Ever hear the joke about the Polish Pope...

Ever here the joke about the Polish Pope, who thought he could conquer the Iron curtain with no divisions, no armoryies, just simply real CHRISTIAN HOPE?

Well folks its no joke, John Paul II really did conquer the Iron Curtain.

It looks like B-16 (da Bomber if you will) is looking to repeat the performance in Africa:
Media missing 'true story' of Pope advancing hope in Africa, local leaders say (CNA)
Just like Pope Wojtyla was not recognized when the walls literally came tumbling down in Poland and across eastern Europe in 1991-2, but has since been recognized for being decisive (as some historians say) in this process, I think the same case perhaps can be made for Africa. Just a thought...

Papa Wojtyla knew a simple truth, history is not changed by "being popular," but be attracting people to the "splendor of truth." Benedict is not popular in the mainstream media, and perhaps this is the best sign for the long term.

True measure of society?

We tend to measure a society from the stand-point of progress, technology, material comfort, and even how much freedom a person can exercise in that society. Never do we ask the question, "how do these various criteria help a person to live a flourishing life? A life of deep satisfaction?" Perhaps after examining this question we need to look for another criteria to measure a society by. Simply put a society is not measured by I-pods, and SUV's, but by how humane and compassionate it is.

The true measure of humanity is essentially determined in relationship to suffering and to the sufferer. This holds true both for the individual and for society. A society unable to accept its suffering members and incapable of helping to share their suffering and to bear it inwardly through “com-passion” is a cruel and inhuman society.

(Spe Salvi, 38)

Luxembourg Bishops Speak Out on Euthanasia

Defending Life: A Mission Proper to the Church

As a seminarian I am preparing for to be a spiritual leader in the Catholic Church, but also to exhibit a moral authority among the wider community. John Paul II recognized that for the proper exercise of moral authority the Church must remain neutral when it comes to politics (cf. Centissimus Annus). At the same time I am and will remain a pro-life advocate - remain so without apology. In the United States this looks like a compromise on remaining politically neutral.

The defense of life though it a mission proper to all Christians, Catholics and Protestants. The "right to life" is pre-political - this means that it should not be a political issue, but rather something taken for granted before it even reaches the debates of politics. So when there is a political challenge to protecting innocent human life, the Church must defend the same innocent human life. This was the message that Pope Benedict XVI delivered to the Argentinian ambassador to the Holy See, "To promote the dignity of the person and elevate it in an integral way for the benefit of all,mission proper to the Church."

So I acknowledge that I do not remain politically neautral when I advocate support of the any positions that are truly pro-life. I do not apologize for this, for I have not over-stepped my limits, but rather I ask the apology of the politicians who have over-stepped their own proper limits. It is not in the realm of politics to determine when life begins and end, but within the realm of the laws of nature that are above politics, and even above religious and denominationaly divides.
Saint Nicolas...

...Pray for Us!

Support, in word and deed, the dignity of human life

Column by Most Rev. Samuel J. Aquila, D.D., Bishop of Fargo

My own emphasis is done in red, and my own comments are always put in brackets [] and bolded, otherwise the article is reprinted in its entirity.

Most Rev. Samuel Joseph Aquila, Bishop of Fargo and author of this colum, visiting with seminarians at the North American College

I. Why a Catholic neccessarily is Pro-life:

On Nov. 4, 2008, the United States witnessed an historic event in the election of the first African-American president. With his election as president we have seen our nation take great strides forward in the civil rights movement and the rights for all peoples regardless of race. I congratulate President-elect Barack Obama and assure him of my prayers and the prayers of the faithful of the Diocese of Fargo in the immense responsibilities that he will undertake as president. One of those prayers will be for the conversion of his heart and mind to recognize the dignity of human life from the moment of conception until natural death and the truth that no government has the right to legalize abortion.

In his acceptance speech on Nov. 4, President-elect Obama stated, “I will listen to you, especially when we disagree.” I pray that President-elect Obama will listen when it comes to the question of the unborn and not impose the intrinsic evil of abortion on the consciences of so many who know the truth that abortion is the destruction of a unique innocent human being. The President-elect in his voting record and his speeches has revealed that he is one of the strongest supporters of legalized abortion, as well as the “Freedom of Choice Act” (FOCA). In this he directly opposes the divine law of God concerning the dignity of each human life, and so he strongly disagrees with the position of the Catholic Church. On a purely political level, he even disagrees with the majority of Americans, who at least want some limits on abortion. The Church, and most especially bishops and priests, will need to make the teaching of the Church known to every Catholic.

The Catholic Church teaches throughout her history the truth of the dignity of human life from the moment of conception until natural death [this is what is meant by the sense of the faithful]. This truth was recognized by our country until 1973 with the decision of Roe v. Wade. Today this truth is known even more clearly through reason and science. Every one of our lives began at the same moment: when an egg and sperm came together in our mother’s womb, formed one cell, and began to divide. It is truly marvelous and beautiful when you observe the truth through the technology of modern science. [It is not the Church that tries to force this issue, but science that agrees, life begins at conception].

Throughout the last several months I have been surprised and saddened at how little some Catholics know and accept the teaching of the Church on the matter of abortion. As a bishop I have received mail from Catholics with diverse complaints. Some state that I haven’t spoken forcefully enough and that it is my fault that the truth about abortion is not clearly taught in parishes. Others write and state that they are Catholic and prochoice, and see themselves as faithful to Christ and the Church. Catholics need to promote the Gospel of Life and understand, as Pope Benedict XVI and his predecessors have made definitive and clear, that the question of the moral legality of abortion is nonnegotiable. It is always and everywhere wrong, and this moral truth must be enshrined in law in every civil society. [See post from Nov. 16, "From a letter that Cardinal Ratzinger wrote to Cardinal McCarrick, Archbishop of Washing, D.C.]


I want to look at misunderstandings in Catholic teaching that I have encountered over the last several months. Most know that since the Church defends each human life, she must teach against abortion. However, some believe that it is possible to be a faithful Catholic and be pro-choice. This is impossible. Abortion is an intrinsic evil, which means that in no circumstance is it permitted nor may it ever be supported, even as a means to a good end. No Catholic can be faithful to Jesus Christ and the Church and support an intrinsic evil. The Catechism of the Catholic Church names several intrinsic evils or disorders, and I urge all Catholics to study these [find a better study partner than Nancy Pelosi, her Meet the Press Interview indicates she did not study very well]. Certainly the most serious is the destruction of innocent human life, such as abortion (CCC 2270-72), euthanasia (CCC 2277), the intentional killing of non-combatants in war and genocide (CCC 2313). Catholics must come to understand that every intrinsic evil undermines the dignity of the human person as created in the image and likeness of God and must never be condoned or supported. [There can be no social justice without the protection of innocent life, since there is nothing more unjust than taking innocent life].

Another misunderstanding among some Catholics is that abortion is just one issue among many issues. They will say “I am not a one issue person.” It is true that all Catholics must be concerned about the just ordering of society, which means concern for the economy, immigration, the war in Iraq, health care, taxes, etc. All of these impact the dignity of the human person and the flourishing of society. Different prudential judgments may be made about how to prioritize and address these matters in light of the teaching of the Church. Nevertheless, there are fundamental rights that no civil society may take away. The fundamental right to life is essential to all other rights (CCC 2273). Therefore the right to life, from the moment of conception until natural death, is the first among all rights and the first issue that must be taken into consideration, acted upon and protected. The Bishops of the United States spoke of this in their 2007 document on faith and public life, “The direct and intentional destruction of innocent human life from the moment of conception until natural death is always wrong and is not just one issue among many” (Faithful Citizenship 28) [seems pretty clear to me, I do not know where the confusion comes in].

The Second Vatican Council taught, “For God, the Lord of life, has conferred on men the surpassing ministry of safeguarding life in a manner which is worthy of man. Therefore from the moment of its conception life must be guarded with the greatest care, while abortion and infanticide are unspeakable crimes” (Guadium et Spes 51). Our late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical, Evangelium Vitae, taught “Abortion and euthanasia are thus crimes which no human law can claim to legitimize. There is no obligation in conscience to obey such laws; instead there is a grave and clear obligation to oppose them by conscientious objection. …the apostolic preaching reminded Christians of their duty to obey legitimately constituted public authorities (cf. Rom 13:1-7; 1 Pet 2:13-14), but at the same time it firmly warned that ‘we must obey God rather than men’ (Acts 5:29)…In the case of an intrinsically unjust law, such as a law permitting abortion or euthanasia, it is therefore never licit to obey it, or to ‘take part in a propaganda campaign in favour of such a law, or vote for it’” (emphasis added by Bishop Aquila, EV 73).

Catholics, regardless of their affiliation with a political party, must always support the dignity of human life from the moment of conception until natural death, and they must enact good laws which do so. Thus Catholics, be they judges, politicians, or voters, who support Roe v. Wade or “assisted suicide” by any type of legislation or candidate, place themselves outside of the law of God and the Church each time they vote in support of so-called abortion rights or rights to die. Each Catholic who is a member, works for or donates to a political party has the ability and obligation to transform party platforms, to put forward candidates who respect life, and to avoid cooperation in advocating abortion through either platform policies or candidates who oppose life.

II. Role of Religion in Public life:

A grave misunderstanding concerns the relationship between the distinct missions of the Church and the State and what it means to live one’s faith in the world. The Second Vatican Council lamented that “[the] split between the faith which many profess and their daily lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age” (GS 43). In many ways this dichotomy has increased regrettably in the past forty years through the removal of religious and moral values from the public square. Indeed the mission of the Church and the task of the State are distinct, but they are never completely separate. The constitutional distinction between Church and State is found in the non-establishment of a state religion. However, this is not the denial of the entry of God or moral convictions into the public square.

The misinterpretation of the separation of Church and State as the denial of the entry of God or moral convictions into the public square reveals the reality that the religion predominately lived today is that of secular atheism [hey don't force your secular-atheism onto me], the denial of God, whether directly through the works of Richard Dawkins and modern academia, or more subtly through practical atheism, living day-to-day life as if God didn’t exist. Some Catholics in the separation of their faith from decisions in the political order abandon God and embrace secular atheism. Secular atheism goes hand in hand with secular humanism, namely, the idea that man alone can order society and the common life of the human race and that God has no part in this order. Secular humanism can never flourish, because the moment society abandons God’s law it also abandons humanity [look at the history of all secular-atheistic states: Revolutionary France, Soviet Empire, Third Reich, Pol-Pot, China's "Red Revolt" - all were brutally inhumane]. Abandoning the truth is directly opposed both to our ideals as Christians and to the founding principles of our country as seen in the Declaration of Independence which acknowledges the “laws of nature’s God” and “the Creator.”

President George Washington declared in his farewell speech in 1796, “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them.” Our forefathers had no concept of a civil and democratic society separated from belief. They knew that such a society would either never survive or, if it survived, would seriously undermine the rights and true freedom of peoples, particularly the freedom to practice religion.

Every faithful Catholic has a responsibility to promote the teachings of the Church in the world and to live them out. The Second Vatican Council in Lumen Gentium reminded the laity that “…by their very vocation, [they] seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God….They are called there by God that by exercising their proper function and led by the spirit of the Gospel they may work for the sanctification of the world from within as a leaven” (LG 31). Being faithful to the call and mission given to us by God can never be limited to Sunday worship, but requires the surrender of our complete and entire lives. If we are faithful Catholics, everything we do will be influenced by our relationship with God, his truth, his love and his constant inspiration. If we withhold the beauty and truths about human life from our nation’s laws, we diminish our society [we are the best at being American when we are the best at being Catholic].

Over the next several months, Catholics will be called upon to witness to the preservation of the fundamental right to life from the moment of conception until natural death. As Pope John Paul II reminded Catholics in 1988, “ the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights -- for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture -- is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition of all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination . . . everyone has the mission and responsibility of acknowledging the personal dignity of every human being and of defending the right to life, some lay faithful are given particular title to this task: such as parents, teachers,
health workers and the many who hold economic and political power” (Christifideles Laici 38). In his recent visit to the United States, Pope Benedict reminded us that “[Christian truths] alone can guarantee respect for the inalienable dignity and rights of each man, woman and child in our world—including the most defenseless of all human beings, the unborn child in the mother’s womb” (Benedict XVI, Homily at Mass in Yankee Stadium, April 20, 2008).

Over the next several months and years I invite you to join me and continue to work diligently to promote the Gospel of Life. I encourage all of the clergy and laity of the Diocese of Fargo to work toward this goal and foundational truth. Regardless of which political party a Catholic belongs to, he or she must work tirelessly for life and the protection of the unborn child.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, let each one of us give thanks to God for the gift of our own life, the gift of our Catholic faith, and the gift of our country. I give thanks to God for the blessing of being a bishop and for being able to serve the faithful of the Church of Fargo. My fervent prayer for this Thanksgiving is that every Catholic and every person of good will might come to know the truth of the dignity of human life from conception to natural death and support this truth both in word and deed.

Printed in the November 2008 issue of New Earth, the newspaper for the Diocese of Fargo

I believe this has been placed in the common domain, if it will be removed to respect copyrights.

From a letter that Cardinal Ratzinger wrote to Cardinal McCarrick, Archbishop of Washing, D.C.

Pope Benedict XVI reaches out to bless a baby at the end of his general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican June 18, 2008.

…Presenting oneself to receive Holy Communion should be a conscious decision, based on a reasoned judgment regarding one’s worthiness to do so, according to the Church’s objective criteria, asking such questions as: "Am I in full communion with the Catholic Church? Am I guilty of grave sin? Have I incurred a penalty (e.g. excommunication, interdict) that forbids me to receive Holy Communion? Have I prepared myself by fasting for at least an hour?" The practice of indiscriminately presenting oneself to receive Holy Communion, merely as a consequence of being present at Mass, is an abuse that must be corrected (cf. Instruction "Redemptionis Sacramentum," nos. 81, 83).

The Church teaches that abortion or euthanasia is a grave sin. The Encyclical Letter Evangelium vitae, with reference to judicial decisions or civil laws that authorize or promote abortion or euthanasia, states that there is a "grave and clear obligation to oppose them by conscientious objection. [...] In the case of an intrinsically unjust law, such as a law permitting abortion or euthanasia, it is therefore never licit to obey it, or to 'take part in a propaganda campaign in favour of such a law or vote for it’" (no. 73). Christians have a "grave obligation of conscience not to cooperate formally in practices which, even if permitted by civil legislation, are contrary to God’s law. Indeed, from the moral standpoint, it is never licit to cooperate formally in evil. [...] This cooperation can never be justified either by invoking respect for the freedom of others or by appealing to the fact that civil law permits it or requires it" (no. 74).

Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia. For example, if a Catholic were to be at odds with the Holy Father on the application of capital punishment or on the decision to wage war, he would not for that reason be considered unworthy to present himself to receive Holy Communion. While the Church exhorts civil authorities to seek peace, not war, and to exercise discretion and mercy in imposing punishment on criminals, it may still be permissible to take up arms to repel an aggressor or to have recourse to capital punishment. There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia.

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and Sr. Nirmala, a sister of Mother Theresa's community, the Missionaries of Charity, in Sri Lanka, January 2005.

Apart from an individual's judgment about his worthiness to present himself to receive the Holy Eucharist, the minister of Holy Communion may find himself in the situation where he must refuse to distribute Holy Communion to someone, such as in cases of a declared excommunication, a declared interdict, or an obstinate persistence in manifest grave sin (cf. can. 915).

Regarding the grave sin of abortion or euthanasia, when a person’s formal cooperation becomes manifest (understood, in the case of a Catholic politician, as his consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws), his Pastor should meet with him, instructing him about the Church’s teaching, informing him that he is not to present himself for Holy Communion until he brings to an end the objective situation of sin, and warning him that he will otherwise be denied the Eucharist.

When "these precautionary measures have not had their effect or in which they were not possible," and the person in question, with obstinate persistence, still presents himself to receive the Holy Eucharist, "the minister of Holy Communion must refuse to distribute it" (cf. Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts Declaration "Holy Communion and Divorced, Civilly Remarried Catholics" [2002], nos. 3-4). This decision, properly speaking, is not a sanction or a penalty. Nor is the minister of Holy Communion passing judgment on the person’s subjective guilt, but rather is reacting to the person’s public unworthiness to receive Holy Communion due to an objective situation of sin…

FOLLOW-UP: Dedication of Saint John Lateran, B-XVI's Angelus Message

Cathedra of the diocese of Rome

Dear Brothers and Sisters!


Today the liturgy celebrates the dedication of the Lateran Basilica, called “mother and head of all the churches of the city and the world.” In fact, this basilica was the first to be built after Emperor Constantine’s edict, in 313, granted Christians freedom to practice their religion.The emperor himself gave Pope Miltiades the ancient palace of the Laterani family, and the basilica, the baptistery, and the patriarchate, that is, the Bishop of Rome’s residence -- where the Popes lived until the Avignon period -- were all built there. The basilica’s dedication was celebrated by Pope Sylvester around 324 and was named Most Holy Savior; only after the 6th century were the names of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist added, and now is typically denominated by these latter.

Altar of the Blessed Sacrament, where the table from the Last Supper is kept. Notice the golden columns, these were given by the temple of Jupiter by Emperor Constantine to symbolize that the king of the Roman gods was now replaced by the One True Living God,

May His Kingdom Come!

Initially the observance of this feast was confined to the city of Rome; then, beginning in 1565, it was extended to all the Churches of the Roman rite. The honoring of this sacred edifice was a way of expressing love and veneration for the Roman Church, which, as St. Ignatius of Antioch says, “presides in charity” over the whole Catholic communion (Letter to the Romans, 1:1).On this solemnity the Word of God recalls an essential truth: the temple of stones is a symbol of the living Church, the Christian community, which in their letters the Apostles Peter and Paul already understood as a “spiritual edifice,” built by God with “living stones,” namely, Christians themselves, upon the one foundation of Jesus Christ, who is called the “cornerstone” (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17; 1 Peter 2:4-8; Ephesians 2:20-22). “Brothers, you are God’s building,” St. Paul wrote, and added: “holy is God’s temple, which you are” (1 Corinthians 3:9c, 17).

These doors are from the Roman Senate House to symbolize that now all power in the world must be subordinate to the power of God -- for all societies and governments that ignore the natural will fall by the natural law -- which is the law of God.

The beauty and harmony of the churches, destined to give praise to God, also draws us human being, limited and sinful, to convert to form a “cosmos,” a well-ordered structure, in intimate communion with Jesus, who is the true Saint of saints. This happens in a culminating way in the Eucharistic liturgy, in which the “ecclesia,” that is, the community of the baptized, come together in a unified way to listen to the Word of God and nourish themselves with the Body and Blood of Christ. From these two tables the Church of living stones is built up in truth and charity and is internally formed by the Holy Spirit transforming herself into what she receives, conforming herself more and more to the Lord Jesus Christ. She herself, if she lives in sincere and fraternal unity, in this way becomes the spiritual sacrifice pleasing to God.

Dear friends, today’s feast celebrates a mystery that is always relevant: God’s desire to build a spiritual temple in the world, a community that worships him in spirit and truth (cf. John 4:23-24). But this observance also reminds us of the importance of the material buildings in which the community gathers to celebrate the praises of God. Every community therefore has the duty to take special care of its own sacred buildings, which are a precious religious and historical patrimony. For this we call upon the intercession of Mary Most Holy, that she help us to become, like her, the “house of God,” living temple of his love.

Pope Benedict conversing with the chief rabbi of the East Park Synagogue in N.Y.C. during His Apostolic Visit to the United States.

[After the Angelus the Pope greeted the pilgrims in various languages. In Italian he said:]

Today is the 70th anniversary of that sad event, which occurred during the nights of Nov. 9-10, 1938, when Nazi fury was unleashed against the Jews in Germany. Shops, offices, dwellings and synagogues were attacked and many people were also killed, initiating the systematic and violent persecution of German Jews, which ended with the Shoah. Today I still feel pain over what happened in those tragic circumstances. The memory of these things must serve to prevent similar horrors from ever happening again and must lead us to dedicate ourselves, at every level, to fight against every form of anti-Semitism and discrimination, educating the younger generations in respect and reciprocal acceptance. I invite you to pray for the victims of that time and to join with me in manifesting a deep solidarity with the Jewish world.
Troubling news continues to come from the North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Bloody armed skirmishes and systematic atrocities have caused and continue to cause many casualties among innocent civilians; destruction, looting and violence of every type have forced tens of thousands of persons to abandon even what little they had to survive. The number of refugees is estimated at more than 1 and a half million. To all and to each one I desire to express my special nearness, as I encourage and bless those who are working to alleviate their sufferings, among whom are the pastoral workers of the Church of that region. To families and their loved ones I offer my condolences and assure my prayers. Finally, fervently call upon all to work together to restore peace, respect for law and the dignity of every person to that land, for too long martyred.

In Italy today the Day of Thanksgiving is celebrated. This year’s theme is: “I was hungry and you gave me to eat.” I join my voice to that of the Italian bishops who, guided by these words of Jesus, draw attention to the grave and complex problem of hunger, which has become more dramatic due to price increases on staple foods. The Church, re-proposing the basic ethical principle of the universal destination of goods, following the example of the Lord Jesus, puts this principle into practice with multiple initiatives. I pray for farmers, especially for small farmers in developing countries. I encourage and bless those who work to make sure that no one lacks healthy and adequate food: whoever gives succor to the poor gives succor to Christ himself.

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]

[In English, he said]

I greet the English-speaking visitors and pilgrims who are here today, especially the groups from Billingham in England, Heulen in the Netherlands and Los Angeles, California. Today we celebrate the dedication of the Lateran Basilica, the Mother Church of all the churches throughout the world. Let us rejoice in this great sign of our unity in faith and love, and let us resolve to become living stones, constantly growing into a holy Temple in the Lord. May God bless you all!

San Lorenzo in Piscibus

Benedict XVI celebrating Mass at San Lorenzo in Piscibus, does the guy on the far right look familar?

This is our second visit on this blog to the little church of San Lorenzo in Piscibus (literally, Saint Lawerance in the Fishmarket) near Saint Peter's. It is the tiny old brick church almost completely surronded by the building containing Ancora bookshop and a half-dozen Cardinals' apartments.

There is nothing that outwardly would impress a passing observer. In fact Pius XII wanted to have it torn down during the contruction of Via della Conciliazione. The Christian historian would note it is one of the oldest churches in Rome, serving as the fish market chapel for a number of centuries. Eventually the fish market left the neighborhood, and this little church became obsolete in the city filled with churches.

Benedict XVI leaving the International Youth Center at San Lorenzo in Piscibus, he looks revived doesn't he?

John Paul II established the Vatican's International Youth Center here over twenty-five years ago. And the youth come to gather there everyday. It is their own place in Rome to pray, to be free to pray. At first it seems odd that it is hidden away, but it is exactly this that makes it what it is. Here young people can pray and be nourished, hidden like an arrow in a quiver (see Isaiah, chapter 54 I think, but don't quote me). They come to be nourished by the water that wells up from within quenching all thirst, for the bread given by Moses in a forgotten time, but given in this moment by our Father in heaven. Strengthen they can face the battles they face as soliders of the "culture of life."

The Cross of San Damiano. It is through this cross that Christ spoke to Saint Francis, which started his Christ-centered revival of the Church.

Is this the renewal the Church needs? It is part of it. What makes this retreat so succesful is that in the center it there is Christ. The tabernacle and the giant Francisican crucifix that hangs above it form the visual axis of the church, letting all know that Christ is the center here in this place. This is the secret of every renewal movement that the Church experienced, it was Christo-centric. There was no agenda placed in the center -- be it women's ordination, married clergy, or lobbies for loosing Church roles about all sorts of things from inter-communion, to sexual morality, to abortion. Just the same there was no agenda about restoring a replacing the liturgy with the "mass of the ages," are returning the Church to a bygone golden age (that very well may only exist in the imagination). No -- all this is set aside -- Christ is put in the center -- and He is the center of all renewal and revival.

This was true of the great Apostle we celebrate this year – Saint Paul, who always preached Christ, and Christ crucified. This was true of Saint Francis, who was so Christo-centric he shared the very same wounds as Christ. And this was also true of John Paul II, who in his final days pointed to the crucified Christ instead of himself. And so it is true of us.

So let us for a moment of prayer put aside our agendas, what ever they happen to be. Let Christ stand central in that moment. Let him quench your thirst for goodness, let him satisfy the hunger for holiness. This is what will renew and revive our hope, our love for one another, and our faith in him, who only wishes to bless us.

Pope Quote of the Day:

I would like to do a quick "man-on-the-street" survey: True or False, the Catholic Church is always oppressive to women, and ignores their unique and neccesary contribution to understanding the Christian mysteries?

Our Lady of Humility, Prayer for Us!

Most people I think would say, "absolutely true." I think how ever they would be wrong. Let's look at this following quote from our currently reigning Pontiff:
It is theologically and anthropologically important for woman to be at the center of Christianity. Through Mary, and the other holy women, the feminine element stand at the heart of the Christian religion.

Father Josef Ratzinger on his ordination day

FACT: The Church by worshipping Christ, a man born of a woman, the Church has always seen women as centrally important in the human project. The first Saint is a woman, Holy Mother Mary, and this has continued through the present day. From Mary through Catherine of Siena through Therese of the Infant Jesus (the Little Flower) and Edith Stein, among many more.

Well it is still the Christmas Season...

The Holy Father preparing to give the "Obi et Urbi" blessing on Christmas.

A view of where I was sitting for the midnight Mass with the Holy Father. Overall a good seat.
First Vespers (evening prayer) with the Holy Father. We came in very late, but were ushered right up to the front (no there is nothing special about us, the ushers just know that it is good to make the Basilica to look full for the Holy Father).
The Creche in the main chapel at PNAC.

Wow my first Christmas away from home! I did not know what to expect, but overall it went much better than I thought it would. The PONTIFICAL NORTH AMERICAN COLLEGE has been helping young aspiring priest with the holiday season for the last 149 years, and they did a good job at helping me through it. I think it was more difficult on my friends and family back in the United States than it was for me.

There are three main things that helped with the season: 1) over here we are all in the same boat for the most part, (2) Rome and the Vatican do Christmas very well, and (3) just trying to keep my eye on the prize, priesthood, and what this means for my life.

NAC treats us very well around the holidays, and the whole season starts out with a college-wide Christmas party in the refractory. It sets the mood quiet well. There are the traditional foods and drinks, caroling, a newly elected Bishop Callahan to read T'was the Night Before Christmas, a big tree. You know the usual things, for the most part. There is also a lot of support from through the strong fraternal bonds that we develop here.

While I would love to be home for the holidays, there is just something about a Roman holiday. You spend it with the Holy Father to start with. It is also much less commercial so the true signficance of it really stands out. I started out the whole Advent season by attending Solemn Evening Prayer at Saint Peter with the Holy Father, and was gifted two tickets for the reparto speciale for Midnight Mass with the Holy Father. This means I enjoyed some really good seats. See the picture that shows how close I was. The next morning I slept in late, and got ready just in time to head down to the square (which square? there is only one square, Saint Peter's of course!) for the Ubi et Orbi blessing from the Holy Father. This is when he blesses the city of Rome and the whole world besides in about 40 different languages.

Lastly, as Servant of God, Archbishop Sheen always said, a priest is not his own. It is great to spend time with ones family during the holiday season, but a priest does not do that. He has his parish family, and really taking Christ as a model, he spends his holidays with those who have no family to visit them. Being here in Rome prepares me for this, and we all have no family here, so we held each other up in prayer and with affirming words.

It is a small sacrifice, but the secret of the saints is that holiness is found very often in these everyday-ordinary sacrifices. I think this is something that I can learn from new-parents. They make many sacrifices to be good parents, and a priest must make many little sacrifices of his will (and body, and mind, and heart) to be a good Spiritual Father. All these experiences in Rome are preparing me for this.

Thank you to all for holding me up in prayer during this time, it has helped greatly. God bless and blessed Christmas season to each of you.

Sorry Two Months (Can we say B*U*S*Y)

Sorry to all for taking so long to update this. After two months perhaps I have lost some or all loyal readers. It has been a busy two months. But very active and spiritually moving. I cannot really put into words what has all happened within my heart, but I feel much closer to God in the end of it.
The transition to seminary abroad, to NAC, to being in Italy. Well it has been much more difficult than I thought it would be. I went for a little emotional roller coaster ride, but what is very much consoling is that I have felt myself growing ever closer to God in all of this. Reflecting on the Gospel passage: "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it shall never bare fruit," it has all become more real to me. It is something I understood before in some over superficial way, but know much more into the heart.
How do I update over two months? I really cannot say I know how to. I have a lot of pictures though so perhaps that will help.

This is from a day trip while I was in language school in Verbania. It is a giant statue of Saint Charles Borromeo. He is the patron saint of seminaries, so of course is close to my heart. I will devote a separate post to the beauties of Verbania and Lago Maggiore.

This is a view of the Pope's gardens at Castelgondolfo. Very beautiful. They are usually not open to the public, but it was a special favor to us when we were there to receive the blessing of His Holiness.

The whole class of new men took a two night trip to Assisi. It moved me spiritually more than I thought it would, since I never had a large devotion to Saint Francis. I loved taking walks in the country side around the town. There are olive trees for those who have never seen olive trees before. The shimmer like silver under the Umbrian sun.

The basic skyline of Siena. I spent two weeks here for language school. The Cathedral is on the left with the tower and the dome. It was very beautiful, but there is sadly a charge to enter. It is treated more like a museum, rather than the House of God. Did not Jesus act on this some how?

Well I saw the Pope (again)

The next day was the Pallium Mass and the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. Of course being in Rome this is a big holiday. Businesses are closed, no school, etc. The North American College is always very good about providing tickets for the big events at the Basilica of Saint Peter. So a whole crew from NAC headed on over to the "bid ol' Church" for the Mass. For my first Papal Mass, it was very beautiful. What is most striking is that there were literally people from every corner of the world there. The Mass was celebrated using five different languages, French, English, Spanish, German, and Latin. It was really my first experience of the Catholic Church as catholic. As the book of Revelations say, "You [Christ] were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God men of every people and race, nation and tongue, and every tribe." The Catholic Church is the most inclusive institution in the world, never is it asked before baptism about nationality, income, race, intelligence, or any other factor, expect to be human, a beloved child of God. What is should do to the individual Catholic is to expand his heart, so that he can love men of ever nation and tribe. Wow! Does that ever sound difficult, but we do not do this alone. This love, pure and filled with truth and light, comes to us from God. It comes through any means God chooses (notice, not any means we choose, God is in charge here), primarily through the liturgy. It is the living again of the mystery of the incarnation, passion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. At Mass God comes to earth, and through the power of the Holy Spirit in the sacrament we are brought, crossing the boundries of space and time, to experience being at the foot of the Cross. It is through this that God gives us the gift of the pure Christian love that can expand our heart of make room for all people. Fr. Ronald Rolheiser says this is good prepartion of heaven where you will be with "men of every race, and tonuge..." Just think this was only once Mass, imagine what the next five years will be like.