Saint Leutfridus

The America Needs Fatima Blog September 29, 2012:

The following text is an excerpt from a lecture given by Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira on June 20, 1967.  It has been translated and adapted for publishing without the author’s revision. –Ed.
We will now read an excerpt on Saint Leutfridus, taken from the book: Physiognomy of the Saints, by Ernesto Hello.
Extraordinarily holy, but little known, Saint Leutfridus is an example for our mediocre days.
He was born of a good family in seventh century Neustria (present-day France). He left his family to become a Benedictine priest. After a great struggle, he founded the Abbey of the Holy Cross. He was gifted with prophesy and the ability to work miracles and was extremely severe.
One day a lady began to ridicule Saint Leutfridus for being bald. The saint replied: “Why do you poke fun at my natural defect? From now on, you will have no more hair on your head than I have on my forehead, and neither will your descendents.”
Coming across a man working in a field one Sunday, Saint Leutfridus raised his eyes to Heaven and prayed: “Lord, make this land eternally sterile.” From then on, neither grain nor wheat was ever seen in the field again. In its place, there were only thorns and thistles.
These are magnificent stories!
Saint Leutfridus had an abundant zeal for justice, but was even more ardently merciful.
This principle is important. Saint Leutfridus was both just and merciful. These two virtues must go hand in hand.
Saint Leutfridus was even ardently charitable while angry and when reprimanding…these were parallel lines of his life.
When one of his monks died, his brothers found three coins in his pocket. This showed that the deceased had violated his vow of poverty. Upon learning this, Saint Leutfridus ordered that his body be buried in profane ground.
Afterwards, he made a 40-day retreat, praying and weeping for the soul of this monk, who seemed lost.
Those whose piety is merely sentimental would not understand this. Confronted by this situation, they would pray: “Oh, poor man, grant him pardon,” and consider him saved. On the contrary, Saint Leutfridus ordered him to be buried in profane ground and then made a retreat, begging for the monk’s salvation. Our Lord, Himself, possessed this combination of sternness and mercy.
After these days of retreat, the Lord revealed to Saint Leutfridus that His mercy had saved the monk’s soul, even though His justice was prepared to condemn him.
During the interim between death and salvation, the monk was in a type of limbo. Then Saint Leutfridus made a retreat, did penance and the man was saved.
Someone could wonder how this was possible since the man was already dead and judgment takes place immediately when the soul separates from the body. It is hard to say, but we cannot put limits on God’s mercy. Perhaps He left the monk’s soul fused to his body, waiting for the sacrifice of Saint Leutfridus. In any case, this story clashes with the liberal idea that the monk would be automatically saved.
Saint Leutfridus was tremendously wrathful against the devil.
Often, people react to temptations by becoming afraid of the devil, but I have seen very few who react with holy hatred and furiously fight against him. We should all strive to attain this holy wrath.
When Satan approaches, we should be filled with anger and hatred, because the devil is the declared enemy of God and our souls. He wishes us every form of evil. Thus, when we are tempted, we should react with militant execration, like Saint Michael did.
Once, a friar called Saint Leutfridus from his cell to tell him that the devil was appearing in the chapel. Recognizing his old enemy, the saint ran to the Chapel and made the sign of the cross over the doors and windows, which closed, blocking all the exits.
Wisely, he captured the devil first, so that he could not get away.
Advancing towards the devil, the saint furiously beat him. The devil wanted to flee, but all the exits were blocked. Normally, he could have instantly left the body he had taken up, but apparently he had not permission to do so. God wanted to humiliate him further under Saint Leutfridus’ blows.
This is a splendid scene. The beating was physically given and spiritually felt, all under the Sign of the Cross. Just as the wicked souls are burned by Hell’s material fire, so too the devil’s soul was made to feel the saint’s blows.
Saint Leutfridus beat the body that was merely a doll of the devil.
Naturally, these blows tormented and humiliated the devil. We too can increase his torment. This is particularly excellent when Satan provokes an attack. Then, the counter-attack gives glory to Our Lady by showing that her children’s hatred of the devil is greater than his hatred of men.
God obliged the devil to flee by way of the belfry, so that he would feel his defeat more sensibly.
The devil was forced to flee by way of the tower, under the continued blows of Saint Leutfridus. We would love to have seen the saint deliver the final blow!
We can imagine the scene: Saint Leutfridus is an old man with white hair and a white beard, but still fit and possessing chestnut eyes. He is very strong and beats the devil with utter hatred, yet maintains perfect serenity. All the while, the devil’s doll, moaning and writhing, retreats from sight, by way of the belfry.
Since we only fight and struggle as far as our anger propels us, just wrath is important. We should strive to develop a holy wrath against the devil that is always vigilant and never sleeps.
Just as a mother with a very sick child sleeps with a wakeful heart, we too should sleep with our hearts in a state of continual vigilance. We should be able to proclaim that even while asleep, we remain a living torch of hatred against the devil.
Thus, we will be able to say: “I sleep, but my heart looks in hope for an occasion to give greater glory the Blessed Virgin.”

Five Heretics That Every Catholic Should Know and Why They Matter Today

From http://ascentofcarmel.blogspot.ie/2012/10/five-heretics-that-every-catholic.html

Oftentimes, what appears to be a newfangled spiritual movement within Christianity is often simply a regurgitated (and usually very watered-down) heresy from many centuries ago.

In the spirit of that statement, I thought it might be a good idea to list who I think are some of the heretics whose ideas are still active today; the next time someone attacks the Church with a particular statement or doctrinal assertion, you will be able to say, "Well, actually that was so-and-so who said that first, and he was condemned by the Council of ______".  It's always surprising to see where heretical ideas actually originated from.

Henceforth, I present to you my personal take on five famous and not-so-famous heretics...and why they matter to Catholics today.

1.  Arius (256 - 336 A.D.)

"The Word is absolutely alien to the essence and property of the Father.  He is one of the order of works and creatures; he is one of them."1

Let's get the obvious out of the way first.  Arius was the bane of orthodox Christianity, and his heretical doctrines spread all over the place like weeds, so much so that they still survive today.  Much of Christendom succumbed to his heresy, and if not for the great figures of 4th-century orthodoxy such as St. Athanasius, St. Hilary of Poitiers, and many others, Christianity would be a much different faith than it is today.

But what exactly is the heresy of Arius?  Simply put, Arianism declared that Christ was subordinate to the Father, and was a created being (i.e. not God).  The Nicene creed that you recite on Sundays is a direct response to the heresy of Arius.

Like many heretics, Arius was not a fool - fools would never be able to wreak as much damage to the Body of Christ as he did.  Citing Scripture and twisting certain passages in the thought of Origen to his own use, Arius managed to nearly destroy the Church.

Why he matters today:  His teachings live on in various modern movements such as the Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Arian Catholic Church (yes, apparently this really exists), along with any other group that denies the divinity of Christ. If any group claiming to be Christian denies that Christ is God, then you know what kind of "ism" you are really dealing with.  If a supposedly Christian group is speaking of Jesus as merely being a prophet or anything but God, then the shadow of Arius is undoubtedly behind it.

2.  Berengarius of Tours (999 - 1088 A.D.)

If you're Catholic or Orthodox, you've probably (I hope anyways) always known that the Eucharist is the Real Body and Blood of Christ - we do not consume a symbol.  Though others would argue against it, the Church has always held to the reality of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist.  What is interesting is that it wasn't something first denied in the Protestant Reformation, but was actually a man by the name of Berengarius.  Though rumblings had occurred in other writers before, most notably in John Scotus Eriugena, Berengarius seems to be the first to explicitly attack the Real Presence in the Eucharist.  He instead opted for the view that Christ is spiritually present in the sacrament but not really present - later declarations on "transubtantiation" were made in direct response to this (though I do not think the Orthodox have ever laid out what is going on during the Consecration in as systematic a way as Catholic theologians have). 

Why he matters today:  Even though there were a couple theologians that had gone against the Real Presence in the Eucharist before him, Berengarius was really the first to take his doctrines so far that even an entire movement called the Berengarians survived after him.  He opposed and attacked the Church on the issue of the Eucharist, denying that any change took place resulting in its being the actual Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, instead opting for a spiritual understanding (something, I would argue, is much closer to orthodox Calvinism).

When someone attacks the doctrine of the Real Presence in the Eucharist, modern Catholics can know where the idea came from, and why the Church's theologians formally defined the change as "transubstantiation".  The ideas of Berengarius, I would argue, live on today in the doctrines of the Reformation, especially in the teachings of Calvin.

3.  Montanus (2nd - 3rd century A.D.)

Montanus is one of my most disliked of all heretics, as he was the wolf that snatched that great apologist, Tertullian, from the bosom of the Church - though really, when one reads Tertullian, one can see the seeds of a great fall in his writings.  He needed something more extreme than what the growing Church could provide.  Thus he joined the Montanists, a charismatic sect that had grown up around the prophecies of Montanus and two women named Prisca and Maximilla.  Claiming the direct influence of the Holy Spirit, they became known as "fanatic rigorists"1, with Montanus espousing himself as a prophet through whom the Holy Spirit spoke through to the world. 

Why he matters today:  I think it's a fairly easy parallel to draw between charismatic movements and Montanism.  But what I want to point out is that Montanism, in my opinion, has made itself felt in any movement where Holy Spirit is erroneously placed in opposition to the Church.  The "spirit of Vatican II" movement, in my humble opinion, draws its strength from the same poisoned well as Montanus and his companions. 

4. Miguel de Molinos (1640 - 1696 A.D.)

Miguel de Molinos is a little less-known than others, by my reckoning, and yet his influence I think is felt all over the world of unorthodox prayer forms infiltrating the world of modern Catholicism.

Molinos was the central figure in a heresy known as "Quietism", and "taught interior annihilation, asserting that this is the means of attaining purity of soul, perfect contemplation, and the rich treasure of interior peace: hence follows the licitness of impure carnal acts, inasmuch as only the lower, sensual man, instigated by the demon, is concerned in them."3

E. Allison Peers, that distinguished scholar of Spanish mysticism, intriguingly refers to his teachings as warping the mysticism of such figures as St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. 

Why he matters today: When studying at Newman Theological College, I was shocked to see that what is known as "centering prayer" was being pushed on students as a good and wholly orthodox form of prayer.  Upon doing a little research, I began to notice some very disturbing similarities between it and a heresy known as Quietism, which did most of its damage in the 17th century.

In my opinion, centering prayer as it is known today is merely a watered-down form of core Quietist principles.  Though certainly modern centering prayer does not advocate excuses for sinful acts as does the doctrines taught by Molinos, it is undoubtedly similar in its teachings on interior annihilation.

According to Catholic Answers, "Quietism bears similarity to certain elements of Eastern mysticism and the New Age movement, and it is mirrored in one of the chief principles of Protestantism.

Like Quietism, many Eastern religions (Hinduism and Buddhism, for instance) aim at a state of detachment or indifference, whether it be Nirvana for the Buddhists, tranquil oneness with the pantheistic 'all-god,' or the Tao.

Elements of Quietism can be seen in the quasi-mysticism of the New Age movement. In emphasizing subjective mystical experience or 'feeling,' downplaying personal moral responsibility, and eliminating sacrament and ritual, many moderns are unaware of the debt they owe to a seventeenth-century writer for their 'modern' religion.

The Reformation doctrine of sola fides is a cousin to Quietism in that it rejects mankind's reciprocal role (through obedience and good works) in the process of salvation."4   

5.  Nestorius (d. 451 A.D.)

The chief heresy propounded by Nestorius was that Christ's two natures were entirely separate and distinct, thus resulting in a kind of two persons in one body.  This was fought chiefly by St. Cyril of Alexandria.

But this is not the aspect of Nestorius' thought that I had most interesting, nor why I mention him here - modern scholarship seems to take a more sympathetic view to Nestorius' Christological errors.  The reason why I mention him here is that he was the first to deny the title of Theotokos (God-bearer) to the Virgin Mary - in other words, he attacked the idea that the Blessed Virgin Mary was the Mother of God, preferring instead the term Christotokos (Christ-bearer).

Why he matters: Many evangelicals and fundamentalists these days are very much against calling Mary the Mother of God - now you can tell them where that idea first came from, and that it was condemned in the early Church.  As a side note, if anyone brings up the idea that the Virgin Mary did not remain a virgin for the rest of her life (the doctrine of her perpetual virginity), then one would do well to bring up the fact that the first to say such a thing was a heretic known as Helvidius.  St. Jerome's reply to Helvidius on the subject is crucial reading.

1 - Arius, Thalia
2 - Rev. John Laux, Church History, pg. 64
3 - A. Perez Goyena, The Catholic Encyclopedia, "Miguel de Molinos"
4 - Todd M. Aglialoro, found HERE.

The Infallibility of Canonization

The Hermeneutic of Continuity October 20, 2012:

It is a theologically certain doctrine that the canonisation of a saint is an infallible act of the Church's magisterium. I thought it might be useful to set down here some of the arguments that have been used by theologians. Just to be clear: the question is whether the doctrine:

"That the canonisation of a saint is an infallible act of the Church's magisterium."

is itself theologically certain.
In his Quodlibets, St. Thomas Aquinas considered the question. Having affirmed that it was impossible for the Church to err in matters of faith, he went on to say:

“Because the honour which we show to the saints is a certain profession of faith by which we believe in the glory of the saints, it should be devoutly believed that not even in these matters can the judgement of the Church err.”

(This is usually quoted in older books as Quodlibet 9.16 At the Corpus Thomisticum, you can find it at [68756] Quodlibet IX, q.8 corpus.)
Then a couple of references from the Jesuit Sacrae Theologiae Summa Vol 1 p.742 (My translations - and I am not able to double-check the references given):
Suarez said of the infallibility of canonisation:

"Although it is not de fide, I judge that it is sufficiently certain and that the contrary is impious and temerarious." (De Fide d.5 s.8 n.8)

Benedict XIV noted that some older theologians denied the infallibility of decrees of canonisation but said that this divergence only proved that, on this point as with others, discussion was possible before the Catholic view was definitively fixed in the Schools. Defending this teaching, he said of the opinion which denied the infallibility of canonisation:

“If it is not heretical, it is nevertheless temerarious, bringing scandal to the whole Church ... savouring of heresy ... We say that he is the upholder of an erroneous proposition who dares to assert that the Pontiff in this or that Canonisation has erred, that this or that Saint canonised by him should not be honoured with the cult of dulia.” (De Canonisatione Sanctorum L.1 c.43 n.3)

(The cult or veneration of dulia is a traditional way of referring to the veneration due to the saints as opposed to the cult of latria, or simply adoration, which is due to God alone and may not be given to any created thing or person.)
We can understand why canonisation must be infallible if we consider the difference between beatification and canonisation. Beatification is the permission of veneration locally or for particular groups. Such veneration is not commanded but tolerated and permitted.
In the case of canonisation, the Church not only tolerates and permits the veneration of a person but commends and prescribes such veneration to the whole Church. In the Church’s mission of leading the faithful to salvation, it is necessary that the formal and solemn presentation of a person by the supreme Pontiff as one who is to be imitated and venerated perpetually, should be part of the infallible magisterium of the Church.
Theologians further discuss whether the infallibility extends to the judgement that the saint had heroic virtues or simply to the judgement that the saint is in fact in heaven. The latter is more probable since the good of the Church does not require that every aspect of the canonisation process is flawless, only that Christ preserves the Church from requiring universal veneration of someone who is not in heaven.
So although we all want to give the Pope the benefit of our wisdom on how the canonisation process might be improved (and I don't claim that everything in the garden is rosy) we are nevertheless bound to believe that the saints that he does canonise are in heaven and worthy of our veneration.

SSPX expels Bishop Williamson

From http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2012/10/24/sspx-expels-bishop-williamson/

The Society of St Pius X has confirmed that it has expelled the English Bishop Richard Williamson.
Bishop Williamson, 72, one of four men illicitly ordained in 1988 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in Écône, Switzerland, has been a controversial figure, particularly for his views on Jews, who he has called the “enemies of Christ”.
In a statement the society said: “Bishop Richard Williamson, having distanced himself from the management and the government of the SSPX for several years, and refusing to show due respect and obedience to his lawful superiors, was declared excluded from the SSPX by decision of the superior general and its council on October 4 2012. A final deadline had been granted to him to declare his submission, after which he announced the publication of an ‘open letter’ asking the superior general to resign.
“This painful decision has become necessary by concern for the common good of the Society of Saint Pius X and its good government, according to what Archbishop Lefebvre denounced: ‘This is the destruction of authority. How authority can be exercised if it needs to ask all members to participate in the exercise of authority?’”
Bishop Williamson, who was educated at Winchester, has denied that millions of Jews died in Nazi gas chambers and believes the Protocols of the Elders of Zion to be authentic.
A television interview in which Bishop Williamson denied the Holocaust was broadcast in January 2009 on the same day that Pope Benedict XVI lifted the automatic excommunications of the four bishops, causing the Vatican embarrassment. Bishop Williamson apologised to the Pope but did not retract the statement.
Superior general Bishop Bernard Fellay subsequently banned Bishop Williamson from speaking in public.

Census shows growth in number of Catholics in Ireland

See http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=33705

The 7 Prayers Every Catholic Should Know in Latin

See http://www.stpeterslist.com/8422/the-7-prayers-every-catholic-should-know-in-latin/

Glory of Rome: 5 Latin Hymns Every Catholic Should Know

See http://www.stpeterslist.com/7497/glory-of-rome-5-latin-hymns-every-catholic-should-know/

Pope names 7 new saints, seeks to revive faith

See http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_VATICAN_SAINTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-10-21-04-55-37

Ireland’s 1st abortion clinic opens to protests in the mostly Catholic and Protestant country

See http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/ireland-1st-abortion-clinic-opens-protests-article-1.1187295

Hundreds evacuated from Lourdes due to flooding

Lourdes, France, Oct 20, 2012 (CNA).

Flooding in southwestern France has forced hundreds of pilgrims to evacuate the Marian apparition site and nearby hotels.
Busloads of pilgrims were taken to a nearby conference hall and a sports hall while about 40 people were evacuated from their homes Oct. 20, Radio France International reported.
The Gave River, which runs through the city where the Blessed Mother appeared several times to the peasant girl St. Bernadette Soubirous in 1858, burst its banks after days of heavy rain invaded the region.
A spokesperson for the Marian Sanctuary said the grotto itself is under about 3 feet of water and more rain is expected.
Only the basilica, which is built on higher ground than the grotto, is still accessible.
Local officials said that the flooding is the worst the region has seen in 25 years.
More rain was forecast for the evening, while 8,000 homes in the region were without power.
The grotto is home to the site where the Blessed Mother appeared 18 times to St. Bernadette as well as a spring of water that still flows today and is heavily visited by those in search of miraculous healing. The intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes is credited with 68 certified miracles since the apparitions took place.
Six million tourists and pilgrims flocked to Lourdes in 2011.
Relics of Blessed John Paul II are set to arrive in Lourdes Oct. 21 for veneration until Oct. 27 to mark the Year of Faith.

Egypt's Sexual Harassment of Women 'Epidemic'

BBC News  September 3, 2012:

Campaigners in Egypt say the problem of sexual harassment is reaching epidemic proportions, with a rise in such incidents over the past three months. For many Egyptian women, sexual harassment - which sometimes turns into violent mob-style attacks - is a daily fact of life, reports the BBC's Bethany Bell in Cairo.
Last winter, an Egyptian woman was assaulted by a crowd of men in the city of Alexandria.
In video footage of the incident, posted on the internet, she is hauled over men's shoulders and dragged along the ground, her screams barely audible over the shouts of the mob.
It is hard to tell who is attacking her and who is trying to help.
The case was one of the most extreme - but surveys say many Egyptian women face some form of sexual harassment every day.
Marwa, not her real name, says she worries about being groped or verbally harassed whenever she goes downtown. She says it makes her afraid.
"This is something that scares me, as a girl. When I want to go out, walking the street and someone harasses or annoys me, it makes me afraid.
"This stops me from going out. I try to be excessively cautious in the way I dress so I avoid wearing things that attract people."
'Deeply rooted'The day I met Marwa, she was wearing a long headscarf pinned like a wimple under her chin, and a loose flowing dress with long sleeves over baggy trousers.
But dressing conservatively is no longer a protection, according to Dina Farid of the campaign group Egypt's Girls are a Red Line.
She says even women who wear the full-face veil - the niqab - are being targeted.
"It does not make a difference at all. Most of Egyptian ladies are veiled [with a headscarf] and most of them have experienced sexual harassment.
"Statistics say that most of the women or girls who have been sexually harassed have been veiled or completely covered up with the niqab."
In 2008, a study by the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights found that more than 80% of Egyptian women have experienced sexual harassment, and that the majority of the victims were those who wore Islamic headscarves.
Said Sadek, a sociologist from the American University in Cairo, says that the problem is deeply rooted in Egyptian society: a mixture of what he calls increasing Islamic conservatism, on the rise since the late 1960s, and old patriarchal attitudes.
"Religious fundamentalism arose, and they began to target women. They want women to go back to the home and not work.
"Male patriarchal culture does not accept that women are higher than men, because some women had education and got to work, and some men lagged behind and so one way to equalise status is to shock women and force a sexual situation on them anywhere.
"It is not the culture of the Pharaohs; it is the culture of the Bedouins," Mr Sadek says.
Mr Sadek and women's campaign groups also blame what they call the lack of security enforcement. They say the police should do more to enforce laws protecting women from harassment.
'Provocative dress'And the harassers are getting younger and younger.
On the Qasr al-Nil bridge in central Cairo, a hotspot for harassment, I met a group of teenage boys hanging out near street stalls blaring loud music.
When I asked them about a recent case of mass harassment in which women at a park were groped by a gang of boys, they told me the girls brought it on themselves.
"If the girls were dressed respectably, no-one would touch them," one of them said. "It's the way girls dress that makes guys come on to them. The girls came wanting it - even women in niqab."
One of his friends told me the boys were not to blame, and that there was a difference between women who wore loose niqabs and tight ones.
A woman who wore a tight niqab was up for it, he added.
But attitudes like these horrify many Egyptian men - like Hamdy, a human rights activist.
"I really feel very upset myself because I think about my family, my sisters and my mother," he said.
"Before Eid [the festival at the end of Ramadan], I was downtown and I had my sisters with me. It gets very crowded and I had my eyes everywhere, looking around and I shouted at a pedlar who got in their way. In our religion this is something that is not allowed."
The new government says it is taking the problem seriously - although many campaigners argue it is not a priority yet.
For women - like Nancy, who lives in central Cairo - it is a question of freedom.
"I want to walk safely and like a human being. Nobody should touch or harass me - that's it."

Pro Life Rally Announcement

Mayo Life Network have announced a Rally for Life for the 3rd of November in Castlebar, Co. Mayo. They believe it will give the people of Mayo and the rest of Ireland the chance to remind An Taoiseach Enda Kenny that the majority of voters remain firmly opposed to the introduction of abortion in Ireland.

At 1p.m. 3rd November, The Mall, Castlebar, Co. Mayo

For Bus Information, Call: 087 7020255

England's Unknown Marian Apparition: Our Lady of Walsingham

Canterbury Tales September 25, 2012:

Most Catholics know of France's famous Marian apparitions, such as those at Lourdes and Rue du Bac, and also the greater Marian apparition sites such as the one at Fatima, Portugal or Guadalupe, Mexico.
England's once famous shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham is not as well known due to the onset of Protestantism in the 1500s. Thankfully, the apparition is receiving greater devotion due to the efforts of Catholics and Anglicans with a love for the Blessed Virgin.
The tradition of Our Lady of Walsingham began with an apparition of the Immaculate Mother of God  to Richeldis de Faverches, a Catholic English noblewoman, in 1061 in the village of Walsingham in Norfolk, England.
The Mother of God revealed the archetectural plans of the Holy House of the Holy Family in Nazareth and she asked Lady Richeldis to build the house as a shrine and place of pilgrimage.
The Holy House of Walsingham was an exact copy of of the home in which the Annunciation occurred. The chapel was founded in the time of Edward the Confessor, about 1053, the earliest deeds naming Richeldis, the mother of Geoffrey of Favraches as the founder. In 1169, Geoffrey granted 'to God and St. Mary and to Edwy his clerk the chapel of our Lady' which his mother had founded at Walsingham with the intention that Edwy should found a priory. These gifts were, shortly afterwards, confirmed to the Austin Canons of Walsingham by Robert de Brucurt and Roger, earl of Clare.
By 1500, Our Lady of Walsingham had become one of the greatest religious centres in England, and Europe, together with Glastonbury and Canterbury. It became the third most popular place of pilgrimage next to Rome and Compostella, Spain.
The suppression of Walsingham came late in 1538. The Protestant bishop Latimer wrote of the image of Mary that "She hath been the Devil's instrument, I fear, to bring many to eternal fire; now she herself with her older sister of Walsingham, her younger sister of Ipswich, and their two sisters of Doncaster and Penrhys will make a jolly muster in Smithfield. They would not be all day in burning". Horrid words that reveal the hate of early Anglicans for images and for the Blessed Virgin.
King Henry VIII approved for the image of Our Lady of Walsingham to be burned. This confirms that Henry VIII was an impious and perfidious tyrant. Those who claim that Henry VIII remained Catholic "in his heart" are deceived. He was a murderous and adulterous man who mocked the papacy.
"It was the month of July, the images of Our Lady of Walsingham and Ipswich were brought up to London with all the jewels that hung around them, at the King's commandment, and divers other images, both in England and Wales, that were used for common pilgrimage...and they were burnt at Chelsea by my Lord Privy Seal".
In 1897 Pope Leo XIII re-established the restored 14th century Slipper Chapel as a Roman Catholic shrine, now the centre of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. The Holy House had been rebuilt at the Church of the Annunciation at King's Lynn.
There is a prophecy that when England returns to Our Lady of Walsingham, Our Lady will return to England. It seems, then, that this Marian shrine is intimately associated with the spiritual health of Merry Ol' England.
Our Lady of Walsingham, pray for us.

Catholic bishop of Down and Connor expresses concern over abortion services in Belfast

From http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/1012/ni-bishop-dismayed-over-belfast-abortion-services.html

Friday, 12 October 2012 

inShare

Bishop of Down and Connor Noel Treanor has expressed his concern and dismay at news that the Marie Stopes organisation is to offer abortion services at a private clinic in Belfast.

The private clinic is due to open next Thursday in Belfast

In a statement last night, Bishop Treanor said the opening of the facility in the diocese would further undermine the sanctity and dignity of human life in society.
The private clinic is due to open next Thursday at Great Victoria Street in central Belfast.
The clinic will offer non-surgical abortions to women who are up to nine weeks' pregnant.
In recent years, an average of almost 50 legal abortions have been carried out in Northern Ireland at National Health Service clinics.

Private abortion clinic to open its doors in Belfast next week

From http://www.independent.ie/national-news/private-abortion-clinic-to-open-its-doors-in-belfast-next-week-3256427.html

By Louise Hogan

Thursday October 11 2012

THE first private health centre offering abortion services is to open on the island of Ireland next week.
Marie Stopes Northern Ireland will offer medical abortions in Belfast city centre.
The not-for-profit organisation last night refused to disclose the clinic's exact location, citing security concerns for staff and patients.
The organisation confirmed it was the same abortion service that was available through the National Health Service in Northern Ireland, which is offered when the life of the pregnant woman is at immediate risk or there is a long-term risk to her physical or mental health.
The medical abortion will be offered up to nine weeks' gestation. It is also expected that people will travel from all over the island of Ireland for the service.
Pro-life campaigners have predicted widespread opposition to the plans.
Northern Ireland's Health Minister Edwin Poots questioned the legal position of the centre.
However, former Stormont Assembly member and the former leader of the Progressive Unionist Party Dawn Purvis said the centre was working to meet the needs of the people within "all relevant laws and guidelines".
Ms Purvis added that the centre would be able to meet the "family planning and sexual health needs" of people in a way that has not been seen before.
"A centre like ours has never existed before in Northern Ireland," said Ms Purvis, who will take the position of programme director at the new centre.
The latest figures show around 12 women a day in all types of circumstances travel from Ireland to the UK for terminations. Many women in Ireland opt not to carry babies with fatal conditions to full term and with abortion banned under Irish law, instead opt to travel to the UK for a medical termination.
Last year, 4,149 women from Ireland travelled to England or Wales for an abortion, as did 1,007 women from Northern Ireland. Earlier this year four women who travelled to Britain for medical terminations told their stories to TDs and helped spark a public debate on the issue of the strict legal ban on abortion.
In 1992, the Irish Supreme Court ruled abortion was legal where there was a real and substantial risk to a woman's life. However, in the 20-years since the X Case ruling, an abortion law has not been enacted.
The cost for an medical abortion will be £430 (€535) at the Belfast centre. This will include the consultation, scan to confirm pregnancy and the length of the term, counselling and assessment to see if the woman is eligible.

Pope opens synod on new evangelization, declares 2 new doctors of the Church

From http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=15833

Opening the Thirteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Pope Benedict emphasized that “the Church exists to evangelize” and formally proclaimed St. John of Avila (1500-69) and St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) doctors of the Church.
St. John of Avila, the Pope said during his homily at Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, was a “profound expert on the sacred Scriptures, he was gifted with an ardent missionary spirit. He knew how to penetrate in a uniquely profound way the mysteries of the redemption worked by Christ for humanity. A man of God, he united constant prayer to apostolic action. He dedicated himself to preaching and to the more frequent practice of the sacraments, concentrating his commitment on improving the formation of candidates for the priesthood, of religious and of lay people, with a view to a fruitful reform of the Church.”
Pope Benedict added that St. Hildegard

offered her precious contribution to the growth of the Church of her time, employing the gifts received from God and showing herself to be a woman of brilliant intelligence, deep sensitivity and recognized spiritual authority. The Lord granted her a prophetic spirit and fervent capacity to discern the signs of the times. Hildegard nurtured an evident love of creation, and was learned in medicine, poetry and music. Above all, she maintained a great and faithful love for Christ and his Church.

Discussing the synod’s theme – “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith” – Pope Benedict preached that

the Church exists to evangelize. Faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ’s command, his disciples went out to the whole world to announce the Good News, spreading Christian communities everywhere. With time, these became well-organized churches with many faithful. At various times in history, divine providence has given birth to a renewed dynamism in the Church’s evangelizing activity. We need only think of the evangelization of the Anglo-Saxon peoples or the Slavs, or the transmission of the faith on the continent of America, or the missionary undertakings among the peoples of Africa, Asia and Oceania.

Pope Benedict distinguished two “branches” of evangelization: “the Missio ad Gentes or announcement of the Gospel to those who do not yet know Jesus Christ and his message of salvation” and “the New Evangelization, directed principally at those who, though baptized, have drifted away from the Church and live without reference to the Christian life.”
“The Synodal Assembly which opens today is dedicated to this new evangelization, to help these people encounter the Lord, who alone who fills our existence with deep meaning and peace; and to favor the rediscovery of the faith, that source of grace which brings joy and hope to personal, family and social life,” he continued.
Stating that “there is a clear link between the crisis in faith and the crisis in marriage,” the Pope added that “matrimony is a Gospel in itself, a Good News for the world of today, especially the dechristianized world.”
“The fragility, even sin, of many Christians … is a great obstacle to evangelization and to recognizing the force of God that, in faith, meets human weakness,” he continued. “Thus, we cannot speak about the new evangelization without a sincere desire for conversion. The best path to the new evangelization is to let ourselves be reconciled with God and with each other (cf. 2 Cor 5:20). Solemnly purified, Christians can regain a legitimate pride in their dignity as children of God, created in his image and redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and they can experience his joy in order to share it with everyone, both near and far.”

How the Stigmata of St Francis differed from that of St Pio (fleshy nails)

From http://cantuar.blogspot.ie/2012/10/how-stigmata-of-st-francis-differed.html

There is something interesting about the stigmata of Saint Francis. His was different than that of Padre Pio. In Saint Francis, the wounds contained fleshy nails. These nails could move within the wounds. Here's the account from the Fioretti:

On the death of St Francis his glorious, the sacred stigmata were seen and kissed, not only by the said Lady Jacopa and her company, but by many citizens of Assisi; among others by a knight of great renown, named Jerome, who had doubted much, and disbelieved them; as St Thomas disbelieved the wounds of Christ.

And to assure himself and others, he boldly, in the presence both of the brethren and of seculars, moved the nails in the hands and feet, and strongly pressed the wound in the side. By which means he was enabled to bear constant witness to the truth of the miracle, swearing on the Gospels that he had seen and touched the glorious, holy stigmata of St Francis, the which were seen and touched also by St Clare and her religious, who were present at his burial.

Here is another description of the wounds and their fleshly nails:

For upon his hands and feet began immediately to appear the figures of the nails, as he had seen them on the Body of Christ crucified, who had appeared to him in the likeness of a seraph. And thus the hands and feet appeared pierced through the midst by the nails, the heads whereof were seen outside the flesh in the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet, and the points of the nails stood out at the back of the hands, and the feet in such wise that they appeared to be twisted and bent back upon themselves, and the portion thereof that was bent back upon themselves, and the portion thereof that was bent back or twisted stood out free from the flesh, so that one could put a finger through the same as through a ring; and the heads of the nails were round and black. In like manner, on the right side appeared the image of an unhealed wound, as if made by a lance, and still red and bleeding, from which drops of blood often flowed from the holy breast of St Francis, staining his tunic and his drawers.

Clearly, this stigmata of the Seraphic Father Saint Francis was different from that of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina.

Gay Actor Rupert Everett Says There's Nothing Worse Than Being Brought Up By Two Gay Dads

Huffington Post September 16, 2012:

Gay British actor Rupert Everett is raising eyebrows with recent comments he made about gay parenting.
The star of films like "Shakespeare In Love" and "My Best Friend's Wedding" told the Sunday Times Magazine that he "can't think of anything worse than being brought up by two gay dads... Some people might not agree with that. Fine! That's just my opinion."
Everett, who is currently playing Oscar Wilde in "The Judas Kiss" in London, revealed his unexpected viewpoint while discussing his current boyfriend meeting his mother, Sara. She told the magazine:

"In the past, I have said that I wish Rupert was straight and, I probably still feel that... I’d like him to have a pretty wife. I’d like him to have children. He’s so good with children. He’d make a wonderful father... But I also think a child needs a mummy and a daddy. I’ve told him that and he takes it very well. He doesn’t get angry with me. He just smiles.”

Everett added, "I’m not speaking on behalf of the gay community. In fact, I don’t feel like I’m part of any ‘community.' The only community I belong to is humanity and we’ve got too many children on the planet, so it’s good not to have more.”
The Telegraph notes that Ben Summerskill, Chief Executive of LGBT Rights Advocacy group Stonewall, responded to the actor, saying, "Rupert should get out a little bit more to see the facts for himself. There is absolutely no evidence that the kids of gay parents suffer in the way they are being brought up or in how they develop."
This isn't the first time Everett, who has previously called gay parenting "egocentric and vain," has caused controversy. In 2009, just days after Michael Jackson died, the actor called the musician "a freak" who "looked like a character from Shrek" and was a "black to white minstrel."

St. Francis of Assisi Was Not a Garden Gnome

Sancte Pater September 30, 2012:

By Father George Rutler
On October 4, we give thanks for one of the best known and least known of all saints. Least known, that is, because Francis of Assisi was not a garden gnome, or a doe-eyed hippy skipping with animals and hugging trees. Garden gnomes do not bear the Stigmata of Christ's wounds. A vegetarian? He berated a friar for wanting to abstain from meat on a feast day and said that on Christmas he would “smear the wall with meat.” An iconoclast? He was meticulous in the ceremonials of the Mass, insisting that every sacred vessel and vestment be the best, and his Rule dismissed any friar who parted from the Pope on the slightest article of Faith. A pacifist? He joined the Fifth Crusade, simmering ever since eleven thousand Muslims had invaded Rome and desecrated the tombs of Peter and Paul in the year 846. Francis went to North Africa in 1219 to convert the Muslims and confronted Sultan al Malik al-Kamil, who had just slaughtered five thousand Christians at Damietta. Francis fearlessly told the Sultan: “It is just that Christians invade the land you inhabit, for you blaspheme the name of Christ and alienate everyone you can from His worship.” While counselors called for the beheading of Francis according to Muslim law, the Sultan was so taken with the humility of Francis that he only had him beaten, chained and imprisoned, and then he released him.
We are engaged in similar challenges today. Of course, we are aware of the crisis in the Middle East, but the strife is worldwide. Consider Nigeria, whose Catholic population in the last century has soared to nearly twenty million. Last week, under Muslim pressure, the government stopped the Eternal Word Television Network from broadcasting. I have worked with this worldwide Catholic network for twenty-five years and have many Nigerian friends. Two days after the Nigerian bishops objected to this censorship, a Catholic church was destroyed by Muslims, who killed and wounded many worshipers. This seems to be under the radar of our own government and the mainstream media.
May Saint Francis be our model in how to deal with the threats of our own day: not enfeebled by sentimentality and relativism, but armed with a Franciscan zeal for the conversion of souls. We may not have Francis’ charm, but we have in our hearts and churches the same God. By the way, the popular “Prayer of Saint Francis,” which begins, “Make me a channel of your peace,” was actually the work of an anonymous author who published it in France in 1912. Its vague theology and lack of mention of Christ, express a semi-Pelagian heresy unworthy of the Saint of Assisi. Let the last words of the real Saint of Assisi be our guide: “I have done what was mine to do; may Christ teach you what you are to do. Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought.”

The Little Faith of Thérèse

From http://catholicyearoffaith.wordpress.com/2012/10/01/the-little-faith-of-therese/

By Guest Blogger Pope Benedict XVI

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today I would like to talk to you about St Thérèse of Lisieux, Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, who lived in this world for only 24 years, at the end of the 19th century, leading a very simple and hidden life but who, after her death and the publication of her writings, became one of the best-known and best-loved saints. “Little Thérèse” has never stopped helping the simplest souls, the little, the poor and the suffering who pray to her. However, she has also illumined the whole Church with her profound spiritual doctrine to the point that Venerable Pope John Paul II chose, in 1997, to give her the title “Doctor of the Church”, in addition to that of Patroness of Missions, which Pius XI had already attributed to her in 1939. My beloved Predecessor described her as an “expert in the scientia amoris” (Novo Millennio Ineunte, n. 42). Thérèse expressed this science, in which she saw the whole truth of the faith shine out in love, mainly in the story of her life, published a year after her death with the title The Story of a Soul. The book immediately met with enormous success, it was translated into many languages and disseminated throughout the world.

I would like to invite you to rediscover this small-great treasure, this luminous comment on the Gospel lived to the full! The Story of a Soul, in fact, is a marvellous story of Love, told with such authenticity, simplicity and freshness that the reader cannot but be fascinated by it! But what was this Love that filled Thérèse’s whole life, from childhood to death? Dear friends, this Love has a Face, it has a Name, it is Jesus! The Saint speaks continuously of Jesus. Let us therefore review the important stages of her life, to enter into the heart of her teaching.

Thérèse was born on 2 January 1873 in Alençon, a city in Normandy, in France. She was the last daughter of Louis and Zélie Martin, a married couple and exemplary parents, who were beatified together on 19 October 2008. They had nine children, four of whom died at a tender age. Five daughters were left, who all became religious. Thérèse, at the age of four, was deeply upset by the death of her mother (Ms A 13r). Her father then moved with his daughters to the town of Lisieux, where the Saint was to spend her whole life. Later Thérèse, affected by a serious nervous disorder, was healed by a divine grace which she herself described as the “smile of Our Lady” (ibid., 29v-30v). She then received her First Communion, which was an intense experience (ibid., 35r), and made Jesus in the Eucharist the centre of her life.

The “Grace of Christmas” of 1886 marked the important turning-point, which she called her “complete conversion” (ibid., 44v-45r). In fact she recovered totally, from her childhood hyper-sensitivity and began a “to run as a giant”. At the age of 14, Thérèse became ever closer, with great faith, to the Crucified Jesus. She took to heart the apparently desperate case of a criminal sentenced to death who was impenitent. “I wanted at all costs to prevent him from going to hell”, the Saint wrote, convinced that her prayers would put him in touch with the redeeming Blood of Jesus. It was her first and fundamental experience of spiritual motherhood: “I had such great trust in the Infinite Mercy of Jesus”, she wrote. Together with Mary Most Holy, young Thérèse loved, believed and hoped with “a mother’s heart” (cf. Pr 6/ior).

In November 1887, Thérèse went on pilgrimage to Rome with her father and her sister Céline (ibid., 55v-67r). The culminating moment for her was the Audience with Pope Leo XIII, whom she asked for permission to enter the Carmel of Lisieux when she was only just 15. A year later her wish was granted. She became a Carmelite, “to save souls and to pray for priests” (ibid., 69v).

At the same time, her father began to suffer from a painful and humiliating mental illness. It caused Thérèse great suffering which led her to contemplation of the Face of Jesus in his Passion (ibid., 71rc). Thus, her name as a religious — Sr Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face — expresses the programme of her whole life in communion with the central Mysteries of the Incarnation and the Redemption. Her religious profession, on the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, 8 September 1890, was a true spiritual espousal in evangelical “littleness”, characterized by the symbol of the flower: “It was the Nativity of Mary. What a beautiful feast on which to become the Spouse of Jesus! It was the little new-born Holy Virgin who presented her little Flower to thelittle Jesus” (ibid., 77r).

For Thérèse, being a religious meant being a bride of Jesus and a mother of souls (cf. Ms B, 2v). On the same day, the Saint wrote a prayer which expressed the entire orientation of her life: she asked Jesus for the gift of his infinite Love, to be the smallest, and above all she asked for the salvation of all human being: “That no soul may be damned today” (Pr 2).

Of great importance is her Offering to Merciful Love, made on the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity in 1895 (Ms A, 83v-84r; Pr 6). It was an offering that Thérèse immediately shared with her sisters, since she was already acting novice mistress.

Ten years after the “Grace of Christmas” in 1896, came the “Grace of Easter”, which opened the last period of Thérèse’s life with the beginning of her passion in profound union with the Passion of Jesus. It was the passion of her body, with the illness that led to her death through great suffering, but it was especially the passion of the soul, with a very painful trial of faith (Ms C, 4v-7v). With Mary beside the Cross of Jesus, Thérèse then lived the most heroic faith, as a light in the darkness that invaded her soul. The Carmelite was aware that she was living this great trial for the salvation of all the atheists of the modern world, whom she called “brothers”.

She then lived fraternal love even more intensely (8r-33v): for the sisters of her community, for her two spiritual missionary brothers, for the priests and for all people, especially the most distant. She truly became a “universal sister”! Her lovable, smiling charity was the expression of the profound joy whose secret she reveals: “Jesus, my joy is loving you” (P 45/7). In this context of suffering, living the greatest love in the smallest things of daily life, the Saint brought to fulfilment her vocation to be Love in the heart of the Church (cf. Ms B, 3v).

Thérèse died on the evening of 30 September 1897, saying the simple words, “My God, I love you!”, looking at the Crucifix she held tightly in her hands. These last words of the Saint are the key to her whole doctrine, to her interpretation of the Gospel the act of love, expressed in her last breath was as it were the continuous breathing of her soul, the beating of her heart. The simple words “Jesus I love you”, are at the heart of all her writings. The act of love for Jesus immersed her in the Most Holy Trinity. She wrote: “Ah, you know, Divine Jesus I love you / The spirit of Love enflames me with his fire, / It is in loving you that I attract the Father” (P 17/2).

Dear friends, we too, with St Thérèse of the Child Jesus must be able to repeat to the Lord every day that we want to live of love for him and for others, to learn at the school of the saints to love authentically and totally. Thérèse is one of the “little” ones of the Gospel who let themselves be led by God to the depths of his Mystery. A guide for all, especially those who, in the People of God, carry out their ministry as theologians. With humility and charity, faith and hope, Thérèse continually entered the heart of Sacred Scripture which contains the Mystery of Christ. And this interpretation of the Bible, nourished by the science of love, is not in opposition to academic knowledge. Thescience of the saints, in fact, of which she herself speaks on the last page of her The Story of a Soul, is the loftiest science.

“All the saints have understood and in a special way perhaps those who fill the universe with the radiance of the evangelical doctrine. Was it not from prayer that St Paul, St Augustine, St John of the Cross, St Thomas Aquinas, Francis, Dominic, and so many other friends of God drew thatwonderful science which has enthralled the loftiest minds?” (cf. Ms C 36r). Inseparable from the Gospel, for Thérèse the Eucharist was the sacrament of Divine Love that stoops to the extreme to raise us to him. In her last Letter, on an image that represents Jesus the Child in the consecrated Host, the Saint wrote these simple words: “I cannot fear a God who made himself so small for me! […] I love him! In fact, he is nothing but Love and Mercy!” (LT 266).

In the Gospel Thérèse discovered above all the Mercy of Jesus, to the point that she said: “To me, He has given his Infinite Mercy, and it is in this ineffable mirror that I contemplate his other divine attributes. Therein all appear to me radiant with Love. His Justice, even more perhaps than the rest, seems to me to be clothed with Love” (Ms A, 84r).

In these words she expresses herself in the last lines of The Story of a Soul: “I have only to open the Holy Gospels and at once I breathe the perfume of Jesus’ life, and then I know which way to run; and it is not to the first place, but to the last, that I hasten…. I feel that even had I on my conscience every crime one could commit… my heart broken with sorrow, I would throw myself into the arms of my Saviour Jesus, because I know that he loves the Prodigal Son” who returns to him. (Ms C, 36v-37r).

“Trust and Love” are therefore the final point of the account of her life, two words, like beacons, that illumined the whole of her journey to holiness, to be able to guide others on the same “little way of trust and love”, of spiritual childhood (cf. Ms C, 2v-3r; LT 226).

Trust, like that of the child who abandons himself in God’s hands, inseparable from the strong, radical commitment of true love, which is the total gift of self for ever, as the Saint says, contemplating Mary: “Loving is giving all, and giving oneself” (Why I love thee, Mary, P 54/22). Thus Thérèse points out to us all that Christian life consists in living to the full the grace of Baptism in the total gift of self to the Love of the Father, in order to live like Christ, in the fire of the Holy Spirit, his same love for all the others.

Why Pray the Rosary? by Brother John Samaha, S.M.

From http://www.pattimaguirearmstrong.com/2012/09/why-pray-rosary-by-brother-john-samaha.html

 More than a century ago a proud university student boarded a train in France and sat next to an older man who seemed to be a peasant of comfortable means. The brash student noticed that the older gentleman was slipping beads through his fingers. He was praying the rosary.

     "Sir, do you still believe in such outdated things?" the student inquired. 
     "Yes, I do. Don't you?" the man responded. The student laughed and admitted, "I do not believe in such silly things. Take my advice. Throw the rosary out the window and learn what science has to say about it."

     "Science? I do not understand this science. Perhaps you can explain it to me," the man said humbly, tears welling in his eyes.

     The university student noticed that the man was deeply moved. To avoid hurting the older person's feelings, he said, "Please give me your address and I will send you some literature to explain the matter to you."

     The man fumbled in the inside pocket of his coat and pulled out his business card. On reading the card, the student lowered his head in shame and was speechless. The card read: "Louis Pasteur, Director of the Institute of Scientific Research, Paris." The deluded student had encountered his country's leading chemist and the man who would give the world the scientific process that would bear his name--pasturization. 

This story is part of the collection in the Amazing Grace for the Catholic Heart.