Saturday, June 22, 2013

Thayer man discovers the Catholic Church while studying in Israel

From the Catholic Diocese of Wichita, a familiar conversion story of a protestant who became Catholic after studying the early Church as well as its Jewish roots.

“The more we came to know Catholicism, the more we identified commonalities with Judaism, especially in liturgy,” said Umbarger. “Getting to know actual Jews and actual Catholics exploded this myth, and gave us the uncomfortable task of determining whether or not the churches we had been brought up in actually were based on New Testament models.”


Second, Umbarger began to read the church fathers “ravenously.”

“Over and over again, I discovered that the earliest documents of the church reflected a Catholic framework,” said Umbarger. “Non-Catholics had to either force the words of the fathers to contravene their plain sense, or to find heresy in their writings, usually endorsed in an official sense in the Catholic Church.”

The Last Counter-Reformation Pope

From Catholic Exchange:

George Weigel looks at Pope Paul VI, the Charlie Brown of Popes, everything he did got all messed up.  Only Weigel puts it more scholarly like and as usual he has a great understanding of the big picture.

"Paul VI, to be sure, helped hasten that transition. He brought the Second Vatican Council to a successful close—although he did not provide keys for the authentic interpretation of the Council’s accomplishment, leaving that task to John Paul II and Benedict XVI. The lack of such keys during the 13 years between the Council’s conclusion and Pope Paul’s death was one reason why the wheels seemed to fly off the Catholic Church for two decades. Amidst the chaos, Paul VI tried to craft an exercise of the papacy adequate to the Church’s reformed self-understanding as a communion of disciples in mission. Yet virtually every one of his accomplishments in implementing the Council had its shadow-side."




Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Bishop Murphy to Ordain Two Men to Priesthood on 6/27/13

2013 Ordinations

The website of the Diocese of Rockville Centre has more info on the two men, both 27, who will be ordained to the priesthood this year.  I was hoping by now there would be the same short bios on the 14 men ordained to the permanent deaconate, but I do not see any on the DRVC website or at the Long Island Catholic website. That is too bad as it would be good for the people of the Diocese to know who the men are and their backgrounds.  There is a slideshow of pictures here.  The growth of the ranks of deacons has been a great untold story in the Church since the 1970's.  Even without much fanfare, or much support in some areas, the diaconate continues to grow and have contributed greatly to the Church.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Americans United for The Pope at Kellenberg

Reminder:  Thursday night there will be 2 video presentations shown at Kellenberg High School in Uniondale at 7:30 PM.  The first is on Mexican Priest Martyrs and the second is on the story of revert Judy Hehr.  For all the details see the post below, or click here.  These evenings are run by Arnold Pilsner who does a great job.

Viva Cristo Rey! The Cristeros Versus the Mexican Revolution

Catholic Culture.Org has an article by Christopher Check who gives an overview of the incredible story of The Cristeros.  These Catholic peasants were the subject of the recent film - For Greater Glory starring  Andy Garcia, Eva Longoria, Peter O'Toole, Bruce McGill, Ruben Blades, and Eduardo Verastegui.

This summary of the article gives the overview-

"Less than a century ago, the devoutly Catholic population of Mexico was de-Christianized by atheistic revolutionaries who declared war on the Catholic Church. Citizens who refused to comply were captured, tortured, and violently murdered. In this article, Christopher Check provides an excellent overview of the Cristero cause and how they restored the Catholic faith to Mexico."


Mother protecting her kids runs over a convicted rapist

For those of us who love justice and hate evil, this is a great story!

"A would-be carjacker messed with the wrong mom.

A Texas mother protecting her kids from an alleged knife-wielding carjacker engaged in a terrifying hand-to-hand fight behind the wheel of her vehicle that ended with the suspect being thrown out, run over and hospitalized.

"I told him he messed with the wrong witch," Dorothy Baker told ABC of her frantic battle coursing the roads of Baytown, Texas.

Police say Ismael Martinez, 54, snuck inside the backseat of Baker's parked unlocked minivan waiting for her to return from a CVS drug store when he sprung up on her.

Allegedly holding a knife to her oldest son, she says he demanded that she drive him to the nearest ATM"

Sunday, June 16, 2013

St. Genevieve Church has Fitness Ministry

I like this idea a lot:

"St. Genevieve Catholic Church parishioners recently celebrated the first anniversary of its fitness ministry with a Bayou Bash. Ministry members and their guests line danced the night away, showing off the numerous hip-hop, country, and Zydeco line dances they work out to in their Monday and Tuesday night fitness classes.


St. Genevieve Catholic Church, which is located near Slidell, was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
...

"Knowing that many church parishioners are suffering from ailments relating to aging, a fitness ministry was determined to be the best way to tackle both issues - raising money for the parish hall while improving the health and well-being of church members and others in the community.


For the past year, the St. Genevieve Fitness Ministry has offered line dancing classes every Tuesday night for a donation of $2. That weekly dance workout has been extended to Wednesday nights, for the same fee. Both sessions are from 7 to 8 p.m."

Read the rest of the article here.





2013 Priestly Ordinations Rockville Centre, Brooklyn

From St. Joseph's Seminary (Dunwoodie)

June 22, 2013, 11:00 AM
Diocese of Rockville Centre
Saint Agnes Cathedral

Deacon Jason Grisafi
Deacon Brandon O'Brien


June 29, 2013, 11:00 AM
Diocese of Brooklyn
The Cathedral Basilica of Saint James

Deacon Dwayne Davis
Deacon Raymond Flores
Deacon Stephen Giuletti
Deacon Paul Kim
Deacon Killick Pierrilus
Deacon Lucon Rigaud


July 6, 2013, 9:00 AM
Syro-Malankara Exarchate
Shrine of Our Lady of Czestpcjpwa
Doylestown, Pennslyvannia

Deacon Michael Edathil

Deacon Fortunatus Mugisha & Deacon Vian Ntegerej 'Imana
will be ordained in their home parishes in Uganda, then return to the Diocese of Rockville Centre
for two years of priestly service before returning permanently to their home in Uganda.