Here is an address given by Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz to the Catholic Citizens of Illinois earlier this month. It is too good to excerpt. [Via L.A. Catholic]
Father Stephanos, O.S.B mentions that Today in 1958 the patriarch of Venice, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, was elected Pope, and took the name John XXIII.
I recently came across his address at the opening of Vatican II and thougth it could easily have been written today.
In the daily exercise of our apostolic ministry, we are often offended when we learn what certain people are saying, who are filled with religious zeal yet lack correct judgment and level-headedness in their way of seeing things. They see only ruins and calamities in society’s present situation. They are used to saying that our day and age has worsened profoundly in comparison with past centuries. They behave as if history, which is the teacher of life, had nothing to teach them and as if at the time of past Councils, everything had been perfect where Christian doctrine, customs and the Church’s just freedom were concerned.
It seems to us that we must state our complete disagreement with the prophets of misfortune, who always announce catastrophes as if the world were close to its end.
In the present course of events when society seems to be at a turning point, it is better to acknowledge the mysterious plans of divine Providence which, through the succession of times and the work of human beings and most of the time against all expectations, reach their goal and arrange everything with wisdom for the good of the Church, even the events that are in opposition to it.
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In a sample article on Holy Hombre’s (“Hombre’ – noun. A man. A fellow. A man among men.”)
On a much later occasion, another Holy Hombre saved the day, during his time in the seminary no less. In 1860 St. Gabriel Possenti saved a young woman from being raped, and he saved the village of Isola, Italy, by removing the revolver from the hip of one of Garibaldi’s thugs. After more drama unfolded, Possenti took the opportunity to shoot a small running lizard with the pistol as the band of terrorists was coming upon him. These ruffians obeyed St. Gabriel Possenti and dropped their weapons, and then he escorted them out of town at gunpoint, telling them never to return. People of the region still refer to him today as “the Savior of Isola.”
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925) is another great example of the Holy Hombre. This Blessed was born on Holy Saturday, and loved to ski, climb mountains, ride horses, wrestle, pull practical jokes, and swim. It has been reported that Pier Giorgio was involved in many fights, primarily with anti-Catholic Reds. Wouldn’t you know it… some holy rollers want to digitally remove the pipe from Pier Giorgio’s mouth which is in that famous picture of him on top of a mountain! Such folks want all the sizzle, but no steak. Pietests who would remove that pipe would probably synonymize sanctity with stupidity, if asked to define.
There website is here where you can read sample of other articles and subscribe for the very reasonable price of $20 (U.S. addresses).
Today was the 25th anniversary of Father Warren Keene who is the assistant pastor at my parish. He is a great priest who spent ten years as an organic chemist before entering the seminary in the Diocese of Gibratar and later received the S.T.B., M.A., S.T.L. and J.C.D. degrees from the Pontifical University of S. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He has served in my parish since 1992.
He is a wondeful homilist and his homilies are always soaked in the Church Fathers. His homilies are never long, but always well crafted with bits that stick with you later. I also love his reverence at Mass. His rapt attention during the consecration is a joy to watch as it is quite apparent that he is once again caught up in the mystery of the Eucharist. He also have a lovely singing voice that is very pleasing to the ear when he chants the Mass. Whether he is saying the indult Latin Mass or the new order of Mass you enter into the mystery with him. That you know you are not participating in mere ritual but something much much more. It is also a joy to watch him do Benediction on first Fridays after Eucharistic adoration.
My parish is blessed with faithful and wonderful priests and even though I often parody or write on liturgical abuses they have provided zero source material for it. I have to go to other parishes so that I can commiserate with others.
This Sunday is Priesthood Sunday so please take the time to thank the many wonderful and holy priests.
The essay in last month’s First Things by Joseph Bottum is finally online When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano,
Catholic Culture in America. This is not a short essay, but it is well worth your time. I remember reading it when it came out in First Things and thought it was extremely balanced and informative. As a convert the years during and immediately after Vatican II I have no personal experience of. This article fills in many gaps in my own knowledge and gives details on many interesting cases. There is also much in it that will annoy people on both divides of the Church.
Amy Welborn alluded to the fact the other day that she was going to do a post in response to this article and I bet when she does her comment box counter will be ringing. It will be interesting to read through the responses to those who directly experienced this time in the Church.
Hat tip to Rich Leonardi for mentioning this article was available.
Karen Hall points to a quiz that appeared in the 1993 issue of This Rock Magazine which bills itself as the "World’s Toughest Catholic Quiz."
I got 17 out of 20 and one of them I really should have got correct if I would have thought about it more. The other two though were helpful in learning a more exact definition of what the questions covered.
I wouldn’t call it the toughest Catholic quiz though. Envoy Magazine use to run a regular feature called inQUIZition that I think were generally much tougher. For example this one where I got only 12 of 20 right.
So what do you score?
From a Letter to the Editor by Bishop Thomas Tobin of the Diocese of Providence.
I write about the highly publicized attempt of two Rhode Island women to enter into a "same-sex marriage" in Massachusetts.
I’d like to stress that my remarks aren’t aimed personally at the individuals in question. I wish them no harm and I sincerely pray that God will bless them and the children with them with much health and happiness. Nonetheless, their attempt to have the state ratify their homosexual relationship is disturbing and morally objectionable.
God’s plan for the human race is obvious and immutable: "God created man in his image, in the divine image he created them, male and female he created them. . . . For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh." This clear testimony of the Bible is supported by the constant teaching of the church, the law of nature, the reality of biology and common sense. Males and females are complementary; they are designed for union with one another. The traditional concept of marriage, based on that relationship, is normative, fundamental to the human person and essential for the common good of society.
Contrary to some current ideologies, this teaching does not discriminate against homosexual persons. The Catholic Church has consistently taught that homosexual persons are children of God, our brothers and sisters, and must be respected. Nonetheless we have to recognize the possibility, sometimes even the necessity, of respecting individuals even while opposing their immoral behavior. Likewise, it’s not a question of civil rights as some have claimed. There’s never a right to do something wrong. Human freedom is not unbridled license; it must be grounded in truth.
The facts are these: Homosexual acts are contrary to the law of nature and gravely immoral; The notion of gay marriage or civil unions is spiritually harmful to individuals and families and erodes the foundation of society; The state has no business encouraging immoral behavior or ratifying illicit unions.
I hope and pray that the State of Rhode Island will not follow Massachusetts in traveling down this dangerous and dead-end highway.
THOMAS J. TOBIN
The first movie by FoxFaith to come out is on the story of Esther. Unfortunately going by Steven D. Greydanus review it is just about what I would expect to happen when I first saw the news of 20th Century Fox’s new faith-and-family-values division. One Night with the King includes some of my favorite actors like John Rhys-Davies and Peter O’Toole, but I have learned to trust Steven D. Greydanus reviews. I have always been happy with the one he recommends and when I didn’t take his advice on the ones he didn’t like I regretted not taking it.
Dwight Longenecker has a good post on Churches, Hypocrisy and Stolen Umbrellas. Religious utopianism is always a problem and it often leads either to church shopping, church creating, or despairing grumbling. I consider myself fortunate to have been able to listen to shows like Catholic Answers live on my way into the Church. I developed no pretentious of a perfect and scandal free Church. The scandal of Judas is not an new story, but an old one. I have learned, slowly though it be, to be more scandalized by the fact that I am a Catholic. Gee they will let just about anybody in.
Catholic call-in shows are not exactly loaded with calls from people asking for advice on how to move from the Teresian sixth mansion of prayer to the seventh. Many calls are people scandalized on one thing or the other. Protestants scandalized about Catholics practices and Catholics scandalized by liturgical abuse, the clergy, and other Catholics.
It is easy to admit on our lips that we are all sinners, though sometimes are hearts just aren’t quite in it. We know that it is the Publican and not the Pharisee who walked away justified, but sometimes we want to say to the Pharisee "Preach it brother." I consider it a mixed blessing to be a mid-life convert. Like Alec Guinness my one true regret is not becoming a Catholic sooner. On the other hand it helps me to see that I have no idea where other people are on a conversion timeline only that that God wills all men to be saved, if only they cooperate. Great sinners have become great saints. There are the Sauls to Pauls, though there are also always the Judases. My concern has not been to try to pick out others who might go to Hell, but to ensure that I don’t increase the population of Hell by one myself.
Dwitght like G.K. Chesterton enjoys standing things on their head. Being a long time fan of Groucho Mark I am reminded of his famous quip "I would not join any club that would have someone like me for a member." Well I would not belong to any church who would not have me as a member. That a cross has been closely associated with hospitals and medical organizations is no surprise in that it is the Church which was the first hospital. As Jesus said "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."
Mercator.net has an interesting article on a Canadian documentary called C-38 which examines the issue of same-sex marriage by having balanced interviews of both supporters and critics of Canadian Bill C-38. Michael Cook says the documentary demolishes the case for same-sex marriage. Seeing quotes such as What’s marriage? — "just a ring and a big spiel," made by one teenager shows the depth of misunderstanding of what marriage is. They didn’t redefine marriage in Canada because they never defined it in the first place. The documentary even includes two Bishops
and since one of them is Bishop Fred Henry you know that they didn’t cherry pick opponents that come across as idiots.