Saturday, March 09, 2013

Off the cuff: Cardinal Kasper



I wonder why the Pope didn't force  Kasper, and a few others, into retirement?

I never liked Cardinal Kasper.  Never trusted him.  I read somewhere he wants to tell the Pope not to interfere with the new Pope and to keep silent - that's pretty much what Benedict intended from the beginning  - he doesn't need Kasper telling him what to do.  If I were Benedict I wouldn't let him near me or take his calls.

Cardinal Kasper is calling for a more horizontal government in the Church...
German cardinal Walter Kasper has been perhaps the most outspoken, telling the Italian daily La Repubblica before a media blackout was imposed that it was time for a “more horizontal government” to shake up the Church hierarchy.

“The Curia must be revolutionised,” Kasper said in the interview, adding: “As well as the word reform, there must be a second: transparency.”

Cardinals like Kasper have called for the talks to last longer to give more time for discussions that could effectively set out an agenda for the new pope but Italian media reports say that many Italian cardinals are getting restless. - Cardinals eye Vatican reform
 
I must admit, I don't like some of the Cardinals.  You know who else I don't like?  George WeigelAnd that Turkson.

What?


 

Emergency Appeal! Now I normally don't do stuff like this... But Fr. Z needs help..



Seriously.

He's in Rome live blogging at this very historic moment in Church history - and his lap top died.  Father posted about it here.  He hopes to borrow a lap top - but I wonder if somehow he could just get a new one?  He has donation buttons on his blog, his cell phone works, some one out there could maybe help him get a new lap top in Rome. 

Just sayin'.

All I can offer is prayers.

A Cardinal some say actually wanted to be Pope.




Cardinal Spellman of New York.

According to legend, in 1958, before the Conclave that would elect Pope John XXIII, Cardinal Spellman supposedly hired a boat, filled it with sheep and sailed down the Tiber in an attempt to suggest he would be the fufillment of St. Malachy's prophecy.  

I'm unable to verify that however.

Another legend that has been floated is that he was dissapointed Roncalli had been elected Pope John XXIII, and was reported to have said, "He's no Pope. He should be selling bananas."

All I know is Spellman liked Nixon...

I know!




 

Friday, March 08, 2013

Signs: Volcano errupts in my backyard.




Seriously...

Well, kinda.  I went to Target today to pick up cat stuff and noticed they have fireworks for sale - evidently all year long.  I bought some that I'll use later when the new pope is elected, but I also bought some smoke bombs to make a volcano for Gabby to watch. 

I placed them in the snow bank I had shaped into a volcano and lighted them...  blue, yellow, red, green smoke billowed out.  Gabby loved it.  I'm trying to prepare her for the Warning.

(The photo is not my backyard.)

Okay. Here's one: If Cardinal Burke becomes Pope....



I bet he keeps his name and will be known as Leo XIV.

Bonus bets:
  • He will elevate the Wisconsin Shrine of OL of Guadalupe to Basilica - if it isn't already - if it is, he will grant it special indulgences.
  • He will give papal approval to Our Lady of America apparitions.
  • He will be the first Pope since the Council to publicly celebrate the Extraordinary Form in St. Peter's - after his coronation of course.
  • He will raise Courage Apostolate to universal status or give papal endorsement - or something like that.  And members will get to wear capes and feathered hats.
  • He will renew devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. 
  • He'll do a lot.
I love the Pope, no matter who he is.

Maybe not Turkson though.

Photo: The Cardinal on his way back from the bathroom.

Fr Z.... Away.... Rome.... Conclave.... Cruise - Retreat at Sea.... Cancelled....Stop



Michigan souces inform us:

Just messaged: Father Z bowed out of Retreat at Sea, given extenuating circumstances. Looks like he will be in Rome! Let's pray blog issues don't hinder his work there. - Diane, Te Deum Laudemus Blog

Conclave start date to be announced
Friday evening, 7PM Rome-time.
 
 
Fr. Lombardi, who attends the General Congregations of the Cardinals:
PRESS COMMUNIQUÉ FROM THE HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE
The eighth General Congregation of the College of Cardinals has decided that the Conclave will begin on Tuesday, 12 March 2013. A ?Pro eligendo Romano Pontifice? Mass will be celebrated in St. Peter?s Basilica in the morning. In the afternoon the cardinals will enter into the Conclave.
 

Darn it!  Doesn't look as if my 3/13/13 prediction is going to work out.  I blame the guy from Vietnam.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
For information on suing
for breach of promise
contact attorney Nathan Thurm
at 666-666-6660
 
 

Thursday, March 07, 2013

Penance.

 
For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Remember when Bernadette ate grass and dug for the spring and appeared to be drinking mud?  Everyone thought she had gone mad.

What a wonderful example she was. 

Final Cardinal Arrives In Rome for the Conclave: No fruit cup for you!


"What?"


I don't care where the tardy Cardinal is from, he's had over two weeks to make travel arrangements.  They should have started without him.  He's from Vietnam anyway.  What?

I don't really care - just get the show on the road, huh?

Seriously, if poor Pope Benedict XVI was supposed to be an interim pope in the first place, wouldn't you think these guys might have had the foresight to have at least speculated on who could be the next Pope?

I'm just kidding - or am I?

Anyway.

Yesterday when I first viewed the photos of the Cardinals praying the rosary and adoring the Blessed Sacrament before the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's, my first, raw, nonspiritual reaction was, "Do they even believe in that stuff any longer?"  Even in the combox of Fr. Z's post, commenters reacted suggesting some Cardinals didn't appear to be especially engaged or devout.  (They were duly reprimanded, I might add.)  Nevertheless, widespread cynicism has replaced trust and confidence, respect and esteem for the hierarchy.  With all the scandals and rumors, it is a great temptation to give into skepticism.  Serious damage has been done to the Church and the credibility of  her ministers.  Not just by the hypocrites in the Church, but as we all know, from dissenting progressives as well as dissenting traditionalists, complicated by anti-clerical propaganda from special interest groups, as well as from visionaries and locutionists.  It is the latter category which seems to have the greatest influence over the simple and devout. 

The other day I received an email from a friend saying, 'please don't tell me Ganswein is gay' - I won't.  He is not - or at least I've never picked up on it.  But since Cardinal O'Brien came out - everyone thinks everyone is gay.  That in itself is 'gay' since gay people pretty much originated the idea that any man can be had.  My friend mentioned something her son said while viewing a painting, depicting St. Philip Neri with the seminarians of Rome; her son whispered, 'Paedophile.'  That's what has happened to the Church because of the scandals and the gay propaganda against Catholic teaching - bolstered by the double standard of decadent clergy.

The Cardinals better get their rears in gear.   Lock 'em up! 

Who is Carlos Acutis?

Photo from Carlo's personal website here.


A fifteen-year-old Milanese youth, deeply devoted to Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii.

Carlo died at the age of fifteen due to leukemia, although it was only diagnosed days before he died.  In this he reminds me of Blessed Pier Giorgio, who died of polio, although no one knew he was so seriously ill.  Like Pier Giorgio, Carlo had overflowing crowds of mourners at his funeral.  I think his story is very important for youth and young men especially - who need solid examples of authentic Catholic spirituality.  I believe Carlo's witness demonstrates that holiness is indeed attainable in our anti-Christian, hedonistic culture.  A maxim from Carlo states: "You must want it (holiness) with all your heart, and if this desire has not arisen in your heart, you must ask for it with insistence from the Lord."  His example affirms for me that fidelity to the duties of one's state in life is the ordinary means to sanctity.


 'The Eucharist is my highway to Heaven!'

"He is remembered by those who knew him for the enthusiasm with which he conveyed to others his love for God and the neighbour. At seven he did his First Communion and since then, every day, he has never missed the daily appointment with the Holy Mass, the Eucharistic Adoration and the Holy Rosary. The focus of Carlo’s spirituality was the daily encounter with the Lord in the Eucharist: he said It 'was Jesus truly present in the world, as at the time of the Apostles the disciples could see him in flesh and bones walking on the streets of Jerusalem'. Carlo often repeated: 'The Eucharist is my highway to Heaven!' This is the summary of his spirituality and the core of his whole existence spent in friendship with God.

"Carlo was very fond of the Virgin of Pompeii, where he came dozens of times, accompanied by his parents, and where each time he renewed his act of consecration to Mary. He used to say: 'The Madonna is the only woman of my life!', and he never missed 'the most loving appointment of the day', which was for him the prayer of the Holy Rosary.

"Some days before Carlo was led to the hospital, when no one suspected that he had leukaemia which in a few days brought him to the grave, he told his parents: 'I offer all the suffering I will have to suffer to the Lord, for the Pope and the Church, for not to do Purgatory and go straight into Heaven'. The heroism with which he dealt with his illness and death convinced many people that really there was something special in him. When the doctor who followed him asked him if he suffered a lot, Carlo replied: 'There are people who suffer much more than me'.

"A continuous pilgrimage held a wake for his body. His funeral was attended by a crowd so immense that many were forced to remain outside the Church. The continuing testimonies, letters, stories, which still today arrive at the postulator of the Cause of Beatification, Dr. Francesca Consolini, appointed by the Curia of Milan, tell of an extraordinary young boy, blessed by grace, so much that the Archdiocese of Milan thought to propose him as a model for the young and to start the process in view of the introduction of the Cause of Beatification which, as you know, may begin 5 years after death. It results, in fact, that so many are those who ask the intercession and the aid of Carlo.

"From the testimonies collected a few days after his death, one discovers that Carlo was completely dedicated to the welfare of the people he met. He helped everyone: non-Community immigrants, beggars, disabled persons, elderly people, children. He was worried about his friends whose parents were divorcing and invited them to his house to support them; in the classroom he always took the defences of those who had more difficulty to integrate. On more than one occasion he defended the disabled that were taken around by frivolous boys.

"With great courage he defended the Christian values, even if this sometimes caused him misunderstandings. His professor of religion at the high school recalls that in a discussion in the classroom Carlo was the only one to oppose abortion.

"He had a great view of all persons and was concerned about how many wasted the talents that God had given them. On more than one occasion he affirmed: 'All are born with their own originality, but many die as photocopies'.

"This intense spirituality did not prevent him from having a normal life, common to that of his peers." - Source  
 

"Remember to pray the Rosary every day."
- Carlo Acutis

H/T Miraculous Rosary Blog

Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Raymond Cardinal Burke... Papabile? But just who is he?



If you don't know, go here.


"What's he
trying to pull
with this one?"
 

First Female Cardinal In History Was An Italian.

Claudia Cardinale
 

Named by PPVI - Although it's unknown which Paul VI
- the imposter or the real one.  What?
 
 
 
 
 
 
Oh shut up. Mt Etna just errupted. First the lightning, then the earthquake, and now the volcano. Oh, and the locusts in Egypt.  And they just muzzled the American Cardinals.
 

Choosing a Pope



Vote For Pedro!

Or not.  Pay no attention to the prophecies.

There is supposed to be no campaigning - yet there are sites online promoting this or that Cardinal.  I read that there were posters in Rome promoting Turkson.  Media is buzzing about what kind of Pope the Church needs, and Cardinals are making statements in interviews what kind of Pope the Church needs, how many languages he should be able to speak, and so on. 

Catholics of all sects and factions want their particular style of Pope to implement or undo whatever it is they want or don't want in the Church.  There are novenas and prayers being offered and I'll wager not a few people are praying: "Oh God - don't let them pick this guy!"  Or, "Lord you must make this guy Pope - he will do this and that and stand up to the world, and call down fire upon our enemies!" 

"We are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” - Mark 8: 33

It seems to me, this is how we are to pray:
Our Father
who art in heaven
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come
thy will be done,
on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day
our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.  Amen.
 
The Father already knows what we need before we ask him.  It seems to me that is why Benedict XVI resigned...  I think Benedict and Our Lord expect us to pray for the new Pope, without worrying about who it will be.

NB: This post is the result of my prayer last night, "Oh Lord, please don't let Turkson become pope!'  I promptly repented.  Not my will, but Thy will be done.

Paul the Simple



"They said of another hermit, that while he was undergoing temptation in his cell, he saw the demons face to face, and despised them.  The devil, seeing himself overcome, came and showed himself, saying, 'I am Christ.'  The hermit looked at him, and then shut his eyes.  The devil said, 'I am Christ, why have you shut your eyes?'  The hermit answered, I do not want to see Christ in this life, but in the next.'  The devil vanished at these words." - Sayings of the Desert Fathers




St. Paul the Simple, from Catholic Online:

A hermit and disciple of St. Anthony. Paul had long been a humble farmer in Egypt when, at the age of sixty, he discovered that his wife was unfaithful. Leaving her, he set out for the desert and went to Anthony to become a follower. Anthony at first refused him, owing to Paul’s advanced years and because he doubted Paul’s sincerity. As Paul was persistent, Anthony gave him a host of demanding and arduous tasks which Paul fulfilled with such humility, obedience, and simplicity that Anthony allowed him entry into the community. Paul was termed by Anthony the ideal monk and the so called “Pride of the Desert,” bearing with honor the title “the Simple.”

Paul's feast day is March 6 and/or March 7.

Garden Statues of Pope Emeritus



I heard a rumor that  a California based outdoor statue company, Silvestri Co., is considering casting garden statues - bird feeders after this likeness of Pope Benedict at Castel Gandolfo.  Available in resin or cast stone.

I'm against it.







"Sounds like profiteering
to me. Who's behind it?"
 

Tuesday, March 05, 2013

Unconfirmed reports are that all bags must be checked before heading into the Conclave.

 
What?








Oh.  And no Tweets

"Ritual words, uttered in Latin, open and close the secret selection process of the new pope. It starts with "Extra omnes" — or "Everyone out" — expelling all but voting cardinals from the Sistine Chapel where conclave balloting takes place. It ends with "Accepto" — "I accept" — the solemn word the victorious cardinal utters to confirm the judgment of peers who have given him the two-thirds majority needed to become pope.

While cardinals are sequestered in the Vatican City's hotel, the modern Santa Marta residence, the Vatican wants to make sure the Holy Spirit is the only influence on the red-hatted prelates as they vote. That means no TV, radio, newspapers, cell phones or landlines. The precaution cuts both ways. No info getting in OR out. Cardinals with Twitter accounts will have to be tweet-less during the conclave." - Source
 

 

So the Blessed Virgin told the Pope to retire and Cardinal Burke will be Pope...




Really?

People are just having fun, right?  Entertaining themselves?  Just like me with my 3/13/13 'prediction', huh?

Or...

You can't take Benedict XVI at his word?  That he renounced the papacy because of waning strength due to age?  So Our Lady told him to do it?  Which Lady?  Our Lady of Fatima?  Or Garabandal?  Or was it Medjugorje?  OMIGOSH!  Was it Akita?

Of course Benedict made his decision in prayer - he said as much when he admitted he searched his conscience and made his choice freely.

You want an American Pope?  USA! USA! USA! USA!  All the reasons Burke should be Pope can be summed up in that chant... I don't care how traditional he is.  Who can know the mind of God? 

Useless speculation.

"God thirsts for our faith and wants us to find the source of our authentic happiness in him. Every believer is in danger of practicing a false religiosity, of not seeking in God the answer to the most intimate expectations of the heart but, on the contrary, treating God as though he were at the service of our desires and projects.…" - Benedict XVI
 
FYI:  A plague of locusts has descended upon Egypt.

 

Against the desire for visions.


 


The demons wanted to tempt a hermit and said to him, 'Would you like to see Christ?' The monk answered, 'A curse be upon you and him by whom you speak.  I believe my Christ when he said, "If anyone says to you, 'Lo, here is Christ,' or 'Lo, there,' do not believe him".  [Matt. 24:23]  They vanished at the words.

Monday, March 04, 2013

'Maria Divine Mercy' Identity Revealed... (She predicted the Pope's resignation)

Rare photo of Maria Divine Mercy.
In a YouTube interview, she claims
to have been a business woman and
 speaks with what appears to be an Irish accent.
(Still don't know her real name though.)


To be honest, today is the first I've heard of Maria Divine Mercy, self-proclaimed seer and locutionist.  Larry mentioned her in an email, evidently he follows her, although I didn't get the photo from him.  (Cristina G. asked me to keep secret who sent it to me - until after The Pre-Warning - which could be mitigated if everyone behaves.)   Jimmy Akin wrote about her here.  Akin does well in pointing out the serious reasons not to fall for the messages - but I think anyone with common sense can see they are bogus.

What?

Cardinals Set Date for Conclave: March 11

"Did someone yell, Bingo!?"
 

Actually it may start on March 11.  They don't really know.  Story here

Evidently 12 electors are late to arrive.  Really?  It's not like they didn't know this was happening.  Geez.

Don't forget my 3/3/13 prediction.

Euthanasia Deaths Increasing in Belgium.



I just read the headline.
Epidemic: Euthanasia Deaths Increase 25 Percent in Belgium.
 
Something needs to be done!  Can't they make Euthanasia safer?  If it is at epidemic levels and people are dying - why isn't something done about it? 



Never mind...


 

Fr. Z has an interesting take on the Third Secret of Fatima.




I think it is an insightful consideration, and definitely a different perspective from what we have heard over the years since it was revealed.  Father's theories are noted in red of course.
After the two parts which I have already explained, at the left of Our Lady and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendour that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand: pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: ‘Penance, Penance, Penance!’. And we saw in an immense light that is God: ‘something similar to how people appear in a mirror when they pass in front of it’ [It could be a reference to the Pauline image of seeing through a glass, "darkly". Some might be tempted to think of an image on a television screen or monitor.] a Bishop dressed in White ‘we had the impression that it was the Holy Father’. [Benedict is now just a "bishop dressed in white".] Other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious going up a steep mountain, [Granting that it was the 2nd Sunday of Lent and the Gospel was the Transfiguration, in his final Angelus address Pope Benedict said" "I feel that this Word of God is particularly directed at me, at this point in my life. The Lord is calling me to "climb the mountain", to devote myself even more to prayer and meditation."] at the top of which there was a big Cross of rough-hewn trunks as of a cork-tree with the bark; before reaching there the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins [The papal gardens at Castel Gandolfo contain Roman ruins from the time of Diocletain.] and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; [...] - WDTPRS
 

Fr. Z appears to be among those who think there may be another part of the Third Secret not revealed.  Cardinal Ratzinger, Cardinal Bertone have said that the entire secret has indeed been revealed.  I accept them at their word, and believe the entire secret has been revealed.  Remember, the Third Secret is really just the third part of the entire secret of Fatima.  The essential part of the secret was known for decades, and that was Our Lady's intention - put all three together and you have the text and the vision.  The third part never needed to be made public - Lucia intended it for the Holy Father and left everything to his discretion - even the interpretation of the vision.  Blessed John Paul II made the decision to make it public.  That said, we know exactly what we need to know: Repent!

Speculation is simply entertainment.  Just like trying to guess who the next pope will be. 

Sadly, modern locutions and apparitions often seem to foster suspicion and mistrust of the clergy and hierarchy in their wake.

Praying






Only God does not deceive - He can neither deceive nor be deceived. 

"That our sanctification did not depend upon changing our works, but in doing that for GOD's sake, which we commonly do for our own.

That it was lamentable to see how many people mistook the means for the end, addicting themselves to certain works, which they performed very imperfectly, by reason of their human or selfish regards.

That the most excellent method he had found of going to GOD, was that of doing our common business without any view of pleasing men, [Gal. i. 10; Eph. vi. 5, 6.] and (as far as we are capable) purely for the love of GOD. 

That it was a great delusion to think that the times of prayer ought to differ from other times.

That we are as strictly obliged to adhere to GOD by action in the time of action, as by prayer in its season.


That we ought, once for all, heartily to put our whole trust in GOD, and make a total surrender of ourselves to Him, secure that He would not deceive us. - Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, Practice of the Presence of God



Put not your trust in princes,

in man, in whom there is no salvation. - Ps. 146

Remember the 1994 British film "Priest"?




Remember the cries of anti-Catholic persecution the film generated?

Plot summary:

In the opening credits we see an older priest carrying a large crucifix through the town on his way to the Bishop's palace, where he lunges it through the Bishop's window, into his study. 



Father Greg Pilkington, newly assigned to St. Mary's parish in inner-city Liverpool, is startled to discover Father Matthew Thomas is engaged in a sexual relationship with rectory housekeeper Maria Kerrigan. Moreover, Father Thomas is a left-wing radical and an outspoken proponent of Liberation Theology, leading him to constant clashes and bickering with the Bishop—who nevertheless appreciates his abilities.

While the young protagonist's personal traditional conservatism and religious beliefs are offended by the older priest's blatant disregard for his vow of celibacy, he struggles with his own homosexual urges, especially after he meets Graham at a local gay hangout and the two embark on a physical relationship. - More here.
 


At the time Catholics were warned to stay away from the film.  Cardinal O’Connor called the film “as viciously anti-Catholic as anything that has ever rotted on the silver screen.”   That was 1996.  Needless to say, Bill Donohue launched a boycott of Disney, the parent company of Miramax, which produced the film.

I saw the film much later, and had to wonder what all the fuss had been about - aside from the fact the American opening date was scheduled for Good Friday - it seemed to me to be telling a story, and not necessarily advocating against Catholic teaching.  Even if the film was intended to be anti-Catholic, these days we pretty much know the scenarios documented in the film were reality based.  In that sense, the film was prophetic.

After reading about Cardinal O'Brien, I was very much in the mood to smash a crucifix through his window too.  I think I've settled down somewhat now.  In the end, the Cardinal remained faithful to his duty in defending Church teaching as regards marriage and sexuality, his personal failures not withstanding.

Although one point I'd like to make is to tell fellow Catholics not to always try to shut people up who reveal things you don't want to hear.  (I'm talking about viewing every revelation as an attack upon the Church or the priesthood.  Some people see devils around every corner, others see persecution and Masons and Communists behind every story. 




"We're leading a nationwide charge
against Disney, making use of every legal means available
 -- from boycotts to stockholder revolts
 -- all designed to send a clear and unmistakable
message to Michael Eisner, chairman of Disney."
1995 or 1996 Newspaper ad.


 

Sunday, March 03, 2013

Cardinal Levada: "By nature homosexuality is not a predatory activity, it is a sexual activity that the Catholic Church does not condone." Really?

"You are getting sleepy...
you feel very relaxed...
you will believe me when
I tell you...
'homosexuality is not a predatory activity.'"  



Really?

Hard to believe he said that:  "By nature homosexuality is a not a predatory activity..." - Source

What?!  It sure as hell is.

I could care less if Mahony gets to vote in the conclave, but don't make up stuff about the nature of homosexuality.

What the hell is wrong with these people?

 

Mass Chat: MPLS-StP Archdiocese Rediscover Catholicism - Evangelical Catholicism Program Initiative

Motivational speaker, Matthew Kelly - website.

Catholics are leaving the Church at an alarming rate, and disengagement levels among those who remain is staggeringly high.

Matthew Kelly is big in this Archdiocese.  For Lent his Advent talk - Become a Better Version of Yourself and his book Rediscover Catholicism were distributed to all parishioners of the archdiocese free of charge.  Currently underway is an Archdiocesan program - in the works for four years - by the same name, with speakers making presentations in select parishes.  I can't recall a program of this scope since Renew in the 1980's. 

It is part of the 'New' Evangelization John Paul II and Benedict XVI called for.  I imagine other dioceses around the country may adopt similar programs based upon Kelly's evangelism, if this works out well here.  Perhaps they have done so already, since Kelly is pretty hot on the lecture circuit.

Matthew Kelly began his apostolate after receiving locutions from God the Father, which may explain why I was never interested in what he had to say, especially since he was picked up by the Medjugorje affiliates as soon as the messages became public.  Now the locutions are part of his personal spiritual past and Kelly has a very good apostolate evangelizing 'cultural' Catholics.  The CD I listened to is good, but not special.  He is a good motivational speaker and speaks to families, fathers especially.  Or so it impressed me.  I've read sections of his book, and his writing is better than the recording.  I'm not motivated by it however. 

What will turn the tide for Catholicism?

In Sunday's paper*, there is an article about the Rediscover program as spearheaded by the Archdiocese, Fr. Laird, Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia, is one of the principals introducing the program at select, suburban and wealthy parishes in the area.

Evangelical Catholicism... seems kind of Stepford to me.  The Charismatic renewal was rather evangelical, wasn't it? Didn't that renewal renew Evangelicals?  Didn't many innovations to the Mass grow out of the Charismatic movement?  Gather Us In?  Gather round the altar, hold hands, raise hands, receive in the hands, lay homilists, EMHC's, evangelical style evangelization!  It seems so 'American' to me... as in 'Americanism'... you know, what Weigel refers to as 'that phantom heresy', which Rome once feared might infect the Catholic Church in the United States.  Although Weigel pretty much interprets that sort of Americanism as only being present in 'populst' Catholic figures such as Sebelius, Pelosi, Biden, and the Nuns on the Bus brand of Catholics.

Weigel states That Leo XIII "...was concerned that doctrine — what John Paul II a century later would call the Catholic “symphony of truth” — might be regarded in some quarters as an impediment to evangelization and witness. And he took aim at what he called the confusion of liberty with license, as if willfulness were at the center of human freedom.

He was, in other words, warning against confusions and distortions that are manifestly in play in certain Catholic quarters today, whether or not they were widespread in Catholic circles in late-19th-century America. - National Review
 
I think that has happened, hence there is no doubt the New Evangelization needs to correct these divisions and errors - but not at the expense of the devout life.  I know this is being taught, but I would so hate to see Catholics become a bunch of Bible bangers/haranguers at the expense of real Catholic identity... Tradition.

That said, the idea of evangelization door to door, on the street corners, and in the workplace is not a new one for Catholics.  Consider the Legion of Mary, founded in Ireland by Frank Duff:
The Legion of Mary was founded by Frank Duff on September 7, 1921 in Dublin. His idea was to help Catholic laypeople fulfill their baptismal promises and be able to live their dedication to the Church in an organised structure, supported by fraternity and prayer.

The legionaries first started out by visiting hospitals, but they were soon active among the most destitute, notably among Dublin prostitutes. Frank Duff subsequently laid down the system of the Legion in the Handbook of the Legion of Mary in 1928.

The Legion of Mary soon spread from Ireland to other countries and continents. At first, the Legion often met with mistrust due to its dedication to lay apostolate which was unusual for the time. Only after Pope Pius XI expressed praise for the Legion in 1931, could such mistrust be quelled.

Most prominent for spreading the Legion was the Irish legionary Venerable Edel Mary Quinn for her activities in Africa during the 1930s and 40s. Her dedication to the mission of the Legion even in the face of her ill health due to tuberculosis brought her great admiration in- and outside of the Legion. A canonization process is currently under way for Venerable Edel Quinn and a beatification process is currently underway for Frank Duff.

Membership in Ireland had been declining but due to efforts by the Concilium to attract younger people to its ranks through the Deus et Patria movement a substantial increase in membership has now occurred. - Source
 
Programs go stale without authentic devotion and prayer.  In addition to older apostolates such as the legion, another superb example of 'evangelical life' or living the 'New' evangelization is Opus Dei.  One doesn't need to be a member to live one's faith generously in the spirit of Opus Dei, which emphasizes the greatness of ordinary life.

Just thinking out loud here, BTW.

*Excerpts from Star Tribune feature article.
Evangelization, testifying, sharing faith stories and inviting people to check out their faith are unfamiliar acts to many Catholics. But they’re at the center of a new initiative by the Twin Cities archdiocese aimed at refreshing Catholics’ knowledge of church teachings and getting them to spread the word.

Considered one of the first-of-its-kind among U.S. dioceses, Rediscover calls on Catholics to share the gospel message and form a “personal relationship” with Jesus — echoing some of the core beliefs of Evangelicals.

It’s the latest example of American Catholic leaders’ growing alliance with conservative Protestants, religious scholars say.

Practices once exclusive to evangelical Protestants are finding a place in the plans of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

A number of Catholics who have left the church have joined evangelical denominations, many of which are growing financially as they add followers. - Strib


If the bishop says it's Catholic,
that's good enough for me,
I don't give a damn how much it costs.