National Catholic Register Reviews The Virtue Driven Life

By Father Benedict Groeschel...

From the National Catholic Register:

That’s one reason this latest breezy read from the most popular American Franciscan of our day, Father Benedict J. Groeschel, a Capuchin Friar of the Renewal, arrives as a well-timed dose of reality. It’s medicine that tastes good and goes down easy even though it possesses potent anti-toxin properties.

Not only does the priest offer a practical primer on the qualities that constitute the three theological virtues (faith, hope and charity) and the four cardinal ones (prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance), but he also seriously challenges the reader to cultivate those qualities, little by little, in everyday living.

Vatican Takes Steps to Control Overcrowding

From the NY Times:

The number of visitors to the Vatican has nearly doubled in the last 10 years, hitting a high of 4.2 million in 2006, and has resulted in the overcrowding of a structure originally built to accommodate a Renaissance papal court, not up to 20,000 visitors at a time shuffling around one another.

Between enormous tour groups and rowdy school-trippers, a visit to the Vatican Museums can become “more of a traumatic than an artistic experience for tourists,” said Paola, one of several guides who were interviewed and who asked that their full names not be used for fear of offending the Vatican.

Anglicans Back Plan to Unite with Pope

Some Anglicans, anyway...

From Times Online:

Radical proposals to reunite Anglicans with the Roman Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope are to be published this year, The Times has learnt.

The proposals have been agreed by senior bishops of both churches.

In a 42-page statement prepared by an international commission of both churches, Anglicans and Roman Catholics are urged to explore how they might reunite under the Pope.

The Open Book/Annunciations Bestseller's List

Our Bestseller's List

What Books People who Read Amy's Open Book blog and Michael's Annunciation blog are Buying

February 2007 (2/17/2007)

1. The Power of the Cross: Meditations for the Lenten Season

2. The How-To Book of the Mass: Everything You Need to Know but No One Ever Taught You

3. The Gift of Faith

4.(tied) Those Terrible Middle Ages: Debunking the Myths

4.(tied) The Best American Catholic Short Stories: A Sheed & Ward Collection

5. God Alone Suffices

Books that Spark the Most Interest (for this month so far):

1. Those Terrible Middle Ages: Debunking the Myths

2. The Power of the Cross: Meditations for the Lenten Season

3. The How-To Book of the Mass: Everything You Need to Know but No One Ever Taught You

4.*Inventing the Flat Earth: Columbus and Modern Historians

5.*Fire in the City: Savonarola and the Struggle for the Soul of Renaissance Florence

*People ultimately don't buy the book.



FYI, Last Month's Bestsellers:

January 2007

1. The Gift of Faith

2. When Children Became People: The Birth Of Childhood In Early Christianity

3. The Best American Catholic Short Stories: A Sheed & Ward Collection

4. God Alone Suffices

5. Behold, I stand at the Door and Knock

Pope: "Why does Jesus ask us to love our enemies?"

In today's Angelus message--which of course ties in to today's Gospel that'll you hear at Mass. The answer?

It is all about the "love of God"which exceeds the way the world thinks and acts. The pope invites all to enter the season of Lent with a renewed sense of our weakness and need to be empowered by the love of God.

To the English speaking pilgrims:

As we prepare to enter the holy season of Lent, let us recognize our sins and weaknesses, and deepen our desire to forgive and to grow in compassion. Upon all of you and your loved ones, I invoke the joy and peace of Christ the Lord!

Let's Go Lenten!!!

Host Fr. Greg Sakowicz and Co-host Wayne Magdziarz discuss Lent with Fr. Frank "Rocky" Hoffman, Chaplain at Northridge College Prep; Michael Dubruiel, author of several books including The Power of the Cross: Meditations for the Lenten Season; and Fr. Robert Pawell, OFM, Director of Programs at St. Peter's in the Loop.

Pocast of the show here.

I'm On Chicago Catholic Radio This Morning

My Schedule

Radio 820 AM (WCSN)

Pope Expected to Visit Assisi

In June.

From Perugia Online:

Pope Benedict XVI is expected to visit Assisi on June 17th as part of the 800th anniversary celebrations of the conversion of St Francis.The Pope will make a tour of the basilicas of San Damiano, Santa Chiara, San Francesco (where there will be Holy Mass and a blessing) and hold further appointments in the afternoon.

Saint Valentine's Day

In my day (you know you're getting old when you start saying this) we were taught about Saint Valentine in public school (in the Northeast), as we were about Saint Lucy and Saint Patrick. Anyway for those who have grown up in a more pagan environment, here is the Wikopedia link and an image of St. Valentine to pique your curiosity.

They're Not Stupid

From The Power and Peril of Praising Your Kids:

Psychologist Wulf-Uwe Meyer, a pioneer in the field, conducted a series of studies where children watched other students receive praise. According to Meyer’s findings, by the age of 12, children believe that earning praise from a teacher is not a sign you did well—it’s actually a sign you lack ability and the teacher thinks you need extra encouragement. And teens, Meyer found, discounted praise to such an extent that they believed it’s a teacher’s criticism—not praise at all—that really conveys a positive belief in a student’s aptitude.

Catholic Bishop Supports Mayor's Opposition to Making English Official Language

Supports a move to make Latin the official language instead (just joking)...

City=Nashville, TN

Veto does not end English debate

Blogger Quits Edwards Campaign

Good...

Blogger quits Edwards campaign in light of conservative criticism

Pope Benedict's Lenten Message for 2007

From MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI FOR LENT 2007:

On the Cross, it is God Himself who begs the love of His creature: He is thirsty for the love of every one of us. The Apostle Thomas recognized Jesus as “Lord and God” when he put his hand into the wound of His side. Not surprisingly, many of the saints found in the Heart of Jesus the deepest expression of this mystery of love. One could rightly say that the revelation of God’s eros toward man is, in reality, the supreme expression of His agape. In all truth, only the love that unites the free gift of oneself with the impassioned desire for reciprocity instills a joy, which eases the heaviest of burdens. Jesus said: “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself” (Jn 12:32). The response the Lord ardently desires of us is above all that we welcome His love and allow ourselves to be drawn to Him. Accepting His love, however, is not enough. We need to respond to such love and devote ourselves to communicating it to others. Christ “draws me to Himself” in order to unite Himself to me, so that I learn to love the brothers with His own love.

Pope Slams Italian Civil Unions Bill

From Adnki.com:

As the Italian parliament is preparing to discuss a highly controversial government decree granting legal rights to civil unions, including same-sex couples, Pope Benedict XVI on Monday slammed the planned legislation as weakening the family and harming society. "No legislation can change the law of the Creator without making the future of society precarious with laws which are in stark contrast with natural law," the pontiff said.

"A very concrete application of this principle can be found in relation to the family, which is the intimate communion of life as founded by the Creator, with its own rules," Benedict also said. The family "has its stability under divine laws. The good fortune of spouses and society does not depend on arbitrary acts."

Faith-related Talks Set for Thursday

From the Palladium-Item:


Writer and teacher Amy Welborn will give two talks Thursday in Richmond (IN) related to faith.

Her discussion at 7 p.m. at St. Andrew Church, 235 S. Fifth St., is free and open to the public. She will focus on prayer and how the history and traditional use of certain prayers are "a treasure worth rediscovering" and "are gifts from the past that can be used to great benefit today."

Witchcraft is Destroying the Church in Africa

So the experts say, from All Africa. com:

Witchcraft is real, and it is destroying the church in Africa, Catholic experts warned this week.

Scholars from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) expressed concern that the church continued to dismiss the dark arts as mere superstition, thereby unwittingly helping the devil advance his reign.

For that reason, Christians who suffer because of witchcraft are often dismissed by priests as being superstitious. Because they do not get adequate help from pastoral agents, they seek the assistance of witchdoctors or join the mushrooming evangelical denominations that offer healing, exorcism and deliverance.

It was said that many African priests fear witchcraft or are ignorant of their own power to confront the devil.

Christians also visit diviners and magicians to seek practical solutions which the church and science apparently do not offer.

The Open Book & Annunciations Blog Bestseller's List

Our own Bestseller's list:

What Books People who Read this Blog and Amy's Open Book blog are Buying

February 2007 (so far)

1. The How-To Book of the Mass: Everything You Need to Know but No One Ever Taught You

2. The Power of the Cross: Meditations for the Lenten Season

3. The Gift of Faith

4. Those Terrible Middle Ages: Debunking the Myths

5. The Best American Catholic Short Stories: A Sheed & Ward Collection

FYI, Last Month's Bestsellers:

January 2007

1. The Gift of Faith

2. When Children Became People: The Birth Of Childhood In Early Christianity

3. The Best American Catholic Short Stories: A Sheed & Ward Collection

4. God Alone Suffices

5. Behold, I stand at the Door and Knock

World Day of the Sick

Pope entrusts the world's sick to Mary...

From Asia News Italy:

Benedict XVI recalled the “prodigious event” of “the first apparition of the Virgin Mary to St Bernadette, which took place on 11 February 1858 in the grotto of Massabielle in Lourdes”. This event, continued the pope, made “the location, situated in the French slopes of the Pyrenees, a global center for pilgrimages and intense Marian spirituality. In this place, for nearly 150 years now, the call of Our Lady to prayer and repentance still reverberates powerfully, a quasi permanent echo of the invitation with which Jesus inaugurated his preaching in Galilee: ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’ (Mk 1:15).”


Although miracles and healings confirmed by a team of doctors often take place at Lourdes, the pope saw fit to draw attention to a more profound miracle: “Moreover, the shrine has become a destination of many sick pilgrims who, putting themselves in a position to listen to the Most Holy Mary, are encouraged to accept their sufferings and to offer them for the salvation of the world, uniting them with those of the crucified Christ.”

Benedict XVI explained the connection between the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the World Day of the Sick: “It was precisely because of this link between Lourdes and human suffering that, 15 years ago, the beloved John Paul II wanted the World Day of the Sick to be celebrated on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. This year, the focus of this feast is in the city of Seoul, capital of South Korea, where I sent Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragán, President of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Health Care to represent me. I send an affectionate greeting to him and to all those gathered there.”


The pope continued: “I would like to extend my thoughts to health workers across the world, well aware of the importance of their service to sick people in our society. In particular, I want to express my spiritual closeness and my affection for our sick brothers and sisters, especially those who are afflicted by more serious and painful illnesses. On this Day, our attention is turned towards them in a special way. It is necessary to support the development of palliative care that offers holistic support and gives terminally ill people the human support and spiritual accompaniment that they badly need.”


Before the Angelus prayer, the pope reminded his audience about a Eucharistic Celebration that will be held this afternoon in St Peter’s Basilica, with many sick people and pilgrims. Mass will be presided over by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Vicar of the diocese of Rome. Benedict XVI said: “At the end of Holy Mass, I will have the joy, like last year, of spending some time with them, reliving the spiritual climate experienced at the grotto of Massabielle. With this Angelus prayer, I would like to entrust to the maternal protection of the Immaculate Virgin all those in the world who are sick and suffering in body and spirit.”

A Parish Reformed According to Vatican II

I read in the Wanderer yesterday that two parishes that qualifies as a model are those run by the Oratory in Toronto, Canada.

They have a beatiful rendition of Ave Regina Caelorum on the site--the Marian Antiphon sung at Compline from the Feast of the Presentation to Wednesday of Holy Week.

Vatican Rejects Attempt to Keep NH Churches Open

From the Manchester Union Leader:

The Diocese of Manchester said the churches in Ashland and Bristol would close and all congregations would meet in Plymouth.
A month later, Rep. Fran Wendelboe sent a letter of appeal to the Vatican linking the merger to a loss of respect for the state's Roman Catholic leaders because of the priest sex abuse scandal.
The Vatican recently rejected that appeal, but Wendelboe, R-New Hampton, said she isn't giving up.
She hopes to raise $10,000 to take the matter to the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Roman Catholic Church's highest court.