My Debut

The senior players performed yesterday and I debuted in the last skit.  There were three of them.  I played a nun.  (See the picture with two nuns.I'm on the left) It was fun.  The fun was working together.  I liken it to a team working together to accomplish a goal.  It reminded me of being on team for Cursillo.
     You bring strangers together and you immediately start working together and when the goal is met you lean back and say, "That was fun." And you have a bond of camaraderie, even though you really are not friends with these people.

Prayer for My Family

Almighty Father,

You desire not the death of the sinner, but that he may be converted and live.  Pour out Your mercy and hear the prayers of my heart.

Soften the hearts of my husband and children who have strayed from the true path which You established for their salvation.  They are now forgetful of their duties as Catholics, and have become so worldly.

Grant that they may quickly return to the practice of Christian virtue so that their lives may shine with faith, the fervor of piety, the ardor of charity, and love of the Eucharist. Restore them to Your sacraments and the life of Your grace.

Through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord.

Amen

A Counterquestion

In my morning reading, I thought about Matthew 19: 3-9.  Here the Pharisees thought they'd get Jesus with the same subject that caused the demise of John the Baptist--divorce.  John condemned Herod Antipas for divorcing his wife and marrying his brother's wife, Herodias.  It was Herodias' scheme that resulted in John's death.

But Jesus turned the tables.  He quotes Genesis 19: 4-5--the Torah.  Shouldn't the Pharisees have known this?

Marriage is God's creation.

Stop Thinking Politically

The magazine, The Catholic Thing has an article by Father Bevil Bramwell, OMI, that gives the best reasons for reserving the priesthood for males only.  The article is Women priests?.

Father tells his readers to stop thinking politically.  Politics is about power.  Instead, think spiritually.  One cannot accept spiritual reasons if one is only thinking about power.

(1) Think about grace and communion.

(2) The Church needs a spouse, ergo a male.

(3)  Jesus gathers His followers into a Church.         (Maybe (3) should be (2).

(4)  Priests are personna Christi.

Father Bramwell continues his argument, but IMHO, these four points are the best reasons.

Where did Sacred Heart Come From

In reading Annum Sacrum, I learned where the devotion to the Sacred Heart came from.  I know that St. Margaret Mary Alocoque had visions and promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart.  But many people have visions and Catholics are not required to believe them.

In the encyclical, Annum Sacrum, however, Pope Leo XIII, in paragraph 14 states:

...We ordain that on the ninth, tenth, and eleventh of the coming month of June, in the principal church of every town and village, certain prayers be said, and on each of these days, there be added to the other prayers the Litany of the Sacred Heart approved by Our authority. On the last day, the form of consecration shall be recited which, Venerable Brethren, We sent to you with these letters.

 I posted about the Litany a few days ago.

Discarding God

In these later times, especially, a policy has been followed which has resulted in a sort of wall being raised between the Church and civil society.  In the constitution and administration of States the authority of sacred and divine law is utterly disregarded, with a view to the exclusion of religion from having any constant part in public life.  This policy almost tends to the removal of the Christian faith from our midst, and, if that were possible, of the banishment of God Himself from the earth.

Take a guess as to when these words were written.

Today?

The answer is 1899  This is from paragraph 10 in the encyclical Annum Sacrum, written by Pope Leo XIII.

I don't know whether to gather some hope, thinking that this description must always fit all times.  Maybe since the beginning of time, people have worried about the decline of faith in God.

Or, maybe Pope Leo XIII saw the beginning of the decline and was warning humanity of it.

Sadly, it is sobering.

Lay Dominican 12 Days of Christmas

I've been challenged.

On the first day of Christmas
My fraternity president gave to me                                     

A highlighted Particular Directory.

On the second day of Christmas
My fraternity president gave to me
Two new apostolates
And a highlighted Particular Directory.

On the third day of Christmas
My fraternity president gave to me
Three OPrize poetry books
Two new apostolates
And a highlighted Particular Directory.

On the fourth day of Christmas
My fraternity president gave to me
Four religious medals
Three OPrize poetry books
Two new apostolates
And a highlighted Particular Directory.

On the fifth day of Christmas
My fraternity president gave to me
Five volumes of the Summa
Four religious medals
Three OPrize poetry books
Two new apostolates
And a highlighted Particular Directory.

On the sixth day of Christmas
My fraternity president gave to me
Six Hillbilly Thomists
Five volumes of the Summa
Four religious medals
Three OPrize poetry books
Two new apostolates
And a highlighted Particular Directory.

On the seventh day of Christmas
My fraternity president gave to me
Seven Dominican sisters
Six Hillbilly Thomists
Five volumes of the Summa
Four religious medals
Three OPrize poetry books
Two new apostolates
And a highlighted Particular Directory.

On the eighth day of Christmas
My fraternity president gave to me
Eight cooperator brothers
Seven Dominican sisters
Six Hillbilly Thomists
Five volumes of the Summa
Four religious medals
Three OPrize poetry books
Two new apostolates
And a highlighted Particular Directory.

On the ninth day of Christmas
My fraternity president gave to me
Nine new inquirers
Eight cooperator brothers
Seven Dominican sisters
Six Hillbilly Thomists
Five volumes of the Summa
Four religious medals
Three OPrize poetry books
Two new apostolates
And a highlighted Particular Directory

On the tenth day of Christmas
My fraternity president gave to me
Ten formation modules
Nine new inquirers
Eight cooperator brothers
Seven Dominican sisters
Six Hillbilly Thomists
Five volumes of the Summa
Four religious medals
Three OPrize poetry books
Two new apostolates
And a highlighted Particular Directory.

On the eleventh day of Christmas
My fraternity president gave to me
Eleven preaching friars
Ten formation modules
Nine new inquirers
Eight cooperator brothers
Seven Dominican sisters
Six Hillbilly Thomists
Five volumes of the Summa
Four religious medals
Three OPrize poetry books
Two new apostolates
And a highlighted Particular Directory.

On the twelfth day of Christmas
My fraternity president gave to me
Twelve "cloistered brothers"
Eleven preaching friars
Ten formation modules
Nine new inquirers
Eight cooperator brothers
Seven Dominican sisters
Six Hillbilly Thomsts
Five volumes of the Summa
Four religious medals
Three OPrize poetry books
Two new apostolates
And a highlighted Particular Directory.