5-1-07
Greetings!
Today is the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, celebrated in a special way in our own La Crosse, WI diocese, as he is our patron. JPII, perhaps more then any other pope, focused on the role of St. Joseph…and in turn the dignity of human work.
Sometimes, we mistakenly view all work as a result of the Fall of Man. Not true. There was work to be done even in the Garden of Eden, as God instructs Adam to "cultivate and care for" the garden. The primary difference between this work and the work that followed the Fall was the ease of which it was done and the fruitfulness that resulted. Anyone who has ever completed a project or built something knows the feeling of pride and accomplishment that follows. This is good, as God allows us to use the gifts He has given us to be His "co-creators." Of these things, St. Joseph is perhaps the best model.
For your edification, I offer the words of John Paul II on the "work" of St. Joseph:
WORK AS AN EXPRESSION OF LOVE
22. Work was the daily expression of love in the life of the Family of Nazareth. The Gospel specifies the kind of work Joseph did in order to support his family: he was a carpenter. This simple word sums up Joseph's entire life. For Jesus, these were hidden years, the years to which Luke refers after recounting the episode that occurred in the Temple: "And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them" (Lk 2:51). This "submission" or obedience of Jesus in the house of Nazareth should be understood as a sharing in the work of Joseph. Having learned the work of his presumed father, he was known as "the carpenter's son." If the Family of Nazareth is an example and model for human families, in the order of salvation and holiness, so too, by analogy, is Jesus' work at the side of Joseph the carpenter. In our own day, the Church has emphasized this by instituting the liturgical memorial of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1. Human work, and especially manual labor, receive special prominence in the Gospel. Along with the humanity of the Son of God, work too has been taken up in the mystery of the Incarnation, and has also been redeemed in a special way. At the workbench where he plied his trade together with Jesus, Joseph brought human work closer to the mystery of the Redemption.
23. In the human growth of Jesus "in wisdom, age and grace," the virtue of industriousness played a notable role, since "work is a human good" which "transforms nature" and makes man "in a sense, more human."(34)
The importance of work in human life demands that its meaning be known and assimilated in order to "help all people to come closer to God, the Creator and Redeemer, to participate in his salvific plan for man and the world, and to deepen...friendship with Christ in their lives, by accepting, through faith, a living participation in his threefold mission as Priest, Prophet and King."(35)
24. What is crucially important here is the sanctification of daily life, a sanctification which each person must acquire according to his or her own state, and one which can be promoted according to a model accessible to all people: "St. Joseph is the model of those humble ones that Christianity raises up to great destinies;...he is the proof that in order to be a good and genuine follower of Christ, there is no need of great things-it is enough to have the common, simple and human virtues, but they need to be true and authentic."(36)
Source: REDEMPTORIS CUSTOS, Aug 15th, 1989
Phil's Tidbits:
This is a neat story. There are still places where the Church is but in its infancy.
Mangyan Islanders Welcome 1st Native Priest
CALAPAN CITY, Philippines, APRIL 30, 2007 (
Zenit.org
).- An island group in the Philippines now has its first native-born priest.
AsiaNews
reported that Hanunuo Oybad, a Mangyan native from one of the most ancient and least known indigenous groups, was ordained last week after finishing his studies in pastoral sociology at the Asian Social Institute in Manila.
Oybad's entry into the priesthood was welcomed by thousands of Catholic faithful at the Bulalacao Cathedral of the Oriental Mindoro province.
"This is an event for the whole Catholic Church," said Father Ewald Dinter, director of the Mangyan Mission-Oriental
Mindoro.
The ordination Mass, held in the local dialect, was presided by Bishop Warlito Cajandig and concelebrated by nearly 100 priests.
Father Oybad said he wished his priesthood to be "simple, close to people, balanced by prayer."
Asked how he felt now that he was a priest, Father Oybad reflected, "I am overwhelmed with the love of God."
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On the flip side of the coin, God never stops calling us to Him---no matter how old you are. It gives new meaning to Chesterton's phrase "the hound of heaven".
ASIA/TAIWAN - Baptised at the venerable age of 114: great rejoicing in Hsing Chu diocese
Tai Pei (Agenzia Fides) - When Bishop Luke Liu Hsien-Tang Bishop emeritus of the diocese of Hsing Chu, poured the blessed water on the head of Miss Xu Song Re Ai who is 114 years old the people present burst into warm applause to welcome the oldest Catholic in Taiwan. According to Tai
Pei diocesan bulletin Christian Life Weekly Miss Xu Song was baptised in the parish of the Immaculate Conception on Easter Sunday. The event was announced by all the media in Taiwan Catholic and non. The diocese arranged for Miss Xu Song to be baptised on the Sunday, after 21 people had received the sacraments of Christian initiation during the Easter
Vigil Mass. Over 200 people were present for the baptism of Mrs Xu Song Re Ai, presided by Bishop Luke Liu, who said: "I think we probably have the oldest Catholic lady in the world". When asked by press men if she was happy Mrs Xu Song clapped her hands.
Mrs Xu Song whose parents were very poor was sent to work for a rich family which later in 1948 moved to Taiwan. A year later the family decided to return to mainland China but because she suffered from sea sickness Miss Xu Song stayed in
Taiwan and worked for another family which accompanied her life of faith to baptism. The head of her new family Prof. Qi Zheng Zhong was baptised at the age of 25. Prof. Qi arranged for her to have daily catechism in 2007 at the Old Peoples Home where she now lives. Wang Tong Min diocesan press officer said "Miss Xu Song, who never married, is still very clear headed and lively. Her baptism gives new impulse to evangelisation and pastoral care". (NZ)(Agenzia Fides
Source: http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=9390&lan=eng
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This promises to be an interesting event!
Pope Accepts Invitation to U.N.
VATICAN CITY
, APRIL 27, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI has accepted an invitation to visit the United Nations in New York, although no date has been set.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon extended the invitation to the Pope during an audience in the
Vatican April 18.
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi confirmed the Pope's acceptance of the invitation Thursday.
"The Pope accepted the invitation in general terms, saying he was available to visit U.N
. headquarters. But no date has been set and there are no definite plans, as yet, for the visit," the director of the Vatican press office said.
Pope John Paul II visited the U.N. headquarters twice, in 1979 and 1995.
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This is not easy or light reading, but necessary and unfortunately true.
Applause from Hell
FR. FRANK PAVONE
If we think of hell, we might imagine screams coming out of the flames, or the sinister laughter of the devil. But the sound I recently heard coming from there was that of applause.
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What I heard was an audiotape of Dr. Martin Haskell giving a presentation at the 16th Annual Meeting of the National Abortion Federation Conference in 1992 in San Diego. It was a gathering of abortionists — men and women who make their living by killing babies. Haskell was describing to his audience how to do a partial-birth abortion. Listen to his words about how this procedure takes place:
"The surgeon then introduces large grasping forceps ... through the vaginal and cervical canal ... He moves the tip of the instrument carefully towards the fetal lower extremities — and pulls the extremity into the vagina ... The surgeon then uses his fingers to deliver the opposite lower extremity, then the torso, the shoulders, and the upper extremities. The skull lodges in the internal os. The fetus is oriented ... spine up ... The surgeon then takes a pair of blunt curved Metzenbaum scissors in the right hand. ... the surgeon then forces the scissors into the base of the skull — spreads the scissors to enlarge the opening. The surgeon then introduces a suction catheter into this hole and evacuates the skull contents."
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Haskell, having described these brutal details, shows his audience a video of himself doing one of these procedures. And at the end of the video, after the sound of the suction machine taking the brains out of the baby's head, the audience applauds.
That, my friends, is applause from hell.
We often speak about "the fires of hell." It is also true, however, to say that hell is very cold. It is the absence of all conscience, of all pity, of all love. That kind of hell is reflected on earth when a group of human beings can sit around a video machine, watch someone deliberately kill a baby, and then applaud. That's the heart and soul of the abortion industry. That's the heart and soul of "pro-choice."
It's the same chilling attitude of which Dr. Bernard Nathanson repented. He writes about how he felt after he killed his own child by abortion. "I swear to you that I had no feelings aside from the sense of accomplishment, the pride of expertise. On inspecting the contents of the bag I felt only the satisfaction of knowing that I had done a thorough job" ( The Hand of God, p.60).
I am convinced that the first and overall most effective way to fight abortion is to expose it. People need to hear descriptions of the procedure, see what it looks like, and get a glimpse into the utter corruption of the abortion industry. Saint Paul tells the Ephesians, "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them" (Eph. 5:11). Let's put Paul's words into practice and spread the information in this column!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Fr. Frank Pavone. "Applause from Hell." Priests for Life (April, 2007).
This article is courtesy of the Priests for Life newsletter. You may contact Priests for Life at PO Box 141172, Staten Island, NY 10314; call 1-888-PFL-3448 or 718-980-4400; fax 718-980-6515; mail@priestsforlife.org ; www.priestsforlife.org.
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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