June 13, 2005
Last night I was with friends and we were discussing various things that Holy Mother Church teaches mankind are sinful. One cares about me a lot, and she is worried that my guilt I feel when I do things "wrong" is instilled in me for no reason. We began talking, and she said that it seems as if I talk an awful lot about rules and deep theology, but that I never speak of my childlike faith in our Lord. It felt like a slap in the face. I knew I had been influenced heavily by Belloc but the one criticism I always had about him (other than the lack of source citations) was that he never talked about Christ. Other acquaintances of mine know the opposite about me, but that's because I've felt more comfortable being open and talking about spirituality with them. So here I bring you a new weekly column: Truth and Love.
Readers can expect Truth and Love to be the one section of this site where everyone can get something. Other sections take a hard look at heresy and tell it, "Be gone!" This section is about how to be a disciple and grow closer to the Lord. Don't be confused: this section will not endorse any form of heterodoxy, but there are certain things all Catholics (and maybe even some Protestants or people of other faiths) can agree on. If they are going to find it anyway on this site, this is the place. I hope you enjoy Truth and Love and check back often.
June 20, 2005
Last Thursday I watched on TV one of my favorite people in the entire world: Sean Forrest. His website is www.mwts.org and he is a Catholic convert, youth evangelist, and musician. His words have inspired me for this week's column.
In his song, "If God is Good" he sings:
If God is Love, and God is good
Tell me, why do I feel so misunderstood?
Am I the only one that He didn't die for?
Am I the only one He's not reaching for,
if God is Good?
Been a long time since I felt any loving.
Been a long time since my heart's been filled with joy.
What does it take to stop my heart from breaking? I don't know anymore.
If God is Love, and God is good
Tell me, why do I feel so misunderstood?
Am I the only one that He didn't die for?
Am I the only one He's not reaching for,
if God is Good?
Too many hurts, too many frustrations, too many pains from my own home.
It's hard to believe when the world has given me an empty heart that's so cold
But they tell me that You're with me in my darkest hour.
They're so many. That makes You my best friend.
And they say You know how I feel, it happened long ago.
You brought love and they said, "No."
So God is Love,
and God is Good,
but sometimes He must feel so misunderstood
cause He's the only one who's ever died for me
and He's the only one reaching for me cause God is Good. Yes, God is Good.
Many of us today don't stop and realize what this means. We all have our moments where, in pain, we forget that God doeslove us, or we (myself included) take for granted God's love. We can be assured, however, that His love for us is real. God loves us so much that He came down from Heaven, experienced our painful lives (did it without sin, amazingly enough), and then died the most painful death so that we could spend forever in Heaven, knowing that at that time, no one really cared and that most people never would care. They would reject His love. He has loved us from eternity and planed to die for us before we knew He could.
That is the face of Love. A love freely given (we do not earn it), totally given (none of it is held back. The greater the sinner, the greater a right to God's mercy and love.), faithfully given (Christ's love will always be offered to us), and fruitfully given (salvation was gained for us).
June 30, 2005
Why we read:
One area where Catholics are sorely lacking is in their study of Sacred Scripture. We tend to think that since we hear more Scripture at Mass than most Protestants do, we don't need to study it outside of Church. The problem is that even with the amount we hear at Mass, we need to have a more cohesive idea of the Bible. Daily Scripture reading is a must for any serious Christian, because as St. Jerome says, "Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." We cannot know Christ, or God, without it. If we go back and watch all the movies about Christ or read books about him, the only modern ones that actually get his personality correct are Jim Caviezel in The Passion of the Christ and the character of Aslan the lion in C.S Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. This shows that Jesus is not a simple character; the only way, apart from the Sacraments and prayer, to know him is Sacred Scripture. Many times people want to invent their own morality and say Jesus would approve it when Christ himself says the exact opposite in Scripture. No one can make a well-informed decision about Christ without first reading the Gospels.
How to read:
Daily Scriptural reading should be done, of course, from a Catholic translation of the Bible. Unlike reading a novel or other ordinary book, Holy Scripture must be read prayerfully. Before starting your daily reading, say a short prayer to the Holy Spirit, asking Him to enlighten your mind and heart. Eventually, each Catholic should, in his lifetime, read the entire thing. However, if you have not been reading the Bible on a daily basis before, begin with the Gospel of Matthew. Read, everyday, at least one chapter. To let what you read sink in fully, never read more than 15 minutes. After finishing Matthew, temporarily skip Mark, and read Luke and John. Now, go back to Mark, the shortest Gospel. Find yourself the time and read the entire Gospel of Mark without stopping. The person of Christ will come completely alive, I've been told. I have yet not had the chance to do it in one sitting. After this, go back to the previous reading method, read Acts of the Apostles, and then finally return to Genesis and read the Bible cover to cover.
July 4, 2005
The following text is to be present to a class of 4th and 5th graders this week by Donato.
Do you know how much you are loved by God? Because we are sinners, God wanted to redeem us and teach us how to live a good life. 2,000 years ago God Himself, the very God who created us, came to Earth. He taught us how to live and said, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest commandment. The second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus, God Incarnate, taught all sorts of radical things and worked miracles. Twice he fed thousands of people with less than ten loaves of bread. He turned water into wine. He said, "Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have no life within you." Because of his teachings, the people around him put him to death, but on the night before he died, Jesus instituted the Mass as our weekly, even daily, community worship. Jesus, being God, could have avoided his death, but he knew that he wanted us to be with him for eternity. He said he'd rise on the third day. So he shed his blood for us. All of you close your eyes now and imagine being whipped 30 times on the back. Then, someone places a crown of thorns on your head. It's pushed in, cutting you. The blood mixes with sweat, runs into your eyes and burns. Then, you are forced to carry a cross on your back half a mile. It's incredibly heavy. The 30 pounds weigh on you, and you collapse, only to be yelled at and hit more. You don't say a word. You pray for these roman soldiers, these sinners, who beat you. Your mom is watching all of this and she's crying. She can't stand to watch her precious child be killed. Her heart is being broken, and that pains you. Why are you letting this happen to you? You are God, the King of Heaven, with a complete army of angels that would help you, if you wanted, but you don't call upon them. You have come to die for all sinners. Sinners like these guards. Sinners like us. Imagine that. That's how much God loves us. He didn't have to die for us, but he did. And the entire time he knew that most of the people he was dying for wouldn't care. He died for those living today before we even could care. But God had a plan. On the Sunday after his bodily death, his tomb was empty, like he had said. He re-appeared to his disciples and taught them more. Peter, a sinner just like the rest of us who denied Christ three times, was chosen by Christ to lead his flock when Jesus was gone. Peter's name was once Simon, but Jesus changed his name to Peter, meaning rock in Greek when he said, "Blessed are you Simon, for no mere person has told you that I am the Messiah, but the Heavenly Father has, and so I say to you, Simon, you are Peter, the rock on which I'll build my Church, and Hell shall never defeat it." Jesus wanted one Church, one community of Christians, and commanded Peter to lead it as pope in his name. Peter went to Rome and was martyred, which means killed for the faith, because he told people that Christ rose. Actually, many people who saw Christ rise from the dead all died saying it. Not a single one admitted to making it up. They all insisted on it. They had everything to gain by changing their mind, but they knew the truth. Christ had died. Christ had risen. Christ promised to come again.
(holding up magazine with pope on cover)Do you know who this is? This is Pope Benedict 16th. He is the 265th pope, and he speaks for Christ here on Earth. For 2,000 years all Catholics have believed the same things about God because Christ himself promised that no error would enter the Church. Our diocese, Worcester, has a bishop named Robert. Bishops are those entrusted by Christ, along with the pope, in making sure the faith does not change. Bishops are successors to the other Apostles, just like Pope Benedict is to Peter. The role of bishop is just one role in the Church. We all have a role to play in the community known as the Church. Our role depends upon what God calls us to do, and this is called a vocation. "God calls some to be Apostles like Robert our Bishop, others to be prophets like St. Faustina, others to preach like Deacon Joe, others as pastors like Father Thirb, others as teachers like me, others to help the poor like Mother Teresa." Someday you will have to pray to find your vocation. Some of you may be called to be priests or nuns. Others of you will be called to be married, have families, and serve the Lord that way. Some of you may be called to live single in the world. Those are callings that require a lifestyle change and much thinking. Some callings, however, like that of being a reader at Mass, or joining the choir, take a lot less thought. These callings are that of liturgical roles. One calling for young people at Mass is to be an altar server. At Mass, the priest brings Christ to the people. He confects the bread and wine into the Flesh and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ so that we can be saved. Priests can do this alone, but we can help them. They need help to prepare the altar, help them hold the books as they pray, and do other things. Altar serving is a great way for young people to help during Mass. There's a class this fall for anyone interested, which should hopefully be all of you.
July 11, 2005
Pilate said to Jesus, "Where are you from?" Jesus did not answer him.
After Jesus had been mocked and beaten, he was silent to the one man who had Earthly power over him.
These past two days I've learned a very important lesson from Jesus. I always knew that I should imitate Christ in all ways, but in this one manner, I never got it down right. Last night I was undergoing a similar treatment as Christ, being made mocked for my faith, and normally I make a sarcastic remark or say something full of love. Neither has ever worked to A) make it stop or B) make the person realize he was wrong. Last night, however, by the grace of God, I had nothing to say. The person who made the comment was laughing, as was the other person there. I sat there silently, and after the laughter died, the person who said it turned to me, "Can you not just sit there? Say something." I told him I had nothing to say. There was some more silence and the moment passed back to regular events. After the next conversation ended, he turned to me and said, "I'm sorry for that past half an hour." I told him that I had already forgiven him and wasn't going to hold it against him. Christ's silent method worked. May God give me the grace to use it again next time.
July 18, 2005
Almost two years ago, on the feast of Our Lady of the Angels, I joined the Militia Immaculata of St. Maximilian Kolbe and consecrated myself to Mary. People consecrate themselves for all sorts of reasons. Mother Teresa explained her consecration this way, "Who taught St. Maximilian the joy of giving until it hurt? Our Lady - to whom he had entrusted everything. The same will be true of us. If we entrust ourselves to Our Lady, she will teach us the joy of loving like Jesus." My consecration was for several reasons. One was that I wanted to promise God, through Mary (since Jesus came to us through Mary) that I would follow the one commandment Mary gives us in Scripture: "Do whatever he tells you" (John 2:5). Another was that I knew Mary at Fatima had placed great importance on consecration to her immaculate heart converting souls, so I thought I would do as she asked. Lastly, and the most important reason, was that as mediatrix of all grace, I knew Mary could strengthen me in my spiritual life, especially in these rough teenage years.
The national website of the Militia Immaculata writes, "Not everyone who enrolls as a member understands perfectly in the beginning the power of this consecration." I didn't either. That summer I spent many days praying to God, "I will do whatever you want me to do, as long as it isn't to be a priest." Within a few months I was in contact with the vocations director for my diocese, although my future is still uncertain. Grace can be powerful.
I have been praying for family and friends to convert for over a year, and I recently began entrusting them to Mary. Two minor conversions have occurred. The first was when a friend of mine entrusted a friend of his who had been engaging in sinful sexual acts. The next day the young man had resolved to seek penance and never look back. The other deals with a friend of mine who was pro-choice. Within two days of his consecration to Mary, he had become pro-life. I continue to entrust one friend or family member of mine each day to Mary, right after I renew my consecration. If you are not a member of the Militia Immaculata, I cannot recommend enough that you consecrate yourself to Mary and join. The link to their website was at the top. "The fastest way to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is through the Immaculate Heart of Mary."
July 23, 2005
It's said that only 4% of Catholics in the United States agree with and follow all of the Church's teachings. I have no idea what the source of that statistic is. Many Catholics disagree with various Church teachings such as its ban on women's ordination, contraception, and non-marital intercourse. Many say, "Since I don't agree with the Church's teaching on contraception, it's not a sin for me, as I'm following my conscience." However, the Church teaches we must have a well-informed conscience before making decisions on things, and that only applies to "grey areas" on which the Church has no specific teaching. It's important that we have a well-informed conscience in matters of morals, and in the matter of doctrine, at least make an effort to understand why the Church teaches that it is impossible to ordain women. For example, one day an English teacher I had raised the issue and said, "I don't see why having a penis makes men superior to women." Another student said, "Jesus was just a product of his time." Now, both of these claims are answered in practically every book on the topic of women's ordination. Why haven't they sought them out? Because people are satisfied not knowing the Truth. If they were to discover that their claims are answerable, they would have to change their position and submit to Christ's will. Is there something so wrong with being wrong? The deeper I have delved into Catholic theology, the more I have changed my opinion on many topics. I don't see anything wrong with that. To use an analogy: most people are stuck with the idea that the leech is a good form of medicine and are afraid to try something new.
Now, I'm not recommending that everyone rush out to bookstores and buy every book on every Church teaching they don't know. First, they should find out what the Church actually teaches by reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Then, if people want to learn more, they should seek out people well versed in what are and are not good books on Catholic topics. Even if they haven't read all the books by certain authors, they'll have a good idea who is worth a read. (They may even recommend reading it straight from the Church's mouth or be able to extemporaneously explain it themselves!) If, along with prayer and daily Scripture reading, more Christians began studying the Church for 15 minutes a day, the people of God would be transformed into a radically new set of people: holier, more apostolic, and happier.
July 31, 2005
Last night I attended the Proud2Bcatholic music festival at the Marist House. Tom Brady Senior spoke, and he mentioned how he doesn't particularly like the word 'proud" in the title. He always remembers what his mom taught him, "Pride comes before the fall." He proposed other titles such as "lucky", "thankful", or "graced" to be a Catholic. Proud is certainly how people acted at the festival, but it wasn't an egotistic pride. Other languages have two words for types of pride, and one is not the deadly sin type. The positive kind of pride at the festival reflects when we say, "This is our faith. We are proud to profess it in Christ Jesus our Lord."
But Tom Brady had a point. We are truly privileged to be Catholic, and we need to show our appreciation by bringing Christ to those who need him. The faith, Mr. Brady said, helps get us through the hard times. It helps us cope with the problems of everyday life like arguments and larger issues such as addictions and death. In a favorite song of mine, Sean Forrest sings: "Gina seemed a little tired, working second shift, trying to pay the bills and raise a child, making only tips. Now she's working with children and spreading the word of the one who saved her life…" Christ doesn't just save us eternally, although that is the more important matter, but he also saves us here and now. The sacraments are powerful. They are crutches for we who are spiritually crippled. We need to tell others how Christ has helped us and let Christ help others. As a cardinal, Pope Benedict XVI said that he found it immature how we are all so preoccupied with the issues of abortion, divorce, and women's ordination in the west, but we act as if we have no faith in Jesus at all as we don't even share it. May we always be generous enough to bring Christ to others who need him. Amen.
August 3, 2005
Catholic Education at parishes in the United States is greatly failing the youth of the Church. (Possibly this is a worldwide problem, I don't know enough to comment.) Last week, I had three friends, one of which even went to a Catholic school, tell me they had no idea what Eucharistic adoration was. Last night, one of them told me that the Church's teaching on economics was socialism, and that was one point he dissented on. Nothing could be further from the truth.
I can understand not fully comprehending Rerum Novarum but to miss that mark that much saddened me. And I guarantee that what he told me was exactly what he had been taught. And for teens to have never experience, let alone heard of, adoration is a complete scandal.
When I told my friend that the Church was not socialistic, he was furious that he had been robbed of his faith. What the answer is to the catechesis problem, I do not know. I just know there is one, and I'm doing the best I can to catechize myself and those around me.
August 8, 2005
Because of several vacations, the times I have recently uploaded articles has not been on the usual Monday schedule. Sorry for that. This is next Monday's article a full week in advance.
I do not have time to write this article, so I'm letting someone else's past writings do the work for me. Sorry for dissapointing you. A Spiritual Consultant
August 22, 2005
I'll let you draw your own conclusions about St. Don Bosco's dream and our current Pontiff. These texts are from two websites. On 30 May 1862 Don Bosco at his 'Good Night' talk told his boys, and the young clerics he was training, about a dream he had dreamt a few nights previously:
"Try to picture yourselves with me on the seashore, or, better still, on an outlying cliff with no other land in sight. The vast expanse of water is covered with a formidable array of ships in battle formation, prows fitted with sharp spear-like beaks capable of breaking through any defence. All are heavily armed with cannons, incendiary bombs, and firearms of all sorts - even books - and are heading toward one stately ship, mightier than them all. As they try to close in, they try to ram it, set it afire, and cripple it as much as possible.
"This stately vessel is shielded by a flotilla escort. Winds and waves are with the enemy. In this midst of this endless sea, two solid columns, a short distance apart, soar high into the sky: one is surmounted by a statue of the Immaculate Virgin at whose feet a large inscription reads: Help of Christians; the other, far loftier and sturdier, supports a [Communion] Host of proportionate size and bears beneath it the inscription Salvation of believers.
"The flagship commander - the Roman Pontiff [the Pope]- seeing the enemy's fury and his auxiliary ships very grave predicament, summons his captains to a conference. However, as they discuss their strategy, a furious storm breaks out and they must return to their ships…
About Pope Benedict's arrival at WYD:
"German-born Pope Benedict XVI took to the broad Rhine river to preach to his flock from the bow of a cruise ship on his homecoming trip to his native land - his first foreign trip as Pope…"The strong wind pulled off his white papal skullcap as he got off the plane, blowing it back inside the cabin…The wind also toppled the World Youth Day cross from the bow of the cruise ship, breaking one of its arms. The cross was first used during World Youth Day in 2000 in Rome and has been carried around the world by Catholic youth groups, was quickly fixed."
August 29, 2005
Happy Birthday to Me
Today is my birthday, and I therefore know that today is the day St. John the Baptist was beheaded. St. John's essential message was a baptism of repentance. Contrary to what most think, Jews did baptize but only converts. The idea that the descendent should be re-baptized was what was foreign to them. Although the baptism of St. John was not sacramental, and did not wash away sins like the baptism of Christ does, it was a symbolic act saying to God, "Yes, Lord, I repent of my sins." Jesus Christ gave us a way to do this too, although most of us don't use it often enough, and it's the Sacrament of Reconciliation, more commonly known as confession.
Contrary to what our Protestant brethren think, confession does have both Biblical and Apostolic roots. I won't go into proving the early Church documents that talk about it, but I will provide evidence from the Bible. Christ was sent by the Father, and one thing the Son had the power to do was forgive sins. At John 20:21-23 he says, "As the Father sent me, so I send you." He then breathes on them, like God did when He created us, and says "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, whose sins you retain are retained." Now, Jesus clearly established a method for the forgiveness of sins. He would not have done so if he didn't want us to use it. This is how we tell God that we want to turn around our lives after failure, and when the priest absolves us, we are truly forgiven, as Christ promised. I advise all Catholics to go to regular, monthly confession, as all of us, from the seven year old child, to the Holy Father, are sinners.
September 5, 2005
I have now begun my life as a college student. Since site traffic has increased steadily over the past two months, I know that more than just people who personally know me read this, and it may come to some a surprised that I am only in college. Expect articles to appear randomly throughout the week as opposed to only on Monday.
Last week I went to see two movies at the drive-in with my friends. From one I expected hedonism and the other I thought was going to be cleaner. Both were far more hedonistic than I thought. Both were comedies, and neither one offered anything artistic or meaningful. At least Garden State, presenting all the errors of today, offers something to the mind. Forty Year Old Virgin and The Wedding Crashers do not. Plenty of other art forms, both painting and music, are similar. This is where the importance of truly Catholic music, art, and theatre come. Catholic musicians like Sean Forrest and Sarah Bauer are vastly superior to John Mayer and Britney Spears, and neither offer the world pagan values. Discover the rich world of Catholic art and music.
Donato Recommends:
The Heretic by William Baer
Septemer 12, 2005
Recent news reports suggest that Pope Benedict XVI is going to condense the Roman curia in order than it doesn’t become more bogged down, slow, inefficient, etc. We, too, need to do this in our own personal lives within the Church. When Jesus founded the Church, the one thing all Christians had in common was discipleship. We today join lots of Church organizations like the Knights of Columbus, Daughters of Isabella, Knights of Malta, Militia Immaculata, and the Cardinal Newman Society. We get involved in our parishes as readers or on the parish pastoral council. All of these are great organizations and things to do (I do some of them), but by themselves, they are not good enough. What each person needs is a personal discipleship that totally transforms our lives. Personal discipleship begins with prayer, Scripture, spiritual reading, etc. Only then can we take our lives that our continually being transformed in Christ and work within these man-made groups in a truly Christian way.
In my philosophy of world religions class, taught by the famous Dr. Peter Kreeft, we have learned many things are common to many world religions. One such thing a variation on a famous quote, found both in Japan, apparently, and in Catholic Europe. “Spend 30 minutes in prayer everyday, except when you are busy: then spend an hour.” Professor Kreeft then told us that a recent study showed that those who do spend time in silent prayer everyday get work done more efficiently because oxygen flows better to the brain. As a strong believer in the natural law, that clearly tells me that our bodies were built to pray.
You may remember that the Dream of Don Bosco that many believed was a prophesy about Pope Benedict XVI saw two pillars: Mary and the Eucharist. There is no better a place to clear one’s mind than in silent prayer before the Eucharist, Christ Jesus our Lord Himself. There is no better way to meditate on the life of Jesus than that of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Make an effort to add Eucharistic adoration and the Rosary to your life, daily if possible. Beg your priests to allow perpetual adoration, which everywhere implemented results in tremendous parish growth. Continuous prayer at a parish is saving parishes from themselves all over the world. “Will not God then secure the rights of the chosen ones who call out to Him day and night? Will He be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily” (Luke 18: 7-8).
Nowadays, everyone seems to be an expert on everything. My school paper had a girl write today as if the bishops are totally unaware of what is going on in our Church and that none of them have ever read the Book of Romans. Vatican II wanted to be a source of renewal but wrecked havoc on the Church. (In all fairness, normally panic ensues after a council until the faithful study carefully the documents and implement them.) Vatican II’s plan was to open the Church up to the world. This didn’t mean to throw away all our Traditions but to try and rediscover lost treasures within our Church. For example, a renewed study in the Early Church Fathers including St. Augustine, who had a very different way of evangelizing people than St. Thomas Aquinas did. Some documents from the early Church have never been translated into English. We must continue to study all the time, to grow in knowledge of the Truth. Knowing how the Church solved the problems of the past will help us solve the problems of today.
Last Wednesday, I believe, we heard in the Gospel that anyone who puts his hand to the plowshare and looks back is not worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven. As someone discerning a vocation, I thought about this and wondered: am I called to take vows, like a Franciscan? If so, is going diocesan, and not have a vow of poverty, looking back for me? Is to be a Christian and not commit oneself to helping the poor when God calls us to do so looking back? I’d have to say, yes. Similarly, is being a Catholic and still use contraceptives in marriage looking back? Yes. We are not willing to make God Lord of our Life. If more people made God the complete and total Lord of their Lives, would poverty be diminished? Yes. Would we have a shortage not of priests but of seminaries? Yes. Each of us needs to re-dedicate ourselves to God everyday. I recommend praying this prayer everyday with a sincere and open heart:
Dear Lord, I do not know what will happen to me today. I only know that nothing will happen that was not foreseen by You, and directed to my greater good from all eternity. I adore Your holy and unfathomable plans, and submit to them with all my heart for love of You, the Pope, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Amen.
October 10, 2005
Due to the holiday and my sister's wedding yesterday, I will not be updating this week.
There is a lesson we can learn from the event of Jesus walking on water. When Pope St. Peter tried to do it, he was successful at first, but as the storm worsened, he took his eyes off Christ and he began to sink. Each time that we take our eyes of God we begin to sink. There are many ways to keep our eyes on God at all times. One is prayer and another is Christian service. Additionally, when bad things happen to us, we must turn to God and not away from Him. We must try to see as He sees. Let us commit ourselves to keep our eyes on God and raise our minds throughout each day up to Him, to let us to see more clearly how He sees.
To be found in an upcoming issue of the Boston College Observer
Sunday, October 23 marked the first canonizations celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI. Canonization is the declaration by a Pope that a person is worthy of the title saint and should be venerated throughout the universal Church. Unlike Pope John Paul the Great, the Holy Father has opted not to celebrate beatifications, the step before sainthood, returning to the traditional practice where cardinals celebrate the lesser rite. Five new saints were canonized in all.
St. Felice da Nicosia was an 18th century Capuchin friar with a strong Eucharistic devotion and the gifts of healing and bilocation, being in two different places at once. St. Gaetano Catanoso was a pious Italian priest who died in 1963. He was spiritual director at the local seminary, hospital, and prison, and founded the Congregation of the Daughters of Saint Veronica, also known as the Missionaries of the Holy Face. St. Jósef Bilczewski was the Roman Rite Archbishop of Lviv in present-day Ukraine from 1900 to his death in 1923. Through World World I, the Polish-Ukranian War, Bolshevik Invasion, and anti-Catholic campaign run by the Communists, he protected all those who lived in his archdiocese, regardless of race or religion. St. Zygmunt Gorazdowski lived from 1845 to 1920. He founded shelters for the poor, a dormitory for the poor at a college, and a shelter for single mothers and their children or abandoned children.
Of particular importance to the Boston College community is the canonization of St. Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga, the 50th Jesuit saint. Born in 1901 in Chile, St. Alberto’s ministry was vast, from writing scholarly articles, teaching at a college, helping the poor and homeless, founding a labor union, and working with youth. He died in 1952 and was canonized faster than any Jesuit in history. “Our new Jesuit saint was instrumental in helping men and women from all walks of life discover their personal call from God,” wrote the Boston College rector, Father Paul Harman, in a public memo to the Jesuits. He concluded with an exhortation to the Jesuits. “We can confidently ask the intercession of this new Jesuit saint in rekindling the personal call that led each of us to Jesus and to the Society that bears his name.”
Because I spent a huge portion of my day working upon something, there will be no update this week.
Jesus told us to love our enemies and to pray for them. How often do we do this? Do Americans nightly pray for Osama bin Laden? Do pro-lifers pray for abortion doctors? Did John Kerry pray for George Bush last year throughout the election cycle, and did George Bush reciprocate? For the most part, I’d say we moderns do not. We vilify them. “The Islamic terrorists hate the Christian West” (as if such a thing exists today). “He’s a baby murderer.” “Incompetent idiot.” “Flip-flopper.” Christian charity commands us to rise above such petty attacks and actually love one another and pray for each other I doubt many pro-lifers who protest at abortion clinics know the name of the doctor and nurses inside or the volunteer escorts outside, nor do they ever intend to introduce themselves. Christian charity demands we do.
