The Pope has routed his enemies and brought joy to the faithful

From CatholicHerald.co.uk

How does one sum up the papal visit in a few words? A survey of the four days, event by event – four days which began (so far as I am concerned) in anxiety which quickly turned to relief and ended finally in euphoria – simply can’t be done in less than the length of a short book, and I have only 400 or 500 words for this post, though in the print edition of the paper which appears later this week I shall be given more than double the space for an extended version of it, in which I shall look also at the very interesting coverage of the visit by the secular media. That aspect of the visit will have to be briefly summarised here by the words of Dr George Carey in the News of the World: “he came, he saw, he conquered”. more

EWTN Family Celebration 2010

ST. WILLIAM, ABBOT OF ESKILLE, CONFESSOR

 SUPERIOR OF OUR HOME

The relic of ST. WILLIAM came to our home by way of a close friend who is a religious sister. She had been instrumental in my finally committing to establishing my prayer room specifically intended for prayer, meditation, contemplation, spiritual reading and journaling...anything of that nature. She asked around to some of the priests in the archdiocese who might have a relic available and explained my new prayer room. It was not more than a day or two and ST. WILLIAM came into my possession. He came with some information concerning his history and background, but of course I wanted to find out everything there was to know about him. I also wanted pictures.

After completing my research it was very obvious why ST. WILLIAM came to our home.  To begin with, although his persecution seems to have been of a more cruel and severe nature...or maybe not, still the witness he portrayed in living a life of faith and prayer caused those around him to mock, reject and lie about him. However the example of prayer as his chief dependence; as well as his constancy, patience and meekness; are qualities this great holy man gives me to follow in my walk of martyrdom.  A brief biography along with additional links follow.

He was born of an illustrious family in Paris, about the year 1105, and received his education in the abbey of St. Germain-des-Prez, under his uncle Hugh, the abbot. By the regularity of his conduct, and the sanctity of his manners, he was the admiration of the whole community. Having finished his studies, he was ordained sub-deacon, and installed canon in the church of St. Genevieve-du-Mont. His assiduity in prayer, love of retirement and mortification, and exemplary life, seemed a troublesome censure of the slothful and worldly life of his colleagues; and what ought to have gained him their esteem and affection, served to provoke their envy and malice against him. 

Having in vain endeavored to prevail on this reformer of their chapter, as they called him, to resign his canonry, in order to remove him at a distance, they presented him to the curacy of Epinay, a church five leagues from Paris, depending on their chapter. But not long after, pope Eugenius III. coming to Paris, in 1147, and being informed of the irregular conduct of these canons, he commissioned the celebrated Suger, abbot of St. Denys, and prime minister to King Louis the Young, to expel them, and introduce in their room regular canons from the abbey of St. Victor: which was happily carried into execution, Eudo of St. Victor's being made the first abbot. St. William with joy embraced this institute, and was by his fervor and devotion a pattern to the most perfect. He was in a short time chosen sub-prior.

The perfect spirit of religion and regularity which he established in that community, was an illustrious proof of the incredible influence which the example of a prudent superior has over docile religious minds. His zeal for regular discipline he tempered with so much sweetness and modesty in his injunctions, that made all to love the precept itself, and to practise with cheerfulness whatever was prescribed them. The reputation of his wisdom and sanctity reached the ears of Absalon, bishop of Roschild, in Denmark, who, being one of the most holy prelates of his age, earnestly sought to allure him into his diocese. He sent the provost of his church, who seems to have been the learned historian Saxo the Grammarian, to Paris on this errand. A prospect of labors and dangers for the glory of God was a powerful motive with the saint, and he cheerfully undertook the voyage. The bishop appointed him abbot of Eskille, a monastery of regular canons which he had reformed. Here St. William sanctified himself by a life of prayer and austere mortification; but had much to suffer from the persecutions of powerful men, from the extreme poverty of his house in a severe climate, and, above all, from a long succession of interior trials: but the most perfect victory over himself was the fruit of his constancy, patience, and meekness. On prayer was his chief dependence, and it proved his constant support.

During the thirty years of his abbacy, he had the comfort to see many walk with fervor in his steps. He never left off wearing his hair-shirt, lay on straw, and fasted every day. Penetrated with a deep sense of the greatness and sanctity of our mysteries, he never approached the altar without watering it with his tears, making himself a victim to God in the spirit of adoration and sacrifice, together with, and through the merits of the holy victim offered thereon: the dispositions in which every Christian ought to assist at it. He died on the 6th of April, 1203, and was canonized by Honorius III. in 1224. See his life by a disciple in Surius, and at large in Papebroke's Continuation of Bollandus, t. 1, Apr. p. 620. Also M. Gourdan in his MSS. Lives of Illustrious Men among the regular Canons at St. Victor's, in Paris, kept in the library of MSS. in that house, in fol. t. 2, pp. 324 and 814.

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What is Truth?

What Is Truth?
by Marcus C. Grodi

I am a former Protestant minister. Like so many others who have trodden the path that leads to Rome by way of that country known as Protestantism, I never imagined I would one day convert to Catholicism.

By temperament and training I’m more of a pastor than a scholar, so the story of my conversion to the Catholic Church may lack the technical details in which theologians traffic and in which some readers delight. But I hope I will accurately explain why I did what I did, and why I believe with all my heart that all Protestants should do likewise.

I won’t dwell on the details of my early years, except to say that I was raised by two loving parents in a nominally Protestant home, and I went through most of the experiences that make up the childhood and adolescence of the typical American baby-boomer. I was taught to love Jesus and go to church on Sunday. I also managed to blunder into most of the dumb mistakes that other kids in my generation made. But after a season of teenage rebellion, when I was twenty years old, I experienced a radical re-conversion to Jesus Christ.

I turned away from the lures of the world and became serious about prayer and Bible study.

As a young adult, I made a recommitment to Christ, accepting him as my Lord and Savior, praying that he would help me fulfill the mission in life he had chosen for me.

The more I sought through prayer and study to follow Jesus and confirm my life to his will, the more I felt an aching sense of longing to devote my life entirely to serving him. Gradually, the way dawn’s first faint rays peek over a dark horizon, the conviction that the Lord was calling me to be a minister began to grow.

That conviction grew steadily stronger while I was in college and then afterwards during my job as an engineer. Eventually I couldn’t ignore the call. I was convinced the Lord wanted me to become a minister, so I quit my job and enrolled in Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in suburban Boston. I acquired a master of divinity degree and was shortly thereafter ordained to the Protestant ministry....more

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Versus I Never Saw...

Verses I Never Saw by Marcus Grodi 

One of the more commonly shared experiences of Protestant converts to the Catholic Church is the discovery of verses “we never saw.” Even after years of studying, preaching, and teaching the Bible, sometimes from cover to cover, all of a sudden a verse “we never saw” appears as if by magic and becomes an “Aha!” mind-opening, life-altering messenger of spiritual “doom”! Sometimes it’s just recognizing an alternate, clearer meaning of a familiar verse, but often, as with some of the verses mentioned below, it literally seems as if some Catholic had snuck in during the night and somehow put that verse there in the text!

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It is Not About Party Affiliation

I have recently had two e-mail discussions concerning the upcoming election and I would like to share my part of the discussion.

This election is not and never has been about party affiliation. There are many issues being bandied about but the fact we need to recognize is; our "elected public servants" need to understand the difference between "serving the people" and "killing the people". Currently our country legally kills 1 pre-born person every 20 seconds.  Many of us need to WAKE UP!  Our Triune God who is the very essence of Love and Justice, will not allow those who turn their head, look the other way and do nothing to defend or speak up for the defenseless unborn, to go unpunished! 

1) The Catholic Church has a God given right and duty to teach faith and morals. The Church is not telling anyone how to vote, but it is telling everyone how to remain in communion with Jesus Christ.

2) While economy, health care and the Iraq issue etc. are real and we can disagree upon how to best deal with them....currently they are really a very clever diversion to the fundamental right to life.

The problem we now have of legalized abortion, began with Margaret Sanger and her program of eugenics...getting rid of the "human weeds," (Margaret Sanger), through Planned Parenthood; then we have Kinsey and his perverted sex study; then we have the sexual revolution of the 60's and in 1968 we have Pope Paul VI courageously warning the world if Humanae Vitae were not taken seriously, everything we see now ...abortion (the ultimate child abuse), degradation of women, family breakdown, violence toward women and children, sexual perversion of every kind...would become rampant.

The fact that anyone demonstrates by casting his or her vote, in favor of not only abortion by any means through all 9 months of pregnancy, but also votes that a baby surviving an abortion has no right to life, disqualifies him or her from receiving the support of anyone of good will. This history of a pro-abortion, anti-life stand constitutes a major flaw in the character of this person and disqualifies him or her from playing any role in making decisions that will ultimately affect the lives of families, since this person has already demonstrated they have no problem with the killing of the most innocent and defenseless of family members.

While voting is one extremely important way to help bring about an end to abortion, the pro-life cause is truly quite complex and is about respecting the dignity and sanctity of every human life from the moment of conception to natural death. It is also about education; of teaching chastity, modesty of dress, morals, family unity and values;  helping struggling men, women and children in a variety of ways; respecting ones parents and caring for them physically, emotionally and spiritually as they enter their last days here on earth; bringing healing back to the lives of hurting people, helping our country to return to wholesomeness and showing others the peace and joy found in knowing,loving and serving Jesus Christ.

Ultimately the only way any of the issues being discussed in this election will be rightly affected will be when enough people are on their knees and in communion with Jesus Christ.

For this reason people (particularly Catholics) need to put away their relativistic ideas and opinions and take heed to the moral teaching of Jesus Christ through His Church.

“The greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child — a direct killing of the innocent child — murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?”
— Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

View the PDF link below for a detailed explanation of what I have very briefly and inadequately covered.

Let's continue praying for one another and the election.

http://alumni.belmontabbeycollege.edu/votersguide

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