Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Seize the Hope

Part One

Pope Benedict’s May visit was a triumph of hope for American Catholicism. It is incumbent upon us to seize this momentum of hope, rejuvenate our Church, and usher in the New Springtime announced by John Paul II. Agree with all the documents or not, Vatican II resulted in a Church constitution. As of 2005 our forty years of debating it, adjusting to it, and purifying our ranks are up. John Paul II led us through the desert, and Pope Benedict has opened a new door. We are the successors of the Apostles and we are called to preach so the word of God may be glorified (Ad Gentes).

Benedict XVI was to the point on several issues, including the sexual abuse scandal. He stepped right into a big pair of shoes by showing personal compassion for the victims. He admonished us for bungling the crisis, showed us the correct path out of the dark, and set the example. We witnessed Catholic leadership in its finest hour.

He called us out for our deeply rooted separation of life from faith. As a country we respect the public role of religion, but our beliefs are “subtly reduced to the lowest common denominator.” Our insistence upon keeping our faith private allows us to choose our religion as though from a buffet, facilitating conformity to secularism and popular culture. Have we have rejected accountability?

“The secular order cannot be divorced from God the Creator and His saving plan.” (Gaudium et Spes) How is it that we have so many highly visible pro-choice Catholics? Life itself is the most precious thing. When we read the text of Benedict’s speeches, it is clear that our marching orders begin here—abortion, stem cell research, and euthanasia must be visibly and steadfastly confronted.

We are asked to rise out of our private religious shells and act like the redeemed community we are meant to be. Our society markets formulas for human fulfillment quite successfully. We need to fight back by recapturing the Catholic vision of reality and present it with mind capturing and heart converting experiences, especially for our young, who are natural truth seekers. Utilizing Pope John Paul’s concept of Faith and Reason is a great place to start…

Saturday, June 7, 2008

"New Springtime" from the encyclical Redemptoris Missio by John Paul II

God Is Preparing a New Springtime for the Gospel

If we look at today's world, we are struck by many negative factors that can lead to pessimism. But this feeling is unjustified: we have faith in God our Father and Lord, in his goodness and mercy. As the third millennium of the redemption draws near, God is preparing a great springtime for Christianity, and we can already see its first signs. In fact, both in the non-Christian world and in the traditionally Christian world, people are gradually drawing closer to gospel ideals and values, a development which the Church seeks to encourage. Today in fact there is a new consensus among peoples about these values: the rejection of violence and war; respect for the human person and for human rights; the desire for freedom, justice and brotherhood; the surmounting of different forms of racism and nationalism; the affirmation of the dignity and role of women.

Christian hope sustains us in committing ourselves fully to the new evangelization and to the worldwide mission, and leads us to pray as Jesus taught us: "Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Mt 6:10).

The number of those awaiting Christ is still immense: the human and cultural groups not yet reached by the Gospel, or for whom the Church is scarcely present, are so widespread as to require the uniting of all the Church's resources. As she prepares to celebrate the jubilee of the year 2000, the whole Church is even more committed to a new missionary advent. We must increase our apostolic zeal to pass on to others the light and joy of the faith, and to this high ideal the whole People of God must be educated.

We cannot be content when we consider the millions of our brothers sisters, who like us have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, but who live in ignorance of the love of God. For each believer, as for the entire Church, the missionary task must remain foremost, for it concerns the eternal destiny of humanity and corresponds to God's mysterious and merciful plan.

link to the whole text of Redemptoris Missio: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_07121990_redemptoris-missio_en.html

A NEW REVIVAL: CHRIST OUR HOPE

The Papal visit to the United States was a grace from God for American Catholicism. Benedict XVI went straight to our core issues and addressed them with the wisdom and love of the Holy Spirit. His speeches were magnificent, and his masses brought tears of joy, hope, and love.

Post-visit events have begun to unfold. Seminary applications have skyrocketed across the country. Is it possible we will see the beginning of the “new springtime” for the Church predicted by John Paul II for the new millennium? Pray on it and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you...Locally, students and leaders at John Paul the Great University in San Diego are initiating a new revival of prayer. You can join them for 8:30 AM mass at The Good Shepherd in Mira Mesa, and prayers on the steps of city hall, on first Saturdays. They have launched a new website dedicated to the new springtime called "Christ our Hope": http://www.christourhope.net/

I encourage everyone to watch the videos of the Pope's U.S. visit speeches, or perhaps better, read them: http://www.uspapalvisit.org/ Anything is possible with “Christ Our Hope.”

"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

Friday, June 6, 2008

OUR LADY'S 27th ANNIVERSARY MESSAGE

Peace to All! Below please find the official English translation of Our Lady's 27th anniversary message as provided by the Information Center in Medjugorje.

Message of June 25, 2008

"Dear children! Also today, with great joy in my heart, I call you to follow me and to listen to my messages. Be joyful carriers of peace and love in this peaceless world. I am with you and I bless you all with my Son Jesus, the King of Peace. Thank you for having responded to my call."

It is amazing to realize that Our Lady has been appearing every day in Medjugorje since June 25, 1981. Thank you Blessed Mother for your love, for your messages, and for your prayers and intercessions for all of us. Thank you Jesus, for sending your mother to us to help us find and stay on the path that leads to you.Our next mailing will be the commentary by Fr. Danko in the first few days in July.

God Bless! Steve and Ana Shawl
The Medjugorje Web http://www.medjugorje.org/

I CALL YOU TO CONVERSION

Peace to All! Below please find the official English translation of Dr. Danko's commentary on Our Lady's May 25, 2008 message as provided by the Information Center in Medjugorje.

Our next mailing will be Our Lady's 27th Anniversary message to the world on June 25, 2008.

Please remember the 27th Anniversary Novena starts on June 15! There is a link on our home page or the direct link is:
http://www.medjugorje.org/anniversarynovena.htm


God Bless!
Steve and Ana Shawl
The Medjugorje Web
http://www.medjugorje.org
--------------------------------

I CALL YOU TO CONVERSION

"Dear children! In this time of grace, when God has permitted me to be with you, little children, I call you anew to conversion. Work on the salvation of the world in a special way while I am with you. God is merciful and gives special graces, therefore, seek them through prayer. I am with you and do not leave you alone. Thank you for having responded to my call." Message of May 25, 2008


In many of her messages Our Lady has reminded us that the time we live in is the time of grace. For the past 27 years, millions of people from all over the world have been coming to Medjugorje, to this spiritual healing place, so that God may heal their hearts and souls. There are several examples of conversion in the Bible, such as is the conversion of the prodigal son (cf. Luke 15,11-32), or even a more memorable conversion of St. Paul (Acts 9,1-18), together with many others. Each conversion is a result of an event or an encounter, but not any kind of encounter. I am talking about the encounter with God. Saul was a persecutor of Christians in Jerusalem and the whole of Judea (cf. Acts 8-9). Once he went all the way to Damascus to arrest Christians. At the city gates Saul had the encounter with God, which he would remember all his life. That encounter changed him completely and made him convert. Saul, who had been a prosecutor of Christians, then became a disciple of Jesus and changed his name to Paul. Something similar happened to the apostles, too. A decisive moment for them was their first encounter with Jesus, after which they left everything and went to follow Jesus. Something similar happened to the saints, and something similar will happen to us if we search for God's will in our life through prayer.

Our Lady calls us anew to conversion, which, in other words, means betterment. The majority of today's Christians have not seen the Lord in flesh, whereas this encounter is a prerequisite for a new beginning. After such encounter, everything changes, life becomes different and better. One should bear in mind, though, that after the encounter with God our crosses do not disappear. It just becomes easier to carry them. Those who have had the experience of meeting with God, become the salt, cabbage and the light of the world. They become instruments through which God's love and joy in this world are spread. We are all called to convert and continuously change in our path following Jesus. Conversion is a life-long process. Nobody can say that they have completely converted because there is always something we must improve, primarily on ourselves, not on others. Conversion is following evenly in Jesus’ footsteps every day, without negotiating. Conversion is a permanent task of the whole Church. It is not man-made, it is God's work.

On our path God helps us and gives us special graces, as Our Lady says. These graces, however, need to be sought through prayer. One should show one's good will and love towards God who is merciful and kind, as written in Chapter 34 of the Book of Exodus: «The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands …» (Exodus 34,6-7). What we should discard first when we start saying our prayer is any kind of hypocrisy. Before God we must not pretend, lie or appear better. We have to be who we really are. We may be lying to friends or neighbours or keep up appearances, but before God we must take off our masks, as he knows us better than we know ourselves. The path of prayer is just like the path of conversion – long and hard, but no fruit is born without pain and effort. The bond between God and man that was previously broken is re-established through prayer.

Our Lady encourages us and does not leave us all alone on this path. She stands before us as an example of prayer by means of which she takes part in the Father's intention to embody the Son of God. Together with Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may also say: «I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said.» (Luke 1,38). In our prayer, let us think of the people in need, especially those who have lost their lives in the earthquake in China .


Fr. Danko Perutina
Medjugorje 26/05/2008

CatholicBlogs.com