Our Diocese celebrated the annual Chrism Mass last night and I think we had more people attend than normal. We had a full Cathedral.
This is a picture of our Bishop John Raymond Gaydos receiving the oils which would be blessed later.
It was awesome to see all our priests together including one celebrating 70 years as a priest! He’s 94 years old and drove himself to Jefferson City from St. Louis.
As we’re entering Holy Week, it’s a really good time to pray for our Pope and the Church. There is much being said in the news about how abuses by some priests have been handled and it’s obvious that the Church is under attack because of their actions. There is no excuse for what those have done. It has caused great harm to individuals and the Church.
We’re seeing news reports that are speculating (is that news?) on whether the Pope should resign and polls of what people think about this or that. One I just saw from the N.Y. Times is titled, “At the Vatican, Up Against the World.” Just the title ought to tell you something. I would challenge all the people who are so up in arms about what a very small element of Church personnel have done to put their effort into prayer and look first at their own actions before casting stones. If we had more people spending their time in prayer maybe we wouldn’t have these problems. Our faith is a supernatural virtue that allows us to believe what God has revealed. The world is and always will be at odds with that.
My faith is not dependent on polls or public opinion. There are still truths of our faith that can not be changed just because someone wants them to. I’ve seen nothing factual in the news to weaken my faith. It hurts to know what some have done but I can only pity them and pray for them and I will continue to do so.
Here’s some good spiritual reading for Lent.
In this book, Fr. de la Palma provides an aid for meditating on the Passion. He recreates the events of Jesus’ life beginning with Holy Thursday and concluding with the burial of Our Lord and a powerful evocation of the coming resurrection. With vivid detail and a constant recognition of the role the Blessed Mother played in those days, Fr. de la Palma helps the reader enter into the Last Supper, the institution of the priesthood and the Eucharist, the arrest of Our Lord, the denial of St. Peter, the trials before Caiaphas and Pilate, the scourging and mocking, and finally, the Crucifixion. His meditations hew closely to the Gospel accounts, adding to them insights from other scriptures and frequently culminating in fervent prayers to Our Lord and Our Lady. Fr. de la Palma emphasizes that through it all, Jesus was offering Himself to the Father of His own fee will for the salvation of the world. This book is a striking reminder of the immensity of that offering of love.
Available from Scepter Publishers.
At least in its current form. That’s my message. We need to make sure our government doesn’t get into the abortion business and the current Senate version of proposed legislation does just that.
I pray this effort fails and that all these elected officials will go back to the drawing table after listening to the public and start over. The way this legislation is being forced on us should send a chilling signal to all Americans that we’ve got national leaders who are out for nothing but a power grab while they still can. Hopefully they’ll all be voted out in the next election opportunity.
Hope it’s not too late then.
Here’s a familiar scene to Catholics around the country this Lenten season. The Friday night Knights of Columbus fish fry.
This is my Council 12992 and in the photo our Bishop joined us for supper. We’ll be doing it again this Friday too. The only thing I would caution is to eat in moderation. Remember it is Lent and although we aren’t required to fast it’s not a bad idea to resist the temptation for an extra helping. Consider it a small mortification.
Opus Dei has a YouTube channel now.
The Opus Dei Office of Information has created the Saint Josemaría channel to make the founder’s life and teachings better known.
It offers many hours of videos of Saint Josemaría Escrivá. People from all over the world have the opportunity to listen to someone who is now in heaven speaking on about God.
Here’s an example of one of the videos already posted. This one is about The Way.
During one of our regular Mid-Missouri Circle mtgs. for cooperators of Opus Dei I showed them some of what you can do on an iPhone such as tweet a photo.
A circle meeting is a nice opportunity to get together for a scripture reading, mediation supplied by someone from the Wespine Study Center in St. Louis, examination of conscience and just to get caught up on the activities of each other and Opus Dei.
While attending a conference in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico this past week I was able to attend Mass at Iglesia María Reina de la Paz.
This church is located right next to the airport runways which can be very distracting when planes are landing and taking off. One whole wall of the church is made of folding glass panels so they can be opened up. They were while I was there since the weather was so nice.
The Prelate of Opus Dei, Bishop Javier Echevarría, has announce a Marian year in Opus Dei to give thanks to God for showing Saint Josemaría, 80 years ago, that this path towards sanctity is also meant for women. St. Josemaría was very devoted to our Blessed Mother which is one of many things that has drawn me to him and The Work. Here are excerpts from his announcement letter:
My dear children: may Jesus watch over my daughters and sons for me!
This month we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the moment when St. Josemaría saw that Opus Dei was also intended for women. We know that on October 2, 1928, when he received the foundational light, our Father thought that the Work was only for men. Thus we can imagine his surprise and joy when a few months later, on February 14, 1930, our Lord made him understand that he was also counting on women to carry everywhere—through their example and word—the message of sanctification in professional work and in all the circumstances of ordinary life. Years later, with deep gratitude to divine Providence, he said that “truly the Work, without that express wish of our Lord and without your sisters, would have been left crippled.”[1] He often made reference to this, my daughters, to show what a great responsibility each one of you has. Although it’s a small digression, I ask you to commend to heaven an intention that will make you very happy.
As in 2008, when we commemorated the 80th anniversary of the foundation of the Work, it has seemed to me that the best way to channel our thanksgiving is to stay very close to our Lady during these months. Therefore it gives me great joy to convoke a new Marian year in Opus Dei, from the upcoming 14th of February to the same date in 2011. During these months, let us strive to honor our Mother more and better, above all by putting great care into the prayer and contemplation of the Holy Rosary, and spreading this devotion among our families and friends. And let us give express thanks to God for the work of the women who look after the material care of the centers of the Prelature, which contributes so decisively to maintaining and improving the environment of a home that God infused into the Work, when he inspired it in our Father in 1928.
This is the Chapel at Chicago Midway Airport in Concourse C. I was sitting in Concourse A yesterday with a long wait for my flight when I heard an announcement for Mass. That pretty much answered my question about what to do with my time.
I headed right on over and got there a little early. The priest was there waiting too and was very happy to hear Confession. So I got two sacraments!
The Mass was very nice and we had quite a few people show up. Most large airports have some type of ministry like this and I’ve been able to take advantage of them at various times. It is a wonderful work and I pray they are able to continue it.
While waiting for my car to get an oil change I thought Id comment on the news. First off is the Presidents budget which is in the trillions and they claim it reduces domestic spending. Right.
Then I just saw a story about a reality tv star saying shes a born again virgin. Okay. So supposedly shes 45 and hasnt had sex in a year and a half. This is really more information than I can imagine anyone caring about. Wish she had a faith base message to go along with her story but I didnt hear one.
Then Fox just had a story about a woman wanting to get married so she can get health insurance. Apparently shes pleading for someone to marry her.
All I can say is that the news is really a sad thing these days. And I didnt mention the outrageous Grammy outfits or the aetheists outraged over a Mother Theresa stamp!
St. Joseph’s Downtown San Antonio was the church I got to attend away from home last week. It’s just a block from the Marriott’s Rivercenter and Riverwalk. I was there for the Cattle Industry Convention. We had almost 6,000 people involved in raising cattle and producing beef there.
This is the view before noon Mass when they had the Blessed Sacrament out for adoration.
The church was founded in 1868 and can be found at 623 East Commerce Street, San Antonio, TX 78205-2693.
This morning after Mass we had a table set up with brochures and signup sheets for the 40 Days For Life campaign. The next campaign is coming up soon.
From February 17 through March 28, teams in 156 cities from coast to coast in the United States – plus four Canadian provinces and three Australian states – will take part in this mission.
40 Days for Life is a community-based campaign that draws attention to the evil of abortion through the use of a three-point program:
* Prayer and fasting
* Constant vigil
* Community outreach
40 Days for Life takes a determined, peaceful approach to showing local communities the consequences of abortion in their own neighborhoods, for their own friends and families. It puts into action a desire to cooperate with God in the carrying out of His plan for the end of abortion in America.
The 40-day campaign tracks Biblical history, where God used 40-day periods to transform individuals, communities … and the entire world. From Noah in the flood to Moses on the mountain to the disciples after Christ’s resurrection, it is clear that God sees the transformative value of His people accepting and meeting a 40-day challenge.
I couldn’t end today without doing a post about today’s March For Life in Washington, DC. I’ve seen just snippets of the tv coverage.
For people who couldn’t be there an alternative to the EWTN coverage was the Virtual March for Life. Interesting way to use the web.
I did see a story on Fox News tonight but would describe the mainstream media coverage of this big event as slim to none for the most part.
Know who is credited with starting the March? How about Nellie Gray?
You can see tweets on Twitter about the event today using Twitter Search.
I was working all last week at a convention in Orlando, FL and only got bits and pieces of information on the devastation from the earthquake in Haiti. The more I learn the more my heart goes out to the people there and those who want to help. A lot of groups are asking for money right now but I would be very careful who you give money to. I feel most confident giving it to the Catholic Church relief services and this weekend the Bishops are asking for donations to the effort. Here’s a video clip from New York’s Archbishop Timothy Dolan about the situation and a copy of the letter sent to all Bishops from the USCCB. You can make a donation to Catholic Relief Services here.
Your Eminence/Excellency:
Our Church mourns the terrible suffering of our brothers and sisters in Haiti. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that ravaged Haiti on January 12, 2010 has already claimed thousands of lives including the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince. It has destroyed countless homes, churches, seminaries, schools, and other buildings and has left millions without the most basic necessities of life. Our faith compels us to pray for and reach out to our brothers and sisters in their time of suffering.
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