False rumor about the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem

A false rumor concerning His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, is circulating at the moment. According to it, His Beatitude visited Africa: Congo, Rwanda, etc. He was hospitalized following an accident, and is asking for urgent financial support to cover the costs of medical care. All of this information is false. His Beatitude is in Jerusalem and is doing very well, thanks be to God. Please ignore these rumors.

Fr. Humam Khzouz
Chancellor of the Latin Patriarchate
of Jerusalem

Brother Martin Gocke, OSB

I have received word that my confrere, Brother Martin, passed away at 9:45 a.m., Sunday. He professed his vows as monk of our monastery on May 1, 1947. He was an interesting man. For many years he worked in the Abbey kitchen. He was a simple monk who has gone to his reward. May God bless and receive him as a faithful servant.

Like being a pastor

Ave Maria

Bobby McFerrin takes on Bach.

Video from the funeral of Archduke Charles Ludwig in the Cathedral of St. Stephen in Vienna

Tantum ergo is sung to the magnificent Kaisarhymne of Haydn.

Death of His Imperial Highness Charles Ludwig, of Austria-Hungary

His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Carl Ludwig Maria Franz Joseph Michael Gabriel Antonius Robert Stephan Pius Gregor Ignatius Markus d'Aviano of Austria, also known as Carl Ludwig Habsburg-Lothringen, died on 11 December 2007. (Born, March 10, 1918) He was the fifth child of Blessed Charles I of Austria and Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma. He was born in Baden, Austria, and died in Brussels.
He was married in Beloeil on 17 January 1950 to Princess Yolande of Ligne (born May 6, 1923). They had four children:
Archduke Rudolf (b. 1950) married Marie Hélène de Villenfagne de Vogelsanck. Eight children.
Archduchess Alexandra (b. 1952) married Héctor Riesle Contreras. Three children.
Archduke Carl Christian (b. 1954) married Princess Marie Astrid of Luxembourg. Five children.
Archduchess Maria Constanza (b. 1957) married Franz Josef, Prince (Fürst) von Auersperg-Trautson. Three biological daughters (one died shortly after her birth) and one adopted daughter.

The Archduke joined the US army in 1943, and participated in the D-Day invasion. He was honorably discharged in 1947. His Imperial and Royal Highness was buried in the Capuchin crypt in Vienna after a funeral service in the Cathedral of St. Stephen, presided over by the Papal Nuncio. Requescat in pace.

Zaporozhian Cossacks---interestingly anti-islam

I recommend the following for some historical stuff on the Cossacks:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaporozhian_Host

http://turbanbomb.blogspot.com/2007/09/surrender-up-yours.html

Nothing like telling the Sultan where to go!

Oriana Fallaci

“A moderate Islam does not exist. It does not exist because there is no difference between Good Islam and Bad Islam. There is Islam and that it the end of it. Islam is the Koran, and nothing other than the Koran. And the Koran is the Mein Kampf of a religion that desires to eliminate others- non -Muslims-who are called infidel dogs, and inferior creatures. Read the Koran, that Mein Kampf, yet again. In whatever version and you will see that the evil which the sons of Allah against us and themselves has perpetrated comes from that book”. (Oriana Fallaci”The Force of Reason” AMEN!

Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, OP, priest, friar, doctor of the Church

Thomas Aquinas' feast day is today.

Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) lived at a critical juncture of western culture when the arrival of the Aristotelian corpus in Latin translation reopened the question of the relation between faith and reason, calling into question the modus vivendi that had obtained for centuries. This crisis flared up just as universities were being founded. Thomas, after early studies at Montecassino, moved on to the University of Naples, where he met members of the new Dominican Order. It was at Naples too that Thomas had his first extended contact with the new learning. When he joined the Dominican Order he went north to study with Albertus Magnus, author of a paraphrase of the Aristotelian corpus. Thomas completed his studies at the University of Paris, which had been formed out of the monastic schools on the Left Bank and the cathedral school at Notre Dame. In two stints as a regent master Thomas defended the mendicant orders and, of greater historical importance, countered both the Averroistic interpretations of Aristotle and the Franciscan tendency to reject Greek philosophy. The result was a new modus vivendi between faith and philosophy which survived until the rise of the new physics. Thomas's theological writings became regulative of the Catholic Church and his close textual commentaries on Aristotle represent a cultural resource which is now receiving increased recognition. The following account concentrates on Thomas the philosopher and presents him as fundamentally an Aristotelian. (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aquinas/)

One of my favorite saints, I used him greatly in teaching. I wish that I had had time to study him more when I was in the seminary.

Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas: Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you,a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.

Another prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas: [Recited in Preparation for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass]
Almighty and ever-living God, I approach the sacrament of your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. I come sick to the Doctor of Life, unclean to the Fountain of Mercy, blind to the Radiance of Eternal Light, and poor and needy to the Lord of Heaven and Earth. Lord, in your great generosity, heal my sickness, wash away my defilement, enlighten my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness. May I receive the bread of angels, the King of kings and the Lord of lords with humble reverence and with the purity and faith, the repentance and love, and the determined purpose that will help to bring me salvation. May I receive the Lord’s body and blood, and its reality and power. Kind God, may I receive the Body of your only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, born from the womb of the Virgin Mary, and so be received into His Mystical Body and numbered among his members. Loving Father, as on my earthly pilgrimage I now receive your beloved Son under the veil of a sacrament, may I one day see Him face to face in glory, who lives and reigns with you forever. AMEN.

B16 to the Slovenian Bishops

Zenit.org "Not all forms of humanism are the same," he added, "nor are they equivalent in moral terms. I am not referring here to religious aspects, but limit myself to ethical and social questions. The various visions of man that can be adopted have consequences for civil coexistence. If, for example, man is conceived -- following a widespread modern tendency -- in individualistic terms, how can we justify efforts for the construction of a more just and united community?"

"Each generation is called to renew the choice between life and goodness and death and evil. We as pastors have the duty to show Christians the path of life, that they in their turn may become the salt and light of society. I encourage the Church in Slovenia, then, to respond to materialist and selfish culture with a coherent evangelizing activity that begins in parishes."

The Huck and the Second Amendment

Diversity

There are many who believe that the politically correct concept of "diversity" is something that makes life better for everyone. Diversity is, of course, the bastard child of "multiculturalism," i.e., the idea that all cultures and their characteristic "values" are equal. This is an idea that should be resisted by everyone. It was brought home to me by someone mentioning the absurd idea that it is wonderful that there are so many different Christian denominations---as if that were something to rejoice in---and by the presentations at the National Pastoral Musicians convention in Indianapolis in July of last year. There we had contemporary Catholic liturgy served with a large helping of multiculturalism and two scoops of diversity. It was silly.

Look, the only reason why these other Christian bodies exist is because we Catholics didn't do our job right.

If we had fulfilled the mission that Christ gave us at his Ascension, then the world would've been evangelized, the Gospel preached, and those who came to Faith would've been baptized and joined to his body. It is a shame, and it is contrary to the desire of Christ himself (See the Last Supper discourse in the Gospel of John.) Of course, we can't go back and change history, but we should be able to learn from it, you'd think.

The work of Christian ecumenicism is not to rejoice in diversity in the essentials of the Faith. There is no room for diversity in the essentials, that's why they are essentials. The existence of different rites, and spiritualities are diversities of the non-essential variety, and to be gloried in. But the Faith itself is only one, as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one, and for which Christ prayed so earnestly on the night before his death. To pretend otherwise is simply to fall into religious indifferentism, and no Catholic can hold to that.

A new martyr for Christ

(AINA) -- According to the Assyrian website ankawa.com, a 14 year old Christian Assyrian boy, Ayad Tariq, from Baqouba, Iraq was decapitated at his work place on October 21.

Ayad Tariq was working his 12 hour shift, maintaining an electric generator, when a group of disguised Muslim insurgents walked in at the beginning of his shift shortly after 6 a.m. and asked him for his ID.

According to another employee who witnessed the events, and who hid when he saw the insurgents approach, the insurgents questioned Ayad after seeing that his ID stated "Christian", asking if he was truly a "Christian sinner." Ayad replied "yes, I am Christian but I am not a sinner." The insurgents quickly said this is a "dirty Christian sinner!" Then they proceeded to each hold one limb, shouting "Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar!" while beheading the boy.

Translated from Arabic by AINA

© 2008, Assyrian International News Agency. All Rights Reserved

Some Dutch are not taking Islamisation lying down.

Jewish Professor at Roman University defends the Pope

Defending the Pope comes with a cost, says a Jewish math professor from Rome's La Sapienza University. (See full article in Zenit: http://www.zenit.org/ ) Giorgio Israel spoke with L'Osservatore Romano last week after protesters at La Sapienza objected to a planned visit from Benedict XVI. The protesters wrote a letter in which they claimed the Pope is "hostile" to science. The event eventually escalated to the point of students taking over the rector's offices and the cancellation of the trip, planned for Jan. 17.
The Jewish math professor admits that there is an anti-papal climate in the universities that is difficult to address. Again, the university, supposedly a place of calm pursuit of truth, is revealed to be just the opposite. Liberal factions and politically-correct thought police rule the day. If the universities fail us in the pursuit of truth, then where will it happen for most folks?

The Games Muslims Play

For those interested in a quick overview of Muslim hypocrisy, take a look at this: http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Pages/Games-Muslims-Play.htm#other

Knights of Columbus continue their work at the National Shrine

Click below to see the continuing work of the K of C for the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC:

http://www.kofc.org/news/releases/detail.cfm?id=506224

LA Diocese to sell Catholic Center.

(01-22) 19:42 PST Los Angeles (AP) --
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles has sold its 12-story administrative headquarters building to help pay last year's $660 million settlement with people alleging sex abuse by clergy, a spokesman said Tuesday.
The Archdiocesan Catholic Center was sold to Jamison Properties of Los Angeles for $31 million, archdiocese spokesman Tod Tamberg said.
Staffers who oversee the archdiocese's cemeteries will move to office space on the grounds of a cemetery, Tamberg said. Others will consolidate in four of the building's floors that church officials will lease from the new owner, Tamberg said.

It is sad that a problem that was brought on by the bishops has to be paid for by the faithful by the selling of Church property. I lay this completely at the feet of the bishops without apology. They told us that they had it fixed, and then didn't do it.

St. Vincent of Saragossa, Deacon and Martyr

Saint Vincent of Saragossa, also known as Vincent of Huesca, is the patron saint of Lisbon. His feast day is January 22 Catholic; November 11 Orthodox. He was born at Huesca and martyred under Diocletian in 304.

One of the things that the authorities sought in Dioceltian's persecution was the copies of the scriptures. The imperial authorities also went after the bishops, presbyters (priests), and deacons of the Church, figuring that by cutting of the head(s) the Church would quickly did. Of course, that was a mistake.

He was born at Huesca but lived in Zaragoza (Saragossa in English; also in the Aragon region of Spain) and is also known as Saint Vincent the Deacon. The title "deacon" (diakonos) means minister or servant. Vincent served as the deacon of Saint Valerius, bishop of Saragossa. Imprisoned in Valencia for his faith, and tortured on a gridiron — a story perhaps adapted from the martyrdom of another son of Huesca, Saint Lawrence— Vincent, like many early martyrs in the early hagiographic literature, succeeded in converting his jailer. Though he was finally offered release if he would consign Scripture to the fire, Vincent refused.

The earliest account of Vincent's martyrdom is in a carmen (lyric poem) written by the poet Prudentius, (348 – after 405), who wrote a series of lyric poems, Peristephanon ("Crowns of Martyrdom"), on Hispanic and Roman martyrs, including Lawrence. Prudentius describes how Vincent was brought to trial along with his bishop Valerius, and that since Valerius had a speech impediment, Vincent spoke for both, but that his outspoken fearless manner so angered the governor that Vincent was tortured and martyred, though his aged bishop was only exiled.

Eternal Father, you gave St. Vincent the courage to endure torture and death for the Gospel: fill us with your Spirit and strengthen us in your love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Papal visit to Roman University cancelled

VATICAN CITY, 16 JAN 2008 (VIS) - The Pope will not make the visit he was scheduled to make tomorrow, 17 January, to Rome's "La Sapienza" University for the inauguration of the academic year, according to a communique released yesterday evening by the Holy See Press Office.
The communique reads: "In the wake of the widely-publicised events of the last few days relating to the Holy Father's visit to Rome's 'La Sapienza' University which, at the invitation of the rector, was to have taken place on Thursday, 17 January, it was considered opportune to postpone the event. The Holy Father will, nonetheless, send the text of the speech he had been due to pronounce".
The "events" to which the note refers include a petition to the rector signed by 67 professors asking for the invitation to Benedict XVI to be withdrawn, and protests by groups of students who yesterday occupied the rector's office to demand the right to demonstrate within the university campus on the day of the Pope's visit.
The signatories of the petition take exception to a talk given by the then Cardinal Ratzinger in 1990, and in particular to a phrase he used on that occasion to the effect that "in Galileo's time the Church remained much more faithful to reason than Galileo himself. The trial against Galileo was reasonable and just". The future Pope's remarks, a quote from a work by the philosopher of science Paul Feyerabend, were made in the context of a talk on the crisis of confidence in science, in which he used the example of changing attitudes towards the case of Galileo. OP/PAPAL VISIT/LA SAPIENZAVIS 080116 (290)

So much for freedom of speech and the honesty of the scientific method.