From http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/6467253/Vatican-condemns-Halloween-as-anti-Christian.html
By Nick Squires in Rome
30 Oct 2009
The Roman Catholic Church has become alarmed in recent years by the spread of Hallowe'en traditions from the US to other countries around the world Photo: PA The Holy See has warned that parents should not allow their children to dress up as ghosts and ghouls on Saturday, calling Hallowe'en a pagan celebration of "terror, fear and death".
The Roman Catholic Church has become alarmed in recent years by the spread of Hallowe'en traditions from the US to other countries around the world.
As in Britain, it is only in recent years that Italian children have dressed up in costumes, played trick or treat on their neighbours and made lanterns out of hollowed out pumpkins.
The Vatican issued the warning through its official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, in an article headlined "Hallowe'en's Dangerous Messages".
The paper quoted a liturgical expert, Joan Maria Canals, who said: "Hallowe'en has an undercurrent of occultism and is absolutely anti-Christian."
Parents should "be aware of this and try to direct the meaning of the feast towards wholesomeness and beauty rather than terror, fear and death," said Father Canals, a member of a Spanish commission on church rites.
Last year a newspaper controlled by the Italian bishops, Avvenire, called for a boycott of Hallowe'en, calling it a "dangerous celebration of horror and the macabre" which could encourage "pitiless [Satanic] sects without scruples".
Earlier this week the Catholic Church in Spain also condemned the growing popularity of Halloween, saying it threatened to overshadow the Christian festival of All Saints' Day.
The Bishop of Siguenza-Guadalajara, Jose Sanchez, said there was a risk that Halloween could "replace Christian customs like devotion to saints and praying for the dead."
Friday, October 29, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
The New Translation of the Mass
Arlington Catholic Herald October 6, 2010:
The following was written by the Most Rev, Paul Steven Loverde, Bishop of the Diocese of Arlington, West Virginia.
Some of you may recall, as I do, learning certain tenets of our faith from the Baltimore Catechism. The concise, memorable question-and-answer format assisted me as a boy in learning theological truths upon which I still reflect today. In light of the announcement from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) that, after years of work, the new translation of the Roman Missal will be implemented in Advent 2011, the Catechism question “What is Prayer?” particularly resounds with me. The response, “Prayer is the lifting up of our minds and hearts to God,” highlights the opportunity for spiritual growth that the new translation will afford each of us (Baltimore Catechism, no. 1099).
This new translation of the Mass is the result of years of labor by skilled translators and the national conferences of bishops in English-speaking nations. The result is a translation of the Mass that will contribute to the ongoing renewal of sacred liturgy in our parishes and is a more accurate translation of the official Latin edition of the Roman Missal, first promulgated in 1970, updated again in 1975 and published in its third edition in 2000. Our Holy Father prayed that the new translation would be “a springboard for a renewal and a deepening of Eucharistic devotion all over the English-speaking world” (Pope Benedict XVI, Address to the Vox Clara Committee, 28 April 2010). Yes, this translation means more than merely learning new responses to say during Mass, although the words have a particular purpose and are important. It is, ultimately, a call to strengthen our prayer to God during the liturgy and to more actively and authentically participate: to truly “lift our minds and hearts to God.”
It is my prayer that each of us will take time to reflect upon the changes being made and the true meaning of the words that the priest and the congregation pray at Mass. Consider, for example, the occasions in the Mass when the celebrant says, “The Lord be with you.” Instead of, “And also with you,” under the new translation the congregation will reply, “And with your spirit.” Far from being a reduction in meaning, this response, which is more true to the official Latin text from which all translations have been made, increases our understanding that we are asking the Lord to dwell in the souls of those gathered for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In addition, since the priest (or deacon before the proclamation of the Gospel) greets the faithful with the words, “The Lord be with you,” the response, “And with your spirit” serves to mark those moments of truly priestly (or diaconal) ministry, that is, when the priest (or deacon) is about to do what he is ordained to do. These moments include: presiding over the entire prayer of the community at the beginning of the Mass; proclaiming God’s holy Word in His Gospel; offering the Eucharistic Prayer, which begins with the Preface; and imparting the final blessing. Our new response indicates that the priest (or deacon) is not acting on his own but only in the power of Christ and the Holy Spirit.
The new translation of the Roman Missal will also include Masses for recently canonized saints, additional prefaces for the Eucharistic Prayers, other Masses for Various Needs and Intentions, and updated and revised rubrics (instructions) for celebrating the Mass. The richness of these seemingly subtle changes not only brings our prayer closer in line with our brothers and sisters who speak other languages, but also invites us to enter more fully into the mystery of the Mass.
Our participation in the liturgy is an essential part of our worship. Discussing the Mass, Pope Pius X taught that “the faithful assemble for no other object than that of acquiring this spirit from its foremost and indispensable font, which is the active participation in the most holy mysteries and in the public and solemn prayer of the Church” (Pope Pius X, Tra le Sollecitudini, 22 November 1903). This liturgical theme was further developed by the Servant of God, Pope Paul VI during the Second Vatican Council when he wrote that the “Church consists in the full active participation of all God's holy people in these liturgical celebrations, especially in the same Eucharist, in a single prayer, at one altar, at which there presides the bishop surrounded by his college of priests and by his ministers” (Pope Paul VI, Sacrosanctum Concilium, 1963, no. 41). The new translation provides us with the opportunity, once again, to participate in the Mass in a deeper way.
In the upcoming year, you will learn more details on the new translation and be given the grace-filled opportunity to deepen your life of prayer during the liturgy through additional catechesis. In the next year, in our diocesan Church and throughout English-speaking nations, we will prepare for the implementation of the new translation. During this time of fruitful transition, I ask you to dedicate yourself to active participation in the celebration of the Mass. As this new translation so beautifully emphasizes, Our Lord Jesus Christ died so that we may have life, a mystery which we celebrate at each and every Liturgy. He sacrificed Himself for us; let our response be one of prayerful participation in the celebration of the Eucharist, which He instituted in His Church.
The following was written by the Most Rev, Paul Steven Loverde, Bishop of the Diocese of Arlington, West Virginia.
Some of you may recall, as I do, learning certain tenets of our faith from the Baltimore Catechism. The concise, memorable question-and-answer format assisted me as a boy in learning theological truths upon which I still reflect today. In light of the announcement from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) that, after years of work, the new translation of the Roman Missal will be implemented in Advent 2011, the Catechism question “What is Prayer?” particularly resounds with me. The response, “Prayer is the lifting up of our minds and hearts to God,” highlights the opportunity for spiritual growth that the new translation will afford each of us (Baltimore Catechism, no. 1099).
This new translation of the Mass is the result of years of labor by skilled translators and the national conferences of bishops in English-speaking nations. The result is a translation of the Mass that will contribute to the ongoing renewal of sacred liturgy in our parishes and is a more accurate translation of the official Latin edition of the Roman Missal, first promulgated in 1970, updated again in 1975 and published in its third edition in 2000. Our Holy Father prayed that the new translation would be “a springboard for a renewal and a deepening of Eucharistic devotion all over the English-speaking world” (Pope Benedict XVI, Address to the Vox Clara Committee, 28 April 2010). Yes, this translation means more than merely learning new responses to say during Mass, although the words have a particular purpose and are important. It is, ultimately, a call to strengthen our prayer to God during the liturgy and to more actively and authentically participate: to truly “lift our minds and hearts to God.”
It is my prayer that each of us will take time to reflect upon the changes being made and the true meaning of the words that the priest and the congregation pray at Mass. Consider, for example, the occasions in the Mass when the celebrant says, “The Lord be with you.” Instead of, “And also with you,” under the new translation the congregation will reply, “And with your spirit.” Far from being a reduction in meaning, this response, which is more true to the official Latin text from which all translations have been made, increases our understanding that we are asking the Lord to dwell in the souls of those gathered for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In addition, since the priest (or deacon before the proclamation of the Gospel) greets the faithful with the words, “The Lord be with you,” the response, “And with your spirit” serves to mark those moments of truly priestly (or diaconal) ministry, that is, when the priest (or deacon) is about to do what he is ordained to do. These moments include: presiding over the entire prayer of the community at the beginning of the Mass; proclaiming God’s holy Word in His Gospel; offering the Eucharistic Prayer, which begins with the Preface; and imparting the final blessing. Our new response indicates that the priest (or deacon) is not acting on his own but only in the power of Christ and the Holy Spirit.
The new translation of the Roman Missal will also include Masses for recently canonized saints, additional prefaces for the Eucharistic Prayers, other Masses for Various Needs and Intentions, and updated and revised rubrics (instructions) for celebrating the Mass. The richness of these seemingly subtle changes not only brings our prayer closer in line with our brothers and sisters who speak other languages, but also invites us to enter more fully into the mystery of the Mass.
Our participation in the liturgy is an essential part of our worship. Discussing the Mass, Pope Pius X taught that “the faithful assemble for no other object than that of acquiring this spirit from its foremost and indispensable font, which is the active participation in the most holy mysteries and in the public and solemn prayer of the Church” (Pope Pius X, Tra le Sollecitudini, 22 November 1903). This liturgical theme was further developed by the Servant of God, Pope Paul VI during the Second Vatican Council when he wrote that the “Church consists in the full active participation of all God's holy people in these liturgical celebrations, especially in the same Eucharist, in a single prayer, at one altar, at which there presides the bishop surrounded by his college of priests and by his ministers” (Pope Paul VI, Sacrosanctum Concilium, 1963, no. 41). The new translation provides us with the opportunity, once again, to participate in the Mass in a deeper way.
In the upcoming year, you will learn more details on the new translation and be given the grace-filled opportunity to deepen your life of prayer during the liturgy through additional catechesis. In the next year, in our diocesan Church and throughout English-speaking nations, we will prepare for the implementation of the new translation. During this time of fruitful transition, I ask you to dedicate yourself to active participation in the celebration of the Mass. As this new translation so beautifully emphasizes, Our Lord Jesus Christ died so that we may have life, a mystery which we celebrate at each and every Liturgy. He sacrificed Himself for us; let our response be one of prayerful participation in the celebration of the Eucharist, which He instituted in His Church.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
The History of the Shrine at Monte Sant' Angelo
From http://www.catholicangelsmagazine.com/V1__Issue_2__Article_13.html
Italy has many interesting and beautiful places to visit. One such place is the sanctuary of Monte Sant' Angelo perhaps more commonly known as Monte Gargano. It is the oldest shrine in Western Europe dedicated to the Archangel Michael.
The town of Monte Sant' Angelo was built 850 meters above sea level and overlooks both Gargano Massif and the sea. Dominated by the ruins of a Norman Castle it has kept its ancestral customs and ancient appearance with tightly packed whitewashed houses on its sloping mountainside.
It is at this lovely spot that the apparitions of St. Michael The Archangel took place and it is from here that St. Michael became known throughout Europe and the new world.
The story of the first apparition, which occurred in 490 blends with legend.
One day Elvio Emanuele, a nobleman of the area, lost the best bull of his herd. After days of searching, he found it, kneeling in an inaccessible cave. Not being able to get near it he shot an arrow but the arrow turned around and struck him. Surprised by this event he went straight to the Bishop who ordered three days of prayer and fasting.
Three days later, the Archangel appeared to the Bishop and said: "I am Michael The Archangel and am always in the presence of God. I chose the cave, which is sacred to me. There will be no more shedding of bull's blood (a reference to the fact that among the mountain the pagan cult was still thriving). Where the rocks open widely the sins of man may be pardoned. What is asked here in prayer will be granted. Therefore, go up to the mountain cave and dedicate it to the Christian cult!" The Bishop, undecided, deferred the execution of the angelic order.
Two years later, in 492, the Christian City of Siponoto at the foot of the mountain was besieged by the pagan hordes of Odoacre. The city was desperate. Bishop Laurence obtained a three day truce from Odoacre and ordered prayer and penance.
The Archangel appeared to him and promised his help to the townspeople if they would attack the enemy. They trustfully dared. Suddenly a storm broke out, sand and hail rained upon the army of Odoacre, which were terrorized. Siponoto was saved! The Bishop announced a thanksgiving procession and went up to the top of the Archangel’s mountain but he did not venture into the grotto.
On the third anniversary of the first apparition, still uncertain if he should follow the Archangel's order, the Bishop asked counsel of the Pontiff who ordered him to go there with other bishops of the region following a three day fast.
For the third time St. Michael appeared and ordered him to enter the grotto: "It is not necessary that you dedicate this church that I have consecrated with my presence. Enter and pray with my assistance and celebrate the Sacrifice. I will show you how I have consecrated this place." The Bishop finally obeyed. Upon entering the grotto he found an altar covered with a red cloth and a crystal cross upon it while at the entrance the imprint of an infantile foot confirmed the presence of the Archangel Michael.
The Bishop had a chapel built at the entrance to the grotto and dedicated it on the 29th of September, now kept as the feast of the Archangel Michael, Raphael and Gabriel. The grotto is the only place which is not consecrated by the hand of man. The title of 'celestial Basilica' was conferred during the centuries.
The last apparition of St. Michael was in answer to prayer as the terrible plague of 1656 had hit the area. The local bishop with his people invoked the Archangel and the plague ceased. It was at this time that the use of stone chips from the cave began to be used by the faithful much as medals or scapulars are used today. This custom is carried on even now by the local people who take small stones and place them around their homes and in the fields.
During the centuries, millions of pilgrims have gone to Monte Sant'Angelo in order to visit the “Celestial Basilica”. Among the pilgrims are many popes (Gelasius I, Leo IX, Urban II, Alexander III, Gregory X, Celestine V, John XXIII as Cardinal, John Paul II), saints (Bridget of Sweden, Bernard of Clairvaux, Thomas Aquinas) emperors, kings and princes (Louis II of Italy, Otto III, Herny II, Matilda of Tuscany, Charles I of Naples, Ferdinand II of Aragon).
Francis of Assisi also went to visit the Sanctuary, but feeling himself unworthy to enter the grotto, he stopped in prayer and meditation at the entrance, kissed and carved on a stone the sign of the cross in the form of “T” (tau)
Since 13 July 1996, the pastoral care of the Saint Michael Archangel Sanctuary has been given to the Congregation of Saint Michael the Archangel. The (CSMA) also known as the Michaelite Fathers, is a religious order of the Roman Catholic Church founded in 1897 by the Blessed Father Bronislaw Markiewicz, a Polish priest from Miejsce Piastowe, Poland. The Congregation of Saint Michael the Archangel is one of the 23 officially recognized groups of the Salesian Family of Don Bosco.
Italy has many interesting and beautiful places to visit. One such place is the sanctuary of Monte Sant' Angelo perhaps more commonly known as Monte Gargano. It is the oldest shrine in Western Europe dedicated to the Archangel Michael.
The town of Monte Sant' Angelo was built 850 meters above sea level and overlooks both Gargano Massif and the sea. Dominated by the ruins of a Norman Castle it has kept its ancestral customs and ancient appearance with tightly packed whitewashed houses on its sloping mountainside.
It is at this lovely spot that the apparitions of St. Michael The Archangel took place and it is from here that St. Michael became known throughout Europe and the new world.
The story of the first apparition, which occurred in 490 blends with legend.
One day Elvio Emanuele, a nobleman of the area, lost the best bull of his herd. After days of searching, he found it, kneeling in an inaccessible cave. Not being able to get near it he shot an arrow but the arrow turned around and struck him. Surprised by this event he went straight to the Bishop who ordered three days of prayer and fasting.
Three days later, the Archangel appeared to the Bishop and said: "I am Michael The Archangel and am always in the presence of God. I chose the cave, which is sacred to me. There will be no more shedding of bull's blood (a reference to the fact that among the mountain the pagan cult was still thriving). Where the rocks open widely the sins of man may be pardoned. What is asked here in prayer will be granted. Therefore, go up to the mountain cave and dedicate it to the Christian cult!" The Bishop, undecided, deferred the execution of the angelic order.
Two years later, in 492, the Christian City of Siponoto at the foot of the mountain was besieged by the pagan hordes of Odoacre. The city was desperate. Bishop Laurence obtained a three day truce from Odoacre and ordered prayer and penance.
The Archangel appeared to him and promised his help to the townspeople if they would attack the enemy. They trustfully dared. Suddenly a storm broke out, sand and hail rained upon the army of Odoacre, which were terrorized. Siponoto was saved! The Bishop announced a thanksgiving procession and went up to the top of the Archangel’s mountain but he did not venture into the grotto.
On the third anniversary of the first apparition, still uncertain if he should follow the Archangel's order, the Bishop asked counsel of the Pontiff who ordered him to go there with other bishops of the region following a three day fast.
For the third time St. Michael appeared and ordered him to enter the grotto: "It is not necessary that you dedicate this church that I have consecrated with my presence. Enter and pray with my assistance and celebrate the Sacrifice. I will show you how I have consecrated this place." The Bishop finally obeyed. Upon entering the grotto he found an altar covered with a red cloth and a crystal cross upon it while at the entrance the imprint of an infantile foot confirmed the presence of the Archangel Michael.
The Bishop had a chapel built at the entrance to the grotto and dedicated it on the 29th of September, now kept as the feast of the Archangel Michael, Raphael and Gabriel. The grotto is the only place which is not consecrated by the hand of man. The title of 'celestial Basilica' was conferred during the centuries.
The last apparition of St. Michael was in answer to prayer as the terrible plague of 1656 had hit the area. The local bishop with his people invoked the Archangel and the plague ceased. It was at this time that the use of stone chips from the cave began to be used by the faithful much as medals or scapulars are used today. This custom is carried on even now by the local people who take small stones and place them around their homes and in the fields.
During the centuries, millions of pilgrims have gone to Monte Sant'Angelo in order to visit the “Celestial Basilica”. Among the pilgrims are many popes (Gelasius I, Leo IX, Urban II, Alexander III, Gregory X, Celestine V, John XXIII as Cardinal, John Paul II), saints (Bridget of Sweden, Bernard of Clairvaux, Thomas Aquinas) emperors, kings and princes (Louis II of Italy, Otto III, Herny II, Matilda of Tuscany, Charles I of Naples, Ferdinand II of Aragon).
Francis of Assisi also went to visit the Sanctuary, but feeling himself unworthy to enter the grotto, he stopped in prayer and meditation at the entrance, kissed and carved on a stone the sign of the cross in the form of “T” (tau)
Since 13 July 1996, the pastoral care of the Saint Michael Archangel Sanctuary has been given to the Congregation of Saint Michael the Archangel. The (CSMA) also known as the Michaelite Fathers, is a religious order of the Roman Catholic Church founded in 1897 by the Blessed Father Bronislaw Markiewicz, a Polish priest from Miejsce Piastowe, Poland. The Congregation of Saint Michael the Archangel is one of the 23 officially recognized groups of the Salesian Family of Don Bosco.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Tax investigation could land Vatican with €8bn bill
By Michael Day in Milan
Thursday, 14 October 2010
AP
Vatican financiers fear that the Church could be forced to repay tax relief it has enjoyed on thousands of properties
Eight billion euros worth of tax breaks pocketed by the Catholic Church in Italy could be in breach of European law and may have to be repaid, it has emerged.
The development is the latest blow to an institution that has been rocked by an annus horribilis following the global clerical paedophilia scandal that broke earlier this year, and investigations into money laundering.
The European Commission has said that tax relief on 100,000 Italian properties enjoyed by the Holy See since 2005 was under the spotlight, after announcing an "in-depth" investigation.
A spokesperson for Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said the EC suspected the exemption amounted to state aid that was at odds with European Union law.
"These exemptions may distort competition," he said. "Thus far, Italian authorities have not provided sufficient evidence to enable the Commission to conclude that the contested measures are justified by the principles of the Italian tax system".
The crux is whether the EC decides Church-run businesses should really be considered as commercial enterprises and therefore liable to taxation.
The Church was exempted from paying the tax, known as ICI in 2005 by a centre-right government under the then Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The conservative premier is now back in power after re-election in 2008.
When the 2005 rules were introduced, humanist and secularist organisations claimed it was "unfair help" and breached the principle of division between church and state.
The EU initially questioned the ICI exemption in 2005, which resulted in the measure being modified a year later by the then centre-left government of Romano Prodi. The EC twice shelved the case, first in 2008 and again this year. News agency Ansa reported that its decision to reopen the case now was made after the Radical Party filed a complaint with the European Court of Justice.
If Italy is found to have violated EU subsidy laws, it will have to cancel the exemption and seek reimbursement from the church. If that happened, the financial consequences for the Catholic Church would be grave.
Estimates value the Vatican's property tax breaks at €2bn (£1.75bn) a year. No one from the Vatican was available to comment on the EC probe. However, a statement by the Italian foreign ministry said: "The Italian government is convinced that it can demonstrate to the EC in a clear and definitive manner the good reasons that justify the current regulations, which do not violate EU rules on state help in favour of the church."
The church currently avoids paying tax on about 100,000 non-commercial properties including 8,779 schools, 26,300 ecclesiastical structures and 4,714 hospitals and clinics.
In addition to avoiding ICI, the church also benefits by paying only 50 per cent of the IRES business tax on its commercial earnings, thanks to Italian tax laws adopted in the 1950s which granted deductions for charitable organisations.
Italian and EU authorities were already poring over the Vatican's opaque finances. Last month it emerged that Vatican Bank president Ettore Gotti Tedeschi and director-general Paolo Cipriani are being investigated following two transactions that were reported as "suspicious". The announcement by magistrates was seen as the judiciary's way of pressuring the Vatican into being more open about its financial operations. Both men strongly deny the allegations.
More serious investigations are thought to relate to suspicions by magistrates Nello Rossi and Stefano Rocco Fava that other Vatican Bank officials used the institution, known as IOR, and its status as a non-Italian entity, to avoid taxes as well as to launder money.
News of the EC probe on tax breaks will also send a shudder through Vatican financiers, who already fear the effect the paedophilia scandal will have on voluntary donations – the financial life-blood of the church, not to mention the raft of litigation they may face from abuse victims in the coming years.
In Italy, taxpayers can opt to earmark 0.8 per cent of income tax payments to the religions of their choice – in most cases the Catholic Church, which last year benefited to the tune of €900m. The proportion of taxpayers donating this money to the church peaked at 90 per cent in 2004. It fell slightly to 87 per cent in 2008, however, and church authorities fear further slides on the back of this year's dreadful headlines.
The EC has previously investigated how other member states tax former state religions, including probes into subsidies for the Catholic church in Spain and sales tax rules for churches in Belgium. The EC also plans to examine rules giving tax breaks to church institutions and amateur sports clubs by ensuring they maintain non-commercial status.
Thursday, 14 October 2010
AP
Vatican financiers fear that the Church could be forced to repay tax relief it has enjoyed on thousands of properties
Eight billion euros worth of tax breaks pocketed by the Catholic Church in Italy could be in breach of European law and may have to be repaid, it has emerged.
The development is the latest blow to an institution that has been rocked by an annus horribilis following the global clerical paedophilia scandal that broke earlier this year, and investigations into money laundering.
The European Commission has said that tax relief on 100,000 Italian properties enjoyed by the Holy See since 2005 was under the spotlight, after announcing an "in-depth" investigation.
A spokesperson for Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said the EC suspected the exemption amounted to state aid that was at odds with European Union law.
"These exemptions may distort competition," he said. "Thus far, Italian authorities have not provided sufficient evidence to enable the Commission to conclude that the contested measures are justified by the principles of the Italian tax system".
The crux is whether the EC decides Church-run businesses should really be considered as commercial enterprises and therefore liable to taxation.
The Church was exempted from paying the tax, known as ICI in 2005 by a centre-right government under the then Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The conservative premier is now back in power after re-election in 2008.
When the 2005 rules were introduced, humanist and secularist organisations claimed it was "unfair help" and breached the principle of division between church and state.
The EU initially questioned the ICI exemption in 2005, which resulted in the measure being modified a year later by the then centre-left government of Romano Prodi. The EC twice shelved the case, first in 2008 and again this year. News agency Ansa reported that its decision to reopen the case now was made after the Radical Party filed a complaint with the European Court of Justice.
If Italy is found to have violated EU subsidy laws, it will have to cancel the exemption and seek reimbursement from the church. If that happened, the financial consequences for the Catholic Church would be grave.
Estimates value the Vatican's property tax breaks at €2bn (£1.75bn) a year. No one from the Vatican was available to comment on the EC probe. However, a statement by the Italian foreign ministry said: "The Italian government is convinced that it can demonstrate to the EC in a clear and definitive manner the good reasons that justify the current regulations, which do not violate EU rules on state help in favour of the church."
The church currently avoids paying tax on about 100,000 non-commercial properties including 8,779 schools, 26,300 ecclesiastical structures and 4,714 hospitals and clinics.
In addition to avoiding ICI, the church also benefits by paying only 50 per cent of the IRES business tax on its commercial earnings, thanks to Italian tax laws adopted in the 1950s which granted deductions for charitable organisations.
Italian and EU authorities were already poring over the Vatican's opaque finances. Last month it emerged that Vatican Bank president Ettore Gotti Tedeschi and director-general Paolo Cipriani are being investigated following two transactions that were reported as "suspicious". The announcement by magistrates was seen as the judiciary's way of pressuring the Vatican into being more open about its financial operations. Both men strongly deny the allegations.
More serious investigations are thought to relate to suspicions by magistrates Nello Rossi and Stefano Rocco Fava that other Vatican Bank officials used the institution, known as IOR, and its status as a non-Italian entity, to avoid taxes as well as to launder money.
News of the EC probe on tax breaks will also send a shudder through Vatican financiers, who already fear the effect the paedophilia scandal will have on voluntary donations – the financial life-blood of the church, not to mention the raft of litigation they may face from abuse victims in the coming years.
In Italy, taxpayers can opt to earmark 0.8 per cent of income tax payments to the religions of their choice – in most cases the Catholic Church, which last year benefited to the tune of €900m. The proportion of taxpayers donating this money to the church peaked at 90 per cent in 2004. It fell slightly to 87 per cent in 2008, however, and church authorities fear further slides on the back of this year's dreadful headlines.
The EC has previously investigated how other member states tax former state religions, including probes into subsidies for the Catholic church in Spain and sales tax rules for churches in Belgium. The EC also plans to examine rules giving tax breaks to church institutions and amateur sports clubs by ensuring they maintain non-commercial status.
Bishops’ Halloween advice: dress children up as saints, not witches
From http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2010/10/13/bishops-halloween-advice-dress-children-up-as-saints-not-witches/
By Simon Caldwell
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Catholic parents are being advised to celebrate Halloween by dressing up their children as popular saints instead of witches and devils.
They should kit out their youngsters to look like St George, St Lucy, St Francis of Assisi or St Mary Magdalene rather than let them wear costumes that celebrate evil or occult figures, according to a campaign endorsed by the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
Nor should pumpkins have menacing or scary faces carved into them, according to a website link provided by the bishops’ conference, but must wear smiley expressions and have crosses cut into the foreheads.
Party games during the October 31 revelries should also have a distinctively Christian theme, parents are told, with musical statues, or chairs, danced to music by “contemporary Christian artists”.
Trick or treat pranks are definitely discouraged, with Catholics advised to light bonfires instead in an attempt to re-brand Halloween as a celebration of the triumph of the forces of light over the forces of darkness.
The suggestions for a Christian-style Halloween end with the idea that children each take a wrapped present from a box plastered with such slogans as “Jesus is our light”, “Jesus is our king”, “Jesus loves me” and “Jesus is the biz!”.
Adults are also being encouraged to place lights in their window “as a sign to passers-by that yours is a Christian household and Christ is your light”.
They are also being asked to wear a white garment as a symbol of their “allegiance to Christ, our light”.
The bishops are launching the campaign in an attempt to reclaim the Christian festival of “All Hallows Eve” that, in their opinion, has become dangerously paganised and heavily commercialised.
They want Christians to understand that Halloween was once the vigil feast of All Saints’ Day, which is celebrated on November 1 and which remains a Holy Day of Obligation.
Bishop Kieran Conry of Arundel and Brighton, chairman of the bishops’ Department for Evangelisation and Catechesis, said: “Halloween is now the biggest commercial festival after Christmas and Easter, and it is time we reminded Christians of what it really is. The celebration of feast days is an important part of our Catholic culture.
“On the evening of October 31 why not do something to make your faith respectfully seen and heard?” he said. “Light a candle or display publicly another kind of light, for example, perhaps alongside an image of Christ.
“This could be a powerful way in which we can show people that we have hope in someone other than ourselves. The light will provoke questions and is a way that people can be signposted to goodness. I encourage everyone to participate.”
It is the first time the bishops have ever endorsed “the Night of Light”, an international campaign to reclaim Halloween that was started in 2001 by Damian Stayne, the founder of Cor et Lumen Christi, a Catholic community.
The initiative has been gaining ground among Christians left uneasy by the emphasis on horror themes in modern Halloween celebrations.
This year it will run in partnership with the bishops’ Home Mission Desk as a way of following up the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Britain last month.
Among the supporters of the “Night of Light” is Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster.
As Archbishop of Birmingham he complained about the “increasing tendency for the popular mind to make the association between Halloween and secular if not pagan imagery”.
He asked every parish to “think about what it could provide in the late afternoon and evening of Halloween in order to express the life of the Church and indeed in families that this is the beginning of a feast in which we rejoice in the work of God seen in his saints and cause of great inspiration and joy to the world”.
By Simon Caldwell
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Catholic parents are being advised to celebrate Halloween by dressing up their children as popular saints instead of witches and devils.
They should kit out their youngsters to look like St George, St Lucy, St Francis of Assisi or St Mary Magdalene rather than let them wear costumes that celebrate evil or occult figures, according to a campaign endorsed by the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
Nor should pumpkins have menacing or scary faces carved into them, according to a website link provided by the bishops’ conference, but must wear smiley expressions and have crosses cut into the foreheads.
Party games during the October 31 revelries should also have a distinctively Christian theme, parents are told, with musical statues, or chairs, danced to music by “contemporary Christian artists”.
Trick or treat pranks are definitely discouraged, with Catholics advised to light bonfires instead in an attempt to re-brand Halloween as a celebration of the triumph of the forces of light over the forces of darkness.
The suggestions for a Christian-style Halloween end with the idea that children each take a wrapped present from a box plastered with such slogans as “Jesus is our light”, “Jesus is our king”, “Jesus loves me” and “Jesus is the biz!”.
Adults are also being encouraged to place lights in their window “as a sign to passers-by that yours is a Christian household and Christ is your light”.
They are also being asked to wear a white garment as a symbol of their “allegiance to Christ, our light”.
The bishops are launching the campaign in an attempt to reclaim the Christian festival of “All Hallows Eve” that, in their opinion, has become dangerously paganised and heavily commercialised.
They want Christians to understand that Halloween was once the vigil feast of All Saints’ Day, which is celebrated on November 1 and which remains a Holy Day of Obligation.
Bishop Kieran Conry of Arundel and Brighton, chairman of the bishops’ Department for Evangelisation and Catechesis, said: “Halloween is now the biggest commercial festival after Christmas and Easter, and it is time we reminded Christians of what it really is. The celebration of feast days is an important part of our Catholic culture.
“On the evening of October 31 why not do something to make your faith respectfully seen and heard?” he said. “Light a candle or display publicly another kind of light, for example, perhaps alongside an image of Christ.
“This could be a powerful way in which we can show people that we have hope in someone other than ourselves. The light will provoke questions and is a way that people can be signposted to goodness. I encourage everyone to participate.”
It is the first time the bishops have ever endorsed “the Night of Light”, an international campaign to reclaim Halloween that was started in 2001 by Damian Stayne, the founder of Cor et Lumen Christi, a Catholic community.
The initiative has been gaining ground among Christians left uneasy by the emphasis on horror themes in modern Halloween celebrations.
This year it will run in partnership with the bishops’ Home Mission Desk as a way of following up the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Britain last month.
Among the supporters of the “Night of Light” is Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster.
As Archbishop of Birmingham he complained about the “increasing tendency for the popular mind to make the association between Halloween and secular if not pagan imagery”.
He asked every parish to “think about what it could provide in the late afternoon and evening of Halloween in order to express the life of the Church and indeed in families that this is the beginning of a feast in which we rejoice in the work of God seen in his saints and cause of great inspiration and joy to the world”.
Our Lady appeared near Fatima and other places in Europe centuries before
From http://www.spiritdaily.com/fatimacenturiesbefore.htm
Many don't realize that centuries before the apparitions at Fatima, Portugal (which culminated on October 13, 1917), Mary had manifested in that very vicinity.
Heaven idealized little shepherds like those in and around Fatima where there was a girl from Reguengo do Fetal (right near Fatima) in the 1100s who found the bread and spring to which she was directed by the Blessed Mother and where there was also another girl, another seer, this one deaf, from Casal Santa Maria, a hamlet about a mile and a half from Fatima.
She saw Mary sometime in the Middle Ages -- in the 1400s -- over a cluster of ortiga bushes. Here right next to Fatima! Mary smiled and made an odd request. She asked the girl, who could suddenly hear, for one of her lambs. It was a test of obedience.
Suddenly the girl spoke as if deafness had never afflicted her. "I would have to have permission from my father," she said. And Mary smiled as the girl scurried off to do just that.
Naturally, her father was flabbergasted, awestruck and overjoyed at her ability to speak. He told his daughter that the Blessed Woman could have the lamb and anything else she wanted. We can only imagine his joy. News of the miracle swept the village and everywhere else word could spread in the era before mass communication. Numerous townsfolk went to see the "mute"child and after hearing her account followed her to the site of appearance. There to their further astonishment they found a wooden statue in the midst of the ortigas. Mary was holding the Christ Child, this time in her right arm, her cheeks rosy, her stare intent and straightforward.
Full of fervor they took the statue to the village but that night it disappeared and was found back in the bushes, the spot Mary had chosen for a chapel.
That was the hinterlands of Portugal and from here on there was a great rise in Mary's appearances. Images of the Virgin were found in chestnuts and alden trees or buried in the ground and wrapped with silk, often in mint condition, across Europe. Strange wisps of cloud were seen as in the time of Elijah (and as predicted, perhaps, in Revelation 1:7).
No one can reckon all the dreams and apparitions. No one could guess the number of visions. The Madonna appeared with special persistence in Italy, France, and Spain. Another example of a deaf-mute? On March 24 -- once more in the 12th century -- a young deaf girl was pasturing geese on a meadow in Borbiago, Italy, when she saw a magnificent lady in a light so bright that the girl had to close her eyes.
The woman approached and placed her hands on one of the girl's shoulders, asking her (as only Mary could communicate to the deaf) to bring the local priest and indicate that he dig there. If he did, explained Mary, he'd find a marble statue, which should be carried in a solemn procession to the church and enshrined.
The girl apparently was able to complete the task and as in Castellammare de Stabia the excavation was very fruitful and indeed miraculous, volunteers soon striking something that gave forth a metallic sound. Digging deeper they uncovered a bronze bell. Within its cavity was the promised statue, which depicted Mary in a standing position with the Infant as usual on her left arm, His little hands fondling her right one. There were hundreds of lost or hidden images, all with stories, all with precious secrets, during this intense period.
In Tendilla, Spain, two knights from the Saint John of Jerusalem Order were hunting in an area called the "Valley of Hell" when they were surprised by a terrific storm. Lightning flashed and thunder reverberated against the rocky cliffs. Accustomed though they were to danger, the storm, in its fury, scared even these knights, who took shelter beneath an overhang and invoked the Virgin.
Almost immediately a light shone forth from a nearby willow and as it strengthened, as it grew brighter, the storm decreased in violence. When the knights approached they were surprised to find an image of Mary in the crotch of the tree. They fell to their knees in astonishment.
Back near her first apparition site of Saragossa, Spain (Mary's very first site of known apparition), the Blessed Mother returned and manifested around this same time at a mountaintop known as Villamayor to a humble shepherd named Gerardo, who discovered a wooden statue that spoke to him. As in so many cases the Virgin's voice asked him to tell the people about her image and build a shrine on the mountain in her honor, which then allowed her greater intercession.
Many don't realize that centuries before the apparitions at Fatima, Portugal (which culminated on October 13, 1917), Mary had manifested in that very vicinity.
Heaven idealized little shepherds like those in and around Fatima where there was a girl from Reguengo do Fetal (right near Fatima) in the 1100s who found the bread and spring to which she was directed by the Blessed Mother and where there was also another girl, another seer, this one deaf, from Casal Santa Maria, a hamlet about a mile and a half from Fatima.
She saw Mary sometime in the Middle Ages -- in the 1400s -- over a cluster of ortiga bushes. Here right next to Fatima! Mary smiled and made an odd request. She asked the girl, who could suddenly hear, for one of her lambs. It was a test of obedience.
Suddenly the girl spoke as if deafness had never afflicted her. "I would have to have permission from my father," she said. And Mary smiled as the girl scurried off to do just that.
Naturally, her father was flabbergasted, awestruck and overjoyed at her ability to speak. He told his daughter that the Blessed Woman could have the lamb and anything else she wanted. We can only imagine his joy. News of the miracle swept the village and everywhere else word could spread in the era before mass communication. Numerous townsfolk went to see the "mute"child and after hearing her account followed her to the site of appearance. There to their further astonishment they found a wooden statue in the midst of the ortigas. Mary was holding the Christ Child, this time in her right arm, her cheeks rosy, her stare intent and straightforward.
Full of fervor they took the statue to the village but that night it disappeared and was found back in the bushes, the spot Mary had chosen for a chapel.
That was the hinterlands of Portugal and from here on there was a great rise in Mary's appearances. Images of the Virgin were found in chestnuts and alden trees or buried in the ground and wrapped with silk, often in mint condition, across Europe. Strange wisps of cloud were seen as in the time of Elijah (and as predicted, perhaps, in Revelation 1:7).
No one can reckon all the dreams and apparitions. No one could guess the number of visions. The Madonna appeared with special persistence in Italy, France, and Spain. Another example of a deaf-mute? On March 24 -- once more in the 12th century -- a young deaf girl was pasturing geese on a meadow in Borbiago, Italy, when she saw a magnificent lady in a light so bright that the girl had to close her eyes.
The woman approached and placed her hands on one of the girl's shoulders, asking her (as only Mary could communicate to the deaf) to bring the local priest and indicate that he dig there. If he did, explained Mary, he'd find a marble statue, which should be carried in a solemn procession to the church and enshrined.
The girl apparently was able to complete the task and as in Castellammare de Stabia the excavation was very fruitful and indeed miraculous, volunteers soon striking something that gave forth a metallic sound. Digging deeper they uncovered a bronze bell. Within its cavity was the promised statue, which depicted Mary in a standing position with the Infant as usual on her left arm, His little hands fondling her right one. There were hundreds of lost or hidden images, all with stories, all with precious secrets, during this intense period.
In Tendilla, Spain, two knights from the Saint John of Jerusalem Order were hunting in an area called the "Valley of Hell" when they were surprised by a terrific storm. Lightning flashed and thunder reverberated against the rocky cliffs. Accustomed though they were to danger, the storm, in its fury, scared even these knights, who took shelter beneath an overhang and invoked the Virgin.
Almost immediately a light shone forth from a nearby willow and as it strengthened, as it grew brighter, the storm decreased in violence. When the knights approached they were surprised to find an image of Mary in the crotch of the tree. They fell to their knees in astonishment.
Back near her first apparition site of Saragossa, Spain (Mary's very first site of known apparition), the Blessed Mother returned and manifested around this same time at a mountaintop known as Villamayor to a humble shepherd named Gerardo, who discovered a wooden statue that spoke to him. As in so many cases the Virgin's voice asked him to tell the people about her image and build a shrine on the mountain in her honor, which then allowed her greater intercession.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Rescued Chile miners recover & face celebrity
From www.rte.ie/news
Thursday, 14 October 2010
Most of the miners were found to be in decent health despite being stuck in a collapsed mine tunnel since 5 August.
The men are resting in a hospital after being hoisted to the surface in a rescue operation watched by hundreds of millions worldwide. One of the miners had pneumonia and was being treated with antibiotics.
In a complicated but flawless operation under Chile's far northern Atacama desert, the miners were hauled out one-by-one through 625m (2,050ft) of rock in a metal capsule little wider than a man's shoulders.
With much of the world transfixed by the rescue, celebrations erupted in Chile. The miners set a world record for survival underground and were welcomed as national heroes.
It took less than 22 hours from the time the first miner was brought to the surface until the last one was pulled to freedom late yesterday.
About 2.5 hours later, the last of six rescuers who had gone down the shaft to help the miners get out also emerged from the gold and copper mine, and the operation was complete.
Despite the suffering they went through, and the emotional stress some will still face, the previously unknown miners could now have plenty to look forward to if they take up the offers open to them.
Among a flood of invitations and gifts, Real Madrid and Manchester United have invited the miners -- many of whom are avid soccer fans -- to watch them play in Europe.
A flamboyant local singer-turned-businessman has given them $10,000 each, while Apple boss Steve Jobs has sent them all a latest iPod and a Greek firm has offered an islands tour.
Most of the miners are unlikely to return to their old employment, with various job offers, advertising deals, and book and film contracts coming their way.
President Sebastian Pinera, whose popularity has risen over his handling of the crisis, was at the San Jose mine to greet each man as he emerged and plans to host them at his palace in the capital Santiago.
'I hand the shift over to you and hope this never happens again,' the last miner out, Luis Urzua, told Mr Pinera.
President Pinera was due to visit the miners today at the hospital in Copiapo, where they are being kept in dim lighting to help their eyes adjust after spending so long deprived of natural light.
Some of the miners' relatives who remained overnight at 'Camp Hope', the tent settlement they have lived in near the mine's mouth over the past two months, also prepared to head to Copiapo to join their loved ones.
Church bells and car horns sounded across Chile in celebration.
When the mine caved in on 5 August, the men were all thought dead in yet another of Latin America's litany of mining accidents. But rescuers found them 17 days later with a bore hole the width of a grapefruit.
That tiny hole became an umbilical cord used to pass hydration gels, water and food to keep them alive until a bigger space could be bored to bring them up.
Mining is a crucial part of the Chilean economy and has played a central role in Latin America.
The rescue process -- via a metal capsule named Phoenix after the mythical bird that rose from the ashes -- will do no harm to the reputation of Chile, which is already a model of economic stability and an investors' favourite in Latin America.
But the mine collapse that so nearly ended in disaster has also highlighted continuing problems in the industry.
'I hope this serves as a lesson so that things change in Chilean mining,' said Manuel Gonzalez, the last rescuer to emerge after the operation. 'I hope this never happens again.'
Monday, October 11, 2010
The Blessed Virgin Mary and the Catholic Discovery of America
By Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.
It must seem strange to associate the Blessed Virgin Mary and the discovery of America.
What makes the subject strange is that most people think of the discovery of the New World in geographic terms. In 1492, an Italian navigator by the name of Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain in search of the Indies and landed in what we now call Central America. his motives, we are told, were economic and psychological. He was looking for the riches of the Orient to extend the political power of the Spanish monarchy. And he sought the very human glory that he was sure to receive once he reached the Far East by going west across the Atlantic.
What most of the English-speaking world does not know is that the dominant motive of Columbus for sailing across the uncharted sea was deeply Catholic. Even more, it was apostolic. As all the primary sources on Columbus make clear, he believed that he was specially chosen by God to extend the Kingdom of Christ to pagan nations who had never had the Gospel preached to them.
If there was one thing that stood out in the Catholic Spain of Columbus' day, it was the people's great devotion to the Blessed Virgin. It was a devotion that took almost eight centuries to mature. How so? Under the heavy pressure of a militant Islam whose basic name in Christianity was idolatry. In the words of the Koran, "the followers of the Nazarene" claimed that His Mother Mary was the Mother of Allah because her Son was the living God who became man for the salvation of the world.
It was not until 1491 that Catholic Spain was liberated from Moslem tyranny. The liberation meant freedom once more to proclaim Mary's Divine Maternity without fear of Islamic opposition for professing idolatry.
Columbus himself was very devoted to Our Lady. His published writings reveal a childlike dependence on Mary. She was regularly invoked in his prayers. His flagship in crossing the sea was the Santa Maria. And one of the first islands he discovered, he named Concepcion, in honor of Mary's Immaculate Conception.
However, this is not the focus of our lecture on "The Blessed Virgin Mary and the Catholic discovery of America." Change one word in the title and we have our focus. I wish to speak to you about "The Blessed Virgin Mary and the Catholic Evangelization of America."
It was the apparitions of Our Lady to Juan Diego, the converted Aztec Indian, and her revelations of Guadalupe that opened the greatest missionary expansion of the Gospel since apostolic times.
We shall concentrate on Our Lady of Guadalupe and the conversion of Mexico. But Mexico soon became the inspiration of the rest of Latin America.
Before Guadalupe, 1492 to 1531
In order to appreciate the significance of Mary's role in the conversion of the New World, we must see something of the conditions in Mexico before the events of Guadalupe.
When Columbus crossed the Atlantic, he reached only the outskirts of the Western Hemisphere. He touched on one island after another in the Central American Continent. By the beginning of the 1500's, Mexico was discovered. Columbus had already passed to his eternal reward and was followed by one Spanish-appointed governor-general after another.
As we read the history of those early days, we are struck by the stark contrast between Church and State or, more accurately, between men of Christian faith and men of raw human greed and merciless cruelty.
Already among the crew that sailed with Columbus on his first voyage there were kindred spirits with their leader. Like him their dominant motive was to bring the Gospel to the native Indians. But there were also rapacious predators whose one ambition was to accumulate as much gold as possible and subjugate the Indians to virtual or actual slavery.
One name stands out in this period: Cortes was the Spanish general whose military exploits in Mexico rank him with Caesar and Napoleon in his physical conquest of Mexico.
As war-like as Cortes was, he was a believing Christian. In the tradition of his ancestors who conquered the Moors in Spain, he wanted Christianity to be established in the lands he conquered. He encouraged the Franciscan missionaries to preach the Gospel to the natives.
But Cortes also believed that the Indians should be conquered by force of arms. Thus he offered truce to the natives of what was then called the City of Mexico. But their emperor, Cuauhtemoc, was persuaded by his pagan priests not to give in to the Christians. In the siege that followed, we are told that 100,000 Indians and their close allies were killed by the sword or by drowning, and as many again who died of starvation, dysentery and other diseases.
Nor was that all. Cortes made some serious blunders as administrator of the Indies. He returned to Spain to defend his reputation, and this occasioned Charles V, the Spanish emperor, to send to America two men who were as unlike as day and night. On December 12, 1527, he appointed Franciscan Juan Zumarraga as Bishop protector of the Indians; and he made the soldier Nunode Guzman governor of Mexico. The next three years are among the saddest in the history of the New World.
Guzman not only resented the bishop's role as protector of the Indians. He opposed him and did everything but have him killed. A reign of terror broke out that has no parallel in early American history.
In less than two years at least 10,000 Indians had been shipped to the West Indies to be sold as slaves with no chance of returning to their families. Whole towns were laid waste, priests were kidnapped, flogged and maimed.
These and similar atrocities were reported to Emperor Charles V. In August, 1530, he issued an edict which forbade the enslavement of the Indians. The edict read, "No person shall dare to make a single Indian a slave, whether in war or in peace ...whether by barter, by purchase, by trade, or any other pretext or cause whatever."
Our Lady Appears to Juan Diego
Thus the soil was prepared for sowing the seed of the Gospel and bearing such fruit as has no parallel in the annals of Christianity.
In one short generation, the whole Aztec Empire had undergone a volcanic change. The world in which they had lived for centuries was an evil world in which their gods demanded the killing of thousands of human beings in sacrifice. The Spanish conquistadors had delivered the Indians from pagan tyranny, but also left them dangling without any religious moorings.
If the Indians were to become Christians, they had to see Christianity as something belonging to them. It could not be the religion of foreigners whom they had too often seen as invaders and oppressors.
The man chosen by God to open the most dramatic conversion in Christian misology was himself a convert from paganism.
Born in 1474, he lost his parents in childhood and was brought up by his uncle. On marrying, he settled with his wife at Cuautitlan in a little one-room mud house thatched with corn stalks. In 1525, he was baptized Juan Diego, along with his wife Maria Lucia and his uncle Juan Bernardino. Juan Diego and his wife would frequently walk the fifteen miles to Tlaltelolco, to assist at Mass and receive Holy Communion.
Four years after Baptism, his wife died, leaving him childless. Juan Diego then moved to be closer to his aged uncle, whose house was only nine miles from the nearest Franciscan church.
Juan Diego rose early on the morning of December 9, 1531, which was then the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The Franciscans were unique in promoting devotion to Mary's Immaculate Conception, centuries before the definition of the dogma in 1854.
On his way to Mass, Juan was suddenly stopped by the sound of music at the hill of Tepeyac, the site of the former pagan temple of Tonantzin. He thought it was his imagination, but then saw a glowing white cloud, hallowed by a rainbow formed by streams of lightning coming from the cloud. Then he heard a woman's gentle voice calling out to him in diminutive form, "Juanito...Juan Dieguito."
The Lady asked him where he was going. "I am on my way to the church in Tlaltelolcoto to hear Mass," he told her. The Lady smiled and said,
You must know and be very certain, my son, that I am truly the perpetual and perfect Virgin Mary, Mother of the true God, through whom everything lives, who is the Creator and Master of heaven and earth.
I ardently desire that a temple be built here in my name where I will show and give all my love, my help and my protection to the people.
I am your merciful Mother, the Mother of all who live united in this land, and of all mankind, of all who love me, who cry out to me, and of those who have confidence in me.
Here I will hear their weeping and sorrows, and will remedy and alleviate their sufferings, needs and misfortunes.
In order to realize my intentions, go to the house of the Bishop of Mexico City and tell him I sent you and that it is my desire to have a temple built here.
Juan Diego did as the Lady told him to. But Bishop Zumarraga was not impressed. He told the poor indian to come later at a more convenient time. So Juan returned to the Tepeyac hill the same evening where the Lady was waiting for him. He urged her to send someone else to the bishop. He himself was a nobody and "I do not want to fall into your displeasure."
But the Lady insisted it must be Juan and he should return to the bishop the next day.
So he came back to the bishop, who this time was more impressed, but also told Juan that the Lady must give some proof that she really is the Mother of God.
Again at sunset, on December 10, a Sunday, he went to Tepeyac, where the Lady appeared to him with the promise that she would provide the miraculous sign requested by the bishop.
At this point there are two versions of what happened. One version has it that when Juan returned home, he found his uncle deathly sick. Another and fully documented version is that his uncle was missing when the nephew returned from Tepeyac hill. He had been fatally shot by hostile Indians who resented his becoming a Christian and cooperating with the hated Spaniards. Juan Diego was in a quandary. Should he go back to the bishop as the Lady had instructed him, or should he take care of his uncle. Juan chose to minister to his uncle's desperate needs all day, Monday, December 11.
Monday morning, December 12, Juan went to get the priest to take care of his dying uncle. In his simplicity, he made a bypass around Tepeyac instead of going to the top of the hill where he was afraid that Our Lady would be waiting for him. But he miscalculated. The Blessed Virgin came down the hill to intercept him. She asked him where he was going. He explained about his uncle. Then she told him,
Listen and be sure, my dear son, that I will protect you. Do not be afraid nor grieved. Let not your heart be dismayed, no matter how great the illness [of your uncle]of which you speak.
I am your mother and is not my help your refuge. Am I not of your kind? Do not be concerned about your uncle's illness. He is not going to die. Be assured he is already well.
Our Lady then told Juan to go to the top of the hill, where he would find some flowers, which he was to bring to her. The hill was a desert, where only cactus grew. But Juan did as he was told. When he reached the west of the hill, it was covered with beautiful Castilian roses in full bloom. As he later related, Mary took the roses from him as he gathered them and arranged them with her own hands in the cloak or tilma that Juan was wearing.
There was one final message from Mary. It is the capstone of Guadalupe and the key to understanding what we are saying when we speak of the Blessed Virgin and the discovery – or conversion – of America.
This is the sign you must take to the Lord Bishop. Tell him in my name that with this he will see and recognize my will. He must do what I ask. You are my ambassador and worthy of my confidence. I counsel you to take every care to speak only in the presence of the Bishop. Tell him what you are carrying and tell him how I asked you to climb the hill to gather the flowers. Also tell him everything you have seen so that you will persuade the Bishop to see that the church I have asked for, will be built.
When Juan reached the Bishop's residence, he was made to wait a long time and the attendants tried to take some of the roses that were in his cloak. But the flowers became like painted embroidery.
On being admitted to Bishop Zumarraga's presence, Diego opened his cloak. Immediately the roses fell in a flood of color to the floor. But that was not all. On the cloak was a portrait of the Mother of God. She was in Indian dress, her hands joined in prayer. Her features were Indian and of startling beauty.
Bishop Zumarraga fell to his knees in prayer. Juan Diego was allowed to retire to a hermitage. He died there in 1548, at the age of 74. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe
By the end of 1531, the image of Our Lady was exposed in the Bishop's private chapel where it was venerated by thousands of Aztecs. Also before the end of the same year there was a triumphant procession of the sacred image from Mexico City to Tepeyac. On that occasion, a Mexican who had been accidentally killed by an arrow was restored to life.
Since 1531, the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe has become a major basilica. We might say that Mexico City is built around the shrine. But the center remains the image of Our Lady. Its miraculous character has been attested by ecclesiastical, even pontifical approval. It has also been scientifically examined and proved that the portrait could not have been produced naturally. No painter's brush was used; the tilma is fragile, decayable cactus fiber. Yet the image remains as clear and fresh as it was almost five centuries ago. Even a terrorist's bomb in 1921 did not scratch the portrait although it completely bent the metal crucifix next to the image of the Blessed Virgin.
The Miraculous Conversion of Millions
The principal wonder of Guadalupe, however, is not the unexplainable picture of Our Lady. It is not the constant stream of pilgrims to the shrine every year. The real wonder, and the main theme of this presentation, is the avalanche of conversions which the revelation of Juan Diego began in the Western world.
One historian after another is lost for words to do justice to the phenomenon. In sober fact, it is unprecedented in the twenty centuries of Catholic evangelization.
No sooner had Columbus landed in the West Indies than apostolic men from Spain began to proclaim the Gospel to the natives. Compared with militant conquerors like Cortes and Guzman, the missionaries were mild and gentle apostles of the word. They devoted themselves ardently to the conversion of the Indians. But these courageous priests and religious were few in number. The language barrier was practically insurmountable. The number of dialects was innumerable. The territories to be covered were unimaginable. The injustices perpetrated by some of the conquistadors could be indescribable.
No one questions the heroism of these pioneers of Christianity in North and South America. In spite of their gigantic zeal the results were sparse and the number of converts very few.
Here let me quote from one of the leading historiographers of Latin America.
Scarcely had the most holy Virgin of Guadalupe appeared and taken possession of this her inheritance, when the Catholic faith spread with the rapidity of light from the rising sun through the wide extent and beyond the bounds of the ancient empire of Mexico.
Countless multitudes from every tribe, every district, every race ...who were grossly superstitious, who were ruled by the instincts of cruelty, oppressed by every form of violence and utterly degraded, were radically changed once they learned about the marvelous apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
They came to recognize their natural dignity, forgot their misfortunes and put off their impulsive ferocity.
These pagans, we are told, could not resist the loving invitation of the Mother of God they flocked, in droves, to the waters of Baptism, on a scale and with a speed that has no equal in recorded Catholic history.
The missionaries were understandably overwhelmed by the endless crowds who clamored for instruction and Baptism. We have evidence of a single priest administering the Sacrament of Baptism to six-thousand people in a single day.
Wherever the missionaries traveled, entire families would come running out of their poor villages, begging with signs to have the waters of Baptism poured over them.
Along with Baptism the natives were instructed in the basics of Christianity. Nor was that all. Soon churches, monasteries, convents, hospitals, schools and workshops were built to provide for the development and practice of the Catholic faith.
What were the results? Astounding! By 1540, over eight million Aztec Indians had embraced Catholic Christianity.
But that was not all. It would be a mistake to suppose that those were only superficial conversations. In 1552, the University of Mexico was founded on an equal academic footing as the University of Solomonca in Spain.
Before long, Catholic Mexico was sending native born missionaries to distant lands.
The evangelization of the rest of Latin America is a story of God's grace all by itself. The roots of this evangelization can be mysteriously but legitimately traced to the three memorable days at Guadalupe in 1521.
So true is this that in 1910, Pope Pius X proclaimed Our Lady of Guadalupe the Patroness of all Latin America. All papal documents since then reconfirm this Marian patronage.
The present Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, made a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1979. He composed a prayer on that occasion which it is worth quoting in full. In effect, He was asking Our Lady, Mother of the Americas, to intercede with her Divine Son for the people of the Western World. It was through her that the true faith was miraculously planted in this then New World. It will also be through her that, 500 years later, there will be, where needed, a reconversion of this people of North and South America.
“O Immaculate Virgin Mother of the true God and Mother of the Church! You, who from this place reveal your clemency and your pity to all those who ask for your protection; hear the prayer that we address to you with filial trust, and present it to your Son Jesus, our sole Redeemer. Mother of mercy, Teacher of hidden and silent sacrifice, to you, who come to meet us sinners, we dedicate on this day all our being and all our love. We also dedicate to you our life, our work, our joys, our infirmities and our sorrows. Grant peace, justice and prosperity to our peoples, for we entrust to your care, Our Lady and our Mother, all that we have and all that we are. We wish to be entirely yours and to walk with you along the way of complete faithfulness to Jesus Christ in His Church: hold us always with your loving hand.
"Virgin of Guadalupe, Mother of the Americas, we pray to you for all the Bishops, that they may lead the faithful along the paths of intense Christian life, of love and humble service of God and souls. Contemplate this immense harvest, and intercede with the Lord that He may instill a hunger for holiness in the whole People of God, and grant abundant vocations of priests and religious, strong in the faith, and zealous dispensers of God's mysteries. Grant to our homes, the grace of loving and respecting life in its beginnings, with the same love with which you conceived in your womb the life of the Son of God.
"Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Fair Love, protect our families so that they may always be united, and bless the upbringing of our children. Our hope, look upon us with compassion, teach us to go continually to Jesus and, if we fall, help us to rise again, to return to Him, by means of the confession of our faults and sins in the Sacrament of Penance, which gives peace to the soul. We beg you to grant us a great love for all the holy Sacraments, which are, as it were, the signs that your Son left on earth. Thus, Most Holy Mother, with the peace of God in our conscience, with our hearts free from evil and hatred, we will be able to bring to all true joy and true peace, which come to us from your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen."
Copyright © 2003 Inter Mirifica
It must seem strange to associate the Blessed Virgin Mary and the discovery of America.
What makes the subject strange is that most people think of the discovery of the New World in geographic terms. In 1492, an Italian navigator by the name of Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain in search of the Indies and landed in what we now call Central America. his motives, we are told, were economic and psychological. He was looking for the riches of the Orient to extend the political power of the Spanish monarchy. And he sought the very human glory that he was sure to receive once he reached the Far East by going west across the Atlantic.
What most of the English-speaking world does not know is that the dominant motive of Columbus for sailing across the uncharted sea was deeply Catholic. Even more, it was apostolic. As all the primary sources on Columbus make clear, he believed that he was specially chosen by God to extend the Kingdom of Christ to pagan nations who had never had the Gospel preached to them.
If there was one thing that stood out in the Catholic Spain of Columbus' day, it was the people's great devotion to the Blessed Virgin. It was a devotion that took almost eight centuries to mature. How so? Under the heavy pressure of a militant Islam whose basic name in Christianity was idolatry. In the words of the Koran, "the followers of the Nazarene" claimed that His Mother Mary was the Mother of Allah because her Son was the living God who became man for the salvation of the world.
It was not until 1491 that Catholic Spain was liberated from Moslem tyranny. The liberation meant freedom once more to proclaim Mary's Divine Maternity without fear of Islamic opposition for professing idolatry.
Columbus himself was very devoted to Our Lady. His published writings reveal a childlike dependence on Mary. She was regularly invoked in his prayers. His flagship in crossing the sea was the Santa Maria. And one of the first islands he discovered, he named Concepcion, in honor of Mary's Immaculate Conception.
However, this is not the focus of our lecture on "The Blessed Virgin Mary and the Catholic discovery of America." Change one word in the title and we have our focus. I wish to speak to you about "The Blessed Virgin Mary and the Catholic Evangelization of America."
It was the apparitions of Our Lady to Juan Diego, the converted Aztec Indian, and her revelations of Guadalupe that opened the greatest missionary expansion of the Gospel since apostolic times.
We shall concentrate on Our Lady of Guadalupe and the conversion of Mexico. But Mexico soon became the inspiration of the rest of Latin America.
Before Guadalupe, 1492 to 1531
In order to appreciate the significance of Mary's role in the conversion of the New World, we must see something of the conditions in Mexico before the events of Guadalupe.
When Columbus crossed the Atlantic, he reached only the outskirts of the Western Hemisphere. He touched on one island after another in the Central American Continent. By the beginning of the 1500's, Mexico was discovered. Columbus had already passed to his eternal reward and was followed by one Spanish-appointed governor-general after another.
As we read the history of those early days, we are struck by the stark contrast between Church and State or, more accurately, between men of Christian faith and men of raw human greed and merciless cruelty.
Already among the crew that sailed with Columbus on his first voyage there were kindred spirits with their leader. Like him their dominant motive was to bring the Gospel to the native Indians. But there were also rapacious predators whose one ambition was to accumulate as much gold as possible and subjugate the Indians to virtual or actual slavery.
One name stands out in this period: Cortes was the Spanish general whose military exploits in Mexico rank him with Caesar and Napoleon in his physical conquest of Mexico.
As war-like as Cortes was, he was a believing Christian. In the tradition of his ancestors who conquered the Moors in Spain, he wanted Christianity to be established in the lands he conquered. He encouraged the Franciscan missionaries to preach the Gospel to the natives.
But Cortes also believed that the Indians should be conquered by force of arms. Thus he offered truce to the natives of what was then called the City of Mexico. But their emperor, Cuauhtemoc, was persuaded by his pagan priests not to give in to the Christians. In the siege that followed, we are told that 100,000 Indians and their close allies were killed by the sword or by drowning, and as many again who died of starvation, dysentery and other diseases.
Nor was that all. Cortes made some serious blunders as administrator of the Indies. He returned to Spain to defend his reputation, and this occasioned Charles V, the Spanish emperor, to send to America two men who were as unlike as day and night. On December 12, 1527, he appointed Franciscan Juan Zumarraga as Bishop protector of the Indians; and he made the soldier Nunode Guzman governor of Mexico. The next three years are among the saddest in the history of the New World.
Guzman not only resented the bishop's role as protector of the Indians. He opposed him and did everything but have him killed. A reign of terror broke out that has no parallel in early American history.
In less than two years at least 10,000 Indians had been shipped to the West Indies to be sold as slaves with no chance of returning to their families. Whole towns were laid waste, priests were kidnapped, flogged and maimed.
These and similar atrocities were reported to Emperor Charles V. In August, 1530, he issued an edict which forbade the enslavement of the Indians. The edict read, "No person shall dare to make a single Indian a slave, whether in war or in peace ...whether by barter, by purchase, by trade, or any other pretext or cause whatever."
Our Lady Appears to Juan Diego
Thus the soil was prepared for sowing the seed of the Gospel and bearing such fruit as has no parallel in the annals of Christianity.
In one short generation, the whole Aztec Empire had undergone a volcanic change. The world in which they had lived for centuries was an evil world in which their gods demanded the killing of thousands of human beings in sacrifice. The Spanish conquistadors had delivered the Indians from pagan tyranny, but also left them dangling without any religious moorings.
If the Indians were to become Christians, they had to see Christianity as something belonging to them. It could not be the religion of foreigners whom they had too often seen as invaders and oppressors.
The man chosen by God to open the most dramatic conversion in Christian misology was himself a convert from paganism.
Born in 1474, he lost his parents in childhood and was brought up by his uncle. On marrying, he settled with his wife at Cuautitlan in a little one-room mud house thatched with corn stalks. In 1525, he was baptized Juan Diego, along with his wife Maria Lucia and his uncle Juan Bernardino. Juan Diego and his wife would frequently walk the fifteen miles to Tlaltelolco, to assist at Mass and receive Holy Communion.
Four years after Baptism, his wife died, leaving him childless. Juan Diego then moved to be closer to his aged uncle, whose house was only nine miles from the nearest Franciscan church.
Juan Diego rose early on the morning of December 9, 1531, which was then the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The Franciscans were unique in promoting devotion to Mary's Immaculate Conception, centuries before the definition of the dogma in 1854.
On his way to Mass, Juan was suddenly stopped by the sound of music at the hill of Tepeyac, the site of the former pagan temple of Tonantzin. He thought it was his imagination, but then saw a glowing white cloud, hallowed by a rainbow formed by streams of lightning coming from the cloud. Then he heard a woman's gentle voice calling out to him in diminutive form, "Juanito...Juan Dieguito."
The Lady asked him where he was going. "I am on my way to the church in Tlaltelolcoto to hear Mass," he told her. The Lady smiled and said,
You must know and be very certain, my son, that I am truly the perpetual and perfect Virgin Mary, Mother of the true God, through whom everything lives, who is the Creator and Master of heaven and earth.
I ardently desire that a temple be built here in my name where I will show and give all my love, my help and my protection to the people.
I am your merciful Mother, the Mother of all who live united in this land, and of all mankind, of all who love me, who cry out to me, and of those who have confidence in me.
Here I will hear their weeping and sorrows, and will remedy and alleviate their sufferings, needs and misfortunes.
In order to realize my intentions, go to the house of the Bishop of Mexico City and tell him I sent you and that it is my desire to have a temple built here.
Juan Diego did as the Lady told him to. But Bishop Zumarraga was not impressed. He told the poor indian to come later at a more convenient time. So Juan returned to the Tepeyac hill the same evening where the Lady was waiting for him. He urged her to send someone else to the bishop. He himself was a nobody and "I do not want to fall into your displeasure."
But the Lady insisted it must be Juan and he should return to the bishop the next day.
So he came back to the bishop, who this time was more impressed, but also told Juan that the Lady must give some proof that she really is the Mother of God.
Again at sunset, on December 10, a Sunday, he went to Tepeyac, where the Lady appeared to him with the promise that she would provide the miraculous sign requested by the bishop.
At this point there are two versions of what happened. One version has it that when Juan returned home, he found his uncle deathly sick. Another and fully documented version is that his uncle was missing when the nephew returned from Tepeyac hill. He had been fatally shot by hostile Indians who resented his becoming a Christian and cooperating with the hated Spaniards. Juan Diego was in a quandary. Should he go back to the bishop as the Lady had instructed him, or should he take care of his uncle. Juan chose to minister to his uncle's desperate needs all day, Monday, December 11.
Monday morning, December 12, Juan went to get the priest to take care of his dying uncle. In his simplicity, he made a bypass around Tepeyac instead of going to the top of the hill where he was afraid that Our Lady would be waiting for him. But he miscalculated. The Blessed Virgin came down the hill to intercept him. She asked him where he was going. He explained about his uncle. Then she told him,
Listen and be sure, my dear son, that I will protect you. Do not be afraid nor grieved. Let not your heart be dismayed, no matter how great the illness [of your uncle]of which you speak.
I am your mother and is not my help your refuge. Am I not of your kind? Do not be concerned about your uncle's illness. He is not going to die. Be assured he is already well.
Our Lady then told Juan to go to the top of the hill, where he would find some flowers, which he was to bring to her. The hill was a desert, where only cactus grew. But Juan did as he was told. When he reached the west of the hill, it was covered with beautiful Castilian roses in full bloom. As he later related, Mary took the roses from him as he gathered them and arranged them with her own hands in the cloak or tilma that Juan was wearing.
There was one final message from Mary. It is the capstone of Guadalupe and the key to understanding what we are saying when we speak of the Blessed Virgin and the discovery – or conversion – of America.
This is the sign you must take to the Lord Bishop. Tell him in my name that with this he will see and recognize my will. He must do what I ask. You are my ambassador and worthy of my confidence. I counsel you to take every care to speak only in the presence of the Bishop. Tell him what you are carrying and tell him how I asked you to climb the hill to gather the flowers. Also tell him everything you have seen so that you will persuade the Bishop to see that the church I have asked for, will be built.
When Juan reached the Bishop's residence, he was made to wait a long time and the attendants tried to take some of the roses that were in his cloak. But the flowers became like painted embroidery.
On being admitted to Bishop Zumarraga's presence, Diego opened his cloak. Immediately the roses fell in a flood of color to the floor. But that was not all. On the cloak was a portrait of the Mother of God. She was in Indian dress, her hands joined in prayer. Her features were Indian and of startling beauty.
Bishop Zumarraga fell to his knees in prayer. Juan Diego was allowed to retire to a hermitage. He died there in 1548, at the age of 74. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe
By the end of 1531, the image of Our Lady was exposed in the Bishop's private chapel where it was venerated by thousands of Aztecs. Also before the end of the same year there was a triumphant procession of the sacred image from Mexico City to Tepeyac. On that occasion, a Mexican who had been accidentally killed by an arrow was restored to life.
Since 1531, the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe has become a major basilica. We might say that Mexico City is built around the shrine. But the center remains the image of Our Lady. Its miraculous character has been attested by ecclesiastical, even pontifical approval. It has also been scientifically examined and proved that the portrait could not have been produced naturally. No painter's brush was used; the tilma is fragile, decayable cactus fiber. Yet the image remains as clear and fresh as it was almost five centuries ago. Even a terrorist's bomb in 1921 did not scratch the portrait although it completely bent the metal crucifix next to the image of the Blessed Virgin.
The Miraculous Conversion of Millions
The principal wonder of Guadalupe, however, is not the unexplainable picture of Our Lady. It is not the constant stream of pilgrims to the shrine every year. The real wonder, and the main theme of this presentation, is the avalanche of conversions which the revelation of Juan Diego began in the Western world.
One historian after another is lost for words to do justice to the phenomenon. In sober fact, it is unprecedented in the twenty centuries of Catholic evangelization.
No sooner had Columbus landed in the West Indies than apostolic men from Spain began to proclaim the Gospel to the natives. Compared with militant conquerors like Cortes and Guzman, the missionaries were mild and gentle apostles of the word. They devoted themselves ardently to the conversion of the Indians. But these courageous priests and religious were few in number. The language barrier was practically insurmountable. The number of dialects was innumerable. The territories to be covered were unimaginable. The injustices perpetrated by some of the conquistadors could be indescribable.
No one questions the heroism of these pioneers of Christianity in North and South America. In spite of their gigantic zeal the results were sparse and the number of converts very few.
Here let me quote from one of the leading historiographers of Latin America.
Scarcely had the most holy Virgin of Guadalupe appeared and taken possession of this her inheritance, when the Catholic faith spread with the rapidity of light from the rising sun through the wide extent and beyond the bounds of the ancient empire of Mexico.
Countless multitudes from every tribe, every district, every race ...who were grossly superstitious, who were ruled by the instincts of cruelty, oppressed by every form of violence and utterly degraded, were radically changed once they learned about the marvelous apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
They came to recognize their natural dignity, forgot their misfortunes and put off their impulsive ferocity.
These pagans, we are told, could not resist the loving invitation of the Mother of God they flocked, in droves, to the waters of Baptism, on a scale and with a speed that has no equal in recorded Catholic history.
The missionaries were understandably overwhelmed by the endless crowds who clamored for instruction and Baptism. We have evidence of a single priest administering the Sacrament of Baptism to six-thousand people in a single day.
Wherever the missionaries traveled, entire families would come running out of their poor villages, begging with signs to have the waters of Baptism poured over them.
Along with Baptism the natives were instructed in the basics of Christianity. Nor was that all. Soon churches, monasteries, convents, hospitals, schools and workshops were built to provide for the development and practice of the Catholic faith.
What were the results? Astounding! By 1540, over eight million Aztec Indians had embraced Catholic Christianity.
But that was not all. It would be a mistake to suppose that those were only superficial conversations. In 1552, the University of Mexico was founded on an equal academic footing as the University of Solomonca in Spain.
Before long, Catholic Mexico was sending native born missionaries to distant lands.
The evangelization of the rest of Latin America is a story of God's grace all by itself. The roots of this evangelization can be mysteriously but legitimately traced to the three memorable days at Guadalupe in 1521.
So true is this that in 1910, Pope Pius X proclaimed Our Lady of Guadalupe the Patroness of all Latin America. All papal documents since then reconfirm this Marian patronage.
The present Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, made a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1979. He composed a prayer on that occasion which it is worth quoting in full. In effect, He was asking Our Lady, Mother of the Americas, to intercede with her Divine Son for the people of the Western World. It was through her that the true faith was miraculously planted in this then New World. It will also be through her that, 500 years later, there will be, where needed, a reconversion of this people of North and South America.
“O Immaculate Virgin Mother of the true God and Mother of the Church! You, who from this place reveal your clemency and your pity to all those who ask for your protection; hear the prayer that we address to you with filial trust, and present it to your Son Jesus, our sole Redeemer. Mother of mercy, Teacher of hidden and silent sacrifice, to you, who come to meet us sinners, we dedicate on this day all our being and all our love. We also dedicate to you our life, our work, our joys, our infirmities and our sorrows. Grant peace, justice and prosperity to our peoples, for we entrust to your care, Our Lady and our Mother, all that we have and all that we are. We wish to be entirely yours and to walk with you along the way of complete faithfulness to Jesus Christ in His Church: hold us always with your loving hand.
"Virgin of Guadalupe, Mother of the Americas, we pray to you for all the Bishops, that they may lead the faithful along the paths of intense Christian life, of love and humble service of God and souls. Contemplate this immense harvest, and intercede with the Lord that He may instill a hunger for holiness in the whole People of God, and grant abundant vocations of priests and religious, strong in the faith, and zealous dispensers of God's mysteries. Grant to our homes, the grace of loving and respecting life in its beginnings, with the same love with which you conceived in your womb the life of the Son of God.
"Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Fair Love, protect our families so that they may always be united, and bless the upbringing of our children. Our hope, look upon us with compassion, teach us to go continually to Jesus and, if we fall, help us to rise again, to return to Him, by means of the confession of our faults and sins in the Sacrament of Penance, which gives peace to the soul. We beg you to grant us a great love for all the holy Sacraments, which are, as it were, the signs that your Son left on earth. Thus, Most Holy Mother, with the peace of God in our conscience, with our hearts free from evil and hatred, we will be able to bring to all true joy and true peace, which come to us from your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen."
Copyright © 2003 Inter Mirifica
Cause for Great Concern: Another Irish bishop is said to favor women priests
By PATRICK O'BRIEN, IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
Published Saturday, October 9, 2010, 9:27
Irish bishop WiIliam Lee of Waterford has said he is not opposed to women priests.
Lee made the comments during a meeting with a local pastoral council according to the Munster Express newspaper.
His position is bound to be controversial in an Irish church that has always opposed such comments from ordinary priests. The comments are surprising from Lee who is not considered a liberal figure in the church and has rarely courted controversy.
Lee was speaking at a meeting which was primarily concerned with the sex abuse scandal and to listen to local parish recommendations. He spoke about the new church policy called “Safeguarding our Children” which has been put in effect in every parish in Ireland.
The Bishop was criticized from the floor by parishioners who felt the crisis had been very poorly handled. Some said that leading hierarchy were “more concerned with protecting the institution than caring for those hurt by abuse.”
“People feel nobody is listening and maybe that partly explains the absence of so many young people from Mass and other church ceremonies," said one.
Published Saturday, October 9, 2010, 9:27
Irish bishop WiIliam Lee of Waterford has said he is not opposed to women priests.
Lee made the comments during a meeting with a local pastoral council according to the Munster Express newspaper.
His position is bound to be controversial in an Irish church that has always opposed such comments from ordinary priests. The comments are surprising from Lee who is not considered a liberal figure in the church and has rarely courted controversy.
Lee was speaking at a meeting which was primarily concerned with the sex abuse scandal and to listen to local parish recommendations. He spoke about the new church policy called “Safeguarding our Children” which has been put in effect in every parish in Ireland.
The Bishop was criticized from the floor by parishioners who felt the crisis had been very poorly handled. Some said that leading hierarchy were “more concerned with protecting the institution than caring for those hurt by abuse.”
“People feel nobody is listening and maybe that partly explains the absence of so many young people from Mass and other church ceremonies," said one.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Vatican health experts 'dismayed' by Nobel prize for IVF co-developer
Rome, Italy, Oct 5, 2010 (Catholic News Agency).
The International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations has declared its disagreement with Prof. Robert Edwards being awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work in developing in vitro fertilization. The problems of infertility, the group said in an official statement, must be solved within an ethical framework which respects the dignity of the embryo as a human being.
A statement from the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC) from Oct. 4 was released by the Holy See's Press Office on Tuesday concerning the recent announcement that Cambridge University professor-emeritus Robert Edwards was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for his part in developing human IVF.
"As Catholics we believe in the absolute dignity of the human person, created in the image and likeness of God," FIAMC declared in the statement signed by their president Dr. Jose Maria Simon Castellvi. "That dignity exists from the earliest moment of the conception of the new human being, and remains with them to their natural death.”
Noting the "enormous cost," that of undermining human dignity, with which IVF has "brought happiness" to couples who have conceived through this method, FIAMC decried the use of millions of embryos, thus human beings, created and discarded "as experimental animals destined for destruction." This use of human embryos, added the statement, "has led to a culture where they are regarded as commodities rather than the precious individuals which they are.”
"As Catholic doctors," we at FIAMC "recognize that pain that infertility brings to a couple, but equally," they said, "we believe that the research and treatment methods needed to solve the problems of infertility have to be conducted within an ethical framework which respects the special dignity of the human embryo, which is no different from that of a mature adult with a brilliant mind."
Concluding the statement protesting the Nobel Prize for Edwards, FIAMC observed that "the history of our salvation by Jesus Christ shows us that mankind suffers when it forgets or ignores the fact that God is our creator and we are his creatures.”
"We can only be fully human," the group said, "when we live in accordance with the will of God respecting the special dignity which is accorded to all human beings."
The award was also denounced by Archbishop Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, the head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, who said on Monday that giving the Nobel Prize for Medicine to Robert Edwards encourages the “marketing” of human embryos and that the professor “opened the wrong door” with his research.
“Without Edwards there would not be a market for eggs, without Edwards there would not be freezers full of embryos waiting to be transferred to a uterus, or more likely waiting to be used in research or perhaps waiting to die abandoned and forgotten by all,” the archbishop commented to Vatican Radio.
The International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations has declared its disagreement with Prof. Robert Edwards being awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work in developing in vitro fertilization. The problems of infertility, the group said in an official statement, must be solved within an ethical framework which respects the dignity of the embryo as a human being.
A statement from the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC) from Oct. 4 was released by the Holy See's Press Office on Tuesday concerning the recent announcement that Cambridge University professor-emeritus Robert Edwards was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for his part in developing human IVF.
"As Catholics we believe in the absolute dignity of the human person, created in the image and likeness of God," FIAMC declared in the statement signed by their president Dr. Jose Maria Simon Castellvi. "That dignity exists from the earliest moment of the conception of the new human being, and remains with them to their natural death.”
Noting the "enormous cost," that of undermining human dignity, with which IVF has "brought happiness" to couples who have conceived through this method, FIAMC decried the use of millions of embryos, thus human beings, created and discarded "as experimental animals destined for destruction." This use of human embryos, added the statement, "has led to a culture where they are regarded as commodities rather than the precious individuals which they are.”
"As Catholic doctors," we at FIAMC "recognize that pain that infertility brings to a couple, but equally," they said, "we believe that the research and treatment methods needed to solve the problems of infertility have to be conducted within an ethical framework which respects the special dignity of the human embryo, which is no different from that of a mature adult with a brilliant mind."
Concluding the statement protesting the Nobel Prize for Edwards, FIAMC observed that "the history of our salvation by Jesus Christ shows us that mankind suffers when it forgets or ignores the fact that God is our creator and we are his creatures.”
"We can only be fully human," the group said, "when we live in accordance with the will of God respecting the special dignity which is accorded to all human beings."
The award was also denounced by Archbishop Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, the head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, who said on Monday that giving the Nobel Prize for Medicine to Robert Edwards encourages the “marketing” of human embryos and that the professor “opened the wrong door” with his research.
“Without Edwards there would not be a market for eggs, without Edwards there would not be freezers full of embryos waiting to be transferred to a uterus, or more likely waiting to be used in research or perhaps waiting to die abandoned and forgotten by all,” the archbishop commented to Vatican Radio.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Our Martyrs: A record of those who suffered for the Catholic Faith under the Penal Laws - Denis Murphy SJ
This book is a reprint of a book on Irish Martyrs which was published in 1896. It includes accounts of the suffering and martyrdom of the Irish clergy and people during the Reformation and Penal times.
See http://www.irishcatholic.ie/site/content/our-martyrs-record-those-who-suffered-catholic-faith-under-penal-laws-denis-murphy-sj for details on how to purchase book
See http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08163a.htm for more details on the sufferings and cause of Irish Martyrs and Confessors. This page includes a list of the acknowledged Irish matyrs from the reign of Henry VIII to the Penal times.
See http://www.irishcatholic.ie/site/content/our-martyrs-record-those-who-suffered-catholic-faith-under-penal-laws-denis-murphy-sj for details on how to purchase book
See http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08163a.htm for more details on the sufferings and cause of Irish Martyrs and Confessors. This page includes a list of the acknowledged Irish matyrs from the reign of Henry VIII to the Penal times.
Abortionist Pulls Gun on Pro-Life Witnesses
CHARLESTON, South Carolina, October 4, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com)
A Tennessee abortionist was arrested, but released on $25,000 bail Saturday after brandishing a gun at pro-lifers peacefully witnessing outside a Charleston clinic.
Witnesses say Tennessee abortionist Gary Boyle, 62, pointed a loaded handgun from his vehicle at about 8:30am Saturday morning at three pro-life witnesses, including one 17-year-old young man, who were standing outside the Charleston Women's Medical Center in West Ashley. After Boyle entered the clinic, the pro-lifers called police.
"We were like, 'Well, that was a gun,'" John Karafa, one of the three, told the Charleston Post and Courier. "You can't do that." Karafa was a participant in the 40 Days for Life campaign, an international semiannual event of prayer, fasting, and pro-life witness outside abortion facilities. The abortionist was arrested and charged with pointing a firearm.
The Post reports that Boyle attended a bond hearing by video conference, and paid his $25,000 bail later the same day. About eight pro-lifers wearing 40 Days for Life wristbands attended the proceedings.
The Charleston Women's Medical Center is South Carolina's largest abortion center, performing 2,550 abortions in 2008, and nearly 55,000 between 1988 and 2008, according to Columbia Christians for Life.
Boyle has been in trouble with the law before. For several years in the 1990s, Boyle operated a Bristol, Tennessee abortuary without proper state certification; however, an appeals judge eventually ruled in 2002 that the statute requiring certification violated a woman's right to privacy, the Post reports.
Cheryl Freiberger, outreach coordinator for the local 40 Days for Life, told LifeSiteNews.com that the charge facing Boyle is a felony. She also said reports claiming the men had approached the abortionist as he sat in his vehicle before he brandished the firearm were false.
"It's not the peaceful pro-life people who are attacking or acting violently, but it's often the pro-choice people who act out against us," she said. She said she hoped that other minor assaults suffered by pro-lifers, which she said police had treated with less diligence, would receive more scrutiny thanks to the recent incident.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for December 17.
A Tennessee abortionist was arrested, but released on $25,000 bail Saturday after brandishing a gun at pro-lifers peacefully witnessing outside a Charleston clinic.
Witnesses say Tennessee abortionist Gary Boyle, 62, pointed a loaded handgun from his vehicle at about 8:30am Saturday morning at three pro-life witnesses, including one 17-year-old young man, who were standing outside the Charleston Women's Medical Center in West Ashley. After Boyle entered the clinic, the pro-lifers called police.
"We were like, 'Well, that was a gun,'" John Karafa, one of the three, told the Charleston Post and Courier. "You can't do that." Karafa was a participant in the 40 Days for Life campaign, an international semiannual event of prayer, fasting, and pro-life witness outside abortion facilities. The abortionist was arrested and charged with pointing a firearm.
The Post reports that Boyle attended a bond hearing by video conference, and paid his $25,000 bail later the same day. About eight pro-lifers wearing 40 Days for Life wristbands attended the proceedings.
The Charleston Women's Medical Center is South Carolina's largest abortion center, performing 2,550 abortions in 2008, and nearly 55,000 between 1988 and 2008, according to Columbia Christians for Life.
Boyle has been in trouble with the law before. For several years in the 1990s, Boyle operated a Bristol, Tennessee abortuary without proper state certification; however, an appeals judge eventually ruled in 2002 that the statute requiring certification violated a woman's right to privacy, the Post reports.
Cheryl Freiberger, outreach coordinator for the local 40 Days for Life, told LifeSiteNews.com that the charge facing Boyle is a felony. She also said reports claiming the men had approached the abortionist as he sat in his vehicle before he brandished the firearm were false.
"It's not the peaceful pro-life people who are attacking or acting violently, but it's often the pro-choice people who act out against us," she said. She said she hoped that other minor assaults suffered by pro-lifers, which she said police had treated with less diligence, would receive more scrutiny thanks to the recent incident.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for December 17.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Prayers to Guardian Angel
Litany of the Holy Guardian AngelFor Private Recitation.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Jesus, hear us.
Jesus, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, Queen of Angels,
pray for me.
Angel of Heaven, who art my guardian,
pray for me.
Angel of Heaven, whom I revere as my superior,
pray for me.
Angel of Heaven, who dost give me charitable counsel,
pray for me.
Angel of Heaven, who dost give me wise direction,
pray for me.
Angel of Heaven, who dost take the place of a tutor,
pray for me.
Angel of Heaven, who dost love me tenderly,
pray for me.
Angel of Heaven, who art my consoler,
pray for me.
Angel of Heaven, who art attached to me as a good brother,
pray for me.
Angel of Heaven, who dost instruct me in the duties
and truth of salvation,
pray for me.
Angel of Heaven, who art to me a charitable shepherd,
pray for me.
Angel of Heaven who art witness of all my actions,
pray for me.
Angel of Heaven, who dost help me in all my undertakings,
pray for me.
Angel of Heaven, who dost continually watch over me,
pray for me.
Angel of Heaven, who dost intercede for me,
pray for me.
Angel of Heaven, who dost carry me in thy hand,
pray for me.
Angel of Heaven, who dost direct me in all my ways,
pray for me.
Angel of Heaven, who dost defend me with zeal,
pray for me.
Angel of heaven, who dost conduct me with wisdom,
pray for me.
Angel of Heaven, who dost guard me from all danger,
pray for me.
Angel of Heaven, who dost dissipate the darkness and
enlighten the mind,
pray for me.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us, O Lord.
Jesus, hear us.
Jesus, graciously hear us.
Pray for us, O Guardian Angel,
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let Us Pray.
Almighty and eternal God, Who by an effect of Thine ineffable bounty hast given to each of the faithful an angel to be the guardian of body and soul, grant that I may have for him whom Thou hast given me in Thy mercy so much respect and love, that, protected by the gifts of Thy graces and by his help, I may merit to go to Thee in Heaven, there to contemplate Thee with him and the other happy spirits in the brightness of Thy glory. Amen.
Send Your Angel to Holy Mass
O Holy Angel at my side, go to church for me,
Kneel in my place at Holy Mass, where I desire to be.
At Offertory, in my stead, take all I am and own,
And place it as a sacrifice, upon the altar throne.
At holy consecration’s bell, adore with Seraph’s love,
My Jesus hidden in the Host, come down from heaven above.
Then pray for those I dearly love, and those who cause me grief,
That Jesus’ blood will cleanse all hearts, and suffering souls relieve.
And when the priest Communion takes, oh bring my Lord to me,
That His sweet Heart may rest on mine, and I His temple be.
Pray that this Sacrifice Divine, may mankind’s sins efface,
Then bring me Jesus’ blessing home, the pledge of every grace.
Prayer to All Guardian Angels
O PURE AND HAPPY Spirits whom the Almighty selected to become the Angels
and Guardians of men. I most humbly prostrate myself before thee to thank thee for the charity and zeal with which thou dost execute this commission. Alas, how many pass a long life without ever thanking their invisible friends, to whom they owe a thousand times their preservation!
O charitable Guardians of those Souls for whom Christ died, O flaming Spirits,
who cannot avoid loving those whom Jesus eternally loved, permit me to address
thee on behalf of all those committed to thy care, to implore for each of them a
grateful sense of thine many favors and also the grace to profit by thine charitable
assistance.
O Angels of those happy infants who are as yet "without spot before God,"
I earnestly beseech thee to preserve their innocence.
O Angels of youth, conduct them, exposed to so many dangers, safely to the bosom of God, as Tobias was conducted back to his father.
O Angels of those who employ themselves in the instruction of youth,
animate them with thy zeal and love, teach them to emulate thy purity and
continual view of God, that they may worthily and successfully co-operate
with the invisible Guardians of their young charges.
O Angels of the clergy, of those "who have the eternal Gospel to preach to them
that sit upon the earth," present their words, their actions and their intentions to
God, and purify them in that fire of love that consumes thee.
O Angels of the missionaries who have left their native land and all who were dear to them in order to preach the Gospel in foreign fields, protect them from the dangers which threaten them, console in their hours of discouragement and solitude, and lead them to those souls who are in danger of dying without Baptism.
O Angels of infidels and pagans, whom the True Faith has never enlightened, intercede for them, that they may open their hearts to the rays of grace, respond to the message delivered by God's missioners and acknowledge and adore the one true God.
O Angels of all who travel by air, land or water, be their guides and companions, protect them from all dangers of collision, fire, and explosion and lead them safely to their destination.
O Guardian Angels of sinners, charitable guides of those unhappy mortals whose perseverance in sin would embitter even thine unutterable joys, wert thou not established in the peace of God! Oh join me, I ardently beseech thee, in imploring their conversion!
And thou, O Guardian Angels of the sick, I entreat thee especially to help, console and implore the spirits of joy for all those who are deprived of health, which is among God's most precious gifts to man. Intercede for them, that they may not succumb to despondency or lose by impatience the merits they can gain in carrying with resignation and joy the cross which Christ has laid upon them as a special token of His love.
O Angels of those are at this moment in the agonies of death, strengthen, encourage and defend them against the attacks of their infernal enemy.
O faithful Guides, holy spirits, adorers of the Divinity, Guardian Angels of all creatures, protect us all; teach us to love, to pray, to wage combat on earth, so that one day we may reach Heaven and there be happy for all eternity! Amen.
O Angels of those who are lingering in Purgatory, intercede for them that God
may permit thee to bring them some balm; console them that they may know
that we are praying for them and that we ask thee to join in our entreaties. Amen.
Holy Father prays that rosary might fortify faithful in theological virtues
Palermo, Italy, Oct 3, 2010 (Catholic News Agency/EWTN News).
At noon on Sunday, Pope Benedict prayed that all people might be strengthened in faith, hope and charity through the intercession of Mary. He asked, in particular, that she lead the faithful to "walk quickly and joyfully on the way of holiness."
Pope Benedict prayed the Angelus with an estimated 30,000 people present in Palermo, Sicily at the city's Foro Italico park during his pastoral visit there. Widely present among the attendees were banners bearing images of Fr. Pino Puglisi, a much-loved priest who was killed in Palermo by the mafia in 1993.
Reminded of the island's strong Marian devotion, Pope Benedict entrusted all Sicilian faithful to the Virgin Mary before the Angelus. He especially asked Our Lady to support families in love and educational commitment, to make the "seeds" of vocations fruitful among young people and to give people "courage in trials, hope in difficulties and renewed impetus to do good.
"May the Madonna comfort the sick and all the suffering," he continued praying, "and help Christian communities so that no person be marginalized or in need, but that each, especially the smallest and weakest, might feel accepted and valued."
Mary, said the Pope, "is the model of Christian life" to whom "we ask most of all to help us walk quickly and joyfully on the way of holiness, in the footsteps of so many brilliant witnesses of Christ, children of the Sicilian lands."
Remembering the concurrent celebration of the beatification of Anna Maria Adorni in Parma, Italy on Sunday, her devotion to saying the rosary and the beginning of the Marian month of October, the Holy Father prayed that the "daily meditation of the mysteries of Christ in union with Mary, the 'praying Virgin', might fortify us all in faith, hope and charity."
After the Mass, the Holy Father went to the Archbishop of Palermo's residence for lunch with all the bishops of Sicily. Following this occasion, his Sunday afternoon schedule included a meeting with priests, religious and seminarians at the cathedral and an open-air encounter with young people and families in a city square.
At noon on Sunday, Pope Benedict prayed that all people might be strengthened in faith, hope and charity through the intercession of Mary. He asked, in particular, that she lead the faithful to "walk quickly and joyfully on the way of holiness."
Pope Benedict prayed the Angelus with an estimated 30,000 people present in Palermo, Sicily at the city's Foro Italico park during his pastoral visit there. Widely present among the attendees were banners bearing images of Fr. Pino Puglisi, a much-loved priest who was killed in Palermo by the mafia in 1993.
Reminded of the island's strong Marian devotion, Pope Benedict entrusted all Sicilian faithful to the Virgin Mary before the Angelus. He especially asked Our Lady to support families in love and educational commitment, to make the "seeds" of vocations fruitful among young people and to give people "courage in trials, hope in difficulties and renewed impetus to do good.
"May the Madonna comfort the sick and all the suffering," he continued praying, "and help Christian communities so that no person be marginalized or in need, but that each, especially the smallest and weakest, might feel accepted and valued."
Mary, said the Pope, "is the model of Christian life" to whom "we ask most of all to help us walk quickly and joyfully on the way of holiness, in the footsteps of so many brilliant witnesses of Christ, children of the Sicilian lands."
Remembering the concurrent celebration of the beatification of Anna Maria Adorni in Parma, Italy on Sunday, her devotion to saying the rosary and the beginning of the Marian month of October, the Holy Father prayed that the "daily meditation of the mysteries of Christ in union with Mary, the 'praying Virgin', might fortify us all in faith, hope and charity."
After the Mass, the Holy Father went to the Archbishop of Palermo's residence for lunch with all the bishops of Sicily. Following this occasion, his Sunday afternoon schedule included a meeting with priests, religious and seminarians at the cathedral and an open-air encounter with young people and families in a city square.
Friday, October 1, 2010
October is the month for the Holy Rosary
Heaven's Weapon- The RosaryGod Reveals Plan to Save the World
"The greatest method of praying is the Rosary"- St. Francis de Sales
St. Thomas Aquinas preached 40 straight days in Rome on just the Hail Mary
"The Rosary is the scourge of the devil"- Pope Adrian VI
"The Rosary is a treasure of graces"- Pope Paul V
"The Rosary is THE Weapon"- Padre Pio
In the year 1214 while St. Dominic was trying to convert sinners without success, Our Lady appeared to him, gave him the Rosary and taught him how to use it. Many miraculous conversions resulted.
Ventimiglia, the author of an ancient history of the Carmelite Order, revealed how God inspired St. Dominic to prophesy that some day the Blessed Mother would give us two devotions to be known as the Rosary and the Brown Scapular, "And one day, through the Rosary and the Scapular she would save the world."
St. Dominic told Pope Innocent III that he had received a command from Heaven to establish the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary. The Holy Father gave his full approval and became a member himself. Joining this Confraternity brings more indulgences than any other.
The Fifteen Virtues begged for with the 10 Hail Marys in each of the Fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary
Our devotion is sometimes intensified if each decade is said for some particular intention. Such intentions are, of course, matter of private choice; but many will welcome the following suggestions. The first set is the Fifteen virtues while the second set of suggestions were given to us by Fr. Pere Monsabre, O.P., who for many years was the preacher at Notre Dame, Paris, on all great occasions
JOYFUL MYSTERIES
1. The Annunciation- Wisdom
2. The Visitation- Fraternal Charity
3. The Birth of Christ- Poverty of Spirit (Detachment)
4. The Presentation in the Temple- Spirit of Self-Sacrifice (Renunciation)
5. The Finding in the Temple- Obedience
SORROWFUL MYSTERIES
1. The Agony in the Garden- Courage (Fortitude)
2. The Scourging at the Pillar- Temperance & Purity
3. The Crowning with Thorns- Humility
4. The Carrying of the Cross- Patience and Perseverance
5. The Crucifixion- Contrition for Sins
GLORIOUS MYSTERIES
1. The Resurrection- Faith
2. The Ascension- Hope
3. The Descent of the Holy Ghost- Charity (Love of God)
4. The Assumption- Devotion to Mary
5. The Coronation (Crowning) of Mary- Final Perseverance (death in the state of grace)
Fr. Pere Monsabre suggestions follow:
JOYFUL MYSTERIES
1. The Annunciation- for the Infidels
2. The Visitation- for Mothers & Fathers
3. The Birth of Christ- for Children & Godchildren
4. The Presentation in the Temple- for Priests
5. The Finding in the Temple- for Teachers
SORROWFUL MYSTERIES
1. The Agony in the Garden- for the Tried and Tempted
2. The Scourging at the Pillar- for hardened Sinners
3. The Crowning with Thorns- for Rulers and Governments
4. The Carrying of the Cross- for the Suffering
5. The Crucifixion- for the Dying
GLORIOUS MYSTERIES
1. The Resurrection- for the Irreligious
2. The Ascension- for the Cloistered Nuns & Monks, Sisters & Brothers
3. The Descent of the Holy Ghost- for Holy Mother Church
4. The Assumption- for the Faithful Departed
5. The Coronation (Crowning) of Mary- for our Country
"The greatest method of praying is the Rosary"- St. Francis de Sales
St. Thomas Aquinas preached 40 straight days in Rome on just the Hail Mary
"The Rosary is the scourge of the devil"- Pope Adrian VI
"The Rosary is a treasure of graces"- Pope Paul V
"The Rosary is THE Weapon"- Padre Pio
In the year 1214 while St. Dominic was trying to convert sinners without success, Our Lady appeared to him, gave him the Rosary and taught him how to use it. Many miraculous conversions resulted.
Ventimiglia, the author of an ancient history of the Carmelite Order, revealed how God inspired St. Dominic to prophesy that some day the Blessed Mother would give us two devotions to be known as the Rosary and the Brown Scapular, "And one day, through the Rosary and the Scapular she would save the world."
St. Dominic told Pope Innocent III that he had received a command from Heaven to establish the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary. The Holy Father gave his full approval and became a member himself. Joining this Confraternity brings more indulgences than any other.
The Fifteen Virtues begged for with the 10 Hail Marys in each of the Fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary
Our devotion is sometimes intensified if each decade is said for some particular intention. Such intentions are, of course, matter of private choice; but many will welcome the following suggestions. The first set is the Fifteen virtues while the second set of suggestions were given to us by Fr. Pere Monsabre, O.P., who for many years was the preacher at Notre Dame, Paris, on all great occasions
JOYFUL MYSTERIES
1. The Annunciation- Wisdom
2. The Visitation- Fraternal Charity
3. The Birth of Christ- Poverty of Spirit (Detachment)
4. The Presentation in the Temple- Spirit of Self-Sacrifice (Renunciation)
5. The Finding in the Temple- Obedience
SORROWFUL MYSTERIES
1. The Agony in the Garden- Courage (Fortitude)
2. The Scourging at the Pillar- Temperance & Purity
3. The Crowning with Thorns- Humility
4. The Carrying of the Cross- Patience and Perseverance
5. The Crucifixion- Contrition for Sins
GLORIOUS MYSTERIES
1. The Resurrection- Faith
2. The Ascension- Hope
3. The Descent of the Holy Ghost- Charity (Love of God)
4. The Assumption- Devotion to Mary
5. The Coronation (Crowning) of Mary- Final Perseverance (death in the state of grace)
Fr. Pere Monsabre suggestions follow:
JOYFUL MYSTERIES
1. The Annunciation- for the Infidels
2. The Visitation- for Mothers & Fathers
3. The Birth of Christ- for Children & Godchildren
4. The Presentation in the Temple- for Priests
5. The Finding in the Temple- for Teachers
SORROWFUL MYSTERIES
1. The Agony in the Garden- for the Tried and Tempted
2. The Scourging at the Pillar- for hardened Sinners
3. The Crowning with Thorns- for Rulers and Governments
4. The Carrying of the Cross- for the Suffering
5. The Crucifixion- for the Dying
GLORIOUS MYSTERIES
1. The Resurrection- for the Irreligious
2. The Ascension- for the Cloistered Nuns & Monks, Sisters & Brothers
3. The Descent of the Holy Ghost- for Holy Mother Church
4. The Assumption- for the Faithful Departed
5. The Coronation (Crowning) of Mary- for our Country
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