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| Relic of John Paul II's blood |
Several mothers of the 10 hostages freed by a Colombian rebel group after almost fourteen years in captivity said their sons were liberated thanks to the intercession of Blessed John Paul II.
The mothers told a local Colombian TV station that when the late pontiff’s relics were brought to the country last January, they went to venerate them and to pray for the release of their sons who were kidnapped by the Marxist rebel group FARC in 1998.
The relic consists of a vile of blood taken from Blessed John Paul II when he hospitalized before his death in 2005.
The release of the ten hostages took place on April 2, the seventh anniversary of Blessed John Paul II’s death and the mothers said they plan to put their testimonies in writing and send them to the Vatican.Read the whole story here.
"I desire that during these nine days you bring souls to the fount of My mercy, that they may draw therefrom strength and refreshment and whatever graces they need in the hardships of life and, especially, at the hour of death.
On each day you will bring to My Heart a different group of souls, and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy, and I will bring all these souls into the house of My Father. You will do this in this life and in the next. I will deny nothing to any soul whom you will bring to the fount of My mercy. On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My bitter Passion, for graces for these souls."Those are the words Jesus spoke to St. Faustina when he requested that she begin a novena to his Divine Mercy. This novena lasts from Good Friday to the Second Sunday of Easter, now known as Divine Mercy Sunday. The novena consists in praying for particular people as listed in the novena followed by the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Click here if you would like to pray the novena which begins tomorrow.
The stance of Adam was: not what you, O God, have desired; rather, I myself want to be a god. This pride is the real essence of sin. We think we are free and truly ourselves only if we follow our own will. God appears as the opposite of our freedom. We need to be free of him – so we think – and only then will we be free. This is the fundamental rebellion present throughout history and the fundamental lie which perverts life. When human beings set themselves against God, they set themselves against the truth of their own being and consequently do not become free, but alienated from themselves. We are free only if we stand in the truth of our being, if we are united to God. Then we become truly “like God” – not by resisting God, eliminating him, or denying him. In his anguished prayer on the Mount of Olives, Jesus resolved the false opposition between obedience and freedom, and opened the path to freedom. Let us ask the Lord to draw us into this “yes” to God’s will, and in this way to make us truly free. Amen.Read the full text here.
On April 21, Bishop Johnston will travel to Mexico City to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe with religious sisters who serve in our diocese who are members of the Poor Clare Missionary Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for the beatification of their foundress, Mother Maria Ines Teresa Arias. Cardinal Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, will preside over the beatification. The sisters will share about their experience during the trip the last Sunday in April at Sacred Heart Parish in Poplar Bluff. Following is information about the miracle that paved the way for the beatification:Francisco Javier Carrilo Guzman was completely healed of brain damage after nearly drowning in a pool in Guadalajara, Mexico, on June 17, 2001.
Doctors had given him little chance of surviving the severe asphyxiation that damaged his brain. The baby's family prayed to Mother Arias, and further examinations by doctors showed that his brain damage had completely disappeared without leaving any scars or neurological side-effects.Read the rest here.
A group of seminarians prays every Saturday at a local clinic; they are joined by the entire seminary community and the rector, who leads the Rosary, once each semester.Powerful witness.
In the video below a commentator mentions that during the final Holy Week of his life he was noticably absent from the Triduum celebrations, not physically being able to celebrate the Via Crucis or the Masses - he had to remain in his apartment to watch it all unfold on television. On a deeper level though I would argue that it was that Holy Week in which he was most profoundly near. During Holy Week we are all called to unite our sufferings to the Lord's cross in a particular way and John Paul knew the rich value of suffering when united to Jesus. His entire life was one of amazing fruitfulness, but upon reflection it would seem that the last two weeks of his life were the most fecund. Just as Jesus suffered the mockery and jeers to 'come off the cross' but chose to remain on it until the end out of love, so in following in his Master's footsteps, John Paul II remained on the cross until the end allowing God to pour grace upon the world through the union of his suffering with that of the Lord's. Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it. This, as has already been said, is why Christ the Redeemer "fully reveals man to himself". If we may use the expression, this is the human dimension of the mystery of the Redemption. In this dimension man finds again the greatness, dignity and value that belong to his humanity. In the mystery of the Redemption man becomes newly "expressed" and, in a way, is newly created. He is newly created! "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus". The man who wishes to understand himself thoroughly-and not just in accordance with immediate, partial, often superficial, and even illusory standards and measures of his being-he must with his unrest, uncertainty and even his weakness and sinfulness, with his life and death, draw near to Christ. He must, so to speak, enter into him with all his own self, he must "appropriate" and assimilate the whole of the reality of the Incarnation and Redemption in order to find himself. If this profound process takes place within him, he then bears fruit not only of adoration of God but also of deep wonder at himself. How precious must man be in the eyes of the Creator, if he "gained so great a Redeemer", and if God "gave his only Son "in order that man "should not perish but have eternal life".By allowing himself to be loved by Christ and reciprocally loving Him in return through an intense life of prayer and gift, John Paul was able to live out this message.
A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929), which was touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican government's attempt to secularize the country. The film follows the stories of ordinary people from across the country who choose to stand up for their freedom. Caught up in a full-fledged civil war, they all must decide how far they are willing to go and what they're willing to risk.The cast includes star of Bella, Eduardo Verastegui. Enjoy the trailer here:
As you well know, the controversy over religious freedom has been brewing all year at Vanderbilt University. With the publication of the non-discrimination policy finally released last week, it is undeniable that Vanderbilt University has forced our hand. Vanderbilt+Catholic will not re-register as a student organization at Vanderbilt University, effective Fall Semester 2012.
But we will not cease to exist. As God has clearly closed this door, He has also clearly opened other windows of opportunity to propose Jesus Christ and to form His disciples at Vanderbilt and at other campuses throughout the city.
The following is an excerpt from a letter sent to Vanderbilt+Catholic students by our student board:
After much reflection, discussion, and prayer, we have decided that Vanderbilt+Catholic cannot in good conscience affirm that we comply with this policy. While organizational skills and leadership abilities are important qualifications for leaders of Vanderbilt+Catholic, the primary qualification for leadership is Catholic faith and practice. We are a faith-based organization. A Catholic student organization led by someone who neither professes the Catholic faith nor strives to live it out would not be able to serve its members as an authentically Catholic organization. We cannot sign the affirmation form because to do so would be to lie to the university and to ourselves about who we are as an organization.
While this policy may change our status as a registered student organization, it will not change our mission. We will continue to serve the Vanderbilt community as a welcoming and faithful Catholic campus ministry, proposing Jesus Christ in all that we do.
I am proud of our student leaders. This is exactly the fruit that an authentic campus ministry should produce. Their resolve makes our situation a success story rather than a failure. It has become quite clear to the students that we either stand for something or fall for anything. We choose to stand for Jesus Christ, and we expect that our leadership do the same.
With Bishop Choby’s complete support, we will continue to serve the students of Vanderbilt as a non-registered ministry. We will open our doors wider in order to make a greater effort to reach out to the Vanderbilt campus and to all college students in Nashville.Read the entire letter here. God's blessings upon them as they continue to serve the students of Vanderbilt as a non-registered ministry.
G.K. Chesterton said, "Joy is the gigantic secret of the Christian." Pope Benedict's Message for World Youth Day 2012 is focused on Christian joy and man, is it good! Please read the whole thing if you can because it is well worth it. Joy is necessary for effective evangelization and we Christians have much to be joyful about: Whatever brings us true joy, whether the small joys of each day or the greatest joys in life, has its source in God, even if this does not seem immediately obvious. This is because God is a communion of eternal love, he is infinite joy that does not remain closed in on itself, but expands to embrace all whom God loves and who love him. God created us in his image out of love, in order to shower his love upon us and to fill us with his presence and grace. God wants us to share in his own divine and eternal joy, and he helps us to see that the deepest meaning and value of our lives lie in being accepted, welcomed and loved by him. Whereas we sometimes find it hard to accept others, God offers us an unconditional acceptance which enables us to say: “I am loved; I have a place in the world and in history; I am personally loved by God. If God accepts me and loves me and I am sure of this, then I know clearly and with certainty that it is a good thing that I am alive”.Read it all here.
Thanks to Chris Stefanick for giving a great presentation on the dangers of moral relativism last week on campus and thanks to all who came out to attend. Student Daniel Ruble wrote a great article for the student newspaper about the event which you can read here. Here's an excerpt: Relativism is the ideology that someone can believe something and someone else can believe something completely different, but they will both be right.
"Relativism is the philosophy that there is no truth," Stefanick said. "There is no reality outside of us. Most people today are relativist with just about everything besides math and science. Everything that is scientifically verifiable is true for everyone. No one is going to say 2 plus 2 is 4, but it might be 5 for you."
Stefanick said the idea that there is objective truth should be realized.
"When we take things like ethics, questions of right or wrong, questions of who God is, and we break it down to the level of personal preference, it's subjective," Stefanick said. "Pope Benedict said that relativism is the greatest problem of our time. We can't get away from it. It's hard to even step outside of the frame work that society holds, and if you dare say something like I'm right about x, y or z it will send a chill up people's spines."Find out more about Chris and find resources about the dangers of relativism here.
Praying to End Pornagraphy: Calgary, Alberta Canada from OneBillionStories.com on Vimeo.
The words: "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt", and later: "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, thy will be done", have a manifold eloquence. They prove the truth of that love which the only-begotten Son gives to the Father in his obedience. At the same time, they attest to the truth of his suffering.
For some reason one of the most powerful mysteries of the Rosary to me is the scourging at the pillar. Maybe because that is the first mega-intense moment of his passion and usually the first step can be the hardest. Sometimes I wonder what he may have been thinking just as the first scourge was about to happen, then if he was even able to think at all through the rest of it due to the pain. Every time I can only come to the conclusion that he must've been thinking purely of love. His love for the Father. His love for our Lady and her Immaculate Conception. His love for John, Peter, James, the woman at the well, Mary Magdalen, Zaccheus, for you, for me and even for Judas. And as he thought of us as the first whip came hurling toward him his love kept him on the pillar knowing his sacrifice would be worth it - that you are worth it.
In nearby Ridgway, Illinois, damage included the 200-year-old St. Joseph's Catholic Church, which was heavily damaged during the storms.Apparently this was one of, if not the, oldest Catholic church in Illinois. But all was not lost - look closely at this picture:
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.This is basically what Lent is all about - a clean heart is one that has cast down its idols having been cleansed by the precious Blood of Christ. Lent is a time when we are invited to be drawn more deeply into the presence of God and filled with the Holy Spirit, that Easter joy may fill us after forty days of willingly offering ourselves as a living sacrifice in union with the sacrifice of Christ. This is the intention behind giving up something during Lent - to cast down your idols in order to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We are facing a grave and unprecedented attack today on the religious freedom we enjoy in the United States. The Obama Administration, through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has recently imposed a nationwide mandate that health insurance plans cover contraceptives, abortion-inducing drugs, and sterilization procedures.
For over 2,000 years the Catholic Church has taught that abortion, sterilization, and contraception are wrong. In fact, less than 90 years ago, all Christian congregations morally objected to these practices. However, sadly today, and despite the fact that the Church's position has never wavered on these issues, the views of many Catholics on them is no different than those of most non-believers. Perhaps this is why the Obama Administration has chosen this moment in history to try to force the Catholic Church, as well as other communities of faith, to act against basic moral convictions. Given the fact that many of our own people do not subscribe to what the Church teaches, does the Administration assume that most of our faithful will not care? I hope you prove them wrong.
First, I invite you to examine whether you have fairly considered, and are living, the Church's consistent teaching on the moral issues of abortion, contraception, and sterilization. The Catholic Church will never yield in her defense of both the sacredness of human life and the inseparability of the unitive and procreative aspects of conjugal love. This is a moment where each of us will be called to take a stand either for or against the Church. My prayer is that this will be a moment of recommitment, deeper conversion, and reconfirmation of our faith by the Holy Spirit; a period of grace which always accompanies times of difficulty in the life of the Church.
Second, I ask you to take action to prevent the government from punishing us for living what we believe. Many brothers and sisters of varying faiths join us in this important effort, as well as other persons of good will. Our parents and grandparents did not come to these shores to help build America's cities and towns, its infrastructure and institutions, its enterprise and culture, only to have their posterity stripped of their God-given rights. In generations past, the Church has always been able to protect her sacred rights and duties. I hope and trust she can count on this generation of Catholics to do the same. Our children and grandchildren deserve nothing less.
By this rule, the Obama Administration intends to force the Catholic Church to act against its basic moral convictions. This rule will force Christian employers to offer abortion-inducing drugs in their health plans. By this rule, the Obama Administration casts aside the long-standing respect our government has shown in not forcing churches to act against their religious beliefs.
We cannot - and we will not - comply with this unjust law. I call on all Catholics in our diocese to act now to seek the immediate reversal of this rule.
Contact President Barack Obama and express your profound disappointment in the new contraceptive and abortion mandate.
Senator Roy Blunt is the sponsor of the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act, which would reverse this mandate. Contact him and thank him for his sponsorship of this bill. Contact Senator Claire McCaskill and request that she co-sponsor this bill.
Contact your U.S. Representative and urge his or her support for the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act in the U.S. House.
If you would like more information on what you can do, visit the Web sites of the diocese and the Missouri Catholic Conference. Through our diocesan newspaper, The Mirror, and electronic media, I will keep you up-to-date on this important issue. I also ask that you pray and fast for a reversal of this bad decision.
Devotedly yours in Christ,
Most Reverend James V. Johnston, Jr., D.D., J.C.L.
Bishop of Springfield-Cape GirardeauContact the White House here.
...when the sense of God is lost, the sense of man is also threatened and poisoned, as the Second Vatican Council concisely states: "Without the Creator the creature would disappear ... But when God is forgotten the creature itself grows unintelligible". Man is no longer able to see himself as "mysteriously different" from other earthly creatures; he regards himself merely as one more living being, as an organism which, at most, has reached a very high stage of perfection. Enclosed in the narrow horizon of his physical nature, he is somehow reduced to being "a thing", and no longer grasps the "transcendent" character of his "existence as man". He no longer considers life as a splendid gift of God, something "sacred" entrusted to his responsibility and thus also to his loving care and "veneration". Life itself becomes a mere "thing", which man claims as his exclusive property, completely subject to his control and manipulation.So here he is getting at the ultimate cause of the degradation and disrespect for life that we so often see - not only in such actions that cause physical death, but also in actions that cause us to treat one another as objects, as mere 'things' to be used and manipulated. He recognizes something intrinsic in the human person - that we are more than animals, we are persons and we are made in God's image and likeness. But when we try to push God out of the picture we degrade ourselves into something which we are not. Hence, life becomes disposable in our minds when we kick God out. John Paul had a keen understanding of this as he came from a Poland that had been occupied by a communist government - this government sought to do away with God and religion, making the worker's usefulness the only scale upon which to base a person's worth. But man is not a machine whose worth is only based on what he or she can do. Human beings have intrinsic worth because of who we are as persons made in God's image, therefore, our worth is based on God himself. This is why John Paul makes this point that if God is forgotten, who man is will also be forgotten.
We need to bring the Gospel of life to the heart of every man and woman and to make it penetrate every part of society.
This involves above all proclaiming the core of this Gospel. It is the proclamation of a living God who is close to us, who calls us to profound communion with himself and awakens in us the certain hope of eternal life. It is the affirmation of the inseparable connection between the person, his life and his bodiliness. It is the presentation of human life as a life of relationship, a gift of God, the fruit and sign of his love. It is the proclamation that Jesus has a unique relationship with every person, which enables us to see in every human face the face of Christ. It is the call for a "sincere gift of self" as the fullest way to realize our personal freedom.
It also involves making clear all the consequences of this Gospel. These can be summed up as follows: human life, as a gift of God, is sacred and inviolable. For this reason procured abortion and euthanasia are absolutely unacceptable. Not only must human life not be taken, but it must be protected with loving concern. The meaning of life is found in giving and receiving love, and in this light human sexuality and procreation reach their true and full significance. Love also gives meaning to suffering and death; despite the mystery which surrounds them, they can become saving events. Respect for life requires that science and technology should always be at the service of man and his integral development. Society as a whole must respect, defend and promote the dignity of every human person, at every moment and in every condition of that person's life.In short, if we want to restore a culture of life and civilization of love, we must share the Gospel. If kicking God out brings about a degradation of human life, then it follows that recognizing God and cultivating our relationship with Him by His grace will allow human life to flourish.
Organizers of a youth rally and pro-life Mass in Washington, D.C. say a growing U.S. movement in defense of the unborn will draw tens of thousands of young people to the events on Jan. 23.
Christa Lopiccolo, executive director of life issues for the D.C. archdiocese, attributed the expected high turnout to a “growing enthusiasm and dedication” to life among teens and young adults....
...The Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. will hold its annual youth rally and Mass on the morning of Jan. 23, before the march down Constitution Avenue.
To accommodate the large crowd, both the Verizon Center and the D.C. Armory [where we will be!] will be used for the events. The combined venues hold 28,000 people [which is barely a scratch on the total number of people who attend the March], and tickets for both locations have run out. [Praise God we were able to get tickets this year!]
Lopiccolo said that there were many others who had wanted to attend but were unable to get tickets due to high demand.
Starting last year, organizers added five additional sites to accommodate the overflow of people wishing to attend because “there simply isn’t an indoor facility large enough to support the crowds.”
Of those in attendance, between 80 and 90 percent are expected to be young people.
The number of teens and young adults at the march are “remarkably evident,” Lopiccolo said, noting that “today’s youth have grown up with sonograms and other technologies that shed light on the wonder of human development.”
Because of this, they are rejecting the idea that a baby in the womb is a mere “blob of tissue,” she said. [I think there is more to it than the technological advancement, but I certainly agree that that is a part of it.] Young people are also “very aware that many of their generation are missing” due to almost 40 years of legalized abortion in America.Read the whole article here.
