US support for the "upside down world"

Go figure

More on the Anglican opened door

The following is from the Dominican Friars of the Eastern Province:

The Power of Prayer
"That they may be one" (John 17:21)
by Fr. Brian Mulcahy, O.P. on October 20, 2009


On February 21, 2009, many Dominican priests, brothers, sisters and laity received an e-mail with an urgent prayer request requested by (then) Fr. Augustine DiNoia, O.P., Undersecretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, asking all Dominicans to pray the Litany of Dominican Saints from February 22 (the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter) through March 25 (the Solemnity of the Annunciation) for an at-the-time undisclosed intention. Today, we received an e-mail from Archbishop Augustine DiNoia, O.P., the Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, with the following announcement:

"Today there was announced -- at press conferences in Rome and London -- the forthcoming publication of an apostolic constitution in which the Holy Father allows for the creation of personal ordinariates for groups of Anglicans in different parts of the world who are seeking full communion with the Catholic Church. The canonical structure of the personal ordinariate will permit this corporate reunion while at the same time providing for retention of elements of Anglican liturgy and spirituality.

When I asked the Friars (and other OPs - Ed.) to pray the Dominican litany from 22 February to 25 March earlier this year, the intention was that this proposal would receive the approval of the cardinal members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which was necessary if the proposal of some structure allowing for corporate reunion was to go forward. Our prayers at that time were answered, and now that the proposal has become a reality we can tell everyone what we were praying for then.

Fraternally,

+Abp. J Augustine DiNoia, O.P.


This momentous news has already hit both the secular and Catholic press, but Archbishop DiNoia wanted all of you to know that your prayers were very effective, and that he extends his most profound fraternal thanks.

Here is a link to the Vatican website that has the text of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's Note concerning this new, historic arrangement.

A new door opened to Anglican reunion!

Because this represents answers to prayer, I've included the full text of the Newsflash from Inside the Vatican editor Robert Moynihan.

Another Dramatic Move

The Vatican today made a dramatic announcement: Pope Benedict has authorized a bold new plan to bring Anglicans back into full union with Rome. But many questions remain unanswered

By Robert Moynihan, reporting from Rome
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VATICAN CITY, October 20, 2009 -- Dramatic news today -- as dramatic as the decision earlier this year to "un-excommunicate" the four Lefebvrist bishops, as dramatic as the decision on July 7, 2007 (in the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum) to restore the old Mass.

Pope Benedict XVI is proposing a special Church structure for those Anglicans who wish to come into full communion with Rome without giving up many of the things they cherish as Anglicans.

The news, which came without prior warning this morning, was precisely coordinated between Rome and London. On a cool, sunny, crystal clear day here, at 11 this morning, Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Archbishop Joseph Augustine Di Noia, O.P.. Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, held a press conference to announce this unprecedented Roman initiative after almost 500 years of Anglican-Catholic division. In London, at precisely the same hour, a parallel press conference was held by Archbishop Vincent Nichols, the head of the Catholic Church in England, and Archbishop Rowan Williams, the head of the Anglican Church. "Rome is reabsorbing us, it's as simple as that," one prominent British journalist told me after the Vatican press conference, when I asked him what he thought this was all about. That is too simplistic. Rome is hoping to reunite with all those elements of the Anglican Church which still feel a deep connection with Rome and with the Catholic faith -- and is willing to take considerable pains to make those Anglicans feel comfortable when they "come over to Rome." That is what is happening. And quite a few people don't want that to happen -- and that explains some of the anomalies associated with today's anouncement...

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"New era begins"

In London, Damian Thompson, a religion writer for the Telegraph Media Group, wrote an excellent article today on this papal decision, headlined: "New era begins as Benedict throws open gates of Rome to disaffected Anglicans."

"This is astonishing news," Thompson continues. "Pope Benedict XVI has created an entirely new Church structure for disaffected Anglicans that will allow them to worship together – using elements of Anglican liturgy – under the pastoral supervision of their own specially appointed bishop or senior priest... "In theory, they can have their own married priests, parishes and bishops – and they will be free of liturgical interference by liberal Catholic bishops who are unsympathetic to their conservative stance. There is even the possibility that married Anglican laymen could be accepted for ordination on a case-by-case basis – a remarkable concession." Thompson goes on to report that both Archbishop Nichols and Archbishop Williams "are surprised by this dramatic move." He writes: "Cardinal Levada, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was in Lambeth Palace only yesterday to spell out to Dr Williams what it means. [Note: Levada flew back to Rome at midnight, and so, as one would expect, he was exhausted during this morning's press conference. The Pope evdiently feels a deep urgency to get this done, or he wouldn't be asking his cardinals to travel in this way.] This decision has, in effect, been taken over their heads – though there is no suggestion that Archbishop Nichols does not fully support this historic move." Thompson adds: "Incidentally, I suspect that Rome waited until Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor’s retirement before unveiling this plan: the cardinal is an old-style ecumenist who represents the old way of doing things. His allies in Rome, and many former participants in Anglican-Catholic dialogue, are dismayed by today’s news, which clears away the wreckage of the ARCIC process." He further adds: "The truth is that Rome has given up on the Anglican Communion. With one announcement, the Pope has given conservative Anglicans a protected route to union with Rome... Thousands of Anglicans who reject women bishops and priests and liberal teaching on homosexuality are certain to avail themselves of this provision." Will this really affect "thousands" of Anglicans? Cardinal Levada seemed to think the number will be fewer, just a few hundred.

"'Many' is, of course, a relative term," Levada said. "If I had to say the number of [Anglican] bishops [who may come over to Rome], I would say that is in the 20s or 30s. If I had to say individual [Anglican] lay people, I would say that would be in the hundreds." How will this work out, practically, in England? Anglicans will have to request their own “Personal Ordinariate." Thompson says he suspects that the "most pro-Roman Church of England bishop," the Right Reverend Andrew Burnham, Bishop of Ebbsfleet, could submit a request to Rome. He would then be ordained a Catholic priest (as Anglican orders are not recognized by Rome) and might himself be made “ordinary” (bishop in all but name) of ex-Anglican clergy and lay people who have been received into the Catholic Church together.

Thompson concludes: "This is a decision of supreme boldness and generosity by Pope Benedict XVI, comparable to his liberation of the Traditional Latin Mass... I suspect that this will be a day of rejoicing for conservative Anglo-Catholics and their Roman Catholic friends all over the world." (Source: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/author/damianthompson/)

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Strange proceedings

But I must say that today's press conference was among the strangest I have ever attended at the Vatican. Why? Because many things either didn't make sense, or were not explained. For example, the "missing person." Who was missing?

German Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Council for Christian Unity, the man who has been nominally in charge for many years now of the decades-long Catholic-Anglican dialogue. According to all usual protocol, Kasper should have been at this conference, but was not (he is in Cyprus for a few days carrying on a dialogue with the Orthodox). Cardinal Levada said: "I invited both Cardinal Kasper and Bishop Farrell (Kasper's second-in-command), and both looked at their calendars and said they were committed elsewhere." Levada added that the matter has increasingly come under his doctrinal congregation, and less under the ecumenism office headed by Kasper.

Another oddity was the strange haste to hold this press conference. Why do I say "strange haste"? Because the normal time-frame for advising all journalists of an upcoming Vatican press conference was not respected. Normally, the Vatican gives a week's advance notice for a major press conference. (This was confirmed for me today at the press office.)

But today's conference was announced via a cell phone text message frrom Press Director Father Federico Lombardi, S.J, sent to journalists' cell phones at only 5 pm yesterday -- just 18 hours before the event, less than one day. Journalists at the conference said the short notice was unusual for a document, something that was not an obvious emergency, like a accident or an assassination.

Finally, it seemed quite odd that the text of the document that the press conference was held to present was... not presented! The document detailing all aspects of this new iniative was announced, but no copies were given out, and so no one knows yet what it really will say because... it isn't finished -- even though officials as recently as yesterday evening thought that it would be finished for today! Cardinal Levada told journalists that the document wasn't ready because "some questions of canon law need still to be clarified," without expalining what those questions are or how long it may take to clarify them. So these are mysteries.... What is going on?

Why the evident haste to make this announcement? Why go ahead and hold a press conference about a document before the document is finalized? Is someone is trying to "steal a march" on someone? It would seem so. But who is hurrying, and why? Is it the Pope himself? If so, why? I don't know. Does it have to do, perhaps,with the Pope's age, that he wants to move on these questions now, while he is vigorous, rather than waiting even a week or a month, or longer? Or is the question of married priests the difficulty? Are there perhaps potential "Trojan horses" for a married priesthood within the document that the Pope has only just noted, and has at the last minute decided to remove, even if it means delaying the document's publication? Or are there financial and political consequences of these ecclesial developments -- much very valuable ecclesial property could be involved in future Anglican conversion en masse to Catholicism -- which demand that "the thing be done quickly"? A journalist asked: "To what extent does this step weaken the Anglican Church?" "I wouldn’t even hazard a guess," Levada replied. "I think it would be inappropriate." Journalist Robert Mickens of the London Tablet said he was "flabbergasted" that no one from the Council for Christian Unity was present.

"This is all rather vague," Mickens said. "What type of numbers are we talking about here? And, who was involved?"

"If we have been vague, then so be it," Levada replied. A journalist from France asked what would happen if a maried bishop in the Anglican Church becomes a Catholic. "Could he become a married Catholic bishop?" she asked. "This does not provide for married bishops," Levada said, "respecting the long historical tradition of both the West and the East in which bishops were celibate. As for priests, many are asking, if these married Anglicans can be [Catholic] priests, what about us? The Church has now, over the past number of years, dispensed (in the case of married Anglican priests who became Catholics) from the discipline that only unmarried men can be Catholic priests. When the Church deals with these cases, it is an exception…" In sum, an announcement of such importance would ordinarily have been made with greater solemnity. The split between Rome and London since the time of King Henry VIII is one of the great fractures in the history of the Church, and its healing is one of the deep longings of all English Catholics and of many English Anglicans, who come out of the Roman tradition and consider themselves the heirs of that tradition. But the announcement was made in an almost off-hand way, at a last-minute press conference, announced without any description of its content, at 5 pm yesterday, allowing no time for journalists to prepare questions, and without the presence of any Anglicans who might have answered questions from their perspective, and with the text itself still unfinished.

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Unease in England The haste I sensed in Rome seems to have been felt in England as well.

Thompson has just added another note on his blog, saying that the Anglican archbishop, Williams, has written a letter to the Anglican clergy of England to express his feelings about this annoucnement. Williams sounds "humiliated – and, I suspect, furious that the Vatican sprang the plans to welcome ex-Anglicans on him 'at a very late stage,'" Thompson writes.

Here is the text of the emotional Williams letter (with emphasis added): "The Vatican has announced today that PopeBenedict XVI has approved an ‘Apostolic Constitution’ (a formal papal decree) which will make some provision for groups of Anglicans (whether strictly members of continuing Anglican bodies or currently members of the Communion) who wish to be received into communion with the See of Rome in such a way that they can retain aspects of Anglican liturgical and spiritual tradition.

"I am sorry that there has been no opportunity to alert you earlier to this; I was informed of the planned announcement at a very late stage, and we await the text of the Apostolic Constitution itself and its code of practice in the coming weeks. But I thought I should let you know the main points of the response I am making in our local English context– in full consultation with Roman Catholic bishops in England and Wales – in the hope of avoiding any confusion or misrepresentation.

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The View from Australia My friend and colleague, Australian journalist Andrew Rabel, just filed this to me: "At joint conferences today in both London and Rome, provisions were announced that will permit Anglicans with a Catholic bent, to enter the Roman Catholic Church, maintaining elements of Anglican liturgy (based on the 1662 Book of Common Prayer derived from the Sarum Rite) and discipline, such as married priests.

"Archbishop John Hepworth, the worldwide head of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC) received a special briefing beforehand, and it is likely that the new structures have been created, because of a recent request of theirs to formally join the Catholic Church in 2007, although they will be confined to this body and will encompass other conservative Anglican movements such as Forward in Faith, as well.

"This group consists of 16 member churches throughout the world with approximately 400,000 members, with a particularly large proportion from Africa, in nations like Zimbabwe and Tanzania. There are about 5,000 members in the USA, with about 1,500 members in Australia, the country of Archbishop Hepworth.

"An apostolic constitution was announced that will facilitate the integration of disaffected member of the Anglican Communion. But today's announcements indicate that this movement only in the embryonic stages, as it will be up to individual bishops conferences to implement the strictures of the constitution.

"At the conferences, reference was made to the Anglican-Catholic dialogues pursued over the last 40 years, beginning with the visit of Archbishop Ramsay to Pope John XXIII.

"This is also an interesting situation coming with the visit of Pope Benedict to Britain in 2010, and the beatification of John Henry Newman, one of the founders of the 19th Century Oxford Movement, that was pushing for a greater Catholic revival in the Church of England, because of the onset of liberal ideas.

"These ideas have further developed in 20th Century Anglicanism, with the ordination of women and homosexuals, denial of Christ's Resurrection, and a permissiveness regarding practices like abortion. Many Anglicans, both clergy and laity who previously had never had much sympathy towards Rome, fond themselves alarmed at the denomination they were in.

"Up until the present moment, procedures to incorporate disaffected Anglicans, have been largely temporary such as the Anglican Use in the USA, but the structures announced today will be permanent, though technical details are still to be worked out.

"One unexpected problem with this may be, with the movement towards married priests very much discouraged in the Latin Rite, an exception will appear to have been made to a group outside. How this will play out is unclear."

=================

The Text Announcing the Decision

NOTE OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH ABOUT PERSONAL ORDINARIATES FOR ANGLICANS ENTERING THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
With the preparation of an Apostolic Constitution, the Catholic Church is responding to the many requests that have been submitted to the Holy See from groups of Anglican clergy and faithful in different parts of the world who wish to enter into full visible communion. In this Apostolic Constitution the Holy Father has introduced a canonical structure that provides for such corporate reunion by establishing Personal Ordinariates, which will allow former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony. Under the terms of the Apostolic Constitution, pastoral oversight and guidance will be provided for groups of former Anglicans through a Personal Ordinariate, whose Ordinary will usually be appointed from among former Anglican clergy.

The forthcoming Apostolic Constitution provides a reasonable and even necessary response to a world-wide phenomenon, by offering a single canonical model for the universal Church which is adaptable to various local situations and equitable to former Anglicans in its universal application. It provides for the ordination as Catholic priests of married former Anglican clergy. Historical and ecumenical reasons preclude the ordination of married men as bishops in both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. The Constitution therefore stipulates that the Ordinary can be either a priest or an unmarried bishop. The seminarians in the Ordinariate are to be prepared alongside other Catholic seminarians, though the Ordinariate may establish a house of formation to address the particular needs of formation in the Anglican patrimony. In this way, the Apostolic Constitution seeks to balance on the one hand the concern to preserve the worthy Anglican liturgical and spiritual patrimony and, on t he other hand, the concern that these groups and their clergy will be integrated into the Catholic Church.

Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which has prepared this provision, said: "We have been trying to meet the requests for full communion that have come to us from Anglicans in different parts of the world in recent years in a uniform and equitable way. With this proposal the Church wants to respond to the legitimate aspirations of these Anglican groups for full and visible unity with the Bishop of Rome, successor of St. Peter."

These Personal Ordinariates will be formed, as needed, in consultation with local Conferences of Bishops, and their structure will be similar in some ways to that of the Military Ordinariates which have been established in most countries to provide pastoral care for the members of the armed forces and their dependents throughout the world. "Those Anglicans who have approached the Holy See have made clear their desire for full, visible unity in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. At the same time, they have told us of the importance of their Anglican traditions of spirituality and worship for their faith journey," Cardinal Levada said.
The provision of this new structure is consistent with the commitment to ecumenical dialogue, which continues to be a priority for the Catholic Church, particularly through the efforts of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. "The initiative has come from a number of different groups of Anglicans," Cardinal Levada went on to say: "They have declared that they share the common Catholic faith as it is expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and accept the Petrine ministry as something Christ willed for the Church. For them, the time has come to express this implicit unity in the visible form of full communion."

According to Levada: "It is the hope of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, that the Anglican clergy and faithful who desire union with the Catholic Church will find in this canonical structure the opportunity to preserve those Anglican traditions precious to them and consistent with the Catholic faith. Insofar as these traditions express in a distinctive way the faith that is held in common, they are a gift to be shared in the wider Church. The unity of the Church does not require a uniformity that ignores cultural diversity, as the history of Christianity shows. Moreover, the many diverse traditions present in the Catholic Church today are all rooted in the principle articulated by St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians: ‘There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism’ (4:5). Our communion is therefore strengthened by such legitimate diversity, and so we are happy that these men and women bring with them their particular contributions to our common life of faith."

Background information

Since the sixteenth century, when King Henry VIII declared the Church in England independent of Papal Authority, the Church of England has created its own doctrinal confessions, liturgical books, and pastoral practices, often incorporating ideas from the Reformation on the European continent. The expansion of the British Empire, together with Anglican missionary work, eventually gave rise to a world-wide Anglican Communion.

Throughout the more than 450 years of its history the question of the reunification of Anglicans and Catholics has never been far from mind. In the mid-nineteenth century the Oxford Movement (in England) saw a rekindling of interest in the Catholic aspects of Anglicanism. In the early twentieth century Cardinal Mercier of Belgium entered into well publicized conversations with Anglicans to explore the possibility of union with the Catholic Church under the banner of an Anglicanism "reunited but not absorbed".

At the Second Vatican Council hope for union was further nourished when the Decree on Ecumenism (n. 13), referring to communions separated from the Catholic Church at the time of the Reformation, stated that: "Among those in which Catholic traditions and institutions in part continue to exist, the Anglican Communion occupies a special place."

Since the Council, Anglican-Roman Catholic relations have created a much improved climate of mutual understanding and cooperation. The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) produced a series of doctrinal statements over the years in the hope of creating the basis for full and visible unity. For many in both communions, the ARCIC statements provided a vehicle in which a common expression of faith could be recognized. It is in this framework that this new provision should be seen.

In the years since the Council, some Anglicans have abandoned the tradition of conferring Holy Orders only on men by calling women to the priesthood and the episcopacy. More recently, some segments of the Anglican Communion have departed from the common biblical teaching on human sexuality—already clearly stated in the ARCIC document "Life in Christ"—by the ordination of openly homosexual clergy and the blessing of homosexual partnerships. At the same time, as the Anglican Communion faces these new and difficult challenges, the Catholic Church remains fully committed to continuing ecumenical engagement with the Anglican Communion, particularly through the efforts of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.

In the meantime, many individual Anglicans have entered into full communion with the Catholic Church. Sometimes there have been groups of Anglicans who have entered while preserving some "corporate" structure. Examples of this include, the Anglican diocese of Amritsar in India, and some individual parishes in the United States which maintained an Anglican identity when entering the Catholic Church under a "pastoral provision" adopted by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and approved by Pope John Paul II in 1982. In these cases, the Catholic Church has frequently dispensed from the requirement of celibacy to allow those married Anglican clergy who desire to continue ministerial service as Catholic priests to be ordained in the Catholic Church.

In the light of these developments, the Personal Ordinariates established by the Apostolic Constitution can be seen as another step toward the realization the aspiration for full, visible union in the Church of Christ, one of the principal goals of the ecumenical movement.
(Source: http://212.77.1.245/news_services/bulletin/news/24513.php?index=24513〈=it)
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“He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God's providence to lead him aright.” —Blaise Pascal (French mathematician, philosopher, physicist and writer, 1623-1662)
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40 years in the wilderness...

It was the first time a solemn High Mass according to the old rite has been celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica since 1969, 40 years ago.

From Robert Moynihan, "Inside the Vatican Newsflash"

Mission Report from Fr. Bart de la Torre O.P.

Oct. 15, Feast of St. Teresa of Avila


Dear Fellow Dominicans,

Oct. 17 & 18 I will be preaching the mission appeal for the Society for the Propagation of the Faith at Queen of Angels Church in Lompoc, CA. Both this Society and the Living Rosary were founded by Pauline Jaricot, who, according to Sr. Mary Jean Dorcy, O.P., in her wonderful St. Dominic's Family (available through the internet), was a Third Order Dominican.

This assignment gave me the opportunity to take Mon., Oct. 12, to Fri., Oct 23, off. However, I had so much unfinished business that I am still here, Thurs., Oct. 15, Feast of St. Teresa of Avila. I have been so busy because for the last 18 monsth we have been only two Dominican priests at this mission, but on Oct. 30 two more Dominican priests will be arriving to join us. My main purpose in delaying my departure was to send you this thank you letter, but there was much I had to get out of the way first. Finally, I can sent you this appreciation of your help in caring for
our poof.

As an example, right now I am dealing with an 18 y/o mom with a problem pregnancy; a heroic mom stressed out with colitis because she is the only and very poorly paid wage earner for a disabled husband and five children; numerous students who are diligent at school but cannot keep on without financial aid; a beautiful 15 y/o girl whose front teeth are being protruded but whose parents cannot afford the 1,200 pesos ($75 US) to remove the wisdom teeth causing the problem; etc.!

On the spiritual front, this morning I brought the sacraments for the first time to a poor, elderly lady to whom the parish supplies some food every other week. As I was knocking at the gate, dressed in my habit, a very poor young mom with three young children passed by and looked at me, so I said, “Buenos días.” She returned the greeting and passed on. I noted that I had never seen her at church. I was struggling to undo the lock on the gate, and this gave the young mom time to return and say, “I have come back to kiss your hand.” I never refuse because that would deeply hurt these people of sincere admiration for the priesthood, and then I bless them as a sign of appreciation. I did so and took the woman’s name and address (she can afford no phone), and promised I would visit her after my return from California in about two weeks. She was very touched by this.

I entered the elderly lady’s front yard, sat, and heard her stories. Fourteen years ago she went on the operating room in the government free hospital for a scheduled knee transplant. At the same time a young woman was brought in with a knee shattered in an accident. The one available artificial knee went to the young woman, but the doctors never told the older woman that all they had done for her was remove the natural knee. It was some days before she realized this. She was never able to get the situation corrected, and since Mexico is not a litigious society, the poor just offer it up and weep. Her left leg has no knee to this day. I asked her if she was Catholic. She told me that her father, who had married at 14, was martyred during the persecution in Mexico when he was only 21. In the late 1920´s, the federal troops put him in a press and would ask him, “Who lives?” Each time he would cry out, “Long live Christ the King,” for he was a Catholic Cristero. The soldiers would tighten the machine, and again ask and receive the same answer. Eventually they tightened the man so much that his heart popped out of his mouth. The she told me, “And you ask me if I am a Catholic? I will never abandon the faith of my fathers!” We had spoken for long enough that I was ready to leave, so I said, “Think about going to confession and I will be back in about two weeks.” “Why?” she replied, “I am ready to confess right now!” Because she can hardly walk due to her missing knee, she had not been able to receive the sacraments for a long time and had been longing for them. I also anointed her and gave her Holy Communion, and promised to send her a Communion Minister once a week.

This was just this one morning. I had ned already, and more kept occurring as the day progressed. Each day is full of equally touching experiences, but, to paraphrase the last sentence of the Gospel according to John, were I to write all that the Lord has gotten me involved in, not even the whole rectory itself would hold the books that would ensue.

After my return on Oct. 23 I will answer those of you who have written to me. In the meantime, please be assured that my heart carries within it constant gratitude for your financial help. I pray for you daily, especially in my daily Masses, and our poor pray for you also. Please pray for us here, including for native Dominican vocations; this latter is a developing story in itself, which I hope to relate to you soon.

With much love and appreciation,
Fr. Bart, O.P.
Dominican Mission, Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico.

Fathers of the Church - CUA translation online

Bill White (at Summa Minutiae) called my attention to the fact that many of the volumns of the 1950 CUA translations of the Fathers of the Church are now online. In his post here, he calls attention to the set of St. Augustine's letters, including the "Letter to Proba" which comes up in the Office of Readings this next week, and was the reading that sent me to the Catholic Church, that Thursday of the 29th week in ordinary time, 1996. Bill was one of the few I still have occasional contact with who helped me to learn the faith and enter the Catholic Church.

Doubly thanks, Bill!

Chapter with Fr. Mullady

Picture of Father Mullady with chapter members after his induction into the Equestrian Knights of the Holy Sepulchre. He received a stole instead of spurs, a sword, and a funny hat.




photo credit: Anita Moore OPL

130 years; no change

Why preaching is better than politics:

ON THE RESTORATION OF CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY
AETERNI PATRIS
Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII promulgated on August 4, 1879

2. Whoso turns his attention to the bitter strifes of these days and seeks a reason for the troubles that vex public and private life must come to the conclusion that a fruitful cause of the evils which now afflict, as well as those which threaten, us lies in this: that false conclusions concerning divine and human things, which originated in the schools of philosophy, have now crept into all the orders of the State, and have been accepted by the common consent of the masses. For, since it is in the very nature of man to follow the guide of reason in his actions, if his intellect sins at all his will soon follows; and thus it happens that false opinions, whose seat is in the understanding, influence human actions and pervert them. Whereas, on the other hand, if men be of sound mind and take their stand on true and solid principles, there will result a vast amount of benefits for the public and private good.

Seeking truth

In Honduras, President Micheletti speaks to the OAS:

“First, I wish to express unending thanks for the good will that you are showing . . . but we must speak out about something: the truth. You do not know the whole truth and, at times it appears that you do not want to hear it. Why don’t we begin to investigate what happened before the 28th of June? We are being asked to reconsider certain things and we are willing, but I believe we have a right that the truth be heard. . . .
“I made a comment to some friends that we are not afraid of the United States, its State Department, of Brazil, of Mexico, but we are afraid of Mel Zelaya. Very afraid of his return. Because another thing I like to mention is how other countries point at small countries such as ours and say: corruption, corruption, corruption. . . . But now that we stop acts of corruption, we are singled out by you. Today we show the world what kind of government we had under Zelaya and you are angry at us.
“Today we have the evidence. This is not just talk. Where Mr. Zelaya was feeding his horses with government money, where he paid the man who kept it with the State’s funds; twenty-seven thousand lempiras per month for the keeper and 20 thousand for the horses’ feed. Jewels purchased with government money, charged to the treasury of the Republic. But no one wants to see any of that. I would like you to investigate what has happened with the Treasury of Honduras in the past three months since we have been in charge.
“We were accused and sentenced in the 20 minutes that the OAS meeting lasted, where it was presumed we had staged a coup d’état. Unfortunately, in this country, some people read our constitution and say it’s a monstrosity; but that monstrosity has kept order, quiet and peace in this country for 29 years under a democratic regime in which nobody had attempted to breach the constitutional order in our country by trying to set up a Constitutional convention.
“This is the way I am: I express myself in strong terms, but without the slightest desire to hurt your feelings. If I do, please, accept my apologies. What I have is the greatest desire that you understand that we, in Honduras, with that constitution, have tried to keep order, peace and tranquility. It took a group of citizens two years – myself included, because I was a member of the convention – to make it how it is, to protect it from an extraordinary man with foreign influences inside his head who tried to change it.
“We only want the truth to be known. I have said it before and I repeat it today . . . if I am an obstacle, I will step aside, but I demand that this man who has caused the worst disasters to the economy and the morale of the country to step aside, as well.
“. . . . There will be elections on November 29, unless we are invaded, that is the only way to stop them. Not because of a personal whim, but because they were already scheduled. Primary elections were held and candidates chosen in 2008 and they have been campaigning. I ask myself: If Zelaya had no intentions to stay in power [beyond his term of office] why didn’t he fund the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which is in charge of running elections in our country? They are not carried out by the President or the National Congress. It is the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which was elected one and a half years ago. Why hadn’t he given it one single penny to begin organizing the programs on the corresponding dates, as required by law? A week after we took office we provided the Tribunal with the necessary funds.
“This was the only country in the world where the government was being conducted without a budget. For the last nine months we had no budget and the current Minister of Finances tells us that there are 5.6 billion lempiras that no one knows where they went or how they were spent because there are no supporting documents.
“. . . . I did not fight for this job. I was President of the National Congress and am here by virtue of the rules of succession. I will never again be able to run for the Presidency of Honduras because the laws forbid it. But I entreat you from the bottom of my heart . . . not to leave our country without the possibility that the elections be recognized, without the possibility of an opening so you will understand that ours is a good country, a noble country, of people who want to move forward and who deserve a better future.
“Our Constitution may be the ugliest in the world, but it is anchored in the thinking of men and women who sought to sustain democracy. We would like any dialogue to be based on our Constitution, our statutes and the rule of law.”

from: Honduras President Roberto Micheletti blasted OAS in new round of crisis talks

Not tripping the light fantastic

Those who have visited at night and have navigated the dark path to the back yard will appreciate the work Charlie did yesterday; I know I do!




which reminds me, that least favorite time of year is approaching...

The Power and Love of Jesus

The following meditation is from "Divine Intimacy," by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D.

The Power and Love of Jesus

A poor paralytic is presented to Our Lord; he probably has himself brought there to ask for bodily health, but in the presence of the purity and holiness which emanates from the Person of Jesus, he realizes that he is a sinner and remains confused and humiliated before Our Lord. Jesus has already read his heart, and seeing his faith and humility, He does not even wait for him to speak, but suddenly says to him with infinite kindness: “Be of good heart, son, thy sins are forgiven thee” (Mt. 9:1-8). The first and the greatest miracle has taken place: the man is no longer a slave of Satan; he is a child of God. Jesus, who came to save souls, rightfully healed the soul before the body.

This miracle, however, does not please the scribes who, not believing in the divinity of Jesus, begin immediately in the secret of their hearts to accuse Him of blasphemy. But the Master, who had read the soul of the paralytic, also reads theirs. “Why do you think evil in your hearts?” If Jesus had seen there even a little humility and faith, He would have been as ready to heal them as He was to heal the heart of the paralytic; but unfortunately, He found nothing but pride and obstinacy. However, He wishes to use every means to soften them, so He gives them he strongest proof of his divinity. “But that you may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins – then He said to the man sick of the palsy – ‘Arise, take up thy bed, and to into thy house.’ And he arose and went into his house.” The miracle was striking and instantaneous. The word of Jesus effected immediately what it expressed. The words of God alone could have such power. But the scribes will not admit that they are defeated: when the heart is proud and obstinate, not even factual evidence is capable of moving it.

Let us never say our faith is weak because we do not see or touch with our hand the truth which is proposed for our belief; let us rather admit that it is weak because our heart is not sufficiently docile to grace, nor entirely free from pride. If we want to have strong faith, let us be as humble and as simple as children; if we wish to share in the grace of sanctification which was given to the paralytic, let us offer ourselves to Our Lord with contrite, humble hearts, thoroughly convinced that we need His help and forgiveness.

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary

The following is a meditation on today's feast:

OUR LADY OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY
Pray for Us Who Have Recourse to Thee

From its beginning the Order of Preaches has shown special honor and devotion to Mary, the Mother of God. The Rosary, which places before us the chief mysteries of the life, passion, and resurrection of our Savior, in the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries, has been one of the chief ways in which the Order has expressed this devotion.

As our Dominican brother, the great Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas, explains the Blessed Mother’s role in the economy of salvation, “The fullness of grace in Mary was such that its effects overflow upon the entire human race. It is a great thing for a saint to possess the grace sufficient for his or her salvation; it is a greater thing for one to possess the grace sufficient for the salvation of many; but the greatest thing is to possess the grace sufficient for the salvation of the entire human race.”

Our Holy Father Pope Paul VI, in his Apostolic Exhortation Marislis Cultus, explains the importance of the rosary: “As a gospel prayer, centered on the mystery of the redemptive Incarnation, the Rosary is therefore a prayer with a clearly Christological orientation. Its most characteristic element, in fact, the litany-like succession of Hail Mary’s, become in itself an unceasing praise of Christ…By its nature the recitation of the Rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping the individual to meditate on the mysteries of the Lord’s life as seen through the eyes of her who was closest to the Lord. In this way the unfathomable riches of these mysteries are unfolded.”

The significance of the rosary is found in a sermon given by St. Bernard, the great promoter of Our Lady, in which he comments on the various events in the life of Christ and Mary. He writes, “I have said it is right to meditate on these truths, and I have thought it right to recall the abundant sweetness given by their fruits; and of Mary drawing abundantly from heaven has caused this sweetness to overflow for us.”

One of the most powerful ways to grow in grace, and become the very likeness of God himself, is to pray the Holy Rosary. Pray the rosary well, brothers and sisters, and I guarantee you will indeed receive its reward, nothing less than the vision of God himself.

Holy Mary, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Amen.

Fr. Andre-Joseph LaCasse, O.P. is the Pastor at St. Patrick’s in Columbus, OH and is the Provincial Promoter of the Rosary.

Change: and how!

update:


hat tip to My Roatan

Fr. Mullady O.P. - visit update

Just a reminder that we will be blessed to have Fr. Brian Mullady O.P. in Boise September 24-27. He is here for a mass of investiture into the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, which will be at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, 3PM on Sunday, September 27. I do hope you can come out in support of Father.

IN ADDITION:

The Dominican Laity of Idaho, Blessed Margaret of Castello Chapter, is holding a reception for Father Mullady at the the home of Carolyn Reese OPL on Thursday evening, September 24, starting at 5PM; the event is potluck. (directions below)

Father Mullady will also say mass at the Chapter House in Homedale at 10 AM on Friday, September 25. Potluck lunch to follow. (directions below)

Carolyn Reese
5333 N. Brookmeadow Way
Boise, ID 83713-1480

Homedale Chapter House directions can be found here:
http://www.dominicanidaho.org/map.html

Additional late information:



also in attendance at events this weekend will be His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, Patriarch Emeritus of Gerusalemme {Jerusalem}

There will be a mass at the Cathedral 9AM on Saturday, Sept 26, to which all are invited.

Map to Carolyn's house for the Thursday evening reception is here

Humility

“Humility is the acknowledgement of truth”

During his presentation at our Chapter meeting on Saturday, Mike Turner OPL threw out this definition of humility. He attributed it to St. Theresa of Avila.

We all have a partially formed idea of what “humility” is; that it is a good, and what it looks like when we encounter it. However, this definition, with its remarkable brevity, brings it into stark clarity; it removes the focus on self as the sum and source of humility. What I mean by this is that since Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the acknowledgement of Truth is a signal act of humility whereby we submit to God; a submission which grows as we grow in our relationship with the Living Lord.

I think most of us intuit that to be humble is to acknowledge the truth of who we are, but how can we do this if we do not acknowledge the One in Whose Image we have been made? In order to acknowledge the truth of who we are, we must obtain this knowledge. Psychiatry, psychology, and the brainwashers have all learned that to search for this knowledge by entering into the self, results in finding nothing, and that nothing can be readily replaced by anything (the inherent danger in these "techniques" of manipulation). The path to self knowledge (and thus humility) does not lie this way. St. Thomas Aquinas said it well, as we read in the Liturgy of the Hours (and I paraphrase from memory): “Lord, help me to know as I am known.”

hat tip to Mike Turner!

Bloodmoney - The Inconvient Truth About Abortion

The trailer for the movie "Bloodmoney" explains why politician's talk of "working to reduce abortion" is such a cold, cynical deception.



http://www.bloodmoneyfilm.com/

Truth Be Told issue #6 - Newsletter of the Laity of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus

The 6th issue of "Truth Be Told," the newsletter of the Laity of the Province of the Holy Name of Jesus has been posted to the web here.

St. Peter Damian

The following is from Robert Moynihan, editor of Inside the Vatican

Before leaving St. Peter Damian, I thought it might be useful to all of us to read about what Damian had to say to a friend, the abbot of the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Cassino, Desiderius, in the year 1061 -- about 950 years ago. It is his Letter 86.

I choose this letter because it sheds light on our own time.

Damian begins by telling Desiderius that he and his monks should be grateful that they are out of touch with the "craziness" of the "modern world" (for their world, almost 1,000 years ago, was "modern" to them).

"You who are not unaware of the crimes that occur in this mad age would be wise to consider that, having left the world, you should be deeply grateful to God for having rescued you," Damian begins.

"Decency and right living have all but disappeared and, as vigorous Church discipline gradually collapses, a pestilential flood of vice and depravity of every kind grows deeper day by day...

"For just as the shepherd rescues an only sheep from the ravenous jaws of the attacking beast if it has sunk its teeth into one of the weaklings in the flock, so too has Christ rescued you from the mouth of the cruel plunderer who sought to have you serve him as the world was falling apart."

The Holy Father's Wednesday general audience on St. Peter Damian:
"Jesus Must Truly Be at the Center of Our Life"




St. Peter Damian's Letter 31, unmentioned in the Holy Father's catechesis, deals with the reform of the clergy which was the notable passion of St. Peter Damian.

Post-passage commentary on the illustrious

“A meeting of mind and heart is anatomically difficult when there is a spine”
Saint Thomas Moore
'nuff said

Farewell dinner for Mike Lee and family

Dear Friends of the Mike Lee Family,

You are invited to the Farewell Dinner and Auction for the Lees before they return to Austia for the final two years of Mike's theological education.

Enjoy a great dinner with fun people. Super silent auction prizes and desserts. Chat with Mike and Deb Lee.
There are only *100* tickets are available for this fundraising and well-wishing event.

Saturday, September 12, 2009
Louie's Italian Restaurant, 2500 E. Fairview Avenue, Meridian, Idaho
6:30 p.m. -- Social
7:00 p.m. -- Dinner
8:00 - 9:00 pm -- Dessert auction, silent auction, slide presentation by the Lees
Tickets: $20 per person, no-host bar

The final count for dinner needs to be submitted by Tuesday evening, so please reserve your place now:

By email: friendsofmikelee@gmail.com
(or just reply to this note)
By phone: Carol @ 208-658-4491

*Thanks for being a Friend of the Mike Lee Family*

Fr. Mullady O.P. visit

Just a reminder that we will be blessed to have Fr. Brian Mullady O.P. in Boise September 24-27. He is here for a mass of investiture into the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, which will be at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, 3PM on Sunday, September 27. I do hope you can come out in support of Father.

The Lay Chapter will be hosting an evening gathering for Father on Thursday, September 24. Other events will be planned in the next week or so. Please stay tuned!

Prayer request

Dear Friends,

The leukemia which took my wife Gwen, which has always been fatal, is now becoming one of the diseases which can be cured by adult stem-cells. Max, of New York, has this same rare and aggressive leukemia (T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia, T-PLL) will receive a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor on this Thursday. Monday he received chemo to all but kill his own bone marrow. If the transplant is successful, he will be cured. Without it he will not survive. Its another incipient victory for morally acceptable stem cell research vs the oft-promoted immoral use of fetal cells from killed kids.

I was hoping that I might impose on you to offer a prayer intention for Max on Thursday. Although Gwen did not have the opportunity to partake of such a treatment, I give the Lord thanks with a joyful heart that such a treatment is available now.

Thank you and God bless,
Mark

From Honduras

An open letter from the Honduran Foreign Minister

The following open letter was printed in the Honduran newspapers yesterday, in Spanish, of course. It is from Carlos López Contreras, Foreign Minister of Honduras, addressed to the Citizens of World.Happily, a translation to English was also performed. You can read the original letter in Spanish in the newspapers [I haven't been able to find it online yet], or the English translation here. I'm including the letter in full here because I want everyone to read it and I know that some won't click links or don't have the ability to open PDF files.

SECRETARIA DE RELACIONES EXTERIORESDE LA REPUBLICA DE HONDURAS

An Open Letter to the Citizens of the World

from Carlos López Contreras, Foreign Minister of Honduras

As citizens of an increasingly smaller and interconnected global community, we are all responsible for respecting one other and for creating a better world together. Our diverse cultures, religions, and forms of government must continually search for ways to understand one another and work together.

In Honduras, we have always worked diligently to uphold this responsibility as inhabitants of a global village. We have always remained steadfast in our commitment, and this past month is no exception. In fact, it is an example of what we must all vow to do from time to time: hold true to the principals of democracy and the rule of law while protecting the human and civil rights of our fellow citizens in the face of criticism and misunderstanding by certain sectors of the international community.

Let me be clear about what we as Hondurans believe. We believe in the rights of every person to freely express themselves and their beliefs so long as it is done in accordance with the rule of law. We encourage full and equal participation in political discourse and believe that a free and unfettered press is a valuable part of that discourse. We believe that the Honduran government must act in accordance with the Constitution that establishes and limits its power to govern.

As the Minister of Foreign Affairs, I am charged with representing the Honduran government and its people before the world. Now more than ever, my job is to bring an understanding to our shared global community of our dedication to uphold these beliefs, and ask each of you to consider our views as we consider yours.

Yes, Manuel Zelaya was democratically elected as the Honduran President. We cherish democracy.

Yes, as President, he did abuse his power and violate the Constitution. We respect our Constitution.

Yes, his powers as President were automatically forfeited after our Attorney General investigated the violation and our Supreme Court ruled that the violation had occurred. We respect the rule of law.

Yes, the military was ordered to arrest him as part of their Constitutional duty. We know this appearance might seem troubling to some, but it is clearly written in our Constitution -and has always been a part of our Constitution.

Yes, it was a mistake to remove Manuel Zelaya, a Honduran national, from the country. We admit the error and are aware that there are consequences.

Those consequences are that the Constitution and rule of law must be upheld. And so, the Attorney General opened an investigation into the expatriation of Manuel Zelaya on July 4th, and we await the findings of this investigation.

We, the Honduran people, firmly believe that those consequences are not any of the following:

• The restitution of the Presidential powers of Manuel Zelaya. This is not an option the Honduran Constitution grants to the government. In fact, it is clear that the exact opposite must take place. No powers under any circumstances.

• The granting of amnesty to Manuel Zelaya by the executive branch. This is a proscribed duty of the Congress. and the Congress alone. This is their power, and theirs alone.

• The unilateral decision to negotiate breaking articles of the Constitution in order to satisfy some members of the international community. Popular opinion by powerful nations does not rule our nation, and should not rule any country.

Please consider what is being asked of our country: Break the Constitution. Ignore the rule of law.

We simply can not do this because of a mistake in expatriating a Honduran national who had been Constitutionally stripped of the powers that democracy provided to him only to have him abuse them.

We would never ask another nation to ignore its Constitution and trample on the rule of law much less purposely violate its Constitution to please our opinion.

Each day, our citizens wake up and hope that through our insistence and dedication that we can bring understanding to others. We are thankful to friends who have courageously spoken up on our behalf. We are grateful for their support, and are humbled that they have chosen to work selflessly alongside us to bring other nations to understanding our commitment to democracy, the Constitution and the rule of law.

We are a little country among the community of nations but our nation's larger mission is to protect human rights, democracy, the Constitution and the rule of law. We are confident that these are values worth standing firmly in order to uphold. We invite the world to examine our true intentions and decide for themselves. As we prepare to hold free and fair elections this coming November, our faith in these principles could not be more clear.

---

and this is interesting:

These 10 questions were prepared by the UCD for the OAS (Organization of American States). Unión Cívica Democrática is a large group of Honduran civic groups working to ensure the truth about what happened in Honduras gets published.

I do not believe that you can read these questions without seeing the glaring hypocrisy of the OAS.


Ten questions for the foreign ministers’ commission that visits Honduras on behalf of the Organization of American States

Why is the OAS.......?

REJECTING constitutional succession in Honduras,
but VOUCHING for the electoral fraud in Nicaragua and for the indefinite reelection of Hugo Chávez?

PREACHING non-intervention in the internal affairs of nations,
while INTERFERING in the constitutional and democratic processes of Honduras?

CRITICIZING Honduran law-enforcement efforts,
but IGNORING fierce repression of the Venezuelan opposition’s protesters?

PRETENDING to be a champion of the rule of law,
but IGNORING the Honduran Constitution, which was repeatedly violated by Zelaya?

CRITICIZING the alleged repression of news media in Honduras,
but KEEPING QUIET in light of the arbitrary closing of dozens of radio stations in Venezuela?
And KEEPING QUIET in light of the government in Ecuador threatening to do the same?

PREACHING about the defense of democracy,
while ALLOWING governments that are allegedly democratic to support the drug trade, which is so harmful for true democracies?

CONDEMNING Operation Phoenix, which was carried out by the Colombian government against a terrorist organization,
but FAILING TO CONDEMN the fact that rocket launchers sold to Venezuela landed in the hands of the FARC guerrillas?

PRETENDING to support a mediated solution to the Honduran crisis,
but PRESSURING for the acceptance of imposed, rather than negotiated, terms?

QUESTIONING the security measures taken by the Honduran government,
but IGNORING repeated calls by Zelaya for mobs to rise up and engage in the kind of violence that has already resulted in the loss of life?

PROCLAIMING solidarity with the Honduran people,
but REFUSING TO HEAR OUT the overwhelming number of members of Honduran society who categorically reject a corrupt and failed leader, who repeatedly demonstrated that he values his personal interests above those of his people?

On behalf of Honduran civil society, UNION CIVICA DEMOCRATICA requests that the honorable foreign ministers who visit us tomorrow give the Honduran people a public answer for each of these questions.

May these answers enable the citizens of the entire American continent to understand the motivations of the organization that represents them.

Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Centroamérica, August 23, 2009.

hat tip to La Gringa's Blogicito, an excellent place to keep up with events in Honduras.

Four marks of the Church

the following is extracted from "The Awakening" by James Kent Stone. it is a redaction of his earlier work "The Invitation Heeded", from which I've quoted previously. He writes about the Anglican error of starting with a presumed apostolicity, and ending with an invisible unity. The faith of the church enabled him to see that the four marks of the church are intended for all to see infallibly and without fail. Its a brilliant bit of work.

Chapter XII

The Church at the Council of Constantinople declared concerning herself that she is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. These are not only her essential qualities, but her outward and visible signs, the marks whereby she may always be infallibly recognized.
…
I. The church is, first, ONE. Unity is its prime characteristic. Whatever else the Church may be, it is one – visibly one, unmistakably one, incontrovertibly one.
…
II. The Church is Holy. Holiness is of the essence of the Church. The Church, therefore, cannot cease to be holy without ceasing to exist. As the unity of the Church implies its indivisibility, so the sanctity of the Church implies its incorruptibility. But the Reformation can be justified only by the assertion that the Church had become corrupted. Protestantism, therefore, is founded upon and absurdity.
…
III. The true Church is catholic: Catholicity is the third note of the Church. I have already spoken of the error of those who make it the first or the second. No one can rightly apprehend the Church’s universality who does not fully understand the nature of the Church’s unity. Unitas Catholica, quae toto orbe diffusa est (St. Augustine). The formula which is to guide us in our work of identification is not, The Catholic Church, is somehow or other One, but The Church which is one and undivided, is also Catholic. And, read thus, the mark of Catholicity is so plain that “the wayfaring man, though a fool,” cannot err by it.
…
IV. Finally, the Church, One, Holy, and Catholic, is also Apostolic. We shall now have no difficulty in ascertaining the sense in which Apostolicity is, and was intended to be, a note of the Church. Evidently it cannot be meant that the Church is to be recognized by the fact that its doctrine is Apostolic. This would be saying that the true Church is that which teaches the Truth – which would be an indeterminate proposition. We cannot know what the truth is until we have first found the true Church. And to discover the true Church, we must have some external and visible mark to guide us. The sign we are seeking can conceivably be no other than that of which all the ancient Fathers speak, and by which they identified the Church of their creed. It is found in the fact of Apostolic Succession.

The Anglican error, of course, differs from the Orthodox error, in that the apostolicity of the Orthodox is actual rather than presumed, but the end point is the same, multiple bodies without a common head.

Thank you Mary Meade OPL and David Javidian OPL!

for a delightful presentation!

Mary first spoke about the natural law, what it is, and how it is a guide to life, regardless of the faith or lack thereof in a person, being truly universal; built into us.



David did a nice review of the Holy Father's new encyclical Caritas in veritate in the light of the Holy Father's use of the natural law to undergird his positions in various parts of the encyclical.



A lively discussion followed in the best of Dominican tradition! Come to Our Lady of the Valley Saturday at 1PM where the discussion will continue!



Then again, it seems Dominicans cant ge't together without food & drink and informal discussion...



...which sometimes ends up even less formal (and less food, but no less drink!)



During the Q/A session, this delightful fellow wanted to know where Jesus was in all this "natural law" stuff; an excellent question! I hope he comes Saturday; he left before I could invite him, I hope someone who knows him will pass along the invitation!.



Made in the image of God, we follow Jesus when we seek "the Way, the Truth, and Life"; as St. Louis de Montfort pointed out, the alternative is people who "wander, in error and falsehood, and death" - without Jesus as their guide.

Marriage Recovery presentation venue set!

The presentation by Mary Meade O.P.L. will be at 7PM Wed, Aug 12, at St. Mark's Church in Boise!

Here's a find!

Manual of the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order of Penance of St. Dominic

found on the links page of St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church - a lot of good Dominican books are linked there!

Now I have the original rule, the 1937 rule, and the current rule to compare; wahoo!

The act of love

The following is a meditation from Divine Intimacy by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen O.C.D.

The Act of Love

O Lord, grant that I may love You for Yourself and not seek my own consolation, and that in loving You, I may always seek Your will, not mine.

To love a person is to desire his well-being. We understand, therefore, that the essence of love is in the act of the will by which we wish good. This does not take away from the fact that the act may often be accompanied by sensible affection, making our love both and act of the will and of the sensibility. Nevertheless, it is clear that the substance of real love is not to be found in the emotions but in the act of the will. Charity does not change our manner of loving but penetrates it, supernaturalizes it, making the will and the sensibility capable of loving God. Yes, even sensible affection can be engaged in the act of supernatural love; God does not despise this humbler and less lofty manifestation of our love for Him, because He has commanded us to love Him not only with our whole mind and our whole soul, but also with our whole heart. All our powers – intellectual, volitive, and affective – are engaged in the act of love, and yet the substance of this act is not found in the feelings but in the will. Therefore, when our emotions are cold in our love of God, and we “feel” nothing, there is no reason for us to be disturbed; we will find less satisfaction in our love – for it is much more pleasant for us to feel that we are loving – but our act of love will be equally true and perfect. Even more, lacking the impetus and pleasure which come from our feelings, we will be obliged to apply ourself more resolutely to the act of the will and this, far from harming it, will make it more voluntary, and therefore, more meritorious. Precisely because the substance of love is in the act of the will that wishes good to God, in order to make our love purer and more intense, Our Lord will often deprive us of all consoling feelings; we will no longer feel that we love God – and this will give us pain – but in reality, we will love Him in the measure that we will with determination what He wills, and want His good pleasure and delight above all things. Besides, it is not in our power to feel love but it is always in our power to wish good to God, striving with all our strength to live for Him and to please Him.

St John of the Cross says: “It is by an act of the will that the soul is united to God; this act is love. Union with God is never wrought by feelings or exertions of the desire, for these remain in the soul as aims and ends.” The operation of the will is the act of love by means of which we wish good to God and conform our will to His. This operation properly ends in God, and is the true means of united us to Him. The feeling of love, on the contrary, is only a subjective impression sometimes produced in our sensibility by the act of love. It ends in the soul which experiences it and is a source of consolation, but we can clearly see that of itself it has no power to unite the soul to God. However, the soul can and should make use of it to give itself to God with more generosity, and in this sense, the feeling of love intensifies the operation of the will. Unfortunately, as we are so eager to seek satisfaction even in the most sacred things, the soul may easily stop at the sweetness of these feelings, and then it ceases to tend toward God with all its strength.

If we learned, as children, what love really is and how it operates, as explained above, there would be far fewer children raised by divorced parents.

Did you learn this as a child? I certainly didn't, and paid the price:

the substance of this act is not found in the feelings but in the will

The feeling of love, on the contrary, is only a subjective impression sometimes produced in our sensibility by the act of love. It ends in the soul which experiences it

Union [] is never wrought by feelings or exertions of the desire, for these remain in the soul as aims and ends

The only place I have seen this taught is Marriage Encounter; a good but insufficient offering against the cultural Moloch to which real love is sacrificed.



It appears that the presentation by Mary Meade will be moved to Friday, Aug 14. We don't have a confirmed venue yet but will post it when it is known.

Yard sale fund raiser for Mike Lee family

This just in:

3rd Annual Friends of Mike Lee Fundraising YARD SALE EXTRAVAGANZA!

August 14 & 15, 2009.
Friday & Saturday. 7:00am - 5:00pm
Newkirk Family Home: 1327 N. Rutledge, Meridian (near corner of Cherry Ln & Ten Mile)
Sponsored by LIFTID (Ladies in Faith Together - Idaho) and FOTMLF (Friends of the Mike Lee Family)

How can I help??

1. Pray for the success of this great event.

2. Donate your gently used furniture, tools, appliances, toys, housewares, clothes (very good condition only), and other sellable items. Clear out the garage! Liberate the closet! Tackle that "I wonder what is in there? box! Bring your items to the above address and leave in the driveway beginning Saturday, August 1. No appt. necessary. All items will be quickly stored and sorted.

3. Volunteer to help sort, price, set-up, and take-down.
Available shifts include: Mon-Thur between 9am-2pm. Friday (Sale Day) from 7am-noon or noon - 5pm. Saturday (Sale Day) 7am-noon or noon - 5pm or after 5pm for clean up.
Contact Lori Newkirk at 888-7006 or lori_newkirk@myfam.com to sign up for a shift. Any time given is absolutely appreciated. Family friendly!!

4. Shop the sale. Find that bargain that you were hoping for. Find treasures you didn't know you needed. Come encourage the volunteers. Sale starts bright and early at 7am!

5. TELL YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES. Encourage them to donate goods and to shop the sale.

Contact Lori Newkirk (info above) or Hope Ryan (hopeinidaho@cableone.net ph: 475-4594) with questions. Thank you!! Forward this to all interested!

Honduras - the rest of the story...

This is an interesting explanation of "Why Honduras?"

The Fall of Chavez Has Begun


What Hugo Chávez lost in Honduras was "the most important DRUG ROUTE in the Americas" with earnings of more than $100 million monthly.

This flow of drugs is the financial arm of ALBA. So, at this time, Chavez has no source of income to finance ALBA. It's that simple, and thus his BRUTAL ATTACK on Honduras.

May the world know.

Excellent blogs commenting on the Honduran situation:

La Gringa's Blogicito
World 4 Houduras