Panie, który żeglarzom w niebezpieczeństwie wzywającym opicki błg. Piotra, spieszysz na pomoc, za jego wstawiennictwem wśród burz tego życia wspomagaj nas łaską swoją, abyśmy przy jej pomocy szczęśliwie do portu zbawienia dopłynąć mogli. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
Św. Ludwino, patronko wszystkich chorych i cierpiących! uproś nam u Boga tę łaskę, abyśmy cierpliwość twą naśladowali w chorobie, i nigdy nie zapominali, że droga krzyża jest drogą do nieba. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
O Panie, który św. króla męczennika Hermenegilda nauczyłeś tej prawdy, że królestwo ziemskie powinien ofiarować w zamian za królestwo niebieskie, wlej i w nas to przekonanie, abyśmy idąc za jego przykładem mało sobie cenili ziemskie dobra i zaszczyty, a starali się o dobra wieczne. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
From LifeSite News:
Catholic Notre Dame to Allow Vulgar —Vagina Monologues—: Local bishop —deeply saddened— by decision by priest university president. By Gudrun Schultz
NOTRE DAME, Indiana, April 6, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) —“ The University of Notre Dame will continue to allow the controversial play —The Vagina Monologues— to be performed on campus, despite the plays’ explicit sexuality, obscenity and anti-Catholic content. The script contains graphic accounts of female sexual encounters, one involving the seduction of a young teenage girl by an older woman.
Holy Cross Father John I. Jenkins, university president, spoke against the play in January, saying it was antithetical to the Catholic identity of Notre Dame, and that repeat performances on campus would suggest that the university endorsed the content and message of the play.
But in a statement yesterday Fr. Jenkins granted permission for the play to continue on the grounds of academic freedom, saying, —the creative contextualization of a play like ‘The Vagina Monologues’ can bring certain perspectives on important issues into a constructive and fruitful dialogue with the Catholic tradition.—
Bishop John M. D’Arcy, whose diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend includes Notre Dame, had asked that the performances be ended. He said he was —deeply saddened by the decision.— In his statement Bishop D’Arcy referred to his February comments on the play, when he said it —reduces sexuality to a particular organ of a woman’s body separate from the person of the woman, from her soul and her spirit.—
I just do not see how a play that objectifies can be a starting point for a “…constructive and fruitful dialogue with the Catholic tradition” unless the Catholic tradition is something other than it purports to be. There is objective good and objective evil. The dignity of the whole person is the only “starting point”.
A line from Bishop D’Arcy’s statement:
I am deeply saddened by the decision of Father John Jenkins, CSC, to allow the continuing sponsorship of the Vagina Monologues by Notre Dame, the School of Our Lady.
Yes, I would imagine that our Lady is saddened as well.
Please feel free to E-mail the Congregation of the Holy Cross, of which Fr. Jenkins is a member, and the University of Notre Dame is a part, to express your feelings.
Bishop Joseph Adamec of the Altoona-Johnstown, PA Roman Catholic Diocese is at it again, just in time for Easter. This time he’s forced a conservative priest out of the priesthood while protecting the Lavender Mafia.
Citing anti-gay stance, outspoken priest quits by Susan Evans of The Tribune-Democrat
LILLY —” Even after a priest sexually abused him when he was in high school, John Nesbella of Lilly came back to the church.
And when Nesbella became a priest, and his strong stance against homosexuality in the priesthood drew venomous mail from his colleagues, he kept the faith.
But now, at age 43 and after being banned for the past year from publicly performing any priestly duties, the outspoken and controversial Cambria County priest is taking off his collar.
John Nesbella has resigned from the priesthood.—This is the end of a sad tale of how wicked so-called Catholic priests and bishops drove me and a few other priests out because we dared to speak up about the corrupt brotherhood of homosexuals in the priesthood,— he said.
Officials at the Altoona-Johnstown Roman Catholic Diocese declined to comment on Nesbella’s resignation.
—It’s a personal decision,— diocese spokesman Rob Egan would only say.
Nesbella has been a conservative standard-bearer and a favorite of conservative lay leaders in the diocese.
In 2005, Nesbella was the second Altoona-Johnstown priest in three years to be placed on a leave of absence for protesting diocese policies.
Before him, James Foster, an outspoken Ebensburg priest who often locked horns with Bishop Joseph Adamec on the issue of homosexual priests, was placed on leave in 2003.
Nesbella was placed on leave after suing the diocese, claiming abuse by a priest who is now deceased. That lawsuit is still pending.
His resignation from the priesthood follows more than four years of turbulence in the diocese over allegations of sexual abuse of minors by gay priests.
Since the sex scandal erupted nationally in January 2002, the Altoona-Johnstown diocese has settled 13 lawsuits for $3.7 million. More than a dozen sex-abuse suits are pending.
Before that, the diocese’s single major sex-abuse scandal was the 1994 trial of since-defrocked priest Francis Luddy, who was accused of sexually abusing young boys.
But Nesbella sees homosexuality in the priesthood as more than a financial liability.
He calls it —the immoral mess we have in our church— and says he warned Bishop Adamec.
—Last year I met with him and said, ‘You’re wrecking the church,’ — Nesbella said in an interview Tuesday with The Tribune-Democrat.
…
Biretta tip to the Young Fogey who is correct. The Rev. Nesbella has a lot of discerning to do.
Bishop Adamec is also the Bishop who imposed a gag order on his priests.
Priests say bishop issues gag order by Gill Donovan
Under penalty of excommunication or suspension, a Pennsylvania bishop imposed a gag order for all his priests, forbidding them from voicing public disagreement with diocesan policy.
Speaking on condition their names not be revealed, some priests told The Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown that the gag order had been issued by their bishop, James Adamec of Altoona-Johnstown, Pa., several months ago. The diocese is located some 80 miles from Pittsburgh.
The priests said that Adamec imposed the order after priests were publicly critical about possible church closings and about the way the diocese handled a 1994 sexual abuse lawsuit.
In that suit, Adamec was criticized for paying more in attorney fees than to the victim of abuse by now-defrocked priest Francis Luddy. The diocese refused the paper’s request for comment on the gag order.
…
…and is the same Bishop who oversaw the closing of various parishes including the parish of St. John the Baptist in Northern Cambria, PA. St. John the Baptist is the parish where the Holy Altar was torn out and disposed of in a dumpster. Check out the pictures of this tragedy and the full story.
NORTHERN CAMBRIA – PENNSYLVANIA, USA Parishioners of St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church feel betrayed by what some term a desecration after the church’s nearly century-old altar was ripped out, broken apart and tossed into a Dumpster.
Diocese officials are embroiled in the consolidation of six churches into a new Prince of Peace parish with two churches, the current St. John and four other churches will be closed.
“It is desecration, not only of a holy object, but also a desecration of our feelings because this focus of the practice of our faith has been so cavalierly destroyed despite our objections,” said parishioner Monica Wadium. The Philadelphia Avenue resident traces her family membership in the church to her grandparents.
But the Rev. Gerard Connolly, who serves as parish priest at St. John, 811 Chestnut Ave., and Our Lady of Mount Carmel, defended the destruction of the altar that, one expert says, would cost $15,000 to $50,000 to replace.
Connolly said the altar stone, a sacred object was removed and put in storage before the altar, a mixture of horsehair reinforced with steel, was discarded.
The altar was to be taken to a landfill and buried. The Two devotional altars also were dismantled and discarded, Connolly said.
“What is the reason for renovating St. John?” Wadium asked. “There is no church law, or even directive, that states our altar had to be destroyed. It was an integral part of our cburch architecture and the pride and joy of our community.”
Michael Rose, author of “The Renovation Manipulation,” a book written to help congregations stop cosmetic changes, said they often are done at the whim of Catholic heirarchy and not always necessary.
“It was priceless to the community,” he said about the altar during a telephone interview from his office in Cincinnati.
“I have seen pictures of it and can tell you it was a major work of art.”
Wadium said the altar was put in when the church was built in 1903. She said the immigrant families were poverty-stricken but filled with faith and struggled to make the altar the central focal point of St. John.
Rose said he was outraged the bishop in Altoona-Johnstown Roman Catholic Diocese allowed the removal. He said the bishop is charged with protecting the sacred patrimony of the church, its physical heritage.
But Connolly said the altar had not been updated since Vatican II, a meeting of bishops in Rome during the mid-1960s. He said it was a necessary change.
As word started spreading in the tightly knit Catholic community about the altar’s fate, more members came forward.
More than a dozen St. John parishioners feel betrayed by Connolly and the diocesan bishop, the Most Rev. Joseph Adamec.
…
Experience.
This Maundy Thursday is about experience. These next three days are about experience.
I’ve always loved Maundy Thursday. I love it principally in the way it moves my heart. In the story it tells. A story based in sensory experience.
We stand here wearing white and gold. These liturgical colors denote celebration. The Holy Mass begins and we are confronted by the first profound experience, the playing of the Gloria and the ringing of bells. We can imagine what heaven must be like. Heaven, where the elders and the Apostles who surround the throne of God, praise Him eternally and call out, —Glory to God in the highest.— Revelation tells us:
Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
—You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.”
Next, in the very conduct of the Holy Mass we recall the sacraments Jesus Christ instituted for our salvation.
We receive penance and absolution during the penitential rite, when Father Andrew, in accordance with the instructions of Christ, washes us clean.
We hear the Word of God proclaimed and listen as it is explained.
Father Andrew, acting as the hands of Christ, and repeating the words of Christ, confects the most holy Sacrament of the Altar.
These sacraments, instituted by Jesus Christ, to give us the graces we need to become more like Him, are experiential. They are the healing touch of Christ in absolution, the hearing of Jesus’ teaching and instruction in the Word, the eating of the flesh of Jesus, and the drinking of His blood in Holy Communion.
God is giving us His grace in a way we can understand, feel, and appreciate.
Not only that, we celebrate this night with Father Andrew and with all who have been called to the Holy Priesthood. Tonight is every priest’s anniversary. Jesus Christ instituted the Holy Priesthood so that we, His followers, may continue to receive His body and blood, so that we may be healed, hear His word, and so that we might be brought into the Church.
What tremendous gifts our Lord has given us. How well he understood our need to be touched and to have our hearts, minds, and bodies filled with His love. How well He understood our condition. He understood, because He lived it.
More experiences await us. After we have received the sacraments He instituted we will prepare to process to the Altar of Repose. Jesus is leaving this magnificent Altar. We walk with Him, down the path to His prison. We walk with Him to the mournful beat of the klekotki, walk with Him after Judas’ kiss, through the garden, down the city streets to the Chief Priests and the Sanhedrin. We walk with Him, past all of you, as He is accused, mocked, slapped in the face, spat upon, and finally as He arrives at the Altar of Repose.
He will be thrown into prison tonight. Not the modern prisons of your imagination, but the dark, cold, damp, rodent infested prison He was thrown into. No food, no water, only pain and the cold loneliness of this night. When father throws the key of the tabernacle, the prison bars are shut. Jesus suffering for you and me.
The beautiful Altar of Repose, donned in white, is our meager way to show Jesus that we know He is God, that we love Him and want to make things beautiful for Him.
Those of you who do not want to let Him sit alone tonight will stay. You will keep watch. You will pray.
Keep watch with our Lord tonight. Let your tears of sadness flow as we walk with Him, down, down, down, into the experience of the next three days. Walk from this Altar to the prison, from the prison to the pillar, from the pillar to the cross, from the cross to the tomb.
After the Body of Christ is placed in the Altar of Repose the experience will continue. Father and I will return to the main Altar. The Altar will be stripped, the tabernacle left open and empty.
From these experiences, from the great pealing of the bells to the stripping of the Altar, from tremendous highs to terrible lows, we walk with Jesus.
What do we take with us? How are these moments and experiences captured in our minds and hearts? How do we put our joys and our tears to good use?
Experience!
We listen to Jesus’ command:
Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be.
Therefore, we pledge anew to tie our lives to Christ Jesus. We pledge anew to be His servants. We know that the road He calls us to is not an easy road, especially in light of the way the world is going. But remember, Judas went the way of the world and our Lord said that it would have been better if he had never been born.
We must commit to tie our experiences, both the good and bad to the life of Jesus. He must be the center of our lives. He must be the one we go to in celebration and in sadness. He is our life, our being, and our all. He is the center of the Church, our parish, our families, our relationships, and our business dealings. We acknowledge Him as the way, the truth, and the life. We must recommit to this.
Experience —“ is life lived in unity with Jesus Christ. Without Christ there is no resurrection, no new life. Walk with Him tonight and always.
Za przyczyną św. biskupa Zenona, daj nam o Boże takich biskupów i kapłanów, którzyby naśladując go, dawali nam wskazówki w sprawach doczesnych, a niestrudzenie do wiecznego prowadzili nas żywota. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
O Boże, bądź moim przewodnikiem i wsparciem, jako byłeś nim dla św. Leon W. biskupa. Niechaj myśl nasza nie zboczy od myśli Twojej, abyśmy z drogi prawdy nigdy nie zeszli. Daj nam sił takich, jakich potrzebujemy do spełnienia należytego naszych obo wiązków, abyśmy za dobre czyny dostąpili kiedyś nadgrody wiecznej. Amen.
Prosimy cię o Panie, za wstawieniem się św. Marji Egipcjanki udziel nam tej łaski, abyśmy z grzechów naszych powstawszy, unikali pokus troskliwie, a ćwicząc się w cnotach, zasłużyli sobie na wieczną w niebie nadgrodę. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.
We all (that is Orthodox, Catholics, and Anglicans) have one patron (or matron) saint that we either chose at our conversion or were given in infancy at baptism. This saint is, of course, of supreme importance to us throughout our life and beyond. Nevertheless, many other saints come to hold special places in our hearts for various reasons. We are then able to assemble, as it were, our own persoanl synaxis (gathering together) of saints. What are yours, and why? You may include your patron/matron as #1.
From Kyrie Elieson via Huw Raphael and the Young Fogey.
St. Anthony of Padua —“ my particular patron. Doctor of the Church (Doctor of the Gospel). He wanted to engage in extreme Christianity, and desired martyrdom. He planned on preaching the Faith to the Saracens and suffering for Christ’s sake. God had different plans and directed him otherwise. He became a great preacher, but never boasted of his studies or knowledge. He loved the Word of God. St. Anthony fought against heresy with zeal. He brought about repentance and conversion among his listeners. He moved people to make peace, come to penance, and be reconciled with each other. He was known as the Hammer of the Heretics. He spoke openly to all, to the rich as to the poor, to the people as well as those in authority. St. Anthony’s example in his willingness to suffer, his willingness to give up his desires and be used by the Lord as He wills, and in his strong preaching is the model for my life as a deacon.
O God, who by thy Holy Spirit didst give to thy servant Anthony a love of the Holy Scriptures, and the gift of expounding them with learning and eloquence, that thereby thy people might be established in sound doctrine and encouraged in the way of righteousness, grant to us always an abundance of such preachers, to the glory of thy Name and the benefit of thy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
St. Stephen, Protomartyr —“ deacon, example of forgiveness and the proclamation of Jesus Christ in the face of human power, first martyr.
O Saint Stephen, first of the martyrs, who wast filled with fortitude, grace, and love, whose guiltless face shone like the face of a pure angel, I beseech thee, by the grace which rendered them worthy to see heaven opened and Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father, that thou wouldst, by thy prayers, procure for me from God a pure conscience, and a holy, meek love, that like thee I may readily forgive those who injure me; may pray for them; may not only desire for them whatever is good, but may do them good indeed, and thereby merit the grace of a happy death. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
St. Ephraim the Syrian —“ deacon, fought against heresy. He wrote homilies and hymns. He lived a life of humility and penitence. A Doctor of the Church and the Harp of Faith.
O Lord and Master of my life
take from me the spirit of sloth
faint-heartedness,
lust of power
and idle talk.But give rather the spirit of chastity,
humility,
patience,
and love to thy servant.Yea, O Lord and King
grant me to see my own errors
and not to judge my brother;
for Thou art blessed unto the ages of ages.Amen.
St. Casimir —“ Prince of Poland-Lithuania. He lived a life of mortification, celibacy, and prayer. He had a strong personal devotion to the BVM. He stood up to his own father, the King, in opposing the forceful takeover of Hungary.
O God, the giver of all heavenly grace, in the angelic young adult, Casimir, you did unite wondrous innocence, great prudence, diligent fidelity to duty, and generous charity with strict penance. By his merits and prayers grant unto us who have not followed him in his avoidance of sin, the grace to imitate him in his voluntary penance for sin. Amen.
St. Lawrence of Rome —“ archdeacon, martyr. He cared for the poor and sick of the Church at Rome. He kept the treasury of the Church at Rome. He stood up to Caesar in the face of the martyrdom of his bishop and six other deacons. He was told to deliver the treasures of the Church entrusted to his care to Caesar. He brought the poor, the crippled, the blind, the sick before Caesar stating that these were the true treasures of the Church.
Almighty God, who didst call thy deacon Laurence to serve thee with deeds of love, and didst give him the crown of martyrdom: Grant, we beseech thee, that we, following his example, may fulfil thy commandments by defending and supporting the poor, and by loving thee with all our hearts, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Other saints who have had a profound role in my life: St. Joseph, St. Rita, the Holy Innocents, St. Michael the Archangel, St. James, St. Louis, Sts. Peter and Paul.
Anyone who wishes, please feel free to meme on.