Non Tasarmi, Fratello!

“Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine, There’s always laughter and good red wine. At least I’ve always found it so. Benedicamus Domino!” Hillaire Belloc

Thursday, January 31, 2008

No! Not THAT BOSCO!

St. John Bosco is NOT related to the chocolate drink mix.

Feast of St. John Bosco

 
St. John Bosco was a dreamer. Man, was he a dreamer!

But unlike our dreams, his dreams actually meant something. God was in some of them; Mary in others. He had a dream at age nine that told him one his life missions - to work with boys and set their crooked little hearts straight. The dreams continued for his entire life but St. John didn't want to believe they were divinely inspired. Finally, Pope Pius IX told him to write the dreams down in DETAIL. And so he did. Read about St. John's trip to hell here.

St. John Bosco died in 1888. He was the founder of the Selesians.
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Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Father Fed - Start Working on Your Resume!

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- With the Jan. 24 retirement of 77-year-old Bishop John J. Leibrecht of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Mo., up to 22 U.S. bishops, including four cardinals, could retire because of age this year. There are 14 active U.S. bishops, including four cardinals, who have already turned 75. Seven more will celebrate their 75th birthday in 2008. At age 75 bishops are requested to submit their resignation to the pope. Cardinal Adam J. Maida of Detroit turned 75 March 18, 2005. Cardinal Bernard F. Law, archpriest of St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome and a cardinal since 1985, turned 75 Nov. 4, 2006. Cardinal Edward M. Egan of New York, whose 75th birthday was April 2, 2007, also celebrated 50 years as a priest last year. Cardinal F. James Stafford, a Baltimore native who marked his 75th birthday July 26, 2007, has been the Vatican's major penitentiary since 2003. Pope John Paul II often asked cardinals to stay on the job after they reached the age of 75. Pope Benedict XVI has given no indication that he will change that practice. Even when a cardinal retires in his 70s, he remains an active member of the College of Cardinals, eligible to enter a conclave and vote for a new pope, until age 80.

Feast of St. Bathildis

 
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Or it might be Saint Balthild, also known as Bathilde d'Ascagnie, Batilde, Bathylle, Bathild, or Bathilda. She was married to the King of France, Clovis II. Together they had three boys named Clotaire, Childeric, and Theuderic. Clovis' father was named Dagobert; he had a brother named Sigebert.

I know those names aren't funny, but ...well, yes they are.

Anyway, Saint whatever her name is was a slave who married the King when she was 19 years old and Clovis was between 12 and 16. When Clovis died and Clotaire became King (at the age of 5), Bathidis (which means "Bold Battle, by the way) remained Queen Regent for a while before joining a convent. When her sons were all old enough she entered the abbey at Chellis (just outside Paris, which she funded when she was queen) where she worked hard to abolish the practice of Christian slave trading and child slavery.

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Sister Mary Martha Backtracks

The good Sister got a lot of e-mails from people saying the same thing I said when I read about the use of our Confirmation names in heaven.

Her response:

"Now, I'm willing to chalk this up to just another one of those things that the nuns made up. I won't even pretend nuns don't make things up. Sometimes they do it in gangs, meaning, the whole order, or one particular convent full will all say the same thing."

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Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Sister Mary Martha says...

that your confirmation name is the name you will be called in heaven (assuming you get there). I've never heard this before. Ask you parents if they know about it....

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Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, January 28

 

St. Thomas Aquinas is a Doctor of the Church and the patron saint of universities and students. He wrote the "Summa Theologica", which is described as a primer for all things Catholic. One of the subjects he discusses is one that we briefly talked about in class - the concept of a "just war".
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The Conversion of Paul

 

Just like we talked about in class! It's painted by my favorite artist, Caravaggio (who was as nutty as he was a great painter).
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Sunday, January 27, 2008

Clericus Cup Update

QUIET DOWN, WILL YA?!?!

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Thursday, January 24, 2008

Who Is This Man?

 

His name is Rick Majerus, basketball coach at St. Louis University. His name has been in the news recently because of some comments he made during a TV interview. Specifically, he said he was a supporter of Hillary Clinton, and was pro-abortion and in favor of embryonic stem cell research.

Big deal. Who cares what he thinks? Well to begin with, Archbishop Burke of the St. Louis diocese. It seems that Mr. Majerus claims to be a Catholic, and St. Louis University is a Catholic university (sorta). So the Bishop has said if Mr. Majerus presents himself at the communion rail, he would NOT allow him to partake of the Holy Eucharist (according to this article) . The Bishop has been consistent on this point - a couple of years ago he said the same thing about another self-proclaimed Catholic, John Kerry. The Bishop also says that the President of the University, the Reverend John Biondi, should reprimand Majerus.

Why is SLU a "kinda" Catholic university? Because a couple of years ago they wanted to build a new basketball arena, but they couldn't get public funding because of the sacrosanct "separation of church and state" silliness. So SLU went to court to prove that even though they may be a Jesuit university, they really weren't all that Catholic. And they got the money, and hired Rick Majerus.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH, they cry! How dare the Bishop tell Majerus what to say (or not say)???

I say this - the Catholic Church needs more leaders (like Archbishop Burke) who are willing to say what needs to be said and defend the Church and its teachings against the likes of "catholics" such as Majerus, Kerry, Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi,Dick Durbin and the administration at SLU.
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Saturday, January 19, 2008

LOOK OUT! BEHIND YOU!

 


Public audiences with the Pope are held in St. Peter's Square or at the nearby Assembly Hall. This is the hall, and that scary thing behind the Pope is supposed to be a representation of the Resurrection (I think). Whatever it is, it reminds me of the Mother Alien (from the movie, "Alien"). My advice - take it down, melt it for scrap, sell the scrap, and give the money to the poor.
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Friday, January 18, 2008

St. Volusian

Today is the feast day of St. Volusian. What do we know about him? Apparently, not much. From the Catholic Online:

"Bishop of Tours, France. A senator at Tours, he was initially married, supposedly to a most unpleasant wife. Named bishop of the city in 488, he was forced to leave the see in 496 by the Arian Visigoths, and went to Spain. He died perhaps in Toulouse, or in Spain, possibly as a martyr."

Thanks for clearing that up.

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Feast of St. Anthony the Abbot, January 17

 

I nearly missed this one! St. Anthony the Abbot is called the Father of Western Monasticism. When he was 20 years old, he gave away everything he owned and moved in with some local anchorites. At the age of 35, he moved to an abandoned fort in the desert and barricaded himself in. That didn't stop his admirers; they broke down the barricade. St. Anthony's reputation as a healer and spiritual counselor made him extremely popular but ran up against his desire to be left alone so he could get on with his praying.

Here's the cool thing - St. Anthony is often painted with a pig near by. Why? At the time (the early 300s) pork fat was used to soothe skin irritations. As a healer, St. Anthony had use for it. Somewhere along the line the reason for the pigs being in the picture got garbled, and St. Anthony the Abbot became...

The PATRON SAINT OF SWINEHERDERS AND PIGS! Oh, and HOGS, too!
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President Bush Fires Secret Service; Hires Nuns

 

Because as Sister Mary Martha says, "Life is tough. Nuns are tougher."
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Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Holding Hands During the Lord's Prayer

We've discussed this before, but now I know the reason I don't like hold anyone's hand during the Lord's Prayer.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Saint Padre Pio

 

Let's say your uncle is a saint (he's been dead for forty years). And let's say that the local archbishop wants to dig him up and put him on display for public veneration purposes. How would you feel about that?
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The Nicene Creed...in Latin!

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Good Bye, Cruel World!

 

The priest has administered Extreme Unction...er, Last Rites....no, that's not it either. Anyway, you are spiritually content. But what about your mortal remains? What will happen to them?

May I suggest a dignified casket (or urn!) made by the Trappist Monks at the New Melleray Abbey in Iowa?
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Today in Church History

 

On this date in 1521 A.D., Pope Leo X decided he had just about enough guff from Martin Luther and issued the Papal Bull "Decet Romanum Pontificem", which excommunicated him from the Church. Good riddance, I say.

The painting is by the Pope's friend, Raphael.
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