PathToHoliness

I’ve lost track over the years about what used to be “the media” picking out a phrase from what the Pope says in interviews, audiences and writings. So many people just assume that what the read or hear is true and they don’t check the source.

Our church pastor has told us over and over to always go to the source – Vatican News. Every time I do so I see that the Pope is being taken out of context. That doesn’t mean that I necessarily like what he says about things that are not of church dogma. But at least I understand better what he is trying to say. I’ve lived through several popes and I know this is true of all of them.

I could give you several examples but if you just look and listen to what Pope Francis is saying and then go check on the documents in Vatican News you will find the truth. That’s my experience and I hope it will be yours.

It is a joyful time in the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee. Pope Francis appointed a new Bishop for us. BTW. His name is pronounced, “Wok.” He presided at Mass last week but we completely missed it. But I’m sure we’ll get to meet him soon. The photo is of him at the Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel in the heart of downtown Pensacola.

Here is some information from the official press release.

On May 29, 2017, it was announced that Pope Francis has appointed Bishop-elect William A. Wack the sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee. Bishop-elect Wack comes to the diocese from the Diocese of Austin (TX), where he has been pastor of St. Ignatius Martyr Parish.

Bishop Gregory L. Parkes of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, and fifth bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee, said, “I share in the joy of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee with the announcement of their new bishop. Bishop-Elect Wack and the diocese will be in my prayers during this time of transition.”

Hello Path To Holiness fans. Do you listen to satellite radio? I’m taking a poll and interested in your response if you have a couple seconds. I know EWTN is on ch. 130 on Sirius XM. I also have a Pandora account and have stations like Gregorian Chant set up there. Let me know if listen to satellite.

Let’s look at some ways to follow legitimate news about the selection of our new Pope. I say legitimate because there is so much speculation and supposed news reporting that just shows a world out of touch with faith and especially the Catholic faith. I’m sure the Cardinals really appreciate media stars telling them what they need to consider when making this very important decision, not! We’re seeing it all from advice on how we should have a Pope who is a better business man to a Pope who needs to be more liberal. No where do you see these news stories talk about the need to pray for our Cardinals, that God does watch over His Church, that we need not be afraid and that we need to let our faith guide us during this time.

Okay, so how do we follow what is happening in Rome? How about starting with the Vatican News? They are about as close to the action as you can get. And they will have special coverage of the conclave.

Here’s a Vatican Radio report on what will happen this coming Tuesday: Vatican Radio Report

Then there’s the Pope App. Get it for your iOS or Android device. How’s this for transparency?

An app focused on the figure of the Pope. It will allow you to follow his events live and to set up alerts notifying you when papal events begin.

Additionally, the app will let you see key areas of the Vatican through webcams distributed throughout St. Peter’s Square that are always broadcasting images.

You can also follow Vatican News on Twitter @NewsVa_En, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr.

And there is a Vatican Radio app for your iOS or Android devices.

And of course there’s always L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO and EWTN.

There are so many ways to get better information than you’ll find in the media of today. Now you know what I’ll be following.

Say hello to our new Bishop, the Most Reverend Gregory L. Parkes. I was out of town this week so I couldn’t attend the ordination/installation. Here’s some information though from the Diocese website.

Most Reverend Gregory L. Parkes was ordained a bishop and installed as the fifth Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee in a solemn Mass at St. Paul Catholic Church in Pensacola on June 5, 2012. Bishop Parkes was ordained by Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski, Archbishop of Miami, as the principal consecrator in the majestic Rite of Ordination of a Bishop. Bishop Felipe J. Estévez, Bishop of Saint Augustine, and Bishop John Noonan, Bishop of Orlando, were co-consecrators. All the concelebrating archbishops and bishops then followed suit, laying their hands upon the head of the new bishop in the gesture of ordination. Among those bishops consecrating Bishop Parkes were Bishop John H. Ricard, SSJ, emeritus of the diocese, and Bishop Martin D. Holley, auxiliary bishop of Washington, a native of our diocese.

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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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Monsignor Thomas G. Bohlin, U.S. vicar of Opus Dei, is a guest panelist writer for the Washington Post blog called “On Faith.” Unfortunately you can’t subscribe to just his contributions. However, you can bookmark the link and check it regularly.

Some of his recent contributions include:

Catholic Church says, ‘Welcome home’
Jesus said, “Leave everything and follow me”
You Cannot Force People to Believe
Pope Benedict and the Pursuit of Truth

A movie is being made about the life of St. Josemaria Escriva. I’m guessing that this will be a very different look at Opus Dei and its founder than that sensationalist but from what I understand poorly made movie that got so much attention. Here’s some information about the movie from the Catholic News Agency.

The film “There Be Dragons” is a film set during the brutal Spanish Civil War in the second half of the 1930s, Catholic San Francisco reports. It is expected to be released in summer or fall 2010 and has a budget of about $30 million.

“At that time, that’s pretty heroic. That’s a time when almost all human beings were faced with making extraordinary choices.”

There is a new series starting on EWTN beginning Sunday, August 30 that will focus on Opus Dei and its founder, Saint Josemaría Escrivá. The program consists of 13 parts. Pictured are co-hosts, John Coverdale, Seton Hall law professor and Damon Owens, founder of Joy-Filled Marriage. Chelsea tells me Damon is a Theology of the Body speaker. BTW, she does a weekly post on her personal blog about Theology of the Body and has a blog devoted to it as well.

Each segment will consist of a half-hour interview. One segment will be broadcast each week and will be shown in the United States and Canada three times during that week: Sunday at 5 p.m., Tuesday at 3:30 a.m., and Friday at 10:30 p.m.

Among the other guests in the series are Newark Archbishop John J. Myers, who discusses the role of Opus Dei in the Church; Olga Marlin, who helped start Opus Dei in Kenya; and Terry Hurson, a New York City police officer, who explains how Opus Dei’s spirit has helped him in his work.

Let us continue to pray for our priests as we near the Year For Priests. To commemorate it, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has created a website:

Pope Benedict XVI has declared a “Year for Priests” beginning with the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 19, 2009. The year will conclude in Rome with an international gathering of priests with the Holy Father on June 19, 2010.

Please pray for our priests that they might always be faithful to their sacred calling.

Here’s some great news. On May 23rd in Rome, Bishop Javier Echevarría ordained thirty new priests for the Prelature of Opus Dei.

On the Opus Dei website you can find a lot of pictures from the ordination as well as video and video testimonials from some of the new priests.

You can also read Bishop Javier’s homily. I like this line from it:

With the words of our Father, I remind you that “the priestly vocation brings with it the need for sanctity. This sanctity is not just any sanctity, a common sanctity, nor is it even an excellent sanctity. It is a matter of heroic sanctity.”

The Vatican continues to develop new social media/networking applications to spread the good news of the Church. This time I found the . I just downloaded it and haven’t even tried it yet but I will.

The H2Onews application for the iPhone and iPod Touch brings you timely, insightful news about the life of the Church in the world. In collaboration with the Vatican Television Center and Vatican Radio, H2Onews connects you with video and audio news from the Vatican.

Through H2Onews, the first video news application dedicated to the Catholic world, you can follow the travels and speeches of Benedict XVI, as well as key international ecclesiastical events.

You can find more ways to connect to the Vatican on Pope2you. Here’s an excerpt of the message from Pope Benedict about using new communications technologies. You can read the full text here (pdf).

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

In anticipation of the forthcoming World Communications Day, I would like to address to you some reflections on the theme chosen for this year – New Technologies, New Relationships: Promoting a culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship. The new digital technologies are, indeed, bringing about fundamental shifts in patterns of communication and human relationships. These changes are particularly evident among those young people who have grown up with the new technologies and are at home in a digital world that often seems quite foreign to those of us who, as adults, have had to learn to understand and appreciate the opportunities it has to offer for communications.

I just got home from a trip to our Nation’s Capitol where I was able to attend daily Mass at St. Dominic’s. This is the stained glass window over the entrance to the church with the morning sun streaming through.

It was an interesting time to be in Washington, DC with all the news about the North American flu, also called H1N1 flu. I was in a meeting with our U. S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, who was bemoaning the fact that this has been mis-labeled as swine flu. It is not something that should make you worry about pigs and you can’t get it from eating pork. There are a lot of facts out now although you’re still hearing it referred to by the misnomer. That name is causing havoc with our farmers and not just those raising hogs.

To get some good facts about this new disease check these resources:

Center For Disease Control & Prevention
World Health Organization
USDA

I’ve seen news stories that are taking this whole situation to extremes as they try to scare people in the name of ratings. Regular influenza causes many more problems and to date not enough is known about this strain to make the “sky is falling” comments and convince people to take precipitous action.

Path To Holiness is now on Twitter. It’s about time I got started there.

I’ve got the feed from the website updating the Twitter feed but I’ll also be posting to it separately and more frequently I’m sure.

So feel free to follow along.

BTW. Path To Holiness contributor, Chelsea Zimmerman, is also on Twitter. You can find her here.

I hope you’re praying for our Pope on his Africa trip. This man is brilliant and he exudes peace and even a sense of joy, even in the face of so much criticism and animosity. I love his statements on aids and the use of condoms. He stated the truth and the reaction from the elements of society around the world who have no respect for human life has been loud. He hit a nerve and I applaud him for it.

What I think is most amusing is how supposedly impartial journalists are offering the Pope advice in their “reporting.” I guess most mainstream journalists of today have abandoned any attempt at ethics in their reporting. For example, just take the headline to this TimesOnline article, “World Agenda: this gaffe-prone Pope should beware the Middle East.” Oh really? So you’ve judged him and offered him advice all in one headline. There’s even more in the article like “But the Pope needs to become, if not infallible, then at least less fallible on worldly matters.” I really don’t think we need any more of this reporter’s advice.

The article really is amusing. Take this statement, “Alain Juppe, the former French Prime Minister, said: “This Pope is starting to be a real problem.” I take that to mean that Pope Benedict is doing exactly what he should do. We need more leaders like him in the world!