to find out exactly what he thought of it. By the way it is interesting to note that the expected document is based on a long-overdue document ordered years ago under John Paul II. Was he really all that enthusiastic about Medjugorje after all?

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Meditation

2009-01-10T13:31:00.004Z

Thank God for the following:

Every Church is a stable,

Every Tabernacle a manger.

We enter in as shepherds and leave as the kings.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Daily Reflection with Pope John Paul II - Jan 3rd 2009

2009-01-03T15:11:00.003Z

With violence so much to the fore at the start of this New Year we take time out to listen to an excert of a delivery made by Pope John Paul II when he visited Ireland in 1979. This delivery was made in Drogheda, Co Louth which was at the time as close as the Pope could get to Northern Ireland where the security forces could assure his safety. Is is titled "The International Desire for Peace".

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Daily Reflection with Pope John Paul II - Jan 2nd 2008

2009-01-02T15:59:00.002Z

Today we listen to a short extract of John Paul's writings that was delivered in New York on October 2nd 1979. It is on the subject of Christ, Our Peace, Our Justice.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

A Timely Reminder

2009-01-02T15:29:00.002Z

We must always and everywhere pray for those on the missions. Through the intercession of St Therese may they bear much fruit and effect many souls.

We pray for all those whose blood now becomes the seed bed for the conversion of all those who do not yet know Christ.

Fides news service has released the following list of 20 priests, religious, and lay catechists who were killed while serving on Church assignments in 2008. The list is headed by Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of the Chaldean diocese of Mosul, Iraq. Fides shows eight Church workers killed in Asia (Iraq, India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Nepal); five in the Americas (Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil); five in Africa (Kenya, Guinea Conakry, Nigeria, and Congo); and two in Europe (Russia).

Fr Pedro Daniel Orellana Hidalgo, 50, killed by robbers in his room in Caracas, Venezuela January 6, 2008. A native of Caracas, for many years he had carried out pastoral activity in the Archdiocese of Cumana. Upon his return to Caracas, he was given various administrative positions and a position as a teacher. He was not working in any specific ecclesial position at the time and celebrated Mass at "Immaculate Heart of Mary" Parish in the El Rosal district. When he failed to arrive to say Mass on the 6th, which was also the anniversary of his mother's death, his family went to his house and found him dead.

Fr Jesus Reynaldo Roda, OMI (Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate), 55, shot dead in Tabawan, Philippines, on January 15, 2008 during a bungled kidnapping. The priest was in charge of a small mission station and a community of about 30 Catholics involved in programs of basic instruction and inter-religious dialogue. He was also head of the local Notre Dame Catholic School for Christian and Muslim children. A gang of 10 gun men broke into the mission chapel where Fr Jesus was saying his Rosary.

Fr Michael Kamau Ithondeka, 42, Vice-Rector of the Mathias Mulumba Senior Seminary of Tindinyo (Kenya) was killed in Nigeria on January 26, at an illegal post established by a gang of armed youth on the Nakuru-Eldama road, in Rift Valley. Fr Michael was on his way to Nakuru. Fr Kamau was born in Kiambu, near Nairobi. He entered the Minor Seminary in Molo in 1986, studying in St Augustine Seminary in 1986 and St. Mathias Mulumba. He was ordained for the Diocese of Nakuru on January 1993. From 1998-2002, Fr Kamau studied Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Institute for Biblical Studies in Rome. In 2005, he became Vice-Rector of St Mathias Mulumba Seminary.

Brother Joseph Douet, Order of Christian Brothers of Saint Gabriel, 62, was killed by robbers on April 8 in Katako, Guinea Conakry. Brother Joseph was a native of Pin-en-Mauges, France and had spent 37 years in Africa, having taught in Cholet. In 1971, he began the mission in Senegal, as a teacher, school director, and head of formation. He returned to France for serious health trouble, however as soon as he had recuperated he returned to Africa. In 1989, he was appointed Superior of the young Province of Senegal, which he served for two terms. He then moved to Guinea, where the Province of Senegal had founded two mission, in Ourous and Katako, with a literacy learning centre and agricultural school. Brother Joseph was killed in by intruders at his school, where he was alone at the time. All the other staff was outside the premises preparing for the inauguration of the new school.

Fr Brian Thorp, Mill Hill Missionary, 77, killed in Lamu, Archdiocese of Mombasa, Kenya, apparently the victim of an armed attack which occurred on the night of April 9-10. Fr Thorp was born in Bamford, Derbyshire, the fourth of five children. After a life working as a carpenter and construction worker, following the death of his youngest brother in 1967, Brian decided to reflect on his future. The following year, he entered the program for studies with the Mill Hill Missionaries. He made temporal vows in June 1970 and perpetual vows June 29, 1972. He carried out his first mission from 1973-1976 in Basankusu (in present-day Democratic Republic of Congo), where he worked on various projects for building structures for the mission. He later worked in the missions in Kenya and Uganda. In 1999, Fr Brian was named parish pastor in Lamu.

Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mossul for Chaldeans (Iraq), 65, was kidnapped on February 29, in Mosul after having celebrated the Way of the Cross, as he exited the Church of the Holy Spirit. Three persons were killed: with him two bodyguards and the driver. The Archbishop's body was found on March 13. The Apostolic Nuncio to Jordan and Iraq, Archbishop Francis Assisi Chullikat, said: "Archbishop Rahho was a man of peace and dialogue, a link between Christians and Muslims." "Archbishop Rahho took up his cross and followed the Lord Jesus, thus he contributed to bringing justice to his martyred country and to the whole world, bearing witness to the truth." Pope Benedict XVI said: "I know he had a particular fondness for the poor and the disabled. In order to offer physical and psychological care, he founded a special association called 'Joy and Charity' , with the task of helping these people and their families, many of whom learned from him not to hide these relatives and to see them in Christ. May his example sustain all Iraqis of good will, Christians and Muslims, to build peaceful coexistence founded on human fraternity and mutual respect."

Fr Mariampillai Xavier Karunaratnam, parish pastor of the church in Vannivi'laangku'lam, human rights activist and advocate of dialogue and reconciliation was killed April 20 in Ambalkulam (Diocese of Jaffna). The priest was wounded while he was in his car, in a region of heavy fighting between the military and Tamil rebels. According to reports issued by the rebel forces, he was wounded by military gunfire. Other sources report a mine attack that destroyed his vehicle. The priest was Founder and President of the North East Secretariat on Human Rights, that denounced the violence and abuse of the war and provided psychological assistance to victims of the conflict. The faithful of his parish remember him as a Pastor who was always concerned for the flock, in every circumstance, always ready to remedy their spiritual and material needs, especially for those who had lost their homes or jobs due to the conflict.

Fr Julio Cesar Mendoza Acuma, Mexican, 33, died on May 2, 2008 in Mexico City, following attacks suffered the night before in his parish residence. He was the pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, in a southern district of the Mexican capital. He was found in his bathroom, still alive, lying face down with his hands bound and his head an face covered with blood. He was taken to hospital where he died.

Fr Johnson Moyalan, 60, Salesian missionary from India, was killed in his mission on July 1, in Sirsia, Nepal, by a group of armed men. Gunmen broke in during the night forcing the gate keeper to take them to the priests' house. Assistant priest Fr Mathew Puthuppallil, tried to go for help but was stopped. The men went into the room of Fr Johnson Moyalan, shot him and ran off about 15 minutes later. The local people came running and found the missionary, shot to death by two firearms. Hindu extremists who operate in the area have often threatened Christian and Muslim communities in the area. Fr Moyalan was born in Ollur, Kerala, in 1948. He had been a Salesian since 1967, and served as parish priest in the state of Andhra Pradesh. He went to Dharan in 1996, and in 2000 moved to a new Salesian mission in Sirsia, to assist the poor, run an elementary school and a parish. In Nepal, he had taken the name of Fr John Prakash. "Fr. Johnson was a very committed priest, an excellent religious, a person with great compassion for the poor and the marginalized. In the past, at the mission in Nepal, he had worked at the then "Missio Sui Iuris" Apostolic School preparing priest-candidates for the Mission. He was also very involved in village development programs and education, beneficiaries of which were mostly non-Christians of the area - among whom were many from the tribal communities and the so-called 'untouchables.' His work in the Don Bosco School in Sirsia was appreciated by everyone." These were the words of the Apostolic Vicar of Nepal, Monsignor Anthony Sharma.

Fr Jaime Ossa Toro, Colombian, 71, from the Institute for Foreign Missions of Yarumal, was stabbed on August 13, in Medellin, in northeastern Colombia. His body was found in his room, near Emmaus Church, where he had served as a parish priest for three years. Born in Medellin (Colombia) on November 1937, he was ordained in October 1962 and was a missionary in Angola for 14 years. In 1995, he returned to Medellin. According to testimonies,he was known for his spirit of charity towards those most in need, for his sincerity, intelligence, and culture. Very well-esteemed by his faithful and brothers in the order, he was especially dedicated to promoting the participation of the laity and the youth in missionary activities.

Fr Thomas Pandippallyil, 38. On the night of August 16, several people found the Carmelite priest who was assassinated while celebrating Mass in a village. His body was found in Mosalikunta, on the road linking Lingampet to Yellareddy, in the Indian state of Andra Pradesh. A kilometer away, the moped that he used was also found. Archbishop Marampudi Joji of Hyderabad has denied any activity of "proselytism and forced conversions," given that there were only "five Catholic families" in the parish in which Fr Thomas was killed. According to the Archbishop, the crime was the result of the climate of "jealousy towards the Catholic Church," which is only guilty of having worked for the development of the poorest and most abandoned areas of the country, and committed to sustaining and helping those who are victims of violence and oppression. A native of Kerala, Diocese of Palai, Fr Pandippallyil entered the Carmelites in Chanda in 1987 and took his vows in 2002. For some time he served as Rector of the Provincial Institute and worked as an administrator in the hospital, school, and local missionary centre.

Fr Nilson José Brasiliano, 44, who was stabbed to death, was found on August 24, in the rural town of Tiete, in Parana, Brazil, along the side of the road, nearly 10 km from the larger city of Araucaria. The police arrested four men, who according to an investigation had kidnapped him in ordered to force him to hand over his bank savings.

Fr John Mark Ikpiki, 43, was killed on September 1, in Isiokolo, state of Delta, Nigeria, just a short distance from the local police station, by attackers who stole his vehicle. The priest was very well-known as the author of catechetical material and formation texts, dedicated to giving spiritual retreats and having encounters for young people. In the Diocese of Warri, he was the parish pastor of St Ambrose, Diocesan Chaplain of the Catholic Dramatic Society and Diocesan Director of the Social Communications Office, which published the diocesan paper "The Messenger of Peace." According to the testimonies of those who knew him, he was a charismatic priest who was very dedicated to his ministry.

Fr Gerardo Manuel Miranda Avalos, 45, was shot dead on September 2, as he was entering the Institute "Fray Juan de San Miguel," of which he was Director. The crime took place in the entrance of the educational facility located in downtown Los Reyes, in the Mexican state of Michoacan. He died in the hospital during the initial medical interventions. The priest was originally from Yurecuaro, Michoacan, Mexico. He was ordained a priest in 1987, and was very loved and respected by the entire region.

Fr Samuel Francis, 60, and lay volunteer worker Mercy Bahadur were found on September 22 in the village of Chota Rampur, near Dehradun, in the Diocese of Meerut in the state of Uttarakhand, northern India. Fr Samuel Francis was also known as "Swami Astheya," as he led the life of a hermit in an "ashram," or typical Hindu monastery, adapted to the Christian tradition. The lay volunteer had been collaborating for over a year with the priest, welcoming all those who visited the ashram. The Indian Bishops' Conference, said the homicide did not seem to be part of an anti-Christian hate campaign launched by radical Hindu groups, but probably was a failed robbery.

Fr Bernard Digal, 45, of the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar, in Orissa, India, was attacked on August 25 by Hindu fundamentalists, and died on October 28 in hospital, from severe head wounds. "During his life, Fr Bernard showed great determination and courage in bearing witness to Christ and dying for Him. He has died as a true Christian. Immediately following his attack, he forgave his enemies and persecutors," said Fr Mrutyunjay Digal, from the same Archdiocese and Secretary of the local Archbishop Raphael Cheenath.

Fr Otto Messmer SJ, 47, and Fr Victor Betancourt SJ, 42, were found on the evening of October 28 in their rooms in Moscow, by another Jesuit who was concerned because he had not heard from them. The double murder took place on October 27, with a difference of 15-17 hours between the killings. Russian media said a mentally-ill man had been arrested and cofessed to the crime.Fr Messmer, a Russian citizen, was born on 14 July 1961 in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Since October 13, 2002, he served as Superior of the Independent Region of Russia of the Society of Jesus. Fr Betancourt was born on 7 July 1966 in Guayaquil, Ecuador. He undertook his Jesuit training in Argentina, Ecuador, Germany and Italy. Since 2001, he had formed a part of the Russian Region. He worked in vocational ministry and was a theology professor in the St Thomas Philosophical, Theological and Historical Institute in Moscow.

Boduin Ntamenya, 52, of Goma, North Kivu, DR Congo, was killed on December 15, 2008, in the territory of Rutshuru. Boduin had worked for the Italian NGO, AVSI, for two years and took care of emergency education. He was part of a team of teachers that support and assist teachers and students in areas of conflict. He was on the way to visit a school when the car he was driving was attacked by four gunmen. He was hit in the hand and the side, but managed to continue driving for another kilometre until the jeep broke down. Boduin died before reaching hospital. He leaves his wife and six children.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

The Thank You Test

2009-01-02T14:43:00.006Z

I don't know about you but I have really noticed that there are two words missing from our current time everyday interactions that are usually much in use over the festive season. Now don't get me wrong, we have 5 kids and I am the sole earner so the pennies cannot simply be bandied about. Gift are selected carefully and thought is put behing each one. That I know is a definite fact as my wife has the distinct pleasure of looking after all the Christmas shopping (much to my delight!!)

We have distributed a lot of gifts to friends and family over the past weeks. In fact they were all stored in oour bedroom and at one stage there was no room for any coordinated movement. We had to do the TimeWarp (you know, It's just a jump to the left, And then a step to the right, With your hands on your hips, You bring your knees in tight etc...) around the bedroom to get past all the pressies. It was a joy to see that we had a message of love for so many folk.

We are now on Jan 2nd and have been in contact with most of them. We thanked them all for thier gifts and guess what I have really noticed? Not 1 of them had the courtesy to say "Thank you" for the gifts we sent to them!! That includes my parents, my sister and her family and all the really close folks that we try to remember at this time. It kinda suprises me that this is the sad reality of today. What really hits hard is the knowledge that my wife put hours of her own time into all this picking and choosing and wrapping and labelling for each and all.

Having given this some thought to this non too comforable phenomonen, there are really only threereasons I can come up with for the absence of a thankful gesture:

1. Our gifts were so incredibily crap that folk are still expecting their Christmas pressies or

2. People want to be "oohhed" and "ahhwed" by the flash factor of a darn expensive present

3. They feel their presents to us were better than our to them and so feel that the more expensive present is enough of a Thank You.

It is now very clear to me that if the gifts you give fall below each individual self imposed quality level then it does not pass the 'Thank You' test.

Wow. Is "Thank You" now a way of saying that your gift was up to our expected standard? More importantly what message does the lack of a thank you really give?

I am now beginning to see how much Christ must hurt when so few say "Thank You" to Him for what he did for us. Everything that was accomplished for us by humbling Himself to share in our humanity.

Perhaps this is one phenomonen that the death of the Celtic Tiger will also bury. Let's hope for more receptive hearts in 2009.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

E-mail from Gaza Orphanage

2009-01-01T18:34:00.001Z

(Taken from ICN: http://www.indcatholicnews.com)

Mohammed El-Ewadi is a very calm, polite, shy, and clever boy. He is an orphan living at AL AMAL Orphanage in Gaza.

Mohammed left the orphanage early in the morning, to his final exam at school. he was ready for his exam, and looking forward to the winter vacation, as he was planning to learn photography and computer drawing.

He was supposed to come back to the orphanage at 11am, as he is used to come back from school right away. We waited and waited. Mohammed did not come back. We went out looking for him everywhere, but we couldn't find him. We went to the hospital many times asking about him, the hospital was a total chaos, no one was able to help us. Finally at 7pm we were permitted to enter the Intensive Care Unit to look for Mohammed between the many unknown victims.

Yes, Mohammed was one of the many victims of the crimes committed against Gaza yesterday. He was laid unconscious on one of the beds. I have no words to describe the situation inside the ICU. I can only ask every one receives this message to pray for Mohammed and all the people inside the ICU and in Gaza.

What was Mohammed's crime?

The only fault Mohammed made was that he took his time solving the exam questions. He did not know then that these were his last moments, he was still planning to finish school and go to the university. He wanted to go to law school.

Ahmed (Mohammed's younger brother) doesn't want to believe that the one in the hospital is his brother Mohammed. He did not eat anything since yesterday morning. He is still waiting for his older brother and roommate to eat with him.

It seems that he is going to wait for too long!

Ahmed is an orphan, lost his father some years ago, yes he was living in an orphanage, but he was living with his older brother. Now Ahmed is living a new tragedy!

End of story. But the tragedy continues.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Another 'White' Christmas

2009-01-01T17:18:00.004Z

You know, we are always graced with a wonderful sight during the Christmas season. There is one bush that carries miniature white roses all year through. In December 2005 as I was finishing my chemotherapy I asked Our Blessed Lady for a sign that all would be well for me healthwise in the coming year. Our rose bush that bears miniature white roses produced three buds one of which produced a perfect white rose. I remember picking it a pressing it thinking it a wonderful sign. I still have that little white rose.

It is now December 2008 and once again those white roses have appeared this time about a dozen of them. I have a picture of one shown above jst to show you how perfect they are. They have been present on that shrub continuously since December 2005. They continue to be a source of amazement to me only as I have yet to share the little 'secret' with anyone else.

Perhaps it is a normal proliferation of blooms but I simply son't see them anywhere else at this time. To me they continue to carry a silent whisper from the Mother of God and whisper I hear loud and clear and one that continues to bring a smile to my face considering that we have been through some days of very low temperatures and some very sharp frost.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Another New Year. Welcome '09?

2009-01-01T16:45:00.003Z

Well there it is again.

Out with the old and in with the new. This is the first time I find myself not very enamoured with the thought of a 'New Year'. Perhaps this is because we have pundits who have already predicted thaat '09 is not going to be a good one economically. Perhaps it is because we go from the 31st of Dec to the 1st of Jan knowing that when we wake up there will be news of more dead in Gaza and perhaps some in Israel and God only knows how many more throughout all the other troubled parts of the world.

I find myself asking what exactly is 'New' about this year? Indeed it is welcome but its reputation has already been tarnished and its arrival for some has been a moment of concern. It is like as if 08 has gladly handed on the baton on fate to '09 whilst wishing it all the best and beating a hasty retreat into the safety of history. No more damage can be inflicted upon the reputation of '08 since it is no longer in charge. Perhaps there is nothing New as yet. Maybe the New of this year has yet to be revealed. Let us hope and pray that this is the case.

Of course these silly thoughts come from a mind that is a little further from God these days through no other fault but my own. To those devoted Catholic faithful out there this is a day to rejoice in the fact that the New Year enters time cradled in the arms of Our Blessed Lady who is "The Mother of God" and who of course is Our Mother. The simple fact that God has willed that we enter a New Year is a cause for joy. He has confidence in us and confidence in the world. Our human eyes are shielded from what it is God sees and wills the continuation of history simply becuase we have not even tried to enter the mind of God. Perhaps we have remained stagnant within our own sphere and have perhaps only worried about that that concerns 'me'.

I have to say my own bubble of pity and self concern was popped this morning when I found myself comforting a woman who has entered the New Year with one son in Prison again and another on the run whose entry to prison is inevitable. Boy was she upset yet totally confident in God's will for her and her sons. That was a lesson to me. It is true. There are always others worse off than ourselves and it is our lot to watch out for them. Perhaps what will be New in this year is the concern we have for others. For too long now we have been looking out for what is good for me and how I can continue to make it better and better. Let us turn our vision inside out and focus once again on the plights of those who are worse off in whatever way.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Daily Reflection with Pope John Paul II - Jan 1st 2009

2009-01-01T13:31:00.001Z

I have decided to add a short mp3 reflection of the the late Holy Father's writings and addresses to this blog each day over the coming year. I do it really so that I can share with you his great and very deep wisdom and in the first cast so that I can learn more of just who this great man who did much to influence me during my youth.

You can go to Google Reader and add this address http://ceilde.blogspot.com and you will be able to keep up to date with all the meditations I share with you. Do let me know what you think by sending you comments to ferg 'at' online.ie

If you don't want to subscribe to the feed, then simply click on the title of the blog entry for an mp3 download.

Yes I miss him still some days more acutely than others, but I rejoice in the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI and remain as loyal to him as I ever have been to the Vicar of Christ, Successor of Peter. Long Live the Pope!

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Suffering and Clarity

2008-12-06T17:33:00.002Z

When the Lord has given you the bread of suffering and the water of distress, he who is your teacher will hide no longer, and you will see your teacher with your own eyes. Whether you turn to right or left, your ears will hear these words behind you, 'This is the way, follow it'.

Isaiah 30:19-21

Imagine! Bread of suffering and water of distress to satisfy hunger and thirst. I suppose that only those who have suffered and have actively sought God through it all understand what this means. i could be wrong but I think it is that case. It is a beautiful verse.

I cannot understand for one moment why those who pray the Rosary daily cannot expect to live out those mysteries at some stage in their lives. Some who are so devoted to this wonderful Gospel prayer become so afraid and sad when suffering visits them. It is like they have been at school all this time and have leared nothing.

Suffering brings cleansing

Suffering brings vision

Suffering brings understanding

suffering brings focus

Suffering brings time

Suffering brings peace

Suffering brings God

Suffering highlights our faults

Suffering highlights love

Suffering highlights need

Suffering highlights charity

Suffering highlights what is important

Suffering highlights the temporal

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Virtual Advent Wreath & Calendar

2008-12-06T17:20:00.002Z

I just have to include an entry about this wonderful resource which we are using in our school. It has been created by some folks over at Catholic Ireland. It is an online interactive Advent Calendar which has a meditation, prayer and scripture reading for eaach day of the Advent season.

On each Sunday of Advent the calendar has a multimedia meditation which is truly edifying and very moving. You can view it here yourselves at http://www.ciadvent.ie/2008/wreath.php

Well done folks at Catholic Ireland!

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Stay Awake!

2008-11-30T20:00:00.002Z

On thinking about today's Gospel reading I am reminded of the times we visited Lough Derg in Co Donegal. for those of you not familiar with the place of pilgrimage, it is an island, reached by boat alone on which you stay to perform acts of atonement and penance. I visited Lough Derg on two occassions in 1987 and in 1988: once in petition for success in my Leaving Cert exams and the other time in thanksgiving.

One of the acts of penance was the night vigil where one went for a whole 48 hours without sleep, shoes and a decent meal. Black toast along with milkless, sugarless tea were the order of the stay. Of all the prescribed acts of penance the most difficult was that the lack of sleep - it was a killer: redusing some to sickness and others to tears.

So I now hear Christ calling me to stay awake! In Lough Derg it was for 48 hours, this time it is for life. Perhaps we all know that the call is not to deprive ourselves of very necessary physical sleep, but to deprive ourselves of complacency in life. Depriving ourselves of mediocrity and striving for a life lived in Christ.

Different? Yes. Less difficult? No.

As thoughts return of Lough Derg, I remember the great craic I had going around with smelling salts that I would waft gently under the noses of those who were dosing off. The heavy eyelids flung upwards like a window blind that had lost its thread!! Not only was it bad enough that I be deprived of sleep, I had to ensure that others would not succumb to temptation and steal a few winks of the lower side of 40.

So there we have it. Stay awake! Deprive yourself of the temptation to live a life by coasting along with no push forward, no energy, no vision and no aim. It will be difficult but worth it. And whilst you are guarding your own eyes from darkness, have your spiritual smelling salts on the ready and gently but firmly waft them under the noses of those who have just settled into a stretch of spiritual sleeping.

You have two jobs to do. Stay awake and help others arise from their slumber.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Stand With Confidence before the Son of Man!

2008-11-29T14:13:00.004Z

Watch yourselves! Stay Awake! Pray at all times! Stand with confidence! 4 commands / invitations issued from the mouth of Christ on this the eve of a New Year.

You know that sometimes when you are really 'tuned in' during Mass a phrase from some prayer hits you to the heart? Well, as I heard these words being proclaimed in the Gospel this morning at Holy Mass I thought to myself, "What a beautiful invitation we are given on this the last day of the Church year". In fact I was moved to make it the theme of my Advent journey. After a month of looking back, praying for, remembering and making present those who have gone before us, our thoughts are moving to preparation and penance.

It has been a very funny month, one that has been most fruitful when one expected it to be otherwise. I let a lot slip and lost focus but things became very clear. Strange. The heart of this fallen one has been stirred up again to stand up and resume the fight. A sure and certain sign that God never gives up on us even when we give up on ourselves and feel that our attempts and our efforts are boring Him. I have felt this, yes, quite acutely over the past few weeks. My attempt to live a life in Christ was run according to a timetable. Maybe it is the most effective way to make room for Christ in any given day but I felt the constraints of it all, lost confidence and took time out. Don't get me wrong, prayer and penance were still there and I frequented the sacraments although maybe not as often as I should have. Many times oover the past month I have sat at Holy Mass and, through my own most grevious fault, was not properly disposed to receive Holy Communion. I was cold yet burning switched off yet aware of the fact that the grace of God was still active even if i did not know how it was being applied. I knew that it was being poured out in abundance but again through my own fault it was not increasing within my own soul. Perhaps what I have experienced is a Purgatory of Love. A purgation of my needs and how I feed them and a refinment of who I am what I have and where I am going.

A lot has passed through my mind and heart the temperature has fluctuated seriously but the fire still burns. I am Catholic, Catholic for life to live for the greater glory of God, for the good of my soul and for the good of the souls who are in my life. I cannot change it, I will not change it, I will perish first before I renage on what it is God has made me. These difficult times are necessary, they are hard but never to be feared. They are the bigger than usual steps that we must climb.

Yes, we have a choice, we have free will but I have made my decision. I will serve! I will serve the Church I will serve God, I will serve the Word and I will serve His people.

How does one stand with confidence before the Son of Man? surely this goes against that which we should expect to do in the presence of the Son of Man. We are sinners and as the Psalm says "should bow humbly under God's mighty hand". Well to stand with confidence before the Son of Man we must first of all bow humble under His mighty hand. We cannot do one without the other. Confidence if built on humility; especially confidence before God.

Watch Yourselves!

Today also marks the 175th anniversary of the dedication of the Cathedral in Carlow, Examine your consciences

Stay Awake!

Be vigilant. Remember the words of St Peter.

Pray at all times!

Have your heart and mind set on God. See Him everywhere especially in the faces of those about you. St Therese tells us that her mind was never any more that three minutes without a thought of God. It is possible to have God in our minds and hearts after all they are made for Him. Hearts without him are like the jigsaw that has lost a single piece - not complete and set on dissapointment. Set some reminders about the place that will give you the opportunity to ponder God's presence in that moment.

Stand with Confidence!

Don't worry. Trust that God's will is being enacted in your life now. If this moment find that you are in the 'State of Grace' then rejoice and be glad. If it finds you otherwise, then plan your return to that state and with renewed confidence run to the Confessional. All that stands between this present state and the state of Grace is a single good confession. all that stands between you and a good confession is humility. Ah! bow humbly under God's mighty hand and through this you will be able to stand with Confidence before the Son of Man.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

'Loss of Christian values' led to Lisbon poll defeat

2008-08-26T21:59:00.001+01:00

THE Catholic Primate of All Ireland heaped pressure on the Government yesterday by warning that committed Christians voted against the Lisbon Treaty because they fear the European Union is becoming too secular.

The remarks, made at a political summer school, will dismay Taoiseach Brian Cowen and ministers while giving heart to militant Catholic action groups that joined forces to help defeat the June referendum.

Cardinal Sean Brady told the Humbert school in Ballina, Co Mayo, that he believed there was "unease" in the hearts and minds of committed Christians in relation to the direction being followed by the EU. But he stopped short of saying that he shared those misgivings, and pointed to some of the benefits of EU membership.

The most senior Roman Catholic churchman in Ireland called for calm and considered debate on the issues he had raised, saying that while some critics needed to open their eyes to the benefits of EU membership, others who were totally supportive of the EU had to listen to the concerns and reservations of others. There were people who were worried about the apparent loss of Christian ideas and memory in Europe, he said, and he had no doubt this was certainly a factor in the outcome of recent events.

"Ireland owes a lot to Europe and to the EU," Cardinal Brady said yesterday. "It's difficult to believe that Ireland would enjoy the peace in the North, or the economic progress in the South that we have today, without the support of the European Union."

Solidarity

He said the Roman Catholic Church had been very supportive of the ideals of the EU in the past, especially the idea of European solidarity with the poor. But it was also true that some people "are becoming uneasy about what is described as the loss of Christian values and memory in Europe".

EU policy decisions seemed frequently to be made without reference or recourse to Christian values and convictions, he added, "despite the fact that so many European citizens have religious faith and convictions".

Cardinal Brady said he was asking for calm, considered reflection to the matters he had raised. But he added: "We need a Europe that doesn't confine its debates to politics and history, but also takes into account social values, social cohesion, and the place of the family." For example, Brussels would do well to show greater respect for the views of families on educational issues, he suggested.

"I am asking that these matters be reflected upon, especially in light of recent events," he said, noting that the increasingly secular emphasis of the EU made it "more difficult for committed Christians to maintain their instinctive support for Europe".

Such a perception had certainly been a factor in the Lisbon referendum result, he felt. Unless these concerns were addressed, the unease would continue, he warned.

"There is no doubt about that. It is there in people's minds and hearts."

Cardinal Brady said he believed those who were hostile to Europe needed to realise the undoubted benefits of belonging to the EU, while committed europhiles needed to take on board the reservations of others, which was not to deny the hard work of Irish politicians, diplomats and civil servants in negotiating the Lisbon Treaty and bringing it before the people.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

2008-08-24T12:18:00.002+01:00

Pope’s comments on First Communion and Confirmation Taken from KandLe

Pope Benedict recently answered a priest’s question about the sacraments of first communion and conformation.

This question was part of a question-and-answer session Benedict XVI held Aug. 6 with the priests, deacons and sem

inarians of the Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone. The Holy Father was on vacation in the Dolomites, where he stayed at the major seminary of Bressanone.

The proper meaning of catechesis, in fact, must be this: to bring the flame of Jesus’ love, even if it is a small one, to the hearts of children, and through the children to their parents, thus reopening the places of faith of our time. Pope Benedict XVI

Father Paolo Rizzi

Parish priest and lecturer in theology at the Higher Institute for Religious Sciences

Holy Father, I am parish priest and lecturer in theology at the Higher Institute for Religious Sciences. We would like to hear your pastoral opinion about the situation concerning the sacraments of first Communion and confirmation.

Always more often the children, boys and girls, who receive these sacraments prepare themselves with commitment to the catechetical meetings but do not take part in the Sunday Eucharist, and then one wonders: What is the point of all this? At times we might feel like saying: “Then just stay at home.”

Instead, we continue as always to accept them, believing that in any case it is better not to extinguish the wick of the little flickering flame. We think, that is, that in any case, the gift of the Spirit can have an effect beyond what we can see, and that in an epoch of transition like this one it is more prudent not to make drastic decisions.

More generally, 35 years ago I thought that we were beginning to be a little flock, a minority community, more or less everywhere in Europe; that we should therefore administer the sacraments only to those who are truly committed to Christian life. Then, partly because of the style! of John Paul II’s pontificate, I thought things through again. If it is possible to make predictions for the future, what do you think? What pastoral approaches can you suggest to us? Thank you.

Pope Benedict XVI

Well, I cannot give an infallible answer here, I can only seek to respond according to what I see. I must say that I took a similar route to yours.

When I was younger I was rather severe. I said: The sacraments are sacraments of faith, and where faith does not exist, where the practice of faith does not exist, the sacrament cannot be conferred either.

And then I always used to talk to my parish priest when I was archbishop of Munich: Here too there were two factions, one severe and one broad-minded. Then I too, with time, came to realize that we must follow, rather, the example of the Lord, who was very open even with people on the margins of Israel of that time. He was a Lord of mercy, too open — according to many official authorities — with ! sinners, welcoming them or letting them invite him to their dinners, drawing them to him in his communion.

Sacraments of faith

Therefore I would say substantially that the sacraments are naturally sacraments of faith: When there is no element of faith, when first Communion is no more than a great lunch with beautiful clothes and beautiful gifts, it can no longer be a sacrament of faith.

Yet, on the other hand, if we can still see a little flame of desire for communion in the faith, a desire even in these children who want to enter into communion with Jesus, it seems to me that it is right to be rather broad-minded.

Naturally, of course, one purpose of our catechesis must be to make children understand that Communion, first Communion, is not a “fixed” event, but requires a continuity of friendship with Jesus, a journey with Jesus. I know that children often have the intention and desire to go to Sunday Mass but their parents do not make this desire possible.

If we see that children want it, that they have the desire to go, this seems to me almost a sacrament of desire, the “will” to participate in Sunday Mass. In this sense, we naturally must do our best in the context of preparation for the sacraments to reach the parents as well, and thus to — let us say — awaken in them too a sensitivity to the process in which their child is involved.

They should help their children to follow their own desire to enter into friendship with Jesus, which is a form of life, of the future. If parents want their children to be able to make their first Communion, this somewhat social desire must be extended into a religious one, to make a journey with Jesus possible.

Catechesis

I would say, therefore, that in the context of the catechesis of children, that work with parents is very important. And this is precisely one of the opportunities to meet with parents, making the life of faith also present to the adults, because, it! seems to me, they themselves can relearn the faith from the children and understand that this great solemnity is only meaningful, true and authentic if it is celebrated in the context of a journey with Jesus, in the context of a life of faith.

Thus, one should endeavor to convince parents, through their children, of the need for a preparatory journey that is expressed in participation in the mysteries and that begins to make these mysteries loved.

I would say that this is definitely an inadequate answer, but the pedagogy of faith is always a journey and we must accept today’s situations. Yet, we must also open them more to each person, so that the result is not only an external memory of things that endures but that their hearts that have truly been touched.

The moment when we are convinced the heart is touched — it has felt a little of Jesus’ love, it has felt a little the desire to move along these lines and in this direction — that is the moment when, it seems to me, we can say that we have made a true catechesis. The proper meaning of catechesis, in fact, must be this: to bring the flame of Jesus’ love, even if it is a small one, to the hearts of children, and through the children to their parents, thus reopening the places of faith of our time.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Twenty two begin studies for priesthood in National Seminary

2008-08-23T16:05:00.002+01:00

This is good news for the country! 22 new workers in the vineyard of Christ. Let su keep up our prayers, no, let us double our prayers that we will keep getting the saintly Priests, religious sisters and brothers and heroic missionaries that this country so badly needs. No sign of any men from Kildare and Leighlin and that is a pity as we really need them. I report this article from the Catholic Ireland website. If you haven't visited I suggest you do as it is a wonderful portal. www.catholicireland.net

Saturday, August 23rd, 2008

Twenty two students began their studies for the priesthood in St Patrick’s College Maynooth yesterday.

Welcoming the students, college President Mgr Hugh Connolly quoted the words of Pope Benedict XVI at the recent World Youth Day celebrations in Sydney, saying the men were a sign of hope and renewal for God’s people. “Yours will be the task of building up the Lord’s house in the coming generation.”

The largest number of students, four, came from the diocese of Cork and Ross, with Dublin, Down and Connor, and Tuam, each sending three candidates for the priesthood. Armagh sent two and Clogher, Clonfert, Derry, Dromore, Killala, Raphoe and Waterford and Lismore, each sent one seminarian.

Mgr Connolly said the students were about to begin a new and exciting journey, “one that we share with you.”

The time at Maynooth would be one of “tremendous personal growth” where they would “push the boundaries” of their ability, he said.

“ We believe in your ability to progress, to achieve your ambitions and realise your potential. We see our role as facilitators of that development; guiding you on the journey and providing the support and encouragement to help you succeed. Throughout your journey however you will above all be responding to the call of Christ himself who by the Sea of Galilee invited his first disciples with the words ‘Come follow me’,” he added.

Last year, 24 students began their studies for the priesthood, and 26 in 2006. Approximately 70 students will be studying in the college by the end of September.

At the conclusion of the Introductory Programme at the end of September, four of the new seminarians from Northern dioceses will continue their studies at St Malachy’s College in Belfast.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Entrusting my academic year to Pope St Pius X

2008-08-21T16:31:00.001+01:00

Today as we all know is the Feast of Pope St Pius X.

This year the Feast is of special significance to me in that I have entrusted my academic year this saintly man and have asked him to intercede for me, my teaching, my students and my place of work. About 10 or so years ago, I began to look for the assistance of Heaven in my vocation as a teacher and very quickly got the idea of choosing a Saint to intercede for me with this request. Year in, year out I chose a different Saint and called upon them at the start of each every day to pray for me as I ventured into the world of education! Last year I asked St Peter for his intercession that all I would do would be pleasing to God and that God would send graces my way and the way of my students as we journeyed together though the academic year. I thank St Peter for all he has secured for me and for all we have received as a result of his powerful intercession. This year as I was praying, contemplating to whom I would entrust the year of 08 - 09, Pope St Pius X came to mind very forcefully over the course of about three days and so with thanks to God, I was delighted to be able to entrust to him all that lies ahead in the coming year. I would suggest to any teacher reading this post to do the same. Choose a heavenly intercessor to look after you and all you do over the next year so that all will be done and rewarded with the grace of God. Pope St Pius X pray for me.

And now for a little history...........

POPE ST. PIUS X THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2008

Pope Pius X, born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the first Pope elected in the 20th century. He came to the papal office in 1903 and died 11 years later in 1914, just as World War I was beginning.

He was born in 1835 at Riese, near Venice, and was one of eight children. His family was poor. He felt a calling to be a priest at a young age and was ordained in 1858. After 26 years, he was named bishop of Mantua, Italy, and in 1893, he became patriarch of Venice.

As Pope, he issued decrees making the age of First Holy Communion earlier (at the age of 7) and advocated frequent and even daily reception of the Eucharist. He promoted the reading of the Bible among laypeople, reformed the liturgy, promoted clear and simple homilies, and brought back Gregorian chant. He revised the Breviary, reorganized the curia, and initiated the codification of canon law.

He died in 1914 of natural causes reportedly aggravated by worries over the beginning of World War I.

Pope Pius X was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1954.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Anniversary of Knock Apparition 21st August 1879

2008-08-21T15:54:00.002+01:00

On 21st of August 1879, Our Lady, St Joseph and St John appeared at the gable wall of a rural Parish Church. Beside them was an Altar on which stoode the Lamb of God in 'Lamb' form, surrounded by a Heavenly Host. I have posted a picture so you can see for yourselves.

I have always held that the Apparition, where no words were spoken, was a very powerful message on the family and family life. Our Blessed Lady and St Jospeh obviously being husband and wife but what about St John? Well he was the one into whose care the Blessed Virgin Mary was entrusted after the physical death of Jesus on the Cross, therefore becoming her adopted son and thus representing us her adopted children.

I hated the palce when I was younger, cold and damp and boring apart from the shops... In later life of course I have a new appreciation for it much as I have a new and deeper appreciation of almost everything. I try to get there once a year either along or with the family. This year my son and I went there on the Kildare and Leighline Diocesean Pilgrimage and as ever very much enjoyed the day, thanks be to God.

Sharing the same date is the feast of Pope St Pius X which for some reason gets liturgical precedence over the anniversary of the Marian Apparition at Knock Shrine, Co Mayo. Hmmm

Maybe the Church in Ireland has not yet full appreciated the importance of the story of Knock in its history and in its present time.

Our Lady of Knock pray for us, pray for Ireland.

The story....... (taken from http://www.knock-shrine.ie)

On the wet Thursday evening of the 21st August, 1879, at about the hour of 8 o'clock, Our Lady, St. Joseph, and St. John the Evangelist appeared in a blaze of Heavenly light at the south gable of the Church of St. John the Baptist. Behind them and a little to the left of St. John was a plain altar. On the altar was a cross and a lamb with adoring angels. The Apparition was seen by fifteen people whose ages ranged from six years to seventy-five and included men, women, teenagers and children.

The poor humble witnesses distinctly beheld the Blessed Virgin Mary clothed in white robes with a brilliant crown on her head. Over the forehead where the crown fitted the brow, she wore a beautiful full-bloom golden rose. She was in an attitude of prayer with her eyes and hands raised towards Heaven. St. Joseph stood on Our Lady's right. He was turned towards her in an attitude of respect. His robes were also white. St. John was on Our Lady's left. He was dressed in white vestments and resembled a bishop, with a small mitre. He appeared to be preaching and he held an open book in his left hand.

The witnesses watched the Apparition in pouring rain for two hours, reciting the Rosary. Although the witnesses standing before the gable were drenched, no rain fell in the direction of the gable. They felt the ground carefully with their hands and it was perfectly dry as was the gable itself.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Fruits of the Contraceptive Revolution —Debate in ‘The Irish Times’ on Humanae Vitae

2008-08-21T15:10:00.001+01:00

Fruits of the Contraceptive Revolution’—Debate in ‘The Irish Times’ on 'Humanae... : 21st Aug 08

'Women's Chemical Castration— Not all the Effects of the Pill are to the Advantage of Women or of Society in General'

Irish newspaper correspondent Dr Helen O’Brien writing in “The Irish Times” said the paper “is to be congratulated on commemorating the 40th Anniversary of Humanae Vitae “. However, she noted, Patsy McGarry's article of July 25th was a very negative appraisal indeed of Pope Paul VI and of this controversial encyclical.

She continued, “Undoubtedly, many of the dissident priests and bishops whom Mr McGarry mentioned acted out of a spirit of compassion. However, not all the effects of the pill are to the advantage of women or of society in general.

As Pope Paul said in Humanae Vitae , "A man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman and. . .reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires".

Women on the pill are in fact, in a state of chemical castration. The World Health Organisation accepts that they run an increased risk of certain diseases. The pill can, directly or indirectly, be a cause of infertility, which can cause much heartache especially to women. The pill can also cause congenital abnormalities, including Down's Syndrome, in offspring of women under 40.

There have also been adverse social effects of contraceptive usage. Between 1961 and 1996, divorce rates in the EU 15 increased threefold. In the UK they increased more than sevenfold. The pill has to take much of the blame for this. It leads to infidelity (as Pope Paul predicted it would), a major cause of marital breakdown. A survey of couples in the US using natural family planning found a divorce rate of less than 5 per cent, where the overall rate is 50 per cent.

Since 1979, when the Family Planning Bill was passed in the Dáil, abortion rates, extramarital pregnancy rates and the rate of sexual crimes have risen in Ireland. The number of girls becoming pregnant while under the age of consent more than quadrupled between the 1950s and the present. The number of births has fallen steadily year by year: in 1979 there were 72,000 births; in 1994 there were only 54,000. Garret FitzGerald, in an article in your paper some time ago, ascribed some of the success of the Irish economy in recent years to the baby boom of the 1970s.

Sexually transmitted diseases have sharply increased. And now taxpayers are being asked to pay for an expensive vaccine to counteract one of the side-effects of one such STI. What they have not been told is that invasive cervical cancer can be a manifestation of Aids.

There is also concern about the environmental effects of the pill. The pill and other endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) are blamed for the fall in sperm counts among men in the Western world. In parts of the Arctic, more than twice as many female infants as males are born due to the same factor. Fish and animals have similarly been affected.

In an interview given before being made Pope, and recorded in a very fine book called Salt of the Earth, on being questioned about the drop in vocations to the priesthood, Cardinal Ratzinger pointed out that some of it was due, quite simply, to the fall in size of Catholic families. I recently met a young doctor who told me she had given up the practice of medicine because she could not train as a GP without prescribing the pill. And we complain that doctors today have lost the idealism and sense of vocation of older members of the profession.

"By their fruits you shall know them"; and the fruits of the contraceptive revolution have by no means been all good.” Dr HELEN T. O'BRIEN, Booterstown, Co Dublin. The Irish Times. August 7.
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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

In-Utero Surgery Performed at Rotunda Saves Lives of Twin Girls

2008-08-21T15:06:00.002+01:00

In-Utero Surgery Performed at Rotunda Saves Lives of Twin Girls : 1st Aug 08

This article, taken from the Irish Times Newspaper, not only reminds us all of why we must know the truth that life starts at conception but demonstrates how a society who protects and cherishes life respects the dignity of that life from conception to natural death.

Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, once again we pray that you intercede with your Divine Son that Ireland is kept free of the scourge of abortion.

Surgery on Unborn Babies 21 weeks into Mother's Pregnancy

Surgery performed on unborn babies in the womb has been used to save the lives of twin girls in the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin. It was the second such operation performed in Ireland, the hospital said in a statement.Lauren and Sophie Greene were born in April, three months after they had been operated on while still in the womb to treat the life-threatening condition, twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome.

The condition occurs when abnormal blood vessels in the placenta within the womb transfuse too much blood into one baby, while the other baby is left with too little blood. If untreated, the condition leads to the death of both babies in almost all cases.

The in-utero surgery, performed by consultant obstetrician Prof Fergal Malone on January 10th last, involved inserting a camera less than one-eighth of an inch thick and other tiny surgical instruments into the womb, identifying the abnormal blood vessels and using laser therapy to fix them.

The twins’ mother, Fidelma Greene (43), from Swords, Dublin, had received the diagnosis of the condition, which affects up to one-quarter of identical twins, 21 weeks into her pregnancy. However, following the surgery, it was possible to bring the pregnancy almost to full term. The twins were delivered by Caesarean section at 34 weeks on April 7th.

Both babies, Lauren weighing 4.58 pounds and Sophie weighing 3.7 pounds, were admitted to the hospital neonatal unit. Lauren was discharged with her mother five days after her birth, while Sophie was kept in hospital for a further nine days. Now, three months later, both are “thriving”, Ms Greene said yesterday.

Advances in in-utero surgery has led to a dramatic increase in the chances of survival for babies with the syndrome, Prof Malone said.

“When one considers that up to recently survival for these babies was so poor, it is gratifying to see the Irish health service investing in new technology that provides such an immediately apparent benefit to our patients.” The Rotunda performed the country’s first in-utero operation on twin boys diagnosed with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome in March last year in its newly-equipped foetal operating theatre.

The babies, Ryan and Dylan, were born to Margaret Kershaw (35) from Cork on March 28th last year.Before that, women whose babies needed operations while still in the womb had to travel abroad, generally to Britain. If the women were unable to travel, their babies often died, the hospital said. The new operating theatre has given women the opportunity to continue their pregnancies in Ireland and has increased the survival chances for babies with life-threatening conditions, Dr Michael Geary, master of the Rotunda, said.

“Doctors at the hospital continue to provide new hope to women whose pregnancies run into life-threatening difficulties as a result of complications,” he said.
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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Family Apostolate Publishes New Instructional Catechism for Families

2008-08-21T14:32:00.002+01:00

This is great news.......

To promote a deeper understanding of the Catholic Faith among all ages, the Apostolate for Family Consecration has come out with a new unabridged edition to their Family Catechism written by Fr. Lawrence Lovasik, S.V.D. The book is based on a Q-and-A format to be used as the basic text for families, parishes and schools.

Found to be in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church by the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee to Oversee the Use of the Catechism and endorsed by Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, the new edition of “The Apostolate’s Family Catechism” features updated cross-references including the “US Catholic Catechism for Adults” and Pope Benedict’s encyclicals, “God is Love” and “Sacrament of Charity,” to guide readers through the ocean of truth of the Catholic Faith.

As with previous editions, the new edition contains 304 questions pertaining to the Creed, sacraments, prayer and the Ten Commandments. Answers include quotes from Sacred Scripture, the “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” Vatican II, papal documents and other theological writings. The “By Heart Catechism and Scripture Review” provides explanations for easy memorization of the key doctrines presented.

Also featured are summary prayers, Doctrine-Moral-Worship Exercises and Thought Provokers sections complete with answers, common prayers in English and Latin, and more than 800 theological illustrations.

The late Mother Teresa commended the book’s ability to “enable parents to fulfill their primary obligation in teaching their children.”

To make it easier for families, parishes, schools and even adult formation groups such as RCIA to learn the Family Catechism together, commentaries for the 304 questions are given by Francis Cardinal Arinze, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Commentaries on audio and video as well as discussion guides can be downloaded for free off the Apostolate’s website. Supplementary teaching guides and age-appropriate workbooks can also be ordered for use in elementary and high school settings.

The new edition of “The Apostolate’s Family Catechism” is now available and can be ordered by visiting www.familyland.org.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Now this is ridiculous and very sad.........

2008-08-21T12:39:00.003+01:00

If only it were at the hands of some wacky new age self promoting clique, but at the hands of those consecrated who profess a belief in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church??? I think a good kick in the pants is in order here......

Have a look and see if you can spot the heresy..... (Bold type is my own added emphasis)

INDORE, India (UCAN) -- Sister C. Lissy could not help laughing when she first entered the meditation room of the Universal Solidarity Movement (USM).

"I looked all around for the tabernacle in the dim light," the Congregation of Jesus nun admitted to UCA News, "but all I could see was a small ceiling fan, a tube light and a gigantic mirror on a wall."

The sari-clad nun, 32, began wondering why the room did not even have a crucifix, but then her eye caught a black, wooden sign above the two-square-meter mirror. Written on it were the English words "God within" and a phrase in Sanskrit, "Aham brahmasmi (I am God)."

The nun, a volunteer at USM headquarters at Indore, Madhya Pradesh state, 810 kilometers south of New Delhi, said an electric shock passed through her as she read the words, but the message took more than a week to sink in.

The unusual meditation room is the brainchild of 56-year-old Father Varghese Alengaden, who founded USM 16 years ago to combat the sectarianism that was then sweeping across India and leaving more than a thousand dead in riots.

The movement, the priest explained to UCA News, aims to generate responsible citizens to promote harmony among India's various groups by encouraging them to live the values of their respective religions. The "mirror room" is just one of various methods he uses to promote harmony and solidarity, he said.

Father Alengaden said Saint Paul's words, "God lives within you," prompted him to devise the room. People change drastically once they understand they are the image of God, he said, and "we'd then have no problem to accept the other person as also an image of God." In his view, this realization will help people accept plurality and equality, and dissuade them from harming others.

"The meditation room is open to all, but only one at a time," the bearded priest added in his sonorous voice. He said USM volunteers spend at least an hour a day in the room when they are in Indore, and they must keep their eyes focused on the image in the mirror while praying.

According to Sister Lissy, the six-square-meter room appears simple but praying there is tough. Initially, the idea seemed quite outlandish, she recalled, and "I used to laugh seeing me in the mirror." But after a week or so, "I realized God is within me, not in a church. I also realized I was confronting myself and this helped me behave better with others."

She also discovered "more meaning" in praying before the mirror than meditating before the tabernacle or in a church. "God is merciful, beautiful, kind and compassionate, and so am I, because God is within me," she added.

This realization has helped her overcome biases, she continued. "You will not differentiate between black and white, tall and short, Hindu and Muslim, because all are the image of God and He lives in them."

She said she used to focus on her shortcomings while praying, "but once you begin to analyze yourself before the mirror, you realize that what you considered as weakness is a blessing in disguise. You learn to appreciate God's creation and thank Him."

Sister Anjali John, USM's former director, says the mirror room is her strength. "I had been praying before the crucifix or the tabernacle, so I first thought it was foolish to pray before the mirror," she told UCA News.

However, the Holy Spirit nun soon realized that facing oneself is tougher than encountering others. "If you sincerely look at yourself in a mirror, it will become your strength," the 44-year-old nun said.

Sister Sunita Pinto, another Congregation of Jesus nun who is on a three-month training program at USM headquarters, told UCA News she finds the mirror room "wonderful," even if it distracted her at first.

After a week in the room, USM's director, Father Varghese Kunnath, 49, told UCA News, people become aware of "a divine presence" there, and "this divinity is exuded by your reflection, which in a way is just another image of God."

Back to my own comment on the matter.......... Now having read this article in its entirety and keeping a Catholic ethos in mind, we can see that the whole exercise aims to separate, and has separated from what we can read, souls from God's true presence by setting up in opposition to the Church and the Tabernacle (which should be a magnet for all Catholics) an idol of the worst possible kind. The idol of self. This is worse that the Golden Calf episode.

This shameful exercise from a Catholic perspective, is nothing more that a mirror to the body. Those of us who realise just Who is before us in the Tabernacle and spend time there know that it is a true mirror to the soul, in that when we immerse ourselves in His real true and substantial presence we begin to see clearly our own soul, our own life as it is at present and believe you me that is enough of a mirror for anyone in that it often reveals for me too much.......

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

The Holy Father call us to watch our driving

2008-08-21T12:24:00.003+01:00

Ok! Well then maybe this is the little nudge I needed to really look at my driving and see where I can be more in control, so to speak. I know there are many times on may roads where I do not engage with the speed limits simply because I don't think that are reasonable of course from my perspective. I know, I know.... mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa! Ok! Holy Father, just as I have listened to you in the past, you have challenged me in other areas of life and when I have entertained what you have asked I have always found it to be for my good in fact exponentially for my good. I thake it that there will be no diofference in this situation even though I am a male driver with my own ideas about the rules of the road! I am beginning to see that driving is a huge moral responsibility and there are times when we need to be reminded of this. So I welcome what the Pope has to say.

Holy Father, I listen to you now. I promise that I wll examine my conscience on this whole complex area of driving and see just where changes can and should be made. In saying that 10 years of driving without any penalty points speaks for itself! Yeah ! I am a lucky sod. I have escaped up to now. Having no penalty points is not because of the fact that I am a very good driver. It is simply the grace of God, but there again why would God protect one from points if one is not cooperating with the rules of the road.......... Hmmmmm..... I wonder....

There is a story I could share with you too about the Guardian Angels and my driving but I will leave that until another post! Here is the Vatican City report on our Holy Father's latest call...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI, lamenting the high number of traffic accidents over the summer holiday period, called on Christians to make "a personal examination of conscience" about the way they drive.

Driving is both a moral and civil responsibility, the pope said Aug. 17. Most accidents that cause fatalities or serious injuries can be avoided, he said.

"There needs to be a greater sense of responsibility, above all on the part of drivers, because the accidents are often caused by excessive speed and imprudent behavior," he said.

The pope's comments came as Europeans took to the roads in record numbers for the August holidays, prompting an annual spike in traffic-related deaths.

"We shouldn't grow accustomed to this sad reality," the pope said.

"As church, we feel directly called upon to respond on an ethical level: Christians should first of all make a personal examination of conscience about their own driving," he said.

In addition, the church should help people realize that driving is an area in which they should "defend life and exercise in a concrete way love of neighbor," he said.
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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Fr. Bernard Robert Casserly O.P

2008-08-19T16:36:00.004+01:00

We were greeted this morning just before Mass began with an invitation to visit, pray for and pay our respects to Father Bernard. The Dominican fathers told us they would gladly receive us into the Community Oratory after Mass if we wished to visit. This we did in procession and I for one was glad of the event. I have always said that we should take it upon ourselves to go to some funeral once a month in order to keep us reminded of that which is inevitable - death. We do not get much of a chance these days to consider eschatological things - simply becuase we are not encouraged to from the Pulpit. Funerals always give us more than enough food for thought in this area and so I feel that one should attend the funeral of a Parishoner if one gets the chance to just to keep ourselves in check.

I must confess that I never knew the man, and up until last Summer I did not know any Dominicans. I attend Mass in Newbridge, Co. Kildare during the summer months and sometimes on Saturdays during the 'school year' as it is always available and there is never any cancellation or replacement of this Mass for any reason. In my own Parish of Naas they seem to cancel any of the daily Masses at a whim. Any excuse for less. It is sad I know but that is the reality of it. That, coupled with the fact that there has been numerous occassions where a Priest has not turned up for Mass even though we have 5 active Priests and 2 very active retired Priests in our Parish. No such messing with the Dominicans. Hence the reason why I attend there frequently especially during the holidays and give God thanks for their dedication to the Holy Mass.

Anyway, I digree from the main reason for this post. I discovered within myself this morning that there is something very special about the death of a Priest. I don't mean that in a bad way but in a supernatural way. I found mtself thinking about the numerous times the Holy Sacrifice was offered through his hands both in the extraordinary and ordinary forms, the numerous confessions heard, absolutions given, parishoners and sinners counselled, mourners comforted and a single solitary life of continuous prayer and suppication. I could only but imagine that bank of good works that is gone with this Priest whom I never knew, but there again once you know one good Priest, you have the model there for all good Priests and it is not too difficult to guess what that one single solitary life of service must have been like. I found myself being very moved at these thoughts and instantly felt the sorrow of his loss. Let us pray that this one Priest who now enjoys his well deserved rest is replaced by many saintly Priests eager to take up where this good man has left off.

Let us pray that this departed soul will hear those longed for words, "Well done good and faithful servant enter in to the joy of the Lord".
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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

Medjugorje - I am with the Church, always!

2008-08-18T12:46:00.003+01:00

Once again I find myself blogging about that which flares up a fire within me for all the wrong reasons. I am getting less and less tolerant with all the nonsense about this place and all the rubbish that the returning 'pilgrims' bring with them after a visit there.

Having visited there twice I can safely say that I am with the Bishop on this one, although in saying that I hear an echo of the Apostle Paul rebuking those who were for Paul, who were for Apollos, who were for Cephas etc Let me say with great gusto I am with the Church always! St Augustine reminds us that where the Bishop is there is the Church and so in saying that I am with the Bishop, what I am really saying is that I am with the Church, always!

The unity of the church is the most important thing that we who profess to be loyal Catholics must safeguard. Therefore the ultimate litmus test in all of the alleged supernatural phenomena we hear about day in and day out is the test of obedience. Where there is no obedience to the Church, there is no Mary. Where there is self interest there is no Mary. Of course she and the whole company of Heaven are wherever the Blessed Sacrament is present and therefore to say that Mary is not in Medjugorje is a nonsense. Of course she is mystically there as long as the Blessed Sacrament is there always in adoration and prayer.

But appearing on a daily basis. No sir-ee. She simply can't be. Otherwise Our Blessed Mother throughh her 'appearences' and the 'messages' is now the main reason for the discord that exists between Franciscans and the Local Ordinary. There are other historical reasons for the discord but at present they have all fallen into the shadow of the Apparition itself. This is where the followers of this 'phenomenon' reside deep inside the shadow of a fictional paradox. A shadow that seems to follow them and cast its own shadow on all they do.

I am not for a moment saying that good fruit has not come from that place. Obviously it has. My main argument being that when you are surrounded by a mania and a expectant overpowering hysteria you buy into it and you follow suit. you really don't have a choice either. It is like a strong current in a raging river. The Rosary beads are on show either about the neck or the wrist, the Holy Rosary is said privately in public view, we queue up for Confession for hours, we attend Holy Mass with great reverence and attend other devotionals and pious exercises. Yet it seems that this voucher allowing a display of piety is only valid until the day they board the plane to return home. In most cases the beads and other religious paraphernalia are packed away in anticipation of the next visit and there is no visible impact made on the society to which they are returning. in other cases they might get a short lived airing but eventually the struggle ends and the light of Tabor goes out.

I am sure that a huge % of the Irish population have visited this place. I do not see any evidence of the fruits of these visits anywhere. I hear wonderful stories about spinning suns, golden Rosary beads, oozing statues and excessively wealthy visionaries. I see dwindling crowds, emptying pews and an endless line of novelties introduced into Parish life to try and win the crowd over. I see no Corpus Christi processions, no Rosary gatherings, in short it has made no impact on the popular piety of any Parish. I see factions and groups who peddle their musings about a Willo-the-Wisp and rest in the memory of sensationalism, whist being driven forward by the promise of another 'pilgrimage'. Time and time again they return. Time and time again they come back the same. *Sigh*

If all this were true these would be wonderful miracles if not Theophanies in themselves. These would be Tabor moments that would ensure that the courage is given to each of the recipients to go, change ones life and live according to the values of the Gospel and revolutionise those places in which they live and work. I simply don't see it. There again aybe I am blind.

Having visited Fatima in August 1992, I know what it is like to receive an unexpected awakening in my Faith and awakening that was most definitely a grace received through the intercession of the Blessed Mother. She could have picked much better but that is Heaven's way. The funny thing is that 16 years on it is still as raw and as tangible and as emotional now as it was at that moment of the 13th of August 1992. It is still alive, nay it has become even more alive for me over the years. It is as new to me each and every day of my life with the same force it had on that day when I properly understood the words 'Behold you Mother'. The emotions associated with that day have never lessened but if anything have grown and matured.

I am aware that there is a new Vatican commission looking into the whole affair. What happens if they return a favourable view? Well then I must remember my own words. I am with the Church, always!
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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

So much for the 'House of Prayer'

2008-08-18T12:42:00.003+01:00

I thank God that I have always harboured misgivings about this place and its people. One crisis after another is enough 'proof' that what is being promoted in Achill is not from God. Look at the following article taken from the Irish Independent newspaper on 1st June 2008:

THE House of Prayer has offered to return donations to its aggrieved followers amid a growing number of complaints about the vast wealth accumulated by the prophetic religious group.

Donations of up to €90,000 to the Catholic religious outfit are being investigated by gardai and the taxman, after allegations about its vast wealth emerged earlier this year.

Four donors have now made formal complaints to gardai, alleging they gave the money in the belief that the House of Prayer was in need of it. At least three more complaints are expected to follow.

Representatives of the House of Prayer have told gardai and the Catholic hierarchy that it is willing to return disputed donations. That may not be enough to avert a garda inquiry, however, as authorities are obliged to investigate complaints.

The probe is likely to prove highly embarrassing for the religious movement, led by the former housewife turned self-proclaimed visionary, Christina Gallagher.

One complaint comes from an elderly couple who claim they are impoverished after donating their €90,000 life savings to the House of Prayer, at the request of Ms Gallagher's associates.

The investigation is expected to involve interviews with leading figures in the House of Prayer, including Ms Gallagher, the spiritual director, Fr Gerard McGinnity, and another associate, John Rooney.

Gardai may also contact the Catholic hierarchy, which has condemned the House of Prayer and urged people concerned about their donations to contact the authorities.

Archbishop of Tuam Dr Michael Neary circulated a damning statement on Ms Gallagher's movement to parishes across Ireland, as well as America and even as far as the Philippines.

The Revenue Commissioners, meanwhile, is completing its inquiry into the House of Prayer, which lost its charitable status in 2005. That means the House of Prayer is liable for gift tax on all donations it received since then.

Christina Gallagher founded the House of Prayer in the 1980s after claiming to receive divine messages from the Virgin Mary.

Earlier this year revelations emerged about the House of Prayer's multimillion euro property portfolio and the lavish mansion in Malahide, north Dublin, which is at Ms Gallagher's disposal.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

More martyrs: a Carmelite priest is massacred in Andhra Pradesh

2008-08-18T12:38:00.000+01:00

38 year old Fr. Thomas Pandippallyil, was assassinated on the night of August 16th on his way to a village to celebrate Sunday mass. His body showed signs of torture, with wounds to his face, his hands and legs broken and his eyes pulled from their sockets. The bishop of Hyderabad denounces the growing climate of “violence against Catholics” in the country.

New Delhi (AsiaNews) – “Father Thomas is a martyr: he sacrificed his life for the poor and marginalised. But he did not die in vain, because his body and his blood enrich the Church in India, particularly the Church in Andhra Pradesh”. Those are the words of Msgr. Marampudi Joji, archbishop of Hyderabad and secretary of the bishops’ conference of Andhra Pradesh (a state in South East India), commenting the barbarous killing of the Carmelite priest Thomas Pandippallyil, 38, assassinated on the night of August 16th in Mosalikunta, on the road between Lingampet and Yellareddy, 90 km from the regional capital.

On the night of August 16th his body was found on the roadside by a group of people, not far from the village of Balampilly; the body of the Carmelite of Mary Immaculate carried wounds to the face while the hands and legs had been crushed and the eyes gouged out. His motorbike was found one kilometre on from the body. According to witnesses, Saturday afternoon Fr. Thomas celebrated mass in Burgida, before setting out for another village in the district where he was to have celebrated Sunday mass. The last people to have seen him alive were religious sisters from Lingapetta convent, where the priest had stopped for supper before continuing his journey.

“P. Thomas is a martyr – said Msgr. Marampudi, archbishop of Hyderabad, on hearing of the brutal murder. The Indian Church is shocked and deeply saddened by this barbarous killing, the result of a growing climate of intolerance and violence against Christians in this country”. The prelate immediately made his way to the area where the massacre took place and speaks of a “traumatized” Christian community. He forcefully denies accusations of “proselytism and forced conversions”. Given that there are “five families of Catholic faith” in the parish where Fr. Thomas was murdered.

Msgr. Marampudi Joji maintains the crime is the result of a climate of “jealousy of the Catholic Church”, whose only fault is that of trying to help develop the abandoned rural areas of the country and support and aid those who are “victims of violence and oppression”. “Priests and nuns – continues the archbishop of Hyderabad – have for decades been at the service of the least fortunate in India, and this makes them targets of forces of evil who do not want the marginalized and impoverished to become empowered”.

The remains of Fr. Thomas Pandippallyil will be laid to rest on Wednesday in the Carmelite provincial house in Balampilly: the priest was actively involved in educational field. He joined the Chanda mission of the CMI on 24th June 1987. He was ordained a priest in 2002. He was the rector for the Chanda mission province of the CMI, and also worked as hospital administrator, school manager and mission centre director.

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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ"

A final thought of the whole Professor PZ Myers affair......

2008-08-04T12:13:00.004+01:00

Having thought of, reflected upon, and made reparation for the act of desecration perpetrated against the Most Blessed Sacrament through the hands of one Professor PZ Myers, I now realise that this one act of desecration, so abhorrent in the eyes of God, has borne 10 fruits that are pleasing to God. I use a prayer that is frequently prayed during a Holy Hour of Reparation and change it a little so that the message becomes clear. Let me explain in an open letter to him.

I am writing to congratulate you Professor Myers, not obviously for your recent act of desecration of the most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, the sourse and summit of our Catholic life, but because I want you to know that your one action of hatred has brought about 10 fruits in the lives of the Catholic faithful. Each of these fruits, in their own way, give glory to God and help repair the horrible outrage perpetrated by you against the Holy of Holies. Let me explain....

Through your act of desecration, Professor Myers, you have blasphemed the sacred mysteries of the Holy Catholic Church. Because of your blasphemy you have succeded in helping us to believe in them more firmly.

Through your impiety you have tried to extinguish our hopes of immortality. Because of your impiety you have succeded in helping us to trust all the more in The Sacred Heart of Jesus, truly present in the Blessed Sacrament, the sole hope of all mankind!

Through your blindness of heart you resist the Divine attractions. Because of your blindness you have helped us to see that we need to love more, the infinitely amiable Heart of Jesus!

Through your unbelief, you have attacked The Divinity of Christ. Because of your unbelief you have helped us to adore Christ's Sacred Divinity more humbly and profoundly!

Through your hate, you have despised and abandoned the Holy Sacraments. Because of your hatred and contempt you have helped us to resolve that we shall receive them more frequently with great love and reverence!

Through your disregard for, and ignorance of, all that is Holy and Sacred, you have neglected and forgotten the Holy Virtues. Because of your neglect and ignorance you have helped us to endeavor to practice them more faithfully!

Through your implication and cooperation with evil, the devil labors through you to destroy souls. Because of your cooperation with evil, you have helped us to become inflamed with desire to save them!

Through your sin and impurity you have destroyed the image of God in yourself and have attempted to destroy His image in others. Because of your sin and impurity we shall try all the more, by purity of life, to be a living temple of the Holy Spirit!

Through your vile words and actions you have shown that you despise the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church of God. Because of your words and actions we shall endeavor to be more faithful to Her.

Through your contempt for the Church of Christ, you have tried to persecute the Holy Father, Christ's Vicar on earth. Because of your contempt we will honor the Pope as the infallible head of the Holy Church of God, and we vow to show our fidelity and pray for him always!

See, I think what you have yet to understand is that when God allows an evil act to take place, it is because He wishes to bring about a greater good. In other words we do get beautiful roses because of manure. In this case your one act of hatred has brought about 10 'greater goods' in the life of each of the Catholic faithful. So, I suppose, for these good fruits we owe you our thanks.
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Tantum Digne Evangélio Christi Conversámini
"Only let your conversation be worthy of the Gospel of Christ" Opus Dei