Wednesday, February 12, 2003

Father Groeschel Offers a Remedy for the Church



The Oratory of Divine Love



Proposes the formation of prayer groups:



The Catholic Church in the English-speaking world is in urgent need of reform and renewal. The scandals of the past two years, although exaggerated and fanned by the hostile secular media, nevertheless point to the great need for reform and renewal in the Church. Many devout Catholics, laity, religious and clergy are looking for some way that they can join in a church-wide effort to start a serious reform. We are proposing a way that is simple, powerful and completely alien to much of the public relations approach to religion we have been experiencing for several decades in almost all Christian denominations.
Humble Self-Promotion



I'm a firm believer that it injures a person's pride (if they are a Christian) to tout their own horn than it does not to do so. So in that spirit and in the spirit of fulfilling Jesus' command to "let your light shine" I offer the following note from someone in Florida who is currently reading

The How-To Book of the Mass
:





Your book on the Mass is wonderful...I am about half way thru and I am learning a great deal...I love your perspective...rational and illustrative as always...as a cradle Catholic I sometimes think I know it all...your book has been enlightening...keep up the great work!




And while I'm at it, here is a review by an Amazon customer:



Michael Dubruiel's latest book is a terrific resource that should be located on every Catholic family's bookshelf. Whether you are exploring the faith or a lifelong Catholic, this book will provide enlightenment. Dubruiel looks at each part of the Mass in a step-by-step fashion, offering explanations for the biblical backgrounds and traditional reasons behind the prayers and rituals. In the week that I've had this book and been reading it, I've already changed my perspective on celebrating the Eucharist. I would recommend this book as an excellent choice both for families looking to enhance their experience of the Mass and for those looking to learn more about the teachings of the Catholic Church pertaining to the Mass.
Pope Sick on World Day for the Sick--Calls 2003 a Difficult Year for the Fate of Mankind



From Reuters AlertNet - Pope has cold, limits role in service for the sick:



Pope John Paul had to limit his role at a religious service for the sick on Tuesday because he was suffering a slight cold, church officials said. Instead of taking part in the ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica, the 82-year-old pope briefly blessed the congregation from his window while holding a large candle.



"It is a great joy for me to greet you, especially the sick among you," said the frail pope, who suffers from Parkinson's disease and has difficulty walking.



Pope John Paul is due to meet Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz on Friday as the Vatican steps up its bid to avert a new Gulf war. A papal envoy arrived in Baghdad earlier on Tuesday for talks with Iraqi officials to try to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.



Addressing the faithful on Tuesday, the pope called 2003 "a difficult year for the fate of mankind".

St. Valentine's Head Found



From zoomata - Italians Find St. Valentine Relic:



The silver relic, in the shape of the saint's face, contains fragments of his skull. Stolen in 1979, it was recently recovered in an art sting by police in Bari. The relic has a special significance since Valentine, the first bishop of the Umbrian town of Terni, was decapitated after celebrating marriages between pagans and Christians.



The return of the head, however, is unlikely to solve centuries-old bickering between several European countries over relics of the patron saint of lovers. To further complicate matters, there were at least three martyred saints called Valentine. The first was a Roman priest martyred under the Emperor Claudius II in 269 or 270 AD, the second was a Bishop of Terni killed about three years later and little is known of the third who died in Africa. Rumors abound about whether the remains were given or had simply been trafficked out of Rome by enterprising monks and nuns.




With Valentine's day only a few days away--a timely story. Isn't it odd that no one makes a fuss about the celebration of St. Valentine's day in this country? St. Valentine is the patron of greetings and lovers.
Novak's Visit to Vatican Sponsored by U.S. Government



From GN Online: Bush aims to influence Pope



Keen to build support for military action against Iraq, the U.S. government is sponsoring a conservative American Catholic scholar's visit to Italy to challenge the Vatican's opposition to a war on moral grounds.



Michael Novak, an author affiliated with the American Enter-prise Institute in Washington, D.C., has been meeting with senior Vatican officials since his arrival in Rome last week and delivered a public lecture arguing that attacking Iraq now constitutes a "just war."
96% of the Universe is Made up of Mysterious Matter (sic) that is Invisible



You may have read or heard about this latest scientific discovery (sic). Isn't this what every major world religion has taught as fact for millenia?



From CNN.com:



-- Only about 4 percent of the universe is composed of atoms -- the "ordinary matter" making up the physical universe we know. About 23 percent is "cold, dark matter," about which scientists know little, and 73 percent is "exotic dark energy," about which they know even less.

Tuesday, February 11, 2003

I Believe Fulton Sheen is a Saint.



I pray everyday for his canonization. I also pray everyday for his intercession.



When I was pulling together material for "Praying in the Presence of Our Lord with Fulton J. Sheen I literally felt like I was being guided by the Archbishop in my choices. The material that he wrote 60 to 70 years ago was so prophetic that it reads as though he were writing it specifically for today. When the Praying in the Presence was almost ready to go to press, I added an additional section (again I felt like he was prompting me to do so) that dealt with "war as punishment from God" and Archbishop Sheen's explanation of this term. With war looming and who knows what else-- I now see the value of those additional entries.



To join in praying for Archbishop Sheen's canonization or to seek his intercession go here.