I’m convinced that here in the United States, we have no “sensus fidelium” – no “sense of the faithful.”
Or perhaps – we have the sense of the marginal. The sense of the ill-informed. The sense of the folks who will darken a church door this Easter, and not return until Dec 24th out of some sort of misguided semi-annual obligation.
Because this Gallup poll wasn’t of active, faithful, prayerful Catholics who frequent the sacraments.
I hate to say this, but if you are a marginal, sometimes-go-to-Mass “catholic” – what’s the first thing you would like to a pollster over the telephone about. That’s right: your regular Mass attendance.
Hey Gallup – why don’t you find a sample of Catholics who go to Eucharist Adoration at least once per month? Call my wife sometime- she’s there right now!
Author: John Schultz
Wha?
Benedict prays for John Paul’s beatification.
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI marked the fourth anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II with a memorial Mass on Thursday and new prayers for the Polish pontiff’s beatification.
Later, Benedict descended to the grottos underneath St. Peter’s and knelt for a few minutes of silent prayer before his predecessor’s simple, marble tomb, decorated with a red rose. The pope sprinkled holy water in blessing before returning to the basilica upstairs and greeting some of the pilgrims.
The pope told Polish pilgrims on Wednesday he was praying for John Paul’s beatification, the first step to possible sainthood.
At first you might be thinking – what? Can’t Pope Benedict just declare Pope John Paul II a saint? What happened to Santo Subito?
And the answer is: that’s not how it works, even for Pope John Paul II, The Great.
His cause for canonization is proceeding like any other. So keep up the prayers!
An escape – to where?
This article shows the depths of the assisted suicide obsession.
The Swiss “clinic,” serving mostly “patients” from Britain, now plans the assisted suicide of a perfectly healthy woman. Why? Because her partner is terminally ill – and if he goes, she wants to go at the same time.
It seems like the stuff of romance novels and epic stories – the suicide pact. I’m sure there are people who are so without hope that they feel their life is already over, or could end at any time.
Still the “clinic” operators return to the same point when explaining their reason for being.
…anyone who has “mental capacity” should be allowed to have an assisted suicide, claiming that it would save money for the National Health Service.
…Mr Minelli said that failed suicide attempts caused problems and extra costs for the British health service.
…”For 50 suicide attempts you have one suicide and the odds of failing with heavy costs for the National Health Service,” he said.”In many, many cases they are terribly hurt afterwards, sometimes you have to put them into institutions for 50 years, very costly.”
Let’s look on the bright side, they tell us:
“We should have a nicer attitude to suicide, saying suicide is a very good possibility to escape.”
So there you have it. The “patient” has no hope. The clinic has the secular reason for making it happen: cut costs.
As we approach Holy Week, we are about to relive the story of hopelessness turned to hope through the death and resurrection of Jesus. May those who are contemplating their escape find hope in Jesus’ sacrifice.
To Eternal Life – Deacon Adam Scott Crowe
Today, a dear friend of my brother and his fellow classmate at St. Charles Seminary in Philadelphia has passed on to eternal life. Deacon Adam Crowe was only 26 years old, and was to be ordained a priest this spring for the Diocese of Ogdensburg, New York. Deacon Crowe was a guest in our home when my brother Deacon Steve was home on free weekends. He was kind, compassionate, sharp, holy and dedicated totally to the Catholic faith and his formation to become a priest. He celebrated Steve’s ordination last June with us and he assisted at Steve’s first Mass as a deacon. He was an inspiration to us and would have been a wonderful priest.
Please pray for his family back in New York and his seminarian brothers at St. Charles, who all mourn an unexpected and profound loss.
I’m sure that Deacon Adam is on his way to rest in the Lord and to intercede for us all. May the peace of Christ be his, and be ours when God calls us home.
Merry Christmas!
Let us seek with the shepherds
The Word incarnate;
Let us sing with all mankind
For the King of the age. Noel.
What do you see in the stable?
Jesus, born of the Virgin.
What do you hear in the manger?
Angels with a song
And shepherds saying: Noel.
Where do you eat, where do you lie?
Say, whether you weep or laugh:
We ask you, Christ the King. Noel.
My food is milk of the Virgin
My bed is a hard manger,
My songs are tears. Noel.
Quaeramus cum pastoribus, Jean Mouton