New blog: Idaho Catholic

I discovered a brand new blog today called Idaho Catholic. Two of his total three posts so far are about the Diocese of Boise. I like his opinions and I highly recommend this budding new blog.

Coeur D'Alene Diocese

This is the first part of a series I am beginning. I will still post on other issues and my usual stuff but I will try to post once a week on different arguments for a second diocese in Idaho.


Idaho is a large state (larger than 37 others), but the faithful only have one bishop. He is in Boise, of course. Which means he must travel all over the state to try and meet the needs of his flock. This takes him to far away parts of the state in the east and north.
While Eastern Idaho has an interstate and other highways to facilitate his travel, Northern Idaho has only one highway connecting it to the rest of the state. There will never be another highway since on either side of the existing highway is federal wilderness land. The road is slow, often narrow and dangerous. It is a trip that can only be scheduled a few times a year, unless the diocese pays to constantly fly the bishop. Bishop Michael Driscoll is a good bishop but, to better meet the needs of the Catholic population in Idaho it would seem logical to have another diocese in Northern Idaho, based in Coeur D'Alene.
Couer D'Alene and the surrounding towns still inside Idaho comprise well over one hundred thousand people. Kootenai County's population density is only surpassed by Ada County (Boise), according to a population density map by the Census Bureau. Its a thriving city that is growing at an incredible rate (an estimated 14% since 2000) along with the surrounding towns.
Moreover, the counties of Northern Idaho (Idaho County and all counties north of it) have a very significant portion of Idaho's population. Idaho has 1.466 million people by the US Census's 2006 estimate and 307, 300 live in Northern Idaho according to that same estimate. That makes about 1 in 5 Idahoans.
A new bishropic will only become more probable and more needed as time goes on and the population of North Idaho swells.

Snoring Scholar Carnival

The Catholic Carnival is up this week at Snoring Scholar.

Mary Poem

I had been trying to think of something to post for a couple of days, when for no reason I thought of Edgar Allen Poe's poem, "Hymn":

At morn–at noon–at twilight dim-
Maria! thou hast heard my hymn!
In joy and woe–in good and ill-
Mother of God, be with me still!
When the hours flew brightly by,
And not a cloud obscured the sky,
My soul, lest it should truant be,
Thy grace did guide to thine and thee;
Now, when storms of Fate o'ercast
Darkly my Present and my Past,
Let my Future radiant shine
With sweet hopes of thee and thine!

It inspired me to write my own poem about Mary. Its a prayer. It came to me this morning after I first woke.

Mother of God, Mother of mine
Plead for us to thine Son divine
Your heart was pierced with Seven Sorrows
Joy now forever, with Sharon's Rose
You, Mother, are every Christian's aid
Mother of God, You the Lord's handmaid
Plead for us for mercy from Your Son
Now and when our lives here are done.


And to finish off the post here is a link to Marian poetry by Thomas Merton.

Baby

I don't post many personal things, so most readers of my on and off blog probably haven't heard about my recent marriage (Feb17) or my wife's pregnancy (due Dec28). That's right, I am gonna be a father!
We are both blessed and overjoyed at having a child come into our life together. As great as it is now I can only imagine how great it will be once our child is born.
Btw, I have already posted pics of my lovely wife.

The newest Catholic Carnival is up at Living Catholicism.

Father Fath

Congratulations to newly ordained Father Robert Fath!!
He is the first home grown priest for the Diocese of Fairbanks.

Shekels and Fish

I know that I haven't posted in a while and I left no explanation and I do that fairly often. I apologize. Life is busy and blogging has to take a backseat.
I have been reading through the Gospels lately and I came across a passage I found very interesting. The tax collectors were asking Peter if Jesus and His followers pay the temple tax:

And when they were come to Capharnaum, they that received the didrachmas, came to Peter and said to him: Doth not your master pay the didrachmas? He said: Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying: What is thy opinion, Simon? The kings of the earth, of whom do they receive tribute or custom? of their own children, or of strangers? And he said: Of strangers. Jesus said to him: Then the children are free. But that we may not scandalize them, go to the sea, and cast in a hook: and that fish which shall first come up, take: and when thou hast opened its mouth, thou shalt find a stater: take that, and give it to them for me and thee.

First of all I would like to note that our first pope was speaking in Jesus' name while He was still alive according to this passage. I just thought that I would throw that out there.
However, the part I find interesting is the shekel in the fishes mouth. I am sure there is some significance to Peter finding a shekel in a fishes mouth. Otherwise why wouldn't Jesus just hand him a shekel?
The Lord of Heaven and Earth, the God of all Creation could surely have just pulled a shekel out of thin air. Maybe it was supper time anyways.

Belated Pentecost Post

OK, so I know that I am six days late on this post, but here it goes.
I am sure that many have wondered about my blog's somewhat cryptic name: 50 Days After. It is named for Pentecost, the birthday of the Church. Hence, of course, the pentecost pic on the right hand side. Even though I started my blog on a different day, Pentecost is like another birthday since it is the namesake of the blog.
I would also just like to add an amusing story about the Pentecost mass that I attended. I was out of town for the weekend in Anchorage, so I went to Holy Family Cathedral. As part of the reading, Jesus said "Peace be with you". As soon as the priest read this part of the Gospel reading a woman two pews in front of me responded back, "And also with you". I chuckled because we've all been there.

120th Catholic Carnival

Catholic Carnival 120 is up here Check it out.

Action Packs for Sudan

War continues in Darfur and the war ended in Southern Sudan a couple of years ago. However, many of the returning refugees and even the people who have been there a while need help. And it goes without saying that people in Darfur still need help. Voice of the Martyrs, a non-denom Christian organization, is sending what they call "Action Packs" to Sudan. The action pack is a vacuum bag that you fill at home with things like towels, clothes, school supplies and they put in Christian literature in the native language. They send you the bag, you put stuff in and return it to VOM, they send it to Sudan and distribute. They only ask $5 for each action pack.
You can order the action packs here: http://etools.ncol.com/a/vomso/bg_vomso_wdbm_289.html

5 Best Things About the Eucharist

1. "Man does not live by bread alone, but..."
The Real Presence is a physical form of the nourishment that comes from the Mouth of God. We do not live by bread alone, but, according to both Leviticus and Christ in the desert, we by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
2. You are what you eat
By receiving the Eucharist we rejoin ourselves to the Body of Christ. We become one with Christ and in doing so we become one with all other Christians receiving His Precious Body and Blood.
3. "I will be with you until the end of the age."
Christ never left us and indeed he also remains with us physically in the Eucharist. He is with us now just as he was when He preached in Israel.
4. Living breathing tabernacles
By receiving Christ in the Eucharist we become living breathing tabernacles. We walk around with Christ inside of us and the fire of His Love burning within.
5. The enormity of it all
God humbles Himself to appear to us as bread and wine. It has struck me many times how amazing it is for my hand or tongue to hold our Savior and that He has willed it that we should receive Him in such a humble form.

Catholic Carnivals 119 and 120

Catholic Carnival 119 is up at Book Reviews and More. 119 had a great post from Thursday Night Gumbo about 10 issues facing the Church today.
Catholic Carnival 120 will be hosted at A Catholic Mom Climbing the Pillars.

gap

I know that I haven't posted since the Carnival, but I will be taking a break for another week or so.

Catholic Carnival: St Joseph the Worker

This week's Carnival is dedicated to St Joseph the Worker. The feast of St Joseph the Worker was established in the 50s as a counter to May Day. Well over a billion human beings still suffer under the yoke of Communism despite the end of the Cold War. St Joseph pray for the end of Communism.
Monastic Musings has a post about Easter in Iraq. I found this post especially interesting since I am a soldier and I will inevitably also spend an Easter in Iraq.
Catholic Fire has a post on the issue of Stem Cell Research. We should all learn about it so that we can better inform our consciences.
Jay over at Living Catholicism wrote a book review on "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters".
Christus Vincit gives us a post on a poignant acronym using the letters of the word Bible.
My Domestic Church contributed a post about making a First Communion dress.
THEOdyssey tells about a God-shaped Vacuum in all of us.
Jen at Daughter of the King sent in Powerful Prayer about the Rosary in her life and the power of the Rosary.
At just another day of Catholic pondering we have a salute to a great teacher and inspiration.
Ho Kai Paulos shares with us a post about prayer to persons other than God in "Tough Questions-Praying to Angels".
Three attitudes among Christians towards Family Planning are discussed at Fructus Ventri.
A third way has a great post about Mary at the wedding at Cana. Do whatever He tells you!
HMS Blog has shares a reflection on the Good Shepherd Sunday readings.
Book Reviews and More has a review of a book by one of my favorite authors, Peter Kreeft.
A Catholic Life, written by a new seminarian, has a post about what else? World Day of Prayer for Vocations.
A post at Catholic Land reflects on current events.
Scripture in the Divine Office is discussed at Postscripts from the Catholic Spitfire Grill. Its an apologetics post addressed to those who claim that Holy Mother Church lacks an emphasis on Scripture.
Tom O'Toole has a top ten list of 19th Century French Saints. Saint John Vianney and St Therese de Lisieux, along with St Catherine Laboure. HOO-AH!
Cause of Our Joy sent in a post about how sad it is when a town has no children.
If any of the links are broken please leave a comment or if you want to add you can leave a comment with your blog name, address, post, post address and a brief description.

My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You! I ask pardon of You for those who not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You!

Hosting Carnival

I am hosting this next Catholic Carnival. The deadline is 10 pm Eastern on Monday, but since I am in Alaska, which is 4 hours behind, there's some flexibility there. So please, send in posts for the Carnival and pass the word to other Catholic bloggers out there.

St Joseph: A Real Anti-Communist Hero

The first day of May is only seven days away.
May 1 is not only May Day it is the feast of St Joseph the Worker, one of my favorite feast days. It was established by Pope Pius XII to remind and accentuate that while Communist claim to fight for the worker, St Joseph was a worker and is not only an example for workers to emulate, his many prayers bring the true liberation of Christ.
The hammer and sickle are nothing against the hammer and saw of the Carpenters, St Joseph and Jesus.

Catholic Carnival 116

Catholic Carnival 116 is up at Cause of Our Joy.
Congratulations to Edward on his acceptance as a seminarian! We need more priests and its always good to hear that another man has stepped up to discern a vocation as a priest.

1 Year

1 year ago I posted on this blog for the first time. I named it after Pentecost (50 Days After Easter). At that time I was a seminarian wondering about his vocation. Since then I left the sem, went into the Active Duty Army and married. Obviously a lot has changed in that year.
Below are a few of my favorite posts:
Welcome
Peter's Barque
Pray a Rosary for an end to Marxism
Miraculous Medal
What Would Jesus Drive?
Thank you Catholic and GOP for the blog birthday wishes!
Remember, today is National Pro-Life T-Shirt Day.

running streams

One of my favorite passages from Psalms:
As the hart panteth after the fountains of water; so my soul panteth after thee, O God.
Psalms 41:2 Douay Rheims

Samson

Samson destroyed the temple and died. Jesus died and the Temple (HIS body) was destroyed ,but 3 days later He rebuilt the Temple and rose again.

Benedictus

The Benedictus or Canticle of Zechariah is another great canticle from the Gospel according to St Luke. Here though I have only posted the first few lines.

Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Israel;
He has come to His people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour,
Born of the house of His servant David.


"He has come to His people and set them free."- Christ came to free us. He had such love and desire for us that He allowed Himself to take the form of a slave and suffered until death, death on a cross.
"He has raised up for us a mighty Savior"- God had sent many men such as Moses and Samson to free His Chosen People from oppression and slavery. Of course these men could never save the Israelites from themselves and the freedom and/or vengeance they wrought was only temporary. This time He came personally and saved us permanently and not just from our physical torments, but also from ourselves and our spiritual bondage.
"Born of the house of His servant David."- God is not only King in His heavenly glory, but also the "Son of David" and as such a King in His humanity as the descendant of an Earthly king. During Samuel's time as Judge of Israel, the Israelites rejected God as their King, but now He has restored Himself as King of His People.

-- Contra

Magnificat

In the Gospel According to St Luke Mary, Mary says a prayer shortly after seeing her cousing Elizabeth. It is called the Magnificat. It is a beatiful prayer that Mary says about being the Mother of the Savior. However, since my seminary days I have found it to be a beautiful prayer when I stop to reflect on the words. I put the whole Magnificat just below and beneath it I have commented on some of my favorite parts ( although all of it is certainly worth reflection and meditation).

The Magnificat:
My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm:
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He has sent empty away.
He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever.

Scripture text: Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition (Taken from the Women for Faith and Family website)

"My soul magnifies the Lord"- Mary's words then and now ring true as her prayers and her example draw so many to the Lord. More than that it is a prayer that all of us could say. May all of us magnify the Lord to others by our prayers and example.
"And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior"- All of us like Mary should of course rejoice in Love and His pursuit of us and His overwhelming desire for our salvation
"For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed."- She has a prominent role in Salvation History and every generation since the birth of her blessed Son has acknowledged that. She is after all the one chosen by God to be the means of His Incarnation. That Incarnation in turn lead to the salvific sacrifice of the cross, the Eucharist and the glory and hope of the Resurrection.
Of course these are just my reflections on the first few lines. I am sure that there is much more that could be said about those lines not to mention the lines I didn't say anything about.

-- Contra

This week's Catholic Carnival

Marian Devotion is hosting this week's Catholic Carnival. It has a lot of great posts and its another great Carnival, despite the fact that the host referred to me as "her". I guess that's just one of those things.
One post that I especially enjoyed was "Protestantism is a Lifeboat on Stormy Seas".

Fairbanks Diocese

From Sacred Heart the Gospel is preached to the Frozen North
The Eucharist celebrated in the city of Fairbanks up to Barrow
Preaching to the land found by the compass's north arrow
Faithful live spread out in igloo, town, and city too
Preaching unto the end of the world the Gospel's worth
From the town of Tok to the town of Nome
Gospel preached to those who call it home
Fairbanks Diocese preaches truth in the final frontier
By God's grace the Gospel was planted and grew here

-- original work by Contra
Dedicated to Deacon (as of JUNE 2007 Father) Robert Fath and all the other religious of the Fairbanks Diocese

St Anne's Arson

From www.thestarpress.com:

NEW CASTLE -- The Saturday fire at St. Anne Catholic Church was arson, authorities announced late Tuesday afternoon.
Investigators with the New Castle Police and Fire departments, Indiana State Police, State Fire Marshal's Office, and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms issued a press release calling the fire arson.
Authorities had said no one was inside when the 83-year-old cathedral-style building caught fire early Saturday morning. The fire resulted in a collapsed roof and extensive damage to the sanctuary, with an estimated $1.5 million to $2 million in property damage. The 750-member congregation conducted Easter services at a nearby school auditorium on Sunday.

Please pray for the arsonist(s) and the parish. The Church building is a center for the parish and a symbol of the Church's presence in the community. Besides the tragedy of the Church being unusable, I can't imagine how frustrating and aggrevating it would be to scramble for somewhere to celebrate the Easter mass with less than a day's notice.
St. Anne's Parish is now in the process of raising money to rebuild their church. Money can be sent to:
St. Anne's Catholic Church
102 North 19th Street
New Castle, IN 47362

They also have a donation drive set up at Citizens Bank. Here's the address:

Citizens State Bank
1238 Broad Street
New Castle, IN 47362

If you send it to the bank, please put "St. Anne's Church Fire Fund" or something similar in the address and the memo line of the check.

Remember, please, the words of Romans 12:26:
And if one member suffer any thing, all the members suffer with it; or if one member glory, all the members rejoice with it.

-- Contra

Prayer Volume

"Why do you shout at me" God said to Moses,who had scarcely opened his lips. For that fervent, steadfast prayer from the bottom of his heart, sounded like thunder in the ears of God. It is that kind of prayer that I desire, which finds and echo in Your heart and reechoes in my poor soul, making it know the gift of God.
-- Conchita

50 Days After 1 year

When should I mark the one year mark for 50 Days After?
	April 24, One year after the first post
	Pentecost, The blog's namesake
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Doubting Thomas

He is always referred to as Doubting Thomas, but I wonder every Easter if maybe he got a bum rap.
Sure, the other Apostles believed and he didn't, but would they believe if Jesus hadn't appeared to them. And why wasn't Thomas there to see Him? Because unlike the others he wasn't locked up inside that room. He was out preaching the Gospel.
Not only that (Please correct me if this is wrong), but St Thomas was the only one of the twelve besides Peter to proclaim Jesus is God.

-- Contra

Conchita and Mary

O Mary, nobody was ever more faithful than you to the interior voice of the Holy Spirit. Obtain for me the grace to correspond faithfully to the inspirations of grace!
-- Conchita

Catholic Carnival 114

Catholic Carnival 114 is up at profoungratitude.com. Only 20 more days until its my turn to host.
There still time to weigh in on the 50 Days After birthday.

Conchita and the Eucharist

It is in this way that I would love you, my Jesus hidden here within the Host, without measure, with all the power of my heart, with all the energies of my soul.
-Conchita

anniversary

My blog is fast approaching one year in age. The question arises then, what day do I consider the "birthday"?
My first post was April 24, 2006. That would be easy enough, however the blog is named for the Pentecost, 50 Days After (the Resurrection). So should I wait a little while after the first post and declare the birthday to be Pentecost?
I am putting it to a vote since I cannot decide. Please vote April 24 or Pentecost in the comments.

-- Contra

Washed in the Blood of the Lamb

Hat tip to the Curt Jester

-- Contra

Prisoner Alert

Voice of the Martyrs, a non-denominational organization dedicated to helping persecuted Christians, has a website called Prisoneralert.com where you can use their program to write encouraging phrases and send them to Christians imprisoned around the world for their faith.

Hebrews 13:3 reminds us not to forgot our brothers and sisters in prison.

-- Contra

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to all my readers and their families!

Christ is risen! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

-- Contra

Which other Catholic blogs do you read? (select as many as you read)
	Curt Jester
	American Papist
	Open Book
	Ironic Catholic
	Catholic Caveman
	Catholic Ragemonkey
	Deo Omnis Gloria
	Living Catholicism
	Jimmy Akin
	Other: Please list which one(s)
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Good Friday 2007

This year's Good Friday I am reminded of two passages from the Gospels about Our Lord's Crucifixion.
The first one comes from one of the two men crucified with Jesus.
"And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man hath done no evil. And he said to Jesus: Lord, remember me when thou shalt come into thy kingdom. And Jesus said to him: Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise."
Luke 23:41-43 Douay-Rheims Translation
Just as the crucified man was a criminal and deserved death, we are all sinners and we deserve death. However, despite this Our Lord died even though He had done nothing wrong. It hits home every time that Jesus Christ, the Lord of Creation, chose to humble Himself... even unto death, death on a cross. And just like the thief we turn to the Lord for forgiveness and ask Him to remember us in His Kingdom.

The other passage comes from Jesus Himself.
"After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother..."
John 19:27 Douay-Rheims Translation
As He was dying, so that He might rise again, He gave us Mary as our mother just as much as she was to Him. She has been as much of a mother to me as my mother, who gave birth to me and raised me.

I am also reminded that Christ is our Passove Lamb. His crucifixion is the killing of the lamb. Just as the Jews remember every year that the Lord of Hosts delivered them from bondage in Egypt. We Christians remember that Christ delivered us from the bondage of sin and we wander toward the promised land of Heaven for 40 years.
And as the Jews ate the lamb every to remember and Jesus is our Passover Lamb, we eat of His flesh and drink of His blood in rememberance of His death and resurrection. Today, Good Friday is the day after He established the Eucharist. It is the day that His blood was shed for our sins and His Precious Body and Blood were given to us as a manna to give us everlasting life and sustain us while we wander through the desert.

And like to leave just one more thought. The word excruciating comes from the Latin for "From the Cross". Crucifixion was so painful that the Ancient Romans had no words to describe it, so they left it that it was from the cross.

--Contra

Qatar Church

I read this at the Catholic News Agency's website:

After 14 centuries without a place of worship, construction of first Catholic Church in Qatar underway
Church to be dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary


Doha, Apr 2, 2007 / 10:54 am (CNA).- After fourteen centuries without a place of worship, the Catholic Church in Qatar, a majority Muslim country, will soon have its first parish in the capital of Doha, which will be dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary.

I found this interesting for a couple of reasons. In most Muslim nations Christians cannot openly worship let alone build a church for that purpose. The other thing is that this church is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary. Our Lady of the Rosary is a feast that used to be called Our Lady of Victory. The feast was put into the Church calendar as a recognition of the many rosaries prayed to obtain the Christian victory over the Muslim navy at Lepanto.

--Contra

Guestmap

Sometimes I like to post about things that I just want to put on the blog, well... just because. This is one of those instances.
I have a guestmap (only 28 markers placed). People have marked themselves on 3 different continents and different countries.

--Contra

Church Signs I'd Like to See

I used the Church Sign Generator to come up with some of my own Church signs. I had to think for a while because I was limited in the space that I had. I admit that these signs are rather polemical. Even still they have some valid points to consider.

John 10:22 clearly states that Jesus celebrated Hannukah. The story of Hannukah however is in 1 and 2 Maccabees which are not part of the Protestant Canon.

--Contra

Love thy neighbor as thyself

I think its one of life's great ironies that we are so quick to love our neighbor... as long as they are somewhere Darfur or some other place in the news. This isn't always the case, but it seems to happen more often than not.

--Contra

ProLife Search

I have posted about this before, but I would like to remind everyone that every time you use ProLife Search you raise money for Pro-life groups.

-- Contra

New 74 Year Old Priest

I was reading through the Catholic News Agency's web page and I saw that in Brazil there is a 74 year old man who is set to be ordained as a new priest. When I was in the seminary I met men in their 50s working towards being a priest and it was hard for them, but he's got another 20 or so years on them. I find it really amazing and I think it just shows the power of the Holy Spirit that a man his age is still able to enter the ministerial priesthood.
You can read the full article for yourself here.

-- Contra

Catholic Carnival

I just read the email from Jay. I will be hosting the Catholic Carnival on the 30th. It's my first time. It should be a lot of fun!

Biography of Conchita online

Conchita: A Mother's Spiritual Diary edited by Marie-Michel Phillipon, OP is available online apparently. I found it using a google search. It is found here.

Quote from St John Chrysostom

"But since our discourse has now turned to the subject of blasphemy, I desire to ask one favor of you all, in return for this my address, and speaking with you; which is, that you will correct on my behalf the blasphemers of this city. And should you hear any one in the public thoroughfare, or in the midst of the forum, blaspheming God; go up to him and rebuke him; and should it be necessary to inflict blows, spare not to do so. Smite him on the face; strike his mouth; sanctify your hand with the blow, and if any should accuse you, and drag you to the place of justice, follow them thither; and when the judge on the bench calls you to account, say boldly that the man blasphemed the King of angels! For if it be necessary to punish those who blaspheme an earthly king, much more so those who insult God."
-St John Chrysostom

hat tip to Steve Ray

Martin Luther does the Chicken Dance

I found a video on This is Most Certainly True of Martin Luther doing the Chicken Dance.
Hat tip to Absolutely No Spin

Palm Sunday

The Gospel reading this morning at the Tridentine Mass was from the Gospel of St John when Jesus first explicity anounced His divinity to the Jewish people. "Before Abraham was, I am". However, my mind wandered this morning (after mass) to the part of the Gospels when the people greet Jesus on His arrival in Jerusalem.
The people say "Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord". This sentence is of course said as part of the Mass every Sunday. Its just before the consecration and very often I have imagined Jesus riding the colt down the aisle to be present at the altar for the priest to distribute to the faithful.
Just as Jerusalem rejoiced that day at His coming, we rejoice every Sunday at His coming to the New Jerusalem and we rejoice for we know the day is coming when He shall return.

Almost Palm Sunday 2007

Sunday has come here in Fairbanks like everywhere else. This week though I finally decided to go to the Tridentine mass offered here at the House of Prayer across the parking lot from Sacred Heart Cathedral. I had never been to a Tridentine mass before and I went as a matter of curiousity.
I didn't think to grab one of the booklets with the responses and English translations, but I still understood more than I thought I would and I really enjoyed it. Of course what I enjoyed most were the people.
Unlike Sacred Heart and Immaculate Conception where I had been going before, the people were welcoming and very warm. I met almost everyone in the group. I had conversations with several of them.
This is of course compared to the other parishes, where a total of 1 person over the course of 4 months introduced themself and we had some conversation. The most that I heard from anyone else at the other parishes was "Anyone sitting there" or "Excuse me".
I go to mass because it is Heaven on Earth and it is nourishing to my soul, but we must all admit that it is much more pleasant when the people are more open and accepting. I am definitely going to that mass from now on.

CC 111 and CRC 2

Catholic Carnival 111 has been up for about a week at To Jesus Through Mary (CC 111)
The Christian Reconciliation Carnival is up for a second time.

1,000 visits

According to my site counter at the very bottom of the page I now have 1,000 ( probably more now) visits to my site. To mark this occasion I will dig up some of my favorite posts from the archives. My blogs birthday is fast approaching too and then I'll do a top ten list.
One of my favorite quotes by Venerable Conchita
The first Captain Catholic post (there haven't been any new videos lately)
Terrorist mousetrap

Brook

Where's George?

Its amazing how a website like wheresgeorge.com can be so addicting. About once a year I'll see a bill with the wheresgeorge.com stamp and register a bunch of bills and check it every day for about a month. Then I'll forget about it for another year.

How many have your same name?

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 9 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Old post comments

It neat sometimes to see the random places that people come into my blog. My Fed by Christ post continues to receive hits and even comments. Just today I realized that I was blessed to have Fr. Uhlenkott's sister leave a comment on that post. It makes me wonder what other random search terms bring people into my blog; and what else do they read once they get here? I'll stop rambling now.

Tradition alluded to in Scripture

Profound Gratitude written by a Nazarene family which reconciled with the Catholic Church wrote a very pointed post about Scripture alluding to the gap that Tradition fills. Among these scriptural moments is the time frame in Acts between the Resurrection and the Ascension. We know from Scripture that He continued to teach, but it doesn't say what was taught. But surely our Lord must have left some way for these teachings to be passed on...? Tradition of course, is the answer.

Our Father, a prayer to Lose

Mikki left me a note on my last post so I went to Holy Cards for Your Inspiration. Its a great site with lots of great holy card images, but what really grabbed was the first post I saw "A prayer to Lose". It takes most of the lines of the Lord's Prayer and starts a line with "We pray to lose..." For instance one line is "We pray to lose our wills when we pray, 'Thy will be done'". Its a VERY powerful prayer and reflection on the Lord's Prayer.

Top 5 Reasons I Am Catholic

I googled "Why I am a Catholic" and I was surprised at just how many results matched that search. I thought about posting those results (I still might later), but I decided to post my own reasons.
1. The Eucharist
I can understand why it would seem weird to some, but if Jesus says He wants us to eat His flesh and His blood then that's what we should do. When He says that He is the bread come down from Heaven it is, well... the Gospel truth. I wrote once before on the Eucharist imagery in Nativity Scenes. And just as moving as it is to think and realize that Christ was physically present before the world after Mary gave birth to Him, it is very moving to me to realize that He is still physically present every day in masses all around the world.
2. Apostolic Tradition
Our teachings have been zealously guarded and passed down from Jesus Christ himself. Nobody else can make that claim. I know that some claim that the Catholic Church fell to Satan and that only a small remnant remained faithful, but the problem there is that the theory runs contrary to the Gospel. Jesus told Peter that the gates of Hell would NEVER prevail against the Church. If that theory is true then apparently the personal guarantee of Jesus is null and void.
3. Authority
Personal interpretations can lead one astray and very often they are conflicting. It is clear that Christ taught the objective truth. Christian truth cannot be both one way and another. Either contraception is immoral or it is not (I believe of course that it is immoral). The Catholic Church has authority, again, from Christ to teach. No other Christain Church has a basis for such a claim. Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Catholic Church speaks authoritatively.
4. Mary
If nothing else its always interesting to wonder what it would be like to hold God as an infant. More importamtly its fascinating to contemplate her central role in the Incarnation. She has pointed the way to Christ for untold numbers of Christians. She is the perfect role model for any Christian. When she told that she was pregnant with the Christ child her response was "[B]e it done unto me according to thy word." She accepted God's will over her own. But my favorite line from Mary in the Gospels is at the wedding of Cana when she says "Do whatever He tells you." The Catholic Church recognizes the powerful impact she can have on living a Christian life.
5. The Saints
As Saint Paul tells us in the scriptures there is "a great cloud of witnesses" watching us. We know that the angels in heaven pray. Surely then the faithful departed also pray and certainly in the eternity that is spent in heaven some prayers are said for those of us still on Earth. The Catholic Church is one of only a few Christian Churches that realize the potential of the prayers of those before the Throne.

Things have been rather hectic lately, but they're settling down finally. I apologize to my readers who have patiently waited for a new post.

CC 105

Catholic Carnival 105 is up.

Christian Reconciliation Canival #1

I just learned about a new carnival in the blogosphere. Its the Christian Reconciliation Carnival, which is dedicated of course to reconciling differences among Christians. The topic this month is straw man arguments about your church. You will find the Carnival here and the submission guidelines here.
Next month will be hosted by Dr. Platypus. The topic is racial reconciliation in your church.

reflection

"And this is why I suffer, because my hands are empty, and the Bridegroom will soon be here. And I shall have neither the oil of virtues nor the ardent flame of love , to offer Him!"
--Concepcion Cabrera de Armida, aka Conchita

Vocations poster

As I was cruising the net I found this vocations poster from the Archdiocese of Melbourne, Australia. I thought it was clever.

Christian Carnival

This week's Christian Carnival is up. I have a post there, but so does another who thinks that Holy Mother Church is the Harlot upon the Beast in Revelations. Its sad that the only Church which has its authority straight from Jesus Himself should be accused of such a thing.

Catholic Carnival

Catholic Carnival 103 is up at Deo Omnis Gloria.

Golden Statue in Madya Pradesh

Christians no longer suffer from the persecutions of the Roman or Soviet Empires, but persecutions continue and many Christians suffer under unjust laws that try to force them against Christian living. Most of the attention on this subject is directed towards Muslim nations and groups but persecution also continues at the hands of Hindus in the Indian subcontinent. For example the government of Madya Pradesh in India is trying to impose a false god on all school age children in the state.

Mumbai, Jan 16, 2007 / 02:00 pm (CNA).- The practices of one religion should not be imposed on people of other religions, said a Catholic archbishop in response to a recent government decision to make a Hindu ritual compulsory in all public schools and colleges.

Archbishop Pascal Topno of Bhopal told the Indian Catholic News Service on Monday that he has nothing against Hindu rituals but "people from other communities should be given the freedom and the choice to say no to it.”

The Madhya Pradesh state government announced its decision to hold mass Surya Namaskar recitations in institutions across the state on Jan. 25. Surya Namaskar or Sun Salutation is a prayer offered to the sun god and a main component of yoga.

I don't about you but this reminds me of Nebuchadnezzar's golden statue that he demanded everyone to worship. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego came to no harm for their refusal to worship a false god. We should stand with Archbishop Topno against this decree. You can write in support to him at:

Archbishop Pascal Topno
33, Ahmedabad Palace Rd
Bhopal - 462 001
Madya Pradesh
India

After all, as it says in 1 COR 12, 26: "And if one member suffer anything, all the members suffer with it; or if one member glory, all the members rejoice with it." With an envelope, a letter and $0.84 for postage you can stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

random scripture

1COR 12,26: And if one member suffer any thing, all the members suffer with it; or if one member glory, all the members rejoice with it.
HEB 13,3: Remember them that are in bands, as if you were bound with them; and them that labour, as being yourselves also in the body.
Douay-Rheims Translation

What's your accent?

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
The South
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

google search Fr. Ben Uhlenkott

I chose a random phrase from one of my posts and searched that phrase on Google just for kicks to see if or how high up it would come. I chose "Fr. Ben Uhlenkott" from my "Fed by Christ" post before Christmas. It was number 5. This will probably interest no one, but its my blog and I felt like doing something random.

Healing in the Sacraments

"Hardly had I reached the age of discretion when I began to offend You. But You, who had loved me first, had already prepared a remedy for my faults in the Sacraments!"
-- Venerable Conchita

Just like the wounds of the Israelite were healed by the Good Samaritan's oil and wine, we are also healed with oil at our Baptism and Confirmation and wine at Mass. Very often myself, and I imagine many others, forget how wonderful that healing is. God became man and establshed Sacraments to heal us body and soul.

Captain Catholic, the Prequel

Tony is back at it again. He's just put out the latest issue of Captain Catholic. Captain Catholic 0, that's right zero, is the origin story of Captain Catholic: Why he left the Swiss Guard, why he came to America and somewhat more of an explanation of his mission. One can find it at the link below:

Episode 0

Che Spinoffs

I found these images at Che Mart under the Hollywood Loves Che link.

TGIF

A friend emailed this picture to me:

Blessed Sacrament Divine
Sacrament of bread and wine
The Lord becomes present in our midst
To us He gives this Heavenly Kiss

O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament Divine
All praise and all thanksgiving be ever Thine

Captain Catholic comment

I was surprised (and somewhat honored since mine is an obscure blog) to find out that the writer and creator who also plays Captain Catholic wrote a comment in regards to my Captain Catholic post. He also left a comment on the Snoring Scholar blog. However, I will only repost the comment that Tony left on 50 Days After:

Tony said...

Hey there! It was interesting finding this blog, because I'm actually the creator and writer of the Captain Catholic series (Tony DeGennaro - I also acted as Captain Catholic in the series). Thanks for the kind words about the series - although yes, as far as the devil horns and hitler mustaches, I wasn't thinking about how they might be offensive when I put them on. The series is primarily targeted towards teenagers, so it's meant to be taken lightly. You have a good point though - people not a part of the discussion group wouldn't know that.

It's hard to script because I want to have the Church's authentic teaching as the main part of the series, but it's hard to target towards teenagers without putting in 'gags' such as hitler mustaches. You're correct, Extra Ecclesia Nulla Salus is an extremely important part of our Church today, something I was thinking about as I made the video - the thing is it's target audience (the 600 teenagers in the discussion group) are mostly liberal teenage pseudo-Catholics - in other words, they need something to bring them back to the Church, and I thought this message would draw them in.

As a fellow Catholic I'd love to have more advice from you. I want to make sure I'm following the Church's teachings, I do hours of research for each episode. My email address is degennaroa2 at scranton dot edu

Also, if you remember from watching the video, the primary idea of the series is the discussion board, which is located here:

http://scranton.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2218279902

There's about 600 members now. I also have a few multi-page essays explaining the purpose of each episode and the Catholic Church's viewpoint. Thanks for watching, take care and God Bless

Saint Quote of the Day blog

I discovered a new blog. It features a new quote from a saint every day.
Its called Saint Quote of the Day. Today's quote is from St Therese de Lisieux: "Prayer is an aspiration of the heart, it is a simple glance directed to heaven, it is a cry of gratitude and love in the midst of trail as well as joy; finally, it is something great, supernatural, which expands my soul and unites me to Jesus."

Conchita

"As soon as I see the Host exposed, it is as if my soul flies to Him and adheres to Him like the light to the sun. I care nothing for people and things, only He shines in the depths of my soul dimming everything and playing the divine chord of His love in all my being."
---Concepcion Cabrera de Armida, better known as Conchita

Conchita's writings were the basis for the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit found by Fr. Jesus Felix Rougier

Catholic Carnival 100

Catholic Carnival 100 is up. Just Another Day of Catholic Pondering is this week host. View the carnival here.

Captain Catholic

As I was cruising the internet this morning I discovered two videos on google apparently meant as part of a larger series. I linked to them at the bottom of this post. They are the first two episodes of the Captain Catholic series. That's right, Captain Catholic. His tagline is "Love, Hope and the Catholic Way". He quickly changes, like Superman, into a costume with a cape and boots to take on his nemesis. He also has a "Sin Sense" which tingles like Spiderman's "Spider Sense" I included links to both videos on Google Video since YouTube broke each episode into 3 or 4 pieces each. The videos are a bit over the top, but they have some good apologetics. The second video seems to forget Extra Ecclesia Nulla Salus.
The first video is about greed, capitalism and the church's teachings about both. The villain is Dick DeGreedio. Its only about 17 minutes compared to half hour for the second episode.
The second one deals with Sola Fide, Faith Alone. The villain in this episode is Evangelical Earl. Although I do not agree with Sola Fide I do not agree with their treatment of Evangelical Earl. In the video they drew horns on him along with a Hitler mustache. Aside from that crass attack, it would be an enjoyable video.
Its an interesting and somewhat funny way to get Catholic teaching out there. It has potential and I personally would like to see the future videos.

Episode I

Episode II

Happy New Year

I hope all of you have a blessed New Year!

On the medal, make the sign of the Cross, recite "Incline unto my aid, Oh God! Oh Lord, make haste to help me! Amen." Follow this with a Glory Be.

On the first single bead on the strand, pray an "Our Father".

On the second single bead on the strand, pray an "Our Father", and then continue by saying, "Saint Joan of Arc, immolated as a victim of the burning stake, pray that I may also become a victim by the faithful practice of all my duties as they pertain to me during my whole life."

On the first group of five beads, say a "Hail Mary" for each bead.

On the next divisional bead, Pray an "Our Father", and then recite, "Saint Joan of Arc, with you, I only wish to find my delight in practicing humility, charity, and penance, and all the virtues necessary to gain entrance into Heaven. Saint Joan of Arc, pray for us!"

On the second group of five beads, say a "Hail Mary" for each bead.

On the next divisional bead, pray an "Our Father", and then recite, "Saint Joan of Arc, be with me in all my struggles. Like the strong men of Israel, experienced in warfare, who constantly carry the sword at their side, to guard against unforeseen attacks during the night, may I ever be prepared for the combat. Together with the protection of the angels and saints grant me also your own; inspire my endeavours; be my help and my light to guide me to Jesus, our Chief, and when my earthly mission is accomplished, may I expire like you, repeating with love, ‘Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!' - Saint Joan of Arc, pray for us!"

On the third group of five beads, pray a "Hail Mary" for each bead.

Conclude the chaplet on the medal, by reciting the following prayer: "Pray for us, Saint Joan of Arc, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ."

Christmas e-card

This is good stuff.
Hat tip to 81594

Fed by Christ

When I was in the seminary a fellow seminarian (He is now a priest, Fr. Ben Uhlenkott) pointed out to me that mangers were used to hold hay for the livestock. Of course, the significance as he and the Church Fathers before him pointed out was the association of Jesus with food. Just as the hay was for the animals, the Lord is for us.
In a way that has since made me think of Nativity scenes as a sort of subtle Eucharistic imagery. It still blows me away how much the Gospels hint and a times scream to us about the Eucharist.

Merry Christmas

On this day was born in David's town
A Child with no wealth nor golden crown

In that manger He lay sleeping
Immanuel, our God and King

I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas! I hope that it is a day that finds you refreshed in your Christian faith.

May the Rose of Sharon blossom in your hearts.

quick update

Ok, so I know that I haven't posted in a long time and so here is a quick update on things: I have arrived safely at my new post, which is a cause for thanksgiving to God if you've ever driven the ALCAN Highway in the dead of winter. I am also engaged now. My long wondering over the married vs single life is over. She is a wonderful woman and I truly look forward to spending my life with her.

Catholic Carnival

The Catholic Carnival is up at Just Another Day of Catholic Pondering. The post is here.

Please also check out www.prolifesearch.com

Where to invade next

I'm all for laying the smack down on Iran and/or North Korea, but at least I know the difference between those two and Australia.

Catholic Carnival

The latest Catholic Carnival is up. You can find it here.

Ramblings

Lately, I have been stuck on what to write about. I have thought about saying something about the Muslim reaction to the Pope's speech. I have a lot of thoughts about it, but everyone else is writing so much about it. Besides, I think charity would fail me.
I have seen in other blogs that sometimes the authors will start a series on some particular subject. I have thought about different things. I tried posting about a different religious order each week, but that didn't seem like what I am looking for so I have abandonned that.
I have been thinking about writing a series sometime about the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit, especially the mystic woman, Conchita, who inspired Fr. Felix de Jesus Rougier to found that order. I have even thought about writing some posts on the other related orders (La Familia de la Cruz or the Family of the Cross). I feel drawn somehow to them and I feel like the Holy Spirit might be directing me to write about them.
But I have this sort of writing block and I am soliciting suggestions. Let me know what you think and feel free to suggest something else.

Catholic Carnival

The Catholic Carnival is up. Check it out at Deo Omnis Gloria.com

persecution for His sake

HIstory classes teach us about the great persecutions of the Christian Church in the Ancient Roman Empire, but I find at least that I forget quite easily that the persecution of Christians continues to this day.
Its easy to forget in our daily lives that being a Christian can be difficult. It is always difficult to lead Christian lives, but we don't have persecution on top of it. In the US we might get hassled for being Christian (or unfortunately other Christians hassle us for being Catholic), but we have it easy. But as Hebrews 13:3 reminds us, we should remember the persecuted members of the Church.
Muslim persecution of Christians exists wherever Islam is the dominant religion. From Pakistan to Morocco Christians are persecuted for believing (and rightly so) that Christ is much, much more than merely a prophet.
In India, Christians are persecuted by hardline Hindus. Some Indian states have outlawed conversion to Christianity.
The Berlin Wall may have fallen, but Communist oppression of Christ's Body persist. There are over a billion people in China and about 6 billion in the world. That's right over 1/6th of the world remains under Commie oppression! They not only oppress the Church in China, but try to subvert it with the Catholic Patriotic Association.
Its great that we went across the globe to liberate the peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan, but just 90 miles off of our shores the tyrrany of Communism remains. The Church remains persecuted in Cuba, China and other Marxist nations. Its speaks volumes when people would rather risk drowning, dehydration, storms and hunger to float 90 miles on an inner tube than stay at home.
But enough of the bad news though. We know who will eventually win. Christ has promised us the eternal victory.
But the battle is not over yet and there is much we can do to help our brothers and sisters that we so often forget are still persecuted and often martyred like so many saints before them, including our first Vicar of Christ, St. Peter.
There are many organizations such as the Voice of the Martyrs, the Bible Site, Aid to the Church in Need, and the Cardinal Kung Foundation actively working with the persecuted Church.
We can take comfort in the Church's triumphs over persecution in ancient Rome and the Eastern Bloc (thanks in no small part to our former Pope JPII), but as Our Lady of Fatima reminded us prayer is necessary to avoid even more horrible evils that may come of Communism.
Our Lady of Fatima and St Joseph the worker, pray for us!

Hammertime

Where do celebrities do when they are no longer in the spotlight?
MC Hammer blogs apparently.

Holy gossip?

I was thinking about today's Gospel reading. Jesus healed a deaf man and as usual told everyone not to tell. And as usual they went and told everyone they knew.
I wonder sometimes why Jesus told them not to tell others. As God, He had to have known they would tell the whole world (after His death and Resurrection quite literally). So why bother?
My personal theory is that He realized gossip travels faster than any other kind of news. So by telling everyone to keep it under wraps, He might have been encouraging them to speak of Him far and wide...
or perhaps I am just cynical.

order of the week

This week is the Society of the Divine Word (Societas Verbi Divinus, aka SVD). SVD is an order founded in Germany during the Bismark era. It survived and even grew despite the Kulturkampf. It is now spread throughout the world and is dedicated to preaching the Gospel to the world.

New Terrorist Tactic

Another week, another order

This week: The Clerics of Saint Viator

It is clerical order in countries around the world dedicated to catechism, education and evangelization.

Peter's Barque

Lord, the wind and waves assault the hull and the sail
Yet, You guaranteed the gates of hell will not prevail
Despite the storm You sleep in the back, unafraid
"Lord Jesus", we cry, "Awake and come to our aid."
On the command of His voice the storm is gone
Even now, we are in awe like Peter and John

Who is this Man who commands and calms the storm
He is the Word made flesh, He is the incarnate Lord
Still today many journey with Jesus in Peter's boat
We journey to our home, Heaven so remote
Still today we hear his words, "Do not be afraid."
Death and pain may come, but He is our aid

Storms and trials will come, but the boat will not sink

Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!

Search for life

That's right, search for life (and I'm not talking about SETI). There's now a search engine that donates half of its ad revenue to pro-life organizations.