Exciting news for Catholics in America. When Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City discovered the plans for a "black mass" in his diocese, he went to work first to get the Consecrated Host back from the Satanists. Once that done, he didn't stop. He organized a prayer service to take place at the same time as the black mass was to occur. He also asked for Catholics throughout America to pray. We in the Diocese of Pittsburgh had a Eucharistic Prayers service which included the Rite of Solemn Exposition and Benediction at the Seminary in Crafton. Several hundred people came to pray.
In Oklahoma City the prayer service led by Archbishop Coakley took place at the St. Francis of Assisi Church in Oklahoma City. Some 1,200 people crowded in while others filled a nearby gymnasium, a cafeteria, and areas outside the church.
The Satanic Mass? It brought in less than 50 people.
That's surely the power of prayer at work! We need to continue to pray for the 50 souls who were in attendance, that they will be transformed and find their way to Jesus, in love.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Faith News: October 5-19, 2014 Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family
The third Extraordinary Synod of Bishops in the history of the Church is meeting at the Vatican this October! An "extraordinary" synod takes place when a Pope calls for a group of Bishops to work on a matter of urgent concern. Typically, the number is no more than 200 and the work is more streamlined than that of an ordinary Synod of Bishops.
In this case, 114 presidents of national Bishop's Conferences around the world (including the President of the United States' Conference of Catholic Bishops [USCCB]), 13 heads of Eastern Catholic Churches, 38 observers, and 16 experts will be in attendance. Along with the USCCB president Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, the Byzantine Archbishop William C. Skurla of Pittsburgh, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of NY, Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, and Cardinal Raymond Burke of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature will be representing the United States. Also attending will be a Wisconsin couple who will have the duty of being lay auditors and share their insights in small groups with other couples, and they will also address the synod's general assembly regarding how they live out the faith as a married couple.
This Synod will deal with the family in the modern world and the challenges which it faces. Some of the issues which are under attack to families throughout the world include: In the West: the "contraceptive culture, abortion, redefinition of marriage, rampant consumerism, domestic violence. In the East, challenges include: the struggle to find food, drinkable water and decent work, a lack of adequate places to worship, fleeing from war or terrorists, the fight against disease, political and religious instability. ... [while] challenges [found] worldwide include: the fight against poverty, young people lacking the optimism to start a family, families broken up by divorce, infidelity, pornography and other forms of addiction." (Our Sunday Visitor, September 28, 2014 Challenges, p. 10)
What an exciting time for the families of the world!
In this case, 114 presidents of national Bishop's Conferences around the world (including the President of the United States' Conference of Catholic Bishops [USCCB]), 13 heads of Eastern Catholic Churches, 38 observers, and 16 experts will be in attendance. Along with the USCCB president Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, the Byzantine Archbishop William C. Skurla of Pittsburgh, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of NY, Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, and Cardinal Raymond Burke of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature will be representing the United States. Also attending will be a Wisconsin couple who will have the duty of being lay auditors and share their insights in small groups with other couples, and they will also address the synod's general assembly regarding how they live out the faith as a married couple.
This Synod will deal with the family in the modern world and the challenges which it faces. Some of the issues which are under attack to families throughout the world include: In the West: the "contraceptive culture, abortion, redefinition of marriage, rampant consumerism, domestic violence. In the East, challenges include: the struggle to find food, drinkable water and decent work, a lack of adequate places to worship, fleeing from war or terrorists, the fight against disease, political and religious instability. ... [while] challenges [found] worldwide include: the fight against poverty, young people lacking the optimism to start a family, families broken up by divorce, infidelity, pornography and other forms of addiction." (Our Sunday Visitor, September 28, 2014 Challenges, p. 10)
What an exciting time for the families of the world!
Sunday, September 28, 2014
What's an "anchoress"?
Anchoress is a title given to special holy women who lived life away from the world, while still in the midst of it. It's different than a hermit because the "away" is really not in a remote place.
In times of old some holy people retreated from the outside world. Since -ess indicates a female, we'll talk about how a woman did this: In a ceremony, she was ushered into life as a nun, received the last rites, had ashes sprinkled over her, and then recited some special prayers before stepping into a room in which she would live the rest of her life, forbidden to leave it except when she died. The room was called a cell, the same as what they call the rooms of many of the nuns and monks. It was not a prison, so to speak, it was a self-imposed life of prayer chosen be the extremely devout.
The inside of the anchorhold had three small windows to the outside world: one to look upon the Mass and so be able to see the Eucharist, one opening to the servants' quarters so as to receive food and speak with the person assigned to take dare of the daily needs, and a third window to offer spiritual counsel to those who came seeking for that person's counsel. ... The three small openings off the side of the cell somewhat resembled an anchor - hence the name anchorhold, and anchoress etc. ...
Julian of Norwich was such an anchoress. She lived during the Crusades of the 14th century and during the bubonic plague. She had 16 visions of the suffering Christ and shared them in her writings. Her story is one definitely worth visiting!
In times of old some holy people retreated from the outside world. Since -ess indicates a female, we'll talk about how a woman did this: In a ceremony, she was ushered into life as a nun, received the last rites, had ashes sprinkled over her, and then recited some special prayers before stepping into a room in which she would live the rest of her life, forbidden to leave it except when she died. The room was called a cell, the same as what they call the rooms of many of the nuns and monks. It was not a prison, so to speak, it was a self-imposed life of prayer chosen be the extremely devout.
The inside of the anchorhold had three small windows to the outside world: one to look upon the Mass and so be able to see the Eucharist, one opening to the servants' quarters so as to receive food and speak with the person assigned to take dare of the daily needs, and a third window to offer spiritual counsel to those who came seeking for that person's counsel. ... The three small openings off the side of the cell somewhat resembled an anchor - hence the name anchorhold, and anchoress etc. ...
Julian of Norwich was such an anchoress. She lived during the Crusades of the 14th century and during the bubonic plague. She had 16 visions of the suffering Christ and shared them in her writings. Her story is one definitely worth visiting!
Thursday, September 18, 2014
If the law says something is right, but the Bible says it's wrong, who's right? - Emily
Emily -
What a timely question! I am sure many others have it too. First of all, let's remember what the Bible is. It's the Word of God. It's God's text message to us! Also remember that God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He is perfectly unchanging. We can never know the fullness of who He is on this side of heaven. God created everything and everyone. He also created the rules for the workings of it all. He "is the ultimate authority to what is right or wrong. His standards are right for all people, at all times, and in all places."
Look at Acts 5:29: Peter and the apostles replied, "We must obey God rather than human authority." They said this when they were told by the Jewish religious authorities to stop speaking of Jesus Christ.
The Bible also tells us to obey the government. But as you see in the case of Peter and the apostles, when a directive from the government goes against what God has instructed us to do (in this case, spread the Word) then "we should obey God instead of the government. God is in charge of the government and not the other way around. For example, if the government passed a law making it illegal to pray, we should break the law and pray anyway. The same would be true about worshiping God, reading the Bible, and telling others about Christ. And if the government were to make it OK to lie and steal, we still shouldn't do those things because they go against God's law. ... No one can have higher authority than God, so we must always obey Him first." (801 Questions Kids ask about God with answers from the Bible by Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Ill (C) 2000, question # 408 p 200.)
Read Acts 5:12-41 for the rest of the story!
What a timely question! I am sure many others have it too. First of all, let's remember what the Bible is. It's the Word of God. It's God's text message to us! Also remember that God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He is perfectly unchanging. We can never know the fullness of who He is on this side of heaven. God created everything and everyone. He also created the rules for the workings of it all. He "is the ultimate authority to what is right or wrong. His standards are right for all people, at all times, and in all places."
Look at Acts 5:29: Peter and the apostles replied, "We must obey God rather than human authority." They said this when they were told by the Jewish religious authorities to stop speaking of Jesus Christ.
The Bible also tells us to obey the government. But as you see in the case of Peter and the apostles, when a directive from the government goes against what God has instructed us to do (in this case, spread the Word) then "we should obey God instead of the government. God is in charge of the government and not the other way around. For example, if the government passed a law making it illegal to pray, we should break the law and pray anyway. The same would be true about worshiping God, reading the Bible, and telling others about Christ. And if the government were to make it OK to lie and steal, we still shouldn't do those things because they go against God's law. ... No one can have higher authority than God, so we must always obey Him first." (801 Questions Kids ask about God with answers from the Bible by Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Ill (C) 2000, question # 408 p 200.)
Read Acts 5:12-41 for the rest of the story!
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Satanic 'black mass' to be held on Sept 21st! - Pray, pray, pray!
The Civic Center Music Hall in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma has been rented by a Satanic group so that they can worship the devil. The more horrible thing is that the organizers originally planned to desecrate the Eucharist! They had stolen it (they claim they bought it through the mail from a priest in Turkey) so that they could desecrate it during their 'service.' They also planned to toss communion wafers to the floor and have their people tromp them.
The Bishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City sued the group to have Jesus returned. Since the satanists wanted to continue with their worship and not be tied up in legalities, they returned the Blessed Sacrament to the Bishop, promised that they didn't have any more consecrated hosts, and that they would not use any in their ritual.
The Archbishop dropped the lawsuit, but he has asked us to pray daily for divine protection through the intercession of Holy Michael the Archangel. Even though tickets are being sold for the event, this is not just some form of dark entertainment. "This Satanic ritual is deadly serious. It is a blasphemous and obscene inversion of the Catholic Mass," the Bishop told his people. At one point in the service a satanic 'nun' is supposed to urinate in a chamber pot in front of the 'worshipers.'
This mass is scheduled to happen on September 21st, 2014. We Christians are being asked to "pray to avert this sacrilege and publicly manifest our faith in the Lord and our loving gratitude for the gift of the holy Eucharist, the source and summit of our lives."
Oklahoma City officials say their hands are tied as this event is protected by the 1st Amendment to the Constitution. (Pittsburgh Catholic Newspaper, Friday, August 29, 2014 pp 1 & 2)
Bishop Zubik, Bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh is inviting all people of good will in the Pittsburgh Diocese and surrounding areas to join him in a special time of Eucharistic adoration on that day from 6-9 pm in the John Bernard McDowell Auditorium on the campus of St. Paul Seminary (2900 Noblestown Road, Crafton). He will conclude the time of adoration with Benediction at 8:45pm.
In the meantime, we are asked to support our brothers and sisters in Oklahoma, and to add support to this battle, through prayer. Specifically we are asked to prayer the prayer to Holy Michael the Archangel our protector against the devil.
Holy Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the
heavenly hosts, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
The Bishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City sued the group to have Jesus returned. Since the satanists wanted to continue with their worship and not be tied up in legalities, they returned the Blessed Sacrament to the Bishop, promised that they didn't have any more consecrated hosts, and that they would not use any in their ritual.
The Archbishop dropped the lawsuit, but he has asked us to pray daily for divine protection through the intercession of Holy Michael the Archangel. Even though tickets are being sold for the event, this is not just some form of dark entertainment. "This Satanic ritual is deadly serious. It is a blasphemous and obscene inversion of the Catholic Mass," the Bishop told his people. At one point in the service a satanic 'nun' is supposed to urinate in a chamber pot in front of the 'worshipers.'
This mass is scheduled to happen on September 21st, 2014. We Christians are being asked to "pray to avert this sacrilege and publicly manifest our faith in the Lord and our loving gratitude for the gift of the holy Eucharist, the source and summit of our lives."
Oklahoma City officials say their hands are tied as this event is protected by the 1st Amendment to the Constitution. (Pittsburgh Catholic Newspaper, Friday, August 29, 2014 pp 1 & 2)
Bishop Zubik, Bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh is inviting all people of good will in the Pittsburgh Diocese and surrounding areas to join him in a special time of Eucharistic adoration on that day from 6-9 pm in the John Bernard McDowell Auditorium on the campus of St. Paul Seminary (2900 Noblestown Road, Crafton). He will conclude the time of adoration with Benediction at 8:45pm.
In the meantime, we are asked to support our brothers and sisters in Oklahoma, and to add support to this battle, through prayer. Specifically we are asked to prayer the prayer to Holy Michael the Archangel our protector against the devil.
Holy Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the
heavenly hosts, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
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