BE STILL AND LISTEN TO THE LORD

This picture was taken at Lourdes, France in July of 2011 by my friend...notice the two rays of light coming from the two small windows at the back of the church where the tabernacle is kept.  Jesus from the tabernacle is beaming to His Mother, Our Blessed Mother....it stops right at her statue in the grotto.  Also notice the 'open heart' in the rock just above Our Lady - Jesus and Mary share One Divine Holy Heart.

Papal Invite: Be Still and Think of Good Things

Benedict XVI Teaches on Meditation in Audience 

Series on PrayerCASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 17, 2011 (Zenit.org).- 

Pointing to Mary as a teacher, Benedict XVI is recommending a time for silence and mental prayer so as "to feel how beautiful it is when God speaks with us."
The Pope continued today with his audience series on prayer, addressing a crowd gathered at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo. After a break in the general audiences during July, he has returned to the theme of prayer with addresses on Bible reading and monastic silence.

Today he asked: what is meditation.
"It means to 'remember' all that God has done and not to forget all his benefits (cf. Psalm 103:2b). Often, we see only the negative things. We also need to hold in our memory the good things, the gifts that God has given us; we need to be attentive to the positive signs that come from God, and remember these," he said.
The Holy Father acknowledged that there might be more familiarity with vocal prayer, but he explained that meditation, what "Christian tradition calls 'mental prayer,'" does not involve words, but is "rather a making contact of our mind with the heart of God."
In this, the Pontiff stated, "Mary is a true model." He noted how St. Luke speaks of her as "keep[ing] all these things and ponder[ing] them in her heart."

"In our own time," he reflected, "we are absorbed with so many activities and commitments, concerns and problems. Often, we tend to fill up all the spaces of the day, without having a moment to stop and reflect and to nourish our spiritual life -- our contact with God. Mary teaches us how necessary it is to find in our days -- with all its activities -- moments to recollect ourselves in silence and to ponder all that the Lord wants to teach us, how he is present and acts in the world and in our life: to be able to stop for a moment and meditate."
Sources
Benedict XVI suggested that there are many ways to meditate.
This prayer is "to create within ourselves an atmosphere of recollection, of interior silence, so as to reflect upon and assimilate the mysteries of our faith, and all that God is doing in us -- and not only the things that come and go," he said.
The Pope suggested drawing from a short passage of sacred Scripture, or a page from a spiritual author, or taking advice from a confessor or spiritual director. He also recommended the rosary as meditation. Or, "we can also dwell upon some intense spiritual experience, on the words that have remained with us from our participation in the Sunday Eucharist."
From there, he explained, it is about "reading and reflecting ... pausing to consider it, seeking to understand it, to understand what it says to me, what it says today -- to open our soul to all that the Lord wants to say to us and teach us."
Making time
Benedict XVI affirmed that "consistency in giving time to God is a fundamental element for spiritual growth."


But then, he said, "it will be the Lord himself who gives us a taste for his mysteries, his words, his presence and action, to feel how beautiful it is when God speaks with us. He will make us understand in a more profound way what he wants of us.
"In the end, this is the goal of our meditation: to entrust ourselves ever more to the hands of God, with trust and love, certain that, in the end, it is only in doing his will that we are truly happy."
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On ZENIT's Web page:
Full text: www.zenit.org/article-33210?l=english

Conversions to the faith :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

This picture was taken by my cell phone one morning at the beach.  The clouds show the Hand of God with the Eucharistic fingers that Jesus made on the cross.  The sun shines in the form of a cross and it looks like the tabernacle in Adoration.

AUGUST 17, 2011
Conversions to the faith

By Sr. Joan L. Roccasalvo, C.S.J. *

Last week, we reflected on an essential aspect of active and lively faith.  As with the first disciples, the soul is transported by what it sees, hears, and touches, and by everything that Christ reveals in his very person.  In the process, the soul is filled with joy. Moved by love, the heart takes flight toward Christ and wishes to unite the self with him.  

This week, we will focus on conversions to the faith, and next week, we shall discuss daily conversion of the heart.

The Sculpture of Teresa of Avila, Transported in Ecstasy  
St. Teresa of Avila was caught up in the love of God, and this phrase is dramatically depicted in Bernini’s sculpture, for it says in marble what we as incarnate spirits seek in our ascent to God.  In 1645, Bernini sculpted this Baroque masterpiece, located in the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome.  In the sculpture, Teresa is poised in suspension resulting from having let herself go in an uninterrupted flight toward Divine Beauty.  The poem below, written by Nina Tassi, describes the saint’s flight to her Lord:
          
Woman of Avila

The wind sings to her
as a young girl softly sings
of the lover whom she knows not
yet knows will come to her
I am yours, for you I was born.

So gentle is this wooing
when the winds of Avila stir
that she neither sees nor hears her lover
lifting her high over the white hills
I am yours, for you I was born.

At times she finds herself
so crazed with love that words
fly from her mouth as ever they will
shattering the table of the world
I am yours, for you I was born.

The Conversion of St. Paul, the Holy Fool
On the road to Damascus to persecute Christians, Paul was suddenly struck by God’s blinding light.  The Voice then directed him to seek out Ananias as his guide to baptize him, to help him reflect on this experience, and to discern his new vocation (Acts 9: 10, 22).  Paul spent the next 13 years learning the faith, and during this time he often went into the Arabian desert to pray (Acts 11).

Although St. Paul was not an eyewitness to the Lord’s saving events, he shared a vision of faith based “not on having grasped (divine truth) but on having been grasped (by it)” (Hans Urs von Balthasar, The Glory of the Lord, 134).  This sudden revelation was to become the basic shape of his transformation in Christ, and he never ceased to proclaim this vision of God.  He preached Christ crucified, his highest beauty:

How else can we understand the least thing about Paul if one did not first acknowledge the fact that in Damascus he had seen the highest beauty, just as the prophets had seen it in the visions that called them forth (Ibid., 33)? 
Christ aroused in Paul, the holy fool, the fullness of pleasure and delight, but truth and goodness were also manifested and given to him.  

Every person knows who, for the sake of beauty, gladly becomes a fool without giving it a second thought.  . . . Both the person who is transported by the natural beauty and the one snatched up by the beauty of Christ must appear to the world to be fools, and the world will attempt to explain their state in terms of psychology or even physiological laws [as in the case of the supposed ‘inebriated’ apostles who preached on the first Pentecost].    But they know what they have seen, and they care not one farthing what people may say. (Ibid).

Slow, Gradual, and Painful Conversions
Most conversions to Christ and to the Catholic faith happen less dramatically and more gradually than Paul’s.  After the initial encounter with God’s grace, but prior to the act or assent of faith, one can experience skepticism and doubt. Some individuals have expressed their crises in various ways: "I felt that God was pulling me toward the truth, and I was trying to resist," "I didn’t want to become a Catholic, but I prayed for the grace to go where God wanted," "I was tempted to go in my own direction, but I felt pulled in another."

To help a prospective convert or one returning to the faith, guidance may take the form of systematic catechesis through instruction or the RCIA program.  Lapsed,   former, or so-called retired Catholics have returned to an active and lively faith through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.

The conversion of St. Ignatius occurred as if by accident.  This cradle Catholic fell under the spell of God’s grace, “God’s better beauty” (G.M. Hopkins), well into adulthood.  Recuperating from a leg wound sustained in battle shattered his idyllic dream of a glorious military career.  He asked for romantic literature but instead was given lives of the saints to read. Gradually, God’s grace struck at his heart.  His interior was moved, his mind was illumined and his will was attracted to the good. What if he joined the army of Christ? Before the beautiful statue of the Black Madonna, located in the Benedictine Abbey of Montserrat, Ignatius transformed the ancient ceremony for the making of a knight into the new soldier of Christ. In pilgrim’s garb and in keeping with the chivalric code, he kept an all-night vigil. He placed his sword before the statue, stood, knelt, sang and prayed with other pilgrims. Then, like St. Paul, Ignatius withdrew from the world. For almost a year at Manresa, he engaged in the battle from within. In the solitude of a primitive cave, he experienced terror and fear. There was no escape from self, no flight into distraction. Gradually chaos was transformed into calm, darkness into light, and despair into hope. God became his “school master.”

In 1816 at age 15, John Henry Newman experienced a spontaneous conversion to Christ.  However his conversion to the Catholic Church some 30 years later was “slow, deliberate, and painful, but by no means half-hearted.” The Apologia Pro Sua Vita narrates Newman’s difficult journey from the Anglicanism to the Catholic Church.

The Jesuit, theologian and Cardinal of the Catholic Church, Avery Dulles sums up his own conversion in this way:

My path from this point (1937-38) while a student at Harvard University] to the Catholic Church was straight but long and steep. . . . Before I could make this final act of faith, a full year and a half were to elapse after I had accepted the divinity of Christ as probable. . . . Trained as I was in the habits of skepticism, the act of faith was for me a terrible stumbling block.  In a sense, it seemed to be the surrender of that which I valued more than anything else: intellectual honesty (Dulles, A Testimonial to Grace, 60).

Dulles made his act of faith with “subjective certainty” on “objective probability.” His intellect drew conclusions based on this probability and, with the dynamic movement of the will, assented with certainty to it.  Dulles writes: “That I did eventually make the act of faith is attributable solely to the grace of God.  I could never have done so by my own power” (Ibid).
 
One cannot demand or induce the light of Catholic faith but only pray for its grace or for its increase. Faith is possible only when it flows from the light of the Spirit expressed within the soul. We see this fact dramatized in Evelyn Waugh’sBrideshead Revisited.  His portrayal of Lord Marchmain’s death-bed re-conversion, expressed by his almost lifeless but determined sign of the cross, remains one of the most powerful of all literary scenes.

If God’s grace is lacking, the act of faith is not just less easy or less certain; it is impossible.

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/column.php?n=1747
* Sr. Joan L. Roccasalvo, a member of the Congregation of St. Joseph, Brentwood, NY, holds degrees in philosophy (Ph.L), musicology (Ph.D.), theology (M.A.), and liturgical studies (Ph.D). She has taught at all levels of Catholic education and writes with a particular focus on a theology of beauty and the sacred arts. Her e-mail address isjroccasalvo@optonline.net.

Mt. St. Michael, France

You Always Get What You Want

You Always Get What You Want

DEACON DOUGLAS MCMANAMAN

Christ said that in my father's house there are many mansions. The mansion we get is the one we build by the choices that we make.

The First Reading is one of my favorites in the Old Testament. The Lord appears to Solomon in a dream one night and says: "Ask something of me and I will give it to you".

It is significant that this occurred in a dream, because it is while in this state that we are alone with God in the depths of our unconscious mind and completely open and unable to interfere with Him. It is on this deepest level of the unconscious that the secret of what we ultimately want lies hidden from the world, but exposed to God. And when it is revealed what it is we ultimately want, we are revealed, that is, our deepest and truest identity. It all starts on that level. What is it you want, ultimately?

In this state, Solomon, like every one of us, discloses to God what it is he wants ultimately. He does not ask for a long life for himself, he does not ask for great wealth. He does not ask that he may conquer his enemies. He asks for wisdom. This is what Solomon loves above all things; wisdom. And notice the sense he has of his own limitations. He says: "I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act." So he asks God: "Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong".

That's Solomon. That's who he is. You are what you will. That is one of the most important truths that I try to get across to my students. You determine your character, your moral identity, by the choices that you make, and the choices that you make are ultimately rooted in a very general decision that each one of us has made, in the very depths of our subconscious mind, a general decision to be a certain kind of person.

You are not what you feel. A person might have all sorts of feelings that bother him, feelings that he does not want; perhaps feelings of anger, or sadness, or fear, or feelings of inordinate desire. Those are feelings, but you are not what you feel. And you are not necessarily what you think – a person might have all sorts of ideas floating around in his head, perhaps even very disturbing ideas. You might even have wrong ideas that you were not responsible for. You are not what you think. But you are what you will. The only time you are what you think is when what you think stems from what you will. And what a person wills ultimately is not always manifest to others, or even to himself.

But in the end, you always get what you want. God always gives you what you want. Solomon wanted wisdom, and he received it. He was given a heart that understands right and wrong. He wanted to understand right and wrong because he loved the good, he loved truth, he loved wisdom. As a result of that, the name of Solomon has been associated, throughout history, with wisdom.

If you are looking for a fascinating book, read the book of Wisdom in the Old Testament. In chapter six we read: "Resplendent and unfading is Wisdom, and she is readily perceived by those who love her, and found by those who seek her. She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her; one who watches for her at dawn will not be disappointed, for she will be found sitting at the gate. For setting your heart on her is the perfection of prudence, and whoever keeps vigil for her is quickly free from care; because she makes her rounds, seeking those worthy of her, and graciously appears to them on the way, and goes to meet them with full attention."

What this reading makes so clear is that if a person does not have wisdom, it is because the person simply does not want it. And there are many people who are indifferent to wisdom, indifferent to coming to a genuine understanding of the Law of the Lord, that is, the truth of what is good and what is evil.

A person's character describes what a person is. There is nothing that is more intimately yours than your moral identity, your character. And character is determined by our free choices. If I choose to lie to you, I am a liar. If I choose to commit adultery, I am an adulterer. That's my identity. If I freely choose to kill another, I have the moral identity of a killer, even if no one knows about it, that is, even if it is my deepest secret. That's what I am. It is only genuine repentance that brings about a change of my own moral identity.

And there are many people who are indifferent to wisdom, indifferent to coming to a genuine understanding of the Law of the Lord, that is, the truth of what is good and what is evil.

And character is not the same thing as personality. Our personality traits are inherited and in part determined by environment. But we are not going to be judged on our personality. You can have a very dull, drab, even cantankerous personality, but have great character. Conversely, you can have a great personality, but depraved character. Character is entirely yours, personality isn't. In fact, some of the most notorious psychopaths have very charming personalities – that's how they were able to deceive so many people. Being a nice guy is not the same as goodness, much less holiness.

Bad character begins with being indifferent to one's own character. Some people couldn't care less what kind of person they determine themselves to be by their choices; they couldn't care less. What these people care about primarily is how they feel. Feeling is more important than being. We know this is true in our case if we are willing to do something that is evil, thus corrupting our moral identity, for the sake of feeling good, for the sake of possessing some temporary good, like money, or position, or a feeling of pleasure. Money and position make a person feel a certain way. And some people are simply more interested in feeling good than they are in being good.

But when things shift the other way, when we begin to become more interested in being than in feeling, more interested in character than in possessing, then there are certain choices we simply will not make no matter how much enjoyment or security they bring to our lives, because in making this or that choice, I become a certain kind of person, and I don't want to be that kind of person, no matter how easy and enjoyable my life becomes from that point onwards. And some students are very honest. They readily admit that feeling comfortable and having a rather upscale lifestyle are more important to them than their own character, their own moral identity – more important than holiness. And so they "sell their soul", so to speak, for the sake of that temporary state of affairs. And that's what it is – temporary. They exchange the eternal for the temporary.

Solomon couldn't care less about riches, nor about the satisfying feeling of victory over his enemies, nor about a long life. He wanted a heart that understands good and evil in order to be able to serve the Lord well in the position in which the Lord placed him, namely, ruler of God's chosen people.

It all comes down to what we ultimately want. And it is possible to attend Mass week in and week out without ultimately wanting wisdom, without loving the Law of the Lord. I think that's why some Evangelical Churches in the U.S are doing so well, because some preachers have given a new twist to the gospel, which is known in Evangelical circles as the "gospel of prosperity". The idea is that if you accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, you will prosper, because the Lord wants you to prosper economically (Cf. 3 Jn), and if you embrace his name and immerse yourselves in the Scriptures, prosperity will follow. Most people today love their own prosperity above all things, and so if going to Church will open the flood gates of financial prosperity, Church is where you'll find them. That's why these Churches are bursting at the seams.

And some students are very honest. They readily admit that feeling comfortable and having a rather upscale lifestyle are more important to them than their own character, their own moral identity – more important than holiness. And so they "sell their soul". . . They exchange the eternal for the temporary.

But that's not a genuine love of holiness. Recently in a major U.S. city, a Church group put on a Passion play, and it was a Black man who was chosen to play the part of Jesus. After realizing this, many people walked.

I know a young lady from the U.S. who comes from a very wealthy family, and who is about to be cut out of the will because she is in a very serious relationship with a black man – of very good character, I might add. If she marries him, she will be left with nothing. And these parents are people who attend Mass weekly, including Eucharistic adoration.

Now that's the U.S., but Canada is just as bad; we are just hung up on other issues. There are parishioners who will write letters of complaint to the bishop if a priest were to preach a hard sermon on sexual morality, or abortion, contraception, or euthanasia. It happens all the time – which is probably why we rarely hear these topics preached from the pulpit. The fact is, some people come to Church to actually pray their way away from God. "If I go to Mass regularly, say my prayers, then I must be okay; I don't have to deal with this nagging voice in the depths of my conscience." This is self-deception. But on the deepest level of the subconscious, what we ultimately want is fully exposed to God's gaze.

We are what we will. We are what we love. And only God knows for certain if at our very depths we love ourselves above all things, or if we love God above all things. But if we love the self above all, and if we persist in that to the end, the Lord will give us what we want. He will leave us to ourselves for eternity.

Christ said that in my father's house there are many mansions. The mansion we get is the one we build by the choices that we make. It is the mansion of our own soul. Our soul is an interior castle, and its beauty and majesty depend upon us, on how much we cooperate with the grace of God offered to us, and if we neglect our soul because we are so preoccupied with this life, this world, with our own lifestyle, our house will be very dilapidated and small. It might even be a hell to live in, and it will be ours forever. But if we put the works of charity first, the kingdom of God first, the Lord's will first and above all and everything else second, we will have built a beautiful mansion that will be ours for eternity, and it is eternity alone that matters.

Don't hate me because I'm right :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Don't hate me because I'm right :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Relativism is the philosophy that there is no objective reality, but that truth is relative to what each person thinks. We’ve all encountered relativism in statements like, “Jesus is God for me, while Vishnu is God for someone else,” “You have your truth, and I have mine,” or, in regard to issues like the abortion debate, “You can’t impose your morality on another person.”

This “agree never to disagree” philosophy is considered necessary to guarantee peace, tolerance and equality in a pluralistic world. Conversely, people who think we can know the truth in moral or religious issues are considered intolerant, bigoted and maybe even downright dangerous.

In defense of those who have the audacity to claim to know the truth about who God is or how we’re supposed to live, myself included, I have to point out that nothing could be further from the truth. Some of the most intolerant people in history were not believers, but relativists!

Benito Mussolini, the fascist dictator of Italy, is one clear-cut example. Early in his political career, he wrote:

"Everything I have said and done in these last years is relativism, by intuition. From the fact that all ideologies are of equal value, that all ideologies are mere fictions, the modern relativist infers that everybody has the right to create for himself his own ideology, and to attempt to enforce it with all the energy of which he is capable. If relativism signifies contempt for fixed categories and men who claim to be the bearers of an objective immortal truth, then there is nothing more relativistic than fascism (“Diuturna”)."
Since Mussolini didn’t recognize any objective reality—moral or religious—to which he should conform, he invented his own moral code and enforced it on everyone he could. If truth is really relative, why not?!

And while it might seem that if we could just “imagine there’s no heaven … no hell below us … no religion, too,” then we could “live life in peace.” The 20th-century proved John Lennon’s dream wrong time and again. People in the 20th-century who imagined that there was no “objective immortal truth”—no heaven, hell and no religion—made many of the crimes committed in the name of faith look like child’s play.

Take communism, for instance, with its strong commitment to atheism. In one small communist country alone, Cambodia, 1.7 million people died at the hands of the government from 1975 to 1979, with entire families, including infants, being put to death by the tens of thousands if they were a perceived threat to the Communist Party.

To be fair, the average relativist wouldn’t go as far as Mussolini or the communists of Cambodia, but the modern world is increasingly full of examples of relativist intolerance toward those who believe in objective truth. Take, for example:

• Regular lawsuits backed by the ACLU to forcibly squash any mention of God out of the public square to cater to a few intolerant atheists.
• The college student in California who was threatened with expulsion after she said a prayer for a sick teacher on campus with his consent.
• A civil rights organization that protested a statue of Jesus found on the floor of the ocean.
• The Christian print-shop owner in Toronto who was fined for choosing not to print promotional materials for a gay and lesbian group.
• The attacks on conscientious objection rights that currently allow Catholic doctors and hospitals to refuse to participate in providing abortions.

It seems that a new relativist inquisition is picking up steam. And, of course, it is being carried out in the name of “tolerance”!

Contrast these examples of intolerance with a “religious absolutist” whom most people remember: Mother Teresa. She believed beyond the shadow of a doubt that she was right and other faiths were wrong when it came to the divinity of Jesus Christ. But could you imagine new videos being found and released on YouTube of her kneeing a poor Indian in the face because he didn’t accept the message of Christianity? The idea is ridiculous. Her faith motivated her to a life of service to everyone regardless of creed or lifestyle—from feeding Hindus living in the slums of Kolkata to starting New York City’s first AIDS hospice and much more.

I’m not trying to rewrite history with this brief article. Atrocities have been committed by people of faith too. But an honest look at history shows that religious and moral absolutism doesn’t necessarily make a person intolerant, nor does a lack thereof. It depends on what a person believes, not if he believes.

So to all who would use the rod of “tolerance” to beat the faithful into submission for claiming truth, I make this humble request: please tolerate me. 

* Christopher Stefanick is director of Youth, Young Adult and Campus Ministry for the Archdiocese of Denver. His personal website can be found at www.chris-stefanick.com.

Catholic teachings

Ironically, the more the culture tried to paint the Catholic Church as full of sinful people, the more convinced I became of its truth. I didn’t believe that ordinary people could come up with a set of teachings that contained unparalleled wisdom; maintain them consistently across all times and places, even despite tremendous pressure to recant; and then keep it all going for two thousand years. And even if the media had been right that the priesthood and episcopate were full of corrupt and immoral people, that would have only made the situation more inexplicable in purely human terms—corrupt and immoral people are always the first to sell out and preach whatever message the culture wants to hear in order to get more power for themselves.

In short, I saw something divine at work here.

The Catholic Church has claimed all along that this is an institution “powered by” God, so to speak. It was founded by Jesus Christ, not humans, and a divine Force continues to guide it to this day. Just as he did with Sacred Scripture, God uses imperfect people to proclaim his perfect truth. It’s a crazy claim, particularly hard to believe in this age when atheistic materialism dominates the culture. But I think that the constant negative portrayals of Catholics in popular culture can be a boon to our faith in this department. Because every time the world reminds us that our natures are no less fallen than anyone else’s, it’s a reminder that our Church, its sacraments, and its teachings could not exist without Someone helping us out.

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/why-the-scandals-increased-my-faith-in-the-church/#ixzz1Uf0pHiHQ

It Ain’t Homophobia

It Ain’t Homophobia

Either the recently enacted New York marriage law is nonsense, or its religious opponents are bigots whose prejudices should not be given the protection of law. To use Mr. Kennicott’s sociological term of art, it’s a matter of cognitive dissonance to try to have it both ways. In any event, pressures like that of the Times and its activist allies will continue, for the logic of their position requires them to try and strip away religious and other exemptions from recognizing “gay marriage.”

Should those pressures succeed, the Catholic Church will be forced to get out of the civil marriage business—as it has been forced in some states to stop providing foster care for children and young people, thanks to the pressures of the really phobic parties in these affairs: the Christophobes. Priests will no longer function as officials of the state when witnessing marriages.

So what will Catholics and other adherents of biblical morality do (for evangelical pastors are just as much at risk from the Christophobes as Catholic priests)? They’ll have a civil “wedding” that will be a farce, just like that endured by my Polish friends in 1964. And then they’ll really get married in church.

Off Grid Worship: 1968 Prophecy by a 90 Year Old Norwegian Woman

Off Grid Worship: 1968 Prophecy by a 90 Year Old Norwegian Woman: "This prophecy was given by a 90 yr. old woman in Norway 42 years ago about events leading up to the second coming of Christ. An Evangelist b...

""A lukewarmness without parallel will take hold of the Christians, a falling away from true, living Christianity. Christians will not be open for penetrating preaching. They will not, like in earlier times, want to hear of sin and grace, law and gospel, repentance and restoration. There will come a substitute instead: prosperity (happiness) Christianity.

"The important thing will be to have success, to be something; to have material things, things that God never promised us in this way. Churches and prayer houses will be emptier and emptier. Instead of the preaching we have been used to for generations -like, to take your cross up and follow Jesus, - entertainment, art and culture will invade the churches where there should have been gatherings for repentance and revival. This will increase markedly just before the return of Jesus.

WHEN THE OIL FLOWS

An elder in the Pentecostal Church at Moss, Norway, Martin Andersen, heard the following prophecy in 1937, in Moss:

‘When oil comes out of the North Sea and along the Norwegian coast, things will begin to happen, and the return of Jesus is approaching.’

When these words had been proclaimed, people stood up in the congregation and asked the man to sit down and not speak such nonsense. In 1937 it was indeed nonsense to talk about oil being pumped along the Norwegian coast. Today all the world’s big oil companies are pumping oil along the coast of Norway. Norway is the world’s second greatest exporter of oil - after Saudi Arabia.

The sum of it all is: Jesus is coming soon (suddenly).

ST. DOMINICK

St. Dominic de Guzman

WHO WAS DOMINIC DE GUZMÁN?

St. Dominic was born in Caleruega, Spain, in 1170. After graduating from the University of Palencia and Ordination to the priesthood, he became a Canon of St. Augustine and superior of the Canons in the Cathedral of Osma, devoting his time there to public ministry of the Sacraments. While passing through southern France with his bishop in the year 1203, the young priest was shocked to witness the spiritual horrors wrought by the Albigensian heresy which, among other things, taught that the physical world was evil – despite the fact that God's Son chose to live in it Himself. It was in this community, hungering for the Gospel message of Christ's redemption of the world, that our zealous brother discovered the depth of his vocation and laid the foundation for the Order of Preachers.

A PREACHER’S RESPONSE

In order to reach out to these souls, Dominic founded a three-fold religious Order, one for the converted Albigensian women at Prouille (later the Dominican sisters), one for an apostolic band of friars preacher, and another for men and women known as tertiaries living in the world as lay Dominicans affiliated with the Order. At first, Dominic found the heretics unreceptive, stubborn and often hostile. But the barking of the “Watchdog of the Lord” (i.e., Dominic) continued loud and clear, while his hunger for saving souls grew stronger.

THE HOLY PREACHER

St. Dominic’s humility, fatherly kindness, patience and joyfulness under persecution impressed even his enemies who at times mocked, spat at him and pelted him with stones or mud. Since he could not shed his blood for their salvation, he fasted, took the discipline during his night-vigils of prayer, and walked barefoot from village to village preaching the faith. During his lifetime, he healed the sick, raised the dead, multiplied food, and proved the truth of his doctrine by miracles during his public debates.
When threatened with death, he would reply: “I am not worthy of the martyr’s crown.” He twice rejected a bishopric, and he enjoyed a warm friendship with St. Francis, the Poor Man of Assisi, which is still commemorated in the liturgies of the Franciscan and Dominican Orders. Several times he was consoled and strengthened in his apostolate by apparitions of Christ and his Mother.

Four times in his life Dominic journeyed on foot to Rome. Pope Honorius III confirmed his Order and granted him the Convent of St. Sixtus for his nuns. He also gave Dominic the Convent of Santa Sabina for his friars, a place that, to this day, the Master of the Order of Preachers still calls home!

Dominic made foundations in university cities to ensure an adequate education for the brethren. On August 15, 1217, he scattered his men to various parts of Europe saying: “If grain is sown it bears fruit, but if it is stored it rots.” The Founder summoned two General Chapters in 1220 and 1221 and lived to witness the amazing expansion of his Order. He was felled by sheer exhaustion after his last mission in Lombardy at the age of 51. After making a general confession, he said to his weeping brethren: “Do not weep, my children, I shall be more useful to you where I am going than I have ever been in this life. I thank God who has preserved me in perfect virginity to this day. Have charity, guard humility, keep voluntary poverty.”

He fell asleep in Christ on August 6, 1221, at Bologna, Italy, where his relics now lie in a marble tomb of exquisite beauty, the work of Nicholas Pisano. The tomb was later embellished by Michelangelo and other artists, and may be seen in Santo Domingo Church at Bologna. From heaven, the Patriarch fulfills his promise to answer the prayers of all who invoke him.

OUR LADY OF THE SNOWS

Our Lady of the Snows

Our Lady's Sign.... A Snowfall. This is the history of Our Lady of the Snows. The time was the year 352, so soon after the birth of Jesus that many did not know about Him, and many "dared" not know, for fear of persecution.

The city of Rome, Italy, was fast becoming a Catholic center, and there resided Pope Liberius, the Holy Father, Successor of the Holy Apostle, St. Peter. Among his loyal subjects were a noble patrician, John, and his wife. This couple was very holy and devout.

They were not blessed with children, so it was their desire that their worldly goods should be given to the Mother of God. They discussed this with Pope Liberius and he counseled them to commend this holy intention to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Fervently, they besought her to show them her desire by some sign.

During the night of August 5th, the Virgin Mary appeared to John and his wife, and also to Pope Liberius, telling them to construct a church in her honor on the crest of the Esquiline Hill. As a sign of her will, she told them, they would find it covered with snow.

Snow is rare in Rome. When it falls, it is a day of rejoicing, and the populace delights in the beautiful sight of trees and shrubs blanketed with a soft mantle of white. Many winters pass without the least trace of a snowfall.

Imagine the great excitement of a snowfall during the first days of the hot month of August. That is exactly what happened on the night of August 5th, 352. In the morning, almost all of Rome thronged to the Esquiline Hill as the news spread that snow had fallen there during the sultry night, outlining the precise shape of the church requested by Our Lady. John, his wife, and Pope Liberius, told the crowd the snow was a favor from the Immaculate Queen of Heaven. When the people learned this, they shouted over and over again, "Our Lady of the Snows!"

The crest of the Esquiline hill, therefore, became the site of a church dedicated to the Mother of God, just as she wished. This was ancient Rome, early in Christianity, only 352 a.d. - almost sixteen hundred and fifty years ago! This was the origin of the title: Our Lady of the Snows.

The church built in her honor is known today as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore), because it is the Mother of all churches throughout the world dedicated to our Heavenly Queen. This church in Rome is the original Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. In honor of Pope St. Liberius (who suffered exile during the Arian heresy), it is also called the "Liberian Basilica."

The altar of Our Lady's Basilica contains the relics of the manger crib of Our Divine Lord, which St. Helena brought back from Jerusalem with the True Cross. The image honored as Our Lady of the Snows is a venerable painting of the Madonna and Child in Greek style, attributed to the physician-Evangelist, St. Luke. Relics of many apostles and saints, as well as the body of St. Matthew and the head of St. Luke rest in this favored sanctuary.

The Greatest Marian Church throughout History. Down through the sixteen centuries since the first construction of the Basilica, pilgrims from all regions of Christendom have made Saint Mary Major one of the most popular churches in the world. Our Lady of the Snows has found pleasure in showering down countless blessings upon her children who invoke her under this particular title.

Throughout the annals of Church History, we find many a Saint greatly devoted to this magnificent Church of Our Lady.

The Popes of the past have had a tender devotion towards the Madonna of the Esquiline, and have tried to outdo one another in enriching this Mother Church dedicated to her honor. The present magnificent edifice was constructed in the fifth century by Pope Sixtus III. The compartments of the intricate ceiling were gilded with the first gold brought from America by the devout Catholic explorer, Christopher Columbus. St. Gregory the Great turned to Our Lady during the devastating black plague in Rome in 597, and had her miraculous image carried in procession from St. Mary Major to St. Peter's Basilica; and St. Michael appeared in the sky to indicate the end of the pestilence. The tomb of Pope St. Pius V lay for centuries in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, where St. Ignatius Loyola said his first Mass. Eugenio Pacelli (the future Pope Pius XII), also said his first Mass at the altar of Our Lady of the Snows in 1899. It is obvious why She is frequently referred to as the "Madonna of the Popes." Many other examples can be taken from the lives of the Popes and Saints who lived in Rome, manifesting their tender devotion to St. Mary Major, the "Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows." St. Stanislaus Kostka even used to turn in his cell to pray facing St. Mary Major.

Thus, has this beautiful title come down from Christian antiquity.

One lovely custom of olden times has come down even to our era. During Mass and Vespers each year on the Feast of Our Lady of the Snows (Aug. 5), the glorious anniversary of the origin of the Basilica is celebrated with pomp and splendor. Recalling the miraculous fall of snow that indicated the site of this Mother Church of Mary, a shower of rose petals, jasmine, and other white flowers are let to fall from the ceiling at the words: "He sendeth His snow like wool..."

The white jasmine symbolizes the purity and innocence of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The way the flowers are scattered from above suggests the manner in which Our Lady showers her graces on all souls, but in a particular manner upon those who honor her under the title of Our Lady of the Snows.

Throughout the thirty-some years of our apostolate, Our Lady has manifested herself under this special title in ways especially dear to those who cherish the providential significance of this wonderful title of the Immaculate Queen of Heaven; and we look forward to her continued protection and guidance, safe beneath the white flowing mantle of her heavenly grace.

Prayer

Our Lady of the Snows, Immaculate Queen of the Universe, from this privileged sanctuary, Thou has bestowed so many countless graces and pledges of love upon the hearts and souls of millions. O Mother, from this cradle of Christianity, this Mother Church of all churches, deign to shower forth the graces of thine Immaculate Heart upon the remnant Faithful throughout the world, wherever they may be, and grant them the graces of a childlike love and unwavering fidelity to the holy truths of our Faith. Grant, good Mother, to the faithful Bishops of the Church the grace to defend Her Sacred Teachings, and to persevere courageously against all the enemies of the Holy Church. Amen.

The liturgical impact of homosexuality in the priesthood :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

The liturgical impact of homosexuality in the priesthood :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

While narcissistic behavior certainly isn’t the exclusive franchise of homosexuals, Dr. Fitzgibbons’ insights speak directly to the reason why homosexual men are ill-suited for the priesthood – a truth that comes into ever sharper focus when viewed through the lens of the sacred liturgy.  

“The male who suffers with deep-seated homosexuality has difficulty in being Christ visible in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for a number of reasons,” Dr. Fitzgibbons continued. “For instance, a number of well-designed studies have documented that the homosexual man struggles with weaknesses in male confidence, which in turn makes it difficult for him to give of himself fully in the ministerial roles as a spouse to the Church and as a spiritual father to Her children as the priest is called to carry them out in persona Christi at Mass.”

Priest Condemned to Hell by Jesus!!!

ZENIT - A Prophet's Depression, an Apostle's Grief, a Disciple's Fear

ZENIT - A Prophet's Depression, an Apostle's Grief, a Disciple's Fear

At certain times in our contemporary Church history, everything seems to indicate shipwreck, fear, drowning and death. But let us be honest and realize that the Church goes on, saving souls and journeying to its final harbor. In that blessed realm, beyond the seas of this life, all the things which threaten God's Church in this world will be gone for ever. At those times, we must listen to the Lord, as Peter did, and cast the nets again into the deep -- for it is our faith that is being tested -- not as to whether we profess it or not -- but as to whether we are ready to do something about it or not. 

He calms the storms of life

Let us never forget this fact: We are on the waters with Jesus. He is in the boat with us, during the night and during the storms. The Lord does not abandon those who come seeking his mercy and his forgiveness. He walks upon the waters. He calms the storm. He guides the boat into safe harbor, and brings with him the great catch, the great feast, to which we are all summoned -- the daily feast of his Body and Blood, our food for eternal life. This is cause for rejoicing!

Fatima Visionary Saw and Confirmed the Apparitions of Our Lady of Medjugorje

Fatima Visionary Saw and Confirmed the Apparitions of Our Lady of Medjugorje

As the Vatican continues its international Commission investigating the ongoing apparitions of Medjugorje, under the leadership of Cardinal Camillo Ruini and the CDF, the Holy See should not ignore an important, but little known, fact about these Marian apparitions. They were confirmed as being authentic by the main visionary of Fatima, Sister Lucia dos Santos, who not only confirmed but also reported experiencing apparitions of Our Lady of Medjugorje in the convent.

According to Sister Lucia’s own nephew, Father Salinho — a Salesian priest who lives in Portugal — Sister Lucia continued receiving visions of the Virgin Mary long after 1917, and some of these apparitions of the Virgin spoke to Sister Lucia of the Madonna’s continued work in Medjugorje.

satan in the World Today

http://catholicdeliverance.blogspot.com/2011/07/real-power-of-satan.html


From Exorcism and the Church Militant,

By Fr. Thomas J. Euteneuer, Exorcist

In today’s day and age, Satan is growing exponentially more powerful due to the enormity of human sinfulness, and the Church must confront his power either willingly or unwillingly. Satan is normally “hidden in the dark sea of human sin and error,” like Leviathan of the Old Testament, but nowadays he is walking tall in powerful structures of sin like abortion, pornography, sex slavery, rapacious greed and terrorism. He flexes his muscles in the massive diffusion of errors and sinful practices like the doctrines of myriad false religions, pernicious ideologies like radical feminism and “pro-choice” extremism, the militant homosexual movement and the aggressive mass media which is the ministry of propaganda for Satan and all his works and all his empty promises.

Never in all of history have we seen evil promoted so effectively and the true good so roundly mocked and rejected as in this age of extreme technological prowess. Although evil has existed since the dawn of time and manifested itself to the world, the difference between the modern world and past generations is that Satan has a greater ability to use groups and institutions for increasing his wicked reach into human life and society. No longer is evil just practiced in the haunts of cemeteries, seedy parlors and hidden covens. Nowadays, objective evil is displayed out in the open air with impunity, celebrated in the public forum and strategized in plush board rooms. Whole industries and power groups are dedicated to its promotion and dissemination, and sometimes the sheer power of these industries of immorality defies imagination. They target the younger generations with an immense seductive force, and the young are almost entirely unequipped to deal with this tyranny of sin due to unparalleled attacks on faith, marriage, family and innocent human life in modern times. Not only do young people not know the truth about their salvation; they don't even know that they don’t know it.

The 21st century is a moral and spiritual battlefield of such immense proportions that no era of human history will have ever seen a war like it. Satan is using the cumulative force of this world’s sinfulness to re-define life as we know it. Now, this war is not just against trained combatants. It is total war against all that is sacred and natural. It is a war against humanity itself, something unseen before in all of history with the possible exception of atheistic Communism.

The devil now arrogates to himself the right to control the totality of human existence even in so-called free societies: from manipulating the very act of creation (in vitro fertilization, cloning, Human Genome); to the authority over life and death (abortion, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia); to the definition of human sexuality and marriage (birth control, divorce, homosexual unions); to the very prospect of human annihilation (nuclear war, genocide and the impending New World Order). Nothing escapes the rebellious forces of hedonism and secularism in their violent march through our world. They creep into the fabric of our lives and families like a vapor until they have poisoned the entire environment and make everyone believe that their toxicity is “normal.” If the measure of a war’s ferociousness is the number of casualties, the modern war to exterminate souls is unprecedented in the history of humanity; it is nothing short of history’s worst nuclear holocaust in spiritual terms.

*****Malachi Martin, in the 1992 preface to his book, Hostage to the Devil, said that “ritualistic Satanism and its inevitable consequence, demonic Possession, are now part and parcel of the atmosphere of life in America… such pervasive cultural desolation is the most fertile ground one could possibly imagine for the causes of Possession to take root and flourish in almost unimpeded freedom.” It must be kept in mind that such a frightening observation was made at a time before the advent of the Internet, the massive diffusion of New Age beliefs and the Harry Potter books and movies. Martin’s observations suggest that this evil is so all-encompassing that only the authority of God Himself, borne and administered by the Church, is adequate to meet this challenge.

AUGUST 2 INDULGENCE

http://catholicdeliverance.blogspot.com/2011/07/august-2nd-feast-of-portiuncula.html

THE PORTIUNCULA INDULGENCE....AUGUST 2ND

The Portiuncula Indulgence is the first plenary indulgence ever granted in the Roman Catholic Church. One who gains the Portiuncula Indulgence is freed from all temporal punishments and becomes as pure as after Baptism.

(It was Pope Honorius who granted the petition of St. Francis of Assisi and confirmed this plenary indulgence.)

The conditions to obtain the Plenary Indulgence of the Forgiveness of Assisi -- for oneself or for a departed soul -- are as follows:

1) Sacramental Confession to be in God’s grace (8 days before or after).

2) Participation in the Holy Mass and Eucharist (August 2nd).

3) Recitation of The Apostles Creed, Our Father, and a prayer for the Pope’s Intentions (after Mass).

The Portiuncula Indulgence is a grace not to be missed,

not only for you but for the many suffering souls in Purgatory.

(Source: http://rhinoweb.org/portiuncula-indulgence)

John Michael Talbot

August 2, 2009

The Portiuncula (small portion) refers to the land in Assisi, Italy, that belonged to the Benedictines. On this land was an old church dedicated to the Virgin Mother of God but abandoned.
St. Francis had great devotion to the queen of the world and when he saw that the church was deserted, he began to live there and repair it. He heard that the angels often visited it, so that it was called St. Mary of the Angels.
The Benedictines wanted to give Francis the church but in order to remain faithful to Lady Poverty; Francis rented it from them with the annual compensation of a basket of fish from the Tescio River.
Here is where Francis began his service to Christ and His Church. Here Francis founded his Order, received Clare as his spiritual daughter, and where he died commending this spot above all others to the friars.
St. Francis had great love and compassion for everyone. On a night of July, 1216, Francis prayed in the little church; devoured by love for God and a thirst to save souls, he prayed for the forgiveness of sins of all mankind.
Suddenly a brilliant light shone all around. In great splendor Jesus and Mary appeared in the midst of a dazzling cloud surrounded by a multitude of radiant angels. Out of fear and reverence, St. Francis adored Our Lord prostrate upon the ground.
Then Jesus said to him: “Francis you are very zealous for the good of souls. Ask me what you want for their salvation.” St. Francis was rapt in ecstasy before Jesus. When he regained his courage he said: “Lord, I a miserable sinner beg you to concede an indulgence to all those who enter this church, who are truly contrite and have confessed their sins. And I beg Blessed Mary, your Mother, intercessor of man that she intercede on behalf of this grace.”
Our Lady at once began to beseech her son on behalf of Francis. Jesus answered: “It is a very great thing that which you ask Me; but you are worthy of even greater things, Friar Francis, and greater things you will have. So I accept your request, but I want you to go to my Vicar, to whom I have given the power to bind and loose in Heaven and on earth, to ask him on my behalf for this indulgence.”
With one of his companions, Francis hastened to Pope Honorius III and prostrate implored him to proclaim that every one visiting the church and confessing their sins with a contrite heart would be as pure from all sin and punishments as he was immediately after baptism. The Pope granted this petition. This indulgence has been extended to all parish churches throughout the world.
The date was set from vespers of the first of August until sundown on the second of August, the Feast of Our Lady of the Angels. It is said that St. Francis was given this day by Our Lord because the Feast of the Chains of St. Peter celebrated on August first is the day Peter was released from prison and his chains removed. This is an extraordinary demonstration of God’s mercy in removing the chains of sin from those who devoutly and faithfully seek to gain the indulgence by completing its requirements.
The conditions to obtain the Plenary Indulgence of the Forgiveness of Assisi is for oneself or for a departed soul as follows:

— Sacramental Confession to be in God’s grace (during eight days before or after.)

— Participation in the Holy Mass and Eucharist

— Recitation of The Apostles Creed, Our Father and a prayer for the Pope’s Intention.

The Portiuncula Indulgence is a grace not to be missed, not only for you but for the many suffering souls in Purgatory.
Mark your calendar for the Feast of Our Lady of the Angels beginning on the First of August to August 2nd and tell everyone of the magnitude of this gift. Once again, we see the unfathomable Divine Mercy of God.
In the words of St. Francis: O my Brothers and Sisters, I want you all to go to Heaven!