Here is a nie presentation from Father Mark Brummel, Director of the National Shrine of St. Jude. He answers questions about Advent, St. Jude, and the faithfuls’ responsibility during the Advent season.
Father Mark Brummel provides a thoughtful explanation on the meaning of Advent.
The national holiday season, Thanksgiving, is over. Now we enter into the holy day season, Christmas. Or, more precisely, we’re in Advent, preparing for the joyous day of the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Here is a beautiful video, from Totus Tuus Productions/YouTube, that explains Advent and our liturgical and worship traditions.
The reason for the season is Christ and the season is Advent.
On behalf of Brother John and myself, please accept our warmest wishes and prayers for a bountiful and blessed Thanksgiving, full of family and fun.
Although an American holiday and not overtly religious, it is, nevertheless, a reverent time to give thanks to the Lord our God for all the blessings he has bestowed on us — individually, our families and our country. After all, prayer was a the foundation of the very First Thanksgiving (in Virginia!) (See video). Each proclamation since, whether by the Continental Congress or the President of the United States, has called for prayer to our Creator and God for the special blessings He has granted this country.
Here, then, is a Catholic prayer of Thanksgiving for this special American holiday:
Father in Heaven, Creator of all and source of all goodness and love, please look kindly upon us and receive our heartfelt gratitude in this time of giving thanks.
Thank you for all the graces and blessings. You have betowed upon us, spiritual and temporal: our faith and religious heritage. Our food and shelter, our health, the loves we have for one another, our family and friends.
Dear Father, in Your infinite generosity, please grant us continued graces and blessing throughout the coming year.
This we ask in the Name of Jesus, Your Son and our Brother. Amen.
Last night, Bishop Thomas Tobin of the Diocese of Providence, R.I., appeared on The O’Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel to dispel myths and misstatements about his role as Bishop in dealing with Church Scandal — that is, the misrepresentation of Church Teaching by one who claims to be of the Faithful. In this case, that someone is a public and powerful person, U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) (see Yahoo! News), who publicly claims it is fine to be pro-abortion-on-demand and be a Catholic in good standing.
Something new to me in watching the interview is that Bishop Tobin is the author of the new book, Effective Faith. I hope to have more on this in the near future. The interview itself was excellent. Bill O’Reilly was thorough in his questions and effectively took the opposing angle. Bishop Tobin’s responses regardig why Rep. Kennedy should not receive Holy Communion were grounded in the Truth, so it was no surprise he was unruffled, firm and unapologetic, while laying out the Church’s teachings cogently, logically and theologically precise.
In addition to the interview, below, here is a link to its coverage on WPRI-TV/12 in Rhode Island. Also, Bishop Tobin was a recent guest on Hardball With Chris Matthews on MSNBC. Matthews was utterly offensive and disrespectful and Deacon Keith Fournier of Catholic Online calls for his firing.
Here’s the interview. Let me know what you think of it.
Bishop Thomas Tobin honesty and steadfastness for the Truth was a natural on the “no spin zone” last night.
Bishop Thomas Tobin of the Diocese of Providence, R.I., will give an exclusive interview to Bill O’Reilly on The O’Reilly Factor tonight on the Fox News Channel (8:00 Eastern, repeated at 11:00 and throughout the night). Bishop Tobin has been in the news of late because U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), son of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, and an adamant pro-abortion proponent, has made public Bishop Tobin’s correspondence to him.
Yesterday, the congressman released a 2007 letter in which Bishop Tobin requested that Rep. Kennedy refrain from receiving Holy Communion because of his abortion on demand positions and misrepresenting the Faith. Currently, the two have disagreed publicly on the congressman’s support of the abortion provisions in the health care bill.
Each time Bishop Tobin as counseled him on the teachings of the Church, all in private, Rep. Kennedy has gone public with the release of the personal, pastoral letters. But Bishop Tobin has responded with clarity and grace, despite the breach of confidentiality. While a Bishop/member-of-the-flock feud rarely becomes public, there are great lessons to be learned about this — namely, that public figures cannot bring scandal upon the Church by misrepresting Church teaching and expect those pledged to uphold The Truth let them continue misleading the faithful.
The interview should be of utmost interest. I hope all Real Catholic Blog readers will get a chance to view it. Then, please leave your comments and impressions of the interview and the controversy in general. Also, here is a link to an online poll from NBC10 in Providence. Please take the time to vote in it.
Here is a message from Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests For Life, from last week. It’s succinct, but powerful. We cannot let the soon to be hectic time of year distract us from the importance of the health care legislation pending in Congress, for it most assuredly will undermine the sanctity of the unborn.
Advent is upon us when we celebrate the birth of the Christ child, the miracle of the Word made flesh. How can we celebrate that birth but forget the destruction of millions of unborn children each year, each a miracle itself, miracles denied by abortion? Please pray vigilantly for the end of abortion.
Dear Friends,
Sunday (was) the Feast of Christ the King and the last Sunday of the liturgical year. The following week, Advent begins and the Church focuses on the coming of Christ, both at Christmas and at the end of time.
Christ is truly king over heaven and earth. How important it is for us to remember that in this battle for health care reform to protect the unborn. This battle is ultimately about who rules over us; it is about who our King is. Our worship of Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords impels us to communicate with our elected representatives and urge them to do what is right.
God bless you.
- Fr. Frank Pavone
In this Year For Priests, it is important not only applaud our priests and to thank them (which we should always do anyway) but to pray for them and also pray for more vocations so their burden is lightened and allow them to provide other ministries. (One pastor, the only priest at a very large parish, once lamented to the parish that he could not continue his prison ministry because it was all he could do to meet his parish duties.)
So, how can the laity help? Here’s eight ways we can nurture vocations, thanks to Sister Fidelis Tracy, C.D.P.
Vatican II taught us that, through our Baptism, we all are called to holiness. Each of us must nurture our vocation and others’ vocations. This applies in a special way to encouraging priestly and religious vocations, whether we be parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts or mentors. Here’s how:
» Be faith-filled people. Pray for guidance in decisions, and seek to deepen your relationship with God. Let Christian values guide you.
» Be generous and of service to others.
» Pray. Let the children see you pray and pray with them in ordinary and extraordinary circumstances.
» Share faith. Talk with children about how faith affects your life.
» Make and demand sacrifice. Help children see both by example and by what you expect of them that a holy and happy life involves sacrifice.
» Stay in touch. Get to know priests and religious by interacting with them as opportunities arise so that you are comfortable with them and understand their commitment.
» Educate. Teach children you know about the option of a call to religious life or priesthood as well as the call to marriage or single life.
» Support. If a child or young adult speaks of a desire to be a priest, deacon, brother or sister, be supportive.
There is plenty to do. On the other hand, it can — and should — be a seamless segue into our typical daily functions and interactions with our children and others.
Sister Fidelis wrote this from the perspective of people with children but it applies to all of us, whether we have children, our children are grown and into a secular vocation or job, or whether we do not have children. Please pray constantly for the well being and constant zeal for the Lord of our current priests, for the wise discernment of seminarians, and for the increase of vocations of holy men to the Priesthood and of holy men and women to the Diaconate and Religious Life.
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich, a recent convert to Catholicism, and one who freely talks about the inspiration he derived from Pope John Paul II before his conversion, has produced a new documentary on the late Pontiff’s return to his native Poland in June 1979, a seminal event that was the first sledge hammer blow at the base of communism. It’s called Nine Days That Changed The World and is due for release sometime before the end of the year.
It’s hard to recall those times, not so much because of the years, but given the context of today’s world. There is little tension between countries of opposing political philosophies, but rather between terrorism and civilization. But then, standing armies and strategic geo-political alliances were balanced and counter balanced constantly. Evil empires enslaved hundreds of millions of people and exiled God . . . or at least tried to.
One Soviet dictator famously ridiculed the power of the Papacy by snidely asking, “How many divisions does the Pope command?” But in October 1978, it began to change through the power of the Holy Spirit with the election of Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla as the Successor of Saint Peter.
Even the shortest examination of John Paul The Great’s life reveals that the Holy Spirit had something enormously important in store for him, from his days in Poland under Nazi, then communist rule, barely escaping with his life. The film’s promotional material explained his impact as Pope this way:
What transpired during these nine days that so moved a nation to begin to free itself of its Communist shackles? Why did millions of Poles, almost one third of the entire nation, come to see the Pope during his public appearances? What was the nature of the Communist system in Poland that made John Paul II’s visit a liberating moment?
Nine Days that Changed the World is a story of human liberation. It reveals how Pope John Paul II’s historic visit helped the Poles not only find their courage, but also reclaim their culture. This film presents the Pope’s message — that after the lies of Nazism and Communism, authentic human freedom is only possible through a true understanding of our humanity.
We look forward to hearing more about this film and its eventual release.
John Paul The Great celebrating Mass with millions during his hero’s welcome to his native Poland in 1979. That visit led to the eventual emancipation of Eastern Europe. A third of the entire Polish population saw him in those nine days.
Saint Anselm (b. 1033) could have had the good life. He was born to a noble family and was well educated. He inherited wealth. Yet, he felt the call of the Lord and at 27 years made a commitment to the Benedictine Order. He became a scholar, builder, administrator and a leader of the Church as Archbishop of Canterbury.
Above all, he remained influenced by the formation he received from his mother and in turn was instrumental in the formation of young priests. His was a remarkable life in servitude of the Lord as a teacher, pastor and theologian, for which he is a Doctor of the Church. EWTN has a lengthy biography here.
However, a modern scholar happened to elaborate on Saint Anselm’s life today, more poignantly and significantly than can an entire catalogue of biographies. Here’s the text of the English translation of Pope Benedict’s General Audience today, courtesy of ZENIT, with an excerpt below:
Saint Anselm: Teacher, Pastor, Theologian
St. Anselm was born in 1033 (or the beginning of 1034) in Aosta, the firstborn of a noble family. His father was a crude man, dedicated to the pleasures of life and a spendthrift of his goods; his mother, on the other hand, was a woman of superior customs and profound religiosity (cf. Eadmero, Vita s. Anselmi, PL 159, col 49). It was his mother who took care of the first human and religious formation of her son, whom she later entrusted to the Benedictines of a priory of Aosta. Anselm, who from his childhood — as his biographer recounts — imagined the dwelling of the good God to be among the high and snow clad summits of the Alps, dreamed one night that he was invited to this splendid palace by God himself, who entertained him affably for a good while and at the end offered him to eat “a very white bread” (ibid., col 51).
This dream left him the conviction of being called to fulfill a high mission. At the age of 15, he asked to be admitted to the Benedictine Order, but his father opposed him with all his authority and did not even give in when his son, gravely ill, and sensing he was close to death, implored the religious habit as his last consolation.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops competed work on the new translation of the Roman Missal ahead of its end of November Vatican deadline today with overwhelming votes of approval, easily overcoming the two-thirds threshold on each vote. Now, the translation goes to the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments for the final approval.
Even though the earliest date the new translations would go into affect would not be before 2011, bishops were urged to prepare their dioceses now for the changes. Cardinal Francis George, the conference president, said that with the changes ”there is a tremendous moment of religious renewal that is possible now.” There’s more at Zenit.org.
