IndianCatholics

India Celebrate 50Yrs Of Archdiocesan Seminary

2010-10-16T23:12:00.000-07:00

With fireworks, gatherings and masses, the Archdiocese of Mumbai is celebrating 50 years of its’ St. Pius X Seminary and 25 years of Parel Seminary, the first Church institute founded in the city. The festivities, which began Oct. 24, saw the participation of hundreds of priests from all over India and will continue until October 28. The Jubilee Mass was concelebrated by Msgr. Robert Sarah, secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Mgr. Archbishop Oswald Gracias of Mumbai and the new Apostolic Nuncio in India Salvatore Pennacchio, on his first visit to the archdiocese.

“In these 50 years – said Mgr. Sarah in his homily – Divine Providence has never failed to accompany this Seminary with abundant Graces throughout these fifty years, even during very difficult moments of trials”. The prelate urged seminarians and priests to “bring the Eucharist” to the heart of this anniversary. “It is a moment of grace from God – he added – to deepen faith, hope and the opportunity for the work of evangelization, especially in the formation of future priests”.

Present at the inauguration of the seminary in 1960 as a young student, Mgr. Gracias thanked all the donors in these 50 years who have supported the institute with prayers and donations, enabling the formation of new priests. Since its founding the College of St. Pius X has trained more than 700 priests and every year for five to seven new seminarians enter the institute.

The seminary holds special importance since 2006, which is when the programs were approved by Congregation for Catholic Education, Rome. It is also affiliated with the St. Peters Pontifical Institute of Bangalore and students passing out as priests are provided with a degree that is internationally recognized.

The Gift of Prayer

2010-07-26T02:53:00.000-07:00

Do you pray? Do you pray often, or only occasionally?
Is prayer important to you?
I ask you these questions because prayer and praying are essential for your life
of faith. Like breath to the human body, prayer makes the spirit live. Without
it, faith dies. On the other hand, a person who prays grows in spirit and life.

Let me tell you some things that may encourage you to pray.

+++

Prayer is a Gift of God

To begin with, prayer is a gift of God. "Gift" is a good word to describe
prayer, because praying is not something we can do of ourselves. " We do not
know how to pray as we ought," scripture says. Prayer is a gift God must give.

And God gives that gift generously, without consideration of our worthiness or
our unworthiness. Sinners as well as saints can pray. People of every religious
tradition receive the gift. In fact, every human being is able to pray. The
Catholic Catechism reminds us of that by entitling its opening section on prayer
"The Universal Call to Prayer " (2566-2567).

Yes, all are called to pray. All receive the gift. And, surprisingly, sometimes
those thought to be "ungifted" pray best and are graciously heard. That's the
lesson Jesus taught in his parable about the Pharisee and the Publican who
together went up to the temple to pray. The Publican, an outsider who thought
himself unworthy of approaching God in prayer, was found more pleasing by God
than the Pharisee, a professionally religious person, who prayed so
effortlessly.

Prayer, then, is God's gift to the strong and the weak, to the smallest child
and frailest of the old. It's given to those who say, " I'm not really
religious; prayer is beyond me." It's given to everyone, no matter who you are.

That's not to say we can't refuse to pray or we can't neglect it. Like any gift,
prayer must be received. If someone gives you a beautiful piece of clothing, you
may use it or not. You may take it and wear it. Or, you can throw it in the back
of your closet and never look at it again. The piece of clothing becomes a gift
unused. "If you knew the gift of God," Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the
well. A Gift was there before her eyes, but she was blind to it.

How tragic to go through life leaving the gift of prayer unused!

++++

Prayer: God's Search for Intimacy with Us

Why does God give the gift of prayer? The main reason is because of love for us.
God looks for intimacy with us. How strange that sounds! God all-sufficient,
all-powerful, all-knowing, wishes to draw close, to communicate, to speak to us,
to seek our response, to hear our prayer. It may seem unbelievable, but it is
true.

At the same time, by praying we fulfill the desire we have as human beings to
know God. After all, we are made in God's image. Something in our being thirsts
for intimacy with God. That thirst is described in the psalms, O God, you are my
God, for you I long. For you my soul is thirsting. Like a dry weary land without
water... so my soul longs for you, my God. Something in us cannot be satisfied
unless we are draw near to God. "Our hearts are restless," St. Augustine says,
"until they rest in you." By praying, we rest in God.

The church in her formal prayers often humbly acknowledges that prayer is God's
gift and asks God to give and strengthen that gift in us. At the beginning of
her daily prayers, the liturgy of the hours, the church prays two verses of the
psalms.

O Lord, open my lips
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

O God, come to my assistance.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Simple, truthful words. I cannot open my lips in prayer unless God gives me the
gift. O God, come and assist me; help me that I may approach you.

And God does give this beautiful gift. In prayer God comes and helps; God
invites us into the divine presence where we can open our lips and our hearts.
There God welcomes our slightest word or cry, our smallest effort.

Delighting to give us the gift of prayer, God wishes that we come near to share
our hearts and minds, our very life with One who loves us. Prayer is God's
precious gift; cherish it always.

by Fr. Victor Hoagland, C.P.
based on the New Catholic Catechism 2558-2567

Divine Mercy Sunday 11-04-2010 : Belief in the Divine

2010-04-08T19:23:00.000-07:00

Divine Mercy Sunday 11-04-20
Belief in the Divine!!!!
2nd Sunday after Easter
1st Reading Acts 5:12-16 Situation of the church in its' early days.
Apocalypse 1:9-11a 12-13, 17-19 vision to write of the things that would occur
to the churches
Gospel John 20:19-31 Jesus appears to the disciples in a closed room!!!
When Pope John Paul dedicated the 2nd Sunday after Easter to the Divine Mercy,
he was sure it would bring in a renovation in the lives of the people of God.
We know sin is a reality and it requires constant acceptance and seeking
forgiveness and in His mercy God enters into the of seeker.
Surely we require God's merciful love.
The whole of the bible is full of Divine Mercy demonstrated in various
narrations.
We find how Mercy has been shown to people who came to Jesus, i.e.; Zachaeus,
the sinful woman who was brought to him in the very act of committing sin, the
prodigal son, the woman at the well, Peter when he seeks mercy after the
betrayal of refusing to acknowledge Jesus as his master, the lost sheep, the
lost coin, the man living in the tomb questioning Jesus entry into his life. The
blind people seeking Jesus intervension saying have pity on us etc.
In today's Gospel we find Thomas the doubter when encountered for his disbelief
proclaims Jesus as My lord and my God.
What a profession of faith.?????
We know the whole of the bible is a witness of the faith of the early
Christians.
We can be grateful for all this witnessing.
We find how they were courageous after the descending of the Holy Spirit on the
first believers and the disciples their courage became contagious!!!
We know the Gospel of St. John where we find two narrations of Jesus appearing
to the disciples shows how they were afraid.
When frightened man's spontaneous reaction is closing of doors and windows.
Jesus breaks all those closed areas and appears to them and gives them the
comfort of a risen savior.
He imparts Peace.
He came to bring peace.
When he appeared on Christmas the angels had sung Peace to men of good will.
Rather than accepting the Lord's presence they still doubt.
One of them who was not present would even have the audacity to say that he
would not believe unless he stuck his finger into his wounds in the hands feet
and side.
But when Jesus invites to do so he utters the profession of faith "my Lord and
My God"!!!
We so easily repeat this prayer.
Now when we have to be constantly present to the Lord in our lives, we find it
very difficult.
These are difficult days for us Christians here in our own country, where our
ancestors used to profess the faith so fearlessly now we have to prove our
identity. Often many of us hide our identity.
Even to get some of the government perks we will even write in our certificates
that we belong to the majority religious community.
The fundamentals are trying to rule this country by militants means by imposing
concepts and ideals useful to them.
When such groups are trying enforce their ideology and many of us are falling to
their machinations unknowingly.
Let us today when we celebrate the divine mercy Sunday once again become aware
of our responsibility to proclaim the Lord boldly and loudly. We surely have to
meet the Lord and find him in the prayer, Eucharist, areas of our work where He
is touching our hearts and minds.
This becomes empowering of his disciples.
We are His disciples aren't we?????
In union with the divine word,
Fr. Joe Vaz svd

Layman's classes bring Bible to deaf people

2010-01-09T10:14:00.000-08:00

Image via Wikipedia

Layman's classes bring Bible to deaf people

By George Kommattathil

December 23, 2009

ALAKODE, India (UCAN) -- A Catholic layman, who is unable to hear or speak, is
bringing the message of the Bible to people with similar disabilities.

Antony Muthukunnel, 56, said he had no interest in religion previously, and
being poor and disabled, had felt pessimistic about life. That changed in 1993
when he attended a retreat at the suggestion of his wife.

"That retreat was the beginning of my conversion," he recalled.

Soon after, he found he wanted to share his spiritual experience with others
like him. He began to gather with deaf people he met in daily life to discuss
and share insights on the Bible using sign language.

In 2006, Muthukunnel and three friends decided to make their Bible classes a
more regular affair, and started holding them under a tree in the compound of
St. Mary's Church in Alakode, a parish in Tellicherry archdiocese.

Now, the group conducts its classes in a nearby convent school on Sundays from 9
a.m. to 3 p.m.

Father George Kudilil, public relations officer of Tellicherry archdiocese, says
Muthukunnel's "remarkable" initiative has been "an eye-opener" for the Church.

The archdiocese does not organize any Bible classes for deaf people although it
runs a few schools for them, the priest told UCA News.

Thanckachan Varghese, who teaches the Bible during these special classes, said
more than 100 people attended them in 2008. However, only 30 people have
attended this year. Some travel up to 100 kilometers for the classes, he said.

Many participants told UCA News, using sign language, that the classes give them
strength and inspiration.

The bible class has "totally changed my life as it brought me closer to God,"
said Mini Pulichamakkal.

Another student, Mary Joseph, said she no longer believes that her deafness is a
curse from God. "The Bible class helped me accept my disability with joy. The
knowledge that 'God is love' is something unbelievable," she beamed.

Augustine Pallath said he stopped drinking and smoking after the classes "gave
me peace of mind and taught me that those bad habits hurt Jesus."

Scaria Parunthuveettil, a parishioner, said he finds the Bible students' zeal
"really inspiring." He regrets the Church has no office or program to serve
people with hearing disabilities.

Source: UCANews.com

Indian Priests on Plgrimage to the Holy Land

2010-01-09T10:09:00.000-08:00

Image via Wikipedia

Indian priests on pilgrimage to the Holy Land for Year for Priests

by Nirmala Carvalho

The bishop of the diocese of Karwar, Mgr. Derek Fernandes: "The pilgrimage will
serve to celebrate the renewal of faith and vocation to the priesthood." The
importance of confession and prayer.

01/09/2010 13:27

New Delhi (AsiaNews) – Marking the Year for Priests, the Bishop of Karwar, in
the State of Karnataka, Msgr. Derek Fernandes, has invited the priests of his
diocese on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. "It will be a time of immense grace
that will help the priests to grow in holiness and spirit of service," he told
AsiaNews. "The journey to the land where Christianity was born and where we met
the Messiah will help priests to mature internal spiritual renewal, strengthen
their faith, a time of illumination and a renewal of Vocation to the
Priesthood."

Mgr. Fernandes is confident that "the pilgrimage in the footsteps of Christ and
prayer in the places of the life, death and resurrection of Our Lord will
provide moments of spiritual nourishment. The Messiah has made the apostles
fishers of men, and with them other disciples continue to proclaim the Good News
and to invite the nations to salvation. "

115 of the 125 priests of the diocese will participate in the pilgrimage. It
will be organized in two stages, from 30 January to 8 February and from 24 May
to 3 June.

The Year for Priests was inaugurated by Pope Benedict XVI June 19, 2009, during
the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney. According to the
bishop, it must have moments for the renewal of faith and vocation to the
priesthood.

First, "more time should be devoted to the confession and the sacrament of
reconciliation, to always allow the faithful to make peace with God”. Then
prayer, "which is the hallmark of the diocese and will be introduced in a
vigorous manner, within the parishes and families. The Sunday Eucharist must be
preceded by Morning Prayer and vespers on Friday”. For this reason, Mgr.
Fernandes has asked for special chapels for adoration to be opened. The first
was inaugurated on 1 January 2010 in the parish of St. John the Baptist in Kumta
in the State of Karnataka.

Motivational Tips For Staying Sober

2010-01-09T10:06:00.000-08:00

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

We all need a little motivation to get us out of bed in the morning and through the day. Sometimes it's as simple as knowing that your favorite TV show is on tonight and sometimes it's bigger like a vacation at the end of the month. Just like staying motivated to work out, you'll need to motivate yourself each day to stay sober if you're a recovering addict. What's motivating is different for each person but if you're stuck for ideas and need a little push in your recovery, consider some of these tips:

-put a calendar somewhere you will see it often, like your bathroom mirror, and mark off the days with a big red "x" to signify each day you've been sober. Seeing a whole week, whole month or whole year covered in red "x's" will be motivating and will help you see how far you've come. Once you get a whole week filled up with no blanks, you won't want to start back at day one.

-keep a journal of all the positive things you notice when you're sober. If it's the feeling you get from being able to remember your day or how good you feel when you wake up in the morning, write it down in detail. The more you describe when you're in that positive moment, the easier it will be for you to get back into that feeling when you read it again for motivation.

-set mini goals each day for yourself with mini rewards. Figure out what's important for you to do each day, like attending an AA meeting or staying positive and reward yourself when you achieve them. Make a deal with yourself that after you go to that meeting you can pick up an ice-cream on the way home. This gives you an incentive to go and something to look forward to after the meeting.

-set big goals for yourself with big rewards. It's nice to have little incentives to get you through the day but you should also plan some bigger goals and rewards. Plan a trip for when you make it 6 months without a drink or plan a spa day. Let a friend or family member know your plans so they can hold you accountable and remind you of what's at stake if you're thinking of slipping up.

-find a friend or family member that will be just as excited as you are for your achievements. Winning something or landing a new job isn't as exciting if you can't share the good news with someone. If you just made it through your first month without a drink, tell someone and get excited about it.

Addiction is Not All About Drugs and Alcohol

2010-01-09T10:02:00.000-08:00

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

"Being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming (especially alcohol or narcotic drugs)"

The above is a dictionary definition of addiction. Although tolerance to, and physical dependance upon a substance, is not the medical definition of addiction. Which is:

"an addiction is a chronic neurobiologic disorder that has genetic, psychosocial, and environmental dimensions and is characterized by one of the following: the continued use of a substance despite its detrimental effects, impaired control over the use of a drug (compulsive behavior), and preoccupation with a drug's use for non-therapeutic purposes (i.e. craving the drug)." (source - Wikipedia)

Addiction is very often associated with anti social behaviour, as the addict often needs to steal to fund his or her particular addiction. In fact addiction is now one of the most costly problems for the United States, especially in view of the fact that addiction is progressive, and will continue to get worse unless, and until, suitable treatment is sought and undertaken. Even having made the decision to quit, many addicts fall by the wayside and take many attempts before eventual success.

Furthermore once addicted, even if successful in coming off a substance, an addict is still addicted, and many require help for many years if not for life. Most of us are aware of the alcoholics introduction at their meetings. "Hi, I'm (name), and I'm an alcoholic".

It's a massive problem, and it is now being recognised that it is not just the physical dependance upon a substance, but the psychological dependance, which is probably the more important. The mind is an amazingly powerful thing. If your mind tells you that you need a certain thing to function then that's what will happen. You will move heaven and earth to get hold of that thing, if you have to beg, borrow, steal, and lie to do so.

Anyone can get addicted to an incredible variety of things. We automatically think of drugs and alcohol when we think of addiction. And it's true that alcohol and drugs are probably the most commonly abused substances.

However, it can just as easily be shopping, gambling, sex, food, internet, even work. Every one of these addictions can be equally as destructive to an addict and their family. They are just as pre-occupied with getting their next "fix" to the oblivion of everything else around them. Fatal consequences are unfortunately not uncommon.

Any form of addiction is an outward manifestation that someone is is in deep trouble and requires prompt treatment. Addiction is a terrible, debilitating condition, but the good news is that it is treatable. There are many places to get help, of course the addict must in the first instance want that help. That is the first stage toward recovery.

Treatment for addiction takes many forms, and will depend upon the nature of the addiction, and the person themselves. It can involve therapy, medication, self-help groups, or a combination of all these. The most important thing is to recognise the symptoms early, and seek treatment at the first opportunity.

OUR FAITH ACCEPTING GOD"S GUIDANCE, MERCY AND COMPASSION

2009-08-09T05:48:00.000-07:00

" Even the sparrows finds a home, and the swallow a nest, in which she put her young ...." Psalm 84:4
A Colleague has a favorite saying when trying to figure out a puzzling or strange individual. He says, "Well, we all have to be somewhere!" It's not terriblyflattering, but there's a depp truth in those words.
I often pray for guidance, asking God to put me in the right place to do his will. I ask God to give me opporttunities and situatons to be of use to him. Sometimes, when his response doesn't match my own sense of timing and purpose, I feel like he's not hearing me. I want God's response, but on my terms.
Only that's not the way it works. Our act of faith is to accept God on his own terms and learn to do his work wherever we find ourselves.
God, use me where and when you need me most. Steve Givens

Meditation: Matthew 13:47-53

The kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea. (Matthew 13:47)

The parable of the dragnet is a very sobering one. When we think about the fact that God’s angels will one day separate the good from the bad, we may get nervous! When we contemplate how God will judge us, we must surely pause for a moment and take stock of how we’re doing. Still, we want to be sure we’re using the right measuring tools when we look at our lives!
If we read this parable in a legal way, we can end up seeing God as an accountant who balances our spiritual ledger: If the sum of our good deeds is greater than the sum of our bad deeds, we’re safe. The problem with this approach, however, is that if we break even one commandment, we’ve broken all of them (James 2:10). If God evaluated us according to our sins, none of us would make it! That’s why we should be very grateful that God uses a different standard to judge us—the standard of mercy.
God does not want us paralyzed with fear at the thought of his judgment. And he doesn’t want us worrying about whether we will be able to maintain the salvation he has won for us. It’s his to give (EVEN HEAVEN), and he has graciously given it to us! His Son has already overcome sin, and his forgiveness extends to everyone.
God has much more important things he wants us to concentrate and spend our time and energy on—things like serving him and building his kingdom. Jesus once told his disciples that the harvest is ready, but the laborers are few. He doesn’t want us to be so preoccupied with and worried about our own spiritual state that we don’t go out to procliam,witness and share the good news of his kingdom.
So in your prayer today, praise God for his mercy, but also ask him how you can join his angels in tending to that dragnet. Let the power of his salvation fill you with gratitude, but let it also move you into the world, confident that with Christ in you, you can move mountains.
“Lord, thank you for your love! As I gaze on your cross, I am amazed by your compassion. By your Spirit, show me how I can spread your good news so that even more people can come to love you.”
Getting Involved

READ: Luke 10:30-37
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion. —Psalm 111:4
Isn’t anybody going to help that poor guy?” Fred exclaimed as he and my husband, Tom, realized what had been causing traffic to creep down the busy five-lane road. A man lay sprawled between the lanes, bicycle on top of him, as vehicles simply drove around him. Fred turned on the warning flashers and blocked traffic with his car. Then both guys jumped out to help the shaken man.
Fred and Tom got involved, as did the Samaritan man in Jesus’ story in Luke 10. Like him, they overcame any reluctance they might have had to reach out to a man in distress. The Samaritan also had to overcome racial and cultural prejudice. The people we would have expected to help showed indifference to the injured man’s plight.
It’s easy to find reasons not to get involved. Busyness, indifference, and fear often top the list. Yet as we seek to follow our Lord faithfully, we will become more aware of opportunities to show the kind of compassion He showed (Matt. 14:14; 15:32; Mark 6:34).
In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus commended the man who had acted out of compassion even though it was inconvenient, difficult, and costly to do so. Then, to us He says, “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37). — Cindy Hess Kasper
When we share another’s burden,
We display God’s love and care,
Offering relief and comfort
When life seems too much to bear. —Sper

True compassion puts love into action

THE SCAPULAR DEVOTION

2009-08-09T05:42:00.000-07:00

by Christian P. Ceroke, O.Carm.

The most highly developed of Marian Scapular devotions is that of the Brown
Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Since the seventeenth century, the Brown
Scapular has been a universal Catholic devotion, considered to be, together with
the rosary, a customary form of Marian devotional practice. The popularity of
the Scapular devotion was due to the sixteenth and seventeenth century popes,
who promulgated the so-called Sabbatine Privilege and who approved the
Confraternity of the Scapular for every diocese throughout the Catholic world.
The growth and development of the Scapular devotion reached its culmination in
1726 in the extension to the universal Church of the feast of Our Lady of Mount
Carmel for July 16.1

The wearing of the Scapular fosters a true devotion to Mary that is based on her
supernatural mission in the redemption of mankind. Two Marian doctrines are
proposed in the devotion of the Brown Scapular: Mary's Spiritual Maternity and
her Mediation of Grace. The Scapular teaches a practical confidence in the
intercession of the Blessed Virgin to obtain for its wearer the grace of final
perseverance, or a happy death. The two general conditions to obtain this
benefit are that one must honor Mary by wearing the Scapular faithfully until
death and endeavor sincerely to lead a Christian life. This reliance on Mary's
intercession for the gift of final perseverance derives historically from the
belief that the Blessed Virgin promised in an apparition to St. Simon Stock,
Prior General of the Carmelites (1247?-1265), that all who die wearing the
Scapular will not suffer the eternal flames of hell. This tradition has become
known as the "Scapular promise."

The devotion also teaches that the aid of Mary may be confidently expected in
purgatory by all those who have faithfully worn the Scapular and have fulfilled
two other conditions: the practice of chastity according to one's state of life
and the daily recitation of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin.2 This
privilege of the Scapular devotion has been thought to stem from an apparition
of Mary to Pope John XXII, who then promulgated this spiritual benefit to the
faithful in 1322. According to the copies of the Bull of promulgation attributed
to John XXII, the devotee of the Scapular would be released from purgatory on
the Saturday after death. Because of the allusion to Saturday, the document of
John XXII has been called the "Sabbatine Bull" and its Marian privilege the
"Sabbatine Privilege."

THE ORIGIN OF THE SCAPULAR DEVOTION

Historically, the devotion of the Scapular among the Catholic laity originated
from the tradition of the Marian apparition and promise of the Scapular to St.
Simon Stock.3 From about 1400, Carmelite authors allude to the wearing of the
Scapular by the laity in reliance on the Virgin's promise of eternal salvation.
Carmelite authors of the fifteenth century begin to record a devotional view of
the Scapular, insinuating its heavenly origin. According to Grossi (ca. 1411),
Mary gave the Scapular to St. Simon Stock. According to Bradley (ca. 1450), in
bestowing the Scapular Mary changed the Carmelite habit.4 Still later authors
added new motives for the wearing of the Scapular by the laity. Calciuri (1461)
alluded to miracles that had been worked through the Scapular; and Leersius
(1483) added that the Scapular had been worn by saints.5 This tradition of the
fifteenth century, which began to develop the devotional value of the Scapular
and of its promise, culminated in 1479 in a work by Arnold Bostius, a Belgian
Carmelite of Ghent. His manuscript work, De patronatu et patrocinio B. V. M.,
formulated the solid basis of Marian doctrine on which the Scapular devotion was
founded. Bostius explained how the Scapular promise of eternal salvation was a
concrete illustration of the doctrine of Mary as Mediatrix of all Graces. The
reception of the Scapular as the pledge of Mary's promise of eternal salvation
placed the obligation upon the members of the Confraternity to imitate Mary in
her practice of virtue. Bostius' work was popularized by John Paleonydor, a
Flemish Carmelite, in a book entitled Fasciculus Tripartitus. Published in 1495,
the book was frequently reprinted in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. By
the end of the fifteenth century, the theological structure of the Scapular
devotion had been essentially outlined: its doctrinal foundation was the cult of
Mary as Mediatrix of all Graces; its motive was the tradition of the apparition
of Our Lady to St. Simon Stock with the promise of the Scapular.6

THE SCAPULAR PROMISE AND HISTORICAL CRITICISM

The question of the historical authenticity of the Scapular promise was raised
in the seventeenth century when the modern concept of scientific history was
first developed.7 It cannot be said that the historical value of the tradition
has been decided with finality. Recent historical investigations into Carmelite
medieval history have provided information on the tradition of the Scapular
promise that was not in the possession of scholars of past decades.8

The Carmelites of the fourteenth century preserved the tradition of the Scapular
promise as part of the cult within the Order to St. Simon Stock. The narrative
of the apparition and of the promise of the Scapular was incorporated in the
Carmelite Catalogue of Saints, or Sanctoral, composed for the Order.9 The
account in its earliest known form reads as follows:

The ninth (saint) was St. Simon of England, the sixth General of the Order. He
continually besought the most glorious Mother of God to defend with a privilege
the Order of Carmelites, which enjoys the special title of the Virgin. He prayed
devoutly:

Flower of Carmel Vine Blossom-laden. Splendor of heaven, Child-bearing maiden,
None equals thee! O Mother benign, Who no man didst know, On all Carmel's
children Thy favors bestow Star of the Sea.10
The Blessed Virgin appeared to him with a multitude of angels, holding in her
blessed hands the Scapular of the Order. She said, "This will be for you and for
all Carmelites the privilege, that he who dies in this will not suffer eternal
fire," that is, he who dies in this will be saved.11

There is no doubt that the origin of the Scapular devotion among the laity is
traceable to this fourteenth century narrative.12 Its composition has been dated
about the mid- fourteenth century.13 Of greater significance, however, than the
date of the narrative, is its location in the Carmelite Sanctoral, where it
forms the complete hagiographical notice on St. Simon Stock. If this story of
the Marian apparition and promise were not found in the earliest hagiographical
notice on St. Simon Stock, but only in documents of later origin, this fact
would cast grave suspicion on the authentic origin of the tradition. The
appearance in the fourteenth century narrative of the poem, the Flos Carmeli,
reveals the existence of a cult of the apparition at this time within the
Order.14 A Marian devotion induced by the Scapular promise existed within the
Carmelite Order before it arose among the laity.15 The story of the apparition
of Mary and the promise of the Scapular was a fully formed tradition within the
Order by the mid-fourteenth century, one hundred years after the death of St.
Simon Stock. The tradition was not originally motivated by the spread of the
Scapular devotion among the laity. Nor was the tradition utilized by the
medieval Carmelites to claim a unique Marian privilege.16 The absence of these
motives behind the tradition tells in favor of its authenticity.

In the past, scholars have urged three difficulties against the historicity of
the Scapular promise: (1) absence of documentary evidence for the tradition from
the thirteenth century17; (2) silence of Carmelite authors of the fourteenth
century concerning the promise18; (3) confusion in the tradition between the
Carmelite habit and the Carmelite Scapular as the garment supposedly designated
by Mary.19 These objections no longer constitute serious difficulties against
the authenticity of the Scapular tradition. Documentary evidence cannot be
expected from the thirteenth century since the Carmelite Order did not begin to
produce an extensive literature until the middle of the fourteenth century.20
The appearance of the written tradition of the Scapular promise coincides with
the blossoming of literary activity within the Order.21 In the face of modern
research into the history of Carmelite literary activity in the fourteenth
century, the argument from silence against the tradition of the scapular promise
loses point. The account of the Marian apparition to St. Simon Stock is a
constant written tradition as far back as literary activity reveals itself to be
an important factor in the life of the Order. Finally, the conclusion of some
historians that the apparition was originally associated by the Carmelites with
their habit in general rather than with the Scapular in particular is certainly
mistaken. There is an unbroken line of evidence, beginning with the Chapter of
Montpellier in 1287 that the terms habit and Scapular were used interchangeably
by the medieval Carmelites.22 When the word habit is employed in Carmelite
authors in connection with the Marian promise to St. Simon Stock, the term means
simply "Scapular."

The sole reason for rejecting the historical authenticity of the Scapular
promise is the absence of thirteenth century documentation revealing Carmelite
knowledge and acceptance of the story of the apparition. The absence of such
evidence leaves open the possibility that the Scapular tradition developed as a
legend in the thirteenth or early fourteenth century. While the possibility of a
legendary origin for the tradition of the Scapular promise must be admitted, its
legendary origin cannot be affirmed.23 Beginning with the documentary evidence
in the fourteenth century, the essential details of the tradition remain
invariable: (1) the apparition of Mary, (2) to St. Simon Stock, (3) with the
Scapular, (4) stating the words of eternal life for all who die clothed in this
garment.

THE SABBATINE PRIVILEGE: ORIGIN AND HISTORICAL CRITIQUE

The Sabbatine Bull occupied a place of key importance in the spread of the
Scapular devotion in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Throughout this
period the popes repeatedly promulgated the Sabbatine Privilege in allusion to
the Bull of 1322 attributed to Pope John XXII: Clement VII (1530); Paul III
(1534; 1549); Pius IV (1561); Pius V (1566); Gregory XIII (1577); Urban VIII
(1628); Clement X (1673; 1674; 1675); Innocent XI (1678; 1679; 1682; 1684).24
Since according to the Sabbatine Privilege the souls of the faithful departed
would benefit in purgatory from the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, the
Church found it useful to stress the privilege in order to teach the legitimacy
of the doctrine of indulgences and of Marian devotion.25

The tradition of the Sabbatine Bull seems to have been first spread in the
fifteenth century. The Bull was known to the Carmelites Calciuri in 1461 and
Leersius in 1483. It was referred to by the Carmelite General Chapter of 1517.
Historically, however, the tradition of the Sabbatine Bull is clearly
vulnerable. No evidence of the Bull appears in the registers of John XXII.
Although it is recognized that the absence of a papal document from the medieval
registers is not a conclusive argument against its authenticity, no positive
historical evidence from other sources supports the papal origin of the Bull.
Its literary character is entirely too odd to recommend it as the work of John
XXII. For these reasons, historians have rejected the authenticity of the
Sabbatine Bull.26 The apparent spuriousness of the Bull naturally casts serious
doubt on its tradition that the Sabbatine Privilege originated in a Marian
apparition to Pope John XXII. Three theories have been proposed to explain the
origin of the tradition of the apparition and the Bull. According to one view
the tradition would have originated in an oral declaration by John XXII.27 This
theory accounts for the spurious character of the Bull and for its peculiar
style. The explanation is too conjectural to win credence. A second theory would
derive the Sabbatine Bull from an original authentic document from John XXII
which became corrupt in the course of time.28 But no evidence has been produced
from existing copies of the Bull to show a gradual corruption of its text. A
third theory considers the Bull to be an interpretation, based on theological
grounds, of the Marian promise to St. Simon Stock.29 Since Mary's Mediation of
Grace, of which her promise of eternal salvation is a reflection, embraces the
final goal of the Christian life, which is union with God, it is logical to
conclude that her maternal assistance makes itself felt in purgatory.30 This
third theory, that the Sabbatine Privilege is a more developed understanding of
the significance of the Marian promise to St. Simon Stock, is the most plausible
explanation of the origin of the Sabbatine Bull. The copies of the Bull indicate
a close relationship between the promise to St. Simon Stock and the Sabbatine
Privilege. The Bull states, "One who perseveres in holy obedience, poverty and
chastity — or who will enter the Holy Order — will be saved." Then follows the
declaration of the Sabbatine Privilege concerning release from purgatory for
"others" who wear the holy "habit" of the Order. It would seem, then, that the
Sabbatine Privilege arose historically in a fuller understanding of the Marian
promise to St. Simon Stock.

THE DECISION OF THE HOLY OFFICE ON THE SABBATINE PRIVILEGE

Since the early seventeenth century, Carmelite preaching of the Sabbatine
Privilege has been theologically independent of the historical authenticity of
the Sabbatine Bull. In 1613 the Holy Office under Pope Paul V issued a decree on
the Sabbatine Privilege which took account of the papal bulls of the sixteenth
century. These Bulls had promulgated the privilege according to the tradition of
the Sabbatine Bull. The decree of the Holy Office made no reference to the Bull
of John XXII or to the tradition of the Marian apparition to him. It simply
affirmed the privilege itself. The decree follows:

The Carmelite Fathers may preach that the Christian people can piously believe
in the aid of the souls of the brethren and confratres of the Sodality of the
Most Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel. Through her continuous intercessions, pious
suffrages, merits, and special protection the Most Blessed Virgin, especially on
Saturday, the day dedicated to her by the Church, will help after their death
the brethren and members of the Sodality who die in charity. In life they must
have worn the habit, observed chastity according to their state, and have
recited the Little Office. If they do not know how to recite it, they are to
observe the fasts of the Church and to abstain from meat on Wednesdays and
Saturdays, except for the feast of Christmas.31

This decree of Paul V stated in effect that the spiritual authority of the popes
of the sixteenth century had sanctioned the Marian teaching of the Sabbatine
Privilege. This aspect of the devotion of the Brown Scapular was thus declared
spiritually fruitful for the laity.

THE INTERPRETATION OF THE SCAPULAR PROMISE

The first affirmation of theologians concerning the Scapular promise of eternal
salvation deals with the necessity of ruling out formalism in the practice of
the devotion. Formalism is the physical wearing of the Scapular without sincere
intent to serve God. The theological reason for ruling out formalism is that
exterior acts of religion must be a reflection of one's interior mind and will
if they are not to be hypocritical. The Scapular is merely a symbol having in
itself no intrinsic power of grace. As a symbol it possesses a twofold import,
one in relation to the Blessed Virgin, one in relation to its wearer. As a sign
of consecration to Mary, the Scapular is a reminder of the spiritual
prerogatives enjoyed by her in the economy of the redemption, and it is a pledge
that her role be activated in favor of the wearer of the Scapular. In relation
to its wearer, the Scapular is a sign that one has resolved to dedicate himself
to the service of Christ and Mary according to his station in life. The Scapular
symbolizes both the recognition of the spiritual maternity of Mary and an
acceptance of the spiritual duties that Christians, as children of Mary, are
obligated to undertake in the service of God. For the layman who becomes a
member of the Scapular Confraternity the spiritual duties are summed up in the
observance of the Ten Commandments, daily prayer, attendance at Mass on days of
obligation, the reception of the Sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist,
and the faithful performance of the duties of one's state. The Scapular devotion
does not provide an escape from the ordinary duties of Christianity, but is
rather an incentive to undertake them with fervor and exactitude in the
knowledge that one thus prepares himself to arrive at the final goal of the
Christian life, union with God in eternity. In order to insist that the Scapular
is meaningless without interior devotion, the Church has inserted the word pie,
"piously," into the words of the promise concerning those who die in the
Scapular.32

The interpretation of the promise to St. Simon Stock, "He who dies in this will
not suffer eternal fire," must be based on sound principles of theology. The
words themselves simply express the object of Mary's promise, eternal salvation,
and the pledge of her assistance, the material sign of the Scapular to be worn
continually. To ascertain the meaning of the promise, one must have recourse to
two principles for the interpretation of private revelation. (1) All private
revelation must be understood in the light of the truths of salvation divinely
revealed by Jesus Christ and His Apostles. These truths are proposed by the
Church, the divinely appointed teacher. (2) Private revelations concerning the
Blessed Virgin must be understood in the light of the spiritual values inherent
in true devotion to Mary. These values have been revealed by God and are taught
by the Church. Only when these two principles are utilized do we arrive at a
correct estimate of the promise of the Scapular.

The practice of the Christian life, however perfectly it may be accomplished,
cannot merit in justice the grace of final perseverance. The grace of final
perseverance is a gift of God by which we die united to Him in supernatural
friendship. All theologians teach it as certain that a good life does not
entitle us, in justice, to obtain this grace from God. To live in the
supernatural friendship of God is His gift, and so it is His gift also to die in
this friendship. The moment of the death of all men, whether in the pursuit of
good or of evil, lies in the hands of God. Those who are faithful to the divine
commands, truly repentant for their sins, and who avail themselves of the means
of grace established by Christ may remain, not absolutely certain,33 but
confident of their salvation. This confidence derives from the virtue of
Christian hope, by which we rely on the promises of God that He wills the
salvation of all men and gives them the means to attain it. It is precisely in
connection with the grace of final perseverance that the Church recommends the
devotion of the Scapular. Mary has promised that the grace of final perseverance
will be granted through her intercession to all those who, by means of the
Scapular, dedicate themselves to her and wear it until death out of devotion to
her and to the teachings of Christ. The particular value of the Scapular
devotion consists in the special help of Mary, so that the grace of final
perseverance, or of a "happy death," may be obtained through her intercession.

This interpretation of the Scapular promise is but an affirmation of the
spiritual value of Marian devotion: one who practices true devotion to Mary
cannot lose his soul for eternity. This proposition of the power of Mary's
intercession has been expressed in papal teaching.34 It is the consciousness of
the Church on the value of true Marian devotion. The same awareness is expressed
in the Ave Maria, wherein the gift of final perseverance is requested: "Holy
Mary . . . pray for us now and at the hour of our death." Reliance on Mary's
intercession, put into these words of momentary prayer, becomes in the symbol of
the Scapular a continual prayer that spans the moments of a lifetime, to the
supreme moment of death.

The necessity of interior devotion does not prevent the sinner from benefiting
from the Scapular promise,35 since all men are sinners. Only the degree, not the
fact, of sin in man is debatable. To affirm that the Scapular devotion is not of
value to sinners, including those humanly judged to be the worst of them, would
be to say that God fails to hear their prayers. The teaching of Christ is that
God hears the prayers of the sinner (Lk. 1 3:9-14). The question of the Scapular
and sinners is falsely posed when it is asked how the Scapular promise can save
the worst of them. The question can only be whether or not the sinner who wears
the Scapular out of devotion makes those interior acts in response to divine
grace that are necessary to his salvation. The answer to this question is known
only to God, who alone may scan the secrets of the heart of man.

THE SCAPULAR DEVOTION IN MODERN LIFE

The popes in modern times have been solicitous in their encouragement of the
Scapular devotion. St. Pius X permitted the substitution of a Scapular Medal for
the cloth Scapular in recognition of the changed circumstances of life,
precisely to encourage the dedication to Mary signified by the Scapular. For any
reason, even simple convenience, the faithful invested in any Scapular except
that of the Third Orders, may substitute a Scapular Medal which need only be
carried on the person. The Medal was not intended as a new form of the Scapular
devotion, but only as an aid to its continual practice. Catholics should be
instructed to make free and wise use of both Scapular and Medal according to
their judgment and circumstances. The permission for the Medal reflects the mind
of the Church that the Scapular itself is only the exterior sign of an interior
devotion.36

In 1890 Leo XIII had begun to grant the faculty to confessors to commute the
condition of abstinence into other good works for the gaining of the Sabbatine
Privilege. In order to gain the privilege one must (1) wear the Scapular or the
Scapular Medal; (2) observe chastity according to one's state in life; (3)
recite daily the Little Office of Our Lady, or if one does not know how to
recite it, abstain from meat on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The commutation of the
third condition, due to practical difficulties in the circumstances of modern
life, has become a common practice. The confessor is free to choose any suitable
good work as the daily substitute. The commutation of Carmelite confessors is
usually to seven Paters, Aves, and Glorias.

OTHER MARIAN SCAPULARS

From time to time in the history of the Church Scapular devotions have arisen to
foster love of Mary and to encourage the practice of particular virtues. The
Black Scapular of the Seven Dolors originated from the habit of the Servite
Fathers. The inspiration for the habit of the Order and for its devotion to Our
Lady of Sorrows is attributed to an apparition of Mary to its founders. Pope
Martin V approved a rule for the Third Order secular in 1424. The Blue Scapular
of the Immaculate Conception, which the Church has favored with an extraordinary
number of indulgences, originated in an apparition of Mary to the Ven. Ursula
Benincasa in 1617. Great graces were promised by Mary to those who would honor
her Immaculate Conception by wearing the Blue Scapular. The condition was
expressed that they live chastely according to their state in life. Other Marian
Scapulars are of more recent origin: the white Scapular of the Immaculate Heart
of Mary, approved by Pius IX in 1877; the white Scapular of the Sacred Hearts of
Jesus and Mary, approved by the Congregation of Rites in 1900; the white
Scapular of Our Lady of Good Counsel, approved in 1893 by Leo XIII for the
purpose of invoking Mary's guidance upon its wearer; the white Scapular of Our
Lady of Ransom bearing the cross of Aragon, which originated in the thirteenth
century in connection with the Fathers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the
Redemption of Captives; the black Scapular of Our Lady Help of the Sick, the
badge of the Confraternity founded by St. Camillus de Lellis for the aid of the
sick, approved in 1860 by Pius IX.37

RECENT POPES AND THE SCAPULAR

Pius XI and Pius XII have urged those wearing the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of
Mount Carmel to be especially attentive in their personal lives to the
requirements of true Marian devotion. Pius XI wrote, ". . . although it is very
true that the Blessed Virgin loves all who love her, nevertheless those who wish
to have the Blessed Mother as a helper in [the hour of] death, must in life
merit such signal favor by abstaining from sin and laboring in her honor."38
Pius XII stressed the spiritual importance of the Scapular devotion:

We are not here concerned with a light or passing matter, but with the obtaining
of eternal life itself which is the substance of the promise of the most Blessed
Virgin which has been handed down to us. We are concerned, namely, with that
which is of supreme importance to all and with the manner of achieving it
safely. . . But not for this reason may they who wear the Scapular think that
they can gain eternal salvation while remaining slothful and negligent of
spirit, for the Apostle warns us: "In fear and trembling shall you work out your
salvation" (Phil. 2:12).39

Pius XII likewise emphasized the value of the Scapular devotion for society
itself:

There is no one who is not aware how greatly a love for the Blessed Virgin
Mother of God contributes to the enlivening of the Catholic faith and to the
raising of the moral standard. These effects are especially secured by means of
those devotions which more than others are seen to enlighten the mind with
celestial doctrine and to excite souls to the practice of the Christian life. In
the first rank of the most favored of these devotions, that of the holy
Carmelite Scapular must be placed — a devotion which, adapted to the minds of
all by its very simplicity, has become so universally widespread among the
faithful and has produced so many and such salutary fruits.40

ENDNOTES

1. The feast spread rapidly in the seventeenth century. For its liturgical
history cf. Augustine M. Forcadell, O.Carm., Commemoratio Solemnis Beatae Mariae
Virginis de Monte Carmelo (Romae, 195l). The rank of the feast has been reduced
to a Commemoration by the decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites concerning
the new calendar for the breviary and the Mass. Cf. A.A.S., Vol. 52, 1960, p.
706. The retention of the feast as a Commemoration in the new calendar preserves
the memory of the liturgical intent of thanksgiving for which the feast was
originally instituted, as Benedict XIV observed: "Since through the intercession
of the Blessed Virgin God worked numerous miracles in favor of those who
practised this devotion, it must be conceded that the feast of Our Lady of Mount
Carmel was not instituted without serious judgment, and celebrated in the
universal Church with proper Office and Mass." De festis D. N. Jesu Christi et
B. Mariae Virginis (Patavii. 1745), p. 470.

2. As will be noted below, the third condition may be commuted.

3. The historical documentation pertaining to the apparition of Our Lady to St.
Simon Stock has been collected and evaluated by Bartholomew F. M. Xiberta,
O.Carm., De visione Sancti Simonis Stock (Romae, 1950).

4. The implication of fifteenth-century authors that the Scapular came directly
from Mary as a new piece of the Carmelite habit is an elaboration of the
fourteenth century narrative of the apparition. The fourteenth-century account,
which simply states that Mary appeared holding the Scapular, will be provided
below. As the Scapular devotion developed, it was natural that the details of
the apparition would be magnified.

5. For these details in fifteenth century Carmelite authors, cf. Xiberta, De
Visione, pp. 92-93; 107-111.

6. An analysis of Bostius' thought, based on his manuscript work, has been made
by Eamon R. Carroll, O.Carm., Arnold Bostius and the Scapular, in The Sword,
Vol. 14, 1950, pp. 342-355.

7. John Launoy wrote against the historicity of the Scapular tradition in
Dissertatio Duplex (Paris [?], 1642) and De Simonis Stockii Viso, De Sabbatinae
Bullae Privilegio (Paris, 1653). For a discussion of his position, cf. Xiberta,
De Visione, pp. 31-48.

8. Our knowledge of medieval Carmelite literature has improved since the studies
of Benedict Zimmerman, O.C.D., The Origin of the Scapular, in The Irish
Ecclesiastical Record, Series 4, Vol. 9; 1901, pp. 385-408; Vol. 15, 1904,
142-153; 206-234; 331-351; and Herbert Thurston, S.J., The Origin of the

Scapular: A Criticism, in the same periodical, Vol. 16, 1904, pp. 59-75, id.
Scapulars, in The Month, Vol. 150, 1927. Xiberta, De Visione, has collected and
analyzed the documents of the medieval Scapular tradition.

9. For a discussion of the Sanctoral and its origin, cf. Xiberta, De Visione,
pp. 198-211.

10. The Latin text of the Flos Carmeli is as follows: Flos Carmeli, vitis
florigera, splendor caeli, Virgo puerpera singularis, Mater mitis sed viri
nescia, Carmelitis da privilegia, stella maris. The English translation is that
of Joachim Smet, O.Carm. The poem incorporates traditional medieval allusions
from the Bible that were applied to Mary.

11. We have omitted the concluding paragraph of the hagiographical notice which
simply states the death of St. Simon Stock at the Bordeaux Carmel. For the
complete text, cf. Xiberta, De Visione, p. ''83.

12. In an appendix, Xiberta, De Visione, pp. 281-313, has published the
principal manuscript texts of the Sanctoral. There are noticeable in them
gradual additions and changes, the most evident being a notice on the wearing of
the Scapular by the laity in the later manuscript copies of the fifteenth
century.

13. Benedict Zimmerman, O.C.D., The Carmelite Scapular, in The Month, Vol. 150,
1927, pp. 323-237, dated the earliest written account soon after 1361. Xiberta,
De Vistone, p. 205, dates it about the middle of the fourteenth century perhaps
in the early decades of the fourteenth century.

14. Evidence has been discovered that the apparition to St. Simon Stock was
alluded to in the principal Marian feast of the English Province of Carmelites,
the Solemn Commemoration of Holy Mary. Margaret Rickert, reconstructing a
Carmelite Missal of 1390, found fragments of the Mass for the feast on which
were the words of the Flos Carmeli. Cf. Vinculum Ordinis Carmelitarum, Vol. 3
(1952-1953), pp. 205-206.

15. The earliest account of the apparition to St. Simon Stock contains no
allusion to the Scapular devotion among the laity. The fact that the devotion
did not arise until sometime after the acceptance of the apparition within the
Carmelite Order is one of the more important discoveries of recent research into
the tradition of the Scapular. Scholars in the past have sought historical
evidence in the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries in the belief that the
devotion among the laity would have been in vogue. Thus Thurston was inclined to
reject the historicity of the apparition because of the absence of evidence in
the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries revealing the existence of the Scapular
devotion. Cf. Scapulars, in The Month, Vol. 150, 1927, p. 45. The belief that
the devotion was practiced by the laity in the thirteenth century came from the
Swanyngton fragments, published by John Cheron, O.Carm., in 1642. The fragments
are now recognized as unauthentic.

16. A clear illustration is the failure of the medieval Carmelites to use the
Scapular promise in connection with their title, "Order of the Brothers of the
Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel." John Horneby, who defended the title at
the University of Cambridge in 1374, made no appeal to the apparition to St.
Simon Stock, although by his time it was long in writing in the Carmelite
Sanctoral. Cf. Xiberta, De Visione, p. 150.

17. This point was pressed in the works of John Launoy. Cf. note 7.

18. This objection was urged by Benedict Zimmerman, O.C.D., Monumenta Historica
Carmelitana (Lirinae, 1907), pp. 343-344.

19. Ibid., p. 343.

20. P. Rudolf Hendriks, O.Carm., Le succession hereditaire, in Elie le prophete,
Vol. 2 (Bruges, 1956), pp. 34-75.

21. The fourteenth century account of the Scapular vision appears to be a
literary production. It is a stylized, partly poetic, narrative. The story is
not told as St. Simon Stock might have told it. It is related with a greater
insight, born only with the passage of time, into the Order's mendicant
difficulties in the thirteenth century. The Flos Carmeli was more probably not
composed by St. Simon Stock, but was induced by the tradition of the Marian
apparition. The narrative would have passed through an oral stage, and perhaps
an initial written stage, before being incorporated into the Sanctoral in its
fourteenth century form. Some indication of the initial written form may exist
in a fifteenth century Brussels manuscript, which describes the apparition in
these simple lines: "St. Simon . . . always besought the Virgin in his prayers
that she would endow her Order with a special privilege. The glorious Virgin
appeared to him, holding the Scapular and saying, 'This will be for you and
yours a privilege: he who dies in this will be saved."' For the Latin text, cf.
Xiberta, De Visione, p. 311.

22. The Constitutions of 1294, 1324, and 1357 call the Scapular the habit. For
the Acts of the Chapter of Montpellier, which made an explicit identification
between "habit" and "scapular," cf. Antoine Marie de la Presentation, O.C.D.
Constitutions des Freres de Notre Dame du Mont-Carmel faites l'annee 1357
(Marche, 1915), pp. 158-160. Xiberta, De Visione, p. 236, who interprets "habit"
to mean "tunic" in the Acts of the Chapter of Montpellier, should be corrected.
For the Constitutions of 1294 cf. Ludovicus Saggi, O.Carm., Constitutiones
Capituli Burdigalensis anni 1294, in Analecta Ord. Carm., Vol. 18, 1953,
152-153. For the Constitutions of 1324 cf. Zimmerman, Monumenta, pp. 49-52.

23. The explanation of Lancelot C. Sheppard, The English Carmelites (London,
1943), pp. 13ff., suggesting a legendary origin for the Scapular tradition, is
an oversimplification. The author's statement that the early lessons of the
breviary for the feast of St. Simon Stock are silent on the Scapular vision is
unfounded. Cf. Xiberta, De Visione, pp. 127-130.

24. Henry M. Esteve, O.Carm., De valore spirituali devotionis S. Scapularis
Romae, 1953), p. 61.

25. Ibid., pp. 59 ff.

26. Papenbroeck, S.J., wrote a firm case against the authenticity of the Bull in
his Responsio . . . ad Exhibitionem Errorum (Antwerpiae, 1696), p. 124 ff. The
question was renewed by Benedict Zimmerman, O.C.D., in The Irish Ecclesiastical
Record, Series 4, Vol. 15, 1904, pp. 331-351.

27. Elias Magennis, O.Carm., The Sabbatine Privilege of the Scapular (New York,
1923), p. 47.

28. Zimmerman, The Origin of the Scapular, in the Irish Ecclesiastical Record,
Series 4, Vol. 15, 1904, p. 347.

29. Esteve, op. cit., p. 309.

30. Cf. C. X. J. M. Friethoff, O.P., A Complete Mariology (London, 1958), pp.
277-278. The author derives Mary's power to intercede for the souls in purgatory
from her Queenship.

31. The Latin text may be found in Esteve, op. cit., p. 72. The word "piously"
in the opening statement of the decree does not mean "with a fond hope," but out
of proper interior dispositions, Cf. Esteve, op. cit., p. 74.

32. For a more extended discussion of the necessity of interior devotion, see
Esteve, op. cit., pp. 80-99, 276-315.

33. According to the well-known definition of the Council of Trent (D.B. 805),
absolute and infallible certainty of one's eternal salvation is not possible
without a personal divine revelation. Theologians, however, admit certain
"signs" that one will be saved, among which is special devotion to the Blessed
Virgin.

34. Cf. Benedict XV, Inter sodalicia, in A.A.S., Vol. 10, 1918, p. 120; Pius XI,
Explorata res est. in A.A.S., Vol. 15, 1923, p. 104.

35. This point was forcefully stated by Pius XII: ". . . How many souls even in
circumstances which, humanly speaking, were beyond hope, have owed their final
conversion and their eternal salvation to the scapular which they were wearing!
How many more, thanks to it, have experienced the motherly protection of Mary in
dangers to body and soul. . ." Discorsi e radiomessaggi di Sua Santita Pio XlI
Vol. 12 (1950- 1951), p. 165. The pope's allusion to the miraculous tradition of
the Scapular is based on fact, admitted by all authorities on the devotion.
Numerous books were written on this subject alone from the seventeenth to the
nineteenth centuries, e.g., Guardius, O.Carm., Thesaurus coelestis (Brixiae,
1611); Michael de la Fuente, O.Carm., Compendium historiale . . . gratiarum B.
V. Mariae de Monte Carmelo (Toleti, 1619); Hugust, S.M., Vertu miraculeuse du
Scapulaire (Paris, 1879).

36. The Scapular Medal entitles the wearer to all the benefits of the Scapular
devotion, including the promise of eternal salvation and the Sabbatine
Privilege. Objection on theological grounds that the Scapular Medal does not
entitle the wearer to the benefit of the promise of eternal salvation is
unfounded. Cf. The Decree on the Scapular Medal in The Sword, Vol. 16, 1953, pp.
343-360; and in popular form, The Great Debate: Scapular or Medal, in The
Scapular, Vol. 16, July-August, 1957, pp. 15-20; reprinted in Vol. 17,
July-August, 1958, pp. 15-20.

37 For more detailed information, cf. Magennis, The Scapular Devotion (Dublin,
1923), pp. 99-160. The Green "Scapular" of the Immaculate Conception, approved
by Pius IX in 1870, is a cloth badge rather than a Scapular, since it consists
of a single panel.

38 Apostolic Letter, Petis tu quidem, in A.A.S., Vol. 14, 1922, p. 274.

39 Apostolic Letter Neminen profecto latet, in A.A.S., Vol. 42, 1950, pp.
390-391. This letter marks a change in the manner of explaining the Sabbatine
Privilege. It does not refer to the release from purgatory in the older
terminology, "especially on Saturday," but in the words "as soon as possible."
The traditional description in terms of "Saturday" alluded to the liturgical
practice of dedicating this day to Mary.

40 Ibid. For a detailed discussion of the papal encouragement of the Scapular
devotion, cf. Eamon R. Carroll, O.Carm., The Pope Speaks on the Scapular, in Our
Lady's Digest, Vol. 11, 1956, pp. 63-71. Recent writings in English on the
Scapular include: Take This Scapular, by Carmelite Fathers and Tertiaries
(Chicago, 1949); Kilian Lynch, O.Carm., Your Brown Scapular (Westminster, Md.,
1950), William G. Most, Mary in Our Life (New York, 1954), pp. 233-240; Henry M.
Esteve, O.Carm., The Brown Scapular of Carmel (Marian reprint No. 32. University
of Dayton, 1955).

100th Year of Mother Teresa's Birth Begins Aug 27, 2009

2009-08-09T04:52:00.000-07:00

Mother Teresa: the power of love almost 100 years after her birth

by Nirmala Carvalho

Adoptions to defeat abortion; commitment to the dying; attention to spiritual
poverty: the work of Mother Teresa is still very much alive and attracting many
vocations and volunteers.

08/08/2009 12:01

Mumbai (AsiaNews) - Mother Teresa of Calcutta was born August 27 1910. In a few
weeks the year marking 100 years since her birth begins. AsiaNews explores the
signs of the vitality of her charisma, in a conversation with Sr. Gilbert M,
superior of the Missionaries of Charity (MC) in the Maharashtra-Goa region.

Sr M Gilbert entered the MC in 1965. She lived in Latin America for many years
and before becoming regional superior, she worked for 8 years in Calcutta, in
Formation House for sisters.

Almost 100 years after the birth of Mother Teresa, I am a witness to the great
respect for the life she inspired. Every day, many married couples come to our
homes with the desire to adopt children. These couples wait patiently until the
entire process and the documents are completed. These people follow her
teaching: Fight abortion by adoption. Unfortunately, we know that there is a
culture of death, but here, in our case I can not see a culture of death, but
rather a great respect for life.

How important is the testimony of Mother Teresa in the world today?

Our founder, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, spoke of love with love. Mother has
always offered love and hope to the most disadvantaged. Her life was a
combination of simplicity, sacrifice and strength in service to others. Serving
the poorest of the poor was the motto of Mother Teresa, the way in which to
"quench the thirst of Jesus."

How alive is her charism among you?

Mother Teresa devoted her life to giving hope to the despairing, covering them
with love. As we approach the centenary of her birth, we too, the Missionaries
of Charity dedicate ourselves to serving the poorest of the poor to satisfy the
thirst of Jesus. We are not social workers. Today the poor are both those who
lack material resources, and those who are poor in spirit. Our mission is to
serve both with love. And Mother Teresa was very clear: "It is not the greatness
of our actions that is important, but how much love you put into what you do."
In our house Asha Dan (Gift of Hope ") in Byculla (central Mumbai), those who
are dying each day are collected from the streets and brought to us. So every
the poorest of the poor are given a chance to experience dignity through love.
Many have spent many years on the street, others - men and women - are left on
the road by their relatives, because they are dying of some terminal illness ...
With joy and a smile, we serve them. And this thanks to Mother Teresa’s
teaching. They have suffered a lot, physically and spiritually, of neglect and
abysmal poverty, but they die here, immersed in love.

Have you ever experienced persecution or hostility in your mission?

Wherever I was, I always received a friendly reception, but I know that
unfortunately, in some places, our mission is not understood and treated with
hostility. However, our sisters - or rather, Mother Teresa - are recognizable by
our simple sari with blue stripes, but especially because we care for the old,
the sick, the abandoned, the dying, the unloved.

Are there new vocations? Does Mother Teresa still inspire people?

The Missionaries of Charity have vocations. I was in the formation house for the
last 8 years and by the grace of God, many girls say yes to the call of God.
Mother Teresa’s charisma of service and sacrifice leads many girls to give their
lives in sacrifice for others.

In addition to vocations, people of all social strata come to the Mother House
to pray at her tomb. In addition, hundreds of enthusiastic volunteers, drawn
from what they have read or seen or heard of Mother Teresa and her work come
from all over the world to lend their service in the various houses of the
sisters. Serving with all their heart they find a meaning to life as well as joy
and peace in their lives and return to their reality rendered humble by the
power of love.

Sin & Judgment

2009-08-03T08:13:00.001-07:00

And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn?" (1 Corinthians 5:2). The Greek word literally means to inflate or puff up, and is often translated as "proud." The clear implication is that they were proud or arrogant with regard to their sin, when they should have been humiliated and in mourning about it -- and that is the greater problem here. Pride is worse than their sexual sins because it is more subtle, more difficult to identify as sin.

But the sin itself was not the main problem. All of God's people are sinners, to a person. No one is condemned because of some particular sin. Sin is the natural condition of humanity since the Fall. We are all condemned by Adam's sin. Paul says in Romans 3:10, "None is righteous, no, not one." So, in the light of Jesus Christ people are condemned, not by their sin, but by their refusal to repent of their sin, by their refusal to turn away from sin, by their refusal to acknowledge it as sin and to turn to Jesus Christ for forgiveness and salvation from the eternal consequences of sin. No, sin is not the problem. God can forgive any sin through Jesus Christ. But God will not forgive any sin apart from Christ, and Christ demands repentance. "From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand'" (Matthew 4:17).

There is a difference between the ongoing struggle against sin by repentant Christians and the celebration of sin as a God-given right by the unfaithful. The faithful are humbled by their sin and moved to repentance, but the unfaithful are proud of their sin because they believe they have a right to it. In fact, all unrepentant sin thrives on pride. Pride is what keeps people from repentance. Pride is what keeps people from Jesus Christ, and from salvation.

John wrote, "Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him, because all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:15-17). The lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, these are the enemies of the gospel, the enemies of truth, and the stumbling blocks to salvation. Where pride leads sin follows.

Paul went on, "Let him who has done this be removed from among you" (1 Corinthians 5:2). John Gill said of this verse that the guilty parties should be removed, "not by excommunication, for that they could and ought to have done themselves; but by the immediate hand of God, inflicting some visible punishment, and taking him away by an untimely death, which the Jews call "cutting off," by the hand of God; and such a punishment, they say, this crime deserved." Ouch! John Gill provides the traditional interpretation of this verse, which was that it deserved excommunication by the church and judgment by God. The Apostle Paul called the wrath of God down upon down upon these unrepentant sinners, these leaders of the Corinthian church.

Had they repented, he would have called the mercy of God down upon them. Jesus said, "'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call righteous ones, but sinners to repentance" (Matthew 9:13). Jesus didn't just come to call sinners, He came to call sinners to repentance. Big difference! To the Pharisees Jesus said, "Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance" (Matthew 3:8). Jesus is always after our repentance.

Paul goes on, "For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing" (1 Corinthians 5:3). Wait a minute! Doesn't the Bible teach that we should be nonjudgmental? Yes, we ought not judge a repentant person on the basis of their sin because God's mercy is grater than any sin. The grace of God through the propitiation of Jesus Christ trumps all sin. There is no sin so great that it cannot be forgiven by the grace and mercy of God through Jesus Christ -- save one (Matthew 12:31).

But, on the other hand, the churches are called to judge those who are unrepentant. Jesus said, "Do not judge according to sight, but judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24). We should not evaluate things on their appearance, but on the basis of God's righteousness, on the basis of Scripture alone. We are not to judge according to our own values, our own ideas, but according to God's standards of righteousness, according to Scripture. It is not the standards of the community that are to prevail, not the standards of the civil government, or the standards of the press, or TV, or popular opinion, but the standards of Scripture by which Christians are to judge (or evaluate) everything.

So, Paul could say to the Romans, "We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who do such things. Do you suppose, O man -- you who judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself (note the lack of repentance) -- that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?" (Romans 2:2-4). God's kindness, His grace and mercy are linked to repentance. God is kind and merciful in order to allow people the time and opportunity for repentance. God does not rush to judgment, but provides ample time for repentance. But at some point the opportunity for repentance comes to an end, and judgment follows.

We confuse ourselves when we neglect the fact that Scripture treats repentant sinners differently than it treats unrepentant sinners. Repentant sinners have the protection of Jesus Christ the advocate, where unrepentant sinners face the full consequences of God's law on their own. Repentant sinners have been pardoned, unrepentant sinners have not. Judgment for repentant sinners has been suspended by the propitiation of Jesus Christ, but judgment for unrepentant sinners remains.

Phillip A. Ross, author of many Christian books and pastor, has shown how Paul turned the world upside down in his book, Arsy Varsy -- Reclaiming the Gospel in First Corinthians, 2008. It is both refreshing and interesting. http://www.Pilgrim-Platform.org

Knowing God through Love

2009-08-02T04:00:00.000-07:00

1 John 4:7-19 HCSB

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way:God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
10 Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [The word propitiation has to do with the removal of divine wrath. Jesus’ death is the means that turns God’s wrath from the sinner; see 2 Co 5:21.] for our sins.
11 Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.
12 No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and His love is perfected in us.

13 This is how we know that we remain in Him and He in us: He has given to us from His Spirit.
14 And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.
15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God.
16 And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.

17 In this, love is perfected with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; for we are as He is in this world.
18 There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love.
19 We love Him because He first loved us.
1 John 4:7-19 HCSB

Feast of St. Alphonsus de Liguori

2009-08-01T01:20:00.001-07:00

Today (August 1) the Church celebrates the feast of St. Alphonsus De Liguori
(1696-1787), Bishop Confessor, and Doctor of the Church. In 1732, he founded the
'Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer' (the Redemptorists), members of which
are now famous for their popular retreats and missions. St. Alphonsus regarded
as the "Prince of Moral Theologians" is the author of over 100 works.

We wish all the Redemptorists on the feast of their founder, and all those
having St. Alphonsus Liguori as their their patron. In a specialy way I wish to
make a mention of our member Derrick D'Costa who has steeped himself in the
knowledge of St. Alphonsus' works.

In the meantime, let us briefly medidate on this excerpt from what St. Alphonsus
considered to be one of his most important works 'Prayer: The Great Means of
Salvation and of Perfection' - Austine.

---

PRAYER IS A MEANS NECESSARY TO SALVATION

by St. Alphonsus de Liguori

One of the errors of Pelagianism was the assertion that prayer is not necessary
for salvation. Pelagius, the impious author of that heresy, said that man will
only be damned for neglecting to know the truths necessary to be learned. How
astonishing! St. Augustine said: 'Pelagius discussed everything except how to
pray,' though, as the saint held and taught, prayer is the only means of
acquiring the science of the saints; according to the text of St. James: If any
man lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all abundantly, and upbraides
not (James 1,5). The Scriptures are clear enough in pointing out; how necessary
it is to pray, if we would be saved. We ought always to pray, and not to faint
(Lk. 18,1). Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation (Mt. 26,41). Ask,
and it shall be given you ( Mt. 7,7 ) . The words 'we ought,' 'pray,' 'ask,'
according to the general consent of theologians, impose the precept, and denote
the necessity of prayer. Wickliffe said that these texts are to be understood,
not precisely of prayer, but only of the necessity of good works, for in his
system prayer was only well-doing; but this was his error, and was expressly
condemned by the Church. Hence Lessius wrote that it is heresy to deny that
prayer is necessary for salvation in adults; as it evidently appears from
Scripture that prayer is the means, without which we cannot obtain the help
necessary for salvation.

The reason of this is evident. Without the assistance of God's grace we can do
no good thing: Without me, you can do nothing (Jn 15,5). St. Augustine remarks
on this passage, that our Lord did not say, Without me, you can complete
nothing,' but 'without me, you can do nothing'; giving us to understand that
without grace we cannot even begin to do a good thing. Nay more, St. Paul
writes, that of ourselves we cannot even have the wish to do good. Not that we
are sufficient to think anything ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God (2
Cor. 3,5). If we cannot even think a good thing, much less can we wish it. The
same thing is taught in many other passages of Scripture: God works all in all
(1 Cor. 12, 6). I will cause you to walk in my commandments, and to keep my
judgments, and do them (Ezek. 36,27). So that, as St. Leo I says, 'Man does no
good thing, except that which God, by his grace, enables him to do,' and hence
the Council of Trent says: 'If anyone shall assert that without the previous
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and his assistance, man can believe, hope, love
or repent, as he ought, in order to obtain the grace of justification, let him
be anathema.'

The author of the Opus lmperfectum says that God has given to some animals
swiftness, to others claws, to others wings, for the preservation of their life;
but he has so formed man, that God himself is his only strength. So that man is
completely unable to provide for his own safety, since God has willed that
whatever he has, or can have, should come entirely from the assistance of his
grace.

But this grace is not given in God's ordinary Providence, except to those who
pray for it; according to the celebrated saying of Gennadius, 'We believe that
no one approaches to be saved, except at the invitation of God; that no one who
is invited works out his salvation, except by the help of God; that no one
merits this help, unless he prays.' From these two premises, on the one hand,
that we can do nothing without the assistance of grace; and on the other, that
this assistance is only given ordinarily by God to the man that prays, who does
not see that the consequence follows, that prayer is absolutely necessary to us
for salvation? And although the first graces that come to us without any
cooperation on our part, such as the call to faith or to penance, are, as St.
Augustine says, granted by God even to those who do not pray; yet the saint
considers it certain that the other graces, and specially the grace of
perseverance, are not granted except in answer to prayer: 'God gives us some
things, as the beginning of faith, even when we do not pray. Other things, such
as perseverance, he has only provided for those who pray.'

We, in a word, are merely beggars, who have nothing but what God bestows on us
as alms: But I am a beggar and poor (Ps. 39, 18 ) . The Lord, says St.
Augustine, desires and wills to pour forth his graces upon us, but will not give
them except to him who prays: 'God wishes to give, but only gives to him who
asks.' This is declared in the words, Seek, and it shall be given to you. Whence
it follows, says St. Teresa, that he who seeks not, does not receive. As
moisture is necessary for the life of plants, to prevent them from drying up,
so, says St. Chrysostom, is prayer necessary for our salvation. Or, as he says
in another place, prayer vivifies the soul, as the soul vivifies the body: 'As
the body without the soul cannot live, so the soul without prayer is dead and
emits an offensive odor.' He uses these words, because the man who omits to
recommend himself to God, at once begins to be defiled with sins. Prayer is also
called the food of the soul, because the body cannot be supported without food;
nor can the soul, says St. Augustine, be kept alive without prayer: 'As the
flesh is nourished by food, so is man supported by prayers.' All these
comparisons used by the holy Fathers are intended by them to teach the absolute
necessity of prayer for the salvation of everyone.

[Taken from 'Prayer: The Great Means of Salvation and of Perfection' by by St.
Alphonsus de Liguori]

Archbishop Moras Launches News Website 'newsforyouth'

2009-08-01T01:12:00.001-07:00

"Use every possible media to proclaim the Good News. Good News is Truth and The
Truth is Good News" Archbishop Bernard Moras told delegates at the launch of
'newsforyouth' a web portal of news in Bangalore.

Delegates from all across karnataka representing various dioceses and
organisations including members from the Federation of Karnataka Christian
Associations met at the Workers Centre annexe of Archbishop's House in Bangalore
Sunday 26th to witness the launch of a e-newsletter and a web portal called
newsforyouth. The Web-portal launched by Archbishop Rev. Dr, Bernard Moras is
the creation of software techie Standly Joseph Lobo and team in collaboration
with the active support of the Federation of the Karnataka christian
Associations and several other Christian organisations.

"In a world that is flooded with newspapers and magazines and where the youth
are exposed to so many television channels and web portals, it can sometimes
become very difficult to distinguish truth from untruth. We read and listen to
what is offered to us most of the time without checking the veracity of things.
In such a world, 'news for youth' website, will hopefully serve as a channel of
truth where discussions, debates and news on pertinent subjects of faith and day
to day life will find its expression" said President of the Karnataka Region
Bishops Council , Archbishop Berard Moras.

The Archbishop applauded the efforts of laity, especially youth in engaging in
such productive activity that not only benefits the Church but also serves to
tell the whole world the Truth and spread the Good News. "The Good News" he
added "Is the message of the scriptures that pronounces peace and blessing,
forgiveness and compassion upon people. The Good News is Truth and Truthfulness
is Good News"

Standly, the Director, Centre for Embedded Intelligence and creator of the News
portal told the audience "The intention of launching the webportal is to network
with various christian organisations and various groups within the Catholic
Church in order to educate, inform and promote a greater sense of unity and
spirit of mutual suport to each other". The Indian Catholic Youth Movement, The
Indian Catholic Press Association,Diocesan Newspapers, several youth prayer
groups and lay catholic organisations will partner with 'newsfor youth' in terms
of content and news dissemenation. Standly added "The web portal will also serve
to tell the whole world the good work the Church is doing in the service of
humanity and seek the active support of like-minded people and organisations in
serving humanity". Joseph Lobo, Co-producer of the web-portal was also present
for the launch.

HT Sangliana, in his message said "Launching a web portal is a positive sign in
brininging us closer to each other in the service of God and man. One hopes that
this website will serve as a strong means of communication between members of
the Christian community".

PRO of Bangalore Archdiocese and President of the Indian Catholic Press
Association Fr. Adolf Washington ,recalling the words of Nehru who said
'Industralise or perish", he said "the dictum of this age is network or perish".
He observed that it is absolutely necessary for us to to constantly network and
communicate with each other. "Humility and a great passion for the Church is the
only way we can bring out the best in us for the community".he added

Both, Denis D'Silva -State Convenier and Micheal Baptist -State General
Secretaryof the FKCA stressed the urgency of"Christians coming together and
becoming more proactive and vibrant especially in the field of politics in the
state at every level". They expressed dismay over some sections in the Christian
community that were not actively fielding or promoting Christian candidates in
elections or even showing at times disinterest in politics. Ronald Colaco was
thanked for being very instrumental in raising the FKCA into an active
organisation fostering unity and collaboration and also for supporting the
launch of 'newsforyouth' .

Bangalore archdiocesan youth director Fr. Divya Paul observed "there is flood of
networks and websites and webportals leaving many of us at times confused as to
which we should access. The newsforyouth portal will serve as an authentic
source of Truths that we need to know" Fr. Divya Paul drew reference to Michael
Jackson's song "heal the world' saying the words of that song should be our
motivation, to heal the world by proclaiming truth.

Joseph Lobo, Sr. Shanti, Superior General of the Congregation of the Sisters of
St. Anne of Bangalore, Fr. Arokiaraj Director for Media and Communication in the
OMI Congregation, were the dignitaries present for the launch.

VATICAN: SCIENCE CONFIRMS TOMB CONTAINS MORTAL REMAINS OF APOSTLE PAUL, SAYS POPE

2009-08-01T00:51:00.000-07:00

Benedict XVI brings the Pauline year to a close, reporting the results of a
probe into the sarcophagus inside the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls.
Through the newness of the Christian faith one grows up without adhering to the
world’s fashions and mindsets, defending life and marriage between a man and a
woman. Faith generates progress in truth and love. The mystery of Christ has
value for the cosmos, for every people and the entire universe.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – With “great emotion” Benedict XVI announced that a
recent scientific probe confirmed what Catholic tradition has always held,
namely that the body of the Apostle Paul is located under the papal altar in the
Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. The announcement was made today in the
basilica itself during the homily of the First Vespers of the Feast Day of
Saints Peter and Paul, which brings the Pauline Year to a close, a year that was
held to celebrate 2,000 years since the birth of the Apostle of Tarsus.

The Pontiff said that recently the tomb was “subject to a scientific
investigation. A small hole was drilled in the sarcophagus, unopened for
centuries, and a probe was introduced. It found traces of a valuable purple
fabric, in linen and gold layer-laminated, and a blue fabric with linen threads.
Red incense grains and substances containing proteins and limestone were also
discovered. Small fragments of bone were found and radiocarbon dated by experts
who did not know their place of origin. Results indicate that they belong to
someone who lived between the 1st and 2nd century A.D. This seems to confirm the
unanimous and undisputed tradition according to which these are the mortal
remains of the Apostle Paul. All this fills our soul with deep emotion.”

In a crowded basilica and in the presence of representatives of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate of Constantinople, the sister Orthodox Church, the Pope outlined
some of the elements in Apostle Paul’s message which must become part of the
everyday existence of Christians.

“The Pauline Year has come to an end, but being on the same path as Paul and,
with him and thanks to him, know Jesus and, like him, be enlightened and
transformed by the Gospel, will always be part of Christian existence,” the
Pontiff said.

Newness was the first element he stressed. Citing Saint Paul’s Letter to the
Romans (Ch. 12), he said that “with Christ a new way to worship God, a new form
of worship, began. It lies in the fact that the living man becomes himself
adoration, “sacrifice” even in his body. No longer are things offered to God but
our own existence becomes a way to praise God.”

“We must become new men,” the Holy Father said, “transformed in a new way of
existence. The world is always looking for new things because it is rightly
unhappy of reality as it is. Paul told us that without new men the world cannot
be renewed. Only if there are new men will there be a new world, a renewed and
better world.”

For the Pontiff what is new is in Paul himself who “became new, someone else,
because he no longer lived for himself and in himself but for Christ and in Him.
Over the years he saw that this process of renewal and transformation went on
during one’s whole life. As we become new we allow ourselves to be seized and
moulded by the New Man Jesus Christ.”

“The way of thinking of old men, the standard way of thinking is usually
directed at possessing, well-being, influence, success, fame and so on. But in
being so it has a limited reach. In the end one’s own self remains the centre of
the world . . . . We must learn [instead] to share Jesus Christ’s thinking and
will. Once that is done we shall be new men in which a new world emerges.”

This newness also means having a grown-up rather than a childish faith; it is an
invitation not to conform or adhere to the standard mindset.

“In the last few decades the expression ‘grown-up faith’ has spread,” Benedict
XVI said. “It is often used in relation to the attitudes of those who no longer
pay attention to what the Church and its Pastors say—which is to say, those who
choose on their own what to believe or not believe in a sort of ‘do-it-yourself’
faith. Expressing oneself against the Magisterium of the Church is presented as
a sort of ‘courage’, whereas in fact not much courage is needed because one can
be certain that it will get public applause. Instead courage is needed to adhere
to the Church’s faith, even if it contradicts the mould of today’s world. Paul
calls this non-conformism a ‘grown-up faith’. For him following the prevailing
winds and currents of the time is childish. For this reason dedicating oneself
to the inviolability of life from its beginning, radically opposing the
principle of violence, in the defence precisely of the most defenceless;
recognising the lifetime marriage between a man and a woman in accordance with
the Creator’s order, re-established again by Christ is also part of a grown-up
faith. A grown-up faith does not follow any current here and there. It is
against the winds of fashion.”

A grown-up faith is the one that grows by living the truth in love (cf
Ephesians, 4:15). Both are necessary because God is both. “The Apostle told us
that by living the truth in love, we can make the whole—the universe—grow by
aiming for Christ. . . . The ultimate purpose of Christ’s work is the
universe—the transformation of the universe, of mankind’s entire world, of the
whole of creation. Those who with Christ live the truth in love contribute to
the world’s progress. Yes! Here it is clear that Paul is aware of the idea of
progress. Through his life, suffering and resurrection, Christ was the real
great leap of progress for humanity and the world. Now the universe must grow in
view of Him. Where the presence of Christ grows, there is real progress in the
world.”

In order for this renewal to occur it is necessary to strengthen the inner self
(Ephesians, 3:16). “Men are often empty inside and thus must grasp for promises
and drugs, which end up adding to their inner sense of emptiness,” the Pope
explained. “This inner emptiness, man’s inner weakness, is one of today’s great
problems. The inner self—the heart’s perceptiveness, the capacity to see and
understand the world and man from within, with the heart—must be strengthened.
We need reason enlightened by the heart to learn to act in accordance to the
truth in love. This cannot be done without an intimate relationship with God,
without a life of prayer. We need to meet God, something which is given to us in
the Sacraments. And we cannot speak to God in prayer if we do not let Him speak
first, if we do not listen to him in the word he gave us.”

In his final thoughts the Pope turned to the cosmic dimensions of the mystery of
Christ, about its “breadth and length and height and depth” (Ephesians, 3:18).
“The mystery of Christ has a cosmic vastness. He does not belong only to a given
group. The crucified Christ embraces the whole universe in all its dimensions.
He takes the world in his hands and raises it towards God . . . . In the Cross
Christ’s love has embraced the lowest depth—the darkness of death—and the
supreme height—God’s own nobility. He has taken in his arms the breadth and the
vastness of humanity and the world in all their distances. He always embraces
the universe—for all of us.”

St.Thomas an Example of Faith and Courage

2009-08-01T00:42:00.001-07:00

St.Thomas an example of Faith and courage

St.THOMAS, the Apostle of India lived in Galilee. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark
and Luke do not tell much about him. However, John defines him more clearly in
his Gospel. Thomas appeared in the raising of Lazarus, and in the upper room
where he wanted to know how to know, where Jesus was going. In John 20:25, we
see him saying unless he sees the nail prints in Jesus hand and the gash of the
spear in His side he will not believe.

Once, when Jesus and his disciples hear about their friend Lazarus's death near
Jerusalem, the center of Jesus' opposition, Thomas comments darkly, "Yes, let's
go there that we might die with him." His words are almost prophetic. Thomas
sees his Master arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane and he flees for his life.
On Good Friday he watches at a distance as they spike his Friend to a cross on
the Roman killing grounds of Golgotha. As Jesus' life drains away, so does
Thomas's hope.

Thomas was a bewildered man. Yet, he was a man of courage. He was a man who
could not believe until he had seen. He was a man of devotion and of faith.

When Jesus rose, he came back and invited Thomas to put his finger in the nail
prints in his hands and in his side. Here, we see Thomas making the greatest
confession of faith, "My Lord and My God."

When he sees the risen Jesus, all that Jesus has taught over the years now
clicks in, and to his death Thomas is an outspoken advocate for his Lord.

Thomas would speak to doubters today, to those of us who have seen our hopes and
dreams destroyed. Doubting Thomas would tell his story of how Jesus' life had
intercepted his own. He would tell us of his fears and his doubts. And then,
with a radiant, joyful face, St. Thomas, Apostle to India, would recount his joy
at seeing and knowing the risen Jesus himself. "My Lord and my God!" he would
say. "My Lord and my God!".

I just returned after a series of meetings on NC Hills, discouraging, more
violence unabated violence, most of the victims are women and children, how to
stop this violence. Well St.Thomas did boost me. With his inspiration I am able
to look at the many of possibilities of peace building instead of dwelling on
the vulnerability of our problems. I have found that there aren't very many
problems that cannot be solved, but the hardest task is developing the right
attitude to start the process of solving them. Become a possibility thinker, the
story of St.Thomas is that. Life is challenging regardless of what vocation we
choose. The point is that we should be willing to accept the challenges with
courage, regardless of how big or small, deal with them the best way we know
how, and accept whatever the outcome may be.

The Bible presents many such examples of people like St.Thomas who acted
courageously in the midst of troubles and conflicts. When we analyze the secrets
of their success, we will notice that all of them drew courage from the same
source, from God, the source of all power. Isaiah 40:29-31 says: "He gives power
to the faint, and to them that have no might he increases strength”.

POPE TO SEND CLERGY CONGREGATION PREFECT TO ARS EVENT TO CELEBRATE ST. JOHN VIANNEY DURING YEAR FOR PRIESTS

2009-08-01T00:38:00.001-07:00

ARS, France, JULY 31, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Claudio Hummes will represent
Benedict XVI at celebrations in Ars on the feast of John Vianney, the saint the
Holy Father has proposed as the model for this Year for Priests.

The prefect of the Congregation for Clergy will be the papal legate for the Aug.
4 Mass in the town where John Vianney practiced his ministry.

The celebration this year marks the 150th anniversary of John Vianney's death;
the Year for Priests is marking that anniversary and a jubilee year in Ars has
also celebrated the event.

The sanctuary will have two days of celebration. On Aug. 3, Father Jean-Philippe
Nault, rector of the sanctuary, will give a conference titled: "The Cure d'Ars:
Holy Patron of the World's Priests." Later that day, Bishop Guy Bagnard of
Belley-Ars will give a talk on the Year for Priests. A Mass will then be
celebrated to pray for priestly vocations, and a prayer vigil with confessions
will follow.

Cardinal Hummes will celebrate Mass the next day. At the end of Mass, there will
be adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and the closing event will be the
unveiling of a new statue of St. John Vianney.

In the June 16 letter by which Benedict XVI proclaimed the Year for Priests, the
Pope reflected on the life of the saint of Ars.

"Saint John Mary Vianney taught his parishioners primarily by the witness of his
life," he wrote. "It was from his example that they learned to pray, halting
frequently before the tabernacle for a visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament."

And, he added, it was the saint's "deep personal identification with the
sacrifice of the cross [that] led him -- by a sole inward movement -- from the
altar to the confessional."

--- --- ---

On the Net:

Benedict XVI's proclamation of the Year for Priests:
www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20\
090616_anno-sacerdotale_en.html

The Morning Offering

2009-07-31T23:33:00.000-07:00

O Jesus,
through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I offer You my prayers, works,
joys and sufferings
of this day for all the intentions
of Your Sacred Heart,
in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
throughout the world,
in reparation for my sins,
for the intentions of all my relatives and friends,
and in particular
for the intentions of the Holy Father.
Amen.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary

2009-07-31T23:32:00.001-07:00

Historically, devotion to the Heart of Mary grew up in parallel, but at a lesser intensity than that of devotion to the Heart of Jesus, only starting to become more prominent during the time of St John Eudes. John Eudes was born in 1601 in Normandy, France. He entered the Congregation of the Oratory of France, founded in 1611 by Cardinal de Berulle and was ordained to the priesthood on December 20, 1625.

St. John brought people to love Christ and the Virgin Mary by speaking tirelessly about their Heart, the sign of the love God shows for us and the communion to which we are called.

To offer them liturgical worship, he composed Masses and Offices in their honor and had the first Feast of the Holy Heart of Mary celebrated on February 8, 1648, at Autun (France,) and the Feast of the Heart of Jesus celebrated on October 20, 1672.

He died on August 19, 1680 and was canonized by Pope Pius XI on May 31, 1925.

Nevertheless, it was not until after the Apparitions at Rue du Bac concerning the "Miraculous Medal" made to Catherine Labouré in 1830, and the establishment of a society dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, at the Church of Our Lady of Victories in Paris in 1836, that this particular devotion became really well known.

Since then devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, has gradually grown more widespread in the Church, particularly since the apparitions at Fatima.

The main difference between the devotions to the hearts of Jesus and Mary is that the one concerned with Jesus emphasizes his divine heart as being full of love for mankind, but with this love for the most part being ignored or rejected, while devotion to Mary's heart is essentially concerned with the love that her heart has for Jesus, for God.

Therefore, it is not an end in itself, so the love of her heart is meant to be a model for the way we should love God. The fact that her heart is immaculate, that is sinless, means that she is the only fully human person who is able to really love God in the way that he should be loved.

Honoring Mary's Immaculate Heart is really just another way of honoring Mary as the person who was chosen to be the Mother of God, recognizing her extraordinary holiness and the immense love she bestowed on Jesus as his mother, the person who was called to share in and co-operate in his redemptive sufferings.

The aim of the devotion is to unite mankind to God through Mary's heart, and this process involves the ideas of consecration and reparation. A person is consecrated to Mary's Immaculate Heart as a way of being completely devoted to God. This involves a total gift of self, something only ultimately possible with reference to God; but Mary is our intermediary in this process of consecration.

Because of the strong analogy between Jesus and Mary, the consecration to Mary's Immaculate Heart is closely linked to the consecration to Jesus' Sacred Heart, although it is subordinate and dependent on it. That is, although the act of consecration is ultimately addressed to God, it is an act that is made through Mary.

Pope Calling World's Priests to Rome

2009-07-31T23:28:00.002-07:00

VATICAN CITY, JULY 30, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is inviting priests from around the world to Rome next June to close the Year for Priests.

The International Conference for Priests will be held June 9-11, 2010, culminating with a Mass presided over by the Pope.

The theme for the conference, like that of the priestly year, is "Faithfulness of Christ, Faithfulness of Priests." The program includes moments of prayer, reflection, the chance to go to confession, and the papal Mass.

The organization of the event has been entrusted to Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, the Vatican institution whose mission is to evangelize through pastoral tourism and the ministry of pilgrimage.

More information on the program and registration (for now, only in Italian) can be found at their Web site.

Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for August

2009-07-31T23:28:00.001-07:00

VATICAN CITY, 31 JUL 2008 (VIS) - Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for August is: "That public opinion may be more aware of the problems of millions of displaced persons and refugees, and that concrete solutions may be found for their often tragic situation".

His mission intention is: "That those Christians who are discriminated against and persecuted in many countries because of the name of Christ may have their human rights, equality and religious freedom recognised, in order to be able to live and profess their own faith freely".

Novena to the Holy Spirit

2009-07-31T23:25:00.001-07:00

FOREWORD

The novena in honor of the Holy Spirit is the oldest of all novenas since it was first made at the direction of Our Lord Himself when He sent His apostles back to Jerusalem to await the coming of the Holy Spirit on the first Pentecost. It is still the only novena officially prescribed by the Church. Addressed to the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, it is a powerful plea for the light and strength and love so sorely needed by every Christian.

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT
To be recited daily during the Novena

On my knees I before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses I offer myself, soul and body to You, Eternal Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of Your purity, the unerring keenness of Your justice, and the might of Your love. You are the Strength and Light of my soul. In You I live and move and am. I desire never to grieve You by unfaithfulness to grace and I pray with all my heart to be kept from the smallest sin against You. Mercifully guard my every thought and grant that I may always watch for Your light, and listen to Your voice, and follow Your gracious inspirations. I cling to You and give myself to You and ask You, by Your compassion to watch over me in my weakness. Holding the pierced Feet of Jesus and looking at His Five Wounds, and trusting in His Precious Blood and adoring His opened Side and stricken Heart, I implore You, Adorable Spirit, Helper of my infirmity, to keep me in Your grace that I may never sin against You. Give me grace O Holy Spirit, Spirit of the Father and the Son to say to You always and everywhere, "Speak Lord for Your servant heareth." Amen.

PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
To be recited daily during the Novena

O Lord Jesus Christ Who, before ascending into heaven did promise to send the Holy Spirit to finish Your work in the souls of Your Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me that He may perfect in my soul, the work of Your grace and Your love. Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal, the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Your divine truth, the Spirit on Counsel that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining heaven, the Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my cross with You and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation, the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints, the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable, and the Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God and may dread in any way to displease Him. Mark me, dear Lord with the sign of Your true disciples, and animate me in all things with Your Spirit. Amen.

The Novena begins on the day after the Solemnity of the Ascension, Friday of the 6th Week of Easter, even if the Solemnity of the Ascension is transferred to the 7th Sunday.

FIRST DAY (Friday after Ascension or Friday of 6th Week of Easter)

Holy Spirit! Lord of Light! From Your clear celestial height, Your pure beaming radiance give!

The Holy Spirit

Only one thing is important -- eternal salvation. Only one thing, therefore, is to be feared--sin· Sin is the result of ignorance, weakness, and indifference The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Light, of Strength, and of Love. With His sevenfold gifts He enlightens the mind, strengthens the will, and inflames the heart with love of God. To ensure our salvation we ought to invoke the Divine Spirit daily, for "The Spirit helpeth our infirmity. We know not what we should pray for as we ought. But the Spirit Himself asketh for us."

Prayer

Almighty and eternal God, Who hast vouchsafed to regenerate us by water and the Holy Spirit, and hast given us forgiveness all sins, vouchsafe to send forth from heaven upon us your sevenfold Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and fortitude, the Spirit of Knowledge and Piety, and fill us with the Spirit of Holy Fear. Amen.

Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE. Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES.
Act of Consecration, Prayer for the Seven Gifts

SECOND DAY (Saturday of 6th Week of Easter)

Come. Father of the poor. Come, treasures which endure; Come, Light of all that live!

The Gift of Fear

The gift of Fear fills us with a sovereign respect for God, and makes us dread nothing so much as to offend Him by sin. It is a fear that arises, not from the thought of hell, but from sentiments of reverence and filial submission to our heavenly Father. It is the fear that is the beginning of wisdom, detaching us from worldly pleasures that could in any way separate us from God. "They that fear the Lord will prepare their hearts, and in His sight will sanctify their souls."

Prayer

Come, O blessed Spirit of Holy Fear, penetrate my inmost heart, that I may set you, my Lord and God, before my face forever, help me to shun all things that can offend You, and make me worthy to appear before the pure eyes of Your Divine Majesty in heaven, where You live and reign in the unity of the ever Blessed Trinity, God world without end. Amen.

Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE. Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES.
Act of Consecration, Prayer for the Seven Gifts

THIRD DAY (7th Sunday of Easter or transferred Ascension)

Thou, of all consolers best, Visiting the troubled breast, Dost refreshing peace bestow.

The Gift of Piety

The gift of Piety begets in our hearts a filial affection for God as our most loving Father. It inspires us to love and respect for His sake persons and things consecrated to Him, as well as those who are vested with His authority, His Blessed Mother and the Saints, the Church and its visible Head, our parents and superiors, our country and its rulers. He who is filled with the gift of Piety finds the practice of his religion, not a burdensome duty, but a delightful service. Where there is love, there is no labor.

Prayer

Come, O Blessed Spirit of Piety, possess my heart. Enkindle therein such a love for God, that I may find satisfaction only in His service, and for His sake lovingly submit to all legitimate authority. Amen.

Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE. Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES.
Act of Consecration, Prayer for the Seven Gifts

FOURTH DAY (Monday, 7th Week of Easter)

Thou in toil art comfort sweet, Pleasant coolness in the heat, solace in the midst of woe.

The Gift of Fortitude By the gift of Fortitude the soul is strengthened against natural fear, and supported to the end in the performance of duty. Fortitude imparts to the will an impulse and energy which move it to under take without hesitancy the most arduous tasks, to face dangers, to trample under foot human respect, and to endure without complaint the slow martyrdom of even lifelong tribulation. "He that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved."

Prayer

Come, O Blessed Spirit of Fortitude, uphold my soul in time of trouble and adversity, sustain my efforts after holiness, strengthen my weakness, give me courage against all the assaults of my enemies, that I may never be overcome and separated from Thee, my God and greatest Good. Amen.

Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE. Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES.
Act of Consecration, Prayer for the Seven Gifts

FIFTH DAY (Tuesday, 7th Week of Easter)

Light immortal! Light Divine! Visit Thou these hearts of Thine, And our inmost being fill!

The Gift of Knowledge

The gift of Knowledge enables the soul to evaluate created things at their true worth--in their relation to God. Knowledge unmasks the pretense of creatures, reveals their emptiness, and points out their only true purpose as instruments in the service of God. It shows us the loving care of God even in adversity, and directs us to glorify Him in every circumstance of life. Guided by its light, we put first things first, and prize the friendship of God beyond all else. "Knowledge is a fountain of life to him that possesseth it."

Prayer

Come, O Blessed Spirit of Knowledge, and grant that I may perceive the will of the Father; show me the nothingness of earthly things, that I may realize their vanity and use them only for Thy glory and my own salvation, looking ever beyond them to Thee, and Thy eternal rewards. Amen.

Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE. Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES.
Act of Consecration, Prayer for the Seven Gifts

SIXTH DAY (Wednesday, 7th Week of Easter)

If Thou take Thy grace away, nothing pure in man will stay, All his good is turn'd to ill.

The Gift of Understanding

Understanding, as a gift of the Holy Spirit, helps us to grasp the meaning of the truths of our holy religion BY faith we know them, but by Understanding we learn to appreciate and relish them. It enables us to penetrate the inner meaning of revealed truths and through them to be quickened to newness of life. Our faith ceases to be sterile and inactive, but inspires a mode of life that bears eloquent testimony to the faith that is in us; we begin to "walk worthy of God in all things pleasing, and increasing in the knowledge of God."

Prayer

Come, O Spirit of Understanding, and enlighten our minds, that we may know and believe all the mysteries of salvation; and may merit at last to see the eternal light in Thy Light; and in the light of glory to have a clear vision of Thee and the Father and the Son. Amen.

Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE. Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES.
Act of Consecration, Prayer for the Seven Gifts

SEVENTH DAY (Thursday, 7th Week of Easter)

Heal our wounds--our strength renews; On our dryness pour Thy dew, Wash the stains of guilt away.

The Gift of Counsel

The gift of Counsel endows the soul with supernatural prudence, enabling it to judge promptly and rightly what must done, especially in difficult circumstances. Counsel applies the principles furnished by Knowledge and Understanding to the innumerable concrete cases that confront us in the course of our daily duty as parents, teachers, public servants, and Christian citizens. Counsel is supernatural common sense, a priceless treasure in the quest of salvation. "Above all these things, pray to the Most High, that He may direct thy way in truth."

Prayer

Come, O Spirit of Counsel, help and guide me in all my ways, that I may always do Thy holy will. Incline my heart to that which is good; turn it away from all that is evil, and direct me by the straight path of Thy commandments to that goal of eternal life for which I long.

Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE. Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES.
Act of Consecration, Prayer for the Seven Gifts

EIGHTH DAY (Friday, 7th Week of Easter)

Bend the stubborn heart and will, melt the frozen warm the chill. Guide the steps that go astray!

The Gift of Wisdom

Embodying all the other gifts, as charity embraces all the other virtues, Wisdom is the most perfect of the gifts. Of wisdom it is written "all good things came to me with her, and innumerable riches through her hands." It is the gift of Wisdom that strengthens our faith, fortifies hope, perfects charity, and promotes the practice of virtue in the highest degree. Wisdom enlightens the mind to discern and relish things divine, in the appreciation of which earthly joys lose their savor, whilst the Cross of Christ yields a divine sweetness according to the words of the Saviour: "Take up thy cross and follow me, for my yoke is sweet and my burden light.

Prayer

Come, O Spirit of Wisdom, and reveal to my soul the mysteries of heavenly things, their exceeding greatness, power and beauty. Teach me to love them above and beyond all the passing joys and satisfactions of earth. Help me to attain them and possess them for ever. Amen.

Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE. Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES.
Act of Consecration, Prayer for the Seven Gifts

NINTH DAY (Saturday, Vigil of Pentecost)

Thou, on those who evermore Thee confess and Thee Adore, in Thy sevenfold gift, Descend; Give Them Comfort when they die; Give them Life with Thee on high; Give them joys which never end. Amen

The Fruits of the Holy Spirit

The gifts of the Holy Spirit perfect the supernatural virtues by enabling us to practice them with greater docility to divine inspiration. As we grow in the knowledge and love of God under the direction of the Holy Spirit, our service becomes more sincere and generous, the practice of virtue more perfect. Such acts of virtue leave the heart filled with joy and consolation and are known as Fruits of the Holy Spirit. These Fruits in turn render the practice of virtue more attractive and become a powerful incentive for still greater efforts in the service of God, to serve Whom is to reign.

Prayer

Come, O Divine Spirit, fill my heart with Thy heavenly fruits, Thy charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, faith, mildness, and temperance, that I may never weary in the service of God, but by continued faithful submission to Thy inspiration may merit to be united eternally with Thee in the love of the Father and the Son. Amen.

Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE. Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES.
Act of Consecration, Prayer for the Seven Gifts

This is a little late but I think the Holy Spirit will understand. I found this wonderful Novena to the Holy Spirit on the EWTN website, please join me in offering up this important prayer.

The Sacred Relics Of St.Francis Xavier XVI SOLEMN EXPOSITION - OLD GOA 21st Nov 2004 - 2nd Jan 2005

2009-07-31T23:12:00.000-07:00

5 Kinds of Christians Understanding the disparity of those who call themselves Christian in America.

2009-07-31T23:08:00.001-07:00

Jennifer Hua identifies herself as a Christian. A 35-year-old former attorney studying Christian counseling at the Wheaton College Graduate School (Illinois), she has gone to church all her life and is a lay leader in her suburban Chicago congregation. She furthers her spiritual development by daily Bible reading, prayer, listening to and singing worship songs, and interacting with other Christians. And every few months, she carves out time for a silent retreat. "I do all of these things because I know from past experience I need to recalibrate my mind and my heart to be in tune with God," she says.

James Smith also identifies himself as a Christian. He attended church as a child, but his attendance was minimal as a young adult. He believes in God, occasionally attends Redeemer Presbyterian in Manhattan when his time-consuming job in the finance district allows, but he does not often participate in other activities to further his spiritual life. He has a Bible but rarely opens it; what leisure time he has he spends with friends, most of whom are of different faiths, and he does not necessarily believe that his God is any different from the one his Muslim friend worships.

"I don't think that God would be a God who would shut others out of heaven because they don't use the word 'Christian' to describe themselves," he says.

The United States is described in mainstream media as largely Christian (between 70 and 80 percent, depending on the study, identify themselves as "Christian"), and compared to the rest of the world, this is certainly the case. However, not all within this vast group of Christians are alike.

To understand the range and differences among American Christians, Christianity Today International (publisher of Leadership) recently partnered with Zondervan Publishers to commission Knowledge Networks to conduct attitudinal and behavioral research of U.S. Christians. In September 2006, more than 1,000 self-identified Christians 18 years of age and older were surveyed on their religious beliefs and practices. The results reveal a number of significant differences, illustrated by the examples of Hua and Smith. In fact, portraits of five distinct segments emerged from the study. We have named them Active, Professing, Liturgical, Private, and Cultural Christians.

Each group represents about one-fifth of those identifying themselves as Christian, with Active Christians (such as Hua) most likely to have a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that affects their beliefs and inspires an active church life; Cultural Christians (such as Smith) are least likely to align their beliefs or practices with biblical teachings, or attend church. Between the two is a range of beliefs, commitment levels, and public practice of the faith.

Leadership discussed the survey results with leading pastors and religious experts to ascertain the ramifications for church leaders. Three critical issues emerged:
The local church is no longer considered the only outlet for spiritual growth.

Churches must develop relational- and community-oriented outreach.

Lay people have to be better equipped to be God's ambassadors.
Faith Yes, Church Maybe

The survey shows that for nearly half of Christians, involvement in a local church body is a minimal part of their daily lives (see chart 1).

"Faith is relevant for many people, but church is not," says Bryan Wilkerson, senior pastor of Grace Chapel in Lexington, Massachusetts. "People want to attend to the spiritual side of their lives, they are interested in God, but their experience of church has not been relevant. They say, 'Why do I have to sit through boring sermons and old music that don't speak to my real needs and problems?'"

"A growing element of the Christian population is disappointed with or frustrated by the local church," says D. Michael Lindsay, assistant professor of sociology at Rice University and former consultant with the Gallup Institute. In part, this trend can be attributed to factors within local church bodies themselves, such as lack of strong leadership or teaching.

Given that 60 percent of all Christians worship in churches with fewer than 300 people (see chart 2), most Christians are in congregations that continually struggle with resource issues. Previous generations were accustomed to that, and today's worshipers have higher expectations.

"These days, people can get good teaching, wonderful music, and excellent writing, whether through iPods, TV, or online," says Wilkerson. "They learn to shop around and pick and choose. Then they expect the same high quality in their local church. A generation ago, the average person learned to accept his home pastor and was faithful to his local church. But now, people's appetites for excellence have been heightened."

As pastor of a large church himself, Wilkerson acknowledges "we probably end up perpetuating that kind of appetite by trying to be as high-quality as what we find out there. The temptation of larger churches is to compete and to be as good as the others are."

Even for those Private and Cultural Christians who do not typically consume Christian media, access to it can still play a significant role in their spiritual development in ways that may not be reflected in the survey.

"Private and Cultural Christians might not use traditional Christian media, but I would bet they disproportionately watch [Lakewood Church pastor] Joel Osteen on cable," says Lindsay. Cultural Christians are the group that spends the most time watching TV and using the Internet.

Spiritual growth, then, may be occurring for many of today's Christians in non-traditional ways. Instead of attending church on Sunday mornings, many opt for personal, individual ways to stretch themselves spiritually.

"Emerging generations may not see themselves as churched, but neither do they see themselves as any less committed," says Joel Hunter, senior pastor of Northland Church in Longwood, Florida. "The traditional programming that churches do is becoming less essential to work out faith for many people."

Christianity at a glance

2009-07-31T23:04:00.001-07:00

Christianity is the most popular religion in the world with over 2 billion adherents. 42 million Britons see themselves as nominally Christian, and there are 6 million who are actively practising.
Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah promised in the Old Testament.
Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Christians believe that God sent his Son to earth to save humanity from the consequences of its sins.
One of the most important concepts in Christianity is that of Jesus giving his life on the Cross (the Crucifixion) and rising from the dead after the third day (the Resurrection).
Christians believe that there is only one God, but that there are three elements to this one God:
God the Father
God the Son
The Holy Spirit
Christians worship in churches.
Their spiritual leaders are called priests or ministers.
The Christian holy book is the Bible, and consists of the Old and New Testaments.
Christian holy days such as Easter and Christmas are important milestones in the Western secular calendar

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The Sacred Relics Of St.Francis Xavier XVI SOLEMN EXPOSITION - OLD GOA 21st Nov 2004 - 2nd Jan 2005

5 Kinds of Christians Understanding the disparity of those who call themselves Christian in America.

Christianity at a glance