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All posts for the month October, 2013
The most deadly warfare.
Posted by 1catholicsalmon on October 26, 2013
https://1catholicsalmon.wordpress.com/2013/10/26/the-most-deadly-warfare/
As a Catholic I worship God.
Two years ago I attended a Baptist service celebrating the Dedication of a friend’s baby to God. A substantial service which consisted of a significant praise and worship segment, prayer, preaching and finally the dedication of little Noah. I was moved by the intense prayer for the baby during this part of the service. Four members of the church community (who seemed to have standing in the community) prayed over the baby. This was followed by tea and then a luncheon.
It was at the luncheon that my daughter and I got chatting with a couple who were seated at our table. We discussed the service amongst other things and the conversation inevitably led to us discussing which church we belonged to. As soon as we said that we attend St. Joseph’s, an uncomfortable (albeit short) silence ensued and the conversation petered out after that.
On coming across the above poster recently, my mind was taken back to this encounter and yes, I understand now what my Catholicity may have represented to that couple. Their reaction was a plainly visible physical recoiling as they realised that we are Catholic.
This brings me to the sermon at Mass last Sunday. The picture on the bottom right of the poster brought me here, because what I do at Mass is exactly this, listen to the Word of God, and praise Him in thanksgiving through song and prayer and receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus. We were reminded that the Eucharist means ‘thanksgiving’. That we should give thanks for everything we have, freely and willingly. We should go to church every week to ‘freely and willingly’ give heartfelt thanks to God, not because we feel that it’s our duty to go, but because we want to thank God for all He has done for us through Jesus. We were gently reminded too, that often-times Catholics take for granted the Great Gift that we have in the Eucharist because that is what we’re used to having at Mass. There shouldn’t be an ‘ought’ attached to this weekly Worship. We should respond in true thanks-giving each week. If there is an ‘ought’ attached to our attending Mass, we should stop and think about our motives.
‘What is our calling as Christians? To thanks God. When all our worldly goods are removed from us and we are faced with the essential nature of our lives, the most important ‘thing’ that we are left with is God. We need to thank God for Him, because He is everything. We are totally dependant of God’s divine mercy. He gave Himself to us, and as an act of worship, we give thanks to Him for this.’
This is why I go to church.
Posted by 1catholicsalmon on October 20, 2013
https://1catholicsalmon.wordpress.com/2013/10/20/as-a-catholic-i-worship-god/
Pope Francis prepares to consecrate the World
An outstanding article.The penny has dropped.
Vatican City, Oct 12, 2013 / 01:29 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis led a Marian prayer vigil Saturday, stressing that the Virgin Mary leads Christians to the mercy of God who can untie “all knotted hearts.”
Each one of us has “knots” in our souls, caused by sin, said Pope Francis.
“These knots take away our peace and serenity,” he said at the Oct. 12 vigil in St. Peter’s Square.
He acknowledged that some might believe they are without hope and say “But Father, mine can’t be untied.”
“That’s a mistake. All knots in the heart, all knots in the conscience, can be untied,” he emphasized.
If we ask Mary, “the woman of faith” for help, he continued, “she will surely say to us, ‘go forward, go to the Lord, he will understand you.’ And she takes us with the hand of a mother to the embrace of…
View original post 454 more words
Posted by 1catholicsalmon on October 13, 2013
https://1catholicsalmon.wordpress.com/2013/10/13/pope-francis-prepares-to-consecrate-the-world/
Cartoon from La Nacion
A recent cartoon in the La Nacion
Posted by 1catholicsalmon on October 12, 2013
https://1catholicsalmon.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/cartoon-from-la-nacion/
The Game of Interpreting the Pope
A very sound interpretation methinks.
Posted by 1catholicsalmon on October 12, 2013
https://1catholicsalmon.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/the-game-of-interpreting-the-pope/
‘Blessed are you for Believing.’
As part of the Year of Faith, the theme of this year’s Marian Day is ‘Blessed are you for Believing.’
Pope Francis will consecrate the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on October 13th as part of Marian Day celebrations that will involve the statue of Our Lady of Fatima.
The statue is normally kept in the Shrine of Fatima in Portugal but will be in Rome this weekend for the consecration which is one of the highlights of the ongoing Year of Faith.
Our Lady of Fatima appeared to three shepherd children in the village of Fatima in Portugal in 1917. She warned of violent trials in the twentieth century if the world did not make reparation for sins. She urged prayer and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The statue of Our Lady of Fatima.
The shrine at Fatima where Our Lady appeared to the visionaries.
Lúcia dos Santos with fellow visionaries Jacinta and Francisco Marto.
The Basilica at Fatima.
It is hoped that the Year of Faith, declared by Pope Benedict XVI, has helped us to deepen this great gift which we can easily take for granted. The apostles begged the Lord to increase their faith as they knew Faith’s paramount importance in their relationship with Jesus. Jesus assures them and us that it takes only a little Faith, the size of a mustard seed, to make the impossible possible. Without doubt we need Faith to help us face the hostile atmosphere we often find ourselves surrounded with – life without God, love, hope and purpose. Faith, Hope and Charity (Love) make all the difference in our dealings with many who have lost the reason to live. We need that Faith which the apostles prayed for, so that we may be strengthened to stand firm and be of help to those who have lost faith in God, man/woman and themselves. Rightly it has been said, “the righteous shall live by his faith.” (Hab. 2:4)
Posted by 1catholicsalmon on October 12, 2013
https://1catholicsalmon.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/blessed-are-you-for-believing/
Fr. Peter at Mass.
Before Mass started I smiled to myself, knowing that Father Peter finds the noise and the fidgeting at the children’s Mass ‘challenging.’
Today, Father kept us a little longer as we had to complete the parish census forms. A good idea, because he wanted them back straight after Mass. Helpers were stationed in the narthex with collection baskets at the ready. So, to the tune of baby squalls and very restless toddlers, we dutifully filled in the forms before we left the building to the rousing sound of percussion instruments being played as accompaniment to the hymn by those very same toddlers and children. (I attended the 9:30 this morning, always packed to the the rafters.)
I love Father’s homilies and always come away with something to think about, and this morning as I left Mass I asked if he would mind me taking notes during his homilies, because my memory is just not co-operating. I always wish that I did have a pen and paper at the ready, because I know there will be something I’ll want to share and never remember what it is. I will be suitably armed with pen and paper from now on.
Father spoke about faith today as I’m sure all priests did, and his message to the parents of the children who are about to start the Holy Communion course was about prayer. Teach them ‘arrow prayers’. Prayers that are sharp and to the point. Such as the prayer that reminds us of St. Thomas, ‘My Lord and my God.’ This we say as the body of Christ is held up for veneration after the consecration of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of or Lord Jesus Christ.
The other one he mentioned, ‘Lord increase my faith today.’ He made reference to St. Augustine for this one one…I forget the link he made with St Augustine(hence the need for pen and paper!) Both of these little ‘arrow prayers’ are pretty powerful in themselves as they serve to increase our faith and worship our God as all-powerful at the same time.
Posted by 1catholicsalmon on October 6, 2013
https://1catholicsalmon.wordpress.com/2013/10/06/fr-peter-at-mass/
‘Hear me clearly, I am a Christian.’
Posted by 1catholicsalmon on October 6, 2013
https://1catholicsalmon.wordpress.com/2013/10/06/hear-me-clearly-i-am-a-christian/
‘ Kolbe’s Gift.’ Valuable nuggets of Faith, shared centre-stage.
‘KOLBE’S GIFT’ is a play that is challenging and thought provoking. I booked thickets to see it way back in July, as I knew that the demand for tickets would be great. I was not mistaken. The demand to see this production forced the provision of another showing .
Blessed Maximillian is one of my favourite saints and the play forced me to look at his life from a different perspective: How did his gift of life to Franciszek Gajownicek (his fellow prisoner in the concentration camp at Auschwitz) impact on the survivor’s lfe? And more importantly:- How is his gift of life to Franciszek Gajownicek impacting on my life?
Here is a summary of his story at Auschwitz as written at Courage.net
To discourage escapes, the Auschwitz had a rule that if a man escaped, ten prisoners would be killed in response. In July 1941, the Nazis thought a man from Kolbe’s bunker had escaped. (After this incident, the “escaped” prisoner was found drowned in the camp latrine.)
“The fugitive has not been found!” the commandant Karl Fritsch screamed. “So ten of you will die in his place in the starvation bunker.” Ten men were selected, including Franciszek Gajowniczek, who had been imprisoned for helping the Polish Resistance. When he was selected, Franciszek could not help but cry out, “My wife! My poor children! What will they do?”
Suddenly and silently, Maximilian Kolbe stepped forward. Astounded, the Nazi commandant asked,“What does this Polish pig want?” Maximilian took off his cap, and stood before the Commandant and requested, “I am a Catholic Priest from Poland; I would like to take this man’s place because he has a wife and children.”
The Commandant remained silent for a moment, then accepted the request. The Nazis had more use for a young worker than for an old Priest. So Franciszek Gajowniczek was returned to the ranks, and Maximilian took his place.
Soon after Kolbe was thrown with 9 other men into the starvation bunker and left to die. One by one, the men died of hunger and thirst. After two weeks, only four were left alive. But since the cell was needed for new prisoners, the camp executioner came in and injected a lethal dose of carbolic acid into the left arm of each of the four remaining men. And soon it was all over…
So Father Maximilian Kolbe was executed on August 14, 1941, at the age of forty-seven, a martyr of charity. His body was removed to the crematorium, and without dignity or ceremony, disposed of.
An excellent portrait of the people surrounding Blessed Kolbe’s life at the concentration camp was meticulously painted, line by line, details that would come together as a unified whole as the meaning of the gift of his life, for Franciszek Gajownicek’s played out in front of us. My heart went out to Franciszek and his wife as they struggled with the doubt and derision of acquaintances as he told the story of Fr. Maximillian’s sacrifice over and over again.
Franciszek Gajowniczek
Franciszek Gajowniczek lived a full life, dying on March 13, 1995, in Poland at the age of 95… 53 years after Kolbe had saved him from execution. Franciszek never forgot the priest. After his release from Auschwitz, Gajowniczek spent the next five decades paying homage to Father Kolbe. Every year on August 14 he went back to Auschwitz and honoured the man who died on his behalf.
The nuggets which I took away with me:
- Stand up for what you know to be true, proudly and without faltering.
- Live out your Faith. Even unto death.
- You are either a Christian with convictions, or you are an empty vessel, worth little. Truth will endure.
- The blood of the martyrs is the seed of Faith.
- You have nothing to fear if you believe in Jesus.
- I too have a job to do. I will play a part in a story that I do not know is unfolding, however small.
- God will use me.
The story of Blessed Maximillian Kolbe can be bought from CTS publications. It is based upon his writings and first-hand testimonies from people who knew him., many of whom the author Fr. James E. McCurry, has known and interviewed.
The release of this play this week is not coincidental. This story marries beautifully with the readings of today.
(Readings taken from Universalis– emphasis mine)
| Second reading | 2 Timothy 1:6-8,13-14 © |
|---|
I am reminding you to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but with me, bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God.
Keep as your pattern the sound teaching you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. You have been trusted to look after something precious; guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
Posted by 1catholicsalmon on October 6, 2013
https://1catholicsalmon.wordpress.com/2013/10/06/kolbes-gift-valuable-nuggets-of-faith-shared-centre-stage/
Mary and the Living Tradition of the Church
An excellent summation of the Tradition of the Church with regards to Our Lady.
Posted by 1catholicsalmon on October 4, 2013
https://1catholicsalmon.wordpress.com/2013/10/04/mary-and-the-living-tradition-of-the-church/
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