Thursday, August 31, 2006

Bite-size wisdom (the Eucharist)


"There he is: King of Kings and Lord of Lords, hidden in the bread.
To this extreme has he humbled himself for love of you."

St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way, #538

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Tuesday, August 22, 2006

More News on Pius XII and the Jewish Holocaust

The following comes from Michelle Arnold, writing on the blog www.JimmyAkin.org on 8/22/06

Ransoming Captive Israel

More evidence is surfacing that Venerable Pope Pius XII [slandered in a recent book as "Hitler's Pope"], far from sitting around twiddling his thumbs during the Shoah, was on the front lines of rescue efforts to save Jews from the Nazis. The Tablet, a British Catholic publication somewhat analogous to the American National Catholic Reporter, notes that the diary of an Augustinian nun in Rome during the war chronicles that Jews were hidden in her convent on Pius XII's directive.
"The anonymous author of the journal provides detailed names and dates of more than 10 Jews and non-Jews who were sheltered in the convent from September 1942 to June 1944. One of these was Amalia Viterbo, the Jewish niece of Palmiro Togliatti, one of the creators of the Italian Communist Party and secretary of the Comintern before the Second World War.
"The Augustinian sister writes that the Pope wished to save 'his children [Catholics] as well as Jews' and ordered that monasteries and enclosures should be opened up to those persecuted.
"Later, when the convent superior perceived that the SS were flouting the sanctuary of convent enclosures, she had false identity papers drawn up for her guests."


See below for the full story from the Tablet:

Church in the World 19 August 2006 Italy
"Pius XII hid Jews during war"
by Philip Crispin
The Roman convent of Santi Quattro Coronati sheltered political fugitives and Jews during the Second World War on the direct orders of Pope Pius XII, according to the diary of one of the Augustinian convent's sisters.
According to the Italian daily La Stampa, which has seen the 60-year-old-plus diary, the Pope, who has often been criticised for keeping his counsel during the Holocaust, instructed the mother superior to open, exceptionally, the enclosure of the contemplative order's convent in order to shelter those fleeing the Germans.
The anonymous author of the journal provides detailed names and dates of more than 10 Jews and non-Jews who were sheltered in the convent from September 1942 to June 1944. One of these was Amalia Viterbo, the Jewish niece of Palmiro Togliatti, one of the creators of the Italian Communist Party and secretary of the Comintern before the Second World War.
The Augustinian sister writes that the Pope wished to save "his children as well as Jews" and ordered that monasteries and enclosures should be opened up to those persecuted.
Later, when the convent superior perceived that the SS were flouting the sanctuary of convent enclosures, she had false identity papers drawn up for her guests.
The diary should interest historians who have been at loggerheads for 60 years over the attitude of Pope Pius XII concerning concentration camps and the Holocaust. Many have accused him of complicity through his silence.


---------------
Links to books on the matter:


The Myth of Hitler's Pope: Pope Pius XII and
His Secret War Against Nazi Germany
by David G. Dalin (Hardcover - Jul 25, 2005)

Man of Peace: Pope Pius XII Margarita Marchione
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809142457/sr=8-8/qid=1156260395/ref=sr_1_8/104-6635583-6739153?ie=UTF8

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Monday, August 14, 2006

Maria Assumpta Est! (Mary is Assumed!)


Tomorrow (August 15) is the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven.
A great way to celebrate this wonderful feast day (besides attending Mass—this is a Holy Day of obligation, remember) is to take a little time to study the Church's teaching on the dogma of the Assumption.
OK, here is a test for how well you know your faith. Can you explain what this doctrine is?

Let's go to the Catechism of the Catholic Church for help:


966. “Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as the Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death” [Lumen Gentium 59, Pius XII Munificentissimus Deus (1950)]. The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians.

Did you get all that? OK, let's analyze this piece by piece.

1.“the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin:

This, of course, is the central Marian dogma—the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception. By a unique and singular grace of God, Mary was kept from the stain of Original Sin... This was a GIFT from God: it was the result of the grace of God... the grace that would come as result of Jesus Christ's passion, death, and resurrection.
You might ask, how could God give grace to Mary BEFORE Jesus won that grace for her on the Cross in Cavlary. Remember, God is eternal... God is not bound by time, He is outside of time. God has the power to apply to any man or woman the grace that will result from a future event. At any rate, Mary was conceived free from all stain of original Sin (just as Adam and Eve were), SO THAT she could be COMPLETELY FREE to say YES or NO at the Annunciation. If Mary was burdened with Original Sin, she would have been (like the rest of us), slaves to sin, slaves inclined to doing our own will rather than the will of God.

2. “When the course of her earthly life was finished:

The dogma as stated does not say definitively whether or not Mary died, and then was assumed body and soul to heaven... or whether she was just taken up without having to actually undergo death. This is a matter of theological speculation, people are free to entertain their own theories because it not defined as part of the dogma. Note also that Jesus “ascended” (went up) into heaven by his own power—as God. Mary, was “assumed”... drawn up to heaven by the power of God... not by her own power. Although she is the most perfect of creatures--the Immaculate, Mary is still a creature, after all. Do not get that aspect of the “assumption” and the “ascension” confused as some do. Remember also, that the Bible speaks of two previous “assumptions” into heaven: Enoch (Gen 5:24) and Elijah (the fiery chariot—2 Kings 2:11).

3. “so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death” ...
4. “a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians.”


What happened to Mary is unique (a singular gift). She is the only one who is PERFECTLY in God's presence (not just her soul, but she is complete as a person—soul AND glorified body, living in communion with the Holy Trinity in heaven). The other saints are in God's presence in heaven, but the consummation/perfection of their heavenly life will come at the end of time—with the Resurrection of the dead, when everyone has their bodies restored to them. Jesus loved His mother so much, and they were so close, that he gave Mary an “advance payment” you can say... she is enjoying the full fruits of His victory over death now. We are all destined to be conformed to Jesus Christ—that has already begun with our baptism, and it is nourished every time we receive the sacraments. But, Mary is already fully conformed to Jesus. So, this dogma of the Assumption teaches us about Mary's existence body and soul into heaven so that we can look to her as a sign of our future hope. What she is now, glorified in heaven, in the presence of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—we one day can hope to be! Praise God!

The newly published Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states this last point nicely:

199. In what way is the Blessed Virgin Mary the eschatological icon of the Church?
Looking upon Mary, who is completely holy and already glorified in body and soul, the Church contemplates in her what she herself is called to be on earth and what she will be in the homeland of heaven.

[“eschatological” is a theological term that refers to the phenomena associated with the end of time, what we traditionally refer to as the 4 “last things”--Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell. “eschata” is Greek for “last things”]

WAIT, YOU ARE NOT DONE YET....

Check out this article on the Assumption:
http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library
_article/190/Assumption_of_the_
Blessed_Virgin_Mary.html


Understand and Explain the Assumption to your non-Catholic Christian friends:
http://www.catholic.com/library/
Immaculate_Conception_and_Assum.asp


You can listen to an MP file of a radio program on the Assumption (Catholic Answers Live):
Go to August 15 on the callendar, "Maria Assumpta Est"
http://www.catholic.com/radio/calendar.php


Here is a homily by doctor of the Church St. John Damascene (d. 749)

This reading on the Assumption of Mary is taken from the first homily of St. John Damascene on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

“But even though, according to nature, your most holy and happy soul is separated from your most blessed and stainless body and the body as usual is delivered to the tomb, it will not remain in the power of death and is not subject to decay. For just as her virginity remained inviolate while giving birth, when she departed her body was preserved from destruction and only taken to a better and more divine tabernacle, which is not subject to any death . . . Hence I will call her holy passing not death, but falling asleep or departure, or better still, arrival. . . .

"Your stainless and wholly immaculate body has not been left on earth; the Queen, the Mistress, the Mother of God who has truly given birth to God has been translated to the royal palaces of heaven. .

"Angels and archangels have borne you upwards, the impure spirits of the air have trembled at your ascension. The air is purified, the ether sanctified by your passing through them. . . the powers meet you with sacred hymns and much solemnity, saying something like this: Who is she that comes forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, elect like the sun? [cf. Cant 6:9] How you have blossomed forth, how sweet you have become! You are the flower of the field, a lily among the thorns [Cant 2.1] . . . Not like Elijah have you entered heaven, not like Paul have you been rapt to the third heaven; no, you have penetrated even to the royal throne of your Son himself . . . a blessing for the world, a sanctification of the universe, refreshment for those who are tired, comfort for the sorrowing, healing for the sick, a port for those in danger, pardon for sinners, soothing balm for the oppressed, quick help for all who pray to you. . .

“Good Mistress, graciously look down on us; direct and guide our destinies wheresoever you will. Pacify the storm of our wicked passions, guide us into the quiet port of the divine will and grant us the blessedness to come.”

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Poetry Break ("Beauty of Creation")

another Poetry Break... because you deserve one.

The Beauty of Creation Bears Witness to God

Question the beauty of the earth,
the beauty of the sea,
the beauty of the wide air around you,
the beauty of the sky;
question the order of the stars,
the sun whose brightness lights the day,
the moon whose splendor softens the gloom of night;
question the living creatures that move in the waters,
that roam upon the earth,
that fly through the air;
the spirit that lies hidden,
the matter that is manifest;
the visible things that are ruled,
the invisible that rule them;
question all these.
They will all answer you:
"Behold and see, we are beautiful."
Their beauty is their confession of God.
Who made these beautiful changing things,
if not one who is beautiful and changeth not?

St. Augustine [published in Appendix IV, p. 1967 of the Liturgy of the Hours, vol. III]

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Thursday, August 10, 2006

Where have all the monks and nuns gone?


Where have all of the monks and nuns gone?

It is obvious to everyone that there has been a notable decline in the numbers of men and women religious in the United States.

Here are some stats for the U.S.: Women religious (sisters and nuns) have been hit the hardest: They have gone from 122,159 in 1945 (or 1 woman religious per 180 Catholics)to 79,876 in 2000 (or 1 woman religious per 761 total Catholics). That is a decline of 54%. The median age of women religious has gone from around 62-63 in 1985 to the mid-upper 60's in 2000.

Religious priests (priests who are in a religious order, not diocesan parish priests) have gone down 30% in the same time period, and Religious brothers (those who are in a religious community but are not ordained to the priesthood) are down 36%. The median age of the men has gone from 55 in 1985 to 62 in 2000. [These stats are according to Georgetown's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate: http://cara.georgetown.edu/bulletin/RelStatistics.html ]

(kinda depressing, huh?)

Monks, nuns, friars, and sisters used to have a very visible presence and are part of a cherished memory especially for many older Catholics who attended parochial schools. Indeed men and women religious have made a tremendous contribution to the history of the Church and this nation. They possess a legacy of education, charitable service, and prayerful ministry that we have too easily taken for granted and trivialize (say “nun”, and we automatically summon ruler-slapping-hand jokes).

Well, where have they all gone? Yes it is true that the number of consecrated religious (men and women who have consecrated themselves to God via vows of poverty, obedience, and chastity) in the U.S. are down. But is there extinction a foregone conclusion? Are we facing the death of a once beautiful way of life in the Church? Is religious life no longer relevant in our modern world? (... Not a chance, keep reading...)

Contrary to what a lot of Catholics hear and see, there are a few orders that are quietly reviving and growing. Many of these orders are reforms of traditional orders (Franciscan, etc.). Some of these communities are growing VERY FAST... with young men and women entering at such a rate that the communities cannot accept everyone that wants to enter right away. Below is a list of links to some of these groups that I know of (and there are no doubt more)... some of which I have had the great privilege of visiting.

BEFORE THOSE LINKS, however, CHECK OUT THE FOLLOWING. It is a newsletter put out by the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (CFR). They are a new reform order founded on the Capuchin Franciscan tradition (one famous Capuchin was St. [Padre] Pio) by Fr. Benedict Groeschel and some others. You may know of Fr. Groeschel from his shows on EWTN and his many outstanding books. This group of friars live in various areas of New York city and work with the very poor. They are dedicated to serving the poor and evangelization. The friaries where they live are simple, they sleep on the floor in sparce cells, they have no TV, they eat simply and pray often... they also are down to earth men who laugh and have a great time as a community. The friars average 15-20 new men a year! Soon they will have to start spreading to other cities in NY. (There is also a small group of sisters). This newsletter article gives a lot of information about religious vows. Check it out:

http://www.franciscanfriars.com/fr.%20glenn%20letters/frglenn797.htm

[Also, FYI, there main web site is: http://www.franciscanfriars.com/ ]
_____________________________
Other interesting religious orders (these are just some, check out those links that sound interesting...):

WOMEN RELIGIOUS

The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation – Nashville, TN
http://www.nashvilledominican.org/

The Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist (Ann Arbor, MI)
http://www.sistersofmary.org/

Sisters of Life – NY
http://www.sistersoflife.org/

Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George – Alton, IL.
http://www.altonfranciscans.org/

Carmel of St. Theresa of Alhambra, CA (Carmelites)
http://members.aol.com/teresacarm/

Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration (PCPA) (Mother Angelica, EWTN)
http://www.olamshrine.com/olam/nuns.htm

Missionaries of Charity (of course) (Blessed Mother Theresa)
http://www.cmswr.org/member_communities/MC.htm

MEN RELIGIOUS

The Congregation of the Missionaries of the Immaculate Conception
http://www.marian.org/ (promoters of the Divine Mercy devotion, etc.)

Franciscan Friars of the Eternal Word (MFVA, Mother Angelica, EWTN)
http://www.mfva.info/mfva/default.asp

Franciscan Brothers of Peace
http://www.brothersofpeace.org/

Little Brothers of St. Francis
http://www.littlebrothersofstfrancis.org/

Franciscans of the Immaculate (reform from the Convetual Franciscan tradition)
http://www.marymediatrix.com/rel_life/

St. Michael's Abbey of the Norbertine Fathers
http://www.abbeynews.net/

St. Louis Abbey (Benedictine)
http://www.stlouisabbey.org/

Oratory of St. Philip Neri
http://www.oratory-toronto.org/

Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
http://www.fssp.com/

Fathers of Mercy
http://www.fathersofmercy.com/

A good general website for information on religious communities:
http://religiouslife.com/ Institute on Religious Life

LET'S ALL CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR VOCATIONS (and there will be more on that topic later...) (in the meantime, get to praying! ...)

PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS
Lord Jesus Christ, shepherd of souls, who called the apostles to be fishers of men, raise up new apostles in your holy Church. Teach them that to serve you is to reign: to possess you is to possess all things. Kindle in the hearts of our young people the fire of zeal for souls. Make them eager to spread your Kingdom upon earth. Grant them courage to follow you, who are the Way, the Truth, and the Life; who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.

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