Catholic Exchange » 1

Harold Fickett — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 05:00:04 +0000

“Love is never defeated, and I could add, the history of Ireland proves it.” ~Blessed Pope John Paul II… Read More

Pilgrims go to Lourdes for 154th Anniversary

arichards — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:00:26 +0000

Bellarmine

jpride — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:39:19 +0000

Bellarmine, Bellarmine, your name rings true,
Secured in the Faith that you did proclaim,
Rooted in Reason, you sang Faith anew,
Pealing out God’s glory e’en o’er man’s shame.

In your age, you were surely a doctor,
Curing deceit, for Truth is first what matters,
But to us, you’re more–you are a father,
Guarding us in Love from the Lie that shatters.

Like a pristine window of colored glass,
Structured and strong, yet gentle and pleasing,
Translucent, letting all radiant light pass,
Thou, in Truth, our hearts, with Love, are seizing.

To gain the treasure of wisdom, ’tis true,
Is to win the friendship of God Thou knew!

Why The Vatican Newspaper Said Obama’s First 100 Days Wasn’t All that Bad

John-Henry Westen — Sat, 02 May 2009 04:00:37 +0000

In a front-page article in the April 30 issue of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, writer Giuseppe Fiorentino suggests that the first 100 days of the Obama Administration have “not shaken the world” in terms of being as negative as expected. Given the source, the article sent shock waves through the pro-life world particularly in America, which was left with the distinct impression that the Vatican writer was very out of touch with his subject material.

For some answers as to why the Vatican newspaper would have taken such a stance, LifeSiteNews.com spoke with Monsignor Ignacio Barreiro, the head of the Rome office of Human Life International. “It is clearly an effort to build bridges with the current Democratic Administration in the U.S.,” he said. “This one of several articles that have been published in L’Osservatore Romano with this intent. It would seem that some officers within the Secretary of State have hopes that with a moderate and positive approach towards President Obama they would be able to stop him from implementing many of the more radical elements of his political platform.”

Writing in L’Osservatore Romano, Fiorentino stated “on ethical issues– which have been the major concern of the Catholic episcopate since the election campaign– Obama does not seem to have gone through with the radical innovations he voiced. The new guidelines regarding research on embryonic stem cells do not in fact follow the change of course planned months ago.”

Douglas Johnson, the Legislative Director for National Right to Life Committee in the US, told LifeSiteNews.com, that contrary to what some have said, the pro-life perspective on Obama’s first 100 days has shown that he’s “already proven to be the most relentlessly pro-abortion President who has ever held office.”

A summary list of significant policy actions and high level appointments of pro-abortion activists, goes on for three pages. Johnson explained, “Some things that Obama wishes to do require Congressional action as well so they can’t all be done with the stroke of a pen. With what he can do with a stroke of a pen, he has been in
substance very aggressive.”

Johnson explained further that “the President’s executive order is completely open ended, it does not contain any of the restrictions mentioned” in the L’Osservatore Romano article. “The only thing (Obama) expressed any reservation about was human cloning for reproduction,” said Johnson. According to Johnson, reproductive cloning is, from a pro-life perspective even worse than therapeutic cloning, since with therapeutic cloning the only difference is that the human clones created are sure to be killed, rather than allowed to survive till birth. Obama is on record as having supported such legislation as a Senator.

Johnson noted that the NIH guidelines which seem more restrictive, and on which Fiorentino’s observations are based, “are nothing but a temporary measure for a bill being drafted that will allow for human cloning.” Johnson suggested that the confusion that has resulted is a “deliberate strategy” in which “the public are lulled into complacency thinking some kind of compromised has been reached.”

A former diplomat himself, Monsignor Barreiro explained the tactic being used by the Vatican newspaper. “It is a diplomatic move similar to the one used several years ago towards the Soviet Union,” he said.

“So here we have a replay of the Ostpolitik that was inspired by Cardinal Agostino Casaroli. This policy is inspired by the perceived need to reach a working accommodation with the many governments in Europe and in America that are dominated by liberal and socialist ideologies.”

Barreiro added however: “In the same way that the Ostpolitik did not work and only weakened the Church, this current approach to the Democratic Administration will fail and would lead to a further weakening of the Church in the U.S. and probably worldwide.”

Johnson’s assessment too is that such writings, which swallow the deceptive rhetoric, are “not helpful”. He concluded: “There’s nothing middle of the road about the substantive policies that this administration is pursuing on life issues. All of the talk on life issues is a purely rhetorical smoke screen. He has been more extreme than Clinton … Clinton was pretty bad, but Obama is substantively worse. He’s done more faster to hurt the pro-life cause, and now of course he’s going to have an opportunity to put somebody on the Supreme Court.”

Spreading Kindness Wherever You Go

Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 08:30:48 +0000

Blog Post:

It is a little late, but February 11 – 17 was “Random Acts of Kindness” week in the US. Still, kindness never goes out of fashion no matter what week it is. For some good ideas on how to spread kindness in the world, check out The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation.

Do something nice for someone today

There at the Foot of the Cross

Linda O'Brien, FTI — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:55:37 +0000

The Apostle John stands at the foot of the Cross with Our Lady on Calvary. John is the sole witness among the Twelve to Jesus' crucifixion, and the only evangelist to record his cry of thirst (see Jn 19:28). Yet we can presume that he already had a relationship with Mary, who in turn led him to the Cross on Good Friday. We know that John, too, had run away in fear, just like the others, as Jesus had predicted (see Mt 26:31). But John, recognizing his weakness, at some point along the way found Our Lady amid the crowd on the Via Dolorosa. In her he found a love, a strength, and a serenity that surpassed his own, and a heart to open his own to the words he alone among the Twelve would hear. Our Lady brought John to faithfulness, and to witness the thirst of her Son. This is what she did for Mother Teresa. This is what she offers to do for every disciple.

This, then, is a lesson for us. We cannot presume to persevere in bearing our crosses, counting on our own strength and goodwill alone, as St. John had presumed to do. Without an intimate relationship with Our Lady, the command to pick up our cross daily and follow the Lord will prove too difficult and demanding. We may indeed love Jesus deeply, as St. John surely did, or as St. Peter did, warming himself at the fire. But we will fail and fall before the scandal of the Cross when it threatens to touch us, if we face it by ourselves. Without Our Lady, we would be as St. John alone on Good Friday, alone before the crosses of life, oblivious of Jesus in our midst. In times of trial, we are often like the poor in Mother Teresa's vision, covered in darkness, unaware that Jesus is there in the midst of us.

Without the fidelity Our Lady gave St. John, the Church would never have heard the words "I thirst"; and without the fidelity she gave to Mother Teresa, the world would not have heard those words, or seen them lived out, today. So the cycle of grace is completed. Surrounded by the poor, Mother Teresa stands with Our Lady before Jesus crucified. In his thirst for her love and theirs, for her soul and theirs, Christ sends her out to search for those who still wait, "covered in darkness." And the cycle will begin again, going with Our Lady to the poor to find the crucified Lord in their midst and to bring them to him. It is these three – the poor, Jesus crucified, and Our Lady, who rest at the heart of Mother Teresa's remarkable God-given grace and mission.

Fr. Joseph Langford , MC (Mother Teresa in the Shadow of Our Lady)

The Mercy of God to a Penitent

Linda O'Brien, FTI — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 16:04:54 +0000

Blog Post:

The Mercy of God to the Penitent

from St. Maximus the Confessor

God's will is to save us, and nothing pleases him more than our coming back to him with true repentance. The heralds of truth and the ministers of divine grace have told us this from the beginning, repeating it in every age. Indeed, God's desire for our salvation is the primary and preeminent sign of his infinite goodness. It was precisely in order to show that there is nothing closer to God's heart that the divine Word of God the Father, with untold condescension, lived among us in the flesh, and did, suffered, and said all that was necessary to reconcile us to God the Father, when we were at enmity with him, and to restore us to the life of blessedness from which we had been exiled.

He healed our physical infirmities by miracles; he freed us from our sins, many and grievous as they were, by suffering and dying, taking them upon himself as if he were answerable for them, sinless though he was. He also taught us in many different ways that we should wish to imitate him by our own kindness and genuine love for one another.

So it was that Christ proclaimed that he had come to call sinners to repentance, not the righteous, and that it was not the healthy who required a doctor, but the sick. He declared that he had come to look for the sheep that was lost, and that it was to the lost sheep of the house of Israel that he had been sent. Speaking more obscurely in the parable of the silver coin, he tells us 'that the purpose of his coming was to reclaim the royal image, which had become coated with the filth of sin. You can be sure that there is joy in heaven, he said, over one sinner who repents.

To give the same lesson, he revived the man who, having fallen into the hands of brigands, had been left stripped and half-dead from his wounds; he poured wine and oil on the wounds, bandaged them, placed the man on his own mule and brought him to an inn, where he left sufficient money to have him cared for, and promised to repay any further expense on his return.

Again, he told of how the Father, who is goodness itself, was moved with pity for his profligate son who returned and made amends by repentance; how he embraced him, dressed him once more in the fine garments that befitted his own dignity, and did not reproach him for any of his sins.

So too, when he found wandering in the mountains and hills the one sheep that had strayed from God's flock of a hundred, he brought it back to the fold, but he did riot exhaust it by driving it ahead of him. Instead, he placed it on his own shoulders and so, compassionately, he restored it safely to the flock.

So also he cried out: Come to me, all you that toil and are heavy of heart. Accept my yoke, he said, by which he meant his commands, or rather, the whole way of life that he taught us in the Gospel. He then speaks of a burden, but that is only because repentance seems difficult. In fact, however, my yoke is easy, he assures us, and my burden is light.

Then again he instructs us in divine justice and goodness, telling us to be like our heavenly Father, holy, perfect and merciful. Forgive, he says, and you will be forgiven. Behave toward other people as you would wish them to behave toward you.

A certain Franiscan ponders on this greatest attribute of God: His infinite mercy. Never does Our Lord say no to a sinner who asks for forgiveness. Never. It is not even possible. No soul must ever despair of His great forgiveness and mercy; to even think along this liine is a great temptation of the devil and we know he is a liar.

What heart can fathom the love of a God who came to earth to make atonement for His wayward children? God became Man so that by His suffering and death, we could be redeemed!And as if that were not enough, He remains with us under the form of a small Host so that He can continue to unite Himself with His beloved children. Such a One never says no to a soul who turns to Him.

And yet so many say no to Him! No thanks to the Church, no thanks to the Sacraments, no thanks for confession or for the Holy Communion that makes us one with our Savior. And mostly it is not even 'no thanks' but just NO. Just no. No to His ways and the embracing of sinful pleasures. Why are we so blind to the goodness of God? Our human frailties make it so easy to say no.

This Lent, this day, may we say yes. Yes, Lord, I need Your mercy. Yes, Lord, I am too weak to keep my resolutions. Yes, Lord, without You hope is diminished. Yes, Lord, to all You are doing in my life. Help me, Lord, help me to say yes.

The King of Love is Crowned with Thorns

Linda O'Brien, FTI — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 10:22:17 +0000

Blog Post:

Jesus, Man of Sorrows, those drops of Blood that flow down Your Face, those deep gashes caused by the thorns that circle Your holy head, make You dearer to me than if Your forehead shone with precious stones. Such signs remind me of the Divine love that burns in Your Heart for me. I love the noble, sorrowful majesty of Your holy Face. You reject the crown of gold and the rich robes of royal state, and accept instead a crown of thorns and the purple rags of mockery and scorn.

You consent to be a mock-king, a king of fools, only to be the real King of my soul. My thorn-crowned King, I adore You as my very God. I subject myself entirely to Your Divine Kingship of love. I would rather be a fool in the eyes of men for Your sake and have You reign over me, than be king of the world and be the slave of the prince of darkness. I adore You as the Conqueror of hearts, whose Kingdom is not of this world, but of heaven.

Fr. Lawrence Lovasik

Christ Conquers, He Reigns, He Commands!

Linda O'Brien, FTI — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:39:26 +0000

Blog Post:

THE TRIUMPH OF CHRIST THROUGH THE EUCHARIST

Christus vincit, regnat, imperat; ab omni malo plemem suam defendat.

Christ conquers, He reigns, He commands. May He defend His people from all evil.

Pope Sixtus V had these words engraved on the obelisk which stands in the center of Saint Peter's Square at Rome. These magnificent words are in the present tense, and not in the past, to indicate that Christ's triumph is always actual, and that it is brought about in the Eucharist and by the Eucharist.

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CHRISTUS vincit. Christ conquers.

Our Lord has fought; He has won control of the field of battle, on which He has planted His flag and pitched His tent: the Sacred Host and the Eucharistic tabernacle. He conquered the Jew and his temple, and He has a tabernacle on Calvary where all the nations come to adore Him beneath the sacramental Species. He conquered paganism and has chosen Rome, the city of the Caesars, for His capital.

He conquered the false wisdom of the sages; the divine Eucharist rose on the world and shed its: rays over the whole earth, darkness withdrew like the shades of night at the coming of day. The idols have been knocked down and the sacrifices abolished. Jesus Eucharistic is a conqueror Who never halts but ever marches onward; He wants to· subject the universe to His gentle sway.

Every time He takes possession of a country, He pitches therein His Eucharistic royal tent. The erection of a tabernacle is His official occupation of a country. In our own day He still goes out to uncivilized nations; and wherever the Eucharist is brought, the people are converted to Christianity. That is the secret of the triumph of our Catholic missionaries and of the failure of the Protestant preachers. In the latter case, man is battling alone, in the former, Jesus is battling, and He is sure to triumph.

CHRISTUS regnat. Christ reigns.

Jesus does not rule over earthly territories but over souls, and He does so through the Eucharist. A king must rule through his laws and through the love of his subjects for Him. The Eucharist is the law of the Christian: a law of charity and of love, which was promulgated in the Cenacle in the admirable discourse after the Supper: "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. If you love Me, keep My commandments."

This law is revealed in Communion; the eyes of the Christian are opened in Holy Communion as were those of the disciples of Emmaus, and he understands the fullness of the law. The "breaking of bread" is what made the first Christians so brave in the face of persecution and so faithful in practicing the law of Jesus Christ.

Christ's law is one, holy, universal, and eternal. . It will never change or be impaired in any way; 'Jesus Christ Himself, its divine Author, is defending it. He engraves it on our hearts through His love; the Legislator Himself promulgates His divine f law to each of our souls. His is a law of love. How many kings rule by love? Jesus is about the only one Whose yoke is not imposed by force; His rule is gentleness itself . .His true subjects are devoted to Him in life and death; they would rather die than be disloyal to Him.

CHRISTUS imperat. Christ commands.

No king has command over the whole universe; there are other kings equal to him in power. But God the Father has said to Jesus Christ: "I will give Thee all the nations for Thy inheritance." And our Lord told His lieutenants when He sent them; throughout the world: "All power is given to Me in heaven and in earth. Go and teach ye all nations, teaching them to keep all that I have commanded you."

He issued His commands from the Cenacle. The Eucharistic tabernacle, which is a prolongation or replica of the Cenacle, is the headquarters of the King of kings. All those who fight the good fight receive their orders from there.

In the presence of Jesus Eucharistic all men are subjects, all must obey, from the Pope, the Vicar of Jesus Christ, down to the least of the faithful.

CHRISTUS ab omni malo plebem suam defendat.

May Christ defend His people from all evil.

The Eucharist is the divine lightning-rod that wards off the thunderbolts of divine justice. As a tender and devoted mother presses her child to her bosom, puts her arms around it, and shields it with her body to save it from the wrath of an angry father, so Jesus multiplies His presence everywhere, covers the world and envelops it with His merciful presence. Divine Justice does not know then where to strike; it dares not.

And what a protection against the devil! The blood of Jesus which purples our lips makes us a

terror to Satan; we are sprinkled with the blood of the true Lamb, and the exterminating angel will not enter. The Eucharist protects the sinner until time for repentance is given him. Ah! Were it not for the Eucharist, for this perpetual Calvary, how often would not the wrath of God have come down upon us!

And how unhappy are the nations that no longer possess the Eucharist! What darkness! What a confusion in the minds! What a chill in the hearts! Satan alone rules supreme, and with him all the evil passions. As for us, the Eucharist delivers us from all evil. Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Chris us imperat; ab omni malo plcbem suam dcfendat!

St. Peter Julian Eymard: The Real Presence

3 Vices That Sabotage Productivity

Michael K. St. Pierre — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 15:25:07 +0000

Blog Post:

Think of someone you know who is not working at full potential. Why isn't their productivity what it should be? Reasons might include illness, family health issues, depression, an unreasonable workload, burnout, etc.

Or, there might be another reason: vice.

Vice is often defined as an "evil habit" or even as a "fault" in one's daily practice. Aristotle spoke of virtues as the opposite of vices. A virtue is often considered to be "the right amount" so for an average sized man, virtuous eating would be the middle ground between starving himself and overeating. For the sumo wrestler, this amount will of course change. Vice, in this example, would be one of the two extremes of the spectrum.

Three vices in particular are a real problem (translation, pain in the butt) when it comes to productivity: lust, envy and sloth.

Practically speaking, lust is an urge towards something that you don't have personally. The Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) described it this way, “Of all of the worldly passions, lust is the most intense. All other worldly passions seem to follow in its train." How does lust derail productivity?

It distracts, diverting the mind.
It impels, confusing the body.
It intoxicates, limiting the ability to focus.

Without a clear mind, a healthy body and a keen ability to focus on one thing at a time, it's pretty darn tough to be productive.

Vice #2 which gets in productivity's way is envy. When I envy someone else's stuff, I wish it were mine. The only real problem is that it doesn't stop there. Envy seeks another's goods but more dangerously, sees the material possession as more important than its owner. This is a classic case of "thing over person". How does envy derail productivity?

It slows teamwork, causing division between members.
It distracts, dulling the mind.
It takes up time, bringing us away from work.

And finally, we get to sloth. Slasher flicks occasionally touch on sloth as one of the nearly forgotten "deadly sins". One definition is "extreme laziness". When I teach virtue and vice to my high school seniors, many students think that they are filled with sloth. Not necessarily so.

Sloth is a prolonged period of doing nothing when I should be doing something. Sloth leaves room for the occasional "lazy Saturday" around the house. What sloth is really after is a habitual sense of laziness- a state which lasts and eventually takes over. Sloth gets in productivity's path in the following ways:

It sees time as pointless rather than as opportunity.
It leads its owner out of ambition and into perpetual relaxing.
It seeks fleeting pleasure instead of enduring happiness.

Whether you struggle with lust or envy or sloth (or all three?), there is hope! I suggest taking 15 minutes within the next week and writing down some specific times when you feel a struggle with any one of these vices. Once you've inventoried your own tendencies, you can focus on their opposites: virtues.

When lust comes at you, have a picture of your family or loved ones handy. It's nearly impossible to lust after someone or something if you have a visual reminder of what's really important in life.
When envy approaches, walk the other way. Material things are nice for the moment but will be outdated in 6 months anyway. Remind yourself of this often.
When sloth creeps in, do something productive. Go for a walk, lift some weights, do some work. If you schedule your times of relaxation, the other 'working hours' will be more fruitful and life will retain a healthy sense of balance.

The key with virtue-building is to practice doing good things. No person masters self without two steps forward and one step back. Practice makes perfect, at work and within yourself.

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