LACK OF REVERENCE FOR THE EUCHARIST PUTS PEOPLE OFF CATHOLICISM -Patrick Madrid

The 'lack of reverence' for the Holy Eucharist is not just happening in the US. I am afraid this wrong practice of abuse is also happening in the Philippines. I can enumerate them one by one but Brother Patrick Madrid's reflection below maybe an EYE-OPENER for every Catholic reading this article. During this year of Extraordinary Year of Mercy, please do one of the 7 Spiritual Works of Mercy by INSTRUCTING those Catholics and non-Catholics still are IGNORANT of our faith! -CD2000

By Francis Phillips for Catholic Herald
Posted Thursday, 16 Jun 2016

How lack of reverence for the Eucharist puts people off Catholicism

A woman receives Communion during a Mass for young adults at St Patrick's Cathedral in New York City (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

Patrick Madrid recalls the Mormon who told him: 'I've never seen Catholics show awe. So I guess they don't believe it'

Having referred to Patrick Madrid’s Life Lessons: Fifty Things I Learnt in My First Fifty Years (US, UK) in my last blog, I have found it both so readable and so full of wise reflections based on his own experiences (which could easily be the reader’s experiences too), that I will highlight another chapter here.

Madrid relates that, as a full-time Catholic apologist, he was once giving a lecture on the Catholic faith when a Mormon in the audience asked if he could speak to him later on. During their conversation, which happened to be on the Eucharist and the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle, the Mormon remarked, “I really don’t get the impression that most Catholics believe what you have just said about ‘the Eucharist’.”

Madrid was taken aback, commenting: “As a Catholic I figured that I’d know a whole heck of a lot better than what he, a Mormon, could possibly know about what Catholics believe, especially on something as central … as the Eucharist.” Then the Mormon explained that he had been to several Catholic weddings and to other Catholic Masses “And the Catholics I’ve seen there sure didn’t seem as though they believed in what you just said about Jesus being in the Eucharist.”

Ambassador says Padre Pio miraculously cured his son

St. Padre Pio, pray for us.

Don't abandon God because of 'attacks of evil' in church, pope says

The Holy Father is telling Catholics not to abandon the Church of Christ due to recent scandals that rocked the Church. Let's remained steadfast in our faith, "the gates of Hell will never prevail" (Mt. 16:18-19) against HIS Church. -CD2000

By Carol Glatz
Thanks to American Papist for the link he provided. Like it in Facebook.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI urged young people not to abandon their faith in God because of the "attacks of evil" within the church.

"Carry intact the fire of your love in this church every time that men have obscured her face," he said in a foreword to a new catechism edited specifically for young people.

The new "Youth Catechism," also called "YouCat," will be included in each pilgrim backpack for World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid.

The pope said he wanted to supplement the Catechism of the Catholic Church by translating it "into the language of young people and make its words penetrate their world."

Spot the Difference: 10 Things every Catholic and Muslim Should Do

American convert and writer, Yahiya Emerick (in RED), suggests ten easy things that every Muslim family can do to contribute to the betterment of Muslims and the establishment of Islam in the West.

In contrast, here is Salome Bintullah's (in BLUE) suggested ten things every Catholic should do and see the difference:

#1

Muslim: Sponsor an Orphan

Before anything else, there are hungry Muslim children everywhere who have needs right now. There are several reputable relief agencies who offer orphan sponsorship programs that only cost from $20-$40 a month. You and I know that's nothing expensive on your part - so do it. Some agencies even offer automated withdrawal so you can send a letter once with a voided check and never have to fill anything out again. Doing this can make you close to the Prophet in Paradise.

Christian: Sponsor an orphan. Emerick recommends that Muslim families sponsor a Muslim orphan. We shouldn't restrict ourselves to Christian orphans, but it is true that there are many Christian orphans. All orphans can benefit from our assistance. There are many Catholic and other Christian orphanages that you can donate to regularly.

#2

Benedict XVI Meets With Victims of Baghdad Church Massacre

Source: AINA

Vatican City -- Pope Benedict XVI met with Iraqi Christians injured during the Oct. 31 attack on Our Lady of Salvation Syriac Catholic Cathedral in Baghdad.

The 26 Iraqi Christians, led by Father Giorgio Jahola, attended the Pope's Wednesday General Audience Dec. 1. The group spoke later spoke with the Pontiff and met with Archbishop Fernando Filoni, the substitute for the General Affairs of the Secretariat of State and former papal nuncio to Iraq.

A one-year-old girl who lost her father and her three-year-old brother in the attack, as well as seven students attacked on their way to university classes, were among the group of Iraqis.

All 26 were able to make the trip to Rome with assistance from the Italian Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Vatican. The survivors of the attack--three children, 16 women and seven men--received medical treatment at Rome's Gemelli Hospital.

KNOW THE TRUTH SEMINAR CONTINUES by Atty. Marwil Llasos, O.P.

From Atty. Marwil Llasos, OP Blog- The on-going KNOW THE TRUTH SEMINAR of DEFENSORES FIDEI FOUNDATION has been highly successful. Graced with very good speakers, it is well-attended by participants and even guests froms non-Catholic groups who are open to know the truth.

The seminar is held at the Board Room, 3rd Floor of Amici Building, Missouri cor Connecticut Streets, Greenhills, San Juan. The following are the next topics and speakers:

Moments of Faith

Thanks to Patrick Button for these photos:



Mass on Iwo Jima



Mass on Saipan 1944



Mass in Vietnam 1966



The Otranto Cathedral with reliquaries behind the high altar containing the 800 skulls of the Puglian Catholics martyrs.



33 Chilean Miners Rescued: Faith Made them Strong

Miners as Metaphor: Hope Rescued from the Mine in Chile, World Invited to Begin Again

SAN JOSE MINE, Chile (Catholic Online) - Like the rest of the world I awakened with the plight of 33 miners in Chile immediately coming to my mind. I had drifted off to sleep last night praying for the success of the rescue mission which had already begun.

Throughout the evening, as time zones allowed, people of every nation watched, almost as sentries. Then, with the fresh light of dawn, I awakened to the colorful collage of safety jacket orange and celebrative flags illuminated by the sundrenched backdrop of the Chilean desert. Hope sprung forth from that dark mine and lit up the whole world.

The entire event seemed almost surreal.

It was as though it were all planned to inspire a global community enmeshed in cynicism, despair and fatigue. These 33 miners, trapped in the womb of the earth since August 5, 2010, began to emerge, one by one, before the eyes of one billion people throughout the world.

The best of humanity contending with what has seemed for so many as the worst of times; and goodness, faith, hope, love, virtue, human ingenuity and collaboration won the day. The events in the Chilean desert have already had an extraordinary impact.

Yet, the rescue - and its aftermath - has only just begun. These miners and their stories of courage, faith and perseverance will become the source of much needed reporting, prose and poetry - right in the nick of time.

It is as if we were all born again as that rescue tube brought them, one by one, to the surface to embrace their wives, children, neighbors and countrymen. The light of promise lit up the darkness of despair. Hope emerged from that mineshaft in Chile and the whole world seems renewed.

President Pinera of Chile told the more than 1,000 reporters gathered from the International Press "Chileans and the entire world are not going to forget this night.. When Chile unites, and it always happens in adversity, we are capable of big things." He was wearing the red jacket which he wore just after his Nation survived the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in February.

Standing next to him was Bolivian President Evo Morales. The youngest of the miners rescued is a Bolivian, 23 year old Carlos Mamani. The political relationship between these two Nations has already changed as a direct result of their response of solidarity in the face of adversity; a lesson for other Nations to follow. Solidarity is the path to peace.

As the day unfolds, the world will put aside much other news. What, just yesterday, seemed to be of such pressing importance, now dwarfs in light of the amazing lesson on display in the desert of Chile. What really matters in life has overwhelmed everything else. We are joined together, with one another, and we are our brother and sisters keeper.

Around the world, from schoolchildren to Heads of State, to Patriarch and Pope, persistent prayers have been offered on behalf of these miners. Heaven was besieged. In an age where it seemed like men and women had forgotten God, clearly, God has not forgotten us. We, along with all of those miners and their families, have been given a fresh start and an invitation to begin again.

The Chilean desert around the mineshaft has become a place of pilgrimage over the last 69 days, with its makeshift shrines and altars on display for the world to see. Overt signs of faith were naturally woven in with overt signs of brotherly and sisterly solidarity, compassion, affection, warmth and human dignity. Perhaps it will help bring us back to reality.

The miners have become a metaphor. They emerged from the darkness of what could have been a tomb. Instead, it became a womb of rebirth. To borrow the words of the President of Chile and expand them, "we are capable of big things". That is, when we turn back to the source of our greatness and rediscover what matters most.

Miner Mario Sepulveda speaking to the International Press put it so simply, "I was with God and with the devil. And I reached out for God." Now, it is our turn to do the reaching.

Pope Benedict prays for Chilean miners during rescue operation

Vatican Radio - Pope Benedict XVI said on Wednesday he is praying for the ongoing rescue operation in Chile, where the 69-day ordeal of 33 miners is coming to an end. The miners began leaving the mine at midnight local Chilean time. The miners have survived more time trapped underground than anyone on record, and the world was captivated by their endurance and unity as officials carefully planned.

The Holy Father's remarks came while addressing Spanish-speaking pilgrims during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square. The Pope said he “continues with hope to entrust to the goodness of God the miners in the region of Atacama”.The Ambassador from Chile to the Holy See, Fernando Zegers Santa Cruz, says the faith of the miners was important during the ordeal.

“The miners commended the operation to their patron St. Lawrence,” he told Vatican Radio. “The miners ‘downstairs’ and the families ‘upstairs’, they have all put their fortunes in the hands of God,” he said. “It has been a testimony of faith.”

The Rites of the Catholic Church

[Source: Catholic News Agency] - It may surprise most people to know that there are many different rites within the Catholic Church. Before discussing these rites it is important to note that different sources disagree on exactly what constitutes a rite and exactly how many there are.

A rite represents an ecclesiastical tradition about how the sacraments are to be celebrated. As the early Church grew and spread, it celebrated the sacraments as would be best understood and received in the context of individual cultures, without ever changing their essential form and matter. The early Church sought to evangelize in the major cultural centers of the first centuries A.D. These centers were Rome, Antioch (Syria), and Alexandria (Egypt). All the rites in use today evolved from the liturgical practices and ecclesiastical organization used by the churches in these cities.

The Church of Christ represented in these ecclesiastical traditions is known as a ritual church. The church in a certain territory is known as a particular church.

The Catholic Encyclopedia describes the situation this way: "Within the Catholic Church ... Canonical rites, which are of equal dignity, enjoy the same rights, and are under the same obligations. Although the particular churches possess their own hierarchy, differ in liturgical and ecclesiastical discipline, and possess their own spiritual heritage, they are all entrusted to the pastoral government of the Roman pontiff, the divinely appointed successor of St. Peter in the Primacy.

The Catechism lists seven rites. These rites so listed: Latin, Byzantine, Alexandrian, Syriac, Armenian, Maronite, and Chaldean,2 are actually families of liturgical expression. These rites are the descendants of the liturgical practices that originated in centers of Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria. Each will be discussed in turn.

LATIN. The Pope has several titles. He is the Bishop of Rome, Vicar of the universal Church, Primate of Italy; hmong others. As the Bishop of Rome he is the head of the Latin or Roman rite. This is by far the largest rite in the Church. It was founded by St. Peter in Rome around 42 A.D. The current Eucharistic liturgy was handed down more or less intact from at least the 4th century. This was the liturgy used in Rome. There were other liturgies used in the West up to the Council of Trent (1526-1570). After the Council of Trent only the Roman liturgy could be used. The only exceptions were liturgical practices that were more than 200 years old.

The Pope is also vicar of these other liturgical rites that date from before the Council of Trent. These rites include the Mozarabic rite from Spain, the Ambrosian rite from Milan, Italy, named after St. Ambrose (340-397), the Bragan rite from Portugal, and the order liturgies of the Dominican, Carmelite, and Carthusian orders.

As Vicar of the universal Church, the Pope is shepherd of the rites of the West and the East. The eastern rites which have a separate code of canon law, are completely equal in dignity with the rites of the West. All of these eastern ritual churches come under the jurisdiction of the Pope through the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, one of the offices of the Roman Curia. The rites are administered by either a Patriarch, a Major Archbishop, a Metropolitan, or have some other arrangement. Patriarchs are elected by a synod of bishops of their rite, and then request ecclesiastical communion from the Pope. Major Archbishops are also elected by a synod of bishops of their rite, but then are approved by the Pope before they take office. Metropolitans are picked by the Pope from a list given by a synod of bishops.

BYZANTINE. The largest of these eastern rites is the Byzantine. The Byzantine liturgy is based on liturgy developed by St. James for the Antiochaian church, but modified by St. Basil (329-379) and St. John Chrysostom (344-407). This liturgy is similar if not identical to the liturgy used by the Orthodox churches. After the schism between the churches in Rome and Constantinople in 1054, many particular churches remained separated from Rome. Over the years some of these churches came back into union. These churches after they returned to the fold have generally been treated as separate rites based on their particular location, even though they have similar if not identical liturgy. The churches using the Byzantine liturgy include the Albanian, Belarussian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Greek, Hungarian, Italo-Albanian, Melkite, Romanian, Russian, Ruthenian, Slovak, and Ukrainian.

ALEXANDRIAN. The liturgy used by the church in Alexandria in Egypt is attributed to St. Mark the evangelist. This church became known as the Coptic church because Copt is the Arabic and Greek word for Egyptian. Before the Moslem invasion in 641 the Copts fell into heresy due to their rejection of the Council of Chalcedon (451). Through missionary work, some of these were brought back into union in recent years. Today there exists in Egypt the Coptic rite which is Orthodox and the Coptic rite that is loyal to the Bishop of Rome.

The Ge'ez rite based in Ethiopia is closely associated with the Coptic rite. Missionaries from Alexandria spread the faith in Ethiopia in the 4th century. The native language (Ge'ez) was used instead of Greek in the liturgy. The church in Ethiopia also fell into heresy after the Council of Chalcedon but was brought back through missionary efforts in the past few centuries. This is a very recently defined rite since the Metropolitan See was only established in 1961.

SYRIAC. The liturgy of the Syriac rite is attributed to St. James the Apostle. This liturgy was used by the church in Antioch in present day Syria. Many bishops in this area also broke away after the Council of Chalcedon. They stopped using Greek and used the Syriac language in their liturgy. The Syriac language is similar to Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke. Through the work of Jesuit and Capuchin missionaries many members of this rite returned to union with Rome, including the Patriarch of this rite in 1781.

The Malankarese rite developed in India. They trace their Christian lineage to St. Thomas the Apostle who traveled to South India and founded a church. This rite was in union with the Assyrian (Chaldean) church which had fallen into the Nestorian heresy after the Council of Ephesus in 431. This church was "discovered" by Portuguese missionaries in the 16th century. After attempts to "latinize" the rite, many broke away to form their own rite under the control of the Syrian Patriarch. In the 1920's and 30's four bishops of this rite were reunited with Rome, and many members of their rite followed. This rite is located in Kerala State, India.

ARMENIAN. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as the state religion in the 4th century. They used the Antiochine liturgy of St. James said in the Armenian language. At that time Armenia was located in eastern Turkey. After it was destroyed in the 11th century it moved to Cilicia (southern Turkey). That is why to this day the Patriarch of this rite is known as the Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians. The Armenians also fell into heresy after the Council of Chalcedon. The Council of Florence in 1439 declared reunion with the Armenians, and Pope Benedict XIV confirmed the first Patriarch in 1742. The Turks massacred roughly two million Armenians at the end of World War I. Most members of this rite live in Lebanon.

MARONITE. The Maronite rite traces its origins to the work of St. Maron in the 4th century who founded a monastery east of Antioch. Later monks moved to the mountains in what is today Lebanon. This rite never fell into heresy and was only separated from Rome by the political reality of Moslem or Ottoman occupation. The Maronites use a hybrid liturgy based on the Antiochian St. James. Maronites make up 17% of the population of Lebanon and by the law of that country the president of Lebanon is always a Maronite.

CHALDEAN. The people in modern day Iran and Iraq were once known as the Assyrians. The church established itself there very early but the people in this area fell into the heresy of Nestorianism in the 5th century. After missionary efforts many returned to union with Rome, and in 1553 Pope Julius III proclaimed the first Patriarch of the Chaldeans. Chaldean is the biblical term used for those from Babylon. Today the Patriarch of this rite located in Bagdad, Iraq where most of the members of this rite live.

SYRO-MALABAR: The Malabar rite is based in India. Its members are descendants of the Thomas Christians and could be called a brother rite to the Malankarese. The Malabar rite never broke with Rome despite the conflict with the Portuguese in the 16th century. They are generally grouped with the Chaldean family of rites because the Assyrian (later called Chaldean) church provided their bishops until the Portuguese took over that task. Also their liturgy was originally in the Syriac language which the Chaldean church used. Although an ancient rite, it had no single administrator until Pope John Paul II appointed a Major Archbishop in 1992.

All the rites of the Catholic Church are of equal dignity and equally valid. Attendance at a different rite fulfills the Sunday obligation. The Catholic Church is truly universal since it unites so many diverse rites, whose members share a common faith.

THE ASSUMPTION OF MARY: A BELIEF SINCE APOSTOLIC TIMES

By Father Clifford Stevens - EWTN

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The Assumption is the oldest feast day of Our Lady, but we don't know how it first came to be celebrated.

Its origin is lost in those days when Jerusalem was restored as a sacred city, at the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine (c. 285-337). By then it had been a pagan city for two centuries, ever since Emperor Hadrian (76-138) had leveled it around the year 135 and rebuilt it as in honor of Jupiter.

For 200 years, every memory of Jesus was obliterated from the city, and the sites made holy by His life, death and Resurrection became pagan temples.

After the building of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 336, the sacred sites began to be restored and memories of the life of Our Lord began to be celebrated by the people of Jerusalem. One of the memories about his mother centered around the "Tomb of Mary," close to Mount Zion, where the early Christian community had lived.

On the hill itself was the "Place of Dormition," the spot of Mary's "falling asleep," where she had died. The "Tomb of Mary" was where she was buried.

At this time, the "Memory of Mary" was being celebrated. Later it was to become our feast of the Assumption.

For a time, the "Memory of Mary" was marked only in Palestine, but then it was extended by the emperor to all the churches of the East. In the seventh century, it began to be celebrated in Rome under the title of the "Falling Asleep" ("Dormitio") of the Mother of God.

Soon the name was changed to the "Assumption of Mary," since there was more to the feast than her dying. It also proclaimed that she had been taken up, body and soul, into heaven.

That belief was ancient, dating back to the apostles themselves. What was clear from the beginning was that there were no relics of Mary to be venerated, and that an empty tomb stood on the edge of Jerusalem near the site of her death. That location also soon became a place of pilgrimage. (Today, the Benedictine Abbey of the Dormition of Mary stands on the spot.)

At the Council of Chalcedon in 451, when bishops from throughout the Mediterranean world gathered in Constantinople, Emperor Marcian asked the Patriarch of Jerusalem to bring the relics of Mary to Constantinople to be enshrined in the capitol. The patriarch explained to the emperor that there were no relics of Mary in Jerusalem, that "Mary had died in the presence of the apostles; but her tomb, when opened later . . . was found empty and so the apostles concluded that the body was taken up into heaven."

In the eighth century, St. John Damascene was known for giving sermons at the holy places in Jerusalem. At the Tomb of Mary, he expressed the belief of the Church on the meaning of the feast: "Although the body was duly buried, it did not remain in the state of death, neither was it dissolved by decay. . . . You were transferred to your heavenly home, O Lady, Queen and Mother of God in truth."

All the feast days of Mary mark the great mysteries of her life and her part in the work of redemption. The central mystery of her life and person is her divine motherhood, celebrated both at Christmas and a week later (Jan. 1) on the feast of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. The Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8) marks the preparation for that motherhood, so that she had the fullness of grace from the first moment of her existence, completely untouched by sin. Her whole being throbbed with divine life from the very beginning, readying her for the exalted role of mother of the Savior.

The Assumption completes God's work in her since it was not fitting that the flesh that had given life to God himself should ever undergo corruption. The Assumption is God's crowning of His work as Mary ends her earthly life and enters eternity. The feast turns our eyes in that direction, where we will follow when our earthly life is over.

The feast days of the Church are not just the commemoration of historical events; they do not look only to the past. They look to the present and to the future and give us an insight into our own relationship with God. The Assumption looks to eternity and gives us hope that we, too, will follow Our Lady when our life is ended.

The prayer for the feast reads: "All-powerful and ever-living God: You raised the sinless Virgin Mary, mother of your Son, body and soul, to the glory of heaven. May we see heaven as our final goal and come to share her glory."

In 1950, in the Apostolic Constitution , Pope Pius XII proclaimed the Assumption of Mary a dogma of the Catholic Church in these words: "The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heaven."

With that, an ancient belief became Catholic doctrine and the Assumption was declared a truth revealed by God.

Finding Peace and Calm In the Midst of Chaos

By Michelle Laque Johnson in EWTN

On Wednesday evening, Aug. 15, 2007, the central coast of Peru was hit by an earthquake measuring 8.0. During the three-minute quake, approximately 200 people, who had gathered for Mass at a local church to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption, were killed. However, when the debris was removed and the bodies recovered, rescuers discovered that the Catholic priest who had been celebrating the Mass that night was alive!

“Shaking the Earth,” an original EWTN documentary, tells the story of the people’s unshakable faith and the Church’s Herculean work to assist the Peruvian people during the devastation that followed the quake – and it includes an interview with this “miracle” priest.

“The Church is the most trusted institution in Peru,” said EWTN’s Pablo Pilco, one of the producers of this powerhouse documentary. “The Church organized tents for the people to live in – and started rebuilding.”

EWTN sent a crew to Peru to film the effort. The one-hour program that resulted is a story of faith and triumph amidst widespread death and destruction; a story that makes you proud to be a Catholic.; a story you can only see on EWTN.

“The title of the documentary, “Shaking the Earth,” has a double meaning,” Pilco said. “On the one hand, it’s because of the earthquake. On the other hand, the people have these dances – kind of like a tap dance – and they use special drums made of boxwood. You have this double meaning because, no matter what happens, they are still “shaking,” still celebrating the fact that they are alive.”

Airs 10 p.m. ET, Wed., April 28 and 5 a.m. ET, Sat., May 1.

God bless you Family!