O Boże, któryś św. Magdalenę Pazis ogniem miłości swej zapalił, i niebieskiemi łaskami ozdobił, użycz i nam tej łaski, abyśmy ją w cierpliwości i czystości naśladowali, i pomimo trudów i przeszkód, pobożne i świątobliwe prowadzili życie. Amen.
It appears that a student commencement speaker at a —Roman Catholic College— the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, has been taken to the rack for proclaiming the Catholic faith.
At the commencement, the student spoke on the dichotomy of selfishness and selflessness. He particularly singled out as selfish those who use birth control and engage in pre-marital sexual; relations. An excerpt from the article “At St. Thomas, a sour ending” which appears in the Twin Cities Pioneer Press follows:
A spring term that began with controversy at the University of St. Thomas ended the same way Saturday when a student used part of his commencement address to admonish people he considered “selfish,” including women who use birth control.
The remarks by Ben Kessler, a well-known student recently honored by peers and faculty as Tommie of the Year, led to catcalls and boos during commencement at the Catholic university in St. Paul. Others booed those who were booing. Some students walked out on their own graduation ceremony.
Buzz about the incident dominated post-graduation parties, spread throughout the community and sparked a flurry of e-mails. By Monday, there were scattered requests to strip Kessler of his Tommie of the Year award and questions about why St. Thomas officials didn’t try to pull the plug on Kessler’s speech as the crowd’s unhappiness intensified.
“He definitely ruined the day for pretty much everyone in the audience,” said Darin Aus, who was awarded his bachelor’s degree Saturday and stayed for the entire ceremony. “He made people mad enough to leave their own graduation.”
Kind of like how Jesus ruined the day for the Pharisees and hypocrites?
Kessler, a celebrated football player with a deep Catholic faith, apologized Monday in a written statement distributed by the university.
“Instead of providing hope to all, I offended some by my words and by my decision to speak those words at commencement,” he wrote.
He was unavailable for comment beyond the statement.
The university’s president, the Rev. Dennis Dease, also expressed regret “that graduates and their families and guests were offended by Mr. Kessler’s remarks.” Dease said he told Kessler it was inappropriate for him to use commencement to express his opinions.
…
So the Rev. Dease regrets “that graduates and their families and guests were offended by Mr. Kessler’s remarks.” As a clergyman I would regret it too. I would regret that they weren’t converted by his remarks.
But no, in this day and age the R.C. clergyman makes a devout Catholic apologize for being Catholic. The words of Revelation in my title seem to apply to the Rev. Dease.
And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: `I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. `So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. `Because you say, I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing, and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. `Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore, and repent. `Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me. `He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Also, check out comments and a letter sent by Fr. Martin Fox to the school’s administration in ‘Spoiled Brat’ College Graduates.
For as I walked around looking carefully at your shrines,
I even discovered an altar inscribed, ‘To an Unknown God.’
What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you.
The God who made the world and all that is in it,
the Lord of heaven and earth,
does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands,
nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything.
Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything.
I think we’ve reached the stage of human existence where we know all of our gods. Or at least we think we do. Unfortunately, like the Athenians, too many still walk away when they hear the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ proclaimed. They are more comfortable with the gods they know, or their perception of the one true God, to hear about the reality of Jesus. They want the Jesus of acceptance, or persecution, or success, whomever the Jesus is that fits their needs and schedule. They want the Jesus who said ‘whatever you want —“ it’s ok.’ I don’t know that Jesus.
Rather I hear the words of Paul preaching in the streets of Athens:
God has overlooked the times of ignorance,
but now he demands that all people everywhere repent
I love the one true God, Father Son, and Holy Spirit, the God that challenges me to grow, to change, to set aside my comfortable sins and repent.
My brothers and sisters,
All of us are on a journey toward God. We must recommit to making the journey fruitful. You are here tonight to receive Jesus’ body and blood as food for the journey. You are here to worship the one true God in the person of His Son in the most holy Sacrament of the Altar.
How many Biblical passages speak to the fact that the teachings of Jesus are too hard to bear? When Jesus talked of feeding us with His body and that we need to drink His blood, many of the Jews walked away.
In today’s Gospel Jesus says it very plainly:
“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.”
Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit would come and that we would see clearly because of His gifts. Now we have the Spirit. Believers, those who have faith in the Jesus proclaimed by the Church, know that Jesus’ yoke is easy and His burden is light. Take it up, proclaim and teach it, evangelize, and continue on your journey.
Dobrotliwy Boże, za wstawieniem się świętej służebnicy Joanny użycz nam tej łaski, abyśmy służyli Ci wiernie i nieustraszenie, spełniali dobre uczynki i nie obrażali Cię nigdy grzechami. Amen.
Check out Deacon Raphael’s comments on vocations: On “Being Called” to Ministry….
I agree and it’s well put. When vocations become the fulfillment of personal wishes and desires and cease to be a discerned calling from within and without, you end up with the heterodoxy we have today and a protestant God and me ethic.
The York Forum discussion board is commenting on Fr. Taylor Marshall of the Canterbury Tales blog (to whom I link) who has renounced his orders in the ECUSA and who is entering the R.C. Church. Dr. William Tighe (who posts at Pontifications on occasions and writes for Touchstone) reported:
Fr. Taylor Reed Marshall, formerly Curate of St. Andrews, Fort Worth, has renounced his Orders in ECUSA and will be rec’d into the Catholic church [sic] by Bp. Vann of Fort Worth this Saturday (May 20), together with his wife and children. At the end of the month they will be moving to Washington, DC, where TRM will take up a position as assistant to Msgr. William Stetson for “Anglican Use” matters. He will be present a the Anglican Use conference in Scranton in June, where I hope that he will be heartily welcomed, and greeted especially by those whom I count as my friends who will be there.
I wish Fr. Marshall and his family well.
As to the Anglican Use in the R.C. Church —“ well, I don’t get it.
At best it’s a stop gap measure to accommodate Anglicans who are swimming the Tiber in an effort to escape the heterodoxy of the ECUSA. It’s why I think swimming the Bosporus makes more sense. The Orthodox require a process of integration and there is no false expectation left in the mind of those converting. You must become and integrate yourself within the fullness of Orthodoxy. That’s indicative of the fact that Orthodoxy sees itself on a road toward becoming, toward Theosis.
If Anglicans wish to go to Rome, that’s fine, but why bring the trappings of Anglicanism? Getting on the road to becoming is a more truthful stance. There would be far fewer problems if people had to face the fullness of their decisions —“ making clear choices. The R.C. Church is exactly what it is. Why would people choose to delude themselves as if they have the power, wisdom, or longevity to make over the Church?
In my estimation there will be no ‘Anglican Use’ of any substantial magnitude in 25 to 30 years. The married clergy will die off and will not be replaced (can you imagine R.C. Bishops anywhere ordaining married men). They will not be replaced by more Anglican clergy swimming the Tiber, since anyone with any sense of what Church is will have gone somewhere else in those 25 to 30 years, or will have sold their soul.
That leaves the congregations in these AU parishes, which will age out. Their replacement generation will remember the beautiful liturgies but will walk away when the AU parishes get ‘integrated’. There will be the typical hurt feelings and failure to listen and meet their needs.
It’s sad and it is a warning sign to all those who push for headlong integration with the R.C. Church. They delude themselves greatly. Campos is feeling the effects of integration, the SSPX will if it chooses to integrate, and the Anglicans will as well.
As always we pray for reconciliation and the grace to overcome the sin that is a barrier to that. It must be recognized that sin exists on every side and that we need the light of the Holy Spirit to show every party the way forward.
Good luck Fr. Marshall.
Wszechmogący wieczny Boże, udziel nam Twej łaski, abyśmy zawsze niezłomnie trzymali się wiary katolickiej, i abyśmy raczej znieśli największe cierpienia i przeciwności, a Kościoła katolickiego nie porzucili. Amen.
O Boże, który służebnicę swoją świętą Julję natchnąłeś wytrwałością w cierpieniach, i palmą męczeństwa ozdobiłeś, użycz nam za jej przyczyną tej łaski, abyśmy wszystkie zawody i przykrości tego życia cierpliwie znosili, i znikomych rozkoszy nie pożądali. Amen.
—As the Father loves me, so I also love you.—
My dear children and all my brothers and sisters in Christ,
Every Sunday during the Holy Mass we are in heaven – where else would we want to be?
Isn’t it wonderful to be here with your family and friends, with all the people from our parish, some whom you know and others whom you do not know? That’s part of the miracle of today. It is the miracle of the Holy Eucharist you are about to receive.
Part of the miracle is that you will never be alone or unloved.
Look around you. Do you see everyone’s face, everyone that is smiling and happy. They are remembering their First Holy Communion. They are remembering their moms and dads and all the people that came to be with them on their special day. They are also remembering something that we all pray you never forget.
Never forget that you are not alone or unloved.
Jesus told us:
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
You are not alone because Jesus chose you. You are not unloved because Jesus loves you. With all of His great love He chose you. It wasn’t an accident and it wasn’t a mistake. You are very important to Jesus and He loves you very much. He chose you because He knows you will be His disciples.
Jesus not only chose you, He made sure you would never be alone. Even if you were in a far away dessert or on a very high mountain, even if you were the only person on an island, you would never be alone.
You cannot be alone because Jesus will be part of you from this day forward. He will be part of you in a very special way, just like he is part of all the people around you, all the people who will receive Jesus with you today and from now on.
Remember when I said that the people around you are remembering their First Holy Communion? Remember that I said that you know some of them. You don’t know all of them do you?
The other miracle that happens today is that you will know all these people and many people you will never see or meet. How can you know people you will never see or meet? It happens because Jesus ties all of us together in His body and blood.
Jesus brings us together with people from all over the world. Rich people and poor people, happy and sad people, famous people and people you will never know about, even people you don’t like that much. Jesus brings us together when we all receive His body and blood. We all receive the same Jesus, the whole Jesus, 100%.
When you pray you should remember all those people. Even when you’re happy, remember that there are people who are sad. When you are sad they will remember and pray for you. Pray for those people you don’t like so much. Remember that you are with them, joined together in Jesus. Pray that God will watch over them and protect them. Pray that Jesus will take away the things we are mad or fighting about.
Remember, you are not alone. Jesus chose you, and loves you. He’s with you always. He and all His people are joined together in Holy Communion. Rich or poor, you have Jesus with you, anywhere, anytime you want.
Jesus’ gift to you will last forever. His gift will last forever because He told us it would, because He told us that He wants us to come in, to let Him feed us, to let Him serve us, and to let Him love us. All you have to say is ‘Yes – Amen.’
Every time you receive Holy Communion you will receive the best gift you could ever have. You and I will not always get what we want, but we will definitely get what we need. And what we need most of all is Jesus.
Receiving Jesus’ body and blood every Sunday during the Holy Mass is a moment in heaven – where else would we want to be?
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Prosimy cię wszechmogący Boże, za wstawieniem się św. męczenników, abyśmy umieli Cię kochać doskonale tylko dla Ciebie samego. Niech nasza miłość będzie skuteczną, okazując się w uczynkach dobrych, i odważną, aby przezwyciężyła wszystkie przeszkody, jakie nas odciągają od Ciebie, Stwórco nasz i Panie. Amen.