I hope all had a great Thanksgiving Day and that the prescribed gluttony wasn’t to excess (Is that an oxymoron?!).  Did you thank God for His interventions and miracles He has done for you?

27 days till the BIRTH of CHRIST,

and 2 days till the beginning of the ADVENT season.

“HO, HO , HO-ly God, We Praise Thy Name!”

Quote of the Day:

 Why settle for the lesser of two evils?

Today’s Meditation:

The Canticle of the Sun by Francis of Assisi (day 11 of 14): 

… Happy those who endure in peace, for by you, Most High [Jesus], they will be crowned. …

“Let me be an instrument of your peace…”  If anything I have learned through my journey of Franciscan discernment, I have learned the meaning and significance of ‘peace.’  I was a man that was a very direct, to the point, and at times rude individual.  I always insisted on it being my way.  I think I was the typical American.  My philosophy was that if threatened, to ‘beat them down’ (verbally or physically) and do not allow them to tread on me.

 I still believe on the right to protect one-self.  But my aggressiveness in thought, speech, and actions has been tempered by the tenant of St. Francis’ peace, especially in an aggressive situation.  The louder someone gets, I purposely let me body and verbal interchange get softer and quieter.  This does two things.  It almost always seems to calm everyone, and it also allows me to control the conversation.  It seems ironic that one can win by peace over force.

 Dr. Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Pope John Paul II, all worked through peace to achieve their goals.  I am still not completely at their level of sustainable peace that they exuded, but I am working at it.

 St. Francis, please help me on my journey of peace and understanding of others.  Amen,

The full text of “The Canticle of the Sun” can be found at many web sites

including: http://www.poverello-society.org/prayer_canticle.htm.

Pax et Bonum

Dan Halley, SFO

*****

Franciscan Saint of the Day:  St. Francis Anthony Fasini

Born in 1681 at Lucera, southeastern Italy, Francis Anthony was the son of very poor peasants; but he was a bright lad, and received a good education from the Conventual Franciscans in his native town.  When he was 14 he received the habit of St. Francis among the Conventuals, and in 1705 he was ordained to the priesthood.  He was then sent to the Sagro Convento, adjoining the basilica in Assisi where St. Francis is buried, for the purpose of continuing his studies.  Two years later he received the doctorate in theology, and he was then appointed lector of philosophy in the college conducted by the Conventuals in his home town. He was promoted successively to regent of studies, guardian, and provincial, which latter office he held from 1721 to 1723.  After that he served as master of novices, and then as pastor of the church of St. Francis in Lucera. A bishopric was offered to him, but he declined it.

Among the devotions that he cherished there were especially a tender love for the Immaculate Mother of God, a childlike affection for the Infant Jesus, and fervent devotion, also night adoration, of the Holy Eucharist.  Once, while he was absorbed in prayer, someone who happened to be in the church heard a voice saying: “This priest prays much for his people.”

As a priest, he also became an eloquent preacher, a lover of the poor, a friend of the unfortunate.  He was a missionary, a retreat-master, and a Lenten preacher.  For hours he would sit in the confessional, hearing and absolving the sins of his penitents, consoling the afflicted, warning the hardened of heart.  He spent much time in visiting the sick, the orphans, and the imprisoned.  As a pastor he was a real father to his people.

After 35 years in the priesthood and a life of penance, union with God, and intense labor the salvation of souls, God called Father Francis Anthony to Himself on November 29, 1742.  On that day the people of Lucera came hurrying to the church of St. Francis, exclaiming as did the children at the death of St. Anthony of Padua, “The saint is dead!  The saint is dead!” And for 200 years since then, they have continues to kneel and pray at his tomb.  The cause of his beatification was introduced in Rome in 1832; and in 1951 Pope Pius XII solemnly enrolled him among the blessed.

from: The Franciscan Book of Saints, ed. by Marion Habig, ofm., © 1959 Franciscan Herald Press

 

Also on November 27th: In 1830-31 Our Lady appeared four times to St. Catharine Laboure in Paris and instructed her to have the Miraculous Medal struck.  On these occasions, Our Lady showed herself to St. Catharine as the Immaculate Conception and the Miraculous Medal is really the Medal of the Immaculate Conception.  On the medal are the words of the little prayer which Our Lady herself wishes us to say, “O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”  This feast is observed by the Conventuals.

 (From http://www.franciscan-sfo.org website)

From the Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) Prolgue, Chapter 1:

All who love the Lord with their whole heart, with their whole soul and mind, with all their strength (cf. Mk 12:30), and love their neighbors as themselves (cf. Mt 22:39) and hate their bodies with their vices and sins, and receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and produce worthy fruits of penance.

Oh, how happy and blessed are these men and women when they do these things and persevere in doing them, because “the spirit of the Lord will rest upon them” (cf. Is 11:2) and he will make “his home and dwelling among them” (cf Jn 14:23), and they are the sons of the heavenly Father (cf. Mt 5:45), whose works they do, and they are the spouses, brothers, and mothers of our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Mt 12:50). …

 

A cardinal even used an insurance scheme to pay off abuse victims:

‘Catholic authorities in Ireland covered up sexual abuse by priests for decades in an effort to protect the church, according to a damning government report. The report, which looks into allegations of child sex abuse against 46 Dublin-area priests over a 30-year period, will “shock us all,” said Dublin’s archbishop.

‘The report details a pattern of abusive priests being moved from parish to parish, the Telegraph reports. The report names ten of the 46 priests, those who are dead or imprisoned. Four archbishops are believed to be implicated in the cover-up, including a cardinal who used an insurance scheme to pay off abuse victims.’ -Daily Telegraph

I recently watched the Intelligence Squared debate ‘Is the Catholic Church a force for good’ which was first aired 11/07/09.

The debate between the two sides were as I expected and to be honest, nothing really new was said.
However, concerning the two speakers speaking for the negative, namely Christopher Hitchens and Stephen Fry.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I have the greatest respect for both men. I am also against organised religion in any form whether it is Catholic, Judaism, Islam, Scientology, whatever.

However, the two men seemed to have missed a very important point, which Stephen Fry even touched on at one point, which is that organised religion is NOT faith.

Stephen Fry says he is not attacking the individuals within the church and has great respect for their faith, states they are as entitled to their faith as he is to his leaning towards Enlightenment and Post Enlightenment thought which is as fair and wise as you would expect from him.

The point I wish either Stephen Fry or Christopher Hitchens would have brought up is that the men who are enabling atrocities such as child rape, the spread of AIDS in Africa etc are not acting through Faith. They are acting on behalf of the organised religion and are working only to build the power base to which they have aligned themselves. The people who are enabling these disgusting acts to continue to be forced onto those who are looking to the Church for guidance and protection are not acting from a point of Faith but are merely exercising power and control over the vulnerable through the veneer of Faith.

The priest who is raping a child. The Archbishop who is spreading the ‘gospel’ that condoms encourage the spread of AIDS. How can they say they believe these things are right? How can they say they believe Jesus would condone this dangerous attitude towards sexuality?

Stephen Fry rightly makes a point to say the hierarchy and the way the leaders are chosen within the Catholic church is not natural. Through public shows of celibacy etc, these people deny their human natures to say they are trying to be more like Jesus.
However, according to Catholic doctrine, Jesus was wholly man And wholly divine.
Jesus was a man which means he would have gotten hungry, sleepy, horny, pissed off, loved up and all the other emotions which humans feel. Organised religion is saying certain parts of the human spectrum of emotion is wrong and they must be suppressed. Organised religion doesn’t want you to be whole.

I wish either Stephen or Christopher would have called the leaders of the Catholic church to read the Bible as men. Not men of God for there is no such thing. Anyone who claims to be closer to God/Jesus/Allah/Yahweh than anyone else is lying to themselves and everyone else. You are only as close to God as you are humbled by the awesomeness of the universe and the Creator.
If the leaders of the Catholic Church read the Bible through fresh eyes, without the blinkers of religion, they would see that Jesus’ lesson of Love crosses all boundaries. His lesson of Love for all man is actually quite easy to follow and is more joyous than the rules and regulations that Man has put in place to control those who are weaker.

I think the title of the debate is misleading and led to a debate of Faith (as was the view of the pro-Catholic side) vs Religion.

It cannot deny that many good things have been done through Faith.

However, in the debate, the representatives of the Catholic Church refused to acknowledge that it is the structures within they work, the rules and regulations they enforce upon themselves, the view that you have to speak to God through a priest etc which is causing all the problems within the Catholic Church.

They refused to acknowledge that if they did not enforce an environment where people deny their natural, God given, human natures then children would not be raped by priests. They refuse to acknowledge that it is a man made idea that homosexuality is wrong and that it is religious men, not Faithful men, who continue to enforce this idea.
They also refused to acknowledge that the only reason the Catholic church continues to keep the idea that you cannot speak to God directly yourself is to keep priests/bishops/archbishops etc etc employed by the Church. Yes, they may say they live modest lifestyles etc, but how much more modest must the congregation be? How much more must the congregations offer in order to keep these Men in positions of power only to be told they are not as devout/holy/pure as these Men simply because they live in the real world?

What is needed is the removal of organised religion. If the congregations are truly faithful and are following the teachings of Jesus which is to love your fellow man, they will continue to do good deeds. They will continue to give aid to developing countries. They will continue to nurture and encourage each other to be as good as human being as they possibly can.
Therefore, the question which should have been debated is ‘Why is the Catholic Church so reluctant to let go of it’s power?’

Courtland Milloy of Wapo has this heartbreaking article on the the plight of the Oblate Sisters of Providence in Baltimore. Things are pretty rough for them.

Earlier this year, the sisters fell three months behind on their grocery bill; food delivery was stopped until the nuns paid up.

Not that anyone’s complaining.

“Don’t make it sound like we’re destitute,” said Sister Mary Alice Chineworth, who is 92 and a former superior general of the Oblate order. “We just had to plan our meals more carefully, eat as little as possible.”

Then there was the heating oil crisis. The Oblates might have ended up sleeping in coats and gloves this winter were it not for an anonymous donor who paid that bill.

Totally blowing my mind, this is. This is the type of thing you’d hear about from 1780s.

Okay, I’m not really famous, but I was on the radio!  Okay, it was just a small little Catholic AM station, but, hey, that’s something!

I was driving home from my allergist last week listening to my local Catholic AM station.  Most of the shows are nationally syndicated, so it’s actually FM in some cities.  The show I was listening to is one of my favorites because it’s hosted by a husband and wife and the husband is a psychotherapist.  I like a lot of the other programs as well, but I particularly enjoy that when callers call in, the response is two-pronged with his psychology background and her family-life education background.  And I like that they’re married with kids.

As I listened, I quickly experienced one of those ‘I was meant to hear this’ moments.  They were talking about how childhood attachment (which specifically describes how much you trust that your parents will meet your needs) is directly related to adult mental and emotional health.  They said many studies have been done that show a link between weak childhood attachments and adult resiliency.  I absolutely think my issues with capability are the same as whether or not I am resilient.  Then Dr. P. said something that I think I’ll remember for a long time.  He said that adults who have suffered weak or non-existent attachments often experience healing through parenting their own children.

I got to the grocery store, parked, pulled out my little post-its and started taking notes!  After I heard one caller, they said the number again and I thought – what the heck – I’ll call in.  The screener picked up after two rings and I about died!  I had kind of pulled together what I wanted to say, so after I told her, and waited on hold through one more caller, I got to talk to them!  (I thought about sharing the link, but it’s just so embarrassing! My voice is all high-pitched and nervous…  I figured you could live with just a summary.)

Just like with my therapist, I felt like after I spoke for less than two minutes, they understood who I was and what I was about.  The woman first spoke to me lovingly as a mother to a mother.  She reassured me that everyone goes through the same cycle of getting up their confidence about having more children and then psyching themselves out.  She said her childhood experience was similar to mine and she suggested that I pray in front of the exposed Blessed Sacrament.  (Something I have done, but not specifically for strength/discernment about having another child.)  She told me that if I left there feeling positive and empowered, then no matter how much psyching out I do, I can always draw on the memory of that experience.  (I was drawing on the sense I got after we prayed our novena last fall, but now that seems so far away!)  Then she turned it over to her husband to speak to the psychological aspect.

He was thoroughly supportive.  He said that the fact that I’ve been able to see parenting as a healing process from my childhood suggested that I’m at a good point in my journey.  He first told me to acknowledge that that healing process is very taxing (so true!), then he said to explore what is holding me back and if it was specific issues that could be worked through with the help of a therapist or supportive friends, then to go ahead and work through those.  If, on the other hand, it was just a generalized fear or anxiety then that was a temptation to be avoided with all of my strength.  He defined anxiety as the fear of doing something that would be good for us.  That made a whole lot of sense to me because, through my own reading and prayer, I had already concluded that succumbing to my anxiety is my biggest temptation.  Some have alcohol, others have gambling; I have worry.  I have been given the tools to recognize it and combat it, so to choose to succumb to it now is a matter of weakness or laziness on my part.

They ended by suggesting a… wait for it… self-help book!  You will be shocked to know that I’ve already ordered it and started reading it.  It is supposed to help me think clearly and objectively about my attachment to my parents as a child so I can have a clearer perspective and better sense of control over my ability as a parent.  Just from that short radio program, I’ve already had several ‘aha’ moments.  Since I did not trust my parents to meet my needs, I lack confidence that anyone – myself included – can meet my needs.  This explains why I used to obsess over “expert” opinions and why I’m unsure about my capabilities as a whole.  My parents played a God-like role where they told me what I needed, and they gave it to me whether I needed it or not.  This explains why I have such a tough time discerning what my needs are.  Lastly, because my parents never took the time to try to discern my needs and because of the environment of conditional love in our home, I understand the deep, deep fear I used to have that I would eventually lose the love of my husband and son and would end up alone in some psych ward.  (I have my mother to thank for all of her fatalistic stories that happened to involve psych wards.)

It was a little thing, but being a part of that radio program, and getting to hear advice from people whose advice I’ve come to respect, was a true moment of grace!

November 27 2009 Friday Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Saint of the Day – St. Francesco Antonio Fasani

About the sources used. The readings on this site are not official for the Mass of Roman Rite of the Catholic Church in the USA, but are from sources free from copyright. They are here to present the comparable readings alongside traditional Catholic commentary as published in the Haydock Bible for your own personal study. Readings vary depending on your local calendar.

Official Readings of the Liturgy at – http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/112709.shtml

Daniel 7:2-14
Douay-Rheims Challoner

I saw in my vision by night, and behold the four winds of the heavens strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts, different one from another, came up out of the sea. The first was like a lioness, and had the wings of an eagle: I beheld till her wings were plucked off, and she was lifted up from the earth, and stood upon her feet as a man, and the heart of a man was given to her. And behold another beast, like a bear, stood up on one side: and there were three rows in the mouth thereof, and in the teeth thereof, and thus they said to it: Arise, devour much flesh.

The Ancient of Days William Blake

After this I beheld, and lo, another like a leopard, and it had upon it four wings, as of a fowl, and the beast had four heads, and power was given to it. After this I beheld in the vision of the night, and lo, a fourth beast, terrible and wonderful, and exceeding strong, it had great iron teeth, eating and breaking in pieces, and treading down the rest with his feet: and it was unlike to the other beasts which I had seen before it, and had ten horns. I considered the horns, and behold another little horn sprung out of the midst of them: and three of the first horns were plucked up at the presence thereof: and behold eyes like the eyes of a man were in this horn, and a mouth speaking great things.

I beheld till thrones were placed, and the ancient of days sat: his garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like clean wool: his throne like flames of fire: the wheels of it like a burning fire. A swift stream of fire issued forth from before him: thousands of thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him: the judgment sat, and the books were opened. I beheld, because of the voice of the great words which that horn spoke: and I saw that the beast was slain, and the body thereof was destroyed, and given to the fire to be burnt: And that the power of the other beasts was taken away: and that times of life were appointed them for a time, and a time.

I beheld, therefore, in the vision of the night, and lo, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and he came even to the ancient of days: and they presented him before him. And he gave him power, and glory, and a kingdom: and all peoples, tribes, and tongues shall serve him: his power is an everlasting power that shall not be taken away: and his kingdom that shall not be destroyed.

Responsorial Psalm Daniel 3:75-81
DR Challoner Text Only

Mountains and hills, bless the Lord:
praise and exalt him above all forever.
O all ye things that spring up in the earth, bless the Lord:
praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye fountains, bless the Lord:
praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye seas and rivers, bless the Lord:
praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye whales, and all that move in the waters, bless the Lord:
praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O all ye fowls of the air, bless the Lord:
praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O all ye beasts and cattle, bless the Lord:
praise and exalt him above all for ever.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Luke 21:29-33
Haydock New Testament

And he spoke to them a similitude:

See the fig-tree, and all the trees: When they now shoot forth their fruit, you know that summer is nigh. So you also, when you shall see these things come to pass, know that the reign of God  is at hand. Amen, I say to you, this generation shall not pass away, till all things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

Haydock Commentary Daniel 7:2-14
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

• Ver. 2. Winds, to imply the tumults occasioned by fresh kingdoms (W.) in the world.  Theod.
• Ver. 3. Four great beasts; viz. the Chaldean, Persian, Grecian, and Roman empires.  But some rather choose to understand the fourth beast of the successors of Alexander the great, more especially of them that reigned in Asia and Syria, (Ch.) or in
• Egypt.  C. ii. 40.  H.
• Ver. 4. Man. The emperors of Babylon were forced to confess that they were nothing more.  C. — Their cruel and rapid conquests (W.) are denoted by this monstrous animal.  Its wings shew how the lands were divided between the Medes and Persians.  Perhaps Neriglissor, &c. shared a part.  C. v. 1.  C.
• Ver. 5. Bear, which is cruel, and eats what is set before it greedily.  W. — Side. Cyrus did not attack the Jews.  S. Jer. — He stood ready to attack the Chaldeans. — Three. He ruled over the Medes and Chaldeans, as well as over the Persians.  C. — Rows. Gr. “wings or sides” of an animal, (H.) or “bones.”  Grot. — Cyrus was always at war; and Justin (1.) says, that Tomyris II. of Scythia, ordered his head to be cut off, and thrown into a vessel full of blood.  His troops are styled robbers, Jer. li. 48.  The ambition of Cambyses, Hystaspes, &c. are insatiable.
• Ver. 6. Leopard, a small spotted beast, may denote the size and disposition of Alexander, as well as his rapid conquests.  When he was asked how he had subdued so many, he answered, “by never putting off.”  C. — Four. He led his forces on all sides; (H.) and after his death, his empire was divided into four, (W.) Egypt, Syria, Asia, and Macedon, (Theod.) as he had united in his person the empire of the Chaldees, Medes, Persians, and Greeks.  C.
• Ver. 7. Unlike. It is not named: but shews the incomparable power of the Romans, governed by kings, consuls, tribunes, dictators, emperors, at different times.  W. — This in the opinion generally received, which we shall explain.  Yet many think that the kingdoms of Syria and Egypt are designated, as C. ii. 40.  S. Jerom acknowledged that what is understood of antichrist, had been partly verified in Epiphanes, his figure.  The beast was to be slain before the coming of the Son of man.  v. 11, 26.  It would persecute for three years and a half; but God would grant victory to his saints, as he did to the Machabees.  Yet they only exhibited a faint idea of what has been done by the Church.  The same subject is treated, C. xi.  Many things caused the dominion of the successors of Alexander to be unlike that of others.  It was never united, and was very destructive to the Jews.  C. — Horns. That is, ten kingdoms, (as Apoc. xvii. 12.) among which the empire of the fourth beast shall be parcelled: or ten kings of the number of the successors of Alexander, as figures of such as shall be about the time of antichrist.  Ch. — Epiphanes was the eighth king, and Laomedon, Antigonus, and Demetrius, had been governors of Syria before.  Most understand this of antichrist, whom Epiphanes foreshewed.  Others think that it points out Vespasian, the tenth successor of Cæsar, who made war on the Jews.  The same prediction may regard different events, as the abomination (C. ix.) may allude to the profanations committed by Epiphanes, by the Romans at the last siege, and by antichrist.  Others apply this to the Turkish empire, which may be paving the way for the great antagonist of Christ.  C.  Dioclesian and Julian may also be meant, as well as other forerunners of the man of sin. H. — He shall overcome many, but his fury shall continue but a short time.  v. 25.  W.
• Ver. 8. Little horn. This is commonly understood of antichrist.  It may also be applied to that great persecutor, Antiochus Epiphanes, as a figure of antichrist.  Ch. — He was the youngest son of Antiochus the great, and was a hostage of Rome.  While he was returning, his elder brother died, and Epiphanes excluded his son Philometor, of Egypt, and the usurper Heliodorus.  He also defeated three, Philometor, on the south; Artaxias, king of Armenia, on the east; and the strength, or God’s people, v. 24. and C. viii. 9. — Man. He gained several at first, by his affability. — Things: blasphemy.  1 Mac. i. 23. 43.  C.
• Ver. 9. Ancient. The Son is born of the Father, and the Holy Ghost proceeds from both, yet all three are coeternal.  W. — Hence the Father is sometimes painted in this manner, though he be a pure spirit.  His throne resembled that seen by Ezechiel, C. i.  H. — He takes cognizance of all, and punishes accordingly.  C.
• Ver. 10. Fire. Ps. xcvi. 3. — Thousands. Gr. implies one million and one hundred millions.  M. — The angels are very numerous, particularly the  highest, styled assistants.  S. Tho.  W.
• Ver. 11. Spoke. I wished to see how the king would be punished.  He felt the hand of God as he was going to destroy all the Jews, when he pretended to repent.  1 Mac. vi. and 2 Mac. ix. 4.  His successors could not much disturb the Jews.  v. 13.  C.
• Ver. 12. Time. Each of the four empires had its period assigned.  That of Rome attracted the prophet’s attention most, and is mentioned first.  M.
• Ver. 13. Heaven. Christ appeared about sixty years after the subversion of the Syrian monarchy.  Yet these expressions literally refer to his second coming.  Mat. xxvi. 64.  C. — He had the form of man, as he had the nature.  M. — He is clearly predicted.  by his power antichrist is overthrown.  W.
• Ver. 14. Destroyed. The eternal dominion of Christ could not be expressed in stronger terms.  He seems to allude to them, Mat. xxviii. 18.  C.

Haydock Commentary Luke 21:29-33

• Nothing

Catena Aurea Luke 21:29-33
From Catechetics Online

• EUSEB. He speaks these things to His disciples, not as to those who would continue in this life to the end of the world, but as if uniting in one body of believers in Christ both themselves and us and our posterity, even to the end of the world.
• GREG. That the world ought to be trampled upon and despised, He proves by a wise comparison, adding, Behold the fig tree and all the trees, when they now put forth fruit, you know that summer is near. As if He says, as from the fruit of the tree the summer is perceived to be near, so from the fall of the world the kingdom of God is known to be at hand. Hereby is it manifested that the world’s fall is our fruit. For hereunto it puts forth buds, that whomever it has fostered in the bud it may consume in slaughter. But well is the kingdom of God compared to summer; for then the clouds of our sorrow flee away, and the days of life brighten up under the clear light of the Eternal Sun.
• AMBROSE; Matthew speaks of the fig-tree only, Luke of all the trees. But the fig-tree shadows forth two things, either the ripening of what is hard, or the luxuriance of sin; that is, either that, when the fruit bursts forth in all trees and the fruitful fig-tree abounds, (that is, when every tongue confesses God, even the Jewish people confessing Him,) we ought to hope for our Lord’s coming, in which shall be gathered in as at summer the fruits of the resurrection. Or, when the man of sin shall clothe himself in his light and fickle boasting as it were the leaves of the synagogue, we must then suppose the judgment to be drawing near. For the Lord hastens to reward faith, and to bring an end of sinning.
• AUG. But when He says, When you shall see these things to come to pass, what can we understand but those things which were mentioned above. But among them we read, And then shall they see the Son of man coming. When therefore this is seen, the kingdom of God is not yet, but nigh at hand. Or must we say that we are not to understand all the things before mentioned, when He says, When you shall see these things, &c. but only some of them; this for example being excepted, And then shall they see the Son of man. But Matthew would plainly have it taken with no exception, for he says, And so you, when you see all these things, among which is the seeing the coming of the Son of man; in order that it may be understood of that coming whereby He now comes in His members as in clouds, or in the Church as in a great cloud.
• TIT. BOST. Or else, He says, the kingdom of God is at hand, meaning that when these things shall be not yet shall all things come to their last end, but they shall be already tending towards it. For the very coming of our Lord itself, casting out every principality and power, is the preparation for the kingdom of God.
• EUSEB. For as in this life, when winter dies away, and spring succeeds, the sun sending forth its warm rays cherishes and quickens the seeds hid in the ground, just laying aside their first form, and the young plants sprout forth, having put on different shades of green; so also the glorious coming of the Only-begotten of God, illuminating the new world with His quickening rays shall bring forth into light from more excellent bodies than before the seeds that have long been hidden in the whole world, i.e. those who sleep in the dust of the earth. And having vanquished death, He shall reign from henceforth the life of the new world.
• GREG. But all the things before mentioned are confirmed with greet certainly, when He adds, Verily I say to you, &c.
• BEDE; He strongly commends that which he thus foretell. And, if one may so speak, his oath is this, Amen, I say to you. Amen is by interpretation “true.” Therefore the truth says, I tell you the truth, and though He spoke not thus, He could by no means lie. But by generation he means either the whole human race, or especially the Jews.
• EUSEB. Or by generation He means the new generation of His holy Church, showing that the generation of the faithful would last up to that time, when it would see all things, and embrace with its eyes the fulfillment of our Savior’s words.
• THEOPHYL. For because He had foretold that there should be commotions, and wars and changes, both of the elements and in other things, lest any one might suspect that Christianity itself also would perish, He adds, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away: as if He said, Though all things should be shaken, yet shall my faith fail not. Whereby He implies that He sets the Church before the whole creation. The creation shall suffer change, but the Church of the faithful and the words of the Gospel shall abide for ever.
• GREG. Or else, The heaven and, earth shall pass away, &c. As if He says, All that with us seems lasting, does not abide to eternity without change, and all that with Me seems to pass away is held fixed and immovable, for My word which passes away utters sentences which remain unchangeable, and abide for ever.
• BEDE; But by the heaven which shall pass away we must understand not the ethereal or the starry heaven, but the air from which the birds are named “of heaven.” But if the earth shall pass away, how does Ecclesiastes say, The earth stands for ever? Plainly then the heaven and earth in the fashion which they now have shall pass away, but in essence subsist eternally.

The day after Thanksgiving is informally known in the US as Black Friday. This is the day when many families buy Christmas presents. The highways and byways are generally clogged with traffic. Yet, with the economy the way it is, who knows how this year’s shopping trips will go?  If nothing else, there are sure to be some unseasonal bargains available.

If you’re staying close to home and want something new to look at on the Net, why not check out what’s been happening in Ave Maria, Florida?  If you’re unfamiliar with the name, this is the town that Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan brought to life in the spring of 2007.  He originally intended it to be a town for orthodox Catholics who wanted the freedom to attend Tridentine Mass and send their children to traditional Catholic schools, from kindergarten through university.  With everyone sharing the same values and devotions, it sounded like a dream come true.  Although I am naturally suspicious of any private-enterprise town, e.g. Celebration, the Disney town, I thought that maybe the Holy Spirit would work through Monaghan to make this an exemplary community.

I first read about Ave Maria in August 2008 in NaplesNews.com, which featured a report on the Dominican Sisters of Mary which established a teaching mission in town.  They wear the same habits that the order of Dominicans I had in high school wore.  And, just like in my day, they sound ideal for serious Catholics:

Assumpta, the Dominican’s founder, used to be a member of the Nashville-based Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, another popular orthodox order for young women. She started the new order in 1997, and quickly met up with Ave Maria founder Tom Monaghan, who has supported the group in many ways, including financially…

For Dan Guernsey, headmaster at Ave Maria’s grammar school, the Dominican Sisters teaching at his school was a Godsend. The nuns embodied an alternative, Guernsey says, to the objectification of women in popular culture. They showed that a rejection of that culture and an embracing of a holy life was not only possible, but, more important, is the path to happiness.

‘They are the curriculum,’ he says.

My hopes for success were further boosted last May when I read that Dr Thomas Hilgers, who gave the Commencement address at Ave Maria University, came down hard on Fr John I Jenkins, Notre Dame’s president, for giving a pro-abortion President an honorary Doctorate of Law degree.   

Now, on Les Femmes I see that all is not so heavenly in the town borrowing the Angel Gabriel’s greeting to Our Lady.  On November 15, 2009 Mary Ann Kreitzer covered the news that Ave Maria resident and journalist, Marielena Montesino de Stuart, is forbidden from setting foot in much of the town, which, let’s remember, is private property!  This is why I object to this type of community. This journalist has investigated the darker side of Ave Maria for the Catholic newspaper, The Wanderer. Mary Ann says:

With Mrs. de Stuart, the iron fist is up close and personal. The university has banned her from its property. But much of Ave Maria town belongs to the university so the de Stuart family who live there are forbidden from their own neighborhood. FOX news covered the story which described how her children are now afraid to leave the house. Makes one thrilled at the thought of living in that town, doesn’t it?.

That this type of action could take place at a campus founded specifically to advance orthodox Catholicism is shocking, but it’s become typical of how Ave Maria operates. Fr. Fessio was fired (the second time) because he PRIVATELY took concerns about the financial stability of the university to the head of the board of directors. Obviously the stability of Ave Maria town is directly related to the health of the university, so Mrs. de Stuart’s concern is well founded.

Mary Ann adds:

My husband and I welcomed Ave Maria with outstretched arms. We signed up for the Founders’ Club and began giving a monthly donation. When things started to come apart early on we reluctantly withdrew …

Pray for all who have been hurt during the building of this so-called Catholic University and town and pray especially for Tom Monaghan. A man with money who can call the shots that impact people’s lives had better be sure he’s doing God’s will.

Ave Maria University has undergone administration changes to both its undergraduate and law schools like a revolving door.  There’s too much to detail here.  But, you can click the links below to follow the story:

Ave Maria Law in Toilet — Tier Rankings, Again.  How?

Dean is Paid by School Board but has a Private Salary Contract with Monaghan and His Foundation

Ave Maria – The Promise, The Reality (Part 2)

Then, there is Ms de Stuart’s personal story, which she tells here in Ave Maria – The Promise, The Reality (Part 1). This woman cannot even attend Mass because, although she is allowed to enter the church, she cannot set foot on the property around it.  She wrote this account in August 2009, three months before that happened, though.  Here’s a taster:

Ave Maria is my second ‘prom­ised land’. When my family and I freed ourselves from the grip of the Communists in Cuba and arrived in the promised land of the United States, we left behind years of per­secution, political imprisonment, executions, and hunger. But most of all we left behind the inhuman practice of silencing dissent— si­lencing our ability to speak the truth of the injustices we suffered. Free speech, and the ability to express dissent is what separates civilized societies from uncivilized ones. It is what my father was im­prisoned for — and many mem­bers of my family gave up their lives for, as devout Roman Catho­lics. So, it is in this spirit of free­dom, truth, and loyalty to the Church, that I tell the following story…

Anyone who visited Ave Maria in the spring of 2007 could have easily compared it to the surface of another planet. The remoteness, and the absence of topographical prominence, other than the church and a few buildings, made it seem almost surreal. A place so barren could only be supported through the lure of big promises…

Within the first year, the disap­pointments and the exodus began. The moral conditions needed to support a project of the magnitude of Ave Maria were not there — not because there weren’t participants and residents supporting the moral conditions needed — but because many of the key players had gone in another direction…

Some of the faithful Catholic fam­ilies that purchased homes in Ave Maria, with great joy, sacrifice, and enthusiasm, have subsequently sold them at a great loss. Some seem to be ’walking away’ from their property. Others came, hoping to buy — then saw the disconnect be­tween the promise and the reality, then withdrew their offers on the purchase of homes. The remarks from those who have left or are try­ing to leave include, ‘it wasn’t what we thought it would be’ to ‘we want to put it behind us’ or ‘we cannot discuss it’. The Naples Dai­ly News reporter could hardly ever obtain an attributable statement about problems concerning the uni­versity and the town from a resident in nearly a year and a half, since the town opened.

It also turns out that Tom Golisano, a divorced billionaire who supports pro-choice candidates, will have an Ave Maria University building named after him.  Find out more here. 

You can keep up with the story at AveWatch.com in the blogroll.

Let’s hope that the good sisters are keeping Mr Monaghan, Ms de Stuart and Ave Maria’s other residents in their prayers. There’s a message here.  I’m just not sure what it is at the moment.

The news about the second report of child abuse in Ireland once can reminded us on the sins of our church and how difficult it is for an institution, to come to terms with its own past. Seeing the Archbishop of Dublin sitting there during a press conference and apologizing in his capacity as a bishop, but also as a human being, showed how stressful it is to deal with a now uncovered truth, nobody will really be able to repair the damage done. It teaches us as church a lesson and encourages us to be humble in all our duties to guide other people. It shows how deep even people who thought they were the guardians of the truth and the morals can fail in a way, only God can heal. Give God that we as a church learn out of it, but in a way that makes us better.  In the last years the church was tempted to put the guilt on some rotten apple, then it tried to connect homosexuality and pedophilia – at the end it showed that we as an institution are still not able simply to stand before God and men and acknowledge first and foremost our failure as people of God. Acknowledgement without any justification, just acknowledgement and deep shame should be first. And a clear understanding, that only honest reflection can lead the way forward to learn out of such a past. Such humbleness does not take away anything from the good things, the church has done also in the past, but it fits an organisation, calling itself the people of God.

Please enjoy your turkey flavored cookie with a scene from the original Thanksgiving.

This cookie features the traditional however unnatural Thanksgiving pairing of the pilgrim and the turkey, waiting to be married by the town’s parson.  The male townsfolk had burned all the woman as witches and were quite happy with the new arrangement.  So much so that they created this sugar etching as a document to signify the event.

As time passed and the relationships soured, the turkeys started giving the pilgrim men much lip for not cleaning around the house or shining their shiny shoe belt buckles etc.  As a result the pilgrims went apeshit and burned them all at the stake.  In the meantime someone went ahead and ordered more woman from England, agreeing that burning turkeys was better than burning people.  Also better tasting.  This started the traditions of mail order brides and pimping in what has come to be known as “capitalism.”  This also explains the weird pimp like dress favored by pilgrim men in what has come to be known as ”transvestism.”  All of these elements came together to form the first Thanksgiving and the founding of our nation!

A diagram of our first pimps / founding fathers

The pimp cane followed later.

Note the strong pimp hand.  The hand has been used to straighten out any bitch or nation that’s had the nerve to give us some lip for generations.  Turkey or otherwise (also the origin of the phrase “Jive Turkey!” Wherein a turkey or nation has the nerve to give us some “Jive!” meaning talking much junk without warrant). Yes the pimp hand is a step down from the burning but it does remain an option.  Just in case.  It can come in handy when dealing with international incidents. Or jive turkeys.

In any event, now you know why the turkey flavored cookie is still enjoyed by the poor and other immigrants throughout the world since the beginning of time.

Enjoy!

Thank God

I’m thankful that I have a lover above me,
Three persons that love me,
Take care of me, and provide
All the things I’ve tried
To do on my own
When I haven’t known
Or realized He’s tried
To ease my pain and provide
Everything and love me
While walking with me and above me.

I don’t guess this is a good time to give thanks to the Christian God for much of anything.  Especially since He watched as hundreds, if not thousands of children were molested.  The Christian God heard their cries for help and did NOTHING to stop it for decades!  It seems we can’t trust the Christian God to watch over our children and keep them safe.  He can’t even do it in his own house with his own servants. Just in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas, no wonder they now prefer to say “happy holidays”.  Not much Merry in the Christmas for those kids.

The full list of reports can be found at the following link:

http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/PB09000504

The summary of the report is provided below:

The Roman Catholic Church is said to have covered up DECADES of child abuse by priest in an attempt to protect the church’s reputation.  This was discovered after a three year investigation into the matter.

Several government investigations into chronic child rape, beatings and other cruelty in Catholic-run schools, children’s workhouses and orphanages in 1975-2004 were conducted.

The government indicated their investigations “shows clearly that a systemic, calculated perversion of power and trust was visited on helpless and innocent children in the archdiocese.”

With respect to the abuse cases the government stated: “The perpetrators must continue to be brought to justice, and the people of Ireland must know that this can never happen again,”

The 720-page report – delivered to the government in July but released Thursday – analyzes the cases of 46 priests against whom 320 complaints were filed. The 46 were selected from more than 150 Dublin priests implicated in molesting or raping boys and girls since 1940. Eleven priests convicted of child abuse are named in the report, but 33 are referred to by aliases and two have their names blacked out because they have yet to face justice.

The report also rejected past bishops’ key claim that they were ignorant of both the scale and criminality of priests’ abuse of children, showing that the Dublin Archdiocese negotiated a 1987 insurance policy for future legal costs of defending lawsuits and compensation claims.

The report states that  ”the taking out of insurance was an act proving knowledge of child sexual abuse as a potential major cost to the archdiocese.”

Investigators spent three years poring over 60,000 previously secret Dublin church files. Among the files were more than 5,500 that Martin’s predecessor, retired Cardinal Desmond Connell, had tried to keep locked in the archbishop’s private vault.

“One priest admitted to sexually abusing over 100 children, while another accepted that he had abused on a fortnightly basis during the currency of his ministry which lasted for over 25 years.”

“A few (priests) were courageous and brought complaints to the attention of their superiors. The vast majority simply chose to turn a blind eye,” the report said.

In May, the government published a report on decades of child abuse in Catholic-run schools, workhouses and orphanages. More than 12,000 victims of rape, beatings and mental abuse have received compensation payments from a government panel exceeding euro800 million ($1.2 billion).

I am surprised that anyone can feel it moral to follow this Christian belief after what has already been exposed.  It is likely this is not all we will come .

Yet, fools (dumb sheep) will still look to the Church for answers on “morals”.   We have Christians of all types now making excuses for child abuse, child rape, child labor, and in America we have Christians supporting the re-election of a Christian President that sent American troops to die for his war based on lies of WMD and ties to 9/11.  A President that used God as an excuse for it all, to include torture.  Christians in overwhelming numbers supported and re-elected Bush and thus approved, supported and condoned his immoral acts.  Yes, they are just as accountable for those acts.

Just because these people follow some superstition that millions respect doesn’t mean they are above the law or that they can commit any immoral act and get away with it.  Ted Haggard, Jimmy Baker, Jimmy Swaggert, Mark Sanford, Larry Craig, Vittner, John Ensign to name a few high profile Christians, seems to slide past any real accountability.

Imagine how many low profile individuals are getting through the cracks.  If the most “moral” of the “moral” are doing such sick acts, then the Christian idiots that come here and leave comments like “fuck off you piece of shit” are likely hiding many other vile acts while they claim to follow a “moral” God.

What happened Christians?  You attempt to tell us that we have no morals without religion and it appears the opposite is true.  With religion, we discover how to be immoral and claim it is moral, hide it with money and power and praise God while we tell others how they should live!

Pathetic!!

It is time for the world to wake up to these superstitious claims, stop believe the lies that are spread because threats are made of terrible harm that will come if you don’t follow.  Grow up, stand up and be honest to the children.  Stop threatening them with your God’s great punishment and torture for eternity.  Let them have a chance at life and escape the lies you are forced to live with.

Luke 17:11-19

As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten persons with leprosy met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” And when he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” As they were going they were cleansed.

And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan.

Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”

The Daily Path: I have been blessed each and every day over the past year. Though I may not always recognize His grace amid the “living” and surviving, I know that God continues to reach out to me.

Room to Chat: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give Him thanks and praise.

The USCCB has some Thanksgiving Day prayers: 

Lord, we thank you
for the goodness of our people
and for the spirit of justice
that fills this nation.

We thank you for the beauty and fullness of the
land and the challenge of the cities.

We thank you for our work and our rest,
for one another, and for our homes.

We thank you, Lord:
accept our thanksgiving on this day.

We pray and give thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

R/. Amen.

Download them here (pdf).

From the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales – Leeds meeting (November 2009):

The bishops warmly received the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus, and its generosity towards those seeking full visible communion with the Holy See. They established a Commission to consider in detail the next steps in this process in England and Wales. They strongly reaffirmed their continuing commitment to ecumenical relations, working for the unity of his disciples for which Christ prayed (John 17:20-21). In particular, they looked forward to the next regular meeting with the Bishops of the Church of England ever seeking to deepen the shared mission to proclaim the Good News to the society in which we live…  

Responding readily to the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus, the Bishops’ Conference establishes a commission of Bishops and advisers to consider the next steps which may arise in this process.

‘The Commission is therefore available for consultation with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (cf. Anglicanorum coetibus 1§1) and to offer advice and guidance to Diocesan Bishops. Given the faculty for members of an Ordinariate “to maintain the liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions of the Anglican Communion within the Catholic Church, as a precious gift nourishing the faith of the members of the Ordinariate and as a treasure to be shared”(Anglicanorum coetibus III), the Commission is to advise the Bishops’ Conference on transitional arrangements for the reception of groups of Anglicans, should such requests arise. The Commission is also to consider those articles of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus and the Complementary Norms that refer to the responsibilities of the Bishops’ Conference and to present suggestions for their fulfilment. The Episcopal members of the Commission are to be Archbishop-Elect Bernard Longley, Bishop Malcolm McMahon and Bishop Alan Hopes.

The full press release is here or here (pdf).

The New Barack Channel (NBC) has jumped into the fray between Kennedy and the Catholic Church.  As usual, they are doing so with a leftist bias.

The second paragraph of the article which I have highlighted in bold below sums up the crux of the matter.  When a church or other conservative  organization compromises what it believes in order to support some liberal/progressive policy, no one says anything about separation of church and state (which is a misinterpreted load of liberal crap anyway).  But let the same organization take the same conservative stand they have taken since the beginning of time, and the left comes out screaming.  Hypocrites.

Now you have the Catholic Church, which to my knowledge has been around even longer than the United States, and has always said that abortion is wrong, is saying what it has always said:  “You can’t have your cake and eat it too.”  They are telling this Kennedy idiot that Catholics (and Christians) can not support or condone abortion, and if you do support or condone abortion you can’t be a Catholic, or at least not one in good standing.  They are illustrating what God has always tried to teach us, that the world is black and white, not the shades of gray that liberals portray it to be.  There IS right, and there IS wrong.  Right and wrong don’t change with the times.  The religion of moral relativism propagated by liberals has taken over our society like a cancer.

So, why are liberals trying so hard to remove God from the public square?  Two reasons.

1. Acknowledging the existence of God reminds liberals of their own sin, and they do not want to be reminded of that.
2. Liberals/communists know that people who have a strong moral foundation can’t be controlled easily.  Someone without a moral foundation will believe whatever they are told by the powers that be.  This also speaks to the dumbing down of our educational system.

Whether you are a Christian or not, you need to stand up against this coordinated, intentional assault on Christianity and organized religion in America.  Right now it may not appear that liberals are attacking islam, but that is only temporary.  Political correctness is the only thing preventing that at the moment.  If the muslims win before the liberals do, the liberals will wonder where the Christians are to protect them from beheading.  If the liberals get their way before islam takes over, the liberals will persecute the muslims just like they persecute us.  As I was saying, this is more than just an assault on religion.  It is an assault on freedom.  Let’s review the 1st Amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Any educated, reasonably clear thinking individual can see the wisdom behind the wording of the 1st Amendment, and that the liberals have taken great liberty with it to arrive at the current interpretation regarding “separation of church and state.”  It means that the government will not establish a STATE religion that you must be a part of.  It DOES NOT prohibit those in government who are of various religions from displaying or participating in their religion while on the job.

Wake up, people!  An attack on one of our freedoms is an attack on all of them.  Jealously guard your freedom, for tomorrow it may be taken from you.

NBC Takes Up Kennedy vs. Catholic Church ‘Crossing the Line’ Into ‘Political Blackmail’

By: Tim Graham
November 24, 2009 10:55 ET

Monday’s NBC Nightly News took up the story of liberal Congressman Patrick Kennedy’s public feud with the Catholic Church, and NBC’s Ron Allen implied something improper in how “the Catholic Church is flexing its religious and political muscle.”

When Catholic officials endorse liberal initiatives like immigration reform or oppose an execution, the networks don’t worry about the separation of church and state. But with traditional stands against abortion and gay marriage in the crossfire, NBC’s screen graphic asked if the church was “Crossing the Line?” A secular-left lobbyist accused the church of being “not above spiritual and political blackmail.”

(Read rest of article HERE)

I’ve posted on this series from St Irenaeus Ministries before.  All the podcasts currently available in this series are listed below.  Check out SIM’s archive page for more studies, talks, and lectures.

Return From Exile.

Under Persian Rule.

Rebuilding The Temple.

To The Ends Of The Earth.

Greek Rule Over Israel.