The CIN Blog

Father Benedict Groeschel

2009-11-12T09:27:00.002-06:00

Father Benedict Groeschel
http://www.youtube.com/v/NZePc6hIMio&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1

unable to speak and preach - and yet

2009-11-09T08:44:00.006-06:00

A priest, who is totally committed to the work of evangelization, a priest, who as a result of a terrible accident lost the ability to speak and preach, who offers up his pain; a group of lay people who open up new avenues so that he can continue preaching, . . . this is a story that could be a movie about motivation for evangelization through the new media. However, this is not a movie; it is a true story.

Now we also joyfully offer the virtual retreats of Father Nicolás Schwizer - written by Javier Cabral of the Family Federation in Paraguay, a free service that sends the bi-monthly Reflections via Internet in four languages: Spanish, Portuguese, English, and German.
If you would like to subscribe, send a request to pn.reflexiones@gmail.com

unable to speak and preach - and yet
http://cmsms.schoenstatt.de/en/index.php/resources/periodicals/virtual-retreat.htm

Cell phone vs ..Bible

2009-09-28T09:28:00.002-06:00

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we flipped through it several time a day?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?

What if we gave it to kids as gifts?

What if we used it when we traveled?

What if we used it in case of emergency?

This is something to make you go....hmm....where is my Bible?

Oh, and one more thing..
Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.

Makes you stop and think 'where are my priorities? And no dropped calls!

Prayer for Daily Neglects

2009-09-22T21:30:00.001-06:00

(Adapted for the Divine Will)

Eternal Father, through the Heart of Mary and in your Spirit of Love, I offer You, as mine, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with all Its Love, all Its Sufferings, and all Its Merits.

1st: To expiate all the sins I've committed this day and during all my life, and all the sins committed throughout the world throughout time. Glory be....

2nd: To purify the good I've done poorly this day and during all my life, and all the good done poorly throughout time. Glory be....

3rd: To supply for the good I ought to have done, and that I have neglected this day and during all my life, and all the good that's been neglected throughout time — especially the neglected good of not living and acting in the Divine Will. Glory be....

Ending Your Day in the Divine Will
http://www.sicutincaelo.org/14bfa.html

A Nine Day Novena to Saint Therese

2009-09-22T02:06:00.001-06:00

The Twenty-four 'Glory Be's’ Novena to St. Therese

Father Putigan received the favours he had petitioned of the Little Flower of Jesus, and promised to spread the novena to increase devotion to, and bring her more honour. In this fashion, from the ninth to the seventeenth of each month, those who want to participate in the 24 Glory Be’s novena, should add to those of their own, the intentions of all who are at that time making the novena, thus forming one great prayer in common. This novena can be said at any time, however.

The Glory Be is said 24 times each day for nine days, in thanksgiving for all the blessings and favours given to Saint Therese of the Child Jesus during the 24 years of her life. Start the novena each day with this prayer:

“Holy Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit, I thank You for all the blessings and favours You have showered upon the soul of Your servant Therese of the Child Jesus, during the 24 years she spent here on earth, and in consideration of the merits of this, Your most beloved Saint, I beseech You to grant me this favour, if it is in accordance with Your most Holy Will and is not an obstacle to my salvation.”

After this prayer, follow with the 24 Glory Be’s, between each of which should be included this short prayer”

“Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, pray for us.”

A Nine Day Novena to Saint Therese
http://www.carmeldundee.co.uk/carmel_novena_St_Therese.htm

The Human Experience

2009-09-14T17:46:00.002-06:00

From Grassroots Films of Brooklyn, New York comes
THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE – the story of a band of brothers who travel the world in search of the answers to the burning questions: Who am I? Who is Man? Why do we search for meaning? Their journey brings them into the middle of the lives of the homeless on the streets of New York City, the orphans and disabled children of Peru, and the abandoned lepers in the forests of Ghana, Africa. What the young men discover changes them forever. Through one on one interviews and real life encounters, the brothers are awakened to the beauty of the human person and the resilience of the human spirit.

Grassroots Films, Inc.
http://www.grassrootsfilms.com/thehumanexperience/

USCCB on Health Care

2009-08-27T07:27:00.001-06:00

"Genuine health care reform that protects the life and dignity of all is a moral imperative and a vital national obligation" - Bishop William F. Murphy

USCCB on Health Care
http://www.usccb.org/healthcare/

free computer bible download

2009-08-24T10:06:00.001-06:00

The Douay-Rheims Bible with concordance capability in digitized form...

Fully indexed
chapter by chapter!
Fully searchable
by any word or name!

A perfect scriptural reference
right at your fingertips!

Courtesy of Preserving
Christian Publications
http://www.pcpbooks.com/

Ad Caeli Reginam

2009-08-22T08:19:00.004-06:00

Queen of Heaven

. . . . 51. By this Encyclical Letter We are instituting a feast so that all may recognize more clearly and venerate more devoutly the merciful and maternal sway of the Mother of God. We are convinced that this feast will help to preserve, strengthen and prolong that peace among nations which daily is almost destroyed by recurring crises. Is she not a rainbow in the clouds reaching towards God, the pledge of a covenant of peace?[62] "Look upon the rainbow, and bless Him that made it; surely it is beautiful in its brightness. It encompasses the heaven about with the circle of its glory, the hands of the Most High have displayed it."[63] Whoever, therefore, reverences the Queen of heaven and earth - and let no one consider himself exempt from this tribute of a grateful and loving soul - let him invoke the most effective of Queens, the Mediatrix of peace; let him respect and preserve peace, which is not wickedness unpunished nor freedom without restraint, but a well-ordered harmony under the rule of the will of God; to its safeguarding and growth the gentle urgings and commands of the Virgin Mary impel us.

52. Earnestly desiring that the Queen and Mother of Christendom may hear these Our prayers, and by her peace make happy a world shaken by hate, and may, after this exile show unto us all Jesus, Who will be our eternal peace and joy, to you, Venerable Brothers, and to your flocks, as a promise of God's divine help and a pledge of Our love, from Our heart We impart the Apostolic Benediction. . . . .

AD CAELI REGINAM ("Queen of Heaven")
Given at Rome, from St. Peter's, on the feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the eleventh day of October, 1954, in the sixteenth year of our Pontificate. Pius XII
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_11101954_ad-caeli-reginam_en.html

Lesson of the Queen of Heaven

2009-08-16T09:14:00.002-06:00

Luisa Piccarreta

. . . Since I had never done my human will, my presence requited Them of the love and the glory of the great work of all Creation, and therefore They entrusted to Me the secret of the history of mankind. And I prayed and prayed again for peace to come between God and man.
Now, my child, you must know that the human will alone closed Heaven, and therefore it was not given to man to penetrate into those celestial regions, or to have a familiar relationship with his Creator. On the contrary, the human will had cast him away from the One who had created him. As soon as man withdrew from the Divine Will, he became fearful, timid; he lost the dominion of himself and of the whole Creation. All the elements, because they were dominated by the Fiat, had remained superior to him and could do harm to him. Man was afraid of everything; and do you think it is trivial, my child, that the one who had been created as king, dominator of everything, reached the point of being afraid of the One who had created him? It is strange, my child, and I would say almost against nature, that a child would be afraid of his father; while it is according to nature that, as one generates, love and trust between father and child are also generated. This can be called the primary inheritance that is due to the child, and the primary right that is due to the father. So, by doing his will, Adam lost the inheritance of his Father; he lost his Kingdom, and rendered himself the laughing stock of all created things. . . .

The Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of the Divine Will
http://catholicdivinewill.blogspot.com/2008/06/virgin-mary-in-kingdom-of-divine-will.html

Conformity To God's Will

2009-08-14T12:17:00.001-06:00

St. Alphonsus Mary Ligouri

Translated by Thomas W. Tobin, C.SS.R.

Above all, let us bend all our energies to serve God in the way he wishes. This remark is made so that we may avoid the mistake of him who wastes his time in idle day-dreaming. Such a one says, “If I were to become a hermit, I would become a saint” or “If I were to enter a monastery, I would practice penance” or “If I were to go away from here, leaving friends and companions, I would devote long hours to prayer.” If, If, If -- all these if’s! In the meantime such a person goes from bad to worse. These idle fancies are often temptations of the devil, because they are not in accord with God’s will. Hence we should dismiss them summarily and rouse ourselves to serve God only in that way which he has marked out for us. Doing his holy will, we shall certainly become holy in those surroundings in which he has placed us.

Let us will always and ever only what God wills; for so doing, he will press us to his heart. To this end let us familiarize ourselves with certain texts of sacred scripture that invite us to unite ourselves constantly with the divine will: “Lord, what wilt thou have me do[80]?” Tell me, my God, what thou wilt have me do, that I may will it also, with all my heart. “I am thine, save thou me[81].” I am no longer my own, I am thine, O Lord, do with me as thou wilt.

If some particularly crashing misfortune comes upon us, for example, the death of a relative, loss of goods, let us say: “Yea, Father, for so it hath seemed good in thy sight[82].” Yes, my God and my Father, so be it, for such is thy good pleasure. Above all, let us cherish that prayer of our Lord, which he himself taught us: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven[83].” Our Lord bade St. Catherine of Genoa to make a notable pause at these words whenever she said the Our Father, praying that God’s holy will be fulfilled on earth with the same perfection with which the saints do it in heaven. Let this be our practice also, and we shall certainly become saints.

May the divine will be loved and praised! May the Immaculate Virgin be also praised!

Conformity To God's Will
http://www.stalphonsusbalt.org/conformity.htm

"In God We Trust"

2009-07-21T12:49:00.003-06:00

Should the motto "In God We Trust" be removed from U.S. currency?

Here's your chance to let the media know where the people stand on our faith in God, as a nation. NBC is taking a poll on "In God We Trust" to stay on American currency.

Please send this to every Christian you know so they can vote on this important subject. Please do it right away, before NBC takes this off their web page.

The Poll is still open so you can vote.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10103521/

Results to this time:
Should the motto "In God We Trust" be removed from U.S. currency? * 15089942 responses
Yes. It's a violation of the principle of separation of church and state.
12%
No. The motto has historical and patriotic significance and does nothing to establish a state religion.
88%

Live Vote: Should ‘In God We Trust’ be yanked? - Faith- msnbc.com
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10103521/

Divine Will Volume 17

2009-07-18T09:01:00.005-06:00

March 1, 1925
How each additional act which the soul does in the Divine Will is one more filament of light which renders the light within her more intense, more strong and more bright. . .

"But do you know what this light is? It is all the interior operating that you do. Each additional act you do is one more filament of your will which you bind to the current of the eternal light; and that filament turns into light. So, the more acts you do, adding more filaments, the more full, intense and bright the light will become. Therefore, what you have done is the light that you see, and what is left for you to do is the void that you see within that same light. And I will remain always in the midst of this light, not only to enjoy it, but to bind the filaments of the human will to the current of the eternal light, because I am the origin, the foundation, the current of the light. But do you know what true light is? True light is the truth. The truth, known, embraced, loved and put into practice by the soul, is the true light, which transforms her into light itself, and causes new and continuous births of light to be placed inside and outside of her. This truth forms the true Life of God within the soul, because God is truth, and the soul is bound to the truth - even more, she possesses it. God is light, and she is bound to the light, and is nourished with light and with truth. However, while I nourish the soul with truth and with light, she must keep the current of her will opened, in order to receive the current of the divine communication." . . .

Divine Will Volume 17
http://catholicdivinewill.blogspot.com/2008/06/divine-will-volume-seventeen.html

The 24 Hours of the Passion

2009-07-15T07:46:00.003-06:00

First Hour From 5 to 6 PM
Jesus takes leave of His Most Holy Mother

O Celestial Mama, the hour of the separation is approaching, and I come to You. O Mother, give me your love and your reparations; give me your sorrow, because together with You I want to follow, step by step, adored Jesus.

And now Jesus comes to You, and You, with heart overflowing with love, run toward Him and in seeing Him so pale and sad, your Heart aches with pain, your strengths leave You and You are about to fall at His feet.

O my sweet Mama, do You know why adorable Jesus has come to You? Ah, He has come to say the last good-bye, to tell You the last word, to receive the last embrace!

O Mother, I cling to You with all the tenderness of which my poor heart is capable, so that clinging and bound to You, I too may receive the embraces of adored Jesus. Will You perhaps disdain me? Isn’t it rather a comfort for your Heart to have a soul near You, who would share its pains, affections and reparations?

O Jesus, in such a harrowing hour for your most tender Heart, what a lesson of filial and loving obedience to your Mama You give us! What a sweet harmony passes between You and Mary! What a sweet enchantment of love rises up to the throne of the Eternal One and extends for the salvation of all creatures of the earth!

O my Celestial Mama, do You know what adored Jesus wants from You? Nothing but your last blessing. It is true that from every particle of your being nothing but blessings and praises come out for your Creator; but Jesus, in taking leave of You, wants to hear the sweet word: “I bless You, O Son”. And that “I bless You” removes all the blasphemies from His hearing, and descends, sweet and gentle, into His Heart. Jesus wants your “I bless You”, almost to place it as a shelter from all the offenses of creatures.

I too unite myself to You, O sweet Mama. Upon the wings of the winds I want to go around the heavens to ask the Father, the Holy Spirit and all the Angels, for an “I bless You” for Jesus, so that, as I go to Him, I may bring Him their blessings. And here on earth, I want to go to all creatures and ask, from every lip, from every heartbeat, from every step, from every breath, from every gaze, from every thought - blessings and praises for Jesus. And if no one wants to give them to me, I intend to give them for them.

O sweet Mama, after going round and round, to ask the Sacrosanct Trinity, the Angels, all creatures, the light of the sun, the fragrance of the flowers, the waves of the sea, every breath of wind, every spark of fire, every moving leaf, the twinkling of the stars, every movement of nature, for an “I bless You”, I come to You and I place all my blessings together with yours.

My sweet Mama, I see that You receive comfort and relief, and that You offer Jesus all my blessings in reparation for the blasphemies and the maledictions which He receives from creatures. But as I offer You everything, I hear your trembling voice saying: “Son, bless me too!”

O my sweet Love, Jesus, bless me also, together with your Mama; bless my thoughts, my heart, my hands, my works, my steps, and with your Mother, all creatures.

O my Mother, in looking at the face of sorrowful Jesus, pale, sad, harrowing, the memory of the pains which He is about to suffer awakens in You. You foresee His face covered with spit and You bless it, His head pierced by the thorns, His eyes blinded, His body tortured by the scourges, His hands and feet pierced by the nails; and wherever He is about to go, You follow Him with your blessings. And I too will follow Him together with You. When Jesus is struck by the scourges, crowned with thorns, slapped, pierced by the nails, everywhere He will find my “I bless You” together with yours.

O Jesus, O Mother, I compassionate You. Immense is your pain in these last moments. The Heart of one seems to tear the Heart of the other.

O Mother, snatch my heart from the earth and bind it tightly to Jesus, so that, clinging to Him, I may share in His pains, and as You cling to each other, as You embrace, as You exchange the last glances, the last kisses, being in-between your two Hearts, may I receive your last kisses, your last embraces. Don’t You see that I cannot be without You, in spite of my misery and my coldness?

Jesus, Mama, keep me close to You; give me your love, your Will. Dart through my poor heart, hold me tightly in your arms; and together with You, O sweet Mother, I want to follow, step by step, adored Jesus, with the intention of giving Him comfort, relief, love and reparation for all.

O Jesus, together with your Mama, I kiss your left foot, asking You to forgive me and all creatures, for all the times we have not walked toward God.

I kiss your right foot: forgive me and all for all the times we have not followed the perfection You wanted from us.

I kiss your left hand: communicate to us your purity.

I kiss your right hand: bless all of my heartbeats, thoughts, affections, so that, given value by your blessing, they all may be sanctified. And with me, bless all creatures, and seal the salvation of their souls with your blessing.

O Jesus, I embrace You together with your Mama, and kissing your Heart, I pray You to place my heart between your two Hearts, that it may be nourished continuously by your love, by your sorrows, by your very affections and desires, and by your own Life. Amen.

Reflections and Practices

Before giving start to His Passion, Jesus goes to His Mother to ask for Her blessing. In this act Jesus teaches us obedience, not only external but also interior, which we must have in order to reciprocate the inspirations of grace. Sometimes we are not ready to put into practice a good inspiration, either because we are held back by love of self united to temptation, or because of human respect, or in order not to use holy violence on ourselves.

But rejecting the good inspiration of exercising a virtue, of accomplishing a virtuous act, of doing a good work, or of practicing a devotion, makes the Lord withdraw, depriving us of new inspirations.

On the other hand, the prompt correspondence, pious and prudent, to holy inspirations attracts more lights and graces upon us.

In the cases of doubt, one should turn promptly and with righteous intention to the great means of prayer and to upright and experienced advice. In this way, the good God will enlighten the soul to execute the healthy inspiration, increasing it for her greater benefit.

We must do our actions, our acts, our prayers, the Hours of the Passion, with the same intentions of Jesus, in His Will, sacrificing ourselves as He did, for the glory of the Father and for the good of souls.

We must place ourselves in the disposition of sacrificing ourselves in everything for love of our lovable Jesus, conforming to His spirit, operating with His own sentiments, and abandoning ourselves in Him, not only in all the external sufferings and adversities, but much more in all that He will dispose in our interior. In this way, at any time, we will find ourselves ready to accept any suffering. By doing this, we will give sweet sips to our Jesus. Then, if we do all this in the Will of God which contains all sweetnesses and all contentments in immense proportion, we will give to Jesus large sweet sips, so as to mitigate the poisoning which other creatures cause Him, and to console His Divine Heart.

Before starting any action, let us always invoke the blessing of God, so that our actions may have the touch of the Divinity, and may attract His blessings not only on us, but upon all creatures.

My Jesus, may your blessing precede me, accompany me and follow me, so that everything I do may carry the seal of your ‘I bless you.’

The Twenty Four Hours of the Passion (Blog)
http://catholicdivinewill.blogspot.com/2008/06/twenty-four-hours-of-passion.html
The Twenty Four Hours of the Passion (PDF file)
http://www.asylcity.com/hours_of_passion.pdf

Who then are you, O Immaculate Conception?

2009-07-14T07:23:00.003-06:00

. . .

Who then are you, O Immaculate Conception?

Not God, of course, because He has no beginning. Not an angel, created directly out of nothing. Not Adam, formed out of the dust of the earth. Not Eve, molded from Adam's rib. Not the Incarnate Word, Who exists before all ages, and of Whom we should use the word "conceived" rather than "conception."

Humans do not exist before their conception, so we might call them created "conceptions." But you, O Mary, are different from all other children of Eve. They are conceptions stained by Original Sin; whereas you are the unique, Immaculate Conception.

Everything which exists, outside of God Himself, since it is from God and depends on Him in every way, bears within itself some semblance to its Creator; there is nothing in any creature which does not betray this resemblance, because every created thing is an effect of the Primal Cause.

It is true that the words we use to speak of created realities express the Divine perfections only in a halting, limited and analogical manner. They are only a more or less distant echo----as are the created realities that they signify ---- of the properties of God himself. Would not "conception" be an exception to this rule? No, there is never any such exception. The Father begets the Son; the Son proceeds from the Father and the Son. Theses few words sum up the mystery of the life of the Most Blessed trinity and of all the perfections in creatures which are nothing else but echoes, a hymn of praise of this primary and most wondrous of all mysteries.

We must perforce use our vocabulary, since it is all we have; but we must never forget that our vocabulary is very inadequate.

Who is the Father? What is His personal life like? It consists in begetting, eternally because He begets His Son from the beginning and forever.
Who is the Son? He is the Begotten-One, because from the beginning and for all eternity He is begotten by the Father.

And Who is the Holy Spirit? The flowering of the love of the Father and the Son. If the fruit of created is a created conception, then the fruit of Divine love, that prototype of all created love, is necessarily a Divine "conception." The Holy Spirit is, therefore, the "uncreated, eternal conception," the prototype of all the conceptions that multiply life throughout the whole universe.

The Father begets; the Son is begotten; the Spirit is the "conception" that springs from their love; there we have the intimate life of the Three Persons by which They can be distinguished from one another. But They are united in the Oneness of Their Nature, of Their Divine existence. The Spirit is, then, this thrice holy "conception," this infinitely holy Immaculate Conception . . .

The creature most completely filled with this love, filled with God Himself, was the Immaculata, who never contacted the slightest stain of sin, who never departed in the least from God's will. United to the Holy Spirit as His spouse, she is one with God in an incomparably more perfect way than can be predicated of any other creature.
. . .

Who then are you, O Immaculate Conception?
Excerpted and compiled from, "Immaculate Conception and the Holy Spirit",
The Marian Teachings of Fr. Maximilian Kolbe, Fr. H.M. Manteau-Bonamy, O.P. http://www.catholictradition.org/Mary/conception.htm

Novena in Honor of the Immaculate Conception
By St. Maximilian Kolbe
http://www.corazones.org/oraciones/oraciones_maria/novena_inmaculate_conception_kolbe.htm

The Pope on 'Love in Truth'

2009-07-11T05:13:00.001-06:00

Caritas in Veritate is a reminder that we cannot understand ourselves as a human community if we do not understand ourselves as something more than the sum or our material parts; if we do not understand our capacity for sin; and if we do not understand the principle of communion rooted in the gratuitousness of God's grace. Simply put, to this pope's mind, there is no just or moral system without just and moral people.

Father Sirico is president and co-founder of the Acton Institute.

The Pope on 'Love in Truth'
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124718187188120189.html

Listen to Caritas in Veritate

2009-07-07T17:48:00.004-06:00

Narrated by Joe McClane
Anyone want to listen to the text of Caritas in Veritate?

Listen or Read: Caritas in Veritate
http://catholichack.blogspot.com/2009/07/caritas-in-veritate-from-newadventorg.html

Caritas in Veritate (Vatican Site)
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate_en.html

The Revenge of Conscience

2009-06-30T16:57:00.006-06:00

Unfortunately, the condition of human beings since before recorded history is that we don't want to learn hard lessons. We would rather remain in denial. What power can break through such a barrier?

The only Power that ever has. Thomas Aquinas writes that when a nation suffers tyranny, those who enthroned the tyrant may first try to remove him, then call upon the emperor for help. When these human means fail, they should consider their sins and pray. We are now so thoroughly under the tyranny of our vices that it would be difficult for us to recognize an external tyrant at all. By our own hands we enthroned them: our strength no longer suffices for their removal: they have suspended the senate of right reason and the assembly of the virtues: the emperor, our will, is held hostage: and it is time to pray.

Nothing new can be written on the heart, but nothing needs to be; all we need is the grace of God to see what is already there. We don't want to read the letters, because they burn; but they do burn, so at last we must read them. This is why the nation can repent. This is why the plague can be arrested. This is why the culture of death can be redeemed. “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before thee . . . a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

J. Buziszewski is Associate Professor of Government and Philosophy at the University of Texas and author of Written on the Heart: The Case for Natural Law (InterVarsity). An earlier version of this article was published in William D. Gairdner, ed., After Liberalism (Stoddart).
http://www.firstthings.com/article/2008/12/001-the-revenge-of-conscience-38

"Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either -- but right through every human heart -- and through all human hearts. This line shifts. Inside us, it oscillates with the years. And even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained. And even in the best of all hearts, there remains ... an unuprooted small corner of evil.

Since then I have come to understand the truth of all the religions of the world: They struggle with the evil inside a human being (inside every human being). It is impossible to expel evil from the world in its entirety, but it is possible to constrict it within each person."
— Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn (The Gulag Archipelago: 1918-1956)

The Stoning of Soraya M.

2009-06-30T10:36:00.005-06:00

Posted by Bruce Edward Walker
on Thursday, June 25, 2009

Tomorrow, June 26, theaters across the nation will begin screening for the general public “The Stoning of Soraya M.” This drama reenacts the true story of an Iranian woman falsely accused of adultery and punished according to sharia law. The film is produced by Stephen McEveety (“The Passion of the Christ”) and features an impressive international cast.

Since the movie’s title gives the climax away, rest assured that the film contains much that is suspenseful. Jim Caviezel portrays French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam. Much like Spencer Tracy’s character in the 1955 John Sturges film, “Bad Day at Black Rock,” Sahebjam chances upon a town with a dark secret – in this instance, the stoning of the title character through the manipulations of a husband who wishes to take a 14-year-old child as a wife and fears he cannot afford to maintain two households.

When Soraya refuses her husband a divorce, he puts in place the dramatic machinery leading to her death. The filmmakers ably display how a less-than-free society can be easily corrupted, but doesn’t adopt the too easy tropes that all men are bad, all women victims – or even that Islam is a bad religion.

I highly recommend this film, but must warn that the violent act of stoning is graphically depicted. The direction of the script is taut and suspenseful, and the acting and production values superb.

Stephen McEveety: "I believe this is a very pro-Muslim movie. From the beginning we approached this as very respectful toward the true Islamic faith. This wonderful, beautiful Muslim woman keeps her faith to the end. She’s representative of the Muslim faith. The film is an illustration of how any religion can be abused in a repressive environment. It’s a true story made by persons familiar with the world Soraya M. lived in. We have shown it to Middle Eastern audiences and they have embraced it."
(Go to website for the rest of the interview)

The Stoning of Soraya M.
http://blog.acton.org/archives/10807-interview-with-stephen-mceveety-producer-of-the-stoning-of-soraya-m.html

Jesus Christ the Returning King

2009-06-28T09:40:00.008-06:00

Lay Apostolate

Love of Neighbor (from "Climbing The Mountain" By Anne, a lay apostle

Sometimes a soul living outside of the Kingdom is bitter. This bitterness is like a sore. When a soul in bitterness views Christ in us, it can be like salt in the wound or sore because our unity with Christ highlights his isolation from Him. This is good. The soul then comes closer to an understanding of what it lacks. Our experience of this may not be pleasant. It may be necessarily painful because in its pain the soul may strike out at us. This can be understood as an almost instinctual lashing out or crying out in the distress of their disconnectedness from Christ. We must accept these strikes as beneficial penance and part of standing with Christ as a companion on the Way of the Cross.

Lay Apostolate of Jesus Christ the Returning King

In April, 2005, Our Lord revealed to Anne a set of guidelines for those called to assist in the work of the mission. Anne's bishop then gave permission for the formation of The Lay Apostolate of Jesus Christ the Returning King. Their mission is to serve as conduits of divine grace, spreading the messages of the Volumes throughout the earth.

Online version of the The Volumes now available.
--Free Download.
http://www.directionforourtimes.com/onlinevolumes.html

Prayer, charity and the joy of forgiveness

2009-06-27T07:38:00.003-06:00

This is the prepared text of the homily delivered by Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley at the St. Padre Pio anniversary Mass that took place Sept. 23 2006 at St. Giovanni Rotondo, Italy. The cardinal delivered the homily in Italian.

. . . . .
St. Gregory the Great says: “The present life is but a road by which we advance to our homeland. Because of this, by a secret judgment we are subjected to frequent disturbance so that we do not have more love for the journey than for the destination. The suffering St. Pio experienced in his ill health, in the persecution by the very Church he loved, the trials and setbacks in establishing the hospital, the pain of the stigmata -- all kept before his eyes the pilgrim nature of his vocation. What allowed St. Pio to persevere was the intense prayer life that he lived faithfully. He prayed more in a week than most people pray in a year. The test of authentic prayer is growth in goodness, growth in humanity, greater serenity in living and in facing hardship. Above all genuine contact with God effects a real displacement of self as the center of our existence.

Prayer is not withdrawing from the rest of humanity. It is more like a wedding feast to which we welcome all who cross our path. A strange thing takes place in prayer. There is a mysterious coupling of our own life with the lives of others -- an embrace that includes the whole of humanity. At first prayer stems from a sense of personal neediness. Prayer progressively becomes less a self-centered plea for personal deliverance than a universal cry for help and for the coming of God’s kingdom.

Prayer and suffering transformed the life of Padre Pio and made him a living icon of God’s unfailing mercy and love. Too often we try to follow Jesus at a safe distance, like Peter after he fled from Gethsemane. Padre Pio’s life and teaching encourages us to climb Calvary to join Jesus in the moments of greatest pain and greatest love.

In today’s Gospel, planted at the foot of the cross are these few brave disciples. I am sure that Mary’s faith and courage was a source of strength for all of them. Mary stood at the foot of the cross. At that dramatic moment, before His death Jesus gives us a gift, His most precious possession, His Mother. Behold your mother. Mary is now not only Jesus’ Mother. She is also our Mother.

For Padre Pio, as for St. Francis, the cross was his book, the book where he read the greatest love story in history. Padre Pio lived his life planted at the foot of the cross in the company of Mary.

Mary full of grace, the costly grace of discipleship, the grace that allowed Mary to renew her fiat, her yes to the Lord even in the face of the cross. There by the cross is our Mother, Our Lady of Grace.

Recently Our Holy Father Pope Benedict said, “He who believes is not alone.” Here we have a host of witnesses. We stand before the beloved cross of Our Blessed Savior, we stand with Our Mother, Our Lady of Grace, and Padre Pio. We are not alone. When the Apostles came down from Tabor, they carried in their hearts a glimpse of God’s Glory. When you return to your homes, share with your families and neighbors the graces of this pilgrimage and the message of our beloved Padre Pio: Prayer, charity and the joy of forgiveness.

Prayer, charity and the joy of forgiveness
By Cardinal O'Malley, O.F.M. Cap.
Archdiocese of Boston
http://www.piercedhearts.org/theology_heart/prayer_charity_joy_forgiveness_padrepio.htm

Suffering and the Will of God

2009-06-25T00:08:00.002-06:00

Most of us in the West have been raised on sort of a reward/punishment system. In a nominally functional home if we were “good” we were rewarded and felt good, if we misbehaved we were punished and felt bad.

Consequently, as adults we tend to carry those paradigms around with us. This can be a problem in the spiritual life if we project these patterns on God’s care for us. When things go wrong, or painful things happen in the normal course of life, for example, the death of a loved one, a brutal financial crisis out of which it takes us years climb, a bitter divorce, etc. We think if bad things happen to us we must have done something wrong. We may tend to cry, “What have I done to deserve this?”

We are not perfect, but very likely, we’ve done nothing to deserve it. These things happen in a fallen world. This is especially poignant when an innocent person is the victim of violence. People sin. And sin results, ultimately, in death. When someone sins innocent people suffer. The sinner suffers too, but that is the subject for another article.

A terrorist blows up a building killing hundreds or even thousands of innocent people including children, plunging the survivors and their families into a lifetime of trauma and grief. They did nothing to deserve this. One person or a group of people made a decision to commit the sin of murder and the result is dead and suffering survivors and families. Victims.

Sometimes we have a tendency to think that if we make the decision to follow Christ and grow in the spiritual life our lives will smooth out. And this will happen to a degree if we abandon a life of chaotic sin. As we grow in repentance and transformation there will be healing from the damage we’ve done to ourselves. But sometimes others damage us. We are sinned against. Being a Christian does not provide immunity from suffering. Following Christ necessarily leads to the Cross. . . . . . .

I am the Immaculate Conception

2009-06-24T09:19:00.003-06:00

Anthropological Implications for a Pedagogy of Holiness in the
Teaching of John Paul II and Father Joseph Kentenich
Danielle M. Peters

This paper was presented during the Twenty-second International Marian and Mariological Congress in Lourdes from September 4-8, 2008. The topic of the congress was: The apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in history, faith and theology.

. . . Magnificat

In reciting the Magnificat, Mary expresses optimistic realism in God’s power, mercy and faithfulness. With her song Our Lady teaches us an eloquent lesson of a harmonious human-divine relationship. Father Kentenich observed that with the exception of one fragment in which Our Lady speaks of herself (cf. Lk 1:48b), “all other parts of the Magnificat … circle around the eternal God, around His way of government.”[82] What are the implications concerning a healthy human-divine relationship accentuated in and through Our Lady’s Song?

Schoenstatt’s founder pointed to today’s danger of anthromorphism. By that he referred to a person’s lack of esteem and appreciation of God’s greatness and power.[83] Mary answers to this danger by acknowledging her smallness before Almighty God. The opposite approach to God is typical for our age as well. When God is acknowledged as the totally Other and Transcendental, we fail to see the divine-human analogies.[84]

Finally, Father Kentenich observed a certain tendency of depersonalizing God.[85] This occurs when the biblical-personal God becomes an abstract idea and when love for God is replaced by merely following rules; in other words, when love for the lawgiver is replaced by love for the law.

Mary’s Magnificat highlights her personal relationship to God who is mighty, holy, merciful and capable of performing great deeds. Looking at the Immaculata, we have a presentiment of God’s holiness. Love for Him has made her the sacred space where God abides. By approaching her we find God whose name is unending, overflowing love, mercy and goodness.[86]

As object lesson, Our Lady can be likened to a book which leads heavenwards. Father Kentenich encouraged his spiritual family to frequently page in this book in order to gaze at our model whose reflection we may and should become. With her and like her our entire life should become an unending sursum corda. . . .
(by Father Joseph Kentenich)

Anthropological Implications for a Pedagogy of Holiness in the
Teaching of John Paul II and Father Joseph Kentenich
Danielle M. Peters
http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/immaculate1.html

Questionnaire on The 4 Temperaments

2009-06-22T09:48:00.004-06:00

1. Modern educators realize more and more that a well rounded, complete education demands not only training of the intellect but training of the will and of the heart as well. In other words, the formation of character is as important as, if not more important than, the acquisition of knowledge.

2. Intellectual ability is no proof that a man will be able to master the difficulties of life and to adhere to right principles of action in times of distress. Only a strong will and a firm character enable man to stand such trials unshaken. Life is filled with trials; hence the necessity of character formation.

3. The formation of character requires, first of all, the knowledge of an ideal that will "give direction, measure, and value to effort," (Monsignor William J. Kerby) from which the aim and the ways and means of education must be derived. The man who aims at being the perfect gentleman, i.e., the Christian, will of necessity follow other ways and use other means than he whose aim is only to make as much money as possible.

4. It requires also a fair knowledge of one's self, of one's powers of body and soul, of one's strong and weak points, of one's assets and defects. The old Greek saying, "Know yourself!" holds true also today.

5. There is no lack of, nor interest in, books on self-improvement. Man is painfully conscious of his many shortcomings and feels a great desire to eliminate unsatisfactory personality traits in order to achieve greater harmony within himself and with his environment.

Such self-knowledge is often offered in learned and high sounding phrases, but more often than not is of little help in daily life. A knowledge of the Four Temperaments, (though sometimes frowned upon by modem psychology), has proved very helpful in meeting and mastering the situations of everyday living. A short but valuable knowledge with practical suggestions is supplied by Conrad Hock, 'The Four Temperaments'. Having been out of print for some years it is now herewith revised, enlarged and offered to the public.

The Pallottine Fathers Milwaukee
THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS
by REV. CONRAD HOCK
Revised and enlarged by Rev. Nicholas M. Wilwers, S.A.C.; M.A.; S.T.B.

NIHIL OBSTAT:
H. B. RIES
Censor librorum

IMPRIMI POTEST:
OTTO BOENKI, S.A.C.
Superior Maior

Questionnaire on The 4 Temperaments
For the complete booklet visit:
http://www.angelicum.net/html/four_temperaments.html

Four Temperaments

2009-06-21T21:41:00.002-06:00

What's your personality?
Posted by Danielle Bean, Faith and Family Live!

A few months ago, I read "The Temperament God Gave You: The Classic Key to Knowing Yourself, Getting Along with Others, and Growing Closer to the Lord".

I was fascinated.

I quizzed myself, my husband, my kids, and my extended family members. I labeled the temperament of everyone I knew. Some appreciated my analysis. Some didn’t.

“You are such a ... choleric melancholic!” I accused my unsuspecting husband.

Well, he is.

It’s not just about the fun of labeling and name-calling, though. Personally, I find that personality tests and categories are really useful tools. Legitimate personality analysis helps us to better know ourselves and gives us insight into our relationships. It helps us to analyze our tendencies, our strengths, and our weaknesses in an objective manner.

What I found especially helpful about the Bennetts’ book was that it is written from a Catholic perspective. It helped me figure out what my natural strengths and weaknesses are in my relationships with God, with my husband, and with my children.

Once we recognize our personal weaknesses, temptations, and tendencies toward sin, we are in a much better position to do something about remedying them. Conversely, once we recognize our strengths, we are in a better position to maximize those parts of our personality and put them to good use in our work and in our families.

I won’t tell you my temperament yet. I want you to figure out yours and share your findings first. I really do recommend reading the book, but if you are in a hurry, you can use this online quiz. It’s quick and pretty easy. I took it and my results were the same as the ones I got using the book’s more involved questionnaire, so as far as I can report, it’s accurate.

For those of you entirely unfamiliar with the four temperaments, here’s a very basic overview.

So. Two things: What’s your temperament? And I am curious how well you all can know me through blogging—what do you think mine is? I’ll update later with the answer.

What's your personality?
Posted by Danielle Bean
Faith and Family Live! includes important links.
http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/four_temperaments/