2-20-07
Greetings!
I had the privilege of attending the Men of Christ Conference near Milwaukee this past Saturday. More then 2,000 men gathered for a day of talks, confession, Adoration and Mass with Archbishop Dolan. The organizers had dreamed of attracting 1,000 men---the 2,000+ who attended certainly exceeded their expectations.
A few observations:
-Fr. Larry Richards, on Relevant Radio in the evenings, certainly talks a lot different to a room full of men then to a mixed audience on the radio!
-This event was not sponsored through a diocesan office. It was organized by a group of lay men who all have regular jobs and felt a calling to do this. They took care of the logistics and freed the priests to do what they do best, teach and bestow the sacraments. It is striking to see more of these events sprouting up apart from formal diocesan programs…look at the Steubenville Youth Conferences, or even the Annual Holy Hill Youth Day—all organized by the laity.
-This Men's Conference will become an annual event—although they will need a different, and larger!, venue next year.
-The Green Bay area will have a similar conference on March 24th. This conference features Dr. Ray Guarendi and others. You can find more information here:
-More of these types of events are popping up around the country and that can only bear fruit!
-Too long men have taken a backseat in their roles, especially regarding the Faith. Too many men leave that task completely to their wives. That is not the way it was meant to be and that is not what will bear fruit. For men have a substantial role to play—and without both parents living it---it should not surprise us that the children do not either.
-It's good to see something religious not named "Davinci" among the bestsellers.
Deus Caritas Est" a Big Seller
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 4, 2007 ( Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI's encyclical "Deus Caritas Est" is one of the most commercially successful doctrinal tracts ever written by a Pope.
The document has been reprinted three times in the German Pontiff's own language, three times in Spanish and has sold almost 1.5 million copies in Italian.
For the first time in modern history, the Latin version was also reprinted since the initial run of 1,000 copies sold out in two months.
Benedict XVI's first encyclical has also been translated into Russian and Chinese.
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Holy Water for Sale?
http://www.watertrust.org/news_article.asp?nID=67
Obviously this is a marketing stunt and as they have religious leaders of various faiths…here's guessing the Unitarians are a part of it…it doesn't have any value. Besides, the Church condemns and forbids the selling of blessed items.
And the culture war continues…..
Use of 'Mom' and 'Dad' Too "Homophobic", Scottish Nurses Told
By Gudrun Schultz
EDINBURGH, Scotland, February 16, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Nurses and other health care professionals should avoid using the terms 'mom' and 'dad' to refer to family relationships since the terms could be offensive to homosexual couples with children, a new directive published by Scotland's National Health Service recommends.
Issued in conjunction with the country's leading homosexual activist organization Stonewall Scotland, the publication is entitled Fair For All - The Wider Challenge: Good LGBT Practice in the NHS. Americans for Truth reported
Feb.11 on the publication's release.
The booklet calls for a "zero-tolerance policy to discriminatory language" among Scotland's health care system. Included in discriminatory language is the use of terms that assume a traditional family structure of mother, father and children, according to the NHS directive.
"LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered] people can and do have children, sexual orientation or gender identity has nothing to do with good parenting or good child care," the booklet states.
"Individual circumstances lead to varied family structures and parenting arrangements. It is important to be aware of this. When talking to children, consider using 'parents', 'carers' or 'guardians' rather than 'mother' or 'father'.
Along the same lines, the directive points out, use of the terms 'husband', 'wife' and 'marriage' is not acceptable since such terms exclude lesbian, gay and bisexual people. Instead, health care workers should use the terms 'partners' and 'next of kin'. Since 'next of kin' is often understood to mean nearest blood relative, however, the booklet recommends that it may be preferable to use 'partner, close friend or close relative' to avoid confusion.
Montenegro Bishop Calling for Help
ROME, JAN. 16, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The bishop of the Diocese of Kotor in
Montenegro is calling for financial help for priests.
"Priests suffer from existential need: they do not have any health insurance. Mass intentions are the only source of income," said Bishop Iliya Janjic on Monday.
"But we also need support for the upkeep of our church buildings and cultural items," 40% of which are "in the hands of the Church," he added.
About 10,000 of the 77,000 people of the Diocese of Kotor are Catholics.
Bishop Janjic explained: "The Catholic minority must stay here. Here is their home. As Jesus said: 'Do not be afraid, little flock!' We have a reason to stay here: It is our home."
According to the bishop, there is a need for pastoral programs, so that "the faith is not only written on a piece of paper, but lived."
In Kotor, there are 13 diocesan priests, two religious priests and 35 women religious.
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This should bring a smile to your day:
CATHOLIC HORSES
One day while he was at the track playing the ponies and all but
losing his shirt, Mitch noticed a priest who stepped out onto the track and
blessed the forehead of one of the horses lining up for the 4th race. Lo
and behold, that horse - a very long shot - won the race.
Before the next race, as the horses began lining up, Mitch watched
with interest the old priest step onto the track. Sure enough, as the 5th race horses came to the starting gate the priest made a
blessing on the forehead of one of the horses. Mitch made a beeline for a betting
window and placed a small bet on the horse. Again, even though it was
another long shot, the horse the priest had blessed won the race.
Mitch collected his winnings, and anxiously waited to see which
horse the priest would b less for the 6th race. The priest again
blessed a horse. Mitch bet big on it, and it won. Mitch was elated. As the
races continued the priest kept blessing long shot horses, and each one
ended up coming in first.
Bye and bye, Mitch was pulling in some serious money. By the
last race, he knew his wildest dreams were going to come true. He
made a quick dash to the ATM, withdrew all his savings, and awaited the
priest's blessing that would tell him which horse to bet on. True to his pattern,
the priest stepped onto the track for the last race and blessed the
forehead of an old nag that was the longest shot of the day. As Mitch
observed, the priest then blessed the eyes, ears, and hooves of one of the horse.
Mitch knew he had a winner and bet every cent he owned on the horse. He
then watched dumbfounded as the old nag come in dead last.
Mitch, in a state of shock, made his way down to the track area
where the priest was. Confronting the old priest he demanded,
"Father! What happened, Father? All day long you blessed horses and they all won.
Then in the last race, the horse you blessed lost by a Kentucky mile. Now,
thanks to you I've lost every cent of my savings - - all of it!".
The priest nodded wisely and with sympathy. "Son," he said, "that's
the problem with you Protestants, you can't tell the difference
between a simple blessing and the last rites."
God bless you! Phil Lawson For the latest info on St. Peter's, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com (You can also find old editions of the Areopagus here)
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