By Larry Peterson
Our Lord told him, "I am taking away your hands and giving you mine ... touch them."
(Aleteia) A number of saints and holy people have been known to share in the suffering of Christ in a special way: by literally having his wounds in their own flesh. Among this group are such beloved saints as Francis of Assisi, Catherine of Siena and, closer to our own times, Padre Pio.
Then there is Irving “Francis” Houle, just a regular guy from Michigan...
Francis was 67 years old when, on Good Friday, April 9, 1993, the stigmata first began to show itself. Francis told his brother and a priest, Father Robert Fox (who would go on to write a book about him), how Jesus appeared to him when Lent began on Ash Wednesday. He told them Jesus said to him, “I am taking away your hands and giving you mine … touch them...”
It is estimated that Francis prayed individually over 100,000 people while he was still alive. Folks would wait for hours on end to see the elderly grandpa who bore the stigmata and would lay his hands on them. People would be crying and would touch him and kiss his hands... (continued)
Link:
Showing posts with label Mary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mary. Show all posts
Sunday, January 14, 2018
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Satanists Attack Virgin Mary: Sign Your Protest Against This Public Sacrilege
(TFP Student Action) With Oklahoma City's apparent stamp of approval, satanists were granted permission to hold a public sacrilege in front of St. Joseph Old Cathedral on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2015.
Adam Daniels -- the same satanist who sponsored a public, satanic Black Mass in 2014 -- told The Oklahoman that he plans to pour costume blood over a statue of the Virgin Mary, treated with "sulfur powder and ash."
“The purpose of the blood," Daniels said, "is to add another layer of corruption to Mary, which is an emblem of the Catholic Church.”
Click here to tell Oklahoma City to revoke its permit for this sacrilege
This public attack against the Mother of God on Christmas Eve is more than a morbid cry for media attention and should be called out for what it really is: religious persecution with City Hall approval.
The planned sacrilege is a direct sin of hatred against the Mother of God who is especially honored by Catholics in America under the title of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the United States.
To dismiss this satanic desecration right in front of St. Joseph Old Cathedral as a simple publicity stunt is to ignore the grave nature of this public sin and its consequences for our nation as one nation under God.
The uptick of Satanism and its repeated attacks against the Faith are designed to desensitize average Americans towards evil and wear down the moral fibers of our beloved nation. A "church" to Lucifer was recently opened in Texas. Last year, satanists performed a public Black Mass in Oklahoma City. And now there's this. What will be next?
History shows us how this type of religious persecution can incite greater acts of persecution which may eventually turn into a full-blown bloody persecution of Christians. Remember the Mexican Cristero martyrs of 1927. Remember Spain's Red Terror of 1936-1939 which killed 13 bishops, 4,172 diocesan priests and seminarians, 2,364 monks and friars and 283 nuns. And remember Dachau in the 1940s, the Nazi concentration camp where 1,034 Catholic priests were tortured and killed for the Faith.. (continued)
Friday, July 10, 2015
Pope gives hammer and sickle crucifix to Mary
From Andrea Tornielli:
“Mother of the Saviour and our Mother,” Francis prayed, “You, Queen of Bolivia, who from the height of your Shrine in Copacabana attend to the prayers and needs of your children, especially the most poor and abandoned, and protect them: Receive as a gift from the heart of Bolivia and my filial affection the symbols of affection and closeness that – in the name of the Bolivian people – Mr. President Evo Morales Ayma has bestowed on me with cordial and generous affection, on the occasion of this Apostolic Journey, which I entrusted to your solicitous intercession...”
Link:
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Pope Francis: Don’t live your lives according to what seers tell you
By Domenico Agasso Jr.
(La Stampa) At this morning’s mass in St. Martha’s House, Francis urged faithful not to turn to those “who can tell us exactly what message Our Lady will be sending at 4’o’clock this afternoon”, because “this identity is not Christian”. He urged against “watering down” the Christians identity so that is becomes a “soft” religion. He stressed that another risk which the testimony of those faithful to Jesus faces, is the worldliness of those who “broaden their minds” so much that they let everything in.
The Pope took the words of St. Paul to the Corinthian about the identity of Jesus’ disciples, as his cue for today’s homily. It is true, he said, that “in order to reach this Christian identity”, God “made us go on a long journey through history” before he sent his Son. “In our lives, we must also go on a long journey in order to make our Christian identity strong” and so that we may bear “witness” to it.
“It is true, there is sin” he said, “and sin makes us fall, but we have the strength of the Lord to get up and go forth with our identity. But I would also say that sin is part of our identity: we are sinners, but sinners with faith in Jesus Christ. And it is not just a faith of knowledge, no. It is a faith that is a gift of God and entered us through God. It is God himself who confirms us in Christ. And he has anointed us, he has placed the seal on us, he has given an earnest penny, the seal of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. It is God who give us this gift of identity.”
It is crucial “to remain faithful to this Christian identity and to let the Holy Spirit – which is a guarantee, a seal in our hearts – help us move forward in our lives.”
Christians are not he kind of people that follow “a philosophy”, he warned. We are “anointed” with “the seal of the Holy Spirit”. “It is a beautiful identity,” he underlined, “which can be seen through testimony. Hence Jesus speaks to us about testimony as the language of our Christian identity.” And this despite the fact that our Christian identity “is tempted due to the fact that we are sinners: temptations will always come our way” and our identity “can be weakened or lost”.
The Pope warned against taking certain dangerous paths: “Firstly, moving away from testimony and toward ideas, watering down our testimonies. ‘Yes, I am Christian. Christianity is a nice idea. I pray to God.” It is this way that we move away from Christ who is concrete – because Christian identity is concrete, we read this in the Beatitudes and this concreteness is also found in Matthew 25: Christian identity is concrete – to a religion that is a bit soft, along the same lines as Gnosticism. Scandal lies behind this. This Christian identity is scandalous. And the temptation is: ‘No, no, no scandal”.
“The cross is a scandal,” Francis explained, and so there are those who seek God “with these slightly ethereal Christian spiritualties”, modern gnostics”. Then, Francis warned, there are always those “who constantly need Christian identity to be renewed”, “forgetting that they were chosen, anointed,” that “they have the seal of the Holy Spirit” and they go in search of seers, asking: 'Where are the seers who can tell us exactly what message Our Lady will be sending at 4’o’clock this afternoon?' And their lives depend on this. This identity is not Christian. God’s final word is “Jesus” and nothing else.”
Another way to backtrack on our Christian identity, is worldliness: “Broadening our minds to fit everything in. ‘Yes, we are Christians, but this is ok…’Not only morally but also humanly. Worldliness is human. This is how salt loses its taste. And we see Christian communities and Christians call themselves Christians, when they are unable or do not know how to bear witness to Jesus Christ. And so they gradually lose their identity and this worldly nominalism we see everyday. In the history of salvation, God, with the Father’s patience, has brought us from ambiguity to certainty, to the concreteness of the incarnation and redeeming death of his Son. This is our identity.”
St. Paul, he concluded, praises the Son of God who “was made man and died out of obedience,” “this is identity and that is testimony”; it is a grace that “we must ask the Lord for: that he may always grant us this gift of an identity which does not try to adapt to things” to the point of “losing the taste of the salt”, becoming insipid.
Link:
Related:
(La Stampa) At this morning’s mass in St. Martha’s House, Francis urged faithful not to turn to those “who can tell us exactly what message Our Lady will be sending at 4’o’clock this afternoon”, because “this identity is not Christian”. He urged against “watering down” the Christians identity so that is becomes a “soft” religion. He stressed that another risk which the testimony of those faithful to Jesus faces, is the worldliness of those who “broaden their minds” so much that they let everything in.
The Pope took the words of St. Paul to the Corinthian about the identity of Jesus’ disciples, as his cue for today’s homily. It is true, he said, that “in order to reach this Christian identity”, God “made us go on a long journey through history” before he sent his Son. “In our lives, we must also go on a long journey in order to make our Christian identity strong” and so that we may bear “witness” to it.
“It is true, there is sin” he said, “and sin makes us fall, but we have the strength of the Lord to get up and go forth with our identity. But I would also say that sin is part of our identity: we are sinners, but sinners with faith in Jesus Christ. And it is not just a faith of knowledge, no. It is a faith that is a gift of God and entered us through God. It is God himself who confirms us in Christ. And he has anointed us, he has placed the seal on us, he has given an earnest penny, the seal of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. It is God who give us this gift of identity.”
It is crucial “to remain faithful to this Christian identity and to let the Holy Spirit – which is a guarantee, a seal in our hearts – help us move forward in our lives.”
Christians are not he kind of people that follow “a philosophy”, he warned. We are “anointed” with “the seal of the Holy Spirit”. “It is a beautiful identity,” he underlined, “which can be seen through testimony. Hence Jesus speaks to us about testimony as the language of our Christian identity.” And this despite the fact that our Christian identity “is tempted due to the fact that we are sinners: temptations will always come our way” and our identity “can be weakened or lost”.
The Pope warned against taking certain dangerous paths: “Firstly, moving away from testimony and toward ideas, watering down our testimonies. ‘Yes, I am Christian. Christianity is a nice idea. I pray to God.” It is this way that we move away from Christ who is concrete – because Christian identity is concrete, we read this in the Beatitudes and this concreteness is also found in Matthew 25: Christian identity is concrete – to a religion that is a bit soft, along the same lines as Gnosticism. Scandal lies behind this. This Christian identity is scandalous. And the temptation is: ‘No, no, no scandal”.
“The cross is a scandal,” Francis explained, and so there are those who seek God “with these slightly ethereal Christian spiritualties”, modern gnostics”. Then, Francis warned, there are always those “who constantly need Christian identity to be renewed”, “forgetting that they were chosen, anointed,” that “they have the seal of the Holy Spirit” and they go in search of seers, asking: 'Where are the seers who can tell us exactly what message Our Lady will be sending at 4’o’clock this afternoon?' And their lives depend on this. This identity is not Christian. God’s final word is “Jesus” and nothing else.”
Another way to backtrack on our Christian identity, is worldliness: “Broadening our minds to fit everything in. ‘Yes, we are Christians, but this is ok…’Not only morally but also humanly. Worldliness is human. This is how salt loses its taste. And we see Christian communities and Christians call themselves Christians, when they are unable or do not know how to bear witness to Jesus Christ. And so they gradually lose their identity and this worldly nominalism we see everyday. In the history of salvation, God, with the Father’s patience, has brought us from ambiguity to certainty, to the concreteness of the incarnation and redeeming death of his Son. This is our identity.”
St. Paul, he concluded, praises the Son of God who “was made man and died out of obedience,” “this is identity and that is testimony”; it is a grace that “we must ask the Lord for: that he may always grant us this gift of an identity which does not try to adapt to things” to the point of “losing the taste of the salt”, becoming insipid.
Link:
Related:
- Medjugorje Restrictions Confirmed by Alleged Visionary Marija Pavlovic
- Pope Dismisses 'Visions' as Medjugorje Decision Nears
- Medjugorje Ruling - "We are about to make decisions" says Pope Francis
- Days after Medjugorje comment, Pope downplays predictable visions
- Pope Francis: "Our Lady... is not a postmaster, sending messages every day"
- Medjugorje Warning From Archbishop Carlson
- Father George Rutler: Medjugorje cult "has become an industry from which many have made a lot of money"
- Father Mitch Pacwa: Lack of any Spiritual Depth to the Messages May be the Unraveling of Medjugorje
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of Interest
February 19, 2015
(ChurchMilitant.TV) Hello, everyone, and welcome to The Vortex, where lies and falsehoods are trapped and exposed. I’m Michael Voris.
What appears to be a conflict of interest at the Vatican is raising eyebrows across the Catholic world.
Papal spokesman and English translator Fr. Thomas Rosica, who in his public position with the Holy See should always be striving to maintain at least the appearance of impartiality, has been taking to social media and expressing his personal opinions. For example, a short while ago a key African Archbishop, Charles Palmer-Buckle of Ghana, came out publicly saying he’s open to allowing divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion.
His comments caused quite the stir, largely because they exploded the impression that all the African hierarchy are against the idea. Here was an African bishop publicly stating his support, or at least his openness.
When the article came out on a twitter feed, papal spokesman Fr. Thomas Rosica re-tweeted it, suggesting of course that he supports the idea.
Representatives of the Pope, whose duties are to express the Pope’s wishes, should not be using their offices to express their own opinion, appearing to gin up support for a case that is the very issue at hand for those above him to debate at October’s Synod. But this is not the first occasion that Fr. Rosica has gone to social media to express personal “out there” thoughts and opinions.
Father Rosica has publicly stated, for example, that this question of giving Holy Communion to those living in adultery is a “continuing journey.”
He said in a public interview, “I feel that deep down something has to change here.” And this is precisely the point: what Fr. Rosica thinks or feels makes no difference.
This priest represents the Holy See, the Vicar of Christ. Frankly, he doesn’t get to have a public opinion. He knew that when he took the job.
There is a list a mile long of very questionable and very public comments by Fr. Rosica that are not only questionable because of their theological import, but exactly because when he speaks, he speaks with the authority of a close aide to the Pope himself.
It gives the impression that Pope Francis is either ignorant of his minions and their doings, or he is supportive of their mouthings.
Imagine White House spokesman Josh Earnest standing in front of reporters and saying or tweeting out that the US needs to attack the Middle East. An announcement would be made the next day by the NEW white house spokesman that Mr. Earnest had resigned for personal reasons.
In an absolute shocking announcement at last October’s Synod on the Family, Fr. Thomas Rosica publicly stated that the Holy Family—Our Blessed Lord, Our Blessed Mother, and St. Joseph—constituted an “irregular” family in an attempt to justify the rationalizations in the infamous Midterm Relatio calling for near-normalization and acceptance of sodomy and adultery.
The term “irregular” was in the Relatio and was referring to sinful relationships, such as same-sex couples and those living in adulterous situations.
That a priest of God would even dare to think such a thought, and then utter such a comment—much less announce it in front of the entire world press corps—shows a grave lack of prudence and suggests something much deeper is at play.
Divine Justice must surely visit one who impurely suggests that the Holy Family was “irregular”, as in they lived the carnal complications of fallen twisted human nature. And this man is a spokesman for the Vicar of Christ?
What’s going on here? Why does his boss Fr. Frederico Lombardi not silence him, or reduce him to position of file boy?
We ourselves had a personal encounter with Fr. Rosica in the Holy See Press briefing room at the Synod. He approached us and said, “Do you really think that these irregular situations don’t have any good in them, nothing, not one thing?”
I answered him immediately, “Not if they go to Hell, Father.” He immediately drew back in dramatic flare and said, “The Church doesn’t teach that.”
To be certain, the Church does absolutely teach that dying in a state of mortal sin warrants a soul eternal damnation and the Church teaches that adultery and sodomy are mortal sins.
Is Fr. Rosica laboring under the mistaken belief that the Church no longer teaches that these actions are sinful? Is he suggesting that the Church no longer teaches these sins are mortal? Is papal spokesman Fr. Rosica suggesting—in total defiance of Church teaching—that dying in a state of mortal sin no longer merits a soul hell?
Is it a conflict of interest for a papal spokesman to keep expressing his personal opinion and either asserting that the Pope holds the same opinion or creating that impression? How is this situation being allowed to continue? A lot of people are beginning to wonder.
GOD love you.
I’m Michael Voris
Link:
Related:
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Hundreds flock to 'weeping' Mary statue in Israel
JERUSALEM (AP) — Hundreds of people have flocked to a small town in northern Israel to view a statue of the Virgin Mary that residents say "weeps" oil.
Members of a Christian family from Tarshiha, near the Lebanon border, say they have witnessed a miracle in their living room.
Osama Khoury said Tuesday that his wife Amira found the statue "covered with oil" recently. Amira said the statue "spoke to her" and told her not to be afraid. After a neighbor witnessed the oil, word soon spread.
Parts of the statue appear to be slick with moisture, even after it is wiped off.
The family says it is most striking when a "tear" seems to roll down the statue's cheek. It says some 2,000 people have come to see the statue over the last week.
Link:
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Pope Francis: "Our Lady... is not a postmaster, sending messages every day"
Pope: the spirit of curiosity distances one from God
(Vatican Radio) The spirit of curiosity generates confusion and distances a person from the Spirit of wisdom, which brings peace, said Pope Francis in his homily during Thursday morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta.
The Pope began his homily by commenting on the first reading from the Book of Wisdom, which describes “the state of the soul of the spiritual man and woman”, of true Christians, who live “in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. And this wisdom carries them forward with this intelligent, holy, single, manifold and subtle spirit”.
“This is journeying in life with this spirit: the spirit of God, which helps us to judge, to make decisions according to the heart of God. And this spirit gives us peace, always! It is the spirit of peace, the spirit of love, the spirit of fraternity. And holiness is exactly this. That which God asked of Abraham—‘Walk in my presence and be irreproachable’—is this: this peace. To follow the movement of the Spirit of God and of this wisdom. And the man and woman who walk this path, we can say they are wise men and women… because they follow the movement of God’s patience.”
In the Gospel, the Pope underlined, “we find ourselves before another spirit, contrary to the wisdom of God: the spirit of curiosity”.
“And when we want to be the masters of the projects of God, of the future, of things, to know everything, to have everything in hand… the Pharisees asked Jesus, ‘When will the Kingdom of God come?’ Curious! They wanted to know the date, the day… The spirit of curiosity distances us from the Spirit of wisdom because all that interests us is the details, the news, the little stories of the day. Oh, how will this come about? It is the how: it is the spirit of the how! And the spirit of curiosity is not a good spirit. It is the spirit of dispersion, of distancing oneself from God, the spirit of talking too much. And Jesus also tells us something interesting: this spirit of curiosity, which is worldly, leads us to confusion.”
Curiosity, the Pope continued, impels us to want to feel that the Lord is here or rather there, or leads us to say: “But I know a visionary, who receives letters from Our Lady, messages from Our Lady”.
And the Pope commented: “But, look, Our Lady is the Mother of everyone! And she loves all of us. She is not a postmaster, sending messages every day.”
Such responses to these situations, he affirmed, “distance us from the Gospel, from the Holy Spirit, from peace and wisdom, from the glory of God, from the beauty of God.”
“Jesus says that the Kingdom of God does not come in a way that attracts attention: it comes by wisdom.”
“ ‘The Kingdom of God is among you,’ said Jesus, and it is this action of the Holy Spirit, which gives us wisdom and peace. The Kingdom of God does not come in (a state of) confusion, just as God did not speak to the prophet Elijah in the wind, in the storm (but) he spoke in the soft breeze, the breeze of wisdom.”
“Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus would say that she had always to stop herself before the spirit of curiosity," he said. "When she spoke with another sister and this sister was telling a story about the family, about people, sometimes the subject would change, and she would want to know the end of the story. But she felt that this was not the spirit of God, because it was a spirit of dispersion, of curiosity.
“The Kingdom of God is among us: do not seek strange things, do not seek novelties with this worldly curiosity. Let us allow the Spirit to lead us forward in that wisdom, which is like a soft breeze," he said. "This is the Spirit of the Kingdom of God, of which Jesus speaks. So be it.”
Link:
Related:
(Vatican Radio) The spirit of curiosity generates confusion and distances a person from the Spirit of wisdom, which brings peace, said Pope Francis in his homily during Thursday morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta.
The Pope began his homily by commenting on the first reading from the Book of Wisdom, which describes “the state of the soul of the spiritual man and woman”, of true Christians, who live “in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. And this wisdom carries them forward with this intelligent, holy, single, manifold and subtle spirit”.
“This is journeying in life with this spirit: the spirit of God, which helps us to judge, to make decisions according to the heart of God. And this spirit gives us peace, always! It is the spirit of peace, the spirit of love, the spirit of fraternity. And holiness is exactly this. That which God asked of Abraham—‘Walk in my presence and be irreproachable’—is this: this peace. To follow the movement of the Spirit of God and of this wisdom. And the man and woman who walk this path, we can say they are wise men and women… because they follow the movement of God’s patience.”
In the Gospel, the Pope underlined, “we find ourselves before another spirit, contrary to the wisdom of God: the spirit of curiosity”.
“And when we want to be the masters of the projects of God, of the future, of things, to know everything, to have everything in hand… the Pharisees asked Jesus, ‘When will the Kingdom of God come?’ Curious! They wanted to know the date, the day… The spirit of curiosity distances us from the Spirit of wisdom because all that interests us is the details, the news, the little stories of the day. Oh, how will this come about? It is the how: it is the spirit of the how! And the spirit of curiosity is not a good spirit. It is the spirit of dispersion, of distancing oneself from God, the spirit of talking too much. And Jesus also tells us something interesting: this spirit of curiosity, which is worldly, leads us to confusion.”
Curiosity, the Pope continued, impels us to want to feel that the Lord is here or rather there, or leads us to say: “But I know a visionary, who receives letters from Our Lady, messages from Our Lady”.
And the Pope commented: “But, look, Our Lady is the Mother of everyone! And she loves all of us. She is not a postmaster, sending messages every day.”
Such responses to these situations, he affirmed, “distance us from the Gospel, from the Holy Spirit, from peace and wisdom, from the glory of God, from the beauty of God.”
“Jesus says that the Kingdom of God does not come in a way that attracts attention: it comes by wisdom.”
“ ‘The Kingdom of God is among you,’ said Jesus, and it is this action of the Holy Spirit, which gives us wisdom and peace. The Kingdom of God does not come in (a state of) confusion, just as God did not speak to the prophet Elijah in the wind, in the storm (but) he spoke in the soft breeze, the breeze of wisdom.”
“Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus would say that she had always to stop herself before the spirit of curiosity," he said. "When she spoke with another sister and this sister was telling a story about the family, about people, sometimes the subject would change, and she would want to know the end of the story. But she felt that this was not the spirit of God, because it was a spirit of dispersion, of curiosity.
“The Kingdom of God is among us: do not seek strange things, do not seek novelties with this worldly curiosity. Let us allow the Spirit to lead us forward in that wisdom, which is like a soft breeze," he said. "This is the Spirit of the Kingdom of God, of which Jesus speaks. So be it.”
Link:
Related:
- Pope Francis: Don’t live your lives according to what seers tell you
- Medjugorje Ruling - "We are about to make decisions" says Pope Francis
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Pope Offers Beach Ball to Our Lady at Santa Maria Maggiore Before WYD
From the Eponymous Flower:
Here's the Report from News.va:
Link:
Here's the Report from News.va:
After his arrival at Ciampino airport, the Holy Father chose to stop at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major to offer a brief prayer to the Blessed Virgin for World Youth Day.
Seeing the Pope as he entered the Basilica, a group of young people approached him and offered him a T-shirt and a ball. Pope Francis later offered the gifts to the Madonna.This is one of the great churches of Christendom, and recalls a time when it snowed in the summer as a sign of Our Lady's favor. It was commemorated by the command of St. Pius V in connection with Trent... (continued)
Link:
Thursday, January 24, 2013
When the State Tries to be Master Over Nature
By Father George Rutler
Connecting with people you'd like to have known is a nice hobby, and I
can claim to be just three handshakes from Abraham Lincoln and only
five from George Washington. Recently at the opera, I put several people
three handshakes from Puccini. Alas, an employee in a sporting goods
store near Grand Central was unmoved when I put him four handshakes from
Mendelssohn. Just two handshakes from the Alice of Wonderland, I
spent many hours in the rooms she knew when her father was dean of the
college where I studied and where Lewis Carroll wrote the stories for
her. Alice Liddell, later Mrs. Reginald Hargreaves, died in 1934 at the
age of 82, shortly after she visited New York to be honored by Columbia
University.
In Through the Looking Glass, Humpty Dumpty boasts: “When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words means so many different things.” “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master — that's all.”
When the State tries to be master over nature, behavior becomes disordered. The results of the disastrous legalization of the destruction of unborn children prove that, and now it is happening again in attempts to “redefine” marriage. So far, eleven countries have done it, as well as nine of our own states, along with the nation’s capital. Hundreds of thousands have publicly protested the attempt of France’s Socialist president to play “master.” It should be obvious to all except the dense and the willfully ignorant, that the next step will be to attack the Church through civil penalties for refusing to accept the authority of the State to invert the natural order, of which the State is only a steward.
Pope Benedict XVI has said: “. . . if there is no pre-ordained
duality of man and woman in creation, then neither is the family any
longer a reality established by creation. Likewise, the child has lost
the place he had occupied hitherto and the dignity pertaining to him.
[Rabbi] Bernheim [the Chief Rabbi of France] shows that now, perforce,
from being a subject of right, the child has become an object to which
people have a right and which they have a right to obtain. When the
freedom to be creative becomes the freedom to create oneself, then
necessarily the Maker himself is denied, and ultimately man, too, is
stripped of his dignity as a creature of God, as the image of God at the
core of his being.”
At the wedding in Cana, Christ's mother said, “Whatever my son says to do, do it.” We are free not to do what he says, and to play Humpty Dumpty with nature, but when the social order has a great fall, all the politicians will not be able to put it back together again.
Link:
In Through the Looking Glass, Humpty Dumpty boasts: “When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words means so many different things.” “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master — that's all.”
When the State tries to be master over nature, behavior becomes disordered. The results of the disastrous legalization of the destruction of unborn children prove that, and now it is happening again in attempts to “redefine” marriage. So far, eleven countries have done it, as well as nine of our own states, along with the nation’s capital. Hundreds of thousands have publicly protested the attempt of France’s Socialist president to play “master.” It should be obvious to all except the dense and the willfully ignorant, that the next step will be to attack the Church through civil penalties for refusing to accept the authority of the State to invert the natural order, of which the State is only a steward.
At the wedding in Cana, Christ's mother said, “Whatever my son says to do, do it.” We are free not to do what he says, and to play Humpty Dumpty with nature, but when the social order has a great fall, all the politicians will not be able to put it back together again.
Link:
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
A Strange Thing Jesus Said to a Paralyzed Man – Another Insight from Pope Benedict’s New Book
The Gospel from Monday the second week
of Advent is the gospel of the paralyzed man who is lowered through the
roof. It is presented to us in Advent because, among the many prophecies
about the Messiah, would be that the lame would walk. But the Gospel
also helps us to focus on Jesus’ central mission for us, and it is very
provocatively expressed in this Gospel.
The Gospel passage contains a rather peculiar and somewhat awkward moment. Jesus looks at a paralyzed man and says to him, As for you, your sins are forgiven (Lk 5:20). What a strange thing to say to a paralyzed man.
The Pharisees and scribes of course are all worked up for other reasons,
but their reason is not ours, we know that Jesus has the authority to
forgive sins. Let us stay focused on the strange thing to say to a
paralyzed man, your sins are forgiven you.
One of us modern folk might be tempted to tap Jesus on the shoulder and say, “Ah excuse me, Lord, this man is paralyzed, his problem is paralysis, that’s what he needs healing for.”
Of course Jesus is not blind or unintelligent,
knows this. But looking at a paralyzed man he does not see the
paralysis as his most serious problem. The man has a far more serious
problem, his sin.
Now most of us, who live in the world, have the world’s priorities,
and we do not think like this. The Lord sees something more serious
than paralysis, and we think, “What can be more serious than
paralysis?!”But not as man sees, does God see. For God, the most serious
problem we have is our sin. But again, we don’t think like this, and
even being told we should think like this, we still don’t think like
this.
For most of us, influenced by the flesh, are far more devastated by the loss of our physical health, or the loss of money,
or the loss of a job, or some large worldly asset, than we are by the
fact that we have sin. Threaten our physical health and well-being, or
one of our larger physical assets, and we’re on our knees begging God
for help. Yet most human beings have far less concern for their
spiritual well-being. More often than not we are not nearly so
devastated by sin that can deprive us of eternal life, as we are
devastated by the loss of our health or some worldly thing.
Even many of us who have some sense of the spiritual life struggle with this obtuseness,
and misplaced sense of priorities. Even in our so-called spiritual
life, our prayers are often dominated by concerns that God will fix our
health, improve or finances, get us a job, etc. It is not wrong to pray
for these things, and we should. But honestly how often do we pray to be
freed of our sins, do we really and earnestly pray to grow in holiness
and to be prepared to see God face-to-face? Sometimes it almost sounds
as if we are asking God to make this world more comfortable and we’ll
just stay here forever. This attitude is an affront to the truer Gifts
God is offering.
And so it is that Jesus, looking at a paralyzed man, says to him, your sins are forgiven.
In so doing he addresses the man’s most serious problem first. Only
secondarily does he speak to the man’s paralysis, which he almost seems
to have overlooked in comparison to the issue of sin.
We have much to learn hear about how God sees, and what really are the most crucial issues in our life.
Joseph and Mary were told to call the
child “Jesus,” for he would save his people from their sins. Of this
fact Pope Benedict speaks in his latest book, Jesus of Nazareth: The
Infancy Narratives:
…Joseph is
entrusted with a further task: “Mary will bear a son, and you shall call
his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew
1:21).… On the one hand, a lofty theological task is assigned to the
child, for only God can forgive sins. So this child is immediately
associated with God, directly linked with God’s holy and saving power.
On the other hand, though, this definition of the Messiah’s mission
could appear disappointing. The prevailing expectations of salvation
were primarily focused upon Israel’s concrete sufferings–on the
reestablishment of the kingdom of David, on Israel’s freedom and
independence, and naturally that included material prosperity for this
largely impoverished people. The promise of forgiveness of sins seems
both too little and too much: too much, because it trespasses upon God’s
exclusive sphere; too little, because there seems to be no thought of
Israel’s concrete suffering or its true need for salvation.
Pope Benedict then cites this same story of the paralytic and says,
Jesus responded
[to the presence of the paralyzed man] in a way that was quite contrary
to the expectation of the bearers and the sick man himself, saying: “My
son, your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5). This was the last thing anyone
was expecting this was the last thing they were concerned about.…
The Pope concludes:
Man is a
relational being. And if his first, fundamental relationship is
disturbed–his relationship with God–then nothing else can be truly in
order. This is where the priority lies in Jesus’ message and ministry:
before all else he wants to point man toward the essence of his malady.
Yes, God sees things rather differently than we do. There is much to consider the fact that Jesus says paralyzed man your sins are forgiven you.
Link:
Archbishop Gomez says Advent is a 'season of Mary'
By Kevin J. Jones
.- Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles is describing Advent as “a season of Mary” and a time for Catholics to “turn to Mary in a new way.”
“We have to take Mary into our homes. Into our lives. We need to love her and learn from her as our mother. She was a perfect daughter of God, so we can learn from her how to act as God’s sons and daughters,” the archbishop said in his Dec. 7 column for The Tidings newspaper.
Two major Marian holy days are celebrated in December: the Dec. 8 Feast of the Immaculate Conception, which honors Mary being conceived without sin, and the Dec. 12 Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which commemorates the appearance of Mary to St. Juan Diego in 16th-century Mexico.
“In my mind, there is a deep connection between these two feast days,” Archbishop Gomez said.
“In God’s plan of salvation, Mary was conceived without original sin to announce the world’s ‘new creation’ in the coming of Jesus,” he said. “Many centuries later, in the apparition at Tepeyac, God was sending Mary to announce the coming of Jesus to the ‘new world’ of the Americas.”
The archbishop said Mary’s life is filled with “silence and hiddenness.” Major events in her life like the Annunciation and the Visitation were “off the radar” and no one “was there to see them or record them.”
In this, he saw a lesson for those who “lead quiet lives.”
“The good that we do will only be seen and known by the small circles of those closest to us – in our families and neighborhoods; in the places where we work,” he said. “Like Mary, we can live as children of God – filling our days with quiet acts of faithfulness. Carrying out our daily duties with love and care for others. Sharing our joy and love for Jesus in simple and natural ways.”
The archbishop recommended that Catholics try to set aside time every day to think about the Virgin Mary or to look at a picture of her... (continued)
Link:
Monday, December 10, 2012
Santa Claus Will Punch You in the Mouth, Fool.
By Ann Barnhardt @ Barnhardt.biz
Today is the Feast of St. Nicholas, who died on December 6, AD 343.
Saint Nicholas is well-known by his Dutch moniker, "Santa Claus".
Don't be fooled by the crass, commercialized image. Saint Nicholas was a
stone-cold butt-kicker for Christ and His Church.
Early in the Fourth Century, there was a terrible heresy in the Church put forth by a very persuasive man named Arius. Arius contended that Christ was not fully divine, but a creature, created by the Father. This heresy was threatening to schism the Church. (Back then everyone understood the truth that any schism whatsoever was totally and completely evil and thus unacceptable - the Church is ONE. Christ has ONE Bride, not a harem. There is ONE Truth. Not multiple "truths". As soon as you start saying that there are "multiple truths", what you have done is denied Truth Itself, of which there is only ONE.)
So, the First Council of Nicea was called in AD 325 to hash this out and put the Arian heresy down once and for all. Arius was at the Council, of course, and was called upon to defend his position on the inferiority of Christ. Being a bishop, Nikolaos of Myra (in present-day Turkey) was naturally in attendance. Arius' nonsensical, destructive and insulting lying contentions about Our Lord became too much for Bishop Nikolaos, who stood up and proceeded to haul off and go all Manny Pacquiao on Arius with a left jab directly to Arius' piehole.
Everyone was alarmed by Bishop Nikolaos' righteous beatdown of Arius, and he was immediately summarily stripped of his bishopric. In those days, the two things that designated a man a Christian bishop were a personal copy of the Gospels and a pallium, which is like a stole. Now you may taken aback by the "personal copy of the Gospels" thing. Well, of course! How could a bishop NOT have the Gospels? But you must remember that the printing press wasn't invented until AD 1439. Before that, if you wanted a book, it had to be written out BY HAND. And what were you going to write on? Try vellum. Every piece of vellum had to be harvested from an animal and made. So you see, for a man to have a personal copy of any written text was a HUGE, and frankly EXPENSIVE, deal. So, poor Nikolaos was stripped of his Gospel and his pallium AND thrown in the hoosegow.
Now here is where it gets really good.
While Nikolaos was in the clink, he received a visit from both Our Lord and the Virgin Mary. Jesus asked Nikolaos, "Why are you here?" And Nikolaos replied, "Because I love You, my Lord and my God." At this, Jesus then presented Nikolaos with his copy of the Gospels, and Mary put his pallium back on him, thus restoring his rank as a bishop. When Nikolaos was discovered sitting calmly in his cell, still under guard, with his Gospel and his pallium, which the other bishops had locked away themselves far from Niklaos' prison cell, Nikolaos was released, welcomed back by his brother bishops, and rejoined the Council. The heresy of Arianism was struck down once and for all, and the Nicene Creed (which we still recite at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass today) was authored.
The anti-Arian part is this:
"Why are you here?"
"Because I love You, my Lord and my God."
Go Santa.
----------------------------------------------------
(The top image I saw today over at wdtprs.com . EXCELLENT!! The bottom image is from antiquity depicting the beautiful and inspiring left jab.)
Link:
Early in the Fourth Century, there was a terrible heresy in the Church put forth by a very persuasive man named Arius. Arius contended that Christ was not fully divine, but a creature, created by the Father. This heresy was threatening to schism the Church. (Back then everyone understood the truth that any schism whatsoever was totally and completely evil and thus unacceptable - the Church is ONE. Christ has ONE Bride, not a harem. There is ONE Truth. Not multiple "truths". As soon as you start saying that there are "multiple truths", what you have done is denied Truth Itself, of which there is only ONE.)
So, the First Council of Nicea was called in AD 325 to hash this out and put the Arian heresy down once and for all. Arius was at the Council, of course, and was called upon to defend his position on the inferiority of Christ. Being a bishop, Nikolaos of Myra (in present-day Turkey) was naturally in attendance. Arius' nonsensical, destructive and insulting lying contentions about Our Lord became too much for Bishop Nikolaos, who stood up and proceeded to haul off and go all Manny Pacquiao on Arius with a left jab directly to Arius' piehole.
Everyone was alarmed by Bishop Nikolaos' righteous beatdown of Arius, and he was immediately summarily stripped of his bishopric. In those days, the two things that designated a man a Christian bishop were a personal copy of the Gospels and a pallium, which is like a stole. Now you may taken aback by the "personal copy of the Gospels" thing. Well, of course! How could a bishop NOT have the Gospels? But you must remember that the printing press wasn't invented until AD 1439. Before that, if you wanted a book, it had to be written out BY HAND. And what were you going to write on? Try vellum. Every piece of vellum had to be harvested from an animal and made. So you see, for a man to have a personal copy of any written text was a HUGE, and frankly EXPENSIVE, deal. So, poor Nikolaos was stripped of his Gospel and his pallium AND thrown in the hoosegow.
Now here is where it gets really good.
While Nikolaos was in the clink, he received a visit from both Our Lord and the Virgin Mary. Jesus asked Nikolaos, "Why are you here?" And Nikolaos replied, "Because I love You, my Lord and my God." At this, Jesus then presented Nikolaos with his copy of the Gospels, and Mary put his pallium back on him, thus restoring his rank as a bishop. When Nikolaos was discovered sitting calmly in his cell, still under guard, with his Gospel and his pallium, which the other bishops had locked away themselves far from Niklaos' prison cell, Nikolaos was released, welcomed back by his brother bishops, and rejoined the Council. The heresy of Arianism was struck down once and for all, and the Nicene Creed (which we still recite at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass today) was authored.
The anti-Arian part is this:
". . . Et in unum Dominum Iesum Christum,I post this because it speaks directly to our question of love and defense of Truth and defense of those we love. Arius was attacking Christ and His Church with his heresy just as viciously as if he had been leading an army - and Nikolaos stepped into the breach to defend his Beloved. PHYSICALLY. The reason Nikolaos stepped in was because Arius was attacking CHRIST, and His Bride, the Church, which is made up of Niklaos' fellow human beings - whose immortal souls were being put at risk by Arius. We are in no way taught by Christ to stand by and watch as our loved ones are attacked. The miracle in Nikolaos' cell is proof of this. Nikolaos did the right thing by going all Pacquiao on Arius and dropping him on his heretical keister before God and everyone.
(And [I believe] in one Lord Jesus Christ)
Filium Dei Unigenitum,
(the only begotten Son of God)
Et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula.
(And born of the Father, before all ages.)
Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine,
(God of God: Light of Light:)
Deum verum de Deo vero,
(true God of true God)
Genitum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri
(Begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father)
Per quem omnia facta sunt."
(by Whom all things were made.)
"Why are you here?"
"Because I love You, my Lord and my God."
Go Santa.
----------------------------------------------------
(The top image I saw today over at wdtprs.com . EXCELLENT!! The bottom image is from antiquity depicting the beautiful and inspiring left jab.)
Link:
Friday, November 16, 2012
The Malicious Mangling of the Virgin Mary
By Brent Bozell
(Townhall.com) A Christian can be crushed gazing at the picture of Mary standing at the
foot of the cross, watching her beloved son suffocate and die. But in
that vision, she stands there for hours, patiently enduring her
suffering.
For two millennia, she has been a role model for Christians, a woman who practiced obedience in the most difficult of human circumstances, with fervent hope for what this sacrifice will offer all mankind as it struggles with sin.
This is why it seems so hard to reflect that vision of patience when black-hearted "artists" practice character assassination on the Blessed Virgin Mary to strip her of every virtue: her patience, her obedience, her courageous love and her prayerful faith in God. On Nov. 13, Simon and Schuster launched a vicious little 96-page novella titled "The Testament of Mary."
The author, an Irish ex-Catholic named Colm Toibin, presents us instead with a Bible-burning "reimagination" of an alienated Mary who fled the scene of her son's death in fear for her own life. Two decades after the Resurrection -- or was there one? -- this anti-Mary is filled with bitterness and rage. She describes herself as "unhinged" and bubbling with contempt for her son's demented followers, to the extreme that she threatens the Gospel writers with a knife. She lives as a bandit, stealing to survive.
Her son's followers must be stopped from making Jesus a god, "or else everything that happened will become a sweet story that will grow poisonous as bright berries that hang low on trees." Toibin describes the scene of the crucifixion in mercenary terms: "It was like a marketplace, but more intense somehow, the act that was about to take place was going to make a profit for both seller and buyer."
Christ's disciples are "fools, twitchers, malcontents, stammerers," while her son's preaching sounded to her "false, and his tone all stilted, and I could not bear to hear him, it was like something grinding and it set my teeth on edge."
There is no God in her father or her son. She proclaims of the death of Jesus only: "when you say that he redeemed the world, I will say that it was not worth it. It was not worth it."
Toibin's last book of literary criticism was titled "New Ways to Kill Your Mother." In this book, he murders the mother of God.
In a positive critique in The New York Times, reviewer Mary Gordon explained "The making of the Gospels is portrayed not as an act of sacred remembrance but as an invasion and a theft. The Evangelists -- which are they? Luke, perhaps, or John? -- are portrayed as menacing intruders, with the lurking shadowy presence of Stalin's secret police."
In our nation's most prestigious newspaper, an author and his feminist reviewer can conjure up the apostles of Christ as Stalinist torturers. But when a Danish newspaper published cartoons mocking the prophet Muhammad as a freedom-of-speech test in 2005, the Times would not show them as "a reasonable choice for news organizations that usually refrain from gratuitous assaults on religious symbols."
This is what Toibin's book is: a gratuitous assault on Christianity and its central drama of salvation. The Times reviewer recognized that and enjoyed it.
"Mary, the mother of Jesus, has given Christianity a good name. None of the negatives that have made Christianity a byword for tyranny, cruelty and licensed hatred have attached to her," Gordon began. "The problem with all this is that it has led to centuries of sentimentality -- blue and white Madonnas with folded hands and upturned eyes, a stick with which to beat independent women."
Washington Post book reviewer Ron Charles was less laudatory: "If you'd enjoy a tale predicated on the idea that Christian faith is a toxic collection of 'foolish anecdotes' based on a 'fierce catastrophe,' Merry Christmas!"
Charles found it refreshing this garbage bag of words "hasn't sparked outrage or boycotts -- a reassuring testament to the West's tolerance for such artistic license and Toibin's prominence. Some of us are a lot calmer nowadays about creative re-imaginings of sacred figures."
He somehow left Catholics out of the picture as he expressed relief that "Evangelicals in this country may finally have caught on to the fact that fiery condemnation plays right into the marketing plans of books that would otherwise ascend into oblivion." He notes Toibin's tome has been "widely praised in England, but Toibin is a larger presence there, and churchgoing isn't."
Somehow, he's not making the obvious connection: Toibin and other God-hating authors are consciously conspiring to empty out the churches, and Christian believers cannot always refuse to condemn them. Speaking up for Christ and his mother (and ours) is a solemn duty, not an option.
Link:
(Townhall.com) A Christian can be crushed gazing at the picture of Mary standing at the
foot of the cross, watching her beloved son suffocate and die. But in
that vision, she stands there for hours, patiently enduring her
suffering.For two millennia, she has been a role model for Christians, a woman who practiced obedience in the most difficult of human circumstances, with fervent hope for what this sacrifice will offer all mankind as it struggles with sin.
This is why it seems so hard to reflect that vision of patience when black-hearted "artists" practice character assassination on the Blessed Virgin Mary to strip her of every virtue: her patience, her obedience, her courageous love and her prayerful faith in God. On Nov. 13, Simon and Schuster launched a vicious little 96-page novella titled "The Testament of Mary."
The author, an Irish ex-Catholic named Colm Toibin, presents us instead with a Bible-burning "reimagination" of an alienated Mary who fled the scene of her son's death in fear for her own life. Two decades after the Resurrection -- or was there one? -- this anti-Mary is filled with bitterness and rage. She describes herself as "unhinged" and bubbling with contempt for her son's demented followers, to the extreme that she threatens the Gospel writers with a knife. She lives as a bandit, stealing to survive.
Her son's followers must be stopped from making Jesus a god, "or else everything that happened will become a sweet story that will grow poisonous as bright berries that hang low on trees." Toibin describes the scene of the crucifixion in mercenary terms: "It was like a marketplace, but more intense somehow, the act that was about to take place was going to make a profit for both seller and buyer."
Christ's disciples are "fools, twitchers, malcontents, stammerers," while her son's preaching sounded to her "false, and his tone all stilted, and I could not bear to hear him, it was like something grinding and it set my teeth on edge."
There is no God in her father or her son. She proclaims of the death of Jesus only: "when you say that he redeemed the world, I will say that it was not worth it. It was not worth it."
Toibin's last book of literary criticism was titled "New Ways to Kill Your Mother." In this book, he murders the mother of God.
In a positive critique in The New York Times, reviewer Mary Gordon explained "The making of the Gospels is portrayed not as an act of sacred remembrance but as an invasion and a theft. The Evangelists -- which are they? Luke, perhaps, or John? -- are portrayed as menacing intruders, with the lurking shadowy presence of Stalin's secret police."
In our nation's most prestigious newspaper, an author and his feminist reviewer can conjure up the apostles of Christ as Stalinist torturers. But when a Danish newspaper published cartoons mocking the prophet Muhammad as a freedom-of-speech test in 2005, the Times would not show them as "a reasonable choice for news organizations that usually refrain from gratuitous assaults on religious symbols."
This is what Toibin's book is: a gratuitous assault on Christianity and its central drama of salvation. The Times reviewer recognized that and enjoyed it.
"Mary, the mother of Jesus, has given Christianity a good name. None of the negatives that have made Christianity a byword for tyranny, cruelty and licensed hatred have attached to her," Gordon began. "The problem with all this is that it has led to centuries of sentimentality -- blue and white Madonnas with folded hands and upturned eyes, a stick with which to beat independent women."
Washington Post book reviewer Ron Charles was less laudatory: "If you'd enjoy a tale predicated on the idea that Christian faith is a toxic collection of 'foolish anecdotes' based on a 'fierce catastrophe,' Merry Christmas!"
Charles found it refreshing this garbage bag of words "hasn't sparked outrage or boycotts -- a reassuring testament to the West's tolerance for such artistic license and Toibin's prominence. Some of us are a lot calmer nowadays about creative re-imaginings of sacred figures."
He somehow left Catholics out of the picture as he expressed relief that "Evangelicals in this country may finally have caught on to the fact that fiery condemnation plays right into the marketing plans of books that would otherwise ascend into oblivion." He notes Toibin's tome has been "widely praised in England, but Toibin is a larger presence there, and churchgoing isn't."
Somehow, he's not making the obvious connection: Toibin and other God-hating authors are consciously conspiring to empty out the churches, and Christian believers cannot always refuse to condemn them. Speaking up for Christ and his mother (and ours) is a solemn duty, not an option.
Link:
Friday, September 14, 2012
Thompson Valley High School student's rosary beads taken away
Manuel Vigil has had two sets confiscated in three weeks by the school, which says they're gang-related
By Jessica Maher
(Loveland Reporter-Herald) In an attempt to keep gang activity out of the school, Thompson
Valley High School officials say they take any number of measures,
including barring rosary beads when their use is deemed inappropriate.
And in the three weeks since school has been in session, Thompson Valley High junior Manuel Vigil has had two sets of rosary beads he wore around his neck confiscated.
Vigil, who is Catholic, has worn the rosary beads around his neck all summer. His mother, Antoinette Ramirez, said they've become especially important in helping him deal with the recent murder of an uncle in California.
"Having the rosary taken away was kind of like a huge hit for him," she said. "He wears it as a form of protection for himself."
But officials say that rosary beads themselves are not prohibited.
"It wasn't consistent with what would normally be a rosary, and because of that we felt like it could be gang-related," principal Mark Johnson said. "There was no punishment; we just removed it."
According to the Thompson School District dress code, unacceptable items include any clothing, grooming, jewelry, accessories or body adornments that "by virtue of color, arrangement, trademark, or other attribute denote membership in gangs which advocate drug use, violence, or disruptive behavior."
The school enforces its policy based on information from the Loveland Police Department.
"We meet with the gang unit on a regular basis, and they do tell us what to look for," Johnson said. "We want to make sure we keep on top of what is the latest gang stuff."
The latest in gang trends, and what the school may choose to ban, varies from year to year. At Thompson Valley High, bandanas and clothing with gang names or symbols are never allowed. At times, certain colors are prohibited if it appears a student is wearing a color to signal gang affiliation.
"It depends on what's going on in the world," Johnson said. "You have to pay attention to colors and what they're doing."
In Greeley-Evans School District 6, some numbers are banned based on street number gangs, which caused a recent firestorm when a third-grader had a Denver Broncos No. 18 Peyton Manning jersey barred.
Across the country, rosary beads around the neck have been barred in schools because some gangs, including the Sureños and the Latin Kings, wear them that way. If a student wears a rosary around his neck at Thompson Valley High, Johnson said it's the school's policy to ask the student why he's wearing it.
It's often a case-by-case situation, said Johnson, who said Vigil's response was simply that he had the right to wear the rosary beads.
"If we determine that something is gang-related, then we have the right to say they can't wear it, so some of that is subjective," he said.
While the purpose of the rosary is to aid in prayer and not as a means of fashion, the Rev. Sam Morehead of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Loveland said the church allows wearing rosary beads as a necklace. Particularly in Hispanic culture, Morehead said wearing a rosary around the neck has become an important part of Catholic identity in the past 20 or 30 years.
"It's actually quite distressing for me personally to hear that something that represents one's Catholic faith is being seemingly persecuted in the school setting when it is certainly not a symbol of gang membership," he said.
According to Loveland Police Sgt. David Murphy, who leads the school resource officers in the Thompson School District, Vigil's rosary had a red-flagging 13 beads in a row instead of a traditional rosary with 10 beads. The number 13 is sometimes associated with the Sureños gang, Murphy said.
According to Ramirez, her son purchased the rosaries at teen retailer rue21 and had not noticed the number of beads.
"For him, he feels safe when he has it on," she said.
While a rosary with 13 beads in a row might be considered suspicious, Morehead said he would be hesitant to rush to any conclusions.
"For all the lack of knowledge that there is and perhaps any naivete, there is still a lot of good will for people who want to have this symbol of faith," he said.
Jessica Maher can be reached at 669-5050 ext. 516 or maherj@reporter-herald.com. Follow her on Twitter: @JessicaMaherRH.
Link:
By Jessica Maher
And in the three weeks since school has been in session, Thompson Valley High junior Manuel Vigil has had two sets of rosary beads he wore around his neck confiscated.
Vigil, who is Catholic, has worn the rosary beads around his neck all summer. His mother, Antoinette Ramirez, said they've become especially important in helping him deal with the recent murder of an uncle in California.
"Having the rosary taken away was kind of like a huge hit for him," she said. "He wears it as a form of protection for himself."
But officials say that rosary beads themselves are not prohibited.
"It wasn't consistent with what would normally be a rosary, and because of that we felt like it could be gang-related," principal Mark Johnson said. "There was no punishment; we just removed it."
According to the Thompson School District dress code, unacceptable items include any clothing, grooming, jewelry, accessories or body adornments that "by virtue of color, arrangement, trademark, or other attribute denote membership in gangs which advocate drug use, violence, or disruptive behavior."
The school enforces its policy based on information from the Loveland Police Department.
"We meet with the gang unit on a regular basis, and they do tell us what to look for," Johnson said. "We want to make sure we keep on top of what is the latest gang stuff."
The latest in gang trends, and what the school may choose to ban, varies from year to year. At Thompson Valley High, bandanas and clothing with gang names or symbols are never allowed. At times, certain colors are prohibited if it appears a student is wearing a color to signal gang affiliation.
"It depends on what's going on in the world," Johnson said. "You have to pay attention to colors and what they're doing."
In Greeley-Evans School District 6, some numbers are banned based on street number gangs, which caused a recent firestorm when a third-grader had a Denver Broncos No. 18 Peyton Manning jersey barred.
Across the country, rosary beads around the neck have been barred in schools because some gangs, including the Sureños and the Latin Kings, wear them that way. If a student wears a rosary around his neck at Thompson Valley High, Johnson said it's the school's policy to ask the student why he's wearing it.
It's often a case-by-case situation, said Johnson, who said Vigil's response was simply that he had the right to wear the rosary beads.
"If we determine that something is gang-related, then we have the right to say they can't wear it, so some of that is subjective," he said.
While the purpose of the rosary is to aid in prayer and not as a means of fashion, the Rev. Sam Morehead of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Loveland said the church allows wearing rosary beads as a necklace. Particularly in Hispanic culture, Morehead said wearing a rosary around the neck has become an important part of Catholic identity in the past 20 or 30 years.
"It's actually quite distressing for me personally to hear that something that represents one's Catholic faith is being seemingly persecuted in the school setting when it is certainly not a symbol of gang membership," he said.
According to Loveland Police Sgt. David Murphy, who leads the school resource officers in the Thompson School District, Vigil's rosary had a red-flagging 13 beads in a row instead of a traditional rosary with 10 beads. The number 13 is sometimes associated with the Sureños gang, Murphy said.
According to Ramirez, her son purchased the rosaries at teen retailer rue21 and had not noticed the number of beads.
"For him, he feels safe when he has it on," she said.
While a rosary with 13 beads in a row might be considered suspicious, Morehead said he would be hesitant to rush to any conclusions.
"For all the lack of knowledge that there is and perhaps any naivete, there is still a lot of good will for people who want to have this symbol of faith," he said.
Jessica Maher can be reached at 669-5050 ext. 516 or maherj@reporter-herald.com. Follow her on Twitter: @JessicaMaherRH.
Link:
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Pope Benedict XVI: Mary Expresses Her Regality Through Humility
Mary "is a Queen in service to God and humanity; she is Queen of love, who lives the gift of self to God in order to enter into the plan of salvation for man..."
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Vatican Outlines Virgin Mary Sighting Rules To Evaluate Authenticity
Religion News Service
|
By Alessandro Speciale
The Vatican has published rules to evaluate the authenticity of the dozens of apparitions of the Virgin Mary reported each year.
The “Norms Regarding the Manner of Proceeding in the Discernment of Presumed Apparitions or Revelations” have been in use since 1978, but until now had been available only in Latin, never officially published and only circulated among bishops and specialists.
The Vatican document has now been translated into English and other languages to aid bishops in the “difficult task of discerning presumed apparitions, revelations, messages or ... extraordinary phenomena of presumed supernatural origin,” Cardinal William Levada, the head of the Vatican doctrinal office, wrote in a companion letter last December that was published only recently on the Vatican website.
The norms mandate that the local bishop must conduct a “serious investigation” to ascertain, with “at least great probability,” whether the Marian apparition effectively took place.
The rules also require an evaluation of the “personal qualities” of the alleged seer, including his or her “psychological equilibrium,” “rectitude of moral life” and “docility towards Ecclesiastical Authority.” The contents of the “revelation” must be “immune” from theological error, and the apparition must bear “abundant... spiritual fruit,” such as conversions.
The authenticity of the vision should be rejected if, among other factors, the alleged seer shows “psychological disorder” or “evidence of a search for profit."
In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI appointed a high-level commission to evaluate the authenticity of the controversial Marian apparitions in Medjugorje, Bosnia, which have been attracting tens of thousands of pilgrims for years despite opposition from local bishops.
Link:
The Vatican has published rules to evaluate the authenticity of the dozens of apparitions of the Virgin Mary reported each year.
The “Norms Regarding the Manner of Proceeding in the Discernment of Presumed Apparitions or Revelations” have been in use since 1978, but until now had been available only in Latin, never officially published and only circulated among bishops and specialists.
The Vatican document has now been translated into English and other languages to aid bishops in the “difficult task of discerning presumed apparitions, revelations, messages or ... extraordinary phenomena of presumed supernatural origin,” Cardinal William Levada, the head of the Vatican doctrinal office, wrote in a companion letter last December that was published only recently on the Vatican website.
The norms mandate that the local bishop must conduct a “serious investigation” to ascertain, with “at least great probability,” whether the Marian apparition effectively took place.
The rules also require an evaluation of the “personal qualities” of the alleged seer, including his or her “psychological equilibrium,” “rectitude of moral life” and “docility towards Ecclesiastical Authority.” The contents of the “revelation” must be “immune” from theological error, and the apparition must bear “abundant... spiritual fruit,” such as conversions.
The authenticity of the vision should be rejected if, among other factors, the alleged seer shows “psychological disorder” or “evidence of a search for profit."
In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI appointed a high-level commission to evaluate the authenticity of the controversial Marian apparitions in Medjugorje, Bosnia, which have been attracting tens of thousands of pilgrims for years despite opposition from local bishops.
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Saturday, November 26, 2011
Russians flock to see Virgin Mary relic
(AP) MOSCOW — Braving freezing cold temperatures and ice-covered sidewalks, tens of thousands of Russians stood in line Wednesday to see and kiss a newly arrived relic of the Virgin Mary in Russia's largest Orthodox cathedral.
The Virgin Mary's Cincture, a belt that Christians believe was worn by Jesus' mother, was brought to Russia last month from Mount Athos, a monastic community in Greece.
Kissing the relic, which is encased in an ornamental box, is believed to help barren women conceive and heal other ailments.
The line of people, mostly women, waiting to enter the golden-domed Christ the Savior Cathedral stretched for 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) along the Moscow River despite temperatures that dropped to below minus 5 Celsius (23 Fahrenheit).
Police officers announced through bullhorns that it will take worshippers 24 hours to get to the relic as the line swelled to tens of thousands.
Hundreds of buses brought pilgrims from other Russian cities. Some 150 buses were parked along the embankment with their engines running so the faithful could get warm as they waited. The city provided free tea and food and put up portable toilets.
Some 1,500 police officers were deployed to prevent people from cutting in line.
Traffic in central Moscow has been snarled since the relic first went on display Saturday. By Wednesday afternoon, as many as 300,000 people had seen the relic, which will remain on display through Sunday.
The St. Andrew's Foundation, which brought the relic to Russia, said it was viewed by 2 million people in 14 other cities before arriving in Moscow.
The Russian Orthodox Church withered under eight decades of Soviet rule, but has enjoyed a resurgence over the past two decades. Russians adopted Christianity in 989 from Byzantine Greeks, and the Russian Orthodox Church has maintained close ties with Greek clergy and monasteries.
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