A Treasure To Be Shared

A word of advice - disregard the following "advice". advice (n.) late 13c., auys "opinion," from Old French avis "opinion, view, judgment, idea" (13c.), from phrase ço m'est à vis "it seems to me," or from Vulgar Latin mi est visum "in my view," ultimately from Latin visum , neuter past participle of videre "to see" (from PIE root weid - "to see"). Meaning "opinion offered as worthy to be followed, counsel" is from late 14c. Soon after the homily starts, prop up your chin with one hand and close your eyes as if engaged in intense concentration. Occasionally nod as if making a silent 'amen'. Wear a hair shirt to Mass. (An oldie but a goodie!) Nab the largest Rosary you can find and wear it around your neck. Increase all bows one degree. Instead of a head bow, make a shoulder bow. Instead of a shoulder bow, make a waist bow. Instead of a waist bow, prostrate yourself in the aisle. Say or sing t...

In His perfect genius, God creates man in His own image and likeness. Therefore man must be beautiful because man is fashioned to be in the image and likeness of Beauty Himself. The soul is beautiful, not in view of vogue standards, but in the sense of the truest beauty of all its creation to be like the Creator. We must constantly strive to see the beauty of every person around us. We are called to grow in the beauty of holiness which makes us more and more like God. See in the people around you souls linked to the Almighty Father who sees and knows all their wounds and all their heartaches. It is the call of every Christian to reach out in love to those who are broken and who do not know their beauty. Help others around you to know their worth and their beauty. There is nothing more valuable than the people who are here with us on the journey to the Promised Land. Through the beauty of people, we experience the love of the Father and the gift of His beauty. The next time you see a gl...

[ Estimated read time: 6 minutes ] Introducing Conspicuous Maximus and Dubious Contentious, two armchair scholars who love God and the Church. Dubious is a former middle-of-the-road Catholic set ablaze by a reading of the Church Fathers. Conspicuous, a shy and retiring individual, has learned to be more outspoken about his convictions. He recently graduated from the Institute for Recovering Catholics Who Are Suspicious of Heretics (IRCWASH). Today's topic: Pope Francis and Traditional Liturgy Conspicuous Maximus: Is it true the Vicar of Christ has a bit of a hate on for traditional liturgy? Dubious Contentious: It seems so, at least to those who are close to the older Latin Mass.  The public record tends to confirm his antipathy toward the older Mass and/or its proponents. CM: Exempli gratia? DC: Well, he issued a formal inhibition in the form of a motu proprio called Traditionis custodes , that restricts the celebration of the Tridentine Mass of the Roman Rite, i.e., the extraordi...

As we approach secular New Year celebrations, we might take a moment to reflect on the ever-present need to bring the Gospel to a world whose citizens are in constant need of hope and of the assurance that they are capable of giving and receiving authentic love. The necessity of prayer and acceptance of God's invitation to newness of life. To be able to adopt and realize a new way of thinking and being requires an ongoing willingness to change, to encounter the truth about oneself in a world that provides many shallow alternatives to Jesus' way of truth, goodness and beauty.  The path to renewal depends on cooperation with God, Who loves you and Who provides you with the grace - His very life and loving power - to help you be restored to communion with Him.  That communion is a relationship of love.  God informs the heart and mind and draws us into His embrace.  Through prayer and formation in His word, the voice of God speaking in and through Holy Scripture, we come...

Chicagoans are featured in another chapter of a fracas that began in the late 1960s, in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/261035/cardinal-cupich-asks-catholics-to-receive-holy-communion-standing-in-chicago-archdiocese Echoes of Another Time? A noisy minority, one might say a minority possessed by a shortsightedness born of a spirit of an era given to anarchy, pushed for acceptance of communion in the hand.  Despite a reminder of the Church's venerable practice of communion on the tongue, reception of communion in the hand soon became wide spread.  Some would say the sainted Pontiff Paul VI gave in to pressure to permit communion in the hand.  Given the wealth of evidence that has gathered over the past several decades like mountains of trash, the results of such a decision scarcely need to be described or subjected to lengthy longitudinal studies.  The choice to allow communion in the hand has had devastating results. A l...

God's Action The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Eternal Word, the Divine Logos, Jesus Christ, the Son of Man,... O Sapientia (O Wisdom) Isaiah 11:2-3 O Adonai (O Lord or Ruler) 11:4-5 and 33:22 O Radix (O Root of Jesse) 11:1 O Clavis (O Key of David) 22:22 O Oriens (O Radiant Dawn) 9:1 O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations) 2:4 O Emmanuel (O God with Us) 7:14 ... was born for our salvation. The Lord God made His home among men.  The Word-Made-Flesh is received in the Holy Eucharist. He makes His home in us. We, the baptized, are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Jesus lives in us.  That being the case, how do we keep our household, the household of our lives, hospitable for Jesus? The Lord invites us into communion with Him and provides the grace - His very life, His Presence - to facilitate movement into a deepening communion with Him. The Mass The Liturgy of the Word.  The  Word of God purifies our minds and prepares us to receive Jes...