Catholic Faith and Culture - The Areopagus Catholic Newsletter

8-28-07

Greetings!

Happy Feast of St. Augustine! This 4^th century bishop and saint is as relevant today as he was 1600 years ago. Augustine possessed an amazing intellect, left the faith of his mother as he reached adulthood, and then found that there was a lot missing in his life, including many unanswered questions. From there he began searching for Truth and meaning--looking into various philosophies/religions, especially a form of Gnosticism called Manichaeism. Yet, each of these other religions/philosophies were found wanting, until eventually, through his mother's prayers and pleading, he encountered St. Ambrose. In St. Ambrose's preaching Augustine found answers. Augustine would eventually be Baptized, later enter the priesthood, and finally be ordained a bishop. In his voluminous writings, including "Confessions" and "City of God", Augustine would go down in history as one of the great intellectuals and men of faith.

His life offers hope for the many who have abandoned the faith, but are searching for the Truth. Let us, as Augustine's mother, Monica did, continue to pray for the lost sheep. And may we have confidence in the Truths of the Faith—the same truths Augustine discovered.

Phil's Tidbits:

At Mass this past weekend, Jesus offered some stern (to say the least!) words about the difficulty of attaining Heaven. (Luke 13:22-30.) Indeed, He emphasizes that it is not enough to merely know of Him, or even by extension just go to Church. A person needs to live that Faith in their actions. May we do this, lest we also hear the response that Jesus gave to these people "I do not know where you are from…depart from me."

Pope Benedict took up this reading and put a modern spin on it—using the image of a passport. He pointed out that the good acts we do, in a certain sense, "stamp" our passport on the way to Heaven.

Get Your "Passport" Ready for Heaven, Says Pope

Stamp It With Works That Show Friendship With Christ

VATICAN CITY, AUG. 26, 2007 ( Zenit.org).- Heaven is an equal-opportunity destination, but to gain entry one needs a "passport" stamped with virtues such as humility, mercy and truth, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope said this today in a reflection he gave on the "narrow gate," before reciting the midday Angelus with several thousand people gathered in the courtyard of the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo.

The Pontiff asked: "What is meant by this 'narrow gate'? Why is it that many people do not succeed in entering through it? Is it perhaps a passage that is reserved only for a few elect?"

The Holy Father said that the message of Christ is that everybody has an equal chance of entering through the narrow gate, "but it is 'narrow' because it is demanding, it requires commitment, self-denial and mortification of one's own egoism."

Christ invites all to heaven, he said, "but with one and the same condition: that of making the effort to follow him and imitate him, taking up one's cross, as he did, and dedicating one's life to the service of our brothers."

Benedict XVI makes the point that "we will not be judged on the basis of presumed privileges, but by our works."

"True friendship with Christ," he added, "is expressed by one's way of life: it is expressed by goodness of heart, with humility, meekness and mercy, love of justice and truth, sincere and honest commitment to peace and reconciliation."

The Pope adds, "This, we might say, is the 'I.D. card' that qualifies us as authentic 'friends'; this is the 'passport' that permits us to enter into eternal life."

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This was placed in a parish bulletin. One "tongue-in-cheek" way of getting the point across….

BRITNEY SPEARS CONCERT CANCELED! Unfortunately, our efforts to get pop sensation Britney Spears to perform a benefit fund raiser for the parish have proven unsuccessful. Her calendar is full. Therefore, those who have been arriving at Mass every Sunday dressed for a Britney Spears concert should know that they don't have to do that anymore. Modest church-going attire will do nicely. We will notify you if the situation changes.

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A new prayerful tactic in defense of the Gospel of Life is rapidly spreading around the country. It involves making a 40 day—24/7 vigil at abortion clinics---having people there to pray for the full duration. Recall 40 days is a theme that occurs throughout the Scriptures—40 days of rain—Noah, 40 years in the desert—Israel and Exodus, Jesus spent 40 days in the desert praying before beginning His public ministry, and Jesus spent 40 days with the Apostles after the Resurrection before Ascending to Heaven. Below is some information regarding this effort in Wisconsin.

Fellow Pro-Lifers,

From September 26th to November 4th, 2007, pro-lifers will be gathering at abortion
facilities throughout the country for the first of its kind "40 Days for Life" nationwide vigil. This will involve people coming together to pray and fast for the end of abortion. In Wisconsin, pro-lifers will be gathering at abortion facilities in Madison, Green Bay, Appleton and Milwaukee to pray for the end of abortion during these 40 days.

The upcoming vigil will be similar to the one held in Green Bay last year. We are looking to have at least two volunteers present during each hour, 24 hours a day, throughout the entire vigil. Not only do we need volunteers to come and pray during each hour, but we also need "shift leaders" to commit to be at the abortion facility during an entire four hour shift.

Please feel free to contact me through email at 40DaysForLifeMadison@gmail.com
or call me at (608) 698-3877 if you are interested in assisting. Please let me know what
days and which times of day you might be able to commit, and we will get in touch with you to confirm a time that will work with your schedule!

Also, please feel free to forward this email to any individuals you think might be
interested in participating in this vigil, and please contact me with any questions.
The most immediate need is for commitments of "shift leaders" to oversee
the vigil during four hour periods throughout the 40 days.

As with past 40 Days for Life vigils, participants will be expected to sign a Statement of Peace pledge. This will be a vigil centered on prayer and fasting, and is not a "protest" or "picket", and as such, participants may only carry signs provided by 40 Days for Life. All participants must conduct themselves in a peaceful and prayerful manner at all times. No graphic or violent signs will be permitted as part of the vigil. Shift leaders will help ensure that everything proceeds in a peaceful manner. For those that have not been to the Madison abortion facility, Planned Parenthood, it is located along Highway 51 near the MATC,
at 3076 Orin Road. If you are not able to commit to any particular time, you are welcome to come out at any point during the 40 days, someone will always be there!

For more information on the 40 Days for Life nationwide campaign, go to http://www.40daysforlife.com/about.cfm

Also, for those of you who are interested, EWTN will be airing a special on the Nationwide 40 Days For Life campaign. Keep your eyes open closer to this event.
http://www.ewtn.com/

United in building a Culture of Life!
+++
Amy
608.698.3877

Amy Teresa Hying
1646 Baker Avenue
Madison, WI 53705

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You may have heard about the abortion that went wrong in Italy. The Mom was pregnant with twins, one appeared to have Downs Syndrome. An abortion was performed, seeking to abort the disabled baby. They made a mistake, instead aborting the "healthy" baby. The solution? They performed a second abortion on the "disabled" baby. Lord have mercy on us.

VATICAN CITY, AUG. 27, 2007 (Zenit.org ).- An abortion in Milan that killed a healthy twin fetus instead of her sibling with Down syndrome is a case of eugenics "imposing its law," says L'Osservatore Romano.

After it was discovered that the unborn baby with Down syndrome survived, a successive abortion later ended her life.

The Vatican's semi-official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano is reporting the story in its Tuesday edition. The abortion was actually performed in June, but only recently made public….

The San Paolo hospital in Milan reported that the case was "a terrible fatality." The babies were in their third month of gestation.

The error occurred because the twin sisters changed positions in the womb between the doctors' examination and the abortion.

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A group of people in the Vatican recently launched a new air travel company, catering to Catholic Pilgrims. It sounds like a noble idea and a fruitful one. The Curt Jester Blog http://www.splendoroftruth.com/curtjester/ had a few humorous thoughts on the idea:

They have no schedules and will only tell you "Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."
When boarding you always have to enter through the "Narrow gate."
Everybody gets the same seating arrangement because with Vatican Air there are no Jews, Greeks, Male, Female, Business Class, Economy, or First Class.
They use nuns as stewardesses and will rap your knuckles if you forget to say grace before eating your package of peanuts.
After the nuns demonstrate how to exit the aircraft and how to use the oxygen masks, they demonstrate how to pray the Rosary available in the compartment on the back of each seat. They also tell the passengers "The Parable of the Unjust Stewardess."
You never have to worry about the pilot being raptured because Catholics don't fall for that fairly recent teleological innovation.
Flight insurance includes a fund that will pay stipends to a monastery of your choice that will have Masses said for you in case of a fatal accident.
There is always a priest onboard trained to quickly give general absolutions in case of an in flight emergency. Otherwise passengers may use the in flight confessionals. When using the in flight confessional make sure you slide the sign to occupied.
You get to offer up turbulence and airline food.
Not only is the seat a flotation device but it can also be used as a kneeler.
Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites and males from some other orders are eligible for Frequent Friar Miles.
If Vatican Air loses your luggage St. Anthony is immediately invoked.
You never have to worry that your aircrew includes Pontius Pilot.
Connecting flights are made with Holy Virgin airlines.

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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