Minnesota Marriage Minute – Look at What Happened in Canada

Vote “YES” on the Minnesota Marriage Amendment this November. Remember, not voting on the amendment will be counted as a “no” vote, so be sure to mark “YES.”

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To Shepherd Well

The Office of Readings in the recent past offered for our reflection the theme of being a good shepherd, which I would summarize as meaning looking out for the good of the people without concern for our own status, places of honor, or any self-interest. I found myself coming back to the thought of how a good shepherd in today’s environment of secularism and relativism ought preach to the people. How does a good shepherd address the social and political issues that confront us, and I am thinking especially of the attacks being leveled against the unborn, against family life and against marriage.

I am astounded that good faithful Catholics will often react with negativity should a deacon, priest or bishop speak out from the pulpit or in the marketplace against these attacks. When we do, we are accused of partisanship. My brothers and sisters in the faith turn against efforts by the clergy to urge the faithful to live out their faith in the voting box. Why, I ask?

The Lord said, “What good is it for one to say, ‘Peace, good luck, keep warm and well fed!’ but refuse to lift a finger to meet this one’s needs?” Translated, “What good does it do you if you say you are pro-life, pro-family, and pro-marriage, but then do nothing in the political realm to affirm those beliefs?”

To shepherd well the flock, we who do that shepherding must be willing to take the flack, to take the criticism, to be accused of partisanship or discrimination so as to speak the truth with love. Truth and love…. both of these in today’s world are called into question. Many do not believe either really exists. Too many have never experienced real love because they have been caught up in the sexualization of human love. Too many have rejected the truth by relativizing it and demonizing anyone who purports to speak with authority regarding truth, truth ultimately originating in God, who is truth.

Shepherding is not for the faint hearted.

My brothers and sisters in the faith, live out your faith. Live it in your homes. Live it in your local communities and your parishes. Live it out in your workplaces. Live it out in world of politics and the economy. Live it out when you enter that voting booth.

It is your calling… it is your duty.

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In Case You Have Forgotten…

In just a couple of short weeks, Blessed Mother Marianne Cope will be canonized a saint. I suspect many of you are not aware of her, even though I did blog about her earlier this year. Almost everyone knows St. Damien of Molokai, the Belgian Sacred Heart priest who ministered to and died with the lepers at Kaluapapa on the island of Molokai, Hawaii. Far fewer know of Bl. Mother Marianne Cope.

For many years, Fr. Damien pleaded with the church authorities to sent to him and the lepers nuns who might assist him in caring for the needs of his parishioners. For years, the civil government wouldn’t allow it, insisting that Kaluapapa was not a place for women, when in fact they meant Caucasian women, forgetting that the peninsula had hundreds of Hawaiian women living there. Finally, out of Syracuse, New York, Mother Marianne agreed to come with a handful of her sisters, and the government relented. There she and her sisters tended to the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs of the lepers, along with Fr. Damien. Mother Marianne was there at Fr. Damien’s bedside when he eventually succumbed to leprosy (Hansen’s disease).

St. Philomenia Church Molokai

The people of Molokai, indeed all of Hawaii, are very excited about going to Rome to see her canonized on October 21. Groups of pilgrims are being organized, and spirits are high,  just as they were in 2009 when Fr. Damien was canonzed.

Soon-to-be St. Mother Marianne Cope, pray for us!

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Congratulations, Diocese of Tyler

The Holy Father has nominated Monsignor Joseph E. Strickland to be the new bishop of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas. Bishop-elect Strickland is a priest of that diocese.

He was born on October 31, 1958 in the archdiocese of San Antonio. He completed his studies at Holy Trinity Seminary and the University of Dallas. He obtained a degree in canon law from the Catholic University of America in 1994. Ordained a priest in 1985 for the Diocese of Dallas, he was later incardinated into the new diocese of Tyler (erected in 1986) and has held many positions since. He knows English and Spanish.

Congratulations, Diocese of Tyler!

 

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Wait a Minute (or Two?)

Blogging is light in the past week. Responsibilities heavy. Besides trying to get a new deacon formation class up and running and all that entails, I have found myself on a diocesan pastoral planning task force on top of my clinic and family responsibilities.

I’ll be back folks. Until then, keep the faith!

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Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Papa Luciani’s Birth

 

The Vatican City State is issuing a postage stamp commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Albino Luciani, Pope John Paul I. Sorry I couldn’t get a better picture of it, but here is what I gleaned from the Vatican’s website.

As I have so many times said before, I await expectantly and confidently Luciani’s eventual canonization. May we see it soon.

Santo subito!

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A Slippery Slope

The following video discusses the “slippery slope” that is created when society attempts to redefine marriage as something other than what it is, i.e., the union of one man and one woman.

View, share with a friend, then vote “yes” on the Marriage Protection Amendment.

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34 Years Ago Today, Papa Luciani Died

In the early morning hours of September 28, 1978, Pope John Paul I died in his sleep. I was in Wiesbaden, Germany at the time, and I remember waking up that day and one of the Army base women telling me shortly after breakfast that the pope had died. I, and everyone else, was stunned. Just a couple of weeks prior I had preached my first homily from the Army base pulpit on his election and his installation Mass. Now, I was facing the reality of his death.

My immediate thoughts also were how I was going to return to Rome as soon as I could. My commitment to the U.S. Army as a chaplain’s assistant was only a couple of days from being completed. So I hopped the first train I could…. I believe it was October 1, and took the 16 plus hour ride back to Rome to take in all that was to follow.

How much I miss Luciani, even today.

He will soon be declared venerable, then blessed, and then I am confident, St. Pope John Paul I.

Papa Luciani, pray for us!

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The Cause for Canonization of Pope John Paul I Moves Forward!

 

Pope John Paul I, the “smiling pope,” is pictured at the Vatican in 1978. (CNS/L’Osservatore Romano)

The cause for the eventual canonization of Papa Luciani (Pope John Paul I) is moving forward!

The official promoters of his cause met with Pope Benedict today, and the formal submission of the positio will be submitted to the Congregation of Saints Causes on October 17, the 100th anniversary of Luciani’s birth.

Read a report on this from Catholic News Service (www.catholicnews.com) by clicking on its link to the lower right of this blog site.

Papa Luciani, pray for us!

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Church of the Week

Holy Cross Catholic Church

Santa Cruz, California

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Quote for the Day

“We must live according to what we think, otherwise we end up thinking according to how we live” — Paul Bourget, in  Le demon du midi

(How true this is, dear readers! So many in our world today relegate right thinking to subservience to disordered living. Every day I am faced with this in the lives of patients and others.  Deacon Bob)

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Voting Starts Today

In case you will be away from your polling place on election day, and thus unable to cast your vote in favor of the Marriage Protection Amendment in November, did you know you can begin casting your absentee ballots today?

Here is a video explaining. Please view, and then cast your “yes” vote protecting marriage in the state of Minnesota!

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Blessed Pope John Paul II on Creation and Womanhood

Blessed Pope John Paul II in 1995 wrote a Letter to Women in which he spoke of the dignity of women. Here is a beautiful quote from this letter.

Bl. Pope John Paul II: Dear sisters, together let us reflect anew on the magnificent passage in Scripture which describes the creation of the human race and which has so much to say about your dignity and mission in the world.

The Book of Genesis speaks of creation in summary fashion, in language which is poetic and symbolic, yet profoundly true: “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27). The creative act of God takes place according to a precise plan. First of all, we are told that the human being is created “in the image and likeness of God” (cf. Gen 1:26). This expression immediately makes clear what is distinct about the human being with regard to the rest of creation.

We are then told that, from the very beginning, man has been created “male and female” (Gen 1:27). Scripture itself provides the interpretation of this fact: even though man is surrounded by the innumerable creatures of the created world, he realizes that he is alone (cf. Gen 2:20). God intervenes in order to help him escape from this situation of solitude: “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him” (Gen 2:18). The creation of woman is thus marked from the outset bythe principle of help: a help which is not one-sided but mutual. Woman complements man, just as man complements woman: men and women are complementary. Womanhood expresses the “human” as much as manhood does, but in a different and complementary way.

When the Book of Genesis speaks of “help”, it is not referring merely to acting, but also to being. Womanhood and manhood are complementary not only from the physical and psychological points of view, but also from the ontological. It is only through the duality of the “masculine” and the “feminine” that the “human” finds full realization.

I love that sentence, “The creation of woman is thus marked from the outset by the principle of help: a help which is not one-sided but mutual.” The common experience of men and women that they are somehow different from, yet fulfilling the other gives credence to John Paul II’s use of the term “ontological” in discussing the complementarity of womanhood and manhood.

My friends, it is from this ontological complementarity that marriage flowers. It is this ontological complementarity that makes possible the uniqueness of marriage. Without this complementarity, marriage cannot exist. Male to male or female to female relationships may be very close and intimate, but they are not marriage. Though they may be deep friendship, they cannot be marriage. Just as water can be said to exist only when oxygen and hydrogen unite, so too, marriage can be said to exist only when man and woman unite.

Let us pray for a renewed understanding of this in our Western society.

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Leaders of Many Faiths Supporting Minnesota’s Marriage Protection Amendment. Will YOU?

Here is a press release from Minnesota for Marriage highlighting the support religious leaders and clergy from many faiths for the Minnesota Marriage Protection Amendment. Passage of this amendment is of vital importance for families, children, men and women of all faiths and backgrounds. Marriage as a union of one man and one woman is a bedrock issue for society. Please vote “yes” on the ballot this November. Unless you specifically mark “yes” your vote will be counted as a “no.” The law essentially requires you cast a vote, so mark “yes.”

Diverse Faith Leaders and Clergy Stand Together in Support of
Marriage and the Minnesota Marriage Protection Amendment

Minneapolis – Today, an ecumenical fellowship gathered at the Minnesota State Capitol to demonstrate their unity in support of the institution of Marriage as God designed it to be—between one man and one woman—and in support of the Minnesota Marriage Protection Amendment.

Pastor Sergio Amezcua said, “This is not a political case for us; it is moral. We have a duty to protect the institutions that God put on the earth since the beginning of Creation.” Though these pastors and faith leaders come from diverse Christian communities, they are united in their commitment to minister to all people as children of God made in His image and in their belief that God designed marriage between one man and one woman as a gift to society to bond mothers with fathers and parents with children.

The group of diverse faith leaders and clergy from across the state who have come together to defend the truth of marriage as God created it to be includes:  Rev. Jerry McAfee, President of the Minnesota Baptist Convention; Bishop Richard Howell of Shiloh Temple; Mr. Carl Nelson, President of Transform Minnesota – The Evangelical Network; the Most Rev. John C. Nienstedt, Archbishop of St. Paul-Minneapolis; Rev. Troy Dobbs of Grace Church, Eden Prairie; Rev. Sergio Amezucua of Brooklyn Park Evangelical Free Church; various statements from Church of God In Christ, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, and more.

Carl Nelson explained why he will vote YES on the Marriage Amendment on November 6th, “Transform Minnesota is committed to strengthening families and seeking the well-being of children. The best way to do this is to strengthen marriage, not redefine it. I will vote YES for the Minnesota Marriage Amendment and for the wellbeing of children.”

Bishop Fred Willis Washington of the Church of God in Christ will also vote YES on the Marriage Amendment. “The traditional form of marriage, between one man and one woman, is one of the bedrock institutions of our society. Fundamentally, marriage has functioned to unite a man and a woman together in facing the challenges of life, to sanctify sexual involvement, to authorize the conception of children, to provide and environment for the protection and development of offspring, and to strengthen and sustain the family unit.”

United together as Christians who believe in the authority of God’s word, the Bible, which reveals God’s design for marriage as a life-long covenant between one man and one woman, this group of faith leaders and clergy are committed to teaching their congregations God’s divine framework for marriage, procreation, and families. They will vote YES to protect the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman in Minnesota and will call on fellow Christians and other people of goodwill to do the same.

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Invisible Hunger in Our Midst

SOURCE: AP/Rich Pedroncelli

Fides (www.fides.org/index.php) reports the following:

Washington (Agenzia Fides) – The Christian organization Bread for the World has just released its annual study on hunger and poverty in the Latino community living in the United States, which shows that Latino families are the ones most prone to these problems. One Hispanic child out of three are in danger of going hungry in the richest country in the world where Hispanics represent over 16% of the population. 34% of Latino families who have children must fight to find food every day, compared to 22% of American families in general. 36% of Hispanic children live in poverty, compared to 25% of North Americans. The federal nutrition programs that provide food vouchers, together with the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women and Children (WIC), and schools have helped to prevent an even greater number of people suffering from hunger. 35% of Latinos are entitled to food vouchers, while only 21.4% is included in the program. According to a report from the White House, 3.7 million Latino families, including 8 million children benefit from the aid of the various nutritional programs proposed. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 21/09/2012)

These numbers are astounding. Thirty-four per cent of Hispanic families lack food on a daily basis. Thirty-six per cent live in poverty. Twenty-two per cent of all American families struggle to find food each day….. 22%! Twenty-five per cent of American families live in poverty…. 25% in the richest country of the world.

Did you know that one of the greatest concentrations of poverty in the United States is in Fresno, California.

The hungry are in our midst, and often they are invisible to us because we look beyond them. We don’t look at them or for them. There is something in us that prefers it that way. We need to root it out.

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