Divine Mercy Novena

I know this is late but hopefully you all started praying the Divine Mercy Novena which started Good Friday and ends this Sunday (Divine Mercy Sunday). Here is a link from EWTN with the special prayers for each day.
On Good Friday my family was praying the novena and my five year old nephew/godson Caleb led the first decade. If you think about it, saying "For the sake of his sorrowful passion" is a bit of a tongue twister, so I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised with Caleb's rendition: "For the sake of a powerful assassin"!! That's gotta be one of the best lines I've ever heard...

Simon of Cyrene

And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. (Luke 23:26)

As they went out, they came upon a man of Cyrene, Simon by name; this man they compelled to carry his cross. (Matthew 27:32)

And they compelled a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. (Mark 15:21)

Have you ever really contemplated the experience of St. Simon of Cyrene? Remember Christ's words: "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Simon not only took up his cross but the cross of Christ. Imagine that!! It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about what Simon must have been feeling. I posted the Ray Boltz song "Thank You" a little while ago and the only song that might compare with it in beauty and emotion is his song "Watch the Lamb." It is especially moving to watch during Holy Week. Enjoy.

Life is Beautiful

The other night I had the great pleasure of watching an excellent move - Life is Beautiful. Many of you have probably heard of this movie (I think am the only person who hadn't).

"An unforgettable fable that proves love, family and imagination conquer all."
Set in 1930s Italy, the movie centers around an unforgettable character named Guido who has a wonderful sense of humour and love of life. With the help of his humour and spontaneity Guido marries the love of his life and begins a family. Their beautiful life together is interrupted by the occupation of Italy by Nazi Germany. Guido and his wife and son are all taken to a work camp where he must use his sense of humour to occupy his son and keep his hopes alive.

If you have not seen this movie...go see it. A good friend of mine told me that this was John Paul II's favorite movie; if that isn't reason enough to see it then I don't know what is.

More on Notre Dame

Hopefully you've been following (and praying for) this whole mess about President Obama giving the commencement speech at Notre Dame. I believe that this is a pivotal moment for the Church in America. Think about it, America's preeminent Catholic school has not only invited the most pro-choice president in history but are also going to award him an honorary degree!
After reading an article about Cardinal George and his reaction to this problem, I happened to glance at the comments that readers left. Most of them were not from Catholics but I noticed a trend among them. They seemed to be shocked that a President that Catholics got elected is now being criticized by (apparently) those same Catholics for speaking at Notre Dame. It seems a little hypocritical to them. The problem is that Catholics elected Obama, not the Catholic Church. There are among every denomination, most certainly Catholicism included, people who carry the label of their church without adhering to all of its beliefs. Though it is sad, there are many Catholics who simply do not represent the teachings of the Church. Catholics who support abortion obviously do not reflect the Church's teaching. Again, the problem here is this confusion between the people and the Church itself.

Speaking of full membership in the Church, Pius XII, in his Encyclical on the Mystical Body, said it is the society of those who have been baptized, and who profess the faith of Christ, and who are governed by their bishops under the visible head, the Pope, the Bishop of Rome.

Yes, as Catholics we are members of Christ's Mystical Body, but we are directed by Christ, who is the head. The people do not make the rules, though we are required to follow them. In almost every argument I've had with Protestant friends their main problem with Catholicism is not with what the Church actually believes or teaches but with mistake its members have made.
This is why we have to recover our Catholic Identity. How can the world take us seriously when we are as divided as the 40,000 Protestant denominations?

Saint of the Day - St. Hugh of Grenoble

Feastday: April 1
1053-1132

Hugh, from the cradle, appeared to be a child of benediction; in his youth he was recognized as such through his exceptional success in his studies. Having chosen to serve God in the ecclesiastical state, he accepted a canonry in the cathedral of Valence. His great sanctity and learning rendered him an ornament of that church, and at the age of twenty-seven he was chosen Bishop of Grenoble. Pope Gregory VII consecrated him in Rome, and inspired in him an ardent zeal for the Church’s liberty and the sanctification of the clergy. He at once undertook to reprove vice and reform abuses, at that time rampant in his diocese, but found his efforts without fruit. He resolved therefore, after two years, to resign his charge, and retired to the austere abbey of Casa Dei, or Chaise-Dieu, in Auvergne.

There Saint Hugh lived for a year, a perfect model of all virtues in a monastery filled with saints, until Pope Gregory commanded him, in the name of holy obedience, to resume his pastoral charge, saying: “Go to your flock; they need you.” This time his sanctity effected great good in souls. His forceful preaching moved crowds and touched hearts; in the confessional he wept with his penitents, and aroused in them a deeper contrition. After a few years the face of his diocese had changed. His charity for the poor led him to sell even his episcopal ring and his chalice to assist them. During his episcopate the young Saint Bruno came to him for counsel, and it was Saint Hugh who assisted him in the foundation of the Carthusian Monastery in the mountains of the diocese of Grenoble, whose renown after a thousand years has not diminished.

Always filled with a profound sense of his own unworthiness, he earnestly solicited three Popes for leave to resign his bishopric, that he might die in solitude, but was never able to obtain his request. God was pleased to purify his soul by a lingering illness before He called him to Himself. He closed his penitential course on the 1^st of April in 1132, two months before completing his eightieth year. Miracles attested the sanctity of his death, and he was canonized only two years afterwards, by Pope Innocent II.

Quote of the __________

This is a selection from an article on conscience by Father William Most. I found this section particularly relevant in light of the many "Catholics" speaking out against the Church.

"If he will not hear the Church, let him be to you as a pagan and a publican." The man in question may not appeal to his conscience. He has the obligation to line that up with the teaching of the Church. If he refuses, then we treat him like a pagan and a publican, not like a Catholic who is just exercising his rights. For the Catholic Church is not a democracy, in which the authorities must dialogue with persons. Yes, all should be done in a pastoral and kindly way. But when all is done, the bottom line is: he must accept the teaching of the Church.

He continues:

Suppose a man wanted to call himself a Mason, but broke with basic Masonic teachings. He would not be a real Mason at all. Similarly, one who does not follow the above teachings of the Catholic Church, especially that in "On Revelation #10" [which says: "The task of authoritatively interpreting the word of God, whether written or handed on has been entrusted exclusively to the living Magisterium of the Church, whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ."] really should not call himself/herself Catholic, but Protestant. For Protestants follow private interpretation, each one decides for Himself. Catholics follow the Church.

Saint of the Day - St. Benjamin

It's kind of late now but still worth posting.

St. Benjamin, Martyr (Feast Day - March 31) The Christians in Persia had enjoyed twelve years of peace during the reign of Isdegerd, son of Sapor III, when in 420 it was disturbed by the indiscreet zeal of Abdas, a Christian Bishop who burned the Temple of Fire, the great sanctuary of the Persians. King Isdegerd threatened to destroy all the churches of the Christians unless the Bishop would rebuild it.

As Abdas refused to comply, the threat was executed; the churches were demolished, Abdas himself was put to death, and a general persecution began which lasted forty years. Isdegerd died in 421, but his son and successor, Varanes, carried on the persecution with great fury. The Christians were submitted to the most cruel tortures.

Among those who suffered was St. Benjamin, a Deacon, who had been imprisoned a year for his Faith. At the end of this period, an ambassador of the Emperor of Constantinople obtained his release on condition that he would never speak to any of the courtiers about religion.

St. Benjamin, however, declared it was his duty to preach Christ and that he could not be silent. Although he had been liberated on the agreement made with the ambassador and the Persian authorities, he would not acquiesce in it, and neglected no opportunity of preaching. He was again apprehended and brought before the king. The tyrant ordered that reeds should be thrust in between his nails and his flesh and into all the tenderest parts of his body and then withdrawn. After this torture had been repeated several times, a knotted stake was inserted into his bowels to rend and tear him. The martyr expired in the most terrible agony about the year 424.