Friday, August 7, 2009
Friday Music Jam-The Chairman of the Board
A special song, played for the Greatest Sports Organization in the history of the World, the New York Yankees!!!!!!!
Let's Go Yankees....
Pope St. Sixtus II & Companions
St. Sixtus II and companions:
Even as the storm of persecution created by Emperor Valerian raged against the Church, the papal throne was not vacant. Sixtus, a Greek, was elected to succeed Stephen. The emperor's decrees had ordered the Christians to take part in state religious ceremonies and forbade them to assemble in cemeteries. For nearly a year Sixtus managed to evade the authorities before he was gloriously martyred.
Valerian issued his second edict ordering the execution of Christian bishops, priests, and deacons. Sixtus had taken to holding services in the private cemetery of Praetextatus because it was not watched as closely by the authorities as was the cemetery of Calixtus. But in early August of 258, while Sixtus was seated on his episcopal chair and surrounded by the brethren, the soldiers broke in arresting Sixtus and four deacons who were in attendance. After a formal judgment, Sixtus was led back to the very place where he had been arrested, to face execution.
His chief deacon Lawrence, upon hearing the news, hastened to his side, desiring to die with his bishop. Sixtus consoled his deacon by telling him that he would follow in three days with even greater glory. The soldiers then placed Sixtus in his chair and swiftly beheaded him. True to the great pope's words, Lawrence was arrested three days later and executed the same day.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Source: Creative Minority ReportThe Transfiguration of the Lord
Transfiguration of the Lord:
All three Synoptic Gospels tell the story of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-9; Luke 9:28-36). With remarkable agreement, all three place the event shortly after Peter’s confession of faith that Jesus is the Messiah and Jesus’ first prediction of his passion and death. Peter’s eagerness to erect tents or booths on the spot suggests it occurred during the Jewish weeklong, fall Feast of Booths.Read more about the Transfiguration here.
In spite of the texts’ agreement, it is difficult to reconstruct the disciples’ experience, according to Scripture scholars, because the Gospels draw heavily on Old Testament descriptions of the Sinai encounter with God and prophetic visions of the Son of Man.
Certainly Peter, James and John had a glimpse of Jesus’ divinity strong enough to strike fear into their hearts. Such an experience defies description, so they drew on familiar religious language to describe it. And certainly Jesus warned them that his glory and his suffering were to be inextricably connected—a theme John highlights throughout his Gospel.
Tradition names Mt. Tabor as the site of the revelation. A church first raised there in the fourth century was dedicated on August 6. A feast in honor of the Transfiguration was celebrated in the Eastern Church from about that time. Western observance began in some localities about the eighth century.
On July 22, 1456, Crusaders defeated the Turks at Belgrade. News of the victory reached Rome on August 6, and Pope Callistus III placed the feast on the Roman calendar the following year.
Comment:
One of the Transfiguration accounts is read on the second Sunday of Lent each year, proclaiming Christ’s divinity to catechumens and baptized alike. The Gospel for the first Sunday of Lent, by contrast, is the story of the temptation in the desert—affirmation of Jesus’ humanity. The two distinct but inseparable natures of the Lord were a subject of much theological argument at the beginning of the Church’s history; it remains hard for believers to grasp.
Quote:
“At his Transfiguration Christ showed his disciples the splendor of his beauty, to which he will shape and color those who are his: ‘He will reform our lowness configured to the body of his glory’” (Philippians 3:21) (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae).
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Foggy Bottom Throwing Mel Under the Bus?
State Department backtracking on Zelaya?:WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. policy on Honduras' political crisis is not aimed at supporting any particular individual, the State Department said in a new letter that implied softening support for ousted President Manuel Zelaya.
The letter to Republican Senator Richard Lugar contained criticism of Zelaya, saying the left-leaning former leader had taken "provocative" actions ahead of his removal by the Honduran military on June 28.
The State Department also indicated severe U.S. economic sanctions were not being considered against the de facto government of Roberto Micheletti, which took over in Honduras after Zelaya removed from office.
"Our policy and strategy for engagement is not based on supporting any particular politician or individual. Rather, it is based on finding a resolution that best serves the Honduran people and their democratic aspirations," Richard Verma, the assistant secretary for legislative affairs, said in the letter.
"We have rejected calls for crippling economic sanctions and made clear that all states should seek to facilitate a solution without calls for violence and with respect for the principle of nonintervention," he said. The letter was dated Tuesday and obtained by Reuters on Wednesday.
President Barack Obama has condemned Zelaya's ouster, refused to recognize Micheletti, cut $16.5 million in military aid to Honduras and thrown his support behind the mediation efforts of Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, whose proposals include Zelaya's reinstatement.
Last week the U.S. government announced it was revoking diplomatic visas for several members of Micheletti's administration.
REPUBLICAN THREAT
But the State Department letter, while "energetically" condemning Zelaya's ouster on June 28, noted that the coup had been preceded by a political conflict between Zelaya and other institutions inside Honduras.
"We also recognize that President Zelaya's insistence on undertaking provocative actions contributed to the polarization of Honduran society and led to a confrontation that unleashed the events that led to his removal," it said.
Zelaya was pushing for constitutional reforms that included changing term limits for presidents. His opponents accused him of trying to seek re-election, but he denies the allegation.
The Supreme Court ordered his arrest and the Honduran Congress later approved his ouster.
In the letter to Lugar, the State Department also indicated the Obama administration has still not made a definite decision as to whether Zelaya's ouster constituted a coup.
"We have suspended certain assistance as a policy matter pending an ongoing determination under U.S. law about the applicability of the provisions requiring termination of assistance in the event of a military coup."
Lugar, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had asked the government to explain its policy on the Honduran political crisis, warning that Senate confirmation may be delayed for a diplomatic nominee for Latin America without it.
The letter appeared to be a response to this request.
Because of U.S. support for Zelaya, conservative Republican Senator Jim DeMint has threatened to delay a Senate vote on the nomination of Arturo Valenzuela to be assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs.
DeMint welcomed the State Department letter but said the Obama administration had not gone far enough.
"I'm glad to see the State Department is finally beginning to walk back its support for Manuel Zelaya and admit that his 'provocative' actions were responsible for his removal," he said through a spokesman.
"These admissions are helpful, but what is necessary is for President Obama to end his support for Zelaya who broke the law and sought to become a Chavez-style dictator," DeMint said, referring to Venezuela's socialist president Hugo Chavez, an ally of Zelaya.
Hat Tip: Honduras Fighting for Freedom
The Obama administration, via the United States State Department, is now, definitely, backtracking on their absolute, purist support for the defrocked socialist thug, Mel Zelaya.
It seems they are not inclined to push for enhanced, punitive economic sanctions and, apparently, are still debating internally whether the actions of June 28th constituted a “coup", in the legal sense.
What's next? Will "Ambassador" Hugo Llorens to be replaced??? God willing...
Huck Wants Keith Richards, Tony Blair & Bill Clinton as Guests
Plus, he has some cogent advice for former Gov. Sarah Palin!
Castel Gandolfo Papal Pic
Pope Benedict XVI leads his weekly general audience at the pontiff's summer residence of Castelgandolfo near Rome August 5, 2009. (Daylife-Reuters)Our Lady of Snows
The origins of this feast stem from the year 358, under Pope Liberius:
We celebrate today the dedication of one of the four most illustrious churches of Rome. While each diocese and parish keeps its own dedication anniversary, the Church universal commemorates the consecration of the four great Roman basilicas, the mother churches, we may call them, of Christendom, viz., St. John Lateran, St. Peter, St. Paul Outside the Walls, and St. Mary Major. By means of these feasts the Church seeks to link all Christians with the Holy See.
This feast commemorates the miracle of the snowfall that occurred during the night of August 4-5 in the year 358 on the site where the basilica now stands. According to tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared in a dream to two faithful Roman Christians, the patrician John and his wife, as well as to Pope Liberius (352-366), asking that a church be built in her honor on the site where snow would fall on the night of August 4-5.
Pope Liberius traced the outlines of the church in the snow and the first basilica was built on that site. It was completed about a century later by Pope Sixtus III (432-440), after the Council of Ephesus in 431 during which Mary was declared to be the Mother of God.
In Rome the Basilica of St. Mary Major will hold its traditional triduum from August 1 to 3 and two days of celebration on August 4 and 5. During the pontifical Mass and the second vespers, the traditional shower of flower petals will descend from the ceiling of the basilica to commemorate the August snowfall in 358.
St. Oswald, king, is mentioned in the Roman Martyrology. St. Bede the Venerable commemorates his deeds. He was sometimes portrayed as a martyr, since he died in battle against the pagan Welsh invaders.
Dedication of St. Mary Major
St. Mary Major is important to Christendom for three reasons:
(a) It stands as a venerable monument to the Council of Ephesus (431), at which the dogma of Mary's divine Motherhood was solemnly defined; the definition of the Council occasioned a most notable increase in the veneration paid to Mary.
(b) The basilica is Rome's "church of the crib," a kind of Bethlehem within the Eternal City; it also is a celebrated station church, serving, for instance, as the center for Rome's liturgy for the first Mass on Christmas. In some measure every picture of Mary with the divine Child is traceable to this church.
(c) St. Mary Major is Christendom's first Marian shrine for pilgrims. It set the precedent for the countless shrines where pilgrims gather to honor our Blessed Mother throughout the world. Here was introduced an authentic expression of popular piety that has been the source of untold blessings and graces for Christianity in the past as in the present.
The beginnings of St. Mary Major date to the Constantinian period. Originally it was called the Sicinini Basilica; it was the palace of a patrician family by that name before its transformation into a church by Pope Liberius. The story of its origin is legendary, dating from the Middle Ages. The Breviary gives this version: "Liberius was on the chair of Peter (352-366) when the Roman patrician John and his wife, who was of like nobility, vowed to bequeath their estate to the most holy Virgin and Mother of God, for they had no children to whom their property could go. The couple gave themselves to assiduous prayer, beseeching Mary to make known to them in some way what pious work they should subsidize in her honor.
"Mary answered their petition and confirmed her reply by means of the following miracle. On the fifth of August — a time when it is unbearably hot in the city of Rome — a portion of the Esquiline would be covered with snow during the night. During that same night the Mother of God directed John and his wife in separate dreams to build a church to be dedicated to the Virgin Mary on the site where they would see snow lying. For it was in this manner that she wanted her inheritance to be used.
"John immediately reported the whole matter to Pope Liberius, and he declared that a similar dream had come to him. Accompanied by clergy and people, Liberius proceeded on the following morning in solemn procession to the snow-covered hill and there marked off the area on which the church in Mary's honor was to be constructed."
Under Pope Sixtus III (432-440) the basilica was rebuilt, and upon the occasion of the definition of Mary's divine Motherhood by the Council of Ephesus, consecrated to her honor (432). He decorated the apse and walls with mosaics from the lives of Christ and His blessed Mother, which even to this day beautify the church and belong to the oldest we possess.
As early as the end of the fourth century a replica of the Bethlehem nativity grotto had been added; on this account the edifice became known as "St. Mary of the Crib." To the Christian at Rome this church is Bethlehem. Other names for the basilica are: Liberian Basilica, because it dates to the time of Pope Liberius; St. Mary Major (being the largest church in Mary's honor in Rome); Our Lady of the Snow, because of the miracle that supposedly occasioned its erection.
We could point out how the divine Motherhood mystery dominates all Marian liturgy; for the Theotokos doctrine has kept Mariology Christo-centric in the Church's worship. Although recent popular devotion to Mary has become to a certain extent soft and sentimental and has, one may say, erected its own sanctuary around Mary as the center, devotion to our Blessed Mother in the liturgy has always remained oriented to Christ.
In the liturgy the divine Motherhood has always been the bridge from Mary to Jesus. One need only examine Matins in honor of Mary or the Masses from her Common to be reassured. Everywhere Christ takes the central position, and Mary is the Christbearer.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
266th Successor of Peter
When Pope Benedict XVI broke his wrist in the middle of the night last week, the world was reminded rather suddenly of his age (82), his potential frailty, and the possibility that, some time in the not too distant future, the Roman Catholic Church could be looking once again to choose a new Successor of Peter.
Thankfully, for many Catholics, the accident was pretty minor. The pope apparently fell in his bedroom during the early hours Friday morning, getting up in the dark to use the bathroom. Characteristically, he didn't make a fuss and didn't call his assistants but went straight back to bed. Only when he came down for mass in the morning did he tell anyone what had happened. His personal physician, Patrizio Polisca, ordered him to the hospital, where doctors surgically repaired a fracture in the pope's right wrist.
But Benedict is one of the oldest men to have become pontiff. And he keeps an exhausting schedule. What if something more serious were to happen to him? Who could his potential successors be? Drawing up a list is never easy, but a roster of papabili, or "popeable" candidates, might look something like this:
Cardinal Angelo Scola
Patriarch of Venice, Italy
The son of a truck driver, Scola is the bookies' favorite. He is well regarded for his energetic preaching and theological expertise. An eminent scholar, he has striven to find ways to avoid a "clash of civilizations" by building a forum for dialogue between the West and Islam. If elected, the 67-year-old would follow three patriarchs of Venice who went on to become pope in the 20th century: Pius X, John XXIII, and John Paul I.
Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco
Archbishop of Genoa, Italy
A firm and loyal friend of the pontiff, Bagnasco, 66, has emerged as a doughty yet soft-spoken leader of the church in Italy. His meteoric rise is taken as a testament to his abilities. Benedict appointed him archbishop of Genoa in August 2006, then chose him to head the Italian bishops' conference a year later and elevated him to cardinal. He has often vigorously defended the pope in the face of controversy.
Cardinal Marc Ouellet
Archbishop of Quebec, Canada
Noted for his cheerful, open, and apparently humble persona as well as his uncompromising orthodoxy, Ouellet, 64, is often regarded as the cardinal to watch for the future. A lone voice surrounded by Canada's often aggressive secularism, he has nonetheless remained one of the most staunch public defenders of the Catholic faith. A native French speaker and the author of many books, he is also a proficient linguist, at home outside the corridors of the Vatican and the intrigues of Italy.
Cardinal Carlo Caffara
Archbishop of Bologna, Italy
The 71-year-old doctrinally conservative archbishop of Bologna is considered a safe pick who served as an adviser to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith when Pope Benedict (Cardinal Ratzinger) was in charge of it. An expert on bioethics, he founded a special section within the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family in Washington, D.C.
Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn
Archbishop of Vienna, Austria
A member of a prominent aristocratic Austrian family that produced two cardinals in the 18th and 19th centuries, Cardinal Schoeborn, 64, was once a student of Prof. Joseph Ratzinger. He has had extensive experience defending the church in the face of radical secularism in Austria but little management experience. Another polyglot priest, he recently called for a reform of the Vatican's internal communications.
Cardinal Péter Erdõ
Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary
At 57, Cardinal Erdõ, the primate of Hungary, is the youngest member of the College of Cardinals. A canon lawyer, he has a string of awards and positions to his name. He is the president of Europe's Catholic bishops, an adviser to a number of Vatican departments, and author of hundreds of research papers and articles. But his inability to speak fluent English is a distinct disadvantage.
A new pope would be unlikely to tamper with the course that Benedict has taken. This pontiff has persistently returned to the fundamentals of the faith in his teachings while remaining attentive to the letter of the reforms that emerged from the Second Vatican Council, insisting there is continuity between the two. Nobody is going to want to reopen the wounds he has worked so hard to heal.
Yet some believe there could be a change of emphasis. A number of Catholics, predominantly in the West, think the church should be more welcoming of "progressive" values and will hope for a pope more open to their views. They may entertain the notion that a new pope will be more receptive to the idea that priests might marry or that women can become priests themselves. But these are dogmas which are based firmly on Scripture or tradition, and they almost certainly will not change after Benedict.
Still, not a few Catholics would like to see a Vatican more skilled at communicating its message to the faithful and also to the wider world. Controversies—such as lifting of the excommunication of a Holocaust-denying priest, the pope's 2006 lecture at the University of Regensburg (which upset many Muslims), and his remarks on condoms and AIDS while on his way to Africa earlier this year—should probably have been foreseen and better handled.
At any rate, most Vatican watchers believe Benedict XVI has barely begun to enact the changes he would most like to make within the church. But given his age, it's fair to ask what would happen when his pontificate comes to an end. For the moment, though, commentators readily quote an old Roman maxim that "the next pope is not yet a cardinal" —in other words, it's just too early to say.
Robert Moynihan breaks down the candidates cited:
(1) Cardinal Angelo Scola, Patriarch of Venice, Italy, 68;
(2) Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, Archbishop of Genoa, Italy, 66;
(3) Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Archbishop of Quebec, Canada, 64;
(4) Cardinal Carlo Caffara, Archbishop of Bologna, Italy, 71;
(5) Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, Archbishop of Vienna, Austria, 62;
(6) Cardinal Péter Erdõ, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary, 57 — is the youngest member of the College of Cardinals.
But Pentin ends, wisely, with "an old Roman maxim" that "the next Pope is not yet a cardinal" — in other words, it's just too early to say who could possibly be the next Pope.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Pope Meets International Athletes
Pope Benedict XVI wears the Rome 2009 FINA Swimming World Championships' hat during a special audience he granted to the athletes of the Swimming World Championships, in Castel Gandolfo, in the outskirts of Rome, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009. (Daylife-AP)
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