Monday, May 29, 2006

Deadly Attack on CBS News Crew in Iraq

Cameraman and producer killed, Kimberly Dozier in Critical Condition

Da Vinci Bore

Perhaps the "word of mouth" effect of a bad movie, but I'm sure they are still laughing all the way to the bank... Movie drops by 56% this weekend, but continues to do big in Europe.

Genocide, Never Again

"Son of Germany"--the Pope visits concentration camps in Auschwitz and Birkenau. Rain and dark clouds part as he prays over the monument markers of those who were killed there to give way to the sun and a magnificent rainbow while Psalm 22 was being chanted, very moving.

Pope's opening remarks:

To speak in this place of horror, in this place where unprecedented mass crimes were committed against God and man, is almost impossible - and it is particularly difficult and troubling for a Christian, for a Pope from Germany. In a place like this, words fail; in the end, there can only be a dread silence - a silence which is itself a heartfelt cry to God: Why, Lord, did you remain silent? How could you tolerate all this? In silence, then, we bow our heads before the endless line of those who suffered and were put to death here; yet our silence becomes in turn a plea for forgiveness and reconciliation, a plea to the living God never to let this happen again.

Friday, May 26, 2006

Massive Crowd Attend Papal Mass in Rain



From the Pope's Homily:

How can we not thank God today for all that was accomplished in your native land and in the whole world during the Pontificate of John Paul II? Before our eyes, changes occurred in entire political, economic and social systems. People in various countries regained their freedom and their sense of dignity. “Let us not forget the great works of God” (cf. Ps 78:7). I thank you too for your presence and for your prayer.


And:

As in past centuries, so also today there are people or groups who obscure this centuries-old Tradition, seeking to falsify the Word of Christ and to remove from the Gospel those truths which in their view are too uncomfortable for modern man. They try to give the impression that everything is relative: even the truths of faith would depend on the historical situation and on human evaluation. Yet the Church cannot silence the Spirit of Truth. The successors of the Apostles, together with the Pope, are responsible for the truth of the Gospel, and all Christians are called to share in this responsibility, accepting its authoritative indications. Every Christian is bound to confront his own convictions continually with the teachings of the Gospel and of the Church’s Tradition in the effort to remain faithful to the word of Christ, even when it is demanding and, humanly speaking, hard to understand. We must not yield to the temptation of relativism or of a subjectivist and selective interpretation of Sacred Scripture. Only the whole truth can open us to adherence to Christ, dead and risen for our salvation.


And a powerful statement:

Christ says: “If you love me ... ” Faith does not just mean accepting a certain number of abstract truths about the mysteries of God, of man, of life and death, of future realities. Faith consists in an intimate relationship with Christ, a relationship based on love of him who loved us first (cf. 1 Jn 4:11), even to the total offering of himself. “God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). What other response can we give to a love so great, if not that of a heart that is open and ready to love? But what does it mean to love Christ? It means trusting him even in times of trial, following him faithfully even on the Via Crucis, in the hope that soon the morning of the Resurrection will come. Entrusting ourselves to Christ, we lose nothing, we gain everything. In his hands our life acquires its true meaning. Love for Christ expresses itself in the will to harmonize our own life with the thoughts and sentiments of his Heart. This is achieved through interior union based on the grace of the Sacraments, strengthened by continuous prayer, praise, thanksgiving and penance.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Is Legion Comparing the Pope to Pilate?

Recent claims that Father Marcial is accepting his sentence in silence like "Jesus" risk the comparison that the Church is persecuting Father and that the pope unjustly condemning an innocent man. This seems to fly in the face of the agreement that Father Marcial entered into with the Vatican. The Legion has prided itself with unswavering loyalty to the pope and in this situation are presented with an equally difficult situation of choosing to elevate their founder and implicate the pope in some kangaroo court act or accept the decision of the pontiff and remain silent about the founder as to whether he is innocent or not (and in acceptance of Jesus' command not to judge).
It is my hope that the many fine Legion priests that I have had the pleasure of meeting over the years will continue to side with the pope and leave to the Lord the judgment of their founder who like us all will one day stand at the judgment seat of God.

A Priest's Premonition of Death?


Via Amy's Open Book, word that blogger Fr. Todd has died in an Austin, TX water boating accident. In January, Father Todd entered the following post:

So with these thoughts I have been working on my own funeral. I have my
casket picked out. You can find it at TrappistCaskets. I am going for a simple oak casket in the traditional shape rather thant he rectangular one. I am getting all the legal documents ready. I am going to prepare a letter or a video for my family. Finally I am going to prepare my liturgy in advance.
I am going to be working with my parishioners to encouarage them to think about these things as well. Here are some of the things I want to encourage them to
have.
1. A durable power of attorney (this is much better than a living will
because you can't handle ever situation with a living will. It is better to have
someone you trust to make the decisions. I will put up a sample form later of
this for download.)
2. A will (Again the state can do all sorts of weird things with your estate if you don't leave a will. It saves the family a lot of pain and suffering if this document is carefully prepared and in place)
3. A Codice to the will expressing your desires for your funeral.
4. A funeral liturgy plan ( this should be worked out in conjunction with your priest and kept on file at the parish. If your priest changes then you should review it
with your new pastor. It is important that you don't leave this step out because
you don't want to plan stuff the priest can't do or that isn't in accordance with the liturgy. If someone presented me with one of these that I hadn't seen I would try to honor it as much as possible but if I couldn't then I would have to delcline parts of it. It also is a beautiful way to speak to your family one last time through your selection of the funeral readings.)


Please remember Father Todd in your prayers.

Pope Arrives in Poland


From Radio Polonia:

Upon his arrival in Warsaw, pope Benedict XVI expressed his joy of being in the homeland of late John Paul II. The pontiff stressed that he came to Poland
to walk the routes of his predecessor. During this visit Benedict XVI would like
to meet and get to know the generation of John Paul II as well as all the generations which grew up under the spiritual care of the Polish-born pope who died in April last year. President Lech Kaczynski responded to the motto of the pope’s visit by declaring that Poles are willing to be strong in the faith and that their hearts are open to the message of Benedict the XVI. Later this afternoon president Kaczynski will receive the pope.

Pope Speaks to Journalists on Plane

Here is the picture:


And so far here is the only reference I've found available from about a hundred papers online:

Asked by journalists on the plane how he felt about visiting Auschwitz as a German, Benedict said, ``I am above all a Catholic. I must say that this is the most important point.''

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

instantissima oratione

instantissima oratione

First, when you set out to do some good work, beg the Lord with most insistent prayer to bring it to completion.

St. Benedict’s Rule, Prologue 4

Devotion to the Holy Face of Our Lord



About Devotion to the Holy Face

Monday, May 22, 2006

Da Vinci Movie Second Biggest Worldwide Opening of All Time

Evidently, no one cares what the critics say (only 22% of them have given it a positive review)--rather it took in $224 million worldwide ($77 million here in the USA).

Deadline Daily

Five Biggest Flaws in The DaVinci Code


Video version on Fox News with Amy Welborn, of course.

Pope to Canadian Bishops

From Vatican Information Service:

"Of notable importance are your catechists," he added, "Teaching the faith cannot be reduced to a mere transmission of 'things' or words or even a body of abstract truths. The Church's Tradition is alive!" On this subject to Holy Father particularly appealed to "the young adults of your dioceses to take up the rewarding challenge of catechetical service and share in the satisfaction of handing on the faith. Their example of Christian witness to those younger than themselves will strengthen their own faith, while bringing to others the happiness that flows from the sense of purpose and meaning in life which the Lord reveals."

Benedict XVI also noted how, in their program of pastoral renewal, the prelates are "facing the delicate task of reorganizing parishes within dioceses," which "is essentially an exercise of spiritual renewal, and calls for the pastoral promotion of sanctity." This, he added, may be achieved by "an authentic education in prayer, a knowledge of the lives of the saints and of the multiple forms of spirituality that beautify and stimulate Church life, assiduous participation in the Sacrament of Penance, and a convincing catechesis of Sunday as 'day of the faith'."

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Available on Amazon

BEA Stars


Joseph's favorite...Spiderman

Bob Newhart

Former Presidential Csndidate Senator Gary Hart

Jim Belushi

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Book Expo of America

I'm here in Washington attending the Book Expo of America--a massive book trade show that is so immense that it always gives one a sobering view of the amount of books that are being published constantly.

I met Tim Russert, Newt Gingrich, Randal Cuningham, Doug Williams, and Tracy Ulman yesterday--all of them here to promote books.

The setup is rather awkward here, there are exhibit halls on multi levels and I read in the Publisher's Marketplace that this has led to complaints from both exhibitors and attendees (I concur).

What strikes me so far, is that there doesn't appear to be anything that really is creating a buzz right now. We'll see.

Friday, May 19, 2006

Vatican Statement on Father Marcial

From the Vatican Information Service:

"Beginning in 1998, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith received accusations, already partly made public, against Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado, founder of the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, for crimes that fall under the exclusive competence of the congregation. In 2002, Fr. Maciel published a declaration denying the accusations and expressing his displeasure at the offence done him by certain former Legionaries of Christ. In 2005, by reason of his advanced age, Fr. Maciel retired from the office of superior general of the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ.
"All these elements have been subject to a mature examination by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and - in accordance with the Motu Proprio 'Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela,' promulgated on April 30 2001 by Servant of God John Paul II - the then prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, authorized an investigation into the accusations. In the meantime, Pope John II died and Cardinal Ratzinger was elected as the new Pontiff.
"After having attentively studied the results of the investigation, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, under the guidance of the new prefect, Cardinal William Joseph Levada, decided - bearing in mind Fr. Maciel's advanced age and his delicate health - to forgo a canonical hearing and to invite the father to a reserved life of penitence and prayer, relinquishing any form of public ministry. The Holy Father approved these decisions.
"Independently of the person of the Founder, the worthy apostolate of the Legionaries of Christ and of the Association 'Regnum Christi' is gratefully recognized."

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Movie Critics Lukewarm About DaVinci Movie

From Yahoo News:


The Cannes audience clearly grew restless as the movie dragged on to two and a half hours and spun a long sequence of anticlimactic revelations.

"I kept thinking of the Energizer Bunny, because it kept going and going and going, and not in a good way," said James Rocchi, a film critic for CBS 5 television in San Francisco and the online outlet Cinematical. "Ron Howard makes handsome films. He doesn't make bad ones, but he doesn't make great ones."

One especially melodramatic line uttered by Hanks drew prolonged laughter and some catcalls, and the audience continued to titter for much of the film's remainder.

Some people walked out during the movie's closing minutes, though there were fewer departures than many Cannes movies provoke among harsh critics. When the credits rolled, there were a few whistles and hisses, and there was none of the scattered applause even bad movies sometimes receive at Cannes.