One of my friends who’s seriously considering becoming Catholic is looking for options on books about the saints. Though there is plenty of stuff online, he wants a hard copy. Preferences would be: one-volume, little liberal or anti-miracle agenda, and up-to-date with the current calendar.
I know TAN has a one-volume Butler’s, which would probably be perfect, but it’s the previous calendar.
5 Comments | 
Catholic, General | 
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Posted by Chad T.
The Catholic Church is “Wicked as Hell”.
So says Pastor Steven L. Anderson of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Phoenix, Arizona
Listen for yourself starting at 2:33:
22 Comments | Catholic, General | Tagged: anti-Catholic, Baptist, Protestants | Permalink
Posted by Jorge Flores
Apparently some socialist activists in Australia are going to perform a citizen’s arrest on Pope Bendedict. Why? Because he is against contraception. From the article:
Resistance spokeswoman Lauren Carroll Harris said the Pope’s view constituted a conspiracy to murder, because the church’s opposition to condoms leads to more people becoming infected with HIV.
Under Australian law, anyone can make a citizens arrest if they believe, on reasonable grounds, a person is committing or has just committed an offence.
“This short-sighted and dogmatic stance towards both contraception use and education has placed millions of people around the world in great danger of contracting the deadly HIV virus,” she said in a statement.
I think someone should make a citizen’s arrest on professional activists who should get a real job. Where is Gomer Pyle when you need him? (in thick southern accent) CITIZEN’S ARREST! CITIZEN’S ARREST!
Thanks to the Catholic Report for the info.
4 Comments | News | Tagged: Australia, Contraception, Pope Benedict | Permalink
Posted by David Bennett
In the following excerpt of the book Christ is Passing By, St. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, founder of the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, preaches about the Christian Vocation/Divine Election.
The liturgical year is beginning, and the introit of the Mass invites us to consider something closely related to the beginning of our christian life: the vocation we have all received. “Make me to know your ways, o Lord; teach me your paths.”
We ask the Lord to guide us, to show us his footprints, so we can set out to attain the fullness of his commandments, which is charity.
In considering the circumstances surrounding your decision to make every effort to live your faith, I imagine that you, like me, will thank our Lord. I know too that, without falling into false humility, this thankfulness will leave you even more convinced that you have merited nothing of this on your own. Usually we learn to invoke God as a young child from our christian parents. Later, teachers, friends and acquaintances have helped us in many ways not to lose sight of our Lord. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Jorge Flores
“Dear brothers and sisters, as in the [church's] beginning, today, too, Christ needs apostles ready to sacrifice themselves. He needs witnesses and martyrs like St. Paul,” –POPE BENEDICT XVI
Here is the link to a good article written by Fr. Russell Becker, OFM that talks about preparing for the Pauline Year, which begins on June 28, 2008 and ends on June 29, 2009. The article also includes a Pauline Year reading guide that may be helpful in regards to living out the Pauline Year more reverently and profoundly.
May the Pauline Year help all of us to make a firm commitment to live and work for Christ as Paul the Apostle did!!!
Article (pdf): Preparing for the Year of Paul
2 Comments | Catholic, General | Permalink
Posted by Jorge Flores
A sermon on the Old Adam and the New Adam, given by Father Robert Barron of the Archdiocese of Chicago for the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
SUMMARY OF THE SERMON:
In his letter to the Romans, Paul tells us that Jesus is the new Adam or the second Adam. He means that Christ sums up the history of Israel and renews the human race.
Download the Sermon (mp3): Old Adam, New Adam
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Posted by Jorge Flores
In a very disturbing case, a 12 year old girl took her father to court questioning his decision to ground her from a school trip for chatting on sites he didn’t approve of and for posting inappropriate photos of herself on the net. And, in an even more disturbing twist, the court sided with the girl and negated the father’s punishment! The judge thought the punishment was too severe. First, a Catholic priest is taken to court for stating the Church’s position on homosexual acts and now this. What are the Canadians smoking? Courts undermining non-abusive parental punishment is an affront to basic freedoms. In spite of our imperfections as a nation, stories like this make me proud of the freedoms the USA traditionally has upheld.
4 Comments | Catholic, General | Tagged: Canada, courts, parenting, punishment | Permalink
Posted by Jonathan B
Today, St. Francis de Sales spoke to me of me while reading his Introduction to the Devout Life. And what did he tell me about me?
About the affection that I have for sin.
This is what he said:
ALL the children of Israel went forth from the land of Egypt, but not all went forth heartily, and so, when wandering in the desert, some of them sighed after the leeks and onions,—the fleshpots of Egypt. Even so there are penitents who forsake sin, yet without forsaking their sinful affections; that is to say, they intend to sin no more, but it goes sorely against them to abstain from the pleasures of sin;—they formally renounce and forsake sinful acts, but they turn back many a fond lingering look to what they have left, like Lot’s wife as she fled from Sodom. They are like a sick man who abstains from eating melon when the doctor says it would kill him, but who all the while longs for it, talks about it, bargains when he may have it, would at least like just to sniff the perfume, and thinks those who are free to eat of it very fortunate. And so these weak cowardly penitents abstain awhile from sin, but reluctantly;—they would fain be able to sin without incurring damnation;—they talk with a lingering taste of their sinful deeds, and envy those who are yet indulging in the like. Thus a man who has meditated some revenge gives it up in confession, but soon after he is to be found talking about the quarrel, averring that but for the fear of God he would do this or that; complaining that it is hard to keep the Divine rule of forgiveness; would to God it were lawful to avenge one’s self! Who can fail to see that even if this poor man is not actually committing sin, he is altogether bound with the affections thereof, and although he may have come out of Egypt, he yet hungers after it, and longs for the leeks and onions he was wont to feed upon there! It is the same with the woman who, though she has given up her life of sin, yet takes delight in being sought after and admired. Alas! of a truth, all such are in great peril.
Is Saint Francis de Sales perhaps speaking of you too?
1 Comment | Catholic, General | Tagged: conversion, Penance, Repentance, Sin | Permalink
Posted by Jorge Flores
Kendall Harmon is reporting that Henry Chadwick has passed away.
Chadwick was an Anglican Church History scholar, whose writings helped introduce me (and others I am sure) to the Church Fathers. His knowledge of Church History was quite amazing, and his book The Early Church made learning about the Fathers exciting. An Anglican priest friend of mine once told me that Chadwick would read in the bathroom, only unlike most of us, he was reading (and correcting) Greek grammars.
May perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.
3 Comments | News | Tagged: Anglican, Henry Chadwick | Permalink
Posted by David Bennett
I know this sounds like something you would hear at an evangelical conference or something, but it is something I think about a lot. I blogged in the past about evangelization versus catechesis, and I think it is worth bringing up again.
I taught in the public school for three years before working at a Catholic school. I worked as a substitute teacher in a variety of rural schools. My last year as a sub, I was the full-time sub at a high school. Basically, I witnessed many kids who hadn’t even a basic understanding of Christianity, and by basic, I mean stuff that I think people should know just to be half-way literate living in our Western culture (don’t get me started about how ignorant people are!). Nonetheless, when I visit the public schools, work out at the YMCA, go to concerts, re-connect with friends from high school, etc, I am reminded how difficult it can be to reach out to non-Christians. By “reach out” I mean discuss religion in a way that is respectful but also true to my beliefs, and even evangelize. I am, by nature, a rather personable type, and sometimes I find it difficult to discuss tough religious or political issues with friends, especially when I know we will not see eye-to-eye. I can’t just say “homosexual marriage is wrong because the Church says so,” or because it is against natural law, especially when the other person’s position is the way it is because of almost entirely emotional reasons: “denying anyone the right to marry isn’t ‘nice.’” Yet, despite the difficulty, we are called to engage others, and even evangelize them, to share the good news of Christ.
I am not saying we should become out-and-out annoying wear-it-on-your-sleeves Christians who, by always talking about evangelizing, end up alienating just about everybody away from Christ (we can turn more people off than we bring in by our evangelism techniques!). I could never become this type of person anyway, because it is just counter to my personality. But let’s face it, holding to Church Teaching is not easy in current American society, and how we respond to the “unchurched” is important.
I think St. Francis’ words are applicable, that we should preach the gospel and use words if necessary. I know that my parents have been a good witness over the years by being caring and stable friends and mentors to those who had very little stability in their own lives. They model Jesus through their actions. In a society with high divorce, suicide, and depression rates, maybe one way to evangelize is to simply offer a stable, loving, and firm witness by the way we live. I get the impression that a lot of kids and adults I meet and teach know something is missing from their lives (even though most of them have every material good they could ever want), yet they can’t quite put their finger on what that is. What we offer, the good news of Christ, offers faith, hope, and love (agape) in a world filled with doubt, despair, and phony love. Maybe emphasizing the countercultural aspect of following Jesus is a good way to go too, because many people feel quite alienated by the way our culture is going.
Any thoughts?
6 Comments | Evangelization | Tagged: evangelism, Evangelization, witnessing | Permalink
Posted by David Bennett
I knew Obama was pro-choice, but I wasn’t aware how extremely pro-choice the guy is, as evidenced by this article, which informs us that Obama has co-sponsored legislation that would nullify state laws that limit abortions (for example, those laws that require minors to get parental consent before getting an abortion).
If unborn children were a voting bloc, they would certainly be a little worried about some of the “change” Obama is promising. I write this on Father’s Day, after spending it with my own father, and new niece (who just turned two months). The more I contemplate (and possibly prepare for) fatherhood, the less I can understand those who are strongly pro-choice.
By the way, Happy Fathers Day! We certainly need a lot more genuine fathers and father-figures these days!
4 Comments | Abortion, Politics | Tagged: Abortion, Election, Obama, Politics | Permalink
Posted by David Bennett
A sermon on divine election, given by Father Robert Barron of the Archdiocese of Chicago for the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
SUMMARY OF THE SERMON:
One of the key themes of the Bible is the divine election, the fact that God chooses. But God chooses, not on the basis of merit, but simply through and because of his grace. And he chooses, not to glorify those whom he elects, but rather to give them a mission of love. Accordingly, he chose Israel so that it might be a priestly nation; and he chose the twelve so that they might proclaim the kingdom, and he chose us the baptized that we might be conduits of his grace to the world.
Download the Sermon (mp3): Divine Election
7 Comments | Catholic, General, Growth, Liturgical Year, Religious Vocations, Saints and Sainthood | Tagged: Divine Election, Glorification, Grace, Merits, Mission, Priestly Nation | Permalink
Posted by Jorge Flores
A lot of Charismatic Episcopal Church congregations have left the CEC over the last few years, but I never thought one would leave the CEC to join the Episcopal Church, but apparently a CEC Church in Jacksonville has done just that. From the article:
[Episcopal News Service] More than 150 new Episcopalians will be received and welcomed into the Episcopal Church in Jacksonville, Florida’s St. John’s Cathedral on June 18.
The Rev. Dr. Miguel Rosada and 150 Spanish-speaking parishioners, formerly members of the Charismatic Episcopal Church, will become members of the Diocese of Florida.
“We joyfully receive this flock into the Episcopal Church,” said Florida Bishop Samuel Johnson Howard. “We look forward to being colleagues and companions in ministry with the people of San Lucas and with Fr. Rosada. This event marks not only the addition of a substantial congregation to the Episcopal Diocese of Florida, but also a remarkable beginning for us in terms of Hispanic ministry…” Read it All.
This surprised me when I read it. Thanks to Fr. David Bailey for alerting me to this!
11 Comments | Charismatic Episcopal Church | Tagged: CEC, Charismatic Episcopal Church, Episcopal | Permalink
Posted by David Bennett
The Vatican has weighed in on the current spike in food prices:
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As world leaders were meeting in Rome to work out a response to the global food crisis, the Vatican weighed in on two levels — morality and macroeconomics.
Pope Benedict XVI laid out the moral principles in a message June 3 to the World Food Security Summit, saying that hunger and malnutrition were unacceptable in a world that has sufficient levels of agricultural production and resources.
The pope said a chief cause of hunger was lack of solidarity with others, and he emphasized that protecting the right to life means helping to feed the hungry.
The pope also spoke of structural changes needed in the global agricultural economy, but he didn’t get into particulars.
Those finer points, however, were examined in unusual detail in a little-noticed briefing paper produced by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
The document offered the Vatican’s take on the mechanisms behind the food crisis headlines. On one of the most hotly debated issues today, it came down squarely against developing biofuels from food crops at a time of global hunger. Read it All.
We have seen a rise in pretty much all commodity prices in the last few years. I have been following the price of one commodity – oil – since about 2002. I faithfully check the price everyday. I don’t know what the “answer” is to high commodity prices. There are a lot of factors involved, increasing demand, less supply, geopolitical issues, weak dollar, weather problems, biofuels (which I now think are not much of a solution, unless we can get them from non-food & higher yielding plants), etc. However, I think that many Americans are learning a valuable lesson: you can’t always have your cake and eat it too. If we are struggling with high prices, just imagine how much the poor in the world are struggling. I do know one thing: I can do my part to cut down on my personal food and energy usage (not that my personal conservation is going to reduce demand very much, but it saves me $$$, and if everybody did it…).
On a related note, check out an excellent post by Catholic Mom Climbing the Pillars on Hypermiling, a topic I addressed on Per Christum a few weeks ago (I have been a hypermiler for some time).
1 Comment | Catholic Social Teaching | Tagged: Commodities, Energy, Food, Vatican | Permalink
Posted by David Bennett
When I took a class entitled “Early Christianity” at my state university, a whole new world was opened to me. I was introduced to the Church Fathers for the first time. Being into history (I was close to a history minor and qualified for the History Honors Fraternity), I was unable to dismiss the Church Fathers as being irrelevant to my modern day faith. I began reading them on my own, even buying the 39 volume set of the Fathers put out by Hendrickson Press. My brother and I entered into an independent study course with the professor of the Early Christianity class, and we read quite a few Church Fathers this way. For Jonathan and me, this was not simply an academic exercise; reading the early Fathers changed the way we viewed our own relationships with Christ.
One of the Fathers who made the biggest impact on me was Justin Martyr (150 AD). This is primarily because Justin wrote about many practices and beliefs that I recognized, but also seemed so foreign to me. The best example is Justin’s view on baptism. Even though I was baptized as an infant, I assumed that one was born again when a person accepted Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior. Now, accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior is one very important component of baptism, since baptism is a formal recognition of a commitment to follow Jesus. However, as Justin mentions below, baptism is much more. Emphases mine:
I will also relate the manner in which we dedicated ourselves to God when we had been made new through Christ; lest, if we omit this, we seem to be unfair in the explanation we are making. As many as are persuaded and believe that what we teach and say is true, and undertake to be able to live accordingly, are instructed to pray and to entreat God with fasting, for the remission of their sins that are past, we praying and fasting with them. Then they are brought by us where there is water, and are regenerated in the same manner in which we were ourselves regenerated. For, in the name of God, the Father and Lord of the universe, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, they then receive the washing with water. For Christ also said, “Unless you be born again, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Now, that it is impossible for those who have once been born to enter into their mothers’ wombs, is manifest to all. And how those who have sinned and repent shall escape their sins, is declared by Esaias the prophet, as I wrote above; he thus speaks: “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from your souls; learn to do well; judge the fatherless, and plead for the widow: and come and let us reason together, says the Lord. And though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white like wool; and though they be as crimson, I will make them white as snow. But if you refuse and rebel, the sword shall devour you: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.”
And for this [rite] we have learned from the apostles this reason. Since at our birth we were born without our own knowledge or choice, by our parents coming together, and were brought up in bad habits and wicked training; in order that we may not remain the children of necessity and of ignorance, but may become the children of choice and knowledge, and may obtain in the water the remission of sins formerly committed, there is pronounced over him who chooses to be born again, and has repented of his sins, the name of God the Father and Lord of the universe; he who leads to the laver the person that is to be washed calling him by this name alone. For no one can utter the name of the ineffable God; and if any one dare to say that there is a name, he raves with a hopeless madness. And this washing is called illumination, because they who learn these things are illuminated in their understandings. And in the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and in the name of the Holy Ghost, who through the prophets foretold all things about Jesus, he who is illuminated is washed.
6 Comments | Baptism, Fathers of the Church | Tagged: Baptism, Church Fathers, Justin Martyr | Permalink
Posted by David Bennett
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