Pages

Friday, November 29, 2013

Fr. Perrone to speak at Call to Holiness Fundraiser after Noon Mass at Grotto on Sunday



Come to Assumption Grotto this weekend to hear Fr. Perrone speak at a fundraiser for a Call to Holiness conference coming up in 2014.

You can pay at the door.


For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Blog Updated with iBreviary and Catholic Culture Widgets

If you scroll the side-bar you will notice some changes. Two things I want to which I want to draw your attention are below.






Catholic Culture News Link


Over to the right, in the side bar, I did not realize that my news link from Catholic Culture had disappeared.  But, it looks like they've done some updating and I have an even better one now.  If you click on the readings for the day, it will give you information for both the new and old calendars.  Below that will be other interesting things that should change each day, including top headlines.  Catholic Culture is closed on holidays and weekends, so those would be the only time it would not update.

iBreviary Widget


Also, I discovered iBreviary had widgets so I have added one to the sidebar.  This allows you to pray any part of the Divine Office online, right here.  And, the text is pre-loaded for the day and arranged to flow (no skipping from one section to another).  iBreviary was the subject of much discussion back in 2008 when it debuted.  I'm in agreement with the statement given here that if the text is faithful to an approved text, it stands to reason it is valid e-text for those who are required to pray it.  The way I see it, I can imagine how some complained throughout the centuries as text went from being chiseled into stone, to scrolls, then books, etc.  I like the feel of a book in hand, but my iPhone is ever in my pocket and there is no hopping around from this section or that, or consulting a booklet to find out what I should be praying.

One note is that on Saturdays (for the Blessed Virgin Mary), and certain feast days, you might see notes about using the "More Prayers" section. Note there is a "More" button.  Click that and explore what is in there.

The daily Mass readings for the new calendar are there, as well.





For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

St. Cyprian: The world hates Christians, so why give your love to it…?



The Second Reading in today's Office of Readings in the Divine Office is from St. Cyprian.  Very powerful.


From a sermon on man’s mortality by Saint Cyprian, bishop and martyr
(Cap 18:24, 26: CSEL 3, 308, 312-314)

Let us banish the fear of death and think of the eternal life that follows it

Our obligation is to do God’s will, and not our own. We must remember this if the prayer that our Lord commanded us to say daily is to have any meaning on our lips. How unreasonable it is to pray that God’s will be done, and then not promptly obey it when he calls us from this world! Instead we struggle and resist like self-willed slaves and are brought into the Lord’s presence with sorrow and lamentation, not freely consenting to our departure, but constrained by necessity. And yet we expect to be rewarded with heavenly honors by him to whom we come against our will! Why then do we pray for the kingdom of heaven to come if this earthly bondage pleases us? What is the point of praying so often for its early arrival if we should rather serve the devil here than reign with Christ.

The world hates Christians, so why give your love to it instead of following Christ, who loves you and has redeemed you? John is most urgent in his epistle when he tells us not to love the world by yielding to sensual desires. Never give your love to the world, he warns, or to anything in it. A man cannot love the Father and love the world at the same time. All that the world offers is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and earthly ambition. The world and its allurements will pass away, but the man who has done the will of God shall live for ever.Our part, my dear brothers, is to be single-minded, firm in faith, and steadfast in courage, ready for God’s will, whatever it may be. Banish the fear of death and think of the eternal life that follows. That will show people that we really live our faith.

We ought never to forget, beloved, that we have renounced the world. We are living here now as aliens and only for a time. When the day of our homecoming puts an end to our exile, frees us from the bonds of the world, and restores us to paradise and to a kingdom, we should welcome it. What man, stationed in a foreign land, would not want to return to his own country as soon as possible? Well, we look upon paradise as our country, and a great crowd of our loved ones awaits us there, a countless throng of parents, brothers and children longs for us to join them. Assured though they are of their own salvation, they are still concerned about ours. What joy both for them and for us to see one another and embrace! O the delight of that heavenly kingdom where there is no fear of death! O the supreme and endless bliss of everlasting life!

There is the glorious band of apostles, there, the exultant assembly of prophets, there, the innumerable host of martyrs, crowned for their glorious victory in combat and in death. There, in triumph, are the virgins who subdued their passions by the strength of continence. There the merciful are rewarded, those who fulfilled the demands of justice by providing for the poor. In obedience to the Lord’s command, they turned their earthly patrimony into heavenly treasure.

My dear brothers, let all our longing be to join them as soon as we may. May God see our desire, may Christ see this resolve that springs from faith, for he will give the rewards of his love more abundantly to those who have longed for him more fervently.








For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

A Thanksgiving Day Reflection


Normal Rockwell's painting of a family's Thanksgiving feast, probably best captures the holiday the way I remember it.  However, we didn't get dressed up (we dressed down, comfortably); and there were way too many people cramming into our nearly 1200 square foot home, or that of one of my mother's other siblings, to fit around one table.  Thanksgiving was probably that way, or much like it is shown in the painting.  Sometimes there was even a a non-family member or two at Thanksgiving or Christmas Day feasts - the poor souls who had no where else to go.  Maybe that's why I connect so well with reruns of The Walton's.  Life for me growing up was different from that, yet had similarities.

I miss those days, as aptly as my mother often predicted I would.  She spent  much of her adult life lamenting the loss of holidays as she remembered them in the big three story house on Russell Street in Detroit, where it too was crammed full of people in every nook and cranny, including people with no where else to go on a holiday.

With the passing of a family patriarch or matriarch, things change and family members go their separate ways.  The first thing that collapses are the big family dinners.  Lots of things are behind it.

In some cases, younger family members enjoyed the great feasts, but never took an interest in learning how to cook it  (even my mother lamented not being able to make things taste exactly as her grandmother's cooking).  Some mothers were so eager to see the family eat, they didn't bother to ensure a new generation would know the trade, so to speak.  It's intimidating.  My own pastor announced in the bulletin last week that, with the passing of his own mother recently, he is hosting his family at the parish and making them dinner.

In other cases, a matriarch or patriarch are like glue that holds a family together when they otherwise wouldn't want to be together.  Part of the problem today is that some just don't want to be around others they don't care for or have much in common with.  Yet, pearls are created with friction.  There was a time when parents made children sit with relatives out of respect and charity.  In some cases, parents let their kids hide in their rooms for whatever reason and the net effect was an inability to socialize or be around people they don't like.  For a Christian, learning to be around others you didn't feel like being around was one way to sharpen virtues - something rarely discussed in a society that values a certain "edginess" and "independence."

I can appreciate what I witness in those Walton's reruns I enjoy -- each episode dealing with the ordinary challenges of daily life and the Christian response to them.  Many today have been formed by Roseanne whose main character, of the same name, ushered in the "edge" which opposed the very virtues programs like The Walton's built.  People came to value the snark of, "The Simpsons" perhaps because one of the main characters, who coined the expression, "eat my shorts," said what was on his mind without reserve.  There are people who think it takes courage to tell someone else off the way Roseanne or Bart Simpson would.  To me, it's the easy way out.  There's nothing really in Scripture to support it.

Other things that have broken down the big family meals are the natural separation that comes when family members move to distant places - be it local, yet distant; or out of state.  This happens.  Some prefer it that way; others do it out of necessity.

Now, more than ever, consumerism and materialism continue to erode family values.  It's good to give gifts; but sometimes the best thing to give is yourself.  Focus on what is good in others; not on what annoys you about them.  Talk about the things you have in common; not the things that separate you. Use this season to love others, to listen to others, and to learn from others.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving and be sure to give thanks to God. Every breath we take is because He wills it.




For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Breaking: U.S. Supreme Court to consider Obamacare's Contraception Mandate




Just spotted this at lunch time on Twitter…



I'm sure they will take up the case.  All across the countries lower level courts are disagreeing with one another.


For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

New Apostolic Exhortation: Evangelii Gaudium



Pope Francis has released his apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium - the Joy of the Gospel.  

Don't rely on the secular press, or even on bloggers to do your work for you.  Read it yourself first, then read the various commentaries.  That is my plan.  There's always a rush to get the first commentary out for people who won't take the time to read what the Pope says in his own words.  Some are good; but some are agenda driven, looking for whatever low-hanging fruit they can find to peddle to a particular audience.  Watch one less TV program or give up an hour of social media to read it. Take your time and go through it reflectively.  Those commentaries will still be there tomorrow, next week, next month, and well beyond that.

Here is the online English version of Evangelii Gaudium

International readers can find it in various languages here.

If you want to print it out or read it in an e-reader, here is the PDF in English.

EZ-PDF Reader Recommendation for PDF's


I'll be downloading the exhortation to my Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 which runs on Android.  I highly recommend EZ-PDF Reader if you have an Android device.  A friend sent me a draft of a book he is writing, in PDF form, and it is the first time I have tried using the mark-up features.  It didn't take me long to figure out how to write notes (granted, easy on the Galaxy which makes use of a stylus), add text boxes for longer notes, highlights, underlines, strike-outs, etc.  Then, there is a list with all of those things you add so you can navigate back to them for reading, editing, or deleting.  I'll be able to send my thoughts and questions back to him as they came on the fly while reading.  I highly recommend paying the few bucks they charge for the pro-edition.  I got it after trying it free.

I know there is a version for iPad, but users rate it lower (3 stars out of 5 versus 4.5 stars out of 5 for Android), probably due to some bugs.  But, perhaps try the free version if you have an Apple device.


UPDATE: 

Using the mark-up tool in EZ PDF Reader Pro and the Galaxy Note 10.1 stylus, I was able to copy this text into an image.  It is a quote from near the beginning, on page 3.  This is not the latest 10.1, which has even better features.  The small stylus has a button on the side and when you press that in while pressing down, you can draw any shape around something on the screen and it grabs an image.  It then gives you a number of things to do from saving to sharing.





For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Pope Francis: Trust in the Lord not because of fanatical force



In his homily today, Pope Francis, went back to a recurring theme of late: Living the Catholic faith is not about the extraordinary, but about the ordinary.  Trust in the Lord shouldn't be, "because of some fanatical force."


Pope Francis focused his homily on those characters from the daily readings who testify to the importance of trusting in God, even in extreme situations. In the Book of Daniel, the young Jewish men living as slaves of King Nebuchadnezzar remain faithful to the Lord, even at risk of their own lives. In the Gospel of Luke, the impoverished widow who puts two small coins into the offering box is praised by Jesus, who says: “Those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood”.  

The Lord, Pope Francis says, is everything, and they trusted in the Lord. They didn’t do so because of some fanatical force, but because they knew that the Lord is faithful. They trusted in that faith which is always there, the Pope said, because the Lord cannot be unfaithful, cannot deny Himself.


It strikes me every time he says something like this because we are in an age where there is so much focus on the extraordinary, like signs and wonders.  It's easy to live the faith if you have an extraordinary experience, or know others who have.  It's requires so much more trust and love for God to live out the faith in simple ways with no such thing in return from the Lord.  Are we like the horse who goes forth with just a word, or are we in need of a carrot dangled in front of us?

Pope Francis then went on to acknowledge the martyrs and people today suffer persecution, while still pointing back to how most of us will live out our faith in doing the little things.


Choosing to be faithful to the Lord, Pope Francis continued, is equally important in the little things and in the most difficult situations. He remembered the men, women, elderly and young people who every day choose to be faithful to the Lord, who live as martyrs, and as an example to us all. When we read in the newspapers about Christians who are persecuted in our own times, the Pope explained, we must take their lives as an encouragement to offer the Church everything we have, our whole livelihood.  

Let us think, Pope Francis said, about the brothers and sisters who have made courageous, definitive choices throughout history, and continue to do so today. But let us also think about the many mothers and fathers who make small but definitive choices of faith every day, with their families and with their children. Let us ask the Lord, Pope Francis concluded, for the grace of courage, the courage to go on with our Christian lives, in everyday life and in the most extreme situations. 


Picture, report and translation from Vatican Radio


For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Video Homily: Fr. Perrone on the Last Four Things, Dies Irae (Last Sunday after Pentecost, 1962 Missal)



While many celebrated Christ the King today, those at Masses following the 1962 calendar were in the last Sunday after Pentecost. Before listening to Fr. Perrone's homily, which included discussion on the "Four Last Things" and the Dies Irae, it would be a good idea to read the Epistle and Gospel below, first.

My apologies for the low quality, and for the sound, which you may need to turn up.

This is offered online with Fr. Perrone's permission.



EPISTLE - Colossians 1: 9-14 

Brethren, We cease not to pray for you, and to beg that you may be filled with the knowledge of the will of God, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of God, in all things pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might according to the power of His glory, in all patience and long suffering with joy; giving thanks to God the Father, who hath made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of the saints in light: who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through the His Blood, the remission of sins.

GOSPEL - Matthew 24:15-35

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: When you shall see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place; (he that readeth, let him understand:) then they that are in Judea, let them flee to the mountains; and he that is on the house-top, let him not come down to take anything out of his house; and he that is in the field, let him not go back to take his coat. And woe to them that are with child and that give suck, in those days. But pray that your flight be not in the winter, or on the Sabbath: for there shall be then great tribulation, such as hath not been found from the beginning of the world until now, neither shall be: and unless those days had been shortened, no flesh should be saved; but for the sake of the elect, those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say to you: Lo, here is Christ, or there; do not believe him; for there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive (if possible) even the elect. Behold I have told it to you beforehand. If therefore they shall say to you: Behold His is in the desert, go ye not out; Behold He is in the closets, believe it not. For as lightning cometh out of the east, and appeareth even in the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Wheresoever the body shall be, there shall the eagles also be gathered together. And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be moved; and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with much power and majesty. And He shall send His angels with a trumpet and a loud voice, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest parts of the heavens to the utmost bounds of them. And from the fig tree learn a parable: when the branch thereof is now tender, and the leaves come forth, you know that summer is nigh. So you also, when you shall see all these things, know ye that it is nigh at the doors. Amen I say to you that this generation shall not pass till all these things be done. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.

For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Metro-Detroit Area Tridentine Masses Coming this Week





At the suggestion of P.B., I'm going to be posting upcoming opportunities to assist at Mass in the Extraordinary Form in the Metro-Detroit area.  Included also, is the Assumption Grotto Schedule.

Metro-Detroit area Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

  • Mon. 11/25 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin & Martyr) [Cancelled due to storm damage.]
  • Tue. 11/26 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Assumption-Windsor (St. Sylvester, Abbot)
  • Fri. 11/29 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Ss. Cyril and Methodius, Sterling Heights (St. Saturninus, Martyr). 
  • See the note at bottom about daily TLM's at Assumption Grotto
First Sunday of Advent
  • Sun. 12/01 1:00 PM: High Mass at St. Joseph, Detroit
  • Sun. 12/01 2:00 PM: High Mass at Assumption-Windsor (First Sunday of Advent) – Mass will be held this week [only] in the Rosary Chapel, adjacent to the main church.
  • Sun. 12/01 9:30 AM: High Mass at Assumption Grotto

Assumption Grotto Schedule

Below is the regular TLM schedule at Assumption Grotto, including many daily opportunities, as well as Saturdays.  

Thanksgiving Day, there will be two Masses: 7:30 AM - TLM (not sure if it will be high or low).  There is also a 9:00 AM Mass, but not certain if it is a TLM or N.O.  I will try to find out and update this post. 


  • Monday-Saturday 7:30AM: High or Low Mass (varies) 
  • First Saturdays 8:30 AM: High or Low (varies) - Mass for secular Carmelites but open to all.
  • Monday-Wednesday-Friday 7:00PM: Low Mass
  • Holy Days and Sundays 9:30AM: High Mass

  • Note: Confessions are posted at Assumption Grotto for Saturdays at 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM, but Confessions are also heard 30 minutes before the 9:30 AM Mass and the 12:00 Noon Mass (Novus Ordo).  Confessions are often available, outside of posted times, shortly before most daily morning Masses (except Tuesdays).  Confessions are available, also, upon request.  Ask at the sacristy.

    Other Liturgical Events in Metro-Detroit using the 1962 Missal?

    If there are other Traditional Latin Masses happening in the Archdiocese of Detroit, get me those listings by Saturday night so I can post it on Sunday for the upcoming week.   For this week, feel free to drop info in the com-box.


    For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

    Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

    - Diane M. Korzeniewski

    Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

    Friday, November 22, 2013

    Sunday Evening: Assumption Grotto Choir at St. Mary's Cathedral, Lansing - Traditional Latin Mass



    Please note the upcoming Solemn High Mass (1962 Missal)  this Sunday involving Fr. Perrone and the Assumption Grotto Choir (they will not be singing at the 9:30 AM at Grotto because they will be singing in Lansing at 5:00 PM (Fr. Perrone is getting easier on the choir making them sing only once!).

    This is probably a good time to plug, again, the Call to Holiness Fundraiser coming up on December 1, 2013 following the Noon Mass at Assumption Grotto where Fr. Perrone will give a talk on "Dissent and Discipline."  If you cannot attend the event, please consider using the online form used for tickets, to drop in a donation.

    On to the special Mass this Sunday in Lansing, see the notice below.




    Blessed John XXIII Latin Mass Community will host Assumption Grotto (Detroit) choir directed by Fr. Eduard Perrone at St. Mary Cathedral (main church, not chapel) on the Last Sunday of the Liturgical Year. The evening begins with a prelude of organ music. The choir will then sing sacred polyphony from the Renaissance in its intended context: the Solemn High Mass of the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite (Tridentine RIte). Included will be all the rituals that make it a sacred, solemn, reverent, and transcendent experience. This is a rare event. The full Solemn High Mass is not celebrated often; even less often with polyphony performed by an accomplished choir.
    This is an opportunity to experience and enjoy the beautiful, yet so-often forgotten, Sacred Music of the Church as it was meant to be experienced!
    As stated in the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of Vatican II: “116. The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services. But other kinds of sacred music, especially polyphony, are by no means excluded from liturgical celebrations, so long as they accord with the spirit of the liturgical action, as laid down in Art. 30.”
    Blessed John XXIII Latin Mass Community is a personal parish of the in Diocese of Lansing. It was established in 2010 & is is dedicated to the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite (Tridentine Rite).

    Event:
    Night of Sacred Music and Holy Worship-Lansing Cathedral
    Date:
    November 24, 2013 5:00 pm
    Cost:
    None; free parking
    Category:
    Updated:
    October 24, 2013
    Contact Name:
    Blessed John XXIII parish
    Contact Phone:
    517-589-8211 (Blessed John XXIII parish)
    Contact Email:
    Facebook: TINYURL.COMM/SOLEMNMISSA
    Contact Website:
    www.getholy.com
    Location Name:
    St. Mary Cathedral
    Location Address:
    219 Seymour Ave, Lansing, MI 48933











    For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

    Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

    - Diane M. Korzeniewski

    Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

    Tuesday, November 19, 2013

    Diocese of Mostar-Duvno on the "Great Sign" of Medjugorje



    Some feel it is not charitable or prudent to talk about the negative aspects of Medjugorje, especially while there is an ongoing investigation by the Holy See.  I think the case could be made that it is not charitable, nor prudent, to dismiss what the local bishops have had to say - information that is undoubtedly in the hands of the commission as much as any positive information.  What harm can come from reading, very carefully, methodical arguments that cause so many to doubt authenticity, including two successive bishops, and could eventually lead to a negative judgment?

    In an effort to help make the diocesan case on Medjugorje more visible, especially since the information is in the hands of the commission, as well as of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, I'm going to be periodically making posts pointing to various documents and sources to that aim.

    Not getting attached to unapproved apparitions and private revelations


    These posts are not an attempt to discredit Medjugorje; it is a way of helping people to discern the prudence, or lack thereof, of being overly attached to the phenomena.

    Some like to hide reality from their children so their feelings aren't hurt, only to set them up for the inability to cope with bad or disappointing things that happen in life.  Putting too much stock or belief in any alleged apparitions, or unapproved apparitions (because they have not yet been approved), or private revelations sets one up for conflict with the Church should a negative judgment ever come.  If you want to know why the Angel of Darkness would tolerate so much piety and conversions, consider how he wins when people reject a negative judgment of the Church in favor of their own personal discernment.  How much more so when the one who cannot cope with a negative judgment is a priest?

    A case study in manipulation following a negative judgment


    Some years ago I discovered a priest was taking a tour bus to a recently condemned apparition in another state.  In his email which I received from a concerned person, he castigated that local bishop and used outright manipulation to get people to go.  This person was suffering terribly because of what he said and had serious interior conflicts of conscience.  After several exchanges, I believe the person made the right decision in not going.  I promptly contacted the diocese in which this priest resided sharing the manipulative nature of his email.  I believe he had restricted faculties already and they were glad I let them know about the bus trip. That's how the Angel of Darkness wins in these cases!  Don't think things like that won't happen if a negative judgment comes for Medjugorje.  I should add the priest in question acted very secretively, making people feel guilty for letting anyone else know what he was doing or saying.  That kind of secrecy is exactly what Satan wants.

    But how will you respond if Medjugorje is approved?


    People often ask me how I will react if the Church should ever approve of Medjugorje.  First, the Church does not require me to believe in any private revelation (CCC 66, 67).  However, if that ever happened, I would open myself to whatever information the Holy See may present that was not previously available to me, along with any theological reflections.  Secondly, even if I could still not bring myself to believe in authenticity in such a case, I would then take the prudent path of silence rather than speaking out against it, once approved.  I would encourage other doubters to take the same path, if such approval ever came.  Nothing hinders me, or my conscience, from sharing information that puts authenticity in doubt, especially when it is coming from the diocese, or sources using diocesan material.

    Moreover, if one wants to argue that it is not prudent to discuss the diocesan case against authenticity, then how can it be prudent to discuss or promote the alleged apparitions while the investigation is taking place?  Furthermore, I would argue that online promotion is just as bad, if not worse for clerics and faithful than attending "conferences, meetings and public celebrations," which was prohibited by the CDF in a letter to US bishops through the papal nuncio.  These websites have already deemed the lady of Medjugorje to be authentic by their very language (i.e., referring to her as "Our Lady" or using the unauthorized title of "Our Lady of Medjugorje"); and by the sale of merchandise including unauthorized medals which have been stamped in that name, statues; and publication of "messages".

    "The Holy See can't rule until…."


    You will see many people on the web saying that the Holy See cannot give a definitive judgment on Medjugorje until the alleged visions have ended.  That is only partially true.  It is true that no unapproved apparition would ever be approved while ongoing. Consider the problem caused for the credibility of the Church, if today, an alleged apparition is approved only to get a "message" the next day, that there are four persons in the Trinity.  But, looking history, there are many cases of alleged apparitions that were condemned as not supernatural while ongoing. The most notable case being "Bayside" where, despite a 1986 decree against authenticity, and dubious "messages", it was ongoing through some months before Veronica Leuken's death in 1995.

    Diocesan Document: "The Questionable Games Surrounding the 'Great Sign'"


    This report was released by the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno in English in 2009.  While you may think this is primarily the argument of critics, what the diocese did was use the words of the alleged visionaries themselves, as well as that of their official chroniclers.  It also uses the the writings of many pro-Medjugorje works which reported the words of the alleged visionaries and contrasts them with other hard evidence.

    No one is forced to read this.  But, I would invite people to read and be aware of the kind of conflicts found in this document.

    Very sadly, the "movement" associated with Medjugorje, does not feel the diocesan bishop is a credible source of information - an unusual attitude for faithful Catholics.  The bishops, current and past, are often vilified in material found on pro-Medjugorje sites with outright calumnies, which I will get into in another post at a later date.

    Questionable Games Surrounding the 'Great Sign' (2009)

    The thing speaks for itself.



    For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

    Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

    - Diane M. Korzeniewski

    Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

    Sunday, November 17, 2013

    Video: Consecration and Benedictus by Titcomb


    Here is a short clip I took with the iPhone 5 today as we entered the Consecration at the 9:30 AM High Mass (1962 Missal).  I wanted to capture the Benedictus by Titcomb that the Assumption Grotto Choir was singing. This doesn't do it justice, but you get the idea.  The Hosanna is very powerful and moving.

    I think I need to get an external microphone for my iPhone 5 for stuff like this.  I'll take recommendations if anyone knows which one might be best for recording in a church setting like this.  It has to be for the iPhone 5 though because it has a different connection at the bottom than the iPhone 4.



    For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

    Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

    - Diane M. Korzeniewski

    Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

    Saturday, November 16, 2013

    Quote from Archbishop Charles Chaput…


    In a new column at First Things online:

    And like material poverty, moral poverty has consequences. It brings fear of new life, a turning away from children, confused sexuality and broken marriages. It results in greed, depression, ugliness and aggression in our popular culture, and laws without grounding in truth. Real human development takes more—much more—than better science, better management and better consumer goods, though all these things are wonderful in their place. Human happiness can’t be separated from the human thirst for meaning. Material things can’t provide that meaning. Abundance can murder the soul as easily as scarcity can. It’s just a different kind of poverty. This is why Ecclesia in America rightly wondered “whether a pastoral strategy directed almost exclusively to meeting people’s material needs has not in the end left their hunger for God unsatisfied, making them vulnerable to anything which claims to be of spiritual benefit” (73). 

    To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, the devil is happy to cure our fevers if he can give us cancer in the process. To heal a suffering man is a noble and beautiful thing. But there’s a difference between dulling his pain, and making him whole and well. 

    Likewise, solving poverty of the body by replacing it with a starving soul is not a solution. Marx called religion the opiate of the people. But the real opiate of the people—the coca leaves of modern culture that we’re all expected to chew—is the river of consumer comforts and distractions that we use to damp down our deeper hunger for God and our gnawing sense of obligation to so many other people. 

    Modern life in developed countries is becoming a cocoon of narcotics, from pornography and abortion to crack cocaine. And that brings us to the issue of drugs, the second of the three problems I mentioned at the start. In a way, drugs are just the symptom, not the root cause, of a deeper social dysfunction. Poverty is the more fundamental problem in understanding a troubled society. But the two issues are closely linked. Poverty drives despair, which seeks relief in drugs. Drugs destroy lives, which end up in poverty and crime. The two problems feed on and compound each other.

    Read the whole column by Archbishop Chaput.  I have not yet finished it, but am going back to it now.

    UPDATE:  I have since finished reading the full address that Archbishop Chaput was giving to brother bishops.  Do read the whole piece.  That 10-15 minutes out of your day is worth it.  There are other areas even more quote worthy than what I pulled out, but you will have to read the article to find them.


    For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

    Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

    - Diane M. Korzeniewski

    Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

    Important Call to Holiness Fundraiser - Sunday,December 1 with Fr. Perrone

    On Sunday, December 1st, following the Noon Mass at Assumption Grotto, Call to Holiness (CTH) will be holding a fundraising spaghetti dinner with Fr. Perrone giving a talk entitled, Dissent and Discipline.  Please support this most important event.

    We have a great conference coming on September 13, 2014 at the Sterling Inn in Sterling Heights, where Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron will be the keynote speaker.   Here is a clip from the November 2013 CTH  Newsletter.  Call to Holiness is also working on a tour of the Detroit Institute of Arts with Fr. John Zuhlsdorf for another fundraiser in February.



    NOTE:  Eventbrite has an option to offer a donation. If you cannot attend the fundraisers, please consider giving a donation.  As a member of the board of Call to Holiness, I can tell you that no donation too small. 



    Spaghetti Dinner
    Fund Raiser for Call to Holiness
    First Sunday of Advent, December 1st
    · Assumption Grotto Church, 13770 Gratiot Ave., Detroit
    Following the Noon Mass
    Fr. Eduard Perrone speaking: Dissent and Discipline
    $12 per adult; $6 for children ages 5-12; under 5 free
    See here for poster and registration (can print this one out)



    Call to Holiness now has a Facebook page.  You can also watch CallToHoliness.com for more information.

    For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

    Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

    - Diane M. Korzeniewski

    Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

    Friday, November 15, 2013

    Diocese of Mostar-Duvno responds to "Vatican Insider" claim about Medjugorje parish



    The Diocese of Mostar-Duvno didn't have much choice but to respond to some headlines in Croatian language press sparked by a speculative claim in the Italian, Vatican Insider, suggesting an apostolic administrator would be appointed by the Vatican to take over the parish in Medjugorje, and care of pilgrims.

    Behind all that flowery love for the "gospa" of Medjugorje there is a creepy contempt for Bishop Ratko Perić and his predecessor, Bishop Pavao Žanić. The latter, a very Marian bishop who led annual pilgrimages to shrines around the world, was initially hopeful about authenticity, but turned against it when he discovered the lady of Medjugorje instigating insubordination and disobedience.   Bishop Zanić, supporters say, collaborated with the communists to take down Medjugorje (see here and here).  While supporters of Medjugorje think the current bishop is just a hindrance who is getting in the way of approval, sketpics and critics troubled with Medjugorje, like myself, see him protecting Holy Mother Church, and the dignity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by following his conscience in his discernment. It would have been easier for him to yield to the wave of popularity than to stand his ground.

    So, the other day, Vatican Insider, which has not been very friendly to the Bishop of Mostar,  shared news with it's Italian readers, of Archbishop Vigano's letter to U.S. bishops about Medjugorje reminding them that, "clerics and the faithful, are not permitted to participate in meetings, conferences or public celebrations during which the credibility of such 'apparitions' would be taken for granted."

    The Diocese of Mostar-Duvno has responded through the Vicar General, Don Željko Majić.  He pulls together certain communications which demonstrate that, contrary to what is presented by pro-Medjugorje sources, the Holy See does not have it in for the local bishop, so to speak.  Rather, it is quite the contrary.

    I don't have a translation of the piece, which you can put into an auto-translator from Croatian, but I am familiar with the documents he cites, most or all of which, are now in English.  So, I'll capture the gist of what he is saying here and provide links.

    Don Majić begins by explaining that the speculation by Vatican Insider cause not a little confusion among the faithful, and discernment is best done in light of what has been stated by the local bishop, the bishops' conference, and the Holy See - all of which are in harmony.  He points out that there is nothing anyone can use that has been put out, at any level of the Church to date, that one could even infer such idle speculation.

    Now these two items we know about from the letter, now online, by Archbishop Vigano, papal nuncio to the United States. This translation was run through an auto-translator with very little touch-up, so it is not perfect, but you get the idea.

    Letter: 27th February 2013th - Nuncio of the Holy See in the United States, Archbishop Viganò, by order of the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller, sent on 27 February this year, a letter the Bishops' Conference USA that U.S. diocesan bishops - there are nearly 200 - to inform, as soon as possible, the priests and the faithful to not participate in the meetings, lectures and public celebrations that are organized during the scheduled appearance of the Medjugorje "seers" who in their performances, and include as the program and its private "apparitions", and where the authenticity of the "apparitions" taken "for granted". 

    Letter: 21st October 2013th - The same Nuncio thought it necessary to send another equally serious warning, under the same protocol, the U.S. bishops 21st October this year, mentioning specifically "seer" Ivan Dragicevic, who normally part of the year with his family in Boston, a part of Medjugorje, and who had appointments in some parishes in the United States, which were then canceled. This letter had a great media presence and visibility.  And we have it published in Croatian, English and Italian.

    The Vicar General then goes on to discuss the 2006 homily of Bishop Perić in Medjugorje, which I will get to in a moment.

    Just as some background in this post, more than the Vicar General provides -- in 2007,  then Archbishop Angelo Amato, Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the time, asked the bishops of Tuscany to share the same 2006 homily with priests of their dioceses.   This happened when they were in Rome for their ad limina visit in 2007.   A fax was sent by the bishops to priests of the diocese, shown, in part, below, that reads (also a crude auto-translate):

    See bigger version here
    During the visit "ad Limina" of the Bishops of the Region of Tuscany, in the period 16/20 April 2007, we had a meeting at the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Secretary Monsignor Angelo Amato, who speaks to us of apparitions of Medjugorje, has invited us to make public the homily the Bishop of Mostar, in order to clarify the religious phenomenon linked to this site.  
    In compliance with this invitation to make known, and pray, especially priests, to read it carefully and to learn the lessons necessary for the proper lighting of our faithful. 

    So, going back to the statement by Don Majić, he points to the substantive part of that 2006 homily (the full english version here) that Archbishop Amato wanted the bishops of Tuscany to share with priests of their dioceses back in 2007:

    I am truly grateful to the Holy Father the Pope, to John Paul II of blessed memory and to the reigning Benedict XVI, who have always respected the judgements of the bishops of Mostar-Duvno, of the previous as well as the current bishop, regarding the so-called “apparitions” and “messages” of Medjugorje, all the while recognizing the Holy Father's right to give a final decision on these events. The judgements of the bishops, after all the canonical investigations made thus far, can be summarized in these following points:  
    1 - Medjugorje is a catholic parish in which liturgical and pastoral activities are carried out, just as in all the other parishes of this diocese of Mostar-Duvno. No-one except the official Church authorities is then authorized to attribute the formal title of “shrine” to this place.  
    2 - On the basis of Church investigations of the events of Medjugorje, it cannot be determined that these events involve supernatural apparitions or revelations. This means that till now the Church has not accepted, neither as supernatural nor as Marian, any of the apparitions.   
    3 - Priests who canonically administer this parish of Medjugorje or those who come as visitors, are not authorised to express their private views contrary to the official position of the Church on the so-called “apparitions” and “messages”, during celebrations of the sacraments, neither during other common acts of piety, nor in the Catholic media.  
    4 - The Catholic faithful are not only free from any obligation to believe in the authenticity of the “apparitions” but they must also know that church pilgrimages are not allowed, whether official or private, individual or group, or from other parishes, if they presuppose the authenticity of the “apparitions” or if by undertaking them attempt to certify these “apparitions”.   
    5 - As the local Bishop, I maintain that regarding the events of Medjugorje, on the basis of the investigations and experience gained thus far, throughout these last 25 years, the Church has not confirmed a single “apparition” as authentically being the Madonna. The fact that during these 25 years there has been talk of tens of thousands of “apparitions” does not contribute any authenticity to these events, which according to the words of our current Pope, who I encountered during an audience on 24 February this year, commented that at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith they always questioned how all these “apparitions” could be considered authentic for the Catholic faithful. They particularly do not seem to be authentic when it is known beforehand that these so-called “apparitions” will occur:   
    To one of the “seers” on the 18th of March every year, but along with this she will also receive an “apparition” on the 2nd of each month, with “messages” which you can expect, according to the established procedures;  
    The second will receive an apparition on every day of the year, and if this were not enough, an added special “apparition” on the 25th of each month along with a type of press release, which once again you can foresee and expect;  
    The third will receive an “apparition” on the 25th of December, on Christmas day, along with a message similar to the ones already mentioned;  
    The fourth will receive an “apparition” on the 8th of September every year along with a specific message;  
    The remaining two will receive the same, every day along with “messages” that can be anticipated since they are variations on the same theme. This fact and the flood of so-called apparitions, messages, secrets and signs, do not strengthen the faith, but rather further convince us that in all of this there is nothing neither authentic nor established as truthful.   
    Therefore I responsibly call upon those who claim themselves to be “seers”, as well as those persons behind the “messages”, to demonstrate ecclesiastical obedience and to cease with these public manifestations and messages in this parish. In this fashion they shall show their necessary adherence to the Church, by neither placing private “apparitions” nor private sayings before the official position of the Church. Our faith is a serious and responsible matter. The Church is also a serious and responsible institution! 

    Then, the Vicar General briefly mentions the meeting with the bishops of Tuscany and CDF in his statement.

    The next section in his statement in response to the Vatican Insider piece, is a paragraph discussing interpretation of the non constat de supernaturalitate finding of the former Yugoslav Bishops' Conference in 1991.  He quotes an interview with Archbishop Amato in Avvenire (see English translation by Richard Chonak here and be sure to read the updates).

    Finally, he points back to the fact that a commission has been set up at the level of the Holy See in March of 2010 and asks that, in an ecclesial spirit, people wait for a judgment by the Church.

    I think the kind of speculation being churned out by Vatican Insider and Croatian press, is needlessly sowing confusion among the faithful.   The Holy See is not the White House, whereby you have people sitting in rooms looking at polls to see how popular opinion is growing, then advising the Pope.  A real apparition has no need of being "sold" to the masses because it sells itself.  It has no need of being lobbied into acceptance by the Holy See because if it is legitimate, everything, with the help of the Holy Spirit will fall into place.

    Here is Pope Benedict XVI worth pondering:

    Today, however, it is particularly important to clarify the criteria used to distinguish the authentic sensus fidelium from its counterfeits. In fact, it is not some kind of public opinion of the Church, and it is unthinkable to mention it in order to challenge the teachings of the Magisterium, this because the sensus fidei can not grow authentically in the believer except to the extent in which he or she fully participates in the life of the Church, and this requires a responsible adherence to her Magisterium. - Source: Cardinal Newman Society 



    For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

    Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

    - Diane M. Korzeniewski

    Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

    Thursday, November 14, 2013

    Commentary: Pope Francis says Mary is not a "postmaster"

    Photo: Lauren Cater/CNA



    This report comes from Vatican Radio and it is pretty apparent that Pope Francis is targeting the "apparition" business, or at least the lambs involved with it.


    I'm skipping the first few paragraphs, which you should read at Vatican Radio for context, but here is the heart of what Pope Francis said:


    In the Gospel, the Pope underlined, “we find ourselves before another spirit, contrary to the wisdom of God: the spirit of curiosity”.  

    “And when we want to be the masters of the projects of God, of the future, of things, to know everything, to have everything in hand… the Pharisees asked Jesus, ‘When will the Kingdom of God come?’ Curious! They wanted to know the date, the day… The spirit of curiosity distances us from the Spirit of wisdom because all that interests us is the details, the news, the little stories of the day. Oh, how will this come about? It is the how: it is the spirit of the how! And the spirit of curiosity is not a good spirit. It is the spirit of dispersion, of distancing oneself from God, the spirit of talking too much. And Jesus also tells us something interesting: this spirit of curiosity, which is worldly, leads us to confusion.”
     

    He has a point.  Since social media has taken off, I end up with information overload at the end of the day and am often too tired for more wholesome spiritual reading.  Even if most of it is news about the faith or of concern to Catholics, the constant curiosity about what is going on is nothing more than spiritual "junk food".  But, finding that balance and moderating it, can be difficult, more so these days because of multi-media.  

    He goes on:
    Curiosity, the Pope continued, impels us to want to feel that the Lord is here or rather there, or leads us to say: “But I know a visionary, who receives letters from Our Lady, messages from Our Lady”. And the Pope commented: “But, look, Our Lady is the Mother of everyone! And she loves all of us. She is not a postmaster, sending messages every day.” 

    Such responses to these situations, he affirmed, “distance us from the Gospel, from the Holy Spirit, from peace and wisdom, from the glory of God, from the beauty of God.”
    “Jesus says that the Kingdom of God does not come in a way that attracts attention: it comes by wisdom.”
     

    “ ‘The Kingdom of God is among you,’ said Jesus, and it is this action of the Holy Spirit, which gives us wisdom and peace. The Kingdom of God does not come in (a state of) confusion, just as God did not speak to the prophet Elijah in the wind, in the storm (but) he spoke in the soft breeze, the breeze of wisdom.”
     

    He then turns his reflection to the idle talk that curiosity can lead to when the information is about other people.  I wonder what St. Teresa would say with what we do on social media these days.
    “Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus would say that she had always to stop herself before the spirit of curiosity," he said. "When she spoke with another sister and this sister was telling a story about the family, about people, sometimes the subject would change, and she would want to know the end of the story. But she felt that this was not the spirit of God, because it was a spirit of dispersion, of curiosity. 

    He then comes back to his main point.

    “The Kingdom of God is among us: do not seek strange things, do not seek novelties with this worldly curiosity. Let us allow the Spirit to lead us forward in that wisdom, which is like a soft breeze," he said. "This is the Spirit of the Kingdom of God, of which Jesus speaks. So be it.”


    Text from page http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/11/14/pope:_the_spirit_of_curiosity_distances_one_from_god/en1-746498 of the Vatican Radio website 

    While Pope Francis did not mention Medjugorje in this report, it's hard for the average person not to make that connection when reading his words.  Those "messages" have been going on frequently for over 30 years now.  

    How alleged apparitions have been treated before & after Medjugorje began


    There is a dividing line in time: PM and AM (Prior to Medjugorje; After Medjugorje).

    Prior to Medjugorje, there were only a few cases of unapproved apparitions heard about here and there that never gained much traction outside of a particular diocese, other than some notables like Bayside and Necedah, which were soundly denounced as not authentic.  Alleged visionaries were never permitted to do their thing on Church property, and other bishops were careful not to give credibility to something happening in another diocese if that bishop did not approve.  Just speaking about spiritual experiences was something to be taken up with spiritual director or confessor, not at the kitchen table, much less the public square.  It is wrought with dangers as many of the great mystics of the Church contend (see the quote by St. John of the Cross in my sidebar).  There was no greater test of an alleged visionary than to have a long period of silence imposed on them to see if they would humbly comply.

    After Medjugorje began, private revelations, locutions, and apparitions became a cottage industry with no shortage of followers to spawn more "seers."  There may be thousands out there discussing their own "private revelations" after a trip to Medjugorje.  It starts with, "Our Lady told me…"  Some have become renowned themselves, with their own followings.  Add to this, supporting industries like tourism, publishing (online and print), and conferences.  You can walk into many parishes, even diocesan cathedrals, and find various alleged (and often suspect) private revelations and unapproved apparitions being promoted as if authentic (and almost an absence of material from Lourdes and Fatima, for example).  Often times, a spiritual director or pastor will simply make sure there is nothing in the alleged private revelations that is contrary to the faith without really testing the supposed spirit involved, for example, with a long period of silence.

    Medjugorje has basically been a poster child for these kinds of unapproved activities.  Good and well-meaning bishops and priests, happy to see Marian and Eucharistic devotion, basically let Mejugorje get away from the Church (at the expense of collegiality with their brother bishop in Mostar who is persona non grata within global network of supporters).  The worst thing I've seen has been the calumnious stories about the deceased Bishop Zanic, casting him as one who collaborated with the communists to take down Medjugorje.

    Allowing an unapproved apparition to attempt to foster faith and vocations from a parish or diocesan level is much like a parent who lets the television rear the children; it's easier to let the [unapproved] "apparition" do it.

    I've seen a diocesan bishop pack his cathedral with people if a popular visionary was coming to pray a rosary, and have "apparitions."  Would people come and pack the cathedral if the same bishop were to lead the rosary, offer Adoration, and make confession available in an evening of prayer?  This latter question focuses more on the faithful than it does the diocesan bishop.  What greater miracle is there than God becoming bread for us to consume and to adore? And, is it more efficacious if I pray a rosary next to an alleged visionary, or if I pray it in other places and with other people?  Mary, I feel, has been objectified, or used, to give people the thrill of the moment of being with someone having "visions."

    True love is when we do something for someone expecting nothing in return.  When we pray a Rosary at the most dry times, when we have no good feelings or experiences, is when it is most precious to God.  The same is true of Adoration or going to Mass.  As our faith grows, God turns off the good feelings we needed in the beginning and he tests us to see if we are still willing to give when we feel there is nothing in us to offer, or when we get nothing in return.  What parent isn't moved the most when a child gives or does something for no reason at all, than out of love?

    Devotion - the right kind


    Cardinal Bertone, back in 2007 was concerned we were becoming a "church of apparitions":

    With regard to the content of the "messages": there is a risk of judging such phenomena as authentic for the sole reason that the messages contain no doctrinal errors against the faith since they are exhortations and invitations to prayer and conversion. These presumed apparitions are often a vehicle for "apocalyptic" messages and this trend is increasing. Publications (books, periodicals) that specialize in supernatural phenomena are attracting considerable interest. These publications make a special impact, particularly when they are written by an ecclesiastic or a theologian. 
    Furthermore, the fact that "seers" are attracting considerable attention can be seen as characteristic of our time. New "Movements" or Associations of the faithful frequently form round a specific phenomenon, which requires discernment so as to forestall problems arising with communion or with ecclesial life in the country or local Church. 
    Even if at times the behaviour of diocesan Bishops and their collaborators may be wanting, it is essential to steer clear of the risk of a "Church of apparitions", diffident of the Hierarchy of the Church, as a variant of the well-known opposition of "charismatic Church - institutional Church". In this case, of course, we find that rather than facing a definite ideological position we are up against an attitude lived out and influenced by a somewhat superficial religiosity, a weakened ecclesial communion and a rather shallow faith in need of miraculous signs.

    The Holy Father, whose devotion to Mary cannot be questioned, appears to have the same concerns as did Cardinal Bertone.  Pope Francis seems to be trying to get the marbles back into the leaning jar and get it upright again.  These little catechetical moments are good, but I believe he knows the matter must be addressed more directly.

    With Italy being so close to Medjugorje, there is no shortage of publicity given to the "seers" and what they do.  The Holy Father, being a man who read the local secular paper in Argentina daily,  must see what people are saying.  At the same time, I'm sure he has been getting briefed by the commission on Medugorje.

    I suspect soon enough something more formal will be said about Medjugorje itself.  Hopefully, it will include much catechesis to help everyone from lay people to bishops to have a healthy devotion to Mary - the kind that leads us to a deeper relationship with Christ.

    Further Reading:




    Audio:





    For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

    Te Deum Laudamus! Home

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

    - Diane M. Korzeniewski

    Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.