Let's review what it is we celebrate on Trinity Sunday
May 30, 2010 by Patrick Madrid
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The following few paragraphs are drawn from Frank Sheed’s excellent introduction to the Catholic Faith, Theology for Beginners (Servant Books). Sheed had plenty more to say about the subject of the Blessed Trinity, both in this book and in his even more comprehensive Theology and Sanity (Ignatius Press), but this tasty soupçon will get you started.
Trinity SundayThe first Sunday after Pentecost, instituted to honour the Most Holy Trinity. In the early Church no special Office or day was assigned for the Holy Trinity. When the Arian heresy was spreading the Fathers prepared an Office with canticles, responses, a Preface, and hymns, to be recited on Sundays.In the Sacramentary of St. Gregory the Great (P.L., LXXVIII, 116) there are prayers and the Preface of the Trinity. The Micrologies (P.L., CLI, 1020), written during the pontificate of Gregory VII (Nilles, II, 460), call the Sunday after Pentecost a Dominica vacans, with no special office, but add that in some places they recited the Office of the Holy Tri
nity composed by Bishop Stephen of Liège (903-20). By others the Office was said on the Sunday before Advent.Alexander II (1061-1073), not III (Nilles, 1. c.), refused a petition for a special feast on the plea, that such a feast was not customary in the Roman Church which daily honored the Holy Trinity by the Gloria, Patri, etc., but he did not forbid the celebration where it already existed.John XXII (1316-1334) ordered the feast for the entire Church on the first Sunday after Pentecost. A new Office had been made by the Franciscan John Peckham, Canon of Lyons, later Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1292).The feast ranked as a double of the second class but was raised to the dignity of a primary of the first class, 24 July 1911, by Pius X (Acta Ap. Sedis, III, 351). The Greeks have no special feast. Since it was after the first great Pentecost that the doctrine of the Trinity was proclaimed to the world, the feast becomingly follows that of Pentecost.
Pope Gregory the Great's Warning About Wicked Shepherds
May 30, 2010 by Patrick Madrid
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I read a mainstream media news report this morning about a recent gathering of priests and seminarians in Rome for the purpose of offering “prayers for the victims of clergy abuse and for the healing of the church’s wounds from the scandal over its concealment of abuse.” This is an exceedingly good thing to do, and I hope it will inspire diocesan bishops everywhere to gather their own presbyterates together and emulate this.
THERE ARE SOME ALSO who investigate spiritual precepts with cunning care, but what they penetrate with their understanding they trample on in their lives: all at once they teach the things which, not by practice but by study, they have learned; and what in words they preach, by their manners they impugn.
Whence it comes to pass that when the shepherd walks through steep places, the flock follows to the precipice.
Hence it is that the Lord through the prophet complains of the contemptible knowledge of shepherds, saying, When you yourselves had drunk most pure water, you fouled the residue with your feet; and My sheep fed on that which had been trodden by your feet, and drank that which your feet had fouled Ezekiel 34:18-19.
For indeed the shepherds drink most pure water, when with a right understanding they imbibe the streams of truth. But to foul the same water with their feet is to corrupt the studies of holy meditation by evil living. And verily the sheep drink the water fouled by their feet, when any of those subject to them follow not the words which they hear, but only imitate the bad examples which they see. Thirsting for the things said, but perverted by the works observed, they take in mud with their draughts, as from polluted fountains.
Hence also it is written through the prophet, A snare for the downfall of my people are evil priests (Hosea 5:1; 9:8). Hence again the Lord through the prophet says of the priests, They are made to be for a stumbling-block of iniquity to the house of Israel. For certainly no one does more harm in the Church than one who has the name and rank of sanctity, while he acts perversely. For him, when he transgresses, no one presumes to take to task; and the offense spreads forcibly for example, when out of reverence to his rank the sinner is honored.
But all who are unworthy would fly from the burden of so great guilt, if with the attentive ear of the heart they weighed the sentence of the Truth, Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea (Matthew 18:6).
By the millstone is expressed the round and labor of worldly life, and by the depth of the sea is denoted final damnation.
Whosoever, then, having come to bear the outward show of sanctity, either by word or example destroys others, it had indeed been better for him that earthly deeds in open guise should press him down to death than that sacred offices should point him out to others as imitable in his wrong-doing; because, surely, if he fell alone, the pains of hell would torment him in [a] more tolerable degree (Regu
la Pastoralis, II).
This may be a first! A Unitarian vs. Catholic debate
May 29, 2010 by Patrick Madrid
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From My Department of Redundancy Department
May 29, 2010 by Patrick Madrid
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The aggressive liposuction really paid off
May 28, 2010 by Patrick Madrid
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What species of blog-commenter are you?
May 28, 2010 by Patrick Madrid
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Here are the 10 types of blog commenters:
1) Encouragers – These leave simple, encouraging comments like, “great post!” Or, “wow, this totally changed my life.” But they don’t instigate further conversation or offer anything additional to the post. (FYI – Bloggers love these kinds of comments.)2) Non-contributors – These are similar to Encouragers, except without the encouragement. Their comments say I was here and I read your post…like, “I also have a fish named Dorothy,” or “Thanks for this post.”3) Contributors – Contributors usually leave the best blog comments because they offer something new to the conversation. A new perspective. Additional information. A new insight. They are thoughtful. And they can either respectfully agree or disagree with the post. Overall, they contribute to a healthy conversation and they make the blog post more valuable and helpful for other readers.4) Destitutes – These are people in need. They might be depressed or struggling with something. They just want somebody to talk to. Somebody to listen. Sometimes their comment is on topic, often times it is not. Many times they have serious questions.5) Slackers – Slackers are people who don’t read the post. They just read the title of the post and then want to say something. So they write it in the combox. They often strongly disagree with you while making your point. Or they soundly defeat a straw man and feel better afterwards. Or they ask things like, “Well what about X?” When the post spent paragraphs 3 and 4 answering precisely that about X.6) Brawlers – Brawlers love to fight and argue. They aren’t interested in learning, giving the benefit of the doubt or considering that it was just an accident when I spilled my drink on them.7) Angries – An Angry is somebody who is just angry at something. They often take the form of brawlers, but worse. They don’t even want to argue or fight about it. They just want to express their anger about something. Often times it makes them feel better to bring others down in the process. Their comments are often inappropriate and hurtful. And they usually end up accusing somebody tangentially related to the post of something tangentially related to the topic and then lumping everyone together and concluding that “You people are all a bunch of losers.” They can turn into real trolls too. 8) Posers – Posers pretend like they don’t care about the topic when they really do. Their comment basically says “I don’t care about this, but I still took the time to comment and tell you. That’s how much I really don’t care about this. And now I’m going to get really defensive about something you said…but I really couldn’t care less about it.”9) Self-promoters – These people range from spammers and link-baiters to honest people just trying to promote something good. But their comment is all about promoting something else, not contributing to the post directly.10) Aliens – Aliens leave comments that make absolutely no sense at all. It’s like they just landed on the planet Earth and thought they would leave a comment.
The Catholic Church in South Africa wants you to watch this video
May 27, 2010 by Patrick Madrid
Filed under Patrick's Blog
And so do I. “Church on the Ball” is a beautifully produced glimpse of the work the Catholic Church has been doing in South Africa, “particularly in the area of HIV-AIDS and human trafficking, against the backdrop of the 2010 Football Worldcup.” Very impressive and encouraging!
From the organization’s website:
Let us try to raise public attention on:
• the ethical questions in sports;
• the educational attributes of sports;
• the global responsibility (fair trade, human rights, development cooperation, etc.);
• human rights; integration; combating of racism…
• the prevention of crime and violence…
• Of great concern are the prostitution and human trafficking issues.
And so, apart from celebrating World Cup Sunday on the 13th June, explore the opportunity to run:
• parish festivals with sports and football-related events.
• “MiniWorld Cups” with football teams – why not a “Bishop’s cup” in each diocese.
• promote churches as places of silence, rest and prayer as an alternative to the bustle.
• help to distribute the World Cup Catholic prayer pocket booklet as widely as possible.
• and please advertise in your parish newsletters/notice boards and even through a large banner on the roadside, the website www.churchontheball.com
The Catholic motto of the 2006 World Cup in Germany was – “A time to make friends”. Let us encourage Catholics to give the visitors from foreign countries a warm welcome and prove themselves to be considerate hosts. Let us break barriers and build bridges! As for the many nationals from foreign countries residing in SA, they can be a great resource in breaking the language barriers, and assisting in the accommodation and the arranging of “parties” for their fellow-countrymen.
Expected outcomes:
• the Church will hopefully be perceived as a reliable partner who has a special competence and a specific mission.
• press, radio and television will provide some expos
ure to activities organised by the Church.
• make people aware of the rich common ground between the Church and sports.
• demonstrate that both sports and the Church can be joyful experiences. Many find it difficult to share on the faith and religious level. Sports creates a common bond between people which can lead them to share at faith level.
• grow our communication structures.
Our ultimate goal!? Peace and Justice on earth and happiness in Heaven!
Ke Nako*!
Is the consecrated life "superior" to marriage?
May 26, 2010 by Patrick Madrid
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What the hail?
May 23, 2010 by Patrick Madrid
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Priest sells convent to Muslims for a mosque on a street named for 9-11 hero
May 21, 2010 by Patrick Madrid
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Okay, this is galling on a couple different levels. Plot summary: The pastor of a Catholic parish sold the parish convent to an Islamic organization, which plans to turn it into a mosque. The kicker is that the convent happens to be on a street named in honor of . . . get this . . . “FDNY Capt. Martin Egan, 36, who was killed in the terrorist attacks” of September 11th.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The impending sale of an empty, 2 ½ -story convent in Midland Beach owned by St. Margaret Mary’s R.C. Church has neighbors angry and afraid because the purchaser is an Islamic organization they know little about.Several hundred concerned residents turned out last night for an emergency meeting called by the Midland Beach Civic Association at the Olympia Activity Center, two blocks from the convent site at 555 Greeley Ave.The association’s president, Yasmin Ammirato, told the gathering that she first learned about the convent sale on May 12. She added that the Rev. Keith Fennessy, pastor, told her at a meeting on May 15 with four representatives of the nonprofit Muslim American Society (MAS), the group set to buy the property, that he had “signed off, and money has been exchanged.”She said that MAS agreed to pay $750,000 for the property, and its plan for the convent’s re-use includes a mosque and community center with after-school programs for children. “There’s a need for a mosque on the East Shore” from South Beach to Midland Beach, she said the representatives told her, citing Muslim Albanian and Turkish residents.The convent occupies a 100-by-90-foot corner lot, with a current market value of $915,000, according to the city Department of Finance.Residents in attendance last night were not happy about what they heard. One proposed a petition drive to remove Father Fennessy from his post, and the idea received sustained applause. Another suggested that the civic association consult with an attorney to explore legal options to fight the project. One woman raised a practical concern: “Parking here is already horrendous. How will another community center affect the neighborhood, whether it’s run by an Islamic group or not?”“This hurts — it was done without even consulting us, on the sneak,” said Eugene Reems, 42, a life-long resident whose three children attend the parish elementary school, where his wife, Erin, teaches third grade.“September 11 left scars on this neighborhood that will last for the rest of our lives,” he added, noting that part of the convent fronts Freeborn Street, which was renamed for FDNY Capt. Martin Egan, 36, who was killed in the terrorist attacks.“We grew up together, and he was a very good friend. Marty was a hero in everyone’s eyes, and this a real slap in the face to his family and everyone who knew him.”. . . (continue reading)