The Holy Father has visited the famous Infant of Prague:
In the Holy Infant of Prague we contemplate the beauty of childhood and the fondness that Jesus Christ has always shown for little ones, as we read in the Gospel (cf.Mk 10:13-16). Yet how many children are neither loved, nor welcomed nor respected! How many of them suffer violence and every kind of exploitation by the unscrupulous! May children always be accorded the respect and attention that are due to them: they are the future and the hope of humanity!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
The Craziness of Unbelief
"The present-day unbeliever is crazy because he finds himself born into a world of endless wonders, having no notion how he got here. ... Not once in his entire life does it cross his mind to say to himself that his situation is preposterous, that an explanation is due him and to demand such an explanation and to refuse to play out another act in the farce until an explanation is forthcoming."
Walker Percy, The Second Coming, p. 189
Walker Percy, The Second Coming, p. 189
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Twin Heart Devotions ... the Wrong Way and the Right Way
A nearby Catholic parish offers something called "Twin Hearts meditation." While to most Catholics, any reference to "twin hearts" would imply the Sacredd Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, this is something a little different.
From the website:
"Meditation on Twin Hearts is based on the principle that some of the major energy centers or chakras are entry points or gateways to certain levels or horizons of consciousness. The Twin Hearts pertain to the heart and crown energy centers. The heart chakra is an energy center in front of a person's chest. It is the energy counterpart to the physical heart. The heart chakra is the center for compassion, joy, affection, consideration, mercy, and other higher refined emotions. The Crown energy center (also called the spiritual heart) located on the top of the head is the entry point to higher spiritual consciousness. To achieve illumination or cosmic consciousness, it is necessary to sufficiently activate the crown chakra. This can be done only when the heart chakra is sufficiently activated. Only by developing the higher refined emotions can one possibly experience divine love. When the crown center is highly developed, one experiences Divine Love and Oneness with All."
This past First Friday, I was able to take part in another Twin Hearts devotion, called the Alliance of the Two Hearts. It is thoroughly, completely Catholic, and comes, it appears, from the Philippines. There is no overall website for this program, but information can be found here. You can also Google the term yourself.
At the service I attended, there was First Friday Mass at 8:30 p.m., followed by adoration and confession, with the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, a beautiful devotion called the Nine Offices of the Sacred Heart, Saturday Matins, and Saturday Mass shortly after midnight. I must have missed the Rosary earlier in the evening.
If you ever get a chance to take part in one of these vigils, it is well worth it. There is much to make reparations for, especially the sins we commit and the laxity in our own lives.
From the website:
"Meditation on Twin Hearts is based on the principle that some of the major energy centers or chakras are entry points or gateways to certain levels or horizons of consciousness. The Twin Hearts pertain to the heart and crown energy centers. The heart chakra is an energy center in front of a person's chest. It is the energy counterpart to the physical heart. The heart chakra is the center for compassion, joy, affection, consideration, mercy, and other higher refined emotions. The Crown energy center (also called the spiritual heart) located on the top of the head is the entry point to higher spiritual consciousness. To achieve illumination or cosmic consciousness, it is necessary to sufficiently activate the crown chakra. This can be done only when the heart chakra is sufficiently activated. Only by developing the higher refined emotions can one possibly experience divine love. When the crown center is highly developed, one experiences Divine Love and Oneness with All."
This past First Friday, I was able to take part in another Twin Hearts devotion, called the Alliance of the Two Hearts. It is thoroughly, completely Catholic, and comes, it appears, from the Philippines. There is no overall website for this program, but information can be found here. You can also Google the term yourself.
At the service I attended, there was First Friday Mass at 8:30 p.m., followed by adoration and confession, with the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, a beautiful devotion called the Nine Offices of the Sacred Heart, Saturday Matins, and Saturday Mass shortly after midnight. I must have missed the Rosary earlier in the evening.
If you ever get a chance to take part in one of these vigils, it is well worth it. There is much to make reparations for, especially the sins we commit and the laxity in our own lives.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Bernardin v. Kmiec et al.
"I don't see how you can subscribe to the consistent ethic and then vote for someone who feels that abortion is a 'basic right' of the individual. I know that some people on the left, if I may use that label, have used the consistent ethic to give the impression that the abortion issue is not all that important anymore, that you should be against abortion in a general way but that there are more important issues, so don't hold anybody's feet to the fire just on abortion. That's a misuse of the consistent ethic, and I deplore it."
Cardinal Bernardin, 1988. Source.
Cardinal Bernardin, 1988. Source.
Monday, May 25, 2009
What's Wrong With God the Father?
Yet another amalgamation of modern heretics has been formed, this time in posh Barrington, Illinois. Called the American Catholic Council, it has discovered the need for a new creed. Apparently the older ones do not suffice or sufficiently reflect the Spirit of Vatican II. The first line of the creed demonstrates how heresy often strikes at the root, seeking to redefine fundamental beliefs:
"We believe in one God, our Lord, in the Holy Spirit, and in Jesus Christ, the Son of God."
They say it is from Gaudium et spes, the Pastoral Constitution of the Church on the Modern World, but it's not there.
"We believe in one God, our Lord, in the Holy Spirit, and in Jesus Christ, the Son of God."
They say it is from Gaudium et spes, the Pastoral Constitution of the Church on the Modern World, but it's not there.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Depressing Academic Semantics
In our local Catholic paper, this correction was posted:
Correction
In the May 15 Vacation and Mass Guide supplement of the St. Louis Review, Ave Maria University in Florida was incorrectly identified as a Catholic university. Ave Maria University, which is seeking recognition from the bishop of the Diocese of Venice, Fla., is a university in the Catholic tradition.
I'm sure there is some legal reason for this, but I always thought Ave Maria was a little more Catholic than, say, some other "Catholic" universities.
Correction
In the May 15 Vacation and Mass Guide supplement of the St. Louis Review, Ave Maria University in Florida was incorrectly identified as a Catholic university. Ave Maria University, which is seeking recognition from the bishop of the Diocese of Venice, Fla., is a university in the Catholic tradition.
I'm sure there is some legal reason for this, but I always thought Ave Maria was a little more Catholic than, say, some other "Catholic" universities.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Insurance Company's Liturgical Directives
The diocese of Santa Rosa, Calif.. has made it clear who's running the joint. Not the bishop, not even health care workers, but the insurance company.
Since the United States govemment has declared a health emergency in the last few days as a result of the Swine Influenza virus circulating in the United States and Mexico and at the behest of our insurance carrier, Arthur J. Gallagher, Risk Management Services, Inc., I request that all our parishes observe the following precautions during the celebration of the Mass in order to help mitigate the effects of this influenza in our communities:
1. The Faithful are to be encouraged not to hold hands during the recitation of the Our Father.
2. For the Sign of Peace the Faithful are to be encouraged to give a greeting that does not involve shaking bands or touching.
3. The Faithful are to be encouraged to receive Holy Communion in their hand and not on the tongue.
4. The Faithful are not to receive the Species of the Consecrated wine - the Precious Blood during Mass. Should an individual have celiac disease and can only receive the Precious Blood then provisions should be made to accommodate this situation.
5. Priests, Deacons and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion must wash their hands before Mass begins and before and after they distribute Holy Communion, using an antibacterial solution. This precaution also extends to those who minister to the sick who are homebound.
I wonder whether some are using this phony health emergency to stifle one's ability to receive on the tongue.
Since the United States govemment has declared a health emergency in the last few days as a result of the Swine Influenza virus circulating in the United States and Mexico and at the behest of our insurance carrier, Arthur J. Gallagher, Risk Management Services, Inc., I request that all our parishes observe the following precautions during the celebration of the Mass in order to help mitigate the effects of this influenza in our communities:
1. The Faithful are to be encouraged not to hold hands during the recitation of the Our Father.
2. For the Sign of Peace the Faithful are to be encouraged to give a greeting that does not involve shaking bands or touching.
3. The Faithful are to be encouraged to receive Holy Communion in their hand and not on the tongue.
4. The Faithful are not to receive the Species of the Consecrated wine - the Precious Blood during Mass. Should an individual have celiac disease and can only receive the Precious Blood then provisions should be made to accommodate this situation.
5. Priests, Deacons and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion must wash their hands before Mass begins and before and after they distribute Holy Communion, using an antibacterial solution. This precaution also extends to those who minister to the sick who are homebound.
I wonder whether some are using this phony health emergency to stifle one's ability to receive on the tongue.
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