2-27-07
Greetings!
Feb. 22nd having been the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, a friend forwarded to me these beautiful quotes from St. Cyprian. Further evidence that the early Church was Catholic and that the role of the papacy was very much a part of that early Church. May God grant us a return to that unity of Faith & Truth that was once present!
St. Cyprian of Carthage in the year 251
"[After quoting Matthew 16:18f; John 21:15ff]...On him [Peter] He builds the Church, and to him He gives the command to feed the sheep; and although He assigned a like power to all the Apostles,
yet he founded a single Chair, and He established by His own authority a source and an intrinsic reason for that unity. Indeed, the others were that also which Peter was; but a primacy is given to Peter, whereby it is made clear that there is but one Church and one Chair
. So too, all are shepherds, and the flock is shown to be one, fed by all the Apostles in single-minded accord. If someone does not hold fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds the faith? If he desert the chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, can he still be confident that he is in the Church?
" (Cyprian, The Unity of the Catholic Church [first edition] 4, c. AD 251)
"There speaks Peter, upon whom the Church would be built
, teaching in the name of the Church and showing that even if a stubborn and proud multitude withdraws because it does not wish to obey, yet the Church does not withdraw from Christ. The people joined to the priest and the flock clinging to their shepherd are the Church.
You ought to know, then, that the bishop is in the Church and the Church in the bishop, and if someone is not with the bishop, he is not in the Church. They vainly flatter themselves who creep up, not having peace with the priests of God, believing that they are secretly in communion with certain individuals.
For the Church, which is One and Catholic, is not split nor divided, but is indeed united and joined by the cement of priests who adhere one to another." (Cyprian, Letter 66 (69), 8 to Florentius Pupianus, c. AD 254
Hope you enjoyed this weekend's storm! When I looked at the cancellations Sunday morning, not one Catholic Church was shown. As my wife said, "I can't imagine there not being Mass." Indeed, priests are required to say Mass every day anyway. It reminds me of a quote from St. Padre Pio, "It would be easier for the world to survive without the sun, then without the Mass." Amen.
Cardinal Sean O'Malley started it with his own blog as archbishop of Boston…now Cardinal Rigali has placed a Lenten message on the wildly popular "YouTube".
In reality these efforts are a fruit of the New Evangelization called for by the late great John Paul II.
PHILADELPHIA
, Pennsylvania
, FEB. 25, 2007 (
Zenit.org
).- Cardinal Justin Rigali is reaching out to new audiences this Lent by posting weekly Gospel commentaries on the video sharing Web site YouTube.
The archbishop of Philadelphia posted his first two-and-a-half-minute
video
on Ash Wednesday.
In the video entitled "Living Lent: The First Sunday," the 71-year-old cardinal explains the benefits of fasting, comments on Sunday's Gospel and then urges his listeners to join a Bible study group.
Donna Farrell, spokeswoman for the archdiocese, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Cardinal Rigali "knew nothing of YouTube" until his staff proposed he try it.
"He said: 'Anything we can do to reach people where they are.' He has
repeatedly said to us: 'We're in the business of evangelization. Let's
be out there. Let's be everywhere,'" Farrell told the daily paper.
The spokeswoman said the cardinal plans to continue posting messages throughout Lent.
At the time of publication, the video had been viewed more than 4,500 times.
ZE07022525
Please keep our Holy Father in your prayers as he goes on retreat this week.
Benedict XVI to Spend Week on Retreat
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 25, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI asked for the spiritual support of the faithful as he began a weeklong Lenten retreat.
The Holy See announced that the Pope will hold no audiences or attend any public engagements until the retreat concludes Saturday morning.
Before praying the Angelus today with the crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father asked the faithful to "please support me with your prayer, and I will be happy to do the same in the recollection of the retreat, invoking divine power on each one of you, on your families and your communities."
ZE07022503
Stop the Presses! The ACLU actually lost a court case over religion!
SAN DIEGO, February 22, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The California Supreme Court, yesterday, affirmed the precedent-setting decision of a California appellate court, which upheld the right of the people of San Diego to transfer the Mt. Soledad veterans memorial and cross to the federal government. At the same time, the Court denied the ACLU's attempt to prevent the publication of the lower court decision favorable to the cross and veterans memorial...
The full text of the story is available at:
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/feb/07022205.html
You may not have noticed this little detail. A friend passed this on to me when she was down in Madison and reading the local paper. We know embryonic stem cell research is taking place via private foundations—Bush's prohibition only limited the research. What has been up for grabs is tax dollars funding it. They appear to have found a loophole to get around that debate. A grant was given by the state, which includes both private donations and tax dollars to eight projects as a type of "seed money". One of the projects focuses on embryonic stem cell research. And the Culture of Death marches on.
Large-scale production of human embryonic stem cells: Derek Hei, a bio-manufacturing expert in the
UW-Madison Waisman Center, will join a human embryonic stem-cell scientist and a bioengineer in developing a system for producing large batches of stem cells. Many experts believe the lack of such a system is a major obstacle to using stem cells in clinical applications or for non-clinical uses, such as drug toxicity testing.
Via: Eight Projects At Uw-madison Received Funding From The Wisconsin Institutes Of Discovery.
Wisconsin State Journal :: LOCAL :: B1Thursday, February 22, 2007
HEATHER LaROI hlaroi@madison.com 608-252-6143
Perhaps you saw the reports of the newborn girl..born at 21 weeks and under 10oz.
She is the earliest known premature baby to survive. In fact, after 4 months in the hospital she is now home with her Mom & Dad in Florida
. In medical practice, any baby less then 25 months gestation is considered "non-viable." And numerous abortion laws around the world are based on this notion.
As Lifesitenews.com (2-22-07) reports this "non-viable" baby—who is now quite alive, poses problems for those who are pro-abortion citing ABC anchor Charles Gibson:
ABC anchor Charles Gibson made the account of Amillia's survival the top story on World News Tuesday night, calling the baby, "A tiny miracle that raises big questions in the debate over abortion, " according to a blog report by Brent Baker posted on
NewsBusters.com Feb.20.
"The fact that she has survived and grown to more than four pounds, and is about to go home, is a miracle, yes, but a miracle that may have an effect on the debate over abortion. And it may change what people think about life."
Dan Harris, pro-abortion reporter for ABC, pointed out that in most of the country, Amillia could have been legally aborted well past the point of her birth.
And finally from the "Duh" file:
It's sad that we need a study to tell us what common sense should realize. Then again, to spin it positively, perhaps this is a good start?
American Psychological Association: Remove All Sexualized Images of Women in Media
Meta Analysis finds Sexualized Ads, TV, Music Videos, Billboards, Harm Girls' Mental Health
WASHINGTON, DC, February 19, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A report of the American Psychological Association (APA) released today found evidence that the proliferation of sexualized images of girls and young women in advertising, merchandising, and media is harmful to girls' self-image and healthy development...
The full text of the story is available at:
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/feb/07021907.html
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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