Four Miraculous Stoles & John Paul II - Once In Lifetime Opportunity for Detroit Catholics

Image by mharrsch via Flickr

Deacon  and Friends:

I’m writing to you today to remind you about an upcoming event that you will not want to miss this Saturday, March 5th if you are in the Detroit, Michigan area:

Holy Trinity Apostolate's
14th Annual Pre-Lenten Symposium

Holy Stoles: John Paul II, Fr. Solanus Casey, Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J., Archbishop Sheen, and Bishop Frederic Baraga.

Many people cannot travel to Rome for the Beatification of Venerable John Paul II so this is an opportunity to venerate the Holy Stoles of these Saints-To-Be!

HOLY TRINITY APOSTOLATE'S 14th Annual Pre-Lenten Symposium
MYSTERIUM FIDEI... Pope Paul VI Mystery of Faith

Saturday, March 5, 2011 from 8 AM - 4 PM

Ven. Solanus Casey. Image by Patricia Drury via Flickr

Ss. Cyril & Methodius Slovak Catholic Church
41233 Ryan Rd.
Sterling Heights, MI 48314

HOLY MASS: The Most Rev. Alexander K. Sample - "Heroic Virtue in the Life and Ministry of the Servant of God, Frederic Baraga"

From Rome: Rev. Msgr. Robert J. Sarno - Vatican Official; Father Andrew Apostoli; Fr. Robert T. McDermott; Brother Richard Merling and Sister Maria Inviolata.
Master of Ceremonies: Vic Faust WXYZ Action News.
Register at HolyTrinityApostolate.com
Registration - 7 AM
Holy Mass - 8 AM
Closing/Benediction - 4 PM

No Charge for Seminarians

Confessions throughout the Symposium

Includes Lunch if Pre-Registered

Check Payable to Holy Trinity Apostolate
P.O. Box 7095
Sterling Heights, MI
48311-7095

Image via Wikipedia

Cost: $40 per person ($45 at the Door)

For information, contact Donna at 586.268.8814.

Dignitaries from around the world will be hand delivering these sacred articles, which all combined have been used in hundreds of cases of blessings for the benefit of healings from people suffering from numerous infirmities. After the March 5th symposium the stoles will be returned to the different parts of the world where they came from, so this is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity.

If you will be near Detroit this Saturday, March 5th, I ask you to please consider attending the symposium since this is a beautiful way to show our appreciation for the Holy Catholic Priesthood we all so dearly love at Opus Bono Sacerdotii.

May Our Lady of Priests be your health and your protection…

Pete

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Lutheran Convert: Richard Lane

Lutheran Convert...

Richard Lane

Richard is a full time Catholic lay evangelist and frequent guest on various Catholic television and radio programs. Ric

via whyimcatholic.com

[Excerpt] "There is no other way back to God, without going through Jesus; and we (Catholics) have Him present with us at the Celebration of the Mass! I no longer just ‘go’ to Church or ‘attend’ Church; I RUN to the CELEBRATION of the Mass each Sunday and every day I possibly can. I RUN to be in COMMUNION with Him; I RUN to be in His Presence in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Alter; I RUN to prostrate myself in front of “My Lord and My God!”

Read Richard's conversion story here: it's amazing!
Deacon John

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Christian man vanishes in hunt for Noah's Ark

via wnd.com

WorldNetDaily

Lost raider of the ark: Pictured is Donald Mackenzie of Stornoway, Scotland, a Noah's Ark hunter who mysteriously vanished in September 2010 while searching for the biblical vessel on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey. His friend, Florida filmmaker Jeremy Wiles, is trying to find him.
JUPITER, Fla. – "What's more important – finding Noah's Ark or finding a friend?"

This is the profound and haunting question echoing across the planet through the mind of Jeremy Wiles.

The Jupiter, Fla., filmmaker can be described as a man of obsession – obsessed with Noah's Ark since his childhood, and today obsessed with locating his friend and fellow ark hunter who mysteriously vanished on Turkey's Mount Ararat in September, sparking the worst kind of speculation.

"It's feared there was an accident or he was murdered," Wiles told WND. "I helped organize an expedition to find him, but he wasn't discovered."

Read more here: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.printable&pageId=267245

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NEW BOOK BY JOURNALISTS CLAIMS MORE THAN 600 HEALINGS AT MEDJUGORJE, QUOTES EXORCIST

Check out this website I found at spiritdaily.com

Recently, two new books have been issued outlining fascinating information about Medjugorje, which is the most famous apparition in nearly a century (since Fatima in 1917).

One of the books, written by two news reporters, Marijan Sivrić and Ivo Šćepanović (Medjugorje: 30 Years of a Phenomenon), says at least six hundred healings have been credibly reported at Medjugorje. "The Holy See observes with caution but the documentation only increases the observer's curiosity of the Medjugorian happenings," they report. "Recorded cases of the healings of people from all over the world are kept in the information center, along with all the given documentation which is then forwarded to medical and theological examiners." The two journalists cite an especially impressive cure of multiple sclerosis -- wherein a woman who had been unable to walk suddenly was able to hike more than seven miles to the shrine from the hotel she was staying at in Ljubuški. They report that the case was studied by twenty-five experts. So far, they say, "there are 143 similar documents of healings that can't be medically explained."
Read this article here: http://www.spiritdaily.com/medjupdatefeb2011.htm

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Mary TV Daily Reflection 2/28/2011

Spring Buds (C)mybestdesktops.com February 28, 2011 Dear Family of Mary! "Dear children! Nature is awakening and on the trees the first buds are seen which will bring most beautiful flowers and fruit. I desire that you also, little children, work on your conversion and that you be those who witness with their life, so that your example may be a sign and an incentive for conversion to others. I am with you and before my Son Jesus I intercede for your conversion. Thank you for having responded to my call."  (February 25, 2011) On Friday, before this message was given, Denis wondered out loud what Our Image via Wikipedia  Lady would say, given the drastic events in the Middle East and Northern Africa.  He expected something dramatic.  So, he was a little bit surprised that Our Lady spoke about flowers and fruit and conversion.  (That's a guy for you!) But as we prayed about this message it became clear that Our Lady was speaking directly to this time we are in.  But, from her heavenly vantage point, she sees things differently than we do.  What does she see?  Springtime.  She sees this time as a springtime in the world.   She draws our attention to the budding plants, presenting their first pale green shoots.   These shoots are a promise of the springtime to come.  They assure us that new life is coming; that flowers will bloom and fruit will follow.  And then she makes an analogy.  Those pale green shoots are compared to our personal conversions.  Just as the buds on the plants presage a coming of new life, so do our personal conversions presage the coming of a springtime in the Church and in the world.  We are the first fruits of a coming renewal of faith and life in this world so darkened by sin. Indeed, Our Lady's children all over the world are bursting forth with new life, new faith, new hope, and new love.  We are putting God in the first place, loving our neighbor as our selves, and praying for the salvation of souls.  We are responding to the graces God is sending through Our Lady, and those graces are like the new sap that is beginning to flow through the trees, they are the graces that will convert souls.  We are the first buds.  It is up to us to make a strong showing, to be witnesses to the graces God wants to send on all mankind.  The Conversion of St. Paul by Caravaggio. Image via Wikipedia

"I desire that you also, little children, work on your conversion and that you be those who witness with their life, so that your example may be a sign and an incentive for conversion to others."  The springtime will spread through us to others, until the whole world is converted and filled with life.  That is the answer to these dramatic times.  A new springtime! In Jesus and Mary! Cathy Nolan   www.marytv.tv

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The Catholic League's 2010 Annual Report on Anti-Catholicism

2010 ANNUAL REPORT ON ANTI-CATHOLICISM 

The Catholic League's 2010 Annual Report on Anti-Catholicism is now available. It covers all the major issues that the Catholic League dealt with in 2010, along with many others that came to our attention.

The report covers the following areas: activist organizations; the arts; business/workplace; education; government; and the media.

Copies are available for $10 to the general public. Complementary copies were sent to those in government, education, religious organizations, the media, etc. It is the most authoritative summary of anti-Catholic incidents in 2010.

Jeff Field
Director of Communications
The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights
450 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10123
212-371-3191
212-371-3394 (fax)

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An Act of Contrition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjR1gbnVuew

An Act of Contrition

Compiled from the writings of Fr Francis Xavier Lasance as a means of reflection and exciting sorrow for one's past sins.

 

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Sloth - It's Not Always What You Think | Courageous Priest

SLOTH! THE DEADLY SIN

“All run in the race, but only one receives the prize. Run so that you may obtain it.”

Sermon by Fr. Aaron Huberfeld: (edited for length) The seven deadly sins are more properly known as the seven capital vices – seven unsightly creases in our moral fabric which form the foundation of all manner of sinful behavior. They are not just sinful actions; they are a way of life, or rather, a way of death. And on this Septuagesima Sunday, we are invited to begin by considering the vice which is always listed last among the seven. It is the sin which exemplifies more than any other this way of death which we must avoid at all costs. It is the sin which abhors action, abhors real thinking, abhors feeling, abhors living, abhors even existing. It is the deadly sin of sloth.

Well, keeping busy is easy enough. Many families need two incomes just to make ends meet, and many Americans, rich and poor, willingly work 100 hours a week. If there’s any time left after running a household and raising children, there’s phone conversations, books, television, the internet. Surely no one in our day and age has any time to be slothful.  But laziness and leisure are not the same as sloth. Leisure has nothing to do with sloth, and laziness is just an occasional symptom. You can tear through each day of your life without one moment of free time – working, socializing, performing your duties at home – and still be overcome with sloth.

Sloth is sadness over spiritual good. As you will soon hear, envy is sorrow over our neighbor’s good, but sloth is sorrow over good itself, sorrow which a man harbors over God and the means of salvation. St. Thomas, writing 800 years ago, called sloth, “an oppressive sorrow which so weighs upon a man’s mind that he chooses to do nothing.” This may sound like the modern description of clinical depression. But when this sorrow has God as its object, it has moral consequences. Being bored with God and not caring about your spiritual life is the most deadly of spiritual diseases. And if we make no effort to fight this disease, it is mortally sinful – a sin against the love of God. It is, somehow, even worse than hating God – it is showing Him utter indifference. As Our Lord predicted, the light came into the world, and men preferred darkness. Busyness is no remedy for this deplorable state. Our only hope lies in spiritual combat.

The Apostle tells us, run so that you may win the prize. And he says the priest must be the one to set the example. I fight not as one beating the air, but I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection, lest after having preached to others, I myself should be condemned. Like all Christians, he must take heed to the frightful warning which the Apostle gives us today: they all were baptized; they all ate the same spiritual food, and drank the same spiritual drink; but with most of them God was not well pleased.

What a priceless gift is time! The Church exhorts us to shake off the sin of sloth. We still have time to prepare ourselves, and offer to God this year a Lent well spent. Do not fight as one beating the air. Do not be angry with yourself and upbraid yourself for your faults. If you know your faults, lay them before the altar of God with a humble and contrite heart. Seek the Divine Heart of Our Savior, because when you find it you will find a joy which will consume your heart and rid it of sloth forever. Remember the Sermon on the Mount, and the beatitude which the Fathers of the Church always recognized as the antidote for sloth: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall have their fill. Blessed are those who do not seek passing joy in this miserable world, but who delight only in saying to Our Eternal Father, thy kingdom come.

God says to the men at the end of the day, why have you stood here the whole day idle? Don’t think about the time you have wasted; God will still hire you into His vineyard, and give you a just reward for your labors. Fight the good fight; finish the race; keep the Faith. Hope in our Savior, who came to save us from the wrath to come. Love this Savior who bought you at so dear a price. His Cross is our only hope, and if we think on the blissful eternity which He has won for us, God help us if our hearts are not on fire to run the race of this short life to win that incorruptible crown. Many are called, but few are chosen. Run so that you may win. May Our Blessed Lady, cause of our joy, keep ever before our eyes that joyful port which awaits us on eternity’s shore.

Amen.

via courageouspriest.com

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How's the Latin mass being received these days? | From The Deacon's Bench

Nearly four years after the motu proprio that made possible greater access to the Latin mass, John Allen has an interesting interview with Fr. Richard Hilgartner, Executive Director of the Secretariat for Divine Worship of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. A priest of the Baltimore archdiocese, Hilgartner studied liturgical theology at the prestigious Benedictine-run Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm in Rome.

From NCR:

NCR: What impact has the motu proprio had in the United States?

Hilgartner: For many places it’s regularized what was previously deemed exceptional. Prior to the motu proprio, priests had to have special permission to celebrate the Tridentine form. Now priests don’t need special permission, because while the Tridentine form isn’t necessarily normative, it has its place in the larger context of the liturgical life of the church.

People usually ask for statistics, how many priests are celebrating the Tridentine form and how many people are attending it. Because of the motu proprio, however, there isn’t necessarily any reporting. Priests don’t need special permission, so we really don’t know when they’re doing it, especially when it’s a private celebration as a form of their own devotion.

What’s your anecdotal impression of how strong the demand has been?

I think there was an initial bump after the motu proprio, probably fueled by curiosity. Some people had rather limited access before, and suddenly there was the possibility of attending the extraordinary form more regularly. What seems to be happening in many dioceses is that there isn’t necessarily a Tridentine Mass in every parish that wants it, because the numbers are often fairly low, but there’s some kind of regional approach. In lots of dioceses there are one or two designated locations, and some bishops now celebrate the Tridentine form occasionally to be supportive of those efforts. Part of the reality, too, is that not many priests are well trained in celebrating the Tridentine form.

There’s been no popular repudiation of the new Mass?

I think that’s very safe to say. The motu proprio is serving a niche, a need felt by a small number of the faithful.

There’s talk of “opposition” from bishops. What’s your sense of how the American bishops have responded?

I can’t say that it’s been negative in any way. Some bishops have been more attuned to it than others, in part because there are some places where bishops might not see the demand. I’ve not seen anything, however, that could be perceived as overt or organized opposition. Some may be more passionate about it than others, but that’s natural.

Prior to the motu proprio, there were dire predictions about its impact. Almost four years into it, can we say that upheaval really hasn’t materialized?

I would agree. Initially there was some hesitation and concern, but we’ve not really seen histrionics in any large way. It’s not had a detrimental effect in terms of fracturing the unity of the church, so a lot of the hype has calmed down. Experience has proven that it’s not caused upheaval, and in most places it’s business as usual.

I’ve heard stories on both ends. I’ve talked to people who had never before experienced the older Mass, especially young people, who go out of curiosity and find beauty in it, something uplifting and moving. I’ve also talked to people who really thought we should go back to this, who then actually attended a Tridentine Mass and felt differently. Over the last forty years, people have grown accustomed to being able to comprehend and participate in what’s being celebrated. Participating by devotion, rather than actually engaging in the rites being celebrated, is a very different experience. Sometimes people who were nostalgic for the older Mass, therefore, end up with a different view once they actually take part in it.

Check out more.  Interesting stuff.

via patheos.com

About the Deacon
Deacon Greg Kandra is a Roman Catholic deacon serving the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York. A veteran broadcast journalist, Deacon Greg worked for 26 years as a writer and producer for CBS News in both New York and Washington. He now serves as the Executive Editor of ONE, the acclaimed magazine published by the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA). Deacon Greg has been honored with every major award in broadcasting, including two George Foster Peabody Awards, two Emmy Awards, and four awards from the Writers Guild of America.

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Interesting Article on Marian Apparitions:

 

Biblical Evidence (Direct Analogies) for Marian Apparitions

 

 

Transfiguration, by Giovanni Gerolamo Savoldo, 16th century

By analogy, biblical accounts of "appearances" of those who have died, are of the same essential nature as a Marian apparition. Angels (i.e., also creatures like men) might also be included in such a survey, but stories of angels are relatively well-known, and for the sake of closer analogy and brevity, I have selected only passages with men or the appearance of men. Several of these passages involve foretelling of the future, in a manner not unlike that of the apparitions at Fatima in 1917. And several actual historical figures are named as appearing after death (Samuel, Onias, Jeremiah, Moses, and Elijah). All passages are RSV.

Read this article here:

 

http://socrates58.blogspot.com/2011/02/biblical-evidence-direct-analogies-for.html

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Father Bozada: Jesus Makes All Things New… When We Frequent The Confessional

via courageouspriest.com

My Dear People,

Get revenge and “show no mercy” is the signature of our culture. Terrorism defines our age. Matthew’s gospel tells us no one can serve two Masters; either he will love one and hate the other; or serve one and not the other. Who is the master of your heart? Does Jesus the Divine Mercy reign over your soul, or does the evil one of unforgiveness and hate? Both cannot co-exist. Either you will live God’s Divine Mercy or the devil’s unforgiveness. When we allow hate and unforgiveness to fester in our hearts, it drains it of our Lord’s Mercy.

St. Faustina reminds us that we always have access to the ocean of Jesus’ Divine Mercy. Only sin and hate suffocate this great grace. Frequent confession causes us to leave our offertory gift at the altar, until we are reconciled with God and neighbor. We may not be able to fix all relationships making them new again, but we can pray and implore God’s Mercy upon them. This is why we must frequent the confessional. It is here that Jesus makes all things new again. Please remember, if you go weekly to Holy Communion you should frequently to to confession. Otherwise, you will waste the Divine graces given at Communion and end up bringing condemnation upon your soul. Pray now to be reconcile with all through Christ.

Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,
Fr. Mark Bozada

May we always be ready to meet Jesus in the confessional, so we may benefit from all the graces of Holy Communion.

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Our Lady's February 25, 2011 Message to the World

 

 

The following is Our Lady of Medjugorje's February 25, 2011 Monthly Message :

“Dear children! Nature is awakening and on the trees the first buds are seen which will bring most beautiful flowers and fruit. I desire that you also, little children, work on your conversion and that you be those who witness with their life, so that your example may be a sign and an incentive for conversion to others. I am with you and before my Son Jesus I intercede for your conversion. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

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Mary TV Daily Reflection 2/25/2011

Image via Wikipedia

February 25, 2011

Dear Family of Mary!

Today we will receive another message from Our Lady, the Queen of Peace.  I thought it would be good to just listen to some things she has said about her messages and their importance, as a preparation.  

"Dear children! I invite you to prayer now when Satan is strong and wishes to make as many souls as possible his own. Pray, dear children, and have more trust in me because I am here in order to help you and to guide you on a new path toward a new life. Therefore, dear little children, listen and live what I tell you because it is important for you when I shall not be with you any longer that you remember my words and all that I told you. I call you to begin to change your life from the beginning and that you decide for conversion not with words but with your life. Thank you for having responded to my call." (October 25, 1992)

"Dear children! God gives me this time as a gift to you, so that I may instruct and lead you on the path of salvation. Dear children, now you do not comprehend this grace, but soon a time will come when you will lament for these messages. That is why, little children, live all of the words which I have given you through this time of grace and renew prayer, until prayer becomes a joy for you. Especially, I call all those who have consecrated themselves to my Immaculate Heart to become an example to others. I call all priests and religious brothers and sisters to pray the rosary and to teach others to pray. The rosary, little children, is especially dear to me. Through the rosary open your heart to me and I am able to help you. Thank you for having responded to my call."(August 25, 1997)

Image via Wikipedia

"Dear children! Today I pray for you and with you that the Holy Spirit may help you and increase your faith, so that you may accept even more the messages that I am giving you here in this holy place. Little children, comprehend that this is a time of grace for each of you; and with me, little children, you are secure. I desire to lead you all on the way of holiness. Live my messages and put into life every word that I am giving you. May they be precious to you because they come from heaven. Thank you for having responded to my call." (June 25, 2002)

"Dear children! Also today, as never up to now, I call you to open your hearts to my messages. Little children, be those who draw souls to God and not those who distance them. I am with you and love you all with a special love. This is a time of penance and conversion. From the bottom of my heart, I call you to be mine with all your heart and then you will see that your God is great, because He will give you an abundance of blessings and peace. Thank you for having responded to my call." (February 25, 2004)

Thank you, dear Mother, for giving us these precious messages.  Help us to turn them into life!

In Jesus and Mary!
Cathy Nolan

 

 

www.marytv.tv 

 

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Will Facebook Kill the Church?

Professor Richard Beck offers a provocative and well-written look at a truth that hardly anyone else is willing to state. In his piece "How Facebook Killed the Church," he argues that our new connectivity through Facebook and cell phones, and the broader digital world of Twitter and Skype, is hammering away at the foundational social purpose of organized religion and its houses of worship. He cites demographic evidence that the millennials are leaving in droves and not returning, arguing that this is not because of some new awareness that religion is corrupt or boring, but rather because the digital world is providing what the Church once provided nearly exclusively: a center of social networking.

He writes that the main reason that churches thrived in the past is "easy, social relationships":

Read the entire article here: http://www.insidecatholic.com/feature/will-facebook-kill-the-church.html

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MISSIONARY PRAYER INTENTION

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Holy Father's Missionary Intention for March 2011: “That the Holy Spirit may give light and strength to those in many regions of the world who are persecuted and discriminated against because of the Gospel”. Commentary.

 

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – Persecution has been inherent in the Church since its beginnings. We can almost say it is part of its essence. From the moment that the Lord says: “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also,” (Jn 15:20), every true Christian and every Christian community should know that they will be the subject of persecution. The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI reaffirmed this when he said: “The Church walks the same path and suffers the same destiny as Christ, since she acts not on the basis of any human logic or relying on her own strength, but instead she follows the way of the Cross, becoming, in filial obedience to the Father, a witness and a travelling companion for all humanity.” (Message for World Mission Day 2009, n.4).St Augustine said: “The light that is loved by healthy eyes is hated by the sick.” The Church, when it faithfully lives the message of Christ, truly becomes the “light of the world”, and because of this becomes uncomfortable for unhealthy eyes. When the Church proclaims the Gospel fully, it becomes “salt of the earth” which scorches the wounded. We cannot ignore that everyone of us should place our lives in the light of the Gospel and suffer the burning of the salt, given that we must live in a continual spirit of conversion, leaving aside that incoherent part that often is part of our lives. Otherwise, we will only be salt that no longer has any flavour and that should be tossed out in the street, trodden on by passers-by.
Throughout his life, Jesus, and the early Church suffered persecution. In the age wh

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

en the Book of Revelation was written, the Church was experiencing much persecution, tribulations and confusion (cf. Rev 1:9). However, in the vision of St John a word of hope was proclaimed: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore and I have the keys of death and of Hades” (Rev 1:17-18).
Together with the constant presence of Christ, who won over suffering and death through his Resurrection, the Church finds the strength to persevere, even in the midst of persecution, thanks to the precious gift of the Holy Spirit: Receive the power of the Holy Spirit and you shall be my witnesses (cf. At 1, 8). The Spirit helps with the gift of strength to those whose faith in Christ is tried, and sustains believers in a way that they may go on to offer the supreme witness of martyrdom, if called.
May this Spirit, which is divine light and force, sustains our brothers and sisters living under the trial of persecution. May this same Spirit animates our prayer, that is genuine, passionate and committed. The forms of persecution are different in different parts of the world. In some countries they resort to the use of physical violence, to coercion, and threats. In Western cultures today they discredit, insult and ridicule everything that is Christian. May the Holy Spirit render us authentic Catholic witnesses to Christ, consistent with the Gospel, people who do not adapt to this world (cf. Rom 12: 2). Only those who are willing to suffer for the confession of Christ's name, can truly be his disciples.
Let us pray then this month for our persecuted brothers and, that our prayer is sincere. Let us be open to share some of their sufferings for the confession of the crucified and risen Lord. (Agenzia Fides 25/2/2011)

 

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From Mark Mallett: Why Mary...?

Why Mary…?

 

WHILE the world reels under overwhelming changes in its weather patterns, economic stability, and growing revolutions, the temptation for some will be to despair. To feel as though the world is out of control. In some ways it is, but only to the degree that God has permitted, to the degree, often, of reaping precisely what we’ve sown. God has a plan. And as John Paul II pointed out when he said that we are "facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church…" he added:

This confrontation lies within the plans of divine Providence —Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (JOHN PAUL II ), at the Eucharistic Congress, Philadelphia, PA; August 13, 1976

When he became Pope, he also pointed out the means by which the Church would triumph over the "anti-Church":

On this universal level, if victory comes it will be brought by Mary. Christ will conquer through her because He wants the Church’s victories now and in the future to be linked to her… —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, p. 221

This statement, and several I have made here, have sent many of my Protestant readers into a tailspin, not to mention fellow Catholics who have been raised in Evangelical influences or without proper instruction. I too was raised among many Pentecostals and the "charismatic renewal." However, my parents also held fast to the teachings of our Faith. By God’s grace, I have been fortunate to experience the living dynamic of a personal relationship with Jesus, the power of God’s Word, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and at the same time, the sure and unchanging foundations of faith and morals as handed on through the Church’s living Tradition (see A Personal Testimony).

I have also experienced what it means to have a mother—God’s Mother—as my own, and how this has brought me closer to Jesus faster and more effectively than any other devotion I know outside of the Sacraments.

But that’s not how some Catholics see it. From a reader:

 

Read more… »

PUBLISHED IN: | ON FEBRUARY 22ND, 2011 |

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Saudi national arrested in Lubbock Texas on terror charge : Homeland Security News

Saudi national arrested in Lubbock Texas on terror charge

Homeland Security NTARC News | 2/24/2011 | no comments

A 20-year-old Saudi national has been arrested in Lubbock, Texas for allegedly researching and acquiring materials to make explosives.

According to CNN, the man arrested, Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, planned to target the home of former President George W. Bush and other sites. He is reportedly facing a federal charge of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.

Read More

Tags: George W. Bush, homeland security, saudi arabia, terror, terror plot, terrorism

Category: Incident Reports

via nationalterroralert.com

I'm glad they got this nut! Let's hope they can keep him in prison forever!

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Rights group says Afghan convert facing execution has been freed

Said Musa, the Afghan Christian who was facing the death sentence for converting from Islam, has been released from the prison in Kabul, a Christian persecution watchdog has reported.

"I got confirmation today that he is out of the country," Aidan Clay, of International Christian Concern, told The Christian Post on Thursday.

"It's done. He's out," said Clay.
Read more here: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/rights.group.says.afghan.convert.facing...

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An Afghanistan in the Mediterranean

Two scenarios of the revolt in the Arab countries. That of Egypt, with an unprecedented alliance between Christians and Muslims. And that of Libya, where the collapse of the regime paves the way for radical Islamism. The analysis of Khaled Fouad Allam 

by Sandro Magister

ROME, February 23, 2011 – The three photos shown above were taken in Cairo in the square al-Tahrir, Liberation Square. They were published on the online agency "Asia News" of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, with commentary by the Egyptian Jesuit Samir Khalil Samir, one of the Islamologists most respected by pope Joseph Ratzinger.

Read this article here: http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1346872?eng=y

POST SCRIPTUM – This article had just been posted online when the news came of the killing of a Coptic priest in Asyut, in Upper Egypt. Thousands of Christians took to the streets to protest, clashing with Muslims. Asyut is the Egyptian city with the highest concentration of Copts, and the birthplace of their current patriarch, Shenouda III. In the surrounding area there are important monasteries and a shrine dedicated to Mary, an extremely popular destination for both Christians and Muslims.

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[MaryVitamin] first altar

 

 

Mary Vitamin for February 24th

 Topic: Mary and the Eucharist

 

 Quote:

Bl. Teresa of Calcutta

 "Mary was the first altar."

 Meditation:

In  the fully approved apparition of Our Lady in Akita , Japan , the Heavenly Mother asked Sister Agnes Sasagawa of the Order of the Handmaids of the Eucharist to ...

"Recite the prayer of the Handmaids of the Eucharist with awareness of its meaning; put it into practice; offer in reparation (whatever God may send) for sins. Let each one endeavor, according to capacity and position, to offer herself entirely to the Lord." 

August 3, 1973 

The prayer of the Handmaids of the Eucharist 

"Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, truly present in the Holy Eucharist, I consecrate my body and soul to be entirely one  with Your Heart, being sacrificed at every instant on all the altars of the world and giving praise to the Father, pleading for the coming of His Kingdom.
Please receive this humble offering of myself. Use me as You will for the glory of the Father and the salvation of souls.
Most Holy Mother of God, never let me be separated from Your Divine Son. Please defend and protect me as Your special child. Amen."

 

 

 

 Resolution:

 Today, I will  ask that Our Lady will transform me into herself so that my heart may also become an altar for the Lord.

 

 Marian Vow:

The motto of the Militia Immaculatae is "To lead all men and every individual through Mary to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus."

Aim Higher! Spiritual and Marian Reflections of ST. Maximilian Kolbe, (Marytown Press: 2007), 45.

 I give this resolution to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

 Thanks be to God for graces received.

Related sites: Castle of the Immaculate & AirMaria

 

__._,__

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Mary TV Daily Reflection 2/24/2011

February 24, 2011

Dear Family of Mary!

"Dear children!  Today I invite you to come still closer to me through prayer.  Little children, I am your mother, I love you and I desire that each of you be saved and thus be with me in Heaven. That is why, little children, pray, pray, pray until your life becomes prayer.  Thank you for having responded to my call." (August 25, 1998)

Image via Wikipedia

Our Lady gives us the central desire of her heart in this message.  She wants us to be with her in Heaven.  She has come to guide us to Heaven.  She is teaching us to pray, so that we will become closer and closer to her and to Jesus and to Heaven.  That is it!  

We really need to desire Heaven and keep the eyes of our hearts focused on it often.  Why? Because it is our hope.  We live in a world in which all things die.  Death is the end of every life.  It's a fact.  We can't run from it.  We can pretend it doesn't happen, live as if it isn't coming, or wish it away, but all the living die.  

I heard a great homily by Fr. Robert Barron recently in which he spoke about this "one way" reality of death.  He said that there are three responses to the reality of our finite earthly existence: optimism, pessimism and hope.  (Here is the link to Fr. Robert Barron's web site, and the audio file of his homily on hope.  You will enjoy Fr. Barron's great teaching style!  I love his website.  http://www.wordonfire.org/WOF-Radio/Sermons/Sermon-Archive-for-2010/Sermon-518-The-Virtue-of-Hope-Third-Sunday-of.aspx  )

 

 

Fr. Barron said that pessimists, like the existential philosophers, see the reality of death as a reason to despair.  Sartre said that in life there is "no exit".  There is no way around death, and there is nothing after death.  On a natural level, Fr. Barron said that the pessimists are right!

The optimists are those who choose to focus on finite life, and believe that they can make it meaningful and good.  He said that by far the most dangerous people in the world are optimists.  They believe that all can be made well here below.  With enough scientific development, enough organization, enough power they can make life great.  Optimists are men like Marx, Stalin, Lenin, Mao...they were optimists.  They would go to any extreme to make their dream happen, and so human dignity and many lives were sacrificed for their ideals.

The third response to death is hope. Hope doesn't give up on life, and it doesn't center its energies on this life, but it grasps the reality of life after death with God, in Heaven.  Fr. Barron said, "Hope is that supernatural virtue which orders our desire toward heaven and the things of heaven."  Hope points us towards the life to come, the promise of eternal joy with God that has been given to us.  "It is not something we should hope for within the context and the 

 

 Pope John Paul II

confines of this world, but a realization that will occur through the power of God in a transfigured world to come."  Heaven exists outside of our earthly reality, and it is real!  That is our hope.  

Fr. Barron listed some people of our time who operated in hope and ended up changing our world for the better, even now.  "Dorothy Day, Mother Theresa of Calcutta, Martin Luther King, John Paul II.  They were not optimists, they were people of hope."  

Heaven is our hope, and Our Lady is trying very hard to keep that hope alive in us in these difficult days.  She comes every day to instill that hope of heaven, and indeed to help us experience at bit of heaven through her coming!  We are people of hope.  We believe in God, and we believe in Heaven.  We have a way out of the "no exit" world - that is the door to Heaven and it is held open for us by Jesus, our Savior!  We are people of hope!

In Jesus and Mary!

 

Cathy Nolan

PS.  All the quotes from Fr. Barron came from his homily on Hope.  Again, here is the link:

http://www.wordonfire.org/WOF-Radio/Sermons/Sermon-Archive-for-2010/Sermon-518-The-Virtue-of-Hope-Third-Sunday-of.aspx

 

www.marytv.tv 

Zemanta helped me add links & pictures to this email. It can do it for you too.

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San Diego Woman: “I wish to renounce the alleged ordination”

“I wish to renounce the alleged ordination”

San Diego woman severs ties with Roman Catholic Women Priests

A San Diego woman “ordained” a deacon of the Roman Catholic Women Priests movement in 2007 has repudiated her participation in the organization and is seeking a return to the Church. 

The woman, Norma Jean Coon, published the following statement on her website on Feb. 8: 

Document of Renunciation of Ordination to Diaconate 

On July 22, 2007, I was ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Patricia Fresen, of Germany and South Africa who was ordained by three male bishops in Germany for the group called Roman Catholic Women Priests. The ordination took place at the Santa Barbara Immaculate Heart Spiritual Center. Because neither Patricia Fresen nor myself were given permission for the ordination by Pope Benedict XVI, the ordinations were illegitimate and not recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. Thus an excommunication process called Latae Sententiae occurred, excommunicating oneself by failure to observe the Canon Laws of the Church. 

I wish to renounce the alleged ordination and publicly state that I did not act as a deacon as a part of this group except on two occasions, when I read the gospel once at mass and distributed communion once at this same mass. I withdrew from the program within two weeks of the ceremony because I realized that I had made a mistake in studying for the priesthood. I confess to the truth of Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis. I confess the authority of the Holy Father on these issues of ordination and recognize that Christ founded the ordination only for men. 

Formally, I relinquish all connection to the program of Roman Catholic Women Priests and I disclaim the alleged ordination publicly with apologies to those whose lives I have offended or scandalized by my actions. I ask God's blessings upon each of these folks and their families. 

She followed her statement of renunciation with the following prayer: 

Holy God, I ask your blessings on my Bishop and my pastor and priests in Rome who have assisted me in the process of being re-instated into the Roman Catholic Church and I forsake all connection with the Roman Catholic Women Priests program via Internet or otherwise. 

I thank you for the efforts of my family in my behalf and ask for Jesus' Light and Love to pour over my husband of 47 years and my five children. 

Forgive me my Beloved Jesus and Mother Mary for pursuing my own will in this matter of ordination and as I consecrate myself to your Divine Will through the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I ask you to pour out Light and Love upon any who have placed themselves outside of your Love and Light Bless us, O Lord, for these thy gifts and place us in the Heart of the Father, as we pray for more priests to serve in our church and for vocations to enrich our Church in the United States. 

Forgive us for failing in obedience and enrich us in your Holy Love, I pray through Jesus and Mary.

 

From http://www.calcatholic.com/

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EDSA ‘Fatima’ blessed by Pope; Jaime Cardinal Sin fetched image in NJ:

SIGN OF PROTECTION. Then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and then AFP Vice Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos carry the image of Our Lady of Fatima which was delivered to them on Feb. 23 1986, the second day of the 4-day People Power revolt, for Bahay Maria Foundation heeding the call of Jaime Cardinal Sin. INQUIRER PHOTO

 

MANILA, Philippines—The simple image of Our Lady of Fatima that helped embolden Filipinos to topple the Marcos dictatorship 25 years ago was once stored all but forgotten in the attic of a parish church in New Jersey in the United States.

The wooden Marian image is now enshrined in a glass case surrounded by other venerated icons in the Chapel of the Saints, at the basement of Valenzuela City’s National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. It has been there since 1999.

It was the very image hoisted by then Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos and Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile as they addressed the crowd on EDSA following their defection from the strongman Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, according to parish priest Msgr. Bart Santos.

The striking scene was immortalized in a snapshot published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Feb. 25, 1986.

“The world may emulate EDSA I but it can never be repeated as is because there are things lacking in [the others’] revolutions,” Santos said.

He said peaceful revolts could never be achieved by mere shouting and waving of placards: “We had a miracle [because of] the faith of the people and the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary—an instrument we have that other revolutions in other countries don’t have.”

The same Marian image was also present at the Manila Cathedral on Aug. 5, 2009, when Filipinos prepared to bid the late President Corazon Aquino a final and fond farewell, Santos told the Inquirer.

1 of 50 images

How did the statue of Our Lady of Fatima become a focal point in the Philippines’ most critical times? This was how its previous and present caretakers pieced the story together:

Read more here: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20110224-321898/EDSA-Fatima-blessed-by-Pope-Sin-fetched-image-in-NJ

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Catholic Zombies

Dear Friend in Christ,

The only name we can give to contemporary Catholics who been lobotomized by the progressive liberal crowd in the Church is ZOMBIES.  Please watch this episode of The Vortex and pass it on to your friends and family.

GOD Bless you and your loved ones,

Michael Voris
~senior executive producer, RealCatholicTV.com

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Michelangelo and the Hand of God:

Scandals in the Catholic Church create almost daily headlines in the news, but they aren’t new at all. The story of Michelangelo is a story of the triumph of grace over sin.

“Midway in our life’s journey, I went astray from the straight road and woke to find myself alone in a dark wood.

How shall I say what wood that was?  I never saw so drear, so rank, so arduous a wilderness! Its very memory gives a shape to fear.

Death could scarce be more bitter than that place! But since it came to good, I will recount all that I found revealed there by God’s grace.

How I came to it, I cannot rightly say, so drugged  and loose with sleep had I become when I first wandered there from the True Way.” (Canto I: “The Dark Wood of Error,” Dante’s Inferno)

Dante’s description of “The Dark Wood of Error” captures well the Catholic scandals that are fodder for the media today.  Having lived in the shadow of accusation and scandal for so many years, I can only agree with Dante Alighieri (1265 – 1321): “I never saw so drear, so rank, so arduous a wilderness!”

But the Church isn’t seeing any of this wilderness of scandal for the first time.  I invite you to revisit “Michelangelo and the Hand of God: Scandal at the Vatican” for an injection of hope that, like Dante’s Dark Wood will all come to good if surrendered to sanctifying grace.

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