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10 Reasons Why Youth Leaders Should Get In Shape

April 29, 2013, 6:30 pm
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Go to the Christian Post to read the 10 reasons, which should apply to all priests, deacons, nuns, and all who work in ministry.



Related:  Nerd Fitness posts stories of nerds (people who are into gaming, science fiction, etc..) who get into shape and level up their life.  One of the stories involves a seminarian at Mundelein Seminary who lost 115 lbs.

"I’m originally from Odessa, TX, hometown to Permian football and Friday Night Lights (Steve’s note: great book, decent movie, INCREDIBLE TV show).


My journey began in the Summer of 2010 when I was studying Spanish in San Antonio, Texas. I had just gotten a physical the week before where my doctor told me I was pre-diabetic and had high blood pressure. I was weighed in at a whopping 376-pounds and was extremely unhappy with where my life was going (many tears were shed over my physical wellbeing).

I was in the Spanish program with a few buddies of mine who had always been health conscious.

I asked for their help and we developed an exercise routine that involved swimming and the elliptical machine for an hour a day, six times a week. With their help and support, I stuck to that program for the rest of the summer."


Read the whole story and an interview with Ryan here.


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Priest collapses, dies at altar during service

April 29, 2013, 8:42 pm
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RIP

From New Zealand:

"Hundreds of parishioners watched in shock as a Catholic priest died at the altar during mass, moments after baptising a baby.
Napier's longest-serving priest, Monsignor Timothy Francis Hannigan, 81, collapsed at the altar during communion at St Patrick's Catholic Church on Sunday.
A doctor and nurses in the packed church rushed to help the popular priest when he slumped to the ground about 9.30am, but he died by the altar of the church where he had served for more than 30 years" 

Read the whole story here

Timothy Hannigan
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Shanghai bishop Jin Luxian dies at age 96

April 29, 2013, 9:06 pm
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"Born into a Catholic family in Shanghai in June 1916, Jin was ordained as a Jesuit priest in 1938 and spent several years studying in France, Germany, and other European nations. Returning to his native Shanghai in 1951, Jin was imprisoned for nearly two decades under Communist China's founder, Mao Zedong, who ordered Chinese Catholics to cut their ties with the Vatican and jailed hundreds of priests and nuns as counter-revolutionaries.


Jin was paroled in 1972 and put to work as a translator based on his knowledge of several European languages. Following Mao's death in 1976, he was formally released and named Shanghai bishop in 1988 by the Patriotic Association. Although the Vatican recognized another priest as Shanghai bishop, Jin worked tirelessly to recover church property and rebuild congregations, achieving a remarkable degree of independence from the authorities in Beijing."


Click here for the rest.  Pray for the Church in China, that it may be given more freedom and grow.


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Catholic Deacon Sentenced for Stealing From Collection Plates

April 29, 2013, 9:13 pm
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It is rare to hear of a Deacon scandal - the thousands of deacons in the Church are generally models of Christian gentlemen.

"GRAND HAVEN, MI – Joseph Thomas Finnigan, the 73-year-old Catholic deacon who admitted stealing $120,000 from Grand Haven collection plates over some five years, will spend the next year of his life in jail and the rest of his life trying to pay back the money."


More details from Michigan Live
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Help the Orphans of Haiti

April 30, 2013, 5:23 pm
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A Concert for Mercy

Saturday, May 4, 2013, 3:00PM

St. Agnes Parish Center, 29 Quealy Place, Rockville Centre, NY

To Benefit

"La Maison des enfants de Madame Mole” Orphanage , Haiti

Sisters of Charity of St. Louis

Donation: $10.00

Contact: Jemima Desroches, Administrative Assistant

Office of Multicultural Diversity, 516-678-5800, X407

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John W Blewett, RIP

April 30, 2013, 5:48 pm
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John Blewett was the managing editor of The Latin Mass Magazine.  I enjoyed his gentle humor at the Latin Mass conferences I attended in New Jersey.  He led a full and interesting and important life.

"John Wesley Blewett, 84, of Santa Paula, California, a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, as well as a successful businessman and dedicated leader in pro-life and Catholic causes, passed away on Friday, February 8, 2013, in Ventura, California. He died as he had hoped, surrounded by family and fortified with the Sacraments of Holy Mother Church.

A man of many careers, John brought the same determination, enthusiasm and energy to everything he did. His career included work as a longshoreman on the docks of Seattle during World War II, as a sportswriter for the Seattle Times, as an executive in the Kaiser family of companies, as Vice President of Thomas Aquinas College, as President & CEO of the Wanderer Forum, and finally, as Managing Editor of The Latin Mass Magazine.

John was born June 1, 1928, in Butte, Montana, and attended high school in Seattle, Washington. After serving two years in the Army, he attended Seattle University on a basketball scholarship, graduating in 1951."

Full Obit here
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In Rio slum, residents recall 1980 visit, look forward to Pope Francis

May 1, 2013, 6:18 pm
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From Catholic News Service:

"RIO DE JANEIRO (CNS) -- Carlos Rojas is the keeper of 240 keys at Our Lady of Consolation Church in Vidigal, a hillside slum in south Rio de Janeiro. He opens the church each morning, guards, cleans and closes it each night.


Before the church was built eight years ago, priests celebrated Mass in the street. Wanting their own space, Catholics in the community walked the hillside, going door-to-door, collecting signatures and eventually winning enough support to build their own sanctuary.

Brazil has more Catholics than any country in the world. In 1980 Blessed John Paul II visited the favela, or slum, and left his gold cross-shaped ring there, urging the community to sell it and use the money to better living conditions. Rojas was on the committee that helped to coordinate the visit.

In July, another pope will come to Brazil for World Youth Day."


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The Bishop of Rome as Christian Radical

May 2, 2013, 6:24 pm
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Click this link to read the whole article by George Weigel in First Things. 

"Pope Francis believes that the Church in Latin America took a decisive step toward a new future in 2007. Then, at the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, held at Aparecida in Brazil, the leaders of the Church moved far beyond the “kept” Catholicism of the past—the Catholicism that was “kept” by legal establishment or, more recently, cultural habit—and embraced a robustly Evangelical Catholicism in which, as the pope wrote, “the whole of ministry (is) in a missionary key.”


The move from “kept” Catholicism to Evangelical Catholicism is for everyone, the pope seems convinced."

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Pope Francis to canonise 800 Italians slain during historic siege

May 2, 2013, 6:39 pm
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"Pope Francis is preparing to canonise an estimated 800 Italian laymen killed by Ottoman soldiers in the 15th century. The canonisation service will be on May 12 in St Peter’s Square and it will be the first carried out by the Pontiff since he was elected in early March.

The killing of the martyrs by Ottoman troops, who launched a weeks-long siege of Otranto, a small port town at the most eastern tip of southern Italy, took place in 1480.

When Otranto residents refused to surrender to the Ottoman army, the soldiers were ordered to massacre all males over the age of 15. Many were ordered to convert to Islam or die, but Blessed Antonio Primaldo, a tailor, spoke on the prisoners’ behalf. “We believe in Jesus Christ, Son of God, and for Jesus Christ we are ready to die,” he said, according to Blessed John Paul II, who visited Otranto in 1980 for the 500th anniversary of the martyrs’ deaths."

More on the canonizations here.

More on the history of Otranto can be found on Catholic Answers here - How the 800 Martyrs of Otranto Saved Rome

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Embattled president of St. John's University, Fr. Donald Harrington, to step down

May 3, 2013, 6:43 pm
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From the New York Post

"The embattled president of St. John's University is announcing his retirement today, and his chief of staff has already resigned in the face of an ongoing probe of lavish gifts they received from a corrupt dean at the Queens college who killed herself during a federal fraud trial, among other issues.

Father Donald Harrington, a Vincentian priest, who spent 24 years at the school, emailed his resignation as president to the St. John's community this afternoon. It is effective July 31.

His chief of staff Rob Wile's resignation is effective June 30, sources said."
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"The stunning developments follow a series of damning articles in New York Magazine that explored the tight connections between Harrington, Wile and St. John's dean and fundraiser Cecilia Chang.

Chang, the the vice president for international relations and dean of the Institute of Asian Studies, killed herself in November during her ongoing Brooklyn federal trial on charges of embezzling more than $1 million from the school."


I posted about this scandal here after reading an article in Crisis Magazine.  There are still many questions I would like to see answered including:

  • Why did Fr. Harrington participate in business partnerships with Wile that involved hundreds of thousands of dollars?  As a Vincentian priest why would he need to make money in addition to what he is paid as president of a University? 
  • How did the board allow Wile to be paid such an high salary?  Did anyone raise any alarms about this?
  • Why did the University loan Wile money at no interest? 
  • Who on the board allowed these loans and are they still allowed to sit on the board?
  • How did Chang get away with so much corrupt behavior for so many years?  How does a Catholic University not clamp down on corruption quickly?
  • How does the University's Catholic identity fit into this scandal?  Are there going to be major reforms to prevent this corruption from happening again?
  • What is the Vincentian community going to do to prevent their priests from being able to get involved in major business dealings involving corruption?
  • Did Wile pay back every dime of the money he borrowed? 
  • Why is Wile being allowed to resign effective June 30?  Shouldn't the University want him out immediately?
More details on the sleaze involving Harrington and Wile can be found here - Top St. John’s Official Blocked Payback Request

"The 2011 probe of Cecilia Chang, the corrupt former St. John’s dean who stole more than $1 million from the university, revealed that Rob Wile, chief of staff to St. John's president Father Donald Harrington, had charged $25,000 on brands like Prada, Ferragamo, and Lanvin to one of Chang's Taiwanese credit cards, which was billed to a university account. Now sources inside the investigation reveal that they told Harrington in 2011 that Wile should reimburse St. John's at least some of the money. Harrington said he'd consider the recommendation, "but it went nowhere," to the shock of one investigator.


Instead, "Wile got raises," as one source put it, after the investigation began in 2010. That year he received an additional payment of $150,000 in a category marked “other reportable compensation," according to an IRS form. Sources say the $150,000 included a $100,000 retention bonus and $50,000 in debt forgiveness. Wile received $370,000 in interest-free loans from St. John's and that year received more in compensation than any other current employee except the basketball coach, according to documents. He also approved some of Chang's expenses."



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New Book by Alice Von Hildebrand

May 3, 2013, 7:32 pm
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Egypt's Christians Celebrate Coptic Easter

May 4, 2013, 6:42 pm
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Happy Easter to all the Eastern Christians celebrating it tomorrow, especially those suffering under muslim domination. 

"Pope Tawadros II led his first Easter Mass as head of the ancient Coptic Church in Egypt praying for security and prosperity on Saturday at the same cathedral that was the site of sectarian clashes weeks earlier.

The Orthodox Easter mass, meant to be a religious celebration that marks the resurrection of Jesus after his crucifixion, took place amid increased attacks on churches.

Egypt's Orthodox Coptic Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the country's 90 million people, have long complained of discrimination. Clashes between Muslims and Christians have become more frequent after a breakdown in security following the ouster of longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak from power in a 2011 uprising."

More here from ABC News

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Gen X Revert: Popping readers' faces for 10 years

May 4, 2013, 7:36 pm
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Years ago this blog had Haloscan comments but those disappeared one day and I was left with the Google/Blogger comment system.  Now, all I ever get is spam which is annoying except when I get good spam like this (on the post about Pope Francis canonizing 800 martyrs):

"The article provides proven useful to me personally.  It's very useful and you are clearly really experienced in this field.  You get popped my own face to different opinion of this specific matter together with intriguing and reliable content material."

Glad you enjoy my blog dear reader.
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Sousa Mendes saved more lives than Schindler so why isn't he a household name too?

May 4, 2013, 8:48 pm
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"With the Nazi invasion of France came an order from Portugal that no Jews or dissidents be granted passage. But one man stood tall against the decree – and in issuing visas for 30,000 people, Aristides de Sousa Mendes was to risk everything. Seventy years on, the people whose lives he saved are battling to restore his honour..."


Read more about this Catholic hero here.  

See also the Sousa Mendes Foundation 

His grandson wrote this article that points out the interesting fact that we have Mendes to thank for Huey Lewis and the News, Salvador Dali and Curious George!
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New Evidence in Oswaldo Payá’s Death

May 5, 2013, 4:38 am
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The National Catholic Register has introduced me to the story of Oswaldo Paya, a Cuban Catholic who died in a car crash after being harrassed and threatened by the government for years.

New Evidence in Oswaldo Paya's Death

"WASHINGTON — When Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, 60, one of Cuba’s most famous — and intensely devout — Catholic activists was killed on July 22, 2012, his family, friends and human-rights advocates around the world considered the tragic death suspicious.

Now the U.S. State Department has called for an independent, international investigation into the circumstances of the accident.

Payá founded the Christian Liberation Movement (CLM) in 1988 to advocate for free speech, freedom of association, more private property rights and the right to have a voice in government decisions through elections in Cuba. The Register profiled Payá in a lengthy interview in 2010.

Calling for a national referendum on these freedoms, in an effort known as the Varela Project, in honor of a 19th-century Cuban-born priest, Father Felix Varela, the CLM gathered more than 25,000 signatures and presented them to the Cuban National Assembly in 2002 and 2003. As a result, most of the movement’s leaders were jailed in the "Black Spring" of 2003.

Many were released into exile in 2010 as a result of a deal worked out between the Church in Cuba, the Castro regime and the Spanish government."

Read more here
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Christos Anesti

May 5, 2013, 4:58 am
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Women of Faith Concert at St. Rose of Lima Church

May 5, 2013, 7:46 pm
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A concert dedicated to all mothers, grandmothers, Godmothers, foster mothers, and all those who have been a maternal influence in our life will be held on Friday, May 10 at 8:00pm at St. Rose of Lima Church on Merrick Road in Massapequa.   The concert will feature both the 100 voice Diocesan Choir of Rockville Centre, and the St. Rose of Lima Parish Choir, along with soloists and orchestra.   The concert will be directed by Michael Wustrow and John Buckel.   In addition to music in honor of the Blessed Mother, the featured work will be the St. Cecilia Mass of Charles Gounod.  

Also known as the Messe Solennelle, the Mass dedicated to St. Cecilia is one of several Masses written by Gounod, who is also known for his many secular operas.   This setting is very operatic in nature, capturing the texts of the Mass and presenting them with soloists, a full orchestra, and a large choir.   The piety and sentiment are at times very subtle and other times overwhelming, but always related to the texts being sung.    

The concert will also feature the two choirs divided antiphonally in the church, and will have several pieces dedicated to the Blessed Mother, including the famous Ave Maria of Franz Biebl.  

Suggested ticket donation is $15 ($10 for students/seniors).  A “Women of Faith” Honor Roll is also being created (living or deceased) and additional information may be requested at the time of ticket purchase.   To obtain tickets and information about the “Women of Faith” Honor Roll,  please contact the Diocesan Office of Worship at 516.678.5800 x504. or St. Rose of Lima Church at 516.798.4992 x240 


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In the Spirit: Holy Wisdom Monastery now off-limits to Catholic priests

May 6, 2013, 8:00 am
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In the Spirit: Holy Wisdom Monastery now off-limits to Catholic priests : Wsj

"Bishop Robert Morlino is continuing to put more distance between the Madison Catholic Diocese and Holy Wisdom Monastery, a former Catholic monastery on the outskirts of Madison that is now a non-Catholic ecumenical retreat center.

In the latest development, Morlino is now prohibiting priests in the diocese from “attendance or participation at all events held at Holy Wisdom Monastery and all events sponsored or co-sponsored by Holy Wisdom Monastery or the Benedictine Women of Madison,” according to a March 7 letter to priests leaked to the State Journal.

Read the latest on this place from the Wisconsin State Journal.

For much more background and detail see Laetificat:  The problem with Holy Wisdom Monastery 

This is one of many examples of religious communities dwindling down and exiting the Church.  It is a sad result of the loss of orthodoxy within the Church. 
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Are some people just born evil?

May 6, 2013, 6:29 pm
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In the new book, ‘Confessions of a Sociopath,’ one woman says yes—that those like her lack a moral compass and take joy from our misery

 "Her psychopathy manifests itself in generally soft violence: She likes befriending other women, eliciting their deepest fears and most shameful experiences, then using all that information against them: “I indulge in inserting myself into a person’s psyche and quietly wreaking as much havoc as I can,” she writes.
Thomas has set friends up with each other, playing the long game and going after one half of the couple when it will hurt most (she identifies as bisexual). She rose academically and professionally through threats and bullying: gender discrimination, fabricated claims of sexual harassment, anything that would get her closer to her goals. She has destroyed others’ careers.
“I am absolutely shameless when it comes to asking for, pushing for, and ultimately inducing people to give me what I want,” she writes, “whatever it takes.”

Read the whole article in The New York Post.  This is exactly why real Catholicism is so necessary and why the Church and American society needs massive reform.  Wehave way too many sociopaths around and instead of fighting them, we seem completely oblivious. 

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New Book: Seven Men: And the Secret of Their Greatness

May 6, 2013, 7:33 pm
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At The Catholic Thing.Org Brad Miner reviews the new book by Eric Metaxas which profiles these 7 men:

George Washington
William Wilberforce
Eric Liddell
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Jackie Robinson
Pope John Paul II
Charles W. Colson

"All of the heroes of 7 MEN were, in more ways than one, strong, and Metaxas writes that “God’s idea of making men strong was so that they would use that strength to protect women and children and anyone else.” They had chivalry, in other words (a subject dear to my heart). This is strength “given over to God’s purposes.” How else do such men found a nation (Washington), end slavery (Wilberforce), turn away from fame (Liddle), sacrifice everything (Bonhoeffer), break the color barrier (Robinson), change the world (John Paul II), and overcome public humiliation (Colson)?"
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