Chrysostom on the unborn John the Baptist

From a commentary on the Gospel for today's Feast of the Visitation:

See how new and how wonderful this mystery is. He has not yet left the womb but he speaks by leaping; he is not yet allowed to cry out but he makes himself heart by hi actions...; he has not yet seen the light but he points out the Sun; he has not yet been born and he is keen to act as Precursor. The Lord is present, so he cannot contain himself or wait for nature to run its course: he wants to break out of the prison of his mother's womb and he makes sure he witnesses to the fact that the Savior is about to come.

Saint John Chrysostom, "Sermo Apud Metaphr., Mense Julio"

Women's "ordination": it doesn't get much clearer

Cardinal O'Malley builds email list

Sects for every Catholic? Weird article on women Catholic "priests"

The whole article is rather odd, but this graph struck me as particularly peculiar:

Lauder [a guy who divorced and remarried but is looking forward to "ordination"] said the Roman Catholic Women Priests sect teaches the Roman Catholic faith, but is less judgmental and more inclusive that traditional Roman Catholic sects.

Huh? I didn't know I belonged to a sect!

Memorial Day

Fading light dims the sight
And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright
From afar drawing nigh,
Falls the night.

Day is done, gone the sun
From the hills, from the lake, from the sky
All is well, safely rest;
God is nigh.

Then goodnight, peaceful night;
Till the light of the dawn shineth bright.
God is near, do not fear,
Friend, goodnight.

(click here)

Corpus Christi: Benediction

Many parishes, after Mass on the Feast of Corpus Christi, are graced with a Eucharistic Procession, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, and Benediction. (In fact, at Saint Clement's Eucharistic Shrine here in Boston, Exposition follows Mass every Sunday.)

Here is an EWTN tape of Benediction and the exit procession at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery, with the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration.

Archbishop Chaput fills in the gap in his words used by "Roman Catholics for Obama '08"

In a thoughtful and candid First Things article, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver recounts his early involvement with politics, including his work with Robert Kennedy's 1968 presidential run and his later involvement with the candidacy of Jimmy Carter.

The piece was prompted by the use of the Archbishop's published words by a group called "Roman Catholics for Obama '08." The group's website accurately quotes Chaput as follows:

So can a Catholic in good conscience vote for a pro-choice candidate? The answer is: I can’t, and I won’t. But I do know some serious Catholics— people whom I admire—who may. I think their reasoning is mistaken, but at least they sincerely struggle with the abortion issue, and it causes them real pain. And most important: They don’t keep quiet about it; they don’t give up; they keep lobbying their party and their representatives to change their pro-abortion views and protect the unborn. Catholics can vote for pro-choice candidates if they vote for them despite—not because of—their pro-choice views.

However, the Archbishop points out that sentences immediately following the above quote were omitted. They are well worth reading:

But [Catholics who support pro-choice candidates] also need a compelling proportionate reason to justify it. What is a “proportionate” reason when it comes to the abortion issue? It’s the kind of reason we will be able to explain, with a clean heart, to the victims of abortion when we meet them face to face in the next life—which we most certainly will. If we’re confident that these victims will accept our motives as something more than an alibi, then we can proceed.

Actually, Archbishop Chaput's entire column is well worth the read, for all Catholic voters, Obama supporters included.

When the Gospel reading refers to a child as an "it"...

From today's Gospel (Mark 9:30-37) according to the NAB:

Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me.”

Now, according to the RSV:

And He took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in His arms, He said to them: "Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."

This "it" thing has bugged me since I first heard it. Certainly we don't know whether the Lord took a girl or boy into his arms, but in the cause for political correctness, I'd much rather have the child assigned some gender...some humanness for Heaven's sake. Call "it" "her" if that makes everybody feel better—but "it" isn't really acceptable...is it?

Once again, this time in California, the courts decide that 2+2 equals...whatever

I'm not sure what bugs me the most about stuff like this...the blatant exploitation race ("after all, interracial marriages were once illegal") or the complete lack of kindergarten-level logic. As in:

“The right to marry,” Chief Justice George wrote, “represents the right of an individual to establish a legally recognized family with a person of one’s choice and, as such, is of fundamental significance both to society and to the individual.”

Somebody get on the phone and tell Oedipus he wasn't wrong after all.

Boston TV team report 100+ priests accused of abuse living "among us"...how come nobody else is reporting this?

Last night, WBZ TV news reported that its "I-Team:"

...has found there are at least 100 priests living in our cities and towns -- priests who the archdiocese has taken out of service because of credible allegations of sexual abuse.

Most of them never had to register as sex offenders because their cases never went to criminal court.

Anne Barrett Doyle and Ed Clohessy, who have showed up on the pages of Boston media, especially the Globe, on an extremely regular basis, are nowhere to be found in that paper nor, in fact, did I find anything about this story anywhere, except for a mention on a blog or two.

This perplexes me. If you read the story (or watch the video which is on the same page) it seems like a potentially Big Deal...up to and including Cardinal Sean O'Malley's refusal to comment (although I thought the reference to his "handlers" was a bit much).

So I'm wondering...why hasn't anybody else in the main stream media—especially here in Boston—leaped on this? I'm honestly at sea here.

A few years ago you couldn't flick on the tube, launch your browser, or pick up a newspaper or magazine—anywhere in the country or the world, for that matter—without some reference to Boston's clergy abuse scandal. Now, when it looks like there's a story again (and trust me, or rather don't trust me as a journalist because I'm not) only a lone voice in TV land is talking.

What's up?

I sincerely have no clue. But this silence (and yes, I realize it's only been a day but that hasn't stopped wire services and other outlets before) is disturbing. There are doubtless other reasons, but I can only imagine two:

1.) That there's something factually wrong with the story or
2.) It's not "news" anymore.

Any ideas?

Governor Sebelius, please cooperate in your own salvation!

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius should stop taking Communion until she repudiates her support for the “serious moral evil” of abortion, the Catholic archbishop for northeast Kansas says.

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, also criticized the governor Friday for her recent veto of a bill imposing new restrictions on abortion providers.

Not a "problem?"

Sebelius spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran said the governor had not seen the column, [in the archdiocesan newspaper The Leaven] but said “receiving Communion has not been a problem in the past for her.”

Well, gee, the thing is, it is a problem not just for you, governor, but for all the Catholics in your state. Just because you haven't been denied the Sacrament doesn't mean it's "not a problem." In fact, this makes it more of a problem!

From Archbishop's The Leven column:

The Governor has spoken to me on more than one occasion about her obligation to uphold state and federal laws and court decisions. I have asked her to show a similar sense of obligation to honor divine law and the laws, teaching and legitimate authority within the Church.

And isn't this the crux of the matter?

I have not made lightly this request of Governor Sebelius, but only after much prayer and reflection. The spiritually lethal message, communicated by our Governor, as well as many other high profile Catholics in public life, has been in effect: “The Church’s teaching on abortion is optional!”

Please honor Archbishop Naumann's request and pray for Governor Sebelius, and that his action will help alert other Catholics to the moral gravity of participating in and/or cooperating with the performance of abortions.

Thank you, and Happy Pentecost and Happy Birthday to the Church!

Source: Prime Buzz

Cast off

Okay so they took my cast off today...good news.

Not so good is that I've got this Darth Vadar boot on again and can't walk without crutches for at least another month.

Sheesh.

Our Lady of Laus, pray for us!

And under still more folk to pray for...

Why doesn't every Catholic observe Ascension Thursday on...Ascension Thursday?

This is just plain weird to me. Yesterday I discovered that Ascension Thursday — which is always on a Thursday given that it's the fortieth day after Easter Sunday, and that's because that's how long Jesus stayed here after His Resurrection, for pete's sake — is only a Holy Day of Obligation in the dioceses of Boston, Hartford, New York, Philadelphia, and Omaha.

Everybody place else in the U.S.? It's transferred to the following Sunday.

How come?

According to this fellow (and I've no reason to doubt him):

However, because attendance at Ascension Thursday Masses had been falling for years, the bishops of the United States, in accordance with canon law, petitioned the Vatican to allow the celebration to be transferred to the following Sunday.

How weird is that?

By the way, remember to begin your Novena to the Holy Spirit!

Update #1:

Scott Richert, linked above, clarifies with regard to my use of the term "diocese:"

...Ascension is still observed on Thursday in the
ecclesiastical provinces (not dioceses) of Boston, Hartford, New York,
Philadelphia, and Omaha. Each of those provinces is made up of
multiple dioceses--for instance, the ecclesiastical province of
Philadelphia includes ALL of the dioceses in Pennsylvania.

Update #2:

Scott adds:

By the way, I've set up an e-mail reminder for all of those who would
like to pray the Novena to the Holy Ghost between now and Pentecost.
All they have to do is to sign up for the reminder, and then each day,
they will receive an e-mail with that day's prayers. When the novena is over,
the e-mails stop (unless the person signs up again).

You can sign up for the novena here.