Jack Russell MOMO 2010

We are pilgrims

Jesus Taking Leave of His Apostles


Today's Epistle in the Extraordinary Form reminds us that we are pilgrims and strangers on this earth.

Jesus, in His Last Discourse to His disciples, reminds them that He will leave them and yet return.

During this Easter season, we have joy and the sorrow of being "in this vale of tears" awaiting our true home, the Kingdom of Heaven.

Is not this the real yearning of the human heart?

We are pilgrims and strangers as those who follow Christ; so much sorrow, so much pain, so many separations...and yet...

His Risen Life...His Easter Gift...is the beginning of our life with Him in Heaven.

For wherever He is, Heaven is.

I read something to the effect that if the "signs and outer appearances" of the Sacred Host were made apparent to us we would see Heaven.

May we receive, in a deep way, the Easter Gift of our Lord's Presence, Heaven Itself,
to give us courage in the midst of all the sin, darkness, evil and suffering this present life offer us.

"I leave and yet I remain."

Yes.

Come, Lord Jesus!

Image source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYRWnC238cPbi4HGs7IAE1AqX6bE19vpqhojn91p1ISy4Mczk46A-wWsyGPfvKIVIl6qfzHvxzSYTrZjFOsmOaObPWaW_TsRrH3_vEGwuE5jAAYrK598ELEeScSw1_bn6Pum3UyaB0fVY/s1600-h/Fatimskaia.jpg

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

Today is the anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady of Fatima in 1917.
May we heed her call to pray the daily rosary, make reparation for sin and live the Gospel of Her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ!



Image:https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYRWnC238cPbi4HGs7IAE1AqX6bE19vpqhojn91p1ISy4Mczk46A-wWsyGPfvKIVIl6qfzHvxzSYTrZjFOsmOaObPWaW_TsRrH3_vEGwuE5jAAYrK598ELEeScSw1_bn6Pum3UyaB0fVY/s1600-h/Fatimskaia.jpg

Theology of the Body

Pope Benedict XVI extolled his predecessor, Blessed John Paul II, for introducing the “theology of the body,” as he met on May 13 with participants in a conference organized by the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family.

Offering his own reflections on the subject, Pope Benedict noted that with a proper knowledge of human nature “we can understand that our bodies are not inert, heavy material but, if we know how to listen, they speak the language of true love.”

With the Incarnation, the Pope said, “God takes on the body and revealed himself in it.” In his short talk, the Holy Father extended his predecessor’s meditation on the language of the body.

Source: http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=10325

As an anecdotal aside, I was asked, when teaching at a Northeastern seminary, to teach a class on the the "Theology of the Body".

I opted for a focus upon the "foundations" of this particular teaching of Blessed John Paul II rather than the "popular" Christopher West material, which has come under critique and criticism from people such as David L. Schindler, a renowned theologian, and Alice von Hildebrand, a philosopher and wife of the heroic Dietrich von Hildebrand, a man that Pope Pius XII called "a 20th century doctor of the Church".

I am most grateful that Pope Benedict XVI has made the "authentic" teaching of his predecessor a positive thing. Unfortunately this whole issue has become polemical in the last two years because of a lack of proper understanding.

The Incarnation is truly the point of reference. The authentic interpretation of the "Theology of the Body" absolutely must be seen in the light of "The Word made Flesh";
every other interpretation fails when it is grounded in the mere material aspects of human existence. Christ reveals who man is (from Lumen gentium, Second Vatican Ecumenical Council). It is not the other way round. We do not know Who Christ Is from our human experience: He, and only He, reveals who we are. That is fundamental.

There are all kinds of "interpretations" out there...unfortunately, there are those who either dismiss this as some kind of "modernism" or those who try to make the love between man and wife in marriage something it is not meant to be.

Our Lord Jesus Christ in His Revelation reveals to us our inherent dignity, our mission/vocation to a love that is completely self-giving (in marriage or in virginity/celibacy) and He is the only reference-point. Marital union is an aspect of the Sacrament of Marriage; it must always be held within the moral law of God and in the sacred "reserve" of intimacy/secret (as the von Hildebrands emphasize) that upholds both the dignity of the partners and the dignity of the marital union.

I am the Good Shepherd

Open Wide the Doors to Christ! Beatification Hymn of Blessed John Paul II

Rit. Open the doors to Christ!
Do not be afraid:
Open wide your hearts
Love of God

Witness to Hope
for those who await salvation
pilgrim of love
on the roads of the world. Chorus.

Father to the young
You sent it to the world,
sentinels of the morning,
living sign of hope. Chorus.

Witnesses to Faith
annunciasti that with life,
firm and strong in the test
confermasti your neighbor. Rit.

Insegnasti to every man
the beauty of life
indicating the family
as a sign of love. Chorus.

Bringer of Peace
and herald of justice,
you made between people
nuncio of mercy. Chorus.

In pain betrayed
the power of the Cross.
Always drive your brothers
love on the streets. Chorus.

In the Mother of the Lord
indicasti us a guide,
in her intercession
the power of grace. Chorus.

Father of mercy,
Son, our Redeemer,
Holy Spirit of Love
to you, Trinity, glory be. Amen. Chorus.

(google translated it from the site, so it may not be perfect)

Kieran, the wonder dog\!

This is just like our "kieran"...he's a fiesty Jack Russell Terrier...he'd go to the death for us...he's a wonder dog, just like this JRT. We love him so much!!

Blessed John Paul II, pray for us!

The Beautification of Blessed John Paul II is a tremendous moment for the Church.
Whether or not some people like it, this man died in the odor of sanctity before the entire world. His obvious suffering, his complete commitment to Christ and to the Church until the very end give a great testament to a life given to God.

His numerous writings, especially the encyclicals, pave the way for the Church in the New Millenium. I had the fortunate grace to study the writings of John Paul II and the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council with teachers who knew how to present the perennial teachings of the Church with the insight and direction that Blessed John Paul II gave.

History will give us the real story. For now, we must attempt to follow Christ in the teachings of Pope Benedict XVI, who is continuing the legacy of his predecessor.
Open wide the doors to Christ! Be not afraid!

Thank you, dear Lord, for Blessed Pope John Paul II!


Image:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/world/pope-beatifies-john-paul-ii-before-1-5m-1446190.html

Blood and Water Flowing From the Side of Jesus, Have Mercy on Us!

http://www.discerninghearts.com/archives/3338

Today, three important things converge: it is the final day of the Octave of Easter, Low Sunday; it is the Feast of Divine Mercy, initiated by Jesus' revelations of Divine Mercy to St. Faustina and confirmed by Pope John Paul II; it is the day of Beautification of the Venerable Servant of God, John Paul II.

The Gospel, in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, is the "showing" of Jesus' glorified wounds to the gathered disciples...He enters through the closed doors to confirm their faith and to encounter St. Thomas who places his hands in the wounded side and wounds of the hands of His Crucified and Glorified Lord.

It is a great day of rejoicing for the Church, for the world.

The Divine Mercy was a prominent and central focus of the pontificate of Blessed John Paul II. He made present to the world his own encounter with Jesus, the Divine Mercy. Without his intervention, the devotion to the Divine Mercy and the liturgical commemoration of the Divine Mercy on this Low Sunday, the last day of the Easter Octave would not have been.

Divine Providence led the Blessed Pope John Paul II to make this message clear throughout his pontificate.

Jesus, I trust in You!

Could any other message be more poignant, more clear, more necessary in this age of darkness?

Deo gratias!
Again and again!