Catholic Carnival XXXII -Table of Plenty

This week's Catholic Carnival - a collection of posts from various Catholic blogs - is online at DeoOmnisGloria.com.

The Feast of the Visitation

And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said,

Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
And whence is this to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For, lo,
as soon as the voice of thy salutation
sounded in mine ears,
the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
And blessed is she that believed:
for there shall be
a performance of those things
which were told her from the Lord.

And Mary said,

My soul doth magnify the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded
the low estate of his handmaiden:
for, behold,
from henceforth all generations
shall call me blessed.

For he that is mighty
hath done to me great things;
and holy is his name.

And his mercy is on them that fear him
from generation to generation.

He hath shewed strength with his arm;
he hath scattered the proud
in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seats,
and exalted them of low degree.
He hath filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He hath holpen his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy;
As he spake to our fathers,
to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.
Luke 1:39-56

Joyful visitation

In today’s Gospel (Lk. 1:39-56) we have the familiar scene of the Visitation, as Mary visits Elizabeth right after receiving the Annunciation by the Archangel Gabriel.

It is a truly joyful event: even the child in Elizabeth’s womb (who will be known as John the Baptist) leaps for joy.

But not everyone may receive all parts of this Gospel passage with joy, especially where Mary says the following:

He hath put down the mighty from their seats….
and the rich he hath sent empty away.

It may seem, therefore, that this might not be a joyful visitation for those entrusted with positions of authority or blessed with earthly wealth.

Then again, perhaps it should not be so joyful for the unborn John the Baptist, because after the unborn child now in Mary’s womb begins his public ministry, John will lose both his own superstar status and his head.

What would be an "unjoyful" visitation? A verse later in Luke’s Gospel (19:44) alludes to this, when our Lord foretells all kinds of catastrophes for his listeners “because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”

On the other hand, Peter and the Apostles are later chastised and physically beaten, but go forth “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name” – the name of Jesus (Acts 5:41b).

Peter and the Apostles recognized in the humiliation and brutality they suffered a time of visitation: an opportunity for manifesting the salvific will of God at work in their lives and in the world.

In times of divine visitation, when God becomes involved in our lives, he shakes things up: he scatters the pride of our own imagination and he puts down the might we may think we have in our selves, but he exalts those acknowledge their lowliness before him.

Mary and Elizabeth, as well as Peter and the Apostles, recognized the time of visitation: they saw God at work in their lives and rejoiced in it - no matter what - because their focus was on God’s will and God’s glory and not on their own.

May we acknowledge our own lowliness before God, may we always be seeking not our own will and glory but God’s will and glory, and thus may we recognize with overwhelming joy the times of our visitation: our loving God at work in us.

"Our family is a large one...

"...with no shortage of personalities!

"From our older sisters we seek encouragement, and admire the wisdom they have gained from years of prayer and experience. With our peers we share the bonds made in the novitiate, and with many other sisters we have common experiences from shared mission life and apostolate. There are also our “little sisters” who look to us for support, encouragement and good example. They in turn share with us a newfound sense of zeal and energy. All of the family dynamics are present, but with the help of grace and the power of a love that does not count the cost and seeks Christ above all things."
from the website of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecelia
(The Nashville Dominicans)

Memorial Day

This is a U.S. holiday, but a good opportunity to remember all who have died in war.

Abraham Lincoln gave perhaps the greatest of Memorial Day speeches not given on Memorial Day (at a cemetery dedication on November 19, 1863).

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

"Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met here on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

"But in a larger sense we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled, here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract.

"The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but can never forget what they did here.

"It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they have, thus far, so nobly carried on.

"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

They will respect my son

Coming the day after the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, this line from the familiar parable of the tenant farmers in today’s Gospel (Mk 12:1-12) gains additional resonance.

In some circles, especially in the past, reverence for the Eucharist and consciousness of unworthiness have been taken to an extreme that imposed unjust barriers to God’s grace.

In recent decades, however, in many places, the opposite extreme has been the more likely danger.

It is easy (but not terribly helpful) to talk about the horror stories (“pizza and beer…”). It is also easy (and very helpful) to review the points made by the recent document Redemptionis Sacramentum ("The Sacrament of Redemption - an Instruction "On certain matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist")

But perhaps the most challenging approach to this issue is to confront our own attitude toward our Lord in the Eucharist.

As St. Paul says,
Whoever, therefore,
eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord
in an unworthy manner
will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord.
Let a man examine himself,
and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
1 Corinthians 11:27:28

Do I respect God’s son?

Do I disrespect him?

Do I disrespect him

• by not preparing for Mass with appropriate fasting and prayer?
• by declining his invitation to repentance, forgiveness, and reception?
• by my inattentive attitude, posture, and gestures during Mass?
• by my excessive attention to people I deem impious during Mass?

Heed me, and you shall eat well,
you shall delight in rich fare.
Come to me heedfully,
listen,
that you may have life.
Isaiah 55:2b-3a

Miserere mei, Domine

Hungry?

In today’s first reading from Deuteronomy 8, Moses tells the people this about the Lord:

He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger,
and then fed you with manna,
a food unknown to you and your fathers,
in order to show you
that not by bread alone does man live,
but by every word
that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD.

This verse finds its perfect fulfillment in Christ, the eternal Word of God, who in today’s Gospel (Jn. 6:51-58) identifies himself as “the living bread which came down from heaven….”

This is that bread which came down from heaven:
not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead:
he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

People can sometimes be blasé about Holy Communion. We may forget how unlooked-for and precious a gift it is: “a food unknown to you and your fathers.”

We may also have numbed ourselves to the spiritual hunger that only Christ can satisfy.

It would be good for us to take this special opportunity, this Solemnity of the Body and the Blood of Christ during this Year of the Eucharist, to be more aware of the deepest hunger with which we are afflicted and of the precious gift that the Lord gives us in his very flesh and blood.

Pange, lingua, gloriosi
Corporis mysterium
Sanguinisque pretiosi...

Pange, lingua, gloriosi

Corporis mysterium
Sanguinisque pretiosi,
Quem in mundi pretium,
Fructus ventris generosi,
Rex effudit gentium.

Nobis datus, nobis natus,
Ex intacta Virgine,
Et in mundo conversatus,
Sparso verbi semine
Sui moras incolatus
Miro clausit ordine.

In supremae nocte coenae
Recumbens cum fratribus,
Observata lege plene
Cibis in legalibus,
Cibum turbae duodenae
Se dat suis manibus

Verbum caro panem verum
Verbo carnem efficit;
Fit sanguis Christi merum.
Et si sensus deficit,
Ad firmandum cor sincerum
Sola fides sufficit.

Tantum ergo sacramentum
Venereumur cernui.
Et antiquum documentum
Novo cedat ritui.
Praestet fides supplementum
Sensuum defectui.

Genitori genitoque
Laus et jubilatio,
Salus, honor, virtus quoque
Sit et benedictio.
Procedenti ab utroque
Compar sit laudatio.

Amen.
S. Thomas Aquinas

Acclaim, O tongue, the mystery
Of the glorious Body
And of the precious Blood
That in ransom for the world,
Fruit of a generous womb,
The King of nations shed.

To us given, for us born
From a Virgin pure,
And, brought into the world
To spread the seed of the Word,
He ended His stay
In a wondrous way.

On the night of the Last Supper,
Reclining with his brothers,
Observing the Law fully,
The food prescribed by Law,
This food to the Twelve
He gave with His own hands.

The Word Made Flesh made true bread
Become flesh at His word,
Made wine the Blood of Christ.
And if our senses fail
To strengthen a sincere heart
Faith alone will suffice.

So great a sacrament, therefore,
Let us venerate on our knees
And the old ritual
To the new Rite yield.
May faith supply
What our senses lack.

To the Father and to the Begotten
Praise and jubilation,
Salvation, honor and power
And blessing be;
And to the One who proceeds from Both
Equally be praise.

Amen

The Feast of Corpus Christi

I am the living bread
which came down from heaven:
if any man eat of this bread,
he shall live for ever:
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh,
which I will give for the life of the world.

The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying,
How can this man give us his flesh to eat?

Then Jesus said unto them,
Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man,
and drink his blood,
ye have no life in you.

Whoso eateth my flesh,
and drinketh my blood,
hath eternal life;
and I will raise him up at the last day.

For my flesh is meat indeed,
and my blood is drink indeed.

He that eateth my flesh,
and drinketh my blood,
dwelleth in me,
and I in him.

As the living Father hath sent me,
and I live by the Father:
so he that eateth me,
even he shall live by me.

This is that bread which came down from heaven:
not as your fathers did eat manna,
and are dead:
he that eateth of this bread
shall live for ever.
John 6:51-68

Carnivals

This week's Catholic Carnival - a collection of posts from various Catholic blogs - went online this morning at LivingCatholicism.com.

This week's Christian Carnival - an ecumenical collection of posts from various blogs - is online at Technogypsy.

Knowing the answer

In today’s Gospel (Mk. 11:27-33), our Lord does not explain the source of his authority when asked by those who cynically profess uncertainty about the origin of John the Baptist’s authority.

Real knowledge of God – who is the source of that authority and thus the answer to the question – is not abstract: it requires commitment, fidelity, and action.

How well do we really know God?

What kind of tree are you?

Today’s Gospel (Mk. 11:11-26) encompasses several different things, but much of it centers on a fig tree that bears no fruit and withers under the curse of Christ.

Are we bearing fruit?

Miserere mei, Domine.

He did what the Pope could not

He was not a missionary, he was the Pope, but there was a missionary endeavor that called to his heart.

He was not a missionary, he was a monk, but when the Pope chose him to lead this missionary endeavor in his place, he could not refuse.

In the end, after many adventures and challenges, the missionary effort was successful and this monk became the first bishop of what would become a one of the world’s most famous archbishoprics.

St. Augustine of Canterbury, sent by Pope St. Gregory the Great to be Apostle of England, died fourteen hundred years ago yesterday and his memory is celebrated on this day.

Corpus Christi (pro multis)

Today is the traditional day to celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi - the Body and Blood of Christ. (Many will celebrate it this coming Sunday).

O sacrum convivium,
in quo Christus sumitur:
recolitur memoria passionis eius;
mens impletur gratia
et futurae gloriae
nobis pignus datur.

O sacred banquet,
in which Christ is received,
the memory of His Passion is renewed,
the mind is filled with grace,
and a pledge of future glory
given to us.

Vocation Trust Prayer

"Here I am Lord...
at the crossroads of my life.

"The time has come
for me to choose the road that leads to you.

"I hesitate
for fear of what lies ahead of me,
for I am much afraid of the unknown.

"Take my hand in Yours
and walk with me,
for the road is long,
and there are no short cuts.

"I place myself into your hands.
You know the way,
You are the way.
Amen."

from the Vocations website

of the Diocese of St. Petersburg

Catching up on news

Earlier this week, Catholic News Service reported that "Father David Gaffny recently concelebrated Mass for the first time in more than 35 years.... (After the) father of three, grandfather of six and former Maryknoll priest, lost his wife of 31 years in July 2001, he began to discern what to do with the rest of his life. It was natural for him to return to the full exercise of priestly ministry. After returning to seminary studies for a brief period, he was accepted as a priest for the Nashville Diocese. While he always retained the 'indelible mark' of holy orders, Father Gaffny had not acted as a priest since 1969, the year he sought laicization to marry..."

In other news earlier this week, Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation (for undisclosed ailments) of Bishop Raymond J. Boland of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo. He is succeeded by his coadjutor, Bishop Robert W. Finn.

The Holy Father also named Msgr. Peter Doyle, a priest of the diocese of Portsmouth, as bishop of Northampton, U.K.

Shut up -- not!

In today’s Gospel (Mk. 10: 46-52), a blind man refuses to let other people keep him quiet and he subsequently receives the healing grace of Christ.

Do we let other people keep us quiet or are we persistent in speaking about Jesus?

He came with no money

Still a teenager, Philip had left his family, his job, and a promising future and arrived in the big city empty-handed. He got a position as a tutor, which gave him room and board. Otherwise, he spent his time praying, reading, and sharing his faith with people on the street.

Many of those he met on the street would also dedicate themselves to the service of God. Some stayed with him, others entered religious orders. Philip sometimes thought about becoming a missionary or a hermit, but he was convinced that the city itself would be for him both mission territory and a hermitage.

In time, he became a priest and gathered a religious community around him that focused on prayer, preaching, and music. His community was known as the Congregation of the Oratory and would be associated with a form of musical presentation known as the “oratorio.”

St. Philip Neri died in Rome 410 years ago tomorrow and his memory is celebrated on this day. Congregations of the Oratory can be found in many places, from Pittsburgh to South Africa and most famously the Oratory that Cardinal John Henry Newman founded at Birmingham, England.

Do you want to be great?

In today’s Gospel (Mk. 10:32-45), our Lord tells us how:

Whoever wishes to be great among you
will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you
will be the slave of all.

For the Son of Man
did not come to be served
but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.

How much do we really put ourselves at the service of others?

Thus wrote the humble monk

"From the time of my admission to the priesthood to my present fifty-ninth year, I have endeavored for my own use and that of my brethren, to make brief notes upon the holy Scripture, either out of the works of the venerable Fathers or in conformity with their meaning and interpretation."

Thus wrote the humble monk, who spent the whole of his life within the same monastery. A few years after he wrote these words, he died – on this very day.

This humble monk who made “brief notes” would be recognized as the most learned man of his day and one of the Church’s greatest historians.

Not long after his death, he was known as “the Venerable” and in 1899, more than a thousand years after his death (in 735), Bede the Venerable would be declared a Doctor of the Church.

What you get in this life

Many times we hear that we will be more than compensated in the next life for the privations of this life.

In yesterday’s Gospel (Mk.10:28-31), however, our Lord promised a more immediate return on our spiritual investments.

There is no man
that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters,
or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands,
for my sake, and the gospel's,
But he shall receive an hundredfold
now in this time,
houses, and brethren, and sisters,
and mothers, and children, and lands,
with persecutions;
and in the world to come eternal life.

(Sounds great, we think, except for that “persecutions” part.)

One clear way in which this promise is fulfilled is through our inclusion in the Body of Christ – in the Church – for it is there that we truly receive innumerable siblings, parents, and children in Christ; it is also as Christians that we have innumerable houses and places - indeed, the entire universe - where we can worship God.

And yet it is also as members of the Body of Christ that we may (and often do) receive persecutions: from anti-Christian social pressures to outright martyrdom.

Yet even the persecutions – subtle or bloody – give the opportunity for our faith to shine forth and prepare us even more for the still greater rewards of heaven.

If by the grace of Christ we are faithful and give ourselves wholly to him, we will indeed receive: through our family which is the Body of Christ and through the eternity of joy that Christ prepares for us in the world to come.

Well, I'm back

I had little or no Internet access for the last day or so.

Bishop turnover

This morning the Holy Father accepted the retirement of Bishop James McLoughlin, Bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh (Ireland) and appointed Bishop Martin Drennan, Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin, in his place.

Heartbreak

Today’s Gospel (Mk. 10:17-27) has the familiar, heartbreaking encounter between our Lord and a man who obeys the Commandments:

"Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth."

Jesus, looking at him,
loved him
and said to him,
"You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven;
then come, follow me."

At that statement, his face fell,
and he went away sad,
for he had many possessions.

Our Lord then goes on to exclaim how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.

But this encounter is not a warning to the rich alone.

Even someone who is economically impoverished might place material possessions (as few as these possessions might be) above God and the same can be true for those of us who live materially comfortable lives.

Even the ascetic monk who forsakes all material possessions may still cling tightly to other possessions, such as pride.

Our hearts must be undividedly set on Christ. We may have things in our lives, but Christ must always be first.

We must pray for the grace of appropriate detachment, so that we may never turn away sad from the Lord, but that we may always follow Christ unreservedly with undivided and unbroken hearts.

From Tolkien fan to...

"Interwoven in the foundation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary works is the mystery of death: 'the divine paradox, that which ends life, and demands the surrender of all, and yet...take(s) on that complexion of reality, of eternal endurance, which every man’s heart desires.'

"A better application for me cannot be found for one’s Solemn Profession (as a Poor Clare Nun of Perpetual Adoration).

"The eight years of formation are coming to an end. Eight years of surrender, of death to one’s very strong will — an interminable battle, of struggling against the illusions of self and the shadows of the world are encompassed at the very same time by the reception of so much Light and Mercy and Love. These in comparison to what one has striven to give up are beyond all imagination and comprehension.

"'Ex umbris et imaginibus in veritatem' (from unreality to Reality) Cardinal Newman wrote for his memorial tablet. What truth! Christ is the Reality. And this life for every soul is but a journey from shadow to Light. We die daily, little deaths that pierce the darkness to allow Our Lord into our hearts. The pain of these daily trials brings about an awakening to eternity. Amidst the grief, however minute or serious, there is a realization that Our Lord is using whatever it may be to draw us closer to Him. The sharing of His Cross strips away so much of the dross to reveal what really matters: Our Lord and His tremendous love.

"Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati puts it best, 'In my present struggle I cannot but thank God Who has willed, in His Infinite Mercy, to grant to my heart this pain, so that by means of these thorns I might return to a life which is more interior, more spiritual.'

"In his sub-created world Tolkien explored the conceptual idea that death, before the fall of man, was originally a gift from God to men — the means of bringing men more fully to Himself. But because of sin, the world and men were wounded. Fear entered the hearts of men, and death became an adversary to life. Hope was lost.

"But Our Lord (in Tolkien's words) 'will not suffer Himself to be deprived of His own, not by an Enemy, not even by ourselves.' He would enter the world as the Haeland, the Healer, to 'heal Men and all the Marring from beginning to end.'" He would use His death to accomplish the restoration of man to God, replacing fear with love, restoring our hope in Him.

"Solemn Profession is a participation in the Death of Our Lord. A victorious Death that won for us at great cost the precious gift of eternal life. Solemn Profession is a foreshadowing of this entrance into life on High with the Beloved King."

"'Praise Him With Great Praise'"

Sister Marie St. Paul of the Holy Spirit
Our Lady of the Angels Monastery
Hanceville, Alabama

But to the penitent

he provides a way back,
he encourages those who are losing hope!

Return to the LORD and give up sin,
pray to him and make your offenses few.

Turn again to the Most High and away from sin,
hate intensely what he loathes.
Sirach 17:19-21

Trinity

Most of us have grown up hearing about the Trinity: that there are three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – in one God, and that it is an ineffable mystery.

For some, the doctrine of the Trinity is a bit dry and obscure: not terribly meaningful to one’s daily life.

Today’s first reading, from the Old Testament (Exodus 34), does not mention the Trinity at all, and yet it powerfully conveys to us a sense of what the doctrine of the Trinity means to us and to our relationship with God.

Having come down in a cloud,
the LORD stood with Moses there
and proclaimed his name, "LORD."

Thus the LORD passed before him and cried out,
"The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God,
slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity."

Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship.
Then he said, "If I find favor with you, O LORD,
do come along in our company.

Moses has a moment of intimate closeness with Infinity and Omnipotence Itself. God not only stands beside Moses, he tells Moses his Name.

This Name is no mere label: it is a revelation of who God is.

The ancient people of Israel were so awed by this revelation that they treated that Name with exceeding reverence. Even today most translations of the Bible will only print “the LORD” rather than use the Name of God that he himself shared with Moses.

The revelation of the Trinity is even more awesome, for it is a revelation that is even deeper and more intimate, because it tells us something – however mysterious and unfathomable - of God’s inner self and because it is revealed in and through Christ – the incarnate Son of God, God with us.

How much does God love us! How deeply does he share with us!

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

I arise today

Through a mighty strength,
the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength
of Christ's birth and His baptism,
Through the strength
of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength
of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength
of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun, Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning, Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea, Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a mulitude.

I summon today all these powers
between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power
that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells
of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge
that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.

Christ with me,
Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ
in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ
in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength,
the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation
(St. Patrick's Breastplate)

Children

In today's Gospel (Mk. 10:13-16), we have this familiar scene:

People were bringing children to Jesus that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.

When Jesus saw this
he became indignant and said to them,
"Let the children come to me;
do not prevent them,
for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

"Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child
will not enter it."

When we look to God, are we self-important or are we childlike?

He was a good priest

He said Mass, heard confessions, and taught seminarians.

For that, the federal government threw him in front of a firing squad 82 years ago this coming Wednesday.

21 other priests and three laymen were executed as part of that same "crackdown" by the Mexican government.

Father Christopher Magallanes and companions were canonized in the year 2000 and their memory is celebrated on this day.

A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter

he who finds one finds a treasure.

A faithful friend is beyond price,
no sum can balance his worth.

A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy,
such as he who fears God finds;

For he who fears God behaves accordingly,
and his friend will be like himself.
Sirach 6:14-17

30,000 gathered to hear him speak

Without a microphone.

He traveled all around the country to preach.

On foot.

Bernadine of Siena, the most powerful preacher of the century, literally wore himself out in the service of God: dropping to the ground and dying on this very day in 1444 (the vigil of the Ascension that year). He was canonized six years later.

Divorce

In today’s Gospel (Mk. 10:1-12), our Lord speaks strongly against divorce.

“From the beginning of creation, `God made them male and female.'

”’For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two but one flesh.

“What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder."

And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter.

And he said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

Some Christians (and even some ministers of the Gospel) shy away from this teaching.

Other Christians pound people over the head with it.

We need to be compassionate to people in difficult circumstances.

We need to show God's love to people who have made bad choices (without our forgetting our obligations to truth and justice).

All of us – no matter where we may be in life or what we have done – need to do the best we can with what we have and where we are.

We are all sinners (miserere mei, Domine): needing the grace of Christ, striving to grow in that grace and to be channels of that grace.

But we must never obscure the truth.

Watering down ideals helps no one.

We all fall short of perfection, yet in Christ's love and grace and kindness we still strive to help each other toward the perfection to which he calls us.

Watch what you say

Many of us are sometimes a bit loose with our words and our actions (Miserere mei, Domine), straying - if only a little - from the perfection to which Christ calls us.

Sometimes this hurts not only our own relationship with God: sometimes our poor witness causes others to go astray.

Our Lord’s warning in today’s Gospel (Mk. 9:41-50) should give us pause.

Whoever causes
one of these little ones who believe in me
to sin,
it would be better for him
if a great millstone were hung round his neck
and he were thrown into the sea.

We should seek always the grace to be conscientious in all our words and all our actions, so as to deepen our relationship with Christ and enhance our witness to others.

"Lord, make me a better person...

"...more considerate towards others,
more honest with myself,
more faithful to You.

"Make me generous enough to want sincerely
to do your will whatever it may be.

"Help me to find my future vocation in life
and grant that through it
I bring happiness to others
and find happiness myself.

"Grant, Lord, that those whom You call
to enter the Priesthood or the Religious Life
may have the generosity to answer Your call,
so that those who need Your help
may always find it.

"We ask through Christ Our Lord, Amen."

A Prayer for Vocations
to the Priesthood and Religious Life for England and Wales
from the website www.ukpriest.org

Terri Schiavo's parents & the Pope

Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, met briefly this morning with Pope Benedict XVI (on what would have been the great Pope John Paul's 85th birthday).

Christian Carnival LXX

Long Day's Journey Out of Night

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Night - Evil and Temptation versus Faith

In Unspeakable Sin and the Goodness of God, Dr. Ray Pritchard wrestles with a perennial issue ripped from today's headlines: "After a father was arrested for murdering his daughter and her best friend in a community not far from where I live, I received an email from a young father who wonders how to reconcile this sort of evil with the goodness of God. Here is my attempt to deal with this age-old question."

In Child Murder & What It Means To Be Human, The Marshian Chronicles says that calling despicable child murderers "not human" is not only untrue - "it's a deadly spiritual trap. This first post in a new series explores what it really means to be human."

In The Chthonic Unmentionable, Cerulean Sanctum relates that "C.S. Lewis said there are two errors regarding demons: paying too much attention to them and paying too little. In Evangelical churches today, the trend in error is distinctly toward the latter. In an age of dereliction of truth, this is to our peril."

In God's sovereignty over natural disasters, and its practical importance, A Physicist's Perspective says that "In response to a commenter who suggests that God abdicates authority, so that some events which come to pass (like natural disasters and the acts of the wicked) are against his will, I argue from the Bible that God is so sovereign that he controls even natural disasters, and works even the actions of the wicked to accomplish his eternal purposes. This has tremendous practical application, for if it were not the case, we could not trust his promises to us."

In Fruit of the Self, Seek Truth's "entry is a simple one based on Galatians 5:16-26. It is a call to compare our lives to the standards Paul has laid out for us in this scripture and to work on the parts that don't measure up. Instead of focusing on the fruit of the Spirit, the post focuses on the things Paul says come from following our sinful nature, the'fruit of the Self', and asks that we each look for evidence of this fruit in our lives as places to make improvement."

In Dealing with envy, all kinds of time... shares "a brief look at my experience with envy."

In Covetousness, Sharing Spirit observes that "when God provides so abundantly for us, especially in the US, we still want more. The season of our discontent. The funny thing is, the blessings flow abundantly through our contentment and confidence when we trust in the Lord and His word."

In The Brickyard Calls To Us, rev-ed at Attention Span reflects about longings to be "somewhere else. It happens to us often, whether it's the call of God in our lives, the call of temptation, or even the call of a favorite place. For rev-ed, it's the Indianapolis Motor Speedway."

In Shame, Shame, Shame, Apprehension reflects on "how shame and guilt are different, but (that) Jesus suffered and died for both." (Apprehension is the new blog of Douglas Bass who used to blog at Belief Seeking Understanding, but had to retire it due to "technical difficulties.")


Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

In Kwame Brown, Sun and Shield muses "about what appears to be a failed career as a pro basketball player."

In What is Your Life? It is Even a Vapor…, a ticking time blog tells how "this past Friday, I got a fresh reminder of the truth that our lives are like a wisp of steam that appear for a short time and then vanish."

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Pentecost

In When the Day of Pentecost had come, the blog dokeo kago grapho soi kratistos Theophilos (editor's note: cf. Lk 1:3) offers "reflections on Pentecost and the inclusive mission to the nations."

In Circles for Pentecost, Notes provides a "Java applet for Pentecost Sunday."

In Pentecost - birth of a missionary community, Under the Acacias "reflects that with the coming of the Holy Spirit comes a missionary appointing" and that "from 1st-century Israel to 21st-century West Africa, Pentecost is still flowing."

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Christianity and Society

In Perspective, Vessel of Mercy "tells of how God shows her when to look at situations with a different perspective and how God will give us His heart for the poor and the oppressed."

In Conversation Starter: The Death Penalty, "visitors to the Evangelical Diablog - the blogosphere's new site for thoughtful and respectful dialog - discuss whether or not Christians should support the death penalty. Stop by and share your thoughts."

In The Gathering Storm, The Doctor Is In takes "a look at the threat of 'theocracy' hyperbole."

In Dogs, Fleas, and Conservative Politics, Another Man's Meat has "some lessons for conservative Christians in all the political hullabaloo in Washington these days."

In Why Catholicism is Good for Society, Deo Omnis Gloria gives "a quick overview of the benefits of a society immersing itself in Catholic moral teachings."

In Relativism, Leadership, and Pope John Paul II, Vita ab Alto has reflections "concerning God and religion in general and the late Pope John Paul in particular."

In Catholic protestors barred from Communion, Boxing Alcibiades "...explains why this decision on the part of Church officials was correct and justified."

In Intra Christian Branding, Blogotional offers "the middle post of a three post interlinked series examining the marketing concept of branding and how it is affecting the church and Christianity in politics."

In Bible Illiteracy, Dadmanly relates that "the Bible Literacy Project report makes clear that young Americans know very little about the Bible.... At a time when secular minded activists think it appropriate to eradicate any Biblical references from educational settings, this inattentiveness to core American values is very troubling."


Evangelizing

In Naturally Supernatural, The Gad(d)about reflects on a method of evangelizing.

In Vox Apologia - The Trilemma, the Northern'burbs blog (following up on a discussion at Vox Apologia) gives "an analysis of the usefulness of the 'Trilemma' in apologetics."

In Confessions of an introvert, CallmeTeem shares "some thoughts about being introverted and ministry."

In Preaching to Believers or Nonbelievers?, the blog Crossroads ponders a "question circulating around the Christian blogosphere recently": Should our churches preach to believers or nonbelievers or both?"

In Shaking the Foundations of a Fragile Faith, PlaidBerry reflects on "skepticism and the need for a solid intellectual understanding of Christianity as a prerequisite for a strong faith."

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Different Perspectives on Christian Formation

In Firefighter Parables #2 - Firefighting Regulations from Team Hammer's Musings "the relationship of firefighters to their regulations and emergency procedures is used to highlight a way to help determine who, in the culture of freedom of the US, is a Christian and who is merely claiming to be one."

In OCS: Obsessive-Compulsive Spirituality, Eternal Perspectives reflects on a time in his own spiritual journey: "Probably because it fit with my personality at the time, I confused obsessing about God with being filled with the Spirit and abiding in Christ."

In We can rebuild Him..., The Online Pilgrim offers "thoughts on the effects of holiness theology after finishing up four years at a Wesleyan School."

In The Weeds in My Garden, the Christian Carnival's faithful guardian (Dory) at Wittenberg Gate "compares the sins in our lives to weeds in her garden. They need to be attended to quickly and carefully."


Books, Movies and Television

In Book Discussion: The Wizard, Pseudo-Polymath has "just finished reading a pair of books from the fantasy genre." He says that "these books were both intensely mythopoetic, reminiscent of Lewis or MacDonald" and he attempts "to compare and reconcile the Creation myth contained in the story with the Christian account."

In From the qualitative to the quantitative, Off the top offers "Part VII of a review of The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis. In reducing himself to mere 'Nature,' Man in fact conquers (subjects) himself along with the Nature he attempts to conquer for his own benefit."

In book review: Bad Ground, promptings says "Dale Cramer's second novel is as good as his first."

In Struggling to Matter, Randomness shares "thoughts provoked by a science fiction series... on unconditionality in relationships and leaving a legacy."

In Why I Cried Watching a Lifetime Movie, Ragged Edges discusses how the surprising "messages about abstinence and adoption conveyed by the movie 'Mom at Sixteen' - and the personal lessons I took from it - were more than worth the price in pride."

In Movie Review: 'Kingdom of Heaven' on LawReligionCultureReview, "Richard J. Radcliffe reviews the current movie, 'Kingdom of Heaven,' about the crusades, starring Orlando Bloom."


Building up the Christian blogosphere

Christian Carnival Founder Nick Queen offers the Return of the Out of the Wilderness Showcase!

In Calling All Intellectuelles, Marla Swoffer announces a "contest to win a spot on a new team blog of intellectual evangelical women that I'm starting with another blogger."

In Humility, The Blogosphere, And The Family Of God, the blog Beyond The Rim... offers excellent "thoughts on how the Internet and the blogosphere exposes us to so many remarkable Christians that it in some ways prefigures the Kingdom with the result that the only possible response is increasing humility."

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Living the Scriptures

In Internals, the blog Beneath The Dirty Hood muses on Proverbs 11:2 and "that little tug-of-war that goes on inside you dozens of times a day."

In The Great IM, beginning with Isaiah 58:9, Listen In reflects on how "God speaks to us in a variety of ways and in a variety of settings" and "compares talking to God to modern messaging.

In Cheeseburger in Paradisio, the blog