11-13-07
Greetings!
Monday was the Feast of St. Josaphat. He died working for unity among the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches.
St. Josephat (b. 1580)
"During a sermon in Vitebsk, Belarus, Josephat said, 'I am your shepherd and I should be happy to give my life for you. If it please God that I should die for unity under the earthly headship of St. Peter's successor, so be it. I am ready to die for truth.' Two weeks later a mob broke into Archbishop Josaphat's home, killed him, and threw his body into the river. It was recovered and today Josaphat's incorrupt body lies in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. –Source: My Sunday Bulletin
As an aside, the only major basilica in Wisconsin is named after him—it's in Milwaukee and well worth visiting if you get the chance.
Phil's Tidbits:
Benedict's coming to the USA!
Papal Trip to U.S. Confirmed for April '08
Pontiff to Stop in Washington and New York
BALTIMORE, Maryland, NOV. 12, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The dates for Benedict XVI's upcoming trip to the United States were confirmed today; the Pope's visit is scheduled for April 15-20.
Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States, confirmed the dates for the six-day trip when he participated in the opening of the U.S. episcopal conference's fall meeting under way in Baltimore.
Ban Ki-moon, U.N. secretary-general, last April officially asked the Pope to visit the United Nations.
The Holy Father will arrive in Washington on April 15. The next day, his 81st birthday, he will receive an official welcome at the White House. Later that afternoon, he will address the U.S. bishops' conference.
On April 17, after celebrating Mass at the Washington Nationals' stadium, the Pope will give an address at the Catholic University of America.
Benedict XVI will be in New York on April 18, for a visit to the United Nations in the morning and an ecumenical meeting in the afternoon. His time in New York will also include Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral on April 19, the anniversary of his papal election, and a meeting with youth. On April 20, the Holy Father will visit ground zero, where the twin towers stood. That afternoon, the trip will officially end with Mass at Yankee Stadium.
This is beautiful and inspiring…even more so as this young martyr of the last century was only 21 years old.
A Martyr's Letter to His Girlfriend
"Let My Memory Always Remind You There Is a Better Life"
MADRID, Spain, NOV. 9, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of a letter from Bartolomé Blanco Márquez, written to his girlfriend from prison the day before he was executed during religious persecution in 1930s Spain. Márquez was beatified Oct. 28; the letter is published in the "Summarium Super Martyrio" of his beatification cause.
Bartolomé Blanco Márquez was born in Cordoba in 1914. He was arrested as a Catholic leader -- he was the secretary of Catholic Action and a delegate to the Catholic Syndicates -- on Aug. 18, 1936. He was executed on Oct. 2, 1936, at age 21, while he cried out, "Long live Christ the King!"
* * *
Provincial prison of Jaen, Oct. 1, 1936
My dearest Maruja:
Your memory will remain with me to the grave and, as long as the slightest throb stirs my heart, it will beat for love of you. God has deemed fit to sublimate these worldly affections, ennobling them when we love each other in him. Though in my final days, God is my light and what I long for, this does not mean that the recollection of the one dearest to me will not accompany me until the hour of my death.
I am assisted by many priests who -- what a sweet comfort -- pour out the treasures of grace into my soul, strengthening it. I look death in the eye and, believe my words, it does not daunt me or make me afraid.
My sentence before the court of mankind will be my soundest defense before God's court; in their effort to revile me, they have ennobled me; in trying to sentence me, they have absolved me, and by attempting to lose me, they have saved me. Do you see what I mean? Why, of course! Because in killing me, they grant me true life and in condemning me for always upholding the highest ideals of religion, country and family, they swing open before me the doors of heaven.
My body will be buried in a grave in this cemetery of Jaen; while I am left with only a few hours before that definitive repose, allow me to ask but one thing of you: that in memory of the love we shared, which at this moment is enhanced, that you would take on as your primary objective the salvation of your soul. In that way, we will procure our reuniting in heaven for all eternity, where nothing will separate us.
Goodbye, until that moment, then, dearest Maruja! Do not forget that I am looking at you from heaven, and try to be a model Christian woman, since, in the end, worldly goods and delights are of no avail if we do not manage to save our souls.
My thoughts of gratitude to all your family and, for you, all my love, sublimated in the hours of death. Do not forget me, my Maruja, and let my memory always remind you there is a better life, and that attaining it should constitute our highest aspiration.
Be strong and make a new life; you are young and kind, and you will have God's help, which I will implore upon you from his kingdom. Goodbye, until eternity, then, when we shall continue to love each other for life everlasting.
[Translation by ZENIT]
I've heard nothing but positive reviews of the movie "Bella". Here's a link to an interview with one of the stars—a faithful Catholic who comes across as a very impressive fellow!
Eduardo Verastegui is his name. Watch Eduardo's interview on FOX at http://www.bellathemovie.com/resources/news/archives/207
Some of you may remember that Miller Brewing was a sponsor of the Folsum Street Fair in San Francisco. The event featured all sorts of offensive materials including a homosexual themed image of the Last Supper. A boycott of Miller was called for that proved successful in their rescinding future sponsorships of the event. Of particular interest was the number of Chaldean Catholics in the Detroit area—who own a fair number of bars/liquor stores (don't ask me why)---who joined in the boycott. Kudos for taking a stand for principle over profit!
Chaldean Catholics Instrumental in Successful Boycott of Miller Beer
By Thaddeus M. Baklinski
DETROIT, November 5, 2007, (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle in Detroit, which is the Chaldean Catholic diocese for the eastern half of the United States, played a significant role in the successful boycott forcing Miller Brewing of Milwaukee to agree not to support events offensive to religious beliefs.
Miller was boycotted when it became known that the company was helping to fund the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco, an event organised by San Francisco's homosexual community to "celebrate" sado-masochistic sexual deviancy that is a part of the homosexual subculture.
The boycott was initiated by the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. Catholic League president Bill Donohue called for the more than 200 Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu organizations that work with the League to boycott the company.
In a report by The Michigan Catholic, Chaldean Catholic Bishop Ibrahim N. Ibrahim said that the support of Chaldean Catholics in metro Detroit for the boycott played a major role in convincing the huge brewer to pledge to never again support events that insult and offend religious sensibilities.
Chaldeans are Catholics of Iraqi descent, of whom more than 100,000 live in metropolitan Detroit and own about 90 percent of the area's party stores - more than 2000 stores.
Under Bishop Ibrahim's direction, Chaldean business owners groups united to join the boycott and "put teeth" in the initiative by "threatening to almost freeze the brewer out of one of America's largest markets." "I told our people, if they are really believers in Jesus Christ, to boycott Miller products," the bishop said.
"Our religion is important for us. I told our people Sunday (Oct. 28), 'Look how it is in Iraq, with all the pressure on them, not one (Chaldean) family has changed their religion. And here we are in the United States, and someone is mocking our religion, and we are going to do nothing?' I told them that if they support someone who is supporting such activities, it is just as if they were doing those activities too," Bishop Ibrahim said.
One store owner, who had not ordered any Miller products for three weeks, said in the Michigan Catholic report, "They disrespected my religion. It's not right; it wouldn't be right to do it with any religion." His wife added that when they explained the reasons behind the boycott to customers, "99 percent of our customers are agreeing with it."
The couple stated that the boycott was all about standing up for one's beliefs: "I believe in my faith, and I think people should fight for what they believe in."
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
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