Monthly Archives: February 2009

A Big Tent Church

I find it amazing that so many speak of the Catholic Church as narrow-minded or restrictive in its beliefs and practices.  My experience of the Church is so much the opposite.  Catholicism is a Big Tent Church. I have had direct … Continue reading

Posted in Ecclesiology | 4 Comments

Quote For the Day

“Love is a mutual self-giving that ends in self-recovery.  You recover God and He recovers you.” –Fulton J. Sheen

Posted in Prayer and Meditation | 2 Comments

Psalm of the Day

I can’t help but post on Psalm 144 which we prayed tonight at Vespers.  I pray in Italian, which I find to be such a beautiful language of prayer, that I am afraid my English translation below really doesn’t do … Continue reading

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Qoheleth and the Works of God

Today’s Office of Readings again is from Qoheleth.  Qoheleth says: “I thought again that whatever God does is immutable; there is nothing to add, nothing to take away.  God works like this so we may have a sense of awe and … Continue reading

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Quote for the Day — Gaudium et Spes

“Fortiora enim sunt ea quibus uniuntur fideles quam ea quibus dividuntur: sit in necessariis unitas,  in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas.” Gaudium et Spes (GS) 92 For us who don’t read Latin well, here is the English for our meditation: … Continue reading

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Prayer and Fasting

“Jesus, after having fasted for forty days and forty nights, was hungry”–Mt. 4:2 Fasting is one of those things I have never really learned to do well. Always seems painful.  Seems too often to be self-centered, in the sense that … Continue reading

Posted in Spirituality | 2 Comments

Catholics Coming Home to Faith

There is a saying, “Once a Catholic, always a Catholic.” No matter how long one may have been away from the practice of the Catholic faith, there will always that tug to come home, to the faith practice of Jesus’ … Continue reading

Posted in General Interest | 2 Comments

St. Augustine and the Desire of the Heart

In today’s Office of Readings,  St. Augustine comments on the first Letter of John.  He speaks of our task as Christians to desire the vision of our future likeness with the Risen Jesus. My translation from the Italian: “And since … Continue reading

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Pelosi and the Pope

I posted yesterday a segment of the Vatican’s statement regarding the meeting of the Pope with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.  Today, the Catholic News Service (CNS) is reporting that a statement was distributed by Pelosi’s staff regarding her visit with … Continue reading

Posted in Ethics and Morality, Politics, Popes | 2 Comments

Nancy Pelosi Meets the Holy Father

Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and a Catholic, met with the Holy Father today at the Vatican.  Their conversation is not reported verbatim.  But the Sala Stampa, the Vatican’s news office reports today the following regarding … Continue reading

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Quote for the Day

“Place your mind before the mirror of eternity!  Place your soul in the brilliance of glory!” — St. Clare of Assissi

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Papa Luciani and the Restoration of a Church

Pope John Paul I, on September 28, 1978, the last day of his life, sent a letter to Msgr. Hugh Aufderbeck marking the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the building of the church of St. Serverus. It had recently … Continue reading

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A Bit of Marital Wisdom

Men happily married for more than 10 years seem to come to a mutual conclusion:   “We need to quit trying to understand our wives!” Now, before I get a backlash from the politically correct among you, let me explain. … Continue reading

Posted in Sacraments, Spirituality | 1 Comment

The Shoah and the Church

From the address of Benedict XVI to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, given on February 12 this year: “The two-thousand-year history of the relationship between Judaism and the Church has passed through many different phases, some … Continue reading

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Human Dignity

St. Leo the Great had this to say about human dignity (translated from the Italian): “…Sinful humanity has found again innocence, the old man caught in sin has reacquired new life; the outcast has received adoption and the stranger has … Continue reading

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