.
On
the 25th anniversary of the illicit ordination of four bishops by
traditionalist Bishop Marcel Lefebvre, the Society of Saint Pius X
indicated a definitive break of talks with the Catholic Church.
In a statement June 27, three of the four bishops originally ordained by
Lefebvre expressed “their filial gratitude towards their venerable
founder who, after so many years spent serving the Church and the
Sovereign Pontiff, so as to safeguard the Faith and the Catholic
priesthood, did not hesitate to suffer the unjust accusation of
disobedience.”
The document – titled “Declaration on the occasion of the 25th
anniversary of the episcopal consecrations (30th June 1988 – 27th June
2013)” – is signed by Bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de
Mallerais and Alfonso de Galarreta.
Bishop Richard Williamson, also ordained by Lefebvre, was expelled last year from the society.
The group was founded in 1970 by the French native Archbishop Lefebvre
in response to errors he believed had crept into the Catholic Church
following the Second Vatican Council, which took place from 1962-1965.
Interpretation and legacy of the Second Vatican Council was a major
stumbling block for the society in their ongoing negotiations with the
Vatican aimed at healing their 24-year rift.
The society has also had a strained relationship with the Church since
its founder ordained four bishops against the will of Pope John Paul II
in 1988.
In their statement Thursday, the group contradicted now-retired Pope
Benedict XVI's stance on Vatican II. The letter made explicit reference
to the “hermeneutic of continuity,” rejecting the interpretive lens by
which Benedict XVI saw the conciliar documents in light of the Church's
tradition.
The bishops say that the documents themselves have grave errors and that
they cannot be interpreted without clashing with tradition.
The “cause of the grave errors which are in the process of demolishing
the Church does not reside in a bad interpretation of the conciliar
texts – a 'hermeneutic of rupture' which would be opposed to a
'hermeneutic of reform in continuity,'” they wrote, “but truly in the
texts themselves, by virtue of the unheard of choice made by Vatican
II.”
The group also claims that the Second Vatican Council “inaugurated a new
type of magisterium, hitherto unheard of in the Church, without roots
in Tradition; a magisterium resolved to reconcile Catholic doctrine with
liberal ideas; a magisterium imbued with the modernist ideas of
subjectivism, of immanentism and of perpetual evolution.”
The document argues that “the reign of Christ is no longer the
preoccupation of the ecclesiastical authorities,” and that the liberal
spirit in the Church is manifested “in religious liberty, ecumenism,
collegiality and the New Mass.”
Because of religious liberty, they claim, the Church is being
“shamefully guided by human prudence and with such self-doubt that she
asks nothing other from the State than that which the Masonic Lodges
wish to concede to her: the common law in the midst of, and on the same
level as, other religions which she no longer dares call false.”
Because of inter-religious dialogue, “the truth about the one true
Church is silenced,” they also say; while the spirit of collegiality
“represents the destruction of authority and in consequence the ruin of
Christian institutions: families, seminaries, religious institutes.”
The Lefebvrist bishops save their harshest criticism to the Novus Ordo
Mass, promulgated in 1969 by Pope Paul VI. “This Mass is penetrated with
an ecumenical and Protestant spirit, democratic and humanist, which
empties out the sacrifice of the Cross.”
The traditionalist bishops announce that, in practice, the dialogue with
the Vatican is over and that from now on, they will wait “either when
Rome returns to Tradition and to the Faith of all time – which would
re-establish order in the Church.”
Or, “when she explicitly acknowledges our right to profess integrally
the Faith and to reject the errors which oppose it, with the right and
the duty for us to oppose publicly the errors and the proponents of
these errors, whoever they may be – which would allow the beginning of a
re-establishing of order.”
Meanwhile “we persevere in the defense of Catholic Tradition and our hope remains entire,” the statement concludes.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Monday, June 24, 2013
Abortion in Ireland
From http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2013/06/abortion-in-ireland
The “Night of the Big Wind” is still the stuff of folklore in Ireland. On January 6, 1839, an unexpected hurricane slammed into the Emerald Isle from the North Atlantic, decimating neighborhoods from County Mayo to Dublin and becoming the worst storm ever recorded in Irish history. Waves were said to have crashed over Ireland’s towering Cliffs of Moher in County Clare. Perhaps most striking was the weather pattern in the run-up to the storm: an unexpectedly strong snowfall on January 5 followed by a warm front on the Epiphany, colliding with a second cold front that would produce the first of the hurricane-force winds.
The present political uproar over abortion law in Ireland—one of only three western European nations, together with Poland and Malta, which continue to ban the practice—seems to have arrived with similar ferocity. The warning signs, however, are decades-old.
Ireland has been “abortion-free,” as pro-life group Youth Defence calls it, for as long as anyone can remember. The illegality of abortion has been codified in some form since 1861, and in 1983 the Constitution of Ireland was explicitly amended by the public to guarantee the equal right to life of the mother and the unborn child. The measure passed with sixty-seven percent of the vote in a decade when abortion restrictions were being repealed all around the world.
Since then, global abortion rights organizations have aggressively targeted the island nation. The Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA), associated with the International Planned Parenthood Federation, violated Irish law repeatedly in the 1990s—most recently advising women to hide their abortions from authorities, putting women’s lives in danger in the event of postoperative complications. And several thousand women receive assistance each year to seek abortions overseas in Great Britain, though the proportion of Irish women who receive abortions is dwarfed by the abortion rate in the United Kingdom and the Unites States.
Meanwhile, Ireland has maintained one of the lowest maternal mortality rates in the world. It is safer to be an expectant mother in pro-life Ireland than pro-choice America or Britain.
Ireland’s experience contradicts the “legal abortion makes pregnancy safer” logic, which perhaps explains why the pro-abortion movement has had its eyes trained on Ireland for so long. Ireland is an example of a healthcare system where the rights of both the baby and the mother are upheld equally—to the detriment of no one.
The next chapter of the abortion debate unfolded in 1992, when the Irish Supreme Court ruled that women had the right to an abortion if the mother’s life was imperiled by the pregnancy. Known as the “X case,” the decision sparked an ongoing debate about how to interpret the legislative mandate from the court, with successive governments reluctant to touch the issue for fear of upsetting the public.
The attack on pro-life Ireland resumed with a vengeance in 2005, when three women accused Ireland of violating their basic rights under the European Convention on Human Rights by prohibiting abortion. A, B and C v. Ireland, as the case was known, was a major pro-life victory. In its ruling, the European Court of Human Rights threw out the notion that abortion was a fundamental human right.
The latest uproar, which threatens to finally overthrow the pro-life consensus in Ireland, stems from the case of Savita Halappanavar, an Indian woman who miscarried and died of sepsis during her pregnancy in Galway. The case has become the rallying cry of abortion rights supporters, who maintain (along with Savita’s husband) that her OB/GYN, Dr. Katherine Astbury, refused to provide her with a life-saving abortion. In response, Prime Minister Enda Kenny has proposed a bill that would “clarify” the abortion statute in Ireland, making a clear exception in the constitutional ban for cases of maternal health and including an unrelated provision allowing for suicide as a reason for seeking terminating the pregnancy.
The problem is that the legislation is redundant at best and a Trojan horse at worst. Abortion is already permitted when the attending physician deems the pregnancy a threat to the mother’s life. In fact, once the diagnosis of life-threatening sepsis came, an abortion was planned by Dr. Astbury. The problem was that the diagnosis came a day too late. As Eilis O’Hanlon of the Independent summarized, “It is clear that Savita died because she had severe sepsis which was not properly treated; an earlier abortion may have saved her life, but the reason she did not get one was because doctors failed to ascertain that her life was in danger.”
This hasn’t stopped Kenny, who continues to insist he is a pro-life politician working to bring “clarity” to the law. Never mind that the organization representing Ireland’s doctors feels that the law is unnecessary, and never mind that countless medical experts have testified that abortion can compound the risk for women contemplating suicide.
The result, whether Kenny intends it or not, will mean a fatal break in the Irish pro-life consensus. The suicide loophole, which allows a woman to have an abortion if she receives the approval of three doctors, will quickly be exploited when information spreads regarding who the doctors sympathetic to the pro-choice cause are (see the similar case of New Zealand). And, within no time at all, Ireland will have de facto abortion on demand.
But as opposition has grown, Kenny has hunkered down—realizing that the legislation has become a referendum on his government. He’s forbidden members of his party, Fine Gael, from voting their conscience on the bill, slated for a vote this summer. All the while, public opinion has held remarkably steady on the basic question of abortion. As of mid-2013 only thirty-nine percent of those polled supported abortion on demand, indicating little movement since 1983.
Despite this, today a majority of the Irish public supports Kenny’s bill, swayed by the Savita case—not to mention other factors chipping away at the pro-life position for years, like the eroding influence of the Roman Catholic Church. What the public fails to see, however, is that the bill is only the first front in a long-planned, well-coordinated storm.
The “Night of the Big Wind” is still the stuff of folklore in Ireland. On January 6, 1839, an unexpected hurricane slammed into the Emerald Isle from the North Atlantic, decimating neighborhoods from County Mayo to Dublin and becoming the worst storm ever recorded in Irish history. Waves were said to have crashed over Ireland’s towering Cliffs of Moher in County Clare. Perhaps most striking was the weather pattern in the run-up to the storm: an unexpectedly strong snowfall on January 5 followed by a warm front on the Epiphany, colliding with a second cold front that would produce the first of the hurricane-force winds.
The present political uproar over abortion law in Ireland—one of only three western European nations, together with Poland and Malta, which continue to ban the practice—seems to have arrived with similar ferocity. The warning signs, however, are decades-old.
Ireland has been “abortion-free,” as pro-life group Youth Defence calls it, for as long as anyone can remember. The illegality of abortion has been codified in some form since 1861, and in 1983 the Constitution of Ireland was explicitly amended by the public to guarantee the equal right to life of the mother and the unborn child. The measure passed with sixty-seven percent of the vote in a decade when abortion restrictions were being repealed all around the world.
Since then, global abortion rights organizations have aggressively targeted the island nation. The Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA), associated with the International Planned Parenthood Federation, violated Irish law repeatedly in the 1990s—most recently advising women to hide their abortions from authorities, putting women’s lives in danger in the event of postoperative complications. And several thousand women receive assistance each year to seek abortions overseas in Great Britain, though the proportion of Irish women who receive abortions is dwarfed by the abortion rate in the United Kingdom and the Unites States.
Meanwhile, Ireland has maintained one of the lowest maternal mortality rates in the world. It is safer to be an expectant mother in pro-life Ireland than pro-choice America or Britain.
Ireland’s experience contradicts the “legal abortion makes pregnancy safer” logic, which perhaps explains why the pro-abortion movement has had its eyes trained on Ireland for so long. Ireland is an example of a healthcare system where the rights of both the baby and the mother are upheld equally—to the detriment of no one.
The next chapter of the abortion debate unfolded in 1992, when the Irish Supreme Court ruled that women had the right to an abortion if the mother’s life was imperiled by the pregnancy. Known as the “X case,” the decision sparked an ongoing debate about how to interpret the legislative mandate from the court, with successive governments reluctant to touch the issue for fear of upsetting the public.
The attack on pro-life Ireland resumed with a vengeance in 2005, when three women accused Ireland of violating their basic rights under the European Convention on Human Rights by prohibiting abortion. A, B and C v. Ireland, as the case was known, was a major pro-life victory. In its ruling, the European Court of Human Rights threw out the notion that abortion was a fundamental human right.
The latest uproar, which threatens to finally overthrow the pro-life consensus in Ireland, stems from the case of Savita Halappanavar, an Indian woman who miscarried and died of sepsis during her pregnancy in Galway. The case has become the rallying cry of abortion rights supporters, who maintain (along with Savita’s husband) that her OB/GYN, Dr. Katherine Astbury, refused to provide her with a life-saving abortion. In response, Prime Minister Enda Kenny has proposed a bill that would “clarify” the abortion statute in Ireland, making a clear exception in the constitutional ban for cases of maternal health and including an unrelated provision allowing for suicide as a reason for seeking terminating the pregnancy.
The problem is that the legislation is redundant at best and a Trojan horse at worst. Abortion is already permitted when the attending physician deems the pregnancy a threat to the mother’s life. In fact, once the diagnosis of life-threatening sepsis came, an abortion was planned by Dr. Astbury. The problem was that the diagnosis came a day too late. As Eilis O’Hanlon of the Independent summarized, “It is clear that Savita died because she had severe sepsis which was not properly treated; an earlier abortion may have saved her life, but the reason she did not get one was because doctors failed to ascertain that her life was in danger.”
This hasn’t stopped Kenny, who continues to insist he is a pro-life politician working to bring “clarity” to the law. Never mind that the organization representing Ireland’s doctors feels that the law is unnecessary, and never mind that countless medical experts have testified that abortion can compound the risk for women contemplating suicide.
The result, whether Kenny intends it or not, will mean a fatal break in the Irish pro-life consensus. The suicide loophole, which allows a woman to have an abortion if she receives the approval of three doctors, will quickly be exploited when information spreads regarding who the doctors sympathetic to the pro-choice cause are (see the similar case of New Zealand). And, within no time at all, Ireland will have de facto abortion on demand.
But as opposition has grown, Kenny has hunkered down—realizing that the legislation has become a referendum on his government. He’s forbidden members of his party, Fine Gael, from voting their conscience on the bill, slated for a vote this summer. All the while, public opinion has held remarkably steady on the basic question of abortion. As of mid-2013 only thirty-nine percent of those polled supported abortion on demand, indicating little movement since 1983.
Despite this, today a majority of the Irish public supports Kenny’s bill, swayed by the Savita case—not to mention other factors chipping away at the pro-life position for years, like the eroding influence of the Roman Catholic Church. What the public fails to see, however, is that the bill is only the first front in a long-planned, well-coordinated storm.
Spokesman says parts of Lourdes will be closed for months
From http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/06/24/spokesman-says-parts-of-lourdes-will-be-closed-for-months/
Work crews rushed to clear mud and remove debris after a massive flood inundated sections of the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes so that tourists could return to the popular pilgrimage site.
Much of the pilgrimage site was under water for two days as floods swamped much of southwestern France.
Mathias Terrier, who is in charge of communications at the shrine, said it sustained millions of dollars in damage. No date for reopening has been set.
It was the second time in eight months that the normally placid Gave de Pau River broke its banks, forcing officials to close the shrine. Flash floods in October caused an estimated £2 million in damage.
“The damage is much more significant than in 2012,” the shrine reported on its website.
Mr Terrier told the press that the grotto had been under five feet of water and the vast subterranean church was inundated.
The grotto is where Mary is reported to have appeared to St Bernadette Soubirous in 1858.
Even though lower sections of the pilgrimage site were closed, Masses continued to be celebrated in the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception above the grotto.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr Terrier said the grotto may reopen in a few days but that some churches, prayer rooms and buildings would be closed for months.
“Some facilities will probably remain closed for the rest of the season until October,” Mr Terrier said.
The flooding came at the worst possible time of year for Lourdes, which depends on the summer influx of pilgrims. Nearly six million pilgrims, many of them sick and weak, visit the grotto annually, believing that the waters hold healing powers.
Three people were killed when they were swept away by the rushing waters caused by a day of heavy rain and rapid melting of snow from the nearby Pyrenees. Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes, camp grounds and hotels. At the peak of the flooding last week, rescuers were concerned with bringing weak and sick pilgrims to safety.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State, sent a message to Bishop Nicolas Brouwet of Tarbes and Lourdes saying Pope Francis was praying for the three people who died because of the flooding and for all those who have been displaced. The Pope, he said, also hoped Catholics would be generous in helping fund the clean-up and restoration of the Marian shrine.
The shrine put out an appeal for donations to help repair the damage. Insurance is expected to cover much of the damage, but it is not expected to cover the entire cost of repairs and cleanup.
The French government declared Lourdes and the surrounding area a disaster zone. French President Francois Hollande, Interior Minister Manuel Valls and Bishop Brouwet joined Lourdes Mayor Jean-Pierre Artiganave on a tour of the damage.
Mr Artiganave told Agence France-Presse that the flooding left his community “traumatised”.
“Lourdes has one element of good luck,” he said. “It’s that the world is generous with Lourdes. When Lourdes is in trouble – we saw it in October – people respond.”
Work crews rushed to clear mud and remove debris after a massive flood inundated sections of the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes so that tourists could return to the popular pilgrimage site.
Much of the pilgrimage site was under water for two days as floods swamped much of southwestern France.
Mathias Terrier, who is in charge of communications at the shrine, said it sustained millions of dollars in damage. No date for reopening has been set.
It was the second time in eight months that the normally placid Gave de Pau River broke its banks, forcing officials to close the shrine. Flash floods in October caused an estimated £2 million in damage.
“The damage is much more significant than in 2012,” the shrine reported on its website.
Mr Terrier told the press that the grotto had been under five feet of water and the vast subterranean church was inundated.
The grotto is where Mary is reported to have appeared to St Bernadette Soubirous in 1858.
Even though lower sections of the pilgrimage site were closed, Masses continued to be celebrated in the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception above the grotto.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr Terrier said the grotto may reopen in a few days but that some churches, prayer rooms and buildings would be closed for months.
“Some facilities will probably remain closed for the rest of the season until October,” Mr Terrier said.
The flooding came at the worst possible time of year for Lourdes, which depends on the summer influx of pilgrims. Nearly six million pilgrims, many of them sick and weak, visit the grotto annually, believing that the waters hold healing powers.
Three people were killed when they were swept away by the rushing waters caused by a day of heavy rain and rapid melting of snow from the nearby Pyrenees. Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes, camp grounds and hotels. At the peak of the flooding last week, rescuers were concerned with bringing weak and sick pilgrims to safety.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State, sent a message to Bishop Nicolas Brouwet of Tarbes and Lourdes saying Pope Francis was praying for the three people who died because of the flooding and for all those who have been displaced. The Pope, he said, also hoped Catholics would be generous in helping fund the clean-up and restoration of the Marian shrine.
The shrine put out an appeal for donations to help repair the damage. Insurance is expected to cover much of the damage, but it is not expected to cover the entire cost of repairs and cleanup.
The French government declared Lourdes and the surrounding area a disaster zone. French President Francois Hollande, Interior Minister Manuel Valls and Bishop Brouwet joined Lourdes Mayor Jean-Pierre Artiganave on a tour of the damage.
Mr Artiganave told Agence France-Presse that the flooding left his community “traumatised”.
“Lourdes has one element of good luck,” he said. “It’s that the world is generous with Lourdes. When Lourdes is in trouble – we saw it in October – people respond.”
Thursday, June 20, 2013
US President undermines Catholic schools
From http://www.sconews.co.uk/news/29253/us-president-undermines-catholic-schools-after-vatican-prefect-praised-them/
“If towns remain divided—if Catholics have their schools and buildings and Protestants have theirs, if we can’t see ourselves in one another and fear or resentment are allowed to harden—that too encourages division and discourages cooperation,” the US president said.
The US politician made the unfounded claim despite a top Vatican official spelling out the undeniable good done by Catholic education in a speech in Glasgow on Saturday and in his homily at Mass on Friday.
Archbishop Gerhard Müller (below), prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, told an audience in Scotland that Catholic education provided a rare place where ‘intellectual training, moral discipline and religious commitment would come together’ while giving the presitigous Cardinal Winning Lecture on Saturday to officially launch the St Andrews Foundation for Catholic teacher education at Glasgow University. During Mass at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Glasgow, on Friday night he said that ‘the Catholic school is vitally important … a critical component of the Church,’ adding that Catholic education provides young people with a wonderful opportunity to ‘grow up with Jesus.’
Mr Obama is in Northern Ireland to take part in the two day G8 Summit at the Lough Erne resort in Enneskillen.
The US President has made an alarming
call for an end to Catholic education in Northern Ireland in spite of
the fact that Archbishop Gerhard Müller told Scots that Catholic
education was 'a critical component of the Church.’
President Barack Obama (above), repeated the oft
disproved claim that Catholic education increases division in front of
an audience of 2000 young people, including many Catholics, at Belfast’s
Waterfront hall when he arrived in the country this morning.“If towns remain divided—if Catholics have their schools and buildings and Protestants have theirs, if we can’t see ourselves in one another and fear or resentment are allowed to harden—that too encourages division and discourages cooperation,” the US president said.
The US politician made the unfounded claim despite a top Vatican official spelling out the undeniable good done by Catholic education in a speech in Glasgow on Saturday and in his homily at Mass on Friday.
Archbishop Gerhard Müller (below), prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, told an audience in Scotland that Catholic education provided a rare place where ‘intellectual training, moral discipline and religious commitment would come together’ while giving the presitigous Cardinal Winning Lecture on Saturday to officially launch the St Andrews Foundation for Catholic teacher education at Glasgow University. During Mass at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Glasgow, on Friday night he said that ‘the Catholic school is vitally important … a critical component of the Church,’ adding that Catholic education provides young people with a wonderful opportunity to ‘grow up with Jesus.’
Mr Obama is in Northern Ireland to take part in the two day G8 Summit at the Lough Erne resort in Enneskillen.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Sunday, June 16, 2013
The Little Saint Who Loved the Lord
From http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/the-little-saint-who-loved-the-lord/
As we travel along the Italian and French Riviera on our way to
Lourdes, France, we have always passed by Toulouse — and, previously, we
never thought to see what the Lord had for us there.
Then we were gifted to learn about a little saint, not well known in
the United States, but powerful in her region of France: St. Germaine du
Pibrac, who was born in 1579. Her shrine is about 15 miles east of
Toulouse, and it is a tribute to the "Little Saint of the Unwanted."
She is so well loved by the people of the area that her feast day, June
15, is a cause for celebration on June 15 and 16. The theme this year
is "With Germaine, Celebrate the Joy of Believing."
The turnout of local people is so great that the little church where
she is laid out was not big enough to accommodate all who came, so the
townspeople eventually built a beautiful basilica in her honor. It was
begun on the feast of her death in 1901 and completed in 1965.
Saintly Suffering
This precious girl’s story is one of the saddest accounts we have ever
written about. She was born with a crippled and paralyzed right arm and
scrofula, a form of tuberculosis that affects the neck. No one knew for
sure who her parents were. She might have been left at the doorstep as a
baby. She may have been the daughter of Laurent Cousin’s first wife. He
took her in as his child but never cared for her. He remarried, and his
new wife hated Germaine. She treated Germaine terribly. The child was
kept away from her stepfamily, allowed to sleep under a stairway in the
barn but never allowed to live in the house.
She lived in rags and never had a pair of shoes. She ate the stale
bread and water that was left for her at the front door of the house
every day.
The mood of her stepmother usually determined how badly St. Germaine
would be treated. At any given time, the local farmers could see welts
and bruises on her hands and face. Her father never interfered with his
wife’s ill treatment of the girl.
Holy Hunger
The only concession Germaine’s father seemed to give her was permission
to go to Mass every week, which she took advantage of whenever she
could. This is where the Lord spoke to her. He showed her how her life
could be; he gave her an understanding of the sacraments.
Germaine developed a hunger for the Mass. During the week, as she was
tending her sheep, she could hear the church bells ring for the
beginning of Mass. She wanted so badly to be there. Her spirit soared
from the field — she took part in the Mass spiritually.
Miraculous Moments
But a time came when that was not enough for her, due to her hunger for
the Eucharist, which was to be the catalyst that brought about one of
the miracles given to her.
One day, the Lord spoke to Germaine’s heart. She was out in the field,
tending the sheep, as usual. She heard the bells that called the people
to Mass and knew they were calling her to Mass, too.
So she took her distaff — a staff with a cleft end for holding flax,
which she used for spinning her wool — and thrust it into the ground.
Then she huddled her flock of sheep around the distaff and told them to stay there together, not to wander off.
She ran to the church to take part in the Mass, while the sheep stayed
behind, as instructed. That the sheep stayed together was a miracle,
considering there were wolves all around them.
God had helped her meet him in the Eucharist — and he continued to do so.
Germaine’s time at Mass was not only the high point of her day; it
became the driving force in her life. She would gladly suffer all that
her stepmother and the weather in the fields and her illness and
deformity handed out to her. But she could not do without her Lord Jesus
in the Eucharist.
Another miraculous manifestation that has been the talk of the village
and St. Germaine’s followers all these years is what is called the
"Miracle of the Flowers."
Germaine gave scraps of bread to the various beggars who came to her
for help. But the few scraps she was given for her meals were not
enough, so she snuck into the house to take crusts of bread from the
kitchen.
One day, after Germaine had taken bread from the kitchen and was
heading down the road to give it to some of the destitute people who
depended on her, her stepmother discovered what she was doing. She ran
after Germaine, calling her a thief, and demanded she open her apron so
that the bread would fall out. This took place in the center of town,
where everyone could hear. The stepmother planned it this way so that
she could justify her wicked behavior towards the girl before the whole
village. Germaine obediently opened her apron, thinking the bread would
fall out and she would have to suffer the wrath of her stepmother. But
the Lord stepped in, and, rather than bread falling out, beautiful
flowers cascaded to the ground. The flowers were not found in that area
of France, and definitely not in the wintertime, which is when this
occurred. Praise Jesus!
More Miracles
Eventually, Germaine’s illnesses caught up with her, and the Lord took
her to heaven, in 1601, at the age of just 22. When the villagers heard
about her death, they were devastated.
Great pains were taken to make the day she died the most memorable one of her life.
Her body was brought, in solemn procession, to the church she loved so much, and she was buried there.
That was the end of Germaine’s story, or so everyone thought. But 43
years later, in 1644, a woman in the parish died. She had requested to
be buried in the church near the altar. When the workmen dug up the
floor near the altar, which is where Germaine was buried, they found
Germaine’s body perfectly intact.
Miracle upon miracle came about through her intercession. A beautiful
urn was created for her body, which is venerated inside the church to
this day.
St. Germaine is a powerful intercessor. Get to know her. Ask for her help. She is very kind; she will come to your aid.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Pro Life Campaign condemns Taoiseach’s ‘disgusting attempt to demonise pro-life movement’
From http://prolifecampaign.ie/?page_id=3073
The Pro Life Campaign (PLC) has rejected the Taoiseach's latest reference to alleged intimidating or unpleasant contact from people concerned about the Government's abortioon proposal, saying he is out to demonise the pro-life movement.
“It’s interesting that the last time the Taoiseach complained of harassing or unpleasant behaviour was just after the highly successful Unite for Life vigil in January, said PLC spokesperson Cora Sherlock. “Now the Taoiseach is making lurid claims again – just after the largest ever pro-life demonstration in Ireland, the National Vigil for Life last Saturday.”
“This is nothing more than spin designed to distract from the Bill. It’s a disgusting attempt to demonise the pro-life movement rather than debate the proposed legislation”, Ms Sherlock said.
“We remind him that pro-life people also suffer harassment. Only last week people at the Pro Life Campaign received death threats. Instead of issuing a press release, we reported it to the Gardai and we would encourage the Taoiseach to do likewise. That way, he is not putting ideas into the heads of other disturbed people who might piggyback on this or any other campaign.
“We believe that the Taoiseach is trying to make capital out of this situation, to distract from his highly dangerous and unjust abortion proposal. We remind him that the real victims here are the unborn children who will be vulnerable to abortion on request – and some at a late term of pregnancy – on the basis of a threat of suicide. And the mothers, some of whom will suffer negative mental health consequences in the future as a result of their abortion.
"The Government is also trying to confuse people into thinking that the proposed abortion legislation is restrictive," Ms. Sherlock said.
“The Taoiseach claimed today that the number of children who will lose their lives every year will not rise above the 30 who die as a result of necessary medical interventions. Is he saying that no abortions will take place on the suicide ground? Who is advising him to say this and do they have any respect for the truth?” Ms Sherlock asked.
Ms Sherlock noted that pro-life Government TDs and Senators had been pressurised by the Taoiseach and his Ministers over the legislation.
“People have been bullied and cajoled, and County Councillors have been drafted in to threaten TDs and Senator that they will lose their political support if they vote against abortion. This is not the right way to pass a law in a democracy. It's time to shout stop."
Monday, June 10, 2013
St. Columba and the Loch Ness Monster
From http://www.fisheaters.com/animals13.html
St. Columba (also known as "Columcille") was born of the O'Donnell Clan in Garten, County Donegal, Ireland, on December 7, 521; he died on 9 June, 597. In between, he founded monasteries in and evangelized Ireland and Scotland. The story of his meeting Nessie -- said to have taken place in A.D. 565 -- was first recorded by Adamnan in "The Life of Saint Columba" sometime in the late 7th Century. An excerpt:
CHAPTER XXVIII
How an Aquatic Monster was driven off by Virtue of the Blessed Man's Prayer.
On another occasion also, when the blessed man was living for some days in the province of the Picts, he was obliged to cross the river Nesa; and when he reached the bank of the river, he saw some of the inhabitants burying an unfortunate man, who, according to the account of those who were burying him, was a short time before seized, as he was swimming, and bitten most severely by a monster that lived in the water; his wretched body was, though too late, taken out with a hook, by those who came to his assistance in a boat.
The blessed man, on hearing this, was so far from being dismayed, that he directed one of his companions to swim over and row across the coble that was moored at the farther bank.
And Lugne Mocumin hearing the command of the excellent man, obeyed without the least delay, taking off all his clothes, except his tunic, and leaping into the water.
But the monster, which, so far from being satiated, was only roused for more prey, was lying at the bottom of the stream, and when it felt the water disturbed above by the man swimming, suddenly rushed out, and, giving an awful roar, darted after him, with its mouth wide open, as the man swam in the middle of the stream.
Then the blessed man observing this, raised his holy hand, while all the rest, brethren as well as strangers, were stupefied with terror, and, invoking the name of God, formed the saving sign of the cross in the air, and commanded the ferocious monster, saying, "Thou shalt go no further, nor touch the man; go back with all speed." Then at the voice of the saint, the monster was terrified, and fled more quickly than if it had been pulled back with ropes, though it had just got so near to Lugne, as he swam, that there was not more than the length of a spear-staff between the man and the beast.
Then the brethren seeing that the monster had gone back, and that their comrade Lugne returned to them in the boat safe and sound, were struck with admiration, and gave glory to God in the blessed man. And even the barbarous heathens, who were present, were forced by the greatness of this miracle, which they themselves had seen, to magnify the God of the Christians.
St. Columba (also known as "Columcille") was born of the O'Donnell Clan in Garten, County Donegal, Ireland, on December 7, 521; he died on 9 June, 597. In between, he founded monasteries in and evangelized Ireland and Scotland. The story of his meeting Nessie -- said to have taken place in A.D. 565 -- was first recorded by Adamnan in "The Life of Saint Columba" sometime in the late 7th Century. An excerpt:
CHAPTER XXVIII
How an Aquatic Monster was driven off by Virtue of the Blessed Man's Prayer.
On another occasion also, when the blessed man was living for some days in the province of the Picts, he was obliged to cross the river Nesa; and when he reached the bank of the river, he saw some of the inhabitants burying an unfortunate man, who, according to the account of those who were burying him, was a short time before seized, as he was swimming, and bitten most severely by a monster that lived in the water; his wretched body was, though too late, taken out with a hook, by those who came to his assistance in a boat.
The blessed man, on hearing this, was so far from being dismayed, that he directed one of his companions to swim over and row across the coble that was moored at the farther bank.
And Lugne Mocumin hearing the command of the excellent man, obeyed without the least delay, taking off all his clothes, except his tunic, and leaping into the water.
But the monster, which, so far from being satiated, was only roused for more prey, was lying at the bottom of the stream, and when it felt the water disturbed above by the man swimming, suddenly rushed out, and, giving an awful roar, darted after him, with its mouth wide open, as the man swam in the middle of the stream.
Then the blessed man observing this, raised his holy hand, while all the rest, brethren as well as strangers, were stupefied with terror, and, invoking the name of God, formed the saving sign of the cross in the air, and commanded the ferocious monster, saying, "Thou shalt go no further, nor touch the man; go back with all speed." Then at the voice of the saint, the monster was terrified, and fled more quickly than if it had been pulled back with ropes, though it had just got so near to Lugne, as he swam, that there was not more than the length of a spear-staff between the man and the beast.
Then the brethren seeing that the monster had gone back, and that their comrade Lugne returned to them in the boat safe and sound, were struck with admiration, and gave glory to God in the blessed man. And even the barbarous heathens, who were present, were forced by the greatness of this miracle, which they themselves had seen, to magnify the God of the Christians.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Friday, June 7, 2013
Benedict XVI in retirement: 'I read, I pray. I'm fine.'
From http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=18084
Manfred Lutz, a German scholar who is a member of the Pontifical Council for the Laity and the Pontifical Academy for Life, told Bild Zeitung that he found the retired Pontiff “physically weaker and a bit more stooped” than a few months earlier, but still mentally alert and cheerful. He said that the Pope-emeritus found himself thoroughly in accord with the theological statements of Pope Francis.
Benedict XVI described his current life as quiet and relaxed. “I read, I pray. I’m fine,” he said.
The Italian site Libero, perhaps intending to stir up controversy, wondered whether Benedict’s statement that he agreed with Pope Francis on theological matters could hint that he disagreed with his successor on other issues. But the statement by the former Pontiff—which was relayed by Lutz rather than given in Benedict's own words—contained no such indication.
CWN - June 06, 2013
“I’m fine. I live like a monk,” Benedict XVI told an old German
friend who visited him recently at his new residence in the Mater
Ecclesiae monastery on the Vatican grounds. Manfred Lutz, a German scholar who is a member of the Pontifical Council for the Laity and the Pontifical Academy for Life, told Bild Zeitung that he found the retired Pontiff “physically weaker and a bit more stooped” than a few months earlier, but still mentally alert and cheerful. He said that the Pope-emeritus found himself thoroughly in accord with the theological statements of Pope Francis.
Benedict XVI described his current life as quiet and relaxed. “I read, I pray. I’m fine,” he said.
The Italian site Libero, perhaps intending to stir up controversy, wondered whether Benedict’s statement that he agreed with Pope Francis on theological matters could hint that he disagreed with his successor on other issues. But the statement by the former Pontiff—which was relayed by Lutz rather than given in Benedict's own words—contained no such indication.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Church to beatify father of seven who saved 100 lives
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Odoardo Focherini will be beatified in the Italian city of Carpi on June 15 for his life of faith and dedication to helping those in need, including 100 Jews he helped escape the Nazis.
“One of the Jews whom he saved said, ‘we are the miracles of Odoardo Focherini,’ and they saw his as their savior and angel,” said Focherini’s grandson, Francesco Manicardi.
“His neighbors weren’t just Jews, but also his family, of which there are now 21 great grandsons,” he added during a June 4 Vatican Radio press conference.
Focherini, an Italian journalist and father of seven children, died at 37-years-old in the Hersbrueck Nazi concentration camp in 1944, after a wound in his leg became infected.
On Saturday, June 15, he will also be beatified, the step before being recognized as a saint, for having managed his work and family life as an exemplary Catholic.
Focherini married his beloved wife Maria Marchesi in 1930, and by 1943 they had seven children.
During those years, Focherini helped organize important diocesan events, such as Eucharistic congresses, and in 1939 he became the managing director of L’Avvenire d’Italia, a Catholic newspaper.
He first started helping Jews flee the Nazi persecution in 1942, but his large-scale effort did not begin until Sept. 8, 1943, when he asked his wife’s permission to help provide false identity cards so that the Jewish refugees could cross the Italian-Swiss border.
Bishop Francesco Cavina of Carpi, who also attended today’s press conference, underlined that the beatification “isn’t a fruit of speculation.”
According to the bishop, Focherini showed “no separation between his spiritual and family life.”
“He is a complete man because work, family, apostolate in the Church have been his path to beatification,” he stated.
“He let himself be transformed by Jesus Christ until he, like him, died,” he said.
The postulator of his cause, Franciscan Father Giovangiuseppe Califano, reported that extensive studies clearly showed that his persecutors acted “in odium fidei,” or “in hatred of the faith.”
“The proofs are those (things) he himself revealed (in his writings): that there was an anti-Catholic tone by his interrogators in his first interrogation,” said the Franciscan.
“There was an intention to suppress a Catholic activist,” said Fr. Califano.
According to the postulator, Focherini never uttered “a word of hatred against his persecutors.”
“We can attribute to him, not only the crown of faith, but also the crown of charity,” Fr. Califano said.
He will be beatified in a Mass held at 9:30 a.m. on June 15 in Carpi. Organizers are expecting 4,000 people and around 20 bishops to attend the ceremony.
Odoardo Focherini will be beatified in the Italian city of Carpi on June 15 for his life of faith and dedication to helping those in need, including 100 Jews he helped escape the Nazis.
“One of the Jews whom he saved said, ‘we are the miracles of Odoardo Focherini,’ and they saw his as their savior and angel,” said Focherini’s grandson, Francesco Manicardi.
“His neighbors weren’t just Jews, but also his family, of which there are now 21 great grandsons,” he added during a June 4 Vatican Radio press conference.
Focherini, an Italian journalist and father of seven children, died at 37-years-old in the Hersbrueck Nazi concentration camp in 1944, after a wound in his leg became infected.
On Saturday, June 15, he will also be beatified, the step before being recognized as a saint, for having managed his work and family life as an exemplary Catholic.
Focherini married his beloved wife Maria Marchesi in 1930, and by 1943 they had seven children.
During those years, Focherini helped organize important diocesan events, such as Eucharistic congresses, and in 1939 he became the managing director of L’Avvenire d’Italia, a Catholic newspaper.
He first started helping Jews flee the Nazi persecution in 1942, but his large-scale effort did not begin until Sept. 8, 1943, when he asked his wife’s permission to help provide false identity cards so that the Jewish refugees could cross the Italian-Swiss border.
Bishop Francesco Cavina of Carpi, who also attended today’s press conference, underlined that the beatification “isn’t a fruit of speculation.”
According to the bishop, Focherini showed “no separation between his spiritual and family life.”
“He is a complete man because work, family, apostolate in the Church have been his path to beatification,” he stated.
“He let himself be transformed by Jesus Christ until he, like him, died,” he said.
The postulator of his cause, Franciscan Father Giovangiuseppe Califano, reported that extensive studies clearly showed that his persecutors acted “in odium fidei,” or “in hatred of the faith.”
“The proofs are those (things) he himself revealed (in his writings): that there was an anti-Catholic tone by his interrogators in his first interrogation,” said the Franciscan.
“There was an intention to suppress a Catholic activist,” said Fr. Califano.
According to the postulator, Focherini never uttered “a word of hatred against his persecutors.”
“We can attribute to him, not only the crown of faith, but also the crown of charity,” Fr. Califano said.
He will be beatified in a Mass held at 9:30 a.m. on June 15 in Carpi. Organizers are expecting 4,000 people and around 20 bishops to attend the ceremony.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Pope leads Catholics in first worldwide 'Holy Hour'
From http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/02/us-pope-holyhour-idUSBRE95109Z20130602
(Reuters) - Pope Francis led Roman Catholics on Sunday in the first worldwide "Holy Hour," in which participants prayed at the same time around the globe for those suffering from war, slave labor, human trafficking and the economic crisis.
The Vatican asked Catholics to join him between 5-6 p.m. Rome time (11.00 a.m.-12.00 p.m. ET) in what is known as a Eucharistic adoration - praying before a consecrated communion host.
They were asked to gather in cathedrals, neighborhood parishes and monasteries to pray for two general intentions penned by the pope, who prayed in St. Peter's Basilica.
One was for those "who still suffer slavery and who are victims of war, human trafficking, drug running and slave labor" as well as for the "unemployed, the elderly, migrants, the homeless, prisoners and those who experience marginalization".
The other was for the 1.2 billion member Church itself and that it be "without stain or blemish", an apparent allusion to scandals that have undermined its credibility, such as the sexual abuse of children by clergy.
A Vatican official said it was "the first time in the history of the Church" that such an event was taking place. The Vatican said it was impossible to estimate immediately how many people took part.
(Reporting by Philip Pullella; editing by David Stamp)
(Reuters) - Pope Francis led Roman Catholics on Sunday in the first worldwide "Holy Hour," in which participants prayed at the same time around the globe for those suffering from war, slave labor, human trafficking and the economic crisis.
The Vatican asked Catholics to join him between 5-6 p.m. Rome time (11.00 a.m.-12.00 p.m. ET) in what is known as a Eucharistic adoration - praying before a consecrated communion host.
They were asked to gather in cathedrals, neighborhood parishes and monasteries to pray for two general intentions penned by the pope, who prayed in St. Peter's Basilica.
One was for those "who still suffer slavery and who are victims of war, human trafficking, drug running and slave labor" as well as for the "unemployed, the elderly, migrants, the homeless, prisoners and those who experience marginalization".
The other was for the 1.2 billion member Church itself and that it be "without stain or blemish", an apparent allusion to scandals that have undermined its credibility, such as the sexual abuse of children by clergy.
A Vatican official said it was "the first time in the history of the Church" that such an event was taking place. The Vatican said it was impossible to estimate immediately how many people took part.
(Reporting by Philip Pullella; editing by David Stamp)
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