Amen!  Preach on!

This appears on the Prarie Home Companion website.  I found it interesting.

Mr. Keillor,

Get off the Pope, will you?

He's a civilized, cultured man. He was a university professor for years. He's a skilled classical pianist. He's quiet, almost shy, urbane, decent, and has more class and education and just plain intelligence in his little finger than you'll ever have.

You know, when you think you will get a big guffaw out of taking pot-shots at the Pope or the Catholic Church, you just show yourself to be the typical beetle-browed neanderthal who thinks that all Catholics are stupid, blah, blah blah.

And last week, you called him Pope Clement. Duh. The last Pope Clement died in 1774.

The pope hasn't been carried in a sedan chair in about a century. John Paul II attracted crowds bigger than any crowds in human history for any purpose. When he went somewhere, the planet practically tilted off its axis from the rush of people to be near him. No one in the history of the world has had his influence - and been as truly, personally loved and mourned as he was. And it was all televised. For 26 years. And never once did you see a sedan chair. Some how you missed that. For 26 years.

If you want to know what Pope Benedict really has to say about Christmas, you can find it at the Vatican website. It's nothing about fear - that's your stupid, 'Let's bash Catholics AND Germans' crap.

I am sick to the back teeth with people like you thinking that everything is sacred, no group can be offended, all religions must be tolerated - except the one billion Catholics on the planet, who can be ridiculed anytime you want to.

The good old American anti-Catholic bigotry, the only bigotry left to politically correct liberals. Is it any wonder that Catholics have abandoned the Democratic party in droves? It's full of people like you - who bash Catholics and think you're funny. If being a Democrat would mean being bashed for my religion, and seeing my spiritual father bashed and ridiculed and slandered (he's NOT about 'fear' and the Catholic Church is NOT about 'fear') - why would I have anything to do with that party? Catholics have always been the working-class outsider in the US, and used to always be Democrats. People like you are doing a great job to change that.

I'm Catholic. I'm of German descent, and I'm fed up with it. The Catholics in America are fed up with it. It's not fashionable anymore. Get with it.

And don't come back with the smarmy, 'Just turn off the radio' reply. You try turning off the bigotry and cheap shots. There's no call for it.

Catholics make up one-sixth of the population of the planet. Pope Benedict is the spiritual leader for one-sixth of the population of the planet. Have a little respect for us and for him. Ridicule the Dali Lama; ridicule the chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. Oh, no, of course not. Ridicule the spiritual leader of one-sixth of the people on the planet - Brilliant! What a concept!

You have a lovely show. Why offend your listeners? Arrogance? Cluelessness? Blind bigotry? What?

C. Fleischman

San Francisco, CA

Mr. Keillor responded with his usual liberal talk about how the Church should focus less on abortion, contraception, and gays and more on social justice issues.  What he doesn't understand is how all of the above are social justice issues.  The killing of innocent children, the use and abuse of sexuality and the assault on the family are issues that have an impact on social justice...but some people don't seem to get that.

Concience Doesn't Matter Any More

Apparently the European Union doesn't believe that people have a freedom to practice their religion or to follow their conscience, at least when it comes to doctors killing babies:

European Union advisory panel has issued a statement saying that medical professionals are not allowed to refuse to participate in abortions. According to the EU Network of Independent Experts on Fundamental Rights doctors should be forced to perform abortions, even if they have conscientious objections, because the right to abort a child is an “international human right.”

The Network, which consists of one expert per EU member state, assists the European Commission and the European Parliament in developing EU policy on fundamental rights. The Network wrote a 40-page opinion stressing that the right to conscientious objection is not “unlimited.” The opinion was given in connection with a proposed treaty between the Vatican and Slovakia. This treaty includes a guarantee that Catholic hospitals in Slovakia will not be legally obliged to “perform artificial abortions, artificial or assisted fertilizations, experiments with or handling of human organs, human embryos or human sex cells, euthanasia, cloning, sterilizations, [and] acts connected with contraception.”

The Network states that agreements which guarantee Catholic doctors and nurses a right not to be involved in abortions violate EU law. Leftist groups have complained that some new EU members – namely Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia – are so overwhelmingly Catholic that far too few doctors are willing to perform abortions. This makes it hard for women who want an abortion to find a doctor who has no conscientious objection. In such cases, the EU experts say, doctors should be forced to abort.

I suppose their next target will be South Dakota:

The waiting room at the Planned Parenthood clinic was packed by the time the doctor arrived -- an hour late because of weather delays in Minneapolis.

It was clinic day, the one day a week when the only facility in South Dakota that provides abortions could take in patients. This time it was a Wednesday. The week before it was a Monday.

The day changes depending on the schedules of four doctors from Minnesota who fly here on a rotating basis to perform abortions, something no doctor in South Dakota will do. The last doctor in South Dakota to perform abortions stopped about eight years ago; the consensus in the medical community is that offering the procedure is not worth the stigma of being branded a baby killer.

South Dakota, those on both sides of the abortion debate agree, has become one of the hardest states in the country in which to obtain an abortion. One of three states in the country to have only one abortion provider -- North Dakota and Mississippi are the others -- South Dakota, largely because of a strong antiabortion lobby, is also becoming a leading national laboratory for testing the limits of state laws restricting abortion, both opponents and advocates of abortion rights say.

Read the whole article here.

Merry Christmas!

"God’s everlasting ‘today’ has come down into the fleeting today of the world and lifted our momentary today into God’s eternal today. God is so great that he can become small. God is so powerful that he can make himself vulnerable and come to us as a defenceless child, so that we can love him. God is so good that he can give up his divine splendour and come down to a stable, so that we might find him, so that his goodness might touch us, give itself to us and continue to work through us. This is Christmas: ‘You are my son, this day I have begotten you’. God has become one of us, so that we can be with him and become like him. As a sign, he chose the Child lying in the manger: this is how God is. This is how we come to know him. And on every child shines something of the splendour of that ‘today’, of that closeness of God which we ought to love and to which we must yield – it shines on every child, even on those still unborn.”  - Pope Benedict XVI, Midnight Mass Homily, 2005

Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment
At which the Son of God was born
Of a most pure Virgin
At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem
In the piercing cold
At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,
To hear my prayers and grant my desires
(mention request here). 
Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

Homily: Christmas Midnight Mass

It was December 24^th, 1944 and world war two was in full swing.  The Battle of the Bulge was raging and a group of soldiers from the 101^st Airborne Division were camped near Bastogne, . 

As the sun set and the darkness and the bitter cold began to surround them, they began to realize that they were surrounded and greatly outnumbered by the enemy.  In the midst of the darkness gunshots rang out and bombs burst in the distance, and they began to lose hope.  The darkness seemed so dark and the thought of their families back home made the loneliness of the trenches even harder to bear.

As midnight approached the sounds of war began to dwindle and an eerie silence set in…gently, from the German side of the front line came a lone voice singing a familiar tune.  In the bitter cold and darkness they heard:

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,
Alles schläft; einsam wacht
Nur das traute hochheilige Paar.
Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!

It didn’t take long for the American soldiers to join their enemies in song:

Silent night Holy night
All is calm all is bright
'Round yon virgin Mother and Child
Holy infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

For just a few minutes the light of the Christ Child shown on a cold and dark battlefield and that peace which only comes from the savior reigned in the midst of hatred and war.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, we are gathered here surrounded by the cold darkness of midnight to welcome the Light of the World.  For as our first reading reminds us, “A people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.” 

We are gathered in the midst of the battlefields of our own struggles to welcome the child who brings peace, “His dominion is vast and forever peaceful.”

Just as the lone voice singing the praises of the Infant God pierced the darkness of the night on that battlefield, so Christ pierces the darkness of our world.  My brothers and sisters our world dwells in darkness and the shadow of death.  Darkness reigns supreme, but there is hope…there is always hope.  All through the season of Advent, when even nature reflected the growing darkness as night became longer and the light of day waned, we have waited patiently for this night when the light of the Christ Child would pierce the darkness to deliver us and lead us into the Kingdom of Light. The Infant King has come amidst the cold of night to deliver us from the darkness of sin and evil.  This Child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger is the light that enlightens a dark and confused world and brings hope to all.

This light of hope spreads throughout the whole world beginning with you and me.  Just as the world is shrouded in darkness so are our individual lives.  No matter who we are or where we are from; whether we are young or old, rich or poor, healthy or ill we all have a little darkness in our lives.  Maybe it’s the darkness that comes from losing someone dear to us.  Maybe it’s a darkness caused by addiction.  Maybe it’s a darkness caused by the pain and suffering of our own illness or the illness of a loved one.  Or maybe it’s a darkness that is so dark that we have carried it silently and secretly for years.  My brothers and sisters we do not have to live in darkness, we no longer need to carry in our hearts and souls the burdens of sin and sorrow for our Savior has come.  He has come to shatter the burdens which weigh us down.  He has come to break the chains which hold us bound to sin.  He has come to shine His light into the dark corners of our lives, but we must let Him in.  We must not make the same mistake that so many inhabitants of Bethlehem did on that cold dark night over two thousand years ago…we must not turn Him away saying, “There is no room.”  Imagine the gift they turned down that night…the opportunity to have the Light of the World be born in their home.  Let’s not make the same mistake.  Let us welcome the Holy Family into the homes of our hearts so that the Holy Infant might shine His light into the dark parts of our lives.

Tonight as we gather we will soon witness Christ being born into our midst through the gift of the Holy Eucharist.  Every Holy Mass makes present the events of that Christmas so many years ago when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  It is here, at this Altar, where the Incarnation of Christ is renewed each and every day.  It is here, at this Altar where Christ continues to pierce the darkness of the world with His very presence.  His presence here, in the Eucharist is just as real as His presence in that stable in Bethlehem .  where the Christ Child is born in our hearts…truly in Holy Communion a Child is born to us…born in our hearts.  He is named Wonder- Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, the prince of Peace.

From The Desk Of The Parochial Vicar

I recently wrote this for our  our parish bulletin.  Thought you might enjoy it.

The first reading from this Sunday’s Liturgy speaks about the desire of King David to build a suitable house for the Lord.  This is a desire that has motivated the people of God for centuries, as is manifested by the great Churches throughout the world.  All people should desire to build God a home that is worthy of Him; a home that is beautiful and truly awe inspiring.

All of this talk about God’s house is an opportune time for us to examine ourselves on how we conduct ourselves in God’s house.  As I sat down to write this letter I came across a document from the Congregation for Divine Worship in Rome that had some rather beautiful things to say about the Church building, the House of God, so I thought I might share a few quotes with you.

“As visible constructions, churches are signs of the pilgrim Church on earth; they are images that proclaim the heavenly Jerusalem, places in which are actualized the mystery of the communion between man and God. Both in urban areas and in the countryside, the church remains the house of God, and the sign of his dwelling among men. It remains a sacred place, even when no liturgical celebration is taking place.”  This is a great reminder to us of the respect we must have for the House of God.  I think we often forget how sacred the Church is, and we can easily make it into just another place to socialize.  The document addresses this by saying “Churches, however, cannot be considered simply as public places for any kind of meeting. They are sacred places, that is, "set apart" in a permanent way for divine worship by their dedication and blessing.”

The document also reminds us that the Church should be a place of refuge from the noise which we all know pervades our world. “In a society disturbed by noise, especially in big cities, churches are also an oasis where men gather, in silence and in prayer, to seek peace of soul and the light of faith.”  This is why it is so important for us to nurture a spirit of silence within the Church.  Both before and after Mass we should do our best to remain silent in the Church so everyone would be able to prepare or give thanks for the gift of receiving our Lord in the Holy Eucharist.  

As we quickly approach the Holy Season of Christmas in which we celebrate the fact that Jesus came to make His home among us, let us renew our efforts to make His dwelling among us a holy, sacred, and quiet place; a place of beauty where we find the Prince of Peace dwelling in our midst.

Homily:  Fourth Sunday of Advent

Today’s first reading from the book of Samuel recounts for us how King David desired to build a fitting house for God to dwell in.  In the bulletin I wrote a little bit about the Church building, which is truly God’s house.  It is his temple where He dwells day and night in the tabernacle, but you can read more about that in the bulletin.

Right now I would like to talk about our hearts, which are also the house of God.  We believe that on the day of our Baptism the Holy Trinity came to dwell within our hearts, never to leave.  We believe that our hearts are the very home of God, and because of this, we need to make sure that our hearts are kept as clean, as prayerful, and as holy as this Church building is, especially in the season of Advent as we prepare for the coming of the Christ as a Child at Christmas and as Christ the Merciful and Just Judge at the end of time.

We need to keep our heart clean and pure through fighting against sin and making frequent use of the Sacrament of Penance.  You know, here at Holy Spirit I have been very impressed lately with the numbers of people who are coming to confession – can you believe  that there are actually lines!  Many of us are responding to the Lord’s call to receive His Mercy and love in the Sacrament of Penance and I commend you for that, but yet sadly there are still many of us who are not responding to God’s call to receive His mercy.  You know, the Church requires that we come to confession at least once a year…at least!  That’s the minimum – once a year, and if we haven’t been receiving the Sacrament of Penance at least once a year, then the Church asks that we refrain from receiving communion until we have.  It used to be that we didn’t dare receive communion without first confessing our sins.  Those times are now gone, but the intimate link between confession and Holy Communion still exists, and that is why the Church asks that we confess at least once a year.   Here at Holy Spirit we currently have 1,484 active families registered as members of the parish.  If we figure that on average a family consists of three people that makes 4, 452 individuals, divide that by 365 days of the year and you get 12.  On average, if every person in our parish went to confession only once a year, just once a year, the minimum, then Fr. Morgan and I would have to hear 12 confessions every day.  Now that number assumes that everyone would come here for confession, but you don’t have to – you can go anywhere.  If for whatever reason you are more comfortable confessing somewhere else then by all means do it.  Father and I will not be offended if you don’t confess to us.  The point is, my friends, we are called to have pure hearts in order to receive our Lord in Holy Communion, and if we aren’t coming to confession then our heart – our personal house of God - probably isn’t as clean and pure as it should be.  And if it isn’t as clean and pure as it should be, then the Sacrament of Penance might be a good idea.  This next week there will be extra times for confessions here at Holy Spirit as well as Advent Penance services all over town beginning tomorrow evening/tonight here at Holy Spirit .  If your conscience tells you that its time, have no fear, and come receive God’s mercy…it would be the perfect way to make our hearts a fitting dwelling place for the Child Jesus.                                                                                                                         

Our hearts should be prayerful just as this House of God is a place of prayer.  This is the time of year when many of us have guests from out of town spending a few days living in our homes.  Now, don’t you think that it would be a little un-hospitable if we had these guests visiting our home and we didn’t talk to them or spend time with them?  My brothers and sisters, we have a very important guest living in our hearts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week…we should make sure that we take some time each and every day to talk to Him…it doesn’t take much…a hello here, a few sentences there.  These little greetings that we give our Lord dwelling in our hearts are wonderful ways to be hospitable to Him, and to keep a prayerful attitude throughout our day.

If we keep our heart clean, pure, and prayerful, then our hearts will also be holy, and if they are holy they will be a perfect dwelling place for the Christ Child who is coming soon to make his dwelling among us.  In these last days of Advent before Christmas let us strive more than ever to make our hearts the perfect home for God, because if we do, then we will have the most fruitful, holy, and peaceful Christmas that we have ever had – for we will be able to welcome the Prince of Peace to our hearts without fear or anxiety.  We will welcome Him with joy, because he will be coming to our pure, prayerful and holy hearts…he will be coming home.

Rudolph Rubrinasus

Thats Latin for Rudulph the Red Nose Reindeer and you can listen to it here...in latin.

Here is the first verse...in case you want to sing along:

Ho, Ho, Ho

No, he's not playing Santa Clause. What you see on his head is called a camauro and is to be worn only by the Pope.  The last Holy Father to wear the fur-trimmed papal hat known as the camauro was Blessed John XXIII:

Just another ancient tradition our beloved Pope Benedict is bringing back.

Adeste Infidelis

The local St. Louis chapter of Voice of the Faithful has written a letter to the editor in the St. Louis Post Dispatch supporting the schismatic and excommunicated priest and lay board of St. Stanislaus Parish in St. Louis.  This shows the true colors of Voice of the Faithful, and the kind of people they are.  They are clearly supporting schism, which should not be taken lightly.  Not only that, but they support committing mortal sin by saying "We hope that all Catholics in the archdiocese will honor Rev. Bozek and his new parish by joining them for 10pm Mass on Christmas Eve."  This clearly put them in the danger of mortal sin.  As Archbishop Burke said "The faithful who approach a schismatic priest for the reception of the sacraments, except in the case of danger of death, commit a mortal sin."  Not exactly a nice Christmas present for Jesus.

In honor of Voice of the Faithful, the Curt Jester has composed a lovely little Christmas ditty entitled Adeste Infidelis (O Come all ye infidels) for the Boston Chaper.  I took it and St. Louisized it...I hope the Curt Jester doesn't mind.  You can read the origional here.

Where Have All The Backbones Gone?

This angers me:

(Lifesite.net)The Catholic Church identifies homosexuality as a serious moral and psychological disorder of unknown origin, one that is serious enough to make a man who suffers from it ineligible for priestly ordination.

Nonetheless, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has issued a glowing movie review of the homosexual propaganda film, Brokeback Mountain, a story of two rugged cowboys who engage in homosexual liaisons and adultery.

The film's theme is a favorite of homosexual folklore: two lonesome cowboys, removed from the repressions of artificial social mores by their work in the great rugged outdoors. Freed from the constraints of female society, their passions erupt in what is depicted as some deep, natural, repressed well. The sex is depicted off screen in a way described by the author of the short story upon which the film is based as a manly act, "quick, rough, laughing and snorting."

The unnamed USCCB reviewer, in keeping with the now-standard tone of acceptance required of Catholic "progressives," walked a hair-thin line between Catholic teaching and wholehearted approval of the homosexual lifestyle. "The Catholic Church," the reviewer writes, "makes a distinction between homosexual orientation and activity, Ennis and Jack's continuing physical relationship is morally problematic."

He goes on to praise the film saying, "While the actions taken by Ennis and Jack cannot be endorsed, the universal themes of love and loss ring true."

A Christian activist who has worked to debunk the propaganda of the homosexual movement was more forthright. Referring to the film's seven Golden Globe nominations including best picture and best director, Stephen Bennett, a former homosexual said, "What a sad day in America when a movie that glorifies homosexuality, adultery, dangerous and deadly unprotected anal sex and deception is up for Best Picture of the Year."

Bennett is a radio talk show host who, with his wife, works to expose the work being done by homosexual activists to undermine the family. He called the film and the awards nominations, "an all time moral low our culture has sunk to."

"When a movie based on a short story, containing graphic, explicit, dangerous homosexual anal sex by two men is elevated to Best Picture of the Year, America better wake up," Bennett said.

The Catholic reviewer seems to have missed the moral depravity angle. The review, which is featured on the USCCB's official website, is written in much the same glowing terms as those of New York Times' reviewer who called it a "moving and majestic" depiction of thwarted love. The USCCB's reviewer enthused about the film's depiction of "love and loss," calling it "a serious contemplation of loneliness and connection."

The film offends not only Christian moral sensibilities, however, but those of anyone who believes in the sanctity of marriage. The two characters separate and marry, have children and make themselves and their wives miserable by the life of "denial" so denigrated by homosexual activists.

Years later they meet again and revisit their passions, this time betraying their wives. The final sop to the homosexual mythology comes when one of the men suggests they leave their wives and set up house together. The other refuses not out of respect for his wife or for love of their children, but because of a traumatic childhood memory of a man beaten to death with tire irons for living with another man.

"Looked at from the point of view of the need for love which everyone feels but few people can articulate, the plight of these guys is easy to understand while their way of dealing with it is likely to surprise and shock an audience," the USCCB review says.

Bennett, in line with Catholic teaching that says the "gay lifestyle" can never be condoned, said, "With HIV and AIDS on the rise, and homosexual men dropping dead because of this dangerous, potentially deadly behavior, you better believe, I'll be sounding the alarm on this movie."

"I've buried too many friends who died from AIDS to keep quiet on this one," said Bennett.

The bishops' organization gave the film a rating of "L," warning of its "tacit approval of same-sex relationships, adultery, two brief sex scenes without nudity, partial and shadowy brief nudity elsewhere, other implied sexual situations." The "L" rating is two notches above the most censorious available in the bishops' system -  "O" for morally offensive.

The USCCB's official review is not signed but another, almost identical piece by Harry Forbes appeared on the USCCB related Catholic News Service website. LifeSiteNews.com contacted the USCCB and was informed that Forbes is the head of the USCCB Office for Film and Broadcasting.

In case you want to complain about this (and I think you should) you can contact Msgr Maniscalco, Director of Communications Dept USCCB at 202-541-3000 (USCCB) ask for Communications Dept. (Msgr. Maniscalco) or  Msgr William Fay, General Secretary.

USCCB President Bishop William Skylstad
509-358-7305

UPDATE: USCCB Changes Rating on Brokeback Mountain to Morally Offensive 

Make sure you read the above article about the change in rating.  Apparently even though the rating has been changed the review in question still gives glowing praise for the film.  So, it would still be good to express your concern to the above mentioned people.

Excommunication

One of my personal heros Archbishop Raymond L. Burke has come finally done what in my humble opinion is needed.  He has acknowledged that the board of Directors of St. Stanislaus Church in St. Louis are offically schismatic and thus excommunicated.  Those who have been following the story will know that this conflict has been going on since the good Archbishop arrived in St. Louis.  May God reward him for his courage.

Below is what he wrote in the local Archdiocesan newspaper:

As archbishop, it is my responsibility to explain the situation to all of the faithful of the archdiocese, who are so deeply affected by what has happened, in order that they not be subjected to further confusion and division, that they not be deceived about the lawfulness and validity of sacraments celebrated by the schismatic priest and that they pray for the reconciliation of those who gone into schism.

Schism is "the refusal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him" (can. 751). It is the repudiation of the authority which Christ conferred upon St. Peter and the other Apostles in communion with him, and their successors. It, therefore, involves not only a premeditated and most grave act of disobedience to the authority of the Roman Pontiff and the bishops in the communion with him, but also a certain denial of an integral part of the Catholic faith, that is, the apostolic mark of the Church. In other words, those who choose to go into schism believe that they can be the Church without the pastoral teaching, ministration of the sacraments and governance of the Apostles and their successors. In the case of the board of directors of the civil corporation of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish, the act of disobedience involves directly not only the archbishop of St. Louis but also the Apostolic See. They have rejected both my direction and the direction of the Apostolic See.

Some have understood that the conflict of the members of the board of directors of the civil corporation of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish and of those who follow them is with me personally. Such is clearly not the case, as the decision of the Congregation for the Clergy indicated. Their conflict is with the Roman Catholic Church. It is a conflict which several of my predecessors addressed in their time. The members of the board of directors refuse to accept the governance of the parish by the Roman Catholic Church, insisting that they remain devout Roman Catholics by governing the parish themselves. They have, thereby, broken the bond of communion with the Apostolic See and the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Some have understood the object of the conflict to be power and money. Such is also clearly not the case. The object of the conflict is obedience, the obedience we all owe to the Apostolic teaching and discipline of the Church. The power in question belongs to Christ alone, who continues to guide the Church through those who act in His person as shepherd and head of the flock, in virtue of the Sacrament of Holy Orders and the jurisdiction conferred by the Holy Father, the Vicar of Christ on earth, and the bishops in communion with the Holy Father. It is precisely when we place ourselves above Christ and His authority in the Church that we introduce division into the Body of Christ.

Those who commit the ecclesiastical crime of schism incur automatically the penalty of excommunication (cf. can. 1364, §1; and 1314). The excommunicated person is forbidden "to have any ministerial participation in celebrating the Sacrifice of the Eucharist or any other ceremonies of worship whatsoever" (can. 1331, §1, 1º); "to celebrate the sacraments or sacramentals, and to receive the sacraments" (can. 1331, §1, 2º); and "to exercise any ecclesiastical offices, ministries or functions whatsoever or to place acts of governance" (can. 1331, §1, 3º). The various elements of the penalty underline the fact that the party in question has broken communion with the Church. The prohibition of receiving the sacraments or sacramentals is suspended when the party under sanction is in danger of death, given that he is otherwise properly disposed (cf. can. 1352, §1).

Although the excommunication is incurred automatically, it is my duty as the diocesan bishop in whose jurisdiction the act of schism has taken place to declare the excommunication, after I have made certain that the parties in question have understood the gravity of their act and its most serious consequences (cf. cann. 1717-1719). It has been made clear to me for some time that the members of the board of directors of the civil corporation of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish have understood that the action of hiring a priest who is not in good standing in the Church to serve them carried with it the penalty of excommunication. Over the months since the imposition of the penalty of interdict, it has been my hope that the members of the board of directors would seek reconciliation. Also, I have renewed several times my offer to execute civil legal documents to guarantee what is already guaranteed by Church discipline, namely, the ownership of the temporal goods of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish as a personal parish for faithful of Polish language or heritage. The members of the board of directors, however, have insisted on their governance of the parish, even if, at the same time, they have asserted their desire to be part of the Roman Catholic Church. Having attempted to address the situation through fraternal correction and other means of pastoral solicitude, including the pastoral visit of the Most Reverend Ryszard Karpinski, auxiliary bishop of Lublin in Poland and the delegate of the Polish Conference of Bishops for Polish faithful living outside their homeland, now I must declare that the latest action of the members of the board of directors constitutes schism, carrying with it the automatic penalty of excommunication (cf. can. 1341).

So Much For Freedom of Conscience and Freedom of Speech

 A member of the Knights of Columbus who is in charge of renting the fraternity's hall for weddings and other events alleges he was fired from his day job at Costco for his involvement in denying two lesbians the facility for their same-sex "wedding."  The human rights case in which the lesbian couple successfully sued the Knights of Columbus over the denial of the hall made international headlines.

I don't understand how a place of business could dismiss someone on the grounds of their religious beliefs and or affiliations.  That seems to me to be a violation of one's freedom of religion and freedom of speech does it not?

Where is the ACLU when you need them...oh yeah...they are too busy making war on Christmas.

To express concerns to Costco:

General Customer Service: 800-463-3783

E-mail address: service@costco.ca

Papal Homily

Here are a few snippets from the Holy Fathers wonderful homily for the Solemnity of the Immacuate Conception:

It was foretold that the struggle between humanity and the serpent, that is, between man and the forces of evil and death, would continue throughout history. It was also foretold, however, that the "offspring" of a woman would one day triumph and would crush the head of the serpent to death; it was foretold that the offspring of the woman -- and in this offspring the woman and the mother herself -- would be victorious and that thus, through man, God would triumph.

If we set ourselves with the believing and praying Church to listen to this text, then we can begin to understand what original sin, inherited sin, is and also what the protection against this inherited sin is, what redemption is.

What picture does this passage show us? The human being does not trust God. Tempted by the serpent, he harbors the suspicion that in the end, God takes something away from his life, that God is a rival who curtails our freedom and that we will be fully human only when we have cast him aside; in brief, that only in this way can we fully achieve our freedom.

The human being lives in the suspicion that God's love creates a dependence and that he must rid himself of this dependency if he is to be fully himself. Man does not want to receive his existence and the fullness of his life from God.

He himself wants to obtain from the tree of knowledge the power to shape the world, to make himself a god, raising himself to God's level, and to overcome death and darkness with his own efforts. He does not want to rely on love that to him seems untrustworthy; he relies solely on his own knowledge since it confers power upon him. Rather than on love, he sets his sights on power, with which he desires to take his own life autonomously in hand. And in doing so, he trusts in deceit rather than in truth and thereby sinks with his life into emptiness, into death.

Love is not dependence but a gift that makes us live. The freedom of a human being is the freedom of a limited being, and therefore is itself limited. We can possess it only as a shared freedom, in the communion of freedom: Only if we live in the right way, with one another and for one another, can freedom develop.

We live in the right way if we live in accordance with the truth of our being, and that is, in accordance with God's will. For God's will is not a law for the human being imposed from the outside and that constrains him, but the intrinsic measure of his nature, a measure that is engraved within him and makes him the image of God, hence, a free creature.

If we live in opposition to love and against the truth -- in opposition to God -- then we destroy one another and destroy the world. Then we do not find life but act in the interests of death. All this is recounted with immortal images in the history of the original fall of man and the expulsion of man from the earthly Paradise.

We call this drop of poison "original sin." Precisely on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, we have a lurking suspicion that a person who does not sin must really be basically boring and that something is missing from his life: the dramatic dimension of being autonomous; that the freedom to say no, to descend into the shadows of sin and to want to do things on one's own is part of being truly human; that only then can we make the most of all the vastness and depth of our being men and women, of being truly ourselves; that we should put this freedom to the test, even in opposition to God, in order to become, in reality, fully ourselves.

In a word, we think that evil is basically good, we think that we need it, at least a little, in order to experience the fullness of being. We think that Mephistopheles -- the tempter -- is right when he says he is the power "that always wants evil and always does good" (J.W. von Goethe, "Faust" I, 3). We think that a little bargaining with evil, keeping for oneself a little freedom against God, is basically a good thing, perhaps even necessary.

If we look, however, at the world that surrounds us we can see that this is not so; in other words, that evil is always poisonous, does not uplift human beings but degrades and humiliates them. It does not make them any the greater, purer or wealthier, but harms and belittles them.

This is something we should indeed learn on the day of the Immaculate Conception: The person who abandons himself totally in God's hands does not become God's puppet, a boring "yes man"; he does not lose his freedom. Only the person who entrusts himself totally to God finds true freedom, the great, creative immensity of the freedom of good.

The person who turns to God does not become smaller but greater, for through God and with God he becomes great, he becomes divine, he becomes truly himself. The person who puts himself in God's hands does not distance himself from others, withdrawing into his private salvation; on the contrary, it is only then that his heart truly awakens and he becomes a sensitive, hence, benevolent and open person.

The closer a person is to God, the closer he is to people. We see this in Mary. The fact that she is totally with God is the reason why she is so close to human beings. For this reason she can be the Mother of every consolation and every help, a Mother whom anyone can dare to address in any kind of need in weakness and in sin, for she has understanding for everything and is for everyone the open power of creative goodness.

In her, God has impressed his own image, the image of the One who follows the lost sheep even up into the mountains and among the briars and thornbushes of the sins of this world, letting himself be spiked by the crown of thorns of these sins in order to take the sheep on his shoulders and bring it home.

As a merciful Mother, Mary is the anticipated figure and everlasting portrait of the Son. Thus, we see that the image of the Sorrowful Virgin, of the Mother who shares her suffering and her love, is also a true image of the Immaculate Conception. Her heart was enlarged by being and feeling together with God. In her, God's goodness came very close to us.

Mary thus stands before us as a sign of comfort, encouragement and hope. She turns to us, saying: "Have the courage to dare with God! Try it! Do not be afraid of him! Have the courage to risk with faith! Have the courage to risk with goodness! Have the courage to risk with a pure heart! Commit yourselves to God, then you will see that it is precisely by doing so that your life will become broad and light, not boring but filled with infinite surprises, for God's infinite goodness is never depleted!"

On this feast day, let us thank the Lord for the great sign of his goodness which he has given us in Mary, his Mother and the Mother of the Church. Let us pray to him to put Mary on our path like a light that also helps us to become a light and to carry this light into the nights of history. Amen.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of Guadalupe,
Mystical Rose,
make intercession for holy Church,
protect the sovereign Pontiff,
help all those who invoke you in their necessities,
and since you are the ever Virgin Mary
and Mother of the true God,
obtain for us from your most holy Son
the grace of keeping our faith,
of sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life
of burning charity, and the precious gift
of final perseverance.

Amen.

Read all about the miraculous image here.

Homily:  Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

Today’s first reading reminded me of a story I once heard about a new pastor who moved into a town, and he went out one day to visit his parishioners. All went well until he came upon this one house. It was obvious that someone was home, but no one came to the door, even after he had knocked several times.  Finally he took out his card, wrote on the back "Revelation 3:20" and stuck it on the back of the door.

Revelation 3:20: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me."

Later in the week, as he was counting the offering, he found his card in the collection plate.  Below his message was the notation "Genesis 3:10."

Genesis 3:10: "And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked: so I hid myself.”

On a more serious note, today we honor the Blessed Virgin under the title of the Immaculate Conception.  Today’s solemnity is a celebration of the fact that since the first moment of Her conception Mary was preserved from all stain of sin – she never, throughout her entire life committed a single sin – not even the slightest of venial sins…she was immaculate and pure in every aspect of her being.

Now I have heard a lot of objections to this dogma from some of our protestant brothers and sisters.  Often I hear them they can’t agree with the idea that Mary never sinned because in the book of Romans St. Paul say’s that "all have sinned.”  And besides, they say, Mary said that her "spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Luke 1:47), and only a sinner needs a Savior.

You know, we as Catholics should be able to defend our faith, and so I though I might take this opportunity to do a little catechesis so that we can do that task just a little bit better. 

It is true that Mary needed a Savior. We all, as descendants of Adam and Eve need to be delivered from original sin, but by a special intervention of God at the moment of Mary’s conception, she was preserved from the stain of original sin and its consequences. She was therefore redeemed by the grace of Christ, but in a special way—before the fact. 

Consider this analogy: Suppose a man falls into a deep, muddy pit, and someone reaches down to pull him out. The man has been "saved" from the pit. Now imagine a woman walking along, and she too is about to topple into the pit, but at the very moment that she is to fall in, someone holds her back and prevents her. She too has been saved from the pit, but in an even better way: She was not simply taken out of the pit, she was prevented from getting stained by the mud in the first place. This is the illustration Christians have used for a thousand years to explain how Mary was saved by Jesus. She was saved from the pit of sin before she even fell in it, which is certainly different from the way we are saved from Sin – which is why we celebrate this as a special gift bestowed upon Mary.

Today is a great and awesome celebration for us as Catholics, because we are celebrating the fact that our Mother is perfect.  We should make sure that on this day we do something special to honor her, for we owe her a debt of gratitude.  After all, she gave us Jesus, the man who saves us all from the muddy pit.   Maybe to honor her today we can all make sure that we pray the rosary – as a family if possible.  Maybe we could light a candle or place some flowers before her image here in Church or at home.  These little acts of devotion, even though they are small show our Blessed Lady our love and gratitude for what she has done.

Mary is the best of mothers.  Lets not forget to honor her today and every day.

Resurrected Traditions

As a liturgy nut, I have been very interested in watching Pope Benedict XVI resurrect much of the traditional vesture that was discarded in the past couple of papacies.   One of these traditional vestments is the red velvet mozzetta, with hood and ermine trim.  This is the traditional winter mozzetta which during colder weather replaces the red silk mozzetta.

Here are a few pictures:

It's About Time

The Boston archdiocese has received instructions to stop arranging adoptions for homosexual couples, the Boston Herald reports today.

The Herald, citing an anonymous Church source, said that Archbishop Sean O'Malley has received a letter from the papal nuncio in Washington, Aarchbishop Gabriel Montalvo, saying that Catholic Charities must discontinue its current practice of helping same-sex couples adopt children.

The Boston archdiocese declined to comment on the Herald report, saying that communications between the archbishop and the Pope's representative are confidential. However, a spokesman indicated that the policies of Catholic Charities are under review.

The Boston arm of Catholic Charities came under fire in October when it was revealed that the office was actively helping homosexual couples to adopt children, despite Church teaching that such adoptions are "gravely immoral" and "would actually mean doing violence to those children."

Homily:  Second Sunday in Advent

Some of you may remember that a couple of months ago I was sick.  I had some throat problems and was told that it would be best not to preach or strain my voice for a couple of weeks.  Now for someone like me who loves to preach and teach, this was not exactly an easy task…feeling under the weather made it a little bit easier, but there was still a very strong desire within me to speak…to preach…to cry out the truth of the Gospel for all to hear.  I desired then and still desire today to be a voice crying in the desert; to be a prophet in the midst of the World.  We should all, as baptized Catholics – as men and women who share in the prophetic mission of Christ have that same desire burning in our hearts…the desire to “Prepare the way of the Lord.”

My brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s readings have a clear message that challenges us to “Prepare the way of the Lord!”  First and foremost, to prepare the way of the Lord in our own lives, and then to prepare the way of the Lord in the world around us.

In order to prepare the way of the Lord in our own lives, we need to do a little spiritual work.  We need to fill in our spiritual valleys – those times in our lives when we sink low into the muck and the mud of sin.  We all have those valleys, and during this season of Advent we are called to do whatever we can to fill them in.  And, yes, you guessed it; the best way to do that is to get ourselves to the Sacrament of Penance so that we can let the Lord fill in those valleys with His merciful love.  If you are a person, and I know there are a lot of us, who have not been to confession in a long time, now is the time.   God is calling to you; personally and individually through today’s scripture readings…he is asking and challenging you to allow His forgiveness and love to fill in the valleys of your life.  My dear friends, don’t deny yourself the opportunity to experience the extravagant love of our Heavenly Father – especially as we prepare for the coming of the Messiah during this Advent season.

Today’s readings also challenge us to be “a voice crying out in the desert: prepare the way of the Lord!”  The original voice crying in the desert was St. John the Baptist – the forerunner of the Messiah, but we as modern day prophets are called to cry out, not in the deserts of Israel, but rather in the spiritual desert of our world to remind everyone around us that Jesus is the Messiah, the one who saves us from our sins and leads us from death to life.  We are called to remind everyone around us that Jesus came to teach us the way to true happiness which comes only from living a moral life in Christ and not from embracing a sinful and evil culture that promotes immorality as the norm.

My brothers and sisters in Christ we are living in a moral and spiritual desert.  Sin is sucking the very life out of our world and making it into a desert devoid of all life – indeed the culture of death seems to have a very tight hold on our world.  All we have to do is turn on the television or pick up the newspaper to see this problem multiplying.  Abortion is becoming less and less restricted, homosexual practices, immoral sex ed programs, contraception, pornography, pre-marital sex, drugs, alcohol, adultery, violence, terrorism and a general hatred for anything Christian seems to be the norm throughout our nation and indeed the whole world.  It’s a veritable spiritual wasteland in which we live, and we are the prophets who must stand up like St. John the Baptist and point to Christ, the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and cry out “Ecce Agnus Dei! Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the Sins of the World.”

The prophet Isaiah tells us to “Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Judah: “Here is your God!”  I might take a little liberty with that statement and say “Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of America…the cities of South Dakota…the city of Sioux Falls:  “Here is your God!”  He is coming.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, fear not to live out your prophetic mission to bring all people to Christ…those near and in our own families, in our workplaces, and in our schools, as well as those far from us in distant lands.  Now is the time to speak up and lead everyone to the leader of us all…the little child to be born in Bethlehem who is Emmanuel, God with us.   He is our God.  Let us prepare His way so that when he comes he will not find a desert wasteland, but rather a garden full of life, full of purity and goodness, and that peace that only God can give.

Homosexuals Should Not Teach Or Be Rectors of Seminaries

Homosexual priests should not serve as teachers or administrators in Catholic seminaries, the Vatican has indicated.

In a letter to the world's bishops, accompanying the Instruction on homosexual seminary applicants that was made public this week, the Congregation for Catholic Education said that homosexual men "are not to be appointed as rectors or educators in seminaries."

The biggest question that I have had regarding both the instruction issued earlier this week and the cover document spoken of above is how do you know if a seminarian or a priest has deep rooted homosexual tendencies?  I am not quite sure how an evaluation like this could be done. 

Any ideas?