All Souls at Grotto; Orchestra Mass - Faure Requiem



An Angel Frees the Souls of Purgatory | Lodovico Carracci | c. 1610

Re-posting from the other day. 

This Tuesday is All Saints, and it is a holy day of obligation. Mass times at Assumption Grotto will be as on Sundays (6:30 am, 9:30 am, Noon), and there will be a 7:00 pm, as well.

Also, Wednesday is All Souls. It is not a holy day of obligation, but in your charity for the suffering souls in purgatory, it is merciful to assist at holy Mass if you can. Fr. Perrone speaks about all of this in the bulletin for October 30, which is now online (and copied below).

Another point of interest for All Souls at Assumption Grotto is that the Assumption Grotto choir and small orchestra will sing the Faure Requiem. Fr. Perrone explains more below. From his column:

I made reference a couple weeks back to a book of Catholic piety from the nineteenth century, THE GOLDEN MANUAL, commending it and using it as a yardstick to indicate how limp we moderns have become in spiritual zeal.


As the month of November is now about to open with its theme of praying for the faithful departed (that is, not just all the dead, but for the Christian dead), I thought it opportune to quote from the brief entry it owns for All Souls Day, November 2.


“To pray for the dead is a pious duty which the Church authorizes and which she has always religiously practiced. Her intention on this day is that the faithful should offer up their prayers to God for the repose and happiness of all their departed brethren; that their supplications should be accompanied with alms-deeds, mortification, and other works of satisfaction which will make them more efficacious; and lastly, that they will reflect upon their own exit from the world, which will induce them to be more careful in avoiding sin and performing the duties of a Christian life.” (emphasis added).

In another place of this fine book there are found litanies pertaining to the dead: two litanies for the faithful departed and a Litany for the Souls in Purgatory. Too bad space does not permit me to reprint them for you. I will try to have some copies of at least one of them in the church for you on All Souls Day (about which more’s to follow).


First there is Tuesday, All Saints Day. You must hear Mass that day. Our parish Mass schedule will be as on a Sunday(6:30, 9:30; noon) with an evening Mass at 7:00 p.m.


Then there is All Souls Day, November 2, Wednesday. Masses will be at 6:30 and 7:30 a.m. Other Masses will be said as priests are available for the morning. There will be a solemn high Mass at 7:00 p.m. which I encourage you to attend. There will be held, after the Mass, the ‘absolution’ prayers for the dead at the catafalque. The orchestral Mass music will be Fauré’s Requiem, the very work performed for the funeral Mass of Monsignor Sawher some years ago (recording available on Grotto Productions CD).

Conquering the fear of redundancy, I specify for you once again this year some particulars on prayers for the faithful departed All Souls Day and on the first eight days of November. Here we go, beginning with the latter.


You may gain a plenary indulgence for the dead once a day on each of the days from November 1st through the 8th by visiting a Catholic cemetery. On such visits one needs only pray there for the faithful departed, if only mentally. (It would be well, of course, to pray some memorized prayers or special prayers for the dead found in a prayer book). Then the other conditions must also be met (see below). On any other days, such visits to a cemetery with prayers for the dead gain a partial indulgence for the dead.


On All Souls Day, November 2, a plenary indulgence may be gained for the faithful departed if one would visit the church on that day (Mass attendance would be ideal). The specified prayers in the church are an Our Father and a Creed (presumably either the Apostles Creed or the Sunday Nicene Creed are permitted).

For an indulgence to be Plenary (that is, complete), as opposed to Partial, these things must apply: the person performing the plenary indulgence must be in a state of grace and have no attachment even to a venial sin (for which an Act of Contrition would be the remedy); one must go to sacramental confession (within a span, before or after, of a few days); the reception of Holy Communion (preferably on the day the indulgence is gained); and some prayer(s) for the intentions of the Pope (also best done on the very day; for this an Our Father and Hail Mary suffices.

A catafalque at Ss. Trinita in Rome (Ss. Trinita in Rome - Image by John Sonnen)

You might wonder: What is a catafalque?  How do you even pronounce it?  Go to the New Liturgical Movement for a blogpost made not long ago concerning construction of the catafalque for All Souls (scroll down past the headlines here)

If you would like to see what a Requiem Mass looks like using the 1962 Missal, Sancta Missa has a link to an EWTN vide from All Souls Day 2008 here: http://www.sanctamissa.org/en/tutorial/missa-solemnis/missa-solemnis-requiem-all-souls-ewtn-2008.html.  If you want to follow along, here is what  you will need, and note that a link to a video from St. John Cantius is also at the top.


If you are interestested in the CD of the Faure Requiem previously recorded and cannot make it to the Grotto gift shop after the 9:30 or Noon Mass, or during the week after most morning Masses, call the gift shop between 8:30 - 9:00 am.  (313) 332-4432

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Metro Detroit priest put on leave following accusation

The Archdiocese of Detroit released a statement today concerning Rev. Gary Schulte (66), pastor of St. Sylvester Parish in Warren, Michigan, who has been put on administrative leave following an accusation of sexual misconduct with a minor in the early years of his priesthood.

Effective October 28, 2011, Fr. Gary Schulte, 66, pastor of St. Sylvester Parish in Warren, Michigan, has been placed on an administrative leave of absence by the Archdiocese of Detroit and is currently restricted from any public ministry.


In September an allegation of sexual misconduct with a person under the age of 18 involving Fr. Schulte dating back to the early years of his ministry in the Detroit archdiocese was received by the Victim Assistance Coordinator. Subsequently, the complaint was reported to civil authorities and considered by the chair of Archdiocesan Review Board and the archbishop's lead advisors on these matters.


An initial investigation found the complaint to be of sufficient substance to require restrictions on Fr. Schulte's service as a priest, i.e., not allowed to publicly celebrate the Mass or sacraments, and not allowed to present himself publicly as a priest.


Fr. Thomas Sutherland, a senior (retired) priest, will serve as temporary administrator of St. Sylvester Parish.

A Detroit Free Press article says the case was referred to the Oakland County Prosecutor in September (which is when the complaint was made, according to the Detroit News).  Ned McGrath, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Detroit says, "We have not made a decision of guilt." 

In other words, they are letting the investigation happen by civil authorities and an accusation is not the equivalent of being found guilty.

Prior to joining Assumption Grotto in Detroit in May of 2005, I spent my Sunday's floating between several area parishes.  St. Sylvester was among those parishes and I knew Fr. Schulte through his celebration of the Mass and Confessions, the latter of which were offered regularly on Saturdays with decent attendance.  He's been at St. Sylvesters since 1994 and I was there for his first Mass at the parish and went periodically there until 2005.  My recollection of him was that of a gentle, charitable soul. 

This really saddens me and I hope he is eventually cleared.  That said, I would never hope for such a thing at the expense of truth, which is most important, especially if someone has been abused.  I am very cautious to not go too far in either direction with my assumptions and interior judgments.  It's really the best approach - to suspend judgment and pray that the process works, and works expeditiously for all concerned.  None of us has access to specifics needed to make an informed judgment - for, or against, either person.  So, we wait to see what the prosecutor finds.

Priests have been accused, and later found guilty of having committed unspeakable crimes against children - harming them physically, emotionally, and spiritually.   There are always people who can attest to an accused priest's great character, even in those who have been found guilty of multiple offenses.   However, priests have also been falsely accused, with evidence-a-plenty of their innocence.  Not all are returned to active ministry, or to parish ministry, even after being proven innocent (read more here, and here). 

What is most important in a case like this is truth and justice.  Please keep the accuser and Fr. Schulte in your prayers, as well as those involved with the investigation. 

• Link to the statement at the Archdiocese of Detroit webpage on Fr. Gary Schulte, and additional info.

*Story updated at 7:45 am, October 31.

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No Excuses!

Never choose to be a victim what you are dealt with in life. See how one man is making the best of his situation, and making use of the gifts God did give him, to help others.

UPDATE:

And, on a similar note, Msgr. Charles Pope has an excellent post up. 

• On the Myopia of Low Self Esteem – Coming to Accept Ourselves as God Has Made Us

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Holy Boldness: Bishops speak out... {updated}

Updated 6:00 pm: Added a link to a recent "Red Mass" homily at South Bend, IN at Notre Dame.  Check it out.
I grew up unaccustomed to hearing bishops speak out on current events in the news like abortion, or about certain topics in the liturgy. I most especially  did not grow up witnessing bishops take on members of the media, or Hollywood personalities who attacked the Church. Then again, my recollection of media years ago was one that was more objective.  They reported the news, but not before a lot of fact-checking.  I see this generation of bishops much more bold and willing to speak out.   Some want more and they want it now, but I prefer to rejoice over small victories rather than lament over the long road ahead.  We need to pray for the bishops, and for our priests. 

I don't think it's a matter of the internet giving us greater access to what other bishops are saying and writing about.  I think there is a real shift in how this new generation of bishops believes some things should be handled, and they are choosing not to be wall-flowers.  Here are some items in the news worth reading....

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Archbishop Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas defends Bishop Finn of Kansas City, Missouri.  Bp Finn was recently indicted for, "a midsemeanor charge of failure to report child abuse".  He also raises some very interesting questions, revealing a double standard you might not spot if looking at this case from a distance.  Father Z's analysis of Archbishop Naumann's article is a good one: Archbp. Naumann (Archd. KC) on Bp. Finn (D. KC-St. Joseph) and the Kansas City Star.  The Remnant and the Bill Donohue of the Catholic League also have good defenses of Bishop Finn.

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USCCB President and Archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan, talked about "cheap shots" by Susan Sarandon aimed at the Pope.  The actress and dissident Catholic referred to the Holy Father as a "Nazi".  Even some unlikely secular sources objected to her remarks.  Archbishop Dolan talks about the matter and expresses gratitude to the New York Post for it's public chastisement of Sarandon.

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Father Z fisks another good piece written by a bishop on the beauty in the liturgy, which Bishop Morlino says is NOT just a matter of taste.


Also posted this morning at the blog of Father Z was this short video clip from a sermon by Bishop Alexander Sample of Marquette. He offers some catechesis about the ad orientem posture of the priest, where he leads the people in worship with all facing the same direction.  Is the priest "turning his back" on the people? Watch and listen very carefully. 

As I have posted in my sidebar is something which sums it up in a sentence: Seek not the face of the priest in the Mass, but the face of Almighty God!


If you want to see discussion, I suggest going to Father Z's where the combox is always lively. http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/10/bp-sample-on-ad-orientem-worship/

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It is worth noting that this new generation of bishops are being heard in a variety of ways.  They are using social media to connect with people.  If you check in on the Twitter feed of Indianapolis Auxiliary Bishop Christopher Coyne, you will see that he sends out a sting of tweets each morning and periodically during the day.  Archbishop Dolan blogs pretty much weekly and he often takes on the media there in New York.  The newly ordained, Bishop Dowd, is active on facebook, as he was before his installation as an auxiliary in Canada.

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A homily from a recent "Red Mass" in South Bend, Indiana at Notre Dame by Bishop Kevin Rhoades is quite the punch.  Here's an excerpt from homily at the October 10 Mass,  just uploaded on the 19th:

I am speaking about these things at this Red Mass this evening because of the current situation the Catholic Church is facing here in the United States. There is a subtle, and increasingly not so subtle, effort by some in our society to restrict our religious liberty. And they are enjoying some success. We see an increasing number of federal government programs and policies, and also programs and policies in some states, that infringe upon our rights of conscience and violate our religious liberty rights as individuals and as an institution. Assaults on our religious freedom appear to be growing in ways that perhaps we may never have imagined even a few years ago. The problem is such that a few weeks ago our United States Conference of Catholic Bishops established an Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty. I ask you, as members of the legal profession, as judges, lawyers, as law students and professors, and also those who serve in public office, to join us in the defense of our religious freedom and our rights of conscience.

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Fr. Perrone: Don't Make God only an object of study

This homily was delivered by Fr. Perrone at the 9:30 am Mass on October 9, 2011 which was the 17th Sunday after Pentecost in the 1962 Missal.  He speaks about loving God with our whole heart, soul and mind.

I’ve been waiting for two long years to preach a sermon on the 17th Sunday after Pentecost. When it came round last year I did not have the Tridentine Mass. The reason for my zeal to have a word about it was the reading of Saint Bernard’s Commentary on the Song of Songs which was my spiritual book at the time. In the final chapter of the first volume there’s found the Saint’s thoughts on three key words of the Gospel today: heart, soul and mind. The greatest commandment, in the words of our Lord, is to “love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul and with thy whole mind.” His second commandment, as is well-known, is “to love thy neighbor as thyself.” Sermons easily gravitate towards the latter commandment but less frequently explain the primary one. I thought it wise to share my enthusiasm for Saint Bernard’s thoughts with you since the ‘greatest commandment’ is so often slighted in preaching.


These three words of Christ–heart, soul, mind–have a distinctively Hebraic ring to them. By this I mean that they would probably have been received by Jewish ears as synonyms, as three words meaning basically the same thing, their repetition lending intensification or emphasis, just as when we say that the summer’s weather is “hot, muggy, and uncomfortable.” Thus, to love God with the whole of one’s heart, soul and mind would have amounted to saying “with all you’ve got.” Yet one cannot so easily exhaust the divine word of God in this way. As commentators over the centuries have pondered the meaning of every syllable uttered by Christ, they have uncovered shades of meaning and divine intentions not so facilely suspected upon first hearing. And so we come to the Commentary of Saint Bernard ready to learn from his mind so well immersed in the word of God.


To begin with, let us review that anyone who does not love the Lord is accursed, according to the teaching of Saint Paul. Indeed, we ought to love the One through whom we have our being, our life, and our ability to know. If we are ungrateful to God, we are unworthy of Him. We were created for the express purpose of Himself, and so, whoever lives for himself and not for God is as nothing. The other motivation that arouses in us the love for Christ is the chalice of suffering that He drank to the full in His passion and death in order to win the salvation of our souls. This should add a sweetness to our love for Him since He labored so hard in us, whereas in creating us He merely spoke His word, effortlessly.


I turn now to a consideration of those three words–heart, soul, mind–which express the qualities of our love for God. We learn from Christ how it is that we ought to love Him. We can’t allow the undeniably attractive things of the world or the pleasures of the flesh to lead us astray. Christ is a greater good than the deceits that beguile so many. There is this threefold love commanded by our Lord: The love of the heart refers (according to Saint Bernard) to the warmth of affection. The love of soul relates to the judgment of reason. The love of strength to our constancy and vigor of spirit. Accordingly, one should love God will the full and deep affection of his heart. One should love Him with a mind fully alert; and one should love Him with such strength so as not to fear even to die for love of Him.


The Saint deepens his insights. Your affection for your Lord Jesus, the love of the heart, should be both tender and intimate. In this way it will be able to oppose the sweet enticements of the sensual life. This is how one sweetness can conquer another sweetness, just as the way one nail drives out another. Loving Christ with your mind means that He is the guiding light of your thoughts, not only by your rejection of false religion and heretical beliefs, but even by shaping of the words of your conversations. The strength and constancy of that love means that one need have no fear at the sometimes hard-work there is in Christian living. In sum then, one should love Christ affectionately, wisely and intensely. All three are needed: affection without reason can be carried astray in emotional fantasy; a wise love is good but alone it is too fragile without the added strength.

Loving Christ with the heart means being touched by His every word, by His sacred humanity. The soul at prayer, says the Saint, should have before it a sacred image of the God-man, in His birth or infancy, or as He was teaching, or dying on the cross, or rising or ascending into heaven. This image of Christ helps bind one’s soul with the love of virtue and helps it expel impure vices, eliminate temptations, and quiet the raging desires of the flesh. Bernard himself believes that this may have been the principal reason why the invisible God wished to come and to be seen in the flesh and to converse with men who would have been unable to love Him in any other way than by first drawing them to His own humanity and then gradually to raise them to a deeper spiritual love. The measure of our love for Christ can easily be calculated by whether we prefer Him to someone else, or to some sensual pleasure. This would prove in us a love divided. As He said, however, “whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.” To love with the whole heart means to put love of His sacred humanity before everything that may tempt us, either from within or without.

While there is a good deal more to the teaching of Saint Bernard on this subject, I inject here a reflection of my own. There is a huge danger in proposing the Catholic faith without a tender affection for Christ. A number of things have leagued together to create an affective vacuum in our spirituality: one of which has been the removal of uplifting sacred images from our churches, the scarcity of printed holy cards, crucifixes and absence of pious images form our homes. Another has been making Christ’s words a source of didactic instruction without any corresponding love for them. It’s wholly significant, I think, that Christ did not say that we are to know or to learn about God with our whole heart, soul and mind but rather that we must love Him so. Religion can be a pretty chilly exercise of the mind and will when piety is removed from it. Such a religion would be, I think, incapable of shunning the sinful attractions everywhere proposed to us and would fail to make us ascend unto sanctity of life. The Lord once uttered a provocative word when He asked whether upon His return to earth the love of God in men’s hearts would have become cold. The spiritual atmosphere has certainly cooled in recent years and there is little left to make us devout Christiansother than discovering, or rediscovering, the love of Christ through affection for His sacred humanity: through His Sacred Heart, through the Divine Mercy, through His cross. This is the very Christ who comes to us in Holy Communion: His obstinately faithful way of proving His love.

People easily err today in regard to religion by making it too much a cerebral thing, making God only an object of study. As a consequence, many feel spiritually disengaged and think they are losing their faith, when in fact that may indeed be the case. Re-enkindling the love of Christ is the remedy for recurring sinfulness and for waning devotion. That totality which Christ speaks of–the whole heart, soul and mind–is the goal of anyone aspiring to eternal life. Catholics have much to relearn about the love of God that comes to us through the sacred humanity of God-become-man in Christ.

Given on the 17th Sunday after Pentecost, 2011 - October 9, 2011 (1962 Missal)

Photo note:  Fr. Perrone meditating at the organ during readings at the Noon Mass on Easter Sunday, 2006.  He had conducted an orchestra Mass at 9:30 am, and assisted with singing at the Noon Mass, filling in at the organ.

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A reminder: read my Twitter Feed to see what I'm reading...

Hi Folks,

There's been so much happening lately I have not had much time for blogging. However, I do go in to Twitter several times daily to see what's happening, and I "retweet". Or, if I am reading a news story, I click the "Tweet" button and it ends up in my feed.

Go here to read my feed.  Click and scroll. You can always get to it through my sidebar right near the top under, "My other accounts".  Here it is for your convenience.  http://twitter.com/#!/TeDeumBlog.  Especially when you don't see me blogging, click that feed and scroll to see what's happening out there. 

I don't see a need to comment on every story, but I do like to pass along the news.

Do you need to have a Twitter account to read my Twitter feed? No.  However, opening a Twitter account, even if you keep it a private account so no one can see your tweets, it allows you to follow other feeds in one convenient place.   This includes bloggers like myself and many other Catholic bloggers, but also other sources.  If you like news, sports, or whatever, there are people out there tweeting on it and once you find someone and follow them, you find others with similar interests.

Pray for me today as I include you in my prayers.

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Ripped from the Catholic Headlines - Tuesday Edition

Today is the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist. One thing I noticed in looking over artwork for this apostle, is that he is often depicted with a winged-bull.  I didn't have time to look it up, so I would ask my readers to chime in.  What is the story behind this?

Here are a few topics floating around....

The Holy Father explains the need for a "Year for Faith"
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Msgr. Charles Pope is blogging: On The “Noninfallibilists” and How They Diminish Virtues of Docility and Obedience.  The blogging monsignor also has a post up, of interest: On Being Rich in What Matters to God – A Reflection on Our Often Wrongful Priorities.

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Thugs who were part of "occupy Rome" decided to take it out on a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Taylor Marshall shows a picture and offers a useful suggestion: Five First Saturdays.  Father Z talks about the many protests in Rome, as well.  Reporter Charles Gasparino decided to take a stroll through "occupiers" in New York.  Is it Marxist?  You decide.  See his story and a video at the bottom.  

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In Oklahoma, a cancer patient trades her life so her baby could survive. 

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Yesterday was the feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch.  Fr. Ryan Erlenbush discusses the authority of bishops in the writings of St. Ignatius.  There is an interesting dialogue taking place in the combox.

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At the National Catholic Register, Joan Frawley Desmond is talking about:  HHS Ends Contract With Church Program for Trafficking Victims, Stressing Need for Contraception 

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Dr. Gerard Nadal continues his Novena for Jon Scharfenberger and others injured in a head-on collision that claimed the lives Kortney Blythe Gordon and her unborn baby, Sophy, as well as the other driver.  Kortney was the National Field Director for Students for Life.  They were returning from a pro-life conference in Georgia just over a week ago when the accident happened.   For more on Jon who is fighting for his life, read this initial post on him by Gerry.  Please keep all concerned in your prayers.

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Below is a snapshot of another petulant "tweet" and facebook entry offered by Fr. Pavone (the latter of which has 42 comments revealing that it was taken as a veiled snipe at his own bishop).  It was made on the feast of St. Teresa of Avila. 

Fr. Pavone was a "no show" at a meeting set up by Bishop Zurek for October 13th.  It was learned the next day that it was on the advice of his canon lawyer that he not go the meeting without mediation.  Blogging canonist Ed Peters explores the use of mediation in such cases.  The question is, what kind of mediation is he looking for?  It seems that the very pro-life Bishop Gracida agrees with Dr. Peters .... at least the exclamation points he put up when copying the text over to his blog usually signals agreement and he gave Ed's post four of them.  In the title of his post, Bishop Gracida asks, "What is there to mediate?"

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Interesting interview on organ project at St. John Cantius in Chicago

I am back from my silent retreat which was held in Chicago and offered prayers for you, my readers.  I regret that, once again, while in Chicago I did not have time to visit St. John Cantius.  I want to stop in on a weekend when I can take in several Masses and hear the various choirs.

Those interested in the comeback of classical sacred music in the Mass will want to watch this video out of St. John Cantius in Chicago.  You will get some behind the scenes look at what is involved with pipe organs in general and, some history about certain pipe organs.  Of course, they are embarking on a project which you might consider supporting in whatever way possible.  Whether you can help or not, the video is interesting.

Noteworthy, is that Assumption Grotto has one seminarian with the community at St. John Cantius.  Brother Matthew is the tall one below in the center, looking on as Fr. David Bechill was ordained at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Detroit this past September 14.  He was visiting when he learned of the ordination and came to offer prayers.

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

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Ripped from the Catholic Headlines...

Statue of St. Therese of Lisieux in the Assumption Grotto cemetery

I'm taking time out for a retreat and will not be online until later Sunday or Monday.  I will include  you, my readers, in my prayers and I ask you to include me in yours.  I am turning off comments because I want an electronic free retreat and do not want to be tempted to moderate them.  It will only tempt me to look at email and other happenings.  I'm even abstaining from checking in on the Tigers and the big U of M - Michigan State game.  I'll have to find out after the fact. 


On this the 13th of October, I leave you with a few things ripped from the Catholic headlines that I have read in the past few days that are worthy reads.


First, it is October 13th, and on this day in 1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary made her final appearance to the children of Fatima and it is when the miracle of the sun took place. 


Second, October is a big month for Carmelites with feast days for St. Therese of Lisieux having passed on the 1st, and Teresa of Avila coming up on the 15th.  I will point back to two audiences of Pope Benedict recently, when he talked about the mystics and doctors of the Church. 

• Wednesday, February 2, 2011: St. Teresa of Avila
• Wednesday, April 6, 2011: St. Therese of Lisieux

Now, for some interesting stories circulating that you can read in the coming days...


Here are Ten Practical Prayer Tips from the Carmelite Sisters.

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Pope Benedict XVI is deeply saddened by the violence in Cairo against Christians.

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Archbishop Timothy Dolan reflects on prayer and penance.  After reading this brief blogpost by His Excellency, I find myself hopeful that US bishops will follow their brothers in England and Wales who brought back "meatless Fridays" this year.   It may be fall, but I think Archbishop Dolan is planting seeds.  Brick-by-brick

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Following on the heels of of changes made in the Diocese of Phoenix on distribution of Communion under both kinds, Bishop Morlino of Madison, Wisconsin has taken a similar path.  It was unknown by most of us that an indult expired several years ago and a requested extension was not permitted.  These bishops are working to respect the wishes of the Holy See in their dioceses.  I suspect we will see a string of these in the coming months.

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The Anchoress blogs about the Supreme Court and an interesting video that was released with justices holding discussions.  She also touches on the subjects that should be of interest to Catholics and people of other faiths here in the US.  Is the US trending towards a culture of "freedom from religion"?   Jimmy Akin also has something to say in his post, "Supreme Court to Decide on Women Priests?"


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Up in Marquette, Michigan, Fr. John Boyle blogs about the last address given by Bishop Alexander Sample to priests of the diocese at their convocation.  Bishop Sample shares his program for the "New Evanglization".  Folks, this is a must-read.  Take your time reading.  It is a breath of fresh air.   If you want to know something about Bishop Sample, he takes very seriously his role as teacher in his diocese as this memorable story from 2009 reveals.

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Archbishop Vigneron ordained 10 new deacons for the Archdiocese of Detroit on October 5th.

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On October 4, the Catholic League is called out the NFL for having the singer, Madonna, for half-time entertainment at the superbowl.  She has been blatantly offensive to Christians, but most especially Catholics.  The Catholic League is now calling on the NFL to drop her.  The NFL says it's half-time show for the superbowl will be appropriate.  For my part, the vast majority of Americans identify themselves as Christians.  Consider for a moment if her lyrics and antics had been supportive of the Ku Klux Klan and racist.  Would they be seeking her out?  Something is twisted here.

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Photos: Beautiful Fall Day at Assumption Grotto

It was a beautiful Fall day in southeast Michigan.  I remembered my camera and was out there shooting just after 8:00 am as the suns rays were cutting through the trees.  I continued to shoot until 9:00 at which time I had to go to choir practice. 

If you look carefully in the pic above, you will notice a very long spider web running from a tree to the tombstone (Jos. Greiner)

I'll drop a few more here and the rest you can see in a Fall stock photo section at my Smugmug site. 

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Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and the Battle of Lepanto

Paolo Veronese's The Battle of Lepanto

c. 1572, Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice

Today is the Feast of the Holy Rosary, and also a day in which we recall the Our Lady of Victory at the great battle of Lepanto.  Fr. Angelo at Mary Victrix made an excellent post on this which I brought to you previously.  If you read it before, read it again - today.

Go read, The Spirit of Mary Victrix

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Bishop Zurek will meet with Fr. Pavone on October 13

In a letter released to the public yesterday, Bishop Zurek affirmed his pro-life position and said that a private meeting would take place on October 13th between him and Fr. Pavone.

Read the full text at the Diocese of Amarillo.

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As many mourn the death of Steve Jobs, we reflect on his birth

The timing was impeccable: Deacon Greg Kandra's "Respect Life Sunday" homily, delivered this past weekend, which was about the birth of Steve Jobs. I linked to it the other day, here it is again.

Since this is Respect Life Sunday, and the beginning of Respect Life month, I wanted to talk about one woman who did respect life – and her choice has made a difference in the life of virtually every person in this church.


Her name is Joanne Schiebel. In 1954, she was a young unmarried college student who discovered that she was pregnant. In the 1950s, her options were limited. She could have had an abortion – but the procedure was both dangerous and illegal. She could have gotten married, but she wasn’t ready and didn’t want to interrupt her education. Joanne opted, instead, to give birth to the baby and put it up for adoption.


And so it was that in 1955, a California couple named Paul and Clara Jobs adopted a baby boy, born out of wedlock, that they named Steven.


We know him today…as Steve Jobs.

It would not be overstating things to say that Steve Jobs is my generation’s Thomas Edison. As one observer put it, he knew what the world wanted before the world knew that it wanted it.


If you have an iPhone or an iPad or an iPod, or anything remotely resembling them, you can thank Steve Jobs.


If your world has been transformed by the ability to hear a symphony, send a letter, pay a bill, deposit a check, read a book and then buy theater tickets on something roughly the size of a credit card…you can thank Steve Jobs.


And: you can thank Joanne Schiebel.

Go read the rest at the Deacon's Bench

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Pope Benedict XVI tells university teachers to convey love for knowledge and truth

I learned some time ago, that not everything the Holy Father says is translated into English. When you look at the Angelus in different languages, you will find this to be especially true, even moreso, when he addresses something to a particular language group after the Angelus.   For example, go in this list to September 4, 2011 and click on the German link.  Scroll to view all that is there, then come back and look at the English, and other languages for the same date.

Louis Belanger caught something from the October 2, 2011 Angelus*.  Something he briefly said to the the French is not found in the English version.  While it is a message to university teachers about knowledge and truth, I think the message is true for anyone who passes on the faith. Many thanks for Louis' translation of this.

I'll let you read it at his blog, where he has embedded video, as well.

• Medjupedia: Benedict XVI’s invitation for all persons who are involved in training and education

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St. Francis of Assisi and a lesson about prayer

Painting: St. Francis of Assis consoled by Angels | Badalocchio, Sisto (1581/85 - c. 1647)

On this, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi let us suspend for a moment thoughts about his interesting relationship with animals and learn from him, something about prayer and devotion.

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Many in our secular society cannot imagine why a man or a woman would enter consecrated life.  It's even more unthinkable that they would enter a cloister or monastery with little or no chance of leaving their dwelling once they walk through the doors. 

Many Catholics today cannot understand this concept of being locked away in prayer.  They wonder what purpose it serves.  They think that such people could be contributing something greater to society by helping the poor, for example.  Through a worldly lens, a cloister makes no sense; however, through the lens of faith in God, it makes perfect sense.  Any bishop worth his salt, would want such a prayer powerhouse in his diocese, and the people would do well to provide them with support.

But prayer - even contemplative prayer, is not something meant only for a cloister or monastery.  People complained about how much time Mother Teresa spent in prayer, yet she probably did more to meet the corporal and spiritual needs of the poorest of the poor in a month than many do in a lifetime. She said,

"Jesus made Himself the bread of life to give us life. That's where we begin the day, with Mass. And we end the day with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. I don't think that I could do this work for even one week if I didn't have four hours of prayer every day."

People often think of the prayer as the time when we ask God for something.  We call this the prayer of petition.  However, few consider the prayer of adoration, where we love God with our being, adoring him, strictly for His sake. A small child will often express love for a parent spontaneously with a hug, or for an extended period of time, just content to snuggle.  For those of you who are parents, you know how delightful this is, especially when the child looks for nothing, but wants only to express love for you.  This is pure because it seeks nothing.

Reparation is a word which is rarely heard today.  It needs to be taught.  Learning what the Church teaches about reparation motivates us to make prayers and acts of reparation.  Before I share a story about St. Francis and prayer, I want to offer this explanation from the Catholic Encyclopedia:

We are restored to grace through the merits of Christ's Death, and that grace enables us to add our prayers, labours, and trials to those of Our Lord "and fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ" (Colossians 1:24). We can thus make some sort of reparation to the justice of God for our own offences against Him, and by virtue of the Communion of the Saints, the oneness and solidarity of the mystical Body of Christ, we can also make satisfaction and reparation for the sins of others.

St. Francis loved to suffer because he understood the redemptive qualities it could have when prayers and sacrifices were humbly offered with this intention. 

This story I am sharing comes from the Omnibus of the Sources for the Life of St. Francis, which is a collection of the most famous works by, and on, St. Francis, now bound in two volumes.  It comes specifically from the Legend of Perugia, No. 71.  While he is speaking about the religious brothers here, some of what he says applies to anyone, lay or religious.   Read carefully, emphasis mine in bold:

Eloquence and Prayer


(71) He also said: "There are many brothers who day and night put all their energy and all their attention into the pursuit of knowledge, thereby abandoning prayer and their holy vocation.  And when they have preached to a few men or to the people, and learn that certain ones were edified or converted to penance through their discourse, they are puffed up and pride themselves on the results and work of others.  For, those whom they think they edified or converted to penance by their discourse were actually edified or converted by God through the prayers of the holy brothers who are completely ignorant of it; God wishes it this way for fear it should be grounds for pride for them.  Behold my Knights of the Round Table: the brothers who hide in abandoned and secluded places to devote themselves with more fervor to prayer and meditation, to weep over their sins and those of others. Their holiness is known to God, but most often unknown to the brothers and to men.  When their souls will be presented to the Lord by the angels, the Lord will reveal the effect and reward of their labors, that is to say, the host of souls saved by their prayrs.  And he will say to them: 'My sons, see the souls saved by  your prayers; since you were faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater.'"

I think there is much to reflect on here, especially with how we approach our chosen apostolates.  While some can put too much into pursuing knowledge, to the near exclusion of prayer and silence before the Lord, we can also do the same with our "activism".  No matter how noble the cause, the saints have shown us our human efforts are no match for what it takes to really save souls. It all must be coupled with prayer. 

St. Francis of Assisi also had a great devotion to the holy angels. From the same "omnibus" (Celano, Second Life):

(197) Francis venerated with a very great affection the angels who are with us in our struggle and who walk in the midst of the shadow of death with us.  Such companions who were everywhere with us, he used to say, are to be venerated, such are to be invoked as our guardians.  He used to teach that their presence must not be offended, and that we must not presume to do before them what we would not do before men.

I leave you with Andrea Bocelli singing for the Holy Father... Fratello Sole, Sorella Luna

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

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Powerful homily for Respect Life Sunday

I was floored by Deacon Greg Kandra's homily for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary time.

Deacon Kandra writes:

Since this is Respect Life Sunday, and the beginning of Respect Life month, I wanted to talk about one woman who did respect life – and her choice has made a difference in the life of virtually every person in this church.

Her name is Joanne Schiebel. In 1954, she was a young unmarried college student who discovered that she was pregnant. In the 1950s, her options were limited. She could have had an abortion – but the procedure was both dangerous and illegal. She could have gotten married, but she wasn’t ready and didn’t want to interrupt her education. Joanne opted, instead, to give birth to the baby and put it up for adoption.

And so it was that in 1955, a California couple named Paul and Clara Jobs adopted a baby boy, born out of wedlock, that they named Steven.

We know him today…as Steve Jobs.

It would not be overstating things to say that Steve Jobs is my generation’s Thomas Edison. As one observer put it, he knew what the world wanted before the world knew that it wanted it.

If you have an iPhone or an iPad or an iPod, or anything remotely resembling them, you can thank Steve Jobs.

If your world has been transformed by the ability to hear a symphony, send a letter, pay a bill, deposit a check, read a book and then buy theater tickets on something smaller than a cigarette case…you can thank Steve Jobs.

And: you can thank Joanne Schiebel.

Read the whole thing at Deacon's Bench - it's an awesome read.

LIFECHAIN TODAY - FIND ONE NEAR YOU

There will be a life chain in front of Assumption Grotto today from 2:00 - 3:30.  These are happening all across the country today.  Find a location near you by state, then city, here: http://lifechain.net/

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Feast of St. Therese

A blessed feast day to all of my brothers and sisters in Carmel!
Here is something from a letter sent from Thérèse to Céline

Jesus is a hidden treasure, and inestimable good which few souls are able to find for it is hidden, and the world loves what sparkles. Ah! if Jesus had willed to show Himself to all souls with His ineffable gifts, no doubt there is not one of them that would have despised Him. However, He does not will that we love Him for His gifts, He Himself must be our reward. To find a hidden thing one must hide oneself; our life must then be a mystery. We must be like Jesus, Jesus whose face was hidden. . . . "Do you want to learn something that may be of use to you?" says the Imitation.1 "love to be unknown and accounted for nothing . . . " And elsewhere: "After you have left everything, you must above all leave yourself; let one man boast of one thing, another of something else; as for you, place your joy only in contempt of yourself." What peace these words give to the soul, Céline. You know them, but do you not know all I would like to say to you? . . . Jesus loves you with a love so great that, if you were to see it, you would be in an ecstasy of happiness that would cause your death, but you do not see it, and you are suffering.

Further reading:

• Official website of St. Therese
• St. Therese - Doctor of the Church (Michael Nowak at CERC)
• EWTN's resource page commemoriating the 100th anniversary of her death

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

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