From http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2010/09/03/poll-almost-half-of-mass-goers-would-attend-older-form/
By Anna Arco on Friday, 3 September 2010
Almost half of English and Welsh Mass-goers would attend Masses in the traditional form of the Roman Rite if it was celebrated in local parishes, a new study has shown.
The survey, which used a sample of 800 people who identified themselves as Catholic, showed that 66 per cent of practising Catholics would be happy to attend the traditional Latin Mass once a month if it were celebrated in their parishes.
Commissioned by the French group Paix Liturgique, the survey also showed that Britain had a higher percentage of regular Mass attendance than France, Portugal and Germany.
Although only 19 per cent of Britain’s population identifies as Catholic, 32 per cent of Catholics attend Mass at least once a month, if not more often, compared with 19 per cent of French Catholics and 10 per cent of German Catholics.
According to the survey, 43 per cent of those Catholics who practice regularly would attend Mass in the Extraordinary Form once a week. Fifty per cent of the Catholics questioned said that they would find it normal if Mass were celebrated in the Extraordinary Form alongside the Ordinary Form in their parishes. The survey also found that 60 per cent of Catholics were unaware of Pope Benedict XVI’s Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum which lifted restrictions on the traditional Latin Mass in 2007.
John Medlin, general manager of the Latin Mass Society, said: “Broadly speaking these results are the same across Europe. They indicate that among Catholics who take interest in their faith, although there is great ignorance, once people are made aware of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum there is a willingness for people in large numbers to accept the Extraordinary Form.
“Once it is explained, there is a willingness on the part of Catholics attached to the Ordinary Form for the two forms of the rite to exist quite happily side by side in the parishes, just as most of those attached to the Extraordinary Form are quite happy to accept the right of those attached to the ordinary form to have Mass celebrated in this way.”
In a statement Paix Liturgique said: “In Great Britain as elsewhere, the argument resting on the lack of interest among the faithful for the application of the Motu Proprio is unfair. When their point of view is solicited in an opinion poll the results are quite different to those obtained when one merely speaks in their name.”
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
Pro-Life Group Recalls Eerie Run-In with Discovery Channel Gunman
By Kathleen Gilbert WASHINGTON, D.C.,
September 2, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com)
The crazed eco-extremist who flung himself into the national spotlight yesterday after taking three hostages at the Discovery Channel headquarters is no stranger to the pro-life community in the nation’s capital.
Newly unearthed footage shows an unsettling 2009 confrontation between pro-lifers and a man who they say they have identified as James J. Lee, 43, who was destined to be gunned down by police a year later, after acting on his extreme dedication to "stopping the human race from breeding any more disgusting human babies."
The drama began to unfold about around 1 pm. yesterday, when Lee entered the Silver Springs building with a gun and what appeared to be pipe bombs strapped to himself; he confirmed to a CNN producer who called the office building that he was in possession of at least one explosive.
After approximately four hours of negotiations, Lee pointed a handgun at one of his hostages, at which point he was shot and killed by police snipers. The hostages and others in the building were not harmed during the hours-long showdown with police.
As stated in a manifesto published online, Lee hoped to force the Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel (TLC) to "stop all shows glorifying human birthing." Instead the stations should air shows geared toward halting the overpopulation of "parasitic human infants" in order to save the planet from global warming and pollution. Lee was likely targeting TLC programming such as "19 and Counting" and "Jon & Kate Plus 8," both of which follow the daily lives of large families.
TLC is owned by Discovery Communications, which also operates the Discovery Channel.
According to MSNBC, Lee credited his "awakening" to former Vice President Al Gore's 2006 movie "An Inconvenient Truth," which blamed man-made pollution for global warming.
Last year, Lee's passion for suppressing the human race brought him to the steps of the Planned Parenthood building in Washington, D.C., where members of the American Life League were holding a protest against the dangers of the birth control pill.
In a video of the encounter, filmed by Lee himself, and uploaded to his Youtube account, Lee takes issue with the group's "religious" aspect, and criticized Biblical faith as "unsustainable." "You can't say that we can breed as many children as I want, and that the earth is unlimited - the earth is limited. You can't just say we got to fill the earth, have all these children, and nevermind all the other creatures. That's what the Bible says," the man told the group.
"See, personally I don't care if you humans destroy yourselves with your stupid wars. But, you can't destroy the natural world. The atomic bomb hurts other creatures ... Why don't you guys just slice yourselves with knives instead of something, but please don't hurt the wildlife like that, there's only so many of them," he continued.
"Animals are wonderful creatures ... they live sustainable lives. They mean no harm .... But humans are really environmentally destructive and we gotta stop breeding or something."
Katie Walker, communications director with the American Life League, told LifeSiteNews.com that, during the confrontation, she noticed the man's strange sense of disconnection from the human race.
"I was very struck by his disconnection with rational thought and his absolute disdain for human beings' lives," said Walker.
Walker said that "one of the main things that freaked us out at the time" was Lee's referral to the pro-life witnesses as "you human beings."
"He did not count himself one of the human race," she said.
The young pro-life leader said she felt "shock" when she identified the Discovery Channel gunman as the same man she met outside Planned Parenthood - yet, she says, at the time of their encounter, she was "not too terribly surprised" at his disturbing philosophy.
"After all, when you stand in front of Planned Parenthood, you become very used to talking to people who don't believe in the sanctity of human beings' lives," said Walker. "His views on human beings' lives are simply the logical end of the views espoused by many in the pro-abortion movement."
September 2, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com)
The crazed eco-extremist who flung himself into the national spotlight yesterday after taking three hostages at the Discovery Channel headquarters is no stranger to the pro-life community in the nation’s capital.
Newly unearthed footage shows an unsettling 2009 confrontation between pro-lifers and a man who they say they have identified as James J. Lee, 43, who was destined to be gunned down by police a year later, after acting on his extreme dedication to "stopping the human race from breeding any more disgusting human babies."
The drama began to unfold about around 1 pm. yesterday, when Lee entered the Silver Springs building with a gun and what appeared to be pipe bombs strapped to himself; he confirmed to a CNN producer who called the office building that he was in possession of at least one explosive.
After approximately four hours of negotiations, Lee pointed a handgun at one of his hostages, at which point he was shot and killed by police snipers. The hostages and others in the building were not harmed during the hours-long showdown with police.
As stated in a manifesto published online, Lee hoped to force the Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel (TLC) to "stop all shows glorifying human birthing." Instead the stations should air shows geared toward halting the overpopulation of "parasitic human infants" in order to save the planet from global warming and pollution. Lee was likely targeting TLC programming such as "19 and Counting" and "Jon & Kate Plus 8," both of which follow the daily lives of large families.
TLC is owned by Discovery Communications, which also operates the Discovery Channel.
According to MSNBC, Lee credited his "awakening" to former Vice President Al Gore's 2006 movie "An Inconvenient Truth," which blamed man-made pollution for global warming.
Last year, Lee's passion for suppressing the human race brought him to the steps of the Planned Parenthood building in Washington, D.C., where members of the American Life League were holding a protest against the dangers of the birth control pill.
In a video of the encounter, filmed by Lee himself, and uploaded to his Youtube account, Lee takes issue with the group's "religious" aspect, and criticized Biblical faith as "unsustainable." "You can't say that we can breed as many children as I want, and that the earth is unlimited - the earth is limited. You can't just say we got to fill the earth, have all these children, and nevermind all the other creatures. That's what the Bible says," the man told the group.
"See, personally I don't care if you humans destroy yourselves with your stupid wars. But, you can't destroy the natural world. The atomic bomb hurts other creatures ... Why don't you guys just slice yourselves with knives instead of something, but please don't hurt the wildlife like that, there's only so many of them," he continued.
"Animals are wonderful creatures ... they live sustainable lives. They mean no harm .... But humans are really environmentally destructive and we gotta stop breeding or something."
Katie Walker, communications director with the American Life League, told LifeSiteNews.com that, during the confrontation, she noticed the man's strange sense of disconnection from the human race.
"I was very struck by his disconnection with rational thought and his absolute disdain for human beings' lives," said Walker.
Walker said that "one of the main things that freaked us out at the time" was Lee's referral to the pro-life witnesses as "you human beings."
"He did not count himself one of the human race," she said.
The young pro-life leader said she felt "shock" when she identified the Discovery Channel gunman as the same man she met outside Planned Parenthood - yet, she says, at the time of their encounter, she was "not too terribly surprised" at his disturbing philosophy.
"After all, when you stand in front of Planned Parenthood, you become very used to talking to people who don't believe in the sanctity of human beings' lives," said Walker. "His views on human beings' lives are simply the logical end of the views espoused by many in the pro-abortion movement."
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Grandfather's ghost story leads to mysterious mass grave of Irishmen
From http://cnn.site.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Grandfather's+ghost+story+leads+to+mysterious+mass+grave+-+CNN.com&expire=&urlID=434303817&fb=Y&url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/24/pennsylvania.graves.mystery/index.html?hpt=Sbin&
By Meghan Rafferty, CNN
"This is a mass grave," Bill Watson said as he led the way through the thick Pennsylvania woods in a suburb about 30 miles from Philadelphia.
"Duffy's Cut," as it's now called, is a short walk from a suburban cul-de-sac in Malvern, an affluent town off the fabled Main Line. Twin brothers Bill and Frank Watson believe 57 Irish immigrants met violent deaths there after a cholera epidemic struck in 1832.
They suspect foul play.
"This is a murder mystery from 178 years ago, and it's finally coming to the light of day," Frank Watson said.
The brothers first heard about Duffy's Cut from their grandfather, a railroad worker, who told the ghost story to his family every Thanksgiving. According to local legend, memorialized in a file kept by the Pennsylvania Railroad, a man walking home from a tavern reported seeing blue and green ghosts dancing in the mist on a warm September night in 1909.
"I saw with my own eyes, the ghosts of the Irishmen who died with the cholera a month ago, a-dancing around the big trench where they were buried; it's true, mister, it was awful," the documents quote the unnamed man as saying. "Why, they looked as if they were a kind of green and blue fire and they were a-hopping and bobbing on their graves... I had heard the Irishmen were haunting the place because they were buried without the benefit of clergy."
When Frank inherited the file of his grandfather's old railroad papers, the brothers began to believe the ghost stories were real. They suspected that the files contained clues to the location of a mass grave.
"One of the pieces of correspondence in this file told us 'X marks the spot,'" said Frank. He added that the document suggested that the men "were buried where they were making the fill, which is the original railroad bridge."
In 2002, the brothers began digging and searching. They found forks and remnants of a shanty and, in 2005, what Bill Watson calls the "Holy Grail" -- a pipe with an Irish flag on it.
They knew they were close, but Bill said they knew they needed "hard science" to get them to the next step.
The science came from Tim Bechtel, a geophysicist, who learned about the project from a colleague at the University of Pennsylvania who had heard the Watson brothers speak. The friend knew Bechtel could provide the missing link in the brothers' excavation efforts.
Bechtel's work included earth scans, which can help detect what's underground without digging or drilling.
By shooting electrical current through the slope, Bechtel said he learned there were "oddball areas" or places where the current wouldn't pass through. "We saw areas in the slope that were very electrically resistant," Bechtel recalled.
This was an initial indicator something might lie beneath the surface. After further digging, Bechtel and the Watsons detected "air bubbles above the coffins," he said.
Bechtel helped pinpoint key areas to dig and on March 20, 2009, Bill Watson said the team made a startling discovery.
"One of my students came running over at about 2 in the afternoon with something that was a clearly discernable human bone," Bechtel said.
It was just the beginning of the many puzzle pieces to surface at Duffy's Cut. The pieces led them to suspect that something other than cholera was responsible for the deaths.
"A teeny weenie little fragment like that is so chock full of information," said Janet Monge, holding up a jawbone and teeth found at the Duffy's Cut site. She believes the teeth, because of their irregularities, could someday be linked through DNA to living descendents of the men unearthed at the dig site.
Monge, an anthropologist at the University of Pennsylvania, joined the forensics team when Bechtel looked her up in the campus directory and asked for help separating the human bones from any animal bones.
Since then, Monge has collected bones from seven skeletons unearthed at Duffy's Cut, including four skulls. The trays and containers of bones occupy a long, wide table in the back of a lecture room at the University of Pennsylvania Museum in Philadelphia.
Poring over the bones with her green spectacles sitting low on her nose, Monge said she has focused her attention on the skulls, adding that they have provided crucial clues to what might have killed the Irishmen at Duffy's Cut.
"This skull has a little divot on what would have been the side bone of the skull," she said, holding it up. "That little divot is something that didn't happen when they excavated it out of the ground."
With just one divot on one skull, she was reluctant to jump to conclusions. But as more skulls surfaced, a pattern started to form. Holding the second skull, Monge said with confidence: "This person was clunked on the head at around the time of death."
Two weeks ago, a new piece of evidence came up from the ground at Duffy's Cut: A skull with a perforation that could be a bullet hole. "In fact, we can see some nice cracked edges that do look very much like a bullet hole," Monge observed.
Monge and the team will soon test the skull for the presence of lead. The source could be a bullet or an ax. Either way, she said, "If they had cholera, it didn't kill them. I would say something else killed them, but they might have had cholera, too."
Why is the mystery so important to the team?
"It could have been us," Bill Watson said. "These guys came over here with nothing, looking for the American dream like countless people have done. They thought they were going to make it and within six weeks of arrival they're literally buried in the fill here."
Although they have unearthed seven individual's remains, the Duffy's Cut team labors on to find the 50 more they believe are still underneath the surface.
The brothers said their goal is to preserve the memory of the Irish workers and to put the story in textbooks, to be remembered for years to come.
"It's a story that transcends nations, transcends history in a sense. It's the story you hear of workers that were exploited anywhere in the world," Frank Watson said.
"How do we treat our employees? How do we treat people who immigrate for a new life? Every human being deserves to be remembered."
By Meghan Rafferty, CNN
"This is a mass grave," Bill Watson said as he led the way through the thick Pennsylvania woods in a suburb about 30 miles from Philadelphia.
"Duffy's Cut," as it's now called, is a short walk from a suburban cul-de-sac in Malvern, an affluent town off the fabled Main Line. Twin brothers Bill and Frank Watson believe 57 Irish immigrants met violent deaths there after a cholera epidemic struck in 1832.
They suspect foul play.
"This is a murder mystery from 178 years ago, and it's finally coming to the light of day," Frank Watson said.
The brothers first heard about Duffy's Cut from their grandfather, a railroad worker, who told the ghost story to his family every Thanksgiving. According to local legend, memorialized in a file kept by the Pennsylvania Railroad, a man walking home from a tavern reported seeing blue and green ghosts dancing in the mist on a warm September night in 1909.
"I saw with my own eyes, the ghosts of the Irishmen who died with the cholera a month ago, a-dancing around the big trench where they were buried; it's true, mister, it was awful," the documents quote the unnamed man as saying. "Why, they looked as if they were a kind of green and blue fire and they were a-hopping and bobbing on their graves... I had heard the Irishmen were haunting the place because they were buried without the benefit of clergy."
When Frank inherited the file of his grandfather's old railroad papers, the brothers began to believe the ghost stories were real. They suspected that the files contained clues to the location of a mass grave.
"One of the pieces of correspondence in this file told us 'X marks the spot,'" said Frank. He added that the document suggested that the men "were buried where they were making the fill, which is the original railroad bridge."
In 2002, the brothers began digging and searching. They found forks and remnants of a shanty and, in 2005, what Bill Watson calls the "Holy Grail" -- a pipe with an Irish flag on it.
They knew they were close, but Bill said they knew they needed "hard science" to get them to the next step.
The science came from Tim Bechtel, a geophysicist, who learned about the project from a colleague at the University of Pennsylvania who had heard the Watson brothers speak. The friend knew Bechtel could provide the missing link in the brothers' excavation efforts.
Bechtel's work included earth scans, which can help detect what's underground without digging or drilling.
By shooting electrical current through the slope, Bechtel said he learned there were "oddball areas" or places where the current wouldn't pass through. "We saw areas in the slope that were very electrically resistant," Bechtel recalled.
This was an initial indicator something might lie beneath the surface. After further digging, Bechtel and the Watsons detected "air bubbles above the coffins," he said.
Bechtel helped pinpoint key areas to dig and on March 20, 2009, Bill Watson said the team made a startling discovery.
"One of my students came running over at about 2 in the afternoon with something that was a clearly discernable human bone," Bechtel said.
It was just the beginning of the many puzzle pieces to surface at Duffy's Cut. The pieces led them to suspect that something other than cholera was responsible for the deaths.
"A teeny weenie little fragment like that is so chock full of information," said Janet Monge, holding up a jawbone and teeth found at the Duffy's Cut site. She believes the teeth, because of their irregularities, could someday be linked through DNA to living descendents of the men unearthed at the dig site.
Monge, an anthropologist at the University of Pennsylvania, joined the forensics team when Bechtel looked her up in the campus directory and asked for help separating the human bones from any animal bones.
Since then, Monge has collected bones from seven skeletons unearthed at Duffy's Cut, including four skulls. The trays and containers of bones occupy a long, wide table in the back of a lecture room at the University of Pennsylvania Museum in Philadelphia.
Poring over the bones with her green spectacles sitting low on her nose, Monge said she has focused her attention on the skulls, adding that they have provided crucial clues to what might have killed the Irishmen at Duffy's Cut.
"This skull has a little divot on what would have been the side bone of the skull," she said, holding it up. "That little divot is something that didn't happen when they excavated it out of the ground."
With just one divot on one skull, she was reluctant to jump to conclusions. But as more skulls surfaced, a pattern started to form. Holding the second skull, Monge said with confidence: "This person was clunked on the head at around the time of death."
Two weeks ago, a new piece of evidence came up from the ground at Duffy's Cut: A skull with a perforation that could be a bullet hole. "In fact, we can see some nice cracked edges that do look very much like a bullet hole," Monge observed.
Monge and the team will soon test the skull for the presence of lead. The source could be a bullet or an ax. Either way, she said, "If they had cholera, it didn't kill them. I would say something else killed them, but they might have had cholera, too."
Why is the mystery so important to the team?
"It could have been us," Bill Watson said. "These guys came over here with nothing, looking for the American dream like countless people have done. They thought they were going to make it and within six weeks of arrival they're literally buried in the fill here."
Although they have unearthed seven individual's remains, the Duffy's Cut team labors on to find the 50 more they believe are still underneath the surface.
The brothers said their goal is to preserve the memory of the Irish workers and to put the story in textbooks, to be remembered for years to come.
"It's a story that transcends nations, transcends history in a sense. It's the story you hear of workers that were exploited anywhere in the world," Frank Watson said.
"How do we treat our employees? How do we treat people who immigrate for a new life? Every human being deserves to be remembered."
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Head of HLI returns to diocese
From http://www.hli.org/index.php/component/acajoom/?act=mailing&task=view&listid=2&mailingid=726
Dear Friends of Life,
Nearly ten years ago I answered the call of the Lord to come to Human Life International and work full-time in pro-life work with the permission of my bishop. I have been utterly privileged to serve this great mission for a decade, and now I am called back to my diocese to continue my priestly service in parish work, which was the original calling of my vocation. A priest is a soldier of Christ and the Church, and obedience is the primary virtue of his state in life, but for my part, my discernment about this decision tells me that this is the right thing for me to do and at the right time. I have great peace about the road that lies ahead and about all that has been accomplished up to this point.
Our international mission remains in good hands with my departure. HLI's Board of Directors has asked Msgr. Ignacio Barreiro of our Rome office to assume my responsibilities until such a time as a permanent replacement is named. Our tremendously competent staff and generous supporters are looking to the future with great hope despite the many challenges of the death peddlers on a global scale which are only increasing. There is more need of our mission now than ever! HLI's network of affiliates and associates is more than 100 countries strong, and our international leaders, so often highlighted in our publications, are literally the best in the world! Our dear founder, Fr. Paul Marx would be extremely proud of what we have accomplished in the past decade. I am sure he is smiling on us from where he is now.
I do not have a parish assignment in my diocese as of yet, but I hope to take some time out before I go back into full-time parish work. I expect that some time of rest and renewal will help me to make the transition. It has been 15 years since I last had any significant time for renewal, and after traveling more than 1.1 million miles, authoring two books, visiting 58 countries and making thousands of public appearances, I am ready for a break! I intend to continue to do pro-life work wherever I may be called to serve, and my bishop agrees that this is a vital charism of my priestly life. A true pro-lifer is not oriented to a job so much as to the daily task of fighting the culture of death and building the culture of life!
I ask for your kind prayers as I move forward and for your continued support of HLI and the new leadership that will come soon. I will not be a stranger to HLI's mission or life but I promise that I will remember each of you every day in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the font of all unity and LIFE!
Blessings in Christ,
Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer
President, Human Life International
Dear Friends of Life,
Nearly ten years ago I answered the call of the Lord to come to Human Life International and work full-time in pro-life work with the permission of my bishop. I have been utterly privileged to serve this great mission for a decade, and now I am called back to my diocese to continue my priestly service in parish work, which was the original calling of my vocation. A priest is a soldier of Christ and the Church, and obedience is the primary virtue of his state in life, but for my part, my discernment about this decision tells me that this is the right thing for me to do and at the right time. I have great peace about the road that lies ahead and about all that has been accomplished up to this point.
Our international mission remains in good hands with my departure. HLI's Board of Directors has asked Msgr. Ignacio Barreiro of our Rome office to assume my responsibilities until such a time as a permanent replacement is named. Our tremendously competent staff and generous supporters are looking to the future with great hope despite the many challenges of the death peddlers on a global scale which are only increasing. There is more need of our mission now than ever! HLI's network of affiliates and associates is more than 100 countries strong, and our international leaders, so often highlighted in our publications, are literally the best in the world! Our dear founder, Fr. Paul Marx would be extremely proud of what we have accomplished in the past decade. I am sure he is smiling on us from where he is now.
I do not have a parish assignment in my diocese as of yet, but I hope to take some time out before I go back into full-time parish work. I expect that some time of rest and renewal will help me to make the transition. It has been 15 years since I last had any significant time for renewal, and after traveling more than 1.1 million miles, authoring two books, visiting 58 countries and making thousands of public appearances, I am ready for a break! I intend to continue to do pro-life work wherever I may be called to serve, and my bishop agrees that this is a vital charism of my priestly life. A true pro-lifer is not oriented to a job so much as to the daily task of fighting the culture of death and building the culture of life!
I ask for your kind prayers as I move forward and for your continued support of HLI and the new leadership that will come soon. I will not be a stranger to HLI's mission or life but I promise that I will remember each of you every day in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the font of all unity and LIFE!
Blessings in Christ,
Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer
President, Human Life International
Friday, August 27, 2010
The "Seven Decade" Franciscan Crown Rosary
From http://cantuar.blogspot.com/2010/08/learn-about-7-decade-franciscan-rosary.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+taylormarshall+%28Canterbury+Tales+by+Taylor+Marshall%29
It's a beautiful tradition and today (Aug 26) is the devotion's "feast day" - originally authorized by Pope Saint Pius X (himself a Third Order Franciscan).
What is the "Seven Decade" Franciscan Crown Rosary?
The Blessed Virgin herself pointed out that the Franciscan Crown, like the Dominican Rosary (the version we all know), is a devotion pleasing to her. In 1442 a young man - known now as "James of the Rosary" - entered the order had been a fervent client of our Blessed Lady and had decorated her statue daily with a "crown" of flowers. Since he was not permitted to continue this practice in the novitiate, he thought of leaving the order. But first he knelt before the statue of Our Lady to say a prayer.
There the Blessed Virgin appeared to him and said:
"Remain here, and do not grieve because you can no longer weave a crown of flowers for me. I will teach you how you can daily weave a "crown of roses" that will not wither and will be more pleasing to me and more meritorious for yourself."
The Blessed Mother instructed Friar John to pray seven decades in honor of her seven Joys and that this would serve as a daily crown for her head.
Description of the Seven Decade Franciscan Crown Rosary
The Seven Decade "Franciscan Crown" Rosary consists of seventy-two Hail Mary's in honor of the seventy-two years which Our Lady spent on earth (according to tradition). The tradition seems to have already existed in first half of the fifteenth century, for St. Bernardin and St. John Capistran both promoted the devotion through their preaching.
The Franciscan Crown commemorates seven joys of Mary on seven decades (i.e. ten Hail Mary's spaced by one Our Father). They are:
Annunciation of Gabriel to Mary
Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth
Nativity of Christ
Adoration of the Magi
Finding of Jesus in the Temple
Resurrection of Our Lord
Assumption & Coronation of Our Lady
At the end, two Hail Mary's are added (to bring the number to 72), and the usual prayers for the Holy Father are made (Our Father and Hail Mary).
The devotion of the Seven Decade Franciscan Rosary is recommended for Saturdays - it might serve as a nice varietal in your commitment to praying the "normal" (i.e. Dominican) five decade Rosary. You can pray the Franciscan Crown Rosary on a five decade Rosary - just loop around and pick up two extra decades. Close with the final two Hail Mary's. And if you like, you can make or buy a special Seven Decade Rosary for this purpose.
It's a beautiful tradition and today (Aug 26) is the devotion's "feast day" - originally authorized by Pope Saint Pius X (himself a Third Order Franciscan).
What is the "Seven Decade" Franciscan Crown Rosary?
The Blessed Virgin herself pointed out that the Franciscan Crown, like the Dominican Rosary (the version we all know), is a devotion pleasing to her. In 1442 a young man - known now as "James of the Rosary" - entered the order had been a fervent client of our Blessed Lady and had decorated her statue daily with a "crown" of flowers. Since he was not permitted to continue this practice in the novitiate, he thought of leaving the order. But first he knelt before the statue of Our Lady to say a prayer.
There the Blessed Virgin appeared to him and said:
"Remain here, and do not grieve because you can no longer weave a crown of flowers for me. I will teach you how you can daily weave a "crown of roses" that will not wither and will be more pleasing to me and more meritorious for yourself."
The Blessed Mother instructed Friar John to pray seven decades in honor of her seven Joys and that this would serve as a daily crown for her head.
Description of the Seven Decade Franciscan Crown Rosary
The Seven Decade "Franciscan Crown" Rosary consists of seventy-two Hail Mary's in honor of the seventy-two years which Our Lady spent on earth (according to tradition). The tradition seems to have already existed in first half of the fifteenth century, for St. Bernardin and St. John Capistran both promoted the devotion through their preaching.
The Franciscan Crown commemorates seven joys of Mary on seven decades (i.e. ten Hail Mary's spaced by one Our Father). They are:
Annunciation of Gabriel to Mary
Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth
Nativity of Christ
Adoration of the Magi
Finding of Jesus in the Temple
Resurrection of Our Lord
Assumption & Coronation of Our Lady
At the end, two Hail Mary's are added (to bring the number to 72), and the usual prayers for the Holy Father are made (Our Father and Hail Mary).
The devotion of the Seven Decade Franciscan Rosary is recommended for Saturdays - it might serve as a nice varietal in your commitment to praying the "normal" (i.e. Dominican) five decade Rosary. You can pray the Franciscan Crown Rosary on a five decade Rosary - just loop around and pick up two extra decades. Close with the final two Hail Mary's. And if you like, you can make or buy a special Seven Decade Rosary for this purpose.
Cardinal Comastri recounts how Mother Teresa saved his priesthood
Rome, Italy, Aug 26, 2010 (Catholic News Agency/EWTN News).
The Archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica remembered at Mass on Thursday how a promise he made to Mother Teresa 40 years ago preserved his vocation. She taught him that without prayer, charity cannot exist.
Cardinal Comastri presided over the Eucharistic celebration at Rome's San Lorenzo in Damaso Church, which had a very welcoming feel with the presence of more than 100 Missionaries of Charity sisters, over 20 concelebrating priests, local government leaders and a very diverse collection of faithful.
Church-goers were pleasantly surprised by the presence of newly-arrived prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who also concelebrated and read a message from the Pope at the beginning of Mass.
In a homily which emphasized that love is the foundation of our existence, Cardinal Comastri remembered a personal encounter he had with the Missionaries of Charity's founder when he was just a young priest.
His first contact with Mother Teresa came when he mailed her a letter just after he was ordained a priest. Her "unexpected" response was especially striking, he recalled, because it was written on "very poor paper, in a very poor envelope."
At a later date, Cardinal Comastri sought her out when she was visiting Rome to thank her for the answer. When he found her, she asked him a question that left him "a little embarrassed."
"How many hours do you pray a day?" she asked.
In 1969-70, he recalled, the Church was in a time of "dispute," so thinking that it was "near heroism, then-Father Comastri explained to her that he said daily Mass in addition to praying the Liturgy of the Hours and the Rosary.”
To this, she responded flatly, "That's not enough.”
"Love cannot be lived minimally," she said, and then asked him to promise to do half an hour of adoration every day.
"I promised," said Cardinal Comastri, "and today I can say that this saved my priesthood."
Trying to defend his case at the time, he told Mother Teresa that he thought she was going to ask him how much charity he did. She answered him, "And do you think if I didn't pray I would be able to love the poor? It's Jesus that puts love in my heart when I pray."
She helped the poor, but it was "always Jesus' love," the saintly sister told him.
Then, Mother told him something that he would never forget: she told him to read Scripture.
Through Jesus' teachings, she said, we are reminded that "without God we're too poor to help the poor.” This, she explained, "is why so much assistance falls into the void. It doesn't change anything, it doesn't contribute anything because it doesn't bring love and it isn't born of prayer."
Concluding, Cardinal Comastri said, "Through this little woman ... we are reminded that charity is the apostolate of the Church and that charity is only born if we pray."
The Archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica remembered at Mass on Thursday how a promise he made to Mother Teresa 40 years ago preserved his vocation. She taught him that without prayer, charity cannot exist.
Cardinal Comastri presided over the Eucharistic celebration at Rome's San Lorenzo in Damaso Church, which had a very welcoming feel with the presence of more than 100 Missionaries of Charity sisters, over 20 concelebrating priests, local government leaders and a very diverse collection of faithful.
Church-goers were pleasantly surprised by the presence of newly-arrived prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who also concelebrated and read a message from the Pope at the beginning of Mass.
In a homily which emphasized that love is the foundation of our existence, Cardinal Comastri remembered a personal encounter he had with the Missionaries of Charity's founder when he was just a young priest.
His first contact with Mother Teresa came when he mailed her a letter just after he was ordained a priest. Her "unexpected" response was especially striking, he recalled, because it was written on "very poor paper, in a very poor envelope."
At a later date, Cardinal Comastri sought her out when she was visiting Rome to thank her for the answer. When he found her, she asked him a question that left him "a little embarrassed."
"How many hours do you pray a day?" she asked.
In 1969-70, he recalled, the Church was in a time of "dispute," so thinking that it was "near heroism, then-Father Comastri explained to her that he said daily Mass in addition to praying the Liturgy of the Hours and the Rosary.”
To this, she responded flatly, "That's not enough.”
"Love cannot be lived minimally," she said, and then asked him to promise to do half an hour of adoration every day.
"I promised," said Cardinal Comastri, "and today I can say that this saved my priesthood."
Trying to defend his case at the time, he told Mother Teresa that he thought she was going to ask him how much charity he did. She answered him, "And do you think if I didn't pray I would be able to love the poor? It's Jesus that puts love in my heart when I pray."
She helped the poor, but it was "always Jesus' love," the saintly sister told him.
Then, Mother told him something that he would never forget: she told him to read Scripture.
Through Jesus' teachings, she said, we are reminded that "without God we're too poor to help the poor.” This, she explained, "is why so much assistance falls into the void. It doesn't change anything, it doesn't contribute anything because it doesn't bring love and it isn't born of prayer."
Concluding, Cardinal Comastri said, "Through this little woman ... we are reminded that charity is the apostolate of the Church and that charity is only born if we pray."
Thursday, August 26, 2010
A Year with the Church Fathers - Patristic Wisdom For Daily Living
From https://www.tanbooks.com/index.php/page/shop:flypage/product_id/809/keywords/year+church+fathers/ 
A Year with the Church Fathers - Patristic Wisdom For Daily Living.
Times change, but human nature does not. Neither do the daily struggles that all Christians experience in their walk with the Lord. Today as two thousand years ago we fight anger, pride, lust, spiritual sloth. Now as then we strive to be more diligent in prayer, more faithful to the commandments, more patient and charitable toward others. And in our time, no less than in the earliest centuries of Christianity, we need wise guidance to direct us on the road to holiness.
In A Year with the Church Fathers, popular Patristics expert Mike Aquilina gathers the wisest, most practical teachings and exhortations from the Fathers of the Church, and presents them in a format perfect for daily meditation and inspiration. The Fathers were the immediate inheritors of the riches of the Apostolic Age, and their intimacy with the revelation of Jesus Christ is beautifully evident throughout their theological and pastoral writings: a profound patrimony that is ours to read and cherish and profit from.
Learn to humbly accept correction from St. Clement of Rome. Let Tertullian teach you how to clear your mind before prayer. Read St. Gregory the Great and deepen your love for the Eucharist. Do you suffer from pain or illness? St. John Chrysostom's counsels will refresh you. Do you have trouble curbing your appetite for food and other fleshly things? St. John Cassian will teach you the true way to moderation and self-control.
A Year with the Church Fathers is different from a study guide, and more than a collection of pious passages. It is a year-long retreat that in just a few minutes every day will lead you on a cycle of contemplation, prayer, resolution, and spiritual growth that is guaranteed to bring you closer to God and His truth. From the Church Fathers we should expect nothing less.
Beautiful gift edition, with two- tone ultra soft cover, ribbon marker, and designed interior pages.
No. SB0109.
ISBN: 9781935302353
This book will be available soon. Pre-order today!
Price: $44.95
A Year with the Church Fathers - Patristic Wisdom For Daily Living.
Times change, but human nature does not. Neither do the daily struggles that all Christians experience in their walk with the Lord. Today as two thousand years ago we fight anger, pride, lust, spiritual sloth. Now as then we strive to be more diligent in prayer, more faithful to the commandments, more patient and charitable toward others. And in our time, no less than in the earliest centuries of Christianity, we need wise guidance to direct us on the road to holiness.
In A Year with the Church Fathers, popular Patristics expert Mike Aquilina gathers the wisest, most practical teachings and exhortations from the Fathers of the Church, and presents them in a format perfect for daily meditation and inspiration. The Fathers were the immediate inheritors of the riches of the Apostolic Age, and their intimacy with the revelation of Jesus Christ is beautifully evident throughout their theological and pastoral writings: a profound patrimony that is ours to read and cherish and profit from.
Learn to humbly accept correction from St. Clement of Rome. Let Tertullian teach you how to clear your mind before prayer. Read St. Gregory the Great and deepen your love for the Eucharist. Do you suffer from pain or illness? St. John Chrysostom's counsels will refresh you. Do you have trouble curbing your appetite for food and other fleshly things? St. John Cassian will teach you the true way to moderation and self-control.
A Year with the Church Fathers is different from a study guide, and more than a collection of pious passages. It is a year-long retreat that in just a few minutes every day will lead you on a cycle of contemplation, prayer, resolution, and spiritual growth that is guaranteed to bring you closer to God and His truth. From the Church Fathers we should expect nothing less.
Beautiful gift edition, with two- tone ultra soft cover, ribbon marker, and designed interior pages.
No. SB0109.
ISBN: 9781935302353
This book will be available soon. Pre-order today!
Price: $44.95
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Pope prays for Mary's intercession against 'absurd logic' of violence
Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Aug 22, 2010 (Catholic News Agency/EWTN News).
Benedict XVI made a special plea to Mary for her intercession for peace in the world on Sunday, the Feast of the Queenship of Mary. Explaining her role as Queen of the world and her participation in her Son's mystery, he asked for the Blessed Virgin's help to persuade men to build a "civilization of love."
Among the many groups in attendance for the Marian prayer with the Pope at Castel Gandolfo were a contingent of Orthodox Christians from Galilee and a number of priests from the Legionaries of Christ. At the end of the audience, a youth band played a brief piece and was complimented for their "good music" by the Pope himself.
Speaking of the significance of the Marian feast before the Angelus, Benedict XVI explained that on this day the Church contemplates the Mother of Christ crowned by her Son, a crown which represents her role in "universal sovereignty." The fact that this year's feast, like the Assumption last week, falls on the Sabbath gives it a "greater light from the word of God," said the Pope.
"In particular," he explained, "the icon of the Virgin Mary Queen finds a significant confirmation in today's Gospel, where Jesus asserts, 'behold, those who are last will be first, and those who are first will be last'."
This "typical" expression of Christ can be found phrased in different ways throughout the Gospels, observed the Pope, so it "clearly reflects a theme dear to his prophetic preaching."
And, he pointed out, "the Madonna is the perfect example of this evangelical truth ... that God lowers the proud and the powerful of this world and raises the humble.
"The small and simple girl of Nazareth became the Queen of the world! This is one of the marvels that reveal the heart of God."
The "sovereignty of Mary" is "completely relative to that of Christ," who was exalted by the Father above every creature, the Pope explained. "(B)y the design of grace, the Immaculate Mother was fully associated with the mystery of the Son … (She) shared with the Son not only the human aspects of this mystery, but, through the work of the Holy Spirit in her, also the profound intention, the divine will, in a way that all her existence, poor and humble, was elevated, transformed, glorified, passing through the 'narrow gate' that is Jesus himself.”
"Yes," said the Pope, "Mary was the first to pass through the open 'way' of Christ to enter into the Kingdom of God, a way accessible to all men, to all who trust the Word of God and work to put it into practice."
Throughout Christian history, he concluded, there has been public veneration of the Virgin Mary and "today we wish more than anything to renew, as children of the Church, our devotion to her whom Jesus left us as Mother and Queen.
"We entrust to her intercession the daily prayer for peace, especially where the absurd logic of violence is most rampant; so that all men are persuaded that in this world we must help each other as brothers to build a civilization of love.
"Maria, Regina pacis, ora pro nobis!" the Pope exclaimed before leading the Angelus prayer.
Benedict XVI made a special plea to Mary for her intercession for peace in the world on Sunday, the Feast of the Queenship of Mary. Explaining her role as Queen of the world and her participation in her Son's mystery, he asked for the Blessed Virgin's help to persuade men to build a "civilization of love."
Among the many groups in attendance for the Marian prayer with the Pope at Castel Gandolfo were a contingent of Orthodox Christians from Galilee and a number of priests from the Legionaries of Christ. At the end of the audience, a youth band played a brief piece and was complimented for their "good music" by the Pope himself.
Speaking of the significance of the Marian feast before the Angelus, Benedict XVI explained that on this day the Church contemplates the Mother of Christ crowned by her Son, a crown which represents her role in "universal sovereignty." The fact that this year's feast, like the Assumption last week, falls on the Sabbath gives it a "greater light from the word of God," said the Pope.
"In particular," he explained, "the icon of the Virgin Mary Queen finds a significant confirmation in today's Gospel, where Jesus asserts, 'behold, those who are last will be first, and those who are first will be last'."
This "typical" expression of Christ can be found phrased in different ways throughout the Gospels, observed the Pope, so it "clearly reflects a theme dear to his prophetic preaching."
And, he pointed out, "the Madonna is the perfect example of this evangelical truth ... that God lowers the proud and the powerful of this world and raises the humble.
"The small and simple girl of Nazareth became the Queen of the world! This is one of the marvels that reveal the heart of God."
The "sovereignty of Mary" is "completely relative to that of Christ," who was exalted by the Father above every creature, the Pope explained. "(B)y the design of grace, the Immaculate Mother was fully associated with the mystery of the Son … (She) shared with the Son not only the human aspects of this mystery, but, through the work of the Holy Spirit in her, also the profound intention, the divine will, in a way that all her existence, poor and humble, was elevated, transformed, glorified, passing through the 'narrow gate' that is Jesus himself.”
"Yes," said the Pope, "Mary was the first to pass through the open 'way' of Christ to enter into the Kingdom of God, a way accessible to all men, to all who trust the Word of God and work to put it into practice."
Throughout Christian history, he concluded, there has been public veneration of the Virgin Mary and "today we wish more than anything to renew, as children of the Church, our devotion to her whom Jesus left us as Mother and Queen.
"We entrust to her intercession the daily prayer for peace, especially where the absurd logic of violence is most rampant; so that all men are persuaded that in this world we must help each other as brothers to build a civilization of love.
"Maria, Regina pacis, ora pro nobis!" the Pope exclaimed before leading the Angelus prayer.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Will The Bizarre Weather Of 2010 Set The Stage For A Major Global Food Shortage In 2011?
From http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/will-the-bizarre-weather-of-2010-set-the-stage-for-a-major-global-food-shortage-in-2011
Record-shattering heatwaves all over the world, massive wildfires in Russia, truly historic flooding in Pakistan and China and devastating droughts in many other areas are playing havoc with harvests all over the globe. This is leading many analysts to predict a sharp rise in food prices for the rest of 2010, and there are even whispers that 2011 could see the outbreak of global food riots that are even worse than what we witnessed back in 2008. The truth is that things are starting to get more than a bit frightening out there. One quarter of Russia's grain crops have already been wiped out by the unprecedented heatwave and the massive wildfires that have been ravaging that nation. In fact, the Russian government has announced that they have banned all grain exports for the rest of this year. This has caused a dramatic surge in the price of wheat on world markets. Unfortunately, Russia is far from alone in dealing with bad harvests this year. So what happens when global food prices go so high that the hundreds of millions of people existing on the edge of poverty around the world can't afford to buy food any longer?
That is a very sobering question.
The truth is that due to rampant greed and corruption, humanity barely grows enough food to feed itself, and major crop disasters can change the global landscape very quickly.
In fact, the price of barley has already more than doubled over the past six weeks due to concerns about what is going on in Russia.
Not only that, but Germany, Europe's second biggest grain producer after France, has announced that its harvest will decline by 12% or more in 2010.
There are even media reports that food prices in Russia may jump 100 percent by the end of this week. That seems a bit far-fetched, but as you can see from the video posted below, the situation in Russia is becoming very, very serious....
But it is not just Europe that is experiencing problems. In Australia, farmers are bracing for what is being called the worst locust plague in a generation.
In other areas of the world, intense flooding has created a crisis that is so immense that it is almost impossible to put into words. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani says that as many as 20 million people have been affected by the horrific flooding in his nation. In fact, at one point approximately one-fifth of Pakistan was reportedly under water. Entire villages and towns were turned into vast lakes.
Take a moment to think about that.
Could you imagine one-fifth of the United States under water?
The United Nations has already named the flooding in Pakistan as the greatest humanitarian crisis in recent history.
Yes, you read that correctly.
The UN says that the flooding in Pakistan is worse than the earthquake in Haiti, worse than Hurricane Katrina and worse than the massive tsunami which devastated southeast Asia a number of years ago.
Needless to say, all of this flooding has absolutely destroyed crops and food supplies in Pakistan. The misery that all of this flooding has caused in incalculable.
But most Americans don't care much about what is happening on the other side of the world.
Most Americans only care about what affects their wallets and their stomachs.
Well, all of this global chaos is going to have a big impact on Americans as well. For example, it is being reported that Wal-Mart has already hiked food prices substantially in response to these global events.
Are you ready to pay more for food at the supermarket?
But the reality is that this is just the beginning.
It is being projected that global demand for food will more than double over the next 50 years.
So where in the world will twice as much food come from?
Even now, there are areas in Africa that are experiencing horrific starvation....
Record-shattering heatwaves all over the world, massive wildfires in Russia, truly historic flooding in Pakistan and China and devastating droughts in many other areas are playing havoc with harvests all over the globe. This is leading many analysts to predict a sharp rise in food prices for the rest of 2010, and there are even whispers that 2011 could see the outbreak of global food riots that are even worse than what we witnessed back in 2008. The truth is that things are starting to get more than a bit frightening out there. One quarter of Russia's grain crops have already been wiped out by the unprecedented heatwave and the massive wildfires that have been ravaging that nation. In fact, the Russian government has announced that they have banned all grain exports for the rest of this year. This has caused a dramatic surge in the price of wheat on world markets. Unfortunately, Russia is far from alone in dealing with bad harvests this year. So what happens when global food prices go so high that the hundreds of millions of people existing on the edge of poverty around the world can't afford to buy food any longer?
That is a very sobering question.
The truth is that due to rampant greed and corruption, humanity barely grows enough food to feed itself, and major crop disasters can change the global landscape very quickly.
In fact, the price of barley has already more than doubled over the past six weeks due to concerns about what is going on in Russia.
Not only that, but Germany, Europe's second biggest grain producer after France, has announced that its harvest will decline by 12% or more in 2010.
There are even media reports that food prices in Russia may jump 100 percent by the end of this week. That seems a bit far-fetched, but as you can see from the video posted below, the situation in Russia is becoming very, very serious....
But it is not just Europe that is experiencing problems. In Australia, farmers are bracing for what is being called the worst locust plague in a generation.
In other areas of the world, intense flooding has created a crisis that is so immense that it is almost impossible to put into words. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani says that as many as 20 million people have been affected by the horrific flooding in his nation. In fact, at one point approximately one-fifth of Pakistan was reportedly under water. Entire villages and towns were turned into vast lakes.
Take a moment to think about that.
Could you imagine one-fifth of the United States under water?
The United Nations has already named the flooding in Pakistan as the greatest humanitarian crisis in recent history.
Yes, you read that correctly.
The UN says that the flooding in Pakistan is worse than the earthquake in Haiti, worse than Hurricane Katrina and worse than the massive tsunami which devastated southeast Asia a number of years ago.
Needless to say, all of this flooding has absolutely destroyed crops and food supplies in Pakistan. The misery that all of this flooding has caused in incalculable.
But most Americans don't care much about what is happening on the other side of the world.
Most Americans only care about what affects their wallets and their stomachs.
Well, all of this global chaos is going to have a big impact on Americans as well. For example, it is being reported that Wal-Mart has already hiked food prices substantially in response to these global events.
Are you ready to pay more for food at the supermarket?
But the reality is that this is just the beginning.
It is being projected that global demand for food will more than double over the next 50 years.
So where in the world will twice as much food come from?
Even now, there are areas in Africa that are experiencing horrific starvation....
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Bomb hoax hits Lourdes pilgrims
From www.bbc.co.uk/news
15 August 2010
Thousands of Roman Catholic pilgrims were evacuated from the Sanctuary of Lourdes in France after a bomb scare which turned out to be a hoax.
The threat came as 30,000 worshippers gathered for the annual Feast of the Assumption, one of the pilgrimage site's busiest days of the year.
Police gave the all-clear for the site to reopen after a search by bomb disposal teams with sniffer dogs.
More than six million believers visit the Sanctuary each year.
It is famous for what many Roman Catholics believe was a vision of the Virgin Mary by a local girl in 1858.
It houses the shrine or grotto to Our Lady of Lourdes and on 15 August believers celebrate the Virgin Mary's ascent to heaven.
A Church spokesman told French news agency AFP that a telephoned warning had been received by police, announcing that four bombs were going to go off at around 1500 (1300GMT).
He said the evacuation, just before the midday Mass, had taken place calmly.
No explosions were heard at 1500, but bomb disposal teams could still be seen at key buildings and areas.
Police later gave the all-clear and the site reopened.
15 August 2010
Thousands of Roman Catholic pilgrims were evacuated from the Sanctuary of Lourdes in France after a bomb scare which turned out to be a hoax.
The threat came as 30,000 worshippers gathered for the annual Feast of the Assumption, one of the pilgrimage site's busiest days of the year.
Police gave the all-clear for the site to reopen after a search by bomb disposal teams with sniffer dogs.
More than six million believers visit the Sanctuary each year.
It is famous for what many Roman Catholics believe was a vision of the Virgin Mary by a local girl in 1858.
It houses the shrine or grotto to Our Lady of Lourdes and on 15 August believers celebrate the Virgin Mary's ascent to heaven.
A Church spokesman told French news agency AFP that a telephoned warning had been received by police, announcing that four bombs were going to go off at around 1500 (1300GMT).
He said the evacuation, just before the midday Mass, had taken place calmly.
No explosions were heard at 1500, but bomb disposal teams could still be seen at key buildings and areas.
Police later gave the all-clear and the site reopened.
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