Pastoral Care

Did you hear the one about the blonde and the lawyer?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 22:37:00 +0000

A lawyer and a blonde are sitting next to each other on a long flight from LA to NY. The lawyer leans over to her and asks if she would like to play a fun game. The blonde just wants to take a nap, so she politely declines and rolls over to the window to catch a few winks.

The lawyer persists and explains that the game is really easy and a lot of fun. He explains" I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you pay me $5, and vice-versa." Again, she politely declines and tries to get some sleep.

The lawyer, now somewhat agitated, says, "Okay, if you don't know the answer you pay me $5, and if I don't know the answer, I will pay you $500," figuring that since she is a blonde that he will easily win the match. This catches the blonde's attention and, figuring that there will be no end to this torment unless she plays, agrees to the game.

The lawyer asks the first question. "What's the distance from the earth to the moon?" The blonde doesn't say a word, reaches in to her purse, pulls out a five dollar bill and hands it to the lawyer. Now, it's the blonde's turn.

She asks the lawyer: "What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down with four?" The lawyer looks at her with a puzzled look. He takes out his laptop computer and searches all his references. He taps into the Air phone with his modem and searches the Net and the Library of Congress.

Frustrated, he sends E-mails to all his coworkers and friends he knows. After over an hour, he wakes the blonde and hands her $500. The blonde politely takes the $500 and turns away to get back to sleep.

The lawyer, who is more than a little miffed, wakes the blonde and asks, "Well, so what IS the answer!?" Without a word, the blonde reaches into her purse, hands the lawyer $5, and goes back to sleep!

You're probably wondering what has that got to do with this fella below!

Well I got it from a website dedicated to him - St John Bosco - who dedicated his life to youth. He wanted to help many of them from getting lost in life and for them to get an education and some skills that would help them find work. He used tricks and games and entertainment to reach the youth. But he wanted them to know and love Jesus as well. He knew that only with the Lord in the right place would the lives of the young people flourish.

Saint John Bosco (1815-1888)
Also known as Don (or "Father") Bosco

John Bosco was born on August 16, 1815, in a small town not too far from Turin, Italy. His father died when he was two years old. He was raised with tender love yet firm discipline by his mother, Margaret. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1841 and went to work in Turin, where the industrial revolution was attracting waves of young people to the city. The misery and abandonment of these youngsters moved John Bosco deeply. He dedicated his life to them and began youth clubs for them. He then started hostels and boarding schools, where he taught them trades. In 1859 he founded the Salesian Society and in 1872 the Salesian Sisters to work for girls. Three years later, he sent the first missionary group to Argentina. His work spread through-out the mission world, and today more than half the Society works in mission lands. The educational philosophy of John Bosco can be condensed in three words: reason, religion and kindness. The basic principle of his system was a deep understanding and love for young people. John Bosco died on January 31, 1888. Today the Salesian Family numbers in the tens of thousands working in countries all over the globe.

Here are some of his quotes:

"Remember, God does not pay us for results, but for effort."

"Believe me... nobody can be truly happy in this world unless he is at peace with God."

"Put up willingly with the faults of others if you wish others to put up with yours."

"Willingly suffer a bit for God Who suffered so much for you."

"Now let me tell you something about the sacrament of Penance. To draw fruit from this sacrament, it is not enough to go to confession frequently. One must also honestly strive to not sin. In general, go to confession once a month, and not oftener than once a week, unless your confessor advises it, lest you make it hard for others to find time for confession. As for Holy Communion, receive as often as you can, according to your confessor’s advice, whenever your conscience is free from sin."

What would you do with $25000?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 21:01:00 +0000

Helping those most in need?

And a Christmas Story from Down Under!

Short film for Advent Confessions

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 10:49:00 +0000

Confessions in the College Chapel tomorrow between 9am and 1pm

Shipwrecked man survives underwater for three days praying psalms :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 18:56:00 +0000

Shipwrecked man survives underwater for three days praying psalms :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Please support the people of the Philippines - non-uniform day tomorrow!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 12:29:00 +0000

Information note, Super Typhoon Haiyan, Philippines

Here is some background information:

•

Super Typhoon Haiyan (local name “Yolanda”) made landfall on Friday morning, 8 November, on the southern tip of the Eastern Visayas island of Samar as a Category 5 super typhoon with 195 mph winds. The typhoon travelled west through Samar, Leyte, Cebu, Panay and Palawan Islands before exiting the Philippines on Saturday.

•

The damage from Haiyan is catastrophic. The city of Tacloban in Leyte was particularly hard-hit, with widespread destruction and loss of life reported.Caritas Philippines estimate that over 10,000 people have been killed and 600,000 have been displaced from their homes. Tacloban city is without power, water and food.

•

The United Nations estimate that almost 10 million people have been affected.

•

This is a major humanitarian crisis and Trócaire is responding with our Caritas partners - we havealready committed €100,000 to support their work. We are also supporting the work of Irish missionaries in the affected regions. The International Caritas Network is putting together an international team to support the effort and a Trócaire staff member is part of that team. The public have been making donations in person at our centres in Dublin, Cork and Belfastand online at www.trocaire.org.

•

Trócaire’s partner, Catholic Relief Services (USA) has sent rapid assessment teams to the typhoon-hit regions. Eight thousand tarpaulins are currently being distributed to provide temporary shelter for survivors. Agencies working on the ground are also assessing water and sanitation needs to prevent the spread of water-bourne diseases, which will be one of the immediate threats to survivors. Irish public donations will be used to provide water, food, shelter and medicines to those who are most affected.

•

According to Fr. Edwin Gariguez of Caritas Philippines: “It’s a great catastrophe, our emergency planning is underway. It’s the strongest and biggest storm that has hit the country. It’s hit an area already devastated by an earthquake. It’s a really big calamity.”

A New Beautiful Young Italian Saint!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 16:23:00 +0000

Blessed Chiara Luca Badano, Pray for Us!

Taken from a website by Chris Stefanick is a Catholic, father, husband, speaker and author devoted to re-engaging a generation in the beauty of the Catholic faith.

His website is reallifecatholic.com

Here is Chiara's story!

Sometimes we’d prefer that our lives be a different story than the one God seems to be writing. In our fragile existence it doesn’t take much to turn a romance into a drama, or an adventure into a tragedy. At a glance, the story of Chiara Badano—an only child conceived after 11 years of marriage, who died at 18 after a bout with a painful form of bone cancer—looks like an empty tragedy, but not from the perspective of the Divine Author.

Chiara seemed to have everything going for her as a teen. She had a loving, holy family and a rock solid faith that was nurtured by retreats and youth ministry programs. She was popular amongst her friends and was liked by boys. It’s not hard to see why. She was beautiful. Chiara loved to hang out in coffee shops. She was great at tennis, swimming and mountain climbing. Her outgoing personality and adventurous spirit made her dream of becoming a flight attendant. Chiara had a bright life ahead of her.

One day while playing tennis, Chiara experienced excruciating pain in her shoulder. Shortly afterwards she was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma. She watched her bright future slip away. But it’s here that the real story of her life begins—the story of heroic virtue.

Chiara’s joy was explosive and it only increased with her suffering. After one very pain-filled night she said, “I suffered a lot, but my soul was singing.” Google pictures of her on her death bed. Her eyes look like pools reflecting the glory of heaven. One of her doctors remarked, “Through her smile, and through her eyes full of light, she showed us that death doesn’t exist; only life exists.” Cardinal Saldarini heard of this amazing teen and visited her in the hospital. Awestruck, he said, “The light in your eyes is splendid. Where does it come from?” Chiara’s reply was simple: “I try to love Jesus as much as I can.”

Chiara had a profound sense of redemptive suffering. She often repeated the phrase, “If this is what you want, Jesus, so do I.” Like any teenage girl, she loved her hair, but with each lock that fell out she’d pray, “For you, Jesus.” She frequently refused morphine, saying, “I want to share as much as possible in His suffering on the cross.”

During one of her many hospital stays Chiara took walks with a depressed, drug-dependent girl, despite the pain of walking from the huge growth on her spine. When she was encouraged to stop and rest she said, “I’ll have time to rest later.” Ever thinking of others, she said, “I have nothing left, but I still have my heart, and with that I can always love.”

Chiara requested to be buried in a wedding gown. As the end of her short life drew near she told her mother, “When you’re getting me ready, Mum, you have to keep saying to yourself, ‘Chiara Luce is now seeing Jesus.’”
She died on Oct. 7, 1990. Her parents and friends were with her. Her last words were: “Goodbye. Be happy because I’m happy.”

Thanks to her local bishop, Chiara was declared “Servant of God.” For anyone wondering if Chiara’s cause for canonization was only opened to comfort grieving parents and friends, God recently put his stamp of approval on her story. A young boy in Italy was dying from meningitis. His organs were shutting down. There was no way to save his life. His parents learned of Chiara’s story and sought her intercession. He was fully healed. A panel of doctors has ruled that there was no medical explanation for this turn of events. On September 25, 2010, she became the first member of Generation X to be beatified!

Reflecting on her pending death, Chiara said: “Previously I felt … the most I could do was to let go. Instead, now I feel enfolded in a marvelous plan of God, which is slowly being unveiled to me.” The story of our lives with all its riveting twists and painful turns is written by an author who loves us very much, and for him, even death is only a comma, not a period. The greatest protagonists in life’s story are the saints. They shared the eternal perspective of the Author. That’s why not even the most profound pain could take away their hope.

Here’s to yet another teen saint! “Blessed Chiara Luce Badano, pray for us!”

1st Year champions - St. Aidan's under the guidance of Hugh O'Donnell and Ryan Mc Loughlin

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 15:26:00 +0000

1st Year Gaelic League -Thursday 17th October 2013

Some action from today's final. (Please excuse the camera work - Hugh O'Donnell distracted me!)

Winning St Aidan's Captain, Shane Mc Devitt (a Glenswilly Man!) receiving the trophy from Mr. Mc Fadden.

Which class is going to be 1st Year Gaelic League champions - find out today at lunchtime - front pitch!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 09:24:00 +0000

Which class is going to be 1st Year Gaelic League champions - find out today at lunchtime - front pitch!

The Mission of the Church today - Mission Sunday 20th October

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 11:32:00 +0000

How beautiful is Christ in his Body

Father Shields

By FR. MICHAEL SHIELDS

CatholicAnchor.org

As a priest for the Archdiocese of Anchorage, I am assigned as a missionary priest in Eastern Siberia for the Church of the Nativity in Magadan, Russia.

One of the great gifts I experience when traveling to raise support for the Mission to Magadan is that I meet so many amazing Catholics.

This past summer I spoke before a group of Catholic families in Anchorage for an event organized by Catholics United for the Faith. The topic that night was holiness and I saw an intense hunger for this gift. At this meeting I also met Father Patrick Brosamer our newly ordained priest for the Anchorage Archdiocese and received a blessing from him. I found great consolation in the next generation of priests.

During my time in Alaska, I joined a picnic with my “old parishioners” from St. Michael Church in Palmer. Many of these parishioners grew me up as a priest. Their lives are a witness to the everyday family life that keeps God clear and love flowing to children and grandchildren. Later I preached at Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage and was privileged to share a few days with the priests stationed there. They are part of a long line of Dominican clergy who have faithfully served at the cathedral.

Father Tom Lilly then invited me to preach at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in South Anchorage and there I witnessed one parishioner — a young woman — who was leaving Alaska to join a religious order with the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville. Father Tom teared up like the good shepherd he is.

Departing Alaska, I went on a three-day pilgrimage for the healing and the holiness of priests in Ireland. Climbing to the top of a small mountain where Saint Patrick prayed for Ireland for 40 days, I prayed before the Blessed Sacrament for Ireland. All along the pilgrimage and up the mountain, people asked for blessings and prayer.

A few days later I preached and participated in the consecration of Ireland to the Immaculate Heart of Mary when more than 7,000 faithful filled the Basilica of Knock. I saw people — young and old — on their knees in deep devotion praying the rosary.

At a youth gathering in Ireland I witnessed huge lines of young people going to confession. I myself heard confessions for hours, up into the early hours of the morning. These young people worshiped with such faith and beauty, often hundreds laying prostate before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament as they adored the Lord and received his love and blessings.

Later I gave a retreat in Scotland for the Missionaries of Charity, the religious order founded by Blessed Mother Teresa. I preached on the Psalms and how we can pray our doubts, fears, tears, anger, loneliness and all other feelings using the prayer book of the church — the Psalms. I heard confessions in many airports. And I had conversations on many flights about God, Christ and the church.

I don’t mean for this to be a travelogue marking my travels but just a small witness to the beauty of the Body of Christ. In our daily struggles it is easy to forget how beautiful Jesus is in his body, in his church, in each other.

The writer is pastor of the Church of the Nativity in Magadan, Russia.

This is the website for the parish: http://www.magadancatholic.com/

Another great Missionary was Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

On June 28, the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict XVI has approved the heroic virtues of U.S. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen clearing the way for the advancement of his sainthood cause. Father Andrew Small, OMI, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies noted, “As head of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith from 1950 to 1966, the Venerable Fulton Sheen was heroic in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ far and wide – from Peoria to Pretoria; New York to New Delhi. He teaches us still that the Church is missionary by her very nature.

Following is a short clip from Archbishop's Sheen - Philosophy of Life

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fcHGMgJmhg

World Mission Rosary

In February of 1951, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith from 1950 to 1966), in a radio address (The Catholic Hour), inaugurated a World Mission Rosary. "We must pray, and not for ourselves, but for the world. To this end, I have designed the World Mission Rosary." Praying this Rosary, Archbishop Sheen said, would "aid the Holy Father and his Society for the Propagation of the Faith by supplying him with practical support, as well as prayers, for the poor mission territories of the world."

1st Year Gaelic League Final - Thursday 17th Oct. ST. ANNE V ST. AIDAN

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 10:44:00 +0000

1st Year Gaelic League Final - Thursday 17th Oct. ST. ANNE V ST. AIDAN

1st Year League Semi-final - Fri. 11th Oct. ST. ANNE 6-5(23) ST. ANTHONY 4-8(20)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 13:03:00 +0000

1st Year League Semi-final - Fri. 11th Oct. ST. ANNE 6-5(23) ST. ANTHONY 4-8(20)

1st Year League Semi-final - Wed. 9th Oct. ST. AIDAN 3-9 ST. AMBROSE 4-2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 13:01:00 +0000

1st Year League Semis: Wed. 9th October: St. Ambrose V St. Aidan; Fri. 11th Oct. St. Anne V St. Anthony

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 15:16:00 +0000

1^st Year Gaelic League 2013-14

Fri. 27^th September: St. Ambrose 8-3 St. Anthony 6-4

Mon. 30^th September: St. Anne 6-7 St. Agnes 3-0

Wed. 2^nd October: St. Ambrose 5-3 St. Andrew 2-2

Thur. 3rd October: St. Aidan 8-5 St. Agnes 6-1

Fri. 4th October: St. Andrew 3-2 St. Anthony4-5

Mon. 7th October: St. Anne 6-1 St. Aidan 3-2

Wed. 9th October: St. Ambrose V St. Aidan

Fri. 11th October: St. Anne V St. Anthony

Group 1	P	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	P
St. Anne	2	2	0	0	12-8	6-2	24	4
St. Aidan	2	1	0	1	11-7	12-2	2	2
St. Agnes	2	0	0	2	9-1	14-12	-24	0

Group 2	P	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	P
St. Ambrose	2	2	0	0	13-6	8-6	15	4
St. Anthony	2	1	0	1	10-9	11-5	1	2
St. Andrew	2	0	0	2	5-4	9-8	-15	0

1st Year Gaelic League - Thur. 3rd October: St. Aidan 8-5 St. Agnes 6-1

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 09:02:00 +0000

1^st Year Gaelic League 2013-14

Fri. 27^th September: St. Ambrose 8-3 St. Anthony 6-4

Mon. 30^th September: St. Anne 6-7 St. Agnes 3-0

Wed. 2^nd October: St. Ambrose 5-3 St. Andrew 2-2

Thur. 3rd October: St. Aidan 8-5 St. Agnes 6-1

Group 1	P	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	P
St. Anne	1	1	0	0	6-7	3-0	14	2
St. Aidan	1	1	0	0	8-5	6-1	10	2
St. Agnes	2	0	0	2	9-1	14-12	-24	0

Group 2	P	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	P
St. Ambrose	2	2	0	0	13-6	8-6	15	4
St. Anthony	1	0	0	1	6-4	8-3	-5	0
St. Andrew	1	0	0	1	2-2	5-3	-10	0

St. Padre Pio's Advice on Devotion to ...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 24 Sep 2013 18:51:00 +0000

Te Deum laudamus!: St. Padre Pio's July 15, 1913 Letter: Devotion to ...: Today is the memorial of St. Padre Pio of Pieltrelcina . This letter comes from the book, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (Letters III) . Mor...

Consecration of the Young People of Ireland to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 09 May 2013 11:32:00 +0000

Invitation to Young People

Consecration of the Young People of Ireland to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Monday May 13th is the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. On that day the Bishop of Rio de Janeiro will consecrate the young people of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the Shrine in Fatima, Portugal. On that same day - the bishops of Portugal will gather there to consecrate Pope Francis' ministry (as he has requested) to the Immaculate Heart.

In union with these great events there will be a Mass at 6pm on May 13^th in St. Mary's Church, Convoy followed by Rosary and Consecration of the Young People of Ireland to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. NET Ministries Ireland (an organisation which evangelises the young people of Ireland) will join us for the evening and will provide the music.

If you are a young person – or the parent or grandparent of a young person please join us as we spiritual place all our young people and their future under the prayer, power and protection of the Immaculate Heart.

The only squadron not to lose a plane nor a single life

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 03 May 2013 14:25:00 +0000

The following inspiring episode from World War II, written by Sr. Mary Sheila O'Neil and reported in the October-December, 1979 issue of Garabandal Magazine (P.O. Box 606 Lindenhurst, New York 11757 USA) also illustrates the power of the Rosary:

It was a busy day in March. As a teacher-principal in the 1950's, I had to make sure that each day provided the time for the two separate roles. On that March fourth, an incident between a teacher and a parent had kept me out of my class for almost an hour that morning, so for the rest of the day, I was desperately trying to make up class time. Hence, the knock on my door at 2:00 p.m. was not welcome.

With relief, I found it was only a salesman who needed my signature and even produced his pen. As he did so, his Rosary had caught onto the pen's clip and came out as well. I signed as I said indifferently, "So, you are a Catholic." "Oh no," he said, "but a lot of us owe our lives to Our Lady, and I promised Her I would always keep my Rosary with me and say it every day."

Twenty minutes later, I was still at the door listening, fascinated, to the account of one of the wonderful experiences a group of airmen had had with Our Lady. My visitor hesitated to start, for he had noticed my "non welcome" opening of the door. But eager now to hear his story, I assured him that the class was doing an exercise, and I begged him to proceed.

He continued: It was May, 1940, and we had joined the Air Force in late September. At Halifax, we were given an intensive training course, because they needed us overseas, and to us young lads, the whole program was exciting.

We were grouped into squadrons, each of which consisted of six to ten planes, and each was trained to maneuver as a unit. Therefore about thirty to fifty men made up a squadron, along with the squadron leader who gave all the orders and kept the group functioning in unity.

In May, our squadron was told we were going overseas and would be in action at once. We would work on nightly missions over enemy territory until the war was over. We were waiting for our new squadron leader, due to arrive in two days on a 9:00 p.m. air-force flight. Being an officer, he would, we thought, go at once to the officers' quarters.

We watched the plane, glimpsed him from the distance, and resigned ourselves to waiting until the next day to "size him up." A couple of hours later, this squadron leader, Stan Fulton, in full uniform, entered our bunk house.

“Well men, we're going to spend some dangerous hours together, but let's hope we all meet back here when it's over. Ah, there's a free bunk and I am tired! I'll meet each of you tomorrow.”

With that, he threw his bag on an upper bunk. Our squadron leader, an officer, sleeping here with us! We liked him at once and our liking and our admiration grew each day.

That first night he knelt on the floor and prayed his Rosary in silence. Astounded, we were struck dumb. When he finished, he looked at us with his friendly smile and said, “I hope you guys don't mind a fellow saying some prayers because where we're going, we're going to need them.”

The next day our maneuver practice, under his command, assured us that Fulton was not just our military leader, but our friend. He was one of us; he never tried to intimidate us with his rank.

That night, he repeated his prayer session. Although our group had trained together for six months at least, I had never seen anyone kneel in prayer, and had no idea that any of our group was Catholic; but the third night three of our companions joined Fulton in saying the Rosary. The rest of us did not understand but we kept a respectful silence. A few nights later — we were quick learners — we all answered the Hail Marys and Our Fathers. Fulton looked pleased, and thus we ended each day in prayer.

On June 1, 1940, we were to leave Halifax to begin a series of night raids from England over Germany. The evening before, Fulton gave each of us a Rosary.

“We shall be in some tight situations, but then, if you agree, we'll say the Rosary. If you will promise to keep the Rosary with you always throughout your life and to say it, I can promise you that Our Lady will bring you all back safe to Canada.”

We answered, “Sure thing.” Little did we dream we would be in action for four years, many times in dreadful danger with fire all around us. At such times, Fulton's voice would ring through each plane, “Hail Mary...” How reverently and sincerely did we respond! How many hundreds of Rosaries we must have said.

After two years, it was noted that ours was the only squadron that had not lost a plane nor a single life. We said nothing, but we knew.

Finally, the terrible war was over. During those years, we lost all sense of excitement and adventure. All that concerned us was survival! We did survive, too. All returned to Canada in 1945, fully convinced that Our Lady had taken care of us.

So I never forget to keep my Rosary with me and say it every day although I am not a Catholic. When I change my trousers, the first thing I transfer, even before my wallet, is my rosary.

I used to be an atheist... (Good reading for Honours English students!)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:58:00 +0000

A reader I hope is young and not being serious asks:

Let me get this straight: you, a presumably rational individual who writes science fiction stories for a living, sincerely believes that the creator of our 13.7 billion year-old universe of 70 sextillion stars magically impregnated a human female about 2000 years ago – a woman who then gave birth to a son named Jesus who performed miracles, rose from the dead and served as the creator’s messenger to humanity?

This might make for a mildly interesting, if outlandish, science fiction story, but the source of your belief system? If you’re going to base your life philosophy on absurd myths, why not choose something a bit more interesting? Why not master the Dark Side of the Force or the Golden Path, becoming a Sith Lord or a God-Emperor and strive to rule a Galaxy? Why choose something as ridiculous and wretched as Christianity? I must admit I am rather perplexed…

My answer:

I am more than a presumably rational individual, I am a champion of atheism who gave arguments in favor of atheism so convincing that three of my friends gave up their religious belief due to my persuasive reasoning powers, and my father stopped going to church.

Upon concluding through a torturous and decades-long and remorseless process of logic that all my fellow atheists were horribly comically wrong about every basic point of philosophy, ethics and logic, and my hated enemies the Christians were right, I wondered how this could be. The data did not match the model.

Being a philosopher and not a poseur, I put the matter to an empirical test.

For the first time in my life, I prayed, and said. “Dear God. There is no logical way you could possibly exist, and even if you appeared before me in the flesh, I would call it an hallucination. So I can think of no possible way, no matter what the evidence and no matter how clear it was, that you could prove your existence to me. But the Christians claim you are benevolent, and that my failure to believe in you inevitably will damn me. If, as they claim, you care whether or not I am damned, and if, as they claim, you are all wise and all powerful, you can prove to me that you exist even though I am confident such a thing is logically impossible. Thanking you in advance for your cooperation in this matter, John C. Wright.” — and then my mind was at rest. I had done all I needed to do honestly to maintain my stature as someone, not who claimed to be logical, objective and openminded, but who was logical, objective, and openminded.

Three days later, with no warning, I had a heart attack, and was lying on the floor, screaming and dying.

-Then I was saved from certain death by faith-healing, after which–

-I felt the Holy Spirit enter my body, after which–

-became immediately aware of my soul, a part of myself which, until that time, I reasoned and thought did not exist-

-I was visited by the Virgin Mary, her son, and His Father-

-not to mention various other spirits and ghosts over a period of several days–

-including periods of divine ecstasy, and an awareness of the mystical oneness of the universe-

-And a week or so after that I had a religious experience where I entered the mind of God and saw the indescribable simplicity and complexity, love, humor and majesty of His thought, and I understood the joy beyond understanding and comprehended the underlying unity of all things, and the paradox of determinism and free will was made clear to me, as was the symphonic nature of prophecy. I was shown the structure of time and space.

-And then Christ in a vision told me that He would be my judge, and that God judges no man. I mentioned this event to my wife. Then about a month later, when I was reading the Bible for the first time beyond the unavoidable minimum assigned in school, I came across the passage in the book of John, a passage I had never seen before, and to which no Christian in my hearing had ever made reference, which said the same thing in the same words.

-And then I have had perhaps a dozen or two dozen prayers miraculously answered, so much so that I now regard it as a normal routine rather than some extraordinary act of faith.

So I would say my snide little prayer was answered with much more than I had asked, and I was given not just evidence, and not just overwhelming evidence, but joy unspeakable and life eternal.

(I also regard this overwhelming deluge of evidence to be shameful before my fellow Christian, since the saying told to Doubting Thomas, blessing those who believe without seeing, is a blessing denied me. In hindsight, if only I had not been so arrogant, I could have glanced around at the earth and sky, and seen the intricacy, wonder, and beauty of nature, regarded the unanswerable authority of the conscience within me, and known that I was a created being inside a created cosmos, not a random sandheap blown for a season into a meaningless shape by blind winds. Any child can see it, and all children do.)

To me, the universe was death row, and I was a condemned prisoner who believed everything outside death row was delusion and wishful nonsense — and then I got a call from the governor of the universe, commuting my sentence. I will live forever. As will we all. This was my repayment for a life spent in blasphemy and hatred and slander against God. Instead of smiting me as I damned well deserved, He spared me, and exulted me, and showered me with grace.

I was converted.

So I was prepared to say adieu to logic and reason and just take things on faith, when I then found out that the only people who think you have to say adieu to logic and reason in order to take things on faith are crackpots both Christian and atheistic.

Every non-crackpot thinks faith is that on which you rely when unreasonable fears tempt you to disbelieve that to which your reason has consented. If your father says you can dive off the high dive with no risk of death, and he has never lied in the past, and your reason tells you to trust him, it is rational to take his word on faith and jump, and it is irrational to let your eyes overestimate the danger poised by the height.

I then discovered that the Christian world view makes sense of much that the atheistic or agnostic worldview cannot make sense of, and even on its own philosophical terms, is a more robust explanation of the cosmos and man’s place in it, answering many questions successfully that atheists both claim cannot be answered, and then, without admitting it, act in their lives as if the question were answered, such as how to account for the rational faculties of man, the universality of moral principles, the order of the cosmos, how best to live, etc.

Turning to my atheist friends, I then discovered none of them, not one, could give me even so reasonable an argument as I was expert in giving in favor of atheism.

They reasoned as follows: “God cannot possibly exist. Therefore any evidence that you encountered that God exists must be hallucination, mis-perception, faulty memory, self-deception, coincidence, or anything else no matter how farfetched and absurd. Since any evidence that you encountered that God exists must be hallucination, mis-perception, faulty memory, self-deception, coincidence, or anything else no matter how farfetched and absurd, therefore none of your evidence proves God exists.”

I found their perfect, childlike faith touching.

No matter what they saw, no matter what they heard, no matter how the world was against them, they would go to the lions rather than look at the evidence, lest their faith in their faithlessness be shaken.

When I pointed out that this was circular reasoning, they called me bad names.

One skeptic, in a bit of a lapse of his vaunted presumably rational character, told me solemnly that I could not possibly have had Jesus tell me something from a book in the Bible I had never read before. He said that I had read it afterward, and developed the previously undiscovered ability to edit and rewrite my memories, which I then used on myself, so that I only thought I remembered Jesus telling me about the nonjudgmentalism of God. The memory was created after I read the passage, and then back-dated. Then I used this power again to make myself forget that I had the power to make myself forget things.

I asked him if I also had the power to rewrite my wife’s memory, since she remembers me telling her about the passage before I read it. He then tried to cut the conversation off, while accusing me of being irrational.

Another atheist told me I induced a heart attack in myself with my previously undiscovered heart-attack inducing power. And then cured the heart pain with my previously undiscovered heart-attack-curing power. I did both things in order to convince myself falsely of a doctrine I did not believe and had no interest in believing, but, unbeknownst to myself, my secret desire to believe was so great that it overwhelmed and sanity and seized control of my subconscious biological and cardiovascular processes. When I questioned him about such things as whether he was familiar with my medical record, or when I asked to see the evidence supporting this theory, he called me names.

I did not get the opportunity to ask him by what means he discovered the hidden workings of my secret unspoken desires, since he had never spoken to me, and was not with normal mind-reading range. I did not get a chance to ask him whether this strange ability to harm and heal myself at will was something all people had, or whether he thought I had a superpower due to being bitten by a radioactive spider or something of the sort.

Another atheist told me that that heart failure was a coincidence, not a direct result of my prayer tempting God Almighty, and if that had not happened, something else like a car accident would have happened, and since I am irrational, I would have drawn an improperpost hoc ergo propter hoc conclusion no matter what happened, on the grounds that God cannot exist no matter what the evidence says nor how obvious it is, and so anyone who draws the obvious conclusions from the evidence MUST be irrational.

He, at least, did not call me names, aside from making the claim that I would have made an irrational lapse in judgment no matter what had happened after praying my one experimental prayer to a God in which I had no particle of belief, in order to sustain and support my (nonexistent, at that time) belief.

He continues to suffer the false to facts belief that he can read my mind back through time and see the internal workings of my psychology during events where he was not present. For a skeptic, he is really, really gullible.

I tried gently to point out the logical error in trying to use reason to persuade me that he, a stranger to me, knew that I suffered from a mental illness that prevented me from reasoning, whereas I, who have access to things like my past history and my medical records and the contents of my thinking, have more authority to speak to the issue than does he, until and unless I am impeached as a witness.

In general, the argument that I am impeached as a witness on the grounds that my testimony did not confirm the prejudices and assumptions of a third party is not one likely to prevail in a court of law, or as a debate among sober philosophers, scientists, nor anyone trained in rigorous reasoning.

And so far not one atheist has approached me with a legitimate argument, such as the Problem of Pain, or the Paradox of Determinism, or any apparent inconsistencies in the Bible. The only feeble effort in this last direction was from someone who insisted that the Gospels were written in the late Third Century, but could give no argument to support this extraordinary revolution in the standard model of history, nor quote an authority in the field in support.

None have even erected a child’s argument, such as asking whether God could create a stone too heavy for Him to lift.

I used to be one of you, my dear atheists, and I was good at my job, and you all embarrass me with the feebleness and silliness of your attempts to do what I once upon a time did so well. You are a disgrace to the powers of evil.

But enough about me!

My question for you is this: if science discovered tomorrow that the universe was half its apparent age, and estimated the stars as half their current number, would the believe in God somehow be twice as credible in your eyes?

If so, why so?

If not, then, logically, the age of the universe and the number of stars has no bearing on the credibility of belief in God or in the Incarnation.

Again, if you are attempting to persuade me that I should not believe in unusual events or unheard-of or hard-to-believe on the grounds that no unusual nor unheard-of nor hard-to-believe events never happen, simple logic shows that this cannot be the case:

Logically, every ordinary event is unheard-of before we hear of it; and the first example of even repeated events is unusual until the second example occurs; and events are hard-to-believe when and only when our expectations and our experience does not match: therefore every novelty is as incredible as the platypus when first encountered. Therefore not only do incredible events happen, they must happen, for if they did not, the concept of credibility could not exist.

If, on the other hand, you are arguing that I ought not believe reports of miracles on that grounds that miracles do not exist, and that we know miracles do not exist on the grounds that no believable reports of them are heard, you are arguing in a circle.

You are also implying that the human race, all of whom believe in gods, ghosts, magic and miracles of one sort or another, except for that exquisitely tiny minority of persons who are consistent atheists, just so happened to have all made the same lapse of judgment in the matter of paramount and foundational importance in their lives, and continue to do so, some of whom would go to the lions rather than reexamine the aforesaid lapse of judgment. While it is possible that everyone during the parade is out of step except the fond mother’s son in the old joke, this would seem to be as unusual, unheard-of and hard-to-believe as a Virgin birth, if not more so.

The argument that miracles are unbelievable because they are unbelievable, even if it were not circular, is less persuasive than may at first appear, when proffered to a juror who is himself a skeptical eyewitness to several miracles, answered prayers, visions, religious experiences, knowledge of events before they happened, et cetera.

Obviously, I who have seen miracles ex postiori, cannot adopt the a priori assumption that miracles cannot exist and retain my integrity as a philosopher, or my honor as a man.

About John C Wright

John C. Wright is a practicing philosopher, a retired attorney, newspaperman, and newspaper editor, and a published author of science fiction. Once a Houyhnhnm, he was expelled from the august ranks of purely rational beings when he fell in love; but retains an honorary title.
His blog: http://www.scifiwright.com/

Following song is inspired by St Patrick's Breastplate (Video is not of great quality)

The 'Good Thief' who was awarded America's Highest Military Honour!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:10:00 +0000

Fr. Emil Kapaun: The Good Thief

By Lawrence P. Grayson

Fr. Emil Kapuan, a decorated
war hero, was declared a
Servant of God.

On Easter morning, March 25, 1951, the Catholic priest mounted the steps of a partially destroyed church, and turned to face his congregation, some 60 men – gaunt, foul-smelling, in tattered clothing.

Fr. Emil Kapaun raised a small, homemade, wooden cross to begin a prayer service, led the men in the Rosary, heard the confessions of the Catholics, and performed a Baptism. Then, he wept because there was no bread or wine to consecrate so that the men could receive the Eucharist.

The U.S. Army chaplain, with a patch covering his injured eye and supported by a crudely-made cane, may have been broken in body, but was strong in spirit.

The following Sunday, Fr. Kapaun collapsed. His condition was serious – a blood clot, severe vein inflammation, malnutrition – but the Chinese guards in the North Korean prison camp would allow no medical treatment, not even painkillers. After languishing for several weeks, he died on May 23 and was buried in a mass grave.

Emil Kapaun was born on April 16, 1916 to a poor, but faith-filled farm family on the prairies of eastern Kansas. Life was hard and even children had to learn to be resourceful as mechanics and carpenters and to care for the animals during bitter winters and brutally hot summers. With a strong desire to become a priest, he attended Benedictine Conception Abbey to complete high school and college, continued his studies at Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis, and was ordained in 1940.

Heroic Chaplain

Fr. Kapaun celebrates a field
Mass on the hood of a jeep.

When the United States entered World War II, he asked to become a military chaplain. His bishop initially refused, but later relented. Fr. Kapaun enlisted in 1944 in the Army, served for two years in Burma and India, then returned to civilian life. Two years later, he reenlisted and was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division in Japan.

In June 1950, a North Korean army crossed the 38th parallel, and advanced quickly toward Seoul, South Korea. The U.S. intervened militarily, with the 1st Cavalry Division executing an amphibious landing to block the advancing army. The enemy onslaught was severe and the U.S. units soon were in retreat. Fighting was intense. Fr. Kapaun, with his soldier-parishioners in danger, was tireless. He moved among the GIs, ignoring enemy fire, comforting the wounded, administering the last rites, burying the dead, and offering Mass whenever and wherever he could. On one occasion, he went in front of the U.S. lines, in spite of intense fire, to rescue a wounded soldier.

By August, the U.S. troops had been pushed to the southern end of Korea, near the port of Pusan. Then, on September 15, 1950, the war took a radical turn when U.S. troops landed at Inchon behind the invading army. The North Korean forces fled northward, with the Americans in pursuit. Within a few weeks, the 1st Cavalry Division had crossed the 38th parallel. Unknown to them, China, which had secretly moved a huge army into North Korea, was about to enter the war.

Fr. Kapaun holding a pipe shot
out of his mouth by an enemy
sniper.

Fearless in Danger

The night of November 1 was quiet. Fr. Kapaun’s battalion, having suffered some 400 casualties among its roster of 700 soldiers, was placed in a reserve position. Chinese troops, however, had infiltrated to within a short distance of them. Suddenly, just before midnight, there was a cacophony of bugles, horns and whistles, as the enemy attacked from all sides.

Fr. Kapaun scrambled among foxholes, sharing a prayer with one soldier, saying a comforting word to another. He assembled many wounded in an abandoned log dugout. All the next day, he scanned the battlefield and, some 15 times, when he spotted a wounded soldier would crawl out and drag the man back to the battalion’s position. By day’s end, the defensive perimeter was drawn so tightly that the log hut and the wounded it contained were outside of it. As evening came and another attack was imminent, the chaplain left the main force for the shelter so that he could be with the wounded. It was soon overrun, and Fr. Kapaun pleaded for the safety of the injured. Approximately three-quarters of the men in the battalion had been killed or captured.

Admirable Self-Sacrifice

Hundreds of U.S. prisoners were marched northward over snow-covered crests. Whenever the column paused, Fr. Kapaun hurried up and down the line, encouraging the men to pray, exhorting them not to give up. When a man had to be carried or be left to die, Fr. Kapaun, although suffering from frostbite himself, set the example by helping to carry a makeshift stretcher. Finally, they reached their destination, a frigid, mountainous area near the Chinese border. The poorly dressed prisoners were given so little to eat that they were starving to death.

For the men to survive they would have to steal food from their captors. So, praying to St. Dismas, the “Good Thief,” Fr. Kapaun would sneak out of his hut in the middle of the night, often coming back with a sack of grain, potatoes or corn. He volunteered for details to gather wood because the route passed the compound where the enlisted men were kept, and he could encourage them with a prayer, and sometimes slip out of line to visit the sick and wounded. He also undertook tasks that repulsed others, such as cleaning latrines and washing the soiled clothing of men with dysentery.

Unwavering Faith

Fr. Kapaun (right) helping a wounded soldier.

Fr. Kapaun’s faith never wavered. While he was willing to forgive the failings of prisoners toward their captors, he allowed no leeway in regard to the doctrines of the Church. He continually reminded prisoners to pray, assuring them that in spite of their difficulties, Our Lord would take care of them. As a result of his example, some 15 of his fellow prisoners converted to the Catholic Faith.

Fr. Kapaun’s practice of sharing his meager rations with others who were weaker, lowered his resistance to disease, and eventually to his death. For his heroic behavior, he received many posthumous honors, including the Distinguished Service Cross and Legion of Merit, had buildings, chapels, a high school, and several Knights of Columbus councils named in his honor, and is currently being considered for the Medal of Honor. In 1993, the Pope declared Fr. Kapaun a “Servant of God,” and his cause for canonization is pending.

To receive free updates, subscribe to our weekly TFP newsletter now.

For Further Reading:

The Story of Chaplain Kapaun, Fr. Arthur Tonne , Didde Publishers, Emporia KS, 1954
A Shepherd in Combat Boots, William L. Maher, Burd Street Press, Shippensburg, PA, 1997
A Saint Among Us, The Father Kapaun Guild, Hillsboro Free Press, Hillsboro, KS, 2006

About the author: Lawrence P. Grayson is a Visiting Scholar in the School of Philosophy at The Catholic University of America

Medal of Honor Awarded to Korean War Chaplain

By JACKIE CALMES -New York Times

Published: April 11, 2013

WASHINGTON — Supporters of the Rev. Emil J. Kapaun, an Army chaplain who died a prisoner in the Korean War, are still working to have him declared a Catholic saint for his lifesaving ministrations to them. But for now, they have the satisfaction of seeing him posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor at the White House.

Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

The Rev. Emil J. Kapaun saved the life of Sgt. First Class Herbert A. Miller, second from right.

In an East Room ceremony on Thursday, President Obama presented the blue sash and five-pointed star to an emotional Ray Kapaun, a nephew. At 56, the nephew has been alive for less time than his uncle’s comrades have labored to get recognition for their chaplain, who died nearly 62 years ago, at the age of 35, in a prisoner-of-war camp.

“This is an amazing story,” Mr. Obama said. “Father Kapaun has been called a shepherd in combat boots. His fellow soldiers who felt his grace and his mercy called him a saint, a blessing from God. Today, we bestow another title on him — recipient of our nation’s highest military decoration.”

He added, “I know one of Father Kapaun’s comrades spoke for a lot of folks here when he said, ‘It’s about time.’ ”

Father Kapaun was honored for his heroism during combat at Unsan, in November 1950 when his unit — the Third Battalion, Eighth Cavalry Regiment, First Cavalry Division — was attacked by Chinese Communist forces, according to the citation read aloud as Mr. Obama and Mr. Kapaun stood at attention.

The chaplain “calmly walked through withering enemy fire” and hand-to-hand combat to provide medical aid, comforting words or the last rites of the Roman Catholic Church to the wounded, the citation said. When he saw a Chinese soldier about to execute a wounded comrade, Sgt. First Class Herbert A. Miller, he rushed to push the gun away. Mr. Miller, now 86, was at the White House for the ceremony with other veterans, former prisoners of war and members of the Kapaun family.

“This is the valor we honor today,” Mr. Obama said. “An American soldier who didn’t fire a gun, but who wielded the mightiest weapon of all, a love for his brothers so pure that he was willing to die so that they might live.”

At such ceremonies, the president, who wrote a best-selling memoir, seems to relish the narrative of a compelling tale. For this one, he went beyond the citation, saying “the incredible story of Father Kapaun does not end there.”

Since the priest was from a small town near Wichita, Kan., like Mr. Obama’s grandparents who helped raise him, “I have a sense of the man he was,” Mr. Obama said. He told of how Father Kapaun carried Mr. Miller and helped soldiers who faltered on a forced march to a prisoner-of-war camp, where the Chinese sent them after the attack. Through the winter, as the American prisoners froze to death, he offered his clothes, sneaked out to bring back grain and cleaned the soldiers’ wounds.

Guards tortured him for his shows of faith, but on Easter, Father Kapaun offered Mass in church ruins at the camp as guards looked on.

One of the veterans told him, the president said, that the chaplain “kept a lot of us alive.”

The priest had a blood clot, dysentery and then pneumonia, and in May 1951, guards sent him into isolation, without food or water, to die. As Mr. Obama recounted, based on testimony from Father Kapaun’s comrades, the priest looked at the guards and said, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

His remains were never recovered. At war’s end, the surviving P.O.W.’s walked out of the camp with a four-foot wooden crucifix they had made in his honor.

A version of this article appeared in print on April 12, 2013, on page A15 of the New York edition with the headline: Medal of Honor Awarded To Korean War Chaplain.

Lourdes 2013 Fund Raiser - Winner of Hamper Sponsored by Gormley's Centra

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:43:00 +0000

Winner of Hamper Sponsored by Gormley's Centra

Fr Rory presents Florence Blake and her daughter, Chloe, with a hamper kindly donated by GORMLEY'S CENTRA, Letterkenny as part of a raffle for a fund raiser to help 5th Year students from the College travel on pilgrimage to Lourdes, France as part of the Raphoe Diocesan Pilgrimage on the 22nd May.

3rd Years - St. Carthach raise €150 for St. Vincent de Paul Society

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:33:00 +0000

Gabriel Boakye, on behalf of the St. Carthach class presents Fr Rory with a cheque for €150 for the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which they raised as part of their work for CSPE class, under the guidance of their teacher, Ms. Mc Kay.

New Facebook game draws from 'The Bible' TV series :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 23:31:00 +0000

New Facebook game draws from 'The Bible' TV series :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

“Papa Francesco!”

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 22:52:00 +0000

A Pope to Change the World: Francis and the Future

by Kathryn Jean Lopez

In St. Peter’s Square, there was silence! Pope Francis finally came out following the pregnant anticipation of the white smoke billowing from the smokestack above St. Peter’s Basilica, and he seemed to be stunned silent. People wondered: Wasn’t the “room of tears,” which every media talking head had talked about, supposed to take care of that? Was he too shy to be pope? Would we have to tread lightly around this one?

But all of these concerns melted away when our new Holy Father spoke to us for the first time.

Standing in the Square, I thought two things about the new pope’s opening remarks, his request for prayers, and his physical bow toward the crowd: This is a penitential act. This is an act of self-surrender, that is, submission to the will of God.

The penitential act may just be what the world needed from Pope Francis on Day One. After a year of talk in the United States and elsewhere about the threat of secularism, his bow, his plea for prayer, was almost an Act of Contrition on behalf of the Church, her institution as well as her people. If the sexual revolution has trumped the true concept of freedom among the ruling class of the United States, it hasn’t happened without Catholics succumbing to this trend, too. We need to begin again in humility, asking pardon for our sins, and learning and proposing the teachings of the Church on the fullness of human life, the complementarity of man and woman, and the realization that true and lasting freedom is found only in surrender to God’s will.

The appropriate response to Wednesday night’s joyful proclamation “Habemus Papam” is, in retrospect, “of course.” A Latin American with European roots. A Jesuit with ties to one of the vibrant lay movements of the Church. A defender of all life, in all its stages. An intellectual of simplicity with a heart for the poor. A gentle voice for an age that needs a shepherd. Standing in the square as I was, it was hard not to see what seemed like the world, looking for a father, to help us to our heavenly, merciful Father.

Pope Benedict was a loving shepherd whose papacy sought to bring us closer to Jesus through his books, his words, his life. Even at the end, stepping aside to live his life in prayer with Christ, he modeled the walk we’re invited on, all in our different vocations, all led by different Divine calls. But the media optics, as it were, would always be a barrier for some, an obstacle for evangelization. For some hostile commentators, offensive and misleading caricatures such as “Pope Nazi” and “God’s Rottweiler” helped push away from this shepherd the very people who had been most hurt by the Church, confused by the Church, and remote from the Church.

As I stood in St. Peter’s Square Wednesday night in the cold and the rain, there was a sense of the supernatural. It was hard to miss that the Holy Spirit is a symbol of peace, that it was that the Holy Spirit who would guide the cardinals in the Sistine Chapel voting, and here peace seemed to have overtaken the crowd. No frustration or anger was evident even as umbrellas obstructed views for many.

“Papa Francesco!” The Romans have been going around and about their daily work, marveling at our new pontiff. Americans — many of them not Catholic — are e-mailing me: “I love this pope!”

There is a message about the power — the ministry — of presence in Pope Francis’ dramatic appearance Wednesday, introducing himself as the Bishop of Rome to the Diocese of Rome. There is a message about communion in his request that all gathered pray for him. What a welcome he offered to the world to join the Catholic Church when he said: “Let us pray for one another. Let us pray for the whole world that there be a great brotherhood.”

History may show the entrance of Pope Francis on the stage to be the great opening of a door that the Catholic Church needed — to welcome people back, to bring people in, to draw people nearer to the Christ to whom Pope Benedict spent his pontificate reintroducing us.

In recent days, I frequently have been asked about Cardinal Timothy Dolan and the need for a big personality as pope. As I’ve remarked, I think there is a great poverty in the way the world sees the archbishop of New York, who may not be as quiet as our new pope but has a depth of prayer the world doesn’t understand. A pope who begins asking us to pray for him just may help us understand that kind of deep interior life.

Church folk have been talking for years now about a New Evangelization — a time of renewal, reform, and reintroduction of the faith to the people who profess to be Catholic but perhaps never learned what that truly means, perhaps have fallen away, perhaps have been hurt. To do that, you need a shepherd who speaks firmly but gently, whose voice draws you into something truly beautiful. In our harsh age, the gentle, humble voice the world heard from St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday night may just be the one to help make the difference, particularly as our new pope looked out to the tens of thousands of us gathered there and reminded us of our role in the Church as the body of Christ.

My friend George Weigel has an attractive, accessible, rich book in his recent Evangelical Catholicism, one anyone who wants to be truly Catholic ought to read (along with the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church). He says that Evangelical Catholics are men and women who, having shared the great grace of Baptism and having been appropriately catechized into “the mysteries,” understand, appreciate, and live the biblical truth of Christian vocation as given by St. Paul: “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord and there are a varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one. To each is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor 12:5-7).

See, there is that Holy Spirit again. Working not only with the bishops when their hearts and minds are open, stretched out to the will of God in prayer, but with all the faithful.

Weigel further explains that:

Evangelical Catholicism creates its own culture. Because friendship with the Lord Jesus shapes every aspect of a Christian’s life, that friendship is culture-forming; those who are living in friendship with the Risen Lord in the communion of the Church speak a distinctive language (in which, to take two examples, “obedience” and “forgiveness” have richer and deeper meanings than in postmodern culture.) They live according to a distinctive temporal rhythm (in which, to take but one example, Sunday is not simply a day on which shopping malls close earlier). They celebrate unique rituals, observe a unique set of laws, cherish and tell a unique set of stories, and perceive life (and death) against a unique horizon.

That friendship with the Lord is what Pope Benedict left the papal stage talking to the world about. When he spoke to Catholics from the Americas in December, he warned us that if we are not living in daily encounter with Christ, we are not being who we say we are, and we will never share the great gift of faith we have, as we are mandated to by Christ in the Gospels.

These past days in Rome, I’ve watched pilgrims, tourists, wanderers, and media look with interest to a Church of heritage, history, and mystery. What they saw last night was something new: An American who might heal wounds of division, particularly within the Church that, certainly in the Americas, has suffered and caused suffering by false Right-Left divides. The message of the conclave of 2013 may just be this: That Catholics, in every vocation and every walk of life, need to radically show the world with our words, our presence, and our witness that what is inside St. Peter’s Basilica — and inside every tabernacle of the world — is the answer to our every desire and need.

On Thursday in Rome, “Papa Francesco!” seems to be the Roman greeting as cashiers, hotel front-desk clerks, and taxi drivers go about their work. We misunderstand words like “humility” and “peace.” We misunderstand St. Francis. These are not just “nice” sentiments, as if out of Disney, but radical calls and witness.

Pope Francis begins to help the world to understand again — with a simple prayer and wish for a rest as we begin again, to purify our hearts and help redeem the world.

Kathryn Jean Lopez is editor-at-large of National Review Online and a nationally syndicated columnist. She is a director of Catholic Voices USA and blogs on Catholic things at K-Lo@Large.

(The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Catholic Pulse or the Knights of Columbus.)

Who is Pope Francis I?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:01:00 +0000

Who is Pope Francis I?

Job vacancy - Rome - applications sought!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 12:38:00 +0000

Have you got what's needed to be Pope?

Check out the following website from the US :

http://catholicmom.com/2013/03/05/6-cool-tools-to-teach-your-children-about-the-conclave/

http://fantasyconclave.com/

Fantasy Conclave – Think “March Madness”, but with a different set of brackets. FantasyConclave.com is the brainchild of three trusted Catholic apostolates and encourages you to engage in the process by imagining the outcome of the papal election process. Have questions about the whole “pick a pope” thing? Visit the website and find out why they think this is a great tool to learn about and to share the conclave process.

Adopt a Cardinal — I enjoyed this one for myself last week, being technologically matched with my new adoptive Cardinal, Cardinal Seán O’Malley of Boston. The process is simple: visit AdoptACardinal.org, answer a few questions online and be matched with a Cardinal. To date, 287,808 people have signed on to pray for our Cardinals. “Adopting” a Cardinal helps your child to learn about him, to find his home diocese on a map, and to prayerfully remember someone who will actually be at the conclave. You might even have your child write his or her Cardinal a letter.

Papal Conclave Lesson Plan – From TheReligionTeacher.com, one of my favorite online resources for great catechetical tools, comes a fully-appointedPapal Conclave Lesson Plan. Jarod Dees has done all of the heavy lifting to put together a tool that will help you educate your children or students. Be sure to check out the comments on the post for some additional tools to use in your home or classroom.

Guess Who The Cardinals – Our friends at EquippingCatholicFamilies.com have created a downloadable template for you to use with your “Guess Who” game to get to know all of the Cardinals who will be attending the conclave. Free to download with a code that you’ll find in this post, Guess Who The Cardinals will be a super fun way to learn the names and stories of the electors.

Hold a Mock Conclave of Your Own – Always one to share great information, Fr. John Zuhlsdorf (aka “Fr. Z”) has a post at his blog about the amazing faculty and students at St. Louis Catholic School in Virginia and the “Mock Conclave” they held at school. Click through to see the amazing array of photos of young Swiss Guard members, Cardinals, and even the newly (MOCK) elected pope. Obviously this school went to some pretty amazing lengths to realistically follow the process – this is a lesson these young students will remember for a lifetime.

Are you teaching your children about the conclave process? Please share your ideas, great tools you’ve found, and questions you’ve encountered in our comments section below.