St. Alban, Martyr, (350)
St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop, (431)
St. Nicetas, Bishop, (414)
St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Confessor, (1591)
St. Eusebius of Samosata, Bishop, (379)
St. Ralph, Bishop, (866)
My sister forwarded a link to a CHF International project that helps to protect the women and children of Darfur.
I have found CHF to be a worthy organization. At one time I had considered working in one of their housing development projects in Poland, and I have kept up with their efforts in some of the poorest areas of the world.
As you may well know, recent stories have circulated concerning gang rapes of women who must hunt down scarce firewood. These women must forage for firewood that is used for cooking.
Women must leave the (relative) safety of their refugee camps, and their husbands and children, often traveling tens of miles to find wood. The men cannot leave the camps as they would most likely be killed, or forcefully conscripted.
CHF is trying to supply special stoves that require less fuel and that use fuels readily available in the camps. I ask that you consider supporting this project.
More information and an on-line donation option is available at: Building Stoves and Saving Lives in Darfur, Sudan – The Fuel-Efficient Stoves Project.
The Young Fogey tagged me for the ‘Eight things about me’ meme
Here are the rules…
- Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
- People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
- At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
- Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
And without further ado, here are my answers…
- My musical tastes are eclectic. Rock, Pop, Classical, Christian, Rap, Heavy Metal, Chant, Ethnic (African, Caribbean, Polish – of course – but all types including Polish Pop, Rap, Metal, and Folk, plus many others) and yes, Polka…
- I can’t Polka
- I love Morris West’s works.
- I overdo it for guests (old Polish proverb – when guests are in the house, God is in the house).
- I’ve always wanted a Jaguar and a sporty convertible
- I wrote an MS Access database program to spec for a Canadian fisherman.
- I love rubrics – and often mess up anyway. I accept this as God’s little lesson in humility.
- I grew up in a house full of women and believe women are the underpinning of society.
Eight more people: Bernard Brandt, Fr. Martin Fox, Fr. Deacon Raphael, Deacon Dan Wright, Ben Johnson, Huw, Edward Yong, and the crew over at Broadway Fillmore Alive.
I will not leave random, irrelevant comments on peoples’ sites, so consider the link your tag.
St. Silverius of Rome, Bishop and Martyr, (537)
St. Bain, Bishop, (710)
St. Adalbert, Bishop, (981)
From the USCCB Website: Focus was current relationship and the validity of PNCC Sacraments
WASHINGTON (June 18, 2007)–The spring session of the Polish National Catholic-Roman Catholic dialogue took place on May 30 and 31, 2007, at the Four Points Sheraton hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was hosted by the PNCC, and organized by the Very Rev. John Z. Kraus, pastor of St. Mary’s parish in West Allis, Wisconsin. The meeting was co-chaired by Bishop Edward U. Kmiec of Buffalo, and by Bishop Anthony Mikovsky of the PNCC Central Diocese. This was the first meeting co-chaired by Bishop Mikovsky, who was ordained to the episcopate on November 30, 2006. The session was also attended by Auxiliary Bishop Richard J. Sklba of Milwaukee, Chairman of the Bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
The main focus of this meeting was the current relationship between the two churches, and a review of the correspondence with the Holy See since 1991 concerning the validity of PNCC sacraments, sacramental sharing, and the extent to which the Catholic Church considers the PNCC to be in the same state as the Orthodox churches in these and other matters. The members were encouraged by the general direction of these discussions, which was brought forward by the dialogue’s Joint Declaration on Unity of May 2006. There was a consensus that the Joint Declaration has created a new context in which further incremental steps towards unity might be explored (xref. the full text of the Joint Declaration).
In addition, the members heard a presentation by Msgr. John Strynkowski of the document issued earlier this year by the International Theological Commission, —The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Being Baptized.— The text resonated with the PNCC delegation, since their church has always taught that unbaptized children can be saved.
Later in the same session, Rev. Ronald G. Roberson, CSP, Associate Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the USCCB, offered a brief overview of the new book by Cardinal Walter Kasper, A Handbook of Spiritual Ecumenism. The cardinal’s book offers a host of ways in which the churches can express the unity shared in various forms of spiritual activity. There was also a discussion of the new English translation of the Roman liturgy that is being prepared by the Holy See.
The next meeting of the dialogue is scheduled to take place in Buffalo, New York, on September 25 and 26, 2007.
The dialogue between the Polish National Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church has been meeting semiannually since 1984. The present PNCC members include Bishop Anthony Mikovsky (Co-Chairman), Bishop John E. Mack, Very Rev. Marcell W. Pytlarz, Very Rev. John Z. Kraus, Very Rev. Paul Sobiechowski, and Rev. Robert M. Nemkovich, Jr. The Roman Catholic participants include Bishop Edward U. Kmiec (Co-Chairman), Bishop Thomas G. Wenski, Msgr. John Strynkowski, Msgr. Thomas J. Green, Rev. Phillip Altavilla, and Rev. Ronald G. Roberson, CSP (staff).
St. Juliana Falconieri, Virgin, (1341)
St. Deodatus, Bishop, (679)
St. Bruno, Martyr, (1009)
St. Ephrem the Syrian, Confessor, (373)
St. Amandus, Bishop, (431)
Saints Mark and Marcellian, Martyrs, (287)
St. Harvey, Abbot, (550)
Saints Nicander and Marcian, Martyrs, (350)
St. Hypatius, Abbot, (446)
I live by faith in the Son of God
who has loved me and given himself up for me.
Today’s readings and Gospel give us the full bore reality of sin —“ and the answer to sin.
In our first reading the prophet Nathan confronts David with God’s words.
‘I anointed you king of Israel.
I rescued you from the hand of Saul.
I gave you your lord’s house and your lord’s wives for your own.
I gave you the house of Israel and of Judah.
And if this were not enough, I could count up for you still more.
Why have you spurned the Lord and done evil in his sight?
In a deadly concoction of sin, a mixture of lust, jealousy, envy, desire, and corruption David had one of his finest soldiers, Uriah, a humble and righteous man, killed, so that he could take Uriah’s wife as his own. He had already committed adultery, she was pregnant by him, and then he killed her husband. David killed, and the Lord’s anger flared up.
What should David have done? What could David have done to make amends?
Nothing really.
David simply said:
—I have sinned against the LORD.—
To which the prophet of the Lord replied:
—The LORD on his part has forgiven your sin:
you shall not die.—
That, my friends, is trust beyond reason and a love beyond telling.
Jesus visits the house of the Pharisee and dines there.
Now there was a sinful woman in the city
who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee.
Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment,
she stood behind him at his feet weeping
and began to bathe his feet with her tears.
Then she wiped them with her hair,
kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment.
She didn’t say anything. She spoke through her actions and her tears.
Later Jesus would say:
—Your faith has saved you; go in peace.—
She had faith, but faith in what? Faith in a prophet? No prophet could forgive sins.
The guests pointed that one out.
The others at table said to themselves,
—Who is this who even forgives sins?—
To the Jewish people the forgiveness of sins required actions. A blood sacrifice in the Temple was necessary. Even with that sacrifice, forgiveness wasn’t a spoken commodity. Only God could forgive, only God knew.
No, the woman had faith, faith and blind trust, like David’s blind trust. She knew that Jesus, who reclined at table, whose feet she bathed and anointed, was God. He who could forgive sins.
You heard the readings and the Gospel. After a joyous Easter season, and the three great post Easter Sundays celebrating the Holy Ghost, the Holy Trinity, and the Body and Blood of our Lord, it’s all a downer. It’s all about sin.
Brothers and sisters,
David didn’t think so, the sinful woman didn’t think so, and Mary, called Magdalene, out of whom seven demons were cast didn’t think so.
David saw, the woman saw, Mary saw. They all saw the great light. Each of them trusted beyond reason, and received love beyond telling. The light of God’s all encompassing love, the richness of His forgiveness.
There is really nothing we can do, other than in our expression of faith. Faith that saves us from sin.
Paul spoke of salvation though works alone, which is impossible. He pointed out that that was the faith of the old Israel.
Each of us lives the full bore reality of sin. In the small things and in the big things we do. We are David, and the sinful woman. All we can say is: —I have sinned against the LORD.—
The answer, as Paul rightly points out, is our faith. Faith that bears fruit in our repentance, and through the works we accomplish by faith.