One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic

Can ANYONE explain this to me? --------------------- Pope Francis received James Martin, S.J., in a 30-minute private audience in the papal library of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace this morning, Sept. 30, in what is seen here as a highly significant public statement of support and encouragement for this U.S. Jesuit.   Father Martin is well known as a public speaker, author and for his pastoral ministry to L.G.B.T. people . Full Article can be found in the magazine America published by (of course) the Jesuits.  Seriously, readers:  somebody explain to me how this is a good thing for our Catholic Faith?  What sort of signal is the Holy Father wishing to send by doing this? Jesuit Father James Martin, author and editor at large of America magazine, meets in a private audience with Pope Francis on Sept. 30, 2019 (Foto ©Vatican Media)

Holiness is possible.  We are creating holy moments. From Dynamic Catholic Gospel  LK 9:46-50 An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest. Jesus realized the intention of their hearts and took a child and placed it by his side and said to them, "Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest." Then John said in reply, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow in our company." Jesus said to him, "Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against you is for you." For the readings of the Memorial of Saint Jerome, please go  here . Blessing to all who read and share. Make is a great day in Jesus Our Lord. 

Holiness is possible. We are creating holy moments. from Dynamic Catholic Gospel  LK 16:19-31 Jesus said to the Pharisees: "There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.  The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me.  Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.' Abraham replied, 'My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime  while Lazarus likewise received what was bad;

Holiness is possible.  We are creating holy moments From Dynamic Catholic Gospel  LK 9:43B-45 While they were all amazed at his every deed, Jesus said to his disciples, "Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men."  But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying. For the readings of the Optional Memorial of Saint Wenceslaus, please go  here . For the readings of the Optional Memorial of Saint Lawrence Ruiz and Companions, please go  here . Blessing to all who read and share!

For anyone who might happen to be following the events leading up to the Amazon Synod (and there might not be too many; we Catholics can be a pretty complacent lot at times), I offer the following statement made by Cardinal Burke and Bishop Athanasius Schneider on 24 September. ------------------------------------------------------- A clarification about the meaning of fidelity to the Supreme Pontiff No honest person can anymore deny the almost general doctrinal confusion which is reigning in the life of the Church in our days. This is particularly due to ambiguities regarding the indissolubility of marriage, which is being relativized through the practice of the admittance of persons cohabitating in irregular unions to Holy Communion, due to the increasing approval of homosexual acts, which are intrinsically contrary to nature and contrary to the revealed will of God, due to errors regarding the uniqueness of the Our Lord Jesus Christ and His redemptive work, which is bein

Friday is what's called an "Ember Day."  That's a special day of prayer set aside by the Church for prayer and (optional) fasting.  Ember days come four times a year and consists of three days each (Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday).  Part I provided an introduction.  Here is the conclusion of the article. For the past week or so, I've been yammering about the need for prayer and fasting in preparation for the upcoming Amazon Synod.   Perhaps Ember Days are something that will have some broader interest to the readership.  It's a lovely devotion, and one that I hope to take up myself. ------------------- Part II of the article by Fr. Arnauld Devillers , FSSP: Why are they called “Ember Days”? The words have nothing to do with embers or ashes. It may be from the Anglo-Saxon ymbren , a circle or revolution; or more likely it may be a corruption of quatuor tempora through Dutch, Danish or German ( Quatember ). What are the dates of Ember Days? T

Holiness is Possible. We are creating holy moments From Dynamic Catholic Sharing both Gospel for Friday 25th Week in Ordinary time and the Gospel for the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul Gospel  LK 9:18-22 Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, 'One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'" Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said in reply, "The Christ of God." He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised." Gospel for Memorial of St Vincent de Paul Gospel  MT 9:35-38 Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of th

Holiness is Possible.  We are here to create holy moments From Dynamic Catholic Gospel  LK 9:7-9 Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying, “John has been raised from the dead”; others were saying, “Elijah has appeared”; still others, “One of the ancient prophets has arisen.” But Herod said, “John I beheaded. Who then is this about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see him. Blessing to all who read and share. Make it a great day!!!

Wednesday, Friday and Saturday of this week are the September Ember Days. Occurring once in each of the four seasons, the Ember Days are three days traditionally set aside for prayer and penance, the intention being to thank God for the gifts of Creation and to ask His help in using them well.  This practice was largely abandoned after Vatican II, but in recent years we've seen an increase in this devotion, along with many other beautiful practices from our rich Catholic heritage.    Here's a good article on the what and why of Ember Days by Fr. Arnaud Devillers, FSSP . I'll be dividing it into a couple of segments for ease of reading. What are Ember Days? Ember Days are three days (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday) set apart in each of the four seasons for fasting, abstinence and prayer. Tied to the seasonal cycles of farming and harvesting, the purpose of Ember Days is to render thanks to God for the gifts of Creation and to ask His help in using them well. Since

Holiness is possible. We are creating holy moments. From Dynamic Catholic Gospel  LK 9:1-6 Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there. And as for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them." Then they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the good news and curing diseases everywhere. Blessings to all who read and share. Make it a great day in Jesus!

Are you praying about this? The Amazon Synod is something every Catholic should pay attention to...and pray about.

Holiness is Possible. We are creating holy moments. From Dynamic Catholic. Gospel  LK 8:19-21 The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. He was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you." He said to them in reply, "My mother and my brothers  are those who hear the word of God and act on it."