The Rabbi Who Spoke to Rome

October 25, 2013, 7:06 pm

≪ Previous: Ave Maria, Florida - a Catholic Town

From the NY Post, a column about Pope Benedict's Creative Minority:

"Did you hear the one about the rabbi, the pope and the humanist?

You did if you were at the Union League Club Monday evening. The rabbi is Jonathan Sacks, the pope is Francis and the humanist is Erasmus. These names mingled Monday night in an address aimed mainly at Western Christians who find themselves outcasts in a civilization once dominated by Christian principles and Christian practices.

For these people, the first part of the rabbi’s message is bleak: The battle for power is over, and you lost.

The second half is more arresting: Don’t worry about it.

Precisely by losing power, the rabbi says, Christians might recover the prophetic voice our society desperately needs. By that he means a community of Christians who, by staying true to their faith without aiming to convert the larger society to their beliefs, become a leaven for society."

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Article 21

October 28, 2013, 5:45 pm

≫ Next: Christians = most persecuted people on the planet

≪ Previous: The Rabbi Who Spoke to Rome

A Catholic Thinker reflects on Flannery O'Connor, one of my favorite writers:

The Mean Grace of Flannery O'Connor

"But don’t let the title of her stories, the bespectacled innocence of her photograph, or the reclusive, respectable life she led in the home with her mother fool you. Flannery O’Connor’s writing could be downright vicious and raw. Her characters are often crude, unkempt and ill-educated. Bereft of redeeming qualities and brimming with flaws, it is easy to repelled by them and the path their lives are taking. And yet, with writing that is so vivid, so animated, so…real, it is difficult to release yourself from its grip. So it is at this time, with her reader duly ensnared, that Flannery unleashes her power"

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Christians = most persecuted people on the planet

October 30, 2013, 5:47 pm

≫ Next: Female Worker raped at NYU's Catholic Center

≪ Previous: Article 21

The Persecuted Church in India

"Since 2008, the focus of Hindu terrorists has been in the jungle village of Kandhamal located in the state of Odisha (formerly Orissa). Over 56,000 of the 117,000 Christians living there have been driven from their homes, with 6,000 of their houses burnt to the ground. Three hundred Churches and holy places have been desecrated or destroyed.

The Christians are being persecuted not only because of their faith, as they are in Egypt and Syria, but because they refuse to renounce it and embrace Hinduism. As a result, thousands of Indians, including priests, nuns, and ministers, have been sadistically tortured. Many have lost limbs; others have been burnt alive. Over 100 have been martyred for the faith."

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Female Worker raped at NYU's Catholic Center

November 1, 2013, 7:11 pm

≫ Next: Documentary explores life and death of Catholic priest, a hero of Poland's Solidarity movement

≪ Previous: Christians = most persecuted people on the planet

A horrible story from the NY Post:

"A 24-year-old worker at NYU’s Catholic Center was raped by a brute who forced his way into the building after stalking her for several blocks before dawn Thursday morning, cops said.

The thug, who pummeled the victim’s face and ripped off her clothing during the assault, also stole the woman’s pink tote bag and iPhone before running off, according to an NYPD source.

“The Cardinal and all of us are keeping her in our prayers,” said Joseph Zwilling, Director of Communications, Archdiocese of New York. “We are grateful that she was not more seriously hurt.”

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Documentary explores life and death of Catholic priest, a hero of Poland's Solidarity movement

November 1, 2013, 7:13 pm

≫ Next: ‘Lady Alice’: Philosopher Alice von Hildebrand Honored by Pope Francis

≪ Previous: Female Worker raped at NYU's Catholic Center

"Gary Chartrand was on a pilgrimage in Poland when he learned about the life and death of Jerzy Popieluszko.

This was 2 1/2 years ago.

He was greatly moved by the story of the Catholic priest and Solidarity activist who helped empower the Polish people to rise up against communism.

“Why hasn’t someone made a movie about this man?” Chartrand said to a friend. “Why don’t [we] know more about someone who did something to bring change using non-violent resistance in the same way that Martin Luther King and Gandhi did?”

Read the rest at The Florida Times Union

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‘Lady Alice’: Philosopher Alice von Hildebrand Honored by Pope Francis

November 4, 2013, 5:16 pm

≫ Next: Magnificat - Hymns to the Mother of God From East & West

≪ Previous: Documentary explores life and death of Catholic priest, a hero of Poland's Solidarity movement

I was extremely pleased to find this article:

"Cardinal Burke invested von Hildebrand as a Dame Grand Cross of the Pontifical Order of St. Gregory the Great, an honor Pope Francis bestowed on her Sept. 19. The investiture took place during a dinner at A CLUB in midtown Manhattan. The affair marked von Hildebrand’s 90th birthday and was held by the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project, which seeks to disseminate the work of the German Catholic philosopher of the same name. Since Von Hildebrand's death in 1977, Alice von Hildebrand has devoted her life and work to promoting his thought.
Cardinal Burke, prefect of the Vatican Signatura – the highest judicial body in the Church – said in a keynote address that both Dietrich von Hildebrand, a professor at Fordham University, and his wife, who taught philosophy for 37 years at Hunter College in New York, faithfully carried out the role of Catholic educators in engendering in students the “listening heart” that leads one to the fullness of truth in the Catholic faith."

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Magnificat - Hymns to the Mother of God From East & West

November 4, 2013, 6:01 pm

≫ Next: Year of Faith Lecture Series

≪ Previous: ‘Lady Alice’: Philosopher Alice von Hildebrand Honored by Pope Francis

An Evening of Sacred Song
St. Jean Baptiste Church
184 East 76th St.
NYC

Monday, November 25, 2013 at 7:30 PM
Tickets - $25

Choirs from two local theological schools representing Eastern and Western Christendom will jointly present an a cappella concert titled “Magnificat: Hymns to the Mother of God from the East and West” on Monday evening, November 25, 2013, 7:30 pm, at St. Jean Baptiste Church, 184 East 76th Street, New York City. The Male Choir from St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, of the Orthodox Church in America, will join with a Schola from St. Joseph's Seminary (Dunwoodie) of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, in praise of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, who holds a place of honor in both traditions.
Music selections from the Orthodox tradition for the concert will illustrate the Eastern Church’s feasts dedicated to the Theotokos (Greek for “Mother of God”), while music from the Roman Catholic tradition will include time-honored hymns of laudation to the Virgin Mary, taken from ancient chant and from the classical period up until modern times, such as O Sanctissima by Beethoven (1770–1827) and Ave Maria by Biebl (1906–2001).

Tickets are $25 for general seating, and may be purchased online. Limited tickets will be available at the door one hour prior to the concert.

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Year of Faith Lecture Series

November 4, 2013, 6:06 pm

≫ Next: How the First Christians Changed the World (and What We Can Learn from Them)

≪ Previous: Magnificat - Hymns to the Mother of God From East & West

At St. Joseph's Seminary:

The final speaker in the Year of Faith Lecture Series:

His Eminence, Timothy Cardinal Dolan

Sunday, November 24, 2013

at 4:30 PM

"Year of Faith and the New Evangelization"

Timothy Cardinal Dolan is the Archbishop of New York and is currently the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He holds a License in Sacred Theology from the University of St. Thomas (Angelicum) in Rome and a Doctorate in American Church History from The Catholic University of America. Cardinal Dolan has also served as the Rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Auxiliary Bishop of Saint Louis and the Archbishop of Milwaukee. He is the author of numerous books, including Priests for the Third Millennium and True Freedom: On Protecting Human Dignity and Religious Liberty.

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How the First Christians Changed the World (and What We Can Learn from Them)

November 5, 2013, 6:05 pm

≫ Next: The Power of the Religious Habit: A True Story

≪ Previous: Year of Faith Lecture Series

A small snip from this article by Fr.Michael Giesler that describes the unique community of early Christians:

"Above all, the early followers of Christ showed an understanding and kindness to one another and to non-Christians that astounded the ancient world—a world often constructed on power, money, and cruelty. Though there were noble pagans who believed in personal discipline and stoic acceptance of adversity, their virtue was based on human efforts alone and often led to a feeling of sterility and helplessness.

But Christian fortitude had a twofold source. First, Christians were aware of the grace that came to them from baptism, a grace which made them children of God and gave them a power not dependent on human efforts or lineage (cf. John 1:12). Second, they shared the conviction that no Christian was isolated from another and that all of them—whether rich or poor, noble or slave, educated or uneducated—were equally loved and valued by Jesus Christ. Together the communities formed what the Catholic Church would later call the Mystical Body of Christ, in which each member, no matter how small, had an important contribution to make."

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The Power of the Religious Habit: A True Story

November 5, 2013, 6:51 pm

≫ Next: Reverend Msgr. Lawrence F. Ballweg, 97

≪ Previous: How the First Christians Changed the World (and What We Can Learn from Them)

"Even though she is barely five feet tall, Sister Z drew everyone's attention when she entered the large visiting room of Greensville Prison. It was as if a rock star had arrived. All eyes were drawn to her, and each person's face held a slightly different expression. Some quickly looked away as if ashamed, others smiled, and some kept staring like little children. I suppose this is similar to what we will experience at the final judgment when we see Christ, face-to-face, instead of hidden in his representatives here on earth.

Their reaction was due to one small detail: Sister Z wore her religious habit. It is ironic that many nuns have given up their traditional habit in order to be more conformed to the world. Perhaps, they have rejected the habit to stress their individuality, but God saves a community of people, not just individuals. From the looks on people's faces that day in the visiting room, it was evident that Sister Z's habit conveyed to them something of the reality of the Incarnation, of the human linked to the divine, the subjective to the objective, the deeply personal to the institutional. The habit suggested that she was grafted onto the Vine, the supernatural cause of all natural beauty, natural life, and natural power.

Sister Z herself says that her habit is a daily reminder of her vow to God."

Read the rest to see the 'ordinary little miracle' that occurred.

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Reverend Msgr. Lawrence F. Ballweg, 97

November 5, 2013, 7:30 pm

≫ Next: New Bishop of Rochester, New York = Salvatore R. Matano

≪ Previous: The Power of the Religious Habit: A True Story

RIP

I saw on the website of the DRVC that this priest died at the age of 97. I had never heard of him and was intrigued by his long life, so I googled. It turns out that he was the priest who testified at the hearings looking into the behavior of the IRS back in 1997. This was the hearing regarding the IRS' treatment of citizens, not the IRS's treatment of certain non profit groups that was exposed recently. My favorite quote (I highlighted it below) from Father is from this Chicago Tribune article: Traumatized By The Irs -

"They're phantoms," testified Rev. Lawrence Ballweg, a Catholic priest who dealt with the IRS while administering the trust established by his now-deceased mother to benefit the poor. "Nobody ever signs anything."
The IRS threatened to seize his bank account, car and other property before Ballweg straightened out what should have been a simple error. "They made no effort to help me at all," he said. "If I had treated people like that when I was a pastor, my pews would have been empty."

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New Bishop of Rochester, New York = Salvatore R. Matano

November 6, 2013, 7:17 pm

≫ Next: Pope meeting Putin, could help mend Catholic-Orthodox relations

≪ Previous: Reverend Msgr. Lawrence F. Ballweg, 97

Bishop Salvatore Matano has been named the new Bishop of Rochester

Congratulations to our long suffering neighbors to the north! The Diocese of Rochester has had terrible leadership for decades (see the blog Cleansing Fire for all the gory details) and now they will finally have some new hope for better times. Now, if the capitol area can get new leadership, upstate will really be looking up.

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Pope meeting Putin, could help mend Catholic-Orthodox relations

November 7, 2013, 7:40 pm

≫ Next: Them Bones, Them Bones

≪ Previous: New Bishop of Rochester, New York = Salvatore R. Matano

"(Reuters) - Pope Francis will receive Russian President Vladimir Putin on November 25, an encounter that could help mend strained relations between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church.
Russian-Vatican relations have been fraught since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, with Moscow accusing the Roman Catholic Church of trying to poach believers from the Russian Orthodox Church, a charge the Vatican denies.
But Putin is the first Kremlin leader since the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution to publicly profess religious faith - to the Orthodox church - and has several times advocated ending the long feud between the two major Christian churches.
Putin and the pope will hold their first meeting on November 25, a Vatican spokesman said on Thursday."

Read the rest here.

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Them Bones, Them Bones

November 9, 2013, 6:47 pm

≫ Next: Article 8

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Relics of St. Peter to Go On Public Display

"For the first time and to coincide with the end of the Year of Faith, the Vatican is to put on public display the relics of St. Peter. Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, announced the Vatican’s plans in a Nov. 8 article in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano.

...

"The tomb of St. Peter is located in the Vatican necropolis – the so-called ‘Scavi’ – under the main altar of the Vatican basilica. It was excavated in the 1940s and after detailed testing, Pope Paul VI verified them as St. Peter's relics. The ‘Scavi Tour’ has long been a very popular attraction at the Vatican. The bones of St. Peter have always been kept in the grotto of the basilica and never placed on public display."

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Article 8

November 9, 2013, 7:06 pm

≫ Next: The Bones of St. Peter

≪ Previous: Them Bones, Them Bones

This looks like a worthy event from the folks at FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic university students), click on the link below for more info:

Reach New York

FOCUS New Evangelization Prayer Breakfast

Friday, November 15th, 2013

:30 a.m. Mass & Rosary
8:30-10:00 a.m. Breakfast & Program

$55 per person
$35 for Young Professionals
$15 for Students, Religious & Clergy

Church of Our Savior | Mass
59 Park Avenue | New York, NY 10016

Union League Club | Breakfast
37 East 38th Avenue | New York, NY 10016

Emcee: Fr. Jonathan Morris

Father Jonathan Morris is the Program Director of The Catholic Channel on SiriusXM, 129 and the Campus Minister at Columbia University. He also serves as an analyst for the Fox News Channel, Fox Business Channel and Wall Street Journal. He has authored several books including: The Promise: God's Purpose and Plan for When Life Hurts and “God Wants You Happy: from self-help to God’s Help; in addition he will release next year “A Soul at Peace: Making The Serenity Prayer a Way of Life.” He is a priest in residence at Corpus Christi parish in Manhattan and serves as Chaplain to “The Christophers.”

Keynote Speaker: Fr. Robert Spitzer

A Catholic priest in the Jesuit order, serves as the President of the Magis Center of Reason and Faith and the Spitzer Center. He was President of Gonzaga University from 1998-2009 and significantly increased the programs and curricula. He has made multiple media appearances on Larry King Live, the Today Show, The History Channel, and multiple nationally syndicated radio programs. He has published 5 books, and is currently writing three, The Grand Designer: The Evidence for Creation in Modern Physics; Personal Happiness; and Jesus-Emmanuel: A Philosopher Examines the Evidence for Jesus. Fr. Spitzer also has a rewarding career in teaching, won numerous academic awards and founded seven national institutes.

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The Bones of St. Peter

November 10, 2013, 6:15 pm

≫ Next: Mass for Bereaved Parents

≪ Previous: Article 8

How Does the Vatican Know That Those Old Bones Are the Relics of St. Peter?

Earlier I posted about the Vatican putting the bones of St. Peter on display for veneration for the first time ever. Kathy Schiffer at Seasons of Grace offers some detail behind those bones:

"The Church has had a long tradition that St. Peter’s Basilica, construction of which was funded by the Emperor Constantine, was built in the early fourth century atop the burial site of St. Peter. But in 1939–less than 100 years ago–a team of workmen digging a grave for Pope Pius XI in the crypt beneath the Basilica uncovered what was plainly the top of a Roman building. The new pope, Pius XII, ordered further investigation; and archeologists gradually unearthed a well preserved Roman necropolis, or city of the dead, immediately beneath the foundations of St. Peter’s.

In actuality, we don’t know with certainty whose bones those are. There are strong evidences through history: writings by early popes and kings, graffiti messages in the tomb, and the placement of the graves themselves. The early Christians, it seemed, considered it a great honor to be buried near the remains of Peter, the first pope. And DNA testing has confirmed that the bones are from a male in his 60′s who likely died in the first century."

Click the link at top of this post to read the whole interesting story.

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Mass for Bereaved Parents

November 10, 2013, 6:53 pm

≫ Next: Catholic Weddings

≪ Previous: The Bones of St. Peter

St. Rose of Lima Church in Massapequa will have a Mass for Bereaved parents and families who have suffered the loss of a child:

Wednesday, November 13, 2013
7:30 PM in the Church

All are invited

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Catholic Weddings

November 11, 2013, 6:49 pm

≫ Next: Four Days of Adoration on Long Island Begin Nov. 24

≪ Previous: Mass for Bereaved Parents

The Deacons Bench has a post featuring the wedding requirements at a parish in Cincinnati. The requirements include some of the basics: You have to do a communication inventory and meet with a parish couple 2-3 times. You have to meet with the priest, and the musician and attend a retreat and a class. In addition you have to perform 5 hours of voluntary service at the parish. You must be a registered parishioner and pay $975, or if you are not a parishioner you pay $2000.

As the deacon mentioned in his post, the requirements vary from parish to parish and from Diocese to Diocese, and some people simply give up and do not have a Church wedding. I find some good and bad in the above requirements. The inventory and meeting a parish couple is good and the equivalent of our Pre-Cana program, which I find to be of good value. I think the cost is too high, around here it was $500 when I was married 7 years ago. I also find the voluntary service a bit much, since requiring it for a wedding makes it non-voluntary. The ability to have a Church wedding is an expectation for a Catholic couple, not something they have to 'earn'. I do believe it is important for Catholics to go though preparation for the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony but if the Church places too many obstacles in the way, couples will simply not bother. In this post Vatican II Church it is obvious most Catholics are only going through the motions of having a Church wedding, but making the path filled with requirements does not necessarily turn those couples into faithful Christians.

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Four Days of Adoration on Long Island Begin Nov. 24

November 11, 2013, 6:55 pm

≫ Next: Pray for the people of the Philippines

≪ Previous: Catholic Weddings

"ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. – Nov. 8, 2013 – The Most Rev. William Murphy, bishop, Diocese of Rockville Centre announced that the Diocese of Rockville Centre will celebrate the fulfillment of the Year of Faith and the continuation of the Diocesan “Belong More Deeply” evangelization initiative by a diocesan-wide and parish-based period of Eucharistic Adoration.

The Days of Adoration will begin on the Feast of Christ the King (Sunday, November 24, 2013). This is the day the Year of Faith will close. For the next three days, Eucharistic Adoration will take place in 96 parishes throughout Long Island. This powerful event will conclude on the day before Thanksgiving, Wednesday, November 27, 2013.

During this time there will be Eucharistic Adoration taking place continually from 12 Noon through 8:00 PM Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday in at least one parish in each of the 13 deaneries of the Diocese of Rockville Centre."

For the complete list of parishes holding this Adoration you have to visit the DRVC website and click the banner at the top.

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Pray for the people of the Philippines

November 11, 2013, 7:00 pm

≫ Next: The “Fairy-Tale” Prince and the Five Surprises

≪ Previous: Four Days of Adoration on Long Island Begin Nov. 24

Pope calls for urgent aid to be sent to Philippines

"Pope Francis led prayers for people hit by a deadly typhoon in the Philippines and surrounding region, and asked that concrete aid be sent soon.

During the Angelus with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square yesterday, the pope expressed his concern and prayers for the estimated tens of thousands of people dead and others affected by Super Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated parts of the central Philippines over the weekend.

“I wish to express my closeness to the people of the Philippines and that region that has been hit by a terrible typhoon. Unfortunately the victims are many and the damage is enormous,” he said.
He asked the tens of thousands of people gathered in the square to join him in a moment of silent prayer “for these brothers and sisters and let’s try also to make our concrete help reach them.”
In response to the tragedy, Pope Francis made an initial donation of $150,000 for the relief efforts through the Pontifical Council Cor Unum.

The money, sent through the local churches hardest hit by the storm, was earmarked to support “assistance for the displaced and those impacted by the flooding,” the Vatican said in a written statement."

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Tickets are $25 for general seating, and may be purchased online. Limited tickets will be available at the door one hour prior to the concert.

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