Daily Prayer for Priest O my Jesus, I beg You on behalf of the whole Church ... give us holy priests. You yourself maintain them in holiness.
O Divine and Great High Priest, may the power of Your mercy accompany them everywhere and protect them from the devil's traps and snares, which are continually being set for the souls of priests.
May the power of Your Mercy, O Lord, shatter and bring the naught all that might tarnish the sanctity of priest, for You can do all things. - St. Faustina (Diary, 1052)
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From: Desert Voice (with slight editing)
A follow up post to Father Altier’s: On The Reality And Action Of Demons.
Father Robert Altier-In the Gospel we hear about this boy who is possessed by the demon. Many people, when they think about things demonic, immediately and only think about demonic possession. But, as we hear in scripture, there are lots of other ways that demons operate. For instance, Saint James tells us that if someone has a wisdom which is selfish, arrogant, and boastful it is earthly and it is demonic. It is something that is not of God, but it is not merely something which is natural either; it is something that is preternatural or something that is from the demons. 
The Devil’s Greatest Deception
This is a point that we have lost rather badly in our society. Even in our own Church these days, most people, first of all, give lip service to the fact that maybe the devil exists but he really does not have any power; or if he does, well, we do not want to deal with him anyway. There are some people who would say that anything demonic is merely a medieval myth, that they thought various forms of mental illness were really something that were demonic manifestations. But now that we have psychologists and psychiatrists, we know better than that; therefore, the devil does not exist because we have become enlightened now and we are not caught up in the medieval myths anymore. The fact of the matter is that they are as real as you and me. We all have guardian angels that we cannot see. Of course, many people want to deny that reality as well. The demons are fallen angels and they are real. And they can afflict us in a variety of ways.
Why Do I Keep Falling Into Sinful Patterns?
But I think what is important is what Our Lord points out in the gospel: This kind can only be gotten rid of by prayer. And there is another point where He says by prayer and fasting. When we look at the various things that we struggle with in our lives, we understand that certainly there is our own free will involved in some of our sinfulness; but there are other things that we continually do over and over again which are a mystery even to our own selves. “Why did this happen? Why do I keep doing these same things? Why do I do selfish things? Why do I do arrogant things? Why do I keep doing the same stupid things that I keep saying to myself, ‘I’m not going to do this anymore’? I keep falling into the same pattern.” It is not necessarily a willful thing, but it just keeps happening and it is not good. It is because there is something spiritual there. Not that anybody here is possessed – I do not suspect anyone is – but, again, one does not need to be possessed in order to be troubled by demonic things.
We Have To Pray And Do Penance!
So we need to pray and we need to do penance in order to overcome these things. Some things we can push out pretty easily. Other things are going to take an awful lot of work depending on what happened to allow these things in and what kind of demon it is, because there are different kinds of spirits that are present within us. And so we must be very careful because we realize that for someone to be possessed is exceedingly rare, exceedingly rare. It happens, but it is very rare. Do not assume that if someone has any kind of demonic problem they must be possessed, because generally they are not. But do not assume either that just because someone is not possessed that they do not have any kind of demonic problems. I can guarantee you that unless you are perfect you have a demonic problem, not that you are possessed, not that you are willfully entertaining anything demonic. The fact of the matter is the demons live within the wounds within us, and until those wounds heal they have a home. That is why we need to pray. That is why we need to do penance. We need to get at the very heart of what it is that allowed these things in, and we need to work against it. It is possible, as Our Lord made very clear, for those with faith.
We Can Do Nothing On Our Own!
As we look at our own struggles, some of which we may have been trying for years and years and years to overcome, we simply need to go to Our Lord and recognize that the ultimate origin of these things probably is not our own free will – we have simply cooperated with it to whatever degree – but there is probably something else that is spiritual there causing us trouble. We need to go to Our Lord and beg Him for the grace to be able to get rid of this thing, and say with the father of the boy in the Gospel, “I believe, help my unbelief!” Understand that with faith we can be rid of these things. Depending on what it is that they are, it requires different things. But the fact of the matter is that with the help of God all things are possible. So we do not go to prayer and say, “Oh, Lord, if you can do this…” because all things are possible for Him. What is necessary is that first we have faith in the proper sense. We have to recognize the reality of our situation for what it is and we need to approach it in the right way: with prayer, with penance, and with complete faith and trust in Jesus Christ, Who can do all things in those who believe.
So, what are your thoughts?
That’s it. We at Courageous Priest truly want to know how you feel about this sad situation involving Father Pavone and Bishop Patrick Zurek the current Bishop of Amarillo?
All charitable comments will be published. Let us remember to respect the dignity of their offices as priest and bishop.
The most thoughtful and helpful comments will be published in this post.
Please go ahead and leave a comment.
God bless,
Courageous Priest
 Bishop Patrick J. Zurek  Fr. Frank Pavone Here are some of your comments:
A dear friend, a Redemptorist priest, told me a long time ago, that his vow of obedience is so very important in his religious life. This vow does not diminish his priestly work but actually enhanced his personal growth because he knows that God is using him in his full capacity to carry out His mission. With that said, I believe that God will always protect the priest who loves and obeys his bishop. Please continue to pray for Father Pavone for strength and humility to remember his obedience to his bishop with and fidelity in his vows.
Thaivi P
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I believe in what Father Pavone is doing. His fight for life is a most worthy effort. I would hope and pray his bishop sees the importance of the work he’s doing and encourage and enable him to continue the work.
I do understand, the necessity for obedience for priests to their bishops. Obedience is an essential virtue for all the faithful, but especially for priests who take a vow of obedience.
God bless the Bishop and Holy Spirit guide and direct him. Also, God bless Father Pavone…Holy Spirit guide and direct him, also.
It’s very easy for people to jump to conclusions and have an opinion, but we must tread carefully not to make assumptions without all the facts.
Christina P.
Glendale, AZ
James 1: 2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
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I like Fr. Pavone’s work and what he was doing but I have to admit that I felt overwhelmed by the amount of peperwork he put out. It seemed like weekly I was receiving another urgent letter to give all that I could give. Even my husband who takes little notice of Fr. Pavone’s work commented on the large number of lengthly mailings we would receive. It must have cost a fortune to print all that up and send it out. I wrote a letter to Fr. Pavone and mentioned that as much as I agree with him about abortion I simply could not be pushed in ever letter to give so much. I told him (the staff…and I recived a kind letter in response) that he did not have to educate the pro-lifers so much, we already know. I will send money but you don’t have to give me a three hour sermon in a letter to get me to send it. There are a lot of good people working on ending abortion and money plays a role, I wish he would have stressed more prayer (like 40 days for life) instead of money. I hope things go well for him. He is a tireless leader and I hope and pray that this is good for him and for all of us in some way.
Cathy Z.
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With all due respect to Bishop Z, while he retains every right to move his priests around like chess pieces, his last move was lacking in strategy. Father P is too valuable to set aside just when the pro-life movement was to announce, “Check-mate”. Taking Knight Pavone off the board is an act of negligence, rancor, or revenge…or befuddlement. It can be no other. The sequence of events and facts place Bishop Z in a bad light. I am praying for justice and truth!
God Bless,
Maureen B.
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It Must Be Listened To With Obedience, Trust, and Awareness.
From: Vatican Information Service
VATICAN CITY, 9 NOV 2011 (VIS) – In his general audience this morning Benedict XVI  focused his catechesis on Psalm 119, the longest of the Psalms, constructed as an acrostic in which each stanza begins with one of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Its subject matter is “the Torah of the Lord; that is, His Law, a term which in its broadest and most complete definition comprehends teaching, instruction and life guidance. The Torah is revelation, it is the Word of God which is addressed to man and which arouses his response of faithful obedience and generous love”, the Pope said.
“The Psalmist’s faithfulness arises from listening to the Word, from keeping it in his heart, meditating upon it and loving it, like Mary who ‘treasured in her heart’ the words addressed to her, the marvellous events in which God revealed Himself and asked for her response of faith”, he explained. The Psalmist describes those who walk in the Law of the Lord as blessed, and indeed “Mary is blessed because she bore the Saviour in her womb, but above all because she accepted God’s annunciation and treasured His Word attentively and lovingly”.
Psalm 119 is constructed around this Word of life and blessing. Its central theme is the Word and the Law, and its verses are replete with synonyms thereof such as “precepts, decrees, promises”, associated with verbs such as “to know, to love, to meditate, to live”, the Holy Father explained. “The entire alphabet features in the twenty-two verses of the Psalm, as does the entire vocabulary of the believer’s relationship of trust with God. We find praise, thanksgiving and trust, but also supplication and lamentation; however, all of them are pervaded by the certainty of divine grace and the power of the Word of God. Even those verses most marked by suffering and darkness remain open to hope and are permeated with faith”.
The Law of God, which is “the centre of life”, must be “listened to with obedience but not servility, with filial trust and awareness. To listen to the Word is to have a personal encounter with the Lord of life. … The fulfilment of the Law is to follow Jesus“. Thus Psalm 119 “guides us towards the Gospel”, the Pope explained. In this context he focused particularly on verse 57: “The Lord is my portion; I promise to keep your words”.
“The term ‘portion’”, he explained, “evokes the partition of the Promised Land among the tribes of Israel, when the Levites were given no part of the territory because their ‘portion’ was the Lord Himself. … These verses are also important for us today, especially for priests, who are called to live from the Lord and from His Word alone, with no other guarantees, no other wealth, and having Him as their one source of true life. It is in this light that we can understand the free choice of celibacy for the Kingdom of heaven, which must be rediscovered in all its beauty and power.
“These verses are also important for the faithful, the People of God who belong only to Him”, the Pope added in conclusion. “They are called to experience the radical nature of the Gospel, to be witnesses of the life brought by Christ, the new and definitive ‘High Priest’ Who offered Himself in sacrifice for the salvation of the world. The Lord and His Word are our ‘land’ in which to live in communion and joy”.
Dear Member of the United States Senate Judiciary Committee:
As Chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, I urge you to uphold the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) by opposing the Respect for Marriage Act (S. 598) and any other measure seeking DOMA’s repeal.
 Bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone DOMA recognizes for federal purposes that marriage is defined as the union of one man and one woman. It also prevents the redefinition of marriage in any one state from forcing other states to follow suit. DOMA’s codified definition of marriage reflects a deeply rooted and enduring consensus, based on truths about the human person discernible by reason and accessible to people of all faiths or none at all. Millions of citizens have gone to the ballot in thirty states to ratify similar DOMA proposals by substantial majorities. Forty one states in all have enacted their own DOMAs. Popularity alone does not determine what is right. But in the face of such broad support in the present day, not to mention a legacy of lived experience and reasoned reflection measured in millennia in every society and civilization throughout all of human history, repealing a measure that merely recognizes the truth of marriage is all the more improvident.
I raise for your consideration two points: DOMA is rational, and its repeal would be unjust.
A. DOMA is grounded in reason and experience. It takes into account the/distinguishing properties of unity and procreation that mark the relationship of
husband and wife.
Marriage is a comprehensive union of man and woman, a total, permanent, faithful, and fruitful sharing of lives between husband and wife. This union is a great and unique good in itself, and is critical for the common good. There are fundamental reasons why sexual difference and the complementarity between man and woman have always been considered essential to the meaning of marriage.
The connection between sexual difference and procreation is obvious and unique. The public status of marriage owes its origin and existence to the natural capacity of man and woman to bring children into the world. Research substantiates that children thrive best when reared by both a mom and a dad married to each other. Marriage has been and should remain a child-centered institution.
Even when a marriage is not blessed with children, all husbands and wives can model for society the possibilities and potential for mutual collaboration between the sexes. They can teach children generally by their witness and exemplify for other men and women what it means to be husband and wife. They also can provide an essential service to society through adopting children, who need the care of a mother and a father.
The unitive and procreative realities at stake cannot be ignored. They are not mere cultural constructs that can be discarded at will, with little or no social cost. Instead, they flow directly from the immutable nature of the human person, and so our society ignores them at great peril. By contrast, where these human realities are respected, the benefits to society are unparalleled. This explains why Congress, nearly all of the states, and millions of voters affirm marriage as an institution founded on sexual difference. DOMA furthers the common good by preserving in federal law the essential connection between marriage, sexual difference, the good of children, and public policy.
B. Redefining marriage to mean simply an arrangement of consenting adults violates justice because it interferes with basic human rights. First, changing the institution of marriage by making it indifferent to the absence of one sex or the other denies that children have the fundamental human right to be cared by both their mother and father. Such revision transforms marriage from a child-centered to an adult-centered status to the detriment of children. DOMA maintains marriage’s proper focus on reinforcing the interests of children.
Second, redefining marriage also threatens the fundamental human right of religious freedom. Those who refuse on moral and religious grounds to accept or accommodate the redefinition of legal marriage are already being wrongly accused of bigotry and hatred, bias and prejudice. They are being stigmatized and marginalized precisely because they are exercising their religious freedom to teach and practice their values.
In places where marriage’s core meaning has been altered through legal action, officials are beginning to target for punishment those believers and churches that refuse to adapt. Any non-conforming conduct and even expressions of disagreement, based simply on support for marriage as understood since time immemorial, are wrongly being treated as if they harmed society, and somehow constituted a form of evil equal to racism. DOMA represents an essential protection against such threats to faith and conscience.
All persons have a rightful claim to our utmost respect. There is no corresponding duty, however, for society to disregard the meaning of sexual difference and its practical consequences for the common good; to override fundamental rights, such as religious liberty; and to re-define our most basic social institution. DOMA advances the common good in a manner consistent with the human dignity of all persons.
For all of the above-stated reasons, I strongly urge you to uphold DOMA and to reject any bill, including S. 598, that would repeal it.
Sincerely,
Most Reverend Salvatore J. Cordileone
Roman Catholic Bishop of Oakland
Chairman, USCCB Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage
Would You Like To Learn More About The Differences Between The Different Kinds And The Different Actions Of The Devil’s Minions? Then Read The Following!
From Desert Voice (with slight editing)
Father Robert Altier-We need to speak about reality of the evil spirits. I thought it might be appropriate to explain that with a little bit more detail so that we would understand exactly what it is we are working against.
Cardinal Spirits
There are spirits that are broken up into different kinds of categories. There are, for instance, the spirits that are called “cardinal spirits”. Cardinal spirits are the ones that we get in because of repeated sin. If we do the same thing over and over and over again, we open ourselves up to allow the devil in. We do not become possessed by these things, but rather we are oppressed by them. And what we need to do is work them back out by changing the habits that we have and changing our vices into virtues.
Ministering Spirits
There are what are called “ministering spirits”. Ministering spirits are huge things from the higher order of angels. They are the ones that live within the wounds that are inflicted upon us from the time that we are quite young, when there are traumatic things that happen in our lives when we are young (before 12 years old). These are the great, big things that get wrapped around our personality, and because of that, they are very, very difficult to even be able to recognize or to get rid of. The problem with ministering spirits is, first of all, they are exceedingly intelligent, which is why they go after little children rather than adults because their arrogance will not allow them to do anything else. They try to hide behind the personality of the people. These are the ones that will cause pride, selfishness, anger, and also fear. So when we see these kinds of problems in our lives, these are things that are rooted deep, deep within ourselves. They are in the wounds that were inflicted when we were young, and the only way to be able to get rid of them is to get inside and be able to address the woundedness, to heal those wounds that are there through forgiveness, through working through the various things in prayer. Slowly, we will be able to push these things away.
Occult Spirits
There are also occult spirits. These are the things that get in through occult practices. They can be sent or they can be summoned. For instance, if we allow ourselves to be involved in any kind of occult things: playing with a ouija board, going to a palm reader or to a psychic or somebody like that, getting ourselves into any kind of satanic thing. That is how we are going to get these occult spirits. But they can also be sent by somebody. That is, they can be sent along with a curse. They can be sent by someone who is in the occult, someone who does not like you very much, to cause you lots of problems. These are particularly vile creatures. Because they are occult spirits, they are not very easy to get rid of because they are nasty and tenacious and they fight back, whereas the other ones we can push out. But these are going to cause lots of problems as we try to get rid of them.
Familial Spirits
Then there are other categories that still fit under these three general headings. There are familial spirits, which are within the family and get passed down; for instance, if there is someone who is in the Masons. The Masons are the lowest form of human life on the face of the earth. They are an occult religion, and they are the most despicable of human beings. In order to move up the ladder, they actually offer their children and their grandchildren and generations down the line in order for their own selfish ambitions to be met. So there are curses that are put upon the families and upon the children, and those get passed down from generation to generation.
Generational Spirits
There are others that are also generational spirits, familial spirits. One of these, for instance, is incest. That is a generational and familial spirit; it gets passed down from generation to generation. You see the same problems within the family that get passed along. We wonder how it is possible that this can happen generation after generation; it is because of the spirit that is there. There are familiar spirits. That is a different spirit that has a familiarity with you because it was already there and the wound is not necessarily fully healed, so it can come in because there is a woundedness that is already present for it. And there are retaliating spirits. There are all kinds of different ways that these things can get in, but it is just to understand what it is that we are working against.
When we think about the struggles that we have, Saint James tells us, for instance, that we have these wars within our members and so on, but the reality is that the war, as Saint Paul tells us, is not against flesh and blood; it is against the principalities and powers of darkness and the rulers of the high places. It is against Satan and his minions, and we need to be clear. We do have our own weaknesses because of our own sins, but the fact of the matter is it is not merely just our little human weakness – it is our human weakness being compounded by something which is a spiritual problem. And in order to deal with a spiritual problem, you have to deal with it in a spiritual way.
Our Battle Is Not Against Flesh And Blood
So again, it is a matter of how we are going to combat these things. Remember Jesus said, “This type (of demon) can only be gotten rid of by prayer and fasting.” If you really want to be able to make headway on some of these things, you need to pray, you need to take on some penances, and you need to face the things directly. It is all of these things. It is not just a matter of saying, “If I pray it will go away.” It is not just a matter of saying, “If I try to change my habits it will make a difference.” These things will help all by themselves; but if we really want to be able to get rid of the problems in our lives, it is going to require all three of these things: to pray, to do penance, and to work at making the changes that we need, because we have our part to do but it is still a matter of recognizing where the trouble is coming from. Not merely just within our own selves and within our own weaknesses, but by the spirits that are there.
Three Levels Of Spirits
There are also three levels of these things. There are oppressive spirits. Those are the ones that all of us deal with. They are the things that are there causing us the trouble. There are obsessive spirits. That is where a person gets obsessed with occult things. And then there are possessive spirits. That is when a person opens himself up to actually be taken over, to become possessed. That is the one that is very, very rare. We have to understand that just because someone is dealing with spiritual things, which all of us are, it does not mean they are possessed. In fact, it is very rare that someone would be possessed.
I make these distinctions for you simply so you can understand why we struggle the way that we do in our spiritual lives, what it is that we are fighting against, and to help us understand that just because we are struggling against the devil and his minions does not mean that we are possessed and it does not mean that we have given ourselves over to Satan. Some of the things we are completely innocent of: the generational things, the ministering spirits, and so on. The fact is they are still there, and so we have to do our part to work against them. Look seriously at what is going on within your own heart and soul, and make a choice to really fight against them by prayer, by fasting, and by turning directly against the areas of weakness within yourself to throw out the devil.
Governor Quinn’s Approach is Irreconcilable
with the Catholic Faith
by Mark O’Malley: Illinois’ six Catholic bishops have deplored Catholic governor Pat Quinn’s role as the presenter of a “Pro-Choice Leadership Award” at an abortion advocacy group’s upcoming ceremony.
“We deeply regret the governor’s decision to present this award, which so closely associates him with a political action group whose purpose is contrary to the common good,” the six bishops said in a Nov. 2 statement released by the Catholic Conference of Illinois. With this action, Governor Quinn has gone beyond a political alignment with those supporting the legal right to kill children in their mother’s wombs, to rewarding those deemed most successful in this terrible work.”
 An Oct. 27 e-mail from the abortion advocacy group Personal PAC announced that the Catholic governor “will present Jennie Goodman, Pro-Choice Leadership Award recipient, with the 2011 Award at its Annual Luncheon” on Nov. 17.
The announcement asks supporters to “join Personal PAC and over 1,000 other people in thanking Jennie for her courage and leadership on behalf of the women of Illinois!”
Personal PAC describes itself as a “political action committee dedicated to electing pro-choice candidates to state and local office in Illinois.”
Tickets prices for its 18th annual awards luncheon range from $150 to $5,000. Table service at the event is available at $2,500, $5,000, and $10,000 levels.
The Illinois bishops, including Chicago’s Cardinal Archbishop Francis E. George and Springfield’s Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki, quoted a 1994 statement of Blessed John Paul II in their reaction to Governor Quinn’s involvement.
The late Pope, they recalled, “asked in his ‘Letter to Families,’ ‘How can one morally accept laws that permit the killing of a human being not yet born, but already alive in the mother’s womb?’”
“Governor Quinn not only accepts these laws,” the bishops stated, “he promotes them and publicly presents awards to their advocates.”
“This approach is irreconcilable with any honest profession of the Catholic faith.”
The bishops said they would “continue to pray for (Quinn’s) conversion, and the protection of unborn human life.”
Meanwhile, they declared that “those acting in the manner of the governor” should not be honored “on Church property or at functions held in support of Church ministry.”
Previously, Governor Quinn drew a sharp response from Bishop Paprocki, for saying in November 2010 that his “religious faith” moved him to support a same-sex civil unions law.
On that occasion, Bishop Paprocki – whose diocese includes the state capitol – said the governor’s motivation was “certainly not the Catholic faith,” which “does not support civil unions or other measures that are contrary to the natural moral law.”
Illinois Catholic Bishop’s Press Release
We have recently been made aware of Governor Quinn’s decision to present a Pro-Choice Leadership Award at an upcoming event for a political organization known as Personal PAC. This organization describes itself as a “political action committee (PAC) dedicated to electing pro-choice candidates to state and local office in Illinois.” Personal PAC has raised and spent millions of dollars in this effort and supports the lobbying efforts of Planned Parenthood in Springfield.
We deeply regret the Governor’s decision to present this award, which so closely associates him with a political action group whose purpose is contrary to the common good. With this action, Governor Quinn has gone beyond a political alignment with those supporting the legal right to kill children in their mother’s wombs to rewarding those deemed most successful in this terrible work.
Pope John Paul II asked in his Letter to Families (1994), “How can one morally accept laws that permit the killing of a human being not yet born, but already alive in the mother’s womb?” Governor Quinn not only accepts these laws, he promotes them and publicly presents awards to their advocates. This approach is irreconcilable with any honest profession of the Catholic faith. While we deeply regret and oppose his actions, we continue to pray for his conversion and the protection of unborn human life.
To our Catholic institutions statewide, we reaffirm our desire and policies that those acting in the manner of the Governor should not be given special recognition on Church property or at functions held in support of Church ministry.
Pope Meditates On Death
From: Vatican Insider
During today’s General Audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall, on the day of the Commemoration of the dead, the Pope touched on the subject of death, as it is lived in society.
“As we visit cemeteries to pray with affection and love for our loved ones who have passed away, we are called once again, to renew our faith in eternal life, with courage and with strength, to live with this hope and testify it to the world: there is no nothingness behind the present.”
“Despite the fact that death is often almost a forbidden subject in our society, and that there is a constant effort to distract our minds from the thought of death, this fact of life involves each and every one of us, it involves humans of all eras and all spaces,” Benedict XVI warned. According to the Pope, “before this mystery, all of us, even unconsciously, are looking for something that encourages us to hope, a sign that can consoleus, that can open up some kind of horizon, that can still offer a future.”
According to this way of seeing things, “the road to death is a path of hope and walking through our cemeteries, as well as reading inscriptions on graves, means following a path marked by hope for eternity.”
“It is precisely that faith in eternal life – the Pope added – which gives Christians the courage to love our countries with greater intensity and to work to build a future for them, to give them a true and certain hope.”
In our world today, we tend to see death from a rational point of view, which leads us to imagine a form of extraterrestrial reality that is similar to the one we live in. “Today – the Pope affirmed – the world has become far more rational, or rather, there is a diffused tendency to think that every reality must be judged, using the criteria of experimental science, and that we must not respond to the great question surrounding death, so much with faith, but starting from experimental, empirical knowledge.”
by JIM GRAVES, EWTN News: Full interview here.
Bishop Edward Slattery, 71, was born and raised in Chicago. He attended the archdiocese’s Mundelein Seminary and was ordained a priest in 1966. He served in Chicago parishes and was active with the Catholic Church Extension Society, which funds the American home missions.
You’ve made public statements about problems with the liturgy. What changes would you like to see?
 Bishop Edward Slattery I would like to see the liturgy become what Vatican II intended it to be. That’s not something that can happen overnight. The bishops who were the fathers of the council from the United States came home and made changes too quickly. They shouldn’t have viewed the old liturgy, what we call the Tridentine Mass or Missal of Pope John XXIII, as something that needed to be fixed. Nothing was broken. There was an attitude that we had to implement Vatican II in a way that radically affects the liturgy.
What we lost in a short period of time was continuity. The new liturgy should be clearly identifiable as the liturgy of the pre-Vatican II Church. Changes, like turning the altar around, were too sudden and too radical. There is nothing in the Vatican II documents that justifies such changes. We’ve always had Mass facing the people as well as Mass ad orientem [“to the east,” with priest and people facing the same direction]. However, Mass ad orientem was the norm. These changes did not come from Vatican II.
Also, it was not a wise decision to do away with Latin in the Mass. How that happened, I don’t know; but the fathers of the Council never intended us to drop Latin. They wanted us to hold on to it and, at the same time, to make room for the vernacular, primarily so that the people could understand the Scriptures.
Are there spiritual practices you recommend?
We have to return to the Rosary. Pope John Paul II said that when we pray the Rosary, we see the life of Christ through the eyes of his mother, Mary. And there’s no better way to look at Christ than through the eyes of Mary. The Rosary is a tried and true means of doing that. I encourage every Catholic to pray the Rosary every day. Praying the Rosary takes us through the major mysteries of our faith, especially now since John Paul has given us the five Luminous Mysteries.
I also advise a return to confession. When I say this, I don’t mean to do this in some sort of laborious, burdensome way, but rather as a form of prayer. Pray before you examine your conscience, and allow the Lord to tell you what your sins are. He loves you, and he will tell you a lot about yourself. He will help you see yourself in contrast with his infinite love for you. You will begin to see the gap between his love for you and your love for Him. And when you experience that gap, it will help you become more generous and more apt to recognize and admit your sins in confession.
“Jesus Is The Good King Who Reigns With Humility And Gentleness.”
From EWTN news.
By: DavidKerr
One day before the gathering of religious leaders from around the world in the town of Assisi, Pope Benedict XVI declared that the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus ushered in a new kingdom of peace of which Christ is king.
“The Cross is the new arch of peace, a sign and instrument of reconciliation, of forgiveness, of understanding, a sign that love is stronger than all violence and all oppression, is stronger than death: the evil is overcome with good, with love,” the Pope said to pilgrims gathered in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall on Oct. 26.
“This new reign of peace in which Christ is the king, is a kingdom that extends over the whole earth.”
The Pope’s comments came at his weekly general audience which also served as a prayer vigil ahead of tomorrow’s “Day of Reflection and Prayer for Peace” with other world religious leaders in the Italian town of Assisi.
Today’s vigil was due to take place in St. Peter’s Square but inclement weather forced a change of venue. This resulted in the majority of pilgrims being sent to the Paul VI Hall and the overflow being shepherded into St. Peter’s Basilica.
Pope Benedict briefly greeted those in the basilica and imparted his apostolic blessing upon them. He then proceeded to the audience hall where Cardinal Agostino Vallini, Vicar General of the Diocese Rome, read several passages from sacred scripture, to which the Pope responded with his speech.
The incarnation of Jesus Christ as king of peace, said the Pope, was foreshadowed in the Old Testament reading from the Book of Zechariah. “Behold, your king comes to you. He is just and victorious,” the Old Testament prophet said to the Jewish people.
“But the announcement does not refer to a king with human powers and force of arms,” said the Pope, “this is a gentle king who reigns with humility and gentleness before God and man, a king quite different from the great sovereigns of the earth.”
The unfolding of Zechariah’s prophecy first becames apparent at the time of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem, Pope Benedict said, recalling how the angels proclaimed “Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will.” Thus, he said, “the birth of that baby, who is Jesus, brings a proclamation of peace throughout the world.”
Similarly, the apostles would have recalled Zechariah’s words after “Christ’s passion, death and resurrection,” when “with the eyes of faith, they reconsidered their Master’s joyful entry into the Holy City.”
“He did not enter Jerusalem accompanied by a mighty army of chariots and horsemen. He is a poor king, the king of the poor of God,” said the Pope, “he is a king who will make the chariots and steeds of battle disappear, who will break the weapons of war, a king who brought peace on the Cross, uniting heaven and earth and building a bridge between all mankind.”
And the kingdom of Jesus, the Pope noted, is universal. Its horizon is not “the territorial horizon of a State,” but “the confines of the world,” and wherever Christ is to be found “in the great network of Eucharistic communities covering the earth, wherein the prophecy of Zecheriah re-emerges in splendor.”
Christians can help expand the bounds of this kingdom of peace “not with the might of war or force of power,” but “with the giving of self, with love carried to its extreme consequences, even towards our enemies,” said the Pope.
He then turned the pilgrims’ attention to a physical reminder of that attitude, pointing to a statue of St. Paul with a sword in hand—the means by which he was executed in Rome—located on the front of St. Peter’s Basilica.
St. Paul’s strength “lay in the fact that he did not seek a quiet life,” said the Pope, but rather in the fact that “he was consumed by the Gospel” and “gave all of himself without reserve.” This led to him becoming the “great messenger of peace and reconciliation in Christ.”
Similarly, he said, Catholics today must be willing “to pay in person,” even if that means suffering “misunderstanding, rejection and persecution.”
“It is not the sword of the conqueror that builds peace, but the sword of those who suffer and give up their own lives.”
The Holy Father concluded by asking everybody to pray that “tomorrow’s meeting in Assisi might favor dialogue between people from different religions,” so that “rancor may give way to forgiveness, division to reconciliation, hatred to love, violence to humility, and that peace may reign in the world.”
 Archbishop John Nienstedt By Andy Birkey; The Minnesota Independent – Archbishop John Nienstedt sent a letter to every priest in the state at the start of October urging them to put every Catholic church in Minnesota tow work passing a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
“It is imperative that we marshal our resources to educate the faithful about the Church’s teachings on these matters, and to vigorously organize and support a grass roots effort to get out the vote to support the passage of the amendment,” the letter read. It went out on Oct. 4 to every priest in the state.
The archbishop said it wants priests in every parish to identify a “church captain” in order to create an “ad hoc committee” in every church in the state. The “church captain” is a component of the Schubert Flint strategy used in 2008?s divisive Proposition 8 battle in California.
The strategy mirrors a similar one used by conservative Christians in California to pass Proposition 8 and end marriage rights for same-sex couples.
Schubert Flint was a public affairs firm at the heart of California’s successful push by conservative Christians to repeal marriage rights for that state’s same-sex couples. In a post-mortem, the firm wrote about it’s use of church captains:
“We built a campaign volunteer structure around both time-honored campaign grassroots tactics of organizing in churches, with a ground-up structure of church captains, precinct captains, zip code supervisors and area directors; and the latest Internet and web-based grassroots tools.”
Schubert Flint has been active in Minnesota, in particular during the 2010 gubernatorial election when it created a series of ads attacking DFL and Independence Party candidates for their support of rights for same-sex couples.
According to Nienstedt’s letter, the church captains will be organized by the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the Catholic church, which will in turn report to the Minnesota for Marriage coalition for statewide efforts. Minnesota for Marriage is made up of the Minnesota Family Council, MCC and the National Organization for Marriage.
“A major issues will be placed before the State of Minnesota in the November 2012 election. a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman,” Nienstedt wrote. “The sanctity of marriage and vital role of the family is at stake. It is a firmly-held teaching of our church that a marriage is a union of a husband and a wife, and that they together are the ones suited to be a father and a mother.”
He added, “To define it otherwise is a detriment to the common good of society.”
Here’s the full letter from Nienstedt — here
HT: Father Z
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