Quote for the Day

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Deacon Bob

“Let us exhort one another on every occasion to be grateful to God for the uncountable graces by which we are surrounded.” — Ven. Solanus Casey, OFM Cap.

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Of Serpents and Doves

Posted on February 27, 2011 by Deacon Bob

Pope St. Gregory the Great, in today’s Office of Readings, gives us a reflection upon the simple yet upright person. He says in part (my English translation of the Italian):

“There is a type of simplicity that would be better described as ignorance. It consists in not even knowing what may be virtuous. Many abandon the innocence of true simplicity so they don’t have to bring themselves to virtue and to honesty. Since they lack true prudence that comes to the good life, their simplicity is not the same as innocence. Therefore, Paul warns his disciples, ‘I wish you would be wise in the good and immune from evil…. Don’t act as infants in judgment; but may you be as infants to evil.’

“Regarding this, even Truth himself enjoins his disciples: ‘Be prudent as serpents and simple as doves.’ He necessarily united one with the other in his warning such that the cleverness of a serpent may teach the simplicity of the dove, and the simplicity of a dove moderate the cleverness of the serpent.”

We are to be both as a serpent and as a dove. We are to be wise and simple.

I am reminded of the many saints who in so many ways were very simple people in their views of life and manner of living, yet taught such a wisdom that those of great intellectual complexity, i.e., the learned theologians, were silent.

I am also reminded of the conflict between Paul and Peter in the early years of the Church. Paul might be called the more clever of the two men, certainly more learned and literate, and Peter the more simple. Paul moderated Peter, yet to Peter was given the keys and the burden of pastor of all the Churches. Peter’s simplicity was of more importance, yet Paul’s learnedness was also needed.

Serpents and doves……. Let us cultivate both aspects of our spiritual lives.

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Check out this upcoming movie

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Deacon Bob

Log on to: Of Gods and Men to get a heads up on a movie that will be coming to your theatre soon. May be worth the $9 to see.

It is inspired by a true story of a community of Trappist monks in 1996 in the Algerian mountains that were caught between the warring factions of the military government and extremist guerrillas. It will be in French with English subtitles, I believe. The trailer is available.

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Abortion News from the State of Virginia

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Deacon Bob

The Virginia legislature passed a law on February 24 that requires all abortion clinics to meet the same standards as hospitals. Opponents of the bill are saying this will lead to the closure of 17 of the state’s 21 abortions clinics.

Governor Bob McDonnell supports the measure.

Supporters of the bill say it’s not about banning abortions, but about caring for women in a medically safe environment.

Source: The Boston Globe.

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The president’s decision on DOMA may have impact on religious liberty

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Deacon Bob

Catholic News Agency has an article today written by Kevin J. Jones on the potential impact of the Obama’s decision to no longer defend in court the Defense of Marriage of Act (DOMA) passed in 1996.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced February 23 that the administration now believes DOMA – which defines marriage as a union of one man and one woman and denies marital benefits to homosexual partnerships – is unconstitutional. He claims the legal landscape has changed.

In response, Anthony R. Picarello, Jr, the top legal counsel for the U.S. Bishops, called the administration’s decision a “grave affront” to all Americans who reject discrimination but affirm the “unique and inestimable value of marriage as between one man and one woman.”

Others have commented that Holder’s statement seems to suggest that the belief in marriage of one man and one woman is mere prejudice, as though “it were motivated by a desire to cause harm to people.”

“It raises the concern,” said Robert P. George, Catholic scholar on marriage, “that the Justice Department will treat believing Christians, Jews, Muslims and others as though they are the equivalent of racists.”

Read more at my source, link to which is highlighted above.

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The Defense of Marriage

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Deacon Bob

I was asked to preach this morning at a parish other than the two to which I am assigned. As you may know, the Gospel from Mark was all about marriage.

Since I hadn’t anticipated preaching, I spoke without more than a few minutes preparation. Here was the gist of what I said:

We have been hearing in the news the past couple of weeks of all the people speaking up loudly in Madison, Wisconsin about things they find of great importance. It is getting national news coverage. We are hearing of people speaking and acting up in North Africa. Yet we scarcely see anyone rallying others to defend marriage as a union of one man and one woman.

Why aren’t we as vocal about this extraordinarily important issue? Why aren’t we rallying others to make our voices heard at the capitols of our statehouses? Why are we so silent?

We heard yesterday that our federal government will no longer defend marriage. It will no longer enforce the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) passed by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton in 1996. It is abrogating its consititutional obligation to uphold the laws of the United States.

Marriage is being attacked on all sides, and for all intents and purposes we remain silent. Do we think these attacks will go away on their own?

Perhaps we are more concerned about our finances than about the foundation of our social order.

We need to speak up, people.

Tonight as we return home, let us look at our husband or wife and thank God for the great gift of marriage and the person who He has put into our lives.

I’d suggest an article for you to read. It won’t take much time. It is written by Andrew Haines and succinctly describes why we support marriage as a union of a man with a woman: Catholic News Agency.

Posted in Marriage and Family | 4 Comments

Congratulations, Diocese of Pittsburgh

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Deacon Bob

The Holy Father announced this morning that Fr. William J. Watersheid, a priest of the diocese of Harrisburg is the new auxilary bishop for the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

Bishop-elect Watersheid was born in 1956, went to nursing school in the early 1980s, then later to seminary. He was ordained a priest July 11, 1992. In addition to a Master of Divinity degree from St. John Seminary, he holds a Licentiate in Dogmatic Theology from the Gregorian University in Rome, Italy.

Congratulations, Diocese of Pittsburgh!

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Odometer Reading — Unknown Maintenance Feature

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Deacon Bob

Well, the blog needed an oil change and with it, the odometer reading went back to zero. I did not know this blog had that feature, that every 300,000 visits it resets itself back to zero.

Thank you again for all who stop by for a visit. Hope you enjoy the ride.

Blessings.

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St. Polycarp

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Deacon Bob

Today is the memorial of St. Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostles and the bishop of Smyrne in Asia Minor. He was martyred in 155, being burned alive in the stadium of Rome. He had gone to that city to speak with Pope Antecletus about the then unanswered question of the date of Easter.

Eye witnesses testified that Polycarp’s body was not touched by the flames; rather, his appearance was irradescent like gold or silver, emitting a pleasing aroma.

The writings of the ancient Church Fathers, i.e., those men who lead the Church for the first 300 years or so, are always so interesting and give such support to our faith as Catholics.

St. Polycarp, pray for us!

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Quote for the Day

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Deacon Bob

“Maybe the virtue we should pray for isn’t so much courage but integrity, so that we say what we mean and we mean what we say and we live what we say. I hope God gives me that grace, and I hope He gives it to everyone.” — Archbishop Charles Chaput, OFM Cap.

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Update on Blessed Luigi Guanella

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Deacon Bob

I would like to thank Sr. Margaret Mary, a Daughter of St. Mary of Providence for her leaving a comment on my post this morning regarding the upcoming three canonizations, including Blessed Luigi Guanella.

Sister directed me to the website of the Pius Union of St. Joseph which Blessed Luigi founded. I have learned that Blessed Luigi worked closely with Pope St. Pius X and he had a deep devotion to St. Joseph. He had built in Rome a minor basilica, which was dedicated on March 12, 1912. He later that year sailed to the United States where he worked in Chicago with Italian immigrants. Three years later, he returned to Italy to assist victims of a disastrous earthquake which caused the deaths of ten thousand people. He died on October 24, 1915 and was beatified by Pope Paul VI on October 25, 1964.

Learn more about him at the link highlighted above. Once you get to the website, there are a number of little icons you can click on to explore.

Blessed Luigi Guanella, pray for us.

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Want a Daily Retreat? Online?

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Deacon Bob

I have added a new feature to this weblog. On the lower right of this page you will see an icon for a 3 minute retreat, courtesy of Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry.

Make it a regular part of your daily spirituality. I think you will find it of value.

Deacon Bob

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Hey Deacons! We are Growing by Leaps and Bounds!

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Deacon Bob

The new statistics for the Catholic Church came out recently and were presented to the Holy Father this past Saturday.

Lots of statistics, but one stands out: the number of permanent deacons grew 2.5% from 2008-2009. The totals were 37,203 in 2008 and increased to 38,155 in 2009. In Oceania, which only has less than 1.1% of all deacons of the world, the percent increase was 19% to a total of 346 deacons. In Asia, the percent increase was 16%.

In America and Europe, where 98% of all deacons reside, the increase was 2.3% for the States and 2.6% for Europe.

The diaconate is one of the unsung success stories of Vatican II. In so many ways, we are still in our infancy. So many people still do not understand us and what we are about.

Next time you see your deacon, ask him! He will be more than happy to talk about his ministry and his vocation as an Icon of Christ the Servant.

I find it rather frustrating, though, how different news agencies are reporting this. My source was the L’Osservatore Romano the daily newspaper of the Vatican, which gave a good synopsis of all the data. If you were to read the article from Zenit you would be completely unaware because they ignore the statistics on deacons. Seems to happen a lot in various ways when it comes to deacons……

Posted in Church News, Deacons | 2 Comments

Three New Saints Coming Up

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Deacon Bob

The Holy Father approved three new saints this morning during the celebration of Midday Prayer in the Sala del Concistoro del Palazzo Apostolico Vaticano. They are:

Bl. Guido Maria Conforti (1865-1931) Archbishop of Parma and founder of the Pius Society if St. Francis Xavier.

Bl. Luigi Guanella (1842-1915), priest and founder of the Congregation of the Servants of Charity and the Institute of the Daughters of St. Mary of Providence.

Bl. Bonifacia Rodriguez de Castro (1837-1905), virgin and foundress of the Congregation of the Servants of St. Joseph.

The Holy Father decreed that these Blessed ones will be formally canonized on Sunday, October 23, 2011.

There sure seems to be a lot of canonizations in the past 30 years! Maybe God is telling us something, i.e., we need more role models from recent history in order to live the life of the Gospel in today’s world?

Take the time to google these saints-to-be and see what they have to offer us as witnesses to the Faith.

Posted in Church News, Saints and Prophets | 2 Comments

Happy 80th Birthday, Vatican Radio

Posted on February 19, 2011 by Deacon Bob

On February 12, 1931, Pope Pius XI broadcast his first radio message to the world, on Vatican Radio.

Radio broadcasting was in its infancy and the pope asked the Italian inventor of wireless technology, Guglielmo Marconi, to build the Vatican’s own radio station. Today, Vatican Radio expands its audience and services with an Internet access in more than 40 languages.

Back in 1931, the pope wanted to reach countries where missionaries were not free to work. His voice was to be the center of the mission of Vatican Radio.

Did you know that after World War II, Vatican Radio broadcasted more than 1.5 million messages helping reunite prisoners of war with their families? During the Cold War, it broadcasted daily to communist countries, the people of which, after the fall of communism, sent over 40,000 messages of gratitude?

Read more from an article, which is the source of my post, at Catholic News Service.

Want to listen to Vatican Radio? Log on to Vatican Radio. (You will need Windows Media Audio.)

As they say in Rome, Buon compleanno! and Ad multos annos!

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