Real Catholic Blog

It’s funny how things work. Okay, let me stop myself: “how things work” — how very secular. You see how long hours in the pits can make you forget what’s important? Which is exactly why this little story is relevant. It’s not “things” at work. It’s the Holy Spirit, of course!

Yesterday, when I got home, there was a message from the new Friday captain at the Adoration Chapel I attend. Make that, had been attending. A unrelenting work schedule (for the most part) and, admittedly, some disorganization om my part, over the last several months had prohibited me from attending my Friday afternoon hour. But finally, some very much looked-forward-to light at the end of the tunnel is upon men, as the schedule is about to relax, and so I have look forward to rededicating myself to a 3:00 Friday hour of adoration. So, what perfect timing to get such a message!

Then, I get an e-mail from my local Legion of Mary friend. They are having a Mass, Rosary and a potluck brunch, but she left off the flyer attachment. There was enough information in the e-mail, but I replied and asked her to send the flyer anyway. In her reply, was the below quote. Wow! I guess something — not a thing, the Holy Spirit — is telling me something, huh?

Adore and visit Jesus abandoned and forsaken by men in His Sacrament of love. Man has time for everything except for visits to his Lord and God, who is waiting and longing for him in His tabernacle. The streets and houses of amusement are filled with people. The house of God is deserted.

- St. Peter Julian Eymard (1811 – 1868)

Oh, so very true. Just as in my case with work. We all need time to for perspective. Nothing gives us that than time alone with the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament at Adoration. Silence. The Rosary. Reading meditations or Scripture. Especially during Lent. It will do you good in many ways. Not the least among them, remembering from whence all things come.

Faith does matter. During Lent, we are especially called to redouble our faith through prayer, fasting and sacrifice in order to draw closer to God. Here is an instructive video from Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, about the Eucharist (EWTN).

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio speaks about the Eucharist.

Today, at his Angelus prayer, Pope Benedict XVI commented on today’s Epistle reading at Mass, in First Corinthians, where Saint Paul illustrates the Church as one body with many parts, and Christ as its head. It is through “the sacraments, the Word of God, charisms and ministries that the Church continues the presence of the Risen Lord in history.” Monday marks the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Pope Benedict reiterates the imporance of the sacraments, The Word of God and ministries in continuing the presence of the Lord in the current age.

Catholics Come Home posted the video below on its YouTube Channel. It’s entitled, “The Bible proves Catholic beliefs that most protestants deny.” Although it is short, it is powerful, and debunks a few of the primary objections some protestants have toward Catholicism.

Of course, the fact that Catholic teaching comes from the Bible (and not from “some old men in Rome”) should not come as a surprise to anyone. Still, some people (Catholic and protestant) have been conditioned to believe otherwise. But, the fact is, every teaching of the Catholic Church is grounded in Scripture. Otherwise, we could not be one, true, apostolic, universal church. As CCH explains, the video proves Catholic teachings, using Biblical passages, that most protestants deny, including: 

Peter was the first Pope, Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Confession, The Bible alone is not sufficient, and justification by faith and works.

It should be noted that Catholics do consider protestants our separated brothers and sisters. And anyone who is Baptized “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” and believes in Jesus Christ is considered a Christian. But it is within the Catholic faith that the fullness of God’s revealed truth is found.

This video is a great primer on apologetics. Always remember, everything we believe is the Truth and it is the Truth because it is directly from Scripture. 

Father Tito of the Franciscan Friars of Air Maria gives a homily on the Luminous Mysteries, starting with the baptism of Jesus. He explains that we see Jesus’ espousal with His bride, the Church in the Luminous Mysteries. His breaking open of these mysteries gives good reason as to why John Paul The Great added these mysteries to the Rosary. Father Tito’s homily is packed with thoughtfulness. Every sentence gives you much to think about. Take the time to listen. It’s worth it.

The Catholic Church teaches the Truth, which is not easy. But who will teach those Truths if not us? Certainly “not the New York Times.”

In the post before last, I mentioned in quick succession a few aspects of the season, but aspects that nonetheless are intergral to each other and are central to our being as Catholics, not just during the Advent and Christmas seasons. As we celebrate a New Year and the Feast of Mary, Mother of God (ChurchYear.net), a Holy Day of Obligation, at a vigil tonight or at Mass  tomorrow, it is an appropriate time to flesh them out a bit.

First is the hope that the glow of the season stays with us all year long. We celebrate during Christmas God’s divine touch on us in the form of the Mystery of the Incarnation. Just because we celebrate Jesus’ birth now doesn’t mean he goes away the rest of the year. God becomes man through the incarnation. Inconceivable! It is worth celebrating all year.

We do that by constantly reflecting Jesus by our actions to others. Inspire them to the Lord by how we act and explain the Divine Mysteries. We especially need to instill the love of the Lord in those who at least show a perfunctory acknowledgment of God. Many people attend Mass twice a year. Let’s try to bring them home to the Church while there is an immediate Christmas warmth in their hearts. While this mission to bring to the salvation of the Church to others includes Christians, non-Christians and non-believers alike, we have a special obligation to show wayward Catholics the way home (see Catholics Come Home).

Bringing all this together is the central thought that the Wood of the Manger is the Wood of the Cross. While it is warm and fun to celebrate a birthday and exchange presents, God humbled himself to become man for one reason: To die for our sins. That is why we must “celebrate” Christmas all year. Not the gift-giving, but the life giving that Christ gave us by His birth — the everlasting life He gives us. For, if not for His birth, He has no human life. Without His Incarnation, we do not have His sacrifice on the Cross for our redemption and forgiveness of our sins. So the wood of the Manger is the Wood of the Cross. After all, even at Christmas, where we celebrate His birth, the central part of the Mass, what we truly celebrate, is the Holy Eucharist, Christ’s Body and Blood made available to us only by His death and Resurrection.

Yesterday was the Feast of two great saints. One, Saint John of the Cross (see DoctorsoftheCatholicChurch.com) is better known and it was his feast celebrated on the Latin Rite calendar. Also, yesterday, celebrated in the Eastern Rite, specifically, the Maronite Rite (see MaroniteMonks.org), was the feast of my ancestor, Saint Nimatullah Kassab Al-Hardini (Hardini.org), a Lebanese Maronite monk who was the mentor to the best known Lebanese Maronite Saint, Saint Charbel, whose Feast is celebrated in the Latin Rite in July (see Catholic Online).

Saint Nimatullah (1808-1858) was known for many things (see Eparchy of Saint Maron). He was an efficient administrator, a scholarly teacher and a devout priest. He was especially noted for his love of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Blessed Sacrament (see Vatican biography). He spent many hours in Eucharistic Adoration, often at the expense of sleep, kneeling in the chapel, arms raised cross-like and eyes trained on the tabernacle (see LebaneseSaints.com). Although there are photographs of him, the image below is the most famous one, and was used at his canonization, and honors his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.

There is volumes of information on Saint Nimatullah and other Maronite Saints. He lived an extradordinary life as a monk and was widely regarded from the Middle East to Rome, and was given great responsibilities. However, when the opportunity came to move to safer quarters at the outset of war, he remained, to look after those in need.

I could go on, but who better than John Paul The Great to speak of him? Saint Nimatullah was one in the last group of saints canonized by John Paul, on May 16, 2004.

Said the His Holiness about Saint Nimatullah:

A man of prayer, in love with the Eucharist which he adored for long periods, Saint Nimatullah Kassab Al-Hardini is an example for the monks of the Order of Lebanese Maronites as he is for his Lebanese brothers and sisters and all Christians of the world. He gave himself completely to the Lord in a life full of great sacrifices, showing that God’s love is the only true source of joy and happiness for man. He committed himself to searching for and following Christ, his Master and Lord.

Welcoming his brothers, he reassured and healed many wounds in the hearts of his contemporaries, witnessing to God’s mercy. May his example enlighten our journey and bring forth, especially in young people, a true desire for God and for holiness to proclaim to our world the light of the Gospel!

Devout to the Blessed Sacrament, in his love for the Lord and for the Church, Saint Nimatullah is a role model in many respects.

Ever since U.S. Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) (see A Catholic View) made public the private discourse between he and Bishop Thomas Tobin, of the Diocese of Providence, R.I., the mainstream media has had a field day, snidely belittling the Bishop and any clergy, for that matter, who stands up against abortion, especially the abortion-on-demand and conscious clause removals from the current health care “reform” legislation now in Congress. One rare fair interview was with Bill O’Reilly on the Fox News Channel (see previous post and video, here).   

Now the media is after Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri, a rare New England Republican, because he had the audacity to voice his support for his Bishop rather than his congressman (see LifeSiteNews.com). In a local radio interview Governor Carcieri said (from the Providence Journal):

“I think the Bishop had no choice … because if you go back to how this all started, it was basically Congressman Kennedy making pretty outrageous statements about the Catholic Church” and the church’s position on “protecting the sanctity of innocent human beings. So I think the bishop had no choice except to come back and defend the church, which I think he did very well.” 

Good on the governor! Perhaps more refreshing than the Bishop himself, who does not have a political class to appease, Governor Carcieri had no fear, despite an electorate much to the left of him on this issue. A real profile in courage. It shows that confidence in the courage of one’s convictions, convictions grounded in the Truth, will serve you well in the long run. Even in the short run. (See Deacon Keith Fournier’s commentary at Catholic Online.) So far, there seems to have been no backlash on the governor. Right now, the Bishop and the governor are standing tall.

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.